An apparatus and method for allowing television systems using solid-state image sensors to be compatible with a multiplicity of television standards. Scenes conforming to a standard which specifies a format aspect ratio or a specific number of active scan lines per frame are input into the anamorphic television system. The anamorphic television system modifies these scenes to take optimum advantage of the resolution of the solid-state image sensor. The anamorphic television system alters the dimensions of the scene along the horizontal and/or vertical axis so that the scene conforms to the format aspect ratio of the solid state image sensor and/or to the number of active scan lines per frame as specified in the applicable standard. The solid-state image sensor converts the optical information into an electrical signal. This electrical signal is retrieved from the solid-state image sensor by timing circuitry. The retrieved electrical information is converted into a composite video signal which is then displayed on the display monitor. The original proportionality of the scene is recaptured by altering the vertical and/or horizontal height controls on the display monitor and/or by altering the rate at which the information is retrieved from the image sensor and displayed on the display monitor.

1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to television systems, and more particularly to anamorphic television systems.
2. Related Art
Television systems are designed to conform to standards defining parameters such as the number of scan lines per frame, the scanning line rate, and the frame rate for generating the displayed image. These standards also specify the format aspect ratio of the displayed image. Format aspect ratio is defined as the ratio of image width to image height.
Typical standards issued by the United States Electronic Industries Association include RS-170 for systems with 525 total scan lines per frame and RS-343-A for high resolution systems with 675, 729, 875, 945 and 1023 scan lines per frame. These standards are fully described in Electronic Industries Association EIA standard RS-170, "Electrical Performance Standards--Monochrome Television Studio Facilities," revision TR-135, and Electronic Industries Associations EIA standard RS-343-A, "Electrical Performance Standards for High Resolution Monochrome Closed Circuit Television Camera." These references are hereby incorporated in their entirety into this disclosure. These standards both specify a format aspect ratio of 4:3 which has been a universally accepted aspect ratio for broadcast and cable TV as well as most industrial and military television system applications. In addition, RS-343-A A specifies 946 active scan line of video information for each frame of a 1023 line system and 809 active scan lines per frame for an 875 line system.
Some conventional television systems use electron-beam scanning of the camera tube for image pickup and of the cathode ray tube for image display. Other conventional systems use solid-state image sensors such as charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensors for image pickup.
The display device of conventional television systems can be a cathode ray tube with electron-beam scanning or a solid-state display. Solid-state displays typically consist of a matrix of light-emitting or light-controlling elements with support electronics configured to provide displayed images of television video signals.
Systems using electron-beam scanning techniques can be easily modified to conform to different scan rates, frame rates, and format aspect ratios as specified by the various standards. With electron-beam scanning, these changes typically only require adjusting the frequencies and/or amplitudes of the scan signal wave forms.
Solid-state image sensors, however, afford only limited flexibility to conform to multiple standards. These sensors are designed and fabricated with a fixed number of element rows. The number of rows is chosen to correspond to the number of scan lines per frame specified by the chosen standard. Also fixed is the width of each element row. This dimension is chosen to provide the specified format aspect ratio. The number of picture elements (pixels) per element row determines the horizontal resolution of the image sensor. A greater number of pixels per row results in improved horizontal resolution.
Since the number of rows, the width of the rows, and the number of pixels per row is fixed in solid-state image sensors, conventional television systems implementing such devices have limited flexibility. Two examples provided below illustrate the limitations of conventional solid-state image sensor television systems.
The first example illustrates why a conventional television system designed to operate at 972 active scan lines per frame with a format aspect ratio of 4:3 and 1134 pixels per scan line, will operate at reduced resolution if implemented in an application requiring only 809 active scan lines per frame. In conventional systems an opticla image is formed or relayed using a conventional lens or conventional fiber optic taper so that the useful portion of the image impinges on only 809 of the 972 sensor rows. The reduced image size is 809/972, or 83%, of the original image size. Since the image is reduced by 83% along both axes, only 83%, or 943 of the 1134 pixels along each row are used. The result is a television system which operates at reduced horizontal resolution.
The second example illustrates why a conventional television system designed to operate at a given format aspect ratio will have limited flexibility to conform to standards specifying other format aspect ratios. Consider the same conventional system as in the first example having 972 active scan lines per frame and a format aspect ratio of 4:3. If this system is used to operate with a format aspect ratio of 16:9, a reduction in the number of scan lines and a reduction in resolution along the vertical axis results. The 16:9 image has a width of 16 units and a height of 9 units. The 4:3 sensor, which can also be expressed as a 16:12 sensor {4.times.(4:3)}, has a width of 16 units and a height of 12 units. When a 16:9 image impinges upon a 16:12 sensor, only 9 twelfths, or 75%, of the active scan lines are utilized. This results in a reduction of vertical resolution. Also, the loss of scan lines can result in failure to conform to a given scan-line standard.
In summary, conventional television systems using solid-state image sensors cannot effectively be used in multiple applications specifying various standards. Where limited quantities are required, the cost of redesign and fabrication of a unique solid-state image sensor for each application of the conventional television system becomes a significant factor in television system cost. Also, due to size, power, weight, and thermal constraints, conventional systems using electron-beam-scanned image sensors may not provide a viable alternative to solid-state image sensor systems.

System and method for using an anamorphic fiber optic taper to extend the application of solid-state image sensors


An article, such as a polymeric film, sachet, purge control pad, or label, includes a sulfur scavenger. In some embodiments, an oxygen scavenger is also included. A method includes providing an article, including a sulfur scavenger and an oxygen scavenger; and subjecting the article to a dosage of actinic radiation effective to trigger the oxygen scavenger. A method of reducing the sulfur content of a package containing a food product includes either (1) providing a film including a layer including a zinc ionomer, and a layer including an oxygen scavenger; packaging the food product in the film; and storing the package for at least 24 hours; or (2) providing the food product at a temperature of ≦40° F.; providing a film including a layer including a sulfur scavenger; packaging the food product in the film; and storing the package for at least 24 hours.

Many oxygen sensitive products, including food products such as meat and cheese, and smoked and processed luncheon meats, deteriorate in the presence of oxygen. Both the color and the flavor of foods can be adversely affected. The oxidation of lipids within the food product can result in the development of rancidity. These products benefit from the use of oxygen scavengers in their packaging.
Certain food products such as poultry and process poultry meats (e.g., sausage, ham salami, and pepperoni, e.g. turkey pepperoni) can generate sulfur off odors. The origin of these odors is most likely enzymatic or microbial degradation of sulfur containing amino acids. This is particularly a problem in high oxygen barrier packaging. Hydrogen sulfide and other sulfur containing compounds, such as mercaptans are generated during the normal shelf life of these products particularly at room temperature and to a lesser degree under refrigerated storage.
Poultry often forms sulfur-containing components during storage. Although the poultry may still be safe for consumption, the odors cause consumers to regard it as "spoiled" and return the poultry to the retailer. As a result, poultry cannot be packaged in barrier films due to the necessity for releasing the generated sulfur type off-odors. These factors limit the shelf-life of the fresh product to typically fourteen days after processing for chicken parts.
Iron based oxygen scavenging sachets have been found to be good scavengers of sulfur odors. Unfortunately, iron based oxygen scavenging sachets have their own drawbacks when used in food packaging. These drawbacks include incompatibility with metal detectors, as well as the potential for accidental ingestion of the sachet contents.
Organic, inorganic and polymeric oxygen scavengers are known, these materials typically incorporated into the packaging material itself. However, it has now been found that sulfur off-odors are sometimes exacerbated in packages containing oxygen scavengers. Thus, to replace iron-based sachets, for example with oxygen scavenger containing films, an alternative means of removing sulfur odors is needed.
An additional challenge for many packaging applications is the requirement that the packaging material, such as a film, be transparent or nearly transparent. Many functionally useful materials, either for hydrogen sulfide scavenging or oxygen scavenging, cause a film into which they are incorporated to become opaque, or at least degrade the optics of the film to an extent to make them unfit for packaging applications where the film customer or final user desires a clear film in which the contents of the package can be visually inspected from outside the package.
It has now be found that various additives can be incorporated into articles such as polymeric films, sachets, purge control pads, or labels, and scavenge sulfur odors with in many cases no or minimal impact on optical properties of the film. Materials of the present invention can adsorb hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan as they are formed, and thus offer extended shelf-life of the packaged product, and/or the ability to implement an oxygen scavenger in conjunction with a sulfur scavenger.
These additives include ultra fine copper powder (with a mean particle diameter of 0.2 micrometers), more generally copper (0) powder, copper (0) on a high surface area support, copper (II) on a high surface area support, and zinc acetate. These sulfur scavengers were found to be most effective when moist. In addition, we have found that zinc oxide has also proved effective, and has an advantage of being categorized as "GRAS" (Generally Regarded as Safe) by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Other materials have also been found to be useful as sulfur scavengers include zinc stearate (also "GRAS"), copper (II) oxide, iron oxide powder and zinc ionomer (e.g., SURLYN™ available from DuPont). Nano particle sized zinc oxide can be used at relatively high loadings while maintaining good optical properties. On the other hand, while ultra fine (i.e. having a mean particle diameter of less than 0.2 micrometers) copper (0) powder is very effective, somewhat larger particle size materials (1 to 3 micrometers) are actually less colored in the polymer matrix. Larger particle copper powder is also less expensive. "Copper (0)" herein means copper in its zero valence state.
GC headspace tests were run to determine the effectiveness of various materials either in their pure state or as compounded into low density polyethylene and/or zinc ionomer. Contact ratios were used that should mimic or exceed worst-case packaging scenarios with favorable results. "Contact ratios" herein refers to the cubic centimeters of sulfurous vapor per gram of the sulfur scavenger.
Zinc ionomer can be incorporated into films that include an oxygen scavenger. Zinc stearate is GRAS and has essentially no effect on the optical properties of polymer layers. Colored iron oxide powder and copper powder can be used in polyethylene or in conjunction with zinc ionomers to further increase the capacity. Copper powder or copper oxide of the appropriate particle size can be used at levels that have acceptable optical properties.

