A method and apparatus are provided for humidifying fuel, and optionally oxidant, supplied to a fuel cell system, which can be a single fuel cell or a multiplicity of fuel cells. A catalytic reactor is provided, which is supplied with a portion of the fuel and the oxidant. The fuel is supplied in excess of the oxidant to the catalytic reactor, so as to generate a stream of fuel which is both heated and humidified. For a closed system, a heated and humidified fuel flow, and optionally a heated and humidified oxidant flow, are mixed with additional flows of these gases supplied to the fuel cell.

This invention relates to electrochemical fuel cells, more particularly electrochemical fuel cells which employ hydrogen as a fuel and receive an oxidant to convert the hydrogen to electricity and heat. This invention is even more particularly concerned with the humidification requirements of such an electrochemical fuel cell employing a proton exchange membrane.
Generally, a fuel cell is a device which converts the energy of a chemical reaction into electricity. It differs from a battery in that the fuel cell can generate power as long as the fuel and oxidant are supplied.
A fuel cell produces an electromotive force by bringing the fuel and oxidant into contact with two suitable electrodes and an electrolyte. A fuel, such as hydrogen gas, for example, is introduced at a first electrode where it reacts electrochemically in the presence of the electrolyte and catalyst to produce electrons and cations in the first electrode. The electrons are circulated from the first electrode to a second electrode through an electrical circuit connected between the electrodes. Cations pass through the electrolyte to the second electrode. Simultaneously, an oxidant, typically air, oxygen enriched air or oxygen, is introduced to the second electrode where the oxidant reacts electrochemically in presence of the electrolyte and catalyst, producing anions and consuming the electrons circulated through the electrical circuit; the cations are consumed at the second electrode. The anions formed at the second electrode or cathode react with the cations to form a reaction product, such as water. The first electrode or anode may alternatively be referred to as a fuel or oxidizing electrode, and the second electrode may alternatively be referred to as an oxidant or reducing electrode. The half-cell reactions at the two electrodes are as follows:
First Electrode: H2xe2x86x922H++2exe2x88x92
Second Electrode: xc2xdO2+2H++2exe2x88x92xe2x86x92H2O
The external electrical circuit withdraws electrical current and thus receives electrical power from the cell. The overall fuel cell reaction produces electrical energy which is the sum of the separate half-cell reactions written above. Water and heat are typical by-products of the reaction.
In practice, fuel cells are not operated as single units. Rather, fuel cells are connected in series, stacked one on top of the other, or placed side by side. A series of fuel cells, referred to as fuel cell stack, is normally enclosed in a housing. The fuel and oxidant are directed through manifolds to the electrodes, while cooling is provided either by the reactants or by a cooling medium. Also within the stack are current collectors, cell-to-cell seals and insulation, with required piping and instrumentation provided externally to the fuel cell stack. The stack, housing, and associated hardware make up the fuel cell module.
Fuel cells may be classified by the type of electrolyte, which is either liquid or solid. The present invention is primarily concerned with fuel cells using a solid electrolyte, such as a proton exchange membrane (PEM). The PEM has to be kept moist with water because the available membranes will not operate efficiently when dry. Consequently, the membrane requires constant humidification during the operation of the fuel cell, normally by adding water to the reactant gases, usually hydrogen and air.
The proton exchange membrane used in a solid polymer fuel cell acts as the electrolyte as well as a barrier for preventing the mixing of the reactant gases. An example of a suitable membrane is a copolymeric perfluorocarbon material containing basic units of a fluorinated carbon chain and sulphonic acid groups. There may be variations in the molecular configurations of this membrane. Excellent performances are obtained using these membranes if the fuel cells are operated under fully hydrated, essentially water-saturated conditions. As such, the membrane must be continuously humidified, but at the same time the membrane must not be over humidified or flooded as this degrades performances. Furthermore, the temperature of the fuel cell stack must be kept above freezing in order to prevent freezing of the stack.
Cooling, humidification and pressurization requirements increase the cost and complexity of the fuel cell, reducing its commercial appeal as an alternative energy supply in many applications. Accordingly, advances in fuel cell research are enabling fuel cells to operate without reactant conditioning, and under air-breathing, atmospheric conditions while maintaining usable power output.
The current state-of-the-art in fuel cells, although increasingly focusing on simplified air-breathing, atmospheric designs, has not adequately addressed operations in sub-zero temperatures, which requires further complexity in the design. For instance, heat exchangers and thermal insulation are required, as are additional control protocols for startup, shut-down, and reactant humidifiers.
Where a solid polymer proton exchange membrane (PEM) is employed, this is generally disposed between two electrodes formed of porous, electrically conductive material. The electrodes are generally impregnated or coated with a hydrophobic polymer such as polytetrafluoroethylene. A catalyst is provided at each membrane/electrode interface, to catalyze the desired electrochemical reaction, with a finely divided catalyst typically being employed. The membrane/electrode assembly is mounted between two electrically conductive plates, each which has at least one fluid flow passage formed therein. The fluid flow conductive fuel plates are typically formed of graphite. The flow passages direct the fuel and oxidant to the respective electrodes, namely the anode on the fuel side and the cathode on the oxidant side. The electrodes are electrically connected in an electric circuit, to provide a path for conducting electrons between the electrodes. In a manner that is conventional, electrical switching equipment and the like can be provided in the electric circuit as in any conventional electric circuit. The fuel commonly used for such fuel cells is hydrogen, or hydrogen rich reformate from other fuels (xe2x80x9creformatexe2x80x9d refers to a fuel derived by reforming a hydrocarbon fuel into a gaseous fuel comprising hydrogen and other gases). The oxidant on the cathode side can be provided from a variety of sources. For some applications, it is desirable to provide pure oxygen, in order to make a more compact fuel cell, reduce the size of flow passages, etc. However, it is common to provide air as the oxidant, as this is readily available and does not require any separate or bottled gas supply. Moreover, where space limitations are not an issue, e.g. stationary applications and the like, it is convenient to provide air at atmospheric pressure. In such cases, it is common to simply provide channels through the stack of fuel cells to allow for flow of air as the oxidant, thereby greatly simplifying the overall structure of the fuel cell assembly. Rather than having to provide a separate circuit for oxidant, the fuel cell stack can be arranged simply to provide a vent, and possibly some fan or the like to enhance air flow.
Catalytic burners are also known and operate on a principle similar to fuel cells, but at an accelerated kinetic rate and increased temperature. A fuel, for example hydrogen, is oxidized through direct contact with oxygen or air at a rate induced by the presence of a catalytic bed, for example, ceramic beads containing small amounts of platinum on the surface.
The by-product of the chemical reaction is similar to that of a fuel cell, but without any generation of electricity:
O2+2H2xe2x86x922H2O+HEAT
The higher consumption rate of the reactants and concomitant heat release reflects the fact that the reaction occurs through direct contact rather than through a proton/electron transaction. Catalytic burning is flameless, and occurs at a temperature between that of a fuel cell""s xe2x80x9ccold combustionxe2x80x9d and that of an open-flame combustion. Flow rate can be pulsed or modulated to achieve varying heat and moisture profiles. Hydrogen catalytic burning requires no pilot flame or spark to be initiated.
An example of a proposal for a catalytic burner is found in an article entitled xe2x80x9cCatalytic Combustion of Hydrogen in a Diffusive Burnerxe2x80x9d by K. Stephen and B. Dahm at pages 1483-1492 of Catalytic Combustion of Hydrogen in a Diffusive Burner.
In the prior art, humidification through membrane stack provided humidification only, without imparting significant temperature shift. In the present invention, both humidification and temperature are imparted to the stream prior to admission to the stack.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tubular reactor, for catalyzing reaction of hydrogen and a gaseous oxidant, the tubular reactor comprising:
an elongated housing, a catalyst formed from a material adapted to promote catalytic combustion of the fuel and the oxidant, being formed into an elongated body substantially filling the elongate housing and being porous, a first inlet for a gaseous fuel and a second inlet for a gaseous oxidant, both first and second inlets being provided at one end of the elongated housing;
and an outlet at the other end of the housing, whereby, in use, the catalyst promotes combustion between the fuel and the oxidant to generate heat and moisture, whereby a heated and humidified gas flow exits through the outlet.
Preferably, the housing and the body of the catalyst are both generally cylindrical and have length substantially longer than the diameter than the tubular reactor.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fuel cell system comprising at least one fuel cell, each fuel cell comprising:
an inlet for a fuel;
an anode having a catalyst associated therewith for producing cations from the fuel;
a fuel manifold, connected between the inlet and the anode, for distributing fuel to the anode;
an oxidant inlet means for supplying oxidant;
a cathode having a catalyst associated therewith and connected to the oxidant inlet means, for producing anions from the oxidant, said anions reacting with said cations to form water on said cathode;
an ion exchange membrane deposed between said anode and said cathode, said membrane facilitating migration of cations from said anode to said cathode, while isolating the fuel and the oxidant from one another;
a catalytic reactor having a first inlet for fuel and a second inlet for an oxidant, and an outlet for heated and humidified gas, the catalytic reactor being mounted to supply the heated and humidified gas to the fuel cell.
Preferably, the fuel cell system comprises a plurality of fuel cells, forming a fuel cell stack.
The stack can comprise an air-breathing stack, including a plurality of channels extending through the fuel cell stack for permitting free flow of ambient air as the oxidant through the fuel cell stack, there being at least one channel for each fuel cell, wherein the catalytic reactor is mounted below the fuel cell stack. The catalytic converter is configured to receive air as an oxidant through the second inlet thereof in excess of the stoichiometric quantity of air required for combustion of fuel within the catalytic reactor, whereby heated and humidified air is discharged from the outlet of the catalytic reactor. The outlet of the catalytic reactor is mounted below the channels of the fuel cell stack, whereby heated and moistened air flows upwardly through the channels of the fuel cell stack from the catalytic reactor.
The catalytic reactor can be either generally tubular or it can be disk-shaped, configured for flow of fuel and oxidant generally along the central axis of the reactor.
A further aspect of the present invention provides a method of operating a fuel cell system comprising a plurality of fuel cells, each fuel cell comprising an inlet for fuel, an anode having a catalyst associated therewith for producing cations from fuel, a fuel manifold connected between the inlet and the anode for distributing fuel to the anode, an oxidant inlet means for supplying oxidant, a cathode having a catalyst associated therewith and connected to the oxidant inlet means for producing anions from the oxidant, said anions reacting with said cations to form water on said cathode and an ion exchange membrane disposed between the anode and the cathode, for facilitating migration of cations from the anode to the cathode, while isolating the fuel and oxidant from one another, the method comprising
(a) supplying oxidant and fuel to the fuel cell for reaction to generate electrical power and heat;
(b) supplying fuel to the catalytic reactor and oxidant to the catalytic reactor, in an amount greater than the stoichiometric amount required for the combustion of the fuel, to ensure complete combustion of the fuel, thereby generating a flow of heated and humidified oxidant;
(c) supplying the heated and humidified oxidant to the fuel cell, for reaction with the fuel to generate electricity and heat.
For initial start-up below a preset temperature, the method can comprise initially supplying fuel and oxidant only to the catalytic reactor to generate a flow of heated and moistened oxidant, and passing the heated and moistened oxidant through the fuel cell to preheat the fuel cell, and commencing supply of fuel to the fuel cell, once the fuel cell reaches a desired temperature. Then, after start-up and after the fuel cell has reached the desired temperature, a sufficient quantity of the oxidant and the fuel are supplied to the reactor, to maintain the oxidant supplied to the fuel cell system at a desired humidity level.
Yet another aspect of the present invention provides a method of operating a fuel cell system comprising a plurality of fuel cells, each fuel cell comprising an inlet for fuel, an anode having a catalyst associated therewith for producing cations from fuel, a fuel manifold connected between the inlet and the anode for distributing fuel to the anode, an oxidant inlet means for supplying oxidant, a cathode having a catalyst associated therewith and connected to the oxidant inlet means, for producing anions from the oxidant, said anions reacting with said cations to form water on said cathode and an ion exchange membrane disposed between the anode and the cathode, for facilitating migration of cations from the anode to the cathode, while isolating the fuel and the oxidant from one another, the method comprising:
(a) supplying oxidant and fuel to the fuel cells for reaction to generate electrical power and heat;
(b) supplying fuel to the catalytic reactor and oxidant to the catalytic reactor, in an amount less than the stoichiometric amount required for combustion of fuel, to ensure complete consumption of the oxidant, thereby generating a flow of heated and humidified fuel;
(c) supplying the heated and humidified fuel to the fuel cell, for reaction with oxidant known to generate electricity and heat.
This aspect of the method can include:
(a) providing a second catalytic reactor;
(b) supplying the second reactor with fuel and oxidant in an amount greater than the stoichiometric amount required for combustion of fuel, thereby generating a flow of heated and humidified oxidants; supplying the heated and humidified oxidant to the oxidant inlet means of the fuel cell, for reaction with a heated and humidified fuel to generate electricity and heat. In the prior art, humidification through membrane stacks provided humidification only, without imparting a significant temperature shift. In this invention, both humidity and temperature are imparted to the stream prior to admission to the stack.

