A display unit for a construction machine is provided which allow for an operator to easily set a target plane or area in works to be performed under automatic control, and to freely change the contents to be displayed regardless of whether the machine is under the automatic control, so that information which the operator wants to see can be promptly displayed.

The present invention relates to a display unit and a display control unit for a construction machine, each of which is provided in a cab of the construction machine and displays positional information of a front attachment, such as a bucket end position.
A hydraulic excavator is known as a typical example of construction machines. In the hydraulic excavator, an operator operates front members such as a boom, i.e., constituent members of a front attachment, with corresponding manual control levers. However, it is difficult for the operator to determine whether a trench with a predetermined depth or the face of a slope with a predetermined gradient is precisely excavated, only by visually observing the operation of the front attachment.
FIG. 12 in Specification of U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,365 shows a monitoring unit, i.e., EX-200X Level Master made by Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., which is a unit provided in a hydraulic excavator for displaying positional information of a bucket as a working device located at a fore end of a front attachment and for setting a preset target excavation plane when a bucket position is controlled so as not to protrude out of the preset target excavation plane. Such a monitoring unit displays just numerically the positional information of the bucket and setting information of the target excavation plane.
Also, a display unit disclosed in JP,A 10-103925 is known as a unit for entering setting values of depth and gradient for automatic control of a front attachment, and displaying a target excavation plane based on the setting values and the bucket position. The disclosed display unit is able to represent four kinds of setup screens for numerically displaying setting information of the target excavation plane, etc. corresponding to four kinds of control modes, and allows for an operator to set the target excavation plane using the setup screens. When a separately provided trigger switch is depressed in each of the setup screens, automatic control is started and the setup screen is changed to an under-control screen on which the bucket, the target excavation plane, etc. are displayed in the form of symbolic illustrations. Further, the display unit is constructed in the form of a touch panel, and the operator depresses the touch panel to change the setup screen from one to another and to enter numerical values on each of the setup screens.
The monitoring unit described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,365 displays numerically the positional information of the working device located at the fore end of the front attachment and the setting information of the target excavation plane. This gives rise to a problem that it is difficult for the operator to visually recognize the position of the working device located at the fore end of the front attachment and the setting state of the target excavation plane with the aid of display of the numerical values only.
The display unit disclosed in JP,A 10-103925 also has a similar problem because the setup screens used for setting the target excavation plane, etc. display numerically the setting information.
Further, the disclosed display unit has the following problems because its primary object resides in making setting for automatic control.
1) When automatic control is started, the setup screen is changed to the under-control screen on which the bucket, the target excavation plane, etc. are displayed in the form of symbolic illustrations. However, the display unit lacks flexibility in selection of the displayed contents. Once the under-control screen is displayed, a shift to another screen is not allowed until the relevant control comes to an end. Accordingly, the operator cannot see the positional information, such as the body tilt angle and the bucket end height, during the automatic control.
2) During a period in which the automatic control is not performed, the setup screen is only displayed. Therefore, the operator cannot see the attitude of the body and the bucket or the target excavation plane during the period not under control.
3) Entry of numerical values for the automatic control is made using the touch panel of the display unit. The site where hydraulic excavators are working, however, undergoes severe environmental conditions in points of, e.g., dust and temperature. Further, the operator often depresses the touch panel with a glove or the like put on the hand. This gives rise to a problem in operability and durability.
A first object of the present invention is to provide a display unit and a display control unit for a construction machine, which allow for an operator to easily set a target plane or area in works to be performed under automatic control, and to freely change the contents to be displayed regardless of whether the machine is under the automatic control, so that information which the operator wants to see can be promptly displayed.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a display unit for a construction machine, which is superior in operability and durability in addition to the above advantages.
(1) To achieve the above first object, the present invention provides a display unit for a construction machine, the display unit being provided in a cab of the construction machine including a front attachment, and comprising a display portion for displaying positional information of the front attachment and setting information for automatic control of the front attachment, and an operating portion for instructing change of contents displayed on the display portion, thereby controlling the displayed contents in accordance with an instruction from the operating portion, wherein the display portion is capable of selectively displaying a first screen for displaying the setting state of a target plane or area in works to be performed under automatic control by using numerical values and a movable symbolic illustration, and at least one second screen for providing another display, each of the first and second screens having a menu area used for changing the first and second screens from one to the other in accordance with an instruction from the operating portion.
Since the display portion is capable of selectively displaying the first screen for displaying the setting state of the target plane or area in works by using numerical values and a movable symbolic illustration, and at least one second screen for providing another display, various settings for the automatic control can be made by displaying the first screen. Also, since each of the first and second screens has a menu area for screen change, a screen image can be changed from the first screen to the second screen or vice versa by instructing screen change with manipulation made on the operating portion. Therefore, the screen image can be changed to the second screen even under control so that the operator can confirm positional information of the body, etc., and the screen image can be changed to the first screen even under not control so that the operator can set the automatic control or confirm the setting state. Thus, the contents to be displayed can be freely changed regardless of whether the machine is under the automatic control, and the information that the operator wants to see can be promptly displayed. Hence, an improvement of the work efficiency is expected.
(2) To achieve the second object, in the present invention according to above (1), the operating portion includes selection keys, numerical value entry keys, and a decision key; the first screen changes display of the setting state upon manipulation of the numerical value entry keys; and the menu area in each of the first and second screens is used for changing the first and second screens from one to the other with manipulation of the selection keys and the decision key.
With those features, the display portion is no longer required to use a touch panel, and operability and durability of the display unit can be improved even in any site where construction machines are working.
(3) In above (1), preferably, when the automatic control is started, each of the first and second screens displays that the construction machine is under control.
With that feature, even when the screen image on the display portion is changed to any screen, the operator is able to know that the machine is currently under the automatic control, and hence to perform works without anxiety.
(4) In above (1), preferably, the second screen includes a screen for displaying, in enlarged scale, the positional relationship of a fore end of the front attachment relative to the target plane or area in the works by using a movable symbolic illustration.
With that feature, when works are performed in a location where the operator cannot visually confirm the position of the bucket fore end, the operator is able to perform the works while always confirming the position of the bucket fore end and the position of the target plane or area in the works by looking at the second screen. The excavation monitoring screen is effective. Further, since the screen image can be changed to the second screen even when the automatic control is turned OFF, excavation works to obtain the target plane or area can be performed with the operator""s operation while looking at the second screen.
(5) In above (1), preferably, the menu area has a plurality of items including an item of screen change; the operating portion includes first entry means for selecting a desired one of the plurality of items in the menu area, and second entry means for deciding the selection made by the first entry means; and the display portion changes the first and second screens from one to the other when the item of screen change is selected by the first entry means and the selection of the item of screen change is decided by the second entry means.
With those features, the first and second screens can be changed from one to the other using the operating portion (first and second entry means) and the menu area.
(6) In above (1), preferably, the menu area of the first screen has an item of screen change and an item of automatic control ON/OFF; and the display portion changes the first and second screens from one to the other regardless of the selected state of the item of automatic control ON/OFF when selection of the item of screen change is instructed from the operating portion.
With those features, the first and second screens can be freely changed from one to the other with the aid of the menu area regardless of whether the machine is under the automatic control.
(7) In above (1), preferably, the menu area of the first screen has a plurality of items including an item of screen change and an item of automatic control ON/OFF; the menu area of the second screen has a plurality of items including an item of screen change; the operating portion includes first entry means for selecting a desired one of the plurality of items in the menu area, and second entry means for deciding the selection made by the first entry means; and when one item is selected by the first entry means and the selection of the one item is decided by the second entry means, the display portion executes the selected item.
With those features, the first and second screens can be freely changed from one to the other with the aid of the menu area upon manipulation of the first and second entry means regardless of whether the machine is under the automatic control.
(8) Also, to achieve the above first object, the present invention provides a display unit for a construction machine, the display unit being provided in a cab of the construction machine including a front attachment, and comprising a display portion for displaying positional information of the front attachment and setting information for automatic control of the front attachment, and an operating portion for instructing change of contents displayed on the display portion, thereby controlling the displayed contents in accordance with an instruction from the operating portion, wherein the display portion is capable of selectively displaying a first screen for displaying the setting state of a target plane or area in works to be performed under automatic control by using numerical values and a movable symbolic illustration, a second screen for displaying sates of a body of the construction machine and the front attachment by using numerical values and a movable symbolic illustration, and a third screen for displaying, in enlarged scale, the positional relationship of a fore end of the front attachment relative to the target plane or area in the works by using a movable symbolic illustration, each of the first, second and third screens having a menu area used for changing the first, second and third screens from one to another in accordance with an instruction from the operating portion.
With those features, as described in above (1), the target plane or area in the works to be performed under the automatic control can be easily set, and the contents to be displayed can be freely changed regardless of whether the machine is under the automatic control. Hence, information that the operator wants to see can be promptly displayed, and the work efficiency can be improved.
(9) Further, to achieve the above first object, the present invention provides a display control unit for a construction machine, the display control unit being provided in a cab of the construction machine including a front attachment and controlling, in accordance with an instruction from an operating portion, contents displayed on a display portion for displaying positional information of the front attachment and setting information for automatic control of the front attachment, the display control unit comprising first control means for causing the display portion to selectively display a first screen for displaying the setting state of a target plane or area in works to be performed under automatic control by using numerical values and a movable symbolic illustration, and at least one second screen for providing another display, and to display a menu area including an item of screen change in each of the first and second screens; and second control means for processing the item of screen change in accordance with an instruction from the operating portion and changing the first and second screens from one to the other.
With those features, as described in above (1), the target plane or area in the works to be performed under the automatic control can be easily set, and the contents to be displayed can be freely changed regardless of whether the machine is under the automatic control. Hence, information that the operator wants to see can be promptly displayed, and the work efficiency can be improved.

