A system, method and computer program that enables an application designer to automate the process of software development and develop business applications by modeling the constituent business process models is provided. After identifying the business requirements in terms of the underlying business processes, the same are modeled visually using the inter-relationships across processes. The modeling activity is accomplished by using the visual modeling environment in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, which, among other tools comprises a set of abstract business components. Each business process is viewed as a collection of business tasks. Each business task is modeled as an instance of an abstract business component. The instance acquires process-specific context with process-specific parameters input by the application designer. Such tasks are then connected together as required for the business process. A runtime execution module of the system executes these business processes at the user's request.

The present invention relates to business process automation and management, and deals more particularly with the software development process for automation and management of business processes.
The Software Application Development Landscape
The last couple of decades have seen dramatic changes in the Application Development technology landscape. Application Development technologies have evolved considerably since the early days of computing. There have been major shifts in programming environments, architectures and methodologies as a result of the knowledge gained with each phase of evolution of the application development technologies. Simultaneously, there has been a pervasive impact of the Internet in terms of its demand for technologies and applications to meet the needs of electronic commerce and universal information access.
Changes in the Application Development Technology Landscape can be Organized Along Four Distinct themes.
The first major theme relates to the evolution of computing architecture. Computing architectures have evolved from a highly centralized computing environment (connected with non-intelligent display terminals) to client-server computing (with intelligent personal computers) to network centric architectures achieving greater scalability and flexibility.
The second major change relates to the increasing sophistication and structuring of programming environments. These programming environments have evolved from unstructured programming approaches to structured programming to object oriented approaches combined with the widespread adoption of Graphical User Interfaces (GUI).
The third major change has been the steady innovation in hardware technologies resulting in continual improvement in the price/performance ratio of computing hardware. Today, a low-cost server can be used to perform the function that would have required an expensive mainframe just 10 years ago.
The fourth major change is related to the increased adoption of disciplined methodologies aimed at reducing the software development lifecycle (SDLC) on the one hand and increasing the quality and predictability of software delivery on the other. Notable here is the emergence of the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) and the more recent emergence of Rational Unified Process (RUP) and the Unified Modeling Language (UML).
During the late 80s and early 90s, there was an unprecedented wave of adoption of client-server applications (such as Enterprise Resource Planning and Consumer Relationship Management) by a majority of large enterprises, often on a global scale. This adoption was based on a broad-based premise that this generation of applications was more flexible as compared to legacy applications and would therefore allow enterprises much greater flexibility in conducting their businesses.
As client-server applications were being deployed across enterprises, the shortcomings of the client-server architecture started surfacing. It was found that the client-server applications yielded heavy, unwieldy clients and the server side technologies were generally found wanting in terms of performance and scalability. While many server side technology vendors, both hardware and software, have responded to these concerns adequately, the relatively high maintenance associated with heavy client applications led to the recognition that a superior approach may be to evolve thinner clients and create additional architectural tiers to allow greater scalability with reduced maintenance.
More recently, in the last couple of years, the introduction of a network-centric computing paradigm with the now ubiquitous 'browser' and the promise of platform neutral computing with Java™ (and now C#) is leading to a newer generation of applications and technologies, e.g. mySAP™.
Impact of the Internet on Application Development
Quite apart from the impact that the commercialization of the Internet is having on Application Development technologies and applications, it is believed that the Internet has had the following three types of impacts on businesses in general—providing greater transparency in all aspects of commerce, providing the impetus for corporations to streamline internal processes and acting as a catalyst for the accelerated development of newer technologies to meet the needs of Internet commerce.
Clearly, the Internet has had a profound impact on every aspect of business and personal life. Notwithstanding the irrational exuberance that accompanied the first phase of widespread Internet adoption, it is believed that the Internet is a disruptive innovation that is causing profound changes in the way commerce is conducted.
The Software Development Lifecycle and Application Development
Software development has evolved from an idiosyncratic art to an engineering discipline. The days of learning the art from a master craftsman have given way to structure, standards and the disciplines akin to engineering science. A conventional SDLC is illustrated in FIG. 1 and is described below.
An SDLC consists of many stages as an idea gets converted into a software application. At each stage, output from the previous stage is translated to serve the purpose and audience of the current stage. These translations are necessary so that ultimately a translation capable of being acted on by a computer can be produced. With each successive translation, there is an obvious need to preserve full information and knowledge from the previous stage. At a minimum, this need creates a significant amount of overhead and also slows down the process.
Over the years, there has been a substantial amount of effort in making the SDLC effective, fast and predictable. Such efforts can be classified into two major categories. In the first category are the methodological approaches aimed at improving the communication and translation between the various stages of the lifecycle by standardizing them and at eliminating the redundancies across Application Development efforts. In the second category, automation approaches aimed at automating one or more stages of the SDLC are included.
The focus of the methodological approaches has been to evolve the SDLC to an engineering science to increase the predictability and reliability of software development, in general. Earlier methodologies prescribed a waterfall approach to software development, which effectively called for detailing all the requirements up front in order to create a stationery target for the developers. However, there has been overwhelming evidence that static, waterfall approach to software development does not yield successful results. More details on the methodological approaches are provided in 'Decline and Fall of the American Programmer', by Edward Yourdon, Prentice Hall, 1992.
The current belief is that an iterative and an object oriented approach for design and development holds the promise of yielding a more effective approach to Application Development.
As competing methodologies evolved with their proprietary models and deliverables, the Unified Modeling Language (UML) has gained momentum as a common modeling language, separate and independent of various proprietary methodologies. The purpose behind UML is to evolve a common modeling language without constraining the development of unique methodological approaches. More details on UML are provided in UML 1.4, Object Management Group, Needham, Mass.
Automation efforts largely began with automated code generation and testing tools. There are several effective automated testing tools available today. While these tools can reduce the physical testing effort significantly, they are still predicated on the creation of test cases, which, in itself is a tedious and a time consuming task. The focus of testing tools is on reducing the effort required for testing, especially for subsequent versions and releases, and not on eliminating the need for testing. Tools that attempt to automate the creation of test cases from requirements models are being developed nowadays. These sets of tools reduce the effort required to create the test cases.
There is a long history of automated code generation efforts with a variety of Computer Aided Systems Engineering (CASE) tools emerging in the 80s. These tools, however, did not achieve widespread adoption as they were based on relatively weak conceptual models. More recently, there has been a revival in such tools in the context of a more robust methodological basis (for example, the UML). Recent efforts have focused on encapsulating and implementing UML compatible tools. Some examples of such efforts have resulted in solutions such as Togethersoft®, Rational Rose™ and Neuvis.
Current Issues in Application Development
While today's Application Development technologies are clearly a significant improvement over technologies 5 to 10 years ago, several fundamental issues such as time to market, the lack of a process-centric approach, the need to cope with the rapid changes in technology environments and standards, the availability of skilled resources, and others still present significant challenges.
Time to Market
The time to market is probably the most vexing of all the issues. The speed with which applications are built has always been a thorny issue in computing in general. Multi-year Application Development efforts were not uncommon in large enterprises. However, such durations have become unacceptable as they put organizations at a serious disadvantage.
Businesses have become much more dynamic, global and require the ability to be mobile and conduct business transactions anywhere and anytime. Such demands have accentuated the time to market issue even more in the last several years. The commonly held view among industry analysts is that companies must be able to create and evolve business processes and applications in response to rapid changes in the industry or customer demand in order to thrive and/or survive. Traditional development methodologies cannot produce applications or their modifications fast enough.
Thus, there is a need for Application Development cycles not only to be rapid but also flexible so that changes could be made equally rapidly.
Function-Centric Versus Process-Centric Focus
There is another major issue that Application Development technologies have not yet addressed. Most approaches to Application Development are functionally oriented. Process, often thought of as workflow, is mistakenly viewed as distinct and separate from functions or tasks. This is a major weakness in the current approaches.
Businesses can be viewed simply as a collection of business processes. A business process is a set of interrelated tasks that are performed in some order by a combination of humans and machines. A process can typically involve one or more functions. A business's objective is to maintain business processes at optimal levels. Most Application Development technologies do not provide an environment that promotes a process centric development strategy. They either tend to be user-centric or function-centric. This invariably leads to an inability to deal with business process changes and probably is the single greatest source of inflexibility in current tools.
Resource Availability
The third major issue with Application Development is the availability of trained resources. There is a general shortage of adequately trained resources and this greatly contributes to the delays and failures in Application Development projects commonly experienced by organizations. Compounding this issue is the rapid obsolescence of skill sets with newer technologies. Just a few years ago, C++ programmers were sought after and now they have to retool themselves to be Java™ programmers. The rate at which new skills get absorbed to create a critical mass of appropriate resources is much slower than the demand for such resources.
Even though the subsequent slow down in the U.S. economy and the slower proliferation of e-commerce than originally envisioned has alleviated the resource shortage, it is still acute and an endemic issue as technology evolves.
Heterogeneity and Rate of Change in Technology Environments
In the last two decades, we have seen a dramatic increase in the rate at which new products and technologies have been introduced. The commercialization of the Internet has also served as an added stimulus in this regard. The heterogeneity in the technology infrastructure is often a major issue in most corporations and often influences their purchasing decision in favor of one technology over another. A heterogeneous infrastructure introduces additional overhead and yet, the organization has to balance a unified infrastructure with availability of the desired functionality on that infrastructure.
In the 80s, organizations were faced with the task of having to choose client and server operating systems. Organizations were faced with the choice of choosing a platform that will survive and keep pace with their needs. Today, that market seems somewhat less fragmented with Windows™ holding a very large market share in the client side, and a mix of Windows™ and Unix™ on the server side. Similar choices have to be made on the hardware side.
The issues today seem to have shifted to Application Development technologies. There are competing development standards (e.g., J2EE™, .NET), messaging vendors, and databases to choose from. There are also the constantly evolving architectural standards, issues of flexibility and integration with legacy applications. Technology organizations have to constantly evolve a migration strategy maintaining a balance between what they already have and the new developments with future benefits.

