A bi-directional back stopping clutch having improved output pins connecting between brake shoes and an output member. During driving, the output pins transfer torque to the output member. When a sufficient back driving force is applied to the output member, the output pins skew to move the brake shoes into contact with a brake drum. The contact surfaces between the pins and the output member and between the pins and the brake shoes are rounded and the spacings between the contact surfaces are adjusted to provide a desired braking action. In one embodiment, the contact surface between each pin and the output member is of a smaller diameter than the contact surfaces between the pin and the brake shoes.

In certain applications, it is desirable to have a bi-directional motor connected to rotate an output shaft in either direction. At the same time, it is undesirable to allow a load connected to the output shaft to transmit an excessive forward or reverse back drive torque to the motor. Bi-directional back drive stopping clutches have been developed to accomplish this desired function. Such clutches include a pair of brake shoes which do not interfere with bi-directional driving forces from the motor, but are moved to engage a stationary brake drum in response to excessive back drive torques. The brake shoes are generally semicircular having arcuate braking surfaces which when actuated engage the brake drum. The brake shoes may include hardened wear resistant inserts at the braking surfaces. The brake shoes are mounted in an opposing relationship to abut along a common boarder. Input pins or flanges on an input yoke engage the brake shoes to hold the shoes together clear of the brake drum as the input yoke is rotatably driven by a suitable drive mechanism such as a motor. Circular openings are formed between the brake shoes at locations equally spaced on opposite sides of the axis of rotation for the input yoke. A pair of output pins extend between these openings and aligned openings on an output member. The output member is connected to an output shaft. So long as the driving force is transferred to the brake shoes from the input yoke and an excessive back drive torque is not imparted to the output member by the output shaft, the brake shoes rotate and input torque is transferred through the output pins to the output member. In the event that an excessive back drive torque is applied to the output member, the pins are caused to skew, thus spreading the abutting brake shoes apart. A small separation of the brake shoes causes the braking surfaces on the brake shoes to engage the brake drum to prevent back driving of the motor. The clutch is effective both to brake reverse feedback in the driving phase against a strongly opposing load and to brake under an excessive forward or aiding load condition which could otherwise cause run-away.
It has been known in the art that the effectiveness of the clutch is influenced by the design of the output pins and the pin openings between the brake shoes. Prior art output pins and pin openings between the brake shoes are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,335,831, 3,414,095 and 3,497,044. In the past, the output pins have had a generally cylindrical body with a quasi-spherical head at the end which fits into an output member opening. The spherical head allows the pin to tilt or skew in the output member opening sufficiently to engage the brake without interference between the skewed pins and the output member. The portion of the pin between the brake shoes has been formed with a uniform cylindrical body terminating at a flat end.
It is known that the output pins connected between the brake and the output member operate as levers as they become skewed to activate the brake. The spherical end of each output pin engages the output member and the body of the skewed pin engages the two brake shoes at spaced apart locations. The point nearest the output member where the pin first contacts one of the brake shoes is the fulcrum of the lever. In the past, the leverage ratio has been changed to modify the braking response of the clutch by enlarging the end of the pin opening between the abutting brake shoes adjacent the output member, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,497,044. The enlarged opening end increases the distance between the point of contact of the pin with the output member and the closest point of contact between the pin and a brake shoe. At the same time, the points of contact between the pin and the two brake shoes are moved closer together. Thus, the fulcrum for the pin is moved away from the output member and towards the end of the pin located between the brake shoes when the end of the shoe openings adjacent the output member are enlarged.
There are several disadvantages to enlarging the end of the brake shoe opening to modify the leverage ratio. The leverage ratio must be considered as only a theoretical value for production clutches. The actual ratio in an assembled clutch is the result of the relative position of all the assembled components. The manufacturing tolerances required for each respective component results in an overall total assembly stack up tolerance. This total tolerance varies from one assembly to another. In addition, the total tolerance can vary within each clutch assembly due to internal clearances of the parts. The result of tolerance stack up and clearances can change the leverage ratio by a magnitude of upwards of a 25 to 30 percent difference compared to the theoretical value. This difference, in turn, leads to a variation in clutch torque capacity by the same corresponding percentage difference in leverage ratio. The resulting clutch torque capacity in an assembled clutch could be adjusted only through replacement of the brake shoes with a pair of shoes having a different dimensioned stepped opening. However, if other tolerances on the replacement shoes were not identical to the original shoes, the replacement shoes might not result in the desired torque capacity. The brake shoes are the most expensive part of the clutch and the manufacturing cost is increased when the end of the opening is enlarged. In order to try different leverage ratios to determine the most effective brake response for a particular application, many differently designed pairs of the expensive brake shoes must be manufactured. Another problem associated with the present design is in the design of the fulcrum on the output pin. Since the shoe fulcrum location is a closely held sharp transition location at a step in the brake shoe openings, high unit compressive loads occur at the fulcrum point. The high compressive loads can cause the fulcrum point to fracture, having an adverse affect on the overall performance of the clutch.


An object of the invention is to reduce the adverse effects due to a difference of thermal expansion between a conductive sealing member and a light-emitting vessel and to provide a reliable high pressure mercury lamp, even when the lamp is operated at a high pressure. The lamp has a light-emitting vessel 16 of quartz and having end portions, an electrode member 10 contained in the vessel 16, and a conductive sealing member 7A. The sealing member 7A is fixed in the end portion and connected to the electrode member 10. The conductive member is composed of a sintered body made from silica granules each having a coating of a metal or a metal compound. The sintered body has a conductive network structure made of the metal and having a content of the metal of not higher than 20 volume percent.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high pressure mercury lamp and a sealing member for the lamp.
2. Related Art Statement
A high pressure mercury lamp has been used in an OHP (overhead projector), a liquid crystal projector and a headlamp for a vehicle. Such lamp has a light-emitting vessel made of quartz and mercury vapor sealed in the vessel at a high pressure. The light-emitting vessel is made of quartz and thus transparent, so that discharge arc in the vessel emitting light functions as a point light source.
Japanese patent publication 55-117, 859 discloses a high pressure discharge lamp having a metal foil fixed in the end portion of the light-emitting vessel of quartz so that the end portion is pinch sealed. The metal foil may be composed of a molybdenum foil coated with the other metal such as tantalum, niobium, chromium, yttrium or the like. According to the sealing process, after the molybdenum foil is provided inside of the end portion of the vessel, the end portion is heated to soften it. After the end portion is softened, the molybdenum foil is pressed so that the end portion is sealed with a pressure applied from the end portion onto the foil.

High pressure mercury lamps and sealing members therefor


Clock pulses of a variable speed clock are adjusted relative to system utilization. A load monitor periodically collects sensor measurements of resources and based on the sensor measurements, the load monitor adjusts the clock speed up or down.

1. Background and Relevant Art
Computer systems and related technology affect many aspects of society. Indeed, the computer system's ability to process information has transformed the way we live and work. Computer systems now commonly perform a host of tasks (e.g., word processing, scheduling, accounting, etc.) that prior to the advent of the computer system were performed manually. More recently, computer systems have been coupled to one another and to other electronic devices to form both wired and wireless computer networks over which the computer systems and other electronic devices can transfer electronic data. Accordingly, the performance of many computing tasks are distributed across a number of different computer systems and/or a number of different computing environments.
In many computing environments, services are consolidated amongst a minimal number of server machines to reduce hardware, licensing, and administrative costs. Consolidation can result in services of differing (e.g., lower and higher) priorities running on a single system. Having services of differing priorities correspondingly introduces a need to allocate system resources, such as processing time, system memory, etc., in a prioritized fashion.
One approach is to budget a static amount of resources for lower priority processes. However, if service utilization by higher priority services is variable, it may be difficult to statically predict a reasonable allocation of resources for lower priority processes, leading to inefficiencies. Dynamic allocation of resources for lower priority processes can be used to compensate to some extent. However, when resources are allocated dynamically, a lower priority process may accept too much or too little work relative to a future amount of resources it will later be allocated.
Additionally, when the cost of cancelling partially completed requests is high, a lower-priority service will also have poor resource utilization. For example, after partially performing a request for a lower-priority request it may be determined that sufficient resources to complete the request are not available. As such, the partially performed request can be cancelled. When a partially completed request is cancelled, the resources used to partially complete the request are essentially wasted.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


In various embodiments methods and compositions to increase the rate and/or activity of ligation reactions catalyzed by a sortase. In certain embodiments reagents are provided that comprises, inter alia, a polypeptide comprising an amino terminal polyglycine sequence comprising at least three contiguous Gly residues (e.g., a triglycine sequence, a tetraglycine sequence, a pentaglycine sequence, etc.) followed by a peptide that is to be ligated to a moiety followed by a sequence comprising the catalytic domain of a Sortase A enzyme.

