An automated speech recognition system converts a speech signal into a compact, coded representation that correlates to a speech phoneme set. A number of different neural network pattern matching schemes may be used to perform the necessary speech coding. An integrated user interface guides a user unfamiliar with the details of speech recognition or neural networks to quickly develop and test a neural network for phoneme recognition. To train the neural network, digitized voice data containing known phonemes that the user wants the neural network to ultimately recognize are processed by the integrated user interface. The digitized speech is segmented into phonemes with each segment being labelled with a corresponding phoneme code. Based on a user selected transformation method and transformation parameters, each segment is transformed into a series of multiple dimension vectors representative of the speech characteristics of that segment. These vectors are iteratively presented to a neural network to train/adapt that neural network to consistently distinguish and recognize these vectors and assign an appropriate phoneme code to each vector. Simultaneous display of the digitized speech, segments, vector sets, and a representation of the trained neural network assist the user in visually confirming the acceptability of the phoneme training set. A user may also selectively audibly confirm the acceptability of the digitization scheme, the segments, and the transform vectors so that satisfactory training data are presented to the neural network. If the user finds a particular step or parameter produces an unacceptable result, the user may modify one or more of the parameters and verify whether the modification effected an improvement in performance. The trained neural network is also automatically tested by presenting a test speech signal to the integrated user interface and observing both audibly and visually automatic segmentation of the speech, transformation into multidimensional vectors, and the resulting neural network assigned phoneme codes. A method of decoding such phoneme codes using the neural network is also disclosed.

Speech recognition is a complex field requiring knowledge in various otherwise unrelated fields including: signal processing, pattern recognition, artificial intelligence, statistics, information theory, probability theory, computer algorithms, psychology, linguistics, and biology. Even drawing upon this vast body of knowledge, researchers in speech recognition still struggle with developing how to best incorporate all the various areas of knowledge in the recognition systems, how to select units of speech that are context insensitive, and how to distinguish between multiple-speakers. As a result, speech recognition systems place constraints on the speech data to be processed such as speaker dependance, isolated word phrasing, a small vocabulary, and constrained grammar.
Speech uses voiced and unvoiced audio signals. Voiced speech consists of sounds like vowels, while unvoiced speech includes whispers or sounds like the letter "S". Voiced speech begins with the larynx, which generates a signal similar to a pulse train by forcing air between the vocal chords, which in turn slap together and produce a pulsed sound. Speech is generated by moving the mouth and tongue to change the timbre of the voiced sound. The rate at which the vocal chords slap together determines the pitch of the speech. Pitch is naturally higher for children and female speakers. But even for a single speaker, pitch changes from word to word, and even within words. Speech also includes unvoiced components that use an unmodulated air stream passing through the separated vocal chords of the relaxed larynx.
The position of the tongue and jaw (and to some extent the lips) determines the resonant frequencies of the vocal tract referred to as formants. The pitch (rich in harmonics) is filtered or modulated by the speaker's vocal tract. Like pitch, formants vary from speaker to speaker. Formants generally occur at higher frequencies than the base frequency of the pitch (FO). The first formant (F1) is the lowest frequency formant, or major peak in the spectrum envelope, once pitch (F0) is removed. Formants move constantly in speech and classifying sounds is made more difficult by formant transitions.
There are other variables that also complicate speech recognition. For example, noise is virtually always present in real world speech. Only some noise may be filtered prior to digitization. Even the process of training a neural network to recognize speech itself adds Gaussian noise. Moreover, because most speech recognition systems are digital, the analog speech signal must first be converted in a digital format, before it can be processed and recognized using a computer based system. Unfortunately, in digitizing a signal, some of the signal context is lost.
Since speech signals vary widely from word to word, and also within individual words, speech is analyzed using smaller units of sound generally referred to as a phoneme. Different sounds are enumerated by phonetic alphabets, and words can be phonetically spelled using these alphabets. A phonetic alphabet describes how each word is to be spoken aloud. More formally, however, a phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a given language that changes the meaning of a word. English has about 31 to 38 phonemes. Some languages have as many as 45 or as few as 13 (Hawaiian). In general, neural networks for speech recognition encode speech as a sequence of phonemes.
While the present invention uses the term phoneme for purposes of explanation, units of speech other than the phoneme could of course be used. For example, if a large vocabulary system is being developed, it may be important to take co-articulatory effects into account, i.e. the way adjacent phonemes change one another when they occur in the same word.
Because of the large number of variables involved in the speech recognition decision making process (a few of which were just described), several signal analysis techniques for pattern recognition are based on nonanalytical methods which use "training" to arrive at parameters of the system later used to perform that pattern analysis. Training is a method wherein a system such as a neural network is presented with examples of the pattern(s) to be recognized, system performance/response is measured, and system parameters are modified to reduce the error of the output/performance/response. This iterative process ultimately improves system performance. In addition, such a trained system can be developed without expert knowledge of the pattern(s) that is to be recognized.
This is the foundation of neural networks: internal network parameters, e.g., neural network weights, that allow it to recognize particular phoneme patterns are determined using training examples repeatedly presented to the network. A training algorithm uses the networks response/performance during training to modify/correct the network parameters. Clearly then, optimum performance of the neural network depends upon the quality of the training examples presented to it.
The present invention provides a tool for developing a training set for training a neural network for phoneme recognition and uses this training data set to develop the neural network for phoneme recognition itself. First, an input speech signal is digitized and segmented. A segment is a sequence of speech samples that occur sequentially in time where a sample is a digitized audio amplitude value of speech at a moment in time. The segmentation of speech is based upon visually discernible features or patterns of the speech. Next, segments are then transformed from the time domain into another domain, e.g. the frequency domain, where it is easier to analyze component parts (sounds) unique to that speech signal. Transformed segments of speech are represented mathematically as sets of one or more vectors, each vector having multiple dimensions, e.g., a 5-dimensional vector is defined by five elements or variables. By transforming the speech into a series of multidimensional vectors, similar or substantially similar vectors representing essentially the same phonemes may be grouped together to represent a segment of speech signals. The neural network generally classifies or "codes" each vector set corresponding to a segment as being one of a predetermined set of phonemes.
In testing the trained neural network, another uncoded speech signal is digitized and automatically divided into individual segments, with each segment being transformed into a set of one or more vectors, each vector having plural dimensions. In contrast to development, during testing an operator does not assign a phoneme code to these segments. Instead, the trained neural network processes the vector sets to recognize phonemes and automatically assign a phoneme code to each of the vectors, each code corresponding to a recognized phoneme. The phoneme code most frequently assigned in a particular vector set is selected for the vector set and assigned to the corresponding speech segment.
