Individually packaged topical formulations comprising about 0.25 to about 6% w/w of glycopyrrolate for the treatment of hyperhidrosis, wherein said wipe is contained within a pouch resistant to leakage. The formulations may further comprise ethanol, a buffering agent and water. In addition, the formulations may further comprise a polymer system comprising a hydrophobic polymer in combination with a hydrophilic polymer.

Hyperhidrosis is a disorder characterized by excessive sweating, namely sweating in excess of that required for the regulation of body temperature, that occurs in up to 1% of the population, with women being the predominant group affected by this condition. The excessive sweating associated with hyperhidrosis can occur in the hands (palmar hyperhidrosis), in the armpits (axillary hyperhidrosis), or in the feet (plantar hyperhidrosis). The underlying cause for primary hyperhidrosis, i.e., idiopathic hyperhidrosis, is not completely understood, but it is widely believed that an overactive sympathetic nervous system is involved, as it is known that sweating is generally under the control of the sympathetic nervous system. Secondary hyperhidrosis can be distinguished from primary hyperhidrosis as being due to a disorder of the thyroid or pituitary gland, diabetes mellitus, tumors, gout, menopause, or certain drugs.
Regardless of its causation, many patients afflicted with hyperhidrosis experience a distinct reduction in quality of life. Sufferers may feel a loss of control because perspiration can take place independent of temperature and sometimes emotional state. However, anxiety can frequently exacerbate the situation in many sufferers. Other factors are known to play a role; for example, certain foods and drinks, nicotine, caffeine, and smells can also trigger a response.
Hyperhidrosis can have a severe impact on quality of life and can interfere with the performance of routine activities. Perhaps one of the most severe consequences of hyperhidrosis is observed in work and social contexts. Patients with palmar hyperhidrosis have wet, moist hands that sometimes interfere with grasping objects. Many patients with palmar hyperhidrosis also consider it difficult to shake hands, as a handshake may leave the other person's palm very moist, a sensation most people find unpleasant. Those who suffer from axillary hyperhidrosis sweat profusely from their underarms causing them to stain their clothes shortly after they dress. These manifestations of hyperhidrosis place sufferers of this condition at a severe disadvantage in many social and professional situations.
In addition, the excessive sweating associated with hyperhidrosis impedes the performance of many routine activities. Activities such as driving, taking tests and simply grasping objects are severely hampered by sweaty hands. In addition, many careers and social situations present challenges for hyperhidrosis sufferers. For example, excessive sweating of the hands can be a debilitating condition because an individual's hands are much more exposed in social and professional activities than any other part of the body. Thus, many individuals with this condition may feel limited in their choice of professions and social interactions. For example, such individuals may be unable to manipulate materials sensitive to humidity (paper etc.) and are reluctant to shake hands. Other patients choose to minimize or avoid social contact.
A number of treatments are currently available for the treatment of hyperhidrosis; however, all of the treatments involve particular disadvantages for some patients.
A surgical procedure known as endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy or ETS is available in which selected sympathetic nerves or nerve ganglia in the chest are either cut or burned, thus completely destroying their ability to transmit impulses. Alternatively, these nerves can be clamped, thus affording the possibility of reversal of the procedure. However, this procedure often causes anhidrosis from the mid-chest upwards, which itself is a disturbing condition for many patients. Other major drawbacks to the procedure include thermoregulatory dysfunction (Goldstein, 2005), lowered fear and alertness (Teleranta, Pohjavaara, et al 2003, 2004) and the overwhelming incidence of compensatory hyperhidrosis. Many patients find the resultant compensatory hyperhidrosis to be worse than the initial condition. Moreover, the general risks normally associated with chest surgery are attendant with this procedure.
Another surgical treatment is sweat gland suction, which is a procedure modified from liposuction. Performed on an out-patient basis with only local anesthesia, the sweat glands are permanently removed. To perform this procedure, the sweat glands and armpits are first softened and anaesthetized with a special solution. After a short period, the sweat glands can then be removed by aspiration in a manner similar to liposuction.
Antiperspirants are another course of treatment for hyperhidrosis. The most effective antiperspirant agent appears to be 20 to 25% aluminum chloride in 70 to 90% alcohol, applied in the evening, 2 to 3 times/week. Aluminum chloride is the active agent found in a number of common antiperspirant products, including Drysol®, Maxim®, Odaban®, and Driclor®. However, hyperhidrosis sufferers generally need a much higher concentration than is found in ordinary commercially available products. Moreover, even a 15% or higher aluminum chloride solution usually takes about a week of nightly use to stop the sweating, with a follow-up of one or two nightly applications per week required to maintain the results. While aluminum chloride solutions can be effective, some people cannot tolerate the irritation that this agent causes in some users. Also, the solution is usually not effective for palmar (hand) and plantar (foot) hyperhidrosis.
Injections of the botulinum toxin (Botulinum toxin type A (trademarked as Botox®)) have also been used to disable the sweat glands. The effects can last from 4 to 9 months depending on the site of injections. For some patients, proper anesthesia may be required for the reduction of pain associated with injections to the hand and foot. Use of the procedure to treat underarm sweating has been approved by the FDA. However, this toxin is one of the most lethal poisons known, interfering with the effect of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine at synapses and potentially leading to progressive paralysis of all muscles in the body, including the respiratory muscles at higher doses than that used for treatment of hyperhidrosis. Another drawback is the cost of this treatment which has to be repeated at regular intervals.
Another method of treatment is iontophoresis which consists of the application of low intensity electric current (15-18 mA), supplied by a D/C generator, to the palms and/or soles immersed in an electrolyte solution. As the low current passes through an affected area, the minerals in the water clog the sweat glands, limiting the amount of sweat released. The procedure must be repeated regularly, initially in 20 minute sessions several times/week, with a gradual lengthening of the interval between treatments to 1 to 2 weeks. The results may vary; many patients, suffering from light or moderate hyperhidrosis, are satisfied with the method, while others may consider this procedure too time-consuming or inefficient, and comparably expensive. Moreover, this procedure is difficult to apply to the axillary area, and is not suitable for use in diffuse hyperhidrosis of the face or the trunk/thigh region. Also, this procedure has been found to be painful for some patients.
There are several drugs currently in use with varying degrees of success. A class of anticholinergic drugs has been shown to reduce hyperhidrosis. These drugs include Ditropan® (generic name: oxybutynin), which for some patients causes an unacceptable amount of drowsiness and dry-mouth; other less effective anticholinergic agents have also been used, including propantheline bromide (Probanthine®) and benztropine (Cogentin®). A different class of drugs which function as beta-blockers has also been tried, but these agents do not seem to be nearly as effective.
Glycopyrrolate is a quaternary amine of the muscarinic anticholinergic group. Glycopyrrolate has been used in the treatment of a variety of conditions including diarrhea (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,214,792 and 5,919,760), urinary incontinence (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,204,285 and 6,063,808), and anxiety (U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,347). Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,976,499 discloses a method for diagnosing cystic fibrosis in a patient by, in part, stimulating sweat production through the injection of a glycopyrrolate solution into a patient.
Glycopyrrolate has also been previously used for the treatment of hyperhidrosis on an off-lable basis, but as discussed below, these applications of glycopyrrolate lack the advantages of the present invention.
Abell et al., British Journal of dermatology 91: 87-91 (1974), discloses a method of treatment of hyperhidrosis including the use of glycopyrrolate in solutions for iontophoresis. A 0.5% aqueous solution of glycopyrrolate applied to the scalp and forehead for the treatment of hyperhidrosis has also been described in Seukeran et al., Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, 23: 204-205 (1998).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,433,003 to Bobrove discloses the topical use of about 0.25 to about 6% glycopyrrolate in the form of a lotion for the treatment of hyperhidrosis.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,060,289 to Wassenaar discloses a sealable container containing 30 rayon/polypropylene pads comprising 2% glycopyrrolate. This formulation of glycopyrrolate is not conducive to ease of use and ready portability, for instance, in a purse or briefcase or in an individual's pocket, as such a large container would be bulky and awkward to carry around on a routine basis. Furthermore, repeated opening of the sealable container of U.S. Pat. No. 7,060,289 would result, over time, in evaporation of the ethanol solution used in the glycopyrrolate formulation and a subsequent change in the concentration of the glycopyrrolate. Furthermore, continual exposure of the glycopyrrolate formulation of U.S. Pat. No. 7,060,289 to the air would also result, over time, in degradation of the active ingredient.
Given the drawbacks in terms of effectiveness and convenience of the presently available forms of treatment for hyperhidrosis, there remains a need for an effective, convenient, and easy to use formulation for the reduction of sweating caused in everyday situations that may exacerbate hyperhidrosis in sufferers of this condition.


Systems and methods provide adaptability in a mobile ad hoc network (MANET), based on an existing protocol, such as adaptive hybrid domain routing (AHDR). The systems and methods are especially suited for fast changing topologies that may change after a reactive route discovery has been completed.

