An image storage and display system transmits required image data such as original image data and irreversible compressed image data expediently. Original image data input to the image server from the input modality is subjected to a data compression process by the server computer ad irreversible compressed image data having a decompression ratio of 1/20, 1/50, etc. is thereby produced. In this way, three versions of image data, original image data, and two irreversible compressed image data having different compression ratios are created for a single image and stored in a temporary storage medium. A request is issued from a workstation, connected to the image server via a network, for transmission of the version of image data to be acquired, and the requested image data is read out from the temporary storage medium, transmitted to the workstation and displayed on a monitor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image storage and display system, and more particularly to an image storage and display system having a workstation and an image server storing a plurality of medical image data connected via a network, for use in a medical network.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are in use in the medical field today apparatus (modalities) for forming X-ray and other diagnostic images used in a variety of diagnosis, including CR (computed Radiography) apparatus, CT (Computerized Tomography) apparatus, MRI (Medical Resonance Imagery) apparatus, etc. The image data produced in each modality is displayed on a CRT terminal (hereinafter referred to simply as a CRT), or output by a laser printer, etc. to film, etc. for use by a reader at a medical treatment site in ascertaining the presence or absence of a disease, tissue damage, etc.
In addition, recent advances in computer and communications technology have seen the deployment of medical network systems (hereinafter referred to simply as networks) in hospitals and other facilities. Therefore, whereas in the past the aforementioned modalities were used only on a stand-alone basis, now they are connected to a network as image input apparatus, and CRTs, laser printers, etc., as image output apparatus.
Aside from aforementioned image input and output apparatus, also connected to such a network is an image server equipped with recording means for recording image data output by the image output devices, as it is, or after it has been subjected to a predetermined data-compression process, to a storage medium such as a hard disk, a RAID (Random Array of Inexpensive Disks), an optical disk: CD-R, DVD, DLT (Digital Linear Tape); etc. Image data input to such an image server is temporarily recorded on a high output-speed temporary storage medium (referred to as a short-term storage medium) such as a hard disk or a RAID, and after the set conditions have been satisfied (such as the passage of a predetermined period of several weeks to several months after a doctor has completed diagnosis employing an image), the image data is compressed and recorded on a storage medium such as an optical disk, etc. (archive), for semi-permanent storage. This is because the price of the temporary storage medium is comparatively high, and therefore high costs are incurred in expanding the storage capacity thereof. Furthermore, data management of image data thus stored in the image server, such as transferring image data from a temporary storage medium to an archive, etc. is conducted by a database.
In such a network, predetermined image data is transmitted from the image server to a workstation connected to the network in response to a request from the workstation. In this way, it is possible to display at the workstation image data required for diagnosis. Further, because image data obtained by aforementioned input modalities is stored in a short-term storage medium before aforementioned set conditions are satisfied, it can be read out at a comparatively high speed; therefore, if there is a request from the workstation, the image data can be expeditiously transmitted to the workstation. In addition, not only the internal network of a hospital, but also a computer at a doctors residence, for example, can be connected via a communications circuit such as a telephone line to enable image data to be read out from the image server in order to carry out so-called remote diagnosis (teleradiology). However, compared to the dedicated lines composing the internal hospital network, data transmitted over aforementioned communications circuits is transmitted at a slower rate, and therefore the time required for downloading image data is longer. In order to improve transmission efficiency of diagnostic images to be utilized for remote diagnosis, it is proposed to provide for transmission of image data that has been determined in advanced to be the desired image data and which has been subjected to a comparatively high-rate data-compression process, and to provide notification upon completion of transmission, using the so-called push-style.
On the one hand, as a type of diagnosis, images obtained in the present are compared to images obtained in the past in a comparative diagnosis. When such comparative diagnosis is performed, it is necessary to acquire the past image data from the image server. Because image data stored in the short-term storage medium is transferred in the long-term storage medium after the set conditions have been satisfied, to acquire the past image data it is necessary to search for the past image data in the long-term storage medium, copy it to the short-term image medium and then transmit it to the workstation.
On the other hand, the so-called pre-fetch procedure in which the past image data is copied to the short-term storage medium in advance, according to an examination schedule, etc., is performed. However, for emergency cases, etc., if there is a request for past image data that is not in the schedule, in the same way described above, the past image data must be acquired by searching for it in the long-term storage medium, copying it to the short-term image medium and then transmitting it to the workstation.
Accordingly, it takes time for the past image data to be displayed at the workstation.
In addition, because aforementioned past image data is subjected to a comparatively high-rate data compression process, it is degraded in image quality compared to the original image data. However, high image-quality past image data is desired for use in carrying out comparative diagnosis. However, because the original image data is deleted after aforementioned set conditions have been satisfied, it has not been possible to view high image-quality images obtained in the past.
Further, for cases in which remote diagnosis is to be performed, because the communications circuit over which image data is transmitted has a low data-transmission rate, it is preferable that the compression ratio of such image data is high. However, only past image data is compressed at a high compression rate and stored, and when remote diagnosis is to be performed, the image data obtained in the present must be subjected to a data-compression process and then transmitted; therefore, long transmission times are required.


A system on a development computer system that sends commands over a network to a target computer system to cause the target computer system to compile code from the development computer system. Before sending compiler parameters to the target computer system, the system converts all the command line compiler parameters into a neutral parameter format and then into a format usable on the target computer system. Compile errors are converted into a neutral format and then into a format that is usable by the system on the development computer system. This allows a developer using the development computer system to perform the compile and receive error messages as if the compile were being performed on the development computer system. The system also converts the file names for the source file and any other desirable files to allow the target computer system to access the source files located on the development computer system over the network.

Software is often developed using multiple types of computer systems. For example, large organizations have mainframe computers, workstation computers, departmental server computers, and personal computers being used by individuals within the organization. While this diversity allows tremendous flexibility to meet price and performance needs for various computing functions, it adds complexity to the application development process.
Many development organizations require a Unix.TM. system on an engineer's desk for software development, and a personal computer on the same desk for office automation tasks. This effectively doubles the cost per engineer to the organization. In addition, all of these computer systems must be supported, which further increases the amount of support training and system administration staff needed by the organization. It also increases the amount of developer training necessary for using multiple development environments, as well as for the new technology.
In prior art systems, when software needs to be developed for a particular target computer system, there were two options. The first option is to develop the software on the target computer system, using existing text editors, compilers, etc. for the target computer system. This works very well when code is being developed only for one target computer system. However, when code needs to be developed that will run on several different target computer systems, it requires that each of these computer systems be accessible to the developer. For most efficient use of the developer's time, each of the target computer systems must also be present on the developer's desk, which is expensive, and sometimes difficult to arrange.
One difficulty with developing on several different computer systems, is that the developer must learn the environment of each of the target computer systems. This is time consuming, and if a developer moves often between different environments, this can become very confusing. Furthermore, the source code for the project must also be moved to each environment and in some cases, this is difficult or impossible.
A second option available when developing code for a target computer system is to use a cross compiler, which is a compiler that executes on one type of computer system but creates executable programming code for a second type of computer system. This may be the only option where the target computer system is too small to have a self-contained editor and compiler. When the target computer system is itself a larger computer system, cross compilers are not often available, so this option is not feasible.
There is need in the art then for a system that will allow development of code on one computer system while targeting a second computer system or more than one computer system. There is further need in the art for such a system that sends the code to the target computer system to be compiled, thus avoiding the need for a cross compiler. A further need is for such a system that retains the user environment of the development computer system while developing code for more than one target computer system. The present invention meets these and other needs in the art.