Catalytic humidifier and heater for the fuel stream of a fuel cell


The present invention offers compounds or their salts expressed by formula (I)

Heretofore, numerous pest control agents such as insecticides and acaricides have been used, but many cannot necessarily be considered as satisfactory control agents, because their efficacy has been insufficient, or because their use has been limited due to drug resistance problems, or because they have caused harmful effects or contamination in plants, or have been strongly toxic with respect to humans, animals, fish, and the like. Accordingly, there has been a need for development of chemical agents that can be safely used with few of the pertinent drawbacks.
As a compound with a skeleton that resembles the compounds of the present invention, the following compound is recorded in Patent Document 1.
(In the formula, W indicates oxygen atom or sulfur atom; A1, A2, and A3 are respectively independent, and indicate carbon atom or nitrogen atom; X indicates a halogen atom or the like; Y indicates a halogen atom or the like; n indicates any integer from 0 to 4; R1 and R2 are respectively independent, and indicate hydrogen atom, a C1-12 alkyl group, or the like; R3 indicates a halogen atom or the like; and G indicates a phenyl group or the like.)
The following compound is recorded in Patent Document 2.
(In the formula, L indicates —C(Ra)(Rb)—, —N(Rc)—, or the like; A1, A2, and A3 are respectively independent, and indicate carbon atom or nitrogen atom; X indicates a halogen atom or the like; Y indicates a halogen atom or the like; n indicates any integer from 0 to 4; R1 indicates hydrogen atom, —CHO or the like; R2 indicates hydrogen atom, a C1-12 alkyl group, or the like; R3 indicates a halogen atom or the like; and G indicates a phenyl group or the like.)
However, the compounds of the present invention are not recorded in the foregoing literature.

Nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound and pest control agent

Abstract: (in the formula, X indicates an alkyl group, or the like; Y indicates an alkyl group; Z indicates a respectively independent nitro group, or the like; n indicates any integer from 0 to 3; A indicates carbon atom, or the like, and hydrogen atom is bonded thereto in the case where the carbon atom is not substituted with Z; D indicates oxygen atom, or the like; W indicates hydrogen atom, or the like; R1 and R2 indicate respectively independent hydrogen atoms, or the like; R1 and R2 may be bonded, and may form a heterocycle together with the nitrogen atom between R1 and R2).


A method for oxidizing a combustible material. The method includes introducing a volume of the combustible material into a plasma zone of a gliding electric arc oxidation system. The method also includes introducing a volume of oxidizer into the plasma zone of the gliding electric arc oxidation system. The volume of oxidizer includes a stoichiometrically excessive amount of oxygen. The method also includes generating an electrical discharge between electrodes within the plasma zone of the gliding electric arc oxidation system to oxidize the combustible material.

The use of a safe, complete, and environmentally benign process is useful in the disposal of chemical weapons (CW) stockpile. The conventional method of disposal uses incineration technology. However, conventional incineration technology faces legal, social, and political obstacles.
The conventional incineration process produces a large volume of off gas, which is further treated with pollution abatement equipment such as a quench tower, a scrubber, a demister, and a baghouse for particulate removal. Hence, incineration plants are not suitable for mobile units. Additionally, incineration plants are typically housed in a building such as a facility relatively close to the stockpile, creating inherent risks for personnel who work at the facility. Alternatively, dangerous stockpile chemicals are transported from the stockpile to the incineration facility, creating risks related to potential transportation accidents.
As a result of the incineration process, harmful dioxins are produced due to poor mixing and short residence time at the operating temperature, as well as prolonged exposure at temperatures that favor the formation of dioxins. The production of dioxins presents a major environmental challenge.
Neutralization is an alternative technology for the destruction of toxic chemicals. However, the neutralization process has been abandoned by the U.S. Army due to its complexity, more problematic waste produced by the process, cost, and analytical problems in certifying the treated waste as agent-free.
Conventional plasma arc technology has also been evaluated for the destruction of such waste. Using conventional plasma arc technology, waste is atomized in a high temperature (e.g., 5,000° C. to 15,000° C.) pyrolysis chamber. The resulting gases are scrubbed and combusted with air. While this process is amenable to a transportable unit, the primary limitation is the high temperature requires high power input and forms undesirable products, as explained above.

Method of oxidation utilizing a gliding electric arc


An apparatus for denecking a bird according to this invention has a generally U-shaped die having a forwardly open notch in which a bird neck is positioned, a punch complementary to the notch and engageable therethrough, and a ram or the like for pushing the punch through the notch and thereby cutting off the neck positioned in the notch. The die is generally flat and has a pair of arms defining the notch and the notch has a base lying between the arms and the arms extend downward at an acute angle to the horizontal from the base. The bird is held supine during denecking fixedly relative to a stationary support and a carriage is provided that carries the die, the punch, and ram that moves this punch. This carriage is displaceable horizontally on the support forward away and backward toward the bird. When pressed backward against the bird it presses the die backward against the bird at a base of the neck thereof. A controller is provided for detecting the pressure with which the die is engaging the bird and for triggering operation of the system when the pressure exceeds a predetermined limit. Thus the carriage is pushed against the bird and the punch is automatically advanced when the pressure sensor detects that the die is pressed with sufficient force against the bird to ensure a perfectly positioned cut.

