A computer-controlled identifier tag production system. The system employs perforated plastic sheets comprising a plurality of transparent identifier tags. The sheets are designed to be fed through a conventional ink jet or laser printer to print one or more of the tags in accordance with user input. Each sheet is a single layer in thickness and is sufficiently flexible and heat-stable such that it will not deform if passed through a printer multiple times. The printed tags are used in conjunction with a plastic holder and backer plate to form an adhesive-free identifier tag assembly. The backer plate is preferably a rigid metal plate which may be embossed with indicia, such as a corporate logo. The identifier tag assembly may further include a magnet or pin fastener for temporarily affixing the backer plate to an article of clothing.

This application relates to a computer-controlled identifier tag production system. The system employs perforated plastic sheets comprising a plurality of transparent tags. The sheets are designed to be fed through a conventional ink jet or laser printer to print one or more of the tags in accordance with user input. The printed tags are then separated from the remainder of the sheet and used in conjunction with a plastic holder and backer sheet to form an adhesive-free identifier tag assembly wearable on an article of clothing.
Temporary name tags are required for many social and business events. The most rudimentary name tags are paper labels having an adhesive backing. Attendees simply handwrite their name on a label and affix it to an article of clothing. Alternatively, sheets of adhesive labels may be fed through a desktop printer controlled by a computer processor to create computer-generated name tags having a consistent appearance. In order to avoid the use of adhesives, it is also commonplace to create computer-generated name tags on sheets of plain paper which are then cut or divided along tear lines to produce individual name tags suitable for insertion into plastic holders. Such holders are then typically affixed to an article of clothing with a pin or clip or are suspended from a strap worn around the user""s neck.
Many businesses having staff members dealing with the public require name tags which are sufficiently durable for long-term wear and which project a more professional appearance than conventional paper labels. For many years the applicant has sold metal identifier tags customized to meet this market demand. The identifier tags may be screenprinted with the name and/or title of the staff member together with a corporate logo. Such metal identifier tags are releasably held in place on an article of clothing with a small magnet to avoid the disadvantages of adhesives or pin fasteners. While such identifier tags are very durable and project a very professional appearance, they are relatively expensive to manufacture and are not readily reusable. This poses problems for companies having a large staff turn-over.
In order to meet this concern, the applicant has previously developed an identifier tag production system using a pen plotter controlled by a software application. The plotter is programmed to apply ink directly to a metal identifier tag in accordance with data inputted by the user. The ink is formulated so that it is readily removable from the metal surface using suitable solvents. This permits customers to remove names, titles or other printed indicia from the metal identifier tags and reuse the tags as their staffing roster changes. However, one drawback of this system is that it requires that each customer purchase a pen plotter and custom templates for holding the identifier tags in the preferred alignment in the plotter during the printing process.
Another approach known in the prior art to produce custom identifier tags is to print employee indicia on a flexible plastic film which is then affixed to a more rigid backing plate. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,435 dated Mar. 21, 1995, Kanzelberger, relates to a method of making plastic plates which may be adorned with graphics to make such things as badges, name tags, desk plates, wall plaques and the like. According to the Kanzelberger method, a transparent Mylar sheet may be printed with information using a printer controlled by a microprocessor The transparent Mylar sheet is then laid on top of a separate information-carrying sheet (which may be embossed, for example, with a corporate logo). The various sheets are maintained in their preferred orientation using adhesives. For example, a double-sided pressure sensitive adhesive tape may be applied to the bottom of the Mylar sheet. The use of adhesives to hold the assembly of graphic material together restricts the capacity of the user to remove the information-carrying Mylar sheet and substitute alternative information (such as a new name or job title).
Kanzelberger also obtained a patent in the United States on Jul. 17, 1984 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,772) specifically relating to debossable plastic name tags and plaques. Embodiments of the invention are described employing transparent folders or envelopes for aligning underlying graphic displays. However, the assembly of graphic material is held together with adhesives.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,331 dated Dec. 2, 1980, Mattson, discloses a magnetic badge assembly comprising an outer panel and an inner panel, each comprising magnetic material, such as magnetic tape. Each of the panels may also include a thin metal plate. The magnetic tape and metal plate, which form the core of each panel, are enclosed in a laminated plastic film jacket comprising a pair of thermofusable plastic sheet material sections. An indicia-carrying sheet may be either attached to the outer face of the panel or laminated within the plastic jacket. The outer indicia-carrying sheet may be equipped with a pressure sensitive adhesive so that it may be removed and replaced with another sheet. However, such a sheet would be prone to fraying and would not be sufficiently durable for long-term use. In the case of the embodiment laminated within the interior of the plastic jacket, it is not intended to be removable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,206 dated Jul. 1, 1986, Benson, discloses a snap-together badge and clip to be worn on a person""s clothing as a name badge, display button or the like. Display material bearing information is sandwiched between a substantially transparent element and a backplate. Thus, the display element is removable and is maintained in the proper alignment with the other pieces of the cover assembly. However, Benson does not teach the advantages of producing the display element in an automated manner using a conventional desktop printer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,149 dated Jan. 15, 1980, Isaac, discloses a portable transparent display device which is reusable. The Isaac display device primarily comprises two separate elements, namely a transparent cover and an insertable element, which may be flexed to insert or remove the element from a recessed space defined by the cover. An information-carrying sheet of material may be inserted into, and is aligned within, the recessed space. Isaac contemplates that the insertable element may be clear or opaque, but he does not teach the advantages of producing the insert in an automated manner using a conventional desktop printer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,275, Thornell, similarly discloses a reusable badge which is assembled by snapping a backing plate into a transparent lens. Display material is removably placed between the lens and the backing member.
While some reusable identifier tags and badges are known in the prior art, they are not specifically adapted for holding transparent tag inserts created using conventional desktop printers or for maintaining such inserts in a preferred alignment without the use of adhesives. The need has therefore arisen for an identifier tag production system which overcomes the various limitations of the prior art in a cost-effective manner while still yielding durable identifier tags having a professional appearance.
In accordance with the invention, an identifier tag assembly is provided comprising (a) an optically clear holder having a cavity formed therein; (b) a backer sheet sized to fit snugly in the cavity; and (c) an identifier tag having indicia printed thereon, wherein the tag is positionable in the cavity between the holder and the backer sheet, and wherein the tag is held in alignment with the backer sheet without the use of adhesives.
Preferably the tag comprises a single layer of flexible plastic film. The backer sheet may consist of a rigid metal plate. The plate may bear indicia which is visible through the holder and printed tag when the holder, tag and backer sheet are assembled together.
An identifier tag production system is also provided comprising (a) a computer processor; (b) a storage device connected to the computer processor, the storage device storing software for controlling the processor and for storing identifier tag data inputted by a user; (c) a printer adapted to receive the identifier tag data from the computer processor and output the data to an output medium; (d) at least one sheet subdividable into a plurality of identifier tags, wherein the sheet is adapted to pass through the printer to receive the identifier tag data outputted by the printer.
Preferably, the sheet comprises a single layer of plastic film having perforated tear lines separating the tags. The film is sufficiently flexible and heat-stable such that it may pass through the printer multiple times without substantially deforming.
The invention also relates to a flexible sheet comprising a single layer of material capable of bearing printed indida, the sheet having leading and trailing ends and opposed side edges, wherein the sheet is at least partially sub-divided into a plurality of tags arranged in rows between the leading and trailing ends, wherein each of the rows is separated by a perforated tear line extending transversely across the sheet at least part-way between the side edges.
Preferably the sheet comprises a first portion proximate the trailing end and a second portion comprising the remainder of the sheet, wherein the tear lines extend across the entire width of the sheet in the first portion and only part-way across the sheet in the second portion, thereby defining non-perforated side margins in the second portion.
The sheet is used as part of a method for producing a reusable identifier tag assembly comprising (a) providing computer software operable with a computer processor, wherein the software is adapted to receive and store identifier tag data inputted by a user; (b) providing a computer printer connected to the computer processor and configured to receive the identifier tag data; (c) providing an identifier tag sheet subdividable into a plurality of identifier tags; (d) passing the sheet through the printer to print the identifier tag data on at least one of the identifier tags, thereby producing a printed tag; (e) retrieving the sheet from the printer and removing the printed tag from the remainder of the sheet; (f) providing an optically clear tag holder having a cavity formed therein and a rigid backer sheet adapted to fit snugly in the cavity; and (g) inserting the printed tag into the holder cavity together with the backer sheet to form a wearable identifier tag assembly.
An identifier tag production kit is disclosed comprising (a) computer software operable with a computer processor, wherein the software is adapted to receive and store identifier tag data inputted by a user; (b) a plurality of sheets subdividable into a plurality of identifier tags; and (c) a plurality of identifier tag holder assemblies, each of the assemblies comprising (i) an optically clear holder having a cavity formed therein; (ii) a rigid backer sheet adapted to fit snugly into the cavity; and (iii) a fastener for detachably coupling the backer sheet to an article of clothing.