Business process technology for the enterprise


A thermoelectric conversion module package includes: a thermoelectric conversion module including a first and a second substrate opposed to each other, a plurality of thermoelectric elements arranged between the first and second substrates, and a first and a second lead wire drawn out from one of the first and second substrates; and a package including a first metal foil covering the first substrate of the thermoelectric conversion module, a second metal foil covering the second substrate of the thermoelectric conversion module, a resin portion hermetically connecting the first metal foil and the second metal foil along an outer edge portion of the thermoelectric conversion module, and an insertion portion for hermetically passing the first and second lead wires through the resin portion.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermoelectric conversion module package in which a thermoelectric conversion module is sealed with a package.
Description of Related Art
A thermoelectric conversion module can be used as a cooling module utilizing the Peltier effect of a thermoelectric material or as a power generation module utilizing the Seebeck effect of a thermoelectric material. With the expansion of applications of thermoelectric conversion modules, thermoelectric conversion modules have come to be used in various environments. In a thermoelectric conversion module, performance deteriorates due to oxidation and corrosion of the thermoelectric material.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2006-49872 discloses a thermoelectric conversion module capable of preventing oxidation and corrosion of the thermoelectric material. This thermoelectric conversion module has a structure hermetically sealed with a package constituted from a metallic cooling plate covering the low-temperature side substrate and a metallic lid covering the high-temperature side substrate. Therefore, in this thermoelectric conversion module, since the thermoelectric material does not come into contact with the external environment, excellent environmental resistance can be obtained.
In the thermoelectric conversion module according to the above document, the metallic cooling plate and the metallic lid are joined by means such as welding or the like. Therefore, in this thermoelectric conversion module, since the metallic cooling plate and the metallic lid are thermally connected, it is difficult for a temperature difference to arise between the low temperature-side substrate and the high temperature-side substrate. As a result, in this thermoelectric conversion module, cooling performance and power generation performance are greatly reduced.
Further, in the thermoelectric conversion module according to the above document, lead wires are drawn out from the metallic lid. Since both the lead wires and the metallic lid are made of metal, in this thermoelectric conversion module a constitution is required for electrically insulating the lead wires and the metallic lid and for hermetically sealing the lead wires and the metallic lid. For this reason, in this thermoelectric conversion module, the manufacturing process becomes complicated and the manufacturing cost increases.

Thermoelectric conversion module package


Coordinated with the detectors of a computer system for tomography is a multimicroprocessor which contains a computer module with a microprocessor as well as coupling, program, and data memories for each individual detector. Coordinated with the identical computer modules is one common control computer which carries out the individual phases of the image reconstruction in a three-phase operation (SMS system) permitting a transverse body section in which the information from each of the scans is processed simultaneously to be constructed in only a few seconds.

This invention relates to a computer system for the image synthesis of a transverse body section with image elements which are successively penetrated by the rays in the image plane in various directions, and detected by an arrangement of several detectors in general and more particularly to an improved computer system of this nature.
A computer system for image synthesis is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,983,398. Producing tomographic X-ray pictures by digital computing methods requires extensive computation. The computations include filtering the sequence of input signals from the individual exposures, computation of the correlated image element addresses, and adding both the image information and image corrections. More than five minutes are needed by a conventional small computer to produce a tomograph picture of, say, 160.times.160 image elements.

Computer system for the image synthesis of a transverse body section and method for the operation of the computer system


An output stage device for an enhanced differential current switch. The output stage receives a differential signal pair from a prior logic stage and must shift the output signals to the levels necessary for the next stage. The output stage has a differential pair of emitter followers that are capacitively cross coupled. Capacitors couple the collector of a first transistor to the emitter of the second. The capacitors can be formed from forward biased diodes or transistors. The result is a more rapid falling output transition while reducing power requirements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to solid state digital logic circuits and particularly to bipolar, emitter coupled logic (ECL) circuits. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements to differential current switch (DCS) logic circuits.
2. Background and Related Art
Digital logic circuits in current generation computers are frequently implemented as VLSI circuits. Bipolar emitter coupled logic (ECL) circuits predominate and are found in, for example, the IBM ES/9000 series of large computers.
Circuit designers are continually seeking to increase the speed of the logic circuits and to reduce the power consumed by such circuits. Power consumption is particularly critical in circuits having high logic density due to the resulting heat dissipation that must be removed by cooling apparatus.
Differential current switch logic (DCS) circuits have been proposed to increase circuit speed without an accompanying increase in power. U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,289, to Eichelberger et al. (commonly assigned) for a "Two Level Differential Cascode Current Switch Masterslice" is an example of such a circuit and is a "Two Level Differential Cascode Current Switch Masterslice" is an example of such a circuit and is incorporated by reference. The DCS circuit described in Eichelberger et al. improves switching speed by up to twenty percent without an increase in power.
DCS devices have been enhanced over the '289 design by incorporating a third cascode level and the circuitry necessary to provide input and output signals to each circuit level. The structure of an enhanced DCS (EDCS) circuit is shown in FIG. 1. The output performance of most VLSI circuit technologies like EDCS is a strong function of the capacitive load or fanout of the output. The output stage 16 provides the circuitry to meet output load requirements.

Capacitively cross-coupled DCS emitter-follower output stage

International Business Machines Corporation


A method of selectively applying a coating to either the upper or lower surface of a bilevel substrate. The method includes the steps of applying a layer of photoresist over the substrate and moving a doctor blade across the substrate, thereby removing the photoresist from the upper surface while leaving it on the lower surface. The photoresist is then hardened by drying and/or curing. The photoresist is then used to facilitate removal of the coating from either the upper or lower surface of the bilevel substrate.

It is known that a photosensitive material, such as photoresist, may be employed to selectively apply a coating to portions of a substrate. Such methods typically begin by depositing a coating, such as a conductor, onto a substrate. This coating typically covers the entire substrate surface and requires selective removal in order to pattern the coating. Next, a photoresist is coated onto the substrate. A mask is then placed over the substrate to define the desired pattern. Light rays are directed toward the mask, and those portions of the photoresist that are not covered by the mask are exposed to the light while portions which are covered by the mask are not. Either the exposed or unexposed portions of the photoresist are then removed, depending upon whether a "positive" or "negative" type of photoresist is used. Those portions of the coating which are no longer covered by the photoresist may then be removed, such as by chemical etching or other means. The remaining photoresist is then removed, leaving only the coating covering the desired locations on the substrate.
The mask method described above may also be used to remove a coating from either the upper or lower levels of a bilevel substrate. However, this requires both the creation of a mask capable of achieving a pattern identical to the physical pattern of the bilevel substrate and the ability to properly align the mask in registration with the physical pattern of the substrate surface. The disadvantage of this approach is that as the distances between the raised portions of the substrate become increasingly small (e.g., on the order of 500 .mu.m or less), the problem of aligning the mask and the substrate surface becomes increasingly large. In addition, the processes of mask alignment, exposure, and photoresist removal are both time consuming and prone to produce defects in the resultant patterned coating due to process variability.

Method of selectively applying a coating to a bilevel substrate

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


Printers, methods, and apparatus to filter imaging oil are disclosed. An example apparatus to filter imaging oil, includes adjacent electrodes and a switching circuit. The example switching circuit selectively generates an electrostatic field between the adjacent electrodes to cause particles suspended in the imaging oil between the adjacent electrodes to adhere to at least one of the adjacent electrodes, and generates an alternating electric field between the adjacent electrodes to cause the particles to be detached from the adjacent electrodes.

