A variable attenuation apparatus for use with a radiation-blocking liquid and a radiation source having an attenuation chamber capable of containing a layer of the radiation-blocking liquid and an adjustment device for selectively metering the thickness of the layer of the radiation-blocking liquid, whereby changes in the thickness of the layer alter the radiation transmitted through the attenuation chamber. In one embodiment, an adjustment device includes a reservoir for holding the radiation-blocking liquid and a siphon connection device for allowing the transfer of the radiation-blocking liquid between the reservoir and the attenuation chamber, wherein the thickness of the layer in the attenuation chamber varies in response to changes in elevation of said reservoir, so that an increase in the thickness of the layer causes a drop in the radiation transmitted through the attenuation chamber. A substantially linear increase in the thickness of the layer in the attenuation chamber may yield a substantially exponential drop in the radiation dose rate transmitted through the attenuation chamber. A desired dose rate pattern, such as an exponential dose rate pattern, may be delivered by the apparatus. An adjustable irradiator system is presented, and a method for delivering varying temporal radiation dose rates is described.

The present invention relates to irradiation systems, generally and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to methods and means of variably attenuating radiation.
When radionuclides are administered for diagnostic purposes in nuclear medicine, the absorbed doses received by the critical organs and tissues of the target are usually sufficiently low that the biological effects cannot be measured with any reliability. In these instances, reliance solely on calculated absorbed doses may be appropriate and sufficient for risk estimations and comparison of the relative merits of different radiopharmaceuticals. However, when radionuclides are administered for therapeutic purposes, or in cases involving accidental ingestion of high levels of radioactivity, dependence on untested absorbed dose calculations can lead to serious errors in predicting the biological consequence of the radiation exposure. Such concerns are particularly relevant to complex biological systems, such as the bone marrow. For example, computational bone marrow dosimetry techniques used in radioimmunotherapy have failed to yield a reasonable correlation between absorbed dose and biological response of the marrow. The shortcomings and failures of existing techniques may include, among others, the following reasons: the underlying assumptions in the absorbed dose calculations; differences in dose rate patterns; prior treatment history and bone marrow reserve; and nonuniform activity distributions in the marrow compartment. These problems are not unique to bone marrow, but can also exist for other organs and tissue as well. Hence, in view of the limitations inherent in computational dosimetry, a need exists for reliable biological dosimeters to verify the computational methods.
It is well known that the biological effect of a given radiation insult is highly dependent on factors such as total absorbed dose, dose rate, linear energy transfer (LET) of the radiations, and radiosensitivity of the tissue. See: ICRP, RBE for Deterministic Effects, Publication 58, International Commission on Radiological Protection, Pergamon, Oxford (1989); and ICRP, 1990 Recommendations, Publication 60, International Commission on Radiological Protections, Pergamon, Oxford (1991); both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. While the consequences of these variables are well established for acute and constant chronic radiation exposure conditions, little is known about the role of these variables for exposures involving internal radionuclides. Also see: Testa, et al., Biomedicine, 19:183-186 (1973); Wu, et al., Int. J. Radiat. Biol., 27:41-50 (1975); and Thames, et al., Br. J. Cancer, 49, Suppl. VI:263-269 (1984); all of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
Internal radionuclides are unique in that they deliver radiation exposures at dose rates that vary exponentially in time as determined by the effective half-time, which in turn is dictated by the physical half-life of the radionuclide and the biological half-time of the radiochemical. Further complications to the dose rate pattern can emerge when the uptake of the radiochemical by the tissue is slow, followed by a complex multicomponent exponential clearance pattern. Although the total dose delivered to a tissue may be the same, differences in dose rate patterns from one radiochemical to another can have a major impact on the biological response of the tissue. See: Fowler, Int. J Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys., 18:1261-1269 (1990); Langmuir, et al., Med. Phys., 20, Pt. 2:601-610 (1993); Rao, et al., J. Nucl. Med., 34:1801-1810 (1993); and Howell, et al., J. Nucl. Med., 35:1861-1869 (1994); all of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. Such differences cannot always be predicted a priori using computational absorbed dose estimates and extrapolations based on the response to acute and chronic exposure at constant dose rates. Therefore it is imperative to develop experimental irradiators that are capable of precisely delivering exposure that simulate the conditions encountered with internal radionuclides and to establish biological endpoints that can serve as "dosimeters" so that the consequence of different dose rate patterns on the biological effect can be investigated.
Two endpoints which may serve as biological dosimeters are survival of bone marrow granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming cells (GM-CFC) and induction of micronuclei in peripheral blood reticulocytes. See: Testa, Cell Clones: Manual of Mammalian Cell Techniques, Edinburgh: Churchill-Livingstone, 27-43 (1985); and Lenarczyk, et al., Mutation Res., 335:229-234 (1995); both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

Method and means for variably attenuating radiation

University of Medicine & Denistry of New Jersey


A flat rectangular substrate bed (3) having opposed parallel endwalls (14) and parallel sidewalls (16) receives a pair of clamping jaws (4) each having an L-shaped cross-section with a short limb against each sidewall and a long limb extending halfway over the top surface of the substrate bed. The long limbs (6) have arcuate recesses (7) which cooperate to surround the substrates (2) and thereby center and hold them. The two clamping jaws (4) are held by end bars (11) which are tightly joined to the substrate bed (3) by means of pins (10) and (12) received in respective bores (9) in the jaws and (13) in the endwalls.

The invention relates to a device for holding disk-shaped substrates in the vacuum chamber of a coating or etching apparatus, having a planar substrate bed with a preferably rectangular plan, especially for fastening to a rotatable structure. A suitable rotatable structure is disclosed in U.S. patent application No. 160,923 filed concurrently herewith.
In practice it has proven to be problematical to arrange thin substrates of fragile material, such as wafers, on the substrate holder so that they will not slip off when the substrate holder is rotated to a vertical position. Also, it has proven to be difficult to assure sufficient cooling of the substrates when they are so thin that even very slight clamping forces result in a flexing of the substrate, so that the substrates no longer lie with their full surface against, for example, a water-cooled substrate bed.

Device for holding disk-shaped substrates in the vacuum chamber of a coating or etching apparatus


This invention relates to a method for the fabrication of photonic biosensor arrays and applications of arrays produced by the method in the biomedical field. A method for the fabrication of a biosensor array for plasmon resonance-based sensing of a plurality of different biological targets simultaneously, the method comprising: (i) providing a transparent substrate; ii) providing seed metallic nanoparticles in the form of a colloid; (iii) depositing said colloid as discrete metallic islands on the transparent substrate, each of said metallic islands comprising a plurality of metallic nanoparticles; (iv) washing the substrate in order to remove unadhered material; (v) developing the substrate in a growth solution, which solution comprises a salt of the same metal which is present in the form of discrete metallic islands on the substrate, a reducing agent, a capping agent and optionally a surfactant; (vi) washing the developed substrate; and (vii) functionalising each of said metallic islands with a different functionalising molecule using a common chemical process to attach said different functionalising molecules to said metallic islands.

Plasmon absorption in metal nanoparticles is highly dependent on nanoparticle shape, size, and dielectric constant of the surrounding medium. Strong plasmon absorption and sensitivity to local environment have made metal nanoparticles attractive candidates as sensors for a range of analytes including DNA, metal ions, and antibodies.
Much of the work in this area has focussed on the use of suspensions of metals, especially "noble" metals such as gold or silver, gold being particularly suitable in view of its biocompatibility.
For example, in WO 2006/137851 (Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc.) the preparation of a metallic suspension by the direct coating of silica nanoparticles by gold or silver is reported. A method is described of making a metallic suspension, involving the activation of silica particles in a silica colloidal suspension; the nucleation of noble metal atoms to the silica particles in the suspension and the subsequent growth of noble metal particles on the silica particles at the nucleation sites.
WO 2006/099312 (North-Western University) relates to a Method of Producing Gold Nanoprisms and is also concerned with metallic suspensions.
WO 2006/065762 (University of South Carolina) and WO 2006/066180 (Intel Corporation) relate to Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) facilitated by the use of gold nanoparticles, though the materials provided employ continuous metallic surfaces.
A more powerful method of utilising the interesting photonic properties of nanoparticles would be to provide the nanoparticles in the form of a 2D photonic array.
In general a photonic biosensor array, sometimes called a microarray or biochip, comprises a collection of probe spots to which different targets may attach. For example in the case of a DNA microarray the probes are oligonucleotides, cDNA or similar which are hybridised with fluorescence labelled samples, typically of two colours, one for the patient the other for the control. Typically, fluorescence from the hybridised array is then viewed to determine to which spots binding has occurred. There are other types of array such as protein arrays (including antibody arrays) where spots of protein molecules (or antibodies) are used to identify the complementary entity (antibodies or proteins). Thus chemical compound arrays may be employed to search for proteins and other biologically active molecules again by employing functionalising molecules or entities in an array of spots which bind with specific biological targets. In general, however, all these techniques employ fluorescence labelling of the targets to detect binding events on the array.
The arrays provided by the methods of the present invention do not employ fluorescence but instead rely upon plasmon resonance-based sensing. Broadly speaking in this technique total internal reflection of light is used to generate an evanescent wave which excites plasmons (a collective electronic excitation) in a metallic conductor, which are modified by the presence of a target molecule on the surface of the conductor. The modification results in a shift, generally in both wavelength and amplitude, of the plasmon resonance peak detectable in the totally internally reflected light. Plasmon resonance-based sensing has the ability to detect very small changes in the effective refractive index in a medium adjacent the surface of the metallic conductor, for example down to Δn of the order of 10−4 refractive index units (RIU).
It is known to employ label-free surface plasmon resonance (SPR) based technology for studying biomolecular interaction in real time and, in particular, technology for this is available from the Swedish company BIAcore AB; for background technical information see published BIAcore patent applications such as WO 2006/135309, WO 94/00751, U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,278, and WO 97/19375. However BIAcore provide materials employing a continuous metal surface. Some further technical background information relating to plasmon resonance-based sensing in a different context (evanescent wave cavity ringdown spectroscopy) can be found in EvanesCo patent application WO 2005/088277.
There is, however, a need to provide an improved method of preparation of photonic arrays suitable for use in a wide variety of assay techniques, and in particular leading to assay techniques with increased sensitivity.
Embodiments of the techniques we describe provide a step towards solutions of these problems.

