The present invention is a Control System Architecture (CSA) for a multi-component armament system. The CSA provides dynamic reconfiguration of multiple nodes (e.g. a component, a subsystem, or a virtual simulation) in a Simulation-Emulation-Stimulation (SES) environment utilizing redundant client-server bus configuration of the nodes in a hierarchical model. The CSA provides for ease of configuration of nodes for any specific application, automated system reconfiguration capabilities to detect and bypass failed nodes or re-group available remaining nodes in the event of degraded mode operation, and expansion and/or downsizing of nodes without requiring a modification to the overall system architecture.

Modem armament systems for military applications are increasingly complex. Typically, there are a plurality of disparate components that are controlled by a complex control system, which coordinates and integrates the operation of each component in the system.
In the early stages of evolution, armament control systems were merely a series of mechanical mechanisms that allowed an operator to activate a particular component using the judgment of the operator. One such example is the mechanical linkage for weapons release on early military aircraft. When the pilot determined the plane was at the correct location, the pilot would actuate a particular linkage from the cockpit, thereby releasing the related weapon. With the advent of electronic control systems, the remote release of a particular weapon component controlled by such a system became possible. An electronic switch in the cockpit of the military aircraft would send a signal through dedicated wiring to a weapon actuator, thereby releasing a particular weapon.
The next stage in the evolution of armament systems was the integration of computer control into the armament system. Targeting control computers were combined with data acquired from sources such as radar systems to aide the operator in target acquisition, thereby improving on-target percentages. U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,729 is an example of such a system that provides an automated fire control apparatus. The control system of this patent connects a radar tracking system with a targeting computer and weapon positioning means. The computer control system provides a larger period of time during which the weapon may be successfully fired at the intended target.
As computer systems became more powerful, it became more common to centralize the control functions in a single armament control system that could manage multiple diverse armament components. U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,538 is an example of one type of centralized armament control system. This patent provides a digital communications armament system for controlling a carriage of "smart" weapons. The smart weapons are carried by the aircraft in a Multiple Carriage Rack (MCR). The weapons in the MCR are programmed and controllably released as part of a weapons control system. The components of this system are communicably interconnected by a single databus as described in MIL-STD-1553. The military standard 1553 bus is a dual redundant bus comprising two shielded twisted pair cables, a bus controller, and a plurality of remote terminals.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,466 is another example of a centralized armament control system. This provides a central control unit that also is communicably connected by a MIL-STD-1553 bus to multiple armament components. The system further interacts with the operator by the inclusion of graphical user interfaces (GUI's), which are typically video display screens. The GUI's allow the operator to monitor system status and actuate desired system functions. All of the components are connected by a single common bus to a central bus controller. The central bus controller directs the flow of information along the bus between the central controller and the various components.
As armament control systems have evolved over time, the engineering processes used to develop these increasingly complex systems have undergone corresponding evolutions. Not long ago, engineers would brainstorm solutions to problems in their minds and transfer them to paper by hand. These drawings could then be used by fabricators to construct prototypes. The prototypes were then field tested to determine whether that particular design met the problem criteria. If the prototype did not acceptably solve the problem, modifications were made or new ideas were tried. This involved repeating the steps of brainstorming, drafting, fabrication, and testing. This "trial and error" process was iterative in nature and proved to be both lengthy and labor intensive.
The application of computers to the conventional design process has brought about several improvements. Computer drafting programs created a cost savings by streamlining the drawing step through minimizing the time it took a draftsperson to prepare drawings and modify the drawings in subsequent design process iterations. With the advent of Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) tools, the design process could be further streamlined by minimizing the amount of iterations that needed to be performed before a satisfactory solution was obtained. CAE tools permit engineers to perform modeling and simulation of specific tasks performed by the system. Through modeling and simulation, many unacceptable solutions to the problem can be eliminated without the need to fabricate expensive prototypes or undertake lengthy and costly testing.
The resulting streamlined engineering process produces satisfactory results for a majority of engineering applications. However, this process cannot provide a smooth and efficient flow for the development of multi-component armament systems. In a multi-component armament system, there can be at least several different subsystems that are typically developed concurrently by different engineering teams. This type of parallel development, while compressing the time needed for the development cycle, creates communication difficulties between different development teams. The different subsystems ultimately must be combined with one another in the design process as part of an integration process step. During integration, the different subcomponents are combined as a complete multi-component armament unit that is then tested as a completed system. It is typical that the completed system must undergo a series of modifications in order to debug problems that arise during the integration testing process. The additional steps of integration and testing of the overall system, when individual subsystems have already been tested, adds length and cost to the development process.
The assignee of the present invention has developed a Simulation-Emulation-Stimulation (SES) process that streamlines the complex development process for integrated multi-component weaponry systems. The SES process addresses the communication issue by creating a virtual armament simulation system that each development team can use to simulate the characteristics of the complete system during the development of a particular subsystem, thereby minimizing or eliminating problems that may be encountered during integration and testing. The virtual armament simulation system includes a virtual prototype of each subsystem. The virtual prototypes simulate the characteristics of each subsystem. Each team can then develop their particular subsystem within the simulation of a real world installation. As with other types of existing control systems, components of the virtual armament SES system and the virtual prototypes are linked in communication by different communication channels, for example, a single MIL-STD 1553 bus or an Ethernet link. A more detailed description of the SES process is provided by, Huang, et al. in, "System Integration Laboratory—A New Approach to Software/Electronics System Integration" (1996). The paper describes a modeling and simulation based development and integration approach adopted for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) M2A3 Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) program at United Defense LP. The paper describes BFV A3 Upgrades, which were primarily in the area of fire control, electronics and software, and reports the development of a multi-purpose real-time simulation/emulation/stimulation (SES) and the system integration effort involved for the BFV A3 program. An SES was utilized to support system definition in the early stages and integration in later stages. A System Integration Laboratory (SIL) facilitated SES development. The SIL also provided the facilities and equipment for the overall system integration process.
During the system definition stage, the SES provided high fidelity modeling/simulation support to help define and characterize the system performance requirements, the system architecture, system sizing and timing, and interface implementation schemes between subsystems. During the integration phase the SES provided a lab integration environment with test sets, data reduction and acquisition capabilities, software upload/download and processor emulation facilities on tactical hardware; and stimulators to enable systematic testing and integration of subsystems. The SES, all target hardware and software units and subsystems, power supplies and ancillaries were accommodated in the System Integration Laboratory (SIL).
The integration tasks of the BFV A3 system involved the physical and functional connection of two electro-optical sights, an advanced fire control subsystem, a stabilized gun mount, a communications subsystem, an electronic warfare subsystem, power system, and other supporting subsystems. Most of the subsystems were equipped with processors and embedded software. The completed BFV A3 system was controlled by a turret processor unit. The system used point-to-point connections and a MIL-STD-1553 B databus to link all the subsystems to perform the combat mission. Like many major military electronic systems, the BFV A3 system had redundancy for the major components and the system was capable of performing in a degraded mode when it experiences non-fatal damage.
The paper describes computer simulation techniques in the context of computer-aided engineering (CAE) and comments on how the computer simulations can be run in real-time at a reasonable cost. One of the benefits of running simulations in real-time, according to the authors, is that it enables the interaction between simulation units to be in the form of live signals (i.e., with the same electrical characteristics as the end item). In other words, the simulations can emulate subsystems. This emulation capability expands the scope of simulation significantly. Further, with real-time simulation and emulation capability, engineers can construct stimulators to supply either the emulator or real systems with needed excitation that is similar to a field operation in a lab environment. These artificial excitations are indistinguishable from the real signals. This simulation, emulation, and stimulation (SES) provides a very powerful tool for the modern engineering process.
The paper goes on to describe the SES tool for the BFV A3 System integration tasks that was developed within the United Defense Systems Integration Laboratory (SIL). The SES development was started concurrently with system definition. Initially, the System Segment Specification was used to develop a relatively rudimentary but complete system simulation: the High Level System Simulation (HLSM), to understand the overall system characteristics early in the program and support system definition. As the design progressed, the simulation model was refined to reflect the new design. The HLSM evolved to the emulation model later to resolve issues on interfaces and communication. Eventually, a System. Integration Environment (SIE) was created. This SIE consisted of simulation models created by CAE tools, emulation software and hardware, and stimulators. The simulated counterparts of line replaceable units (LRUs) and subsystems, developed by third parties, were integrated into the SIE after initial laboratory acceptance tests, and tested extensively using this SIE to resolve performance and interface problems. Finally, the simulated counterpart was replaced by the actual LRU or subsystem in the reconfigured SIE to perform system level integration tests within the SIL.
Rapid prototyping methodology was used to create an overall system simulation before starting subsystem design. Conceptual emulation and stimulation were created using the same methodology. A rapid prototype provides an early working model of the system. This model provides an indication of system behavior and information essential for system definition. Alternative implementation schemes can be prototyped and performance characteristics obtained to support trade studies. Many technical issues associated with a complex system such as interfaces, throughput of processors, bandwidth of communication, interactions among subsystems, and soldier machine interfaces can be resolved through rapid prototyping.
In the BFV A3 Program, the MatrixX SystemBuild CAE tool (supplied by Integrated Systems Inc., (ISI)) was selected. Using this CAE tool, analysts and engineers can generate simulation models using building blocks supplied by the tool set. Simulation development consists of defining block diagrams of the system using rules defined by the tool. The tool then converts it into a simulation model, and hence the conventional equation generation and coding is streamlined into merely plotting the system block diagram. Tedious and time-consuming program debugging is replaced by accurately representing system behavior in the block diagrams.