Display device and display controller of construction machinery


An array cable includes radius guides at a tap point of the cable to take up slack for loose fibers at the tap point. The tap point is enclosed in a flexible enclosure that allows the assembly to be pulled through constricted space such as air handling spaces.

Array cable for use in systems such as distributed antenna systems (DAS) provide connectivity to remote devices along the array cable path. Such cables are typically pulled through air handling spaces such as drop ceilings and raised floors. Each array has tap points where fibers and copper wires are accessed. The cable's connecting fibers are of varying length and require a means for collecting slack at the tap point. Such connections have been made in rigid housings in the past, and the means for collecting slack have been static with respect to the cable. The rigid housings of conventional tap points also make the cable difficult to pull through constricted spaces such as drop ceilings, and the static slack collecting means lack flexibility.


A device for a tailgate (80) of a vehicle includes a camera unit for capturing images of the outer region of the vehicle and a control unit for controlling a part of the vehicle. The camera unit and control unit are arranged adjacent each other on the vehicle by means of a carrier element. The camera unit is accommodated in a housing in a protected manner, and a movable closure element is provided to close a housing opening. The closure element can be moved by means of a drive unit into at least two end positions, a closed position and an open position. The housing is constructed in at least two parts, the carrier element forming a first housing part on which the control element and the camera unit can be arranged, and the drive unit arranged on a second housing part.

Numerous devices are known from the prior art, which describe a camera unit, in particular arranged on the tailgate of a vehicle, enabling the acquisition of images of the area behind the vehicle. The resulting image can then be displayed to the driver in the vehicle in order to facilitate reversing operations. To prevent dirtying of the camera unit, it is arranged behind a closure element that can be moved from a closed partition to an open position to enable the acquisition of images by the camera unit. Such a device is known, for example, from publication DE 103 51 363 A1. Moreover, various control units are arranged on modern vehicles, for example, to open the tailgate of a vehicle. From the prior art it is also known that the arrangement of such a control unit with the camera unit in a common apparatus is in the vehicle in order to use as few separate components as possible. The installation of the common apparatus is also facilitated in this way. The disadvantage, however, is that such an apparatus requires a correspondingly larger amount of space.

Camera arrangement for a vehicle having two housing parts and an installation method of said camera arrangement


Custom policies are definable for use in a system that enforces policies. A user, for example, may author a policy using a policy language and transmit the system through an application programming interface call. The custom policies may specify conditions for computing environment attestations that are provided with requests to the system. When a custom policy applies to a request, the system may determine whether information in the attestation is sufficient for the request to be fulfilled.

The security of computing resources and associated data is of high importance in many contexts. As an example, organizations often utilize networks of computing devices to provide a robust set of services to their users. Networks often span multiple geographic boundaries and often connect with other networks. An organization, for example, may support its operations using both internal networks of computing resources and computing resources managed by others. Computers of the organization, for instance, may communicate with computers of other organizations to access and/or provide data while using services of another organization. In many instances, organizations configure and operate remote networks using hardware managed by other organizations, thereby reducing infrastructure costs and achieving other advantages. With such configurations of computing resources, ensuring that access to the resources and the data they hold is secure can be challenging, especially as the size and complexity of such configurations grow. In some instances, malicious behavior attempting to gain unauthorized access to computing resources includes the submission of requests made pursuant to unauthorized executable code, such as code that was authored for the purpose of attempting unauthorized access or by authorized code that has been infected and, as a result, has become modified. Detecting and preventing such unauthorized access is a complex undertaking, especially when data is stored throughout a distributed system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Apparatus (10) for applying hot cushion gum (E) in a strip (12) of predetermined thickness and width to the crown surface (14) of a tire carcass (16) having a sagittal plane (68). The apparatus (10) includes a motor (M) for rotating the tire carcass (16), and extrusion means (18) for dispensing hot cushion gum through a die means (26). The angular disposition of the die means (26) may be selected relative to the sagittal plane (68) of the tire carcass (16) to determine the effective width of the strip (12) applied to the crown surface (14). rotational control mechanism (64) is also provided selectively to control the angular velocity of the rotating tire carcass (16) which determines the thickness of the strip (12). According to the present method a tire carcass (16) is mounted for rotation. The die head (26) is positionable at a selected angle (.beta.) within its angular range (.alpha.) measured transversely of the sagittal plane ( 68) of the tire carcass (16) to establish a selected, effective width (W.sub.SEL) of the strip (12) as it is applied by the die head (26) to the crown surface (14). So disposed the die head is brought into slightly deforming engagement with the crown surface (14), and the tire carcass (16) is rotated at a predetermined angular velocity while hot cushion gum is extruded through the die head (26) onto the crown surface (14) of the tire carcass (16).

