Controlling displacement in a variable displacement compressor of an automobile air conditioning system entails detecting the temperature and humidity level of air entering the evaporator, setting a target air probe temperature from inside the automobile, and reading the evaporator air-out temperature at the temperature probe. From these parameters, the evaporator suction pressure can be calculated as can the load on the evaporator and the refrigerant flow rate so that the compressor swash plate angle, and thus, the compressor displacement, can be adjusted. After adjusting the compressor swash plate angle, calculating the absolute value of a difference between the actual air probe value and the vehicle occupant's air probe setting can be performed. If the absolute value is less than 0.5 degrees Fahrenheit, then the compressor stroke can be maintained, but if it is not, then the iteration must again be performed.

Modern air conditioning compressors are controlled in a variety of ways to deliver the desired amount of refrigerant to the evaporator. One way of controlling this amount of refrigerant is by controlling the drawing or suction pressure of the refrigerant by the compressor from the evaporator. The drawing pressure is measured in the suction line between the evaporator and the compressor, while the suction pressure control is carried out by determining the temperature of the evaporator surface in order to alter the suction pressure. When a vehicle occupant desires cooler air to be blown into the vehicle compartment, the occupant turns the blower, or fan speed, to high. This increases the air passing through the evaporator and raises the temperature of the evaporator surface, which causes the compressor to draw coolant through the evaporator for a longer period of time in order to compress enough coolant for enough time in order to meet the desired cooling level of the occupant. Likewise, when the occupant desires the blowing air to be at a temperature higher than the current blowing air temperature, the occupant reduces the fan speed or blower speed. This causes the evaporator surface temperature to become colder, which in turn signals the compressor to reduce the suction pressure and time that the compressor compresses during a given cycle. This type of system has a drawback in that it does not know how much torque the compressor absorbs from the engine. A further limitation of this system is its inability to optimize fuel economy because the compressor is always maximizing its displacement which also maximizes its horsepower draw from the engine, which supplies rotational power to the air conditioning compressor. This system fails to optimize horsepower draw from the engine, which is a minimization of that horsepower draw from the engine.
Another current air conditioning control system is a torque-controlled system that manages the engine torque consumed by the compressor. That is, within the structure of the compressor, there is a small orifice measurement device. Because of this small orifice, it is possible to obtain the pressure differential in the coolant line before and after the stroke of the compressor. Because the compressor is a variable displacement compressor, it is possible to obtain a mass flow rate differential and pressure differential of the coolant across the orifice and therefore, adjust the displacement or stroke of the compressor output accordingly.
Both of the above control methods are passive control methods. That is, neither of the above control methods measures quantities of temperature or humidity of the air passing into the evaporator. Because of this, neither system is capable of determining what mass flow rate at which to start the compressor upon start-up of the compressor when the air conditioning system is activated. After the air conditioning system is operating, the control system will know the temperature of the air coming out of the evaporator and then further adjustments can be made. Operation of the compressor during this pre-adjustment period is inefficient and consumes horsepower from the engine, thus limiting the maximum fuel economy possible.
What is needed then is a device that does not suffer from the above limitations. This in turn, will provide a device that measures the temperature and humidity of the air entering the evaporator and the temperature set within an interior of an automobile in order to initially set and subsequently adjust a compressor stroke upon start-up of the air conditioning system.

Dynamic control of a variable displacement compressor


An exemplary method and system for evaluating media-playing sets evaluates the likelihood of a selected performance condition occurring in a subject set including based on source data automatically collected from a sample group of the sets, systematic analysis of this data to form a decision tree model revealing prescribed values for characteristic input parameters that are determined to best relate to the condition, and automated comparison of the respective parameter values of the subject set to these prescribed values in order to screen each subject set for the likelihood of the condition occurring within a specified timeframe, which screening can be repeated for different conditions and timeframes using different decision tree models.

The present invention relates to a method and system for evaluating media-playing sets and relates, in particular, to a method and system suitable for evaluating media-playing sets designed for consumer use, such as a digital televisions, so as to diagnose flaws and other conditions that may arise in such sets.
As technology has advanced, media-playing sets designed for consumers have become increasingly rich in features so as to give consumers more options in configuring their respective sets. For example, one type of media-playing set, the television, was originally conceived as a standalone unit that received a handful of air broadcast channels and had a few basic controls, such as a channel selector and an on/off knob turnable for volume adjustment. In contrast, a modern television set can typically process signals from a variety of peripherals, such as a personal computer, videocassette recorder, digital video disc recorder, compact disc player, or stereo, and can accept signals from a variety of external sources, including air broadcast, cable, and satellite. The number of channels or programs received can number into the hundreds. Also, an on-screen control menu is typically employed for adjusting finely graded aspects of the picture, sound, and other operational features so that these features can be better adapted to the various media and program formats available. Moreover, hybrid forms of sets have appeared such as televisions able to process digitized signals, as in MPEG-2 or -4 format, and computers or miniplayers able to process television or other media broadcasts via a tuner card or through upstream conversion of the media signal to digitized format.
With this burgeoning array of options, however, the consumer bears an increased risk that some internal process or device in the set will malfunction or slowly degrade. One approach consumers have adopted to managing defects or degraded performance is to simply wait until the set fails or the set's performance becomes intolerable. Where the set is of the type marketed in retail stores, the consumer may bring the failed set back to the store for servicing, by a technician. However, this can be inconvenient if the set is a heavy and bulky object such as a wide-screen television. Furthermore, the consumer often has no idea which component in the set is defective and will be anxious about the repair cost. This cost can vary, moreover, depending not only on the type of defect but also on the training, skill, and resources of the particular technician performing the repair.
To avoid expensive repairs, some consumers purchase a service contract from the store or manufacturer, particularly if the set is an expensive luxury model. Alternatively, the consumer may decide to lease the equipment from a network provider to avoid bearing any repair cost. However, it is difficult in these situations for the consumer to estimate whether the cost saved offsets the extra charges incurred. In particular, the consumer not only lacks ready access to the repair history for various types of sets but also service contracts and leases can be "bundled" with other services or carry hidden fees.
Another approach to managing defects is to seek out and reduce such defects prior to consumer purchase. Thus a manufacturer may implement a stringent quality control program and test for any defects existing in the set immediately after production. Similarly, the manufacturer may impose statistical controls on the manufacturing process so as to limit deviations from known standards at each stage in production with the desired goal of achieving uniform quality in the end product.
Systems to aid in diagnosing defects have also been suggested for use by independent test technicians. Such systems may embody expert knowledge represented, for example, in the form of a decision tree. By responding to a directed series of questions framed by this decision tree, a test technician can pinpoint what type of defect has occurred from the more common types possible. This technique can help alleviate, at least to some degree, uncertainty over repair cost resulting from variation in the skill of different service technicians. However, with such systems, the quality of results can vary with the skill and experience of the expert setting up the system, the accuracy of results can suffer going from test bench to field, updating the system to incorporate the latest data can be difficult, and any errors made by technicians in their responses can result in confusion, excessive follow-up testing, and possible misdiagnosis.
A manufacturer may also track the repair record of various models in order to determine which components most frequently fail and to introduce improvements in design. For example, the manufacturer may ask users to return a survey card describing their experience with a particular set. Sometimes the data collected may not be truly representative given that many users are inclined to quickly dispose of such items in the trash. In any event, this approach only benefits future users and does little or nothing for the original consumer.
Elementary troubleshooting and recommended operating procedures are typically outlined in the manual. However, the user may lose or misplace the manual or simply not have the time or patience to locate and follow the directions. To offer another avenue for obtaining help, many manufacturers maintain call centers where users experiencing difficulties with their set can call in and speak with a live customer service representative. However, the costs of staffing such centers increases significantly based on the length and volume of the calls, so it is often impractical to offer this service for users needing help with a protracted troubleshooting procedure. In any event, diagnosing and fixing performance problems by telephone can be a frustrating and sometimes fruitless endeavor, particularly if the user lacks basic technical skills or if communication is hampered by educational or language barriers.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention includes providing a method and system for diagnosing conditions in media-playing sets suitable for the consumer market in a manner that is more efficient, convenient, and effective than previously employed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such an improved method and system that can reduce repair frequency and costs for the consumer for the life of the set.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such an improved method and system that does not burden manufacturers and network providers with excessive servicing costs.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the description of the invention contained hereinbelow.

Method and system for evaluating media-playing sets


The present disclosure provides a method of dispersing agglomerated material in a preparation comprising influenza proteins. The method comprises subjecting the preparation to sonication.