In some printers, a photo imaging plate is used to transfer ink to a print substrate to form an image. Ink is applied directly to the photo imaging plate, which then applies the ink to the print substrate. This method of printing is very flexible and can create many copies of one or more images.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A series of the performance data is stored in one or more blocks composing a memory block chain of a memory. The performance order of the blocks is specified by management information stored in a table. For data-inserting editing, any of the blocks available in the memory is secured as an additional block, and the management information stored in the table is rewritten in such a manner that the additional block is connected next to a specific block corresponding to a desired inserting position in the memory block chain. The performance data stored in the specific block corresponding to the desired inserting position is divided into a preceding data group located before the inserting position and into a succeeding data group located after the inserting position, and the succeeding data group is copied into the additional block. In this way, a region of the specific block which succeeds the inserting position, and a region of the additional block which precedes the storage locations for the succeeding data group become the available storage locations. Thus, available storage locations which together correspond in size exactly to a single block are created in the specific and additional blocks, and data to be inserted can be written in these available storage locations. Consequently, it is possible to eliminate the need for rewriting data of other blocks composing the memory block chain, and thus a time for the editing can be reduced.

The present invention relates generally to automatic performance devices which carry out automatic music performance by reading out performance data prestored in memory, and more particularly to a method for storing and editing performance data in an automatic performance device.
As commonly known, automatic performance devices are such devices which prestore in memory performance information such as pitch, tone generation/tone-deadening timing, etc. for each note of desired music pieces and perform automatic performance by sequentially reading out the prestored performance information to generate tone.
One typical example of various known methods of storing and reproducing the performance information in the automatic performance devices is the so-called "note system", where note data comprised of tone pitch and duration data are stored into memory in accordance with the progress of a music piece, and in subsequent reproduction, each note data is read out when a time represented by preceding tone duration data has passed. This system, however, has a drawback that it can not effectively deal with simultaneous generation of plural tones because each note data is read out after preceding note data is read out. Japanese patent publication No. 4-5996 discloses such an automatic performance device as described above.
A second example is the so-called "event system", where note information comprised of event data and event data generation timing data are prestored in accordance with the progression of a music piece. The event data are classified into the following two types in terms of a manner in which they are stored:
(1) Event data that represents one note by two events, key-on and key-off events and is comprised of key-on and key-off data and data indicative of the pitch of the key; and PA1 (2) Event data that represents one note by one event and is comprised of key-on data and data indicative of the pitch of the key and duration. PA1 (1) Timing data that represents timing by an absolute time value from the beginning of a music piece or a measure; and PA1 (2) Timing data that represents timing by a relative time value between current and preceding event data.
In addition to the key-on and key-off data, etc., the event data includes other data such as tone color change data, pitch bend data and tempo change data.
Further, the event data generation timing data are classified into the following two types in terms of a manner in which they are stored:
Ordinarily, the timing data is expressed in unit called "clock", and this clock corresponds to a minimum resolution of the timing data. One clock is usually set to 1/24, 1/96, 1/381 or the like of a quarter note. When it is desired to change tempo in the automatic performance devices, it suffices to only adjust the clock frequency.
Moreover, the conventional methods for storing performance information include a real-time recording system which records in real-time performance information generated from an actual performance of an electronic musical instrument, and a step recording system which records performance information by designating the pitch and duration of each note.
For plural-part automatic performance, plural performance tracks are provided in corresponding relations to plural performance parts, and performance information for the individual tracks are read out in parallel independently of each other. Such reading of the performance information for the plural tracks is typically done by time-divisional processing.
In the above-mentioned automatic performance devices, it may sometimes be desired to make editing (modification, addition etc.) on the performance information stored in memory, and in such a case, the editing operation is performed in a manner as shown in FIG. 16. In FIG. 16A, the memory space comprises regions 100, 101 and 102, and it is assumed that music data "A" and "B" as performance information are stored in the regions 100 and 101, respectively, and the region 102 is an empty region C. When it is desired to add music data to locations succeeding a specific address designated by a pointer, a lowest line of the music data B written in the region 101 is written into an address of the empty region 102, and a second line from the lowest line is written into one address preceding the above-mentioned address. Then, by repeating these operations, the entire music data B are copied into the region 102 in a downward shifting fashion. Thus, as shown in FIG. 16B, a predetermined data inserting region D is formed below the music data A, and then, the editing is performed by writing into the data inserting region D music data to be added. By this editing process, the memory space is reformed so as to comprise a region 103 containing the music data A and data inserting region, the region 102 containing the music data B, and a narrowed region 104 corresponding to the empty region C.
However, if the region 101 containing the music data B is large in size, it would take a long time to copy the music data. Further, during the copying of the music data, no other operation can be performed, and hence the long copying time during the editing is not at all preferable to the user.
In addition, unless the size of the data insertion region D is not known in advance, the repetitive music data D sometimes have to be moved after having been copied, and this would require an even longer copying time.

Method of storing and editing performance data in an automatic performance device


A mirror assembly capable of providing an image of high or low brightness is pivotally supported by a housing or other stationary support, for movement between two operating positions to provide the high and low brightness images. For automatic actuation of the mirror assembly, a light sensitive element is provided which on sensing a change in the intensity of incident light, energizes an electromagnet or electromagnets affixed to either of the mirror assembly and the stationary support. The energized electromagnet or electromagnets attract and/or repel a permanent magnet or magnets affixed to the other of the mirror assembly and the stationary support. Normally, the core of the electromagnet or of one of the electromagnets is held attracted by the permanent magnet or by one of the permanent magnets to retain the mirror assembly in a selected one of the operating positions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to mirrors, and more specifically to a rearview mirror to be mounted in any convenient location interiorly or exteriorly of an automotive vehicle. Still more specifically, the invention is directed to an antiglare rearview mirror mechanism for protecting the driver's eyes from glare, particularly headlight glare from following vehicles, by automatically providing a reflected image of high or low brightness depending upon the intensity of light impinging thereon.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The proper perception of traffic activity to the rear of the vehicle through the rearview mirrors is one of the essentials of driving safety. During night driving, however, the driver's visibility is seriously affected by the glare from following vehicle headlights reflected by the rearview mirrors into his eyes. The glare can reduce or disable the driver's vision not only of the rear traffic events but further of the roadway ahead.
In an attempt to minimize such glare, U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,122 to Stern discloses a rearview mirror assembly including a mirror element which is manually moved between two positions to produce reflected images of different intensity. The mirror element is retained in either position by permanent magnets attached thereto and to its housing. This prior art device is subject to the objection that it requires manual actuation, imposing an additional duty on the driver and possibly detracting his attention from driving.
The above drawback is totally absent from the automatic antiglare mirror disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,859 to Sharett. According to this Sharett patent, a mirror element pivoted within a housing is normally spring retained in one of its operating positions. Automatic actuation of the mirror element is effected by a photocell which on sensing an increase in the intensity of light falling thereon, energizes electromagnets attached to the mirror element and to the housing. Thus energized, the electromagnets function to move the mirror element to the other operating position against the force of the spring, resulting in the attenuation of the reflected light.
This prior art automatic antiglare mirror has its own disadvantages, however. First, the spring in use must be of sufficiently heavy make to positively retain the mirror element in its normal operating position in spite of vibrations produced by the vehicle running. Thus, in the event of glare, the electromagnets must be fed with electrical energy sufficiently great to pivot the mirror element against the force of the spring.
The energy requirement of the antiglare mirror according to the Sharett patent is further augmented by the face that the electromagnets must be held energized as long as the intensity of the incident light remains high. The electrical energy fed to the electromagnets during the prolonged presence of the glare source must also be sufficiently great to overcome the force of the spring tending to return the mirror element to its normal position. In the worst case, therefore, the coils of the electromagnets may overheat or break down.
As an additional disadvantage the Sharett antiglare mirror is not adaptable for manual actuation of its mirror element. Such manual actuation, in addition to automatic actuation, adds to the utility of antiglare rearview mirrors for automative use.


A kit for preparing a processing liquid for use in preparing a lithographic printing plate according to silver salt diffusion transfer processing, and comprising all necessary active compounds for preparing said processing liquid, said active compounds including a solid hydrogensulphite amine complex or a solid sulphurdioxide amine complex, said amine of said complexes being capable of acting as a silver halide solvent.