Method of removing sulfur odors from packages


A multicompartment envelope or sterilization receptacle for receiving and storing medical instruments includes an adhesive flap for sealing multiple compartments within a single envelope. Individual compartments within the multicompartment enveloped can be opened while still keeping the seal of other compartments, thus keeping unused instruments sterilized. The multicompartment envelope or sterilization receptacle has an aperture for insertion of a heat-deforming color changing sterilization indicator device, where, after exposure to extreme heat, the sterilization indicator device deforms and cannot thereafter be inserted or removed from an aperture of a sterilization receptacle fitted for an unsterilized sterilization indicator device. Thus, the practitioner is assured of sterilized instruments in a sterilization receptacle, when an intact, color changed sterilization indicator device is within the aperture of the sterilization receptacle. Several multicompartment envelopes can further be organized within a binder by procedure or instrument type.

Surgical instruments used in medical and dental practice are often stored in sealed envelopes or other containers. Other fields where sterilized instruments and equipment are desired include research laboratories, crime laboratories, and in the practice of veterinary medicine. Envelopes or other containers storing contaminated instruments undergo a sterilization process and are capable of withstanding extreme heat and have gas permeability to allow for the sterilization of the instruments. Instruments undergoing this extreme heat (autoclaving) and/or chemical treatment (chemiclaving) may be used on different patients without risk of contaminating a new patient with diseases from a previous patient who had the same instruments used on him or herself because the instruments are sterilized after exposure to this extreme heat and/or chemicals.
Commonly, in current practice, one or more unsterilized instruments are placed into a single compartment in an autoclaving receptacle. When this compartment is opened, the practitioner uses the needed sterilized instruments, and any instruments not used immediately become unsterilized, and not fit for use because they have been exposed to the unsterile environment. The unused instruments, if they are to be used on future patients, need to be resterilized in order to be fit for use. However, practitioners run the risk of using unsterilized instruments on a patient even when the instruments are located in a receptacle that has markings (such as activated autoclave tape) that indicate that the container is sterile because current methods of marking sterilized packages do not necessarily indicate that the objects within the receptacle are sterilized, only that the sterilization indicator underwent sterilization.
Indicating inks, such as chemically reactive inks or heat reactive inks are available that change color on exposure to sterilizing chemicals, or upon exposure to heat such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,588 to Takahara et al. However, the mere use of sterilization indicator devices does not verify that the instruments inside of the sterilization receptacle were there during sterilization and subjected to the sterilization process. This can occur for several reasons, one of which is that as most containers let users seal or lock the container at any time, even after sterilization has taken place, as shown by the sterilization locking device in U.S. Patent Appl. Pub. No. 20110250104 by Martel et al., where a sterilization lock can be closed after sterilization has taken place. In another type of sterilization system, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,870,959 to Kuo et al., sterilization inks are directly printed on a sterilization envelope. While the heat changed ink indicates that the envelope has undergone sterilization, instruments can be inserted into the envelope after the envelope has undergone sterilization. This is how one can abuse and defraud currently available sterilization systems. In cases of pouches and envelopes, an empty and unsealed pouch can be placed in an autoclave until its indicator changes color, then the pouch or envelope is removed from the autoclave, filled with unsterilized instruments and sealed. Unsterilized instruments can be placed into a sterilized pouch and sealed after the envelope, but not instruments, has undergone sterilization. This color change indicator device would lead others to believe that the items in the pouch are sterilized, when in fact, they are not.
In cases of containers that use sterilization locks with heat sensitive ink printed directly on the lock, the user can place only the lock in the autoclave to have the color change, and then apply these locks to any unsterilized container to have the container and contents within the container appear sterilized. In this circumstance, unsterilized instruments are in a locked container that appears to have been sterilized, even though it is only the sterilization lock that has been sterilized. An unscrupulous user can sterilize hundreds of sterilization indicator devices and lock containers with these devices, without actually sterilizing any instruments, thus deceiving others that the contents are sterile.
Along with the above-mentioned deficiency, another deficiency of single compartment sterilization envelopes is that once the sterilization process has been completed, keeping sterilized instruments organized is difficult. The practitioner or user will have tens, if not hundreds of individual envelopes, each having a single, or a few small instruments. Envelopes may easily be lost or misplaced because of the vast number of envelopes needed in medical, dental, or laboratory procedures. Another disadvantage is that health monitoring agencies such as OSHA, dental boards, and medical boards require that each envelope show the date of sterilization. For practitioners and labs who do many procedures a day, it is cumbersome to date, sort, label, and place sterilization indicators on each envelopes, and should they choose to place multiple instruments in a single pouch to save time and cost, it would lead to the problem of exposing all instruments within pouch to an unsterile environment upon opening the pouch even when only one single instrument from that pouch is needed. The rest of the instruments within the opened pouch, if not used immediately, cannot be used on a different patient until resterilized.
Thus there is a need for sterilization containers modified for better organizing of medical instruments as well and tamper resistant devices to prevent unsterilized medical instruments from appearing sterilized.

Apparatus and method for sterilization and organization of a tamper resistant lock and receptacle


An interference filter includes a first substrate, a second substrate opposed to the first substrate, a first optical film provided to the first substrate, and a second optical film provided to the second substrate and opposed to the first optical film, at least one of the first and second optical films has a metal film having a reflecting property and a transmitting property with respect to light in a desired wavelength band, a surface and an edge portion of the metal film are covered by a barrier film, and the barrier film is formed of a material having conductivity.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an interference filter, an optical module, and an electronic apparatus.
2. Related Art
In the past, there has been known a variable wavelength interference filter used as an interference filter capable of causing multiple interference in the light between a pair of optical reflection films to thereby emit the light with a desired wavelength (see, e.g., JP-A-2008-76749 (Document 1)).
The variable wavelength interference filter described in Document 1 has substrates disposed so as to be opposed to each other, and the optical reflection films are respectively disposed on the surfaces of the respective substrates, the surfaces being opposed to each other. Further, the distance between the optical reflection films can be controlled, and it becomes possible to take out the light having the wavelength corresponding to the gap dimension between the optical reflection films from the incident light.
For the optical reflection film (hereinafter also referred to simply as an optical film) in such a variable wavelength interference filter, metal films and dielectric multilayer films can be used. It is preferable for the optical film to have both of superior reflectance characteristics and transmissivity in the wavelength range of the light used therein, and taking this condition into consideration, silver (Ag) with small film thickness could be a strong candidate of the metal film. However, silver has low heat resistance, and is easily sulfurized, and thus there is a concern about the low long-term reliability of silver.
Here, there has been proposed a technology of using an alloy thin film consisting primarily of silver for the optical film to thereby improve the reliability (see, e.g., JP-A-2009-251105 (Document 2)).
In Document 2, the optical film is formed of an alloy film of silver including carbon.
Further, an accumulation of static electricity may sometimes occur in the optical film in the variable wavelength interference filter, and in some cases, the control of the gap dimension between the optical films becomes difficult due to the accumulation of static electricity.
Here, there has been proposed a technology of providing a carbon film on the surface of the optical film to thereby improve the abrasion resistance and the antistatic property (see, e.g., JP-A-2006-84994 (Document 3)).
A neutral density (ND) filter of Document 3 used for an imaging system such as a camera or a video camera has a configuration of alternately stacking SiO2 and Ti metal compound, and further stacking a carbon film superior in the abrasion resistance and the antistatic property as the outermost layer thereof.
Regarding the variable wavelength interference filter of Document 1, the optical film is exposed to various chemicals or gasses in the manufacturing process performed after the optical film is formed, and is therefore easy to be deteriorated. In particular, in the case of using silver for the optical film, the deterioration is easy to occur.
In order to cope with the problem, according to Document 2, the optical films in the interference filter are formed of alloy films including carbon. By alloying silver, the resistance of silver to sulfurization and so on can be improved. However, in the long-term reliability, there is a concern about deterioration in characteristics. Therefore, it is difficult to solve the problem of the deterioration in the characteristics of the optical film only by the alloying, and therefore, some measures for preventing the deterioration in the characteristics of the optical film become necessary.
Further, although in Document 3 it is possible to prevent the accumulation of static electricity to some extent by incorporating carbon into the outermost layer of the ND filter, since the carbon film is in an electrically floating state, the complete elimination of the accumulation of static electricity is not possible. Further, although the upper surface of the ND filter is covered by the carbon film, the end surfaces (the side surfaces) thereof are exposed. Therefore, it results that the end surfaces are exposed to various chemicals or gasses in the manufacturing process, and the filter might be deteriorated.

