An exposure device for use in a copier having a magnification mode, includes a light source having a uniform non-shaded light distribution characteristic when a predetermined magnification ratio is selected; a lens moving mechanism for focusing an image on a photoreceptor so that a magnification of an image can be changed by movement of a lens while a light shading member is being rotated; a rotatable light shading member which is rotatable about a shaft; and a light shading member rotation mechanism for correcting a light distribution of an image light on a photoreceptor surface relative to a variable magnification ratio of the lens while the light shading member is being rotated. The light shading member includes two thin light-shading plates which have a cross section along the optical path that is unequally varied at adjoining portions thereof when the light shading member is rotated. If two surfaces of the light shading plates are successively placed on the optical path at different angles crossing the optical axis and if the amplification ratios for each of the plates is selected to be larger and smaller respectively than a predetermined ratio, then the shapes projected on a surface perpendicular to the optical axis for each plate are formed so that the light amount distribution on the photoreceptor provided by each plate is made uniform by the light shading member rotation mechanism.

The present invention relates to an exposure device which is applied to a projection mechanism of a copier, and especially to an exposure device having a light shading member to correct light distribution .
In the projection mechanism of a copier, a lens is essential to form a projected image into an image on a photoreceptor, which is an image carrier. The lens has the following characteristics: luminous flux density on an image point located outside of an optical axis is reduced in proportion to cos.sup.4 .theta. of the luminous flux density of the image point located on the optical axis, which is the "cos.sup.4 .theta. law". Accordingly, in a conventional copier which can magnify a document image, light distribution is adjusted when a side of a slit, which is an optical path regulation member, is provided in the manner that the slit can advance or retreat with respect to the optical path; or when a light shading member, which is different from the slit, is provided in the manner that it can move perpendicularly to the optical axis.
Further, in order to properly correct a light amount with respect to all the projection magnification ratios, the following exposure device has been proposed, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection No 63-106639: the exposure device has; a light shading member which is rotated around the shaft, which is provided in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis and provided in the longitudinal direction of a cross section of the optical path with respect to the optical path regulated in the form of a slit by an optical path regulation member; and a light shading member rotating mechanism which corrects the distribution of the light amount on the photoreceptor surface of an image light passing through the lens, corresponding to the magnification ratio of the lens while the light shading member is being rotated.
In the conventional exposure device, a light source having the distribution characteristics of light distribution in which the distribution of the light amount on the photoreceptor surface is uniform at a predetermined magnification ratio when no shading is conducted. As a light shading member, a light shading plate is provided, the thickness of which is thin, and in which the length in the cross direction of the cross section of the optical path is not uniformly changed in the adjoining positions when the plate is rotated.
A predetermined magnification ratio of the lens can be arbitrarily determined like, for example, the maximum magnification ratio, or minimum magnification ratio, and further, an intermediate magnification ratio having the value of 1. However, in any case, the light source should have light distribution characteristics in which the light amount distribution on the photoreceptor surface becomes uniform at the magnification ratio when shading is not conducted. When the predetermined magnification ratio is the maximum magnification ratio, the light amount of the peripheral portion apart from the optical axis is most conspicuously lowered. Accordingly, in order to make the light amount distribution uniform, it is necessary that the light amount of the peripheral portion of the light source is greatly increased. When the predetermined magnification ratio is the minimum magnification ratio, the light amount of the peripheral portion is decreased by the least amount, so that the light source has a flat distribution characteristic of light distribution. However, the light amount of the peripheral portion is gradually lowered as the magnification ratio is increased, and the light amount in the center of the optical axis is gradually increased compared with the peripheral light amount. Accordingly, the light shading plate is used so that the light amount of the central portion, which is relatively increased as the magnification is increased, is decreased. Further, when the predetermined magnification ratio is the intermediate magnification ratio having the value of 1, a rotational light shading member in which the light shading plates are combined is provided, and thereby, variation of the entire light amount is decreased through all the magnification range. However, since it is necessary that a shaded light amount of the central portion is equal to that of the peripheral portion at the life-size magnification ratio, a projected area of the light shading plate at that time is maximum, and lowering of the entire light amount is maximum.
However, in the above-described conventional exposure device, when, for example, the distribution characteristic of the light distribution of the light source is set to that of the maximum magnification ratio, it is necessary that an emitted light amount of the peripheral portion is greatly larger than that of the optical axis portion. When the distribution characteristic of the light distribution of the light source is set to that of the minimum magnification, which is comparatively flat, and the light amount of all portions is appropriate at the minimum magnification ratio, it is necessary to shade the light amount of the central portion which is relatively increased as the magnification ratio is increased, and therefore, the light amount of all portions is insufficient, which is disadvantageous. Further, when the distribution characteristic of the light distribution of the light source is set to that of the life-size magnification ratio, the shaded light amount is maximum at the life-size magnification ratio, which is most frequently used, and when the light amount is set to the foregoing, the light amount other than during life-size magnification is excessive, which is disadvantageous.

Exposure device having light shading members for correcting light distribution of a projection mechanism in a copier


A method is provided in one example embodiment that includes measuring a delay between a transmitter and a receiver in a network environment, where the receiver is associated with a buffer. A minimum absorption buffer size for lossless transmission to a queue may be determined based on the delay and a transmission bandwidth, and buffer units for the queue can be allocated based on the minimum absorption buffer size. The transmitter may also be rate-limited if the minimum absorption buffer size exceeds available storage of the buffer. In other embodiments, buffer units can be reclaimed if the available buffer storage exceeds the minimum absorption buffer size.

Data center architectures are evolving to meet the demands and complexities imposed by increasing business requirements to stay competitive and agile. Industry trends such as data center consolidation, server virtualization, advancements in processor technologies, increasing storage demands, rise in data rates, and the desire to implement "green" initiatives can cause stress on current data center designs. Consolidation of input/output in the data center, allowing Fibre Channel and Ethernet networks to share a single, integrated infrastructure, helps enterprises address some of these challenges. An important pillar of this consolidated approach is Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE).
The Ethernet network that supports FCoE is required to be a lossless Ethernet network, with switching devices that have internal architectures designed to offer a no-drop packet capability and network flow control mechanisms to enable lossless transmission of packets across the Ethernet infrastructure. Ethernet supports flow control to enable lossless operation, but flow control can require large amounts of buffering. Lossless operation over Ethernet cannot be supported over distances where bandwidth delay product requirements exceed buffer resources. Thus, managing resources to provide a lossless operation over long-distance links can present significant challenges to network operators.

System and method for provisioning resources for lossless operation in a network environment


It is possible to estimate optical characteristic according to a pupil diameter in daily life of an examinee, correction data near to the optimal prescription value, eyesight, and sensitivity. A calculation section receives measurement data indicating refractive power distribution of an eye to be examined and pupil data on the eye and calculates lower order and higher order aberrations according to the measurement data and the pupil data (S101 to 105). For example, a pupil edge is detected from the anterior ocular segment image and a pupil diameter is calculated. By using this pupil diameter, lower order and higher order aberrations are calculated. According to the lower order and higher order aberrations obtained, the calculation section performs simulation of a retina image by using high contrast or low contrast target and estimates the eyesight by comparing the result to a template and/or obtains sensitivity (S107). Alternatively, according to the lower order and the higher order aberrations obtained, the calculation section calculates an evaluation parameter indicating the quality of visibility by the eye to be examined such as the Strehl ratio, the phase shift (PTF), and the visibility by comparison of the retina image simulation with the template. According to the evaluation parameter calculated, the calculation section changes the lower order aberration amount so as to calculate appropriate correction data for the eye to be examined (S107). The calculation section outputs data such as the eyesight, sensitivity, correction data, and the simulation result to a memory or a display section (S109).

Conventionally, as a technique for measuring ocular correction data, measurement of S (Sphere), C (Cylinder) and A (axis) by a refractometer has been carried out. Besides, recently, an eye characteristic measuring apparatus capable of measuring higher order aberrations has also been developed, and not only S, C and A on a line like, for example, a ring of φ3 mm as in a refractometer, but also S, C and A on a plane when a pupil diameter is made various sizes can be calculated from lower order aberrations. By the eye characteristic measuring apparatus like this, especially after a refraction correcting surgical operation or in an eye disease, values closer to prescription values of eyeglasses or contact lenses than the refractometer can be calculated (for example, see JP-A-2002-204785, JP-A-2002-209854, JP-A-2002-306416, JP-A-2002-306417, etc.).
Besides, as an apparatus for displaying the visibility of a subjective eye at the time of correction or by the eye, an apparatus by the present applicant is disclosed (for example, see JP-A-2001-120504, JP-A-7-100107). In these apparatuses, for example, the visibility of a predetermined index is displayed on display means based on the measured optical characteristic of the eye to be examined (eye to be measured).

