A portable display unit includes a serial port to connect to a device such as a vacuum network controller, cryopump, turbomolecular pump, gauges or compressor. In particular, the display unit can be plugged and unplugged to devices of different types. The portable display unit includes a display and control keys for programming, controlling and monitoring the functions of a device. The device accessible to the display unit includes a display interface having software code and files to interface with the display unit. Accordingly, the portable display unit can be used with any device having software code to interface with the display unit. The software code generates, refreshes and communicates menus to the portable display unit to provide graphical interface of the device's functions. The portable display unit further includes inner and outer hand grips so that the display unit can be held by hands of different sizes. The hand grips allow user with different hand sizes to firmly hold and navigate the display using control keys with fingers.

A cluster tool for semiconductor processing generally includes a tool host controller providing top-level control over all systems within the cluster tool. The tool includes a series of processing chambers for performing various semiconductor-fabrication processes such as wafer etching, chemical or plasma vapor deposition, oxidation, sintering, and annealing. These processes often are performed in separate chambers, each of which may include a vacuum system. The vacuum system may include control pads or display units fixed to the devices in the system to provide user interface.
One type of vacuum system that is widely used in semiconductor processing is a cryogenic vacuum system. The cryogenic vacuum system typically includes at least one cryogenic vacuum pump (cryopump) and at least one compressor for supplying compressed helium to the cryopump. The system also often includes other components such as roughing pumps, waterpumps, turbopumps, chillers, valves and gauges. Together, these components operate to provide vacuum to a broader system such as a cluster tool for semiconductor processing.
In addition to the cryopumps, a conventional vacuum system typically includes a network interface terminal which communicates to a tool host controller and the network of cryopumps within the system. The network interface terminal includes an electronic module to monitor and control the devices and components within the network. Similarly, a cryopump may include an electronic module to monitor and control the cryopump.
The electronic modules of the cryopump and network interface terminal may each include a control pad having a keyboard and display. For example, an alphanumeric display displays one line of up to sixteen characters. Longer messages are accessed by horizontal scroll keys. Additional lines of messages and menu items may be displayed by vertical scroll display keys. The keyboard includes numeric keys to input numerical data into the system and functional keys such as ENTER and CLEAR keys to enter and clear data during programming. The keyboard also includes other functional keys to activate device operations. For example, a MONITOR function key allows the display of sensor data and on/off status of the pump and relays. A REGEN function key activates a complete cryopump regeneration cycle, allows regeneration program changes and sets power failure recovery parameters.


The invention is directed to antimicrobial peptides related to naturally-occurring protegrin peptides, and methods of using the peptides in a variety of contexts, including the treatment or prevention of infections.

One of the defense mechanisms against infection by both animals and plants is the production of peptides that have antimicrobial and antiviral activity. Various classes of these peptides have been isolated from tissues of both plants and animals. PCT application WO 95/03325 (published Feb. 2, 1995) contains a review of the literature on this subject. Such peptides include tachyplesins, which are 17-18 amino acid peptides containing four invariant cysteines, the defensins, .beta.-defensins, and insect defensins, which are somewhat longer peptides characterized by six invariant cysteines and antifungal and antibacterial peptides and proteins which have been found in plants.
The parent applications provide a new class of antimicrobial peptides, designated "protegrins," representative members of which have been isolated from porcine leukocytes. The protegrin peptides, which are generally amphiphilic in nature, exhibit broad spectrum antimicrobial activity. Thus, these peptides are useful as antibacterial, anti-fungal and antiviral agents in both plants and animals.
The isolation of some of the protegrin peptides of the invention was reported by the present applicants in a paper by Kokryakov, V. N. et al., 1993, FEBS Lett 337:231-236 (July issue). A later publication of this group described the presence of a new protegrin whose sequence, and that of its precursor, was deduced from its isolated cDNA clone. Zhao, C. et al., 1994, FEBS Lett 346:285-288. An additional paper disclosing cationic peptides from porcine neutrophils was published by Mirgorodskaya, O. A. et al., 1993, FEBS Lett 330:339-342. Storici, P. et al., 1993, Biochem Biophys Res Comm 196:1363-1367, report the recovery of a DNA sequence which encodes a pig leukocyte antimicrobial peptide with a cathelin-like prosequence. The peptide is reported to be one of the protegrins disclosed hereinbelow. Additional publications related to protegrins are Harwig, S. S. L., et al., 1995, J Peptide Sci 3:207; Zhao, C., et al., 1995, FEBS Lett 376:130-134; Zhao, C. et al., 1995, FEBS Lett 368:197-202; Miyakawa, Y. et al., 1996, Infect Immun 64:926-932; Yasin, B. et al., 1996, Infect Immun 64:709-713; Qu, X -D et al., 1996, Infect Immun 64:1240-1245; Aumelas, A. et al., 1996, Eur J. Biochem 237:575-583; Mangoni, M. E. et al., 1996, FEBS Lett 383:93-98; Steinberg et al., 1996, "Protegrins: Fast Acting Bacterial Peptides," presented at 8th Intl. Symposium on Staphylococci and Staphylococcal Infections, Aix les Bains, France, Jun. 23-26, 1996; Steinberg et al., 1996, "Broad Spectrum Antimicrobial Activity of Protegrin Peptides," presented at 36th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, New Orleans, La., Sep. 15-18, 1996; Kung et al., 1996, "Protegrin Protects Mice From Systemic Infection By Antibiotic-Resistant Pathogens," presented at 36th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, New Orleans, La., Sep. 15-18, 1996; and Steinberg et al., 1996, "In Vitro Efficacy of Protegrins Against Helicobacter Pylori," presented at 36th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, New Orleans, La., Sep. 15-18, 1996.
The protegrins have also been found to bind to endotoxins--i.e., the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) compositions derived from Gram-negative bacteria which are believed responsible for Gram-negative sepsis. The protegrins are also effective in inhibiting the growth of organisms that are associated with sexually transmitted diseases such as Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
The present invention is directed to a new set of protegrins which offer properties of being rapid acting microbicides having a broad spectrum of activity with a low likelihood of resistance. In addition, the class of protegrins of the present invention offers an additional opportunity to adjust the spectrum of activity with respect to the type of microbe or virus most effectively inhibited and with respect to the conditions under which this inhibition occurs. The protegrins in this case differ from those of the parent applications either by deletion of at least one of the four N-terminal amino acids, or of certain other designated residues and/or by replacement of certain amino acids with those of other classes.


This application provides a flexible and efficient way to handle escape symbols during decoding of N-tuple variable length codes (VLCs). The user can request that the decoder resolve a sequence of symbols. The Huffman lookup tables can contain a field to notify the decoder if a given N-tuple VLC includes an escape symbol. For non-escape symbols, as identified by the escape indicator bit in the Huffman lookup table entry, the decoder can finish resolving the N symbols of the N-tuple without requiring a symbol-by-symbol comparison of each symbol to detect escape conditions. For escape symbols, as identified by the escape indicator bit in the Huffman lookup table entry, the decoder can either look back to the user for help, or use pre-defined logic to resolve the escape symbols. Aspects of certain embodiments enable parallelism between Huffman symbol decoding and escape condition detection without losing future expandability.