Interference filter, optical module, and electronic apparatus


A method of preparing a die comprises treating exposed silicon to form an oxide prior to silicide formation; and depositing metal on the oxide. The metal may comprise titanium, cobalt, nickel, platinum, palladium, tungsten, molybdenum, or combinations thereof on the oxide. The oxide may be less than or equal to about 15 angstroms thick. In various embodiments, treating exposed silicon to form an oxide comprises forming a non-thermal oxide. Treating exposed silicon to form an oxide may also comprise treating the exposed silicon with an oxidizing plasma; alternatively, treating exposed silicon to form an oxide may comprise forming a chemical oxide. In certain other embodiments, treating exposed silicon to form an oxide comprises treating exposed silicon with a solution comprising ammonium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, and water; hydrochloric acid, hydrogen peroxide, and water; hydrogen peroxide; ozone; ozonated deionized water; or combinations thereof.

Integrated circuits are fabricated on the surface of a semiconductor wafer in layers, and later singulated into individual semiconductor devices, or "dies." Many fabrication processes are repeated numerous times, constructing layer after layer until fabrication is complete. Metal layers, which typically increase in number as device complexity increases, include patterns of conductive material that are vertically insulated from one another by alternating layers of insulating material. Conductive traces are also separated within each layer by an insulating, or dielectric, material. Vertical, conductive tunnels called "vias" typically pass through insulating layers to form conductive pathways between adjacent conductive patterns. Defects in semiconductor devices may result from, among other things, diffusion of mobile species and deficiencies in the layers of materials forming device structures.
Metals are commonly employed in fabrication of semiconductor devices. Certain metals, e.g., cobalt, nickel, titanium, and platinum, may be suitable for employment as a constituent in formation of a metal silicide (or "silicide"), which may act as a low resistance contact between metal layers and the silicon substrate in a device. The processes involved in preparing a die for pre-silicide metal deposition and silicide formation may affect silicide film integrity, and the potential for undesirable diffusion of metal in the device.

Treatment of silicon prior to nickel silicide formation


A fluidic lens device capable of providing variable focal power with reduced optical aberration is disclosed. The device includes a lens member and an actuator. The lens member comprises one or more elastic optical surfaces, a compliant support member in communication with the optical surfaces, and a fluid-filled chamber. The optical surfaces have a high value of elastic modulus, reducing coma and other aberrations associated gravity and acceleration. The support member may provide a compliant fluid seal and allow the edges of the optical surfaces to pivot, reducing spherical and other aberrations. One or more piezoelectric ring-bender actuators may provide the force required for compressing the support ring and deflecting the optical surfaces. The actuators may be configured to provide the fluidic lens device with reduced sensitivity to changes in temperature.

The prior art contains a number of references to fluidic lens systems. A notable example is provided by those based on the electro-wetting effect (see, e.g. Bruno Berge, et al., "Lens with variable focus", PCT Publication No. WO 99/18456). In that system, a lens-like volume of one refractive liquid is separated from its surroundings on at least one side by another immiscible refractive liquid. Although this yields a conveniently compact system, it is difficult to provide enough refractive index difference between the two liquids to provide adequate light-ray bending ability. A refractively superior system has also been demonstrated (see J. Chen et al., J. Micromech. Microeng. 14 (2004) 675-680) wherein only one lenticular body is provided, bounded on at least one side by an optically clear, compliant membrane. In that system, the refractive power of the lens is controlled by pumping in or out a controlled amount of fluid, thereby changing the curvature of the bounding membrane. Although improved, that system still suffers from the disadvantage that the pressurized fluid source is located remotely. This makes the form-factor of the whole system inconvenient.
One type of fluidic lens described, e.g., U.S. Patent Application Publication 20070030573 incorporates a fluid-filled chamber which is capable of squeezing transparent fluid into a lens which is centrally-disposed and includes one or more elastic-membranes. Actuation of the lens is accomplished by pressurization of the fluid. This pressurization, in turn, causes the membranes to bulge, thereby controllably altering the optical power of the lens. The elastic energy of the membranes may provide a restoring force which may counteract the actuation force. Once the actuation force is diminished, the restoring force of the membrane may contribute to the restoration of the membrane to its original or non-actuated state.
The membranes incorporated in fluidic lenses may be typically chosen for their elastic properties. That is, a membrane material having low elastic modulus is often desirable since it may reduce the force required by the actuator. One elastomeric membrane material commonly used in fluidic lenses is polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) Sylgard 184 manufactured by Dow Corning. This material is used for its optical and mechanical properties. These properties may include its Young's modulus, which can range from about 0.05 to 2 MPa, optical transparency, ease of fabrication and replication of small features and surface wetability.
However, while many of the properties of PDMS and similar elastomers may be desirable in fluidic lenses, the value of the Young's modulus presents an inherent disadvantage for certain applications. As used herein, the word "modulus" may be interpreted to mean "Young's modulus" or "elastic modulus". That is, for a lens having a membrane with a sufficiently low modulus, the lens may be susceptible to disturbances, such as instabilities in focus and tilt due to forces of acceleration, and aberrations, such as coma, which may be due to gravitational forces.
One solution to this problem is to pre-tension, or stretch, the membrane during fabrication of the lens, thereby increasing the "effective modulus" (or "effective stiffness"). However, disadvantages with pre-tensioning the membrane may include a slow long-term relaxation of the membrane that lowers its effective stiffness, sensitivity to small non-uniformities in tension of the membrane resulting in optical aberrations across the dynamic range of the lens, and the possible appearance of bulk defects in the membrane upon tensioning that result in optical scattering. Further, as the lens aperture is increased, the pre-tensioning must generally be increased in order to avoid the effects of acceleration and gravity, thereby increasing the sensitivity of the lens to these undesirable effects. Similarly, as the optical power (i.e., the radius of curvature of the membrane) is increased, the pre-tensioning of the membrane must be increased in order to avoid these effects.
Another inherent disadvantage of PDMS is its permeability, or inability to effectively block the passage of some gases and fluids. Such permeability may result in air bubbles developing in, or fluid leaking out of, the lens. These effects can diminish the durability, lifetime, optical quality, dynamic range and other performance properties of the lens. Some approaches to solving this problem may include coating the PDMS with a high-barrier material or increasing the thickness of the membrane. However, these approaches can result in disadvantageous effects such as increasing the complexity of fabrication, optical scatter and loss, and aberrations.
Thus, there is a need in the art, for a fluidic lens that overcomes the above disadvantages.

Fluidic lens with reduced optical aberration


A technique is provided for performing a well treatment operation. A completion assembly is constructed with a tubular member designed to maintain pressure integrity above a given well treatment zone. The completion assembly and a service tool can be moved downhole for well treatment operations in one or more well zones. A converter tool is utilized to selectively form openings through a wall of the tubular member to enable flow following completion of the well treatment in a lower zone.

Completion assemblies are used in a variety of well treatment operations. Generally, a completion assembly is positioned in a wellbore and a service tool is used in cooperation with the completion assembly to perform the well treatment. In some applications, the well treatment comprises a sand control operation in which a gravel pack is created in the annulus around the completion assembly. The gravel pack helps filter out sand and other particulates from a desired production fluid entering the wellbore.
In some well treatment applications, multiple well zones are treated along a wellbore. The treatment of multiple zones can be accomplished with multiple trips downhole, however this can be expensive and time-consuming. Multi-zone treatments have been attempted by making a single trip downhole with the completion assembly and service tool. However, difficulties arise in isolating zones to be treated. In a sand control application, for example, return fluids and reverse out fluids must be conveyed uphole from the formation being treated and past untreated zones. Relatively complex and/or limited flow paths have been constructed in an attempt to remove such fluids while isolating the untreated well zones.

System and method for performing well treatments


A process has been developed to substantially reduce the residual monomer resulting at the end of the emulsion polymerization reaction. The process consists in submitting the latex to a redox process after the polymerization reaction. The recommended environment consists of vinyl monomers and/or conjugated dienes homo or copolymer that has a residual monomer content not in excess of 100,000 ppm at the end of the reaction. After the chemical depletion, residual monomer contents of 50 to 1000 ppm are achieved in a process that lasts from 0.5 to 5 hours at most.