Presently, the art of retreading tires involves various methods and apparatus. Perhaps the most historically employed method is a "cold-capping" or "pre-cure retreading" operation which includes the following steps:
1. Remove the old, worn, or damaged tread. PA1 2. Buff the tire carcass to provide a moderately textured surface for the adhesion of new tread rubber. PA1 3. Apply a suitable adhesive to the textured carcass surface. PA1 4. Apply a thin layer of a cold, calendered sheet of uncured cushion gum material to the circumferential periphery, or crown surface, of the tire carcass. PA1 5. Apply a pre-cured tread band over the cushion gum. PA1 6. Cure the cushion gum to bond the tread rubber integrally to the tire carcass. PA1 a). permitting the cushion gum to be applied hot; PA1 b). eliminating the need for the application of adhesive between the tire carcass and the cushion gum; PA1 c). eliminating waste by extruding only the length needed to circumscribe the crown surface of the tire carcass; PA1 d). eliminating the need to stock a wide variety of lengths, widths and thicknesses of the cushion gum; and, PA1 e). reducing costs to the end user, through the above improvements by providing an automatic system which greatly reduces the time required to apply the cushion gum to the crown of the tire carcass.
To use the above-described "cold-capping" method, the cushion gum material was historically pre-manufactured in the form of a calendered sheet. The sheet is slit to various standardized widths and coiled with a plastic release film interposed between successive wraps of the sheet. The prepared coils of cushion gum would be maintained in inventory in a wide variety of widths until a need arises for cushion gum of that particular width.
Various problems are inherent to the above-described practice, and they include the need for rigorous inventory control to assure availability of the correct width and thickness of cushion gum for each tire carcass that might be encountered. The result is often at odds with the need for a timely turnover of the material in order to avoid deleterious aging of the stock on the shelf. In addition to aging, the stored coils of cushion gum are also subject to contamination, particularly along the exposed edges of the coiled cushion gum. The coils are also subject to oxidation as well as physical damage during handling.
As noted, this procedure requires that the crown surface on the tire carcass be buffed and then treated with an adhesive, or cement compound, prior to the application of the cold cushion gum. The adhesive may be applied by painting with a brush or by a roller or by spraying. Any of these processes require the expenditure of time and materials resulting in an increase in the retreading cost. Following the application of the adhesive, the operator selects the proper strip of cushion gum to be applied. The operator may have to search among the available inventory to locate a strip of the correct length, width and thickness. One end of the strip is manually applied to the carcass by the operator. The operator then operates a spin control to cause the tire carcass to rotate while a tensile force is being applied to the strip as it is maintained in alignment with the circumference of the carcass. When the entire circumference of the tire carcass is covered, the operator will stop the rotation of the carcass, retro-rotate the carcass slightly and cut the strip to length. The ends of the strip are then spliced in an overlapped fashion. The strip of cushion is stitched to the tire casing and the protective release film is removed. Thereafter the precured tread stock is manually applied and hand spliced (edge to edge). This splice is generally secured with staples.
One proposed solution to the problems found in the present practice of using calendered rolls of cushion gum stock is to limit the number of widths of the pre-manufactured gum stock maintained in inventory and trim the edges of the cushion gum after it has been applied to the tire carcass. Such an approach requires that wider-than-necessary rolls of cushion gum be customized to fit the width of several sizes of tire carcasses. Obviously, this proposal suffers not only from being wasteful but also from being labor-intensive.
In any event, the historic method of cold-capping with pre-calendered cushion gum requires that the user manually position the leading edge of a single, wide, strip of cushion gum fully across the crown of the tire carcass and then rotate the carcass through one revolution to wind the cushion gum about the circumference of the tire carcass with the release film facing radially outwardly. The presence of the release film tends to preclude contamination of the radially outer surface of the cushion gum, which would occur without the release film if the worker were not careful. The release film also permits the gum to be coiled without the successive layers adhering to each other and allows external stitching.
It should also be understood that faulty placement of the leading edge (generally mis-alignment) often requires that the initial portion of the cushion gum sheet be peeled off the tire carcass and be restarted. Of course, this tedious procedure may result in damage to the cushion gum sheet and/or degradation to the adhesion required between the cushion gum sheet and the crown surface of the tire carcass.
Typically, the entire circumferential extent of the tire carcass was wrapped with the cushion gum sheet prior to "cutting-in" the required splice. The cushion gum ply would then be roller-stitched to the tire carcass and the release film stripped off in preparation for the application of the pre-cured tread.
To alleviate some waste encountered with the above-described "cold-capping" practice, coiled rolls of calendered cushion gum material having an overall length sufficient to provide a stated plurality of tire carcasses of a given circumferential dimension are maintained in inventory. These rolls, while of a specific length for ease of handling, are not usually of an exact length to cover a specific number of tire carcasses, even if the rolls are intended to be for use with an exceedingly common tire size. Thus, short lengths of calendered gum material are generally discarded as excess, thus comprising waste stock. This practice obviously results in an additional cost to the operation.
Another historic method and apparatus available in the industry for retreading tires is known as the "hot-capping" procedure. The hot-capping procedure, and an exemplary apparatus for performing that method, are described in U.S. Pat. Nos.--No. 3,251,722 and 3,177,918--to R. G. Holman. According to the "hot-capping" technique, uncured tire tread material is layered onto the crown, and perhaps a portion of each shoulder, of a tire carcass to a sufficient radial thickness that the tire carcass, with the tread material adhering to the circumference thereof, can be received within a mold to form the tread design and to cure the tread rubber in situ.
The above-described "cold-capping" and "hot-capping" methods are distinctly different by reason of the type and condition of tire tread stock applied to the tire carcass and they are, therefore, considered non-related, or disassociated, technologies by knowledgeable entities working in this art.
More recently, the retreading industry adopted a method which extrudes, a hot cushion gum compound in a continuous spiral across at least the crown of a tire carcass in order to prepare the carcass for receiving a pre-cured tread stock. This is perhaps the most advanced method yet known, and while it works exceptionally well, and has greatly obviated the negative aspects of the prior art methods and apparatus, the present invention is deemed to be a still further improvement over the application of the hot cushion gum in a spiral path.

Apparatus for applying hot cushion gum to a tire carcass


A water main tapping device and method includes a saddle body including an arcuate portion between a first end and a second end, wherein the saddle body includes a saddle opening at a location between the first end and the second end, and a corporation stop body formed integrally with and extending from the saddle body. The corporation stop body includes a base with an inlet cavity in fluid communication with the saddle opening, a housing extending from the base and having a valve cavity in which a rotatable valve is positioned and which is in fluid communication with the inlet cavity, and a connector end extending from the housing and including an outlet in fluid communication with the valve cavity.

The present subject matter relates generally to a water main tapping device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a water main tapping device that includes an integrated service saddle and corporation stop valve for use on a water main line.
In a given community, drinking water is provided to consumers through a water distribution system that includes a number of water mains with individual service lines branching outwardly therefrom. Water mains typically range between about 3 in. and about 36 in. in diameter and operate at a typical water pressure of between about 35 psi and about 150 psi. Tapping into a water main is necessary when water samples need to be collected, air release valves or chemical injectors need to be connected, or a new branch needs to be installed. Because of the high pressure within the water main, a corporation stop valve must be utilized to tap into the water main, as it allows for appropriate sealing under such pressure.
Use of a conventional corporation valve requires the following materials: a saddle including a centrally located gasketed opening, a corporation stop, and a rapid feed tapping drill. The saddle is first positioned about the water main and secured in place by tightening the bolts. Pipe thread tape is applied to the male threads of the corporation stop before the it is screwed into the female threads of the pipe saddle. Attention must be paid to the placement of the pipe thread tape, as applying the tape in the wrong direction will result in an unsealed joint. To screw the corporation stop into place, a smooth jawed wrench must be positioned carefully on the surface of the corporation valve to avoid damage. The corporation stop must not be overtightened, which would result in moving the saddle from its original location, thereby creating a leak path for the pressurized water. After the valve within the corporation stop is moved into the open position, the rapid feed pipe tapping drill is inserted into the corporation stop and the opening on the saddle so that drill bit strikes the water main. The drill is rotated until the drill bit has successfully perforated the water main. After removing the rapid feed tapping drill from the water main, the drill bit is backed off into the removal position in the pipe tapping drill adapter. The corporation stop is then moved into the closed position. With no pressure or leakage, the pipe tapping drill is now removed from the corporation stop. The new service line, the air release valve, the chemical injector, or the equipment for collecting samples is then connected to the corporation valve. Two wrenches are needed to secure the service line: one to hold the corporation valve, and another to tighten the service line to the valve.
Installation of the corporation stop valve onto the saddle necessitates several steps: preparation of different materials in variable outdoor conditions, application of finicky Teflon pipe thread tape, and the strenuous wrenching of a corporation stop down into the saddle. Misapplication or even the duration of use of the Teflon pipe thread tape can lead to corrosion, stripping, or otherwise damage to the threads of the corporation stop. Frequently, irregular torsion, misuse, or degradation by age causes ruptures in the seal due to stripping of the threads or removal of the pipe thread tape. Such leaks can occur often in the field due to lack of tightening, over tightening, and poorly applied pipe thread tape. Typically, at this level of construction, the newest employees get the job of getting in the hole/ditch to install saddles and corporation stops. This normally unskilled labor can propagate additional mistakes, as the specificity of the number of required turns to install the corporation stop in the saddle is quite high and often overlooked by more novice employees.
Existing corporation stop valves also require specific tools for complete functioning. One example is a specific style of wrench necessitated for maintenance of the stop valve, wherein the use of smooth jawed wrench on the flats provided nearest the thread being made up is preferred. Loose fitting pipe wrenches, improperly applied, can distort the body and cause a leak, especially on valves. Such specificity is common and can create situations in which maintenance crews lacking appropriate equipment must either abandon the repair or proceed and endanger the integrity of the corporation stop.
Absent employee error, the external male threads of the corporation stop can be damaged by external factors, or by negligence in manufacturing that is passed along to the user. In the field, threads can be easily damaged by lack of care or negligence by workers. For example, exposed threads may become damaged by being hit by tools in a truck bed or dented by rocks, asphalt, or concrete at the installation site before installation. Threads must be protected as nicks or distorted threads can cause leaks between the female threads of the saddle and the male threads of the corporation stop.
Additionally, installation of the corporation stop valve can be dangerous for users to install and work on. Injuries to the knuckles and hands are common, and the danger is expedited when the work is conducted in the presence of a pressurized water main. Moreover, since water mains are buried under streets, a leaking saddle and corporation stop connection typically will not manifest itself for some time, thus causing costly repair and back charges with negative effects on communities, because the street will have to be closed off, isolated, and dug up again in order to replace the leaking corporation stop. The repairs lead to a lack of water supply, which may become costly for local business are affected.
Accordingly, there is a need for a water main tapping device that minimizes the components and tools needed, thereby minimizing the chances for damage and leakage during and after installation.


Resizing and/or repositioning a target object related by containment to one or more related object laid out on a computer user interface. Original sizes and/or positions of the related objects to the target object resized and/or repositioned are stored. During the resize and/or reposition operation of the target object, an impact on a related object is calculated based upon a change from the stored original sizes and/or positions of the related object.

1. Field
The embodiments discussed herein relate to visual layouts by a computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) tools are commonly used when designing two-dimensional visual layouts in a variety of domains including user interface design (e.g. dialogs and forms), diagramming and reporting. In each such domain, the productivity of the layout designer is determined largely by subtle usability factors within a layout tool itself. One such usability factor is the ability of the designer to tentatively experiment with alternate layouts of elements of a user interface by comparing and contrasting them and retaining the ability to restore the original, unaltered state. More specifically, some of such design tools suffer from poor usability when there are sizing interactions between objects and their containers.


