In one embodiment, magnetic read head includes a seed layer including an amorphous alloy film and Ru film positioned thereon, and an antiferromagnetic (AFM) layer positioned above the seed layer, the AFM layer including an alloy of MnIr having an L12 ordered phase, the amorphous alloy including a Co—X alloy having more Co than any other element, with X including at least one of: Zr, Nb, Ta, Hf, W, Si, and Al. In another embodiment, a method for forming a magnetic read head includes forming a seed layer above a substrate, heating at least the substrate to a first temperature in a range from about 150° C. to about 300° C., cooling at least the substrate to a second temperature of less than about 100° C., and forming an AFM layer above the seed layer between the heating and the cooling, the AFM layer comprising a MnIr alloy.

In order to produce high recording densities in hard disk drives (HDDs) recording bit length and recording track width of a recording medium may be reduced, in one approach. In order to read data from the recording medium having the recording bits with the reduced track width, without substantial amounts of error, a track width of a read head sensor (referred to as "read head track width") and a stripe height (a depth from an air hearing surface of the read head) may also be reduced. The track width and the stripe height of the read head may be approximately 15 nm at a recording, density of 2 terabytes per square inch (Tbpsi) and approximately 5 nm at a recording density of 5 Tbpsi.
The miniaturization of the read head sensor leads to a smaller volume of the magnetic body from which the read sensor is constructed. As a result, read noise is very undesirably large due to the increased magnetic instability caused by the demagnetization field of the magnetic body. In addition, miniaturization of the sensor reduces sensor sensitivity. Therefore, problems relating to degradation of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and a significant increase in the error rate are also observable. The magnetic bodies forming the read sensor film may comprise an antiferromagnetic layer, a pinned layer, and a free layer. Improvements in the magnetic stability of these magnetic bodies would be very beneficial to magnetic head manufacturing and usage.
The sensor changes resistance by using a tunneling effect of electrons in an insulated barrier layer, which is referred to as tunneling magnetic resistance (TMR). The sensor film may comprise a seed layer, an antiferromagnetic layer on the seed layer, a pinned layer formed on the antiferromagnetic layer, an insulated barrier layer formed on the pinned layer, a free layer formed on the insulated barrier layer, and a cap layer formed on the free layer.
Using this construction, low-frequency noise below about 50 MHz has been observed. The low frequency noise appears to be generated by the sensor, but attempts to reduce this noise, and to guarantee the reliability of a hard disk drive (HDD) employing such a sensor, have been unsuccessful.
A magnetic moment of the pinned layer is pinned by an exchange coupling, force from the antiferromagnetic layer. Conventionally, a MnIr disordered film having atoms arranged randomly in the antiferromagnetic layer may be used. The miniaturization of the stripe height accompanying the miniaturization of the read head increases the demagnetization field of the pinned layer, and the pinned layer becomes unstable; therefore, sensor miniaturization and a stronger exchange coupling force become necessary.
A large increase in the exchange coupling force between the antiferromagnetic layer and the ferromagnetic layer of a L12 ordered alloy of Mn3Ir has been shown. K. Imakita et al., "Giant exchange anisotropy observed in Mn—Ir/Co—Fe bilayers containing, ordered Mn3Ir phase," Appl. Phys. Lett., 85, 3812 (2004). L12 ordered Mn3Ir is an alloy of Mn and Ir with an ordered placement of atoms that has a structure that places Mn in the center positions of the faces in a face-centered cubic (fcc) lattice and places Ir in the corner positions. When a sputtering device is used to deposit film of MnIr at room temperature, a MnIr disordered film is obtained. When growing an L12 ordered alloy of MnIr, it has been reported that substrate heating, high gas pressure film deposition, and cold film deposition processes are required.
A film deposition chamber capable of high-temperature film deposition and a cooling chamber capable of cooling the substrate during the film deposition process, therefore, may be used to deposit the ordered film of Mn3Ir. The fabrication of an ordered alloy by hot film deposition has been attempted, and the fabrication of a L12 ordered alloy of Mn3Ir was confirmed. The results of X-ray diffraction measurements confirmed a degree of order representing the extent of the ordered degree from 0.15 to 0.30, and a substantial increase in the value of the exchange coupling constant, Jk, that represents the strength of the exchange coupling force between the antiferromagnetic layer and the pinned layer from the conventional 0.6 erg/cm2 to 1.0 erg/cm2. Simultaneously, the blocking temperature, Tb, which is the temperature characteristic, substantially increased from 250° C. to 320° C.
The film thickness of the antiferromagnetic layer was thinned from 60 Å to 40 Å and used to fabricate a prototype head because Jk and Tb were greatly enhanced by producing, a L12 ordered alloy of Mn3Ir. The results were that the exchange coupling constant Jk increased from 0.6 erg/cm2 to 0.9 erg/cm2, and the blocking temperature Tb was the same as the conventional 250° C.
In contrast to a conventional read head, and in spite of the large increase in Jk, the prototype read head exhibited the baseline variations in the read signal waveform and experienced instability of the read waveform. The baseline variations in the read signal waveform are referred to as random telegraph noise (RTN) and are randomly generated over time. A prototype read head having a thick antiferromagnetic layer was studied, and a correlation between the generation of RTN and the antiferromagnetic layer film thickness was confirmed. Therefore, it would be beneficial to reduce the RTN which causes read errors.

Thermally stable low random telegraph noise sensor


A treatment method includes injecting oxygen into the liquid steel works slag, adding and dissolving in the slag alumina and lime sources, and optionally silica and iron sources and cooling the slag until solidification, the additions being carried out in such amounts and the cooling being performed at such speed that the resulting slag has a mineralogical composition having one of the following constituting element: (a) an amorphous glassy phase; (b) a first group of phases (1) consisting, in weight percentages, of 10–40 CA, 20–50 C2AS, 30–50 C6AF2 and 10–30 C2S; (c) a second group of phases (2) consisting, in weight percentages, of 20–40 C2F, 10–30 C2AS, 20–50 C6AF2 and 10–40 C2S, and (d) a mixture of amorphous glassy phase and of the first or second group of phases. The invention is applicable to hydraulic binders.

The production of hydraulic products or products with hydraulic potential from raw materials without emission of CO2 encounters difficulties inherent in their unfavourable chemistry and mineralogy for the production of a binding material.
By unfavourable is meant that the product obtained will not be usable on its own or optionally in a mixture with Portland cement because it will not show the resistance required by the standards or because it will generate problems relating to the swelling or destruction of the structures. This is the case for the LD scoriae(scoriae derived from solidified and crushed steel works slag).
The LD scoriae are by-products of the refining of haematite pig iron (smeltings poor in phosphorus) by the process of oxygen insufflation. This is a material rich in iron and lime having a mean mineralogical composition which is located in the set consisting of dicalcium silicates, calcium ferrite and metal oxides and the average chemical composition of the principal compounds of which is the following:
Compound% by weightCaO50SiO213Al2O33MgO6Iron oxides28Free ironUp to 20Free CaOUp to 10
The use of the LD scoriae in the form of granulates for concrete or for road construction for the generation of both bituminous upper layers and the foundation layers is limited by the presence of free lime which will create expansions of the road surface or of the concrete.
The transformation of the LD scoriae into a hydraulic binder also arouses much interest.
The patent FR-2.546.530 describes of steel works slag with a view to its use in cement.
The treatment described in this patent consists of adding to the liquid slag at least one compound capable of forming alumina, of supplying the quantity of heat necessary to dissolve the compound in the slag and of subjecting the slag to mixing with oxygen.
The quantity of the compound(s) capable of forming alumina added to the liquid slag is such that the treated slag contains 5 to 25% by weight of alumina.
Although the patent FR-2.546.530 indicates that the slag thus treated can be used as hydraulic binding material, in particularly for the manufacture of cement, this treatment does not make it possible to obtain a hydraulic binding material on its own, capable of replacing Portland cement entirely.
It has now been found that it is possible to treat steel works slag so as to confer on it a mineralogical composition lying in the range of specific mineralogical compositions such that the steel works slag thus treated constitutes a hydraulic binding material on its own, capable of replacing Portland cement entirely.

