Performing retrospective dynamic transmit focusing beamforming for ultrasound signals by a) transmitting plural transmit beams, each transmit beam centered at a different position along array, having width or aperture encompassing plural laterally spaced line positions, each transmit beam width or aperture overlapping width or aperture of adjacent transmit beam or more laterally spaced transmit beams; b) receiving echo signals; c) processing echo signals to produce plural receive lines of echo signals at laterally spaced line positions within width or aperture of transmit beam; d) repeating steps b), (c) for additional transmit beams of plural transmitted transmit beams; e) equalizing phase shift variance among receive lines at common line position resulting from transmit beams of different transmit beam positions concurrently with steps c), d); f) combining echo signals of receive lines from different transmit beams spatially related to common line position to produce image data; g) produces an image using image data.

Ultrasound systems exist today that utilize a variety of techniques for processing ultrasound signals to generate information of interest. For example, a variety of techniques exist today for performing beamforming upon ultrasound receive signals.
One approach to beamforming performs so called Retrospective Transmit Beamformation (RTBF). This is a transmit focusing technology that achieves dynamic focusing by performing the transmit focusing operation retrospectively.
In Retrospective Transmit Beamforming (RTB), following a transmission event of an ultrasound transmit beam, multiple receive beams are generated. Ultrasound images are composed of a set of lines along each one of which the image system acquires image data until a full frame has been scanned.
Retrospective Transmit Beamforming uses a high parallel line acquisition scheme in which following each transmit event of a transmit beam multiple receive beams are simultaneously acquired in parallel along different lines.
According to this technique, the transmit beam is generated with a width that encompasses multiple receive lines. Generally, this can be achieved by transmitting from a small transmit aperture, for example by transmitting using a lesser number of elements of an array of transducers that the total number of transducer provided in the array. Following transmission, echoes are received which are focused along each line of the lines encompassed by the width of the transmitted beam. Focusing is obtained by delaying and summing the echoes received by the transducer elements of the receive aperture so that for generating the image of each line of the multiple lines encompassed by the width of the transmit beam, only the contribution of coherent signals along each different line location are used.
For scanning the entire image frame and acquiring all the image lines needed for generating the image, further transmit beams are transmitted by shifting the transmit aperture laterally in one direction relatively to the transmit aperture of the previous transmit event.
Lateral shift is carried out in such a way that the two adjacent transmit apertures overlap so that at least some of the receive lines encompassed by the width of a first transmit beams are also encompassed by the width of at least one or more of the following transmit beams which aperture has been progressively laterally shifted in relation to the transmit aperture of the first transmit beam.
As a result, depending on the transmit aperture of the transmission, i.e. of the number of lines encompassed by the width of the transmit beam and on the lateral shift step of the transmit aperture for each following transmit event, lines of image data along each receive line is formed by co-aligned beams along the said receive line which are combined together.
Transmission and reception continues across the image field in this manner until the full image field has been scanned. Each time the maximum number of receive lines for a given line location has been acquired, the receive lines are processed together to produce a line of image data at that location.
Due to the fact that each receive signal contributing to the same image line data at a certain receive line location derives from a transmit beam whose transmit aperture has been shifted with respect to the other transmit beams, the said receive signals contributing to the same line data are not coherent and there is the need of equalizing the phase shift variance that exists from line to line for the multilines with differing transmit-receive beam location combinations, so that signal cancellation will not be caused by phase differences of the combined signals.
In U.S. Pat. No. 8,137,272 a method and an ultrasound apparatus are disclosed which operates according to the above RTB technique.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,137,272 suggests a method for producing an ultrasound image with an extended focal range, comprising the steps of:                transmitting a plurality of transmit beams from an array transducer, each transmit beam being centered at a different position along the array and each transmit beam encompassing a plurality of laterally spaced line positions which are spatially related to laterally spaced line positions of another beam;        receiving echo signals with the array transducer;        concurrently processing the echo signals received in response to one transmit beam to produce a plurality of receive lines of echo signals at the laterally spaced line positions of the beam;        repeating the concurrently processing for additional transmit beams;        equalizing the phase shift variance among receive lines at a common line position resulting from transmit beams of different transmit beam positions;        combining echo signals of receive lines from different transmit beams which are spatially related to a common line position to produce image data; and        producing an image using the image data.
According to this solution the array transducer elements are connected to a multiline receive beamformer which produces a plurality of receive lines at a plurality of corresponding line positions in response to one transmit beam at each one of a certain number of different beam locations. The multiline receive beamformer operates by using the traditional beamforming technique, namely the so called delay and sum in which the delays are determined by the relative position of the focal point of the transmit beam, the points on the receive line and the transducer position in the array. These delays are determined for all the multiline beamformers along each receiving line according to the same fixed rules which only depend on the time of arrival of the echoes from a reflecting point at a certain transducer element of an array of transducer elements.
So the traditional beamforming delays are based merely on the relative position of the reflecting point and of each of the transducer elements.
The step of equalizing the phase shift variance among receive lines at a common line position resulting from transmit beams of different transmit beam positions is carried out separately from beamforming at a later step. Equalizing further comprises relatively delaying the signals of receive lines along a common line position obtained from different transmit beams prior to combining these receive line signals together in order to receive a beamformed receive data along a certain line position.
According to this method the receive echoes relating to the same line position are firstly selected and summed by the delay and sum process of the multiline beamformer, irrespectively of the possible phase shifts introduced by the shift of the transmit aperture between the beams of the sequence of transmit events.
In a following step the phase shift of the receive signals for the same line location is equalized by a further delay which is determined as a function of the step of lateral shift of the transmit aperture between the transmit events, since the multiple receive signals along the same line position which has to be combined are obtained each one by a transmit beam which has been laterally shifted relatively to the receive line position.
Also a further weighting step of the signals of the receive lines from different transmit beams prior to combining is carried out in a separate step after multiline beamforming.
FIG. 2 shows a system according to the prior art U.S. Pat. No. 8,137,272 and FIG. 3A shows the effect of the equalizing step of the phase shift variance among receive lines at a common line position resulting from transmit beams of different transmit beam positions according to U.S. Pat. No. 8,137,272 and the method and system disclosed therein.
A transducer array comprising a number N of transducer elements of an ultrasound probe is driven by a transmit beamformer in such a way that selected groups of the transducer elements are actuated at respectively delayed times to transmit beams focused at different focal regions along the array. The echoes received by each transducer element of the array in response to each transmit beam are applied to the inputs of a multiline beamformer comprising multiline processors 210a-210k. Each multiline processor 210a-210k processes the each of the k parallel receive lines encompassed by every transmit beam. Each multiline processor comprises a receive beamformer which applies delays 202 and, if desired, apodization weights. The outputs of the multiline processors 210a-210k are coupled to a line memory 212 which stores the received multilines until all of the R multilines needed to form a line of display data have been acquired. The group of multilines used to form a particular line of display data are applied to respective ones of multipliers 216a-216R to produce the display data for the corresponding line location. The echo data from each line may, if desired be weighted by apodization weights 214a-214R. The echoes from each line are weighted by the multipliers 216a-216R and delayed by delay lines 218a-218R. The delays are used to equalize the phase shift variance that exists from line to line for the multilines with differing transmit-receive beam location combinations, so that signal cancellation will not be caused by phase differences of the combined signals. Due to the fixed geometry of the Rx and TX paths and of the lateral shift steps of the transmit aperture in relation to the geometry of the transducer array the delays can be calculated in real time or even calculated in advance and stored in a memory, for example in the former of a table 228.
The delay 218 and a summer 220 effect a refocusing of the signals received from the several receive multilines which are co-aligned in a given direction. The refocusing adjusts for the phase differences resulting from the use of different transmit beam locations for each multiline, preventing undesired phase cancellation in the combined signals.
In FIG. 3A the wavefront of two following transmission events TX1 and TX2 are shown. The transmit aperture of TX2 has been shifted laterally to the right in respect to TX1 by a step corresponding to the dimension of four transducer elements 301 of a transducer array 300. The situation is illustrated in relation to the n-th transducer element as receiving element.
The two wavefronts WF1 and WF2 are in general not planar and a focus P on a receiving line coincident with the center line of the transmission beam the path TX is considered.
According to an embodiment herein the wavefronts are spherical or nearly spherical.
The echoes generated at P has to travel a path RX to reach the n-th transducer element. The Second transmit event generates a wavefront WF2 which reaches the point with a different phase due to the lateral shift of the transmit beam of the transmit event TX2.
As it appears clearly, the receive multiline beamforming delays are defined by the geometry determined by the position of each focus points along each line at each line location relatively to the position of the transducer elements of the transducer array.
The equalization process would require to compensate for the delay of the transmit beam having the wavefront WF2 in reaching the focus points P on the corresponding line, which in FIG. 3A is indicated as RTB delay and is represented by the difference 320 in position of the focus point P of the transmit beam TX1 and the point P1.
In FIG. 4 the effect of the equalization process obtained by the known technique is illustrated schematically.
Considering Bp the beam signal related to focal point p and Sln(t) the signal at the probe channel n, i.e. at the n-th transducer element of the transducer array 300, which is related to a difference "1" in line position between the transmit center line of a second or following transmit beam TX2 and a receive line, then the beam signal can be described by the following equation:
      B    p    =            ∑      l                          B        l                          (                                            2                                                            p                                                      c                    -                                                                  p                -                                  p                  l                                                                    c                          )
Where c is the speed of sound and
      t    p    =            2                            p                      c  is the time at which the beam signal is focalized at point p, for l=0, which means for coincident center line of the transmit beam TX1 and receive line of the echoes.
The term
                p      -              p        l                  cdefining the delay in reaching the point p of the wave front of the transmit beam according to the l-th shift of the transmit aperture relatively to the transmit beam focused at p in a transmit event in which the receive line is coincident with the transmit beam center line and which is defined above as RTB delay 220.
Further expanding the above equation
      B    p    =                    ∑        l                                    B          l                                  (                                                                    p                                            c                        +                                                                            p                  l                                                            c                                )                      =                  ∑        l                                    ∑          n                                              s                          l              ,              n                                                      (                                                                                                                        p                      ^                                        l                                                                    c                            +                                                                                                                                p                        ^                                            l                                        -                    n                                                                    c                                      )
By using the relation
            p      ^        l    =            p      +              p        l              2  it appears clearly that the term
                        p        ^            l            cis the transmission beam path and the term
                                  p          ^                l            -      n            cis the RX path to the nth transducer element of the transducer array.
It has to be noted that in the example of FIGS. 3A and 3B the easiest case has been illustrated in which the receive line RX coincides with the centreline of the first transmit beam of the plurality of laterally shifted transmit beams, so that the distance "l" or the lateral shift step of the centreline of the following or second transmit beam TX2 from the receive line is identical with the lateral shift step between the centre lines of the first and of the second transmit beams TX1, TX2.
As it is shown in FIG. 3B, the effect of the equalisation plus focalization in reception according to the prior art is equivalent, in terms of applied delays in reception, to a traditional focalization by means of the beamforming delays at a point {circumflex over (p)}1 which is half way between point p and point p1. In this case the phase shift introduced by the shifting of the transmit aperture is not exactly compensated. In particular, the focalization delays in reception are computed relatively to the point {circumflex over (p)}1, while the physical propagation delays in reception are proportional to the distance between point P and each transducer n. Therefore, the propagation delays relative to signal backscattered from point P are not exactly compensated by focalization delays applied in reception.

