A power steering system includes a first steering mechanism designed to control the steering of at least one of the wheels of a steered axle and includes a mechanical transmission of the movement from a steering wheel of the vehicle to the wheel, a first actuator controlled by a parameter related to the steering wheel movement and capable of providing a steering assistance effort to the wheel. The power steering system further includes a second steering mechanism which includes a second actuator capable of providing a steering assistance effort to at least one of the wheels of the same axle, the second actuator having a housing which is secured to the axle, a first and a second piston rods able to slide through the housing and extending, on opposite sides, beyond the housing, with the piston rods being substantially parallel to the axle.

The present invention relates to a power steering system for a vehicle, especially an industrial vehicle such as a heavy truck.
A power steering system has been a standard feature in vehicles for many years, in particular in industrial vehicles. Such a system assists the vehicle driver by applying a force to the wheels, through a steering actuator, which complements the effort of the driver which is mechanically transmitted from the steering wheel to the steered wheels of the vehicle. Therefore, a lower effort is required for the driver when turning the steering wheel and the vehicle is easier to manoeuvre.
Typically, a power steering system comprises a steering gear including the actuator capable of providing a steering assistance effort to at least one of the wheels of the axle. This actuator is controlled by a parameter related to the steering wheel movement, for example as a function of the steering effort exerted by the driver on the steering wheel.
A mechanical arrangement makes it possible, on the one hand, to transmit the movement of the actuator to the steered wheel and, on the other hand, to transmit the movement of said steered wheel to the other wheel of the same axle.
However, a significant drawback of such a conventional power steering system is that it comprises heavy pans, and that it requires space—while the corresponding allotted space is generally limited. Therefore, the implementation of such a system leads to heavy packaging work and involves some limitations due to the size of the wheels and/or of the vehicle frame.
It therefore appears that, from several standpoints, there is room for improvement in power steering systems for vehicles.
It is desirable to provide an improved power steering system for a vehicle.
It is also desirable to provide a power steering system which requires less space than the prior art systems and which has a reduced weight, while also being effective and reliable.
According to a first aspect, the invention relates to a power steering system for a vehicle having at least one steered axle joining two wheels, the power steering system comprising a first steering mechanism designed to control the steering of at least one of the wheels, and comprising:                a mechanical transmission of the movement from a steering wheel of the vehicle to at least one of the wheels;        a first actuator controlled by a parameter related to the steering wheel movement and capable of providing a steering assistance effort to at least one of the wheels;
the power steering system further comprising a second steering mechanism designed to control the steering of at least one of the wheels of said same axle, said second steering mechanism including a second actuator capable of providing a steering assistance effort to at least one of the wheels of said axle, the second actuator having:                a housing which is secured to the axle;
a first and a second piston rods able to slide through the housing and extending, on opposite sides, from inside to outside of the housing, with said piston rods being substantially parallel to said axle.
Thus, with the power steering system according to an aspect of the invention, the wheels of the axle can be steered by means of a first actuator and/or a second actuator. In practice, the steering assistance is primarily provided, by the first actuator, while the second actuator can either act simultaneously with the first one, to provide an additional steering assistance to the wheels of the same axle, or not be used, depending on the current needs.
More precisely, an advantageous way of using an aspect of the invention is to provide a first actuator which is dimensioned in order to be capable to provide the steering assistance required in most cases, for example in 90% of cases. The second actuator is then used to provide the extra steering assistance needed in specific conditions, preferably occasionally. The second actuator therefore acts as a means intended to provide a boost to steering assistance when imposed by conditions. For example, the first actuator can be dimensioned to meet the needs for a vehicle running at high speed on a highway, and the second actuator can be used to provide the additional effort which is required for manoeuvring the vehicle at low speed.
As a consequence, owing to an aspect of the invention, the first actuator size can be reduced as compared to conventional actuators, without waiting the power steering system efficiency insofar as a second actuator is provided for specific cases. This results in a less cumbersome steering gear, therefore saving space in the area of said steering gear and making it possible to lower the cab and/or implement a bigger cooling pack, for example.
Downsizing the first actuator also results in downsizing the mechanical arrangement connecting the steering gear and the steered wheel, in particular the drag link. Components of the first steering mechanism are thus less cumbersome and less heavy, which is a further advantage of an aspect of the invention.
Besides, the impact of the second actuator on the system overall size is fairly low. On the one hand, there is no need to install said second actuator in the steering gear or close to it. Thus, said actuator can be located in an area where more space is available. On the other hand, positioning the piston rods of the second actuator parallel to the axle makes it possible to reduce the space occupied by said second actuator, and to avoid protruding parts.
Even is the second actuator according to an aspect of the invention can be an actuator of any type and, for instance, an electric or a pneumatic actuator, the second actuator is preferably a hydraulic actuator. In this case the housing of the second actuator is a cylinder barrel and the second actuator comprises a movable piston located in said cylinder barrel and defining inside it at least a first and a second chambers. The piston is connected, on opposite sides thereof, respectively to said first and second piston rods. Thanks to this hydraulic arrangement, the packaging of the second actuator and so the packaging of the power steering system according to an aspect of the invention is greatly improved.
According to an other preferred embodiment, the first steering mechanism comprises a track rod connected to the wheels of said axle in order to allow transmission of the steering movement from one wheel to the other wheel, the piston rods forming part of the track rod.
In other words, the axis of the second actuator is coincident with the track rod axis, the cylinder barrel being interposed between two portions of the track rod. Typically, the track rod can include two links rods and the two piston rods, each link rod having an end connected to the end of a piston rod opposite the piston of the second actuator and a second end connected to one wheel, possibly by means of an intermediate member.
This disposition makes it possible to further reduce the size of the power steering system, more specifically in the area of the second actuator. Furthermore, with this implementation, the second actuator can steer both wheels, and higher efforts can be transmitted to the wheels by the second actuator.
In an implementation, the axle is a front axle of the vehicle, either the single front axle of the vehicle or one of the front axles of the vehicle.
The first actuator can be an electric, actuator, which is particularly interesting especially for long haul trucks that need a fairly low steering assistance when running on highways, since it has a low consumption.
Alternatively, the first actuator can be a hydraulic, actuator, which is capable of providing a high steering assistance.
In this embodiment, the second actuator can be hydraulically coupled to the first actuator, so that the pressures in the chambers of the second actuator are substantially identical to the pressures in the chambers of the first actuator, when said actuators are connected.
The power steering system may further comprise disconnecting means arranged between the first and second actuators in order to allow the second actuator to be hydraulically disconnected from the first actuator. Disconnecting the actuators may be done in case of a failure, especially on the second actuator or on the corresponding hydraulic circuit, the disconnecting means then having a safety function. The actuators may also be disconnected if no additional steering assistance is needed, the first actuator being sufficient to provide alone the required assistance; in this case, the piston of the second actuator can move freely inside the cylinder barrel, in order not to impair the operation of the first steering mechanism.
Preferably, the first actuator can be always active, meaning that it is permanently operatively connected to one wheel, whether it actually provides steering, assistance or not at a given moment. On the contrary, the second actuator can be coupled to the first actuator, meaning that there exist structural means effectively providing a possible connection between said actuators, but either connected or disconnected from said first actuator, meaning, that, functionally, there is actually or not a fluid communication between the actuators.
Providing disconnecting means can be particularly advantageous in case the second actuator is located on a front axle, insofar as it is then exposed and could be damaged.
For example, the disconnecting means comprise an isolation valve which can be switched between:                a first position, in which the second actuator is in fluid communication with the first actuator;        and a second position, in which the second actuator is hydraulically isolated from the first actuator and the first and second chambers of the second actuator are in fluid communication.
This isolation valve can typically be arranged on conduits joining the chambers of the first and the second actuators, and can be controlled by control means depending on various parameters as will be explained later. The first position can be used during normal operation of the system, when there is a need for an extra steering assistance. The second position can be used either during normal operation of the system, when no extra steering assistance is required, or in case of a failure, especially on the second actuator or its hydraulic circuit. In the second position, the first actuator can steer wheels independently from the second actuator.
The power steering system can comprise control means capable of switching the isolation valve from one position to another depending on the pressure received by the first actuator. For example, an increase in said pressure indicates that there is a need for further steering assistance, and as a consequence, the second actuator is activated, the isolation valve being moved to its first position.
The power steering system can further comprise a pump arranged to provide the extra flow of hydraulic fluid required in case the second actuator is hydraulically connected to the first actuator (i.e. when the isolation valve is in its first position). This pump can be an additional pump, such as an electro pump. Alternatively, the power steering system can comprise a variable displacement pump capable of adjusting the flow it provides, for example a pump with a first low displacement and a second high displacement.
The second actuator can be controlled by a parameter related to the steering wheel movement, such as the steering wheel angle, the steering wheel speed, or the steering effort—or torque—on the steering wheel. In case an isolation valve is provided, said control means can be capable of switching the isolation valve from one position to another depending on said parameter.
Alternatively, the second actuator can be controlled by the pressure received by the first actuator.
Besides, the power steering system can comprise control means capable of deactivating the second actuator, in particular in case the vehicle speed is greater than a predetermined threshold, for example above 60 km/h. Indeed, at relatively high speeds, there is no need for a high steering assistance effort. In case an isolation valve is provided, said control means can be capable of switching the isolation valve to the second position when the vehicle speed is greater than said threshold.
According to a second aspect, the invention relates to a vehicle having at least one steered axle joining two wheels and comprising a power steering system as previously described.
These and other features and advantages will become apparent upon reading the following description in view of the drawing attached hereto representing, as non-limiting examples, embodiments of a vehicle according to an aspect of the invention.


