A system for creating and using a universal tag to gather consumer data from a web site for the purposes of targeted advertising is provided. The universal tag system has two main subsystems. The first subsystem is a configuration system that is used to define the consumer data to be collected from the website and to define taxonomy and transformation rules to be applied to the collected consumer data. The second subsystem is a runtime system that runs a universal tag client-side script, which is triggered when a consumer lands on a webpage of the website, for collecting the defined consumer data. The runtime system then applies the transformation rules to the collected data and updates a user profile corresponding to the consumer with the transformed data. As well, the runtime system applies the taxonomy rules to the collected data and categorizes the consumer for the purposes of subsequent targeted advertising.

Technical Field
This invention relates generally to digital advertising. More particularly, this invention relates to a tool for creating and using a universal tag to gather consumer data for the purposes of digital advertising.
Description of the Related Art
The Internet has become a primary source for providing media and information. For example, it is believed that more news articles are read online than in print. Videos and television shows are increasingly viewed through online applications, such as by the companies, HULU® NETFLIX®, and YOUTUBE. Many of these online media companies earn revenue by allowing advertisers to advertise on their websites. The need of companies with online presence to generate revenue by selling advertising space on their websites is met with the need of advertisers to reach consumers via online advertising. This mutual need has led to the development of a niche industry, online display advertising. Thus, from the advertisers' point of view, it is an important aspect of their business to optimize their digital advertising potential on the Internet.
Although the system of advertising in print media has been well established for centuries, the rules for online advertising are still evolving. As users demand instant access to entertainment their patience for advertisements rapidly dwindles. For example, if a user is forced to view a pre-roll advertisement before a video is displayed, the user may simply click on another window or walk away from the display screen until the advertisement is gone. Thus, such user is not watching the advertisement. If the user is not watching the advertisement, the advertiser is not receiving the optimal return on their advertisement.
Various innovations with regard to Internet-based advertising have addressed some of these concerns. See, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/617,590, Segment Optimization for Targeted Advertising and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/410,400, Predicting User Response to Advertisements, each of which is commonly owned by the assignee of this application, and each of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference thereto.
It has been found that advertiser interaction with the data elements of the advertiser's webpage may be helpful for the advertiser. For example, an advertiser may want to determine the behavior of the end user by observing the areas of the website with which the user interacts. Thus, an advertiser may want to add code to the advertiser's webpage to collect such behavior information. Tag management is a technique that has been employed to allow adding code to the advertiser's webpage. Tag management is a technique that adds code to an advertiser's webpage by eliminating the need for advertisers to modify code on each individual webpage and by allowing marketers, as opposed to information technologists of an IT department, to control the content on the webpage that should be observed. Tag management basically operates by causing a website, when opened in a browser, to deploy a generic piece of code, such that when the code executes, data is dynamically collected from that website based on predetermined rules.

On-page configuration of page analytics and campaign creation


Methods and pharmaceutical compositions of alpha.sub.2 agonists and Na.sup.+ /H.sup.+ exchange inhibitors which are useful in lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) and treatment of intraocular hypertension are disclosed. Co-administration of a therapeutic amount of alpha.sub.2 agonist with a potentiating amount of Na.sup.+ /H.sup.+ exchange inhibitor is effective in lowering IOP and treatment of intraocular hypertension.

Glaucoma is a disease of the eye characterized by increased intraocular pressure. The intraocular pressure (IOP) in the hypertensive eye causes atrophy and excavation of the ocular nerve thereby producing the visual field defects associated with glaucoma. If untreated, increased IOP may cause blindness. It is known that IOP may be affected by application of various adrenergic agents. Adrenergic agents exert their activity by interaction with receptors (adrenoceptors). The agents may be characterized by their activity, i.e., as stimulating agents (agonists) or blocking agents (antagonists), and by the specific type of adrenoceptors upon which they act.
Adrenoceptors are of two primary types: alpha and beta. Based upon the selectivity of the receptors for a series of agonists and antagonists, the alpha adrenoceptors are divided into subtypes, designated alpha.sub.1 and alpha.sub.2.
Alpha agonists preferentially stimulate each type of adrenoceptor with varying degrees of specificity rather than exclusivity. Therefore selectivity for an adrenoceptor subtype is relative. Alpha agonists with relative selectivity for the alpha.sub.2 subtype are efficacious in lowering IOP and are part of current ocular hypertension therapy, including glaucoma therapy. However, some undesirable side effects are associated with the use of these compounds for these indications. For example, some alpha agonists are known to cause significant and undesirable cardiovascular depression and mydriasis (pupil dilation). These side effects are mediated by central nervous system alpha.sub.2 adrenoceptors and ocular alpha.sub.1 adrenoceptors, respectively.
Because of this, efforts are being made to develop more selective alpha.sub.2 agonists which remain localized in the ocular environment. In addition, methods and compositions are being developed which potentiate the IOP effect of the alpha.sub.2 agonist allowing a reduction in dose which reduces the side effects associated with its use.
It has now been discovered that Na.sup.+ /H.sup.+ exchange inhibitors, such as various amiloride analogs, e.g., 5-(N,N-hexamethylene) amiloride, 5-(N-ethyl-N-isopropyl) amiloride and 5-(N,N-dimethyl) amiloride, although substantially inactive by themselves in lowering IOP, improve the ocular hypotensive profile of various alpha.sub.2 agonists when co-administered with the alpha.sub.2 agonist. Co-administering a Na.sup.+ /H.sup.+ exchange inhibitor mitigates, reduces or eliminates undesirable side effects associated with conventional alpha.sub.2 agonist therapy for treatment of ocular hypertension by enabling treatment with lower alpha.sub.2 agonist dosages. In addition, co-administration of an alpha.sub.2 agonist with a Na.sup.+ /H.sup.+ exchange inhibitor enables equivalent or improved therapeutic treatment of ocular hypertension as compared to using equivalent or higher dosages of the alpha.sub.2 agonist alone.

Combination of selective alpha-adrenergic agonists and Na.sup.+ /H.sup.+ e x


There is provided an album generating apparatus for generating an album whose pages are adequately allocated in accordance to image capturing position and time. The album generating apparatus has an image storing section for storing images by correlating with the image capturing time and position of the images, a importance judging section for judging importance of the image capturing time and image capturing position in the plurality of images stored in the image storing section, an image capturing time sorting section for sorting the plurality of images stored in the image storing section per page in the album based on the image capturing time stored in the image storing section when the importance judging section judges that the importance of the image capturing time is greater than that of the image capturing position, an image capturing position sorting section for sorting the plurality of images stored in the image storing section per page of the album based on the image capturing position stored in the image storing section when the importance judging section judges that the importance of the image capturing position is greater than that of the image capturing time and a layout determining section for laying out the images sorted per page by the image capturing time sorting section or the image capturing position sorting section to each page of the album.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an album generating apparatus, an album generating method and a program. More specifically, the invention relates to an album generating apparatus and an album generating method for generating an album and to a program for the album generating apparatus.
2. Related Art
There has been known an album generating system for generating an album laid out so as to dispose a map of traveling spots at a center of a screen and so that a user can see a relationship between the map and images disposed around the map by connecting the images and image capturing positions on the map by lines based on tag information such as information on position, image capturing time and others tagged to data of images captured at the traveling spots as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1998-126731 for example.
However, it has been unable to generate an adequate album for recording a child's growth for example by the technology of JP Laid-Open No. 1998-126721. In case of such album of recording a child's growth, it is desirable to be able to allocate pages in order of image capturing dates for example so that an appreciator can actually feel the child's growth every time when the appreciator turns the pages.
Still more, in case of an album composed of images captured while traveling across the Europe, it is desirable to be able to allocate the images to pages based on places where the images were captured by allocating the images per every country for example.
However, there has been a problem that it takes time for the generator of the album to generate such album because it is required to judge the allocation of images desirable for the cameraman based on the contents of the images.