1. Field of the Invention
Generally, this application relates to data decoding. More specifically, this application relates to methods and systems for the efficient handling of escape code during the decoding of N-tuple variable length codes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Advanced audio coding ("AAC") and MPEG, layer 3 (MP3), methods are used in various applications implementing audio codecs, including wireless, CATV, digital broadcast and Internet arenas. The AAC standard specification is ISO/IEC 13818-7, and the MP3 standard specification is ISO/IEC 11172-3, layer III, both of which are fully incorporated herein by reference. AAC generally provides higher efficiency audio encoding than MP3 encoding. However, both AAC and MP3 decoder technologies rely on Huffman coding and decoding of symbols using variable length fields. In the MP3 and AAC specifications, each variable length bit field can represent, for example, values for 2 or 4 consecutive symbols. For convenience, such groups of symbols will be referred to generally as an N-tuple symbol, where the "N" signifies the number of symbols encoded.
Generally, Huffman coding and decoding is based on a statistical algorithm, which means that the probability of occurrence of a symbol has a direct bearing on the length of its code representation. The higher probable the occurrence of a symbol, the shorter its bit-size representation. Huffman lookup tables are used during decoding to reconcile the variable length codes to the encoded symbols.
Huffman tables used during decoding can require escape handling for some symbols. Escape handling may be required when the coded symbol set is big. For example, to achieve efficient coding for more frequently used symbols, it is a typical practice to put some less frequently used symbols in a group, and then to use one special Huffman code to represent this group. Inside the group, each symbol is assigned with a distinct value in addition to the special Huffman code. This practice is known as escape handling. The value corresponding to the special Huffman code is called the escape value or escape threshold. Usually, media standards use different escape values; for example, AAC uses a value of 16, while MP3 uses a value of 15. Furthermore, the number of additional bits assigned to escape symbols varies from standard to standard.
There are generally two typical implementations of escape handling during decoding using Huffman tables. The first typical implementation resolves the symbols one by one to determine whether escape handling is required, with escape intervention provided by the processor or controller in conjunction with the associated escape software. The second typical implementation also resolves the symbols one by one; however the escape handling logic is hard-wired for the specific standard. Thus, the detection of escape symbols depends on a comparison of all N-tuple values against the escape value, or escape threshold, defined by a particular standard. Such conventional implementations result in poor computing performance because of this symbol-by-symbol comparison of each value in the N-tuple symbol.
FIG. 1 illustrates the typical Huffman decoding of an AAC or MP3 bit stream, which uses the detection of escape symbols. This typical detection procedure depends on the comparison of all of the values of an N-tuple symbol against the media-standard-dependent escape value, or escape threshold. As shown in FIG. 1, steps 110-130 start the N-tuple symbol decode process by initialing the decoder to read the variable length code (VLC) and performing variable length decoding (VLD) lookup(s). At steps 140, the decoder has returned the N values of the N-tuple fields. The decoder next compares, at steps 150, each of the N output values against the media-standard-dependent escape threshold(s) to determine whether any of the N values is indicative of an escape symbol. Step 160 decides whether any of the N output values indicates an escape symbol. If none of the N values is an indicator of an escape symbol, then this N-tuple symbol is not an escape condition and decoding of the N-tuple is complete (step 180). Otherwise, the N-tuple symbol is an escape code and requires further handling (step 170), prior to completion of decoding for that N-tuple (step 180).
Typically, the required further handling of step 170 can be implemented in one of two ways. In the first implementation, if comparison of one of the N symbols indicates an escape code, the user (i.e., the CPU, processor, controller, firmware, software, and the like, or combinations thereof, etc.) will read more bits in order to fully resolve the escape symbol. This implementation requires intervention by the user and leads to poor computing performance. The second implementation hard-codes the escape handling logic for a specific standard and if the decoder detects an escape code, it will read more bits to resolve the escape symbol using the pre-defined logic. This implementation has limited usage since the logic is fixed for one specific standard. These typical implementations are further inefficient because the decoder must individually resolve each of the N-symbols before it can determine if the N-tuple is indicative of an escape condition. Typically, the escape codes are themselves rare. However, the comparison must be made on a symbol-by-symbol basis even for all of the non-escape symbols.
Therefore, what are needed are methods and systems for the efficient detection and handling of escape codes for a variety of standards during the decoding of N-tuple variable length codes.

Method and system for decoding N-tuple variable length code


The present application provides a method for responding to an incoming call by means of fingerprint recognition. The method comprises: when a mobile terminal detects an incoming call, the mobile terminal starts a fingerprint sensor of a fingerprint recognition module; the fingerprint sensor collects a feature point in user fingerprint information, and records a moving track of the feature point; the fingerprint sensor recognizes a fingerprint operation action of a user according to the moving track of the feature point, and uploads the fingerprint operation action to a call system; and the call system marks the fingerprint operation action as a corresponding event and makes a response.

The present disclosure relates to the field of fingerprint recognition technology, more particularly, to a method for responding to an incoming call by using fingerprint recognition, a storage medium and a mobile terminal.
At present, most smart mobile terminals (such as, mobile phones, tablets, etc.) are equipped with fingerprint recognition. With the continuous development of technology, not only can fingerprint recognition identify the user's fingerprint, but it can also be used for operations including screen unlock, password unlock, etc. In addition to that, fingerprint recognition can also have a navigation function.

Method for responding to incoming call by means of fingerprint recognition, storage medium, and mobile terminal


A system and method for providing navigational information to a user connected in real-time, such as through a wireless telephone, PDA, or other device. The system provides navigational information to the user in the form most useful to the user, such as according to landmarks, or the number of blocks until the next action. The system also provides directions to points of interest along the user's route. Further, the system allows the user to suspend and resume a session. Also, the system varies the sampling rate at which the user's location is examined, to enhance efficiency and convenience.

The present invention relates to a system for providing navigational information to a user. The increasing use of portable appliances, such as wireless telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), has led to widespread use of such devices during travel. If and when such travelers become lost or otherwise need navigational directions, it would be very convenient and useful to receive such directions through their wireless devices.
A number of navigational systems are available or under development. Systems available over the internet allow users to receive directions from a starting point to a destination, and to receive an accompanying map. Such systems, however, do not provide real-time directions; once the user is on the road, the user cannot receive clarification or updates to the directions.
As used herein, "real-time" refers to an approximate correspondence with the actual time in which events are taking place. For instance, a user seeking real-time directions from the corner of Main Street and First Street seeks them at the approximate time the user is actually at Main Street and First Street.
As used herein, "navigational information" broadly refers to information relating to geographic navigation. In many instances, the navigational information comprises navigational directions to the user, instructing the user, for instance, which way and how far to go to reach a destination. In other instances, navigational information may refer to other navigation-related information, such as the user's current, past, or future location(s) or other information relating to the user's navigation.
Other systems are becoming popular for use in automobiles. Such systems often provide a graphical map or directions to the user. In some cases, these system employ satellite-based global positioning system (GPS) to identify the location of the vehicle. Examples of such systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,938,720; 5,928,307; 5,922,042; 5,912,635; 5,910,177; 5,904,728; 5,902,350; and 6,055,478, each of which is incorporated herein by reference. These systems, however, generally require specialized equipment in the vehicle, such as specialized input/output apparatus, graphical displays, a map database, or processor. Such equipment is expensive and cumbersome for the user, especially in those situations where the user is walking, changing vehicles, or otherwise away from the vehicle in which the equipment is installed. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide navigation systems in personal handheld devices.
In addition, there is a need for wireless mobile devices, and mobile telephones in particular, to have location-identifying capability. Recent government regulations have highlighted the need for wireless carriers to provide such capabilities and services.
There are several technical obstacles that stand in the way of the incorporation of navigational capabilities in handheld devices for providing turn-by-turn real-time navigation services. One such obstacle is the amount of geographic data needed to provide reasonably detailed navigational information. Small handheld devices include, for example, cellular phones, personal digital assistants, or computers. The amount of embedded memory in such devices is limited and thus they are not suited for storage of large amounts of geographic information. Geographic information is usually stored in a geographic mapping database stored on a CD-ROM, hard-disk drive device or other large capacity storage medium.
Another obstacle is the lack of information processing power in small devices, such as those mentioned above. For example, the information processing power of a wireless telephone is typically provided by an embedded microprocessor with limited memory. While the information processing power of embedded microprocessors is generally increasing, such processors are still not suitable for processor intensive real-time navigational tasks.
An additional obstacle is the insufficient location accuracy provided by current technology. Initial sources of inaccuracy of the GPS based systems, for example, may, be imposed by the U.S. Department of Defense through Selective Availability (S/A), while other sources of error are due to atmospheric and timing errors limiting the accuracy of a single GPS receiver to +/−50 meters. Methods exist that can be used to enhance the location accuracy to about +/−5 meters. Such methods include Enhanced GPS systems (i.e., SnapTrack) and network based system (i.e., Truepoint). These methods use a known position, such as a survey control point, as a reference point to correct the GPS position error. These methods of correcting GPS positions are referred to as Differential GPS or DGPS. The DGPS corrections can be applied to the GPS data in real-time using data telemetry (radio modems). Toward expanding the use of DGPS, the United States and Canadian Coast Guard are establishing a series of radio beacons to transmit the DGPS corrections for accurate navigation along the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River and tributaries, the Gulf Coast, and the Eastern and Western coasts of North America. However, such radio beacons are not available to consumers traveling in most inland locations. For the remainder of this application, the terms "GPS" and "DGPS" will be used interchangeably, unless indicated otherwise.
Navigational systems are difficult to develop further because the desired accuracy depends on the particular application. For example, if the user is driving in a downtown area with closely spaced streets, a GPS location with accuracy within, for instance, +/−50 meters is not adequate to give turn-by-turn directions. In this context, GPS location information is thus considered ambiguous and inappropriate for practical navigation. In other situations, providing a GPS location within +/−50 meters is, however, perfectly adequate for navigation purposes. For example, if a user is driving on a highway in a remote area without any nearby exits, the GPS location is sufficient for calculating further navigation directions. Thus, in such a situation, the GPS location is not ambiguous.
Current automobile GPS navigation systems make use of other sensors, such as accelerometers, speedometers, etc. plus sophisticated filtering technology to improve the accuracy of a navigational system (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,912,635, previously incorporated by reference for all purposes). In addition, many automobile-based navigational systems use map-aiding technology as well. However, for a navigational system implemented using handheld devices, such as cellular telephones, it is undesirable to require the handheld device to be connected to external sensors, especially when the device is used while walking.
Other obstacles confront navigational systems designed for use when walking. U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,069, which is incorporated herein by reference, is an example of such a system. Such systems are generally limited by the user's communication device. For instance, it is difficult for a user to enter detailed information over a wireless telephone in a format that is useful for the central processor, especially if the user is engaged in other activities such as driving a vehicle. These systems are also susceptible to imperfections of the underlying service; for instance, establishing or maintaining a connection over the wireless network(s) can be difficult. Also, the rate of transfer of information over wireless networks can be extremely limiting.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a navigational system and service which improves upon the inadequacies of prior systems.