The principles of the silver complex diffusion transfer reversal process, hereinafter called DTR-process, have been described e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 2,352,014 and the book "Photographic Silver Halide Diffusion Processes" by Andr e Rott and Edith Weyde--The Focal Press--London and New York, (1972).
According to the DTR process, a silver complex salt is image-wise transferred by diffusion from the image-wise exposed silver halide emulsion layer into the image receiving layer, where it is converted to a silver image usually in the presence of physical development nuclei. For this purpose, the image-wise exposed silver halide emulsion layer is developed in the presence of a developing agent and non-developed silver halide is converted by means of a silver halide complexing agent into a soluble silver complex salt while in contact with an image receiving layer.
A DTR-image bearing material an be used as a planographic printing plate wherein the DTR-silver image areas form the water-repellant ink-receptive areas on a water-receptive ink-repellant surface. The DTR-image can be formed in the image-receiving layer of a sheet or web material which is a separate element with respect to the photographic silver halide emulsion material (a so-called two-sheet DTR element) disclosed in e.g. DE-A-2.346.378 or in the image-receiving layer of a so-called single-support-element, also called mono-sheet element, which contains at least one photographic silver halide emulsion layer integral with an image-receiving layer in water permeable relationship therewith. It is the latter mono-sheet version which is preferred for the preparation of offset printing plates by the DTR method.
In order to prepare a lithographic printing plate from a monosheet DTR imaging element, the imaging element is developed in an alkaline processing liquid subsequent to an image-wise exposure. Preferably, the obtained plate is Subsequently stabilised using a stabilising liquid that reduces the surface pH of the plate after the alkaline development. An alkaline processing liquid generally comprises as active compounds, an inorganic alkali, a hydrophobizing agent, an inorganic sulphite and a silver halide solvent. Optionally, the alkaline processing liquid also comprises a developing agent. The stabilising liquid generally has a pH between 4 and 7, conveniently achieved with a buffer, and preferably also comprises a hydrophobizing agent.
A substantial waste of packaging, generally in plastic form, is generated by shipping the processing liquids in ready-to-use form thereby presenting an ecological disadvantage and causing inconvenience for customers using substantial volumes.
Accordingly, the need exists for bringing one or more processing liquids in a more concentrated and convenient form. In the past, proposals have been made to freeze dry or spray-dry a processing liquid so that it can be shipped in a solid form and dissolved in e.g. water when needed. However, Such procedure is not appropriate in case the processing liquid comprises an amine as a silver halide solvent because the latter is generally liquid at ambient temperature so that after freeze-dry or spray-dry a paste, which is inconvenient to handle, results.
JP 06-118575 discloses that an alkanolamine, also called aminoalcohol, may be solidified by adding a lewis acid such as HCl or H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 thereto. However, when an alkanolamine/HCl or an alkanolamine/H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 complex is dissolved together with the other active compounds of the processing liquid, a processing liquid is obtained that does not always yields printing plates with good performance, in particular not when processing under critical conditions such as fast processing or when the liquid has been in use for some time and becomes exhausted to some extend.

Kit for making a processing liqiud for processing a lithographic printing plate


An external trigger method in a magnetic resonance inspection apparatus includes the steps of inputting collectively imaging control data including an imaging portion of a subject, the kind of sequences, a time interval between the sequences and the number of times of repetition of the sequences, executing a pre-processing sequence corresponding to the imaging sequence set to be first executed, and checking whether the time interval until the start of the imaging sequence to be next executed is set to a predetermined value. The imaging sequence is started by an external trigger when the time interval is set to the indefinite value. The imaging sequence is started after the passage of the time of the predetermined value when the time interval is set to the predetermined value.

This invention generically relates to a magnetic resonance inspection apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to an external trigger imaging method and apparatus in a magnetic resonance inspection apparatus which will be suitable for the preparation of a plurality of slice images by continuous imaging, and which can facilitate breath holding scan imaging for reducing body motion-induced artifacts.
An ordinary imaging process in a conventional magnetic resonance inspection apparatus involves the steps of determining an inspection sectional plane or planes (slice plane(s)) of a subject, setting a sequence condition, starting a data fetch sequence by a scan start command by an operator and forming various images. In this case, imaging is generally carried out continuously by gradually changing the slice position of the subject and a plurality of sectional plane images are formed. This method is referred to as a "plurality-of-slices imaging".
Conventionally, the time required for imaging one slice image, for example, has been longer in the magnetic resonance inspection apparatus than in an X-ray CT, or the like. Particularly when those portions of a patient which move with his breathing such as the abdomen are to be imaged, therefore, body motion of the patient occurs unavoidably during the imaging process for a long time, and artifacts which result from breathing motion have been a serious problem. As to this problem, high speed imaging has been achieved in recent years and breath holding imaging has become possible with the reduction of the imaging time by the patient cooperation of holding his breath during imaging. Thus, the reduction of the artifacts have become technically possible.
An example of the timing chart of the conventional sequence for imaging a plurality of slice images is shown in FIG. 1 and the problems with the conventional method will be explained with reference to this timing chart. In the imaging process for imaging a plurality of slice images in the timing chart shown in FIG. 1, setting is made to image six slice images, for example. As other conditions, a scan parameter TR or in other words, the period of an RF (Radio Frequency) pulse is set to 240 ms, a data collection matrix is set to 256.times.256 and the number of times of integration of imaging under the same condition for improving an S/N ratio is set to once. The conventional process for imaging a plurality of slice images is constituted so as to sequentially obtain imaging data from slices 1 to 6 by setting a scan parameter TR to 240 ms.
In other words, since the data are measured in the sequence of 1, 2, 3, . . . , n as shown in FIG. 2, the scan time of 61.5 seconds is necessary to obtain the data for forming the images of the slice 1 to 6 by the calculation 0.24.times.256.times.1. This time is the inspection time required for the patient. In this manner, the conventional imaging sequence method needs a long inspection time and breath holding imaging of an ordinary patient is not practically possible. This problem cannot be solved so easily even if the imaging time can be shortened to certain extents.
In the imaging method in the conventional magnetic resonance inspection apparatus, the imaging sequence is operated by the "scan start" instruction of the operator. In this case, even if breath holding imaging becomes possible by high speed imaging, the breath holding timing must be given by the operator to the patient due to the structural limitation of the conventional apparatus. Since the magnetic resonance inspection apparatus operates in accordance with the control sequence that is in advance set for imaging, on the other hand, it is extremely difficult to establish synchronization between the instruction of the operator and the operation of the apparatus, and to time the breath holding timing.
The use of a contrast medium for magnetic resonance imaging has been permitted recently and imaging by the use of the contrast medium has been carried out to improve the contrast inside a tissue having a small difference of signal parameters. In such an imaging process, imaging must be carried out a plurality of times at certain intervals after the administration of the contrast medium so as to measure the changes of contrast due to the contrast medium with the passage of time. In this case, the imaging condition for each imaging sequence must be set whenever the predetermined time elapses and this increases the burden of the operator.
When a plurality of slice images are to be taken, the repetition time of each sequence is set in accordance with the number of slices, so that the imaging time gets elongated and breath holding imaging becomes practically impossible.
When one sectional image is taken by high speed imaging as shown in FIG. 3, pre-processing sequence (such as the optimization of the application of a gradient magnetic field, the RF irradiation system and the RF reception system) must be incorporated before the imaging sequence in the high speed imaging process by the conventional magnetic resonance inspection apparatus. If breath holding scan imaging is effected in this case, the patient cannot easily catch the optimum timing for breath holding but moves during the imaging sequence.

External trigger imaging method and apparatus in magnetic resonance inspection apparatus


A block based hybrid compression method with compression ratio control. The input page is classified as SOLID, TEXT, SATURATED TEXT or IMAGE type, and the compression method most appropriate for each class is chosen on a block by block basis. The compression methods shown include Block Truncation Coding, Lossy or Lossless Differential Pulse Code Modulation, Run Length Coding and Discrete Cosine Transforms, but other algorithms may also be used. The compression ratio is dynamically controlled by selection of the compression algorithm, and by the adjustment of control parameters on a block by block or a row of blocks basis. The methods shown will execute very efficiently on a Texas Instruments TMS302C82 multiprocessing Digital Signal Processor.