Method of fabrication of photonic biosensor arrays


Method and apparatus for luring a member of an animal species to an area in an environment. In one aspect, a pre-recorded sound that simulates an environmental contact sound made by the animal species in the environment is played back to lure the member of the animal species to the area. In another aspect, first and second pre-recorded sounds that simulate first and second sounds made by the animal species in the environment are played back contemporaneously.

This invention relates to methods and apparatus for producing animal sounds to lure animals.
A common technique used in luring an animal is to call the animal by mimicking vocal sounds made by the animal. For example, when hunting deer, the call may mimic a social grunt made by deer, so that deer in the area will come to investigate. Typically, a hunter makes an animal call by distorting the sound of his voice (e.g., using his hands) or by using acoustic devices designed to generate animal calls.
Studies have shown that many animals (e.g., deer) have hearing that is sensitive to subtle differences in sound. Therefore, an inexperienced or unskilled caller may be unable to distort his own voice sufficiently well to fool animals into believing that the sound came from another animal. Thus, animals may not come within firing range, i.e., close enough to allow the hunter to fire an accurate shot or to get a good photograph. Further, when a hunter uses his own voice or an acoustic device to make an animal call, an animal fooled enough to come within a certain proximity of the hunter may then either smell or see the hunter, and leave before the animal is within firing range or before the hunter has time to discharge his weapon or to take a photograph.
Also, when a person distorts his/her voice to make animal calls, over time the person""s vocal cords may tire, such that the vocal sound can no longer be reproduced accurately. Similarly, when using a mechanical acoustic device to generate animal calls, one or more mechanical parts of the device may wear down such that the vocal sound can no longer be produced accurately.
In response to these problems, some hunters have employed electronic animal calling devices. Such devices may include a library of animal calls that are pre-recorded (e.g., in a studio), stored on a storage medium and played back in the field. Thus, the animal calls can be played back consistently, without a concern about tiring the vocal cords of the hunter or the wearing of mechanical parts. While such electronic calling devices provide a number of advantages, applicants have discovered several drawbacks as discussed below.
One illustrative embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method of luring a member of an animal species to an area in an environment. The method comprises an act of playing back a pre-recorded sound that simulates an environmental contact sound made by the animal species in the environment.
Another illustrative embodiment of the invention is directed to an apparatus for luring a member of an animal species to an area in an environment. The apparatus comprises: a recording medium storing a pre-recorded sound that simulates an environmental contact sound made by the animal species in the environment; a controller to play back the pre-recorded sound; and a speaker to reproduce the pre-recorded sound when the pre-recorded sound is played back.
A further illustrative embodiment of the invention is directed to an apparatus for luring a member of an animal species to an area in an environment. The apparatus comprises: means for storing a pre-recorded sound that simulates an environmental contact sound made by the animal species in the environment; means for playing back the pre-recorded sound; and means for reproducing the pre-recorded sound when the pre-recorded sound is played back.
Another illustrative embodiment of the invention is directed to a method for luring a member of an animal species to an area in an environment. The method comprises an act of contemporaneously playing back first and second pre-recorded sounds that were recorded separately, and that respectively simulate first and second sounds made by the animal species in the environment.
A further illustrative embodiment of the invention is directed to an apparatus for luring a member of an animal species to an area in an environment. The apparatus comprises: a recording medium storing first and second pre-recorded sounds that simulate first and second sounds made by the animal species in the environment; a controller to play back the first and second pre-recorded sounds contemporaneously; and a speaker to reproduce the first and second pre-recorded sounds when the first and second pre-recorded sounds are play d back.
Another illustrative embodiment of the invention is directed to an apparatus for luring a member of an animal specie to an area in an environment. The apparatus comprises: means for storing first and second pre-recorded sounds that simulate first and second sounds made by the animal species in the environment; means for playing back the first and second pre-recorded sounds contemporaneously; and means for reproducing the first and second pre-recorded sounds when the first and second pre-recorded sounds are played back.

Methods and apparatus for producing animal sounds to lure animals


A wireless communication method includes receiving, by a standby policy and charging control (PCC) function device, an authentication authorization request (AAR) message from an application function (AF), and obtaining, from a standby subscription profile repository based on an internet protocol (IP) address carried in the AAR message, the IP-connectivity access network (CAN) session information corresponding to the AAR message.

A policy and charging control (PCC) architecture maps a quality of service (QoS) requirement of an application-level session service data flow to a QoS requirement of a transmission network bearer-level service in an internet protocol (IP)-connectivity access network (CAN) to ensure data transmission, and may further implement a charging function at a service data flow level based on a charging policy of an operator.
When user equipment makes a voice call, an application function (AF) device delivers an authentication authorization request (AAR) message to a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) device to request to establish a dedicated bearer. The PCRF receives the AAR message, and binds an application-level session (e.g., AF session) to a corresponding (e.g., IP-CAN) session using an IP address (i.e., Framed-IP-Address) that is carried in the AAR message and that is used by the user equipment to access the internet. The PCRF makes a policy decision based on session information and user subscription information that are carried in the AAR message, generates a QoS rule, delivers a QoS parameter, a gating policy, a trigger, and an authorization rule list to a policy and charging enforcement function (PCEF) device using a re-authorization/re-authentication request/Re-Auth-Request (RAR) message, instructs the PCEF device to establish the dedicated bearer, and guarantees QoS for the voice call of the user equipment. However, in a redundancy networking scenario, when an interface between the AF device and an active PCC function (that is PCRF) is faulty, the AF device sends the AAR message to a standby PCC function (that is another PCRF). Because the standby PCRF does not have an IP-CAN session corresponding to the AAR message, the dedicated bearer cannot be established. This affects user experience.

Wireless communication method and device


An apparatus and a method for sealing a conduit. The apparatus includes a housing, a tube for reciprocably extending through the housing bore, a rod reciprocably extending through the tube, a seal assembly associated with the tube and the rod, wherein the seal assembly includes at least one seal element which expands radially in response to an axial setting force, a proximal collar associated with the tube for engaging with a proximal end of the seal assembly, and a distal collar associated with the rod for engaging with a distal end of the seal assembly, wherein moving the rod axially relative to the tube in a proximal direction results in the axial setting force being applied to the seal assembly. The method includes using the apparatus to perform maintenance or repair on the conduit or its associated fittings.

