The pressure limiting valve has a low pressure gauge configured to measure the operability of a backflow prevention device having a line pressure relatively higher than the maximum PSI rating of the low pressure gauge. The valve body has an inlet statically coupled to a pressurized fluid source and an outlet coupled to the low pressure gauge. Upper and lower chambers fluidly coupled via a conduit are formed from an interior portion of the valve body and generally separated by a flexible diaphragm. A spring actuable via movement of the flexible diaphragm in response to pressure changes in the valve body biases a closure seat in an open position relative to the outlet when the valve body is not under pressure, and compresses under pressure to permit the closure seat to seal the outlet when pressure in the valve body reaches a maximum PSI rating of the low pressure gauge.

The present invention relates to a pressure limiting valve and related method for testing the operability of a backflow preventer. More specifically, the present invention relates to a pressure limiting valve with opposing springs that limits the pressure of fluid deliverable to a low pressure gauge in applications for testing the operability of a backflow preventer having one or more check or relief valves located on high or low pressure systems.
For decades, there have been local, state and federal health and safety regulations requiring the installation of valves known as backflow prevention devices on potable and non-potable water systems. The purpose of the backflow prevention device is to protect the main water distribution system from contamination or pollution that may originate from liquid backflow from lines attached to the distribution system as a result of very low or negative pressures. Normally, liquid in a water supply system is maintained at a significant pressure to enable water to flow from the source to a tap (e.g., a faucet), shower, etc. When the pressure in the connecting pipes falls significantly or becomes negative (i.e., reverses), contaminated water from the ground or other storage sources may be drawn into or back through the pipe toward the distribution center. Pressurized water distribution systems known in the art have been known to experience such significant pressure reductions or pressure reversals as a result of water main bursts, freezing pipes or an unexpectedly high demand on the water system, such as can be common when fighting large wild fires in urban areas of Southern California. The backflow prevention devices are designed to prevent contamination of the potable water system. Typically, backflow prevention devices required by law must be installed in accordance with plumbing and/or building codes and must be tested for operation each year.
Typical backflow prevention devices will make use of either an air gap or a mechanical backflow prevention assembly, such as a check valve, between the water delivery point (e.g., the faucet or shower) and the mains water or local water supply. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") regulates the contaminants and the associated maximum containment level (MCLs) of local drinking supplies. For example, the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs or Primary Standards) are enforceable regulatory standards that apply to public water systems. Primary Standards protect public health by limiting the levels of contaminants in drinking water. As a result, in order to maintain levels of contaminants that conform to the Primary Standards, the viability of the backflow prevention device must be tested (typically annually). For a system that includes a check valve, for example, the backflow prevention device may include a series of test cocks and shut-off valves that need annual testing.
The Cross-Connection Control Manual, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety, was first printed nearly forty years ago and is part of a safety program that provides guidelines for products, product performance, installations, training and testing of backflow prevention devices. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Cross-Connection Control Manual (1973, Reprinted in 2003 with Technical Corrections). Related laws and regulations, standard underwriters and the EPA, which publishes the Cross-Connection Control Manual, require certain backflow safeguards discussed in detail in the Cross-Connection Control Manual. These regulations and guidelines are designed to protect public health from unsafe drinking water from backflow in unprotected water systems or from backflow in cross-connections of potable water lines with non-potable water lines. As such, backflow prevention devices are typically required to be installed along some portion of the piping system to prevent unwanted contamination from entering the system due to a low or reverse pressure environment. As such, to ensure the backflow prevention devices are operating properly and efficiently (at least to within predefined specifications), the Cross-Connection Control Manual calls for the use of backflow prevention devices that have some method of being tested. Testing ensures that the devices perform at predetermined performance specifications under hydraulic conditions. For example, testing would reveal that a simple check valve is not reliable to hold drip-tight over time. Thus, there has been a need for more sophisticated valves that hold tighter seals for longer durations in preventing reverse flow in distribution systems.
In general, the Cross-Connection Control Manual categorizes most backflow prevention devices into four basic configurations that include: (1) Double Check Valve Assemblies, also known as ("DC") assemblies; (2) Reduced Pressure Principle Assemblies, also known as ("RP") assemblies; (3) Pressure Vacuum Breaker Assemblies ("PVB"); and (4) Spill Resistant Pressure Vacuum Breaker Assemblies ("SVB").
A double check valve assembly (DC) essentially includes two single check valves coupled in series within one body. The body typically includes a series of test cocks and a pair of shut-off valves at each end of the assembly. The test cocks provide the ability to determine whether either or both of the check valves are operating within predefined pressure ranges, or completely inoperative altogether (unable to hold a positive back pressure). Each check valve is spring loaded such that some predetermined amount of pressure must exist (e.g., one pound or more) to open the valves. Double check valve combinations of this nature are typically used to protect against low to medium hazard conditions and may be used under continuous pressure to protect against both back-siphonage and backpressure conditions.
A reduced pressure principle assembly backflow preventer is essentially a modified double check valve assembly. In this respect, the (RP) assembly includes two check valves, as mentioned above, with a relief vent valve placed therebetween. The pressure of the liquid disposed between the two check valves is preferably kept at a pressure of at least five pounds less than the pressure of the incoming supply. In the event the pressure between the two check valves decreases beyond a predetermined threshold (e.g., the aforementioned five pounds), the relief valve opens to allow air into the backflow device stopping back-siphonage between the two check valves when the pressure drops to about approximately two PSI. As such, the (RP) assembly typically provides better protection from back-siphonage and low pressure conditions than the (DC) assembly described above. The (RP) assembly can protect against back-siphonage and low pressure when both the first and second check valves become fouled. Additionally, this device can be used under constant pressure and at high hazard installations. Of course, each device includes test cocks and shut-off valves for testing—notably, to ensure the proper pressure drop between points of interest.
Alternatively, pressure vacuum breakers (PVB) developed as a result of a need for an atmospheric inlet valve that could be utilized under constant pressure and that could be tested inline. The (PVB) includes a spring that sits on top of a disc or float assembly with two shut-off valves and a series of test cocks. (PVB) assemblies also include a single check valve. When pressure decreases to a pre-set point, the air inlet valve opens. One drawback of the (PVB) assemblies is that they are not designed to protect against backpressure conditions. As a result, the installation must be a minimum of 12 inches higher than all downstream usages.
The spill resistant pressure vacuum breaker (SVB) is essentially a modification to the (PVB) assembly, wherein the (SVB) is designed to minimize water spillage. Installation and backpressure requirements of the (PVB) and (SVB) are similar to one another and both devices are recommended for limited usage.
All of the check valves on all of the backflow assemblies are designed to close in the event of a significant pressure drop or pressure reversal in the supply line. In this respect, a spring loaded check valve has a predetermined tension that requires a certain amount of flow to be exerted thereon to remain open. If certain flow conditions exist within the piping system (e.g., low flow or reverse flow), the spring overcomes the flow in the piping system and the check valve closes. In a closed condition, water is not allowed to flow backward form the outlet toward the distribution center. Additionally, a relief valve or float valve opened to the atmosphere may be activated under other conditions in the event pressure in the system drops to a present opening point, to introduce air into the system to prevent back-siphoning conditions or unsafe operating conditions. A leaking check valve or stuck relief/vent valve, may fail to open in the event of a pressure drop or pressure reversal causing unsafe operating conditions. Check valves and relief/vent valves must be periodically tested to ensure that they are in adequate operating condition. Faulty check or relief, vent valves of this nature present the same problems identified above with a system that does not include a means to prevent backflow.