The present invention enables a relatively unskilled operator to "train" a neural network coding scheme to recognize phonemes and to educate the operator regarding a large number of techniques that may be employed in that training. The training of a neural network is the foundation upon which the neural network recognizes speech sounds, and the recognition is only as accurate as the initial known phonemes in the training set. Thus, the preparation and testing of a suitable and accurate training set is a very significant factor in determining how well the neural network will ultimately recognize speech.
After each segment is transformed into a vector set, a reverse transformation mechanism allows the user qualitative audio verification of the information content of the transformation vector sets corresponding to a phoneme segment. Since the input vectors and their phoneme codes are known, the parameters of the neural network are iteratively modified to output the appropriate phoneme code. A reverse coding mechanism (decode) allows qualitative audio verification of the content of the coded segments by audibly reproducing sounds corresponding to phoneme codes selected by the trained neural network.
The present invention permits both visual and audible evaluation of the performance of the developed speech recognition system. For example, corresponding segments, vectors, assigned phoneme codes, and representations of the internal state of the neural network (e.g., a centroid indicating the neural network's exemplary or "best" vector corresponding to a phoneme) may be simultaneously displayed on a single display screen for comparison by an operator.
Still further, the digitized signals and one or more of the segments may also be audibly reproduced to determine qualitatively the acceptability of the digitization technique and segmentation techniques previously used. If the produced results are unacceptable, the digitization and/or the segmentation may be modified by an operator. To ensure that the transformation procedure does not distort the phoneme training set, the present invention provides for reverse transformation of one or more of the vector sets and an audible reproduction of those reverse transformed vectors to permit an operator to confirm audibly the acceptability of the transformation process. In other words, if the operator can recognize one or more of the training set of phonemes when the reverse transform vectors are audibly reproduced, then the transformation process (and hence the training data) are acceptable for training a neural network. Otherwise, if the operator cannot audibly discern the original set of training phonemes, the training set is likely to be unacceptable and some parameter must be changed.
A neural network assigned phoneme code can be automatically decoded to generate an estimate of an exemplary vector representing a corresponding phoneme. The estimate exemplary vector may be for example (depending upon the neural network used) a centroid of the set of vectors in vector space used to train the neural network to recognize a particular phoneme having plural dimensions corresponding to the code generated while training the neural network. For other neural networks, the exemplary vector may be a best guess of such a centroid. The centroid reflects ultimately the internal structure and parameters of the trained neural network which evolved during training to recognize vectors corresponding to a particular phoneme. The estimate exemplary vector is then reverse transformed into a time varying signal. The time varying signal is audibly reproduced to evaluate the performance of the speech recognition system.
In other words, in response to a testing input signal, the neural network assigned phoneme codes are the neural network's speech recognition result. By decoding those codes and generating an estimate vector, the estimate vector can further be reverse transformed into a signal that can be audibly reproduced to permit an operator to audibly determine how well the neural network did in recognizing the speech. For example, if the neural network was supposed to recognize a phoneme "OO" but assigned a code corresponding to an "AA" phoneme, the audibly reproduced signal would immediately enable an operator to determine that an error had been made. Upon detection of such errors, modifications can be made to retrain the neural network.
The present invention permits the dividing of the digitized audio signals into segments to be accomplished manually or automatically. Segments are intended to represent a single unit of speech, a phoneme, where each segment contains a set of one or more vectors. When developing a training set for a supervised neural network, the user will examine the segments, both visually and audibly, and assign a correct phoneme code to each. When the segment is added to the training data set, each transform vector in the vector set corresponding to the segment is identified as being an example of this phoneme. In this way, the user does not need to assign a phoneme to every transform vector individually. This is both a time saving measure, and one that permits the user to work with longer stretches of speech data, when visually and audibly confirming their phoneme content.
Once the neural network is trained and operating, the neural network assigns a phoneme code to each segment (phoneme codes are sometimes simply referred to as codes). The neural network examines each vector in the vector set corresponding to the segment and assigns to it a phoneme code. The entire segment is then assigned the "most popular" (i.e., most frequently assigned) phoneme code in the vector set.
In many cases, continuous speech can be so fast that it is impossible to assign a segment small enough, or positioned with enough accuracy, to contain single unambiguous phoneme. In this case the invention offers the option of assigning two possible phoneme codes corresponding to two possible phonemes that might be contained in the segment. This dual phoneme assignment is referred to as the "pairs method," because a segment is assigned a pair of possible phoneme codes. For example, assume four pseudo-words are each spoken quickly: "boo", "goo", "ba", "ga". Each pseudo-word is assigned a single segment, where each of the four segments encompasses an entire pseudo-word and contains some number of transform vectors. The user adds these segments to the training set, assigning to the segments, (and therefore to each transform vector contained in the vector set corresponding to the segment), the phoneme pairs, respectively: "b or oo", "g or oo", "b or ah", "g or ah". The neural network trained with this data set can then determine, when presented with a new test pseudo-word ending in "oo", whether or not the vowel was preceded by a "b" or a "g", etc. This decision occurs despite the absence of a segment in the training set containing only the sound "g" or only the sound "b". The method whereby the supervised neural network is trained with the pairs method differs slightly for each different type of neural network. However, the common aspect of these training methods is that when a transform vector is presented during training, the neural network will not be penalized (i.e., error will be deemed low) for identifying the vector as being either of the pair of phonemes. Without the pairs method, all but one correct response of the neural network during training would be penalized (i.e., would result in a high error).
The present invention provides a user interface which permits an operator to select and modify various inputs while developing the neural network. For example, the operator can select with a mouse click whether he wants to manually or automatically segment speech. Speech can be segmented manually using that mouse pointing device with each manually selected segment being highlighted on the display screen. The operator selects one of plural transformation algorithms including a frequency based transformation such as a fast Fourier transform (FFT) and a nonfrequency base transformation such as linear predictive coding (LPC). Both transformation algorithms convert each segment into a set of one or more multiple dimension vectors. A display of these multidimensional vectors is provided on a two dimensional display screen. Moreover, an operator can select between a number of different types of neural networks including for example supervised, unsupervised, auto associative, and back propagation types of neural networks.
Ultimately, the input audio signal (i.e., a digitized version thereof), the phoneme segments, the corresponding transform vector sets, phoneme codes, and estimate vectors (e.g., centroids) are all displayed on a single screen. An operator may then visually confirm the acceptability of any one of these parameters based on a degree of visual similarity between the corresponding portions of the displayed audio signal segments, transform vector sets, phoneme codes, and/or centroids. Each of the above displays corresponding to the same phoneme should have a similar visual appearance. A dissimilar visual appearance is an indication to the operator that adjustment needs to be made.
These features as well as other features and advantages will be described more fully below in conjunction with the figures in the detailed description of the invention.

