A packet-based video network including: two or more video data sources, each configured to launch video data packets onto the network as multicast data packets each associated with a multicast group identifier corresponding to that video data source; and a video data destination configured to receive and process video data from a video data source by joining a multicast group corresponding to that video data source, and execute a switching operation to switch from receiving video data from a first video data source to receiving video data from a second video data source by leaving a multicast group of the first video data source and joining a multicast group of the second video data source. The video data destination is configured to process video data corresponding to a video frame which, at end of a frame period, represents a most recently received video frame from the first video data source.

Field
This disclosure relates to video networks.
Description of Related Art
The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent that it is described in the background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor implicitly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Carrying video data over a packetised data network, such as an Ethernet network, involves dividing the video data into data packets, conveying the packets from a source device to a destination device, and reassembling the packets into a version of the original video data.
In a studio environment, or another part of a video production environment, there are constraints which go beyond the simple requirement to rebuild the original data stream at the destination device. These additional constraints relate to (i) the volume of data, (ii) the need to retain time synchronisation at the destination devices between received data from multiple sources, regardless of delays suffered during packet routing, and (iii) the need to send data from multiple sources to multiple destinations.
In terms of the volume of data, a video production environment typically requires frame-specific editing, which means that each individual frame must be capable of being reconstructed from the video data independently of any other video frame. This means that so-called long GOP video data compression techniques, in which some frames are derived from the decoded data for other frames, are not used. Also, in this type of environment, image quality is often considered a priority, which again means that each frame is represented by a relatively high quantity of data compared to other compressed video streams.
Time synchronisation is particularly important in a studio or video production environment, to allow a final video programme to be assembled from multiple video sources. If the signals from the multiple sources are not time-synchronised then some transitions from one source to another (such as slow fades) may be impossible, and in other transitions there can be subjectively disturbing image artefacts at a transition. In a previously proposed arrangement, the need for time synchronisation is dealt with by the combined measures of: time synchronising the source devices; arranging the network links to have a relatively short length (for example, a few hundred metres or at most a few km, rather than anything longer than a few km); and providing a variable delay element at each destination device so as to resynchronise the received data to a common time synchronisation. In a typical example, it has been found that a variable delay equivalent to just a few video lines (for example, 5 video lines) is sufficient to cater for the variations in packet transmission time over this type of network.
Before network-based video transmission was introduced, a typical video studio may have used circuit-switched video distribution, for example under the SDI (serial digital interface) protocol, in which a cross point switch allowed any source of video data to be connected to any destination device (or any selection of multiple destination devices simultaneously). In a previous proposal, such an arrangement can be provided under a packet-switched network by providing packets launched onto the network by the video data sources with so-called multicast group identifiers. A multicast group is an arrangement within a packet based data network such that any destination device can receive data packets carrying a particular multicast group identifier by the destination device "joining" that multicast group. Joining a multicast group involves a simple operation by the destination device and causes the packet router(s) to direct packets having that multicast group identifier to that destination device. So, by arranging for packets from the video data sources to be associated with respective multicast group identifiers, the operation of the circuit switched cross point witch can be mimicked in a packet based system in that any destination device can receive data from any source just by joining that particular multicast group. Similarly, multiple destination devices can receive data from a single source by all joining that multicast group. In practice, a multicasting system may be provided by (a) the data source setting—as a destination address for packets from that data source (relating to that multicast group)—one of a reserved set of IP addresses which are specifically reserved for indicating multicast groups, and (b) a data destination connects to that particular IP address so as to receive data from that IP address. The data destination may use a so-called "IGMP" message (discussed further below) to initiate the receipt of data from the multicast IP address. By this arrangement, the data source does not know (and does not need to know) anything about the data destinations, if any, which are receiving data relating to the multicast group. Similarly, the data destinations do not know (and do not need to know) where the multicast data originates. The multicast group mechanism simply provides a technique for transferring data from one data source to (potentially) multiple data destinations. So, the multicast IP address to which a data source sends data may be considered as a multicast group identifier relating to that source. (For completeness, note that another multicast mechanism also exists, namely "Source Specific Multicast" (SSM) in which the multicast group is identified not only by the multicast IP address but also by the IP address of the source itself. But the same principles apply. In respect of the description which follows, either multicast mode of operation is equally applicable to the present technology).
A feature of this arrangement is that the switching and routing of data packets at the network and transport layers uses standard techniques common to other data networks. Because the data destinations do not know where the multicast data originates from (because all they need to know in order to establish a connection is the multicast IP address), a main overhead in providing this simulated circuit-switched capability is just the need to assign individual multicast group addresses (or identifiers) to each source device (for example, one such address or identifier for each individual stream (video, audio and control) for a source device) and to communicate those identifiers in some manner to the destination devices to allow (or cause) the destination devices to join the appropriate group(s) to allow the destination device to receive the desired data stream(s). In one previously proposed arrangement, this is handled by a controller having a graphical user interface (GUI) which mimics the layout and control of a cross point switch, so that from the user's point of view, the user is simply setting up a route (on a virtual cross point switch) from source A to destination B, and the logic underlying the GUI carries out the appropriate selections of multicast groups and issues appropriate instructions to the destination device B.

Seamless switching between multicast video streams


There is provided a coding/decoding system of bit insertion manipulation line code, which has small increase in bit rate and simple configuration and minimizes DC baseline fluctuations by properly coupling the advantages of mBnB code and bit insertion code in a high-speed optical transmission system using AC coupling. The encoding part of the system inserts a bit for minimizing a disparity of m+1 bit block when a disparity with respect to m-bit input information is a minimum value that the m+1 bit block may have, and inserts `0` when it is not, performing pre-coding. Then, the encoding part manipulates a part of the bits of the pre-coded block to make its disparity have the minimum value, compares the disparity of the pre-coded block with a disparity accumulated, and inverts or non-inverts the block, thus carrying out coding. The decoding part removes the insertion bit from the coded information, inverts the block again when it is inverted during the encoding, and performs a manipulation opposite to the bit manipulation, thus executing decoding.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coding/decoding system of bit insertion/manipulation line code for a high-speed optical transmission system. More particularly, it relates to a coding/decoding of bit insertion/manipulation (BIM) line code for a high-speed optical transmission system using AC coupling, which keeps a running digital sum (RDS), essential for transmission of binary data at a high-speed, zero, and minimizes the digital sum variation with simple configuration.
2. Description of the Related Art
Except that line codes used in the general optical transmission system use only codes of low levels due to the optical device characteristics, they have the requirements similar to those used in the following conventional transmission system using AC coupling.
First, the conventional transmission system must have bit sequence independence. Second, the fluctuation of the DC baseline of the bit stream should be minimized to be neglected at its receiving part. Third, the system must have the in-service error monitoring capability of detecting transmission errors even during data transmission. Fourth, sufficient bit transitions in the codeword must be guaranteed for the timing extraction at the receiving part. Fifth, if the structures of encoder/decoder are not simple, it is difficult to provide the required transmission performance at high-speed and increases the overall costs. Therefore, the system should be realized in a simple hardware.
Sixth, minimizing an increase in bit rate is very important in the high-speed transmission system, and that is because the increase in bit rate raises the operation clock rate, thus making it difficult to realize an electronic circuit in high-speed application. Seventh, the case where there are the same consecutive bits (i.e. consecutive `0` or `1`) in a bit stream also causes a limit to the system performance, and that is because the long continuity of the same bits makes it difficult to extract timing information and causes the DC baseline fluctuation.
Conventionally, a method of using a codeword with a bit rate twice as high as the information data's as a transmission code in order to transmit binary data (disclosed in [AMI: Barker R. H, B.P. 706,687], [CMI: CCITT Rec. G. 722], [Manchester:IEEE 802.3 Ethernet], etc.) has been employed. This method assures the BSI and DC balance and easily extracts clock component from the bit stream. However, this method should generate a codeword having bit rate twice as high as the information data's. Thus, it is not suitable for the applications having high bit rate such as high-speed optical transmission system since it is difficult to realize the system employing electronic circuits in a small size, low power consumption and requires a lot of cost.
In order to solve the above problem, in 1960's, mBnB (m=natural number, m2, n3) line code that satisfies the DC balance and minimizes an increase in bit rate was proposed. (4B5B, 5B6B [R. Petrovic, Electronic Letters, 1988, Vol. 24, No. 5, pp274 to 275] in FDDI, 8B10B in Fibre Channel, etc.). However, this method adopts the lookup table using a read only memory (ROM) in order to convert the m-bit information data into n-bit codewords with DC balance, resulting in restricted data transmission speed due to the ROM with relatively low operating speed. Even if the ROM is not used, the larger the value m becomes, the more complicated an encoder/decoder circuit becomes whereby a high-speed electronic circuit cannot be realized.
In the 1980's, there was proposed a method using a bit insertion code that inserts 1-bit indication bit into m-bit information data to minimize the increase in bit rate for the high-speed optical transmission of data of more than several hundred megabits and simplifies the configuration of the encoder/decoder ([mB1C: IEEE Tran. COM, Vol. COM-32, No. 2, pp 163 to 168, 1984, Moriaki Yoshikai, et al], [DmB1M: IEEE J. on SAC, Vol. SAC-4, No. 9, pp. 1432 to 1437, 1986, Moriaki Yoshikai et al], [PFmB(m+1): IEEE Tran. COM, Vol. COM-37, No. 4, pp. 402 to 404, 1989, Witold A. Krzymien], [U.S. Pat. No. 5,200,979 High Speed Telecommunication System using a novel line code, 1993, Gwendolya K. Harris]. As an example of this method, the mB1C code simplifies the structure of the encoder/decoder by inserting a complementary 1 bit of the least significant bit of the information data into the information data. In addition, it produces at least one bit transition at every m bit to facilitate the clock extraction at the receiving part but the DC balance is not guaranteed.
In order to obviate the above problems, there has been developed DmB1M code obtained by inserting the insertion code and then exclusive-Oring information bits by bit to have average DC balance.
PFmB(m+1) code was developed to more compensate the DC balance problem. The PFmB(m+1) code is created by inserting bits minimizing the DC balance of the information data and performing pre-coding. With the PFmB(m+1) code, in order to minimize the DC balance, `0` is inserted if the polarity of disparity of the information data is positive (+), and `1` is inserted if it is negative (1). The polarity of the information data pre-coded as above is compared with the polarity of data accumulated during transmission, and, if they are opposite to each other, the information data is transmitted without any change, but if they are identical to each other, the information data is inverted to be transmitted, thereby maintaining the overall DC balance.
However, though the bit insertion method has a small increase in bit rate and a simple mechanism compared to the mBnB code, it has big DC baseline fluctuations by maintaining at most the average DC balance.