All backflow assemblies are designed to have very low pressure loss when installed on distribution systems, so check valves will only have one to five PSI pound spring loads.
All backflow prevention assemblies are designed to product performance standards and once a year they must be tested using pressure gauges to determine if the assemblies are still performing to the standards in which they were designed.
All backflow prevention assemblies are tested in descending pressure readings, and never in ascending readings as in their product design. Pressure gauges were initially used to test the operability of the backflow assembly as a means for indicating if there is a check valve leakage within the backflow assembly. Of course, pressure gauges have a variety of pressure range capacities and reading accuracies. Normally, a pressure gauge should be selected based on the desired minimum resolution (i.e., the lowest readable pressure range increment). For example, a gauge that can record readings upwards of 500 PSI will not be able to read increments to the same accuracy as a lower pressure 15 PSI gauge if you are only interested in readings in low pressure ranges (i.e., 15 to zero PSI). The minimum increment of the 500 PSI gauge may be as low as 10 PSI while the minimum increment of the 15 PSI gauge can be as low as a half of a tenth PSI (i.e., 0.05 PSI). All backflow preventers are tested in the pressure range of 15 PSI to zero PSI even though they may be located on systems that have pressures over two hundred pounds. When testing a check valve on a backflow assembly, the only interest is whether it holds drip tight above one PSI (1.0 PSI). At one PSI, there is no possibility of a backflow condition.
There are many instances when a gauge is used for testing water or liquid distribution systems where the line pressure may not be known before the gauge is installed. A gauge installed on a distribution system having a line pressure that far exceeds the maximum PSI rating of the gauge, will more than likely destroy the gauge. At a minimum, it can be expected that the accuracy of the gauge will be significantly adversely affected. This is a common problem, for example, when there is a need to test the function of a valve coupled to a water system that has a high input water pressure (e.g., around 200 PSI), but there is a need to check if the valve closes drip tight by measuring pressures under 15 PSI (e.g., in the 1-2 PSI range at 0.05 to 0.1 PSI increments).
So, until now, there has been no equipment for attaching a low pressure gauge to a high pressure system without damaging the low pressure gauge. As a result, differential pressure gauges became the gauge of choice because of their capability of measuring differential pressures to 1 or 2 tenths PSI in a high pressure water system. In this respect, it would be possible to measure the pressure drop across one or more check valves integrated as part of a backflow prevention device in a high pressure line. In fact, some differential pressure gauges are designed to read pressures in the 0-15 P.S.I.D. range and can be connected to a water system that has pressures above 200 PSI, all without destroying the gauge. Despite being frequently used to perform testing of check valve operability, differential pressure gauges do have several major drawbacks, especially when used incorrectly. Differential pressure gauges are designed to read differential pressures and not line pressures. When a differential pressure gauge is attached to a pressure system pressurizing only the high side, the gauge may be damaged such that the gauge may no longer be able to read pressure differentials to the requisite resolution and accuracy.
As a result, the four types of backflow prevention devices mentioned above require an elaborate process for testing check valves. This is due, in part, to the flow through design of the differential pressure gauge, which comes in two valve, three valve, and five valve configurations. All differential pressure gauges approved for testing backflow prevention devices must have the capability of bleeding all the air out of the test equipment because the gauge must be capable of performing the test under hydraulic conditions. The differential pressure gauge must be able to read pressure differentials as low as one tenth (0.1) to two tenths (0.2) PSI on the test equipment scale plate. The check valve of a backflow prevention device must hold one pound of pressure in either direction of flow. A check valve that reads one (1.0) PSI or higher is reported on a test form as holding tight. But, if the check valve gives the tester a reading of 0.9 PSI, one tenth of a pound below the one pound minimum requirement, then the check valve is recorded as failed. If the differential pressure gauge goes to zero, then the check valve is recorded as leaking.
The Cross-Connection Control Manual endeavors to standardize the testing procedure for backflow preventers. The variety of valves, quantity of hoses on models of testing equipment, and a variety of other factors cause confusion and interject errors into the testing process that can lead to inaccurate and/or inconsistent testing results. When the industry started testing backflow preventers using only the high side of a 0-15 PSI rated differential pressure gauge not realizing that the gauge accuracy is affected by this simplified testing method. Over time, the spring in the differential pressure gauge wears and loses tension. Most rubber diaphragm differential pressure gauges have a span adjustment screw located on the low pressure side where the spring is located. Tightening the screw replaces the lost tension in the spring. Accordingly, adjusting the screw allows the gauge to be calibrated back to zero when no pressure is present. On one hand, this helps ensure the accuracy of the testing equipment. Although, on the other hand, unless the differential pressure gauge is checked before use, measurements may read high in the event the calibrated adjustment is not made prior to conducting the test. If the differential pressure gauge is used only for pressurizing the high side, then spring tension memory loss is accelerated.
It is typically not recommended to use the differential pressure gauge in the manner described above because of the over-ranging that is taking place with respect to the spring. In fact, the spring can start losing memory immediately after calibration. Additionally, high line pressure and water hammer are two of the most common issues that affect gauge accuracy. In view that one tenth (0.1) PSI has been established as the minimum pressure change increment for determining whether a check valve passes or fails a test, having a gauge that is susceptible to immediate memory loss (resulting in high readings) undoubtedly makes it nearly impossible to use these gauges to accurately test the proper operation of the backflow prevention device.
As such, the state of the art is devoid of prior art that is able to incorporate a low pressure gauge having a minimum PSI rating far below the line pressure, that is capable of measuring relatively small pressure increments. One prior art reference, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,173 to Elberson discloses an air flow rate meter capable of measuring relative pressure changes with a low-pressure gauge (rated at 0-3 PSI) connected in-line in a high pressure system (e.g., 100-130 PSI). The Elberson pressure gauge is designed to monitor the flow of air in a high-pressure compressed air system. The low pressure gauge is contained within a sealed, high pressure body connected to the high-pressure compressed air line. The low pressure gauge pneumatically connects to opposite ends of a tube disposed within the meter through which the main air pressure line flows. The gauge measures a pressure drop across a restricted orifice defined by the tube. Importantly, the air flow rate meter design protects the low-pressure gauge from being exposed to pressures that exceed the rating of the gauge-pressures that may otherwise damage or permanently destroy the low-pressure gauge.
But, the Elberson air flow rate meter can only be used with air or gas, and not hydraulic fluids. More specifically, the Elberson air flow rate meter is not designed to measure static pressure in a system (e.g., above ten PSI) or the pressure gauge will be severely damaged. Rather, the rate meter is designed only to measure the pressure drop across a particular point of air flowing by a certain throttle. As such, Elberson is an air flow monitor and not a pressure limiting valve that can be utilized with several thousand pounds of pressure. In essence, the Elberson monitor only works if there is a continuous flow through a constricted venturi passage, which creates a differential pressure. The Elberson device cannot work in a static environment, such as in the testing of backflow prevention devices, because there is no continuous flow.
Thus, there exists a significant need for a pressure limiting valve usable for testing a pressure drop across a check or relief valve incorporated into a backflow preventer, a pressure drop that is relatively significantly lower than the line pressure along which the backflow preventer serves. Such a pressure limiting valve preferably includes a single inlet pressure limiting valve having means for protecting a low pressure gauge attached thereto for measuring the pressure drop. The valve includes an upper and a lower chamber generally separated by a flexible rubber diaphragm, yet fluidly coupled by a conduit, a spring actuable via movement of the flexible diaphragm in response to pressure changes in the valve body to generally bias a closure seat in an open position relative to the outlet when the valve body is not under pressure and facilitate compression to permit the closure seat to seal the outlet when pressure in the valve body approximately reaches a maximum PSI rating of the low pressure gauge. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.

