The halogen incandescent lamp has a tipless lamp vessel (1) having a first seal (3), in which a current supply conductor (7) with a foil-shaped part (9) of small width (w.sub.1) is accommodated, and a second seal (4), in which a current supply conductor (8) with a foil-shaped part (10) of larger width (w.sub.2) is accommodated. This construction permits a simple method of manufacturing the lamp, in which the tube from which the lamp vessel (1) is formed has a constriction which allows the first current supply conductor (7) and the filament (5) to pass, but stops the foil-shaped part (10) of the second current supply conductor (8) and holds the filament positioned in axial direction in the tube.

The invention relates to a halogen incandescent lamp comprising
a tubular tipless glass lamp vessel sealed in a vacuum-tight manner and having an axis, this lamp vessel having at each end a first and a second seal, respectively, through which one respective current supply conductor is passed;
a filament having an axis axially arranged in the lamp vessel;
first and second current supply conductors, which are connected to the filament and have a first and a second foil-shaped part, respectively, which is accommodated in a respective seal, and an external part which is connected thereto and projects outwards from the lamp vessel;
a halogen-containing gas in the lamp vessel,
the foil-shaped parts each having a width dimension transverse to the axis of the lamp vessel.
The invention further relates to a method of manufacturing such a lamp, in which
a filament is axially arranged in a glass tube having an axis through an open first end thereof, means being provided for holding the filament positioned in the axial direction of the tube;
the glass tube is heated at the area of the first foil-shaped part and a first seal is formed in the tube, in which seal the first foil-shaped part is accommodated;
the tube is filled with a halogen-containing gas,
the tube is sealed in a vacuum-tight manner by heating the tube at the area of the second foil-shaped part and forming a second seal in the tube axially spaced apart from the first seal, the second foil-shaped part being accommodated in said second seal.
Such a lamp and a method of manufacturing such a lamp are known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,601.
In the manufacture of the known lamp, the second current supply conductor has at its external part a transverse beam having a length greater than the inner diameter and smaller than the outer diameter at the open first end of the tube. The transverse beam must abut against the open first end of the tube when the filament has been entirely introduced into said tube in order to hold the filament positioned in the axial direction in the tube during the manufacture of the lamp. Since in general the tube has a fairly thin wall of about 1 mm thickness, the length of the beam must lie within very narrow limits. However, when the filament is introduced into the tube, the beam can readily occupy an oblique position with respect to the axis of the tube or can be not entirely centered with respect to the tube, as a result of which the beam slides into the tube. In order to center the beam, the external part of the second current supply conductor is in the form of a helically wound wire, onto which a wire is wound, which spirals out to the wall of the tube.
A disadvantage of the known lamp is that its manufacture requires a complicated auxiliary construction. It is also a disadvantage that the external part of the second current supply conductor must be thin in order that it can be wound helically, just like the filament. The part projecting from the lamp vessel in the finished lamp must therefore be shielded from the air in order to prevent it from being burned.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,817 discloses a halogen incandescent lamp, which also has a tubular lamp vessel provided with a seal at both ends. To the filament which is axially arranged therein, current is supplied through only one of the seals, however. The lamp is consequently suitable for use in a copying apparatus, in which the other seal is not readily accessible for connection to an electric supply source. Through the relevant seal, two current supply conductors are passed into the lamp vessel, these conductors each having in this seal a foil-shaped part. One of the current supply conductors is connected to the adjacent end of the filament, while the second current supply conductor extends, whilst being surrounded by an insulator, to the other seal. This other seal accommodates a comparatively wide metal foil, which is connected through a conductor to the adjacent end of the filament for mechanically fixing the same. Said conductor is also connected directly or through the metal foil to the second current supply conductor to constitute a current path through the lamp.

Halogen incandescent lamp and method of manufacturing a halogen incandescent lamp


According to one embodiment, a memory system includes a nonvolatile memory and a controller. The nonvolatile memory includes first blocks each including magnetic memory lines and performs writing and reading of data for each block by a last-in first-out (LIFO) method by shifting, in a unit of a layer, data portions stored in a plurality of layers, respectively, in a first direction from a top layer to a last layer or in a second direction opposite to the first direction, the magnetic memory lines including the plurality of layers. The controller controls the nonvolatile memory. The controller selects a source block of a compaction process from the first blocks based on a ratio of layers of a second attribute to the plurality of layers in each of the first blocks.

In recent years, memory systems including a nonvolatile memory are widely used. As a type of the memory systems, a solid state drive (SSD) including a NAND flash memory is known. Various computing devices use SSD as the main storage.
Recently, non-volatile memories of the type in which write and read of data are carried out by the last-in first-out (LIFO) method are being developed as next-generation nonvolatile memories.