For several decades numerous processes have been known in the art to prepare various monomer emulsions through which numerous polymer compounds have been produced based on homopolymers, copolymers and terpolymers that involve vinyl monomers and/or conjugated dienes. The commonly used components in emulsion polymerization are monomers which are dispersed in water through emulsifiers, that can be ionic, non-ionic or amphoteric, dispersing agents, transfer agents, pH regulators, electrolytes, inhibitors and initiator. The initiator can be water soluble or organic phase soluble. In order to reduce the half life time of the initiator, reducing agents can be used.
The processes can be defined in several ways. The oldest ones were batch processes classified as cold or hot processes. The cold processes are carried out at low temperatures (about 5 degrees C.) and the hot processes are carried out at a reaction temperature above 50 degrees C. In some cases, the reaction must be stopped within low conversion ranges (from 50 to 75%) in order to obtain appropriate rubber characteristics. The batch processes are the processes in which all the ingredients are charged at the beginning of the reaction. There are semi-batch processes, in which some of the ingredients are charged at the beginning of the reaction and the remaining part of the ingredients is added at predetermined times.
The continuous processes consist of an input stream of polymerization ingredients and an output stream of the product. In the case of the continuous processes, a reactor cascade is usually required to achieve high conversion rates.
In the past few years, environmental regulations have been focusing their attention to the reduction of residual monomers and the so-called organic volatile compounds such as styrene, acrylonitrile, vinyl chloride, etc.
Independently of the reaction process, the final monomer conversion into polymer is never 100%, which implies that there is residual monomer occluded in the emulsion polymer particles.
Traditionally, the residual monomer removal is carried out stripping said monomer through vacuum and/or steam. Among the disadvantages related to the use of stripping, there is the fact that it is a highly energy consuming process (vacuum and steam). The equipment in which the stripping is carried out fouls itself considerably which causes productivity reduction, together with pollution problems caused by the material adhered to the equipment.
During the vacuum application, foam is generated and to prevent foam formation antifoam agents are added which negatively affect the functional characteristics of the latex (film formation, solvent resistance, adhesiveness, brightness, etc.). There is also the polymer destabilization and degradation problem due to the large periods of time required for the stripping. The water removed during the stripping contains residual monomer and latex, and this makes the treatment of residual water necessary in order to fulfill the ecological regulations that are becoming stricter every day.
For instance, in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,527 it is indicated that, in general, the organic volatile compounds are removed from the latex, using water steam, gases, or gas mixtures. In this technology it is established that the volatile compound removal speed is not controlled by the particle outlet diffusion speed, but by the speed at which the gas can contact the polymer particle to strip the volatile material to the aqueous phase and then to the gas phase. Some of the factors that affect the design of this type of equipment are: a) foam production during the process; b) colloidal instability resulting from temperature and mechanical stress, and c) the high viscosities caused by the product concentration. In the U.S. Pat. No. 4,529,753 it is stated that there are various types of devolatilizers commercially available, from the ones that operate in batches to the ones that operate in continuous processes and that have equipment cascades with counter-current or crossed gas flows. Another equipment that has been described is the one referring to stripping columns that form a fine latex film, under reduced pressure conditions, to increase the contact surface with the stripping gas (Monomer Removal from Latex, S.M. England publication, Dow Chemical Co. Midland, Mich. 48640 U.S.A.). It is obvious that these equipments are expensive and because of the process there is an important material loss caused by coagulation.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,264, an "Emulsion Polymerization Process" is described in which the oxidizing system is made up of hydroperoxides and the reducing agent system consists of amines. In this patent, the oxidizing agent is charged to the emulsion since the polymerization process.
A "steam and chemical stripping" method is also reported. In said method, low pressure conditions are used. The oxidizing system is a hydrogen peroxide, a diazo or azo compound and the reducing agent is a sulfur compound.

Chemical depletion process to substantially remove residual monomers in emulsion polimerization processes

Centro De Investigacion Y Desarollo Technologico S.A. de C.V.


A method includes generating, by an illumination source, an optical beam and coupling the optical beam into an acousto-optic device. The acousto-optic device generates structured light from the coupled optical beam by diffracting the optical beam into at least two interfering optical beams. The interfering optical beams are then used to illuminate a surface of an eye of a user of a display for use in eye-tracking.

An artificial reality system generally includes a display panel configured to present artificial images that depict objects in an environment. The display panel may display virtual objects or combine real objects with virtual objects, as in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), or mixed reality (MR) applications. To provide a more immersive artificial reality experience, some artificial reality systems may include a dedicated input/output interface for receiving user inputs, such as hand and/or finger movements. Additionally or alternatively, artificial reality systems can employ eye-tracking systems that can track the gaze of a user. The system may therefore employ gaze direction information and/or information gained from handheld peripheral input/output devices to provide a more immersive experience for the user. For example, eye-tracking can be used for foveated imaging, foveated transmission of image data, alertness monitoring, etc.
Existing eye-tracking systems may use light sources (e.g., infrared light sources) positioned at the periphery of the user's field of view to illuminate the eye. The light illuminating the eye may be specularly reflected by a surface of the user's eye, e.g., the corneal surface, resulting in "glints" in a captured image of the eye. The position (e.g., gaze direction or rotation position) of the eye may be determined based on the location of the glints relative to a known feature of the eye (e.g., center of the pupil) in the captured image.
Although glint tracking can yield accuracy on the order of 1 degree after calibration, such accuracy is difficult to achieve across the wide variety of human eye shapes and sizes. One problem is that depth data obtained from glints is generally sparse, for example, because the technique employs only a small number of IR point sources arranged in specific locations on the surface of the eye only a correspondingly small number of depth points are measured. Because only a few points on the surface of the eye are sampled by the glints, any depth computation may rely on an idealized model of the eye that may not be valid for all users. In addition, for AR devices, in which the display is transparent and the device is expected to undergo all-day, untethered use in a stylish form factor, there are more stringent constraints on mechanical layout, size, weight, and power. Furthermore, for AR devices operating outdoors, reflections of the real world environment will result in several glint-like reflections that may be confusing to, or misinterpreted by, eye-tracking algorithms.
In view of the above, there remains a need for eye-tracking systems that can more accurately map the depth profile of the surface of a user's eye and can also be effectively deployed in AR systems.


A stochastic resonator signal detector comprises a multi-stable nonlinear device for coupling to an input signal and a control signal coupled to the multi-stable nonlinear device for varying asymmetry among stable states of the multi-stable nonlinear device. The interaction of the input signal with the control signal in the multi-stable nonlinear device generates an output signal having an amplitude responsive to the input signal amplitude and a frequency range that comprises harmonics of products of the control signal and the input signal.

The present invention relates to the detection of weak signals masked by interfering noise. More specifically, but without limitation thereto, the present invention relates to a detector implementing stochastic resonance in multistable detectors to detect and quantify a weak signal in the presence of in-band noise.
Electronic detectors of very weak signals are frequently subject to in-band noise limitations. To detect and quantify signals, for example magnetic flux signals using magnetometers implemented by SQUIDs (superconducting quantum interference devices), elaborate readout/bias schemes coupled with noise-cancellation techniques are typically employed. In practice, however, the effectiveness of these techniques is limited by sensor design constraints.
The detection of periodic signals can, under certain conditions, be aided by the presence of controlled amounts of background noise in the sensor, as long as the sensor is nonlinear; the mechanism for this is known as stochastic resonance. However, one frequently encounters signals having frequencies that make detection difficult. An example of interest is that of signals having extremely high frequencies that cannot be easily detected by conventional electronics, and that might actually fall outside the bandwidth of system noise so that amplification via stochastic resonance or any other noise-mediated technique is impractical.
Superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDS) are extremely sensitive detectors of magnetic flux and have been the subject of extensive research and development for over 20 years. Apart from improvements in the basic electronic components used to bias and read the SQUID, few significant improvements have been made in this maturing technology due to the sensitivity of the SQUID to environmental noise. Flux jumps, slew rate and dynamic range are common problems encountered when using SQUIDs in practical applications. A continued need exists for a way to improve SQUID-based detectors beyond their current limitations.

