An amplifier includes a first lower active sub cell and a second lower active sub cell, each comprising an input terminal and an output terminal, wherein the input terminals of the lower active sub cells are connected to the amplifier input and the output terminals of the lower active sub cells are not shorted. Furthermore, the amplifier includes a first upper active sub cell and a second upper active sub cell, each including a biasing terminal, wherein the input terminals and the output terminals of the upper active sub cells are coupled between the output terminals of the lower active sub cells and the amplifier output. The amplifier includes a bias controller configured to provide a first biasing signal to the first upper active sub cell and a second biasing signal to the second upper active sub cell based on an output power of the output signal.

Wireless infrastructure has been rapidly taking over as the cornerstone of modern communication means in the past two decades. One can now recognize the importance of GPS systems, WLAN and most importantly cellular systems (GSM/UMTS/LTE). Modern 3G and 4G systems require broad bandwidth channels of up to 20 MHz and allow high data rates of up to 100 Mb/s range utilizing non-constant envelope modulation schemes. These schemes are characterized by their high spectral efficiency and crest factor. Due to the implied demands on linearity, the power amplifier (PA) associated with the system is often operated at several dB below its peak output power with stringent requirements on both performance and price.
Financially, RF-CMOS technology provides the best option for wide-scale cheap production compared to GaAs and GaN. However, performance-wise, RF-CMOS suffers from drawbacks. Among the drawbacks is its low voltage-robustness, leading to lower achievable saturated output power. Moreover, it suffers from low efficiency and low maximum linear output power compared to the other technologies. These limitations hinder the combination of the CMOS PA with other software-defined radio blocks on a single chip to achieve true integration.

Amplifier and mobile communication device


A memory characterization system and method using a hierarchically-stitched netlist generation technique. A plurality of leaf cells forming a memory instance are generated based on a minimum area required to encompass an optimal number of memory strap points relating to global signals that span the memory instance. Input and output pins are defined for each tile with respect to the global signals in both horizontal and vertical directions. A parametric dataset is obtained for each tile using an extractor (wherein the memory instance is in post-layout condition) or a pre-layout wire-delay estimator. The parametric netlist for the entire memory instance is assembled by coupling the individual parametric datasets using the input and output pins of the tiles with respect to the global signals.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to semiconductor memories, and more particularly, to a system and method for efficiently characterizing a memory instance.
2. Description of Related Art
Silicon manufacturing advances today allow true single-chip systems to be fabricated on a single die (i.e., System-On-Chip or SOC integration). However, there exists a xe2x80x9cdesign gapxe2x80x9d between today""s electronic design automation (EDA) tools and the advances in silicon processes which recognizes that the available silicon real-estate has grown much faster than has designers"" productivity, leading to underutilized silicon. Unfortunately, the trends are not encouraging: the xe2x80x9cdeep submicronxe2x80x9d problems of non-convergent timing, complicated timing and extraction requirements, and other complex electrical effects are making silicon implementation harder. This is especially acute when one considers that various types of circuitry such as analog blocks, non-volatile memory (e.g., read-only memory or ROM), random access memories (RAMs), and other xe2x80x9cnon-logicxe2x80x9d cells are being required. The gap in available silicon capacity versus design productivity means that without some fundamental change in methodology, it will take several staff years to develop leading-edge integrated circuits (ICs).
Design re-use has emerged as the key methodology solution for successfully addressing this time-to-market problem in semiconductor IC design. In this paradigm, instead of re-designing every part of every IC chip, engineers can re-use existing designs as much as possible and thus minimize the amount of new circuitry that must be created from scratch. It is commonly accepted in the semiconductor industry that one of the most prevalent and promising methods of design reuse is through what are known as Intellectual Property (xe2x80x9cIPxe2x80x9d) componentsxe2x80x94pre-implemented, re-usable modules of circuitry that can be quickly inserted and verified to create a single-chip system. Such re-usable IP components are typically provided as megacells, cores, macros, embedded memories through generators or memory compilers, et cetera.
It is well known that memory is a key technology driver for SOC design. It is also well known that speed and power consumption are two of the more significant factors in designing a high performance memory instance, whether provided as a stand-alone device or in an embedded application. In order to ensure that a memory circuit operates in an optimal manner as per design, the device is rigorously characterized during its design phase with respect to several key performance criteria. Typically, timing parameters such as cycle time (tcc), clock-to-Q delay (tcq), et cetera, are estimated by running simulations on a suitable parametric netlist (e.g., an RC netlist) extracted from the memory circuit""s layout. Whereas extracting parametric netlists for memory instances is a relatively straightforward process, it becomes highly cumbersome when high density memory is involved because of the large amounts of data generated thereby. Not only do the storage requirements for such data quickly reach unmanageable levels, but the engineering time necessary to perform full-scale characterization of a memory device becomes prohibitive as well.
State-of-the-art solutions to address these concerns generally involve the use of what are known as PI-models for estimating the various resistive and capacitive loadings that give rise to the delay in a memory circuit. Although these solutions are fairly effective with respect to reducing engineering time and database storage requirements, they are nevertheless beset with several deficiencies and shortcomings. For example, it is commonly known that the use of PI-models, which are based on transmission line techniques, for estimating memory loadings gives rise to inaccurate results, thereby throwing off the timing estimates by a significant percentage. In general, such inaccuracies are due to inadequate representation of the secondary and higher-order electrical effects (e.g., capacitive coupling) inherent in memory circuits. Also, where an end user of memory (e.g., a value-added system integrator) is desirous of fine-tuning a memory circuit to suit its specific applications, there exists a critical lack of appropriate knowledge such that building necessary PI-models is out of the question. Furthermore, the current solutions are also unsatisfactory with respect to memory circuit power estimations.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an efficient memory characterization system and method using a hierarchically-stitched netlist generation technique that advantageously overcomes these and other aforementioned deficiencies of the state-of-the-art solutions. Based on the physical architecture (i.e., floor plan) of a memory instance, which may be an embedded memory circuit or a stand-alone device, a plurality of repeatable blocks or tiles are generated with respect to each distinct section of the floor plan. The array portion of the memory instance is thus segmented into a number of bitcell array tiles arranged as rows and columns spanning the array, wherein each bitcell array tile comprises a select number of cells in rows and columns. An individual bitcell array tile is accordingly associated with a predetermined number of wordlines (WLs) and bitlines (BLs). Similarly, the row decoder (X-DEC) section of the memory instance is also correspondingly segmented into a column of vertically-stacked row decoder tiles, wherein each row decoder tile is operable to be coupled to a select row of bitcell array tiles via a select number of WLs. The input/output (I/O) block of the memory instance is analogously segmented into a row of horizontally-stacked I/O tiles as well, each I/O tile corresponding to a specified number of BLs. The control block of the memory instance is preferably provided as a single tile having connections to the vertically-stacked row decoder tiles as well as the horizontally-stacked I/O tiles.
The repeatable tiles, also referred to as leaf cells, thus comprise the entire memory instance and are preferably created depending on a minimum area required to encompass an optimal number of memory strap points relating to the global signals that span the memory instance. I/O pins (or, nodes) are defined for each tile with respect to the global signals in horizontal and vertical directions as the case may be. A parametric dataset is obtained for each tile using an extractor (where the memory instance is in post-layout condition) or a pre-layout wire-delay estimator. The parametric netlist for the entire memory instance is assembled thereafter by appropriately coupling the individual parametric datasets using the I/O pins of the tiles with respect to the global signals.
In a further aspect, the present invention is directed to a computer-accessible medium operable in connection with a processor environment, wherein the computer-accessible medium carries a sequence of instructions which, when executed in the processor environment, cause the various steps involved in the memory characterization scheme of the present invention as summarized hereinabove.

