The present invention provides a method for driving a liquid crystal display panel. The liquid crystal display panel has a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix form and a plurality of data lines. The method includes generating gray level signals corresponding to the plurality of pixels according to input image data; determining whether the gray level values of the pixels in a same row corresponding to the plurality of data lines of a first color are all outside a first range; and when the gray level values of the pixels in the same row corresponding to the plurality of data lines of the first color are all outside the first range, controlling polarity of the gray level signals of the pixels in the same row corresponding to the plurality of data lines of the first color in a column inversion mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for driving a liquid crystal display panel, and more particularly, to a method for driving a liquid crystal display panel according to gray level values of pixels in the same row corresponding to a plurality of data lines of same colors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a liquid crystal display panel comprises a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix form and a plurality of data lines. A driving unit of the liquid crystal display panel generates gray level signals corresponding to the plurality of pixels according to input image data. The gray level signals are voltage signals for controlling rotation angles of liquid crystals of a pixel in order to display images. In order to prevent the liquid crystals from being destroyed by constantly receiving a voltage of the same polarity, the gray level signal of each pixel switches its polarity when a frame is updated, such that the rotation angles of the liquid crystals in the pixel are changed for preventing the liquid crystals from being destroyed. Currently, there are several inversion modes for controlling the polarity of the gray level signals in the prior art, such as dot inversion mode, 2-dot inversion mode (or plural-dot inversion mode), column inversion mode, frame inversion mode, etc. Among these inversion modes, the image displayed by the dot inversion mode exhibits less flicker than the 2-dot inversion mode or the plural-dot inversion mode. The image displayed by the column inversion mode is more susceptible to flicker. And, the image displayed by the frame inversion mode has the most serious flicker. However, compared to the column inversion mode or the frame inversion mode, the dot inversion mode or the 2-dot inversion mode incurs greater power consumption.
In order to obtain better performance both in image quality and power consumption, the prior art provides a method for driving a liquid crystal display panel. Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a liquid crystal display panel 110 and its driving unit 120. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the method for driving the liquid crystal display panel of the prior art. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing frames displayed by the method for driving the liquid crystal display panel of the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid crystal display panel 110 comprises a plurality of pixels R, G, B arranged in a matrix form, and a plurality of data lines S. Each pixel in the same column is controlled by a data line S. The data lines control the gray level values of the red pixels R, the green pixels G, and the blue pixels B respectively. The driving unit comprises a data generating unit 122 and a polarity control unit 124. The data generating unit 122 is for generating gray level signals of the corresponding pixels according to each input image data. The polarity control unit 124 is for controlling polarity of each gray level signal . Although the image displayed by the column inversion mode is more likely to exhibit flicker, when the gray level values of the pixels are all outside a specific range (for example, greater than a specific gray level value, or less than a specific gray level value), the flicker of the image displayed by the pixels is not easily observed by human eyes. Therefore, the prior art provides a method for adaptively controlling the inversion mode of the pixels according to the above situation.
As shown in FIG. 2, the polarity control unit 124 determines which inversion mode to use to control every two adjacent pixels in the same row according to the gray level values of every two adjacent pixels in the same row. Taking a 6-bit liquid crystal display panel for example, the gray level value ranges from 0 to 63, for a total of 64 levels. When the gray level values of the pixels are all outside a predetermined range (for example, greater than 60, or less than 3), the flicker phenomenon of the image is not easily observed by human eyes. Therefore, the polarity control unit 124 obtains the gray level values of the two adjacent pixels in the same row according to the gray level signals of the two adjacent data lines (such as S1&S2, S3&S4, S5&S6, etc). Because the gray level signals are voltage signals, the gray level values can be obtained by sensing the voltage levels of the gray level signals. When the gray level values of the two adjacent pixels in the same row are all outside the predetermined range, the polarity control unit 124 controls the polarity of the gray level signals of the two adjacent pixels to be in the column inversion mode. And, when the gray level values of the two adjacent pixels in the same row are not all outside the predetermined range, the polarity control unit 124 controls the polarity of the gray level signals of the two adjacent pixels to be in the dot inversion mode or the plural-dot inversion mode. For example, if the gray level values of the red pixels R are 57, the gray level values of the green pixels G are 60, and the gray level values of the blue pixels B are 60, the gray level values of the pixels of the data lines S1, S4, S7, S10 are inside the predetermined range, and the gray level values of the pixels of the data lines S2, S3, S5, S6, S8, S9, S11, S12 are outside the predetermined range. Therefore, the polarity control unit 124 controls the polarity of the gray level signals of the two adjacent pixels in the same row corresponding to the two adjacent data lines S1&S2, S3&S4, S7&S8, S9&S10 to be in the dot inversion mode or the plural-dot inversion mode. And, the polarity control unit 124 controls the polarity of the gray level signals of the two adjacent pixels in the same row corresponding to the two adjacent data lines S5&56, S11&S12 to be in the column inversion mode. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, among the pixels of the liquid crystal display panel, there are some pixels displaying image in the column inversion mode, and other pixels displaying image in the dot inversion mode (or the plural-dot inversion mode). A "+" sign indicates the polarity of the gray level signal of the pixel is positive, and a "−" sign indicates the polarity of the gray level signal of the pixel is negative.
The method for driving the liquid crystal display panel of the prior art can apply the column inversion mode to part of the pixels of the liquid crystal display panel for displaying images, in order to reduce the power consumption. However, if the gray level values of the pixels of a certain color easily fall within the predetermined range, such as the red pixels R of FIG. 2, the red pixels R cause the adjacent green pixels G and the adjacent blue pixels B to be unable to display the images in the column inversion mode, and thus reduce the probability of the pixels to display images in the column inversion mode. The method for driving the liquid crystal display panel of the prior art can not control the inversion mode of the red, green and blue pixels according to the characteristics of the red, green and blue colors, respectively, therefore pixels of some specific color may reduce the probability of other pixels to display images in the column inversion mode.

Driver of a liquid crystal display panel and method thereof


According to an aspect of an embodiment, operations include deploying a trigger function on a computing system for detecting an electronic trigger event associated with a first Application Programming Interface (API) provider. The operations further include deploying a rule function for applying at least one trigger rule on event data and deploying an action function for generating at least one API call to a second API provider based on whether the event data satisfies the at least one trigger rule. The operations further include deploying a set of API gateways for enabling a workflow system to invoke at least one of: the deployed trigger function, the deployed rule function, and the deployed action function. The operations further include generating a workflow template of an API mashup based on information associated with the deployed functions and API gateways and posting the generated workflow template to the workflow system.

Many companies and organizations offer web APIs for several applications, such as speech processing and social media analysis. With rapid rise in number of APIs, there has been a rise in demand for API mashups and infrastructure for execution of such API mashups. An API mashup typically combines the functionality of several APIs into a new service. API mashups are used in all kinds of businesses and are generally used by companies to integrate various software into their products efficiently and inexpensively.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one example technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.

API mashup infrastructure generation on computing systems


There is described a sonotrode for sealing an opening device onto a hole of a packaging material destined to from a sealed package, comprising: a sealing surface adapted to cooperate with packaging material in order to seal the opening device to the packaging material; a cavity bounded by an opening of sealing surface and adapted to receive the opening device and a ring made in an elastomeric material, partially protruding inside the cavity, and adapted to center a first axis of the opening device on a second axis of the sonotrode.