Influenza vaccines are considered the most effective method to prevent infection. The first influenza vaccines were whole virus preparations [1]. The current manufacturing process of inactivated trivalent and quadravalent influenza vaccines (TIV and QIV respectively) is based upon chemical disruption or "splitting" of the influenza virus, which was introduced in the 1960s [2]. Chemical disruption (by detergent or solvent) was found to reduce the reactogenicity of the vaccine without, in many cases, compromising the immunogenicity. Due to the high volatility of solvents, all commercially available influenza vaccines are disrupted or split with detergent. However, the concentration of detergent utilized to disrupt the whole virion exceeds acceptable limits within the vaccine and therefore must be removed to permissible levels.
The consequence of removal of the detergent is that the resulting split virions develop agglomerates or agglomerated material. The development of agglomerates relates to the strain and the level/type of detergent utilized in the splitting process. In many cases vaccines and other pharmaceutical products contain either residual detergent or an additional detergent/chemical to maintain appropriate quality attributes of the vaccine. However, it has long been established that the presence of detergent, in particular in the context of vaccination, renders antigens more soluble potentiating a decrease in the immunogenicity and hence effectiveness of the vaccine.


A dual action weightlifting machine has a stationary frame and first and second spaced vertical guides slidably mounted on the stationary frame for horizontal sliding movement relative to the frame. A horizontally extending exercise bar assembly has spaced first and second vertical slides slidably mounted on the vertical guides for vertical sliding movement relative to the frame, a user engaging portion for gripping by a user when performing weightlifting exercises, and opposite end portions for receiving one or more selected weights. The user engaging portion is located between the vertical slides and rotatably mounted relative to the vertical slides for free rotation through 360 degrees, so that the user's hands may be rotated relative to the vertical slides while lifting weights.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to weightlifting exercise machines, and is particularly concerned with exercise machines of the type which have a guided exercise bar or weight bar to simulate free weight barbell exercise movements.
2. Related Art
Weightlifting machines with weight bars for simulating barbells, also known as Smith machines, have been a fitness club staple for many years. The basic machine has a barbell attached to slide mechanisms which run on vertical guides on opposite sides of a stationary frame. This allows an exerciser to perform exercises with vertical up and down movement, such as squats, bench press exercises, and the like, but does not permit any horizontal movement. The exerciser does not have to worry about balancing the side-to-side or front-to-back movement of an independent, free weight bar. The premise is that this design provides an additional measure of safety and is easy for the neophyte to use.
The first Smith machines had the vertical guides running perpendicular to the floor, which worked well for some exercises such as squats but fought the natural chest-to-chin arcing movement of a bench press. Manufacturers soon started designing Smith machines that placed the vertical guides at a slight (five to seven degrees) angle. These new designs worked better for exercises which involved travel in a slight arc, but not as well for other exercise motions which tended to follow a straight line.
The next evolution came with the advent of composite motion or dual action Smith machines that provided simultaneous horizontal and vertical exercise motion. These designs allowed the exercise bar to follow a natural front-to-back exercise motion but still eliminated the side-to-side balancing worries. They provided a halfway point between the balance and coordination needed to perform free weight exercises and the security of a traditional Smith machine. These designs also provided the ability to perform exercises such as lunges which require greater horizontal movement.
Dual motion weightlifting machines typically have a horizontal exercise bar which is slidably mounted at its opposite ends on two vertical guide bars. Each vertical guide bar in turn is slidably mounted on horizontal guide bars at its upper and lower ends. This allows the exercise bar to move simultaneously in vertical and horizontal directions, so that the exerciser can perform a more natural feeling weightlifting exercise which allows for the natural horizontal movements of the arms while pushing a weight upwards. The weight bearing bar or exercise bar is normally a standard Olympic bar, which may have hooks attached to it on a rotatable sleeve for hooking onto pinning holes on vertical guides so as to hold the bar in a rest position. The usual weight for an Olympic bar is between forty and fifty pounds. By attaching hooks, bearings, and vertical slides, the weight is dramatically increased. In some cases, counterweights are added to help reduce the weight or inertia required to move the bar from a rest position. While this counterbalance offsets the vertical weight, horizontal weight is increased. It also adds to the complexity and expense of the machine.


A display apparatus employing a field emission type cathode includes an anode electrode, a first constant voltage source for applying a first constant voltage on the anode electrode, a phosphor element coated on the anode electrode, a gate electrode arranged for facing said phosphor element, a second constant voltage source for applying a second voltage lower than the first voltage to the gate electrode, a cathode electrode arranged for facing the phosphor element via the gate electrode, an insulator arranged for facing the phosphor element via the gate electrode, a current source electrically connected to the cathode electrode, and a cathode arranged on said cathode electrode for facing said phosphor element. The current value of the current source is controlled in proportion to a third voltage applied to the current source.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a display apparatus employing a field emission type cathode, and a method for driving the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has recently been developed a display employing, for example, a field emission type cathode as one of flat panel shaped display units employed for a display apparatus. As a display employing this field emission type cathode, there is known a field emission display (FED). The FED has many features, such as high picture quality and production efficiency, quick response speed, operability under extremely low temperature environments, high luminosity and high power efficiency. In addition, the FED can be produced by a simpler process than that for production of the so-called active matrix liquid crystal display. The production cost for the FED is expected to be lowered at least to as much as 40 to 60% of that of the active matrix type liquid crystal display.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the basic structure and the operating principle of the FED is explained.
FIG. 1 shows the basic structure of the FED. In this figure, a cathode emission section 50 includes a glass substrate 10, a cathode electrode 5, an insulator 4, a gate electrode 3 and a cathode 6. On a glass substrate 10 of the electron emission section 50 are layered the cathode electrode 5, insulator 4 and the gate electrode 3. On the glass substrate 10 is formed the cathode electrode 5 which is insulated from the gate electrode 3 by the insulator 4. The insulator 4 and the gate electrode 3 are formed with plural openings within which cathodes 6 for enhancing the intensity of the electrical field are arranged on the cathode electrode 5. The cathodes 6 and the cathode electrodes 5 are electrically connected with each other. The cathode electrodes 5 and the cathodes 6 make up a field emission type cathode. Facing the surface of the gate electrode 3 of the electron emission section 50 is arranged a light emitting section 51. That is, the light emitting section 51 is arranged in a direction along which electrons 7 are emitted from the cathode 6, as will be explained subsequently. The light emitting section 51 is comprised of a glass substrate 9 on which is layered an anode electrode 1 formed by a transparent material, such as indium tin oxide (ITO). A phosphor element 2 is coated on the surface of the anode electrode 1 facing the glass substrate 9. The surface of the phosphor element 2 faces the front surface of the gate electrode 3 of the electron emission section 50. The spacing between the electron emitting section 50 and the light emitting section 51 is maintained at vacuum. A plurality of the cathodes 6 are associated with a single pixel (phosphor element) (phosphor element 2), with the focal point of each cathode 6 being on the associated phosphor element 2. Thus, by applying an electrical voltage across the gate electrode 3 and the cathode electrode 5 of the electron emission section 50, electrons 7 are emitted from the electron emission section 50. In addition, by applying an electrical voltage across the anode electrode 1 of the light emission section 51 and the cathode electrode 5 of the electron emission section 50, the electrons 7 emitted are attracted towards the anode electrode 1 and collided against the phosphor element 2 of the light emitting section 51 for emitting light from the phosphor element 2. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment wherein the light emission section 51 is made up of three portions associated with three prime colors of red (R), green (G) and blue (B). The phosphor elements 2 emit the light in these three color R, G and B for realization of a color display.
Referring to FIG. 2, showing a portion of FIG. 1, the principle of driving of the field emission type cathode, employed in FED, is explained.
In FIG. 2, if a voltage Vk by a variable voltage source 53 and a voltage Vg by a variable voltage source 54 are applied to the cathode electrode 5 and the gate electrode 3, respectively, for applying a voltage difference represented by a voltage Vgk across the gate electrode 3 and the cathode electrode 5, the electrons 7 are emitted from the cathode 6 under an electrical field produced by such voltage application. If a voltage Va is applied by the variable voltage source 55 to the anode electrode 1, the electrons 7 are attracted towards the anode electrode 1 under a condition of EQU Va>Vg (1)
so that an anode current Ia flows in a direction indicated by arrow ar in FIG. 2. If the phosphor element 2 is pre-coated on the anode electrode 1, the phosphor element 2 emits light under the energy of the electrons 7. The amount of the electrons 7 is changed with the voltage Vgk so that the anode current Ia is also changed. On the other hand, the amount of light emission of the phosphor element 2, that is luminosity L of the emitted light, is related with the anode current Ia by EQU L.varies.Ia (2)
so that, by changing the voltage Vgk, the value of luminosity L of the emitted light can also be changed. Thus the conventional practice has been to achieve luminosity modulation by modulating the voltage Vgk in accordance with the signal to be displayed. That is, with the above-described method for driving the field emission type cathode, the voltage Vg of the variable voltage source 54 is changed in accordance with the signal to be displayed for changing the voltage Vgk (driving voltage) for realization of luminosity modulation.
Meanwhile, the field emission type cathode has characteristics as shown in FIG. 3, from which it may be seen that the relation between the driving voltage Vgk and the anode current Ia (field emission current) is not linear but exponential. That is, the difference voltage between the gate electrode and the cathode electrode, that is the driving voltage, is not changed in proportion to the anode current (field emission current) Ia.
However, since the relation between the luminosity L and the anode current Ia is as shown by the above formula (2), so that, for driving the conventional display employing the field emission cathode, it becomes necessary to employ a correction circuit for setting the relation of proportionality between the voltage Vg and the luminosity L, as in the case of the gamma correction (non-linear correction) of a cathode ray tube.
The FED is comprised of gate electrodes 3a of plural lines, corresponding to the gate electrodes 3, and a cathode electrode 5a corresponding to the cathode electrode 5, arrayed in a matrix configuration. At an intersection of the gate electrode 3a and the cathode electrode 5a, that is at a pixel, a plurality of field emission cathodes 6a are arrayed as shown in FIG. 4B in which is shown enlarged a portion of FIG. 4A. If characteristics of the field emission cathodes 6a exhibit variations as shown in FIG. 5, variations in luminosity due to variations in characteristics of the field emission cathodes 6a are produced. That is, inherent characteristics a of the field emission cathodes 6a undergo fluctuations as shown by characteristics b or c. The above-described compensation circuit is necessitated for compensating these variations in the characteristics of the field emission cathode 6a.
In addition, the above-described field emission cathode poses a problem in that the field emission current (anode current Ia) cannot be feed back to the driving voltage (voltage Vgk) while cathode instabilities cannot be absorbed. As for these inconveniences, that is that the field emission current cannot be fed back to the driving voltage and cathode instabilities cannot be absorbed, it has been reported that these inconveniences may be evaded by a high electrical resistance connected in series with the cathode electrode. In such case, however, problems are raised that the response speed of the cathode is retarded and additional production steps need to be included in the production process.