Album generating apparatus, album generating method and program


In a face recognition apparatus adapted to recognize an input face image on the basis of one or more registered face images, similarity between an input face image and a registered face image is determined based on a Gabor jet calculated by performing Gabor filtering using Gabor filters defined by a Gaussian function representing a window and sine and cosine functions representing a frequency response for each of predetermined frequency values and for each of predetermined angles of the response function. Values of the filter window are calculated in advance based on the Gaussian function and stored in a filter window data ROM. Values of the response function are calculated in advance for respective angles based on the sine and cosine functions and stored in sine data ROMs and cosine data ROMs. In the Gabor filtering process, coefficients of the Gabor filters are determined from values read from these ROMs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a face recognition apparatus, a face recognition method, a Gabor filter application apparatus, and a computer program, for recognizing a face in an image such as a photographic picture, and more particularly, to a face recognition apparatus, a face recognition method, a Gabor filter application apparatus, and a computer program, for recognizing a face by extracting a feature value of a face image by using a Gabor filter representing spatial characteristics based on a Gaussian function representing a window and a sine or cosine function representing a frequency response.
The present invention also relates to a face recognition apparatus, a face recognition method, a Gabor filter application apparatus, and a computer program, for recognizing a face image with high accuracy without fixing types or the number of Gabor filter coefficients, and more particularly, to a face recognition apparatus, a face recognition method, a Gabor filter application apparatus, and a computer program, for performing high-performance recognition of a face image by using a Gabor filter without needing an increase in hardware complexity or an increase in processing complexity.
2. Description of the Related Art
The face recognition technology has a wide variety of applications such as a person authentication system capable of authenticating a person without the person needing to perform a particular operation, a system of detecting sex of a person, and other many man-machine interfaces. The current trend in the face recognition technology is to use a front face image, although use of a side face image was tried in the past.
A face recognition system includes a face extraction process for extracting a face pattern from an image taken by a CCD camera or the like, and a face recognition process for recognizing a face based on the extracted face pattern. The face extraction process for extracting a face pattern (or extracting a feature value of a face image) and the face recognition process can be accomplished, for example, by performing Gabor filtering using a plurality of filters having direction selectivity and having different frequency characteristics (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-4041).
It is known that human photoreceptor cell include cells having selectivity in a particular direction. The direction selectivity is achieved by a combination of a cell which fires vertically and a cell which responds horizontally. Similarly, a Gabor filter is spatial filter including a plurality of filters having direction selectivity.
The Gabor filter represents a spatial characteristic using a Gabor function including a Gaussian function representing a window and a sine or cosine function indicating a frequency response. The filter window size is fixed at, for example, 24×24 pixels. If one Gabor filter is prepared for each of 5 different frequency f and for each of 8 different directions, a total of 40 Gabor filters are prepared.
The operation by a Gabor filter includes determining the convolution of a pixel value to which the Gabor filter is applied and coefficients of the Gabor filter. The coefficients of the Gabor filter can be divided into real components given by a cosine function representing a frequency response and imaginary components given by a cosine function representing a frequency response. The convolution is calculated separately for the real and imaginary components, and resultant convolution components are added to obtain one scalar value indicating the final result of the Gabor filtering. If up to 40 Gabor filters with various frequencies f and various angles 0 are used, a total of up to 40 scalar values are obtained. A set of the resultant 40 scalar values is referred to as a Gabor jet. In the face recognition process, the Gabor jet is determined as a local feature value at each of feature value extraction positions located at equal intervals in horizontal and vertical directions on given face image data. Note that the Gabor jet does not change even if the feature value extraction position varies within a certain range or if the image is deformed to a certain degree.
For each of registered face images, Gabor jets are calculated in advance for respective feature value extraction positions. When a face image to be examined is given (hereinafter, such a face image will be referred to simply as an input face image), the similarity of a Gabor jet of the input face image with respect to the Gabor jet of the registered face image is determined for each feature value extraction position, and a similarity vector each element of which indicates similarity at one feature value extraction position. Thereafter, a support vector machine (SVM) performs classification based on the similarity vector to determine whether the input face image is identical to a registered face image. More specifically, the support vector machine calculates the distance of the similarity vector of interest from a boundary plane (in which the distance is equal to 0) and determines whether the similarity vector belongs to an intra-personal class or an extra-personal class. If the similarity vector is determined as not belonging to an intra-personal class for any registered face image, it is determined that the input face image is of a person whose face is not yet registered (see, for example, B. Scholkopf et al., "Advance in Kernel Support Vector Learning" (The MIT Press, 1999)). If the support vector machine learns many face images (i.e., if many face images are registered), it is possible to determine whether an input face image is identical to one of registered (learned) face images, that is, whether the input face image belongs to an intra-personal class or an extra-personal class (see, for example, Domestic Republication WO03/019475 or Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-4003). The current evaluation for the support vector machine in the pattern recognition technology is that the support vector machine has highest learning ability.

Face recognition apparatus, face recognition method, gabor filter application apparatus, and computer program


A semiconductor optical amplifier with increased gain stability is described, comprising a signal waveguide that guides an optical signal along a signal path that intersects with one or more transverse laser cavities. A gain medium of the signal waveguide is integral with a gain medium of the transverse laser cavities at regions of intersection between the signal waveguide and the transverse laser cavities, resulting in gain-stabilized operation when the transverse laser cavities are biased above threshold. Successive transverse laser cavities are separated along the signal path by connecting zones having a higher electrical resistivity than the transverse laser cavities, providing a measure of electrical isolation between the transverse laser cavities and reducing parasitic lasing modes among them. The transverse laser cavities may be provided with separate bias currents for precise control of gain along the signal path. In another preferred embodiment, the transverse laser cavities are segmented in the direction of the lasing field into multiple segments with separate electrical contacts. For certain applications, one or more of the transverse laser cavities may be kept dark near its end mirrors to impede lasing and causing the gain medium to have a nonlinear gain profile for that transverse laser cavity, while other transverse laser cavities along the signal path maintain linear gain profiles. Preferred embodiments with reduced amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise are also described.