In the preparation of a large bird, in particular a turkey, for sale it is standard to cut the bird up after slaughter into several pieces. With a turkey it is standard to clean the bird by removing the viscera and then rinsing the animal. Then the animal is hung from a conveyor chain which moves it through a plurality of stations at which pieces are cut off it, it is deboned, and so on. Clearly this process requires a substantial amount of manual work and has the considerable disadvantage that the quality of the end product depends directly on the abilities of the people doing the various steps. Furthermore a normally significant amount of meat is left hanging on the carcass or lodged in cavities thereof. One of the standard operations is the removal of the neck from the bird, as this piece has relatively little meat and is normally applied only to the lowest uses. Thus this neck is cut off in a first stage at a location as low as possible on the animal, that is at the joint of the wings and the coracoids. This leaves the carcass frequently with a neck stub which reduces the value of the bird.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,692 describes an apparatus which holds a gutted animal body, typically a bird, to move it through the various stations in a meat-packing plant. The body is held in a fairly stable position so that removal of wings and legs and stripping of meat is much easier than in the prior-art system in which the bird is suspended by its head or neck. Since the neck is not used in this apparatus it is advantageous to remove it as the first step in processing the cleaned and gutted body.

Union Financiere pour le Developpement de l'Economie Cerealiere* *Unigrains

Union Financiere Pour le Developpement de l'Economie Cerealiere* *Unigrains


A protective wiring device disposed in an electrical distribution system, the device comprising: a plurality of line terminals comprising a line-side phase terminal and a line-side neutral terminal; a plurality of load terminals comprising a load-side phase terminal and a load-side neutral terminal; a line conductor electrically coupling the line-side phase terminal to the load-side phase terminal; a neutral conductor electrically coupling the line-side neutral terminal to the load-side neutral terminal; a controller configured to transmit wirelessly data derived from signals present on at least one of the line conductor or the neutral conductor and to receive wirelessly receive at least one command.

At present, internet of things (IoT) products operate under a plethora of standards and brands that make interconnectability between IoT devices of disparate standards and brands nearly impossible. Wi-Fi systems are not capable of operating with certain mesh-based or hub systems. A user beginning with a Wi-Fi-based IoT system will be unable to port his system over to a mesh-based system, nor will the Wi-Fi-based system work with any mesh-based products in added in the future. This means that a user beginning with one system standard cannot then switch to another system without losing the investment in the first system, or be forced to use two separate applications to control the IoT devices.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for mobility between and within connected systems, permitting a user to start with one type of network-connected product (e.g., Wi-Fi connected product) and add in another type of network-connected product (e.g., Thread-based product). Indeed, there exists a need in the art for a method for permitting disparate systems to work together beyond basic functionalities (e.g., on/off).
As many devices are becoming wirelessly connected, the capabilities of such connected devices increase. However, wiring devices that are similarly wirelessly connected have not yet broken into the market. There exists, therefore, a need in the art for smart connected wiring devices that can send, wirelessly, analytics to a user and receive from the user commands.


A spectacle lens has a colored mark, a colored graphics image with a predeterminable color and brightness impression. The spectacle lens includes a lens body having a light-refracting effect and having a surface with an interference layer system arranged on the surface.

Methods for making visible structures on or in transparent articles with the aid of a plurality of engraving points arranged alongside one another are known in a multiplicity of modifications from the prior art.
DE 4141869 B4 describes the treatment of surfaces of glass bodies using a laser. The introductory part of the description of WO 03/049952 A2 refers to the fact that it is known to apply trademarks or the like on the surface of transparent articles. In this case, the trademarks can be applied using a laser that produces a depression in the manner of an engraving. Furthermore, it is said to be known to accommodate further, in particular machine-readable, information in a "hidden" manner in the trademarks or the like. However, such marks engraved on the surface and having "hidden" information had the disadvantage that, particularly if further layers such as, for example, hard layers or antireflective layers having an almost identical refractive index—as is customary in the case of spectacle lenses—were applied to the surface, the marks can be registered by machine only inadequately, since the depressions could practically no longer be recognized as a result of the filling with the layer material.
WO 03/049952 A2 therefore recommends, similarly to DE 4407547 A1 introducing a trademark into a spectacle lens. According to WO 03/049952 A2, the mark is intended to be situated in a range of approximately 0.1 mm to 1 mm below the surface of the spectacle lens. The publication furthermore reveals that the trademark contains additional information for identifying the spectacle lens in the form of a multiplicity of tiny information elements that together form at least parts of the trademark. The information elements could also comprise spatially extended laser engraving dots. It is indicated that individual dots having a dot diameter of 5 to 10 micrometers could be produced without any problems. Furthermore, the document indicates that the information elements could have different color levels for coding information. These color codings should be concealed from the eye of the observer. It is not indicated how the different colors of the color coding can be produced.
A method for introducing at least one internal engraving into a flat body and an apparatus for carrying out the method are also described in EP 1138516 A2.
DE 102007004524 A1, which the invention takes as a departure point, discloses a method for producing an externally visible planar mark, which appears in a manner shimmering in different colors upon irradiation with visible light at different viewing angles, on the surface or within a transparent article, such as, for example, a spectacle lens. The colored shimmering appearance of the mark is achieved by means of a suitable choice of the spacings of a multiplicity of neighboring engraving dots and is attributable to diffraction phenomena at the diffraction grating formed by the regular arrangement of the engraving dots. The engraving dots may have been produced with the aid of a laser. One preferred variant consists in introducing the engraving dots into a coating situated on the surface. This can be, for example, an antireflection coating or an antistick coating having thicknesses of less than one micrometer.
The color impression and the brightness impression of the planar mark are not defined in a predetermined manner in the case of the method described in DE 102007004524 A1.

Spectacle lens and method and apparatus for making the same


In order to remove blocking artifacts from a frame which has been coded by blocks and then decoded, a certain number of pixels (n) is selected for examination from both sides of the block boundary (30). The number of pixels selected for examination depends on the image content of the frame in the environment of the block boundary, particularly on the difference of the pixel values across the block boundary (30) and the size of the quantization step of the transformation coefficients used in the transformation coding of the blocks.

The invention relates to the processing of a digital video image in general. In particular, the invention relates to removing image errors caused by block boundaries in connection with the decoding of a coded video image.
An arrangement like the one shown in FIG. 1 is generally used for transferring a digital video image in compressed form. The video image is formed of sequential frames. The current frame comes to the transmission system 10 as input data In(x,y). In the differential summer 11 it is transformed into a differential frame En(x,y) by subtracting from it a prediction frame Pn(x,y) formed on the basis of previous images. The differential frame is coded in block 12 in the manner described hereinafter, and the coded differential frame is directed to the multiplexer 13. For forming a new prediction frame, the coded differential frame is also directed to the decoder 14, which produces a decoded differential frame Ên(x,y) which is summed in the summer 15 with the prediction frame Pn(x,y), resulting in a decoded frame În(x,y). It is saved in the frame memory 16. For coding the next frame, the frame saved in the frame memory is read as a reference frame Rn(x,y) and in the motion compensation and prediction block 17 it is transformed into a new prediction frame according to the formula
Pn(x,y)=Rn[x+xcex94x(x,y), y+xcex94y(x,y)]xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
The pair of numbers [xcex94x(x,y), xcex94y(x,y)] is called the motion vector of the pixel at location (x,y) and the numbers xcex94x(x,y) and xcex94y(x,y) are the horizontal and vertical shifts of the pixel. They are calculated in the motion estimation block 18 and the motion information coding block 19. The set of motion vectors [xcex94x(xc2x7), xcex94y(xc2x7)] consisting of all motion vectors related to the pixels of the frame to be compressed is also directed to the multiplexer 13, which multiplexes it into the same data stream with a coded differential frame for sending to a receiver. Some frames can be partly or entirely so difficult to predict that it is not practical to use prediction when coding them. These frames or parts of frames are coded using so-called intracoding without prediction, and motion vector information relating to them is not sent to the receiver.
In the receiver 20, the demultiplexer 21 separates the coded differential frames and the motion information transmitted by the motion vectors and directs the coded differential frames to the decoder 22, which produces a decoded differential frame Ên(x,y), which is summed in the summer 23 with the prediction frame Pn(x,y) formed on the basis of previous frames, resulting in a decoded frame În(x,y). It is directed to the output 24 of the reception decoder and at the same time saved in the frame memory 25. For decoding the next frame, the frame saved in the frame memory is read as a reference frame and transformed into a new prediction frame in the motion compensation and prediction block 26, according to the formula (1) presented above.
The coding method which is applied in block 12 to the coding of the differential frame or to the intracoding of a frame or part of it to be sent without prediction, is generally based on a transformation, the most common of which is Discrete Cosine Transformation, DCT. The frame is divided into adjacent blocks sized e.g. 8xc3x978 pixels. In coding and decoding, the blocks are processed independent of one another. The transformation is calculated for the block to be coded, resulting in a series of terms dependent on a certain variable. The coefficients of these terms are quantized on a discrete scale in order that they can be processed digitally. Quantization causes rounding errors, which can become visible in an image reconstructed from blocks so that there is a discontinuity of pixel values at the boundary of two adjacent blocks. Because a certain decoded frame is used for calculating the prediction frame for the next frames, the errors can be repeated in sequential frames, thus causing visible edges in the image reproduced by the receiver. Image errors like this are called blocking artifacts.
Some prior art methods are known for removing the blocking artifacts. These methods are characterized by the following features:
determining which pixel requires value correction for removing the blocking artefact,
determining a suitable low-pass filtering for each pixel to be corrected, based on the values of other pixels contained by the filtering window placed around the pixel,
calculating a new value for the pixel to be corrected, and
rounding the new value to the closest digitized tonal value.
Factors that influence the selection of a filter and a decision to introduce a filter can be, for example, the difference between the values of pixels across the block boundary, the size of the quantization step of the coefficients received as the transformation result, and the difference of the pixel values on different sides of the pixel being processed.
It has been found that the prior art methods also tend to remove lines of the image that should really be part of it. On the other hand, the prior art methods are not always capable of removing all blocking artifacts.
The objective of the present invention is to present a new kind of filtering arrangement for removing the blocking artifacts. The invention also has the objective that the method and device according to it operate more reliably and efficiently than the prior art solutions.
The objectives of the invention are achieved by adapting the selection of pixels for filtering and the filtering process more flexibly than before to the features of the frame and the environment of the filtering point.
The method according to the invention for removing blocking artifacts from a frame that has been coded by blocks and decoded after that, in which method a certain number of pixels from both sides of the block boundary are selected for examination, is characterized in that the number of pixels selected for examination depends on the image content of the frame in the environment of the block boundary.
The invention also relates to a device for implementing the method according to the invention. The device according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises means that operate adaptively according to the image content of the frame for selecting the pixels for examination and filtering.
Because blocking artifacts only occur at block boundaries, the filtering according to the invention is only focused on pixels at block boundaries and the immediate vicinity thereof. Edges that are part of the image can be anywhere in the image area. In order that only pixels containing blocking artefacts would be selected for correction and that the quality of edges that are part of the image would not be deteriorated during filtering, the following assumptions have been made in the study that resulted in the invention:
in edges that are part of the image, the tonal value change is generally larger than in blocking artifacts, and
the real image edges in which the tonal value change is small do not suffer considerably from the rounding of the tonal value difference by filtering.
Because the image to be coded is generally divided into blocks both vertically and horizontally, the image contains both vertical and horizontal block boundaries. With regard to vertical block boundaries, there are pixels to the right and left of the boundary, and with regard to the horizontal block boundary, there are pixels above and below the boundary. In general, the location of the pixels can be described as being on the first and second side of the block boundary. In the filtering according to the invention, the number of pixels to be corrected, the characteristic features of the filter being used and the size of the filtering window depend on the following factors:
a) the difference of the pixel values xcex94 across the block boundary (the difference can be defined in many ways; one definition is xcex94=|r1xe2x88x92l1|, where r1 is the value of the pixel on the first side of the block boundary closest to the boundary, and l1 is the value of the pixel on the second side of the block boundary closest to the boundary),
b) the size of the quantization step QP of the coefficients received as the result of the transformation used in the coding, and
c) the differences of the pixel values between the pixels on the first side of the block boundary, and correspondingly between the pixels on the second side of the block boundary.
In the method and device according to the invention, the number of the pixels to be selected for filtering can vary, and it is not necessarily the same on different sides of the block boundary. Because the number of pixels is adapted according to the factors mentioned above to the general features of the image information contained by the frame in the domain in question, the method is more reliable than the prior art methods. A larger number of blocking artifacts can be removed without weakening the real image edges unreasonably.