Conduits such as pipes frequently contain fluids, which may be at a pressure greater than ambient pressure. The fluids and the pressure may be maintained within a conduit by one or more fittings such as valves which are associated with the conduit. If such fittings are removed or become compromised, leakage of fluid and/or pressure from the conduit may result.
A conduit as described above may be associated with any source of fluid and/or pressure. In some circumstances, the conduit may be in fluid communication with a storage tank, such as an oil storage tank, so that the fluid in the conduit originates from the storage tank and the pressure in the conduit is due to the pressure head of the fluid within the storage tank.
In order to perform maintenance or repair on the conduit or its associated fittings, it is desirable to avoid a loss of fluid and/or pressure from the conduit.
A first option is to remove the source of fluid and/or pressure by disconnecting the conduit from the source of fluid and/or pressure or by draining a storage tank to which the conduit may be connected. This first option may be effective in eliminating or reducing fluid and/or pressure leakage, but is potentially time consuming, inconvenient and expensive, since it may require temporarily removing equipment from operation while the conduit is maintained or repaired.
A second option is to seal the conduit upstream of the location at which the maintenance or repair is taking place so that the location of maintenance or repair is isolated from the fluid and/or pressure. This second option typically requires a seal assembly which may be delivered through the conduit to a position upstream of the location of maintenance or repair and which can be selectively actuated to temporarily seal the conduit at the desired position.
Apparatus and methods exist which enable a seal assembly to be inserted into the conduit at a position downstream of the location of maintenance or repair, to be moved upstream past the location of maintenance or repair, and to be selectively actuated to temporarily seal the conduit upstream of the location of maintenance or repair. Once the maintenance or repair is completed, the seal assembly may be selectively actuated to unseal the conduit and the seal assembly may be removed from the conduit.
Examples of such apparatus and methods may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,690,612 (Scott), U.S. Pat. No. 2,867,243 (Bowan), U.S. Pat. No. 3,841,355 (Laner), U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,147 (Henry), U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,965 (Rakieski), U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,620 (Babcock et al), U.S. Pat. No. 6,755,216 (Mostala), France Patent Application Publication No. FR2566873 A1 (Keriolet), France Patent Application Publication No. FR2670558 (Gillodts), and PCT International Publication No. WO 2010/112067 A1 (Ornetzeder).
Of the above apparatus and methods, U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,147 (Henry) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,965 (Rakieski) contemplate some of the challenges which exist in designing an apparatus which is capable of being passed through a fitting such as a valve and which may be used with valves having valve ports of varying geometries.
There remains a need for apparatus and methods for sealing a conduit to facilitate maintenance or repair of the conduit or its associated fittings, wherein the apparatus includes a seal assembly which may be introduced into the conduit from a position downstream of the location of maintenance or repair, which may be moved upstream past the location of maintenance or repair, which may be selectively actuated to temporarily seal the conduit upstream of the location of maintenance or repair, and which may be selectively actuated to unseal the conduit after completion of the maintenance or repair so that the seal assembly can be removed from the conduit.


A transfer station (40) for a ropeless elevator system hoistway (11) is provided. The transfer station (40) includes a first lane (13, 15, 17), a second lane (13, 15, 17), and a parking area (42) located proximate one of the first lane (13, 15, 17) and the second lane (13, 15, 17). The transfer station (40) also includes a plurality of carriages (46) moveable within the first lane (13, 15, 17), the second lane (13, 15, 17), and the parking area (42), the plurality of carriages (46) configured to support and move an elevator car (14). The transfer station (40) further includes a cassette (44) configured to support and move the plurality of carriages (46). The transfer station (40) yet further includes a guiding member (48) engaged with the cassette (44), wherein the position of each of the plurality of carriages (46) relative to the first lane (13, 15, 17), the second lane (13, 15, 17) and the parking area (42) is modified by horizontal or vertical movement of the cassette (44).

Ropeless elevator systems, also referred to as self-propelled elevator systems, are useful in certain applications (e.g., high rise buildings) where the mass of the ropes for a roped system is prohibitive and there is a desire for multiple elevator cars to travel in a single lane. There exist ropeless elevator systems in which a first lane is designated for upward traveling elevator cars and a second lane is designated for downward traveling elevator cars with at least two transfer stations in the hoistway used to move cars horizontally between the first lane and second lane.
Transfer stations do not typically provide redundancy for transfer station operation. Therefore, the numbers of structures capable of moving elevator cars is equal to or lower than the number of lanes of the hoistway. The assumption is that in a worst case scenario, independent working carriages in the transfer station may work with a reduced number of carriages. Working with a reduced number of carriages decreases overall elevator system efficiency and may cause operation delays, as well as logistical challenges.

Transfer station for a ropeless elevator system with redundancy of subcomponents and parking zone


A Non-transferable Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) assembly for attachment to an article comprises a RFID module; and a antenna module coupled with the RFID module, the antenna module comprising a conductive layer, a substrate, and an adhesive modification layer between the conductive layer and the substrate, the adhesive modification layer configured such that when the assembly is attached to the article and attempt to remove the assembly will cause the substrate to release and leave the conductive layer intact.

1. Technical Field
The embodiments described herein are related to preventing the removal of a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) label or tag once it has been affixed to an appropriate item in order to associate the label or tag with another item.
2. Related Art
The embodiments described herein are related to Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems and more particularly to methods and apparatus to prevent unwanted and/or unwarranted access to information stored on an RFID chip.
RFID is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. The technology requires some extent of cooperation of an RFID reader and an RFID tag. An RFID tag is an object that can be applied to or incorporated into a variety of products, packaging, identification mechanisms, etc., for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. For example, RFID is used in enterprise supply chain management to improve the efficiency of inventory tracking and management. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader.
Most RFID tags contain at least two parts: One is an integrated circuit for storing and processing information, modulating and demodulating a radio-frequency (RF) signal, and other specialized functions. The second is an antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal. As the name implies, RFID tags are often used to store an identifier that can be used to identify the item to which the tag is attached or incorporated. But in today's systems, a RFID tag can contain non-volatile, possibly writable EEPROM for storing additional data as well.
Most RFID systems use a modulation technique known as backscatter to enable the tags to communicate with the reader or interrogator. In a backscatter system, the interrogator transmits a Radio Frequency (RF) carrier signal that is reflected by the RFID tag. In order to communicate data back to the interrogator, the tag alternately reflects the RF carrier signal in a pattern understood by the interrogator. In certain systems, the interrogator can include its own carrier generation circuitry to generate a signal that can be modulated with data to be transmitted to the interrogator.
RFID tags come in one of three types: passive, active, and semi passive. Passive RFID tags have no internal power supply. The minute electrical current induced in the antenna by the incoming RF signal from the interrogator provides just enough power for the, e.g., CMOS integrated circuit in the tag to power up and transmit a response. Most passive tags signal by backscattering the carrier wave from the reader. This means that the antenna has to be designed both to collect power from the incoming signal and also to transmit the outbound backscatter signal.
Passive tags have practical read distances ranging from about 10 cm (4 in.) (ISO 14443) up to a few meters (Electronic Product Code (EPC) and ISO 18000-6), depending on the chosen radio frequency and antenna design/size. The lack of an onboard power supply means that the device can be quite small. For example, commercially available products exist that can be embedded in a sticker, or under the skin in the case of low frequency RFID tags.
Unlike passive RFID tags, active RFID tags have their own internal power source, which is used to power the integrated circuits and to broadcast the response signal to the reader. Communications from active tags to readers is typically much more reliable, i.e., fewer errors, than from passive tags.
Active tags, due to their on board power supply, also may transmit at higher power levels than passive tags, allowing them to be more robust in "RF challenged" environments, such as high environments, humidity or with dampening targets (including humans/cattle, which contain mostly water), reflective targets from metal (shipping containers, vehicles), or at longer distances. In turn, active tags are generally bigger, caused by battery volume, and more expensive to manufacture, caused by battery price.
Many active tags today have operational ranges of hundreds of meters, and a battery life of up to 10 years. Active tags can include larger memories than passive tags, and may include the ability to store additional information received from the reader, although this is also possible with passive tags.
Semi-passive tags are similar to active tags in that they have their own power source, but the battery only powers the microchip and does not power the broadcasting of a signal. The response is usually powered by means of backscattering the RF energy from the reader, where energy is reflected back to the reader as with passive tags. An additional application for the battery is to power data storage.
The battery-assisted reception circuitry of semi-passive tags leads to greater sensitivity than passive tags, typically 100 times more. The enhanced sensitivity can be leveraged as increased range (by one magnitude) and/or as enhanced read reliability (by reducing bit error rate at least one magnitude).
The enhanced sensitivity of semi-passive tags place higher demands on the interrogator concerning separation in more dense population of tags. Because an already weak signal is backscattered to the reader from a larger number of tags and from longer distances, the separation requires more sophisticated anti-collision concepts, better signal processing and some more intelligent assessment of which tag might be where.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary RFID system 100. In system 100, RFID interrogator 102 communicates with one or more RFID tags 110. Data can be exchanged between interrogator 102 and RFID tag 110 via radio transmit signal 108 and radio receive signal 112. RFID interrogator 102 comprises RF transceiver 104, which contains transmitter and receiver electronics, and antenna 106, which are configured to generate and receive radio transit signal 108 and radio receive signal 112, respectively. Exchange of data can be accomplished via electromagnetic or electrostatic coupling in the RF spectrum in combination with various modulation and encoding schemes.
RFID tag 110 is a transponder that can be attached to an object of interest and act as an information storage mechanism. In many applications, the use of passive RFID tags is desirable, because they have a virtually unlimited operational lifetime and can be smaller, lighter, and cheaper than active RFID tags that contain an internal power source, e.g. battery. Passive RFID tags power themselves by rectifying the RF signal emitted by the RF scanner. Consequently, the range of transmit signal 108 determines the operational range of RFID tag 110.
RF transceiver 104 transmits RF signals to RFID tag 110, and receives RF signals from RFID tag 110, via antenna 106. The data in transmit signal 108 and receive signal 112 can be contained in one or more bits for the purpose of providing identification and other information relevant to the particular RFID tag application. When RFID tag 110 passes within the range of the radio frequency magnetic field emitted by antenna 106, RFID tag 110 is excited and transmits data back to RF interrogator 102. A change in the impedance of RFID tag 110 can be used to signal the data to RF interrogator 102 via receive signal 112. The impedance change in RFID tag 110 can be caused by producing a short circuit across the tag's antenna connections (not shown) in bursts of very short duration. RF transceiver 104 senses the impedance change as a change in the level of reflected or backscattered energy arriving at antenna 106.
Digital electronics 114, which can comprise a microprocessor with RAM, performs decoding and reading of receive signal 112. Similarly, digital electronics 114 performs the coding of transmit signal 108. Thus, RF interrogator 102 facilitates the reading or writing of data to RFID tags, e.g. RFID tag 110 that are within range of the RF field emitted by antenna 104. Together, RF transceiver 104 and digital electronics 114 comprise reader 118. Finally, digital electronics 114 and can be interfaced with an integral display and/or provide a parallel or serial communications interface to a host computer or industrial controller, e.g. host computer 116.
With today's processing technology, and because they do not need a battery, conventional passive tags can be made very thin and very small. Consequently, they are finding more and more application in various industries for tracking and identification. For example, today's passive tags can be incorporated into a label that can be affixed to merchandise, books, documents, passports or visas, car license plates or windshields, etc. A problem that arises, however, is how to prevent someone from removing such a label from the appropriate item and re-attaching or affixing it to another, e.g., counterfeit item?
Most conventional solutions to this problem involve designing the tag or label so that the tag is altered and will no longer function, or will not be able to function optimally, if the tag or label is removed from the item to which it was originally affixed. One problem with this solution is that the tag typically cannot be used to identify the original item either.