Coding/decoding system of bit insertion/manipulation line code for high-speed optical transmission system

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A photographic portrait shooting apparatus (30) comprising a camera (1) and a partially transmitting mirror (2) disposed in the optical path (9) between camera lens (3) and the object, wherein an even number, especially two reflecting mirrors (5, 6) are also disposed intermediate the object and the camera (1) or the camera lens (3), respectively. Only one of the reflecting mirrors, in particular the reflecting mirror (6) which directly faces the object or is closest thereto, is designed as a swinging mirror. The partially transmitting mirror (2) has a field of view limited by markings (12). Also, there is provided a camera remote release means (11, 14) operated by the person having his portrait taken.

The invention is directed to a photographic portrait shooting apparatus comprising a camera and a partially transmitting mirror disposed in the optical path between the camera lens and the object.
Such a shooting apparatus is known from both GB-A-628,219 and GB-A-532,455. But these shooting devices are not adapted to self-operation; rather, the camera has to be focused on the object by an operator prior to each shot being taken. Furthermore, the person having his portrait taken can see himself only in mirror-inverted fashion in the mirror associated with the camera. Since there is no remote shutter release for operation by said person, he is also unable to observe his own looks at the time of shutter release.
FR-A-1,007,112 describes a photographic portrait shooting apparatus comprising a camera and a mirror disposed intermediate the camera lens and the object, the mirror having a hole formed in the vicinity of the camera lens. Thus the mirror in which the person having his portrait taken can see himself before and during the shot is interrupted by the hole associated with the camera lens. A person wishing to have his portrait taken feels this to be a great nuisance. Further, there are no reflecting mirrors so that the picture taken is mirror-inverted. The same applies to the portrait shooting apparatus according to GB-A-17,092.
Additionally, however, the portrait shooting apparatus of FR-A-1,007,112 is also provided with a remote shutter release to be operated by the person having his portrait taken, so that he can himself determine the moment when the portrait is taken.
The portrait shooting devices of the prior art therefore produce only a mirror-inverted picture, because the camera lens has only one mirror disposed upstream thereof which faces the object or the person whose portrait is to be taken, respectively. Also, in the prior art either the camera must be manipulated or the object or person must be displaced correspondingly, so that the desired picture can be obtained within predetermined picture boundaries. In order to avoid the need for a separate operator, as proposed in GB-A-532,455, a revolving stool which is height-adjustable upwardly and downwardly by corresponding rotation is normally offered the person having his portrait taken. With this structure, which has hitherto been used exclusively in practice, the person having his portrait taken must often get up more than once in order to adjust the stool height until his eyes, for instance, are at the level of a predetermined marking line. In order to avoid such troublesome getting-up and sitting-down, it is often attempted to achieve the required eye level by stretching or stooping, the consequence being a loss of relaxed features. Users of conventional photo-booths are then annoyed because of the facial expression retained on the picture. Frequently, this expression is distorted because the person having his portrait taken cannot observe his own features at the time of shutter release. This is due to the fact that in the conventional photo-booths the camera is released with a time delay relative to the depression of a corresponding actuating button or the like.
Finally, it is also extremely difficult with the known portrait shooting devices to centre the object, for instance the user's head, within the desired picture, i.e. to orientate it not only in respect of height but also laterally.
To solve the above-specified problems it has been proposed in PCT/EP87/00530 that between the object and the partially transmitting mirror disposed upstream of the camera lens there is disposed an even number of reflecting mirrors which are designed as swinging mirrors. Furthermore, the partially transmitting mirror has a field of view which is limited by markings. Finally, there is also provided a remote camera release means for operation by the person having his portrait taken.
Due to the fact that the partially transmitting mirror which is associated with the camera has a field of view that is limited by markings, and due to the fact that the reflecting mirrors are swinging mirrors, the user of the proposed portrait shooting apparatus is able to obtain a centered picture without any manipulation of camera or seat. It is merely required to swing a reflecting mirror appropriately. At the same time, the provision of an even number of reflecting mirrors between the person and the partially transmitting mirror associated with the camera offers the advantage that the optical path is correspondingly folded and consequently the distance between the camera and the person having his portrait taken is correspondingly reduced, so that the required object distance is ensured even within a very confined space. The even number of reflecting mirrors also results in a non-reversed mirror image to which the user is accustomed. Finally, the remote camera release operable by the person having his portrait taken guarantees that the person can observe his features at the time of exposure. Thus, the camera is released when the person having his portrait taken has centered his mirror image as desired within the markings of the field of view. The picture corresponds exactly to the mirror image within the marked field of view.
It is the object of the present invention additionally to improve the portrait shooting apparatus proposed in PCT/EP87/00530 in respect of the design and handling thereof.

Photographic portrait shooting apparatus


A synchronization system to synchronize modules (TX, RX) in an integrated circuit, such as a VLSI integrated circuit, in which the modules receive respective first and second clock signals (TX_CLK, RX_CLK) having a same frequency but being shifted by a constant and unknown phase difference. The system includes a first latch means for latching and delivering data in synchronism with the first clock signal and second latch means for latching data issued from the first latch means and delivering data in synchronism with the second clock signal, first and second latch means being controlled by first and second control signals (strobe_W, strobe_R) elaborated respectively from said first and second clock signals and one of said first and second control signal being shifted by an amount corresponding at least to the set-up time of at least one of said first and second latch means.

