Blade-opening arrowheads having pivotal blades, wherein each blade is hingedly connected at one blade end to an arrowhead body by a hinge pin. Each blade freely rotates in a plane from a retracted in-flight position to an open position when penetrating an object where the other opposing blade end rotates away from the arrowhead body such that the sharp cutting edges of the blades are exposed at a full cutting diameter when the blades are in the open position. When in the retracted position a blade is securely held selectively adjacent to the arrowhead body by frictional engagement from methods independent of, or not dependent upon, the use of an element or elements in addition to that individual cutting blade, its hinge pin and its blade slot.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to arrowheads that have opening blades, and more particularly to non-consumable blade retention for retaining a pivotal blade of a blade-opening arrowhead in the retracted position by methods that are not dependent upon the use of an element or elements in addition to that individual cutting blade, its hinge pin and its blade slot, so that when the arrowhead penetrates an object the blade freely rotates to an open position.
2. Description of Prior Art
Arrows have long been used for war, hunting and competitive sports. A conventional arrow has a shaft, a nock at one end that receives the bow string, an arrowhead or point that attaches to the opposite end, and fletchings. The fletchings are glued to the shaft near the nock end, and help to stabilize the arrow in flight, as it rotates. Arrowheads generally have a pointed forward end, and an opposite threaded shaft end that attaches the arrowhead to the arrow shaft. Arrowheads are also attached to the forward end of arrow shafts by glueing and other methods.
Arrowheads come in a variety of different sizes and configurations depending on their intended use. For example, there are specifically designed arrowheads for competitive target shooting, shooting fish, hunting birds or small game animals, and for hunting big game animals.
The most common type of arrowhead used in hunting is the fixed-blade arrowhead, which has a pointed tip end used for penetrating, and fixed blades or non-pivotal blades that each have a razor sharp edge for cutting. Conventional fixed-blade arrowheads blades are held in a fixed position on the arrowhead, and most such blades are replaceable. The replaceable blades attach to the arrowhead body in longitudinal grooves called blade slots. The tip of the arrowhead may be separably attachable to the arrowhead body or may be integral with it. Arrowheads for hunting are generally known as broadheads.
Arrowheads used for hunting, kill the game animal by cutting vital organs such as the lungs and vascular vessels such as arteries, which causes rapid hemorrhaging and/or suffocation. Quick and humane kills are dependent on accurate shot placement, and upon the amount or volume of the animal tissue that is cut. Hunting arrowheads that cut more tissue are more lethal, and therefore are better. The volume of tissue that is cut is determined by the cutting diameter of the arrowhead, the number of blades it contains, and by the distance the arrowhead penetrates into the animal. The cutting diameter of an arrowhead is determined by how far each cutting blade extends outward from the arrowhead body. The further the blades extend outward the larger the cutting diameter is, and therefore the more cutting potential the arrowhead has.
A problem with conventional fixed-blade arrowheads is that having the desirable, large cutting diameters generally cause unstable arrow flight or poor arrow aerodynamics, which affects accurate shot placement. This can lead to non-lethal wounding of the game animal or missing the animal altogether. Unstable arrow flight in hunting arrows is generally caused by arrowhead aligning and centering problems. Arrowhead aligning and centering problems are prevalent when the arrowhead is attached to the arrow shaft such that the longitudinal axis of the arrowhead is not in line with the longitudinal axis of the arrow shaft. Alignment and centering problems in arrowheads are generally created by low tolerances or sloppiness in the manufacturing of the arrowhead body. When a mis-aligned arrowhead is attached to an arrow and the arrow is shot, as the arrow spins or rotates in flight non-stabilizing forces are induced on the front end of the arrow and cause inconsistent or erratic flight, which steers the arrow from its intended path. Since the cutting blades of fixed-blade arrowheads extend out from the arrowhead body when the arrowhead is in flight, the blades greatly magnify any non-stabilizing forces induced on the arrow from mis-alignment, and therefore increase erratic arrow flight. This in the main reason why conventional fixed-blade arrowheads are limited in the maximum cutting diameter they can have, while retaining sufficiently stable aerodynamics.
To create a hunting arrowhead that has both a maximum cutting diameter and stable aerodynamics, despite moderate manufacturing tolerances, blade-opening arrowheads were designed. Blade-opening arrowheads differ from conventional fixed-blade arrowheads in that the cutting blades are folded up or held adjacent to the arrowhead body in a retracted position while the arrow is in flight, but at impact with the game animal rotate or pivot into an open position, therefore exposing the sharp blade edges and cutting the animal. Since the blades of blade-opening arrowheads are held adjacent to the arrowhead body and do not extend very far out from it, any aligning or centering problems of a blade-opening arrowhead attached to an arrow will not noticeably steer the arrow or undesirably affect its flight trajectory. In this manner blade-opening arrowheads can have both a desirable large cutting diameter, and the stable arrow flight characteristics necessary for accurate shot placement. Blade-opening arrowheads can therefore potentially be more lethal.
Blade-opening arrowheads, like conventional fixed blade arrowheads generally have an elongated arrowhead body, a tip end, and a threaded opposite end. The blades of blade-opening arrowheads have an attachment end which attaches the blades to the arrowhead body by a pivot pin, so that the blades can pivot or rotate in a plane between a first selectable positionxe2x80x94the retracted position, and a second selectable positionxe2x80x94the open position. Blade-opening arrowheads also come in a variety of different types and styles. The blades of the most common type of blade-opening arrowheads, when in the retracted position have a leading blade end positioned near the tip of the arrowhead that protrudes outward from the arrowhead body, and is sometimes shaped like a wing. The leading blade ends of the most common type of blade-opening arrowheads, rotate away from the arrowhead body in a rearward direction when penetrating an animal. Particularly, the leading blade ends catch on the animal""s surface and serve to lever or rotate the blades into the open position, thus exposing the sharp cutting edges of the blades and cutting the animal. The blades of blade-opening arrowheads are also received in blade slots, which are machined or formed into the side of the arrowhead body.
Blade-opening arrowheads for hunting big game must be non-barbing, wherein the blades when in the open position must not inhibit or prevent arrow extraction from a game animal by barbing into the animal tissue. This makes it so non-fatally wounded animals can easily pull out an arrow still lodged in them. For a blade-opening arrowhead to be non-barbing, the pivotal blades must rotate forward from the open position to an angle greater than ninety degrees, as measured between the rear edge of each blade and a location on the arrow shaft rearward of the blades.
Blade-opening arrowheads generally do not penetrate as deep as conventional fixed-blade arrowheads. This has a variety of causes, one in particular occurs when the blades are non-radially aligned with respect to the longitudinal axis of the arrowhead body such that a net pulling force is exerted on each blade when penetrating an object which causes the arrowhead to spin or twist. Spinning reduces penetration by driving the flat blade sides into uncut tissue, which causes friction and therefore depletes kinetic energy that could otherwise further penetration. Non-radial blade alignment is created when the blades are not situated in line with a radius line extending from the longitudinal center of mass of the arrowhead body or the longitudinal axis, to the exterior surface of the arrowhead body. The rate of spin or the spin capacity of conventional blade-opening arrowheads is limited to the extent of the pulling force exerted upon on the arrowhead body by non-radial aligned blades.
Reduced penetration in blade-opening arrowheads can be both desirable and undesirable depending on the type of game animal hunted and the type of wound channel desired. Reduced penetration from spinning when hunting big game animals is generally undesirable, unless the archer is shooting an extremely powerful bow and complete arrow pass-through is assured, and then a twisted wound channel with possibly more tissue damage may be desirable. Reduced penetration from spinning in blade-opening arrowheads for hunting wild turkeys and other small game animals is very desirable since an arrow lodged in a wild turkey greatly limits the distance the bird can retreat after being shot. Therefore reduced arrow penetration aids in increasing the recovery rate of arrowed small game animals.
To hold the blades of blade-opening arrowheads in the retracted position during flight until the arrowhead penetrates the animal, annular retention members such as O-rings are most commonly used. Other commonly known annular retention members are, rubber bands, tight fitting plastic sleeves, tape, heat-shrinkable fitting plastic sleeves, and other wrap materials. When the O-rings are stretched around the outside of the blades they exert a resistive force against the blades and hold the blades selectively in the retracted position.