System and method for memory characterization


The present disclosure provides, in some embodiments, a method for managing applications and resources. According to some embodiments, a power orchestrator may comprise (a) receiving information handling system resource status, (b) receiving one or more application registrations from one or more applications to be executed on the information handling system, (c) formulating a resource priority schedule using the received resource status and the one or more application registrations, (d) formulating a resource allocation schedule in accordance with the resource priority schedule, (e) communicating the resource allocation schedule to the one or more applications, and (f) allocating one or more resources to the one or more applications in accordance with the resource allocation schedule. A method may comprise, according to some embodiments, determining whether one or more of the one or more applications will submit a registration update and/or determining whether available resource(s) match demand and adjusting resource status to match demand.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Power consumption and heat generation during power consumption may have a significant impact on both the operating cost and performance of information handling systems. Power consumption may also impact the availability and/or convenience of information handling systems. For example, the rate of power consumption may determine how quickly a battery-powered information handling system (e.g., mobile device and/or laptop) becomes depleted. Also, it may be desirable to limit power consumption in a desktop to reduce the noise generated by cooling fan(s). Reductions in power consumption may also have a desirable impact (e.g., less adverse impact) on the environment.
Accordingly, an information handling system (e.g., a server) may be configured with a power profile that sets suggested power usage levels and allows reporting of power used. However, significant operating system (OS) applications (e.g., database. web servers, and/or mail servers) may not be able to determine and/or tune themselves to the power usage settings of the hardware. Consequently, errors or failures may occur during power ramp-down periods.

Mechanism for application management during server power changes


A laser measuring set for measuring a distance from an object includes a pulse laser for emitting a laser pulse at the beginning of a measuring cycle; an optical sensor having at least one detection unit for generating detection signals; a coincidence recognition stage for generating coincidence signals, wherein during the measuring cycle, one of the coincidence signals is generated each time the detection signals generated by the detection unit reach at least a preset coincidence depth within a coincidence time; a coincidence time presetting stage for presetting the coincidence time for the coincidence recognition stage, the coincidence time presetting stage being configured such that the coincidence time monotonically increases during the measuring cycle; and travel-time measuring set for determining the distance on the basis of a travel-time measurement of the coincidence signals.

With known laser measuring means operating in accordance with a time-of-flight method, the time of flight (travel time) of a laser pulse emitted from an active radiation source and reflected by the object to be measured is measured by detecting the reflected laser pulse.
Within this context, known laser measuring means operating in accordance with a time-of-flight method exhibit the disadvantage that as the distance and the background light increase, the reflected laser pulse becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish from the background light, so that the quality of the distance measurements decreases.

Laser measuring means for measuring a distance from an object, and method of operating same

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.


A method for conditional access to a digital data stream encrypted with at least one control word and broadcasted to at least one mobile device, said transmitter also transmitting a control message stream containing control words and access conditions, said mobile device being connected to a mobile communication network via a mobile access point, comprises: receiving the control message stream by the mobile device; determining a location identifier for the said mobile device by either the identifier of the mobile access point or the identifier of the broadcasting network transmitter; verifying access conditions contained in the control message, said access conditions comprising a reception condition related to a mobile access point identifier and/or an identifier of one broadcasting network transmitter; comparing the determined identifier with the identifier(s) contained in the access conditions; and authorizing or blocking the access to said data stream depending on the result of the comparison.

Currently, mobile devices configured for the reception of digital television programmes are based on standard technologies such as OMA (Open Mobile Alliance), DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast, Handheld), or DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) which is in a way a broadband extension of DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting).
The OMA technology implements a single complete solution for a given market such as the portable phone market where all devices and content providers implement the OMA technology.
DVB technology has been designed to standardize digital television decoders (set-top boxes) in order to reduce their costs on a large scale. It standardizes the elements involved in the conditional access to content broadcast in MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 formats for mobile television on the Internet. These elements consist of the encryption algorithm of the broadcast content, the ECM control messages containing the decryption keys or control words, the EMM management messages containing user entitlements and the interface between the decoder and the security module managing the conditional access.
In the particular case of DVB-H mobile television, the protection of the content is developed by the DVB-CBMS group (Digital video Broadcasting—Convergence of Broadcast and Mobile Services).
The standardization does not encompass either the added value content of the ECM and EMM messages, or the method of protection of said messages. Each conditional access provider uses its own data structure and its own protection means for a particular broadcast content. DVB technology thus offers a number of possibilities for the development of content security.
It is well known for a broadcaster to be allowed to manage the reception of an event depending on geographical location. In fact, broadcasters will often try to preclude the access to content such as a sports broadcast in the area surrounding the site where this event takes place. Thus, by knowing the location of each receiver, a so-called <<blackout>> signal is sent to the receiver with for instance the postcode or postcodes of areas which are not allowed to receive live coverage of the event. The security module of the receiver that contains the location information (for example the subscriber postal code to the service or ZIP code), receiving this message, will thus apply a new rule during the entitlements verification and even if the receiver has entitlements for this event, the <<blackout>> message has priority to forbid the access to the event by not sending back the control words that are used to encrypt the event.
Nevertheless, in the mobile universe, this notion of "postal code" is no more valid and it is not possible to restrict a reception on such a portable device.

Method of local conditional access for mobile equipment


Disclosed are limb prostheses for use when normal use of the lower leg is temporarily or permanently lost due to lower leg injury or disease, including below-knee amputation. Disclosed prostheses provide full body weight support and allow a wearer to maintain the use of the hands and arms during ambulation. In addition, a wearer can maintain use of their own knee to flex and extend during ambulation, thereby better controlling the prosthesis during motion and providing a more normal gait as compared to previously known devices. In the event of permanent loss of the lower leg due to below-knee amputation, the disclosed prosthesis provides an alternative to socket-type prosthetic devices.

Injury or disease leading to the loss of the use of the lower leg, including soft tissue and bone injury or disease, occur every day and lead to ambulation difficulties for the sufferer. Often, the damage is such that an individual should keep weight and pressure off of the injured limb for several weeks or months. In cases of severe injury or disease (such as diabetes), below-knee amputation may be necessary, in which case the use of the lower limb is permanently lost. Most individuals are able to utilize crutches during the period of rehabilitation, but use of crutches requires a basic level of upper body strength and the contact points between the crutch and the user can develop skin irritation and pain due to pressure. Moreover, a person who also suffers arm or shoulder weakness may need to utilize a wheelchair during rehabilitation.
In the case of below-knee amputation, patients who are not able to comfortably use or afford a socket-type prosthesis permanently need an alternative means of assistance for ambulation. Alternatively, patients who use a socket-type prosthesis may encounter situations when a socket-based prosthesis cannot be worn, such as for a period of time following amputation surgery while the residual limb is healing from the surgery, or when the use of a socket-type prosthesis must be discontinued to provide time to heal from socket-induced pressure sores and/or irritation.
Crutches and wheelchairs both present difficulties for users in navigating doorways, steps, slopes, getting in and out of automobiles, and the like. Crutches also present difficulties due to the loss of the use of the hands and arms, making the carrying of items and other basic functions quite difficult.
Crutchless ambulation devices have been proposed. For instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,303,537, 6,494,919, 6,799,592, 7,600,524, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0251560 describe devices that may be coupled to an individual's leg with the leg held in a flexed position, so as to provide arm free ambulation and support for the injured limb. Unfortunately, such devices prevent any flexion and extension of the knee, leading to an awkward gait for anyone utilizing the devices.
What are needed in the art are limb prostheses for people suffering a lower leg injury or disease that provides for a more natural walking motion. More specifically, what is needed in the art is a limb prosthesis that allows the wearer to use the motion of their own knee to control their motion and maintain the freedom of the arms and hands of the user.


A hair washing apparatus including a cistern having an opening on an upper part thereof, into which a person under hair washing inserts his head while lying on his back and a neck receiving part for receiving a neck of the person, the neck receiving part provided at an entering edge part of the cistern, wherein the neck receiving part comprises a board having a plurality of slits or small holes. The cistern includes a wash water spouting means for spouting wash water toward an underside part of the neck receiving part, and the wash water spouting means includes a rotatable water supply pipe having a plurality of spouts and a lever provided on the water supply pipe. The lever allows for rotation of the water supply pipe about the longitudinal axis thereof to adjust a spouting angle of the wash water.