Most conventional Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) systems are built according to the so-called "System-on-Chip" (SoC) concept.
SoC functionalities are the result of cooperation between several simpler modules which are generally selected by designers from a pre-existing library. The designers' role is to map the SoC functions onto that of the modules of the library. However, effective communication and interconnection systems are needed in order to meet suitable performances for the designed SoC system, and in particular, to provide an effective communication between the modules of the system.
As system complexity increases, on-chip communication becomes more and more critical. Conventional on-chip communication systems are complex infrastructures aimed at providing suitable performances. In addition, in the next few years, SoCs will include hundreds of communicating blocks running at many GHz. Such systems are known as multiprocessor System-on-Chips (MP-SoCs).
In conventional pre-deep submicron technology, the delay in VLSI systems is mainly due to logic cells. Due to technology improvements, gate delay tends to decrease while wires provided between the communicating modules have more and more impact on the overall delay involved during a communication. Accordingly, in conventional MP-SoCs, on-chip communication will limit the performance of such systems.
One of the main limitations relating to clock frequency is due to synchronization, which is supposed to guarantee that all communicating blocks meet the timing requirements and correctly exchanges data. Conventional synchronization techniques are getting more difficult due to wire delay problems and to increases in design complexity. In particular, timing requirements often lead to heavy constraints on interconnection wires and clock tree wires used to provide the communicating modules with clock signals. Accordingly, with the increasing wire delay problems and complexity, huge design efforts often require coping with synchronization issues, reducing productivity and increasing time-to-market.
Conventional design efforts fail to cope with clock distribution problems, wire delay balancing and, in general, to cope with synchronization.
Researchers have recently proposed the so-called Network-on-Chip (NoC) concept to overcome the limitations relating to the huge efforts necessary to adequately design on-chip communication systems. NoC aims at providing scalable and flexible communication architectures with suitable performance, even for future MP-SoCs. Moreover, NoCs provide the SoC architects with a tool for designing on-chip communication systems quickly, thus increasing productivity and reducing time-on-market.
NoC, however, is not a centralized architecture and is intended to be physically implemented as a distributed communication infrastructure. NoCs are nevertheless based on a packed-switched communication concept and are mainly composed of three NoC modules, namely: a router, a Network Interface (NI) and a link. However, the synchronization issues impose a heavy scalability limitation also for NoC architectures and solutions at the architectural level and must be provided to fully enable the NoC deployment.
Conventional clock distribution strategies have been already proposed to cope with synchronization issues. In particular, some techniques have been proposed to perform synchronization for synchronizing modules in an integrated circuit in which the module clocks have the same frequency but are potentially out of phase with an arbitrary constant phase difference.
Exploiting clock periodicity, periodic synchronizers predict whether incoming data switch in correspondence to arising clock edge or not. If periodic synchronizers detect a potential conflict between data switching and the clock at the receiving side, they delay either the rising edge or the data to avoid metastability.
In particular, in integrated circuits in which the communicating modules are clocked using clock signals having the same frequency but being out of phase with a constant arbitrary phase difference, which are usually called "mesochronous" systems, the periodic synchronizer can adjust the clock or data phase once for all the modules. Being done once, the synchronization phase can last an arbitrary amount of time, such that it is even possible to wait for metastability to decay.
Two main classes of periodic synchronizers have therefore been developed, namely delay line synchronizers and two register synchronizers. Delay line synchronizers use a variable delay placed on data lines. The delay on data is calculated to avoid switching in the metastability window of receiving registers. However, this solution is expensive, due to the presence of a variable delay line in each data path.
Two registers synchronizers insert a delay on the clock signal rather than on the data signal. Two registers are clocked by a direct clock and a delayed clock, respectively. The output of the register driven by the proper clock is chosen by means of a conflict detector which is able to detect the phase relationship between data and clock. It can be implemented in several ways, but generally comprises phase detectors, forbidden zone detectors and failure detectors such that it generally has a very complicated and extensive structure.
There is therefore a need for synchronization techniques to synchronize modules in an integrated circuit. There is also a need for techniques to synchronize communication blocks in VLSI circuits.

Synchronizing modules in an integrated circuit


The present disclosure relates to systems, methods, and computer-readable media for selectively identifying pixel data to provide as an input to an image processing model based on motion data associated with the content of a digital video. For example, systems disclosed herein include receiving a compressed digital video and decompressing the compressed digital video to generate a decompressed digital video. The systems disclosed herein further include extracting or otherwise identifying motion data while decompressing the compressed digital video. The systems disclosed herein also include analyzing the motion data to determine a subset of pixel data from the decompressed digital video to provide as input to an image processing model trained to generate an output based on input pixel data.

Recent years have seen a precipitous rise in the use of computing devices (e.g., mobile devices, personal computers, server devices) to capture, store, and edit digital media. Indeed, it is now common for electronic devices to capture digital media and process the digital media in various ways. For example, conventional media systems often include various applications or tools for compressing and decompressing digital videos. In addition, conventional media systems include a variety of applications and tools for processing digital images and digital videos. These media processing applications provide a wide range of utility in processing images and videos.
Nevertheless, while media processing applications provide useful tools for analyzing digital media and generating useful outputs, these applications and tools include a verity of problems and drawbacks. For example, many media processing applications are inefficient and/or consume significant processing resources to operate effectively. Indeed, with advances to wireless communication technology and the ability to share and transmit compressed digital content with more and more computing devices, conventional applications for processing digital media often require significant computing resources and processing time to execute applications successfully. To illustrate, media processing applications that utilize machine learning techniques can exhaust processing power of client computing devices as well as result in significant cloud computing expenses. Moreover, conventional media processing applications can take a significant amount of time to produce desired results.
These and other problems exist with regard to using various applications and software tools for analyzing and processing compressed digital media.

Selectively identifying data based on motion data from a digital video to provide as input to an image processing model


A work holder is provided for a through hole examination apparatus that reduces the generation of scrubbed-off metal powder caused by abrasion during the movements, and has a high operability. Also, it is an object to provide a work holder for a through hole examination apparatus that can readily adjust the holder to be parallel at low costs. A work holder 18 is provided for a through hole examination apparatus, which retains a workpiece having through holes provided therein and transfers the same between a work replacement operation region and a through hole examination region. A roller movement device 50 is mounted on the holder main body to enable a rolling movement thereof, and the roller movement device is made to be height-adjustable such that the parallel degree of the holder is adjustable.

The present invention relates to a work holder for a through hole examination apparatus, and more particularly to a work holder that is suitable to an apparatus for examining the presence or absence of foreign matters in a through hole having a minute diameter.
Conventionally, in an apparatus for examining foreign matters in a through hole, a work holder that retains a work is moved by a linear guide 90 shown in FIG. 6 between a work replacement operation region 80 and a through hole examination region 2. In FIG. 6, two guides 92, each having a channel-shaped cross section with their opening sections facing each other, are disposed in a manner to extend from the work replacement operation region 80 and the through hole examination region 2. The work holder 98 that retains the workpiece 10 is supported at both ends by the respective guides, and disposed in a manner movable along the guides 92. The workpiece 10 is mounted on the work holder 98 in the work replacement operation region 80, moved along the guides 92 in a direction indicated by an arrow 94, and supplied to the through hole examination region 2. After the examination is completed, it is moved along the guides 92 in a direction indicated by an arrow 96, and the workpiece 10 is removed from the work holder 98 in the work replacement operation region 80.
Also, in an apparatus for examining foreign matters in minute through holes, light that passes through the through holes having minute diameters is examined. Accordingly, the holder is required to be parallel, and this requirement is dealt with by precisely processing the work holder 98 and the guides 98.
In the conventional technique that uses the linear guides described above, the work holder and the guides are brought in surface contact with one another, and scrubbed-off metal powder may be generated due to abrasion that occurs as the work holder moves along the guides, and may possibly be adhered inside the through holes to be examined. In order to improve the accuracy in positioning the work holder, margins in the measurements of the work holder and the guides need to be made smaller. However, this increases dust generation and makes the moving operation harder, which causes a problem of imposing excessive physical burden to the operators.
Further, while the holder is required to be parallel in the apparatus for examining foreign matters in minute through holes, when the work holder is made larger so that multiple workpieces can be mounted at once, the countermeasure of precisely processing the work holder is technically and economically difficult. Furthermore, once the parallel state is destroyed by abrasion or the like in the conventional system, the correction thereof is extremely difficult.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a work holder for a through hole examination apparatus that reduces generation of scrubbed-off metal powder caused by abrasion during the movements, and has a high operability. Also, it is an object to provide a work holder for a through hole examination apparatus that can readily adjust the parallel degree of the holder at low costs. Moreover, it is an object to provide a work holder for a through hole examination apparatus that can realize an easy and correct examination of foreign matters in through holes at low costs.
To achieve the objects described above, a work holder for a through hole examination apparatus in accordance with the present invention pertains to a work holder for a through hole examination apparatus that retains a workpiece having through holes provided therein and transfers the same between a work replacement operation region and a through hole examination region, wherein a roller movement device is mounted on a main body of the holder to enable a rolling movement thereof, and the roller movement device is made to be height-adjustable such that the parallel degree of the holder is adjustable.
The above provides a structure in which the roller movement device is mounted on the holder""s main body to enable a rolling movement thereof, and therefore provides a work holder for a through hole examination apparatus, which generates less scrubbed-off metal powder, and has a good operability in which the holder can be readily moved. Also, the above provides a structure in which the roller movement device is made to be height-adjustable such that the parallel degree of the holder can be adjusted, and therefore provides a work holder for a through hole examination apparatus, which can readily adjust the parallel degree of the holder at low costs.
Also, the roller movement device may preferably be formed from a ball bearing that is equipped with a ball that can roll on a running surface in a point-contact state.
Furthermore, the roller movement device may preferably be provided with a roller movement support member that engages by screw threads with and passes through the holder main body, and a penetrated leading end thereof may preferably be provided with a slit for mounting a rotation tool.
In addition, the work holder for a through hole examination apparatus may preferably be formed from a lower jig on which a workpiece is mounted, and an upper jig that presses the workpiece between itself and the lower jig, wherein the lower jig may preferably have a positioning notch for positioning itself with respect to the through hole examination region and at least one pair of pins provided for positioning the upper jig, and the upper jig may preferably be equipped with notches for engaging the positioning pins.
More particularly, a work holder for a through hole examination apparatus, which retains a workpiece having through holes perforated therein and transfers the same between a work replacement operation region and a through hole examination region, is equipped with: a holder main body that is formed from a lower jig on which a workpiece is mounted and an upper jig that presses the workpiece between itself and the lower jig, wherein the lower jig has a positioning notch for positioning itself with respect to the through hole examination region and at least one pair of pins provided for positioning the upper jig, and the upper jig is equipped with notches for engaging the positioning pins; and a roller movement device that is formed from a ball bearing equipped with a ball that can roll on a running surface in a point-contact state is mounted on the main body of the holder at a peripheral section thereof, wherein the roller movement device is provided with a roller movement support member that engages by screw threads with and passes through the holder main body, and a penetrated leading end thereof is provided with a slit for mounting a rotation tool, such that the height can be adjusted.