Real-time navigation system for mobile environment


A business information service provides data cleansing to correct and update both domestic and global addresses. A combination of processes generate cleansed data for input into a matching process. The matching process matches information about a business, including the address, to a unique business identifier in at least one database of business information. The matching process is more successful with more standard and accurate input addresses.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to providing a business information service, and more particularly, to cleansing data associated with customer lists.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some potential business information service users have customer data that is not functioning at the maximum possible efficiency. This is because some critical data is missing, some addresses are wrong, and some of the customers have moved. These problems can affect internal databases preventing accurate identification of a customer coming in from a telecenter, mailroom, or website, leading to a creation of duplicates and possible mishandling the customer relationship. Response rates to mailed promotions may weaken as fewer customers actually receive them. There is a need for a business information service that cleanses data to provide accurate customer addresses.
Some services provide a mish-mash of many, often conflicting suggested changes for each address element. This makes leveraging corrections very difficult. There is a need for an output of a single best correction for each address element.


A carrier containing a plurality of layers of articles arranged in stacked end-to-end fashion. The carrier is fully enclosed and includes side end panel flaps which extend substantially the entire distance from the top panel to the bottom panel of the carrier to strengthen the carrier and prevent bowing of the panels. Score lines in the side end panel flaps further prevent bowing during folding. The top panel is formed by overlapping top panel flaps, the inner top panel flap including a folded-under reinforcing flap which produces an area of triple thickness between handle openings in the flaps and which extends into the end panels for additional reinforcement purposes.

Sleeve-type carriers are commonly used to package beverage cans and other types of articles, and are typically formed from paperboard blanks which have been folded into collapsed sleeve form. Each collapsed sleeve is opened by a packaging machine, and cans or other articles are introduced through one or both of the open ends of the sleeve, after which the end panel flaps are folded and secured together. The cans are normally introduced in upright position while the carrier sleeve is supported on one of its side panels, with the open ends of the sleeve facing out, transverse to the direction of movement of the sleeves through the machine, to receive the cans. The resulting carrier contains a layer of cans the ends of which are located adjacent the side panels of the carrier. Additionally, a handle is normally incorporated into the top panel of the carrier to facilitate lifting and carrying.
Although such carriers have been designed to contain varying numbers of articles, typical beverage can packages hold only six or twelve cans. This is partly because a conventional sleeve-type carrier would be quite long if its length were increased to accommodate large numbers of cans, and would be unwieldy to carry. Further, the heavier load caused by the additional cans would tend to promote tearing, particularly in the handle area.
One way to overcome some of the problems associated with packaging large numbers of cans in a carrier is to package them in stacked layers. This would make the package more compact and would not increase its size to the point where it could not be readily handled. For example, if twenty-four standard 12-fluid ounce cans are packaged in a carrier in two layers containing twelve cans each, with each layer being four can diameters long and three can diameters wide, the length of the carrier is the same as the length of a conventional single layer package of twelve cans, the height is only about two inches greater and the width is somewhat less than three inches greater. Yet the package provides twice the carrying capacity of the single layer conventional carrier. Further, additional layers of cans or other articles could be packaged by making the height of the carrier an additional article length greater.
Although cans and other articles have long been packaged in double layers in shipping cartons, the problems involved in packaging layers of articles in a sleeve-type carrier are not present in a double-layer shipping carton. Articles are normally loaded from the top in a shipping carton, and a handle is not normally provided in the top panel to enable the carrier to be lifted by one hand. The heavier loads caused by two layers of articles in a sleeve-type carrier require a carrier construction that can resist the lifting and carrying stresses, particularly in the handle area. Also, the greater height of the side and end panels of the carrier tends to exaggerate any tendency of the panels to be skewed in relation to adjacent panels, making it difficult to maintain the carrier in square condition in the packaging machine at the time the carrier panels are glued together. Further, when carriers are stacked for storage or shipping, the lower carriers receive quite large compressive loadings which tend to distort the carriers if provisions are not made to withstand them.
Since it would be highly advantageous to have available a sleeve-type carrier capable of holding layers of stacked articles, it is an object of the invention to provide a carrier of this type which overcomes the problems discussed.


A fluid dispensing system comprising a tank for the fluid, and means for extracting a quantity of fluid from the tank and for directing the extracted fluid to one or more selected receptacles. The means comprises a fluid collecting device including a vessel having a restricted entry aperture, the vessel being for rotary passage through the tank. An outlet pipe is positioned exteriorly of the tank whereby, in use with fluid in the tank, during a rotary cycle of the vessel air exhausts from the vessel through the outlet pipe as fluid ingresses into the vessel through the aperture during a filling operation, and air flows into the vessel through the aperture as fluid is dispensed through the outlet pipe in a dispensing operation.

This invention concerns fluid dispensing systems which are particularly, but not exclusively, suitable for incorporation in drinks vending machines.
The term "fluid" as used herein is intended to include liquids, such as water, perfume and other low viscosity liquids.
Fluid dispensing systems have been proposed heretofore. U.S. Pat. No. 1,327,768 discloses a tank for holding liquid through which a wheel arrangement is adapted to rotate, the arrangement having a hub disc mounted on a solid shaft, the disc supporting six conduits in equi-spaced relationship radially of the shaft. At the one end of each conduit remote from the disc a measuring container is mounted having a restricted entry. The conduits are similarly cranked and pass through the disc parallel to the axis of the shaft with fluid collected in the containers being sequentially discharged from the respective conduit into a chamber to be discharged therefrom through a discharge pipe.
FR-A-2 160 243 discloses a pair of tanks for liquid into each of which a wheel arrangement including a disc is adapted to rotate, the arrangements being unitary with the two discs connected through a hub and rotatable in a central mounting by a solid shaft secured to one of the discs. Each arrangement has three containers mounted on the respective disc and is rotated through the respective tank to sequentially collect liquid through two openings (25 and 9) in each container and discharge liquid collected through respective conduits into a single collection tank 16.
Drinks vending machines, whether free-standing or table-top supported, generally operate by dispensing water and powdered ingredients from separate sources to a mixing zone. The mixing zone may be separate from a drinks cup in which the drink will be supplied or may be the drinks cup itself. Either way it is important that a pre-selected amount of water is discharged to the mixing zone so that the drink produced is of the required strength and to avoid water spillage in or from the vending machine.
It is further desirable that the fluid dispensing system operate relatively simply in order to reduce the risk of breakdown.
Typically drinks vending machines and other fluid dispensers use solenoid valves for controlling flow of fluid but these valves are prone to becoming clogged and so, without warning, stick in one position.
An object of this invention is to provide a simple fluid dispensing system suitable for a drinks vending machine and other applications.
According to this invention, there is provided a fluid dispensing system comprising a tank for the fluid, and means for extracting a quantity of fluid from the tank and for directing the extracted fluid to one or more selected receptacles, the means comprising a fluid collecting device including a vessel and an outlet pipe in fluid communication, the vessel being for rotary passage through the tank and having a restricted entry aperture wherein the vessel and outlet pipe are connected through a rotatable tubular shaft which extends between opposed walls of the tank and is journalled for rotation therein with one of its ends closed off and the other projecting through the respective tank wall, the vessel being mounted on the shaft with the outlet pipe being connected to the projecting end of the shaft exteriorly of the tank to extend diametrically away from the vessel, rotary passage of the vessel causing rotary passage of the outlet pipe outside of the tank, whereby, in use with fluid in the tank, during a rotary cycle of the device air exhausts from the vessel through the outlet pipe as fluid ingresses into the vessel through the aperture during a filling operation, and air flows into the vessel through the aperture as fluid is dispensed through the outlet pipe in a dispensing operation.
Preferably, the fluid is raised from a supply thereof in the tank and discharged by gravity to the one or more selected receptacles.
Preferably also, the vessel is closed and the restricted entry aperture is a circular hole. The amount of fluid which ingresses into the vessel beneficially depends on the size of the hole and the dwell time during which the vessel is in the fluid in the tank. The volume of fluid retained in the vessel when moving from a filling position to a dispensing position desirably depends on the size of hole and the speed of rotation.
The tank is desirably of two part construction comprising an upper part to which a lower fluid-holding part is removably secured. The upper part is beneficially mounted on a support, for example a supporting part of a drinks vending machine.
In a preferred embodiment, the vessel is sectoral in side elevation, and is mounted at its vertex on the rotatable tubular shaft. The wall of the shaft within the vessel is perforate to admit fluid with a single or multiple openings. Further, the single opening is elongate, preferably along its length. The vessel has preferably two sectoral sides spaced apart by radial walls and an arcuate wall in which the opening is provided. The vessel being rotatable about the axis of the shaft preferably passes through the fluid from a park position where it is normally out of the fluid to one or more selected positions of a plurality of dispensing positions to discharge through the outlet pipe fluid collected during its rotation between said park and dispensing positions.
The shaft preferably extends through the upper part of the tank to be closed on the outside of the rear side thereof and to be connected on the outside of the front side of the tank to the outlet pipe, preferably at right angles to the shaft.
The shaft is preferably rotated by a motor, preferably an electrically operated motor that is program controlled. A position sensing device, for example a magnetic sensor, may be used to reference the position of the shaft during rotation. The shaft may have a toothed wheel thereon with a toothed belt drive employed to mesh with a toothed output gear of the motor to rotate the wheel. The motor may conveniently be mounted on the outside of a side of the tank.
The fluid dispensing system of the invention preferably has a plurality of upright elongate chambers for receiving fluid from the outlet. The chambers are preferably arranged in a manifold of individual chambers. Preferably, the tops of the chambers are arranged radially relative to the axis of rotation of the shaft. Desirably, the chambers each has an outlet for transferring any fluid received to a mixing zone where it is mixed with powdered and/or possibly other liquid ingredients to produce a mixture, i.e. a desired drink in the case of being incorporated in a drinks vending machine, or other desired mixture in other cases.
The motor is preferably programmed to rotate the vessel from its `park` position through a reference position and a filling position to one or more discharge positions according to the desired combination of chambers necessary for producing the selected mixed product.
The outlet pipe may have a volume control, such as by means of a restrictor screw say through a side of the outlet pipe, whereby the amount of air to be displaced in allowing fluid into the outlet may be controlled.