Non-transferable radio frequency identification label or tag


A system synchronizes data across multiple data centers to geographically distributed clients may receive current versions of the objects (or portions of objects) from whatever data center is closest to the client. When one of the data centers receives an application object from a first client, it may save the application object in a data collection at that data center. It may also send the application object to other data centers so that the application object is replicated among each of the other data centers. Each of the data centers will relay the updates to the other data centers subscribing clients via various channels, while at least some of the data centers will make the updates available to clients who request the updates. Optionally, the data centers also may publish change notification messages to the channels.

This disclosure relates to methods and systems for distributing data over wide area networks such as the Internet.
As the need increases to cheaply deliver, with low latency, large quantities of data to a multitude of global recipients over the Internet, improved message delivery methods and systems are desired to fulfill this need. In many distributed applications (such as multiplayer games, social apps, taxi dispatch apps), there is a need to share some common state across multiple users and client devices. Often, this state is kept in "state objects" which must be kept in sync across every device running the application. When any client device updates these state objects, the updates must be synchronized with sub-second latencies across all other devices running the application. This technology requirement is sometimes called "real-time data sync."
One existing approach for real-time data sync is to maintain a copy of the state objects within a data center in a backend store. This backend store becomes the "system of record" for these state objects.
While this prior approach solves the problem of high-speed synchronization across devices, it does not address several important needs. First, mission critical applications require replication of application state across multiple disparate data centers for redundancy. Second, applications with geographically distributed users require low latency real-time data sync for all their users, not just those users who happen to reside near the data center hosting the backend store. In addition, existing solutions do not automatically synchronize the object state in the client application on a mobile device. Instead, existing solutions expect the application to periodically check or register callbacks to obtain notification of a change.
This document describes method and systems that solve at least some of the problems discussed above.

Data synchronization across multiple devices connecting to multiple data centers


Disclosed is a method for enhancing an image edge. An edge filter is applied to a photographed image, and the determination is performed with respect to whether pixels having edge possibility are noise or form an edge. The determination for the noise and the edge is performed once more with respect to pixels having vagueness for the noise and the edge by using a 3×3 mask. An edge enhancement process is performed through a simple algorithm.

The embodiment relates to a method for enhancing an image edge.
In general, a scheme of enhancing image sharpness or a scheme of enhancing an image edge is to emphasize an edge (outline) of an image. A scheme of emphasizing an image edge to enhance image sharpness according to the related art includes a scheme of applying one 2D HPF (2D high pass filter) to the whole original image, so that the results are applied to an original image and a scheme of detecting the features of image edges (outlines) and applying various 2D high pass filters according to the features so that the results are applied to an original image.
According to the scheme of enhancing the image edges of the related art, when the image edges are enhanced, noise components may be increased as the image edges are enhanced.
Accordingly, the image edges must be enhanced while distinguishing noise components from the image edges through more effective and simpler algorithms.


A rotary cutter head includes a rotary body, resilient clamping arm, and at least one cutting blade. The clamping arm clamps the cutting blade radially inwardly first rather than in a circumferential direction in order to positively lock the cutting blade radially, and thereby prevent the cutting blade from migrating out of position slightly during high speed rotation of the cutter head.

A rotary cutter head for releasably holding cutting blades is formed with cutting edges which extend radially outwardly of and generally axially along the outer periphery of the cutter head. Cutter heads of this general type are typically used in power machines such as routers, moulders, shapers or tenoners and are typically used to chamfer, round, or otherwise shape an edge portion of a workpiece of either non-ferrous metals, plastics, woods, etc.
In general, a cutter head of this type is formed with at least one recess for receiving a cutting blade. The recess extends generally radially inwardly from the outer periphery of the cutter head and extends substantially axially in the cutter head. Frequently, the recess extends across the entire width of the cutter head.
Prior cutter heads of this general type utilize threaded fasteners and a so-called gib to releasably secure the blade in the recess. The gib is shaped to generally conform to the shape of the recess and is sized to allow the gib and the blade to be slidably received in the recess. When installing a blade into the cutter head, the gib and the blade are manually located in the recess. The threaded fasteners are then screwed into threaded openings formed in the cutter head to draw the gib toward one side of the recess so as to wedge or otherwise clamp the blade in the recess. The blade and the gib used in these cutter heads must be manually aligned relative to one another and relative to the recess when they are installed into the recess. Moreover, this alignment must then be maintained until the gib and the blade are secured in the recess.
In one prior cutter head, the fasteners extend through openings formed in the gib, and the heads of the fasteners engaging the gib to secure the gib and the blade in the recess. In this instance, each time that the blade is changed, the gib and the fasteners must be removed from and reinstalled into the recess.
In another prior cutter head, the fasteners draw pins through openings formed in the gib. The pins are formed with enlarged heads which engage the gib and which wedge the gib and the blade in the recess. In this case, the gib and the pins need not be removed from the recess to change the blade. However, the gib and the blade must still be manually aligned as the fasteners are tightened. Moreover, the pins and the gib used in this cutter head easily fall out of the recess when the fasteners are inadvertently loosened too far.
The gib used in some prior cutter heads is formed with a fixed locating pin for establishing relative alignment between the gib and the blade. In such a cutter head, the locating pin is received into an opening formed in the blade before the gib and the blade are placed into the recess. While the fixed locating pin aids in establishing and maintaining alignment between the gib and the blade, the gib and the fasteners must be removed and reinstalled each time the blade is changed. Moreover, the gib and the blade must still be aligned relative to the recess.
In addition to a gib and the associated fasteners and pins, prior cutter heads are typically equipped with a back-up fastener to prevent the blade from flying out of the cutter head in the event that the gib loosens while the cutter head is rotating or in the event that the fasteners which secure the gib are not tightened before the machine is turned on. The back-up fastener extends through an opening in the blade and must either be backed out or completely removed from the cutter head before the blade can be removed from the recess. The back-up fastener must then either be turned inwardly or reinstalled when a new blade is installed in the cutter head.
Another prior cutter head is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,699 to Martin, et. al. This cutter head includes an integral clamping arm on the cutter head clamps a cutting blade into a slot recess formed into the cutter head. The clamp is loosened or tightened by one or more screws. The '699 patent has resulted in a commercially successful product. However, it has been realized that high speed rotation of the cutter head can generate large centrifugal forces which can dislodged the cutter blade slightly. The present invention relates to improvements in the fixing the position of cutting blades in cutter heads.


A system and method identify objects, such as fruits, vegetables, and images through the recognition of unique surface features represented by signals from a scanner that pass over the objects. The scanner signals are processed by applying a modified wavelet transform to them and comparing the results to previously stored data. The system uses an optical scanner, a processor that transforms the data acquired by the scanner to extract a translation invariant feature vector, and a comparator which compares the transformed signal to a predetermined set of vectors for a corresponding identification based upon the comparison set.

