A method of managing overwrite and a method of recording management information on an optical disc write once can make it possible to perform a logical overwrite on the disc and thus heighten the use efficiency of the disc. The method includes replacement-recording data which is requested to be overwritten in a specified area of the disc where recording is completed in another data area physically separated from the specified area in the disc, and producing and recording management information for reproducing the physically replacement-recorded data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of managing overwrite and a method of recording management information on an optical disc write once.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, it is expected that a new HD-DVD (High-Density Digital Versatile Disc) on which video data and audio data can be written and stored in high qualities and in large quantities, for example, a BD-RE (Blu-ray Rewritable Disc), will be developed and produced.
The BD-RE, as shown in FIG. 1, is divided into an LIA (Lead-In Area), a data area, and an LOA (Lead-Out Area). In the head and the tail of the data area, an ISA (Inner Spare Area) and an OSA (Outer Spare Area) are dividedly arranged.
The BD-RE records data in the unit of a cluster corresponding to a specified recording unit, and as shown in FIG. 1, it is detected if any defect area exists in the data area during recording the data. If the defect area is detected, a series of replacement-recording operations for performing a replacement recording of the data recorded in the defect area in the unit of a cluster in a spare area, for example, an ISA, is performed. Also, position information of the defect area and position information replacement-recorded in the spare area are recorded and stored in a defect list in the read-in area as management information.
Accordingly, even if the defect area exists in the data area of the BD-RE, the data recorded in the defect area is replacement-recorded in the spare area, and during the reproducing operation, the data replacement-recorded in the spare area, instead of the data of the defect area, is read out and reproduced with reference to the management information, so that any data recording/reproducing error can be prevented in advance.
Meanwhile, the standardization of a BD-WO (Blu-ray Disc Write Once) has recently been discussed among companies concerned, and since the BD-WO is recordable only once over the whole area of the disc, it is physically impossible to perform overwrite on the BD-WO unlike the BD-RE.
However, it may be necessary to perform the overwrite on a BD-WO in order to edit the recorded data, to modify a part of the recorded data, or to offer convenience to a user or a host, and thus an efficient scheme for this is urgently demanded.

Method of managing overwrite and method of recording management information on an optical disc write once


A flip chip light emitting diode die (10, 10′, 10″) includes a light-transmissive substrate (12, 12′, 12″) and semiconductor layers (14, 14′, 14″) that are selectively patterned to define a device mesa (30, 30′, 30″). A reflective electrode (34, 34′, 34″) is disposed on the device mesa (30, 30′, 30″). The reflective electrode (34, 34′, 34″) includes a light-transmissive insulating grid (42, 42′, 60, 80) disposed over the device mesa (30, 30′, 30″), an ohmic material (44, 44′, 44″, 62) disposed at openings of the insulating grid (42, 42′, 60, 80) and making ohmic contact with the device mesa (30, 30′, 30″), and an electrically conductive reflective film (46, 46′, 46″) disposed over the insulating grid (42, 42′, 60, 80) and the ohmic material (44, 44′, 44″, 62). The electrically conductive reflective film (46, 46′, 46″) electrically communicates with the ohmic material (44, 44′, 44″, 62).

The present invention relates to the electronics arts. It especially relates to flip-chip group III-nitride light emitting diodes for lighting applications, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, the invention also finds application in conjunction with other types of flip-chip light emitting diodes, and in other optoelectronic devices.
In the flip-chip mounting configuration, a light emitting diode with a light-transmissive substrate and front-side electrodes is bonded "face down" to a substrate. For example, a gallium nitride-based light emitting diode that includes active gallium nitride-based layers grown on a transparent sapphire or silicon carbide substrate can be flip-chip bonded. The flip-chip mounting configuration has a number of advantages, including improved thermal heat sinking due to a close proximity of the front-side active layers to the heat sinking substrate, and elimination of shadowing losses due to the contacts.
The electrodes of the light emitting diode die perform several functions in the flip-chip arrangement, including providing ohmic contacts to the active layers, efficiently reflecting light to contribute to light extraction, and providing thermal pathways for removing heat from the active layers during device operation. The multitasking of the electrodes presents design problems, as it may be difficult to simultaneously optimize optical, electrical, and thermal properties of the electrodes.
In the past, nickel/aluminum (Ni/Al), nickel/silver (Ni/Ag), and other multilayer metal stack electrodes have been used for flip chip group III-nitride light emitting diodes. These electrodes have certain disadvantages. Reflectivity of the metal/semiconductor interface is variable, and depends upon deposition conditions and subsequent processing such as annealing process operations. Metal electrode reflectivity in finished devices is often lower than desired.
While light emitting diodes typically produce light over a narrow spectral range, approximately corresponding to the bandgap of the active semiconductor layer or layers, the reflectivity of metal electrodes is generally only weakly dependent wavelength within the visible wavelength region. This inability to tune electrode reflectivity can be disadvantageous for certain applications, such as fiber optical communications, that benefit from a highly wavelength-selective light output.


An exhaust energy recovery system for a combustion engine having an exhaust passage has a displacement expansion device and a generator. The expansion device is located in the exhaust passage. Exhaust gas is introduced into the expansion device. The expansion device has an expansion chamber the volume of which varies in accordance with the pressure of exhaust gas and generates power in accordance with the volume variation of the expansion chamber. The generator generates electricity in accordance with the power generated by the expansion device. This efficiently recovers exhaust gas and effectively uses the recovered exhaust gas.

The present invention relates to an exhaust energy recovery system for a combustion engine that recovers and recycles the energy of exhaust gas (exhaust energy).
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 3-54313 discloses such exhaust energy recovery system for a combustion engine. The recovery system includes a vane type displacement expansion device in an exhaust passage of the combustion engine. The output shaft of the expansion device is mechanically coupled to and driven by a crankshaft of the engine. The output shaft of the expansion device is rotated by the exhaust energy, and the rotation of the output shaft is transmitted to the crankshaft. Thus, the exhaust energy is recovered to assist the engine output.
However, in the above exhaust energy recovery system, the output shaft of the displacement expansion device and the crankshaft are mechanically coupled to each other. Therefore, the rotational speed of the displacement expansion device is determined in accordance with the rotational speed of the engine regardless of the flow rate of exhaust gas introduced into the displacement expansion device. Therefore, depending on the driving condition of the engine, the exhaust energy is not sufficiently recovered. Further, the system can cause the load of the engine to increase or the back pressure to increase.
Furthermore, since the exhaust energy is recovered by mechanical means, the recovered exhaust energy is only used for assisting the engine output. This extremely limits the flexibility of the recycling of the recovered exhaust energy.

Exhaust energy recovery system for combustion engine


Disclosed herein is a secondary battery electrode manufacturing device including a slurry supply unit for supplying a secondary battery electrode mixture slurry, an electrode mixture layer forming mold configured to have a hollow structure having a first open surface and a second open surface, the first open surface and the second open surface being opposite each other, the electrode mixture slurry supplied from the slurry supply unit being injected into a hollow region of the electrode mixture layer forming mold, a drying unit for drying the electrode mixture slurry injected into the hollow region of the electrode mixture layer forming mold, a press for pressing the dried electrode mixture slurry to form an electrode mixture layer sheet, and a mold support unit for supporting the electrode mixture layer forming mold in the state in which the top surface of the mold support unit faces the first open surface of the electrode mixture layer forming mold.