Method and system for performing retrospective dynamic transmit focussing beamforming on ultrasound signals


An adjustable socket system includes a socket frame having a proximal area, a distal area opposite the proximal area, a first component arranged along a first side of the socket system, and a second component arranged along a second side of the socket system. The first component is connected to the second component. A tubular insert is arranged on an interior of at least the proximal area of the socket frame. The tubular insert forms an interior surface of the socket system. At least one tensioning element operatively connects the tubular insert to the first and/or second components. At least one tensioner is attached to the at least one tensioning element that selectively tensions the tensioning element to adjust a circumference of at least one area of the socket system.

A typical prosthetic leg and foot includes a socket, pylon, and foot. A socket is commonly referred to as the portion of a prosthesis that fits around and envelopes a residual limb or stump, and to which prosthetic components, such as a foot, are attached. When providing a socket to an amputee, it is essential to properly fit the socket and align various parts of the prosthesis to the amputee. Fitting and alignment of the socket and the parts are difficult tasks to perform, and require extensive knowledge, training and skill for the prosthetist.
Typically, sockets for definitive prostheses are customized for a residual limb of a wearer. According to one method, the sockets are formed over a model of the stump, such as one formed by plaster-of-Paris, to be used to distribute forces between the socket and the stump in a comfortable way to the amputee. In another method, the socket may be obtained from computer aided design by modeling the shape of the stump, and subsequently forming a model. Once the model is obtained in either of these methods, a socket is formed over the model by using fabric and liquid plastic resin to obtain a definitive rigid socket customized to a limb.
Proper fitting of a socket to the stump is critical to the success of the prosthesis. The socket must fit closely to the stump to provide a firm connection and support, but must also be sufficiently loose to allow for circulation. In combination with proper fitting, the socket must transfer loads from the residual limb to the ground in a comfortable manner.
Most prosthetic sockets are permanently formed to a customized shape that is static, meaning the socket does not account for shape and volume fluctuations of the residual limb. When there are shape and volume fluctuations, the fitting of the socket is impeded, with these sockets causing discomfort, pain and soft tissue breakdown of the stump. Conventional sockets tend to be bulky and cumbersome to wear, and may be difficult to don making the residual limb uncomfortable when worn.
As to methods of attaching the socket to the residual limb, conventional sockets rely on different mechanisms such as negative pressure or a friction or tension based interface. Conventional sockets may have poor force distribution on the residual limb causing a concentration of pressure on a certain area of the stump. This poor distribution of pressure causes pain, discomfort, and tissue breakdown. Conventional sockets generally are not breathable which results in undesirable temperature and humidity within the socket.
For certain types of amputations such as disarticulation amputations where the limb is separated at a joint, it is difficult to create sockets which are not bulky and provide use of the natural anatomy. Conventional sockets for disarticulation amputations use a rigid socket which requires that the opening for the socket be larger than the joint to allow for donning and doffing. The rigid sockets generally have a general uniform shape which receives a large portion of the residual limb and the space between the residual limb and the interior of the rigid socket wall is filled in with a soft or cushioning material.
Besides the socket, a leg prosthesis includes a prosthetic foot and depending on the level of the amputation, a pylon between the socket and the foot. The length of the pylon must also be customized for the amputee's height and level of amputation. A prosthetist aligns the pylon, the socket, and the foot to minimize undesired forces produced during gait on the user and prosthesis and to provide the user with a more symmetric gait. The alignment of the prosthesis also affects the pressure distribution at the stump and socket interface.
It is desirable to provide a simplified and compact prosthesis system that overcomes the drawbacks over known prosthesis systems. Particularly, it is advantageous to provide a complete prosthetic limb system that is off-the-shelf and capable of accommodating a variety of residual limb sizes. It is also desired a socket system of the prosthetic limb system be adjustable to allow for volume and shape fluctuations, and in effect, provide a dynamic socket as opposed to the known static sockets. The adjustable socket can better adjust for pressure distribution, and maintain comfort to the amputee over a range of care and residual limb conditions. It is further desired that the pylon and the foot of the prosthesis be adjustable to accommodate a variety of users and gaits.
According to an embodiment, the adjustable socket system has a distal end portion having an axis, and a frame has a plurality of elongate fingers longitudinally extending from the distal end portion. Each elongate finger defines at least two segments pivotally connected to one another and extending in a longitudinal direction relative to the distal end portion. The at least two segments are pivotable inwardly or outwardly relative to the axis. At least one elongate element connects to the plurality of elongate fingers and forms part of a circumference of the adjustable socket system in combination with the fingers of the frame. The fingers may be formed from a flexible material such as resin reinforced with carbon fibers.
The distal end portion may define a plurality of base elements extending laterally and extending longitudinally in part to couple to a respective one of the segments of each of the plurality of fingers. The distal end part has a proximal contour adapted to receive a distal end of a residual limb, and sized to accommodate a large variety of differently shape residuums. The plurality of base elements may be rigidly secured to the respective one of the segments of each of the plurality of fingers.
A sleeve has a plurality of pockets wherein each of the pockets extends over a respective one of the plurality of fingers. The sleeve carries the at least one elongate element. The sleeve may be formed from an inelastic textile. The at least one elongate element includes a lace slidably connecting to each of the plurality of pocket, and the at least one elongate element may be a textile lace that is inelastic. Each of the pockets may be slidably removable from the respective one of the plurality of fingers.
According to a variation, the at least one tensioning device is connected to the frame and the at least one elongate element connects to the plurality of fingers to form at least part of the circumference of the socket system. The at least one tensioning device is mounted to the distal end portion below the frame. The at least two segments define a plurality of channels for directing the at least one elongate element along a surface of the at least two segments. The at least two segments define opposed apertures corresponding to opposed side walls and in communication with a respective one of the plurality of channels. The at least one elongate element extends through the opposed apertures.
According to another variation, the at least one elongate element has at least one end adjustably secured to the distal end portion. Adjustment of the at least one elongate element is arranged to change tension in the at least one element.
In another embodiment, an adjustable prosthetic socket system has first and second opposed sides, and includes a socket frame having a first component arranged along a first side of the socket system and a second component arranged along a second side of the socket system. The first component is connected to the second component. A tubular insert is arranged on the interior of the socket frame forming an interior surface of the socket system. At least one tensioning element connects the circumferential insert to at least one of the first component and the second component. At least one tensioner is attached to the at least one tensioning element that draws in and releases the tensioning element to adjust the circumference of at least one area of the socket system. A partial enclosure may laterally extend from each side of the first component.
The adjustable prosthetic socket system may also include a plurality of tensioning element guides arranged longitudinally between the first component and the second component. The at least one tensioner is attached to the second component and the at least one tensioning element connects the plurality of tensioning element guides to the second component. The plurality of tensioning element guides is connected to the tubular insert and the partial enclosure. The first component is an adjustable spine, the second component is a rigid spine, and the tubular insert is flexible.
Other embodiments are presented below in accordance with the description and various drawings.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A novel forward-facing, aft-attached cantilever beam is provided as a latch for securing a fiber optic connector to a receptacle. The beam has engagement structure on its free end which attaches to the receptacle. The connector includes a plug housing formed from a member having a forward end and a rearward end and an axial passageway therethrough through which at least one optical fiber provided in the fiber optic cable extends. The forward end is inserted into the receptacle with the rearward end extending from the receptacle. The cantilevered beam has an end fixed to a rearward portion of the member and its free end extends forwardly toward the forward end of the member. To engage the connector with the receptacle, the free end of the cantilevered beam is biased toward the member and the member is slid into the receptacle. Once fully inserted, the engagement structure on the cantilevered beam engages retention structure in the receptacle. The connector can be released from engagement with the receptacle by biasing the cantilevered beam such that the engagement structure on the beam is released from the retention structure of the receptacle and thereafter pulling the connector out of the receptacle.