Operator interactions for developing phoneme recognition by neural networks


Methods and systems are described for estimating yaw of an implement relative to a machine. The yaw is estimated using gyro signals. The gyro signals may be provided by gyro sensors such as IMUs that are coupled to the implement and machine.

Earthmoving machines, such as dozers (bulldozers), motor graders, loaders, and the like, typically utilize hydraulically controlled implements, such as blades or buckets, to move or pick up dirt or other materials. Sometimes these earthmoving machines include various types of sensors mounted to a body of the machine and/or to the implement to determine an absolute or relative position and/or orientation of the implement. Depending on the type of machine and implement, the orientation may include yaw, pitch, and/or roll. Improved methods and systems are desired for determining the position and/or orientation of these implements.

Caterpillar Trimble Control Technologies LLC


Biocompatible hydrogel capsules encapsulating mammalian cells having a diameter of greater than 1 mm, and optionally a cell free core, are disclosed which have reduced fibrotic overgrowth after implantation in a subject. Methods of treating a disease in a subject are also disclosed that involve administering a therapeutically effective amount of the disclosed encapsulated cells to the subject.

In 1980, Lim and Sun introduced an alginate microcapsule coated with an alginate/polylysine complex for encapsulation of pancreatic islets. Hydrogel microcapsules have since been extensively investigated for encapsulation of living cells or cell aggregates for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (Orive, et al. Nat. Medicine 2003, 9, 104; Paul, et al., Regen. Med. 2009, 4, 733; Read, et al. Biotechnol. 2001, 19, 29) In general, capsules are designed to allow facile diffusion of oxygen and nutrients to the encapsulated cells, while releasing the therapeutic proteins secreted by the cells, and to protect the cells from attack by the immune system. These have been developed as potential therapeutics for a range of diseases including type I diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's (Wilson et al. Adv. Drug. Deliv. Rev. 2008, 60, 124; Joki, et al. Nat. Biotech. 2001, 19, 35; Kishima, et al. Neurobiol. Dis. 2004, 16, 428). One of the most common capsule formulations is based on alginate hydrogels, which can be formed through ionic crosslinking. In a typical process, the cells are first blended with a viscous alginate solution. The cell suspension is then processed into micro-droplets using different methods such as air shear, acoustic vibration or electrostatic droplet formation (Rabanel et al. Biotechnol. Prog. 2009, 25, 946). The alginate droplet is gelled upon contact with a solution of divalent ions, such as Ca2+ or Ba2+.
One challenge associated with alginate microcapsules for cell encapsulation, however, is the lack of control of the relative positions of the cells within the capsules. The cells can become trapped and exposed on the capsule surface, leading to inadequate immune-protection (Wong, et al., Biomat. Artific. Cells Immobiol. Biotechnol. 1991, 19, 675). It has been recognized that incomplete coverage would not only cause the rejection of exposed cells but may also allow the infiltration of macrophages and fibroblasts into the capsules through the exposed areas (Chang, Nat, Rev. Drug Discovery 2005, 4, 221). Alginate hydrogel microcapsules have been broadly investigated for their utility with pancreatic islets to treat Type I diabetes (Calafiore, Expert Opin. Biol. Ther. 2003, 3, 201). Numerous promising results have been reported in several animal models including rodents (Lim, A. M. Sun, Science 1980, 210, 908; Qi, et al Artifi. Cells, Blood Substitutes, Biotechnol. 2008, 36, 403), dogs (Soon-Shiong, et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1993, 90, 5843), and nonhuman primates (El et al., X. Ma, D. Zhou, I. Vacek, A. M. Sun. J. Clin. Invest. 1996, 98, 417). Clinical trials have also been performed by Soon-Shiong et al., Lancet 1994, 343, 950; Elliott, et al. Xenotransplantation 2007, 14, 157; Calafiore et al. Diabetes Care 2006, 29, 137, Basta, et al. Diabetes Care 2011, 34, 2406, and Tuch et al. Diabetes Care 2009, 32, 1887. In general, these clinical trials have reported insulin secretion, but without long term correction of blood sugar control, and additional challenges remain to advance these systems (Tam et al. J. Biomed. Mater. Res. Part A 2011, 98A, 40; deVos, et al, Biomaterials 2006, 27, 5603).
One challenge is the biocompatibility of the capsules. Upon transplantation, the foreign body responses cause fibrotic cellular overgrowth on the capsules that cut off the diffusion of oxygen and nutrients, and lead to necrosis of encapsulated islets. To this end, research groups have developed polymers to reduce the fibrotic reactions. (Ma, et al. Adv. Mater. 2011, 23, H189). Another challenge is the incomplete coverage of the islets within the capsules (deVos, et al., Transplantation 1996, 62, 888; deVos, et al., Transplantation 1996, 62, 893). Islets protruding outside the capsules are more frequently observed when the islet number density in alginate solution increases or the capsule size decreases, both of which are desirable to minimize the transplantation volume (Leung, et al, Biochem. Eng. J. 2010, 48, 337] It has been hypothesized that if even a small fragment of islet is exposed, immune effector cells may destroy the entire islet (King, et al. Graft 2001, 4, 491; Weber, et al. Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 1999, 875, 233). Furthermore, exposure of a small number of islets may start a cascade of events that leads to enhanced antigen-specific cellular immunity and transplant failure.
A double-encapsulation process (Elliot, 2007; Wong, et al, Biomat. Artific. Cells Immobiol. Biotechnol. 1991, 19, 687) has been used to improve the encapsulation and xenograft survival where very small capsules containing cells were first formed and then several small capsules were enclosed in each larger capsule. This approach required two process steps and the large size of the final capsules inevitably limited the mass transport that was essential to cell viability and functionality. As reported by Schneider, et al., Biomaterials 2001 22(14):1961-1970, islet containing alginate beads were coated with alternating layers of polyethyleneimine, polyacrylacid or carboxymethylcellulose and alginate to address some of these problems. Thin conformal coating of islets reduces the diffusion distance and total transplantation volume (Teramura, et al Adv. Drug Deliv, Rev. 2010, 62, 827; Wilson, et al. J. Am, Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 18228). However, the process often involves multiple steps which cause damage to islets and it is not clear whether the coatings are sufficiently robust for clinical use (Califiore 2003; Basta, et al, Curr. Diab. Rep. 2011, 11, 384). Previous data by Basta, et al. Transpl. Immunol. 2004, 13, 289 has suggested conformal coatings may have reduced immune-protective capacity compared with the hydrogel capsules.
In summary, despite promising studies in various animal models over many years, encapsulated human islets so far have not made an impact in the clinical setting. Many non-immunological and immunological factors such as biocompatibility, reduced immunoprotection, hypoxia, pericapsular fibrotic overgrowth, effects of the encapsulation process, and post-transplant inflammation hamper the successful application of this promising technology (Vaithilingam V, et al. Diabet Stud, 8(1):51-67 (2011)). Currently used alginate microcapsules often have islets protruding outside capsules, leading to inadequate immunoprotection. Improved encapsulation using a two-fluid co-axial electro jetting method to confine islets in the core region of the capsules has been reported by Ma, et al., Adv. Healthc mater. 2012 Dec. 3.
One major challenge to clinical application of encapsulated cells and other biomaterials and medical devices is their potential to induce a non-specific host response (Williams D F. Biomaterials 29(20):2941-53 (2008); Park H, et al. Pharm Res 13(12):1770-6 (1996); Kvist P H, et al. Diabetes Technol 8(4):463-75 (2006); Wisniewski N, et al. J Anal Chem 366(6):611-21 (2000); Van der Giessen W J, et al. Circulation 94(7):1690-7 (1996); Granchi D, et al. J Biomed Mater Res 29(2):197-202 (1995); Ward C R, et al. Obstet Gynecol 86(5):848-50 (1995); Remes A, et al. Biomaterials 13(11):731-43 (1992)). This reaction involves the recruitment of early innate immune cells such as neutrophils and macrophages, followed by fibroblasts is which deposit collagen to form a fibrous capsule surrounding the implanted object (Williams D F. Biomaterials 29(20):2941-53 (2008); Remes A, et al. Biomaterials 13(11):731-43 (1992); Anderson J M, et al. Semin Immunol 20(2):86-100 (2008); Anderson J M, et al. Adv Drug Deliver Rev 28(1):5-24 (1997); Abbas A K, et al. Pathologic Basis of Disease. 7th ed. Philadelphia: W.B Saunders (2009)). Fibrotic cell layers can hinder electrical (Singarayar S, et al. PACE 28(4):311-5 (2005)) or chemical communications and prevent transport of analytes (Sharkawy A A, et al. J Biomed Mater Res 37(3):401-12 (1997); Sharkawy A A, et al. J Biomed Mater Res 40(4):598-605 (1998); Sharkawy A A, et al. J Biomed Mater Res 40(4):586-97 (1998)) and nutrients, thus leading to the eventual failure of many implantable medical devices such as immuno isolated pancreatic islets (De Groot M, et al. J Surg Res 121(1):141-50 (2004); De Vos P, et al. Diabetologia 40(3):262-70 (1997); Van Schilfgaarde R, et al. J Mol Med 77(1):199-205 (1999)).
The fibrotic reactions to the capsules upon transplantation pose a major challenge to transplanting islets. The fibrosis eventually leads to necrosis of islets and failure of transplant.
There remains a substantial need for improved encapsulation methods and devices for transplantation of human islet cells.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cell encapsulation system for transplanting cells with reduced pericapsular fibrotic overgrowth.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method for transplanting cells with reduced pericapsular fibrotic overgrowth.
It is a further object of the invention to provide improved methods for treating diabetes using encapsulated islet cells.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Multi-layer hydrogel capsules for encapsulation of cells and cell aggregates

The Children's Medical Center Corporation


The disclosure provides an approach for a non-disruptive system upgrade. Embodiments include installing an upgraded version of an operating system (OS) on a computing system while a current version of the OS continues to run. Embodiments include entering a maintenance mode on the computing system, including preventing the addition of new applications and modifying the handling of storage operations on the computing system for the duration of the maintenance mode. Embodiments include, during the maintenance mode, configuring the upgraded version of the OS. Embodiments include, after configuring the upgraded version of the OS, suspending a subset of applications running on the computing system, transferring control over resources of the computing system to the upgraded version of the OS, and resuming the subset of the applications running on the computing system. Embodiments include exiting the maintenance mode on the computing system.

Upgrading an operating system (OS) on a device conventionally leads to significant amounts of downtime for services running on the device. For example, services may need be shut down while the upgraded OS is installed, configured, and booted. Furthermore, device and driver state information is generally lost during the transition to the upgraded OS, leading to further inefficiencies. These drawbacks are particularly problematic in software-defined data centers in which large numbers of services are run and accessed by a plurality of users, and downtimes are not expected.
A software-defined data center (SDDC) may comprise a plurality of hosts in communication over a physical network infrastructure. Each host is a physical computer (machine) that may run one or more virtualized endpoints such as virtual machines (VMs), containers, and/or other virtual computing instances (VCIs). In some cases, VCIs are connected to software defined networks (SDNs), also referred to herein as logical overlay networks, that may span multiple hosts and are decoupled from the underlying physical network infrastructure.
Certain existing techniques for upgrading an OS on a host in an SDDC involve relocating all VCIs from the host to different endpoints in the SDCC for the duration of the upgrade. However, these techniques lead to downtimes while VCIs are being moved and require resources on separate hosts to be available for temporary placements of VCIs.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved techniques for upgrading an OS, particularly in SDDCs.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one embodiment may be beneficially utilized on other embodiments without specific recitation.

Techniques for non-disruptive operating system upgrade


A child seat includes a seat shell having an anchor strap made of a continuous web material, and a lock. The anchor strap has two end portions, and an intermediate portion between the two end portions. The two end portions are located at the rear of the seat shell and are respectively provided with fasteners operable to attach with an anchor structure of a vehicle, and the intermediate portion is folded over to define two segments of the web material. The lock can releasibly clamp a portion of the two segments, the intermediate portion extending outward from the lock to define a looped tab. Moreover, an interior of the seat shell can have a strap guiding structure including two sidewalls between which is defined a passage for the web material. The two sidewalls are substantially close to each other to prevent twisting of the web material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present inventions relate to child seats, such as booster seats.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an automobile vehicle has seatbelts provided at the front and rear seats. The seatbelt generally includes shoulder and lap straps that may be fastened with an anchor point of the vehicle to restrain and protect the occupant in case of collision or sudden stop of the vehicle. However, the use of the vehicle seatbelt is not adapted for a young child who has a smaller body and may not be able to sustain the pressure applied by the seatbelt. As a result, safety legislations require the use of a child safety seat for seating a young child in a vehicle. The seatbelt of the vehicle can be used to secure the child safety seat, which is more adapted to provide protection for the young child.
However, the installation of the child safety seat with the seatbelt of the vehicle may be cumbersome to achieve, and improper installation may occur. To facilitate the installation of the child safety seat, certain seat designs may provide an internal harness that can securely anchor with the vehicle seat. However, the internal harness is usually implemented in child safety seats of more complex construction. There is a need for a design that can provide an internal harness which is easy to operate, and can also securely hold certain child seats such as booster seats on a vehicle's passenger seat.


