An arithmetic processing device includes circuitry configured to add an identifier of a request source that generates a prefetch request into the prefetch request, and output, in response to detecting a certain number of cache hits less than a first threshold, each of the cache hits occurring in a first cache memory provided at a lower hierarchical level than a second cache memory by each prefetch request into which a first identifier is added, a notification for suppressing a prefetch request issued for the lower hierarchical level of the first cache memory from a first request source identified by the first identifier.

Data used by an arithmetic processing unit (or processor) such as a central processing unit (CPU) is generally stored in a main memory device. However, it takes time to access a main memory device (or main memory) having a large capacity. A small-capacity cache memory included in the arithmetic processing unit is accessible in a shorter time. Therefore, part of the data is held in the cache memory. The use of the cache memory enables reduced latency and thus increased processing speed.
When an arithmetic processing unit uses data, the arithmetic processing unit is able to execute a process with small latency if the data is already stored in the cache memory. On the other hand, if the data to be used is not held in the cache memory, the data has to be moved to the cache memory that is closest to an execution control unit of the arithmetic processing unit. If such a data movement is started after it is confirmed that the arithmetic processing unit is to use the data, the latency increases. Therefore, prefetching is performed in which it is predicted in advance that the data is to be used and the data is moved from the main memory device to the cache memory beforehand. Prefetching enables increased processing speed of the arithmetic processing unit.
Cache memory sometimes has a hierarchical structure in which a plurality of cache memories are combined. Generally, in cache memory having a hierarchical structure, a cache memory having a hierarchical level closer to the execution control unit has a smaller capacity but has a faster access speed, whereas a cache memory having a hierarchical level closer to the main memory device has a larger capacity but has a slower access speed. The hierarchical levels of the cache memories are generally expressed as level 1 (L1), level 2 (L2), . . . , and so forth from the side closer to the execution control unit.
A prefetch request is executable for each of the cache memories of the respective hierarchical levels. The main memory device holds all of the data but is slower than the slowest cache memory. Suppose that, when data is requested, the data is not held in any of the cache memories of all the hierarchical levels and the data is moved from the main memory device. Latency in such a case is the largest. The latency decreases as the cache memory of the upper hierarchical level holds the data. Therefore, it is desirable to move data to be used to the L1 cache memory of the uppermost hierarchical level L1 beforehand in order to improve the performance of the arithmetic processing unit.
However, the L1 cache memory has a small capacity due to the characteristics thereof. If prefetching timing is too early, the capacity of the L1 cache memory becomes insufficient before the data is actually used. When the capacity of the L1 cache memory becomes insufficient, the data that has been prefetched is moved out from the L1 cache memory in order to write other data in the L1 cache memory. On the other hand, if prefetching is performed on the L1 cache memory in a state in which the data to be used is not held in the L2 cache memory having the hierarchical level lower than the L1 cache memory, the cache memories having the lower hierarchical levels and the main memory device are accessed. Therefore, the latency increases and the movement of the data does not complete before the arithmetic processing unit uses the data. Thus, the effect of the prefetching on the performance of the arithmetic processing unit is small.
There has been proposed a method for solving the aforementioned inconvenience that may be caused by the timing of prefetching. According to this proposed method, prefetching of data to a cache memory of a lower hierarchical level, which has a sufficient capacity, is requested first. Then, prefetching of the data to a cache memory of an upper hierarchical level is sequentially requested with a time difference. In this way, the data is moved to the fastest L1 cache memory around the timing at which the data is used.
When prefetching is performed according to the method in which the hierarchical level is specified in this manner, the cache memory of the specified hierarchical level sometimes holds the requested data already. Prefetching of data to the cache memory of the hierarchical level that already holds the data is redundant. However, processing related to redundant prefetching is executed until prefetching of data to a cache memory of a certain hierarchical level is found to be redundant. When the processing related to redundant prefetching is executed, other processing is suspended because of the processing and the overall performance of the arithmetic processing unit lowers. In addition, since the processing which does not contribute to the performance improvement is executed, the power consumption increases.
Prefetching explicitly instructed in program code is referred to as software prefetching (SWPF). Prefetching automatically generated by hardware, regardless of the contents of the program code, is referred to as hardware prefetching (HWPF). As an example of the related art for reducing redundant HWPF, there is a technique for suppressing HWPF until a certain period elapses upon issuance of the redundant HWPF being counted a plurality of times by using a timer (see, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2017-191503).
A HWPF request is generally generatable independently for each of a plurality of access patterns. For example, in a program using a plurality of variables, a plurality of HWPF requests corresponding to access patterns of the respective variables are generable at the same time. In the related art, the number of times a HWPF request results in a hit in a cache memory having the hierarchical level specified in the HWPF request (hereinafter, referred to as a corresponding hierarchical level) is counted. The issuance of all the HWPF requests is uniformly suppressed upon the count reaching a certain threshold. Since issuance of a HWPF request generated based on an access pattern other than that of the HWPF request causing the suppression is also suppressed, prefetching that is effective for improving the performance of the arithmetic processing unit is also suppressed. As a result, the performance of the arithmetic processing unit lowers.
For example, the related art is disclosed in PCT International Publication No. WO 2008/093399 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2017-191503.

Arithmetic processing device and arithmetic processing method of controlling prefetch of cache memory


A system comprising one or more interior antenna(s) positioned within an at least partially enclosed operator area of a human operated machine and one or more exterior antenna(s) positioned on an external portion of the human operated machine, with a radio frequency shield positioned between the interior antenna(s) and the exterior antenna(s), is usable with a processing module electrically connected with the antennas for analyzing signals received from the antennas to determine whether a radio frequency generating device is active within the at least partially enclosed operator area.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to an apparatus, system, and method for detecting the transmission of wireless devices in human operated machinery.
2. Background and Relevant Art
As mobile devices have increased in popularity and features, accidents involving distracted drivers have also increased. Substantial efforts have been made to educate the public regarding the dangers of distracted driving and to prevent drivers from using mobile devices while driving. Some jurisdictions have gone so far as to enact laws prohibiting the use of wireless devices while driving. Similarly, many companies have implemented policies that strictly prohibit the use of mobile devices while operating company machinery, such as cars, mining equipment, or other similar machines.
One difficulty in implementing such policies is the inability of organizations to determine whether the operators are actually using mobile devices while operating vehicles or other machinery. While some systems have been developed to detect the use of mobile devices, these systems have been unable to distinguish whether the mobile device is being used within the operator area of the vehicle or other machinery. In particular, it can be difficult to distinguish between mobile phone use within a vehicle or machine and mobile phone use near the vehicle or machine.
As one will understand, implementing effective policies that restrict the use of wireless devices within human operated machinery is made more difficult by the inability to identify violations of the policy. Accordingly, there is a need for systems, apparatus, or methods that can accurately determine whether a mobile device is being used and in some instances, whether the device is simply 'on' or 'active' within a vehicle or some other type of human operated machinery.

Wireless device detection using multiple antennas separated by an RF shield


A nozzle for a container including an internal ball check valve along with an o-ring sealing structure and angled insertion limitation stops to cooperate with a receptacle to permit the insertion of the nozzle and container only a predetermined distance, while providing for such insertion to effect an opening of the ball check valve, and appropriate sealing o-rings are provided to prevent leakage of the liquid past the nozzle.

This invention related to the combination of a nozzle attachable to a fitting on a dispensing container and a receptacle for receiving such a nozzle to dispense liquid from the container into a receptacle.
It is known in containers, such as bottles or bags containing various liquids, such as concentrates for drinks, to use dispensing nozzles of various types that are receivable into receptacles in the dispensing apparatus. Typical of these applications have been the large containers for milk dispensers in which a tube extends out the bottom of the container and is received within a pinching apparatus to control the flow of such milk. Other alternatives have included various caps or nozzles that cooperate with different types of receptacles, as illustrated in Bayat, U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,664, and Sedam et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,496. While various of these nozzle and receptacle combinations have proved more or less satisfactory, various difficulties have appeared in the use of those nozzles, including leakage through the nozzle either before or during installation of the container onto a dispenser. Additionally, many of those prior art structures required difficult installation of the container into the receptacle, some even requiring threading the container onto the receptacle, which rendered the process even slower and more prone to spillage.