A voltage supply circuit having variable drive strength can optionally be used to provide improved phase margin in an integrated circuit. A bandgap circuit drives an operational amplifier, with the second input of the operational amplifier being a regulated voltage node. The operational amplifier drives multiple pull-ups in a pull-up network coupled to the regulated voltage node, of which the different pull-ups can be separately enabled to control the effective channel width of the pull-up network. In some embodiments, a control circuit (e.g., one or two additional operational amplifiers driving a counter) accepts the output of the operational amplifier as an input signal and provides multiple enable signals to the pull-up network.

Programmable logic devices (PLDs) are a well-known type of integrated circuit that can be programmed to perform specified logic functions. One type of PLD, the field programmable gate array (FPGA), typically includes an array of programmable tiles. These programmable tiles can include, for example, input/output blocks (IOBs), configurable logic blocks (CLBs), dedicated random access memory blocks (BRAM), multipliers, digital signal processing blocks (DSPs), processors, clock managers, delay lock loops (DLLs), and so forth.
Each programmable tile typically includes both programmable interconnect and programmable logic. The programmable interconnect typically includes a large number of interconnect lines of varying lengths interconnected by programmable interconnect points (PIPs). The programmable logic implements the logic of a user design using programmable elements that can include, for example, function generators, registers, arithmetic logic, and so forth.
The programmable interconnect and programmable logic are typically programmed by loading a stream of configuration data into internal configuration memory cells that define how the programmable elements are configured. The configuration data can be read from memory (e.g., from an external PROM) or written into the FPGA by an external device. The collective states of the individual memory cells then determine the function of the FPGA.
Another type of PLD is the Complex Programmable Logic Device, or CPLD. A CPLD includes two or more "function blocks" connected together and to input/output (I/O) resources by an interconnect switch matrix. Each function block of the CPLD includes a two-level AND/OR structure similar to those used in Programmable Logic Arrays (PLAs) and Programmable Array Logic (PAL) devices. In CPLDs, configuration data is typically stored on-chip in non-volatile memory. In some CPLDs, configuration data is stored on-chip in non-volatile memory, then downloaded to volatile memory as part of an initial configuration sequence.
For all of these programmable logic devices (PLDs), the functionality of the device is controlled by data bits provided to the device for that purpose. The data bits can be stored in volatile memory (e.g., static memory cells, as in FPGAs and some CPLDs), in non-volatile memory (e.g., FLASH memory, as in some CPLDs), or in any other type of memory cell. PLDs can also be implemented in other ways, e.g., using fuse or antifuse technology. The terms "PLD", "programmable logic device", and "programmable integrated circuit" include but are not limited to these exemplary devices, as well as encompassing devices that are only partially programmable. For example, one type of PLD includes a combination of hard-coded transistor logic and a programmable switch fabric that programmably interconnects the hard-coded transistor logic.
As noted above, advanced FPGAs can include several different types of programmable logic blocks in the array. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates an FPGA architecture 100 that includes a large number of different programmable tiles including multi-gigabit transceivers (MGTs 101), configurable logic blocks (CLBs 102), random access memory blocks (BRAMs 103), input/output blocks (IOBs 104), configuration and clocking logic (CONFIG/CLOCKS 105), digital signal processing blocks (DSPs 106), specialized input/output blocks (I/O 107) (e.g., configuration ports and clock ports), and other programmable logic 108 such as digital clock managers, analog-to-digital converters, system monitoring logic, and so forth. Some FPGAs also include dedicated processor blocks (PROC 110).
In some FPGAs, each programmable tile includes a programmable interconnect element (INT 111) having standardized connections to and from a corresponding interconnect element in each adjacent tile. Therefore, the programmable interconnect elements taken together implement the programmable interconnect structure for the illustrated FPGA. The programmable interconnect element (INT 111) also includes the connections to and from the programmable logic element within the same tile, as shown by the examples included at the top of FIG. 1.
For example, a CLB 102 can include a configurable logic element (CLE 112) that can be programmed to implement user logic plus a single programmable interconnect element (INT 111). A BRAM 103 can include a BRAM logic element (BRL 113) in addition to one or more programmable interconnect elements. Typically, the number of interconnect elements included in a tile depends on the height of the tile. In the pictured embodiment, a BRAM tile has the same height as four CLBs, but other numbers (e.g., five) can also be used. A DSP tile 106 can include a DSP logic element (DSPL 114) in addition to an appropriate number of programmable interconnect elements. An IOB 104 can include, for example, two instances of an input/output logic element (IOL 115) in addition to one instance of the programmable interconnect element (INT 111). As will be clear to those of skill in the art, the actual I/O pads connected, for example, to the I/O logic element 115 are manufactured using metal layered above the various illustrated logic blocks, and typically are not confined to the area of the input/output logic element 115.
In the pictured embodiment, a columnar area near the center of the die (shown shaded in FIG. 1) is used for configuration, clock, and other control logic. Horizontal areas 109 extending from this column are used to distribute the clocks and configuration signals across the breadth of the FPGA.
Some FPGAs utilizing the architecture illustrated in FIG. 1 include additional logic blocks that disrupt the regular columnar structure making up a large part of the FPGA. The additional logic blocks can be programmable blocks and/or dedicated logic. For example, the processor block PROC 110 shown in FIG. 1 spans several columns of CLBs and BRAMs.
Note that FIG. 1 is intended to illustrate only an exemplary FPGA architecture. For example, the numbers of logic blocks in a column, the relative width of the columns, the number and order of columns, the types of logic blocks included in the columns, the relative sizes of the logic blocks, and the interconnect/logic implementations included at the top of FIG. 1 are purely exemplary. For example, in an actual FPGA more than one adjacent column of CLBs is typically included wherever the CLBs appear, to facilitate the efficient implementation of user logic, but the number of adjacent CLB columns varies with the overall size of the FPGA.
For many FPGA devices, such as FPGA 100 of FIG. 1, core logic elements such as CLBs 102 are powered by a main voltage supply (VDD), I/O circuitry such as IOBs 104 are powered by a separate auxiliary voltage supply (VCCAUX), where VCCAUX is typically greater than VDD, and the configuration memory cells are powered by a regulated voltage (Vgg) that is typically generated using a well-known bandgap reference voltage (Vbg_ref). In some FPGAs, for example, VDD has a voltage of between approximately 1.0-1.2 volts, VCCAUX has a voltage of approximately 2.5 volts, and Vgg is typically regulated to approximately one transistor threshold voltage (VT) above VDD (e.g., to between approximately 1.3-1.5 volts).
For example, FIG. 2 shows a simplified portion 200 of FPGA 100 that includes a bandgap reference voltage circuit 205, a VCCAUX voltage regulator circuit 210, a plurality of configuration memory cells 230, I/O circuitry 250, and core logic 260. Voltage regulator 210, which includes a PMOS transistor 211 and an operational amplifier (op-amp) 212, generates a regulated voltage Vgg at a power node A for powering memory cells 230, which store configuration bits (CB) that may be provided to control various configurable elements within I/O circuitry 250 and core logic 260 via signal lines 231A and 231B, respectively, which are shown collectively in FIG. 2 for simplicity. (Note that in the present specification, the same reference characters are used to refer to terminals, signal lines, and their corresponding signals and voltages.)