Work holder for through hole examination apparatus


A tape measure including an elongate tape blade is shown. The tape measure includes a protective bumper that extends below the tape opening. The bumper is shaped to allow the tape hook to pivot during drop or impact to reduce the impact force experienced by the tape hook.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of tape measures. The present disclosure relates specifically to a tape measure with a protective bumper located below the tape blade opening.
Tape measures are measurement tools used for a variety of measurement applications, including in the building and construction trades. Some tape measures include a graduated, marked blade wound on a reel and a retraction system for retracting the blade onto the reel. In some tape measure designs, the retraction system is driven by a coil or spiral spring that is tensioned, storing energy as the tape is extended, and that releases energy to spin the reel, winding the blade back onto the reel.


A new and distinct cultivar of Double Impatiens plant named ‘Boddblredbi’, characterized by its compact, mounded and outwardly spreading plant habit; freely branching habit; dense and bushy growth habit; dark green-colored leaves; large double red and white bi-colored flowers; freely flowering habit; and flowers positioned above and beyond the foliage.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Double Impatiens plant, botanically known as Impatiens walleriana, and hereinafter referred to by the name 'Boddblredbi'.
The new Double Impatiens is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Lompoc, Calif. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new compact and freely-branching Double Impatiens cultivars with large double flowers, excellent branching and attractive foliage and flower coloration.
The new Impatiens originated from a self-pollination made by the Inventor in February, 2003, of a proprietary Impatiens walleriana selection identified as 2IM314-6, not patented. The cultivar Boddblredbi was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated self-pollination in a controlled environment in Lompoc, Calif.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings propagated in a controlled environment in Lompoc, Calif. since 2003 has shown that the unique features of this new Double Impatiens are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.


A display device has a plurality of display panels (21) together forming a single display screen, where each display panel (21) is connected to a display controller (24) which receives display data of a portion of a complete image for display on the display panel (21). The complete image (S1) includes one or more bounded regions (S2, S3, S4, S5) of display data. Each display controller (21) also receives position information relating to a change in lateral position and/or stacking order position of one or more bounded regions that are to be displayed at least partly on that display panel (21). If the display controller (24) determines that it does not have knowledge of display data in the bounded region (S2, S3, S4, S5) to be displayed on the display panel for which the position information was received, it obtains that knowledge from another display controller (24) that has such knowledge. The display controller (24) then processes the display data for the portion of the complete image utilising the knowledge obtained from another display controller (24), and outputs the processed display data for the portion of the complete image to the corresponding display panel (21).

In a system comprising a computing device which generates display data, known as a host device, and a connected display device or devices, the bandwidth of the connection between the host device and the display device or devices will usually be limited. This in turn means that the resolution of the display, or collective resolution of the multiple displays, will also be limited. This is undesirable in the current market; host devices are becoming more powerful and capable of generating larger and more detailed images while modern displays are capable of increasingly large image resolution, and users wish to take advantage of this capability. It is therefore desirable for display devices to scale along with the capacity of computing devices.
It is possible to simulate a large and/or high-resolution display device by using many separate display panels, each with an associated decoder. An image is produced and encoded on the host device, and then separate parts are sent to the decoders, which are synchronised to produce a single overall image on the connected panels. However, this does not solve the problem of limited bandwidth as the connection between the encoder and decoders may often still provide a bottleneck.
It is an object of the present invention to solve, or at least mitigate, this problem.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A surface acoustic wave (SAW) element including a semiconductor substrate on which a semiconductor wiring region and a SAW region are formed alongside in a same plane, a metal wiring formed in the semiconductor wiring region, an insulating layer including the metal wiring and formed throughout on surfaces of the semiconductor wiring region and the SAW region, a most upper layer of the insulating layer formed so as to have a one flat surface throughout the semiconductor wiring region and the SAW region and a uniform thickness from an upper face of the semiconductor substrate, a piezoelectric layer formed on the most upper layer of the insulating layer and an inter digital transducer (IDT) formed on the piezoelectric layer in the SAW region.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a surface acoustic wave (SAW) element formed on a semiconductor substrate and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Related Art
Ultrasonics Simposium 1989 Proceedings IEEE1989, 3-6 Oct. 1989, Pages 195-200 Vol. 1.: Visser, J. H; Vellekoop, M. J; Venema, A; van der Drift, E; rek, P. J. M.; Nederlof, A. J.; Nieuwenhuizen, M. S. is an example of related art. The example describes a surface acoustic wave (SAW) element and a manufacturing method thereof. To manufacture the SAW element, firstly, an epitaxial layer and a SiO2 layer are sequentially formed on a semiconductor substrate such as a Si substrate and the like. A semiconductor wiring region and a SAW region are arranged alongside each other in a plane on the SiO2 layer. In the SAW region, a comb-shaped inter digital transducer (IDT) made of aluminum and a piezoelectric layer (ZnO) are formed on the SiO2 layer which is thicker than the SiO2 layer in the semiconductor wiring region. In the semiconductor wiring region, an aluminum wiring layer and an insulating layer made of silicon nitride (Si3N4) are formed on the SiO2 layer.
According to the related art example, a height of the most upper layer in the semiconductor wiring region and a height of the SiO2 layer in the SAW region are different. More specifically, the most upper layer in the semiconductor wiring region is lower than the upper face of the SiO2 layer in the SAW region. Therefore, when the surface of the SiO2 layer in the SAW region is polished by chemical and mechanical polishing (CMP) and the like in order to make the surface flat and smooth for forming the IDT there, it was difficult to obtain a uniform thickness for the SiO2 layer in the SAW region where the IDT is formed. It is known that the speed (acoustic velocity) of the acoustic wave propagating the SiO2 layer in the SAW region differs depending on the thickness of the SiO2 layer where the IDT is formed. Since frequency is proportional to the acoustic velocity, if a region where the acoustic velocity is different from other regions exists in the element, this could lead to a problem that a stable frequency characteristic and a sharp band-pass property cannot be obtained.

Surface acoustic wave element and manufacturing method thereof


An acoustic wave device includes: a piezoelectric film made of an aluminum nitride film containing a divalent element and a tetravalent element, or a divalent element and a pentavalent element; and an electrode that excites an acoustic wave propagating through the piezoelectric film.

Diffusion of wireless communication devices including mobile phones has encouraged development of filters formed by combining acoustic wave devices using a surface acoustic wave (SAW) or bulk acoustic wave (BAW). The filter using a SAW or BAW has a small outer shape and a high Q compared to a dielectric filter, and thus is suitable for a high-frequency component in a wireless communication device such as a mobile phone required to be small in size and have a steep skirt characteristic. Moreover, there has been suggested an acoustic wave device using a Lamb wave as a developed device of the acoustic wave device using a SAW or BAW.
In recent years, filters are required to have high performance. For example, a bandwidth of a filter characteristic is required to be widened. The bandwidth of the filter characteristic can be widened by increasing an electromechanical coupling coefficient of an acoustic wave device used in the filter. Use of a piezoelectric film with a high electromechanical coupling coefficient can increase the electromechanical coupling coefficient of the acoustic wave device.
When an aluminum nitride film is used as the piezoelectric film, the electromechanical coupling coefficient of the acoustic wave device can be improved by controlling a c-axis orientation of the aluminum nitride film as disclosed in Rajan S. Naik, and 10 others, "Measurements of the Bulk, C-Axis Electromechanical Coupling Constant as a Function of AlN Film Quality", IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ULTRASONICS, FERROELECTRICS AND FREQUENCY CONTROL, 2000, vol. 47, p. 292-296 (Non-Patent Document 1), for example. For example, the electromechanical coupling coefficient of the acoustic wave device can be improved by using an aluminum nitride film containing an alkali earth metal and/or a rare-earth metal for the piezoelectric film as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-344279 (Patent Document 1). Moreover, piezoelectric response of the acoustic wave device can be improved by using an aluminum nitride film containing scandium at a content rate in a predetermined range for the piezoelectric film as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-10926 (Patent Document 2).
However, the art disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1 aims to improve the electromechanical coupling coefficient of the aluminum nitride film, and thus fails to obtain an electromechanical coupling coefficient higher than that obtained from a material characteristic of the aluminum nitride film. In addition, the art disclosed in Patent Document 1 aims to improve the electromechanical coupling coefficient by increasing a bond concentration of a grain boundary between c-axis oriented aluminum nitride particles, and thus fails to obtain an electromechanical coupling coefficient higher than that obtained from a material characteristic of the aluminum nitride film.
The acoustic wave device grows in size and thus increases cost as a resonance frequency decreases.