This invention relates in general to the field of image compression and decompression, and more particularly to a method of compressing an image to a specified compression ratio where the image consists of text, graphics and image objects and then decompressing the image in real time.
When printing a document, the page to be printed is typically composed electronically using software like QuarkXpress, Framemaker, etc. Internally the page is stored in a vector based graphical representation by these composition tools. This representation is then usually converted to another representation called a Page Description Language (PDL). Some composition tools generate the PDL directly. To print the page, the PDL representation is sent to the printer directly, or through a network. Before display or printing, a Raster Image Processor (RIP) must convert the PDL representation of the page to a raster (bitmap) representation at the desired resolution.
This conversion process can usually be divided into two stages: interpretation and rendering. Interpretation is the process where the original page description is reduced to a series of drawing primitives called the display list. Rendering is the process where these drawing primitives are converted to a bitmap in the frame buffer.
At high resolutions, a significant amount of memory is required to store this bitmap image. As an example, an 8.5xe2x80x3xc3x9711xe2x80x3 (i.e. A4 size) page at a resolution of 600 Dots per Inch (dpi), 8 bits/pixel and 4 color planes will require 128 MB of frame buffer memory.
In order to reduce the memory requirement, the page may be divided into smaller portions or bands, with the band size being determined by the available frame buffer memory. Each band is then converted to bitmap form and passed on to the exposure module of the printer to make space for the subsequent bands.
Since in a typical non-impact printer the exposure module has to be fed with bitmap data at regular intervals, each band must be rendered in a predefined time. As rendering is computationally intensive and is influenced by the page content, such real-time rendering may not be possible for complex bands. In some cases real-time rendering may not be possible even though the bands are not complex. If the available memory is limited, there may not be sufficient room to store the original display list and other information required for rendering the page. If this is the case, each band must be pre-rendered, compressed and stored. After all the bands have been processed and compressed, they are decompressed in real time and fed to the exposure module.
There are various methods that may be employed to compress the rendered image. To maintain maximum image quality, a lossless or low loss method is preferred. Unfortunately, the amount of compression attainable with most of these methods is highly dependent on the page contentxe2x80x94some pages will compress much more than others. Since the amount of memory and the page size are fixed, a method must be found that guarantees that all pages can be rendered and printed in real time. In addition, the requirement that the page be decompressed in real time also restricts the compression method selected to one of relatively low complexity. As an example, Direct Cosine Transform (DCT) based methods are very efficient in terms of compression available, but are computationally too intensive to be used on the whole page.
The invention described here presents a block-based hybrid compression method. The image to be compressed is first segmented into pxc3x97q non-overlapping blocks of pixels. Each block is then analyzed by preparing the block for Block Truncation Coding (BTC). First the mean and the alpha (first absolute central moment) is computed, the block is then BTC coded, and the error between the original and coded block is calculated. Based on these parameters the block is classified, and the best compression method is selected on a block by block basis. The salient steps of this process are as follows:
Compute BTC parameters for the block
Classify block as SOLID, TEXT, SATURATED TEXT or Image using the BTC parameters
Differential Pulse Code Modulation (DPCM) is used to compress SOLID blocks
Consecutive SOLID blocks (Runs) are compressed using Run Length Coding
Block Truncation Coding (BTC) is used for TEXT.
Decimation is performed on IMAGE blocks, followed by BTC. Alternatively, DPCM or Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) based compression methods may be used.
Compression ratio control is achieved by the selection of the appropriate compression method for each block. Additional control parameters are available, such as the use of lossy or lossless DPCM compression, the selection of the Quantizer Step Size when lossy DPCM compression is selected, and the use of the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) algorithm on selected image blocks.
The Hybrid Compression Method described in the invention can be very efficiently implemented on a parallel processing Digital Signal Processor such as the Texas Instruments TMS320C80 family.