System and method for automated border-crossing checks of a personal data recording device, a biometry data recording device, a personal data transmission device, a data storage device, a transit gate (10), an isolation device, a data reading device, an authenticity testing device, a data manipulation testing device, a device for opening of the entrance (12) of transit gate (10), a biometry data recording device, a comparison device, an alarm triggering device, a personal data transmission device and a device for opening the exit of the transit gate (10) and a method for automated border-crossing checks.

Border checks, for example, at airports, but also in road and ferry traffic, are time-critical for the personal traffic crossing the border. The expense for the control authorities, among other things, because of the Schengen agreement in recent years, has simultaneously risen disproportionately to the number of travelers. The mobility of people that has been increasing for years and the increasing numbers of passengers in international air traffic are leading to new requirements in personal transport. On the other hand, the personnel and financial resources of state control authorities, air transport companies and airport operators, as well as the spatial circumstances at many international airports, are increasingly limited.


A display method includes the following steps: generating a first depth map and an edge map according to a color image; determining a first depth value of a first pixel and a second depth value of a second pixel of an edge region of the first depth map according to the edge map, in which the first pixel and the second pixel are arranged in a horizontal direction; adjusting N depth values of N pixels adjacent to the edge region of the first depth map according to a zero parallax setting reference level to generate a second depth map, where N is a positive integer, and the N pixels include at least one of the first pixel and the second pixel; and generating multiple-view images according to the second depth map and the color image to display a 3D image.

Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to three-dimensional (3D) image display system. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a 3D image display system having a smoothing operation.
Description of Related Art
Recently, applications of various 3D images have been quite popular. In order to display 3D images effectively, a variety of technologies for displaying 3D images have been continuously proposed.
In some of approaches, a color negative method is utilized to improve crosstalk phenomenon of a 3D image. However, with arrangement of the color negative, distortion or inaccuracy of color of the 3D image is caused.

Three-dimensional image display system and display method


An application device and a method of use for the lubrication of a chain drive, more preferably for motorcycle chain drives or the like, includes a rail device. The rail device having a longitudinal side that can be brought to bear against a chain of the chain drive. The rail device includes a contact region formed of a consumable solid lubricant that can be applied to the chain and that can be brought in contact with the chain.

The invention relates to an application device and a method for the lubrication of a chain drive, more preferably for motorcycle drives or the like, wherein the application device comprises a rail device, wherein the rail device with its longitudinal side can be brought to bear against a chain of the chain drive and comprises a contact region contactable with the chain, wherein at least the contact region is formed of a consumable solid lubricant that can be applied to the chain.
As is known, chain drives require regular lubrication with a lubricant, wherein a viscous lubricant or a solid lubricant can be used. Viscous lubricants particularly have the disadvantage that contaminations such as for example dust, sand etc. can easily adhere to the chain drive because of a lubricating film formed by the lubricant. These contaminations have an abrasive effect on sliding surface pairings of the chain drive and thus promote early wear of the latter. Particularly chain drives exposed to rough ambient conditions such as for example motorcycle chain drives, bicycle chain drives or the like are therefore subject to comparatively short service or maintenance intervals.
Furthermore, application devices comprising solid lubricants are known from the prior art which can be brought to bear against parts of a chain drive. Accordingly, application of a solid lubricant to the chain drive occurs without formation of a lubricating film, as a result of which absorption of dirt from an environment can be prevented. To this end, the solid lubricant is applied to parts of the chain drive by means of a brush. Disadvantageous here is that a regularly high relative speed of a chain or of sprocket wheels in mesh with the chain prevents reliable application of the lubricant. Even an application device acting under preload on a part of a chain drive negatively influences running characteristics of the chain drive through vibrations or through friction caused or induced thus. In addition to this, a lubricant depot is used up comparatively rapidly through contact pressure on the chain drive generated in this connection. In addition, the known application devices are designed so that due to their shape they could hardly be positioned within a chain drive in a suitable manner. Particularly in the case of motorcycle chain drives there is little space available for positioning an application device since the chain drive is regularly guided about an axle of a swingarm of a rear wheel in such a manner that the swingarm is located within the closed chain of the chain drive. Apart from this, the swingarm allows movement of an output sprocket wheel about the axle of the swingarm, as a result of which a position of the chain can be continually varied relative to a locationally fixed frame or to a drive sprocket wheel. Thus it is hardly possible to mount an application device in a locationally fixed manner without chain operation, which is subjected to continuous load changes anyway, being negatively influenced by the application device.

Device and method for the lubrication of a chain drive


A transmission includes a controller being provided with a change-speed stage anticipator. The controller adopts a time, which one of the transmission's gear-mechanism selectors requires in shifting a current change-speed stage to another change-speed stage, as a pre-shift time for selecting the latter change-speed stage. The change-speed stage anticipator operates the one of the gear-mechanism selectors while adopting a temporary change-speed stage as a subsequent change-speed stage when the temporary change-speed stage, which is estimated from a state of vehicle after the pre-shift time, the state of vehicle being relevant to each element of an anticipated change-speed stage group that is made up of one or more of the change-speed stages that can be selected by the one of the gear-mechanism selectors being set on one of the transmission's input shafts that is disconnected from a power source, coincides with an anticipated change-speed stage that corresponds to the pre-shift time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transmission, and a method of shift control for transmission. In particular, it relates to a dual-clutch transmission comprising two clutches, and a method of shift control for such dual-clutch transmission.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of transmissions for automobile is a dual-clutch transmission that comprises two clutches, namely, which uses a so-called dual-clutch mechanism, (hereinafter abbreviated to as "DCT"). Upon switching change-speed stages, the DCT is characterized in that it can carry out shifting operations quickly without cutting off or interrupting torque transmissions.
As disclosed in United State Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0142171 A1, for instance, a DCT is controlled for changing speeds so that it can change speeds quickly in accordance with change-speed requests. That is, when a vehicle is traveling with a change-speed stage, which is set on an input shaft that corresponds to one of the clutches being connected, the DCT preliminarily selects (or pre-shifts to) another change-speed stage, which is set on another input shaft that corresponds to the other one of the clutches being disconnected. The DCT usually determines a change-speed stage, to which it is going to pre-shift, using a current vehicular condition, such as a vehicle speed and an accelerator opening magnitude, while consulting a map for pre-shifting.
However, in the technique of the related art that determines a target change-speed stage using a map for pre-shifting, a change-speed stage, which is prepared by means of pre-shifting, might differ greatly from a target change-speed stage, to which a change-speed request is issued, when the vehicle's state has changed considerably between the following instances, namely, an instance after determining a change-speed stage to be pre-shifted to, and another instance after the pre-shifting is completed and when an actual change-speed request arises. If such is the case, the conventional DCT cannot pre-shift to an appropriate change-speed stage, and eventually has to redo pre-shifting once again. As a result, it might not become possible to make best use of the DCT's advantage, enabling a driver to carry out change-speed operations quickly.
For example, when a driver decelerates or accelerates a vehicle abruptly, a change-speed stage for pre-shift that the conventional DCT has determined based on a vehicular condition before the abrupt deceleration or acceleration might not be an appropriate one because of a remarkable change in the vehicular condition. In such an instance, the conventional DCT retries to pre-shift to another reasonable change-speed stage on the issuance of a change-speed request, and then switches from one of the clutches to the other. Accordingly, the driver might feel slowness or retard to suffer from feelings of annoyance or unpleasantness. Alternatively, it is possible to think of subjecting the conventional DOT, which is kept being pre-shifted to other than the reasonable change-speed stage, to a change-speed control as it is. However, the conventional DCT whose change-speed stage has not been shifted to the reasonable change-speed stage might give the driver feelings of annoyance or unpleasantness.