In VCCAUX voltage regulator circuit 210, PMOS transistor 211 is coupled between auxiliary voltage supply VCCAUX and node A, and has a well region tied to VCCAUX. Operational amplifier 212, which is well-known, includes a first input terminal coupled to receive a bandgap reference voltage Vbg_ref from bandgap reference voltage circuit 205, a second input terminal coupled to node A, and an output terminal coupled to the gate of PMOS transistor 211. Bandgap reference voltage circuit 205 can generate a value of Vbg_ref that is relatively insensitive to process and temperature variations, for example, so that configuration memory cells 230 which store logic high values of CB drive signal lines 231 with a CB signal having a voltage approximately equal to a specified value of Vgg, irrespective of the operating temperature.
FIG. 3 shows a programmable interconnect point (PIP) 300 that can be included, for example, in the programmable interconnect element 111 shown in FIG. 1. PIP 300 includes an NMOS pass transistor 310 and a configuration memory cell 230. NMOS pass transistor 310 is coupled between interconnect signal lines 303A and 303B, and has a gate terminal coupled to memory cell 230 via signal line 231. Memory cell 230 stores a CB that controls operation of NMOS pass transistor 310, and although not shown for simplicity in FIG. 3, includes a power terminal coupled to receive regulated voltage Vgg. CB is typically loaded into memory cell 230 during configuration of FPGA 100. During normal operation of FPGA 100, a logic high value of CB (e.g., CB≈Vgg) turns on transistor 310 and connects signal lines 303A-303B together, and conversely, a logic low value of CB (e.g., CB≈0 volts) turns off transistor 310 and isolates signal lines 303A-303B from each other. As mentioned above, regulated voltage Vgg is typically regulated to approximately one transistor threshold voltage VT above VDD. Because the voltage swing of logic signals on signal lines 303A-303B is typically between 0 volts and VDD, driving the gate of NMOS transistor 310 with a value of regulated voltage Vgg that is approximately one transistor threshold voltage VT greater than VDD allows NMOS transistor 310 to pass a logic high signal without a VT drop across transistor 310.
FIG. 4 illustrates a voltage supply circuit 400 in an exemplary FPGA, e.g., the FPGA of FIG. 2. Voltage supply circuit 400 includes bandgap circuit 410, regulator circuit 420, start-up circuit 430, and NMOS transistor MN2, and provides regulated voltage Vgg to memory cells 230 via regulated voltage node 440. Bandgap circuit 410 generates bandgap reference voltage Vbg_ref and supplies the bandgap reference voltage Vbg_ref to voltage regulator circuit 420, where Vbg_ref drives one input terminal of operational amplifier 422. The other input terminal of operational amplifier 422 is driven by regulated voltage node 440, and the output terminal of operational amplifier 422 provides pass voltage Vgg_pass. Note that some known voltage supply circuits include a resistor divider (not shown, but see FIG. 10) on the feedback path between regulated voltage node 440 and operational amplifier 422, while in other voltage supply circuits the reference voltage Vbg_ref is brought up to the Vgg voltage level. Regulator circuit 420 also includes PMOS pull-up transistors MP1 and MP2, coupled in series between auxiliary voltage supply VCCAUX and regulated voltage node 440. The gate terminal of PMOS transistor MP1 is coupled to receive pass voltage Vgg_pass. The gate terminal of PMOS transistor MP2 is coupled to receive a power down signal PDNB, inverted by inverter 421. The bodies of PMOS transistors MP1 and MP2 are coupled to VCCAUX, e.g., through well biasing.
Start-up circuit 430 includes PMOS transistor MP3 and NMOS transistor MN1. PMOS transistor MP3 and NMOS transistor MN1 are coupled in series between VCCAUX and regulated voltage node 440, with the gate of PMOS transistor MP3 coupled to ground GND and the gate of NMOS transistor MN1 receiving a voltage clamp signal CLMP.
NMOS transistor MN2 is a diode-connected transistor coupled between regulated voltage node 440 and ground GND, and provides current for a closed loop phase margin, as is described in more detail below.
For simplicity, FIG. 4 omits the one or more well-known unity-gain buffers that may be coupled between the output of operational amplifier 422 and the gate of transistor MP1. In addition, although not shown for simplicity, bandgap reference voltage Vbg_ref may be provided to a plurality of regulator circuits 420 and start-up circuits 430 distributed across the integrated circuit. Also not shown for simplicity, a single operational amplifier 422 can be used to drive many pull-up transistors MP1 and MP2, if desired.
Voltage supply circuit 400 functions as follows. During operation of the integrated circuit, bandgap circuit 410 provides a bandgap reference voltage Vbg_ref, using any of many known methods. Operational amplifier 422 is well known, and generates a value for pass voltage Vgg_pass that results in a negligible voltage differential between its input terminals, thereby maintaining the regulated voltage Vgg approximately equal to the voltage of bandgap reference voltage Vbg_ref. Pass voltage Vgg_pass, which controls the conductivity of PMOS transistor MP1, is adjusted by operational amplifier 422 so that the current provided by MP1 pulls up the voltage of regulated voltage Vgg in response to dips in Vgg caused by leakage current in memory cells 230 and/or current from transistor MN2. (Note that power down signal PDNB is high while the integrated circuit is operating, so the output of inverter 421 is low and PMOS transistor MP2 is on.) In this manner, the dynamic current provided by PMOS transistor MP1 compensates for leakage current in memory cells 230 to maintain the regulated voltage Vgg at the desired voltage level (e.g., Vbg_ref).
Start-up circuit 430, which is well-known, is primarily used during device power-up operations. For example, upon device power-on, voltage clamp signal CLMP is driven to a positive voltage that turns on transistor MN1 to quickly charge regulated voltage Vgg until Vgg reaches a level that causes transistor MN1 to turn off, for example, when regulated voltage Vgg becomes greater than one threshold voltage VT below the voltage of voltage clamp signal CLMP. In this manner, when operational amplifier 422 becomes operational, the reference voltage Vgg is sufficient to allow operational amplifier 422 to operate normally (i.e., to avoid overshoot conditions).
An important characteristic of voltage supply circuits is the value of the phase margin. As shown in FIG. 4, voltage supply circuits have the inherent characteristic that the regulated voltage Vgg is controlled using negative feedback. In other words, the voltage supply circuit includes a loop, which in the circuit of FIG. 4 includes the path through operational amplifier 422, via pass voltage Vgg_pass to PMOS transistor MP1, and back to operational amplifier 422 via PMOS transistor MP2 and regulated voltage node 440. In adverse conditions (e.g., in high temperatures, or in an integrated circuit manufactured at the fast process corner) such a loop can begin to oscillate. If the phase margin of the circuit is sufficiently large, the oscillation will die out. If the phase margin of the circuit is too small, the loop will continue to oscillate and the integrated circuit will not function properly. Therefore, it is desirable to increase the phase margin of a voltage supply circuit.
A reduction in the phase margin of a voltage regulator circuit can have many causes. For example, a variation in temperature can cause a reduction in phase margin. Further, an integrated circuit manufactured in one corner of the fabrication process can have a lower phase margin that an otherwise identical integrated circuit manufactured at a different process corner. The size of NMOS transistor MP1 is typically selected to handle the leakage current under worst-case conditions, plus a margin of error, typically resulting in an over-design of transistor strength. The larger size of transistor MP1 increases the loop gain of the circuit, which further reduces the phase margin.
One known method of increasing the phase margin is illustrated in FIG. 4. The addition of a diode to ground (e.g., NMOS transistor MN2, coupled as shown in FIG. 4) can increase the phase margin by providing for additional leakage current between regulated voltage Vgg and ground GND. This additional leakage current makes the current requirements more predictable across temperature and process variations, by increasing the current requirements for all of the integrated circuits. Because the current requirements are more predictable, regulator circuit 420 can be better designed (e.g., transistor MP1 can be properly sized) to provide a consistent phase margin across temperature and process variations. However, the addition of such "leaker circuits" (e.g., transistor MN2) increases the power consumption of the integrated circuit. Further, this approach is of limited value, because it does not address the increase in loop gain caused by the increasing loads as integrated circuits increase in size.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide additional circuits and methods of increasing the phase margin of a supply voltage circuit in an integrated circuit.