O-ring use for blade retention is less than ideal. The elastomeric polymer materials are susceptible to drying-out and therefore cracking, which can lead to breaking of the O-ring during arrow acceleration when the arrow is shot. This will cause premature blade-opening and produce extremely erratic arrow flight and possible non-lethal wounding of the game animal. This may also cause severe lacerations to the archer. Also, bows shooting arrows at very high speeds can require as many as three O-rings to prevent premature blade-opening. The experience of learning this can be very undesirable for the archer. O-rings are a consumable item designed for one shot use, and the cost of constantly replacing them is a detrimental factor. Also, they are not user-friendly and are a general bother to worry about while out in the field.
Aside from consumer use considerations, humaneness to the hunted game animal is an important consideration as well. When the arrowhead penetrates the animal and the blades begin to rotate open, the more the O-ring is stretched the more resistive force it exerts back against the blades, thus impeding the rate of blade-opening. This can possibly prevent full blade-opening and a quick and humane kill. Also, extreme weather temperatures greatly affect the elasticity of O-rings; cold weather decreases elasticity which increases the likelihood of the blades not opening, and hot weather increases elasticity which increases the likelihood of premature blade opening.
Attempts in the prior art have been made to remedy the problems associated with O-ring use for blade retention of blade-opening arrowheads, but these attempts have their own problems as well. For example, the use of magnetism for blade retention is known to the art. The disadvantages of using magnets for blade retention are that magnets are heavy, relatively expensive, and can demagnetize. Also known to the art for retaining a pair of blades commonly mounted on a pivot pin in a single blade slot where the blades rotate to opposing sides of the arrowhead body substantially 180 degrees apart when in the open position, is the use of a blade slot that has a narrower opening between opposing blade slot sidewalls at the forward limiting end of the blade slot, where the opening is wider than the width of a blade, such that each blade is biased when in the retracted position. A disadvantage of such narrower blade slot blade retention is that according to such a design a single individual blade cannot be retained in the retracted position without the interaction of the other blade. This means that for producing a desirable, maximum diameter cut from more than two opened blades distributed substantially equidistantly about the perimeter of the arrowhead body, such as the more lethal very popular three blade 120 degree displaced blade design, from such a narrower blade slot blade retention design, requires having two layers of blades or blade slots. Having to accommodate two layers of blade slots in an arrowhead body is a major disadvantage since it will add a significant amount of mass to the arrowhead body and thus decrease arrow velocity, which is in direct contrast to the current strong market trend for fast, flat-shooting arrows. Also commonly known to the art for retaining a blade in the retracted position is the use of an element or elements in addition to that cutting blade, its blade slot and its pivot pin. Examples of such required additional elements for blade retention are: spring elements such as leaf springs or cantilevers, shear rods, O-rings, and another blade. Disadvantages of using additional elements for blade retention are, increased cost, decreased user-friendliness, manufactural complexity, and increased probability of malfunction since the more parts required to perform a function the greater likelihood there is for failure. Disadvantages of other blade retention methods known to the art are, reduced penetration of the arrowhead, structural weakening of various arrowhead elements, in-operability, and manufactural unfeasibleness.
It is apparent that there are much needed improvements in blade-opening arrowheads, both in consideration of the archery consumer and the hunted game animal.
It is apparent that there is a need for a blade-opening arrowhead that securely holds each blade selectively in a retracted or in-flight position, in a secure or locked manner by methods other than O-rings or similar consumable elements.
It is also apparent that there is a need for a blade-opening arrowhead that securely holds each blade selectively in a retracted or in-flight position, in a secure or locked manner, by methods that utilize a minimal number of parts so as to be manufacturally simple, cost effective, structurally strong, user-friendly and to therefore reduce the probability of failure.
It is also apparent that there is a need for a blade-opening arrowhead that is capable of providing increased spinning so as to decrease penetration sufficiently to prevent complete arrow pass-through in wild turkeys, especially when shooting the popular, powerful, flat shooting, and accurate bows.
It is yet further apparent that there is a need for a blade-opening arrowhead that is capable of providing increased spinning so as to provide a more traumatized and damage inflicted wound channel.
It is one object of the present invention to provide blade-opening arrowheads with blade retention methods that do not require the use of consumable elements such as O-rings.
It is another object of the present invention to provide blade-opening arrowheads that require a minimum number of parts or elements for blade retention so as to be manufacturally simple, cost effective, structurally strong, user-friendly and to therefore be less susceptible to failure.
It is another object of the present invention to provide blade-opening arrowheads having a plurality of blades, where each blade is independently securely held selectively in a retracted in-flight position, in a secure or locked manner.
It is another object of the present invention to provide blade-opening arrowheads that securely hold each blade selectively in a retracted in-flight position, in a secure or locked manner where a rigid non-flexible bias element cams each blade within its respective blade slot so that each blade is securely held adjacent to the arrowhead body by frictional engagement when in the retracted position.
It is another object of the present invention to provide blade-opening arrowheads that securely hold each blade selectively in a retracted or in-flight position, in a secure or locked manner where the plane each blade rotates in is not parallel to a partially bounding sidewall of the blades""s corresponding blade slot, such that each blade biasly engages against the sidewall and is securely held adjacent to the arrowhead body by frictional engagement when in the retracted position.
It is another object of the present invention to provide blade-opening arrowheads that securely hold each blade selectively in a retracted or in-flight position, in a secure or locked manner where each blade engages with a corner formed at the juncture of the exterior surface of the arrowhead body and a partially bounding sidewall of each blade""s corresponding blade slot, so that each blade is securely held adjacent to the arrowhead body by frictional engagement when in the retracted position.
It is another object of the present invention to provide blade-opening arrowheads that securely hold each blade selectively in a retracted or in-flight position, in a secure or locked manner where the opening between opposing sidewalls of each blade slot is wider toward the forward end of the blade slot, and where a rigid non-flexible bias element cams each blade within its respective blade slot so that each blade is securely held adjacent to the arrowhead body by frictional engagement when in the retracted position.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide blade-opening arrowheads that securely hold each blade selectively in a retracted or in-flight position, in a secure or locked manner where the opening between opposing sidewalls of each blade slot for at least a portion of the blade slot is narrower than the thickness of a blade when a blade is not retracted therein, wherein when each blade is retracted into the retracted position the sidewalls of its blade slot are flexed so that each blade is securely held adjacent to the arrowhead body within its blade slot by frictional engagement.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide blade-opening arrowheads that securely hold a pair of blades in a single blade slot selectively in a retracted or in-flight position, in a secure or locked manner where the opening between opposing sidewalls of the blade slot for at least a portion of the blade slot is narrower than the thickness of both blades when the blades are not retracted therein, wherein when the blades are retracted into the retracted position the sidewalls of the blade slot are flexed so that the blades are securely held adjacent to the arrowhead body within their blade slot by frictional engagement.
It is yet further another object of the present invention to provide blade-opening arrowheads that provide increased spinning capacity, thus to provide a more traumatized wound channel, and/or to reduce penetration such to prevent complete arrow pass-through in wild turkeys and other small game animals, particularly when using powerful, accurate, flat-shooting bows.
The foregoing objects and advantages and other objects and advantages of the present invention are accomplished with a hunting arrowhead that attaches to the forward end of an arrow shaft, where a plurality of blades are pivotally or hingedly connected to an arrowhead body. The blades freely rotate in a plane from an in-flight retracted first selectable position to an open second selectable position when the arrowhead penetrates an object, or when acted upon by a sufficient opening force.