Transmission and method of shift control for transmission


An imaging system to reconstruct a reflectivity image of a scene including an object moving with the scene. A tracking system to track a deforming object to estimate an object deformation for each time step. Sensors acquire snapshots of the scene, each acquired snapshot of the object includes measurements in the object deformation for that time step, to produce a set of object measurements with deformed shapes over the time steps. Compute a correction to estimates of object deformation for each time step, with matching measurements of the corrected object deformation for each time step to measurements in the acquired snapshot of object for that time step. Select a corrected deformation over other corrected deformations for each time step, according to a distance between the corrected deformation and the estimate of the deformation, to obtain a final estimate of the deformation of the deformable object moving in the scene.

In several remote sensing applications, acquiring high-resolution radar images is necessary in order to meet some of the application and business requirements. For example, radar reflectivity imaging is used in various security, medical, and through-the-wall imaging (TWI) applications. Whereas the down-range resolution is mostly controlled by the bandwidth of the transmitted pulse, the cross-range (azimuth) resolution depends on the aperture of the radar sensors. Typically, the larger the aperture, the higher the image resolution is, regardless of whether the aperture is physical (a large antenna) or synthetic (a moving antenna). Currently, the increase of the physical size of antenna leads to a significant increase of the cost of the radar system. To that end, a number of radar imaging systems use synthetic-aperture methods to reduce the size of the antennas and the cost of radar imaging. For example, synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) and inverse SAR (ISAR) use the relative motion of the radar antenna and an object in the scene to provide finer spatial resolution with comparatively small physical antennas, i.e., smaller than the antennas of beam-scanning radars.
However, the small size of physical antennas of radar systems makes the tracking of deformable moving objects difficult. Specifically, tracking objects exhibiting arbitrary motion and deformation requires tracking sensitivity with minimum resolution greater than the resolution of the physical antennas resulting in an impractical cost of the radar imaging system. To that end, conventional radar and/or other electromagnetic or acoustic wave imaging systems require the object to be standing still in the scene or moving in a very controlled rigid motion. Even for the rigid motion, conventional radar imaging systems require a challenging tracking step to estimate the motion parameters of the moving object using only the radar data, before a radar image can be formed, see, e.g., Martorella 2014. (Martorella, M. (2014). Introduction to inverse synthetic aperture radar. In Academic Press Library in Signal Processing (Vol. 2, pp. 987-1042). Elsevier.)
Therefore, there is a need for imaging systems and methods suitable for determining unknown deformations or other permutations that might affect a signal during acquisition, or correct errors of an estimated deformation of a signal.

System and method for tracking a deformation

Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.


A system which utilizes the processing capabilities of the graphics processing unit (GPU) in the graphics controller. Each frame of each video stream is decoded. After decoding the compressed image is separated into an image representing the luminance and an image representing the chroma. The chroma image is resampled as appropriate using the GPU to provide chroma values corresponding to each luminance value at the proper locations. The resampled chroma image and the luminance image are properly combined to produce a 4:4:4 image, preferably in the RGB color space, and provided to the frame buffer for final display. Each of these operations is done in real time for each frame of the video.

The invention relates generally to computer display technology and, more particularly, to the application of visual effects using a programmable graphics processing unit during frame-buffer composition in a computer system.
Presentation of video on digital devices is becoming more common with the increases in processing power, storage capability and telecommunications speed. Programs such as QuickTime by Apple Computer, Inc., allow the display of various video formats on a computer. In operation, QuickTime must decode each frame of the video from its encoded format and then provide the decoded image to a compositor in the operating system for display.
In most video streams, while luminance values are provided for every pixel, the chroma values are subsampled so that no chroma values are provided for selected pixels, just luminance values. The most common format is 4:2:2. Y defines a luminance value while Cb and Cr define blue and red chroma values. Thus a 4:2:2 format would provide a data stream of Y1Cb1Y2Cr1Y3Cb2Y4Cr2. Digital video or DV is typically compressed to 4:1:1 or Y1Cb1Y2Y3Cr1Y4. Highly compressed digital video streams such as MPEG2 or H.264 use a 4:2:0 format or Y1Cb1Y2Y3Cr1Y4. Many other formats are used and can be envisioned.
Digital graphics units simply duplicate the prior chroma values into the missing or unprovided locations or samples. This effectively reduces the clarity of the reproduced image by effectively smearing the chroma information over a number of pixels, typically two or four, depending on the compression format used.
To further complicate the rendition of the video information, different formats sample both the luminance and chroma values from different locations. For example, MPEG1 uses luminance values from the four corners of a square, with the chroma value coming from the center of the square, while MPEG2 and H.264 use luminance values from the four corners but use a chroma value from the center of the left or leading edge. In further contrast, DV or 4:1:1 uses four linear luminance samples, with the chroma value from the same location as the first luminance value. The 4:2:2 format typically uses four linear luminance values, with the first and third being the locations of the chroma values. Thus the typical smearing performed by the graphics units further distorts the color rendition for the compressed video streams because of inaccuracies in reproducing the chroma values.
Because of the limited power of the CPU, it has not been possible to provide more realistic color presentation from a compressed video stream.
Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a mechanism by which compressed video can have improved chroma value application for each pixel in cases where the chroma has been subsampled.

Resampling chroma video using a programmable graphics processing unit to provide improved color rendering


Disclosed is a splash block for use with a combination bathtub/shower structure of the type having a substantially planar, horizontal rim surface extending underneath a shower curtain rod. The splash block comprises a ramp portion and a collar portion, wherein the ramp portion has a drainage surface bounded by a peripheral edge consisting of a drip edge and a collar-receiving edge, and wherein the collar portion extends around the collar-receiving edge, and is positionable at an operative position on said rim surface whereat said ramp portion substantially overlies one of said exposed contiguous corners with the drip edge presenting towards the bathing recess, with the drainage surface of said ramp portion presenting upwardly and sloping downwardly to the drip edge, and with the collar portion projecting upwardly.