An aberration correcting device is placed in an optical path extending from a light source of an optical pickup apparatus for irradiating a light beam onto an optical disk to the optical disk. The device includes a pair of light-transmission substrates at least one of which is held freely movable in a way that a major surface thereof moves in a direction vertical to the optical path, and which have complementary curved surfaces facing, and apart from, each other. The curved surfaces are formed in such a manner as to cause the optical path length of a light beam transmitting the pair of light-transmission substrates to be changed by movement of the light-transmission substrates, thus imparting a phase difference to a transmitting light beam, while allowing the phase difference to keep an advancing direction of the light beam thereby to minimize a comatic aberration caused by the optical disk.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical pickup apparatus in an optical information recording/reproducing apparatus which reads and write signals from and onto an optical disk as an optical information recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
The numerical aperture of the objective lens in an optical pickup apparatus may be increased in order to improve the recording density of an optical disk. For example, the numerical aperture is increased to 0.6 from 0.45. According to the standards that have been defined to record information from the information recording surface through a transparent disk substrate having a predetermined thickness, comatic aberration occurs then depending on the inclination of the transparent disk substrate so that the adequate beam spot cannot be irradiated on the information recording surface. As the numerical aperture increases, the amount of the comatic aberration occurred increases prominently. When optical disks are prepared at a low cost using transparent disk substrates which have been produced by injection molding or the like, particularly, the inclination of the transparent disk substrate caused by the warping of the optical disk gets greater. This makes the adverse influence of the comatic aberration greater.
To reduce the influence of the comatic aberration, the transparent disk substrate is made thinner. For instance, the substrate thickness is reduced to 0.6 mm from 1.2 mm. This causes stain, scratches or the like on the surface of the optical disk to noticeably affect information recording/reproduction, thus deteriorating the performance of the optical disk over a long period of usage.
Another solution is to install a tilt (skew) adjusting mechanism for an optical disk into a pickup apparatus and use a tilt servo mechanism which tilts the pickup itself in responsive to the tilt of the optical disk. This scheme suffers a slow response speed due to the large inertial weight of the movable portion. The tilt of the pickup itself cannot therefore follow up a variation in the tilt of the optical disk during one rotation, particularly, the tilt in the direction of the time axis (tangential direction). Accordingly, correcting the comatic aberration caused by the tilt in the tangential direction raises a problem in a pickup apparatus which uses an objective lens having an increased numerical aperture.
One known scheme of correcting the comatic aberration is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 7-140381. As shown in FIG. 1, the comatic aberration is corrected by mutually moving two compensators, which are the combination of a convex surface whose curvature changes by an inclination of R to the fourth power where R is the radius of a pupil, in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis and a concave surface which matches with the convex surface.
If an optical disk 5 is tilted in the tangential direction, aberration in the tangential direction is produced. When a convex lens having a relatively large numerical aperture, such as an objective lens 4, is used, the aberration of the third order or the so-called comatic aberration is large in addition to the astigmatism and high-order aberration. The greater the numerical aperture is, the more noticeable the high-order aberration becomes.
The curve (A) in FIG. 2 shows a change in the aberration-originated optical path difference within a pupil when the transparent disk substrate of the optical disk 5 tilts. The abscissa axis in the figure represents the radial position on the pupil and the ordinate axis represents the produced phase difference of the wavefront as the optical path difference with one wavelength as a unit. In the idealistic aberration-free state, the optical path difference does not occur because the light beam comes perpendicularly in the state so that the peripheral edge is symmetrical to the optical axis centered in the optical path. FIG. 2 shows the results of computing the optical path difference when the optical disk is tilted by an angle of 1 degree from the horizontal state with the numerical aperture of the objective lens being 0.85. This amount of change varies in accordance with the tilt amount of the optical disk.
This aberration is produced by the tilt of the transparent disk substrate of an optical disk, and the upper-leftward increase of the curve of the optical path difference shown in FIG. 2 indicates the deflection of light in the advancing direction from the wavefront or the optical axis which is caused by the tilted transparent disk substrate.
Correcting the wavefront aberration by inserting the compensators having the reverse wavefront aberration having the inverse shape to that of the wavefront aberration (curve (A) in FIG. 2) into the optical path that extends from, for example, the light source to the objective lens imparts deflection in the advancing direction of light in addition to the formation of the wavefront for forming a diffraction limited spot on the optical disk. As shown in FIG. 1, the deflection produces an adverse effect of causing the light beam to obliquely enter the objective lens, thus lowering the image forming performance. Further, when the compensators are used to correct the tangential tilt, the deflection causes the irradiation position to be shifted because an ordinary optical pickup apparatus has no means for adjusting the shift of the irradiation position in the tangential direction, and the positional shift results in jittering in the tangential direction. As the amount of aberration correction necessary at the peripheral portion is large, the positional-shift originated correction error that becomes severe in proportion to the amount of correction becomes larger. This makes it difficult to correct the comatic aberration by an increased numerical aperture.
That is, according to the conventional method, the optical axis is deflected by the movement of the inserted compensators, thus shifting the center position of the spot to be irradiated on an optical disk. This deflection of the irradiation optical axis acts as time-dependent noise (jitter) particularly in correcting the tilt in the tangential direction, so that the tangential tilt cannot be corrected adequately.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical pickup apparatus capable of preventing the deflection of the irradiation optical axis which is caused by movement of compensators in the conventional correction of the comatic aberration, thereby well removing the time-dependent noise component.
An aberration correcting device according to a first aspect of the present invention being placed in an optical path extending from a light source of an optical pickup apparatus for irradiating a light beam onto an optical disk having a light-permeable layer to the optical disk, comprises:
a pair of light-transmission substrates having complementary curved surfaces facing, and apart from, each other, at least one of the light-transmission substrates being held freely movable in such a way that a major surface thereof moves in a direction vertical to the optical path,
the complementary curved surfaces being formed so as to make a relative movement of the light-transmission substrates vary an optical path length of a light beam transmitting the light-transmission substrates to impart a phase difference to the transmitting light beam, while allowing the phase difference to keep an advancing direction of the light beam thereby to minimize a comatic aberration imparted to the transmitting light beam by the light-permeable layer of the optical disk.
In an embodiment of the aberration correcting device of the invention, the complementary curved surfaces are symmetrical to each other at least in a radial direction or tangential direction of the optical disk.
In an embodiment of the aberration correcting device of the invention, the complementary curved surfaces have shapes satisfying a following equation respectively:
z=(ax)4xe2x88x92(bx)2
where xe2x80x9czxe2x80x9d is a height in a direction parallel to the optical path and x is a radius about the optical path and 2a2=b.
In an embodiment of the aberration correcting device of the invention, one of the light-transmission substrates has a convex surface around the optical path and a normal line of the curved surface at an outermost portion within an effective radius is parallel to the optical path, and the other light-transmission substrate has a concave surface around the optical path and a normal line of the curved surface at the outermost portion within the effective radius is parallel to the optical path.
In an embodiment of the aberration correcting device of the invention, one of the light-transmission substrates has a convex surface around the optical path and a recess formed at an outer portion within an effective radius and a normal line of the curved surface at a bottom of the recess is parallel to the optical path, and the other light-transmission substrate has a concave surface around the optical path and a protrusion formed at an outer portion within the effective radius and a normal line of the curved surface at a top of the protrusion is parallel to the optical path.
In an embodiment of the aberration correcting device of the invention, one of the light-transmission substrates has a convex surface with a center being a symmetrical surface which is a plane including the optical path and a normal line of the curved surface at an outermost portion within an effective radius is parallel to the optical path, and the other light-transmission substrate has a concave surface with a center being the symmetrical surface and a normal line of the curved surface at the outermost portion within the effective radius is parallel to the optical path.
In an embodiment of the aberration correcting device of the invention, one of the light-transmission substrates has a convex surface with a center being a symmetrical surface which is a plane including the optical path and a recess formed at an outer portion within an effective radius and a normal line at a bottom of the recess is parallel to the optical path, and the other light-transmission substrate has a concave surface with a center being the symmetrical surface and a protrusion formed at an outer portion within the effective radius and a normal line at a base of the protrusion is parallel to the optical path.
In an embodiment of the aberration correcting device of the invention, at least one of the light-transmission substrates is driven within a cylindrical surface with one point on the optical path being a center.
In an embodiment of the aberration correcting device of the invention, at least one of the light-transmission substrates is driven within a spherical surface with one point on the optical path being a center.
An optical pickup apparatus, according to the invention, for reading signals from and/or writing signals onto an optical disk for reading signals from and/or writing signals onto an optical disk having a light-permeable layer, comprises:
a light source for emitting a light beam;
an objective lens for focusing the light beam onto an information recording surface of the optical disk;
an optical irradiation system for guiding the light beam to the objective lens along an optical path;
an optical detection system, including photodetection means, for guiding reflected light from the information recording surface to the photodetection means;
tilt detection means for detecting a tilt of the optical disk at least in a radial direction or tangential direction thereof;
aberration correcting means located in the optical irradiation system and comprising a pair of light-transmission substrates having complementary curved surfaces facing, and apart from, each other, at least one of the light-transmission substrates being held freely movable in a direction vertical to the optical path, the complementary curved surfaces being formed such aspherical surfaces as to make a relative movement of the light-transmission substrates vary an optical path length of a light beam transmitting the light-transmission substrates to impart a phase difference to the transmitting light beam, while allowing the phase difference to keep an advancing direction of the light beam; and
aberration correction driving means for moving the at least one of the light-transmission substrates in a direction vertical to the optical path in accordance with an output of the tilt detection means corresponding to a tilt amount of the optical disk thereby to minimize a comatic aberration at least in a radial direction or tangential direction which is imparted to the transmitting light beam by the light-permeable layer of the optical disk.
In an embodiment of the optical pickup apparatus of the invention, at least one of the light-transmission substrates is driven within a cylindrical surface with one point on the optical path being a center.
In an embodiment of the optical pickup apparatus of the invention, at least one of the light-transmission substrates is driven within a spherical surface with one point on the optical path being a center.
According to the aberration correcting device of the present invention for use in an optical pickup apparatus, two light-transmission substrates have complementary internal surfaces respectively. The light-transmission substrate have partially different complementary thicknesses respectively in a direction of the axis of irradiation light i.e., optical path and are arranged approximately in parallel to each other in such a way that their optical axes coincide with the irradiation light axis, and one of the light-transmission substrates is moved approximately vertical to the irradiation light axis so that the length of the optical path of the transmission light or the total thickness of the light-transmission substrates can be changed partially. This imparts a predetermined phase difference distribution to the transmission light beam to ensure fast wavefront correction with a smaller amount of correction. Further, it is possible to correct aberration without causing the shift of a beam spot caused by the deflection of the transmission light, so that a time axis variation-dependent noise component can be adequately removed. According to the optical pickup apparatus of the present invention, as apparent from the above, the partial length of the optical path of the transmission light beam is changed by moving the light-transmission substrates to suppress or eliminate deflection of the optical axis. This prevents the irradiation light axis from being deflected by the movement of compensators, so that the irradiation beam spot will not be shifted.

Aberration correcting device and optical pickup apparatus using the same


A flow measurement module is adapted to operate in conjunction with a control valve assembly to measure a flow rate of a fluid though a flow passage regulated by the control valve assembly. The flow measurement module is communicatively coupled to an intelligent positioner within the control valve assembly to receive data pertaining to the position of the throttling element within the flow passage. The position of the throttling element is used to identify at least one associated valve sizing coefficient. The flow measurement module determines the flow rate of the fluid through the flow passage based on a sensed upstream pressure, a sensed downstream pressure and the valve sizing coefficient associated with the position of the throttling element within the flow passage.