Such a blade-opening arrowhead according to one preferred embodiment of this invention has an arrowhead body with a tip end used for initial penetration and an opposing threaded shaft end that screws or threads the arrowhead to an arrow. The tip end may be removably attached to the arrowhead body, and may be made of material different than the rest of the arrowhead body. The arrowhead body has a plurality of three blade slots substantially equally distributed 120 degrees about the perimeter of the arrowhead body, with one blade in each respective blade slot. Each blade has a first end, an opposing second end, a face extending between the ends on each blade side, and an edge extending about its periphery. One blade edge of each blade is sharpened for cutting. The first blade ends or the leading ends each have a protruding wing that is exposed out from the arrowhead body when the blades are in the retracted position. The wings serve to increase the moment-arm for levering or rotating the blades to the open position. The second end of each blade has an aperture or hinge pin receiving hole for receiving a pivot pin or a hinge pin. The arrowhead body also has a hinge pin receiving hole for each blade. The arrowhead body hinge pin receiving holes are recessed or drilled into the two opposing sidewalls of each blade slot, and are threaded to receive the threaded hinge pins. A single hinge pin is used for each blade, and when the blades are positioned in the blade slots, each hinge pin is extended through the aperture of a corresponding blade and is screwed into the arrowhead body. This pivotally connects the blades to the arrowhead body, so that each blade rotates in a plane between the retracted position and the open position. The hinge pin receiving holes are drilled non- perpendicularly to the blade slot sidewalls, but the hinge pins extend perpendicularly through the blades when extended through the apertures of the blades when the blades are mounted to the arrowhead body. This makes it so that the plane that each blade rotates in is not parallel to the sidewalls of its corresponding blade slot. The openings between the sidewalls of the blade slots are wider than the blade thickness so that when the blades are folded up into the blade slots in the retracted position, a face or side of each blade biasly engages against a rigid, non-flexible sidewall and each blade is camed or flexed such that it remains independently securely held selectively in the retracted position by frictional engagement without the use of any element or elements in addition to that respective blade, its blade slot and its hinge pin. This makes a very simple to use and effective blade-opening arrowhead because, there are no additional elements to hassle with, a large diameter preferably more than two blade cut wound is attainable, and the arrowhead has no unnecessary weight and therefore provides more accurate or flatter-shooting arrows. The force generated from caming or flexing each blade is strong enough to maintain the blades in the retracted position when the arrow is exposed to incidental forces, such as those produced from transporting the bow, nocking an arrow to the bow string, and acceleration when the arrow is shot, but is weak enough, to be easily overcome when the arrow impacts or begins to penetrate a game animal. The width of the blade slot openings are wide enough to allow the blades to freely rotate to the open position and to seat within the blade slot when in the open position with a snug and wobble-free fit. When rotated to the open position the blades abut against the arrowhead body, thus defining the cutting diameter of the arrowhead.
The plane each blade rotates in, or is in when in the open position, may be parallel to the longitudinal axis of the arrowhead body or may be non-parallel to the longitudinal axis of the arrowhead body depending on the angular orientation the blade slots are machined or fabricated within the arrowhead body. When the opened blades are aligned non-parallely to the longitudinal axis of the arrowhead, the arrowhead will spin when penetrating an object since a flat blade face or side of each blade will be angled or inclined such that the inclined faces are exposed in the forward direction the arrowhead is traveling. This will make it so the inclined faces contact uncut tissue such that a net force will be produced perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the arrowhead and thus cause the arrowhead to spin. Modifications in the machining or fabricating process of the arrowhead body blade slots that produce different inclination or sloped orientations of the opened blades with respect to the longitudinal axis of the arrowhead body, will produce blade-opening arrowheads that have different spin capacities. This variability in the amount of spinning capacity makes it possible to produce blade-opening arrowheads with reduced arrow penetration sufficient enough to prevent complete arrow pass-through in wild turkeys when shooting the very popular, powerful, and therefore accurate, and flat-shooting bows. This spinning capacity is also capable of producing a twisted wound channel with potentially more trauma and damage being done to the cut tissue within the channel""s path.
Blade-opening arrowheads according to other preferred embodiments of this invention differ from the above described preferred embodiment in that the face of each blade biasly engages against an exterior corner formed at the juncture of a blade slot sidewall and the exterior surface of the arrowhead body. Each blade slot sidewall of each engaging corner is sloped relative to the plane its respective blade rotates in such that the leading ends of the blades intersect with the corners when the blades are folded into the retracted position. The radial alignment, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the arrowhead body, of the sidewalls of each blade slot is substantially non-parallel to the radial alignment of the plane that each respective blade rotates in such that each blade is diagonally disposed within its blade slot when in the retracted position so that an inside angle is formed between the face of each blade and the corresponding blade slot sidewall. According to one such embodiment the face of each blade has a recess formed in it such that when the blades are in the retracted position the recesses receive the corners thus independently securely holding each blade selectively in the retracted position. According to another such embodiment the face of each blade has a rigid, non-flexible knob protruding from it such that when the blades are in the retracted position the knobs bias against the corners thus independently securely holding each blade selectively in the retracted position. Particularly the knobs bias against the sidewalls of the blade slots medially to the corners, as determined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the arrowhead body.
Blade-opening arrowheads according to other preferred embodiments of this invention differ from the above described preferred embodiments in that the width of the blade slot opening between opposing sidewalls is larger toward the forward end of the blade slot, and the plane each blade rotates in is parallel to the sidewalls of its blade slot. According to such embodiments a rigid non-flexible bias element protrudes out from either each blade face or from a sidewall of each blade slot and serves to cam or flex each blade within its blade slot, thus independently securely holding each blade selectively in the retracted position by frictional engagement. The bias element of the blades and blade slot sidewalls are integrally formed thereupon.
Blade-opening arrowheads according to yet other preferred embodiments of this invention differ from the above described preferred embodiments in that the sidewalls of the blade slots are flexible or resilient, preferably being molded of a composite resin. According to one such embodiment, each blade slot has a slot opening width between opposing blade slot sidewalls for at least a portion of the blade slot that is narrower than the thickness of a blade, as determined when the blades are not positioned in the blade slots in the retracted position. Each blade also rotates in a plane substantially parallel to the sidewalls of its blade slot. According to such embodiment, when each blade is folded up into the retracted position between the resilient sidewalls of the blade receiving slots, the slot sidewalls are flexed and each blade is thus independently securely held selectively in the retracted position by frictional engagement.
When the arrowheads according to the above described preferred embodiments of this invention initially penetrate an animal, the first ends or leading ends of the blades catch on the animal""s surface and the blades are easily levered out as the frictional engagement is overcome, whereupon the blades freely rotate toward the open position. All that is required to securely re-lock the blades back in the retracted position, is to simply push each blade back into the retracted position, whereupon the frictional engagement selectively retains each blade in the retracted position. There is no requirement to spend additional time and effort handling other elements.
The blade-opening arrowheads according to this invention, use no consumable items such as O-rings, for blade retention. The blade-opening arrowheads according to this invention provide blade retention methods that require less parts or elements than prior art blade-opening arrowheads. This provides blade-opening arrowheads which are more cost effective, simpler to manufacture and to use, and less susceptible to failure. The blade-opening arrowheads according to this invention provide blade retention methods that are not suspectable to malfunctioning when exposed to the harsh conditions commonly encountered in the field, and when subjected to prolonged use. The blade-opening arrowheads according to this invention are also structurally strong, and operable.
The blade-opening arrowheads according to this invention provide increased spinning capacity which can create a more traumatized wound channel, and reduce penetration sufficiently to prevent complete arrow pass-through in wild turkeys and other small game animals even when using powerful, accurate, flat-shooting bows.
As has been shown in the above discussion, the blade-opening arrowheads according to this invention overcome deficiencies inherent in prior art arrowheads.
With the above objects and advantages in view, other objects and advantages of the invention will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention is comprised in the novel construction, combination and assembly of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