The present invention relates to the field of shower curtain leak protection apparatus.
It is common practise to provide a combination bathtub/shower structure of the alcove type in residential dwellings.
Such structures include a bathtub, an alcove structure and a shower head facility.
The bathtub is of the type defining a bathing recess and including a rim having a substantially horizontal, planar upper rim surface extending in substantially rectangular framing relation about the opening of the bathing recess, said rim surface having a pair of longitudinally extending sides and a pair of laterally extending sides.
The alcove structure is formed by a pair of parallel, planar end wall structures bracketing the rim surface on its laterally extending sides, and a back wall structure abutting one of the longitudinally extending sides of the rim surface and extending between the end wall structures. Exposed portions of the alcove structure are finished in a waterproof, usually tiled, surface.
The shower head facility is provided on one of said end wall structures, and is adapted to produce a spray directed generally into the bathing recess.
One well-known method for enclosing such combination bathtub/shower structures is to provide a shower curtain assembly including a curtain rod and a shower curtain. The curtain rod is arranged above and parallel to the other of the longitudinally extending sides of said rim surface, opposite to that abutted by the back wall structure, and the shower curtain is suspended from the curtain rod and into the bathing recess, thereby to drape over said other of the longitudinally extending sides of said rim surface.
This method is known to contain most of the spray from said shower head facility. However, the shower curtain tends to leave exposed the corners of the rim surface that are contiguous with the side over which it is draped, so as to create potential leakage paths. Unless the user is extremely careful, shower splash and spray tends to leak past the shower curtain.
A number of devices have been provided in the prior art to ameliorate this leakage problem, which devices typically consist of a screen adapted to be positioned on the rim surface, at the lower corners of the shower curtain. The shower screen described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,261 (Tooze et al.), issued Jun. 29, 1993 is exemplary in this regard. These devices are known to limit the amount of shower splash and spray which leaks past the shower curtain. However, they can suffer, inter alia, from poor aesthetics, and relatively high production cost. As well, they can be relatively difficult to install and clean. Moreover, by virtue of their height, they can constitute a safety hazard to persons getting into and out of the bathtub, and, if of the type which are fixedly secured to the tub, can deal a severe blow to any person who falls against it.
It is an object of the present invention to provide shower curtain leak protection apparatus suitable for use with combination bathtub/shower structures enclosed by shower curtain assemblies that impedes leakage of water past the shower curtain; that is relatively aesthetically pleasing and inexpensive to produce, and relatively easy to install and clean, as compared to devices of similar utility in the prior art; that does not constitute a safety hazard to persons getting into and out of the bathtub; and that is not prone to cause severe injury to persons that fall against it.
This object, amongst others, is met by the present invention, a splash block.
According to one aspect of the invention, the splash block is for use with a combination bathtub/shower structure enclosed by a shower curtain assembly.
The combination bathtub/shower structure is of the type including a bathtub, an alcove structure and a shower head facility.
The bathtub is of the type defining a bathing recess and including a rim having a substantially horizontal, planar upper rim surface extending in substantially rectangular framing relation about the opening of the bathing recess, said rim surface having a pair of longitudinally extending sides and a pair of laterally extending sides.
The alcove structure includes a pair of parallel, planar end wall structures bracketing the rim surface on its laterally extending sides, and a back wall structure abutting one of the longitudinally extending sides of the rim surface and extending between the end wall structures.
The shower head facility extends from one of said end wall structures, and is adapted to produce a spray directed generally into the bathing recess.
The shower curtain assembly includes a curtain rod and a shower curtain.
The curtain rod is arranged above and parallel to the other of the longitudinally extending sides of said rim surface, opposite to that abutted by the back wall structure.
The shower curtain is suspended from the curtain rod and extends into the bathing recess, thereby to drape over said other of the longitudinally extending sides of said rim surface, leaving exposed the corners of said rim surface contiguous therewith.
The splash block comprises a ramp portion and a collar portion, wherein the ramp portion has a drainage surface bounded by a peripheral edge consisting of a drip edge and a collar-receiving edge and wherein the collar portion extends around the collar-receiving edge, and is positionable at an operative position on said rim surface whereat said ramp portion substantially overlies one of said exposed contiguous corners with the drip edge presenting towards the bathing recess, with the drainage surface of said ramp portion presenting upwardly and sloping downwardly to the drip edge, and with the collar portion projecting upwardly.

Splash block for combination bathtub/shower structures enclosed by shower curtain assemblies


A common mode bias circuit may include a weak common mode bias generator and a common mode bias capacitance. During a first state of the common mode bias circuit, the weak common mode bias generator may be coupled to the common mode bias capacitance and may impart to them a predefined common mode signal level. During a second state of the common mode bias circuit, the common mode bias capacitance may be coupled to differential inputs of an amplifier in a manner that establishes an input common mode level for the amplifier.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to amplifiers and, more particularly, to providing common mode input control for a capacitively-coupled amplifiers in a pipeline analog-to-digital converter (ADC).
2. Description of Related Art
Pipeline ADCs implemented on fine line CMOS processes may require amplifiers having large signal swings, as compared to the power supply, to maximize signal-to-noise ratio. These amplifiers may be differential and require a circuit to control the output common mode level, commonly referred to as common mode feedback (CMFB) circuit. In addition to output common mode control, the input common mode voltage may also be controlled.
Some of these circuits may use an Input Common Mode (ICM) bias generator to provide this control. However, the output impedance of the Input Common Mode bias generator may need to be very low to ensure fast common mode settling for the preceding stage amplifier. This may require a significant amount of additional power or an additional package pin with external bypass. Either approach may be costly.
There thus is a need to control the input common mode voltage in a way that is not as costly.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Common mode input control for switch capacitor amplifier in pipeline analog-to-digital converter