This patent specification relates to optical amplifiers. More specifically, it relates to a semiconductor optical amplifier capable of using transverse lasing to excite its gain medium.
As the world""s need for communication capacity continues to increase, the use of optical signals to transfer large amounts of information has become increasingly favored over other schemes such as those using twisted copper wires, coaxial cables, or microwave links. Optical communication systems use optical signals to carry information at high speeds over an optical path such as an optical fiber. Optical fiber communication systems are generally immune to electromagnetic interference effects, unlike the other schemes listed above. Furthermore, the silica glass fibers used in fiber optic communication systems are lightweight, comparatively low cost, and are capable of very high-bandwidth operation.
Optical amplifiers are important components of optical communications links. Optical amplifiers are commonly used as (i) power amplifiers at the source end of an optical communications link, (ii) line amplifiers along the optical signal transmission path, and (iii) preamplifiers at the receiving end of the optical communications link, and have other uses as well.
In general, the two primary types of optical amplifiers are optical fiber based amplifiers, such as erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) and Raman amplifiers, and semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs). EDFAs are widely used in line amplifiers and other applications requiring high output power, high data rates, and low noise. However, EDFAs are quite bulky, having a typical fiber length of about 30 feet, and require the presence of a separate pumping laser to operate. Accordingly, EDFAs are difficult to incorporate into confined spaces, and are not amenable to circuit-board-level or chip-level integration.
SOAs, on the other hand, are small in size and conveniently integrated into small devices. An SOA generally resembles a semiconductor laser structure, except that the end mirrors have been replaced by antireflection coatings. In such devices the product of the gain and the reflectivity is less than one so that the device does not oscillate. Rather, the device is used to amplify an incoming optical signal as it passes through the device. Such devices are often called traveling wave amplifiers, which highlights the fact that the optical signal does not pass back and forth within the device, but merely passes through it essentially only once. SOAs generally yield lower output power and higher noise levels as compared to EDFAs, and/or are restricted to lower data rates. Research continues toward improving the performance of SOAs, including making SOAs with higher power and lower noise characteristics, and/or that are capable of operating at higher data rates.
Crosstalk is one of the primary troublesome noise sources in conventional SOAs, with amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) being the other primary troublesome noise source. Crosstalk, or cross-channel modulation, involves data-dependent gain fluctuations at high output levels from the SOA, and can occur for either time-multiplexed or wavelength-multiplexed data. Crosstalk arises from gain saturation effects in an SOA. These effects can be understood by recalling that SOA devices rely on the phenomenon of stimulated emission to provide the necessary amplification. Stimulated emission, in turn, requires the establishment of a population inversion. In typical SOAs or lasers a population inversion is evidenced by the presence of a specified carrier density. When a sufficiently large optical signal is passed through the amplifier, the population inversion is substantially reduced or depleted, i.e. the gain of the SOA is saturated, and is reestablished only over some finite period of time. Consequently, the gain of the SOA will be reduced for some period of time following the passage of the signal through the amplifier, a time period commonly denoted as the amplifier gain recovery time.
When the gain medium becomes saturated due to a high signal level on a first channel, changes are induced in the signal level of a second channel because the saturated gain medium cannot properly amplify both channels. Since gain is modulated by the first signal, this modulated gain is impressed on the second signal. Thus, for wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) systems in which a plurality of channels at xcex1, xcex2, . . . , xcexN are present in a common optical signal, gain saturation induced by a first channel at xcex1 can produce unwanted level changes (i.e., errors) in a second data channel at xcex2, and vice versa.
Crosstalk can be reduced by keeping the SOA out of gain saturation for the data rates, signal levels, and number of channels on the optical signal of interest. If the SOA is operated near gain saturation levels, crosstalk may be reduced by making the period of the data signals small in comparison to the gain recovery time, i.e., by slowing down the data rate. In general, an SOA will have reduced crosstalk effects if (i) its saturation power PSAT, i.e., the input optical power level for which the SOA gain is reduced to a predetermined percentage of its nominal value, is increased, and/or (ii) its gain recovery time is decreased. As used herein, an SOA has increased gain stability if (i) its saturation power PSAT is increased without a concomitant increase in gain recovery time, (ii) its gain recovery time is decreased without a concomitant decrease in saturation power PSAT, or (iii) both (i) and (ii) occur.
Several methods for dealing with crosstalk problems are discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,436,759, which is incorporated by reference herein. One strategy is to place a transverse laser across the SOA such that the laser""s gain medium and the SOA""s signal gain medium share an overlapping region. The lasing cavity is operated above threshold and the gain of the laser is clamped to overcome losses of the cavity. As used herein, a laser cavity is gain-clamped and lasing when it is excited by a bias current greater than a threshold current. When the transverse laser is gain-clamped, gain along the SOA signal path is stabilized. The transverse lasing enhances the establishment and maintenance of a population inversion in the overlapping region, resulting in both increased saturation power and a decreased gain recovery time. Advantageously, independent lasing only builds up in the transverse direction and does not corrupt the quality of the amplified signal.
The ""759 patent supra discusses an SOA in which an input optical signal is amplified by a signal gain medium along a signal path, the signal path being intersected by a segmented optical cavity oriented off-axis (e.g., perpendicular) to the signal path. The optical cavity is a lasing cavity operated above threshold, and shares its gain medium with the signal gain medium at overlapping locations, thereby increasing gain stability. Certain segmentation and design techniques are proposed for dealing with parasitic lasing modes that can cause gain clamping at undesirably low levels, with some designs directed to suppressing the parasitic lasing modes (e.g., ""759 patent, FIG. 1), and other designs directed to constructively using circulating modes (e.g., ""759 patent, FIG. 2B) to increase the gain. To suppress parasitic lasing modes, the lasing cavity is segmented along the length of the amplifier with regions that are optically isolated, except at intersections with the gain medium/signal path. In some examples, the optical isolation is achieved by placing gaps between the cavities that include opaque barriers (""759 patent, FIG. 1), while in other examples angled trenches are used (""759 patent, FIG. 2C).
The proposed designs of the ""759 patent supra can suffer from one or more shortcomings that can reduce the effectiveness of the device and/or cause difficulty in reliably fabricating the device. For example, the layers of the single active medium (""759 patent, FIG. 1) can be difficult to construct reliably with consistent thickness across the entire lateral area to be covered. In addition, the semiconductor layers may contain local defects such as crystal dislocations, pitting, voids, etc. Such defects in the epitaxial growth can be a point of lower electrical resistance than the surrounding epitaxial areas. The higher electrical current flowing through these points of lower electrical resistance can create xe2x80x9chot spotsxe2x80x9d which cause non-uniform gain in the effected areas. In addition to the less than optimal performance resulting form the non-uniform gain, the xe2x80x9chot spotsxe2x80x9d can be a source of excessive current drain and premature device failure. As another example, undesired parasitic modes or uneven lasing may arise due to lack of electrical isolation among laser cavity segments at intersections with the signal gain medium.
Another approach to gain saturation reduction is discussed in Francis, et. al., xe2x80x9cA Single Chip Linear Optical Amplifier,xe2x80x9d IEEE Optical Fiber Communication Conference, Anaheim, Calif. (2001), which is incorporated by reference herein, in which the amplifier and a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) share the same active region. However, these devices can have limited output power due to the small gain medium volume of VCSELs, as well as for other reasons. These devices can also suffer from non-uniform current flows and hot spots due to defects in crystal growth and non-uniform epitaxial layers.
An SOA experiencing crosstalk and other gain saturation effects is generally operating in a nonlinear region of operation, in which the signal gain is not a constant value over time. Such an SOA is generally not desirable for use as an amplifier in an optical communications link. However, devices with nonlinear input-output characteristics are increasingly finding use in other applications, including all-optical gating applications, wavelength conversion applications, and all-optical signal regeneration applications.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a semiconductor optical amplifier having reduced crosstalk effects.
It would be further desirable to provide a semiconductor optical amplifier that can have an adjustable gain along its length, such that the gain can be adjusted at the factory and/or in the field during operation.
It would be still further desirable to provide a semiconductor optical amplifier that can optionally be adjusted to have nonlinear gain characteristics along one or more segments of the signal path, while having linear gain characteristics along other segments of the signal path.
It would be even further desirable to provide such a semiconductor optical amplifier in which amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise is reduced in the output.
It would be even further desirable to provide such a semiconductor optical amplifier that is more robust against variations in gain medium thickness and/or other crystal defects.
It would be still further desirable to provide such a semiconductor optical amplifier in which the operating current requirements are kept low.
It would be even further desirable to provide such a semiconductor optical amplifier that can be reliably fabricated.
According to a preferred embodiment, a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) apparatus and related methods are provided for amplifying an optical signal, the SOA comprising a signal waveguide for guiding the optical signal along a signal path, the SOA further comprising a gain medium that is excited by the lasing fields of two or more transverse laser cavities intersecting the signal waveguide along the signal path. The transverse laser cavities are biased above a threshold current to achieve gain-clamped operation, wherein gain stability along the signal path is increased and crosstalk in the amplified optical signal is reduced. According to a preferred embodiment, the transverse laser cavities are non-overlapping, each transverse laser cavity intersecting the signal waveguide at its own distinct region of intersection.
As the optical signal propagates down the signal waveguide, it encounters the regions of intersection and is amplified by the excited gain medium therein. Between the regions of intersection along the signal path, the optical signal encounters areas of reduced amplification or loss, termed connecting zones. According to a preferred embodiment, the connecting zones comprise at least one portion of wave guiding material having an increased electrical resistivity as compared to corresponding wave guiding material in the regions of intersection. This provides a measure of electrical isolation between adjacent transverse laser cavities as they intersect the signal waveguide, reducing unwanted parasitic lasing modes among the transverse laser cavities.
The connecting zones may be maintained at or near a condition of transparency while having little or no gain, such that gain guiding in the transverse laser cavities is facilitated. It has been found that several advantages associated with the increased-resistance connecting zones, e.g., electrical isolation of transverse lasing cavities for increased SOA gain profile control in terms of both amplitude and wavelength, reduction of parasitic lasing modes, etc., can justify any reduction in amplification caused by the increased-resistance connecting zones along the signal path, provided that the overall gain is sufficient. According to a preferred embodiment, the percentage of the signal path occupied by the connecting zones is substantially less than the percentage of the signal path occupied by the regions of intersection of the transverse laser cavities such that positive-gain operation is achieved.
According to a preferred embodiment, the transverse laser cavities are electrically separated along their lengths (in the propagation direction of the amplified signal) by proton-implanted isolation regions, which include the connecting zones. Optionally, the degree of electrical isolation in the connecting zones may be different than that in the remainder of the isolation regions. According to a preferred embodiment, the gain medium lying in the connecting zones is disordered or partially disordered, thereby reducing signal losses in the connecting zones. In contrast, in areas corresponding to the remainder of the isolation regions, the gain medium is not disordered. Because there is essentially no current in these areas, optical isolation between adjacent transverse laser cavities is provided in these areas in addition to electrical isolation. In an alternative preferred embodiment, all of the gain medium in the isolation regions is disordered. In this alternative preferred embodiment, the electrical isolation alone between adjacent transverse laser cavities is sufficient to achieve operational segregation and reduction of unwanted parasitic lasing modes.
A variety of geometric layouts for the transverse laser cavities may be used in accordance with the preferred embodiments. The transverse laser cavities may be substantially perpendicular to the signal waveguide, or may alternatively be at a different non-perpendicular angle. In one preferred embodiment, the transverse laser cavities are oriented at the Brewster angle with respect to the signal waveguide for reducing reflections at the interfaces of dissimilar materials. In another preferred embodiment, the transverse laser cavities are optically connected with mirrors to form a single folded-path laser with multiple crossings of the signal waveguide.
According to a preferred embodiment, the transverse laser cavities are provided with separate electrical contacts so that they may be biased at different currents and current density levels. The separate control of the current to different transverse laser cavities allows for compensation for local hot spots caused by crystal dislocations, voids, or other local defects in the semiconductor material. Different groupings or couplings may be made among the electrical contacts of the transverse laser cavities. In another preferred embodiment, the SOA can be operated as a variable optical attenuator (VOA) by variably reducing the bias currents of one or more transverse lasers, such that the collective gain at the regions of intersection is overcome by the collective loss at the connecting zones.
According to another preferred embodiment, an SOA is provided comprising a signal waveguide for guiding an optical signal along a signal path, the SOA further comprising a gain medium that is excited by the lasing field of one or more multi-contact transverse laser cavities intersecting the signal waveguide along the signal path. Each multi-contact transverse laser cavity comprises two end mirrors defining a laser cavity therebetween, the laser cavity being segmented along the direction of the lasing field into a center segment and at least one end segment, the end segments and the center segment each having their own current source for biasing. In a first configuration, the end segments are provided with no bias current, thereby impeding gain clamping in the laser cavity and causing gain nonlinearities along the signal path. In a second configuration, the end segments are provided with bias currents sufficient to facilitate gain clamping in the laser cavity, thereby allowing linear gain along the signal path. Accordingly, depending on the amount bias current through the end segments, which may be dynamically controlled, the multi-contact transverse laser cavity may effectuate linear or nonlinear gain along its respective portion of the signal path. In a preferred embodiment, a plurality of multi-contact transverse laser cavities intersect the signal path including first and second subsets thereof, the first subset operating in linear-gain mode and the second subset operating in nonlinear-gain mode.
According to another preferred embodiment, amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise in the output can be reduced by including a second signal waveguide resonantly coupled with a first signal waveguide. The optical signal is amplified by the first signal waveguide in a gain-stabilized manner by a gain medium excited by one or more transverse lasing cavities intersecting the first signal waveguide. The optical signal is then transferred into the second signal waveguide prior to output. The ASE generated along the first signal waveguide does not couple effectively into the second signal waveguide, and ASE in the output is thereby reduced. Optionally, the second signal waveguide may also provide some amplification of the optical signal. Optionally, tunable coupling between the waveguides can be provided such that the degree of coupling can be controlled by electrical, optical, mechanical, or other signals.