The constructed simulation models were tested and analyzed in a powerful engineering workstation. The completed simulation models were then autocoded to generate the source code automatically. This automatically generated code was compiled and downloaded to a specific simulation controller. The simulation controller was a software and hardware system that allowed the source code of the simulation to run in real-time. A salient feature of the simulation controller was that specially constructed software/hardware interfaces could reside in the same chassis as the processor(s) to perform simulation. In the rapid prototype, the communication between the subsystems and components were looped through the special interface hardware/software. In this manner, the communications within the rapid prototype had the same functional and electronic characteristics as the completed system. The issues and problems associated with integration could be isolated and identified easily using this simulation controller. The solution candidates could be generated and tested within a fraction of the time required for conventional re-design, fabrication, and test.
The purpose of rapid prototyping was to construct an overall system model early in the program to assist system definition, assess many system issues and to better understand the integration problem. It was used to assist subsystem design and pave the way for successful system integration. During the program the constructed rapid prototypes (or SES) were constantly enhanced and refined to reflect the current design. The SES reflected the design in both function and structure. It allowed the models to be built separately. A special feature of the integration approach adopted, was the incremental integration environment. The constructed rapid prototype had many placeholders. Each line replaceable unit (LRU) or subsystem model occupied a unique placeholder within the SES. In the early stage of the program, the placeholders were filled by rudimentary simulation models of the LRUs and subsystems that could roughly simulate the functions of the BFV A3 system. This was used to formulate the system concept and assist the subsystem definition. As the design gradually progressed, those placeholders were replaced by more detailed and sophisticated LRU and subsystem models. Finally, when the actual LRUs and subsystems became available, the LRUs and subsystems replaced the simulation models one at a time, in the placeholder that resides in the overall integration environment. The corresponding placeholders allowed for appropriate software "plugs" to connect to the software/hardware interfaces, and through appropriate adapters, directly connected to the LRUs and subsystems due to early compliance to interface definition documents.
For the overall lab environment, there was almost no difference between this LRU or subsystem and the replaced simulation model. Using this approach, the tactical components (LRUs and subsystems) could be integrated one at a time into the overall system laboratory setup.
The first major program at United Defense that used a SIL was the Advanced Field Artillery System (AFAS) Advance Technology Demonstration Program. On this program, the new approach was used for a part of the system: the gun drives. On the AFAS ATD program the process was developed and perfected so that it could be used to develop the entire system for the BFV A3 program. During different phases of the program the configuration and functions of the SES equipment could evolve. In the long run, the easy reconfiguration and quick turn over of rapid prototyping can save substantial cost in system development due to the advantage of being able to identify potential problems and issues before commencement of design, and resolving them before detailed design, resulting in substantial overall savings compared with conventional approaches.
The significance of the BFV A3 System is that this was the first UDLP program that used rapid prototyping on a system that depended on a MIL-STD-1553 B databus for major communications. (emphasis not in original). The authors recognized that simulation can give rise to issues such as numerical region of stability and algebraic loops, to name a few. A second publication, Huang et al., "Modeling and Simulation (M&S) Based System Integration Approach"(1997), reports results of using the approach described in the previous paper through the delivery of the first prototype vehicle including, a seamless integration process, fault insertion capability, and software integration aid. This paper describes the use of M&S from early system development through test and evaluation and life cycle support. They also report on enhancements to the simulation (now called the Bradley Plus simulator or BPS) which will extend its usefulness. M&S was used from day one as a system engineering tool to validate the system specification. During design stage it was used as a design tool to aid the design process and tradeoffs. During system integration, M&S was used to accept and test the components and subsystems. The BFV A3 system engineering effort involved the definition and integration of many software and hardware subsystems, including two new electro-optical sights; new IFF (Identification Friend or Foe); an electronic warfare subsystem; new computers, fire control software and communications subsystems; and a new digital system architecture.
In order for M&S to be effective on the Bradley A3, it had to be ready on time to support the development process. To minimize the impact of the unpredictable and labor-intensive manually developed model software, off-the-shelf Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) tools were studied, analyzed, and selected. The CAE tools provided the modelers the capability to develop models rapidly and with relative ease. Labor intensive analysis, design and coding used in the development of conventional simulation models were discarded. Tedious and error-prone coding and debugging were replaced by automatic code generation and pictorial debugging tools.
Initially, the System Segment Specification was used to develop a relatively rudimentary but complete system simulation: the High Level System Simulation (HLSIM), to understand the overall system characteristics early in the program and support system definition. HLSIM included a program executive that controlled the system simulation, a set of place holders that contained the subsystems' and components' simulation models in the same configuration as the design, and a set of graphical user interfaces (GUI). The GUIs were constructed using the software tool sets and widgets. They gave near realistic views for visual understanding. The GUIs also served as user-friendly user input/output devices. As the design progressed, the simulation model was refined to reflect the new design. Special interfaces for software and hardware were constructed. The emulation model was produced using the infrastructure of HLSIM.
The interface signals originated from the same simulation models. The simulated signals were sent to specially built communication software blocks called user code blocks (UCBs). Outputs from the UCBs were used to drive interface hardware. The interface hardware was modified commercial off the shelf (COTS) circuit cards. These COTS cards, processor cards, wires, connectors, harness, and CAE tool generated simulation models comprised the overall M&S environment.
Using the easy to manipulate M&S environment, minimal effort was needed to build the communication UCBs. The communication protocols were identical to the tactical units and device drivers were equivalent commercial versions. Another salient feature of using this approach was that it allowed the real-time SES to take the advantage of any existing software/hardware prototypes or tactical units, that were available and at a later date, test sets. Whenever a subsystem or line replaceable unit (LRU) became available, the M&S environment would allow it to be plugged into the overall M&S environment to replace the corresponding simulation model. After the emulation was completed, it was also possible to generate all required external signals. Special build software models, in conjunction with specially configured software/hardware interfaces were able to generate near realistic excitation signals as input to the simulation/emulation models. Using this, the developers and users could operate the BFV A3 System and perform the functions in a near realistic "virtual environment" in the laboratory. This completed the overall SES Process.
The SES was used to emulate late delivered components and perform confidence tests for all delivered components. The SES and the M&S environment also provided the software integration process with powerful tools. The software bindings between Computer Software Configuration Items (CSCIs) were exercised on simulated CSCIs before the completion of tactical CSCI tests.
The core of the BFV A3 System is the MIL-STD-1553B high speed digital databus that links all electronic/software subsystems and LRUs. (emphasis supplied). Within the BFV A3 System, there is a bus controller (BC), a backup bus controller, and over 20 remote terminals (RTs). To test and evaluate the operation of the system requires the capability to inject faults into the system and be able to detect them. Within the M&S environment a databus fault injection feature was developed, tested, and used as both an integration and testing tool. This feature allows the direct control over words sent across the 1553 databus. This adds the capability to change data that the user does not normally have control over when the model is running; the capability to change messages quickly, on the spot, without a modification to the existing models; the capability to quickly test many scenarios; hastening debugging problems by not requiring the models to be changed and rebuilt to change messages; the capability of simulating the effects of actual failures; enhancement of the ability to integrate new hardware by allowing the operation to send messages to the hardware to determine the response; and checking possible changes to the interface with an LRU that may have been implemented with an old/newer ICD (Interfaces Control Documentation).
The SES methodology was used to implement this fault injection feature. A GUI was added to the existing control panels. This GUI had the capability of faulting multiple words simultaneously. Each of these faults could be enabled/disabled individually with the corresponding enable switch. The RX (receiving) and TX (transmitting) buttons determined whether the faulted word was the received or transmitted word of the LRU. The RT number, subaddresses, and word number were chosen using the given controls. Each bit in the word was then set with the buttons to x (no fault), 0 (bit is faulted to 0), or 1 (bit is faulted to 1). This GUI was connected to the Fault_Injection_Inputs UCB at the top level of the model. The Fault_Injection_Inputs UCB simply set global variables according to the faults input by the GUI. The code for the interface between the model and the bus driver was modified to examine these global variables for faults when the bus controller transmitted or received data. Each message in the model checked to see if a fault was intended for it. If so, this interface replaced correct data with faulted data before transmission, or in the case of a received word, replaced the correct data with faulted data after it is received, passing the faulted data to the model.
Modeling and simulation, with visualization and hardware-in-the-loop formed the backbone of the SES process. The early requirements could be tested in the M&S formed SES. The architecture and design information traveled back and forth to the simulated and emulated system. The M&S based system also controlled a turret test-stand and a Crew Station. Combined with vehicle dynamics model, structural model, vehicle mobility model, the lab Crew Station allowed a user to try out a vehicle in a virtual battlefield.
A very powerful feature of the SES was not used in the BFV A3 system. As a part of simulation development, functional equivalent units were developed for each Computer Software Configuration Item (CSCI) and used in overall SES demonstration. In several system demonstrations, partially developed tactical CSCIs were operated in conjunction with functional equivalent units seamlessly. In "Using Modeling and Simulation for Rapid Prototyping and System Integration" (1997), Huang et al. describe an SES (stimulation/emulation/stimulation) process developed as a rapid prototyping and system integration tool for the BFV A3 system. Using system specification as a guideline, a rough order of system requirements were generated and used to produce a simulation design documentation. Using the computer-aided engineering (CAE) tool, a high level simulation model was produced in a very short time duration. The architecture of the high level simulation model consists of three major parts, namely, the program executive (PE), the graphic user interface (GUIs), and the placeholders (PHs). The PE controls the timing, scheduling and other simulation related functions. The GUIs provide the engineers with convenient displays and controls. Each subsystem simulation model occupies a specific placeholder. The reason for using this approach is that the system model will experience many revisions and eventually evolve into a high fidelity system model. This process would go through many evolution stages to increase fidelity as design matured, and software and hardware for the simulation improved while keeping maximum re-usability of the developed software. Due to the complexity of the A3 system, a multi-processor based real-time environment was developed. This COTS system uses the commercial version processor cards and operating environment of the tactical units. In addition to producing similar functions as the A3 System, this unit also has to generate simulated environment and perform simulation control. Within this real-time environment, a simulation scheduler monitors each cycle of the simulation. This real-time environment uses parallel processing to achieve high throughput while maintaining affordable cost.
With the readily available interface hardware residing in the special real-time environment, the communication between those simulation models have the same characteristics as the target system (same electronical characteristics, communication protocols, and produced the same timeline, etc.). The emulation provides a powerful system tool for system tests and system integration. Since the system model architecture was based on placeholders for those subsystems, the interfaces were also 'separated' and 'segmented,' i.e., modulated. When a newer subsystem model became available, it could be put into a specific place holder to replace the corresponding older subsystem model. Similarly, the interfaces were gradually replaced by special produced hardware/software connection modules. To do this, instead of connecting the subsystems within the software model, each subsystem was connected to the specific hardware connection software module. The communication and interaction between the subsystems was looped through the interface modules and eventually via the hardware interface cards.