A method for producing semiconductor devices and a production apparatus having a superior ability to control the process are disclosed. In an embodiment according to this invention, a surface of a semiconductor substrate is processed using a process gas excited by two electromagnetic waves with their powers change separately and periodically, keeping a predetermined timing relationship with each other. In addition, a bias with a voltage that also changes periodically, keeping a predetermined relationship with change of the electromagnetic waves, can be applied to the substrate. Further, the process is controlled by monitoring an optical emission from the process gas synchronously with the periodic change of the electromagnetic wave or the bias.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to methods for producing semiconductor devices and to semiconductor production apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
In the production of semiconductor devices, plasma processes, which utilize plasma generated by exciting various process gases with electromagnetic waves, are widely used. For example, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is used to form various films on surfaces of semiconductor substrates. Plasma etching is used to form patterns of various materials on surfaces of semiconductor substrates by etching films of the material in accordance with a mask pattern.
In plasma etching, a substrate having a film to be etched is placed in a chamber having a plasma source of various types, such as electron cyclotron resonance (ECR), inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) and reactive ion etching (RIE). A process gas suitable for the material of the film to be etched is supplied into the chamber, and plasma of the process gas is generated by introducing an electromagnetic wave of various frequencies, such as a microwave and a radio frequency (RF) wave of 400 kHz, 2 MHz, 13.56 MHz, 27 MHz, 60 MHz, or the like, into the chamber through the plasma source. The surface of the substrate is irradiated with various active species and ions generated in the plasma. A bias is also applied to the semiconductor substrate, and the energy of the ions that irradiate the substrate is controlled. Anisotropic processing of the film to be etched is achieved.
Hereinafter, gate etching will be described as an example of a typical conventional etching process.
In gate etching, polycrystalline Si (poly-Si) film on a substrate having an underlying gate oxide film is etched. In this process, finer gate dimensions and thinner gate oxide films are required. For example, in semiconductor devices with a design rule of 0.18 xcexcm or less, the thickness of the gate oxide film is 3.5 nm or less. Further, when the thickness of a remaining gate oxide film is 2.0 nm or less in gate etching, the crystallinity of the silicon substrate may be disordered. Therefore, extremely high oxide film selectivity (poly-Si/oxide film etching rate ratio) must be ensured.
Usually, a two-step etching process including a main etching condition and an overetching condition is employed in gate etching. In conventional gate etching techniques, the oxide film selectivity in the main etching condition using a Cl2-O2-HBr based process gas is about 15. In the overetching condition, in which an O2-HBr based process gas is utilized, the oxide film selectivity is about 100. The typical thickness of the poly-Si layer is 200 nm when the gate is formed with a silicide/poly-Si bi-layer. The end-point is detected using optical emission spectroscopy, and an over etch is added with the main etching condition for about 10% of the time to detect the end point, and then with the overetching condition for about 50% of the time to detect the end point. About 1.3 nm and about 1.0 nm of the gate oxide film is etched during the overetchings with the main etching and the overetching condition, respectively. As a result, the thickness of the remaining oxide film is approximately 1.0 nm. Consequently, the problem of damage described above may occur in the semiconductor device. Accordingly, the oxide film selectivity must be improved.
Further, as described above, an end-point detection (EPD) technique is used to control the etching process. In the etching of a poly-Si layer, for example, optical emission from Si-containing species generated by the etching reaction is monitored. Because the intensity of the optical emission from the Si-containing species decreases when the poly-Si layer has been removed, the end-point can be determined by monitoring a change of the intensity of the emission. In conventional etching processes, however, the intensity changes continuously, and thus the end point can only be determined with a time resolution of several to more than ten seconds. That is, in the above-described poly-Si etching process, after the gate oxide layer has been partly exposed, several to more than 10 seconds may pass before the end point detection is performed.
Thus, in addition to an etching method with higher selectivity, a method to detect the end-point with a shorter time resolution is desired for the production of future semiconductor devices.
By increasing the oxygen partial pressure in the process gas, the oxide film selectivity in the main etching condition and in the overetching condition can be increased to about 20 or more and to 150 or more, respectively. However, when the partial pressure of O2 is increased, the surface of the poly-Si film is oxidized as schematically shown in FIG. 7A, and the etching rate is reduced. In order to prevent the reduction in etching rate, the bias voltage applied to the substrate must be increased.
When the bias voltage is increased, the mask material is sputter etched, and the sputtered material and/or plasma generated product produced with the sputtered mask material is deposited on the sidewall of the etched patterns as schematically shown in FIG. 7B. Because the deposited material on the sidewall acts as a mask, the cross-sectional shape of the etched pattern is tapered, and hence, the ability to control the shape of fine patterns is limited. Further, sputtered material and/or plasma generated product also deposit on the inner wall of the etching chamber. An excessive deposition of the material on the chamber wall may generate particles, and decrease the production yield.
In particular, when the mask layer includes patterns of different densities, the cross-sectional shape of the etched pattern may differ depending on the pattern density. That is, oxygen radicals are likely to diffuse in the vicinity of the isolated pattern, and hence, the surface of the poly-Si film at the vicinity of the isolated pattern is excessively oxidized. In addition, an excessive redeposition of etched material may occur in the isolated pattern. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7C, the sidewall of the isolated pattern is likely to be further tapered compared to the sidewall of the dense pattern.
In order to solve the problem of damage, a so-called digital etching method, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,558, is proposed. This method comprises repeating a step of supplying activated species to a semiconductor substrate having a film to be etched to adsorb the activated species on a surface of a film, and a step of irradiating the adsorbed activated species with Ar ions. In this technique, however, different process gas compositions each for generating the activated species and Ar ions should be alternatively supplied for many times. In addition, a few atomic layers can only be etched away in one cycle. Therefore, the etching time is too much prolonged. Accordingly, the technique cannot be used in practice for mass production.
Accordingly, in consideration of the conventional problems described above, it is an object of this invention to provide methods for producing semiconductor devices with superior ability of controlling the process. It is also an object of this invention to provide a production apparatus, in which superior ability of controlling the process can be obtained.
According to one aspect of this invention, an exemplary method of producing a semiconductor device includes: placing a semiconductor substrate in a chamber; introducing a process gas into the chamber; producing an excited process gas by exciting the process gas using two electromagnetic waves; and processing a surface of the substrate using the excited process gas. The powers of the two electromagnetic waves change periodically and separately, keeping a first timing relationship with each other.
According to another aspect of this invention, an exemplary method of producing a semiconductor device includes: placing a semiconductor substrate in a chamber; introducing a process gas into the chamber; producing an excited process gas by exciting the process gas using an electromagnetic wave; applying a bias to the substrate; and processing a surface of the substrate to which the bias is applied using the excited process gas. A power of the electromagnetic wave changes periodically between a high power state and a low power state, and a voltage of the bias changes periodically between a high voltage state and a low voltage state, the high voltage state spans at least portions of a first period during which the electromagnetic wave is in a high power state and a second period during which the electromagnetic wave is in a low power state.
According to another aspect of this invention, an exemplary method of producing a semiconductor device includes: placing a semiconductor substrate in a chamber; supplying a process gas into the chamber; producing an excited process gas by exciting the process gas using an electromagnetic wave; applying a bias to the substrate, a voltage of the bias changes periodically; processing a surface of the substrate to which the bias is applied using the excited process gas. An optical emission from the excited process gas is monitored synchronously with the change of the voltage of the bias to generate a control signal; and the processing is controlled using the control signal.
According to another aspect of this invention, an exemplary method of producing a semiconductor device includes: placing a semiconductor substrate in a chamber; supplying a process gas into the chamber; producing an excited process gas by exciting the process gas using an electromagnetic wave, a power of the electromagnetic wave changes periodically; processing a surface of the substrate using the excited process gas. An optical emission from the excited process gas is monitored synchronously with the change of the power of the electromagnetic wave to generate a control signal; and the processing is controlled using the control signal.
According to another aspect of this invention, and exemplary method of etching a material film on a surface of a semiconductor substrate includes: providing a semiconductor substrate having a material film over a surface of the substrate and a mask layer over the material film; and patterning the material film to form a pattern of the material having a sidewall. The patterning includes: forming a protective film on an unmasked portion of the material film and on a portion of the sidewall that has previously been formed; removing the protective film from the unmasked portion of the material film by supplying etchant species onto the unmasked portion and irradiating the unmasked portion with ions accelerated in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the substrate; etching a surface layer of the unmasked portion of the material film exposed by the removing by supplying the etchant species to the unmasked portion, while protecting the sidewall by the protective film; and repeating the depositing, removing and etching.
According to still another aspect of this invention, an exemplary apparatus for producing a semiconductor device includes: a chamber having a substrate holder to hold the substrate; at least one gas inlet that introduces a process gas into the chamber; and at least one plasma source that introduces at least two electromagnetic waves into the chamber so that an excited process gas is produced by exciting the process gas with the at least two electromagnetic waves such that a surface of the substrate held by the substrate holder is processed using the excited process gas. The apparatus further includes a timing controller to control the plasma source such that powers of the at least two electromagnetic waves change periodically and separately, keeping a first timing relationship with respect to each other.
According to another aspect of this invention, an exemplary method of producing a semiconductor device, includes: placing a semiconductor substrate in a chamber; providing a process gas including at least two component gases into the chamber; exciting the at least two component gases periodically and separately, keeping a first timing relationship with respect to each other; and processing a surface of the substrate using the process gas including the excited first and the second component gas.
According to another aspect of this invention, an exemplary method of producing a semiconductor device, includes: placing a semiconductor substrate in a chamber; providing a process gas including at least one component gas into the chamber; periodically exciting the process gas during a first period within each cycle; periodically accelerating ions produced by the excitation of the process gas in a direction substantially perpendicular to a surface of the substrate during a second period spanning at least a portion of the first period and an additional period within the each cycle; and processing the surface of the substrate to which the bias is applied using the excited process gas.
According to still another aspect of this invention, an exemplary method of anisotropically etching a material film on a surface of a semiconductor substrate, includes: placing a semiconductor substrate having a material film over a surface of the substrate and a mask layer over the material film in an etching chamber; supplying protective species onto the surface of the material film, including periodically changing a supply rate of the protective species between a low supply rate state during a first period and a high supply rate state; supplying etchant species onto a surface of the material film in at least a portion of the first period; and irradiating the surface of the material film with ions accelerated in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the substrate in at least a portion of the first period, such that an unmasked portion of the material film is etched by the etchant species with an assistance of the accelerated ions, while protecting sidewall of the material film formed by etching of the unmasked portion from the etchant species by a protective film formed by the protective species.

Methods and apparatus for producing semiconductor devices


A method for detecting which of two clock signals is the first to arrive may include providing a sense amplifier comprising first and second nodes located on first and second legs thereof. The sense amplifier is configured such that the first and second nodes have a substantially equivalent initial voltage. The method then includes receiving first and second clock signals. The sense amplifier is configured such that the voltage of the first node increases and the voltage of the second node decreases if the first clock signal arrives before the second clock signal. Similarly, the sense amplifier is configured such that the voltage of the second node increases and the voltage of the first node decreases if the second clock signal arrives before the first clock signal. The method may further include sampling the voltage of at least one of the first and second nodes to determine which of the first and second clock signals was the first to arrive.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to circuit timing, and more particularly to apparatus and methods to reduce clock and timing skew in integrated circuits.
2. Background of the Invention
As clock speeds continue to increase and cross-die variations becomes harder and harder to control, the ability to align the arrival times of signals that traverse different paths is becoming increasingly challenging. One example is that of minimizing or reducing the skew between two different branches of a clock tree. However, there are many other cases where divergent signals also need to be aligned.
Traditional approaches to align signals are typically design based. For example, clock distribution networks may be designed in the form of H-Trees to ensure that clock branches are symmetric. That is, each level of the clock tree may be designed to have similar gates with similar loading to ensure that propagation delays are as identical as possible through each level of the tree.
Despite these efforts, process variations and other factors may still add significant skew to even perfectly designed H-trees. Such variations may occur in both the gates and wiring network of the circuit. While there are many known sources of variation (e.g., mask/reticle, design, neighborhood effects, wafer location, etc.), there are currently no methods that can accurately predict and correct for these effects. The relatively new field of statistical timing acknowledges a distribution of arrival times for each signal but does nothing to improve the distributions. Although circuits may be designed to account for larger delay distributions, this may significantly degrade the circuits' performance.
In view of the foregoing, what is needed is an apparatus and method to correct timing skew or clock skew in integrated circuits. Ideally, such an apparatus and method would be able to measure timing skew or clock skew with a high degree of precision so that very high-resolution adjustments can be made. Further needed are apparatus and methods to test and programmably correct timing and clock skew in integrated circuits.