A circuit configuration for operating at least one LED, comprising: an input with a first input terminal (E1) and a second input terminal (E2) for coupling to a DC voltage supply (UG); an output having a first output terminal (A1) and a second output terminal (A2) for providing an output current (IA) to the at least one LED; a micromirror arrangement (12) comprising a plurality of micromirrors; a first control device (16) configured for providing, at the output thereof, a first control signal (Sa) for the micromirror arrangement (12), the first control signal (Sa) being synchronized to a first clock frequency (fc11); a switching regulator (10), the input thereof being coupled to the first input terminal (E1) and the second input terminal (E2), and the output thereof being coupled to the first output terminal (A1) and the second output terminal (A2), the switching regulator (10) comprising a switch (S1); and a second control device (18) configured for providing, at the output thereof, a second control signal (Sb) for the switch (S1) of the switching regulator (10); wherein the second control signal (Sb) is synchronized to a second clock frequency (fc12), wherein the equation fc12=n*fc11 applies, where nε.

The present invention is concerned, in particular, with a problem that arises in video projectors which use LEDs as the light source and a micromirror actuator as the imaging element. A micromirror actuator is a micromechanical component which, with the aid of individual movable mirrors can be used for controlled light deflection. Using a matrix-shaped arrangement, micromirror actuators can deflect the light of a strong light source, in this case LEDs, such that an image is projected. Designations under which this technology is to be found are Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) and Digital Light Processing (DLP).
The micromirror actuators usually comprise matrix-shaped arrangements of individual elements, the individual micromirrors comprising a tiltable reflective surface with an edge length of a few micrometers. The micromirrors on a DMD chip have, for example, an edge length of approximately 16 μm and are therefore smaller than a fifth of the width of a human hair. The movement is evoked by the force effect of electrostatic fields. Each micromirror can be adjusted individually with respect to the angle thereof and typically has two stable end states, between which said mirror can change up to 5000 times in a second.
DMD chips with an XGA image resolution of 1024×768 pixels contain an array of 786,432 minute mirrors. DMD chips with resolutions of up to 2048×1080 pixels are also now available.
Different brightness levels of the individual image points are generated with binary pulse-width modulated actuation. In order to represent, for example, 32 (=25) brightness levels, five states are required. Said states differ in how long the DMD is switched, i.e. on. In the first state (bit 0), the mirror is on or off (1 or 0) for the shortest possible time. In the next state (bit 1), the time is doubled, and so on. The total time for a cycle with 5 bits is therefore 496 μs.
In order to generate colored image points, in video projectors which function with LEDs as the light source, three LEDs are normally used, specifically one LED which emits red light, one LED which emits green light and one LED which emits blue light.
In a primitive solution, the image repetition frequency (frame rate) is 60 Hz and thus the frequency at which the three LEDs are operated is 3×60 Hz, which is 180 Hz. In order to avoid the rainbow effect, each image is repeated a plurality of times. Currently 16, 18 or 20 partial images per frame are usual. This results in an on-off frequency of the LEDs of 960, 1080 or 1200 Hz. Given a ⅓ on-time, the pulse lengths, i.e. the switch-on times per LED are therefore approximately 277 μs to 347 μs. Since the image processing algorithm involved is based on the assumption that a constant light amplitude prevails during the whole of each pulse length, then even transient phenomena of approximately 10 μs have a negative effect.
Whereas, when a lamp is used as a light source, few current variations occur because the lamp integrates the current with a time constant of approximately 100 μs, the problem arises, when using an LED as the light source, that the light emitted by the LED follows the driving current practically without delay. If the driving current contains AC components, that is, "ripple currents", the consequence thereof is that image points which should, in principle, be equally bright, are actually displayed at different brightness levels. The alternating current component of the LED current which overlays the DC component of the LED current is designated the ripple current. Whereas at points with a high brightness level, the integrating capability of the human eye integrates mean value variations in the LED current and said variations are therefore rendered insignificant, the lower the brightness level of the image point to be displayed, the more critical said problem becomes. Since the image point is only briefly switched on, the integration capability of the human eye is of no use in this case. The eye now perceives brightness variations.
The relevant LED is therefore not always on, but only when the relevant color is needed to display the respective image point. As previously mentioned, the transient behavior of the respective color is therefore of particular significance. Short time periods are therefore desirable for the transition from a first level to a second level and, because of the aforementioned problem, the AC components of the current should be as small as possible within these time periods, i.e. the target value must be reached as fast as possible and without significant overshoot.
The use of linear controllers or unsynchronized switching regulators as drivers for the LEDs of a video projector, with DMDs as the imaging elements, is known. Linear controllers have the advantage of short rise times and a negligible ripple current or AC component. However, if the output voltage of a driver of this type is approximately 7 V, whilst LEDs usually have a forward voltage in the range of 3 V to 5 V, given a typical LED current of approximately 30 mA, a significant power loss is caused in the switch of the linear controller. This makes complex cooling measures necessary whilst also resulting in poorer efficiency.
Unsynchronized switching regulators, the current waveform from which is essentially triangular, have the advantage of high efficiency since the switch of the switching regulator is either on or off and therefore does not enter a semiconducting state as in the case of a linear controller. However, a compromise is always required between the rise time and the ripple current (the AC component). A short rise time implies a relatively large ripple current, whilst a small ripple current implies a long rise time. The disadvantages associated with a large ripple current have already been set out in detail above. In summary, the use of a linear controller and of an unsynchronized switching regulator therefore both leave problems unsolved.

