Processing of data packets within a network element cluster having a plurality of network element nodes is described. The network element cluster has a cluster network address common to said plurality of nodes. Distribution decisions are determined for first data packets, a first data packet being a data packet initiating opening of a packet data connection to said cluster network address, according to predetermined criteria. For each node of the network element cluster those first data packets, which are to be processed in said particular node, are selected according to the distribution decisions. Node-specific lists about opened packet data connections for which a node is responsible are maintained, and using these node-specific lists second data packets, which are data packets relating to any opened packet data connection specified in a node-specific list, are processed. For each node of the network element cluster those second data packets, which relate to connections on the node-specific list of said particular node, are selected for processing.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to methods for distributing data packets of communication connections to nodes in network element clusters and to network element clusters, where such methods are applied. Especially, the invention is related to such a method as specified in the preamble of the independent method claim.
2. Description of Related Art
The public networks are presently being used more and more for sensitive and mission critical communications and the internal networks of various organisations and enterprises are nowadays connected to the public networks, Internet being one of them. Since the basic mechanisms of the public networks were originally not designed with secrecy and confidentiality in mind, public networks are untrusted networks. To protect an internal network, a special network element is usually used to connect the internal network to a public network. Typically such network element monitors the connections traversing the network element and possibly modifies the data packets of the connections according to predetermined rules. Methods such as network address translation (NAT) and protocol conversions are methods requiring that the data packets are modified in such network elements. Also other modifications on the data packets traversing the network element may be performed. This kind of network element is often called a security gateway or a firewall.
To ensure sufficient capacity of a firewall or a server, it is common to construct them as clusters of typically identical network elements. The identical or similar network elements forming a cluster are usually called nodes. FIG. 1 illustrates two examples of network element clusters. A security gateway or a firewall connecting a network 13 to a second network 10 is a cluster 14 of network elements 15a, 15b and 15c. As a comparison, network 11 is connected to the network 10 using single network element 12. A second example is a server cluster 17 having server nodes 18a, 18b and 18c. As a comparison, a server 16 is also presented in FIG. 1.
A cluster of network elements such as servers or firewalls includes typically a plurality of similar nodes. The nodes have a common network address, hereafter called a cluster network address, and connections are typically directed to the cluster by means of this cluster network address. Additionally, the nodes may have node-specific network addresses. In a cluster, where nodes have a common cluster network address, all nodes see all data packets arriving at the cluster and there has to be an arrangement for distinguishing which data packets belong to which node. That is, each node should process only those packets that are assigned to it and ignore other data packets. Therefore the data packets arriving at the cluster need to be distributed to different nodes of the cluster. Typically distributing is done so that every node filters all arriving data packets and decides for example on the basis of the plaintext header field(s) of the packet whether that particular node needs to process that particular packet.
Connections directed to a cluster of network elements are directed to different nodes of the cluster on the basis of predefined distribution criteria. An example of distribution criteria is use of hash functions: node-specific sets of hash values are allocated to the nodes and a hash value for a data packet is calculated using a predetermined hash function and certain header fields of the data packet. Typically the header fields that are used for calculating hash values for TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) or for UDP/IP (User Datagram Protocol/Internet Protocol) are source address, source port, destination address and destination port.
When a data packet directed to the cluster network address arrives at the cluster, a hash value is calculated on the basis of some header fields of the data packet, and the resulting hash value defines which node processes the data packet. Typically, all nodes filter all arriving data packets by calculating hash values for them, and then decide on the basis of the hash values the data packets which belong to them. Also some other method than calculating hash may be used for distributing data packets.
Consider, as an example, server cluster 17 having two nodes 18a and 18b and the following situation, where distribution decision are made using a hash function. The employed range of hash values is, for example, A–F. Hash values A, B and C are allocated to node 18a and hash values D, E and F are allocated to node 18b. Connections are directed to the nodes 18a and 18b on the basis of hash values calculated for incoming packets.
For ensuring reliable operation it is typically required that all data packets of one connection, for example TCP connection, are handled by the same node. Otherwise the connection may fail. The header fields used in calculating hash values for data packets are selected so that data packets of a packet data connection have same header field values. Every data packet of one connection has same source address, source port, destination address and destination port, and therefore these header fields are often used. All data packets of a certain packet data connection result in hash value C, for example, and a data packet resulting in hash value C are always directed to node 18a.
Problems arise, if the hash values need to be reallocated dynamically within the nodes of the cluster 17, for example because a new node 18c is added to the cluster 17. Other reasons for reallocating the hash values may be for example load balancing or a node starting a procedure to go offline. Consider the above mentioned connection with hash value C handled in the node 18a. If node 18c is added to the cluster 17 and hash values are reallocated so that hash values A and B belong to the node 18a, hash values C and D belong to the node 18b and respectively hash values E and F belong to die node 18c, the hash value C does not belong to the node 18a anymore. Thus data packets of the connection, which is used here as an example, are not directed to the node 18a anymore, and the connection fails.
Clustering functionality is typically implemented by means of separate clustering module, which is typically software running in the same device (computer) with the application to be clustered. Clustering module and the application to be clustered are running on top of some operating system (OS). FIG. 2 illustrates the server cluster 17 in more detail. The gateway or firewall cluster 14 may be implemented in a similar manner. In the server cluster 17, each node 18 comprises operating system 20 and the clustered application 22. The operating system may be divided into lower level and higher level portions 20a and 20b. For example, the higher level may include IP, TCP and UDP functionality and the lower level may include network interface. Furthermore, the nodes may include a firewall component 23. The clustered application may be, for example, WWW- or WAP-server application. Typically these programs 20 and 22 are similar in each node 18, and the clustered application 22 does not need be aware of the clustering; the application 22 runs independently in each node. The clustering software 21 is responsible for distributing the arriving data packets to the clustered application in the correct node.


The present invention provides a surgical specimen retrieval device that allows one-handed use by incorporating a geared spool to amplify take up of a flexible line to close the mouth of the specimen bag after the surgical specimen is deposited in the bag. The retrieval device includes a spool with an attached gear that is rotated by movement of a deployment rod with serrated teeth. A flexible line has a proximal end attached to the spool and the distal end attached to the mouth of the bag. When the deployment reel is moved from an extended position to an inserted position, the spool rotates and pays out flexible line to allow the mouth of the deployed bag to open. Once a specimen is taken and deposited in the bag, the deployment rod is moved from the inserted position toward the extended position. This rod movement rotates the spool to take up the line and close the mouth of the bag. When the rod is moved to a fully retracted position, the teeth on the rod disengage from the gear, which allows the spool to rotate freely. The device is then removed from the trocar and the line is used to pull the bagged specimen from the body cavity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of surgical instruments, and more particularly to a specimen retrieval device for use in minimally invasive surgery to retrieve a specimen from a body cavity.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,354,303; 5,647,372; 5,971,995; 6,383,197; WO04064669; and U.S. Publn. 20040138587, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse specimen retrieval devices.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical specimen retrieval device that may be operated with one hand.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need for a new and improved specimen retrieval device, and the provision of such a device is a stated objective of the present invention.


The present disclosure provides example message forwarding methods, devices, and systems. In one example method, a message server adds a first attribute tag for some group members in a group. Based on the first attribute tag, the message server creates a first subgroup consisting of the some group members. The message server receives a subgroup message including the first attribute tag, and the message server determines the first subgroup based on the first attribute tag. The message server then forwards the subgroup message to the determined first subgroup.

Currently, instant messaging (IM) is one of popular communication manners in the world. Nowadays, many pieces of instant messaging software, for example, QQ and WeChat, provide a group function: If a group member sends a message in a group, all other members in the group can view the message. By means of this function, people having a common communication need can communicate with each other more conveniently.
However, during actual use, an existing group function usually has the following problem: In some groups, there are hundreds of or even more members. Because there are a large quantity of members, a member A may have no time to continuously pay attention to messages sent by all members. If the member A wants to view a message that is interesting to the member A in a past period of time, the member A can only search a chat history by using a keyword or a name. In this manner, messages sent by a plurality of members cannot be simultaneously obtained, and messages including a plurality of keywords cannot be obtained either. Consequently, message obtaining efficiency is low and operations are inconvenient.