Pressure limiting valve and alternative method for testing a backflow preventer using the same


An interposer device comprising a first conductor pattern on a first side defining a portion of the interposer device to be covered by a first electrical circuit element; and a second conductor pattern on a second side to be connected to a second electrical circuit element. The second conductor pattern is electrically coupled to the first conductor pattern. The interposer device further comprises a plurality of nanostructure energy storage devices arranged within the portion of the interposer device to be covered by the first electrical circuit element. Each of the nanostructure energy storage devices comprises at least a first plurality of conductive nanostructures; a conduction controlling material embedding the nanostructures; a first electrode connected to each nanostructure in the first plurality of nanostructures; and a second electrode separated from each nanostructure in the first plurality of nanostructures by the conduction controlling material.

Electronic devices need electrical energy to operate. In a portable electronic device, a battery is typically provided, and electrical energy is drawn from the battery to power integrated circuits comprised in the electronic device. Moreover, a number of driving factors that are continuously improving the system level performance including but not limited to smaller form-factor with higher data transfer rate, signal integrity, memory bandwidth, power and thermal management capability etc. It is of highest importance that the today's integrated and portable products are continuously striving to improve at least those metrics. The maturity of the Through Silicon Via (TSV) technology has opened up enormous possibilities for homogenous and heterogeneous integration of logic, analog, sensors and memory co-located closely together in a small form-factor assembly. Moreover, TSV technology breakthrough and maturity has enabled exploiting the possibilities of advancing the interposer packaging technology to the next level. Some good examples of interposers including TSV are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,426,961 B2, 8,928,132B2, 8,426,961 B2, 8,263,434B2. Adaptation of interposer technology is steadily increasing in the semiconductor industry. Interposer technology brings multiples of benefits including enabling heterogeneous die packaging, shorter interconnect lines by means of TSVs, integrated passive devices (IPD), vertical package integration etc. Such integration enables to gain high density I/O so that different types of dies can be located near to each other on a TSV interposer e.g. logic and memory. Such technology is also known as 2.5D packaging technology. Moreover, silicon dies can be stacked tier-to-tier on top of each other, which reduces the physical area for defined components. Such tier-to-tier stacking is called 3D packaging technology.
However, integration of such densely populated dies may come with a price. Many low-power, high speed integrated circuits are extremely sensitive to electrical noise generated by the continuous switching of the transistors located in the circuit blocks. A known solution to this problem is to connect the circuit with a so called decoupling capacitor to minimize the power fluctuation induced noise. A decoupling capacitor essentially stores charge locally, which can then give out required energy to compensate for any sudden fluctuations or voltage variations during transistor switching stages and thereby minimize any voltage noise so that the circuit can continue functioning smoothly, and thereby enhanced performance is achieved.
It is also known that the impact of the inductance becomes more crucial as the frequency of the circuit goes up. Hence, an important improvement is to have such decoupling capacitor as close as possible to the intended circuit, for which it should serve to reduce the parasitic inductance coming from the interconnect lines. Many approaches have been made to produce integrated decoupling capacitor, e.g. exploiting part of gate dielectric layer, exploiting the spaces between the metal layers of the circuit, multi-layer dissimilar materials stacked capacitor structures, etc. Such approaches however suffer from either the need for a substantial footprint of active silicon area, dielectric leakage, parasitic resistance, or are limited by the fundamental limitations in increasing in capacitance per unit area defined by the parallel plate area or from processing complexity or cost. A good example of different approaches is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. 7,416,954B2.
Advantages of having an integrated silicon based capacitor on an interposer are explained in the U.S. Pat. No. 7,518,881B2. Such integration enables to reduce voltage noise on an integrated (IC) circuit device that may be connected to the capacitor integrated interposer. The main advancement of the disclosure was that the capacitor was brought closer to the IC by having it integrated at the surface of the interposer where the IC will be connected. A variation of such an approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,488,624B2 where it is described how to configure multiples of silicon based integrated capacitors in an interposer. Yet another example of an integrated capacitor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,618,651B1, where silicon capacitors are formed within blind TSV vias. Another example of silicon trench based capacitor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,236,442B2, where high aspect ratio silicon trenches are used to manufacture capacitor devices. A variation of a trench capacitor manufacturing method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,257,383B2.
Hence, traditional silicon based embedded high aspect ratio trench capacitor technology has matured to be used for volume production and may be found in today's smartphone packaging. However, given the trend in miniaturization, the potential of the silicon based capacitor technology is limited by the ability to tailor the capacitor density per unit area, undesired parasitic resistances, increased film stress in the silicon substrate during processing, escalated manufacturing complexity and economy of costs per functions.
A typical interposer may be made of a thin slab of bulk semiconductor material e.g. Silicon which may require TSVs as interconnects. The TSV vias may induce reliability challenges due to non-optimal stress distribution from the vias and the mismatch of the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between the bonded substrate and the interposer as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,349,669 B2. Additionally, the basic trench based capacitor technology for example MIM capacitor can induce significant tensile stress on the silicon with high trench densities and hence can cause a silicon wafer to warp or bow upwards as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,963,287 B1.
Furthermore, for many integrated circuits, it would be desirable to also store energy locally. However, local energy storage in an integrated circuit requires the use of valuable space and/or processing that either may not be compatible with standard so called front end manufacturing processes or may not be economically advantageous or combination thereof.
Additionally, for many cases for packaging of integrated circuits into a system such as SoC or SiP packaging, it would be desirable to be able to control the thickness of the interposer devices without increasing the processing complexity and/or processing cost. Hence, there are apparently a number of avenues where the interposer assembly technology can further be improved and the present described invention disclosures intends to contribute to enable a smarter, better and cost effective interposer with reduced film stress, better control over the interposer thickness and added functionality to be used as an assembly platform.

Energy storing interposer device and manufacturing method


A method is described for treating a subterranean formation with a low viscosity fluid system that contains a surfactant or mixture of surfactants that does not divert fluid flow in the formation, but that develops the ability to divert flow as the fluid flows through the formation. The fluid optionally contains a formation-dissolving agent. The fluid is used in matrix acidizing, acid fracturing, and diversion.

This invention relates to an acidic fluid that becomes a diverting fluid as it is pumped into a subterranean formation. More particularly, it relates to a fluid system—that contains a concentration of a surfactant-containing system that is initially unable to cause the fluid to be a diverting fluid system—that becomes a diverting fluid system as the fluid flows through a permeable subterranean formation. Most particularly it relates to a method of treating a subterranean formation with such a fluid system.
In many oilfield operations there are occasions when it is desirable to pump a fluid that initially flows easily through a formation but then flows with much more difficulty after it has been injected into a borehole (a wellbore) and has progressed a certain distance into the formation. Initially, the ease of flow might be desirable, for example, to reduce the hydraulic horsepower needed for pumping, to facilitate mixing procedures at the surface, or to decrease the resistance to flow of the fluid through the pores of a subterranean formation. Subsequently, more difficult flow might be desired, for example to reduce the flow rate of the fluid through a porous formation or through fractured or lost-circulation zones, for example so that the fluid acts as a diverter. Currently, there are several types of acid systems that are designed to increase in viscosity, but the viscosity increases are dependent upon consumption of some or all of the acid. Some of these systems are polymer-based; polymers may damage formations. Other systems are based on viscoelastic surfactants (VES's) that are much cleaner; however, most VES systems require that the initial fluid contain sufficient surfactant to form a gel, and surfactants may be expensive.
We recently found that certain VES fluid systems can form diverting fluids when injected at concentrations below the concentrations at which they form viscoelastic fluids. It would be desirable to find additional low-viscosity fluids that would increase their resistance to flow after being injected into porous materials.


A method for facilitating wireless payment using different authentication and connectivity methods depending on the user profile, the user location, transaction, and connectivity capabilities of the payment terminal.

Today, over half of American adults own smart phones and want to use them for shopping: 48% of people use or would like to use a Smartphone to shop while in-store or on the go (Cisco 2013). Within five years, half of today's smart phone users will be using mobile wallets as their preferred payments method. (Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting Group, 2012)
The mobile payment industry suffers from several structural problems and bad user experience:                Users cannot make purchases without their wallets        Drivers often struggle to find quarters to pay for parking meters        Youth can only make cash payments        Buyers in overseas countries often have to incur large transaction fees in order to receive a wire transfer from a sponsor and make a local purchase        Plastic card theft and fraud is a major problemCurrent payment technologies are point solutions that cannot scale to multiple mediums:        NFC, QR codes and credit cards work well with point of sale (POS) terminals        Credit cards work well with POS, web/cloud and over the phone payment        PayPal works well with web        Square works well with merchant mobile terminal-as-POS        None of the current payment technologies works with interactive TV, mobile apps or parking meters.
Thus, there is a need for a new wireless point-to-point payment method that enables payment by anybody—youth, overseas people, and adults—to any receiver on any platform—online and off-line.


A measurement device may include a bias source to provide a bias, a photodiode to provide a linear current based on an input optical power and the bias, a log amplifier to receive the linear current and to provide a voltage, and one or more processors to receive the voltage and to determine a measurement of the input optical power at an observed temperature. The measurement may be determined based on a photodiode current corresponding to the voltage, a dark current, and a calibration current. The calibration current may be determined, for a threshold power range, based on a first plurality of current measurements at a first temperature and at a plurality of optical powers, a second current measurement at a second temperature and at a first optical power, and a third current measurement at the second temperature and at a second optical power.

A measurement device may include a photodiode that may be exposed to light associated with a particular input optical power. The photodiode may generate a current based on the particular input optical power. A processor may receive the current and may determine the particular input optical power based on the current. In some cases, the current may be less than a threshold, which may prevent the processor from accurately determining the particular input optical power. As a result, an amplifier, such as a log amplifier, may be included in the measurement device to receive the current and to provide an amplified current to the processor to enable the processor to determine the particular input optical power.
A determination of the particular input optical power may be temperature dependent. For example, the current provided by the photodiode, the current provided by the amplifier, and/or the like may be affected by changes to an operating temperature of the measurement device. When the particular input optical power is less than a threshold, a temperature change from a calibration temperature of the measurement device may result in an accuracy of the measurement device being less than is desired for a particular system.


A system and related method for improving tire uniformity includes providing a number (n) of test tires manufactured in a known order and identifying at least one candidate cyclic process effect with a corresponding frequency of introduction (f). A given uniformity parameter, such as radial or lateral run-out, balance, mass variation, radial lateral or tangential force variation, is measured for each tire in the test set, and measured data points are combined into a concatenated composite waveform. At least one process harmonic associated with each identified cyclic process effect is separated from the tire harmonics, for example, by Fourier transformation with identification of the process harmonics as positive integer multiples of the mth harmonic of the measured uniformity parameter where m=n/f. Once the process harmonics are extracted, filtered uniformity measurements can be provided or new tires can be built with the process effect minimized.

Tire non-uniformity relates to the symmetry (or lack of symmetry) relative to the tire's axis of rotation in mass, geometric or stiffness characteristics. Conventional tire building methods unfortunately have many opportunities for producing non-uniformities in tires. During rotation of the tires, non-uniformities present in the tire structure produce periodically-varying forces at the wheel axis. Tire non-uniformities are important when these force variations are transmitted as noticeable vibrations to the vehicle and vehicle occupants. These forces are transmitted through the suspension of the vehicle and may be felt in the seats and steering wheel of the vehicle or transmitted as noise in the passenger compartment. The amount of vibration transmitted to the vehicle occupants has been categorized as the "ride comfort" or "comfort" of the tires.
Tire uniformity characteristics, or attributes, are generally categorized as dimensional or geometric variations (radial run out (RRO) and lateral run out (LRO)), mass variance, and rolling force variations (radial force variation, lateral force variation and tangential force variation, sometimes also called longitudinal or fore and aft force variation). Uniformity measurement machines often calculate the above and other uniformity characteristics by measuring force at a number of points around a tire as the tire is rotated about its axis. The obtained measurements can generally include a composite waveform representative of tire uniformity, which can be decomposed into many respective harmonic contributions.
The respective tire harmonics obtained from a measured uniformity waveform can be analyzed in accordance with known processing techniques in order to improve uniformity. One example of improving uniformity is implemented by altering the relative angular position of known manufacturing components in a tire to reduce the magnitude of the measured uniformity parameter for one or more tire harmonics of interest. However, this type of uniformity analysis may be hindered by the impact of process effects whose periodic contributions to the composite uniformity waveform are not identical to the tire harmonics, resulting in poorer compensations and adjustments.
The present disclosure provides new techniques that help identify different causes of uniformity, including those due to cyclic elements in the tire manufacturing process whose effects are not identical in wavelength to any particular tire harmonic. Identification of such uniformity contributions can help improve uniformity analysis as well as the tire building process. Although known technologies for tire uniformity improvement have been developed, no design has emerged that generally encompasses all of the desired characteristics as hereafter presented in accordance with the subject technology.