Many pourable food products, such as fruit juice, pasteurized or UHT (ultra-high-temperature processed) milk, wine, tomato sauce, etc., are sold in packages made of sterilized packaging material.
A typical example of this type of package is the package for liquid or pourable food products known as Tetra Rex Aseptic (registered trademark), which is made by folding and sealing laminated strip packaging material.
The packaging material has a multilayer structure substantially comprising a base layer for stiffness and strength, which may comprise a layer of fibrous material, e.g. paper, or of mineral-filled polypropylene material; and a number of layers of heat-seal plastic material, e.g. polyethylene film, covering both sides of the base layer.
In the case of aseptic packages for long-storage products, such as UHT milk, the packaging material also comprises a layer of gas- and light-barrier material, e.g. aluminium foil or ethyl vinyl alcohol (EVOH), which is superimposed on a layer of heat-seal plastic material, and is in turn covered with another layer of heat-seal plastic material forming the inner face of the package eventually contacting the food product.
According to a known forming technique, the packaging material is cut into blanks. The blanks are firstly erected to form respective open sleeves, which are sealed at their bottom ends. Afterwards, the open sleeves are filled with the pourable product through their open top ends, and top ends are then sealed, so as to complete the formation of packages.
It is also known to apply an opening device onto a respective open sleeve formed according to the previously described technique, before the filling of the sleeve with the pourable product.
In particular, the opening device comprises:                a flange to be sealed onto the packaging material of the sleeve in an area surrounding a hole thereof;        a neck, which protrudes from the flange; and        a cap, which is screwed onto the neck.
In order to apply each opening device onto the relative sleeve, it is known to use a sealing system comprising:                an anvil; and        a sonotrode.
The anvil is movable, through the open top end of the sleeve, between:                a rest position, in which it is arranged outside the sleeve; and        an operative position, in which it is arranged inside the sleeve.
The sonotrode substantially comprises;                a head, which defines a sealing surface of the sonotrode, which receives the neck and the cap of the opening device; and        one or more drive unit, which comprises a stack of alternate piezoelectric ceramic plates and conductive metal sheets.
The drive unit is coupled to an alternate current generator. In this way, the piezoelectric ceramic plates convert the electrical supplied voltage into a mechanical strain, which causes the oscillation of the head and, therefore, the sealing of the opening device onto the packaging material of the package.
Furthermore, sonotrode is movable, through a hole of the package, between:                a rest position, in which it is arranged outside the sleeve; and        an operative position, in which the opening device engages the hole of the sleeve.
The movement of the sonotrode and the anvil is synchronized with the movement of the open sleeves.
In particular, when both the sonotrode and the anvil are in the respective operative positions, the head of the sonotrode is pressed against the anvil, so as to keep the opening device in a fixed sealing position with respect to the packaging material of the sleeve surrounding the hole.
At this stage, the generator is activated, so as to seal the opening device to the packaging material of the sleeve surrounding the hole.
The Applicant has found that the correct positioning of the opening device inside the sonotrode is very critical for the efficient sealing of the opening device to the respective open sleeve.
In greater detail, the Applicant has found that in case the opening device is not properly positioned inside the sonotrode, there is the risk that the ultrasonic vibration is transferred to the cap of the opening device, instead of to the flange, thus penalizing the sealing of opening devices.
A need is felt within the industry to ensure a proper positioning of the opening device inside the sonotrode.


A malodor control composition having at least one volatile aldehyde and an acid catalyst, and methods thereof are provided. The malodor control composition is suitable for a variety of applications, including use in fabric and air freshening products.

Products for reducing or masking malodors are well known in the art and are widely described in patent literature. These products may be designed to work specifically in air or on fabrics or other surfaces. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,942,217; 5,955,093; and 6,033,679. However, not all odors are effectively controlled by products on the market as amine-based malodors such as fish and urine malodors, and sulfur-based malodors such as garlic, onion, foot, and fecal malodors are difficult to combat. Further, the time required for a composition to noticeably combat malodors may create consumer doubt as to a product's efficacy on malodors. For example, the consumer may leave the treated space before the product begins to noticeably reduce the malodor.
The difficulty in overcoming a broad range of malodors has spawned a diverse assortment of products to neutralize, mask, or contain the malodors. There remains a need for a fast acting malodor control composition that neutralizes malodors and is effective on a broad range of malodors, including amine-based and sulfur-based malodors, while not overpowering malodors with an overwhelming perfume.

Malodor control composition having an acid catalyst and methods thereof


A fuel cell separator composition containing an electrically conductive carbonaceous powder and a binder that is a mixture of a thermoset resin with a polyoxazine compound having a plurality of oxazine rings can be used to efficiently mass-produce high-modulus fuel cell separators of excellent dimensional stability and gas impermeability. By employing such fuel cell separators as some or all of the separators in a solid polymer fuel cell, there can be obtained solid polymer fuel cells which are not subject to cracking or breakage during assembly, have good gas sealing properties, and are endowed with excellent vibration and impact resistance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fuel cell separator compositions and to fuel cell separators made therewith as well as a method of manufacturing such fuel cell separators. The invention also relates to a solid polymer fuel cell assembled using such fuel cell separators as some or all of the separators therein.
2. Prior Art
Fuel cells are devices which convert chemical energy directly into electrical energy by placing a pair of electrodes in mutual contact through an intervening electrolyte, feeding a fuel to one of the electrodes and an oxidant to the other electrode, and carrying out oxidation of the fuel electrochemically within the cell. There are several types of fuel cells, depending on the electrolyte used. Solid polymer fuel cells in which the electrolyte is a solid polymer electrolyte membrane have attracted considerable attention recently for their ability to achieve a high energy output.
As shown in FIG. 1, such solid polymer fuel cells are composed of a stack of from several tens to several hundreds of unit cells, each unit cell having a pair of fuel cell separators 1, 1 with a plurality of ribs la on either side thereof, between which separators 1 are disposed a solid polymer electrolyte membrane,2 and a pair of gas diffusing electrodes (a fuel electrode and an oxidant electrode) 3, 3.
In the illustrated solid polymer fuel cell, a stream of hydrogen is supplied to the fuel electrode, a stream of oxygen is supplied to the oxidant electrode, and the electrical current produced by the cell is drawn off by an external circuit. The reactions which take place at the respective electrodes can be represented as follows.
Fuel electrode reaction: H2xe2x86x922H++2exe2x88x92 (1)
Oxidant electrode reaction: 2H++2exe2x88x92+xc2xdO2xe2x86x92H2O (2)
Overall reaction: H2+xc2xdO2xe2x86x92H2O
That is, hydrogen (H2) is converted into protons (H+) at the fuel electrode. The protons then migrate through the solid polymer electrolyte membrane to the oxidant electrode, where they react with oxygen (O2) to form water (H2O). The supply and removal of reactant and product gases and the drawing off of electrical current are thus essential to operation of the solid polymer fuel cell. Moreover, it is presumed that the solid polymer fuel cell will generally be operated in a wet environment within a temperature range of room temperature to 120xc2x0 C., meaning that water will be handled in a liquid state. Arrangements must therefore be made to control the supply of water to the fuel electrode and to remove water from the oxidant electrode.
Of the components making up this type of fuel cell, the fuel cell separator, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, has the distinctive shape of a thin plate provided on one or both sides thereof with a plurality of flow channels 4 for the supply and removal of gases. It plays several important roles, one of which is to separate the fuel gas, oxidant gas, and cooling water flowing through the fuel cell to keep them from mingling. In addition, it transmits from the fuel cell electrical energy generated within the cell, and dissipates out of the fuel cell heat that forms within the cell. Accordingly, a need has been strongly felt for fuel cell separators which, in addition to gas barrier properties, electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance, also have sufficient mechanical strength to resist cracking and breaking of the separators from the tightening of bolts and nuts during fuel cell assembly, and which moreover are endowed with excellent vibration and impact resistance when the fuel cell is used as a mobile power supply for automotive and other similar applications.
Carbon composites in which various thermoplastic or thermoset resins offering certain advantages in terms of ease of production and cost are employed as binders have already been proposed for use in solid polymer fuel cell separators of this type. Examples include carbon composites in which the following are used as the binder: the phenolic and other thermoset resins described in JP-A 59-26907; and the polypropylene, nylon and other thermoplastic resins described in JP-A 56-116277.
However, fuel cell separators made of carbon composites in which such thermoplastic or thermoset resins are used as the binder, while preferable from the standpoint of production and cost to the separators machined from graphite sheets that were previously used, leave much to be desired in terms of such performance characteristics as mechanical strength, chemical resistance, gas permeability, and dimensional stability. An additional drawback is the need for degassing during the separator molding or forming operation.
It is therefore one object of the invention to provide a fuel cell separator composition from which there can be obtained a fuel cell separator that is capable of being mass-produced and has excellent electrical conductivity, mechanical strength, chemical resistance, gas impermeability, low ion extraction, and excellent molding or forming properties. Another object of the invention is to provide a fuel cell separator made from the same fuel cell separator composition. A further object is to provide a method of manufacturing such a fuel cell separator. A still further object is to provide a solid polymer fuel cell which has been assembled using such fuel cell separators as some or all of the separators therein.
We have discovered that fuel cell separator compositions wherein a mixture of a thermoset resin with a polyoxazine compound having a plurality of oxazine rings is employed as the binder for an electrically conductive carbonaceous powder can be molded or formed into fuel cell separators which have improved high-temperature durability, unlike the prior art wherein use of a binder composed of a thermoplastic or thermoset resin alone results in an inadequate high-temperature durability, and which are also endowed with better mechanical strength, chemical resistance, gas barrier properties and water resistance, lower ion extraction, better dimensional stability, and little or no need for degassing during molding or forming.
We have also found that solid polymer fuel cells assembled using such separators of excellent electrical conductivity, mechanical strength, chemical resistance, gas impermeability, low ion extraction, and molding or forming properties as some or all of the separators within the fuel cell undergo minimal decline in energy output and have a high operating efficiency, even when the separator has high gas barrier properties and the fuel cell is continuously operated for a long period of time. Hence, such fuel cells are well suited for use as mobile electrical power supplies for such applications as conventional automobiles, hybrid cars and small boats.
Accordingly, in a first aspect, the invention provides a fuel cell separator composition which includes an electrically conductive carbonaceous powder and a binder, wherein the binder is a mixture of a thermoset resin with a polyoxazine compound having a plurality of oxazine rings. The composition typically contains 100 parts by weight of the thermoset resin and 5 to 200 parts by weight of the polyoxazine compound. Preferably, the composition includes 100 to 6,000 parts by weight of the conductive carbonaceous powder per 100 parts by weight of the thermoset resin, and the conductive carbonaceous powder has an average particle size of 10 nm to 500 xcexcm. It is advantageous for the composition to include also up to 500 parts by weight of a fibrous base per 100 parts by weight of the thermoset resin.
In a second aspect, the invention provides a fuel cell separator made by imparting to a fuel cell separator composition according to the above-described first aspect of the invention a separator shape having gas supplying and removing channels oh one or both sides thereof. The separator, when a 3.5 g specimen is cut therefrom, placed in 305 ml of deionized water and heated at 90xc2x0 C. for 500 hours, imparts to the water an electrical conductivity of not more than 20 xcexcS/cm. It is preferable for the fuel cell separator to have a resistivity, as measured according to JIS H0602, of at most 50 mxcexa9xc2x7cm and a gas transmission rate, as measured by method B of JIS K7126, of at most 50 ml/m2 xc2x7dayxc2x7atm.
In a third aspect, the invention provides a method of manufacturing fuel cell separators, which method includes the steps of preparing a fuel cell separator composition comprising an electrically conductive carbonaceous powder and a binder which is a mixture of a thermoset resin with a polyoxazine compound, then shaping the composition into a fuel cell separator having gas supplying and removing channels on one or both sides thereof. The composition is prepared by the admixture of 100 parts by weight of the thermoset resin, 5 to 200 parts by weight of the polyoxazine compound, 100 to 6,000 parts by weight of the conductive carbonaceous powder, and 0 to 500 parts by weight of a fibrous base.
In a fourth aspect, the invention provides a solid polymer fuel cell made up of a plurality of stacked unit cells, each unit cell being composed of a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, a pair of electrodes disposed on either side of the polymer electrolyte membrane, and a pair of separators disposed on either side of the pair of electrodes such as to form gas supplying and removing channels. At least some of the separators within the fuel cell are fuel cell separators according to the above-described second aspect of the invention. Preferably, the solid polymer fuel cell has an initial voltage V1 and a voltage V2 after 200 to 500 hours of continuous operation, such that (V2/V1)xc3x97100 is at least 80%.