Independent blade retention for blade-opening arrowheads


A proximity sensor has a metal case with a sensing coil at one end and a coaxial cable extending out the other end for placement in proximity to rotating machinery to sense imbalances by position change of, for example, a shaft. The sensor includes a cylinder integrally molded with a plastic bobbin which carries the coil on its end. This unitary assembly then has inserted in it the coaxial cable and the typically wire braided outer conductor is soldered onto the cylinder to provide a permanent interlock resistance against axial and torsional forces. A plastic insulating cap is placed over the entire assembly including the sensing coil and epoxied thereto. A sleeve over the junction between the cable and cylinder prevents unwanted epoxy from filling the coaxial cable. Finally, this permanent affixing of the cap allows the metal casing normally having a nut and thread to be crimped onto a notch in the cap. Moisture proofing is also provided by injection of silicone rubber in the cavity of the bobbin.

For use in sensing the vibration of shafts, for example, of large rotating machinery, a proximity sensor is utilized. Such sensor has a metal case which contains a sensing coil at one end and has a coaxial cable extending out of the other end of the case for connecting to an electrical processing unit. By well known techniques eccentric movement of the shaft, indicating unwanted vibration, can be sensed. This provides an indication of incipient problems. Such a system with a proximity sensor is at the present time being sold by the assignee of this application, Bently Nevada Corporation of Minden, Nev. The proximity sensor itself is being sold under the trademark "Proximitor."
Such a proximity sensor, in addition to the foregoing, includes a coaxial or even triaxial cable connecting the coil and metal case of the proximity sensor with the electrical processing unit. Because of very adverse ambient conditions, such sensor--besides being resistant to heat and moisture--must withstand mechanical stresses such as pulling or twisting on the coaxial cable. Because of the relatively fine wire (for example, 0.0035" in diameter) of the sensing coil, breakage has sometimes occurred in the past.