Method for oxidizing treatment of steel works slag and resulting LD slag


Embodiments of the present invention comprise methods and systems which enable a user to detect the status of printing devices without the use of additional hardware or application program modification for this purpose. These systems and methods are typically used in conjunction with a computer network comprising at least one computing device and a plurality of printing devices. When a print task is sent for printing it will activate a print processor for interpreting the print task. In addition to a print processor's interpretation function, the print processors of the present invention may detect the status of printing devices. Some embodiments may use this information to redirect or otherwise modify a print task for improved printing performance.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and systems for detecting printing devices and distributing print tasks to printers in a network. More particularly, these embodiments relate to methods and systems for detecting printer status and distributing print tasks in a network cluster printing environment through the use of novel print-processor-based applications. These embodiments provide increased print system performance and avoid failed print tasks without the use of additional hardware.
Many offices can generate a high volume of printer output or require high print rates to meet deadlines. When these needs are fairly constant, large, high-production printers and associated hardware may be required. These high-production units are expensive to procure and maintain and, generally, are only made economically feasible by a constant high demand for printer output. When printer requirements fluctuate, the costs of these high-production printers are difficult to justify. However, when sporadic, high printer throughput is a necessity, some offices are forced to bear the costs of expensive printer equipment that runs at well below its capacity most of the time.
Cluster printing has been introduced to avoid this problem. Cluster printing involves the use of multiple printers in a network. With cluster printing, print jobs can be sent to a multiple printer network with a capacity that rivals the capacity of expensive, high-throughput equipment. Generally, this network is comprised of multiple lower-production printers that may already exist in an office environment making the cost of the network very manageable.
Through the use of cluster printing, a user may choose to split a single print job among several printers to increase print job speed and decrease print time. Print jobs that include multiple copies may be divided so that each printer in a network prints some of the copies. Other variations of print job distribution may also be implemented.
Cluster printing may be implemented through specialized printers which contain cluster-enabling firmware. When these printers are interconnected via cables, they can share printing jobs. In some cases, the marking engines are connected to enable division of printing tasks between the connected printers.
Other methods of implementing cluster printing functions require the use of additional hardware or application software. Typically, a specialized print server is used. This server is generally a high-performance general purpose computer to which print jobs are directed by the network. Specialized software on the server allows print jobs or copies thereof to be distributed among multiple printers that are managed by the server.
These known cluster printing implementations require specialized printer or server hardware or software to provide cluster printing functions.
Another problem that exists in single printer, cluster printing, network printing and other environments is that of printer status detection. When a print job is initiated, a user typically selects a printer or printers based on the printersuser' location and/or capabilities. However, if one or more selected printers are offline, in an error state, busy, or for some other reason, unavailable, the print job may not be completed in an acceptable time period or may not be completed at all. Typically, an error message is returned to the user who must then select another printer or correct the problem preventing the selected printer from functioning. In some network printing cases involving print queues, no error message is returned and the user is left unaware of the printing problem. When a print job is time sensitive this process can be frustrating causing missed deadlines and tarnished reputations.
Printer status detection can be especially important in cluster printing environments where print tasks are divided among several printing devices. When a user or the user's computing device is not aware of the status of the printing devices selected for printing, a print task or portions thereof can be delayed, interrupted or lost.

Methods and systems for print-processor-based printer status detection and print task distribution


The invention concerns methods and reagent kits for the fluorimetric determination of analytes.

The invention concerns methods and reagent kits for the fluorimetric determination of analytes.
There are numerous methods for determining analytes for example for diagnostic applications. One method is to determine the analyte by means of a redox reaction and a redox indicator. In this case an oxidizing or reducing system acts directly on the redox indicator or via a mediator. The presence of the analyte leads to a reduction or oxidation of the redox indicator which enables a qualitative or quantitative determination to be carried out.
Depending on the type of redox indicator that is used, the indicator can be determined by a colorimetric, fluorimetric or electrochemical detection method. Examples of colorimetric detection reagents are heteropolyacids (EP-B-0 431 456), tetrazolium compounds (EP-B-0 574 769), nitrosoaromatic compounds (EP-A-0 620 283), RIND compounds (EP-B-0 190 740), phenazines (WO 93/06487) and indanthrones (EP-B-0 831 327). Examples of electrochemical detection reagents are nitrosoaromatics, phenazines, potassium hexacyanoferrate and benzoquinones (cf. e.g. EP-A-0 441 222 and EP-A-0 505 494). Examples of fluorimetric detection reagents are e.g. resazurin (U.S. Pat. No. 5,912,139), transition metal complexes (Ryabov et al., JBIC 4 (1999) 175-182; Woltman et al., Anal. Chem. 71 (1999) 1504-1512) and scopoletin, esculetin, p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, di-chlorofluorescein, N-acetyl-3,7-dihydroxyphenoxazine and MNBDH which are used exclusively for the detection of H2O2 (see also R. Haughland, Handbook of Fluorescent Probes and Research Chemicals, 6th edition 1996).
However, the fluorimetric detection reagents known from the prior art have some disadvantages. Thus most known fluorescent indicators require that metabolites such as glucose are determined by detecting H2O2 generated by glucose oxidase. This reaction usually has to be catalytically supported by the enzyme peroxidase and is very prone to interference by electron donors such as urea or bilirubin. The reagents are also not stable for long time periods.
In contrast, redox indicators that allow an oxygen-independent detection of glucose i.e. which directly accept an electron from an oxidizing enzyme instead of oxygen, are advantageous. However, only resazurin and Os and Ru complexes are known to be suitable electron acceptors for this. However, in the case of resazurin the emission bands of the resorufin formed by the redox reaction strongly overlap the absorption bands of non-reacted resazurin which considerably reduces the sensitivity of the analyte determination. The high redox potential of transition metal complexes (e.g. Ru complexes) results in a strong interference by compounds such as ascorbic acid. Their fluorescence efficiency also varies with the oxygen content of the sample.
Furthermore in the case of the previously known fluorescent indicators the excitation light sources used are mainly limited to the UV and green range of light. Thus for example an inadequate number of compounds are known which allow use of the particularly strong blue and red LEDs.

Fluorimetric determination of analytes by amine-N-oxides as redox indicators


An optical switch having liquid or vapor bubbles at switching sites operates with a fluid pressure less than the vapor pressure of the liquid. This negative pressure differential reduces the energy required to maintain a bubble at a switching site. Local heating provides the energy to create or maintain a bubble and activate a switching site, and turning off the heating collapses the bubble and deactivates the switching site.

Optical switches, which can directly manipulate optical signals, are becoming increasingly important for optical networking. Accordingly, several techniques for switching optical signals have been developed. FIG. 1 shows a plan view of an optical switch 100 that uses some of the optical switching techniques described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,462, to Fouquet et al., entitled "Total Internal Reflection Optical Switches Employing Thermal Activation." As illustrated in FIG. 1 and in the cross-sectional views of FIGS. 2A and 2B, optical switch 100 includes a planar lightwave circuit 110, a semiconductor substrate 120, a base plate 130, and a reservoir 140.
Planar lightwave circuit 110 is a plate of an optical material such as quartz containing crossing waveguide segments 112 and 114 and cavities 116 at the intersections of waveguide segments 112 with waveguide segments 114. Optical signals are generally input to optical switch 100 on one set of waveguide segments 112 or 114, and cavities 116 act as switching sites for the optical signals. In particular, a cavity 116 when filled with a liquid 142 having a refractive index matching the refractive index of the waveguides 112 and 114 transmits an optical signal from an input waveguide segment 112 or 114 into the next waveguide segment 112 or 114 along the same path. FIG. 2A shows a cavity 116 filled with liquid 142 from reservoir 140.
A cavity 116 becomes reflective for switching of an optical signal when the cavity contains a bubble. More specifically, total internal reflection at an interface 115 between an input waveguide 112 or 114 and a vapor bubble 146 (as shown in FIG. 2B) switches an optical signal into a crossing waveguide segment 114 or 112. Selectively activating or making reflective one of the cavities 116 along the initial path of an optical signal can switch the optical signal onto any of the crossing waveguide segments 114 or 112. If none of the cavities 116 along the path of an optical signal are reflective, the optical signal passes straight through optical switch 100.
Semiconductor substrate 120 contains electronic circuitry that includes heating elements 122 positioned in cavities 116. Selectively activating a heating element 122 vaporizes liquid in the corresponding cavity 116 and activates (i.e., makes reflective) the switching site corresponding to the cavity 116 containing the activated heating element 122. The activated heating element 122 then continues heating to keep the bubble stable and the switching site reflective. If the heating element 122 is turned off, bubble 146 and surrounding liquid 142 cool, causing bubble 146 to collapse and the cavity 116 to refill with liquid 142.
Base plate 130 acts as a heat sink for semiconductor chip 120 but also includes an inlet 136 connected to reservoir 140. Inlet 136 and a hole 126 through semiconductor substrate 120 allow liquid 142 to flow between reservoir 140 and a thin fluid channel 118 underlying the cavities 116. In particular, when a bubble 146 forms or collapses to activate or deactivate a switching site, fluid 142 flows to or from reservoir 140.
Reservoir 140 is partially filled with liquid 142 and partially filled with a gas 144, typically vapor from liquid 142. The pressure of gas 144 controls the pressure of liquid 142 and therefore controls the difficulty of forming bubbles in cavities 116. U.S. Pat. No. 6,188,815 issued Feb. 13, 2001 to Schiaffino et al., entitled "Optical Switching Device and Method Utilizing Fluid Pressure Control to Improve Switching Characteristics," describes how a pressure controlling mechanism in reservoir 140 can elevate the pressure of liquid 142 to avoid inadvertent formation of bubbles that might cause improper switching in switch 100.
Optical switches similar to switch 100 have proven effective for switching optical signals. However, improvements are sought in several areas. Energy consumption, for example, in switch 100 can be significant when several switching sites are simultaneously activated. When a switching site is activated, the corresponding heating elements 122 must locally maintain a temperature high enough to prevent collapse of the bubble 146 in the overlying cavity 116. This constant drain of energy continues even when the routing of optical signals through optical switch 100 remains constant. The energy consumption also generates heat that can be difficult to dissipate, particularly in compact optical switches having a high density of heating elements 122. The heating is also localized to small areas, which can lead to damage and failure of electronic circuitry. The limits on the amount of heating that can be practically maintained limits the types of liquid that an optical switch can use. Specifically, some liquids require too much heating to create and maintain a bubble.
Another concern for optical switch 100 is condensation and distillation that can occur in cavities 116 containing bubbles 146. Each bubble 146 is kept at an elevated temperature to maintain the vapor pressure inside bubble 146 and thereby prevent the bubble 146 from collapsing. The heated vapor in the bubble 146 can condense onto the cooler walls of the cavity 116. Condensation at interface 115 between a cavity 116 and an input waveguide segment 112 or 114 can cause spectral reflection, resulting in signal loss when less of the optical signal reflects into the desired output waveguide segment 114 or 112 and resulting in noise if part of the optical signal reflects into other waveguide segments.
Condensation can also cause local distillation when liquid 142 contains two or more separable compounds. The distillation can locally change the composition and therefore the refractive index of liquid 142. Having matching refractive indices for liquid 142 and waveguide segments 112 and 114 is critical to avoiding intolerable levels of reflection at switching sites intended to be transparent. The distillation problem limits the suitable choices for liquid 142 to liquids that resist distillation that changes the liquid's index of refraction.
In view of the limitations in existing optical switches, there is a need for structures and operating methods that expand the choices of suitable liquids for better index matching in optical switches and that reduce the power consumption and heat generation in optical switches.

