A semiconductor laser device has a semiconductor laser and a polarizing diffraction grating that is arranged ahead of the semiconductor laser. A reflected light from an optical recording medium is diffracted by the polarizing diffraction grating according to the polarization direction of the reflected light. The reflected light is thereby deviated from the direction toward the semiconductor laser to prevent the reflected light from returning to the semiconductor laser.

This invention relates to a semiconductor laser device and an optical pickup device, and in particular to an optical pickup device for use in an apparatus for optically recording or reproducing information on an information recording medium. This invention also relates to a semiconductor laser device and an optical pickup device that have a hologram device, and in particular to a semiconductor laser device and an optical pickup device for use in reading and writing a signal on an optical recording medium.
Conventionally there has been an optical pickup device as shown in FIG. 5. A laser chip 108 in a semiconductor laser device 101 of the optical pickup device emits a laser beam L which is incident on a diffraction grating 102. The laser beam L is split into a main beam L0 and two side beams L+1 and L−1 by the diffraction grating 102. The three beams (main beam L0 and side beams L+1 and L−1) are transmitted through a beam splitter 103 and transmitted through a collimator lens 104. The three beams are transformed into parallel beams by the collimator lens 104, and thereafter incident on an object lens 105. The object lens 105 focuses the beams on a surface of an optical disk 106 into a spot. Then, the three beams are reflected on the surface of the optical disk 106. The beams are transmitted successively through the object lens 105 and the collimator lens 104. The beam splitter 103 reflects the beams so that the beams are made incident on a photodetector 107. Consequently, the three beams are detected as information by the photodetector 107.
For another example, FIG. 11 shows a hologram-integrated type semiconductor laser device 180 of one red beam system. FIG. 12 shows an optical pickup device provided with the semiconductor laser device 180.
In this optical pickup device, light emitted from a semiconductor laser 157 is transmitted through a signal hologram 155. The light is diffracted into zero-order diffracted light, positive first-order diffracted light and negative first-order diffracted light by the signal hologram 155. Among these diffracted light rays, only the zero-order diffracted light is transmitted through the collimator lens 181 shown in FIG. 12 and transformed into parallel light by the collimator lens 181. The parallel light is transmitted through a quarter-wavelength plate 182. At this time, quarter-wavelength plate 182 generates phase difference of 45° between the light rays whose polarization directions are perpendicular to each other. Thereby, linearly polarized light is consequently transformed into circularly polarized light. Then the light is made incident on a raising mirror 183. The raising mirror 183 allows the light to be bent by an angle of 90 degrees and guided toward an optical disk 185. The light is concentrated on the optical disk 185 by an object lens 184.
Then, the light is reflected by the optical disk 185 to return the above-stated light path. That is, the light is transmitted through the object lens 184, bent by an angle of 90 degrees by the raising mirror 183 and made incident on the quarter-wavelength plate 182. The quarter-wavelength plate 182 further rotates the polarization direction of the light by an angle of 45 degrees, so that red light 186 generates whose polarization direction is rotated by an angle of 90 degrees in total through the forward path and the return path of the light. This return light 186 is transmitted through the collimator lens 181, and diffracted by the signal hologram 155 of a hologram device 154. The signal hologram 155 allows the positive first-order diffracted light 159 to be concentrated on the light-receiving device 158.
Other related arts of the present invention are disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. SHO 61-250844 and 2002-148436.
The optical pickup devices as shown in FIGS. 5 and 12 have such drawbacks as to degrade the signal detection characteristic and the servo characteristic of the optical pickup device because the beams reflected on the surface of the optical disk partially return to the semiconductor laser or its surroundings as optical noises. Also, these optical pickup devices has a drawback that the return light to the semiconductor laser generates the SCOOP (Self Couple Optical Pickup) phenomena exerting a harmful influence on the oscillation state of the original laser beam.
Specifically, in the optical pickup device shown in FIG. 5, parts Lm, Ls1, Ls2 of three beams reflected on the surface of the optical disk 106 return to the semiconductor laser device 101, as shown in FIG. 6. Consequently, the return beams Lm, Ls1 and Ls2 are reflected by the laser chip 108 and its surrounding part 111 in the semiconductor laser device 101, to goes back again the optical system located between the semiconductor laser device 101 and the optical disk 106. This causes the reflected return beams to be disadvantageously interfered with the original beam L as optical noises, which leads to significant deterioration of signal detection characteristic and the servo characteristic of the optical pickup device.
In the case of the SCOOP phenomenon, the gain of the laser beam L is increased by the reflected main beam Lm made incident on the light-emitting end surface 108a of the laser chip 108, so that the power of the laser beam L emitted from the laser chip 108 is undesirably increased. In addition, since the reflected main beam Lm fluctuates according to the surface state of the optical disk 6, the power of the laser beam L also disadvantageously fluctuates in accordance with the above-mentioned fluctuation.
As a method for eliminating the optical noises, the Japanese Patent No. 2565185 discloses that a slant surface is provided on a beam incident part of a header of the semiconductor laser device, or that a reflectionless coating is provided on the beam-emitting end surface.
Also, as shown in FIG. 7, a slant surface 212 is provided on an end surface 211a to reflect a side beam Ls2 in the direction of arrow R, so that the reflected side beam Ls2 is restrained from returning again to the optical system located between the semiconductor laser device 101 and the optical disk 106.
Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a reflector 113 is attached to the end surface 111a of a header section 111 of a stem 110 so as to reflect a beam Ls2 in the direction of arrow R by the reflector 113.
However, all of the above-stated methods have difficulties in formation of the reflectors and so on, which causes low productivity of the semiconductor laser devices.
Specifically, the header section 111 is formed integrally with the stem 110 by press molding in general. That is, the header section 111 is formed by pressing a hoop-shaped (elongated thin plate-shaped) iron material 100 shown in FIG. 9A with a metal mold 701. Since a protruding portion, which becomes the header section 111, is formed on the originally flat plate iron material 100, it is required to apply a very strong pressure to the metal mold 701. Particularly, in order to flatten the end surface 111a of the header section 111 as shown in FIG. 9B, the greatest force is to be applied to a portion 702 opposed to the end surface 111a in the metal mold 701. In this case, to form the slant surface 212 (see FIG. 7) on the end surface 111a of the header section 111, it is also required to provide the metal mold 701 with a slant surface forming portion constituted of a projection or a recess corresponding to the configuration of the slant surface 212. However, the slant surface forming portion, which is provided at the portion 702 to which the maximum pressure is applied as described above, is disadvantageously easily collapsed by pressure. Therefore, in the case where the slant surface 212 is provided on the portion 111a, extremely poor productivity results. Then, this sometimes leads to the destruction of the metal mold 701 itself in the worst case. Accordingly, there is a problem that it is realistically impossible to carry out mass production of the stem 210 that has the header section 211 on which the aforementioned slant surface 212 is directly formed.
Moreover, the method for attaching the reflector 113 to the end surface 111a of the header section 111 has the following problem.
The reflector 113 is required to be extremely accurately attached to the end surface 111a of the header section 111. Depending on the design of the optical system of the optical pickup device, it can also be considered that the reflected side beam Ls2 is incident on the neighborhood of the boundary between the laser chip 108 and the header section 111. Taking the incidence of the reflected side beam Ls2 into consideration, the end surface 111a in the neighborhood of the boundary is required to be covered with the reflector 113. However, it is extremely difficult to attach the reflector 113 so as not to bring the reflector 113 in contact with the laser chip 108. Moreover, when the reflector 113 protrudes from the end of the header section 111, the laser beam L of the laser chip 108 is partially blocked off by the reflector 113 as shown in FIG. 10, and this leads to a problem that the light emission characteristic of the laser chip 108 is degraded. That is, by attaching the reflector 113 to the end surface 111a, a far-field pattern (in the portion of the dotted line D1), which should be essentially present, disadvantageously disappears.
On the other hand, as a counter-measure against the above-stated SCOOP phenomena, there is a method for increasing reflectance of the light-emitting end surface 108a of the laser chip 108 so as to reduce the quantity of return of the reflected main beam Lm to the inside of the laser chip 108. However, the increase in the reflectance of the light-emitting end surface 108a disadvantageously leads to reduction of a differential efficiency ηd of the laser beam L of the laser chip 108, which reduction is unsuitable for increase of output power or reduction of current in the laser chip 108.
Moreover, in the semiconductor laser device and the optical pickup device shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the signal hologram 155 generates the zero-order diffracted light and the negative first-order diffracted light together with the positive first-order diffracted light 159. The zero-order diffracted light is incident on the light-emitting point of the semiconductor laser 157 as a return optical noise. Then, the zero-order diffracted light exerts such a harmful influence on the semiconductor laser 157 as to provide the laser beam with unstable oscillation.
Also, the negative first-order diffracted light passed through the signal hologram 155 is reflected by a top surface of a stem 152 and inner surfaces of a cap 153, which light may be made incident as unnecessary stray light rays on the light-receiving device 158, consequently causing an increase in signal offset and degrading the signal processing capability of the optical pickup device.