Semiconductor optical amplifier with transverse laser cavity intersecting optical signal path and method of fabrication thereof


A display controller of a data processing system fetches data for surfaces to be displayed from memory of the data processing system into a local buffer or buffers of the display controller and provides that data from the local buffer or buffers of the display controller to a display for display. If the display controller determines that data to be provided to the display has not been fetched into a local buffer of the display controller, it provides data that has previously been fetched into the local buffer of the display controller to the display in place of the data that has not been fetched into a local buffer of the display controller.

The technology described herein relates to data processing systems and in particular to display controllers for data processing systems.
FIG. 1 shows an example data processing system that comprises a central processing unit (CPU) 7, a graphics processing unit (GPU) 2, a video codec 1, a display controller 5, and a memory controller 8. As shown in FIG. 1, these units communicate via an interconnect 9 and have access to off-chip memory 3. In use of this system the GPU 2, video codec 1 and/or CPU 7 will generate surfaces (images) to be displayed and store them, via the memory controller 8, in respective frame buffers in the off-chip memory 3. The display controller 5 will then read those surfaces as input layers from the frame buffers in the off-chip memory 3 via the memory controller 8, process the input surfaces appropriately and send them to a display 4 for display.
FIG. 2 shows an example data path for the processing of the input surfaces for display in the display controller 5. It is assumed in this example that the display controller 5 can take as inputs for a given output surface to be displayed a plurality of input surfaces (layers), and includes, inter alia, a composition engine (stage) 22 that is able to compose one or more input surfaces (layers) (e.g. generated by the GPU 2 and/or video codec 1) to provide a composited output frame for display.
As shown in FIG. 2, the display controller includes a DMA (Direct Memory Access) read unit 20 that reads data of input surfaces to be displayed and provides it appropriately to local buffers of the display controller, in the form of respective sets of latency "hiding" FIFOs 21. (The latency hiding FIFOs 21 provide "latency" buffering in the display processing path to allow for potential latency in retrieving the required input surface data from memory. There is one set of latency FIFOs 21 for each "layer" that the display controller can take as an input for its processing.)
The input surfaces that the display controller 5 processes to provide the output surface for display will be generated, as discussed above, e.g. by the video codec 1, CPU 7 and/or GPU 2 of the overall data processing system, and stored as respective frame buffers in the main memory 3 of the data processing system.
When a frame is to be displayed, the input surfaces that form the input layers are composed in the display composition stage 22 to provide a composited output surface for display. The composited output surface (i.e. the frame that is to be displayed) is then subject to display timing control 23 (e.g. the inclusion of appropriate horizontal and vertical blanking periods), and then provided to the display output interface of the display controller 5 for provision to the display 4 for display.
This process is repeated for each frame that needs to be displayed, e.g. at a rate of 30 or 60 frames per second.
As such display processing is a real-time operation, the display controller 5 needs to deliver the pixel data to be displayed to the display 4 (to the display output) regularly, in each clock cycle triggering the display output from the display controller.
Thus a generally desirable feature of the operation of a display controller when displaying a frame is the ability to fetch the data for the layer or layers making up the frame to be displayed, such that the display can be kept updated in real time with new data at the required rate. If the data required to be displayed cannot be fetched sufficiently quickly, then there may be no current data available for display, such that an error will then occur. This is often referred to "underrun", and will result in incorrect data being displayed.
Such "under-run" can occur, for example, because of latencies in fetching the input surface data from memory, such that the required data has not been fetched and/or has not completed its processing, by the time it is required to be displayed.
It is accordingly known to try to design display controllers and data processing systems to reduce or avoid the risk of underrun. For example, display controllers may comprise, as discussed above, sets of "latency hiding" buffers into which data to be displayed is fetched in advance of displaying that data. This can help to ensure that there is always sufficient data "local" to the display controller for display, even if there are delays in fetching data from main memory where it is stored.
It is also known to try to reduce the amount of data that must be fetched for displaying a given frame, for example by "pre-compositing" ("flattening") a number of layers to be displayed (e.g. using a graphics processing unit), in advance of providing the layers to the display controller for display. However, this can increase power consumption, memory bandwidth and loading on the GPU.
It is also known to try to prioritise memory transactions for display controller operations to try to ensure that the required data for display will be available to the display controller when it is required.
Notwithstanding these techniques, the Applicants believe that there remains scope for improvements to the operation of display controllers and data processing systems, in particular in relation to the issue of "underrun".
Like reference numerals are used for like components throughout the drawings, where appropriate.

Data processing system for display underrun recovery


A mount for an arc discharge lamp has a cathode thereon which is encircled by a disintegration shield. The shield has a narrow gap between its ends with a mercury-containing metal capsule in the gap. The capsule is comprised of a metal cup having a larger diameter portion and a smaller diameter portion, the larger diameter portion having been flattened and sealed after the mercury has been dispensed into the capsule. The flattened larger diameter portion of the capsule is welded across the gap of the shield.

Prior art methods of dispensing mercury into fluorescent lamps are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,056,750, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Sealed capsules, both glass and metal, have been used to contain the mercury within the lamp. After the lamp has been sealed, the capsule is ruptured to release the mercury.

Mercury dispenser for arc discharge lamps


A flat panel display device comprises a pair of substrates facing each other, a spacer, made of photosensitive material, for providing a gap between the pair of substrates, and a display medium arranged in the gap. At least one of the pair of substrates has a lightproof region including a linear portion. The spacer is arranged in the linear portion of the lightproof region. The spacer has a shape a longitudinal axis of which extends along the linear portion and which has a recessed portion narrower than the linear portion.