The present invention generally relates to accessories for control valve assemblies and, more particularly, to a flow measurement module and method for measuring the flow rate of a fluid through a flow passage regulated by a control valve assembly.
In the process control industries, such as for example, chemical processes, refineries, food and beverage industries, control valve assemblies are routinely employed to control the flow characteristics of fluids, such as for example, gas, steam, water, chemical compounds, etc. within a process. Process control systems typically monitor process control parameters and coordinate the operation of process control devices, such as control valve assemblies, in an attempt to ensure efficient operation of process control systems. It is often desirable to monitor the flow rate of fluids through pipelines regulated by control valves assemblies. In addition, changes in operating conditions or process operations may require the monitoring of flow rates of fluids in pipelines that previously did not require monitoring.
A typical control valve assembly generally includes a valve assembly, an actuator and a positioner, such as for example, an intelligent positioner, a pneumatic positioner, or an analog electronic positioner. The valve assembly is typically defined by an inlet and an outlet with a flow passage extending between the inlet and the outlet. A throttling element is typically disposed in the flow passage to control the flow rate of the fluid. A valve stem or a valve shaft typically connects the throttling element to an actuator. The actuator generally moves the throttling element incrementally into and incrementally out of the flow passage thereby controlling the flow rate of a fluid flowing through the flow passage. In cases where an intelligent positioner is used, the positioner generally receives a position setpoint from a process control system as an input and responsively controls the operation of the actuator to alter the position of the throttling element within the flow passage. Intelligent positioners often include a feedback linkage coupled to the valve stem or the valve shaft to generate a position feedback signal to indicate the position of the throttling element within the flow passage. The position feedback signal is generally routed back to the process control system via the intelligent positioner.
A number of different prior art flow measurement devices are available for measuring the flow rate of a fluid through a pipeline under the regulation of a valve assembly. Examples of such prior art flow measurement devices include vortex meters, magnetic flow meters, coriolis meters and differential pressure transmitters and orifice plates. However, process control operations are often required to be shut down during the installation of such prior art flow measurement devices into operational process control systems. Halting process control operations often leads to monetary losses associated with reduced product output. In addition, the procedures associated with the installation of such prior art flow meters are often complex, time consuming, and expensive since they typically require the cutting of pipelines and the installation of weld flanges to connect the flow meters within the pipelines.
Another prior art flow measurement device generally consists of an intelligent positioner having flow measurement capability. Typically such a prior art intelligent positioner includes a database or table or equation which correlates throttling element position to a valve sizing coefficient associated with the valve assembly being used. The prior art intelligent positioner uses the position feedback signal, representative of the position of the throttling element, to determine associated valve sizing coefficients. A flow rate is derived based on the determined valve sizing coefficients, the pressures upstream and downstream of the throttling element and other fluid characteristics. However, the installation of an intelligent positioner having flow measurement capabilities into an existing process control system can be a time consuming and relatively expensive procedure. Such an installation process would generally necessitate the shutting down of process control operations, often resulting in the loss of valuable production time. It is also likely that the cost of an intelligent positioner having flow measurement capabilities would be as expensive, if not more expensive, than the operating positioner. In addition, the existing positioner or the entire control valve assembly is often removed in its entirety prior to the installation of the prior art intelligent positioner having flow measurement capabilities, resulting in the waste of a functional process control device.
Thus what is required is a cost effective flow measurement device that can be installed into an existing process control system with relative ease to operate in conjunction with existing process control devices while minimizing or eliminating disruptions in process control operations during the installation process and minimizing the unnecessary disposal of functional process control devices.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a flow measurement module is adapted to operate in conjunction with a control valve assembly to measure a flow rate of a fluid though a flow passage regulated by the control valve assembly. The control valve assembly generally includes a valve assembly including a throttling element moveable within the flow passage and an intelligent positioner adapted to sense the approximate position of the throttling element within the flow passage and responsively generate a representative position feedback signal. The flow measurement module includes a first communication port adapted to receive an upstream pressure signal representative of a sensed pressure upstream of the throttling element, a second communication port adapted to receive a downstream pressure signal representative of a sensed pressure downstream of the throttling element and a third communication port adapted to receive the position feedback signal representative of the approximate position of the throttling element within the flow passage. A controller is communicatively coupled to the first, second and third communication ports and is adapted to operate in accordance with a computer program embodied on a computer readable medium. The computer program includes a first routine that directs the controller to determine a valve sizing coefficient based on the received position feedback signal and a second routine that directs the controller to issue a flow rate signal representative of the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the flow passage based on the determined valve sizing coefficient, the received upstream pressure signal and the received downstream pressure signal.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for measuring a flow rate of a fluid though a flow passage regulated by a control valve assembly. The control valve assembly generally includes a valve assembly including a throttling element moveable within the flow passage and an intelligent positioner adapted to sense the approximate position of the throttling element within the flow passage and responsively generate a representative position feedback signal. The method includes the steps of providing a flow measurement module including a controller communicatively coupled to a memory and to first, second and third communication ports. The flow measurement module is communicatively coupled to the intelligent positioner via the first communication port and receives the position feedback signal representative of the approximate position of the throttling element within the flow passage via the first communication port. The flow measurement module receives an upstream pressure signal representative of the sensed pressure upstream of the throttling element via the second communication port and a downstream pressure signal representative of the sensed pressure downstream of the throttling element via the third communication port. A valve sizing coefficient is determined based on the approximate position of the throttling element as indicated by the received position feedback signal. The flow rate of the fluid flowing through the flow passage is determined based on the sensed upstream pressure, the sensed downstream pressure and the determined valve sizing coefficient.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for measuring the flow rate of a fluid flowing through a flow passage within a control valve assembly. The method includes the steps of providing a control valve assembly including a throttling element moveable within the flow passage and Em intelligent positioner adapted to sense a position of the throttling element within the flow passage and providing a flow measurement module. The flow measurement module is communicatively coupled to the intelligent positioner without disrupting the flow of fluid through the flow passage. A flow rate signal representative of the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the flow passage is generated based on sensed pressures upstream and downstream of the throttling element and based on the sensed position of the throttling element within the fluid flow passage.


Innovations in user interface (“UI”) features of an electronic gaming device, and in features of backend processing to implement the UI features, are presented. For example, an electronic gaming machine (“EGM”) can selectively transfer target symbols between multiple windows. Each of the windows uses a set of reels, which spin in the respective windows. When at least a threshold count of target symbols lands for a reel in a window, a stack of target symbols is transferred to a corresponding reel in each of one or more other windows. After target symbols are transferred, a bonus feature, special mode, or other supplemental feature can be triggered depending on the counts of target symbols in the respective windows. As another example, an EGM can selectively start a supplemental feature (such as a bonus feature or special mode) in multiple windows depending on a count of target symbols in the windows, collectively.

EGMs provide a variety of wagering games such as slot games, video poker games, video blackjack games, roulette games, video bingo games, keno games and other types of games, which are frequently offered at casinos and other locations for use by players. Play on an EGM typically involves a player establishing a credit balance by inputting money, or another form of monetary credit, and placing a wager (from the credit balance) on one or more outcomes of an instance (or single play) of a primary or base game. In some cases, a player may qualify for a special mode of the base game, a secondary game, or a bonus round of the base game by attaining a certain winning combination or triggering event in, or related to, the base game, or after the player is randomly awarded the special mode, secondary game, or bonus round. In the special mode, secondary game, or bonus round, the player is given an opportunity to win extra game credits, game tokens or other forms of payout. In the case of "game credits" that are awarded during play, the game credits are typically added to a credit meter total on the EGM and can be provided to the player upon completion of a gaming session or when the player wants to "cash out."
A "slot" type game is often presented to a player in the form of various symbols arrayed in a row-by-column grid (matrix). Specific matching combinations of symbols along predetermined paths (or "pay lines") through the matrix indicate the outcome of the game. The display typically highlights winning combinations/outcomes for ready identification by the player. Matching combinations and their corresponding awards are usually shown in a "pay table," which is available to the player for reference. Often, the player may vary his/her wager to include differing numbers of pay lines and/or the amount bet on each line. By varying the wager, the player may sometimes alter the frequency or number of winning combinations, frequency or number of secondary games, and/or the amount awarded.
Typically, a game uses a random number generator ("RNG") to randomly determine the outcome of the game. A game is designed to return a certain percentage of the amount wagered back to a player over the course of many plays or instances of the game, which is generally referred to as return to player ("RTP"). The RTP and randomness of the RNG ensure the fairness of games and are highly regulated. For example, upon initiation of play, an RNG may randomly determine a game outcome, and symbols are selected which correspond to that outcome. Notably, some games may include an element of skill on the part of the player and are therefore not entirely random.
EGMs depend on usability to enhance the user experience and extend player time on the EGMs. Although previous EGMs include various UI features, and backend operations associated with the UI features, that improve usability and enhance the user experience, there is room for further improvement to EGMs.

Transferring target symbols between windows of electronic gaming device

Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited


A piston suspension for a reciprocating piston engine, especially a prime motor or pump with one or two pistons per cylinder, has for each piston at least three force transmissions, which each consist of connecting rod or thombus and of a crank, wherein the axes of the crankshafts are not congruent.