A system for cementing well casing in a bore hole utilizes only top and bottom cementing plugs. The well casing has on its lower end, an inwardly extending lip to engage a latch on the lower portion of the bottom cementing plug. The bottom cementing plug has a through passage that is covered on the top by a diaphragm and on the bottom by another diaphragm.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved method and system for cementing the casing of an oil well in a bore hole.
2. Background
Currently, conventional oil wells require that drilling equipment be used to create a bore hole to a desired depth. The drilling equipment is removed and replaced with a casing string that is secured in the bore hole by cement. Generally, the casing is run down the bore hole with a closed end, typically with a guide shoe and a float collar.
A simple guide shoe, such as an open-end collar with a molded nose, is attached at the end of the casing string. This shoe directs the casing away from ledges in the bore hole and minimizes caving of the sidewalls of the bore hole. At a point one to three joints above the guide shoe is the float collar that prevents fluids from entering the casing string. This closed end allows the casing string to be floated down the bore hole, at the same time increasing pressure on the bore hole walls by the displacement of mud and fluid from the center of the bore hole. This pressure can cause a strain on weaker formations to break down or plant the casing above the desired depth.
If the close-ended casing string has become planted or mud is needed to be cleared from around the casing, the casing string is reciprocated or rotated. This reciprocation may result in a swab-surge effect on the bore hole walls. If the casing string is hung up on an obstruction in the bore hole, the casing is either reciprocated and rotated through the obstruction or the casing is pulled out of the bore hole so that drilling equipment can re-enter to remove the obstruction. It is only after the closed-end casing has reached the desired depth in the bore hole may the cementing process be carried out.
A commonly-used cementing method for close-ended casing requires only a top and bottom cementing plug with a cement slurry interposed. The bottom plug is pressed into the casing to clear mud and debris from the inside of the casing string to prevent contamination of the cement slurry. The top plug forces down the cement slurry against the bottom plug. When the bottom plug reaches the float collar, the pressure from the cement slurry ruptures the upper diaphragm on the top of the bottom plug and passes through the hollow center and down through the lower diaphragm out, into and around the guide shoe and up and around the annular space between the bore hole and casing. The drawback to this case cementing method is the requirement that the casing be close-ended. This close-ended configuration can damage the formation and inhibit the casing string from reaching its desired depth. This cementing method requires additional equipment and may require a protracted rig time to set the well. It is to this end that the present invention has been developed to provide a system and method for cementing casing in a bore hole.


A method is provided for reprinting damaged mailpieces for use in a mailpiece inserter. The method comprising the steps of producing an object-oriented data file of the mailpiece content material including a scan code and storing the object-oriented data files in a reprint repository. The status of a mail run is tracked as mailpieces are fabricated and the results are recorded in a reprint file. The results record whether a mailpiece was successfully fabricated and reprint files are generated in connection with unsuccessfully fabricated mailpieces.

A mail insertion system or a "mailpiece inserter" is commonly employed for producing mailpieces intended for mass mail communications. Such mailpiece inserters are typically used by organizations such as banks, insurance companies and utility companies for producing a large volume of specific mail communications where the contents of each mailpiece are directed to a particular addressee. Also, other organizations, such as direct mailers, use mailpiece inserters for producing mass mailings where the contents of each mailpiece are substantially identical with respect to each addressee.
In many respects, a typical inserter system resembles a manufacturing assembly line. Sheets and other raw materials (i.e., a web of paper stock, enclosures, and envelopes) enter the inserter system as inputs. Various modules or workstations in the inserter system work cooperatively to process the sheets until a finished mail piece is produced. Typically, inserter systems prepare mail pieces by arranging preprinted sheets of material into a collation, i.e., the content material of the mail piece, on a transport deck. The collation of preprinted sheets may continue to a chassis module where additional sheets or inserts may be added based upon predefined criteria, e.g., an insert being sent to addressees in a particular geographic region. Subsequently, the collation may be folded and placed into envelopes. Once filled, the envelopes are closed, sealed, weighed, and sorted. A postage meter may then be used to apply postage indicia based upon the weight and/or size of the mail piece.
The capacity, configuration and features of each inserter system depend upon the needs of each customer and/or installation. Until recently, mailpiece inserters were limited to two basic configurations, i.e., low-volume inserters capable of producing between about 5K-10K mailpieces monthly, and high-volume inserters capable of producing in excess of 100K mailpieces daily. To contrast the differences in greater detail, low volume inserters may occupy the space of a conventional office copier and generally will cost less than about twenty-thousand dollars ($20,000). High-volume inserters may extent over 100 feet in length and cost in excess of five million dollars ($5,000,000). Only recently have manufacturers introduced models having an intermediate capacity, i.e., producing between 50K-100K mailpieces monthly. An exemplary model fulfilling these specifications is the Sebring Model inserter produced by Pitney Bowes Inc., located in Stamford, Conn., USA.
While system capacity significantly impacts productivity, it should also be appreciated that capacity also influences other processes of the mailpiece inserter, i.e., impacts certain practical aspects of system operation. For example, a typical inserter may exhibit a rejection rate of about five percent (5%) of the total mailpiece volume. That is, five percent (5%) of the total number of mailpieces may necessitate re-printing due to damage incurred by paper jams, mishandled paper, missing or unidentified sheet material, inaccurate fold lines, improper sealing, etc. In low capacity machines, the percentage of mailpieces requiring re-print may equal a small number, e.g., 10 mailpieces daily, which can readily be re-printed without the need to re-run an entire print job. Moreover, if the job involved the printing of payroll checks, it will be appreciated that, for security reasons/theft avoidance, re-printing of checks must be minimized and closely monitored. As such, it is common for low capacity machines to have limited re-print capability, e.g., simply identifying those documents which were improperly completed/printed. Once the misprinted checks have been identified, separate individual checks may be printed and mailed, i.e., often by a department charged with such activities such as a payroll or accounting department.
High capacity inserters, on the other hand, yield a much higher number of reject mailpieces requiring reprint. In addition to document identification (which can be used to identify both completed and misprinted documents/mailpieces), these systems are oftentimes equipped with optical scanning or recording devices for storing a digitized picture of each document handled by the inserter. That is, as documents pass from an initial feed station to subsequent handling stations, a picture of the document may be captured and stored. Thereafter, documents are optically tracked via photocells disposed along the feed path of the inserter for the purpose of recording the status of the document, i.e., whether the document successfully passed to completion or failed in-process.
Due to the potentially large number of incomplete documents, such inserters are typically operated by means of intelligent software. The operating software may be capable of preparing a print job comprising a list/compilation of documents which have been identified as candidates for reprint. The list/compilation may be generated automatically by the inserter's system software and/or manually at the request of an operator. Regarding the latter, an operator may visually inspect mailpieces for certain aesthetic deficiencies, e.g., such as a blurred/partially legible mailing address, which, in the opinion of the operator, does not pass certain quality standards and, as such, is unsuitable for mailing.
While low capacity inserters typically have limited reprint features, high capacity machines, which include integral processing capability, can readily retrieve document identification numbers for re-printing defective documents. Alternatively, high capacity mailpiece inserters can use the digitized pictures of the processed documents, prepare a print job of the defective documents and automatically/manually reprint the documents. It will be appreciated that this reprint capability is particularly valuable for high volume inserters which produce a proportionately large quantity of defective documents.
While high volume inserters are capable of handling and reprinting a large quantity of defective documents, the data used to reproduce the documents are merely digitized photos incapable of being changed or manipulated. For example, if the original error or deficiency arose from the document content "as printed", then the defect is, once again, passed along to the reprint job. Furthermore, since reprint jobs are typically formatted in accordance with a predetermined numeric sequence, the operator must reprint all of the defective mailpieces which each run. That is, the operator is not provided the ability to selectively reprint defective documents.
A need, therefore, exists for an inserter having the capability to selectively reprint large quantities of the original print job, i.e., whether or not the requirement for reprinting such documents was due to a document error or deficiency, and the ability to manipulate the document should the error or deficiency be contained within the original printed image thereof.

Reprint function for mailpiece inserters


Support structures and systems for electrical panels, such as solar panels or collectors, and other materials and devices are described. The structures are relatively strong and lightweight and include cable management features.

Solar arrays can be implemented as part of a terrestrial solar power system for the conversion of sunlight into electrical energy. The technical design and the mode of operation of such arrays or solar panels are known to a sufficient extent. Normally, such arrays are implemented as panel-like elements and are stationary or movably mounted preferably on roofs or at ground level, often on standalone framework-like mounting devices. Because arrays are often mounted outdoors and are large, heavy structures, this presents challenges. Even moderate wind can cause bending and the array may be capable of bending under its own weight. Thus, relatively rigid and secure structures for mounting and/or attaching the solar panels or arrays are generally desirable, but this can often come at the expense of lightweight, easy-to-install components. A need further exists for greater pass-through cable capability and increased cable management.

Support structure and systems including the same


When a brushless DC (direct current) motor is started to rotate a rotor, a normal current value is set and then a motor drive current corresponding to the set normal current value is supplied to the brushless DC motor. If the brushless DC motor is not started by this motor drive current, the current value to be set is increased at a desired rate, and a motor drive current corresponding to the increased current value is supplied to the brushless DC motor. That is, the motor drive current corresponding to the current value increased at a desired rate is sequentially supplied to the brushless DC motor until the brushless DC motor has started.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for controlling a brushless DC motor used in a magnetic disk apparatus and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional magnetic disk apparatus, a brushless DC (direct current) motor such as a spindle motor is used to rotate a recording medium (disk), and the brushless DC motor has to be reliably started (driven) in order to use the magnetic disk apparatus. In a conventional brushless DC motor control apparatus, therefore, a value of current supplied to the brushless DC motor is preset in view of various situations, and a drive current corresponding to the current value is supplied to the brushless DC motor when the brushless DC motor is started.
Since the current value is set in view of various situations, the brushless DC motor can reliably be started, irrespective of the situations. In a normal starting operation, however, a drive current to the brushless DC motor overflows.
Battery-driven magnetic disk apparatuses have recently been employed. To save power in these apparatuses, an unnecessary current has to be prevented from flowing to a brushless DC motor. When a magnetic disk apparatus is incorporated into a power-save type computer system, an unnecessary current increases in accordance with an increase in the number of start/stop operations of a brushless DC motor.
It is thus desired to realize a brushless DC motor control apparatus in which a drive current supplied to a brushless DC motor is reduced to reliably start the brushless DC motor.