As energy prices are increasing due to the depletion of fossil fuels and increasing attention is being paid to environmental pollution, the demand for environmentally-friendly alternative energy sources is bound to play an increasing role in the future. Thus, research into techniques for generating various kinds of power, such as nuclear energy, solar energy, wind energy, and tidal power, is underway, and power storage apparatuses for more efficient use of the generated energy are also drawing much attention.
In particular, the demand for batteries as energy sources is rapidly increasing as mobile device technology continues to develop and the demand for such mobile devices continues to increase. Accordingly, much research on batteries satisfying various needs has been carried out.
In terms of the shape of batteries, the demand for prismatic secondary batteries or pouch type secondary batteries, which are thin enough to be applied to products, such as mobile phones, is very high. In terms of the material for batteries, on the other hand, the demand for lithium secondary batteries, such as lithium ion batteries and lithium ion polymer batteries, which exhibit high energy density, discharge voltage, and output stability, is very high.
In addition, secondary batteries may be classified based on the structure of an electrode assembly having a structure in which a positive electrode and a negative electrode are stacked in the state in which a separator is interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode. For example, the electrode assembly may be configured to have a jelly-roll (wound) type structure in which a long sheet type positive electrode and a long sheet type negative electrode are wound in the state in which a separator is disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode or a stacked type structure in which pluralities of positive electrodes and negative electrodes each having a predetermined size are sequentially stacked in the state in which separators are disposed respectively between the positive electrodes and the negative electrodes. In recent years, in order to solve problems caused by the jelly-roll type electrode assembly and the stacked type electrode assembly, there has been developed a stacked/folded type electrode assembly, which is a combination of the jelly roll type electrode assembly and the stacked type electrode assembly, having an improved structure in which predetermined numbers of positive electrodes and negative electrodes are sequentially stacked in the state in which separators are disposed respectively between the positive electrodes and the negative electrodes to constitute a unit cell, after which a plurality of unit cells is sequentially folded in the state of having been placed on a separation film.
In addition, based on the shape of the battery case of each of the secondary batteries, the secondary batteries may be classified into a cylindrical battery configured to have a structure in which an electrode assembly is mounted in a cylindrical metal container, a prismatic battery configured to have a structure in which an electrode assembly is mounted in a prismatic metal container, and a pouch type battery configured to have a structure in which an electrode assembly is mounted in a pouch type case made of an aluminum laminate sheet.
Particularly, in recent years, much attention has been paid to a pouch type battery configured to have a structure in which such a stacked or stacked/folded type electrode assembly is mounted in a pouch type battery case made of an aluminum laminate sheet because of low manufacturing costs, light weight, easy modification of the shape thereof, etc. In addition, the use of such a pouch type battery has gradually increased.
In general, a secondary battery electrode is manufactured by applying a mixture of an electrode active material, a conductive agent, and a binder to an electrode current collector and then drying and pressing the mixture.
FIG. 1 is a typical view schematically showing the structure of a conventional electrode sheet manufacturing device.
Referring to FIG. 1, an electrode sheet manufacturing device 100 includes a transfer unit 130, a slot die 110 for coating an electrode mixture slurry, and a drying unit 121 and 122.
An electrode current collector sheet 140 is wound in the form of a roll 141. The electrode current collector sheet 140 is transferred by the transfer unit 130, which is located opposite the roll 141.
The transfer unit 130 includes two rollers 131 and 132. The rollers 131 and 132 are rotated in opposite directions, as indicated by arrows 101 and 102, to transfer the electrode current collector sheet 140 toward the transfer unit 130, as indicated by an arrow 103.
The slot die 110 has a slot 111, which is a gap between two divided parts of the slot die 110. A coating liquid is discharged through the slot 111 formed in the slot die 110 in the manner in which ink is discharged through the point of a fountain pen. While the electrode current collector sheet 140 is transferred, an electrode mixture slurry discharged from the slot die 110 is applied to the electrode current collector sheet 140. The coating method using the slot die 110 is superior to other coating methods in terms of maintenance and productivity. For this reason, the coating method using the slot die 110 is widely used in the manufacture of a flat panel display panel, in addition to the application of the electrode mixture slurry to the electrode current collector sheet 140.
The electrode current collector sheet 140, to which the electrode mixture slurry has been applied, is transferred to the drying unit 121 and 122, as indicated by the arrow 103.
The drying unit 121 and 122 is configured to dry opposite major surfaces of the electrode current collector sheet 140, to which the electrode mixture slurry has been applied, using hot air or a light source to manufacture an electrode sheet.
The manufactured electrode sheet is cut to a desired size to manufacture an electrode, which constitutes an electrode assembly.
In the conventional electrode sheet manufacturing device 100, however, a portion of the electrode sheet having a predetermined length is dried by the drying unit 121 and 122. In the case in which the amount of the electrode mixture slurry that is coated on the electrode current collector sheet 140 is large, the coated portion of the electrode sheet may be cracked. As a result, the increase in the capacity of the electrode that can be achieved by increasing the amount of the electrode mixture slurry that is coated on the electrode current collector sheet is limited.
In addition, the electrode mixture slurry is applied to the electrode current collector sheet 140 in the state in which the electrode mixture slurry is a liquid. If the viscosity of the electrode mixture slurry is lower than a predetermined level, therefore, it may be difficult to apply a desired amount of the electrode mixture slurry to the electrode current collector sheet 140.
Furthermore, the electrode sheet is wound in the form of a roll before the electrode sheet is cut to a desired size after the process of coating the electrode mixture slurry is completed. Even if a large amount of the electrode mixture slurry is applied to the electrode current collector sheet 140, therefore, the electrode mixture slurry may be separated from the electrode current collector sheet 140 due to the difference in physical properties between the electrode mixture slurry and the electrode current collector sheet 140 when the electrode sheet is wound.
Therefore, there is a high necessity for technology that is capable of fundamentally solving the above problems.

Secondary battery electrode manufacturing device including electrode mixture layer forming mold


The liquid droplet ejection head comprises: a base plate which has a common supply flow channel formed throughout an entire dimension in a lengthwise direction of the base plate; a plurality of short head modules which are assembled on the base plate to form a long head, each of the plurality of short head modules including ejection ports ejecting droplets of liquid and a liquid flow channel supplying the liquid to the ejection ports from the common supply flow channel; and a positioning mechanism through which the short head modules are detachably installed on the base plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid droplet ejection head and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a liquid droplet ejection head and an image forming apparatus in which a long line head is formed by detachably arranging a plurality of short heads in the breadthways direction of a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid droplet ejection head such as an inkjet head is known in which ink is supplied to nozzles, for example, and a recording is performed by ejecting the ink in the form of minute ink droplets from the nozzles toward a recording medium. Furthermore, an inkjet printer is also known as an image forming apparatus, which forms images on recording media in accordance with print data (image data) by ejecting ink in the form of liquid droplets from a plurality of nozzles (liquid droplet ejection ports) while moving an inkjet head (liquid droplet ejection head) in which the nozzles are arranged, and the recording medium relatively to each other.
There are inkjet printers of a serial head type provided with a short head for scanning the recording medium in the breadthways direction of the recording medium to perform recording, and of a line head type provided with a long line head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of the recording medium and having nozzles arranged so as to correspond to the full dimension of this length.
In a printer using a serial head, recording is performed by recording one line (or a few lines) by scanning the recording medium with the head in the breadthways direction of the recording medium, and conveying the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the breadthways direction through a distance corresponding to the number of lines recorded by one scan in the breadthways direction, each time one line (or a few lines) is recorded. Therefore, it not only requires a conveyance system, such as a carriage, which carries the short head in the breadthways direction of the recording medium, but also requires complicated scanning control of the movement of the carriage and the recording medium.
On the other hand, in a printer using a line head, it is possible to record an image onto the full surface of the recording medium by simply scanning the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the direction of arrangement of the nozzles, and therefore it does not require a conveyance system, such as a carriage for carrying a short head, and neither does it require complicated scanning control of the movement of the carriage and the recording medium. Furthermore, since recording can be performed onto the whole surface of the recording medium by moving only the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the breadthways direction thereof, it is possible to achieve a high recording speed compared to a printer that uses a serial head.
In an inkjet printer, one image is represented by combining dots formed by ink ejected from the nozzles. High image quality can be achieved by achieving high density arrangement of the nozzles provided in the inkjet head, in such a manner that the size of the dots is reduced and the number of pixels per image is increased.
In general, when manufacturing a long line head, it is essential that the nozzles are positioned to a high degree of accuracy. However, as the components becomes longer, production yield decreases due to the increase in the number of nozzles, and there is a tendency for the accumulated pitch error caused by machining to increase. In order to avoid problems of this kind, various methods have been proposed in which a long line head is manufactured by connecting together a plurality of small heads located highly accurately in position.
However, in a conventional long line head achieved by aligning short heads, since each of the short heads is completely independent, there is variation in the ink supply, unless the internal pressure is controlled in each individual short head, and hence stability declines.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-225263 discloses a long line head composed by arranging a plurality of pressure chambers in each of pressure chamber rows in an oblique direction with respect to the lengthwise direction of the head, arranging the plurality of pressure chamber rows in mutually parallel with the lengthwise direction of the head, and further arranging actuator blocks, each formed in the shape of a parallelogram having sides parallel to the lengthwise direction of the pressure chamber rows, in the lengthwise direction of the head, in such a manner that the actuator blocks are mutually separated. In this line inkjet head and a recording apparatus using same, advantages are obtained in that uniform characteristics, such as the piezoelectric characteristics and film thickness of the thin film actuators, can be achieved, fracturing of the films can be prevented, the production yield rate can be improved, the manufacturing equipment can be reduced in size, costs can be lowered, and the like. However, only the actuators are separately formed, the flow channel members must be manufactured to a large length, the accumulated pitch error becomes large, and the whole head must be replaced even if there is a fault in only one part of the flow channel.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-36522 discloses a line head composed by forming ink flow channels so as to traverse the paper feed direction, arranging head chips alternately on either side of the ink flow channels in such a manner that ink is drawn from the ink flow channels, and connecting the head chips (short heads) together, then high-resolution printing accuracy can be achieved by means of a simple composition. However, the divided head chips are fixed to the base of a common flow channel, and therefore it is not possible to replace heads, and the whole head must be replaced if a portion of the nozzles develops an ejection failure.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-337320 discloses a line type inkjet printer composed by alternately arranging short matrix type inkjet heads, which each form independently serviceable and replaceable units, then the total number of alternately arranged short head is counted up, the odd-numbered heads are fixed in position, and the even-numbered heads are allowed an adjustment width of 1 pixel, in such a manner that print width errors, or print irregularities at the joints between heads, can be avoided. The cross-sectional area of the common liquid chambers is increased due to the matrix arrangement, ink of high viscosity can be ejected, and the respective heads can be replaced individually; however, liquid still remains inside the head when a head is replaced and hence maintenance properties are poor.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-96734 discloses that a long head having a substantially large number of nozzles is achieved by using a plurality of short heads, then a long head length can be achieved by detachably arranging short heads on a sub carriage, in such a manner that the regions corresponding to the joints between the short heads, where there are no nozzles, are printed by shifting the position of the heads and performing a further scanning action. However, the heads are completely independent and their internal pressures are controlled individually, and furthermore, since there are gaps without nozzles at the joints between heads, then it is not possible to print one image in a single pass. Moreover, similarly to Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-337320, ink remains inside the head when a head is replaced and hence maintenance properties are poor.
Furthermore, it is important that the ink is uniformly supplied to the respective pressure chambers at high speed, when a head is formed to a large length. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-143602 discloses that one end of a pressure chamber is connected to a first reservoir, the other end of the pressure chamber is connected to a second reservoir, and the other end of the first reservoir and the other end of the second reservoir are connected to a third reservoir, ink being supplied to one reservoir and being expelled from another, thereby creating a circulation of the liquid inside the pressure chambers, then uniform, high-speed ink replenishment can be achieved, and wasteful consumption of ink can be suppressed, thus reducing running costs. However, since there are a plurality of supply restrictors in the pressure chambers, pressure loss is reduced and the reflux of ink upon ink ejection becomes large, thus leading to a problem in that a large energy is required in the actuators in order to eject ink.