Fuel cell separator composition, fuel cell separator and method of manufacture, and solid polymer fuel cell


The present invention provides a coin arranging/conveying apparatus that is capable of reliably conveying coins one at a time into a coin passage unit even if there is such a great difference in diameter or thickness of coins. A first gate portion is defined by a separation roller, an arranging/conveying surface of an arranging/conveying belt, and a movable roller. The movable roller faces the underside of the arranging/conveying surface of the arranging/conveying belt. A second gate portion is defined by a coin passage upstream end roller, and the portion of a transfer belt wrapped around the coin passage upstream end roller. Coins are arranged in a single layer in single file by means of the first gate portion, as well as the second gate portion.

Conventionally, there is a coin arranging/conveying apparatus that requires taking out and conveying coins by means of an arranging/conveying belt provided at the bottom of a coin hopper, controlling the coins into a single-layer state by means of a gate portion having a separation roller that faces the arranging/conveying belt so that the coins are arranged and conveyed one at a time in a single layer in single file (e.g. The coin arranging/conveying apparatus includes a movable guide formed of a plate spring that is disposed below the separation roller and adapted to be pressed against the reverse surface of the arranging/conveying belt, i.e. the surface facing away from the arranging/conveying surface of the belt. The movable roller serves to maintain a specified gate gap between the separation roller and the arranging/conveying surface of the arranging/conveying belt. Should an excessively thick coin enter the aforementioned gap, the movable roller moves downward so as to prevent the coin from being caught in the gap (e. g. See Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2002-245506 (pages 4-5, FIGS. 1-3).
The coin arranging/conveying apparatus described above is capable of handling objects, such as Japanese coins, that are not significantly different in diameter or thickness, without a problem of coins being caught in the gate portion. However, coins in foreign currencies may present a great difference in size; in some countries, the largest coin may have twice the diameter or thickness of the smallest coin. Should there be such a great difference in diameter or thickness, the coin arranging/conveying apparatus described above may be prone to a problem of coins being caught in the gate portion.
Even if coins become caught in the gate portion, the movable guide moves downward together with the arranging/conveying belt so as to dislodge the coins. Nevertheless, as the arranging/conveying belt is constantly moving while the movable guide does not move in the conveying direction, the arranging/conveying belt is prone to wear due to contact with the movable guide.
Furthermore, even if the coins are dislodged and pass through the gate portion, they will be conveyed towards a coin passage at the downstream side in the state where the coins are in contact with one another. As a result, the coins are prone to become jammed at the stage in which they are conveyed to a transfer belt of the coin passage at the downstream side.
In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a coin arranging/conveying apparatus that is capable of reliably conveying coins one at a time through a gate portion into a coin passage unit even if there is such a great difference in diameter or thickness of coins.


An operator guidance system is provided for an administrator managing a computer network such as a distributed computer system. Fault events reported by a fault management system in the network are enhanced to include topology information about other nodes (such as neighbor nodes, path nodes and/or service nodes) that may have been responsible for the fault. The enhanced events are correlated with configuration commands used in the past to correct faults. A set of guidance rules are developed based on the actions that were taken by the operator in handling previous faults of a similar nature. The guidance rules can be displayed to the administrator to facilitate network fault resolution. Using a set of predefined policies, some of the corrective actions can be performed automatically.

During the operation of most computer networks and distributed systems, several faults and failures inevitably arise. In some cases, the faults and failures are transient and can be corrected automatically by the network or distributed system. However, in many cases, a human administrator must intervene to understand the cause of the fault or failure, and then undertake corrective action. Often, the corrective action involves changing the configuration of system devices and components.
Current systems that report network faults are distinct and isolated from systems used to make configuration changes. The human administrator(s) typically monitor network faults from a network management system and after determining the root-cause, a separate configuration system is used to fix the problem.
Thus, a need exists for improved network management and configuration systems.

Method and system for providing operator guidance in network and systems management

International Business Machines Corporation


A lock device is used for a foldable electronic apparatus. The lock device is mounted on a display unit of the electronic apparatus. The lock device includes a rotatable bolt, an actuator, and an elastic bolt holder. The rotatable bolt is rotatably mounted on the display unit and includes two latch tenons. The elastic bolt holder connects the actuator and the rotatable bolt and keeps the rotatable bolt at a first direction. Movement of the actuator causes the rotatable bolt to rotate from the first direction to a second direction. The lock device can couples with a notch successfully even assemble error exists.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a lock device, particularly to a lock device for a foldable electronic apparatus.
2. General Background
An electronic apparatus that have a folding member such as a notebook computer generally include an upper lid, a base, and a lock device used to anchor the upper lid to the base.
Referring to FIG. 7, a conventional lock device 200 for a notebook computer 500 is shown. The computer 500 includes a display unit 510 and a main body 520 which are foldably attach to each other. The lock device 200 is housed in the display unit 510, and includes an actuator 210, a hook bar 220, and an elastic bar holder 230. The hook bar 220 is fastened with the actuator 210 and the elastic bar holder 230, and includes two latch tenons 221. When the display unit 510 is closed, the latch tenons 221 are fixed into notches 521 of the main body 520. The elastic bar holder 230 pushes the latch tenons 221 to maintain in an engaging condition with the notches 521. To open the display unit 510, the actuator 210 is moved transversely to push the hook bar 220, the latch tenons 221 will slide free of the notches 521 to release the engaging condition between the latch tenons 221 and the notches 521.
While the latch tenons 221 being fixed into or releasing from the notches 521, the latch tenons 221 can only move linearly. The length of opening of the notches 521 must be wider than the length of the latch tenons 221 in the moving direction. If assembling error exists, and the latch tenons 221 are fully positioned at the opening of the notches 521 after the display unit 510 is closed, the latch tenons 221 can't be fixed into the notches 521.
Therefore, what is needed is a lock device which engages with a notch successfully even assembling error exists.