Circuit configuration for operating LEDs for a micromirror arrangement


Disclosed is a novel marine microorganism which can metabolize 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose and use of the same. The novel marine microorganism belongs to Vibrio sp. which utilizes 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose (3,6-L-AHG) as a single carbon source to convert 3,6-L-AHG to ribose and 3,6-anhydrogalactonic acid.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel marine bacterium of metabolizing 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose (3,6-L-AHG) and use of the same.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The world is currently facing a global energy security crisis due to increased energy consumption in developing countries as well as the depletion of petroleum resources. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the development of a biofuel which can replace petroleum resources. In this regard, many nations including the U.S., Europe, Brazil, Japan and China have endeavored their efforts to develop biofuels in order to secure various energy resources and cope with global climate change, and a higher level of investment and research and development are expected to continue in the future. With the advent of post-Kyoto Protocol, South Korea is soon expected to become a country to be forced to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions and thus there is an urgent call for the nation for the development of biofuels. Bioethanol is one of biofuels available to replace petroleum resources, its market has been expanding worldwide and is expected to grow about 17.2% annually. For example, the U.S. plans to replace about 20% of its nationwide gasoline consumption with bioethanol by 2020, and many oil companies including BP and Shell and various venture companies have already joined the research on production of the next generation biofuel. Bioethanol has been mainly thought to be produced using food resources and so issue of the scarcity of food resources and increase in food prices has been raised thus necessitating research into the production of biofuels using inedible resources. Inedible biomass resources are largely classified into ligneous biomass and seaweed biomass. For South Korea with a relatively small territory surrounded by water on its three sides, seaweed biomass is more suitable considering its geographical features. Also, South Korea belongs to the top ranking global seaweed producing countries along with China, Japan and North Korea with its annual gross product amounting to 13,754 tons as of 2006. However, there still remains a large amount of room in terms of its utilization (Fisheries Production Statistics, 2006, Agriculture and Fisheries Production Statistics Division Population and Social Statistics Bureau, National Statistical Office, Korea).
The biomass of red algae includes, based on its dry weight, 60% of agar and 20% of cellulose, i.e., being comprised 80% of it as carbohydrates. Agar, the highest content of red algae, consists of agarose and agaropectin. Both polysaccharides have a structure linked by β-1,4 and α-1,3 bonds in which D-galactose and 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose (hereinafter referred to as '3,6-L-AHG') alternate therein (T. Fu and S. M. Kim, Marine Drugs 2010, 8, 200-218). Therefore, galactose which is fermentable in microorganisms and monosaccharides of 3,6-L-AHG which is not well known in the art can be obtained by hydrolyzing these polymers.
There are two known methods to degrade agarose polymers so far: a chemical method to hydrolyze using a strong acid, such as sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid, and heat; and an enzymatic method to degrade it using agarase, an enzyme which digests agarose. Agaose is degraded using enzymes derived from microorganisms with agar-degrading capability such as Pseudoalteromonas atlantica (L. M. Morrice et al. Eur J. Biochem. 137. 149-154, 1983), Saccharophagus degradans (N. A. Ekborg. Appl Environ Microbiol. 72(5) 3396-3405, 2006), and Alteromonas sp. (J. Wang et al. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 71. 833-839, 2006). Agarose-degrading enzymes can be largely divided into three groups: an enzyme that produces oligosaccharides via hydrolysis of the internal bonds of agarose polymers, an enzyme that degrades a polymer or oligosaccharide into a disaccharide (HT. Kim et al. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 86. 227-234, 2010), and an enzyme that degrades a disaccharide into a monosaccharide such as D-galactose and 3,6-L-AHG (Lee, S et al. Acta Crystallogr Sect F-Struct Biolo Cryst Commun. 65. 1299-1301, 2009).
Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2010-0108241 (titled as "NOVEL ALPHA-NEO AGAROBIOS HYDROLASE AND A METHOD FOR OBTAINING MONOSACCHARIDE USING THE SAME") discloses a novel α-neoagarobiose hydrolase and a method of obtaining 3,6-L-AHG using the same. These enzymes are derived from S. degradans, Pseudoalteromonas atlantica T6c. Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2008-0093525 (titled as "STREPTOMYCES SP. STRAIN (ACCESSION NO. KCTC 11091BP) HAVING THE ALGINATE HYDROLYSIS ACTIVITY, AN ALGINATE LYASE DERIVED FROM THE SAME, AND A TRANSFORMANT PREPARED BY USING A POLYNUCLEOTIDE ENCODING THE ALGINATE LYASE") discloses Streptomyces sp. with alginate hydrolysis activity, which degrades alginate into saturate alginate oligomer and unsaturate alginate oligomer, alginate lyase produced by Streptomyces sp., and a recombinant enzyme expressed in E. coli by cloning the gene encoding the alginate lyase.
Meanwhile, the greatest disadvantage that results from the production of bioenergy using seaweed biomass is that it has a low yield in ethanol fermentation using seaweed biomass because 3,6-L-AHG that is one of monosaccharides contained in agarose is a non-fermentable sugar. The metabolism for fermenting D-galactose has already been elucidated. However, so far there has been no report on any bacterial strain which can metabolize using 3,6-L-AHG as a single carbon source and thus there has been no remarkable progress on the studies of identifying the metabolic pathway of the material. Therefore, it is essential to identify the metabolic pathway of L-AHG and, based on the same, develop a method for improving the production yield of bioethanol by converting the non-fermentable sugar into a fermentable sugar.

Marine bacterium of metabolizing 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose and use of the same

Korea University Research and Business Foundation


Disclosed are copolyesters comprising an acid component of 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid and a glycol component comprising 1,6-hexanediol and 1,4-butanediol. The copolyesters exhibit unusually high tensile strengths.

Homopolyesters of 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid and certain aliphatic glycols are disclosed in the literature. Homopolyesters of 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid and ethylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, and 1,6-hexanediol are disclosed by Meurisse et al., in the British Polymer Journal, Volume 13, page 57 (1981) (Table 1). Jackson and Morris included a review of homopolyesters from 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid and various aliphatic glycols in the Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Applied Polymer Symposia, 41, 307-326 (1985). Krigbaum et al. disclose relatively low molecular weight homopolyesters from 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid and various aliphatic glycols in the Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Polymer Letters Edition, 20, 109-115 (1982). Low molecular weight homopolyesters of 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid are also disclosed by Wanatabe et al., Macromolecules, 21(1), p. 278-280 (1988), and Krigbaum et al., Polymer, 24(10), p. 1299-1307 (1983). Jpn. Kokai Tokkyo Koho JP 61,236,821 [86,236,821] ( 1986) also discloses low molecular weight polyesters from 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid and 1,4-butanediol prepared below their melting temperatures in a nonvolatile liquid. Polyesters of 1,6-hexanediol and 4,4-biphenyldicarboxylic acid are disclosed in Kobunshi Ronbunshu, Vol. 44(12),983-986 (December 1987) having limiting viscosity number of about 0.31.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,842,040 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,842,041 disclose the homopolyester of 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid and ethylene glycol.
Copolyesters of 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid (BDA) and certain aliphatic glycols are discloed and ethylene glycol (EG), 1,4-butanediol (BD), 1,6-hexanediol (HD) are specifically disclosed in column 2, line 70 of U.S. Pat. No. 2,976,266 in a general listing along with other aliphatic glycols useful in this disclosed invention. However, the copolyester of BDA, BD, and HD is not specifically disclosed.
German Offenlegungsschrift, DE 1935252, discloses polyesters of two aromatic dicarboxylic acids which include 10 to 50 mol % 4,4-biphenyldicarboxylic acid, 50 to 90 mol % of terephthalic acid and the two glycols ethylene glycol and 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol.
Japanese patent, Kokai Tokkyo Koho JP 57/198726 discloses copolyesters containing 25-80 mol % 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid with various aliphatic glycols and aromatic dicarboxylic acids.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,151 discloses ultra-high-molecular weight polyesters prepared from aromatic dicarboxylic acids and alkylene glycols containing from 2 to 6 carbons having an intrinsic viscosity greater than 1.5. 4,4'-Biphenyldicarboxylic acid is disclosed in a list of dicarboxylic acids useful to the disclosed invention.
Heretofore, copolyesters from 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid, 1,6-hexanediol, and 1,4-butanediol have been unknown.

Copolyesters from 4,4'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid, 1,6-hexanediol and 1,4-butanediol


A method and an optical recoding medium for defect management are discussed. According to an embodiment, the method of defect management for a write-once optical recording medium having a plurality of temporary defect management areas, includes a step of recording disc definition structure information in one of the plurality of temporary defect management areas, wherein the plurality of temporary defect management areas include a first temporary defect management area for recording the disc definition structure information during a recording session and a second temporary defect management area for recording the disc definition structure information upon termination of the recording session.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical recording media, and more particularly, to a defect management method for an optical recording medium and an optical recording medium using the same, in which a plurality of temporary defect management areas is used for defect management.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Optical discs are widely used as recording media for storing large amounts of data for long periods of time. Such recording media can be largely divided into two types, including rewritable discs and write-once type discs. In data recording using a write-once type disc, only one write operation can be performed for any given area, while the rewritable disc affords much greater flexibility, particularly in terms of the management of defective areas. A defective area results from a manufacturing flaw in or subsequent damage to the surface of an optical recording medium that precludes recording data on one or more clusters.
If a defective area is found during the recording of data on an optical disc, the data written in the defective area is rewritten on an alternative area assigned by the manufacturer. At the same time, locator information, which is indicative of the defective area and its replacement recording area, is recorded for the defects of a given disc as defect management information in a defect management area (DMA). Thus, data to be recorded on an optical disc may be reproduced even if the disc exhibits defects on the recording surface.
This technique, however, is generally applied to rewritable discs, which allow free access to all data recording areas. Any necessary defect management can therefore be accomplished with a relatively small DMA, which enables high-speed recording. Write-once type discs, on the other hand, require larger DMAs and more complex defect management due to their inherent write function limitations, and as a result, data recording operations typically require much more time.
Meanwhile, a new type of high-density optical recording medium, known as the HD-DVD, has been adopted for recording and storing high-quality audio and video data. An example of an HD-DVD recording medium is the Blu-ray disc, so named due to the use of blue rays (405 nm), which are far denser than the red rays (650 nm) used by conventional DVDs and can therefore store significantly larger amounts of data on standard-sized optical discs. Standardization of this technology is underway, to include standards for a write-once Blu-ray disc (BD-WO) and for a rewritable Blu-ray disc (BD-RE), particularly with regard to the detection and management of defective areas detected during data recording operations.
Importantly, any standardization of defect management for a write-once type disc (e.g., a BD-WO disc) should consider defect management using a rewritable disc (e.g., a BD-RE disc). Thus, the standardization of one should embrace as many common features of the other as possible, to maintain consistency and compatibility while striving for the efficient recording of defect management information to facilitate stable data reproduction operations.
In any event, the management of defective areas is crucial during data recording, particularly for high-density DVDs such as the Blu-ray disc, but current BD-WO standards are inadequate. A unified standard, one that can accommodate the progressive demands of commercial systems for optical data storage, is required.