Message sending method, device, and system


A fixing device includes a rotary fixing member; a pressure roller pressed against the fixing member to form a nip in association with the fixing member; and an induction heater, as a heat source, to heat the fixing member. The induction heater includes an excitation coil to induction-heat the fixing member; a side core disposed along an outer circumference in a longitudinal direction of the excitation coil; and a plurality of arch-shaped cores disposed to cover the excitation coil in the longitudinal direction thereof. The arch-shaped cores include center portions corresponding to an inner side of the excitation coil and bent to the fixing member; and outer end portions extending in the direction leading to the side core without interfering with the excitation coil.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a fixing device employing an electromagnetic induction heating method, and to an image forming apparatus incorporating such a fixing device.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, and the like, includes a fixing device employing electromagnetic induction, which is both fast and energy-efficient.
For example, JP-2006-350054-A discloses a fixing device employing the electromagnetic induction heating method, which includes a support roller as a heat roller to generate heat, a fixing support roller as a fixing roller, a fixing belt stretching around the support roller and the fixing support roller, an induction heater disposed opposite the support roller via the fixing belt, and a pressure roller pressing against the fixing support roller via the fixing belt.
The induction heater is formed of a coil such as an excitation coil wound in the longitudinal direction and a core disposed opposite the coil. The fixing belt is configured to be heated at a portion opposite the induction heater. The thus-heated fixing belt heats to fix a toner image formed on a recording medium conveyed to a position opposite the fixing support roller and the pressure roller. More specifically, when a high frequency alternating current is supplied to the coil, an alternate magnetic field is formed around the coil, and an eddy current is generated near the surface of the support roller. When the eddy current is generated to the support roller as a heat roller, joule heat is generated by the electrical resistance of the support roller itself and the fixing belt wound around the support roller is heated.
The fixing device employing the electromagnetic induction heating method as described above has better thermal conversion efficiency and thus consumes less energy than a conventional halogen heater, and is capable of increasing a surface temperature of the fixing belt up to a prescribed level in a short time because a heat generator used in the electromagnetic induction fixing device is directly heated.
A coil used for the induction heating includes an excitation coil and a core to introduce alternate magnetic field generated by the excitation coil to the heat generator. The fixing device disclosed by JP-2008-032944-A includes a flux path by using cores 28, 29 from the excitation coil 25 to the fixing roller 20 including the heat generator.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and FIGS. 4A and 4B, the core 29 is divided into four parts A to D that are arranged around the circumference of the excitation coil with a minimum length, so that any leakage of the magnetic flux from the excitation coil is minimized and thermal efficiency is improved.
In addition, JP-2003-215957-A (or JP3452920) discloses a fixing device in which the excitation coil 5 is surrounded by the cores 32, 33, and 38 (see FIG. 16).
However, dividing the core as described above causes the magnetic flux to leak from joint portions between adjacent cores, thereby reducing heat generation efficiency. In addition, segmentation of the core increases the number of parts, resulting in a cost rise.
As an approach to the above disadvantage, provision of a gap between all arch-shaped cores and side cores is conceived to afford a unified contact status to reduce temperature fluctuation in the longitudinal direction due to dimensional variations of the opening. In this case, decrease in the heat generation efficiency cannot be prevented.
In addition, JP-2009-216751-A discloses a structure in which both side ends of the arch-shaped cores are bent in the direction to the heat generator. Specifically, FIG. 19 corresponds to FIG. 2 of the above patent literature. As illustrated in FIG. 19, both ends of the arch cores 54 are bent toward the heat roller 46, a heat generator.
In such a structure, heat rises at opposed surfaces of the heat generator, i.e., a front end of the bent portions of the arch-shaped cores, and therefore it is difficult to maintain a uniform temperature distribution along the axial direction of the roller or the coil longitudinal direction.
In addition, the excitation coil needs to be held in the arch-shaped core. However, the disclosed structure with both ends bent is unsuitable for mounting the arch-shaped cores from above the coil because bent portions at both ends interfere with the coil.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus including same


A device includes a coder or a codec configured for interleaved image data utilizing diamond shaped blocks for motion estimation and/or motion compensation and utilizing square or orthogonal transforms of residual data. In various embodiments, the decoder may be configured, among others, to perform de-blocking on edges of the diamond shaped blocks and/or data padding at boundaries of the image data. Additionally a method is proposed in which at least one of a transform and quantization process to be applied to de-multiplexed data is modified. One application is to combine left and right stereoscopic images, interleaved in a checkerboard manner.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to image data decoding.
2. Discussion of Background
In recent years, content providers have become interested in the delivery of stereoscopic (3D) content into the home. This interest is driven by the increased popularity and production of 3D material, but also the emergence of several stereoscopic devices that are already available to the consumer. Several systems have been proposed on the delivery of stereoscopic material to the home that combine specific video view "arrangement" formats with, primarily, existing video compression technologies such as ISO MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC/ITU-T H.264, and VC-1. Decoding of content is also necessary prior to display for viewing by a user.

Encoding and decoding architecture of checkerboard multiplexed image data

Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation


A wave power generation system includes a power generation component and a hydraulic component. The hydraulic component includes a cylinder and a piston. The cylinder connects to the power generation component. The cylinder has an accommodation space and a vent located in the middle section of the accommodation space such that the vent runs outside from the accommodation space. The accommodation space is used for accommodating a fluid. The piston is disposed in the accommodation space and is used for being guided by the accommodation space and sliding relative to the cylinder. Thereby, this drives the power generation component to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, and to force the remaining air in the accommodation space and remaining air in the fluid to be discharged via the vent.

As the environmental awareness gains popularity, green energy is believed to be the future energy for mankind. Because green energy is being valued, people have been putting a greater effort into the development of solar power, hydroelectric and wind power. Nevertheless, regardless of the efficiency of the power generation, solar power and wind power are easily affected by the environment and the weather. For example, when there is low sunlight exposure or no sunlight, solar power is unable to convert solar energy into electricity effectively, and as for wind power, it cannot be generated when the current weather is windless. Therefore, it is required to develop a power generation system which utilizes natural power and can work 24 hours a day regardless of the limitations of the environment and the weather.
Since waves are always along the coastlines, wave energy is getting more attention from researchers and developers, because wave energy is renewable and utilizing wave energy does not harm the environment.
A wave power generation device usually includes a floating body, a hydraulic assembly and a power generation assembly. The floating body is disposed on the hydraulic assembly, while the hydraulic assembly connects to the power generation assembly. The floating body is configured for moving up and down with the fluctuations of the waves, thereby driving the hydraulic assembly to work for generating electricity by the power generation assembly. In detail, the hydraulic assembly includes a hydraulic cylinder and a piston. As the floating body moves up and down, the hydraulic cylinder is driven to move relative to the piston. As a result, the oil in the hydraulic cylinder is pushed to the power generation assembly, so as to make the power generation assembly convert mechanical energy from the waves into electricity.
However, air gets compressed, and when unexpected air remains in the hydraulic cylinder, it is repeatedly compressed during the compression process of the hydraulic assembly, which reduces the efficiency of power generation because the oil cannot be pushed to the power generation assembly by the piston smoothly. Consequently, in order to improve the power generation efficiency of the wave power generation device, it is crucial to find a solution for the remaining air in the hydraulic cylinder.

Wave power generation system and hydraulic component thereof

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE


A modular telephone plug comprises a one piece insulation housing having a hollow body with two portions, and plural contacts mounted at one end or tip thereof. A first portion accommodates a cable having an outer insulation jacket enclosing a number of individual conductors. A second portion is directly beneath the contacts. A sleeve accommodates untwisted ends of individual conductors extending from the outer insulation jacket. The sleeve is configured to be placed into the second portion to facilitate successful electrical termination of the contacts with the individual conductors accommodated within the sleeve. The sleeve enables shortening of untwisted conductor length used in the connector to a short length, such as in a range below 8 mm and preferably approximately 5 mm, to reduce Near End Cross Talk (NEXT) when data is transmitted by means of the telephone plug, particularly for connectors of Category 5 and higher. The sleeve comprises a hollow insulation element having a number of inner grooves or channels adapted to accommodate each of the individual conductors. By structuring the housing with the first and second portions, the second portion and the sleeve may be shortened. The channels are parallel to each other and in a common horizontal plane, and are aligned with corresponding contacts mounted in the housing. The sleeve includes slots or recesses directly above each of the channels to facilitate successful piercing of the individual conductors by the corresponding contacts during electrical termination.