External stimulation such as the movement of the platform and other physical disturbance can be produced using a combination of simulation models and software/hardware interfaces directly interacting with the real-time environment. As required by testing engineers, SES was able to be modified as test and evaluation (T&E) tools. Significant T&E functions required the capability to inject faults into the system and be able to detect them. Using the rapid prototyping tool a databus fault injection feature was developed, tested and used as both an integration and testing too. This feature allowed direct control over words sent across the 1553 databus. This adds the capability to change data that the use does not normally have control over when the model is running, the capability to change messages quickly, or on the spot, without modification to the existing models, the capability to quickly test many scenarios, hastening debugging problems by not requiring the models to be changed and rebuilt to change messages, the capability of simulating the effects of actual failures, enhancement of the ability to integrate new hardware by allowing the operator to send messages to the hardware to determine the response and checking possible changes to the interface with an LRU that may have been implemented with an old/new interface control documents (ICDs).
The publication, Huang et al., "Simulation-Emulation-Stimulation A Complete System Engineering Process" (1998), describes the ongoing evolution of an integrated engineering methodology taking advantage of the advancement of computer technology by creating an System Integration Environment (SIE) that focuses on use of the Simulation-Emulation-Stimulation (SES) process. The original driving force behind development of this approach was the need to support the system integration of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle A3 System (BFV A3) (United Defense 1994f). A major concern for the BFV A3 System Integration EMD was that most of the subsystems would be completed and therefore supplied by subcontractors that were located in different and distant locations. Their subsystems would be delivered at different stages of the program. In order to ensure successful integration and demonstration of system performance, it was essential that subcontractors clearly understood how the system was partitioned, and the performance and interface requirements of the subsystems assigned to each subcontractor. Subcontractors were contractually required to deliver emulators/simulators of the subsystems to the prime to support the SES process. The system integrator was also responsible for generating alternative solutions, performing trade studies (United Defense 1994a) to select the best system architecture, and testing the architecture early, before design and building of the system. The tasks to verify system definition, monitor subsystem performance, document interface requirements in specifications and interface control documents (ICDs), and identify associated issues and concerns also belonged to the system integrator (United Defense 1994f, 1994b). This paper reports the evolution of this approach for producing rapid prototyping and performing system integration for the BFV A3 System and how it eventually evolved into a complete engineering process.
Just as real-time computer animation enables engineers to produce visual images that emulate objects in a "virtual environment," the authors describe the emulation of communication signals, that is the generation of communication signals that have the same electronic characteristics and use the same hardware and software, as a real communication signal. Using a combination of computer models, communication software/hardware (device drivers, communication protocols, chip sets, etc.), the physical characteristics of the communication and process of the emulated system is duplicated.
Due to the complexity of the A3 System, a multi-processor based real-time environment was developed. This environment used commercial versions of the tactical units to produce a reconfigurable system integration environment. This SIE used the same processors, operating system, device drivers, communication protocols, and other software and hardware components as the tactical units to produce near realistic time line and responses with a fraction cost of the tactical units. During the development stage, this SIE also served as the real-time simulator first, real-time emulator and stimulator later. It filled the roles of all temporally missing (unavailable) pieces during development and integration duration. The modular construction of the system model facilitated hardware-in-the-loop simulation. After acceptance tests, delivered subsystems replaced the corresponding simulation model one at a time by using a hardware connector that was installed to this SIE. This delivered subsystem would operate with other simulated subsystems and perform system level functions.
The SIE used CAE tools to produce simulation models and functionally equivalent unit (FEU) software modules. These simulation modules and FEU software were used to emulate the function of a complete software of a system. An interesting feature is that these automatically coded software almost completely avoided coding error and code level debugging. The debugging process can be moved into a pictorial environment. A system block diagram was used to debug the design.
To support testing engineers, the SIE was enhanced to be used as a T&E tool. A significant T&E function required was the capability to inject faults into the system and be able to detect them. Using the rapid prototyping tool a databus fault injection feature was developed, tested and used as both an integration and testing tool. A fault injection GUI (graphic user interface) and software module was constructed and used to perform the fault injection. The test engineer used this GUI to perform either manual or automatic test functions. The complete test results that included event number, event, words, pass/no pass, and time stamp were automatically recorded in test reports using this SE. Engineers had been using this tool to analyze and test the communication system for the Bradley A3 for over a year according to the authors. A publication by Huang et al., "System Simulation Based Engineering Process" (1998), reports the evolution of an engineering process that has been used on several major projects/programs. The paper refers to the significant effort that has been applied in modeling and simulation (M&S) at United Defense. Real-time simulation has become relative common practice with the proliferation of high performance and relative affordable computation devices. Running simulation in real-time has many benefits: In addition to acquiring detailed performance related information, it also allows the interaction and communication between simulated components to use live signals (i.e., with the same electrical or physical characteristics as the completed system). For a system designed for human operation, real-time simulation would allow humans to operate the simulation through appropriate input/output devices and displays. In other words, using appropriate hardware interface components, engineers can emulate the operation of the system before building prototypes. This is called a virtual prototype (VP). Using the same technique, external excitations or stimulation can be produced to mimic the complete system operation in a controlled (lab) environment. Using this approach, a system integration environment (SIE) was created using commercially of the shelf (COTS) hardware and software. The plug-in-and-play technique allows, one at a time insertion of a delivered subsystem into the SIE through the interface hardware/software. The corresponding subsystem simulation models, will then be disconnected or removed from the system simulation setup. This approach enables complicated system integration tasks to be broken down into more manageable pieces. Early in the program involving the integration of Bradley Fighting Vehicle A3 System (BFV A3 System), a high level simulation (HLSIM) was developed to understand the developmental system and identify system issues and problems. The HSLIM was evolved into BFV A3 System Simulation (SSIM) and achieved real-time simulation capability to allow user juries to test the system before the completion of the design. The SSIM was evolved into the System Simulation/Emulation (SSEMUL) to test the communication (mainly the MIL-STD-1553B databus) and tactical software. Yet another paper by Huang et al., "System Design Using Virtual Prototyping Techniques" (1998), discloses a new approach for system design. The approach is based on a methodology that utilizes simulation, emulation, stimulation (SES) combined with computer aided design (CAD) to produce virtual prototypes (VPs). According to the authors, United Defense has developed an SES process as a standard system integration methodology. This approach requires a system integration team working closely with all Product Development Teams (PDTs) throughout the program. Each PDT is responsible for the development of an individual subsystem or component. From the early requirements, the system integration team creates a high level system simulation model (HLSM) to provide an early representation of the system and identify problems and issues. With a powerful computer, the HLSM can simulate real-time system operation and generate realistic time lines. The interfaces among subsystems are simulated first, and emulated later. The system emulation allows communication between two entities (models of subsystems or components) using the same communication protocols, signal levels, and will produce the same time lines as the final system. Using commercial off the shelf (COTS) HW/SW, the emulation can be achieved quickly and economically. Next, SES produces stimulation for the system. A combination of computer simulation models and COTS HW/SW produce needed stimulation to excite a simulation model or a "real" object for test and evaluation purposes. A simulation controller is produced using graphic user interface (GUI) tools. The GUI tool produced controller may have a combination of "virtual" hand controllers such as knobs, slides, switches, and joysticks. Computer displays provide excellent status feedback for testing simulation. High quality video images can produce near realistic views of the hand controllers. These virtual control knobs, slides, switches, etc., are operated in the same manner as the "real things" through input devices (computer keyboard, touch screen, mouse, or joystick). Behind the "virtual" hand controllers and displays, software sockets and other communication schemes connect the virtual controls directly to the corresponding computer models. Through these virtual input devices, operators can test human factor related issues in a lab environment. A control station mockup can be constructed using a combination of computers and COTS HW/SW. Users can evaluate a controller design before controller hardware is built by using this lab setup. An interesting feature of the lab setup is that environmental or other external excitation, such as electronic interference, sensor data, or physical disturbances can be introduced by using a combination of simulation models and COTS HW/SW. To add more "virtual reality," computer images of complicated objects can be extracted directly from CAD drawings, and driven by powerful software on the computer monitors.
Similarly, video images can be connected directly to the real-time simulation to produce "virtual feedback" to the operator. Using ground database (information about terrain, soil property, etc.), computer programs can produce six-degrees of freedom (three linear and three rotary) movement disturbances and views to the "virtual driver." The virtual driver can drive a simulated vehicle on a "virtual road."
VP can supply the designers with complete system information in a lab environment before the start of detailed design. Many alternatives of design can be tested and evaluated with minimal cost and within a very short time frame. This virtual prototyping methodology is directly derived from the SES process. A collection of simulation models, high fidelity video images, and COTS HW/SW constitutes a system integration environment (SIE). This SIE provides the basis for a systematic approach to system integration. When a subsystem becomes available, through the reconfigurable software and hardware, it can be connected to the lab setup while the corresponding subsystem simulation model that resides in a particular placeholder is disconnected. The delivered subsystems are inserted into the lab setup one at a time. In this manner, the delivered subsystem will operate with simulated all other components.
This SES methodology has evolved smoothly into a virtual prototyping process. Almost all the software components developed in simulation, emulation, and stimulation became building blocks for the construction of VPs. The virtual prototyping effort is fully linked with all design efforts on the program. The structure of the VP also supported incremental system integration at a later phase of the program. Subsequently, the VP was used as a training device. T&E, and P3I functions could also be performed using the VP.
Presently, there exists a need for an armament control system design that can serve as the armament control system in the virtual environment of the development/simulation process, such as the SES process, and that can also serve as the actual control system for a multi-component armament system in the real installation. This control system should be dynamically reconfigurable to control a virtual prototype, a real component, or both. Additionally, there is a continuing need to provide a control system for a multi-component armament system that is scalable, easily upgraded, and that has improved usability, flexibility, and interoperability.