A method of presenting digital content includes obtaining digital data representative of a succession of content items and presenting the succession of content items in a first presentation mode. In the first presentation mode, steps of making a first selection of the data representing a content item and providing the selected data to a system for rendering the data in perceptible form are carried out automatically for each content item in succession. The method further includes detecting an action by a user at the rendering system and, in response to detecting the action, causing a transition to a second presentation mode, in which second presentation mode the rendering system is caused to render a second selection, different from the first selection, of only the data representing the content item being presented when the action was detected.

US 2002/0024538 discloses a portable digital media frame (DMF) that displays images. An embodiment of the DMF architecture includes an image input block, an image processing block and an image displaying block. The image processing block contains an analogue module, a digital module, a processing block, a user input unit, a dynamic random access memory, a non-volatile memory unit, a read only memory and an internal bus. The processing unit is capable of receiving a predetermined sequence of images to be displayed from an external input device, such as a computer. Moreover, a sequence of images to be displayed may be altered by control signals from a user, such as a pause signal from the user-input unit.
A problem of the known device is that each of the sequence of images is presented to the required level of detail of the image at which the sequence is paused. This is unlikely to be what is desired, because either the images in the sequence will be displayed fully and at a high resolution so that the sequence is displayed slowly, or the image at which the sequence is paused will be rather coarse.


A method for processing a forwarding device fault, a device, and a controller are provided, and relate to the communications field. The method is as follows. An SNC receives a notification message sent by a first forwarding device, where the notification message includes a fault parameter of the first forwarding device, and the fault parameter includes a device identifier of the first forwarding device, a port identifier of a degraded port, and a degradation value of the port identified by the port identifier. The SNC determines, according to the device identifier and the port identifier, at least one forwarding path that passes through the port identified by the port identifier. The SNC also determines, according to the fault parameter of the first forwarding device and the fault parameters of other forwarding devices on one forwarding path, whether to update the forwarding path.

In a conventional network architecture, when a fault occurs on a forwarding device due to a hardware or software problem, for example, a port error code fault, a port error frame fault, a single-fiber fault, and the like on the forwarding device, and fault information needs to be transferred to another device, a protocol packet is usually used for transferring. Therefore, multiple forwarding devices together optimize a packet forwarding path associated with the fault. A commonly used protocol packet is a Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) protocol, which can implement fast convergence of links and therefore ensure always-on services.
An example of a solution of transferring cyclic redundancy check (CRC) error codes on a port by applying the BFD protocol is used. CRC error code detection is performed on a port of a forwarding device. After a CRC error code is detected on the port, error code information is sent to an ingress node of a forwarding path by using a BFD packet. Multiple forwarding devices on the forwarding path separately calculate a CRC error code. The ingress node summarizes the error codes on a forward forwarding path and calculates an error code rate, to determine whether the error code rate exceeds a preset threshold and further determine whether to trigger the forwarding path and a service switchover. In this process, the BFD packet can reach the ingress node only by passing through the multiple forwarding devices, and therefore a consumed time is long. As a result, services may be interrupted and hardware resources of a BFD system may be occupied.

Method for processing forwarding device fault, device, and controller


A hand-held image display apparatus includes a touch panel, a stereoscopic display apparatus, a first imaging section, and a second imaging section. The hand-held image display apparatus detects a marker from a real world image shot by at least one of the first imaging section and the second imaging section, and determines the relative positions of a virtual object and a pair of virtual cameras with respect to each other in a virtual space, based on the result of the detection. Then, the hand-held image display apparatus superimposes virtual space images drawn based on the first virtual camera and the second virtual camera, onto the real world images shot by the first imaging section and the second imaging section, and displays images that are stereoscopically visible by naked eyes, on the stereoscopic display apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display system, an image display apparatus, and an image display method, and more particularly, to an image display system, an image display apparatus, and an image display method for stereoscopically displaying a real world image onto which a 3-dimensional virtual object is superimposed, on a stereoscopic display section capable of providing an image that is stereoscopically visible.
2. Description of the Background Art
In recent years, development of an AR (Augmented Reality) technique has been advanced in which a virtual object is superimposed onto an image of a real world and the resultant image is displayed, whereby the virtual object appears to be present in the real world.
For example, a stereoscopic display apparatus disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-146109 calculates the relative positions and relative orientations of a camera for a right eye and a camera for a left eye with respect to a marker placed in the real world, from respective images shot by the camera for a right eye and the camera for a left eye, which are attached to a head mounted display, and then, based on the result of the calculation, generates an image of a virtual object for a right eye and an image for the virtual object for a left eye. Then, the stereoscopic display apparatus superimposes the image of the virtual object for a right eye and the image for the virtual object for a left eye onto the images shot by the camera for a right eye and the camera for a left eye, respectively, and displays the resultant composite images on an LCD (liquid crystal display) for a right eye and an LCD for a left eye, respectively.
However, the stereoscopic display apparatus disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-146109 forces a user to wear the head mounted display. Therefore, the user cannot easily and comfortably enjoy applications using the AR technique.

Image display system, image display apparatus, and image display method


A system and method for identification of inappropriate multimedia content elements are provided. The method includes receiving a request to identify a multimedia content element from a user device; generating at least one signature respective of the received multimedia content element; matching between the at least one of generated signature respective of the multimedia content element and at least one signature of each concept designated as inappropriate; determining whether a match is identified between the at least one of signature generated respective of the multimedia content element and the at least one signature of an inappropriate concept; and preventing the display on a user device of the multimedia content element, upon identification of a match.

Due to the abundance of multimedia content made available through various means and, in particular, through the Internet, there is a need to provide effective filters in order to prevent the exposure of inappropriate content to users. The definition of inappropriate content is subjective and depends on the perspective of each person who may view such content. The differences among definitions of "inappropriate" are usually derived from a person's characteristics such as age, geographic location, religion, background, and the like. In some cases, a person or his or her supervisor may wish to control the content made available to such person.
A user or supervisor of that user may want to prevent the user from being exposed to certain portions of content. In such cases, the user and/or supervisor may desire to prevent display of such portions of content in multimedia content. As an example, a doctor may seek to prevent a pedophile from being exposed to images containing content related to infants as part of a medical treatment. As another example, a smoker who is currently undergoing rehabilitation may not want to be exposed to images containing content related to cigarettes and people smoking. As yet another example, a parent may wish to prevent his or her child from accessing content featuring excessively violent imagery and/or written or spoken foul language. Despite these needs to prevent the display of certain elements in multimedia content, such elements are still widely accessible and may be encountered in a variety of situations.
Prior art solutions for preventing exposure to certain content which are commonly used by search engines include methods for searching and identifying inappropriate sources of content such as, for example porn websites, and preventing the display of content received from such sources. The existing solutions typically filter inappropriate content based on, for example, URLs of websites tagged as inappropriate, content classification using textual and attributes analysis of the web-pages, and so on. Content retrieved from sources other than web-pages are typically scanned for viruses but not for the nature of the content.
Current solutions for content filtering are typically inefficient in cases where inappropriate content is received from a source which is not classified as inappropriate by the search engine. Furthermore, as the content available in the Internet continues to grow exponentially, the task of identifying every inappropriate source of inappropriate content has become increasingly difficult.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a solution that would overcome the deficiencies of the prior art by providing an efficient and dynamic tool for preventing users from being exposed to inappropriate content.

System and method for identification of inappropriate multimedia content


A method and apparatus for power allocation across multiple loads. The method comprising the steps of: allocating available power between two or more power load elements, wherein a ratio of power allocated to a load element is based on a priority and measured parameters; and dynamically updating the power allocated to a load element as power requirements change.

Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in the field.
Many countries place restrictions on domestic appliances such as the maximum power that can be drawn from a power outlet. For example, an appliance connected to a standard power outlet in the United States is only allowed to draw 1800 watts. In appliances that have more than one significant load element (e.g. heater load element and/or motor load element), each load element is typically selected such that the total power that may be drawn, assuming all load elements are on, does not exceed the regulatory power limit. An appliance having a plurality of load elements may result in a significant limitation in the power rating for each load element such that the total power that may be drawn, assuming all elements are on, does not exceed the regulatory limit.
There is a need in the art for an apparatus or method that can incorporate a plurality of load elements while meeting regulatory requirements of not drawing more than the regulated power, while incorporating load elements that have power ratings which sum to greater than a regulatory power limit.