Stochastic resonance detector for weak signals

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


This invention discloses the layout of word line driving circuits for driving word lines. A semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array having a bit line, n memory cells connected to the bit line, and n word lines respectively connected to the n memory cells. The semiconductor memory device further includes n/2 first word line driving circuits for driving n/2 word lines of the n word lines, and n/2 second word line driving circuits for driving the remaining n/2 word lines of the n word lines. The second word line driving circuits are arranged at the positions where the second word line driving circuits face the first word line driving circuits via the memory cell array.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device having a dynamic RAM (DRAM) cell and, more particularly, to prevent the data retention characteristics of the memory cells from deteriorating due to capacitive coupling between the word and bit lines.
Of MOS semiconductor memory devices, DRAMs are integrated at the highest density because memory cells forming the DRAM are relatively simple. This trend toward higher integration is due partly to increasing miniaturization. However, as device dimensions shrink, capacitive coupling between signal lines and therefore interference noise between signal lines increase. Reduction in interference noise is one key for realizing a high-density, high-speed DRAM.
The present inventors have found interference noise arising from capacitive coupling between the word and bit lines to be one type of interference noise between signal lines. This will be explained in detail.
FIG. 11 is an equivalent circuit diagram showing the memory cell array of a DRAM. FIG. 11 shows a memory cell array of the folded bit-line scheme. The folded bit-line scheme is the major stream of current DRAMs.
As shown in FIG. 11, in the folded bit-line scheme, memory cells M are arranged not at all the intersections of word lines WL (WL0 to WL7) and bit lines BL (bBL0, BL0, bBL1, BL1, and bBL2) but at half of all the intersections. In general, the contact (to be referred to as a bit line contact hereinafter) of a switching transistor ST of the memory cell M with respect to the bit line BL is shared by adjacent memory cells M.
In the folded bit-line scheme, two types of coupling capacitors, i.e., a coupling capacitor CWB1 at an intersection where a memory cell M is located, and a coupling capacitor CWB2 at an intersection where no memory cell M is located exist as coupling capacitors between the word lines WL and bit lines BL. The capacitances of the coupling capacitors CWB1 and CWB2 are different from each other.
As the design geometries shrink further, and the word line pitch comes closer to the minimum processing size, a self-aligned contact technique is required for the bit line contact. FIG. 12 shows a bit line contact using the self-aligned contact technique.
FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing the memory cell array taken along a bit line. Note that a trench capacitor memory cell is exemplified as the memory cell M.
As shown in FIG. 12, according to the self-aligned technique, the gate electrode (word line WL) of the switching transistor ST of the memory cell M is covered with a silicon nitride (SiN) film 121. A bit line contact 122 is formed in self-alignment with the gate electrode using the silicon nitride film 121 as an insulating film for insulating the gate electrode from the bit line BL. In the self-aligned contact technique, the gate electrode is formed from a conductive film 123 functioning as a word line WL and an insulating (SiO.sub.2) film 124 formed on the conductive film 123. The top of the gate electrode is insulated from the bit line BL by the insulating film 124.
Using this self-aligned contact technique eliminates the alignment margin between the bit line contact and gate electrode and contributes to reduction in cell size. However, the word line WL has a relatively high dielectric constant and is insulated from the bit line BL by the thin silicon nitride film 121. This greatly increases the coupling capacitor at the bit line contact 122, i.e., the coupling capacitor CWB1.
At an intersection where no memory cell M is located, the bit line contact need not be formed, and only a thick silicon oxide (SiO.sub.2) film 125 exists between the word line WL and bit line BL. Therefore, the capacitance of the coupling capacitor CWB2 is smaller than the capacitance of the coupling capacitor CWB1.
As represented by the self-aligned contact technique, the advance of miniaturization along with an increase in integration degree disturbs balance between the coupling capacitors CWB1 and CWB2 more and more. The unbalance between the coupling capacitors CWB1 and CWB2 generates interference noise on an inactive word line. This will be explained with reference to FIG. 13.
FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram showing the arrangement of a conventional DRAM.
FIG. 13 schematically shows a memory cell array 131 of the folded bit-line scheme including bit lines, memory cells M, and word lines, sense amplifiers S/A for sensing and amplifying a signal from the memory cell M, and word line driving circuits WDRV for activating a specific word line WL (WL0 to WL7) in order to select a memory cell M.
The sense amplifiers S/A are divided into a right sense amplifier group "S/A-RIGHT" and a left sense amplifier group "S/A-LEFT". The groups "S/A-RIGHT" AND "S/A-LEFT" sandwich the memory cell array 131 and extend parallel to the word lines WL.
The word line driving circuits WDRV are divided into an upper word line driving circuit group "WDRV-UPPER" and a lower group "WDRV-LOWER". The groups "WDRV-UPPER" and "WDRV-LOWER" sandwich the memory cell array 131 and extend parallel to the bit lines BL.
Bit lines BL0, bBL0, BL2, and bBL2 are respectively connected to the sense amplifiers S/A belonging to the group "S/A-RIGHT", whereas bit lines BL1, bBL1, BL3, and bBL3 are respectively connected to the sense amplifiers S/A belonging to the group "S/A-LEFT".
Word lines WL0, WL1, WL4, and WL5 are respectively connected to the driving circuits WDRV belonging to the group "WDRV-UPPER", whereas word lines WL2, WL3, WL6, and WL7 are respectively connected to the driving circuits WDRV belonging to the group "WDRV-LOWER".
The sense amplifiers S/A and driving circuits WDRV are divided in order to relax the layout pitch of the circuit.
FIG. 14 is a timing chart showing operation of the DRAM shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 15 is a circuit diagram showing the state of the memory cell array in sensing. FIG. 16 is a circuit diagram showing the state of the memory cell array in precharging.
As shown in FIG. 14, the DRAM is activated when a row address strobe signal bRAS changes from "H" level to "L" level. After the DRAM becomes active, an address is received from outside the DRAM, and a specific word line (word line WL2 in FIG. 14) is activated in accordance with the received address.
Assume that the word line WL2 is activated to "H" level, as shown in FIG. 15. At this time, all the word lines WL0, WL1, and WL3 to WL7 except for the word line WL2 are inactive at the ground potential.
Further, assume that data "1" are read out from all the memory cells M connected to the word line WL2.
In this case, a small potential is read out as memory data of the memory cell M onto the bit lines BL0 to BL3 and slightly increases the potentials of the bit lines BL0 to BL3. Subsequently, the sense amplifiers S/A are activated to sense and amplify the increased potentials. As a result, the bit lines BL0 to BL3 are charged to a high potential (e.g., power supply potential), and the bit lines bBL0 to bBL3 are discharged to a low potential (e.g., ground potential). The inactive word lines WL0, WL1, WL4, and WL5 are capacitively coupled with the bit lines bBL0 to bBL3, the inactive word lines WL3, WL6, and WL7 are capacitively coupled with the bit lines BL0 to BL3, and interference noise is generated on these inactive word lines WL0, WL1, and WL3 to WL7.
If the capacitance of the coupling capacitor CWB1 is equal to the capacitance of the coupling capacitor CWB2, complementary interference noise components are generated on the inactive word lines WL0, WL1, and WL3 to WL7. Apparently, no interference noise is generated on the inactive word lines WL0, WL1, and WL3 to WL7.
However, the capacitance of the coupling capacitor CWB1 is larger than the capacitance of the coupling capacitor CWB2. The inactive word lines WL3, WL6, and WL7 capacitively couple with the bit lines BL0 to BL3 more strongly. The inactive word lines WL0, WL1, WL4, and WL5 capacitively couple with the bit lines bBL0 to bBL3 more strongly.
As shown in FIG. 15, so-called positive interference noise the potential of which rises from the ground potential is generated on the inactive word lines WL3, WL6, and WL7. So-called negative interference noise the potential of which drops from the ground potential is generated on the inactive word lines WL0, WL1, WL4, and WL5.
FIG. 17 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the word line driving circuit WDRV.
As shown in FIG. 17, the driving circuit WDRV comprises a noise killer transistor Q1. The noise killer transistor Q1 applies the ground potential to the corresponding word line when it is inactive. Interference noise generated on the inactive word line is finally absorbed by a ground power supply line VSS via the noise killer transistor Q1.
The resistance of the word line WL is not completely "0". Therefore, if interference noise is generated on an inactive word line, the potential of the inactive word line continuously varies for the time determined by the time constants of this word line and the line path connecting the word line WL to the ground power supply line VSS.
Particularly positive interference noise raises the potential of the inactive word line WL. This increases any leakage current flowing through the source and drain of the switching transistor ST. Consequently, charges (memory data) leak from the memory cell M to degrade the data retention characteristics.
As shown in FIG. 15, positive interference noise is maximized when data "1" are read out from all the cells or when data "0" are read out from all the cells. This is the worst case, but this worst case becomes more prominent in the layout of the word line driving circuits shown in FIGS. 13 and 15.
In the layout shown in FIGS. 13 and 15, the driving circuits WDRV belonging to the group "WDRV-LOWER" drive the word lines WL2, WL3, WL6, and WL7, and the driving circuits WDRV belonging to the group "WDRV-UPPER" drive the word lines WL0, WL1, WL4, and WL5.
The word lines WL2, WL3, WL6, and WL7 are strongly capacitively coupled with the bit lines BL0 to BL3 via the coupling capacitors CWB1, whereas the word lines WL0, WL1, WL4, and WL5 are strongly capacitively coupled with the bit lines bBL0 to bBL3 pairing with the bit lines BL0 to BL3 via the coupling capacitors CWB1.
In this layout, for example, when data "1" are read out from all the cells, as shown in FIG. 15, all negative interference noise is transmitted to the group "WDRV-UPPER", and all positive interference noise is transmitted to the group "WDRV-LOWER".
The ground power supply line VSS is divided into local ground power supply lines "VSS-UPPER" and "VSS-LOWER". The local ground power supply line "VSS-UPPER" is shared by the driving circuits WDRV of the group "WDRV-UPPER", and the local ground power supply line "VSS-LOWER" is shared by the driving circuits WDRV of the group "WDRV-LOWER". These local ground power supply lines "VSS-UPPER" and "VSS-LOWER" respectively have given finite ground power supply line resistances "RVSS". Hence, interference noise generated on an inactive word line generates AC power supply noise on the local ground power supply lines "VSS-UPPER" and "VSS-LOWER" until the interference noise is absorbed by the "trunk" ground power supply line "VSS-LINE".
In the layout shown in FIGS. 13 and 15, all negative or positive interference noise is transmitted to the local ground power supply lines "VSS-UPPER" and "VSS-LOWER". Accordingly, the AC power supply noise is very large.
For example, when all positive interference noise is transmitted to the local ground power supply line "VSS-LOWER", the potential of the local ground power supply line "VSS-LOWER" greatly varies in the positive direction (positive power supply noise), as shown in FIG. 14. While the local ground power supply line "VSS-LOWER" varies, the potentials of the inactive word lines WL3, WL6, and WL7 connected to the local ground power supply line "VSS-LOWER" vary in the positive direction. This considerably degrades the data retention characteristics of the memory cells M.
As shown in FIG. 15, all negative interference noise is transmitted to the local ground power supply line "VSS-UPPER". As a result, as shown in FIG. 14, the potential of the local ground power supply line "VSS-LOWER" greatly varies in the negative direction. Note that negative potential variations do not directly degrade the data retention characteristics.
When the row address strobe signal bRAS changes from "L" level to "H" level to precharge the DRAM, the potential of the bit line BL charged or discharged to the power supply potential or ground potential is equalized to the precharge potential. During precharging, the same interference noise as that in sensing is generated. This is shown in FIG. 16.
As shown in FIG. 16, positive interference noise generated on the word lines WL0, WL1, WL4, and WL5 in precharging generates positive power supply noise on the local ground power supply line "VSS-UPPER". Accordingly, the data retention characteristics of the memory cells M connected to the word lines WL0, WL1, WL4, and WL5 degrade considerably.
As described above, in a very-large-scale DRAM in which fine elements are integrated, either positive interference noise or negative interference noise is generated locally on one inactive word line due to capacitive coupling between the word and bit lines. The local interference noise generates large power supply noise on the ground power supply line until it is completely absorbed by the ground power supply line. Such large power supply noise considerably degrades the data retention characteristics of the memory cell.