In a plasma processing method, plasma processing is performed in a state where the object is attracted and held on the electrostatic chuck by applying a first voltage as an application voltage thereto and a thermal conduction gas is supplied to a gap between the electrostatic chuck and the object. The application voltage is decreased while stopping the supply of the thermal conduction gas and exhausting the thermal conduction gas remaining between the electrostatic chuck and the object upon completion of the plasma processing. The object is separated from the electrostatic chuck by setting the application voltage to the electrostatic chuck to zero after the application voltage is decreased.

Generally, in manufacturing semiconductor devices, a desired device is manufactured by repeatedly performing various processes such as film formation, etching and the like on a semiconductor wafer. Along with the trend toward high integration and high miniaturization of the semiconductor devices, miniaturization of a line width or a hole diameter is required more and more. Further, as for a wiring material or a buried material, inexpensive Cu having a considerably low electrical resistance tends to be used to reduce the electrical resistance and deal with miniaturization of various sizes of wiring structures (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H07-094500). Moreover, as for the wiring material or the buried material, Ta, Ti or the like tends to be used in addition to Cu.
In order to form a thin film containing the above metal, a plasma processing apparatus such as a plasma CVD apparatus, a plasma sputtering apparatus, a plasma etching apparatus or the like is generally used (see Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. H07-094500, H09-502078, 2006-135081, and 2012-074522). In this plasma processing apparatus, an electrostatic chuck on which a semiconductor wafer is attracted and held by an electrostatic force (Coulomb force) is provided on a mounting table in a processing chamber. A plasma is generated by a high frequency power or the like in the processing chamber, and a thin film is formed on the wafer at a relatively low temperature of, e.g., about 200° C. to 400° C., by emitting metal ions from the metal target or by activating a film forming gas by the plasma thus generated. Depending on processing types, the temperature may exceed the above temperature range.
In the plasma processing, a thermal conduction gas whose pressure has been increased compared to a processing pressure is supplied between the electrostatic chuck and the wafer to improve thermal conduction between the wafer and the mounting table for control of a wafer temperature. Upon completion of the plasma processing, a floating force applied to the wafer is suppressed by stopping the supply of the thermal conduction gas and, then, a chuck voltage as an application voltage to the electrostatic chuck is off. Next, the wafer is separated from the mounting table by using lifter pins or the like.
In that case, charges remain on the wafer due to the effect of electrostatic attraction, so that the remaining charges need to be removed to prevent adhesion of particles or bounce of the wafer during the separation of the wafer. Therefore, conventionally, an opposite voltage is applied to an electrostatic chuck (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H07-094500). In addition, an optimal voltage for minimizing an electrostatic attraction force is applied, or a charge neutralization gas is supplied (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-135081).
Meanwhile, it is general to increase a chuck voltage in order to sufficiently increase an attraction force during the plasma processing. However, when a sufficient attraction force is obtained, residual charges cannot be sufficiently removed even by the aforementioned various charge neutralization processes. This causes generation of particles when the wafer is separated from the mounting table.
Particularly, the amount of remaining charges is increased in proportion to the chuck voltage, so that the relationship between the attraction force and the amount of generated particles is a trade-off relationship. Therefore, it is currently required to develop a new method for suppressing the particle generation amount while realizing a sufficient attraction force.

Plasma processing method and plasma processing apparatus


A rubber composition usable for the manufacture of tires, based on at least one diene elastomer, at least one reinforcing inorganic filler and at least one coupling agent providing a bond between the inorganic filler and the elastomer. The reinforcing inorganic filler includes a silicon nitride having the following characteristics:                (a) a BET specific surface area of between 20 and 200 m2/g;        (b) an average particle size (by mass), dw, of between 10 and 350 nm.

So as to reduce fuel consumption and the pollution emitted by motor vehicles, major attempts have been made by tire designers to obtain tires having all of the following: very low rolling resistance, improved adhesion both on dry ground and on wet or snow-covered ground, and very good wear resistance.
Numerous solutions have thus been proposed to lower the rolling resistance and to improve the adhesion of tires, but these generally result in a very great decline in the wear resistance. In particular, it is well known that although the incorporation of conventional white fillers such as, for example, conventional silicas or aluminas, chalk, talc, clays such as bentonite or kaolin, in rubber compositions used for the manufacture of tires and in particular of treads, does result in a reduction in the rolling resistance and an improvement in adhesion to wet, snow-covered or icy ground, it also results in an unacceptable decline in the wear resistance, linked to the fact that these conventional white fillers do not have a sufficient reinforcement ability with respect to such rubber compositions. For this reason, these white fillers are generally referred to as non-reinforcing fillers, also referred to as inert fillers.
One effective solution to this problem has been described in particular in patent applications EP-A-0 501 227, EP-A-0 735 088 or WO99/02602, which disclose diene rubber compositions reinforced with precipitated silicas of high dispersibility (so-called "HD" silicas, for "highly dispersible silica"), which make it possible to manufacture treads having a significantly improved rolling resistance, without adversely affecting the other properties, in particular those of grip, endurance and in particular wear resistance. Other compositions having such a compromise of contradictory properties are also described in applications EP-A-0 810 258 and WO99/02602, with specific aluminous fillers of high dispersibility as reinforcing white fillers.
However, the rubber compositions that contain these specific white fillers, even when they are of the highly dispersible type, remain more difficult to work ("processability") than rubber compositions filled conventionally with carbon black, because for reasons of mutual attraction, these white filler particles have an irritating tendency to agglomerate together within the elastomeric matrix. These interactions tend to increase the consistency of the compositions in the uncured state and therefore to make them more difficult to work than in the presence of carbon black; they also have the consequence of limiting the dispersion of the filler and hence the reinforcing properties to a substantially lower level than that which it would be theoretically possible to achieve if all the (white filler/elastomer) bonds that could be created during the thermomechanical kneading operations were in fact obtained.
Furthermore, these inorganic fillers of the siliceous or aluminous type also have the known drawback of significantly disrupting the vulcanization kinetics of the elastomeric compositions, compared with conventional compositions filled with carbon black. In particular, in the case of silicas, it is known that the resulting longer curing times may adversely affect the industrial processing of the elastomeric compositions, like that of the rubber articles containing them.

Rubber composition based on diene elastomer and a reinforcing silicon nitride

Abstract: The rubber composition may be used for the manufacture of rubber articles, in particular of tires or semi-finished products made of rubber intended for tires, in particular of treads.


A wire holder includes a synthetic resin component that includes a clamp portion for holding at least one wire and a metal component that includes at least one lead portion mounted on a circuit board. The synthetic resin component includes a groove-shaped fitting groove portion. The metal component includes at least one fitting portion that fits the fitting groove portion and is connected to the lead portion. The fitting groove portion includes at least one first opening portion which allows the at least one lead portion to project in a predetermined direction when the at least one fitting portion fits the fitting groove portion. At least one of end portions in an extension direction of a groove of the fitting groove portion is opened as a second opening portion which allows one of the at least one lead portion to project along the extension direction of the groove of the fitting groove portion.

This invention belongs to a technical field of a wire holder which is mounted on a circuit board and holds a wire.
In an electronic device, a number of wires (here, wires include cable-shaped wires) are arranged, which are often arranged on a circuit board. A wire holder is used in order to determine a route of the wires arranged on the circuit board. For example, there is a taping wire clip described in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-247357.
In the taping wire clip disclosed in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-247357, a synthetic resin component having a wire clip portion for holding wires is connected to a metal component having a lead portion to be inserted into holes provided on a circuit board. Upper ends of two legs of the lead portion are connected to form a fitting portion. A fitting recess portion which fits the fitting portion of the lead portion is provided in a base portion of a wire clip portion. The synthetic resin component and the metal component are connected by pushing the fitting portion into the fitting recess portion along a longitudinal direction of the lead portion so that the fitting portion fits the fitting recess portion.