The present invention relates to a flat panel display device, and more particularly to a structure of a columnar spacer for providing a predetermined gap between a pair of substrates, and a method for manufacturing the same.
A flat panel display device, particularly, a liquid crystal display device, has a liquid crystal material interposed between an array substrate and a counter substrate, each having an electrode. To keep the distance between the substrates constant, plastic beads of a uniform particle size, serving as spacers, are distributed between the substrates.
When the liquid crystal display device as described above is formed, spacers distributed on a substrate may form particles contaminating the manufacturing line, resulting in defect of the line or the products. In addition, spacers existing in a pixel area may cause alignment defect. Further, an agglomeration of spacers or ununiformity in distribution density may cause a problem that the gap between the substrate is non-uniform.
To overcome the above drawbacks, it is proposed to form columnar spacers in predetermined portions of an array substrate by a photolithography process.
Since a columnar spacer is liable to form an alignment defect region therearound, it may lower the image quality. Therefore, the columnar spacers are generally formed in a shield area of the display area. In order to prevent the aperture ratio from lowering or to achieve high definition, the shield area of the display area is restricted as small as possible. Therefore, it is preferable that the columnar spacer be as small as possible; however, if the columnar spacer is small, the process margin will be lowered. Thus, it is difficult both to prevent the manufacture yield from lowering and to improve the display performance.
The present invention has been developed to eliminate the above drawbacks, and its object is to provide a flat panel display device and a method for manufacturing the same, in which the display performance is high and the manufacturing yield is prevented from lowering.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flat panel display device comprising:
a pair of substrates facing each other;
a spacer, made of photosensitive material, for providing a gap between the pair of substrates; and
a display medium arranged in the gap,
at least one of the pair of substrates having a lightproof region including a linear portion, and the spacer being arranged in the linear portion and having a shape a longitudinal axis of which extends along the linear portion and which has a recessed portion narrower than the linear portion.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flat panel display device comprising:
a pair of substrates facing each other;
a spacer, made of photosensitive material, for providing a gap between the pair of substrates; and
a display medium arranged in the gap,
the spacer having a recessed portion in a plan view.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a flat panel display device comprising the steps of:
forming a photosensitive spacer material on a first substrate;
exposing the spacer material using a mask having a predetermined pattern and developing the exposed spacer material; and
adhering the first substrate to a second substrate,
the mask having the predetermined pattern for exposing the spacer material to a shape having a recessed portion in a plan view.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.

Flat panel display device and method for manufacturing the same


A clutch construction has an improved arrangement for pivotally mounting a pair of centrifugally actuated clutch shoes on the drive rotor assembly of the clutch. A backing plate and drive flange are mounted in a spaced axial relationship with respect to each other on a hub of the rotor assembly for rotation with the hub which is adapted to be mounted on a drive shaft of a prime mover. A clutch housing is rotatably mounted on the hub by a bearing ring and is driven by the clutch shoes upon a predetermined shaft speed being reached. A pair of openings are formed in the backing plate located diametrically opposite of each other and are axially aligned with a pair of similar openings formed in the drive flange. A resilient bushing is telescopically mounted in each of the backing plate and drive flange openings to provide a shock-absorbing effect between the clutch shoes pivot pins and the drive flange to prevent fracture of the drive flange. A pivot pin is telescopically mounted in each of the pairs of resilient bushings of the axially aligned backing plate and drive flange openings and projects through an opening formed in each of the clutch shoes for pivotally mounting the clutch shoe between the plate and flange.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to clutches and particularly to clutches which are operated automatically by centrifugal force at a predetermined speed of rotation so as to connect an inner drive rotor assembly to an outer driven member or load. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved mounting arrangement for the centrifugally actuated clutch shoes which absorb the forces heretofore exerted directly on the mounting components, and in addition provide a smooth, low-friction sliding surface between the pivot pin and its mounting components.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are numerous types and arrangements of centrifugal clutch constructions in which one or more clutch shoes are retained in retracted position by springs until sufficient centrifugal force acts on the shoes to overcome the force of the retaining springs, whereupon the clutch shoes pivot and swing outwardly and engage a stationary clutch housing or drum.
Some of these clutch constructions have a pair of arcuate-shaped clutch shoes which are pivotally mounted in an end-to-end relationship with respect to each other by a pair of pivot pins on a backing plate member. The backing plate, in turn, is fixed to a drive shaft or hub for rotation with the drive shaft.
These pivot pins use a simple beam-type mounting arrangement for the clutch shoes, wherein the pivot pin is supported on both ends by the backing plate and an axially spaced drive flange. The pivot pins extend through axially aligned openings formed in the backing plate and drive flange, and through openings formed in the clutch shoes for pivotally mounting the shoe between the backing plate and drive flange.
Problems have occurred in these types of constructions in that considerable forces are exerted directly on the shoes upon the shoes couplingly engaging the driven member. These forces are transmitted through the pivot pins to the backing plate and drive flange. Occasionally, the drive flange will develop cracks or fractures in the metal which surrounds and defines the pivot pin receiving openings. These flanges preferably have as minimal an amount of metal as possible at their outer ends in which the pivot pin openings are formed in order to reduce the weight of the clutch. Either the flange thickness or the amount of flange metal surrounding the pivot pin receiving openings must be increased to prevent this fracturing, thereby undesirably increasing the weight of the clutch. The main problem occurring with these prior constructions is wear. Notches and grooves are worn in the pin, shoe and/or mounting flange, resulting in improper operation or non-function because of resulting clearance problems.
Some clutch constructions use a shock-absorbing bushing that is telescopically mounted on and extends throughout the length of the pivot pin to eliminate this fracturing problem. However, this bushing requires a greater diameter opening to be formed in the clutch shoe through which the pivot pin and surrounding shock-absorbing bushing extend, thereby requiring additional metal and weight in the clutch shoe than would be required if the resilient bushing were not used.
There is no known centrifugal clutch construction of which I am aware which provides for pivotally mounting the clutch shoes on a simple beam-type pivot pin mounting arrangement in which the ends of each pivot pin are telescopically mounted in shock-absorbing bushings which, in turn, are telescopically mounted in openings formed in an axially spaced backing plate and drive flange, and in which the clutch shoe is mounted directly on the pivot pin without any intervening bushing material, thereby reducing the size of the pivot pin receiving opening formed in the clutch shoe.

Centrifugal clutch shoe mounting arrangement


A rotisserie adapter apparatus for use with a cooking device includes an annular cylindrical base. The base has an inner wall about a central opening, the inner wall having a substantially consistent depth about the base. The base also includes a top surface abutting the inner wall and an outer wall abutting the top surface, the outer wall having a depth ranging from a first depth at a front of the base comparable to the depth of the inner wall to a near zero depth at a back of the annular cylindrical base. A bottom surface of the base connects between a bottom of the outer wall and an outer surface of the inner wall. At least two notches are formed in the inner wall, wherein the central opening is positioned between notches, and wherein at least one of the notches extends through the top surface of the cylindrical base.

Rotisserie cooking is a style of roasting where meat is skewered on a spit—a long solid rod used to hold food—while it is being cooked over a fire in a fireplace or over a campfire, or an enclosed cooking device, such as a grill or smoker. One popular use of rotisserie cooking is with cylindrical or egg-shaped grilles and smokers, such as those known within the industry as Kamado grills, which utilize a dome-shaped cover over a cylindrical base. However, problems arise when a rotisserie spit is placed between the cover and the base, because the rotisserie spit prevents the cover from fully closing on the base, thereby allowing heat and smoke to escape from the grill. This loss in insulation quality of the grill decreases cooking temperatures, increases cooking time, and may result in an undesirable cooking system. Similarly, these rounded grills fail to provide other accoutrements for fine grilling, including baskets and diffusers.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

Rotisserie adapter apparatus for use with a cooking device


Method for two-way digital communication between Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) and Data Communication Equipment (DCE), includes a novel command set. The inventive method involves initiating communication by transmitting one command from a set of DTE commands to the command interpreter block. That block interprets the command, and acts on the command, directing the command to the appropriate control block. The control block receiving the decoded command then executes the command by sending a signal representative of the command to a hardware interface device which transmits the signal to the receiving DCE.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of modem communication systems, and more specifically to the field of data terminal equipment (DTE) command sets.
2. Description of Related Art
During the 1970's, a small communications company called Bizcom developed the concept of adding intelligence to Data Communication Equipment (DCE) using codes, referred to as a command set, that governs the operational capability of the modem. Other modem manufacturers developed similarly performing modems. Unfortunately, during the early days of intelligent modems, the command set built into modems manufactured by different vendors typically were incompatible with each other. Thus, many communications software products originally operated only with a specific modem or a few modems, as determined by the command set for the particular modem.
The Hayes Microcomputer Products series of Smartmodems later captured over 50 percent of the personal computer modem market, and its command set became the de facto industry standard. At present, many modem manufacturers cite their products as being "Hayes compatible", which suggests that the product supports at least some of the Hayes modem command set.
The Hayes command set consists of a basic set of commands and command extensions. The basic commands, such as placing the modem off-hook (which occurs when the telephone handset is lifted from its cradle) and dialing a number are common to Hayes and Hayes-compatible modems. Command extensions, such as placing a modem into a specific operating speed or initiating certain features (including data compression or a specific type of error detection and correction) are applicable only to modems built to transmit and receive data at that speed or modems that support the requested feature.
Other modems, such as the commercially available TrailBlazer from Telebit, employ a command set that essentially is a superset of the Hayes command set. Although communications software that uses the Hayes command set operates with the TrailBlazer modem, such software cannot use the full potential of the modem since the Hayes command set does not support several TrailBlazer modem features. To effectively operate the Telebit TrailBlazer or another modem that incorporates special features, software written specifically to support those modem features is required.
The Hayes command set (referred to as the AT command set) provides intelligence only to the DCE like a modem. This command set governs its operational capability, enabling automatic dialing and redialing of telephone numbers, selection of operating transmission rate, and various other intelligent functions.
However, over the past several years, user expectations have increased and equipment including personal computers, terminals, and computer ports are used as an added source of data communications. These equipment are referred to as Data Terminal Equipment (DTE). The physical, electrical, and logical rules for the exchange of data between DTE's and DCE's are specified by an interface standard. The most commonly used interface standard are the Electronic Industries Association (EIA) RS-232-C and RS 232-D standards. These are similar to the CCITT V.24 standard used in Europe and other locations outside of North America. Both the RS-232-C and the RS-232-D formally specify the use of a D-shaped, 25-pin interface connector. The use of the RS-232-C basically has been universal since its publication by the EIA in 1969.
The RS-232 standard defines the interfacing between DTE's and DCE's in the United States. However, there is no standard command set available for the DTE offering similar operational capabilities to the DCE (intelligent) command set. The DCE typically is a separate entity and, as such, is relatively easy to define. On the contrary, the DTE could be a computer, a terminal, or another intelligent equipment. Thus, it has been difficult to clearly isolate the DTE in an intelligent equipment environment. Once the DTE functional block is abstracted out then there is a need for a system, including a standard command set, for digital communication to this DTE functional block in a DTE environment. A command set embodying the present invention will complement the present DCE standard command set.