Modern supermarkets rely on relatively fast checkout procedures to maintain competitive advantages over relatively smaller scale grocers. Checkout usually involves determining a customer's total bill and receiving payment for purchased products corresponding to the bill. Many factors can influence improvements in customer throughput, which are directed to the overall goal of maximizing sales and reducing the time a consumer spends waiting in line.
By maximizing the volume of products sold, grocery chains tend to compete more effectively because overall prices may be lowered to attract a greater number of shoppers and still maintain acceptable profits. Moreover, in reducing the time a consumer waits in line at the checkout stand, customer satisfaction increases, tending to improve the probability of that customer returning. One of the keys to the grocery industry's success in maximizing customer throughput and minimizing checkout times involves a coded label known as a bar code.
A typical bar code includes a two-dimensional pattern comprising horizontally adjacent black and white vertical bars of varying widths. The respective widths and positions correspond to a coded identification number representing a particular item. The code is printed on a label that is affixed to the item, eliminating the need for a separate price tag. At the time of purchase, instead of manually inputting a price using register keys, the grocery clerk merely positions the bar code within the field of view of a bar code scanner. The scanner reads the code, automatically rings up the product price, and causes the name of the item and the price to print out on a convenient receipt.
Conventional bar code readers generally include a laser beam directed along a scanning path by a rotating mirror. A photodetector, positioned within the scanner and oriented substantially along the path of light reflected from the bar code and received within the scanner beam, detects the reflections of the beam from a targeted surface. When the scanner targets a bar code, the reflected components of the beam vary in intensity depending on whether the reflection was incident a white or black bar. An input filter analyzes the data to determine components that exceed respective positive and negative thresholds corresponding to transitions between black and white bars. The coded transitions are then decoded by a bar code processor to command the register to automatically ring up the product and its corresponding price.
While conventional bar code scanners are beneficial for their intended purposes, i.e. to dramatically improve supermarket checkout times, such scanners typically only identify the contents of bar codes. This proves problematic for produce. As a result, most checkout stand equipment typically requires the operator or clerk to manually input a code identifying the many fruits and vegetables purchased and the corresponding price. Unfortunately, this procedure requires a substantial amount of training for the checkout stand clerks to properly recognize and identify the fruits and vegetables. Even with the investment in costly training, error rates often run as high as twenty percent. Moreover, the procedure frequently involves significant delays, since the clerk often must refer to a price table to match the items to the proper prices.
A limited solution to the above problem involves affixing individual labels to all fruits and vegetables. These labels typically comprise a human-readable name or number, and may include a bar code. Such labels tend to eliminate most identification errors, but fail to speed up the checkout procedure.
Although applying labels to individual articles of produce appears beneficial in some instances, problems exist for many fruits and vegetables. In one aspect, the sheer numbers of fruits and vegetables create significant labor costs in order to effect the labeling procedure. Much of the cost arises from assigning employees to individually apply the labels to sizeable quantities of produce. Further, label removal by customers from fruits and vegetables having delicate surfaces often damages those surfaces due to the adhesive associated with the labels.
Because of the problems described above, those skilled in the art have recognized the need for a system and method of identifying produce in a timely and efficient manner in order to minimize checkout times, maximize pricing accuracy, and eliminate unnecessary food waste. The system and method of our present invention satisfies these needs.

Produce indentifier using barcode scanner and wavelet image processing and having compensation for dirt accumulated on viewing window


An apparatus for displaying an image on a screen of a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) applicable to a vehicle is disclosed in which the visual angle controlling filter (liquid crystal panel) is disposed in a front space of the screen of the CRT. When the vehicle runs, a predetermined voltage is applied to the visual angle controlling filter so that the light from the screen to a driver's seat is interrupted. At this time, the application of the voltage to the visual angle controlling filter is detected and a color hue of the image appearing on the screen is controlled so that all viewers except the vehicle driver can view the image on the screen through the visual angle controlling filter with the same color hue as that viewed when the vehicle stops and no application of the voltage to the visual angle controlling filter.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for displaying images which controls a color hue of an image appearing on a screen of a cathode ray tube of a video equipment installed in a vehicle when a visual angle controlling filter such as a liquid crystal panel is installed in a front space of the screen of the CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and a voltage is applied to the visual angle controlling filter.
(2) Background of the art
In a previously proposed image displaying apparatus, a louver type filter is disposed in front of a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) so that a visible angle is limited to directions except a particular direction in order to prevent the images displayed on a screen of the CRT from viewing from a vehicular driver's seat during a drive of the vehicle in order to assure a safety driving.
When the vehicle runs, the louver type filter is mounted by a viewer in a front end of the CRT so that louvers in the filter cause a light directed to the driver's seat to be interrupted. However, since the louvers are designed so that the light toward passenger's seats except the driver's seat is not interrupted, thus the images on the CRT can be viewed from each of the passenger's seats.
In addition, when the vehicle stops and parks, the images on the CRT can be viewed from all vehicular seats including the driver's seat.
In another previously proposed image displaying apparatus, a liquid crystal panel is used as a visual angle controlling filter in place of the louver type filter since the louver type filter is inconvenient in its troublesome mounting and removal operations.
Controlling means applies a voltage to the liquid crystal panel during the run of the vehicle. The light from the CRT toward the driver's seat is thus interrupted. On the other hand, the light toward the passenger's seats except the driver's seat is not interrupted so as to enable viewing of the CRT from the passenger's seats. During the stop of the vehicle, the voltage is not applied to the liquid crystal panel so that the images on the screen of the CRT can be viewed from all directions.
However, since, in the latter previously proposed displaying apparatus, the liquid crystal panel has different light transmission factors according to a wavelength of the incident light during the application of voltage with the vehicle run, a color hue of the image on the screen of the CRT as viewed through the liquid crystal panel is varied so that the images on the screen of the CRT cannot clearly and correctly be viewed.
In addition, when the voltage application to the liquid crystal panel is turned off with the vehicle stopped, or vice versa (when the application is turned on with the vehicle started), the color hue is varied so that each viewer gives an unpleasant feeling.

Apparatus for displaying images for vehicles


A radio base station 10 according to the present invention includes a reference channel power setting unit 11 configured to change a transmission power of a reference channel, an associated channel power setting unit 12 configured to set a relative power offset of an associated channel by using a value relative to the reference channel, a power parameter holding unit 13 configured to hold power parameters set by the reference channel power setting unit 11 and associated channel power setting unit 12, a power parameter adjustment unit configured to adjust the relative power offset of the associated channel in a case where the transmission power of the reference channel is changed,

Mobile communication systems using the W-CDMA system employ a configuration in which a transmission power of each channel other than PCPICH (Primary Common Pilot Channel) is set by using a value relative to a transmission power of PCPICH.
Here, a dedicated channel is configured to have an upper limit of the transmission power (hereinafter, "upper-limit transmission power") and a lower limit of the transmission power (hereinafter, "lower-limit transmission power") each set by using a value relative to the transmission power of PCPICH, and to transmit a dedicated channel with a transmission power within a range between the upper-limit transmission power and the lower-limit transmission power.
In such a mobile communication system, as shown in no. 5, when the transmission power of PCPICH is "X (dBm)", and offset values of the upper-limit transmission power and the lower-limit transmission power are "−a (dB)" and "−b (dB)", respectively, and an offset value of a transmission power of a certain common channel is "−c (dB)", for example, the upper-limit transmission power of the dedicated channel is "X−a (dBm)", the lower-limit transmission power of the dedicated channel is "X−b (dBm)", and the transmission power of the common channel is "X−c (dBm)".
Accordingly, when the transmission power of PCPICH is changed from "X (dBm)" to "Y (dBm)", the upper-limit transmission power of the dedicated channel, the lower-limit transmission power of the dedicated channel and the transmission power of the common channel are automatically changed from "X−a (dBm)", "X−b (dBm)" and "X−c (dBm)" to "Y−a (dBm)", "Y−b (dBm)" and "Y−c (dBm)", respectively.

Radio base station, mobile communication system and mobile communication method for controlling a transmission power of a reference channel and an associated channel

Abstract: and a transmitter 15 configured to transmit a signal of each channel on the basis of information in the power parameter holding unit 15, wherein the power parameter adjustment unit 14 maintains the transmission power of the associated channel unchanged even though the transmission power of the reference channel is changed.