Method and apparatus for controlling brushless DC motor


A centering device for a double Cardan universal joint is comprised of a disc-shaped body having a first and second annular face and an annular rim extending about a central axis. A first hollowed protrusion is centrally located on the first annular face, and a second hollowed protrusion is centrally located on the second annular face. A plurality of bearings are built into the disc-shaped body, extending circumferentially about the central axis. The bearings may be contained within two races, with one race located on each annular face, or the bearings may be contained within holes or slots built into the disc-shaped body.

Universal joint assemblies are well known devices that provide a driving connection between two members adapted to rotate about non-aligned axes of rotation. Universal joint assemblies are widely used between rotatable drive shaft sections in vehicle drive train systems. A typical universal joint assembly includes a cross having a central body portion with four cylindrical trunnions extending outwardly from the cross. The trunnions are oriented in a single plane and extend at right angles relative to one another, and the trunnions have a common intersection at the center of the central body portion. A hollow cylindrical bearing cup is mounted on the end of each of the trunnions. Needle bearings or similar means are provided between the outer cylindrical surfaces of the trunnions and the inner cylindrical surfaces of the bearings to permit relative rotational movement between the trunnions and the bearings. The bearings that are mounted on an opposed pair of the trunnions can be connected to a first end yoke secured to an end of a first drive shaft section, while the bearings that are mounted on a second opposed pair of the trunnions can be connected to a second end yoke secured to an end of a second drive shaft section. A Cardan universal joint is classified as a non-constant velocity type of universal joint because the instantaneous angular velocities of the driving shaft and the driven shaft will vary with the angle of rotation (although the average angular velocities for a complete revolution are equal).
A double Cardan universal joint is a near-constant velocity universal joint that is used to correct some of the deficiencies in a single Cardan universal joint. A typical double Cardan universal joint is essentially formed by two single Cardan universal joints that are connected by a unitary coupling yoke having a supporting and centering mechanism. Thus, a typical double Cardan universal joint includes a first yoke that is connected to a first journal cross, a coupling yoke having a first end that is connected to the first journal cross and a second end that is connected to a second journal cross, and a second yoke that is connected to the second journal cross. The supporting and centering mechanism is usually provided by mating ball and socket portions provided on the first and second yokes. The coupling yoke cooperates with the supporting and centering mechanism so as to generally bisect the angle between the first and second yokes. As a result, near constant velocity operating characteristics are attained during operation.
An alternative known structure for a double Cardan universal joint is known as a twin ball and centering plate type. In such a joint, the first and second journal crosses are connected together by a two-piece flanged coupling yoke. The first piece of the coupling yoke includes a yoke portion that is connected to the first journal cross and a flange portion. Similarly, the second piece of the coupling yoke includes a yoke portion that is connected to the second journal cross and a flange portion. The two flange portions are connected together so as to define an internal cavity, in which a centering plate is slidably disposed. The centering plate includes an inner socket portion that receives the ball portions of the first and second yokes therein and an outer plate portion that is slidably disposed within the cavity defined by the mating flange portions. Although the twin ball and centering plate double Cardan universal joint provides near-constant velocity rotation, it is limited to relatively low rotational speeds due to friction created by the centering plate when operating at an angle. The sliding mechanism in this type of design also tends to lock up when placed under load. This occurs because existing designs have a flat surface of the sliding mechanism in contact with the housing. This flat surface often becomes cocked when load is applied to the centering mechanism due to the inherent looseness between these two pieces, causing the outer edge to dig into the housing. It would be desirable to create a double Cardan universal joint with a centering plate with minimal rotational friction and that resists locking under load.


A system performs a layout design of a circuit for a small area satisfying a design rule within a short period of time. In a layout design system which includes a processing portion and in which a circuit diagram and layout design information are input to the processing portion, the processing portion has a function of generating layout data from the circuit diagram and the layout design information by performing a Q learning, the processing portion has a function of outputting the layout data, the processing portion includes a first neural network, and the first neural network estimates an action value function in the Q learning.

The scale of integrated circuits has been increased with progress of semiconductor techniques, and circuit designers are demanded to design a large-scale circuit in a short period. For design of integrated circuits, CAD tools which automatically perform layout design of digital circuits have been commercialized. In contrast, layout design of analog circuits or the like is manually performed by circuit designers, which sometimes requires a long operating time. In layout design, demands for circuit characteristics and a design rule need to be met and thus, high skills are expected of circuit designers.
Use of artificial intelligence is under consideration for various applications. Specifically, the use of the configuration of an artificial neural network is expected to enable obtaining computers with higher performance than conventional von Neumann computers, and in recent years, a variety of researches for building artificial neural networks in electronic circuits have been carried out.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an invention in which weight data necessary for computation with an artificial neural network is retained in a memory device including a transistor that contains an oxide semiconductor in its channel formation region.

Layout design system and layout design method

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A method for recovery of degradation caused by avalanche hot carriers is provided that includes subjecting an idle bipolar transistor exhibiting avalanche degradation to a thermal anneal step which increases temperature of the transistor thereby recovering the avalanche degradation of the bipolar transistor. In one embodiment, the annealing source is a self-heating structure that is a Si-containing resistor that is located side by side with an emitter of the bipolar transistor. During the recovering step, the bipolar transistor including the self-heating structure is placed in the idle mode (i.e., without bias) and a current from a separate circuit is flown through the self-heating structure. In another embodiment of the present, the annealing step is a result of providing a high forward current (around the peak fT current or greater) to the bipolar transistor while operating below the avalanche condition (VCB of less than 1 V). Under the above conditions, about 40% or greater of the degradation can be recovered. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the thermal annealing step may include a rapid thermal anneal (RTA), a furnace anneal, a laser anneal or a spike anneal.

Bipolar transistors are electronic devices with two p-n junctions that are in close proximity to each other. A typical bipolar transistor has three device regions: an emitter, a collector, and a base disposed between the emitter and the collector. Ideally, two p-n junctions, i.e., the emitter-base and collector-base junctions, are separated by a specific distance. Modulation of the current flow in one p-n junction by changing the bias of the nearby junction is called "bipolar transistor action".
If the emitter and collector are doped n-type and the base is doped p-type, the device is an "npn" transistor. Alternatively, if the opposite doping configuration is used, the device is a "pnp" transistor. Because the mobility of minority carriers, i.e., electrons, in the base region of npn transistors is higher than that of holes in the base of pnp transistors, higher frequency operation and higher speed performances can be obtained with npn transistors. Therefore, npn transistors comprise the majority of bipolar transistors used to build integrated circuits.
As the vertical dimensions of bipolar transistors are scaled more and more, serious device operational limitations have been encountered. One actively studied approach to overcome these limitations is to build transistors with emitter materials whose band gap is larger than the band gap of the material used in the base. Such structures are referred to in the art as 'heterojunction' transistors.
Heterostructures comprising heterojunctions can be used for both majority carrier and minority carrier devices. Among minority carrier devices, heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) in which the emitter is formed of Si and the base of a silicon germanium (SiGe) alloy have recently been developed. The SiGe alloy is narrower in band gap than silicon.
The advanced SiGe bipolar and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS) technology uses a SiGe base in the HBT. In the higher-frequency (such as multi-GHz) regime, conventional compound semiconductors such as, for example, GaAs and InP, currently dominate the market for high-speed wired and wireless communication devices. SiGe BiCMOS promises not only a comparable performance to GaAs in devices such as power amplifiers, but also a substantial cost reduction due to integration of HBTs with standard CMOS, yielding the so-called "system on a chip".
As silicon germanium (SiGe) heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) performance moves up over 200 GHz, it has become apparent that the avalanche degradation mechanism becomes the dominant reliability concern for SiGe HBT circuit applications. This is due to the fact that the high frequency performance of the bipolar transistor is achieved by vertical scaling of the device, which decreases the vertical depth of the junctions and increases the electrical field within the device. This high electrical field at the collector-base junction during operation generates high energetic carriers that can damage the insulating interfaces around the device's emitter and shallow trench isolation (STI) interfaces. Avalanche carrier related damages will decrease (or degrade) the device current gain in both forward and reverse active mode.
The avalanche degradation mechanism was recently discovered and it imposes a very big constraint for high frequency and high power performance of SiGe HBTs. See, for example, G. Zhang, et al., "A New Mixed-Mode Base Current Degradation Mechanism in Bipolar Transistors", IEEE BCTM 1.4, 2002 and Z. Yang, et al., "Avalanche Current Induced Hot Carrier Degradation in 200 GHz SiGe Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors", Proc. International Reliability Physics Symposium, pp. 339-343, 2003.
A sample avalanche degradation of a typical SiGe HBT is shown in FIG. 1. Specifically, FIG. 1 shows the current before the stress (T0) and after 3000 seconds (T1) avalanche stress for an IBM 200 GHz SiGe HBT with an emitter size of 0.8×0.8 μm2 stressed at VCB=3.0 V and IE=5.12 mA. Operation in the avalanche regime has become more and more important for SiGe HBTs in high frequency applications; See, for example, H. Li, et al., "Design of W-Band VCOs with High Output Power for Potential Application in 77 GHz Automotive Radar Systems", IEEE GaAs Digest, pp. 263-266 (2003). VCB denotes the collector base voltage and IE denotes the emitter current.
Any methods to recover the avalanche degradation will greatly benefit the SiGe HBT circuit's performance and application range. However, there has not been any recovery method reported in the prior art to date because this degradation mechanism has only been fully investigated in the last year or so.
In view of the above, there is a need for providing a method to recover the avalanche degradation mentioned above in order to fabricate bipolar transistors, particularly SiGe HBTs, that can operate at the high frequencies currently required for the present generation of bipolar transistors.