Wireless networks have experienced increased development in the past decade. One of the most rapidly developing areas is mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). Mobile ad hoc networks or MANETs are self configuring networks in which a number of mobile nodes may interconnect with one another via wireless links. The locations of the nodes with respect to one another, i.e., the topology of the network, may therefore change rapidly particularly when such networks are deployed in emergency situations or in military operations.
Physically, a MANET includes a number of geographically distributed, potentially mobile nodes sharing one or more common radio channels. Compared with other types of networks, such as cellular networks or satellite networks, the most distinctive feature of MANETS is the lack of any fixed infrastructure. The network is formed of mobile (and potentially stationary) nodes, and is created on the fly as the nodes communicate with each other. In this type of network, the routing nodes are allowed to move and form a dynamic autonomous network with an arbitrary topology. The network does not depend on a particular node and dynamically adjusts as some nodes join or others leave the network. A MANET is also referred to as a "multi-hop network" because multiple wireless transmission hops may be necessary to forward message packets between nodes in the network.
In a military joint airborne environment, efficient networking requires operational flexibility with ad-hoc management of networking resources. It is also important to maintain low overhead so that bandwidth remains available for communication among users. Network users may also require end-to-end quality-of-service (QoS) support to manage latency, stability, and, response time. Other desirable operational requirements may include security, adaptability, interoperability, speedy join time, and rapid network formation.
MANETs are attractive because they provide instant network formation without the need for connection planning and routing node administration. The result is ease of deployment, speed of deployment, and decreased dependence on a fixed infrastructure. Despite their advantages, however, MANETs must overcome numerous obstacles to effective communications. As such, there are a number of issues with MANET that need to be addressed.
One issue is network management. An implicit assumption within a MANET is that every node within the network may wish to communicate with every other node within the network. The MANET protocol defines all nodes as routers, and then goes about trying to comprehend how each router maintains real time knowledge about the existence of other routers within the network. This becomes an exponential task to manage as the network increases in size. This problem is compounded by the ability of the nodes to dynamically enter or leave the network in an "ad hoc" fashion. The ad hoc nature of the network creates an onerous network management problem, flooding the network with status packages requiring constant updates.
Another issue is bandwidth. As nodes enter, leave, and move around the MANET, the MANET is constantly changing. Requiring each node in the MANET to be aware of changes made by the entry, departure, or movement of a node would consume a great deal of the available bandwidth.
Another issue is power. Mobile computing systems typically rely on battery power. Since battery power is limited and communicating within the network is power-intensive, having each node update itself as another node enters, leaves, or moves with the MANET may consume a large percentage of the available power.
Another issue is complexity. As the number of nodes in the MANET increases, the number of routes through the MANET increases exponentially. For even a relatively small number of nodes (100 is typically considered a sizeable MANET), the time required to update a routing table for the MANET may take longer until another node enters, leaves, or moves within the MANET. In addition, the space requirements for storing the routing table may quickly exceed the available space in the node.
Another issue is frequency usage. The mobile nodes in a network must share common radio frequencies and are therefore prone to greater interference from each neighboring node. All functions have to be distributed among the nodes. The distance between two nodes often exceeds the radio transmission range, and as transmission may have to be relayed by other nodes before reaching its destination. Consequently, a MANET network typically has a multi-hop topology, and this topology changes as the nodes move around.
Another issue is rapidly changing topologies. Analysis of existing MANET protocols show a need for enhancements in a mobile environment with rapidly changing topology.
The present invention addresses the foregoing needs.

Topology aware MANET for mobile networks

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.


Seamless pipes are produced by using billets for which the length L of a parent billet, the lengths l of child billets and the number nB of the obtainable child billets are determined on the basis of predetermined tolerances and the conditions of a billet-heating furnace and billet-rolling facilities. In this way, energy saving in the production of seamless pipes can be realized and the productivity in the production of seamless pipes can also be improved.

Various methods have been known as the methods for producing seamless steel pipes. For example, the Mannesmann-mandrel mill method is a method in which a heated billet is subjected to piercing-rolling with a piercing mill, an elongation rolling with a mandrel mill, and further to a sizing with a sizing mill or the like.
The applicant has disclosed in Patent Document 1, with respect to the method for determining the dimension of a billet, an invention of "a method for producing a seamless steel pipe which method is provided with a rolling mill capable of regulating the dimension of a product and in which method a seamless steel pipe is produced in a production line with a cutting machine disposed downstream of a heating furnace, wherein: even when the products to be produced are different in dimension from each other, the stocks for the products are collected into groups so as for each of the groups to consist of the same type of stocks; in each of the groups, the stocks each ensure the stock length that is equal to or longer than the minimum length constrained by the stock type; and in each of the groups, the thus qualified stocks are conveyed and heated and then cut to required lengths with a cutting machine, and then the cut stocks are rolled so as to have the predetermined product dimensions."
Patent Document 1: JP2001-105012A

Method for producing seamless pipe and method for determining length of billet for use in producing seamless pipe


A preparation for applying an anti-slip layer to a surface which includes a coating composition containing particulate material and a curing agent, wherein the particulate material consists of synthetic granules. The invention also relates to a method for preparing the preparation and to a method for applying an anti-slip layer using the preparation, a product which is provided with an anti-slip layer and the use of a preparation comprising synthetic granules for applying an anti-slip layer to a surface.

The invention relates to a preparation for applying an anti-slip layer to a surface wherein the preparation comprises a coating composition, containing particulate material, and a curing agent.
Such a preparation is known from U.S. Pat. No. 2,793,136 which discloses a preparation for applying a slip-resistant layer to a surface, wherein a layer of a fluid dispersion of finely divided angular or rough resin particles in a liquid plasticiser is applied on a surface as well as articles comprising such a slip-resistant layer. The resin particles must be--partly--soluble or gellable in the plasticiser when the latter is heated. More in particular, after having applied said fluid dispersion on the surface, a layer of embedded hard resin granules is obtained. The size of the granules may vary but is preferably 1/16 to 1/2 inch and a part of the granules should extend above the upper surface of the layer of the cured fluid dispersion. Subsequently, the surface and the respective layer are heated, so that the resin particles partly dissolve into the plasticiser. After cooling, this results in the formation of a solid resilient layer in which the granules are embedded such that at least a part of the granules extend above the upper surface of said layer. The resin particles are preferably copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate, polyvinyl chloride, polymethyl methacrylate and copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinylidene chloride, whereas the plasticiser is preferably an ester such as dioctyl phtalate. The coating composition according to U.S. Pat. No. 2,793,136, however, does not contain a curing agent for cross-linking the plasticiser which cross-linking would provide a more wear resistant anti-slip layer.
A preparation of this type is also disclosed in British Patent Application 2 156 672. Said patent application describes a coating composition for providing a rough coating on a sanitary product. The composition comprises a polymer, preferably a polymethyl methacrylate, a filler, a particulate material and a curing agent, preferably benzoyl peroxide. The particulate material preferably consists of glass beads having a size of about 200 to 800 .mu.m. The coating composition is applied, for example by means of a brush, to the bottom of, for example, a bathtub or a shower tray, as a result of which the bathtub or shower tray is provided with an anti-slip coating.
A disadvantage of the coating according to British Patent Application 2 156 672 is that the surface thereof is relatively polar because the layer consists of an acrylate and glass beads. Water will therefore easily be able to remain between the coated glass beads, which is disadvantageous for the anti-slip properties of the coating. As a result of the presence of water, growth of bacteria and moulds will also easily be able to take place, which is not only hazardous to health but also has an adverse effect on the anti-slip properties of the coating.
Preparations and compositions for applying an anti-slip layer to one or more surfaces of sanitary products are also disclosed in WO 88/00018, DE-A 3 320 929 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,145. WO 88/00018 describes a coating composition which contains an elastomer. Said coating composition can be applied to the bottom of a sanitary product, as a result of which the bottom is coated with a coating which has improved friction characteristics.
DE-A 3 320 929 describes a method with which a coating is applied to a sanitary product by the use of a rubber-containing synthetic material, a coating being obtained which is not smooth. It has been found that the bottoms of bathtubs and shower trays which have been provided with coatings obtained using such coating compositions possess inadequate anti-slip properties because the coating compositions do not contain particulate materials, as a result of which the relief of the coating is inadequate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,145 describes a method for applying a coating to an enamel surface, with which method a template provided with openings is placed on the surface after the latter has been cleaned. The finish is then removed from the surface at the locations of the openings by etching with acid and the etched locations are cleaned. A layer of a polyurethane-containing enamel, a layer of silicon dioxide containing sand and a further layer of a polyurethane containing enamel are then applied in succession. The final steps are the removal of the template and curing of the layer obtained. The disadvantage of this method is the laborious nature thereof. A further disadvantage of this method is the use of silicon dioxide containing sand, which usually has a small particle size. When, for example, a shower tray is coated in accordance with the method according to said U.S. patent, the locations which are provided with the sand will be sharp and therefore will feel unpleasant.