Remote compiling of source code for cross development


An electric vehicle thermal management system includes a dynamic heat dissipating unit, an air conditioner unit, a heat exchange unit, and a control unit. The heat exchange unit is connected to the dynamic heat dissipating unit and the air conditioner unit for transferring heat therebetween. The control unit adjusts the flow rate of a coolant in the dynamic heat dissipating unit for controlling and adjusting the heat dissipating ability of the dynamic heat dissipating unit to meet the heat dissipation of the system, thereby improving distribution and management of heat energy in the system.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a thermal management system, and more particularly to a thermal management system for an electric vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heat energy of an electric vehicle needs to be managed to avoid heat accumulation which easily causes damage to the components of the vehicle due to overheat, and to transfer heat of an air conditioner installed within the vehicle. Hence, it is desirable to distribute and manage effectively heat energy during running of an electric vehicle.

Thermal management system for an electric vehicle


An information processing terminal includes a recognition unit that recognizes an identifier projected over an image, an acquisition unit that acquires data of an object corresponding to the identifier, a processing unit that changes the orientation of the object according to the positional relationship between the information processing terminal itself and the identifier specified based on the image and, when it is no longer able to recognize the identifier, changes the orientation of the object according to the positional relationship between the information processing terminal itself and the identifier specified based on sensor data, and a display control unit that causes the object of which the orientation is changed according to the positional relationship between the information processing terminal itself and the identifier to be displayed over the image in a superimposed manner.

The present disclosure relates to an information processing terminal, an information processing method, and a program, and particularly to an information processing terminal, an information processing method, and a program that enables continuous display of information corresponding to an identifier even when it is no longer able to recognize the identifier.
In recent years, attention has been paid to technologies pertaining to an extended sense of reality (or AR (Augmented Reality)). Among AR applications, there is one that recognizes an object in an image captured by a user using a so-called smartphone, or the like, and displays information on the recognized object in the captured image in a superimposed manner.
Capturing a two-dimensional marker printed on an advertising poster for a product, for example, a user can find details of the product from superimposed information displayed over an image of the poster on a display. Such a two-dimensional marker indicates predetermined information with a pattern having a white region and a black region. By encoding the information that it is desired to show, a pattern with a white region and a black region is decided upon. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-204047 is an example of the above-described related art.

Information processing terminal, information processing method, and program


A system and method for controlling a process includes simulating the process and producing a simulated output of the process, developing a set of target values based on measured inputs from the process and based on the simulated output from the process simulator, and producing multiple control outputs configured to control the process based on the set of target values during each operational cycle of the process control system. The simulated outputs include one or more predicted future values up to the steady state of the process.

Process control systems are widely used in factories and/or plants in which products are manufactured or processes are controlled (e.g., chemical manufacturing, power plant control, etc.). Process control systems are also used in the harvesting of natural resources such as, for example, oil and gas drilling and handling processes, etc. In fact, virtually any manufacturing process, resource harvesting process, etc. can be automated through the application of one or more process control systems. It is believed the process control systems will eventually be used more extensively in agriculture as well.
Process control systems, like those used in chemical, petroleum or other processes, typically include one or more centralized or decentralized process controllers communicatively coupled to at least one host or operator workstation and to one or more process control and instrumentation devices, such as field devices, via analog, digital or combined analog/digital buses. Field devices, which may be, for example valves, valve positioners, switches, transmitters, and sensors (e.g., temperature, pressure and flow rate sensors), perform functions within the process such as opening or closing valves and measuring process parameters. The process controller receives signals indicative of process measurements or process variables made by or associated with the field devices and/or other information pertaining to the field devices, uses this information to implement a control routine and then generates control signals which are sent over one or more of the buses to the field devices to control the operation of the process. Information from the field devices and the controller is typically made available to one or more applications executed by an operator workstation to enable an operator to perform desired functions with respect to the process, such as viewing the current state of the process, modifying the operation of the process, etc.
The various devices within the process plant may be interconnected in physical and/or logical groups to create a logical process, such as a control loop. Likewise, a control loop may be interconnected with other control loops and/or devices to create sub-units. A sub-unit may be interconnected with other sub-units to create a unit, which in turn, may be interconnected with other units to create an area. Process plants generally include interconnected areas, and business entities generally include process plants which may be interconnected. As a result, a process plant includes numerous levels of hierarchy having interconnected assets, and a business enterprise may include interconnected process plants. In other words, assets related to a process plant, or process plants themselves, may be grouped together to form assets at higher levels.
Process controllers are typically programmed to execute different algorithms, sub routines or control loops (which are all control routines) for each of a number of different loops defined for, or contained within a process, such as flow control loops, temperature control loops, pressure control loops, etc. Generally speaking, each such control loop includes one or more input blocks, such as an analog input (AI) function block, a single output control block, such as a proportional integral derivative (PID) or a fuzzy logic control function block, and a single output block, such as an analog output (AO) function block. These control loops typically perform single input/single output control because the control block creates a single control output used to control a single process input, such as a valve position, etc. However, in certain cases, the use of a number of independently operating, single input/single output control loops is not very effective because the process variables being controlled are affected by more than a single process input and, in fact, each process input may affect the state of many process outputs. For example, single input/single output control loops cause the process outputs to behave in an unacceptable manner wherein the outputs oscillate without ever reaching a steady state condition.
Optimization of the industrial processes has been used to determine the most optimal solution to a particular problem, taking into account maximization of plant revenues, limit emissions, minimize production costs, etc. while meeting customer demands for different products and staying within the limits of resources and equipment. Optimizers have been developed since 1960s. However, problems involved in optimization include selecting one or more optimization variables, choosing an objective function and identifying the set of constraints, such as the examples provided above. Accordingly, the constraints for the problem limit the solution.
Real-Time Optimizers (RTOs) have been used to optimize process functions. Generally, RTO utilizes linear and nonlinear high fidelity models which generally requires substantial development and maintenance efforts. However, difficulties associated with implementing RTO result in few successful installations, much less than successful installations associated with model predictive control (MPC) implementations.
Model predictive control (MPC) or other types of advanced control have been used to perform process control in situations in which changes to a particular controlled process variable affects more than one process variable or output. Since the late 1970s, many successful implementations of model predictive control have been reported and MPC has become the primary form of advanced multivariable control in the process industry. Still further, MPC control has been implemented within distributed control systems as distributed control system layered software. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,616,308 and 4,349,869 generally describe MPC controllers that can be used within a process control system. A typical MPC applies an optimizer for economic optimization and constraints handling.
Generally speaking, MPC is a multiple input/multiple output control strategy in which the effects of changing each of a number of process inputs on each of a number of process outputs is measured and these measured responses are then used to create a control matrix or a model of the process. The process model or control matrix (which generally defines the dynamic operation of the process) is inverted mathematically and is then used in or as a multiple input/multiple output controller to control the process outputs based on changes made to the process inputs. In some cases, the process model is represented as a process output response curve (typically a step response curve) for each of the process inputs and these curves may be created based on a series of, for example, pseudo random step changes delivered to each of the process inputs. These response curves can be used to model the process in known manners. Model predictive control is known in the art and, as a result, the specifics thereof will not be described herein. However, MPC is described generally in Qin, S. Joe and Thomas A. Badgwell, "An Overview of Industrial Model Predictive Control Technology," AIChE Conference, 1996.
MPC has been found to be a very effective and useful control technique and has used in conjunction with process optimization. To optimize a process which uses MPC, an optimizer minimizes or maximizes one or more process input variables determined by the MPC routine so as to cause the process to run at an optimal point. While this technique is computationally possible, it is necessary to select the process variables that have, for example, a significant impact on improving the economic operation of the process (e.g. process throughput or quality) to optimize the process from an economic standpoint. Operating the process at an optimal point from a financial or economic viewpoint typically requires controlling many process variables in conjunction with one another, not just a single process variable. The successful implementation of optimizer with MPC can be contributed to such factors as ease of implementing process modeling applied with MPC, integration with the configuration system, MPC feedback used for modeling correction, and utilization of the model prediction of the process steady state in the optimization model. Of these four factors, integration with the configuration system is a significant factor. The configuration system specifies what equipment is available, how the equipment is configured and specifies constraints associated with the equipment.
In most cases when using MPC, the number of manipulated variables available within the process (i.e., the control outputs of the MPC routine) is greater than the number of control variables of the process (i.e., the number of process variables that must be controlled to be at a particular set point). As a result, there are usually more degrees of freedom that are available for optimization and constraint handling. Theoretically, to perform such optimization, values expressed by process variables, constraints, limits and economic factors defining an optimal operation point of the process should be calculated. In many cases, these process variables are constrained variables because they have limits related to physical properties of the process to which they pertain and within which these variables must be kept. For example, a process variable representing tank level is limited to the maximum and minimum levels of the actual tank physically achievable. An optimizing function may calculate the costs and/or profits associated with each of the constrained or auxiliary variables to operate at a level in which profit is maximized, costs are minimized, etc. Measurements of these auxiliary variables can then be provided as inputs to the MPC routine and treated by the MPC routine as control variables having a set point equal to the operational point for the auxiliary variable defined by the optimization routine.
Utilizing the predicted steady state in the optimizer makes it possible to perform optimization without calculating modeled process derivatives, which is a complex and error-prone operation. In normal operating conditions, the MPC optimizer provides an optimal economic solution with an acceptable ranges and limits. However, if the solution does not exist within the predefined ranges and limits, the process optimizer is unable to provide a solution. As a consequence, the process optimizer is unable to provide a solution in every circumstance.
Process simulation in an operating process environment has also been used as process design tools, and have successfully found their way to process control, including operator training, control strategy designing and testing, process optimization and related applications. Introduction of concurrent simulation techniques has extended the simulation concept and its areas of applicability. In particular, with concurrent simulation, a process is simulated concurrently with its operation, thereby creating a simulated process "shadow". Various simulation techniques may be used with this approach, from high Fidelity first principal models to the "black box" generic modeling. For example, it is known to implement process simulation using HYSYS (a high fidelity simulation program) when designing a plant and to later use that same simulation to assist in performing plant operations. Concurrent simulation allows continuous feedback updates of the modeling results from the process measurements, resulting in superior performance and fidelity to be achieved, particularly compared to simple modeling techniques, such as step responses when concurrent simulation is not applied. As result, the cost of developing and running simulation is dramatically reduced, and is acceptable for common implementation process control systems. Process control systems with concurrent simulation features improved performance and extended functionality including intensive processing system diagnostics and optimization.
It would be useful to apply optimization at the concurrent simulation in a way to retain advantages of the MPC optimization. It would further be useful to provide a process optimizer that provides a solution in any circumstance, regardless of predefined ranges and limits. Existing recovery techniques are based on the priorities of the constrained and controlled variables. In particular, utilization of penalized slack variables may be useful in always, or almost always, providing a feasible solution to a constraint optimization problem.