Ophthalmic data measuring apparatus, ophthalmic data measurement program and eye characteristic measuring apparatus


Embodiments of the invention relate to dynamically routing instructions to execution units based on detected errors in the execution units. An aspect of the invention includes a computer system including a processor having an instruction issue unit and a plurality of execution units. The processor is configured to detect an error in a first execution unit among the plurality of execution units and adjust instruction dispatch rules of the instruction issue unit based on detecting the error in the first execution unit to restrict access to the first execution unit while leaving un-restricted access to the remaining execution units of the plurality of execution units.

The present invention relates generally to routing instructions to execution units in a processing circuit, and more specifically, to detecting hardware errors in the execution units and modifying issue rules to avoid routing instructions to the execution units having hardware errors.
In computing, a pipeline may be considered as a set of data processing elements connected in series, so that the output of one element is the input of the next one. At an issue stage of a pipeline, an instruction issue unit receives an instruction, such as a decoded instruction from a decoding stage, and dispatches the instruction to an execution unit. The execution stage of the pipeline may include various execution units including floating point execution units, fixed point execution units, load/store execution units, and others, according to the design specifications of the processing circuit.
When a hardware error is detected in the execution stage, such as a stuck bit, flipped bit, stalled state, or other hardware error, the execution stage cannot be relied upon to execute instructions with accuracy, and the processing circuit may be shut down. For example, the instructions may be routed to another processor or another processing core of a multi-core processor. The processor or processing circuit including the error may require replacement to return to functionality.

Dynamic accessing of execution elements through modification of issue rules

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


The present invention relates to a method and system for determining multiphase fluid streams flowing from individual wells of a cluster of crude oil, gas and/or other fluid production wells, wherein the fluid streams produced by the individual wells are commingled and routed via a fluid separation assembly into fluid outlet conduits for transportation of at least partly separated streams of crude oil, gas and/or other fluids.

Typically, multiphase fluid streams produced by individual wells of a well cluster are commingled and routed via a fluid separation assembly (a bulk separator or a production separator) into fluid outlet conduits for transportation of at least partly separated streams of liquids, gas and/or other fluids.
It is known from International patent applications WO 9101481 and WO 9960247 to connect a cluster of wells via a series of multiphase well effluent transportation pipelines commingled to a common bulk fluid separator and to monitor the size and/or composition of the stream of produced multiphase well effluents by means of flow meters that are connected to the fluid outlets of the bulk separator.
The most common well effluents are crude oil, natural gas and water which flow as a multiphase fluid mixture through the well production pipelines in sometimes erratic flow patterns which may quickly change from a stratified into a slug or mist flow pattern.
An advantage of the use of flow meters that are connected to the fluid outlets of the bulk separator is that these outlets contain generally single-phase fluids of which the flow rates can be measured accurately by dedicated liquid or gas flow meters. The flow rates of the commingled produced multiphase well effluents can be measured more accurately and economically using single phase flow meters than by making measurements with multiphase flow meters within the multiphase fluid transportation pipelines upstream of the separation assembly.
A problem associated with measuring fluid flow at the outlets of the bulk separator is that this fluid flow stems from the commingled flux from all the wells of the cluster and does not provide information about the composition and flux of fluids produced by the individual wells. Furthermore, the individual flux of fluids produced by the individual wells is currently not available in real time or instantaneously.

Method and system for production metering of oil wells


The present invention relates to methods and compositions of growth hormone and/or growth hormone releasing hormone that promote of the release and the elevation of growth hormone when administered to animals. The present invention further relates to methods and compositions of growth hormone and/or growth hormone releasing hormone for treatment of diseases or disorders resulting from growth hormone related deficiencies. The invention also provides methods for producing novel growth hormone releasing hormone variants and their uses thereof.

The present invention relates to novel variants of growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) that have enhanced resistance to enzymatic degradation and polynucleotides encoding said GHRH variants. The present invention relates to methods and therapeutic compositions for the treatment of growth hormone related deficiencies comprising administrating to humans, companion animals, livestock or poultry, plasmid compositions comprising polynudeotides encoding GHRH or variants thereof, alone or in combination with polynucleotides encoding growth hormone or modified growth hormone. The present invention further relates to methods and compositions that promote the release and expression of growth hormone in order to enhance the growth and performance of companion animals, livestock or poultry comprising the administration plasmid compositions encoding GHRH variants, GHRH or modified GHRH, and/or GH or modified GH.
Growth hormone-releasing hormone (xe2x80x9cGHRHxe2x80x9d) is a peptide hormone secreted from the hypothalamus. Following secretion, GHRH enters the portal circulation connecting the hypothalamus to pituitary gland. GHRH then interacts with its receptors on the pituitary gland and induces the release of growth hormone (xe2x80x9cGHxe2x80x9d). GH secreted from the pituitary gland enters the general circulation and from there it reaches various organs and tissues of the body where it interacts with specific receptors and induces a wide range of developmental effects.
GHRH peptides have been isolated and characterized from several species including humans, porcine, ovine and bovine. In each of these species, GHRH is a small polypeptide consisting of 44 amino acids (GHRH(1-44)-NH2). However, it has been also shown that smaller fragments, most notably those consisting of the first (amino terminal) 29 amino acids (referred to as GHRH1-29 fragment) retain the same intrinsic biological activity as the full length parent molecule.
GHRH is synthesized as a precursor polypeptide consisting of 107 or 108 amino acids depending on the species. Following synthesis, the precursor GHRH polypeptide undergoes sequential processing. First, the 31 amino acid signal peptide (Metxe2x88x9230 to Arg0) of the GHRH precursor polypeptide is cleaved (Smith et al., 1992, Biotechnology 10:315-319). Subsequently, the GHRH precursor polypeptide is cleaved at position 46-47 and at position 45-46 by a trypsin-like endopeptidase and a carboxypeptidase, respectively, resulting in generation of GHRH(1-45)-OH and a 30 amino acid peptide (amino acids 77-107) designated GCTP (Brar, A. K. et al., 1991, Endocrinology 129: 3274-3280). The GHRH(1-45)-OH polypeptide is further processed by peptidyl glycine xcex1-amidating monooxygenase (xe2x80x9cPAMxe2x80x9d), which transfers an amide group from Gly45 to Leu44 and results in the formation of GHRH(1-44)-NH2, the full length form of GHRH (Brar, A.K. et al., 1991, Endocrinology 129: 3274-3280). The GCTP is also undergoes processing by PAM, which results in the transfer of an amide group from Gly77 to Gln76. Although the role of GHRH(1-44)-NH2 in inducing the release of GH is well established, the role of the GCTP peptide is less clear. One report has implicated the GCTP peptide in the control of feeding behavior (Arase, K. et al., 1987, Endocrinology 121:1960-1965).
GH has been identified and its gene cloned from many species including human, porcine, bovine, and equine. Unlike GHRH, there exists natural variants of GH within a given species. For example, bovine GH is released from the pituitary gland in one of four variants which differ from one another by one or more amino acids and some studies suggest that these variants differ in their potency (e.g., in terms of their ability to increase milk yield). Several studies have also identified amino acid substitutions that lead to an increase in the affinity of GH to its receptors and/or enhanced stability to enzymatic degradation. Studies have also shown that immunization against specific peptides from GH (e.g., a peptide consisting of amino acids 35 to 53 of GH) leads to production of antibodies that bind growth hormone and increase the efficacy of GH treatment, presumably because the antibodies delay the clearance of GH from circulation, thus, increasing half-life of GH, and/or protect GH from proteolytic degradation (Bomford, F. and Aston, P., 1990, Endocnnology 125:31-38).
Significant research efforts have focused on the structural attributes of GH and GHRH, as well as their biological and developmental activities. A number of groups have attempted to exploit GH and GHRH in a manner that could provide important therapeutic and economic benefits as a result of their use in humans and animals. For example, the traditional treatment of GH-deficient children has been the administration of growth hormone isolated from human pituitary glands, however these preparations are no longer available in the United States due to virus-contaminated samples (Vance, 1990, Clin. Chem 36/3: 415-420). Recombinantly expressed and purified GH have been shown to have some benefits in treating GH-deficient children, however the combination of recombinantly expressed GH and GHRH in the treatment of GH-deficient children has provided conflicting results. (Vance. supra). Further, purified GH and GHRH must be administered at very high quantities to be effective as the exposure of these polypeptides to serum results in their rapid degradation to a polypeptide which exhibits considerably different biological and pharmacokinetic properties. (Fronman et al., 1989, J. Clin. Invest. 83:1533-1540).
Other studies have shown that GH or GHRH administered as purified polypeptides have significant impact on animal growth (muscle and bone growth), average daily gain, milk production, feed efficiency (the ratio of feed consumed to body weight gain), adipose tissue accretion and others. For example, it has been shown that daily administration of maximally effective doses of GH administered to growing pigs for 33-77 days can increase average daily gain xe2x88x9210-20%, improves feed efficiency 13-33%, decrease adipose tissue accretion by as much as 70%, and stimulates protein deposition (muscle growth) by as much as 62%. (Etherton et al.,1998, Physiological Reviews 78:745-761). Furthermore, when GH was administered to dairy cows, milk yields were increased by 10-15% (xe2x96xa14-6kg/day) (Etherton et al.,1998, Physiological Reviews 78:745-761).
A major impediment to fulfilling the therapeutic and economic potential of GHRH peptides is their susceptibility to cleavage (and subsequent conversion to inactive forms) by specific tissue and plasma proteolytic enzymes; most notably dipeptidylpeplidase IV (xe2x80x9cDPPIVxe2x80x9d). A number of researchers have focused on manipulating GHRH in order to develop compounds with significant therapeutic potential. Consequently, a wide variety of synthetic GHRH peptide analogues have been produced. They consist of GHRH polypeptides in which one or more amino acids have been chemically modified or replaced with other L- or D-amino acids. These modifications or substitutions are designed to yield analogues with biological properties superior to those of the parent molecule in terms of potency, stability and resistance to chemical and enzymatic degradation. However, these chemically modified polypeptides are not easily or efficiently produced in a suitable form to be administered to humans or animals.
In spite of the significant therapeutic and economic benefits of GH or GHRH alluded to above, exogenous supplementation of animals with GH or GHRH proteins have not been widely adopted as a component of routine management practices to enhance the quality of meat from animals and/or enhance the productivity of livestock. This is because in order to get these benefits, animals have to be repeatedly administered GH or GHRH polypeptides (often daily, but typically in a slow release formulation given every 7-10 days). (Etherton, T. D., 1997, Nature Biotechnology 15:1248) This situation is labor intensive, time consuming, expensive, and does not fit current management practices where animals are reared in large numbers and are handled very infrequently, it is apparent therefore that in order to realize the therapeutic and economic benefits of GH and/or GHRH administration, much improved formulations for delivery of these hormones must be developed to overcome the current limitations of their use; namely the need for repeated administration.
The present invention relates to novel variants of GHRH that have enhanced resistance to enzymatic degradation and polynucleotides encoding said variants. The present invention also relates to pharmaceutical formulations comprising polynucleotide sequences encoding GHRH variants alone or in combination with polynucleotide sequences encoding GHRH, modified GHRH, GH and/or modified GH. The present invention also relates to pharmaceutical formulations comprising GHRH variant peptides alone or in combination with GHRH polypeptides, modified GHRH polypeptides, GH polypeptides and/or modified GH polypeptides. The present invention further relates to pharmaceutical formulations comprising canine or feline GHRH peptides alone or in combination with GHRH variant polypeptides, modified GHRH polypeptides, GH polypeptides and/or modified GH polypeptides.
The present invention relates to therapeutic methods and compositions for the treatment of growth hormone related deficiencies comprising growth hormone (xe2x80x9cGHxe2x80x9d) and/or growth hormone-releasing hormone (xe2x80x9cGHRHxe2x80x9d) in human, companion animals, livestock and poultry. The invention also relates to methods for the improvement in the health of humans, companion animals, livestock and poultry. The invention also relates to methods for the treatment of obesity and frailty of companion animals. The invention further relates to methods for the enhancement of the growth and performance of companion livestock and poultry. The methods of the present invention comprise pharmaceutical compositions which enhance the expression of growth hormone or promote the release of growth hormone or both when administered to humans, companion animals, livestock or poultry. According to the present invention, the term xe2x80x9cGHRHxe2x80x9d relates to the full length wildtype form of GHRH which is 44 amino acids (aa) or a precursor form of GHRH. In accordance with the present invention, the term xe2x80x9cmodified GHRHxe2x80x9d refers to any amino terminal polypeptide fragment of GHRH from 29 amino acids to 107 or 108 amino acids in length and any mutant of GHRH, including additions, deletions or substitutions at the nudeotide or amino acid level, which retains at least the level of activity of wildtype GHRH, that is, the ability to induce GH gene transcription at levels comparable to wildtype GHRH.
In accordance with the present invention, the term xe2x80x9cGHRH variantxe2x80x9d relates to a GHRH polypeptide to which one or more amino acids have been attached to the carboxy or amino terminus of the polypeptide, or a wildtype GHRH polypeptide that contains a substitution of one or more amino acids, so that the GHRH variant retains at least equal or enhanced wildtype GHRH activity and has enhanced resistance to enzymatic degradation relative to the wildtype GHRH. In accordance with the present invention, wildtype GHRH activity is measured by its ability to induce GH gene transcription. In accordance with the present invention, resistance to enzymatic degradation is determined by the ability of the polypeptide to resist degradation caused by dipeptidylpeptidase type IV.
According to the present invention, the term xe2x80x9cGHxe2x80x9d refers to the full length wildtype form of GH, which is 191 amino acids, and xe2x80x9cmodified GHxe2x80x9d refers to any fragment of GH and any mutant including additions, deletions or substitutions at the nucleotide or amino acid level, which retains at least the level of wildtype activity of GH, that is, the ability to induce insulin growth factor (IGF) gene transcription at levels comparable to wildtype GH, or mimic the anti-adipogenic and lipolytic effects of GH.