Methodology for recovery of hot carrier induced degradation in bipolar devices

International Business Machines Corporation


Elevator group supervisory control method and system for group supervisory control of a plurality of elevators serving a plurality of floors. The method and apparatus of the invention permits the inputting of qualitative requests (guidance), from the user, concerning elevator operation into the group supervisory control system. Qualitative requests concerning elevator operation are set in the form of guidance (or request) targets. The thus set request targets are converted into control targets for the elevators. Actual group supervisory control is executed using the control targets.

This invention relates to elevator group supervisory control systems and more particularly to an elevator group supervisory control system suitable for realizing a variety of desires or requests of the users of the elevators.
In a conventional elevator group supervisory control system, with the view of improving running efficiency of elevator and services to passengers, occurrence of hall calls of supervised and a call is assigned to an optimum elevator in consideration of the whole service condition under the hall calls to thereby reduce average waiting time. Recently, a system has been proposed as disclosed in JP-A-58-52162 or GB 2,111,244 (corresponding to JP-A-58-63668) wherein in selecting from a plurality of elevators an elevator to which a hall call is assigned, an evaluation function for evaluating respective elevators is added with a variable parameter. The value of the variable parameter is changed in accordance with traffic. The obtained result is used to learn the parameter value which meets a preset target value. This parameter value is used in accordance with the running condition of an elevator to execute call assignment control.
In this system, either a minimum waiting time mode can be designated or the control target for energy saving can be set by a level command supplied from a switch or a building caretaker system. A stop call evaluation index is introduced by which stop calls destined for floors near a floor for which an originating (or new) call is destined are evaluated and the originating hall call is preferentially assigned to an elevator commanded by or having many of the stop calls. Advantageously, a weight coefficient for the stop call evaluation index can suitably be changed so as to be optimized for the waiting time and conversely the weight coefficient can be increased to attain energy saving effect.
On the other hand, JP-B-62-70 and JP-B-62-71 disclose a system which takes waiting time and energy saving into account. JP-B-58-56709 discloses a system which adds a predictive full-up to the evaluation index, and JP-B-62-47787 discloses a system which adds at least one of forecasting miss probability and full-up probability to the evaluation index.
Of the above conventional systems, the system having two control targets of waiting time and energy saving can avoid dissatisfaction of passengers by reducing average waiting time but there are still involved several problems. More specifically, because of unexceptional occurrence of a longtime waiting at a specified floor within the same time zone, call assignment to a remote elevator even in the presence of a nearby elevator in wait, assignment of a call from a passenger carrying a large baggage such as a wagon to a crowded elevator and consequent necessity of a new call after start of the crowded elevator and the like cause, various complaints are made and informed to the owner or a caretaker of building.
Further, only the waiting time and energy saving or the waiting time and full-up probability (forecasting miss probability) are considered as control targets in spite of the fact that there are involved many other control targets, and it is difficult for the owner or caretaker of buliding to designate and control many control targets. In addition, the multi-target consisting of various combinations of the above control targets can not be controlled.
In order to take care of various complaints about an elevator system installed in a building, the user of elevator such as owner or caretaker of the building must ask the elevator maker to improvably alter the elevator system. In response the elevator maker must change the program or add new programs and then revise the ROM. This in effect requires much labor and time. All of a variety of requests of the user including passengers and the owner or caretaker of the building can not be satisfied. Further, it is difficult to present to the user the effects of the actual operation of elevator in accordance with the corrected program.
As will be seen from the above, in the elevator equipment to be used in buildings, constraint is imposed on the performance of elevator equipment such as the number of elevators installed, rated capacity and elevator speed, and inputting of request targets for control goal expected to be realized under the constraint can not be achieved without going through many trial and error processes and experience. Also, desires or requests of the user are difficult to express reasonably numerically. Essentially, in the conventional technology, inputting of user's request has not been thought of and the manner of reasonably settling the request is in no way considered, with the result that control capable of matching individuality of the installed elevator is difficult to achieve.
Conventionally, as far as inputting and setting of evaluation items are concerned, for example, JP-A-59-223672 simply discloses designation of energy saving rate in terms of numerical value (%) and JP-A-59-48364 merely discloses a method of inputting information about entertainment reservation and concentrated service into elevator group supervision.

Method and system of controlling elevators and method and apparatus of inputting requests to the control system


Light from a semiconductor laser is converged by an objective lens onto an optical disk, and return light thereof is directed to a light receiving element by a three-division hologram element. The light receiving element includes a two-division main light receiving region for detecting a focus error signal and sub light receiving regions respectively provided on both sides of the main light receiving region for compensating the focus error signal. Based on output signals of the above main and sub light receiving regions, a focus error signal is detected. Note that it is arranged that the sub light receiving regions receive the return light from the optical disk and hence output signals only when the objective lens defocuses being positioned outside a dynamic range. Therefore, with the use of outputs of the sub light receiving regions, the focus error signal is quickly converged to 0, when the objective lens is positioned outside the dynamic range. As a result, even during a focus servo with respect to a multilayer optical disk wherein recording layers are provided at small intervals, it is possible to obtain an accurate focalizing position of the objective lens since respective focus error signals, obtained with respect to each recording layer, do not interfere each other.