Multi-objective predictive process optimization with concurrent process simulation


A holder for a remote control device for controlling electronic equipment as television and video cassette recorders. The holder protects the device while permitting ready access to the control buttons. Full adjustability is provided to enable the holder to accommodate devices of different widths, lengths and thicknesses.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hand held holder for remote control devices of the type used for controlling televisions, stereos, video cassette recorders and other similar type units.
It is customary for modern television receivers and similar electronic devices to be remotely controlled by the usually generally rectangular shaped remote control unit. As is well known, the unit includes a number of buttons by which the operator can control the selection, volume and other variables of the electronic device being operated. It is not unusual for the household to have a number of communication units being controlled and correspondingly a number of hand held control units.
These units are generally located around the home in whatever location they may be left after the prior use and finding a particular control device for a particular electronic communications system sometimes takes a certain amount of time. Also, the units are generally encased in a plastic container that is susceptible to being broken as by being stepped upon or other rough use that may result from inadvertence or children playing with the unit.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a holder for the remote control unit somewhat substantially larger than the unit so that it may be easily located and of sturdy and strong construction to prevent damage to the unit. The present invention is directed to such a holder for a remote control device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Representative of prior art patents is U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,609 that discloses an adjustable holder for a plurality of remote control devices. The holder is adjustable in that it can receive remote control units of various widths. U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,059 teaches and discloses a flexible remote control holder designed to protect the unit from impacts, shocks, etc. Another patented device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,256 which contemplates a remote control unit sheath into which the unit may be slid for protection.
None of these units of the prior art disclose a holder that will receive remote control units of various sizes and protect the unit from loss or impact damage as the present invention. The device hereinafter described is a structure that will conveniently receive a remote control unit of any of the conventional sizes and firmly hold it in position in a safe, protected manner. Further, it makes it more difficult to lose and easier to locate.


Techniques are described for providing rendition manifests for the playback of video content or other types of content on a user device. The response to a request for content may serially include data objects for one or more rendition manifests as Data Uniform Resource Indicators (URIs) or in another data format. By incorporating the data of the rendition manifest(s) in the response, implementations may forego a network request to retrieve the rendition manifest(s) and thus reduce the latency for presenting content. In some cases, the incorporated rendition manifest(s) may list locations for a subset of chunks of a content file, and the content may be marked as live content, to reduce the size of the response and further reduce latency. In some cases, locations for chunks from multiple content files may be included in a same set of one or more rendition manifests in the response.

As users gain access to faster network connections and computing devices with greater processing power, more users are opting to view video content that is streamed over a network from a streaming service. In some cases, a user may become impatient if a video fails to begin playing soon after it is requested, and the user may choose other streaming services to view the content. Accordingly, delays in video content presentation may lead to lower advertising revenue, lower subscription revenue, a reduced user base, or other adverse consequences.
Certain implementations and embodiments will now be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying figures, in which various aspects are shown. However, various aspects may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the implementations set forth herein. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

Embedded manifests for content streaming


The invention relates to the use of low levels of aliphatic primary and secondary amines to control air void formation in any polymerization reaction having carbonyl groups, and especially carboxylic acid ester group-containing monomers at a level of at least 10% of total monomer, where the monomer has a peak polymerization exotherm temperature of greater than the boiling point of the monomer. The primary or secondary amines are used in the polymerization mixture at levels of 100 to 5000 ppm, based on the carboxylic acid ester group-containing monomer. It is believed the primary and secondary amines hydrogen bond with the —C═O)O— containing monomer to increase the monomer boiling point, and decrease or even eliminate the formation of air voids due to monomer boiling. The invention is especially useful in polymerization of methymethacrylate polymers and copolymers, either neat, or as a polymer composite system.

The polymerization of carbonyl-containing vinyl monomers is an exothermic reaction. If the temperature of the reaction mixture exceeds the boiling point of the monomer(s), the monomer boils, resulting in undesirable bubble formation. In a viscous polymer system, the trapped bubbles remain in the solidified polymer product after polymerization as air voids. These air voids are defects that influence the mechanical properties of the cured polymer and compromise its long-term stability and aesthetics. This problem becomes more severe as the final articles become thicker, where heat transfer is more limited and the exotherm temperature gets higher. For a methyl methacrylate monomer system, exotherm temperature higher than 100° C. cause the formation of air voids.
Traditional methods for controlling the polymerization exotherm of carbonyl-containing monomer, such as PMMA and PMMA composites, involve conducting the polymerization in a mold surrounded by a cooling bath. Other strategies involve chemical methods such as the use of inhibitors and chain transfer agents. Although these chemical strategies can successfully reduce the exotherm temperature and lower air void formation, they interfere with the chemistry of polymerization by trapping the polymer radicals, which increases the cure time and reduce the molecular weight of the resulting polymer, causing a negative effect on polymer mechanical properties. There is a need for better strategies to mitigate the effect of the polymerization exotherm and lower or even eliminate air void formation in the cured polymer, while causing minimal or no impact on the cure kinetics and molecular weight of polymer. One system that is especially in need of such strategies is the polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) into polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and its copolymer.
Surprisingly it has been found that the addition of very low levels of one or more aliphatic primary and secondary amines in a MMA liquid resin system will reduce and even eliminate air void formation in the polymerized PMMA. The same effect is expected in any bulk polymerization involving carbonyl-containing monomers. While not being bound by any particular theory, it is believed that the addition of low levels of primary or secondary aliphatic amines, in which the amino groups act as hydrogen bonds donor, increases the boiling point of MMA, likely by forming hydrogen bonds with the MMA monomer. By increasing the boiling point of MMA above the temperature of the exotherm, air void formation can be eliminated. Depending on the chemical structure of the aliphatic amine, the low level of the additive in the composition either has little or no effect on the cure kinetics and molecular weight of the PMMA product.
While the application will focus on (meth)acrylic monomers, and in particular on polymers containing greater than 51 weight percent of methyl methacrylate, the principles and technical solution described would be expected to work efficiently in any polymerization involving at least 10% of carbonyl-containing monomers. The same mechanism achieving the same technical effect of controlling or eliminating air voids would be expected.