Method for intelligent data terminal equipment (DTE) data communication


A radiant heating and cooling system clip for positioning a tube and construction support wire with one hand comprising an interior having a main channel for positioning a tube with a narrowing second channel within said main channel for positioning a wire.

1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to an improved clip or fastener. More specifically, the present invention provides a cheap and efficient means to secure tubing commonly associated with radiant heating and cooling systems with wire mesh commonly associated with structural support with concrete in the construction of radiant floor heating and cooling systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Radiant floor heating (RFH) and radiant wall heating (RWH) are techniques of heating rooms in a dwelling or commercial building for human and creature comfort. It is believed by many that radiant heating is the ideal way to warm the human body. Europeans have revitalized a modern form of hydronic radiant floor heating in the last few decades after it had been out of use since the Romans first used warm air floor heating systems in their villas two thousand years ago.
Radiant heating warms the surfaces of a room: the floor, the walls, the furniture, which become heat sinks, slowly giving off their warmth to the cooler surroundings. People and creatures in the room then absorb this heat as needed. It can be compared to walking barefoot on warm earth that has been heated by the rays of the sun when surrounding air temperature is cool; however, as long as there is no breeze, one feels comfortably warm.
Furthermore, in a radiant heating system, the warm temperatures are kept at floor level and radiate up wards; and, since there is no circulating air, there is not a hot pocket of air formed at the ceiling level. With radiant floor heating, one actually experiences cooler temperatures at head level and warmer temperatures at foot level which results in comfort and warmth.
In the past, tubing materials, control devices and proper installation techniques had not been perfected and so radiant heating was not used. However, the present reliability of controls, special installation techniques, and, particularly the development of very strong flexible plastic tubing, called PEX tubing, with its two decade record of successful installations embedded in cement floors, eliminates many causes for concern.
A heating loop may include several heating elements like wall mounted radiators and/or baseboard finned tubing that are the principal heat exchangers of the loop, or the tubing itself may be the principal heat exchanger of the loop. In the latter case the tubing is usually buried in a layer of concrete that forms the floor of a room and so the tubing heats the concrete slab, which is the floor. The concrete that the tubing is buried in is a special kind for the purpose and the heat exchange is principally by conduction and radiation to the concrete, which in turn heats the room by some conduction and convection, but principally by radiation. Similarly, the tubing is sometimes mounted in a wall embedded in a layer of concrete and this is called Radiant Wall Heating (RWH).
In such RFH and RWH systems and other hydronic heating systems using wall radiators and/or baseboard finned tubing elements, the supply water temperature from the boiler which may be regulated for heating. Further, such systems may be used for cooling wherein colder or cool water is run through the system.
In the construction and installation of these systems, it is not unusual for a substantial portion of time being devoted to the placement of the PEX tubing. In the prior art, such placement is routinely time consuming due to the inherit issue of holding a "bend" in the tube without restricting, crushing or otherwise damaging the tube while the concrete is poured and allowed to harden. And although the PEX tubing is flexible, it requires numerous fastening devices to hold the desired pattern in place while the concrete is laid.
In the prior art, it is common to find "zip" ties or tie wraps which require use of two hands to hold the tubing to the mesh while pulling down one end through the holder of the zip tie or tie wrap. This method does not allow for quick use and frequently causes a poor installation when the tie is too tight thereby damaging the tube or otherwise restricting the passageway of the tube. Furthermore, if the tie is not tight enough, it allows too much movement of the tube during the pouring of the concrete which in turn may damage or otherwise impede the passageway of the tubing.
Also in the prior, it is not uncommon to use wire ties. These types of ties are frequently strands of relatively flexible metal wire that may be wrapped around the desired items and then the ends are twisted together to secure the tie. This method also needs two hands to hold the wire, put the ends together and twist the wire ends. Likewise, this method often leads to poor installation when the wire is too tight and thus restricting or damaging the passageway of the tubing or conversely being too lose wherein the tubing is allowed to move from its desired shape during the pouring and setting of the concrete.
Although there are numerous clips and fasteners, the prior art has failed to bridge the gap between industry needs and currently available products. Likewise, there is a desire to improve and facilitate the installation of radiant floor heating and cooling systems in a secure fashion during the construction process. Therefore, an extensive opportunity for advancements and innovation remains where the prior art fails or is deficient.

Radiant floor heating and cooling system clip


A cleaning solvent composition comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of 1H,2H/-hexafluorocyclobutane, 1,2,2,3,3-pentafluoro-cyclobutane, 1,2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5-nonafluorocyclopentane, 1H/2H-octafluorocyclopentane, 1H,2H/-octafluorocyclopentane, 1H/3H-octafluorocyclopentane, 1H,4H,2H/-heptafluorocyclopentane, 1H,2H/4H-heptafluorocyclopentane, 1H,2H,4H/-heptafluorocyclopentane, 1H,3H/2H-heptafluorocyclopentane, 1H,2H/3H-heptafluorocyclopentane and 1H,2H/3H-heptafluorocyclopentane and a method for cleaning or drying acticles employing thereof and use of the composition as a cleaning agent.

When IC components, precision machinery components, etc. are produced, cleaning the components with organic solvent is usuarlly performed heretofore to remove flux, dust, etc. adhered to the components in a process of assembly.
1,1,2-Trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane (hereinafter referred to as R-113) is widely employed as the organic solvent. R-113 is nonflammable, low in toxicity in vivo and excellent in stability. In addition, R-113 has a moderate solubility so that R-113 selectively solubilizes a variety of dirt without attack on metals, plastics, elastomer, etc. When flux on printed-circuit board is cleaned, R-113 is particularly advantageous, because the cleaned articles are composite components made of metals, plastics, elastomer, etc., in most cases.
Since R-113 is suspected of destructing the ozonesphere, as a result, causing cutaneous cancer, utilization of R-113 is gradually controlled.
Cyclic fluorinated hydrocarbons such as 1,1,2,2,3,3-hexafluorocyclopentane disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,757 and 1,1,2,2-tetrafluorocyclobutane disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-140594 are known in addition to R-113 as cleaning solvents.
Since the known cyclic compounds have a number of hydrogen atoms leading to flammability, the compounds may cause a trouble on safety as a cleaning agent when used at elevated temperature and recycled.