Hybrid image compression with compression ratio control


A magneto-optic overwrite disk recording system capable of canceling shifts of the front edge and the rear edge of the record mark due to accumulation of heat. The recording system includes a magneto-optic overwrite disk having a memory magnetic film and a record magnetic film, a first magnet for applying an initialization magnetic field with a first strength vertically to the disk, and a second magnet for applying a bias magnetic field with a second strength smaller than the first magnetic field to the disk in the direction opposite to the initialization magnetic field. The recording system further includes a laser diode for generating laser beams, an optical head for focusing the laser beam on the disk, a pulse generator for generating square wave pulses with a predetermined period, and a duty ratio controller for alternately increasing and decreasing the duty ratio of the square wave pulses every time data "1" of binary record data is generated. The laser diode is driven by a constant-current circuit for write power. There is connected a switch between the laser diode and the constant-current circuit for write power. The switch is turned on/off in accordance with the output pulse of the duty ratio controller so that the laser diode emits a pulsed beam.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magneto-optic overwrite disk recording system for recording data by overwrite, i.e., by writing new data over old data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Magneto-optic disks are receiving great attention as memory device playing an important role in the field of rapidly progressing multimedia equipment and there are strong demands for development of magneto-optic overwrite disks capable of transferring data at higher speeds. An ordinary magneto-optic disk has only one layer of magnetic film. Hence, when data is to be written in the disk, it is required to initialize the disk by aligning the magnetization of the magnetic film in one direction before writing data. To read one track of data with the magneto-optic disk of the described type, the disk is only required to be rotated one rotation. However, when writing data, since the initialization is necessary, the disk must be rotated at least two rotations, and because of this, the data transfer speed has been slow.
As one of the measures to achieve high-speed data transfer, it is urgently demanded to develop a magneto-optic disk recording system using a magneto-optic overwrite medium capable of writing data through rotation of the disk only one rotation.
Referring to FIG. 1, a case of recording data in a magneto-optic overwrite disk will be described. A magneto-optic overwrite disk 2 is constructed of a memory magnetic film 6 formed on a transparent substrate 4 and a record magnetic film 8 formed on the memory magnetic film 6. The memory magnetic film 6 and the record magnetic film 8 are vertically magnetized films having different temperature characteristics of coercive force and Curie points and they are laminated to each other to achieve exchange-coupling therebetween. A laser beam 18 generated by a collimated laser beam generator 12 is reflected by a mirror 14 of an optical head 10 and focused through an objective lens 16 on the memory magnetic film 6 of the magneto-optic overwrite disk 2. On the side of the disk 2 opposite to the side irradiated by the laser beam, there is disposed a biasing magnet 22 applying a bias magnetic field Hb perpendicularly to the magnetic films 6 and 8, and on the upstream side of the biasing magnet 22, there is disposed an initializing magnet 20 applying an initialization magnetic field Hi to the magnetic films 6 and 8 in the opposite direction to the magnetic field of the biasing magnet 22.
The overwrite of data is achieved by utilizing the difference in the temperature characteristics of the coercive force between the exchange-coupled memory magnetic film 6 and the record magnetic film 8. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the temperature characteristics of the coercive force of the memory magnetic film 6 and the record magnetic film 8. The broken line 24 shows the coercive force of the memory magnetic film 6 and the solid line 26 shows the coercive force of the record magnetic film 8. As apparent from the diagram, both the memory magnetic film 6 and the record magnetic film 8 have their coercive forces decreasing with increase in the temperature. At the room temperature Ta, the coercive force of the memory magnetic film 6 is greater than the strength of the initialization magnetic field Hi and the coercive force of the record magnetic film 8 is smaller than the strength of the initialization magnetic field Hi.
The coercive force of the memory magnetic film 6 is smaller than the strength of the bias magnetic field Hb at the temperature higher than the first elevated temperature T1, while the coercive force of the record magnetic film 8 is smaller than the bias magnetic field Hb at the temperature higher than the second elevated temperature T2. The temperature range below the first elevated temperature T1 is defined as a first range, the temperature range above the first elevated temperature T1 and below the second elevated temperature T2 is defined as a second range, and the range above the second elevated temperature T2 is defined as a third range. The coercive force of the memory magnetic film 6 and the coercive force of the record magnetic film 8 intersect each other in the first range. The memory magnetic film 6 has its Curie point C1 in the second range, while the record magnetic film 8 has its Curie point C2 in the third range.
In the case where an ordinary magneto-optic disk with one layer of magnetic film is used, a laser beam with high power has been used for irradiating the disk surface in the recording of data and a laser beam with low power has been used for irradiating the disk surface in the reproduction of data. However, in the case where a conventional magneto-optic overwrite disk is used, two kinds of laser beams, i.e., that with high power and that with low power, have been used for irradiating the disk surface in the recording of data and a laser beam with lower power than the low power used in the recording of data has been used for irradiating the disk surface in the reproduction of data. The beam power used in the reproduction of data will hereinafter be called "read power".
Namely, in a conventional magneto-optic overwrite disk unit, laser beams with two levels of power, i.e., high power P.sub.H and low power P.sub.L, have been used in the recording of data and a laser beam with read power P.sub.R has been used in the reproduction of data. When the laser beam with the read power P.sub.R is used, the temperature of the irradiated magnetic films 6 and 8 can be kept within the first range, i.e., below the point at which the coercive force of the memory magnetic film 6 indicated by the broken line 24 in FIG. 2 coincides with the strength of the bias magnetic field Hb.
When the laser beam with the low power P.sub.L is used for irradiation, the temperature of the magnetic films 6 and 8 can be elevated to the point, at which the coercive force of the memory magnetic film 6 is below the strength of the bias magnetic field Hb but the coercive force of the record magnetic film 8 indicated by the solid line 26 is not below the bias magnetic field Hb, in the second range (low temperature course). When the laser beam with the high power P.sub.H is used, the temperature of the magnetic films 6 and 8 can be elevated to the temperature in the third range (hightemperature course) at which the coercive force of the record magnetic film 8 is below the strength of the bias magnetic field Hb.
Operations at the time of the overwrite of data will be described below. When a disk 2 is rotated so that the portion to be recorded of the track assumes the position confronted by the initializing magnet 20, only the record magnetic film 8 is initialized by the initialization magnetic field Hi. This is because, as shown in FIG. 2, the strength of the initialization magnetic field Hi at the temperature around the room temperature Ta is set to be weaker than the coercive force of the memory magnetic film 6 and stronger than the coercive force of the record magnetic film 8. Hence, around the room temperature Ta, only the record magnetic film 8 is magnetized in the direction aligned with the initialization magnetic field Hi.
When the disk 2 is further rotated and the initialized portion is brought to the position corresponding to the biasing magnet 22, the recording of data is performed in this position. When the data to be recorded is binary data as shown in FIG. 3(A), the laser diode within the collimated laser beam generator 12 is driven so that the laser beam assumes the pattern of low power P.sub.L and high power P.sub.H as shown in FIG. 3(B) according to the binary data.
When the laser beam is with the low power P.sub.L, the temperature of the magnetic films 6 and 8 becomes that in the second range shown in FIG. 2 and the coercive force of the memory magnetic film 6 becomes weaker than the bias magnetic field Hb. At this time, the coercive force of the record magnetic film 8 is still stronger than the bias magnetic field Hb, and therefore, when the memory magnetic film 6 comes to be magnetized in the following course in which the disk 2 is further rotated and the irradiated portion is cooled down, the direction of magnetization of the memory magnetic film 6 is aligned with the direction of magnetization of the record magnetic film 8 by action of the exchange-coupling (exchange-interaction). That is, when the magnetic films 6 and 8 are heated up to the temperature in the second range, the direction of magnetization of the memory magnetic film 6 is aligned with the direction of the initialization magnetic field Hi.
On the other hand, when the laser beam is with the high power P.sub.H, the magnetic films 6 and 8 are heated up to the temperature in the third range, in which the coercive forces of the memory magnetic film 6 and the record magnetic film 8 both become weaker than the bias magnetic field Hb. Therefore, the direction of magnetization of the record magnetic film 8 is aligned with the direction of the bias magnetic field Hb, which is opposite to the direction of magnetization in the initialization. In the following temperature falling course, the direction of magnetization of the memory magnetic film 6 is aligned with the direction of magnetization of the record magnetic film 8 by the exchange-interaction. More specifically, when the magnetic films 6 and 8 are heated up to the temperature in the third range, the directions of magnetization of both the memory magnetic film 6 and the record magnetic film 8 are aligned with the direction of the bias magnetic field Hb which is opposite to the direction of the initialization magnetic field Hi.
Accordingly, when the magnetic films 6 and 8 are heated up to a temperature in the third range, record marks (magnetic domains) 28 are formed in the memory magnetic film 6 as shown in FIG. 3(C) and, when the magnetic films 6 and 8 are heated up to a temperature in the second range, formerly recorded marks in the memory magnetic film 6 are erased as indicated by reference numeral 30 in FIG. 3(C). In this way, the overwrite of data can be achieved. In the reproduction of data, a laser beam with the read power P.sub.R is thrown on the disk 2 and a reproduced signal corresponding to the direction of magnetization as shown in FIG. 3(D) can be obtained by utilizing the magnetic Kerr effect.
However, when the mark 28 is recorded with the laser beam with the high power P.sub.H and low power P.sub.L, if the front edge 34 of the record mark 28 corresponding to the leading edge 32 of the high level and the rear edge 38 of the record mark 28 corresponding to the trailing edge 36 of the high level shown in FIG. 3(B) and FIG. 3(C) are checked, the rear edge is shifted as indicated by the broken line 40 as a result of more greatly accumulated heat toward the rear of the record mark 28 because the disk 2 is heated by the laser beam while it is rotated. The longer the record mark 28 is, the greater becomes the accumulated heat at the rear edge side, and hence the larger becomes the shift of the rear edge. As a result, a proper mark 28 becomes unable to be recorded.
There is proposed a method to reduce the shift of the rear edge. This method is such as causes the laser beam in the formation of a mark to be emitted as pulsed beam as shown in FIG. 4(B). If the laser beam is emitted as a pulsed beam, the heat energy supplied to the magnetic films 6 and 8 can be suppressed as compared with the case where the laser beam is emitted continuously.
More specifically, when a laser beam with the waveform as shown in FIG. 3(B) is thrown on the disk 2, the heated temperature of the magnetic films 6 and 8 becomes as indicated by the broken line 42 in FIG. 4(C), but when a laser beam with the waveform as shown in FIG. 4(B) is thrown, the heated temperature of the magnetic films 6 and 8 becomes as indicated by the solid line 44 in FIG. 4(C). As a result, the shift of the rear edge of the record mark 46 indicated by the broken line 48 in FIG. 4(D) can be canceled.
A conventional magneto-optic overwrite disk recording system for recording data with a pulsed laser beam will be described below with reference to FIG. 5. The recording system is structured of a data conversion circuit 50, an AND circuit 52, a mono multivibrator 54, switch circuits 56 and 58, a constant-current circuit for high power 60, a constant-current circuit for low power 62, a constant-current circuit for read power 64, and a laser diode 66, which are connected as shown in FIG. 5.
The data conversion circuit 50 converts record data D1 with the waveform as shown in FIG. 6(B) to data D2 with the waveform as shown in FIG. 6(D). The record data D1 is that obtained by converting the binary data shown in FIG. 6(A) to a waveform having high level and low level corresponding to "1" and "0" in the binary data and the record data D1 corresponds to the data shown in FIG. 4(A). The AND circuit 52 produces the logical product of the data D2 and the clock signal CK and outputs the logical product as data D3, which has a waveform as shown in FIG. 6(E).
The mono multivibrator 54 is that outputting a pulse of a predetermined duty ratio (a pulse with a predetermined pulse width) upon receipt of a piece of high level data. When each pulse of the data D3 is supplied thereto, it, slightly increasing the duty ratio of the data D3, outputs a pulse as shown in data D4 of FIG. 6(F). The switch circuit 56 is turned on when each high level of the data D4 is supplied thereto, while the switch circuit 58 is turned on when each high level of erase data D5 is supplied thereto.
The laser diode 66 selectively outputs laser beams with the read power P.sub.R, the low power P.sub.L, and the high power P.sub.H. When the switch circuits 56 and 58 are both turned off, a constant current controlled by the constant-current circuit for read power 64 is supplied to the laser diode 66 and, hence, the laser diode 66 outputs a laser beam with the read power P.sub.R. Thereby, the marks recorded in the memory magnetic film 6 are read. When the erase data D5 at high level is supplied to the switch circuit 58 and thereby the switch circuit 58 is turned on, a constant current controlled by the constant-current circuit for low power 62 and the constant-current circuit for read power 64 is supplied to the laser diode 66 and, hence, the laser diode 66 outputs a laser beam with the low power P.sub.L. Thereby, the recorded mark in the memory magnetic film 6 is erased.
On the other hand, if the high level of the data D4 is supplied to the switch circuit 56 and thereby the switch circuit 56 is turned on, while the erase data D5 is at high level, a constant current controlled by the constant-current circuit for high power 60, the constant-current circuit for low power 62, and the constant-current circuit for read power 64 is supplied to the laser diode 66, so that the laser diode 66 outputs a laser beam with the high power P.sub.H. Thus, a mark is recorded in the memory magnetic film 6.
With the above described conventional recording system, the shift of the rear edge of the record mark can be canceled. However, there is a problem in this recording system that the front edge of the mark shifts forward making it impossible to record a proper mark. This trouble is produced, when the distance between a record mark and the following record mark is small, by the heat accumulated in the former record mark affecting the front edge portion of the latter record mark thereby causing the front edge of the latter record mark to shift forward.
Further, in the conventional recording system, the recording of data is performed by heating the magnetic films 6 and 8 with laser beams having the high power P.sub.H and the low power P.sub.L up to a temperature in the second range and a temperature in the third range shown in FIG. 2, respectively, and therefore two systems of circuits, i.e., the constant-current circuit for high power 60 and the constant-current circuit for low power 62, are required to drive the laser diode 66 in the data recording. Since the constant-current circuit occupies a large portion of the overall circuit scale of the recording system, there arises a problem that the circuit configuration of the entire system becomes complex and large in scale.

Magneto-optic overwrite disk recording system for erasing and overwriting in a single pass


The present invention is directed to a system for removing sawdust from the kerf of a workpiece. The system includes a nozzle for directing fluid at a predetermined pressure in the kerf of a workpiece, a pressure source for providing fluid at a predetermined pressure to the nozzle, a vacuum source for suctioning sawdust from the kerf of the workpiece, a support member for removably supporting the nozzle adjacent a saw blade of a multiple head band saw, and means for adjusting the position of the nozzle relative to the workpiece and the saw blade. The nozzle includes first and second ends. The first end is adapted to be positioned in substantially the same horizontal plane as the saw blade. The first end is further suitably sized and shaped to direct air at a predetermined pressure into the kerf of a workpiece. Preferably, the vacuum source is operated at the same time the nozzle directs air under pressure into the kerf.