Nozzle for dispensing container and receptacle for receiving same


A communication control terminal apparatus employs one CPU to control two or more communication procedures, without adversely affecting each other. The communication control terminal apparatus includes a storage unit for storing information by using predetermined codes, a codec unit for coding and decoding the information, and communication control units for transmitting the information. A communication code obtained by the codec unit through conversion is transmitted via the communication control units. An execution time for the codec unit is changed in accordance with types of the communication procedures performed by the communication control units.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication control terminal apparatus for converting into code information that is to be communicated and for communicate the code, and a storage medium therefor.
2. Related Background Art
In the current information infrastructural society, even on the office machine market, it is natural that one composite machine having multiple functions is employed instead of conventional, standalone machines.
Especially, as for information communication functions, a variety of communication functions are provided for a single machine, including a function for facsimile communication using a telephone line or an ISDN line, a function for execute E-mail communication across a network and a printer/scanner function.
For example, one of the current composite digital machines can transmit documents received by E-mail to PCs, or to G3 facsimile machines or G4 facsimile machines at the same time by means of multi-address calling.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a conventional CODEC operation.
When two or more communications are performed at the same time, however, the load imposed on a CPU is accordingly increased and the processing time is extended. Codec processing is an especially heavy load, and depending on the case, data can not be coded quickly.
When two or more communications are performed at the same time, and excessive time is required for the codec process for one communication, the other processes are adversely affected. Especially, when facsimile communication is employed, if predetermined code is not generated and transmitted onto a line within a period specified in the Recommendation, the connection is disconnected and normal communication can not be implemented.
Therefore, an apparatus for adjusting the decoding process units (the number of lines) to enable a multiplexing process is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-148788.
A processing time for one line varies considerably regarding the code such as JBIG, in which there are large differences in the compression rates in dependence upon data. The conventional example can not cope with the large differences.
To avoid this problem and increase the processing speed, it is an idea to mount a hardware CODEC or the like capable of performing high speed processing. However, this idea causes a demerit that costs is too great.
That is, in the communication terminal apparatus of the conventional example, one CPU can not control two or more communications having the same or different protocols to be performed at the same time without adversely affecting each other.

Communication control terminal apparatus, and storage medium


Methods for designing and fabrication of a series of apparatuses for expanding a patient's palate (“palatal expanders”). In particular, described herein are methods and apparatuses for forming palatal expanders, including rapid palatal expanders, as well as series of palatal expanders formed as described herein and apparatuses for designing and fabricating them.

A variety of orthodontic problems are linked with a narrow palate. In certain circumstances the maxilla the size to accommodate the upper teeth. In other cases there is room for the upper teeth but the palate is so narrow that speech is impaired or made difficult. In other cases the palate is so high that it cuts down on the amount of air that can pass through the nose, so that deep breathing, without opening the mouth, is almost impossible. In all of these cases, palate expansion, that is separating and spreading the maxilla, may be helpful.
The palatal expansion device which is most commonly used in the prior art is affixed to the upper posterior molars usually with cement. A screw or other mechanism is employed to deliver a horizontal stretching force to the molars to stretch the palatal cartilage. In many cases, a large horizontal force is delivered by the orthodontist upon placement. This can cause extreme discomfort including headaches, nasal discomfort and pain. In other cases the screw or other mechanism is employed incrementally one or more times a day. While this incremental approach eases some of the discomfort such devices, the incidence of discomfort remains high. Moreover, the devices are awkward and bulky, largely due to the mechanism. This bulkiness can cause difficulty with speech, swallowing and breathing. The screw or other mechanism can be difficult to operate and often involves use of a key which can be accidentally lost or swallowed. In addition these devices tend to accumulate plaque.
Other problems encountered are that prior art devices tend to tilt the teeth buccally (i.e., to angle toward the checks) rather than stretch the palate. Palatal expansion is most favorable if movement of the teeth that engage the expansion device is minimized in relative to the jaw (which is moved in the palatal expansion process).
Described herein are methods and apparatuses that may address these concerns.

Methods and apparatuses for customizing a rapid palatal expander


A persistently infective virus vector is produced by using a gene so modified as to encode an amino acid sequence including a valine substituted for an amino acid residue at position-1618 in the amino acid sequence for an L protein of a persistently non-infective Sendai virus. A non-transmissible, persistently infective virus vector is also produced by defecting or deleting at least one of M gene, F gene, and HN gene. These virus vectors have no cytotoxicity, can achieve the sustained gene expression over a long period of time, is safe, and is therefore useful.

In gene therapy for inherited metabolic disorder and other diseases, an introduced exogenous gene is expected to be continuously expressed over a long period of time. This objective has been achieved conventionally by incorporating genetic information into a chromosome of a host by means of a retrovirus vector. Safety is a concern, however, because there have been some clinical reports of cells turning cancerous under the influence of the integrated genes. A suggested approach to the problem is to develop a genetic information expression system which is able to exist stably and independently from chromosomes. The approach has been so far not successful.
Sendai virus is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus of the paramyxovirus family. The virus is attracting attention for its characters as potential material for gene therapy vectors. The virus is not pathogenic for human beings. Transcription and replication of the virus take place inside the cytoplasm and does not affect genetic information of the host. Furthermore, the virus exhibits high gene expression activity and low species-specificity.
A process has been so far established which produces recombinant Sendai virus through transfection with an expression vector from which T7 RNA polymerase transcribes a complementary strand for the full length genome RNA of Sendai virus and an expression vector for each NP, P, and L gene related to the transcription and replication of Sendai virus in cultured cells in which T7 RNA polymerase is forcefully expressed using a vaccinia virus vector or a plasmid vector. This process is used to produce recombinant Sendai virus from a Sendai virus producing vector in which an exogenous gene is inserted. The process has been successfully applied to produce recombinant Sendai viruses from which one of the F, M, and HN Sendai virus genes is defected. Further applications are being studied to realize a protein production system by making these recombinant Sendai viruses express a desired protein.
Many research groups are exploring possible applications for gene therapy as a genetic information expression system that can exist independently from chromosomes by using recombinant Sendai viruses produced from these Sendai virus producing vectors. However, these Sendai virus vectors are based on the cytotoxic Z strain and have a gene defected from the viruses to reduce their cytotoxicity. The vector infected cells are killed in a single generation; safety is thus improved, but gene expression lasts no longer than a limited period.
In contrast, there are known strains of Sendai virus with various nature, one of which was reported in 1979 by Tetsuya YOSHIDA (currently, professor at the University of Hiroshima) and his colleagues. The strain (temperature-sensitive mutant strain C1.151) is sensitive to temperature, generating few virus particles at 38° C. At 32° C., replication cycle is activated, and the strain generates virus particles.
The inventors of the present invention have focused on the fact that Sendai virus temperature-sensitive mutant strain C1.151 generate few virus particles and causes persistent infection at 38° C. and cloned the full length genome cDNAs of strain C1.151 and its parent strain, or Nagoya strain, to assemble a Sendai virus vector from which a gene is expressed over a long period of time. The inventors have reconstituted a virus by combining various fragments cut out with restriction enzymes from full length gene (+) stranded cDNAs of the two strains, so as to investigate whether the combinations exhibit temperature sensitivity and persistent infectiveness. The investigation has discovered that persistent infectiveness requires more than one mutation among those mutations where, in the M gene and F gene of strain C1.151, amino acid residues at positions-69, -116, and -183 in an M protein form a glutamate (E), an alanine (A), and a serine (S) respectively and amino acid residues at positions-6, -115, and -137 in an F protein form an arginine (R), a leucine (L), and a threonine (T) respectively.
The inventors also inserted an exogenous gene expressing cassette into the full length genome cDNA to examine sustainability of resultant exogenous gene expression by recombinant Sendai virus. The expression in cultured cells was sustained for a short period due to the extinction of infected cells when the Sendai virus vector derived from the Z strain was used, whereas the expression was sustained for 4 months or even longer when the Sendai virus vector derived from strain C1.151 was used. Infecting a rat's colon, the Sendai virus vector derived from the Z strain sustained expression no longer than about 2 weeks. In contrast, the Sendai virus vector derived from strain C1.151 sustained expression at least 2 months in colon epithelial cells.
These findings have established the Sendai virus vector derived from strain C1.151 as a very useful vector capable of persistent expression of an introduced gene, including inside living bodies. Nevertheless, the mechanism of persistent infection is not well understood. In addition, it is hoped that the vector be modified, without losing its sustainability, so that it does not release infective particles and is non-transmissible, in order to improve safety of the vector.
Citation List
Patent Literature 1
WO97/16539
Patent Literature 2
WO00/70070
Patent Literature 3
Japanese Patent Application Publication, Tokukai, No. 2002-272465)
Patent Literature 4
Japanese Patent Application Publication, Tokukai, No. 2006-325531)
Patent Literature 5
Japanese Patent Application Publication, Tokukai, No. 2006-180780)
Non-Patent Literature 1
T. Yoshida et al. (1979) Virology 92, 139-154.