A communication system provides a clear channel link for transport of encrypted payload across a network of the communication system. When a source access network receives, via an air interface, a frame that is formatted pursuant to an air interface protocol and that comprises encrypted payload, the source access network demultiplexes the frame to separate the encrypted payload and assembles an Intersystem Link Protocol (ISLP) frame that comprises the encrypted payload. The source access network adds a link layer header to the ISLP frame that identifies one or more of frame type information and a sequence value associated with the frame and conveys the ISLP frame and added header across the network, for example, to a destination access network. Based on the added header, the source and destination access networks are able to perform clear channel synchronization.

Wireless communication systems are inherently insecure communication systems due to the fact that anyone may intercept a wireless signal. As a result, encryption techniques have been developed that prevent unauthorized users from intercepting and correctly decoding private conversations. However, typically encryption is agreed upon at the setting up of a call and merely involves an encryption of the over-the-air portions of the communication. When encrypted voice is received from a source mobile station by a wireless infrastructure, the encrypted voice is decrypted by an access network serving the source mobile station and conveyed over the infrastructure in an unencrypted format. The unencrypted voice is then again encrypted by a destination access network before being conveyed over-the-air to a destination mobile station.
For highly secure communications where two end terminals, such as two mobile stations or a mobile station and a landline telephone, may use a publicly-owned wireless infrastructure (as opposed to a privately-owned enterprise system) to engage in a non-public, high security call, conveyance of the call over the infrastructure in an unencrypted format may be unacceptable. In such communications, it may be desirable to have end-to-end encryption, where only the end terminals are able to decrypt the communications. In order to provide such end-to-end encryption, the encryption scheme used, and even the data format employed, should be transparent to the publicly-owned infrastructure. Further, situations may arise where it may be desirable for a conversation that is engaged in via a publicly-owned infrastructure and that begins in a non-encrypted mode to switchover to a secure, encrypted mode.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus for providing an end-to-end clear transport of encrypted payload, wherein the transporting of an encrypted payload over an intervening infrastructure is independent of the encryption format employed and the data format being used by the end terminals and that further provides the users of the mobile stations with an option to convert a non-encrypted call to an encrypted call during the course of the call.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common and well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.

Method and apparatus for end-to-end clear transport protocol


A wiring harness for connection to a body, the wiring harness includes at least one conductor and a protective covering having an inner portion for insulating the at least one conductor and an outer portion arranged over a region of the inner portion, wherein at least a section of the outer portion is adapted to be fused to said body.

Wiring harnesses are utilized to bundle control wires associated with vehicle systems. The wiring harness is generally secured to the inboard side of interior trim panels by adhesive tapes, hot melt glue, or clips. With conventional methods, only portions of the wiring harness are secured to the interior trim panel and at select locations. Securing the wiring harnesses by these methods may not always provide a sufficient connection because, over time, adhesive tape may lose its adhesive properties, glue may deteriorate, or clips may come loose from interior trim panels. In some instances, an unsecured wiring harness may cause audible noise problems in the interior of the vehicle. In other instances, a wiring harness may be so misplaced that it no longer functions to provide electrical connections.

Trim panel with wiring harness and method of making the same


Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, system and computer program product for dynamic selection of a runtime classloader for a generated class file. In an embodiment of the invention, a method for dynamic selection of a runtime classloader for a generated class file is provided. The method includes extracting meta-data from a program object directed for execution in an application server and determining from the meta-data a container identity for a container in which the program object had been compiled. The method also includes selecting a container according to the meta-data. Finally, the method includes classloading the program object in the selected container.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to classloading in a virtual machine and more particularly to runtime classloader determination for class objects executing in a virtual machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
The class loader mechanism forms part of the foundation of the modern, virtual machine. In particular, classloaders provide the translation technology that can convert serialized byte code into named classes for execution in the virtual machine. Notably, classloaders can perform this conversion regardless of the storage means and location of the byte code. As a result, the virtual machine need not know the operational specifics associated with the file systems storing the byte code. In conventional runtime environments like the Java® runtime environment (Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems of Palo Alto, Calif., United States), classes can be introduced when they are referenced by name in a class that already is executing within the runtime environment. While the entry point class of an application can require some individual processing exclusive of the classloading mechanism, subsequent attempts at loading other classes are performed exclusively by the class loader.
In the Java runtime environment, the virtual machine can include one class loader embedded within the virtual machine. Referred to as the "primordial" class loader, this embedded class loader automatically resolves references to class names by reference to a specified repository of trusted classes which can be run by the virtual machine without verification. Earlier class loading technology permitted developers to load classes from a variety of disparate locations, including file systems, remote hosts, and the like. Yet, this type of flexibility carried the price of complexity. More recent class loading technology reduces this complexity using a parent/child delegation model in which each customized class loader delegates class loading to its parent class loader that either can be another customized class loader or the primordial class loader.
Application servers permit application isolation through extensive use of customized class loading. In particular, in the virtual machine environment, each class can be defined by a class name and the classloader that loaded the class. Hence, a class can be loaded only once by a given class. Still, the same class can be loaded multiple times using separate classloaders within the same virtual machine. As a result, applications can be isolated in the virtual machine. Moreover, different versions of the same class can be utilized in different applications simultaneously. Of note, distributed technologies such as Open Services Gateway Initiative (OSGi) framework depend upon the isolation of applications afforded by customized class loading.
Recent advancements in component based application development including that prevalent in the OSGi framework permit the use of scripting languages not native to the virtual machine in source code that is native to the virtual machine. Examples include Java Server Page (JSP) technology, "facelets" and the like. Upon deployment, the non-native scripts can be translated into native source code by a corresponding container, such as a JSP container. Thereafter, the translated source code can be compiled and executed in the application server environment. During the translation phase, however, the classloader implicated for the translated source code will be associated with the container and not necessarily the application server environment in which the translated source code once compiled is deployed. Thus, an inconsistency in classloader specification can arise.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Dynamic determination of application server runtime classloading

International Business Machines Corporation


A vehicle door includes a window frame and a lower surface portion formed jointly with the window frame in one piece from a hot formed and press hardened sheet metal plate which is made of a steel alloy which includes, in weight-%: Carbon 0.33-0.38, Silicon 0.2-0.7, Manganese 0.7-1.2, Phosphorus max. 0.03, Sulfur max. 0.02, Boron 0.002-0.005, Chromium 0.6-1.0, Copper max. 0.12, Nitrogen max. 0.005, Titanium 0.015-0.025, Nickel 1.5-2.0, Molybdenum 0.2-0.6, Tin max. 0.04, and as optional components Aluminum 0.006-0.08, Niobium 0.02-0.05, with a balance being iron and incidental impurities. At least the lower surface portion has a Brinell hardness of 500 to 600 HB and a yield strength of 1,200 to 1,450 MPa, wherein the lower surface portion and/or the window frame has a wall thickness of at least 6 mm.

The invention relates to a vehicle door.
The following discussion of related art is provided to assist the reader in understanding the advantages of the invention, and is not to be construed as an admission that this related art is prior art to this invention.
Armor steels for ballistic protection typically have a hardness of 600 HB at tensile strengths of around 2,000 MPa. A challenge when using armor steel is to create complex shapes in order to enable a cost-effective production of a component of complex shape, such as, e.g. a vehicle door. Low-alloy special steels, which are on the market as hardened flat plates, cannot be used for the production of components of complex shape due to their high hardness and the resulting low malleability. Armor steels with a hardness in the range of 550 HB are designed for hardening in a water quenching unit and are therefore unsuitable for hardening in a hot forming process. Welded components can have weak points due to the influence of heat during welding.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved vehicle door of armor steel to obviate prior art shortcomings.


The invention comprises retaining apparatus for transseptal catheterization and a procedure for the use of same. The retaining apparatus is a selectively deployable retaining means disposed at or proximal to the tip of a transseptal catheter or sheath which is placed across a septum, such as the interatrial septum, into the left atrium. The retaining means is configured to cooperate with the distal portion of the sheath to present a uniform cylindrical circumferential periphery when the retaining means is undeployed and to present a shape generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of the sheath when deployed. In a preferred embodiment, the retaining means is a retaining balloon which, upon inflation, presents a relatively flat, disk-like shape to comprise a physical barrier preventing inadvertent retraction of the distal tip of the sheath from the left atrium during subsequent portions of the catheterization procedure. The transseptal catheterization procedure includes the steps of placing the distal tip of the transseptal sheath across a septum, deploying the retaining means for retaining the distal tip within the left atrium, completing the transseptal portion of the catheterization procedure, retracting the selectively deployable retaining means, withdrawing the distal tip from the septum and completing the procedure.