The sortase A (SrtA) enzyme from Staphylococcus aureus is widely used as a tool to catalyze in vitro ligation reactions that join biomolecules. It is arguably the most effective tool for this purpose. It functions as a transpeptidase that joins two peptides, a peptide containing the sequence LPXTG (SEQ ID NO:2) (where X can be any amino acid) and a peptide containing a polyglycine (e.g., penta-glycine (Gly5, SEQ ID NO:1)) at its N-terminus. The latter peptide can contain as few as three glycine residues. In the reaction, SrtA joins the peptides by cleaving the LPXTG (SEQ ID NO:2) motif between threonine and glycine and subsequently joins the carboxyl group of threonine to the amino group of penta-glycine (Mazmanian (1999) Science, 285:760-763; Spirig et al. (2011) Mol. Microbiol. 82:1044-1059). As a result the original substrates are joined via peptide bond.
SrtA transpeptidation reaction has been used for generating antibody conjugates, generating nucleic acid-protein fusions, PEGylating and/or lipidating proteins, in live cell-labeling, in protein cyclization, in silent labeling, in domain labeling, and to add proteins to solid supports (see, e.g., Parthasarathy et al. (2007) Bioconjug. Chem. 18: 469-476; Chan et al. (2007) PLoS One, 2: e1164. doi:10.1371; Pritz et al. (2007) J. Org. Chem. 72: 3909-3912; Antos et al. (2008) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130: 16338-16343; Kobashigawa et al. (2009) J. Biomol. NMR, 43: 145-150; Sakamoto et al. (2010) Bioconjug. Chem. 21: 2227-2233; Levary et al. (2011) PLoS One, 6: e18342; Refaei et al. (2011) J. Biomol. NMR, 49: 3-7; Freiburger et al. (2015) J. Biomol. NMR, 63: 1-8).

Methods and compositions to increase the rate of ligation reactions catalyzed by a sortase

The Regents of the University of California


A method for predicting an output variable from explanatory values provided as sets of combinations of discrete variables and continuous variables includes receiving input data that contains the explanatory variables to predict the output variable; searching for each element in the combinations for elements in a plurality of sets with matching discrete variables using training data which the output variable has been observed; applying a function giving the degree of similarity between two sets weighed by a scale variable to each element in the input data, and to one or more elements found in the elements of the input data to calculate function values, and calculating the sum of the function values for all of the elements in the input data; and applying the calculated sum for each element to a prediction equation for predicting the output variable to calculate a prediction value of the output variable for each element.

The present disclosure relates to a method and system for accurately predicting data such as the electric power consumed in a manufacturing process, a system using this method, and a computer-readable program for realizing this method.
Automotive and electrical parts are manufactured by melting and molding many different materials such as metals and plastics and then assembling the resulting components. In the case of the iron used in these parts, the ore is ground and melted, carbon and other metals are added, and the combination is molded into a predetermined shape. The electric power consumed in this manufacturing process can be estimated, for example, from the physical properties and utilized amounts of raw materials such as iron, copper, polyethylene and polypropylene. One such technique is known as regression analysis.
Regression analysis is a statistical method to predict an output variable based on a multivariate function using a plurality of explanatory variables, and such a multivariate function is called regression equation. Regression analysis can also determine a distribution of the output variable, based on the estimated variance of the residuals. By collecting datasets that relate actual power consumption with the physical properties and the amounts of raw materials, one can numerically determine the regression equation to predict the electronic power consumed in the manufacturing process. The electric power to be predicted is actually given with substituting the values representing the physical properties and amounts of raw materials into the fitted regression equation.
Conditional density estimation is known to be another technique that can be applied for predicting power consumption. Also in conditional density estimation, a relationship equation between an output variable and explanatory variables is derived as in regression analysis. Instead of the average of the output variable, a conditional probability density function representing the probability distribution of the output variable is derived. In regression analysis, a parametric assumption such as Gaussianity is placed in an error distribution. In conditional density estimation, a complex distribution is handled in most cases in which the error distribution is not limited to a Gaussian distribution using a parametric method.
For example, a technique has been disclosed that is able to accurately predict the probability of a predicted state while incorporating interaction between the explanatory variables and non-linearity of the regression equation (see JP 2007-122418). In this technique, training data is first read from a database. This training data is a sample set including a plurality of explanatory variables and output variables representing the presence or absence of a certain state occurring. A regression coefficient in a regression equation modeled with a kernel function serving as the sum of element kernel functions prepared for each explanatory variable is determined with optimizing a target function given in advance using the training data.
Afterwards, in this technique, a plurality of explanatory variables serving as inputted parameters are plugged into the regression equation to obtain an output variable. The obtained output variable is plugged into a probability prediction function to predict the probability of a certain state occurring or not occurring. Here, the kernel function has a relationship represented by the inner product of a feature vector, such as a kernel function between ith data and jth data of k(x(i), x(j))=<φ(x(i), φ(x(j))> where φ(x(i)) is a vector expression in the d-dimensional feature space of data x(i).
Based on the kernel trick, another regression method has also been disclosed where relationship between qualitatively-different types of a plurality of datasets and a response value is modeled, and multiple kernel learning algorithm is applied for optimizing each weight in a plurality of kernel functions with computer processing of a training data (see JP 2011-198191). In this method, for each type of the datasets, a similarity matrix and its corresponding graph Laplacian matrix are computed. Then, the variance of a coupling constant and an observation model is calculated in a variational Bayesian method using the graph Laplacian matrices, assuming all of the graph Laplacian matrices are provided as linear combinations with the coupling constant, the observation model with observed data is a normal distribution, the latent variable used to explain the observed data is also a normal distribution, and the coupling constant is in accordance with a gamma prior distribution. Afterwards, a prediction distribution for given inputted data is determined from a Laplace approximation using the variance of the coupling constant and the observation model.
Thus, it is possible to execute a multiple kernel learning process with a reasonable amount of computational costs by assuming a probabilistic model with observed variables, latent variables associated with them, and a coupling constant, and by optimizing this on the basis of a variational Bayesian method.

Prediction method, prediction system and program

International Business Machines Corporation


A backstop of a torque transmission device of an aircraft steering system includes input and output sections of a drive shaft. Torque is transmitted from the input to the output, but is prevented from being transferred from the output back into the input. The input is limited from rotating coaxially relative to the output by more than a predetermined angle. The input stops at a first rotary position relative to the output upon rotating in a first rotary direction. The input stops at a second rotary position upon rotating in the opposite direction. The output is blocked from rotating in the second direction while the input is at the first rotary position and is blocked from rotating in the first direction while the input is at the second rotary position. The output is blocked from rotating by dissipating any torque acting upon the output into the housing of the backstop.

In airplanes, steering flaps such as landing flaps or thrust reverser flaps typically are actuated by means of a steering system that can be configured as schematically shown in FIG. 1. The illustrated steering system 110 extends across the wings 112 of the aircraft 111 and includes a drive unit 116 arranged in the vicinity of the middle axis A of the aircraft 111, which drives a shaft 130 extending into the wings 112. The torque from the primary shaft 130 is introduced into the steering flaps 118 by suitable torque transmission devices 120 and actuators 122.
During flight, considerable forces can act on a steering flap 118, such as a landing flap. These forces are translated into a torque input section at the actuators 122, torque transmission devices 120 and ultimately the shaft 130. To prevent the introduction of such forces or torques, various backstops have become known in the prior art.
Such backstops typically include a friction brake as a functional component in order to dissipate the introduced forces or torques into a stationary structural element of the aircraft. For example, a generic backstop that includes a friction brake is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,733.
Backstops that include friction brakes, however, have the disadvantage that the friction surfaces and also the associated springs can wear out over time. Furthermore, undesired heat is generated by friction, and the response behavior can be slightly delayed in part.
It is the object of the invention to provide a backstop that overcomes these disadvantages.


The method performs a two-dimensional discrete wavelet transform on an image. The image comprises a plurality of blocks of pixels. The method generates (340) a current output block of subband data corresponding to a current block. The current output block is generated before either a one-dimensional discrete wavelet row or column transformation of a next block of pixels is completed, using intermediate lifting values stored (310, 350) during the generation of a plurality of previous blocks of subband data.