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology


An outlet gate assembly has upper and lower gate assemblies with independent drive mechanisms to open and close the gates. The drive mechanisms may be rack and pinion drives. The racks for the lower gate do not enter the gate cavity. The outlet gate assembly can be used for vacuum, gravity or pneumatic sled discharge. The vacuum openings are offset from the center plane of the discharge area to allow free flow of lading. The lower gate assembly includes surfaces that cover and protect the lowermost horizontal surfaces of the assembly when the lower gate assembly is closed. Thus, no separate mud plate is needed. The outlet gate assembly includes seals made of an ultra high molecular weight polymer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to outlet gate assemblies for railway hopper cars of the type allowing gravity, vacuum and pneumatic sled discharge of the bulk lading.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hopper-type railway cars are used to transport lading which is discharged through outlet gate assemblies mounted at the bottoms of the cars. Bulk lading transported by hopper cars include finely divided materials such as sugar, flour, wheat, potash and cement. The filled hopper cars are delivered to shippers' terminals for unloading.
Conventional methods used to unload hopper cars include gravity discharge, vacuum discharge and pneumatic sled discharge of lading. During gravity discharge, lading falls by gravity through a discharge opening in an outlet gate assembly. During vacuum discharge, lading falls down from the car through an outlet gate and into a closed discharge chute. A vacuum hose is connected to the discharge chute and vacuum is applied to the hose. Air drawn into the discharge chute carries the lading along the discharge chute and into the vacuum hose. During pneumatic sled discharge, a pneumatic sled is attached to the bottom of the discharge opening. The pneumatic sled includes screw-type conveyors for discharging lading from the hopper car. Compressed air is blown into the discharge opening to pressurize the inside of the hopper car and separate compacted lading. The lading falls through the discharge opening and into the screw conveyors for removal.
Each unloading method requires its own specialized equipment to unload a hopper car. Nonetheless, a shipper may require one unloading method over another. Typically, a shipper's terminal can accommodate only one method for unloading a hopper car. For instance, one shipper may gravity discharge sugar from a hopper car while another shipper may vacuum discharge sugar from a hopper car. As a result, shipper requirements dictate the type of hopper car used to transport lading to discharge terminals.
To provide flexibility to the railroads, conventional outlet gate assemblies permit gravity discharge, vacuum discharge or pneumatic sled discharge. The same hopper car can accommodate all shippers without regard to the particular discharge method required. This flexibility gives the railroads increased freedom in scheduling hopper cars, particularly for seasonal loads, and reduces operating costs.
The prior art multi-discharge outlet gate assemblies include a rectangular frame that defines a rectangular discharge opening at the bottom of the assembly. A pair of opposed vacuum nozzles are mounted on the frame and open into the discharge opening. The opposed vacuum nozzles are centered on the transverse center plane of the discharge opening. Openings for the vacuum nozzles in the frame are covered by nozzle baffles. Upper and lower door slides are mounted in the frame. Each door slide is supported on its edges by the frame and extends through a slot in the frame. Slot seals prevent exposure of lading to outside contaminants. The gates are movable between closed and opened positions to open and close the upper and lower ends of the assembly.
In the prior art, an opening and closing drive shifts the upper gate between open and closed positions. The drive includes fixed racks and an operating shaft. The operating shaft carries pinions which engage the racks. The operating shaft is rotated in an appropriate direction to move the upper gate and the operating shaft in a desired direction.
In the prior art, a locking mechanism allows the upper gate to be locked to the lower gate so that both gates move together. When the gates are locked together, rotation of the operating shaft simultaneously moves both the upper and lower gates between opened and closed positions. When the gates are unlocked from one another, rotation of the operating shaft moves the upper gate only and the lower gate is stationary.
During gravity or pneumatic sled discharge of lading in the prior art, the door locking mechanism locks the upper and lower gates together. The operating shaft is rotated to move the upper and lower gates simultaneously from the closed position to the open position. Lading falls down through the gate assembly.
During vacuum discharge of the hopper car in the prior art, vacuum hoses are attached to the vacuum nozzles. The door locking mechanism is unlocked. The operating shaft is rotated to open the upper gate only. The lower gate remains closed. Lading falls down into the frame but cannot exit through the bottom of the assembly. Vacuum draws air and lading into the vacuum hoses.
Some prior art outlet gates include separate mud plates that are mounted to the frame below the lower discharge gate. These mud plates cover and protect structures above them, and are removable for gravity and pneumatic sled discharge.


A trigger assembly including a cylindrical pivot shaft having a pivot-shaft longitudinal axis; a trigger key having a front face, a back face opposite the front face, an actuator extending from the back face, and a trigger-key longitudinal axis, wherein the a first end on the of the trigger key has a plurality of through holes arranged to receive the cylindrical pivot shaft; a trigger-key support having an aperture for the actuator to pass through, the trigger-key support further having a plurality of pivot-shaft supports, wherein each pivot-shaft support includes a concave surface configured to receive the cylindrical pivot shaft; and a trigger bezel having a plurality of substantially flat surfaces positioned to constrain the pivot shaft in opposition to the plurality of pivot-shaft supports, wherein the substantially flat surfaces are located at different positions along the pivot-shaft longitudinal axis than are the pivot-shaft supports.

A trigger is a frequently used aspect of a mobile electronic device such as a handheld scanner. Because it is used so often, it may also be the most serviced aspect, leading to increased maintenance costs and reduced operational time for the scanner.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved trigger mechanism.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

Methods and systems for a bind free pivoting trigger mechanism


A holder (10) for a fuse (18) of the type typically used in automobile and marine applications. The fuse includes a fuse element encased within a generally rectilinear insulative fuse body (20), with a pair of parallel coplanar conductive blades (22, 24) in contact with opposite ends of the fuse element and extending out the fuse body. The holder is a unitary molded insulative plastic piece having a base member (12), a capture plate (14), and a cover member (16). The capture plate and cover member are hingedly secured to the base member on opposite sides thereof, with the capture plate adapted to overlie the base member and the cover member adapted to overlie the capture plate. The base member includes pockets with retention wings (50) for holding wire- terminating receptacles (28) and the capture plate locks the receptacles in place by means of blocks (62) extending into the pockets. The capture plate includes apertures (58, 60) aligned with the receptacles for receiving therethrough the fuse blades. The cover member includes a cavity (92) for holding the fuse bodies of the fuses engaged with the receptacles and strain relief blocks (96) engaging the wire segments (52) terminated by the receptacles.

A fuse of the aforementioned type typically includes a fuse element encased within a generally rectilinear insulative body. A pair of parallel coplanar conductive blades in contact with opposite ends of the fuse element extend out of the fuse body along a narrow edge thereof and are substantially parallel to a major surface of the fuse body. It is desired to provide a holder for inserting such a fuse in series circuit with a pair of wires terminated by receptacles engageable with the conductive connecting blades of the fuse. The holder should be economical to manufacture, should securely hold the wires and receptacles, and should provide easy access for insertion and removal of a fuse.