Semiconductor laser device and optical pickup device


An actuator control apparatus including a by-wire control circuit, a monitor circuit, a drive determination section, and a prohibition section is provided. The by-wire control circuit electrically controls an actuator acting as a drive source of an on-board apparatus. The monitor circuit monitors whether or not the by-wire control circuit is normally operating. The monitor circuit is provided separately from the by-wire control circuit. The drive determination section determines prohibition and permission of driving the actuator. The prohibition section prohibits the actuator from being driven when the permission of driving the actuator is not determined by the drive determination section. The prohibition section also prohibits the actuator from being driven when the monitor circuit determines that the by-wire control circuit is not normally operating.

Recently, in order to meet requests for reducing space, improving assembling work and improving control ability in automobiles, mechanical drive systems are changed to by-wire systems in which an actuator such as a motor or the like is used for electrical driving.
Patent Document 1 (JP-2006-336691-A) describes this kind of by-wire systems, in which a monitor control circuit (e.g., engine control circuit) is provided separately from a by-wire control circuit electrically controlling the actuator. The monitor control circuit monitors the by-wire system based on predetermined monitoring information. When the monitor control circuit identifies abnormality of the by-wire system, the control of the actuator by the by-wire control circuit is prohibited (e.g., a switch is turned off to cut off the power supply to the actuator).
Patent Document 1: JP-2006-336691-A
However, in the technology of Patent Document 1, since the control of the actuator by the by-wire control circuit is prohibited only when the monitor control circuit identifies abnormality based on predetermined monitoring information, the actuator is in a controllable state before the monitor control circuit identifies the abnormality. Therefore, it is difficult to sufficiently improve safety in case of system abnormality (e.g., generation of abnormal signals due to noise or source voltage lowering).


Application states may be stored and retrieved using policies that define various contexts in which the application is used. The application states may define configurations or uses of the application, including connections to and interactions with other applications. Applications that are virtualized may have state that is defined within a usage context and multiple states or configurations may be stored and recalled based on the usage context. Policies may define the context and what parameters are to be saved, and may be applied when applications are operated in a virtualized manner.

Applications can be modified in many different manners. In some cases, an application may be modified by updating registries, changing configuration files, updating dynamic linked libraries, or other mechanisms. Each change to the application may affect portions of an operating system, which may in turn affect other applications that execute in the operating system environment.

State separation for application changes


Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a system for providing healthcare asset intelligence comprising a data layer adapted to preprocess healthcare asset intelligence data, a service component layer adapted to comprise a plurality of service components, and a service application layer adapted to comprise a service application. The healthcare asset intelligence data is data related to management of healthcare assets. The system is configured according to a service-oriented architecture and uses service-oriented computing. Each of the plurality of service components is adapted to utilize the preprocessed healthcare asset intelligence data. The service application is adapted to utilize at least one of the plurality of service components to provide the healthcare asset intelligence.

The present invention generally relates to managing healthcare assets. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems, methods, and apparatuses for providing healthcare asset intelligence.
Healthcare environments such as hospitals must manage many different healthcare assets, often in very large quantities. In a healthcare setting, healthcare assets may include personnel, equipment, devices, and supplies. Because such a diversity of healthcare assets is present in all healthcare environments, managing these assets effectively can be quite burdensome. As a result, healthcare assets are not utilized in an efficient way in most healthcare environments for a variety of reasons. For example, each hospital in an enterprise may manage existing data sources in a customized manner that may not be compatible with other hospitals in the enterprise. As another example, there may be a scarcity of intravenous (IV) pumps in one hospital within an enterprise of hospitals and a surplus of the same IV pumps in another hospital within the enterprise. The most efficient solution to these problems may be for the hospital having extra IV pumps to meet the demand of the hospital having a scarcity of IV pumps. However, unless the two hospitals are aware of one another's supplies and demands, the most efficient distribution of IV pumps across the enterprise may not be achieved. That is, global sharing at the enterprise level may not be possible.
In general, the various data sources used by a healthcare environment to manage its assets are heavily customized to that particular environment, preventing the rapid development of applications that can be used across varying types of data sources. In many cases, even different departments within a single hospital may utilize data sources that are vastly different from one another. In such a situation, the execution of an application utilizing data from each of these different departments may be impossible or impractical because the data sources are so heavily customized. This problem may be even more apparent for enterprises that include multiple independent healthcare environments. However, converting all of these disparate data sources into a single format that will support such application development and execution is both impractical and overly expensive for most healthcare environments and enterprises.
Healthcare asset intelligence data is generated and can be expressed in a wide variety of ways. For example, healthcare asset intelligence data may include the number of hospital beds in a hospital, the hospital's annual operating budget, the work schedules of hospital personnel, the locations of the hospital's X-ray scanners, and the number of units of Type A blood available for transfusion, among other information. Healthcare asset intelligence data within an enterprise may be even more voluminous and varied. As a result, converting every source providing healthcare asset intelligence data to a hospital or enterprise into a single format may be exceptionally burdensome.
Because total data conversion is impractical and not cost-efficient, healthcare environments are unable to utilize valuable healthcare asset intelligence data in order to maximize their assets, achieve their business goals, and provide the highest quality care to their patients. With each healthcare environment maintaining its own healthcare asset intelligence data in a proprietary format, distinct departments within hospital (or distinct hospitals within an enterprise) are unlikely to connect their needs and interests, learn from one another's operations, pool resources for mutual benefit, or maximize asset lifespan and efficiency, simply because of their healthcare asset intelligence deficiencies.

