An optical combiner lens includes a lightguide having an input zone at which light enters the lightguide, an output zone from which light exits the lightguide, and a propagation zone between the input zone and the output zone that provides a propagation path for light from the input zone to the output zone. A lens is stacked over the lightguide. A seal engages the lightguide and the lens. The seal is positioned relative to the lightguide such that a portion of the seal is stacked over a portion of the propagation zone. A reflective optical coating is interposed between the portion of the propagation zone and the portion of the seal.

Wearable heads-up displays use optical combiners to combine real world and virtual images. There are two main classes of optical combiners used in wearable heads-up displays: free-space combiners and substrate-guided combiners. Free-space combiners use one or more reflective, refractive, or diffractive optical elements to redirect light from a light source to a target. In substrate-guided combiners, light enters a guide substrate, e.g., a waveguide or lightguide, typically through an in-coupling element, propagates along the length of the guide substrate by total internal reflection, and exits the guide substrate, typically through an out-coupling element. There may be additional optical elements in the guide substrate to redirect light, e.g., reflect, refract, or diffract light, within the guide substrate. Optical combiners may be integrated into lenses that can be fitted into support frames of the wearable heads-up displays. However, it remains challenging to integrate an optical combiner into a lens.

Optical combiner lens with reflective optical coating to guide light across a seal


A traffic management unit for implementing Traffic Management (TM) of Available Bit Rate (ABR) traffic on an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network is described. The traffic management unit comprises a traffic management processor coupled to a traffic management memory. The traffic management processor is coupled between a data processor and an ATM interface. An Ethernet workstation is coupled to the data processor through an Ethernet interface. An ATM switch is coupled to the traffic management processor through the ATM interface. The traffic management unit is implemented as a unit separate from the cell scheduling data processor. In addition, in order to utilize network congestion information more efficiently, VCs are grouped according to their output destinations or their path through the network. Congestion feedback for one VC is applied to other VCs within the group. The traffic management startup procedure is streamlined by using a preliminary profile and modifying this preliminary profile in accordance with feedback congestion data received. TM can be disabled for destination end stations not implementing TM. To further streamline the traffic management processes, memory based rate lookup tables containing pre-calculated profile sets are utilized. Each VC uses one of these tables thus obviating the need for time and hardware intensive multiplications and additions. In addition, the traffic management unit implements multicast domain shaping by mapping destination data multicast addresses and protocol types, found in input frames or packets, into destination VCs, thus eliminating the wasteful listen and discard processes associated with broadcast characteristic of Ethernet.

ATM originated as a telecommunication concept defined by the Comite Consulatif International Telegraphique et Telephonique (CCITT), now known as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for carrying user traffic on any User to Network Interface (UNI) and to facilitate multimedia networking between high speed devices as multi-megabit data rates. ATM is a method for transferring network traffic, including voice, video and data, at high speed. Using this connection oriented switched networking technology centered around a switch, a great number of virtual connections can be supported by multiple applications through the same physical connection. The switching technology enables dedicated bandwidth for each application, overcoming the problems that exist in a shared media networking technology, like Ethernet, Token Ring and Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI). ATM allows different types of physical layer technology to share the same higher layer--the ATM layer.
ATM uses very short, fixed length packets called cells. The first five bytes, called the header, of each cell contain the information necessary to deliver the cell to its destination. The cell header also provides the network with the ability to implement congestion control and traffic management mechanisms. The fixed length cells offer smaller and more predictable switching delays as cell switching is less complex than variable length packet switching and can be accomplished in hardware for many cells in parallel. The cell format also allows for multiprotocol transmissions. Since ATM is protocol transparent, the various protocols can be transported at the same time. With ATM, phone, fax, video, data and other information can be transported simultaneously.
The components of the ATM header consist of the following fields. A generic flow control (GFC) field provides flow control; a virtual path identifier (VPI)/virtual channel identifier (VCI) field allows the network to associate a given cell with a given connection; a payload type identifier (PTI) field indicates whether the cell contains user information or management related data and is also used to indicate a network congestion state or for resource management (i.e., the EFCI bit which is part of the PTI field); a cell loss priority (CLP) field indicates that cells with this bit set should be discarded before cells with the CLP bit clear; a header error check (HEC) field is used by the physical layer for detection and correction of bit errors in the cell header and is used for cell delineation.
The provisioning of an ATM network connection may include the specification of a particular class of service. The following list the various classes of service currently defined in ATM. Constant bit rate (CBR) defines a constant cell rate and is used for emulating circuit switching (e.g., telephone, video conferencing, television, etc.). Variable bit rate (VBR) allows cells to be sent at a variable bit rate. Real-time VBR can be used for interactive compressed video and non real-time can be used for multimedia e-mail.
Available bit rate (ABR) is designed for data traffic (e.g., file transfer traffic, etc.) and is the class service connected with resource management. The source is required to control its rate depending on the congestion state of the network. The users are allowed to declare a minimum cell rate, which is guaranteed to the virtual circuit by the network. ABR traffic responds to congestion feedback from the network.
ABR is implemented by both switches and end stations in the network. Binary switches monitor their queue lengths, set the bit in the cell headers, but do not deal with the computation of explicit rate feedback when congestion occurs.
Explicit rate switches compute the rate at which a source end station can transmit and place this information in the explicit rate field in the returning resource management cell. The destination sends one resource management cell for every N data cells transmitted. If the source does not receive a returning resource management cell, it decreases its allowed cell rate. This results in the source automatically reducing its rate in cases of extreme congestion.
In the case when the source receives a resource management cell, it checks the congestion indication flag, after which the sending rate may be increased. If the flag is set, then the sending rate must be reduced. After this stage, the rate is set to the minimum of the above and the explicit rate field.
A fourth class of service, unspecified bit rate (UBR), is utilized by data applications that are not sensitive to cell loss or delay and want to use leftover capacity. During congestion, the cells are lost but the sources are not expected to reduce their cell rate.
ATM is a connection oriented transport service. To access the ATM network, a station requests a virtual circuit between itself and other end stations, using the signaling protocol to the ATM switch. ATM provides the User Network Interface (UNI) which is typically used to interconnect an ATM user with an ATM switch that is managed as part of the same network.


A linkage information output apparatus includes: a linkage information retrieval unit for acquiring, upon receiving source information, destination information linked with the source information, a frequency of occurrence of the source information, a frequency of occurrence of linked each of the destination information, and a frequency of occurrence of a link of the source information and each of the destination information from a linkage information accumulation unit; a recognition degree calculation unit calculating, based on each acquired frequency of occurrence, a recognition degree of the source information, a recognition degree of each acquired destination information, and a recognition degree of each link; and a high interest information narrowing unit selecting destination information to output from among each destination information based on a combination of two or more among a recognition degree of the source information, a recognition degree of the destination information, and a recognition degree of the link.

A linkage information output apparatus is an apparatus which outputs information (hereinafter, also referred to as linkage information) linked with source information. Hereinafter, the linkage information is made to include a combination of source information and destination information, or a combination of source information, destination information and a relation content.
That is, the linkage information is the information which indicates linkage among keywords, documents, images, and voices. A relation content is a keyword and a sentence which indicate a type and characteristic feature of linkage.
It is important to select information which is unpredictable and attracts an interest as information presented to a user. Because, in the case of Web service etc., presenting information which attracts a user's interest promotes revisit of a user to a Web site, and links directly with the access number to the Web site. In addition, because, also in marketing, acquiring new information which the others cannot perceive easily will acquire new perceiving, and therefore, it is possible to be connected with new product development which is different from that of the others.
An example of a conventional linkage information output apparatus is disclosed in Shingo Otsuka, et al., "one consideration with respect to a detection method of a related term using a global-area web access log", Journal of Information Processing Society of Japan, vol. 46 No. SIG8 (TOD26), pp. 82-92 (2005) (Non-patent document 1). In Non-patent document 1, source information and destination information are keywords. When linkage information is presented, with a keyword of a linkage source as an input, the keyword having the highest access frequency among keywords which exist in Web pages accessed until now is outputted. Therefore, in the linkage information output apparatus disclosed in Non-patent Document 1, the object is to present the keyword most linked with the source information.
An example of a method of determining whether certain information is information which has unpredictability is disclosed in Yohei Noda, et al., "Relational analysis for unpredictable knowledge discovery among Wikipedia categories", Society for the study of 20th Semantic Web and Ontology, SIG-SWO-A803-02, pp. 08-01 to pp. 08-04 (2008) (Non-patent document 2). That is, in Non-patent document 2, a method of evaluating whether the information is unpredictable information based on a co-occurrence frequency of two categories is disclosed. Here, information belongs to a plurality of categories, and a co-occurrence frequency of two categories is the number of times where two categories belong to one of information concurrently. As for information Z which belongs concurrently to two categories with the category co-occurrence frequency small, it is assumed that an unpredictable knowledge over these two categories is included therein. In the case where the information Z is included in any two categories with the co-occurrence frequency small, this information Z is outputted as unpredictable information.
For example, assume that information "Taro Aso" belongs to a category "Prime Minister" and a category "Olympic athlete". At this time, in the case where the co-occurrence frequency of these two categories is low, the information "Taro Aso" is outputted as an unpredictable information.