Liquid droplet ejection head and image forming apparatus


A martial arts apparatus for mounting a breaking board with respect to a ground surface or another suitable structural member. A backing frame is adjustably mounted with respect to the structural support member. A back plate is adjustably mounted with respect to the backing frame. A front plate is adjustably mounted to rotate with respect to the back plate. A pair of arms are each pivotally attached with respect to the front plate. Each arm preferably has a front portion pivotally attached with respect to a rear portion. A plurality of clamping members mechanically cooperate with the front portions of the arms to clamp the breaking board between the clamping members and the front portions of the arms. The martial arts apparatus according to this invention is capable of rotating a breaking board within a plane, and rotating the breaking board into and out of a plane established by the breaking board which can be generally vertical with respect to a ground surface.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a holding apparatus for releasably mounting a breaking board which is often used in martial arts training and competition.
2. Description of Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,433 discloses a board holder station for a martial arts training apparatus. The board can be rotated into and out of a normal position within a vertical plane, which is generally perpendicular to a ground surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,316 discloses an apparatus for mounting a breaking board. The breaking board can be rotated within a vertical plane that is generally perpendicular to a ground surface. The board can also be rotated into and out of the vertical plane, in order to change the angular position of the board with respect to the ground surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,334 discloses a frame for securing a kicking board. When the kicking board is broken, upper frame members and a cross-piece swing upward and away from the kicking board.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,625 discloses a holding apparatus that has a pair of jaws for mounting a board. The jaws have removable, adjustable stop plates for holding the boards. The jaws can be rotated into different angular positions.
It is apparent from the teachings of the prior art that there is need for a mounting apparatus that can be easily adjusted without the need for tools and that offers structural stability, safeguards against user injury and reliability.

Martial arts apparatus for mounting a breaking board


A system and method for creating a mixed consumable item may include displaying a first set of selectable indicia on a touchscreen, where the indicia may be (i) indicative of respective consumable ingredients and (ii) distinctly positioned relative to one another. A swype gesture may be received from a user via the touchscreen that forms a path extending between a first position and a second position that touches or passes close to multiple selectable indicia. From the first set of consumable ingredients, a plurality of combinations of consumable ingredients most likely to have been intended to be selected by the user based on the path of the swype gesture may be predicted. Selectable predicted combinations of consumable ingredients may be displayed on the touchscreen to enable one of the selectable combinations of consumable ingredients to be selected by the user for mixing by a dispenser of consumable items.

Beverage and food dispensers typically have a user interface that enables users to select particular consumable beverage and/or food items ("consumable items"). As an example, dispensers of packaged consumable items typically use pushbuttons to enable users to select a particular consumable item. With more recently developed beverage dispensers, it is possible to provide users with many different beverage brands and flavors of the respective brands for selection. For such recently developed beverage dispensers, electronic displays in the form of touchscreens are typically used to display indicia representative of brands and/or flavors of brands available. A user of the dispenser may individually select a brand and flavor of the brand by tapping indicia that shows a name and/or logo, and then press another indicia or pushbutton to cause the selected brands and flavors thereof to be dispensed by the dispenser.

Selecting and dispensing blended beverages from a post-mix beverage dispenser


A suppressor assembly can include an external can having first and second ends. A muzzle brake can be positioned along the first end and configured to be coupled to a firearm. The assembly can include a first expansion chamber and a second expansion chamber disposed within the tubular body with a portion of the muzzle brake extending through the first and second expansion chambers. The muzzle brake can include a first muzzle chamber fluidicly coupled to the first expansion chamber and a second muzzle chamber fluidicly coupled to the second expansion chamber. Multiple baffles can be positioned within the external can between the first expansion chamber and the second end of the external can, including first and second baffle sets that each include a first baffle and a second baffle. The assembly can also include an endcap coupled to the second end of the external can.

A firearm creates a loud audible noise and a flash as a round is discharged from within the firearm. Generally, a suppressor is coupled to the muzzle end of a firearm barrel. Suppressors work to reduce the audible discharge of a firearm as well as decrease the muzzle flash. The noise and light created by the discharge may be reduced in a number of different ways depending on the design of the suppressor. Conventional suppressors include a series of expansion chambers that capture and/or redirect the gas and soundwaves expelled from the firearm barrel. Some conventional suppressors simply place multiple walls and chambers throughout the suppressor in an effort to effect the way that exhaust is discharged from the firearm through the suppressor. In addition, some conventional suppressors claim to be configured to be used with different caliber ammunition, but these conventional suppressors do nothing to adjust with the use of different caliber ammunition except have a bore large enough to accommodate each of the different caliber projectiles discharging from the firearm.

Cross-platform suppressor assembly for a firearm


A solid-state imaging device includes: first electrode pads formed on a first substrate on which photoelectric conversion elements included in pixels are arranged; second electrode pads formed on a second substrate having a reading unit that reads signals of the pixels; and connecting portions, one end being bonded to the first electrode pads and the other being bonded to the second electrode pads to electrically connect the first electrode pads and the second electrode pads to each other. The pixels are partitioned into areas for each unit pixel cell or each cell including pixels, first to n-th of the first electrode pads and first to m-th of the second electrode pads are allocated to the partitioned areas, and the first to n-th first electrode pads and the first to m-th second electrode pads allocated to the same partitioned area are electrically connected to each other via the connecting portions.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state imaging device, an imaging device, and a signal reading method.
Description of the Related Art
Recently, video cameras, electronic still cameras, and the like have been widely used. Charge coupled device (CCD) type or amplification type solid-state imaging devices are used in such cameras. An amplification type solid-state imaging device guides signal charges, which have been generated and stored in a photoelectric conversion portion of a pixel on which light is incident, to an amplification portion disposed in the pixel and outputs a signal, which has been amplified by the amplification portion, from the pixel. In the amplification type solid-state imaging device, such pixels are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix shape. An example of the amplification type solid-state imaging device is a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) type solid-state imaging device using a CMOS transistor.
In the related art, a general CMOS type solid-state imaging device employs a method of sequentially reading signal charges, which have been generated by photoelectric conversion portions of pixels arranged in a two-dimensional matrix shape, for each row. In this method, since an exposing timing in the photoelectric conversion portion of each pixel is determined depending on reading start and end of the signal charges, the exposing timing differs for each row. Accordingly, when a rapidly moving subject is imaged using the CMOS type solid-state imaging device, the subject in the captured image is deformed.
In order to remove the deformation of a subject, a simultaneous imaging function (global shutter function) of realizing synchronous storage of signal charges has been proposed. Uses of the CMOS type solid-state imaging device having the global shutter function are becoming various. In order to store signal charges generated by the photoelectric conversion portions until the signal charges are read, the CMOS type solid-state imaging device having the global shutter function generally needs to have a storage capacitor portion having a light-blocking property. In such a CMOS type solid-state imaging device according to the related art, all of the pixels are simultaneously exposed, then signal charges generated by the photoelectric conversion portions are simultaneously transferred from all of the pixels to the storage capacitor portions and are temporarily stored therein, and the signal charges are sequentially converted into pixel signals at a predetermined reading timing and are read.
However, in the CMOS type solid-state imaging device according to the related art having the global shutter function, the photoelectric conversion portions and the storage capacitor portions have to be formed in the same plane of the same substrate and thus an increase in chip area is inevitable. In a waiting period of time until the signal charges stored in the storage capacitor portions are read, signal quality is degraded by noise due to light or noise due to a leak current (dark current) generated in the storage capacitor portions.
A solid-state imaging device in which a MOS image sensor chip in which micro pads are formed on a wiring layer side for each unit cell and a signal processing chip in which micro pads are formed on a wiring layer side at positions corresponding to the micro pads of the MOS image sensor chip are connected to each other by micro bumps is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-49361. A method of preventing an increase in chip area using a solid-state imaging device in which a first substrate on which photoelectric conversion portions are formed and a second substrate on which a plurality of MOS transistors are formed are bonded to each other is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2010-219339.