Growth hormone and growth hormone releasing hormone compositions


Disclosed are two-player games, gaming machines, gaming systems and methods including one or more shared feature games. Each player has a respective base game, game board and a token movable on his game board in response to his base game outcomes. Certain combinations of token positions on the two game boards may trigger play of one or more feature games shared by the players.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to wagering games, gaming machines, networked gaming systems and methods and, more particularly, to wagering games, gaming machines, networked gaming systems and methods having a slot machine game for two players including a shared feature game.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the prior art, various types of gaming machines have been developed with different features to captivate and maintain player interest. In general, a gaming machine allows a player to play a game in exchange for a wager. Depending on the outcome of the game, the player may be entitled to an award which is paid to the player by the gaming machine, normally in the form of currency or game credits. Gaming machines may include flashing displays, lighted displays, or sound effects to capture a player's interest in a gaming device.
Another important feature of maintaining player interest in a gaming machine includes providing the player with many opportunities to win awards, such as cash or prizes. For example, in some slot machines, the display windows show more than one adjacent symbol on each reel, thereby allowing for multiple-line betting. Feature games of various types have been employed to reward players above the amounts normally awarded on a standard game pay schedule. Generally, such feature games are triggered by predetermined events such as one or more appearances of certain combinations of indicia in a primary game. In order to stimulate interest, feature games are typically set to occur at a gaming machine on a statistical cycle based upon the number of primary game plays.
Some gaming machine games today include one or more progressive prize awards. In some configurations, the progressive prize may have a small probability of a player winning it; thus making it possible to have a larger progressive prize. In other game configurations, the progressive prize may be a small amount; thus allowing the player patron to win the progressive prize more frequently. In most typical game configurations, the player wins the progressive prize as a result of a specific game outcome within the primary or main game.
Gaming machines have traditionally been under the control of a single player. While single-player gaming machines including feature games and progressive prizes have been very successful, there remains a need for games that provide a shared multi-player game experience.


In a database, product image data is accumulated. A search portion acquires product image data having the image characteristics information that is the same as or similar to the image characteristics information that indicates the characteristics of the image of input image data from the database for the input image data. A search server outputs information on another product that is different from the product corresponding to the product image data together with the product image data acquired by the search portion.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a search supporting system, a search supporting method, and a search supporting program that support a user to search a target through the Internet and to select or determine a target.
Related Art
Conventionally, systems that support selection or determination of a target to be searched by a user have been used when the user searches for the target (for example, a product or the like) through a network such as the Internet and purchases the target (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-246585A).
For example, a user searches for a target by inputting the name (for example, a product name or the like) of the target or the characteristics of the target by using various search engines available on the Internet. In addition, as needed, the user searches for a store that sells the above-described target.
Then, a server device having the above-described search engine supports the user's search for the target by presenting the image of a target corresponding to the user's preference or the price thereof included in the found store to the user's terminal through the Internet or providing a related target or the like.
In addition, recently, the purchase of products from a virtual store from a virtual mall on the Internet without visiting a retail store that provides face-to-face sales for purchasing the product has increased.
As a result, even in a region in which a large-size retail store is not located nearby, it becomes possible for a user to purchase a product of choice from among a plurality of products of many types while being seated in his or her house (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-150138A).
However, in the above-described conventional examples and the like, when the user searches for the target, the user inputs text data representing the name or the like of the target or selects the target from images of targets that have been prepared in advance for a search. Accordingly, when the user has information on the image of the target only and does not know the name of the target, there is a problem that the user cannot search the target actually desired to be searched or a target that is similar to the search target.
A purpose of some aspects of the present invention is to provide a search supporting system, a search supporting method, and a search supporting program that are capable of searching for a target desired to be searched by the user by using the image data of the target, for example, even in a case where the name of the target is not known to the user.

Search supporting system, search supporting method and search supporting program


Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to a technique for producing a difference value by offsetting a current value of an analog signal with a stored previous value of the analog signal, and generating a digital representation of the difference value. Digital representations obtained by this technique may be sent over a channel to a receiver device for reconstruction of the original analog signal. An integrator of the receiver device may be configured to process (sum) the received samples to generate a reconstructed version of the original signal.