Cleaning solvent composition and a method for cleaning or drying articles


A method for reducing a memory map table search time when employing a semiconductor memory device as a temporary memory of large capacity storage device, and a semiconductor memory device therefore, are provided. A MAP RAM is prepared for storing map table data related to the nonvolatile memory area in the volatile memory area. At an initial power-up operation, it is determined whether a logical address is searched for from the map table data while the map table data existing in a map storage area of the nonvolatile memory area is loaded into the MAP RAM. A physical address corresponding to the logical address is provided as an output, when the logical address is searched for. Search time for a memory map table is reduced and read performance in a high speed map information search is increased.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to nonvolatile semiconductor memory, and more particularly, to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device for supporting a high-speed search in cache memory.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recent rapid development of information processing devices such as computers etc. have led to the development of semiconductor memory devices with high speeds and large capacities.
In general, a semiconductor memory device is classified as either a volatile semiconductor memory device or a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device. Examples of volatile semiconductor memory devices include dynamic random access memory and static random access memory.
An example of nonvolatile semiconductor memory device is an EEPROM. Modern EEPROM may be high density and electrically erasable. Moreover, modern applications for EEPROM often involve use in compact portable electronics such as digital cameras and portable computers, where a large amount of data may need to be stored in a relatively small device. Accordingly, EEPROMS having small sizes and high densities are desirable.
Flash EEPROM is classified as NAND, NOR and AND types. NAND-type EEPROMS utilizing a flash erase function may be particularly suited for use as large capacity auxiliary memory owing to their relatively high density as compared to NOR or AND-type EEPROMS.
A configuration of general nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, and a sectional face of memory cells in a memory cell array are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,295,227 issued on Sep. 25, 2001, which is incorporated by reference.
As flash memory becomes more highly integrated and higher speed, flash memory may be applied as a cache memory. Flash memory may be used as a temporary storage space of a large capacity of data storage device such as HDD etc. In such devices, NAND flash memory cell array and an SRAM memory are configured within a single chip, for example, the OneNAND fabricated by Samsung Electronics.
FIG. 1 illustrates an address mapping correlation between a large capacity storage device and a flash memory according to a conventional art.
A hard disk drive (HDD) 10 is a large capacity storage device having a data storage capacity of, i.e., 80 GB to 160 GB, and a OneNAND 100 having a flash memory internal structure is used as a cache memory. Though not shown in FIG. 1, an external host, i.e., micro controller, memory controller, CPU etc., first accesses the OneNAND 100 that functions as a cache memory in reading data stored in the HDD 10. The OneNAND 100 has a logical address and a physical address. Thus, the host first applies a logical address (step S2) to the OneNAND 100 in a data read request (step S1) and then receives a physical address mapped with the logical address from the OneNAND 100, thereby reading data.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, when the flash memory 100 is used as a temporary storage space of the large capacity storage device 10 like in the application to hybrid HDD, the host should decide whether there is read data in flash memory 100 serving as the temporary storage device, in a read request operation. This decision can be obtained by searching for a map table with storage of logical address among data stored in the flash memory 100. Time taken in the map table search lowers a read performance in the application for hybrid HDD.
FIG. 2 illustrates increased map search time in a read time according to a conventional art. A reference character A1 indicates a time interval of table map search, and A2 indicates a time interval of data transmission. With a data capacity of 128 to 256 MB as illustrated in FIG. 1, a data transmission time is about 70 microseconds, while, a table map search time is about 80 microseconds. When representing an overall read operation of FIG. 2 as a data transmission rate, the data transmission rate becomes 26.7 MB/S. As shown in an arrow AR1, the table map search time A1 may be reduced to A10.

Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device for supporting high speed search in cache memory


Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for recovering from false positives of malware detection. Malware signatures that are defective may be causing false positives during software scanning for malware. Such defective malware signatures may be detected (e.g., by user feedback, etc.) and revoked. Computers that are using the malware signatures to detect malware may be notified of the revoked signatures, and may be enabled to re-scan content identified as containing malware using malware signatures that do not include the revoked malware signatures. As such, if the content is determined during the re-scan to not be infected, the content may be re-enabled for usage on the computer (e.g., may be restored from quarantine storage).

Malware (which is an abbreviation of "malicious software") is a term generally used by computer professionals to refer to a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, and/or annoying software or program code. Malware may have the form of code, scripts, active content, and/or other form that is designed to disrupt or deny operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy or exploitation, gain unauthorized access to system resources, and/or perform other abusive behavior. Malware includes various harmful program types, including computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, dishonest adware, scareware, crimeware, most rootkits, etc. A computer that has malware present in storage of the computer may be referred to as an infected computer. When malware is loaded and executed by a computer, the malware are enabled to perform its harmful features.
Computer programs have been developed to prevent, detect, and remove malware from infected computers. Such computer programs may be referred to as anti-virus software or "antimalware." A variety of strategies may be used by antimalware to detect malware on a computer. For instance, signature-based detection may be performed. Signature-based detection involves searching for known patterns of data/code of malware within executable code in storage of the computer.
Antimalware products or tools mistakenly classify a small percentage of non-malicious content as malware. A case where non-malicious content is misclassified as malware may be referred to as a false positive (FP) or false determination. Because most antimalware products are configured to automatically block or remove detected malware, such cases of misclassification can result in significant inconvenience or even irreparable harm for users, including reduced or disabled functionality of their computing devices and/or loss or corruption of data. Such issues can be difficult or even impossible to recover from, and are very difficult to even determine their root cause (i.e., that they were caused by antimalware). As such, it is desired to minimize the impact of false positive determinations of malware.


An automatic object responsive control system for a work implement has a ground penetrating device mounted for sensing subsurface objects, an object detecting device for determining the undesirability of the object, and an implement control system for automatically elevationally raising the implement in response to an undesirable object being located elevationally between the implement and the ground penetrating device. The automatic object responsive control system is particularly suited for use on a geographic surface altering machine.

Devices, such as, ground penetrating radar, metal detectors, to name just a few, have been provided to sense objects buried beneath the surface of the earth. Such devices are normally mounted on a towed or pushed vehicle and moved over the underlying terrain to sense buried objects. Such devices have been used separately or together to improve the accuracy of object sensing. These devices deliver electromagnetic radiation signals and receive a reflection of the signals. Information related to the sensed object, based on signals received, is recorded and analyzed either immediately or at a later date, manually or electronically. The information identifying the object is normally associated with a pulse in a wave form. This information enables the location of the buried object to be marked on the ground surface when excavation or other geographic surface altering operation is to be subsequently performed or to be charted on a subsurface map of buried objects, such as pipes, electrical conduits, steel rod and other subsurface objects for future reference.
Recent developments in hardware and software associated with ground probing radar has improved the speed of ground data signal processing to the point where an object sensed can be displayed or recorded substantially immediately. Also, the accuracy of determining the envelope of the object displayed, based on the processed signals, has improved to the point where even the identity of the object can be manually ascertained.
Geographic surface altering machines, such as, dozers, scrapers, motorgraders, pavement profilers, road reclaimers, just to name a few, operate work in environments in which buried or partially buried objects are present. It is important that such objects are avoided in order that damage to the object or the machine can be prevented.
Attempts to apply ground penetrating object detection technology to geographic surface altering machinery for the purpose of automatically controlling a work implement on the machine has been unsuccessful. One reason for this is that earlier computer technology has not been capable of processing data fast enough to enable a realtime application to implement position control. Further, the physical size of the ground penetrating device has limited the usage to trailer or other mobile carrying vehicles. Recent advancements in the speed of signal processing and the ability to accurately identify subsurface objects has made realtime identification feasible.
The problems of providing a control system that is responsive, accurate, and cost effective is a major concern and has not been demonstrated in the past. Automatic control of the elevational position of a work implement based on an undesirable object being identified in the path of movement of the work implement requires the knowledge of many parameters of operation. Parameters such as, the elevational position of the implement, the rate of travel of the machine, speed of elevational movement of the implement, and the elevational position of the undesirable object relative to the work implement, just to name a few. These parameters along with others must be taken into consideration if automatic control is to be achieved.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.

Object responsive implement control system


A steering column assembly includes a plunger assembly received within an opening defined by a mounting bracket. The plunger assembly includes a sleeve, a plunger, and a biasing member. The sleeve disposed within the opening. The plunger slidably disposed within the sleeve. The biasing member that engages the plunger to bias the plunger towards a deployed position.

The present disclosure relates to a collapsible steering column assembly.
A vehicle steering column assembly may collapse in a controlled manner in the event of a vehicle crash. During a vehicle crash the steering column assembly may collapse to inhibit intrusion of a steering shaft further into the vehicle passenger compartment and may collapse away from an operator of the vehicle. However, during some vehicle collapse events the steering column assembly may rotate up or down

STEERING SOLUTIONS IP HOLDING CORPORATION


In order to appropriately demultiplex the polarization multiplexed BPSK signal without using a training sequence and decreasing the resistance to a frequency offset, an optical receiver includes a coherent optical detection unit receiving an optical signal in which BPSK modulated carrier waves are polarization-multiplexed, performing coherent detection by mixing the received optical signal with local light, and outputting first electrical signals corresponding to the carrier waves; a butterfly FIR filter receiving the first electrical signals and extracting second electrical signals corresponding to each of the carrier waves from the first electrical signals; and a coefficient control unit for calculating a sum of respective phases of the second electrical signals output from the butterfly FIR filter, adaptively controlling tap coefficients of the butterfly FIR filter so that the calculated phase sum may become equal to 0 or π, and outputting tap coefficients after being controlled to the butterfly FIR filter.