Semiconductor memory drive capable of canceling power supply noise


Systems and methods provide quality analysis related to member service representatives and interactions communicating with users over social media networks.

Customer service communications can be complex to manage. Fields in which service providers manage multiple accounts or involve large values can create challenging communication asymmetries between service providers and customers. Customers also expect personalized service, especially in relation to high-value relationships (a designation which may be relative and subjective to the customer).
The manner in which users interact with service providers is making management of communication more varied and complex. Social media is a major driver of communication. While techniques for handling in-person or telephone customer service are long-studied, the idiosyncrasies of managing multiple disparate social media channels which involve current customers, past customers, prospective customers, competitors, and unrelated third parties adds new dimensions of complexity. More, many types of social media conversations are publicly viewable, and so the context and/or content of communications must be considered for broader audiences than communication channels like e-mail or voice calls while remaining responsive to the initiating party. The various platforms and types of communication also create different technological challenges relating to multi-platform interoperability, analysis of language, following rules, et cetera.
It would accordingly benefit service providers to develop techniques for evaluating interactions over social media channels to ensure a high level of service across all channels and platforms, message and service consistency, proper handling of complex and personal issues, adherence to protocols, and exercise of other controls based on the organization and situation.

United Services Automobile Association (USAA)


A method of fabricating a turbine engine blade root out of composite material including fiber reinforcement densified by a matrix, the method including making a central fiber strip and two outer fiber strips from three sets of yarn layers interlinked by three-dimensional weaving, passing the two outer strips through the central strip with the two outer strips crossing each other inside the central strip, eliminating the portions of the two outer strips lying outside the central strip by cutting them off, shaping the fiber blank in order to obtain a preform having a main portion forming a blade-root preform integral with two secondary portions forming bearing-plate preforms, and densifying the preform densified by the matrix.

The present invention relates to the general field of making a blade out of composite material for a rotor wheel of a turbine engine. The invention relates more particularly to fabricating the root of such a blade.
The intended field is that of gas turbine rotor blades for aeroengines or for industrial turbines.
Proposals have already been made to make blades for turbine engines out of composite material, and in particular out of ceramic matrix composite (CMC) material. Reference may be made in particular to Document FR 2 939 129, which describes fabricating a turbine engine blade out of composite material comprising fiber reinforcement that is densified by a matrix. With such a method, the resulting blade presents in particular a root that is formed from a fiber strip extending in a direction that corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the blade.
Furthermore, in order to mount such a blade on a rotor disk, it is known to give the blade root the shape of a bulb. The blade root with its bulb shape co-operates with a slot of complementary shape formed in the periphery of the rotor disk in order to retain the blade radially on the disk by means of a dovetail-type connection.
When a blade is made out of composite material, the bulb shape of the blade root is generally obtained during the weaving of the fiber blank that is to constitute the blade by forming extra thickness in the blade root, this extra thickness subsequently being machined to the final shapes of the bulb. In practice, the extra thickness is usually obtained by adding an insert while weaving the fiber blank.
Nevertheless, such a method of fabricating a blade out of composite material with a bulb-shaped root presents numerous drawbacks. Making the insert and putting it into position during weaving of the fiber blank of the blade are operations that are very difficult. In addition, the attachment of the blade presents mechanical strength difficulties and it becomes degraded in fatigue by oxidation.
Also known, from Document FR 2 941 487, is a solution for mounting a composite material blade on a rotor disk in which the blade root is clamped between metal plates that are fastened together by means of a welded peg. With that solution, the main force retaining the blade on the rotor disk is taken up by shear in the peg and by compression against the hole in the composite material. Nevertheless, expansion differences between the metal of the plate and the composite material of the root give rise either to thermal shear stresses if the fastening is rigid, or to uncertainty about the positioning of the bearing plates if the fastening is provided with slack.

Method for manufacturing a turbine engine blade root of a composite material and blade root obtained by such a method


The present invention is a method of operating a fuel cell stack and system that minimizes the potential for having a large pressure differential between the anode and cathode flow fields and a low relative humidity occurrence within the cathode flow fields. This is accomplished by tempering the downward transient in power demand seen by the fuel cell stack. The downward transient in power demand on the fuel cell stack is tempered by reducing the rate at which the power generated by the fuel cell stack is decreased and providing the excess power generated by the fuel cell stack to other parasitic components of the fuel cell system.

Fuel cells have been proposed as a power source for electric vehicles, stationary power supplies and other applications. One known fuel cell is the PEM (i.e., Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cell that includes a so-called MEA ("membrane-electrode-assembly") comprising a thin, solid polymer membrane-electrolyte having an anode on one face and a cathode on the opposite face. The MEA is sandwiched between a pair of electrically conductive contact elements which serve as current collectors for the anode and cathode, which may contain appropriate channels and openings therein for distributing the fuel cell's gaseous reactants (i.e., H2 and O2/air) over the surfaces of the respective anode and cathode.
PEM fuel cells comprise a plurality of the MEAs stacked together in electrical series while being separated one from the next by an impermeable, electrically conductive contact element known as a bipolar plate or current collector. In some types of fuel cells each bipolar plate is comprised of two separate plates that are attached together with a fluid passageway therebetween through which a coolant fluid flows to remove heat from both sides of the MEAs. In other types of fuel cells the bipolar plates include both single plates and attached together plates which are arranged in a repeating pattern with at least one surface of each MEA being cooled by a coolant fluid flowing through the two plate bipolar plates.
The fuel cell stacks are typically part of a fuel cell system that is operated to meet a power demand placed upon the fuel cell system. The power demand placed upon the fuel cell system, however, can vary over time for a variety of reasons. For example, when the fuel cell system is on a mobile platform, such as a vehicle, the power demand placed upon the fuel cell system will vary with the desired acceleration and deceleration of the mobile platform. When the fuel cell system is used in a stationary application, the power demand placed upon the fuel cell system will also vary. For example, when a furnace, refrigerator, electric dryer, etc. are switched on and off, the power demand placed upon the fuel cell system will change. In response to the change in the power demand placed upon the fuel cell system, the quantity of anode reactant supplied to the fuel cell stack is typically adjusted to meet the power output demanded of the fuel cell stack. When the power demand placed upon the fuel cell system is decreased (downward transient) the quantity of anode reactant supplied to the fuel cell stack is reduced so that the power output of the fuel cell stack decreases to approximately match the power demand placed on the fuel cell system.
During fast downward transients, however, the current flow through the fuel cell stack decreases much more rapidly than the fuel cell stack can compensate for. For example, if the system is run at a high load at a steady state, the anode and cathode pressures are high, and the operating temperature is at its upper operating range. During a downward transient, the load placed upon the fuel cell system and fuel cell stack goes down very quickly. Ideally, the cathode flow and anode flow should ramp down as quickly, as well as system pressure and coolant temperature. These different parameters, however, have much different physical time constraints. Thus, the load can drop almost instantaneously while the anode and cathode flows may take several seconds and the coolant may take significantly longer to drop to the new operating condition.
This delay in adjusting these different parameters to the new decreased power demand placed upon the fuel cell stack can potentially cause damage to the individual fuel cells and/or fuel cell stack potentially resulting in instantaneous failure of the fuel cell stack and/or a decreased longevity of the fuel cell stack. Thus, it would be advantageous to operate the fuel cell system in a manner that prevents or minimizes the potential for damage to the fuel cells and/or fuel cell stack during downward transients in the power demand placed upon the fuel cell system.