Systems and methods for providing healthcare asset intelligence using service-oriented architecture and service-oriented computing


In the step of forming a gate electrode in the region having the line width in which the miniaturization has been progressed, the present invention provides a method of fabricating a thin film transistor (TFT) whose patterning margin can be enlarged without requiring carrying out the photolithography multiple times. According to a fabricating method of the present invention, the mask pattern of the first layer and the mask pattern of the second layer can be formed in a self-aligned process and as a mask pattern which is analog and whose size are different from each other by performing the photolithography once. The hut shape gate can be formed in a self-aligned process by setting the line width located on the active layer so as to be Li in the mask pattern of the first layer, and so as to be L′ in the mask pattern of the second layer, and by in turn carrying out the anisotropic etching using the mask pattern of the second layer and the anisotropic etching using the mask pattern of the first layer. Therefore, the problem of a fabricating method being complex along with the miniaturization of a TFT can be solved by reducing the number of reticles using in the fabricating steps.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of fabricating a semiconductor device having a circuit consisted of a thin film transistor (hereinafter, abbreviated as TFT), and particularly, relates to a method of forming a mask in an exposure step and a method of etching using the relevant mask.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, an active matrix type liquid crystal display utilizing a TFT has attracted a great deal of attention. An active matrix type liquid crystal display is provided with a TFT as a switching element at each pixel.
In general, in a TFT, a channel formation region is formed with an amorphous silicon or a polycrystalline silicon. Particularly, since a TFT using a polycrystalline silicon which is fabricated particularly at a temperature of being equal to 600° C. or less (referred to as low temperature process) (hereinafter, referred to as polycrystalline silicon TFT) is capable of being formed on a glass substrate, it becomes possible to lower the cost of a semiconductor device and make the area of it larger. Moreover, in the case of a polycrystalline silicon, since the mobility of it is large, it is possible to realize a liquid crystal display in which a pixel section and a driver are integrally formed on a glass substrate.
However, if a polycrystalline silicon TFT is continuously driven, the mobility may be changed, ON-state current (current flowing in the case where a TFT is in an ON-state) may be increased, and OFF-state current (current flowing in the case where a TFT is in an OFF-state) may be increased. It is considered that this may be caused by the deterioration due to a hot carrier occurred by a high electric field nearby a drain.
In order to relax the high electric field nearby the drain and suppress the hot carrier, in the case of a MOS transistor employing the design rule of 1.5 μm or less in a gate line width, it is useful to utilize a LDD (abbreviated from Lightly Doped Drain).
For example in the case of a NMOS (n-type MOSFET) transistor, a LDD structure can be formed by providing a low concentration n-type region (n− region) at the edge portion of the drain utilizing a side wall of the gate side wall. The electric field nearby the drain can be relaxed by employing a LDD structure in which a concentration of impurity of drain junction is made hold a gradient.
In a LDD structure, a drain breakdown voltage can be enhanced comparing to a single drain structure. However, since the resistance of the n− region is large, there is a difficulty that a drain current is reduced. Moreover, since a high electric field exists immediately under the side wall, where the ionization of collision becomes the maximum, and a hot electron is injected into a side wall, the n− region is depleted, and further the resistance is increased, and finally a TFT is made deteriorated.
Particularly, the above-described problem becomes significant according to the reduction of the length of a channel. In order to overcome this problem in the case of a MOS transistor whose design rule is 0.5 μm or less, a Gate Overlap LDD structure which forms the n− region by overlapping at the edge portion of a gate electrode is useful.
Then, the employment of a Gate Overlap LDD structure has been considered in order to relax the high electric field nearby the drain not only in a MOS transistor but also in a polycrystalline silicon TFT. As for a polycrystalline silicon TFT having a Gate Overlap LDD structure, in a polycrystalline silicon layer, a channel formation region, a source region and a drain region which are high concentration regions (n+ region), and a low concentration region (n region) which has been provided between the channel formation region and the source and drain regions and which is overlapped with a gate electrode are formed.
As a method of fabricating these structures, there have been reports described in the patent document 1, the patent document 2 and the like.    Patent document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.2000-349297 gazette, and    Patent document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H07-202210 gazette.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of fabricating semiconductor device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A speaker verification system using the voice of a user uttering a continuous, random length digit string is provided. The speaker verification system includes a random digit generator for generating a continuous, random length digit string; a user interface for providing the continuous, random length digit string; a feature extractor for extracting voice features from the user""s voice uttering the continuous, random length digit string; a digit voice verification unit for comparing the voice features with items in a speaker-independent continuous digit voice model to derive a digit string corresponding to items in the speaker-independent continuous digit voice model, which match the voice features, and for determining whether the derived digit string is identical to the digit string provided to the user via the user interface; and a speaker verification unit for comparing the voice features with a speaker-dependent model of the user to measure the similarity between them. The speaker-dependent model of the user includes previously determined features of the users"" voice and determines whether to approve or reject the user based on the similarity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a speaker verification system using voice, and more particularly, to a speaker verification system using the voice of a user uttering a continuous, random length digit string.
2. Description of the Related Art
Security verification of users requesting access to particular service is required in various application fields. For example, it is necessary to confirm whether users requesting access to services, such as a banking service, a credit card inquiry service and electronic commerce, have authority to use the service. A representative method of user verification is a method of using passwords or personal identification numbers (PINs). The method of using passwords has a disadvantage in that users must accurately memorize the passwords. Users tend to use passwords which are easy to remember for the convenience of memorization. Therefore, the passwords can be easily deduced and misappropriated.
To overcome the above problems, interest in biotechnological security techniques, that is, techniques of identifying individual persons based on personal biotechnological features, has increased. As a representative method, there is a method of identifying users based on users"" voices. The method of identifying users based on personal voice features is more advantageous in terms of price or implementation than other methods, for example, a method of identifying users based on finger prints. By using the method of identifying users based on voice for security verification in electronic commerce through a telephone network or the internet, users can be immediately identified based on their voice without a disadvantage such as memorization of a password. In addition, control of access to sites employing security systems can be made very easy by using voice verification technology. The method of identifying users through voice performs voice verification by comparing various voice parameters of particular voices. The parameters include pitch cycle, voice intensity and other acoustic features.
However, conventional voice verification systems employ a text-dependent method, that is, a method of using a previously memorized reference script and requiring a user to speak the reference script. Since a text, which is to be spoken by a user, is fixed, misappropriation of voice can easily happen by recording the user""s voice speaking the text. Moreover, in a text-independent method for overcoming the problems of the text-dependent method, management of a huge database for storing various voice features slows down processing speed.
To solve the above problems, it is a first objective of the present invention to provide a speaker verification system and method using the voice of a user uttering a continuous, random length digit string, wherein a simple digit string is used so as to improve processing speed, randomness is increased so as to remove the possibility of voice misappropriation, and a mechanical sound determination mechanism is provided, and a computer-readable medium storing a program for the system and method.
It is a second objective of the present invention to provide a speaker registration method which is implemented in the above speaker verification system and a computer-readable medium storing a program for the speaker registration method.
Accordingly, to achieve one aspect of the first objective, there is provided a speaker verification system using the voice of a user uttering a continuous, random length digit string. The speaker verification system includes a random digit generator for generating a continuous, random length digit string; a user interface for providing the continuous, random length digit string, which is generated by the random digit generator, to the user and receiving the voice of the user uttering the provided continuous, random length digit string; a feature extractor for extracting voice features from the user""s voice which is received via the user interface; a digit voice verification unit for comparing the voice features, which are extracted by the feature extractor, with items in a speaker-independent continuous digit voice model to derive a digit string corresponding to items in the speaker-independent continuous digit voice model, which match the voice features, and for determining whether the derived digit string is identical to the digit string, which has been provided to the user via the user interface; and a speaker verification unit for comparing the voice features, which are extracted by the feature extractor, with a speaker-dependent model of the user to measure the similarity between them, the speaker-dependent model of the user including previously determined features of the users"" voice, and for determining whether to approve or reject the user based on the similarity, when it is determined that the derived digit string is identical to the digit string which has been provided to the user.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a speaker verification method using the voice of a user uttering a continuous, random length digit string. The speaker verification method includes the steps of (a) randomly generating a continuous, random length digit string; (b) providing the continuous, random length digit string to the user; (c) receiving the voice of the user uttering the continuous, random length digit string; (d) extracting voice features from the received user""s voice; (e) comparing the extracted voice features with items in a speaker-independent continuous digit voice model to derive a digit string corresponding to items in the speaker-independent continuous digit voice model, which match the voice features, and determining whether the derived digit string is identical to the digit string provided to the user in the step (b); and (f) comparing the voice features extracted in the step (d), with a speaker-dependent model of the user and determining whether to approve or reject the user.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a speaker verification method using the voice of a user uttering a continuous, random length digit string. The speaker verification method includes the steps of (a) providing a continuous, random length digit string, which is randomly generated, to a user; (b) receiving the voice of the user uttering the continuous, random length digit string and extracting voice features from the received user""s voice; (c) comparing the extracted voice features with items in a speaker-independent continuous digit voice model to derive a digit string corresponding to items in the speaker-independent continuous digit voice model, which are matched with the voice features, and determining whether the derived digit string is identical to the digit string, which has been provided to the user in the step (a); (d) comparing the voice features, which has been extracted in the step (c), with speaker model of the user and measuring the similarity between the voice features and the speaker model of the user, the similarity indicating the difference between phonetic values; (e) increasing a first speaker rejection count when the similarity, which is measured in the step (d), is greater than or equal to a predetermined lower similarity threshold and increasing a second speaker rejection count when the similarity is greater than or equal to a predetermined upper similarity threshold; and (f) after repeating the steps (a) through (e) a plurality of times, (f1) approving the user when the first speaker rejection count is 0, and rejecting the user when the second speaker rejection count is at least 1 or the first speaker rejection count exceeds a predetermined rejection count threshold; and (f2) determining whether to approve or reject the user based on the similarity measured in the step (d), when the second speaker rejection count is 0, and the first speaker rejection count is at least 1 and less than or equal to the rejection count threshold.
In still yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium for recording a program which is executed in a computer for speaker verification for verifying a user by their voice when uttering a continuous, random length digit string. The program includes the steps of (a) randomly generating a continuous, random length digit string; (b) providing the continuous, random length digit string to the user; (c) receiving the voice of the user uttering the continuous, random length digit string; (d) extracting voice features from the received user""s voice; (e) comparing the extracted voice features with items in a speaker-independent continuous digit voice model to derive a digit string corresponding to items in the speaker-independent continuous digit voice model, which match the voice features, and determining whether the derived digit string is identical to the digit string provided to the user in the step (b); and (f) comparing the voice features extracted in the step (d), with a speaker-dependent model of the user and determining whether to approve or reject the user.
In further another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium for recording a program which is executed in a computer for speaker verification for verifying a user by the voice of the user uttering continuous, random length digit string. The program includes the steps of (a) providing a continuous, random length digit string, which is randomly generated, to a user; (b) receiving the voice of the user uttering the continuous, random length digit string and extracting voice features from the received user""s voice; (c) comparing the extracted voice features with items in a speaker-independent continuous digit voice model to derive a digit string corresponding to items in the speaker-independent continuous digit voice model, which are matched with the voice features, and determining whether the derived digit string is identical to the digit string, which has been provided to the user in the step (a); (d) comparing the voice features, which has been extracted in the step (c), with speaker model of the user and measuring the similarity between the voice features and the speaker model of the user, the similarity indicating the difference between phonetic values; (e) increasing a first speaker rejection count when the similarity, which is measured in the step (d), is greater than or equal to a predetermined lower similarity threshold and increasing a second speaker rejection count when the similarity is greater than or equal to a predetermined upper similarity threshold; and (f) after repeating the steps (a) through (e) a plurality of times, (f1) approving the user when the first speaker rejection count is 0, and rejecting the user when the second speaker rejection count is at least 1 or the first speaker rejection count exceeds a predetermined rejection count threshold; and (f2) determining whether to approve or reject the user based on the similarity measured in the step (d), when the second speaker rejection count is 0, and the first speaker rejection count is at least 1 and less than or equal to the rejection count threshold.
To achieve the second objective, there is also provided a speaker registration method in the speaker verification system according to the embodiment of the present invention. The speaker registration method includes the steps of (a) providing a continuous digit string having various phonetic values to a user; (b) receiving the voice of the user uttering the continuous digit string; (c) extracting voice features from the received user""s voice; (d) comparing the extracted voice features with items in a speaker-independent continuous digit voice model to derive a digit string corresponding to items in the speaker-independent continuous digit voice model, which match the voice features, and determining whether the derived digit string is identical to the digit string provided to the user in the step (a); (e) comparing the voice features extracted in the step (c), with speaker-dependent model of the user and measuring the similarity between the voice features and the speaker dependent model of the user; and (f) determining whether to register the user based on the measured similarity.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable recording medium for recording a program which is executed in a computer for speaker registration in a speaker verification system. The program includes the steps of (a) providing a continuous digit string having various phonetic values to a user; (b) receiving the voice of the user uttering the continuous digit string; (c) extracting voice features from the received user""s voice; (d) comparing the extracted voice features with items in a speaker-independent continuous digit voice model to derive a digit string corresponding to items in the speaker-independent continuous digit voice model, which match the voice features, and determining whether the derived digit string is identical to the digit string provided to the user in the step (a); (e) comparing the voice features extracted in the step (c), with speaker-dependent model of the user and measuring the similarity between the voice features and the speaker dependent model of the user; and (f) determining whether to register the user based on the measured similarity.