A data center includes an individual storage unit having storage areas for respective user apparatuses, a shared storage unit having a storage area for sharing by the user apparatuses, a unit configured to store data received from an external node in one of the individual storage unit and the shared storage unit that is selected according to predetermined criteria, a unit configured to generate a data arrangement list according to statistics of the received data and predetermined cache data arrangement conditions, and a unit configured to transmit an instruction signal to at least one of the shared storage unit and the individual storage unit according to the data arrangement list to cause data stored in the at least one of the shared storage unit and the individual storage unit to be transferred to a cache server provided on a core network or on a radio access network.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the technical field of mobile communications, and particularly relates to a data center, cache server, and method for use in a mobile communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the technical field of mobile communications, various services are put into practice as a result of improvements in the performance of mobile terminals such as portable phones. Especially, development in the data delivery service such as music delivery, video delivery, and the like is remarkable. The data delivery service includes a mobile data center type and a data download type, by which users use data downloaded to their user terminals.
In the case of the data download type, delivered data is stored in the terminal device (or in an external memory card or the like attached to the terminal device), so that there is a limit to the size of the data. Further, a problem may arise in that the data may be lost or become in the possession of others due to the loss or failure of the terminal device.
In the case of the mobile-data-center-type service, data delivered to a terminal device is not stored in the terminal device, but is stored in a storage space on the network. In this method, various data including music, video, and private information may be stored on the network. The use of the mobile-data-center-type service offers an advantage in that the data storage size can be significantly increased. Further, the problem of data being lost or becoming in the possession of others due to the loss or failure of the terminal device can be prevented effectively.
The communication speed of portable phones is significantly increasing, and there is also a tendency that the data size of each file will increase. It will become increasingly easier to play data via a network without storing data in the terminal device. It is thus expected that the demand for the mobile-data-center-type service will increase.
When carriers provide mobile-data-center-type services, each carrier needs to store user data. The size of data that needs to be stored will increase as a result of diversification in service type and an increase in the speed and size of communication, which leads to a concern about an increase in the data storage space.
FIG. 1 is a drawing showing a configuration in which a shared storage space (shared disk area) is provided at a data center for a plurality of user apparatuses for the purpose of avoiding such an increase in the data storage space. Data stored in the shared disk area is shared by the plurality of user apparatuses. In the illustrated example, the data contents of "file A" and "file B" are stored in the shared area for terminal apparatus i, ii, and iii, and each terminal has a link file A pointing to the "file A" contents and a link file B pointing to the "file B" contents. With this arrangement, a relatively small storage space is sufficient for the purpose of storing files A, B, and C for the terminal apparatus i, storing files A, B, and E for the terminal apparatus ii, and storing files A, B, and F for the terminal apparatus iii.
Since the data center is situated at a higher level in hierarchy than the radio access network (RAN), there is a risk that the data center may not be able to quickly respond to access from the terminal apparatuses.
Although not specific to mobile communications systems, Patent Document 1 discloses a computer system using a cache hierarchy method in which a reference rate is compared with a threshold to determine whether data should be or should not be stored in cache while ensuring that the same data be not stored in multiple caches. It may be possible to utilize such cache hierarchy in a mobile communication system.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-99465
FIG. 2 is a drawing showing a configuration in which a core network CN and a radio access network RAN are each provided with a cache server. In this communication system, storage units are arranged in a descending order of storage capacity as follows: the storage unit of the data center, the cache server of the core network CN, and the cache servers of the radio access network RAN. Further, communication paths are arranged in a descending order of data transfer speed as follows: a communication path A, a communication path B, and a communication path C. In terms of transmission delay with respect to the mobile terminals i and ii, however, RAN, CN, and the data center are arranged in an ascending order. In such system in which a related-art cache system is incorporated, as a general principle, each of the cache memories in hierarchy stores data in the order in which the data is received. Cache efficiency is improved merely by the fact that the duplicate storing of data is avoided to some extent. Depending on the communication state, there may be a situation in which data corresponding to a weak demand for real-time response is stored at a lower level node while data corresponding to a strong demand for real-time response is stored at a higher level node. In this case, the user apparatus needs to go to the length of accessing the higher level node in order to acquire the data corresponding to a strong demand for real-time response. This may undermine the intention to improve data throughput by providing cache memories.
Further, the storage capacity of each cache server provided in the radio access network and the core network is not the same across the board. It is thus difficult to store data in each cache server according to the same decision criteria as was used in the related art.
Accordingly, there is a need to improve data throughput by efficiently utilizing a RAN cache server provided in RAN and a CN cache server provided in CN with respect to a mobile communication system that includes user apparatuses, a radio access network RAN, a core network CN, and a data center connected to the core network.

Efficient utilization of cache servers in mobile communication system


A system for multi-channel analog-to-digital conversion has a plurality of sampling modules, wherein each of the modules includes an input node and an output node; multiplexing circuitry configured to selectively route at least one of a plurality of electrical signals present on the output nodes to an analog-to-digital converter; and control circuitry in communication with the multiplexing circuitry, wherein the control circuitry is programmatically configured to control a sequence in which the electrical signals are routed to the analog-to-digital converter.

In electronic systems, mixed-signal circuitry uses both analog and digital electrical signals to accomplish certain tasks. Often in these types of systems, it is necessary to convert from one type of signal to another, such as from an analog signal to a digital signal. For example, an analog electrical signal from a sensor may require conversion into a digital electrical signal to be properly analyzed or processed by a digital processor.
Analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are commonly used to convert continuous analog signals to discrete digital values. Analog-to-digital converters are often configured to compare the voltage of an input signal to a number of reference voltages to determine which reference voltage is closest to the value of the input. A digital representation of the input signal is then created based on a series of such voltage comparisons.
In some alternative arrangements, an ADC may be configured to operate in terms of current. In other words, the current of an input signal may be compared to a set of current references to determine which reference current is closest to the input current. A digital representation of the input signal is then created based on a series of such current comparisons.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.


A multi-colored illumination system including a beam combiner. The beam combiner includes two triangular prisms and a filter for transmitting a first light and reflecting a second light, each light having a different wavelength. The beam combiner combines the transmitted first light and the reflected light to provide a combined beam. The six surfaces of each of the triangular prism of the beam combiner are polished, thereby combining the lights without increasing etendue of the multi-colored illumination system.

A liquid crystal display (hereafter "LCD") is a known device used to control the transmission of polarized light energy. The LCD may be either clear or opaque depending on the current applied to the LCD. Because of this functionality, projection system commonly use an array containing numerous LCDs to form an image source. In particular, the projection system inputs high intensity polarized light energy to the LCD array (also called an imager), which selectively transmits some of the inputted light energy to form a projection of a desired image. Because a single LCD is relatively small, numerous LCDs can be packed together into the array, thereby forming an imager that can produce a high resolution image.
As suggested above, a projection system must first polarize the light input to the LCD. However, light energy from a light source, such as a bulb, may have either p-polarization or s-polarization. Since this light input to the LCD imager must be in one orientation (i.e., either p-polarization or s-polarization), the LCD projector generally uses only half of the light energy from the light source. However, it is desirable in projection systems to maximize the brightness and intensity of the light output. In response, various methodologies have been developed to capture the light energy of unusable polarization, to convert the polarization of this captured light energy, and then to redirect the converted light energy toward the LD imager. These known polarization recovery methodologies involve creating an expanded beam of light in which the unused portion of the light (of undesired polarity) is sent through a half-wave plate to change the polarization and then recombined with the original polarized beam. Unfortunately, the implementation of these known methodologies requires complex, bulky systems, which usually include 2-dimensional lens arrays and an array of polarization beam splitters. Furthermore, the known methodologies lose much of the light energy and, therefore, compromise the projector's goal of producing a high intensity output.
Light pipe systems have been used to separate white light into their individual red (R), blue (B), and green (G) components using light pipes, prisms, and beam splitters. The reverse of such a system can be used in combining multiple light sources with distinct spectrum without increase in etendue. Therefore, it is desirable to have a system the provides multi-colored illumination without the need to increase etendue.

Etendue efficient combination of multiple light sources


According to one embodiment, a pattern test apparatus includes a light source configured to apply test light to a test sample, a polarizing beam splitter which reflects or transmits the test light, an imaging device which receives light which has been reflected by the test sample and transmitted through or reflected by the polarizing beam splitter, an optical system which forms a Fourier transform plane of the test sample between the test sample and the polarizing beam splitter, and a polarizing controller disposed in the Fourier transform plane. The polarizing controller includes a first region which lets the test light through, and a second region which is greater than the first region and lets the light reflected by the test sample through, and the each regions have different retardation quantities.

In pattern test apparatuses, test light is required to be of sufficient amount to test pattern defects in a test sample such as a photomask, in which a minute pattern is formed. Thus, a method of improving the lighting efficiency by a combination of a quarter-wave plate and a polarizing beam splitter (PBS) is used, as a coaxial episcopic illumination method.
Specifically, S-polarized light from the light source is reflected by the PBS, converted into circularly polarized light by a quarter-wave plate, and applied to the surface of the mask. Then, the light reflected from the surface of the mask is converted into P-polarized light by the quarter-wave plate, and made incident on the PBS. The light which has transmitted through the PBS is detected by a sensor.
In the above method, however, when the pattern formed on the photomask has a periodic structure which is shorter than the wavelength of the test light, the polarized state of the light reflected from the surface of the mask is changed by the influence of form birefringence, in which the refractive index differs according to the orientation of the electric field of the incident light. Thus, the light reflected from the surface of the mask cannot be efficiently transmitted through the PBS. Therefore, a reduction in the amount of light for pattern testing is inevitable, leading to reduced test accuracy.


Techniques for maintaining equipment of a PON include determining a current optical profile for each segment of a plurality of segments of a PON, and detecting that the current optical profile of a particular segment is outside of a designated operating range. Based on the detection, drifts over time of the optical profile of the segment and of optical profiles of one or more other segments that share respective common endpoints with the segment are determined and compared, and based on the comparison, a component of the PON (e.g., an endpoint or an optical fiber) is identified as requiring maintenance. Each segment's optical profile corresponds to characteristics of optical signals delivered over the segment (e.g., attenuation, changes in frequencies, changes in power outputs, etc.), and current optical profiles of the PON's segments may be repeatedly updated over time to continuously monitor for components that need maintenance.