1. Field
Certain aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to signal processing and, more particularly, to designing an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for digitizing and communicating biomedical signals.
2. Background
Biomedical signals, such as electrocardiograms (ECG) and electroencephalograms (EEG), are typically sampled at hundreds of Hz. There is a growing interest in designing low power systems to record and wirelessly transmit such signals from a subject to a gateway or a receiver. This may require the design of low power electronics for analog front-ends.
Successive approximation register (SAR) based Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs) are popular in biomedical data acquisition systems due to their medium to high resolution and low power consumption. Lowering power consumption of such systems is desirable since these tend to be battery powered and need to last long periods without recharging. Charge redistribution SAR ADCs are commonly used for this application. One approach to further lowering power consumption can be to develop new ADC architectures based on characteristics of the biomedical signal.
Conventional n-bit SAR ADCs may require n cycles to complete the signal digitization. Using a binary search algorithm, the ADC may convert the input signal one bit at a time from a Most Significant Bit (MSB) to a Least Significant Bit (LSB). However, higher bits of a slowly varying signal may tend to change very infrequently; therefore a large fraction of the conversion cycles may be wasted. One way to address this issue can be to utilize the conventional SAR with modified digital logic, which may start the conversion process from a new point for each sample based on the previous value of the signal, and may choose the depth of the search tree based on the current rate of change of the signal. While this architecture may lead to power reductions, it may cause an increase in area and may not reduce the effect of DC offsets.

Analog-to-digital converter for biomedical signals


A coupling assembly includes a first coupling member having a first exterior surface and a second exterior surface spaced from the first exterior surface by a rib having a first locking surface. A second coupling member includes an inwardly facing surface sized to receive the first coupling member and an inwardly facing annular groove having a second locking surface. The groove is configured to reduce stress risers in the second coupling member. A resiliently expandable locking ring is received in the inwardly facing annular groove and is engaged and expanded to a larger radial size by the rib upon movement of the first coupling member further into the second coupling member. The resiliently expandable locking ring is configured to retract in diametrical size to become trapped between the first locking surface and the second locking surface upon further movement of the first coupling member into the second coupling member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to push-to-connect style fluid connectors and, more particularly, to push-to-connect style fluid connectors that include a locking ring.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many industrial applications where a high pressure hydraulic system requires that several connections be made between a hose assembly and a component, such as a pump, motor, valve, etc. Initially there were no push-to-connect (threadless) connection systems available that could satisfactorily operate at high pressure, prior art systems made use of threaded fittings to make this connection. Recently, push-to-connect style coupling assemblies have become available that can operate at high pressures. In one such coupling assembly, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a resiliently expandable locking ring is employed to secure a male coupling member within a female coupling member. In the prior art design, the female coupling member includes a chamfered surface against which the locking ring is engaged during connection of the male and female coupling members, and a retaining ring groove having two generally parallel sides positioned perpendicular to an inwardly facing surface of the groove. The locking ring is urged into the retaining ring groove during disconnection of the coupling members. While this design has proven successful in use, the transition point between the chamfer and the retaining ring groove, among other areas, may create an undesirable stress riser in the female coupling member during connection of some male and female coupling members. These stress risers may lead to localized cracking in the female member or a "flaring-out" of a receiving end of the female member due to the force exerted by the male member on the female member through the locking ring during connection and pressurization of the coupling assembly. For these and other reasons, an improved coupling assembly is desired that overcomes the limitations of the prior art.


Methods, systems, apparatus, and computer programs are disclosed for software-accelerated genomic data read mapping. In one aspect, the methods can include actions of obtaining a k-mer seed from a genomic data read, generating a genomic signature based on the obtained k-mer seed, determining a reference sequence location that match at least a portion of the k-mer seed using a hash data structure, wherein the hash data structure comprises N data cells comprising a first portion storing a predetermined genomic signature and a second portion storing a value that corresponds to a first occurrence of a reference sequence location that match at least a portion of the k-mer seed from which the predetermined genomic signature was derived, and selecting the determined reference sequence location as an actual alignment for the obtained k-mer seed based on one or more alignment scores.

In some cases, genomic read mapping describes a method to identify the locus of a gene and the distances between genes. Computers can be used to analyze one or more sets of genomic data and correlate a collection of molecular markers, such as a series of nucleotides, with their respective positions on a given reference genome. In this way, a computer can be used to "map" the collection of molecular markers onto the reference genome.

Software accelerated genomic read mapping


There is provided herein an endoscope assembly comprising at least one front-pointing viewing element on a front end of a distal section of the endoscope assembly, at least one side-looking viewing element on at least one side wall of the distal section of the endoscope assembly, a working channel configured for insertion of a medical tool towards the distal section, and a system for regulating the direction of exit of medical device wherein said system enables the medical device to exit at multiple angles to the long dimension of the endoscope device either from the front end or through side walls of the distal section of the device.

Endoscopes have attained great acceptance within the medical community, since they provide a means for performing procedures with minimal patient trauma, while enabling the physician to view the internal anatomy of the patient. Over the years, numerous endoscopes have been developed and categorized according to specific applications, such as cystoscopy, colonoscopy, laparoscopy, upper GI endoscopy and others. Endoscopes may be inserted into the body's natural orifices or through an incision in the skin.
An endoscope is usually an elongated tubular shaft, rigid or flexible, having one or more video cameras or fiber optic lens assemblies at its distal end. The shaft is connected to a handle, which sometimes includes an ocular for direct viewing. Viewing is also usually possible via an external screen. Various surgical tools may be inserted through a working channel in the endoscope to perform different surgical procedures.
Endoscopes generally have at least a front viewing element and optionally a side viewing element to view the internal organ, such as the colon, illuminators associated with each viewing element, one or more fluid injectors to clean the lens assembly of the viewing element(s), and a working channel to insert surgical tools, for example, to remove polyps found in the colon. Typically, endoscopes also have fluid injectors ("jet") to clean a body cavity, such as the colon, into which they are inserted. The illuminators commonly used are fiber optics which transmit light, generated remotely, to the endoscope tip section. The use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for illumination is also known.
Often surgical tools inserted through a working channel exit from a working channel opening at the front of the distal end of the endoscope tip. The front viewing element allows for the operator to view the tool within the patient's body. In other configurations, surgical tools inserted through a working channel exit from a working channel opening positioned on a side, near the distal end, of the endoscope tip.
Currently available endoscope assemblies do not adequately address the need to exit a surgical tool inserted through the working channel, from either the front opening or one or more side openings located on the distal end of the endoscope tip. Hence there are limitations on the visibility of the body cavity as well as on the ability to reach the cavity and operate on polyps or lesions on the cavity's walls.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,537,561 titled "Endoscope Apparatus" invented by Yamaya et al. describes "an endoscope apparatus comprising: an insertion portion having first and second channels arranged therein and terminating at first and second openings, respectively, at a distal portion of the insertion portion; an observation optical system for capturing an observation image, which is arranged to the insertion portion; a first treatment-tool oscillating base which guides, in a first direction and centering around a first rotating shaft, a first treatment-tool inserted via the first channel arranged to the insertion portion, a range of oscillation of the first treatment-tool by the first treatment-tool oscillating base being set so as to cause a distal end of the first treatment-tool to be selectively positioned inside or outside the observation image; and a second treatment-tool oscillating base which guides, in a second direction which is different from the first direction and centering around a second rotating shaft, a second treatment-tool inserted via the second channel arranged in the insertion portion, the second rotating shaft being positioned closer to the distal portion side of the insertion portion than the first rotating shaft." However, such assemblies with a front-pointing camera with front working channel openings to treat (removing/biopsying) polyps or lesions found on the side walls of the colon need to be refracted and repositioned with their front facing the polyp or lesion. This repositioning of the tip may result in "losing" the polyp/lesion and further effort and time must be invested in re-locating it.
Thus there is a need in the art for an endoscope assembly that allows a medical tool to exit the working channel from the front as well as the side of an endoscope tip, and which may be viewed by corresponding front and side viewing elements.


A passive sensor housing has an air gap formed therein between a collimating lens and a lens focused mirror reflecting optical light signals transmitted through the lens into the air gap within which smoke is received through screened openings in the housing. The optical light signals which are generated within an opto-electronics unit are returned thereto by reflection through the air gap into a fiber cable connected to the collimating lens of the sensor and to an optical coupler within the opto-electronic unit to which generated light signals are delivered from a light emitting diode and returned from the sensor for delivery to a receiver within which such signals are processed into an output signal reflecting smoke density within the air gap.