Speaker verification system and method using spoken continuous, random length digit string


A multipurpose accessory having a multipurpose connection mechanism is provided. The multipurpose accessory of the present invention includes a case, a multipurpose connector extruded at one side of the case for electrically connecting a multimedia device to the multipurpose accessory, an audio connector extruded near the multipurpose connector for connecting an audio output of the multimedia device to the multipurpose accessory, a first cord extended at an opposite side of the case and connected to the audio connector, a second cord extended at the opposite side of the case and connected to the audio connector and having a USB connector at a distal end, and a pair of earpieces electrically connected to the first and second cords for outputting audio signals in the form of audible sound waves.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multipurpose accessory, and more particularly, to a necklace-type stereo earphone having a multipurpose connection mechanism.
(b) Description of the Related Art
With the advances in sound enhancement and communication technologies, various portable multimedia devices have been developed and have become widespread. Further, such portable multimedia devices are rapidly becoming popular in daily life. This popularity has lead to various user requirements for the multimedia devices. In order to meet the user requirements, the multimedia devices tend to be equipped with attractive and cutting-edge functions. However, the portable multimedia devices have short product cycles relative to their high prices.
The above information disclosed in the background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Multipurpose accessory for portable multimedia device


The present invention provides a video server. In one embodiment, the video server includes a perceptual analyzer configured to analyze frames of a video sequence and provide a video analysis file. The video server also includes a transmitter coupled to the perceptual analyzer and configured to transmit both the video sequence and the video analysis file. The present invention also provides a mobile client. In one embodiment, the mobile client includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) having a backlight and configured to provide a video sequence for the mobile client. The mobile client also includes a display processor, coupled to the LCD, configured to employ a received video analysis file to enhance at least one of a brightness and contrast of the video sequence and correspondingly reduce a backlight intensity of the backlight.