Tire uniformity through identification of process signatures

COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN


System and techniques for multiple stream tuning are described herein. A plurality of content streams may be received. The plurality of content streams may be ranked. A user attention level may be scored as the user observes at least one content stream of the plurality of content streams. The user attention level and a rank for the at least one content stream may be compared to remaining ranks of the plurality of content streams to produce a difference. A stream action may be performed on a set of content streams from the plurality of content streams based on the difference.

Video channel tuning, such as selecting programming in broadcast or cable television systems, involves the navigation and selection of a video content stream from a number of available streams. Often programming for these streams is published to allow users to identify channels and times in which to find desired programming.


A display memory having a DRAM port and a serial port, a video controller including a host graphics controller having a bus port, a lookup table and a digital-to-analog converter for receiving lookup table data from the lookup table and converting it into signals reproducible by a display, the DRAM and serial ports being multiplexed to a combined bus, the combined bus being connected to the bus port of the graphics controller, the lookup table having an input for receiving data from the combined bus, apparatus for causing passage of serial data along the bus from the display memory in higher priority than any other data for provision of display data to the lookup table whereby the lookup table can provide the lookup table data to the digital-to-analog converter.

Video display controllers for personal computers convert data from a main central processing unit to pixel elements for display on e.g. cathode ray tube. Such subsystems typically involve use of a VRAM for storage of pixel data for the display, a graphics controller, a colour lookup table and a digital-to-analog converter for converting the digital display signals into analog signals which can be displayed by the cathode ray tube.
In order to reduce the cost of such systems, it has been an objective to create a video controller on a single chip. However this has increased the number of pins through which data must be transferred into and out of the video controller, which is costly.
In order to reduce the number of pins which must be serviced by the internal controller, in one design parts of the video controller have been moved off the chip. While this achieved the objective of reducing the pin count, it required the use of a separate chip containing logic for interfacing the VRAM display memory, and increased the parts count and thus the cost due to the inability to integrate the entire video controller on a single chip.

Computer graphics display system having combined bus and priority reading of video memory


A template 1 is brought close to or in contact with a surface to be patterned 111 and patterns are formed with liquid 62 on the surface 111. This method comprises the steps of: bringing the template 1 close to or essentially in contact with the surface 111, supplying liquid 62 to a plurality of through holes 12 established in the pattern transfer region 10 of the template 1 for supplying the liquid 62, and separating the template 1 from the surface 111 after the liquid 62 is adhered to the surface 111 via the through holes 12.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a patterning technique for semiconductor integrated circuits or the like, and more particularly to a new patterning method using both a template and a inkjet system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Photolithography is a general method for manufacturing integrated circuits or the like on silicon substrates or glass substrates. To form patterns using photolithography, a thin coat of photosensitive material, called resist, is applied on a silicon wafer and then the integrated circuit pattern, prepared on a glass dry-template with photoengraving, is printed (transferred) with light. With the transferred resist pattern as a mask, the material beneath the resist is etched to form wiring patterns and elements. This photolithographic method requires processes such as resist application, exposure, and development, making it impossible to prepare fine patterns outside of a semiconductor plant or the like having facilities such as large scale equipment, power distribution facilities, and exhaust facilities. For this reason, other methods in a smaller scale for forming fine patterns have been researched.
For example, the method called MIMIC (micromolding in capillaries), for forming patterns using a mold, was disclosed in the Journal of the American Chemical Society 1996, No. 118, pp. 5722-5731. In this method, a template, whereon μm-order grooved structures are formed of polymer, is placed on the substrate and liquid is caused by capillarity to infiltrate from the grooved sides. The template is made of polydimethylsiloxane and the liquid is a polymer, solution of polymer, colloidal solution, or the like. After the reaction between the liquid and the substrate is complete, the template is removed to reveal patterns formed upon the substrate.
In the abovementioned MIMIC method, however, the distance to which the liquid can be supplied from the sides of the template is limited because the liquid is spread by capillarity. A consequent problem is that large patterns cannot be formed using wide templates.

Patterning method, patterning apparatus, patterning template, and method for manufacturing the patterning template


A semiconductor device including a vertical transistor and a method for manufacturing the same may reduce a cell area in comparison with a conventional layout of 8F2 and 6F2. Also, the method does not require forming a bit line contact, a storage node contact or a landing plug, thereby decreasing the process steps. The semiconductor device including a vertical transistor comprises: an active region formed in a semiconductor substrate; a bit line disposed in the lower portion of the active region; a word line buried in the active region; and a capacitor disposed over the upper portion of the active region and the word line.

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a semiconductor device including a vertical transistor and a method for manufacturing the same.
In general, a semiconductor is a material which belongs to an intermediate region of a conductor and a nonconductor according to classification of materials based on electrical conductivity. Although a semiconductor is similar to a nonconductor in a pure state, the electrical conductivity of the semiconductor changes by addition of impurities or by other manipulations. The semiconductor has been used to produce a semiconductor device such as a transistor by addition of impurities and connection of the conductor. A semiconductor apparatus refers to an apparatus having various functions performed by the semiconductor device. A representative example of the semiconductor apparatus is a semiconductor memory apparatus.
A semiconductor memory apparatus comprises a plurality of unit cells each including a capacitor and a transistor. A double capacitor is used to store data temporarily, and a transistor is used to transfer data between a bit line and a capacitor in response to a control signal (word line) using an electrical conductivity change. A transistor includes three regions such as a gate, a source and a drain. In a transistor, charges between the source and the drain move in response to a control signal. The movement of charges between the source and the drain is performed through a channel region which has the property of the semiconductor.
When a general transistor is formed in a semiconductor substrate, a gate is formed in the semiconductor substrate, and impurities are doped at both sides of the gate so as to form a source and a drain. In this case, a space between the source and the drain under the gate is a channel region of the transistor. A transistor having a vertical channel region occupies given area of the semiconductor substrate. In case of a complicated semiconductor memory apparatus, it is difficult to reduce a unit cell area because the number of transistors included in a unit cell increases.
If a unit cell area of a semiconductor apparatus is reduced, it is possible to increase the number of net die per wafer, thereby improving productivity. In order to reduce a unit cell area of a semiconductor memory apparatus, various methods have been suggested. As one of these methods, a 3D transistor is used which includes a vertical transistor having a vertical channel region instead of a conventional planar transistor having a horizontal channel region.

Semiconductor device including vertical transistor and method for manufacturing the same


In an anti-lock control system for a motor vehicle, the design is made such that such that computed vehicle speed is prevented from remarkably departing from real vehicle speed as driving wheel slips before anti-lock control is started, thereby preventing occurrence of non-braking condition when anti-lock control is started. To this end, the manner in which the computed vehicle speed is computed, is changed between during braking operation (when anti-lock control is being effected) and non-braking operation (when no anti-lock control is being effected).