Smoke detection is presently concerned primarily with aerosol content of smoke produced by burning of material under different conditions which significantly affect aerosol property of the smoke, such as particle size and distribution quantified in terms of percentage obscuration involving the interaction of light wave radiation with the smoke aerosols producing scattering and absorption of the light waves due to the presence of the smoke. Currently there are two basic types of smoke detectors used for fire detection purpose when smoke density exceeds a certain threshold. One of such smoke detectors is of an ionization chamber type within which radioactive, charged plate electric field is established through which ionized air molecules migrate to trigger a fire indicating alarm. Such smoke detectors however have a high false alarm rate tendency caused by airborne dust and water droplets. False alarms caused by airborne dirt or water droplets are applicable to the other types of photoelectric smoke detectors, wherein smoke particles entering an optically powered illuminated test chamber scatter light in all directions causing light collection. It is therefore an important object of the present invention to provide a smoke detector which avoids the aforementioned false alarms and other disadvantages associated with the ionization chamber and aforementioned photoelectric types of smoke detectors.

United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A method for video quality assessment implemented by a computing device, where the method includes selecting a first set of frames from an input video source, determining features of the first set of frames for input into a first machine learning model, applying the first machine learning model to the features of the first set of frames to obtain a video quality score and a confidence score, and triggering a retraining of the first machine learning model in response to the confidence score being determined to be out of bounds.

Video formats, which can include accompanying audio, can vary and have a variety of characteristics related to the quality of the video and audio. When video and audio are transmitted or their format altered, the characteristics of the video and audio can be altered. This can affect the overall quality of the video and audio. As used herein, video quality can refer to characteristics of the video and audio as they are perceived and as compared to the originally captured video and audio (or a similar reference point).
Video processing systems can introduce distortion or artifacts in the video and audio that negatively impact perception of the video and audio by a user as well as the metrics of the characteristics of the video and audio. Measuring and preserving the quality of video and audio is an important aspect of many audio/video technologies.
Many devices, systems, and technologies related to audio/video perform video quality evaluation to measure the quality of an input audio/video source. These video quality evaluation processes can utilize objective mathematical models or subjective assessments (e.g., by user grading or assessment). Objective mathematical models of video quality can approximate results from subjective assessment. The term objective mathematical models can be statistical models in which several independent variables are fit against results obtained in a subjective assessments. The term "objective" mathematical models relate to models that are based on criteria that can be measured objectively, i.e., without subjective assessment. Objective mathematical models can be automatically evaluated by a computer program and deterministically output the same quality score for a given set of input parameters.
Objective mathematical models can rely on an original or 'reference' source as a basis for quality assessment, that is the input source quality is measure relative to how different it is from the reference source. This type of objective mathematical model for video quality assessment is referred to as a full-Reference objective mathematical model or 'full reference method.'
Full reference methods compute a quality difference by comparing the original audio/video signal against the received audio/video signal. Every pixel from the source can be compared to the corresponding pixel of the input video. Full reference methods can be highly accurate, but require high computational resources and access to the reference video. Because this method requires the availability of the original video at the time of quality assessment the method cannot be used in all scenarios (e.g., where the quality is assessed at an end user device).

No reference realtime video quality assessment


A zoom lens includes a first lens unit, a second lens unit, a third lens unit and a fourth lens unit. The third lens unit includes a movable barrel, a first slidable member able to move in a first direction perpendicular to the optical axis, and a second slidable member able to move along a second direction perpendicular to the optical axis and also perpendicular to the first direction. The movable barrel includes a first Hall member and a first coil, the first slidable member comprises a second Hall member and a second coil. A first magnet is aligned with the first coil, and a second magnet is aligned with the second coil, both coils can be independently energized to compensate any shaking movements experienced by the Hall members.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to zoom lenses and imaging devices, and particularly, relates to a zoom lens and an imaging device with image stabilizing function.
2. Description of Related Art
Many imaging devices, such as digital cameras, digital video cameras, and monitoring devices, have image stabilizing function for correcting image blur due to shaking of the imaging device during shooting.
An imaging device with image stabilizing function will include a shake detecting unit for detecting any shaking of the imaging device, a calculating unit for calculating the degree of the shaking, and a blur correcting unit with a compensating lens for correcting image blur due to the shaking. However, the detecting unit, the calculating unit and the blur correcting unit each have a complicated structure and add to the overall complexity of the imaging device, and increase the overall size of the imaging device.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a zoom lens and an imaging device which can overcome the limitations described above.


A transceiver determines the signal quality of a desired signal and the strength of all received signals. When the signal quality of the desired signal is low, and the signal strength of all received signals is high, the receiver is adapted to operate in a higher current mode, thereby minimizing intermodulation distortion. Conversely, when the quality of the desired signal is low and the strength of all received signals is also low, or when the quality of the desired signal is above a threshold, the receiver operates in a lower current mode to conserve power and maximize battery lifetime. Also, when the transceiver adapts to operate in the higher current mode, a command is sent instructing a transmitting party to increase the quality of their message which may enable the listening transceiver to adapt (return) to a lower current mode.

In an RF receiver, intermodulation distortion is caused by an interfering signal of sufficient signal strength mixing with a local oscillator (or injection) signal that results in an undesired signal appearing in the passboard of a receiver's intermediate frequency (IF) section. Generally, a desired signal is also mixed into the IF passboard, and the comtemporaneous presence of the undesired signal distorts the desired signal thereby reducing the intelligibilty of the desired signal.
It is known that the third order IM distortion of a balanced commutation mixer may be represent by: ##EQU1## Where, IM is the third order intermodulation distortion;
V.sub.c is the peak-to-peak local oscillator voltage; PA0 V.sub.s is the peak received signal voltage; PA0 t.sub.r is the rise (and fall) time of V.sub.c ; and PA0 f.sub.lo is the frequency of the local oscillator.
As is known, the peak received signal voltage (V.sub.s) may be viewed as a random parameter, and the frequency of the local oscillator (f.sub.lo) is typically determined by the frequency of the desired signal Accordingly, for a given received signal level and frequency, analysis of equation (1) reveals that the IM of the mixer (and thus the receiver) may be minimized (theoretically to zero) by increasing the peak-to-peak local oscillator voltage (V.sub.c), or by reducing the rise (and fall) time of the local oscillator waveform (t.sub.r), such as by using a square wave. However, signal amplification and square wave generation require high current to enable active devices to operate at high speed. Thus, this practice may be detrimental to battery powered RF receivers since the radio's operational lifetime may be reduced to an impractically short interval. Conversely, merely adding more batteries (or cells) to an RF receiver may so increase the weight and physical size of the receiver as to make it undesirable to the comsuming public.

Communication system with adaptive transceivers to control intermodulation distortion