FIG. 8 is a drawing illustrating a construction of a prior art hair washer for washing hair at a neck part of a person. FIG. 8(a) is a perspective view schematically illustrating the construction of the hair washer and FIG. 8(b) is a perspective view illustrating the construction of a hair washer for washing hair at the neck part of the person.
In FIG. 8(a), the hair washer has a cistern 1 having an opening on its upper part. A neck receiving member 51 for receiving neck of a person 6 whose hair is washed while lying on his back, is disposed at an entering edge part la of the cistern 1. Reference numeral 55 designates a head part washing pipe for washing hair at the head part of the person 6. Numeral 56 designates a nozzle spouting wash water.
Next, in FIG. 8(b), a groove 57 is provided at the entering edge part 1a of the cistern 1 and the neck receiving member 51 is disposed at an upper end of the groove 57. The neck receiving member 51 is disposed such that a neck receiving part 51a receiving the neck part of the person 6 covers the groove 57. The neck receiving part 51a has a wash water through hole 52 for passing wash water. A neck part washing pipe 53 for spouting the wash water from a nozzle 54 thereof toward the wash water through hole 52 of the neck receiving member 51 is disposed at a lower part of the cistern 1.
A hair washing operation at a neck part by the prior art hair washer described above will now be discussed.
First, the person 6 lies on his back and inserts his head into the opening of the cistern 1 such that the neck part is received by the neck receiving part 51a of the neck receiving member 51.
Then, the hair washer is operated to wash hair at the neck part. The wash water is spouted from the nozzle 54 of the neck part washing pipe 53 toward the wash water through hole 52 of the neck receiving member 51, thereby washing hair at the neck part of the person 6.
However, in the above prior art hair washer, the neck part of the person 6 is received by the neck receiving part 51a of the neck receiving member 51, which has one large wash water through hole 52. While using the prior art hair washer, the person 6 feels something is wrong at the neck part.

Hair washing apparatus and a neck receiving member used therefor


The disclosure relates to a composition added to animal feed used in combination with a vaccine to enhance the effectiveness of the vaccine. Amongst other effects, the composition raises the titer of antibodies to the vaccine.

The immune response involves two distinct systems: the innate system and the acquired (antibody-mediated) system. The innate system is an evolutionarily ancient system that uses a variety of strategies to prevent infection. These include the epithelial cell barriers provided by skin, the gastrointestinal tract and the linings of the lung and mammary gland. In addition, the innate system includes the acidic barrier of the stomach (or abomasum in ruminant animals) and the digestive enzymes of the stomach, pancreas and small intestine. Finally, the innate system includes the white blood cells, macrophages and neutrophils. These cells first recognize pathogens via the presentation of unique markers on the surface of pathogens and then phagocytose and kill pathogens.
The innate system provides the initial immune response and provides the time required for the acquired antibody system to respond and to develop the antibodies needed to combat a specific pathogen. Usually one week to several weeks are required for a person or an animal to develop an antibody response. In this intervening time, an organism depends upon the innate system to hold off infection.
The acquired immune system may develop antibodies in response to a specific pathogen, toxin, chemical or any molecule that the organism recognizes as an antigen (i.e. the immune system recognizes the antigen as non-self). When pathogens infect a person or an animal, specific cellular markers associated with the pathogen are presented to antibody-producing cells. The acquired immune system then undergoes a process termed "clonal expansion". Specifically, this allows for the mass production of cells which produce antibodies which are directed toward a specific antigen associated with the pathogen.
Antibodies are synthesized by T-cells and B-cells. The T-cells mature in the thymus and present antibodies that are bound to their extracellular surfaces. The T-cells then circulate freely in blood and through lymphatic tissues. The binding of the T-cell to a pathogen via the bound antibody thereby results in the identification and subsequent destruction of the pathogen. In contrast, the antibodies produced by B-cells are secreted into the blood where they circulate freely. When B-cell-produced antibodies bind to a pathogen, they initiate a cascade of events which results in the identification and killing of the pathogen. Antibodies which are produced in response to immunization are classed into antibody isotypes. The three most important antibody isotypes include IgM, IgG1 and IgG2. Other isotypes include, but are not limited to the IgA, IgD, IgG3, IgG4 and IgE isotypes and, within poultry, the IgY isotype.
The adaptive IgM response is the first antibody produced by T- and B-cells in response to an antigen; however, it is a relatively "weak" antibody with limited affinity for antigen and specificity. More "powerful" antibody responses are contained within the IgG1 and IgG2 isotypes; however, the development of the IgG1 and IgG2 isotypes requires longer periods of time. IgG isotype responses in pregnant individuals are particularly important as these are the antibody isotypes which are transferred from mother to offspring via colostrum at time of birth and which thereby transfer passive immunity to the newborn.
Vaccination (also called immunization) against disease is commonly practiced within the human medical and livestock industries. For example, to vaccinate against a pathogen, an animal is administered a vaccine in the form of non-infectious version of the pathogen or is administered only a portion of the pathogen. The acquired immune system responds by producing antibodies to the vaccine. If the animal is subsequently exposed to the live pathogen, the antibodies made in response to the vaccine are quickly mobilized and then recognize and target the pathogen for destruction.
The livestock industry relies upon immunization protocols against livestock-specific diseases to minimize morbidity and mortality arising from fungal, viral and bacterial infections. For example, in the dairy industry, it is common to vaccinate animals against E. coli as this is one of the most common forms of mammary gland infections (i.e. mastitis) and causes loss of production and, in severe cases, loss of the cow.
Several problems arise from current vaccination protocols. For example, the efficacy of vaccination protocols varies from individual to individual. Specifically, some individuals will develop a high titer (high serum concentration of antibodies) in response to a specific immunization protocol whereas others do not. As there is a direct correlation between the titer of an antibody and the immune system's response to an infection, some individuals remain susceptible to an infection by the pathogen even though they have been vaccinated. Consequently, there remains a need to improve the effectiveness of vaccines to reduce incidence of disease in animal populations.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Augmentation of titer for vaccination in animals


A method of enhancing spatial resolution of an image. An image is accessed. The image comprises a set of confident pixels and an unconfident pixel positioned adjacent to each confident pixel of the set of confident pixels. The set of confident pixels comprises four or fewer pixels and corresponds to a plurality of known depth values, the unconfident pixel comprises an unknown depth value. A best depth hypothesis for the unconfident pixel is determined using a filter module in which the plurality of known depth values are used as depth hypotheses. The unconfident pixel is updated as a confident pixel using the best depth hypothesis.

There exists a variety of range measuring technologies to acquire three dimensional information about the world. For example, laser range scanners can provide extremely accurate and dense three dimensional measurements over a large working volume. However, most of these high-quality scanners measure a single point at a time, limiting their applications to static environments only. The options to capture depth at video rates are rather limited; the main contender, stereo vision, is known to be quite fragile in practice. Recently, new sensors have been developed to overcome this limitation. However, these sensors generally are only able to provide low resolution images.
The drawings referred to in this description should not be understood as being drawn to scale unless specifically noted.

Enhancing spatial resolution of an image

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An apparatus comprising a first circuit configured to receive a signal and output a first output signal, a second circuit configured to receive the same signal and output a second output signal with a phase delay compared to the first signal, and a combiner configured to combine said first and second output signals to provide a combined signal, wherein said phase delay is controlled such that an amplitude of said combined signal is controlled.