The present invention relates generally to connectors preferably for use with fiber optics, and more specifically relates to a novel latch structure for mounting a connector to a receptacle.
Fiber optic technology presents several advantages which cannot be provided by other technologies. For example, fiber optic communication systems provide immunity from electromagnetic interference (EMI), provide virtually unlimited bandwidth, and provide that data can be quickly transferred over long distances.
Typically, connectors are used within optical fiber communication systems. For example, connectors are used to join optical fibers together to form a longer length or to connect an optical fiber to a device. Generally, a connector must provide that the end of one optical fiber becomes axially aligned with the end of another optical fiber. As a result, after the connection is made, all of the light from one optical fiber can travel into the other optical fiber. Because optical fibers are extremely small and because it is important that no data be lost at the point at which two optical fibers are joined, it is important that a connector be able to join two optical fibers with a relatively high amount of accuracy and precision.
Fiber optic connectors are often used in environments where there are many loose and/or hanging wires, such as copper conductor wires or other optical fibers. Examples of such environments include a patch panel, a patch enclosure and an electrical closet. Within environments such as these, it is advantageous to provide a connector which is not prone to entanglement on the wires. Entanglement with wires during connection or disconnection of a connector can provide that the wires become damaged or some portion of the connector becomes damaged.
Fiber optic connectors are also often used in high-traffic environments, such as on a desktop. Using a connector to connect optical fibers within a high-traffic environment requires that the connector be durable enough to withstand the environment.
It is desirable to be able to terminate an optical fiber in the field rather than having to be terminated in the factory into specific lengths of patch cords. By providing that a connector can be terminated in the field, project estimates need not assume much longer fiber optic cables in order to ensure that the cables will be long enough during actual installation.
Of course, it is also desirable to provide a connector where the connector includes as few parts as possible and is relatively inexpensive to produce.
The present invention provides a novel structure for mounting a connector to a receptacle which features and advantages thereof will become apparent upon a reading of the attached specification in combination with a study of the drawings.

Plug housing with attached cantilevered latch for a fiber optic connector


The present disclosure relates to a multi-channel detector having a reduced number of output channels and including: a linear amplifier linearly amplifying an input signal; an offset correcting unit configured by a circuit that is independent from the linear amplifier, including an operational amplifier inside, and correcting an offset level that changes in accordance with an amplification rate of the operational amplifier; a uniformity correcting unit reducing a non-uniform characteristic of the input signal by finely adjusting a gain of an output signal of the linear amplifier; a signal delay unit delaying an output signal of the uniformity correcting unit until a time point when output signals are generated from a comparison unit and a signal determining unit, and a switch circuit receives a trigger from the signal determining unit; a comparison unit comparing the output signal of the uniformity correcting unit with a signal of a predetermined level with each other; a signal determining unit receiving a trigger signal from the comparison unit, determining channel position information of a channel in which an event occurs, transmitting a trigger signal to a switch circuit located at the determined channel position, and outputting the determined position information; and a channel information processing unit receiving energy information, time information, or the channel position information of a channel in which an event occurs as input when a trigger signal is input from the signal determining unit to the switch circuit located at the determined channel position.

A winner take all (WTA) circuit is called by various names such as a winner-take-all circuit, a maximum/minimum value extractor, a maximum/minimum level circuit, and a position determining circuit and is widely used in a various industrial fields such as a multi-channel optical array detector application technology and a logic circuit neural network system.
Circuits developed until now provide only the positions and amplitude of channels having a maximum/minimum voltage value or current value input during a predetermined time by using only a switching function of a transistor. In other words, a capability of determining an accurate time at which a response is generated is not provided. In addition, according to conventional technologies, it is difficult to simultaneously correct an offset error occurring due to a level difference between input voltages and a response position output error and count losses in a situation in which a plurality of input signals having the same magnitude are generated.
Furthermore, a conventional position determining algorithm uses a method in which maximum/minimum of voltage values are divided. However, in an industrial field in which a light source having a specific magnitude is to be detected in a situation in which various light sources are present, it is difficult to use the above-described prior arts. For example, in an industrial field of a light source analysis or the like in which the degree of the occurrence frequency of a light source having a magnitude of 200 mV and a probability distribution of response positions thereof are analyzed in a situation in which various light sources having energy levels of 100, 200, 300, and 400 mV are present, an algorithm capable of detecting only a specific signal level is required.
In addition, in an industrial field in which the position of a response input first is to be acquired from among input signals having a predetermined or higher voltage level, it is difficult to use the above-described prior arts. For example, an algorithm is necessary which can be applied to a situation in which a signal according to a fastest response is to be extracted from among a plurality of input signals in a case where a coincidence event is measured using two detectors as in the case of a PET imaging equipment.

Multichannel detector having a reduced number of output channels

Industry-University Cooperation Foundation Sogang University


Multiple processing stages are provided with different vocabulary databases to improve processing time, efficiency, and accuracy in speech recognition. The entire vocabulary is divided into smaller vocabulary subsets, which are associated with particular keywords. A small vocabulary subset is generated or retrieved based on certain information, such as a calling party""s locality. A user is prompted to provide input information, such as the locality in which a business whose phone number is requested is located, in the form of a spoken utterance to the system. If the utterance matches one of the entries in the initial small vocabulary subset, then the utterance is considered to be recognizable. If the utterance is not recognizable when compared to the initial small vocabulary subset, then the utterance is stored for later use. The user is then prompted for a keyword related to another subset of words in which his initial utterance may be found. A vocabulary subset associated with the received keyword is generated or retrieved. The initial stored utterance is then retrieved and compared to the newly loaded vocabulary subset. If the utterance matches one of the entries in the newly loaded vocabulary subset, then the utterance is recognizable. Otherwise, it is determined that the initial utterance was unrecognizable, and the user is prompted to repeat the initial utterance.