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a novel and improved anti-lock control system for a motor vehicle, which is operative to prevent the wheels of the motor vehicle from being locked during braking operation of the motor vehicle. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an anti-lock control system which is designed to prevent occurrence of a non-braking condition when anti-lock control is started immediately after driving wheel slipped.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, with an anti-lock control system for a motor vehicle, anti-lock control is effected by means of microcomputers such that hold valves and decay valves comprising electromagnetic valves are opened and closed on the basis of electrical signals representing wheel speeds sensed by wheel speed sensors, thereby increasing, holding or reducing the brake hydraulic pressure, for the purpose of securing improved steering performance and running stability of the motor vehicle, while at the same time shortening the braking distance.
To have a better understanding of the present invention, reference will first be made to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, which is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a conventional four-sensor, three-channel anti-lock control apparatus, which includes left-hand front, right-hand front, left-hand rear and right-hand rear wheel speed sensors 1 to 4. Outputs of these wheel speed sensors 1 to 4 are respectively passed to computing circuits 5 to 8 from which signals representing respective wheel speeds Vw1 to Vw4 are derived. Of the four wheel speed signals, the signals representing the left-hand front wheel speed Vw1 and the right-hand front wheel speed Vw2 are transmitted to control logic circuits 9 and 10 as signals representing first and second channel speeds Vs1 and Vs2, respectively. The lower one of the left-hand rear wheel speed Vw3 and right-hand rear wheel speed Vw4 is selected in a select-low circuit 11 and is passed to a control logic circuit 12 as a signal representing a third channel speed Vs3.
The control logic circuits 9, 10 and 12 are arranged to effect "on"-"off" control of hold valves HV and decay valves DV in the respective channels on the basis of the signals representing the respective channel speeds Vs1 to Vs3 (any of these channel speeds will be referred to simply as "channel speed Vs" hereinafter).
Signals representing the wheel speeds Vw1 to Vw4 are passed to a computed vehicle speed computing circuit 13 which comprises a select-high circuit 14 and a filter circuit or limiter circuit 15. The select-high circuit 14 is arranged to provide a signal representing the highest one of the four wheel speeds Vw1 to Vw4. The filter circuit 15 is arranged to provide, as computed vehicle speed Vv resembling the real wheel speed, a signal representing a speed having an acceleration follow-up limit restricted to +1G and a deceleration follow-up limit restricted to -1G with respect to the highest wheel speed VwH. In this case, the computed vehicle speed Vv is set up, when a state that Vv=VwH is changed to a state Vv<VwH as a result of the driving wheels slipping, to increase linearly with a gradient of +1G as long as the highest wheel speed VwH remains higher than the computed vehicle speed Vv. Furthermore, the computed vehicle speed Vv is set up, when Vv becomes higher than VwH, to drops linearly with a gradient of -1G as long as Vv>VwH. The computed vehicle speed Vv set up in this way is passed to the control logic circuits 9, 10 and 12.
Pressure reduction starting point judging sections 16 to 18 are provided in the respective channels to judge a pressure reduction starting point when "on" control of the decay valves is started. The pressure reduction starting judging sections 16 to 18 are connected to output terminals of the respective control logic circuits 9, 10 and 12 through notional switches SW10, SW20 and SW30, and directly to input terminals of the control logic circuits 9, 10 and 12. The functions of the pressure reduction starting point judging sections 16, 17 and 18 will be described later.
FIG. 2 shows variations in the channel speed Vs, the acceleration/deceleration dVs/dt of the channel speed Vs, and the brake hydraulic pressure Pw in each channel of the conventional anti-lock control system shown in FIG. 1, together with hold signals HS for opening/closing the hold valves HV and decay signals DS for opening/closing the decay valves DV. Similar view is also shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,580.
When the brake equipment of the motor vehicle is not being operated while the motor vehicle is running, the hold valve HV remains open while the decay valve remains closed, the brake hydraulic pressure Pw is not increased; and when the brake equipment is operated, the brake hydraulic pressure Pw is rapidly increased at time t0 so that the channel speed Vs is decreased (normal mode). A reference wheel speed Vr is set up which is lower by a predetermined amount .DELTA.V than the channel speed Vs and follows the latter with such a speed difference. More specifically, reference wheel speed Vr is set up so that when the deceleration (negative acceleration) dVs/dt of the channel speed Vs reaches a predetermined threshold level, say -1.1G at time t1, anti-lock control is started, and the reference wheel speed Vr is thereafter made to linearly decrease with a deceleration gradient .theta. (=-1.1G). At time t2 when the deceleration dVs/dt of the channel speed Vs reaches a predetermined maximum value -Gmax, the hold signal HS is generated so that the hold valve HV is closed, thus holding the brake hydraulic pressure Pw.
With the brake hydraulic pressure Pw being held, the channel speed Vs is further decreased. At time t3, the channel speed Vs and the reference wheel speed Vr become equal to each other, and a first cycle of anti-lock control is started; and the decay signal DS is generated, by which the decay valve DV is opened so that reduction of the brake hydraulic pressure Pw is started. As a result of this reduction of the brake hydraulic pressure Pw, the channel speed Vs is changed from decrease to increase at time t4 when a low peak VL of the wheel speed Vw occurs. The decay signal DS is interrupted either at the time t4 or at time t5 when the wheel speed Vw is increased up to the level of a speed Vb that is higher than the low peak speed VL by 15% of the difference Y between wheel speed Va occurring at the time t3 when the reduction of the brake hydraulic pressure was started and the low peak speed VL, i.e., Vb=VL+0.15Y (FIG. 2 shows the case where the decay signal DS is interrupted at the time t4). Thus, the decay valve DV is closed so that the reduction of the brake hydraulic pressure PW is stopped and thus the brake hydraulic pressure is held. The channel speed Vs is further increased up to the level of a speed Vc that is higher than the low peak speed VL by 80% of the difference Y between the wheel speed Va occurring at the time t3 when the reduction of the brake hydraulic pressure Pw was started and the low peak speed VL, i.e., Vc=VL+0.8Y.
Subsequently, at time t7, a high peak VH of the channel speed Vs is reached; thereupon, the brake hydraulic pressure Pw is again increased. In this case, when the difference Vv-Vs between the computed vehicle speed Vv and the channel speed Vs becomes equal to a predetermined small value .DELTA.Vo before the real high peak of the channel speed Vs occurs, this is judged as if the real high peak of the channel speed Vs were reached, and thereupon buildup of the brake hydraulic pressure Pw is started. The buildup of the brake hydraulic pressure Pw is effected in such a manner that the brake hydraulic pressure Pw is alternately increased and held in succession by the fact that the hold signal HS is turned on and off mincingly, or with relatively short intervals so that the brake hydraulic pressure Pw is caused to gradually build up. In this way, the channel speed Vs is decreased, and at time t8 (corresponding to the time t3), a second cycle of the mode for reduction of the brake hydraulic pressure occurs. The time period Tx of the initial brake hydraulic pressure buildup occurring at the time t7 is determined on the basis of calculation of the average acceleration (Vc-Vb)/.DELTA.T over the time interval .DELTA.T between the time t5 and the time t6 (the average acceleration depends on the friction coefficient .mu. of the road surface), and the time period of the subsequent pressure holding or pressure buildup is determined on the basis of the acceleration or deceleration of the channel speed Vs which is detected immediately prior to the pressure holding or pressure buildup. The brake hydraulic pressure increasing, holding and reducing modes are effected in combination as mentioned above, and thus the channel speed Vs can be controlled so that the vehicle speed can be decreased, while the wheels of the motor vehicle are prevented from being locked.
Referring again to FIG. 1, notional switches Sw10 to SW30, which are provided for operating the pressure reduction starting point judging sections 16 to 18 respectively, are turned on during the period from the time point when the deceleration of the channel speeds Vs1 to Vs3 becomes higher than -1.1G (time t1 in FIG. 2) and the time point when reduction of the brake hydraulic pressure Pw is started (time t3 in FIG. 2). In the pressure reduction starting point judging sections 16 to 18, the pressure reduction starting point is determined on the basis of comparison of the channel speed Vs and reference wheel speed Vr as mentioned above; a speed V.sub.DS (V.sub.DS =Vv-.DELTA.V') which is lower than the computed vehicle speed Vv by a predetermined amount .DELTA.V' is set as pressure reduction prohibiting threshold value; and reduction of the brake hydraulic pressure Pw is prohibited when Vs>V.sub.DS. Thus, in the sections 16 to 18, when the below-mentioned two conditions represented by equations (1) and (2) are both satisfied, this is judged as brake pressure reduction starting condition; thereupon the control logic circuits 9, 10 and 12 are caused to provide the decay signals DS. EQU Vs.ltoreq.Vr (1) EQU Vs.ltoreq.V.sub.DS ( 2)
The construction and operation of the conventional anti-lock control system has been illustrated and described above by way of example. It is also possible that a speed V.sub.DS ' having a predetermined slip ratio S with respect to the computed vehicle speed Vv may be set as pressure reduction prohibiting threshold, instead of the above-mentioned pressure reduction prohibiting threshold V.sub.DS. The slip ratio S is defined as S=(Vv-V.sub.DS ')/Vv; thus V.sub.DS '=(1-S)Vv.
With such a conventional anti-lock control system, however, if the highest wheel speed VwH be rapidly increased as a result of at least one of the driving wheels slipping before anti-lock control is started, then problems will arise which will be described below.
Referring to FIG. 3, description will now be made of anti-lock control operation in the first channel when the left-hand front wheel speed Vw1 is rapidly increased as a result of the left-hand front wheel, for example, one of the driving wheels being caused to slip on a road surface having a low friction coefficient while the accelerator pedal of the running motor vehicle is being depressed.
In such a case, the highest one VwH of the four wheel speeds becomes equal to the channel speed Vs in the first channel, i.e., Vs1, and the highest wheel speed VwH is caused to rapidly increase with an acceleration gradient higher than +1G. The computed vehicle speed Vv is caused to linearly increase with an acceleration gradient of +1G under the action of the filter circuit 15; thus the computed vehicle speed Vv tends to remarkably depart upwardly from the real vehicle speed. Under such a condition, if the driver's foot is put off the accelerator pedal and thereupon the brake pedal is depressed, then the channel speed Vs (=VwH) will be rapidly decreased so that dVs/dt will reach -1.1G immediately; thus anti-lock control will be started, and subsequently the condition Vs.ltoreq.Vr represented by the above equation (1) will be satisfied. Furthermore, if the highest wheel speed VwH equal to the channel speed Vs is decreased so that VwH=Vv and further decreased so that VwH<Vv, then the computed vehicle speed Vv is caused to gradually and linearly decrease with a deceleration gradient of -1G. At the same time, the channel speed Vs which is rapidly decreased, is decreased toward the real vehicle speed, and, on the way, goes below V.sub.DS (=Vv-.DELTA.V') or V.sub.DS ' (=(1-S)Vv) so that the above condition represented by the equation (2) will be satisfied. In this way, reduction of the brake hydraulic pressure will be started, and the channel speed Vs will become substantially equal to the real vehicle speed. In contrast, the computed vehicle speed Vv will be gradually decreased with the deceleration gradient of -1G so that satisfaction of the brake pressure buildup starting condition, or occurrence of a high peak of the channel speed Vs is delayed (when the condition Vs.gtoreq.Vv-.DELTA.Vo is satisfied, this is judged as occurrence of a high peak of the channel speed Vs). Thus, a non-braking condition will be permitted to persist until the above brake pressure starting condition is satisfied.
Such a tendency is remarkable with a 4WD motor vehicle.