Presently known telephone plugs usually comprise an insulation housing including a plurality of contacts, the housing accommodating an electrical cable that includes an outer jacket and a number of individual conductor wires which terminate at the contacts. Each such conductor wire includes an individual conductor having its own surrounding insulation. Such wires are hereinafter referred to as "conductors". The contacts of the telephone plug pierce the surrounding insulation of respective wires to contact the conductors. For ease of notation, such a connection is hereinafter described as the contacts piercing the conductors.
When the conductors of the cable are provided as twisted pairs, in order to properly terminate each of the individual conductors of the cable it is necessary to untwist the twisted conductor pairs. Such untwisting results in a highly undesirable effect, known in the art as Near End Crosstalk (NEXT) resulting in signal disturbances at the connector.
Connectors are generally classified as having transmission speeds defined by category, with connectors operating at transmission speeds in category 3 (hereinafter Category 3connectors) having transmission characteristics specified up to 16 MHz, Category 4 connectors having transmission characteristics specified up to 20 MHz, and Category 5 connectors having transmission characteristics specified up to 100 MHz. The high frequencies at which category 5 (and higher) connectors operate result in potentially significant crosstalk, and require specific measures to be taken to meet NEXT loss standards.
NEXT loss is a measure of signal coupling from one circuit to another within a connector. NEXT loss is derived from swept frequency voltage measurements on short lengths of 100 .OMEGA. twisted-pair test leads terminated to the connector under test. In such measurements, a balanced input signal is applied to a disturbing pair of the connector while the induced signal on the disturbed pair is measured at the near-end of the test leads. In accordance with Telecommunications standard TSB40-A of the Telecommunication Industry Association/Electronic Industry Association (TIA/EIA) published in the Telecommunications Systems Bulletin, NEXT loss at any frequency f is required to meet the following limitation: EQU NEXT(f).gtoreq.NEXT(16)-20 log(f/16),
where NEXT(16) is the minimum NEXT loss at 16 MHz, f is frequency in MHz in the range from 1 MHz to the highest referenced frequency, and NEXT(f) is the performance at that frequency.
To determine NEXT loss requirements for connectors of different Categories at a given frequency, the value used for NEXT(16) is 34 dB for a category 3 connector, 46 dB for a category 4 connector and 56 dB for category 5 connector.
Additionally, the above described standard establishes requirements on Return Loss, which is a measure of the degree of impedance matching between the cable and connector, derived from swept frequency voltage measurements on short lengths of 100 .OMEGA. twisted-pair test leads before and after inserting the connector under test. More specifically, it is required that, for category 4 and 5 connectors, the minimum return loss shall be 23 dB or greater for frequencies between 1 and 20 MHz. For frequencies from 20 to 100 MHz, category 5 connectors shall exhibit a minimum return loss of 14 dB or greater These return loss values are chosen to limit peak reflected voltage of 7% or less up to 20 MHz, and to 20% or less from 20 to 100 MHz.
According to the above described requirements of (TIA/EIA), the connecting hardware used for 100 UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) cabling shall be installed to provide minimum signal impairment by preserving wire pair twists as closely as possible to the point of mechanical termination. The amount of untwisting in a pair as a result of termination to connecting hardware shall be no greater than 13 mm (0.5 in) for category 5 cables, and no greater than 25 mm (1.0 in) for category 4 cables. This requirement is imposed to minimize untwisting of wire pair and the separation of conductors within a pair.
An additional cable management practice that should be observed to reduce untwisting of pairs is to strip back only as much cable jacket as is required to terminate on connecting hardware.
It is known that many professionals have mistakenly specified the above noted 13 mm standard as a requirement for UTP cable jacket removal. However, the available configurations of connector hardware termination structures does not permit significant reductions of untwisted pair length below the 13 mm maximum.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a termination structure for a telephone connector which allows reduction of the amount of wire that is untwisted for termination below the 13 mm maximum value, to lengths as short as slightly more than 2.5 mm, and thus to provide significant reduction in the near end crosstalk experienced at the connector even for data transmission rates of 100 MHz and greater.
It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a termination structure requiring a length of untwisted wire which is approximately 5 mm, thus to permit the structure to be used in Category 3, Category 4, Category 5, and higher Categories as defined in the industry.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a termination structure having a first region which has internal dimensions that are sufficiently large to acccept a jacketed cable therein and extending to within a short distance of contacts for the conductors, a second region having smaller internal dimensions than the first region for receiving therein the unjacketed cable conductors and extending only the short distance between the end of the jacketed cable and the contacts, and a short, rigid sleeve fitting within the short distance of the second region and accepting a short length of the untwisted conductor wires to enable positioning of such a short length of wire for making electrical contact with external contacts therefor.
It is a more specific object of the invention to provide such a structure wherein the short length of untwisted conductor wires is less than 13 mm.
It is still a more specific object of the invention to provide such a structure wherein the short length of untwisted conductor wires is in a range of 3 to 8 mm.
Still a more specific object of the invention is to provide a terminating structure wherein the short length of the untwisted conductor wires is approximately 5 mm.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a terminating structure wherein the short distance of the second region and of the sleeve is less than 13 mm.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a terminating structure wherein the short distance of the second region and of the sleeve is in a range of 3 to 8 mm.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a terminating structure wherein the short distance of the second region and of the sleeve is approximately 5 mm.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a Category 5 connector having a terminating structure which accepts untwisted conductor pairs of a jacketed cable having a length of approximately 5 mm, thus to reduce or eliminate Near End Crosstalk (NEXT) therebetween when data is transferred at a frequency of 100 MHz and greater.
It is yet a more specific object of the invention to provide a terminating structure for a telephone connector having a first region for receiving a portion of jacketed cable, and only a single region with substantially a parallelopiped shape for receiving therein unjacketed cable conductors and a short, rigid sleeve having a shape which is substantially a parallelopiped, the sleeve being substantially fully enclosed in the single region and accepting a short length of untwisted conductor wires for making electrical contact with external contacts therefor.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a terminating structure for a category 5 telephone connector which includes a short region having a substantially parellelopiped shape for fully receiving therein a short sleeve, having a substantially parallelopiped shape and guiding a short portion of conductor wires to external contacts therefor, while retaining a larger region for receiving a section of the jacketed cable and including a strain relief for the cable in the larger region.

Termination structure for modular telephone plugs


A pollutant destruction system connects a capacitive corona discharge chamber in a self-resonant circuit with an inductive element. Intermittent energizing signals are furnished from a power supply to induce corona discharges within the chamber, with the resonant circuit responding to the energizing signals by initiating additional corona discharges between energizing signals in a highly energy efficient operation. One or more discharge chambers can be provided in the resonant circuit, with each discharge chamber comprising a dielectric enclosure with a distributed electrode outside and an elongate electrode inside the enclosure. The inner electrode can extend either along the chamber axis, or along the inner chamber wall for better support and heat dissipation. The energizing pulse frequency can be controlled in various ways, such as in response to a termination of corona discharges, an increase in the pollutant concentration or an acceleration of an engine whose exhaust is being treated, or the pulses can be applied at a fixed rate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the destruction of fluid-borne pollutants by corona discharges.
2. Description of the Related Art
Passing a pollutant bearing gas through a corona discharge site is a known method of removing the pollutants from the gas. A general review of this technique is provided in Puchkarev et al., "Toxic Gas Decomposition by Surface Discharge", Proceedings of the 1994 International Conf. on Plasma Science, 6-8 Jun. 1994, Santa Fe, N.Mex., paper No. 1E6, page 88, which shows that the energy required for destruction is generally in the 300-1,000 Joules/liter range. Corona pollutant destruction has also been proposed for liquids, as disclosed in application Ser. No. 08/295,959, filed Aug. 25, 1994, "Corona Source for Producing Corona Discharge and Fluid Waste Treatment with Corona Discharge", and assigned to Hughes Aircraft Company, the assignee of the present invention.
In one system, described in Yamamoto et al., "Decomposition of Volatile Organic Compounds by a Packed Bed Reactor and a Pulsed-Corona Plasma Reactor", Non-Thermal Plasma Techniques for Pollution Control, NATO ASI Series Vol. G34 Part B, Ed. by B. M. Penetrante and S. E. Schultheis, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 1993, pages 87-89, brief high voltage pulses of about 120-130 nanoseconds duration are applied to the center conductor of a coaxial corona reactor through which gas is flowing. Each pulse produces a corona discharge that emanates from the center wire and floods the inside volume of the reactor with energetic electrons at about 5-10 keV. A similar system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,358, in which pulses of positive DC voltage are superimposed upon a DC bias voltage to generate a streamer corona for removing SO.sub.x and NO.sub.x from a gas stream. These processes have relatively poor energy efficiencies. With the reactor geometries that have been selected, it is necessary to deliver very short pulses to avoid arc breakdown between the electrodes, and consequent damage. The pulse-forming circuit loses approximately half of the power coming from a high voltage supply in a charging resistor, and additional energy is wasted in a double spark gap. Furthermore, the capacitive load of the coaxial corona reactor must be charged; this charging energy is typically much greater than the energy that is actually used in the corona reaction, and simply decays away into heat after each pulse without contributing to the pollutant destruction.
A similar approach, but with a different reactor geometry, is taken in Rosocha, et al., "Treatment of Hazardous Organic Wastes Using Silent-Discharge Plasmas", Non-Thermal Plasma Techniques for Pollution Control, NATO ASI Series Vol. G34 Part B, Ed.. by B. M. Penetrante and S. E. Schultheis, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 1993, pages 79-80, in which the corona discharge is established between parallel plates. This system also suffers from a poor specific energy due to inefficient pulse formation and non-recovery of reactor charging energy.


A garment having an elongated body of sheet material having a length at least equal to the length of a wearer's upper torso, and a width at least twice the width of said torso, the garment body including three arm receiving openings arranged longitudinally thereon, said openings including a center opening approximately on the transverse center at substantially a midpoint of the width of the garment body, and two side openings each to one side of the center opening, said three openings being separated by a distance approximately equal to the width of said torso.