Operating an optical switch at a negative pressure differential

Avago Technologies Fiber IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


A connector for mounting to a circuit board for comprising a connector device with a body, a plurality of alignment members, and one or more contact elements, wherein the alignment members extend through a plurality of alignment holes of the printed circuit board from the first surface and past the second surface of the circuit board and wherein the contact elements engage one more contact pads on the first surface of the circuit board, and a separate retention device having a supporting element and a plurality of fixed sockets is positioned along the second surface of the printed circuit board to receive the alignment members of the connector device therein so that the circuit board is positioned between the body of the connector device and the retention device to temporarily or permanently retain the contact elements of the connector device in contact with the contact pads of the circuit board.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to connectors and more specifically it relates to a connector for mounting to a circuit board and for removably or temporarily connecting to a circuit board while maintaining a secure connection.
2. Description of the Related Art
Any discussion of the related art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such related art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Connectors, such as electrical connectors have been in use for years and are manufactured in various different configurations. Many types of electrical connectors are designed to be soldered to a printed circuit board. Because of the small size of the connectors, soldering can often be a difficult and time consuming process. In addition, on crowded circuit boards, the ability to accurately position and hold the connector while soldering can be increasingly difficult. Another problem with soldering connectors is that the connector is secured in a relatively permanent manner and thus does not allow for easy removal of the connector.
Other types of electrical connectors are also utilized that may allow for a connection in a manner other than through soldering. However, many of these connectors are often times expensive or substantially fragile thus providing yet another inefficient manner in which to connect an electrical connector or component to a circuit board.
Because of the inherent problems with the related art, there is a need for a new and improved connector for mounting to a circuit board and for removably or temporarily connecting to a circuit board while maintaining a secure connection.

Connector for mounting to a circuit board


Key management is performed to generate a single key allowing of the decoding of all authorized levels of a plurality of access types within a scalable codestream. An access node set is derived from sets representing access types having hierarchies representable by fully ordered sets, such as resolution and layer levels, and hierarchies representable by partially ordered sets, such as tile and precinct levels. The access node set derived is a partially ordered set representing the combinations of levels of the access types included within the codestream. A hierarchical key management system is applied to the access node set to assign a key to each of the access nodes, generate content encryption keys, and encrypt the codestream. A client receiving the codestream, access node set, and other public information uses the key to derive additional keys to decrypt the codestream.

People use many different types of digital devices to access services over the Internet and other networks. As is widely understood, many of these services, ranging from news services to on-line shopping and entertainment, make extensive use of photographs and other images, videos, and audios.
FIG. 1 illustrates a number of different digital devices 102-108 that may be used to access services and content maintained on servers 110 and 112 via the Internet 114. Desktop computer 102 has a large, high-resolution display 122, thus, its user is likely to want images or videos displayed at their highest resolutions to take advantage of the capabilities of display 122. On the other hand, portable display 124 of portable computer 104 may not provide resolution comparable to that of the high-resolution display 122 of desktop computer 102. Alternatively, even if portable display 124 does support high resolution graphics, portable computer 104 may use a shared system memory for graphics support, and its user may be unwilling to allocate system memory to support high-resolution graphics.
In addition to desktop computer 102 and portable computer 104, handheld devices also are used to access Internet or other multimedia services. For example, personal digital assistant 106 includes a touchscreen display 126, measuring a few inches on each side, for displaying small images or video frames with a portion of the resolution available with desktop computer 102 and portable computer 104. Even a smaller device, such as wireless telephone 108, includes a phone display 128 usable to access Internet or other multimedia services and to present very small images and other multimedia content to a user.
The range of devices 102-108 accessing content on servers 110 and 112 has posed a problem for content providers. More specifically, because of the range of displays 122-128 used by devices 102-108, respectively, content providers have had to make multimedia content available in different formats. For example, high resolution images or high definition videos have to be made available to users with high resolution displays 122. On the other hand, condensed images or videos with only a fraction of the resolution or color granularity of the high resolution images or high definition videos have to be made available for users with devices such as personal digital assistant 106 and wireless telephone 108 that have lower processing capabilities and lower resolution displays 126 and 128, respectively. To access the appropriate format of multimedia content, users manually specify desired parameters such as resolution and quality. Alternatively, servers 110-112 may poll devices 102-108 to determine what type of graphics, video, or audio data each of the devices 102-108 can support to determine what format of multimedia content to transmit to devices 102-108.
The problem of servers 110-112 having to maintain and selectively communicate multiple different multimedia formats is addressed by scalable multimedia formats. For example, the Joint Photographic Experts Group 2000 ("JPEG 2000") format specifies an image codestream that is scalable for each of a number of different access types including tile, resolution, layer, color component, and precinct. The codestream is scalable at a number of levels within each of these access types. A single codestream can be accessed by different devices to present multimedia adapted to levels of each access type that each of the devices is configured to support. Thus, one multimedia codestream can be stored and provided to any device supporting the scalable codestream.
Although use of a scalable codestream eliminates having to maintain multiple codestreams for a particular multimedia content, controlling access to the scalable codestream involves complicated key management. When multiple, different multimedia codestreams are maintained, a key is generated for each particular codestream and is issued to a user authorized to access the multimedia. Content encryption keys used to decrypt data packets can be derived from the key using known methods, allowing the user to access the encrypted multimedia.
Using a scalable codestream, generating and providing appropriate keys may be much more problematic. A user authorized for a certain level of access will have to be issued multiple keys to provide a key for the levels of access for which the user is authorized as well as lower ranked levels of access that are encompassed in the user's authorized level of access.
FIGS. 2A-2F are a series of block diagrams illustrating the nature of a JPEG 2000 codestream. FIG. 2A shows an image 200 as a user views it: image 200 is comprised of an array of elements 202. However, the actual structure of the scalable codestream is not so simply organized.
FIG. 2B is an array 210 of differently sized data blocks 212, representing how different resolution levels are represented in the codestream. As a function of discrete wavelet transformation, accessing different resolution levels involves accessing different blocks of data 212 in the codestream. As shown in FIG. 2C, to access a lowest supported resolution level, only a first data block 222 of array 220 is accessed. As shown in FIG. 2D, to access a next highest resolution level, data block 222 and a series of adjoining second data blocks 232 are accessed. To access a next highest resolution level, as shown in FIG. 2E, first data block 222, second data blocks 232, and a series of adjoining third data blocks 242 all must be accessed. Adjoining groups of data blocks are accessed until the highest available image resolution is reached. Thus, data blocks used in presenting higher levels of resolution encompasses data used in presenting lower levels of resolution
For a user authorized to view images at the highest resolution, the user must be provided with a key from which the data blocks associated with the highest level of resolution can be decrypted, as well as the keys from which all the data blocks associated with lower levels of resolution can be decrypted. Alternatively, using a hierarchical key system, a user can be given one key from which keys to lower levels of access can be derived.
Unfortunately, not all access types in a scalable codestream have hierarchical structures that lends themselves to hierarchical key systems. For example, tile access, which allows a user to access one or more portions of an image, does not involve accessing hierarchically inclusive portions of data. As shown in FIG. 2F, array 250 shows portions of data blocks 252-258 that are used to present a portion of an image at high resolution. To present the selected portion of the image, portions of data blocks 252-258 representing different resolution levels all must be accessed. Because the data to be used does not adhere to a hierarchical structure, multiple keys would have to be generated, maintained, and distributed to selectively control access to different resolutions within the image.