An online auction bidding system utilizes a three state auction model that includes an auction open state, followed by a closing state, and an auction closed state which occurs last in which the online auction is ended and bids will not be accepted. The highest bid received prior to the auction end is considered the winning bid. In the auction open state, bids are guaranteed to be accepted if they are qualified, for example, by meeting certain conditions such as being above a current high bid by some desired increment. The closing state is of indeterminate length and thus the time that the online auction ends is unknown by the bidders which makes the practice of sniping difficult. Qualified bids are accepted during the closing state but bidders run the risk that a later bid will not be accepted should the auction end prior to that bid being placed.

Online auctions are a popular way for participants to bid for products and services (collectively referred to as "items") over the Internet. Online auction sites such as eBay, uBid, OnlineAuction, eBid, and others commonly employ a system in which some individual online auctions are held for a fixed duration and end at a specific time that is known in advance to the participants. The bidder who has placed the highest bid at the time the online auction ends is the winner.
Some online auction sites employ automatic or "proxy bidding" where an online auction bidder specifies the maximum bid amount that he or she is willing to pay for an item. Automated systems at the online auction website will place bids on the bidder's behalf typically using a predetermined incremental amount over the current high bid. As other bids come in on the item, the automated proxy bidding system will continue to place bids for the bidder up to the specified maximum. The bidder's maximum bid is kept confidential until it exceeded by another bidder. Proxy bidding makes it convenient to participate in an online auction without participants having to watch online auctions and come back to re-bid every time someone places a higher bid and thus encourages the online auction participant to specify the maximum amount they are willing to pay for an item.
Fixed duration online auctions are susceptible to a practice called "sniping" in which a bidder jumps in and places the highest bid very close to the online auction's end time so that there is not enough time for other bidders to increase their bids beyond their specified maximum. Although sniping advocates point out that the sniper only wins the auction if he or she is willing to pay more for the item than the other bidders, sniping draws complaints from both online auction buyers and sellers alike. Some online auction buyers dislike sniping because they find it frustrating to place a bid and then patiently wait for an online auction to end only to have the item get snatched away at the last second. Buyers may also feel that it is unfair that they do not get another chance to bid after seeing and evaluating the other higher bid. Some buyers have expressed a desire to know what other bidders are willing to pay and be given a chance to place a higher bid as is common in regular live auctions where the auctioneer provides opportunities to place final bids by saying "going once, going twice, . . . gone" before ending the auction with a bang of the gavel. Some sellers of items on an online auction site also dislike sniping because they believe it lowers the price that they might otherwise receive for items if buyers could get caught up in the excitement and frenzy of the online auction. Sniping may be viewed by sellers as a practice that precludes the possibility for buyers to drive up the item price as they attempt to outbid each other.
This Background is provided to introduce a brief context for the Summary and Detailed Description that follow. This Background is not intended to be an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter nor be viewed as limiting the claimed subject matter to implementations that solve any or all of the disadvantages or problems presented above.


An object of the present invention is to provide a honeycomb structural body for use in a filter, which can be provided with a large amount of catalyst, can suppress an increase in pressure loss upon collecting particulates, can have a high particulate collecting capability and can efficiently carry out a regenerating process and a toxic gas purifying process. The honeycomb structural body of the present invention is a pillar-shaped honeycomb structural body that is mainly composed of inorganic fibers and has a structure in that a large number of through holes are placed in parallel with one another in the length direction with a partition wall interposed therebetween. Herein, the inorganic fibers, which form the honeycomb structural body, are arranged in such a manner that more fibers are aligned along a face perpendicular to the forming direction of the through holes rather than aligned along a face in parallel with the forming direction of the through holes.

Recently, particulates such as soot, that are contained in exhaust gases discharged from internal combustion engines of vehicles, such as buses, trucks and the like, and construction machines and the like, have raised serious problems as those particulates are harmful to the environment and the human body. Conventionally, there have been proposed various filters used for collecting particulates in exhaust gases to purify the exhaust gases, and there have also been proposed filters having a honeycomb structure.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view that shows one type of filter having a honeycomb structure of this type.
This honeycomb filter 60, which is configured as a honeycomb structural body made of silicon carbide and the like, has a structure in that a plurality of square-pillar shaped porous ceramic members 70 are combined with one another through a sealing material layer 64 that serves as an adhesive to configure a ceramic block 65, and a sealing material layer 63 is also formed on the circumference of this ceramic block 65.
FIG. 5(a) is a perspective view that schematically shows the porous ceramic member constituting the honeycomb filter shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of the porous ceramic member shown in FIG. 5(a).
The porous ceramic member 70 has a honeycomb structure in which a partition wall 73, which separates a large number of through holes 71 placed in parallel with one another in the length direction from one another, functions as a filter.
In other words, as shown in FIG. 5(b), each of the through holes 71, formed in the porous ceramic member 70, is sealed with a sealing member 72 at one of ends on its exhaust gas inlet side or exhaust gas outlet side, so that exhaust gases that have entered one through hole 71 are discharged from another through hole 71 after having necessarily passed through the partition wall 73 that separates the through holes 71 from one another.
Here, the sealing material layer 63 formed on the circumference is provided for the purpose of preventing exhaust gases from leaking from the peripheral portion of the ceramic block 65 when the honeycomb filter 60 is installed in an exhaust passage of an internal combustion engine.
When the honeycomb filter 60 having such a structure is installed in the exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine, particulates in exhaust gases discharged from the internal combustion engine are captured by the partition wall 73 upon passing through the honeycomb filter 60, so that the exhaust gases are purified.
With respect to the filters having the honeycomb structure, in addition to the structure that a plurality of porous ceramic members are combined with one another, those filters formed as a single integral ceramic body made of cordierite or the like as a whole, those honeycomb filters formed through an extrusion-molding process by using inorganic fibers made of alumina, silica, mullite or the like, and those honey comb filters that are formed by subjecting an inorganic sheet, made of inorganic fibers through a paper-making process, or a metal sheet to a corrugating process into a roll shape have been known (for example, see Patent Documents 1, 2 and 3).
The honeycomb filters having the above-mentioned structures are superior in heat resistance, and particulate burning and removing processes (hereinafter, referred to as a regenerating process), and the like are easily carried out thereon; therefore, these honeycomb filters are used for various large-size vehicles, diesel-engine-installed vehicles and the like.
Moreover, there have been known filters, which collect particulates in exhaust gases and are also capable of purifying toxic exhaust gases such as CO, HC, NOx and the like. In these filters, a catalyst used for purifying exhaust gases is adhered to a portion (through holes and the like) functioning as a filter.
In the honeycomb structural body to which the catalyst is adhered, since particulates are deposited on the catalyst, active energy, required for burning particulates, is reduced by the catalyst, so that particulates can be burned even at low temperatures. Therefore, conventionally, attempts have been made to burn particulates at low temperatures and improve the purifying performance for exhaust gases by improving dispersibility of the catalyst to increase reaction sites.
In the above-mentioned filter using a catalyst, the regenerating and purifying processes are carried out by using the following two kinds of methods.
In a first method, although the purifying process for toxic gases in exhaust gases is continuously carried out, the regenerating process is not started until the collected particulates have reached a certain amount of deposition. After having reached the amount of deposition, the regenerating process is carried out to remove the particulates, and particulates are again collected. Thus, these processes are repeated several times.
In a second method, while the purifying process for toxic gases in exhaust gases is continuously carried out, the burning and removing processes of particulates are also carried out continuously, so that the particulates are successively burned without being deposited.
In order to exert efficient reactions at a low pressure loss by using these methods, it is preferable to increase reaction sites between particulates and the catalyst; therefore, it is considered to be preferable that the specific surface area of the honeycomb structural body be increased.
In this case, however, when a method is adopted in which the specific surface area of the honeycomb structural body is expanded by increasing the number of through holes per unit cross sectional area, with the cross sectional area of the through holes of the honeycomb structural body being made smaller, the small cross-sectional area of the through hole makes it difficult for exhaust gases to flow through it to cause a high pressure loss, failing to provide a practical method.
Another effective method has been proposed in which the density of the wall portion constituting the filter is lowered to increase the porosity, so that a large number of open pores are included therein; thus, even pore portions in deeper layers of the filter wall portion are allowed to collect particulates so as to make the particulates in contact with the catalyst located inside the wall portion.
However, when the above-mentioned methods are used in the above-mentioned filters, the strength of the filer becomes lower. In particular, in the case of the filter disclosed in Patent Document 1, the strength of the filter becomes considerably low. For this reason, upon burning and removing collected particulates (hereinafter, referred to as a regenerating process), the filter of this type is likely to be suffered from a great temperature difference in the length direction of the filter accompanied with the burning process of the particulates, resulting in damages such as cracks in the filter due to the subsequent thermal stress. Consequently, the above-mentioned filters tend to lose functions as the filter.
Moreover, in order to effectively utilize exhaust heat generated from the engine so as to carry out regenerating and purifying processes, the filter is desirably installed immediately under the engine; however, the installation space is extremely limited. For this reason, the filter needs to be formed into a complex shape; however, it is very difficult to form the conventional filter into a complex shape.
Furthermore, laminated filters have also been proposed; however, these filters are strengthened in toughness by adding ceramic fibers to a ceramic material (clay), lacking in the idea of realizing high porosity (see Patent Document 4).
Patent Document 1: JP-A 06-182228 (1994)
Patent Document 2: JP-A 04-2674 (1992)
Patent Document 3: JP-A 2001-252529
Patent Document 4: JP-A 08-12460 (1996)