Solid-state imaging device, imaging device, and signal reading method


An optical coupling system for coupling a first optical waveguide having a first core surrounded by a first sheath to a second optical waveguide having a second core surrounded by a second sheath. An end face of the first core of the first optical waveguide abuts an end face of the second core of the second optical waveguide at a coupling location and the second core is flush with the first core in the axial direction, wherein, in the region of the coupling location, over at least part of a predetermined axial portion, both the second sheath of the second optical waveguide and the first sheath of the first optical waveguide together form a cladding of the optical waveguide in the predetermined portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical coupling system for coupling a first optical waveguide, which has a first core surrounded by a first sheath, to a second optical waveguide which has a second core surrounded by a second sheath, where in the region of the coupling location, over at least part of a predetermined axial portion, both the second sheath and the first sheath together form a cladding of the optical waveguide, and where the first optical waveguide is preferably a polymer optical waveguide formed on a printed circuit board.
2. Description of Related Art
Printed circuit boards with integrated optical signal connections represent the next generation of signal connection on board level. The so-called optoelectronic printed circuit board is designed to allow the realization of highly complex applications which require further miniaturization as well as an increase in the integration density of product features and consequently make it possible to achieve a higher product added value of the printed circuit board. Printed circuit boards with optical connections will be used where applications require extremely high data flows between components, modules or functional units (e.g. high-end computer applications), resistance to interference from electromagnetic fields (e.g. automotive and aeronautic applications) or a space-saving design of the connection lengths (e.g. mobile applications), or where a saving in energy in comparison with resistive copper conductor traces is desired.
Optical data transmission in the long-distance range has already been known for several decades. For example, optical fibers or optical waveguides (OWG/LWL) have already been used for data transfer in continental, metropolitan and "local area" networks for many years. The use of optical waveguides in order to connect together printed circuit boards, or even to realize integrated optical connections within a printed circuit board, is thus the next step. Glass or polymer fibers are used as optical waveguides, as are planar polymer waveguides, into which research is still being conducted. Although planar polymer waveguides are inferior to glass fibers in terms of optical attenuation, which is acceptable over short distances, for example where used on printed circuit boards, these have enormous advantages in terms of processability and manufacturability, miniaturization, design freedom, and cost.
The biggest challenge in the realization of integrated optical connections on the printed circuit board by means of optical waveguides (planar waveguide technology) is the connection of the waveguide ends to optoelectronic components or to optical connector modules which create the connection to the "outside world," for example to external glass fiber cables.

Optical coupling system for two optical waveguides


A stress isolator that allows a sensor to be attached to materials of the same coefficient of thermal expansion and still provide the required elastic isolation between the sensor and the system to which it is mounted. The isolator is made of two materials, borosilicate glass and silicon. The glass is the same material as the mounting surface of the microelectromechanical system (MEMS) sensors. The silicon makes an excellent isolator, being very elastic and easy to form into complex shapes. The two materials of the isolator are joined using an anodic bond. The construction of the isolator can be specific to different types of MEMS sensors, making the most of their geometry to reduce overall volume.

Inertial and pressure sensors can be very sensitive to stresses and strains, interpreting the stresses/strains as signals when, in fact, they are not. These errors are often seen over temperature because the strain state of the system, to which the sensors are mounted, changes with expansion and contraction, due to temperature change. Other sources of strain change are also significant enough to have a negative effect on sensors, such as creep under stress or pressure. Changes in output over temperature must be modeled and subtracted from a sensor's output where accuracy is required. Larger strains from a given temperature change are harder to model accurately and may require more computing power and higher-order models. Any relaxation (creep) of the materials due to these strains cannot be modeled and shows up as sensor error.
Mechanical isolators are often used between the sensor and the system to which the sensor is mounted to allow for the strains to be taken up by the isolator rather than passing them on to the sensor. The isolator does this by having a mechanically elastic section between the sensor mount and the system, like a set of springs that always comes back to the same state after being stretched. Isolation features are easy to form in certain materials, such as silicon, but sensors are often made of other materials and the bond between the sensor and isolator creates unwanted stresses.


A fluid displacement apparatus includes a housing for receiving a refrigerant, a driving shaft rotatably received in the housing, a magnetic clutch attached to the driving shaft for rotation transmitting purposes, a fixed scroll disposed in the housing, an orbiting scroll rotatably received and engaged in the housing and interfitting with the fixed scroll for compressing the refrigerant and for generating a pressurized refrigerant, the housing includes a compartment communicating with the inner chamber of the housing with a passage for receiving a pressure sensing device which may sense the pressure of the pressurized refrigerant for detecting whether the refrigerant in the housing is over pressure or not.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compressor or fluid displacement apparatus, and more particularly to a fluid displacement apparatus including a pressure sensing device for effectively detecting or sensing the inner pressure in a compressor housing and for detecting whether the fluid or refrigerant in the compressor housing is over pressure or not.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical compressors or fluid displacement apparatuses comprise interfitting fixed and orbiting scrolls disposed in an outer compressor housing for compressing the fluid or refrigerant received in the compressor housing.
Generally, in the conventional refrigerant compressor, when the temperature of the fluid or refrigerant excessively rises, the compressor is not operating normally and increased frictional resistance between the moving parts of the compressor will be occurred.
For preventing the temperature of the fluid or refrigerant excessively rises above the predetermined temperature, a thermal sensor is provided and disposed in a sensor pocket that is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the compressor housing for detecting or sensing the inner temperature of the compressor housing.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,952 to Sato discloses one of the typical refrigerant displacement apparatuses with an improved thermal sensing device for detecting or sensing the temperature of the fluid or refrigerant received in the compressor housing, the compressor housing should be made of metal materials which are heat conductive for allowing the metal compressor housing to be heated by the fluid or refrigerant and then for allowing the temperature at the compressor housing to be detected or sensed by the thermal sensing device.
However, the flowing of the fluid or refrigerant should be precisely directed toward the thermal sensing device for allowing the temperature of the fluid or refrigerant to be effectively detected or sensed, and the temperature of the fluid or refrigerant may not be effectively detected or sensed if the flowing of the fluid or refrigerant is not precisely directed toward the thermal sensing device.
In addition, the temperature of the metal compressor housing may be increased or decreased or changed by the temperature at the outer environment of the compressor housing such that the temperature of the fluid or refrigerant to be precisely detected or sensed.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional fluid displacement apparatuses.

Fluid displacement apparatus having pressure sensing device


The invention teaches a method, means and apparatus for clamping a back porch interval of a video signal including clamping a sync-tip level of said video signal to a variable reference voltage, comparing a back-porch voltage level of the sync-tip clamped video signal to a predetermined reference voltage, generating an error signal representative of the difference between the back-porch voltage level and the predetermined reference voltage, and adjusting the variable reference voltage in response to the error signal such that the error signal is minimized.

In video signal processing systems, either purely analog or digitized video, it is often desirable to implement a back-porch clamp to set the DC operating point of the signal to a predetermined reference voltage. To understand conventional practice, the recommended operation of the Broadcom 7020 IC 10 as shown in FIG. 1 is explained. A video signal V1 is buffered by a Video Op Amp 6 and is provided through a coupling capacitor 8 to the Video Input of IC 10 wherein it is digitized by an A/D Converter 12 and applied, in parallel, to a Video Decoder (VDEC) 14 and one input 16 of a keyed Comparator 18. The other comparator input 20 receives a predetermined reference voltage 22. The comparator output 24 is an error signal, which communicates the difference between the back-porch voltage level of comparator input 16 and the predetermined reference voltage 22. A Back-Porch Clamp (BPC) Pulse 26 is generated in the VDEC 14 and is used to enable the comparator 18 during the back-porch interval. Error signal 24 and BPC pulse 26 are applied to Pulse Width Modulator (PWM) 28, which outputs a duty-cycle modulated signal 30 during the BPC pulse interval and whose output is tri-stated to an essentially open-circuit condition during all other times. PWM output 30 is a pulse train operating at a horizontal rate, whose upper and lower levels are approximately zero volts and 3.3 volts respectively, and whose pulse width is approximately 50% when the comparator input 16 equals the predetermined reference voltage 22 and varies from near 0% to near 100% as comparator input 16 varies from maximally high compared to predetermined reference voltage 22 to maximally low compared to predetermined reference voltage 22. In this manner the PWM output 30 is of a polarity to provide negative feedback suitable to correct the DC restoration of the Video Input. PWM output 30 is low-pass filtered by resistor 32 and capacitor 34, this filtered value being applied to the Video Input through resistor 36. The corrected value of DC bias applied to Video Input is stored on coupling capacitor 8, which holds this value until the next horizontal back-porch interval, at which point a newly corrected bias is applied. However, when video is first applied to the A/D Converter 12 input, the bias voltage of the VDEC 14 input will likely be outside the dynamic range of the VDEC 14 and will thus make it difficult for the VDEC 14 to determine the location of horizontal sync and thus a properly timed BPC pulse will not be available. For this reason the VDEC 14 operates in a free-running mode until the feedback loop slowly responds and VDEC 14 finds the horizontal sync, measures how far the A/D value of the following back-porch is from the ideal value of 240 (out of 1024 A/D values) and corrects to adjust the back-porch level at comparator input 16 to the proper value. Afterwards the VDEC 14 operates in a locked mode to properly identify sync and the back-porch interval. There are several problems encountered when implementing a back-porch clamp as described above. First, a Video Op Amp is required to provide a very low output impedance driver in order to minimize an offset in the loop due to contamination of Video Input by the PWM signal. Second, the loop gain is determined by the inverse of the sum of resistors 32 and 36, and thus is relatively low. Third, the loop response stability is difficult to achieve as two dominant poles, associated with input capacitor 8 and filter capacitor 34, are employed, and initial stabilization of the loop is lengthy due to the difficulty of identifying the back-porch interval when the A/D Converter 12 and VDEC 14 are initially outside their optimal dynamic range. The present invention is directed towards solving these problems in a very cost effective manner.