User equipment such as mobile telephones are known. These devices are arranged to be able to transmit signals and receive signals. There are several different standards which are being used worldwide at the present time. By way of example only, these standards include GSM (global system for mobile communication) 900, GSM 1800, WCDMA (wideband code division multiple access). One or more of these different systems may be used in the same country. Alternatively, different systems may be used in different countries. Additionally different standards may exist for different types of communication such as voice and data.
Multimode user equipment is known. These types of devices are capable of dealing with more than one of these standards. To deal with more than one of these standards, the transmitters of these phones have so far been designed in such a way such that they have a relatively high power consumption. Furthermore, the size of the transmitter is relatively large as is the cost of such a transmitter. This is a result of the requirement to deal with more than one standard or mode. The transmitter may need to be able to have a large operational bandwidth and/or linearity.
Reference is made to T. Sowlati, D. Rozenblit, R. Pullela, M. Damgaard, E. McCarthy, D. Koh, D. Ripley, F. Balteanu, I. Gheorghe, "Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE polar loop transmitter" IEEE JOURNAL OF SOLID-STATE CIRCUITS, VOL. 39, NO. 12, DECEMBER 2004. This document describes the polar loop transmitter discussed in relation to FIG. 1 which is arranged to deal with a wide range of bandwidths. This is a polar loop transmitter. The known transmitter 2 comprises a first loop 4 for controlling the phase and a second loop 6 for controlling the amplitude of the transmitted signal.
An antenna 8 is provided. The transmitter 2 is connected to the antenna 8 via a switch 10. This switch allows the transmitter or a receiver (not shown) to be connected to the antenna. The phase loop 4 has an output which is connected to the input of a power amplifier 12. The power amplifier 12 has a control input Vcntrl 14 which is an output of the amplitude loop 6. The controls the amplification provided by the amplifier.
The phase loop 4 comprises an ultra high frequency UHF voltage controlled oscillator 20. The output of this oscillator 20 is connected to a first divider 22 which divides the frequency by M. The output of the first divider 22 is connected to a second divider 24 which divides the output of the first divider 24 by N. This provides an intermediate frequency reference IFref. The output of the second divider 24 is input to a phase frequency detector 26 the output of which is connected to a charge pump 28. The charge pump 28 has an output connected to a first low pass filter 30. The output of the first low pass filter 30 is connected to a radio frequency voltage controlled oscillator 32, the output of which is connected to a first amplifier 34.
The output of the first amplifier 34 represents the output of the phase loop 4 and is input to the power amplifier 12. It should be appreciated that the signal which is output by the first amplifier will have the required phase and will be at the required radio frequency.
The phase loop 4 also has an output 40 from between the first divider 22 and the second divider 24. The output 40 of the phase loop is input to a mixer 42 of the amplitude loop 6. Before being output of the phase loop, the output passes through a buffer 38.
The phase loop also has a first bandpass filter 44, the output of which is connected to a second amplifier 46. The input to the first bandpass filter 44 is a feedback path from the output of the power amplifier, via part of the amplitude loop as will be described in more detail hereinafter. The second amplifier 46 has an output connected to an IQ modulator 48. The IQ modulator has a base band I and Q input. The output of the IQ modulator is effectively at the intermediate frequency but is a modulated signal. The output of the IQ modulator 48 is input to a limiter 54, the output of which is connected to a second input of the phase frequency detector 26. The phase frequency detector will compare the phase of the modulated version of the intermediate frequency with the reference version of the intermediate frequency.
The output provided by the phase frequency detector 26 effectively has an output which instructs subsequent circuitry on how to adjust in order to lock onto the phase. The output of the phase frequency detector 26 is fed to the filter 30 which integrates the signal to smooth it. This smoothed signal is fed to the voltage-controlled oscillator. The VCO provides an output signal with a RF frequency that is proportional to the level of the input voltage, which is then fed back to the PFD 26.
The output of the IQ modulator 48 is additionally input to a second bandpass filter 50, the output of which is connected to an amplifier 52. The output of that amplifier 52 is input to a first detector 54 of the amplitude loop.
The amplitude loop 6 will now be described. A coupler 70 is provided between the power amplifier 12 and the switch 10. A small proportion of the output signal is input to a mixer 42. The mixer 42 mixes the output received from the coupler with the output 40 received from the phase loop 4 to provide an intermediate frequency signal. The output of the mixer 42 is input to an intermediate frequency voltage gain amplifier VGA 62. The output of this amplifier 62 is connected to a limiter 64, the output of which is connected to the first band pass filter 44 of the amplitude loop.
The output of the intermediate frequency voltage gain controlled amplifier 62 is also input to a second detector 60. The output of the first and second detectors 60 and 68 are input to a subtractor 70 which subtracts one value from the other to define an error value. The error value is input to a baseband VGA 72. The output of the baseband VGA 72 is input to a second low pass filter 74. The output of the second low pass filter 74 is input to a third amplifier 76, the output of which provides the voltage control signal 14 for the power amplifier 12. In other words the error signal will define the control signal applied to the power amplifier and hence the required amplitude of the output signal.
Effectively, the phase loop works by comparing an intermediate frequency reference signal generated by the UHF VCO and the first and second dividers with a modulated intermediate frequency signal. The modulated intermediate frequency signal is generated by the IQ modulator. The modulated signal is limited by the limiter 54 to keep the signal within required bounds. The phase frequency detector uses these inputs to provide an output with the required phase information. This signal is effectively processed and output at a radio frequency level to the power amplifier.
The amplitude loop 6 generates an error value from comparing a feedback signal with the modulated intermediate frequency signal. The feedback signal is taken by the coupler, passes through the mixer and VGA 62 to provide the feedback signal at the intermediate frequency. The signal with which it is compared is the modulated intermediate frequency signal, which has been filtered by the second band pass filter 50 and amplified by the amplifier 52. This is representative of the signal before it passes through the various components. This error signal is used to generate a control signal which is then used to control the power amplifier to control the amplitude of the transmitted signal. The output between the first and second dividers is input to the mixer 42 and is used to down convert the signal received from the coupler to an intermediate frequency.
Thus the arrangement of FIG. 1 uses two loops in controlling the transmitted signal, one for phase and one for amplitude. This arrangement produces a good transmitter, but the arrangement requires a large number of components including a power amplifier, gain controlled amplifiers (VGA), mixers, and a number of voltage controlled oscillators. This means that the transmitter has a relative large power consumption and transmitter size/cost. These components are provided to deal with the requirements of a multimode transmitter environment.
Reference is made to U.S. application Ser. No. 11/895,727 which discloses an antenna which has a PM branch output and a AM branch output which are combined in an antenna.
It is an aim of some embodiments of the invention to address the disadvantages discussed above.


A processing liquid supply unit comprises a storage tank for storing a processing liquid, a sensor for sensing the amount of processing liquid stored in the storage tank, a refilling mechanism for automatically refilling the processing liquid into the storage tank when the sensor senses that the amount of processing liquid in the storage tank drops below the specified value and a processing liquid delivery mechanism for delivering the processing liquid from the storage tank to an object being processed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a processing liquid supply unit for supplying a processing liquid used in processes such as adhesion in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a process in which desired processing is performed using a processing liquid, for example, the adhesion process for promoting adhesion between a wafer and a photoresist in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, a processing liquid is supplied to semiconductor wafers set in the processing apparatus in semiconductor manufacturing equipment in a clean room.
Conventionally, such a processing liquid is stored in a storage tank provided inside or adjacent to semiconductor manufacturing equipment and is supplied from the storage tank to semiconductor wafers. An alarm is provided which is arranged such that it is activated when the stored amount of the processing liquid in the tank is consumed by processing of the wafers and decreases below a specified amount. On being notified of the activation of the alarm, the operator enters the clean room and changes tanks. Further, he performs preliminary operations such as refilling the replaced storage tank with a specified gas.
However, the tank changing operation requires a long period of time. When the operator changes storage tanks, the downtime of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment is long. This is not desirable from the viewpoint of keeping the cleanliness of the clean room; for when the operator enters the clean room, he brings dust in. Also, he may be endangered since some kinds of processing liquids are harmful to the human body.


A motion compensation apparatus performs motion compensation on a current block having a non-rectangular shape, using a reference image stored in a frame memory and includes: a reference block memory for storing part of the reference image; a frame-memory-transfer control unit which identifies, in the reference image, a pixel block having a rectangular shape and including a reference block having a non-rectangular shape and used for motion compensation, and transfers pixel data of the identified pixel block from the frame memory to the reference block memory and a motion compensation processing unit which generates a prediction block of the current block, using the reference block included in the pixel block stored in the reference block memory.