Secure key management for scalable codestreams


A fluid line connection for a pneumatic distribution system for an agricultural air seeder includes a female connector having an inside diameter with a groove and a male connector configured for internal assembly with the female connector. The male connector has an external tab that engages the groove to retain the male connector to the female connector when the female connector is rotatingly assembled with the male connector. The female connector is removed by rotating and disassembling from the male connector to access a conveyance tube or manifold for servicing these parts. A sealing member is assembled between the male and female connectors to form a fluid seal. A primary tube can be assembled between two fluid line connections to form a quick connect assembly. A fitting connector and a locking ring are assembled with a fluid line connection to retain a primary tube thereon for an air drill.

Air seeders are commonly towed by an agricultural tractor, to apply a material such as seed, fertilizer and/or herbicide to a field. An air seeder includes a wheeled air cart which includes one or more frame-mounted tanks for holding material. In the case of multiple tanks, the tanks can be separate tanks, or a single tank with internal compartments. The air cart is typically towed in combination with a tilling implement, such as an air drill, one behind the other, to place the seed and fertilizer under the surface of the soil. Air seeders include a metering system for dispensing material from the tanks and a pneumatic distribution system for delivering the material from the tanks to the soil. A centrifugal fan provides at least one airstream which flows through the pneumatic distribution system. Material is first introduced to the air stream by the metering system at a primary distribution manifold located below the metering system. The tanks of the air seeders are formed with bottom surfaces that slope downward for the granular material to move toward the metering system. Gravity, in combination with the vibrations and movement of the air seeder, act to move the granular material from the perimeter of the tank toward the metering system located at the center of the tank. Material is carried by the air stream through distribution lines to a series of secondary distribution manifolds, which in turn distribute the material through distribution lines to seed boots mounted behind ground openers on the tilling implement so that the product may be evenly delivered to the ground which is tilled by the tilling implement.
For initial hookup of the air seeder, the traction unit is typically backed up to and coupled with the tilling implement, which in turn is backed up to and coupled with the air cart (e.g., by using respective hitch pins or the like, and assuming that the air cart is behind rather than in front of the air drill). All necessary hydraulic lines, air lines, electrical power lines and/or electrical data lines are then connected between the traction unit, tilling implement and air cart.
Regarding air lines, it will be appreciated that it is desirable to provide connections which are quick and easy to connect, while at the same time provide an effective fluid seal. With air seeders becoming ever larger, the number of air lines and thus the number of air line connections between the tilling implement and the air cart correspondingly increases, making the need for quick and easy air line connections even more important. One type of connection for an air line is a hose clamp however hose clamps have several downsides. One downside is that the hose clamps require labor to individually handle and assemble them. Moreover occasionally the air line becomes plugged with seed material and the hose clamp must be removed to enable access to the air line and the plug. Another downside is that during use of the air line, hose clamps are subject to a severe environment leading to corrosion, stress corrosion, cracking, and binding of the lead screw due to high friction under which the hose clamps are employed. Hose clamps also require a special tool to remove the hose clamp from the air line. In some applications the hose lines in which the hose clamps are clamping are prone to air leakage which leads to inefficiency and possible loss of granular product. Other connections include 0-rings to seal the hose lines but these applications are often difficult to install.
Larger air seeders result in more air lines and more air line connections, requiring that the pneumatic distribution system run under a higher operating pressure. This higher operating pressure also mandates that the fluid line connections must be effectively sealed to prevent excess system air leakage. Moreover a larger air seeder results in a larger number of air lines and air line connections thereby requiring more labor to assemble or disassemble and remove the hose clamps which is costly and inefficient use of time.
What is needed in the art is an air seeder with air line connections which are quick and easy to connect, while providing an effective fluid seal.


A surface-relief grating comprises a plurality of grating ridges including a first material, and a layer of a second material conformally deposited on surfaces of the plurality of grating ridges. A first region of the surface-relief grating is characterized by a first grating depth and a first duty cycle greater than a first threshold value. A second region of the surface-relief grating is characterized by a second grating depth and a second duty cycle lower than a second threshold value that is lower than the first threshold value. A difference between the first grating depth and the second grating depth is less than 20% of the second grating depth.

An artificial reality system, such as a head-mounted display (HMD) or heads-up display (HUD) system, generally includes a display configured to present artificial images that depict objects in a virtual environment. The display may show virtual objects or combine images of real objects with virtual objects, as in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), or mixed reality (MR) applications. For example, in an AR system, a user may view both images of virtual objects (e.g., computer-generated images (CGIs)) and the surrounding environment by, for example, seeing through transparent display glasses or lenses (often referred to as optical see-through) or viewing displayed images of the surrounding environment captured by a camera (often referred to as video see-through).
One example of an optical see-through AR system may use a waveguide-based optical display, where light of projected images may be coupled into a waveguide (e.g., a substrate), propagate within the waveguide, and be coupled out of the waveguide at different locations. In some implementations, the light of the projected images may be coupled into or out of the waveguide using a diffractive optical element, such as a straight or slanted surface-relief grating. To achieve desired performance, such as a wide field of view, wide optical bandwidth, high efficiency, low artifact, and desired angular selectivity, deep surface-relief gratings with large slanted angles, high refractive index modulation, and large grating duty cycles may be used, where the duty cycle is the ratio between the width of a grating ridge and the grating period. However, fabricating such deep surface-relief gratings at a high fabrication speed and high yield remains a challenging task.

Techniques for manufacturing slanted structures


Macro design techniques are disclosed for facilitating subsequent stage wiring across the macro. Whitespace areas within the macro are rearranged to accommodate the wiring. The rearrangement may take the form of physical rearrangement of the whitespace areas into routing tracks extending from one side of the macro to another; shielding using, for example, macro power bussing and/or macro wiring; routing power busses to the rearranged whitespace; and/or inserting active circuits with pins accessible to the wiring. In a preferred embodiment, active circuits are placed into rearranged macro whitespace during the design of subsequent stages. The rearrangement of the whitespace facilitates the wiring across the macro so that slew rate and path delay requirements of the subsequent stage wiring can be maintained, without excessive buffering or rerouting of wiring.

It is well-known that with increasing circuit densities, timing requirements, and bus capacities in integrated circuit chips, wiring widths must be decreased. Decreased wiring widths, however, leads to increased resistances, impacting the slew rate and path delay of the wiring. Wiring must comply with a maximum slew rate and minimum delay based on the required timing. This wiring problem is aggravated when macro "blocks" occupy otherwise open space on the integrated circuit plan. These macros often interfere with subsequently-designed wiring paths which must comply with the slew rate and delay requirements.
To illustrate these problems, and with reference to FIG. 1, an IC 10 may include an embedded macro 12 having remnant silicon and/or wiring whitespace areas 241 . . . 244. Assume that IC wiring is required from region 14 to region 16 of the IC. Running wiring across the macro may not be possible, since design tools usually see the macro as a fixed block, which cannot be modified when placing and routing the higher level IC wiring. Even assuming that whitespace is available and recognized by the design tools, running a standard width wire 18 across the macro may not suffice, since the distance over which this wire is run (i.e., the horizontal width of the macro 12) may exceed that required for the maximum slew rate and delay.
Another option involves re-routing the wiring around the macro along the longer path 20, and using repowering circuits 221 . . . 225 to maintain the required slew rate and path delays while compensating for the excess path length. This approach, however, involves the use of valuable silicon area and power to support the repowering circuits, and may not be sufficient to meet path delay requirements.
What is required, therefore, are techniques for maintaining the required wiring slew rates and path delays across an entire IC in the presence of large, fixed macro blocks.