Computer-controlled identifier tag production system


Architecture for detecting and removing obfuscating clutter from the subject and/or body of a message, e.g., e-mail, prior to filtering of the message, to identify junk messages commonly referred to as spam. The technique utilizes the powerful features built into an HTML rendering engine to strip the HTML instructions for all non-substantive aspects of the message. Pre-processing includes pre-rendering of the message into a final format, which final format is that which is displayed by the rendering engine to the user. The final format message is then converted to a text-only format to remove graphics, color, non-text decoration, and spacing that cannot be rendered as ASCII-style or Unicode-style characters. The result is essentially to reduce each message to its common denominator essentials so that the junk mail filter can view each message on an equal basis.

The advent of global communications networks such as the Internet has presented commercial opportunities for reaching vast numbers of potential customers. Electronic messaging, and particularly electronic mail ("e-mail"), is becoming increasingly pervasive as a means of disseminating unwanted advertisements and promotions (also denoted as "spam") to network users.
The Radicati Group, Inc., a consulting and market research firm, estimates that as of August 2002, two billion junk (or spam) e-mail messages are being sent every day. This number is expected to triple every two years. More and more people are becoming inconvenienced and offended by the junk e-mail that they receive. As such, junk e-mail is now or soon will become the principal perceived threat to trustworthy computing.
A key technique utilized for thwarting junk e-mail is content filtering. A proven technique for filtering is based upon a machine learning approach. Machine learning filters assign to an incoming message a probability of the message content being junk. In this approach, content features are extracted from two classes of example e-mail (i.e., junk and non junk e-mails), and a learning filter is applied probabilistically to discriminate the two classes. Since many of the features of e-mail are related to content (e.g., words and phrases in the subject and body), these filters are also commonly referred to as "content-based filters".
The goal of a spammer is to make changes in (or "cloak") their message content so that junk filters are unable to detect that the e-mail is spam. This is often done to prevent the detection of phrases or words commonly associated with spam content. Spammers also frequently make small changes to individual e-mail messages when executing mass mailings on the order of, for example, 100,000 messages or more. Making subtle changes to individual messages in a mass mailing significantly reduces the probability that junk filters will detect that the same message is being sent to large groups of users.
The following techniques are some examples used by spammers, not necessarily to mislead the recipient reader, since the tricks are removed or resolved prior to the reader perceiving the message, but to prevent junk filters from successfully matching words, phrases, or even the entire e-mail message: HTML comments, which are those comments added to the HTML version of the message body, cause problems for the spam filter, and are removed prior to the e-mail message being viewed by the reader; declarative decoration content is that content that has little or no affect on the e-mail text, e.g., HTML tags, yet changes the message; encoding occurs where the message text is changed by using special types of encoding, e.g., foreign language characters; and HTML positioning, where the e-mail message is created in such a way that visually, the order of the text is changed from that which is ultimately perceived user, since HTML can be used to change the text position.
What is needed is a technique that solves the aforementioned problem by resolving obfuscating content of messages prior to filtering

Message rendering for identification of content features


The transplantation of donor tissue into the brain is effected by locking the head relative to a stereotaxic unit; penetrating the brain with a first cannula to a predetermined depth to create a transplant site within the brain while the first cannula is fixed by the stereotaxic unit relative to the brain; then feeding a second cannula, which contains donor tissue at its distal end, through the already fixed first cannula so that the distal end of the second cannula comes to rest at the transplant site; and finally withdrawing the first cannula and the second cannula so as to leave the donor tissue at the transplant site.

Transplantation of tissue into the mammalian central nervous system has become a widely used technique for exploring brain plasticity and developmental (Freed et al., 1985). Recent studies suggest that brain grafting may also have clinical utility (Madrazo et al., 1987). In the rat, the animal where most grafting research has taken place, grafts can be implanted using simple stereotaxically controlled injections (Perlow et al., 1979). This approach is very effective for implantation of tissues in the ventricles (Freed et al., 1981) or for implantation of dissociated cells (Bjorklund et al., 1980). Other procedures are available for placing grafts into the ventricular wall (Morihisa et al., 1984; Madrazo et al., 1987). When larger tissue fragments are implanted into the brain parenchyma, however, it becomes necessary to force the tissue into place by injecting substantial volumes under sufficient pressure to displace host brain tissue. This procedure may, therefore, alter the graft implantation site or even damage the grafted tissues.
Implantation of solid tissue fragments into brain parenchyma has often been relatively ineffective (Freed et al., 1986) for several reasons. For example, squirting or pushing tissue through a long needle may disrupt or damage the tissue. On the other hand, placing tissue into the brain with a spring or other holding device, which has been done with parkinsonian patients, presents potential problems associated with leaving a foreign object in the brain and may cause excessive disruption of host tissue (Backlund et al., 1985a,b). Direct visual placement, another approach to human work, is possible in only a limited number of brain sites (Morihisa et al., 1984; Madrazo et al., 1987); and in larger brains, such as those of monkeys and humans, these problems become more pronounced.

The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services


Method and system for preventing accidents between first and second vehicles includes a positioning system arranged in each vehicle for determining the absolute position thereof, a memory unit arranged in the first vehicle for storing data about travel lanes, a communication system for transmitting the position of the second vehicle to the first vehicle, a receiver system arranged in the first vehicle for receiving position information from the second vehicle, a processor coupled to the positioning system, the receiver system and the memory unit in the first vehicle for predicting a collision between the vehicles based on the position of the vehicles and travel lane data, and a reactive component arranged in the first vehicle and coupled to the processor. The reactive component is arranged to initiate an action or change its operation when a collision is predicted by the processor, e.g., sound or indicate an alarm.