As widely-used recent standards for video compression techniques, there are, for example, H.261 and H.263 bp the ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector), MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group)-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, etc. by the ISO/IEC (International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission), and H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (Advanced Video Coding) by the JVT (Joint Video Team) as a joint team of the ITU-T and the MPEG. Furthermore, the next-generation video compression technique is now under consideration by the ITU-T, the ISO/IEC, and so on.
In general, one of the important elements of a video compression technique is inter-picture prediction involving motion compensation intended to compress the amount of information by reducing temporal redundancies between plural consecutive images that make up video. The inter-picture prediction involving motion compensation is a coding method involving (i) detecting the amount and direction of a motion in a reference image located forward or backward of a current image that is to be coded in units of an image block, (ii) generating a prediction image (hereinafter also referred to as "a motion compensation block" or "an inter prediction block"), and (iii) coding a difference value between the prediction image and the current image.
The information indicating how much and to what direction a motion compensation block in the current image to be coded is moved in the reference image located forward or backward of the current image is referred to as a motion vector. An image to be referred to is called as a reference image. The motion compensation block is capable of having an independent motion vector and a reference image. The image block necessary for motion compensation is referred to as a reference block
In the inter-picture prediction involving motion compensation according to H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, seven patterns of rectangular motion compensation blocks including 16×16, 16×8, 8×16, 8×8, 8×4, 4×8, 4×4, are used.
Meanwhile, there are motion compensation techniques (hereinafter also referred to as "polygonal motion compensation" or "non-rectangular motion compensation") which adaptively changes the shape or size of a motion compensation block according to the characteristics of an image and the like in order to achieve better coding efficiency for the inter-picture prediction involving motion compensation proposed as the next-generation video compression technique in ITU-T, ISO/IEC, and so on (NPL 1, NPL 2, PTL 1, and PTL 2).
FIG. 42 shows an example of macroblock segment described in PTL 2. As shown in FIG. 42, a macroblock is segmented geometrically and each of the inter prediction blocks is decoded. In addition, FIG. 43 is a flow chart of an exemplary method of decoding the inter prediction blocks resulting from geometrical segmentation described in PTL 2.
Referring to FIG. 43, a method 100 generally shows an exemplary method of decoding the inter prediction blocks resulting from the geometrical segmentation.
The method 100 includes a starting block 112 for transferring control to a functional block 114. The functional block 114 determines whether or not a current mode type is a geometric mode type. When the current mode type is the geometric mode, the control is transferred to the functional block 116. When the current mode type is not the geometric mode, the control is transferred to an end block 120.
The functional block 116 decodes a geometric partition parameter (when, for example, proximity geometric data is available for prediction, the proximity geometric data is used to properly adapt a coding table and transfer the control to a functional block 118. The functional block 118 decodes a partition inter prediction (when, for example, proximity decoded data is available for prediction, the proximity decoded data is used to properly adapt a coding table) and transfer the control to the end block 120.
In addition, there is conventionally a motion compensation apparatus that uses a cache memory for improving memory access performance when reading a reference block (see, for example, PTL 3). FIG. 44 is a detailed flowchart of the process of determining whether or not a reference macroblock straddles a cache line boundary, and the process of changing a preload designation address, which are performed by the conventional motion compensation apparatus described in PTL 3. FIG. 45 is a diagram explaining a method of setting a preload designation address performed by a conventional motion compensation apparatus described in PTL 3, when a reference macroblock straddles the cache line boundary.
FIG. 44 is a detailed flowchart of the process of determining whether or not a reference macroblock straddles a cache line boundary, and the process of changing a preload designation address. The following describes FIG. 44 with reference to the explanation diagram of FIG. 45 for the address when the reference macroblock straddles the cache line boundary. First, in FIG. 45, it is assumed that a starting address of the uppermost row in a reference macroblock is the address A and the final address in the row is the address B. The cache line boundary is at the address C. Since the address C is positioned between the address A and the address B, it is determined that the reference macroblock straddles the cache line boundary; that is, the row of the reference macroblock includes the cache line boundary.
In Step S21 of FIG. 44, the top address in the row of the reference cache line boundary macroblock is calculated and the address is determined as the address A, and in Step S22, the final address in the row of the reference macroblock is calculated and the address is determined as the address B. Then in Step S 23, whether or not the cache line boundary is present between the address A and the address B is determined. When it is determined that the cache line boundary is present, the address is calculated as the address C. In Step S24, it is determined that the cache line boundary is straddled, and in Step S25, the preload designation address; that is the top address in preloading, is changed from the address A in the conventional example into the address C. When the cache line boundary is not present between the address A and the address B, it is determined that the cache line boundary is not straddled in Step S26, and in Step S27, the preload designation address is determined as being the top address in the row; that is the address A.
As described in FIG. 45, when the reference macroblock straddles the cache line boundary, the preload top address is set as the address C, so that a previous region of the perform; that is, the region A in FIG. 45 is not to be preloaded in the decoding process on a macroblock this time. Thus, there is a possibility of cache miss according to the region A; however, it is more likely that a macroblock close to a left end is a preloaded macroblock than a macroblock closer to a right end in a macroblock in the reference frame image even taking a motion vector into account, by employing a macroblock scanning method in the raster order; that is, by decoding starting from a macroblock at the left end in the row.
Accordingly, since the region A is positioned at the left end of the reference macroblock in FIG. 45, it is highly likely that data in the region A has already preloaded in the cache memory. According to PTL 3, it is expected that cache miss is prevented from occurring by issuing a data preloading instruction according to the characteristics of video data processing.

Motion compensation apparatus, video coding apparatus, video decoding apparatus, motion compensation method, program, and integrated circuit


In some examples, a sheet processing machine includes at least one infeed system including at least one transport means including at least one upper holder and at least one lower holder. The at least one transport means can be and/or is arranged in at least three states: a maximally closed state corresponding to a minimal distance, a minimally closed state corresponding to a maximal distance, and an at least one mean state corresponding to at least one mean distance between at least one upper holding surface at least of the respective upper holder, and at least one lower holding surface of the lower holder of the at least one transport means that is assigned to the respective upper holder. During a machine cycle, the at least one transport means has each of the minimally closed state, the maximally closed state, and the at least one mean state at least once.