Air void control composition for carbonyl-containing monomer polymerization


A method and a device for controlling the speed of a motor vehicle and its distance from a vehicle travelling in front are provided. The speed is controlled as long as no vehicle travelling in front is located within a prescribed detection area in front of the vehicle and the distance from the vehicle travelling in front is controlled if a vehicle is located in the detection area. The desired distance for the distance control is set after an instruction for a lane change to the left has been triggered, to a value which is smaller than the value before this instruction was triggered, but is at least as large as a prescribed minimum distance. Alternatively, the actual acceleration of the vehicle is limited to a prescribed maximum value if a vehicle travelling in front moves out of the prescribed detection area in front of the vehicle during the time that an instruction for a lane change to the right is set. In this way, fast overtaking maneuvers can be performed within the control and/or lane changes to the right can be carried out without undesired acceleration effects.

The invention relates to a method for controlling the speed of a motor vehicle and its distance from a vehicle travelling in front, in which method the speed is controlled about a prescribed desired speed as long as no vehicle travelling in front is located within a prescribed detection area in front of the vehicle and the distance from a vehicle travelling in front is controlled about a prescribed desired distance as long as a vehicle travelling in front is located within the prescribed detection area in front of the vehicle. The invention further relates to a device which is operable for carrying out the method.
A method of this type is used in particular in speed regulators having distance control. In the absence of a vehicle travelling within a prescribed detection area in front of the vehicle, speed control is carried out in accordance with the mode of operation of a conventional speed regulator. As soon as a vehicle travelling in front is detected in the prescribed detection area at the front, the system switches over from the speed control to a distance control. The subsequent distance control ensures that a specific, usually speed-dependent distance from the vehicle travelling in front is maintained.
A method of this type is described in German Patent document 42 09 060 A1. In this reference, furthermore, provision is made for an adaption of the desired distance for the distance control to the driving characteristics, during which adaption the respective desired distance value is modified incrementally as a function of a reaction time which is derived from the driving characteristics and as a function of the detected speed of the vehicle itself. This is intended to permit prescribed values of the desired distance of the distance control which are more acceptable for the user because they are matched to his driving characteristics.
With these combined speed-control and distance-control methods, there are problems with respect to the characteristics when changing lanes. For example, an overtaking maneuver with the control method activated takes longer than in the case of manual driving. This is because in the manual mode the driver can already accelerate before the lane change, whereas when the method is activated, owing to the control of the distance from the vehicle which is travelling in front and is to be overtaken, it is necessary first to change lane before an acceleration is permitted. A further difficulty arises if, when the distance control is activated, the driver would like to change to a lane located further to the right. The method then changes from the distance control to the speed control as soon as the vehicle travelling in front has moved out of the detection area at the front. This may possibly result in the occurrence of a vehicle acceleration which is not desired by the driver in order to reach the desired speed which has been set. This is undesired in many cases, for example when turning into an exit lane of a motorway.
In German Patent document 42 00 694 A1, a method for speed and distance control of a vehicle is described. In this method, the current distance and the instantaneous speed are detected and desired values for distance and speed are determined from them and set. The longitudinal dynamics of the vehicle are controlled by a desired acceleration value which depends, in a situation-dependent manner, on the desired distance value and/or on the desired speed value. This makes it possible to effectively switch over between a distance control and a speed control. In this method, if the driver triggers an instruction for a lane change to the left, a previously active distance control is deactivated for a prescribed time period of, for example, two seconds. This makes it possible for the driver, in the case of an overtaking maneuver, already to accelerate the vehicle in the current lane if the distance drops below the normal safe distance from the vehicle travelling in front, which takes place for example controlled along a prescribable speed profile up to the speed desired by the driver. After this time period expires, the distance control or speed control is re-activated. If the driver triggers an instruction for a lane change to the right, the distance control is likewise deactivated. In this case, depending on what the driver's intention is detected to be, the instantaneous positive acceleration state is maintained or the vehicle is accelerated to the desired speed prescribed by the driver. This is insofar as the instantaneous influence of the distance control permits this.
In the Japanese Patent document JP 5-159198 (A), a method for controlling the speed of a motor vehicle is described. In this method, a required distance between vehicles is calculated as a function of the vehicle speed and the vehicle speed is controlled in order to bring about this distance. In the case of lane changes for overtaking a vehicle, the distance between the vehicles is changed to the required distance between the vehicles after a lane change has been completed, and is maintained up to the end of the overtaking maneuver. After the overtaking maneuver is terminated, the distance between the vehicles is successively lengthened in order to be set to the normal distance between the vehicles. In this way, a vehicle travelling behind is prevented from suddenly moving up close by maintaining the distance between the vehicles after a respective lane change.
The technical problem on which the invention is based is to provide a combined method for speed and distance control of the type mentioned at the beginning, which method has satisfactory control characteristics even when changing lanes, and to provide a device suitable for carrying out the method.
This problem is solved by a method for controlling a speed of a motor vehicle and its distance from a vehicle travelling in front. The speed is controlled about a prescribed desired speed as long as no vehicle travelling in front is located within a prescribed detection area in front of the vehicle. The distance from a vehicle travelling in front is controlled about a prescribed desired distance as long as a vehicle travelling in front is located within the prescribed detection area in front of the vehicle. After an instruction for a lane change to the left has been triggered, the desired distance for the distance control is set to a value which is smaller than a value before the instruction for a lane change to the left was triggered, but which is at least as large as a prescribed minimum distance. The method also operates such that after an instruction for a lane change to the left has been triggered, the system changes over from a distance control to an acceleration control and a minimum distance is prescribed. The acceleration control is terminated when the distance drops below the prescribed minimum distance and the system changes back over to a distance control. Further, the method operates such that if a vehicle travelling in front moves out of the prescribed detection area in front of the vehicle during a time that an instruction for a lane change to the right is set, the actual acceleration of the vehicle is limited to a maximum value.
The device for carrying out the method includes a speed control unit, a distance control unit, and a detector for a triggered lane change instruction. The device further includes a system which, after the triggering of an instruction for a lane change to the left has been detected, sets the desired distance for the distance control to a value which is smaller than the value before the instruction for a lane change to the left was triggered, but which is at least as large as a prescribed minimum distance. Alternatively or in addition thereto, the device includes a system for limiting the actual acceleration of the vehicle to a maximum value during the detection of a set instruction for a lane change to the right if a vehicle travelling in front moves out of the prescribed detection area in front of the vehicle.
By using the method according to the present invention, it is possible to carry out overtaking or passing maneuvers with the control method kept active just as quickly as in the case of manual driving. For this purpose, according to the method, a reduction of the desired distance for the distance control is provided at that moment at which an instruction for a lane change to the left is set, which indicates a desire to overtake or pass. The reduction of the desired distance with the distance control maintained has the result that the vehicle can already be accelerated in the initial overtaking phase in which it is still in the previous lane, as is correspondingly carried out by the driver in the case of a manually controlled overtaking maneuver. Here, if desired, the vehicle can be accelerated by the control method at the start of overtaking phases up to the prescribed desired speed of the speed control in the previous lane as long as the distance from the vehicle travelling in front permits this.
In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the reduced desired distance in the case of lane change instructions to the left, on the one hand always remains above a desired minimum distance and, on the other hand, is matched to the respective instantaneous situation by being reduced in proportion to the previous desired distance value which is itself known to be prescribed as a function of the driving situation, for example as a function of the driving characteristics, of the weather, of the vehicle's own speed and of the selected reaction time.
With the method according to the invention, it is contemplated that when an instruction for a lane change to the left has been detected, a previously activated distance control is terminated. At the same time, the system changes over to an acceleration control phase. In addition, a minimum distance from the vehicle travelling in front is prescribed which is smaller than the desired distance of the preceding distance control. The system changes back over from the acceleration control to the distance control if the distance drops below this minimum distance during the acceleration phase. In this way it is ensured that, even during the acceleration phase, a vehicle is automatically prevented from dangerously driving up too close to the vehicle travelling in front.
The method according to the invention prevents undesired acceleration effects in those cases in which, after a lane change to the right, a vehicle travelling in front and previously located in the detection area moves out of the detection area. For this purpose, the actual acceleration of the vehicle is limited to a prescribabale maximum value for the subsequent speed control.
An advantageous embodiment of the invention results in advantageous driving characteristics when changing lanes to the right in that a positive acceleration which may be present at the time when the lane change is requested is maintained and otherwise an acceleration-free lane change is executed.
According to the present invention, a device is provided for carrying out the methods.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Method and device for speed and distance control for a motor vehicle