The present invention relates in general to speech recognition and, more particularly, to interactive speech applications for use in automated assistance systems.
Pattern recognition generally, and recognition of patterns in continuous signals such as speech signals, has been a rapidly developing field. A limitation in many applications has been the cost of providing sufficient processing power for the complex calculations often required. This is particularly the case in speech recognition, all the more so when real-time response is required, for example to enable automated directory inquiry assistance, or for control operations based on speech input. Information can be gathered from callers and/or provided to callers, and callers can be connected to appropriate parties within a telephone system. To simulate the speed of response of a human operator, and thus avoid a perception of xe2x80x9cunnaturalxe2x80x9d delays, which can be disconcerting, the spoken input needs to be recognized very quickly after the end of the spoken input.
The computational load varies directly with the number of words or other elements of speech (also referred to as xe2x80x9corthographiesxe2x80x9d), which are modeled and held in a dictionary database, for comparison to the spoken input. The number of orthographies is also known as the size of vocabulary of the system. The computational load also varies according to the complexity of the models in the dictionary, and how the speech input is processed into a representation ready for the comparison to the models. Also, the actual algorithm for carrying out the comparison is a factor.
Numerous attempts have been made over many years to improve the trade off between computational load, accuracy of recognition, and speed of recognition. Depending on the size of vocabularies used, and the size of each model, both the memory requirements and the number of calculations required for each recognition decision may limit the speed/accuracy/cost trade off. For useable systems having a tolerable recognition accuracy, the computational demands are high. Despite continuous refinements to models, speech input representations, and recognition algorithms, and advances in processing hardware, there remains great demand to improve the above mentioned trade off, especially in large vocabulary systems, such as those having greater than 100,000 words.
The present invention is directed to a system and method for speech recognition using multiple processing stages that use different vocabulary databases to improve processing time, efficiency, and accuracy in speech recognition. The entire vocabulary is divided into smaller vocabulary subsets, which are associated with particular keywords. A small vocabulary subset is generated or retrieved based on certain information, such as a calling party""s locality. A user is prompted to provide input information, such as the locality in which a business whose phone number is requested is located, in the form of a spoken utterance to the system. If the utterance matches one of the entries in the initial small vocabulary subset, then the utterance is considered to be recognizable. If the utterance is not recognizable when compared to the initial small vocabulary subset, then the utterance is stored for later use. The user is then prompted for a keyword related to another subset of words in which his initial utterance may be found. A vocabulary subset associated with the received keyword is generated or retrieved. The initial stored utterance is then retrieved and compared to the newly loaded vocabulary subset. If the utterance matches one of the entries in the newly loaded vocabulary subset, then the utterance is recognizable. Otherwise, it is determined that the initial utterance was unrecognizable, and the user is prompted to repeat the initial utterance.
The foregoing and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Multi-stage large vocabulary speech recognition system and method

BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation


An apparatus includes a first oscillator circuit coupled to a first electrode and a second oscillator circuit coupled to a second electrode. The first and second oscillator circuits oscillate synchronously in response to a capacitance between the first and second electrodes being greater than or equal to a threshold coupling capacitance and asynchronously in response to the capacitance being less than the threshold coupling capacitance. The first and second electrodes are separated by a distance, such that a disturbance within the distance increases the capacitance between the electrodes equal to or above the threshold coupling capacitance. The frequency of the first oscillator circuit is inversely proportional to a capacitance of the first electrode, and the frequency of the second oscillator circuit is inversely proportional to a capacitance of the second electrode.

Many capacitive sensing systems do not directly measure capacitance and instead indirectly determine capacitance based on measured changes in the charge on electrodes. However, the electric field and relative charge of electrodes can be influenced by interfering electric fields, stress on the electrodes, touch or other disturbances, temperature, humidity, and the like, and these types of capacitive sensing systems may not distinguish between environmental and capacitive changes to the charge on the electrodes. Further, a capacitive sensing system will not recognize any change in capacitance if the electrodes carry the same electric potential.
Measurement of charge on electrodes rather than capacitance forces the capacitive sensing system to calculate long term and short term averages in order to differentiate between fast and slow changes in the charge on the electrodes. Fast changes in the charge on the electrodes may result from a disturbance of the capacitive sensing system. Slow changes in the charge on the electrodes may result from a change in capacitance or from a change in environmental conditions such as temperature or humidity. The ongoing calculations and comparisons to a predetermined threshold are computationally expensive and increase the amount of necessary code to filter out disturbances to the capacitive sensing system.

Direct capacitance measurement based capacitive disturbance detection system


A shutter for sealing a flow-off orifice of charging lock for charging a shaft furnace is disclosed. The shutter includes a soft peripheral gasket and is movable between a closed position, in which the gasket is laid against an annular seal surrounding a passage orifice, and an open position in which the gasket is set apart from the passage orifice. In order to reduce the thermal stresses on the gasket, the seat has an internal channel connected to a circuit of a temperature regulating fluid.

Shaft furnaces, especially blast furnaces, are charged via a lock which is alternatively put in communication with the atmosphere during its filling and with the interior of the furnace during the flow-off of the charging material. For this purpose, the flow-off orifice and the charging orifice of the lock are equipped with sealing shutters. A sealing shutter typically includes a soft peripheral gasket and is movable between a first position, wherein the gasket is laid against an annular seat surrounding the charging orifice, and a second position wherein the gasket is set apart from the annular seat. A flow-off orifice sealing shutter is necessarily exposed to the high temperatures prevailing inside the furnace. These high temperatures quickly subject the gasket of such a shutter to fatigue, particularly because these gaskets are made of a soft material which is relatively vulnerable to mechanical wear and which consequently has to be replaced frequently.
Moreover, when, depending on the operation of the furnace, the temperature in the chamber is low and the seat is cooled below the condensation point of the hot wet gases, the moisture of these condenses on the seat, thus causing the deposit of dust which forms a crust there when the temperature rises again. These crusts reduce the sealing effect and accelerate the wear of the gaskets. U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,946, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, has proposed reducing this risk of the formation of a crust on the seat by heating it by means of an electrical resistor. Nevertheless, this measure does not make it possible to solve the problem of the overheating of the gasket and also does not protect it in its open position.


A rocker switch having a housing and a rocker extending from the housing. The rocker has a first side with a first end and a second end, a second side adjacent to the first side, and a channel. The channel is disposed on the second side of the rocker and has a first end and a second end. A pivot point is disposed on a crank. A pin, disposed on the crank, is located in a first side of the channel. The depression of the first end of the rocker causes a rotational movement of the channel in a curvilinear path around the pivot point, causing a rotational movement of the crank, moving the pin from the first end of the channel toward the second end of the channel.

A rocker switch provides a discrete on/off switch that allows a user to easily determine if the switch is active or not. In an off position, a rocker switch prevents any flow of electricity, or the flow of an electric signal. When the user of the switch activates the rocker switch, a connection is made allowing for the flow of electricity, or of an electric signal. Rocker switches have many applications; common applications include light switches, general power switches, and switches in circuit breakers.
During operation of a rocker switch, any activation, or deactivation of the switch, by moving the rocker, causes a mechanical movement inside of the housing. When the user activates the switch, the portion of the switch (the rocker) that is outside of the housing is moved. The rocker is connected to a pin, which causes a subsequent movement inside of the housing, either completing or disconnecting a circuit (activating or deactivating the switch).
Rocker switches are used in a variety of applications; however, the specific placement of a rocker switch depends greatly on the overall size of the switch housing, and the size of the portion of the switch that is external to the housing. The size of the housing of the rocker switch limits the placement of the switch, as the housing needs sufficient space to be perpendicularly inserted into the device. Additionally, a switch mechanism that requires a large switch housing may also require a larger portion of the switch to be external to the housing. This creates two problems for the manufacturers of devices that use the switch. First, a larger external portion makes it easier for the switch to be accidentally activated or deactivated. This is especially an issue where the user's hand is regularly near the switch, such as when the switch is used in a circuit breaker near other switches. A large external portion is cumbersome, and may cause the person interacting with the circuit breaker to accidentally activate or deactivate a switch. This presents a significant problem as the user may accidentally activate a switch that controls the flow of electricity where another individual may be working, or accidentally deactivate a switch that controls the flow of electricity to a critical component.
The second problem with a switch with a large external portion is that it is not aesthetically pleasing. This limits the use to devices that do not rely on aesthetics when designing the device. Such a limitation prohibits the use of rocker switches in a large number of devices.
Prior art rocker switches, such as the switch 900 in FIG. 9, are complicated, and relatively costly to manufacture. The housing is bulky, requiring a minimum of three separate components to form the housing around the internal components of the switch, and the rocker switch requires a large rocker to function. The housing requires a top portion 960 to create a pivot point for the rocker (this top portion is eliminated by the present invention). To mechanically open or close the circuit, the rocker contains a channel 920 allowing free movement of a pin 915 within the channel. A pin 915 is held inside of the channel 920, which extends from the middle of the rocker. The depression of the rocker causes the pin 915 to move in an inverse arc direction with respect to the pivot point of the crank, and slide within channel 920, which is always oriented radially relative to the pivot point of the rocker 965. The inverse arc movement of the pin 915 causes a lateral movement in the crank, which opens or closes the circuit. Because the pin 915 is only capable of moving in an inverse arc with respect to the pivot point of the crank, and the channel 920 of the switch must be located directly beneath the rocker and is always radial with respect to the pivot point of the rocker 965, the external portion of the switch needs to be large enough to accommodate this placement, and the limited movement of the pin 915. Additionally, as the pin 915 only moves in an inverse arc motion with respect to the pivot point of the crank, the housing needs to be substantially large as the connection between the pin 915 to the crank requires a large space to translate the inverse arc motion of the pin 915 in one direction to a lateral motion of the crank in a substantially perpendicular direction. Finally, as the depression of the switch causes the inverse arc movement of the pin 915, the open position of the switch requires the external portion of the switch to be on the opposite side as that of the pin 915 so that when the external portion is depressed, the circular movement of the external portion, housed inside of the housing, causes a forward (arc) movement of the pin 915.
What is desired, therefore, is a rocker switch with a mechanism that allows for a substantial reduction in size, eliminates components, and is less expensive to manufacture as compared to prior art rocker switches.