A detailed discussion of background information is set forth in parent applications, U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 09/679,317, 10/822,445 and 11/034,325, all of which are incorporated by reference herein. Some more pertinent background is set forth below. All of the patents, patent applications, technical papers and other references mentioned below and in the parent applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. No admission is made that any or all of these references are prior art and indeed, it is contemplated that they may not be available as prior art when interpreting 35 U.S.C. §102 in consideration of the claims of the present application.
"Pattern recognition" as used herein will generally mean any system which processes a signal that is generated by an object (e.g., representative of a pattern of returned or received impulses, waves or other physical property specific to and/or characteristic of and/or representative of that object) or is modified by interacting with an object, in order to determine to which one of a set of classes that the object belongs. Such a system might determine only that the object is or is not a member of one specified class, or it might attempt to assign the object to one of a larger set of specified classes, or find that it is not a member of any of the classes in the set. The signals processed are generally a series of electrical signals coming from transducers that are sensitive to acoustic (ultrasonic) or electromagnetic radiation (e.g., visible light, infrared radiation, capacitance or electric and/or magnetic fields), although other sources of information are frequently included. Pattern recognition systems generally involve the creation of a set of rules that permit the pattern to be recognized. These rules can be created by fuzzy logic systems, statistical correlations, or through sensor fusion methodologies as well as by trained pattern recognition systems such as neural networks, combination neural networks, cellular neural networks or support vector machines.
"Neural network" as used herein, unless stated otherwise, will generally mean a single neural network, a combination neural network, a cellular neural network, a support vector machine or any combinations thereof. For the purposes herein, a "neural network" is defined to include all such learning systems including cellular neural networks, support vector machines and other kernel-based learning systems and methods, cellular automata and all other pattern recognition methods and systems that learn. A "combination neural network" as used herein will generally apply to any combination of two or more neural networks as most broadly defined that are either connected together or that analyze all or a portion of the input data.
A "combination neural network" as used herein will generally apply to any combination of two or more neural networks that are either connected together or that analyze all or a portion of the input data. A combination neural network can be used to divide up tasks in solving a particular object sensing and identification problem. For example, one neural network can be used to identify an object occupying a space at the side of an automobile and a second neural network can be used to determine the position of the object or its location with respect to the vehicle, for example, in the blind spot. In another case, one neural network can be used merely to determine whether the data is similar to data upon which a main neural network has been trained or whether there is something significantly different about this data and therefore that the data should not be analyzed. Combination neural networks can sometimes be implemented as cellular neural networks. What has been described above is generally referred to as modular neural networks with and without feedback. Actually, the feedback does not have to be from the output to the input of the same neural network. The feedback from a downstream neural network could be input to an upstream neural network, for example. The neural networks can be combined in other ways, for example in a voting situation. Sometimes the data upon which the system is trained is sufficiently complex or imprecise that different views of the data will give different results. For example, a subset of transducers may be used to train one neural network and another subset to train a second neural network etc. The decision can then be based on a voting of the parallel neural networks, sometimes known as an ensemble neural network. In the past, neural networks have usually only been used in the form of a single neural network algorithm for identifying the occupancy state of the space near an automobile.
A trainable or a trained pattern recognition system as used herein generally means a pattern recognition system that is taught to recognize various patterns constituted within the signals by subjecting the system to a variety of examples. The most successful such system is the neural network used either singly or as a combination of neural networks. Thus, to generate the pattern recognition algorithm, test data is first obtained which constitutes a plurality of sets of returned waves, or wave patterns, or other information radiated or obtained from an object (or from the space in which the object will be situated in the passenger compartment, i.e., the space above the seat) and an indication of the identify of that object. A number of different objects are tested to obtain the unique patterns from each object. As such, the algorithm is generated, and stored in a computer processor, and which can later be applied to provide the identity of an object based on the wave pattern being received during use by a receiver connected to the processor and other information. For the purposes here, the identity of an object sometimes applies to not only the object itself but also to its location and/or orientation and velocity in the vicinity of the vehicle. For example, a vehicle that is stopped but pointing at the side of the host vehicle is different from the same vehicle that is approaching at such a velocity as to impact the host vehicle. Not all pattern recognition systems are trained systems and not all trained systems are neural networks. Other pattern recognition systems are based on fuzzy logic, sensor fusion, Kalman filters, correlation as well as linear and non-linear regression. Still other pattern recognition systems are hybrids of more than one system such as neural-fuzzy systems.
A pattern recognition algorithm will thus generally mean an algorithm applying or obtained using any type of pattern recognition system, e.g., a neural network, sensor fusion, fuzzy logic, etc.
To "identify" as used herein will generally mean to determine that the object belongs to a particular set or class. The class may be one containing, for example, all motorcycles, one containing all trees, or all trees in the path of the host vehicle depending on the purpose of the system.
To "ascertain the identity of" as used herein with reference to an object will generally mean to determine the type or nature of the object (obtain information as to what the object is), i.e., that the object is an car, a car on a collision course with the host vehicle, a truck, a tree, a pedestrian, a deer etc.
A "rear seat" of a vehicle as used herein will generally mean any seat behind the front seat on which a driver sits. Thus, in minivans or other large vehicles where there are more than two rows of seats, each row of seats behind the driver is considered a rear seat and thus there may be more than one "rear seat" in such vehicles. The space behind the front seat includes any number of such rear seats as well as any trunk spaces or other rear areas such as are present in station wagons.
In the description herein on anticipatory sensing, the term "approaching" when used in connection with the mention of an object or vehicle approaching another will usually mean the relative motion of the object toward the vehicle having the anticipatory sensor system. Thus, in a side impact with a tree, the tree will be considered as approaching the side of the vehicle and impacting the vehicle. In other words, the coordinate system used in general will be a coordinate system residing in the target vehicle. The "target" vehicle is the vehicle that is being impacted. This convention permits a general description to cover all of the cases such as where (i) a moving vehicle impacts into the side of a stationary vehicle, (ii) where both vehicles are moving when they impact, or (iii) where a vehicle is moving sideways into a stationary vehicle, tree or wall.
"Vehicle" as used herein includes any container that is movable either under its own power or using power from another vehicle. It includes, but is not limited to, automobiles, trucks, railroad cars, ships, airplanes, trailers, shipping containers, barges, etc. The word "container" will frequently be used interchangeably with vehicle however a container will generally mean that part of a vehicle that separate from and in some cases may exist separately and away from the source of motive power. Thus, a shipping container may exist in a shipping yard and a trailer may be parked in a parking lot without the tractor. The passenger compartment or a trunk of an automobile, on the other hand, are compartments of a container that generally only exists attaches to the vehicle chassis that also has an associated engine for moving the vehicle. Note a container can have one or a plurality of compartments.
"Transducer" or "transceiver" as used herein will generally mean the combination of a transmitter and a receiver. In come cases, the same device will serve both as the transmitter and receiver while in others two separate devices adjacent to each other will be used. In some cases, a transmitter is not used and in such cases transducer will mean only a receiver. Transducers include, for example, capacitive, inductive, ultrasonic, electromagnetic (antenna, CCD, CMOS arrays, laser, radar transmitter, terahertz transmitter and receiver, focal plane array, pin or avalanche diode, etc.), electric field, weight measuring or sensing devices. In some cases, a transducer will be a single pixel either acting alone, in a linear or an array of some other appropriate shape. In some cases, a transducer may comprise two parts such as the plates of a capacitor or the antennas of an electric field sensor. Sometimes, one antenna or plate will communicate with several other antennas or plates and thus for the purposes herein, a transducer will be broadly defined to refer, in most cases, to any one of the plates of a capacitor or antennas of a field sensor and in some other cases a pair of such plates or antennas will comprise a transducer as determined by the context in which the term is used.
A "wave sensor" or "wave transducer" is generally any device which senses either ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves. An electromagnetic wave sensor, for example, includes devices that sense any portion of the electromagnetic spectrum from ultraviolet down to a few hertz. The most commonly used kinds of electromagnetic wave sensors include CCD and CMOS arrays for sensing visible and/or infrared waves, millimeter wave and microwave radar, and capacitive or electric and/or magnetic field monitoring sensors that rely on the dielectric constant of the object occupying a space but also rely on the time variation of the field, expressed by waves as defined below, to determine a change in state.
A "CCD" will be defined to include all devices, including CMOS arrays, APS arrays, QWIP arrays or equivalent, artificial retinas and particularly HDRC arrays, which are capable of converting light frequencies, including infrared, visible and ultraviolet, into electrical signals. The particular CCD array used for many of the applications disclosed herein is implemented on a single chip that is less than two centimeters on a side. Data from the CCD array is digitized and sent serially to an electronic circuit (at times designated 120 herein) containing a microprocessor for analysis of the digitized data. In order to minimize the amount of data that needs to be stored, initial processing of the image data takes place as it is being received from the CCD array, as discussed in more detail above. In some cases, some image processing can take place on the chip such as described in a Kage et al. artificial retina article referenced in parent applications.
An "occupant protection apparatus" is any device, apparatus, system or component which is actuatable or deployable or includes a component which is actuatable or deployable for the purpose of attempting to reduce injury to the occupant in the event of a crash, rollover or other potential injurious event involving a vehicle
Inertial measurement unit (IMU), inertial navigation system (INS) and inertial reference unit (IRU) will in general be used be used interchangeably to mean a device having a plurality of accelerometers and a plurality of gyroscopes generally within the same package. Usually such a device will contain 3 accelerometers and 3 gyroscopes. In some cases a distinction will be made whereby the INS relates to an IMU or an IRU plus additional sensors and software such as a GPS, speedometer, odometer or other sensors plus optimizing software which may be based on a Kalman filter.
A precise positioning system or PPS is a system based on some information, usually of a physical nature, in the infrastructure that determines the precise location of a vehicle independently of a GPS-based system or the IMU. Such a system is employed as a vehicle is traveling and passes a particular location. A PPS can make use of various technologies including radar, laser radar, terahertz radar, RFID tags located in the infrastructure, MIR transmitters and receivers. Such locations are identified on a map database resident within the vehicle. In one case, for example, the map database contains data from a terahertz radar continuous scan of the environment to the side of a vehicle from a device located on a vehicle and pointed 45 degrees up relative to the horizontal plane. The map database contains the exact location of the vehicle that corresponds to the scan. Another vehicle can then determine its location by comparing its scan data with that stored with the map database and when there is a match, the vehicle knows its location. Of course many other technologies can be used to accomplish a similar result.
Unless stated otherwise, laser radar, lidar and ladar will be considered equivalent herein. In all cases, they represent a projected laser beam, which can be in the visual part of the electromagnetic spectrum but generally will be the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum and usually in the near infrared wavelengths. The projected laser beam can emanate from the optics as a nearly parallel beam or as a beam that diverges at any desired angle from less than zero degrees to ten or more of degrees depending on the application. A particular implementation may use a laser beam that at one time diverges at an angle less than one degree and at another time may diverge at several degrees using adjustable optics. The laser beam can have a diameter as it leaves the vehicle ranging from less than a millimeter to several centimeters. The above represent typical or representative ranges of dimensions but this invention is not limited by these ranges.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Intelligent Technologies International, Inc.