The present invention provides a method and apparatus for changing the serial number of a replacement motherboard to that of a malfunctioning motherboard thus ensuring that application software are able to be executed on the workstation without interruption while providing assurances to software vendors that the workstation is permitted to run the application software. In an embodiment of the invention, an uninitialized serial number is stored in memory of the replacement motherboard at manufacture time. Once the replacement board is used to replace a malfunctioning motherboard, the uninitialized serial number is initialized by being replaced with the serial number of the malfunctioning motherboard. After initialization, no changes are permitted. In another embodiment of the invention, the workstation is forced to be rebooted after initialization. Here, however, changes to the initialized serial number will be allowed so long as the workstation has not been rebooted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a computer system and, more particularly, to a computer system having a motherboard with a serial number permitting executions of licensed software.
2. Description of the Related Art
Each workstation in a system has a unique serial number to identify itself from other workstations. The serial number is usually stored electronically on the workstation's motherboard. This number is often used by an operating system to create a unique name (i.e., UNAME) that is passed to an application software making a UNAME call. The application software uses the UNAME to ascertain whether a software license has been granted permitting the execution of the application software on the workstation.
Conventionally, the serial numbers were stored on workstations' motherboards using two methods. The first method was to store the serial number into a secure device such as an electronically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) located on the motherboard at manufacture time. This number was unchangeable since the serial number could only be read from the EEPROM. This, therefore, provided a level of security to software vendors knowing that only workstations with the proper permission were able to run the application software.
Typically, when a workstation's motherboard malfunctioned, it was replaced by a new motherboard which ordinarily had a different serial number. Using the new serial number, the operating system, then, created a UNAME which was different from the one expected by the application software. Accordingly, in order for the workstation to run the application software a new license had to be provided. This entailed contacting the software vendor and requesting the new license. This exercise usually translated into a loss of use of the software for a period of time which, often times, contributed to a loss of productivity.
The second method was to store the serial number in a lockable region in a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) or some similar technology on the motherboard. System firmware would lock the region to make it a read-only region before passing control to the operating system. This method allowed the serial number of a replacement motherboard to be changed to that of the original motherboard by running a utility software before passing control to the operating system. Hence after a motherboard replacement, the operating system continued to create proper UNAME allowing the application software to run on the workstation uninterrupted. However, since the serial number was able to be changed at a user's whims, the software vendors were not assured that proper licenses always existed for the software running on the workstations.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a method that allows serial numbers to be changed in case of motherboard replacements allowing application software to continue to run on workstations without interruption while assuring software vendors that licenses, permitting an application software to run on a workstation, exist.

Apparatus and method for protecting system serial number while allowing motherboard replacement

International Business Machines Corporation


A device is provided for managing the current consumption peak on each powering-up of a domain in an electronic circuit. A plurality of domains are present and a global power supply grid provides power. Each domain is selectively supplied by a local supply grid connected to the global supply grid via a plurality of commanded switch transistors. A pre-charge transistor is used to pre-charge a domain at powering-up. A command circuit controls operation of the switch transistors through an analog command signal whose slew rate is controlled to ensure that switch transistor conduction is delayed to enable the pre-charge circuit to charge the domain to a sufficient degree that activation of the switch transistor will not draw excessive current. A detection circuit is configured to compare the instant value of the supply voltage with a fixed reference supply voltage and/or to compare, with the value of a fixed command voltage, the instant value of the differential voltage between the global supply voltage and the command voltage.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to SOC systems ("System-On-Chip").
2. Description of Related Art
SOCs are the result of integrating a more complete system on one same chip. Several circuits are grouped together on one same chip to form a single electronic component, thereby avoiding having to use several chips to group the different circuits contributing towards the functioning of one same unit.
Each constituent block of a SOC is called an IP block (for Intellectual Property). An IP block is a virtual assembly of components representing the component integration know-how of a company (semiconductor manufacturer or other). The function to be integrated may be a physical, material function, or a software function (or both at the same time) of specific components. Conventionally, a distinction is made between types of blocks:                so-called "soft" IP blocks (for "software"), with a VHDL model for example (language for computer assisted design allowing a circuit to be modeled and simulated at different abstraction levels) which is used to the synthesize the circuit using a library of pre-characterized cells, and        so-called "hard" IP blocks (for "hardware") with a technology-targeted layout.
A third type of IP block, i.e., memories, can be added to these two block types.
SOC systems are likely to play an increasingly greater role in the telecommunications sector in particular. They form a fundamental technology for telecommunications equipment and determine the services which this equipment is able to provide. Technological advance has led to the commercial development of portable systems, i.e., battery-operated. Battery-run products require a sufficient reserve time. This reserve time can be increased by energy savings systems. e.g. idle or standby modes which are currently insufficient.
In parallel, the development of SOCs must also meet requirements for control of circuit consumption.
Several techniques intended to control consumption have been introduced. The principle developed here is not to place the circuit in idle mode but to cut off the power supply to the circuit, or part thereof, when the product or part thereof is not in use.
For as long as it receives power, an electronic circuit consumes energy even if it is not active, chiefly through leakage currents which are responsible for static consumption by the circuit. These leakage currents are increased with the decreasing size of components (transistors).
To optimize power distribution, and hence to save power, solutions have been put forward to split a circuit into several portions and to cut off the power supply to only part of the circuit, i.e., in one or more portions of the circuit not in use.
The electronic system developed in this manner consists of managing several power supply domains, the SOC being provided with means to cut off the supply to inactive parts (domains) of the circuit, while others remain active and hence are powered.
An SOC is an electronic circuit able to execute several functions, e.g., audio and/or video reading on a mobile telephone. Under normal conditions of use, all functions executable by the SOC are not executed simultaneously.
A function is executed by an IP block for example, or by a plurality of IP blocks.
An SOC is also designed as a circuit comprising a sum of power supply domains, called domains. A domain is therefore a sub-part of the SOC system and corresponds to one or several IP blocks, optionally even to only one part of a block in the case of a "soft" IP block.
A domain is therefore able to perform or execute one or more functions and a function may be performed or executed by one or more domains. However, as a general rule, a function is equivalent to a domain.
Power saving consists of cutting off the supply to areas corresponding to a non-used function, which in most cases amounts to cutting off the supply to the domain responsible for the function not in use.
The problem associated with this form of functioning lies in each powering-up of a switched-off domain. It is necessary to control the current consumption peak of the domain so as to avoid damage thereto, and more especially so as not to penalize other domains that are in use, the consumption peak being the peak observed on each powering-up of the domain and used to charge its equivalent capacity.
The prior art contains the document "90 nm low leakage SOC design techniques for wireless applications" published by IEEE (ISBN 0-7803-8904-2/05) under reference ISSCC 2005/SESSION 7/MULTIMEDIA PROCESSING/7.6. The solution proposed in this document consists of designing a SOC system comprising several supply domains and using several modes to save on power supply. The electric supply is distributed using a standard meshing system: a global network to distribute power supply and ground supply throughout the entire SOC, and a sum of local networks reflecting the partitioning into domains. The global network is linked to the local networks via a certain number of switches.
These switches are incorporated inside the domains, staggered at a regular pitch, or around "hard" IP blocks, or both. They operate in cascade one after the other. The switches are embedded inside the domain, in the standard cells, and each switch consists of two PMOS transistors.
A standard cell is a cell which provides a basic logic function, e.g., a CMOS inverter. A "soft" IP block corresponds to an assembly layout of a plurality of standard cells.
The problem with this configuration is that, to ensure power supply, one must reach inside a block of standard cells, inside the domain. In addition, the consumption peak is not fully controlled, since consumption depends in particular on the sequence switching speed of the switches.
There is a need in the art to overcome this shortcoming by proposing a different architecture with which it is possible to power a standard supply domain selectively, while controlling the current consumption peak.