Recently, since an optical disk is capable of recording a large quantity of information at a high density, the utilization of the optical disks has been promoted in various fields such as audiovisual apparatuses, videos, and computers. In this trend, an increase in the recording capacity has been further demanded, on which various attempts have been made, including a method of providing an optical disk having a multilayer configuration.
For example, the Japanese Publication of Laid-Open Patent Application No. 5-151609/1993 (Tokukaihei 5-151609) discloses an optical disk apparatus for individually reproduce recording data from each data layer of an optical disk which has a multiple data layer configuration. Operational principles of this optical disk is described below, with reference to FIG. 18.
Recording/reproducing layers 31 through 38 of a multilayer disk 30 are formed between transparent substrates 21 and air layers 22 which are alternately provided. During an information recording and reproducing operation, a laser beam is focused on each of the recording/reproducing layers 31 through 38, by moving an objective lens 4 in an optical axis direction with the use of an actuator 23. In the case where, during the focusing, a focal point of the laser beam is being moved in the vicinity of one recording/reproducing layer in the optical axis direction with the move of the objective lens 4, a focus error signal (hereinafter referred to as FES) has a sigmoid waveform (hereinafter referred to as FES curve), becoming 0 when the laser beam is rightly focused.
FIG. 19 illustrates an FES curve in this case. Since the recording/reproducing layers in this case have intervals therebetween of around 400 .mu.m each which is sufficient, no reverse affection is caused by return lights from adjacent recording/reproducing layers. Therefore, when the objective lens 4 is moved, substantially independent FES curves are obtained with respect to each of the recording/reproducing layers 31 through 38. Specifically, since the layers are provided sufficiently apart from each other, an FES curve of an n'th layer becomes 0 when an n+1'th layer or an n-1'th layer is focused, thereby causing no affection such as offsets to FES curves of the other layers.
Note that in this case, since each interval between the layers is not small, a thickness of the disk substrate to be focused changes to a great extent, when a focus servo is carried out with respect to each layer. Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 18, it is necessary to individually correct spherical aberrations caused in each plane with the use of an aberration compensator 26.
On the other hand, a disk of a two-layer structure, wherein data layers are provided at a sufficiently small interval compared with a thickness of a substrate, for example, 30 to 40 .mu.m, has been proposed as a digital video disk (DVD) or the like. In this case, since spherical aberrations due to differences between thicknesses of individual substrates are sufficiently small, the aberration compensator 26 is unnecessary. As an optical system suitable for such a disk of the two-layer structure wherein data layers are provided at a sufficiently small interval, an optical system disclosed in the Japanese Publication for Laid-Open Patent Application No. 4-21928/1992 (Tokukaihei 4-21928) is given as an example.
FIG. 20 illustrates the optical system disclosed in the above publication. A light emitted from a semiconductor laser 1 as a light source is diffracted by a hologram element 2, and a zeroth diffracted light, among all the lights obtained by diffraction, enters a reshaping prism 24 through a collimator lens 3. A light beam, reshaped by the reshaping prism 24, is converged on an optical disk 6 through an objective lens 4. A return light of the light beam passes through the reshaping prism 24 and the collimator lens 3 and is directed to the hologram element 2, thereby being caused to form a beam R whose cross section is oval as illustrated in FIG. 21. The beam R is projected on a light receiving element 25 (see FIG. 22), and the light receiving element 25 converts optical signals obtained from the beam R into electric signals, and outputs the electric signals.
When being viewed from the side of the optical disk 6, the hologram element 2 is, as illustrated in FIG. 21, divided into three division regions 2a, 2b, and 2c, by a division line 2g in a y direction which is conformed to a radial direction of the optical disk 6, and a division line 2h which starts at the midpoint of the division line 2g and is directed in an x direction which is orthogonal to the radial direction of the optical disk 6, that is, directed in a track direction of the optical disk 6. So as to correspond to each of the division regions 2a through 2c, respective gratings are prepared.
As shown in FIGS. 22(a) through 22(c), the light receiving element 25 has four rectangular light receiving regions 25a through 25d which are lined in the x direction which conforms to the track direction of the optical disk 6. The light receiving regions 25a and 25b (focusing-use light receiving regions) are provided adjacent in the center with a division line 25x therebetween, which is directed in the y direction which conforms to the radial direction of the optical disk 6. On the other hand, the light receiving regions 25c and 25d (tracking-use light receiving regions) are respectively provided beside the light receiving regions 25a and 25b with a predetermined interval each therebetween, so that the light receiving regions 25a through 25d are lined in the x direction. Each of the light receiving regions 25a through 25d has a long rectangular shape with its longitudinal direction conformed to the y direction which corresponds to the radial direction.
When the light from the semiconductor laser 1 is focused with respect to the optical disk 6, a focusing-use return light, which has been diffracted at the division region 2a of the hologram element 2, forms a dot-like beam spot P1 on the division line 25x, as illustrated in FIG. 22(a). A tracking-use return light which has been diffracted at the division region 2b forms a beam spot P2 on the light receiving region 25d, while a tracking-use return light which has been diffracted at the division region 2c forms a beam spot P3 on the light receiving region 25c. The beam spots P1 through P3 may in some cases be formed at positions somewhat displaced in the y direction from the respective centers of the light receiving regions 25a through 25d, so that position tolerance of the light receiving element 25, drift of a wave length of the light, or the like, are absorbed by adjusting the position of the hologram element 2.
The beam spot P1 expands either in the light receiving region 25b or in the light receiving region 25a, as shown in FIG. 22(b) in the case a distance between the optical disk 6 and the objective lens is too great, and in FIG. 22(c) in the case the distance is too small. Here, when output signals from the light receiving regions 25a, 25b, 25c, and 25d are given as Sa, Sb, Sc, and Sd, respectively, the focusing error signal FES can be obtained by calculation of (Sa-Sb) by the single knife edge method.
A tracking error signal (hereinafter referred to as RES) can be obtained by calculation of (Sc-Sd) by the push-pull method, namely, by comparing diffracted lights respectively from the division regions 2b and 2c which are thus divided by the division line 2h directed in the track direction of the optical disk 6.
The following description will discuss in detail the correlation between the FES curve and the beam spot formed on the light receiving element 25. The hologram element 2 and the light receiving element 25 are adjusted so that in a focalizing state the beam spot P1 is formed on the division line 25x as shown in FIG. 22(a), namely, so that the light is evenly projected on the light receiving regions 25a and 25b. When the objective lens 4 is positioned farther from the optical disk 6 than when it is in the focalizing state, the beam spot P1 expands in the light receiving region 25b as shown in FIG. 22(b). Therefore, a light quantity in the light receiving region 25b increases, thereby causing the FES to have a negative value. In contrast, when the objective lens 4 is positioned closer, the beam spot Pi expands in the light receiving region 25a as shown in FIG. 22(c), and a light quantity of the light receiving region 25a increases, thereby causing the FES to have a positive value.
The FES curve obtained in this case is a curve F' shown in FIG. 23, which substantially linearly changes till the beam spot P1 protrudes from the light receiving region 25a or 25b. When the beam spot P1 is protruding from the light receiving region 25a or 25b, the light quantity in the light receiving region 25a or 25b is decreasing, thereby causing the absolute value of the FES to decrease and finally converges to 0.
A range between (1) the position of the objective lens 4 when the beam spot P1 starts protruding from the light receiving region 25a in the case where the objective lens 4 becomes closer to the optical disk 6 than when it is in the focalizing state, and (2) the position of the objective lens 4 when the beam spot P1 starts protruding from the light receiving region 25b in the case where the objective lens 4 becomes farther, is called a dynamic range Dy. In other words, a distance Dy between the positive peak of the FES and the negative peak of the FES is called the dynamic range Dy. Usually a width of about 15 .mu.m is required for the dynamic range Dy, so that a pull-in range of the focus servo is ensured. The respective widths of the light receiving regions 25a and 25b are determined so that within the dynamic range Dy, the beam spot P1 does not protrude from the light receiving regions 25a and 25b. With greater widths of the light receiving regions 25a and 25b, the dynamic range Dy can be set wider, but on the contrary the light receiving regions have greater areas thereby causing frequency characteristics to deteriorate. Therefore, the dynamic range Dy is set to the narrowest possible.
Note that in the following descriptions, a state wherein the objective lens 4 is displaced from the position in the focalizing state outside the Dynamic range Dy, that is, greatly close to or greatly far from a recording/reproducing layer of the optical disk 6 to be focused, is regarded as a greatly defocusing state. On the other hand, a state wherein the objective lens 4 is displaced within the Dynamic range Dy, that is, slightly close or slightly far from a recording/reproducing layer to be focused, is regarded as a slightly defocusing state.
However, in the case where reproduction is carried out with the use of an optical system shown in FIG. 20 with respect to a multilayer disk wherein the layers are provided at just small intervals (d1 in FIG. 23) of about twice of the width of the dynamic range Dy each, for example, offsets occur to the FES, since one FES curve which has been obtained with respect to a data surface of a layer does not sufficiently converge to 0 when another FES curve is obtained with respect to a data surface of an adjacent layer.
FIGS. 24 and 25 illustrate FES curves obtained from two layers (first and second layers) adjacent to each other in a plurality of layers. The horizontal axis T represents displacement of the objective lens 4, and T1 and T2 represent respective positions of the objective lens 4 when the convergent beam is rightly focused on the first and second layers. An FES curve obtained with respect to the first layer is denoted F1', while an FES curve obtained with respect to the second layer is denoted F2'. But, provided that respective quantities of light reflected from the first and second layers are equal to each other, what is actually obtained is an FES curve indicated by a broken line denoted F3' in FIG. 24, which is a resultant curve of the curves F1' and F2'.
A solid line in FIG. 25 indicates the FES curve F3'. As is clear from FIG. 25, since the FES curves obtained with respect to the data surface of the adjacent layer does not converge to 0, FES offsets .DELTA.f1 and .DELTA.f2 respectively occur at T1 and T2 which are the positions of the objective lens 4 when the convergent beam is rightly focused on the first and second layers, respectively. Therefore, detection sensitivity also changes.
FIGS. 24 and 25 illustrate only FES curves obtained with respect to the two adjacent layers, but in the case with three or more layers, such reverse affect is multiplied, thereby causing such offsets and detection sensitivity to further change, and hence making it more difficult to conduct a normal focus servo.

Optical pickup device, optical disk recording/reproducing apparatus, and method of generating focus error signal


The instruction pipeline of a processor, which includes execution circuitry and instruction sequencing logic, receives a stream of instructions including a pipeline interlocking test instruction. The processor includes pipeline control logic that, responsive to receipt of the test instruction, interlocks the instruction pipeline as specified in the test instruction to prevent advancement of at least one first instruction in the instruction pipeline while permitting advancement of at least one second instruction in the instruction pipeline until occurrence of a release condition also specified by the test instruction. In response to the release condition, the pipeline control logic releases the interlock to enable advancement of said at least one instruction in the instruction pipeline. In this manner, selected instruction pipeline conditions, such a full queue or synchronization of instructions at certain pipeline stages, which are difficult to induce in a test environment through the execution of conventional instruction sets, can be tested.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to data processing and, in particular, to functional verification of a processor. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a processor and method of testing a processor for hardware faults through execution of a pipeline interlocking instruction.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical superscalar microprocessor is a highly complex digital integrated circuit including, for example, one or more levels of cache memory for storing instructions and data, a number of execution units for executing instructions, instruction sequencing logic for retrieving instructions from memory and routing the instructions to the various execution units, and registers for storing operands and result data. Interspersed within and between these components are varies queues, buffers and latches for temporarily buffering instructions, data and control information.
As will be appreciated, at any one time the typical processor described above contains an enormous amount of state information, which can be defined as the aggregate of the instructions, data and control information present within the processor. Because of the size of the processor's state space, it is difficult to adequately test for combinations of internal conditions (e.g., full queues or buffers, certain instruction sequences, etc.) that can produce hardware functional errors by simulation testing or post-fabrication hardware testing utilizing conventional instruction streams. Such conventional methods of functional verification simply do not reliably induce or model "corner cases" (i.e., infrequently occurring combinations of internal states) that are likely to result in functional errors.
Thus, while complex circuitry such as processors can be tested for manufacturing faults, for example, utilizing conventional IEEE 1149.1 boundary scan testing, no method of performing full functional verification on a complex superscalar processor is currently available. Consequently, many conventional processors remain only partially tested, thus permitting hardware functional errors to remain undetected until after fabrication or release.

