text:
RECAP: Napoles at Senate pork scam hearing (Nov. 7, 2013)
10:06 a.m. Napoles enters the Senate hall wearing a bullet-proof vest.
Janet Lim Napoles appears calm as she talks to her PAO lawyers. | via @sandraguinaldo pic.twitter.com/Ux5ItrIVQf— GMA News (@gmanews) November 7, 2013
She is seated next to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, whose office has been investigating the allegations against Napoles.
DOJ Sec. Leila de Lima sits beside Janet Napoles but ignores her. | via @sandraguinaldo #BantayKaban pic.twitter.com/EXoE6xn0RT— GMA News (@gmanews) November 7, 2013
10:12 a.m. Sen. TG Guingona, chair of the blue ribbon committee, says the committee is hoping to get a complete picture of the scam "para 'di na ito maulit pa." He reiterates that it is important for Napoles to address the issues raised by the whistleblowers, and to convey the truth to the public. "Pagkakataon niyong makatulong sa bayan. Huwag niyong sayangin," Guingona appeals to Napoles.
10:15 a.m. Napoles takes her oath.
Janet Lim-Napoles has taken her oath "to tell the truth and nothing but the truth". | via @sandraguinaldo pic.twitter.com/DWekFiIWvd— GMA News (@gmanews) November 7, 2013
10:16 a.m. When asked by Guingona, Napoles says she has no lawyer to represent her. Guingona says there are three lawyers from the Public Attorney's Office present at the venue who can represent her. He gives Napoles until 10:30 a.m. to talk to the PAO lawyers, who had informed the senators that it's their first time to meet Napoles.
READ: Janet Napoles faces Senate pork probe for first time
10:48 a.m. Hearing resumes. PAO lawyer Howard Areza says they have informed Napoles of her constitutional rights. He said their client is requesting for an executive session, which would mean it would be conducted behind closed doors, due to the sensitivity of the issue.
READ: Napoles asks for executive session with senators
Hearing resumes. A PAO lawyer now sits in between Janet Napoles and Sec. De Lima. | via @ruthcabal15 #BantayKaban pic.twitter.com/jmwAr2Quin— GMA News (@gmanews) November 7, 2013
10:49 a.m. Guingona suspends the hearing so the senators can discuss the request.
10:53 a.m. Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano reads the rules governing the conduct of an executive session in the Senate.
10:55 a.m. Guingona says the committee is rejecting Napoles' request for an executive session, and again appeals for her to tell the whole truth.
10:56 a.m. Guingona asks Napoles about her occupation. Napoles says her family is already facing a tax evasion case filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and she would answer the question only after the tax case is resolved.
10:58 a.m. Asked if she knows the whistleblowers, Napoles says she knows her former employee Benhur Luy and his mother Gertrudes, who takes care of her children.
10:59 a.m. Asked about Helen Suñas, Napoles described her as a friend of Benhur but says she is not her employee. Napoles confirmed that Marina Sula was their bookkeeper, while another whistleblower, Arlene Baltazar, does what she asks her to do.
11:02 a.m. Guingona asks Napoles if it is true that she asked Benhur Luy and other whistleblowers to set up fake non-government organizations, as Benhur alleged. Napoles says, "Hindi po."
11:04 a.m. Benhur and Suñas disagree with Napoles. "Nagsisinungaling po siya," Benhur says.
READ: Napoles disputes whistleblowers' allegations
11:06 a.m. Marina Sula says Napoles asked them to form 20 NGOs and another one named after her mother, Magdalena Luy Lim Foundation. Napoles says the Foundation is legitimate and it was formed to conduct outreach projects. "'Yun lang po ang tinayo namin," Napoles says, adding the other NGOs mentioned by Guingona are not legitimate.
11:08 a.m. Napoles asks for the affidavits of the whistleblowers so she can show these to her lawyers.
READ: Emerging from detention, Napoles denies whistleblowers' allegations
11:11 a.m. Suñas says she is the president of People's Organization for Progress and Development Inc., one of the fake NGOs put up by Napoles.
11:12 a.m. Napoles says "hindi ko alam" when Guingona asked her how the whistleblowers were able to establish the NGOs, whose office addresses were linked to Napoles.
11:13 a.m. Benhur Luy says Napoles is lying, adding that three NGOs were already established when he joined JLN Corporation, the company headed by Napoles, in 2002. "Paghawak ko ng records, meron ng listahan ng transaction sa gobyerno," Benhur says.
11:14 a.m. Napoles keeps denying the existence of the other NGOs and says, "Nakakaawa po 'yung mga senador na na-drag 'yung mga pangalan," referring to the senators linked to the pork barrel scam.
11:21 a.m. Guingona asks Napoles about the veracity of Benhur's testimony that Napoles had asked them to make vouchers for the kickbacks for lawmakers. Napoles replies, "Sa tingin niyo, kung mga ganung kickback tulad ng sinabi niyo, do you think ang isang mambabatas at chief of staff pipirma ng mga ganung voucher? Kasinungalingan 'yan, walang bigayan ng pera." Napoles also denies receiving 35 percent kickback from PDAF projects, but Suñas stands by her statement.
Guingona: Ano ba yung totoo? Napoles: Di ko alam sa kanila. #BantayKaban— GMA News (@gmanews) November 7, 2013
11:24 a.m. Benhur and Sula reaffirm they prepared the vouchers for these kickbacks. "Kaming dalawa ni Arlene Baltazar ang magkatulong na mag-shred ng mga check at mga voucher," Sula said. Arlene confirms this and says Napoles asked them to shred the documents at her Pacific Plaza unit so there will be no evidence linking her to the scam.
11:29 a.m. Napoles says, "Hindi po. Wala po," in reply to Guingona's question regarding the shredding of documents. Sula says because of the volume of documents that had to be destroyed, Napoles had to buy a heavy-duty shredder so the equipment will not overheat.
11:32 a.m. Guingona asks Benhur who received the kickbacks. Benhur says they gave the pertinent documents to the Ombudsman during the filing of the case. But he affirms that he has seen lawmakers arriving at the office to receive the money. He also confirms that he has personally given the money to the lawmakers or their representatives, after the latter signed the vouchers.
11:34 a.m. Benhur tells Guingona that he has personally seen the following persons in their office and received money: Congressman Valdez, Atty. Richard Cambe, Ruby Tuason, and Pauline Labayen.
11:35 a.m. Guingona asks Napoles if she knew the lawmakers mentioned by Benhur. Napoles denies knowing them.
Napoles: Kilala ko o personal na kilala ko? Yung mga senador, kilala ko kasi binoboto natin. Pero sila di nila ako kilala. #BantayKaban— GMA News (@gmanews) November 7, 2013
11:41 a.m. Benhur says he has the numbers of the bank accounts of the recipients of the kickbacks. He also says he goes to the houses of the lawmakers to deliver the money.
11:48 a.m. Benhur details the division of kickbacks. He adds that among those who received the kickback for Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile is his chief of staff, Atty. Gigi Reyes. For Atty. Jinggoy Estrada, Benhur says Pauline Labayen and Ruby Tuason received the kickbacks amounting to 50 percent of the project costs.
12:00 p.m. Benhur says Napoles gave him instructions about the fund deposits. She also told them to buy dollars from the black market and deposit the money in her bank account in the US. Benhur says he even has the account number of Napoles. Guingona asks Napoles if this is true. Napoles says, "Hindi po totoo." She adds that there is already a pending case about this matter and she will reply then.
12:04 p.m. Guingona asks Napoles if it is true that liquidation documents were just forged as alleged by the whistleblowers. "Hindi po totoo," says Napoles. Suñas says the beneficiaries did not receive anything. Sula says, "Nagsisinungaling po siya. Kasi dun sa mga list of recipients, pumirma po siya. Nameke din po si Madam Napoles sa list of beneficiaries." Napoles says it is not true that she signed such documents. "Hindi po," she says.
12:08 p.m. Benhur says there are many agents working for them, and names fashion designer Eddie Baddeo as one of them. He says Baddeo has a list of the projects. Benhur details the process of the scam down to the local government unit level.
12:12 p.m. Napoles denies Benhur's story. Guingona asks Napoles if she is aware that she is under oath and that she is at risk of perjury if she does not tell the truth. Napoles replies, "Opo."
12:13 p.m. Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago thanks the committee for allowing her to speak ahead of schedule as she is sick. She turns to Napoles and addresses her, "Oh there you are. Let me take a good look at you."
12:15 p.m.: Santiago discusses jurisprudence regarding the right against self-incrimination. She says the right applies only to a criminal case, and the matter at hand is an administrative case.
12:17 p.m. Santiago tells Napoles, "I will not bully you. I won't out-shout you... I remind you Ms. Witness... wala kang karapatang magsabi ng kasinungalingan. Kasi 'pag nagsinungaling ka, lagot ka... Nagsumpa ka eh." She addresses the crowd, "What is so funny over there?!"
12:23 p.m. Napoles is all ears listening to Santiago. "Hindi tama na bigyan ka namin ng libre (na lawyer)," Santiago tells her, adding that public lawyers are for those who cannot afford a lawyer.