The present invention relates to a garment and in particular to a wraparound type garment.
Wraparound garments can be worn for a variety of purposes including warmth, comfort and style. However, existing wraparound garments either do not provide proper coverage of the wearer's body, or require substantial effort to wear and are not comfortable. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,331,962 issued to H. H. Collins, there is disclosed a garment having rear panel, and extending from the respective side edges thereof, two front panels each of which is wider at bottom than the top. When the front panels are in position on the body of the wearer, they overlap to form a front covering of double thickness. However, the garment requires straps for securing the garment around the wearer's body. As such, the wearer must first wear the garment, and then uses straps attached to the garment, or a separate strap, to tighten the garment around the wearer's body.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,571,810 issued to Swett et al, there is disclosed a wraparound garment formed from a strip of sheet material having spaced center openings for receiving a wearer's thighs and an opening at each end for insertion of the wearer's head and one arm therethrough. A strap must be used to maintain the garment around the wearer's body. However, the garment requires substantial effort to wear, it is uncomfortable when worn and requires a strap to keep it maintained around the wearer.
There is therefore, a need for a wraparound garment which is simple to manufacture and wear and provides comfort and warmth with flexibility.


The method manages customization upgrades to a production website while keeping it accessible. The website currently utilizes a first version of a software plugin. A user requests copying a second version of the plugin from another website to production, which is then authorized. Copying the plugin makes both versions simultaneously operational for distinct groups of users. Users request a webpage that utilizes the plugin, and receive the webpage customized by the first or second version of the plugin depending on whether they are preview-mode users. A request to designate the second version of the plugin as the live version is submitted, and authorization to implement the request is received. After designating the second version of the plugin as the live version, all subsequent requests for the webpage result in receiving the webpage customized by the second version of the plugin regardless of whether the users are designated as preview-mode users.

Some websites include a core platform that provides a set of plugin points that allow for customization. For example, the core platform may provide the infrastructure for an online community, and different business entities that utilize the core platform can customize their online community in unique ways. Each plugin point has a defined interface defined by the core platform and executes under specific conditions (e.g., custom search functionality that executes in response to clicking on a search icon, or just placing a custom business logo at a specific location on a webpage). By having defined plugin points, the core platform can be upgraded without breaking the customizations, and the customizations can be modified without changing the core platform.
Deploying new versions of custom software plugins creates some difficulties, particularly when the new versions are moved to a production environment that is accessed by many users (e.g., thousands). One problem is that releasing new versions typically requires locking users out during the upgrade. Because users may access a website at any time of day or night (particularly for websites that are accessed globally), taking a website down is a problem for users (and thus a problem for the business entity). Users expect a website to be available all the time.
Another problem is the administrative process of who has the authority to initiate an upgrade. For example, a new version may be complete from the standpoint of the developers, but a website administrator for the production website may not be ready for the upgrade. Yet another problem is how long to keep a website down while the new plugin version is tested in the new environment. Because two website environments are not identical, a plugin that appeared to be fine in one environment may not work correctly in another environment (e.g., a production website that enables access to users anywhere on the Internet is different from a QA website that may be limited to internal users).
In addition, even after deployment of a plugin, if a problem is detected, there may be no simple way to revert back to a previous version without bringing down the website again.

Systems and methods for application plugin deployment for websites


A digital receiver apparatus and method, designed for multiple simultaneous users, digitizes a received analog RF signal and performs multiple frequency translations of the signal so that desired stations are grouped into a common frequency band separate from the remaining stations. This frequency band is then isolated, and the individual selected stations are digitally separated, demodulated and processed to provide multiple simultaneous outputs. The frequency translations are preferably performed initially on a time multiplexed basis. Isolated station separation is performed either by time multiplexing, or by the use of multiple phase or tan locked loops.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to digital RF receivers, and more particularly to digital receiving systems and methods capable of simultaneously servicing multiple users.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional automobile radio systems have amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM) capabilities. Many automobiles are also equipped with cellular radios for both reception and transmission. Additional services that utilize other portions of the electromagnetic spectrum and are either currently being implemented, or are expected to be implemented in the future, include facsimile, computer, and global positioning system (GPS) services.
Reception of the various services is complicated by a desire to accommodate multiple simultaneous users. For example, it is desirable to have a capacity for cellular telephone calls at the same time the radio is playing on either AM or FM. It is also anticipated that different users will be able to plug into the communication system at the same time, such as by separate headphones assigned to different passengers, with each passenger having the ability to receive his or her own radio station while the other passengers are listening to their individual stations, using the cellular phone, etc.
The different broadcast bands are very dissimilar in terms of their bandwidths, modulation technology and band operation. The conventional approach to receiving multiple channels over multiple bands is to simply provide multiple receivers, with a separate receiver assigned to each band. If a capability for multiple simultaneous use of a single band is desired, multiple receivers are dedicated to that one band. Each additional receiver carries a penalty in terms of cost, weight, power and space requirements.
Digital receivers have been perceived as a way to accommodate very dissimilar types of modulations with a single receiver mechanism, eliminating the need for different types of receivers for each different service band. Since the channel selection frequency tuning, channel isolation and demodulation are all accomplished digitally, only a single digital receiver path is required for all of these functions. The transition between different broadcasting formats and bandwidths is accomplished by simply changing filter coefficients in the digital filters and the demodulation algorithms in a programmable demodulator. Such a system is envisioned in U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,107, by Stone et al., issued Oct. 15, 1991 and assigned to Hughes Aircraft Company, the assignee of the present invention, the contents of which patent are incorporated herein by reference. While the co-pending patent application achieves a significant reduction in system complexity and cost by using common digital computation for the different service bands, it can provide service to only one user at a time. Multiple receivers would therefore be necessary to service multiple simultaneous users.
Another digital receiver is disclosed in a paper by Dieter Baecher, "Society of Automotive Engineers Technical Paper Series", International Congress and Exposition, Detroit, Paper No. 861039, 1986, pages 77-84. An IF (intermediate frequency)-sampled, rather than RF-sampled, digital receiver is discussed. It processes only one received signal at a time; multiple IF sampled digital receivers would be necessary to process multiple signals.
A digital receiver that is capable of handling certain kinds of multiple signals simultaneously is disclosed in J. Ashjaee, "Ashtech XII GPS Receiver", IEEE International Position Location & Navigation Symposium, Nov. 28, 1988. However, this system is not applicable to common services such as FM, AM or cellular. It is designed for systems such as GPS in which all channels are broadcast at the same frequency, but are provided with different codes. The receiver processes multiple signals by code division multiplexing.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,265 to Schroeder et al., assigned to Loral Corporation, a frequency division multiplexed input signal is digitized. The digitized samples are translated in frequency by mixing with baseband frequency signals to yield real and imaginary values that correspond to phase information in the original modulation signals. After translation, the samples are filtered in real and imaginary digital filters. The original modulation information is then recovered by analysis of the positions of vectors in the complex plane represented by the real and imaginary values. The translation is preferably performed by multiplying the input samples by digital values which correspond to sine and cosine values of local oscillator signals at baseband frequencies. The use of pre-select filtering prior to translation to decimate the input signals, and thereby reduce subsequent processing requirements, is suggested. While it is an improvement in digital receiver design, the system disclosed in this patent again does not resolve the problem of handling multiple simultaneous uses.

Multiple user digital receiver apparatus and method with combined multiple frequency channels


An exhaust gas control apparatus (100) of an internal combustion engine (200) of a vehicle, which is provided with: the internal combustion engine which can use fuel containing methane in exhaust gas; an exhaust gas purifying apparatus (300) disposed in an exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine; an EGR passage (400) which can recirculate the exhaust gas to an intake passage of the internal combustion engine, in a HPL path which does not include the exhaust gas purifying apparatus; and an adjusting device (407) which can adjust an exhaust gas recirculation amount in the EGR passage, is provided with: a first specifying device for specifying a methane concentration in the exhaust gas; and a first controlling device for controlling the adjusting device to increase an exhaust gas recirculation amount in the HPL path if the specified methane concentration is greater than or equal to a reference value.

As this type of apparatus, there has been suggested an apparatus using the EGR apparatus to remove toxic substances in exhaust gas (e.g. refer to Non-Patent document 1). According to the EGR apparatus of the internal combustion engine disclosed in the non-patent document 1, at the time of low-temperature warm-up in which the temperature of a catalyst is lower than a temperature at which aldehyde can be removed, the exhaust gas is recirculated or returned from a downstream portion of the catalyst, and if the temperature of the catalyst is higher than the temperature at which aldehyde can be removed, the exhaust gas is recirculated from an upstream portion from the catalyst. Thus, it is considered that the emission of aldehyde in the low-temperature warm-up can be significantly reduced.
Incidentally, there has been also suggested an ignition timing control method for a natural gas vehicle, which suppresses exhaust temperature reduction by delaying ignition timing from optimal ignition timing by a predetermined period of time if the temperature of an exhaust gas purifying catalyst detected during idling or within a fixed time after the idling is lower than a catalyst active temperature (refer to Patent document 1). According to this apparatus, it is possible to effectively remove methane in the exhaust gas.