Web- or sheet-like materials are used in the production of packaging. For example, sheets are imprinted, embossed, creased, perforated, die-cut, cut, stitched, glued and, for example, folded into packaging in multiple processing steps. To optimally utilize the surface area of a sheet, in general multiple identical or different copies, for example of a poster, a folding box or a packaging, are printed on a common sheet and then die-cut. These copies are referred to as multiple-up copies.
A sheet processing machine can comprise different processing steps, such as imprinting, cutting, embossing, creasing, die cutting, perforating, gluing and/or stitching. Such sheet processing machines frequently also comprise inspection devices. Sheets are typically processed and cut to size in processing machines using tool-dependent die cutting and cutting devices.
Such a processing machine is configured as a die cutting, cutting, perforating, embossing and/or creasing machine, for example. When such a processing machine is referred to hereafter as a die cutter and/or a die-cutting machine, in particular also a cutting, perforating, embossing and/or creasing machine is meant. In addition to rotary die cutters, tool-dependent systems also encompass flat die cutters, in particular flat-bed die cutters. In these, multiple sheets are processed consecutively by a cyclically recurring movement. The sheets are preferably moved substantially horizontally through the processing machine by way of a transport system, preferably a chain gripper system. In addition to a die-cutting unit, such a machine usually also comprises other units, such as a sheet infeed unit, a sheet delivery unit, a stripping unit, a sheet insert unit, a multiple-up separating unit and an offcut piece delivery unit. The sheet infeed unit is preferably configured to transfer sheets to the transport system. Additionally, sheets are, for example, aligned in the sheet infeed unit.
DE 10 2015 226 322 A1 shows a delivery for a sheet processing machine. The delivery comprises gripper systems for receiving the sheets at an edge and for transporting the sheets to a pile region. A means for opening the gripper systems in a gripper opening point are provided for depositing the sheets in the pile region. The means, which is a gripper opening cam that is functionally connected to a roller lever of a gripper system, is configured in such a way that the gripper opening point can be set therewith directly as a function of the thickness of the sheet to be deposited. An actuator pivots the gripper opening cam about its pivot point so as to set the gripper opening point.
DE 10 2017 111 309 A1 teaches a device for receiving sheets in a feeder unit of a sheet-fed rotary printing press. A conveyor system is configured as an endless conveyor comprising gripper systems. The position and/or the point in time for receiving the sheets from a feed table by the conveyor system can be set to different print substrate thicknesses. For this purpose, an inclination between the feed table relative to a region of the conveyor system adjoining an upper feed drum in the conveying direction can be set in accordance with a print substrate thickness curve in the conveying direction.
DE 10 2014 215 803 A1 discloses a device for aligning sheets held by sheet-holding means on a drum or a sheet acceleration system with the leading edge. The drum or the sheet acceleration system are accommodated at least in one bearing, wherein the bearing has an eccentricity and implements a positioning movement by means of a servo drive.
DE 33 05 219 A1 shows a device for the two-stage acceleration of a sheet from a standstill on a feed table to a circumferential speed of an impression cylinder in a sheet-fed rotary printing press. Two sheet acceleration devices are provided, wherein the second sheet acceleration device is configured as a drum comprising a gripper row and front lay marks. The grippers are provided with a device acting as front lays. These grippers are arranged so that their height is adjustable.
A device for positioning plate-shaped elements in an infeed unit of a processing machine is known from U.S. Pat. No. 8,727,346 B2, which grips the element in a predefined position and transports it to a successive processing station.
DE 101 11 070 A1 discloses a sheet printing press comprising an infeed system for feeding sheets from a sheet feeder to the sheet printing press, wherein the infeed system comprises at least one oscillatingly moving pregripper and a driving device for the infeed system. The pregripper can be uncoupled from the driving device. The pregripper can be driven with the aid of a lever mechanism. The driving device is configured as a cam drive, wherein a cam disk that is connected to a drive shaft so as to be fixed against rotation cooperates with a first pivoting lever of the lever mechanism which can be pivoted about a fixed axis. A sheet is aligned by way of a pivotable front lay mark and is then accepted by the pre-gripper and transported onwards.
DE 102 58 271 A1 discloses a device for preventing a spring-loaded control roller from being lifted off the control cam in gripper control units in sheet-processing machines. A support mechanism is provided, which is arranged separately from the gripper control unit and acts on the control roller with an additional force in critical regions. The support mechanism comprises two pivotably mounted levers, which are subject to the force of a spring element.
The teaching of DE 10 2008 031 275 A1 relates to a device for laterally aligning printing substrate sheets comprising a gripper system. Pincer gripper fingers are arranged on a gripper finger shaft, and pincer gripper pads are arranged on a gripper pad shaft at the periphery of the sheet transporting device. One of the two shafts is configured as a hollow shaft and coaxially encloses the respective other shaft. At least the gripper finger shaft is rotatably mounted and drivable in an oscillating manner. In particular, the gripper finger shaft and gripper pad shaft are synchronously adjustable in the axial direction. The gripper pad shaft can be pivoted so as to change the gripper closing position. The pivoting movement is induced by means of a drive by displacing a support point of a sliding bearing of a torque support arm.
DE 10 2009 041 230 B4 teaches a method and a device for laterally aligning a sheet in a processing machine. The device comprises at least one sensor for detecting the actual position of the sheet. Before the sheet is picked up by the gripper device, a prealignment of the gripper device is carried out. The gripper device is prealigned to a predefined position in accordance with the actual position of the sheet with respect to its lateral position.
A sheet-processing machine is known from WO 2018/206588 A1, which comprises at least one measuring device for detecting a lateral sheet edge of the sheet and a sensor, which is assigned to the lateral region of the transport web, for detecting a mark.

Sheet processing machine comprising at least one infeed system, and method for controlling an infeed system of a sheet processing machine


A squeeze pin and a secondary battery using the same improve the coupling intensity of an electrode tab and a lead terminal, prevent damage of a protection circuit module, and reduce the cost. The secondary battery includes an outer case; an electrode assembly accommodated in the outer case and including a positive electrode plate connected to a positive electrode tab, a negative electrode plate connected to a negative electrode tab, and a separator; a protective circuit board including first and second connection terminals; and a first lead terminal connecting the positive electrode tab to the first connection terminal and a second lead terminal connecting the negative electrode tab to the second connection terminal, wherein at least one of the first lead terminal and the positive electrode tab, or the second lead terminal and the negative electrode tab are physically electrically connected to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a secondary battery, and more particularly, to a squeeze pin, and a secondary battery using the same, that improves the coupling intensity of an electrode tab and a lead terminal, prevents the damage of a protection circuit module, and reduces the cost.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones, camcorders, PDAs, and the like, have been actively developed and produced. Accordingly, users have increasingly demanded that the portable electronic devices should be light, small, and mobile. Specifically, to operate the portable electronic devices in the places where there are provided no sources of electricity, rechargeable secondary batteries having a high energy density as the source of electricity are used. Therefore, the power supply time, size, weight, and the like of the secondary batteries are considered as being very important in determining the portability and mobility of the portable electronic device.
Examples of secondary batteries include nickel zinc batteries, nickel cadmium batteries, nickel metal hydride batteries, lithium secondary batteries, and the like. Among these batteries, lithium secondary batteries having a high operating voltage and a high energy density per unit weight are widely used. A lithium secondary battery is made by sealing an electrode assembly and an electrolyte in an outer case formed of a material, such as aluminum and the like.
Lithium secondary batteries are classified as a cylinder type, a prismatic type, and a pouch type, depending on the shapes of the outer case. Further, lithium secondary batteries are classified as lithium ion batteries and lithium polymer batteries, depending on the electrolyte used therein.
A secondary battery includes a protective circuit board on which a protection circuit is mounted to prevent an accident caused by over-charging, over-discharging, over-current, and the like.
In a pouch-type secondary battery, after an electrode assembly formed by winding a positive electrode plate, a negative electrode plate, and a separator is sealed in the pouch-type case, the secondary battery is connected to the protective circuit board.
Then, a positive electrode tab connected to the positive electrode plate and a negative electrode tab connected to the negative electrode plate, both tabs protruding outward from one side of the pouch-type case, are connected to their corresponding electrical terminals of the protective circuit board, typically using lead plates.
In general, methods, such as ultrasonic welding, resistance welding, laser welding and the like, are used to connect the lead plate to the electrode tab. However, in the laser welding method, the equipment is expensive and difficult to maintain because replacement components are also expensive. In the resistance welding method, its use range is narrow and it is difficult to be applied to an aluminum material. Moreover, the reliability of a welded part is low after the resistance welding is performed. Further, in the ultrasonic welding, its quality variation is large, and a protection circuit module is likely to be damaged by ultrasonic vibrations generated during the welding process.

Squeeze pin and secondary battery using the same


System and method for supplying reductants to an emission treatment system. The system includes a fuel tank adapted to supply a premixed fuel stream that includes a primary component and a reductant component, and an engine in fluid communication with the fuel tank, wherein the engine is configured to create an emission. The engine includes an emission treatment system to treat the emission. The system also includes a separation system that includes a membrane with differential permeability for the reductant component relative to the primary component. The separation system is configured to receive at least a portion of the premixed fuel stream from the tank and to separate the premixed fuel stream into a first fraction and a second fraction. The first fraction includes a higher concentration of the reductant component than the second fraction, and the separation system is configured to supply the first fraction to the emission treatment system.

The present invention relates to a system and a method for operating an emission treatment system, and more particularly to supplying reductants to an emission treatment system to improve its NOx conversion efficiency.
Current emission control regulations necessitate the use of emission treatment systems to reduce catalytically nitrogen oxides (NOx) produced during engine operation into harmless exhaust gases in the exhaust systems of combustion powered vehicles, including locomotives, trucks, cars, and the like. These catalytic emissions treatment systems often use a reducing agent or reductant that is introduced into the diesel exhaust stream before the exhaust stream enters the system for treatment. Typical reducing agents may include light hydrocarbons and oxygen bearing compounds like alcohols.
Known methods of supplying the reductants may involve supplying the reducing agents and the fuel separately or may involve chemically producing the reducing agent in situ from the fuel itself. Such methods typically employ complex subsystems such as special purpose pumps, filters, storage tanks and the like. Additionally, these systems also require valuable space and specialized materials, thereby involving additional expenses. Therefore, there is need for an improved system and method for supplying the reductants to provide better overall economy and ease of operation.


The present disclosure relates to a flap fixing buckle including: a plug member having a cross bar that transverses an intermediate portion of a loop-shaped frame, in which a coupling protruding portion in which a magnet is embedded protrudes from the cross bar; and a socket member having a coupling groove into which the coupling protruding portion is inserted and which is formed in an upper surface of the socket member, in which a magnet is embedded inside the coupling groove, and a wing portion extends at the periphery of the upper surface of the socket member, and as a result, when the flap fixing buckle is installed on a bag or the like, an aesthetic external appearance may be formed because of a simple configuration, and the flap fixing buckle may be stably and conveniently fastened.