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for removing direct current (DC) interference from a signal received by a communication receiver is provided that removes both a DC offset signal induced by the communication receiver and transmitter. The method includes removing the estimated DC offset from the received signal, correcting a frequency shift in the received signal, estimating a second DC offset signal induced by a source of the received signal, such as a transmitter and removing the estimated second DC offset from the received signal. The receiver DC offset signal is estimated and removed prior to performing a timing carrier offset correction using Barker code manipulation to remove receiver-induced DC offset interference and to sum all Barker chips after effectively multiplying Barker codes to correlate to a Barker sequence unaffected by the receiver DC offset signal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention in general relates to communication devices and in particular to receivers and transmitters subject to DC interference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wireless communication devices proliferating the market place include newer, smaller, more efficient technologies. Wireless telephones are now capable of performing web-enabled services, and packaging for such telephones continues to decrease in size yet have additional user-appreciated functions.
Consumer grade wireless devices have spurred the development of radio frequency electronics with a renewed emphasis on low cost. One receiver architecture which has seen widespread use in consumer wireless devices is referred to as a direct conversion receiver. Direct conversion receivers are simple and inexpensive but tend to have lower performance than the multiple conversion or super heterodyne architectures used in more expensive receivers. One particular problem often associated with direct conversion receivers in the introductions of direct current (DC) offsets in the received signal. Further, low cost transmitters also introduce DC offsets into the transmitted signal. These DC offsets interfere with the desired signal and degrade the receiver performance. Specifically, DC offset can cause adverse impact on user experience in real-time voice application, such as cell-phone voice communication, where retransmissions are not allowed. It is therefore desirable to remove these DC offsets from the desired signal.
Prior art solutions to the DC problems typically only address receiver-induced DC interference. One method of addressing receiver DC interference includes interacting between analog and digital by estimating the DC in digital and removing the DC at analog, where estimating DC interference in the digital domain is based on simple signal summation. Since this simple DC estimation is not accurate, several stages of interaction are needed, which take too much time to converge for real-time voice applications and depends on re-transmission, which, thus reduces the system throughput and increases the latency, thus affects the user experience. Meanwhile, this simple estimation of DC interference in digital domain has low accuracy. This residual DC could create a performance bottleneck for sophisticated data recovery algorithms, which operates after the DC removal. Moreover, in communication systems that operate using bursts of data, time-consuming DC acquisition solutions are frequently impractical because of the limited preamble of the packet.
What is needed is a solution to the DC interference problem for bursty communications systems that does not require retransmissions. Further, a solution that efficiently addresses both transmitter and receiver DC issues without added cost to a system would be especially valuable.
The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates identical items unless otherwise noted.

DC interference removal in wireless communications


Methods, systems, and devices are described for calibration of an array antenna system. A device may transmit a calibration signal from a first antenna element of an antenna array. The calibration signal may be generated by modulating a first signal having a first frequency with a modulation signal having a second frequency. The device may receive the calibration signal using a second antenna element of the antenna array. The device may analyze a sideband of the received calibration signal, where the sideband may be offset in frequency from the first frequency by the second frequency. The device may calibrate the array antenna system based on or more measured properties of the sideband.

The following relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to sideband-based self-calibration of an array antenna system.
Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may be referred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employ technologies such as code-division multiple access (CDMA), time-division multiple access (TDMA), frequency-division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform-spread-orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) (DFT-s-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations or network access nodes, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE).
Some wireless communications systems, such as NR systems, may use high-frequency signals and an array of antenna elements to form directional communication links, and may communicate data via the directional communications link. For example, a phased array antenna system (e.g., a communications system that may process, transmit, and receive signals via a phased array antenna) may be configured to generate and steer (point) the directional communication links in different directions by manipulating phase and/or amplitude relationships between signals transmitted and received by the individual antenna elements of the phased array antenna. For example, the phased array antenna system may be configured to point one or more beams at a target during operation. The constituent antenna elements of the phased array antenna are typically closely packed, and the small distance between the antenna elements has the potential to affect not only their radiation pattern, but may also contribute to mutual coupling between them, which may increase interference and/or degrade performance.

Sideband-based self-calibration of an array antenna system


The independent claims of this patent signify a concise description of embodiments. Each component of a testbench configured to test a DUT is associated at compile time with a different hardware transactor. The testbench is partitioned at compile time into a plurality of independent partitioned testbenches, where each independent partitioned testbench comprises at least one component of the testbench. At run time, each of the plurality of partitioned testbenches is simulated in parallel. The simulating of a partitioned testbench includes execution of its at least one component on its at least one associated hardware transactor using the hardware emulation system. This Abstract is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

Simulation acceleration, also known as co-emulation, combines functional simulation with emulation hardware, or prototyping platforms to provide improved runtime performance over a pure simulation platform.
A test bench or testing workbench is an environment used to verify the correctness or soundness of a design or model. In the context of software or firmware or hardware engineering, a test bench is an environment in which the product under development is tested with the aid of software and hardware tools. The software may need to be modified slightly in some cases to work with the test bench but careful coding can ensure that the changes can be undone easily and without introducing bugs.
Behavioral code written in a hardware (HW) description language like Verilog/VHDL or a hardware verification language like System Verilog cannot be synthesized easily and thus cannot be used in emulation or hardware prototyping platforms. Hence, typically most test bench (or "testbench" herein) code which uses behavioral constructs executes on a simulator while the synthesizable code runs much faster in hardware. This is because execution is faster in the hardware and is also concurrent. As a result, the overall performance gains that can be expected through simulation acceleration are directly dependent on the time taken in simulation to execute the non-synthesizable code, as well as the overhead introduced as a result of the communication between the two partitions running on the simulator and in hardware.
Even for a transaction based acceleration where a part of a testbench runs on the hardware, the bottleneck is always on the simulator side. Besides the simulation platforms being evidently slower, the execution in a simulation platform is also single threaded. Whenever there are concurrent requests from the hardware platform (e.g., emulation hardware or FPGAs) to the simulation platform, the request events get pipelined in the simulator event queue and are processed sequentially (and slowly) by the simulation engine. This effectively brings down the potential gain that could have been obtained through simulation acceleration.

Method and framework to dynamically split a testbench into concurrent simulatable multi-processes and attachment to parallel processes of an accelerated platform


A method for scanning at least a channel of a received signal includes scanning a plurality of frequency bands in sequence and analyzing each frequency band to determine if the frequency band holds the received signal. If it does, the method includes detecting a frequency response of the received signal and detecting a channel characteristic of a channel according to the frequency response of the received signal. The received signal corresponds to the channel.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for a channel scanning device and method thereof, and more particularly, to a channel scanning device for quickly scanning channels and method thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When proceeding with channel-searching operations related to the wireless/wiring TV broadcasting, users can make use of a tuner to determine a predetermined channel first and then utilize the receiver to receive video/audio signals transmitted via the channel. Therefore, the users require the predetermined channel for transmitting the video/audio signals in advance or adjust the tuner by hand to receive the video/audio signals. When the video/audio signals are transmitted by the satellite, the carrier position of the channel, the symbol rate, and the encoding operation may occasionally vary in order to improve the performance and efficiency of the satellite; that is, the users have to refresh the related parameters of the channels, which are inputted into the tuner in advance, so that the tuner can be used to check whether it holds the video/audio signal. Otherwise, the receiver has to predict whether the video/audio signal exists according to various carrier positions and symbol rates in order to search the channel. According to above-mentioned prior-art technique, the receiver is likely to spend too much time to achieve the channel-searching operations.
Since the requirements towards the digital TV broadcasting will significantly increase in the near future, the above-mentioned problem related to the variation of characteristics of the channel may be aggravated when the video/audio signal is transmitted by the satellite. Therefore, the rate of the channel-searching operation may become the bottleneck of the performance of the receiver.

Apparatus for channel scanning and method thereof


Methods and apparatus are disclosed for defining flow types and instances thereof such as for identifying packets corresponding to instances of the flow types. A flow type is defined and includes a set of properties including at least one of the possible properties selectable when defining a flow type. An instance of the flow type is defined and a set of corresponding associative memory entries is generated. A lookup word generator of a packet processing engine is typically notified of the use of the flow type, and one or more lookup words are generated typically by extracting fields from a received packet and/or from other sources. Based on a result of lookup operations on the set of associative memories entries using the generated one or more lookup words, the received packet can be identified as whether it matches or does not match the instance of the flow type.