A housing (2) has an upper portion engaged with a cylindrical stopper member (20) in screw-thread fitting so as to be able to vertically advance and retract the stopper member (20). The stopper member (20) has an outer thread (20a) engaged with a nut member (21) and has an inner thread (20b) engaged with a thrust screw member (23) each in screw-thread fitting. The stopper member (20) has a stopping portion (A) which prevents the downward movement of the intermediate transmission member (25) connected to the thrust screw member (23) over a predetermined distance. This inhibits a metal diaphragm (12) from being excessively pushed to a valve seat (15). When further moving the diaphragm (12) for valve closing, the nut member (21) is loosened and at the same time the stopper member (20) is advanced downwards to thereby define a gap between a receiving portion (B) of the intermediate transmission member (25) and the stopping portion (A).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manually opened and closed stop valve.
2. Description of the Related Art
The manually opened and closed stop valve of this type is adapted to bring a closure member into closing contact with a valve seat by a thrust of a thrust screw member, which results from advancing the thrust screw member to a housing through a tightening rotation of a handle.
However, when the handle is excessively tightened by mistake, the thrust screw member produces an overmuch thrust, which excessively pushes the closure member to the valve seat. This causes either or both of the valve seat and the closure member to make plastic deformation, which results in a likelihood of worsening the shut-off efficiency of the stop valve.
In order to prevent the foregoing excessive tightening, it is considered to prohibit the thrust screw member from further moving in a direction for valve closing over a predetermined distance, by a stopper fixed within the housing.
In this case, however, there are produced the following new problems.
For any reason, a foreign matter may bite into a space between the closure member and the valve seat. Or if the opening and closing operation is repeatedly conducted, it causes a sealing surface of the valve seat to wear off too much. In these cases, the closure member needs to be brought into closing contact with the valve seat more strongly.
However, as mentioned above, provided that the stopper prohibits the thrust screw member from further moving for valve closing over the predetermined distance, it is impossible to conduct further extra-tightening, which results in failing to satisfy the above-mentioned need.


A casing structure including a frame having a capacity space and a fastener at a side of the capacity space that an electronic unit assembled therein, a first linking member slidably coupled to the frame, and a second linking member pivoted to the frame having a first and a second end is provided. The first end is linked to the first linking member and the second end faces to the electronic unit in the space. The electronic unit is locked by the fastener in assembling mode and the first linking member is located at a first position to block the fastener from releasing the electronic unit. The first linking member is forced to move out of the first position and drive the second linking member to rotate relative to the frame, such that the second end pushes the electronic unit to be released from the fastener in disassembling mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a casing structure, and more particularly, to a casing structure of an electronic device.
2. Description of Related Art
In present days, a removable electronic unit such as a removable power supply, a removable hard disk or a removable fan has been widely applied in systems including a network attached storage, an industry computer, a server, a disk array or a communication apparatus, so as to provide a sufficient and constant power or a data storage capacity which may be easily managed. The removable electronic unit is also removable based on demands in usages, so as to facilitate a user in replacement, expansion or maintenance.
However, the removable electronic unit nowadays is usually fixed in a casing structure by using screws. In case the replacement is required, the screws need to be removed before the electronic unit may be fetched, and the screws may only be fixed back on after the replacement is completed. Accordingly, besides that a time required for the expansion and the maintenance may be increased, members such as the screws are prone to loss or damage when not in use or during installation or disassembling process. Therefore, there is still rooms for improving a fixing method that fixes the removable electronic unit with the casing structure. In view of above, the invention is intended to provide a casing structure and an electronic unit which are easy to install and disassemble.

Casing structure and electronic device using the same

Cal-Comp Electronics & Communications Company Limited


The invention relates to a method for carrying out the imaging processing of data sets of three-dimensional characters obtained from medical examination methods. According to the invention, a separation of the data of relevant anatomic structures as well as of other structures is carried out based on data provided in the form of volume elements. In addition, a spatial representation of at least one structure of interest ensues, and the individual objects of the structure of interest are separated from one another in such a manner that enables them to be repositioned in the spatial representation.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a method, a device and a software product for the medical image processing of datasets of a three-dimensional character acquired from medical examination procedures, of the type wherein a separation of the data of relevant anatomical structures as well as of other structures is undertaken proceeding from data in the form of volume element, and a spatial presentation of at least one structure of interest ensues.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The human ability to conceptualize quickly reaches it limits in the spatial interpretation of the information from X-ray exposures or from tomograms as acquired with modern tomographic methods. Modern methods of medical image processing therefore convert the information of a three-dimensional character acquired in medical examinations into spatial impressions of the inside of the body. In general, however, it is not adequate to merely convey a spatial impression of the displayed body region to the medical practitioner. For preparing a reliable diagnosis or for planning a therapeutic measure or a surgical intervention, however, the medical practitioner needs a reduction of the displayed data to what is essential to the practitioner. In other words, the subject of the practitioner's interest must clearly contrast with the environment having only secondary informational content. A number of methods were developed for this purpose that enable an allocation of individual measure values to relevant anatomical structures such as, for example, nerves or fat tissue, bones or tissue equivalent to muscle, as well as to non-anatomical structures such as, for example, foreign bodies. These methods are referred to as segmenting and form the pre-condition allowing a medical practitioner to view, for example, the bone structure of a patient at the picture screen isolated from other tissues.
For planning a surgical intervention, for example after an accident resulting in a complicated fracture, however, this form of presentation of the examination results is often inadequate since although it reflects the actual condition of the structure of interest it does not allow a manipulation of the data with respect to measures to be undertaken; the individual subjects within each and every structure remain fixed in their geometrical arrangement relative to one another in known segmenting methods. The preparation for an intervention to treat a complex multiple fracture therefore requires an enormous mental effort on the part of the orthopedist since he or she cannot verify the allocation of the various fracture surfaces and thus bone fragments to one another at the picture screen.
"Fast Visualization, Manipulation, and Analysis of Binary Volumetric Objects", IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, November 1991, pages 53-62, proposes a method for splitting an anatomical structure into two components along a plane to be arbitrarily defined. The separated components can be repositioned in space independently of the original structure.
In "Simulating Motion of Anatomical Objects with Volume-Based 3D-Visualization", R. A. Robb (Editor): Visualization in Biomedical Computing, Proc. SPIE 2359, 1994, pages 291-300, B. Plesser, U. Thiede and K. H. Höhne propose the division of an anatomical subject into partial subjects that can be subsequently converted into a new spatial arrangement.

Method, device and software for separating the individual subjects of an anatomical structure segmented from 3D datasets of medical examination procedures


A process for the above ground extraction of crude oil from a solid, oil bearing material. In the process includes the step (a) of mixing a solid, crude oil-bearing material with a solvent to reduce the size of the solid, oil-bearing material and release crude oil into the solvent, step (b) of adding water to the size reduced solid and solvent mixture of step (a) to yield a mixture of crude oil+solvent+water+sized reduced solids, step (c) of passing the mixture of crude oil+solvent+water+sized reduced solids from step (b) through a cyclone separator to remove residual solids and to yield crude oil+solvent; and step (d) of passing the crude oil+solvent mixture of step (c) through a solvent stripper to remove solvent from the crude oil and to yield substantially solids and solvent free crude oil.