In general, various types of bags or cases such as bags, knapsacks, backpacks, handbags, mobile phone cases, and jotter cases (hereinafter, referred to as a 'bag') are each provided with an accommodation space therein, an opening which communicates with the outside, and a means for opening and closing the opening.
Among others, a bag, which is provided with a flap for covering an opening, is also widely used. A fastening means is installed at a free end of the flap so as to be attached to or detached from a bag body, such that the opening of the bag is closed or opened by fixing or separating the flap.
Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose that magnets are provided on corresponding surfaces of the free end of the flap and the bag body so that the flap is attached to the bag body by coupling the magnets. The configuration in which the flap and the bag body are attached to each other by means of the magnets as described above is applied to and used for various accommodating structures such as jotter cases or mobile phone cases as well as the bag.
While a small-sized bag such as a handbag or a mobile phone case has a fixed size, a larger bag such as a backpack or a knapsack requires a long fixing means to correspond to the amount of items accommodated therein. To this end, a strap is provided on the flap, a magnet is provided on the strap, and a buckle of which the position is adjustable is provided on the strap so that a length of the strap may be adjusted.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a bag provided with a flap in the related art. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a flap F for opening and closing an opening of a bag B is openably and closably provided on an upper end portion of the bag B, and straps S1 are provided on the flap F and extend to the outside from the flap F. Buckles 1 are provided at free ends of the straps S1 so as to be fixed to or separated from a bag body B.
There is applied a fastening structure in which multiple holes are formed in the strap S1 so that the strap S1 is coupled to the buckle 1 having a hook and a position is adjusted as the hook is coupled to or decoupled from the hole, and as a result, a range to be covered by the flap F may be adjusted, and a magnet is attached to the buckle so that the buckle may be conveniently fastened and separated.
The combination of the strap and the buckle having the hook provides a decorative effect by itself and is substantially intended to provide a convenient manipulation by means of attachment and detachment of the magnet.
FIG. 2 is a photograph specifically illustrating an example of a bag in the related art in which a strap of a flap is fastened by a magnet, and FIG. 3 is a partial side view illustrating a state in which the strap and a buckle illustrated in the FIG. 2 are coupled to a bag body. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, a first magnet 11 is embedded in the bag body B, and a buckle 1 of which the position is adjustable is provided on the strap S extending from the flap F.
An auxiliary strap S-1 is connected to the buckle 1, and a second magnet 21 is provided at an end portion of the auxiliary strap S-1 so that the second magnet 21 is attached to or detached from the first magnet 11 provided on the bag body B.
Any one of the first magnet 11 and the second magnet 21 may be made of metal.
The flap fastening structure of the bag in the related art has the following problems.
1. The dual structure includes the strap S which is fastened to the buckle 1, and the auxiliary strap S-1 which is connected to the buckle 1 and attached to or detached from the bag body B, and as a result, the dual structure is very complicated, such that there occurs a defect in an external appearance of the bag.
2. The protruding complicated straps and the protruding buckle easily collide with outside objects, and as a result, there is a problem in that the straps and the buckle are easily separated.
3. Because of a number of subsidiary elements, there is a problem in that costs are increased, it is difficult to manufacture the product, and a process is complicated.
4. It is necessary to necessarily separate the auxiliary strap positioned below the strap in order to disassemble the flap. That is, it is necessary to perform an inconvenient operation of lifting up the strap S and holding the magnet of the auxiliary strap S-1 to separate the magnet.
5. Because the attached magnet is exposed, there is concern that the magnet is likely to be damaged due to external impact.
6. There is a problem in that it is difficult to adjust the strap in accordance with a volume of the bag, and the attached magnet is easily separated and lost as the bag is used.
Therefore, to solve the aforementioned problems, there is a need for a flap fixing buckle capable of providing an organized external appearance and capable of being more conveniently used.


An eye tracking system comprises a structured light emitter, a camera assembly, and a controller. The structured light emitter illuminates a portion of an eye of a user with a dense structured light pattern. The dense structured light pattern produces a distorted illumination pattern on the portion of the eye. The camera assembly captures one or more images of the distorted illumination pattern that is associated with the portion of the eye. The controller estimates a position of the eye based on the captured one or more images and a model of the eye. The eye tracking system may be part of a head-mounted display.

The present disclosure generally relates to eye tracking, and specifically relates to using dense structured light patterns for eye tracking.
Eye tracking refers to the process of detecting the direction of a user's gaze, which may comprise detecting an orientation of an eye in 3-dimensional (3D) space. Eye tracking in the context of headsets used in, e.g., virtual reality and/or augmented reality applications can be an important feature. Conventional systems commonly use a small number of light sources (e.g., ˜8) that emit light which is reflected by the eye, and a camera is used to image the reflection of the light sources from the eye. An orientation of the eye is determined using the captured images. But, the small number of light sources results in a limited model of the eye with a lot of inaccuracies. Moreover, conventional eye tracking systems fail to account for the reflected light from the iris that is refracted by the cornea, and instead simply assume all captured light is a reflection from the cornea.