Device for managing the consumption peak of a domain on each powering-up


A system and method for optimizing a fuel efficiency of a hybrid vehicle by learning from a route history. The system may be a hybrid vehicle including an engine, a motor-generator, a battery, a battery module, a GPS unit, a memory, and a processor. The method may include detecting a current route of the hybrid vehicle, calculating a confidence value corresponding to a probability that the current route has a match in the route history, detecting a battery state of charge (SOC), determining a target SOC based on the confidence value and the route history, and adjusting an engine start/stop threshold and/or an engine power request to achieve the target SOC. They system may learn and improve fuel efficiency over successive trips along the route.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a system and method for improving fuel efficiency of a hybrid vehicle by learning from a route history to determine the best energy use along a route, and more particularly to a system and method of adjusting an engine start/stop threshold to avoid inefficient energy use.
2. Description of the Related Art
With global energy prices rapidly increasing, hybrid vehicles, including plug-in hybrids, have become more popular due to their improved fuel efficiency over conventional combustion engine vehicles. The hybrid control logic monitors and regulates an engine and a motor-generator to efficiently utilize power from the engine or a battery. The hybrid control logic may monitor engine output and a battery state of charge (SOC) to optimize fuel efficiency. The hybrid control logic may switch operation between a charge sustain mode, wherein the engine provides power to the wheels and can also recharge the battery as needed, or a charge deplete mode, wherein the battery provides power to the wheels. The hybrid control logic achieves improved fuel efficiency over conventional vehicles by determining when to use power from the engine or from the battery.
However, the hybrid control logic may not utilize all available data from sensors on the hybrid vehicle. For example, hybrid vehicles may have a GPS module. The hybrid control logic does not use location information from the GPS module to further maximize fuel efficiency. The hybrid control logic also does not consider historical data to maximize fuel efficiency.
Thus, there is a need for a system and method directed to learning a route history to improve fuel efficiency.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


The feedthrough assembly includes an insulating sleeve positioned between a ferrule and a pin such that the ferrule is electrically insulated from the pin. The feedthrough assembly also includes a compression collar compressing the ferrule and insulating sleeve against the pin. The compression can be sufficient to form a seal between the ferrule and the insulating sleeve and/or between the insulating sleeve and the pin.

A variety of batteries are used in applications where it is desirable to reduce the weight of the battery. A large portion of the weight for batteries is often found in the casing. As a result, it would be desirable to make the battery casing of low density materials such as aluminum.
Batteries often use one or more feedthrough assemblies that each act as a terminal for the battery. A feedthrough assembly is positioned in a hole through the case. These feedthrough assemblies often includes a collar that compresses the components inside the feedthrough assembly. The compression can prevent liquid from leaking out of the hole through the feedthrough assembly.
The collar of the feedthrough assembly is often attached to the case of the battery. To enable welding, the collar must be made of aluminum when the case is made of aluminum. However, aluminum and other low density materials are generally soft and can deform over time. This deformation causes the level of compression provided by the collar to decrease and permits liquid in the case to leak through the feedthrough assembly. As a result, there is a need for a feedthrough assembly that can be use with low density case materials.

Feedthrough assembly with compression collar


In aspects of the invention, each three-level inverter unit has an output current detector. The output from each detector is given to connection wires via a resistor, the connection wires connecting the inverter units. The voltage across the resistor is detected and the deviation, or increment, of the current value of the unit concerned from the average value is determined. The rising up edge of the ON pulses for the IGBT to be controlled is delayed, corresponding to the magnitude of the deviation. Thus, the output current is balanced between the inverter units.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to three-level unit inverter systems using bidirectional switches, and, in particular, to control technology for balancing output currents from inverter units.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of parallel-connected inverter units according to conventional technology disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-296110 (also referred to herein as "Patent Document 1"). The circuit is composed of parallel-connected three inverter units UN1, UN2, and UN3 each employing two-level inverter circuit. The main circuit of a single-phase inverter includes four IGBTs and the main circuit of a three-phase inverter includes six IGBTs. The following description, however, is done for one phase only. Since the internal construction of each unit is similar, the description is made about the unit 1, UN1. In each inverter unit, a local control circuit LC0, receives a common ON/OFF signal from a main controller MC0 and gives ON/OFF signals to IGBTs Q1 and Q2 of the main circuit through a current balance controlling circuit and a gate driving circuit. The main circuit comprises: a capacitor C0 functioning as a DC supply, a series circuit of the IGBTs Q1 and Q2 connected in parallel with the capacitor C0, an AC filter consisting of a reactor L1 and a capacitor C3, a reactor L2 for unit parallel connection, and a current detector CT, the AC filter, the reactor L2, and the current detector CT being connected between a load LD and the series-connection point of the IGBTs Q1 and Q2.
The following describes about current balance control for the circuit of this construction. An output voltage of the current detector CT for inverter output current detection is amplified by a current amplifier G1 and the output voltage of the current amplifier G1 is connected, through a current detection resistor RI, between the inverter units via connection wires A. Connection wires B makes connection between the ground potentials GND of the local control circuits of the units. In this construction, the electric potential of the connection wire A is an average value of the output voltages of the current detectors, for equal resistance of the current detection resistors RI of the units. This averaged output voltage is proportional to the average value of output current of all units. The voltage across the resistor RI in a unit is a voltage proportional to the deviation in current of the current value in the unit concerned from the averaged current value over all units. This voltage is detected by an output current deviation detecting amplifier G2, which is a differential amplifier. The output of the differential amplifier G2 is given directly to an ON delay circuit DL1 for adjusting an ON pulse width of the IGBT Q1 and given through an inverter IN1 to an ON delay circuit DL2 for adjusting an ON pulse width of the IGBT Q2.
In this construction, in the case of a positive current deviation, or a larger output current value than the average current value, adjustment is conducted to shorten the ON pulse width of the upper arm IGBT Q1; in the case of a negative current deviation, or a smaller output current value than the average current value, adjustment is conducted to shorten the ON pulse width of the lower arm IGBT Q2. This adjustment makes the output current of the unit concerned closer to the average current value of all units. The operation described above is conducted individually with each unit to balance the output current among the units.
FIG. 10 shows an example of circuit construction of the three-phase, three-level inverter using bidirectional switches disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-193779 (also referred to herein as "Patent Document 2") and FIG. 11 shows an example of operation of the inverter. Referring to FIG. 10, the series circuit of capacitors C1 and C2 functions as a DC power supply having a positive terminal P, a negative terminal N, and a neutral terminal M. One phase of the circuit comprises a series circuit of an upper arm IGBT and a lower arm IGBT, and a bidirectional switch connected between the series connection point of the upper and lower arm IGBTs and the neutral terminal M of the DC power supply. The U phase circuit includes IGBTs Qu1 through Qu4 and diodes Du1 and Du2; the V phase circuit includes IGBTs Qv1 through Qv4 and diodes Dv1 and Dv2; and the W phase circuit includes IGBTs Qw1 through Qw4 and diodes Dw1 and Dw2. Bidirectional switches are constructed by the antiparallel-connection of the IGBTs Qu3 and Qu4, by the antiparallel-connection of the IGBTs Qv3 and Qv4, and by the antiparallel connection of the IGBTs Qw3 and Qw4. Between the series connection point of the IGBTs and the AC output terminal in each phase circuit, an AC filter and a reactor for parallel connection are connected. The AC filters are composed of: Lu1 and Cu for the U phase, Lv1 and Cv for the V phase, and Lw1 and Cw for the W phase. The capacitors are connected in a configuration of the star connection. The reactors for parallel connection are Lu2 for the U phase, Lv2 for the V phase, and Lw2 for the W phase.
The following describes, referring to FIG. 11, pulse patterns for one phase of the three-level inverter with the construction described above. In the one phase circuit in the following description, Q1 and Q2 designate the positive terminal P side IGBT and the negative terminal N side IGBT, respectively, of the IGBT series circuit connected between the positive terminal P and the negative terminal N of the DC power supply; and Q3 and Q4 designate the IGBT for carrying a current toward the neutral terminal of the DC power supply and the IGBT for carrying a current toward the series connection point of the IGBT series circuit, respectively, in the bidirectional switch connected between the neutral terminal of the DC power supply and the series connection point of the IGBT series circuit.
In this inverter, as shown in FIG. 11, a positive voltage is delivered by turning alternately the IGBT Q1 and the IGBT Q3 ON/OFF while holding the IGBT Q4 in the ON state. A negative voltage is delivered by turning alternately the IGBT Q2 and the IGBT Q4 ON/OFF while holding the IGBT Q3 in the ON state.
As can be seen from this operation principle, the IGBTs Q1 and Q3 operate as a half-bridge inverter to deliver a positive voltage in this three-level inverter, and the IGBTs Q2 and Q4 operate as a half-bridge inverter to deliver a negative voltage.
The IGBTs Q3 and Q4 composing the bidirectional switch in this circuit are subjected, between the emitter and collector thereof, to a high voltage, which is the voltage between the positive terminal P and the neutral terminal M or the voltage between the neutral terminal M and the negative terminal N. Accordingly, the IGBTs need to be special type of IGBTs, reverse-blocking IGBTs, exhibiting high withstand voltage between emitter and collector. This is the reason why this circuit has been practically applied only in recent years.
The output terminal delivers three levels of voltages: an electric potential at the positive terminal P of the DC power supply corresponding to turning ON of the IGBT Q1, an electric potential at the neutral terminal corresponding to turning ON of the bidirectional switch, and an electric potential at the negative terminal N corresponding to turning ON of the IGBT Q2.
A problem in the art includes the inability to ensure balance of output current between the inverter units in the unit type inverters employing a three-level inverter circuit in parallel operation.