Linkage information output apparatus, linkage information output method and computer-readable recording medium


Attachment is provided for a conventional wheelchair to enable the conventional wheelchair to traverse irregular terrain. The attachment comprises a pair of frame members which are secured to the frame of the wheelchair and which extend forwardly therefrom. A drive wheel is pivotally and rotatably mounted at the forward end of the frame members and has a pair of ratchets secured to the opposite sides thereof. An actuating arm extends upwardly and rearwardly from each of the ratchets and has a handle provided at its upper end. The user of the wheelchair may propel the wheelchair by reciprocating the actuating arm.

This invention relates to a wheelchair and more particularly to an attachment for a wheelchair to enable the wheelchair to traverse irregular terrain.
The conventional wheelchair is comprised of two large diameter, ground-engaging, narrow width, pneumatic rear wheels mounted on an axle positioned beneath the seat portion of the chair with smaller diameter, narrow width, pneumatic, ground-engaging wheels positioned forwardly of the rear wheels. The front wheels are pivotally mounted to vertical stanchions and generally are not able to be locked in any particular angular position. The occupant of the wheelchair is seated in a conventional fashion such that the lower portion of the occupant's legs will be generally perpendicular to the ground.
The operator of the conventional-type wheelchair, when using the wheelchair off-road, is faced with a number of problems. The conventional wheelchair also faces difficulties when traversing uneven surfaces or negotiating obstructions in the path. One difficulty is in being unable to proceed any further when a wheel becomes stuck in a depression, such that when the occupant attempts to free himself, the chair may be upset. A similar problem, with the same consequences, occurs when attempting to traverse obstructions--rocks, logs or curbs--in the pathway.
A further problem with a conventional wheelchair is that the user is unable to generate enough sustained human power to climb steep grades. Thus, the conventional wheelchair has limited capability for traversing inclines.
Applicant has attempted to solve the above-enumerated problems with previous inventions. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,323 and my pending application, Ser. No. 439,612 filed Nov. 20, 1989 entitled "ALL-TERRAIN WHEELCHAIR." Although the all-terrain wheelchairs of the previous inventions do perform extremely well, it has been found that it may be more economical to provide an attachment for a conventional wheelchair to enhance the capabilities of the conventional wheelchair. Although the instant invention does enhance the capabilities of a conventional wheelchair, it will not have quite the stability or versatility of the previous inventions.
It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide an all-terrain wheelchair.
A further object of the invention is to provide an attachment for a conventional wheelchair to convert the wheelchair to an all-terrain wheelchair.
A further object of the invention is to provide an attachment for a conventional wheelchair which enables the wheelchair to traverse uneven terrain.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an attachment for a wheelchair which permits the user to generate greater driving force so that the wheelchair may traverse steep inclines.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an attachment for a wheelchair which is easily secured thereto and which is safe to use.
These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.


A system for and method of providing a flexible means of using and storing file configuration metadata in a RAID network, so that the memory system does not restrict the metadata to exact format or location in memory. A RAID controller is operable to power-up a memory device, to determine whether the memory device is new and, if so, to build and configure a file system on the memory device. Configuration data is communicated to the RAID controller. If a configuration update is needed, the RAID controller updates the configuration file of the memory device.

Currently, RAID systems are the principle storage architecture for large networked computer storage systems. RAID architecture was first documented in 1987 when Patterson, Gibson and Katz published a paper entitled, "A Case for Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks (RAID)" (University of California, Berkeley). Fundamentally, RAID architecture combines multiple small, inexpensive disk drives into an array of disk drives that yields performance exceeding that of a Single Large Expensive Drive (SLED). Additionally, this array of drives appears to the computer as a single logical storage unit (LSU) or drive. Five types of array architectures, designated as RAID-1 through RAID-5, were defined by the Berkeley paper, each providing disk fault-tolerance and each offering different trade-offs in features and performance. In addition to these five redundant array architectures, a non-redundant array of disk drives is referred to as a RAID-0 array. RAID controllers provide data integrity through redundant data mechanisms, high speed through streamlined algorithms, and accessibility to the data for users and administrators.
File systems within RAID networks maintain an abstracted view of the files and directory structure within mass-storage to a user, such that information can be effectively managed by the application without user knowledge of the physical memory locations of the files. File systems allow users to create files and directories, as well as delete, open, close, read, write and/or extend the files in memory. File systems also maintain security over the files that they maintain and, in most cases, manage control lists for a file. Volume management was developed in the late 1980s to enable the creation and management of file systems larger than a single disk, typically via striping. Striping is a method of concatenating multiple drives into one logical storage unit. Striping involves partitioning each drive's storage space into stripes, which may be as small as one sector (512 bytes) or as large as several megabytes. These stripes are then interleaved so that the combined space is composed alternately of stripes from each drive. In effect, the storage space of the drives is shuffled like a deck of cards. The type of application environment, I/O or data intensive, determines whether large or small stripes should be used. The choice of stripe size is application dependant and affects the real-time performance of data acquisition and storage in mass storage networks. In data intensive environments and single-user systems which access large records, small stripes (typically one 512-byte sector in length) can be used so that each record will span across all the drives in the array, each drive storing part of the data from the record. This causes long record accesses to be performed faster, because the data transfer occurs in parallel on multiple drives. Applications, such as on-demand video/audio, medical imaging, and data acquisition, which utilize long record accesses, will achieve optimum performance with small stripe arrays.
Striping requires interaction between the volume manager and a disk management system that configures and allocates space within a RAID memory unit. There are numerous methods of file system configuration and allocation. "Metadata" is data that describes data, and in this application, it is configuration and allocation information that describes the position and attributes of user data on the memory unit. Typically, an operating system stores metadata in a fixed location on the memory device that records stripe and configuration information for a given file. A volume is a logical unit of data storage that may correspond to a physical memory device, such as a disk drive, or that may include fractional or multiple memory devices. When a volume is brought online upon power-up, for example, the information needed for the volume to be available to a host is read from an area of memory on the volume designated as the configuration space. The configuration data includes, for example, volume size and file attributes, such as read/write, or read only. As a result, when the volume returns online, it will be configured as it was prior to the power cycle, and its data will be made available to the user. Currently, however, the number, type, and location of configuration data is vendor specific; its functionality is limited and is rigidly fixed for the life of the disk. In practice, however, there are a number of instances in which it would be desirable to have configuration data flexibly altered. For example, configuration data may be optimized for a given storage application. Unique configurations to accommodate different applications are known as "personalities." As changes to a memory unit application occur, changes to configuration personality data is also likely to occur. In current technology, any changes to the configuration data require costly maintenance; specifically, the disk needs to be re-formatted prior to any changes being made to the configuration data. These limitations to the configuration data are problematic for the providers of RAID network services because of the dynamic nature of RAID networks. What is needed is a flexible means of updating the configuration for a disk drive in RAID network, such that the metadata is not restricted to exact format or location in memory. Further, what is needed is a way of providing RAID network configuration data, beyond what is currently available, so that the RAID network can be optimized for special applications.
An example of an invention for a method of disk configuration for a RAID network is U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,126, entitled, "Method for Allocating Files in a File System Integrated with a RAID Disk Sub-System." The '126 patent describes a method for integrating a file system with a RAID array that exports precise information about the arrangement of data blocks in the RAID subsystem. The file system examines this information and uses it to optimize the location of blocks as they are written to the RAID system. Thus, the system uses explicit knowledge of the underlying RAID disk layout to schedule disk allocation. The method uses separate current-write location (CWL) pointers for each disk in the disk array. The pointers simply advance through the disks as writes occur. The algorithm used has two primary goals. The first goal is to keep the CWL pointers as close together as possible and thereby improve RAID efficiency by writing to multiple blocks in the stripe simultaneously. The second goal is to allocate adjacent blocks in a file on the same disk and thereby improve read back performance.
While the '126 patent provides an efficient means of disk configuration for a RAID system, the invention does not provide a flexible means of providing configuration metadata in a RAID system in a way in which the metadata is not restricted to exact format or location in memory. As a result, the '126 patent does not ensure that the RAID file configuration is independent of the memory devices used to implement the network.
Configuration metadata stored on storage devices often needs to be updated because of configuration changes or enhancements. Currently, the process of updating configuration metadata can create situations in which the larger size of a new format of configuration metadata may overwrite other metadata, forcing the other metadata to be moved to new locations. This requires that both configuration metadata layouts are tracked to ensure that corruption does not occur. It also requires that newer versions of firmware have awareness of all older metadata formats so that devices with an older metadata format scheme can be handled properly by newer firmware. What is needed is a way to simplify the storage and retrieval of storage device metadata.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a way to simplify the storage and retrieval of storage device metadata. More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a flexible means of configuring a disk drive in RAID network, such that the metadata is not restricted to exact size, format or location on a storage device.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a flexible means of updating the configuration for a disk drive in RAID networks, such that the metadata is not restricted to exact format or location in memory. Furthermore, it is yet another object of the invention to provide RAID network configuration data, beyond what is currently available, so that the RAID network can be optimized for special applications.