Control system architecture for a multi-component armament system


Described is a system for action selection based on a combination of neuromodulatory and prefrontal cortex models. The system inputs group attack probability estimates for multiple groups in a prefrontal cortex (PFC) input area of a model instance. The system encodes a dispersion of the group attack probability estimates in an anterior cingulated cortex (ACC) conflict input area of the model instance, resulting in activation of the ACC conflict input area. The activation is propagated to an action area and a neuromodulatory area of the model instance. An action strategy is selected in the action area. The action strategy is implemented, and a reward and a cost is generated for the implemented action strategy. An assessment of possible action strategies is updated based on the generated reward and cost. Each model instance modulates its subsequent action strategy selection based on the updated assessment of the possible action strategies.

(1) Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a bio-inspired system for action selection and, more particularly, to a bio-inspired system for action selection based on a model of the interactions between neuromodulators and prefrontal cortex.
(2) Description of Related Art
Neuromodulators such as dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), and acetylcholine (ACh) affect both short- and long-term dynamics of neural circuits that represent reward, cost, and attention in that order (see the List of Incorporated Cited Literature References, Literature Reference No. 1). Recent experiments suggest that the reward and cost of actions are also partially represented in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), respectively (see Literature Reference Nos. 9 and 10).
Reinforcement learning and evolutionary algorithms have also been used to model resource allocation tasks (see Literature Reference Nos. 13 and 24) and, hence, action selection, in general. However, these models do not have a high degree of neurofidelity and, therefore, cannot make predictions of animal behavior based on lesion studies or neurotransmitter imbalances. Litt et al. (see Literature Reference No. 25) seeks to model prospect theory and decision affect theory using brain regions such as OFC, ACC, and dopaminergic and serotoninergic areas. Their model, however, does not model acetylcholinergic influences and has only been demonstrated on binary decisions. Previous models of action selection with neuromodulatory systems have not extensively considered prefrontal contributions or acetylcholinergic influences to action selection (see Literature Reference Nos. 11 and 12).
Each of the prior methods described above exhibits limitations that make them incomplete. Thus, a continuing need exists for a method that captures both short- and long-term dynamics in action selection based on a combination of neuromodulatory and prefrontal cortex area models.

Method and apparatus for an action selection system based on a combination of neuromodulatory and prefrontal cortex area models


The invention relates to a method for the dimerization of alcohols in the context of a Guerbet reaction, in which one or more alcohols (A) having 2 to 72 C atoms and 1 to 3 OH groups per molecule are reacted in the presence of (a) a base (B), (b) a carbonyl compound (C), and (c) a hydrogenation catalyst (H) from the group of metals ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum, said metals being in the elementary form, with the proviso that the alcohols (A) have at least one primary or secondary OH group, and that a C atom that carries at least one H atom as a substituent is directly adjacent to the C atom with said primary or secondary OH group.

Fusel oils are a mixture of middle and higher alcohols (fusel alcohols), fatty acid esters, terpenes and furfurals. They form in the course of alcoholic fermentation as by-products of yeast metabolism, and serve as flavor and aroma carriers in beer, wine and spirits. Examples of fusel alcohols are propanols, butanols, pentanols (e.g. isoamyl alcohol) and hexanols. 3-Methyl-1-butanol (an isoamyl alcohol) is the main constituent of fusel oil. 3-Methyl-1-butanol cannot only be obtained from fusel oil, but also, for example, by hydroformylation and reduction of butane isomers.
Guerbet alcohols are specific branched alcohols. They are primary alcohols branched in the beta position to the CH2OH group. Guerbet alcohols are known to those skilled in the art, and some have long been commercially available. They are obtained by what is called the Guerbet reaction, a dimerization reaction which has been known for more than 100 years and can be described by the following formula scheme (R* therein is an aliphatic group):