Catheterization of the human heart, as for angioplasty and other cardiac procedures, continues to be used with ever-increasing frequency. Typically, the approach to the right atrium and right ventricle of the heart is accomplished by access through one of the femoral veins, and most commonly the right femoral vein. Presently, access to the left ventricle is typically accomplished by retrograde aortic approach.
The most difficult chamber of the heart to access with a catheter is the left atrium. Access to the left atrium through the pulmonary artery is not possible. Approaches from the left ventricle are difficult, may cause arrhythmias and may present difficulty in obtaining stable catheter positioning. Accordingly, the presently preferred method of accessing the left atrium is through a transseptal approach, that is, catheterization of the right atrium with subsequent penetration of the interatrial septum.
There are some risks attendant to transseptal catheterization, which are risks in addition to those associated with normal heart catheterization. The primary additional risk is that associated with inaccurate identification and localization of the atrial septum. Of course, unknowing, improper placement of the catheter tip prior to the transseptal puncture presents the risk of puncture of tissue other than the interatrial septum. For this reason, catheterization is accompanied by fluoroscopy or other visualizing techniques to assist in properly locating the catheter tip in relation to the septum, in a manner described in detail below.
Generally, the objectives of left atrial access are both diagnostic and therapeutic. One diagnostic use is pressure measurement in the left atrium. In the setting of an obstructed mitral valve (mitral stenosis), left atrial access allows a determination of the pressure difference between the left atrium and left ventricle. Left atrial access also allows entry into the left ventricle through the mitral valve. This is desirable when an artificial aortic valve is in place. The recent advent of aortic valve replacement with mechanical artificial valves, and the increase in the aged population and growing longevity of that population subsequent to aortic valve replacement, brings a greater need to evaluate the late stage functionality of such artificial valves.
Diagnostic measurement of the left ventricular pressures are, therefore, desirable to allow evaluation of mechanical artificial aortic valves post-replacement. It is unsafe to cross these mechanical artificial valves retrograde from the aorta; therefore, access to the left ventricle by the antegrade route using a transseptal puncture is the preferred approach. Once a catheter has been placed in the left atrium using the transseptal approach, access to the left ventricle can be gained by advancing catheters across the mitral valve.
It may be noted that where the mitral or aortic valves have been replaced with a mechanical artificial prothesis, retrograde access to the left atrium is generally viewed to be associated with unacceptably high risk. Of course, there are many diagnostic indications for left atrial pressure measurements in addition to evaluation of functionality of artificial mitral valves. Other diagnostic indications for accessing the left ventricle via the antegrade transseptal approach include aortic stenosis, when a cardiologist is unable to pass a catheter retrograde into the left ventricle, and some disease states where the antegrade approach is considered preferable, such as subaortic obstruction.
Presently, the therapeutic objectives of left atrial access are primarily two-fold. The first is mitral valvuloplasty which represents an alternative to surgical procedures to relieve obstruction of the mitral valve. The second therapeutic objective is for electrophysiological intervention in the left atrium. This procedure, radiofrequency ablation, is relatively new. The usage of this technique is in a growth trend.
Radiofrequency ablation involves the placement of a radiofrequency generating device through a catheter, into various locations of the heart to eradicate inappropriate electrical pathways affecting the heart function. When these locations are in the left atrium, the catheter through which the radiofrequency generator is placed typically is itself placed with transseptal catheterization.
For all of these objectives of left atrial access a sheath is typically introduced into the left atrium through which appropriate catheters are placed. Especially for radiofrequency ablation of the left atrium, considerable manipulation of the tip of the catheter across the atrial septum is typically required. The risk associated with the manipulation of the catheter tip in the left atrium is inadvertent retraction of the sheath through the septum and back into the right atrium. Typically, because of the risk to the patient engendered by transseptal puncture and because of the common use of an anticoagulant to reduce the possibility of embolism after catheter access into the left atrium, it is desirable that only one transseptal puncture be attempted during the procedure. Only infrequently will the surgeon attempt a second transseptal approach during a single procedure.
Moreover, where retraction of the sheath tip back through the atrial septum is undetected, further manipulation under the mistaken belief of positioning in the left atrium presents other risks to nearby tissue. Especially for radiofrequency ablation of areas of the left atrium relatively near the atrial septum, the risk of inadvertent retraction of the sheath into the right atrium is heightened.
Following previously known procedures, the problem of inadvertent withdrawal of the catheter tip from the left atrium, through the atrial septum, and back into the right atrium remains a risk.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a retaining means for retaining the distal tip of a sheath which has been placed through a septum, such as the interatrial septum, across the septum, in the left atrium during left heart procedures.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide retaining means for transseptal catheterization which is selectively deployable and retractable.
It is yet a further objective of the present invention to provide a method of transseptal catheterization, with subsequent manipulation of instruments in the left atrium, which assures proper positioning of the distal tip of the sheath through which those instruments are passed, within the left atrium, while avoiding inadvertent withdrawal of the sheath tip back through the septum.

Retaining apparatus and procedure for transseptal catheterization


A memory device testing apparatus for testing a memory device (62) has a failure analysis memory unit (80) which includes: a data storing memory (12), in which fail data (26) output from a comparator (70) is written to an address corresponding to an address of a failure spot in the memory device (62), and a compact memory (14) in which failure information, which indicates that there is a failure spot in the memory device (62), is written based on the fail data (26) that was previously written to the data storing memory (12).

This patent application claims priority based on a Japanese patent application, H10-368154 filed on Dec. 24, 1998, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory device testing apparatus for testing a memory device. In particular, the present invention relates to a memory device testing apparatus comprising a failure analysis memory unit that can change the dividing method of an address space of a data storing memory.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a conventional memory 10 in a failure analysis memory unit for storing fail data output from a comparator. This memory 10 has a data storing memory 12, a compact memory 14, a compact memory address generator 16, and a bus controller 18. The data storing memory 12 has at least two memories and has the same word number and bit size as the entire memory under test. The compact memory 14 has an extremely small capacity compared to the data storing memory 12. The data storing memory 12 is divided into a plurality of partial address spaces for future failure analysis of the memory under test. The compact memory 14 has a plurality of addresses, each corresponding to a plurality of the partial address spaces of the data storing memory 12.
In the memory device testing apparatus, fail data, which is output from the comparator, and an address signal, which indicates the address for storing the fail data, are input to the memory 10. A lower address signal 20 constituted by a lower bit of the address signal is input to the address pin (AD) and the compact memory address generator 16. Furthermore, an upper address signal 22 constituted by an upper bit of the address signal is input to the chip select pin (CS) of the data storing memory 12 and the compact memory address generator 16. Using the upper address signal 22, one of a plurality of memories, which constitutes the data storing memory 12, is selected. The compact memory address generator 16 generates an address which accesses the compact memory 14 based on the lower address signal 20 and the upper address signal 22. This address corresponds to the partial address space of the data storing memory 12.
A write control signal 24 is input to the write enable pin (WE) of the data storing memory 12 and the compact memory 14. The bus controller 18 outputs the fail data signal 26 to the data storing memory 12 and the data input pin (DI) of the compact memory 14. In the conventional memory 10, by inputting the above signals to the data storing memory 12 and the compact memory 14, the fail data is input to the data storing memory 12, and the failure information is written into the compact memory 14. The failure information indicates that there is a failure spot in the partial address space.
Recently, high-capacity, highly integrated memory devices have been developed. The memory to be tested by the memory device testing apparatus may often be a newly developed bulk memory. If the memory device as a whole is determined a failure when there is even just one failed cell inside the high-capacity, highly integrated memory device, the yield factor is very low. Therefore, there is a method of replacing the failed cell with a spare memory cell by providing the memory device with spare cells beforehand. According to this method, by replacing the failed cell with a spare cell during the manufacturing process of the memory device, a memory device that is not considered a complete failure can be manufactured.
As one of the means of replacement of the failed cell using the above method, a memory failure relief analyzer is provided on the memory device testing apparatus. This memory failure relief analyzer retrieves the address of the failed cell in the memory device and finds a solution such designation of the spare cell to be used for replacing the retrieved failed cell. The memory failure relief analyzer receives the fail data from the data storing memory 12 based on the failure data stored in the compact memory 14 of the failure analysis memory unit. If the failure information is stored in the address of the compact memory 14, the memory failure relief analyzer receives the data in the corresponding partial address space of the data storing memory 12. Contrary to this, if the failure information is not stored in the address of the compact memory 14, the memory failure relief analyzer does not receive the data in the corresponding partial address space of the data storing memory 12.
The failure analysis memory unit and the memory failure relief analyzer can exist as different units and can be connected to each other by a cable. By using the information stored in the compact memory 14, unnecessary data is not transferred. This reduces the data transfer time due to the cable provided between the failure analysis memory unit and the memory failure relief analyzer.
According to the configuration of the conventional memory 10 shown in FIG. 1, the fail data can be written into the compact memory 14 only when the memory under test is actually being tested. Therefore, when changing the dividing method of the address space of the data storing memory 12 and writing the failure data for every partial address space in the compact memory 14, the memory under test has to be tested repeatedly with each change in the settings of the compact memory address generator 16. Generally, the checks on writing/reading for each memory cell and the checks for interference with other nearby memory cells are carried out during the testing of the memory itself. Therefore, if the number of addresses in the memory under test is N, the time for testing the memory under test is proportional to approximately the square of N.
Depending on the dividing method of the address space of the data storing memory 12, the failure information will be stored in many or all of the addresses in the compact memory 14. In this situation, all the memory data stored in the data storing memory 12 is transferred to the memory failure relief analyzer. Therefore, the data transfer time from the failure analysis memory unit to the memory failure relief analyzer cannot be reduced. It is therefore less useful to provide the compact memory 14 in the memory 10.
Furthermore, according to the configuration of the conventional memory 10, the memory under test has to be tested again to change the dividing method of the address space of the data storing memory 12, and to write the failure information of every new partial address space into the compact memory 14. Because this re-testing takes so much time, it is not the preferred method for changing the dividing method of address space and re-generating the data of the compact memory 14.
Therefore, it is desired to provide a failure analysis memory unit which can change the dividing method of the address space of the data storing memory 12 without re-testing of the memory device testing apparatus. Furthermore, for a purpose other than the memory failure relief, by making the dividing method of the address space changeable, the memory device testing apparatus can be highly versatile with wider applications.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a memory device testing apparatus having a failure analysis memory unit which overcomes the above issues in the related art. This object is achieved by combinations described in the independent claims. The dependent claims define further advantageous and exemplary combinations of the present invention.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a memory device testing apparatus for testing a memory device can be provided. The memory device testing apparatus comprises: a pattern generator which generates an address signal that indicates an address of the memory device, an input pattern signal to be input to the memory device, and an expectation value pattern signal to be read out from the memory device based on the input pattern signal; a signal input/output unit which provides the input pattern signal to the address indicated by the address signal of the memory device and outputs an output pattern signal from the address of the memory device; a comparator which compares the output pattern signal output from the memory device with the expectation value pattern signal output from the pattern generator and outputs fail data which indicates the existence of a failure when there is a failure spot in the memory device; and a failure analysis memory unit which has: a data storing memory, in which the fail data output from the comparator is written into an address corresponding to the address of the failure spot in the memory device, and a compact memory in which the failure information, which indicates that there is the failure spot in the memory device, is written based on the fail data that was already written into the data storing memory.
The memory device testing apparatus can be provided such that the failure analysis memory unit may have a compact memory address generator which sets a dividing method for dividing the data storing memory into at least two divided address spaces. The compact memory address generator may generate addresses of the compact memory corresponding to each of the divided address spaces. The failure analysis memory unit may have a data line for inputting the fail data, which is written into the data storing memory, to the address of the compact memory generated by the compact memory address generator.
The memory device testing apparatus can be provided such that the failure analysis memory unit may have a bus controller which outputs a read control signal to the data storing memory and outputs a write control signal to the compact memory. The failure analysis memory unit may have a multiplexer which outputs to the compact memory either the fail data already written into the data storing memory or the fail data to be written to the data storing memory. The failure analysis memory unit may have a data processor which receives memory data output from the data storing memory. The data process or provides the fail data to the compact memory when the data processor detects that the received memory data is fail data.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, a memory device testing method which tests a memory device using data storing memory that stores data can be provided. The memory testing method comprises steps of generating an address signal which indicates an address of the memory device and an input pattern signal to be input to the memory device; providing the input pattern signal to the address indicated by the address signal of the memory device; outputting fail data, which indicates the existence of a failure, if there is a failure spot in the memory device when comparing the output pattern signal output from the address of the memory device based on the input pattern signal, with an expectation value pattern signal to be read out from the memory device based on the input pattern signal; writing the output fail data into an address of the data storing memory which corresponds to the address having the failure spot in the memory device; and writing failure information, which indicates that there is a failure spot in the memory device, into a compact memory having a smaller capacity than the data storing memory based on the fail data that was previously written to the data storing memory.
This summary of the invention does not necessarily describe all necessary features so that the invention may also be a sub-combination of these described features.