Exhaust gas control apparatus for internal combustion engine


At a transmit site of an inverse multiplexing system, an input demultiplexer demultiplexes high bandwidth serial communication signals (e.g., fractional T3 rate signals) into communication signal packets for transmission over reduced bandwidth serial communication (e.g. T1) channels. A multiplexer for each channel combines successive packets of demultiplexed signals with bits of multibit packet reassembly control words that identify the channel and the order in which communication signal packets have been demultiplexed, to produce successive frames for transmission over the channel. At a receiver site the control words are extracted from the frames of data and analyzed to control reassembly of the serial data packets into their original order.

The ability to conduct high-speed data communications between remotely separated data processing systems and associated subsystems has become a requirement of a variety of industries and applications, such as business, educational, medical, financial and personal computer uses. Moreover, it can be expected that current and future applications of such communications will continue to engender more such systems and services. Currently available digital subscriber line (DSL) technology provides for the delivery of relatively high data bandwidth digital communication services, selected in accordance with type and length of data transport medium, schemes for encoding and decoding data, and transmission rate, which will vary depending upon customer requirements.
At the low end of the bandwidth usage scale, a T1 data rate will usually suffice, whereas high data transport density and bandwidth customers (such as in large scale industrial and financial institution applications) may require a much higher bandwidth, such as a T3 system. In a large number of applications, however, the customer's needs fall somewhere in between. Because of the very substantial increase in cost associated with upgrading to very high bandwidth (T3) service, service providers now offer a form of 'fractional' T3 service, in which the data transport capabilities of a plurality of T1 data lines are used, by employing an inverse multiplexing scheme known in the communications industry as Inverse Multiplexing for Asynchronous Transfer Mode (or ATM/IMA). Unfortunately, this particular ATM transport mechanism suffers from a relatively high overhead penalty (on the order of eleven, and most of its current implementations have relatively high royalties attached to them.

Multiple T1 channel inverse multiplexing method and apparatus


A method according to the disclosure configures a processor to predict metal loss in a structure for remediation. The method uses a machine learning model, trained based upon historical data, to predict metal loss over locations of a structure at a time of the prediction. The method identifies from among the predicted locations a high-risk location on the structure in which a magnitude of metal loss indicates potential remediation being needed, dispatches a robotic vehicle to the high-risk location on the structure and inspects the high-risk location using the robotic vehicle to confirm whether the magnitude of metal loss at the location requires remediation. In further methods, remediation is performed. In still further methods, a three-dimensional visualization of the structure is generated with an overlay which depicts predicted metal loss over the sections of the structure.

Infrastructure corrosion is a significant problem faced by the oil and gas industry. Structures such as pipes and tanks are subject to corrosion over time due to the accumulation of moisture and to exposure to the hydrocarbon flows which they carry. Typically, this problem has been addressed by periodic inspections of infrastructure installations by field personnel. This process is time consuming in that it requires the structures to be placed offline, and for coverings and insulation on the structures to be removed to inspect the underlying metallic components. In addition, since infrastructure installations are so large and widespread, only a fraction of the structures can be manually inspected in this manner at any one time. To optimize resources, areas deemed to be of higher risk receive more attention from inspectors. However, the predetermination as to which structures are at highest risk is subject to error.
Recently, automated non-invasive techniques for detecting structural corrosion have been developed. In one such technique, infrared thermal imaging is used to detect corrosion, as described in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/117,937, entitled "Cloud-Based Machine Learning System and Data Fusion for the Prediction of Corrosion Under Insulation," the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference is their entirety. A thermal imaging device can be coupled to a robotic device that can cover large spans of infrastructure, dispensing with the need for manual inspection. Such techniques have provided data about rates of corrosion of different types of structures in a variety of situations.

Robot dispatch and remediation of localized metal loss following estimation across piping structures


Spa side panels are trapezoidally-shaped and mounted in respective grooves defined by adjacent tapered corner pieces and their mounting brackets to accommodate differences in coefficients of expansion of the respective parts and prevent structural damage. Angled force transfer members are configured to mate with swept back side surfaces of a spa base pan to achieve a pedestal appearance, and the bottom surface of the base pan is constructed to reduce heat transfer to the spa support surface.

Field of Disclosure
The subject disclosure relates to spas, tubs, and the like and more particularly to an improved portable spa structure and the construction thereof.
Related Art
Portable spas have become quite popular as a result of their ease of use and multiplicity of features such as varied jet and seating configurations.


A compressor comprising: a stator assembly comprising a plurality of stator elements; a rotor assembly comprising a shaft to which is mounted at least one bearing, a permanent magnet and an impeller; a support body; and an outer can comprising an air inlet. The support body comprises a hollow elongate central part to which is mounted the at least one bearing, and inside which the magnet is positioned, the elongate central part comprising a plurality of openings, and the air inlet of the outer can is axially aligned at least partially with the plurality of openings in the elongate central part.

One of the biggest challenges faced with electric motors is keeping the components of the electric motor cool during use. In the case of compressors, the airflow generated by the compressor can be utilised to cool some of the components of the motor. However, it is often the case that the airflow through the compressor is restricted, and is not able to flow past all the components effectively. Therefore the efficiency and performance of the compressor may be limited by the restricted cooling available to a small number of the components.
There is a general desire to improve compressors, such as the motors found in vacuum cleaners, in a number of ways. In particular, improvements may be desired in terms of size, weight, manufacturing cost, performance, efficiency, reliability and noise.


Provided are a semiconductor memory device and a data write and read method thereof. The semiconductor memory device includes a write data controller, an address controller, and a read data controller. The write data controller writes data received with an address to a first memory cell corresponding to the address and simultaneously stores the data in a data register. The address controller decodes and stores the address in an address register. The read data controller outputs data from a second memory cell corresponding to an address received with a data read command if the received address is different from the address stored in the address register, and outputs the data stored in the data register if the received address is equal to the address stored in the address register.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device and a data write and read method thereof, and more particularly, to a semiconductor memory device and a data write and read method thereof, capable of preventing errors from being generated when a data read operation is performed in an asynchronous operation mode after a data write operation has been performed in a synchronous operation mode.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A Pseudo Static Random Access Memory (PSRAM) is a semiconductor memory device that implements the operation of a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) by using a memory cell array composed of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) cells and an SRAM external interface.
Recently, the PSRAM, which uses an asynchronous operation mode as its basic operation mode, has been developed to have a synchronous operation mode. In the synchronous operation mode, control signals and data, such as addresses, commands and so forth, are input or output in synchronization with a clock signal. In the asynchronous operation mode, control signals and data, such as addresses, commands and so forth, are not output in synchronization with a clock signal.
FIG. 1 is a timing diagram for explaining a late write function and a bypass read function in the asynchronous operation mode of the PSRAM.
The late write function means that when a write command is received in response to a write enable signal, an address and data received with the write command are stored in registers while the write command is activated and then written to a corresponding memory cell when a following write command is received. This is different than a normal write function, in which a received address and data are directly written to a corresponding memory cell while a write command is activated.
The bypass read function means that, when a read command is received in response to a write enable signal, if an address received with the read command is equal to an address stored in an address register, data is read from a data register instead of a memory cell.
Referring now to FIG. 1, an address "A" and data "0" are received with a write command WC1 in response to a write enable signal /WE. The write command WC1 is received at a falling edge of the write enable signal /WE. In addition, an address "X" is stored in an address register and data "1" is stored in a data register.
In a late write operation mode, during a first write period (e.g., 1 WRITE PERIOD), the data "1" stored in the data register, instead of the address "A" and data "0" received in response to a first signal S1, is written to a memory cell corresponding to the address "X".
Next, an address "B" is received with a read command RC1 in response to the write enable signal /WE during a first read period (e.g., 1 READ PERIOD). The read command RC1 is received at a rising edge of the write enable signal /WE. In this case, if data stored in a memory cell corresponding to the address "B" is "0", data "0" is read out.
The address "A" and data "0" received with the write command WC1 are then respectively stored in an address register and a data register, in response to a second signal S2. Here, the second signal S2 is activated in response to the read command RC1, and is used to control data and an address to be respectively stored in a data register and an address register.
Subsequently, an address "C" and data "1" are received with a write command WC2 in response to the write enable signal /WE during a second write period (e.g., 2 WRITE PERIOD). In the second write period, the data "1" stored in the data register is written to a memory cell corresponding to the address "A" stored in the address register in response to the first signal S1.
Next, the address "C" is received with a read command RC2 in response to the write enable signal /WE during a second read period (e.g., 2 READ PERIOD). At this time, the address "C" and the data "1" received with the write command WC2 are respectively stored in the address register and the data register in response to the second signal S2.
In the second read period, since the address "C" received with the read command RC2 is equal to the address "C" stored in the address register, the bypass read function is performed. In other words, the data "1" stored in the data register, instead of data stored in a memory cell, is output.
However, when the synchronous operation mode is converted into an asynchronous operation mode and a read operation is performed after a data write operation is performed at an address "A" in the synchronous operation mode, if a read address received with a read command is "A", data stored in a data register, instead of a corresponding memory cell, is output due to the bypass read function.
In this case, if data stored in the memory cell corresponding to the address "A" in the synchronous operation mode is different from data stored in the data register in the asynchronous operation mode, incorrect data will be output. In other words, when the data read operation is performed at the address "A" in the asynchronous operation mode after the data write operation has been performed at the address "A" in the synchronous operation mode, unexpected data may be output, thus causing an error. Accordingly, a need exists for a memory device that is capable of preventing such errors from being generated.