A method of drafting a program code of control and instrumentation technology for operating a plant is disclosed using industrial components. The program code, in its graphical representation, comprises a plurality of sub-plans. The program code of the control and instrumentation technology and the industrial components are represented together in a machine-readable technology plan. The sub-plans, especially the functional plans of the individual plane, are automatically generated from the technology plan, and the individual sequences of the program code are generated from the functional plans. The method makes manual drafting or manual correction project planning superfluous.

Process-engineering components such as pumps, valves, containers and measured-value pickups have to date been shown in a first diagram, and the program code for instrumentation and control has been shown in a second diagram. To improve clarity, these two diagrams have been combined in a general diagram produced manually. The reason for this is that such a general diagram is the only basis on which it is possible for the process-engineering operatives and the control operatives to cooperate.
In the graphical representation, the program code for instrumentation and control comprises a multiplicity of sub-diagrams, particularly function diagrams for the individual level. These sub-diagrams are used for implementing the required process-engineering functions, such as regulation, partial or group control, step control and measurement and also measured-value correction and the like. The individual sub-diagrams have corresponding software modules which are connected to one another. The sub-diagrams themselves are also linked to one another, for example by defined break points. The sub-diagrams are graphical representations of the individual sequences of the program code.
The known general diagram is an exclusively graphical representation. Consistency and freedom from error have to be ensured manually. Changes in the program code for instrumentation and control or in the process-engineering components likewise have to be made manually. The management of change is therefore complex and prone to error. Continual matching of the program code or of the process-engineering components to changes in the general diagram, or vice versa, is virtually impossible.

Method of drafting control and instrumentation technology


A hoist includes a cable configured to lower and to raise a load, and a drum arranged to be rotatably seated about an axis of rotation and configured to wind up and to unwind the cable. The drum comprises a flanged wheel which comprises a securing device configured to secure the cable. The securing device comprises a cable-accommodating block comprising an abutment surface, and a cable clamp. The cable-accommodating block is affixed to the flanged wheel in a direction of tension of the cable and is configured to have the cable be passed there-through. The cable clamp comprises a counterpart abutment surface. The cable clamp is configured to be affixed to the cable. The abutment surface of the cable-accommodating block is configured to be contacted with the counterpart abutment surface of the cable clamp under an effect of a tensile force.

Such hoists, as they are described, for example, in WO 01/64573 A2, serve to lower and raise a load, in particular a drilling means, for example, of a platform into a drill hole or on the seafloor with a cable. One end of the cable is attached to the drilling means in the case of a simple reeving. In a multiple reeving configuration, the load is raised and lowered by means of a pulley system. The drilling means is then attached to the lowerable and raisable block of the pulley. One end of the cable is attached to a dead line anchor. In both cases, the respective other end of the cable is attached to a device for securing the cable which is provided on the exterior side of the flanged wheel. By means of a through-hole in the flanged wheel, the cable is guided to the drum and is (depending to what extent the drilling means is raised or lowered) more or less wound up thereon.
The cable is subject to considerable wear due to the substantial loads to which it is exposed during operation through the regular raising and lowering procedures under high speeds with the resulting associated acceleration forces. Since a cable break would result in unforeseeable consequences, the cable must be replaced or taken up (shortened) so that not yet abraded sections are exposed to loads.
Known hoists therefore require the cable-securing device located on the flanged wheel to be opened, for which operating personnel must work on the flanged wheel of the drum. This is, however, associated with substantial difficulties for modern hoists where other hoist components, such as brakes or gear housings, are arranged in close proximity to the flanged wheels, since personnel must work in the small space available.


A magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) magnetoresistive read head for a magnetic recording system has the MTJ sensing or free ferromagnetic layer also functioning as a flux guide to direct magnetic flux from the magnetic recording medium to the tunnel junction. The MTJ fixed ferromagnetic layer has its front edge recessed from the sensing surface of the head. Both the fixed and free ferromagnetic layers are in contact with opposite surfaces of the MTJ tunnel barrier layer but the free ferromagnetic layer extends beyond the back edge of either the tunnel barrier layer or the fixed ferromagnetic layer, whichever back edge is closer to the sensing surface. This assures that the magnetic flux is non-zero in the tunnel junction region. The magnetization direction of the fixed ferromagnetic layer is fixed in a direction generally perpendicular to the sensing surface and thus to the magnetic recording medium, preferably by interfacial exchange coupling with an antiferromagnetic layer. The magnetization direction of the free ferromagnetic layer is aligned in a direction generally parallel to the surface of the medium in the absence of an applied magnetic field and is free to rotate in the presence of applied magnetic fields from the medium. A layer of high coercivity hard magnetic material adjacent the sides of the free ferromagnetic layer longitudinally biases the magnetization of the free ferromagnetic layer in the preferred direction.

A magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) device is comprised of two ferromagnetic layers separated by a thin insulating tunnel barrier layer and is based on the phenomenon of spin-polarized electron tunneling. One of the ferromagnetic layers has a higher saturation field in one direction of an applied magnetic field, typically due to its higher coercivity than the other ferromagnetic layer. The insulating tunnel barrier layer is thin enough that quantum mechanical tunneling occurs between the ferromagnetic layers. The tunneling phenomenon is electron-spin dependent, making the magnetic response of the MTJ a function of the relative orientations and spin polarizations of the two ferromagnetic layers.
MTJ devices have been proposed primarily as memory cells for solid state memory. The state of the MTJ memory cell is determined by measuring the resistance of the MTJ when a sense current is passed perpendicularly through the MTJ from one ferromagnetic layer to the other. The probability of tunneling of charge carriers across the insulating tunnel barrier layer depends on the relative alignment of the magnetic moments (magnetization directions) of the two ferromagnetic layers. The tunneling current is spin polarized, which means that the electrical current passing from one of the ferromagnetic layers, for example, a layer whose magnetic moment is fixed or prevented from rotation, is predominantly composed of electrons of one spin type (spin up or spin down, depending on the orientation of the magnetic moment of the ferromagnetic layer). The degree of spin polarization of the tunneling current is determined by the electronic band structure of the magnetic material comprising the ferromagnetic layer at the interface of the ferromagnetic layer with the tunnel barrier layer. The first ferromagnetic layer thus acts as a spin filter. The probability of tunneling of the charge carriers depends on the availability of electronic states of the same spin polarization as the spin polarization of the electrical current in the second ferromagnetic layer. Usually, when the magnetic moment of the second ferromagnetic layer is parallel to the magnetic moment of the first ferromagnetic layer, there are more available electronic states than when the magnetic moment of the second ferromagnetic layer is aligned antiparallel to that of the first ferromagnetic layer. Thus, the tunneling probability of the charge carriers is highest when the magnetic moments of both layers are parallel, and is lowest when the magnetic moments are antiparallel. When the moments are arranged neither parallel nor antiparallel, the tunneling probability takes an intermediate value. Thus, the electrical resistance of the MTJ memory cell depends on both the spin polarization of the electrical current and the electronic states in both of the ferromagnetic layers. As a result, the two possible magnetization directions of the ferromagnetic layer whose magnetization direction is not fixed uniquely define two possible bit states (0 or 1) of the memory cell.
A magnetoresistive (MR) sensor detects magnetic field signals through the resistance changes of a sensing element, fabricated of a magnetic material, as a function of the strength and direction of magnetic flux being sensed by the sensing element. Conventional MR sensors, such as those used as a MR read heads for reading data in magnetic recording disk drives, operate on the basis of the anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) effect of the bulk magnetic material, which is typically permalloy (Ni.sub.81 Fe.sub.19). A component of the read element resistance varies as the square of the cosine of the angle between the magnetization direction in the read element and the direction of sense current through the read element. Recorded data can be read from a magnetic medium, such as the disk in a disk drive, because the external magnetic field from the recorded magnetic medium (the signal field) causes a change in the direction of magnetization in the read element, which in turn causes a change in resistance of the read element and a corresponding change in the sensed current or voltage. In conventional MR read heads, in contrast to MTJ devices, the sense current is in a direction parallel to the ferromagnetic layer of the read element.
The use of an MTJ device as a magnetoresistive read head for magnetic recording has also been proposed, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,061. In this MTJ read head, the free ferromagnetic layer, the tunnel barrier layer and the fixed ferromagnetic layer all have their edges exposed at the sensing surface of the head, i.e., the air-bearing surface (ABS) of the air-bearing slider if the MTJ head is used in a magnetic recording disk drive. It has been discovered that when the MTJ head is lapped to form the ABS, it is possible that material from the free and fixed ferromagnetic layers will smear at the ABS and short out across the tunnel barrier layer. In addition, many antiferromagnets used to fix the magnetic moment of the fixed ferromagnetic layer contain manganese (Mn) which can corrode during the ABS lapping process. The tunnel barrier layer is typically formed of aluminum oxide, which can also corrode during the ABS lapping process.
What is needed is an MTJ MR read head for a magnetic recording system that does not suffer from the problems associated with having the edges of the MTJ layers exposed at the sensing surface.