A coherent optical receiving system in an optical transmission system has become important with the request for increasing the capacity in the communication environment. In the coherent optical receiving system, information is transmitted by means of applying information to be transmitted to either or both of optical amplitude and optical phase. In order to receive the information applied to the amplitude or the phase, the received light is mixed with local oscillation light whose light frequency is nearly equal to that of the received light, and the interfering light arising from the mixture is detected by an optical detector and transformed into an electrical signal. The transformed electrical signal is digitally processed by a digital signal processing circuit in a following stage, and then a demodulated signal is obtained.
In such optical transmission system, a polarization multiplexing technology, in which two separate signals are multiplexed and transmitted using two orthogonal polarized waves (X and Y) of light, makes it possible to achieve twofold spectrum efficiency compared with that in an optical transmission system using a single polarized wave. In these days, the polarization multiplexing coherent optical receiving technology, therefore, has been used in many optical transmission systems.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a common optical receiving device to which the polarization multiplexing coherent optical receiving system is applied.
An optical receiving device 500 receives, in the coherent receiving system, signal light in which a modulated carrier wave is polarization-multiplexed, as input signal light. As an example of a modulation system, there are a phase-shift keying modulation and a quadrature amplitude modulation. The phase-shift keying modulation is exemplified here as a modulation system.
Signal light propagating through an optical fiber transmission line (not shown) enters a polarization beam splitter 511 in the optical receiving device. The polarization beam splitter 511 splits the entered signal light into an X-component polarized wave and a Y-component polarized wave. Each split component is output to optical hybrid circuits 521 and 522 corresponding to each component. Local oscillation light output from a local oscillation light source 560 is also split into an X-component polarized wave and a Y-component polarized wave by a polarization beam splitter 512 and output to the optical hybrid circuits 521 and 522 corresponding to each component.
Each of the optical hybrid circuits 521 and 522 mixes the input signal light with the local oscillation light, and outputs a couple of light beams whose phase are different from each other by 90 degrees, that is, I (In-phase) component and Q (Quadrature) component.
The I component light and the Q component light are input into O/E (Optical/Electrical) conversion units 531 and 532 respectively, photoelectric-converted and output as analog electrical signals with the gains adjusted. The analog electrical signals are input into A/D (Analog/Digital) conversion units 541 and 542 respectively, sampled at appropriate time intervals and converted into quantized digital signals.
Thus the input optical signal is converted into one digital signal component (IX and QX: In-phase and Quadrature in X polarization) and the other digital signal component (IY and QY: In-phase and Quadrature in Y polarization), and digitally processed by a digital signal processing unit 550.
A polarization state of a signal in the optical fiber transmission line is made to change due to various external factors such as a pressure applied to the optical fiber. As a result, although the signal is multiplexed on the X polarization and the Y polarization respectively as separate signals at the transmitting side, the signal is received at the receiving side including a signal multiplexed in the other side of the X polarization and the Y polarization because a crosstalk arises during the optical fiber transmission. That is to say, the (IX, QX) component and the (IY, QY) component of digital signals before being input into the digital signal processing unit 550 are in an incomplete polarization demultiplexed state. The received signal also includes a transmission distortion due to transmission through the optical fiber.
The digital signal processing unit 550 performs an equalization processing of the digital signal in such state, demodulates the signal which has been modulated and transmitted at the transmission side and outputs the demodulated signal.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a butterfly FIR (Finite Impulse Response) filter used in the digital signal processing unit 550.
The butterfly FIR filter performs the equalization processing for polarization mode dispersion and the polarization demultiplexing, and its function in outline is described below.
The butterfly FIR filter includes FIR filters and a coefficient control units 611 and 612 which generate tap coefficients to provide each FIR filter. Complex adders 631 and 632 are also included which add extracted signals having the same polarization component. In FIG. 2, each of the FIR filters is represented by an hxx filter 621, an hxy filter 622, an hyx filter 623, and an hyy filter 624.
For example, a signal multiplexed on the X polarized wave at the transmission side is represented by h, and a signal multiplexed on the Y polarized wave is represented by v. At the receiving side, as described above, the X polarized wave including the signal v and the Y polarized wave including the signal h are received.
In FIG. 2, a signal corresponding to an electric field of each polarization is input. An X polarization input signal EX is input into the hxx filter 621 and the hyx filter 623, and a Y polarization input signal EY is input into the hyy filter 624 and the hxy filter 622.
By adding the X polarization input signal optimally weighted by the hxx filter 621 to the Y polarization input signal optimally weighted by the hxy filter 622 in the complex adder 631, the signal v multiplexed on the X polarized wave and the signal v multiplexed on the Y polarized wave are canceled, and the signal h is output as the X polarization output signal Ex.
Similarly, by adding the Y polarization input signal optimally weighted by the hyy filter 624 to the X polarization input signal optimally weighted by the hyx filter 623 in the complex adder 631, the signal h multiplexed on the Y polarized wave and the signal h multiplexed on the X polarized wave are canceled, and the signal v is output as the Y polarization output signal Ey.
Thus, the butterfly FIR filter demultiplexes and outputs an original signal multiplexed on each polarized wave so as to output the signal h as the X polarization output signal Ex and the signal v as the Y polarization output signal Ey.
The coefficient control unit 611 and 612 monitor output signals from the complex adders 631 and 632, and always have control to provide adaptively optimum filter tap coefficients, so that the butterfly FIR filter can function as described above.
The polarization state of the signal in the optical fiber transmission line fluctuates fast due to various external factors. In order to control the above-mentioned polarization demultiplexing appropriately, therefore, it is necessary to match the polarization direction of the signal assumed at the receiving side with the polarization direction at the transmitting side in some way. As an algorithm to control tap coefficients for the polarization demultiplexing in such digital signal processing, a CMA (Constant Modulus Algorithm) is commonly known (see Non Patent Literature 1, item 5, for example).
The tap coefficient of the butterfly FIR filter is updated according to the updating rule exemplified in Non Patent Literature 1. The CMA is mainly used in order to demultiplex the signal in which an M-value phase modulation signal with constant amplitude of a signal, in particular, a QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) signal, is multiplexed. The updating the tap coefficient using the CMA is performed so that the amplitude of an output signal may become constant. The updated coefficient of the butterfly FIR filter by that means converges so as to have characteristics reverse to the effect given to a transmission signal in the transmission line, and the polarization demultiplexing and the polarization mode dispersion compensation are carried out.
The Least Mean Square (LMS) algorithm is known as another algorithm used for performing the polarization demultiplexing. This is the algorithm including a decision of a received signal, and it is necessary to secure the convergence of the initial tap coefficient by using a training sequence. The use of such training leads to an increase in a line rate for a constant payload. On the other hand, the CMA is a blind signal processing without the decision of the received signal, and has an advantage in a convergent rate of tap coefficient and its simple configuration.
Patent literature 1 discloses an adaptive blind equalization device which is available for the polarization multiplexing coherent optical receiving device. The adaptive blind equalization device in patent literature 1 can prevent, without providing the training sequence, the problem in the CMA that the output signal of the X polarization component and the output signal of the Y polarization component converge to the same information source. The adaptive blind equalization device appropriately stops and restarts the output of the filter coefficient from a filter coefficient updating unit for the X polarization or one for the Y polarization, which operates independently, so that each output of the polarization components does not converge to the same information source.
Patent literature 2 discloses a filter coefficient adjusting device, in a polarization demultiplexer for an optical coherent receiver, which solves the problem in the CMA that two channels of an output signal converge to the same signal source. The filter coefficient adjusting device adjusts a filter coefficient so that the probability density of the output signal may approach a target of the probability density as much as possible. The target probability density is calculated under the condition that two channels of the signal converge to different sources.
Non Patent Literature 2 points out that, in the polarization demultiplexing system using the CMA, it is impossible to demultiplex appropriately the polarizations of the signal which is multiplexed in the polarization and modulated by the BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying). And Non Patent Literature 2 discloses a technology to solve the problem about the polarization demultiplexing for the BPSK signal by using CMA. The system disclosed in Non Patent Literature 2 utilizes a product of the output signals at two consecutive time points in either the X polarization component or the Y polarization component which is output from a butterfly FIR filter.    Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-253972    Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-296596    Non Patent Literature 1: S. J. Savory, 'Digital filters for coherent optical receivers,' Opt. Express Vol. 16, No. 2, 804 (2008)    Non Patent Literature 2: Meng Yan et al., 'Adaptive Blind Equalization for Coherent Optical BPSK System' ECOC 2010, 19-23 Sep. 2010, Torino, Italy

Optical receiver, polarization demultiplexer, and optical receiving method