System and method for configuring memory devices for use in a network


Aspects of the disclosure are directed to interference cancellation. A method of performing interference cancellation in a wireless device having a receiver, a coefficient controller and an analog interference cancellation (AIC) circuit includes utilizing the receiver to receive a signal; utilizing the coefficient controller to compute a first cost function value using a first set of coefficients, to compute a second set of coefficients using a first coefficient control algorithm, to compute a second cost function value using the second set of coefficients, to compare the second cost function value with the first cost function value, and to determine whether to apply the first set or the second set of coefficients based on the comparison; and utilizing the AIC circuit to apply the first or second set of coefficients to filter a reference signal and the receiver to subtract the filtered reference signal from the received signal for interference cancellation.

Advanced wireless devices may have multiple radios that operate on the same, adjacent, or harmonic frequencies. The radios may provide access to networks such as wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN), Global Positioning System (GPS), Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), BeiDou navigation satellite system, etc. Some combinations of radios can cause co-existence issues due to interference between the respective frequencies. In particular, when one radio is actively transmitting at or close to the same frequency and at a same time that another radio is receiving, the transmitting radio can cause interference to (i.e., de-sense) the receiving radio. For example, same-band interference may occur between Bluetooth (WPAN) and 2.4 GHz WiFi (WLAN); adjacent band interference between WLAN and Long Term Evolution (LTE) band 7, 40, 41; harmonic interference may occur between 5.7 GHz ISM and 1.9 GHz Personal Communications Service (PCS); and an intermodulation issue may occur between 7xx MHz and a GPS receiver.
Analog interference cancellation (AIC) cancels interference between a transmitter radio and a receiver radio by matching gain and phase of a wireless coupling path signal and in a wired AIC path, as shown in FIG. 1, where dt is a transmitted signal from a transmitter (aggressor) radio 102, and hc is a coupling channel (wireless coupling path signal) from the transmitter radio 102 to a receiver (victim) radio 104. AIC 106 attempts to cancel the impact of the coupling channel hc as reflected via the negative sign on the output of AIC 106. The cancellation may be applicable not only for the separate transmitter-receiver antenna scenarios, but also for the scenarios where the transmitter(s) and receiver(s) share the same antenna(s). In the latter case, over-the-air coupling channel may be further simplified to wired channel.
Analog interference cancellation may be performed utilizing adaptive filter coefficients computed either at RF or at baseband, where baseband means utilizing a digital implementation, for example, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), digital signal processing (DSP) elements or application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC). Baseband coefficient computation may allow more precise coefficient determination which may lead to optimal interference cancellation. The coefficients thus computed are sent to the analog interference cancellation (AIC) circuit for conditioning the reference signal to cancel the undesired interference. However, one disadvantage of baseband processing is undesired DC offset leakage. That is, the reference signal, after AIC conditioning, may have a residual dc bias which may degrade the interference cancellation.

Robust coefficient computation for analog interference cancellation


A vibration actuator by which stable drive can be obtained, a lens barrel, a camera system and a vibrating element are provided. In first vibration mode and second vibration mode, vibrating elements of the vibration actuator can vibrate. Resonance frequency of the second vibration mode, which is different from the first vibration mode used for driving a relatively moving member, is prevented from being same as the frequency of the higher harmonic of a driving signal.

This kind of vibration actuator is, for example, provided in an interchangeable lens of a camera or the like and utilized as a driving motor that drives an autofocusing lens. However, space for mounting a circuit that provides driving signals for driving the vibration actuator is limited. Therefore, as illustrated in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to provide ideal sine waves. Consequently, there are cases in which stable driving is not possible.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H9-163767

Vibration actuator, lens barrel, camera system and vibrating element


A system for collecting and managing vehicle-generated data from multiple vehicles are provided. The vehicle-generated data is pseudonymized by pseudonymized identifiers, and the pseudonymized vehicle-generated data is collected and managed by a neutral data server operated by an operator who is independent of vehicle manufacturers. Vehicle manufacturers can reestablish the link of the pseudonymized event data with the vehicle that had generated the event data and the vehicle driver.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and do not necessarily constitute prior art. With more vehicles being given the benefit of ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) or autonomous driving functions, traffic accidents are becoming more attributed to vehicles than to the drivers. For proper clarification of causes of an accident, there is a growing demand to collect data in addition to the data recorded by the existing Event Data Recorder (EDR), such as additional information regarding the operational status of ADAS or autonomous driving functions, the detailed determination by the vehicle system on the sensor input, etc.
Data generated, recorded, and stored in vehicles, including EDR data may be used for a variety of purposes from vehicle-related services (e.g., insurance, maintenance, used car transactions, rental/sales, etc.) to marketing and research (e.g., traffic analysis, autonomous driving, etc.). For example, vehicle manufacturers, etc., seek to utilize vehicle data to verify and improve the functions of various ECUs, sensors, and other components installed in the vehicle. Further, the insurance industry attempts to introduce the so-called 'Usage Base Insurance (UBI)' to calculate insurance premiums that are suitable for risks due to driver's driving propensity.
With the development of information and communication technology, such vehicle data may be collected in various forms by a data server on a network and provided to various service providers. Some information collected by the data server may be sensitive in terms of personal privacy. Since the operator had real control and sales rights for personal information in these data servers, the individual had to take a lot of risks. Moreover, as legislation on privacy protection, such as the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), has been implemented, companies need to demonstrate the responsibility and consequences for data protection by establishing a process of collecting, processing, updating, storing, and deleting personal data records.

Method and system for managing vehicle generated data


In a driver, a clamping module executes a clamping task that clamps an on-off control terminal voltage to be equal to or lower than a clamp voltage for a predetermined time during charging of the on-off control terminal of the switching element. The clamp voltage is lower than an upper limit of the voltage at the on-off control terminal of the switching element. A measuring module measures a parameter value correlated with a sense current correlated with a current flowing between input and output terminals of the switching element. A limiting module discharges the on-off control terminal to limit flow of the current between the input and output terminals if the value of the parameter exceeds a threshold. A setting module variably sets a length of the predetermined time as a function of the parameter value during charging of the switching element's on-off control terminal.

A typical example of these drivers is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3474775. The driver of an IGBT (Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor) as an example of switching elements includes a resistive element connecting between the sense terminal and the output terminal of the IGBT, and a comparator for comparing a sense voltage defined as the voltage difference across both ends of the resistive element with a threshold voltage.
While the IGBT is in an on state, if the sense voltage exceeds the threshold voltage as a collector current output from the IGBT excessively increases as an overcurrent, the driver determines that an overcurrent flows through the IGBT, changing the IGBT from the on state to an off state. This protects the IGBT from an overcurrent, thus maintaining the reliability of the IGBT at a high level.

Driver for switching element and control system for rotary machine using the same


A method for controlling a motor vehicle includes steps of controlling a longitudinal speed of the motor vehicle to a predetermined value and scanning an upcoming driving route with the aid of a sensor on board the motor vehicle. One end of a section of the driving route which is visible with the aid of the sensor is determined. Assuming that there is an obstacle on the driving route beyond the visible section, it is determined that a deceleration which would be required to maintain a predetermined minimum distance from the assumed obstacle exceeds a predetermined threshold value, and a signal is output to a driver of the motor vehicle.

A speed assistant is configured to keep the speed of a motor vehicle at a predetermined value. As a result, the driver of the motor vehicle may be relieved of the task of the longitudinal control of the motor vehicle. In one variant, a distance from a preceding vehicle is also determined, and the speed of the motor vehicle is controlled in such a way that a predetermined minimum distance from the preceding vehicle is maintained. For this purpose, the predetermined speed may be undershot. The determination of the distance from the preceding vehicle takes place, for example, with the aid of a radar sensor or video sensor.
In certain situations, returning control of the longitudinal speed of the motor vehicle to the driver is necessary. For example, if the motor vehicle is following another vehicle and a third vehicle is cutting in between these two vehicles, the minimum distance to be maintained from the preceding vehicle may be abruptly undershot. In this case, a deceleration of the motor vehicle may be necessary which exceeds a predetermined threshold value, above which a braking operation may not be perceived as comfortable. In this case, the driver may be prompted to take over the speed control.
German Published Patent Appln. No. 10 2004 005 229 describes a distance control system for motor vehicles.
A corresponding warning or prompt may occur suddenly, so that the driver may be unable to respond appropriately in order to cope with the present traffic situation. The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a technique with which an improved transfer of a speed control of a motor vehicle to the driver may be carried out. The present invention achieves this object with the aid of the subject matter of the independent claims. Subclaims specify preferred specific embodiments.