Processor and method of testing a processor for hardware faults utilizing a pipeline interlocking test instruction


A positioning device for a drawer slide bearing carrier includes a bearing carrier having rollers located between a carrying rail and a sliding rail. The bearing carrier has a recess and a hook portion at a front end thereof. The carrying rail has a support at a front end thereof. The support comprises a hook unit which is pivotally connected to a block fixed on the carrying rail. An elastic force is formed between the support and the hook unit, urging the hook unit to restore its original position. Thereby, the front end of the bearing carrier is pressed by the block so that the hook portion engages with the hook unit to secure the bearing carrier in place. The carrying rail further comprises a releasing mechanism adapted to control the swing of the hook unit for the movement of different locations.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a positioning device for a drawer slide bearing carrier, in particular to one that secures a bearing carrier in place by means of a hook unit along with a releasing mechanism to restore the drawer slide when it is pulled to the extreme position. The releasing mechanism controls the swing of the hook unit for the movement of different locations.
2. Description of the Related Prior Art
A slide used for a drawer or similar object is usually comprised of two or three sections of sliding rails to slide on those rails by means of one set or two sets of bearing mounted among those rails. A bearing carrier is provided to contain rollers to roll on the rails for the bearing carrier to movably connect to the sliding rails. Whereas it is necessarily in most cases to remove the drawer or similar object mounted on the slide by the furniture manufacturer or the consumer, the slide is provided with the function of disengaging the drawer or similar object from the slide, either in the configuration of two or three sections, essentially by pulling out the rails connected to the drawer or similar object. To consider the necessity of restoring the drawer or similar object to the slide and maintain the normal mechanism of the product, the bearing carrier providing the connection by sliding must be located at the front end of a fixed rail upon pulling out the rails so to facilitate the rails to be once again inserted into the bearing carrier and further guided into the linear tract of the roller.
The prior art to locate the bearing carrier at the front end of the rails having been taught in Taiwanese Publication Nos. 252316 (please refer to the Background of U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,821), 491054(U.S. Pat. No. 6,454,372), 491055, 498730 (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,722,750 and 6,220,683), M248319 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,945), M268985, and Invention Early Publication No. 200412881 in Taiwan; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,801,166, 4,252,382, 5,466,060, 5,577,821, 5,722,750, 6,145,945, 6,220,683 B1, 6,254,210 B1, 6,296,338 B1, 6,390,575 B1, 6,655,763 B2, 6,715,851 B1, 6,820,954 B2, 6,851,773 B2, and 6,860,574 B2; U.S. patent Early Publication Nos. US 2002/0089273 A1, US 2005/0017613 A1, and US 2005/0062379 A1; and Japanese is Patent Nos. 5-15790 and 2562231 is also the prior art that the applicant of the present invention is familiar with.
Whereas, most of the locators of the prior arts, as described above relate to a "temporary" elasticity retaining function, the bearing carrier is vulnerable to displacement by accident; while the others providing with enforcing locating functions are found with the flaw that the releasing mechanism adapted to the locator was old fashion.

Positioning device for drawer slide bearing carrier


An ink jet recording apparatus of the continuous jet type and an automatic ink jet jetting axis adjusting method of the same wherein the position of an ink jet jetting axis or nozzle axis can automatically be adjusted to an optimum position by a deflecting electric field are disclosed. When a carriage is at its home position, jetting of ink from a nozzle is started, and an MPU changes over a change-over switch to a test signal generator side. The test signal generator generates a test signal, which is a sum of an amplified recording signal and a bias potential outputted from a bias power source, and applies the test signal to a controlling electrode. The MPU checks an output of a current detector (jet current) based on charged ink drops caught by a conductive drop catcher to discriminate the positional relationship between an ink jet jetting axis and a knife edge. The MPU then changes the bias potential of the bias power source in accordance with a result of the discrimination. Consequently, the controlling signal applied to the controlling electrode is varied to adjust the ink jet jetting axis to its optimum position.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus of the continuous jet type and a method of automatically adjusting an ink jet jetting axis (nozzle axis) of a continuous jet type ink jet recording apparatus, and more particularly to a continuous jet type ink jet recording apparatus wherein a jet of ink jetted from a nozzle is selectively charged and deflected to record an image on a record medium and an automatic ink jet jetting axis adjusting method of the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various ink jet recording apparatus of the continuous jet type are conventionally known and practically used. An exemplary one of such conventional continuous jet type ink jet recording apparatus is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,916,421 and shown in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 4, the continuous jet type ink jet recording apparatus shown is formed as an ink jet recording apparatus of the rotary drum type and includes, as principal components thereof, a nozzle 1 into which pressurized ink is supplied, an ink electrode 2 for holding the potential of ink in the nozzle 1 at the ground level, a controlling electrode 3 having a circular opening or a slit-like opening coaxial with the nozzle 1 and connected to receive a controlling signal Sc to control charging of a jet of ink, a grounding electrode 4 disposed in front of the controlling electrode 3 and grounded itself, a knife edge 5 mounted on the grounding electrode 4, a deflecting high voltage dc power source (hereinafter referred to as deflecting power source) 6, a deflecting electrode 7 connected to the deflecting power source 6 for cooperating with the grounding electrode 4 to produce therebetween an intense electric field perpendicular to an ink jet flying axis to deflect a charged ink drop to the grounding electrode 4 side, a recording signal generator SG connected to a host computer or a like signal source not shown for generating a recording signal, and a high voltage switch HVS for amplifying the voltage of the recording signal from the recording signal generator SG to produce a controlling signal Sc necessary for control of charging of an ink jet. An ink drop charged by the controlling electrode 3 is flown to a record medium RM wrapped around a rotary drum DR.
In such conventional continuous jet type ink jet recording apparatus, when a positive voltage is applied to the controlling electrode 3, an ink jet is charged with the negative charge and is disintegrated into a train of ink drops. When the ink drops charged with the negative charge pass a deflecting electric field generated by and between the controlling electrode 3 and the grounding electrode 4, they are reflected to the grounding electrode 4 side by the deflecting electrode 4 so that they are thereafter intercepted by the knife edge 5. On the other hand, when the voltage to the controlling electrode 3 is 0 volt, the ink jet is disintegrated into a train of ink drops while it is not charged, and consequently, the ink drops thereafter advance straightforwardly without being influenced by the deflecting electrode 7 so that the pass by the knife edge 5 and are recorded onto the record medium RM wrapped around the rotary drum DR.
Accordingly, it is apparent that the positional relationship between the ink jet jetting axis and the knife edge 5 is an important factor. In particular, the positional relationship must be such that ink drops charged and deflected be intercepted by the knife edge 5 but non-charged and straightforwardly advancing ink drops pass by the knife edge 4. Generally, the amount of deflection of a charged ink drop ranges 0.1 to 0.4 mm or so at the position of the knife edge 5. Accordingly, the positional relationship between the ink jet jetting axis and the knife edge 5 must be adjusted delicately.
Such adjustment of the positional relationship between the ink jet jetting axis (nozzle axis) and the knife edge is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 1322/1990. The document discloses a continuous jet type ink jet recording apparatus wherein an ink jet jetting axis (nozzle axis) and a gutter member (corresponding to the knife edge 5) are movable relative to each other and adjustment of the positional relationship between them is performed by manual operation. When the relative position between an ink jet and the gutter member is to be adjusted, the substantial amount of deflection of the ink jet by the deflecting electric field is reduced (for example, to one half) comparing with that upon normal recording. Further, a charge amount detector is connected to the gutter member and the output of the charge amount detector is monitored so that it can be discriminated readily whether or not ink drops come to the gutter member.
In the conventional continuous jet type in jet recording apparatus, when the positional relationship between the ink jet and the gutter member is to be set and adjusted, the substantial amount of deflection of the ink jet by the deflecting electric field is reduced from that when normal recording is performed as described above. However, since the number of parameters of deflection upon adjustment is only one, there are drawbacks that it cannot be confirmed by what degree of accuracy the amount of deflection has been adjusted, that precise adjustment cannot be achieved unless the mechanical accuracy is high, that, if a high degree of mechanical accuracy is achieved, then the production cost of the product will increase as such, and so forth. Especially, while the gutter member must have an insulating structure when a charge amount detector is connected to the gutter member, since the gutter member is always exposed to ink, there is a problem that much difficulty and complication in structure are involved in such insulating structure.
Taking the foregoing into consideration, the inventor of the present invention has proposed, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 151251/1992, a continuous jet type ink jet recording apparatus wherein, while a rotary drum and a carriage are held stopped with the carriage positioned in a region within which normal recording is not performed (such position of the carriage will be hereinafter referred to as home position), the continuous jet type ink jet recording apparatus is rendered operative to perform test printing in which an ink jet is jetted and deflected a little with respect to a middle point between two paths along which the ink jet follows when the deflecting electric field is operative and inoperative and the charge (electric current) carried by the ink jet having passed by the knife edge is detected to detect the position of the ink jet jetting axis (nozzle axis).
Another continuous jet type ink jet recording apparatus has also been proposed by the inventor of the present patent application and is disclosed in applicant's co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/784,719 filed Oct. 30, 1991 and in applicant's Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 173151/1992 wherein the continuous jet type ink jet recording apparatus is rendered operative to perform test printing wherein an ink jet is jetted and is subject to deflection which varies continuously or stepwise and the charge (electric current) carried by the ink jet having passed by the knife edge is detected to detect the position of an ink jet jetting axis (nozzle axis).

Ink jet recording apparatus of the continuous jet type and automatic ink jet jetting axis adjusting method of the same