In the conventional Guerbet reaction, a primary or secondary alcohol is converted to a primary alcohol of about twice the molecular weight, which is alkylated in the beta position to the carbon atom hearing the OH group. For instance, n-butanol is converted to 2-ethyl-hexan-1-ol, hexan-1-ol to 2-butyloctan-1-ol and octan-1-ol to 2-hexyldodecan-1-ol.
The primary or secondary alcohols used for the Guerbet reaction bear at least one hydrogen atom on the carbon atom immediately adjacent to the carbon atom with the OH group; in many cases, they bear two hydrogen atoms, which means that the carbon atom with the OH group is directly adjacent to a methylene group.
The condensation product formed can react further with starting alcohol still present in the reaction mixture, which gives rise to a series of further alcohols with higher molecular weight. The extent to which these side reactions proceed depends in the individual case on the nature of the starting alcohols and the reaction conditions. In addition, it is possible for further side reactions to proceed, which lead to aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acid or carboxylic esters as by-products. U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,466 states, in this regard (cf. column 1 lines 32-35 therein): "It is further indicated that a plurality of different reactions are likely involved so that the process is highly sensitive and unpredictable as to the effect of particular steps".
The Guerbet reaction typically proceeds in the presence of a base at elevated temperature with elimination of water and is one way of converting linear alcohols to branched alcohols. Typically, only a single alcohol is used in the Guerbet reaction. However, it is also possible to use two different alcohols; in this case, reference is made to a mixed Guerbet reaction. The first reaction of the type mentioned in history was published by Marcel Guerbet as early as 1899; he had dimerized n-butanol to 2-ethylhexan-1-ol.
Anthony J. O'Lenick states, in Journal of Surfactants and Detergents, Vol. 4 (2001), p. 311-315, that several component steps proceed in the course of the overall reaction, specifically (a) oxidation of the starting alcohol to the aldehyde, (b) aldol condensation, (c) dehydration (water elimination) to give an unsaturated aldehyde and (d) hydrogenation of the allylic aldehyde.
According to O'Lenick, the following information about the component steps is known: (1) The reaction can in principle proceed without catalyst, but is strongly accelerated by the presence of a hydrogen transfer catalyst. (2) At "relatively low" temperatures (130 to 140° C.), the oxidation process, i.e. the intermediate aldehyde formation, is the rate-determining step. (3) At somewhat higher temperatures (160 to 180° C.), the aldol condensation is the rate-determining step. (4) At even higher temperatures, side reactions become dominant.
Since as early as the 1960s and 1970s, the Guerbet reactions for preparation of commercial products have typically been performed using basic catalysts, generally sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. Frequently, in the Guerbet reaction, as well as the base, an additional catalyst is used, in practice usually zinc oxide.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 3,119,880, alkali metal hydroxides, lead acetate and nickel on kieselguhr can be used, in which case nickel serves as a dehydrogenation catalyst.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,466, alkali catalysts are used in combination with palladium(II) catalysts.
WO 91/04242 describes an improved Guerbet process in which alcohols are dimerized in the presence of a base and of a carbonyl compound at temperatures above 180° C. The starter alcohols used are alcohols having 4 to 22 carbon atoms, preference being given to alcohols having 6 to 18 carbon atoms. The description also mentions, on p. 9, the option of additionally using a cocatalyst, for example complexes or salts of Al, Ni, B, Mg, Cu, Zn, Ti, Zr or a noble metal of group VIII, especially Pt, Pd, Rh, Ir and Ru, without exemplifying this in the examples.
Carlini et al. describe, in Journal of Molecular Catalysis A (2004), p. 65-70, the preparation of 2-ethylhexanol from butanol by Guerbet reaction of bifunctional catalysts based on Cu or Pd and sodium butoxide. For the very specific case of a reaction of methanol with n-propanol to give i-butanol, they first of all mention the use of a Pd/C catalyst in combination with sodium butoxide at temperatures above 200° C. (page 66, left-hand column, at the bottom). On pages 67-69, they then report on their studies of the self-condensation of butanol at 200° C. under Pd(II) and Pd(0) catalysis in combination with sodium butoxide catalysis. The reactions were performed in a 300 ml reactor, using an amount of about 0.5 mol of butanol. Table 1 on p. 68 summarizes the experimental data. Carlini also studied the extent to which the catalyst used remained "stable" under the reaction conditions. He found that there were "solid deposition and leaching effects", i.e. that the heterogeneous catalyst partly precipitated on the reactor walls and partly went into solution. The leaching of the heterogeneous catalyst used was found to be considerable. Carlini found that 50% of the palladium catalyst used went into solution (cf. p. 69, left-hand column, first paragraph). Carlini arrives at the following conclusion: "This high leaching extent clearly reduces the interest for industrial application perspectives of heterogeneous palladium-based systems". Carlini's conclusion means that he advises the person skilled in the art, at least for industrial applications, against using palladium-based catalyst systems in Guerbet reactions because, as a result of the leaching, there is an exceptionally high loss of the active substance of the catalyst here.
Matsu-ura et al. describe, in Journal of Organic Chemistry (2006), p. 8306-8308, the Guerbet reaction under iridium catalysis in the presence of alkenes and bases. In the paragraph bridging the two columns of p. 8307, it is stated that, under these conditions, 3-methyl-1-butanol (an isoamyl alcohol) can be dimerized in 50% yield (cf. entry 9 of table 2, p. 8307, right-hand column). The dimerization product has the structure:

An inconvenient and thus disadvantageous feature of the process according to Matsu-ura is the need to work in the presence of an alkene which serves as a hydrogen acceptor. The iridium-containing catalysts used were [IrCl(cod)]2 or [Cp*IrCl2]2.
WO 2009/081727 A1 describes the dimerization of alcohols having a maximum of 4 carbon atoms. The Guerbet reaction here is performed in the presence of complexes of transition metals and a base. The partial hydrogen pressure here is at least 0.1 MPa.


A vaporizer device may include a plurality of cartridges with a plurality of aerosolization assemblies. The plurality of cartridges may include a suspension media and an additive media. The plurality of aerosolization assemblies may include pressurized cartridges connected to a nozzle having a nozzle opening of less than 20 micrometers.

Devices that produce an aerosol for inhalation include electronic cigarettes and conventional pharmaceutical inhalers, among other devices. Electronic cigarettes are less regulated and relatively inexpensive, while conventional pharmaceutical inhalers are subject to FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) regulation and may be significantly more expensive. Both represent a method of producing an aerosol for inhalation. Electronic cigarettes often use thermal vaporization to form the aerosol.
Vaporizers typically produce aerosol through heating a small volume of solution known as an e-liquid. The e-liquid often includes (1) nicotine, as e-cigarettes may be used as a smoking alternative or in smoking cessation, and (2) a carrier such as vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol and/or other substances. They may also include flavoring or other substance. Vaporizers are sometimes referred to as "e-cigarettes." The droplets suspended in the vapor are small, less than a micrometer, and hence allow inhalation deep into the lungs. A more general term for this conversion from liquid to vapor is aerosolization.
There are three classes of vaporizers. E-cigarettes, or EC's, are tubular in appearance and may resemble a tobacco cigarette or cigar. They have either rechargeable or non-rechargeable batteries, and are frequently disposable. Advanced vaporizers, sometimes called cartomizers, are built with more durable materials and feature modular construction that includes heater cartridges or refillable reservoirs. Cartomizers generally have higher power capabilities, and are larger with larger batteries and reservoirs. Specialty vaporizers may be called tanks or mods (modifiable). They have higher capacity batteries and a wider range of electronic controls. The heater assembly with these specialty vaporizers is often built by hand by a hobbyist. A primer on the current state of vaporizers and related inhalation science is provided in the article "E-cigarettes: Learnings for Inhalation Scientists," by Philip Chi Lip Kwok, et al., in the December 2016 issue of Inhalation magazine. This article is hereby incorporated by reference.
The Voke inhaler (non-thermal activation) and the e-Voke electronic inhaler (thermal activation) from Kind Consumer, London, England, have received regulatory approval in Great Britain for use in tobacco smoking cessation.
Furthermore, in the United States, in states where marijuana is legal, vaporizers have been configured for cannabinoid. These devices may use combustion or vaporization. These devices generally vaporize an oil-based media.
One way to create an aerosol is to pressurize the liquid form of the inhalant and force it through a relatively small opening. The rapid loss of pressure at the outlet generates a fine mist. This process may be referred to as "nebulization" and a device that performs it is a "nebulizer." A common example of a nebulizer is a nasal spray bottle. Asthma inhalers also nebulize, typically with a compressed gas or "propellant."