Lock device for foldable electronic apparatus


A vapor chamber that includes a housing defining an internal space, a first pillar arranged in the internal space of the housing to support the housing from the internal space, a working medium enclosed in the internal space of the housing, and a wick arranged in the internal space of the housing, the wick having a portion of a first main surface thereof supported by the first pillar so as to be spaced from the housing, and a thickness of the wick is partially different along a cross-section thereof.

In recent years, a heat generation amount has increased due to high integration and high performance of heat-generating elements. Further, a heat generation density is increased with size reduction of a product, so that heat radiation dissipation measures have become increasingly important. This situation is particularly prominent in the field of mobile terminals such as smart phones and tablets. In recent years, although a graphite sheet or the like is often used as a heat countermeasure member, the heat transportation amount thereof is not sufficient. Therefore, use of various heat countermeasure members have been investigated. Among them, use of a vapor chamber, which is a planar heat pipe, has been studied as it is possible for the vapor chamber to transport heat very effectively.
The vapor chamber has the configuration in which a working medium and a wick for transporting the working medium by capillary force are enclosed inside a housing. The working medium absorbs heat from a heat generation element in an evaporation portion which absorbs heat from the heat generation element, evaporates in the vapor chamber, moves to a condensation portion, and is cooled to return to be in a liquid phase. The working medium which has returned to be in the liquid phase is moved to the heating generation element side (evaporation portion) again by the capillary force of the wick and cools the heat generation element. By repeating this operation, the vapor chamber can operate autonomously without having external power and can diffuse heat two dimensionally at high speed by utilizing evaporation latent heat and condensation latent heat of the working medium.
As the above-described vapor chamber, for example, a vapor chamber including a sheet-like container, a wick enclosed in the container, and a working medium enclosed in the container has been known (Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1: International Publication No. 2016/151916


Golf ball dimples having a cross-sectional profile shape defined by the envelope of the response of an under damped harmonic oscillator are disclosed.

Golf ball dimples are known to have a significant effect on the aerodynamic forces acting on the ball during flight. For example, the dimples on a golf ball create a turbulent boundary layer around the ball. The turbulence energizes the boundary layer and helps it stay attached further around the ball to reduce the area of the wake. This greatly increases the pressure behind the ball and substantially reduces the drag. Based on the significant role that dimples play in golf ball design, manufacturers continually seek to develop novel dimple patterns, sizes, shapes, volumes, cross-sections, etc. Thus, the present invention provides a novel dimple cross-sectional profile having unique aesthetic and aerodynamic characteristics.


A method and device are provided for securing entry of an alphanumerical code by a user. The method includes: obtaining, through a first device, information for converting at least one portion of the alphanumerical code into at least one portion of converted code, the information for converting being one-time converting means; a piece of information identifying the information for converting; entering, into a second device distinct from the first device, at least the portion of converted code, converted using the information for converting; and transmitting at least the portion of converted code and the piece of information identifying the information for converting towards a secured server.

The current large-scale development of payment means using mobile terminals (such as mobile telephones) is making it necessary also to develop appropriate means for securing such transactions, owing to the non-secured character of these terminals unlike "classic" secured transaction terminals.
Indeed, an offer of the possibility of paying for example with one's mobile phone should be accompanied by securing means suited to this mode of payment and especially means for securing the entry of the confidential code, classically used to validate a payment.
Currently, there are known techniques of payment through a mobile terminal using a payment accessory that is connected to the mobile terminal, offering a device that replaces the well-known classic transaction terminal.
This payment accessory connected to the mobile telephone serving as a payment terminal is used for example to read the data of a bank card and transmit this data to the mobile terminal (for subsequent transmission to a secured server for example).
The utility of such a payment accessory lies in its low cost and its ease of use (it can be connected for example through a jack to the audio output of the mobile terminal).
One example of such a payment accessory is illustrated in FIG. 1 in which a payment accessory 10 can be seen, connected to a mobile telephone 11 to enable the reading of a bank card 12.
Then, classically, after having read the data of the bank card through the payment accessory, the mobile telephone asks the user to enter his confidential code at the mobile terminal itself, which does not have the level of security required for bank data.
At present, there are a number of techniques for securing the entry of a confidential alphanumerical code into a non-secured terminal.
For example, there is a technique known as "RevoPIN" described in the patent document WO2010131218_A1, in which a one-time virtual keypad is transmitted to the mobile telephone by a secured server, the keys of the virtual keypad being permutated as compared with a "classic" keypad. This virtual keypad is displayed by the mobile telephone and it is on this virtual keypad that the user enters his PIN code. The code which is then transmitted to the secured server is therefore actually a permutated code, and the secured server can retrieve the original PIN code by means of the one-time virtual keypad that it generates itself for the transaction.
This technique makes it possible to avoid transmitting the user's PIN code to the server but does not give an adequate level of security.
Indeed, since the permutated code information and the virtual keypad are present and therefore potentially accessible on the mobile terminal, the PIN code can be retrieved for example by a malicious application which has access, on the mobile terminal, to these two pieces of information.
Besides, in the case of a PIN code with redundancy of digits, this type of solution gives rise to entropic loss since it is possible, from the permutated code, to deduce the presence and the relative position of the digits of the initial code.
There is therefore a real need to secure these prior-art techniques for entering confidential alphanumerical codes into a non-secured terminal.

Method and devices to secure the entry of an alphanumerical code, corresponding computer program product and storage means


The present disclosure describes a layout for stress optimization. The layout includes a substrate, at least two fin field effect transistors (FinFET) cells formed in the substrate, a FinFET fin designed to cross the two FinFET cells, a plurality of gates formed on the substrate, and an isolation unit formed between the first FinFET cell and the second FinFET cell. The two FinFET cells include a first FinFET cell and a second FinFET cell. The FinFET fin includes a positive charge FinFET (Fin PFET) fin and a negative charge FinFET (Fin NFET) fin. The isolation unit isolates the first FinFET cell from the second FinFET cell without breaking the FinFET fin.

The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced exponential growth. Technological advances in IC materials and design have produced generations of ICs where each generation has smaller and more complex circuits than the previous generation. In the course of IC evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiency and lowering associated costs. Such scaling down has also increased the complexity of processing and manufacturing ICs and, for these advances to be realized, similar developments in IC processing and manufacturing are needed.
For example, the scaling down of a fin field effect transistor (FinFET) faces challenges of a stress relaxation of a channel between a source and a drain of the FinFET due to a finite length of a fin of the FinFET. The channel relaxation reduces channel stress and further reduces mobility of a charge moving in the channel. The low mobility of the charge moving in the change further reduces a performance of the FinFET. Accordingly, what is needed is a device for further scaling down of the FinFET.

Fin field effect transistor layout for stress optimization

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


The system for generating dot signals corresponding to a character pattern on the basis of outline information of a character pattern described by only straight lines comprises a section 6 for deciding end points of straight lines constituting outlines on the basis of the outline information. In response to end point information decided by this section 6, a DDA calculating section 7 continuously generates information indicative of a pair of points constituting two straight lines, respectively in such a way that two straight lines can be extended from one end point selected from the decided end points toward two end points adjacent thereto. The generated information indicative of a pair of points is inputted to a straight line generating section 8 for generating a straight line composed of dot signals between a pair of the points. These dot signals correspond to a character pattern. As described above, dot signals corresponding to a character pattern can be obtained directly from outline information described by only straight lines.

With advance of higher reliability of print output in word processors, for instance, the number of dots which constitute a character pattern has been increased rapidly. Therefore, there arises a problem in that the capacity of a character generator memory for storing characters as dot pattern data increases more and more.
To overcome the problem as described above, a so-called outline font method has been proposed such that the outline of a character pattern is divided into a plurality of areas j0, j1, j2, . . . as shown in FIG. 1, for instance; the start and end point coordinates of these areas j0, j1, j2 . . . are previously stored as data; and the divided outlines are interpolated on the basis of dot signals before output.
In this method, since not only high reliable characters of many dots can be outputted in spite of a relatively small amount of data to be stored, but also the character sizes can be expanded and contracted by coordinate calculation, there exists an advantage of coping with characters of various sizes.
However, since the outline information as described above can be obtained by approximating a curve J for forming a character outline as shown in FIG. 2A on the basis of straight lines K, K and a circular arc L as shown in FIG. 2B, when the curve is required to be approximated precisely in particular, there exists a problem in that a great number of circular arcs of different radii must be stored so that the memory capacity inevitably increases.
To overcome the above-mentioned problem, there has been proposed another method of approximating the character outline by use of Conic-spline or Bezier function which can determine a curve on the basis of three points of start and end points A and B of a curve representing an outline and a control point C indicative of an intersection of two tangent lines described at these points A and B as shown in FIG. 2C. When the Conic-spline or Bezier function is adopted, it is possible to approximate the character outline by a smooth curve in spite of a relatively small memory capacity.
In the prior-art character pattern signal generating systems, however, dot signals corresponding to a character pattern are generated through complicated processing such as conversion into outline information described by only straight lines, conversion into outline data composed of dot signals on dot coordinates, etc. Therefore, there exists a problem in that a great amount of memory capacity is required, because the outline information composed of dot signals must be temporarily stored in some memory medium in the process of forming the outline information composed of dot signals on the basis of outline data described by an approximate function and the process of forming dot signals corresponding to the character pattern on the basis of the outline information composed of dot signals.