In a development apparatus including conveying screws which circulates and conveys developer in a developer container as being rotated, a developing sleeve which bears and conveys developer in the developer container as being rotated, and a restriction blade which restricts developer quantity at the developing sleeve, the developer container includes a supply chamber to supply developer to the developing sleeve and a retrieval chamber to retrieve developer from the developing sleeve, and rotation speed of the conveying screws or rotation speed of the developing sleeve is changed so that Vsc/Vsl during image forming is not performed is to be smaller than that during image forming is performed, as Vsc denotes the rotation speed of the conveying screws and Vsl denotes the rotation speed of the developing sleeve.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a development apparatus in an image forming apparatus which visualizes an electrostatic latent image formed on an image bearing member with developer including toner in an electrophotographic system or an electrostatic recording system, in particular, related to a development apparatus mounted on an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus utilizing an electrophotographic system, an electrostatic latent image formed on a photosensitive member as an image bearing member is visualized as a toner image with toner in developer by utilizing a development apparatus.
The most popular development apparatus is constituted with a developer container to accommodate developer, a conveying member to convey developer in the developer container while agitating and mixing, a developer bearing member to bear and convey developer to an opposed part of a photosensitive member, and a thickness restriction member to restrict developer quantity at the developer bearing member.
Here, the development apparatus utilizing dual-component developer containing nonmagnetic toner and magnetic carriers, for example, is described. The developer accommodated in the developer container is agitated and mixed by a conveying screw as a conveying member within the developer container. The developer is charged with frictional electrification during the process of the agitating and mixing. The charged developer is borne mainly with magnetic force at a developing sleeve as the developer bearing member having a magnet as magnetic field generating unit arranged at the inside thereof. The developing sleeve is rotatably arranged at a position opposed to the photosensitive member. The developer is conveyed to a developing area being the opposed part of the photosensitive member according to rotation of the developing sleeve and used for developing. In the developing area, the toner in the developer is transferred to an electrostatic latent image formed on a surface of the photosensitive member with developing bias applied to the developing sleeve, so that a toner image corresponding to the electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive member.
In such a development apparatus, a restriction blade as the thickness restriction member is generally arranged so as to be opposed to a circumferential surface of the developing sleeve via a predetermined gap. As the restriction blade, various proposals such as a magnetic plate, a nonmagnetic plate, a combination thereof, and an elastic member are performed and actualized as well. When the developer borne at the developing sleeve is conveyed to the developing area, the quantity of the developer conveyed to the developing area is adjusted to be restricted during a process of passing through a gap between the developing sleeve and the restriction blade, so that stable quantity thereof is supplied.
With the development apparatus performing the thickness restriction of developer borne at the developing sleeve surface by the restriction blade, there may be a case that following problems occur.
FIG. 12 is a sectional view schematically illustrating a state of dual-component developer at the upstream side of the restriction blade position when utilizing dual-component developer known from the past. The developer gathered up to the surface of a developing sleeve 128 is borne at a surface of the developing sleeve 128, and then, conveyed to the vicinity of the upstream side in the developer conveying direction of the restriction blade position. The developer conveyed to the vicinity of the upstream side of the restriction blade 130 is accumulated once, and then, a part of the developer passes and is conveyed to the developing area having the thickness thereof restricted at the position of the gap between an edge of the restriction blade 130 and the surface of the developing sleeve 128. Meanwhile, the remaining developer which cannot pass through the gap is accumulated at the next upstream part of the restriction blade 130 and composes a developer non-flowing layer. In this manner, a developer flowing layer being conveyed corresponding to the rotation of the developing sleeve 128 and the developer non-flowing layer banked by the restriction blade 130 are formed at the upstream position of the restriction blade 130.
When the developer flowing layer and the developer non-flowing layer are formed as described above, the developer flowing layer rubs with the developer non-flowing layer at the boundary surface thereof. Consequently, in the case of the dual-component developer, toner is separated from carriers. Then, the separated toner is to be in a fixation-like state at the boundary surface due to friction heat by rubbing, so that a toner layer is formed. Such a toner layer grows with lasting usage and interferes with the gap between the restriction blade 130 and the developing sleeve 128. Accordingly, the quantity of developer passing through the gap is decreased. Consequently, the developer quantity conveyed to the developing area fluctuates and a problem such as darkness fluctuation occurs.
As countermeasures against the above problem, it is effective for resolving the problem to decrease developer quantity supplied to the restriction blade and lessen the developer non-flowing layer as reducing accumulation at the restriction blade as less as possible. However, when quantity of the developer supplied to the restriction blade is decreased, there is apt to arise a new problem that quantity of the developer passing through the gap becomes unstable. Therefore, a certain lump quantity of developer is required to exist at the upstream side of the restriction blade. Accordingly, it is difficult to completely eliminate occurrence of the developer non-flowing layer.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-035067, it has been proposed to arrange, at the next upstream side of the restriction blade, a cylinder-shaped toner conveying member which constantly rotates having a consistently constant gap with a developing sleeve in order to prevent forming of the developer non-flowing layer.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-035067, it is described that occurrence of the developer non flowing layer can be prevented. However, bearings to support the toner conveying member and drive unit are required, so that structure complication and cost increase are unavoidable. Further, since the toner conveying member is driven in the opposite direction at a position opposed to the developer bearing member, there may be a risk that developer rapidly deteriorates since strong stress is to be applied to the developer. In addition, in the case of high-speed rotation, there may be a risk that developer is melted and fixed due to generation of heat.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-092061, a configuration to suppress forming of the developer non-flowing layer into a slight area by arranging a developer accumulation restriction member at a position where the developer non-flowing layer is apt to be formed as developer is accumulated.
However, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-092061, there may be a risk that a toner layer is formed against the developer flowing layer during lasting long usage and starts to disturb developer flowing when the developer non-flowing layer is formed even in the slight area.


The invention relates to a pattern forming method, a method of manufacturing a TFT substrate, a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display and an exposure mask and provides a pattern forming method, a method of manufacturing a TFT substrate, a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display and an exposure mask which make it possible to provide a liquid crystal display having high display characteristics. In a pattern forming method for forming a resist pattern extending across a first divided exposure region and a second divided exposure region among a plurality of divided exposure regions on a substrate, a resist film is formed on the substrate; the resist film in the first divided exposure region is exposed using an exposure mask to form a latent image which defines one edge of a resist pattern in the vicinity of a boundary between the first divided exposure region and the second divided exposure region; the resist film in the second divided exposure region is exposed using another exposure mask to form a latent image which defines another edge of the resist pattern in the vicinity of the boundary; and the resist film is developed to form the resist pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pattern forming method for forming a resist pattern on a substrate having a plurality of divided exposure regions, a method of manufacturing a thin film transistor substrate, a method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display and an exposure mask.
2. Description of the Related Art
Active matrix color liquid crystal displays have been spreading as displays of personal computers and wall-mounted television receivers. An active matrix liquid crystal display has two substrates and a liquid crystal sealed between the substrates. Thin film transistors (TFTs) are formed like a matrix on one of the two substrates as switching elements for driving the liquid crystal at each pixel. Presently, technical studies and product developments are being actively made to promote the spread of liquid crystal displays having larger screens.
In order to manufacture active matrix displays at a lower cost, it is important to form TFT substrates with a smaller number of manufacturing steps and a high yield of manufacture. For this reason, photolithographic techniques have prevailed as the mainstream because of their capability of transferring a multiplicity of patterns at a time. One exposure mask (reticle) is normally used at one patterning step.
In the case of a liquid crystal display having a large screen, since a substrate is large-sized, it is difficult to transfer patterns on the entire substrate at a time because of the structure of an exposure apparatus. For this reason, divided exposure in which an entire area to be patterned on a substrate is divided into a plurality of regions to be exposed is carried out. Divided exposure employs a separate exposure mask for each of divided regions to be exposed. A resist film formed on a wiring layer is shielded from light in its regions other than divided exposure regions to be exposed, and each of the divided exposure regions is exposed using a predetermined exposure mask and is thereafter developed to form a resist pattern covering the entire regions.
In divided exposure, the exposure mask and the substrate are aligned with each other in each of divided exposure regions. Therefore, the exposure mask for each of divided exposure regions may be misaligned relative to the substrate, and the width of an overlap between a source electrode and a gate electrode of a TFT can therefore be different in each of the divided exposure regions. In this case, the TFT formed in each of divided exposure regions has a different parasitic capacitance Cgs between the gate electrode and the source electrode, which results in differences ΔV between pixel potentials of the divided exposure regions and hence differences ΔT in light transmittance between the regions. As a result, differences in luminance are produced on the display screen of the liquid crystal display and are visually perceived as display irregularities.
A method of making such display irregularities less visually perceptible is a pattern forming method in which patterns associated with different exposure masks are arranged such that they are mixed with each other in a part where the patterns are stitched (for example, see Patent Document 4). Each of the exposure masks is laid out such that in a region of the stitched part where exposure is performed twice or more, the pattern in each pixel is formed by one cycle of exposure and is shielded from light during other cycles of exposure.
Incidentally, the documents of the related art are as follows:
Patent Document 1: JP-A-62-105146
Patent Document 2: JP-A-2-143513
Patent Document 3: JP-A-6-324474
Patent Document 4: JP-A-9-236930
Patent Document 5: JP-A-9-298155
Patent Document 6: JP-A-11-174402
Patent Document 7: International Publication Brochure No. WO95/16276
According to the pattern forming method in the related art, in order to reduce differences in the overlap width of the source electrode and the gate electrode of a TFT between divided exposure regions, a relative misalignment (stitching error) of exposures must be made small in each of a source electrode forming layer and a gate electrode forming layer. For this purpose, parameters (X, Y and θ or the like) for positioning of an X-Y stage of an exposure apparatus are corrected based on a value read from a vernier transferred on to a glass substrate using a measuring reticle for adjusting the exposure apparatus.
The accuracy of alignment of an exposure mask used at a photolithographic step with a substrate can vary within accuracy specifications for the same. In aligning methods according to the related art, alignment between an exposure mask and a substrate is corrected on the basis of an average value of alignment errors of a plurality of exposure masks. Therefore, correction has not been necessarily effective for an exposure mask having an alignment error that is far from the average value. The condition of an exposure apparatus may not be constant, and a positioning error of the X-Y stage can change gradually. The positioning error of the X-Y stage can also undergo irregular changes because of changes in the environment such as the atmospheric pressure. Under such circumstances, the pattern forming method according to the related art results in a problem in that parameters for positioning the X-Y stage of the exposure apparatus cannot be sufficiently corrected.

Pattern forming method, method of manufacturing thin film transistor substrate, method of manufacturing liquid crystal display and exposure mask


A rotary actuator is used in a shift-by-wire system for a vehicle. The actuator includes a motor, a controller, a housing, and a bus bar. The controller controls the motor. The housing holds a stator of the motor and the controller. The bus bar includes a terminal and a holder. The terminal electrically connects a coil of the stator to a control board of the controller. The holder is molded with a part of the terminal. The terminal includes a board-side arm that extends from the holder and a connecting pin that protrudes from the board-side arm toward the control board and that is connected to the control board. The board-side arm includes a stress releasing member that extends along an imaginary plane in parallel with the control board. The stress releasing member includes at least one curved portion at which the stress releasing member is curved or bent.

There has been known an electromechanical integrated actuator in which an operating section including a motor and a control section for controlling the motor are integrally formed. For example, the control unit includes a casing, a bus bar module disposed in the casing, and a control board disposed on an upper surface of the bus bar module. The bus bar of the bus bar module is provided with terminal pieces joined to a power component or the like and pin-shaped terminals for signal transmission.