A process for preserving cultured epidermal sheets by incubating the sheets at room temperature in media with a glycerol or dimethylsulfoxide cryopreservant for a predetermined period of time and then freezing the cultured sheets. The cooling gradient is characterized as having a lower initial rate of cooling followed by a higher rate of cooling.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the cryologic preservation of cellular tissue. More particularly, the present invention relates to the cryologic preservation of epidermis sheets obtained by cellular culture.
2. Brief Description of the Background Art
Despite recent progress in treating burnt tissue (i.e., tissue which is characterized by sufficient amounts of denatured protein to result in cell injury or death), the death-rate of burn victims still remains unacceptably high. Such fatality levels are, of course, highly dependent on the patient's age and on the percentage of burnt body area. The death-rates are, in fact, dramatically high for third degree burns (i.e., when full-thickness dermis has been destroyed) of 50-60% or more body area. In these cases, especially, in addition to the immediate problems of advanced cardio-vascular shock and the threats of somewhat less-imminent sepsis or hydro-electrolytic impairment, yet another (slightly delayed) problem is caused by the absence of a cutaneous covering over a large body area. The difficulty with such missing coverings, or open areas, is that they tend to not spontaneously recover, since they have been completely damaged or destroyed throughout their whole thickness.
When the normally closed epithelial barrier is opened to the outside environment, a chronic pathological condition is created which, together with the above identified infective and metabolic complications, progressively worsen the patient's local and systemic conditions. The sum total of these problems often overwhelms the burn victim, who freguently dies.
It is therefore evident, once the emergency phase of treatment has been overcome, that the main medical problem is to cover the cutaneous deficit as quickly and as effectively as possible. According to conventionally accepted medical practice, wound areas are covered by transplanting split thickness tissue pieces removed from healthy unburnt regions (autografts). However, when the burnt area exceeds, for example, 60-70%, there is usually insufficient donor tissue available for grafting. Moreover, the auto graft donor site itself provides yet additional areas which lack whole cutaneous coverage. These drawbacks must be considered together with the facts that autograft donor sites also tend to recover slowly and may yield deleterious healing residues.
It is also medically acceptable to cover the cutaneous deficit by the transplantion of homologous cadaver skin, lyophilized heterologous skin (from, for example, pig), synthetic artificial cutis and the like. However, these alternate materials, being allogenic will slough spontaneously within 1-6 months, and they must eventually be replaced with autologous tissue and are thus, at best, temporary in nature.
Methods recently disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,016,036; 4,304,866 and 4,456,657 teach methods for culturing human epithelial films obtained from cutaneous keratinocytes. These films, of course, may be autologous and therefore would allow burnt areas to be covered without being subject to later rejection or sloughing. These methods in these U.S. patents are based on the removal of a small (2-3 cm.sup.2) piece from a healthy donor area. An epithelial cellular suspension obtained using the donor tissue is then cultured and expanded through subsequent inoculations of the primary culture. When the secondary and tertiary cultures become confluent, multi layered sheets of epithelium can be obtained.
Thus, several serious problems are potentially overcome, such as the poor availability of residual healthy skin in the seriously burnt patient or the need to use expensive pig, cadaver, or artificial cutis, each of which may not be readily available and whose use may be strictly regulated because of antibody reaction.
On the other hand, the keratinocytes cultures obtained according to the above methods require from 3-4 weeks until they are suitably expanded so that film sheets may be obtained. In other words, the burnt patient must remain without protection of the burnt areas for the initial 3-4 weeks. This initial period is, of course, the most critical and so, that period during which the graft of healthy cutis would be most highly beneficial. Additionally, the cultured epithelial sheets taught in these U.S. patents must be used within a few hours of harvesting since it has not been possible to develop a conservation method which can maintain expanded epidermis sufficiently to allow their travel to distant user centers.
The availability of frozen cultured epithelium is advantageous also for those patients that require several transplantations, since it facilitates a better coordination between culture and surgical schedules.
Therefore, it is now possible to realize the institution of "tissue banks" or other depositories of allogeneic expanded epidermis which could be relied upon in the event of emergency.
Readily available cultured allografts in a frozen state can have several clinical applications. For example the present inventors have evidence that deep second degree burns heal much faster when grafted into cultured allografts. Limited full thickness lesions clinically appearing as third-degree burns were reepithelialized by the recipient keratinocytes, whose growth and probably migration were strongly stimulated by cultured allografts.
Cultured allografts could also be applied in most of donor sites utilized for split thickness mesh grafts. This results in a nice healing of those areas even after 4 days.
The method described herein can be successfully utilized also for cryologic preservations of mucosa expanded in vitro. In this regard, the present inventors have determined that expanded mucosa can be obtained in vitro starting from a punch biopsy following the methodology described for production of epithelial films from cutaneous keratinocytes. The present inventors have also determined that the in vitro expanded mucosa can be successfully transplanted in patients that require oral mucosa transplant.