Magnetic tunnel junction magnetoresistive read head with sensing layer as flux guide

International Business Machines Corporation


A universal serial bus connector assembly for sealing a plug against the intrusion of foreign material is provided. The connector assembly includes a plug receptacle housing and a plug receptacle supporting structure attached to the plug receptacle housing. A bezel is fitted over the plug receptacle supporting structure. A sealing elastomeric membrane is positioned between the plug receptacle supporting structure and the bezel. A slit is formed in the elastomeric membrane through which the plug is inserted into the plug receptacle housing.

The use of plug connectors has seen a variety of applications in vehicles. Some of these plug connectors are universal serial bus connectors. While providing a high degree of convenience and satisfaction to the user of the universal serial bus connector, the environment of the vehicle is typically unfriendly to the electronics of plugs given the relatively high amount of small-sized foreign material (most typically food) which is usually found in the vehicle interior. Thus the utility of such connectors in use in vehicles is compromised by the possible introduction of this foreign material into the plug receptacle. In addition, known universal serial bus connectors have poor aesthetic appeal.
In an effort to overcome these difficulties, a variety of protective covers have been introduced to provide a form of protection against the introduction of foreign materials. Such approaches provide hinged and sliding mechanical doors as well as removable covers and caps. While providing some degree of protection, known arrangements for attempting the provision of protection are overly complex and prone to failure. Many of the known arrangements have to be manipulated by the user for opening, closing, covering or uncovering before or after insertion of the plug into the connector. In those embodiments where caps or covers are used the caps and covers are prone to being lost by the user. In addition, once the plug is inserted into the receptacle of known systems, there is no continuing protection against intrusion of foreign material.
Accordingly, a need exists today for an improved system for restricting the introduction of foreign material into the plug receptacle.


A method and system for controlling packet classification behavior of a plurality of heterogeneous network processors in a network is disclosed. The network also includes at least one host processor that utilizes at least one packet classification application. The method and system include providing a plurality of generic application program interfaces (APIs). The generic APIs communicate with the packet classification application(s) and the heterogeneous network processors. The generic APIs communicate with the packet classification application(s) in the host processor(s) in a network processor independent manner, but manage the packet classification behavior of the heterogeneous network processors in a network processor specific manner. Thus, the generic APIs allow the packet classification application(s) to be network processor independent and to manage the packet classification behavior of the heterogeneous network processors in the network processor specific manner.

Driven by increasing usage of a variety of network applications, such as those involving the Internet, computer networks are of increasing interest. In order to couple portions of a network together or to couple networks together, network processors residing in switches, routers, and/or other components are typically used. The switches, routers, and/or other components allow packets to be transmitted through the network. However, different packets may be desired to be handled differently. For example, packets from certain sources may be refused entry to portions of the network. Other packets may be granted higher priority in transmission through the network.
In order to determine how packets are to be handled, the packets are classified. Packet classification typically includes using various rules and determining which of the rules apply to particular packets. Thus, packet classification includes defining various rules. For example, one rule might specify that packets having certain source addresses will be discarded if their destination address is for a portion of the network for which access is to be denied. In order to determine whether a particular rule applies to a particular packet in the network processor, the packet is compared with the criteria for the rules. Packet classification typically includes determining whether each incoming packet to the network processor matches the criteria for particular rules as well as defining the rules. In order to ensure that packet classification is performed as desired, a network administrator typically desires to manage the packet classification behavior of the network processors.
FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a conventional system 10 for packet classification in network processors. The system 10 includes a conventional host processor 20 used by a network administrator and conventional network processors 30, 40, and 50. The conventional host processor 20 typically includes a conventional packet classification application 22 that is developed at least in part by the owner of the conventional system 10. The network administrator uses the conventional packet classification application 22 to manage the packet classification behavior of the conventional network processors 30, 40, and 50 in the conventional system 10.
The conventional network processors 30, 40, and 50 are typically purchased by the owner of the conventional system 10. The conventional network processors 30, 40, and 50 each includes conventional software and/or firmware 32, 42, and 52, respectively, that may be different. For example, the conventional network processors 30, 40, and 50 may include different versions of a particular model of network processor from a particular vendor and/or other model(s) of network processor that may be from other vendors. Thus, the conventional network processors 30 and 40 are depicted as having software and/or firmware 32 and 42 that are different versions of a Model X network processor, while the software and/or firmware 52 of the conventional network processor 50 is a Model Y network processor. For example, typically the conventional software and/or firm ware 32, 42, and 52 used in packet classification is burned into conventional network processor 30, 40, and 50 so that the network processor handles certain types of packets in a particular way, using particular rules. Because the conventional network processors 30, 40, and 50 are thus very distinct, each conventional network processor 30, 40, and 50 utilizes conventional application program interfaces (APIs) 12, 14, and 16, respectively, that are specific to the particular software and/or firmware 32, 42, and 52, respectively.
The conventional packet classification application 22 is used to manage the packet classification behavior of the conventional network processors 30, 40, and 50, respectively. The conventional packet classification application 22 thus includes a corresponding set of conventional behaviors 24, 26, and 28 for each set of the conventional APIs 12, 14, and 16, respectively. The conventional APIs 12, 14, and 16 are designed to communicate with the conventional behaviors 32, 42, and 52, respectively. The conventional APIs 12, 14, and 16 are also used to control the corresponding software and/or firmware 32, 42, and 52, respectively. Thus, using the conventional behaviors 24, 26, and 28 corresponding to the conventional APIs 12, 14, and 16, respectively, the conventional packet classification application 22 can control the packet classification behavior of each of the conventional network processors 30, 40, and 50, respectively.
Although the conventional system 10 functions, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the conventional system is difficult to scale. The conventional network processors 30, 40, and 50 are typically heterogeneous in nature. Because the conventional network processors 30, 40, and 50 are heterogeneous, the conventional network processors may include different versions of a particular model of network processor and/or different models of network processor. In addition, the method of specifying the packet classification behavior of each conventional network processor 30, 40, and 50 may differ widely. Thus, the software and/or firmware 32, 42, and 52 of different network processors typically differ. The APIs 12, 14, and 16 thus also differ. Consequently, the corresponding behaviors 24, 26, and 28 of the conventional packet classification application 22 are distinct. One of ordinary skill in the art will also readily recognize that the conventional system 10 may actually include a large number of network processors. Consequently, the number of conventional APIs 12, 14, and 16 with which the conventional packet classification application 22 must be compatible may be large. As a result, the number of distinct conventional behaviors used by the conventional host processor 20 and developed by the owner of the conventional system 10, such as the conventional behaviors 24, 26, and 28, may be large. As a result, the conventional packet classification application 22 may be complex and include an amalgamation of a variety of behaviors, one for each model and/or version of conventional network processor. It may thus be difficult to incorporate new network processors, which may have software and/or, firmware and thus APIs not previously supported. The conventional system 10 is, therefore, difficult to scale. Because of difficulties in incorporating new software and/or firmware and their corresponding APIs, evolving the conventional packet classification application 22 and, therefore, the conventional system 10 to utilize improved network processors may be problematic. Furthermore, because supporting a variety of conventional behaviors 24, 26, and 28 makes the conventional packet classification application 22 more complex, the conventional system 10 may be subject to higher maintenance costs.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for allowing a host to control packet classification behavior of a network processor in a scalable, flexible manner. The present invention addresses such a need.

Method and system of generically specifying packet classification behavior

International Business Machines Corporation


A needle guard device mountable to a pre-filled syringe in its ready-to-fill state. The device includes a lock collar and a device shield biased to move relative to the lock collar. The lock collar interfaces with the syringe neck to attach the device to the syringe. With the removal of a needle shield assembly comprising rigid and soft needle shields, the lock collar and device shield are free to move proximally along the syringe neck and interact with a syringe step down area to activate the device. As the device moves proximally, retention arms of the device shield interact with the syringe step down, causing the arms to deflect radially outwards to disengage from the lock collar triggering the device shield to move from a first position to a second position.