12:24 p.m. Santiago asks Napoles about Tanda (code name for a lawmaker). Napoles invokes her right against self-incrimination.
12:27 p.m. Santiago says, "Sino pa ba ang matanda dito sa Senado kung 'di si Enrile?... Is Sen. Estrada si Sexy?" Napoles says, "Hindi ko po alam." Santiago says, "'Di mo alam? Alam mo eh," then instructs Napoles to just invoke her right against self-incrimination. She talks to a lawyer from PAO and asks him to talk to his client. Santiago asks Napoles then if Sen. Revilla is Pogi. Napoles invokes her right against self-incrimination.
READ: Miriam warns Napoles: Don't lie, don't always invoke right vs. self-incrimination
12:31 p.m. Santiago continues to grill Napoles and the latter continues to deny the allegations. "Anong alam mo? Naka-deadma ka sa akin." Santiago says.
Santiago: Tinatanong lang sino kilala mo, self incrimination kagad? Tapos na halloween, wala nang multo. | via @marcmeru #BantayKaban— GMA News (@gmanews) November 7, 2013
12:40 p.m. Santiago tells Napoles it is very important "na hindi ikaw ang pinaka-most guilty." She says if Napoles will be found most guilty, she may be sentenced to 20-40 years. "isang disgrasya para sa isang babae... Inaamin mo ba na ikaw ang most guilty?" she asks Napoles, who replies "Hindi po."
12:43 p.m. Santiago advises Napoles to tell everything: "Habang buhay ka pa, nasa panganib ang mga senador na mawala lahat ng kayamanan nila. Pero ngayon pa lang (kung sasabihin mo lahat), wala na silang motibo na patayin ka nila kasi nasa dokumento na (ang sasabihin mo). These people are murderers. Ngayon pa lang sabihin mo. Sino ang pinaka-guilty?"
12:44 p.m. "Hindi ko po alam," Napoles says. Santiago says, "'Di mo alam? Ako alam ko."
12:47 p.m. "Kung si Enrile ang most guilty, sabihin mo na para 'di ka niya ipapatay," Santiago tells Napoles. "'Wag mong i-underestimate si Enrile na 'yan. May asim pa rin si Tanda."
READ: Santiago tries to lure Napoles to spill the beans
12:52 p.m. Napoles tells Santiago she has been trading in international carbon credits.
12:55 p.m. Napoles says yes when Santiago asks about her ties with a Quiapo priest. Santiago says: "Siguro tinuruan ka ng pari about the 10 commanments... Isa dun ay 'wag kang magnakaw. Bakit ka nagnakaw?"
1:00 p.m. Santiago asks Napoles, "Sinong PRO (press relations officer) mo? Nagbabayad ka ba ng mga tao na mag-iikot sa media?" Napoles says, "Wala po akong alam diyan."
1:08 p.m. Santiago asks Napoles about her shipyard business in Cebu that began in the early 1990s. "Saan mo nakuha ang expertise sa business na 'yun?" the senator asks. Napoles is not able to answer the question, as Santiago starts to pose another question.
1:11 p.m. Santiago asks Napoles when and how she began to get rich. Napoles invokes her right against self-incrimination.
1:15 p.m. Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano asks Napoles if she is guilty of the PDAF scam. Napoles says she is innocent, but the last syllable could not be heard on the microphone. Napoles adds, "Pasensiya na po kayo. Nahihilo na po ako kasi diabetic ako, past 1 p.m. na."
1:17 p.m. Hearing is suspended. Committee takes a break for lunch.
Past 2 p.m. Hearing resumes. Cayetano asks Napoles if she is expecting to be absolved from the charges. Napoles replies, "Opo." Cayetano then asks if she has dealings with the government. Napoles says, "Wala," then invokes her right against self-incrimination.
2:25 p.m. Cayetano asks about Napoles' dealings regarding the fertilizer fund, showing her two documents regarding the procurement of fertilizers with her supposed signature. Napoles denies the signatures on the documents are hers, but Sula asserts that the signatures indeed belong to the businesswoman.
2:27 p.m. Cayetano asks Napoles if she started dealing with the goverment before 2001. Napoles says she cannot remember. She does say that she started engaging in business in the '80s, first in the shipyard industry, then in the buying and selling of real estate.
2:36 p.m. Cayetano asks Napoles how she should be described -- middle class? "Tama lang sa buhay," Napoles replies. Cayetano then inquires about the businesses of Napoles' siblings. Napoles requests the committee to respect her family's right to privacy, but Cayetano says her family members' names have already been dragged into the issue. Probed further about her assets, Napoles says the family mausoleum, for instance, was constructed at a cost of less than P10 million, contrary to reports that it cost P30 million. She, however, refuses to answer when asked how many condominium units she owns due to her ongoing tax evasion case.
READ: Napoles says she is not rich
2:44 p.m. Cayetano asks Napoles if she has an idea why the whistleblowers, who have worked for her for years, have made all these allegations against her. Napoles says, "Hindi ko po alam." "Wala kayong pinag-awayan?" Cayetano asks. "Wala po," Napoles replies.
2:47 p.m. Cayetano asks Napoles if she or anyone in her family has served in the government. Napoles says her daughter tried to serve through the Smile party-list. Cayetano says the Smile party-list was mentioned twice in the Hello Garci tapes supposedly involving former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
2:57 p.m. Sen. Chiz Escudero says he has reviewed all the interviews given by Napoles in the past few months to various media outlets. He says Napoles had mentioned that when the NBI raided her condominium unit, one of her children got hurt. Napoles says she cannot remember. Escudero reminds her some more, and then Napoles says, "Nagkatulakan kasi po noon."
3:00 p.m. Escudero reminded Napoles that she has also said she was not aware of the pork barrel scam, and only found out about it from media reports. Napoles replies, "Opo." Escudero reminds her that she had also said Benhur Luy has a lady boss. Asked who that lady boss is, Napoles says she cannot remember.
Ayon kay Napoles, sa TV lamang niya nalaman na sangkot siya sa PDAF scam. #BantayKaban— GMA News (@gmanews) November 7, 2013
3:07 p.m. Benhur's legal counsel Levito Baligod says he was offered P5 million by Alfredo Villamor, the lawyer of Napoles, to convince Benhur and other whistleblowers to drop the case against her. Baligod added that he was offered P250M to P300M when he met with Napoles. Upon further questioning by Escudero, Baligod denied asking Napoles for money. Napoles makes the sign of the cross.
Q. @SayChiz: Hiningan mo ba ng pera si Napoles? Atty. Baligod: Hindi po, sila po ang nag o-offer pero I declined. #BantayKaban | via @dzbb— GMA News (@gmanews) November 7, 2013
3:15 p.m. Escudero asks Napoles why she requested for an executive session with senators at the start of hearing. She says she was advised to do so by her lawyer.
3:21 p.m. Sen. Bam Aquino asks Napoles about her coal business in Indonesia. Napoles says she will not reply "para hindi pagpiyestahan 'yung sa Indonesia," adding that the details are in her affidavit in the tax evasion case filed by the BIR.
3:28 p.m. Sen. JV Ejercito says it will be a big help if Napoles will talk since this is a big scam.
3:30 p.m. Sen. Grace Poe tells Napoles that although there may be death threats against her, the public should be seen as the one "na may poot sa inyo... Ito po ang pagkakataon para depensahan ang inyong sarili," she says.
3:33 p.m. Sen Poe asks Napoles if it is correct that she was "galing sa hirap." Napoles agrees. Poe then asks, "Meron po ba kayong damdamin para sa mga mahihirap sa ating bayan?" She then asks Napoles about the ornamental fertilizer supposedly delivered to poor farmer beneficiaries through Jo-Chris Trading, one of Napoles' companies. Napoles denies there was such a project. Benhur, however, confirms Napoles' company was involved in this project.
3:38 p.m. Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV asks Napoles if she has anything to add to her defense. Napoles replies, "Wala na po. Nasabi ko na lahat."
3:45 p.m. Benhur reads from his affidavit and says P751,500,000 in PDAF funds were involved in the scam. The commission from this is P375,750,000. Trillanes asks Napoles about this, and the latter replies, "Nasa Ombudsman na po ang kaso."
3:48 p.m. Trillanes asks De Lima if there are senators involved in the next batch of complaints regarding the PDAF scam. De Lima says, "Nililinis pa." The Justice Secretary further explains that the NBI is focusing on the Napoles component of the PDAF scam.
3:53 p.m. Trillanes asks De Lima if the Justice Secretary can assure them of objectivity in the investigation. De Lima says, "I don't care about the political affiliation," adding she just gives the go signal once the investigation by the NBI is complete.
3:56 p.m. Trillanes tells Benhur to continue with their fight, and wishes them well under the Witness Protection Program.
3:58 p.m. Cayetano asks Napoles if she knew anything about Benhur being involved in the PDAF scam. Napoles says no. He then asks Napoles why she earlier said that "kawawa 'yung tatlong senador." Cayetano says, if she claims to be innocent and does not know anything about the PDAF scam, why does she feel sorry for the three senators? Napoles says she only knew about this through newspaper reports and that saying "kawawa sila" is only her opinion.