An engine cooling system includes an engine 14; a radiator assembly including a radiator 16 and a fan 19 driven by an electric fan motor 21; a coolant circulation circuit 12 interconnecting the engine and the radiator for circulating coolant; a by-pass circuit 24 connected to the coolant circulation circuit so that coolant may by-pass the radiator; an electrically powered variable speed coolant pump 28 disposed in the coolant circulation circuit to pump coolant through the coolant circulation circuit; control valve structure 26 constructed and arranged to control mass flow of coolant through the radiator; an engine temperature sensor 54 to detect a temperature of engine coolant; a radiator temperature sensor 58 to detect a temperature of air exiting the radiator or a temperature of coolant at an outlet of the radiator, and a controller 36 operatively connected with the electric fan motor, the coolant pump, the control valve structure, the engine temperature sensor, and the radiator temperature sensor. The controller selectively controls (1) the control valve structure, (2) operation of the coolant pump based on signals received from the engine temperature sensor and (3) operation of the electric fan motor based on a signal received from the radiator temperature sensor, thereby controlling an operating temperature of the engine to approach a target operating temperature. Methods of cooling an engine are also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cooling control system for an internal combustion engine and more particularly to a total cooling control system employing an electric water pump, various temperature sensors, a radiator flow control valve, a radiator fan motor and a controller to control the cooling system to maintain an engine operating temperature within a narrow range around a target temperature.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional internal combustion cooling systems generally employ a mechanical water pump which is operated based on engine speed, a thermostat, and a radiator to maintain the engine temperature within a safe operating temperature range. However, since the speed of the mechanical water pump is directly related to the engine rpm, at low engine rpm and high engine load, the speed of the mechanical water pump may limit the ability of the cooling system to dissipate the required heat from the engine. This condition can lead to the temperature of the engine exceeding the controllable range of the thermostat. In addition, at high engine rpm and low load conditions, the capacity of the water pump may exceed the necessary cooling requirements and energy may be wasted due to circulating excess fluid. This wasted energy represents a potential fuel savings.
With the conventional mechanical water pump and thermostat, generally the set point for the engine operating temperature is fixed. With a fixed operating temperature, the cooling system may not be tuned to optimize emission and power based on engine load.
Accordingly, a need exists to provide a total cooling control system to maintain the engine operating temperature within a narrow range around a target temperature with the engine target temperature and mass flow rate through the engine being a direct function of the he at released and an indirect function of engine load.

Internal combustion engine total cooling control system


A control system and method for controlling temperatures while performing a MBE deposition process, wherein the control system comprises a MBE growth structure; a heater adapted to provide heat for the MBE deposition process on the MBE growth structure; and a control computer adapted to receive a plurality of dynamic feedback control signals derived from the MBE growth structure; switch among a plurality of control modes corresponding with the plurality of dynamic feedback control signals; and send an output power signal to the heater to control the heating for the MBE deposition process based on a combination of the plurality of control modes. In one embodiment, the plurality of dynamic feedback control signals comprises thermocouple signals and pyrometer signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The embodiments herein generally relate to thermometry, and, more particularly, to methods for controlling growth temperatures in a molecular beam epitaxy system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) is one of a family of methods used to grow single-crystal films on single crystal substrates (epitaxy). In an MBE system, a substrate, on which the crystalline film is to be grown, and several material sources are contained in an ultra-high vacuum chamber. The sources are typically furnaces, each containing a specific element to be deposited on the substrate. A furnace uses an open crucible in which the evaporant is placed. Moreover, resistive heating wires and heat shields generally surround the crucible. Generally, the evaporant is heated to a temperature that produces a material flux of desirable magnitude from the crucible opening (a molecular beam) and which is aimed towards the substrate crystal, where the molecules are allowed to condense. The beam is turned on and off by a mechanical shutter blade in front of the crucible opening. High stability of the flux, and therefore growth rate, is accomplished by high stability of the furnace temperatures.
In addition to stable source temperatures, a stable process relies on a well-controlled substrate temperature. The substrate is warmed by a resistively heated element placed behind it. Because the substrate should be allowed to rotate around its azimuthal axis during deposition to ensure good layer uniformity, there are generally inadequate solutions to mechanically contact the substrate for measurement of the temperature. Usually, a thermocouple is placed somewhere behind the substrate in the vicinity of the back side and the heater element. A substantial difference between the real temperature of the substrate front side and the thermocouple reading is therefore commonly observed. To achieve a stable temperature, a proportional integrating derivative (PID) control unit is typically used, which sets the output level from a power supply to the substrate heater, depending on the thermocouple reading. In many systems, the temperature setpoints are set by a digital control computer, which also opens and closes the mechanical shutters in front of the evaporation sources for predetermined times, thus producing specific film thicknesses.
The difference between the thermocouple reading and the true temperature is generally determined empirically. The most common way of obtaining more reliable temperature readings is to use an optical pyrometer. Typically, it is first calibrated by observing some type of phase transformation that is known to take place at a well-defined temperature. The pyrometer is then adjusted by setting a value for the apparent emissivity of the substrate so that the instrument reads the desired value.
It is possible to use the pyrometer signal directly as input in the feed back loop. This could be accomplished by hard wiring the pyrometer to the PID controller, or by feeding it to the control computer and letting it send appropriate signals to the PID controller. However, in either case, the use of the pyrometer is limited to temperature ranges above several hundred degrees, typically above 400° C. Since the substrate is at room temperature at the start of the process, pyrometers are generally not useful during the initial warm up phase. Also, during the deposition phase some materials may require deposition at temperatures below 400° C. In addition, some films and some holders of small substrates are prone to let stray light from the evaporations sources enter the pyrometer, which can produce erroneous readings. In these cases thermocouple control, or constant power output are the preferred choices.
Finally, deposition of layers that aim to produce structures with optical interference properties, such as a Bragg mirror, can be used. During deposition of such films the signal reaching a pyrometer as well as the temperature observed by the thermocouple exhibit strong oscillations, making both generally unreliable and unsuitable for feedback control. Accordingly, there remains a need to improve the MBE deposition sequence via more accurate temperature control.

Substrate temperature accuracy and temperature control flexibility in a molecular beam epitaxy system

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


A method and an electronic device for reducing digital image noises are described. The method includes the steps of sequentially selecting a pixel from a digital image, and setting the pixel as a target pixel; defining a first area, and setting at least two of the rest pixels surrounding the target pixel in the first area as adjacent pixels; setting a first weighted area; setting a second weighted area corresponding to the first weighted area; computing a weight of the adjacent pixel located at a center position of the second weighted area by using a piecewise linear curve according to a similarity value of the first weighted area and the second weighted area; computing a weighted average of all the adjacent pixels and the target pixel, to determine a new value of the target pixel; and performing the above steps repeatedly, till all the pixels are processed.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an electronic device for processing a digital image, and more particularly to a method and an electronic device for reducing digital image noises.
2. Related Art
In recent years, with significant development of digital technology and development of Internet and multimedia technologies, many images need to be converted into digital images for processing. The mode of directly capturing a real scene by using a digital camera, or capturing an image from a document or picture by using an optical scanner and then converting the image into digital image data for outputting has become a common method for obtaining digital images.
In order to meet requirements on image quality of users, various digital image processing techniques are developed to improve the quality of the digital images.
Among the image processing techniques, noise reduction and edge enhancement are quite important. As the high-frequency part in a signal is always weakened when an image is coded/compressed, image edges or other image details of the coded/compressed image are lost. However, the image processing method of noise reduction generally causes image blurring; while, on the contrary, the image processing method of edge enhancement generally leads to enhancement of undesired noises. It is difficult for the two image processing methods to reach a compromise.
Conventionally, noise reduction can be realized by averaging, suppression, blurring, or other means. However, as described above, the conventional methods fail to achieve balance between noise reduction and maintaining of image details. Therefore, the method of using a curve of an exponential function as the basis of noise reduction is introduced, which can achieve good balance between the two image processing methods.
However, the computation of reducing the image noises by using the exponential function is of high complexity, thus resulting in a low processing speed and excessively large consumption of computation resources. Besides, a large number of (possibly exceeding 100) multipliers and many adders/subtractors are required by the exponential function. The multipliers are of a high cost and occupy a large circuit space, so that the overall hardware cost is increased. In addition, in this method, an exponential function table is also needed to assist the computation, which further occupies the valuable memory space and again raises the cost.

Method and electronic device for reducing digital image noises


A disposable absorbent insert for fitting against a forehead-contacting, curved inside surface of a user's athletic head covering includes a moisture wicking layer; a liquid absorbent core layer; a liquid impervious layer; an adhesive layer comprising a repositionable pressure-sensitive adhesive; and a release liner layer. A top edge of the insert includes a plurality of slits to facilitate fitting of the insert onto the curved inside surface of the athletic head covering. A method of using a disposable absorbent insert on a forehead-contacting, curved inside surface of a user's athletic head covering is also described.

Sports have been a form of hobby, community involvement and source of exercise for people for decades. The athletic equipment industry is stable and is one that is becoming more and more technologically advanced. Athletes are constantly looking for new ways to enhance their performance and gain a competitive edge over their opponents.
A common problem that many athletes experience is sweat dripping from their foreheads into their eyes. Inhibiting sweat or any type of moisture from dripping down into the eyes, nose, mouth and other areas of the athlete's face will allow the athlete to concentrate on the game being played and not be distracted or uncomfortable during his or her athletic performance. The use of an insert enhances the performance of an athlete during activity by mitigating the possibility of sweat and oil dripping down onto the athlete's face during activity and impairing his or her vision.
Currently, there are a variety of moisture absorbing devices for absorbing sweat and other moisture away from the forehead of an individual during various activities. Such absorbent devices have been used as an insert in a cap, hat, hard hat or sun visor. However, a problem with many inserts is that they are difficult to clean and are not easily replaced when soiled or saturated. Moreover, many disposable inserts are not well shaped for the contours of athletic headwear.