The present invention provides a novel heterocyclic compound containing a beta-amino group, a method for preparing the same, and a pharmaceutical composition comprising the same heterocyclic compound or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof as an active ingredient. The heterocyclic compound of the present invention exhibits excellent DPP-IV inhibitory activity and bioavailability and therefore can be useful for the prophylaxis or treatment of DPP-IV-related diseases such as diabetes or obesity.

The enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase IV, herein abbreviated DPP-IV (and elsewhere as DP-IV, DP-4 or DAP-IV) and also known by the classification EC. 3. 4. 14. 5, is a serine protease (Barrett A. J. et al., Arch. Biochem. Biophys., 1995, 247-250), which cleaves the N-terminal dipeptide from peptides that begin with the sequence H-Xaa-Pro-Y or H-Xaa-Ala-Y wherein Xaa represents any lipophilic amino acid, Pro represents proline, and Ala represents alanine (Heins J., et al., Biochim. et Biophys. Acta 1988, 161). DPP-IV is widely distributed and found in a variety of mammalian tissues such as kidney, liver and small intestine (Hegen M. et al., J. Immunol., 1990, 2908-2914). DPP-IV was first identified as a membrane-bound protein. More recently a soluble form has been identified (Duke-Cohan J. S. et al., J. Biol. Chem., 1995, 14107-14114). According to the recently published study and report, it was revealed that such a soluble form of DPP-IV has the same structure and function as a membrane-bound form of the enzyme and is found without a certain membrane-bound domain in blood (Christine D. et. al, Eur. J. Biochem., 2000, 5608-5613).
Initial interest in DPP-IV has focused on its role in the activation of T lymphocytes. DPP-IV responsible for the activation of T lymphocytes was specifically designated CD26. With the report showing that CD26 binds to or interacts with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (Guteil W. G. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 1994, 6594-6598), it was proposed that DPP-IV inhibitors could be useful in the treatment of AIDS (Doreen M. A. et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 1996, 2745-2748).
In addition to a critical role participating in the immune system, the main function of DPP-IV stems from its peptidolytic activity as described above. Attention was particularly given to the role of DPP-IV as it is found that DPP-IV is a key enzyme implicated in the degradation of glucagon-like protein-1 (hereinafter, referred to as "GLP-1") in the small intestine (Mentlein R. et al., Eur. J. Biochem., 1993, 829-835). GLP-1 is the 30 amino-acid peptide hormone which is secreted by intestinal L cells as a response to food intake of the small intestine (Goke R. et. al, J. Biol. Chem., 1993, 19650-19655). Since GLP-1 is known to have potentiating effects on the action of insulin in the control of postprandial blood glucose levels (Hoist J. J. et al., Diabetes Care, 1996, 580-586), it was postulated that DPP-IV inhibitors might also be usefully employed in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Based on this assumption, an early form of the DPP-IV inhibitor was developed with some reports demonstrating the therapeutic effectiveness of a medicine in animal experiments (Pauly R. P. et al., Metabolism, 1999, 385-389). Further, DPP-IV-deficient mice or rats maintained GLP-1 activity and high insulin levels, resulting in decreased blood glucose levels and such a genetic disruption or mutation of the DPP-IV gene exhibited no significant effect on the survival of individual animals (Marguet D. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 2000, 6874-6879). As a consequence, it was proposed that DPP-IV is feasible as a potent therapeutic agent for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, which resulted in accelerated research and development of the DPP-IV inhibitor.
Binding of GLP-1 with a receptor in a variety of tissues results in satiety (feelings of fullness), delayed gastric emptying, and facilitated growth of pancreatic beta-cells. Therefore, clinical trials for the treatment of type 2 diabetes are gradually increasing through intravenous administration of GLP-1 per se (Verdich C. et al., J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., 2001, 4382-4389). An in vivo half-life of GLP-1 is merely 2 min (Kieffer T. J., et al., Endocrinology, 1995, 3585-3596), so such a short half-life is a major obstacle to direct use of GLP-1 as a therapeutic agent. Since then, numerous research groups and institutions have made many attempts toward derivatization of GLP-1, resulting in development and commercialization of a peptide which is capable of protracting the short in vivo half-life (Deacon C. F., Diabetes, 2004, 2181-2189). However, such a GLP-1 derivative still suffers from a fundamental limitation in that it is an injectable formulation. Further, a great deal of interest has been increasingly focused on development of an efficient DPP-IV inhibitor, due to the fact that active GLP-1 (7-36) is degraded by DPP-IV and then converted into inactive GLP-1(9-36) only within a short period of time, e.g. 2 min.
The beginning in the development of DPP-IV inhibitors was similar to the development trend of other inhibitors. That is, most of the research results were for substrate analogues. A representative one of these substrate analogues is a dipeptide derivative which was obtained as the product of the early research which was performed on a parent nucleus having a structure similar to that of Proline (Pro), based on the fact that DPP-IV exhibits pronounced affinity for a peptide containing a certain amino acid Proline (Chinnaswamy T. et al., J. Biol. Chem., 1990, 1476-1483). Typical examples of Proline-like structures include pyrrolidide and thiazolidide, and derivatives containing these parent nucleus compounds exhibit reversible and competitive inhibitory activity for the DPP-IV enzyme (Augustyns K J L., et al., Eur. J. Med. Chem., 1997, 301-309).
Among products of such extensive research and development, there are continuing experiments on the action mechanism and efficacy of certain compounds, specifically Val-Pyr (Valine-Pyrrolidide), Ile-Thia (Isoleucine-Thiazolidide), and the like. Particularly, a great deal of attention has been focused on Ile-Thia, because the Val-Pyr structure exhibited relatively poor inhibitory activity on DPP-IV (Hanne B. R., et al., Nat. Struct. Biol., 2003, 19-25), which as such prompted intensive research and study on derivatives of the Ile-Thia compound.
Out of the Ile-Thia derivative compounds focused and obtained by the above-mentioned research and study, a compound having the most prominent activity was beta-amino acid thiazolidide series which was attempted to be developed by Merck & Co., Inc. However, according to the results of pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic experiments performed in rats, the obtained compound exhibited significantly low bioavailability in conjunction with an apparent limitation in the inhibition of enzymatic activity (Jinyou Xu, et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 2004, 4759-4762). As a consequence, further development on compounds of this class was discontinued due to profound disadvantages.
During the above-mentioned investigation, Merck noticed that a beta-amino acid, in addition to a thiazolidide parent nucleus, is also a key factor having significant effects on the DPP-IV inhibitory activity. This finding was applied to the approach for substitution of the thiazolidide parent nucleus with a different parent nucleus compound (Linda L. B., et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 2004, 4763-4766). With such a subsequent research, a variety of derivatives having substitution of the thiazolidide parent nucleus with a piperazine parent nucleus were synthesized with drug efficacy testing and pharmacodynamic studies. Unfortunately, the piperazine derivatives of Merck still suffered from significantly poor bioavailability. According to the compound optimization to cope with such a disadvantage, the product MK-0431 (trade name: JANUVIA) was developed with modification of a piperazine moiety to a triazolopiperazine moiety. This product is now commercially available under new drug approval by US FDA in 2006. Further, subsequent to MK-0431, a compound with incorporation of a diazepanone moiety (seven-membered ring) is currently under development (WO 2004037169; WO2005011581; WO2006104997; and Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 2007, 49-52). Particularly according to the article published in the journal (Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 2007, 49-52), it was demonstrated that imidazolone (five-membered ring) and piperazinone (six-membered ring) exhibit remarkably lower in vitro activity, as compared to diazepanone, thus resulting in an intensive focus on the optimization of diazepanone.

As a result of a variety of extensive and intensive studies and experiments to solve the problems as described above and to achieve the optimization of a compound of interest, the inventors of the present invention discovered that when a substitution including a hetero atom is made on a piperazinone moiety, the thus-modified compound not only has excellent DPP-IV inhibitory activity, but also is capable of achieving significantly improved bioavailability as compared to a conventional DPP-IV inhibitor, and then succeeded in synthesis of a novel heterocyclic compound containing a beta-amino group. The present invention has been completed based on these findings.

DPP-IV inhibitor including beta-amino group, preparation method thereof and pharmaceutical composition containing the same for preventing and treating diabetes or obesity


Methods for cleaving oligonucleotides from a solid support are described as are methods for synthesizing an oligonucleotide on a solid support and subsequently cleaving the oligonucleotide from the solid support. In the methods, the 3′ nucleoside of the oligonucleotide attached to the solid support is a LNA nucleoside. The method entail treating the bound oligonucleotide with a concentrated ammonium hydroxide solution for about 30 minutes to about 6 hours.

Ravikumar et al., Organic Process Research & Development 2008, 12, 399-410, reports on the UnyLinker solid support for oligonucleotide synthesis and that cleavage and deprotection from the UnyLinker support is achieved in 8 hours at 55° C. (small scale synthesis). Guzaev and Manoharan, J. AM. CHEM. SOC. 2003, 125, 2380-2381, discloses that the kinetics of oligonucleotide cleavage from a solid support was 1-5-2.3 times faster for compounds bearing a 2′-O-alkylribonucleoside residue at the 3′ terminus.
WO2005/049621 discloses 5,6-dihydroxy-isoindole derivatives as linkers for oligomer solid phase synthesis.