Pallets formed of various materials are widely used in industries ranging from food processing to pharmaceutical manufacturers so that various inventory may be readily and efficiently stored. In the process of forming pallets, pallet stock is created by multiple head band saws. Specifically, multiple head band saws process the raw material or workpiece commonly referred to as the cant into multiple vertically stacked planks which are subsequently used to form pallets. More specifically, multi-headed band saws include two or more band saws. The band saws are spaced apart along the direction of travel of the workpiece or cant. The band saws are also oriented at different heights thereby creating multiple, vertically stacked planks once the workpiece has traveled through the multiple headed band saws. It is known to have as many as five saw blades in a multiple head band saw which in turn will create six vertically stacked planks subsequently used in the formation of pallets. While processing the cant or workpiece into multiple, vertically stacked planks, sawdust is created between the confronting faces of adjacent planks. In fact, the sawdust can become somewhat adhered to the confronting faces of adjacent planks during the formation process. Where the multiple headed band saw has five (5) saw blades the sawdust created in processing the cant is considerable due to the fact that five separate cuts are made. The sawdust built up between adjacent planks is extremely undesirable and creates significant problems for various industries employing pallets to store inventory. Specifically, significant amounts of the sawdust residue will remain on the planks even after they have been processed to form pallets. As the pallets are used for storing inventory in the particular industries (e.g., food processing and pharmaceutical manufacturers) the sawdust residue will dislodge from the pallets soiling the surrounding environment or the inventory stored thereon. It will be readily appreciated that it is extremely disadvantageous in virtually every industry to have either the surrounding environment or the inventory soiled with sawdust residue.
One attempt at alleviating the sawdust residue in pallet stock has employed a brushing device in conjunction with multiple head band saws. The brushing device operates on each of the planks to remove the sawdust residue. However, such a device is relatively expensive. Further, previously employed brushing devices cannot keep pace with the multiple head band saws thus considerably slowing down the process of generating pallet stock.

Method and apparatus for removing sawdust


A method for manufacturing a touch sensing device including at least 1) to 5) as follows: 1) preparing a material film being biaxially stretched and including an available area that is a partial area in a widthwise direction of the material film, the available area extending in a lengthwise direction of the material film and including first and second segments, the first and second segments defining different areas in the lengthwise direction; 2) forming an electrode group on one of the first and second segments; 3) cutting a first piece out of the material film to make the first piece including the first segment; 4) cutting a second piece out of the material film to make the second piece including the second segment; and 5) bonding the first segment to the second segment, substantially maintaining orientations of the first segment and the second segment as before the cutting.

Technical Field
The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a touch sensing device and to a touch sensing device.
Background Art
In the manufacture of a touch sensing device including an optical film laminate, a touch-panel maker normally obtains a material film for producing optical film laminates in the following way. First, a PET-film maker forms and then biaxially stretches a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film having a width of several meters using an extrusion machine, divides the PET film into a plurality of parts in a widthwise direction (transverse direction, TD), and ships the divided PET films to an ITO-film maker. Next, an ITO-film maker forms an ITO film on a face of each divided PET film, and further divides each divided PET film into a plurality of parts in a widthwise direction. Each divided PET film with an ITO film is shipped to a touch-panel maker and serves as a material film for an optical film laminate.
A touch-panel maker uses such material film to form a plurality of electrode groups on a face of the material film, and cuts the film into a plurality of portions, each with an electrode group forming a substrate. Then, a touch-panel maker bonds two substrates together to make an optical film laminate for a touch sensing device.
It is preferable that the two substrates have respective fast axes that are substantially parallel to each other, for the purpose of e.g. improving visibility of visual information when seen through a polarizing plate such as polarizing sunglasses. However, it is difficult under conventional manufacturing methods to mass-produce optical film laminates each including two substrates having fast axes that are substantially parallel to each other. Particularly, as material films for producing optical film laminates are obtained by dividing a biaxially-stretched PET film into a plurality of parts in the widthwise direction, their fast axes extend at totally different directions from one material film to another. Accordingly, if two substrates are obtained from different material films, their respective fast axes extend in significantly different directions from each other. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to bond two substrates such that their respective fast axes are substantially parallel to each other, without previously determining the fast axes.
JP 2006-56117 A discloses another conventional method for manufacturing a touch sensing device. This method addresses a problem of reducing curling of an optical film laminate when heated, by cutting two adjacent areas in the widthwise direction out of a biaxially-stretched material film to make two substrates and bonding the substrates in symmetric arrangement. As a result, the two substrates have substantially the same thickness, and the difference of the optical axis orientation between the two substrates is within a range of 20° or smaller.

Method for manufacturing touch sensing device and touch sensing device


Database tables which are to be loaded with large data objects (LOBs) are defined with a special logging attribute value. This attribute value causes the database management system to suspend recovery logging for the databases so defined, but to continue with the logging of control information, such as space management changes. Certain control information recovery log entries have a special status indicator. For LOBs, this status indicator is set to cause the associated LOB entry to be marked as invalid when the log entry is reapplied, for example, during a recovery operation from a media failure. Rather than invalidating the entire table, the database management system will only prevent access to the entries which have been invalidated during the recovery process.