Described are systems and methods for quickly and accurately determining the set-up and hold-time requirements and clock-to-out delays associated with sequential logic elements on programmable logic devices. Programmable interconnect resources are configured to deliver signals to the data and clock terminals of each logic element under test. One or more variable delay circuits precisely place edges of the test signals on the elements of interest while a tester monitors the data clocked into the logic element to determine whether the logic element functions properly. This process is repeated for a number of selected delays.

xe2x80x9cSet-up timexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9chold timexe2x80x9d describe the timing requirements on the data input of a sequential logic element, such as a flip-flop or register, with respect to a clock input. The set-up and hold times define a window of time during which data must be stable to guarantee predictable performance over a full range of operating conditions and manufacturing tolerances.
FIG. 1 illustrates three clock-to-data timing relationships used to describe the relationships between setup time, hold time, and a clock edge. Referring to the first example, the set-up time SUT is the length of time that data must be available and stable before the arrival of a clock edge 100. The hold time HT is the length of time that data to be clocked into the logic element must remain stable after the arrival of clock edge 100. Set-up times limit the maximum clock rate of a system. Positive hold times can cause malfunctioning at any clock rate. Thus, chip designers strive to provide zero or negative hold-time requirements.
The second example in FIG. 1 illustrates the input and output signals of a flip-flop that meets a zero-hold-time requirement. The data, a logic one at the onset of rising edge 110, propagates through the selected logic element to raise the output signal OUT to a logic one. The third example illustrates the input and output signals of a flip-flop that fails to meet a zero-hold-time requirement. The data, a logic one at the onset of rising edge 120, does not initiate the requisite logic one output signal OUT.
The time required for the output of a sequential logic element to change states in response to a clock is termed the xe2x80x9cclock-to-outxe2x80x9d delay. When two systems (e.g., two ICs) communicate synchronously, the data source must guarantee a minimum clock-to-out delay if the receiving device has a positive hold-time requirement. IC manufacturers prefer to provide short clock-to-out delays, but may be unable or unwilling to guarantee some minimum clock-to-out delay to compensate for a positive hold-time requirement. Any input hold time requirement is, therefore, an invitation to system failure. For a more detailed discussion of clock-to-out delays, including methods of measuring them, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,233,205 to Wells et al., which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional programmable input block 200 that addresses potential hold-time problems. (Input block 200 is part of an input/output block on a Xilinx XC4000 field-programmable gate array.) Input block 200 includes an input buffer 205, a programmable delay circuit 210, a sequential logic element 215, and three programmable multiplexers 220, 225, and 230. A programmable multiplexer 240 within delay circuit 210 can be programmed to insert none, one or both of delay elements 235 into the incoming data path to compensate for clock delays induced by relatively long signal paths in the clock distribution network. Multiplexer 230 includes both inverting and non-inverting inputs, allowing logic element 215 to clock on either positive or negative clock edges.
FIG. 3 depicts a conventional test configuration 300 for ensuring that a selected sequential storage element on a programmable logic device meets a zero-hold-time requirement. System 300 includes a conventional tester 305 connected to a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) 310. FPGA 310 is a well-known type of programmable logic device, and might be one of the Spartan(trademark) or Virtex(trademark) series of FPGAs available from Xilinx, Inc., of San Jose, Calif. FPGA 310 includes an array of configurable logic blocks 311, or CLBS, that are programmably interconnected to each other and to programmable input/output blocks 312 (IOBs). This collection of configurable logic may be customized by loading configuration data into internal configuration memory cells that define how the CLBS, interconnections, and IOBs are configured. FPGA 310 additionally includes a clock distribution network 313 that can be connected to an external clock source (not shown) via eight global clock buffers 314 located in the four corners of FPGA 310. Each global clock buffer 314 has a corresponding pass transistor for gating an external clock signal to the input terminal of the respective clock buffer. For example, a pass transistor 315 selectively gates the signal on an input pin 325 through one of clock buffers 314 to clock distribution network 313. The signal on input pin 325 is additionally available to IOB 312B.
Clock distribution network 313 can be programmably connected to any of CLBs 311 or IOBs 312. In the depicted example, clock distribution network 313 connects input pin 325 to an input terminal of IOB 312A.
Tester 305 includes a pair of output leads 317 and 320 connected to respective input/output pins 325 and 330 of FPGA 310. Tester 305 also includes an input line 335 connected to an input/output pin 340 of FPGA 310. Tester 305 simultaneously applies input signals to pins 325 and 330 and monitors the output signal on line 335 to determine whether the correct data on line 320 clocks into IOB 312A. An incorrect logic level on line 335 indicates a hold-time violation.
Conventional test configuration 300 fails to provide acceptable levels of accuracy because tester 305 is typically too imprecise to effectively measure set-up and hold times. For example, while tester 305 may be able to place edges with nanosecond precision, set-up and hold times in leading-edge processes can be much shorter, e.g. a few tenths of a nanosecond.
Systems and methods have been proposed for quickly and accurately testing sequential logic elements on programmable logic devices for zero-hold-time compliance. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,611, issued to Michael M. Matera on May 29, 2001, entitled xe2x80x9cCircuit and Method for Testing Whether a Programmable Logic Device Complies With a Zero-Hold-Time Requirement,xe2x80x9d which is incorporated herein by reference. In that example, a programmable logic device is configured such that both the data and clock terminals of a selected sequential logic element connect to an input pin of the programmable logic device, and the output terminal of the sequential logic element connects to an output pin of the programmable logic device. A circuit tester connected to the input pin then generates a signal transition on the input pin so that the signal transition traverses the data and clock paths in a race to the sequential logic element. The circuit tester also includes an input terminal that monitors the PLD output pin to determine whether the logic element contains the correct data after the logic element is clocked. Incorrect data stored in the sequential logic element after the logic element is clocked indicates that the clock signal arrived too soon, and therefore that the logic element violated the zero-hold-time requirement in the specified configuration.
The above-described method is a specialized, easily implemented go/no-go test that works well to test for zero hold time compliance. However, the method does not work on all architectures, and does not provide a measure of set-up time.
The present invention is directed to a system and method for quickly and accurately measuring the timing requirements of sequential logic elements on programmable logic devices. In accordance with one embodiment, programmable interconnect resources are configured to deliver a pair of test signals to the data and clock terminals of each logic element under test. A variable delay circuit places signal edges on the clock (data) terminal a precise, known delay before or after corresponding signal edges on the data (clock) terminal. A tester then monitors the data clocked into the logic element to determine whether the logic element functions properly with the given delay. This process is continued over a number of selected delays to determine the maximum and minimum timing requirements of the element under test.
Timing requirements for a given logic element may differ depending on whether the data represents a logic zero or a logic one. Some embodiments therefore provide means of separately measuring timing requirements for clocking both rising and falling data edges using either rising or falling clock edges. Still other embodiments accurately measure clock-to-out delays of sequential logic elements.
This summary does not limit the invention, which is instead defined by whatever claims issue.

Circuits and methods for analyzing timing characteristics of sequential logic elements


The present invention relates to an image processing device and method which enable encoding efficiency in intra prediction to be improved. In the event that the optimal intra prediction mode is mode 0, adjacent pixels to be used for prediction of the current block are pixels A0, A1, A2, and A3. According to these pixels and a 6-tap FIR filter, pixels a−0.5, a+0.5, and so on with ½ pixel precision are generated, and further, pixels a−0.75, a−0.25, a+0.25, and a+0.75 with ¼ pixel precision are generated by linear interpolation. Subsequently, the optimal shift amount is determined with a value of −0.75 through +0.75 that is phase difference between an integer pixel and generated fractional pixel precision serving as a candidate of the shift amount in the horizontal direction. The present invention may be applied to an image encoding device which performs encoding using the H.264/AVC system, for example.