4:02 p.m. Guingona thanks everyone then suspends the hearing until further notice.
4:03 p.m. Napoles stands up and prepares to leave the Senate hall.
– with Luis Gorgonio/YA, GMA News


text:
The 23-year-old, who started his career with Celtic, has agreed a two-year contract at McDiarmid Park.
Wotherspoon, who supported Saints as a youngster, made over 140 appearances for Hibs during a four-year stint, scoring the winner in his final game against Dundee in May.
Meanwhile, St Johnstone have also renewed their loan deal with Swansea for Gwion Edwards.
The 20-year-old midfielder has joined for the first half of the season with a view to extending the deal.
Edwards joined the McDiarmid Park side on loan in January and new manager Tommy Wright was sufficiently impressed to offer him another chance to become a first-team regular.

subset: commoncrawl


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Course Sprint Creative Commons
Stephen Downes, Billy Meinke, Feb 15, 2013
Commentary by Stephen Downes
Informal online chat I had with Billy Meinke, from Creative Commons, on the course he's developing on open scientific data (I mentioned the course in a post a few days ago, here). We talked about some of the mechanics of setting up an open course, how an open course would use open data, the role of badges in a course, and issues related to managing an open online course. I think people interested in starting their own MOOCs will find this discussion useful.Total: 307
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text:
An X-ray imaging system includes an vacuum tube, which is biased by a high voltage power supply connected to the tube by two shielded cables. The cables collectively have a plurality of conductors which are coupled at one end to the high voltage power supply. The other end of each conductor is coupled to a component of the vacuum tube by a separate inductor. During a voltage breakdown of the vacuum tube, the inductors depress electrical current flow between the anode and the cathode of the tube to reduce the erosion of tube components which results from the discharge. This current is in part due to the energy stored in the cable, which is not depressed by conventional current limiting circuits in the high voltage power supply. Voltage limiting devices connected to the tube prevent ringing in the cables from generating excessively high voltage levels.
1. An X-ray imaging system comprising:
a vacuum tube for emitting an X-ray beam and having an anode and a cathode;
a power supply that produces a DC voltage across a pair of terminals;
a cable means for applying the DC voltage from said power supply to said vacuum tube, said cable means having a first conductor connected to one of the terminals to apply a voltage to the anode and having a second conductor connected to the other terminal to apply a voltage to the cathode;
a first inductor connected between the first conductor and the anode; and
a second inductor connected between the second conductor and the cathode;
said inductors for depressing transient currents flowing through said vacuum tube under a breakdown condition.
2. The X-ray imaging system as recited in claim 1 further comprising means, coupled between the anode and the cathode, for limiting the voltage across the anode and cathode to below a given level.
3. The X-ray imaging system as recited in claim 1 further comprising first and second voltage limiters wherein the first voltage limiter is coupled between the anode and ground and second voltage limiter is coupled between the cathode and ground.
4. The X-ray imaging system as recited in claim 3 wherein said first and second voltage limiters each comprise a metal oxide varistor.
5. The X-ray imaging system as recited in claim 3 further comprising a capacitance coupled between the first and second conductors of said cable to alter the energy (E) of a discharge in the tube to a desired value according to the relationship E=0.5 C V2, where C is the sum of an intrinsic capacitance of the cables and the capacitance coupled to the cables, and V is the voltage across the conductors to which the capacitance is coupled.
6. An X-ray imaging system comprising:
a vacuum tube for emitting X-rays and including a cathode, an anode and a filament;
an electrically conductive casing surrounding said vacuum tube and coupled to ground potential;
a power supply including a high voltage supply and a filament current supply;
a first cable having a central conductor for coupling the high voltage supply to the anode, and having a grounded shield surrounding the central conductor and connected to said conductive casing;
a second cable having a plurality of conductors for coupling the high voltage supply and the filament current supply to the cathode and filament, and having a grounded shield surrounding the plurality of conductors;
a first inductor within said casing and connected between the central conductor of said first cable and the anode; and
a plurality of additional inductors within said casing, each one of which connected between a different one of the plurality of conductors in said second cable and a component of said vacuum tube;
each of the inductors for suppressing transient currents flowing through said vacuum tube during a breakdown condition while allowing the application of a DC excitation potential and filament current to said vacuum tube.
7. The X-ray imaging system as recited in claim 6 wherein:
said power supply comprises a first source of a positive potential with respect to ground, a second source of a negative potential with respect to ground, and a third source of a filament current;
the central conductor of said first cable coupled in series with said first inductor between said first source and then anode;
one conductor of said second cable is connected at one end to said second and third sources, and is coupled at another end by one of the plurality of additional inductors to both the filament and the cathode; and
another conductor of said second cable is connected at one end to said third source and is coupled at another end by another one of the plurality of additional inductors to the filament.
8. The X-ray imaging system as recited in claim 6 further comprising means for limiting the voltage across the anode and cathode to below a given level.
9. The X-ray imaging system as recited in claim 8 wherein said means for limiting the voltage comprise a first metal oxide varistor connected between said casing and the anode; and a second metal oxide varistor connected between said casing and the cathode.
10. The X-ray imaging system as recited in claim 6 wherein all of said inductors are within said casing.
11. An X-ray tube assembly for an imaging system comprising:
a vacuum tube for emitting X-rays and including a cathode, an anode and a filament;
a conductive casing enclosing said vacuum tube;
a first inductor within said casing and connected to the anode and having a terminal for coupling to a first conductor from a high voltage supply;
a second inductor within said casing and connected to the cathode and having a terminal for coupling to a second conductor from a high voltage supply; and
a third inductor within said casing and connected to the filament and having a terminal for coupling to a third conductor which carries a filament current;
each of the inductors for suppressing transient currents flowing through said vacuum tube during a breakdown condition.
12. The X-ray imaging system a recited in claim 11 further comprising means for limiting the voltage across the anode and cathode to below a given level.
13. The X-ray imaging system as recited in claim 12 wherein said means for limiting the voltage comprise a first metal oxide varistor connected between said casing and the anode; and a second metal oxide varistor connected between said casing and the cathode.
The present invention relates to X-ray imaging apparatus, and more specifically to means for depressing transient current surges through an X-ray tube of the apparatus and for reducing radio frequency emissions produced by such current surges.
The X-ray imaging apparatus includes a vacuum tube with a cathode and anode that emits X-rays during operation. The cathode comprises tungsten thermionic emitting source and focusing surfaces. The cathode is part of an assembly which includes a filament to heat the cathode to an operating temperature. Upon application of a potential across the electrodes of the X-ray tube, thermionically emitted electrons traverse the vacuum gap between the cathode and anode, impacting the anode thereby generating X-rays.
A major problem during the operation of X-ray tubes is high voltage discharge or arcing between the electrodes due to intense electric field gradients caused by contamination or rough edges on the surfaces of the electrodes. These discharges, commonly known as "spits", cause radiated and conducted electrical noise of great intensity which can interfere with the operation of electronic circuitry in the vicinity of the tube. In extreme cases, electrical noise from the spits even causes failure of semiconductor devices in adjacent equipment.
A newly manufactured tube is subject to frequent and prolonged spitting which must be greatly reduced in order to be a usable product. Each time a spit occurs, some material around the point that caused the intense field gradient is vaporized. As part of the manufacturing process, a new X-ray tube is "seasoned" by allowing spits to smooth the electrodes by vaporizing any foreign particles and surface roughness that can cause intense field gradients.
The seasoning process is affected by the energy available to vaporize the material and by the way the energy is delivered to the discharge arc. If too much energy is delivered, the imperfection is vaporized along with underlying material, sometimes forming a crater whose rim may have edges sharp enough to cause additional spits and more extensive erosion of the electrode. In conventional seasoning the energy available to the spit is determined by the voltage and capacitance of the high voltage cables feeding the tube and is typically in the range of tens of joules. The current is determined by the voltage and characteristic impedance of the cables and can be one thousand amperes or more.
A limiting resistor has been connected in series with the anode of the tube to try to control the peak current of the discharge. A problem with this technique is that the stored energy in the high voltage cables is discharged into both the arc and the resistor in an uncontrolled ratio. The resistor and the arc are in series and thus have the same current. The arc has a hyperbolic negative resistance volt-ampere characteristic and the resistor has a linear positive resistance characteristic which results in the two sharing the source voltage and power in an unstable, oscillatory manner. The energy that actually is delivered to the vaporization process is somewhat random and difficult to control with a resistor.
Even when an X-ray tube is properly seasoned during manufacture, these discharges occasionally occur while the tube is operating in an imaging apparatus. The discharges shorten the life of the tube, as well as producing electrical noise. The discharges become more and more frequent as the tube nears the end of its useful life and is one of its major failure modes.
An X-ray imaging apparatus includes a vacuum tube having a cathode and anode for the production of an X-ray beam. The apparatus further includes a source for generating and maintaining a high voltage potential during the operation of the X-ray tube.