Disposable absorbent insert for an athletic head covering


A motor control device includes a circuit board having a control circuit controlling electric power to be supplied to a motor, a base fixedly supporting the circuit board, a flexible printed circuit supplying electric power to the motor, a pin terminal disposed on the circuit board, being electrically connected with the control circuit, a dummy pin terminal disposed on the circuit board, being electrically free from the control circuit, a wiring pattern land disposed on the FPC, being electrically connected with the pin terminal, and a dummy wiring pattern land disposed on the FPC, being connected with the dummy pin terminal.

Connection between a motor and a motor control circuit is made by connecting the motor with a control printed circuit board on which the motor control circuit is mounted. Here, for making connection between the motor and the control printed circuit board as a circuit board, a flexible printed circuit is used in many cases to reduce transfer of motor vibration to the control printed circuit board. Since the flexible printed circuit is securely connected to the control printed circuit board only at a soldered terminal portion in a mechanistic manner, the soldered portion tends to be subjected to any force when the flexible printed circuit is pulled due to motor vibration or external force application. Therefore, the soldered flexible printed circuit has been in danger of causing disconnection or fracture due to force applied in a direction of separating a copper wire or a copper foil, which is soldered on the terminal of the flexible printed circuit.
Various techniques, such as reinforcement fixation with adhesive tapes or adhesive agents, have been employed to prevent disconnection or fracture. However, in the case of using the adhesive tape, there are problems of an increase in cost for raw materials, an increase in cost for additional works such as stripping of release paper, generation of waste materials of release paper, and the like. Alternatively, in the case of using the adhesive agent, there are problems of unstable quality, difficulty in control of adhesive agents, time and facility requirements for dryness, tendency of the adhesive tape to adhere to an area other than adhesion-requiring areas, and the like.
A liquid crystal device disposed with a dummy terminal that does not participate in electric connection has been known to increase the connection reliability of a flexible printed circuit (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-213721 (Patent Literature 1).
However, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-213721 (Patent Literature 1), a thin-film dummy terminal printed on a flexible printed circuit is used. In this case, when more intense vibration, such as motor vibration, is applied to a connection portion compared with a liquid crystal device, the dummy terminal may be easily peeled off and then an electric connection terminal may be also peeled off. As a result, disconnection may occur.


Systems and methods for determining and/or providing call origin location information. In one particular case, a method is provided for identifying communication origin location in relation to an emergency response system. The method includes providing a communication device stability module and receiving a network access request associated with a communication device. A location status of the communication device is determined, and based at least in part on the location status of the communication device, a query is issued requesting a location of the communication device.

The present invention relates to systems and methods for identifying the location of a communication device, and in particular to systems and methods for identifying the location of a device originating a communication and/or providing location information to an emergency services dispatcher.
In traditional land based telephone systems, a physical location is associated with a telephone number assigned to that location. When a call is made, a telephone number associated with the originating location is registered with the telephone system. This telephone number can be used to access a database that correlates assigned telephone numbers with physical addresses. In this way, a physical address identifying the location of the call origin can be obtained.
Unlike traditional land based systems, developing telecommunication networks often associate telephone numbers with telecommunication devices or registered users rather than physical locations. Thus, it is often the case that the associated telephone number is not directly correlated to a physical location of an originating call. This can be detrimental to various calling features including, for example, the dispatch of emergency services in relation to a received emergency call.
Hence, for at least the aforementioned reasons, there exists a need in the art for advanced systems and methods to address the needs of the communication industry.

Systems and methods for locating endpoints in a communication network


A method for assisting a driver of a vehicle in a driving maneuver in which the vehicle is guided automatically along a previously calculated trajectory, or the lateral guidance for travel along the trajectory is carried out automatically, and after the driving maneuver is completed, the steering of the vehicle is returned to the driver, information being provided to the driver concerning the vehicle's surroundings and suitable steering settings before and/or during the transfer of the steering to the driver. Also described is a device for carrying out the method, including a steering arrangement for steering the vehicle along a previously calculated trajectory as well as an output arrangement for outputting information concerning the vehicle's surroundings and suitable steering settings to the driver before and/or during the transfer of the steering to the driver.

In the case of methods and systems that assist the driver in driving maneuvers, a distinction is made between pure distance-measuring systems, semi-automatic systems and fully automatic systems. In the case of the distance-measuring systems, the surroundings of the vehicle are detected and the distance to objects in the surroundings of the vehicle is displayed to the driver. Further assistance for suitable steering angle changes for carrying out the driving maneuver are not provided to the driver.
In the case of semi-automatic systems, the detected surroundings are used for calculating a suitable trajectory, along which the driving maneuver, for example, a maneuver of entering or leaving a parking space, may be carried out. For driving along the trajectory, the driver is provided steering instructions, the driver still steers the vehicle independently and also carries out the longitudinal movement of the vehicle independently, i.e., braking, accelerating and maintaining speed. In addition to these systems, systems are also known in which the system takes over the steering. In this case, the driver's only responsibility is the longitudinal guidance of the vehicle.
In contrast, in the case of fully automatic systems, the system takes over both the longitudinal guidance as well as the lateral guidance, i.e., the steering of the vehicle, and the driver has only a monitoring function.
A method and a device for assisting a driver of a vehicle when maneuvering out of a parking space is discussed, for example, in WO-A 2009/121534. In this case, the length of the parking space is initially measured and a trajectory for maneuvering out of a parking space is calculated based on the data obtained by the measurement. Subsequently, the vehicle is moved automatically along the trajectory for maneuvering out of the parking space. To avoid a collision with objects adjacent to the parking space, the distance to objects adjacent to the parking space is monitored during the maneuver out of the parking space. As soon as the vehicle is in a position which makes it possible to maneuver out of the parking space without a collision, the automatic process of maneuvering out of a parking space is terminated.
A disadvantage of this method is, however, that at the point in time of the transfer after termination of the automatic control, an arbitrarily even very large steering angle may be set, which may cause the driver to move the vehicle too rapidly after the transfer while retaining the steering angle, and the risk exists of a collision with, for example, the oncoming traffic.

Method for assisting a driver of a motor vehicle


A cutting knife includes a holder with a slot defined in a side thereof and a plurality of recesses defined in one of two sides of the slot. A base member is slidably engaged with the slot and a blade is connected to the base member. The base member has a wall in which a spring member is received. The spring member includes a protrusion which extends through an opening defined in the wall and is engaged with one of the recesses. A spring is biased between an inside of the wall and a reverse side of the protrusion of the spring member so as to provide a force to engage the protrusion in the recess. Two end portions of the spring member contact against the insides of the wall. An operation member is slidably mounted to the wall and includes a wedge-shaped notch which may push the protrusion downward to disengage from the recess.

The present invention relates to a blade pushing device of a cutting knife wherein the spring member has two ends contacting against two insides of the body member so as to prevent the spring member from being fatigue fast.
A conventional cutting knife 10 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,226,873. A slider 13 is slidably engaged with the slot 111 of the holder 11. A blade 12 is connected to the base plate, of the slider 13 and a leaf spring 133 is received in a chamber 131 A of a body member 131 of the slider 13. The leaf spring 133 includes a protrusion 133A that retractably extends through a notch of the body member 131 so as to be engaged with one of the recesses 111A defined in the inside of the slot 111. An operation member 132 is movably mounted to the body member 131 and has a wedge-shaped notch 132A which may push the protrusion 133A of the leaf spring 133 downward to disengage the protrusion 133A from the recess 111A so that the blade 12 can be moved till the protrusion 133A is engaged with another recess 111A. The two ends of the leaf spring 133 have no stop means to limit their deformation and shifting so that the deformation of the leaf spring 133 is not under control and this makes the leaf spring 133 to reach its limitation of fatigue more quickly than expected.
The present invention intends to provide an improved blade pushing device for a cutting knife and the two ends of the spring member are stopped by two insides of the body such that the deformation of the spring member can be well controlled.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a cutting knife that has a spring member received in a base member which is slidably engaged with the slot in the holder, a spring is biased between an inside of the wall and the reverse side of the protrusion of the spring member so as to provide a force to engage the protrusions with one of the recesses defined in one of two sides of the slot.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cutting knife wherein the spring member has two end portions which contact against the insides of the wall so as to limit the deformation n of the spring member when the protrusion of the spring member is pushed to disengage from the opening of the wall of the base member.