Defect management method for optical recording medium and optical recording medium using the same


A needle protection device detachably fixed to an injection appliance includes a needle, a needle holder from which a needle injection section of the needle projects distally and a needle connection section of the needle projects proximally, a distal needle protection element connected to the needle holder movable in the distal direction from a release position to a protection position and arranged behind the needle injection section in the release position and overlapping the needle injection section and distal end of the injection needle in the protection position, a proximal needle protection element connected to the needle holder movable from a release position and arranged behind the needle connection section into a protection position and overlapping the needle connection section and proximal end of the injection needle, and a blocking device which blocks movement of the proximal needle protection element from the protection position into the release position.

The invention relates to devices for injecting, delivering, infusing, dispensing or administering a substance, and to methods of making and using such devices. More particularly, it relates to a needle guard device which is releasably attached to or can be attached to an injection device. The injection device may be used to administer medicaments, for example insulin, and for self-administration, i.e. by patients who administer the relevant medicament themselves. The injection device may be configured for repeated use and to allow the dose of product to be administered to be set or selected. More particularly, the injection device may be an injection device of the type used to treat diabetes or otherwise.
To prevent the risk of infections, needle guard devices have been developed which enable an injection device to be used only once. A needle guard device of this type is known from patent specification WO 01/91837 A1, for example. The injection needle extends through the needle holder and is fixedly secured by the needle holder. It has an injection portion extending beyond the needle holder in the distal direction and a connecting portion extending beyond the needle holder in the proximal direction.

Needle protection device comprising a distal protection element and a proximal protection element


Imaging arrays typically include thousands or millions of photodetectors that convert sensed light into corresponding electric signals, which are ultimately converted into digital image signals for recording or viewing. One problem with conventional imaging arrays concerns faulty photodetectors, which produce erroneous image signals that ultimately degrade the quality of resulting images. Accordingly, the present inventors devised new imaging arrays including redundant photodetectors to compensate for faulty ones. One exemplary embodiment includes photodetectors that are substantially smaller than conventional photodetectors and that are arranged into two or more groups, with the photodetectors in each group coupled to produce a single group image signal. If the group image signal for a group falls below some threshold level indicative of a defective or malfunctioning photodetector, the group image signal is amplified to compensate for the loss.

Imaging arrays are electronic devices that sense light and output electrical signals representative of the sensed light. The imaging arrays are generally coupled to a television screen, computer monitor, or digital camera, which displays or records an image based on the output electrical signals.
An imaging array often includes a rectangular array or matrix of thousands or even millions of photodetectors, with each photodetector having a unique row and column position within the array which corresponds to a particular region, known as a pixel, of a displayed image. Each photodetector (or sensor pixel) converts sensed light into corresponding electric signals based on the intensity of the light. The electrical signals are converted into digital signals, comprising ones and zeros, which are processed by a digital-signal-processing circuit. This circuit ultimately outputs image signals to a device for recording or viewing.
One problem with conventional imaging arrays concerns defective or malfunctioning photodetectors. Defective photodetectors typically result in erroneous image signals that ultimately degrade the quality of resulting images. For example, an image based on imaging signals from an imaging array having a defective photodetector can have a black or dark area at the image region corresponding to the defective photodetector.
One limited solution to this problem has been to identify the defective photodetector and to generate a substitute image signal for the image signal of the defective photodetector, with the substitute image signal based on an average of the image signals from detectors surrounding it. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,854,655 (which is incorporated herein by reference). However, this solution suffers from the disadvantage that the substitute image signal introduces artifacts into the resulting image. The artifacts reflect the complete loss of information about the light actually striking the relatively large area corresponding to the defective photodetector.
Accordingly, there is a need for other methods of handling defective photodetectors.

Compensation methods and systems for imaging detectors


A game utilizing a deck of playing cards. The playing cards each have letter designations in the upper left hand corner in each of two different invertible positions of the card with the letter designation differing from each other. In the lower right hand corner of each of the two invertible positions of the card, there is provided an "information center" giving the letter designation of the card should the card be inverted. Thus, as the cards are held in a hand, one adjacent to the other, both the letter designating the card in its upright position as well as the letter available to the card, should the card be inverted, are both visible to the player. Cards are selected and a word must be formed with the cards being able to be positioned in either of their two inverted positions. After the word is formed, the word is then used as an acronym in the formation of a sentence, with the sentence preferably being associated with the word itself.

This invention relates to a card game, and more particularly to a game utilizing a deck of cards wherein words are formed from the cards, after which the words are used as acronyms for the formation of sentences, preferably relating to the words formed.
Numerous playing games are readily available which utilize the skill and imagination of players. More recently, word games have become popular utilizing the word skills of the players. Such games are both challenging, provide enjoyment, and at the same time, have an educational flavor since they require the imagination of the player, utilizing his capability of word knowledge.
Most of the word games available are board type games utilizing letters on the board or on playing pieces or blocks placed on the board. When using playing pieces, these playing pieces are put together to form words on the board. While such type of game also utilizes skill and creativity in creating words, because of their requirement in utilizing a board and playing pieces, the game becomes bulky requiring a considerable number of pieces and parts which must be carried around before the game can be played.
One type of game that has not at all been addressed is a game based upon acronyms. Acronyms are words whose letters form the first letter of each word in a sentence or phrase and are usually suggestive of the acronym itself. While word games are available, a game utilizing a word as an acronym has not yet been available.
Additionally, with typical playing cards, the card has only a single designation. Normally, this is because when the card is held in an upright position, only the upper left hand corner is visible. Thus, any designation provided to the cards appear in the upper left hand corner and visible as the cards are fanned. Although other parts of the cards might be visible, no use is made of such other parts of the cards since when held in the fanned position, normally only the upper left hand corner is visible and thus, this corner provides for the designation of the card. Since cards may typically be inverted, both upper left hand corners in each of the two inverted positions of the card are usually identical and provide for the same designation of the card.


Methods and systems for managing data storage in a non-volatile memory system are disclosed. The method may include receiving data, determining a data classification for the received data from a predetermined plurality of data classifications, writing the received data to an open block having only data of a same data classification as the determined data classification and, upon completely programming the open block, associating an epoch indicator where the epoch indicator defines a time period within which the block was created. When a block reclaim trigger is detected, only data within a same data classification and epoch may be reclaimed. An incrementing epoch indicator identifies a predetermined time granularity and is assigned to data such that earlier data and newer data are distinguishable. A system to implement the method may include a non-volatile memory and a controller configured to track and apply epoch and data-type classification information for data.

Non-volatile memory systems, such as flash memory, have been widely adopted for use in consumer products. Flash memory may be found in different forms, for example in the form of a portable memory card that can be carried between host devices or as a solid state disk (SSD) embedded in a host device. Flash memory is often made up of groups of memory cells referred to as pages, and multiple pages are often then organized in groups known as blocks. Flash memory cells may be physically configured to store data in different bit per cell levels.
After data is written to a block in memory, some of that data may become obsolete over time when updated versions of that data are later written by a host to other blocks in the non-volatile memory, or when the host expressly identifies certain data is now obsolete. At specified intervals, or in response to certain criteria being met, a memory system may perform maintenance operations, such as garbage collection operations, to identify a block with valid and obsolete data and move the valid data remaining in the identified block to another block. The originally identified block may then be recycled for use by the memory system. Typically, data with different characteristics is written from the host and mixed into the same physical blocks in non-volatile memory system.
In non-volatile memory systems where blocks of data with differing characteristics are managed as a single population, write amplification issues may arise because certain types of data may be more likely to become obsolete at different rates than other types of data. The internal memory maintenance (i.e., non-host write operations or background operations such as noted above) can introduce a high write amplification factor ("WAF") for memory cells. WAF may be understood to be the relation between the amount of data a storage module has to write (including any internal copying of data from one block to another) to execute a host write operation to the actual amount of data that the host sends to be written to the storage module for the write operation.

Method and system for managing data in non-volatile memory


Auxiliary extension device for a crane provided with a telescopic extendable arm having at least one end segment provided with a free end, wherein the auxiliary extension device is made of one or more composite materials.