Method of generating dot signals corresponding to character pattern and the system therefor


A selectively-configurable lighting system is provided that employs at least two light emitting diode arrays configured on a rigid or semi-rigid panel. The adjacent lighting arrays are interconnected by a soft or flexible material that allows for the light emitting diode arrays to be folded upon each other to decrease the perimeter of the lighting system when it is not in use. The lighting emitting diode arrays include a plurality of light emitting diodes that may produce single color, bi-color, or tri-color light. The light emitting diode arrays are selectively controlled with a controller that allows for a user to selectively control or the output of the lights to yield a lighting effect of a predetermined nature or character.

Single color, bi-color, and tri-color lights are used to illuminate subjects being photographed or filmed. Lights are selectively mounted a predetermined distance from the subject to suit the lighting professional or artist's desires. It is also often desirable to selectively alter the character of light exposing the subject.
One drawback of existing lighting systems is that they are often large, bulky, difficult to install, and difficult to transport. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the nature of the subject may dictate the required lighting needs and effects, so this drawback may not be an issue in some situations. In other situations, however, these drawbacks are very detrimental, especially when a sole professional is tasked with transporting the tools of their trade to an off-site location.
Accordingly, it is a long felt need in the image capturing field to provide an easy to store and transport lighting system that allows for selective subject lighting. The following disclosure describes an improved lighting system that fulfills the lighting needs most professionals required but is able to deploy and store quickly and easily.


GateWay (GW) having a shape of a substantially-flat rectangular parallelepiped and including terminals on one wide surface or both wide surfaces, GWs are stacked on each other so as to connect first corresponding terminals while connecting second corresponding terminals. The corresponding terminals are connected inside each GW, and are connected with each other via a component for transmitting a communication signal through a communication line and via a relay processing section for executing a relaying process for the communication signal. By stacking GWs on each other, the function of a multi-bus GW can be realized.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a relay device for relaying transmission of data in an in-vehicle communication system. More specifically, the invention relates to a relay device which can reduce a space occupied by the entire in-vehicle communication system and can easily change the configuration of its system, and also relates to a wiring harness and a communication system that are connected to the relay device.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, such a system that includes more than one control devices provided with different functions has been utilized in various fields. The control devices include respective communication means for exchanging data with each other and cooperate together to perform different kinds of processing. Especially in the field of vehicles, the way of controlling is switched from mechanical control to electrical control. A general configuration for the electrical control includes Electronic Control Units (ECUs) provided in a vehicle as a number of control devices, in which the ECUs exchange information with one another via a network in accordance with protocols such as Controller Area Network (CAN), Local Interconnect Network (LIN), FlexRay and the like, and perform various kinds of processing by cooperating and working together.
The number of ECUs mounted in a vehicle is increased because the number of functions implemented by electrical control for the vehicle is also increased. In addition to the system including ECUs mounted in a vehicle, a communication system in which plural control devices work together to perform processing can also distribute segmented processing units to respective control devices. Thus, a problem such as a failure or a bug may easily be isolated and handled in order to enhance efficiency in development and maintenance. Accordingly, the number of control devices included in a communication system as communication equipment is increased, and thus the amount of data transmitted between the control devices in order to cooperate and work together also tends to be increased.
When a communication device is connected to a communication line, a transceiver is used, which realizes transmission of communication signals at a physical layer. The number of transceivers connected to one communication line is limited in order to avoid delay time, reflection and ringing. For example, in the case of CAN which is widely used as an in-vehicle network, though the maximum of thirty transceivers may be connected to a CAN bus conforming High speed according to the standard, the number is, in practice, limited to less than twenty.
Though the number of communication devices included in the communication system tends to be increased, the number of communication devices connected to one communication line is limited. Thus, the communication devices may be divided into groups, each of which is connected to a communication line while a relay device (gateway device) is used for relaying between different communication lines. In such a case, the number of communication lines is increased as the number of communication devices is increased. It is, however, considered to be important, especially in the field of vehicles, to reduce the weight of a vehicle in order to improve fuel consumption and to prevent harmful effects on the environment. To reduce weight, reduction in the weight of a harness itself including various electric wirings such as a power line is most effective. It is thus desired to reduce the weight of various electric wirings and the number of lines in the in-vehicle communication system. Furthermore, there is a limited space available for the installation of the ECU and relay device in order to secure a space as wide as possible in a vehicle and to enhance comfort.
When control devices need to be connected to different communication lines in the communication system, the relay device performs relaying between communication lines. Here, it is wasteful for the control device and relay device to be located separately from each other in different housings and respectively have power supply circuits, clock circuits and the like, when the space for placing them is limited.
Patent Document 1 proposes a connector containing electronic components, which includes electronic components in a connector housing of a harness, can be handled similarly to a general connector and can reduce the size of a housing and a connector for the electronic components.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-226809

Communication system, relay device and wiring harness


Apparatuses and methods for providing transient electrical event protection are disclosed. In one embodiment, an apparatus comprises a detection and timing circuit, a current amplification circuit, and a clamping circuit. The detection and timing circuit is configured to detect a presence or absence of a transient electrical event at a first node, and to generate a first current for a first duration upon detection of the transient electrical event. The current amplification circuit is configured to receive the first current from the detection and timing circuit and to amplify the first current to generate a second current. The clamping circuit is electrically connected between the first node and a second node and receives the second current for activation. The clamping circuit is configured to activate a low impedance path between the first and second nodes in response to the second current, and to otherwise deactivate the low impedance path.

1. Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to electronic systems, and more particularly, to transient electrical event protection circuits.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Certain electronic systems can be exposed to a transient electrical event, or an electrical signal of short duration having rapidly changing voltage and high power. Transient electrical events can include, for example, electro static discharge (ESD) events arising from the abrupt release of charge from an object or person to an electronic system.
Transient electrical events can destroy integrated circuits (ICs) due to overvoltage conditions and high levels of power dissipation in relatively small areas of the ICs. High power dissipation can increase IC temperature, and can lead to numerous problems, such as gate oxide punch-through, junction damage, metal damage, and surface charge accumulation. Transient electrical events can be a problem in a variety of applications, including, for example, in high performance radio frequency (RF) circuit applications. Thus, there is a need for providing protection over ICs in an electronic system from such transient electrical events.

Apparatus and method for electronic circuit protection


A display device includes a driving device, which includes a signal controller which receives an input image signal and an input control signal and outputs an image data and a data control signal; a reference voltage generator which generates a first reference voltage and a second reference voltage; and a data driver which receives the image data and the data control signal from the signal controller and outputs a data voltage. The data control signal includes a first color gamma control signal, a second color gamma control signal, and a third color gamma control signal. The data driver includes a reference gamma voltage generator which receives the first reference voltage and the second reference voltage from the reference voltage generator, receives the first color, second color, and third color gamma control signals from the signal controller, and generates a reference gamma voltage according to color information of the image data.