In the preferred embodiment, the source preferably has separate high voltage power supplies for the anode and cathode electrodes of the tube. The X-ray tube is electrically connected to the source by high voltage cables, one connecting the anode power supply to the anode of the X-ray tube and another connecting the cathode power supply to the cathode of the tube. Separate inductive elements couple each cable conductor to the X-ray tube components. The inductive element suppresses transient currents flowing from the anode and cathode cables into the X-ray tube during a discharge spit and reduces the emission of radio frequency signals therefrom.
The inductive elements are used not only during the seasoning process, but preferably remain in the X-ray tube circuit after it has been placed into service. The continued use of the inductors prevents occasional spits, caused by particles attracted to electrodes by the intense electric fields and by the sharp electrode edges, from cracking and otherwise damaging of the X-ray tube electrodes. If the imaging apparatus includes these inductive elements, normal spitting is controlled, prolonging the useful operating life of the tube.
Heretofore, it was a generally accepted practice to minimize inductance coupled in series with the cable. Such inductance interacts with the intrinsic capacitance of the cable to produce ringing which can double the voltage on the cable. As the anode to cathode voltage already is extremely high, 40,000 to 150,000 volts, the ringing can cause a breakdown of the cable insulation as well as damage components connected to the cable. To reduce the ringing voltage, should it present a problem, a voltage limiting device may be connected to each inductive element.
The object of the present invention is to limit the current flow through an X-ray tube during a breakdown discharge, enabling the X-ray tube to return to a dielectric condition required for further operation.
Another object is to provide a mechanism between the X-ray tube and cables from the high voltage source which restricts energy stored in the cables from producing breakdown current of such high magnitude as to damage tube components.
A further object is to incorporate an element in that mechanism which limits the voltage produced by ringing in the cable and tube combination.
Yet another object is to suppress high frequency signals produced within the X-ray tube during a breakdown discharge from being carried by the cables.
FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of an X-ray imaging apparatus incorporating the present invention; and
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the high voltage supply and the X-ray tube, which have been modified according to the present invention.
With initial reference to FIG. 1, an X-ray imaging apparatus, generally designated as 10, is illustrated installed in two rooms of a building, such as a hospital or medical clinic. Within one room is a power supply 12 and an X-ray control console 14. As will be described, the power supply 12 typically includes several low voltage supplies and a high voltage supply. Within the other room is a gantry arrangement 16 on which the X-ray tube assembly 18 and X-ray detection assembly 20 are mounted. The X-ray detection assembly 20 consists of a film holder and a video camera, or in the case of computed tomography an X-ray detector which converts X-ray intensity into electrical signals. Electrical cables, that transfer power and control signals, extend through a flexible conduit 26 and a rigid conduit 28 from the components mounted on the gantry 16 to the power supply 12 and the control console 14.
An X-ray transmissive table 22, for supporting a patient being examined, is positioned adjacent to the gantry 16. The table 22 is mounted on a support 24 in a manner that allows the table to slide between the X-ray tube assembly 18 and the X-ray detection assembly 20.
FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the high voltage connection of the X-ray tube assembly 18 to a high voltage supply 30 within power supply 12 by two cables 31 and 32. The high voltage supply 30 is enclosed in a grounded conductive housing 35 and consists of several individual circuits for supplying different voltages and currents to tube assembly 18. In particular, the high voltage supply 30 includes separate anode and cathode supplies 33 and 34. The anode and cathode supplies increase voltages received from anode and cathode inverters (not shown) in the power supply 12 to produce positive and negative voltages, with respect to ground, at terminals 37 and 38, respectively. The potential difference across terminals 37 and 38 is between 40,000 and 150,000 volts, for example. The high voltage supply 30 also receives current from a filament supply (not shown) and has a transformer 40 which couples the filament current to terminals 38 and 39.
The two high voltage cables 31 and 32 have one or more center conductors 41, 44 and 45 surrounded by high voltage insulation and a grounded conductive shield 42 and 46. Each cable has a characteristic impedance of 42 ohms and an intrinsic capacitance of fifty pico farads per foot, for example. At one end of the anode cable 31, center conductor 41 is connected to terminal 37 of the anode supply 33 and the cable shield 42 is attached to the grounded housing 35 of the high voltage supply 30. The cathode cable 32 includes a first center conductor 44 connected at one end to terminal 38 of the high voltage supply 30 to receive a common negative cathode potential. A second center conductor 45 of the cathode cable 32 is connected to terminal 39 so that the two center conductors of the cable carry the filament current. The shield 46 of the cathode cable 32 is grounded by a connection to housing 35. In other X-ray systems, separate conductors are used to carry the filament current and cathode potential. Other conductors can be provided to carry bias potentials to a grid or additional filaments, as well as to carry signals for other components of the X-ray tube assembly 18.
The X-ray tube assembly 18 contains an X-ray tube 40 with an anode 48, cathode 49 and a filament 50 separated by a vacuum gap. The cathode cable 32 is coupled to the X-ray tube 40 by a pair of air core inductors 51 or 52. Each inductor 51 and 52 couples one of the center conductors 44 or 45 of the cathode cable 32 to opposite ends of the filament 50 to apply current from transformer 36 through the filament. These two inductors 51 and 52 are wound in a bifilar manner to pass the filament current relatively unimpeded while still presenting an impedance to the current from a spit discharge. Thus the coupled inductors provide an advantage over termination resistors.
The center conductor 41 of the anode cable 31 is coupled by a third air core inductor 53 to the anode 48. Each of the three inductors has a value of fifteen micro henries, for example. The value of inductance controls the peak current and is adjusted to give the fastest seasoning. The inductors used when the X-ray tube 40 is placed in an imaging apparatus have an inductance chosen for prolonged tube life.
If separate conductors are provided in the cathode cable 32 for the cathode potential and the filament current, or if another conductor is included for grid electrode bias, additional inductors couple these conductors to the tube components.
A first voltage limiter, such as a metal oxide varistor (MOV) 58 is connected between the anode 48 and the grounded casing 55 of the X-ray tube assembly 18. A second voltage limiter, metal oxide varistor 59 is connected between the cathode 49 and the grounded casing 55. The voltage limiters provide shunt paths to ground when the voltage across the anode and cathode exceeds the normal operating voltage by a defined amount, for example a voltage in excess of 180,000 volts. In practice it may be difficult to provide a single MOV with such a high voltage rating, in which case a number of lower voltage rated devices are connected in series to achieve the desired rating. The two voltage limiters restrict ringing of the voltage on cables 31 and 32 due to the interaction of inductors 51-53 and the intrinsic capacitance of the cables from damaging the tube, inductors and cables. Other devices such as a spark gap, a Zener diode or a snubber circuit can be used in place of metal oxide varistors 58 and 59 as the anode to cathode voltage limiter means.
Each inductor 51-53 has the effect of stabilizing the discharge arc that occurs during a tube spit. As the arc voltage changes, the voltage across each inductor varies to whatever level is necessary to instantaneously maintain a constant current. Since the inductors 51-53 cannot dissipate energy and have no stored energy at the beginning and the end of the discharge, the amount of energy (Ec) that is dissipated in the arc can be precisely controlled by the voltage (V) and capacitance (C) presented to the tube assembly by the cables. The amount of energy is defined according to the relationship Ec =0.5 CV2. Additional discrete capacitors 56 and 57 can be placed in parallel with the cable to adjust the capacitance. For example, more energy may be required at the operating voltage to initiate a spit during later stages of the seasoning process when electrode roughness is less pronounced.
The present invention has particular use during the seasoning of the X-ray tube. In this part of the manufacturing process, a new X-ray tube 40 is placed into a insulating oil bath and operated to intentionally produce spitting. The spit discharges smooth the electrodes 48 and 49 by vaporizing any foreign particles and surface roughness that can cause intense field gradients. The seasoning continues until the electrodes have been smoothed to such an extent that discharges no longer occur. During the seasoning process the inductors coupling the high voltage cables to the X-ray tube limit the energy of the discharge preventing too much electrode material from being removed and the formation of craters.
If, the discharge arc extinguishes while there is still current in the inductor, the stored energy causes the voltage across the inductor to rise until a voltage breakdown occurs. Normally this would restrike the arc in the tube, but it could breakdown the insulation of the tube or the inductor. To insure that this does not happen, the voltage limiters 58 and 59 are connected between the anode and cathode of the tube. The voltage limiters 58 and 59, by limiting the potential between the cable conductors and ground, also suppress any ringing in the cables due to interaction between the inductance and the cables' intrinsic capacitance. Thus the primary motivation previously for not coupling inductance to these high voltage cables is eliminated by the use of voltage limiters.
The inductors 51-53 and current limiters 58 and 59 are not only used in the seasoning system, but also in the X-ray imaging apparatus 10, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The latter usage minimizes the adverse effects from spits that occur during normal operation as the X-ray tube. The inductors reduce the severity of spit discharges. Thus the useful life of the X-ray tube is prolonged and components associated with the tube are not subjected to as extreme discharge currents. The voltage limiters in the imaging system tube assembly 18 prevent excessively high ringing voltages.
The usage of anode and cathode inductors as shown in FIG. 2 has a further advantage not directly related to tube seasoning. Observations have shown a significant reduction in the level of electrical noise during a spit. This reduction is attributed to L-C low pass filtering due to the inductors working against the cable capacitance to confine most of the noise to the grounded X-ray tube casing 55.
