An organic photoelectric conversion device is provided and includes: an organic photoelectric conversion layer that performs photoelectric conversion of incident light and generates a signal charge; a first electrode provided on one side of the organic photoelectric conversion layer and a plurality of second electrodes arranged on the other side of the organic photoelectric conversion layer. A gap between adjacent pair of the second electrodes is 3 μm or below.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic photoelectric conversion device having an organic photoelectric conversion layer that performs photoelectric conversion of incident light and generates signal charges.
2. Description of Related Art
Each of single-plate image sensors currently in use, notably CCD image sensors and CMOS image sensors, has three or four kinds of color filters in mosaic pattern on an array of pixels capable of performing photoelectric conversion (photodiodes), and produces outputs of color signals corresponding to its respective color filters. The outputs of color signals produced are formed into color images by undergoing signal processing. However, when color filters installed in mosaic pattern in an imaging device are filters of primary colors, about two-thirds of incident light is absorbed by color filters, accordingly there is a drawback that light utilization is inefficient and sensitivity is low. In addition, since color signals of only one color are obtained from each of pixels, resolution is low. In particular, false colors are noticeable.
In order to overcome those drawbacks, the imaging device as disclosed, e.g., in JP-T-2002-513145 has so far been developed. In the case of such an imaging device, triply stacked wells provided for light signal detection (photodiodes) in a silicon substrate deliver signals having different spectral sensitivities in response to their respective depths in the silicon substrate (signals having their individual peaks in the blue, green and red wavelength regions in the order of increasing distance from the surface). Although that device shows improvements in resolution and utilization efficiency of light, it has also drawbacks that color reproducibility is poor because of insufficiency in separation of spectral sensitivity characteristics of RGB output signals and S/N is degraded by addition and subtraction of output signals performed for obtaining true RGB signals. Therefore, as disclosed in JP-T-2002-502120 and JP-A-2002-083946, the imaging devices capable of achieving further improved separation of spectral sensitivity characteristics of RGB output signals have been researched and developed. Such imaging devices are imaging devices of three-photoelectric conversion layer structure, such as pixel structure made up of stacked photoelectric conversion layers generating signal charges in response to B light, G light and R light, respectively, in increasing order of distance from the incident plane of light and besides, each of them is provided integrally with a readout section which, on a pixel basis, can independently read signal charge optically generated in each photoelectric conversion layer. Therefore, in the case of such image pickup devices, incident light is subjected to photoelectric conversion and read, so utilization efficiency of visible light is close to 100%, and what's more, every pixel can deliver color signals of three colors R, G and B. Further, spectral sensitivity characteristics of three-layer photoelectric conversion layers can be chosen in isolation from one another, so separation of spectral sensitivity characteristics of ROB output signals is good. Thus, images of good color reproducibility and high S/N can be obtained in high sensitivity and high resolution (in inconspicuous false colors).
In the solid-state image pickup devices using organic photoelectric conversion layers disclosed in JP-T-2002-502120 and JP-A-2002-083946, pixel electrodes are built in a state that each pixel is partitioned, and thereon an organic photoelectric conversion layer and a counter electrode are stacked and shared by all pixels. Herein, field intensity is smaller on the gap between adjacent pixel electrodes than on each pixel electrode, so there is a problem that it takes time before signal charges generated in the gap come to be read, accordingly image lags occur.

Photoelectric conversion device providing efficient read-out of signal charges


A detection circuit monitors a hardware-level signal received from a remote device for voltage transitions indicating that the remote device is connected to a network cable. If the detection circuit does not sense voltage transitions in the hardware-level signal, it is presumed that the remote device has been unplugged from the network cable and the detection circuit generates an immediate or delayed control signal to terminate supplying power through the network cable. In one application, the network cable supports communications based on a layered network protocol such as Ethernet and the detection circuit is employed at physical layer associated with the layered network protocol. Based on this topology, power supplied through the network cable can be terminated on the order of milliseconds instead of 1.5 seconds according to conventional methods.

There are a wide variety of data communication standards suitable for carrying data information among network devices. Certain protocols support providing power through network cables to remote devices such as VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) telephones. Thus, in addition to supporting data communications, the network cables also support providing power to remote network devices. Providing power to remote devices through a network cable alleviates the user from having to additionally tether the remote device to a separate power source such as a 115 volt wall outlet.
Protocols developed for the purpose of supplying power to remote devices (for VOIP and other applications) through network cables typically include an initial discovery phase. During the discovery phase, a switch determines whether or not to provide power through the network cable to the remote device. For example, discovery typically includes receiving some form of feedback from the remote device indicating that it is safe to send power over the network cable to power the remote device. After it is deemed appropriate, the switch then powers the remote device through the network cable.
In addition to providing power to remote devices over a network cable, protocols have been developed to terminate power supplied through the network cable when the remote device is unplugged or turned off. In one application, a switch providing power to the remote device monitors a data stream from the remote device at a link layer to identify when a corresponding link with the remote device has been terminated as a result of a being unplugged from the network cable. According to a conventional protocol, even though a remote device has been unplugged from a network cable supplying power, the switch continues to provide power (during a blind window) through the cable for a significant amount of time which in some cases is up to 1.4 seconds. This blind window of supplying power through the network cable power occurs largely because a link down-state machine monitoring the link at a link layer has built-in hystreresis. For example, the link-down state machine does not flag that a link is technically 'down' until a considerable amount of time has passed after a cable has been unplugged from a remote device. Historically, this feature of not immediately depowering a remote device through a network cable has been used to eliminate false linkdowns.

Methods and apparatus for controlling power supplied to a remote device through a network cable


A parallel data storage system for storing data received from, or retrieving data to, a host system using multiple data storage devices. The system includes an interface for communicating with the host system and a buffer configured to store data sectors received from the host system via the interface. A switch is used to selectively connect the interface and the data storage devices to the buffer to facilitate the transfer of data into and out of the buffer. The data sectors are transferred by segmenting each sector into multiple smaller data cells and distributing these data cells among the data storage devices using an arbitrated distribution method.

The demand for data storage capacity is constantly increasing. While the capacities available from data storage devices are also increasing, many applications have data storage requirements that exceed the capacity available from a single data storage device. One storage solution for these applications is a data storage system using an array of data storage devices.
Data storage device arrays increase storage capacity by dividing the data to be stored among the devices in the array. For example, conventional systems typically divide the data by file or sector, with different files or sectors being stored in different devices in the array. While this arrangement results in improved storage capacity, the performance of the array as a whole is typically limited to the level of performance of the individual data storage devices. This limitation exists because conventional systems typically transfer the data one file at a time or one sector at a time to the individual data storage devices, which usually causes the data storage devices not receiving data to sit idle while they wait for data to be transferred to them.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved parallel data storage system that provides both improvements in data capacity and data storage performance.