Semiconductor memory device and a data write and read method thereof


Copolymers are produced when a 4-vinyl-1,3 dioxolane monomer is copolymerized with an imidized maleic anhydride (for example, maleimide) monomer in the presence of a free radical initiator. Alternatively, a maleamic acid or maleimide functionally may be introduced into a copolymer containing a 4-vinyl-1,3 dioxolane and maleic anhydride by introducing a primary amine into the reaction mixture. Also, the dioxolane reactant may be introduced into the polymer by reacting 3,4-epoxy-1-butene in a ketone reaction solvent. The structure and composition of the product copolymer are controlled by both the sequence and conditions of the reaction. Products of the present invention can be cast as clear films and can also be used as reactive polymers.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,013,806; 5,071,932; 5,077,365; and 5,071,932 (issued to Blevins and Turner in 1991) disclose copolymers of 4-vinyl-1,3-dioxolane with maleic anhydrides. Other than the compounds and processes described in these commonly-owned patents, no other known references discloses copolymers of a 4-vinyl-1,3-dioxolane with maleic anhydride or its derivatives.
It is known that polymers containing maleic anhydride may be imidized to provide maleamic acids and that various chemical means are available to facilitate the ring closure of maleamic acids to form maleimides. However, we are aware of no references involving the polymerization of imidized derivatives of maleic anhydride with 4-vinyl-1,3-dioxolane.
While the copolymers of Blevins and Turner, supra, are useful, it would be desirable to have copolymers with improved properties such as greater resistance to moisture and hydrolysis.

Copolymers of vinyl dioxolanes and imidized derivatives of maleic anhydride


Described systems and methods enable a computer security module to protect a set of guest virtual machines against computer security threats. In some embodiments, the computer security module receives introspection notifications from the protected VM, each such notification indicating that a particular trigger event (e.g., a system call) has occurred during execution of guest software within the respective VM. In some embodiments, delivering a notification comprises suspending execution of guest software and switching the processor to executing a notification handler forming part of the computer security module. In some embodiments, the computer security module may indicate to the processor a selected subset of events which trigger introspection notifications.

The invention relates to computer security systems and methods, and in particular, to systems and methods for protecting hardware virtualization environments from computer security threats.
Malicious software, also known as malware, affects a great number of computer systems worldwide. In its many forms such as computer viruses, worms, rootkits, and spyware, malware presents a serious risk to millions of computer users, making them vulnerable to loss of data and sensitive information, identity theft, and loss of productivity, among others. Computer security software may be used to protect computer systems from malicious software.
Conventional security software may detect the occurrence of certain events (e.g., system calls, the execution of certain instructions, attempts to access certain resources) during execution of the operating system and/or of various applications on the respective computer system, and determine whether such events are caused by malicious software. Intercepting such events may require intrusive actions, such as modifying certain functions of the operating system (a technique commonly known as hooking). Hooking may be detected and disabled by malicious software, and may create performance and stability problems for the respective computer system.
Hardware virtualization technology allows the creation of simulated computer environments commonly known as virtual machines (VM), which behave in many ways as physical computer systems. In many applications, such as server consolidation and infrastructure-as-a-service, several virtual machines may run simultaneously on the same computer system, sharing hardware resources among them, thus reducing investment and operating costs. Each virtual machine may run its own operating system and/or software applications separately from other virtual machines, and may thus require protection from computer security threats.
The operation of computer security software is typically more complex and computationally expensive when carried out in hardware virtualization environments, compared to non-virtualized environments. In some configurations, security software executes outside the protected virtual machine, thus being inaccessible to malicious software infecting the respective VM. In such cases, the occurrence of various events within the protected VM may need to be detected from outside the respective VM. In conventional hardware virtualization security applications, such detection is typically achieved via hooking. In one such example, the protected VM is configured to suspend execution when a certain event occurs, and to transfer control of the processor to computer security software executing outside the respective VM. After analyzing the event, security software may instruct the processor to resume execution of the respective VM. Such VM suspend/resume cycles may carry a substantial computational expense.
There is a substantial interest in improving the efficiency of computer security operations in hardware virtualization platforms.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for delivering event-filtered introspection notifications


A semiconductor memory device which is comprised of a plurality m of electrically isolated data memory sub-arrays for storing data bits and a plurality k of electrically isolated parity memory sub-arrays for storing parity bits, wherein each of the data and parity memory sub-arrays includes a plurality of memory cells arranged in a matrix of rows and columns, with the memory cells in each row connected to a common word line and the memory cells in each column connected to a common bit line. Row address decoders function to activate a selected word line in each of the memory sub-arrays, and column address decoders, in combination with column selection circuitry, function to couple a selected bit line in each of the memory sub-arrays to a plurality m of sense amplifiers, which function to sense the voltage level of respective ones of the selected bit lines, and produce output data and parity bits representative of these sensed voltage levels. An error checking and correction circuit compares the output data and parity bits in order to detect and correct errors in the output data bits. Because of the unique architecture of the semiconductor memory device of this invention, defects in word lines or bit lines are confined to a single bit, thereby rendering these defects easily reparable by means of an ECC circuit alone, and thus dispensing with the need for a redundant memory circuit.

The present invention relates generally to semiconductor memory devices, and more particularly, to a semiconductor memory device having an improved architecture which isolates bit line and word line defects to a single bit, to thereby facilitate improved error correction capability relative to semiconductor memory devices having a conventional architecture.
In the field of semiconductor memory devices, it is conventional to repair defects of the memory cells thereof by means of either a redundant memory circuit or an ECC circuit, to thereby improve the yield of the process for manufacturing the semiconductor memory devices. However, these conventional techniques for repairing defective memory cells suffer from the following drawbacks and shortcomings.
Namely, in semiconductor memory devices which utilize a redundant memory circuit, after the wafer fabrication process, an additional procedure is required to identify the defective memory cells and to program the redundant memory circuit with the addresses of the identified defective memory cells. This is a time-consuming procedure which reduces throughput and increases manufacturing costs. Further, it is difficult to utilize the redundancy technique in read only memories (ROMs) and the like.
In semiconductor memory devices which utilize an ECC circuit, the device architecture limits the effectiveness of the ECC circuit, in a manner which will become clear hereinafter. In general, the ECC circuit requires k parity bits for each m-bit input data word, in accordance with the well-known Hamming code, which is mathematically represented by the following equation (1):
(1) 2.sup.k .gtoreq.m+k+1, where m is the number of data bits per data word, and k is the corresponding number of parity bits. For example, if the number (m) of data bits is 8, the number (k) of parity bits is 4, and if the number (m) of data bits is 16, the number (k) of parity bits is 5.
During a write mode of operation, the ECC circuit generates k parity bits corresponding to the m data bits of an input data word, and both the m data bits and the corresponding k parity bits are stored in the memory cell array of the memory device. During a read mode of operation, the m data bits and the corresponding k parity bits of an output data word are read-out of the memory cell array, and the ECC circuit compares the k parity bits and the m data bits to detect and correct errors which may be present in the output data word.
With reference now to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, there can be seen a semiconductor memory device incorporating an ECC circuit having a conventional architecture, and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,923, issued to Alan D. Poeppelman on Sep. 6, 1987. The semiconductor memory device illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of memory sub-arrays D0-DN, the interconnection of which is depicted in greater detail in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a more detailed circuit diagram of the portions of the memory device depicted in FIG. 2. As can be readily seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, each of the memory sub-arrays DO-DN includes a plurality of stack sets Ni (i=1-N), each comprised of two strings of memory cells.
With particular reference now to FIGS. 1 and 3, there can be seen a plurality of bank select lines each of which are connected to a different stack set in each of the memory sub-arrays DO-DN. It will be appreciated that, in operation, the activation of a particular bank select line will result in the selection of a different stack set in each of the memory sub-arrays DO-DN, i.e., a bank of different stack sets, one from each sub-array. For example, the activation of the bank select line N selects stack set 0 in the sub-array DO, the stack set 1 in the sub-array D1, and the stack set N in the sub-array DN. With this configuration, defects in a particular word line can be confined to only one bit of the output data word, since each bit of the output data word is taken from a stack set which contains different word lines than do the stack sets from which the remaining bits of the output data word are taken.
However, the above-described ECC scheme suffers from the following drawbacks and shortcomings. Namely, defects in the bank select lines themselves can not be repaired at all, thereby limiting the utility of this ECC scheme. Further, since each bank select line is connected to selection transistors in all of the sub-arrays, the loading of the bank select lines is undesirably large, thereby increasing power dissipation and causing operational delays. Moreover, since the bank select lines must cross the memory sub-arrays, the layout and maskwork of the memory chip are rendered more difficult, thereby unduly increasing the cost and complexity of fabricating the memory chips, and unduly decreasing the reliability thereof. Furthermore, operating speed is undesirably decreased and power consumption undesirably increased by virtue of the architecture of the conventional semiconductor memory device, as will now be described with particular reference to FIG. 3. More particularly, a bus row signal O of an even row bus line is connected to word lines WL31, WL32 through respective depletion-type MOS transistors whose gates are connected to a supply voltage Vcc, and a bus row signal 1 of an odd row bus line is connected to word lines WL41, WL42 through respective depletion-type MOS transistors whose gates connected are to the supply voltage Vcc. With this arrangement, all of the word lines are simultaneously changed to either the supply voltage Vcc or the ground voltage Vss when the voltage level of the bus row signal 0 or the bus row signal 1 is changed, thereby resulting in an unduly high level of power consumption and decreased operating speed. In a high integration density memory device, e.g., a 64M or 256M DRAM, this problem is magnified, since the number of word lines connected to the bus row signals is significantly greater than is the case with presently available DRAMs.
Based upon the above and foregoing, ot can be appreciated that there presently exists a need in the semiconductor memory art for a semiconductor memory device which eliminates the above-described drawbacks and shortcomings of the presently available semiconductor memory devices. The present invention fulfills this need.