The inhalation therapy assembly and method of use described herein increases the efficiency of metered dose inhalers by allowing delivery of the doses to a collapsible reservoir which can be manually pumped, ensuring that medicants contained therein are properly and completely delivered to the patient. Terminal and proximal valves of the one-way diaphragm type allow flow of the aerosol medicants while preventing improper expulsion. An exhalation valve is adjustable to ensure the patient expires suitably to permit proper medicant absorption.

The invention herein pertains to inhalation therapy and particularly pertains to an assembly and method which utilizes a manual pumping action to ensure complete medication dosage delivery to the patient.
Medications for bronchitis and other common respiratory ailments are conventionally sold in metered does inhalers (MDI) which have pressurized canisters to release a prescribed dosage quantity of medicants upon each manual activation. Many patients frequently use MDIs for easy, portable, self-medication. Other patients with more serious health conditions utilize various types of inhalation therapy devices such as set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,020,530 and 5,479,920. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,467 provides a MDI in combination with a manual breathing unit. Other common types of mechanical respiratory devices include electrical powered ventilators, oxygen tanks and the like.
It is commonplace to utilize a collapsible reservoir with an MDI canister for discharge therein. Such devices are often used in ventilator breathing circuits. It is also usual to provide a rigid, transparent, cylindrical reservoir with a MDI canister for containment of the medicants before such enters the patient""s lungs.
Conventional methods of delivering respiratory medicants often work very well under normal circumstances with a cooperative patient. However, young children are often frightened by inhalation apparatus which are attached to their face and as a result hold their breath, preventing intake of the medicants. Sometimes elderly patients become obstinate and will not cooperate with medical personnel or some, for physical reasons have difficulty in breathing properly. Breathing too fast can also cause problems in that the medicants are taken into the lungs and are expirated too quickly, before being absorbed. Under these conditions the medicants are not absorbed and the patient does not ultimately benefit from the prescribed dosage. Other patients also lack adequate muscle tone for deep breaths due to advanced disease status or heavy sedation.
Thus, with the problems and difficulties of prior art inhalation therapy devices, the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to provide an inhalation therapy assembly and method which will conveniently and easily allow the patient to receive the proper prescribed medicant dosage.
It is also an objective of the present invention to provide an inhalation assembly which can be used with either a facial mask or an endotrachael tube.
It is yet a further objection of the present invention to provide an inhalation therapy assembly which includes a collapsible reservoir which can be used to manually pump medicants to the patient.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide an inhalation therapy assembly which utilizes a standard peep valve which is adjustable to provide the needed resistance for a particular patient.
Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description is set forth below.
The aforesaid and other objectives are realized by providing an inhalation assembly which includes a MDI canister housing which is affixed to a conventional coil spring supported, transparent, flexible reservoir for receiving medicants therefrom. As the medicants are released from the pressurized aerosol canister, such medicants flow into the expanded reservoir and a terminal diaphragm valve in communication therewith closes due to the pressure associated therewith. As the patient breathes in, a proximal one-way valve on the reservoir opens to allow the medicants to flow from the reservoir to the lungs of the patient through a means connected to a delivery tube, either an endotracheal tube or a conventional facial mask. An adjustable exhalation valve prevents the patient from over breathing, i.e., expiring the medicants too quickly. Should there be a problem with the patient""s breathing, through either lack of cooperation, fear or voluntary physical restraints, the assisting medical personnel can simply xe2x80x9cpumpxe2x80x9d the assembly manually by urging the reservoir to a collapsed position, thereby driving the medicants from the reservoir through the proximal one-way valve into the delivery tube which is attached to for example, a facial mask. The reservoir, which is spring loaded will then recover and the pumping action is repeated until all the medicants are introduced into the patient""s lungs, thereby insuring the patient of receiving the full dosage prescribed, without significant residual amounts remaining in the reservoir.


A method and system for detecting anomaly transition point candidates in performance metadata. The method can be applied to computer system performance monitoring. Anomaly candidates, indicative of a possible transition, of a process generating the performance metadata, to or from an anomalous behavior mode are identified, for example by comparing z-scores to the left and right of various timestamps and identifying anomaly candidates when the z-scores are significantly different. Anomaly candidates occur singularly rather than as pairs of endpoints of an anomaly interval. For at least one of the anomaly candidates, an explanatory predicate, indicative of a human-readable explanation of behavior of the process, can be generated. The set of anomalies can then be filtered, for example by removing those without explanatory predicates or replacing clusters of anomalies with a most relevant anomaly.

Computer systems in general and database management systems in particular can be monitored by collecting and processing streams of data received by such systems. The data may be time series data that indicates one or more aspects of the computer system, such as processor and memory usage. For example, the data may indicate proportions of time spent processing user data, system data, and idle time. The data may also indicate waiting times and time spent servicing one or more different types of interrupts. Such data is an example of performance metadata. The streams of data collected can contain anomalies which potentially indicate unusual conditions. Most of the time, collected data items have expected values, and in some cases, expected periodicity and frequency. Occasionally, however, something unexpected happens and data values can be far from normal with unexpected peaks and valleys, or with unexpected periods and frequencies. Some of those occurrences may be easily explainable, but others may require investigation, explanation, and eventual resolution.
Other systems, such as computer systems, weather sensors, monitoring equipment, IoT (Internet of Things), and stock ticker generators also create streams of data that can contain anomalies. Anomalies can be generally described as unexpected, unforeseen, abnormal, or deviant data values.
Because of large amount of data, and limited human capacity to process the large amount of data, a significant portion of the large amount of automatically collected data is archived, aggregated, or in some cases, simply thrown away. A domain expert can detect anomalies by observing data values and their plotted graphs. However, because of enormous amount of data, the domain expert does not have time to look at all or even a fraction of all relevant data.
Therefore there is a need for a method and system for automatic anomaly detection, for example in performance metadata, that mitigates or obviates one or more limitations in the prior art.
This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.

Method and system for automatic anomaly detection in data

HUAWEI CLOUD COMPUTING TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.


An image processing device includes: an image correcting unit configured to correct a size of an image by inserting or deleting a predetermined number of pixels into and from the image based on size changing information of the image in which a plurality of pixel data is arranged, wherein the image correcting unit includes: a reading unit configured to read at least any one of attribute data and the pixel data; a characteristic determining unit configured to determine a characteristic of the pixel of interest in the image; a deforming process selecting unit configured to select a type of a deforming process related to determination of a position and determination of a pixel value of a pixel; and a correction executing unit configured to execute the deforming process selected by the deforming process selecting unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing device, an image correcting method, and a program.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the image forming device which forms an image on a recording medium by using toner, there is deviation between image positions of front and rear surfaces and between positions of images of a plurality of colors formed so as to be overlapped in association with uneven conveyance of the recording medium, contraction of the recording medium at the time of a fixing process and the like. There is a problem that image quality might be deteriorated by such positional deviation.
Therefore, there conventionally is technology to adjust positions by correcting an output image by software to overcome such a problem. For example, JP 3539283 B1 and JP 4882426 B1 disclose technology to additionally insert a new pixel or delete a pixel determined based on data of a peripheral pixel at an appropriate interval when adjusting the position by scaling up or down a plurality of overlapped images.
JP 4312944 B1 discloses technology related to setting of an edge and luminance for avoiding deterioration of the image when changing a resolution of a digital image. JP 4-365182 A discloses technology to use a method of determining a pixel value of an inserted pixel appropriate to each area by further classifying the image to be scaled up or down into a character area or a picture area for each block of a predetermined size.
However, portions having various characteristics are combined as line elements of a character and a frame line. An effect of the scaling of the image on the line elements differs according to a direction of the scaling. Therefore, there is a problem that the deterioration in the line element in an output image cannot be inhibited even when positional deviation correction to determine a position in which a pixel is inserted or deleted or to change the pixel value is performed by a uniform method on the character and the frame line.

Image processing device, image correcting method and program


A cleaning cartridge for use with an optical recording apparatus cleans from outside of the apparatus, an object lens of an optical disc recording apparatus or the like having a separation type optical system and glass covers for covering projection windows through which lasers are projected. A brush (28)for use on an object lens and a brush (26) for cleaning the glass covers (18)can be moved from outside. In order to effect operation of the cleaner, the transfer base (movable portion including the object lens of the head) is adapted to be transferred by the magnet, the inclined face or a transfer means within the apparatus.