Anti-lock control system for motor vehicles


A signaling retention device that is configured to retain an element in a particular position and to emit an audible and/or visual signal. The signaling retention device may include a power source, memory, a central processing unit (CPU), sensor(s), audible indicator(s), light source(s), switch(es), camera(s), a transceiver, a microphone, impact tool(s), and aromatic element(s) and may be configured in the form of a character, such as a cartoon character or the like. The power source may be any suitable power source, such one or more batteries (rechargeable or non-rechargeable) or the like, and may be removable or non-removable. Similarly, the memory, CPU, audible indicator(s), light source(s), switch(es), camera(s), transceiver, microphone, impact tool(s), and aromatic element (s) may be any types well known in the art.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to signaling devices and more particularly to signaling devices configured to retain elements, such as doors, windows, wheels, or the like, in a particular position, and to emit visual and/or audible signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Emergency service personnel such as firefighters, policeman, etc., are often confronted with unpredictable situations, such as residential and commercial fires, elevator emergencies, car fires, lockouts, vehicle extrication""s, etc. Many situations require the stabilization and securing of devices such as doors, windows, elevators, voids, or the like. Typically, elements like door wedges are used to secure doors and windows in an open position. However, during emergency situations, the environment may be dark or smoky and doors that have been secured in an open position by a door wedge may be difficult to locate. In addition, a door wedge is one of a number of tools that emergency service personnel may be required to carry, and can result in inefficient use of time due to searching time required to locate a particular tool. Therefore, a need exists for a signaling retention device configured to retain devices in a particular position and to emit visual and/or audible signals.
The related art is represented by the following references of interest.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 306,409, issued on Mar. 6, 1990 to Darrell Fish, shows an ornamental design for a smoke detector. Fish does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 342,213, issued on Dec. 14, 1993 to Hansruedi Fellmann, shows an ornamental design for a fire detector. Fellmann does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 360,156, issued on Jul. 11, 1995 to Kenneth R. Fenne, shows an ornamental design for a combined strobe light and smoke detector for the hearing impaired. Fenne does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,432,843, issued on Mar. 11, 1969 to Claude L. Spring, describes a spherical signal means that is designed to be energized by the unauthorized opening or passage through a door, window or the like. Spring does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,185, issued on May 16, 1978 to Richard L. Patty, describes a self contained emergency signaling device. Patty does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,981, issued on Aug. 18, 1981 to Robert B. Black, describes a sensor alarm including a sensor for detecting heat, smoke, noxious gases, and the like and an alarm for warning of an alarm condition coupled to the sensor. Black does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,468,656, issued on Aug. 28, 1984 to Thomas J. Clifford et al., describes an emergency signaling unit and alarm system for rescuing endangered workers. Clifford et al. ""656 does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,308, issued on Dec. 18, 1984 to Emanuel L. Logan, Jr. et al., describes a system for identifying emergency exits in a building that includes a strobe light which is tethered at an elevated location with respect to the floor of the building. Logan, Jr. et al. does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,912, issued on May 24, 1988 to Thomas Clifford et al., describes an alarm signaling method and system utilizing cross cueing between radio, audio and visible alarm signals which are emitted by an alarm signaling unit. Clifford et al. ""912 does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,630, issued on Jun. 13, 1989 to Robert A. Miller, describes an emergency signal system for individual mobile homes. Miller does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,092, issued on Dec. 26, 1989 to Virgil A. Grimm, describes a wedge-shaped door stop alarm. Grimm does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,637, issued on Sep. 25, 1990 to Richard E. Woods et al., describes an emergency signaling device. Woods et al. does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,648, issued on Apr. 16, 1991 to Timothy D. Conemac, describes an electronic door wedge alarm. Conemac does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,656, issued on Dec. 16, 1997 to Robert J. Hebert et al., describes a door stop assembly. Hebert et al. does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,273, issued on May 26, 1998 to Mark Crandall et al., describes a multifunctional personal alert safety system. Crandall et al. does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,825,280, issued on Oct. 20, 1998 to Andrew V. Merendini et al., describes a portable safety light and audible signal apparatus for placement in proximity to a building exit. Merendini et al. does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,172, issued on Dec. 15, 1998 to Vernon C. Lenz et al., describes an emergency service rescue marker. Lenz et al. does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,898,363, issued on Apr. 27, 1999 to Michael T. Altilio, describes a portable audible beacon. Altilio does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,040,780, issued on Mar. 21, 2000 to Michael Lucas, describes a child""s personal security assistant. Lucas does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,948, issued on Sep. 5, 2000 to Benjamin F. Astell, describes a safety apparatus for providing information to a fire fighter. Astell does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,133,839, issued on Oct. 17, 2000 to Joseph A. Ellul, Jr. et al, describes a smoke detector apparatus with an emergency escape indicator. Ellul, Jr. et al. does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,249,221 B1, issued on Jun. 19, 2001 to Joyce J. Reed, describes an emergency detector door illumination escape system. Reed does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,317,047 B1, issued on Nov. 13, 2001 to Michael Stein et al., describes a fire fighter""s safety device. Stein et al. does not suggest a signaling retention device according to the claimed invention.
An Internet site entitled xe2x80x9cWedge-Itxe2x80x9d for Open Door Industries at http:  www.wedgeit.com, printed on Mar. 28, 2002, describes a portable, temporary, light weight door stop for emergency service personnel.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The present invention is a signaling retention device that is configured to retain an element in a particular position and to emit an audible and/or visual signal.
The signaling retention device may include a power source, memory, a central processing unit (CPU), sensor(s), audible indicator(s), light source(s), switch(es), camera(s), a transceiver, a microphone, impact tool(s), and aromatic element(s) and may be configured in the form of a character, such as a cartoon character or the like. The power source may be any suitable power source, such one or more batteries (rechargeable or non-rechargeable) or the like, and may be removable or non-removable. Similarly, the memory, CPU, audible indicator(s), light source(s), switch(es), camera(s), transceiver, microphone, impact tool(s), and aromatic element(s) may be any types well known in the art. The signaling retention device may be intrinsically safe.
Accordingly, it is a principal aspect of the invention to provide a signaling retention device that is configured to retain an element in a particular position and to emit an audible and/or visual signal.
It is another aspect of the invention to provide a signaling retention device that includes a power source, memory, a CPU, sensor(s), audible indicator(s), light source(s), switch(es), camera(s), a transceiver, a microphone, impact tool(s), and aromatic element(s), and is configured in the form of a character.
It is an aspect of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.