Voltage regulator with variable drive strength for improved phase margin in integrated circuits


Disclosed is an information processing system that can operate in at least two modes of power management, a normal mode and a suspend mode. The system can enter the suspend mode in response to the expiration of an inactivity suspend timer and can resume therefrom in response to a resume request. While resuming, the system is operative to measure an elapsed time between entering the suspend mode and resuming therefrom. The system is further operative during the resume to either (1) prompt a user to enter a password if the elapsed time is longer than a predetermined time or (2) skip (1) and not prompt a user to enter a password if the elapsed time is shorter than the predetermined time. The system decreases the amount of time required to resume from a power saving mode by not requiring a password input when a resume request by a user, such as key input, occurs within a relatively short period of time after the system entered the suspend mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing system, such as a personal computer, and a control method therefor and in particular to an information processing system that has a power management function for reducing, as needed, the power supply to electric circuits that enter a low activity state, or for halting the power supply to them, and to a control method therefor. More specifically, the present invention pertains to an information processing system that provides both security (protection for secret data) and useability (operability) during a power saving operation, and to a control method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
As progress in the current technique continues, various types of personal computers (hereafter referred to as "PCS" or "systems"), such as desktop and notebook computers, are being manufactured and sold. The notebook PCS are being manufactured compact and light, since portability and outdoor use are taken into consideration. Almost all the notebook PCS, including those sold by IBM have "a structure with a cover" that comprises a body, which incorporates a system board and peripheral devices and has a keyboard on its top face, and a cover that has an LCD panel provided substantially at the center of the internal face. The cover is so hinged with the body at the rear edge as to be rotatable. A user opens the cover to use the PC and closes it when the PC is not in use or is to be carried.
One of the features of notebook PCS is that they are battery operated. Accordingly, they can be used at sites where there are no commercially available power sources. A battery that is used in a notebook PC is commonly formed as a "battery pack" which is a package that is comprised of a plurality of rechargeable battery cells, such as Ni-Cd, NiMH or Li-Ion. Although such a battery pack is reusable by being recharged, the charge capacity is sufficient to last only for two to three hours for the system operation time. Another feature of notebook PCS is that various ideas for power saving are taken to extend the duration of a battery pack.
Power saving in a PC can be realized not only by reducing the power consumption by the individual electric circuits, but also by halting, as needed, the power supply to electric circuits (or peripheral devices) that fall into low activity states. The latter method can be called "power management". The power management modes for the PC are modes which halt the power supply to individual devices, such as the back light of a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) that account for the greatest share of the total power consumption by a full system. These modes are also called an "LCD back light-off" mode and an "HDD-off" mode respectively.
Another type of power management mode is a "Suspend" mode in which the power supply to all the electric circuits, except for a main memory, is halted. The power management is triggered by the expiration of a predetermined time (a time out value that is set for the suspend timer) since a last user input or a last system operation (e.g., a disk access of the HDD). The system may enter power management modes in response to an instruction by a user, such as the depression of a predetermined function key (a suspend key). In a power management mode, such as the suspend mode, when key/mouse input is again effected by a user, or when a system operation is restarted, the power supply is resumed and a suspended task is begun again at a point just before the transition to the power management mode. For example, ThinkPads 700/750/755 (a trademark of IBM Corp.) that are sold by IBM have a suspend function.
At present, from an ecological view point, the demand for power management is increasing, even for desktop PCS to which power can be supplied almost unlimitedly by commercially available power sources. In June 1993, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advocated a self-control action that is called the "Energy Star Computer Program", and required that consumed power in the standby state be a predetermined value or lower (drive power is to be less than 30 W, or 30% or less than that when the CPU is active). Computer makers have developed and manufactured products that conform to the advocated action. For example, PS/55E (for which "Green PC" is a common name) that is sold by IBM has a suspend function. The IBM PC 750 and Aptiva (a trademark of IBM Corp.) series incorporate a FAX function, and also have a rapid resume function, which correspond to hibernation for the purpose of saving power consumption during the course of the standby state until receiving data.
On the other hand, as the times have been changing, security in the office has become important. Various locking mechanisms have been proposed and implemented into products in order to protect PC bodies and expensive expansion devices (e.g., HDD packages and PC cards) from being stolen. A mechanism for inhibiting the removal of an HDD is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 04-246292 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 06-119082: Our company reference No. JA9-92-030), which was assigned to the present applicant. A mechanism for inhibiting the removal of a PC card from a PC card slot is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 05-182972 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 07-44269: Our company reference No. JA9-93-030).
As for security, not only physical theft but also theft at the software level such as the invasion (data access) of a system by an unauthorized user must be taken into consideration. To maintain security while an authorized user is absent from the system there is a computer of the type that prompts a user to input a password when the system is powered on (during the course of executing a power on self test (POST) program). When a user is absent from the front of the PC, the system is not only being powered down but also falls into a power management mode such as the suspend mode. It is because a predetermined time, that may be set by the suspend timer, will sometimes elapse while a user is absent from the front of the PC. Therefore, the number of computers have increased that prompt a user to input a password (also called a "resume password", which may be the same password as that of power-on password) even when resuming from the suspend mode. Many of the recent PCS sold by IBM have a resume password function.
"Suspend" more specifically means a function for halting the power supply to all the electric circuits, except for a main memory in which are stored data (hardware context data, such as the I/O setup state, the status of a CPU and the contents of a VRAM) that are required for the resumption of a task. The recovery operation from the suspend mode is performed substantially in an inverse sequence by restarting the power supply to the individual electric circuits and restoring the saved data to its original locations. As a result, a suspended task can be begun at a point just before the mode transition. The recovery from the suspend mode is called "Resume". A trigger for entering the suspend mode may be the selection of a suspend icon (by double clicking on it), the closing of the cover (the LCD panel) of a notebook PC, or some other operation, in addition to the depression of a suspend key (previously described).
It is obvious that, as the time out value of the suspend timer is determined to be shorter, the effect of the power saving is increased because the system enters the suspend mode earlier. Once the system enters the suspend mode, the system prompts a user to input a password. The password prompt function may be necessary for protecting the security of the system. However, such password input operation may sometimes be troublesome for a user.
When the transition to the suspend mode has occurred upon the request by a user (for example, depression of a suspend key), it can be assumed that the user agrees with the password input operation in recovering from the suspend mode. However, in a case where the mode transition is caused by the suspend timer, the password input operation may be irritating to the user. It is because the system enters the suspend mode while the user is simply relaxing and resting from a job (or when the user is thinking, has halted data input operations by being engaged in a sudden telephone conversation, or is talking to another person while sitting in front of the PC). When a system enters the suspend mode against a user's will, he tends to request to resume from the suspend mode because he is irritated by the mode transition. And when immediately thereafter the user is confronted with a demand that a password shall be entered, the user becomes even more exasperated. In other words, the useability of the PC is deteriorated. The easiest method to resolve the problem of useability is to obviate the password input operation when resuming from the suspend mode. It takes about 5 seconds to restore the data that was stored in the main memory to the original locations. So, if a password input operation is eliminated, the resuming operation can be completed in a moment and the task can be instantaneously recovered. It is, however, improbable that the requirement for the input of a password will be removed under the present conditions where the need for improved system security is constantly stressed. The irritation that a user feels when the system suddenly enters the suspend mode and is then prompted to input a password may be eliminated by setting the time out value of the suspend timer to be a relatively greater value. It is because the system under the greater time out value never enters the suspend mode unless it is surely presumed that a user has removed from the PC. However, in such a case, the power saving effect is considerably reduced because the system enters the suspend mode after a long period of inactivity. That is, in order to obtain a greater power management effect for a PC, a trade-off between useability and security is sometimes required.

Information processing system having dual power saving modes

International Business Machines Corporation


A first printer 60 has a connection unit that receives print data input from a POS terminal 10, and outputs the print data to and receives the result of printing the output print data from a second printer 20, and a first printer print unit 71 that prints the received print data or data based on the received print data. When the result of printing the print data input to the connection unit is an error, the first printer 60 uses the first printer print unit 71 to print the print data, and outputs the result of printing by the first printer print unit 71 from the connection unit.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a printing system, a printing device, and a printing method.
2. Related Art
Systems that print receipts using a printer connected to a device such as a computer are known from the literature. See, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Appl. Pub. JP-A-2009-187078, and JP-A-2012-123597. The system disclosed in JP-A-2012-123597 has a printer that prints receipts and a printer that prints coupons, and prints receipts and coupons using plural printers. Systems enabling replacing a printer with another printer in a system that prints by sending data to a printer from a computer or other host device are also known from the literature. See, for example, JP-A-2012-096503.
However, in order to print using plural printers as described in JP-A-2012-123597 in a system that controls a single printer as described in JP-A-2009-187078, the configuration may be changed by adding another printer, for example. When the system configuration is changed by increasing the number of printers, and printing from one of the printers becomes disabled, another printer may conceivably be substituted to print. This requires changing the configuration of the control device to add the ability to control the substitute printer. As a result, major changes must be made to the entire system, and this can be difficult to achieve. More specifically, to control plural printers as described in JP-A-2009-187078, the control-side computer must first be able to control each printer. For example, a device driver program for controlling each printer must be installed on the control-side computer. Changing the configuration of the control computer is therefore required in order to add a different printer to an existing system that already has a printer, or to replace an existing printer.

Printing system, printing device, and printing method


An antenna for broadcast television programming includes a tuner and demodulator located with the antenna to generate a demodulated television program stream. A network interface is connected to the tuner and demodulator to provide the television program stream to a network, preferably a wireless network. A television set located remotely from the antenna receives the television program stream via the network and displays the program. A portable control device may be connected to the network. Reception of the broadcast programming is improved by controlling the directionality of the antenna in response to the demodulated signal. A service provider may poll the wireless network antenna to determine which broadcast programs are received and may provide extended programming television programs to the user by an internet connection to the user's network.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an antenna for receiving broadcast televisions signals, and more particularly to a steerable television antenna coupled to a network interface.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, many people are considering "cutting the cord" to traditional television programming providers such as cable television companies or satellite television providers. They are considering this for a variety of reasons such as a limited interest in television viewing or the expense of the programming. Television programs obtained via cable companies or satellite television providers are currently bundled into packages made up of many channels in each bundle, and an individual may only watch 10 channels, for example, but must subscribe to costly packages with many more channels, often involving subscribing to multiple bundles, in order to get the few channels that they watch.
Content or service providers are exploring how to provide a more targeted offering by providing television content via an internet connection to the user's television, but traditional business models are preventing innovation in this area. Local network programming remains one of the most popular sources of content for television viewers, but widespread deployment of the local programming over the internet is prohibited due to advertising rights and other business issues.
Combining an over-the-air approach with internet transmission of programming presents a dilemma because reliable indoor reception of digital over-the-air signals in all conditions remains elusive.
Traditionally, the television and television antenna have been linked over traditional RF interfaces. Steering systems and diversity have been used to augment reception but have had limited success. In set top box approaches, the reception function has been removed from the display device but the physical antenna remains tethered to the reception function over the traditional RF connection. Technical developments and maturity of the necessary technology have advanced so that a new approach to a television reception system is now possible. The present invention provides an apparatus and method which separate the television signal reception, tuning and demodulation functions from the rest of the television set.