The field of digital data compression and in particular digital image compression has attracted a great interest for some time. Most recently, compression schemes based on a Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) have become increasingly popular because the DWT offers a non-redundant hierarchical decomposition of an image and resultant compression of the image provides favourable rate-distortion statistics.
Typically, the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) of an image is performed using a series of one-dimensional DWTs. A one-dimensional DWT of a signal (ie an image row) is performed by lowpass and highpass filtering the signal, and decimating each filtered signal by 2. Decimation by 2 means that only every second sample of the filtering processes is calculated and retained. When performing a convolution (filtering) the filter is moved along by two samples at a time, instead of the usual one sample, to effect the decimation by 2. In this way for a signal of N samples there are N DWT samples: N/2 lowpass samples and N/2 highpass samples. Strictly speaking this is a single level one dimensional DWT. However, since only single level one-dimensional DWTs are used in this description, they are referred to simply as a one-dimensional DWT (1D DWT).
FIG. 8 illustrates a typical process for performing a single level two-dimensional DWT of an input image. Each column of the image is analysed with a one-dimensional DWT giving output columns whose first half consists of lowpass samples and second half consists of highpass samples. A single level one-dimensional DWT of a column is referred to as a column DWT. The analysis of each column results in two sub-images labelled Lc and Hc. The columns of Lc consists of the lowpass filtered (and decimated) columns of the input image and the columns of Hc consists of the highpass filtered (and decimated) columns of the input image. The rows of the resulting output image are then analysed with a one-dimensional DWT, or row DWT, as illustrated in FIG. 8. This results in four sub-images or subbands, labelled LL, HL, LH and HH, where L and H refer to lowpass and highpass respectively, and in the two letter label the first letter corresponds to the row filter, while the second to the column filter. That is, the HL subband is the result of lowpass filtering the columns (and decimating by 2) and highpass filtering the resulting rows (and decimating by 2). The LL subband is also called the DC or low frequency subband while the HL, LH and HH are called AC or high frequency subbands. Depending on the context, a single level two-dimensional DWT of an image is referred to as a single level DWT (or even simply DWT) of an image.
Each one-dimensional DWT can be inverted. That is having analysed a one-dimensional signal of N samples into N/2 lowpass and N/2 highpass subband samples these subband samples, of which there are N in total, can be synthesized with a one-dimensional inverse DWT, into the N samples of the original one-dimensional signal. Thus the original image can be reconstructed by synthesising the rows then the columns of a single level DWT of an image. This is also illustrated in FIG. 8. Thus a single level (two-dimensional) DWT is invertible. The process of a inverting a DWT is often referred to as synthesis or applying and an inverse DWT, or simply iDWT.
For a two level DWT the LL subband is further analysed with a single level DWT into four subbands, just as the original image was analysed into four subbands. For a three level DWT the resulting LL subband is again analysed, and so on for an arbitrary number of levels of the DWT. Thus a multi-level DWT or simply DWT of an image can be performed by iterating a single level DWT some finite number of times on subsequent LL subbands, where the first LL subband is the original image. A multi-level DWT can be inverted by simply inverting each single level DWT.
At each level of a multi-level DWT there are three high frequency subbands, the HL, LH and HH subbands. Therefore, for a more precise notation a level number is included in the labelling of the subbands. Thus the four subbands illustrated in FIG. 8 are more precisely denoted LL1, HL1, LH1 and HH1. Similarly the three high frequency subbands at level 2, resulting from the single level DWT of the LL1 subband, are denoted HL2, LH2 and HH2. Using this subband notation the original image can be labelled as the LL0 subband.
Image compression is typically executed on general purpose computers and also on application specific devices (ASIC). Both of these systems employ an architecture where the main processing unit has access to different memory units. These memories are differentiated by size and speed of access (and cost). For the purposes of our discussion it suffices to consider two memories: namely a fast memory, that is typically on the same chip as the processor and is relatively small, and a slower memory, that is typically on another chip to that of the processor and is relatively large. The fast smaller memory is referred to as local or internal memory, and the slower larger memory as external memory.
The frequency of and hence the amount of time it takes to read and or write data from and to memory (typically into or out of registers) is referred to as bandwidth. Internal bandwidth refers to read and write accessed from and to internal memory, while that from and to external memory is referred to as external bandwidth.
In some image compression methods the subbands resulting from a DWT are tiled into blocks of samples. For example, each block consists of say H rows by H columns. A row of blocks in a subband consists of H lines of the subband. Each block is quantised and entropy coded substantially independently. Thus each block can be entropy decoded (and dequantized) independently. A block essentially becomes a minimum coded unit. The blocks are not necessarily strictly independently encoded. Some small amount of information, such as the most significant bit plane in each block, may be coded together for all blocks in a subband. However, if the time or effort required to encode or decode such information for one block is trivial when compared to encoding or decoding a whole block, then for our purposes it is considered that the blocks are coded independently.
A single level DWT of an image is typically performed by buffering the entire image in memory and performing the DWT on the buffered image. Unfortunately, this approach requires a large amount of memory, particularly for image of 2000 pixels×2000 pixels or more. Thus a relatively large amount of (slower) external memory is required. Further several write and read accesses to and from this slower external memory are required to perform the DWT. These accesses then restrict the speed at which the whole DWT can be performed.
A line-based implementation of a DWT, can be employed to reduce the amount of memory required to perform the DWT and iDWT of an image, A line-based DWT typically performs the 2D DWT operation in vertical segments. That is for example, some number of input image rows are first row transformed, right across the image, and then the resulting transformed rows (partially) vertically transformed, to produce some number of lines of each of the LL, HL, LH and HH subbands. Then a next segment of input image rows are transformed horizontally, and the resulting lines, plus perhaps some of the previous horizontally transformed lines, are vertically transformed to produce a next set of output subband lines, and so on. A lifting implementation of a line-based DWT has been proposed that requires a fewer number of lines to be buffered, and less computation than a convolution line-based DWT. These line-based DWTs are two-pass in that in one dimension the full transform is carried out (that is for the entire signal length in that dimension).
A line-based DWT typically require significantly less memory (line buffering) than the full-image DWT, but the bandwidth between processor and external memory (or typically a secondary level cache) still remains high. Further, for compression purposes, typically the high frequency subband code blocks need to be buffered in external memory before quantization and entropy encoding, thus adding to memory and bandwidth costs.

Two dimensional discrete wavelet transforms


A method and transmitting system for transmitting an information signal, a receiving system for receiving the transmitted information signal, and an information carrier on which the information signal is recorded. The information signal is transmitted from the transmitting system to the receiving system. The information signal includes basic information and overlay information. The basic information includes video content that is adapted to be displayed on a display device. The overlay information includes overlay content and time information. The overlay content is adapted to be overlayed on a portion of the displayed video content for a period of time during the displaying of the video content. The overlay content, and not the portion of the displayed video content, appears visible during the period of time. The time information is indicative of the period of time.

Such a method, information carrier and device are known from WO 92/00647. A video signal for which the basic information is analog video information, is transferred via a laser disc. Digitally encoded subtitle information is then recorded on the laser disc as overlay information separated from the video information in the sub-code of the digital audio signal. When this sub-code information is generated, the subtitle information is read from a file in which also the instant at which the text is to be shown is indicated. The subtitles are then recorded in the audio signal sub-code that corresponds to this instant. On reproduction, the subtitles are displayed once they have been recovered from the sub-code.

Method and device for basic and overlay video information transmission


The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a thin film transistor and an array substrate, and corresponding devices. In the thin film transistor manufacturing process, the base substrate is annealed after the formation of the patterns of the active layer, the source and the drain in the thin film transistor, so as to thermally diffuse ions of the source and the drain at an ohmic contact between the active layer and the source, as well as the drain, to the active layer, and further to provide the active layer with ions of the source and the drain for changing the components of the active layer, which reduces the resistance at the ohmic contact between the active layer and the source, as well as the drain, and guarantees the uniformity and reliability of the thin film transistor. Moreover, annealing treatment is relatively simpler in implementation as compared with the plasma treatment, and will not increase the complexity of the method for manufacturing the entire thin film transistor, which is good for thin film transistor production efficiency.

At present, people are quite familiar with display devices, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), EL (electroluminescence) displays and electronic paper. These display devices have thin-film transistors (TFTs) for controlling respective pixel switches as shown in FIG. 1, the TFT mainly comprises a gate 1, an active layer 2, a source 3 and a drain 4, wherein a gate insulating layer 5 is arranged between the gate 1 and the active layer 2, and the source 3 and the drain 4 are arranged in the same layer and in electrical connection with the active layer 2 respectively.
In the structure of the TFT as shown in FIG. 1, the resistance at the ohmic contact a between the active layer and the source, as well as the drain, has a great influence on the reliability and uniformity of the TFT. Thus, when making the TFT, those skilled in the art utilize many methods in an attempt to reduce the resistance at the ohmic contact a between the active layer and the source, as well as the drain, one method of which is to reduce the components of oxygen atoms in the active layer by means of plasma treatment, so that the active layer has an effect like having n+ amorphous silicon layers in order to reduce the resistance at the ohmic contact a between the active layer and the source, as well as the drain. However, the plasma treatment is so complicated that it increases the complexity of the TFT manufacturing process and affects the uniformity and stability of the active layer, which is disadvantageous to the TFT production efficiency.
Thus, how to reduce the resistance at the ohmic contact between the active layer and the source, as well as the drain, without increasing the complexity of the TFT manufacturing process is an urgent problem to be solved by those skilled in the art.

Method for manufacturing a thin film transistor and an array substrate, and corresponding devices


The present invention provides an opening/closing device, comprising an opening disposed on a partitioning system, driving wheels mounted on each side of lower end of the opening, driven wheels mounted on each side of upper end of the opening, and flexible members to be run between the driving wheels and the driven wheels, wherein one end and the other end of each of the flexible members are engaged with an opening/closing panel respectively, the driving wheels on both sides are driven synchronously and the opening/closing panel is moved up and down.