The proliferation of mobile devices incorporating displays, such as mobile phones, continues as the feature sets associated with these devices expand and improve. In the past, the display portion of the mobile device was mainly focused on allowing a user to select certain features of the mobile device. However, current growth in display and related technologies are moving the role of the display to become much more of a central feature of the mobile device.
The majority of mobile devices use a liquid crystal display (LCD). A popular form of LCD is a flat display, which typically consists of an array of red, green and blue color pixels that are arranged in front of a light source called a backlight. Each pixel contains a series of liquid crystal molecules arranged between two transparent electrodes and two polarizing filters having orthogonal polarizing directions. With no electric charge applied between the two electrodes, the liquid crystal molecules are oriented to prohibit the transmission of backlight.
Applying a charge, however, provides a reorientation of the liquid crystals that is proportional to the applied charge. This allows a proportional amount of backlighting to be transmitted through the pixel area. The amount of backlighting transmitted by a pixel determines a brightness of the image in that pixel area, as seen by an observer. The contrast associated with the image on the display corresponds to the range of actual backlighting transmitted by all pixels that compose the image. This range is typically a portion of the full range that is possible between zero and full reorientation of the liquid crystals. Therefore, an image rendered by the LCD is a function of the brightness, contrast and backlight intensity associated with the image.
An image histogram is a plot of the number of pixels associated with each brightness value actually occurring in the image. These brightness values typically range from zero to 255 along a brightness scale corresponding to eight bits of resolution. A brightness value of zero corresponds to the blackest black and a brightness value of 255 corresponds to the whitest white that are possible on a particular LCD. This histogram provides a luminance "finger print" for its corresponding image.
The demand for higher quality images is increasing. The quality of an image provided by an LCD is directly proportional to the number of pixels employed in the display. Additionally, the intensity of the backlight is often set as high as possible to make the display visible in high ambient light conditions, such as bright sunlight.
The amount of power used by the mobile device is a critical factor associated with most mobile devices, since size and weight constraints typically place severe restrictions on battery sizes. Currently, backlight power requirements for the LCD consume approximately 30 percent of the available battery power in a mobile phone. As mobile displays employ a more central role in more mobile devices, backlight power will become an even more critical issue.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a more power-efficient way of rendering images on a mobile LCD.

Content-transformation power management of a mobile display


A data processing device 100 comprises a plurality of storage circuits 130, 160, which store a plurality of data elements of the bits in an interleaved manner. Data processing device also comprises a consumer 110 with a number of lanes 120. The consumer is able to individually access each of the plurality of storage circuits 130, 160 in order to receive into the lanes 120 either a subset of the plurality of data elements or y bits of each of the plurality of data elements. The consumer 110 is also able to execute a common instruction of each of the plurality of lanes 120. The relationship of the bits is such that b is greater than y and is an integer multiple of y. Each of the plurality of storage circuits 130, 160 stores at most y bits of each of the data elements. Furthermore, each of the storage circuits 130, 160 stores at most y/b of the plurality of data elements. By carrying out the interleaving in this manner, the plurality of storage circuits 130, 160 comprise no more than b/y storage circuits.

The present invention relates to the field of data processing. In particular, the present invention relates to the interleaved storage of data elements.
In a Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) architecture, a data processing element (also referred to as a consumer) may execute a single instruction on several data elements at once. The data processing element acquires the data elements from storage circuits. Each data element is then inserted into a separate lane of the processing element and a single instruction can then execute on each of the lanes in parallel. Consequently one instruction is executed on many data elements at the same time, thereby providing data parallelisation.
The processing element may acquire the plurality of data elements from a plurality of general purpose registers which collectively form a SIMD register. In order that the processing element can access the bits that make up the data elements in parallel, it is necessary for each of the general purpose registers to be provided in a separate register bank. If two such registers were provided in the same register bank it would require two accesses to that register bank (or multiple access ports) in order to retrieve the bits stored therein. Since each access to a register bank takes time, latency of the processing element would be increased.
Often, the processing element is less wide than the SIMD register. That is, the processing element may hold fewer bits than the SIMD register is able to store. The processing element may therefore elect to either handle the data elements stored in the SIMD register in batches, or else may iteratively handle a subset of the bits of each of the data elements stored in the SIMD register. For example, the top 32 bits of every data element may be handled first, followed by the bottom 32 bits of every data element. The technique that is used by the processing element at any particular instant may depend on the operation being carried out and, in particular, which technique will be most efficient.
The registers making up the SIMD register may be accessed individually or in combination to acquire the necessary data for the processing element. It is therefore necessary to provide muxing logic between the banks of registers that that make up or provide the SIMD registers. However, each of the register banks and the muxing logic both consume space and consume power, which are disadvantageous.

Data processing device and method for interleaved storage of data elements


A power system is disclosed for use with a mobile machine having a work tool. The power system may have an engine, a first input device configured to generate a first signal indicative of an operator-desired output of the engine, a second input device configured to generate a second signal indicative of an operator-desired movement of the work tool, and a controller in communication with the engine, the first input device, and the second input device. The controller may be configured to adjust fueling of the engine based on the first signal and based on a desired speed of the engine during a first mode of operation, and to adjust fueling of the engine based on the first signal and a desired torque of the mobile machine during a second mode of operation. The controller may be further configured to selectively switch operation of the machine between the first and second modes based on the second signal.

A governor is a device used to control engine fueling of a mobile machine based indirectly on operator input. In particular, the operator of the machine may not directly control fueling. Instead, the operator may only indicate a desired engine speed (e.g., via throttle pedal position), and the governor may adjust engine fueling to maintain the desired engine speed regardless of fluctuations in load placed on the engine. For example, when the load increases (e.g., when the machine encounters an incline), the engine could be caused to lug due to the increased load. In this example, assuming the operator maintains the same throttle pedal position, the governor automatically increases fueling to maintain the desired engine speed throughout the incline. Likewise, when the load decreases (e.g., when the machine encounters a decline), the engine could overspeed due to the load reduction. In this example, the governor automatically decreases fueling.
While a speed governor (i.e., a governor that adjusts engine fueling based on engine speed) may perform satisfactorily in some situations, it may be undesired in other situations. For example, there may be situations when the operator is not concerned with the speed of the engine and instead wants only to maintain a specific torque at wheels (a.k.a., rimpull torque) of the machine regardless of fluctuations in engine speed. In these situations, the speed governor may not provide the desired level of control.
Another type of governor is known as a torque governor. A torque governor is configured to adjust engine fueling based on operator input indicative of desired rimpull torque. For example, the operator may depress the throttle pedal indicating a desired percentage of a maximum available torque be applied to the wheels of the machine. The governor detects and/or determines the actual torque being directed from the engine to the wheels, and selectively adjusts fueling based on the difference between the desired and actual torques.
Although a torque governor may provide an added level of machine control to the operator, it may also be problematic in some situations. For example, if the operator were to suddenly request a significant amount of hydraulic power from the machine (e.g., via fast and/or high-force lifting of a work tool) when the machine's engine is being fueled based on desired rimpull torque, the engine would lug due to the sudden increase in load for the same amount of fuel. When the engine lugs, the hydraulic system of the machine might not respond properly.
One exemplary attempt to improve machine operation is disclosed in US Patent Publication No. 2012/0310493 (the '493 publication) of Fukuhara et al. that published on Dec. 6, 2012. Specifically, the '493 publication discloses a work vehicle having an engine, a travel device, a hydraulic pump, a work implement, a torque converter device, and a controller. The torque converter device includes a torque converter and a lockup clutch. The controller is configured to switch the lockup clutch from a connected state to a non-connected state when a load increases on the work implement. By switching the lockup clutch to the nor-connected state, the total load on the engine may decrease, thereby inhibiting lugging of the engine due to the sudden load increase on the work implement.
Although the work vehicle of the '493 publication may experience a decrease in engine lugging and/or have improved hydraulic response during simultaneous travel and tool use, it may be problematic. In particular, the work vehicle may experience a loss of efficiency when operating with the lockup clutch in the non-connected state during torque-governing of the engine. In particular, some losses will be experienced during disconnect of the lockup clutch. And even though the load on the engine may be reduced, fueling based on torque may not fully take into account the work implement load. Thus, the engine may still lug to some degree, which further reduces machine efficiency.
The disclosed power system is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.

Power system having clutch-based fuel control modes


A method obtains a pollution condition of at least one component of a gardening and/or forestry apparatus. The method includes the steps of: obtaining at least one pollution parameter which describes at least one source of pollution prevalent during an operation of the gardening and/or forestry apparatus; obtaining the pollution condition of the component based on the obtained pollution parameter; and outputting and/or transmitting information based on the obtained pollution condition.