Wireless network antenna apparatus and method


The present invention relates to a method for assigning states to stitches of a fabric, wherein the state can vary between a first and a second state, that comprising the steps of allocating a part of the fabric, randomly assigning a state to each stitch of the allocated part of the fabric, evaluating the ratio between the number of stitches in the first state and the number of stitches in the second state, checking if the ratio lies within a predefined range of values, and restarting at step b) if the ratio lies outside the predefined range. The method may be used for manufacturing a medical compression garment.

Medical compression garments (abbreviated by MCG) are garments which are mainly made of elastic knitted fabric. Their aim is to provide a pressure or compressive force, respectively, to a human skin, especially to a limp such as an arm or a leg, for e.g. the treatment of venous diseases and lymphatic disorders. The patients are usually required to apply some form of orthese during an entire day for a long period of their lifetime and therefore it is desirable to provide an orthese in form of a garment. Patients are generally more compliant with wearing the medical compression garment if it is comfortable to wear. Medical compression garments can for example be used to compress a leg below the knee, an entire leg, an arm, a hand and so on. They can be designed in the form of stockings, socks, panties, sleeves, gloves, etc.
Medical compression garments are usually classified by size and compression strength and must comply with normative specifications in some countries such as the German norm RAL-GZ 387 or the French norms NF G 30-102b. These norms impose technical requirements for ensuring the medical effect of a medical compression garment. Criteria to be checked are the used materials and the physical performance of the medical compression garment. The requirements imposed on the manufacture of the fabric, of which the medical compression garment consists, concern the combination of so called inlaid yarns with so called loop yarns. Today the type of knitting machines which can be used to manufacture medical compression garments that fulfil the norm requirements is limited.
Depending on the knitting pattern different appearances and functional effects can be obtained. The functional effect determines if a patient complies with the necessity to wear an orthese in form of a medical compression garment. FIGS. 1 to 10 show examples of known knitting patterns or stitch patterns, respectively, for fabrics which are used for medical compression garments. The displayed stitch patterns can be produced with available types of knitting machines.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show the so called plain stitch pattern. Two yarns 1 and 2 are used, one yarn being the so called inlaid yarn and the other yarn being the so called loop yarn 2. At the crossing point of an inlaid yarn 1 and a loop yarn 2 there are two possibilities of yarn combinations that determine the state of the particular stitch defined by the crossing point. When the loop yarn 2 is in front of the inlaid yarn 1 (referring to the fabrics outside, i.e. the side/surface opposite to the side/surface looked at in the figures), then the stitch defined by the crossing point has the state "on". When the loop yarn 2 is located behind the inlaid yarn 1, then the stitch has the state "off". A pattern in which the states of horizontally and vertically consecutive stitches are assigned the states "on" or "off" is called stitch pattern. FIG. 2 shows a diagram of a plain stitch pattern wherein each stitch that has the state "on" is represented by a black rectangle and each stitch that has the state "off" is represented by a white rectangle.
FIG. 3 displays the known rib 1/1 stitch pattern. FIG. 4 shows the corresponding diagram with stitches having the state "on" as black rectangles and stitches having the state "off" as white rectangles. A fabric with the rib 1/1 pattern consists of alternating columns of stitches having either the state "on" or the state "off".
FIG. 5 shows the known rib 1/2 stitch pattern and FIG. 6 shows the respective diagram with rectangles whose colour depends on the state of the corresponding stitch. The rib 1/2 stitch pattern is characterised by a column of stitches having the state "off" that is followed by two columns of stitches having the state "on" which are in turn followed by a column of stitches having the state "off".
FIG. 7 shows the known rib 1/3 stitch pattern and FIG. 8 shows the corresponding diagram. Inbetween two parts of a fabric each consisting of three columns of stitches in the state "on" there is one column of stitches having the state "off".
FIGS. 9 and 10 show further examples of stitch patterns known in the state of the art. Theoretically, there are endless possibilities of stitch patterns providing certain visual effects, e.g. the Jacquard knitting, however the number of stitch patterns complying with the normative requirements is limited.
One of the important aspects for the provision of wear comfort is the thickness of the fabric. By employing the so called terry-loop pattern a bulky fabric with a certain thickness can be obtained which is comfortable to wear. The terry-loop pattern can, however, not be manufactured with the knitting machines which are currently used for manufacturing medical compression garments. These knitting machines have usually 20 to 32 needles per inch (787 to 1260 needles per meter) and a diameter of 3¾ to 6⅕ inch (95.25 millimetres to 157.48 millimetres). FIG. 11 displays a fabric with the terry-loop pattern. The bulky aspect of the terry-loop pattern is obtained by the so called terry yarn 20 which sticks out of the fabric by some extra length and is not held or retained by the ground yarn 10.
The known stitch patterns of medical compression garments displayed in FIGS. 1 to 10 may have bulky parts in the fabric when the loop yarn 2 is located in front of the inlaid yarn 1. Hence, a certain fabric thickness can be achieved if a stitch has the state "on". As far as the plain stitch pattern shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is concerned, the bulky aspect is, however, rather limited. The bulky aspect is increased when there are more than two horizontally consecutive stitches having the state "on". This is the case for the stitch patterns displayed in FIGS. 5 to 8, wherein the rib 1/3 pattern has more bulky parts than the rib 1/2 pattern.
The rib patterns all lead to fabrics with ribs or parts form similar to a rib. Not all patients may want to wear medical compression garments consisting of fabrics with ribs. Furthermore, the provision of ribs, especially the provision of relatively wide ribs as being the case for the rib 1/3 pattern, may lead to structural instabilities of the fabric or the medical compression garment, respectively.
Patent document U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,150 discloses a fabric-producing machine in combination with a patterning system which implements a non-repeating pattern, wherein the patterning system comprises means for generating pattern-control signals randomly and pattern-limiting means that are operative for automatically imposing predetermined patterning restraints upon the pattern-control signals and for limiting the number of immediately consecutive joining identical stitches formed in a course. The produced fabric comprises courses and wales.

Method for assigning states to stitches of a fabric


An electrosurgical instrument is provided that captures, compresses, fuses and cuts tissue between upper and lower jaws connected to pivotably movable handles. The instrument includes a force and over compression regulation mechanism that is configured such that in a clamped configuration, the jaws delivers a gripping force between the first jaw and the second jaw between a predetermined minimum force and a predetermined maximum force.

The present application relates generally to electrosurgical systems and methods and more particularly relates to a bipolar electrosurgical sealer and divider instruments, systems and methods.
Electrosurgical instruments or tools have become available that use electrical energy to perform certain surgical tasks. Typically, electrosurgical tools are hand tools such as graspers, scissors, tweezers, blades, needles, and other hand tools that include one or more electrodes that are configured to be supplied with electrical energy from an electrosurgical generator including a power supply. The electrical energy can be used to coagulate, fuse, or cut tissue to which it is applied.
Electrosurgical tools typically fall within two classifications: monopolar and bipolar. In monopolar tools, electrical energy of a certain polarity is supplied to one or more electrodes on the tool. A separate return electrode is electrically coupled to a patient. Monopolar electrosurgical tools can be useful in certain procedures, but can include a risk of certain types of patient injuries such as electrical burns often at least partially attributable to functioning of the return electrode. In bipolar electrosurgical tools, one or more electrodes is electrically coupled to a source of electrical energy of a first polarity and one or more other electrodes is electrically coupled to a source of electrical energy of a second polarity opposite the first polarity. Thus, bipolar electrosurgical tools, which operate without separate return electrodes, can deliver electrical signals to a focused tissue area with reduced risks.
Even with the relatively focused surgical effects of bipolar electrosurgical tools, however, surgical outcomes are often highly dependent on surgeon skill. For example, thermal tissue damage and necrosis can occur in instances where electrical energy is delivered for a relatively long duration or where a relatively high-powered electrical signal is delivered even for a short duration. The rate at which a tissue will achieve the desired coagulation or cutting effect upon the application of electrical energy varies based on the tissue type and can also vary based on pressure applied to the tissue by an electrosurgical tool. However, even for a highly experienced surgeon, it can be difficult for a surgeon to assess how quickly a mass of combined tissue types grasped in an electrosurgical instrument will be fused a desirable amount.
Attempts have been made to reduce the risk of tissue damage during electrosurgical procedures. For example, previous electrosurgical systems have included generators that monitor an ohmic resistance or tissue temperature during the electrosurgical procedure, and terminated electrical energy once a predetermined point was reached. However, these systems have had shortcomings in that they have not provided consistent results at determining tissue coagulation, fusion, or cutting endpoints for varied tissue types or combined tissue masses. These systems can also fail to provide consistent electrosurgical results among use of different tools having different tool and electrode geometries. Typically, even where the change is a relatively minor upgrade to tool geometry during a product's lifespan, the electrosurgical generator must be recalibrated for each tool type to be used, a costly, time consuming procedure which can undesirably remove an electrosurgical generator from service.