It is known, in the construction industry, to use cranes, both fixed and truck-mounted, to move and lift weights, even hundreds of tons, to heights that can exceed several dozen meters.
Such cranes are normally provided with an extendable arm, which can be formed by one or more segments connected to each other in an articulated or telescopic manner. In the latter case they are called telescopic cranes, or extendable or telescopic arm cranes.
In some particular applications, in which supplementary performances are required of the crane, it is known to use, to increase the performance of the crane in terms of maximum reachable height, an auxiliary extension device, also known as jib, attached to the free end of the extendable arm. Normally, the auxiliary extension device is made of steel, and generally has a reticular latticed structure. The auxiliary extension device can be made with one or more segments or sections, connected or interconnected to each other.
Known auxiliary extension devices can be assembled by means of pivoting coupling on the free end of the corresponding extendable arm. This allows them to fold back on the extendable arm during transport, and then to be put in their working position, that is, cantilevered with respect to the extendable arm, by means of a rotation carried out on site.
Known auxiliary extension devices can be assembled and positioned both with manual procedures and also using a support crane.
One disadvantage of known auxiliary extension devices is that they are normally very heavy, even in the order of a ton. This can cause a heavier weight of the crane in its entirety, so that moving it by truck can be inconvenient and costly.
The weight of known auxiliary extension devices as above also penalizes the performance of the cranes in terms of the mass of movable load, since this must be added to the weight of the auxiliary extension device itself, already weighing on the extendable arm of the crane.
Another disadvantage connected to the weight of the auxiliary extension device can affect the horizontal distance to which the load can be moved, a distance which is connected to the forces acting on the attachment zone of the auxiliary extension device to the extendable arm of the crane.
Another limitation due to the weight of the auxiliary extension device affects the actual maximum height the arm can reach to position the load.
Another disadvantage of known auxiliary extension devices is connected to the complexity and time needed for the operations to assemble and produce the auxiliary extension devices themselves, since generally, as stated above, they have a latticed structure.
Another disadvantage of known auxiliary extension devices is that they are difficult to assemble on the end of the extendable arms of the cranes, since normally they need one or more support cranes.
It is also known from WO-A-96/26887, EO-A-2012/156807, EP-A-1.361.189, and EP-A-1.090.875 the use of segments of an extendable arm of a crane made with a composite material.
The documents WO-A-96/26887, WO-A-2012/156807 and EP-A-1.361.189, in particular, disclose an extendable arm in which, each segment is reciprocally connected to another segment and cannot be disassembled easily, without removing substantially parts of the extendable aim, such as actuation means able to move telescopically the segments.
The document WO-A-96/26887 discloses a crane for lifting a load, such as a platform. The crane comprises a telescopic aim formed by sections made of composites material. The sections cooperate with each other in sliding so as each section can slide internally or externally with respect to another section.
One of the sections, in particular the section defining the free end of the telescopic arm, is provided with an arm. The arm is also made with a composite material and is designed to support a platform to accommodate a load or people.
The arm has only the function of connection between the extendable arm and the platform, and is provided with regulation means configured to maintain the platform horizontal.
This arm, however, is not suitable to be connected to attachment devices, such as a hook to which a load can be attached.
One purpose of the present invention is to obtain an auxiliary extension device for a crane with an extendable arm which has a limited weight compared with known auxiliary extension devices, which is easy and quick to produce and which allows, given the same performance, to limit, the overall weight of the crane on which it is mounted.
Another purpose of the present invention is to simplify the selective connection operations between an auxiliary extension device and an extendable arm of a crane.
Another purpose of the present invention is to obtain an auxiliary extension device that has optimized mechanical resistance in relation to the stresses to which it is subjected.
Another purpose of the present invention is to obtain an auxiliary extension device for a crane with extendable arm that allows to increase the mass of load movable by the crane on which it is mounted, given the same height that can be reached.
Another purpose of the present invention is to obtain an auxiliary extension device which allows to increase the horizontal distance to which the load can be moved by the crane on whose extendable arm the auxiliary extension device is mounted, given the same mass of the load and the same length of the auxiliary extension device.
Another purpose is to obtain an auxiliary extension device which, given the same weight as a known auxiliary extension device, allows the crane on which it is mounted to reach a greater maximum height at which to position the load.
Another purpose of the present invention is to obtain an auxiliary extension device which, with the same sizes as a known auxiliary extension device, is easier to transport and easier to mount manually on the extendable arm of the crane and which does not need a support crane.
The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.

Auxiliary device for a crane and crane comprising said auxiliary device


A surface mounting semiconductor component includes a semiconductor device, a circuit board, a number of first solder bumps, and a number of second solder bumps. The semiconductor device included a number of die pads. The circuit board includes a number of contact pads. The first solder bumps are configured to bond the semiconductor device and the circuit board. Each of the first solder bumps connects at least two die pads with a corresponding contact pad. Each of the second solder bumps connects a die pad with a corresponding contact pad. A method of forming a surface mounting component or a chip scale package assembly wherein the component or assembly has at least two different types of solder bumps.

Chip scale packages (CSP) are widely adopted for semiconductor chip assemblies in the industry because the component has a smaller size. A popular methodology of manufacturing a CSP component is a technology called surface mounting technology (SMT). The surface mounting technology is a method in which the semiconductor chip is mounted or placed directly on the surface of a printed circuit board (PCB). A semiconductor component made with SMT usually has either smaller bonding wires or no bonding wires at all.
The semiconductor component made with SMT is smaller in size and lower in electrical resistance. During manufacturing of the SMT semiconductor component, a ball grid array (BGA) is a type of packaging used for integrating the semiconductor chip and the printed circuit board. In BGA packaging, a number of solder balls are first disposed on either the pads of the semiconductor chip or the pads of the printed circuit board, and then the semiconductor chip and the circuit board are bonded through the solder balls.
By replacing the wires with the solder balls in the surface mounting component, the resistance and required package space are both reduced. However, similar to the bonding wires of the other packaging process, the reliability of the solder balls affects the manufacturing yield of the surface mounting technology. As such, improvements in the integrity and method for a solder ball to form in a surface mounting component continue to be sought.

Semiconductor chip scale package and manufacturing method thereof

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD.


This SEM has a capability of preventing shift of a view field of the foreign matters at a stage where no sufficient correction is carried out when obtaining the SEM coordinate values used for transforming the coordinate values of the foreign matters on the sample sent from another device into the SEM coordinate values. The SEM selects the foreign matters closer to the center of the sample at first and then the foreign matters spirally from the center of the sample to the outer periphery.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scanning electron microscope which enables to observe a fine object to be measured, the object being located on the surface of a sample. More particularly, the present invention relates to the scanning electron microscope which is arranged to transform the coordinate data of an object to be observed, the object being located on a sample measured by another foreign matter inspector into the data fitted for the coordinate system of itself and then to utilize the converted data when observing an object.
2. Description of the Related Art
A scanning Electron Microscope (often but not always referred to as an SEM) is used for observing a fine structure of a sample in various fields of research and development. The SEM operates to display on screen an SEM image of an object to be observed when observing the object. This technology is applied to observation of a microstructure of a semiconductor device. As a semiconductor device becomes finer, today, the semiconductor device is manufactured with a pattern width of 150 nm or less. In such a semiconductor device, some troubles may take place even if a foreign matter or a defect with as short a width as about several tens nm is located on a wafer used for producing semiconductor patterns. For checking foreign matters or defects that bring about troubles in detail, the SEM is required to observe the foreign matters and the defects. Hereafter, the foreign matters and/or defects are collectively referred simply to as the defects.
For observing such a fine defect with the SEM, it is common to measure where a defect is located on a wafer, search the defect based on the coordinate data obtained by the measurement, and observe the defect through the use of another inspector device such as an optical wafer visual inspector device or an SEM system wafer visual inspector device both of which specify where a defect is located on a wafer with an optical or electron probe. For example, in the case of observing a defect of about 0.2 μm with the SEM, it is necessary to magnify the defect by 5000 times at minimum and display the magnified image of the defect on the SEM screen. However, since the observatory range at one watch is limited by the range of the SEM screen size, if the coordinate data of the defect obtained by the defect inspector device is too much erroneous, the defect may be shifted out of the SEM screen. For example, in the case of observing a defect at a resolution of 10000 times through the use of the SEM with the SEM screen consisting of 150 nm×150 nm, the range of the SEM image to be observed at a watch consists of 15 μm×15 μm. Hence, if the coordinate data sent from the defect inspector device contains an error of ±7.5 μm or more, the defect is shifted out of the SEM screen, so that the defect cannot be found out.
Today, the semiconductor inspector device, representatively the defect review SEM improves its inspecting capability of a defect and thus is required to automatically inspect any kind of defect on any kind of wafer, determine a type of defect, and process data about the defect. In particular, therefore, when observing a defect, if the defect is shifted out of the SEM screen, the process is interrupted or a field of view is moved in the periphery of the SEM screen for inspecting the defect again. Both of the cases need a massive length of time for this inspection. It means that a large number of wafers cannot be inspected efficiently.
Hence, it is necessary to correct the coordinate value of the defect sent from another defect inspector device in consideration of errors such as a difference of a coordinate system of the device, an offset shift of a wafer, a shift of rotation, and a dimensional accuracy error of a coordinate shaft. As a method of correcting the coordinate values, as disclosed in JP-A-11-167893, the SEM inspection takes the method of building correcting expressions with parameters for correcting factors, selecting a plurality of defects used for correction, obtaining the coordinate values sent from the another defect inspector device and the coordinate value on the wafer to be measured, determine the parameters of the correcting expressions from those coordinate values, and correcting all defects located on the wafer.
However, when moving to a location of a defect for obtaining the coordinate value of the defect used for correcting the coordinate value, at an initial state where the coordinate value is not sufficiently corrected, the defect may be shifted out of the view field of the microscope. In particular, when driving the SEM without humans in attendance, if the inspection is executed correctly, the process is interrupted or needs a massive length of time. Hence, the defect cannot be detected efficiently and for a short time.
For preventing the defect from being shifted out of the view field, therefore, frequently, the coordinate values of all the defects are corrected each time a defect is selected and measured. However, the influence of an error taking place in the coordinate value of the defect selected particularly at the initial stage of correction may become an obstruct to the proper correction so that the other defects may be shifted out of the view field. For example, at a first watch, the type of error cannot be grasped, so that the shift amount is subtracted from the coordinate value as the correction.
In a case that the shift amount influences the overall wafer because of shifting the location of the wafer in parallel to the coordinate axis of the wafer coordinate system, by performing the correction of the shift, it is possible to detect the defect without shifting out of the view field at a second or later watch. However, if the shift is brought about by the rotation, the way of shift of the center of the wafer is different from that of the outer periphery of the wafer. Hence, if the first selected point is located on the outer periphery, on the center of the wafer, the defect may be shifted out of the view field. Even if a quite large shift is observed, provision of a plurality of measured coordinate data allows the observed point to be excluded for improving accuracy. At an initial stage, however, it cannot be grasped that the shift amount to be measured is exceptional on the overall wafer.
As described above, at the initial state of correction, the trend for a correction of the coordinate value cannot be grasped and thus the correction is executed in light of the coordinate value. Hence, if the error is extremely large, the correction may put the defect out of the view field. For correcting the coordinate values of all the defects located on the wafer, it is necessary to select the defect used for the correction from the overall wafer uniformly or without shifting to a specific area. Hence, in some methods of selecting a defect, the SEM is often moved on the wafer between the ends, which needs a long time for correcting the coordinate value.
In consideration of the foregoing disadvantages, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of selecting a defect which method is arranged to simply and efficiently transform the coordinate data of a defect sent from a defect inspector device into the coordinate data of an SEM.