Preparation and method for applying an anti-slip layer to a surface and product provided with an anti-slip layer


Permanent joinder of structural components is accomplished by means of a heat retractable member connected between them by mechanically interlockable elements and raising the temperature of the member to a value sufficient to cause retraction thereof.

In the construction of submarines as well as surface ships, large aircraft and space craft (including space stations), it is frequently necessary to attach massive or awkward pieces of equipment permanently to complex, i.e., non-planar support structures: to attach lighter-weight equipment to complex surfaces in very tight quarters: or a combination of the two requirements, viz., attaching heavy equipment to complex support structures in confined spaces.
The problem is particularly acute in connection with the fabrication of large structures such as a space station while in earth orbit where it is compounded by such considerations as the need to conserve astronaut energy and to minimize the weight of tools and avoid the need for jigs and fixtures which would augment the load to be lifted into orbit. In any event, whether in space or on earth it is not always possible to maneuver sufficiently to attach retaining nuts to bolts extending from the complex- surface support through the equipment or object.
The invention capitalizes on the ability of certain metal alloys (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "shape-memory alloys" and described in detail) after having been conditioned to recall a particular dimensional configuration and then distorted from that configuration to revert to that configuration upon heating to above a critical (transition) temperature.
The basic general object of the invention to provide methods and apparatus for permanently joining structural components without the use of conventional fasteners of any sort.
A concomitant of this general object is the elimination of the possibility for parts mismatch, lost parts, jamming of parts, or loosening of the joined components due to vibration or other causes.
Another object of the invention is the provision of methods and apparatus for joining structural components which requires only a single active element and can be carried out by remote control.

Method and apparatus for joining structural members


Systems and methods described herein are provided for displaying video content in a multi-device environment where video content may be synchronized between two or more display devices. Video content displayed on one or more of the display devices may be a cropped version (or region of interest) of video content shown on a main display. Some embodiments may make recommendations to determine regions of interest based on contextual cues and user preferences. For some embodiments, a user may indicate a desire to follow a traced object, which may be used to determine regions of interest.

Smart TV devices, such as home media entertainment hubs, set top boxes (STBs), and applications that stream content to a TV, are growing toward taking a central role in home entertainment. However, sometimes a TV may be used merely as a display for presenting content from user devices that stream content from the web. Some TV applications and external dongles enable web browsing and streaming content from traditional sources, such as YouTube and ISP content services.
For example, there exist applications that enable replication of TV content on tablets and smart phones. The tablet user has the ability to watch a TV program from a different room than one in which the TV is located. Multi-device uses that involve a TV mainly relate to browsing the internet with tablets and finding social media feeds, such as Twitter or Facebook, related to an ongoing program. However, previous applications, did not provide consumers with additional content or information because the TV content is merely replicated on a user device. When consumers use different media channels to find additional information, they may easily be distracted and shift interest to other content sources found on the Internet. Thus, the TV content providers can lose viewers who connect (or are already connected) to other services.
Conversely, some video content, for example the At Bat program created by Major League Baseball (MLB), use multiple internet feeds by integrating social media (e.g., Twitter) with other content. Unfortunately, user devices accessing content in parallel over a broadband connection may have issues with synchronizing TV content and other Internet streams. For example, when the multiple feed technique was used during the 2016 NBA Finals to provide user devices with custom content views of a basketball game, many users experienced more than 30 seconds of delay between the TV and mobile broadcasts. This sort of delay can sour the user experience for some users.

Tailored video streaming for multi-device presentations

INTERDIGITAL MADISON PATENT HOLDINGS, SAS


A carrier for storing and carrying a pair of cylindrical-shaped canisters.

This invention is related to a carrier for storing and carrying cylindrically shaped canisters, sometimes known as tanks, for containing compressed oxygen, MAPP gas, propane, acetylene or other portable soldering and heating torch fuels.
To our knowledge, carriers for a pair of propane bottles or canisters, commonly used as torches and normally having a diameter of about 2.875 inches and a height of about 10.25 inches, are not commercially available. Typically, the user will attach a nozzle on top of one canister and use it for heating or other purposes. When the canister is empty, he connects the nozzle on the back-up canister. The problem is that there is no convenient means for carrying the canisters. They will typically roll around in a vehicle, and are difficult to maintain in a stable position when one canister is being used and the other is in a stand-by condition.
When the canisters are carried loosely in a basket, the torch head or canister may be damaged.
The prior art does show some propane tank carriers, see for example: U.S. Design Pat. Nos. 367,960 issued Mar. 19, 1996 for "Safety Propane Tank Carrier"; and No. 402,466 issued Dec. 15, 1998 both to George Werbesky, Jr.; U.S. Design Pat. No. 280,258 issued Aug. 27, 1985, for "Carrier for Gas Torch and Fuel Tank" to Benson L. Miller; U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,954 issued Aug. 9, 1994 for "Propane Bottle Carrier" to Timothy M. Holub, et al. None of these is designed to support a pair of small gas canisters in both a self-supporting upright position, and to be carried by hand.


One or more possibilities that are normally displayed in response to input from a user are augmented with real time information. Displaying real time information for one or more of the possibilities enables the user to take such information into account in deciding whether or not to continue with an action that the user was in the process of performing. For example, if a partial data entry provided by the user is indicative of an extension number to be dialed to place a phone call, and if a telephone call manager that receives the user's input displays call activity indicating that the user's intended callee is already on the phone, the user may decide to wait until the callee becomes available (as indicated by a change in callee's call activity).