A multi-clutch transmission for a motor vehicle with a prime mover has a main transmission, a range section and an output shaft, the main transmission including one input shaft, a main shaft and a main countershaft, the main shaft being rotationally fixed with a range input shaft of the range section, the range section including a range main shaft that is rotationally fixed with the output shaft, a range countershaft, range gearwheels that can selectively transfer power from the range input member to the range countershaft and on to the range main shaft, and range clutches, the multi-clutch transmission including a by-passing torque path in which power can be transferred when the range section is shifted, and where the by-passing torque path includes a by-passing clutch that selectively can rotationally lock the main countershaft to the range countershaft.

The present invention relates to vehicle transmissions, especially for heavy, on- and off-road vehicles, and more particularly to dual- and multi-clutch transmissions with a range section that, as set out in the preamble of claim 1 and as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,437.
Dual clutch transmissions are a cross-breed between conventional stepped transmissions, with power interruption at gear shifts, and powershifting, without power interruption, planetary transmissions. In principle, a dual clutch transmission has two input shafts, each connectable to a friction clutch and to the output of the engine. Functionally, this is equivalent to having two conventional transmissions in parallel, i.e., two parallel sub-transmissions, and using one at a time for poller transfer. The sub- transmission that is not used, idling, for the time being! can have a gear engaged and prepared for a subsequent shift. This shift is carried out by simultaneously disengaging the friction clutch of the previously used sub-transmission and engaging the friction clutch of the previously idling sub-transmission.
When properly designed, dual clutch transmissions have a potential of providing powershifts at a reasonable production cost and low power losses. This is due to the fact that the rotating parts, i.e., gearwheels, shafts and tooth clutches, are similar to those in conventional stepped transmissions. This, furthermore, enables the use of the same production equipment. So, it makes sense to produce dual clutch transmissions in the same facilities as used for conventional stepped transmissions.
Dual clutch transmissions for rear wheel drive vehicles often have two separate countershafts, one connected to each input shaft. One example is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,15,0628 (referred to as 12 and 15). These countershafts are parallel to the transmission input. They make the transmission wider than a conventional stepped transmission. That may lead to difficulties in installing the transmission into the vehicle. On the other hand, the transmission may be shorter instead. Anyway, in some dual clutch transmission designs there is only one countershaft, e.g., as in DE923402 and DE3131156A1. On this countershaft there are loose gearwheels arranged that can be rotationally connected to each other and to the countershaft by selective engagement of mechanical tooth clutches. In a way, this could be regarded as if the second countershaft is arranged coaxial to the first one. The result is a powershiftable dual clutch transmission that is as slim as corresponding conventional stepped transmissions. The number of gears and the speed reduction ratios possible are insufficient for heavy duty vehicles, though.
Some dual-clutch transmission concepts in a so-called winding structure have been presented, for instance U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,347,879, 5,592,854, DE10325647A1 and DE10339758A1. In these, the power is led via four gear meshes in at least one gear, and several gearwheels are used for more than one gear. That will give further reduction of speed. However, this corresponds to just one or two additional gears. These concepts are, hence, less suited to heavy vehicles.
DE102005030987A1, DE102005033027A1 , DE102006015661 A1 and EP1624232A1 show transmission concepts where a main transmission of dual clutch type is connected in series with a range section. That makes it possible to double the number of gears and obtain gears for high tractive force as well as gears tor high vehicle speed.
Unfortunately, there are shifts between consecutive gears where the power transfer will be interrupted in these designs. That is not an option for heavy on- and off road vehicles subjected to high driving resistance. Two similar designs of dual clutch main transmission in combination with a range section are shown in
DE102005050067A1 and WO2007/039021A1. Therein, the input and output of the transmission can be connected by a friction clutch. This friction clutch can transfer power when a gear shift takes place. Thereby, power interruption can be avoided at all gear shifts.
However, for reasonable sizes of this friction clutch, the power transferred to the driven wheels is very small at shifts between low gears. At the same time, the power dissipated in this friction clutch is large at these gear shifts. Thus, these types of dual clutch transmission would have a limited practical use, especially for on- and off-road vehicles.
Dual-clutch transmissions as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,628, DE923402 and DE3131156A1 could be combined with a range section.
That gives a compact transmission with several gears and high speed reduction ratios. Gear-shifts between consecutive gears could be without power interruption, except when, the range section is shifted. This would probably be acceptable on most heavy on-road vehicles, but not for, e.g., trucks in hilly applications or articulated haulers.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,353,724 B2 shows in FIGS. 1 and 3 dual-clutch transmissions where a direct connection between one of the input shafts and the output shaft can transmit power when changing between low, underdrive, gears and high, overdrive, gears. This is not a true range section, though. The number of gears is doubled, but in the underdrive gears the power is transmitted via two gear meshes, only, as in FIG. 2 in U.S. Pat. No. 6,958,028 R2. That limits the practically possible speed reduction.
Thereby, these transmissions are not suited to heavy vehicles.
A somewhat similar principle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,837. There, separate gearwheel pairs are provided for intermediate gears between the low and high range gears. This will give a large number of gears and no power interruptions at gear-shifts between consecutive gears. In low range gears, the power is transmitted via three gear meshes, which will enable large reduction ratios. However, the transmission is both wide and long due to two parallel countershafts and a large number of gearwheels located, side by side. Moreover, the output shaft is not coaxial with the input shaft. That makes the transmission incompatible with most heavy truck designs. The number of components is large, adding costs.
Further on, U.S. Pat. No. 7,070,534 B2 presents a dual clutch transmission 10 with a planetary range section 56 and coaxial input 86 and output 68. A dual clutch unit 20,22 selectively transfers power to input shafts 90 and 92. To each of these input shafts 90, 92 a countershaft, 74 and 76, respectively, is arranged. From each countershaft 74, 76 the power can be selectively directed with tooth clutches 80 and 84 to the output 68 in either of two ways. Firstly, the power can be led to the sun gear 58 of the planetary range section 56 via gearwheels 44, 46 and 54, 46, respectively. That will give a speed reduction in the planetary range section 56, corresponding to low range gears. Secondly, the power can be led more directly to the output 68 via gearwheels 40, 42 and 50, 42, respectively. The planetary range section will then be idling, and high range gears are established. Shifts without power interruption can be carried out between low and high range gears. Unfortunately, the number of rotating components, e.g., gearwheels and tooth clutches, is relatively large in comparison with the number of gears. The large number of gearwheels makes the transmission long, and the two parallel countershafts make it wide. Thereby, it will be difficult to fit in the vehicle. The transmission will be costly to manufacture due to the large number of components. Furthermore, the idling planetary range section will imply unnecessarily large power losses in high range gears. Hence, there are several disadvantages that make this transmission less suited for use in heavy vehicles.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,958,028 B2, FIG. 5, shows a dual clutch transmission with a planetary range section. This transmission is similar to the one in U.S. Pat. No. 7,070,534 B2. The main difference is that both input shafts, 30 and 40, use the same countershaft 50, tooth clutch 130, and gearwheels 122, 124 and 126, 128 between this countershaft and the planetary range section. Power interruption between low and high range gears is eliminated by a bridge torque path via a separate countershaft 152. That makes the transmission wide, and it shares the rest of the disadvantages of the one in U.S. Pat. No. 7,070,534 B2; many components, long, and high power losses for high range gears.
In US 2008/0188342A1, FIG. 1 presents a single countershaft dual clutch main transmission 10 combined with a planetary range section 12. A bridge torque path is formed by a tooth clutch 84 that rotationally locks a loose gearwheel 64 on main shaft 28 to a planet carrier 68 rotationally fixed to output shaft 70. When power is led in this path, the gearwheels in the planetary range section are idling, and it can be shifted between high and low positions. This gives a narrow transmission with high reduction ratios where power interruptions can be avoided at every shift between consecutive gears. However, this bridge path embodiment has a number of drawbacks. Firstly, the tooth clutch 84 is of complex design, making it costly and long. Secondly, the bearing 32 that carries main shaft 28 must be located in front of loose gearwheel 64. This puts a large part of the main shaft 28 behind bearing 32, which, in turn, increases misalignments in the ramie section and tooth clutch 84. Moreover, the assembly of the transmission is not facilitated by a main shaft having gearwheels and tooth clutches on both, sides of the housing wall that carries bearing 32.
Thirdly, adding parts for tooth clutch 84 will make the already complex shape of planet carrier 68 even more complex and tricky to produce. FIG. 3 shows a similar dual, clutch main transmission in combination with a non-planetary range section 102. For the rest, this transmission has similar properties as the one in FIG. 1. DE102007047671A1 shows a similar design that has similar disadvantages.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,066 presents several transmissions where a conventional stepped main transmission 12 is combined with a non-planetary range section 14. Tooth clutches 184 can selectively rotationally lock the main transmission countershafts 142 to the range section countershafts 172. Thereby, additional gears can be obtained without adding gearwheels. That will make the transmissions short in length and cost-effective to produce. However, these transmissions are of conventional type, having a single frictional master clutch and power interruption at every gear shift. This limits their use to on-road, non-severe heavy vehicle applications.
Thus, for heavy, on- and off-road vehicles there is a need for a transmission that i) enables high power transfer to the driven wheels during all shifts between consecutive gears, it) can provide high reduction ratios, iii) is cost-effective and simple to produce, iv) has low power losses and v) can be installed in a vehicle where the space available, especially axially, is limited.
Thus, it is desirable to present an improved transmission.