Proximity sensor resistant to axial and torsional forces


A compound semiconductor device includes: a substrate; a channel layer over the substrate; a carrier supply layer over the channel layer; a gate electrode, a source electrode and a drain electrode above the channel layer and the carrier supply layer; and an insulating film that covers the carrier supply layer between the source electrode and the drain electrode. The insulating film includes: a first region that contains anion under the gate electrode; and a second region on the source electrode side or on the drain electrode side of the first region, an anion concentration in the second region being lower than an anion concentration in the first region.

Nitride semiconductors such as GaN, AlN, InN, a mixed crystal thereof have characteristics such as a high saturation electron velocity and a wide band gap. Accordingly, various studies have been made on application of the nitride semiconductors to high-output and high-efficiency amplifiers and high-frequency devices and so on by utilizing these characteristics.
As a semiconductor device using the nitride semiconductor, there are a lot of reports as for a field-effect transistor, particularly as for a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT). For example, operations at a shallow threshold voltage are demanded for the HEMT. It is effective to make an insulating film between a gate electrode and a channel thin to enable the operations at the shallow threshold voltage. However, a gate leakage current may be large, or a withstand voltage may be lowered if the insulating film is made thin. A semiconductor device is proposed where fluorine-ion is contained in a whole of the insulating film to enable normally-off operations, but a sheet resistance is extremely high in this semiconductor device.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2013-207274
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2010-186943
Patent Literature 3: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-294528
Patent Literature 4: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-27276
Patent Literature 5: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-218696
Patent Literature 6: Japanese National Publication of International Patent Application No. 2009-507396

Compound semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same


Techniques to transmit power across a wearable device are provided. A wearable device can include a conductive transmission line and a set of contacts, the set of contacts configured to be releasably connected to a second set of contacts on another wearable device. As such, power can be communicated to the conductive transmission line through the sets of contacts and transmitted across the wearable device, via the conductive transmission line.

Modern clothing and other wearable accessories may incorporate computing or other advanced electronic technologies. Such computing and/or advanced electronic technologies may be incorporated for various functional reasons or may be incorporated for purely aesthetic reasons. Such clothing and other wearable accessories are generally referred to as "wearable technology" or "wearable computing devices."
Some wearable devices can include the ability to generate power. However, transmitting such power to other locations or other devices is difficult. The present disclosure is directed to the above.

Cross body charging for wearable devices


A method of removing a nonpolar solvent from a fluid volume that includes at least one nonpolar compound, such as a fat, an oil or a triglyceride, is provided. The method comprises contacting a fluid volume with an expanding gas to expand the nonpolar solvent and form a gas-expanded solvent. The gas-expanded solvent may have a substantially reduced density in comparison to the at least one nonpolar compound and/or a substantially reduced capacity to solubilize the nonpolar compound, causing the nonpolar compounds to separate from the gas-expanded nonpolar solvent into a separate liquid phase. The liquid phase including the at least one nonpolar compound may be separated from the gas-expanded solvent using conventional techniques. After separation of the liquid phase, at least one of the temperature and pressure may be reduced to separate the nonpolar solvent from the expanding gas such that the nonpolar solvent may be recovered and reused.

Biodiesel has been the subject of much investigation as an alternative for petroleum diesel fuel. As used herein, the term "biodiesel" refers to an ester-based fuel oxygenate that is derived from a biological source. The biodiesel fuel is used as an alternative for, or as an additive to, petroleum diesel fuel in automobiles or other vehicles. The biodiesel fuel is conventionally produced from a triglyceride starting material or a fatty acid starting material by a transesterification reaction or an esterification reaction, respectively. Generally, the triglyceride is reacted, or transesterified, with an alcohol to produce glycerol (also known as glycerin) and a corresponding alkyl ester of the triglyceride. Similarly, the fatty acid is reacted, or esterified, with an alcohol to produce a corresponding alkyl ester of the fatty acid. The triglyceride or fatty acid feedstock materials are available from various sources, such as from pure or used fats or oils. These fats or oils are typically hydrophobic and water-insoluble. In addition to including the triglyceride or fatty acid, the fats or oils include various impurities, such as, free fatty acids, phospholipids, sterols, water, dirt, detergents and polar compounds. These sources of the fats or oils are too viscous and their freezing points too high to be used directly as the biodiesel fuel and, therefore, the triglycerides or fatty acids are transesterified or esterified to produce the corresponding alkyl ester, which has a lower viscosity than that of the source of the feedstock material. The transesterification of the triglyceride (or the esterification of the fatty acid) is conducted with an excess of the alcohol in the presence of a catalyst. As the reaction proceeds, two phases form. One phase includes the alkyl ester and the other phase includes the glycerol. The two phases are allowed sufficient time to settle before additional processing is conducted to purify the alkyl ester from the glycerol.
Currently, most biodiesel is made from soybean oil, methanol, and an alkaline catalyst. However, there are large amounts of waste fats and oils that are unsuitable for human consumption that could be converted to biodiesel at a lower cost. The problem with processing these waste oils is that they often contain large amounts of free fatty acids that cannot be converted to biodiesel using an alkaline catalyst. These free fatty acids react with the alkaline catalyst to produce soaps that inhibit the separation of the biodiesel, glycerin, and wash water. An acid-catalyzed pretreatment with an alcohol, such as methanol, has been used to convert these high free fatty acid feedstocks to methyl esters, which do not form soaps. However, such acid-catalyzed pretreatment leaves behind acid and water, which interfere with the alkaline transesterification. The triglyceride may first be extracted from a feedstream containing polar compounds, such as free fatty acids, using a nonpolar solvent, and the purified triglyceride may then undergo base-catalyzed transesterification.
Further, in food and chemical processes some fats and oils need to have impurities such as, for example, free fatty acids, sugars, and non-oil lipids, removed to improve their quality. This too can be accomplished by extracting the nonpolar fat or oil with a solvent. The extraction process results in the formation of a fraction including the nonpolar fat or oil in the solvent.
Recovering and recycling the solvent used to extract the nonpolar compounds may be problematic. Particularly, the solvent is typically removed by distillation, evaporation, lyophilization, use of an inert gas. Since such conventional techniques consume considerable amounts of energy or use expensive and toxic compounds, efficient methods of recovering a solvent used to extract nonpolar compounds, such as triglycerides, are desired.