A conventional passive optical network (PON) includes one or more optical line terminals (OLTs) at a central location connecting to one or more optical last mile termination units disposed at respective customer premises via one or more optical fibers. A PON is typically implemented using a point-to-multipoint topology in which a feeder optical fiber from an OLT serves multiple optical network terminals (ONTs) or optical network units (ONUs) via respective distribution optical fibers. Typically, the feeder optical fiber is optically coupled to distribution optical fibers for respective ones of the last mile termination units via a fiber distribution hub (FDH) using an optical splitter.
Often, the effects of degradations within the PON are observed by customers or end-users at locations at which last mile termination units are disposed. For example, a customer may observe a slowing down or lack of fidelity of PON services at his or her location, and may contact the PON service provider for assistance. In attempting to resolve the issue, as technicians of the PON typically troubleshoot only the single optical path via which the last mile termination unit at the customer's premises receives optical services (e.g., the optical path from the OLT to the last mile termination unit at the customer's premises), technicians frequently misdiagnose the source of the observed degradation as being the last mile termination unit disposed at the customer premises. However, the last mile termination unit may be operating properly and the source of the observed degradation may instead be elsewhere within the PON. For example, the degradation may be caused by dirty or faulty optical fibers via which the optical signals are delivered to the last mile termination unit at the customer location, by a faulty intermediate node (such as the FDH) within the PON, and/or even by faults or degradations within the OLT equipment, any of which can present as degradations observed at the last mile termination unit at the customer's premises. The technician is not able to accurately and quickly identify these other possible sources of the observed degradation.
In an embodiment, a system for maintaining equipment of a passive optical network (PON) includes one or more processors, one or more memories, and computer-executable instructions stored on the one or more memories that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to determine, for each segment of a plurality of segments of the PON, a respective, current optical profile based on a characteristic of optical signals delivered over the each segment and detect that the current optical profile of a particular segment of the plurality of segments is above or below a designated operating range of an optical profile of the PON. The computer-executable instructions are further executable to, responsive to the detection, determine a drift over time of the respective optical profile of the particular segment based on the current optical profile and one or more historical optical profiles of the particular segment, determine a respective drift over time of the respective optical profile of each segment included in one or more other segments of the PON based on respective historical profiles of the each segment, the each segment sharing a respective common endpoint with the particular segment; and compare the drift over time of the respective optical profile of the particular segment and respective drifts over time of the respective optical profiles of the one or more other segments of the PON. Additionally, the computer-executable instructions are executable to identify, based on the comparison, a component of the PON as requiring maintenance, the identified component being a specific segment endpoint or a specific optical fiber of the PON, and notify at least one of a user interface or another computing device that the identified component of the PON requires maintenance.

Systems and methods for maintaining equipment of a passive optical network


A method and system for texturing. The texturing system is configured to render surfaces that have an apparent thickness, where the upper layers of the surface are partially transparent and sub-surface details show through the upper layers. Interpolated stepping values provide parallax between various texture layers. The texturing system also provides a texture memory configured to store texture data as a plurality of packets. Each packet comprises texture data from at least two texture layers. A texture memory controller is configured to access one or more packets in the texture memory and pass the packets to a texturing engine.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to generating graphics. Specifically, the present invention relates to a method and system for texturing.
2. Description of Related Art
In computer graphics, existing texture-rendering techniques map a pixel on a screen (typically using screen coordinates (x, y)) to a polygon, such as a triangle, on a surface in a viewing plane (typically using geometric or surface coordinates (s, t)). The polygon is rasterized into a plurality of smaller pieces called fragments. Each polygon may have information, such as color and/or a normal vector, associated with each vertex of the polygon. To assign a texture (i.e., a color pattern or image, either digitized or synthesized) to a fragment, the fragment is mapped onto a texture map (typically using texture coordinates (u, v)). Texture maps are stored in a texture memory. A texture map represents a type of image, such as stripes, check.erboards, or complex patterns that characterize natural materials. A texture map comprises a plurality of texels. A texel is the smallest graphical element in a 2-D texture map used to render a 3-D object.
Each texture map has a plurality of associated MIP (multum in parvo) maps, which are abbreviated versions of a full texture map. One of the MIP maps may be selected to provide a suitable resolution for the fragment of the polygon in the viewing plane. The texture from the selected MIP map is applied onto the fragment. The applied texture may be blended with a color already associated with the fragment or polygon.
Existing texture-rendering techniques are able to model a simple opaque surface, but are unable to accurately render a semi-opaque surface, where the upper layers of the surface are partially transparent, and reveal sub-surface details. A semi-opaque surface is not transparent in that an object behind the surface will not show through it. The transparency of a semi-opaque surface applies to the upper layers of the surface, as the upper layers allow details from the lower surface layers to appear.
Existing texture-rendering techniques cannot account for surface thickness without either explicitly modeling all of the surface layers individually or by mathematically calculating the contents of the entire three-dimensional volume that encloses the surface. Both of these techniques require additional hardware and/or software and may require a longer processing time.
Another problem with conventional texturing systems is the need to make multiple passes in order to apply multiple textures to a fragment, which is called 'multi-texturing.' Conventional texturing systems can only access and read one texture image (a MIP map set) at a time. For multi-texturing, conventional texturing systems must make multiple passes, i.e., read a first texture image, then a second texture image, then a third texture image, etc. After all the texture images have been read, conventional systems typically separate the texel data into individual components and combine the color components from each texture image to produce a blended color to apply to a fragment.
The multiple passes and other processes of conventional systems require a long processing time, which is undesirable to the user.


Provided is a two-part hair dye composition, including a first part containing an alkali agent, a second part containing hydrogen peroxide, and a non-aerosol type foamer container for discharging a mixture solution of the first part and the second part as foam, in which the mixture solution contains the following components (A) and (B): (A) 0.1 to 10% by mass of a nonionic surfactant, and (B) 0.1 to 5% by mass of a cationic surfactant, and the mass ratio of the component (A) to the component (B) (content of the component (A)/content of the component (B)) is 1 to 100.

While liquid or creamy hair dye compositions have been widely used so far, it is difficult to apply these compositions to the head hair evenly. In particular, in the case of consumers themselves applying a hair dye composition to their own head hair at the roots or on the back of the head, they need to acquire skills of "blocking" or using two mirrors facing each other ("two-mirror technique"), or the like, and a careful operation is required to apply the composition evenly.
Accordingly, discharging a composition as foam in order to simplify the hair dyeing operation has been proposed, and hair dyes of a two-part aerosol type and those of a one-part non-aerosol type, for example, are known. However, those of a two-part aerosol type have some problems: for example, uneven bleaching or uneven dyeing is likely to occur due to an inconsistent mixing ratio of a first part and a second part, a pressure-proof metal container or the like is oxidized and corroded by hydrogen peroxide, and the internal pressure of the pressure-tight container is excessively increased by degradation of hydrogen peroxide. Furthermore, since such a one-part non-aerosol type has no or weak bleaching ability, it is difficult to achieve a great change in the color tone by one time procedure. Therefore, a problem arises, i.e., a hair dyeing operation tends to be cumbersome since a hair dye is required to be left to develop for a long time and the procedure is required to be repeated after application.
On the other hand, discharging a two-part hair dye composition as foam from a non-aerosol type foamer container (e.g., Patent Documents 1 and 2) has been proposed. By discharging a mixture solution of a first part and a second part from a foamer container as foam, variation in the mixing ratio hardly occurs compared to conventional two-part aerosol hair dyes and a sufficient bleaching or hair dyeing ability may be obtained compared to conventional one-part non-aerosol hair dyes.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2004-339216
[Patent Document 2] JP-A-2006-124279


A wet-type electrophotographic image forming apparatus and a setting method thereof, comprising a body, a developing unit, an ink cartridge unit for supplying an ink to the developing unit, a door unit, an ink recovery unit for discarding waste ink and circulating ink, and a fitting unit connecting the developing unit and the ink cartridge unit. The door unit moves in relation to the movement of at least one of the ink recovery unit and the fitting unit, allowing a user to easily and precisely set the fitting unit and the ink recover unit using the door unit, which can further support and guide the developing unit 20.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wet-type electrophotographic image forming apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a wet-type electrophotographic image forming apparatus having a fitting unit and an ink recover unit for discarding waste ink or recycling ink, and a setting method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wet-type electrophotographic image forming apparatus is a printing device that forms an electrostatic latent image by scanning a photoconductive medium with laser beams, fuses a developer onto the electrostatic latent image to obtain a visible image, transfers the visible image to paper, and outputs a desired image. Compared to a dry-type electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the wet-type apparatus is advantageous in that it can obtain a much more vivid image. Therefore, it is more suitable for providing a color printing of high quality.
Furthermore, in the wet type electrophotographic image forming apparatus, ink is circulated from a developing unit to an ink cartridge unit for the purpose of reuse. The recycling procedure is performed by passing ink through a developing unit, an ink recover unit, a fitting unit, and into an ink cartridge unit.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a conventional wet-type electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Referring to FIG. 1, a wet-type electrophotographic image forming apparatus 100 comprises a body 101, a developing unit 102 disposed in the body 101, an ink cartridge unit 106 disposed in the body 101 for supplying ink to the developing unit 102, a door unit 103 disposed in the body 101, and a fitting unit 104 disposed in the body 101. The door unit 103 is provided with a mounting supporter 103a for pushing the developing unit 102 in one direction to completely mount the developing unit 102.
The developing unit 102 includes an ink discharge channel cover 102a for discharging the ink, and the fitting unit 104 includes a male fitting portion 104a fitted into a female fitting portion 106a formed in the ink cartridge unit 106.
According to the above construction example, in order to completely mount the developing unit 102, a user has to perform a series of tasks to open the ink discharge channel cover 102a, fit the male fitting portion 104a into the female fitting portion 106a, and then close the door unit 103 in the 'S' direction. These individual tasks can become tedious and can result in the deterioration of the developing unit 102 and the fitting unit 104 over time.
Accordingly, a need exists for a image forming apparatus having a system and method to engage an ink discharge channel and function using a minimum number of individual steps, and preferably, using a motion generated by a single step, such as opening and closing a door unit.