Semiconductor memory device having an improved error correction capability


The present document relates to methods and systems for audio encoding. In particular, the present document relates to methods and systems for fast audio encoding using a parallel system architecture. A frame-based audio encoder (300, 400, 500, 600) comprising K parallel transform units (303, 403) is described; wherein each of the K parallel transform units (303, 403) is configured to transform a respective one of a group of K frames (305) of an audio signal (101) into a respective one of K sets of frequency coefficients; wherein K>1; wherein each of the K frames (305) comprises a plurality of samples of the audio signal (101).

Today's media players support various different audio formats such as mp3, mp4, WMA (Windows Media Audio), AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), HE-AAC (High Efficiency AAC) etc. On the other hand, media databases (such as Simfy) provide millions of audio files for download. Typically, it is not economical to encode and store these millions of audio files in the various different audio formats and the various different bit-rates that may be supported by the different media players. As such, it is beneficial to provide fast audio encoding schemes which enable encoding of audio files "on the fly", thereby enabling media databases to generate a particularly encoded audio file (in a particular audio format, at a particular bit-rate) as and when it is requested.

Audio encoder with parallel architecture


A method for making a substantially silanol-free silicone resin powder having a primary particle size in the range of about 0.1-200 nm and an aggregate particle size of 10 nm to 200 microns is provided. An organic solvent dispersion of an organosiloxane hydrolyzate having triorganosiloxy units and tetrasiloxy units is treated with an organo nitrogen compound, such as a silazane and thereafter spray dried. The substantially silanol-free organosilicon powder has been found useful in making heat curable organopolysiloxane compositions, such as pressure sensitive adhesives.

The present invention relates to substantially silanol-free silicone resin powder having a primary particle size in the range of 0.1-200 nm and an aggregate particle size of 10 nm to 200 microns. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method involving the pretreatment of an organic solvent dispersion of an organosiloxane hydrolyzate with an organosilicon nitrogen material, such as an organosilylamine, or organosilazane, and the spray drying of the resulting mixture to form a substantially silanol-free silicone resin powder useful for making heat curable organopolysiloxane compositions having improved processing characteristics.
A method for making silicone resin powder is shown by Wolfgruber et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,484. An aqueous colloidal suspension of an organo siloxane copolymer is spray dried to produce a silicone resin powder having an average particle diameter of 10 to 150 nm. Although spray dried powders made by Wolfgruber et al can be utilized in a variety of applications as fillers, the powders are contaminated with the emulsifying agent which was was used in the preparation of the organosiloxane copolymer. As taught by Wolfgruber et al, silicone resin powder made by spray drying an aqueous silicone mixture can be used as a substitute for finely divided silica in plastics. However, it has been found that aqueous spray dried powder made in accordance with the method of Wolfgruber et al having triorganosiloxy units, chemically combined with tetrasiloxy units is incompatible with silicone fluids. Attempts therefore to utilize such silicone resin powder to produce heat curable silicone compositions, such as pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) shown by Murakami et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,297 have been unsuccessful.
In copending application Ser. No. 08/030,737, filed Mar. 12, 1993 is shown a procedure for making a silicone resin powder by spray drying an organic solvent dispersion of an organosiloxane hydrolyzate. The silicone resin powder is dispersible into silicone fluid and useful for making heat curable silicone compositions, such as PSAs. An organic solvent dispersion of an organosiloxane hydrolyzate, comprising triorganosiloxy units, or "M" units of the formula, EQU (R).sub.3 SiO.sub.0.5, (1)
chemically combined with tetrasiloxy units, or "Q" units of the formula, EQU SiO.sub.2, (2)
is spray dried to form a free flowing organosilicon resin powder having a primary particle size of 0.1-200 nm and an aggregate particle size of 10 nm to 200 microns. Although useful heat curable silicone compositions, such as PSAs can be formulated by spray drying the organic solvent dispersions of the organosiloxane hydrolyzates, the viscosites of the resulting PSAs, or component mixtures used in making the heat curable mixture sometimes exceed optimum processing requirements.
It would be desirable therefore to be able to make free-flowing organosilicon resin powder having a primary particle size in the range of 0.1-200 nm, and an aggregate particle size of 10 nm to 200 microns which would be useful in combining with silicone network ingredients, such as a vinyl substituted organopolysiloxane fluid, a silicon hydride siloxane fluid and platinum catalyst to form a PSA having improved processing characteristics.

Method for making substantially silanol-free silicone resin powder, product and use


The unit comprises two variable-length pedal cranks (20) having a common rotation pin (21) of transverse axis (A), and a mechanism (34, 35, 36) for varying the length of the two pedal cranks (20) on the basis of their angular position; the position of the axes of the pedals (25) in the vertical plane of projection defines, as the angular position of the pedal cranks (20) varies, an endless closed curve (F) about a reference axis (R) which is displaced by an angle of about 15 degrees forwards from the axis (N) passing through the center of the seat (11) of the bicycle and intersecting the axis (A) of the pin (21). The endless curve (F) comprises an upper portion, extending through at least 60 degrees of rotation of the pedal crank about the upper point of its intersection (Ta) with the reference axis (R), in which the length of the pedal crank (20) is less than the mean value (LM) thereof, in the remaining part of the endless curve (F) the length of the pedal crank being greater than the mean value (LM); the point in which the length of the pedal crank reaches its maximum value (Lmax) is in a position between 40 and 120 degrees after the upper point of intersection (Ta)

This invention relates to a pedal-operated drive unit for bicycles or the like.
As is well known, a bicycle normally comprises a pair of pedal cranks (or levers) having a common rotation pivot of transverse axis, at their ends there being positioned two respective pedals rotating about axes parallel to the pivot axis. The position of the pedal axes as the angular position of the pedal cranks varies defines a perfect circumference, the radius of which is currently dimensioned, for an adult of average stature, at 170 mm, this being the best compromise between transmission of muscular force to the wheels and frequency of pedalling.
In practice, cyclists taking part in sporting activities maintain a rhythm of 80-100 r.p.m. on the flat, this ensuring optimum comfort and roundness of pedalling (constant speed); on hills the rhythm is reduced, with maximum metabolic efficiency being sought at close to 60 r.p.m. This involves considerable muscular fatigue and, to reduce stress, the cyclist rises at intervals from the saddle to reduce muscle fatigue, especially of the quadriceps and calf, by working with a greater angle at the knee.
To improve muscular performance and efficiency during pedalling, solutions have been proposed in which the pedal cranks are of variable length and work in combination with cam means able to vary said length on the basis of the angular position of the two pedal cranks. With varying angular position of the pedal crank the position of the pedal axes in the plane of vertical projection defines an endless closed curve different from a circumference. To improve performance through this curve, the pedal crank is elongated during the thrust stage, i.e. during that angular portion extending roughly from the top dead centre to the bottom dead centre, and is consequently shortened during the remaining portion extending roughly from the bottom dead centre to the top dead centre.
This lengthening of the lever during the forward thrust portion gives a sensation of greater downward thrust; however this increase in the lever length also produces an increase in the pedal speed during the downward thrust and a reduction in this speed. The resultant effect is a loss of roundness during pedalling, which is undesirable especially over long distances and during acceleration. Moreover, when the athlete produces sudden acceleration (spurts) by raising his body from the saddle, he is hindered by the reduced length of the rear part of the pedal stroke, which proportionally reduces the force transmitted during traction.
Generally, said solutions do not improve, but indeed worsen, the efficiency of the musculo-articular system, mainly because they reduce the angle between the leg and the thigh at the top dead centre (with consequent excessive stress on the musculo-articular system), and compel the cyclist to rise onto the pedals because his quadriceps are excessively stretched, and in order to reduce the lactic acid accumulation therein.
An object of this invention is to provide a drive unit using pedals of variable length, which is able to overcome said drawbacks and improve the working conditions of the musculo-articular system.
This and further objects are attained by the present invention as characterised in the claims.