Macro design techniques to accommodate chip level wiring and circuit placement across the macro

International Business Machines Corporation


A communication device includes antennas to receive a first signal from a remote device, wherein the first signal corresponds to a first operational mode. A baseband processor selects either a first operational mode for transmitting a second signal or a second operational mode for transmitting the second signal. When the second operational mode is selected the baseband processor transforms the phase-related information corresponding to the first operational mode to transformed phase-related information corresponding to the second operational mode. The antennas transmit the second signal to the remote device in accordance with the transformed phase-related information corresponding to the second operational mode.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to communication systems; and, more particularly, it relates to beamforming, within single user, multiple user, multiple access, and/or MIMO wireless communications.
2. Description Of Related Art
Depending on the type of wireless communication system, a wireless communication device, such as a cellular telephone, two-way radio, personal digital assistant (PDA), personal computer (PC), laptop computer, home entertainment equipment, etc., communicates directly or indirectly with other wireless communication devices. For direct communications (also known as point-to-point communications), the participating wireless communication devices tune their receivers and transmitters to the same channel or channels (e.g., one of the plurality of radio frequency (RF) carriers of the wireless communication system) and communicate over that channel(s). For indirect wireless communications, each wireless communication device communicates directly with an associated base station (e.g., for cellular services) and/or an associated access point (e.g., for an in-home or in-building wireless network) via an assigned channel. To complete a communication connection between the wireless communication devices, the associated base stations and/or associated access points communicate with each other directly, via a system controller, via the public switch telephone network, via the Internet, and/or via some other wide area network.
With the proliferation of high throughput application, high data rates have become an important issue for modern communication devices. The fidelity of communications, however, face the scrutiny of users that are becoming accustomed to high bandwidth and better communication quality.

Communication device with phase/angle transformation and methods for use therewith


A method of making an electrode that includes dispersing a pH buffering agent within a first absorbent material to form a pH buffer component or coating the pH buffering agent on the first absorbent material to form the pH buffer component, positioning a component for delivering medicament adjacent to and in contact with the pH buffer component where the medicament delivery component is formed of a second absorbent material, and placing an electrical connection in electrical communication with the buffer component.

The present invention generally relates to an apparatus for transdermally delivering medicament ions derived from ionic substances, such as drugs or other therapeutic chemicals, into a body. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for iontophoretically introducing medicament ions into the body.
Iontophoresis may be generally described as a method of transdermally introducing medicament ions into a body. The iontophoresis process utilizes current developed by an electric field to drive medicament ions through the skin, or other biological surface, and into the body. The iontophoresis process has been found to be particularly useful in transdermal administration of medicament ions, such as charged organic medications and therapeutic metal ions.
Iontophoresis permits introduction of medicament ions directly into a patient's tissues and blood stream without the need for a needle-based injection, which typically causes pain and may create a risk of infection. Iontophoretic delivery of medicament ions also avoids premature metabolism of medicament ions that typically occurs when drugs are taken orally. Premature metabolism is of concern because medicament ions derived from drugs that are taken orally are absorbed into the blood stream from the digestive system. The blood containing the medicament ions then percolates through the liver, where the medicament ions may be prematurely metabolized, before the medicament ions arrive at the target tissue. Thus, a substantial amount of the medicament ions derived from an orally administered drug may be metabolically inactivated before the medicament ions have a chance to pharmacologically act in the body.
A typical iontophoresis device includes two electrodes. One of the electrodes is often characterized as an "active" electrode, and the other electrode is often characterized as a "return" electrode. Also, one of the electrodes is a positively charged anode and the other electrode is a negatively charged cathode. Both electrodes are in intimate electrical contact with the skin or other biological surface of the body, which may be a human body or another type of body, such as an animal body. Application of electric current to the active electrode drives the medicament ion, such as the charged organic medication, from the active electrode into the body. The other electrode, the return electrode, closes the electrical circuit to permit current flow through the active electrode and through the body.
In some cases, medicament ions may be delivered to the body from both electrodes of the iontophoresis system. In such cases, a first electrode is the active electrode for a first medicament ion that is delivered from the first electrode, and a second electrode is the return electrode with respect to the first medicament ion. Similarly, the second electrode is the active electrode for a second medicament ion that is delivered from the second electrode, and the first electrode is the return electrode with respect to the second medicament ion. The first and second medicament ions are typically different in polarity and in chemical structure from each other.
Though iontophoresis system technology has realized several advances, numerous problems remain to be solved and many opportunities for enhancing performance remain. The process of iontophoretic drug delivery may be accomplished using very simple electrodes. However, the use of more sophisticated electrode configurations is needed to solve problems that are not addressed by simple electrode systems and to realize enhanced performance characteristics. Examples of some suggested approaches for optimizing iontophoresis systems are included in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,731,049 to Parsi; 4,915,685 to Petelenz et al.; and 5,302,172 to Sage, Jr. et al. The Parsi patent suggests a change in the iontophoresis systems that is said to increase the types of drugs deliverable by iontophoresis systems. The Petelenz patent suggests changes that are said to enhance the proportional relationship between the amount of medicament ions administered and current flow. Finally, the Sage, Jr. patent discloses the use of vasodilators in iontophoresis as a means of enhancing delivery of an active agent that is delivered along with vasodilator.
Despite the many advances in iontophoresis technology, a series of problems remain that relate to electrolysis of water in iontophoresis system electrodes. As an example, current passing through the electrodes of an iontophoresis system typically cause electrolysis of water in the electrodes. In the anode, the electrolysis reaction proceeds as follows: EQU 2H.sub.2 O.fwdarw.O.sub.2 +4H.sup.+ +4.sub.e.sup.-
In the cathode, the electrolysis reaction proceeds as follows: EQU 2H.sub.2 O+2.sub.e.sup.- .fwdarw.H.sub.2 +2OH.sup.-
Since an operational iontophoresis system includes both an anode and a cathode, both hydrogen ions (H.sup.+) and hydroxide ions (OH.sup.-) are produced if electrolysis of water occurs during system operation. Absent buffering of the electrolysis products, the hydrogen ion concentration will increase at the anode and the hydroxide ion concentration will increase at the cathode.
Hydrogen ion and hydroxide ion accumulation in the electrodes of iontophoresis systems is problematic for a variety of reasons. For example, the increased hydrogen ion concentration shifts the pH downward at the anode, and the increased hydroxide ion concentration shifts the pH upward at the cathode. The pH shift typically causes at least minor skin irritation and can cause severe burning of a patient's skin, if left uncontrolled. Also, the pH shift can change the activity of the medicament ion(s) being delivered by the electrode, can significantly reduce the rate of medicament ion delivery by the electrode, and can even degrade the physical properties of the electrode components.
One technique for controlling the pH shift involves the introduction of one or more buffering species into the iontophoretic electrodes. The buffering species may be in solution with the solution of the medicament ion to be delivered in the medicament delivery portion of the electrode. However, when the buffering species is in solution with the medicament ion in the medicament delivery portion of the electrode, experience has shown that the buffering species and derivatives of the buffering species undesirably compete with medicament ions for delivery to the target body.
Another technique for incorporating buffering species in iontophoresis electrodes is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,303 to Johnson et al. Though there are benefits to the technique disclosed in the Johnson patent, it has been found that the amount of ion-exchange functionality included in the buffer of the Johnson electrode cannot be accurately controlled. Furthermore, the Johnson technique uses several times more buffering agent than is chemically required to buffer water electrolysis products.
Though many advances in iontophoretic electrode design and operation have been realized, challenges requiring solutions remain. For example, less complicated and more accurate techniques are needed for controlling the amount of buffering species included in iontophoresis electrodes. Also, opportunities remain for enhancing the rate of medicament ion delivery by iontophoresis electrodes. Finally, opportunities remain for simplifying electrode manufacturing techniques and automating the iontophoresis electrode manufacture.

Method of making an iontophoresis electrode


A method of concealing errors received in a stream of data by a multiprocessor system having a first digital signal processor for initial processing of incoming data and a second digital signal processor for processing data passed from the first processor. The method includes the steps of detecting an error in an incoming frame of the stream of data with the first processor, sending an error message from the first to the second processor, halting transmission of the remainder of the frame to the second processor, and processing a frame of dummy data with the second processor. The frame of dummy data is passed to a processing engine forming a portion of the second processor to maintain data pipelining. Interprocessor communications between the first and second processors is established by handshaking through an interprocessor communications register, wherein the first processor detects an error in a frame of data and sends a message to the second processor. In selected embodiments, the first and second processors are fabricated on a single integrated circuit chip along with shared memory for exchanging data between the processors and data memory associated with each processor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to data processing and in particular, to methods for dual processor audio decoder and methods with sustained data pipelining during error conditions.
2. Description of the Related Art
The ability to process audio information has become increasingly important in the personal computer (PC) environment. Among other things, audio support is important requirement for many multimedia applications, such as gaming and telecommunications. Audio functionality is therefore typically available on most conventional PCs, either in the form of an add-on audio board or as a standard feature provided on the motherboard itself. In fact, PC users increasingly expect not only audio functionality but high quality sound capability. Additionally, digital audio plays a significant role outside the traditional PC realm, such as in compact disk players, VCRs and televisions. As the audio technology progresses, digital applications are becoming increasingly sophisticated as improvements in sound quality and sound effects are sought.
One of the key components in many digital audio information processing systems is the decoder. Generally, the decoder receives data in a compressed form and converts that data into a decompressed digital form. The decompressed digital data is then passed on for further processing, such as filtering, expansion or mixing, conversion into analog form, and eventually conversion into audible tones. In other words the decoder must provide the proper hardware and software interfaces to communicate with the possible compressed (and decompressed) data sources, as well as the destination digital and/or audio devices. In addition, the decoder must have the proper interfaces required for overall control and debugging by a host microprocessor or microcontroller. Since, there are a number of different audio compression/decompression formats and interface definitions, such as Dolby AC-3 and S/PDIF (Sony/Phillips Digital Interface), a state of the art digital audio decoder should at least be capable of supporting multiple compression/decompression formats.
In almost any processing system operating on streams of data, especially encoded data, error handling is a key issue. For the exemplary case of an audio decoder, unless errors received in the input data stream are accounted for, the processed data output to the digital to analog converters will be corrupted. Ultimately, the corrupted data will manifest themselves, after mixing and digital to analog conversion, to the end user as audible distortions, clicks, pops, etc. Therefore, as processing systems advance in capability and complexity, new and more efficient methods of error handling are required.