Wet-type electrophotographic image forming apparatus and a setting method thereof


A fuel tank closure for closing off a filling channel has a closure part that can be moved between a closed position in which an opening of the filling channel is tightly sealed, and an open position, in which the filling channel is released, in order for a fuel tank to be filled. The closure part is driven by a drive unit that has a motor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel tank closure for closing off a filling channel, having a closure part that can be moved between a closed position in which an opening of the filling channel is tightly sealed, and an open position, in which the filling channel is released, in order for a fuel tank to be filled.
2. The Prior Art
In the following, "top" is understood to be the region of the fuel tank closure that is close to the opening into which the dispensing nozzle is introduced. Accordingly, "bottom" is understood to be the region that lies closer to the fuel tank.
A fuel tank closure of the type stated initially is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,861. This closure is opened by introducing a dispensing nozzle which moves a projection against the bias of a reset spring. The movement of the spring is transferred to the closure part which opens the closure part. After the tank has been filled and the dispensing nozzle has been retracted, the closure is closed again, by means of the tensed reset spring.

temtec Fahrzeugtechnik Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH


A tubular casing for use with food products which includes knitted stockinette, longitudinal threads and circumferential spiral threads that are held to stockinette by stitches located along the length of the casing. Each thread comprises an elastic thread formed from an inextensible yarn spirally wrapped around the outside of a rubber thread. As thread is stretched, the rubber thread extends and the helix angle of the spirally wrapped yarn reduces to the point where the yarn approximates a straight line. The inextensible yarn resists further stretching beyond this point. This point is the elastic limit for thread and it can be adjusted by varying the helix angle during manufacture of the elastic thread. Threads therefore allow the casing to be filed to a predetermined maximum diameter and result in the filled casing having a constant diameter throughout its length.

This invention relates to a tubular product such as a tubular casing, and in particular to a tubular casing having a predetermined maximum extensible diameter.
The main application for tubular products such as tubular casing of the variety described in this specification is in the food industry. However, the invention is not restricted to this particular application. Tubular products such as knitted netting or elasticated knitted fabric casing are used in the cooking and curing process of meat products. In the cooking of certain meat products, it is common to pack the meat pieces into an elasticated tubular net. The tubular net compresses the meat pieces and holds them together during the cooking process.
Such tubular products are normally removed from cooked meat products which can then be further packaged, ready for sale. Elasticated tubular casing is also used on cured meat products such as ham and metwurst.
The means of filling tubular casing normally comprises fitting the casing onto a hollow cylindrical mandrill, which is known as a stuffing tube, and using a machine to pump or force meat product under pressure through the stuffing tube into the casing. The casing is drawn from the stuffing tube as the meat product is extruded out of the stuffing tube. The process is started by first clipping the end of a casing once sufficient casing is placed on the stuffing tube. Further clips are placed at intervals dependent on the required length of the product.
Such machines can be used either with minced meat products, meat portions or whole meat muscle.
It is difficult to maintain a constant diameter of the resultant product as the casing is being filled. Tubular product that is commonly used such as tubular netting is able to expand to very large diameters. The required diameter is normally achieved by controlling the pressure at which meat product is pumped through the stuffing tube. However, it is still possible to produce a filled casing that varies considerably in diameter. This is quite undesirable as many of the compressed meat products are normally sliced at the time of purchase. Therefore, it is desirable to ensure a constant diameter and to also not exceed certain diameters which would be unsuitable for some slicing machines. Clearly, a product of uniform diameter is more visually appealing and avoids wastage and reworking of product at the manufacturing stage.
Accordingly, it is an aim of the invention to provide a tubular casing which resists expansion beyond a required or preset diameter.
In its broadest form, the invention is a tubular casing for use with food product that includes,
circumferential threads along the length of said tubular casing that become taunt at a preset diameter so that said tubular casing has a predetermined diameter when filled with food products.
Preferably, the circumferential threads may comprise either elasticated threads or inextensible threads.
In the case of inextensible threads, the threads may be incorporated into either a net or netted stockinette so that, at a relaxed diameter, the circumferential threads lie loosely on the surface of the net or stockinette. However, at the preset filled diameter of the casing, the threads become taunt and prevent further expansion of the net or stockinette. In the case of elastic circumferential threads, the elastic threads are provided with an elastic limit where, below the elastic limit the threads remain extensible, and that at the elastic limit, the threads become inextensible.
Elasticated thread is normally a combination of rubber thread or strips with natural or synthetic yarns wrapped around the length of the rubber. A large number of turns of yarn per centimeter of rubber is normally used to cover the rubber surface. Elasticated threads formed in this way have more than adequate extensibility. In fact, the elasticated threads remain extensible well beyond the desired maximum diameter of the product being produced which allows bulging to readily occur.
In a further aspect of this invention, elastic thread is provided with an elastic limit by controlling the rate at which yarn is wrapped onto the external surface of the rubber thread. It has been found that the elastic limit can be set by controlling the number of turns of yarn per centimeter of elastic thread.
The yarn forms a helix or spiral around and along the length of the rubber thread. As the elastic thread is stretched, the helix or spiral expands so that the helix angle increases thereby enabling stretching of the rubber. At the same time, the diameter of the helix or spiral reduces. If the number of turns of yarn per centimeter on the elastic thread is limited, then the lengthwise expansion of the helix and its continual reduction in diameter will result in a limit being reached whereby further tensile force applied to the elastic thread is resisted by the yarn. This occurs when the yarn helix effectively approximates a straight piece of thread where stretching force results in only tensile force within the yarn.
Although the yarn wrapped around the rubber thread does not completely straighten, it will reach a point where the helix is unable to straighten any further, and therefore approximates a straight length of thread.
Once the tensile force is resisted by the yarn, the elastic thread will not be able to stretch. The elastic thread is then effectively inextensible. That is, further force applied to thread will not result in any additional stretch or extension.
The elastic limit is determined by the number of turns of yarn per centimeter around the rubber thread. The limit can therefore be predetermined, and as such tubular casing using elasticated thread can be produced which will have a maximum diameter to which it can expand.
A typical method for manufacturing tubular casing is by circular knitting machines. Typical casings are single knit jersey tubes which may incorporate circumferential and longitudinal threads. The circumferential threads normally comprise a single thread that forms a spiral that extends along the length of the tubular casing.
In addition, circular knitting machines may be used to produce tubular netting which comprises longitudinal and circumferential thread members. Again, the circumferential thread forms a continuous spiral along the length of the tubular casing. The longitudinal stitches are spaced at regular intervals around the circumference of the casing.
Accordingly, the invention may be utilised in respect of stockinette casings incorporating inextensible or elastic threads as circumferential members. Also, the invention may be used with net casing products where either inextensible or elastic threads according to the invention are used.
In addition, the invention may also be a tubular casing which is a combination of a net and fibrous casings. The fibrous casing is located within and extends along the length of the net casing. Preferably, the diameter of the fibrous casing greatly exceeds the diameter of the net casing in its relaxed form. This ensures, in the case of a net having elastic circumferential threads, that a constant compressive force is applied to meat product as it is forced into the tubular casing.
Preferably, the stuffing process results in embedding of circumferential and longitudinal threads into the surface of the meat product once the maximum diameter is reached. This will serve to produce a pattern on the surface of the meat product once the casing is removed. In the case of a combination of net and fibrous casing, the maximum diameter of the net is slightly less than the maximum diameter of the fibrous casing to ensure formation of the pattern effect.