A method of modifying low frequency components of a digital audio signal having left and right channel signals, including the steps of: a) filtering the left and right channels signals using respective left and right high-pass filters to form left and right high-pass filtered signals; b) filtering the left and right channel signals using respective left and right band-pass filters to form left and right low frequency signals; c) modifying the amplitude of the left and right low frequency signals to give modified left and right low frequency signals whereby signals with amplitude a where 0<a<a1 are amplified by a first constant value C1, signals with amplitude a1≦a<a2 are amplified proportional to 1/a, signals with amplitude a=2a are unchanged, signals with amplitude a2<a<a3 are attenuated proportional to 1/a, and signals with amplitude a=a3 are attenuated by a second constant value C2; and d) combining the modified band-pass filtered left and right signals with the respective left and right high-pass filtered signals to form respective modified left and right channel audio signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of modifying low frequency components of a digital audio signal.
2. Prior Art
When music is performed live using large public address loudspeakers, low-frequency vibrations (below approximately 50 Hz) are generated. These low frequency vibrations travel through the floor and are mechanically coupled to listeners in the audience, causing them to sense the vibrations through their feet and also within the chest cavity. Engineers in recording studios, when mixing music must create a musical balance such that all frequency ranges (low, mid and high) can be reproduced on a wide range of loudspeakers. When this mixed music is listened to at home, or in another setting. it is likely to be using much smaller loudspeakers than those used for live performances. These smaller loudspeakers are often inadequate at reproducing low (i.e., bass) frequencies, and this sometimes leads to a degradation in the quality of the listening experience. This problem has been addressed by using methods of enhancing the low frequency parts of an audio signal so that the quality of the music when played over small loudspeakers is improved.
A method for digitally modifying low frequency components of audio signals should satisfy the following design constraints;                a) music processed using the method should not sound unpleasant (constraint c1);        b) the method should not noticeably alter the tonal character of musical instruments (constraint c2);        c) the method should also not noticeably affect high frequency signals (constraint c3);        d) the method should not alter the balance of left and right channels of the stereo signal (constraint c4);        e) the method should not be prohibitively complex (constraint c5);        f) the method must not cause the maximum signal level of the digital system to be exceeded (constraint c6); and        g) the method must not amplify or introduce very low frequency signals that cannot be reproduced by small loudspeakers (constraint c7).
In digital signal processing, it is essential that the maximum signal level (i.e., unity) of the audio signal is never exceeded, otherwise extreme audible artifacts can result. For example, considering a 16-bit audio signal, the range of signal values is −32,768 to +32,767 (i.e., 216 different values). If the signal value exceeds +32,767 then the signal value overflows to −32,768 rather than to its next highest value of +32,768. This creates extreme artifacts in the audio signal, and it is therefore vital to insure that the maximum signal limits are never exceeded. In analogue systems this type of signal overflow does not occur on account of the operating tolerances of devices such as valves, diodes, capacitors, transistors and resisters.
Low frequency audio signals may be enhanced using a number of techniques, some of which will now be discussed. One method of enhancing such signals is by the use of equalization wherein either one or many filters with different gain values process the signal, and lower frequency signals are given higher gain values. Thus low frequencies (and hence bass instruments) are emphasized by virtue of the fact that lower frequency energy is amplified. However, since most of the signal energy in a musical audio signal is concentrated into the lower frequencies this technique cannot amplify the low frequency signals very much before the maximum signal level in the system is exceeded, or the music sounds distorted. This method therefore breaks constraints c6 and c7.
Multi-band compression is another technique that may he used to enhance bass frequencies. In this technique one or many filters are arranged in parallel, as in equalization. The output of each filter is processed by a dynamic compressor that measures the current signal level in that frequency hand and applies a gain whose amount is related to that measurement. The signal energy in each frequency band is averaged over time and the compressors are arranged to operate such that the bass
frequency bands are kept at a higher average energy than the higher frequency bands. Bass instruments (such as bass drums, guitars etc) are therefore emphasized because the signal energy in higher on average in the lower frequency bands than in the higher frequency bands. However, since the gain of each band is independent of other bands, a musical instrument will often be noticeably tonally changed since the fundamental and harmonics of a note often falls across many frequency bands. This method therefore breaks constraint c2.
A device which uses a method similar to multi-band compression is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,665 (Aphex Systems Ltd). This device is an analogue device which combines phase inverted, dynamically compressed bass frequencies with the original audio signal. It provides greater enhancement of the bass frequencies when they are at lower levels and less enhancement when they are at higher levels, thereby satisfying constraint c6. However, the device is not designed to work with stereo signals: if the device is used for the left and right channels of a stereo signal, the musical image will drift from side to side as the left and right gain factors are independent of one another. This breaks constraint c4. The device also does not employ a very low frequency cut-off filter that would prevent the breaking of constraint c7. For very small loudspeakers, this device would not be able to reproduce maximum level signals.
Published International Patent Application No. WO-A1-9846044 (K. S. Waves Ltd) describes an apparatus and method for bass enhancement The method uses the psycho-acoustic principle of virtual pitch, in which the pitch of a musical note is recognized by the frequency spacing and relative level of the harmonics of the fundamental of that note. The method involves taking a certain range of bass frequencies and generating artificial harmonics of these frequencies which are at a higher frequency than the fundamental bass frequencies. The original bass frequencies are not actually present in the processed signal, only the artificial harmonics, as the fundamental does not need to be present for the pitch to be recognizable. However, audio signals which are processed using this method can be musically unpleasant as, for the effect to be noticeable, frequencies in the range 100 to 300 Hz must be quite loud. This breaks constraint c1. Also, the apparatus has many functional components and higher-order statistical processing which breaks constraint c5.

Method of modifying low frequency components of a digital audio signal


The present invention provides a delivery tool and a method for bone grafting on a bone surface via a minimally invasive approach, wherein a structure having a layer of hardened paste and particles under the layer is formed by using the delivery tool. The layer helps to keep particles on the bone surface.

The conventional procedure of dentoalveolar bone grafting is conducted by first creating a rectangular-shaped flap through one crest incision accompanied with two vertical releasing incisions to expose the bony defect, followed by the placement of bone graft (powder or block) into the bone defect. To avoid migration of the graft, a barrier membrane or bone screws are often used to fix the implant before the primary closure with tension-free, water-tight suture. Not only costly and time-consuming, the crest incision made right on top of the bony defect in this conventional procedure largely increases dehiscence and infection risks. Another often-encountered problem with the conventional flap surgery is in its difficult suture procedure involving cutting through periosteum and dissecting soft tissues to extend flap that would otherwise be difficult to close the wound due to the readily infilled bone graft. This, in turn, can cause more post-operative swelling/pain to the patient.
In addition to dental ridge augmentation, there is also a need for bone augmentation/thickening in plastic surgery. It would be more advantageous, if these augmentations can be carried out via a minimal incision. However, there is no delivery tool to fulfill this need.

Delivery tool and method for forming a structure having a layer of hardened paste and particles under the layer


In one embodiment, there is shown a system and method of allowing a user to gain access to information pertaining to certain equipment by pulling a label out of an opening in a surface of the equipment, viewing information on the label; and pushing the label back into the opening. In a further embodiment, the label is captive to the equipment independent from a bezel surrounding the equipment. In a still further embodiment of the invention, the label has on it pre-established information pertaining to the equipment, as well as user added information.

In complex equipment, such as, for example, computer servers and the like, it is often necessary for a user to obtain information about the equipment and/or the version of software loaded on the equipment. For example, with respect to a processor or server, the user often needs to know the serial number, or the IP address, or the product ID, or other information. Some of this information is constant in that once the equipment is put into the housing its identity remains fixed. Other identifications, such as, for example, the version of the current operating system or the version of one or more applications, is temporal and changes more frequently. Also, in some situations, a user may desire to keep track of prior versions (heritage) of the equipment and/or programs running on the equipment.
Currently, there are different methods that a user employs to obtain the desired information, with the particular method employed depending upon whether the desired information is relatively permanent or temporal. For permanent information pertaining to a particular piece of equipment, the user usually must look behind the equipment for the serial number, model number and other such information. This, at best, is inconvenient and sometimes relatively difficult to achieve, given the wiring that is typically found behind a processor. The space constraints also limit a user's ability to retrieve equipment information which is located in the rear of the equipment. Pulling equipment away from walls, or pulling racks out to see behind the equipment is cumbersome and often interferes with the proper operation of the equipment.
The problem is different with temporal information since there is no convenient place to maintain a record of software version, or IP address or other network information. Some people use notebooks, some note cards, some scraps of paper. In some instances, users mark the current versions on the equipment with various markers and/or 'sticky' notes. In addition to the haphazard nature of such "solutions" they have a serious problem when equipment is changed out. In such situations, it is common to remove the front bezels from the equipment and since often the bezels interchangeable, such that when the bezels are returned to the equipment they are not associated with the same device as they were before removal. Thus, the information pertaining to the device which are on the bezel is now improper.

System and method for providing access to equipment identity information

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A sheet picking system for picking a sheet of media includes a power source having a driveshaft. A first housing arm containing a drive gear is drivably coupled to the driveshaft. The drive gear defines a first pivot axis for the first housing arm, wherein the drive gear is driven by the driveshaft to rotate about the first pivot axis. A second housing arm contains an intermediate gear, a transmission device, and a pick roller. The transmission device is configured to rotatably couple the intermediate gear to the pick roller. The intermediate gear is positioned to be meshed with the drive gear. The intermediate gear defines a second pivot axis for the second housing arm. A link mechanism pivotably couples the first housing arm at the first pivot axis to the second housing arm at the second pivot axis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, sod, more particularly, to sheet picking system for an imaging apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An imaging apparatus, such as a printer, scanner or copier, includes a sheet picking mechanism that is used to successively pick a single sheet of media, e.g., paper, from a media stack. With sheet picking mechanisms there is a critical normal force relationship between the pick roller of the sheet picking mechanism and the media stack. For example, too much normal force will result in feeds of multiple sheets at the same time, whereas too little normal force will result in failures to feed a sheet of media from the media stack. One type of sheet picking mechanism that attempts to overcome these problems includes a gear train, that is pivoted toward the media stack and rotates a drive roller with an increasing normal force being applied to the top sheet, of media until the top sheet of media is moved.
There is critical relationship between the buckling resistance of the sheet of media at the pick roller and the corresponding normal force at the media stack. Therefore, a simultaneous reaction happens between the buckling resistance and normal force at the media stock. In other words, a certain "cycle" exists during the picking process of the media wherein as the resistance in buckling of the media increases there is a corresponding increase in the normal force. This "cycle" can go on and on until either the sheet of media moves, the pick roller slips, or some part of the sheet picking mechanism tails. Also, it has been found that this increase in normal force for the corresponding buckling resistance increases from a media tray having a full media stack to a media tray that is empty. In other words, for the same buckling resistance the corresponding normal force is greater in an empty tray than in full tray causing a failure to pick, particularly in the case of relatively stiff media (e.g. cardstock, envelopes and index cards) at an almost empty tray level.
Because in picking heavier/stiller media the buckling resistance is large, causing a large normal force on the media stack which will increase the frictional resistance force between the top sheet and the next sheet, which in turn requires an increase in the needed torque to move the top media sheet. This action and reaction relationship between the drive force and the normal force may cause the system to fail to pick stiffer/thicker media.