Dual processor audio decoder and methods with sustained data pipelining during error conditions


An effluent metering system includes an adapter connectable between the air outlet port on a vacuum cleaning appliance and a supplemental effluent metering device. The adapter preferably has a tubular shell which defines an inlet for receiving a flow of air discharged from the air outlet port. The adapter also has a pair of outlets. A first fluid passage in the shell connects the inlet with a first one of the outlets for exhausting air into a filter. A second fluid passage in the shell connects the inlet with a second one of the outlets for exhausting air into the supplemental metering device.

Vacuum cleaning appliances (vacuum cleaners) are used to remove small particles of matter from the environment. Vacuum cleaners typically have an electrically powered fan unit designed to create a high velocity air stream through an inlet nozzle which causes a partial vacuum. The vacuum draws air, dust and other particulate material through the inlet nozzle. The air stream passes through some form of a filter, such as an air permeable bag, whereby material carried by the air stream is trapped on the filter.
As is generally known with regard to many types of appliances, the sale of vacuum cleaners is facilitated by demonstrating their effectiveness. For instance, a salesperson may perform a demonstration wherein a substance, such as sand, is intentionally deposited on a test area to be cleaned (for example, on a potential purchaser's carpet). The vacuum cleaner then is used to remove the substance and provide the potential purchaser with an example of the cleaner's capability. Effectiveness of a vacuum cleaner is demonstrated to a potential customer by 1) permitting the customer to examine the ultimate cleanliness of the test area, and 2) providing the customer with an indication of the amount of material trapped in the filter.
One technique for achieving the latter objective is to disconnect a vacuum bag from an air outlet port on a vacuum cleaner and to install an effluent metering device to the air outlet port. The vacuum then is operated and material drawn into the vacuum nozzle from a test area is discharged into the metering device. Visual inspection of effluent material in the metering device provides a potential purchaser with an indication of the effectiveness of the vacuum cleaner.
One known effluent metering device has an elongated tube which is connectable with the air outlet port on a vacuum cleaner fan unit. A clean test cloth is attached to an open end of the tube to form a bag which encloses the tube end. Such an apparatus for forming a bag with a test cloth is disclosed in Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,252, issued Jun. 5, 1979. Air discharged by the fan unit passes through the test cloth while effluent material carried in the air stream is trapped on the test cloth. The test cloth is removed from the tube after the fan is deactivated, and a potential purchaser is allowed to inspect the test cloth.
Alternative effluent metering devices also have been proposed. For instance, rather than forming a bag with a test cloth, it is known to attach a preformed mini-bag directly to the end of bag forming tube. Further, enclosed housings having a disposable filter element, such as filter paper, have been used to demonstrate effluent retention in an effluent metering device.
Effluent metering devices of the type discussed above operate effectively only until the buildup of effluent material on the filter element (i.e., a test cloth, a mini-bag, or a filter paper) inhibits the flow of air through the element. Once the filter is clogged and air is prevented from flowing through the element, the metering device is rendered incapable of measuring additional effluent material. Moreover, reduced air flow through an effluent metering device not only limits the amount of material trapped by a filter element (and thus degrades the impact of the filter inspection part of a demonstration), but reduced air flow also decreases the suction power of the fan unit and thereby degrades the capability of a vacuum cleaner to remove a substance from a test area.
Prior effluent metering devices become blocked in an unacceptably short length of time. A need exists for an effluent metering device which provides increased capacity and useful operating life in order to enhance the impact of a vacuum cleaner demonstration.


A processor includes a computation engine to produce a computed value for a set of operands. A cache stores the set of operands and the computed value. The cache is configured to selectively identify a match and a miss for a new set of operands. In the event of a match the computed value is supplied by the cache and a computation engine operation is aborted. In the event of a miss a new computed value for the new set of operands is computed by the computation engine and is stored in the cache.

Instruction latency minimization is an integral part of high-performance processor design. Double digit clock cycles are typically required for an operation like integer division, which computes a quotient and a remainder. Simpler integer operations execute in the low single digits of clock cycles. There is an ongoing need to improve processing latency to enhance overall processor performance.

Apparatus and method for operating a processor with an operation cache


A method for data storage, includes holding a definition of a speculative readout mode for readout in a storage device, in which the storage device is requested to read a data unit having a data unit size, and in response the storage device retrieves a storage page that contains the data unit and has a storage page size larger than the data unit size, and retains the storage page in preparation for subsequent requests. Activation of the speculative readout mode is coordinated. A readout command using the speculative readout mode is performed.

Some computing systems employ Virtual Memory (VM) techniques, which use a fast but small volatile memory and a large but slower non-volatile memory. For example, in some mobile computing and communication devices, the device Operating System (OS) comprises a VM module that jointly operates the device Random Access Memory (RAM) with a Solid State Drive (SSD).
Various methods for using VM are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,429,377, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a system and a method for accessing a memory. The system comprises a processor device that issues a request for a memory page at a virtual address, and a lookup buffer for storing one or more page table entries, wherein each of the page table entries comprises at least a virtual page number and a physical page number. The system further comprises a logic circuit that receives a virtual address from said processor, and matches the virtual address to the virtual page number in one of the page table entries so as to select the physical page number in the same page table entry. The page table entry comprises one or more bits set to exclude a memory range from a page.
In "Key-Study to Execute Code Using Demand Paging and NAND Flash at Smart Card Scale," Smart Card Research and Advanced Application, Proceedings of the 9th IFIP WG 8.8/11.2 International Conference, CARDIS 2010, Passau, Germany, April 2010, pages 102-117, which is incorporated herein by reference, Geoffroy et al. discuss limitations involved in embedding multiple applications in systems as small as smart cards or sensors. Physical limitations of these systems, such as a very small main memory, and their cost of production, make this very difficult to achieve. One solution proposed in the study is to execute code from a cheaper, denser, but slower secondary memory, such as NAND Flash.

Speculative prefetching of data stored in flash memory


A projection unit comprises a laser diode (LD) for emitting a laser beam, and a LD control section for controlling the LD. The laser beam emitted from the LD is scanned in horizontal and vertical directions respectively by first and second micro mirrors, and is projected on a projection surface through a projection window. Thus, images are displayed on the projection surface. An infrared sensor is disposed near the second micro mirror. The infrared sensor is disposed such that its light receiving surface faces the projection window, and detects human presence around a projection area of the laser beam. The LD control section does not start outputting the laser beam when the infrared sensor detects human presence. Also, the LD control section stops outputting the laser beam when the infrared sensor detects human presence while the image is being displayed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a projection type image display apparatus which projects a laser beam on a screen to display images.
2. Background Arts
A projection type image display apparatus, which modulates a laser beam with image data and projects the modulated laser beam on a screen to display images, is disclosed in, for instance, the Japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2000-267621. Since the laser beam has high energy, it may cause serious harm, such as burns, deterioration of eyesight or even blindness when a human body is directly irradiated with the laser beam.
The projection type image display apparatus disclosed in the Japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2000-267621 is a rear projection type to project the laser beam from the rear side of the screen. This projection type image display apparatus converts the laser beam emitted from a laser source into a broad beam by a lens and modulates the broad laser beam by a liquid crystal panel to project it on the screen. When the beam conversion is performed properly, the intensity of the laser beam becomes low and the optical energy is reduced. Therefore, it does not cause any harm even if the human body is irradiated with such laser beam, which has passed through the screen. However, if the intensity of the laser beam is maintained high due to fault in the beam conversion, the laser beam may be hazardous to the human body.
The projection type image display apparatus such as described above has a sensor disposed in a projection area of the laser beam on the screen for detecting the intensity of the laser beam being projected on the screen. When the intensity of the laser beam is high, the projection type image display apparatus stops outputting the laser beam or reduces the intensity of the laser beam.
In the rear projection type image display apparatus, the laser source including a laser optical system is placed in a case, and the screen is arranged in front of the case. The laser beam irradiated on the human body has already passed through the screen, therefore the energy of the laser beam is relatively low. In contrast to this, in a front projection type image display apparatus to project the laser beam from the front side of the screen, the laser beam emitted from the laser source can be directly irradiated on the human body, so it is dangerous. For this reason, countermeasures against the laser beam hazards to the human body are desired especially in the front projection type image display apparatus.