The present invention generally relates to a cleaner for cleaning dirt attached onto optical components of an optical disc recording and the reproducing apparatus.
In recent years, the market for optical discs has been expanded such that they are now useful as non-contact and convertible mass memory media. Recording and reproducing apparatuses for optical discs are vulnerable to contamination by dirt from the outside. Dirt readily attaches onto the surfaces of exposed optical components such as object lenses and so on, and causes the transmission ratio of the optical components to be lowered thereby reducing the reliability of the optical disc apparatus for recording and reproducing the signals with laser lights. Therefore, equipment has been proposed for cleaning of exposed optical components within the apparatus, such as object lenses.
It is desirable to reduce the weight of the transfer portion of the head because such is required to quickly retrieve information stored on disc. Therefore, a recording and reproducing apparatus is provided and has a light head, called a separation type head and having an optical base including a laser light source, a detector, a transfer base for transferring an object lens and a driving apparatus mounted thereon and separated therefrom is adapted to be made.
FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show an embodiment of a recording and reproducing apparatus having a separation type head. Reference numeral 1 denotes a cartridge with a disc 2 accommodated therein. The cartridge has opening portions 1a, 1b provided in it (see FIG. 4). Reference numeral 3 denotes a cartridge holder made of sheet metal which accommodates the cartridge 1. Reference numeral 4 represents a slider which is urged by a spring (not shown) in the directions shown by arrows Y1, Y2 in the drawing figures. The slider 4 is provided with oblique notches 4a in four locations as shown. The notches 4a are respectively engaged with four pins 3b mounted on the cartridge holder 3. The cartridge holder 3 is provided with an engagement portion 3c which is engaged with a pin 5c extending upwardly from a chassis 5a to prevent the cartridge holder 3 from being slid in the Y1 and Y2 directions. The slider 4 is provided with a lock portion 9 having a notch 9a formed therein. Reference numeral 10 denotes a lock lever which is rotatably supported by a pin 12 on the chassis 5a. A pin 13 mounted at one end of the lock lever 10 is adapted to engage with the notch 9a of the lock portion 9. The end portion 10a of the lock lever 10 is urged to be moved in the direction Y1. Reference numeral 6 represents an optical base with a laser light emitting portion, a detector and so on incorporated therein. The optical base 6 is secured on the chassis 5a.
FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 are views for illustrating transfer base 14, a disc motor 21 (hidden in FIG. 2), and so on. Positioning pins 7a, 7b, 8a, 8c are mounted on the chassis 5a. The disc motor 21 is mounted on a chassis 5a as shown in the drawing. The transfer base 14 is guided by guide shafts 16 (two), and is supported movably in Y1 and Y2 directions. The transfer base 14 has an object lens 15, an adsorption member 17 of a magnetic material, a reflection mirror 20, and a lens driving means (not shown) mounted thereon. The transfer base 14 is composed of a transfer means (not shown) for free transportation thereof in Y1 and Y2 directions. Reference numerals 18 and 19 denote glass covers for preventing dirt from penetrating into the transfer base 14 and the optical base 6 during passage of laser light therethrough (see FIG. 6).
In the recording and reproducing apparatus of the above described construction, a loading operation for the cartridge 1 is effected in the following manner. First, the cartridge 1 is moved in the Y2 direction (see FIG. 2), and the end portion of the cartridge 1 comes into contact against the lock lever end portion 10a. The lock lever 10 pivots in the direction indicated by arrow A to disconnect the engagement between the pin 13 and the notch 9a so that the slider 4 can slide in the Y2 direction. As the notches 4a of the slider 4 are engaged with the pins 3b of the cartridge holder 3, the cartridge holder 3 is lowered as it advances in the Y2 direction. In this condition, the disc 2 within the cartridge 1 is engaged with the motor 21.
It is difficult to clean without dismantling the above described apparatus when dirt has become attached on the object lens 15 or glass covers 18, 19. Therefore, it has been proposed to provide a cleaner for cleaning dirt attached on the object lens, including a cleaning brush 31 formed by hairs implanted on a disc 32 accommodated in a cartridge 1 as shown in, for example, FIG. 8 (this view is seen from the reverse face of the cartridge). However, with such conventional cleaner, dirt attached on the glass covers 18, 19 cannot be removed. Thus, in the recording and reproducing apparatus having a separation type of head, the dirt cannot be completely cleaned with the conventional cleaner.

Cleaning cartridge for an optical recording apparatus

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method, system and computer program product for performing an expansion of a disk array. Upon the failure of a disk in the disk array, the failed disk may be rebuilt stripe by stripe in the spare units distributed among other disks in the disk array. Upon repairing or replacing the failed disk with a spare disk, the repaired or spare disk may be rebuilt stripe by stripe using the data from the spare units. Upon receiving a write request to a stripe unit that has been rebuilt in the repaired or spare disk during expansion, the data of the request may be written in the stripe unit requested. Further, the data written may be mirrored, i.e., copied and stored, in the spare unit corresponding to the stripe unit requested. By mirroring the data to the corresponding spare unit, tracking each stripe that was updated during expansion may be eliminated.

As the performance of microprocessor and semiconductor memory technology improves, there is a need for improved data storage systems with comparable performance enhancements. Additionally, in enhancing the performance of data storage systems, there is a need for improved reliability of data stored. In 1988, a paper was published by Patterson, Gibson, Katz, A Case for Redundant Arrays of Independent Disks (RAID), International Conference on Management of Data, pgs. 109–116, June 1988. This paper laid the foundation for the use of redundant arrays of independent disks that would not only improve the data transfer rate and data I/O rate over a comparable single disk access, but would also provide error correction at a lower cost in data storage systems.
RAID may include an array of disks which may be coupled to a network server. The server, e.g., file server, database server, web server, may be configured to receive a stream of requests (Input/Output (I/O) requests) from clients in a network system to read from or write to particular disks in the RAID. The I/O requests may also be issued from an application within the server. The server may comprise a RAID controller which may be a hardware and/or software tool for providing an interface between the server and the array of disks. The server may forward the I/O requests to the RAID controller which may retrieve or store the requested data. Typically, the RAID controller manages the array of disks for storage and retrieval and views the disks of the RAID separately. The disks included in the array may be any type of data storage system which may be controlled by the RAID controller when grouped in the array.
The RAID controller may typically be configured to access the array of disks as defined by a particular "RAID level." The RAID level may specify how the data is distributed across the disk drives and how error correction is accomplished. In the paper noted above, the authors describe five RAID levels (RAID Level 1-RAID Level 5). Since the publication of the paper, additional RAID levels have been designated.
RAID levels are typically distinguished by the benefits included. Three key benefits which may be included in a RAID level are fault tolerance, data availability and high performance. Fault tolerance may typically be achieved through an error correction method which ensures that information can be reconstructed in the event of a disk failure. Data availability may allow the data array to continue to operate with a failed component. Typically, data availability may be achieved through a method of redundancy. Finally, high performance may typically be achieved by simultaneous access to multiple disk drives which results in faster I/O and data transfer requests.
Error correction may be accomplished, in many RAID levels, by utilizing additional parity data stored with the original data. Parity data may be utilized to recover lost data due to disk failure. Parity data may typically be stored on one or more disks dedicated for error correction only or distributed over all of the disks within an array.
By the method of redundancy, data may be stored in multiple disks of the array. Redundancy is a benefit in that redundant data allows the storage system to continue to operate with a failed component while data is being replaced through the error correction method. Additionally, redundant data is more beneficial than back-up data because back-up data is typically outdated when needed whereas redundant data is current when needed.
In many RAID levels, redundancy may be incorporated through data interleaving which distributes the data over all of the data disks in the array. Data interleaving is usually in the form of data "striping" in which data to be stored is broken down into blocks called "stripe units" which are then distributed across the array of disks. Stripe units are typically predefined as a bit, byte, block or other unit. Stripe units are further broken into a plurality of sectors where all sectors are an equivalent predefined size. A "stripe" is a group of corresponding stripe units, one stripe unit from each disk in the array. Thus, "stripe size" is equal to the size of a stripe unit times the number of data disks in the array.
In an example, RAID level 5 utilizes data interleaving by striping data across all disks and provides for error correction by distributing parity data across all disks. For each stripe, all stripe units are logically combined with each of the other stripe units to calculate parity for the stripe. Logical combination may be accomplished by an exclusive or (XOR) of the stripe units. For N physical drives, N−1 of the physical drives will receive a data stripe unit for the stripe and the Nth physical drive will receive the parity for the stripe. For each stripe, the physical drive receiving the parity data rotates such that all parity data is not contained on a single disk.
The array of disks in a RAID may include a disk commonly referred to as a "host spare" disk that is dedicated for storing data from a failed disk. The hot spare disk may be unused during normal operations, i.e., when there does not exist a failed disk. When a disk in the RAID fails, the data that used to be on the failed disk may be rebuilt to the hot spare disk. Once the failed disk is either repaired or replaced by a spare disk, the data on the repaired or spare disk may be rebuilt using the data on the hot spare disk.
In another embodiment, the hot spare disk may be distributed among the array of disks in the RAID to lessen the number of reads and writes to complete the rebuild. For example, each stripe may comprise a stripe unit designated to store data corresponding to a stripe unit from a failed disk. These stripe units designated to store data corresponding to a stripe unit from a failed disk in the same stripe may commonly be referred to as spare units. Hence, once a disk in the disk array in the RAID fails, the data that used to be on the failed disk may be rebuilt to spare units distributed among the remaining disks in the disk array. The process of reconstructing the data contained on the failed disk and copying it onto the spare unit of each stripe may be referred to as "compaction." Once the data contained on the failed disk has been rebuilt onto the spare unit of each stripe, the RAID may be said to be in a "compacted state." RAID may be said to be in a "compacted stated" since the number of active disks in the disk array is decreased by one.
Once the failed disk is either repaired or replaced by a spare disk, the data on the failed disk may be restored by copying back the spare unit data onto the corresponding stripe units in the repaired or spare disk stripe by stripe. The process of copying back the spare unit data onto the repaired or spare disk stripe by stripe may be referred to as "expansion." During the expansion process, each stripe that is updated, i.e., each stripe unit per stripe that is rebuilt in the repaired or spare disk, may be tracked. Typically, each stripe that is updated may be tracked by a table stored in a non-volatile memory in the RAID controller. Each stripe updated during the expansion process may be tracked in case the repaired or spare disk fails during the expansion process. If the repaired or spare disk fails during the expansion process, RAID is able to enter a compacted state since the last stripe updated is known. That is, the data that used to be on the failed disk up to the last stripe updated may be rebuilt to spare units distributed among the remaining disks in the disk array thereby allowing the disk array to enter a compacted state. However, persistently tracking each stripe updated during expansion is time-consuming. Furthermore, non-volatile memory is expensive.
It would therefore be desirable to eliminate the necessitating of tracking the stripes updated during expansion in order to enter a compacted state upon a failure of the updated disk during expansion.