Sheet picking system for an imaging apparatus


A constructable spinning top maze kit having a base upon which rail pieces may be removably mounted to form a maze through which the spinning top may travel when launched from a launcher. Multiple bases may be joined together in a single plane to create an indefinitely-extendable maze, or multiple bases may be assembled in multiple planes to create an indefinitely-extendable multi-level maze. Because rail pieces are removably mounted on the base pieces, a maze may be disassembled and reconstructed to form another maze have a completely different geometry, or one or more rail pieces may be repositioned to less drastically alter the geometry of the maze. As with the rail pieces, the launcher may be removably mounted on the base pieces. Therefore, the launcher may be positioned at a variety of locations in a maze, easily repositioned, and used within a variety of maze geometries. One or more pins may be placed on the base to provide a game with the objective of launching the top in a manner such that it will knock over the pins. The rail pieces may have downward-directed dowels with spacings which are integer multiples of a unit distance, and the base may have holes separated by the unit distance into which the dowels of the rail pieces may be inserted, thereby maximizing the number of rail configurations on the base.

The present invention relates generally to construction toys and games, and toys and games involving the spinning of tops and the like, and more particularly to a toy/game where a track or maze for a spinning top is constructed by the user.
In the game of "skittles" a player stands a number of pins upright in a maze, and then launches a top with the object of knocking over as many of the pins as possible. The player's score for a particular launch is equal to the number of pins which were knocked over. In a variation of the game, the pins are given different values depending on their location within the maze, with pins located in less accessible regions generally being assigned higher values, and the player's score is equal to the sum of the values of the pins which have been knocked over.
Currently, the geometry of such spinning top tracks is limited to two dimensions, and is not adjustable or changeable. These limitations act to somewhat restrict interest with the game.
However, providing a modular system where the player can design and construct the track, and play skittles games with the track which he or she constructed, greatly enhances the play value. Experimentation with various track geometries further enhances the play value and, in addition, is an entertaining way for a player to gain an intuitive understanding of the principal of the "random walk" (an important concept to the scientific understanding of phenomena such as air pressure).
Furthermore, a three-dimensional track system for a spinning top provides a range of interesting kinetic opportunities unavailable with a two-dimensional system. Due to the stability of spinning objects, the top can not only bounce off rails and other obstacles, it can go up and down ramps, and even fall off ledges and through "trap doors," while remaining spinning. In one alternate embodiment the top is even launched through the air to a higher level by a spring-loaded "ejector pad."
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a construction toy, particularly a toy for construction of a maze through which a spinning top travels.
It is also a general object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional track for a spinning top, particularly a three-dimensional track which may be constructed by the player.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a construction toy that allows the user to construct a spinning top track of multiple levels.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a spinning top construction toy with removably connectable track pieces and rail pieces.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a spinning top construction toy where the track is built from modular removable interlocking parts, and can be built relatively high without likelihood of toppling.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a constructable spinning top track whose size can be extended indefinitely.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a spinning top track that allows for a top to fall from one track level to another.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a spinning top track in which multiple tops may spin.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a spinning top track in which the launching point of the top may be altered.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a spinning top track with more than one area adapted for the launching of a top.
More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a toy comprised of track pieces, rail pieces, and dowels for construction of an enclosed system through which a spinning top may travel.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and the ensuing detailed description. These various embodiments and their ramifications are addressed in greater detail in the Detailed Description.


A collar/leash combination restraint system may include a hollow connector affixed to a collar. The leash is wrapped around a dog's tail and fed through the hollow connector. This forms a pulley configuration that utilizes the weight and momentum of the dog to leverage control of the animal when dog begins to pull its human walker.

Dogs of many breeds often pull their owners when being walked. Larger breeds may be capable of using their strength to overpower their human walkers or even drag a child. Typically, when walking a dog, one frequently uses only the right or left arm against the strength of the animal. This may cause a tug-of-war affect between the human walker and the dog. Excessive or sudden pulling may result in injuries to the wrist, arm, and/or shoulder.
To potentially reduce the risk of such injuries, choke collars and harnesses have been employed. While these devices may be somewhat effective in the short term, they do not prevent a dog from pulling, particularly for strong-willed animals. Furthermore, the choke collars may restrict the animal's breathing as the dog continues to pull. This may build the strength and stamina of the animal, enabling the dog to pull even harder over time and exacerbating the problem.

Collar/leash combination restraint and method of use


The present invention aims at the suppression of chromaticity irregularities and brightness irregularities by reflecting a result of an analysis of film forming misalignment of an organic EL layer. For this end, a drive circuit chip 6 is mounted on a lower side of a display panel 4, and a terminal portion 7 for connection with an external device (a host device) is mounted on an end edge of the lower side of a display panel 4. Film forming misalignment vectors (indicated by arrows) of sub pixels at an arbitrary point in a display region 5 fall within a first quadrant and an angle made between the vectors falls within 90°.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic EL display device, and more particularly to an organic EL display device which can suppress the chromaticity irregularities and the brightness irregularities by reflecting a result of an analysis of film forming misalignment of an organic EL layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Different from a liquid crystal display device, a display device which adopts organic EL elements (OLED) does not require a backlight and hence, the display device can realize the reduction of thickness and weight thereof. A color reproduction method of the organic EL element follows the additive color mixing theory based on emission of lights of three primary colors in the same manner as a conventional CRT. Blue(B), green (G) and red (R) dots (pixels: sub pixels in a full-color display) respectively emit lights, and the respective dots possess characteristic spectroscopies in the substantially same manner as the CRT.
The organic EL display device can be classified into a bottom-emission-type organic EL display device and a top-emission-type organic EL display device depending on extracting direction of emitted light. The bottom-emission-type organic EL display device has following advantages.
(1) A substrate can be manufactured using substantially same process as a thin-film-transistor-type liquid crystal display device.
(2) Cathodes in a film shape can be formed easily.
(3) Sealing can be also performed easily.
As a disadvantage of the bottom-emission-type organic EL display device has, an openings of each pixel is restricted attributed to the arrangement of a thin film transistor and hence, a numerical aperture becomes low.
On the other hand, in the top-emission-type organic EL display device, the pixel is not influenced by the arrangement of the thin film transistor and hence, the thin film transistor can be arranged in a pixel region whereby the numerical aperture becomes high. However, the cross-sectional structure of the pixel is complicated and hence, it is necessary to make a sealing can (sealing glass) have the light transmitting property.
Both types of the organic EL display device are constituted by providing a display panel which forms pixels constituted of a plurality of organic EL elements in a matrix array on an active substrate on which thin film transistors are formed and by assembling a peripheral member such as a drive circuit to the display panel. The organic EL element is provided to the active substrate for every unit color pixel which is constituted of a plurality of sub pixels, and is constituted of one electrode in which a sub pixel opening is formed, an organic EL layer which is formed on one electrode, and another electrode which is formed on the organic EL layer while covering the organic EL layer.
In the mass-producing process of the organic EL display devices, a vapor deposition method is often used to form the organic EL layer on the sub pixel opening. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-297562 (Patent document 1) discloses a vapor deposition method of forming an organic EL layer on an organic EL panel by masking.

Organic EL display device including display panel


Methods and systems for controlling the heading of a mining machine while the mining machine performs a cutting operation. One system includes a cutting system and a set of left and right tracks of the mining machine. The system also includes a lidar sensor mounted to the mining machine. The system also includes an electronic processor configured to receive the data from the lidar sensor. The electronic processor is also configured to determine a current heading of the mining machine based on the data received from the lidar sensor and compare the current heading to a target heading of the mining machine. In response to the current heading not being different from the target heading of the mining machine by a predetermined amount, the electronic processor is configured to control the mining machine to adjust the current heading of the mining machine.