The present invention relates to a partitioning system for enclosing a large-size manufacturing machine such as laser manufacturing machine and for forming a defined space, and the present invention also relates to an opening/closing device to be provided on an opening to the partitioning system.
In recent years, there has been progress in automation of the manufacturing machine. As a result, an operator of the manufacturing machine has now no need to operate the equipment except the work such as the operation to set the working condition on the manufacturing machine, or the work for setting an object to be manufactured. Also, it is necessary to arrange in such manner that the operator should not or cannot move closer to the manufacturing machine to ensure safety during the manufacturing operation of the manufacturing machine. For this reason, in a large-size manufacturing machine, which requires safety measures such as laser manufacturing machine, a partitioning system is installed, which encloses the manufacturing machine and defines an isolated space for the equipment from the surrounding.
The partitioning system is provided with an opening, through which an object to be manufactured is set on the manufacturing machine and the object is taken out after the manufacturing. The opening is to be opened or closed by an opening/closing device.
The partitioning system is usually installed in an air-conditioned factory. In this respect, an upper part of the partitioning system must be completely opened to maintain the effects of air-conditioning. Also, the opening/closing device must be designed in such manner as to exclude trouble in the manufacturing operation.
As a conventional type opening/closing device, a slide door of suspended type is known.
In the suspended type slide door, a guide rail stretched in a horizontal direction is disposed on an upper end of the opening, and a door body suspended from the guide rail is slid in the horizontal direction to open or close the opening of the partitioning system.
In the conventional type suspended type slide door as described above, it is necessary to install the guide rail, which runs across the upper end of the opening. The guide rail may become an obstacle in some cases when the objects to be manufactured are brought in or out of the manufacturing machine. For this reason, it has been required that the opening of the partitioning system is completely opened.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a partitioning system for a manufacturing machine and an opening/closing device, by which an opening on the partitioning system can be completely opened, and opening and closing operation can be performed quickly.
The present invention provides an opening/closing device, which comprises an opening disposed on a partitioning system, driving wheels mounted on each side of lower end of the opening, driven wheels mounted on each side of upper end of the opening, and flexible members to be run between the driving wheels and the driven wheels, wherein one end and the other end of each of the flexible members are engaged with an opening/closing panel respectively, the driving wheels on both sides are driven synchronously and the opening/closing panel is moved up and down. Also, the present invention provides an opening/closing device as described above, wherein a drive shaft is disposed on a lower end of the opening, the driving wheels are provided on the drive shaft, and the driving wheels are rotated by an opening/closing motor. Further, the present invention provides an opening/closing device as described above, wherein the driving wheels and the driven wheels are sprocket wheels and the flexible members are chains. Also, the present invention provides an opening/closing device as described above, wherein one end of the flexible member is engaged with the opening/closing panel via a tension spring.
Further, the present invention provides an opening/closing device as described above, wherein the opening is opened or closed by a plurality of opening/closing panels, as many driving wheels as matching the number of the opening/closing panels are provided on each side of the drive shaft, driven wheels are disposed at positions facing to the driving wheels respectively, the opening/closing panels are moved up and down via the flexible members run between the driving wheels and the driven wheels, and each of the driving wheels is driven in such manner that a circumferential speed ratio of pitch circles of driving wheels is equalized with a ratio of amounts of moving up or down of the opening/closing panels. Also, the present invention provides an opening/closing device as described above, wherein a side pillar is erected on each side of the opening, the drive shaft is provided between both of the side pillars, the driven wheel is disposed on an upper end of each of the side pillars, a guide rail is provided on an inner side of each of the side pillars, and the opening/closing panel is moved up and down along the guide rail via guide rollers. Further, the present invention provides an opening/closing device as described above, wherein the driving wheel is fixed on the drive shaft, and the drive shaft is rotated by an opening/closing motor. Also, the present invention provides an opening/closing device as described above, wherein a pitch circle of each of the driving wheels and the driven wheels is changed for each opening/closing panel so that the flexible members do not interfere with each other. Further, the present invention provides a partitioning system, which comprises a frame member receptacle mounted on a bed of the manufacturing machine, a frame member disposed on the frame member receptacle, and a panel mounted on the frame member. Also, the present invention provides the partitioning system as described above, wherein a position of the frame member receptacle is adjusted in advance before the frame member is mounted. Further, the present invention provides the partitioning system as described above, wherein the frame member receptacle can be transported under such condition that the frame member is mounted on the bed. Also, the present invention provides the partitioning system as described above, wherein the frame member receptacle comprise a lower bracket positioned in a vertical direction, and an upper bracket mounted on the lower bracket, and wherein the upper bracket has a horizontal surface where the frame member is placed and a vertical surface positioned in a horizontal direction with respect to the bed. Further, the present invention provides the partitioning system as described above, wherein the frame member can be disassembled to a lower frame mounted on the frame member receptacle, a pillar to be erected on the lower frame, and an upper frame mounted on an upper end of the pillar. Also, the present invention provides the partitioning system as described above, wherein the pillar comprises a lower flange on a lower end and the lower flange has a vertical surface abutted and positioned to the lower frame. Further, the present invention provides the partitioning system as described above, wherein the panel comprises a hooked hardware to be engaged with the upper frame on upper end thereof. Also, the present invention provides the partitioning system as described above, wherein the panel is divided to a predetermined number of divided panel members, and the divided panel members can be connected by a square neck bolt. Further, the present invention provides the partitioning system as described above, wherein the lower frame is made of a drawn or extruded material, and the drawn or extruded material has convex shaped grooves for fixing bolts on each surface.

Opening/closing device and partitioning system for manufacturing machine


Some embodiments provide a method for identifying runtime complexity of a policy. The method receives, through a user interface (UI), a set of code defining a particular policy. For each variable in the particular policy, the method identifies a first occurrence of the variable in the particular policy to determine a number of values assigned to the variable. Variables determined to be assigned one value are separated from variables determined to be assigned more than one value. Based on the determinations for each variable, the method calculates a set of metrics that include at least time complexity, size complexity, and count complexity for the particular policy. The method then displays, through the UI, the calculated set of metrics along with a set of one or more suggestions for optimizing the particular policy based on the calculated set of metrics.

Typical applications for defining code-based policies do not provide tools for identifying runtime complexity of these policies or for optimizing these policies based on runtime complexity metrics so that they run faster and more efficiently. Thus, policy writers can encounter a number of speed- and performance-related issues without being able to identify the cause of these issues, and therefore are also unable to properly remedy the code to improve the policy. In some cases, even code that appears simple can have a high complexity that causes the policy to run slowly. While some speed- and performance-related issues may be the result of other factors, many times, these issues can arise because of the way that the code is authored and can be identified by first identifying the runtime of the code.


Systems and methods for functionality management of devices are disclosed. Multiple computing devices may be located in the same environment and/or space and at least two of those computing devices may be configured to perform a given functionality. In these and other examples, one of the devices may be identified as a primary device and the other devices may be identified as secondary devices based on, for example, historical usage data, audio-signal data, computer-vision analysis, and/or one or more other criteria. The functionality may be disabled on the secondary devices until the secondary devices are utilized and/or until a triggering event occurs.

User devices generally have many functionalities. In some instances, multiple devices having the same or similar functionalities may be situated in the same environment. These functionalities utilize computational resources, and it may be advantageous to save computational resources when possible. Described herein are improvements in technology and solutions to technical problems that can be used to, among other things, save computational resources while maintaining device operability.


The present invention is a system and method to sell or procure complementary goods. A complementary good according to the invention is a good whose value or utility is enhanced when paired with another good, such a pair of goods is a communication license to encumbered spectrum and a complementary clearing right to clear the spectrum of its encumbrance. The invention provides automated procedures to facilitate the fashioning and sale of clearing rights so as to enhance the value of the communications license.