The present invention relates to a piston suspension for a reciprocating piston engine and to an engine incorporating the suspension.
The tilt play of a piston in a reciprocating piston engine, for example in a four-stroke reciprocating piston engine, has been known and researched for a long time. In this connection see, for example, Carl Riedel "Konstruktion und Berechnung moderner Automobile- und Kraftradmotoren", 2nd Edition, Berlin 1931, page 141, FIG. 144.
In order to balance out the forces which arise at the reciprocating piston due to the tilt play, constructional measures are necessary apart from the use of lubricant. In the case of a four-stroke reciprocating piston engine the piston moves not only upwardly and downwardly, but also laterally in the connecting rod plane. During this motion, the piston changes cylinder side, against which it presses, six times per working cycle, i.e. in two revolutions. The thus arising friction causes about 50 to 75% of the mechanical friction loss. In order to alleviate the resulting forces and the effect thereof on material, laterally offset shafts, among other things, are used in engine construction. The crankshaft does not lie exactly centrally under the piston, but is slightly laterally displaced.
Equally, it is usual to offset the piston gudgeon pins (DE-OS 2 751 932) so that the impacts when cylinder side exchange occurs are softer and the piston has a rolling action relative to the cylinder wall. By this means, the lateral forces of the piston can be alleviated. However, the remaining lateral forces must be picked up by a lubricant film to prevent the piston from scuffing the cylinder wall.
A further known measure which alleviates the lateral forces of the piston is a piston suspension by means of a crosshead, as employed in, in particular, double-acting steam engines.
Also known are constructions in which the pistons are suspended at guided rods which run in linear bearings and terminate at one end in a crosshead. These have been used for, in particular, locomotives.
In the aforementioned constructions a lubricant is present in the working chamber for the piston or in the spaces adjoining the working chamber.
All the above-described constructions in practice function only with lubricant.
A construction which has become known under the name Philips rhombic gear by R. J. MEIJER (DE-AS 1 080 351) hardly needs a lubricant in the working chamber for the piston. In order to alleviate the substantially higher friction of the rhombic gear caused by the gearwheels, the gearwheels are lubricated or greased. For the case where use requires a lubricant-free working chamber, the piston has to seal off the crankcase relative to the working chamber.
The same is also true for the connecting rod arrangement according to FICHT with crank guide (DE-OS 3 433 510). Due to the transmission by means of a connecting rod movable in only one point, the Philips rhombic gear piston suspension and the piston suspension of Ficht have only small tilt play of the piston,
Excepting the piston mounting by means of linearly guided piston rods at both piston sides, all known piston suspensions have a tilt play of the piston, caused by the movable connecting means connected at one rotational point. The piston has play relative to the cylinder wall and is able to move on the cylinder wall. This movement is mostly a rotary movement which emanates from the rotational mounting of the force-receiving component at the piston suspension. In the example with the rhombic gear, the tilt play is restricted to play in the toothing of the gearwheels, this play being multiplied by the lever effect from the point of engagement of the gearwheels up to the wedge point at the piston.
In the example with piston rods at both sides of the piston this play is restricted to the bearing play of the piston rods. However, this piston rod bearing is difficult to properly seal off from the working chamber and exhibits high friction losses.
In the case of all the aforedescribed constructions a lubrication of the piston or the piston rods is required in order to avoid scuffing.
A dry slide bearing instead of a lubricant, for example, a polyimide bearing of the kind available under the name "Vespel" from Dupont in France, has not proved itself in practice. The tilt play leads to higher wear rates, so that sealing leakages arise after a certain time.
Up to now there is thus no long-life reciprocating piston engine, operating as a motor, which can manage without lubricant In the case of dry running reciprocating piston pumps the problems are similar, the substantially lower pressures being less conducive to wear than the pressure peaks in motors.

Piston connection for a reciprocating piston engine


A semiconductor memory cell (10) having a symmetrical layout is fabricated in first and second active regions (44, 46) of a semiconductor substrate (11). A first driver transistor (16) resides in the second active region (46), and a second driver transistor (20) resides in the first active region (44). The second driver transistor (20) has a gate electrode (55) overlying a portion of the first active region (44) and is electrically coupled to the second active region (46). A thin-film load transistor (18) resides over the first active region (44), the thin-film load transistor (18) has a thin-film channel layer (23) that overlies, and is aligned with, the gate electrode (55) of the second driver transistor (20). A second portion of the thin-film channel layer (23) extends away from the first active region (44) to form a Vcc node (36). A Vcc interconnect layer (82) overlies the thin-film load transistors and the driver transistors. The Vcc interconnect layer (82) is electrically isolated from the thin-film gate electrode and electrically contacts the second portion of the thin-film channel layer (23) at Vcc node (36). A thin-film load transistor (22) having structure corresponding with thin-film load transistor (20) resides over the second active region (46).

As semiconductor devices become smaller, it becomes necessary to arrange individual components within a device such that minimal separation distances are achieved. The need to design compact component arrangements occurs most significantly in memory devices. Because of the large number of components needed to fabricate a typical dynamic-random-access-memory device (DRAM) or static-random-access-memory device (SRAM), the components must be arranged compactly if the overall device dimensions are not to become excessively large. This problem is especially critical in SRAM devices where a typical individual memory cell contains as many as six separate components.
One technique to reduce SRAM memory cell dimensions is to split the wordline over the cell. The wordline controls read and write functions to the cell by turning the access transistors on and off. By splitting the word line into two separate lines, a more symmetrical cell layout is possible. However, even with a split wordline memory cell design, a need remains to further reduce the overall cell dimensions. Although split wordline designs reduce the area of the cell, fundamental manufacturing limitations remain. Active surface regions of the cell must be made available for the interconnection leads providing supply and ground voltages to the cell. In addition, active surface area must be available for the formation of transistors providing read and write functions for the cell. However, downsizing of components can only be pursued to the limit of the line-width definition capability of the manufacturing process.
Another technique for fabricating a memory cell having a small surface area is to stack MOS transistors in a vertical arrangement. Typically, a driver transistor is formed in the substrate having source, drain, and channel regions in the substrate and a gate electrode overlying the substrate surface. Then, a load transistor is formed in a thin-film layer overlying the first transistor. By adding an additional electrical component to the device, the thin-film transistor increases the functional capacity of a device while not consuming additional surface area, or requiring further downsizing of components.
While stacking transistors in a vertical arrangement can reduce the surface area of a memory cell, valuable surface area must still be allocated for coupling electrical signals to the memory cell. The electrical signals are typically introduced by metal leads overlying the cell. As the overall area dimensions of the cell decrease, the metal leads carrying electrical signals to an from the cell must be brought closer together. Constructing a cell with stacked transistors can aggravate this problem because elaborate contact interconnections schemes are typically required in a stacked transistor memory cell. Therefore, new cell designs and process methodology must be employed if further reduction in memory cell area is to be achieved while avoiding performance degradation of the memory cell.

Semiconductor memory device having a compact symmetrical layout


The invention in some aspects relates to recombinant adeno-associated viruses useful for targeting transgenes to CNS tissue, and compositions comprising the same, and methods of use thereof. In some aspects, the invention provides methods and compositions for treating CNS-related disorders.

Gene therapy has been investigated for delivery of therapeutic genes to the CNS cells for treatment of various CNS disease, e.g., Canavan disease, ALS, Parkinson disease (PD), etc. In some limited cases, therapeutic benefits have been observed using certain viruses, e.g., recombinant adenovirus (rAd), lentivirus (LV) and adeno-associated virus (AAV) to express a variety of therapeutic genes. AAV2 has been used in clinical trials for treatment of PD and Leber congenital amaurosis (an eye disease) and preliminary findings suggest symptomatic improvements without noticeable toxicity [2-4].
However, AAV-based gene therapy to treat CNS disease has still faced major obstacle. Many CNS diseases including, for example, ALS affect both cortical and spinal motor neurons that are distributed in a very broad area in the CNS. It has frequently been the case that viral vectors injected into CNS tissue transduce cells only in the vicinity of the injection site, have a very limited spread and generally have not impacted the lifespan in CNS disease animal models [See, e.g., Ref. 5]. Still, a variety of other viral administration methods have been tested. One example, involves injecting the viral particles into skeletal muscle and allowing the nerve terminals to internalize the viral genome, which is then retrogradely transported back to the spinal motor neurons. This approach has shown some positive results in certain mouse models [68]. However, to apply this method in larger mammals, like adult humans, would be impractical. Overall, the transduction efficiency observed with muscle injection is relatively low. Some investigators have tried to improve this efficiency by modifying viral capsid proteins with the nerve binding domains of tetanus toxin or botulinum toxin. These efforts have not been fruitful due to various technical difficulties. Another problem with muscle injection in larger mammals, is a need for large doses, which is technically challenging, expensive, and carries a high risk for adverse effects, ranging from immune reaction to transduction of unintended cells (e.g., germ cells).
Another method that has been evaluated for delivering transgenes into motor neurons is to inject the virus into large nerves, which maximizes that exposure of the virus to motor axons, allowing the motor neurons to internalize the viral genome and retrogradely transport them back to the cell body. This method has been demonstrated to be more efficient in transducing motor neurons than muscle injection [9]. Still, to implement a method such as this in larger mammals would be challenging.