Various techniques have been used to control the heading of mining equipment. Heading control in an above-ground environment relies primarily on satellite-based global positioning systems (GPS) positioning augmented with inertial sensors, such as gyroscopes. In underground environments, lidar sensors have been used to control mobile equipment traveling through existing mines in limited scenarios, but not to control heading while cutting. Rather, heading control while cutting has been accomplished by an operator controlling a mining machine using visual inspection of the machine and the mine ribs (for example, walls), sometimes with a single spot or line laser emitter mounted off of the machine and used for visual reference.


A measurement method of subcell photocurrents and a matching degree of the subcell photocurrents of a multi-junction photovoltaic cell is provided. The measurement method includes measuring an I-V characteristic of the multi-junction photovoltaic cell; and measuring currents corresponding to respective current steps in an I-V curve to obtain approximate values of short-circuit currents of subcells in the multi-junction photovoltaic cell, and then calculating a mismatching degree of the multi-junction photovoltaic cell using step currents. According to the measurement method, a current mismatching degree of the multi-junction photovoltaic cell is obtained by calculating the mismatching degree of the step currents occurring in the I-V curve. The measurement method is rapid and simple, the measurement method avoids complicated and time-consuming processes where the subcell photocurrents are calculated based on a standard light source spectrum integral with bias lights applied.

Multi-junction lamination is an effective manner to boost the voltage of a solar cell or a laser photovoltaic cell. The outstanding performance of the multi-junction photovoltaic cell in the aspect of conversion efficiency have drawn attentions from researchers. The photocurrent of the multi-junction cell is mainly determined by the smallest subcell photocurrent. If it is desired to obtain a cell having high conversion efficiency, it is ensured that the photocurrents of all subcells are equal, namely current matched. Under the requirement that the photocurrents are matched, the thicknesses of subcells are determined by the light fluxes absorbed by the material. However, the structure of the manufactured photovoltaic cell difficultly ensures that the photocurrents of subcells are precisely matched, and therefore inspecting whether the subcell photocurrents of the manufactured multi-junction photovoltaic cell are matched is extremely important in terms of testing and analyzing the multi-junction photovoltaic cell.
In the prior art, whether the subcell photocurrents of the photovoltaic cell are mainly matched is judged by measuring the External Quantum Efficiencies (EQEs) or Spectrum Responses (SRs) of the cell; however, for a multi-junction solar cell, it is needed to apply bias laser so that the photocurrent of the subcell not being tested is in a super-saturation state, and the effect of the subcell not being tested on the subcell being tested is eliminated. If it is desired to obtain the subcell photocurrents of a multi-junction solar cell, it is necessary to successively apply different bias lasers based on the number of subcells to measure the SRs and then calculate the short-circuit currents of subcells in combination with standard spectrum integral. The process of measuring the current matching degree of the multi-junction solar cell is relatively complicated and time-consuming. For the multi-junction laser photovoltaic cell, by comparing the deviation between the wavelength at the maximum SR value and the target wavelength, whether the cell reaches the maximum efficiency at a target wavelength is judged, but the subcell photocurrents of the multi-junction laser photovoltaic cell at a certain wavelength cannot be quantitatively determined. Since the subcells in the multi-junction laser photovoltaic cell are made of the same material, information on the current matching degree of subcells cannot be acquired by using a method that bias light is applied to measure the SR. Moreover, there are currently no good methods for inspecting the current matching degree of the multi-junction laser photovoltaic cell at a certain wavelength.

Measurement method of subcell photocurrents and their matching degree of a multi-junction photovoltaic cell

SUZHOU INSTITUTE OF NANO-TECH AND NANO-BIONICS (SINANO), CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES


The invention provides systems and methods for generating a visual image that is made to appear to be situated behind an architectural structure, such as a wall of a building, and is viewed through windows thereof. The image appears as an oversize object relative to the actual object. The system and method include an image recorder and/or a pre-recorded image, an image display apparatus, and a mask. Upon being projected, the image of interest is masked so that illumination falls on one or more regions of a display surface, and no illumination reaches the architectural structure outside the display region(s). Sound can be provided as required to complete the illusion. The image can be a still image or a moving image. In some embodiments, two viewers can see the image from opposite sides of the structure, each perceiving the image as being on the side opposite to the viewer.

Many methods are known for displaying images by casting illumination on a surface. For example, slide projectors for displaying presentations are well known. In the field of holography, images are projected that appear to exist independent of physical surfaces. However, there is not presently available a technique wherein an image is produced that appears to a viewer to be present on an opposite side of a structure from the viewer, for example, an image that appears to be on the opposite side of a wall having windows therein.
There is a need for systems and methods that can simulate the presence of an image that appears to be on an opposite side of a structure from a viewer thereof.

Systems and methods for displaying simulated images


A vehicle remote start control system is for a vehicle including a vehicle engine, an electrical system, and a transponder reader. The transponder reader may enable the vehicle engine based upon wirelessly reading an authorized code from a transponder carried by a user and placed proximate the transponder reader. The system may include a remote start transmitter and a remote start controller at the vehicle. The remote start controller may include a transponder code bypass transmitter electrically connected to the vehicle electrical system for wirelessly transmitting the authorized code to the transponder reader responsive to the remote start transmitter to enable the vehicle engine.

Vehicle security systems are widely used to deter vehicle theft, prevent theft of valuables from a vehicle, deter vandalism, and to protect vehicle owners and occupants. A typical automobile security system, for example, includes a central processor or controller connected to a plurality of vehicle sensors. The sensors, for example, may detect opening of the trunk, hood, doors, windows, and also movement of the vehicle or within the vehicle. Ultrasonic and microwave motion detectors, vibration sensors, sound discriminators, differential pressure sensors, and switches may be used as sensors. In addition, radar sensors may be used to monitor the area proximate the vehicle.
The controller typically operates to give an alarm indication in the event of triggering of a vehicle sensor. The alarm indication may typically be a flashing of the lights and/or the sounding of the vehicle horn or a siren. In addition, the vehicle fuel supply and/or ignition power may be selectively disabled based upon an alarm condition.
A typical security system also includes a receiver associated with the controller that cooperates with one or more remote transmitters typically carried by the user as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,242 to Sassover et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,215 to Drori. The remote transmitter may be used to arm and disarm the vehicle security system or provide other remote control features from a predetermined range away from the vehicle. Also related to remote control of a vehicle function U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,966 to Lambropoulous et al. discloses a remote keyless entry system for a vehicle. The keyless entry system permits the user to remotely open the vehicle doors or open the vehicle trunk using a small handheld transmitter.
A relatively new development in the field of vehicle security relates to a transponder to be carried by the vehicle user, such as on a key ring. The transponder is uniquely coded to transmit a transponder radio signal to a transponder reader at the vehicle. Until the transponder reader receives the uniquely coded transponder radio signal, certain vehicle functions may not operate, such as vehicle starting, for example. The reader may include a transmitter for temporarily charging a capacitor in the transponder so that the transponder can then transmit its unique code. The transponder requires no batteries, is relatively small, and can be sealed to avoid damage from moisture. One such transponder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,869,908 to Moczygemba et al.
The transponder feature means that a would-be thief can no longer break the ignition switch housing to start the vehicle. Instead possession of the properly coded transponder is required or the vehicle will not start. Some variations of the transponder technology can eliminate the need for the traditional mechanical key altogether. A number of manufacturers offer such transponder and reader systems including Texas Instruments of Dallas, Tex. under the designation TIRIS. U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,444 to Zimmer and U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,598 to Puetz disclose further developments in the vehicle transponder security area.
Unfortunately, due to the increased security provided by a transponder and a corresponding transponder reader, installation of a vehicle engine remote start system may be more complicated. When remotely starting the vehicle engine, the transponder is not close enough to the transponder reader to transmit the desired transponder radio signal. Accordingly, in an effort to bypass the transponder reader, installers have removed the transponder from the vehicle key and fastened it adjacent the transponder reader. Therefore, the transponder reader continuously receives the desired transponder radio signal from the transponder, and does not immobilize the vehicle engine. This method of installation, however, may disadvantageously decrease security.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2001/0000957 by Birchfield et al. attempts to address this problem, and discloses a remote start, passive anti-theft system for a vehicle having a transponder and transponder reader. The system includes an extra transponder positioned adjacent the transponder reader. The extra transponder includes a shielding coil that shields the transponder signal transmitted by the extra transponder except for when remote starting of the vehicle is desired.