It is commonplace for goods, tangible or intangible, to be sold or procured by auction or market mechanism. When goods are sold using methods in the art, they are generally either sold one at a time or with like goods sold together. For example, in auctions at traditional auction houses such as Sotheby's or Christies—or in Internet auctions such as eBay—goods are generally sold one at a time in ascending-bid auctions. In auctions such as the U.S. Treasury bond auctions, multiple identical objects (bonds with identical interest payments and maturity dates) are auctioned together in sealed-bid auctions. In auctions such as the Federal Communications Commission's spectrum auctions, telecommunications licenses covering nearby frequencies and covering various regions of the U.S. are auctioned together in ascending-bid auctions. Similarly, when goods are procured using methods in the art, they are generally either procured one at a time or with like goods procured together.
However, standard auction or other market procedures for selling or procuring goods may encounter severe difficulties when there are complementary goods located outside of the auction or market mechanism. Good A and good B are said to be complements when they are most usefully consumed or produced together.
A severe example of complements, which motivates much of the following discussion, is created when a government sells licenses for encumbered telecommunications spectrum. For example, at this writing, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is planning to sell new communications licenses in the 700 MHz band in FCC Auction No. 31, currently scheduled for March 2001. Because of its location in the electromagnetic spectrum and its excellent propagation characteristics, the 700 MHz band is ideally suited for next generation (3G) mobile or high-speed broadband telecommunications services. Once deployed, these services will intensify competition for all communication services and yield tremendous benefit to the public. However, the 700 MHz band is the same spectrum currently allocated to UHF television channels 59-69, and some 100 television stations nationally currently operate in this band. Moreover, the current UHF television stations maintain the right to continue to broadcast on this frequency without interference until the end of the digital television (DTV) transition, currently scheduled to extend six or more years beyond the auction date for the new licenses.
This presents a fundamental economic problem. A buyer wishing to provide a new wireless service in the 700 MHz band needs two things: a new license from the FCC; and agreement from incumbent broadcasters in this band to clear the spectrum. The license and the clearing agreements are strong complements; each is of limited usefulness without the other. One can think of the license as a left shoe and the clearing agreements as a right shoe. What a buyer needs is a pair of shoes. The problem is that the government is only auctioning (and, indeed, only owns) left shoes; the right shoes are owned by many different broadcasters. An auction for left shoes by themselves is likely to attract little interest unless the winning bidders can be confident that they will also be able to acquire the corresponding right shoes.
Thus, if the new FCC licenses for the 700 MHz band are sold—as currently planned—in an auction that does not include agreements to clear, severe difficulties can be expected. Bidders in the FCC auction can anticipate that the obtaining of clearing agreements after the auction will be exceedingly costly, as the incumbent broadcasters will be in excellent bargaining positions to extract very high prices from the winners of the new FCC licenses. Moreover, failures in the bargaining process will likely result in many of the encumbrance issues not being resolved for many years, leading to vast underutilization of the spectrum. Understanding this, bidders in the FCC auction are likely to bid very low prices, so the federal government (and taxpayers) will likely receive vastly diminished auction revenues.

System and method for the efficient clearing of spectrum encumbrances


A method is provided in one example and includes generating a histogram associated with at least one object; receiving image data; comparing the image data to the histogram in order to determine if at least a portion of the image data corresponds to the histogram; identifying a pose associated with the object; and triggering an electronic command associated with the pose. In more particular embodiments, the image data is evaluated in order to analyze sequences of poses associated with a gesture that signals the electronic command to be performed.

As a general proposition, hand gestures are natural, intuitive human communication tools. Human machine interfaces are growing in importance, as machines proliferate and as human-machine interaction becomes more sophisticated. Human-machine interaction protocols have been plagued by significant constraints, have been limited to lower dimensionality (e.g., in comparison to lifelike 3D), and have been rooted in mechanical instruments (e.g., keyboards and mice) that seem antiquated. While touch surfaces and trackpad devices have shown promise, hand gesture interfaces have simply not evolved. Optimizing and integrating hand gestures into 21st-century communication technology creates a significant challenge for system designers, device manufacturers, and engineering specialists alike.

System and method for gesture interface control


A system is provided in which document imaging equipment is used to acquire a document image from a printed document. The document image may be processed using an optical character recognition application implemented on the document imaging equipment. A user may supply identifier information. The identifier information may be used in constructing an identity-based-encryption (IBE) public key. Identity-based-encryption public parameter information and the IBE public key may be used in encrypting the document image. The IBE-encrypted document image may be stored in storage or sent to a recipient in a message. A user receiving the IBE-encrypted document image may obtain an IBE private key from a key server that is used in decrypting the IBE-encrypted document.

This invention relates to cryptographic systems, and more particularly, to document imaging systems with identity-based encryption capabilities.
Cryptographic systems are used to provide secure communications services such as secure email services. For example, in a secure email system, a secure email message may be conveyed from a sender to a recipient over the Internet.
With symmetric key cryptographic systems, the sender of a message uses the same key to encrypt the message that the recipient of the message uses to decrypt the message. Symmetric-key systems require that each sender and recipient exchange a shared key in a secure manner.
With public-key cryptographic systems, two types of keys are used—public keys and private keys. Senders may encrypt messages using the public keys of the recipients. Each recipient has a private key that is used to decrypt the messages for that recipient.
One public-key cryptographic system that is in use is the RSA cryptographic system. Each user in this system has a unique public key and a unique private key. A sender may obtain the public key of a given recipient from a key server over the Internet. To ensure the authenticity of the public key and thereby defeat possible man-in-the-middle attacks, the public key may be provided to the sender with a certificate signed by a trusted certificate authority. The certificate may be used to verify that the public key belongs to the intended recipient of the sender's message. Public key encryption systems such as the RSA system that use this type of traditional approach are referred to as PKE cryptographic systems.
Identity-based-encryption (IBE) systems have also been proposed. As with PKE cryptographic systems, a sender in an IBE system may encrypt a message for a given recipient using the recipient's public key. The recipient may then decrypt the message using the recipient's corresponding private key. The recipient can obtain the private key from a private key generator.
Unlike PKE schemes, IBE schemes generally do not require the sender to look up the recipient's public key. Rather, a sender in an IBE system may generate a given recipient's IBE public key based on known rules. For example, a message recipient's email address or other identity-based information may be used as the recipient's public key, so that a sender may create the IBE public key of a recipient by simply determining the recipient's email address.
Although senders of IBE-encrypted messages need not look up a recipient's public key as with PKE schemes, senders must obtain so-called IBE public parameter information that is associated with the recipient's IBE private key generator. The IBE public parameter information is used as an ancillary input to the sender's IBE encryption algorithm and works in conjunction with the IBE public key of the recipient to ensure that the message is encrypted properly.
Individual users in an IBE system can encrypt messages locally on their computers using an IBE encryption engine that is implemented as a plug-in to an email client. In environments in which users are networked at an organization, a gateway may be used to encrypt outgoing messages for the users.
Traditional arrangements such as these do not necessarily provide desired levels of security. For example, in situations in which a user scans a document on a network-attached scanner, the communications path between the scanner and the user's computer may not be secure. This may result in documents stored in the scanner's memory or on the network that are not in encrypted form. Moreover, if a user desires to email a document directly from an email-enabled scanner, the document may be vulnerable to interception.
It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide ways in which to improve data security in communications systems, particularly in systems in which documents are created using equipment such as scanners.

Document imaging system with identity-based encryption


A system changes the pitch of blades of a turbine engine propeller having a plurality of blades. The system includes a plurality of links, each link being connected to one of the propeller blades at a first interface, and a control means acting on the link and having a body movable in translation along a longitudinal axis. A load transfer module is arranged between the links and the control means and is connected to the links at a plurality of second interfaces. A first adjustment element is configured to adjust an axial position of the second interfaces along the axis to provide adjustment of the pitch of all of the blades simultaneously. A plurality of second adjustment elements are configured to adjust an axial distance between each first interface and the corresponding second interface to allow the pitch of each blade to be adjusted individually.