As illustrated in FIG. 1A, Microsoft Corporation's INTERNET EXPLORER version 4.0 is a software program that contains an AutoComplete feature that dynamically suggests a match for an Internet address, as the address is typed into an address bar by a user. Specifically, as when the user types just two characters "go" (FIG. 1A), the AutoComplete feature suggests the closest matching files and/or websites that contain this string of two characters. The AutoComplete feature makes suggestions by completing the address or command being typed with the nearest match, while the user is still typing. The nearest match is determined by examining a History folder, and/or the contents of a user-specified folder, and/or a list of most recently typed addresses or commands (which are stored in the registry). To accept a match displayed in the address bar, the user simply presses ENTER. The user can click the down arrow button on the keyboard to display a list of suggestions, and select from the list.
In versions 5.0 and 6.0 of the INTERNET EXPLORER, the AutoComplete feature displays suggestions in a list as soon as a familiar pattern is recognized (see the list illustrated in FIG. 1A). If a suggestion in the list matches what the user was typing, the user simply clicks the suggestion. Alternatively, the user may press the DOWN ARROW key to select a suggestion, and then press ENTER. If none of the suggestions displayed in the list are appropriate, the user may simply continue to type in the address bar. Therefore, when an additional character "s" is typed into the address bar (see FIG. 1B), the AutoComplete feature dynamically updates the list of suggestions, with closest matches that contain the three character string "gos".
In addition to implementation in the address bar illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the AutoComplete feature is also implemented in the Open box for the Open command on the File menu in Internet Explorer. Moreover, the AutoComplete feature is also available in the Open box for the Run command on the Start menu in the Windows Explorer, which is part of the Windows NT operating system available from Microsoft Corporation.
Microsoft's OUTLOOK software program also contains a similar feature which is illustrated in FIG. 1C. OUTLOOK allows a user to locate an E-mail address when only a fragment of a name is known. For example, if the user knows a person's last name (or just the first initial), the user can enter as much of the name as is known (e.g. 3 characters), with the components separated by spaces. OUTLOOK tries to match the information provided by the user against the beginning of Last and First names in the Address Book. Outlook matches the provided information in any order, so "Stan A" or "A Sta" both find Stanier, Alan M. A similar feature, which is illustrated in FIG. 1D is provided in another software program from Microsoft Corporation, called OUTLOOK EXPRESS.
For more information on such technologies being supplied by Microsoft Corporation, see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,845,300, 5,923,848, and 6,377,965 all of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 6,208,339 (which is also incorporated by reference herein in its entirety) describes providing a user interface for data entry with user changeable autocomplete functions for data entry fields.
Instant Messaging ("IM") software programs are commonly used to by users to communicate with one another, and one such program supplied by YAHOO! Inc. is illustrated in FIG. 1E. IM programs inform each user of the status of one or more other users (with whom the user is likely to communicate), prior to establishing communication. For example, as illustrated by icons 105 in FIG. 1E, the information that is typically provided is whether a person in the user's "buddy list" (see list 103 in FIG. 1E) is typing on the keyboard and/or whether that person is already busy with another IM communication.
Icons 105 indicate to a current user that is desirous of initiating a communication, the current "presence" of persons on the buddy list (who are preselected as being of interest to the current user). Icons 105 change in a dynamic manner (e.g. if a person returns to their desk and starts typing their icon is changed from "away" to "present"). Icons 105 are normally used to predict the likelihood that an invitation for an IM session will be accepted.
The IM "buddy list" is typically displayed in a folder list (e.g. user names are grouped under one or more folders that in turn may be grouped under one or more additional folders), although a search bar 101 is also provided in some IM programs. We, the inventors have not personally come across any reference that discloses or suggests the use of an AutoComplete feature with search bar 101 of FIG. 1E.
AT&T has developed an application called "live addressbook" which is designed to help users make informed telephone calls from anywhere, via their wireless PDA or desktop browser. Unlike other network-based address books, which maintain static information, the live addressbook can display dynamic information about where the recipient currently is (i.e., reach number), and how available he/she currently is for calls. The system accomplishes this by applying to telephony the "Buddy List" concepts made popular in Instant Messaging applications.
For more information on "live addressbook", see an article entitled "Providing Presence Cues to Telephone Users" by Allen E. Milewski and Thomas M. Smith published in the Proceedings of the 2000 ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work December 2000, Philadelphia, Pa., and available at http://home.att.net/˜amilewski/liveabmilewski.pdf. This article is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
An article entitled "Presence: The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Voice" by Jonathan Rosenberg in Computer Telephony, published Nov. 5, 2000 is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This article is available over the Internet at http://www.computertelephony.com/article/CTM20001023S0001. According to this article, a new service that presence could support is a modernized "attendant console." Attendant consoles are common on PBX systems; they let the operator (also called the attendant) see the phone status of every extension connected to the PBX. Unfortunately, these consoles are limited. They can only monitor phones connected to the PBX and the console itself must be attached to the PBX.
According to this article, one can view an attendant console as a simple form of presence as well. Consider the possibilities for this simple application when real presence is used. The console can be a PC application. It can monitor people, rather than devices (therefore including cell phone, work phone, and VoIP phone in the status), and can manage anyone in the world willing to publish their presence information. The console itself can be run from anywhere, and more than one console can run on the same body of people, or on a subset or superset, without coordination. Consider the mobility benefits—the console attendants can now work from home and still manage the phone system in the enterprise, even monitoring the status of company employees who are telecommuting.
Also well known in the art is, for a front desk operator in an organization, to receive calls from outside the organization, and transfer them via a PBX to an employee who is identified after the operator talks to the caller. Such an operator may be provided with a computer that has been programmed to display the status of all phones in the organization as illustrated in FIG. 1F. Note that the operator is provided with status of not just one extension identified by the operator, but the call state of all extensions in the organization.
The just-described software also provides an operator interface for transferring a call (see FIG. 1G), wherein the operator can type in a character string followed by a delimiter (such as a space or tab). In response to the operator input that is non-numeric, the operator interface automatically highlights within a displayed list of status of all extensions, the first extension with a first name that matches the character string. No matching is performed on last names or partial extension numbers. If the character string is numeric, the full extension must be entered to highlight a single matching item in the list. Moreover, regardless of how many matches are present, the status of all extensions is displayed. The extensions that are displayed in the transfer screens are listed under a tab labeled "Extensions" (which is one of several tabs). The operator console also displays the following additional tabs: personal directory, system directory, and call history and dialer. None of these additional tabs display real time status information.
The operator console of FIG. 1G highlights at most a single line in a transfer screen, as described above. The real time status is displayed continuously for all items in the list regardless of any input from the operator. If the operator input is anything other than a first name, then nothing is changed in the list (i.e. all items in the list continue to be displayed as before and without any highlighting).
We the inventors note that in the operator console of FIG. 1G other partial matches are neither highlighted, nor are they displayed adjacent to one another or adjacent to the first highlighted line.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Display of real time information for selected possibilities


A radio-frequency power supply (1) and a matching box (2) are electrically connected with a coaxial cable (4) while the matching box (2) and a main unit (3) are electrically connected with a coaxial cable (5). Around the coaxial cable (5), a radio-frequency current transformer (6) is provided and an output signal from the radio-frequency current transformer (6) is given to an oscilloscope (7). In an apparatus using the radio-frequency power supply, with this constitution, a method for measuring a radio-frequency current can be provided, by which spurious components and frequency variation of the radio-frequency current can be measured simply and precisely at a low cost, without changing a series of communication paths, such as the coaxial cable, for the radio-frequency current.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for measuring a radio-frequency current outputted from a radio-frequency power supply, and more particularly to a method for easily measuring a radio-frequency current.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing a constitution of a plasma etching apparatus 90. The plasma etching apparatus is a dry-etching apparatus utilizing plasma of reactive gas generated by radio-frequency discharge. As shown in FIG. 10, a radio-frequency output from a radio-frequency (RF) power supply 1 is supplied to a main unit 3 through a matching box 2. The main unit 3 has a cathode electrode 3a electrically connected to the matching box 2 and an anode electrode 3b connected to a ground potential in a reaction chamber 31 which is a vacuum container. In etching, the plasma of the reactive gas is generated by the radio-frequency discharge between the cathode electrode 3a and the anode electrode 3b.
The radio-frequency power supply 1 and the matching box 2 are electrically connected with a coaxial cable 4 while the matching box 2 and the main unit 3 are electrically connected with a coaxial cable 5.
Next, operation of the plasma etching apparatus will be discussed. For example, the radio-frequency output from the radio-frequency power supply 1 is supplied between the cathode electrode 3a and the anode electrode 3b through the coaxial cable 4, the matching box 2, and the coaxial cable 5 as a traveling wave, to generate the plasma of the reactive gas between the cathode electrode 3a and the anode electrode 3b. The radio-frequency output supplied as a traveling wave is consumed to maintain the plasma of the reactive gas. At this time, some of the traveling wave is reflected by the plasma of the reactive gas and goes back to the matching box 2 through the coaxial cable 5 as a reflected wave. The matching box 2 performs matching using a combination of a coil (L) and a capacitor (C) to counteract the reflected wave, and therefore almost all the traveling wave is supplied to a load.
The radio-frequency power supply 1 is provided with an output meter to monitor the radio-frequency output, and when the reflected wave increases due to some abnormality, the output meter does not indicate a predetermined radio-frequency output, to thereby indicate occurrence of an abnormality.
In this case, a radio-frequency power-meter sensor 10a is interposed between the matching box 2 and the main unit 3, as shown in FIG. 11. The radio-frequency power-meter sensor 10a has an input terminal connected to the coaxial cable 5 disconnected from the main unit 3 and an output terminal connected to the main unit 3 with a coaxial cable 10b. This is referred to as "an in-line mode". Further, the radio-frequency power-meter sensor 10a is connected to a radio-frequency power meter 10 to measure the radio-frequency output from the radio-frequency power supply 1. The radio-frequency power-meter sensor 10a is a directional coupler, and the radio-frequency power meter 10 has a constitution to simultaneously indicate the traveling wave and the reflected wave.
When the abnormality occurs, since the value of the traveling wave decreases and the value of the reflected wave increases, a parameter for generating the plasma should be controlled to decrease the value of the reflected wave and the connection of the coaxial cables should be checked.
Thus, in an apparatus using the radio-frequency power supply such as the plasma etching apparatus, the radio-frequency power-meter sensor 10a is interposed between the matching box 2 and the main unit 3 to measure the radio-frequency current when some abnormality occurs. Therefore, there arises the necessity for disconnecting the coaxial cable 5 from the main unit 3 and connecting it to the radio-frequency power-meter sensor 10a and for connecting the radio-frequency power-meter sensor 10a and the main unit 3 with the different coaxial cable 10b.
If the abnormality occurs due to poor connection at a connector of the coaxial cables, for example, the abnormality is resolved by changing the connecting condition at the connector through interposing the radio-frequency power-meter sensor 10a, and the cause of the abnormality is not clarified.
Furthermore, the voltage/current meter for the radio-frequency output built in the radio-frequency power supply or the radio-frequency power meter connected in the in-line mode can indicate only a total of the radio-frequency output and a costly measurement system is required in order to measure superimposition of spurious components such as higher-order harmonics or subtle variation of the radio-frequency output, and moreover, obtained are data after advanced-processing with a computer such as noise cuts, not original radio-frequency output.

Method for measuring radio-frequency current

Ryoden Semiconductor System Engineering Corporation


A telescope is disclosed that includes a primary mirror configured to accept at a front surface incoming light from a field of view (FOV) and reflect the incoming light. The telescope also includes a secondary mirror that is coupled to the primary mirror and configured to accept the light reflected by the primary mirror and further reflect the light from the primary mirror. The telescope also includes one or more tertiary mirrors coupled to and disposed behind the primary mirror. Each tertiary mirror is configured to accept a portion of the light reflected by the second mirror. Each tertiary mirror is also configured to reflect the light so as to form an exit pupil and create an image on a flat image surface disposed behind the primary mirror. Each exit pupil does not overlap another exit pupil.