A folder includes a first cylinder having at least one first gripper for holding signatures and at least one tucker for tucking the signatures to define a first fold, a second cylinder having at least one first jaw for holding the signatures at the first fold, a first motor driving the at least one first gripper, and a second motor separate from the first motor, the second motor driving the at least one tucker of the first cylinder and the at least one first jaw of the second cylinder.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to printing presses and more particularly to a folder for a printing press.
2. Background of the Invention
Web printing presses print a continuous web of material, such as paper. In a folder of the printing press, the continuous web is cut into signatures and then folded. Various types of folders are known in the art, one of which is a combination folder.
Generally, combination folders incorporate a series of cylinders that uniquely provide functions to complete different portions of the fold, with each cylinder able to perform one or more functions. In order to provide for different types of printed products, the relative positions of cylinders within the combination folder may be altered. FIG. 1 shows the basic cylinder construction for a combination folder, for example a tucking cylinder. The basic cylinder shown herein is known in the art and is provided here for improved understanding of the present invention. A first function part 1, such as a tucking section, is mounted directly to a shaft 2 of the cylinder by a first arm 3 and a second arm 4. The shaft 2 supports a first hollow hub 5 and second hollow hub 6, which run concentric to the shaft 2. First and second hollow hubs 5, 6, in turn, support a third arm 8 and a fourth arm 9, which support a second function part 7, for example a gripper section. The shaft 2 and each hub 5, 6 can be driven by first and second drive gears 10, 11, respectively, which can be phased with respect to each other using helical gears.
Existing combination folders typically require a fold mode change and incorporate air cylinders to slide the helical gears to a required position. The helical gears, which are keyed to the main cylinder bodies, in turn, phase the cylinder bodies. This is incorporated to phase one set of cylinder bodies with respect to the other.
A drawback of the air cylinder and helical gear structure is that the helical gears may fail to shift, or seize, when changing relative position. This is due to the weight of the cylinder bodies or from the hubs freezing to the shaft due to lack of lubricant or due to fretting corrosion.
In order to reduce the likelihood of seizing, periodic maintenance is performed on the combination folder. However, the maintenance is time-consuming and increases the downtime of the folder.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,126 purports to disclose a folder having at least a first longitudinal folding device, driven severing members, and a second longitudinal folding device to which folding copies are supplied via a section of a conveyor belt which is disposed over a second loadable copy delivery. The folder comprises drawing devices disposed upstream of the severing members in the web-and-copy direction, first drive means for separately and controllably driving said drawing devices, and second drive means for driving said severing members and said cross-folding devices. The folder further includes a separate drive for driving said outwardly swingable conveyor belts. The second longitudinal folding device comprises components, and may include a phase-controllable separate electric motor for driving said components. The second drive means is an electric-motor drive. From one of the cutting or severing cylinders, the drive of the electric motor is transmitted to a gear. By means of the gear, the drive drives a folding cylinder, from there to a folding-jaw cylinder and then to a gripper cylinder. Furthermore, the drive of the second longitudinal fold can also be effected by the electric motor.
The ""126 patent has the disadvantage that the folding cylinder, folding-jaw cylinder, and gripper cylinder are driven by the same drive and, thus, adjustment and mode changes are difficult.
European Patent Application No. 0 699 524 A2 purports to disclose a printing unit with elements driven by dependent electric motors, identified by the letter M in the figures. Folding devices in figure twenty-two each have a separate motor that directly drives the folding cylinders in the folding devices. EP Patent No. EP 0 699 524 A2 has the disadvantage that one motor drives the folding cylinders of a folder, thus making phase changes difficult.
An object of the present invention is to provide for a device and method for simplifying group jaw adjustment and mode changes. An additional or alternative object of the present invention is to provide a multiple motor drive for a combination folder.
xe2x80x9cGripperxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cjawxe2x80x9d as defined herein can include any type of gripping device or holding device for a signature, such as an edge gripper or a jaw.
The present invention provides a folder comprising:
a first cylinder having at least one first gripper for holding signatures and at least one tucker for tucking the signatures to define a first fold;
a second cylinder having at least one first jaw interacting with the at least one tucker for holding the signatures at the first fold;
a first motor driving the at least one first gripper; and
a second motor separate from the first motor, the second motor driving the at least one tucker of the first cylinder and the at least one first jaw of the second cylinder.
With the two different drive motors, the phasing between the at least one first gripper and the at least one tucker can be altered through varying the angular relationship between the two motors, so as to set the fold location and thus the lap. No complicated gearing, clutches or air cylinders are required as in single motor devices. Moreover, the tuck-to-jaw relationship driven by the second motor is isolated from the first gripper and any cutting events, thus isolating torsional shock caused by the cutting. Tighter fold tolerances are possible.
Mode changes are also easier, as the motors can be altered to switch, for example, from a half-fold to a delta-fold.
The first motor also may drive at least one pair of cutting cylinders, and preferably two pairs of cutting cylinders, which may be connected by a phasing center to the first grippers. A phase between the cutting cylinders and the first grippers may be altered.
Preferably, the tuckers and the first jaws are connected by a phasing center for altering a phase therebetween. A group jaw adjust may phase the relative position of the jaws to the tucker.
The motors preferably are AC synchronous drives, which can make adjustments on the fly. One motor can be chosen as the main drive motor (reference), and the other motor changed with respect to the main motor.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a folder comprising:
cutting cylinders for cutting a web of material into signatures,
a first cylinder having at least one first gripper for holding the signatures at a lead edge and at least one tucker for tucking the signatures to define a first fold;
a second cylinder having at least one first jaw for holding the signatures at the first fold and at least one second jaw for holding the signatures at a second fold;
a third cylinder having at least one second gripper for holding the signatures at the first fold and at least one second tucker for forming the second fold;
a first motor driving the cutting cylinders and the at least one first gripper;
a second motor independent from the first motor, the second motor driving the at least one tucker of the first cylinder, the at least one first jaw of the second cylinder, and the at least one second gripper of the third cylinder; and
a third motor independent from the first and second motors, the third motor driving the at the one second law of the second cylinder and the at least one second tucker of the third cylinder.
The cut and grip action defines a first loop, the first tuck and first jaw and second grip defines a second loop, and the second tuck and second jaw a third loop.
With the three closed loops of the present invention the tuck to jaw relationship is isolated from the cutting cylinders, thus, the torsional shock to the gear train associated with the cut event is contained in the first drive loop. Moreover, variation in the fold normally attributed to the cut event is isolated, thereby, allowing tighter tolerances.
Preferably, each of the loops are synchronized with the other functional devices of the loops, for example, the first cutting cylinder pair, the second cutting cylinder pair, and the first gripper are synchronized with each other; the first tucker, the first jaw (second gripper), and the fourth gripper are synchronized with each other; and the second tucker and the second jaw (third gripper) can be synchronized with each other by virtue of a connecting gear train.
The second loop may phase with respect to the first loop, and the third loop may phase with respect to the second and first loop, so as to allow adjustments of the function devices of the different loops with respect to one another. Thus, lap adjustments and mode changes can be made without significant downtime. Phasing centers and idlers within the loops can provide for a further degree of freedom, for example a group jaw adjust. Different types of printed products can be accommodated. For example, by adjusting the lap, different lap distances can be accommodated, and by adjusting the group jaw, products of differing thicknesses can be manufactured. Mode adjustment, for example switching from a double-parallel fold to a delta fold, may also be accomplished by changing the angular relationship between the second loop and first loop and the angular relationship of the third and second loop with respect to the first loop.
The first loop may have a reference point, preferably the gripper, and all other functions and loops phase with respect to the reference point. Alternatively, the first and third loops could phase to the second loop, or the first and second loops to the third, however additional motion then is required as the print to cut would altered.
Preferably, one of the loops is removable for simpler folds, for example the third loop. Advantageously, removal of one of the loops simplifies the present invention, renders the present invention less susceptible to mechanical failure, and removes cost from an unwanted option.
All of the motors preferably AC synchronous motors providing power to the folder by connecting with one or more drive motor pinons. The AC synchronous motors provide the advantage of synchronizing the drive loops and providing power to the three drive loops. AC synchronous motors may also be uniquely associated with one of the functional devices, e.g., a first gripper spider gear, a first tucker spider gear, a second gripper (first jaw) spider gear, a third gripper (second jaw) spider gear, a second tucker spider gear, or a fourth gripper spider gear, thus, power can directly be applied to the function adjustment devices. By providing power directly to the functional, no extraneous parts are needed and less torque is lost through friction.
At least one of the motors preferably is supported directly a ground surface, so as to stabilize the position of the motor, hence, advantageously, the present invention is stabilized and angular mode changes are facilitated.
A motorized platform for changing the angular relationships between the first, second, and third loops may also be incorporated into the invention. The advantage thus provided is increased efficiency in mode changes and less operator intervention during the mode changes.
Phasing centers, i.e. two gear constructions having a compound gear between the two gears to alter a phase, and idler gears preferably are provided within the first, second and third loops to permit phasing between the elements within each loop.
In an alternate embodiment, the folder may include four independently driven motors, with one motor driving the cut cylinders, and another motor independently driving the first grippers. The second and third loops then each have a separate motor.
The present invention also provides for a method for cutting and folding printed products comprising the steps of:
driving with a first motor a first loop for cutting a signature and transferring the signature to a first gripper with a first motor;
driving with a second motor a second loop for tucking the signature into a first jaw and transferring the signature to a second gripper; and
driving with a third motor a third loop for tucking the signature into a second jaw.
Preferably, the method includes altering a phase between at least the first and second loops, so as to set a lap or perform mode change.
The phasing preferably is performed on the fly, thus, providing the advantage of reduced machine downtime.
The present invention also provides a folder comprising a first cylinder having a first functional device and a second functional device and a second cylinder having a third functional device dependent on the second functional device. A first motor drives the first functional device and a second independent motor drives the second and third functional devices.


As provided herein, a pairwise distance between nodes in a large graph can be determined efficiently. URL-sketches are generated for respective nodes in an index by extracting labels from respective nodes, which provide a reference to a link between the nodes, aggregating the labels into sets for respective nodes, and storing the sets of labels as URL-sketches. Neighborhood-sketches are generated for the respective nodes in the index using the URL-sketches, by determining a neighborhood for a node and generating a sketch using labels that are associated with the respective neighboring nodes. A distance between two nodes is determined by computing an approximate number of paths and an approximate path length between the two nodes, using the neighborhood sketches for the two nodes.

Large graphs may comprise a series of nodes that are linked by a notion of similarity. For example, a web-graph may comprise an index of web-pages with respective links between the nodes comprising a notion of similarity, such as a domain, universal resource locator (URL), or content. As another example, people in social networks may make up nodes in a graph having links comprising particular interests or group memberships.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A surface mount soldering/de-soldering tip holder includes a base having recesses or pockets formed therein that include at least one wall configured and sized to cooperate to a side surface of the tip. A cover plate having apertures formed therethrough is positioned on the base such that the apertures are aligned with the recesses in the base. Each aperture includes a convex portion for seating the shank of a soldering/de-soldering tip, while the portion of the cover plate adjacent to the convex portion extends over a portion of the respective recess to form a shelf. The shelf cooperates with the shoulder of a soldering/de-soldering tip once the tip is properly positioned in the recess. To remove a tip that is frictionally secured within a soldering iron adapter, the tip is inserted into one of the recesses formed in the base and positioned so that its shank is seated against the portion of the cover plate that forms the boundary for the convex portion of a respective aperture. As the soldering iron is twisted and pulled, at least one wall of the recess engages a side of the tip to prevent rotation thereof, while the shelf acts on the tip shoulder to retain the tip in the recess. To attach a tip to the adapter, the above procedure is basically reversed.