Transient controls to improve fuel cell performance and stack durability


An engine controller capable of reducing torque fluctuation and the like in change between spark ignition combustion and homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion is provided. Spark ignition burning mode or homogeneous charge compression ignition burning mode is selectively set as burning mode according to the operating state of an engine. In spark ignition burning mode, a spark plug is used. In homogeneous charge compression ignition burning mode, fuel is burned utilizing pressure rise in a combustion chamber in conjunction with the ascent of a piston. The burning mode is changed between these modes. In transition for change between the spark ignition burning mode and the homogeneous charge compression ignition burning mode, the following measure is taken: a period during which the lift amount and/or the valve opening period (IVevent) of an intake valve is made smaller than a set value for the homogeneous charge compression ignition burning mode is provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatuses and methods for controlling an engine favorably mountable on a vehicle and in particular to an apparatus and a method for controlling an engine wherein spark ignition burning mode and homogeneous charge compression ignition burning mode can be selectively established as burning mode.
2. Related Art
As a combustion system for achieving both the enhancement of fuel efficiency performance and the enhancement of exhaust performance (exhaust emission characteristic) in engines (internal combustion engines) used in automobiles and the like, homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion system has received attention. A homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion system compresses an air-fuel mixture composed of fuel (gasoline) and air to cause homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion. In the homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion system, the following can be implemented as compared with the spark ignition combustion system in which an air-fuel mixture is ignited and burned by a spark produced by a spark plug: the enhancement of efficiency by a high compression ratio, the reduction of pump loss, and the reduction of cooling loss by fast burn. Therefore, it is possible to reduce fuel consumption and to reduce the concentration of NOx in exhaust gas by the low-temperature combustion of an air-fuel mixture. For this reason, it is possible to achieve both the enhancement of fuel efficiency performance and the enhancement of exhaust performance.
One of means for implementing homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion is the introduction of EGR. In spark ignition combustion, the air-fuel ratio is relatively rich and it can be carried out in a range in which the EGR rate is relatively low. In homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion to which the above EGR is applied, the air-fuel ratio is relatively lean and it can be carried out in a range in which the internal EGR rate is relatively high. There is a combustion instability range in which both types of combustion are instable between these ranges. The following methods are used to introduce EGR: a method of providing a negative overlap period, which is a period during which both an intake valve and an exhaust valve are closed in the exhaust strokes and thereby leaving combustion exhaust gas (exhaust gas) in a cylinder (combustion chamber) (internal EGR); a method of providing a bypass from an exhaust passage upstream of an intake valve and thereby sucking exhaust gas together with fresh air (external EGR); and a method of opening an exhaust valve in the intake stroke and thereby sucking exhaust gas again (exhaust re-sucking).
When the above homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion system is adopted, a large quantity of exhaust gas is introduced into a combustion chamber and this limits the quantity of fresh air. For this reason, usually, the homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion system is applicable only to the low load side where request engine torque is small. Since it is required to ensure a finite length of time for the chemical reaction of fuel in the strokes of intake, compression, expansion, and exhaust, it is applicable only to the low engine speed side.
For this reason, it is usually required to take the following measure to attain a driver's requested engine torque when a homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion system is applied to an automobile engine: in the low-load, low-rotation range, the engine is operated in homogeneous charge compression ignition burning mode; in the other ranges, the engine is operated in spark ignition burning mode; and in operating range change, the burning mode is changed from homogeneous charge compression ignition burning mode to spark ignition burning mode or from spark ignition burning mode to homogeneous charge compression ignition burning mode.
When the burning mode is changed between spark ignition burning mode and homogeneous charge compression ignition burning mode as mentioned above, engine parameters governing combustion are changed. The engine parameters include: fuel injection mode (the quantity of fuel injected from a fuel injection valve, fuel injection starting time, the number of times of injection in one burning cycle, and the like); firing mode (ignition timing with which a spark is discharged from a spark plug and the like); the opening of a throttle valve for adjusting the quantity of air flowing into a combustion chamber; the lift amount and the valve opening period (a period from when a valve starts to open to when the valve finishes closing) of an intake valve for adjusting the quantity of air flowing into a combustion chamber or an exhaust valve; and the like. Since an actuator that controls engine parameters has a limited response characteristic, the following problem arises: in transition for burning mode change (during mode change), it is brought into the combustion instability range and misfire or torque fluctuation is caused.
As one of measures for solving this problem, the following method is known: in transition for change between spark ignition burning mode and homogeneous charge compression ignition burning mode, a transitional period is set to cope with the combustion instability range. (Refer to Patent Document 1, for example.) In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion is carried out by the above-mentioned exhaust re-sucking. The technology involves a variable valve system capable of instantaneously changing the lift amounts of an intake valve and an exhaust valve for carrying out both homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion and spark ignition combustion. The response of air quantity to change in the opening of a throttle valve is slower than the response of gas in a combustion chamber with a valve operating mechanism. Therefore, a TSI range is provided between a homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion range and a spark ignition combustion range. In the TSI range, the lift amount of an intake valve is set to that for homogeneous charge compression ignition burning mode and a throttle valve is widely opened to carry out spark ignition combustion. Combustion is stabilized and torque fluctuation during mode change is reduced by providing the TSI range.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-148180 (Japanese Patent No. 3936901)

Apparatus and method for controlling engine


An embodiment of a blockchain-based cryptographic key generation method and system that leverages existing values locally available within a distributed ledger to generate cryptographic keys independent of a third-party server is disclosed herein.

Cryptographic key generation usually relies on a "shared secret" to be generated in communication with a central server and shared across a network in order to safely exchange electronic information. However, this can cause issues with key re-generation if the shared secret is exposed or otherwise compromised, leading to delays and system failures in mission-critical services like military operations and medical or financial systems. Under a conventional key generation environment, when a key is exposed, it takes a lot of time to exchange the secret and generate new key pairs across the network.
Blockchain is a decentralized, shared system that records every transaction made by participating entities across the network so that any record cannot be altered retroactively. In private and permissioned blockchain networks, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is adopted as a cryptographic key management technique that enables all components to securely communicate in an insecure public network and verify the identity of other entities via digital signatures. The certificates used in PKI are verified by a central management entity called Certificate Authority (CA) that verifies and signs the certificates. However, utilization of a centralized verification server in PKI is computationally intensive.
If a secret key is compromised or exposed accidentally, the secret must be shared again among all nodes to regenerate the new keys and certificates. However, the process of renewing and exchanging key secrets will cause delay, which can be a fatal obstacle causing system failure in time-sensitive and mission-critical systems. Generally, in systems and services which utilize keys and certificates (e.g., smart cars, financial, and medical, etc.), the devices and services hardly have sufficient time to generate new keys using a shared secret by communicating to the central server while maintaining the on-going session. Therefore, any delays incurred by key generation and sharing can interrupt the service provisioning or even cause a system failure in real-time processing required system.
In order to mitigate the gap between security requirement and performance, the PKI system needs to be reconsidered and redesigned for an upcoming Internet-of-Things (IoT) computing and hyper-connected environment that are based on cutting-edge technologies such as Blockchain and 5G network technologies. Especially, 5G (the fifth generation of cellular network) is becoming a revolutionary technology that supports massive machine-level communication connecting various IoT devices. 5G supports instant communications with high bandwidth, ultra-low latency, and massive connectivity for new applications such as mobile devices, health management systems, autonomous vehicles, and smart homes. However, to meet the requirement of the ultra-low latency in mission-critical, time-sensitive systems, such as systems which will use 5G, the delay incurred by current PKI must be minimized, or even removed without compromising the same degree of security provided by PKI.
It is with these observations in mind, among others, that various aspects of the present disclosure were conceived and developed.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding elements among the view of the drawings. The headings used in the figures do not limit the scope of the claims.

Systems and methods for blockchain-based automatic key generation

Arizona Board of Regents on Behalf of Arizona State University


A memory cooling device includes two symmetrically formed cooling foils, which sandwich a memory therebetween. The inner surfaces of the two cooling foils touch the two sides of the memory. Further, at least a folded portion formed on the cooling foils includes a buckling element and a buckling hole formed thereon. Therefore, the memory cooling device is structurally simple and easy to assemble, which can largely simplify the fabrication process thereof.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a memory cooling device and, more particularly, to a memory cooling device that is easily and quickly assembled to a computer memory.
(2) Description of the Prior Arts
A conventional memory cooling device 30, as shown in FIG. 1, includes two heat conductive plastic foils 301, two cooling foils 302, and two clipping elements 303. The heat conductive plastic foils 301 are adhered to the inner surface of the cooling foils 302. A locking hook 302a and a locking hole 302b are formed on two sides of the upper portion of the cooling foil 302, respectively, thereby forming a space for situating therein a memory 20 when the two cooling foils 302 are locked with each other. A positioning foil 302d folded downward is formed at the central portion of the locking base 302c. The positioning foil 302d corresponds to the U-shaped restrictive groove 304 formed on the outer surface of the cooling foil 302. A buckling hole 305 is formed above the restrictive groove 304, while a guiding hole 306 is formed above the buckling hole 305, so as to allow the U-shaped clipping element 303 to ride on the positioning foil 302d. Further, the reverse hooks 303a formed on the two inner surfaces of the two clipping elements 303 are glided downward along the guiding hole 306 and are buckled in the buckling hole 305. The reverse hook 303a securely buckles the two cooling foils 302 contacting the memory 20. The heat generated from the memory 20 is, thus, rapidly dissipated through the cooling foils 302.
However, the conventional memory cooling device 30 described above has the following drawbacks:                1. In order for the two cooling foils 302 to securely contact the memory 20, the conventional memory cooling device 30 includes restrictive grooves 304, buckling holes 305 and guiding holes 306 on the cooling foils 302. The corresponding reverse hooks 303a are also formed on the clipping elements 303. Therefore, the fabrication of the conventional memory cooling device 30 is complicated and time consuming. The assembly of the conventional memory cooling device 30 is also very tedious.        2. The conventional memory cooling device 30 is not dust-proof. Therefore, dust can easily-intrude the gaps between the cooling foils 302 and the memory 20, thereby affecting the performance of the cooling foils 302 and the memory 20.
Accordingly, the present invention has developed solutions for the drawbacks mentioned above. Specifically, a new memory cooling device is developed.