Bipolar electrosurgical sealer and divider


A method is provided for monitoring multicasting traffic in an internetwork between a multicasting source in a first domain and a multicasting destination in a second domain. The multicasting source offers connections to a predetermined multicast stream according to predetermined multicast group information. The multicasting destination sends a join message to a router within the internetwork in order to initiate routing of the predetermined multicast stream to the multicasting destination. A notification of the joining is sent from the router to a ledger application, the notification including identifying information of the multicasting destination and the multicasting source. The multicasting source transmitting datagrams of the predetermined multicast stream to the multicasting destination via the router. The ledger application receives and logs the notification as a transaction event. The transaction events are aggregated in response to the first domain of the multicasting source and in response to the second domain of the multicasting destination, thereby allowing reimbursement of costs between domains for transporting the multicasting traffic.

The present invention relates in general to the multicasting of computer network datagrams to a plurality of recipients, and, more specifically, to monitoring multicast traffic and providing a means for a network domain that performs replication and transport of multicast datagrams to be compensated by the network domain or service that initiates the multicast traffic.
Packets or datagrams transported over a computer network can be sent as unicast, broadcast, or multicast messages. In the IP protocol, multicast messages use reserved IP addresses (Class D) set aside for multicast groups. For example, a source server or host may distribute streaming multimedia (e.g., video and/or audio) or other information as datagrams specifying a particular multicast group number in the destination address. The datagrams propagate via multicast-enabled routers which typically maintain local group databases identifying next-hop routers and/or end user destinations that have requested receiving datagrams from the multicast group. If a router's database identifies more than one destination for a multicast group, the router replicates the datagram and sends it to each destination.
The IP protocol suite includes the Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) for managing the interaction between destinations (e.g., end user clients) and multicast-enabled routers. So that multicast traffic does not have to be sent to clients or routers not interested in the particular traffic, multicast group databases maintained in the routers are constantly updated to identify clients or other routers that should receive traffic belonging to specific multicast groups. In most implementations, a client must send a join request to its neighboring router(s) in order to receive multicast group messages. When a client is no longer interested in a multicast stream, it sends a "leave" message to exit the multicast group.
When a router receives a join message for a multicast group that it is not currently receiving, then the router uses a multicast routing protocol such as Protocol-Independent Multicast (PIM) to create the necessary links from a source of the multicast stream to itself. When no longer needed, the router eliminates or prunes multicast distribution links to it that are no longer needed.
For certain kinds of traffic, multicasting can result in significantly more efficient use of overall network resources since multiple copies of the same information packets between any sender/receiver pair are avoided. The greatest savings are realized by the originating server of the multicast content since it does not have to originate separate traffic streams to each destination. Lesser saving are realized by the network backbone and there may be little or no savings in overhead for the destination network (e.g., an Internet service provider (ISP) operating a local area network (LAN) of a destination client).
In the current business model, the backbone provider and the ISP or other destination network have little motivation to provide multicast-enabled networks. The backbone provider receives compensation from the content provider based on the capacity of the purchased access. Since any particular content received as multicast traffic is no different than the same content obtained using unicast transmission (i.e., multicast content is not distinguishable from unicast content from the perspective of the destination client), there is no obvious improvement gained by an ISP's investment in multicast-enabled networks. Thus, an ISP is unlikely to be able to increase prices charged to end users for being multicast-enabled.
The extra costs of terminating multicast streams at the destination end of the network multicasts are borne by entities that derive the least benefit from the reduced network traffic realizable with multicasting. Since the deployment of widespread multicasting requires broad support from backbone providers and destination network providers, the current Internet business model has failed to motivate adoption of multicasting technologies.

Computer network multicasting traffic monitoring and compensation


Performance of WiFi devices, including WiFi access points are affected by a variety of parameters, including the location of setup of device and nearby sources of interference. Optimization of WiFi setup is enabled via quality metrics observed by the WiFi device and provided to the user. The system enables a user to change conditions that affect connection performance, such as the location of the WiFi access point, while the system automatically measures performance for each set of conditions. The system can then determine for the user which set of conditions provides the system with optimized WiFi connection performance. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

When setting up an 802.11 wireless (WiFi) access point (AP) to connect with other WiFi devices users are often unaware of the optimal environment in which to place the device and are often unaware of environmental factors that cause connection errors and degrade system performance. Furthermore, the AP and other WiFi devices connected to the AP do not typically provide a user with information regarding various metrics of WiFi system performance or a mechanism that enables the user to locate the WiFi devices in an optimal environment.
Existing WiFi access points feature some automatic setup systems, but these are usually limited to attempting to choose a relatively unused WiFi channel. Performance of a WiFi network (e.g., home or office) can vary considerably depending on the location of the WiFi access point (AP) and connecting devices, and other environmental factors.
Furthermore, most WiFi users have the option of locating their AP and other WiFi devices in several different places or affecting other environmental factors of the WiFi devices. A location could be in a different room, or something as basic as moving the AP to a higher or lower shelf in a bookcase.
It is within this context that aspects of the present disclosure arise.

Method and system for simplifying WiFi setup for best performance


A video processing apparatus and a method for detecting a temporal synchronization mismatch between at least a first and a second video stream of a stereoscopic video content are described. An eye blink of a creature that is imaged in the video content is detected. The temporal synchronization mismatch is determined by determination of a temporal offset between the reproduction of an eye blink in the first video stream and the reproduction of said eye blink in the second video stream.

In 3D-video, each eye of the viewer receives its own stream of images. Each image pair in the stream represents the same scene from a slightly different perspective, creating a 3D experience in the human brain during reproduction. Typically, a pair of synchronized cameras is used for capturing stereoscopic 3D video content. One camera captures the images for the left eye, while the other camera captures the images for the right eye. In this context, 3D-video content is also referred to as stereoscopic video content. Due to the slightly different viewing direction of the left and a right camera in a stereoscopic camera arrangement there is a displacement between two corresponding points in the left and right image resulting from the different camera positions. This displacement between corresponding points in the captured images is commonly referred to as disparity.
To produce high quality stereoscopic video content, stereo cameras must be tightly synchronized so that each pair of images, i.e. the image or frame taken by the left camera and a corresponding image or frame taken by the right camera of a stereoscopic camera arrangement, are taken at the same moment in time. Otherwise camera motion and moving objects in the captured scene will lead to additional erroneous disparities. Human observers are well known to be very sensitive to even small amounts of erroneous vertical disparities. However, altered or erroneous horizontal disparities can also lead to severe distortions in the 3D reproduction of the video content. Further, an erroneous disparity between a left and a right picture in stereoscopic video content can lead to conflicts between monocular occlusions and stereoscopic placement cues as well as hyper-convergence or -divergence. These issues can easily lead to an unpleasant viewing experience similar to erroneous vertical disparities, especially as motion in films tends to be more pronounced in the horizontal direction.
In order to provide tight camera synchronization, stereo cameras are usually equipped with a "genlock" or "sync" input through which a central timing generator unit can send a common sync-signal to each of the cameras to trigger the two capturing processes in a synchronous manner. Nevertheless, a lot of 3D video content suffers from insufficient synchronization. The reasons are manifold and range from hardware failures and tolerances to operator mistakes and editing errors.
As a consequence, proper synchronization in the final stereoscopic video content is one critical area to take care of when producing high quality 3D content. According to the prior art, quality inspection with respect to synchronization is performed manually in most cases. However, this is a costly and time consuming process because the 3D content has to be inspected by an operator and synchronization mismatch has to be determined manually. Accordingly, there is a need for an automatic or semi-automatic inspection allowing detecting a synchronization mismatch in 3D content.

Apparatus and method for detecting a temporal synchronization mismatch between a first and a second video stream of a 3D video content


A method to circumvent malicious software via a system configured to bypass a device driver stack and, consequently, also bypass the malicious software that may be adversely affecting the device driver stack by using an alternative stack such as a crash dump I/O stack. The crash dump I/O stack is poorly documented relative to the device driver stack and functions independently from the device driver stack.