An SQTV processor is for converting a video signal received at an interlaced scanning frequency of 50 or 60 Hz to an interlaced scanning frequency of 100 or 120 Hz, respectively, and implementing algorithms for noise filtering and of edge definition. The process includes: an analog-digital converter (ADC) of analog input signals of luminance and chrominance; at least a field memory (FIELD MEMORY.sub.-- 1), or more preferably two similar field memories, where digital blocks of luminance (Y) value and blocks of values of each one of the two chrominance (U, V) components of the converted video signals are stored; one "First-In-First-Out" (LINE MEMORY) register for digital values read from the field memory containing the pixels of a whole line of each field; a noise filtering block (NOISE REDUCTION); a sampling frequency converter (SRC) of the fields from 50 or 60 Hz to 100 or 120 Hz; a conversion circuit for the vertical format (VFC), an edge definition (PE) enhancement circuit; and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) of the processed luminance and chrominance (YUV) signals. The processor further includes a compressing and coding circuit for the converted video signals according to an adaptive differential pulse code modulation (ADPCM) scheme of the digital values to be stored in the field memory (FIELD MEMORY.sub.-- 1) and an ADPCM decoding and decompressing circuit for data read from the field memory (FIELD MEMORY.sub.-- 1). The significative reduction of the total memory requisite produced by the ADPCM pre-compression makes the entire system more readily integratable on a single chip.

These IQTV and SQTV integrated systems are ever more largely employed in video receivers to improve image quality without requiring changes in the relevant transmission standards (PAL, NTSC, SECAM). In practice, luminance (Y) and chrominance-U and chrominance-V (UV) analog components of the video signal are digitized through relevant analog-to-digital converters. The digital data obtained, concerning the two fields into which the video signal is generally divided, are stored in a dedicated memory. This allows, first, a conversion from 50 or 60 Hz to 100 or 120 Hz of the interlaced scanning frequency (in practice the so-called "refresh-rate") so to make flickering imperceptible.
Moreover, digital values relevant to each pixel of each line forming each field so stored in the memory, enable implementation of appropriate algorithms for reducing gaussian and spike or pulse noise. Through memory duplication, it is also possible to implement a compensation (elimination) loop of blurring of objects moving fast on a background, employing an algorithm that contemplates the calculation of average values among the values of pixels relating to successive pictures so to eliminate non-correlated contents of the video signal and correction algorithms based on motion detection.
In general, the field memory or memories are DRAM devices which according to the present limits of manufacturing technologies, are external to the integrated device containing the processing circuits (generally called SQTV.sub.-- IC or IQTV.sub.-- IC). A common video receiver includes a tuning section, that selects the channel and the relevant frequency band of the signal transmitted via cable, satellite, or from ground-based stations. The tuner converts the received signal to an intermediate video frequency (for example 38.9 Mhz according to the Italian standard) containing luminance and chrominance data multiplexed in frequency. A demodulation block processes the signal converted at intermediate frequency, producing a base band composite video signal, which is selected by a selector of the input signal source and feeds the standard decoder (PAL, NTSC, SECAM) carrying out the separation of luminance and chrominance components.
Analog signals relevant to luminance (Y) and chrominance (UV) are thus converted through appropriate analog-to-digital converters so to produce a luminance (Y) digital data stream and a chrominance (UV) digital data stream which are fed to the IQTV.sub.-- IC (or SQTV-IC) device). Each FIELD MEMORY may store a picture field in the 4:2:2 format or in the 4:1:1 format, thus occupying the following memory space
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720 .times. 288 .times. 8 for luma (luminance) (Y) 1,658,880 bits =3,317,760 bits 350 .times. 288 .times. 8 for U chroma (chrominance 829,440 bits 360 .times. 288 .times. 8 for U chroma (chrominance 829,440 bits NTSC 720 .times. 240 .times. 8 for luma (luminance) (Y) 1,382,400 bits =2,764,800 bits 360 .times. 240 .times. 8 for U chroma (chrominance 691,200 bits 360 .times. 240 .times. 8 for chroma (chrominance V) 691,200 bits __________________________________________________________________________
In the case of a PAL transmission system which, being the more critical standard, can be taken as reference example, the total requisite, when employing two field memories becomes 3,317,760*2=6,635,520 bits. There is the need or usefulness to reduce this memory requisite of a SQTV.sub.-- IC (or IQTV.sub.-- IC) without causing a perceivable visual deterioration of images. A reduction in the memory requisite may save costs and/or create more suitable premises for the integration of the field memory in the same IQTV.sub.-- IC (or SQTV.sub.-- IC) chip, through advancements of manufacturing processes.