A user touchless mopping system comprising: a rinse tank with a top receptacle for receiving a mop cleaning head; a holding tank; a cleaning mechanism in fluid communication with the rinse tank and the holding tank; a sensor in communication with the mop cleaning head, and configured for determining that it has been received in a rinse tank receptacle; and, a control module configured to direct the cleaning mechanism to clean the mop head when it is placed into holding tank receptacle and detected by the sensors. The holding tank comprises an automated water filtering system configured to provide clean and disinfected water to the mop head; and, the rinse tank comprises an automated touch-less mop head rinsing, wringing mechanism. The system can include suctioning of contaminated water out of the rinse tank, through the holding tank filtering and disinfectant system to recycle the water for later usage.

There are two primary types of floor cleaning systems: vacuums and mops. Vacuums primarily utilize suction to pull dust and dirt from carpets and floors, while mops have historically comprised wet sponges, or the like, for applying liquids to wipe a floor clean. Conventional mop and bucket systems are not reliable in removing all dirt from a floor due to the tendency of the mop head, be it a sponge or fabric type, to permanently embed dirt and bacteria into the fibers of the mop head that are then re-deposited onto the floor. Every time the user dumps the mop head into the bucket, they are transferring dirt and bacteria from the floor to the water in the bucket, which is then distributed to other parts of the floor when the user lifts the mop from the bucket and reapplies it to another area of the floor.
Traditional mop systems also require repeated manual wringing and squeezing out of the mop head and lifting of the mop by the user, which is strenuous physical labor that may cause overuse and/or acute muscular skeletal injuries. These types of injuries have recently been the subject of class action lawsuits against entities within the hospitality industry.
Additionally, current mopping systems that re-cycle the contaminated water removed from the floor are energy inefficient because they require filtering and otherwise cleaning all of the water in the mopping system, and not just the newly added contaminated water. This has the disadvantages of: reduced work efficiency by requiring more wait time for the user, increased demand for power, and increased likelihood of bacteria proliferation in the water.

Floor cleaning apparatus and touchless, recycling mopping system


One aspect of the present invention relates to a computer-implemented process, that includes receiving an incoming contact at a contact center for an interaction between the contact center and a user; monitoring inbound communication and outbound communication between the user and an agent of the contact center; detecting that one of the agent or the user ends the contact; and based on the monitored inbound communication and outbound communication, automatically determining, by the computer, whether the interaction is complete.

The present disclosure relates generally to a contact center environment, and, more particularly, to managing interactions that may be only partially completed during an initial communication session.
In a typical contact center, there may be instances when a customer interaction is not entirely complete and might require follow ups. For example, in the case of an inbound voice interaction, an agent may update the current status of an issue and inform the customer that the agent or another agent shall get back to them later. This situation can occur irrespective of the channel or media of interaction. Currently there is no mechanism to track the follow up required for an interaction automatically.

Artificial intelligence based identification and data gathering of incomplete interactions and automatically creating tasks to take it to completion


An integrated micro-optical system includes at least two wafers with at least two optical elements provided on respective surfaces of the at least two wafers. An active element having a characteristic which changes in response to an applied field may be integrated on a bottom surface of the wafers. The resulting optical system may present a high numerical aperture. Preferably, one of the optical elements is a refractive element formed in a material having a high index of refraction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to integrating optics on the wafer level with an active element, particularly for use with magneto-optic heads.
2. Description of Related Art
Magneto-optical heads are used to read current high-density magneto-optic media. In particular, a magnetic coil is used to apply a magnetic field to the media and light is then also delivered to the media to write to the media. The light is also used to read from the media in accordance with the altered characteristics of the media from the application of the magnetic field and light.
An example of such a configuration is shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, an optical fiber 8 delivers light to the head. The head includes a slider block 10 which as an objective lens 12 mounted on a side thereof. A mirror 9, also mounted on the side of the slider block 10, directs light from the optical fiber 8 onto the objective lens 12. A magnetic coil 14, aligned with the lens 12, is also mounted on the side of the slider block 10. The head sits on top of an air bearing sandwich 16 which is between the head and the media 18. The slider block 10 allows the head to slide across the media 18 and read from or write to the media 18.
The height of the slider block 10 is limited, typically to between 500-1500 microns, and is desirably as small as possible. Therefore, the number of lenses which could be mounted on the slider block is also limited. Additionally, alignment of more than one lens on the slider block is difficult. Further, due to the small spot required, the optics or overall optical system of the head need to have a high numerical aperture, preferably greater than 0.6. This is difficult to achieve in a single objective lens due to the large sag associated therewith. The overall head is thus difficult to assemble and not readily suited to mass production.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a slider block having an active element, i.e., an element having a characteristic which changes in response to an applied field, integrated thereon which substantially overcomes one or more of the problems due to the limitations and disadvantages of the related art. Such elements include a magnetic coil, a light source, a detector, etc.
It is a further object of the present invention to integrate multiple optical elements and a slider block having the active element integrated thereon as well. It is a further object of the present invention to manufacture the objects on a wafer level, bond a plurality of wafers together and provide the active element on a bottom surface of a bottom wafer.
At least one of the above and other advantages may be realized by providing an integrated micro-optical system including a die formed from more than one wafer bonded together, each wafer having a top surface and a bottom surface, bonded wafers being diced to yield multiple dies and an active element having a characteristic which changes in response to an applied field, integrated on a bottom surface of the die, optical elements being formed on more than one surface of the die.
The active element may be a thin film conductor whose magnetic properties change when a current is applied thereto. The active element may be integrated as an array of active elements on the bottom wafer before the bonded wafers are diced. The die may be formed from two wafers and optical elements are formed on a top surface and a bottom surface of a top wafer and a top surface of the bottom wafer. The die may include a high numerical aperture optical system.
The bottom wafer of the more than one wafer may have a higher index of refraction than other wafers. There may be no optical elements on a bottom wafer of the die. The bottom surface of the die may further include features for facilitating sliding of the integrated micro-optical system etched thereon. The bottom wafer of the die may have a refractive element formed in a material of high numerical aperture. Metal portions serving as apertures may be integrated on at least on one of the surfaces of the die.
A layer of material deposited on the bottom surface of the bottom wafer before the active element is integrated thereon. An optical element may be formed on the bottom surface of the bottom wafer, wherein the layer has a refractive index that is different from the refractive index of the bottom wafer. The layer may be deposited in accordance with a difference between a desired thickness and a measured thickness.
A monitoring optical system may be formed on each surface of the wafer containing an optical element. The spacing between wafers may be varied in accordance with a difference between a measured thickness of a wafer and a desired thickness of a wafer.
A top surface of the die may be etched and coated with a reflective coating to direct light onto the optical elements. A further substrate may be mounted on top of the top of the die having a MEMS mirror therein. An insertion point may be provided on the die for receiving an optical fiber therein. The insertion point may be on a side of the die and the system further includes a reflector for redirecting light output by the fiber.
A refractive element in the die may be a spherical lens and the die further includes a compensating element which compensates for aberrations exhibited by the spherical lens. The compensating element may be on a surface immediately adjacent the spherical lens. The compensating element may be a diffractive element. The refractive element may be an aspheric lens. The die may include at least one additional refractive element, all refractive elements of the die being formed in material having a high numerical aperture.
At least one of the above and other advantages may be realized by providing an integrated micro-optical apparatus including a die formed from more than one wafer bonded together, each wafer having a top surface and a bottom surface, bonded wafers being diced to yield multiple die, at least two optical elements being formed on respective surfaces of each die, at least one of the at least two optical elements being a refractive element, a resulting optical system of each die having a high numerical aperture.
The refractive element may be a spherical lens and the die further includes a compensating element which compensates for aberrations exhibited by the spherical lens. The compensating element may be on a surface immediately adjacent the spherical lens. The compensating element may be a diffractive element. The refractive element may be an aspheric lens.
The die may include at least one additional refractive element, all refractive elements of the die being formed in material having a high numerical aperture. The refractive element may be on a bottom wafer and of a material having a higher refractive index than that of the bottom wafer.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.


Highly sensitive methods for assaying for biopolymers, such as by immunoassay or nucleic acid probe hybridization assay, and compositions for carrying out the methods, are provided. The methods employ as reporter group a RNA capable of being autocatalytically replicated by an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, such as the replicase of bacteriophage Q.beta.. The high sensitivity of the assay methods is due to the rapid, exponential increase in concentration of such a replicative RNA, associated specifically with biopolymer analyte, that can be achieved by autocatalytic RNA replication.