1. Field
The present disclosure generally relates to optical telescopes and, in particular, to telescopes having multiple sensors sharing a common primary reflector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical telescopes are often built to accommodate a single instrument at a time with the mounted instrument observing the entire field of view (FOV) of the telescope. As it is common to make observations with a variety of instruments, such as imaging cameras, photometers, and spectrometers, these instruments must be swapped into the single mounting location. The process of swapping instrument may take up valuable observation time, if the instruments are changed during an observation period, and may require calibration of the newly installed instrument, further consuming time. In addition, there is always risk of damage when handling an instrument and so every instrument swap risks both instruments. Finally, it is impossible in such a system to make simultaneous observations within a FOV.
Some telescopes are designed to allow multiple instruments to simultaneously make observations of the entire FOV by providing a beam splitter in the optical path such that a portion of the light from the entire FOV is reflected by the splitter to a first instrument while the remaining light passes through the splitter to a second instrument. This type of system may provide different optical characteristics for the two instruments as the reflected light may experience different spectral filtering depending on the reflective and transmissive characteristics of the splitter.
Some telescopes are designed to allow multiple instruments to simultaneously make observations of portions of the FOV. For example, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) carried five instruments that each observed a separate portion of the FOV of the telescope. The five instrument interfaces were not identical, however, and the optical paths from the primary mirror to the five mounting interfaces were not identical. The Wide Field/Planetary Camera, for example, could not be interchanged with the Faint Object Camera. The optical design of the HST did not produce real exit pupils in the optical path, thereby limiting the ability to block off-axis light reflected from internal structures.


A process for producing a semiconductor device and an apparatus and a process for obtaining an optimum film thickness, the process for producing a semiconductor device comprising forming a film of a light reflecting material on a semiconductor substrate; coating a positive resist on the film of a light reflecting material; forming a resist pattern from the positive resist; and etching the film of a light reflecting material using the resist pattern as a mask, wherein simulation of light intensity is conducted by using optical constants of the semiconductor substrate, the film of a light reflecting material and the resist obtained by measuring the optical constants thereof, or when optical constants thereof are known, by using the known optical constants, with varying a film thickness of the film of a light reflecting material to plural values, so as to obtain a film thickness of the film of a light reflecting material that makes a light absorption energy at an interface between the film of a light reflecting material and the resist minimum; and the film thickness of the film of a light reflecting material is set to the film thickness thus-obtained.

Upon production of a semiconductor device, there is generally an intermediate layer between an Si substrate and a resist. In the case where a MOS transistor is produced, for example, on patterning a resist for forming an element separating layer as the first step, an oxide film has been formed under the resist. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 1A, in the case where a resist layer 2 (positive type in this example) is formed on an Si substrate 1, intermediate layers 3a, 3b and 3c of SiO.sub.2 and Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 has been formed on the Si substrate 1.
In the case where the intermediate layer 3a does not reflect or transmit light but does completely absorb light as in FIG. 1A, the intermediate layer 3a does not give any influence on the shape of the resist layer 2 as an upper layer after patterning, i.e., the shape of a resist pattern 2a as shown in FIG. 1B.
On the other hand, in the case of the intermediate layers 3b and 3c reflecting light, the reflected light returns to the resist layer 2 to interfere with the incident light, i.e., the so-called standing wave effect occurs. Because of the presence of the intermediate layer 3b (or 3c), interference of a mixture of the optical constants n and k and the film thickness of the intermediate layer 3b (or 3c) occurs, as different from the simple standing wave of only the Si substrate 1 and the resist layer 2. The optical constant n is the real part of the reflective index, i.e., the ratio of the light velocity in vacuo and the light velocity in the substance at issue. The optical constant k is the imaginary part of the reflective index, which is determined by the light absorption coefficient .alpha. of the substance at issue (represented by 4.pi..alpha./.lambda. where .lambda. represents the wavelength).
Accordingly, as shown by B in FIG. 1B, a broad slope called "tailing" is formed at the boundary between the resist pattern 2b formed by patterning by exposure and development and the intermediate layer 3b under the resist pattern, and also as shown by C in FIG. 1B, a scooping called "undercut" is formed at the boundary between the resist pattern 2c and the intermediate layer 3c under the resist pattern.
When the tailing occurs, the tailing part functions as a mask on etching the intermediate layer 3b using the resist pattern 2b as a mask, and the intermediate layer 3b positioned under the tailing part is not sufficiently etched. As a result, the line width under the resist after etching is thickened.
On the other hand, when the undercut occurs, stress concentration occurs at the undercut part by the surface tension on the development of the resist pattern 2c, and the resist pattern 2c is collapsed as in the worst case. Even when the undercut does not proceed to bring about the collapse of the resist pattern, etching at the undercut part excessively proceeds.
When the tailing or the undercut occurs uniformly within the surface of the Si substrate 1, it is possible to determine the line width of the resist taking the change of the line width on etching into consideration, but in the practical device, the tailing or the undercut does not occur uniformly.
The intermediate layers 3b and 3c is formed by a film forming process, such as the CVD process, the spattering process and the spin coating process. An apparatus for producing a semiconductor device conducting such film forming processed is recently improved in its performance, and the uniformity of the thickness and the optical characteristics of the film produced by the processes is greatly improved than those in former times.
However, a slight fluctuation (unevenness) still remains even in the film forming process of such an apparatus for producing a semiconductor device, and the unevenness in the film thickness and the optical characteristics of the film cannot be completely removed.
In the case of a structure comprising a resist layer, an SiN layer (intermediate layer) and an Si substrate in this order, for example, when the thickness of the SiN layer changes to as small as 0.02 .mu.m, the shape of the resist pattern obtained by patterning changes from the tailing to the undercut. Accordingly, due to the slight fluctuation of the thickness of the SiN layer (intermediate layer), the resist pattern is collapsed or a bridge (resist remains in a part which is planned as the resist should not remain) is produced in a space of the pattern.
Results of the simulation when the tailing occurs in the resist pattern are shown in FIGS. 2A-1 and 2A-2, and results of the simulation where the undercut occurs are shown in FIGS. 2B-1 and 2B-2. These figures of simulation show examples of an Si substrate, an SiN layer (intermediate layer) and the resist layer in this order from the bottom, where a positive resist is used as the resist. Therefore, the part that remains as horizontally protrudes (in a convex state) in FIGS. 2A-2 and 2B-2 is an unexposed part where light is not irradiated since the resist is a positive type.
In the case of the tailing mode in FIGS. 2A-1 and 2A-2, the light absorption energy at the interface between the resist and the SiN layer (intermediate layer) becomes small as shown in FIG. 2A-1. Therefore, in the PEB (post exposure bake) process where an acid is produced by baking after exposure to change the development rate, since the amount of an acid produced at the interface between the resist and the SiN layer (intermediate layer) becomes small, the dissolution rate is decreased, and the bottom of the resist remains as tailing shown in FIG. 2A-2.
In the case of undercut, on the other hand, since the light absorption energy at the interface between the resist and the SiN layer (intermediate layer) becomes the maximum, a large amount of an acid is generated by the PEB process to raise the dissolution rate, and thus the undercut occurs.
In a simple model composed of a substrate and a resist formed directly on the substrate, the shape of the resist pattern can be controlled by adjusting the film thickness of the resist.
However, in the case where the optical constants n.sub.1 and k.sub.1 of the intermediate layer formed under the resist layer is larger than the optical constants n.sub.2 and k.sub.2 of the resist layer, the shape of the resist pattern obtained by pattering is predominantly influenced by the film thickness of the intermediate layer. Therefore, the film thickness of the intermediate layer positioned under the resist film must be optimized to stably obtain a resist pattern having a desired shape.
Under the circumstances, it has been conventionally practiced that in order to conduct the optimization of the film thickness of the intermediate layer, plural samples having film thickness values different from each other are prepared, and an exposure experiment is actually conducted to determine the optimum film thickness.
However, this method involves a disadvantage in that large amounts of time and cost are required to prepare the plural samples.

Process for producing semiconductor device, apparatus for optimizing film thickness, and process for optimizing film thickness


A method of manufacturing a plurality of microlenses on a substrate comprises forming a grid having raised ridges defining a plurality of openings on the substrate and forming a plurality of patterned photoresist features each disposed within one of the plurality of openings. The plurality of patterned photoresist features can then be reflowed inside the grid.

The present disclosure relates generally to microdevices and, more specifically, to microlenses.
Microlens arrays are widely employed in image sensor technology, such as charged coupling device (CCD) image sensors and complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors. In general, CCD, CMOS, and other types of microlens arrays transform a light pattern (e.g., a pixel image) into an electric charge pattern.
Microlens arrays generally include polymer or dielectric microlenses. Polymer microlenses can be formed by patterning a polymer layer and subsequently thermal reflowing the patterned polymer layer to create the required shape of each microlens.
However, when pixel size is decreased and/or microlens packing density is increased, the processing window for creating and using the microlens arrays is narrowed down accordingly. As a result, process operations can become more difficult. For example, a thermal reflow process can become problematic due to the potential merging of neighboring microlenses.