The present invention relates to the field of aeronautic propulsion. It concerns a system for changing the pitch of the blades of a propeller driven by a turbine engine and in particular means for adjusting the pitch of the blades. It also concerns a turbine engine equipped with a pitch-change system of this kind.
Pitch change or variable setting of the blade pitches of a turbine engine propeller is one of the ways of improving the performance and efficiency of turbine engines in different flight conditions.
Turbine engines such as turboprop engines having propulsion propellers that are for example contra-rotating are known, designated in English by the terms "open rotor" and "unducted fan", meaning an engine having an unducted fan equipped with these pitch-change systems. Turboprop engines differ from turbojet engines in that they use a propeller outside the nacelle (unducted) instead of an internal fan. The pitch-change system may also be applied to a turboprop having a single propulsion propeller or it may be equally compatible with more than one propeller.
In an open-rotor turboprop engine such as that shown in FIG. 1, a gas generator portion and a propulsion portion are aligned and arranged in a fixed cylindrical nacelle 2 carried by the structure of the aircraft. The gas generator portion is arranged downstream of the propulsion portion. Of course, the gas generator portion may be arranged in front of the propulsion portion. The gas generator portion comprises, from upstream to downstream, a set of compressors 3, a combustion chamber 4 and a set of turbines 5. A jet nozzle 8 is arranged downstream of the gas generator. The set of compressors 3 may comprise two compressors, as shown in FIG. 1, or a single compressor, typically having multiple stages depending on the chosen architecture of the gas generator. The set of turbines 5 may comprise a high-pressure turbine and a low-pressure turbine as in the case of FIG. 1 or, in a variant not shown, a single turbine typically having multiple stages. The propulsion portion has a pair of coaxial contra-rotating propellers 6, 7, upstream and downstream respectively, which are driven in inverse rotation to one another by the low-pressure turbine of the set of turbines 5 via a mechanical transmission device 17. This mechanical transmission device 17, which is represented simply by a diagram, comprises, for example, an epicyclic reduction gearbox. The propellers 6, 7 extend substantially radially in relation to the transmission shaft outside the nacelle 2.
Generally, each propeller 6, 7 comprises a substantially cylindrical rotary casing 9 carrying a hub having an outer polygonal ring 10 received in a rotary manner around the longitudinal axis X of the turbine engine in the fixed nacelle 2. The hub has radial cylindrical compartments 11 distributed on its periphery around the longitudinal axis. Shafts having radial axes, in this instance perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the turbine engine, rigidly connected to the roots 13 of the blades 14, are received in the compartments 11 of the polygonal ring and also traverse radial passages 30 of the rotary casing.
Propeller pitch-change systems are known from documents GB-A-578570, U.S. Pat. No. 1,990,814, and FR-A1-2973333.
An example of a system for changing the pitch of each propeller is also known from document WO2013/050704. In FIG. 2, this system 23A for changing the pitch of each propeller is installed in the core of the rotating portions of a turbine engine, such as that shown in FIG. 1, comprising, for example, a control cylinder 25A for driving the blade roots in rotation. The annular control cylinder 25A comprises a cylinder 27A mounted on a fixed casing 13A and a piston 29A connected to a link mechanism 26A which is connected to each shaft 47A having a radial axis. The cylindrical rotary casing 11A rotates about the fixed casing 13A. For this purpose, at least one bearing 12A is arranged between the fixed casing 13A and the rotary casing 11A. The displacement of the movable piston 29A as a consequence of the fluidic control of the control cylinder 25A produces the desired angular pivoting of the blades by the link mechanism 26A by causing the radial shafts 47A connected to the blades to pivot. The radial shafts 47A transform the force generated by the control cylinder 25A into a torque directly on the propeller module.
However, the pitch-change system requires the integration of multiple diverse parts consisting of transforming a power arriving from the fixed portion into a movement on the rotating portion of the turbine engine. In particular, these parts form part of multiple kinematic sub-assemblies which must be placed in a certain position relative to one another and so that they operate in accordance with their preset operating parameters. The manufacturing tolerances of each part lead to problems in positioning the parts and plays, in particular axial plays, between the parts and the sub-assemblies. These manufacturing tolerances and plays affect the stroke of the control cylinder and in particular the setting of the blades. The setting of the blades may therefore be different on all the blades in a single propeller with a difference that is generally of the order of 0.5° relative to the expected setting. These problems of setting produce forces and vibrations that are detrimental to the operation and performance of the turbine engine.
The aim of the present invention is, in particular, to provide a pitch-change system that has a setting that is identical and true to the reference value across all the blades while being simple to manufacture, saving time during fitting, and taking into account the difficulties of integration into a congested environment.

Pitch-change system equipped with means for adjusting blade pitch and corresponding turbine engine


A memory device includes a plurality of banks, a first generator generating standby current in response to a standby signal, and a switching circuit supplying the standby current to at least one of the plurality of banks in response to a plurality of active signals.

The inventive concept relates to memory devices and memory systems. More particularly, the inventive concept relates to memory devices capable of reducing standby current consumption and memory systems incorporating same.
As integration density increases, the amount of power used by contemporary memory devices also increases. In particular, certain internal voltages applied the constituent memory cell array of a memory device in order to perform read/write operations consume an increasingly amount of power. As commonly constituted, memory cell arrays include a plurality of banks, each including an arrangement of memory cells. The applied internal voltages (individually or collectively hereafter termed, "array internal voltage") include not only refresh voltages used to maintain stored charge in volatile memory devices, but also other power supply voltages, such as a bias voltage.
In conventional memory device, the array internal voltage is supplied to each bank via a power line, and a voltage generator is typically provided for each bank. The voltage generator provides either an active current that activates the bank, or a standby current when the bank is operating in a standby mode.
As the number of banks in contemporary memory devices increases, the number of corresponding voltage generators also increases. Accordingly, the overall layout area of the memory device increases, as does the amount of current consumed.

Memory device having reduced standby current and memory system including same


A redundant energy acquisition circuit of a power module includes at least one power semiconductor device, a first capacitor, and a first bypass switch. The redundant energy acquisition circuit of the power module includes: a power supply board acquiring energy from the first capacitor, supplying power to a control board, and charging a discharge circuit. A first charging circuit has one end connected to a positive electrode of the first capacitor and another end connected to the discharge circuit, and charges the discharge circuit when the power supply board is not operating normally. The control board controls the discharge circuit to close. The discharge circuit discharges and triggers the first bypass switch to close after the discharge circuit is closed.

The voltage source converter technique is a novel conversion technique based on turn-off device IGBTs (insulated gate bipolar transistors) and the PWM (pulse width modulation) technique. Two-level converters consisting of IGBTs have been widely applied on low-voltage occasions. To solve the problems of large equipment stress and system loss, loud noise and harsh electromagnetic environments caused by high-frequency jumps of the output voltage of the two-level converters, three-level voltage source converters are developed to expand the application of voltage source converters in the aspect of voltage level and capacity.
With the emergence of modular multilevel converters (MMCs), multilevel converters, with the voltage level reaching hundreds of kilovolts and the capacity up to thousands of watts, have been successfully applied to the field of flexible direct-current transmission.
The voltage source converters are formed by series connection of a large number of power modules. When one power module malfunctions, a bypass switch is closed to remove the malfunctioned unit to fulfill non-stop operation of a system.
The inventor finds that if an energy acquisition board in the power modules fails, a control board will not be able to operate normally, and the trigger circuit of the bypass switch cannot function, the power module cannot be successfully bypassed, and thus, the system has to be stopped. Thus, how to improve the energy acquisition reliability of the power modules and guarantee reliable closing of the bypass switch has become the key technical factor for improving the reliability of voltage source convener equipment.
Chinese Invention Patent Application No. CN201710228027.X provides a self-trigger circuit for a bypass switch of a multilevel converter sub-module, wherein a capacitor of the bypass switch is charged by the voltage across the two ends of the bypass switch to provide closing energy for the bypass switch. Essentially, the bypass switch capacitor Cc is connected in series with a resistor R1 and is then connected in parallel with a sub-module capacitor Csm to form this circuit. Due to the fact that the capacitance of the bypass switch capacitor is generally hundreds of microfarad and the capacitance of the sub-module capacitor Csm is generally several millifarads to tens of millifarads, it is difficult to charge the bypass switch capacitor to a rated value without causing overvoltage of the sub-module capacitor. In addition, if a sub-module energy acquisition power supply malfunctions, a sub-module control board will not be able to operate or to provide a bypass switch closing instruction. In this case, if a normally-closed switch is connected to the loop of the bypass switch capacitor and a contact control end, the bypass switch capacitor will be short-circuited and cannot be charged. Hence, this solution has the risks of overvoltage damage to the sub-module capacitor and failure to close the bypass switch when the sub-module energy acquisition power supply malfunctions.

Redundant energy acquisition circuit of power module, and control method thereof


Synthetic human interleukin-1.alpha. genes are provided whose codons are selected from those preferred by bacteria. High expression levels are obtained in an E. coli expression system for both native interleukin-1.alpha. and several mutant interleukin-1.alpha.'s.

The in vivo release of IL-1 from monocytes stimulated by exposure to bacteria or their products is pivotal to the generation of the acute-phase immune response following infection. The physiological and pathogenic responses of organs and tissues to IL-1 have been extensively reviewed, e.g. Dinarello, Rev. Infect. Dis., Vol. 6, pgs. 51-95 (1984). From an immunological standpoint, monocyte-derived IL-1 is crucial to host defense since triggering of both humoral and cell mediated branches of the immune system appear to be dependent upon its synthesis. IL-1 mediates a wide range of biological activities including stimulation of thymocyte proliferation via induction of interleukin-2 (IL-2) release, stimulation of B-lymphocyte maturation and proliferation, fibroblast growth factor activity and induction of acute-phase protein synthesis by hepatocytes. IL-1 has also been reported to stimulate prostaglandin and collagenase release from synovial cells, and to be identical to endogenous pyrogen, Krampschmidt, J. Leuk. Biol., Vol. 36, pgs. 341-355 (1984).
Biochemical and cDNA cloning studies have defined two related IL-1 proteins (.alpha. and .beta.) that appear to have similar activities, March et al., "Cloning, Sequence and Expression of Two Distinct Human Interleukin-1 Complementary DNAs," Nature, Vol. 315, pgs. 641-647 (1985) and Gubler et al., "Recombinant Human Interleukin-1.alpha.: Purification and Biological Characterization," J. Immunol., Vol. 136, pgs. 2492-2497 (1986). The primary translation products of IL-1.alpha. and IL-1.beta. mRNAs are, respectively, 271 and 269 amino acid proteins that do not encode typical transmembrane signal sequences (March et al., cited above). IL-1 appears to be a C-terminal 17,500 dalton fragment of the primary translation product, and expression of this fragment in E. coli produces a protein with properties apparently identical to the natural protein (March et al., and Gubler et al, cited above).
It is believed that IL-1, either alone or in combination with other lymphokines, has potential clinical applications, e.g. Sorg et al., Eds. Cellular and Molecular Biology of Lymphokines (Academic Press, New York, 1985). The development of a highly efficient bacterial expression system for IL-1 would increase its availability for medical and research applications, and the development of a rapid and convenient method of manipulating the amino acid sequence of native IL-1.alpha. would facilitate the development of useful IL-1.alpha. muteins.