(a) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a driving device and a display device including the same, and more particularly, to a driving device capable of controlling gamma independently for each of red (R), green (G), or blue (B) colors and a display device including the same.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A general display device includes a display panel assembly which includes a plurality of pixels including a switching element and display signal lines, a gray voltage generator generating reference gray voltage, and a data driver which generates a plurality of gray voltages using the reference gray voltage and applies gray voltage corresponding to an image signal among the generated gray voltage to a data line among the display signal lines as a data signal.
A general gray voltage generator generates a defined number of the reference gray voltages according to a gamma curve of a liquid crystal display. The reference gray voltages include a set having a positive value for a common voltage Vcom and a set having a negative value for the common voltage Vcom. The data driver divides the reference gray voltages to generate gray voltages for an entire gray and may select the data signal among the gray voltages.
In order to implement a color display, each pixel of the display device uniquely displays one of primary colors such as R, G, and B or alternately displays the primary colors with time. Since the pixel displaying each of R, G, and B has a different gamma characteristic, when the same reference gray voltage is used based on the same gamma curve, color sense for each gray may not be uniform or a desired color may not be represented.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Driving device and display device including the same


A bend-straightening machine with a vertically movable table for straightening long workpieces is provided. The bend-straightening machine of the present disclosure includes straightening supports for supporting a workpiece mounted on a movable table which moves in a vertical plane driven by a driving mechanism. The machine is constructed as a rigid frame including a base for supporting at least one upright column. A fixed bridge is joined to an upper portion of the upright column and supplies a stationary surface for mounting at least two workpiece holding fixtures, which grip the ends of the workpiece, allowing the workpiece to be rotated. Also, mounted to the bridge is at least one straightening punch which remains stationary during straightening. The moving table and straightening supports act vertically upward on the workpiece causing the workpiece to bend, i.e., straighten, when it contacts the straightening punch.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to bend-straightening machines for straightening workpieces, and more particularly, to a bend-straightening machine having a vertically movable table for driving the workpiece against a straightening punch.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bend-straightening machines are known in the art. An exemplary bend-straightening machine is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,315, owned by the assignee of the present application. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,315, the actuating mechanism of the machine is based upon cam on roller technology, which utilizes a camshaft mounted in a stationary machine table below straightening bases. The actuating mechanism is designed as a bridge which holds a straightening ram in vertical alignment of a workpiece and the bridge can be moved in a vertical plane by means of a drive mechanism coupled to the camshaft. The bridge is spring-mounted on a base plate of the machine to urge the ram to be in constant engagement with the camshaft to ensure precise alignment with the workpiece. Airbags are also employed are a biasing means to urge the ram against the camshaft.
This known bend-straightening machine operates satisfactorily, but has a disadvantage in that the tonnage and stroke capability of the machine are limited by ergonomic considerations when considering the floor-to-workpiece centerline distance. The large ram structure, which consists of a bridge and uprights, has to be moved with each stroke of the machine requiring a relatively large drive mechanism. Also, due to the plurality of springs supporting the bridge, deformation of any of springs will lead to an asymmetrical load on the workpiece. In addition, the workpiece holding fixtures must be mounted on the fixed machine table and utilize a spring to achieve clamping position, resulting in less than perfect repeatability during measurement.
A bend-straightening machine of similar concept is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,890, also owned by the assignee of the present application. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,890, the actuating mechanism consists of cam on roller technology which utilizes a camshaft which is mounted to a rigid machine frame above the workpiece centerline as opposed to below the workpiece centerline as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,315. The actuating mechanism is designed as a ram which holds the straightening punch in vertical alignment of the workpiece and the ram can be moved in the vertical plane by means of the actuating mechanism.
The bend-straightening machine of U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,890 also operates satisfactorily, but has certain disadvantages. The overhead cam arrangement requires the drive mechanism to be mounted to the bridge, which is above the workpiece, requiring a significant support structure in large tonnage machines, thereby increasing its cost. Also, a biasing means, e.g., springs or airbags, are required to bias the cam follower of the ram against the cam to maintain mechanical contact between the cam follower and cam. In addition, the workpiece holding fixtures must be mounted on the fixed machine table and utilize a spring to achieve clamping position, resulting in less than perfect repeatability during measurement.
Therefore, a need exists for a bend-straightening machine having a reduced number of components and which does not require a large support structure. Furthermore, a need exists for a bend-straightening machine that will provide repeatable, accurate straightening of a workpiece.

Bend-straightening machine with vertically movable table


The present disclosure related to circuit structure of an electronic device, wherein the circuit structure comprises of a main line formed on a substrate; and at least an auxiliary line electrically connected to the main line to form a conductive return circuit used for a signal to pass through the auxiliary line when the main line is disconnected. Addition of the auxiliary line avoids any breaking of signal transmission due to partial disconnection of the main line. The present disclosure also relates to a method for manufacturing the circuit structure, wherein the method simplifies the manufacturing process and also reduces the rate of deformation or disconnection of lines.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to circuit structure of an electronic device and a method for manufacturing the same. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a circuit structure applied to a touch panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, touch interface has been widely applied in various electronic products such as notebook computers, mobile phones, personal digital assistants and digital cameras, wherein the touch interface has replaced the traditional keyboard or the mouse input models. A touch interface design omits traditional input devices from being used and makes a user capable of entering data and browsing simultaneously screen in the same touch interface. However, with fast development of new electronic products, need for touch interface based electronic products lies not only for making the products thin and light-weight, but also for enhancing the overall functionality of the products through large operative windows. Therefore, in order to ensure that the scope of touch panel and of the display operative window is large enough, portion of the non-visible region in the touch panel (namely the peripheral region) is required to be narrowed down as much as possible. But typically, during the process of narrowing, the line of signal transmission deforms or disconnects.
Generally, a method of narrowing a peripheral region of a touch panel includes reducing width of a line disposed in the peripheral region. In the method of reducing the width of the line, it is observed that singular line standing in the outermost side of the peripheral region is most liable to deform or disconnect. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a circuit structure narrowed in a traditional touch panel, wherein the line 90 is the outermost side of a substrate in the peripheral region, having a serration portion 91 or a rupture portion 92. As line 90 is too thin, any serration or rupture leads to a state of instability during signal transmission or can even lead to disconnection.

Circuit structure of electronic device and its manufacturing method


An insect trap includes a lightweight base having a lightweight cover formed of a flexible sheet material. The cover is affixed along portions of the base's continuous edge, and inlcudes flap portions folded between the cover and base. The cover is affixed to the base such that the fold between each flap portion and the cover is arched upwardly away from the base to create a downward biasing force on each flap portion. This biasing force will return the flap portion into contact with the base once an insect has lifted the flap to enter the trap.

Cockroaches and insects are a pest which are common in many homes. There are a wide variety of products available on the market today which attempt to control these pests, with varying degrees of success. These pest controls may be categorized in two general categories: (1) sprays or the like, and (2) traps.
There are wide variety of sprays available which are applied to surfaces which may be contacted by cockroaches or other insects. Unfortunately, such sprays commonly have an unpleasant odor, and may stain the surface upon which they are applied. There is always a concern that the spray could contaminate human food products, as well. Furthermore, the cockroach does not necessarily die instantly upon contact with the spray, and may travel some distance before the effects of the spray become lethal.
Conventional traps typically utilize an adhesive applied on a surface within a box or other container. An insect may then be attracted to bait within the box, and thereby comes into contact with the adhesive. The box may then be disposed of as desired. The major problem with such traps, is that the adhesive will not retain its potency for a long period of time. Furthermore, an insect must contact a substantial portion of its body to the adhesive to produce a bond with enough strength to retain the insect in place.
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide an improved insect trap.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an insect trap which does not require insecticides of any type.
A further object is to provide an insect trap which will not lose its strength or entrapment effect after a period of time.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an insect trap which is extremely economical to manufacture, and simple to use.
These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.


Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method, a computer program product, and a computer system for proactive comment evaluation. In embodiments, the invention includes detecting a comment being added to a thread and extracting data relevant to the thread. In addition, the invention includes identifying an average sentiment range of the thread based on the extracted data and a model, as well as identifying a sentiment of the comment. Moreover, the invention involves determining whether the identified sentiment is outside the identified average sentiment range and, based on determining that the identified sentiment is outside the average sentiment range, recommending an alternative comment.

The present invention relates generally to social media collaboration and, more particularly, to proactive comment evaluation.
It is common for a social media post to have several, dozens, or even hundreds of comments within a social media thread. While the social media platform may highlight one or more most recent or most popular reply comments, the volume of comments may prevent a user from evaluating all existing comments, likes, dislikes, etc. to ascertain a general sentiment of the social media post. Moreover, subsequent comments may unknowingly devalue a previously made comment or the original post itself. For example, a comment stating "that's nice" may be overshadowed by a later comment exclaiming "that's stunning!" In other situations, comments to an original post may unknowingly demean or bully the original post or a comment made by another user.

Relative weighting for social collaboration comments


There is disclosed an orthopedic cervical pillow which is intended to be used to support the neck and head of a person. The pillow is generally rectangular and is made of an upper casing and a lower casing each being sewn together along their edges to constitute the outer cover of the pillow. The pillow is filled with fibre. In addition, it includes two or more elongated pieces of woven material which are disposed lengthwise and upstanding relative to the pillow. Each of these pieces are sewn along their upper and lower edges by continuous lateral stitching respectively to the upper and lower casings. The pieces of woven material are distributed inside the pillow to constitute one central, one wider and one narrower lateral tubular shaped compartments which extend lengthwise inside the pillow. The narrower lateral compartment is wider than the central compartment. This pillow enables the central compartment to receive the occiputal protrusion and one of the lateral compartment to support the cervical area of a person. The wider or narrower lateral compartment will be used depending on the length and shape of the user's cervical area.