A mobile communication terminal stores a plurality of response messages generated according to respectively different audio compression methods. If the mobile communication terminal is not answered when an incoming call is received, the mobile communication terminal transmits the one of the response messages that has been generated according to the audio compression method designated by a base station.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a international roaming-capable mobile communication terminal that has a response message transmission function.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, telephones have a function for playing an audio response message such as "I'm unable to come to the phone right now . . . " when the user of the telephone is unable to answer the telephone for reasons such as being absent from home (see Reference 1).
This function is included not only in land-line telephones, but also in mobile communication terminals, such as mobile telephones, with which audio communication is possible.
Since mobile telephone are portable, there have been demands from users to be able to use the mobile telephone that the user uses in his or her own country, and the functions of the mobile telephone that can be used in the user's own country, when the user goes overseas.
In response to such demands, international roaming services have been implemented that enable users to use the mobile telephones that they use in their own country overseas.
However, an international roaming-capable mobile telephone must support the audio compression method used in the regions in which the mobile telephone is to be used. This is because, presently, several different types of audio compression are used internationally.
Since one audio compression method, such as EVRC, is used in Japan, response message data compressed in this format is not able to be listened to in another country that uses another audio compression method such as QCELP. Tin other words, in order to listen to audio encoded according to a particular audio compression method, it is necessary to decode an encoded digital signal in that format, and convert the decoded signal to an analog signal. Consequently, when a different audio compression method is used, the encoded digital signal is unable to be decoded correctly, and the audio cannot be listened to. This can be seen in Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. H06-78049.

Mobile communication terminal capable of storing audio messages in multiple audio compression formats


A heat sink (2) for an injection/metering valve (4) has a coolant chamber (8) which is designed for receiving a fluid coolant. The coolant chamber (8) has at least one inlet (14) for supplying the coolant and at least one outlet (16) for removing the coolant. The at least one inlet (14) and/or outlet (16) has a pipe segment (20, 22) which extends with one end into the coolant chamber (8). The coolant-chamber-side end of the pipe segment (20, 22) is bevelled, and therefore the coolant-chamber-side end of the pipe segment (20, 22) is in contact at at least one point along its circumference with a baffle (12) arranged in the coolant chamber (8), and the end of the pipe segment (20, 22) is spaced apart at another point along its circumference from the baffle (12).

The invention relates to a heat sink for an injection or metering valve.
In systems for exhaust gas aftertreatment, injection or metering valves are used to inject a fluid reducing agent, e.g. an aqueous urea solution ("AdBlue"®), into the exhaust line of an internal combustion engine, in particular of a diesel engine. Here, the injection or metering valves are arranged directly on the exhaust line and are therefore exposed to high temperatures during operation.
In order to avoid damage to the injection/metering valves and to ensure reliable operation, the injection/metering valves are often provided with heat sinks, through which a fluid coolant flows in order to cool the injection/metering valve.
Production tolerances of the heat sinks lead to different flow cross sections, resulting in a difference in the cooling behavior of the heat sinks.

Heat sink for an injection/metering valve


The present invention relates to an electrodes apron for ECG which is comprised of an apron cast from flexible material to be placed over the chest of the patient, ten electrodes inlaid within the apron in predetermined places wherein six of the said electrodes are located at predetermined distances between the ribs, two under each shoulder and two at both sides of the stomach. Either curved or spiraled conductors are cast within flexible material and each conductor is connected to an electrode. A multiple-pronged cable feeds each of the conductors and includes a connector for connecting the apron to any standard ECG measuring device. The apron also has straps and a belt for tightening the apron on the body of the patient, locating the electrodes of the apron in their required locations for ECG tests.. Another preferred embodiment of the present invention is an electrodes apron having two bracelets for attaching to the arms of the patient. Instead of straps for tying, the two bracelets on both sides of the apron are attached to the arms of the patient and when the arms of the patient are brought to their regular position parallel to the body, the apron is tightened over the chest of the patient.

An ECG test is a test which is performed by means of an appropriate testing device. The device measures the potential differences between various selected points on the body of a person to be examined (hereinafter called "patient"). These potential differences mirror the electronic activities of the heart muscle. The measurement is done by way of attaching electrodes to the body of a patient in predetermined places. These electrodes then transfer the electronic information to the testing device. The electrodes are placed around the heart at points between the patient's ribs, known as points V1 to V5, two are attached on the patients arms and two are attached on the patient's legs.
In the present, well known ECG tests, 10 electrodes are attached to the patient's body. In order to attach the electrodes to the body of the patient, disposable electrodes are attached with special glue or with suction buttons which cause discomfort to the patient. Furthermore, a special gel is spread over the attachment points in order to improve electrical conductivity. When the patient is a male, it is sometimes necessary to shave off hair at the point of attachment.
The present situation in which ten separate electrodes are attached to the patient, is awkward because of the use of ten separate conductors, which have a tendency to interfere with each other, and because of the need to glue them to the body of the patient. Discomfort is also caused because of the need to use suction buttons, or to shave the hair prior to placing the conductors on the patients body.
The placement of the electrodes on the patients body requires experience and anatomical knowledge which is not always found among the medical staff. As a result, the electrodes are improperly positioned. When the attachment to the body is not accurate, electrical noise is caused together with disruptions of electrical conductivity. These occurrences cause difficulty in interpreting the data received.


A method for determining three-dimensional coordinates of an object point on a surface of an object, the method including steps of: sending a beam of light to a diffraction grating; sending a first diffracted beam and a second diffracted beam to an objective lens to form at least two spots of light, which are passed through transparent regions of a plate to produce a first fringe pattern on the surface of the object; imaging the object point illuminated by the first fringe pattern onto a photosensitive array to obtain a first electrical data value; moving the plate to a second position; sending spots through plate to produce a second fringe pattern on the surface of the object; imaging the point onto the array point to obtain a second electrical data value; and calculating the three-dimensional coordinates of the first object point.

The present disclosure relates to a coordinate measuring device. One set of coordinate measurement devices belongs to a class of instruments that measure the three-dimensional (3D) coordinates of a point by projecting a pattern of light to an object and recording the pattern with a camera.
A particular type of coordinate-measuring device, sometimes referred to as an accordion-fringe interferometer, forms the projected pattern of light by the interference of light of diverging wavefronts emitted by two small, closely spaced spots of light. The resulting fringe pattern projected onto the object is analyzed to find 3D coordinates of surface points for each separate pixel within the camera.
An implementation of an accordion fringe interferometer is one in which a diffraction grating is moved using piezoelectric actuator, a capacitive feedback sensor, a flexure stage, multiple laser sources, and multiple objective lenses. This type of accordion fringe interferometer is relatively expensive to manufacture and relatively slow in performing measurements. What is needed is an improved method of finding 3D coordinates.

Grating-based scanner with phase and pitch adjustment