CNS targeting AAV vectors and methods of use thereof


A battery pack assembly includes, among other things, an enclosure providing an interior area that houses one or more battery arrays, a bracket secured relative to the enclosure, and a bracket fastener having a stem extending longitudinally from a head along a longitudinal axis of the bracket fastener. The head is enlarged radially relative to the stem. The head is captured between the bracket and a surface of the enclosure. A battery pack securing method includes, among other things, securing a bracket relative to an enclosure of a battery pack to capture a head of a bracket fastener between the bracket and a surface of an enclosure. The bracket fastener has a stem that extends longitudinally from the head of the bracket fastener.

An electrified vehicle can differ from a conventional motor vehicle because the electrified vehicle can be selectively driven using one or more electric machines. The electric machines can drive the electrified vehicle instead of, or in addition to, an internal combustion engine. Example electrified vehicles include hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), and battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
Battery arrays can power the one or more electric machines of an electrified vehicle. The battery arrays can, in some examples, power other electrical loads of the electrified vehicle. The battery arrays can be relatively high-voltage battery arrays.
The battery arrays can each include a plurality of interconnected battery cells that store energy. A battery pack can house the battery arrays within an enclosure.

Battery array attachment assembly and method


A method of compressing input characters, and decompressing compressed data to produce the original input characters is provided whereby an input substitution table and an output substitution table are formed by storing an identical set of arbitrary character tokens of a fixed length in each of the tables. Each table entry has a first and second token data field associated with it. The token data fields are representative of either a character token or substitution code token. Input characters are loaded into an input register and pairs of tokens in the input register are replaced with a substitution code token from the input substitution table. The tokens residing in the input resister are transmitted as output tokens to the decompression mechanism. The entries in the input substitution table are then updated by locating a substitution entry in the table which is not referenced by any other substitution table entry and by replacing this entry with the two most recently transmitted output tokens. Meanwhile, the transmitted output tokens are loaded into a token field of an output register. The output substitution table is updated based on the received output tokens in a manner similar to the method of updating the input substitution table. Substitution code tokens received by the output register are expanded to produce a plurality of character tokens. Character tokens are output as output characters which are identical to the original input characters.

Data compression systems encode a stream of digital data signals into compressed digital code signals and decode the compressed code signals back into the original data. Typically, a data compression system is used to encode data for its transmission to a remote location whereby the compression of the data reduces the amount of data transmitted.
Data compression algorithms may be divided into various categories, based on the techniques employed and the intended application of the algorithm. Some algorithms require that all of the input data (or a large block of data) be present for analysis prior to the compression taking place. Other algorithms can accept an input stream of uncompressed data and generate an output stream of compressed data without the need to buffer large quantities of data.
Accordingly, the latter type of compression algorithm is ideally suited to modems and other data communications applications which operate on a serial data stream.
A desirable feature of a data compression system is adaptability. A system's adaptability depends on its ability to efficiently compress input data that varies over a range of conditions. A second desirable feature is the storing of character strings. Character strings in the input data which match known character strings may be represented in the transmission of data by a single token rather than the entire string of characters.

Data compression method using textual substitution


According to one embodiment, a supercritical drying method comprises cleaning a semiconductor substrate with a chemical solution, rinsing the semiconductor substrate with pure water after the cleaning, changing a liquid covering a surface of the semiconductor substrate from the pure water to alcohol by supplying the alcohol to the surface after the rinsing, guiding the semiconductor substrate having the surface wetted with the alcohol into a chamber, discharging oxygen from the chamber by supplying an inert gas into the chamber, putting the alcohol into a supercritical state by increasing temperature in the chamber to a critical temperature of the alcohol or higher after the discharge of the oxygen, and discharging the alcohol from the chamber by lowering pressure in the chamber and changing the alcohol from the supercritical state to a gaseous state. The chamber contains SUS. An inner wall face of the chamber is subjected to electrolytic polishing.

A semiconductor device manufacturing process includes various steps such as a lithography step, a dry etching step, and an ion implantation step. After each step is finished, the following processes are carried out before the operation moves on to the next step: a cleaning process to remove impurities and residues remaining on the wafer surface and clean the wafer surface; a rinsing process to remove the chemical solution residues after the cleaning; and a drying process.
For example, in the wafer cleaning process after the etching step, a chemical solution for the cleaning process is supplied to the wafer surface. Pure water is then supplied, and the rinsing process is performed. After the rinsing process, the pure water remaining on the wafer surface is removed, and the drying process is performed to dry the wafer.
As the methods of performing the drying process, the following methods have been known: a rotary drying method by which pure water remaining on a wafer is discharged by utilizing the centrifugal force generated by rotations; and an IPA drying method by which pure water on a wafer is replaced with isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and the IPA is evaporated to dry the wafer. By those conventional drying methods, however, fine patterns formed on a wafer are brought into contact with one another at the time of drying due to the surface tension of the liquid remaining on the wafer, and as a result, a blocked state might be caused.
To solve such a problem, supercritical drying to reduce the surface tension to zero has been suggested. In the supercritical drying, after the wafer cleaning process, the liquid on the wafer is replaced with a solvent such as IPA to be replaced with a supercritical drying solvent at last. The wafer having its surface wetted with IPA is guided into a supercritical chamber. After that, carbon dioxide in a supercritical state (a supercritical CO2 fluid) is supplied into the chamber, and the IPA is replaced with the supercritical CO2 fluid. The IPA on the wafer is gradually dissolved in the supercritical CO2 fluid, and is discharged together with the supercritical CO2 fluid from the wafer. After all the IPA is discharged, the pressure in the chamber is lowered, and the supercritical CO2 fluid is phase-changed to gaseous CO2. The wafer drying is then ended.
By another known method, a supercritical CO2 fluid is not necessarily used as the drying solvent, and alcohol such as IPA serving as a substitution liquid for the rinse pure water after the cleaning with the chemical solution is put into a supercritical state. The alcohol is then evaporated and discharged, to perform drying. This technique is readily used, because alcohol is advantageously liquid at ordinary temperature and has a lower critical pressure than that of CO2. At high pressure and temperature, however, the alcohol has a decomposition reaction, and the etchant generated through the decomposition reaction performs etching on the metal material existing on the semiconductor substrate. As a result, the electrical characteristics of the semiconductor device are degraded.

Supercritical drying method and apparatus for semiconductor substrates


Disclosed herein are perovskite ferroelectric thin-film. Also disclosed are methods of controlling the properties of ferroelectric thin films. These films can be used in a variety materials and devices, such as catalysts and storage media, respectively.

One of the outstanding fundamental needs for ferroelectric thin films is developing a stable polar phase when the polarization has a component perpendicular to the film plane. Although such orientations are desired for many applications and can be obtained (e.g., by compressive epitaxial strain), the polarization change at the film boundaries creates a "depolarizing field" that should be neutralized for the polar phase to be stable. Two mechanisms appear to be available to reduce the depolarizing field energy: compensation by free charge at the boundaries or the formation of equilibrium stripe domains with oppositely oriented polarization. In both cases, the trade-off between bulk energy gain and surface energy cost leads to a suppression of the phase transition to the polar phase as films become thinner. These fundamental size effects may dramatically alter behavior in ultrathin films.

Ferroelectric ultrathin perovskite films

The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania


A process for producing a calcium phosphate reactant, according to which: in a first step, use is made of a source of calcium and a source of phosphate ions in water, in a molar ratio that is adjusted so as to obtain a Ca/P molar ratio of between 0.5 and 1.6, and the source of calcium is reacted with the phosphate ions at a pH of between 2 and 8, in order to obtain a suspension (A) of calcium phosphate, and in a second step, added to the suspension (A) are an alkaline compound comprising hydroxide ions in order to set a pH of more than 8 and an additional source of calcium in order to obtain a suspension (B) of calcium phosphate reactant having a Ca/P molar ratio of more than 1.6. A calcium phosphate reactant obtainable by such a process.