It is sometimes necessary to detect a small amount of a specific biopolymer in a sample which includes a background of a much larger quantity of unrelated material. Some important cases are immunoassays for viruses or anti-pathogen antibodies present at very low levels in blood or other body fluids of infected individuals or for proteins present at very low levels in cell lysates; assays for sparse receptors on cell surfaces; and nucleic acid probe hybridization assays for pathogenic bacteria present at very low levels in food, for pathogenic protozoan parasites, bacteria or viruses present at low levels in body fluids, or for short segments of defined sequence indicative of genetic abnormalities in the total genomic DNA of a species.
The specificity of such an assay depends on the use of an affinity molecule that binds specifically to a biopolymer analyte (i.e., a particular target biopolymer, or a particular target site or segment of a biopolymer) which is present in a sample only if the entity being tested for (e.g., virus, other microogranism, cells with particular receptors, abnormal gene) is present. Examples of affinity molecules include an antibody for a protein target, that is the antigen used to elicit the antibody; an oligonucleotide with a sequence complementary to that of a target segment of a target DNA or RNA; an antigen for an antibody target, which is an antibody elicited by the antigen; and a lectin which binds specifically to a particular carbohydrate moiety of a target glycoprotein or target polysaccharide.
Detection of an affinity molecule, which has bound to any of its biopolymer analyte that is present in a sample being assayed, is achieved typically by complexing with, or including in, the affinity molecule a reporter group which, as part of a reporter system, can produce a detectable signal. The sensitivity of an assay-will depend on both the specificity of binding between the affinity molecule and the biopolymer analyte in assay systems, the specificity of the reporter system in providing signal only from affinity molecule in an assay system, and the intensity of signal generated by the reporter system in an assay system.
Typical reporter systems employ fluorescent organic moieties or .sup.32 P-labeled phosphate groups as reporter groups. The sensitivity that can be achieved with these types of reporter systems, which involve signal directly from reporter groups, is fundamentally limited by the number of reporter groups needed to produce a signal of detectable intensity. This number is about 10.sup.6. Thus with these groups no fewer than about 10.sup.5 target molecules, or target segments, can be detected in an assay.
The sensitivity Of non-radioactive assays for biopolymer analytes has been improved by employing enzyme adducts linked to an affinity molecule. For example, an oligonucleotide or DNA affinity molecule "probe", that is biotinylated, is detected by complexing enzyme-linked avidin reporter group with the biotinyl groups and then detecting product from a reaction catalyzed by the enzyme. Langer et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (U.S.A.) 78, 6633-6637 (1981); Leary et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (U.S.A.) 80, 4045-4049 (1983). See also, with regard to enzyme-linked avidin as reporter group in immunoassays, Hevey and Malmros, U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,237. By joining an enzyme to the affinity molecule and then providing substrate for a reaction catalyzed by the enzyme, it is possible to accumulate a large number of product molecules for each enzyme-affinity molecule-analyte complex, and hence, in principle, obtain sensitivities much greater than is possible using small reporter molecules directly. Peroxidase and phosphatase, enzymes that are readily assayed by sensitive colorimetric methods, are widely used in enzyme-adduct reporter groups. Leary et al., supra.
However, enzyme-adduct reporter systems, such as that involving phosphatase linked to avidin, are fundamentally limited in sensitivity by the rates at which reactions catalyzed by the enzymes of a reporter group can occur. As a practical matter, a detectable quantity of a product of the enzyme-catalyzed reaction must be produced in an assay within some reasonable time period, between about 1 to about 100 hours. In practice, enzyme-adduct reporter systems are about 10 to 100 times less sensitive than reporter systems based on .sup.32 p-decay.
There exists a need for reporter systems that are more sensitive, even to the extent that the presence of a single molecule of target biopolymer or single target biopolymer segment can, in principle, be detected in an assay that takes no longer than a few hours. Such a reporter system requires that the presence of the analyte be detected through a reaction that produces a prodigious number of product molecules, per analyte molecule or segment, in a relatively short time.
An enzymatically catalyzed, nucleic acid polymerization reaction generates, from a template, a chain of complementary sequence, which is also a substrate for the involved polymerase. Thus, repeat reactions increase the numbers of particular nucleotide chains exponentially. Accordingly, there are advantages in utilizing the self-replicability of nucleic acids to provide sensitivity in reporter systems.
An example of the use of a nucleic acid polymerization reaction to render detectable a minute amount of analyte is provided by R. K. Saiki et al., Science 230, 1350-1354 (1985) and European Patent Application Publication No. 0 164 054. Saiki et al., supra, employ E. coli DNA polymerase I, together with dATP, dCTP, dGTP and dTTP and two synthetic oligonucleotide primers, one with a sequence complementary to a segment near the 3'-end of the sense strand and the other with a sequence complementary to a segment near the 3'-end of the anti-sense strand of the analyte DNA segment, to increase the quantity of analyte in a sample to a level that is readily detectable by standard DNA probe assay techniques. The Saiki et al. procedure involves a number of cycles of DNA polymerase-catalyzed replication, strand-separation, and primer annealing. The amount of analyte increases exponentially with the number of cycles, at least until the concentration of primed segments for replication exceeds the concentration of polymerase molecules. The procedure described in Saiki et al. requires at least three synthetic oligonucleotides, the two primers as well as at least one probe for detection of analyte. Each cycle of replication in the Saiki et al. procedure has three-steps. Thus, while the Saiki et al. procedure enhances sensitivity of a DNA probe assay by exploiting the self-replicability of DNA to increase the amount of analyte, there remains a need for simpler and more generally applicable procedures whereby the sensitivity of-assays for biopolymers or particular segments thereof or sites thereon is enhanced through the self-replicability of nucleic acids.
Enzymatically catalyzed, RNA-directed, RNA polymerizations generate complementary chains rapidly and without need for primers. The numbers of RNA chains increase exponentially with repeated reaction cycles in RNA-directed, RNA polymerizations. Unlike other such polymerizations in vitro, the RNA-directed, RNA polymerizations proceed continuously without need for strand-separation and primer-annealing between cycles. Enzymatically catalyzed, RNA-directed, RNA polymerization has been termed "autocatalytic replication." Haruna and Spiegelman, Science 150, 884-886 (1965). Until the present invention, it has not been appreciated that autocatalytic replication can be employed to provide convenient, broadly applicable, highly sensitive reporter systems for biopolymer analytes.
Miele et al., J. Mol. Biol. 171, 281-295 (1983) describe the insertion of a decaadenylic acid segment into a mutant midivariant-1 RNA at a position which is not essential for function of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase ("replicase") of bacteriophage Q.beta. and report that the recombinant midivariant-1 RNA remains active as a template for replication by the replicase. See also Kramer et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 614,350, filed May 25, 1984, which is incorporated herein by reference. The Kramer et al. application describes recombinant RNA templates, based on midivariant and similar RNAs, for replication by Q.beta. replicase activity and the use of such templates as nucleic acid hybridization probes. Neither the Miele et al. article nor the Kramer et al. patent application suggests the use of a replicative RNA and an associated RNA-dependent RNA polymerase as the basis of a reporter system for assays for biopolymer analytes. Further, neither the article nor the patent application suggests that a recombinant replicative RNA, used as a probe for a target nucleic acid segment, could be replicated subsequent to hybridization with target to increase the sensitivity of assays employing the probe.

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies


A method for separation and enrichment of lithium includes the following steps: pretreatment: carrying out at least two dilutions and at least two filtrations on salina aged brine to obtain pretreated brine; separation: separating the pretreated brine via a nanofiltration separation system to obtain nanofiltration permeate and nanofiltration concentrate; first concentration: carrying out first concentration on the nanofiltration permeate via a reverse osmosis system to obtain reverse osmosis concentrate and reverse osmosis permeate; second concentration: carrying out second concentration on the reverse osmosis concentrate via an electrodialysis system to obtain electrodialysis concentrate and electrodialysis permeate, and the electrodialysis concentrate is solution enriching lithium ions. The present application couples several different membrane separation technologies and dilutes the salina aged brine for many times, thereby realizing the purposes of improving separation efficiency of magnesium and lithium and improving the enrichment efficiency of lithium.