An electronic circuit, including: a logic circuit having a plurality of logic cells; storage cells able to form a shift register, able to be connected to the logic cells; a connection control module having an input for the reception of an identification key, the module connecting the storage cells so as to form a test shift register when the receive input receives a valid identification key, and the module connecting the storage cells so as to form randomly a diversion circuit when the input does not receive a valid identification key. The invention allows the electronic circuit to be protected against fraudulent access in read or write mode. The invention also relates to a smart card including this electronic circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
Overall, the invention relates to synchronized electronic integrated circuits equipped with means for combinational logic, with flip-flops, and with means for testing.
More precisely, the invention relates to an electronic circuit comprising: a number of logic cells; a number of configurable cells each comprising at least a multiplexer and a flip-flop; and a number of control conductors connected, for some of them at least, to the configurable cells and on which control signals, selectively circulate, received and/or emitted during the operating of a control circuit such as an access control, the configurable cells selectively adopting, depending on the control signals, a standard operating mode in which they are operationally connected to at least some of the logic cells with which they co-operate to create a logic circuit, and a test mode in which these configurable cells are operationally connected in chains to create a shift register equipped with a data input and output.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Nowadays it is common knowledge that the proper working order of the operating elements of an integrated circuit should be checked by imposing and/or by determining, at pre-set times, the data at certain internal points of this integrated circuit.
Such a test technique of the internal paths of an integrated circuit (designated "scanpath" or "internal scan method") is for example disclosed in the document by M. Williams and J. Angel, entitled "Enhancing Testability of LSI Circuits Via Test Points and Additional Logic, IEEE Transactions on Computers", vol. C-22, No.1. January 1973, which is incorporated herein by reference.
According to this technique, each of the flip-flops in the logic circuit, for which it is useful to know the state and/or to impose the content during the standard operating of the integrated circuit, is equipped with a multiplexer at its input.
The different flip-flops and the multiplexers which are connected to them thus constitute the equivalent number of configurable cells whose access is controlled by these multiplexers.
The multiplexers of these different configurable cells are jointly controlled by an access controller or "TAP controller" (Test Access Port) which, according to a chosen operating mode, uses this set of configurable cells either as a standard operating circuit integrated into the logic circuit which it creates with the logic cells, or as a test circuit.
To accomplish this, the TAP controller receives control signals on different control conductors, and/or consigns control signals on different control conductors by which it is connected to the different configurable cells, such as a mode control signals, a chain control signal or a data propagation control signal, which permit the modifying and/or modify the data circulation paths within the integrated circuit and thus allow entry of this data, for future analysis, via the controller.
In the standard operating mode, the TAP controller therefore pilots the multiplexers of the configurable cells in such a way that the flip-flops of these cells are connected to the surrounding logic cells in order to define one or several operating sub-sets of the integrated circuit.
In the test mode, which is generally triggered off when the TAP controller receives an impulse control signal in test mode, this controller generates a chaining control signal in order to connect, in series, the flip-flops of the configurable cells so as to create a shift register.
This register includes a series input and a serial output respectively connected to an output and an input of the TAP controller, as well as a clock input receiving a clock signal in order to give rhythm to the flow of data.
Initially, the TAP controller loads, in series, the data in the flip-flops of the configurable cells via the shift register input that creates these cells.
Then, the TAP controller changes the switching of the multiplexers in order to create the operational circuit, and controls the running of one or several clock cycles via this operational circuit. In this stage, the data loaded into the flip-flops of the configurable cells is handled by the operational circuit.
The controller then, once again, changes the switching of the multiplexers in order to, once again, create the shift register and restores, in series on the output of this shift register, the data stored in the flip-flops of the configurable cells during the last clock cycle.
Despite the proven interest of this testing technique, its practical application can under certain circumstances prove to be problematic, notably on integrated circuits which handle secret data.
Indeed, as the actuating of the test mode can allow a fraudulent operator to read the content of the flip-flops of the configurable cells, this test technique has, in principle, the inconvenience of rendering such circuits very vulnerable to fraudulent activity.
For example, by stopping, at different moments, an internal secret data loading process in the integrated circuit and by off-loading the contents of the shift register, a fraudulent operator can obtain information from the secret data, even reconstitute it.
By actuating the test mode, a fraudulent operator can also gain write access to the flip-flops of the configurable cells so as to insert fraudulent data, or to put the integrated circuit into an unauthorized configuration. The person can thus, for example, gain access to a register that controls a security element such as a sensor in order to deactivate it. The person can also input erroneous data with the aim of obtaining information on secret data.
The fraud can have two different strategies; the first consists in taking control of the TAP controller and observing on the external contacts the contents of the shift register cells, and the second consists in taking control of the configurable cells by exciting them via microprobing in order to simulate the piloting of these cells by the control signals that the TAP controller emits.
Attempt fraud as per the first strategy can be stopped via a technique which is covered by an application being filed at this same time by the holder.
One purpose of the invention is to propose an electronic circuit designed to foul attempts at fraud in compliance with aforementioned second strategy.

Method of securing the test mode of an integrated circuit via intrusion detection


A passive, temperature compensated tunable filter calibration device in a Bragg-grating interrogation system. The invention comprises two systems: 1) a dual substrate Bragg grating calibration system, the temperature of an array of gratings is estimated using an array of gratings bonded to a common host substrate and a single grating bonded to a material with a different coefficient of thermal expansion; 2) a hydrogen cyanide wavelength reference absorption cell that absorbs light at discrete wavelengths corresponding to the molecular vibration mode frequencies of the gas. A first photodetector sees the transmission spectrum and a second sees the reflections from Bragg gratings in a sensing array. In this system there is no temperature compensation step as the absorption lines are not sensitive to temperature.

1. Field of the Invention
Generally this invention pertains to a wavelength reference and calibration device, and more specifically to a fiber Bragg grating interrogation system for determination of Bragg grating wavelengths.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a need for accurate measurement of Bragg gratings wavelengths that includes long-term and static strain monitoring on structures and determination of wavelengths in optical communications systems. There a number of systems that use the wavelength of fiber Bragg gratings to indicate the value of a measurand such as strain or temperature often at distributed points on a structure. In systems of multiple Bragg gratingsxe2x80x94especially in a single fiberxe2x80x94bandpass filters that scan through a range of wavelengths are commonly employed. (SEE, Kersey et al.; A MULTIPLEXED FIBER BRAGG STRAIN SENSOR SYSTEM WITH A FIBER FABRY-PEROT WAVELENGTH FILTER; Optics Lett., Vol/18, Pg. 1370, 1993.) In some schemes, the control signal applied to the filter is used to determine the wavelength of the individual gratings. This practice depends on an estimated functional relationship between the filter control input and the wavelength location of the passband, a function that is not in practice linear or constant in time. For dynamic measurements a one-time calibration is often adequate, while for very low frequency measurements a real-time calibration is necessary for accurate determination of Bragg grating wavelength. Current filter calibration options include wavelength references such as temperature-isolated gratings (SEE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,818,585) or the fringe pattern of a temperature-isolated Fabry-Perot cavity (SEE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,892,582). In either case, the reference wavelengths are sensitive to changes in temperature and care must be taken to keep the gratings or cavity at a constant temperature.
The object of this invention is to provide an interrogation system for fiber Bragg gratings enabling accurate determination of Bragg grating wavelengths that is compensated for changes in temperature, if required.
This and other objectives are met by a passive, temperature compensated tunable filter calibration device for Bragg grating interrogation having a set of reference wavelengths, enabling accurate determination of Bragg grating wavelengths. There are two devices, first is a system that estimates the temperature of an array of gratings using an array of gratings bonded to a common host substrate and a single grating bonded to a material with different linear coefficient of thermal expansion, this is called a dual-substrate Bragg grating calibration system. Changes in a common temperature of the subsstrates is measured by monitoring the difference betweeen shifts of grating wavelength. As a filter is scanned from its lowest to highest voltage and the voltages are recorded. The second lowest wavelength corresponds to the grating attached to the differing substrate. The voltages are used to calculate the voltage-to-wavelength function for the scanning range of the filter. To compensate for variations in a calibration curve and temperature variations of the calibration array, the temperature is estimated and function recalculated at every pass of the scanning filter.
The second system uses a wavelength reference absorption cell, preferably a hydrogen-cyanide (H14C13N) type of wavelength reference absorption cell, that absorbs light at discrete wavelengths corresponding to the molecular vibrational mode frequencies of the gas. A wavelength reference absorption cell utilizing acetylene may be used, however the hydrogen-cyanode cell has more lines across a bigger range. With a broadband input to the cell, the output displays the spectrum of the input with several narrow dips in the spectrum corresponding to the absorption lines. A photodetector sees the transmission spectrum of the absorption cell while another photodetector sees the Bragg gratings reflection from a sensing array. The filter drive voltages that coincide with the dips of the transmission spectrum are used to calibrate the voltage-to-wavelength function of the scanning filter. In this system, there is no temperature compensation step as the absorption lines are not sensitive to temperature.