In recent years, devices have come into widespread use which subject an image to compression encoding by employing an encoding system handling image information as digital signals, and at this time compress the image by orthogonal transform such as discrete cosine transform or the like and motion compensation, taking advantage of redundancy which is a feature of the image information, in order to perform highly efficient transmission and accumulation of information. Examples of this encoding method include MPEG (Moving Picture Expert Group) and so forth.
In particular, MPEG2 (ISO/IEC 13818-2) is defined as a general-purpose image encoding system, and is a standard encompassing both of interlaced scanning images and sequential-scanning images, and standard resolution images and high definition images. For example, MPEG2 has widely been employed now by broad range of applications for professional usage and for consumer usage. By employing the MPEG2 compression system, a code amount (bit rate) of 4 through 8 Mbps is allocated in the event of an interlaced scanning image of standard resolution having 720×480 pixels, for example. By employing the MPEG2 compression system, a code amount (bit rate) of 18 through 22 Mbps is allocated in the event of an interlaced scanning image of high resolution having 1920×1088 pixels, for example. Thus, a high compression rate and excellent image quality can be realized.
MPEG2 has principally been aimed at high image quality encoding adapted to broadcasting usage, but does not handle lower code amount (bit rate) than the code amount of MPEG1, i.e., an encoding system having a higher compression rate. It is expected that demand for such an encoding system will increase from now on due to the spread of personal digital assistants, and in response to this, standardization of the MPEG4 encoding system has been performed. With regard to an image encoding system, the specification thereof was confirmed as international standard as ISO/IEC 14496-2 in December in 1998.
Further, in recent years, standardization of a standard called H.26L (ITU-T Q6/16 VCEG) has progressed with image encoding for television conference usage as the object. With H.26L, it has been known that though greater computation amount is requested for encoding and decoding thereof as compared to a conventional encoding system such as MPEG2 or MPEG4, higher encoding efficiency is realized. Also, currently, as part of activity of MPEG4, standardization for taking advantage of a function that is not supported by H.26L with this H.26L taken as base to realize higher encoding efficiency has been performed as Joint Model of Enhanced-Compression Video Coding. As a schedule of standardization, H.264 and MPEG-4 Part10 (Advanced Video Coding, hereafter referred to as H.264/AVC) become an international standard in March, 2003.
Further, as an extension thereof, standardization of FRExt (Fidelity Range Extension) including a coding tool necessary for business use such as RGB, 4:2:2, or 4:4:4, 8×8 DCT and quantization matrix stipulated by MPEG-2 has been completed in February, 2005. Thus, H.264/AVC has become a coding system capable of suitably expressing even film noise included in movies, and has been employed for wide ranging applications such as Blue-Ray Disc (registered trademark) and so forth.
However, nowadays, needs for further high-compression encoding have been increased, such as intending to compress an image having around 4000×3000 pixels, which is quadruple of a high-vision image. Alternatively, needs for further high-compression encoding have been increased, such as intending to distribute a high-vision image within an environment with limited transmission capacity like the Internet. Therefore, with the above-mentioned VCEG (=Video Coding Expert Group) under the control of ITU-T, studies relating to improvement of encoding efficiency have continuously been performed.
For example, with the MPEG2 system, motion prediction and compensation processing with ½ pixel precision has been performed by linear interpolation processing. On the other hand, with the H.264/AVC System, prediction and compensation processing with ¼ pixel precision using a 6-tap FIR (Finite Impulse Response Filter) filter has been performed.
As to this prediction and compensation processing with ¼ pixel precision, in recent years, studies for further improving efficiency of the H.264/AVC system have been performed. As one of coding systems for this, with NPL 1, motion prediction with ⅛ pixel precision has been proposed.
Specifically, with NPL 1, interpolation processing with ½ pixel precision is performed by a filter [−3, 12, −39, 158, 158, −39, 12, −3]/256. Also, interpolation processing with ¼ pixel precision is performed by a filter [−3, 12, −37, 229, 71, −21, 6, −1]/256, and interpolation processing with ⅛ pixel precision is performed by linear interpolation.
In this way, motion prediction using interpolation processing with higher pixel precision is performed, whereby prediction precision can be improved, and improvement in encoding efficiency can be realized particularly with a relatively slow motion sequence having high texture in resolution.
Incidentally, as one factor for the H.264/AVC System realizing high encoding efficiency as compared to the MPEG2 system according to the related art and so forth, adoption of a next-described intra prediction system has been proposed.
With the H.264/AVC system, there have been defined intra prediction modes for luminance signals of nine kinds of prediction modes in block units of 4×4 pixels and 8×8 pixels, and four kinds of prediction modes in macro block units of 16×16 pixels. With regard to color difference signals, there have been defined intra prediction modes of four kinds of prediction modes in block units of 8×8 pixels. The intra prediction modes for color difference signals may be set independently from the intra prediction modes for luminance signals. Note that the kinds of the prediction modes correspond to directions indicated with numbers 0, 1, 3 through 8 in FIG. 1. The prediction mode 2 is average value prediction.
Such an intra prediction system has been employed, thereby realizing improvement in prediction precision. However, with the H.264/AVC system, as illustrated in the directions in FIG. 3, intra prediction in increments of 22.5 degrees alone is performed. Accordingly, in the event that the inclination of an edge has an angle other than that, improvement in encoding efficiency is restricted.
Therefore, with NPL 2, proposal has been made for further improvement in encoding efficiency wherein prediction is performed with a finer angle than 22.5 degrees.


The present invention provides a method for performing high dynamic range optical image detection of a scene comprising: imaging incident light from a scene onto an object plane; determining the locations of those pixels in the object plane of higher brightness; detecting the optical irradiance values of those pixels of higher brightness to produce a first detected image; detecting the optical irradiance values of those pixels of lower brightness to produce a second detected image; and generating a high dynamic range optical irradiance map of the scene by combining the first detected image and the second detected image into a single image.

Optical imaging camera technology is currently dominated by 2-D Photo-Detector Array (PDA) sensor chips based optical imagers. These include Charge Coupled Device (CCD), and CMOS technology multi-pixel optical sensor chips and Focal Plane Arrays (FPAs). Such imaging units form excellent imagers under standard light conditions, particularly for visible band imaging applications, where silicon sensors produce excellent image quality. For bright light imaging applications, optical attenuators can be placed before the camera sensor unit. However, such an approach can alter and sometimes deteriorate the original image quality. In particular, it has been found that coherent laser radiation easily saturates CCD/CMOS image sensors, making them highly non-attractive for accurate laser beam irradiance mapping. Furthermore, bright zones within a normal lighting level scene can distort the scene captured by a CCD/CMOS chip camera, and consequently the scene can often be rendered unobservable.
To enable robust optical irradiance mapping, such as under high brightness conditions, a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) can be used an agile pixel optical irradiance sampler. The DMD can direct sampled light in the optical irradiance 2-D map to a single point detector (PD) or a pair of single PDs. Such an imager design allows software programming of the size, shape, location, and temporal duration of the agile pixel that pixel-by-pixel sample the optical irradiance map present on the DMD plane. Thus, the function of a multi-pixel PDA chip with for example a million photo-detector pixels working in parallel is replaced by a multi-pixel shutter or mirror array device with a million micro-mirrors, and used in conjunction with a single point PD pair with the DMD operating in serial mode, one pixel at a time. Hence, inter-pixel crosstalk within a CCD/CMOS type device is essentially eliminated. This includes the elimination of pixel saturation and flooding due to high light levels at a given pixel.
It will be appreciated that the speed of image capture using a DMD depends on how fast the agile pixel can be scanned on the DMD plane to generate the adequate optical irradiance samples to electronically stitch together the collected image point sample data. Hence, the smaller the agile pixel, and the greater the number of samples, the longer it takes to generate an optical irradiance map. This is assuming that the reset time of the micromirrors on the DMD creates the time constraint versus the response time of the point PD and the data acquisition and image processing electronics. As a DMD is a broadband device (400 nm-2500 nm), a DMD imager also forms a versatile broadband imager, particularly for bright light conditions where attenuation of incident irradiance is to be avoided.
It is known to provide an active 3-D imager based on a laser beam with an Electronically Controlled Variable Focal length Lens (ECVFL) and a CCD/CMOS imager. It is also known to incorporate a dual PD DMD-based imager within such an active 3-D imager design using a CCD, laser, and ECVFL. In this imaging system, when the laser is on, the full DMD is set to its +θ state, so that on reflection from a target, light returns the same way to the CCD so the laser spot can be observed on the target. When the laser is turned off, the DMD can operate with both +θ state and −θ state at the same time, to enable the system to act as a point sampler to generate an image using the two point PDs under non-active illumination light conditions. In other words, this system acts either as an active imager using the laser and CCD with the DMD in one mirror state or as a passive imager using both the states of operation of the DMD along with the dual point PDs with the laser turned off.
Another known DMD-based imager places a single PD and a single PDA in each arm of two deflected light beam ports of a DMD, in order to realize a compressive imager where the PDA is a medium or small pixel count PDA (compared to the DMD), and is needed to view only a sub-set of the scene pixels in a larger pixel count scene normally viewed by one large pixel count PDA. This configuration can also be used with the two PDAs operating at different wavelengths compared to the point PDs, thus enabling a three wavelength band imager to be provided. In this configuration, the wavelength λ2 band image viewing uses the DMD operating in both its states with the two point PDs to implement serial sequence agile pixel scans across the DMD plane, the wavelength λ1 band image viewing uses the DMD operating in its +θ state with the λ1 PDA, with the option of individually time modulated the DMD pixels to its −θ state to reduce the PDA pixel exposure time to improve scene dynamic range. The wavelength λ3 band image viewing uses the DMD operating in its −θ state with the λ3 PDA, with the option again of the pixels being individually time modulated to its +θ state to reduce the PDA pixel exposure time to improve scene dynamic range. Thus, this configuration uses the DMD pixel control to select the desired wavelength band photo-detectors to be used for image acquisition. It should be noted that this system focuses on the usage of a small pixel count PDA, such as a FPA device, which are used for non-visible band applications. The mirror motion optics select the smaller pixel count scene from the full image on the DMD to transfer onto the smaller pixel count PDA chips. Hence, this system implements a compressive sampling of the input image scene present on the DMD.
It would be desirable that the entire large pixel count image could be detected with high dynamic range by the camera and inter-pixel crosstalk, pixel spill over due to saturation and flooding could be avoided or minimized to capture as much as possible of the true imaged scene when dealing with extreme imaging conditions involving bright lights within viewed scenes. In addition, it is desirable that the imager not only provides a high signal-to-noise ratio image but also provide a spatial imaging resolution that beats the classic Abbe diffraction limit to enable super-resolution imaging.
The present invention is concerned with overcoming at least some of the above mentioned problems with known imaging systems.