The present invention relates generally to data recovery in a database management system after an abnormal system termination and, more specifically, to a database management system recovery method and apparatus that does not use data recovery logging.
Databases store data in a variety of manners depending on the internal organization. For example, a relational database system, typically stores data in tables. The tables are comprised of rows, each of which contains a record. The record, in turn, contains fields and the fields contain the actual related data values for a data xe2x80x9cobject.xe2x80x9d Each table may also be associated with one or more indexes, which provide rapid access to the rows in an order determined by the index and based on key data values contained in selected fields in each row. As an example, a row might be associated with each employee of an organization and contain fields that hold such information as the employee name, an identification number, and telephone numbers. One index might order the rows numerically by employee identification number, while another index might order the rows alphabetically by employee name.
Such a database conventionally includes methods which insert and delete rows and update the information in a row. When changes are made to the rows, any database indexes associated with the table may also need to be updated in order to keep the indexes synchronized with the tables. The rows in each table are mapped to a plurality of physical pages on the disk to simplify data manipulation. Such an arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 1.
In FIG. 1, table 100, which illustratively consists of rows 112, 114, 116, and 118, is mapped to a chain of pages which pages 120, 138, and 132 are shown. In the table illustrated, each row consists of five separate fields. For example, row 112 consists of fields 102, 104, 106, 108 and 110. The fields in each of rows 112, 114, 116 and 118 are mapped illustratively to page 138 which can contain data for more than one row. For example, field 102 maps to location 126 in page 138. Fields 104 maps to location 128. Field 106 maps to location 130. In a similar manner field 108 maps to location 124 and field 110 maps to location 134. The fields in the next row 114 are mapped directly after the fields in row 112. For example, field 111 is illustrated which maps to page location 136. When the page is completely filled with data, field information is mapped to the next page in the page chain. The pages are chained together by means of page pointers. For example, page pointer 122 links pages 120 and 138, whereas page pointer 140 links pages 138 and 132. All of the pages used to store the data in table 100 are linked together in a similar manner in a page chain.
The data pages are normally kept in a page buffer pool located in system memory. In order to make such a database system persistent or xe2x80x9cdurablexe2x80x9d, the data pages must be written to an underlying non-volatile storage system, such as a disk storage. This storage operation takes place on a page level so that when a modification is made to data on a page the entire page is stored in the persistent storage. Each page could be copied to the persistent storage as soon as data on the page was modified. However, this immediate copying greatly slows the system operation since persistent storage is generally much slower than RAM memory. Alternatively, the information in modified pages in the buffer pool can be copied or xe2x80x9cflushedxe2x80x9d to the disk storage at intervals. For example, the information could be flushed periodically or when the number of changed pages in the buffer pool reaches some predetermined threshold. During this disk flushing operation, the data modifications are performed xe2x80x9cin placexe2x80x9d so that the old data is either overwritten or deleted from the disk and lost.
Since the data is lost during the modification process, in order to ensure data integrity in the case of a system failure, or crash, the actions performed on the database are grouped into a series of xe2x80x9ctransactionsxe2x80x9d. Each transaction is xe2x80x9catomicxe2x80x9d which means that either all actions in the transaction are performed or none are performed. The atomic property of a transaction ensures that the transaction can be aborted or xe2x80x9crolled backxe2x80x9d so that all of the actions which constitute the transaction can be undone. Database transactions commonly have a xe2x80x9ccommitxe2x80x9d point at which time it can be guaranteed that all actions which comprise the transaction will complete properly. If the transaction does not reach the commit point, then it will be rolled back so that the system can return to its state prior to the initiation of the transaction. Consequently, if there is a system termination or crash prior to the commit point, the entire transaction can be rolled back.
The use of a buffer pool complicates transaction processing because even though a transaction has committed, system operation could terminate after a page has been modified, but before the modified page is flushed to disk. In order to prevent data loss caused by such a system interruption, a logging system is used to permit data recovery. The logging system records redo and undo information for each data modification in a special file called a xe2x80x9crecovery logxe2x80x9d that is kept in non-volatile storage.
The recovery log consists of an ordered list of redo/undo actions and contains information such as a transaction ID, a page ID, an offset length and the old and new data constituting the update. Additional control information is often included to facilitate the logging operation. This control data includes a transaction table which includes one record per active transaction that contains the transaction state (for example, running, committed or aborted.) The control information also includes a dirty page table which contains one entry for each page in the buffer pool which has been modified.
In order to ensure both atomicity and persistence for each transaction, a xe2x80x9cwrite aheadxe2x80x9d logging protocol is used. According to this protocol a log record is written for an update before the corresponding modified data page is written to disk. In addition, all log records are written for a transaction before the transaction is committed.
In addition to the recovery logging of data update information, recovery logging is also performed during storage space management procedures that involve allocation and deallocation of data pages for each database row. For example, a set of space-map pages are commonly maintained by the database system to handle storage space allocation and deallocation for each table. In general, each space-map page manages space allocation for a range of data pages and contains status information which indicates whether a particular data page on disk storage has been used. When a new data row is inserted into a table, the space-map pages associated with that table are examined and updated to allocate space for the row, if necessary. A recovery log entry is written for each change made to the space-map pages. These recovery logs can be used to free the allocated space if a transaction roll back occurs before the transaction has been committed.
The recovery logs are used to restart processing if system operation is abnormally terminated, for example, due to a power failure. In a recovery operation, redo information in the recovery log is used to reconstruct all transactions at the time of the failure. The undo information is used to undo transactions that did not commit prior to the termination.
The conventional database system is somewhat complicated in a distributed database system such as shown in FIG. 2 which illustrates, in schematic form, an example of such a distributed database system. The system consists of four database management systems 200, 202, 204 and 206. Each of these database management systems 200-206 contains a replicated copy of data that is in use throughout the system. Each of the database management systems communicates with and is accessed by a plurality of users. For example, database management system 200 may interact with a plurality of users, of which three users 208-212, are shown. Similarly, database management system 204 interacts with users 214-218. Database management system 202 interacts with users 220 and 224 and database management system 206 services users 226-230, Other configurations and numbers of users are within the spirit and scope of the invention.
In such a system, copies of the data maybe maintained on the databases in order to speed up access of the database by the users. In order to ensure data integrity in such a system, it is necessary to ensure that a transaction which affects data that has been replicated on several systems commits in each of the systems. For example, a transaction that affects data stored in system 200 must also be communicated to and commit on systems 202-206. A two-phase commit procedure is used to ensure that the transaction completes in each system. Unlike non-distributed databases where a single change is, or is not, made locally, all participating databases in the distributed database system must all commit, or all roll back, a transaction if there is a system or network failure at a single database. The two-phase commit procedure has two distinct processes that are accomplished in order. The first process occurs in a so called xe2x80x9cpreparexe2x80x9d phase where a global coordinator or initiating database requests that all distributed databases agree to commit or roll back a transaction. In most distributed database systems, depending on the transaction, any database could serve as the global coordinator. If all participants cannot prepare the transaction for commitment, the global coordinator will instruct all databases to roll back the transaction.
The second portion of the two-phase commit procedure is the actual commit phase which occurs after all participants have responded to the coordinator that they are prepared to commit a transaction. In the commit phase, the coordinator requests that all databases commit the transaction. If there is a machine, network or software failure that occurs during the two-phase commit process, the transaction tables in each database are used by the recovery process to resolve the status of any transaction.
The aforementioned recovery system works well with most database systems. However, for a table that is used to store large data objects, for example, images, large text documents, digitized video or digitized audio data (called xe2x80x9clarge objectsxe2x80x9d or LOBs), a single row could comprise many megabytes or even gigabytes. Since a data page is generally limited to 4000 bytes, a single such row must be mapped to many data pages. Such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, table 300, of which rows 306, 308, 310, and 312 are shown, is used to store data objects, including large data objects. For example, row 306 has a data object 302 and a large data object 304. Data object 304 may consist of many megabytes and therefore must be mapped to several pages. These pages can be connected together in a page chain as shown in FIG. 3. For example, page 318 stores a portion of the data object F2. The remainder of the F2 object is stored in page chain of which pages 314 and 322 are shown. This page chain is connected together with page pointers. For example, page pointer 316 points to page 318 and page pointer 320 points to page 322.
A space map associated with the table data illustrated in FIG. 3 is shown in FIG. 4. The map 400 is associated with a page chain of which pages 414, 416, 418 and 420 are shown. The page chain is connected together with page pointers. For example, page pointer 422 points to page 416, page pointer 424 points to page 418 and page pointer 426 points to page 420. The space map 400, which may be contained within one or more pages itself, contains data sections relating to each data page which can be used in the table. For example, data section 402 relates to page 414, data section 404 relates to page 416, data section 408 relates to page 418 and data section 410 relates to page 420. Data section 406 relates to a page which is not currently in the page chain, for example an unused page. Each data section contains information relating to its associated page. This information may be as simple as a single bit indicating whether the associated page is unused (free) or used. Other information relating to the page can also be included in each data section. When table rows are added, the space map is searched to find a page that is unused. When found, this page is added to the page chain and the associated data section in the space map 400 is marked to indicate that the page has been used. Conversely, if a table row is deleted, the data sections corresponding to the pages which store the data from the row are marked to indicate the associated pages are free. In order to allow for recovery, a recovery log is kept of all changes made to the space map. During rollback, changes to the space map can be reversed by sequentially applying xe2x80x9cundoxe2x80x9d operations to the space map from the log.
When a table is initially populated with these large data objects using the conventional row insert methods, the recovery logs, which typically include the new data which is inserted into the table, are also very large. It is difficult for a conventional database management system to manage such large recovery logs. Logging such large amounts of data not only slows the time to complete this load process, but also impacts the system""s overall performance due to contentions for logging devices and the overhead required to manage log archiving. One way to improve loading performance is to use parallel insert jobs. However, many database management systems support only a single log stream, and, in these systems, logging becomes a bottleneck.
One prior art solution to this problem is to provide an option to turn off logging for such types of tables during the loading process. However, the data inserted to such tables may be lost if a system termination occurs before the data pages in the page buffer pool are eventually flushed to persistent storage. Alternatively, in tables in which both logged and unlogged objects exist, the entire table may have to be declared invalid even though the logged objects could be recovered after a system failure.
Another prior art solution is to use a special database load utility to load the data without logging, instead of using the normal insert method to populate the table. However, the load utility process is a single thread process on the entire table and, consequently, it prevents concurrent read/write access by other applications during the loading process. Further, if any type of error occurs during the load process, the newly-loaded data must be deleted and completely reloaded.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus which can load a database table with large objects without requiring recovery logging and yet be able to recover the loaded data if an abnormal system termination occurs at a subsequent time. It is also desirable to provide a method and apparatus which allows recovery of logged objects in a table that includes both logged and unlogged objects in the event that a recovery is necessary before a backup is performed.
In accordance with the principles of the invention, database tables which are to be loaded with large data objects are defined with a special logging attribute value. This attribute value causes the database management system to suspend recovery logging for the databases so defined, but to continue with logging control information, such as space management changes. Therefore, during a recovery operation, the control information for LOBs will be recovered as the log entries are applied, but the data will not be recovered because no data recovery entries are made. Normally, since some data entries are invalid, the entire table will be marked as invalid after recovery.
However, in accordance with a preferred embodiment, control information in the recovery log for each LOB has a special status indicator. This status indicator is set to cause the associated LOB entry to be marked as invalid when the log entry is reapplied, for example, during a recovery operation from a media failure.
Rather than invalidating the entire table, the database management system (DBMS) is modified to only prevent access to the LOB entries which have been marked invalid during the recovery process. For example, in accordance with one embodiment, the DBMS could return an SQL xe2x80x9cresource unavailablexe2x80x9d code to an application which attempts to access an invalid database entry. The DBMS can still access other entries which have been recovered. The selective invalidation of LOBS handles the situation where a database table logging attribute is altered from a xe2x80x9cLOG YESxe2x80x9d value to a xe2x80x9cLOG NOxe2x80x9d value and a media recovery is needed before a backup occurs. Alternatively, the selective invalidation handles a situation where a recovery to currency operation is mistakenly used on a table with unlogged objects instead of a recovery to copy operation.

Method and apparatus for efficiently recovering from a failure in a database that includes unlogged objects

International Business Machines Corporation