Passive, temperature compensated techniques for tunable filter calibration in bragg-grating interrogation systems

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


A system and methodology that facilitates adaptive link diversity for enhanced coverage and capacity during user data communication in a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) is provided. Specifically, current radio conditions associated with the user data are monitored and analyzed. Moreover, a switching and/or concurrent transport mechanism is implemented for communication between a NodeB and UE (User Equipment), when the current radio conditions change beyond a predefined level. In particular, a CS (Circuit Switched) over HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) connection is reconfigured to an R99 (Release 99) CS connection, or a concurrent R99 CS connection is provided along with the CS over HSPA connection, when detected that radio conditions have degraded beyond a predefined threshold. In one aspect, the selection between switching to a new transport mechanism and, adding a concurrent transport mechanism is based on an analysis and/or operator defined conditions.

Mobile data communications is evolving quickly because of global communications network such as the Internet, intranets, laptops, PDAs (personal digital assistants) and increased requirements of workforce mobility. Third generation mobile system (3G) technologies (e.g., UMTS-Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) are considered enhancements to GSM (Global System for Mobile telecommunications) cellular standards.
New technologies are required to deliver high speed location and mobile terminal specific content to users. The emergence of new technologies thus provides an opportunity for a boom similar to what the computer industry had in 1980's, and that Internet and wireless voice had in 1990's. UMTS can be considered as the commercial convergence of fixed line telephony, mobile, Internet and computer technology. The UMTS transport network is preferred when handling demanding wireless data traffic.
To further extend and/or improve the performance of existing UMTS protocols a collection of mobile telephony protocols are utilized, such as HSPA (High Speed Packet Access). Typically, voice calls can be routed over HSPA based transport channels, such that, network air interface (Uu) and RNC (radio network controller) and/or NodeB transport efficiencies can be increased. Further, carrying CS traffic over HSPA can significantly save power and conserve battery life of the UE (user equipment).
As UMTS and other 3G technologies evolve towards facilitating voice (and video) over packet switched transport mechanisms, such as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), various problems to carry voice traffic over a packet switched interface can be encountered. Carrying CS traffic over HSPA reduces priority in the IuB interface. Further, during CS over HSPA, effective coverage area can be reduced due to loss of SHO (soft handover) in the downlink.

Adaptive R99 and HS PS (high speed packet-switched) link diversity for coverage and capacity enhancement of circuit-switched calls


An apparatus is described that allows a table to be turned upside down so that a toddler can use the upright legs as grips and the horizontal cross support beams as obstacles to master the art of stepping over this obstacle height of the cross support beams. Once the art of stepping is mastered, the table is flipped upright to function as a table again. Several adjustments are added to a table so that the height of the cross support beams and length of the legs can be adjusted to provide a range of mastering possibilities when in the upside down position. When flipped upright, the surface of the table can have adjustable to have uniform height or a top that slants.

Any child that transitions from a crawling position to one towering on two feet is beginning to understand the art of walking. Children start to learn how to walk anywhere between 8 to 14 months. In the process of this learning, the walking is unsteady and the child toddles. A toddler is a young child ranging in age from 10 months to 24 months.
The transition from crawling to walking is filled with mishaps, errors, poor judgment and poor foot placement that cause the toddler to fall onto the ground. At the same time the transition must be exciting and exhilarating since the toddler never gives up in their determination to walk. There is a driving sprit in the toddler to master the art of walking.
A number of the toddlers require a "grip" to hold onto while they are learning to stand erect and walk. A grip is defined as a physical structure that has characteristics that allow the small hands of a toddler to grab, hold, or support themselves before they have a chance to fall. The toddlers begin to start taking steps and use this grip to maintain their balance as they begin mastering the art of walking.
One grip can be the finger of a parent. The toddler wraps their fingers around the finger of a parent to stand erect. This is probably the best loving grip for the toddler to use while learning to walk. As the toddler moves, the grip moves with the toddler. The toddler develops a strong dependence that the grip is always going to be there, allowing the toddler to concentrate more on the art of walking.
A recent report printed 20 Jan. 2010 in the Journal Of Neurophysiology entitled "Kinematic Strategies in Newly Walking Toddlers Stepping Over Different Support Surfaces", by Dominici et al. indicates that " . . . in each toddler we tried to implement unsupported stepping over an obstacle in such a way that an experimenter initially held the toddler by hand and tried to leave the toddler's hand while approaching the obstacle. In all such trials, toddlers stopped before the obstacle or attempted to touch and held again the hand of the experimenter. Thus since unsupported stepping was never successful in situations with obstacles, . . . . " The studies of toddlers stepping over obstacles is very limited. The study attempted to have the toddler step unsupported over obstacles without success since the child require support. The experimenters were required to hold the toddler by one hand to negotiate the obstacles.
Often, the toddler will also experiment independently and seek to develop the art of walking on their own by using local stable inanimate objects that appear to have sufficient height. After crawling to the object, the toddler's hand seeks the "grips" of this local object. Some examples of inanimate objects that can provide a grip include a wall, a table edge and top, a chair seat and back, a sofa, a piece of folded fabric of their parent's pants and a bed.
An object that provides a grip for a long, horizontal run at an appropriate constant height from the ground is extremely beneficial and is called a horizontal grip (for example, the top surface of a coffee table). Such a grip is advantageously useful for the toddler when learning to walk because the toddler can then began to take steps either knowing that the grip is readily available in case the toddler faults in their steps or if the toddler always requires the support of the grip while taking their first steps. The height from the ground for the location of the grip is anywhere between the hip and the shoulder height of the toddler.
Another important aspect to develop in the art, of walking is determining what to do with obstacles in the path. One option is to go around the obstacle if it is too large; however, if the obstacle is relatively small maybe the toddler will attempt to raise their foot over the obstacle. Succeeding the ability to step over obstacles brings the toddler that much closer to mastering the art of walking.

Apparatus and method to improve toddler's steps and mobility


Thermally stable GRISMs comprise a substrate and cover plate composed of a first material keeps the spatial frequency of the grating stable with temperature, and a prism composed of a second material having lower thermal coefficient of refractive index than that of the first material. In the preferred embodiment, the first material is fused silica, and the second material is BK7 glass.

A GRISM is a transmission grating coupled to prism. In comparison with a more typical flat grating, a GRISM enables the use of higher spatial frequency and hence yields higher angular dispersion. Such devices therefore find utility in various applications, including spectrometers, telecommunications, and others. Conventionally, fused silica is used both as the substrate and cover plate for transmission gratings because of its low coefficient of thermal expansion and resulting thermal stability of the grating spatial frequency. However, the thermal coefficient of refractive index associated with fused silica is quite high, such that it may be unsuitable for use as a prism, otherwise more than offsetting its low thermal expansion coefficient where significant prism power is employed. Thus, a solution to this problem is desirable.


The present invention provides a method of detecting a biological agent including contacting a sample with a sensor including a polymer system capable of having an alterable measurable property from the group of luminescence, anisotropy, redox potential and uv/vis absorption, the polymer system including an ionic conjugated polymer and an electronically inert polyelectrolyte having a biological agent recognition element bound thereto, the electronically inert polyelectrolyte adapted for undergoing a conformational structural change upon exposure to a biological agent having affinity for binding to the recognition element bound to the electronically inert polyelectrolyte, and, detecting the detectable change in the alterable measurable property. A chemical moiety being the reaction product of (i) a polyelectrolyte monomer and (ii) a biological agent recognition element-substituted polyelectrolyte monomer is also provided.