Multi-clutch transmission for a motor vehicle


A test environment and an associated method of testing and analyzing a semiconductor package material containing a molding compound, for stability in a sustained oxygen environment. Test samples are exposed to a pressurized gas containing oxygen, under elevated temperature below the glass transition temperature of the molding compound. Control samples are exposed to a pressurized inert gas under similar or more severe conditions of gas pressure, temperature, and humidity. At least one characteristic common to the test samples and the control samples is measured. A determination is made as to whether there exists at least one significant difference between the at least one measured characteristic of the test samples and the control samples.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a test environment and an associated method of testing and analyzing a semiconductor package material for stability in a sustained oxygen environment.
2. Related Art
A serious industry-wide problem is known to exist with semiconductor packages having an epoxy molding compound that includes an elemental red phosphorus-based flame retardant additive. After about two and a half years in the field, some of the semiconductor packages and materials therein failed, such as by developing electrical shorts, particularly during summer months during periods of high temperature and humidity. In efforts to understand why the fails occurred, the packaging material with red phosphorus was subjected to extensive testing by various interested parties, including conventional accelerated stress tests, tests involving exposure to humidity, elevated temperature, and voltage, etc. Unfortunately, the preceding tests demonstrated acceptable performance and therefore did not provide any insight as to why the aforementioned fails have been occurring with the semiconductor packages. The nature of this problem and the lack of insight into why this problem exits, as well as adverse consequences of this problem including the filing of multiple lawsuits, are discussed in "Nikkei Electronics" (Oct. 21, 2002). At present, there is no publicly available information that sheds light as to why the aforementioned fails have been occurring.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method of testing and analysis, as well as an associated test environment, that leads to detection and minimization of potential failure mechanisms in semiconductor packages containing potentially unstable materials such as red phosphorus.

Pressurized oxygen for evaluation of molding compound stability in semiconductor packaging

International Business Machines Corporation


A storage and retrieval system including a vertical array of storage levels, each storage level having storage locations, a multilevel vertical conveyor system configured to transport the uncontained case units to and from the vertical array of storage levels, each storage level being configured to receive uncontained case units from the multilevel vertical conveyor system, at least one autonomous transport confined to each storage level, the at least one autonomous transport being configured to transport the uncontained case units between respective storage locations and the multilevel vertical conveyor system, and a controller configured to effect operation of the multilevel vertical conveyor system and at least one autonomous transport for assembling orders of uncontained case units of different types without moving bundles of the same uncontained case unit type throughout the storage and retrieval system.

1. Field
The exemplary embodiments generally relate to material handling systems and, more particularly, to automated storage and retrieval systems.
2. Brief Description of Related Developments
Warehouses for storing case units may generally comprise a series of storage racks that are accessible by transport devices such as, for example, fork lifts, carts and elevators that are movable within aisles between or along the storage racks or by other lifting and transporting devices. These transport devices may be automated or manually driven. Generally the items stored on the storage racks are contained in carriers, for example, storage containers such as trays, totes or shipping cases, or on pallets. Generally, incoming pallets to the warehouse (such as from manufacturers) contain shipping containers (e.g. cases) of the same type of goods. Outgoing pallets leaving the warehouse, for example, to retailers have increasingly been made of what may be referred to as mixed pallets. As may be realized, such mixed pallets are made of shipping containers (e.g. totes or cases such as cartons, etc.) containing different types of goods. For example, one case on the mixed pallet may hold grocery products (soup can, soda cans, etc.) and another case on the same pallet may hold cosmetic or household cleaning or electronic products. Indeed some cases may hold different types of products within a single case. Conventional warehousing systems, including conventional automated warehousing systems do not lend themselves to efficient generation of mixed goods pallets. In addition, storing case units in, for example carriers or on pallets generally does not allow for the retrieval of individual case units within those carriers or pallets without transporting the carriers or pallets to a workstation for manual or automated removal of the individual case units.
It would be advantageous to have a storage and retrieval system for efficiently storing and retrieving individual case units without containing those case units in a carrier or on a pallet.


A Y/C separation circuit according to the present invention includes: a pattern determination section in which video signals “a”, “b”, and “c” of three lines from which a frequency band of a chrominance subcarrier is extracted through BPFs to determine whether an addition/subtraction result of (b−a), (b+a), (b−c), (b+c), (c−a), and (c+a) is positive or negative, thereby determining relations in amplitude and phase between the video signals “a”, “b”, and “c”; and a filtering section in which one of plural filtering operations for separating a chrominance signal is selected in accordance with the determination result sent from the pattern determination section to output a chrominance signal through the selected filtering operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Y/C separation circuit for separating a composite video signal into a luminance signal and a chrominance signal.
2. Description of Related Art
Y/C separation circuits are used for separating a composite video signal such as an NTSC signal or a PAL signal into a chrominance signal (C signal) and a luminance signal (Y signal). A Y/C separation method includes a frequency separation method, a two-dimensional Y/C separation method, and the like. Among those, the frequency separation method extracts from the composite video signal, a frequency band of a chrominance subcarrier obtained by modulating the chrominance signal, through a band-pass filter. The frequency separation method only requires the band-pass filter for separation, so the separation can be easily performed. As for a high-contrast image etc., a high-frequency component of the luminance signal passes through the band-pass filter, which would cause a contrast degradation and a cross-color artifact.
The two-dimensional Y/C separation method separates a chrominance signal from a luminance signal through a comb filter based on the relation that luminance signals of adjacent horizontal scan lines are in same phase, and chrominance subcarriers of adjacent lines are in opposite phase, insofar as a horizontal correlation is maintained. To be specific, when signals of adjacent lines correlate with each other, the signals of adjacent lines are subtracted from each other, so the luminance signals are cancelled out to extract the chrominance signal alone. Further, the extracted chrominance signal is subtracted from the original composite video signal to obtain the luminance signal.
As regards the NTSC signal, a chrominance subcarrier inverts its phase in one horizontal scanning period. As regards a PAL signal, a chrominance subcarrier inverts its phase in two horizontal scanning periods. Thus, adjacent lines in this specification imply lines ahead of and behind one horizontal scanning period for the NTSC signal, and imply lines ahead of and behind two horizontal scanning periods for the PAL signal.
In the two-dimensional Y/C separation method, the Y/C separation is carried out by use of a correlation (vertical correlation) between the signals of adjacent lines, so a luminance signal may be well separated from a chrominance signal if there is little change in luminance (luminance transition) and in color (color transition) between lines, and a vertical correlation is strong. However, as for an image having a diagonal stripe pattern in which a luminance between lines abruptly changes or an image involving a sharp color change between lines in a horizontal direction, a vertical correlation between lines is not so strong, so a chrominance signal cannot be well separated from a luminance signal with the two-dimensional Y/C separation method. As regards such an input signal, a chrominance signal may be well separated with the frequency separation method rather than with the two-dimensional Y/C separation method.
In this way, the optimum Y/C separation method varies depending on the correlation between lines of the video signal. Hence, there has been proposed hitherto a Y/C separation circuit (hereinafter referred to as adaptive Y/C separation circuit) in which a frequency separation method and a two-dimensional separation method can be selected according to an input signal (see Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 60-47793, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-224816, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-175219, for example). Such adaptive Y/C separation circuits detect a correlation between adjacent two lines or adjacent two of three lines to select a filtering operation applied to the chrominance signal separation based on the detection result.
For example, the adaptive Y/C separation circuit disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 60-47793 determines the presence/absence of the horizontal correlation by calculating a difference in signal amplitude between signals in three lines, and judging whether the amplitude difference is a predetermined threshold or less. Besides, if the amplitude difference exceeds the threshold, the correlation (horizontal correlation) between signals of the same line is detected to determine whether the vertical correlation is severed due to a luminance transition or a color transition. Based upon the determination result of the vertical correlation and horizontal correlation, a filtering operation for separating a chrominance signal is selected.
As mentioned above, the conventional adaptive Y/C separation circuit not only compares signals of three lines in terms of amplitude and phase, upon the determination for selecting a filtering operation for separating a chrominance signal, but also detects a correlation based on a signal amplitude difference between signals of three lines, and detects a correlation based on the vertical correlation and horizontal correlation. Thus, the conventional adaptive Y/C separation circuit has a problem that operations for detecting a correlation are complicated.

Y/C separation circuit and Y/C separation method