Aerosol inhalant producing device with measurable dose and/or other features


A liquid crystal display device having a touch panel that exploits a shutter effect of a liquid crystal layer includes an antiglare film placed behind the touch panel as seen by the viewer. The antiglare film fulfills the following three conditions: 0.3 less than Raxe2x89xa60.4; 50 less than Smxe2x89xa680; and 5xe2x89xa6Hxe2x89xa620; where Ra represents the center-line mean roughness (xcexcm) of the surface of the antiglare film, Sm represents the irregularity interval (xcexcm) of the surface, and H represents the haze value (%).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device having a touch panel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Two main types of known image display devices for displaying information are CRTs (cathode-ray tubes) and liquid crystal display devices. CRTs have the disadvantages of being large and heavy and consuming much electric power. By contrast, liquid crystal display devices have the advantages of occupying minimal space, being light-weight, and consuming minimal electric power. For these reasons, liquid crystal display devices are nowadays widely used in various applications. Liquid crystal display devices are effective as display devices for use in personal computers and household appliances, and are particularly so in cellular telephones and portable digital assistants where portability is an important factor.
Liquid crystal display devices sometimes suffer from unwanted reflection, in which, for example, the face of the person viewing the liquid crystal screen or external light such as the light from the sun or a fluorescent lamp is reflected from the liquid crystal panel. This is particularly troublesome when a portable digital assistant is used outdoors, because such unwanted reflection degrades the quality of the displayed image. Moreover, under such conditions, glare (moirxc3xa9 image interference fringes) is also likely.
To suppress glare and obtain satisfactory image quality, an antiglare film is sometimes bonded on the viewer side of the polarizer plate of a liquid crystal display device. This antiglare film serves to suppress reflection of external light as mentioned above by being formed out of a transparent resin film or the like having its surface roughened. For example, such an antiglare film is produced by forming a transparent base out of a resin such as polyethylene terephthalate and then roughening its surface by etching or the like. The characteristics of an antiglare film are represented by the center-line mean roughness Ra (xcexcm) defined in JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards) B0601, the irregularity interval Sm (xcexcm), and the haze value H (%) defined in JIS K7105.
Antiglare films are disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Applications Laid-Open Nos. H9-127312, H9-193332, and H9-193333. The antiglare film disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H9-127312 is formed such that Ra is in the range from 0.03 to 0.3 xcexcm, Sm is 50 xcexcm or less, and H is in the range from 1 to 25%.
The antiglare film disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H9-193332 is formed such that Ra is in the range from 0.1 to 0.3 xcexcm, Sm is in the range from 30 to 100 xcexcm, and H is in the range from 14 to 22%. The antiglare film disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H9-193333 is formed such that Ra is in the range from 0.05 to 0.2 xcexcm, Sm is in the range from 60 to 180 xcexcm, and H is in the range from 3 to 8%.
All of these antiglare films are to be placed at the forward end of a liquid crystal display device so as to effectively reduce unwanted reflection of external light and glare.
In the field of portable digital assistants, the market has recently been growing for portable digital assistants that are provided with a liquid crystal display device having a touch panel that allows pen-based data entry. Conventionally, the mainstream of such touch panels is the type that is bonded at the forward end of a liquid crystal display device. Among different types of touch panels, such as optical, supersonic, electromagnetic-induction-based, and resistive-film-based touch panels, resistive-film-based touch panels are typically used in portable digital assistants.
When an antiglare film is incorporated in a portable digital assistant provided with a liquid crystal display device having a touch panel, its display portion is usually assembled by arranging, from the viewer side, the touch panel, the antiglare film, a first polarizer plate, a first phase-difference plate, a liquid crystal display element, a second phase-difference plate, and a second polarizer plate. As is well known, here, the polarizer plates are used to extract light polarized in a particular direction, and the phase-difference plates are used to compensate colors optically. As the liquid crystal display element is used, for example, an STN (super-twisted nematic) type liquid crystal display element.
As shown in FIG. 3, a resistive-film-based touch panel 3 is formed by arranging, from the viewer side, a film 11, an electrode 12a, a spacer 13, an electrode 12b, and a glass plate 14. This touch panel 3 as a whole is bonded, with double-faced adhesive tape 15, to an antiglare film 2 that is placed on top of a liquid crystal display element 1.
However, a resistive-film-based touch panel 3 as shown in FIG. 3 functions as a data entry switch, with the electrodes 12a and 12b, each formed out of a transparent conductive film, serving as conductors. Accordingly, if this touch panel 3 is used together with an antiglare film 2 of which the characteristics Ra, Sm, and H are defined as disclosed in Japanese Patent Applications Laid-Open Nos. H9-127312, H9-193332, and H9-193333 mentioned above, the light reflected from the forward-end surface of the touch panel 3 and from the individual layers constituting it (i.e. the electrodes 12a and 12b, the glass plate 15, etc.) interferes with the light reflected from the surface of the antiglare film 2 placed on top of the liquid crystal display element 1.
This rather aggravates glare in the displayed image, and thereby greatly degrades viewability. On the other hand, if the antiglare film 2 is removed, glare is suppressed, but unwanted reflection degrades the quality of the displayed image.
An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal display device having a touch panel that offers satisfactory image quality with a minimum of unwanted reflection and glare.
To achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, in a liquid crystal display device having a touch panel that exploits a shutter effect of a liquid crystal layer, an antiglare film is placed behind the touch panel as seen from the viewer and the antiglare film fulfills conditions (1), (2), and (3) below:
0.3xe2x89xa6Raxe2x89xa60.4xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
50xe2x89xa6Smxe2x89xa680xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2)
5xe2x89xa6Hxe2x89xa620xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(3)
where Ra represents the center-line mean roughness (xcexcm) of the surface of the antiglare film, Sm represents the irregularity interval (xcexcm) of the surface, and H represents the haze value (%).
According to another aspect of the present invention, in a liquid crystal display device having a touch panel that exploits a shutter effect of a liquid crystal layer, the touch panel, an antiglare film, a first polarizer plate, a first phase-difference plate, an STN-type liquid crystal display element, a second phase-difference plate, and a second polarizer plate are arranged in this order from the viewer side, and the antiglare film fulfills conditions (1), (2), and (3) above.
In this liquid crystal display device, the touch panel may be of a type that employs a resistive film, and in addition a gap may be secured between the touch panel and the antiglare film.


A high emissive paint comprises organic materials with different functional groups, one or more inorganic materials, and optionally other paint property adjusting agents. The infrared absorption range of the paint derives from organic functional groups, such as C—C, C—H, N—H, C—N, C—O and C—X groups, and the one or more inorganic materials. One or more inorganic materials may also be present as micro- or nano-sized particles.

With the demand for increasing the power and efficiency of electronic devices, heat density on the devices increase rapidly, resulting in the increased possibility of damaging the devices. Therefore, heat removal from the functional devices has become critical in industry.
For example, in the solar industry, the operational temperature of photovoltaic (PV) modules is the key factor in determining the transfer efficiency of the devices. For every 1° C. above 25° C., the electrical output drops by about 0.4% to 0.5%. A typical rooftop PV array may operate at about 55° C. to 75° C., which means electrical output may be about 12% to 25% below the nameplate rating.
In another example, light emitting diodes (LEDs) have drawn increased interest as a potential replacement for the conventional light bulb. However, like PV modules, LED performance suffers with increased operational temperature. For instance, high junction temperatures can cause losses in efficacy, shortened LED life-time and color degradation. This can be problematic as typically about 75% to 85% of the energy used to drive a LED is converted to heat. Under constant operation at routine ambient conditions, the junction temperature in a LED may be 60° C. or greater, which means that the LED's light output can be 10% to 50% below the device's rating.
Three common mechanisms (conduction, convection and radiation) are useful for removing heat from devices. In the case of conduction, energy is carried by the atomic lattice through electrons or through phonon-phonon interactions in solids. Thermal paste and thermal pads operate based on this mechanism. In the case of convection, generally a hot device is contacted with a flow of cold liquid or gas. Heat transfers from the hot device to the cold liquid or gas, which is carried away and replaced with more cold liquid or gas. These systems often require a dedicated system to control the flow of the cooling liquid or gas, and potentially require additional components such as heat sinks or fans. Use of such systems is clumsy and expensive. Further, when the area of the high temperature surface is large, it is practically impossible to use convection for effective cooling. Finally, in the case of thermal radiation, heat is dissipated through electromagnetic wave or photon irradiation without the need of a medium to transfer heat away from the surface. Thermal radiation mechanisms are typically used for high-temperature application, e.g., at 750° C. or above. For example, high emissivity coatings have been reported for use as furnace internal coatings.

Heat dissipating paint with high thermal radiating capability


An image forming device has an imaging unit including: a rotating body; an exposure unit forming an electrostatic latent image on the rotating body; a developing unit developing the latent image using developer to form an image; and a transfer unit transferring the image to a recording medium, a memory storing data on correspondence between first image data, second image data and a first correction amount, the first image data representing a first latent image formed by a first turn of the rotating body, the second image data representing a second latent image formed by a second turn of the rotating body, and the first correction amount used for correcting the second image data so that density of the image on the recording medium closer to density of the second latent image; a correction amount determining unit determining the first correction amount corresponding to the first and second image data based on the data stored in the memory; and a correcting unit correcting the second image data based on the first correction amount.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image forming device, an image processing device, an image forming method, computer readable medium, and computer data signal.
2. Related Art
In an image forming device according to an electrophotographic system, latent images formed on photosensitive drums leave afterimages on the drums, as a history of formed latent images. Influence of such afterimages often results in unevenness in densities of images, each of which is formed by a turn of each photosensitive drum. The unevenness in density is known as a latent image ghost.

Image forming device, image processing device, image forming method, computer readable medium, and computer data signal


Methods for controlling the length of a replacement metal gate to a designed target gate length and the resulting device are disclosed. Embodiments may include removing a dummy gate from above a substrate forming a cavity, wherein side surfaces of the cavity are lined with an oxidized spacer layer and a bottom surface of the cavity is lined with a gate oxide layer, conformally forming a sacrificial oxide layer over the substrate and the cavity, and removing the sacrificial oxide layer from the bottom surface of the cavity and the substrate leaving sacrificial oxide spacers lining the side surfaces of the cavity.

During the formation of replacement metal gates in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, the gate length of a cavity formed by the removal of a dummy gate may increase as a result of processing steps prior to formation of the replacement metal gate. For example, during removal of a gate oxide layer from the bottom surface of the cavity above a substrate layer, an oxidized spacer layer formed as a spacer surrounding the dummy gate and defining sides of the cavity may also be at least partially removed, thereby increasing the gate length of the cavity as compared to a designed target. By way of another example, during a high-k metal pre-cleaning, additional oxidized spacer layer may be removed further increasing the gate length. Depending on the process conditions, 3 to 4 nm of the oxide spacer layer may be removed during each one of the above two steps. Accordingly, the gate length may increase from 6 to 8 nm beyond the designed target. The increase in the gate length can impact other semiconductor device parameters. For example, the increased gate length may degrade the yield by increasing trench silicide to polysilicon gate shorts.
A need therefore exists for controlling the gate length of a replacement metal gate to a designed target, and the resulting device.