Methods for recovering a solvent from a fluid volume and methods of removing at least one compound from a nonpolar solvent


A fan system is provided which keeps a record of the electric connection between a battery ECU and an accessory battery and starts a fan if it is determined based on the record that the electric connection between the battery ECU and the accessory battery was just in an unconnected state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fan system for vehicles and a method for controlling a fan in vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide variety of motor-driven vehicles (e.g., electric vehicles, hybrid motor vehicles, fuel-cell powered vehicles) is known and each of such vehicles usually includes a battery for powering the driving system of the vehicle and a fan system for cooling the battery since its capacity (performance) may otherwise decrease with increase in the temperature of the battery while charged and discharged repeatedly.
Japanese Laid-opened Patent Application No. 2000-100481 discloses a battery assembly for electric vehicles which enables the efficient use of space while ensuring a good cooling efficiency. This battery assembly has a battery case in which battery chambers are formed, battery modules each displaced in the battery chamber, and fans mounted on the lid of the battery case. This battery assembly is fixed to the bottom side of the chassis frame of the vehicle.
According to this art, each battery module is cooled by each fan, which provides a good efficiency in cooling the module and prevents variations in temperature among the battery modules.
However, once such a battery assy has been mounted to the bottom side of the chassis frame of the vehicle, for example, during an assembly or maintenance of the vehicle, it is impossible to visually check the electric connection of each fan, and therefore a worker can not check if the fan is correctly connected.

Fan system for vehicles and method for controlling fan in vehicles


A productive process for making conventional and low-unsaturation polyether polyols is disclosed. The process involves continuous removal of allyl alcohol and lower allyl alcohol propoxylates from the polyol during manufacture. The process can be performed at high temperatures and/or low catalyst concentrations. Polyether polyols with exceptionally low monol contents can be prepared.

Polyether polyols, useful intermediates for the production of polyurethanes, are manufactured commercially by polymerizing propylene oxide in the presence of hydroxyl or amino group-containing initiators and basic catalysts. While the nominal functionality of the polyol product is that of the initiator, the average hydroxyl functionality is actually less than the nominal functionality. The lower actual functionality results because some of the propylene oxide isomerizes to allyl alcohol under the basic reaction conditions, and the allyl alcohol is propoxylated to give a polyether monol impurity. Polyether monol impurities, which are estimated by measuring polyol unsaturation, are preferably minimized because they adversely impact polyurethane physical properties.
The isomerization side reaction limits the conventional polyether polyol synthesis in two important ways. First, the reaction must be performed at temperatures within the range of about 95.degree.-120.degree. C. to achieve acceptable reaction rates and to minimize propylene oxide isomerization. At higher temperatures, polymerization rates are faster and batch times are shorter, but the isomerization reaction rate also increases so that the the unsaturation level of the polyol exceeds acceptable limits. At lower batch temperatures, the batch times are measured in days and weeks instead of hours. Thus, productivity is limited because higher reaction temperatures cannot be used without sacrificing polyol quality. Second, polyols having equivalent weights greater than about 2,000 cannot generally be made using conventional base catalysts without generating excessively high levels of monol impurities.
Previous approaches to preparing polyether polyols that contain reduced levels of polyether monol impurities have focused on preparing polyols at lower temperatures with conventional catalysts, or have used special catalysts such as double metal cyanide compounds. Because low-unsaturation polyols can give improved polyurethanes, synthetic routes to the polyols are of interest.
Propenyl unsaturation is preferred over allylic unsaturation because propenyl groups are readily converted to hydroxyl end-groups by acid hydrolysis or ion-exchange treatment. Polyether polyols made in a conventional process have predominantly allylic unsaturation. The proportion of propenyl unsaturation can be increased marginally by increasing the reaction temperature, but then the total unsaturation far exceeds acceptable limits. Therefore, it is not practical to raise reaction temperature in a conventional process to obtain polyols with a higher proportion of propenyl end-groups.
A preferred process would allow preparation of polyether polyols at relatively high temperatures (130.degree.-180.degree. C.) with conventional base catalysts, but without generating excessive levels of monofunctional polyether impurities. Preferably, the process would permit fast epoxide feed rates, short batch times, and reduced catalyst requirements. A preferred process could be performed at low epoxide concentrations to improve process safety. A process that could use a conventional base catalyst to make low-unsaturation, high equivalent weight polyols would be valuable. A preferred process would enable the preparation of polyols having relatively low total unsaturation, with a relatively high proportion of the unsaturation being derived from propenyl end-groups.

Productive process for making conventional and low-unsaturation polyether polyols


An image data converting device of at least one embodiment of the present invention for converting, by linear interpolation, input image data having a predetermined resolution into delta arrangement image data having a resolution that is smaller than the predetermined resolution, the image data converting device includes: an even line pixel value converting section for converting a value of each pixel in each even line in the input image data into a value of each pixel in each even line in the delta arrangement image data, by using a predetermined initial value for even lines; and an odd line pixel value converting section for converting a value of each pixel in each odd line in the input image data into a value of each pixel in each odd line in the delta arrangement image data, by using a predetermined initial value for odd lines, the predetermined initial value for odd lines being (1±α)/2(0≦α≦0.5) of the initial value for the even lines. This allows conversion into an image that looks natural by controlling a jaggy and/or colored appearance of a contour section of the image, when image data having a high resolution is converted into the delta arrangement image data having a low resolution.