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text:
Powell has joined Wigan on a season-long loan from United.
Wigan boss Owen Coyle said: "We're delighted to welcome Nick to Wigan Athletic, and thank Manchester United for allowing a player whom they have invested a large sum of money in and has incredible talent, to join us for the season.
"We're all excited to be offering him the opportunity to play football at a high level and for him to continue his development here at the club."
Whelan told the BBC: "We obviously had Tom Cleverley on loan and I think United were happy with the job we did with him, so it's good news that we've got the lad.
"We've done the deal for a season long loan."


text:
Now, submarines aren't new to the World of Warcraft. The gnomes used them in the second war, and you can build them as a sea-faring battle unit in Warcraft II. In more recent uses, there is a makeshift goblin "submarine" in Venture Bay that is essentially a space rocket on its side, though I'd imagine the new submarines will look a bit less slapdash.
As to where exactly the subs will go, it wasn't said, but I'm banking on the Abyssal Maw area, or similar areas thereabouts. Zeppelins and ships already have most of Azeroth covered, so it's likely we'll be seeing a few new islands in Cataclysm as docking points for our awesome new subs.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it. Nothing will be the same. In WoW.com's Guide to Cataclysm you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion. From Goblins and Worgens to Mastery and Guild changes, it's all there for your cataclysmic enjoyment.


text:
James E. WestneyMay 24,2013James E. Westney
SPRINGFIELD James E. Westney, 42, died unexpectedly at his home on Tuesday, May 21, 2013.
He was born Oct. 17, 1970, in Claremont, N.H., the son of Eldred and Linda (Ploof) Westney.
He attended Springfield schools and graduated with the Class of 1988.
He was employed as a driver for Schwans and WIC, and worked for several area restaurants. He had also been employed as a woodworker.
He enjoyed woodworking and the outdoors.
Survivors include his parents, Eldred and Linda Westney of Charlestown, N.H.; his paternal grandmother Blanche Shepard of Springfield; a brother Robert L. Westney of Quakertown, Pa.; two sisters, Kathleen A. Sullivan of Belchertown, Mass., and Cynthia L. Westney of Walpole, N.H.; and by nieces, nephews, and cousins.
A funeral service will be held Friday, May 24, 2013, at 2 p.m. at the Davis Memorial Chapel in Springfield. Burial will follow in the Oakland Cemetery in Springfield.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Springfield Humane Society, 401 Skitchewaug Trail, Springfield, VT 05156.MORE IN Obituaries0731 RH Obits Kendrick edited no photo no flag Full Story0731 RH Obits Gilligan PAID photo flag Full Story0731 RH Obits Brown rites no photo no flag Full Story
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text:
The impact of the market forces acting upon the Canadian server market, such as technologies (cloud computing, virtualization, big data, and integrated systems), go-to-market strategies, vendor product and pricing strategies, and customer demands, makes targeting the server market opportunities a challenge. IDC's Canadian Quarterly Server Tracker® provides a comprehensive view of today's highly consolidated server market, identifying growing market segments for server vendors to align products and sales resources with market demand. This market intelligence service provides a complete understanding of current trends for volume, midrange, and high-end enterprise server markets, uncovering opportunities as they arise with industry-leading analysis and insights to address them. Identifying market trends and technology adoption rates can help a sales force more effectively retire quotas, leading to increased revenue growth and market share. The supply-side research is supported by demand-side and channel resources encompassing all major technologies, price bands, and product lines in the Canadian server market.
The Canadian Quarterly Server Tracker provides total market size and vendor share for the following technology areas and segmentations. Measurement for this tracker is in shipments and revenue.
Technologies and subtechnologies:
- Server class (volume, midrange, high end)
- Product (blade, tower, rack optimized, and density optimized)
- Architecture (x86, EPIC, RISC, CISC)
- Operating system (Windows, Linux, Unix, etc.)
- Granular model-level data for all vendors
- CPU-type shipment and revenue information by vendor and operating system
- Blade, tower, and rack-optimized servers by vendor, operating system, core count, and CPU capability
- CPU brand-level data at the model level
- Vendor shipment data by 11 price bands
- Vendor shipment data by socket capability
- Canada
Forecasts for this tracker are updated quarterly and include historical data, two years of quarterly forecasts, and an additional three years of annual market projections. Examples of the segmentations being forecast in this tracker include:
- Unit and revenue forecast: View by operating system, CPU type, rack factor, price band, socket capability, and so forth
This tracker is delivered on a quarterly basis via an Excel pivot table. For a complete delivery schedule, please contact an IDC sales representative. Deliverables for this tracker are:
- Final data
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- Telephone inquiry time to support questions regarding data usage
IDC's tracker data is developed using a rigorous methodology that includes well-planned and well-coordinated local, regional, and worldwide data cross-checks combined with a proprietary advanced data consolidation and analysis data platform managed by IDC's Worldwide Tracker organization. Data sources used in the process of determining IDC's tracker numbers include, but are not limited to:
- In-country local vendor interviews
- Distribution data feeds
- Worldwide and regional vendor guidance
- ODM data
- In-country local channel partner discussions
- Import records
- Feedback from component suppliers
- Vendor briefings and public financial reports
IDC trackers provide the accurate and timely market size, vendor share, and forecast information you need to identify market and product expansion opportunities, increase revenue, and win market share. IDC's tracker research is a critical input to the planning and monitoring cycles of the business process. Common uses of the tracker data include:
Planning Process
- Regional-, state-, or city-level planning — setting regional-, country-, state-, or city-level sales targets based on market opportunity
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- Production planning — using customer demand data as an input in the creation of production schedules
- Product portfolio planning — accessing accurate and detailed data as an input into the product development process
Monitoring Process
- Performance measurement — comparing vendor performance on prior fiscal periods
- Competitive analysis — reviewing competitor performance across multiple dimensions: product, features, channel, segment, geography
- Sales forecasting measurement — assessing internal sales forecast versus actual results
- Price benchmarking — comparing vendor versus market pricing data by model
- Marketing communications — using positive results for messaging in the press, at partner events, or in sales collateral
Program Vice President, Infrastructure Solutions Group
Research Manager, Servers


text: The Space Armada wiki last edited by SaturdayNightSpecials on 10/13/13 01:12PM View full history OverviewSpace Armada is a Space Invaders clone developed by APh Technological Consulting and released in 1981 for the Intellivision. Much like its influence, Space Armada features an upward-firing gun at the bottom of the screen, protective bunkers, and rows of enemies to shoot down. The reason such a blatant copy was created without legal complications is due to poor copyright protection for Space Invaders, which allowed any developer to make a game almost exactly like Space Invaders so long as it used a different name.Space Armada does have a few unique features compared to the original Space Invaders. Bunkers will not repair themselves between rounds, and enemies may turn invisible or drop explosive or homing projectiles in later rounds. The player can also elect to retry a failed round through a special practice mode.According to Intellivision Productions, Space Armada was the first Intellivision game to animate more than eight sprites through a technique called GRAM sequencing.GameplayThe player has the choice of game or practice when starting a new game. If practice is chosen, the player will start at the last round of the previous game with full bunkers and lives, with enemies moving slightly slower than before. If a game has not yet been played, practice mode will start with round one.The game starts the player off with three protective bunkers and six lives. Each round begins with a wave of thirty-two target enemies, positioned in eight columns by four rows that slowly zig-zag towards the bottom of the screen. As enemies are shot, much like Space Invaders, the remaining ships will begin to speed up. Once all the ships in a round are destroyed, the game pauses briefly to display the score and lives remaining, and a new round begins.In addition to the basic targets, a red UFO will occasionally fly across the top of the screen. Shooting the UFO scores a random number of points, and also causes the most damaged bunker to completely regenerate.As rounds progress, enemies will increase speed and the rate they fire weapons. Explosive bombs with a blast radius may also be dropped, along with missiles that will home in on the player's gun. Enemies may also appear invisible at random in later rounds, sometimes reappearing as they close in on the bottom of the screen.When all lives have been expended or a target reaches the bottom of the screen, the game is over.ScoringThere are two ways to score points in Space Armada. Shooting a target scores ten times the round number in points; for example, 10 points per target in round one, 20 points in round two, and so on. Shooting the UFO scores a random amount of points -- either one to thirty-two times the points for shooting a normal target.


text:
A color display system includes two colored LCD panels operated in conjunction with a colored filter. One of the LCDs may be a primary color, such as red, green or blue, and the other LCD may be its complement, i.e. cyan, magenta or yellow, respectively. The color filter may be in mosaic form and desirably comprises pixels of two subtractive primary colors that are chosen to cooperate with the colored panels to yield a full color display. The invention's use of only two stacked panels and two colored filter elements yields a number of performance and design advantages over prior art full color systems that must rely on three stacked panels or three colored filter elements.
1. A color display system comprising a color mosaic filter stacked with first and second color liquid crystal display panels, wherein the first liquid crystal display panel defines a uniform array of pixels of a first size, and the second liquid crystal display panel defines a uniform array of pixels of a second size larger than the first, and the first and second panels are stacked so that each of the pixels of the second panel is optically superimposed over a plurality of pixels in the first panel.