The communications industry is rapidly changing to adjust to emerging technologies and ever increasing customer demand. This customer demand for new applications and increased performance of existing applications is driving communications network and system providers to employ networks and systems having greater speed and capacity (e.g., greater bandwidth). In trying to achieve these goals, a common approach taken by many communications providers is to use packet switching technology. Increasingly, public and private communications networks are being built and expanded using various packet technologies, such as Internet Protocol (IP).
A flow is a set of packets passing through a network during a certain time interval that possess some common properties. Identification of which packets belonging which flows is necessary in a data network. Nodes within the data network can then select packets based on this identification and perform operations that are defined by the user. For example, all packets originating from Autonomous System (AS) 10 and destined to AS 20 can constitute a flow. Billing based on network traffic between AS 10 and 20 can be done by counting all the packets and bytes that belong to this flow.
Today, there is no one consistent way to define flows that work across applications, such as, but not limited to quality of service, billing, access control, routing, statistics, network management, or any other process or operation performed which requires information pertaining to one or more flows. One known way of identifying flows and corresponding packets is to define a super-flow comprising of all the possible property fields on which a match is possible. The fields of interest get filled in with values to be matched and the rest are wild-carded (i.e., set to a don't care conditions so these fields match every value/packet). However, this scheme uses a lot of valuable resources (e.g., associative memory entries), and very often not all of these fields are required for identifying packets belonging to a flow for a given application.
For example, the super-flow for IPV4 is defined as the tuple {source IP, destination IP, source port, destination port, L3 protocol, TOS, TCP flags}. An application like customer prefix based billing, requires only {destination IP Prefix, mask length, TOS}. Using IPV4 super-flow for this application leads to an overly complicated configuration task for the user. Applications come up with requirements to add new fields to define more detailed flows. This affects all applications whether they intend to use these new fields or not. This may result in incompatibility with previous super-flow configurations.
Another known way of identifying flows and corresponding packets is to provide a fixed set of predefined types of flows, such that applications can select among these flow types. Such predefined types are not flexible nor customizable, and may not meet the requirements of an application or customer. Moreover, as the demands of existing and new customers change, so does the desired flow types, and to add new predefined flow types requires significant development costs and deployment delays.
Needed are new methods and apparatus for defining flows and identifying packets corresponding to the defined flows.

Methods and apparatus for defining flow types and instances thereof such as for identifying packets corresponding to instances of the flow types


The present invention relates to an antenna structure for communication applications, which is used to increase the half-power beamwidth (HPBW) in the H-plane of the slot coupled microstrip patch antenna with a finite size ground plate and a finite size reflector. The antenna combination according to the present invention comprises a front-plate composed of a curved plate, a flat plate, and several patches. By using the present invention, the half-power beamwidth in the H-plane would be increased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna structure for communication, which is especially suitable for a base station (BS) in the radio communication system as a signal transceiver between the base station and mobile terminals to increase the half-power beamwidth in the H-plane.
2. Related Art
Nowadays, the mobile phone has become an essential communication tool in our everyday life and tends to become more popular. The usage of the mobile phone is very similar to that of the conventional telephone. The signal transmission of the mobile phone is duplex so that persons can talk to each other simultaneously. And in order to protect personal privacy, every mobile phone customer has an exclusive phone number and can talk to somebody in coded format via the base station.
Nevertheless, the most popular communication scheme used in the current base stations is the cellular scheme, wherein the high power transmitter for each communication region has been replaced by a lot of low power transmitters, which are also called cells, spreading over the same region. Therefore, in order to cover the communication region throughout and obtain good signal quality, it is necessary to set up a great numbers of cells. And the transmission power, horizontal angular range, and vertical angular range of the base station have also become important parameters to improve the signal quality. If the total amount of antenna can be reduced as low as possible while covering even wider transmission and reception region, the economic profit would be greatly increased.
FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional structure sketch of a conventional antenna, which comprises:
a slot coupled a microstrip patch 20, made of a low-loss dielectric flat plate, wherein there is a microstrip 21 on the back plane and a slot 22 on the front plane. The patch is connected to a signal source, which is not shown in this figure, via a conducting line 40; PA1 a reflector 30, which is a metal plate attached to the back plane of the slot coupled microstrip patch 20 in the manner of electrical isolation so that the backward radiated electromagnetic waves would be reflected forward; and PA1 an antenna combination 10, placed in front of the slot coupled microstrip patch 20 in the manner of electrical isolation so as to increase the radiation power of the electromagnetic waves. The antenna combination 10 comprises a front-plate 11a and a patch 11b, which are both connected to the slot coupled microstrip patch 20 in parallel and in the manner of electrical isolation. The areas of the patch 11b and the front-plate 11a are the same so as to increase the radiation power of the electromagnetic waves. PA1 a front-plate, which comprises a first flat plate, a second flat plate, and a curved plate, which is used to connect the first flat plate and the second flat plate. The first flat plate and the second flat plate are placed in the same plane and electrically connected to the curved plate; and PA1 several patches, parallel to the first flat plate and the second flat plate, and the connection between the front-plate and the patches is electrically isolated. The area of each patch is the same as the projected area of the front-plate onto the patch so as to increase the radiation power of the electromagnetic waves.
By using the above antenna structure to transmit signals, the horizontal transmission angle .theta. will be limited within the range of 60.degree. to 70.degree. from center, or 80.degree. at maximum. Therefore, as far as this rectangular antenna structure is concerned, it is very difficult to satisfy the demand of large signal transmission and wide reception range.


A sequence of events detection system for use in a process control system uses sequence of events detection cards to detect and store indications of events and the times at which these events take place within the process control network. The sequence of events reporting system includes a stable master time source that is used to periodically time synchronize secondary clocks within each of the nodes of the process control system. Free running counters are located within each of the sequence of events detection cards at each node and these free running counters are used to mark each event with a counter value when the sequence of events detection card first detects the event. Indications of the event and of the counter value associated with a detected event are sent from each of the sequence1 of events detection cards to a corresponding controller which uses its secondary clock, a further free running counter and the value of the sequence of events counter assigned to the event to ascertain the actual or absolute time that the event was detected at the sequence of events card. The event and the absolute time for that event is then sent to a sequence of events reporting database, where this information is stored to form a system wide sequence of events log.