It is known that many hydrocarbon reserves currently available are represented by oil sands, oil rocks, oil shales, and diatomaceous formations containing the so-called non-conventional oils, i.e. extra heavy oils or tars. Non-conventional oils have an extremely high density (lower than 10° API (American Petroleum Institute)) and a very high viscosity (higher than 10,000 cps) and, consequently, do not flow spontaneously under the reservoir conditions. Their exploitation is therefore linked to intrinsically high costs for the mining and production set-up of the reservoirs which must be assisted by the application of costly technologies. Mining and production set-up technologies of these reservoirs and for the extraction of said non-conventional oils are known in the art.
The prior art has many examples of using solvents to extract crude oil from diatomite. A large number of these processes attempt to treat the diatomite rock in situ or in place. However, since these methods have first come into practice, there have been new discoveries about the impact of injecting solvents underground what can have a serious effect on water supplies, particularly those closer to the surface. It is no longer considered environmentally safe to inject solvents like turpentine and naphtha underground under pressure to recover oil let alone using heat and steam to make the solvent hot underground. Too much of the solvent is left in the ground and can potentially enter the water supply. Thus, all prior art using this method is no longer a viable option for oil extraction from diatomite.
Other prior art methods took diatomite material that had hydrocarbons trapped within it and made pellets or solids on the surface and then extracted the hydrocarbons using devices including centrifugal extractors. Although effective at oil removal, it was very expensive to mold tons of diatomite ore into pellets. To make the pellets mechanically stable required substantial pressure. The higher in pressure the diatomite was exposed to the lower the pore sizes and the lower the recovery rate of oil. In addition to high capital costs, typical systems using this approach had to deal with oil recoveries ranging from 70% to 85% of the total amount of oil present in the diatomite. Substantial solvent material was left in the pellets, which makes them hazardous to handle. Replacing the pellets underground left water supplies once again exposed to possible solvent contamination and a risk of long term leaching of solvent and oil into the ground and surrounding aquifers.
Another prior art method heated the diatomite formations or injected high pressure steam to raise the temperature sufficiently to get flow of oil in situ and then attempt recovery underground, separating oil and condensed water at the surface. This method did not address the replacement of large volumes of materials removed from underground and was prone to issues of subsidence and long term leaching of low boiling point components coming from the diatomite. Attempts to reinject water to replace the lost oil volumes were unpredictable and in general may have led to long term subsidence in these zones.
Non-conventional oils can also be extracted, for example, by strip mining, a process which requires the use of excavation and transport machinery which allow mining on different quarry faces. In this case, the mining is carried out by the recession of a single step (or quarry face), or stripping by descending horizontal sections. Strip mining is also used for reservoirs situated at a few tens of meters of depth. The material obtained by strip mining is normally subjected to grinding in order to break the physicochemical bonds between its constituents and to limit the cohesion between them, and, at the same time, to increase the overall effective surface, meaning the surface of said material which will be subsequently exposed to the action of the extraction solvent. In this way, stony rock (e.g., quartz sandstone with slightly cemented bitumen) becomes loose rock, or "earth." This grinding is normally carried out at a temperature (generally lower than or equal to 150° C.) which does not cause aggregation phenomena of the bituminous substance present in said material, and allows particles (i.e., tailings) to be obtained, having the particle size of sand (<2 mm). Hot water is added to the particles thus obtained, together with optional chemical additives in order to form a slurry, which is subsequently fed to an oils extraction plant, where it is subjected to stirring. The combined action of hot water and stirring causes the adhesion of small air bubbles to the oils, forming a bitumen froth which rises to the surface and can be recovered. The remaining part can be further treated to remove the residual water and the oil sand. The oils thus extracted, which are heavier than conventional oils, can be subsequently mixed with lighter oil (liquid or gas), or they can be chemically separated and subsequently upgraded for producing synthetic crude oil.
The above process is in extremely widespread use and is diversified and is normally applied to the oil sands of Western Canada, where they emerge at surface level, or can be found at a few tens of meters of depth. In these contexts, the production of a barrel of oil requires the treatment of about two tons of oil sand, with a recovery yield of the oils from the formation equal to about 75%, said yield being calculated with respect to the total quantity of the oils present in said formation. The tailings, or particles already treated, which contain a hydrocarbon fraction which has not been removed, can be further treated until a recovery yield of said oils equal to about 90% has been reached. This process, however, cannot be used in the case of reservoirs situated at greater depths. In such cases, in situ technologies are generally applied, which are mainly aimed at reducing the oil viscosity in the reservoir, situated at a depth ranging from a few tens to thousands of meters, by the introduction of vapor, solvents and/or hot air. The extraction can be carried out, for example, by means of the cold flow process (Cold Heavy Oil Production with Sand—CHOPS) which allows the recovery of oils by pumping them directly from the sand reservoir. When the oils, even if extremely dense, are in any case able to flow, they are pumped using progressive cavity pumps.
The CHOPS process is commonly used in the reservoirs of Venezuela and Western Canada. While the CHOPS process has the advantage of being economical, a major disadvantage is a low recovery yield of oils that is equal to about 5%-6% with respect to the total quantity of the oils present in the reservoir. By removing the filters which prevent the fine particles from flowing from the reservoir towards the surface, the production of sand associated with the oils increases considerably causing the formation of winding ducts in the subsoil and allowing an increase in the oil recovery factor (recovery yield equal to about 10% with respect to the total quantity of the oils present in the reservoir).
Another known in situ process is Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS). The CSS process, also known as "huff-and-puff", is based on the cyclic introduction of high-temperature (300° C. to 400° C.) steam into the reservoir, for prolonged periods (from weeks to months), to allow the vapor to heat the mineralized formation and to fluidify the oils which can thus be recovered at the surface. The CSS process, widely used in Canada, can be repeated several times on the basis of technical and economic verifications. Although it allows a good recovery of the oils, with a recovery yield equal to about 35%-40% with respect to the total quantity of the oils present in the reservoir, the CSS process is disadvantageous from an economical point of view as it has high running costs.
Another known in situ process is Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD). The development of directed drilling techniques has allowed the SAGD process to be developed, which is based on the drilling of two or more horizontal wells at a few meters of distance in vertical with respect to each other and with an extension of kilometers with different azimuths. Steam is introduced into the upper well. The heat lowers the crude's viscosity, allowing the oil which accumulates by gravity in the lower well, to be collected and pumped to the surface.
The SAGD process, which can also be applied to the mineral mining of shallow reservoirs, is more economical that the Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS) process and leads to a good oil recovery yield, with yield being equal to about 60% with respect to the total quantity of the oils present in the reservoir.
Another known in situ process is the Vapor Extraction Process (VAPEX). The VAPEX process is similar to the Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) process, but hydrocarbon solvents are introduced into the reservoirs instead of steam, obtaining a better extraction efficiency and favoring a partial upgrading of the oils already inside the reservoir. The solvents are costly, however, and have a considerable impact on both the environment and safety of the work site (e.g., risks of fires and/or explosions).
A further known in situ process is Oil Sand Underground Mining (OSUM). Most of the tar oil reservoirs of Western Canada and almost all of those in Venezuela are situated at such depths that the application of strip mining is not economical. This technique is sometimes also applied to reservoirs situated at depths lower than 50 m. The OSUM processes, however, can have various drawbacks. For example, the OSUM process requires the use of large quantities of water which is only partly recycled and must therefore be subjected to further treatments before being disposed of. In the case of Western Canada, for example, the volume of water necessary for producing a single barrel of synthetic crude oil—SCO, is equal to 2 to 4.5 times the volume of oil produced. Furthermore, these processes are generally characterized by a low extraction yield.
Attempts have been made in the art to overcome the above drawbacks. European patent application EP 261,794, for example, describes a process for the recovery of heavy crude oil from tar sand which comprises treating said tar sand with an emulsion of a solvent in water characterized in that the emulsion contains from 0.5% to 15% by volume of solvent. Solvents which can be used for the purpose comprise hydrocarbons such as, for example, hexane, heptane, decane, dodecane, cyclohexane, toluene, and halogenated hydrocarbons such as, for example, carbon tetrachloride, dichloromethane.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,112 describes a process and apparatus for the extraction with solvent of tar oils from oil sands and their separation into synthetic crude oil and synthetic fuel oil which comprises mixing the oil sands with hot water to form a slurry together with the solvent (e.g., toluene), subjecting said slurry to separation so as to obtain a phase comprising solvent and dissolved tar oils and a phase comprising solid material deriving from said oil sands, separating the tar oils from the solvent, putting the tar oils thus obtained in contact with an extraction agent (e.g., methyl butyl ketone) in order to separate the tar oils into synthetic crude oil and synthetic fuel oil, recovering and re-using the solvent, water and extraction agent in the process.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,971 describes a process for the separate recovery of oils on the one hand and of asphaltenes and polar compounds on the other, from oil sands which comprises cooling the oil sands to a temperature ranging from −10° C. to −180° C. at which said sands behave like a solid material, grinding said solid material at said temperature to obtain relatively gross particles containing most of the sand and oil and relatively fine particles containing most of the asphaltenes and polar compounds, and mechanically separating the relatively gross particles from the relatively fine particles at said temperatures. The relatively gross particles are subjected to extraction with a solvent (e.g., pentane, hexane, butane, propane) at a temperature ranging from about −30° C. to about −70° C., in order to recover the oil. Such relatively fine particles are subject to extraction with a solvent (e.g., pentane, hexane, butane, propane) at a temperature ranging from about −30° C. to about −70° C., in order to recover the asphaltenes and the polar compounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,782 describes a process for the recovery of tar from oil sand which comprises putting the oil sand in contact with about 0.4 pounds to about 4 pounds of a hydrocarbon solvent (e.g., paraffins having from 4 to 9 carbon atoms, for example n-heptane) in order to form a slurry including solvent rich in tar and sand free of tar; adding over 0.5 pounds of water per pound of oil sand to the slurry, at a temperature ranging from about 100° F. to about 5° F. below the boiling point of the azeotropic mixture formed by the water and solvent, so as to form a mixture comprising solvent rich in tar, sand free of tar and water; introducing the mixture into a separator container; separating the solvent rich in tar from the mixture thus leaving water and a slurry comprising sand free of tar and residual quantities of solvent; stripping the residual solvent from the sand free of tar, and separating the tar from the solvent rich in tar.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,920,637 Massetti et al. discloses a process for recovering of oils from a solid matrix that comprises subjecting the solid matrix to extraction by mixing with at least one organic solvent having a boiling point lower than or equal to 160° C., operating at a temperature ranging from 5° C. to 40° C. and at atmospheric pressure (1 atm), obtaining a solid-liquid mixture, subjecting said solid-liquid mixture to separation, obtaining a liquid phase comprising the oils and the organic solvent and a solid phase comprising said solid matrix, and recovering said organic solvent from said liquid phase.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,984 to Guerre discloses a process for recovery of oil from oil-bearing limestone by separating the rock into a low-density fraction (which bears a high concentration of oil) and a high-density fraction (which bears a low concentration of oil), contacting only the low-density fraction with an organic solvent in an extraction zone thereby extracting the oil from the low-density fraction, and recovering the extracted oil from the organic solvent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,110,194 to Peterson et al. discloses a process for and apparatus for extracting bituminous oil from tar sands wherein puts tar sands are put into finely divided form, preferably by pressing them into sheets and flaking the sheets. The flakes are mixed with a solvent for the contained oils for a time sufficient to extract the oils. The resulting slurry is introduced beneath the surface of a body of water and the solids are allowed to settle, while the solvent containing the oil rises to the top to form a liquid phase above the surface of the body of water. The wet solids and the oil-containing solvent are separately removed. After the oil is recovered from the solvent, as by fractional distillation, the solvent is recycled in the process, which is preferably carried on as a continuous operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,926,494 to Whitezell et al. discloses a method for recovering hydrocarbons from resources comprising diatomite that uses solvent to remove crude oil from a water slurry with diatomaceous earth and then removing the solvent with distillation.
Some of the inventors herein, also co-inventors on U.S. Pat. No. 10,160,914 for a process and system for above ground crude oil extraction, discloses use of centrifugation to extract oil from a mixture of crude oil, water and solids.
The processes described above, however, also have various drawbacks such as, for example: the use of water which, also in this case, as only a small part of it is recycled, must be treated before disposal; a high energy consumption (e.g., heat); the high content of fine particles having a particle size lower than or equal to 65 micron present in the oils extracted which therefore require further purification treatments before being subjected to upgrading.
The above prior art methods do not provide low cost and environmentally benign approaches to oil recovery from diatomite/clay formations. Furthermore, any process using high pressure high temperature solvents injected underground is potentially hazardous to operate and leaves a high risk of water contamination and long-term exposure of work crews in those fields to solvent vapors.
Thus, a better method is needed for oil recovery that is environmentally responsible and relatively low in capital and operating expense. Environmental impact needs to be addressed including how to replace the missing solids and liquids to leave behind a safe, stable underground structure with only minor impact to surface land.