The present disclosure provides a system for image reconstruction. The system may obtain an initial image of a subject. The initial image may be generated based on scan data of the subject that is collected by an imaging device. The system may also generate a gradient image associated with the initial image. The system may further generate a target image of the subject by applying an image reconstruction model based on the initial image and the gradient image. The target image may have a higher image quality than the initial image.

Medical imaging, such as positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT), is widely used in disease diagnosis and/or treatment for various medical conditions (e.g., tumors, coronary heart diseases, or brain disease). Image reconstruction is a key technology used in the field of medical imaging to transform scan data of a subject (e.g., a patient) into an image of the subject. The image quality (e.g., measured by an image resolution and/or a noise level) of the resulting image may be affected by various factors, such as the dose of radiation applied to the subject, the scan time, a motion of the subject during the scan, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some occasions, in order to improve the image quality of the resulting image, the scan of the subject may need to be performed under a restricted condition, for example, with a sufficiently high radiation dose, a sufficiently long scan time, the subject holding breath, or the like. However, this may cause more radiation damage to the subject and/or reduce the scanning efficiency. Merely by way of example, a PET scan with a standard PET dose may be performed at a speed of about 3 minutes/table position, while a PET scan with half of the standard PET dose may need to be performed about 6 minutes/table position, which may increase the scan time and result in a patient movement in scan. Therefore, it is desired to provide systems and methods for image reconstruction, thereby improving the image quality, reducing the radiation damage, and/or improving the scanning efficiency.

Systems and methods for image reconstruction

SHANGHAI UNITED IMAGING INTELLIGENCE CO., LTD.


A method for enhancing and supplementing the informed consent process of a patient undergoing a medical procedure is disclosed. A plurality of interactive multi-media program segments relating to a medical procedure are presented on-line to a patient who is to undergo the procedure. The patient views the multi-media program segments which may include a review of anatomy and physiology, the disease, the procedure, pre and post-operative instructions and risks and benefits. Patients may pose written questions to their doctor. The patient's experience, including which program segments are viewed as well as the patient's interactions therewith are captured, documented and preserved.

The present invention relates to the process of educating patients and obtaining their informed consent prior to undergoing a medical procedure, and specifically, to an interactive multi-media web based software system that educates the patient as to the medical procedure to be performed, the potential risks and outcomes, confirms the patient's comprehension of the information and documents the exact interactive presentation that the patient has experienced. The present invention supplements the traditional process of obtaining the patient's informed consent and is intended to supplement, though not necessarily replace, the traditional process.
The present system provides a tool that increases patient satisfaction with his/her doctor/surgeon, health care provider and/or hospital, which ultimately serves to reduce the number of patient complaints and most significantly, reduce the amount of litigation brought against doctors and hospitals, and control the dollars awarded in litigation by documenting that patients were indeed aware of the pre-operation and post-operation instructions as well as the risks associated with their procedure. The system described herein is disclosed in the context of patients who are to undergo a surgical procedure, but may be adapted to virtually any health care discipline and enhances the process of obtaining patient informed consent prior to undergoing virtually any medical procedure or prescribed physical or drug therapy.

Enhanced system and method for enhancing and supplementing the informed consent process of a patient undergoing a medical procedure


The present invention discloses an optical-fiber-block assembly for minimizing stress concentration. The optical-fiber-block assembly is comprised of a fiber-alignment area mounted with a plurality of V-grooves at which optical fibers are disposed and a stress-relief-depth area extending from the fiber-alignment area and formed by etching the fiber-alignment area deeper by a predetermined amount, for relieving stress that is caused by the coating thickness of the fiber, wherein the fiber-alignment area further includes: (a) a first fiber-alignment area having a first V-grooves with a constant width for receiving the bare fibers, such that the first fiber-alignment area do not contact the external side of the bare fiber, and (b) a second fiber-alignment area having a second V-grooves with a constant width extending from the first V-grooves for receiving the bare fiber, wherein the width of the first V-grooves is substantially wider than the width of the second V-grooves.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical-fiber-block assembly for connecting a planar-light circuit (PLC) to an optical fiber. In particular, the present invention relates to an optical-fiber-block assembly that includes an optical-fiber block and a glass cover for minimizing stress imposed on the optical fiber, and its related contacting device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) communication systems, optical signals with multiple N wavelengths are transmitted simultaneously through a single strand of optical fiber to accommodate a large volume of data traffic. To this end, a PLC (Planar Lightwave Circuit) is widely used for the optical-signal processing, such as the optical signal""s bifurcation, modulation, switching, multiplexing, and so forth. To connect the PLC to an optical fiber, an optical-fiber block is typically employed. The optical-fiber block is also one of the optical components that are used as an input/output port of a Micro-Optic device.
FIG. 1 illustrates a connection state of a conventional Planar-Lightwave Circuit 10 (PLC) with an optical-fiber block 20 and 30. As shown in the drawing, each of the optical blocks 20 and 30 is connected to the PLC 10 at its input/output side and also connected to each single fiber F1 and a ribbon fiber F2. In operation, N wavelengths (N is a natural number) are inputted in the input port of the PLC 10 via the single fiber F1, then the inputted optical signals are multiplexed while passing through the PLC 10. Each multiplexed optical signal is then outputted through the ribbon fiber F2, respectively. An adhesive B, such as epoxy resin, is used to fix the alignment of the input/output side of the optical fiber block 20 and 30, each being connected to the input/output port of the PLC 10. In addition, glass covers C1 through C4 are adhered to the input/out side of the PLC 10 as well as the input/output side of the optical fiber block 20 and 30, respectively. The glass covers C1 and C2 are adhered to the input/output side of the PLC 10 for processing, and the glass covers C3 and C4 are adhered to the input/output side of the optical fiber block 20 and 30 to support each aligned optical fiber. In the drawing, the reference mark S indicates a silicon substrate on which the optical circuit is provided to process optical signals.
With reference to FIGS. 2 through 4, the components of an output side optical-fiber block 30 in accordance with the related art will be explained hereinafter. As depicted in the drawings, the conventional optical-fiber block 30 is divided into a fiber-alignment area 301 in which the bare fibers BF whose coatings are peel-off are aligned, and a stress-relief-depth area 302 for relieving the stress that is generated due to the coating thickness of the ribbon fiber. For the fiber-alignment area 301, a plurality of V-grooves 310 is provided to receive the bare fibers BF. Note that the fiber-alignment area 301 and the stress-relief-depth area 302 are created in a very precise manner through a wet-etching process.
A vital function of the fiber block 30 is to support the bare fiber BF disposed in the V-groove 310, to fixate or secure the alignment of each bare fiber BF, and to have the bare fibers BF positioned at a regular interval from each other. Accordingly, it is absolutely important to manufacture a precise V-groove 310 and a glass cover C4 that is in contact with the fiber block 30. Referring to FIG. 4, the cover C4 is attached to the fiber-alignment area 301 for supporting the upper portion of the bare fibers BF aligned thereon. Then, the fiber block 30 and the cover C4 undergo a polishing process to be etched in the form of dicing them to a designated degree (xcex8), thereby finalizing the alignment state of the fiber.
However, when the fiber block and the fiber are assembled in the manner shown in FIG. 2, that is, if the bare fibers BF are aligned in each V-groove 310, and the glass cover C4 is used to fixate the alignment state after injecting epoxy resin B, the following problems inevitably occur.
First, as shown in FIG. 3, the V-groove 310, the bare fiber BF, and the glass fiber C4 form a contact point at three different locations, P1, P2, and P3, respectively. Although these three contact points P1, P1, and P3, are necessary to maintain the precise alignment state of the bare fibers BF, they experience a considerable amount of stress due to the contraction and expansion of the adhesive B, which was injected to the contact points during the fabrication process. In the drawing, the stress intensity is indicated by the length variation of the arrow, and the direction of the arrow indicates the direction of the stress distribution. As evident in the stress distribution according to the arrow""s direction, the stress is concentrated at the three contact points, and particularly, the stress is highest at the contact point P3, where the bare fiber comes in contact with the glass cover C4. In the long run, such stress eventually fatigues the adhesion at the contact point P3, thus causes delamination, a phenomenon where the boundary sides forming the contact point fall apart or become delaminated. This process eventually deteriorates the reliability of the optical components in general.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical-fiber-block assembly that includes an optical-fiber block with minimum stress concentration and a cover.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a contacting device therewith.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided an optical-fiber-block assembly, which includes an optical-fiber block for connecting a lightwave element to a fiber, and a cover that is in contact with the optical-fiber block for supporting the fiber disposed along at least one V-groove of the optical-fiber block, wherein the cover, for the purpose of minimizing stress concentration, includes: (a) a planar portion having a top surface and a bottom surface; (b) at least one ridge in a designated position of the bottom surface for supporting the fiber disposed in the V-grooves, and (c) a slot adjoined to the ridge gap receiving an adhesive material.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a contacting device using the cover described above which connects a planar-lightwave circuit to an optical fiber. The device includes: (a) an optical block on which at least one optical fiber is aligned along a V-groove; and (b) a cover in a spatial contact relationship with the optical-fiber block using an adhesive material.
Yet another aspect of the present invention provides an optical-fiber-block assembly for minimizing stress concentration using an optical-fiber block having a fiber-alignment area mounted with a plurality of V-grooves at which optical fibers are disposed and a stress-relief-depth area, which is an extended part formed by etching the fiber-alignment area, for relieving stress that is caused by the coating thickness of the fiber. The optical-fiber block further comprises: (a) a first fiber-alignment area having a width within a range that does not contact an external side of the aligned bare fiber, in which the first V-grooves with a constant width are uniformly aligned and extended therefrom; and (b) a second fiber-alignment area having a second V-grooves extending from the first V-grooves and in contact with the external side of the aligned bare fiber, wherein the width of the first V-grooves is substantially wider than the width of the second V-grooves.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more detailed description of preferred embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the various views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, the emphasis instead is placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.