Advance ridge structure for microlens gapless approach

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A semiconductor device includes a support body including a mount region, a semiconductor chip disposed on the mount region with a predetermined distance therebetween, a bump disposed between the support body and the semiconductor chip, a wall portion disposed between the support body and the semiconductor chip along a part of an outer edge of the semiconductor chip, and an underfill resin layer disposed between the support body and the semiconductor chip. The underfill resin layer covers an outer side surface of the wall portion.

Regarding a semiconductor device in which a second semiconductor chip is mounted in a mount region of a first semiconductor chip, a semiconductor device having an underfill resin layer disposed between the first semiconductor chip and the second semiconductor chip which are joined to each other with a bump is known. When such a semiconductor device is manufactured, in order to reliably dispose an underfill resin layer between the first semiconductor chip and the second semiconductor chip, a vacuum filling method may be used (for example, refer to Patent Literature 1).
In a vacuum filling method, an underfill resin agent is annularly disposed in a mount region of a first semiconductor chip along an outer edge of a second semiconductor chip in a vacuum environment, and a closed space is formed between the first semiconductor chip and the second semiconductor chip. Thereafter, a region corresponding to the closed space is filled with the underfill resin agent by releasing it in an atmospheric pressure environment, and an underfill resin layer is formed between the first semiconductor chip and the second semiconductor chip by hardening the underfill resin agent.

Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing semiconductor device


An optical reproducing device is provided with predetermined length mark signal measurement means which measures amplitude values of a 2T mark and an 8T mark, which are a short reproducing power control mark and a long reproducing power control marks, respectively, from information data recorded in an magneto-optical disk. Reproducing power of a light beam is controlled by a laser power control circuit, based on the amplitude values of the 2T mark and the 8T mark. The predetermined length mark signal measurement means detects a specific pattern including the 2T mark from a bit arrangement pattern of the information data, and measures the amplitude value of the 2T mark correponding only to the 2T mark included in the specific pattern. This structure can provide an optical reproducing device which can maintain the reproducing power at an optimum value and reduce the probability of reading errors, without reducing the utilization ratio of an optical recording medium.

In magneto-optical devices as optical reproducing devices, for a magneto-optical disk of the magnetic super resolution type provided with a recording layer and an in-plane magnetized reproducing layer, a method has been proposed in which a light beam is irradiated to the magneto-optical disk from the reproducing layer side so as to reproduce a record mark smaller than a spot diameter of the light beam.
In the foregoing method, the magnetic property of the recording layer corresponding to a portion of the reproducing layer within an area irradiated by the light beam, in which the temperature rises above a predetermined level (hereinafter, the portion is referred to as an aperture), is copied onto the reproducing layer, and the magnetic property of the foregoing portion of the reproducing layer changes from in-plane magnetization to perpendicular magnetization. In this way, a record mark smaller than the spot diameter of the light beam can be reproduced.
In the foregoing method, although a driving current for generating the light beam is kept at a constant level, there are some cases where an optimal reproducing power of the light beam might vary depending on the changes in the ambient temperature during reproduction.
In this case, if the reproducing power of the light beam becomes much stronger, the aperture formed becomes too large. Consequently, the output of reproduction signals from tracks adjacent to the track being reproduced is increased, and the proportion of noise signals included in the reproduced data is increased, resulting in the increase in the probability of reading errors.
In addition, if the reproducing power of the light beam becomes much weaker, the aperture formed becomes smaller than the record mark, and the output of the reproduction signals from the track to be read is also reduced, also resulting in the increase in the probability of reading errors.
To cope with the foregoing problem, in a recording and reproducing device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-63817/1996 (Tokukaihei 8-63817, published on Mar. 8, 1996), two types of reproducing power control marks having different lengths recorded on a magneto-optical disk, that is, a short mark and a long mark, are reproduced, and reproducing power is controlled in such a manner that a ratio between amplitudes of reproduction signals of these two marks gets close to a predetermined value. This arrangement allows the reproducing power of the light beam to be kept at an optimum value, reducing the probability of reading errors.
More specifically, the short mark is smaller than an aperture diameter. Therefore, by increasing the reproducing power and increasing the aperture diameter, the short mark occupies a smaller area in an aperture, resulting in a reduction in an amplitude of the short mark. However, when the reproducing power is increased, the quantity of light also increases, which acts in a direction to increase the amplitude of the short mark.
On the other hand, when reproducing the long mark, which is greater than the aperture diameter, the long mark always occupies 100% of the area of the aperture even if the aperture diameter changes depending on the reproducing power of the light beam. Therefore, it can be considered that a change in an amplitude of the long mark with respect to a change in the reproducing power corresponds to the amount of change in the quantity of light. Thus, a value obtained by dividing the amplitude of the short mark by the amplitude of the long mark, that is, a ratio between the amplitudes of the long and short marks obtained by normalizing the amplitude of the short mark by the amplitude of the long mark, becomes a value corresponding to the amount of change in the aperture diameter. Consequently, to keep the ratio between the amplitudes of the long and short marks constant means to keep the aperture diameter constant. As a result, by maintaining the ratio between the amplitudes of the long and short marks constant, it becomes possible to control the reproducing power so as to be always optimized with respect to an ambient temperature or a tilt.
Next, a method for optimizing the reproducing power of this kind will be specifically explained.
First, FIG. 5 shows a structure of an optical reproducing device, and FIG. 6 schematically shows a structure of a magneto-optical disk 220 reproduced by the optical reproducing device. A sector 300, which is one unit of a recording area in the magneto-optical disk 220, is structured so as to include an address area 301 for indicating the position of the sector 300, a reproducing power control area 302 for recording reproducing power control marks, and a data recording area 303 for recording digital information data.
The reproducing power control marks are constituted by a short mark pattern in which marks each having a length of 2T are provided at spaces each having a length of 2T as shown in FIG. 7(a), and a long mark pattern in which marks each having a length of 8T are provided at spaces each having a length of 8T as shown in FIG. 7(b).
More specifically, T represents a channel bit length, and the short mark pattern shown in FIG. 7(a) is structured such that a mark with a bit length of 2×T shown as a 2T mark and a space with a bit length of 2×T shown as a 2T space are repeated alternately. Besides, the long mark pattern shown in FIG. 7(b) is structured such that a mark with a bit length of 8×T shown as an 8T mark and a space with a bit length of 8×T shown as an 8T space are repeated alternately.
Therefore, for example, when the channel bit length is 1 bit, in binary notation, the short mark pattern specifically represents a pattern in which a bit arrangement of "1100" is repeated, and the long mark pattern specifically represents a pattern in which a bit arrangement of "1111111100000000" is repeated. These short mark pattern and long mark pattern are recorded in the reproducing power control area 302.
In the foregoing optical reproducing device, as shown in FIG. 5, when light emitted from a semicondoctor laser 202 reaches the address area 301 of the sector 300 on the magneto-optical disk 220, a target sector address is recognized by an address decoder (not shown). Next, the emitted light is directed to the reproducing power control area 302, then light reflected from a short mark pattern and light reflected from a long mark pattern, the patterns being recorded in the area, are converted to reprodution signals by a photo diode 203, then the reproduction signals are subjeted to A/D conversion by an A/D converter 205.
The converted signals are respectively inputted to a short mark amplitude detection circuit 221 and a long mark amplitude detection circuit 222. Then, an amplitude value of a short mark in the short mark pattern and an amplitude value of a long mark in the long mark pattern are obtained respectively. Incidentally, the A/D conversion is carried out at timings by clocks extracted from the reproduction signals by a reproducing clock extracting circuit 204 constituted by a PLL (Phase Locked Loop).
The amplitude value of the short mark, that is, the 2T mark, in the short mark pattern and the amplitude value of the long mark, that is, the 8T mark, in the long mark pattern obtained in such a manner are respectively inputted to a division circuit 210. The division circuit 210 outputs an amplitude ratio calculated byAmplitude ratio=amplitude value of the 2T mark +amplitude value of the 8T mark.
The amplitude ratio and a target amplitude ratio are compared by a differential amplifier 211, and a laser power control circuit 212 outputs a driving current for the semiconductor laser 202 in such a manner that feedback is applied in a direction to reduce the difference between the two ratios.
After laser light is controlled so as to provide an optimum reproducing power in such a manner, the emitted light is directed to the data recording area 303, and a read-out reproduction signal is inputted to a binarization processing circuit 213, then information data reproduced with a low error rate is outputted. When the emitted light reaches the next sector 300, the same processing is repeated, and the reproducing power is set again to a new optimum level.
In this manner, by providing the area for recording the reproducing power control marks in each sector 300, dispersedly on the whole, and detecting the quantity of the reproduction signal for reproducing power control at each sector 300, the reproducing power can respond at a short time interval, and follow fluctuations in an optimum reproducing power caused in a short time.
However, the foregoing conventional optical reproducing device has a disadvantage that, since the reproducing power control area 302 should be provided in each sector 300, the area for recording information data is reduced by the amount of the reproducing power control area 302, resulting in a decrease in the utilization ratio of an optical recording medium.
Consequently, another method can be considered in which the reproducing power control area 302 is not provided in each sector 300, but instead, the 2T mark and the 8T mark are detected from a bit arrangement pattern of information data recorded in the data recording area 303, and amplitude values are obtained from reproduction signals corresponding to the marks. However, this method has the following problem.
First, as shown in FIG. 8(a), a reproduction waveform of the short mark pattern constituted by only the 2T mark and the 2T space, shown as "2T2T2T2T", is expressed in a curve shown in FIG. 8(a). On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8(b), a reproduction waveform of a mark pattern "3T2T2T3T" in which a 3T mark and a 3T space are arranged before the 2T space and after the 2T mark, respectively, is expressed in a curve shown in FIG. 8(b). As apparent from these waveforms, amplitude values of the 3T mark and the 3T space become greater than those of the 2T mark and the 2T space.
Besides, as shown in FIG. 8(c) , a reproduction waveform of a mark pattern "4T2T2T4T" in which a 4T mark and a 4T space are arranged before the 2T space and after the 2T mark, respectively, is expressed in a curve shown in FIG. 8(c). As apparent from the waveform, amplitude values of the 4T mark and the 4T space become further greater than those of the 3T mark and the 3T space.
Likewise, as shown in FIG. 8(d), a reproduction waveform of a mark pattern "5T2T2T5T" in which a 5T mark and a 5T space are arranged before the 2T space and after the 2T mark, respectively, is expressed in a curve shown in FIG. 8(d). As apparent from the waveform, amplitude values of the 5T mark and the 5T space become further greater than those of the 4T mark and the 4T space.
Here, since the 2T mark is smaller than the aperture diameter of the light beam, its reproduction waveform suffers waveform interference from a mark or a space before and after the 2T mark. The degree of the waveform interference differs depending on the length of the mark or the space before and after the 2T mark.
An actual result confirmed by the measurement using reproduction signals read out from the magneto-optical disk 220 is shown in FIG. 9. The horizontal axis represents the respective mark patterns shown in FIGS. 8(a) through 8(d), and the vertical axis represents the measurement results of the amplitude values of the 2T marks in the reproduction signals of the respective mark patterns.
It can be confirmed also from this measurement result that the amplitude value of the 2T mark varies depending on the length of a space before and after the 2T mark. That is, as the length of the space before and after the 2T mark increases as 3T, 4T, the amplitude value of the 2T mark becomes greater, influenced by the space of a longer length.
In this manner, since the amplitude value of the 2T mark varies depending on the length of the space before and after the 2T mark, individual amplitude values of the 2T marks have considerable variations. As a result, in order to obtain an amplitude value of the 2T mark from a reproduction waveform of the 2T marks included in the bit arrangement pattern of the information data, it is clearly preferable to average the individual 2T mark amplitude values obtained by detecting a plurality of the 2T marks.
For example, when the reproducing power is controlled for each sector 300, the 2T marks are detected from all the bit arrangement patterns of the information data included in each sector 300, and the obtained 2T mark amplitude values are averaged.
In this case, however, since occurence probability of the space of each length before and after the 2T mark differs depending on each sector 300, the 2T mark amplitude value obtained by averaging also has considerable variations depending on each sector 300, resulting in causing a great error in the reproducing power controlled based on the 2T mark amplitude value.