2. The display of claim 1 in which the color mosaic filter comprises a plurality of pixels and in which the pixels of the color mosaic filter are aligned with the pixels of the first color liquid crystal display panel.
3. The display of claim 2 in which the color mosaic filter and the first liquid crystal panel each has twice as many pixels as the second liquid crystal display panel.
4. The display of claim 1 in which the color mosaic filter has pixels of first and second colors, the pixels of the first color attenuating a first primary light color and the pixels of the second color attenuating a second primary light color.
5. The display of claim 4 in which the first liquid crystal display panel is comprised of pixels selectively operable to attenuate light of both the first and second primary light colors and the second liquid crystal display panel is comprised of pixels selectively operable to attenuate light of a third primary light color.
6. The display of claim 1 in which:
the first and second color liquid crystal display panels operate in conjunction with front and rear polarizers associated therewith;
a polarizer intermediate said panels is dyed black; and
another of said other polarizers is dyed a color other than black.
7. A hybrid color display comprising:
first, second and third polarizers;
a first liquid crystal display panel disposed between the first and second polarizers and comprising a plurality of pixels each electronically switchable between first and second states, each pixel in its first state attenuating transmission of light of a first color that is not so attenuated when in its second state;
a second liquid crystal display panel disposed between the second and third polarizers and comprising a plurality of pixels each electronically switchable between first and second states, each pixel in its first state attenuating transmission of light of a second color that is not so attenuated when in its second state, said second color being different than the first color of the first panel;
a mosaic color filter having a plurality of first and second elements, the first elements attenuating transmission of light of a third color and the second elements attenuating transmission of light of a fourth color;
the first color, attenuated by the first panel, comprises two primary colors;
the second color, attenuated by the second panel, is the primary color not attenuated by the first panel;
the third color, attenuated by the first filter elements, is one of the two primary colors not attenuated by the second panel; and
the fourth color, attenuated by the second filter elements, is the other of said two primary colors not attenuated by the second panel.
8. The display of claim 7 wherein:
the first color is yellow;
the second color is blue;
the third color is red; and
the fourth color is green.
9. The display of claim 7 wherein:
the first color is magenta;
the second color is green;
the third color is red; and
the fourth color is blue.
10. The display of claim 7 wherein:
the first color is cyan;
the second color is red;
the third color is green; and
the fourth color is blue.
11. The display of claim 7 wherein the first panel has twice as many pixels as the second panel and is positioned relative to the second so that each pixel of the second panel is in optical alignment with two of the pixels of the first panel.
12. The display of claim 7 wherein the first polarizer is dyed the second color.
13. The display of claim 7 wherein the third polarizer is dyed the first color.
14. The display of claim 7 wherein the center-to-center pixel spacing on one of said panels is larger than said spacing on the other of said panels to facilitate operation with focused non-collimated light sources.
15. A color display system comprising a color mosaic filter stacked with first and second LCD panels;
the mosaic filter including alternating pixels of first and second different colors selected from the subtractive primary colors: yellow, cyan, magenta;
the first and second LCDs comprising first and second supertwisted nematic birefringent liquid crystal display panels, each of said panels exhibiting a total twist angle greater than or equal to 180 degrees and less than 360 degrees, each of said panels having a plurality of electronically operable pixels, the birefringence of the pixels in the first panel being tuned to the subtractive primary color not included in the pixels of the color mosaic filter, the birefringence of the pixels in the second panel being tuned to a primary color complementary to the subtractive primary color of the first panel.
This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 07/329,938, filed Mar. 28, 1989.
The present invention relates to systems for optically displaying color images, and more particularly relates to a novel color display system that includes a plurality of stacked, light-transmissive panels operating in cooperation with a color mosaic filter.
Much effort has been made in recent years to develop low power color displays. Such efforts have generally employed LCD panels in one of two configurations. In the first configuration, a plurality of differently colored LCD panels are stacked and illuminated with white light. As the light passes through the stacked layers, pixels in each panel act as controllable color filters, selectively coloring the light exiting the display.
While the stacked cell approach can provide a full color display, it has certain shortcomings. One is the requirement of three LCD panels. This large number both increases the cost of the display and reduces its light transmissivity. Furthermore, the stacking of cells often introduces serious parallax problems which severely limit the usable viewing angle.
The second approach uses only a single LCD panel, but uses it in conjunction with a mosaic color filter. The mosaic filter typically has a plurality of red, green and blue filter elements, each aligned with a pixel in the LCD panel. (The filter is often fabricated as an integral part of the LCD assembly.) By controlling the pixels in the LCD panel, the display can pass light through selected areas of the color mosaic filter.
While the color mosaic technique addresses certain shortcomings of the stacked panel approach, it introduces certain problems of its own. One is that brightness is limited because less than a third of the active area transmits light for any given color. Another is that pixel density must be increased by a factor of three to obtain the same resolution as the stacked cell approach. That is, to provide a color display with a horizontal resolution of 640 colored pixels, for example, the LCD panels must have 1920 pixels, 640 each of red, green and blue. This introduces fabrication problems that decrease yields and increase panel costs.
To address these shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention adopts a hybrid approach in which both stacked panels and color mosaic filters are employed. Preferably, only two stacked panels are employed, minimizing the problems conventionally associated with three panel embodiments. Similarly, only two color filter elements are used in the color mosaic filter, again minimizing the problems conventionally associated with the color mosaic approach. The filter colors are desirably selected from the subtractive primaries (cyan, magenta, yellow) so as to increase light transmission. The filter colors and the colors of the two LCD panels are selected so that the two technologies cooperate to provide a full color display.
The foregoing and additional features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a color display subassembly according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating correspondence between a single pixel in a yellow panel with two pixels in a blue panel and two pixels in a color mosaic filter in the display subassembly of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 illustrates the selective coloring of white light by the display subassembly of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a spectral plot showing ideal and actual light transmission characteristics for a blue LCD panel used in the display subassembly of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a spectral plot showing ideal and actual light transmission characteristics for a yellow LCD panel used in the display subassembly of FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is a spectral plot showing ideal and actual light transmission characteristics of cyan filter elements used in a color mosaic filter in the display subassembly of FIG. 1.
FIG. 7 is a spectral plot showing ideal and actual light transmission characteristics of magenta filter elements used in a color mosaic filter in the display subassembly of FIG. 1.
FIG. 8 is a chromaticity diagram illustrating the color gamut achieved with the display subassembly of FIG. 1.
FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of a first application of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of a second application of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of a variation of the FIG. 10 system.
FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of another variation of the FIG. 10 system.
To provide an enabling disclosure without unduly lengthening this specification, applicant incorporates by reference the disclosures of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,547,043, 4,549,174, 4,652,101, 4,709,990 and 4,763,993 which each certain fundamental concepts useful in the construction of a device according to the present invention.
Before proceeding, it may be helpful to first review certain principles of color optics. The primary light colors are generally considered to be red, green and blue. White light is composed of all three primaries. White light with red filtered therefrom (i.e. removed) is termed cyan; white light with green filtered therefrom is termed magenta; and white light with blue filtered therefrom is termed yellow. These latter colors, cyan, magenta and yellow, are sometimes termed subtractive primary colors, since they denote the absence of one of the primary colors.
Filters selectively attenuate (or "absorb") light of certain colors and pass light of other colors relatively unattenuated. A red filter, for example, attenuates blue and green light and lets red light pass. Similarly, a blue filter attenuates red and green light and lets blue light pass. Finally, a green filter attenuates red and blue light and lets green light pass. Filters of the primary colors thus subtract two primary colors and let the third pass.
Filters of the subtractive primary colors subtract one primary color and let the two others pass. For example, a cyan filter attenuates red light and lets blue and green light pass. Similarly, a magenta filter attenuates green light and lets blue and red light pass. Finally, a yellow filter attenuates blue light and lets green and red light pass.
These properties are summarized in Table I.
TABLE I______________________________________Filter Absorbs Passes______________________________________Red Green, Blue RedGreen Red, Blue GreenBlue Red, Green BlueYellow Blue Green, RedCyan Red Blue, GreenMagenta Green Blue, Red______________________________________
Again, although somewhat counter-intuitive, it should be remembered that a blue filter does not filter out blue light. It passes blue light and blocks light of other colors.
It should further be noted that the human eye is more sensitive to certain wavelengths of light than to others. The eye's response (termed "photopic" response) typically peaks at about 554 nanometers and diminishes to near negligible values around 400 and 700 nanometers.
For convenience of discussion, the optical spectrum is generally segregated into the red, green and blue portions by dividing lines at 500 and 600 nanometers. (For physiological reasons, a precise dividing line cannot be defined.) Using these boundaries, the human eye perceives 55% of the energy in white light from the green portion of the spectrum (500 to 600 nm.), 30% from the red portion (above 600 nm.), and only 15% from the blue portion (below 500 nm.). Perfect green, red and blue filters thus transmit 55%, 30% and 15% of white light, respectively (photopically). Since yellow, cyan and magenta are combinations of these colors, it can be seen that yellow, cyan and magenta filters transmit 85%, 70% and 45% of white light, respectively.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a display device, or subassembly, 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a color mosaic filter 12, two color LCD panels 14, 16, and three polarizers 18, 20, 22.