Some conventional liquid crystal drivers for digital still cameras (hereinafter, referred to as DSCs) have a resolution converting function for converting a resolution of a YUV format input image data in accordance with a resolution of a display panel for output. In general, converting a resolution in accordance with a resolution of a display panel for output is called scaling.
In scaling, for example, a high-resolution input image data is converted into a low-resolution input image data. The following explains a liquid crystal driver that has the function described above and is used in a conventional compact display, with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10.
(Overview of Conventional Resolution Conversion)
First, the following explains an overview of a conventional resolution conversion, with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process for converting input-image image data (hereinafter, referred to as input image data 1) whose pixels are in a stripe arrangement and whose resolution is 720 pixels into image data (hereinafter, referred to as delta arrangement image data 2) whose pixels are in a delta arrangement and whose resolution is 320 pixels. (a) of FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a process for converting the input image data 1 into an odd line data 2a of the delta arrangement image data 2. Meanwhile, (b) of FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a process for converting the input image data 1 into an even line data 2a of the delta arrangement image data 2.
Each of (a) and (b) of FIG. 8 shows a scale 10 or 11 below the input image data 1. The scale 10 is a scale for the input image data 1, that is, a scale having 720 equal divisions of pixels. The scale 11 is a scale for the arrangement image data 2, that is, a scale having 320 equal divisions of pixels. The scale 11 is shown so as to correspond to the scale 10. Regions of the odd line data 2a and the even line data 2b each of which regions is surrounded by a dotted line corresponds to a display area 31 of a display for output.
In the odd line data 2a shown in (a) of FIG. 8, an ellipse 4 indicates pixel data for each one pixel made of sub-pixels of RGB. A scaling ratio used in an example of the present resolution conversion is a ratio of the resolution (720 pixels) of the input image data 1 to the resolution (320 pixels) of the delta arrangement image data 2. Accordingly, the scaling ratio is 2.25. Therefore, a length of data for one pixel in the odd line data 2a corresponds to 2.25 divisions on the scale 10.
Similarly, in the even line data 2b shown in (b) of FIG. 8, an ellipse 6 indicates pixel data for each one pixel made of sub-pixels of RGB. As described above, the scaling ratio is 2.25. Therefore, a length of data for one pixel in the even line data 2b corresponds to 2.25 divisions on the scale 10.
The present resolution conversion is based on linear interpolation. An image data conversion formula used in the liner interpolation requires a predetermined initial value. Initial values used for conversion into the odd line data 2a and the even line data 2b may simply be set as follows. That is, the initial value used for conversion into the even line data 2b in (b) of FIG. 8 may be set to 2.25 and the initial value used for conversion into the odd line data 2a in (a) of FIG. 8 may be set to 2.75 dots which is shifted by 0.5 dot from the initial value used for the conversion into the even line data 2b, in view of the delta arrangement. Here, for convenience of the explanation, the initial value is set to a value obtained by subtracting 1 from each of the above initial values. In other words, the initial value used for conversion into the odd line data 2a in (a) of FIG. 8 is set to 1.75 dots and the initial value used for conversion into the even line data 2b in (b) of FIG. 8 is set to 1.25 dots.
(Conversion of Odd Line)
First, the conversion into the odd line data 2a is explained with reference to (a) of FIG. 8. Conventionally, image data is converted by linear interpolation as follows.
As shown in (a) of FIG. 8, in the conversion into the odd line data 2a, the initial value 1.75 as described above is used. For example, in a case where an R pixel value is converted, a pixel value of r0 of a first pixel provided at a starting position of the odd line data 2a is obtained as follows. Because the initial value used in this case is 1.75, an R pixel corresponding to the initial value in the input image data 1 is a pixel R1. As an arrow 5 indicates, with reference to pixel values of R1 and R2 that is disposed adjacent to R1 on a right side of R1, conversion into r0 is performed. More specifically, a value of r0 is obtained by substituting the pixel values of R1 and R2 into an expression: r0=R1×(1−0.75)+R2×0.75.
Then, a pixel value of r1 of a second pixel in the odd line data 2a is obtained as follows. Because the scaling ratio is 2.25 as described above, a next R pixel to be referred to in the input image data 1 is a pixel corresponding to a position of a value obtained by adding 2.25 to 1.75 dots. That is, as indicated by an arrow 5, with reference to a pixel R4 corresponding to a position of 4 on the scale 10, conversion into r1 in the odd line data 2a is performed. Here, a reference position is 4.00 dot and there is no fractional figure after the decimal point. Accordingly, in this case, with reference to only a pixel value of R4, the conversion is carried out. In other words, r1 is obtained from an expression r1=R4.
Each pixel value is obtained according to the method described above until a value of the last R pixel in the odd line data 2a, that is, r319 is obtained. The same applies to calculation of pixel values of g and b constituting each one pixel of the odd line data 2a.
(Conversion of Even Line)
Next, the conversion into the even line data 2b is explained with reference to (b) of FIG. 8. Basically, a method for the conversion into the even line data 2b is the same as that into the odd line data 2a as described above.
For example, in a case where an R pixel value is converted, a pixel value of r1 of a first pixel provided at a starting position of the even line data 2b is obtained as follows. Because the initial value used in this case is 1.25, an R pixel corresponding to the initial value in the input image data 1 is a pixel R1. As an arrow 7 indicates, with reference to pixel values of R1 and R2 that is disposed adjacent to R1 on a right side of R1, conversion into r1 is performed. More specifically, a value of r1 is obtained by substituting the pixel values of R1 and R2 into an expression: r1=R1×(1−0.25)+R2×0.25.
Because the scaling ratio is 2.25 as described above, a next R pixel to be referred to in the input image data 1 is a pixel corresponding to a position of a value obtained by adding 2.25 to 1.25 dots. That is, as indicated by an arrow 7, with reference to a pixel R3 corresponding to a position 3.5 on the scale 10, conversion into r2 in the even line data 2b is performed. More specifically, a value r2 is obtained by substituting pixel values of R3 and R4 into an expression: r2=R3×(1−0.5)+R4×0.5.
Each pixel value is obtained according to the method described above until a value of the last R pixel in the even line data 2b, that is, r320 is obtained. The same applies to calculation of pixel values of g and b constituting each one pixel of the even line data 2b. In this way, the resolution converting function of a conventional liquid crystal driver converts the input image data 1 whose pixels are in a stripe arrangement and whose resolution is 720 pixels into the delta arrangement image data 2 whose pixels are in a delta arrangement and whose resolution is 320 pixels.
Next, with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, the following explains in more detail an arrangement of pixels of image data that is to be converted by the resolution converting function of the conventional liquid crystal driver as described above with reference to FIG. 8. This clarifies a problem of resolution conversion carried out by the conventional liquid crystal driver. First, with reference to FIG. 9, the following explains downsampling.