Vehicle remote start control system including a transponder code bypass transmitter and associated methods


A flushing solution containing: a) a solvent component, b) an alkaline source; and c) a corrosion inhibitor component is provided. The solvent component preferably contains an alkoxylated aromatic alcohol. The corrosion inhibitor component may contain a fatty acid salt, a mixture of an aliphatic phosphate ester and a buffering agent such as boric acid or phosphoric acid, a mixture of a fatty acid salt, aliphatic phosphate ester, and buffering agent, or a mixture of a fatty acid salt and buffering agent. Alkanolamines are preferably used to form the fatty acid salt and/or as the alkaline source. The flushing solutions can be prepared in stable concentrated form and are useful for removing coatings such as paint from substrate surfaces.

Current commercial practice utilizes aqueous flushing solutions that contain amines and an organic solvent selected from lower alcohols and glycol ethers. The flushing solutions can be used to remove paint and other coatings from surfaces and coating application equipment. Generally, alkanolamines like dimethylethanolamine, isopropanolamine and diethanolamine are used. Flushing solutions can be prepared from flushing concentrates, which are marketed to the end user. The flushing concentrates are usually diluted to 5% to 15% by volume with deionized water.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,822 discloses a water in oil emulsion paint remover used to strip cured paint from surfaces. This emulsion is prepared by adding a non-polar mixture containing benzyl alcohol to a polar mixture containing water, an alkanolamine and polyethoxylated sorbitan monooleate. U.S. Pat. No. 6,303,552 discloses a paint stripper composition containing 20% to 50% benzyl alcohol and 0.5% to 5% by weight of an accelerator. The accelerators include alkanolamines including ethanolamine, triethanolamine, or any combination thereof. This paint stripper can also contain an emulsifier such as polyethoxylated sorbitan monolaurate, polyethoxylated sorbitan monopalmitate, polyethoxylated monostearate, polyethoxylated tristearate, polyethoxylated monoleate, trioleate polysorbates, and mixtures thereof. Chelating agents such as phosphoric acid, citric acid salts and EDTA can also be included in the stripper composition.
The pH of flushing solutions usually ranges from 8.5 to 11. The alkaline pH causes surface corrosion of the coating application equipment, e.g., the aluminum or aluminum alloy spray equipment used in the auto paint industry. The spray equipment typically uses aluminum or aluminum alloy rotating bell cups to atomize the paint. The aluminum bell cups have serrated edges around the outer perimeter. As the paint flows past the serrated edges, the paint is atomized. Corrosion of the rotating bell cups over time, particularly the serrated edges, affects the atomization of paint particles. As the atomization properties of the equipment changes, the quality of the paint finish also changes. As a result, corrosion of the spray equipment leads to a problem of quality control.
The addition of silicates and other corrosion inhibitors to the flushing solutions can be used to reduce the corrosion of aluminum and aluminum alloys. However, in the case of silicates, sufficient water must be present in the concentrate to maintain the silicates in solution. For example, it is very difficult to prepare stable silicate-containing flushing concentrates with less than 50% by weight water because the silicates will precipitate from the concentrate over time. The resulting flushing concentrate no longer possesses the chemical inhibition properties it was designed for. As a result, there is a need to develop flushing solutions with corrosion inhibitor systems that are stable when the flushing solution is in concentrate form.


A two-sheet superplastically formed/diffusion bonded panel is made with a forming die assembly in which forming cavities are held in a flexible retaining sheet that floats in a forming box. A gas passage is provided through the box behind the cavities and the retaining sheet so that the cavities and retaining sheet are forced toward a rigid face sheet forming die element when pressurized gas is introduced. A face sheet and a reinforcing sheet sealed together around their edges, except for a gas passage to provide pressurized gas between the two sheets, are placed between the face sheet die and the forming die elements positioned in the box. The sheets are then heated and pressurized gas is applied between the sheets to cause the face sheet to move into contact with the face sheet die element while the reinforcing sheet superplastically deforms into the cavities supported by the retaining sheet to form ribs. After the ribs are formed in the reinforcing sheet, the pressure between the face and reinforcing sheets is reduced and the pressure in the box behind the cavity retaining sheet and die cavities is increased so that the formed sheet is moved against the face sheet for bonding. For dimple, as opposed to rib reinforced parts, dimples are created in a grid by shaped blocks facing the reinforcing sheet, which blocks are attached at their base to a flexible retaining sheet acted upon by pressurized gas in the gas chamber.

Many forming die tools and processes for producing structures such as parts and panels from suitable sheet materials, which are sequentially formed superplastically and then diffusion bonded, are available. Unfortunately, the dies are subject to dimensional variations from manufacturing tolerances and temperature expansion, which make them difficult to design so that suitable pressure is applied by the dies at the right portions during fabrication of the structures to assure the desired diffusion bonding. This is especially true when curved or compound curved structures are being produced where a slight differential expansion, contraction or dimensional inaccuracy can result in improper mating of large areas of the dies.
Patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,340,101 to Fields, Jr. et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,920,175 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,817 to Hamilton et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,383 to Cooper et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,063 to Johnston et al. disclose methods of superplastic forming and diffusion bonding (SPF/DB) panel structures. However, generally the disclosed processes and tools are limited to either simultaneous forming and bonding or the use of maskants, also known as "stop off", in areas where bonding is not desired. Where a two-sheet SPF/DB process is desired, the use of maskants is possible. Unfortunately, maskants can affect the diffusion bond integrity of the sheets used during the process and must be very carefully handled. The maskants operate by preventing diffusion bonding from taking place in the areas where the maskant has been silk screened onto one of the adjoining sheet surfaces. It has proved to be very difficult to control the location of the maskant, particularly when panels have compound curves. If the maskant is not placed perfectly longitudinally, laterally and rotationally, the process fails, resulting in wrinkles, folds and other undesirable structural defects. One solution is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,573 to LeMonds et al., which discloses the use of diffusion bonding and then superplastic forming so that maskant can be avoided, or at least errors in maskant positioning can be discovered before the costs associated with superplastic forming are expended.
One solution to the problem of building two sheet SPF/DB structures is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,087,037 by Schier et al. and assigned to the McDonnell Douglas Corporation. The dies and tools disclosed by Schier et al. are primarily for making two sheet structures where a stiffener sheet is superplastically deformed into a rigid die to form reinforcing depressions and then the deformed sheet is diffusion bonded to a relatively planar face sheet. Any minor imprecision of the dies is overcome by using a flexible die sheet adjacent the face sheet to force the face sheet into diffusion bonding contact with the superplastically formed stiffener sheet. The relatively flexible die sheet is forced into the face sheet by the pneumatic expansion of a stainless steel bag trapped between the flexible die sheet and a backup die that only needs to approximate the shape of the face sheet. The flexible die sheet moves the face sheet into position for bonding and applies relatively even pressure to assure proper bonding. However, diffusion bonding temperatures are slightly higher than superplastic forming temperatures for the same alloy (between 1500 and 1750.degree. F.) so the forces applied by the bag through the flexible die sheet to the face sheet have a tendency to permanently deform the face sheet in areas where it is not supported by the rigid die. The resultant panel or structure has undesirable face sheet depressions. Since such structures are often used on aerodynamically critical exteriors of aerospace vehicles, dimples, valleys or other deformations are unacceptable, and the parts must be built up with smooth exterior skins connected with fasteners to the superplastically formed structures, which is not cost efficient, or made by the four sheet SPF/DB process as shown in Hayase, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,217,397, that is overkill for structures that will be lightly loaded. U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,032 by Leodolter, also assigned to McDonnell Douglas Corp., discloses an improvement to the Schier et al. tools that includes a face sheet die plate with flexible edges so that gas pressure can be used to force the die plate down on the face sheet.
Therefore, there has been a need for improved tooling that can be used to form two sheet SPF/DB parts.

Floating superplastic forming/diffusion bonding die, product and process


A bit line precharge circuit capable of improving bit line precharge operation includes a first precharge element for precharging a first bit line in response to a first precharge signal, a precharge unit for precharging second and third bit lines in response to a second precharge signal, and a second precharge element for precharging a fourth bit line in response to a third precharge signal.

Generally, a bit line precharge circuit in a semiconductor memory device precharges a pair of bit lines to a half of a power supply voltage VCC during a bit line precharge operation. In a precharge operation, it is important to maintain the precharge voltage level of the pair of the bit lines to a half of the power supply voltage VCC in the semiconductor memory device.
In a case that the precharge voltage of the pair of the bit lines is higher than a half of the power supply voltage VCC, the data margin deteriorates at a high voltage level and, in a case that the precharge voltage of the pair of the bit lines is lower than a half of the power supply voltage VCC, the data margin deteriorates at a low level. That is, in a state where the pair of bit lines are precharged to a half of a power supply voltage VCC, a charge sharing operation between the pair of the lines is carried out when a word line connected to a memory cell is selected in an active operation. At this time, in a case that a bit line sense amplifier amplifies a high-level data on the pair of the bit lines when the precharge voltage level is higher than a half of the power supply voltage VCC, the high-level data on the pair of the bit lines cannot be amplified to a sufficient voltage level of the power supply voltage VCC or the amplification cannot be carried out exactly. Similarly, in a case that a bit line sense amplifier amplifies a low-level data on the pair of the bit lines when the precharge voltage level is lower than a half of the power supply voltage VCC, the low-level data on the pair of the bit lines cannot be amplified to a sufficient voltage level of a ground voltage or the amplification cannot be carried out exactly.
Conventional semiconductor memory devices precharge bit lines using a precharge circuit included in a bit line sense amplifier. However, with increase in a level of integration in semiconductor devices, a resistance of bit lines increases and the features of bit line precharge deteriorate because of such an increased resistance.