In conventional printed circuit boards (PCBs), the components are placed on one side of the PCB and soldered on the other. More specifically, the component leads are inserted into holes through the PCB and connected to the solder pads by wave soldering on the reverse side. In hybrid circuits, chips, i.e., leadless components, are reflow soldered onto the ceramic or glass substrate in addition to the components already integrated on the substrate. Surface mount technology evolved from these two techniques, wherein surface mount devices (SMDs) are directly attached to the surface of the PCB and then soldered. SMDs are designed with soldering pads or short leads, can be attached to both sides of the board and are much smaller than comparable leaded components.
With the advent of surface mount technology, methods to repair SMD boards have gained considerable importance. A response to the special needs in repairing such boards is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,560,101 which is directed to tapered tip style soldering/de-soldering tips and which is hereby incorporated herein. These surface mount repair tips are designed for specific surface mount device types. Since a circuit assembly incorporates a variety of SMDs, numerous tapered tip styles, each having a different configuration, are necessary to repair these assemblies. Typically, repairs on complex boards require removal of several SMDs which may require the operator to change from one tip style to another. An operator can possibly use up to five tips on a single assembly. These tips typically take at least five minutes to cool down. If the operator uses pliers to remove the hot tip, damage to the tip can result that would reduce the effective life of the tip. On the other hand, if the operator waits until the tip cools before changing to another tip, valuable production time is lost. The operator also must find the appropriate tip style for the job at hand. This can be time consuming because the operator must search among numerous tips styles, many of which are not readily distinguishable, for the appropriate tip. Thus, there is a need to provide a device to attach and/or remove tips to or from the soldering iron without damaging the tip. There is also the need to provide a device that can store the tips such that each tip style can be immediately recognized.


Embodiments of the invention provide an electric machine module. The module can include a housing, which can define a machine cavity. In some embodiments, a coolant jacket can be at least partially positioned within the housing. In some embodiments, a plurality of coolant apertures can be disposed through at least a portion of the housing. A stator assembly can be at least partially disposed within the housing and can include a plurality of coolant channels being in fluid communication with the machine cavity. Each of the coolant channels includes at least one radial subunit and at least one axial subunit. The radial subunits are fluidly coupled to some of the coolant apertures so that the coolant jacket is in fluid communication with the machine cavity via the coolant channels.

Electric machines, often contained within a machine cavity of a housing, generally include a stator assembly and a rotor assembly. For some electric machines, the stator assembly can be secured to the housing using different coupling techniques to generally secure the electric machine within the housing. During operation of some electric machines, heat energy can be generated by both the stator assembly and the rotor assembly, as well as some other components of the electric machine. The increase in heat energy produced by some elements of the electric machine can lead to inefficient machine operations or limitations in output.

Electric machine module cooling system and method


A method for color printing includes the steps of determining a voltage level of electrical power supplied to an electrophotographic printing device having multiple colors of toner, the voltage level defining a fusing capacity, and selecting a color table, stored in memory, defining a maximum toner application level for each color of toner, based upon the fusing capacity.

The present disclosure relates generally to color laser printing. In electrophotographic printers, the temperature of the fuser roller has a significant effect on image quality. Higher toner coverage is generally desirable for higher quality printing, including color printing. When printing documents, especially with high toner coverage and full color, the capacity of the fuser may be the limiting factor for the amount of toner that can be used. Too much toner, and/or a higher maximum toner level can result in incomplete fusing or paper jams. However, if the fuser is too hot for the amount of toner, paper offsets or jams can be the result.
The quality of a printed image is related to the line voltage provided to the printing unit because the line voltage is a direct limiter of fuser heat capacity, and thereby fusing capability. Line voltage can vary from place to place and from time to time. For example, in Japan 100v is common, while in the US 110v is standard. Additionally, the voltage level in a given place can fluctuate from the nominal voltage over time, due to changing supply and demand within the power distribution system. These factors tend to cause variations in print quality and printer performance.

System and method for selecting color tables for a color printer

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A machine tool has a machine part (25) which undergoes temperature-dependent changes in length, and is equipped, where it comes into contact with coolant (23), with a thermal insulation layer (28).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a machine tool having at least one machine part which undergoes temperature-dependent changes in length.
2. Related Prior Art
Machine tools of this kind are commonly known.
The problem of so-called thermal deflections occurs in almost all machine tools. When these machine tools are operated, certain machine parts heat up because of the heat generated in the working space due to the hot chips and the equipment being run. This heating in turn results in changes in length, which cause elongations to occur inside the machine tool.
A change in length in a guide rail, for example, can cause the position of an end switch or reference point to shift, so that all the concatenated dimensions dependent thereon become inaccurate. It is furthermore possible for the spacing between the workpiece table and the spindle axis to change, so that, in a manner of speaking, the preset machine parameters change.
The machining accuracy of the machine tool is thereby influenced, since in some circumstances the control system is proceeding from incorrect parameters. These thermal deflections vary depending on coolant use, number of operator door openings required, ambient temperature in the building, coolant temperature, etc., so that they cannot be completely compensated for by presettable parameter sets.
It is already known to sense this so-called temperature response instrumentally, and compensate for it on the basis of empirical values. For this purpose the applicant uses its method called "Thermocontrol," which is based on temperature and reference measurements, to take into account previously measured, known temperature responses in the control system. In the simplest case, the machine parameters to which the control system refers are modified as a function of temperatures measured in the working space of the machine tool.
It has now been found that although slow, low-amplitude temperature responses can be compensated for with this method, large temperature changes cannot be balanced out in this fashion.


A method and apparatus to refine object boundaries of computer determined scene objects extracted from stereoscopic images is disclosed. In the method disclosed, a refinement of object boundaries is performed by altering the pixel combinations used to create scene objects. In this method, each pixel in a one image is re-combined with alternative pixels in a second image and a new disparity measure is determined for each of the re-matched pixel combinations. When the new disparity measure remains in dynamically specified boundaries the re-matched pixel combination is retained, thus, replacing a previous matched pixel combination. When the new disparity measure falls outside specified boundaries, a previous re-matched combination is retained. The process of altering pixel combinations by re-matching pixels between the stereoscopic images continues for each pixel of the combined image.

The present invention relates to computer-vision technology. More specifically, this invention relates to improving the determination of object boundaries perceived within an image.
Computer vision technology is undergoing considerable development to enable a computer to perceive the images of a scene. The ability of computers to recognize and perceive images of a scene or image is important so as to provide an additional means of inputting data into a computer. Hence, a computer may be presented a scene and the images or objects in the scene may be recorded for later enhancement, filtering, coloring, etc. One aspect of computer vision technology is the determination of depth of objects in an image. The determination of depth of objects aids in determining the boundaries of each object. One technique to achieve depth perception is using a stereoscopic technique, i.e., using two cameras to record the image. The concurrently viewed images are then processed to determine the relative positions of the objects in the image. Typically, the determination of matching objects between the images is performed by comparing a group of pixels of known size, e.g., a matrix 9xc3x979 pixels, in one image with a similar group of pixels in a second image. In those cases, when image objects are sufficiently spaced apart, i.e., greater than the matching resolution criteria, the object boundaries are typically clearly denoted. As the objects are positioned closer together or a lack of textural difference between objects exists, the determination of the object boundaries becomes more difficult. Methods of improving the determination of object boundaries are known in the art. For example, methods using point-to-point matching, as disclosed in xe2x80x9cDepth Discontinuities by Pixel-to-Pixel Stereo,xe2x80x9d S. Birchfed, C. Tomasi, International Journal of Computer Vision 35(3), p. 1-25, 1999, referred to herein as the Stanford algorithm, produces sharp boundaries. However, these methods occasionally fail to determine the boundary position correctly and produce boundaries that are shifted significantly. Hence, there in a need to improve object boundary determination, without increasing the time of processing, in areas where a lack of texture causes blurring of object boundaries.
A method for refining object boundaries in stereoscopic images of a same scene by reprocessing determined pixel image data to refine boundary images. That is, using convenient processing techniques, two stereoscopic images are processed into a single resultant image, which includes matching corresponding pixels between the two images and determining a measure of disparity difference in position of the same object in the two images. The method then reprocesses the resultant image, by selecting each pixel in the resultant image, one pixel at a time, and determining a re-match such that a corresponding pixel in a first image is re-matched to an different pixel in the second image. A second dissimilarity measure for the re-matched pixel combination is then determined and the re-matched pixel combination is retained while the second dissimilarity measure is not substantially different from the first measure. A second dissimilarity measure is not substantially different from the first measure when the second measure is within known bounds about a determined value.

Method and apparatus for improving object boundaries extracted from stereoscopic images