Using sacrificial oxide layer for gate length tuning and resulting device


A member 20 for semiconductor manufacturing equipment includes a base portion 22 and a ceramic member 30 formed on the base portion 22. The ceramic member 30 of the present invention includes a ceramic base 32 containing at least one of magnesium oxide, a magnesium oxide solid solution in which a predetermined component is dissolved in magnesium oxide, and zirconium oxide; and an electrode 34 which is arranged on part of the ceramic base 32 and which contains a ruthenium-aluminum alloy as an electrode component. The ceramic member 30 is a plate-like member and has a structure in which the electrode 34 is embedded therein. The electrode 34 is connected to a feeding member 26 inserted from the underside of the ceramic member 30. Electric power is supplied from the feeding member 26.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ceramic member and a member for semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, as a member for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, an electrostatic chuck including an insulating dielectric layer composed of aluminum oxide and an electrode mainly composed of tungsten or tungsten carbide is reported, in which a surface of the insulating dielectric layer adjacent to a chuck surface has a surface roughness Ra of 0.25 μm or less and a flatness of 20 μm or less (for example, see PTL 1). This electrostatic chuck has high responsiveness including the saturation time of an electrostatic attractive force and the lost time of a residual attractive force and is highly efficient. Furthermore, as a member for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, an electrostatic chuck including a base composed of magnesium oxide and an electrode composed of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Ni, Co, and Fe is reported (for example, see PTL 2). In this electrostatic chuck, the occurrence of a microcracking and warpage can be suppressed, and the diffusion of an electrode material in a dielectric layer can be prevented.    PTL 1: JP 7-297265 A    PTL 2: JP 2011-86919 A

Ceramic member and member for semiconductor manufacturing equipment


A transmission source loading apparatus for an imaging system utilizing a transmission source is disclosed. The source loading apparatus comprises a storage container for storing the transmission source, and a translation device. The translation device is adapted for advancing the transmission source from the storage container into a holder device for use of the imaging system. A gantry for an imaging system utilizing a transmission source is also disclosed. The gantry includes a gantry housing, a detector ring, a holder device for rotating the transmission source in a rotation path associated with the detector ring, and a transmission source loading apparatus.

The invention relates generally to systems and methods for loading transmission sources used in imaging systems.
Imaging systems play an important role in the practice of medicine and the administration of health care to patients. Imaging systems allow physicians to diagnose otherwise undetectable problems throughout the body. For example, Positron Emission Tomography ("PET") imaging systems allow a physician to examine the heart, brain, and other organs, by producing images that show the chemical functioning of an organ or tissue. Most PET imagers operate by placing a patient on a cradle and moving the cradle into the gantry's patient bore, where the scanning takes place. The patient bore is lined by a series of detector rings that gather imaging data when the imager is scanning. The detector rings utilize crystals to measure coincidence events when radiation is released into the scanning area. The necessary radiation is released when a transmission source, or radioactive source, is rotated by a transmission ring around the inside perimeter of the detector rings. The data gathered by the crystals is used to produce the medical image of the patient's body.
The transmission source is often constructed of radioactive material, which can be harmful to humans after prolonged exposure. Accordingly, the transmission source for an imaging system must be kept within a shielded container until the imaging system is ready for use. Transferring the transmission source from the shielded container to a location where it can be rotated around the detector rings has presented several problems.
For example, some conventional PET imaging systems utilize a robotic arm to transfer the transmission source from the shielded storage container to the transmission ring. One disadvantage of the robotic arm is that it requires several mechanical movements including both rotation and translation. More specifically, the robotic arm must extend into the storage container to take hold of the transmission source, and pull out of the storage container without dropping the transmission source or letting it come into contact with any other structures. Outside the storage container, the robotic arm must once again move into position with the transmission ring. Each of these difficult movements is controlled by complex logic sequences governing the movements of the armature and transmission source. In addition, the reliability of this robotic armature is highly dependant on several geometric and dimensional tolerances based on the length of the robotic armature, and the cantilevered mount attached to the translation gearbox. The accuracy and reliability of the robotic armature is extremely important given that the transmission source must be precisely positioned within the transmission ring while in use, and in the storage container when not in use.
An additional disadvantage is that these robotic arms utilize a mechanical claw-like means, which must hold and at appropriate times release the transmission source. This design occasionally results in the transmission source being dropped during transfer.
For at least these reasons, there is a need for the continuous support of transmission sources at all times during loading and unloading. There is also the need for simplifying the rotational and translational paths the transmission source must take when moving from storage to loading positions. There is also a need for simplifying and improving the mechanical means used to grip and hold the transmission source during loading and unloading. Overcoming these disadvantages will lower the risk of the transmission source being dropped, which in turn will reduce imaging system downtime.
The invention provides apparatuses, systems and methods for source loading in imaging systems, that overcome the disadvantages of known systems and methods while offering features not present in known systems and methods.

Source loading apparatus for imaging systems

GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC


A butt mounted riser hinge has a plastic cam assembly mounted in two metallic cylinders so that their camming surfaces do not rub against the metallic cylinders and become readily worn. The cam assembly includes a male member with bevelled end that is rotatably received in a cup-shaped female member. The hinge further includes a spring and shell assembly in sliding arrangement with one of the metallic cylinders.

Heavy doors, such as those used on walk-in refrigerators, are often mounted to jambs by butt mounted riser type hinges which lift the door when it is swung open, and which use gravity to assist in the closing of the door. A butt mounted hinge is one which has two barrels mounted one above the other. Each barrel has a mounting flange laterally extending therefrom, and generally, the flanges are side by side in the based position of the hinge, in the space between the door and the jamb. The flange of one barrel is secured to the door edge and the flange of the other barrel is secured to the jamb. With this configuration, flange mounting screws are inaccessible when the door is in its closed position. Therefore when closed and locked, the door may not be opened by merely removing the hinge. This provides a high degree of security. The butt mounted hinge is also aesthetically pleasing, inasmuch as when the door is closed the hinge flanges are concealed.
A riser hinge is a hinge which incorporates a means for raising the door as it is swung open. Typically this is in the form of a camming arrangement in which the barrel of the hinge mounted to the door rides up a camming surface as the door swings open, thereby lifting the door. This feature is desirable for two reasons. Firstly, as the door is swung open the clearance between the bottom of the door and the floor is increased, so that door operation is not hindered by small objects resting on the floor or floor variances in its path. The problem of floor clearance is important where the refrigerator floor and the adjoining floor are at the same level since to assure a good seal the door must fit tightly against the floor when fully closed, yet have ample clearance when being swung open. Secondly, once the camming system has been actuated by opening the door, the door may be automatically closed upon being let go, with the weight of the door itself actuating the camming system in the reverse direction.
Riser hinges are also usually made of two parts that have axially aligned metallic barrels from which mounting flanges laterally extend. Mounted in each barrel is a cylindrical camming element made of a smooth, low friction material such as a hard plastic. Their mutually confronting ends are bevelled. Thus, as the barrel of the part mounted to the door is rotated, its bevelled camming element is driven upwardly upon the bevelled end surface of the other camming element, thereby causing the door to rise. Exemplary of a hinge which is both butt mounted and riser as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,545,032.
A problem long associated with this type of hinge is that not only is there frictional contact on the bevelled cam surfaces but also on the cylindrical surface of one of the camming elements as it rises or falls and simultaneously rotates within a stationary barrel. This sliding contact movement of a relatively soft camming element and relatively hard metallic barrel causes the side wall of the cam element to become worn and deformed, thus it must be replaced from time to time. The weight of the door also causes a bending moment on the hinge inasmuch as the center of gravity of the door is laterally offset from the axis of the hinge. This bending moment in turn increases the frictional pressure between the cam element side wall and that of the barrel, thereby increasing the wear of the cam follower.
It thus is seen that a need remains for a heavy duty butt mounted riser hinge which alleviates problems associated with those of the prior art. It is to the provision of such therefore that the present invention is primarily directed.


An imperforate bowl centrifugal separator includes an imperforate separator bowl; a housing for rotatably mounting the bowl including a chamber in which the bowl rotates; an outlet for removing the centrate from the chamber; a discharge port in the housing for removing solids from the bowl; and a gate for closing the discharge port during extraction of centrate from the chamber and opening the discharge port to remove the solids after substantially all of the centrate has been removed from the chamber. The solids and centrate are removed from the same outlet in the bottom of the bowl.