1. Field
The present inventive concept pertains to a system and method to command physical hardware of a computer system. The present inventive concept more particularly concerns an improved system and method to bypass a potentially compromised chain of trust internal to a normal or standard device driver input/out ("I/O") stack, and utilize the crash dump driver stack to control a physical hardware device.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Information security forensic investigators seek to obtain uncontaminated evidence or data from compromised computing devices. Investigators use forensic tools that rely on facilities provided by operating systems to acquire the evidence. At the lowest level, such facilities may include the kernel, the I/O subsystem, and various device drivers for interacting with disk drives, network cards and other peripheral hardware, which are implemented in the operating system ("OS").
A driver translates information from a generic interface to a more specific form suited for hardware, firmware, or software functionalities. Drivers and the OS allow applications to operate without concern for the details of underlying hardware. For example, when an application writes a file to disk, it does so without regard to the underlying technologies, that is, the OS and drivers provide an abstract representation of a mass storage device that obscures the low-level differences between various types of mass storage technology. Abstraction is also used within the OS, for example, when an application calls upon "save data" functionality provided by the OS. Save data functionality will be accessed through drivers provided by the device manufacturer.
Using an example of a mass storage device, the use of abstraction means an application does not need to know if the mass storage device has a magnetic read-write head or uses flash memory chips. In general, an OS has a published specification documenting how it will communicate with different classes of physical hardware devices: mass storage devices, routers, printers, and other similar devices. Manufacturers who want their peripheral devices to work with the OS are responsible for providing a low-level driver for the device. The key advantage of the device driver structure of communication and control is that high-level software components can treat all devices of a given driver class as a single, generic device.
Stacks are chains of software and/or hardware computer components that translate an application request such as "save data" to physical actions such as writing data to a disk platter or memory chip. Device driver stacks may comprise several layers, from low-level hardware-specific drivers provided by device manufacturers, to high-level drivers that translate information for communication with a plurality of disparate components. Implicit in the use of stacks is a chain of trust, where each layer of the stack trusts that the layers above and below it will conform to certain standards and expectations and that data will not be maliciously modified within any layer of the stack.
In FIG. 1, an example of a stack is illustrated in communication with an application 108, and includes an application program interface 110 and a kernel space 104 which includes a number of drivers such as the miniport driver 120, port driver 122, and bus driver 124. In this example, the application 108 in user space 102 uses facilities provided in the kernel space 104 to communicate or control a physical hardware device 128, such as a mass storage device, in hardware layer 106.
Many investigatory and forensic tools used by various investigators rely on standard OS components such as those illustrated in FIG. 1 to perform data collection and analysis. However, well-crafted malicious software such as viruses or malware in a compromised computing device can subvert these components by providing or causing the return of false and misleading data, thereby thwarting the efforts of the investigator. For example, such malicious software can be embedded in a device driver stack to allow an attacker to modify data streams and to inject false data, conceal evidence of system compromises, receive command control instructions, and maintain control of the host computing device.
Malicious software that modifies the Master Boot Record ("MBR"), which is software that enables the computing device to boot from a mass storage device, will often inject code that intercepts requests to read data from the MBR. When an investigator tries to examine the MBR through OS components such as the device's driver stack, the malicious software will often substitute innocuous MBR data in place of obviously-compromised data in an attempt to fool the investigator. "Whitewashing" of the Master Boot Record, for example, can prevent conventional investigation tools from detecting that the MBR is compromised. "Whitewashing," as used herein, means to remove data indicative of a compromise, for instance, data that would allow an investigator to believe a computing device may be compromised by malicious software or the like.
An example of a compromised device driver stack 111 is illustrated in FIG. 2. In this example, a mass storage device's driver stack is shown in the kernel space 104, and a legitimately installed anti-virus toolkit 130 has injected itself in the device driver stack 111, as has a malicious rootkit 132. The anti-virus toolkit 130 can monitor the data stream, analyzing it for signs of compromise, but the rootkit 132 will also monitor the data stream with the goal of stealthily modifying the data for the benefit of the attacker. If, in this example, the rootkit 132 is modifying the data stream before the anti-virus toolkit 130 has analyzed the data for signs of compromise, the anti-virus toolkit 130 may not be able to detect the rootkit 132.
Numerous solutions have been proposed to remedy this contamination problem. Anti-virus and Host Intrusion Prevention System ("HIPS") vendors attempt to uninstall the rootkit 132 dynamically or put measures in place to prevent the rootkit 132 from installing at all. These approaches become a classic cat-and-mouse game, as the rootkit 132 author simply installs at some other junction in the normal I/O path or subverts the prevention measure itself. Additionally, it is often the case that "whoever is there first" wins this battle, because all software that operates at the kernel space 104 has equal privileges. Some companies have put measures in place to protect critical components in chains of trust such as the device driver stack 111, but the rootkit 132 authors continue to circumvent existing measures and infect computing devices.
Thus, information security forensic investigators face the challenge of commanding physical hardware devices, including to obtain data from such devices, using OS components that may return compromised or otherwise untruthful data.

System to bypass a compromised mass storage device driver stack and method thereof


A method for forming a modified solid polymer includes a step of contacting a solid fluorinated polymer with a sodium sodium-naphthalenide solution to form a treated fluorinated solid polymer. The treated fluorinated solid polymer is contacted with carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, or sulfur trioxide to form a solid grafted fluorinated polymer. Characteristically, the grafted fluorinated polymer includes appended CO2H or SO2H or SO3H groups. The solid grafted fluorinated polymer is advantageously incorporated into a fuel cell as part of the ion-conducting membrane or a water transport membrane in a humidifier.

Fuel cells are used as an electrical power source in many applications. In particular, fuel cells are proposed for use in automobiles to replace internal combustion engines. A commonly used fuel cell design uses a solid polymer electrolyte ("SPE") membrane or proton exchange membrane ("PEM") to provide ion transport between the anode and cathode.
In proton exchange membrane type fuel cells, hydrogen is supplied to the anode as fuel and oxygen is supplied to the cathode as the oxidant. The oxygen can either be in pure form (O2) or air (a mixture of O2 and N2). PEM fuel cells typically have a membrane electrode assembly ("MEA") in which a solid polymer membrane has an anode catalyst on one face, and a cathode catalyst on the opposite face. The anode and cathode layers of a typical PEM fuel cell are formed of porous conductive materials, such as woven graphite, graphitized sheets, or carbon paper to enable the fuel to disperse over the surface of the membrane facing the fuel supply electrode. Each electrode has finely divided catalyst particles (for example, platinum particles), supported on carbon particles, to promote oxidation of hydrogen at the anode and reduction of oxygen at the cathode. Protons flow from the anode through the ionically conductive polymer membrane to the cathode where they combine with oxygen to form water which is discharged from the cell. The MEA is sandwiched between a pair of porous gas diffusion layers ("GDL"), which in turn are sandwiched between a pair of non-porous, electrically conductive elements or plates. The plates function as current collectors for the anode and the cathode, and contain appropriate channels and openings formed therein for distributing the fuel cell's gaseous reactants over the surface of respective anode and cathode catalysts. In order to produce electricity efficiently, the polymer electrolyte membrane of a PEM fuel cell must be thin, chemically stable, proton transmissive, non-electrically conductive and gas impermeable. In typical applications, fuel cells are provided in arrays of many individual fuel cells as stacks in order to provide high levels of electrical power.
The internal membranes used in fuel cells are typically maintained in a moist condition. This helps avoid damage to, or a shortened life of, the membranes, as well as to maintain the desired efficiency of operation. For example, lower water content of the membrane leads to a higher proton conduction resistance, thus resulting in a higher ohmic voltage loss. The humidification of the feed gases, in particular the cathode inlet, is desirable in order to maintain sufficient water content in the membrane, especially in the inlet region. Humidification in a fuel cell is discussed in commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/797,671 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,036,466) to Goebel et al.; commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/912,298 (now U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/0029837) to Sennoun et al.; and commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/087,911 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,572,531) to Forte, each of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
To maintain a desired moisture level, an air humidifier is frequently used to humidify the air stream used in the fuel cell. The air humidifier normally consists of a round or box type air humidification module that is installed into a housing of the air humidifier. Examples of this type of air humidifier are shown and described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/516,483 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,156,379) to Tanihara et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,471,195, each of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Membrane humidifiers have also been utilized to fulfill fuel cell humidification requirements. For the automotive fuel cell humidification application, such a membrane humidifier needs to be compact, exhibit low pressure drop, and have high performance characteristics.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved proton exchange and humidifier membranes.

Grafted functional groups on expanded tetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) support for fuel cell and water transport membranes


Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for providing task-based information are disclosed. In one aspect, a method includes identifying a set of previous interactive sessions for a particular task. For each identified interactive session in the set of previous interactive sessions, a set of implements used during the interactive session are identified based on content of the interactive session. At least one implement in the identified set of implements is classified as a required implement for the particular task. The classification is based, at least in part, on a portion of the previous interactive sessions in which the implement was identified. Classified implements are indexed according to the particular task. Data identifying the indexed implements are provided in response to receipt of a search query referencing the particular task.

This specification relates to data processing and content distribution.
The Internet facilitates exchange of information between users across the globe. This exchange of information enables service providers to provide services to users that are not located in the same geographic regions as the service provider. Similarly, users that are interested in obtaining services over the Internet can identify service providers without limiting their search to local service providers.