Bit line precharge circuit having precharge elements outside sense amplifier


A language processing system uses annotation services that are external to the language processing system to identify n-grams that identify entities in an input sentence. The n-grams are annotated by the annotation services. The annotations are used to determine which n-grams, if any, correspond to instances of an entity type (e.g., values for a variable or terminals for a non-terminal). After determining which n-grams correspond to entity types, parse initializations are generated for parsing rules and parses for each rule are attempted. The rules that successfully parse are used to determine whether the input sentence invokes a specific action, and if so, what arguments are to be passed to the invocation of the action.

This specification relates to speech recognition and speech understanding systems.
Speech recognition and speech processing systems are prevalent in many consumer electronic devices. Many of these electronic devices now utilize speech command processing techniques to invoke and perform particular operations. For example, a user device, such as a smart phone, can process speech commands to perform specified operations that include searching the web, setting an alarm, calling a particular person, and so on.
A user device uses a speech recognition processing system to recognize and process speech commands. A provider of the speech recognition and processing system develops parsing rules for various commands a user will speak. Upon a successful parse of a command input by a rule, an action associated with the rule is performed (or may be performed subject to user confirmation). Parsing rules specify particular entity types, such as person names, business names, locations, and so on. There are, however, a very large number of instances of each entity type. For example, there are millions of person names, and millions of business names, and new instances emerge each day.

Parsing annotator framework from external services


An electronic component removal device comprising a cutting wire routed through a cutting region configured to receive an electronic component coupled to a substrate. The electronic component removal device can also include a leading actuator coupled to a leading end of the cutting wire to cause movement of the cutting wire in a cutting direction at a cutting speed. The electronic component removal device can further include a trailing resistance device coupled to a trailing end of the cutting wire to resist movement of the cutting wire in the cutting direction with a variable resistance. In addition, the electronic component removal device can include a leading tension sensor to sense a leading tension in the cutting wire between the cutting region and the leading actuator. The trailing resistance device can resist movement of the cutting wire with a resistance that varies based on the leading tension in the cutting wire.

Electronic components, such as chips and dies, are often attached to substrates (e.g., circuit boards) with solder balls in a configuration commonly known as a ball grid array (BGA). When an electronic device fails, it may be removed from a substrate and replaced. Current industry removal technology utilizes super-heated gases directed onto a top portion of a chip with masking and shielding to focus the applied heat. An alternative process uses an end mill to mill through a chip to the underlying solder balls.
Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended.


A medium solution which will increase the growth, survival and ultimately the live birth rate of oocytes and embryos which have been or will be subjected to cryopreservation. The solution contains varied amounts of glucose, pyruvates, amino acids, vitamins K5 and C, antioxidants, fatty acids to supply the specimens with the chemical ingredients and uptake requirements required to recover and prosper during and after the cryopreservation process. The solution supplies nutrients to the specimens that will replenish depletion and damage to the specimens and their mitochondria, spindles and structural features, such as cell walls. One formulation addresses the additional requirements of frozen specimens as opposed to the current media solutions and methods which treat the un-frozen specimens the same as the frozen specimens when recovering them from cryopreservation.

Human and other animal cells are presently being frozen, stored, and then thawed as a means of saving these materials for use at a later date. Currently, human embryos are frozen and/or vitrified to accomplish cryopreservation. The terms frozen, vitrification and cryopreservation are interchangeable for the purpose of the subject disclosure.
The problem facing current methods of cryopreservation is the recovering process and then the culturing to implantation for oocyte and embryos, and the resulting actual live birth. Currently, the freezing and thawing of a human oocyte may result in approximately a 10% overall live birth rate, which is well below the actual live birth rate of non-frozen oocyte or embryos. The conditions affecting the oocyte also affect embryos which are frozen and thawed and then implanted. In other words, there is a reduced rate of live birth for the frozen embryos as compared to the non-frozen embryos.
The prior methods for the preparation and cryopreservation of specimens such as embryos, oocyte and stem cells are centered on separate and different solutions and chemical ingredients.
When the time comes to thaw the specimens the current methods utilize a progression of media that contain a combination of solutions used in sequence. Again one may use up to seven different media solutions that are in separate vials. The more common methods are a progression of media reducing the level of sucrose in each and then the last solution will be sucrose free and used for washing. After a specimen is thawed it is then transfered into a generic solution or off the shelf culture media solution used for the normal culturing of oocyte and embryos and do not address any changes in concentrations or the addition of new ingredients to compensate for the freezing and thawing process.
In the current methods of cryopreservation, the specimen is immersed into a series of media and cryoprotectorants whereby the concentration of the cryoprotectorants (CP) is increased until, in some methods, the CP is 50% of the solution. The resulting infusion of the CP into the cells displaces water in the cells and dehydrates the cells during this introduction of the CP. This can be harmful to the cells. The cells are then vitrified and then plunged into liquid nitrogen (LN) at a temperature as low as −180 C. The specimens will then be stored in the LN until they are to be used.
The specimens, when needed, are removed from the Ln and then immersed in a series of media used to thaw the specimens. Currently, most of these media contain a solution consisting of a base saline medium, HSA (10-20% of solution) and sucrose as an energy source. In one example Vial#1 will contain .85mM of sucrose. Vials #2 through #4 will decrease the sucrose concentrations stepwise down to .10mM in Vial #4, and then Vial #5 will contain only a base media and HSA, and no sucrose.
The specimens will then be placed into a "generic" culture media until usage. Embryos will be held in this medium until they are transfered into the patient. Currently, embryos used in human IVF will be immersed in several media, embryo culture media, such as P1, HTF, HTF w/SSS and Irvine ECM® (Irvine Scientific), G2.2 through G5 series (Vitrolife), Quinn's Advantage (Sage), Cook® Cleavage and Cook® Blastocyst (Cook IVF), Universal IVF medium®, EmbryoAssist™, BlastAssist™, ISM1 and 2™and others (MediCult), Sigma Ham's F-10 and MEM 199 (Sigma), and Global® (LifeGlobal). These media have not been modified to accommodate the problems being faced by the specimens in their post thawing development. They are not modified to be different for nonfrozen embryos as differentiated from frozen and then thawed embryos.
The introduction of the CP in the freezing process often results in problems with and damage to the cells, such as dehydration, membrane damage, damage to the spindle, DNA damage, alterations to proteins, stripping of proteins, may alter ingredients, as well as other structural and physical changes and damage. For example, the frozen state can result in damage to the cell walls and to the mitochondria.
The freezing process may introduce other factors such as ice formation during either cooling or warming, and mechanical disruption of cells contributing to the destabilization of membranes. Severe dehydration from the exposure to concentrated CP can cause the structural transitions of biological molecules including lipids and proteins.
It appears that oocytes and embryos may lose or have certain diminished metabolic levels within the oocytes or embryos after the current freezing and thawing procedures, and the current practices do not address these freeze related extractions of certain proteins or nutrients when the CP is extracted or added.
The problems facing the specimens is that they may not recover from the freeze, may not be fully flushed of the cryoprotectorant, may have suffered physical damage to membranes or mitochondria and may not be provided with the correct dosage of the required nutrients or ingredients in order to recover. The problem facing the specimens is that most media used in the freezing and thawing processes are those "generic" media which are used for the culture and development of nonfrozen specimens, and which have different requirements.
In the current methods used for cryopreservation techniques, the specimens are not "cultured" or "aided" in the process when they are going to be placed into cryopreservation or thawed out of cryopreservation. The users utilize "generic" media, as they do in post thawing, as mentioned earlier, and do not add or alter any ingredients which may better prepare the specimen for cryopreservation, thawing or recovery.
The specimens are placed into vitrification kits, which do not address pre-vitrification or post vitrification conditions. Currently, embryos used in human IVF will be immersed in several vitrification solutions as part of a sequential kit, such as Embryo and Blastocyst Freeze and Thaw Kit, Blastocyst Vitrification Freeze and Thaw and others (Irvine Scientific), G-FreezeKit Blast™, RapidVit™ Cleave, RapidWarm™ Cleave and others (Vitrolife), Quinn's Advantage® embryo freeze kit, Quinn's Advantage® blastocyst freeze kit (Sage), Blastocyst Cryopreservation™ and Blastocyst Vitrification™ (Cook IVF), OocyteFreeze™ and Thaw™, BlastFreeze™ and BlastThaw™and others (MediCult). These vitrification solutions, used in sequence do not contain a solution or method of immersing the embryos in a specially prepared, modified media to accommodate the problems being faced by the specimens of their pre-vitrification or post thawing procedures. They do not modify the media, solutions or methods so as to be different for nonfrozen embryos as differentiated from frozen, and then thawed, embryos.