The present invention relates generally to highly sensitive biological sensors, to a method for the detection of biological agents using such sensors, to a polymer system for use in such sensors, and to chemical moieties for inclusion in such polymer systems.
The desirable properties of conjugated polymers depend on their intense fluorescence and highly delocalized photophysical properties. These properties are important for a variety of applications ranging from LED to a recently demonstrated biosensing application (WO 00/66790) to manipulate the fluorescence quantum efficiency (QE) and control both the wavelength and excited state decay channels present in the conjugated polymer. In previous studies it was discovered that the fluorescence QE of an ionic conjugated polymer can be increased through interacting with small amount of certain detergents (Chem. Phys. Lett., v. 330(#1-2) pp.27-33, Nov. 3, 2000). It was believed that the surfactant can inhibit the folding of the polymer chains, reduce the conformational disorder and thus increase the QE.
In WO 00/66790, a conjugated polymer base biosensor was developed, in which the signal transduction came from the reversal of quenched polymer fluorescence by a quencher-ligand diad. While that biosensor system is quite: successful in detecting various of toxins and viruses, one drawback is the non-specific interactions between the ionic conjugated polymer and proteins, which can also cause a change in the fluorescence of the conjugated polymer. The interactions of polyelectrolytes with proteins are well known processes, which actually have drawn lots of attention in the literature due to importance of such interactions in natural biological systems as well as biotechnological applications.
In accordance with the purposes of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the present invention includes a chemical moiety comprising the reaction product of (i) a polyelectrolyte monomer and (ii) a biological agent recognition element-substituted polyelectrolyte monomer.
The present invention also includes a polymer system including an ionic conjugated polymer, and, an electronically inert polyelectrolyte having a biological agent recognition element bound thereto.
The present invention also includes method of detecting a biological agent including contacting a sample with a sensor including a polymer system capable of having an alterable measurable property selected from the group consisting of luminescence, anisotropy, redox potential and uv/vis absorption, said polymer system including an ionic conjugated polymer and an electronically inert polyelectrolyte having a biological agent recognition element bound thereto, said electronically inert polyelectrolyte adapted for undergoing a conformational structural change upon exposure to a biological agent having affinity for binding to said recognition element bound to said electronically inert polyelectrolyte, and, detecting said detectable change in said alterable measurable property.
The present invention also includes sensor including a polymer system capable of having an alterable measurable property selected from the group consisting of luminescence, anisotropy, redox potential and uv/vis absorption, said polymer system including an ionic conjugated polymer and an electronically inert polyelectrolyte having a biological agent recognition element bound thereto, said electronically inert polyelectrolyte adapted for undergoing a conformational structural change upon exposure to a biological agent having affinity for binding to said recognition element bound to said electronically inert polyelectrolyte whereby a detectable change in said alterable measurable property can occur, and, a means of detecting said detectable change in said alterable measurable property.
The present invention also includes a process of tuning the properties of an ionic conjugated polymer including admixing an ionic conjugated polymer with an electronically inert polyelectrolyte comprising the reaction product of (i) a polyelectrolyte monomer and (ii) a biological, agent recognition element-substituted polyelectrolyte monomer.
The present invention also includes a kit for the detection of biological agents including a fluorescent polymer, and, an electronically inert polyelectrolyte having a biological agent recognition element bound thereto.

Tuning the properties of conjugated polyelectrolytes and application in a biosensor platform

The Regents of the University of California


An inspection system determines, for each detected pattern defect, a defect inspection pattern area of predetermined dimensions containing the coordinates of the defect, then determines the clusters or cells whose reference points are located within the defect inspection pattern area. The system extracts the data of these clusters or cells from design pattern data read from a first magnetic disk unit. The system then generates an output file containing the extracted data. The output file is then converted into the same format as the input design pattern data or into OASIS format, before it is output to a second magnetic disk unit. The extracted pattern data specifying the clusters or cells within each defect inspection pattern area can be output from the mask inspection system to external systems.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inspection system and an inspection method, and more particularly to an inspection system and an inspection method for detecting defects of the pattern formed on an object to be inspected, such as a mask.
2. Background Art
In recent years, as the levels of integration and capacity of large scale integrated circuits (LSIs) increase, there has been a need to continue to reduce the width of the circuit patterns of semiconductor devices. Semiconductor devices are manufactured by a reduced projection exposure apparatus called a "stepper" using original artwork patterns with a circuit pattern formed thereon, that is, masks or reticles (hereinafter referred to collectively as masks). Specifically, the pattern on a mask is transferred to the wafer by exposure to light, thereby forming circuits on the wafer. Masks used to transfer such fine circuit patterns to the wafer are manufactured by electron beam writing apparatuses, which can write micropatterns. Further, effort has been made to develop a laser beam writing apparatus, which uses a laser beam for writing. It should be noted that electron beam apparatuses are also used to directly write a circuit pattern on a wafer.
Incidentally, since the cost to manufacture LSIs is very high, the improvement of the yield is required to make the manufacture economically feasible. However, the dimensions of the patterns for LSI devices, as typified by 1-gigabit class DRAMs (random access memories), are about to be scaled down from the order of submicrons to the order of nanometers. A major cause of loss in yield is due to defects of a mask pattern. Further, since there has been a decrease in the dimensions of LSI patterns formed on semiconductor wafers, the size of pattern defects to be detected is very small. Therefore, high inspection accuracy is required of mask inspection systems for detecting defects of transfer masks used in LSI manufacture.
There are two known mask defect detecting methods: the die-to-die inspection method and the die-to-database inspection method. The die-to-die inspection method is used when the mask to be inspected has thereon a plurality of identical chip patterns, or a plurality of chip patterns each including an identical pattern segment. In this method, these identical chip patterns or identical pattern segments, which are located on the same mask, are compared to each other. This method permits accurate inspection using a relatively simple system configuration, since patterns on the same mask are directly compared to each other. However, this method cannot detect a defect common to both compared patterns. In the die-to-database inspection method, on the other hand, an actual pattern on a mask is compared to reference data generated from the design pattern data that was used to manufacture the mask. Thus, this method allows exact comparison of the pattern with the design pattern data, although the required system size is large since the method requires a processing system for generating a reference image. There is no choice but to use this inspection method when the mask to be inspected has only one chip pattern to be transferred to the wafer.
In die-to-die inspection system, light is emitted from a light source, and the mask to be inspected is irradiated with this light through an optical system. The mask is mounted on a table, and this table is moved so that the emitted beam of light scans the surface of the mask. Light transmitted through or reflected from the mask pass through the lens and are received by image sensors via a lens, thereby forming an image thereon. The optical image thus formed on the image sensor is sent to a comparing unit as the acquisition data. The comparing unit compares the acquisition data with reference data in accordance with an appropriate algorithm, and if they are not identical, the mask is determined to have a defect (see, e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-112178).
If the inspection system determines that the mask has a defect, the system stores the optical image and the corresponding reference image on which the detection of the defect is based, together with the coordinates of the defect. Upon completion of the inspection of the mask, the operator visually checks the pattern in which each defect was detected using the observing optical system in the inspection system. Alternatively, the optical image and the reference image of each defect stored in the inspection system may be displayed on the display of the computer so that the operator can easily check the pattern. The operator then determines whether each defect requires a repair and sends to the repair system the mask and information necessary to repair the defects in need of repair. For example the necessary repair information regarding each defect includes: its coordinates in the mask; an indication of whether it is a extrusion defect (i.e., opaque defect), which must be removed from the light shielding film, or a intrusion defect (i.e., clear defect), which must be filled in; and extracted pattern data for recognizing the pattern portion to be repaired by the repair system. The pattern data may be derived from the above optical image stored in the inspection system.
The repair system then repairs the mask in accordance with the information received from the inspection system, that is, for example, the repair system burns off each extrusion defect from the light shielding film by a beam of light such as a focused ion beam (FIB) and fills each intrusion defect by deposition of carbon (see, e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 9-63944 (1997)). The repaired mask is then reinspected. Only repaired masks which have successfully passed the reinspection are shipped.
As pattern dimensions have been scaled down, new types of mask defects have been encountered. That is, current problems to be addressed include not only pattern edge irregularities, formation of isolated holes, and adhesion of material, but also subtle pattern line width errors and pattern displacement. A deviation in the pattern line width or in the spacing between adjacent patterns results in a change in the pattern's impedance and hence a change in the performance of the completed LSI. Such subtle defects may be detected by the mask inspection system using an improved defect detection algorithm. However, the repair information conventionally used to repair detected defects is not sufficient to allow the repair system to locate subtle pattern defects without difficulty even if they are detected by the inspection system. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve the content of repair information.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. That is, since conventional repair information includes only optical images captured by the inspection system and coordinate data of defects, the repair system may not be able to locate pattern portions, or defects, to be repaired if they have shapes typical of recent fine patterns, which shapes are hard to identify. To overcome this problem, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an inspection system having a function to output information that allows easy identification of pattern portions to be repaired. Another object of the present invention is to provide an inspection method capable of improving yield and throughput of the entire manufacturing process by receiving information that allows easy identification of pattern portions to be repaired.
Other challenges and advantages of the present invention are apparent from the following description.