Pedal-operated drive unit for bicycles or the like


A nickel-base alloy suitable for overlaying steel substrates. The alloy and steel have similar thermal conductivities and thermal coefficients of expansion. The alloy broadly initially contains about 15-20% molybdenum, about 5-10% chromium, up to about 2% iron, up to about 5% tungsten and/or niobium, up to about 0.1% carbon, and the balance essentially nickel.

There are numerous industrial situations where it is desirable to have a nickel-base overlay deposed over a steel substrate. In particular, overlay applications include continuous casting rolls in steel mills, basic oxygen process ("BOP") furnace hood tubing, and centrifugal casting molds for tubing.
Other typical non-limiting applications involve low alloy steels that suffer repeated, severe temperature cycles causing them to fail by thermal fatigue cracking. For instance, it is desirable to overlay hot forging dies and extrusion dies where deformation by the work being done is not the overwhelming cause of failure.
Efforts have been undertaken wherein 606 and 625 alloys are used as overlays. However, it is desirable to have an overlay that is rich in nickel and lower in chromium so that the COE and TC are approximately equal to those of the underlay mild steel substrate after iron dilution has occurred.
Accordingly, there is a need for an overlay composition that closely matches the COE and TC of a steel substrate while simultaneously providing adequate protection.

Alloy overlay having thermal characteristics similar to those of a substrate


The heat resistant adhesive of the invention comprises polyamic acid and/or polyimide which are prepared by using 1,3-bis(3-aminophenoxy)benzene as an aromatic diamine component and 3,3',4,4'-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride, 3,3',4,4'-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride and/or 3,3',4,4'-diphenylethertetracarboxylic dianhydride as tetracarboxylic acid dianhydrides, and further by blocking the polymer chain end with dicarboxylic anhydride or a monoamine compound; or comprises a polyimide solution containing the polyimide in a good solvent.. The adhesive of the invention is a heat-resistant adhesive capable of adhering under mild temperature/mild pressure conditions. The adhesive of polyimide solution can provide desired adhesion by simple procedures such as applying to the adherend and heating under pressure and exhibits excellent adhesive strength. Consequently, the heat-resistant adhesive of the invention is very useful for the adhesion of structural and electronic materials and other industrial materials.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat-resistant adhesive and a method of adhesion by using the adhesive. More particularly, the invention relates to a polyimide-base adhesive which can adhere under mild temperature and pressure conditions, is extremely excellent in adhesion properties and heat resistance in particular, and can be used in the electric and electronics fields, and to a method of adhesion by using the adhesive.
2. Related Art of the Invention
Many heat-resistant adhesives composed of synthetic organic high polymers have conventionally been known as adhesives for various high performance materials used in the fields of electronics, space and aeronautic equipment and transfer machinery. Adhesives which have high heat resistance are polybenzoimidazol-based and polyimide-base adhesives.
Particularly, polyimide-based heat-resistant adhesives which have excellent heat resistance and adhesive strength have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,345 and Japanese Laid Open Patent Sho 61-143,477. Although these heat-resistant adhesives are excellent in heat resistance and adhesive strength, adhesion must be carried out at high temperature under high pressure in order to obtain high adhesive strength.
When these polyimide-based adhesives are used, a solution of polyamic acid precursor is applied to an adherend surface, subjected to solvent removal and imidization, dried, and adhered to another substrate at high temperature under high pressure. Alternatively, polyimide is processed into films or purified by separating in the form of powder, followed by inserting between the two adherend and adhering at high temperature under high pressure.
Polyimide is a high heat-resistant polymer material obtained by polycondensation of aromatic diamine and aromatic tetracarboxylic dianhydride, and many kinds of polyimide have been known.
Polyimides obtained by using 1,3-bis(3-aminophenoxy)benzene as a diamine component have been known, for example, as follows.
(1) An acetylene radical terminated polyimide oligomer prepared from 1,3-bis(3-aminophenoxy)benzene, 3,3',4,4'-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride and 3-aminophenylacetylene (N. Bilow et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,845,018 and 3,879,349).
(2) A polyimide prepared by polycondensation of 1,3-bis(3-aminophenoxy)benzene and pyromellitic (T. P. Gannett et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,140).
(3) Heat resistant adhesives prepared from 1,3-bis(3-aminophenoxy) benzene and various kinds of tetracarboxylic dianhydrides (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Sho 61-143,477 and 61-291,670).
(1) is an addition type thermosetting polyimide in which the oligomer end is blocked with a 3-aminophenylacetylene radical and the terminal acetylene radical is involved in a cross-linking reaction by heat treatment.
(2) is a condensation type polyimide obtained by using 1,3-bis(3-aminophenoxy)benzene as a raw material monomer and characterized by using pyromellitic dianhydride as a tetracarboxylic dianhydride component.
(3) are heat resistant adhesives composed of 1,3-bis(3-aminophenoxy)benzene and various kinds of tetracarboxylic dianhydrides. However, a reactive radical remains at the end of polymer chain and severe conditions such as high temperature and high pressure are required in order to obtain heat resistant adhesion.

Heat-resistant adhesive and method of adhesion by using adhesive


A recorded information reproducing apparatus is capable of highly reliably reproducing information even from a recording medium on which recorded information including recorded signals in a low frequency band are recorded at a high density. An error voltage is subtracted from an analog read signal read from a recording medium to generate a corrected read signal. The corrected read signal is sampled to be converted into a digital corrected read sample sequence from which recorded information is decoded. Here, the sample existing at a position nearest to each zero-cross point in the corrected read sample sequence is extracted from the corrected read sample sequence to generate an extracted sample sequence. Each sample in the extracted sample sequence is converted into an analog signal having a level corresponding to the associated sample value. This analog signal is used as the above error voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recorded information reproducing apparatus for reproducing information data from a recording medium having the information data recorded thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a DVD (digital video disc) has been attracting more attention as a recording medium for providing high density recording of information data such as digital audio data, digital video data, computer data and so on.
Information data is recorded in accordance with 8/16 modulation encoding on the DVD instead of EFM encoding as is the case of CD. However, the 8/16 modulation encoding suppresses low frequency components in accordance with the order of code sequence based on the probability, rather than suppressing low frequency components for each word as does the EFM encoding, so that a large amount of low frequency components may possibly remain in reproduced information.
Further, since information data is recorded at a higher density on a DVD than on a CD, the DVD is more susceptible to fluctuations in characteristics of the disc itself, and errors in a variety of servo mechanisms in a reproducing apparatus, when the information data is read, thereby increasing the error ratio of reproduced data.

Recorded information reproducing apparatus


A method comprises determining a measure of drilling efficiency, such as a friction factor or mechanical specific energy, of a drill bit used in a drilling operation of a wellbore and performing video analytics of at least one video that includes a substantially complete view of the wear surfaces of a drill bit to determine drill bit wear of the drill bit that is a result of the drilling operation of the wellbore. The method includes determining a cause of the drill bit wear based on the measure of drilling efficiency and the drill bit wear determined by performing video analytics. Based on correlation or modeling of drill bit wear and the measure of drilling efficiency, drill bit wear can be predicted and some types of drilling dysfunction mitigated in subsequent drilling runs.

Various types of drilling tools have been used to form wellbores in associated downhole formations. Examples of such drilling tools can include rotary drill bits, reamers, core bits, under reamers, hole openers, and stabilizers. Examples of such rotary drill bits can include fixed cutter drill bits, drag bits, polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) drill bits, and matrix drill bits. Fixed cutter drill bits such as a PDC bit may include multiple blades that each include multiple cutting elements.
As a drill tool is used in a typical drilling application, the cutting elements experience wear. While the drill bit is in use downhole, direct measurement of drill bit wear is impeded by downhole conditions. As a cutting element wears, the cutting element can become less effective, can have a higher likelihood of failure, and can experience drilling dysfunction. Cutting element wear may have a significant effect on the rate of penetration (ROP). The ROP is important for reducing costs during drilling operations as a decrease in the ROP can increase drilling time and cost. ROP is impacted by several variables including the drilling tool type, geological formation characteristics, drilling fluid properties, drilling tool operating conditions, drill bit hydraulics, and drilling tool cutting element wear.

Drill bit wear and behavior analysis and correlation