The present invention relates generally to process control systems and, more particularly, to detecting, storing and reporting the sequence of detectable events occurring within a process control system.
Process control systems, like those used in chemical, petroleum or other processes, typically include one or more process controllers communicatively coupled to at least one host or operator workstation and to one or more field devices via analog, digital or combined analog/digital buses. The field devices, which may be, for example valves, valve positioners, switches and transmitters (e.g., temperature, pressure and flow rate sensors), perform functions within the process plant such as opening or closing valves and measuring process parameters. The process controllers receive signals indicative of process measurements made by the field devices and/or other information pertaining to the field devices, use this information to implement control routines and then generate control signals which are sent over the buses to the field devices to control the operation of the process. Information from the field devices and the controllers is typically made available to one or more applications executed by the operator workstation to enable an operator to perform any desired function with respect to the process, such as viewing the current state of the process, modifying the operation of the process, etc.
In the past, conventional field devices were used to send and receive analog (e.g., 4 to 20 milliamp) signals to and from the process controllers via an analog bus or analog lines. These 4 to 20 milliamp signals were limited in nature in that they were indicative of measurements made by the device or of control signals generated by the controller required to control the operation of the device. However, in the past decade or so, smart field devices including a microprocessor and a memory have become prevalent in the process control industry. In addition to performing a primary function within the process, smart field devices store data pertaining to the device, communicate with the controller and/or other devices in a digital or combined digital and analog format, and perform secondary tasks such as self-calibration, identification, diagnostics, etc. A number of standard and open smart device communication protocols such as the HART(copyright)), PROFIBUS(copyright), WORLDFIP(copyright)V, Device-Net(copyright), and CAN protocols, have been developed to enable smart field devices made by different manufacturers to be used together within the same process control network.
Moreover, there has been a move within the process control industry to decentralize process control functions. For example, the all-digital, two-wire bus protocol promulgated by the Fieldbus Foundation, known as the FOUNDATION(trademark) Fieldbus (hereinafter xe2x80x9cFieldbusxe2x80x9d) protocol uses function blocks located in different field devices to perform control operations previously performed within a centralized controller. In particular, each Fieldbus field device is capable of including and executing one or more function blocks, each of which receives inputs from and/or provides outputs to other function blocks (either within the same device or within different devices), and performs some process control operation, such as measuring or detecting a process parameter, controlling a device or performing a control operation, such as implementing a proportional-derivative-integral (PID) control routine. The different function blocks within a process control system are configured to communicate with each other (e.g., over a bus) to form one or more process control loops, the individual operations of which are spread throughout the process and are, thus, decentralized.
Furthermore, in many process plants, signals associated with significant events, such as signals associated with the position of certain safety switches or shutdown valves, signals indicating an overflow or underflow detected by certain sensors, signals associated with the operation of important power generation or control devices, signals from fault detection devices or other binary on-off type signals associated with devices within the plant are monitored to detect changes in these signals and to thereby detect xe2x80x9ceventsxe2x80x9d within the process plant. The time at which these monitored events occur are recorded and stored in a sequence of events database for use in, for example, debugging the system after a failure or other significant operational situation has occurred.
The use of a sequence of events (SOE) database is beneficial because the occurrence of one event, such as the failure of a device or a communication channel, may cause other events to occur, which may cause still other events to occur eventually leading to, for example, a cascading complete or partial shutdown of the process control plant. To ascertain the ultimate source of the failure in an attempt to correct the problem, a maintenance or control operator may view the sequence of events log stored within the SOE database to determine which events occurred in what order so as to ascertain the precipitating cause of the failure within the system.
The use of sequence of events reporting is common and fairly straight forward in a system having only one node or having a single controller attached to devices through one sequence of events SOE input/output (P/O) detection card, as all the monitored event information passes through the same SOE card and controller. However, in a process control system having a single controller coupled to multiple SOE cards, or in a system having multiple controllers at different nodes, each of which is connected to one or more devices via one or more SOE cards, sequence of events reporting becomes more difficult because the controllers and each of the different SOE cards must be time synchronized to accurately record the order of different events occurring in different parts of the plant. If the controllers or the SOE cards are out of time synchronization, the time information in the sequence of events log is likely to be incorrect which may lead the events being sequenced in an improper order. Further, because the multiple events resulting in a significant event, such as a failure of a node, typically occur very rapidly, e.g., within ten milliseconds of each other, it is desirable to increase the time sensitivity of the sequence of events reporting to the order of five milliseconds be able to detect the actual order in which the different monitored events occur. Generally speaking, this time sensitivity has been very difficult to obtain without highly accurate or synchronized clocks at each SOE card. Unfortunately, it can be prohibitively expensive to place an accurate and stable clock in each SOE card and it can be very difficult to accurately time synchronize many clocks in the system in order to time stamp events when these events are detected at the SOE cards.
A sequence of events detection system and method for use in a process control network uses SOE cards to automatically detect and store indications of events and the times at which these events took place within the process control network. The sequence of events reporting system includes a stable master time source, such as a global positioning system (GPS) receiver which is used to periodically time synchronize clocks within each of the nodes of the system, such as within each of the controllers, user workstations, etc. Free running counters, such as quartz counters, are located within each controller and within each SOE card being used to detect events to be stored in the sequence of events log. These free running counters are used to mark each event with a counter value when the SOE card or controller first detects the event. Indications of the event and of the counter value associated with a detected event are sent to a corresponding controller (if need be), which uses its clock, its counter and an indication of the value of the SOE counter assigned to the event to ascertain the actual or absolute time that the event was detected at the SOE card. The event and the time for that event is then sent to a sequence of events reporting database, where this information is stored to form a system-wide sequence of events log. The receipt of an event in the sequence of events database may be acknowledged back to a controller and SOE card which enables the SOE card to clear that event from its memory. The use of simple counters in the SOE cards and clocks in the controllers reduces the cost and complexity of the system while still enabling a highly time sensitive or time discriminating network-wide sequence of events reporting system.
According to one aspect of the invention, a sequence of events detection system includes a master clock, a first device, and a second device. The first device is communicatively coupled to the master clock and includes a first counter and a secondary clock time synchronized to the master clock. The second device is communicatively coupled to the first device and includes an event buffer and a second counter. The second device also includes a processor programmed to, upon the detection of an event, store an indication of the event in the event buffer and store the value of the second counter at the time of the detection of the event as an event counter value in the event buffer. The processor of the second device is further programmed to send an event message to the first device, the event message including the indication of the stored event and an indiction of the event counter value for the event. Still further, the first device includes a processor programmed to use the first counter, the secondary clock and the indication of the event counter value within the event message to assign an absolute time to the detection of the event. If desired, the first device may send a further event message including the indication of the event and the absolute time for the event to a sequence of events database which stores events detected at different nodes of the process control system.

Sequence of events detection in a process control system


A camera, having a motion compensation device, permits the user to select one of two modes of operations using a selector switch. Partial depression of a shutter release button initiates exposure and auto-focus routines while complete depression actuates an exposure routine effecting a shutter release. A first mode of operation enables the motion compensation device and prevents or delays an exposure from being executed if a motion level of the camera is outside a maximum range of compensation. A second mode of operation permits an exposure to be executed regardless of whether the camera motion level is outside of the maximum range of compensation, thus allowing events to be rapidly photographed on-demand. A first embodiment of the first mode of operation calculates exposure and focus parameters and then repetitively monitors the motion level until the motion level is within the maximum range of compensation and the exposure is executed. A warning signal is produced indicating excessive motion during the repetitive motion level monitoring. A second embodiment repetitively executes exposure and focus routines in sequence with the monitoring of the motion level. When the motion level is within the maximum range of compensation a shutter release is executed utilizing updated exposure and focus parameters. Another embodiment of the invention incorporates both first and second embodiments of the present invention and a second selector switch for selecting between operation according to either embodiment.

The present invention relates to a camera with a motion compensation device for stabilizing images, and more particularly, to a camera having a movement compensation device which cancels movements of a position of an image in the focal plane which has priority modes for either shutter release or motion compensation.
A variety of mechanisms for compensation of camera motion have been proposed. Such mechanisms measure camera motion using centripetal force sensors for detecting angular velocity, or gyroscopic or piezoelectric sensors for detecting acceleration. Data gathered from the sensors is used in calculating a lens adjustment required to compensate for the motion. The lens adjustment is completed using a motor or a voice coil to actuate a compensation lens.
The prior art mechanisms determine whether the camera motion is within a maximum range of compensation. If the motion exceeds the maximum range of compensation a shutter release operation is overridden, or delayed, until the detected motion level is within a maximum range of compensation. This type of operation is undesirable when on-demand shutter release is required, such as in sports or journalistic photography. These applications require that an event be captured regardless of a possibility of blurring of the picture.

Camera with a motion compensation device


The present invention provides an adjustable hand rail including a wall-mounted base member that includes a circular plate with an inward facing side and an outward facing side. The circular plate includes a circular track. The circular track has a bottom, an inside rail member extending from the bottom and an outside rail member extending from the bottom. The two rail members define a C-shaped channel. The bottom of the track member also includes a plurality of lock apertures. A rotatable insert is rotatably disposed within the circular track. The insert has a first insert opening and a diametrically opposed second insert opening. First and second shoulder members are disposed within the insert openings. The first shoulder member has a first locking pin biased to extend into one of the lock apertures. A bar having a first end and a second end is provided attached to the shoulder members.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to safety devices utilized to support and balance a person, and more specifically to a devices for providing a person with a handhold in order to prevent a fall, or device for a person to grab if the person starts to fall.
2. Background
Presently known hand rails generally are mounted in a fixed position, which generally varies from horizontal, vertical, or, when adjacent to stairs or steps, an angle which corresponds to the angle of the stairs or steps. Because the position of the hand rail is fixed, the user must have his or her hand in one general position in order to grab the bar. However, it is not always possible for a user to easily position their hands in a position which is conducive to obtaining and maintaining a secure grasp of the rail. For example, for a variety of health-related reasons, many people have limited range of motion in their elbows, wrists, and/or shoulders, which can make the positioning of the hand in a position allowing the most secure handhold to be problematic for a hand rail having a fixed position. Because the hand rail must reliably support the user's entire weight, the inability to obtain and maintain a secure grasp on the rail may defeat the purpose for which the rail is intended.