(Downsampling)
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating sampling positions in odd line data and even line data in downsampling in a stripe arrangement, in a case where image data whose resolution is 720 pixels in a stripe arrangement is converted into image data whose resolution is 320 pixels in a delta arrangement. Here, the sampling means to make a reference to a value of pixel data.
As shown in FIG. 9, in stripe arrangement image data 100, pixels S1 to S5 are aligned in the first line (hereinafter, referred to as odd data) and pixels S1′ to S5′ are aligned in the second line (hereinafter, referred to as even data). Scales 101 and 102 shown below the stripe arrangement image data 100 correspond to the first line data and the second line data, respectively. The scales 101 and 102 have numerical values each indicating a starting position of sampling of pixel data in each line.
As shown in the scale 101, an initial value used in sampling of the odd data, that is, the first sampling position is arranged to be 1.75 dots.
A pixel arrangement after the resolution conversion becomes a delta arrangement in which odd data and even data are provided alternately in a vertical direction. Accordingly, regarding pixel units, pixels in the even data is disposed so as to be shifted by 0.5 dot to the left from the pixels in the odd data. Therefore, the initial value used in the sampling of the even data is 1.25 that is obtained by shifting by 0.5 dot the above initial value, in consideration that the arrangement of the pixels after the resolution conversion is a delta arrangement.
Because the resolution conversion is a conversion from the resolution of 720 pixels to the resolution of the resolution of 20 pixels, the scaling ratio is 2.25. Accordingly, on the scale 101, 4 dots is indicated. The "4 dots" is a position of the next sampling which position is obtained by adding 2.25 to the initial value 1.75 in the odd data.
Meanwhile, on the scale 102, 3.5 dots is indicated. The "3.5 dots" is a position of the next sampling which position is obtained by adding 2.25 to the initial value 1.25 in the even data.
According to the above sampling position, a starting position of the first sampling data in the odd data is 1.75 dots. Meanwhile, a starting position of the first sampling data in the even data is 1.25 dots. Further, a starting position of the second sampling data in the odd data is 4 dots. Meanwhile, a starting position of the second sampling data in the even data is 3.5 dots.
Accordingly, with respect to the staring position of the first sampling data in the odd data as a reference position, the starting position of the first sampling data in the even data is shifted by 0.5 dot to the left and the starting position of the second sampling data in the even data is shifted by 1.75 dots to the right.
(Image Data after Conversion)
Next, the following explains an overview of image data after the resolution conversion, with reference to FIG. 10. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing respective positions of RGB pixels in a delta arrangement after conversion of the image data whose resolution is 720 pixels in a stripe arrangement into the image data whose resolution is 320 pixels in the delta arrangement. (a) of FIG. 10 shows a position of G pixel data in the delta arrangement; (b) of FIG. 10 shows a position of B pixel data in the delta arrangement; and (c) of FIG. 10 shows a position of R pixel data in the delta arrangement.
As shown in (a) of FIG. 10, in odd data 110, the first G data is D2, and the second G data is D5. Meanwhile, in even data 111, the first G data is D1′ and the second G data is D4′. Scales 112 and 113 correspond to the odd data 110 and the even data 111, respectively. Each numerical value on the scales 112 and 113 indicates a center position of each pixel data in the odd data 110 or the even data 111. Here, with respect to D2 of the odd data 110 as a reference, D1′ of the even data 111 is shifted by 0.5 pixel to the left and D4′ is shifted by 0.5 pixel to the right.
With reference to (b) of FIG. 10, in the odd data 110, the first B data is D3 and the second B data is D6. Meanwhile, in the even data 111, the first B data is D2′ and the second B data is D5′. Scales 114 and 115 correspond to the odd data 110 and the even data 111, respectively. Each numerical value on the scales 114 and 115 indicates a center position of each pixel data in the odd data 110 or the even data 111. Here, with respect to D3 of the odd data 110 as a reference, D2′ of the even data 111 is shifted by 0.5 pixel to the left and D5′ is shifted by 0.5 pixel to the right.
Further, with reference to (c) of FIG. 10, in the odd data 110, the first R data is D1 and the second R data is D4. Meanwhile; in the even data 111, the first R data is D3′ and the second R data is D6′. Scales 116 and 117 correspond to the odd data 110 and the even data 111, respectively. Each numerical value on the scales 116 and 117 indicates a center position of each pixel data in the odd data 110 or the even data 111. Here, with respect to D1 of the odd data 110 as a reference, D3′ of the even data 111 is shifted by 0.5 pixel to the right and D6′ is shifted by 1.5 pixels to the right.
(Problems in Conventional Resolution Conversion)
As described above, in each of G and B data after the resolution conversion, a shift amount between reference pixel data in the odd data 110 and a pixel in the even data 111 corresponding to the reference pixel data is equal to a shift amount between the reference pixel data in the odd data 110 and a pixel in the even data 111 which pixel is a succeeding pixel of the pixel data in the even data 111 corresponding to the reference pixel data. However, in R data, such shift amounts are not equal. Such uneven shifts cause a display position of each pixel data of a converted image to be misaligned from a display position of each pixel data of an unconverted image. Accordingly, the resolution conversion carried out by the conventional liquid crystal driver may cause a contour section of the converted image to appear jaggy and/or colored (falsely colored). This significantly deteriorates an image quality. Meanwhile, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for converting a resolution of an image by a method other than the above-described liner interpolation.
According to the technique of Patent Literature 1, specifically, first, a scaling filter is constructed for resolution adjustment between an input video image of inputted video image signals and an output display device, in the output display device including sub-pixels which output display device has pixels in a delta arrangement. Next, a representing value of sub-pixel values of pixels to be processed by the scaling filter is obtained, and sub-pixel values is obtained in consideration of a difference between the pixels of the input video image. Subsequently, gamma correction suitable for the display device that is to display the sub-pixel values is carried out and the sub-pixel values are displayed by the display device.
The technique of Patent Literature 1 reduces a color fringe that occurs on a boundary of vide images, by a sub-pixel rendering method as described above.
The technique of Patent Literature 1 is a technique of a wide range covering not only scaling but also a process procedure of image processing such as gamma correction. Further, the technique of Patent Literature 1 requires a display that includes a processor that has a fairly high operation processing capability and the process is complicated.
Though an algorithm that is more advantageous for an image quality can be selected for scaling in an environment where a more sophisticated operation processing can be performed, the technique of Patent Literature 1 cannot be applied to a compact display that does not include such a processor as described above.

Image data converting device, method for converting image data, program and storage medium