(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an orthopedic cervical pillow wherein certain pieces of material cut to specific shapes, configurations, and designs sewn on the inside of the casing of the pillow, can in fact create a specific pillow shape and design so as to provide for an innovatively shaped pillow identifiably different from prior art.
More specifically, the invention is concerned with a pillow that allows for sufficient head and neck support while resting on one's back as well as on one's side, either to the left or to the right by providing for sufficient pillow thickness at each end to accommodate for the distance between the side of the head and face, and the shoulder.
(b) Description of Prior Art
The prior art is constituted by the following references:
U.S. Pat. No. 1,206,775 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,589,303 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,239 PA1 British Pat. No. 420,722 PA1 British Pat. No. 641,838 PA1 European Patent Application No. 59 881--Sept. 15, 1982.
However, none of these references teach a pillow which is capable of constituting a support both for the cervical area as well as the occiputal protrusion of a person.

Compartmented orthopedic cervical pillow


A method of generating an image of a segment of a lumen structure comprises acquiring volumetric image data that comprises image data representative of a longitudinal segment of a lumen structure, extracting the segment of lumen structure from the volumetric image, calculating a thickness of planar MPR slab that at least encompasses the longitudinal segment of lumen structure, and rendering a planar MPR slab image based on the thickness and the volumetric image data.

Catheter based angiography is a medical imaging modality offering planar viewing of contrast enhanced blood vessels and other structures within the human or animal body. For many applications it is the standard technique used for vascular imaging and as a result there is a large scale standardization of the standard viewing planes for particular anatomical structures. The standardisation of viewing planes is however a guide and the use of such standard viewing planes may not achieve the ideal representation of a three dimensional anatomical structure using a two dimensional plane.
Catheter based angiography can be used to image a segment of an anatomical structure for subsequent use in assessment of any abnormalities that may be present, for example determining whether a stenosis is present in a segment of a coronary artery. The technique can also be used as part of a medical treatment being performed on a patient, for example it can be used to image a coronary artery whilst a stent is being inserted into the coronary artery.
Standard catheter based angiography techniques use a C-arm X-ray imaging apparatus, in which an X-ray source and detector are positioned at opposite sides of a patient's body. A catheter is inserted to a region of interest and contrast agent is injected. The X-ray source and detector can be positioned at any orientation with respect to the patient's body to provide a two-dimensional planar image at any desired orientation. Blood vessels in which the contrast agent is present can be seen clearly on the resulting image.
Catheter based angiography is widely used for viewing of coronary artery structures. In particular, catheter based angiography is widely used to detect the presence of stenoses (abnormal narrowings) in coronary artery structures. In order to detect the presence of a stenosis in a particular coronary artery structure planar images at various orientations, including at least two orthogonal orientations, are obtained and the resulting planar images are viewed by a radiologist or cardiologist who is trained to detect the presence of stenoses or other abnormalities from the images.
The coronary arteries make up a complex tree-like structure, which can be segmented into different longitudinal segments according to standard models, for example the AHA (American Heart Association) 15 segment model or the modified AHA 17 segment model. Viewing planes for the viewing of different segments of a normal coronary artery structure using catheter based angiography have become standardised and there are standard viewing planes for each of the segments.
For each segment, catheter based angiography measurements are performed for the standard set of orientations of the X-ray source and detector for that segment to obtain images for each of the standardised viewing planes. Typically for each vessel, measurements at 6 or 7 different orientations may be obtained. A radiologist or cardiologist is trained to detect the presence of stenoses or other abnormalities based upon these standard viewing planes.
Human anatomy varies from patient to patient and the standard viewing planes for coronary catheter-based angiography represent the best viewing planes for the average patient, and do not take into account individual variation between patients. For some patients, the cardiac artery anatomy will differ significantly from the average, and a radiologist or cardiologist may instruct further catheter based angiography measurements to be performed at different orientations, after viewing images obtained for the standard viewing planes. Significant amounts of time can be wasted in adjusting views to obtain an optimum viewing plane for each patient.
Given the number of different segments of the coronary artery structure, the number of separate catheter based angiography measurements required for each segment, and the possibility of having to repeat measurements at different orientations for some patients, catheter based angiography for the study of coronary artery structures can require a large number of separate measurements, which can be time-consuming and expensive. Furthermore, as catheter based angiography is an invasive procedure it can cause complications in some patients. In addition, catheter based angiography can be used only to obtain information on the lumen of the coronary artery or other blood vessel, it cannot generally be used to detect the thickening of the vessel wall.
Modern three-dimensional imaging techniques including computerised tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and volumetric (cone-beam) angiography, have the ability to produce volumetric representations of anatomy allowing users to examine acquired data retrospectively or under live screening from any plane and apply image processing techniques to achieve accurate viewing of individual structures. CT and MRI measurements are generally quicker and cheaper to perform than traditional catheter based angiography measurements, and can also be used to determine the thickness and other properties of vessel walls as well as the path and thickness of the vessels themselves.
Such three-dimensional techniques produce large three-dimensional volume data sets comprising a three-dimensional array of voxels each representing a property of a corresponding measurement volume. In the case of CT data sets, each voxel usually represents the attenuation of X-ray radiation by a respective, corresponding measurement volume.
Many techniques have been developed for selecting, processing and visualising data obtained used three-dimensional imaging techniques. For example, multi-planar reconstruction (MPR) techniques can be used to select and visualise two dimensional planes from the three dimensional data set. A plane is selected within the three dimensional volume and data from that plane only are displayed. Slab (or thickened) MPR is a variant of the technique in which the MPR plane has a selected thickness of greater than one voxel and data only from the thickened plane are displayed. Various rendering techniques determining how the MPR data are rendered on a display are also know, for example maximum intensity projection (MIP) or direct volume rendering (DVR).
In the case of coronary artery imaging using three-dimensional imaging techniques, there are currently two main recognised methods of investigating the coronary arteries in cross sectional imaging, based on three dimensional data sets obtained from coronary computed tomography angiogram (CCTA) measurements or cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) measurements.
The two methods take different approaches to the difficulties of representing portions of the curved, complex coronary artery structure in two dimensional images.
In the first method (also referred to as the traditional approach) planar two-dimensional images are obtained from slab (thickened) MPR of a selected segment of the coronary artery structure, and are used to examine the segment of the coronary artery along its length. Usually, the segment of coronary artery to be viewed, and the orientation and thickness of the MPR plane, are selected manually by an operator using a suite of imaging and rendering tools.
Such planar MPR techniques are generally trusted by users but each planar MPR image can only provide a partial view of a curved structure such as a coronary artery structure. It is also time consuming for an operator to select appropriate plane orientations and thickness to adequately view a segment of coronary artery structure, and the manual nature of the procedure can produce variations between images.
The second method is a curved MPR method, which uses curved plane reconstruction. The centreline path of a vessel, in this case a segment of coronary artery, is calculated along its entire length and then viewed (rendered) as a single extruded plane with the associated perpendicular axial cross sections of the curve at any selected point along its length being displayed.
Curved MPR can provide a good overview of the entire vessel in a single planar view, but curved MPR images are generally not as trusted by users as planar images are. Furthermore, it is still necessary for the user to select slab thicknesses and other parameters when using curved MPR. The selection of such parameters and the selection and viewing of cross-sectional images along at a series of manually selected points along the vessel are time consuming.
Coronary vessels are inherently curved structures, which change planar orientation significantly along their course and provide significant challenges to users in obtaining and interpreting two dimensional images of the structures from three dimensional data sets using CT, MR or cone-beam catheter based angiography methods. The time taken to obtain and interpret two dimensional images using either the traditional or modern methods described above can be significantly greater than the time needed to interpret images obtained using traditional catheter-based angiography techniques. Furthermore, curved MPR techniques are at present not trusted by some practitioners.

Multi-planar reconstruction lumen imaging method and apparatus


Example systems and methods for biometric authentication that can bridge fuzzy extractors with deep learning and achieve the goals of preserving privacy and providing recoverability from zero are disclosed. Embeddings comprising a face or speaker embedding in a non-Hamming distance space can be processed to create a personal reliable bit map and a reliable locality-sensitive hash (LSH) for mapping the non-Hamming distance space to a Hamming distance space. A fuzzy extractor can be applied to create metadata that can be stored on a computing device. A secret can be recovered from the metadata and can be used for identification.

Biometric authentication is becoming increasingly popular, in part because biometric features are difficult to lose and easy to measure thanks to the widespread adoption of smartphones. This brings challenges, such as the need for preventing replay and protecting user privacy. Keeping an enrolled model on the user's device can be problematic because this approach can bind authentication to a specific device, resulting in two serious drawbacks. The first is that a user has to carry his enrolled device. The second drawback is that recovery, such as when the device is lost or needs to be replaced, is often by non-biometric means such as what the user knows (e.g., password). Additionally, sending biometric data across a network, e.g., for liveness detection, can raise privacy concerns. Therefore, a privacy preserving biometric authentication process is needed that can respect privacy, resist theft, and enable recovery solely with biometrics.