Process and system for the above ground extraction of crude oil from oil bearing materials


A control system or module and a method are disclosed to maximize the current flow from a solar panel into the battery connected during the solar panel's operation by first tracking an output of the solar panel in determining a maximum power point of the output at a specific instance, identifying a range about the maximum power point, and adjusting a current level of the output by (i) increasing the current level of the output when a voltage level of the output indicates that the voltage level is above a maximum charge voltage of a battery, and (ii) decreasing the current level of the output when the voltage level of the output indicates that the voltage level is below a minimum charge voltage of the battery.

It is known in the art that a solar panel's operating point (voltage and current) may be decided by an electronic circuit called a maximum power point tracker ("MPPT") to keep the power level of an output of the solar panel to reach a maximum. This operating point of the solar panel is called maximum power point ("MPP"). Currently, a solar panel having MPPT would adjust the solar panel to operate at MPP to charge a battery. However, operating the panel at MPP does not guarantee maximum current flow into the battery connected when charging the battery (e.g., during a "bulk charging" mode), which in turn minimizes the time needed for charging a battery to full capacity.
More specifically, different types of batteries come with different impedance characteristics that may affect the current flow from a solar panel into a connected battery. Each type of battery also has its unique minimum charge voltage, maximum charge voltage, minimum charge current, and maximum charge current. Similarly, the charging status of a battery can affect the voltage level required for charging the battery. Moreover, as ambient temperature changes and/or sunlight condition varies, MPP can drift so that the solar panel produces an output at a different power level. Therefore, it is desirable to employ a control system that monitors and adjusts the current and voltage level of the solar panel's output to maximize the current flow from the solar panel into the battery connected in response to different variables including, for example, different types of battery, the charging status of the battery, temperature of the panel, or sunlight condition (often measured in irradiance).
Further, in conventional approaches, when the voltage level on the solar panels drops to a level that it is unable to provide sufficient minimum charge voltage as required to charge the battery, the energy generated by the panel is lost. Therefore, it is also desirable to provide a mechanism in the solar panel system to enable a boost to the voltage level of the panel's output so that the battery can be charged even in low light conditions. This enables an extension of the energy harvesting period of the solar panel when the panel is experiencing low light conditions such as dusk, dawn or clouds.

Method and apparatus for controlling a solar panel output in charging a battery


A mobile device is provided that includes at least one sensor that provides contextual information to the device. When the mobile device receives an incoming message, or notification, the device responds thereto based at least in part upon the contextual information.

The present invention relates to mobile devices, and more particularly to mobile phones.
Mobile phones have become ubiquitous communication devices, but they often employ naive alerting policies that can transform them into nuisances. In particular, mobile phones are typically unaware of how they are being used. Thus, they may act in a way that is disruptive of others, and/or embarrassing to the user. While many mobile phones do support profiles that allow the user to manually set an appropriate response for different contexts, the user must still remember to switch to the correct profile when an old profile is no longer relevant, or even appropriate for future contexts. For example, a mobile device user attending a function in a quiet auditorium might forget to select the "silent/meeting" mode on the device, only to be reminded of this fact when the device receives an incoming call and announces itself to the entire auditorium. Conversely, a mobile device erroneously left in a "meeting" profile may lead to missed calls in a subsequent noisy outdoor context.
In addition to the current need to ameliorate the "nuisance" of mobile phones, there is an additional need to allow such devices to interact with users in a more intuitive fashion. This allows users to take advantage of more-sophisticated device functions with relative ease. Mobile phones that can recognize, and appropriately respond to the intuitive actions that users customarily provide would simplify operation and facilitate user acceptance.