Smart photonic imaging method and apparatus

University College Cork—National University of Ireland, Cork


Couplers for joining actuators to valves are configured to allow their affixment to different makes and models of actuators and valves, thereby allowing an off-the-shelf S coupling solution and avoiding the need to specially construct a coupler which is only adapted to connect whatever valve and actuator that are desired for coupling. The couplers include a shaft/stem bore which accommodates the torque-transmitting components of the valve and actuator to be coupled, and sets of affixment holes surround the shaft/stem bore, with these affixment holes being arrayed in patterns matching those of different common valves and actuators. Thus, a coupler may affix to different valves or actuators provided the appropriate affixment holes are chosen. The couplers may be formed as single-piece or multi-piece units. For example, rather than using a single-piece coupler, the coupler may be formed as a pair of coupler sections wherein each coupler section is configured to attach to one or more valves or actuators, and the coupler sections may then be affixed to each other. By providing a user with a variety of differently-configured coupler sections, the user may simply choose coupler sections which are appropriate for attachment to the valve or actuator in question, and may then affix the coupler sections together to complete the coupler and thereby affix the valve to the actuator.

This disclosure concerns an invention relating generally to components for mechanized/automated actuation of valves, and more specifically to components for coupling valves to pneumatic, hydraulic, electromagnetic, or other forms of actuators whereby the valves may be remotely actuated.
Manually-actuated valves, which are actuated by grasping their handles and rotating them to turn their valve stems and thereby modify fluid flow through the valve, are well known. It is often desirable to modify manually-actuated valves so that they may be remotely or automatically actuated by some type of industrial actuator, e.g., a pneumatic actuator, hydraulic actuator, electromagnetic actuator, or other form of actuator providing a rotary input. When valves are modified in this manner, the valve handle is removed from the valve stem, and the valve stem is then connected to an actuator shaft, or to a transmission shaft extending between the actuator shaft and valve stem. The actuators are generally small components with trailing hoses or wires, and they need to be anchored to some portion of the valve or its environment so that rotation of the actuator shaft provides a positive torque input to the valve. Without such anchoring, rotation of the actuator shaft will merely cause the actuator to spin about the valve stem when it is actuated. Rather than building some form of expensive and space-consuming supporting framework which affixes the actuator to the valve""s environment, it is usually preferable to somehow affix the housing of the actuator to the housing of the valve so that the actuator and valve are held in fixed relation when the actuator shaft communicates torque to the valve stem.
However, problems commonly arise when attempts are made to couple actuators to valves in this manner. Valves are generally not specifically designed for coupling to valves, and they have a wide variety of sizes and shapes, making it difficult to develop an off-the-shelf coupling solution. Actuators generally do not have such a wide variety of possible configurations and are thus less problematic than valves, but they are nonetheless problematic as well. The actuator and valve housings can sometimes be welded together (or a bridge can be welded therebetween), or other permanent forms of affixation can be used, but these measures are not preferred because of the difficulty in later repair and replacement of the valve and/or the actuator, and also because of the potential damage that may occur to most common actuators if welding is used.
The step that is most commonly taken to achieve a removable affixation between an actuator and a valve is to provide a structure generically known as a xe2x80x9ccouplerxe2x80x9d between the actuator and the valve, with the coupler being configured to join certain categories of valves to certain categories of actuators and serve as a bridge therebetween. Examples of couplers of this nature are seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,897 to Effenberger, 4,719,939 to Killian, U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,634 to Killian, U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,030 to Wang, U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,461 to Raymond, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,486 to Hatting et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,682 to Gul et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,088 to Huang, U.S. Pat. No.6,135,417 to Wadsworth et al. and Japanese Patent No. JP406066327A to Yabanetta.
However, these couplers are subject to several disadvantages. First, a coupler""s primary goal is to rigidly fix the valve housing with respect to the actuator housing, while mechanically linking the valve stem to the actuator shaft to allow torque transmittal. However, the attachment of the valve and actuator housings often tends to cause problems with torque transmittal because it introduces misalignment between the axes of the valve stem and actuator shaft. If any eccentricity and/or pitch is present between the axes of the valve stem and actuator shaft, the components will experience significant stress and will quickly wear with repeated actuation. Even where couplers have been specifically designed to join particular makes and models of valves and actuators, this misalignment can occur owing to imprecision in aligning the valve stem and actuator shaft. Such imprecision is amplified by imprecisions in valve manufacture, since common valves are manufactured with a surprisingly high degree of variability from valve to valve, thus making it difficult for one coupler to properly fit all valves. For example, it is not uncommon to see variances of up to 5 degrees or more, as measured between the mounting plate of a valve and its valve stem, between the valve stem axes of different valves in a manufacturing run. This variability does not reflect poor quality manufacture, but rather reflects that the valve was intended for manual actuation and flow control. Thus, once the valve packings are installed so that proper valve performance is attained, the valve is suitable for use, and there is no need for its manufacturer to concentrate on its appearance, or its uniformity with other valves in the manufacturing run (or risk the valve""s performance by attempting to improve these features). Since the valve will (presumably) be manually actuated, and manual actuation can readily accommodate any irregularity in valve stem orientation, such irregularity is not an important issuexe2x80x94unless the valve is modified for automatic actuation.
Second, where bolt holes are provided on valves and actuators for mounting, the bolt hole placement tends to be different between different manufacturers, makes, and models (though some standard hole placements exist for actuators). Thus, different couplers with different bolt hole placements are needed for each possible valve/actuator combination.
Third, most prior couplers introduce substantial space between the valve and actuator. This is generally necessary so that the coupler can be properly mounted between the valve and actuator, though it can sometimes be useful to allow a flexible transmission shaft to be inserted between the valve stem and actuator shaft to relieve the stress caused by misalignment of their axes. However, the increased space required by these couplers can be undesirable since actuators and couplers must often work in conditions of limited space.
To overcome the foregoing problems, the approach most commonly taken is to take a piece of rectangular tubing, drill holes in its opposing sides which are suitable to allow affixation of the valve and actuator to the opposite sides, and then machine a central shaft/stem bore between the opposing sides so that the actuator shaft, valve stem, and/or transmission shaft can extend between the valve and actuator within the shaft/stem bore. A coupler somewhat similar to this arrangement is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,897. Since each coupler is custom-made, it is naturally compatible with whatever proposed valve and actuator configurations are in issue, and its maker can fashion it so that it readily accommodates any manufacturing irregularities. However, it is inconvenient to have to rely on the custom generation of couplers each time one is desired. Custom generation is time-consuming, and requires that one maintain an inventory of rectangular tube stock for use in making couplers.
Thus, it would be desirable to have couplers available which do not require custom manufacture, and which may simply be pulled off the shelf to accommodate whatever valve and actuator pair that is proposed for coupling. Ideally, such a coupler would be compact and would not space the actuator so far away from the valve that use of the coupler in confined environments is effectively precluded. Additionally, it would be useful if such a coupler would at least partially compensate for the problem of shaft misalignment between the valve stem and actuator shaft, and the stress and wear that such misalignment can cause on the actuator and valve.
The invention involves a coupler which is intended to at least partially solve the aforementioned problems. To give the reader a basic understanding of some of the advantageous features of the invention, following is a brief summary of preferred versions of the coupler. As this is merely a summary, it should be understood that more details regarding the preferred versions may be found in the Detailed Description set forth elsewhere in this document. The claims set forth at the end of this document then define the various versions of the invention in which exclusive rights are secured.
Preferred versions of the coupler are intended to couple standard actuators, which have actuator mounting holes defined therein about an actuator shaft, to standard valves, which include valve mounting holes defined therein about a valve stem. Preferred couplers include an actuator mounting side and an opposing valve mounting side, wherein the actuator mounting side is adapted to mount a selected actuator thereon and the valve mounting side is adapted to mount a selected valve thereon. A series of actuator affixment holes extend into the actuator mounting side, with the actuator affixment holes being arrayed identically to actuator mounting holes defined in the selected actuator, thereby allowing fasteners to extend from the actuator affixment holes to the actuator mounting holes of the selected actuator and affix the selected actuator to the actuator mounting side. Similarly, a series of valve affixment holes extend into the valve mounting side, with the valve affixment holes being arrayed identically to valve mounting holes defined in the selected valve so that fasteners may extend from the valve affixment holes to the valve mounting holes of the selected valve and affix the selected valve to the valve mounting side. A shaft/stem bore also extends between the mounting sides to accommodate a valve stem, actuator shaft, and/or transmission shaft whereby torque may be transmitted from the selected actuator to the selected valve. To allow the coupler to effectively become xe2x80x9cuniversalxe2x80x9d so that it may affix to valves and/or actuators other than the selected valve and actuator, a series of surplus affixment holes extend into one or more of the actuator mounting side and the valve mounting side, with the surplus affixment holes being arrayed differently than the actuator mounting holes of the selected actuator and the valve mounting holes of the selected valve. These surplus affixment holes are spaced from the actuator affixment holes and the valve affixment holes, and are arrayed identically to at least one of actuator mounting holes defined in an actuator other than the selected actuator, and valve mounting holes defined in a valve other than the selected valve. Thus, the coupler may be fastened between different sets of actuators and valves. To do so, one or more of the selected actuator and the selected valve are removed from one of the mounting sides to allow a second actuator or second valve to affix to the same mounting side in its place, with the second actuator or second valve being affixed to this mounting side by fasteners extending into the surplus affixment holes.
When a coupler is used to affix an actuator to a valve in the aforementioned manner, the valve stem, actuator shaft, and/or transmission shaft of the valve and actuator extend through the shaft/stem bore to transmit torque from the actuator to the valve. To reduce the distance between the actuator and valve and thereby reduce the effects of valve stem and actuator shaft misalignment, cavities may be formed in at least one of the mounting sides of the coupler to receive a portion of the valve or actuator therein (for example, a boss protruding from the valve) when the valve and actuator are affixed to the coupler. The valve or actuator will therefore be partially received within the coupler to allow it to rest closer to its opposing actuator or valve. Preferably, these cavities are formed in at least one of the mounting sides of the coupler, and extend partway between the mounting sides of the coupler. These cavities are preferably defined by one or more slots, since bosses protruding from valves and/or couplers are often defined by one or more protruding elongated bars. Additionally, the cavities preferably extend from and open onto the shaft/stem bore, since bosses protruding from valves and/or couplers are generally located adjacent the valve stem and/or actuator shaft. Apart from allowing closer coupling of the valve and actuator, such cavities are also beneficial in that they can be formed to complementarily receive any bosses protruding from valves and/or couplers, and the interfitting relationship between the bosses and the cavities can assist in preventing relative rotation between the valve and actuator when the actuator shaft transmits torque to the valve stem.
Couplers having the foregoing characteristics need not be formed as single-piece units, and may instead be formed as a pair of coupler sections. In this version of the invention, a user is preferably provided with a number of coupler sections. Each coupler section may include one of the aforementioned mounting sides, and may also include an opposing juncture side having juncture fastening holes formed therein. The juncture side of each of the coupler sections is contoured so that it may abut the juncture side of one of the other coupler sections with the coupler sections having aligned juncture fastener holes, thereby allowing the coupler sections to be fastened together by inserting fasteners through their juncture fastener holes. The coupler sections may be formed in such a manner that they are identical save for their affixment holes, i.e., the affixment holes of the coupler sections may be differently sized and shaped between the various coupler sections, so that each coupler section can be affixed to different sets of actuators and valves. Thus, to construct a coupler which may affix a selected actuator to a selected valve, the user need simply select a first coupler section having affixment holes suitable for fastening the first coupler section to the selected actuator, and a second coupler section having affixment holes suitable for fastening the second coupler section to the selected valve. After each coupler section is affixed to its actuator or valve, the coupler sections may then be fastened together at their juncture fastening holes to thereby complete the assembly of the coupler (and thereby couple the actuator and valve).
Since the versions of the coupler which utilize a pair of coupler sections require that the coupler sections be fastened together at their juncture sides after their affixment sides are fastened to the valve and actuator, the juncture fastening holes are preferably defined on flanges extending from the juncture side of each coupler section so as to provide greater working room and clearance for accommodating fasteners. Similarly, it is preferable to define flanges on the mounting sides of each coupler section, and define the affixment holes in these flanges. Any flanges on the mounting side are preferably defined in planes spaced from any flanges on the juncture side, with the axes of the affixment holes having their axes spaced from the axes of the juncture fastening holes.