Medication is often dispensed using a medicine cartridge, such as a glass syringe, having a barrel with a needle at one end and a plunger slidably inserted into the other end and coupled to a rubber stopper. Such cartridges are often referred to as "pre-filled syringes" because they may contain a specific dosage or volume medication when they are initially provided, as compared to conventional syringes that are furnished empty and filled by the user before making an injection.
The glass syringe and rubber stopper have, for years, provided an ideal drug storage closure having unique properties of impermeability to oxygen, low extractables, biocompatability, durability, etc. However, they are both formed by processes that do not lend themselves to tight geometrical tolerances. Tight tolerances were not originally needed by these devices because they were not used mechanically with other devices.
Due to the risk of communicable diseases, a number of syringes and adapters have been developed that are intended to prevent accidental needle sticks and/or inadvertent reuse of a syringe. Conventional passive anti-needle stick safety devices for prefilled syringes must mount to the syringe but not interfere excessively with the force required to move the plunger rod during injection nor prevent the full travel of the plunger rod. The safety mechanism necessarily must be triggered toward the end of administration of the drug (near the end of the plunger rod travel). However, since virtually all safety devices locate the syringe against the safety device at a point under the syringe finger flange, the operability of the safety device tends to be dependent on the tolerances of the syringe and stopper.
In addition, because conventional passive anti-needle stick safety devices for prefilled syringes tend to mount to or on the barrel of the syringe, the safety devices tend to obscure the contents of the syringe and must be applied post filling of the syringe.
Prefilled syringes tend to be shipped to pharma customers as ready-to-fill syringes, which are ones that have been thoroughly cleaned inside and outside after the forming processes and attachment of a needle and then placed in sealed tubs that are then sterilized and shipped to the pharma customers ready for filling with a medicine. The syringe tubs may contain 100 to 160 syringes each with a geometrical spacing and access that is consistent with established syringe handling equipment. A safety device applied to the syringe must not obscure the optical inspection systems that are in place to check the syringes prior to filling them with medication.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a needle guard for a syringe having the safety device triggering mechanism independent of the syringe and stopper tolerances, and that assembles to the syringe without adversely affecting the syringe position with respect to the syringe handling tub or the way the handling equipment conveys the syringes during filling and packaging nor impedes the inspection processes.


Apparatus for forming a dough strand from a preferably large-volume dough mixture (28) has a receptacle (2) for holding this dough mixture, which is provided at the bottom with a discharge opening (4) for the dough. Connected to this discharge opening are two shafts (6) arranged so as to be parallel to one another and driven in opposite directions in order to effect a downward movement of the dough. The shafts (6) are provided with profiles acting on the dough which are formed by star arms (5). The shafts (6) are arranged so as to be fixed and are driven in a timed manner for the rotary movement. The star arms (5), of which there is an even number for each shaft (6), in the position directed towards one another block the downward flow of dough therethrough over the major part of the axial length of the shaft (6). The star arms (5) of each shaft (6) are, however, provided at the shaft ends alternately with cutouts (10) for the flow of the dough therethrough during the pauses in the timed rotary movement of the shafts (6). Underneath the shafts (6) are arranged two depositing belts (12) in the longitudinal direction of the shafts and spaced apart from one another, which belts are drivable for circulatory movement in opposite directions and for preferably joint reciprocal displacement in the longitudinal direction thereof.

The invention relates to an apparatus for forming a dough strand from a preferably large-volume dough mixture, comprising a receptacle for holding the dough mixture, which is provided at the bottom with a discharge opening for the dough, to which two shafts are connected, arranged so as to be fixed parallel to one another and driven in opposite directions in a timed manner in order to effect a downward movement of the dough, the shafts being provided with profiles acting on the dough in the form of an even number of star arms for each shaft.
An apparatus of this kind is known from AT 283235 B.
In bakeries it is often necessary to form a dough strand from a dough mixture. This dough mixture mostly has a large volume, dependent on the size of the kneader with which the dough mixture has been processed. Usual large volumes are about 80 to 240 kg. In order to form dough strands of this kind, separating strips from the dough mixture by means of reciprocating cutters is known, the strips being lined up one after another overlapping and thereby forming a continuous ribbon of dough. However, this ribbon of dough does not have a uniform thickness at the overlap points, so that subsequent processing is required, causing further undesirable demands to be made on the dough.
Extruding the dough through a nozzle is also known, the nozzle cross-section determining the cross-section of the strand of dough to be produced. This procedure also has the disadvantage of considerable demands being made on the dough.
Finally, forming a continuous ribbon of dough from a large volume of dough by means of moving profiled roller pairs is known (EP 744 126 B). Here too, however, considerable undesirable demands made on the dough result.


Benzamide compounds and derivatives thereof, as can be used for selective inhibition of the SIRT2 enzyme and/or therapeutic use in the treatment of Huntington's disease.

Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant inherited neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by progressive motor dysfunction, emotional disturbances, dementia, and weight loss. There currently is no treatment for delaying the onset of the disease or for slowing the progression of HD. Management of HD is focused on symptom reduction, and the only drug approved by the FDA is tetrabenazine, which is indicated to suppress involuntary movements (chorea) but does not slow the disease progression. The disease is caused by an elongated CAG trinucleotide repeat expansion located within exon 1 of the IT-15 gene encoding huntingtin, a 350-kDa protein of unknown function. The CAG repeat is translated into a polyglutamine (polyQ) stretch. In HD patients, huntingtin is expressed with 38-180 glutamine residues, whereas in healthy individuals the protein is synthesized with 8-37 glutamine residues. The accumulation of ubiquitinated polyQ-containing huntingtin aggregates in neuronal inclusions causes the death of affected neurons and has emerged as a pathologic hallmark of HD Inhibiting polyQ aggregation has exhibited some efficacy in vivo in both Drosophila and mouse models of HD, which suggests that inhibition of neuronal polyQ aggregation might be therapeutic in HD patients.
Sirtuins comprise a family of protein deacetylase enzymes that have been shown to impact longevity in a number of eukaryotic species. The role for sirtuins as therapeutic targets in age-dependent neurodegenerative disorders has recently emerged, primarily as a result of their functions as regulators of metabolism and subsequent effects on longevity. SIRT2, one of the seven human sirtuins so far identified, belongs to the class III histone deacetylases (HDAC), which couple hydrolysis of acetyllysine residues with NAD hydrolysis. Known substrates of SIRT2 include α-tubulin, FOXO1, FOXO3a, P523, and histones 3 and 4. (See, e.g., Taylor, D. M.; Maxwell, M. M.; Luthi-Carter, R.; Kazantsev, A. G. Biological and potential therapeutic roles of sirtuin deacetylases. Cell Mol. Life Sci. 2008, 65, 24, 4000 4018; and North, B. J.; Marshall, B. L.; Borra, M. T.; Denu, J. M.; Verdin, E. The human Sir2 ortholog, SIRT2, is an NAD+-dependent tubulin deacetylase. Mol. Cell 2003, 11, 2, 437 444.) SIRT2 level is sharply increased during neurodevelopment, remains strikingly high in mature brain, and accumulates in the aged CNS. Chemical inhibition of SIRT2 changes protein inclusion body characteristics and increases neuronal survival in animal models of Parkinson's disease. It also achieves neuroprotection in cellular and invertebrate models of HD and leads to increased acetylation of its substrate α-tubulin, a major component of microtubules, subsequently leading to neuroprotective transcriptional modulation of metabolic pathways and to reduction of polyQ inclusions in HD primary neurons by decreasing sterol biosynthesis.
Cell-based high-throughput and in silico screening identified small-molecule sulfobenzoic acid derived inhibitors of polyQ aggregation and SIRT2 (FIG. 1). C2-8 inhibited polyQ aggregation in brain slices from R6/2 HD transgenic mice at sub-micromolar concentrations, reversed the effects of neurodegeneration in a fruit fly model of HD, crossed the blood brain bather following oral administration, inhibited huntingtin (htt) aggregation in vivo in the striatum by 25-30% in R6/2 mice, effectively suppressed aggregation in a cell-based model with an EC50=50 nM, significantly reduced striatal neuron loss in R6/2 mice and improved their clinical phenotype, markedly reduced htt aggregation by 50% in the 140 CAG knock-in model of HD, which is much more analogous to human HD, and was not toxic in acute and chronic tolerability studies. (See, e.g., Chopra, V.; Fox, J. H.; Lieberman, G.; Dorsey, K.; Matson, W.; Waldmeier, P.; Housman, D. E.; Kazantsev, A.; Young, A. B.; Hersch, S. A small-molecule therapeutic lead for Huntington's disease: preclinical pharmacology and efficacy of C2-8 in the R6/2 transgenic mouse. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2007, 104, 42, 16685-16689.) AK-1 was neuroprotective in C. elegans and Drosophila HD models and inhibited polyQ aggregation in primary rat striatal neurons expressing the mutant huntingtin fragment delivered by a lentivirus and selectively inhibited SIRT2 at low micromolar concentrations (IC50=12.5 μM). (See, e.g., Taylor, D. M.; Balabadra, U.; Xiang, Z.; Woodman, B.; Meade, S.; Amore, A.; Maxwell, M. M.; Reeves, S.; Bates, G. P.; Luthi-Carter, R.; Lowden, P. A.; Kazantsev, A. G. A brain-permeable small molecule reduces neuronal cholesterol by inhibiting activity of sirtuin 2 deacetylase. ACS Chem. Biol. 2011, 6, 6, 540-546.) In silico screening of a ChemBridge diverse library identified AK-7, the first brain-permeable selective SIRT2 inhibitor (IC50=15.5 μM) that reduces cholesterol in neuronal models and protects an in vitro model of HD. (Id.)
Notwithstanding the excellent pharmacologic properties of such sulfobenzoic acid derivatives, further lead optimization of the scaffold is required for CNS drug development to achieve increased potency and metabolic stability, en route to preclinical efficacy testing in HD. For instance, C2-8, AK-1, and AK-7 are characterized by the low aqueous solubility, high c log P, and low plasma and microsomal metabolic stability. As a result, there remains an on-going need for medicinal chemistry modification to, for instance: (1) enhance potency and favorable pharmacokinetic properties; (2) enhance the water solubility (lower the log P) and lower the molecular weight; (3) probe chemical space to define a structure activity relationship (SAR).