Diesel Exhaust Fluid is metered into an engine exhaust gas aftertreatment system having a close coupled SCR catalyst and a main SCR catalyst. The DEF is injected into two injector locations, one upstream of the close coupled SCR catalyst and another upstream of the main SCR catalyst, the quantity of DEF in each injector being based on primarily the temperature at the main SCR catalyst and the mass flow of the NOx through the aftertreatment system. This method of injection enables a relatively better fuel economy outcome while meeting the regulated tailpipe NOx emission levels and the N2O formation limits.

Selective catalytic reduction is a known technology for reducing NOx in engine exhaust gas. Currently manufactured vehicles which are propelled by internal combustion engines, such as diesel engines, and which use selective catalytic reduction (SCR) as part of an exhaust aftertreatment strategy, carry an on-board supply of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) from which DEF is metered in controlled quantity into the engine exhaust system upstream of a SCR catalyst. DEF is a standardized aqueous urea solution which comprises 32.5% urea and 67.5% de-ionized water. The chemistry of SCR aftertreatment of engine exhaust gas using DEF is well-documented. When DEF is introduced into engine exhaust gas of sufficiently high temperature, the water evaporates and the urea decomposes to create ammonia. Ongoing reactions in the presence of the catalyst reduce NOx into nitrogen, and water and produce N2O.
Current aftertreatment systems that comply with US EPA 2010 tailpipe emissions and Phase 1 GHR use an architecture of a Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC)/Diesel Particulate Filer (DPF) combo, DEF injection/mixing and SCR/Ammonia Oxidation Catalyst (AMOX). The DOC/DPF are placed upstream so that the high NOx/soot ratio will facilitate passive regeneration of soot. The downstream SCR/AMOX system is therefore delayed in achieving light off temperatures because the DOC/DPF combo acts as a large thermal sink. As a result, high engine out NOx levels that would be desired for improved fuel economy/GHG are not able to meet the 0.2 g/hp·hr tailpipe emissions limit. Placing the SCR upstream of the DOC/DPF would significantly lower the NOx/soot ratio entering the DPF and result in little to no passive soot oxidation. This would require frequent active regeneration of the filter. This, in turn, is a fuel penalty and the additional thermal aging to the aftertreatment adds costs and complexity to aftertreatment design.
Engine out NOx levels are limited to ˜5 g/hp·hr and usually are much lower. This limits the fuel
economy benefits in advanced combustion engines where NOx emissions may be higher than 10 g/hp·hr. Moreover, the aftertreatment system only utilizes a single (though it may be comprised of multiple bricks) SCR catalyst that is downstream of the DOC/DPF. Once a desired total DEF dosing quantity is calculated, that value can be transmitted to the injection system for the SCR catalyst. Moreover, since the SCR catalyst in the standard design is after the DOC/DPF, it is generally not permissible to utilize a vanadium (V) based SCR formulation. This is a result of the propensity of vanadium formulations to release V2O5 when exposed to temperatures above 550° C. These temperatures may be achieved after the DOC/DPF under standard operating conditions such as an active regeneration event or could be achieved from a malfunctioning state such as high HC slip from the DOC or high rate of soot oxidation during a drop to idle event. Vanadia formulations (as well as Fe zeolite) have the benefit of lower costs and lower N2O production however V formulations are not used in current (US 2010 on-highway emissions) systems since they would be placed downstream of the DOC/DPF.
There exists a need to design a system that enables a relatively better fuel economy outcome while meeting the regulated tailpipe NOx emission levels and the N2O formation limits.

DEF dosing using multiple dosing locations while maintaining high passive soot oxidation

International Engine Intellectual Property Company, LLC.


A semiconductor memory device according to the present invention includes a block determining portion determining a difference in arrangement between a normal cell and a spare cell which replaces it, a data scramble controlling circuit generating a scramble ON signal when a normal cell is replaced by a spare cell and the spare cell stores inverted data, a scramble circuit inverting data to be written in response to the scramble ON signal, and a scramble circuit inverting data to be read in response to the scramble ON signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate data outputting and data inputting in a conventional, typical semiconductor memory device.
As shown in FIG. 7A, in the conventional semiconductor memory device, data stored in a memory cell 1 passes through a sense amplifier 3 and it is output from an output buffer 5. Here, output buffer 5 includes a preamplifier 7 and a main amplifier 9, and preamplifier 7 outputs a signal DBR.
As shown in FIG. 7B, in the conventional semiconductor memory device, data is input to memory cell 1 through an input buffer 11. Here, input buffer 11 outputs a signal DBW.
FIG. 8 shows memory cell arrangement using a quarter pitch in the conventional semiconductor memory device, in which a white circle indicates a memory cell connected to a bit line BL and storing data and a black circle indicates a memory cell connected to a bit line /BL and storing inverted data.
The memory cell array includes blocks A and B formed of normal cells and blocks C and D formed of spare cells SC. Even when a normal cell storing data (or inverted data) is replaced by a spare cell SC storing inverted data (or data), for example, when block A is replaced by block D having different cell arrangement, data has been read and written as it is.
However, when blocks A and B are replaced by blocks D and C, respectively, in FIG. 8, replaced spare cell SC stores the inverted data of data stored in the normal cell. Therefore, the stress imposed during a test cannot be applied to spare cell SC under the same condition as the normal cell.

Semiconductor memory device allowing test regardless of spare cell arrangement


A dual-port broadband light source is disclosed. In the dual-port broadband light source, a first beam splitter splits a first ASE at a first ratio into the second and third light paths and outputs the first ASE received from the second light path to the first light path. A second beam splitter splits a second ASE at a second ratio into the second and fourth light sources and outputs the second ASE received from the second light path to the first light path. A first reflector reflects input first and second ASEs in the first light path, and a second reflector reflects input first and second ASEs in the second light path. A first gain medium generates the first ASE between the first reflector and the first beam splitter, and a second gain medium generates the second ASE between the first reflector and the second beam splitter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an optical module, and more particularly, to a dual-port broadband light source.
2. Description of the Related Art
A light source in a broad wavelength band is needed to measure the optical properties of optical devices in the field of optical communications. Especially in the case when an Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA ) is used in an optical communication system, optical signals may range from 1520 nm to 1620 nm. Thus, a light source is needed that can measure the optical properties of optical devices in the desired wavelength band. A broadband light source used in conjunction with a wavelength locked LD (Laser Diode) is attracting interest as a light source for simultaneously accommodating multiple users in a WDM-PON (Wavelength Division Multiplexing-Passive Optical Network) as a future ultra high-speed optical subscriber network. Existing broadband light sources use ASE (Amplified Spontaneous Emission) light from a white light source or an EDFA. The white light source has limitations in serving as a WDM-PON light source requiring high power or in measuring optical device properties because its output power is weak. The use of an EDFA as a light source, on the other hand, is not cost-effective.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,507,429 entitled "Article Comprising a High Power/Broad Spectrum Superfluorescent Fiber Radiation Source" discloses a broadband light source for emitting a C-band (1520 to 1570 nm) and L-band (1570 to 1620 nm) ASE light. The broadband light source includes first and second rare earth-doped optical fibers and an isolator interposed between them. A first pumping light from a first pump light source is provided to the first rare earth-doped optical fiber and a second pumping light from a second pump light source is provided to the second rare earth-doped optical fiber. A reflector reflects the ASE light emitted from the first rare earth-doped optical fiber back to the first rare earth-doped optical fiber, thereby helping the first rare earth-doped optical fiber generate an L-band ASE light. The second rare earth-doped optical fiber operates to amplify the L-band ASE light and generate a C-band ASE light. Consequently, the broadband light source can output a C-band and an L-band ASE light through its output port.
However, in the typical broadband light source described, the C-band ASE light emitted backward from the second rare earth-doped optical fiber is not utilized because of the isolator between the first and second rare earth-doped optical fibers. Therefore, the broadband light source has low output efficiency. In addition, when the output of the first pump light source is changed to control the L-band ASE light power, the C-band ASE power is also changed. Similarly, if the output of the second pump light source is changed to control the C-band ASE power from the first rare earth-doped optical fiber, the L-band ASE power is also changed. Thus, because the power of the C-band ASE light is closely related to the power of the L-band ASE light, it is not easy to control the output of the broadband light source.