Panels 14, 16 used in the illustrated embodiment are supertwisted nematic LCD panels that are controllably colored by exploitation of the birefringence effect. The use of birefringence to control color in LCD panels is discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,876,287, 4,097,128, 4,127,322, 4,394,069, 4,759,612 and 4,786,146, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference. Briefly, in birefringence color systems, light of different wavelengths is rotated differing amounts as it passes through the liquid crystal material. When the exiting light is analyzed by a polarizer, certain color components are oriented in a direction that passes through the polarizer, and other color components are oriented in directions that are attenuated or blocked. This selective filtering of the optical spectrum by the cooperating polarizers produces the color effect.
In the illustrated embodiment, the birefringent properties of the first panel 14 are "tuned" (by choosing the thickness (d) of the liquid crystal layer and its optical refractive index anistropy (Δn)) to rotate the polarization of incoming red and green light to a direction in which it is absorbed by the exiting polarizer when the panel is in its deselected (i.e. deenergized) state. The panel 14 and polarizers 18 and 20 thus act as a blue filter when the panel is deselected. When the panel is in its selected (i.e. energized) state, the liquid crystal molecules nearly align with the electric field, thereby reducing the effect of the twist so that all wavelengths of light pass through nearly unaffected, i.e. still white. (For expository convenience, panel 14 is sometimes called the "blue" panel and is said to controllably absorb red and green [i.e. yellow] light. It will be recognized, however, that this and panel 16 must be operated in conjunction with associated front and back polarizers to achieve the desired coloring effect.)
The illustrated second panel 16 is similarly tuned to operate as a yellow filter (i.e. absorbing blue) when in its deselected state and to pass all wavelengths of light (i.e. white light) when in its selected state. It is sometimes termed the "yellow" panel.
It may be noted that, unlike most prior art stacked panel displays, the illustrated embodiment includes one panel of a primary color (i.e. blue) and one panel of a subtractive primary color (i.e. yellow). Their cooperative relationship to yield a full color display is made possible by the color mosaic filter 12, as described below.
In the illustrated embodiment, the yellow panel 16 includes a plurality of individually controllable pixels regularly arrayed in a 640 by 480 matrix. (In FIG. 1, each pixel is illustrated by the pair of electrodes 24 that defines it.) The blue panel 14 includes twice as many pixels, arrayed in a 1280 by 480 matrix. The blue panel is cooperatively positioned with the yellow panel so that each pixel of the yellow panel is optically superimposed on two pixels of the blue panel.
The color mosaic filter 12 is comprised of a plurality of cyan and magenta filter elements, 26, 28 respectively, regularly arrayed in a 1280 by 480 matrix. The color mosaic filter is similarly cooperatively positioned with the blue and yellow panels 14, 16 so that each pixel of the filter is optically superimposed on one pixel of the blue panel, and each pair of pixels in the filter is optically superimposed on one pixel in the yellow panel. The above-described superimposition relationship is illustrated in FIG. 2.
The color mosaic filter 12 may be implemented in a number of ways. For example, it may comprise a dyed acetate or polyester substrate, aligned during fabrication with the other layers, or it may comprise the surface of one of the polarizer plates on which filter dyes are offset or screen printed.
The fabrication of color mosaic filters is more particularly detailed, inter alia, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,712,874, 4,770,525, 4,776,671, 4,773,737, 4,752,771, 4,690,511, 4,458,175 and 4,653,862, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In operation, all light passing through the display follows one of two different paths 30 or 32 (FIG. 1). The first path 30 is through a cyan filter element 26, the blue panel 14 and the yellow panel 16. The second path 32 is similar but starts with passage through a magenta filter element 28 and concludes by passing through the blue panel and the yellow panel.
Light following the first path 30 is first stripped of its red component (since the cyan mosaic filter element 26 attenuates red light). The remaining blue and green light next passes through the blue panel 14. If this panel is in its deselected state, it acts as a blue filter, passing only blue light. If this panel is in its selected state, it passes both the blue and green light.
The light exiting the blue panel 14 then enters the yellow panel 16. If the yellow panel is in its deselected state, it attenuates blue light, so passes no light if the blue panel was deselected, and passes only green light if the blue panel was selected. If the yellow panel is in its selected state, it passes all light, so passes blue light if the blue panel was deselected, and passes blue and green light (i.e. cyan light) if the blue panel was selected.
Light following the second path 32 is first stripped of its green component (since the magenta mosaic filter element 28 attenuates green light). The remaining red and blue light next passes through the blue panel 14. If this panel is in its deselected state, it acts as a blue filter, passing only blue light. If this panel is in its selected state, it passes both the blue and red light.
The light exiting the blue panel 14 then enter the yellow panel 16. If this yellow panel is in its deselected state, it attenuates blue light, so passes no light if the blue panel was deselected, and passes only red light if the blue panel was selected. If the yellow panel is in its selected state, it passes all light, so passes blue light if the blue panel was deselected, and passes blue and red light (magenta) if the blue panel was selected.
The colors resulting from these various combinations are illustrated in FIG. 3.
Each of the two paths 30, 32 can produce the colors black and blue. The double passage of blue is advantageous because most incandescent illumination has relatively less blue energy than energy of other colors. Thus, the passage of blue light through both paths acts to correct a color imbalance normally inherent with incandescent lighting. In particular, tungsten "white" or 3200° K is color corrected by this arrangement to 5600° K.
Neither of the paths 30 or 32 by themselves can produce yellow or white. However, the human eye can average adjoining cyan and magenta pixels to perceive white, and can average adjoining green and red pixels to perceive yellow. The average of the colors of two adjoining pixels is termed the color of a "super pixel," of which there are 640 across the width of the display. This arrangement thus can yield the full gamut of color.
Table II summarizes the foregoing discussion:
TABLE II______________________________________After After AfterFilter Blue YellowElement Panel Panel Average______________________________________C C (wh) C (wh) WhM M (wh) M (wh)C C (wh) G (yel) YM M (wh) R (yel)C C (wh) C (wh) CM B (b) B (wh)C C (wh) G (yel) GM B (b) Blk (yel)C B (b) B (wh) MM M (wh) M (wh)C B (b) Blk (yel) RM M (wh) R (yel)C B (b) B (wh) BM B (b) B (wh)C B (b) Blk (yel) BlkM B (b) Blk (yel)______________________________________
where B is blue, Blk is black, C is cyan, G is green, M is magenta, R is red, W is white and Y is yellow, and the colors in parentheses indicate whether a panel pixel is in its while (selected) or colored (deselected) states.
The polarizers 18, 20, 22 used in the illustrated embodiment are needed to analyze the light passing through the liquid crystal panels 14, 16 in order to achieve perceptible contrast. In prior art display systems, the polarizers are usually neutral (i.e., dyed black by iodine). In the present invention, colored polarizers (which are "leaky") can be used in certain positions to pass more light, improving the brightness and allowing color balance improvements.
Panel 14 is illustrated as being blue when in its deselected state. Light entering it is polarized by an entrance polarizer 18. Normally, all colors of light orthogonal to the axis of polarizer 18 would be absorbed by the black dye of a conventional, neutral polarizer, resulting in an immediate loss of 50% of the light. This loss can be cut dramatically if the polarizer 18 is dyed blue. Such a polarizer still passes the white light parallel to the polarizer's axis, but additionally passes blue light orthogonal to its axis. This additional blue light is permitted to pass to the yellow panel 16 and ultimately contributes to the overall brightness of the resulting display, instead of being absorbed by the first polarizer as is normally the case. The losses normally associated with this first polarizer are thus cut by a third (radiometrically). Display brightness improves commensurately.
The same benefit can be achieved at the exiting end of the stacked assembly 10. Panel 16 is illustrated as being yellow in its deselected state. By dying the polarizer 22 adjacent thereto yellow, the red and green light that would normally be absorbed thereby is allowed to leak through, again improving display brightness.
In addition to the foregoing benefits, colored polarizers also ease the design requirements of the LCDs with which they are associated. While an LCD designer must normally be concerned about the performance of a panel across the entire spectrum, the use of a colored polarizer with the panel renders the performance at certain colors irrelevant. For example, in designing the blue panel 14, the designer need not worry about its performance in the selected and deselected states in the blue portion of the spectrum. The blue polarizer 18 will cause the panel to pass blue regardless of its state, so the designer can focus on optimizing performance in the green and red portions of the spectrum. Similarly with the yellow polarizer 22. Since this polarizer will cause the yellow panel 16 to pass green and red light regardless of its state, the designer can focus on optimizing performance of the panel in the blue portion of the spectrum.
Spectrophotometer plots showing the ideal and actual light transmission qualities of panels 14 and 16 (again, considered in conjunction with their associated polarizers) are provided in FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively. Panels suitable for use as panels 14, 16 are available from Kyocera of Kyoto, Japan or may be fabricated using known techniques.