Media solutions and methods for cryopreservation and thawing of in vitro fertilization specimens


Techniques for decoupling compute and storage resources in a hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) are provided. In one set of embodiments, a control plane of the HCI deployment can provision a host from a host platform of an infrastructure on which the HCI deployment is implemented and can provision one or more storage volumes from a storage platform of the infrastructure, where the storage platform runs on physical server resources in the infrastructure that are separate from the host platform. The control plane can then cause the one or more storage volumes to be network-attached to the host in a manner that enables a hypervisor of the host to make the one or more storage volumes available, as part of a virtual storage pool, to one or more virtual machines in the HCI deployment for data storage.

Hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) is an IT infrastructure model in which both the compute and storage resources of a group of physical servers are virtualized at the hypervisor level. For example, FIG. 1 depicts a conventional HCI deployment 100 comprising physical servers (i.e., hosts) 102(1)-(N) that are part of an on-premises data center 104. Each host 102 includes a hypervisor 106, a set of local compute resources 108 (e.g., CPUs), and a set of local storage resources 110 (e.g., directly-attached solid state disks (SSDs), spinning hard disks, nonvolatile memory (NVM), etc.). Hypervisors 106(1)-(N) are configured to perform the dual functions of (1) virtualizing the local compute resources of their respective hosts 102(1)-(N) and allocating the virtualized compute resources to locally-running virtual machines (VMs) 112, and (2) aggregating the local storage resources 110(1)-(N) of hosts 102(1)-(N) into a virtual storage pool 114 and making virtual storage pool 114 available to VMs 112(1)-(N) for data storage purposes.
In recent years, there has been a movement towards extending HCI from on-premises data centers to the public cloud—in other words, implementing hypervisor-level compute and storage virtualization on the hosts of public (i.e., third-party) cloud infrastructures such as Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, etc., rather than on privately owned machines. This approach is referred to herein as cloud-based HCI. There are three personas in the case of cloud-based HCI: the public cloud provider, the owner/operator of the cloud-based HCI-as-a-Service, and the consumer of the service. The owner/operator of the cloud-based HCI-as-a-Service benefits from the elastic hardware infrastructure of the public cloud provider, including but not limited to the hardware procurement and on-going maintenance. The consumer of the cloud-based HCI-as-a-Service enjoys the usual benefits of a managed service with the same on-premises experiences. Last but not the least, to the public cloud provider, this represents a unique approach to onboard traditional enterprise workloads.
Unfortunately, existing implementations of cloud-based HCI are generally limited to running on fixed form factor hosts in the public cloud that have a predefined ratio of local compute and local storage resources (e.g., X teraflops of local compute and Y terabytes of local storage). This limitation raises a number of problems. First, since each entity (i.e., customer) deploying cloud-based HCI will have their own needs and requirements, this predefined ratio will not be ideal for everyone. For example, some customers may want more storage capacity per host for their applications (or a subset of their applications) while other customers may want less.
Second, from an operational perspective, the manner in which host maintenance and host/disk failures are handled in a public cloud infrastructure is significantly different from an on-premises data center, which has implications for reliability and performance. For example, when any part of a host in a public cloud infrastructure fails (even just a fan), the entire host is typically removed from the cloud infrastructure and replaced with a new one, which usually does not happen in on-premises environments. This removal of the "failed" host means that if, e.g., 10 terabytes of data were maintained on the local storage of that host, the entire 10 terabytes must be moved to and rebuilt on a new host, which can take a significant amount of time and hence lead to lowered storage SLA (service-level agreement) and more impact to customer workloads.
Third, with a fixed form factor host platform, it is not possible for customers to scale their consumption of storage separately from compute. For instance, if a customer wants more storage than provided by, e.g., 50 cloud hosts, the customer must pay the public cloud provider for the use of one or more additional hosts, each of which includes more compute and storage. Thus, in order to scale storage, the customer is forced to also take on additional compute capacity that the customer may not need or want.

Decoupling compute and storage resources in cloud-based HCI (hyper-converged infrastructure)


An image reading apparatus includes a stage for placing a specimen. The stage moves in first directions between a setting position where the specimen is placed and removed and a reading position for reading the specimen. The image reading apparatus also includes a light source for irradiating light onto the specimen on the stage, a photoelectric conversion device having a line shape for photo-electrically converting the light reflected from the specimen, an optical device for guiding the light from the specimen to the photoelectric conversion device, a carriage mounting the optical device, and an apparatus frame for movably supporting the stage and the carriage. The carriage moves along the stage in second directions substantially same as the first direction.

The invention relates to an image reading apparatus for optically forming a flat image such as a sheet or a three-dimensional image such as a liquid surface on a photoelectric conversion element, so that the photoelectric conversion element electrically reads such an image. More particularly, the present invention relates to an image reading apparatus for reading media such as bacteria or microorganisms for analysis.
Generally, an optical microscope has been used for observing a material cultivated on a medium such as liquid and a sheet to analyze a propagation state of bacteria or microorganisms. In recent years, a new inspection system has been available in which a photoelectric sensor such as CCD electrically reads such a medium and an image processing apparatus such as a computer analyzes data, and then the data is stored.
Conventionally, Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 09-121837 has disclosed a colony count measuring apparatus for reading a three-dimensional object. In the colony count measuring apparatus, a CCD camera is mounted on a stage such as a Petri dish for placing a specimen to be viewed. That is, a flat sensor is used for capturing an image. In this case, it is necessary to provide an enough distance between the specimen and the camera (between the stage and the camera) to obtain an entire image of the specimen. Also, it is necessary to use a light source with a high output for illuminating the entire specimen, thereby increasing a size of the apparatus.
Japanese Patent Publications (Kokai) No. 07-140561 and No. 09-179214 have disclosed other apparatus for reading a three-dimensional object. In the image forming apparatus, an optical system formed of a bar-shaped light source, a lens and a mirror is arranged above a stage for placing a specimen, and the optical system moves to sequentially read an image of the specimen in line. With this type of sequential reading method, it is possible to bend a light path with the mirror, and it is not necessary to use a light source with a high output, thereby making the apparatus smaller than the apparatus using the CCD camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 09-121837.
In the image forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Publications (Kokai) No. 07-140561 and No. 09-179214, it is necessary to provide a space between the stage and the optical system for placing and adjusting the specimen at a predetermined reading position on the stage, thereby increasing a size of the apparatus. The apparatus is provided with a mechanism for mounting the optical system to be movable freely up and down so that a focus position can be freely changed. The mechanism moves the optical system (scanning unit) itself up and down, or moves a frame supporting the optical system up and down, so that the mechanism tends to be large, thereby increasing a size of the apparatus.
Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 06-189063 has disclosed a reading apparatus having a stage for placing an original to be viewed formed of a drawer mechanism moving between a reading position inside the apparatus and a setting position for placing the original on the stage outside the apparatus. In the reading apparatus, it is possible to adjust the object (original) to be viewed at the setting position outside the apparatus. Accordingly, it is possible to make the apparatus compact as compared with the image forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 07-140561, in which it is necessary to provide a large space between the stage and the optical system at the reading position for the adjustment.
In the reading apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 06-189063, the original is pressed against the reading unit so that an image surface of the original (specimen) is located at a focus position of the reading unit. Accordingly, it is difficult to handle a specimen in a liquid state or a gel state. Also, the reading apparatus is provided with a mechanism for rotating the stage to press the original against the reading unit, thereby increasing a size of the apparatus.
Japanese Patent No. 3410810 has disclosed a reading apparatus having a drawer mechanism for moving a stage between a reading position and a setting position, similar to the reading apparatus disclosed Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 06-189063. In the reading apparatus, the original is pressed against a reading unit so that an image surface of an original (specimen) is located at a focus position of the reading unit. Accordingly, it is difficult to handle a specimen in a liquid state or a gel state. The reading apparatus is also provided with a mechanism for moving the original up and down, thereby increasing a size and cost of the apparatus.
In view of the problems described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a compact image reading apparatus for reading a three-dimensional object such as liquid.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a compact and low-cost apparatus having a simple mechanism for adjusting a focus position.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.