The invention relates to a method for obtaining a pollution condition of at least one component of a gardening and/or forestry apparatus and to a gardening and/or forestry apparatus system.
A method for obtaining a pollution condition of at least one component of a gardening and/or forestry apparatus and a gardening and/or forestry apparatus system are known.
The invention is based on the problem of providing a method for obtaining a pollution condition of at least one component of a gardening and/or forestry apparatus, which method exhibits improved properties, in particular more functions. The invention is furthermore based on the problem of providing a gardening and/or forestry apparatus system.
The invention solves this problem by providing a method and a gardening and/or forestry apparatus system for obtaining a pollution condition of at least one component of a gardening and/or forestry apparatus in accordance with claimed embodiments of the invention. Advantageous developments and/or configurations of the invention are described and claimed herein.
The method according to the invention, in particular an automatic method, for obtaining a pollution condition or pollution degree, in particular an assumed real or expected pollution condition or pollution degree, of at least one component of a gardening and/or forestry apparatus has the steps of: a) obtaining, in particular automatically obtaining, at least one pollution parameter which describes at least one source of pollution prevalent during an operation of the gardening and/or forestry apparatus; b) obtaining, in particular automatically obtaining, the pollution condition of the component based on the obtained pollution parameter; c) outputting, in particular automatically outputting, and/or transmitting, in particular automatically transmitting, information based on the obtained pollution condition.
The method makes it possible to indirectly obtain the pollution condition of the component. In other words, the pollution condition of the component does not need to be obtained in a direct manner. This can make it possible to obtain or predict the pollution condition of the component even before the operation of the gardening and/or forestry apparatus, in particular if the at least one source of pollution prevalent during the operation of the gardening and/or forestry apparatus can already be known or obtained, in particular predicted, before the operation.
In addition or alternatively, the method makes it possible owing to the information to take care of the component, in particular before it can be too strongly polluted. In particular it is possible, if the need arises, for in particular a gardening and/or forestry worker or a user of the gardening and/or forestry apparatus to procure in time and/or to carry along cleaning and/or maintenance material and/or a replacement component. The method consequently makes it possible to protect the gardening and/or forestry apparatus, or the component thereof, against poor performance and/or damage due to excessive pollution of the component.
In particular, the information can be output optically, acoustically and/or haptically. The optical output can include a display. The optical output can include superposition or projection of the information into a field of view of the gardening and/or forestry worker. In addition or alternatively, the information can be transmitted to a database and/or a network and/or a hub and/or a cloud and/or similar, in particular to the Internet.
The gardening and/or forestry apparatus can take the form of a hand-guided gardening and/or forestry apparatus, in particular a hand-held gardening and/or forestry apparatus or a ground-guided gardening and/or forestry apparatus. Hand-guided, in particular hand-held, gardening and/or forestry apparatus can mean that the gardening and/or forestry apparatus can have a maximum mass of 50 kilograms (kg), in particular of 20 kg, in particular of 10 kg.
The pollution parameter can include or be a value and/or an amount. The pollution condition can include or be a value and/or an amount.
The step b) can be executed at the same time as step a) and/or after the said step a). The step c) can be executed at the same time as step b) and/or after the said step b).
In one development of the invention, the step a) includes: obtaining or capturing the pollution parameter using at least one sensor which is provided separate from the component, in particular from the gardening and/or forestry apparatus. In other words, the sensor cannot, or need not, be a constituent part of the component, in particular not a constituent part of the gardening and/or forestry apparatus. In particular, the sensor can be configured to capture or measure the source of pollution directly. In other words, the sensor cannot or need not be configured to measure, in particular gauge, the component.
In a development of the invention, the pollution condition of the component depends on the operation of the gardening and/or forestry apparatus. The component is exposed to the source of pollution during the operation of the gardening and/or forestry apparatus. The method comprises the step of: obtaining, in particular automatically obtaining, data of the operation of the gardening and/or forestry apparatus. Step b) comprises: obtaining the pollution condition of the component based on the obtained data of the operation. This makes possible relatively accurate obtaining of the pollution condition. Step b) can be performed at the same time as or, temporally, after the obtaining of the data of the operation.
In one embodiment of the invention, the data of the operation include a running time of the gardening and/or forestry apparatus, in particular a rotation speed curve, in particular over the running time, of the gardening and/or forestry apparatus. The running time can be obtained in particular by capturing a sound produced by the operation of the gardening and/or forestry apparatus, in particular using the above-described sensor. The sensor can include a sound converter, in particular a microphone. The running time and in particular the rotation speed curve can depend on, or at least be influenced by, a working method with the gardening and/or forestry apparatus. Accordingly, the pollution condition can depend on, or at least be influenced by, the working method. The running time can include or be a value and/or an amount, in particular in seconds, minutes, hours, days and/or a greater unit of time. The rotation speed curve can have or be a value or a value set and/or an amount, in particular in the unit revolutions per minute.
In a development of the invention, the component has a cylinder, a fan propeller, an air filter grille, an air filter and/or a cooling fin, or is such a specific component. Typically, a component which is developed in this way can interact with ambient air of the gardening and/or forestry apparatus, in particular for the combustion of the ambient air and/or for cooling with the ambient air. Excessive pollution of such a component can result in an insufficient supply of combustion air and/or insufficient cooling. In particular, the source of pollution can be included in the ambient air. The interaction with the ambient air can consequently lead to the pollution.
In a development of the invention, the gardening and/or forestry apparatus includes a saw, a pole pruner, a clearing saw or a brush cutter, a blower device and/or a leaf blower, or is such a specific gardening and/or forestry apparatus. Typically, a thus developed gardening and/or forestry apparatus during operation thereof, or the component thereof, can be exposed to the source of the pollution or even cause the latter. In particular, the saw, the pole pruner, the clearing saw or the brush cutter, the blower device or the leaf blower can each be referred to as a hand-held gardening and/or forestry apparatus.
In a development of the invention, the source of pollution includes dust and/or tree resin and/or pollen, or is such a specific source of pollution. The pollution parameter includes a dust concentration and/or an amount of resin and/or a pollen concentration, or is such a specific pollution parameter. The dust concentration can include or be a value and/or an amount. The amount of resin can include or be a value and/or an amount. The pollen concentration can include or be a value and/or an amount. In particular, such a source of pollution can be caused by the operation of the gardening and/or forestry apparatus itself. The dust can include silicate. The amount of resin can depend on, or at least be influenced by, a resin component in wood. The above-described sensor can be configured to obtain the dust concentration and/or the amount of resin and/or the pollen concentration and/or to obtain a transmission, in particular of the ambient air, which can depend on, or at least be influenced by, the dust and/or the tree resin and/or the pollen, or their extent or degree. The sensor can include a transmission determination means.
In one development of the invention, the step a) includes: receiving, in particular receiving in a cable-free or wire-free manner, or calling up the pollution parameter, in particular from a database and/or a network, in particular using a receiver unit.
In one development of the invention, the step a) includes: obtaining, in particular capturing and/or receiving, a meteorological parameter and obtaining the pollution parameter as a function of or based on the obtained meteorological parameter. In particular, the meteorological parameter can include an air temperature, an air humidity, a dew point, an air pressure, an air density, an air composition, a wind direction, a wind speed, a type of precipitation, an amount of precipitation and/or a season. In particular the air temperature and/or the humidity and/or the dew point and/or the air pressure and/or the air density and/or the air composition and/or the wind direction and/or the wind speed and/or the type of precipitation and/or the amount of precipitation can depend on, or at least be influenced by, the season. The meteorological parameter can include or be a value and/or an amount. The source of pollution, or the extent or degree thereof, can depend on, or at least be influenced by, the meteorological parameter. In particular, wind can transport the source of pollution to the component or away from it. In addition or alternatively, precipitation can remove the source of pollution, in particular dust, tree resin and/or pollen, where present, in particular wash them out of the ambient air. The above-described sensor can be configured to obtain the meteorological parameter. The sensor can include a thermometer, a hygrometer, a dew point mirror hygrometer, a barometer and/or a precipitation gauge.
In one development of the invention, the step a) includes: obtaining, in particular capturing and/or receiving, a material of a workpiece or object to be treated by the gardening and/or forestry apparatus and obtaining the pollution parameter as a function of or based on the obtained material. The source of pollution, or the extent or degree thereof, can in particular depend on, or at least be influenced by, the material. The workpiece can include or be a piece of wood, in particular a tree. The material can include a type of wood or a type of tree. The dust concentration and/or the amount of resin, where present, can depend on, or at least be influenced by, the type of wood or the type of tree. The above-described sensor can be configured to obtain the material. The sensor can include a camera for obtaining an image of the workpiece, in particular the surface nature thereof, and an image processing device for obtaining the material from the image.
In one development of the invention, the step a) includes: obtaining, in particular capturing or specifying, a position of the operation of the gardening and/or forestry apparatus and obtaining the pollution parameter as a function of, or based on, the obtained position. In addition or alternatively, the step a) includes: obtaining, in particular capturing and/or specifying, a marking of the workpiece or object to be treated by the gardening and/or forestry apparatus and obtaining the pollution parameter as a function of, or based on, the obtained marking. From the obtained position, in particular the pollution parameter for this position and/or the meteorological parameter for this position and/or the material for this position can be obtained, in particular received. From the obtained marking, the position for this marking and/or for this workpiece can be obtained and thus the pollution parameter can be obtained, as previously described. In addition or alternatively, the material of the workpiece and consequently the pollution parameter can be obtained from the obtained marking. The above-described sensor can be configured to obtain the position and/or the marking. The sensor can have a position determination sensor, in particular a satellite position determination receiver. In addition or alternatively, the sensor may include a reader for reading the marking, in particular a camera and an image processing device. In particular, the marking can be made on the workpiece, in particular by the gardening and/or forestry worker. The marking can include at least one symbol, in particular a letter and/or a number, and/or a code, in particular a bar code and/or a QR code. In addition or alternatively, the marking can have or be an NFC chip.
In a development of the invention, the information includes the obtained pollution condition, or is the obtained pollution condition. In addition or alternatively, the method includes the step: obtaining, in particular automatically obtaining, a cleaning and/or maintenance reminder for the component based on the obtained pollution condition. The information includes the cleaning and/or maintenance reminder, or is the cleaning and/or maintenance reminder. This makes possible professional cleaning and/or maintenance of the component. In particular, the cleaning and/or maintenance reminder can indicate that a cleaner spray, which can include in particular a resin-detaching substance, can be or should be injected.
Furthermore, the invention relates to a gardening and/or forestry apparatus system which can be configured in particular for performing the above-described method. The gardening and/or forestry apparatus system according to the invention includes a pollution parameter determination device, a pollution condition determination device and an output and/or transmission device. The pollution parameter determination device is configured to obtain at least one pollution parameter which describes the at least one source of pollution prevalent during the operation of the gardening and/or forestry apparatus. The pollution condition determination device is configured to obtain the pollution condition of the at least one component of the gardening and/or forestry apparatus based on the obtained pollution parameter. The output and/or transmission device is configured to output and/or to transmit information based on the obtained pollution condition.
The gardening and/or forestry apparatus system can allow the same advantages as the above-described method.
In particular, the pollution parameter determination device can include a receiver unit. The receiver unit can include a UMTS, WLAN and/or Bluetooth receiver unit, or a receiver unit based on another technology. In addition or alternatively, the pollution parameter determination device can include the above-described sensor. The pollution condition determination device can include a computation and/or memory unit. The output and/or transmission device can include a display, a sound converter and/or a vibration device. The display can in particular be configured to display the information in the field of view of the gardening and/or forestry worker and/or to project or superimpose it therein. The display can be called a head-up display. This can be called virtual reality and/or augmented reality. In particular, the display can be configured to be arranged in the region or even on the head of the gardening and/or forestry worker. The display can be called a head-mounted display. In addition or alternatively, the output and/or transmission device can include a transmitter unit. The transmitter unit can include a UMTS, WLAN and/or Bluetooth transmitter unit, or a transmitter unit based on another technology.
In a development of the invention, the gardening and/or forestry apparatus system has a mobile or portable, in particular hand-held, determination device. The mobile determination device includes the pollution parameter determination device, the pollution condition determination device and/or the output and/or transmission device. The mobile determination device makes it possible for it to be carried along in a user-friendly manner. In particular, the mobile determination device can include a smart phone and/or a smart watch. The mobile determination device can be provided separate from the component, in particular from the gardening and/or forestry apparatus.
In a development, the gardening and/or forestry apparatus system includes the gardening and/or forestry apparatus.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Method for obtaining a pollution condition of at least one component of a gardening and/or forestry apparatus and gardening and/or forestry apparatus system