Optical fiber block assembly for minimizing stress concentration and contacting device therewith


A furnace for supplying circulated heated air to a comfort zone, the furnace having a condensing heat exchanger and a blower for moving ambient air over the heat exchanger, wherein a transformer for stepping down line voltage (115 VAC) to control voltage (24 VAC) is secured to the inner surface of an enclosed housing within the furnace wherein the inner wall also supports at least one retaining bracket and one fastenable support bracket. A first flange extending from the transformer engages the retaining bracket to rotatably support the transformer. A second flange extending from the transformer engages the fastenable support bracket to secure and further support the transformer supported within the housing. A threaded member secures the fastenable support bracket to the second flange, thereby preventing disengagement.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a furnace for providing heated air to an interior comfort space, and is more particularly directed to a turn in place mounting for retaining a transformer to the shelf from which a furnace air blower is suspended.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In conventional gas-fired forced air furnaces a thermostat senses the temperature in the comfort zone relative to a predetermined set point temperature. When the comfort zone temperature is below the set point, the thermostat closes to supply thermostat ac power to the furnace as a call for heat. This initiates a sequence of events that ultimately causes the furnace to activate. An inducer motor is enabled, which in turn causes the flow of combustion air across the burners and through a heat exchanger, after which a gas valve is actuated to supply gas to the gas burners. At the same time, an ignition device is actuated to light the burners. A flame sensor then proves burner ignition and sends power to a blower delay timer. After a predetermined blower delay time, which varies with furnace design, the furnace blower is actuated. The blower moves circulated room air from a return air duct through the furnace heat exchanger to accept heat from the heated combustion products (carbon dioxide and water vapor) produced by the gas burners. The heated circulated air then goes into a hot air plenum and is distributed through hot air duct-work back to the comfort zone. When the comfort zone air is warmed sufficiently to reach the thermostat set point, the thermostat terminates the call for heat. When this happens the blower and burners go through a shut off sequence and the furnace awaits the next call for heat.
The air blower is suspended beneath a shelf located in the furnace and, in the prior art, the transformer was mounted either directly on the blower using a pair of screws or directly to a metal control box. The transformer steps down line voltage (115 VAC) to control voltage (24 VAC). Manufacturing the hardware necessary to secure the transformer had the disadvantage of being relatively complicated. Furthermore, installation and servicing of the transformer requiring two mounting screws proved difficult as two hands had to be used. The transformer had to be held in place with one hand while the other hand was securing it, via the first screw, to the mounting.
In the present invention, the transformer is mounted inside an enclosed housing that holds the air blower. Both the transformer and blower are suspended from an interior furnace wall. Multiple brackets are positioned inside the housing at varying distances from a fastenable bracket. Depending on the size of the transformer, a first flange on the transformer engages one of the multiple brackets whereby the transformer is rotatably supported. A second flange mounted on the transformer engages the fastenable support bracket. Transformer placement on both brackets fully supports the transformer and can be performed with one hand. The transformer will rest on the brackets for a sufficient duration to allow a single screw placed through a hole associated with the fastenable bracket to lock it in place.
The portion of the wall from which the transformer is mounted is formed out of the plane of the wall, away from the housing so that any condensate will run off this portion onto the rest of the wall and condensate will not percolate through the screw-hole onto the transformer.
In addition, because the mounting brackets are located within the blower housing, only a single screw protrudes outside of the housing. Thus drainage tubes may pass freely across the outside of the housing wall without interference from the mounting apparatus.


A gas heater (1) and gas heater method heat a carrier gas flow. The gas heater includes a gas inlet (2) a gas outlet (3) and a connecting gas channel (4). A heating system (5), arranged in the gas channel, includes a heat exchanger (12) surface. The carrier gas at least partly flows over the surface to heat the carrier gas flow. The gas channel includes a first section (6), arranged upstream of the heat exchanger in a flow direction, and a second section (7) arranged downstream of the heat exchanger. A respective sensor (8a, 8b), for detecting a pressure value, is in the first and the second section or directly adjacent thereto. Pressure values are transmitted to a control and analysis unit (9) which ascertains a mass and/or volume flow of the carrier gas in the gas channel based on a pressure difference between the two pressure values.

A large number of anesthesia devices, with which an anesthetic is fed to a breathing gas stream for a patient for the temporary anesthetization of the patient ventilated by the anesthesia device during this period of time, are known from the state of the art. In this case, the temperature control of the carrier gas stream as well as the enrichment of the breathing gas stream with volatile anesthetic are of considerable importance, and the dispensing of an anesthetic as needed into the carrier gas stream especially depends on the accurate temperature control of the carrier gas stream, and especially on maintaining the necessary temperature. An excessively intensive cooling of the carrier gas stream is, above all, problematic since there is then a risk that not enough anesthetic evaporates. Anesthetic evaporators that operate mechanically for dispensing an anesthetic into a carrier gas stream and that are heated in a suitable manner by means of an electric heater have been known for many years.
The problem with mechanically adjustable anesthetic dispensers is that these require relatively large thermal storage masses, so that the device is prevented from cooling off when large evaporation mass flows are required, and then an inadmissible lowering of the vapor pressure and thus of the vapor output to be dispensed would occur. Mechanically operating anesthetic dispensers are often relatively heavy because of the required thermal storage masses, which in turn is disadvantageous for handling.
Based on the problems mentioned above, efforts have been made to replace mechanically adjustable anesthetic dispensers, which are relatively heavy especially because of the thermal storage masses, with electronically controlled anesthetic dispensers. In this connection, the temperature control of the carrier gas stream, to which the needed anesthetic shall be added, is of special importance.
In this connection, a device for dispensing an anesthetic into a carrier gas stream is known from DE 10 2014 008 625 A1, in which a novel evaporation principle is used. The technical solution being described is characterized in that the heat needed for the evaporation of the anesthetic located in the anesthetic evaporator is introduced into the evaporation chamber of the anesthetic dispenser with the carrier gas stream as needed. The introduction of the necessary heat into the carrier gas stream to be enriched with anesthetic takes place in this case as a function of the breathing gas volume flow needed for supplying the patient to be anesthetized as well as the anesthetic concentration in the gas stream. The heat output is set as a function of an anesthetic concentration/volume flow measured in the breathing system as well as corresponding set values predefined by the user.

Process as well as gas heater for heating a carrier gas stream


A photographing method is provided. In the method, based on a video call between terminals at two places, each terminal previews, in a preset template, real-time preview video streams of the two parties. The two parties may separately adjust a picture of a local preview stream, and obtain a respective high-definition image through snapping when a preview group photo image is satisfying. Through file backhaul, one terminal can generate a high-resolution remote group photo based on snapped high-definition images of the terminals, a picture adjustment parameter during snapping, and the preset template.

With continuous development of communications technologies and terminal hardware, performance of a camera of a mobile phone becomes increasingly better, and photographing also becomes increasingly popular. A user can record a life status of the user and keep beautiful things around the user by photographing anytime and anywhere, which is very convenient.
It is a great thing to reunite with relatives. When the user and a friend need to take a group of photo at a same place, the user can use a tripod or invite someone else to take the group photo of the user and the friend. However, modern fast-paced work and life often separate people from their relatives and friends, making it impossible for them to take a group photo.
Some people produce a group photo of persons at different places through post-processing, for example, PS. This method not only requires professional cropping and image retouching skills but also consumes a large amount of time. In addition, the method of obtaining group photos is complex. Because a viewfinder cannot be previewed in real time, and actions and expressions of both parties cannot match to produce a good visual effect. This cannot meet requirements of free shooting of a wide range of users, and has severe limitations.

Photographing method, apparatus, and device