Meat product casing having a maximum extensible diameter


In a tandem mass spectrometer, when the measurement mode is switched between a positive ion measurement mode and a negative ion measurement mode, a DC offset voltage applied to a lens electrode to impart collision energy to an ion is temporarily switched to 0V (S1). After being maintained at 0V for a predetermined waiting time (S2), the voltage is changed to a DC offset voltage corresponding to a measurement mode which is used after the switching operation (S3). By such an operation, the voltage difference between the neighboring plate electrodes among the plate electrodes (171, 172, 173) included in the lens electrode can be decreased as compared to the case where the polarity of the DC offset voltage is immediately switched. Consequently, unintended electric discharge between the neighboring electrodes can be prevented.

A triple quadrupole mass spectrometer and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer are commonly known types of devices in which an ion originating from a compound in a sample is dissociated by collision induced dissociation, and the thereby generated product ions are subjected to mass spectrometry. A triple quadrupole mass spectrometer includes a collision cell configured to dissociate an ion, with two quadrupole mass filters serving as mass analyzers located on the front and rear sides of the collision cell, respectively. A quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer includes a quadrupole mass filter and orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass analyzer located on the front and rear sides of the collision cell, respectively (see Patent Literature 1 or other related documents). These types of devices are hereinafter collectively called the tandem mass spectrometer.
In a tandem mass spectrometer, an inert gas (e.g. argon) is introduced into the collision cell. An ion having a high amount of energy is introduced into the collision cell and is made to undergo dissociation through collision with the inert gas. For an efficient dissociation of the ion, it is necessary to impart at least a certain amount of energy (collision energy) to the ion when introducing the ion into the collision cell. This collision energy is given to the ion by a voltage difference between a DC voltage applied to an ion guide placed within the collision cell or to an entrance-end electrode or exit-end electrode of the collision cell, and a DC voltage applied to a lens electrode, ion guide or similar ion optical element located at a frontward or rearward position from the collision cell (as viewed along the flow of ions).
In the case of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, the collision energy may also be imparted to the ion by applying a predetermined DC offset voltage to the ion optical element located at the rearward position from the collision cell in addition to a voltage applied for the intended purpose, such as the converging of the ions. On the other hand, in the case of a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer, the collision energy is often imparted by applying a DC offset voltage to the ion optical element located at a frontward position from the collision cell in addition to the voltage applied for the intended purpose. The main reason for this configuration is to improve the mass accuracy in the time-of-flight mass analyzer by preventing the DC offset voltage for imparting collision energy to the ion from affecting the electric field in the orthogonal accelerator section of the time-of-flight mass analyzer located in the subsequent stage.
A mass spectrometer is normally configured to allow for a selective execution of a positive ion measurement mode for the measurement of a positive ion and a negative ion measurement mode for the measurement of a negative ion. Using the positive ion measurement mode and negative ion measurement mode requires switching the polarity of the voltages applied to the ion source, ion optical elements and other related sections. In this operation, the polarity of the aforementioned DC offset voltage for imparting collision energy to the ion is also switched. Conventional tandem mass spectrometers have a problem with this operation as follows.
FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a section near the ion entrance opening of the collision cell in a conventional tandem mass spectrometer.
The collision cell 19 contains a multipole ion guide 18. A lens electrode 17 formed by a plurality of (in the present example, three) plate electrodes 171, 172 and 173 is placed between the collision cell 19 and a quadrupole mass filter (not shown) located at a frontward position from the collision cell 19. The collision cell 19 has an entrance-end electrode 191 on its ion entrance end face. This electrode has an ion entrance opening 191a at its center. DC voltages V1, V2 and V3 generated by adding different ion-converging DC voltages to a common DC offset voltage so as to make the ions coming from the left side converge onto an area near the ion entrance opening 191a are applied to the three plate electrodes 171-173 forming the lens electrode 17, respectively. Meanwhile, voltage V5 generated by adding a radio-frequency voltage for converging ions to a DC bias voltage having a predetermined potential difference from the aforementioned DC offset voltage is applied to the ion guide 18. Additionally, DC bias voltage V4 is applied to the entrance-end electrode 191. For example, this voltage may be the same as the one applied to the ion guide 18.
Due to the voltage difference between the DC offset voltage applied to the lens electrode 17 (as well as the ion guide and other ion optical elements located at a further frontward position from the lens electrode 17) and the DC bias voltage applied to the entrance-end electrode 191 and the ion guide 18, the ion is accelerated, or given a predetermined amount of collision energy, and enters the collision cell 19. Within the collision cell 19, the ion collides with the inert gas and undergoes dissociation. The larger the voltage difference is, the higher the amount of collision energy becomes, making the ion powerfully collide with the inert gas.
The ion-converging DC voltages applied to the plate electrodes 171-173 forming the lens electrode 17 need to be different from each other. Furthermore, those voltages need to be individually adjusted according to the mass-to-charge ratio of the ion which is the measurement target. Therefore, a separate voltage source (voltage generation circuit) for applying a voltage to a plate electrode must be prepared for each of the plate electrodes 171-173. As noted earlier, the polarity of the DC offset voltage is also changed when the measurement mode is switched between the positive ion measurement mode and the negative ion measurement mode. It is difficult to switch the DC offset voltages in those separate voltage sources at exactly the same timing. A slight discrepancy in timing inevitably occurs. Normally, the value of the DC offset voltage is variable. Consider the example in which the DC offset voltage is ±200V. If a slight discrepancy in timing of the switching of the polarity is present as described earlier, a large voltage difference of 400V occurs between closely located plate electrodes, although its duration is rather short. If the gap between the neighboring plate electrodes is narrow, the voltage difference may cause electric discharge between the plate electrodes, which possibly causes the plate electrodes to be damaged or at least contaminated even if not damaged.
Such a problem is not limited to the lens electrode located immediately in front of the collision cell 19. A similar problem can also occur with other ion optical elements to which a comparatively high amount of DC offset voltage is applied in order to impart collision energy to the ion.


A user interface receives user input representative of movement of a mouse pointer relative to a datum point. This datum point is established as a origin with four quadrants. The movement is determined to be either in a first sense or an opposite second sense relative to the datum point. A variable responsively increments when the movement is in the first sense and responsively decrements when the movement is in the second opposite sense. The user may move the pointer in a generally circular or spiral pattern in a clockwise or counterclockwise sense about the origin until the desired value is attained.

In many applications, a dialog box is provided to allow the user to manipulate a value of a displayed variable. Typically, a number representative of the current value of the variable is displayed together with a bar graph proportional to the displayed number. The user moves the mouse pointer to an "up" button or a "down" button and repeatedly clicks or holds until the desired value is attained. Alternatively, the user moves the mouse pointer and clicks on the bar graph, drags the bar to a desired value or double clicks and the bar responsively moves to the mouse pointer.
In other applications, the user can vary the displayed value by mousing down within the boundaries of the control and dragging the mouse pointer horizontally across the screen, and releasing once the desired value is attained.
The prior art user interfaces are considered too slow for certain applications. If the user wishes to make large scale changes to a precise value, the user must first click on the bar graph to make a large scale change and then move the mouse pointer to click on the "up" and "down" buttons until the precise value is attained.
For click and drag interfaces, the mouse pointer can hit the edge of the screen before attaining the desired value. The user must then release the mouse button, move the mouse pointer back to the control in question and re-start the process to attain the desired precise value.

Method for controlling a variable of a dialog box with cursor movement


A blockchain is configured with a public mainchain connected to a plurality of private sidechains. Access is controlled to the private sidechains through an access controller allowing transactions in the sidechain to be trusted implicitly. Data parity may be maintained between the mainchain and sidechains through the use of a parity controller configured by a user.

The development of distributed ledgers in the form of blockchains has allowed for the creation of cryptocurrencies as well as new ways to store and authenticate information. This has led to the development of various different public and private versions of blockchains utilizing a plethora of consensus algorithms for the verification and hashing of information stored in blocks within the blockchain. Most recently, the infrastructure for blockchains has been expanded to allow for the creation of distributed virtual machines utilizing sandboxed virtual environments in participating computing devices. Various implementations of cryptocurrencies have made an effort to maintain parity with fiat currencies by pegging the value of the cryptocurrency to that of the fiat currency. These efforts have proved to be hugely expensive owing to the requirement to lock up an amount of fiat currency to ensure the pegged cryptocurrency's parity. Despite strides in the area of pegged cryptocurrencies, the gap between private and public blockchains remains large, with an inefficient disparity in the resolution of permissions between the public and private blockchains.