A method of making cemented carbide at which powders forming hard constituents and powders forming binder phase are wet milled together with a pressing agent is disclosed. The slurry is dried, preferably by spray drying, compacted into bodies of desired shape and sintered. A cemented carbide powder with a reduced compacting pressure at a predetermined weighing in of 18% shrinkage can be obtained by using from about 1 to about 3 wt-% pressing agent with the following composition: less than about 90 wt-% PEG and greater than about 10 wt-% of long chain C≧20 fatty acids, their esters and salts, in particular, erucic acid and/or behenic acid. The invention also relates to a cemented carbide powder with low compaction pressure.

The present invention relates to a method of making cemented carbide powders with low compaction pressure, in particular submicron- and nano-sized powders.
Cemented carbide is made by wet milling of powders forming hard constituents, powders forming binder phase and pressing agents (generally PEG or polyethylene glycol) to a slurry, drying the slurry generally by spray drying, tool pressing the dried powder to bodies of desired shape and finally sintering. During sintering the bodies shrink about 16-20% linearly. The shrinkage depends on the % of theoretical density achieved during compaction of the powder to produce the green body (="green density"), which in turn depends upon pressing pressure, WC grain size, grain size distribution, Co-content, and pressing agent. Pressing tools are expensive to make and are therefore made for a standard shrinkage such as 18%. The shrinkage is obtained by applying sufficient pressing pressure to the compact so as to give the desired green density. It is extremely important that the sintered body has a size as close as possible to that desired in order to avoid expensive post sintering operations such as grinding. However, if the grain size is fine, for example one micron or less, a higher pressing pressure is needed to obtain the necessary shrinkage. It is thought in the industry that increasing internal friction within carbide powders of decreasing grain size causes greater resistance to compaction. A high pressing pressure is not desirable because of a greater risk of pressing defects such as cracks or pores in the pressed bodies, abnormal wear of the press tools and even risk of pressing tool failure including injuries to humans. Moreover, dimensional control of the sintered part is facilitated if the pressing pressure in kept within a certain desired and practicable range.
Fatty acids and their salts and esters are long known in industry for their lubricant properties. They are sometimes characterized by the length of their carbon chains. Oleic acid and stearic acid are both 18 carbon chain equivalents often referred to as C-18 and erucic acid and behenic acid have one of the longest carbon chains in naturally occurring fatty acids (C-22).
A method of lowering the compacting pressure for submicron cemented carbide is disclosed in EP-A-1043413. The method consists in premixing all components except WC for about three hours, adding the WC powder and then finally milling for about ten hours.