Imperforate bowl centrifugal separators generally employ a skimmer pipe to remove the remaining liquid at the end of a separation cycle prior to the solids discharge. This method of liquid removal suffers a number of problems. The boundary between the liquid and solids is unknown and variable so that it is difficult to remove all the liquid without removing some solids and contaminating the liquid with those solids. In addition the skimmer pipe can become plugged, is subject to high abrasion and wear from the solids, and can be damaged by excessive contact with the solids. To avoid these problems skimming is arrested short of contacting the solids but this leaves some liquid in the bowl which then contaminates the solids being discharged. A separate problem that occurs in such centrifuges is that centrate sprays or splashes out of the bowl during the separation cycle and falls into the solids collector where it contaminates the discharged solids.

Imperforate bowl centrifugal separator with solids gate


This document describes techniques and apparatuses for implementing a virtual image display device. A virtual image display device may include a display and a microlens array positioned between the display and a viewing surface of the virtual image display device. The virtual image display device is controlled to generate a virtual image behind the viewing surface of the virtual image display device. In some embodiments, the virtual image display device includes a pupil tracker that locates positions of pupils of a viewer. The virtual image display device is controlled to render the virtual image based on the positions of the pupils of the viewer.

The physiological mechanism that sets eye focus is directly related to the mechanism that sets convergence. If a three dimensional (3D) image is represented on a screen for a viewer, the parallax (or the difference between images that are sent to each of the viewer's eyes) must be set to make the object appear near to the screen so that the viewer's eyes can comfortably converge and focus on the screen at the same time. This makes the representation of objects that are some distance away from the screen uncomfortable for the viewer in conventional 3D systems because the point of focus is necessarily fixed on the screen. This is a particular problem for devices designed to be held close to the viewer, such as laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. With these devices, fixing the parallax such that objects appear to be in the plane of the display makes it difficult to represent real-life objects, such as people, which would normally be a long distance behind the screen. Furthermore, users of near screen devices with farsightedness or presbyopia must typically wear rear reading glasses or contact lenses in order to see the information displayed on the screen of devices held close to their eyes.


A hot cathode ionization pressure gauge with the following electrodes, arged at a distance from one another in the specified sequence along an axis:. (a) a thermionic cathode filament which has a central active part and lateral support parts; PA0 (b) an essentially flat, diaphragm-like control electrode, PA0 (c) an essentially flat apertured acceleration electrode and PA0 (d) an essentially flat ion collector electrode, PA0 (e) a base plate on which the filament, the control electrode, the acceleration electrode and ion collector electrode are mounted,. wherein the base plate consists of a ceramic material and has a plurality of through holes, and each of said control, acceleration and ion collector electrodes comprises a support member having essentially a shape of an inverted "U" with first and second legs, one of said legs of each electrode support member extending through a corresponding hole of said base plate and being fixed therein.

A hot-cathode ionization pressure gauge having the following electrodes, arranged at a distance from one another in the specified sequence along an axis,
(a) a thermionic cathode filament which has a central active part and lateral loop-shaped support parts; PA0 (b) a flat, diaphragm-like control electrode, PA0 (c) a flat acceleration electrode and PA0 (d) a flat ion collector electrode, PA0 (a) a thermionic cathode filament which has a central active part and lateral support parts; PA0 (b) a flat, diaphragm-like control electrode, PA0 (c) a flat acceleration electrode and PA0 (d) a flat ion collector electrode,
and having a base plate on which the control electrode, the acceleration electrode and the ion collector electrode are mounted, in each case via a foot or bracket running at right angles to the main part of the relevant electrode and via a support bolt connected to the bracket is disclosed in UK Patent GB 2,195,495 B, FIG. 7. The control electrode, the acceleration electrode and the ion collector electrode each have a support foot or bracket on the lower edge, projecting at right angles, which is screwed to a support bolt which is also used for the electrical connection. The support bolts pass through a metal base plate, from which they are insulated by ceramic bushes. This design is complicated and must be assembled very carefully since the ceramic bushes break easily.

Hot-cathode ionization pressure gauge including a sequence of electrodes arranged at a distance from one another in sequence along an axis

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Wissenschaften e.V.


An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal display having a high luminance and a high contrast and a fabrication method thereof. To achieve the above object, a liquid crystal display of the present invention includes a liquid crystal panel for displaying an image by changing transmittance of a display light and one or more structures (151), (152) for dividing a pixel (103) of the liquid crystal panel into a plurality of domains (391), in which at least part of the structure (151) is constituted by a light-transmitting portion (151B) and a light-non-transmitting portion (151A).

Conventionally, there have been provided IPS (In-Plane-Switching)-mode (transversal electric field type) liquid crystal displays as liquid crystal displays having a wide viewing angle characteristic. However, in the IPS-mode liquid crystal display, since a pixel electrode for modulating liquid crystal and a counter electrode are required to be located relatively close to one another on one of a pair of substrates retaining the liquid crystal therebetween, a display light incident on a liquid crystal panel is blocked by both electrodes, thereby reducing a display light emanating from the liquid crystal panel. Consequently, luminance of a display screen is decreased.
An IPS-mode liquid crystal display for the purpose of addressing this problem has been disclosed, for example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. Hei 9-73101. FIG. 25 is a plan view schematically showing a pixel structure of the liquid crystal display. As shown in FIG. 25, in a pixel 402 of the liquid crystal display 401 in a plan view, a comb-teeth shaped pixel electrode 403 and a counter electrode 404 are disposed so as to oppose to one another, and at least one of the pixel electrode 403 and the counter electrode 404 is constituted by a transparent electric conductor, thereby reducing the amount of display light to be blocked by the electrodes 403, 404. Consequently, luminance of a display screen is increased correspondingly.
However, there is a problem in the liquid crystal display 401 as described below. FIGS. 26a and 26b are views schematically showing an operation of the liquid crystal display 401, wherein FIG. 26a is a sectional view showing an electric field and an alignment of liquid crystal molecules in a pixel, and FIG. 26a is a sectional view showing a transmittance distribution in the pixel. In these figures, constitutions of array substrates are simplified for the sake of illustration. In addition, the pixel electrode 403 and counter electrode 404 are here constituted by transparent electric conductors. As shown in FIG. 26a, the pixel electrode 403 and counter electrode 404 are provided on the array substrate 411 so as to oppose to one another juxtaposed to one another) on the plane in which the array substrate 411 is present. Therefore, when a voltage is applied across the pixel electrode 403 and the counter electrode 404, an electric field is formed such that both of the electrodes 403, 404 are connected by bow-shaped lines of electric force 406, and liquid crystal molecules 405 are aligned along the lines of electric force. However, in an central portion of each of the electrodes 403, 404, there is formed a boundary of the lines of electric force of opposite directions, where liquid crystal molecules are aligned vertically with respect to the array substrate 411 (hereinafter, simply referred to as vertically) and along the lines of electrical force extending toward a point at infinity, thereby forming a liquid crystal disclination area 301. That is, the pixel is divided by the pixel electrodes 403 and the counter electrodes 404 into a plurality of domains. As a result, as shown in FIG. 26b, transmittance 302 of the liquid crystal panel (transmittance in a state in which a voltage is applied in a normally black mode; hereinafter simply referred to as transmittance) becomes high in an area located between the electrodes 403, 404 of the liquid crystal where the liquid molecules 405 are aligned horizontally with respect to the array substrate (hereinafter, referred to as horizontally) because a modulation rate of the liquid crystal molecules 405 becomes large, transmittance 302 becomes low in the disclination area 301 where the liquid molecules 405 are aligned vertically because a modulation rate of the liquid crystal molecules 405 becomes small, and transmittance 302 becomes medium in an area located above an portion other than the central portion of each of the electrodes 403, 404 where the liquid molecules 405 are aligned obliquely because a modulation rate of the liquid crystal molecules 405 becomes medium. The area 303 where the transmittance 302 is high, the area 304 where the transmittance 302 is medium, and the disclination area 301 respectively become a high contrast area, medium contrast area, and low contrast area. As described in the foregoing, since a display area includes the low contrast area 301, an average contrast of the display screen of the liquid crystal display 401 is reduced.

Liquid crystal display unit and production method thereof

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


This invention relates to means for indication and/or illumination which can be mounted to project from vertical walls and horizontal beams consisting of a sign portion of substantially prismatic shape hinged to a supporting member adapted for attachment to a wall or beam, the sign portion of which has two diverging faces joined by a bevel portion having a flat surface lying at right angles to the bisector of the dihedral formed by the surfaces of the diverging faces, on which bevel portion are provided hinge means having an axis at right angles to the flat surface of the bevel portion. An attachment member is provided in the supporting member which can be engaged by one of the diverging faces placed in front thereof and rigidly attached thereto.

Signs of various conformations appropriate for one or in other type of mounting may be provided for this purpose, but for reasons of manufacturing standardization and of providing in greater versatility in use, it is desirable that a given sign should be capable of being mounted either on a ceiling or on a wall, while, nevertheless, retaining its correct orientation, which is essential if the sign bears writing or drawings.

Sign projecting from vertical walls or horizontal beams