Partial mirroring during expansion thereby eliminating the need to track the progress of stripes updated during expansion

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention relates generally to the commercial distribution and sales of volatile motor fuels and more specifically to systems and methods for ensuring leak free storage of both liquid and vapor phase states of fuels stored at dispensing facilities. In addition, the present invention presents a simple device for measuring evaporative loss rates from fuel storage systems. Moreover, this invention provides a device for determining proper functioning of Stage I and Stage II vapor recovery techniques.

Various stationary and mobile tanks are used in the production, storage and distribution of volatile organic compounds such as fuels, solvents and chemical feedstocks. When transferring a volatile fuel such as gasoline from a fixed roof storage tank to a fixed roof receiving tank; two events simultaneously occur. Vapors in the receiving tank ullage (space above the liquid) are displaced by the incoming liquid, and a negative pressure in the storage tank is developed in response to the dropping liquid level. The negative pressure in the storage tank is offset by either the ingestion of atmospheric air; or in the case of facilities equipped with Stage II vapor recovery systems, a hydrocarbon/air mixture. If the hydrocarbon concentration in the storage tank ullage is reduced below the naturally occurring equilibrium concentration dictated by the volatility and temperature of the fuel, a driving force for evaporation of valuable liquid gasoline is established. As the storage tank liquid evaporates to re-establish the equilibrium hydrocarbon concentration in the ullage space, the volume expansion of liquid to vapor measures approximately 520:1, and the resulting large volume of vapor is exhaled until equilibrium is achieved. These emissions are comprised of VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds) which are ozone precursors and hazardous air pollutants (HAPS) such as benzene. These gasoline vapor emissions represent an economic loss to the retailer, an environmental hazard to both air and groundwater and a negative impact on human health since benzene is a known human carcinogen.
Accordingly, vapor losses from fixed-roof gasoline storage tanks includes displacement losses caused by inflow of liquid, breathing losses caused by temperature and atmospheric pressure variations, and emptying losses caused by evaporation of liquid after the transfer of product occurring during the interval between the next product delivery
Capture of displacement losses in the United States petroleum industry has been addressed by Stage I, Stage II and ORVR vapor recovery systems. The Stage I systems return vapors displaced from the large capacity storage tanks to the ullage space of the high volume tanker truck. Stage II systems return vapors displaced from vehicle fuel tanks to the storage tanks, and ORVR (On-board refueling Vapor Recovery) systems capture vapors displaced from vehicle fuel tanks within a canister, located within the vehicle, containing selectively adsorbent material.
A major concern among regulators and petroleum marketers alike is ensuring that hundreds of thousands installed storage tank and vapor recovery systems are performing effectively over an on-going, continuous interval. The Stage I systems and Stage II systems prevent emissions of VOC's and HAPS to the environment. A properly engineered, manufactured and installed storage tank system prevents the leakage of liquid phase product into groundwater. Recently Mr. Gary Lynn from the New Hampshire DES has conducted research which shows a clear link between groundwater contamination and elevated storage tank pressures. The high tank pressures result in "below grade vapor emissions" which eventually condense and find their way into groundwater. In addition the State of Maryland has recently enacted emergency regulations to mitigate this same problem. The problems in Maryland were amplified by two high profile release incidents where large volumes of liquid phase gasoline were leaked from fueling stations into groundwater which comprised residential drinking wells for nearby residents.
To measure storage tank leak integrity and Stage I and Stage II system efficacy, petroleum marketers have made substantial investments in storage tank and product line leak detection systems, Automatic Tank Gauges (ATG's), Statistical Inventory Reconciliation (SIR, SIRA and CSLD) algorithms, and so-called ISD (In-station diagnostic systems). All of the automated systems rely on tank gauges (or manual sticking of tanks) to provide raw data inputs into their various algorithms and sophisticated computer software calculations. Ostensibly, these hardware devices and software algorithms appear effective in meeting the above needs. However, upon closer examination, the existing products and services have significant disadvantages.
The key governing equation for storage tank systems is as follows:INPUT−OUTPUT=ACCUMULATION   (1)If the owner or operator of a gasoline refueling station is confident that liquid leaks are not present, the other means of apparent or measured loss of mass are through evaporation loss, meter miscalibration, invoice errors, theft or volumetric changes due to temperature variation. Variations of these techniques have been evaluated by various independent third party testing organizations and have subsequently been approved by NWGLDE (National Work Group on Leak Detection Evaluations) for tank monitoring protocols designed to detect liquid leaks and thereby avoid major environmental spills and their associated costly remediation.
However, for the material balance to generate accurate results, temperature compensation is necessary to avoid significant calculation errors caused by volume growth or contraction of liquid gasoline. It is known in the art that typical gasoline blends experience a volume change of approximately 0.70% upon undergoing a temperature change of 10 F. There are two significant impacts of temperature and volume variation in the context of tank gauging and inventory reconciliation.
The first error caused by a change in specific volume (density) of the fluid being measured causes the float used in magnetostrictive probes to register an inaccurate reading. The magnetostrictive probe uses a physical height reference of a float supported along the length of a rod to provide the level and associated volume of the fluid in the tank. For a 10,000 gallon tank with an eight foot diameter and length of twenty-seven feet; at half height of 4 feet of product in the tank, there are 135 gallons of fuel per inch of product height. Since the weight of the float is supported by the buoyancy force equal to the weight of the fuel displaced by the float, a change in density of the fuel must yield a slightly different height of the float along the length of the probe. A small error of only 0.10 inches of height will yield a corresponding error of 13.5 gallons of liquid volume in just a single tank. For a three tank system of 30,000 gallons, the total measurement error at a single point in time can easily be 40.5 gallons. In Equation (1) above, the ACCUMULATION term will be erroneous.
The second error caused by the temperature and density variation of fuel results in an inaccurate and non-repeatable measurement of dispensed fuel. Dispenser meters in the United States are not temperature compensated such as those in other countries such as Canada. The pulse meter within the dispenser therefore measures fuel volumes at the prevailing temperature of the fuel reaching the pulse meter. Depending on tank and piping burial depth, piping run length, solar impacts, fuel pumping profile, forecourt construction material, and submersible turbine pump type, the temperature of the fuel arriving at the pulse meter within the dispenser is not exactly equal to the temperature of the fuel being withdrawn from the storage tank. Unless these temperatures are exactly the same, the raw data inputs will be comprised of poor quality data. No matter how sophisticated the algorithms are within the various vendor supplied packages for inventory reconciliation and leak detection, the results are doomed to failure based on poor quality raw data inputs. In Equation (1) above, the OUTPUT term will be in error.
Based on the large number of L.U.S.T. (Leaking Underground Storage Tank) sites throughout the United States, the overall deficiency of past storage tank containment algorithms can be somberly confirmed. It is perhaps not well known, but diesel fuel is the fluid used in a majority of the third party tank gauge and automated system tests reviewed by the NWGLDE. Perhaps if gasoline was used as the test fluid, many of the systems and/or algorithms receiving commercial approval at very low detection limits would be found inappropriate. Perhaps the various inventory control systems provide a business management tool, but reliance on existing algorithms for detailed leak detection and regulatory compliance does not seem to be a wise choice.
In terms of providing insight into the efficacy of Stage I and Stage II vapor recovery systems, so-called ISD systems are being proposed. These ISD systems make use of vapor flow meters installed in at least each gasoline dispenser to measure the ratio of returned vapor to dispensed liquid fuel. These systems are complicated and costly to retrofit to existing fueling stations. In addition, these systems rely on mathematical algorithms to make inferences about vapor collection rates when more than one nozzle is being used to refuel a vehicle from the same dispenser. In addition, these systems require integration to additional electronic gear typically comprising an automated tank gauge system.
Typically, petroleum marketers do not believe they are losing fuel in the form of vapors to the atmosphere. The direct measurement of the vapor loss can be accomplished by the use of a flow meter installed on the vent lines of storage tanks. However, the installation of such flow meters at a large number of refueling sites is not practical, and another simpler means is required to readily calculate the vapor generation rates within the storage tanks over a wide range of conditions. Also, the mere installation of the flow meter device itself represents additional leak sources within the vapor piping at the refueling facility.