The portable sensor device is connected with the arterial pressure measurement catheter by way of a pressure hose. The electronic pressure sensor is accommodated in the sensor housing. The analog sensor signal is output to the patient monitor by way of a cable. Aside from the channel for the analog sensor signal, additional channels are provided for communication between sensor device and patient monitor. A bidirectional channel serves for writing to and querying the memory module, in which patient data, such as age, gender, height/weight, etc., can be stored. The three-way cock possesses the settings “M” (measurement operation) and “0” (calibration measurement), in which the contactor is brought into connection with the contact. The switching contact is transmitted to the patient monitor, which thereby automatically recognizes zeroing of the sensor.

The present invention relates to a portable sensor device, particularly a portable sensor device that comprises an electronic sensor component for measuring a physiological variable at a measurement site of the body of a patient, a measurement site interface for connecting the electronic sensor component to measurement site connection means for establishing a measurement connection between the electronic sensor component and the measurement site, a patient monitor interface for connecting the electronic sensor component to patient monitor connection means for establishing a signal connection between the electronic sensor component and the patient monitor, and a sensor housing for accommodating the electronic sensor component, the measurement site interface, and the patient monitor interface.
Furthermore, the invention relates to a patient monitor, particularly a patient monitor that comprises a sensor interface for connecting patient monitor connection means in order to establish a signal connection between a portable sensor device, of the type stated initially, and the patient monitor.
Such portable sensor devices and related patient monitors are known in many forms from clinical use. In particular, patient monitors that monitor a pressure measured in an intravascular manner, by means of an arterial catheter, have been widespread for a long time. In this connection, the fluid pressure at the measurement site is transferred, by way of a pressure hose, to a portable sensor device that essentially consists of an electronic pressure sensor encased in a housing, as well as a plug for outputting the sensor signal to the patient monitor by way of a suitable cable.
Corresponding sensor devices and patient monitors are commercially available as "PiCCO technology" from the patent applicant PULSION Medical Systems AG, for example.
In the clinical use of portable sensor devices and related patient monitors of the type mentioned initially, problems can occur due to clinical personnel being put under additional stress as the result of having to enter, into the patient monitor, data that stand in connection with the use of the sensor device or are actually required for its use. These can be, for example, patient data, calibration data, sensor type data, etc. Such data entry requires time and attention of the clinical personnel, thus reducing correspondingly the time and attention available for the patient. The time expenditure required for data entry and the accompanying distraction might often be tolerable, but generally, they increase the likelihood of error; this is the more the case, the more frequently the data entries need to be performed.
Incorrect data entries can furthermore lead to incorrect diagnosis results, if physiological parameters are normalized with an incorrect patient weight, for example.
Frequently, a patient passes through several stages in a clinic, which stages require monitoring of physiological variables by means of patient monitors, for example emergency admission, preoperative stay in an intensive-care unit, surgical treatment in the operating room, and postoperative stay in an intensive-care unit. If entry of comprehensive data into the patient monitor in question is required anew every time, the above problem is further intensified.

Portable sensor device and patient monitor


A system and method are described for constructing and implementing generic software agents for automated tuning of computer systems and applications. The framework defines the modules and interfaces to allow agents to be created in a modular fashion. The specifics of the target system are captured by adaptors that provide a uniform interface to the target system. Data in the agent is managed by a metric manager, and controller modules implement the desired control algorithms. The modular structure and common interfaces allow for the construction of generic agents that are applicable to a wide variety of target systems, and can use a wide variety of control algorithms.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the performance of computer systems and, in particular, to a system and method for automated performance tuning of computer systems and applications in a generic, application-independent manner.
2. Description of Related Art
There has been a tremendous growth in the complexity of distributed and networked systems in the past few years. In large part, this can be attributed to the exploitation of client-server architectures and other paradigms of distributed computing. Such computer systems and software (operating systems, middle ware and applications) have become so complex that it is difficult to configure them for optimal performance.
Complex applications such as databases (e.g., ORACLE, DB2), message queuing systems (e.g., MQSERIES) and application servers (e.g., WEBSPHERE, DOMINO) have literally tens and hundreds of parameters that control their configuration, behavior and performance (DOMINO/DB2 admin guide). The behavior of such a complex system is also governed by the dynamic loads that are placed on the system by the system users. It takes considerable expertise to set individual parameters, and it is even more challenging to understand the interaction between parameters and the resultant effect on the behavior and performance of the system. Another factor that increases the difficulty of administering these systems is that such systems can be very dynamic and therefore may require constant monitoring and adjustment of their parameters, for instance if the workloads change over time.
Thus, the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the particular system may increase not only due to the cost of hiring expert help, but also due to potentially lost revenue if the system is not configured properly. To reduce the TCO and the burden on system administrators, many software vendors are now turning to software agents to help manage the complexity of administering these complex systems.
Software agents are very well suited to the task of controlling such systems. Prior expert knowledge could be incorporated once and for all in the agent, thereby reducing the need for expertise by the end-user. In addition, the software agent can be more closely tied to the system and can perform even closer monitoring and updating than humanly possible. Recent advances in the fields of Control Theory, Optimization, Operations Research and Artificial Intelligence provide a wealth of algorithms and techniques to dynamically tune the behavior of complex systems, even in the absence of much expert knowledge.
A variety of target-specific or "customized automated tuning systems" (CATS) have been developed. Examples include systems by: (1) Abdelzaher et al., as described in "End-host Architecture for QoS-Adaptive Communication," IEEE Real-time Technology and Applications Symposium, Denver, Colo., June 1998, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein; and (2) Aman et al., as described in "Adaptive algorithms for managing a distributed data processing workload," IBM Systems Journal, Vol. 36, No 2, 1997, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. The system of Abdelzaher et al. controls quality of service for the delivery of multimedia using task priorities in a communications subsystem. The system of Aman et al. provides a means by which administrators specify response time and throughput goals to achieve in MVS (Multiple Virtual Storage) systems using MVS-specific mechanisms to achieve these goals.
The concept of "tuning" seeks to improve service levels by adjusting existing resource allocations. To accomplish the preceding requires access to metrics and to the controls that determine resource allocations. In general, there are three classes of metrics, as follows: (1) "configuration metrics" that describe performance related features of the target that are not changed by adjusting tuning controls, such as, for example, line speeds, processor speeds, and memory sizes; (2) "workload metrics" that characterize the load on the target, such as, for example, arrival rates and service times; and (3) "service level metrics" that characterize the performance delivered, such as, for example, response times, queue lengths, and throughputs.
"Tuning controls" are parameters that adjust target resource allocations and hence change the target's performance characteristics. We give a few examples. LOTUS NOTES, an e-mail system and application framework, has a large set of controls. Among these are: NSF13 BufferPoolSize for managing memory, Server_MaxSessions for controlling admission to the server, and Server_SessionTimeout for regulating the number of idle users. In Web-based applications that support differentiated services, there are tuning controls that determine routing fractions by service class and server type. MQ SERIES, a reliable transport mechanism in distributed systems, has controls for storage allocations and assigning priorities. Database products (e.g., IBM's DB/2) expose controls for sort indices and allocating buffer pool sizes.
CATS require that metrics and tuning controls be identified in advance so that mechanisms for their interpretation and adjustment can be incorporated into the automated tuning system. Thus, CATS construction and maintenance still require considerable expertise. With the advent of the Internet, software systems and their components evolve rapidly, as do the workloads that they process. Thus, it may well be that automated tuning systems must be updated on a rate approaching that at which tuning occurs. Under such circumstances, the value of automated tuning is severely diminished.
The prior art related to automated tuning has mostly focused on developing specific algorithms and architectures that are very tightly coupled to the target system (i.e., the system being controlled). In such cases, the algorithms cannot be easily reapplied to other systems, nor can other control schemes be inserted into the proposed architecture.
Existing prior art for target-independent automated tuning does not consider architectural support for access to the metrics and controls. Realizing generic, automated tuning requires well defined interfaces so that a generic automated tuning system can access the data required from the target. Previous work has ignored these considerations.
The search for appropriate settings of tuning controls is facilitated by exposing information about the semantics of metrics and the operation of tuning controls. In particular, it is helpful for the target to place metrics into the categories of configuration, workload, and service level. These designations can aid the construction of a generic system model. Further, there should be a way to express the directional effects of tuning control adjustments since having such knowledge reduces the complexity of the search for appropriate settings of tuning controls. Past work has not focused on these concerns.

Object-oriented framework for generic adaptive control

International Business Machines Corporation