A present novel and non-trivial system, device, and method for generating surface information presentable on a display unit is disclosed, where the surface information may be presented to draw a viewer's attention to threatening terrain location within a targeted area. An image generator (“IG”) may be configured to receive navigation data; receive search data representative of at least a reference location, a targeted area, and a pattern comprised of a plurality of ground tracks; retrieve object data representative of object cell elevations of the targeted area; determine threat data representative of a threat level for each object cell; and generate an image data set representative of an image comprised of one or more threat-based search area location highlighters and/or one or more threat-based ground track location highlighters. The reference location could be comprised of a search pattern datum or a commencement search point.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to the field of display systems such as, but not limited to, aircraft display systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
The International Maritime Organization ("IMO") and International Civil Aviation Organization ("ICAO") have jointly published the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue ("IAMSAR") Manual; at the time of this writing, the 2013 Edition of the IAMSAR Manual is comprised of three volumes. The IAMSAR Manual contains guidelines for establishing a common aviation and maritime approach to the organization and conduct of SAR search-and-rescue ("SAR") operations.
Volume II of the IAMSAR Manual assists SAR personnel who plan and coordinate SAR operations and exercise. The volume presents (1) an overview of the SAR system concept provided in the IAMSAR Manual, (2) an overview of the communication associated with SAR operations, (3) the five stages through which responses to SAR incidents typically progress, (4) a detailed discussion of the theory and practice of search planning, (5) search techniques and operations, (6) a variety of aspects of rescue planning and operations, (7) guidance for emergency assistance other than SAR operations in which the SAR system may become involved, and (8) the orderly conclusion of SAR operations.
With respect to the performance of search techniques and operations, there are a plurality of search patterns from which to select. For example, there are visual search patterns, electronic search patterns, night search patterns, and land search patterns. While flying a search pattern, the pilot may elect to fly at a relatively low radio altitude; that is, the pilot may elect to fly at heights above the ground that are not flown during non-SAR operations. If a momentary loss of situational awareness is experienced, threatening terrain levels may go unnoticed.

Surface information generating system, device, and method


A negative pressure type booster, comprising a valve seat member (40), a spring (47) energizing the valve seat member (40), and a holding member (52) having an engaging part (52b) disposed on a power piston (22) movably only in radial direction and engaged with the valve seat member (40) and a tapered part (52a) in contact with a plunger (37), whereby, when the amount of movement of an input member (27) relative to the power piston (22) is larger than a specified value, the input member (27) is brought into contact with the tapered part (52a) and moves the holding member (52) in radial direction to disengage the holding member (52) from the valve seat member (40) in order to allow the valve seat member (40) to be moved rearwards.

This invention relates to a vacuum type brake booster for a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a vacuum type brake booster for a vehicle that is capable of compensating for shortages in the brake pedal depressing force during emergency braking operation.
There have been results of analysis that oftentimes, when a driver rapidly depresses the brake pedal because an obstruction has suddenly appeared in the running path of the vehicle, the stepping force which the driver applies to the brake pedal is relatively small as compared with the stepping force required to produce a brake fluid pressure of a magnitude leading to a wheel lock, so that the braking capability of the vehicle is not fully exerted. On the basis of these results, it has been proposed to install on the vehicle a device for determining, from the brake pedal depression speed and the rate of increase of oil pressure in a master cylinder, whether the braking operation is a normal braking operation or an emergency braking operation, and when it is judged that the braking operation is the emergency braking operation, the brake fluid pressure is automatically raised up to a magnitude resulting in the wheel lock.
Various constructions have been proposed for such the devices, and for example one of these devices is described in Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. H11-48947 (1999). This discloses a vacuum type brake booster that is constructed in such a manner that its input-output characteristics can be switched by means of a control signal from outside between at least two different characteristics (a characteristic for normal braking and a characteristic for emergency braking). With the input-output characteristics of the vacuum type brake booster being switched from the characteristic for normal braking to the characteristic for emergency braking at times of emergency braking operation, it is possible to obtain the same result as when the driver depresses the brake pedal strongly.
However, this conventional vacuum type brake booster includes a solenoid for switching its characteristics from the normal braking operation to the characteristics for emergency braking, and a valve seat member driven by the solenoid, apart from an annular seat valve for atmosphere inflow control. The solenoid driving signal is outputted from an electronic control means for processing signals from a pedal stroke sensor and a master cylinder oil pressure sensor. The solenoid is driven on the basis of such the signals in a way that the valve seat member having the annular valve seat for the atmosphere inflow control is away from an opposed seal member and a valve mechanism is in an output increase state. This brake booster is considerably expensive because of a necessity of the solenoid, several kinds of the sensors, the electronic control means and the like.
Therefore, it is a primary object to provide a vacuum type brake booster capable of obtaining an output increase state during the emergency braking operation by a simple and cheap mechanical structure.
To achieve the object, there is provided a vacuum type brake booster comprising: a housing for defining at least one pressure chamber therein; a movable wall member disposed in the housing to divide the pressure chamber into a constant pressure chamber and a variable pressure chamber and to be movable in the forward and backward directions with respect to the housing; a power piston connected to the movable wall member; an input member disposed in the power piston to be movable in the forward and backward directions with respect to the power piston; an output member for outputting a propulsion force of the power piston in response to the movement of the movable wall outside the booster; an annular valve seat for atmospheric air outflow control disposed in the power piston to be directed rearwardly; a valve mechanism having a movable portion opposed to the annular valve seat for atmospheric air outflow control and a fixed portion secured air-tightly to the power piston; the annular valve seat for atmospheric air outflow control being secured to a valve seat member which is movable in the forward and backward directions with respect to the power piston; further, a holding means for holding the valve seat member at a predetermined front position in the case that an advanced distance of the input member with respect to the power piston is less than a predetermined value; a movable means for shifting the valve seat member up to a predetermined distance at a rear position in the case that an advanced distance of the input member with respect to the power piston is more than the predetermined value; and a returning means for returning the valve seat member at the predetermined front position in the case that the power piston is in a predetermined position with respect to the housing.
According to this booster, in the case that a relative movement of the input member and the power piston is larger than the predetermined value, i.e., in the cases of emergency braking operation wherein the driver hurriedly depresses the brake pedal, an engagement of the valve seat member by the holding means is released and the valve seat member is moved rearward up to the predetermined distance by use of the movable means, so that the valve seat member presses the movable member of the valve mechanism rearward. As the result, the variable pressure chamber is rapidly and forcibly communicated with an atmosphere and a propulsion or thrust force more than the thrust force obtained during the normal braking operation is applied to the movable wall member, the power piston and in its turn the output member to produce a sufficiently large magnitude of the oil pressure for braking. In other words, by changing a jumping characteristic (when the braking operation is performed by depressing the brake pedal, a ratio of the output force relative to the input force becomes an infinity until the input member is abutted on the reaction member, this is referred to as the jumping), the thrust force larger than the thrust force as obtained during the normal braking operation is applied to the output member. Namely, the vacuum type brake booster having two kinds of input-output characteristics for the normal braking characteristic and the emergency braking characteristic is provided by the simple structure.
Further, the wording of xe2x80x9crearxe2x80x9d indicates the brake pedal side with respect to the vacuum type brake booster or the vehicle""s rear side and,the wording of xe2x80x9cfrontxe2x80x9d indicates the master cylinder side or the vehicle""s front side.
Preferably, the holding means is located at a portion of the front inner-peripheral side of the power piston and has a holding member or holding members of which a front end is engaged with the power piston and a rear end is engaged with the valve seat member. According to this structure, since the valve seat member is engaged with the holding member, which is engaged with the power piston, the valve seat member is securely engaged with the power piston.
More preferably, one of the input member and the holding means is provided with a tapered portion and the holding state of the holding means is released by a cam action of the cam portion and the input member or the holding means, when an advanced distance of the input member with respect to the power piston is more than the predetermined value. It is possible to rapidly shift the braking operation from the characteristic for normal braking to the characteristic for emergency braking.
The annular valve seat for atmosphere outflow control is composed of a first annular valve seat for atmosphere outflow control which is integral with the power piston and a second annular valve seat for atmosphere outflow control which is aligned substantially with the first annular valve seat and movable forward and rearward with respect to the power piston. According to this structure, by separating the annular valve seat for atmosphere outflow control from the first annular valve seat for atmosphere outflow control which is integral with the power piston and the second annular valve seat which is aligned substantially with the first annular valve seat for atmosphere outflow control, the vacuum type brake booster having two kinds of input-output characteristics for the normal braking characteristic and the emergency braking characteristic is constructed only by adding the second annular valve seat for atmosphere outflow control to the power piston of the conventional brake booster having the annular valve seat for atmosphere outflow control. This leads to a low price of the brake booster due to the share of parts as used in the conventional brake booster.
The additional effects and objects of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. Further, the term of xe2x80x9cfrontxe2x80x9d as used in the description indicates the front side of the vehicle and the term of xe2x80x9crearxe2x80x9d as used in the description indicates the rear side of the vehicle.