Cryopreserved in vitro cultured epithelial tissue and method

Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca Sul Cancro


A catalytic material including particles formed of a catalytic core material having a thermally resistant porous shell coated over the catalytic core material. An oxygen storage material is dispersed within the thermally resistant porous shell. In an example, the oxygen storage material is ceria. The catalytic material can further include a catalytic support, wherein the particles are deposited on the catalytic support. The catalytic support can be a powdered oxide including a material selected from the group consisting of alumina, silica, zirconia, niobia, ceria, titania, and combinations thereof. The catalytic core can include an element selected from the group consisting of Pt, Pd, Rh, Co, Ni, Mn, Cu, Fe, Au, Ag, and combinations thereof. The porous shell can be selected from materials consisting of alumina, baria, ceria, magnesia, niobia, silica, titania, yttria, and combinations thereof.

It is well known that platinum group metal (PGM) catalysts require high surface area to maintain their high catalytic activity and that sintering occurs at elevated temperature, resulting in lower surface area and therefore fewer sites for reactions to occur. In order to maximize the available surface area available for reactions, nanoparticles of the catalytic material are preferred as they have a high surface to volume ratio. This further complicates sintering as the nanoparticles have a strained surface and this makes agglomerating into larger particles energetically favorable.
There is therefore a need for sinter resistant catalyst particles that will operate at high temperatures and not lose activity due to sintering.

Sinter resistant catalytic material and process of producing the same


A method and system for incorporating a user's preferences in an information clustering system having an information clustering engine for clustering information based on similarities, a user interface module for displaying the information groupings and obtaining user preferences, a personalization module for defining, labeling, modifying, storing and retrieving cluster structure, and a knowledge base where the user-defined cluster structure is stored. The user-configurable clustering system first organizes information into a list of automatic generated groupings or clusters. The list of groupings can then be modified by a user through an interactive process of personalization and re-clustering using a set of cluster manipulation operators. The personalized cluster indicates the user preference in organizing information and can be used to organize new information. The system can also be used to identify novel information that does not fit into the personalized cluster structure.

Categorization and clustering have been two fundamental approaches to information organization and information database content management.
Categorization or classification is supervised in nature. A user defines a fixed number of classes or categories. The task is to assign a pattern or object to one or more of the classes. Categorization provides good control in the sense that it organizes the information according to the structure defined by the user. However, due to the predefined structure, categorization is not well suited to handling novel data. In addition, much effort is needed to build a categorization system. It is necessary to specify classification knowledge in terms of classification rules or keywords (disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,807) or to construct a categorization system through some supervised learning algorithms (disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,671,333 and 5,675,710). The former requires knowledge specification (e.g., written classification rules) and the latter requires example annotations (i.e. labeling information). Both are labor intensive.
Clustering is unsupervised in nature. For unsupervised systems (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,857,179 and 5,787,420), there is no need to train or construct a classifier since information is organized automatically into groups based on similarities. However, a user has very little control over how the information is grouped together. Although it is possible to fine tune the parameters of the similarity measures to control the degree of coarseness, the effect of changing a parameter cannot be predicted; changing one parameter could affect all clustered results. In addition, the structure established through the clustering process is unpredictable. Whereas clustering is acceptable for a pool of relatively static information, in situations where new information is received every day, information with similar content may be grouped (based on different themes) into different clusters on different days. This ever-changing cluster structure is highly undesirable for the user who is navigating the information database to find desired information. Imagine the frustration of reading a newspaper with a different layout every day! U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,140 attempts to provide a solution by ordering document clusters based on user interests. However, the cluster ranking relies on the availability of the ranking of each document in the clusters and only very minimal user preferences are taken into account.

Method and system for user-configurable clustering of information


The injector comprises a balanced metering servovalve for controlling a rod for opening/closing a nebulizer. The servovalve has a valve body having a control chamber provided with an outlet passage that is opened/closed by an axially mobile open/close element. The open/close element is made of a single piece with a bushing separate from an armature plate of an electromagnet. The bushing is coupled to a stem in an axially slidable way for closing an exhaust duct in communication with the outlet passage The open/close element is kept in a closed position by a spring that acts upon the bushing through an intermediate body connected thereto. The armature plate can be displaced with respect to the bushing between a flange of the intermediate body and a shoulder of the bushing, for eliminating the rebounds of the open/close element upon closing of the servovalve.

1. Technical Field
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to a fuel injector with balanced metering servovalve for an internal-combustion engine, in which the servovalve governs a control rod for controlling injection.
2. The Relevant Technology
Normally, the metering servovalve of the injector comprises a control chamber having a calibrated hole for intake of the fuel under pressure. The control chamber is provided with an outlet or exhaust hole having a calibrated section, which is opened/closed by an open/close element that is axially mobile under the control of an electro-actuator. In particular, the exhaust hole is kept closed by the open/close element under the action of a spring, which acts upon an armature of an electromagnet. The exhaust hole is opened when the armature is actuated by the electromagnet, overcoming the action of the spring.
As long as the exhaust hole is closed, the pressure of the fuel in the control chamber, via the rod, keeps a needle of a nozzle or nebulizer for the fuel in a closed position. When the exhaust hole is open, the pressure of the fuel in the control chamber decreases, while the pressure in the usual injection chamber displaces the needle for opening the nebulizer to thereby displace the rod in the control chamber.
In known injectors, during closing of the needle of the nebulizer, upon arrest of the travel of the needle there occurs a rebound that causes a sort of re-opening of the nebulizer just after closing. This brings about a variation in the gradient of increase in the volume of the control chamber, and hence in the corresponding pressure, or even a temporary decrease in said volume. Furthermore, also the open/close element of the servovalve is subject to a rebound during closing of the hole for exhaust of the control chamber, this also causing a re-opening of said chamber and hence a temporary decrease in the pressure and consequently in the corresponding volume, thus increasing re-opening of the nebulizer.
The re-opening of the nebulizer and/or of the exhaust hole of the control chamber, due to the aforesaid rebounds, always causes injection of an amount of fuel greater than what is envisaged by the usual electronic control unit for controlling injection. On account of the large number of factors that affect the rebounds, the excess fuel thus introduced is not foreseeable so that it is not possible compensate for it via the electronic control unit, for example, by introducing a corrective factor for the time of excitation of the electromagnet. Consequently, especially during idling of the engine, the excess fuel causes a variation in the air/fuel ratio, which moves away from the optimal one, causing at the exhaust an excess of polluting emissions in the environment.
There have already been proposed injectors with a metering servovalve of a balanced type, in which the open/close element in a closed position is subject to substantially zero axial actions of pressure so that it is possible to reduce both preloading of the spring and the force of the electro-actuator. In a known balanced metering servovalve, the valve body comprises an axial stem, which is provided with an exhaust duct of the control chamber and is designed to guide the armature of the electromagnet axially. The open/close element is formed by a bushing engaging in a fluid-tight way with the stem, which is fixed with respect to the armature.
The exhaust duct of the control chamber comprises an axial stretch and at least one radial stretch, which gives out onto a lateral surface of the stem. Since the armature is in general in the form of a plate, or notched disk and is made of a single piece with the bushing, the moving element of the electro-actuator has a considerable mass, and is thus subject to considerable rebounds during closing, with a very low reactivity.
Furthermore, since the bushing must form a seal with the lateral surface of the stem and the open/close element must close the exhaust duct via engagement with an arrest element, the bushing must be machined with extreme precision and be made of a very hard material. The entire bushing-armature plate ensemble must hence be made of said hard material so that, on the one hand, there is a lot of swarf of said material and, on the other, machining thereof is very difficult and costly.
In this servovalve, even though the travel of the open/close element is just a few microns, the forces and the accelerations involved, to which it is subject, can lead to an inevitable rebound of the open/close element during closing. In turn, the marked hardnesses of the parts and the small surfaces, which are in contact along a ring of a width of 1-2 hundredths of a millimeter, favor said rebound, causing a re-opening and a corresponding emptying of the volume of the control chamber.

Fuel injector with balanced metering servovalve for an internal-combustion engine