A diffusion bonding method has a step of adjusting ends of material to be bonded before bonding the material after setting the materials in the diffusion bonding apparatus, whereas a diffusion bonding apparatus has a mechanism for finishing ends of materials to be bonded so that both ends face parallel to each other.

A diffusion bonding method has been known as one of the methods for bonding metallic materials. When bonding metals by this method, because the surface roughness of materials to be bonded significantly affects the joint efficiency, the ends of the materials are generally cut or ground to achieve a desired roughness before the materials are set in the diffusion bonding apparatus for diffusion bonding.
In this general procedure, materials to be bonded are set in a diffusion bonding apparatus without adjusting the ends of the materials to face parallel to each other, assuming that a proper contact is obtained at the ends of the material to be bonded by creep caused by pressure and heat applied thereto prior to bonding.
However, a study made by the inventors of the present invention has discovered that when bonding tubes or pipes by this generally employed method of diffusion bonding, joint efficiency drops because some parts may not contact each other under a desired pressure depending on a certain degree of parallel of materials to be bonded.
Therefore, when bonding tubes or pipes through this generally employed diffusion bonding method, it is essential to adjust the ends of the materials to be bonded to face parallel to each other before setting the materials in a diffusion bonding apparatus. However, because most pieces of tube or pipe to be bonded are long, the adjustment is troublesome and time-consuming.
However, most products manufactured by diffusion bonding are relatively small, and it is impossible to employ a prior art diffusion bonding apparatus in the manufacture of extensively long pieces such as oil-well pipes which extend several kilometers.
Therefore, the arrival of a diffusion bonding apparatus suitable to the manufacture of extensively long pieces is much awaited by manufacturers of extensively long pipes such as oil-well pipes.
Another problem of a prior art diffusion bonding apparatus is that when bonding metallic materials by the prior art diffusion bonding apparatus, a difference may occur in the joint of the two materials as shown in FIG. 46(a). Marks T1 and T2 in FIG. 46 represent materials which are bonded.
Subsequently, when a difference occurs, it remarkably weakens the strength, especially the fatigue strength, of the joint. Consequently, when such a difference occurs, it is usually corrected by forming a taper a and b at the joint, as shown in FIG. 46(b), by applying cutting or grinding finishing thereto.
However, correction in such a way may lead to a drop in the work efficiency at diffusion bonding since the correction work is troublesome, because the work is carried out for a materials which becomes much longer after being bonded.
Furthermore, induction heating has usually used a heating coil c as shown in FIG. 47 in which the material T to be heated is inserted, heated and then pulled out.
However, when heating an extensively long piece such as a pipe, insertion and extraction of the material T in and out of the heating coil c takes much time because of its long length, thus impairing the productivity.
Furthermore, in diffusion bonding, it is the conventionally employed method that a bonding part j is covered with a gas jacket d as shown in FIG. 48 in order to prevent the oxidation of the bonding part j. Because of a gap created between the gas jacket d and materials T and T, inert gas (herein after called shielding gas) is supplied to the gas jacket d from a nozzle e to prevent air from going into the gas jacket d, and the bonding part j is bonded while being shielded. In other words, with the shielding gas leaking out of the gap between the gas jacket d and the materials T and T, air is prevented from going into the gas jacket d while materials are being bonded. In FIG. 48, the mark c represents a high frequency heating coil.
However, when the materials are bonded while letting the shielding gas go out in the above manner, it creates a flow of gas inside the gas jacket d cooling the circumference of the bonding part j. As a result, the bonding part is not sufficiently heated causing unsatisfactory quality and strength in joints.
The present invention is made to resolve the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior arts.
Namely, it is an object of the present invention to provide a diffusion bonding method and a diffusion bonding apparatus that will facilitate the setting of the materials in a diffusion bonding apparatus when bonding long pieces of tubes or pipes.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a diffusion bonding apparatus which is applied to manufacture of extensively long pipes such as oil-well pipes which extend several kilometers.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and an appratus for adjusting position of materials to be bonded by diffusion bonding so that a difference in the joint is prevented.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a heating coil to heat speedily an extensively long piece such as a pipe.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a shielding device and the shielding method for a bonding part in diffusion bonding which do not cause the degradation in quality and strength in joints.

Diffusion bonding method and diffusion bonding apparatus


Locking multiple VCOs to generate a plurality of LO frequencies, including: receiving a plurality of divided VCO feedback signals from a plurality of VCOs; receiving a reference signal multiplied by a predetermined number of the plurality of VCOs; generating and processing the predetermined number of phase differences between the multiplied reference signal and the plurality of divided VCO feedback signals in a single PLL circuit including a digital loop filter to receive and process the phase differences and generate (produce) a filter output, wherein the digital loop filter includes a plurality of delay cells equal to the predetermined number; and generating and outputting (delayed) control voltages for the plurality of VCOs based on the filter output.

1. Field
This invention relates to a phase-locked loop (PLL), and more specifically, to generating multiple local oscillation (LO) frequencies using a single PLL to lock multiple voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs).
2. Background
In transceiver circuits that support carrier aggregation, multiple receiver and transmitter synthesizers are needed, one for each local oscillator frequency. For example, for three downlink and two uplink carrier aggregation, five synthesizers are needed. This configuration requires large amount of silicon area from each phase locked loop (PLL).

Locking multiple voltage-controlled oscillators with a single phase-locked loop


In a method for managing memory pages, responsive to determining that a server is experiencing memory pressure, one or more processors identifying a first memory page in a listing of memory pages in the server. The method further includes determining whether the first memory page corresponds to a logical partition (LPAR) of the server that is scheduled to undergo an operation to migrate data stored on memory pages of the LPAR to another server. The method further includes, responsive to determining that the first memory page does correspond to a LPAR of the server that is scheduled to undergo an operation to migrate data, determining whether to evict the first memory page based on a memory page state associated with the first memory page. The method further includes, responsive to determining to evict the first memory page, evicting data stored in the first memory page to a paging space.

The present invention relates generally to the field of computer resource management, and more particularly to management of memory pages in a computing environment.
Live Partition Mobility (LPM) is a feature utilized in computer servers and virtual machine environments that allows a running logical partition (LPAR) to be relocated from one computer system to another computer system. In LPM, memory is copied asynchronously from one system to another to create a clone of a running partition with "dirty" pages being re-copied as necessary. LPM can be utilized to transmit data stored on memory pages from one system to another. A memory page is a fixed-length contiguous block of virtual memory. For example, a server computer includes dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), which is allocated to one or more LPARs of the server computer. The DRAM is divided into a pool of "chunks" of memory, and each chunk is referred to as a memory page.
A hypervisor or virtual machine monitor (VMM) is a piece of computer software, firmware, or hardware that creates and runs virtual machines. In an Active Memory Sharing (AMS) environment, a hypervisor can provide a loan of memory pages from LPARs that are not using the memory pages to LPARs that are experiencing increased memory pressure. AMS provides system memory virtualization capabilities, allowing multiple LPARs to share a common pool of virtual memory.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

International Business Machines Corporation


A portable device enables access to a host computer via a guest computer. The portable device is connected to the guest computer, and a program stored in a memory on the portable device is activated, the program including instructions for establishing communication with the host computer such that input to the guest computer serves as input to the host computer, and output displays from the host computer are displayed on the guest computer. The portable device includes a cryptographic processor for performing cryptographic processing for communicating with the host computer. The portable device also includes a protected memory for storing a private key accessible to the cryptographic processor, the private key being used during cryptographic processing. The protected memory can be internal or external to the cryptographic processor.

The present invention relates to a portable device that can be inserted into a remote computer to enable access to a host computer's capabilities.
So-called memory sticks are in widespread use. These memory sticks are small, portable devices that can be inserted into an external port of a personal computer. FIG. 1 shows memory stick 10 having read/write memory 11 coupled to USB controller 12 that is coupled to USB connector 13. Typically, memory 11 is a chip attached to a small printed circuit board, and controller 12 comprises circuitry on the chip, or sometimes a separate chip attached to the printed circuit board. When memory stick 10 is placed in the USB port of a computer, the operating system detects a new device, and executes a "new device found" routine that typically displays the files stored on memory stick 10.
Variations of the memory stick include devices having a fingerprint reader, devices having an MP3 music player, devices having a small disk drive in addition to or instead of a read/write memory, and so on.
For users that travel, it is desirable to provide such mobile users with access to their data and computer functions, from anywhere. Accordingly, it is desirable that a user be able to access their data and computer functions from any computer via the convenience of a memory stick type of device.

Portable device for accessing host computer via remote computer