Embodiments of the present invention provide an automated scheme for identifying high/low value content. Playback data from users in a social network may be periodically submitted by users of the social network. The playback data indicates segments of content, such as audio or video that the user has skipped over or tagged as low value. The playback data may also indicate segments of content that the user has repeated or tagged as high value. The playback data is then analyzed in aggregate and various clips are identified. In addition, the playback data may be compiled and organized among the users for future use. The playback data may be used to indicate segments of high/low interest to peers in the social network or to arbitrary users.

In its short history, Internet usage has been mainly driven by portals and search engines, such as Yahoo! and Google. Recently, the rapid growth of social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, has revealed a new trend of Internet usage. Social networking generally relates to services and tools that help users maintain and expand their circles of friends usually by exploiting existing relationships. Social networking sites have shown potential to become the places on the Internet where many people spend most of their time, thus making these sites the main entry point for online activity. Often times, these social networking sites can become the focal point of sharing information, such as links, multimedia, music, and the like.
In general, social networking sites and other online services of the Internet offer a mix of features and tools, such as message boards, games, journals or web logs ("blogs"). Many of these sites try to build communities around multi-media or popular culture, such as television, film, music, etc. These sites and their features are designed to keep users clicking on advertising-supported pages of the site. Thus, the known social networking sites employ a closed platform of services that attempt to keep their user-base captive to the site.
The Internet is now crowded with a large number of social networking sites and sharing tools. For example, the recent supremacy of iTunes has triggered a plethora of music service offerings. As another example, the recent success of YouTube and Google Video has sparked an explosion of video-sharing sites. Therefore, most users typically utilize multiple social networking sites and maintain separate accounts on these services.
Unfortunately, it has become difficult for users to share and highlight content across their multiple social networking services. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide methods and systems that allow users to highlight content that is of high or low value with their social network.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Evaluation of content based on user activities


Residential Ethernet stream transmitting method and apparatus are provided. The residential Ethernet stream transmitting method includes transmitting a data frame comprising multi-cycle traffic information and receiving the data frame within an admission control condition based on the multi-cycle traffic information.

1. Field of the Invention
Methods and apparatuses consistent with the present invention relate to transmitting a residential Ethernet stream and, more particularly to a method of and an apparatus for transmitting a residential Ethernet stream, which transmits data frames of a mono-cycle traffic model having one bandwidth according to a multi-cycle traffic model having a plurality of bandwidths in a residential Ethernet network to improve a utilization of data frames.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current residential Ethernet networks connect various types of household appliances such as televisions (TVs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), etc. to one Ethernet network and control the operations of the respective nodes through controllers.
For example, the residential Ethernet networks can be included in the home network service and connected to illumination devices, audio devices, plasma display panel (PDP) TVs, DVD players, or the like through a home server controlling the home network service.
Such a residential Ethernet network is connected to an external network to cover a designated residential area, and includes a gateway in the residential area and network nodes connected to the gateway.
In addition, the residential Ethernet network transmits data frames in a predetermined cycle. The predetermined cycle may have the pacing of 125 micro-seconds (μs) as shown in FIG. 1. The residential Ethernet network provides synchronizations among the nodes and transmits data frames 110 of a predetermined size in the cycle of 125 μs using sync bits of a media access control (MAC) layer.
A residential Ethernet network transmitting data frames in a predetermined cycle as described above stores the data frames transmitted from a random node in a random cycle in a buffer register of a gateway, and transmits the data frames to a destination node in the next cycle.
Accordingly, the residential Ethernet network transmits the data frames in a mono-cycle traffic model having pacing of 125 μs as shown in FIG. 1. Thus, the transmitted data frames have a low bandwidth. As a result, a transmission overhead occurs, and thus bandwidths are wasted due to other unused bandwidths. Therefore, the utilization of bandwidths is deteriorated.

Method of and apparatus for transmitting residential Ethernet stream


A direct attached storage (DAS) system configurable to simultaneously implement a plurality of data storage schemes, comprising one or more storage devices, a controller coupled to the storage devices for implementing and managing a plurality of data storage schemes on the storage devices, an I/O port for inputting data to and outputting data from the storage devices, and an apportionment selector coupled to the controller for selecting a portion of the storage devices to be allocated to a determined data storage scheme.

Products such as personal video recorders (PVRs), game consoles and the like whose operation entails processing data often include internal data storage, such as an internal hard disk drive (HDD). In addition, such products often have a data port for attaching an external direct-attached storage (DAS) system to increase the data storage capacity of the product. Such a data port is typically a universal serial bus (USB) port, an external serial advanced technology attachment (eSATA) port, or an IEEE 1394 (Firewire) port. The DAS system can include a disk enclosure containing one or more hard disk drives (HDDs).
Typically, there is no user interface provided with the PVR or other product to which the DAS system is attached to configure the DAS system. Therefore, such DAS systems are generally configured for a particular non-varying data storage scheme. For example, the storage assets of a DAS system might comprise two HDDs configured as a single concatenated volume. Such a configuration does not provide data protection in the event of a failure of one of the drives, and if one of the drives fails data will be lost. Alternatively, the two HDDs might be configured as mirrored disks, which provides data protection, and if one of the drives fails data will not be lost.
DAS storage expansion systems exist that can support and can be configured and/or reconfigured to implement one of various storage schemes, such as a single or nested RAID ("Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks") mode (0, 1, 5, 10 etc.), JBOD ("just a bunch of disks") or Big/Concatenated single volume configuration. Some such DAS systems include a hardware mechanism for selecting the particular storage scheme the product will implement, such as a DIP switch or rotational switch.
However, if a user wants to apportion the storage assets of a DAS storage expansion system to simultaneously use more than one storage scheme, there is presently no product with a hardware mechanism directly on the product that provides this capability. For example, using existing DAS systems, there is no way a user can apportion 30% of the storage assets in the system to a protected mode (such as RAID 1 or RAID 5) and 70% of the storage to a single concatenated volume, using mechanism provided on the DAS system. Thus, there is a need for a DAS system that can be configured and/or reconfigured via a hardware mechanism on the DAS system to simultaneously implement more than one data storage scheme.

Direct attached storage system and method for implementing multiple simultaneous storage schemes

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A control apparatus for an asynchronous machine, in particular as a drive for electric vehicles, is equipped with an incremental transducer for the rotation speed of the asynchronous machine and a torque setpoint transducer, the signals of which can be delivered to a setpoint-value entry device in order to generate setpoint values (three-phase reference sine-wave system) for a closed-loop-controlled inverter or inverter power section to operate the asynchronous machine. The setpoint-value entry device contains means for defining at least the rotor frequency (slip frequency) and the amplitude as a function of the desired torque setpoint value. The setpoint-value entry device contains a summing device for adding or subtracting the rotor frequency to or from the mechanical rotation frequency, corresponding to the rotation speed, of the asynchronous machine as a function of the instantaneous rotation direction, the desired rotation direction, and the direction of the desired torque. On the basis of the output signal of the summing device, current setpoint profiles for the inverter or inverter power section, the amplitudes of which can be set as a function of the predefined amplitude, can be selected from a setpoint memory. This control apparatus allows many advantages of the field-oriented control method, and in particular improved efficiency in part-load operation, to be achieved with little outlay and in economical manner. In the particular case of electric vehicles, smooth starting from rest, or from a rolling motion at any speed opposite to the desired direction of motion, is guaranteed.

A conventional control apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,168. In this conventional apparatus, the rotation speed of a three-phase induction motor is delivered via an analog/digital converter to a rotation speed measurement device in order to regulate an asynchronous machine. A setpoint transducer predefines a torque, and these signals are fed into a three-phase system to generate setpoint values. The sensed rotation speed of the asynchronous machine is compared to the predefined rotation speed, and the difference is delivered to the power section of an inverter as the setpoint value.
Another conventional control apparatus of this kind is the so-called "field-oriented" control system as described, for example, in Siemens Research and Development Reports 1972, F. Blaschke, "The field orientation method for controlling asynchronous machines", p. 184 ff., or in the textbook "Control of Electrical Drives," W. Leonhard, Springer-Verlag, pp. 214-222. With the field-oriented control system, both the amplitude of the stator flux vector and its position with respect to the rotor flux vector must be monitored at all times. One of the principal tasks in this connection is decoupling the torque-based and flux-based currents from the magnitude of the stator current vector. It is also important to ensure that they are at right angles to one another, in a rotor-based coordinate system, at all times. This requires sensing the stator currents of the three-phase system, transforming them into a coordinate system which rotates synchronously with the rotor flux, and comparing them with the setpoint definitions for the flux-forming component and torque-forming component of the current. The new current/voltage values applied to the motor are based on calculation and inverse transformation from the rotating reference system to the steady-state stator coordinate system. The field-oriented control system yields a constant torque even above the nominal rotation speed, improved velocity consistency even under fluctuating load conditions, and high efficiency at full load, but the technical outlay is high and costly.

Regulator device for an asynchronous machine used in particular as a drive for electric vehicles