Privacy preserving face-based authentication


Method and apparatus for object or event of interest detection which minimizes the level of false alarms and maximizes the level of detections as defined on a per event or object basis by the analyst. The invention allows for the minimization of false alarms for objects or events of interest which have a close resemblance to all other objects or events mapped to the same multidimensional feature space, and allows for the per event or per object adjustment on false alarms for objects or events of higher interest.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of event or object detection. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods for event or object detection where the false alarm rate of detection can be refined through both machine learning and operator feedback.
2. Background
It is generally desired to reduce the amount of downtime in industrial processes. Downtime is caused by a number of factors and it is desirable to identify those components of a particular process that can be indicators of an upcoming failure. These indicators can then be detected by an automated computer system in order to provide a warning of an event. This approach can be extended to generalized detection of an object of interest.
Industrial processes can be dynamic environments. Variability in operating conditions in industrial processes has the potential to cause loss of production, damaged equipment, and could create an unsafe operating environment. When an upset condition occurs, the operators are inundated with huge amounts of data to be processed in a short amount of time. Automated computer systems which monitor and study processes during production can be valuable tools for the operators. Such systems could not only advise the operators of the various actions to be taken to keep the processes running in a stable fashion, they could also minimize the probability of downtimes.
In order to manage the dynamics of an industrial process, complex process control systems have been widely established. In a paper mill, for example, the number of I/O connections in typical mills can vary from 30,000 to more than 100,000. The industry is constantly searching for ways to manage these complex systems in better ways. The first issue to be addressed is in how to handle the huge amount of raw sensor data available within the system. High-dimensional data analysis and reduction are important techniques used to help reduce the dimensionality of the huge amount of raw data (1). From here, various process monitoring and simulation methods exist. These methods are typically either data driven, analytical, or knowledge based (2). Sometimes, combining existing methods proves to be beneficial.
Various techniques from modeling and simulation attempt to characterize the process behavior and are used to develop models for predicting how the system will respond during system upsets or equipment changes. Some research has shown that even small fluctuations in process signals may be precursors to predicting system upsets (2). It is important for an automated system to be able to distinguish the inherent variability of the process from the precursors to system upsets or faults. One of the biggest challenges in a system which has a great deal of inherent variability is to identify when, where, and how much change is significant. If a system cannot correctly identify the precursors to a failure state, the operators may be inundated with false alarms and lose faith in the reliability of the automated system.
For most minor process fluctuations the process controllers (Proportional, Integral, and Derivative (PID)) and model predictive controllers are designed to maintain satisfactory operations by compensating for the effects of disturbances and changes occurring in the process. However, there are some changes in the process which cause disturbances which the controllers cannot adequately handle. These are the disturbances that may lead to faults (3) (4).
Isermann (5) wrote a review article on fault detection based on modeling and system estimation. He claims that with a good model of the process, we can improve our ability to indicate when process faults are likely. As with other similar process models, his system compared current process signatures and outputs with those from the model. When values above or below some threshold were detected, they were labeled as fault indicators. The problem is that when the system is so complex and dynamic, models like Isermann's are often limited. Systems that are currently available rarely try to evaluate the process, for example, the process performed in a paper mill, from the raw material through final product. More often, they try to break the process up into its subprocesses and in doing so, some dependencies may be overlooked. This is especially important when considering the amount of recirculated material within the system. Due to the interdependencies of the various processes in the system, along with the recirculation of material, tracing the time lags in the system also becomes an enormously challenging problem.
Some research efforts have looked at inducing a model using time-series analysis. One classical approach is to build an autoregressive moving average (ARMA) (6). Often associated with the ARMA approach is the cumulative sum (CUSUM) of the residuals method to identify faults. Unfortunately, these methods are limited when the process has many modes of operation, or grades, which are produced in a single process (7).
Research efforts, by Kim et al., have focused on monitoring various process signatures in real-time and incorporating these with equipment maintenance history data and in-line measurements of product quality (8). Combining information in this way helped build stronger process models.
To add to the overall difficulty of dealing with a complex system, uncertainty exists in the sensory measurements, there is cooperation among certain sensors, and there are competing objectives among other sensors. Basir et al. (3) presented a probabilistic approach for modeling the uncertainty and cooperation between sensors. Their research shows how measures of variation can be used to capture both the quality of sensory data and the interdependent relationships that might exist between the different sensors. Some methods presented in this work use information about the variance and standard deviation of each sensor to capture similar relationships in the process.
Both within the paper industry, as well as in other manufacturing environments, various research efforts (9) (10) have explored using neural networks to model the process dynamics. Some research has demonstrated the ability of time-delay neural networks to capture the dynamics of the process. Others (11) (8) have explored the possibility of knowledge based neural network models.
The limitation in using neural network models is that the model may become overtrained for a given set of training inputs. When a neural network becomes overtrained, it has modeled the training set too closely and cannot correctly generalize to other inputs. Therefore, when process conditions change, retraining of the network model may be necessary. While such limitations need to be accounted for, neural network models can still be a very useful tool. This is especially evident when they are paired with other methods, like sensitivity analysis.
A sensitivity analysis indicates which input variables are considered most important by a particular neural network. Sensitivity analysis can give important insights into the usefulness of individual variables (12). In processes where more than one product or grade of product is produced on the same process equipment, there becomes another challenge in dealing with different modes of operation. For this reason, clustering algorithms are useful. Clustering algorithms have the advantage of discovering multiple clusters of operating modes, allowing for the system to create multiple functions to describe modes of good or bad process conditions.

Method and apparatus for event detection permitting per event adjustment of false alarm rate

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force


Disclosed herein are related to a system, a method, and a non-transitory computer readable medium for operating an energy plant having a plurality of subplants that operate to produce one or more resources consumed by a building based on ranks. In one aspect, the system obtains rank identifiers indicating ranks of the plurality of subplants. In one aspect, the ranks indicate a priority of each subplant with respect to production of a resource relative to other subplants that produce the resource. In one aspect, the system determines resource allocation of the plurality of subplants according to the ranks of the plurality of subplants. The system may operate the plurality of subplants according to the resource allocation.

The present disclosure relates generally to the operation of a central plant for serving building thermal energy loads. The present disclosure relates more particularly to systems and methods for optimizing the operation of one or more subplants of a central plant according to ranks.
A heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system may include various types of equipment configured to serve the thermal energy loads of a building or building campus. For example, a central plant may include HVAC devices such as heaters, chillers, heat recovery chillers, cooling towers, or other types of equipment configured to provide heating or cooling for the building. Some central plants include thermal energy storage configured to store the thermal energy produced by the central plant for later use.
A central plant may consume resources from a utility (e.g., electricity, water, natural gas, etc.) to heat or cool working fluid (e.g., water, glycol, etc.) that is circulated to the building or stored for later use to provide heating or cooling for the building. Fluid conduits typically deliver the heated or chilled fluid to air handlers located on the rooftop of the building or to individual floors or zones of the building. The air handlers push air past heat exchangers (e.g., heating coils or cooling coils) through which the working fluid flows to provide heating or cooling for the air. The working fluid then returns to the central plant to receive further heating or cooling and the cycle continues.
In one aspect, an operating engineer of the central plant operating HVAC devices allocates resources to HVAC devices according to a preference. For example, the operating engineer utilizes an air cooled chiller at its full capacity before operating a heat recovery chiller, then operates the heat recovery chiller if additional chilled water resource is needed. However, such preference of operating the central plant may be cost inefficient.

Central plant control system with rank-based asset allocator


A method is generally provided for attaching a polymer chain onto a surface of a nanoparticle, where the polymer chain comprises a cyclic arrangement of saccharides. The resulting grafted nanoparticle is also generally provided, along with its methods of use by exposing to a bacteria colony.

Interference in bacterial communication is a non-cytotoxic method of controlling bacterial growth while avoiding the risk of antibiotic resistance. Bacteria communicate via autoinducer molecules to initiate activities such as pathogenesis, toxin production, and biofilm formation. A common class of autoinducers produced by bacteria is the homoserine lactone molecules. The removal of homoserine lactone molecules from the immediate bacterial environment may block their ability to communicate and subsequently establish an infection. Cyclodextrin is a truncated cone-shaped compound composed of glucopyranose units that can form an inclusion complex with homoserine lactone molecules, effectively blocking their signaling ability and hence limiting bacteria to grow and act as an infection.

Cyclodextrin functionalized nanoparticles for quenching bacterial communications