The problems posed by the impact of heavy metals in the environment are well known. Numerous industrial processes release liquid or gaseous effluents that are heavily loaded with heavy metals, in particular heavy metal soluble salts, such as cationic form salts. The expression "heavy metals" is understood to mean metals whose density is at least equal to 5 g/cm3, and also beryllium, arsenic, selenium, and antimony, in accordance with the generally accepted definition (Heavy Metals in Wastewater and Sludge Treatment Processes; Vol I, CRC Press Inc; 1987; page 2). Lead or cadmium are particularly significant examples, given their harmful effect on the human body. Nickel is another example thereof due to its allergenic effect.
It is thus useful to be able to have reactants capable of absorbing and retaining large amounts of heavy metals for treating industrial liquid effluents or wastewaters originating from treatment plants before the release thereof into the natural environment, or even the treatment of natural aquifer waters, some of which are naturally loaded with heavy metals.
Another example of a problem linked to heavy metals is the combustion of wastes, especially household waste, producing a vaporization of heavy metals, these vapours being entrained in the combustion flue gases. To avoid contaminating the environment, it is necessary to provide flue gas treatment processes capable of carrying out effective scrubbing of heavy metals. The toxic substances removed from the flue gas when it is purified are found in a residue which itself must often be treated before being valorized or discharged. Indeed such residue, which contains the heavy metals removed from the flue gas, when subjected, for example, to the action of rain that is acidic when discharged, frequently releases some of the heavy metals that it contains into the environment. This can then cause pollution of the subsoil. It is therefore essential that the heavy metals be immobilized in the residue.
FR2912396, describes a process for producing a calcium phosphate reactant, according to which a source of calcium carbonate and a source of phosphate ions in water in a weight ratio that is controlled so as to obtain a Ca/P molar ratio of between 1.4 and 1.8 are reacted, at a pH of between 5 and 10, preferably between 7 and 8, with controlled stirring in order to give rise to the appearance of a calcium phosphate gel having a viscosity of at least 200 centipoise (mPa·s). The calcium phosphate reactant obtained by such a process is in the form of particles having a high BET specific surface area of about 130 m2/g.
However, the particles of such a reactant have the drawback of being particularly fine, with weight-average diameters of less than 10 μm, which poses usage problems in sludge blanket treatment of liquid effluents since such particles are easily entrained out of the reactors even at low flow rates of the effluents in decantors, which may give rise to losses of reactants. Moreover, such particles release large amounts of phosphates during their use, which has to be avoided in order to limit the risks of eutrophication of watercourses, since phosphorus is a natural fertilizer that promotes the growth of algae.
DE10330689 discloses granules of hydroxyapatite with particle size between 1 and 5 mm. The document is silent on BET specific surface of such granules. The document discloses a method for purifying a liquid effluent comprising fluor or nickel, in which said granules are put into contact with said liquid effluent in a column, during a time sufficient so that granules adsorb at least part of fluor or nickel. Though, particle sizes of such granules are too important to be correctly used in mixed reactors or in sludge blanket decantors.

Process for producing a calcium phosphate reactant, reactant obtained and use thereof in the purification of liquid effluents


A system and method for monitoring at least one chamber of a heart (e.g., a left ventricular chamber) during delivery of extrasystolic stimulation to determine if the desired extra-systole (i.e., ventricular mechanical capture following refractory period expiration) occurs. The system includes an implantable or external cardiac stimulation device in association with a set of leads such as epicardial, endocardial, and/or coronary sinus leads equipped with motion sensor(s). The device receives and processes acceleration sensor signals to determine a signal characteristic indicative of chamber capture resulting from one or more pacing stimulus delivered closely following expiration of the refractory period. A threshold optimization method optionally evaluates capture and at least one of: runs an iterative routine to establish or re-establish chamber capture for the PESP therapy, sets a logical flag relating to chamber capture status and stores parameter(s) relating to successful chamber capture for one or more subsequent cardiac cycles.

Determination of ventricular pacing capture thresholds is important in order to ensure that a patient is receiving a desired pacing therapy or for configuring the resulting mechanical ventricular contraction to one or more sequentially delivered pacing of various amplitudes and sequences. For example, if pacing therapy delivered to either one of the ventricles fails to mechanically capture the chamber, a clinician or physician would have difficulty confirming the lack of therapeutic benefit. Or, during the delivery of electrical pulses to augment mechanical contraction using sub-threshold capture pulses or refractory period pulses, it is important to establish that such sub-threshold or refractory pulses do not by themselves result in a separate mechanical ventricular contraction, but results instead in the mechanical augmentation of the contraction initiated by the capturing pacing pulse. At least one based accelerometer is used to determine the relevant pacing parameters including the upper threshold, shortest interval(s), waveform, or timing relative to another cardiac event in order that the clinician is able to set a range of electrical pulses that does not cause separate mechanical ventricular contractions with each electrical stimulus. Additionally, a range of parameters can be determined in order to optimally augment each ventricular contraction using the minimal amount of energy. The configuration of the electrical pulses may therefore be within a specified range as required to minimize the device energy required while ensuring that the desired therapy is maintained. In either case an algorithm can be incorporated in the device and/or programmer to use a motion sensor to measure the mechanical effects of one or more ventricular pacing pulses from either the left or right ventricular chamber in order to optimize the net mechanical left ventricular effect by determining the range of parameters for electrical stimulation that results in a range of capturing electrical pacing pulse(s).
During normal cardiac function, the atria and ventricles observe consistent time-dependent relationships during the systolic (contractile) phase and the diastolic (relaxation) phase of the cardiac cycle. During cardiac dysfunction associated with pathological conditions or following cardiac-related surgical procedures, these time-dependent mechanical relationships are often altered. This alteration, when combined with the effects of weakened cardiac muscles, reduces the ability of the ventricle to generate contractile strength resulting in hemodynamic insufficiency.
Ventricular dyssynchrony following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is a problem encountered relatively often, requiring post-operative temporary pacing. Atrio-biventricular pacing has been found to improve post-operative hemodynamics following such procedures.
Cardiac pacing may be applied to one or both ventricles or multiple heart chambers, including one or both atria, to improve cardiac chamber coordination, which in turn is thought to improve cardiac output and pumping efficiency. Clinical follow-up of patients pacing therapy has shown improvements in hemodynamic measures of cardiac function, left ventricular volumes, and wall motion.
Implantable sensors for monitoring heart wall motion have been described or implemented for use in relation to the right ventricle. A sensor implanted in the heart mass for monitoring heart function by monitoring the momentum or velocity of the heart mass is generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,838 issued to Vallana et al. A catheter for insertion into the ventricle for monitoring cardiac contractility having an acceleration transducer at or proximate the catheter tip is generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,236 issued to Cunningham. Implantable leads incorporating accelerometer-based cardiac wall motion sensors are generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,777 issued to Moberg, et al. A device for sensing natural heart acceleration is generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,693,075, issued to Plicchi, et al. A system for myocardial tensiometery including a tensiometric element disposed at a location subject to bending due to cardiac contractions is generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,418 issued to Ferek-Petric et al. All of the above-cited patents are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
It is apparent from the above discussion that a need remains for providing a device and method for monitoring the mechanical effects of delivering one or more electrical pulses to the heart to ensure that a patient is in fact receiving a desired therapy.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Mechanical ventricular pacing capture detection for a post extrasystolic potentiation (PESP) pacing therapy using at least one lead-based accelerometer


An input device of an embodiment includes a ring portion (operation body) which has a substantially circular cross-section, of which an outer peripheral surface is used as an operation surface, and which is twist-operated in a cross-section circumferential direction thereof, first sensor members to detect operation position information on the operation surface, second sensor members to detect twist information when the twist operation is performed, and a controller to output the operation position information based on electric changes of the first sensor members and the twist information based on electric changes of the second sensor members, in order to control activation of an electronic device.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to an input device, for example, of which an operation surface is used as an outer peripheral surface of a ring portion of a steering device, and a control system of an in-vehicle device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, vehicles have become more intelligent, and a variety of input operations are largely performed without regard to being driven, being parked, or the like. In the related art, a plurality of switches is arranged at a position of a spoke portion (steering device pad in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-143559) of a steering device, and a selection/input operation of an electronic device is performed, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-143559 for example.
However, there is a problem in that operability is poor since operations of the switches entail movement of a finger.
On the other hand, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 62-198545, a plurality of pressure sensors is arranged in a ring portion (ring-shaped structure in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 62-198545) so as to allocate a plurality of functions, and the ring portion is pressed and a pressure is detected by the associated pressure sensor which is at the pressed position. Then, a predetermined function is activated based on a signal detected by the pressure sensor.
In the configuration of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 62-198545, there is, however, a problem of tending to cause an operation error since an input operation is made by pressing the ring portion. That is, if the ring portion is firmly grasped, there is a problem in that operation recognition is arbitrarily initiated. In addition, in order to obtain, for example, a volume control function of a car audio in the configuration of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 62-198545, there is a need to individually arrange each of the pressure sensors for turning up the volume and the pressure sensors for turning down the volume along a circumferential direction of the ring portion. Therefore, there is a problem in that it is difficult to allocate multiple input operations on the ring portion. In addition, since a steering device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 62-198545 is based on the premise that a switch portion is disposed in a spoke portion and switched on, there is a problem in that it is unable to be completed only by the operation of the ring portion and has poor operability.
In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-87566 is disclosed which disposes a capacitive sensor at an operation region of a ring portion to activate an in-vehicle device. Then, an input operation is not performed in a state in which a hand comes into contact with exclusive regions located at both sides of the operation region.
However, in the configuration of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-87566, an input operation of the in-vehicle device should be performed by picking the operation region with a finger or performing a rotation operation in an isolated state, and an operation separated from a normal driving operation. Moreover, the exclusive regions are at both sides of the operation region, and the operation should be performed so that a hand comes into no contact with the exclusive regions. Accordingly, it may be impossible to obtain good operability.