Method and system for liquid and vapor leak detection


A vehicle instrument display disposed in a panel in front of a driver's seat, wherein at least one scale plate of a plurality of instrument display devices is made of a colored or colorless transparent or transluscent material, whereby the internal mechanism of the display devices can be readily observed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an instrumentation for vehicle disposed in an instrument panel before the driver's seat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hitherto, the instrumentation for vehicle disposed in the instrument panel before the driver's seat included necessary plural instruments depending on the model and grade of the vehicle, selected from the tachometer, speedometer, oil pressure gauge, fuel meter, turbo boost meter, water temperature meter, odometer, trip meter, etc.
In the conventional instrumentation for vehicle, however, since scale plates of all instruments are made of opaque materials, the internal structure of the instrument cannot be inspected through the scale plate, and the working state, deterioration or heat generation of the internal structure of the instrument cannot be visually recognized, and hence in case of trouble of the instrument, it took time to find out the defective point.

3 16 12 706, Nagayoshikawanabe, Hirano-ku


The invention relates to a device and method for determining a property of a sample that is to be used in a charged particle microscope. The sample comprises a specimen embedded within a matrix layer. The device comprises a light source arranged for directing a beam of light towards said sample, and a detector arranged for detecting light emitted from said sample in response to said beam of light being incident on said sample. Finally, the device comprises a controller that is connected to said detector and arranged for determining a property of said matrix layer based on signals received by said detector.

The invention relates to a device and method for determining a property of a sample that is to be used in a charged particle microscope, said sample comprising a specimen embedded within a matrix layer, such as an aqueous or ice layer.
Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their physical structure, chemical processes, molecular interactions, physiological mechanisms, development and evolution.
Cell biology is a branch of biology that studies the structure and function of the cell, the basic unit of life. Cell biology is concerned with the physiological properties, metabolic processes, signalling pathways, life cycle, chemical composition and interactions of the cell with their environment. In cell biology, molecular recognition between macromolecules governs all of the most sophisticated processes in cells. The most common macromolecules comprise biopolymers (nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids) and large non-polymeric molecules (such as lipids and macrocycles).
Many researchers are interested in studying macromolecular complexes in their natural environment at high resolution in order to reveal their structural dynamics and interactions. To this end, charged particle microscopy may be used. Charged particle microscopy is a well-known and increasingly important technique for imaging microscopic objects, particularly in the form of electron microscopy (EM). Historically, the basic genus of electron microscope has undergone evolution into a number of well-known apparatus species, such as the Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM), and also into various sub-species, such as so-called "dual-beam" tools (e.g. a FIB-SEM), which additionally employ a "machining" Focused Ion Beam (FIB), allowing supportive activities such as ion-beam milling or Ion-Beam-Induced Deposition (IBID), for example.
EM provides a number of ways to study biological specimens: conventional TEM is used to study gross morphology of biological specimens; electron crystallography and single-particle analysis are dedicated to study proteins and macromolecular complexes; and (cryo-)electron tomography and Cryo-EM of vitreous sections (CEMOVIS) are aimed at cellular organelles and molecular architectures. In Cryo-EM and CEMOVIS, specimens are preserved by rapid freezing using a vitrification technique and observed by cryo-TEM. CEMOVIS additionally includes a cryo-sectioning step of the specimen, which may be done using a cryo-FIB technique.
For studying a specimen, a sample containing said specimen needs to be prepared. The sample may comprise a carrier, and a specimen embedded within a matrix layer, which may be a liquid or a solid, such as water or ice, is provided on said carrier.
Preparing a sample for study in charged particle microscope often is time consuming and labour intensive. One of the drawbacks associated with these studies is that only after the sample is prepared and studied in the charged particle microscope, the user knows whether the preparation of the sample was successful or not. This is especially true for preparing a biological sample, such as a Cryo-EM sample.
Preparing a Cryo-EM sample, for example, comprises the steps of taking an aqueous sample of a biological material (i.e. the "specimen", usually a purified protein complex), applying it to a support structure (grid), reducing its dimension, for example by means of a filter paper, to a layer that is as thin as possible (˜100-800 Å, depending on the size of the biological molecule), and then freezing this layer fast enough to prevent the aqueous liquid from crystallising.
A device for preparing a Cryo-EM sample is known from WO 02/077612 A1, in name of applicant. This device is commercially available under the trade name "Vitrobot". The device described in WO 02/077612 A1 comprises an environmental chamber, a holder for a sample or a carrier, and at least one blotting element to which a medium for absorbing liquid is or can be attached, both disposed in the environmental chamber, and a cooling medium for cooling down said sample. The blotting element can be moved towards the sample or carrier in a controlled manner.
Many aspects of this process of preparing a biological sample are challenging. In this context, the step of reducing the dimension of the layer by removing excess liquid—which may be done by a technique called "blotting", for example—is considered to be decisive for the quality and the reproducibility of the liquid film.
Since the blotting step is difficult to establish in a reproducible way, US 2017/350798 A1 proposes a method and a device where the requirement for blotting of excess fluid may be minimized or eliminated by reducing the volume of the sample from microliter scale to picoliter scale.
In US 2010/181495 A1, a method and a device for preparing samples for a cryo-electron microscope are described. Here, a carrier is fixed to a holder, liquid containing the specimen is applied to the carrier, and a blotting device is used for removing excess liquid from the carrier. The blotting device comprises a filter paper that is brought into contact with the carrier. On opposite sides of the filter paper, a light source and optical sensor device are provided. The filter paper is illuminated with light and a change in the optical properties of the filter paper, due to the filter paper absorbing the excess liquid, is detected by means of said optical sensor device. A control unit moves the blotter away from the carrier depending on said change in the detected optical properties.
Even though the blotting step provides a challenge, many other aspects of the above process of preparing a biological sample are challenging and unpredictable as well. The purified complex may encounter microscopic surfaces, materials and dynamics that change said purified complex, or the sample may be contaminated during the process. With respect to the vitrification technique, it is observed that obtaining control of the resulting ice thickness and virtuosity of the ice is essential as well.
Preparing a cryo-EM sample with current preparation technology still results in a large variety of quality and therefore significant areas of the EM grid that cannot be used. Often, these changes are only visible once the sample on the grid has been examined in the Cryo-EM. Thus, valuable resources, including scientist preparation time and expensive EM use time, may be wasted to no avail. This is true for the preparation of other samples as well, and not limited to biological samples.
In view of this, it is an object of the invention to provide a device and method for determining a property of a sample to be used in a charged particle microscope, with which waste of valuable resources as described above can be prevented.

Device and method for determining a property of a sample that is to be used in a charged particle microscope


A safety valve mounted in a steam cleaner is provided. The safety valve comprises a cap assembly, an actuation assembly, and a lock assembly. A rotation of the cap is adapted to detach the cap assembly when the steam cleaner is not operating or steam pressure inside the steam cleaner has not reach a safety value since the legs of the clutch are engaged with the notches of the driving disk. Responsive to generated steam reaching the safety value, the steam passes through the valve to lift the pushing member for compressing both the actuating member and the spring and disengaging the legs from the notches prior to exiting the steam cleaner such that rotating the cap will not rotate the lock assembly.

U.S. patent application Publication Ser. No. 2003/0024574 A1 to Tsen discloses a safety valve for steam cleaner. When steam is generated in the steam chamber by heating, the pressurized steam passes through the air inlet 112 of the valve body 11 and the center through hole 121 of the valve tube 12 into the air chamber 1621 of the actuating member 16 to expand the diaphragm 162 and to further force the push rod 163 upward, thereby causing the push rod 163 to lift the clutch member 17 upwardly away from the driving disk 15. After disengagement of the legs 172 of the clutch member 17 from the peripheral notches 151 of the driving disk 15, the rotary motion of the cap 18 does not drive the valve body 11 to rotate, i.e., removing the safety valve 1 is impossible. When inside pressure of the steam chamber 21 surpasses the spring power of the compression spring 124, the valve tube 12 is forced upwards from the air inlet 112 of the valve body 11 against the compression spring 124, enabling steam to pass through the air inlet 113 to outside of the steam cleaner 2, keeping inside pressure of the steam chamber 21 below the safety range. As a result, it is possible of preventing steam from rushing out of the steam cleaner 2 accidentally. Thus, continuing improvements in the exploitation of safety device for steam cleaner are constantly being sought.