This invention provides a mechanism for invocation of wireless mobile terminal (Smartphone) apps according to spatial events. The spatial events relate to either entering or being within or exiting or being outside of a physical space. For planes, the spatial boundary may be a circle or the perimeter of an arbitrary polygon. For a three dimensional space, the spatial boundary may be a spherical surface or the surface of an arbitrary polyhedron. Spatial parameters, that identify a boundary, are provided by a Smartphone app builder to an interactive compiler for defining a spatial region. The algorithms for doing so are provided herein. The name of the spatial configuration is afterwards inserted within an Invoke facility service's Boolean expression by the builder of an Invoke facility service. The builder defines which manner of spatial event activity is to be utilized within the Boolean expression.

This invention is an extension to the invention entitled "Compound wireless mobile communication services", U.S. Pat. No. 7,424,292 and the U.S. Provisional Application for Patent 60/454,412 entitled "Creation of compound wireless mobile services from fundamental wireless services".
In the U.S. Pat. No. 7,424,292 and the U.S. Provisional Application for Patent 60/454,412, Kobylarz teaches the concept, processes, and methods to graphically combine, by means of an interactive graphical compiler, an assortment of individually available and executable wireless mobile communication services for the purpose of achieving a desired objective(s). Once combined, these individual services represent an executable sequence that can be appropriately stored in the memory of a communications terminal for future invocations by a user/subscriber. That is, a single invocation of the built service combination will execute the sequence of services whenever desired by a user/subscriber.
A combined wireless mobile communication service is identified as a compound wireless mobile communication service (abbreviated CWS for the diminutive identification Compound Wireless Service). The generic identifier of the services being combined is "component service" (CS). A CS can be one of three service types: a facility service, another CWS (recursive property), or a Fundamental Wireless mobile communication Service (FWS). The distinctions among the three service types is that: (1) facility services are not in themselves wireless mobile communication services, but essential for properly executing a compound wireless mobile communication service (e.g., invoke the execution of a CWS, determine if equality exists between two parameter values), (2) a CWS can have within it components that are themselves CWS, and (3) FWS represent the basic kernels upon which a CWS is formed (e.g., dial a telephone number, send a text message). It is possible to decompose a CWS into its components. If a component is a CWS, then it too can be decomposed into finer components. This successive decomposition terminates when only facility services and FWS exist.
The patent also invented an interactive graphical compiler to "compile a compound wireless mobile communication service for a wireless mobile terminal" and the compiled CWS is executed within the wireless mobile terminal upon invocation. Either a wireless mobile terminal or a computer is used to build compound wireless mobile communication services. Because of its greater computational power, the building facilities are much more extensive with a computer. Consequently, a wireless mobile terminal is used to build less complex CWS or to modify those built on a computer. When a CWS is built and compiled on a computer, the compiled CWS must be down-loaded to the wireless mobile terminal for the execution of the CWS.
The above work on wireless communication services had its origin in the year 2003. Of late, much interest and progress has been made in the area of wireless communication services. A disparity of nomenclature exists between this latter work and that described in the aforementioned patent and patent applications. Although this invention will preserve original nomenclature, the latter terminology will, at times, be used and an association needs to be made. The term wireless mobile terminal is today usually known as a "Smartphone" or "(wireless) "tablet", which has apps to provide service capabilities. Compound wireless services (CWSs) are intended to provide service capabilities on Smartphones, wireless tablets, or any other type of wireless mobile terminal. That is, a CWS is a special type of Smartphone app, or tablet app, or any other type of wireless mobile terminal app. The term "wireless mobile terminal" will be preserved with the understanding that it represents a Smartphone, or tablet, or any other wireless mobile terminal. The use of "CWS" will be appended to appear as "CWS app" to remind one of having the same purpose, as a conventional app, of providing wireless service capabilities. There exist important distinctions between a CWS app and a conventional app. A notable distinction is the manner in which the two types of apps are built. A conventional app is built in the traditional way of textual line coding using a higher level language. The higher level code is afterwards translated by a compiler into a machine language that is appropriate for a wireless mobile terminal's software platform and thereby executable by the wireless mobile terminal. A CWS app is built graphically, using an interactive graphical compiler that conducts dialog with the CWS builder. The CWS graph is translated by the interactive graphical compiler into machine code for downloading to a wireless mobile terminal for later execution. An important feature of a CWS app is its recursive capability; i.e., the reuse of a CWS app as a Component Service (CS) within another CWS app. It is the close association of ordinary language with the algorithms for building a CWS app and the interactive relationship between the interactive graphical compiler and the builder that avails CWS app recursion. Recursion is not a natural attribute of conventional apps. Another CWS app attribute is derived from the close association of ordinary language with the CWS app building algorithms and the graphical build process. Building a CWS app is intuitive. No formal training in computer programming is needed to build a CWS app. Simplicity is not a feature when using line coding to build conventional apps.
The invention of the Invoke facility service was first described in the U.S. Provisional No. 61/338,080. This description represented the basis for the ensuing Patent Application No. 12/931,172(publication No. 2011/020318). The purpose of Invoke is to detect the events needed for a CWS app execution to commence and then initiate (or Invoke) the CWS app execution. The events represent variables within a Boolean expression parameter of an Invoke facility service. Boolean expression parameters allow Invoke to be very versatile with respect to the possible comination of events for CWS app invocation. Versatility is enhanced by the wide variety of events that are recognized: eq. entering a geographical location, recognizing an audio signal, reaching a time of day, observing a specific caller ID. The purpose of Invoke is to detect the events needed for a CWS app execution to commence and then initiate (or invoke) the CWS app execution. The events represent variables within a Boolean expression parameter of an Invoke facility service. Boolean expression parameters allow Invoke to be very versatile with respect to the possible combination of events for CWS app invocation. Versatility is enhanced by the wide variety of events that are recognized; e.g., entering a geographical location, recognizing an audio signal, reaching a time of day, observing a specific caller ID.
The use of a Boolean expression to accompany an Invoke facility service is at the discretion of a CWS app builder. If no Boolean expression exists, a default event is used for invocation; e.g., selecting a CWS app from a displayed list. A default event is at the discretion of the wireless service provider and implemented by the wireless mobile terminal manufacturer.
The Invoke facility service contains other parameters useful for CWS app invocation. For example, CWS app password protection, CWS app initialization of constants and variables, linkage to other CWS apps to acquire data.