Input device and control system of in-vehicle device


The manufacturing method of high-manganese spheroidal graphite cast iron with exhibiting low magnetism, and excellent wear resistance, castability, and machinability, and having a composition which consists of, 2.5 to 4.0 wt. % of C content, 1.5 to 6.0 wt. % of Si content, 7.0 to 18.0 wt. % of Mn content, and 0.015 to 0.1 wt. % of Mg content, and when the Mn content falls within the range of 7.0 to 10.0 wt. %, consists of 10.0 wt. % or smaller of Ni content, or when the Mn content falls within the range of 10.0 to 18.0 wt. %, consists of Ni content being in the range satisfies the following formula: [Mn wt. %>Ni wt. %],                the method comprises heating the above cast iron to the temperature of 1073 to 1373K to decompose the carbides, and then quenching from 1073 to 1273K the resulting cast iron to form a metastable austenite matrix structure that contains no carbide or a reduced amount of carbides.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to production of a low-magnetic cast iron of which matrix structure principally consists of austenite by containing a proper balance of austenite-stabilizing elements, manganese (Mn) and carbon (C), in its cast iron composition. In addition, it relates to a spheroidal graphite cast iron which has quality of material with excellent wear resistance by high work hardening ability caused by containing a large amount of Mn, and with suppressed strength reduction because of existence of graphite in the matrix structure by making the shape of graphite spheroidal being the characteristic of this cast iron and dispersed in the matrix structure, and stress concentration around graphite reduced. Furthermore, it relates to a nonmagnetized and toughened spheroidal graphite cast iron by heat treatment suitable for the cast iron according to the present invention.
2. Description of the Related Art
Austenitic spheroidal graphite cast irons and high-manganese steels are non-magnetic or low magnetic, since their matrix structures are mainly austenite and the austenite is non-magnetic. Ferromagnetic materials with high magnetic permeability have problems that heat is produced, large energy loss is produced, and the material itself is heated by eddy current induced from electromagnetic induction around strong electromagnets. As structural materials for such a condition, ductile Ni-resist cast irons and austenitic stainless-steels are used.
Spheroidal graphite cast irons are materials although being a type of cast irons with very small influence on strength reduction by graphite dispersed in the matrix structure, since, just as their name says, the shape of graphite is spheroidal. In addition, they have better castability when compared with steels, and have excellent machinability for their hardness. Among austenitic spheroidal graphite cast irons, ductile Ni-resist cast irons are widely known, and are used for such as exhaust manifolds, vacuum pumps, and working machines that require thermal-stability, corrosion resistance, and small thermal expansion coefficient. Also, they are low magnetic and have excellent low-temperature toughness, since their matrix structures are austenite. However, since they comprise 12-36 weight % of Ni, their cost as structural materials for low-magnetism and low-temperature toughness is too high. In addition, a problem is left as structural materials that, since they comprise a large amount of Ni, their proof strength and tensile strength are moderate as 210-310 MPa and 370-500 MPa, respectively. As for an austenitic spheroidal graphite cast iron in which a part of Ni was substituted with Mn, it is shown in Prior Art Document, JP Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-218027 (Patent Document 1).
High-manganese steels are a kind of materials invented by an English inventor, Robert Abott Hadfield, in 1882, and most commonly comprise 1 wt. % of C and 13 wt. % of Mn. They are unique materials, since they have high strength, toughness, and high work hardening ability, only processed surface is hardened and have higher wear resistance, while not processed inner parts is soft and have high toughness. Usually, excellent quality of materials described above is realized by heat treatment. Since their matrix structure is austenite, they are non-magnetic, and they have toughness even at the liquid nitrogen temperature (77K) since austenite is stable, and their application in low-temperature environments is becoming larger. Again in recent years, they have received attention as structural materials around nuclear fusion reactors and superconductivity systems, and as structural materials for such as guide way of linear motor cars and liquefied gas storage tanks. However, high-manganese steels have very low machinability, and although their cost is lower when compared with other austenitic steels, their demand expansion is limited. Furthermore, when compared with cast irons, their melting point is higher and their castability is worse, and have problems that it is very difficult to manufacture products with complex and thin shapes.    Patent Document 1: JP Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-218027

High-manganese spheroidal graphite cast iron


According to one aspect, the present invention relates to an imaging system 100 for enhancing microscopic images of unstained cells. The imaging system 100 comprises a light source 102 for producing light 120a, a sample holder 109 for containing cells to be imaged, a condenser 104 for focussing the light 120b at a focal plane within the sample holder 109 on the cells to be imaged, a translation mechanism for moving the focal plane of the light 120b relative to the sample holder 109 and a detector system 112 configured to acquire a plurality of images at respective focal planes within the sample holder 109 and process the plurality of images to provide an enhanced processed imaged.

Microscopy as a technique for the imaging of biological cells has been in use for many hundreds of years, over which period many techniques have been developed to improve the quality of images that are obtained of such biological cells when using various microscopes.
Historically, microscopy techniques have seen an evolution from complex intricate optics-based solutions for image enhancement [1-6] towards more recent developments that apply various image processing techniques [7-9] to images obtained in order to enhance images.
However, whilst a combination of modern optics and image processing techniques has provided for improved microscopy images, there are still certain applications where conventional techniques are sub-optimal for this task.
For example, in various applications the visualisation of non-stained cells with transmitted light is considered a desirable mode of imaging. However, where the cells lack contrast with a surrounding medium, they can be difficult to image. Additionally, the use of certain conventional techniques that may be used to address this problem, such as the use of fluorescent markers [6,8], are not well-suited for various applications like high-throughput screening (HTS) microscopy assays as they require the use of chemical contrast agents that might themselves harm living cells or otherwise influence the biochemical processes that occur in those cells.

Imaging system and method for enhancing microscopic images of unstained cells


The system according to the invention comprises a plurality of sensors (10), (20) arranged to measure an ambient condition of a person. A movement of the person is being detected by the movement sensor (20) included in the system. The system further comprises interpretation means (110) arranged for interpreting a plurality of first output signals (100) and a second output signal (200). The plurality of first output signals (100) is provided by the ambient sensors (10) and the second output signal (200) is provided by the movement sensor (20). The interpretation means (110) are further arranged to determine an activity of daily living of said person. The interpretation means may provide an alarm signal (120) indicating that the person may need direct assistance and a warning signal (130) indicating a potential deteriorating health condition of the person.

Current demographics show a rise in the number of seniors. There is further a trend that these seniors want to stay living independently in their own home. For their children this can become a worry, and especially when children do not live close to their parents it is difficult for them to monitor their wellbeing. There is therefore a need for a system that assists these remote living children to monitor the well being of their parents while maintaining the privacy of said parents.
US20070069900A1 discloses a system and method for monitoring one or more humans while maintaining the privacy of those individuals. The system includes one or more activity pickups that create one or more information outputs. A computer system monitors one or more of the information outputs and processes the information outputs to determine when one or more types of inactivity of the human in an area exceeds one or more threshold of inactivity. Alarms and/or indications activate when one or more of the thresholds of inactivity is exceeded. Various types of thresholds of inactivity are disclosed.
A disadvantage is that the information provided by the system is limited to potential hazardous situations that are characterized by an amount of a type of inactivity that has been taken place over time.

System and method for detecting activities of daily living of a person


A step-up/step-down DC-DC converter includes a control section to compare an output value from voltage decrease or increase sections and a preset target value. A computation circuit provides a voltage value resulting from subtracting a difference between the voltage value of the comparison result and a first preset voltage value from a first voltage value. A drive pulse generation section generates a drive pulse for turning on and off a voltage decrease switch and a voltage increase switch in response to the result of a comparison between the computation output voltage and a ramp wave. When the voltage value of the computation output voltage exists between the first voltage value and the second voltage value, the drive pulse generation section provides control to selectively switch the on and off operation of the voltage decrease switch and the on and off operation of the voltage increase switch.