System and method for a blockchain network with heterogeneous privacy


A respiratory muscle activity monitoring apparatus is provided with a pressure sensor for detecting pressure in an air passage connecting a lung ventilator and the airway system of a patient and a flow rate sensor for detecting flow rate in the air passage. An arithmetic constant detecting unit detects resistance Rrs and elastance Ers of the respiratory system including the airway and thorax beforehand by using detection signals from the pressure sensor and the flow rate sensor while the lung ventilator is supplying air to the patient whose spontaneous breathing is temporarily stopped. Using airway opening pressure Paw detected by the pressure sensor and flow rate dV/dt detected by the flow rate sensor, a developed pressure calculating unit calculates pressure Pmus developed by the respiratory muscles during mechanical ventilation as well as during spontaneous breathing from the expression: Pmus=-Paw+Rrs(dV/dt)+Ers .intg.(dV/dt)dt. An output unit displays and/or records the obtained Pmus together with waveform signal detected by the pressure sensor along a common time axis. Furthermore, by detecting a tidal volume VT from flow rate, work Wmus is calculated as follows: Wmus=-.intg.Paw(dV/dt)dt+.intg.Rrs(dV/dt).sup.2 dt+(1/2)Ers(VT).sup.2

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a monitor apparatus for monitoring activity of the respiratory muscles of a patient whose breathing is partially supported by a lung ventilator which interacts with patient's respiratory muscles.
2. Description of the related Art
In a case where a lung ventilator is used, particularly in pressure support ventilation (PSV) mode, on a patient who manages to breathe spontaneously, the PS level and the amount of air supplied by the lung ventilator must be adjusted suitably to the condition of the patient so as to promote the spontaneous breathing and, at the same time, substantially prevent fatigue of the patient's respiratory muscles.
In usual practice, the operational conditions of a lung ventilator are determined according to the physical conditions of the patient, such as blood gases, the respiration rate and the volume of ventilation, which are being monitored. A paper "Mathematical Model of Pressure Support Ventilation--an Explication of Mechanical Interaction between a Lung Ventilator and Respiratory Muscles," presented by the present inventors in the 38th Annual Meeting of Japan Society of Anesthesiology, Mar. 28, 1991, suggests that the work of respiratory muscles can be obtained by assuming an equivalent circuit of the respiratory system connected with a lung ventilator, as shown in FIG. 7. In the figure, E is a pressure of the supplied air, e is a spontaneous breathing source of a lung, Paw is an air pressure at the airway opening, Rl is an air flow resistance of the lung, and El is an elastance (an inverse of the compliance C) of the lung. A pressure inside a thoracic cavity Ppl is measured with assistance of a balloon catheter inserted in the patient's esophagus. An air-flow rate dV/dt is detected by a flow rate sensor which is installed in an air passage of the lung ventilator connected to the respiratory system. Patient's work W is calculated by integrating the value calculated by multiplication of the pressure and flow rate, as below EQU W=.intg.-PpldV/dtdt
However, such a method of obtaining the work has several problems. The method is invasive. Measurement precision is not satisfactory since the work performed by the respiratory muscles to drive the thorax is not considered in the method. Further, supplying air of the lung ventilation may sometimes be late for the initiation of inspiration performed by the respiratory muscles, in which case the work performed by the respiratory muscles is wasted. There has not been developed a method to monitor the timing of the inspiratory activity of the respiratory muscles in order to initiate air-supplying of the lung ventilator exactly when PS level is developed.

Apparatus for monitoring respiratory muscle activity


The claimed subject matter provides systems and/or methods that facilitate replicating a state associated with a client, user, service, application, and the like. A third party service provider can support any number of services that can be concurrently requested by several clients without user perception of degraded computing performance as compared to conventional systems/techniques due to improved connectivity and mitigated latencies. A replication component can generate replicas of states associated with requested services. Further, the replicas can facilitate seamlessly interacting with the third party service provider (e.g., while transitioning between client devices). Additionally, by providing replicas of the state related information, differing third party service providers can effectuate services based upon a request from a client without regenerating the state.

Conventionally, most computational tasks are performed upon a client or a server within a proprietary intranet. For example, a software application resident upon a client can be utilized by the client to effectuate operations such as creating data, obtaining data, manipulating data and/or storing data in memory associated with the client. Further, corporate entities and universities oftentimes employ one or more servers to perform tasks such as data storage/retrieval, data warehousing/analysis, electronic mail and/or backup. These servers and/or clients within the proprietary intranet can include software applications that provide functionality such as network browsing, word processing, electronic mail management, and so forth.
As the aforementioned computational tasks are effectuated, clients and servers are associated with particular states. For instance, states can relate to sets of properties or contexts of the client and/or the server. According to an illustration, the states can pertain to software application(s) currently being employed by the client and/or server, information that is available to a user of the client (e.g., displayed by a graphical user interface), amount of resources (e.g., bandwidth, processing power, memory, . . . ) being employed to perform the computational tasks, and the like. Further, the states can change upon occurrence of an event (e.g., initiating or terminating a computational task, booting a client or server, providing a query or password, changing a setting or preference, . . . ).
The states of clients and servers can be employed by respective clients and servers for a myriad of reasons. By way of example, the state can be utilized to provide access to data retained in memory when employing a first client device. However, as a user switches from utilizing the first client or server to a second client or server, the user oftentimes has to recreate the state. Thus, if a set of data is available for access with a desktop computer, when a user shifts to utilizing a laptop computer, she commonly has to recreate the state to have access to the same set of data (e.g., by way of providing a password, copying a file, restarting a software application, opening a document, . . . ).


A system receives smart speaker skill/application generation information generates a first smart speaker skill or application using the smart speaker skill/application generation information, receives at least one scheduled post to schedule at least one briefing at a scheduled time to be broadcast to a first plurality of smart speaker devices having the first smart speaker skill or application, receives tracking and analytics information from each smart speaker in the first plurality of smart speaker devices having the first smart speaker skill or application, and determines an audience for the at least one briefing comprising the first plurality of smart speaker devices having the first smart speaker skill or application and a second plurality of smart speaker devices having a second smart speaker skill or application different from the first smart speaker skill or application based on the tracking and analytics information.

Companies and businesses use social media platforms to market their products and services. Although the social media networks provide the ability to reach customers throughout the world, it can be incredibly difficult to determine when, how, and what to post. In particular, social media marketers may have to determine what to post in a variety of different languages and determine creative ways to engage potential customers.
Recently, smart speaker devices have started to proliferate and are found in homes and businesses throughout the United States and world. Users can utilize these smart speaker devices to play music and other content. In addition, users can personalize and customize their smart speaker devices by installing applications or skills or subscribing to certain applications or skills.
It is with these issues in mind, among others, that various aspects of the disclosure were conceived.

Smart speaker media network system and method


A demand responsive flow control valve including a housing in a fluid conduit between a pump and a motor vehicle power steering gear, a flow control orifice in the fluid conduit, and a valve pintle supported on the housing for linear translation. An inboard stop on the housing engageable by the valve pintle defines an active position of the valve pintle, obstructing the flow control orifice and reducing the effective area of the latter. The inboard stop is a tubular sleeve interference fitted in a bore in the housing. The position of the tubular sleeve on the housing corresponding to the active position of the valve pintle is established by inducing linear translation of the tubular sleeve into the bore in the housing as a unit with the valve pintle while monitoring the corresponding flow rate through the fluid conduit. When the actual flow rate attains a magnitude equal to a desired or scheduled low flow of the flow control valve, the corresponding calibrated position of the tubular sleeve is rigidly captured by friction attributable to the interference fit between the tubular sleeve and the housing.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,662, issued Feb. 18, 1986 and assigned to the assignee of this invention, describes a demand responsive flow control valve between a pump and a motor vehicle power steering gear which regulates a high flow and a low flow in a fluid conduit between the pump and the steering gear depending upon the magnitude of a system pressure downstream of a flow control orifice in the fluid conduit. In the absence of demand for power assist, the system pressure is low and low flow prevails. When power assist is demanded, the system pressure is higher and high flow prevails. The effective area of the flow control orifice is selected in combination with other system variables to achieve a high flow corresponding to predetermined performance characteristics of the steering system. Parasitic losses, e.g., fluid friction, associated with the corresponding low flow consume power and reduce fuel economy of the motor vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,667, issued Feb. 18, 1986 and assigned to the assignee of this invention, describes an improved demand responsive flow control valve having a valve pintle which strokes linearly to an active position obstructing the flow control orifice when the aforesaid system pressure is low and which strokes linearly to an inactive position removed from the flow control orifice when the system pressure increases to a higher transition magnitude. When the flow control orifice is obstructed, its effective area and corresponding low flow and parasitic losses are all reduced compared to the effective area and corresponding low flow and parasitic losses of the unobstructed flow control orifice. With this construction, however, the active position of the valve pintle is defined by an integral stop on a housing of the valve, the location of which stop may vary within a range dictated by manufacturing tolerance. Because the location of the integral stop may vary from valve to valve, the corresponding low flows may likewise vary from valve to valve.