Application of the invoke facility service to restrict invocation of compound wireless mobile communication services: division 1—formation of restricted spatial boundaries


The present invention relates to a reader participation type electronic book system using a module including a module assembly configured by assembling a plurality of modules, and a user terminal connected to the module assembly through a network, which includes: a story providing unit transmitting an electronic book database including at least one story to the user terminal; an assembly information reception unit receiving module assembly information based on at least one quest performing information generated with respect to scenes constituting the story and generated for a story progress; and a score generation unit generating a score for module assembling of a user for each scoring condition with respect to the module assembly information.

In recent years, various module based fabricating tools for education, hobby, research, production, etc., have been proposed. Modules included in the fabricating tools may perform specific functions, respectively and are provided to be connected to each other to form a module assembly. In this case, respective modules may be provided to be also electrically connected to each other to transmit/receive energy, signals, data, etc. A reader can fabricate a module assembly that performs a specific purpose by assembling modules according to a provided manual or an autonomously created scheme.
As one example, Patent Document 1 (Korean Patent Registration No. 1761596) discloses a module assembly fabricated by assembling various types of modules including a network module, a driving module, a sensor module, and the like. In this case, the module assembly may be utilized for various purposes such as an educational kit which allows students or readers to appreciate an operational principle of an electronic device while assembling modules 10, 20, 30, and 40, or a research kit used for fabricating a device for a researcher to perform a specific purpose, and a toy kit which is capable of being assembled by the reader for a hobby.
Various persons including students, normal persons, and the like in addition to the researcher which is a software or hardware specialist use the module assemblies as mentioned above. However, except for the specialist, it may be difficult for the normal persons or students to assemble respective module assemblies so that the modules operate normally and prepare and use software suitable for driving the assembled module assemblies, and as a result, there may be a restriction on dissemination of the module.
In particular, since coding such as logic operations on signals generated by various hardware such as a sensor or a button should use various application program interfaces (APIs), the coding may be coding techniques having a high difficulty level for general persons or students. Accordingly, a system is required, which facilitates an access to coding by using a module connected to an electronic book.

Reader participation type electronic book system using module and operation method


A system comprises a connection accessible to one or more incoming nodes, a call transfer interface for connecting the connection with the incoming nodes to a call transfer module capable of communicating with the incoming nodes, a distributed network of two or more provider nodes interfacing with the call transfer module through a router, the router connected to the call transfer module and provider nodes connected to the distributed network, said provider nodes connected to the incoming nodes through the router connected to the call transfer module connected to the call transfer interface and routed by the router in accordance with a provider node priority.

The present invention generally relates to a system that assists organizations in the maintaining essential services during periods of crisis by routing incoming communications efficiently.
The operation of critical world economic systems are at risk of disruption by events that interfere with the ability of organizations to continue operations during these events. Events such as natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and acts of terrorism or war can lead to societal upheaval that results in substantial absenteeism among the employees of critical systems. Employees may be unable to travel to their place of employment due to their own unavailability, illness or injury to family members, fear, or directives of governmental institutions. As a result of employee absence at their normal place of business, the continued functioning of necessary infrastructure may be at risk, as well as the disruption of the business operations of even non-critical services organizations.
The organizations that are threatened by chaos arising from disaster are diverse, and range in size from very small to the largest organizations. Examples of small organizations at risk include institutions such as local utilities, local governmental institutions, public safety organizations, and food and fuel wholesalers, distributors and retailers. Larger entities at risk include regional utilities, transportation providers, such as airlines and transit authorities, and governmental organizations such as FEMA and the military.
In many institutions, there is no absolute requirement for all employees to be present at a single, or even normally assigned, place of business. The organization may continue to operate so long as employees maintain access to the company's communications or control systems for normal business operation. There is a continuing need for a variety of institutions to maintain a cohesive chain of responsibility for continuing operations during periods of crisis.
As an example, natural disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires or earthquakes may make travel to the normal place of employment virtually impossible for certain key employees. Thus, those physically inaccessible employees, though otherwise able to carry out their job duties, are absent from their jobs. When absenteeism for organizations such as electric utilities, government agencies, and transportation systems reaches a certain level, their operations cease to function effectively. For instance, following a severe winter storm, travel via public roads may be impossible, leading to excessive absenteeism among customer service representatives of an electric utility. As a result, customers may be unable to contact the electric utility for instructions, or to provide reports of emergencies or power outages. Nonetheless, the customer service agents, though not at their normal (now inaccessible) job locations, could carry out their duties if a functioning communications system were operating.
In a second illustrative example, during the occurrence of a disease pandemic such as an influenza pandemic (or related panic response), absenteeism may reach critical levels across a variety of industries due to illness of employees, illness among employee families, fear of contagion, quarantine, or declaration of a public health emergency. Such absent employees, though unable to travel to their normal job location, may be able to complete their job responsibilities even at a reduced level of efficiency. Presently, there is no available system that in times of crisis can effectively assess employees' location and availability, and then direct communications and operational control to available employees in order to allow continued operation when absenteeism is severe.
A startling example of communications failure leading to a failure of critical economic systems occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf coast of the United States in September 2004. It is well known that in the days following the hurricane, flooding in New Orleans displaced employees of law enforcement and utility companies, who were unable to effectively communicate with survivors. As a result additional death and destruction of property occurred. In addition, in rural areas of Mississippi not directly affected by flooding, loss of electric power and communications failures led to severe disruption of water, food and fuel supply. If employees of these critical systems had been able to carry out their job responsibilities at remote locations, such disruptions may have been effectively moderated.
In light of the substantial risk of societal disruption and loss of business activity due to severe hazardous events, there exists an acute need for a system and method that provide for a resilient and efficient routing of communications traffic from unavailable representatives of organizations to those agents or representatives capable of performing essential tasks necessary for the continued functioning of the organization.

Automatic communications forwarding to displaced employees


Methods, systems, and computer-readable media for optimizing and enhancing delivery of application virtualization layers to client computing devices are described herein. In various embodiments, an application virtualization layer optimization service may identify a first and a second application virtualization layer to be delivered to one or more client computing devices. Each application virtualization layer may represent a package of one or more applications. A layer analysis service may analyze the first and second application virtualization layers to determine conflicts between the layers, using predetermined conflict analysis rules, and generate an actionable conflict resolution report based on the analysis. Based on the actionable conflict resolution report, the application virtualization layer optimization service may resolve conflicts between the first and second application virtualization layers, order the first and application virtualization layers, and deliver the ordered layers to the one or more client computing devices.

Many enterprises (e.g., corporations, partnerships, governments, academic institutions, other organizations, etc.) find it challenging to deploy systems for managing client computing devices by using standardized operating systems and applications. For example, an enterprise may wish to deliver an image containing an operating system and a set of applications to their end users. However, the enterprise may have hundreds, if not thousands, of computing devices in the organization. To complicate matters further, the computing devices are typically not homogenous and have a set of widely ranging capabilities. Moreover, the roles of the users across the organization differ greatly, which makes the task of defining a set of applications that supports all of the wide-ranging roles a herculean effort.
Typical approaches to address these complexities usually involve narrowing down the large number of combinations to a manageable number and creating distinct images or virtual disks for each of the pre-determined device and application combinations. However, these approaches have not been without their share of problems. Each image must be built from scratch, which is time-consuming and inefficient. Each image must then be tested to ensure that the selected mix of operating system and applications are compatible with each other. And, finally, the content of the images, once created, is typically set in stone. If any of the applications comprised within the image needs to be updated, the image must be recreated and tested again from scratch.

Optimizations and enhancements of application virtualization layers