Lithium is an extremely important strategic resource. As the lightest metal element, lithium exists in forms of solid mineral and liquid mineral in nature. There are rich lithium resource reserves in China, industrial lithium resource reserves that have been explored rank second in the world, where brine lithium accounts for 79%, and future reserves of salt lake brine lithium in only Qinghai Tibet Plateau area is equivalent to total reserves that have been explored in other countries in the world. It is estimated that the reserves of lithium resources in Qinghai Salt Lake (calculated by lithium) are 1.5 million tons, ranking first in the country. Therefore, the technology for extracting lithium from salt lake brine has become the top priority in China's competition for energy strategic highland, and is a major strategic demand of the country. However, it is very difficult to extract lithium from salt lake brine according to composition features of salt lake brine. This is mainly because one significant feature of salt lake brine is high magnesium and low lithium (that is, the content of magnesium ions is much higher than that of lithium ions). The mass ratio of magnesium to lithium in the most salt lake brines is higher than 40. For example, the mass ratio of magnesium to lithium in Chaerhan salt lake is as high as 1800, and as high as 114 in Dachaidan Salt Lake, and the ratio of magnesium to lithium in Qinghai salt lake brine is also very high. Due to the similar chemical properties of magnesium and lithium, the presence of a large number of magnesium can lead to increased difficulty in separation and extraction of lithium. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new methods for separation and extraction of other important resources such as magnesium and lithium in salt lake brine.
The existing magnesium and lithium separation methods mainly include a precipitation method, an adsorption method, an extraction method and the like. In the process of separation, all the above methods have a certain limitation. For example, the precipitation method is suitable for brine in which the ratio of magnesium to lithium is low, and there are problems of excessively large consumption of a precipitating agent and high cost when the ratio of magnesium to lithium is high; the adsorption method has problems of low adsorption capacity of the adsorbent and high cost; the extraction method has high requirement on extraction agents, and problems, such as environment pollution and equipment corrosion, are easily generated in the process of extraction. In addition, although the above methods can reach enrichment of lithium to a certain extent in the process of reducing the mass ratio of magnesium to lithium of brine, the content of lithium ions in the finally obtained lithium-rich brine has not reached the concentration of preparing high-purity lithium salts, and thus it is required for further enrichment and concentration.
Except the above separation methods, there are also some studies on the separation of magnesium and lithium in salt lake brine by utilizing membrane separation technologies. For example, Chinese invention patent application No. 03108088.X introduces a method for separating magnesium and enriching lithium from salt lake brine by utilizing a nanofiltration method. Although the mass ratio of magnesium to lithium in salt lake brine is reduced by using this method to a certain extent, and the enrichment of lithium in brine is realized, the content of lithium ions in the finally obtained lithium-rich brine has not reached the lithium concentration required for the preparation of high-purity lithium salts, so it is necessary to continue the enrichment and concentration of lithium and the lithium ion yield in the separation process is low. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the existing separation technology of magnesium and lithium in order to solve the problems of lithium ion enrichment efficiency, process cost and the like.

Method for separation and enrichment of lithium

QINGHAI INSTITUTE OF SALT LAKES, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES


A valve includes a valve body forming a first flow passage and a second flow passage that connects to the-first flow passage through a first opening and a seating element forming a bypass passage that connects the first flow passage and the second flow passage. The bypass passage opening has a smaller cross-sectional area than the first opening. The valve also includes a valve control element that can be repositioned to open both the first opening and the second opening, open the second opening while closing the first opening or close both the first opening and the second opening. The bypass passage may allow fluid to drain through the valve to prevent fluid from building up in the valve. If fluid becomes frozen, the valve may become stuck shut. In some embodiments, the bypass passage opens only if the temperature creates a possibility of freezing in the valve.

Some valves that normally control a gas flow can collect water, e.g., from condensation. In some instances the valve may be immersed in water, e.g., if the valve is closed. If the ambient temperature is cold enough, a valve may become frozen and stuck in place.
One technique to prevent freezing in valves is to locate moveable valve elements above the portion of the valve body where water will first collect. Another technique is to limit contact area in a closed valve between a moveable part and a stationary portion of the valve such that the separation force, in the event the parts become frozen together, is relatively low. However, in the case where the valve body is filled with water, freezing can still cause the valve to become stuck in place.


A laser including a semiconductor laser stack group, a beam compositor, a pump beam collimator, a thin-disk laser crystal, a first and a second parabolic reflectors with the same facial contour function, a corrective reflector, an output mirror, and a jet-flow impact cooling system. The thin-disk laser crystal and the output mirror form a laser resonant cavity. The first parabolic reflector, second parabolic reflector, thin-disk laser crystal, and corrective reflector form a multi-pumping focus cavity. The jet-flow impact cooling system is used for cooling the thin-disk laser crystal. The pump light produced by the semiconductor laser stack group is composited by the beam compositor, collimated by the pump light collimator, and enters the multi-pumping focus cavity. Within the multi-pumping focus cavity, the pump light is focused, collimated, and deflected to converge on the thin-disk laser crystal. The laser resonant cavity produces and outputs a laser beam.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a laser, and more particularly to a thin-disk solid state laser.
2. Description of the Related Art
With continuous development in laser technology, solid state laser has become a unique branch in the laser family with its incomparable merits. It develops by leaps and bounds to make higher achievement in average power, beam quality, and conversion efficiency. Meanwhile, the inter-penetration between solid state laser technology and other high and new technologies enables the solid state laser to be more widely applied in such fields as shell plate welding on auto body, tailor welding of auto plate, and metal plate cutting. However, traditional rod solid state laser has limitations on the structure of lateral pump and cooling method. These limitations may lead to distribution of radial temperature field within the crystal, bring in such problems as thermal lens effect and double refraction of thermal stress, cause a drop on the quality of output laser beam, and restrict the application of laser in laser processing technical field.
The thin-disk solid state laser mainly makes use of thin-disk laser crystal as the gain medium. Generally, end pump is adopted and the direction of heat flow is parallel to the direction of optical axis. Since laser crystal is thin, the temperature increase within the crystal will not be so dramatic even under extremely high density of pump power. The even temperature distribution within the crystal enables it to produce high-quality laser beam.
Both high-efficient pump and crystal cooling are key technologies in thin-disk solid state laser. At present, most of thin-disk solid state lasers adopt the plan of multi-pumping in single paraboloid beam space, for this plan achieves perfect effect on the power, efficiency, and beam quality of solid state laser. However, this multi-pumping technology also encounters some problems such as the complex mechanical structure and difficult optical adjustment. Main crystal plan refers to the cooling plan with high efficiency, but in this plan, the element processing is really difficult, the assembly space is small and the cooler and pump within the system confronts much higher requirements.
In 2008, a plan about a thin-disk solid state laser with SMD crystal cooling system and multi-pumping structure was proposed, which is based on conjugated double-paraboloid, inclined laser crystal, and corrective reflector. This new plan can realize multi-pumping and disk cooling to some degree, but its main problem is the low efficiency of pump light due to the inclined position of laser crystal. When the laser crystal is placed in an inclined position, only one beam of pump light is permitted to enter the focus cavity and this is unfavorable to gain higher pump efficiency. It is really difficult to adjust the resonant cavity (whose direction is also the output direction of laser) and use the output laser because of the inclined position of laser crystal. Moreover, in this plan, the laser crystal is connected with cooling system through SMD technology. For the immersion jet-flow impact cooling system, its design is difficult, heat transfer efficiency is low, and the assembly is complex.

Huazhong University of Science and Technology


The terminal includes a unit for entering bets, a unit for printing information on a betting receipt, a unit for checking the validity of a receipt received, a unit for checking that the printed receipts conform with the information to be printed on them, and a unit for invalidating receipts, arranged to be activated under the command of the checking unit. The invention applies well to popular betting games.

The invention relates to popular games and more especially those which consist in taking bets, generally at retail betting outlets, on a horse race, a football match, a lotto draw and other events.
To record the players"" bets, each retailer is provided with a game recording terminal linked to a distant central unit which manages the entire taking of bets made with all the terminals which form a game network.
In order to place a bet, the player, for instance at a horse race, ticks a game grid, indicating his forecast for the placing of the horses. The ticked grid is read by a game recording terminal and the central unit allocates an identification number to this record of a bet. The player""s bet and his identification number are then printed by the terminal on a receipt given to the player.
In the case where a player""s bet wins, he must present his receipt to one of the retailers of the game network. The validity of the receipt is then checked by the retailer""s game recording terminal, linked to the central unit, before the winnings are paid to the player.
Such a check aims especially at avoiding paying winnings on the presentation of a forged receipt, but does not have any dissuasive effect aimed at stopping an attempt to defraud.
Besides, in spite of the good faith of the player, his receipt can bear false or illegible information, due to problems with the printer (electrical, mechanical or programming), with the printing paper (more often than not, thermal), or with transmission, in the game recording terminal which has printed the receipt.
In short, the security of the systems of prior art for recording games is not guaranteed.
The invention aims at making the game recording terminals more secure.
To this end, the subject matter of the invention is a game recording terminal comprising:
means for entering bets;
means for printing information on a betting receipt; and
means for checking the validity of a receipt received;
characterised by the fact that the terminal comprises:
means for checking that the printed receipts conform with the information to be printed on them: and
means for invalidating receipts, arranged to be activated under the command of the checking means.
It will observed that the invalidation means can be activated by the conformity checking means as well as by the means for checking the validity.
Thanks to the invention, a receipt for a winning bet is automatically invalidated, after validation, by the terminal. Besides, the terminal self-checks the information which it prints on each receipt in order to render invalid the erroneous receipts. The terminal of the invention thus contributes to further safeguarding the bet entries.
Advantageously, the means for checking the validity and the means for checking the conformity comprise common means of image analysis.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the invalidation means include printing means.
The invalidation of a receipt is thus carried out by simple marking of the word xe2x80x9cinvalidxe2x80x9d for instance.
Advantageously, the printing means intended for printing the betting receipts and the printing means intended for invalidating the receipts are distinct.
Again, preferably, the means of entering bets comprise means of image analysis common to the checking means.
Thus, in this last case, the means of image analysis are designed to analyse, or read, not only the information carried by the receipts, but also that of the betting supports, such as the game grids for instance.