Mobile phone operation based upon context sensing


An apparatus for testing wafer-level semiconductor devices, in particular memory chips in which a tunable light source radiates energy onto the semiconductor devices. The tunable light source is constructed to adjust the radiated light to a specific wavelength and to a specific intensity and to project the light for a predetermined time. When the semiconductor devices are irradiated with the light, electrons in defective ones of the semiconductor devices, in which a distance between a valence band and a conduction band has a lower value as compared with that of defect-free ones of the semiconductor devices, can be transferred into the conduction band from the valence band. These defective or xe2x80x9cpoorxe2x80x9d semiconductor devices can thus be separated out.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for testing semiconductor devices in order to find defective semiconductor devices in which the distance between the valence band and the conduction band in a defective semiconductor device is lower when compared with that of a defect-free semiconductor device.
Semiconductor devices such as, in particular, volatile and non-volatile memory chips, are presently tested at the wafer level in order to find defective semiconductor devices, such as, for example, memory cell transistors having so-called soft defects. These soft defects may be features of the semiconductor devices such as excessively high leakage currents, excessively low threshold voltages, etc.
As an example of semiconductor devices, wafer-level memory chips have previously been tested, in which the memory chips are subjected to disturbance cycles at an elevated temperature. First the memory chips are written to and then the temperature of the memory chips is increased. Finally, the memory chips are read at the elevated temperature.
During this procedure, the temperature increase causes an increase in the leakage currents and, consequently, a decrease in the retention time of the memory chips in order to be able to separate out from the latter those memory chips which have proved to be defective because of this xe2x80x9caging treatmentxe2x80x9d.
The above procedure has a disadvantage in that relatively long waiting times have to be observed for changing the temperature of the semiconductor chips. These long waiting times cause long test times, which result in a costly overall test program. Moreover, it must be remembered that different semiconductor devices require different temperature ranges for testing, which in turn necessitates different equipment for the corresponding test apparatuses.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an apparatus for testing semiconductor devices which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantageous of the prior art apparatus and methods of this general type. In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus for testing semiconductor devices in which it is not necessary to wait for temperature changes so that long waiting times can be avoided, and in which, moreover, there is no need to make complicated changes to the equipment when testing different semiconductor devices.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention an apparatus for testing semiconductor devices to find defective semiconductor devices in which a distance between a valence band and a conduction band has a lower value as compared with that of defect-free semiconductor devices. The apparatus includes a tunable light source for projecting light onto semiconductor devices. The tunable light source is constructed to adjust the light to a specific wavelength and to a specific intensity and to project the light for a predetermined time so that when the semiconductor devices are irradiated with the light, electrons in defective ones of the semiconductor devices can be transferred into the conduction band from the valence band. In the defective ones of the semiconductor devices, the distance between the valence band and the conduction band has a lower value as compared with that of defect-free ones of the semiconductor devices.
In other words, the object of the invention is achieved by providing a tunable light source, which can project light onto the semiconductor devices. This light in each case is of a specific wavelength and a specific intensity for a respectively predetermined time so that when the semiconductor devices are irradiated with the light, electrons can be transferred into the respective conduction band from the valence bands that are located an excessively small distance away from the conduction band.
Thus, instead of temperature changes for finding memory cells having an increased leakage current potential, the apparatus according to the invention uses, during their test, the action of radiation energy emitted by a tunable light source. The wavelength of the light radiated by the light source enables direct setting of the energy that an electron in the semiconductor device receives in order to pass from the valence band into the conduction band. This energy is too small in the case of defective semiconductor devices. Since this jumping of the electrons from the valence band into the conduction band takes place practically instantaneously, long waiting times which inevitably occur in the case of temperature changes are obviated. Furthermore, because of the use of the tunable light source, there is no need to change or exchange the equipment, since the energy radiated by the light source or the wavelength of the light emitted by the light source can readily be adapted to the distance between valence band and conduction band, which distance is too small in the case of xe2x80x9cpoorxe2x80x9d semiconductor devices.
If the energy E required for transferring an electron from the valence band into the conduction band, which is too small in the case of xe2x80x9cpoorxe2x80x9d semiconductor devices, is 2.5 eV, for example, then a value of 497 nm is produced for the wavelength xcex with the aid of the known equations E=h*f and c=xcex*f (h=Planck""s constant; f=frequency of the radiated light; c=speed of light).
What is essential to the apparatus according to the invention, then, is the generation of a disturbance quantity by irradiating the semiconductor devices with a light source whose color temperature can be regulated in a continuously variable manner. In other words, a light source is used in which the wavelength of the radiated light can be preset. As a result, it is possible to directly set the energy which acts on the semiconductor devices, with the result that electrons can readily be moved from the valence band of the semiconductor devices into, if appropriate, a conduction band that is an excessively small distance away.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the tunable light source is built into a wafer sampler which subjects the semiconductor devices to a test cycle. In this wafer sampler, the semiconductor devices, that is to say in particular a wafer, can be adjusted below the light source. Equally, however, it is also possible to adjust the light source above the wafer. All that is important here is that the light source can be adjusted exactly with regard to the semiconductor devices, that is to say with regard to the wafer in the present example.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, instead of a light source, it is also possible, if appropriate, to use optical waveguides which can guide light from a remote tunable light source onto the semiconductor devices in a targeted manner.
The light source itself may, for example, be drivable via a customary interface, with the result that it can perform the radiation of light onto the semiconductor devices in a targeted manner.
During a test, by way of example, memory cells in a wafer are written to in a conventional manner. The wafer sampler is then driven in order to position the wafer below the light source of the wafer sampler. Information regarding a desired wavelength is subsequently output to the light source from a test program. In this case, this desired wavelength corresponds to an excessively small distance between valence band and conduction band of the memory cells. The light source is then switched on and off, depending on the test program. The wafer sampler is subsequently driven in order that it moves into a test position in which the memory cells irradiated by the light source can be tested. During this testing, the defective memory cells are then determined, in which memory cells, because of an excessively small distance between the valence band and the conduction band, electrons were transferred into the conduction band as a result of the irradiation by the light source.
During the above test operation, it must be ensuredxe2x80x94depending on the semiconductor devices respectively testedxe2x80x94that a possibly required voltage supply or driving by signals, such as, for example, refresher signals in DRAMs (Dynamic Random Access Memories, is not interrupted.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in an apparatus for testing semiconductor devices, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Apparatus for testing semiconductor devices


The present disclosure relates to a method, a device and a non-transitory computer storage medium for processing clothes information. The method includes: acquiring a number of wearing times for each piece of clothes in a clothes library within a preset time period, where the clothes library comprises a collection of information on clothes worn that is captured using a dressing mirror, and the number of wearing times is a counted number of times for each piece of clothes worn; determining clothes to be handled from the clothes according to the number of wearing times for each piece of clothes; and generating first prompt information for prompting to handle the clothes to be handled.

With the improvement of living standards, users may purchase a lot of clothes. Under normal circumstances, users put the clothes in a wardrobe for selection. However, due to the number of clothes possessed by a user, especially for a female user, favorite clothes may be placed at some corners of the wardrobe and may be forgotten by the user, or clothes to be discarded may be left in the wardrobe and taking up a lot of space.

Method, device and non-transitory storage medium for processing clothes information

Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd.


A converter device includes a converter and a controller to operate the converter. The converter includes reactive components which include a flying capacitor. To perform at least two different operation modes, the converter further includes seven switches. A mode selection logic of the controller selects one of the operation modes depending on desired operating conditions. The converter device is highly flexible and enables a high power processing efficiency over the full operating range by properly selecting a suitable operation mode.

In electronics devices point-of-load (PoL) DC-DC converters are needed to provide regulated DC voltages to various functional blocks in a system. Generally, these functional blocks require different voltage and power levels and, therefore, dedicated PoL converters are used for each block. For these systems, custom designs of the buck converter are used as the PoL converter of choice. The use of custom buck converters allows the designer to maximize efficiency and to minimize volume for each buck converter and to optimize the full system performance. However, custom buck converters increase the system-level design complexity and manufacturing costs and affect reliability. US 2008/0019158 A1 discloses for example a conventional two-phase interleaved buck converter.

Converter device and method to operate said converter device


In formation of a DRAM, a silicon nitride film is used as a mask to simultaneously expose a semiconductor substrate serving as an active region where an MOSFET is formed and a portion of the periphery of a trench. Therefore, even if the alignment offset of a resist pattern occurs, an interval between adjacent memory cells does not change. The interval between the adjacent memory cells is constantly the same as that when no alignment offset of the resist patter occurs. That is, only an n-type diffusion layer of the memory cell formed at a position adjacent to the trench comes close to source and drain regions of the adjacent memory cell.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of making a semiconductor device and, more particularly, to a method of making a DRAM.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional method of making a DRAM will be described by exemplifying a semiconductor device disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 3-69185 (to be referred to as a reference hereinafter). FIG. 6A is a view showing part of the drawing in this reference. FIG. 6B is a view showing the semiconductor device in FIG. 6A when viewed from the top.
FIG. 6A shows the capacitor portion of a DRAM. A silicon oxide film 101 and a silicon nitride film 102 are formed over a semiconductor substrate 100. After patterning the silicon oxide film 101 and the silicon nitride film 102, the silicon nitride film 102 is used as a mask to form a trench 103 in the semiconductor substrate 100.
A capacitive insulating film 104 is formed in the inner wall and the bottom surface of the trench 103. The trench 103 is then filled with a polysilicon film 105. A resist film 106 having an etching resistance against the polysilicon film 105 is formed over the entire surface. The resist film 106 is lithographed and developed to form an opening 107 in a portion of the periphery of the trench 103. The resist film 106 having the opening 107 is used as a mask to etch part of the polysilicon film 105, thereby forming a connect region 109 (shown in FIG. 6B).
However, the following problem is posed in the above method. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 6B, the interval between adjacent memory cells is set to a predetermined distance w. As shown in FIG. 7, if the alignment offset of the resist pattern occurs when the resist film 106 is lithographed and developed to form the opening 107 in the portion of the periphery of the trench 103, the alignment offset of a connect region 109', the interval between the source and drain regions 108 of the adjacent memory cells is set to W' smaller than the predetermined interval w between the adjacent memory cells. For this reason, punch-through occurs between the adjacent memory cells.
Summary of the Invention
It is an object to provide a method of making a semiconductor device, in which even if the alignment offset of a resist pattern occurs when an opening is formed in a portion of the periphery of a trench, no punch-through occurs between adjacent memory cells.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of making a semiconductor memory device, which includes: preparing a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type, forming a first insulating film over the semiconductor substrate, forming a trench in the semiconductor substrate through the first insulating film, forming a second insulating film over an inner wall of the trench, filling the trench with a doped polysilicon layer, depositing a third insulating film over the first insulating film, using the third insulating film as a mask, removing the first insulating film to form an opening for defining both a transistor region and a connect region of the doped polysilicon layer at the same time, forming a transistor on the transistor region, exposing the connect region using the third insulating film as the mask, and forming a conductive layer so as to electrically connect one of source and drain regions of the transistor to the connect region.