Memory requirement reduction in a SQTV processor by ADPCM compression


An imaging apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus includes: a solid-state imaging device provided with a plurality of arranged light-sensitive devices each having sensitivity to light in a range from a visible region to an infrared region; a first filter for transmitting light in the visible region to a first part light-sensitive device out of the plurality of light-sensitive devices; a second filter for transmitting light in the infrared region to a second part light-sensitive device out of the plurality of light-sensitive devices; and a signal processing section for changing a ratio between an electrical signal converted by the first part light-sensitive device and an electrical signal converted by the second part light-sensitive device used as an electrical signal used for deciding exposure in accordance with intensity of the electrical signal converted by the first part light-sensitive device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus having a solid-state imaging device such as a charge coupled device (CCD) and a method of controlling an imaging apparatus.
2. Related Art
In general, imaging apparatuses such as digital video cameras are equipped with solid-state imaging devices such as CCD or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) as imaging devices. Such solid-state imaging devices convert imaging light from the subjects into analog electrical signals by each of the pixels. Further, the imaging apparatuses convert the analog electrical signals into digital signals, and store the data of the converted digital signals in storage devices or display the data of the converted digital signals on display devices as images.
FIG. 7 shows an example of a part of the configuration of an imaging apparatus 11. The imaging apparatus 11 shown in FIG. 7 is provided with an optical system 21 composed of lenses and the like, a solid-state imaging device 31, an analog signal processing section 51, an A/D converter 61, an image processing section 71, and a controller 81. It should be noted that the analog signal processing section 51, the A/D converter 61, the image processing section 71, and the controller 81 form a signal processing section 41.
The optical system 21 focuses the incident light from the subject into an image on the solid-state imaging device 31. The analog signal processing section 51 retrieves image data from the analog electrical signal converted by the solid-state imaging device 31. Further, the A/D converter 61 connected to the analog signal processing section 51 converts the analog electrical signal into digital image data.
The image processing section 71 connected to the A/D converter 61 performs various image processes such as gray-scale conversion, white balance correction, and γ-correction process, and an image process such as YC (luminance-chrominance) conversion process on the digital image data. As described above, the controller 81 performs control of the analog signal processing section 51, the A/D converter 61, and the image processing section 71 forming the signal processing section 41.
The digital image data thus processed with the image processes can separately be stored in a storage device not shown or displayed on a monitor as a display device.
Incidentally, the solid-state imaging device 31 of the imaging apparatus 11 shown in FIG. 7 is composed of CCD. In the CCD, a color filter is provided to each of the pixels so as to achieve imaging of color images. Further, in order for improvement of color reproducibility and enhancement of sensitivity, each of the pixels is provided with an infrared filter for transmitting an infrared component.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2B, a filter 3a is provided on the front surface of the solid-state imaging device 31 (3) connected to the signal processing section 41. As shown in FIG. 2A, the filter 3a is composed of totally four kinds of filters including three kinds of color filters R, B, and G for respectively transmitting red light, blue light, and green light in the visible region, and an infrared filter IR for transmitting light in the infrared region.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the filters R, B, G, and IR are arranged in a mosaic manner in the filter 3a to form a single filter with four kinds of filters. This single filter is provided for each of the pixels. In other words, four light-sensitive devices for respectively receiving the four kinds of wavelengths of light beams, namely red, blue, green, and infrared, form a unit of a single pixel. Further, the four light-sensitive devices are provided with respective one of the color filters R, B, and G, and the infrared filter IR.
As related art documents, for example, JP-A-2001-69519, JP-A-2005-6066, and JP-A-11-289491 can be cited.

Imaging apparatus and method of controlling imaging apparatus for determining exposure based on intenisty signals from color filter pixels or infrared pixels


Disclosed herein is a door opening apparatus capable of preventing degradation of appearance quality of a door because an additional switch is not provided, and a refrigerator including the same. The refrigerator may include a main body including a storage compartment, a door provided to open or close the storage compartment, and a door opening apparatus provided to detect a moving amount of the door and open the door when the door is pushed.

Generally, doors are installed on home appliances such as refrigerators and furniture.
Gaskets configured to seal between a main body and a door of a refrigerator when the door is closed are provided between the door and the main body. The gaskets may prevent cooling air in a storage compartment from escaping to the outside by being in contact with both sides of the main body and the door.
A user opens and closes a door of a storage compartment to put food in or withdraw food from the storage compartment. When the door is opened and closed, external air is introduced into the storage compartment, the introduced external air is cooled as time passes, a specific volume thereof decreases, and thus an internal pressure of the storage compartment is lower than a pressure of an outside of the storage compartment. Accordingly, when the user opens the door, the user has to open the door with a force capable of overcoming such a pressure difference, and occasionally, the user has to apply a very big force to the door to open the door. Particularly, in a case in which a refrigerator has a heavy door and a large-capacity storage compartment, a more strong force is needed to open the door, and thus a way to easily open the door is needed.
In addition, in a case in which an additional switch has to be provided even when a door opening apparatus is provided, design sensibility quality of a door may be degraded or a material cost of the door may be increased due to the switch.


Systems and methods for generating a pseudo data field in a CRM system to allow end users to generate and manage pseudo data fields for account objects in the CRM system, which may behave like actual data fields of account objects in the CRM system but live outside the CRM account. The present invention uses a data model that includes two objects to allow end users to generate and manage the pseudo data fields. One of the objects is pseudo data field configuration object, which may be used to configure the pseudo data fields that should be made available to end users. The other object is pseudo data field object which may be used to record user responses or values users use to populate the pseudo data field.

The subject technology relates generally to customer relationship management ("CRM"), and more particularly to generating and managing pseudo data fields in a customer relationship management system.
In the pharmaceutical sales industry, sales representatives visit, call or send emails to doctors to communicate product information. Their company employers (e.g., pharmaceutical companies) often use a CRM system to manage the doctors' professional information. In a conventional CRM system, end users, including business users and field users, are not authorized to create new data fields on account objects in the CRM system. If an end user needs to use a new data field, he/she has to submit a request to IT professionals, and wait for the IT professionals to create the new data field on CRM account objects. Sometimes this may take weeks, since the company employers may have many considerations for creating new data fields on CRM account objects, including custom field limit per object in the CRM system, and the duration of the field as some fields may only be needed for a short period of time.

System and method for generating and managing pseudo data fields in CRM


A resonant DC link converter which is specifically adapted for driving a switched reluctance motor (SRM) using low power (VA) rated switches, includes an input circuit providing a DC supply voltage, a resonating inductance (connected to the switched input circuit) for generating a resonating DC link current, and an output converter circuit synthesizing a multi-phase AC output signal to power a respective phase winding of the SRM. A controller switches the switch devices of the input circuit and output converter circuits in a predetermined sequence.

The present invention relates to series-resonant power converters and, more particularly, to a series-resonant converter topology and method of commutation for driving a switched reluctance motor (SRM).
The switched reluctance motor (SRM) has become an attractive alternative to conventional AC and DC motors in many industrial applications. This trend is a result of several distinct advantages in SRMs. For instance, the SRM is simple in design and lends itself to low cost construction. In operation, the SRM demonstrates an absence of shoot-through faults and has a high torque/inertia ratio.
Notwithstanding the above-described advantages of SRMs, the cost and performance of an SRM system is highly dependent on the selected power converter topology and commutation method used in powering the motor. The power converter for an SRM drive should be designed with the following objectives:
1. accurate yet high-speed switched power control for good drive performance, high efficiency and reliability; PA1 2. lower power (VA) rating for lower cost components; and PA1 3. minimum number of switches.
Soft-switching (a.k.a. resonant) power converters excel in each category, and they are fast becoming the favored alternative for static power conversion. The active devices in soft-switching converters are switched at zero-voltage or zero-current intervals. This way, they incur far lower switching losses than their hard-switched counterparts.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,242 to Divan discloses a parallel resonant link converter in which the active switching devices are switched at times of zero-voltage intervals. Since the switching losses are comparatively small, commutation may occur at higher frequencies. However, the link current is bi-directional. Consequently, costly bi-polar self-commutated switching devices are required.
Series-resonant current source converters were developed in answer to the problem. With series-resonant converters, the switching of the active devices occurs at times of zero-current intervals rather than zero-voltage. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,511 to Lipo et al disclose a series resonant DC link converter. The natural turn-off ability of the switching devices is used for commutation. Hence, the converter can be implemented using less expensive uni-directional self-commutated switching devices such as thyristors.
It would be greatly advantageous if the series-resonant DC static power conversion circuits could be adapted for driving an SRM.

Series resonant converter for switched reluctance motor drive


Described herein are methods for suppressing an immune response in a subject, e.g., a subject with an autoimmune disease, by administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of recombinant CD5L, CD5L homodimers and/or CD5L:p40 heterodimers, or nucleic acids encoding any of these. Also described are methods for enhancing an immune response in a subject, e.g., a subject with cancer, infection, or an immune deficiency, by administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of an antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof that binds specifically to CD5L, D5L homodimers and/or CD5L:p40 heterodimers, and inhibits their binding to the IL-23 receptor, or inhibits formation of the CD5L homodimer and/or CD5L:p40 heterodimer, or inhibitory nucleic acids that target CD5L and/or p40.

The cytokine environment influences immune cell differentiation, function and plasticity. IL-23 has been identified as key player in inflammatory diseases, contributing largely to mucosal inflammation. It was discovered as a susceptibility gene in GWAS and is widely implicated in autoimmune diseases and cancer such as melanoma and colorectal carcinoma (Burkett et al., 2015; Cho and Feldman, 2015; Teng et al., 2015; Wang and Karin, 2015).

Method of treating autoimmune disease with lymphocyte antigen CD5-like (CD5L) protein