Spectrophotometer plots showing the ideal and actual light transmission qualities of cyan and magenta filter elements 26, 28 are provided in FIGS. 6 and 7. Suitable filter materials or dyes are available from Crompton & Knowles, Brewer Science, Kodak Wratten, and Lee Colortran International.
As can be seen from the foregoing curves, neither the passage of light of the desired colors nor the attenuation of light of undesired colors is perfect in the actual panels and filters. However, the resulting effect is more than adequate to provide saturated colors throughout the human visual area. A chromaticity diagram illustrating the color gamut resulting from these imperfect elements (using color illumination) is shown in FIG. 8.
The foregoing discussion has described only one of many possible combinations of panel colors and mosaic filter colors. Others can readily be devised. Generally speaking, the preferred embodiments are characterized as follows:
the first panel has 2N pixels that pass either all colors, or only primary color C;
the second panel has N pixels that pass either all colors, or only a color subtractive primary (A+B);
the color mosaic filter has N pixels that pass the color subtractive primary (A+C), and N more pixels that pass the color subtractive primary (B+C); (where A, B and C are assigned from the primary colors red, green and blue).
Thus, other embodiments include one in which the filter elements are colored magenta and yellow, and the panels are colored red and cyan; and a second in which the filter elements are colored cyan and yellow, and the panels are colored green and magenta.
One advantage of the present invention is this flexibility it offers in possible arrangements. If one of these embodiments seems unworkable, a design can be optimized about another one. For example, if it is found that a suitable cyan filter cannot be obtained, then a design that does not require a cyan filter can be adopted instead.
As noted earlier, the illustrated embodiment is advantageous due to the color correction it offers with incandescent light. However, these other embodiments have their own advantages. The embodiment with magenta and yellow filter elements, for example, can advantageously be used to color compensate fluorescent light, which is typically weak in the red portion of the spectrum.
Referring now to FIG. 9, in a first application 34 of the present invention, the display subassembly 10 is positioned on the transparent projection surface 36 of a conventional overhead projector 38. Such projectors typically include an illumination bulb 40 and a Fresnel lens 42 under the projection surface to produce light beams that pass through a transparency and converge onto a projection lens assembly 44. (Due to the short focal length and high power required of lens 42, this lens is often formed by cementing two or more lower powered Fresnel lenses together.)
When display subassembly 10 is used in the FIG. 9 application, it is desirable to provide a Fresnel lens 46 to collimate the converging light from the projection surface prior to illumination of the display subassembly. The light exiting the subassembly is then refocused by a lens 48 (which is also desirably in Fresnel form) onto the projection lens assembly 44. (Lens 48 here serves the same purpose as the Fresnel lens provided under the projection surface of the projector in the projector's normal operation, namely to focus light towards the projection lens assembly 44.)
In another embodiment, no auxiliary Fresnel lenses are used. Instead, the pixels on the various layers of the display subassembly 10 are spaced with different pitches so that the pixels align in proper registration with the converging light from the projector's built-in Fresnel lenses 44. This arrangement of pixels is shown in FIG. 1.
A second application 50 of the display assembly of the present invention is as a backlit screen for a computer or the like. In this application, shown in FIG. 10, the assembly 10 is illuminated with collimated light, and a translucent light dispersing material 52, such as a ground glass plate or a commercially available diffusion material (i.e. Rolux film manufactured by Rosco of Port Chester N.Y.) is mounted adjacent the yellow polarizer 22 to display the resulting color image. The collimated excitation light can be provided from a relatively low wattage bulb 54 in conjunction with a thin lens 56.
In a related embodiment 50', shown in FIG. 11, a direct view display may be illuminated by a fluorescent light panel 57. In such embodiment, the display subassembly 10 is fabricated with an entrance plate 58 on which are formed a plurality of microlenses 60, one aligned to each pixel. Light incident on one of microlenses 60, regardless of its orientation, is directed normal to the plane of the display subassembly 10 and thus passes through the pixels of the component layers in the proper alignment.
The same arrangement may be used on the exiting side of the display. In this case, collimated light exiting the subassembly 10 is dispersed by microlenses 62 which permit the color image to be viewed from a wide range of angles without parallax effects. The interstitial areas 64 between the lenses may be colored black to minimize stray light and to improve perceived contrast. Alternatively, a simple light dispersing medium such as the ground glass plate 52 shown in FIG. 10 can be used.
In still a further variation 50" of the direct view application of FIG. 10, the light can be collimated by a novel arrangement employing a parabolic mirror 66 (desirably in Fresnel form) and a micro-venetian blind material 68. As shown in FIG. 12, this embodiment is illuminated by a pair of linear light sources, such as fluorescent bulbs 70. These bulbs illuminate a generally flat mirrored surface 72 that has facets arranged to provide one axis of collimation. The angles of the facets vary with placement on the surface to simulate a sectioned parabolic reflector. Light reflected from this mirrored surface is substantially collimated. However, to remove any stray off-axis light, a micro-venetian blind material 68, such as Light Control Film marketed by 3M Corp, is desirably placed between the mirror and the display subassembly. This material is a thin plastic film containing closely spaced black microlouvers to absorb light misaligned with respect to the louvers. By this arrangement, a very compact and efficient display can be provided.
From the foregoing description, it will be recognized that the present invention solves many of the problems and deficiencies associated with prior art color display technologies. In addition to addressing the parallax and brightness problems noted earlier, the present invention offers a number of other advantages. One is the color compensation that corrects for the excessive red energy output from incandescent illumination sources. Another is a simplification that can be made in the display's drive circuitry due to the fact that the blue panel requires data at only twice the nominal shift clock frequency, instead of three-times as required with conventional three color filter displays. This 2X relation is easier to implement in digital logic than the 3X required in the prior art. Furthermore, the mosaic color filter can be fabricated independently of the polarizers and the panels, permitting its independent optimization. Its use of only two colors reduces the area on the filter dedicated to a black matrix that typically separates the constituent filter pixels, further increasing display brightness. Finally, the blue and yellow panels used in the illustrated embodiment are well developed designs that are based on well understood technology.
Having described and illustrated the principles of my invention with reference to a preferred embodiment and several variations thereon, it should be apparent that the invention can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles. For example, while the display subassembly has been described as including single supertwisted liquid crystal panels, other types, such as double supertwisted panels or panels embodying other technologies, can alternatively be used. Similarly, while the color mosaic filter has been described as comprising a plurality of pixels, in other embodiments a conventional color stripe arrangement may be used instead. Similarly, while the display subassembly has been described as including three polarizers, two LCD panels and one color mosaic filter, in other embodiments of the invention, additional optical components can also be used. For example, it is sometimes desirable to include retardation films adjacent the panels in order to tune the range of birefringence effects to desired frequencies. In other embodiments, if any of the LCD birefringence colors are not ideal, some attenuation of specific light frequencies might enhance the color gamut and overall contrast. Thus, two polarizers might be used together or a weak color filter compensator (i.e. a conventional gelatin filter) might be added.
Still further, while the illustrated embodiment has shown a system in which entering light can pass through two distinct light paths within a single display subassembly, in alternative embodiments these two light paths can be defined by two separate assemblies. For example, a color projection system may comprise first and second projectors, with the first using a display subassembly having a solid magenta filter, a blue panel and a yellow panel; and the second using a display subassembly having a solid cyan filter, a blue panel and a yellow panel. The images from these two projectors can be superimposed and projected onto a common screen.
In view of these and the wide variety of other embodiments to which the principles of my invention may be applied, it should be recognized that the illustrated embodiments are to be considered illustrative only and not as limiting the scope of the invention. Instead, I claim as my invention all such modifications as may come within the scope and spirit of the following claims and equivalents thereto.
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Gillingham were the big winners on a day in which half the League Two fixtures fell foul of the weather.
The matches at Rotherham, Burton, Chesterfield, Port Vale and Rochdale were all postponed, while Bradford's clash Bristol Rovers was called off yesterday.
It left a limited set of fixtures in which Martin Allen's Gills moved eight points clear at the top.
Matt Fish's superb 24th-minute strike proved the difference at Priestfield, where Gillingham comfortably defeated struggling Accrington 1-0.
Northampton are up to fourth in the table after a 1-0 win at home to Oxford, courtesy of a Ben Harding goal in first half stoppage-time.
Fleetwood kept their play-off hopes alive after coming from behind to defeat Dagenham and Redbridge 2-1 at Highbury Stadium.
Medy Elito's penalty put the visitors ahead in the fifth minute, only for Junior Brown to equalise immediately and Gareth Evans to complete the turnaround in the second half.
AFC Wimbledon gave their survival chances a major boost with a 2-0 home with over Morecambe, thanks to first half goals from Kevin Sainte-Luce and Jack Midson.
Edgar Davids' Barnet were held to a 0-0 draw at home to mid-table Cheltenham, while York remain in the bottom two after defeat at fellow strugglers Torquay.
Richard Cresswell's second half penalty and a Tom Cruise red card set up a nervy ending, but earlier goals from Elliot Benyon and Ryan Jarvis proved enough in a 2-1 win.


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