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Benzamide compounds and related methods of use


A sequence of K voltage samples of a transmitted data signal is generated by sampling, digitizing, and storing voltage samples of the data signal with an imbedded sample clock on an IC having an unknown period TS. The K voltage samples are plotted against a time base of K sequential times TB[K] normalized so all samples fall within one cycle of the data clock used to generate the data signal or a unit time of 1. The time base is generated by estimating the sample clock period TSE to be some multiple of 1/P where P is greater than K. Eye diagrams are analyzed for time jitter wherein only the minimum value of jitter is saved. TSE is incremented by 1/P until TS is greater than one half the data clock period. The eye diagram at the TSE with the minimum time jitter is used to analyze the data channels.

Digital computer systems have a history of continually increasing the speed of the processors used in the system. As computer systems have migrated towards multiprocessor systems, sharing information between processors and memory systems has also generated a requirement for increased speed for the off-chip communication networks. Designers usually have more control over on-chip communication paths than for off-chip communication paths. Off-chip communication paths are longer, have higher noise, impedance mismatches, and have more discontinuities than on-chip communication paths. Since off-chip communication paths are of lower impedance, they require more current and thus more power to drive.
When using inter-chip high-speed signaling, noise and coupling between signal lines (crosstalk) affects signal quality. One way to alleviate the detrimental effects of noise and coupling is through the use of differential signaling. Differential signaling comprises sending a signal and its complement to a differential receiver. In this manner, noise and coupling affect both the signal and the complement equally. The differential receiver only senses the difference between the signal and its complement as the noise and coupling represent common mode signals. Therefore, differential signaling is resistant to the effects that noise and crosstalk have on signal quality.
When high speed data is transmitted between chips, the signal lines are characterized by their transmission line parameters. High speed signals are subject to reflections if the transmission lines are not terminated in an impedance that matches the transmission line characteristic impedance. Reflections may propagate back and forth between driver and receiver and reduce the margins when detecting signals at the receiver. Some form of termination is therefore usually required for all high-speed signals to control overshoot, undershoot, and increase signal quality. For differential signaling, parallel transmission lines are used. Each transmission line may be terminated with respect to their individual characteristic impedance or the differential pair may be terminated with a resistance between the two transmission lines equal to the differential line impedance.
Transmission line systems are characterized by noise, propagation speed, losses, and reflections due to imperfect terminations. Therefore, received signals do not transition between logic levels in a repeatable fashion. Even when triggered to transition to a logic level at the same clock time, line drivers may not do so exactly the same every time. These variations in timing and voltage levels may be viewed by using an oscilloscope system to view a received signal in a time window. A snapshot of the signal during this time window may be displayed by triggering the oscilloscope system to start the time sweep at a clock time synchronous with the clock that generated the data signal. The resulting logic state transitions of the data signal will appear as an "eye diagram" wherein the rise and fall times and the logic one and logic zero voltage levels will be "smeared" to an extent depending on their variability with respect to the triggering clock transitions and any variability in the measuring system.
There is no "one" eye diagram for a data transmission system as the resulting display will depend on how the clock trigger signal at the receiver was derived. Some examples of possible trigger signals are the following:                1) a clock signal trigger at the same rate and synchronous with the data signal.        2) a divided clock trigger signals at some divide ratio of the data rate often related to a power of 2, e.g., 4, 16, etc.        3) a pattern trigger which is a signal that provides a trigger once per pattern repetition.        4) the data itself may be used as a trigger.        5) lastly, the trigger signal is derived by using clock recovery on the data signal.
Each of these methods provide different results when used to construct the eye pattern. The clock trigger in 1) provides a classical eye diagram containing all possible bit transitions in one display. The divided clock trigger in 2) also produces an eye diagram, and this may be useful when the instrument being used to generated the eye diagram has a trigger input bandwidth lower than the data rate of the signal being viewed. This method will produce a good eye diagram unless the pattern length of the data signal divided by the divide ratio is an integer. In this cases the trigger signal will coincide with the same bits in the pattern each time while consistently missing other parts of the pattern. This will lead to an incomplete eye diagram.
The pattern trigger in 3) is used to display individual bits in the data pattern. If the pattern is long and the view time encompasses only a few bit transitions, then a particular group of bits will be viewed each triggered sweep. To view the entire pattern, requires that the view time trigger be delayed from the pattern trigger. This is done using the scope time base and may lead to increased apparent jitter on the displayed signal due to weaknesses in the time base circuitry.
Triggering on the data in 4) is the least desirable method of constructing the eye diagram and should only be used as a quick look-see. Long runs of identical characters provide no transitions to trigger from and so a complete eye diagram is almost impossible to achieve.
Triggering on a recovered clock in 5) while entailing increased complexity does have some advantages as listed:                Works well when the actual clock signal is not available        In cases when the distance between transmitter and receiver is very long, the relationship between the received data and transmit clock may be corrupted        Some standards require analysis of the eye diagram as "seen" by the receiver, especially for jitter testing
Circuits that are used for clock recovery typically have a loop bandwidth that removes jitter from the recovered clock signal that is present on the data signal. Depending on the measurements to be made this affect may be good or bad and needs to be understood.
Narrow loop bandwidth in clock recovery gives a stable clock as the reference and any jitter in the data eye diagram will be displayed. This is a useful absolute measure but might not properly represent the jitter "seen" by a real system if the receiver also uses clock recovery to track the data to remove jitter.
Wide loop bandwidth lets through more of the jitter in the recovered clock signal. This results in the recovered clock tracking the jitter in the data signal so that the resulting eye diagram may have very little jitter present. Conversely, if there is delay between the data signal and the trigger signal, then the delayed recovered clock trigger may be moving in opposite direction from the data signal resulting in the eye diagram showing twice as much jitter as was present on the data signal.
While these various ways of generating a trigger signal result in variable eye diagrams, most measurement standards specify what type of trigger scheme is required to make particular measurements.
While eye diagrams provide accessible and intuitive view of parametric performance, data systems are ultimately judged on their ability to transmit data with low error rates. Error testing will provide an overall measure of how well a system is performing but does little to help in understanding the underlying causes for lower that expected performance.
A perfect eye diagram would show all parametric aspects of all possible bit sequences no matter how infrequent some effects may occur. This would result in a "high information depth." However, eye diagrams are typically composed of voltage/time samples of the original data that are acquired at some sample rate that may be orders of magnitude slower that the actual data rate. For sampling oscilloscopes, this may be 105 samples per second for a 10 Gb/s (digital pattern 1010) rate. This means that the eye diagrams so acquired would be "information shallow."
This becomes a problem when issues arise that are occur infrequently. For example, these may be pattern related, noise related, or may be related to other effects such as crosstalk and other forms of interference. These conditions may not present themselves on a sampled oscilloscope eye pattern but may operate to prevent a transmission link from achieving desired performance levels. For example, a transmission link may be required to have better than one error in 1012 while the acquired eye diagrams struggle to show events with probabilities below an occurrence rate of 1 in 105.
Eye diagrams provide useful information about characteristics of transmitted data signals and a variety of techniques have been developed to generate and analyze eye diagram data. Integrated circuits (ICs) have I/O speeds that make it desirable to use the techniques without having to interface the signals under test over long distances to a tester. It obviously would be desirable to acquire the voltage/time data on-chip and then have the ability to reconstruct the eye-diagram without the limitations of a display oscilloscope.
Modern computer systems can have hundreds of communication channels per die, making it impractical to view the eye diagram of each individual channel using external test equipment. One solution might be to incorporate components used in a traditional sampling oscilloscope (i.e., trigger, delay line and sampler) near the termination or sample latch of each receiver. However, distribution of a high speed synchronous trigger signal across hundreds of channels is impractical. If the system clock or a locally recovered clock is used, then a variable delay line is required for each sampler. In modern CMOS processes, it is exceptionally difficult to realize a delay line with both fine resolution (i.e., less than an inverter delay—a few picoseconds) and with a large delay range (hundreds of picoseconds). Delay lines often have poor accuracy, high power dissipation and large area, making them impractical for use on a per-channel bases.
In addition, the frequency of the system clock is often dithered slightly to avoid radiation at a particular frequency. In synchronous links, the system clock is common so the frequency deviation is tracked across all communication links. In asynchronous systems, a clock and data recovery block is used on a per channel basis to track the frequency offset of any incoming data signal. Any solution for measuring the eye diagram must have the ability to overcome frequency drift.
There is, therefore, a need for a method of acquiring the data necessary to construct an eye diagram using low power, area efficient, on-chip circuitry that does not require either specific clock frequency synchronization or a highly stable clock source.

Generating an eye diagram of integrated circuit transmitted signals