Eye tracking system using dense structured light patterns


An illumination-component extractor (illumination component extraction section) extracts an illumination component Log from a picked-up image (original image picked up an image sensor having a photoelectric conversion characteristic which comprises a linear characteristic region and a logarithmic characteristic region. A reflectance component determiner (subtraction section) extracts a reflectance component Log (R1). A compressor (illumination component compression section) subjects at least the illumination component Log of the logarithmic characteristic region to DR compression. Image production mean (image production section) produces a new image (synthetic image) based on the DR-compress illumination component and the reflectance component.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image sensing apparatus equipped with an image sensor having a photoelectric conversion characteristic comprising a plurality of different characteristic regions, such as a photoelectric conversion characteristic which comprises a linear characteristic region where an electric signal is output therefrom while being transformed linearly relative to an incident light quantity and a logarithmic characteristic region where an electric signal is output therefrom while being transformed logarithmically relative to the incident light quantity, more specifically, a photoelectric conversion characteristic where a rate of change relative to the incident light quantity in a high luminance region is less than that in a low luminance region. In particular, the present invention relates to an image processing method for use in processing an image picked up by the image sensor, and an image sensing apparatus employing the image processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Late years, in order to cope with the demand for higher image quality, the expansion in a luminance range (brightness range) of a subject, or a dynamic range, which is treatable or processable by an image sensor, has become one of major themes in image sensing apparatuses, such as digital cameras. In connection with the expansion of a dynamic range, there has been known an image sensor designed to add a logarithmic transformation circuit having a MOSFET etc., to a solid-state image sensing device having a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements, such as photodiodes, disposed in a matrix arrangement, so as to allow the solid-state image sensing device to have an output characteristic which comprises one region where an electric signal is output therefrom while being transformed linearly relative to an incident light quantity and the other region where an electric signal is output therefrom while being transformed logarithmically relative to the incident light quantity, by taking advantage of a sub-threshold characteristic of the MOSFET (This image sensor is known and described as "LN/LOG sensor". An image having linear and logarithmic characteristic regions obtained by the LN/LOG sensor will hereinafter be referred to as "linear/logarithmic image"). As mentioned above, this LN/LOG sensor can provide an output transformed natural-logarithmically relative to an incident light quantity. Thus, as compared with an image sensor having a photoelectric conversion characteristic consisting only of a linear characteristic region, the LN/LOG sensor makes it possible to ensure a wider dynamic range. While this capability of ensuring a wider dynamic range is advantageous, an image signal is logarithmically compressed to cause a problem about deterioration in contrast (tone or gradation), particularly, in a logarithmic characteristic region.
Techniques, such as the LN/LOG sensor, for providing a wider dynamic range in an image sensing system are being developed. In contrast to the image sensing system, the development for providing a wider dynamic range in a display system (e.g. display or monitor) has less progressed so far. Thus, even if a dynamic range is expanded in an image to be input to the display system, this advantage is likely to be unable to be reflected in display. Further, an image having a wider dynamic range (wider dynamic range image) allows a larger volume of information than ever before to be contained therein. In this case, if such an image is handled (transmitted or stored) in a conventional manner, an image sensing apparatus will inevitably suffer from increase in cost. In order to effectively utilize the image data including a larger volume of information, or to allow an image obtained from an image sensing system using advanced techniques of expanding a dynamic range to be displayed with high image quality by use of a display system using less advanced techniques of expanding a dynamic range, it is requited to compress the entire dynamic range while maintaining valuable information contained in a wider dynamic range image.
In the above background, for example, the following Non-Patent Publication 1 discloses a dynamic range compression (hereinafter referred to as "DR compression) technique (multi-scale Retinex) based on the Retinex theory with a focus on human ocular characteristics (color constancy to luminance or brightness, which is intended to extract from an input image a component arising from an intensity of illumination light (this component will hereinafter be referred to as "illumination component"), and compress the illumination component so as to compress the entire dynamic range while maintaining a local contrast.
As to the color constancy, while light reflected from any of various objects is logically derived as a product of a reflectance of an object surface and illumination light illuminating the object surface, an actually perceived color and brightness of the object is largely dependent on the surface reflectance rather than characteristic of light projected on the retina. That is, the human ocular system has a mechanism of subtracting or eliminating an influence of the illumination light from the image on the retina. For example, respective spectral changes of an object under natural sunlight and under incandescent bulb light are perceived as a change in the illumination light but not as a change in color of the object itself. Based on this concept of color constancy, the Retinex theory is intended to extract an illumination component from an input image, and attenuate the extracted illumination component while maximally maintain a component arising from a surface reflectance to be noticed by the ocular system (this component will hereinafter be referred to as "reflectance component"), so as to reproduce a high-contract image. [Non-Patent Publication 1: "Image Dynamic Range Compression Techniques", IMAGE LAB (June 2004) pp 24 to 28.
If the DR compression technique as disclosed in the Non-Patent Publication 1 is applied to a linear/logarithmic image, and a wide dynamic range image obtained by a LN/LOG sensor is subjected to DR compression for providing improved (enhanced) contrast therein. This has a potential for allowing the linear/logarithmic image to have improved image quality (higher image quality) in a display system. However, the DR compression technique is designed for an image obtained through photoelectric conversion in a linear characteristic (linear characteristic image), and any compression technique for a linear/logarithmic image is not disclosed in the Non-Patent Publication 1.
When the DR compression technique is applied to a linear/logarithmic image, it is necessary to take into account, for example, the following points (1) and (2).
(1): If the DR compression technique is applied to a linear/logarithmic image without modifications, the linear/logarithmic image is simply compressed over all in such a manner that a photoelectric conversion characteristic 901 is transformed into a photoelectric conversion characteristic 902, as shown, for example, in FIG. 23. Thus, even though contrast in a logarithmic characteristic region is slightly improved (contrast in a linear characteristic region is further highlighted), each contrast in the logarithmic and linear characteristic regions has almost no change in terms of the entire photoelectric conversion characteristic (as compared with a photoelectric conversion characteristic 903 transformed without using the DR compression), and a desired contrast improvement is not achieved.
(2): As shown in FIG. 24A, when a logarithmic characteristic (image) in a linear/logarithmic image is transformed into a linear characteristic and the image is subjected to DR compression, an integer operation is performed during the transformation into the linear characteristic (a fractional part of a number is truncated, for example, "0.2" of "40.2" is truncated to be "40"), and consequently contrast in the linear characteristic 911 after the transformation will be lost. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 24B, if a logarithmic characteristic is transformed into linear characteristic while avoiding the above deterioration in contrast of the transformed linear characteristic, it is required to increase a bit width in an image processing section, as compared with a processing for the linear/logarithmic image illustrated in 24A. This leads to increase in device cost.

Image sensing apparatus and image processing method for use therein


A weight estimation device for a vehicle includes a storage unit storing a weight calculation information indicating a correspondence between an internal pressure value of an air spring supporting a vehicle body and a vehicle height serving as a height of the vehicle body from a base, a measured value acquisition unit acquiring a measured internal pressure value and a measured vehicle height, an internal pressure value calculation unit calculating a corrected internal pressure value of the air spring by deducting or adding a corrected value from or to the measured internal pressure value in a case where the measured internal pressure value is greater or smaller than the internal pressure value of the weight calculation information which corresponds to the measured vehicle height, and a weight calculation unit calculating a weight of a supported body, including the vehicle body, based on the corrected internal pressure value.

A known weight estimation device for a vehicle disclosed in JP2015-205523A (hereinafter referred to as Patent reference 1) is mounted on the vehicle including air springs which configure a suspension system, the air springs supporting a vehicle body, and calculates the weight of a supported body supported by the air springs based on measured internal pressure level of the air springs. The supported body includes the vehicle body and load mounted on the vehicle body.
The correspondence or relationship between the internal pressure level of the air springs and the weight of the supported body supported by the air springs changes in response to, if any, a hysteresis of an expansion and contraction of the suspension system. That is, the correspondence or relationship between the internal pressure level of the air springs and the weight of the supported body supported by the air springs differs in cases where the suspension system is expanded and contracted. To calculate the weight of the supported body in response to such hysteresis, Patent reference 1 uses two maps for correcting the internal pressure level of the air springs in response to a case where the suspension system expands and contracts. The two maps are required to be used depending on cases when calculating the weight of the supported body supported by the air springs, and accordingly, the calculation process of the weight of the supported body is likely to be complicated.
A need thus exists for a weight estimation device, a weight estimation method, and a non-transitory storage medium for a vehicle which are not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.

Weight estimation device, weight estimation method and non-transitory storage medium for vehicle


IP characterization and for path finding methods, and a computer readable recording medium for storing program are provided. First, an Intellectual Property (IP) component is provided. Then, a plurality of test patterns for all paths in the IP component is automatically generated. The test patterns are then sequentially input into the IP component for simulation, and a plurality of corresponding simulation results is generated. Finally, an IP characteristic library is generated based on the simulation results.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method applied in Electronic Design Automation (EDA), and more particularly, to a method for Intellectual Property (IP) component characterization and a method for path finding thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Thanks to technology progress in computer science, electronics industry is rapidly growing now. For example, Electronic Design Automation (EDA) is a technique, which assists the development engineers to design and simulate the electronic circuitry by using the computing power of the computer system. Especially in developing the Integrated Circuit (IC), different kinds of automation tools had played a significant role in the works such as function verification, layout, electricity analysis, and IC simulation.
In addition, in order to follow the right trend of intensive circuitry and fulfill the requirement of reducing the product development time, how to develop a most economical chip product has become a major topic for development engineers now, and reusing of the circuitry design is one of the techniques to achieve this object. In other words, by applying this technique, various functional circuitries which are well designed can be repeatedly used to build up a new Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). Therefore, the development process of the IC product can be completed in a very short time period. Here, the well designed circuitry layout that can be repeatedly used is also known as an IP (Intellectual Property) component.
In general, an estimate data related to the IP component characteristic can be obtained at the same time when the IP component is being obtained. For instance, the information such as the maximum power consumption and the maximum delay time can be obtained from the developer designing the IP component. However, both of the electrical energy consumed in the circuitry and the delay time it outputs are varied based on different input. When using the IP component, the estimate data of the IP component provided originally is not good enough to accurately provide information related to its operating characteristic.
In the prior art, various test data are determined and provided by development engineers based on their own professional knowledge and working experience, and the test data are sequentially and manually input into the system with the help of a simulation program so as to obtain a report corresponding to each of the simulation results. Then, the key values (e.g. timing, power, etc.) it requires are manually extracted from the report of the simulation results, and the extracted key values are manually keyed in to generate an IP characteristic library which is used by subsequent development process. However, the paths in the IP component are very complicated, thus it is not feasible to manually determine test data for all paths in the IP component. Furthermore, for considering time efficiency, in the method of manually inputting the test data and cooperating with the simulation software to obtain the IP characteristic library, it is possible that only part of the test data are selected for simulation based on the physical requirements and the developer's experience, thus a complete IP characteristic library cannot be obtained.

Method for IP characterization and path finding, and computer readable recording medium for storing program thereof