Optical reproducing device that controls the strength of the light beam during reproduction


An upright piano type action has a wippen 30, a jack 40, a butt 5, a swinging shank (hammer shank 71), a swinging member (hammer 70), a catcher shank 53, a backcheck 60 and a catcher 52. To any of the moving members, namely the butt 5, the swinging shank (hammer shank 71), the swinging member (hammer 70), the catcher 52 and the catcher shank 53, a weight 110, 120, 130 or 140 is attached. The weights 110, 120, 130, 140 are placed to apply loads, respectively, in a state where a key is not being depressed, in a direction opposite to a direction in which the moving members swing for hitting.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an upright piano type action including an action for an upright piano and an action of the same type as the action for an upright piano.
2. Description of the Related Art
On the market, there are a multiplicity of electronic keyboard musical instruments which generate musical tones that are close to those of a piano (acoustic piano). In many cases, such electronic keyboard instruments are used as a substitute for a piano. By improvements made to the electronic keyboard instruments for better sound quality, musical tones generated by the electronic keyboard instruments are quite close to those of pianos. As a result, not only the sound quality but also an action which is close to that of a piano is demanded of electronic keyboard instruments.
As for action of piano, there are differences in functions and touch between grand pianos and upright pianos. Generally speaking, the mass of a swing member such as a hammer acts mainly as a static load when the force with which a key is depressed is small. When the force with which the key is depressed is great, however, the mass acts largely as a dynamic load, for the acceleration of the swing member increases.
In a case of an action of a grand piano, more specifically, it is respective loads of a hammer shank, a hammer and a hammer roller that act on a jack in response to a depression of a key. Furthermore, the entire action of the grand piano is light, whereas the action is designed such that the hammer is raised from a position at which the hammer is nearly horizontal with respect to a swing fulcrum to hit a string. Therefore, the action of the grand piano has a good balance between static load and dynamic load, allowing a player to clearly perceive resistance to a weak depression of a key, and preferably increasing dynamic resistance with an increase in the strength of depression of the key. That is, the action of the grand piano allows the player to perceive the touch which is rich in the feeling of mass.
In a case of an action of an upright piano, on the other hand, it is respective loads of a wippen, a butt, a hammer shank, a hammer, a catcher shank, a catcher and the like that act on a jack in response to a depression of a key as described in Japanese examined utility model publication No. 62-43349, for example. In order to prevent the total weight of these members from becoming excessively heavy, therefore, respective masses of these swing members have to be kept small. In addition, the action of the upright piano is designed such that the hammer swings in a range in which the hammer keeps almost upright to hit a string. In spite of the static load, as a result, the action of the upright piano fails to apply an adequately increased dynamic load in response to a strong depression of a key. Therefore, the action of the upright piano offers light dynamic resistance to a key-depression, providing the player with touch which is poor in the feeling of mass.
As described above, a grand piano type action is preferable as a piano action for an electronic keyboard instrument in view of player's touch. However, the grand piano type action is not suitable for an electronic keyboard instrument which is compact in size, for the grand piano type action is large in the front-to-back direction. For such a compact electronic keyboard instrument, therefore, an upright piano type action is employed.
If an action for an upright piano which provides the player with touch which is as rich in the feeling of mass as that of a grand piano is available, the quality of the upright piano will improve significantly. Therefore, an action providing such touch has been demanded of upright pianos.


To execute function-step-based graph queries on a graph engine that has its own graph query language, rather than re-implementing an existing infrastructure to support function-step-based graph protocols, function-step-based graph queries are transformed to the graph query language that is understood by the graph engine. The existing infrastructure computes the results of the transformed queries. Result sets are then transformed to function-based-based result sets, which are returned to customers. In this manner, the graph engine supports function-step-based graph query workloads without implementation of the function-step-based graph protocol.

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Graph analysis is an important emerging workload area. Graph analysis is used to extract valuable information from large graph instances. Many graph engines come with their own graph query language. For example, Apache Tinkerpop uses Gremlin as its query language, whereas Oracle Parallel Graph AnalytiX (PGX) uses PGQL as its query language.
Companies that wish to migrate from one graph engine to another, such as Apache Tinkerpop to Oracle PGX, would need to change Gremlin queries to PGQL queries. One solution to avoid changing Gremlin queries to PGQL queries, is by using an existing PGX graph engine to support the Gremlin protocol. However, this solution requires re-implementing an interpreter and an optimizer for the Gremlin protocol, that would sit on top of the existing PGX graph engine. Developing and maintaining a separate interpreter and optimizer is not only time and resource intensive but is also wasteful as existing PGQL infrastructure is not used.
Therefore, there is a need for solution that supports the Gremlin protocol to the PGX graph engine without requiring customers to rewrite their graph queries.

Transforming a function-step-based graph query to another graph query language


A voice recognition device includes an extractor configured to extract at least one of a first utterance element indicating an execution command and a second utterance element indicating a subject, from a user's voice utterance, a domain determiner configured to determine a current domain to provide response information regarding the voice utterance based on the first and the second utterance elements, and a controller configured to determine a candidate conversation frame to provide the response information regarding the voice utterance on at least one of the current domain and a previous domain based on a conversation state of the current domain, wherein the previous domain is determined from a previous voice utterance of the user.