Counting values can be encrypted as a set of counting value cyphertexts according to a hidden vector encryption scheme using sample values of a set of samples, where each of the samples can include multiple sample values. Additionally, tokens can be generated. The tokens can be configured according to the hidden vector encryption scheme, such that each of the tokens can enable decryption of matching cyphertexts. Processing of the counting value cyphertexts and the tokens can be delegated to a map-reduce computer cluster. The cluster can run a map-reduce program to produce and return count representations. Each count representation can represent a count of a set of the counting value cyphertext(s) whose decryption was enabled by one or more of the token(s). For example, the counts may be counts that can be used in constructing a data structure such as a decision tree.

A map-reduce framework defines a computational model that can be used to design and implement parallel processing techniques on computer clusters, such as large-scale distributed systems. While the term "MapReduce" is often used to describe such a framework, the term "map-reduce" (without capital letters) is used herein to clarify that reference is not being made to any particular implementation. A map-reduce operation is an operation performed according to the map-reduce framework. A map-reduce operation includes a mapping operation that includes multiple individual operations that can be distributed across multiple computing environments (mappers) and performed in parallel. Each individual mapping operation takes one or more input label-value pairs and outputs one or more intermediate label-value pairs. The map-reduce operation typically also includes a partition operation that takes one or more intermediate pairs and defines a partition of intermediate values. Additionally, the map-reduce operation includes a reduce operation that can include multiple individual reduce operations that can be distributed across multiple computing environments (reducers). The individual reduce operations each take an input label and a partition of intermediate values and outputs an output label-value pair. A map-reduce cluster is a computer cluster that is configured to run map-reduce operations according to the map-reduce framework.
Some computer cluster providers offer access to map-reduce computer clusters "as a service." This can allow a map-reduce program and associated data pairs to be delegated to a third-party's computer cluster by a data provider's cluster client. The computer cluster can run the map-reduce program on the data in the map-reduce cluster and return results to the data provider. Access to other computing environments (e.g., mainframe computers or computer clusters that are not using the map-reduce framework) may also be offered as a service.

Counting delegation using hidden vector encryption


A method for scan testing a three-dimensional chip, comprising: establishing a scan forest structure for the three-dimensional chip; generating a first test set and a plurality of test periods, and dividing the first test set into a plurality of test subsets; distributing test vectors in the plurality of test subsets into the plurality of test periods; obtaining a current hotspot of the three-dimensional chip; ranking the plurality of test subsets in accordance with an order of temperature rising values from small to large to obtain a test vector strategy; selecting the test subsets corresponding to the temperature rising values less than a temperature threshold from the plurality of test subsets according to the test vector strategy, so as to generate a second test set; and applying the second test set to the scan forest structure, and updating the current hotspot of the three-dimensional chip.

With a continuous development of CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) process, it becomes harder to scale down the size of the chip. Thus, more and more designers begin to focus on a multi-chip package, rather than continue relying on integrating more devices on a single chip, so as to improve a performance of the chip. Stacked chip packaging technology (a three-dimensional package for short) refers to a packaging technology that stacks two or more chips in a vertical direction in the same package body without changing a size of the package body. Due to a connection of TSVs (Through Si via) between layers, the three-dimensional integrated circuit can effectively solve the delay problem of the two-dimensional integrated circuit.
The three-dimensional package can significantly reduce the size of the chip, increase a transistor density of the chip, improve the electrical interconnection performance between layers, enhance a running speed of the chip, and reduce the power consumption and the delay of the chip to a great extent. By introducing the concept of the three-dimensional integrated circuit in the design stage, a complete and complex chip can be divided into several sub-chips which are realized in different layers. Thus, a function of the chip is enhanced, and a lot of problems such as high cost and design complexity are avoided. In addition, the use of the three-dimensional package may also reduce the power consumption.
However, the three-dimensional chip design and manufacture processes are complex, in which the test and heat problem are two difficult problems. On one hand, as the three-dimensional chips need to be tested before being bound, the test problem of the three-dimensional chip must be solved. On the other hand, due to the high interconnection density, the heat problem of the three-dimensional chip becomes much worse. Furthermore, with a further development of COMS process, the power density in the microelectronic design becomes much greater. For example, the power density of a high-performance microprocessor with a size of 10 nm has reached 50 W/cm2, and when the size of the high-performance microprocessor is less than 50 nm, the power density thereof will quickly increases to 100 W/cm2. The power density increment of the microprocessor will lead to a rapid increment of the temperature of the chip. Further, the power density of a hotspot on the chip is usually much higher than that of other places, so that the temperature of the hotspot is much higher than that of other places. As the energy consumed by the microprocessor is converted into heat energy, the corresponding heat density presents an exponential growth, thus leading to a sharp decreasing of the reliability and a significant rising of a manufacture cost.
At any power dissipation level, the generated heat must be removed rapidly from the surface of the chip. However, the existing cooling method is expensive. Especially for the high-performance microprocessor, cooling cost is quite high, which is a threat for the computer industry to deploy new systems.

Method for scan testing three-dimensional chip


A heat-insulation device and an electronic product, the heat-insulation device is of a closed hollow structure, and includes a first cover body and a second cover body arranged opposite to each other; a vacuum cavity is formed in the heat-insulation device; the first cover body is made of a heat-conducting material; and a heat-conducting element is provided in the vacuum cavity, and a first end of the heat-conducting element is in contact with an inner wall surface of the first cover body.

In the existing technology, there are mainly the following heat dissipation modes:
1. Heat dissipation through graphite: graphite has high heat conductivity in XY direction and low heat conductivity in Z direction; heat dissipation through graphite is mainly used to disperse heat, but due to the limited internal space of an electronic product, the temperature of heat sensitive components (such as batteries, cameras, GPS chips, etc.) or local surface areas near the heat source is caused to be too high while dispersing heat;
2. Heat dissipation through heat sink or heat-conducting tube: the heat sink is mainly made of metal with high heat conductivity, and the heat-conducting tube is used to bring the heat of a local overheated area to another place, so these two schemes can only achieve heat conduction, but cannot achieve effective heat insulation;
3. Heat insulation through air: the entire machine is thickened in the position where the temperature is determined to be too high, an air layer is added for heat insulation, but due to convection in the air layer, the heat-insulation effect is poor; and
4. Heat insulation through heat-insulation pad: the heat-insulation pad has poor heat-insulation effect, so the heat of a heating device can't be homogenized, resulting in too high temperature of the heating device, and the heat-insulation pad can't be designed into a solid form, and thus it is difficult to fully protect a heat-sensitive device.
In the current electronic products, the heat insulation method is seldom used, and the heat problem is mainly solved by heat dissipation, but only using heat dissipation has great limitations on products, and it is difficult to protect heat-labile components. If the thickness of the entire machine is increased and the heat insulation with air is added on the basis of using heat dissipation, the size of the entire machine is increased, and the internal heat insulation is be affected by air convection, so the heat reliability cannot be guaranteed, and it is difficult to achieve satisfactory results under different power consumption conditions.

Heat-insulation device and electronic product


The non-volatile memory device may include a substrate, a plurality of first signal lines on the substrate in a vertical direction, a plurality of memory cells having ends connected to the plurality of first signal lines, a plurality of second signal lines perpendicular to the plurality of first signal lines on the substrate and each connected to other ends of the plurality of memory cells, and a plurality of selection elements on the substrate and connected to at least two of the plurality of first signal lines.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate to non-volatile memory devices and methods of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Because higher capacity and lower power consumption are required in memory devices, next generation memory devices which are non-volatile and do not require refreshing are being studied. These next generation memory devices require the high-integration of dynamic random access memory (DRAM), the non-volatility of flash memory, and the high-speed of static RAM (SRAM), for example, phase change RAM (PRAM), nano-floating gate memory (NFGM), Polymer RAM (PoRAM), Magnetic RAM (MRAM), Ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM) and Resistive RAM (RRAM).
In RRAM, when higher voltage is applied to an insulator, a path through which current flows may be generated, and thus, resistance may be reduced. When the path is generated once, the path may be removed by applying a sufficient voltage or may be regenerated.

Non-volatile memory device and method of manufacturing the same