Previously, as a DC-DC converter, for example, of an electronic device, a DC-DC converter of a chopper type that can hold output voltage in a constant range if input voltage fluctuates has been used.
As an example of this kind of DC-DC converter, the following has been proposed: A step-down copper transistor and a step-up chopper transistor are connected though a common choke coil. When the input voltage is higher than the output voltage, the step-up chopper transistor is turned off, and on/off control of the step-down chopper transistor is performed for decreasing the input voltage. When the input voltage is lower than the output voltage, the step-up chopper transistor is turned on, and on/off control of the step-down chopper transistor is performed for increasing the input voltage. (See, e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. 18970/1987.)
In this DC-DC converter, a DC-DC converter of the step-down chopper type and a DC-DC converter of the step-up chopper type are implemented as the same circuit.
In the example described above, the step-down chopper transistor and the step-up chopper transistor are selectively operated in response to the input voltage. However, when the voltage decrease and voltage increase are switched, the operation of the step-down chopper transistor and the operation of the step-up chopper transistor are not switched smoothly and thus it is difficult to hold the output voltage constant.
A delay occurs during switching in the transistors used as a step-down chopper transistor and a step-up chopper transistor. Therefore, when the step-down chopper transistor and the step-up chopper transistor are operated selectively in response to the input voltage at the switching time of the voltage decrease and voltage increase, the step-down chopper transistor may remain on and the step-up chopper transistor may maintain off. Thus, it is difficult to hold constant the output voltage relative to fluctuation of the input voltage during switching of a voltage decrease and voltage increase.

Step-up/step-down DC-DC converter and vehicle lighting appliance


An alignment film or a phase difference device with small shift from a desired alignment direction and a display unit including the same are provided. The alignment film includes: a substrate having a plurality of grooves extending in a specific direction on a surface; and a non-alignment thin film formed along a surface of the plurality of grooves. The phase difference device includes: an alignment film that has a substrate having a plurality of grooves extending in a specific direction on a surface and a non-alignment thin film formed along a surface of the plurality of grooves; and a phase difference layer that is provided being contacted with a surface of the non-alignment thin film, and includes a liquid crystal material that is aligned along an extending direction of a dent formed by the non-alignment thin film and is polymerized.

The present application relates to an alignment film for controlling alignment and a method of manufacturing the same. The present application further relates to a phase difference device including an alignment film for controlling alignment and a method of manufacturing the same. The present application furthermore relates to a display unit including the foregoing phase difference device.
In the past, as a stereoscopic image display unit using polarized glasses, three has been a display unit in which polarization state of outputted light of a left-eye pixel is different from polarization state of outputted light of a right-eye pixel. In such a display unit, in a state that a viewer wears the polarized glasses, outputted light from the left-eye pixel enters only the left eye, and outputted light from the right-eye pixel enters only the right eye, and thereby a stereoscopic image is able to be observed.
For example, in Japanese Patent No. 3360787, a phase difference device is used for outputting light so that polarization state of outputted light of a left-eye pixel is different from polarization state of outputted light of a right-eye pixel. In the phase difference device, a phase difference region having a slow axis or a phase advance axis in one direction is provided correspondingly to the left-eye pixel, and a phase difference region having a slow axis or a phase advance axis in a direction different from that of the former phase difference region is provided correspondingly to the right-eye pixel.

Alignment film and method of manufacturing the same, phase difference device and method of manufacturing the same, and display unit


A driving circuit for a liquid crystal display, the driving circuit being an integrated circuit having electrode pads disposed on a surface of the integrated circuit, bumps formed on the electrode pads, a conductive adhesive layer formed on the bumps and conductive particles having an outer conductive layer and an elastic polymer inner portion deposited on the conductive adhesive layer. The driving circuit is mounted on a TFT array substrate and bonded to pads provided on the substrate. The conductive particles reduce electrical connection resistance that would otherwise arise due to height differences between bumps in a plurality of bumps, and prevents electrical open defects and an electrical short defects.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving circuit for a liquid crystal display (LCD) device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a driving circuit for an LCD device, a method of manufacturing the driving circuit and a display device having the driving circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (LCD) device has advantageous characteristics such as reduced thickness, light weight, low power consumption, and has good resolution, color reproducibility, and display quality. Thus, the LCD device, which is a type of flat panel display device, is being widely used and intensively researched.
The LCD device typically includes an LCD panel having a thin-film transistor (TFT) array substrate, a color filter substrate, a liquid crystal layer located between the TFT array substrate and the color filter substrate, a backlight assembly disposed under the LCD panel to serve as a light source, and a driving circuit part disposed at a peripheral portion of the LCD panel to drive the LCD panel. The LCD panel includes two glass substrates (the TFT array substrate and the color filter substrate mentioned above), a plurality of pixels disposed between the two glass substrates and arranged in a matrix shape on the thin-film transistor (TFT) array substrate and for each pixel a switching element such as a TFT for controlling signals provided to the pixel.
The driving circuit part includes a printed circuit board (PCB) on which parts for generating various signals such as a control signal, a clock signal, and a data signal, are mounted. A driving circuit that is an LCD driver integrated circuit (IC) (LDI) is connected to the LCD panel and the PCB to apply a signal to wirings formed on the LCD panel. The LCD driver integrated circuit includes a set of bonding pads with each bonding pad including a metal bump. The surface to which the driver integrated circuit is to be mounted is provided with a matching set of pads. The driver integrated circuit is mounted on the surface by bonding the set of bonding pads to the matching set of pads.
Examples of LDI mounting methods include chip-on-glass (COG), tape carrier package (TCP), and chip-on-film (COF). The LDI mounting methods require fine pad pitch bonding, an easy bonding process and high reliability, especially with the increasing complexity of an LDI chip arising from, for example increases in the number of pixels and high resolution. Thus, a method of forming a bump and a method of fine pad pitch bonding are key technologies.
When a conventional driving circuit is mounted on an LCD panel by using an anisotropic conductive film (ACF), the driving circuit and the LCD panel are electrically connected to each other through the conventional ACF. The AFC comprises electrically conductive particles dispersed in a non-conductive film. In the connection through the conventional ACF, the ACF is adhered to the glass TFT array substrate and the driver IC is bonded to the ACF. Thereafter, in a final bonding process, a plurality of conductive particles flows in the ACF and some of the conductive particles are captured between the bumps and the pads on the TFT array substrate, thereby electrically connecting the driving circuit to the pads and to wiring on the TFT array substrate. However, only about 10 to 30 percent of an original amount of the conductive particles are captured in the manner described, and thus much of the conductive particles are wasted. In addition, as the area of the bumps is made smaller, the number of conductive particles trapped between the bumps and the pads becomes smaller and thereby increases the resistance of the electrical connections between the bumps and the pads.
The pitch of a COG chip becomes finer as an LCD device becomes smaller, lighter and thinner, and the pitch of an outer lead bonding (OLB) or a film-on-glass (FOG) bonding also becomes finer.
When an interval between bumps of a COG chip is less than or equal to about 15 μm, an agglomeration of the conductive particles may extend from one bump to an adjacent bump, thus forming an electrical connection between the bumps to cause an electrical short defect. As noted above, as the area of the bumps decreases the number of conductive particles trapped between a pad and a bump decreases. Indeed, the number of captured conductive particles may be zero, the lack of the conductive particles causing an electrical open defect after the COG bonding.
The above-mentioned defects may be found during manufacture of an LCD or they may be found by end users of a LCD device after some time has elapsed. Thus, yield and reliability may be degraded.

Driving circuit for a liquid crystal display device, method of manufacturing the same and display device having the same


The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for editing a video. The method may include obtaining a video document including audio information. The method may also include processing the audio information to identify at least one desired audio segment of the audio information that has at least one desired acoustic feature representation. Further, the method may include editing the video document to generate a video abstraction at least based on the identified at least one desired audio segment of the audio information.

A time span of a video is usually several minutes, tens of minutes, or longer. It may be time-consuming for a user to review the entire video to know the content of the video. To solve the issue, a video abstraction of the video can be generated for conveniently showing the content of the video. As used herein, the video abstraction includes a portion of the content of the video that the user is interested in. Normally, the video may include audio data and visual data. A current platform usually uses the visual data to generate the video abstraction based on an image analysis technique. Since the capacity of the visual data is relatively massive, the computation load can be large, and the time for generating the video abstraction can be relatively long. Instead, the capacity of the audio data can be much smaller than the visual data, and the audio data can also represent the content of the video. Thus, it is desirable to generate the video abstraction mainly based on the audio data, thereby reducing the computation load and/or the time for generating the video abstraction.