1. Field
The disclosed exemplary embodiments relate to a voice recognition device and a method for providing response information, and more specifically, to a voice recognition device configured to provide response information corresponding to a user's voice utterance and a method for providing response information.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, a voice recognition device providing response information regarding user's voice utterance determines a domain according to the user's intention by analyzing the received voice utterance when the user's voice utterance is received, and provides response information regarding the user's voice utterance based on the determined domain.
However, the voice recognition device determines the domain based on the current voice utterance of a user, and provides response information regarding the user's voice utterance based on the determined domain. Thus, instead of considering conversation context between user's previous voice utterance and user's current voice utterance, the voice recognition device provides response information regarding the user's voice utterance by determining the user's intention according to the user's current voice utterance.
For example, a previous voice utterance of "What action movies are on?" may include the user's intention regarding an action movie provided from TV programming. Thereafter, when a current voice utterance of "Then, what is on Video on Demand?" is inputted, the voice recognition device does not consider conversation context related with the previous voice utterance, but determines the user's intention based on the currently inputted voice utterance. As described above, the voice recognition device does not correctly determine the user's intention from the current voice utterance of "Then, what is on Video on Demand?" because there is no spoken subject to be implemented regarding the current voice utterance of "Then, what is on Video on Demand?" Thus, the voice recognition device may provide different response information from the user's intention or request the utterance again from a user. A user be inconvenienced because he or she must speak a new voice utterance in order to receive the intended response information.

Voice recognition device and method of controlling same


A land fill spreader blade assembly characterized by a double "U" shape in plan for directing land fill materials into the demolition wheels or tracks carried by and supporting a tractor carrying the blade.

In the management of a land fill site, bulldozers are conventionally employed for pushing trash and soil in various directions and for shaping the surface so as to establish the desired contour for the region. In addition trash compactor vehicles, either wheeled with deep cleats carried by the wheels, or of a crawler style having demolition and grouser blades on the tracks are useful in crushing and grinding the material of the land fill site into a spreadable state. The present invention represents a distinct improvement upon that approach. Thus, a spreader blade assists the compaction elements, such as the cleated wheels or tracks by positioning trash into the path of the compactor's wheels/tracks.


The present invention is directed to systems for prolonging battery life, such as maintaining battery cell temperatures in battery packs within specified limits, providing vibration and shock resistance, and/or electrically isolating groups of batteries from nearby conductive surfaces.

The use of energy storage batteries in combination with a generator is known for automobiles, buses and other road and highway vehicles. Electric batteries have been used to store electric power to drive electric locomotives as, for example, disclosed by Manns in U.S. Pat. No. 1,377,087 which is incorporated herein by reference. Donnelly has disclosed the use of a battery-dominant hybrid locomotive which has a ratio of energy storage capacity to charging power in the range of 4 to 40 hours in U.S. Pat. No. 6,308,639 which is also incorporated herein by reference.
One of the principal objectives of hybrid locomotive design is to operate the locomotive in such a way as to maximize the lifetime of its energy storage unit. This is because the cost structure of an energy storage unit such as for example a battery pack or capacitor bank is primarily one of capital cost and secondarily of operating costs. It is known, for example, that operating a lead-acid battery pack in a preferred state-of-charge ("SOC") range or with a preferred charging algorithm or with both tends to extend serviceable lifetime of cells in cyclical service towards that of float service.
Large energy storage battery systems are known, for example, from diesel submarines. In this application, a pack of large storage batteries are used to provide power principally when the submarine is operating underwater. These submarine battery packs are designed to provide high energy storage capacity for extended underwater operations during which the battery pack cannot be recharged. Battery pack cost and lifetime are generally not major concerns.
In the late 1990s, a large stationary battery system was installed at the island village of Metlakatla, Ak. The 1.4 MW-hr, 756 volt battery system was designed to stabilize the island's power grid providing instantaneous power into the grid when demand was high and absorbing excess power from the grid to allow its hydroelectric generating units to operate under steady-state conditions. Because the battery pack is required to randomly accept power as well as to deliver power on demand to the utility grid, it is continuously operated at between 70 and 90% state-of-charge. Equalization charges are conducted during maintenance periods scheduled only twice each year.
It has long been thought that to achieve optimum life and performance from a lead-acid battery, it is necessary to float the battery under rigid voltage conditions to overcome self-discharge reactions while minimizing overcharge and corrosion of the cell's positive grid. This has resulted in batteries being used primarily in a standby mode. As used in a hybrid locomotive or as a power grid storage and control system, the battery is rapidly and continuously cycled between discharge and charge over a preferred range of total charge.
It has been possible to assess aging and performance capabilities over time in this controlled cycling type of service by detailed monitoring. Data has been generated to demonstrate the long-term viability of cells in this type of use, performing functions such as load leveling, peak shaving and power quality enhancement. Detailed examination of the cells plates and separators have shown little wear indicating that controlled operation such as described above can result in battery lifetimes that can approach design lifetimes associated with float service.
However, there remains a need for a more comprehensive procedure suitable for designing large battery pack assemblies with long lifetimes for hybrid locomotives that satisfies a number of diverse requirements for locomotive performance, maintenance, safety and cost-effective operation.
A principal design objective for many applications is maximum energy storage capacity. When this objective is achieved, the power output of the battery pack is usually more than sufficient. In many applications, a principal design objective is low capital and operating cost. This usually means a lead-acid battery with some compromise in power or capacity. In applications such as hybrid locomotives used as yard or road switcher locomotives or commuter locomotives, maximum power out is a principal design objective. A further principal design objective is battery pack lifetime since this directly relates to the unit cost of power supplied indirectly through a battery system.
The design objectives of a large battery pack for a hybrid locomotive has a unique set of problems to achieve its principal design goals of high storage capacity, high power on demand, cyclical operation, long lifetime and a cost effective design for a large battery pack. These objectives must be met on a locomotive platform subject to shock and vibration as well as extreme changes in ambient temperature conditions. There therefore remains a need for a battery design for a hybrid locomotive that is capable of operation requiring a combination of high storage capacity, high power capability for rapid acceleration, long battery pack lifetime, and a low cost capital and replacement cost structure under diverse locomotive operating environments. These and other objectives are met by the design approach described in the present invention.

Design of a large battery pack for a hybrid locomotive


A reception apparatus includes a receiver and processing circuitry. The receiver circuitry configured to receive a broadcast stream that includes television content. The processing circuitry executes a television receiver application that displays the television content. The processing circuitry receives indication of a selection of a key that is provided on an input device. In response to reception of the indication of the selection of the key, the processing circuitry determines whether a broadcaster application has reserved the selected key. In response to the determination that the broadcaster application has reserved the selected key, the processing circuitry determines whether a native application associated with the broadcaster application has reserved the selected key. The processing circuitry processes, by the native application, the selected key in response to the determination that the broadcaster application has reserved the selected key and the native application has reserved the selected key.

With the impending launch of broadcasts and receivers supporting the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) 3.0 digital television standard, broadcasters of television content will be able to offer interactive elements alongside the traditional video/audio/caption content. Rather than simply displaying traditional television content, the ATSC 3.0 standard provides broadcasters with more control to offer interactive elements that enhance a broadcaster's brand, as well as enhance a user's viewing experience. The interactive elements may come in the form of a broadcaster application, which may be downloaded, launched and executed in parallel with broadcast television programming. However, the ability of the broadcaster application to interact with the user can be limited by the support provided by the ATSC 3.0 standard.

Broadcaster application remote control key handling


A display device including a touch panel arranged on a display panel, the touch panel including at least one phase retardation layer, a polarization plate arranged on the at least one phase retardation layer, a touch sensing structure including at least one sensing pattern arranged directly on at least one of at least one face of the phase retardation layer and at least one face of the polarization plate, an adhesion layer arranged on the polarization plate and a window arranged on the adhesion layer.

1. Field of the Invention
Example embodiments of the invention relate to touch panels including touch sensing structures directly provided on phase retardation layers and/or polarization plates, and display devices having touch panels including touch sensing structures.
2. Description of the Related Art
A touch screen panel (TSP) employed in a display device such as an organic light emitting display (OLED) device or a liquid crystal display (LCD) device may generally recognize a contact position by the hand of a user or an object though touch sensors thereof. A recent display device may usually include such touch screen panel attached to a display panel.
The conventional touch panel may include indium tin oxide (ITO) patterns, a phase retardation layer, a polarization layer and adhesion layers so as to achieve relatively high optical transmittance thereof. For example, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2011-0039088 discloses a touch panel that has adhesion layers, conductive films (patterned ITO layers) serving as touch sensors, a phase retardation layer and a polarization plate, which is disposed on a display panel. However, the conventional touch panel includes the polarization plate, the phase retardation plate, a base film and the touch sensors separately stacked on the display panel, so that the conventional touch panel may not have a small thickness. Thus, the conventional display device may not ensure a desired slim thickness. Further, the manufacturing costs for the conventional display device may be increased and also the yield of the manufacturing processes for the conventional display device may be reduced.

Touch panels and display devices having touch panels