Method of making a cemented carbide powder mixture and the resulting cemented carbide powder mixture


Provided is an infrared electrothermal raised floor piece, comprising a faceplate layer, a carbon fiber far-infrared heat layer, a force support structure layer, at least a pair of electrodes and a plurality of power line connection terminals; wherein the electrodes are connected to the carbon fiber far-infrared heat layer; and the power line connection terminals are connected to the electrode. Also provided is an infrared electrothermal raised floor, comprising a plurality of infrared electrothermal raised floor pieces each comprising a plurality of power line connection terminals, and a supporter; wherein the infrared electrothermal raised floor pieces are transversely or lengthwisely arranged and flexibly installed on the supporter.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a floor piece and a floor comprising the same, and particularly to an infrared electrothermal raised floor piece and an infrared electrothermal raised floor comprising the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, various heating equipments, such as coal stoves, coal-fired boilers, oil-fired boiler, gas-fired boiler, electric heaters and air-conditioners are widely used. However, disadvantages of the coal stoves and boilers comprise complex structure, huge volume, inconvenient adjustment of temperature, high power consumption and high pollution. As for the electric heaters and the air-conditioners, although they are convenient for temperature adjustment, low heat efficiency, high electricity consumption, small heat radiating area, occupation of limited indoor space are non-neglectable problems to be solved, moreover, many people feel uncomfortable since heat is provided via air convection.
In view of the above problems, China patent number 01248023.1 disclosed an infrared electrothermal floor comprising a plurality of calcium silicate cement guard plate and a carbon fiber infrared heat component disposed therebetween. This kind of floor realizes convenient adjustment of temperature, low power consumption and environmental protection, needs no fuel, saves indoor space, and is capable of supplying heat from a sole of a foot to the indoor space.
However, there are some problems with the above-mentioned floor: firstly, the floor is laid along with electric wire to facilitate integral forming, which causes great difficulty in construction and low efficiency, moreover, once the floor is damaged, it is difficult to fix and maintain, and dangerous electric leakage often takes place. Secondly, the carbon fiber infrared heat component is not efficiently utilized since it is embedded under the bottom of the calcium silicate cement guard plate, which severely affects penetrability of infrared ray, and leads to attenuation in thermal infrared radiation and loss of health functions. Thirdly, the floor is globally electrified, and it is impossible to flexibly implement local control of electricity as required, which causes unnecessary heat loss and influences energy-saving effect. Fourthly, the floor is disposable, once failure occurs, the floor as a whole will be damaged, which causes high using cost and environmental pollution. Fifthly, a top of the floor is only a cement guard plate, and a decoration layer needs to be laid on the bottom thereof, which increases a thickness of the floor and brings about extra burden to a user. Finally, due to attenuation in thermal infrared radiation and slow heat conduction, temperature rise of the floor is very slow and time-consuming, which decreases heat efficiency and influences heating effect.

Infrared electrothermal raised floor piece and floor comprising the same


A capacitive voltage sensor assembly includes a first electrode extending along a longitudinal axis, the first electrode including a first end and a second end opposite the first end, a second electrode surrounding the second end of the first electrode, the second electrode including a tubular portion having a first end and a second end opposite the first end, and a base portion coupled to the first end of the tubular portion, and a mass of dielectric insulating material at least partially encapsulating the first electrode and the second electrode. The tubular portion includes a plurality of cantilevered tabs interconnected at the first end of the second electrode. Each tab of the plurality of cantilevered tabs is circumferentially separated from an adjacent tab of the plurality of cantilevered tabs to define a gap therebetween at the second end of the second electrode.

Currently the current capacitive voltage sensors have a series of drawbacks.
A first drawback is due to the fact that the resin dielectric material arranged around the components of the sensor includes vacuoles (air bubbles) with consequent phenomena of undesired partial discharges.
A second drawback is due to the fact that the same resin is detached with respect to the elements that make up the capacitive sensor with consequent phenomena of undesired partial discharges.
A third drawback is due to the fact that the aforementioned resin is not perfectly adherent and/or not perfectly clinging and/or constrained with respect to the elements making up the capacitive sensor and, therefore, as a result of aging, detachments take place between said resin and the aforementioned elements, with consequent phenomena of unwanted partial discharges. This drawback is particularly present when the capacitive sensor is used in an environment where the operating temperature (hot/cold) varies cyclically.
A fourth drawback is due to the fact that the components that make up the sensors are expensive to make.
A fifth drawback is due to the fact that the components that form the sensors after their correct positioning can move during the subsequent assembly or transport operations that take place before the resin is poured, with consequent realization of a non-conforming product and/or of a product to be discarded.

Constructive system regarding a capacitive sensor


A prism assembly for use in optical devices, which includes a total internal reflection (TIR) assembly for redirecting an incoming lightbeam, a color prism assembly for splitting the incoming lightbeam into spectral bands, and at least one reflection light valve for redirecting and recombining the spectral bands to form an outgoing lightbeam, wherein the total internal reflection assembly has a back surface and said color prism assembly has a frontal surface facing said back surface and being parallel therewith, and wherein said back surface forms an angle with a general plane defined by the incoming and the outgoing lightbeams, which is different from 90°.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns an improved prism assembly for use in optical devices, such as in 3-chip DLP-projectors.
Digital light processing (DLP™) technology is often used in digital projectors. DLP is a trademark of Texas Instruments in the United States of America. These projectors use a digital multi-mirror device (DMD) to modulate the light.
Each pixel in the chip can direct the light that hits it in either the 'on state' or the 'off state'. The on state light reaches the screen and gives a white pixel, while the off state light is absorbed inside the projector; this results in a dark pixel.
For best light-output and saturated colors, it is best to use three DMD's, one for the red, green and blue light.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Currently, two architectures are used: a 5-element prism assembly (also called "Philips-prism") and a 6-element prism assembly, which both have different disadvantages. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, with the classical 5-element solution (Philips prism), the three DMD's are combined using five individual prisms.
The TIR (total internal reflection) assembly 1 consists of two prisms 2 and 3. There is a small air gap between these two prisms (in the order of 10 μm). The function of the TIR-prisms is to direct the incoming light to each of the respective the DMD's 4 to 6, while allowing the on state light to exit.
The color prism assembly 7 consists of three prisms 8 to 10. Their function is to split the incoming light A into three spectral bands B, C and D, one for each DMD 4 to 6. This is achieved with two dichroic coatings. After reflection and modulation of the light at the DMD, the color prisms 8 to 10 recombine the light. There are also air gaps between the three prisms 8 to 10 of the assembly 7.
The TIR-prism assembly 1 and the color prism assembly 7 are mounted so that an air gap 11 of about one millimeter exists between the two.
A disadvantage of the classical five-element solution is the "dichroic shift light" in the color prisms 8 to 10.
This is caused by the dichroic coatings, which are used for separating and combining the three colors. The root cause is the angle dependence of these dichroic coatings.
The incoming bundle of light (separation) has a certain angle of incidence on the respective DMD, determined by the tilting angle of the DMD, whereas the exiting bundle (recombination) has a right angle on the DMD. Both bundles have thus different angles of incidence on the dichroic coatings and the characteristics of the dichroic coatings are different for both bundles.
The problem arises when a coating reflects light during the separation process, but then transmits it during the recombination. It also arises in the complementary situation, when a coating transmits light during the separation process, but then reflects it during the recombination.
This dichroic shift light is undesirable, because it heats up the prism assembly and it can end up on the screen as stray light, which lowers contrast.
The classical 6-element prism assembly, which is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, was developed in order to reduce the dichroic shift light. There is an extra element 12 between the TIR prism assembly 1 and the color prism assembly 7. This sixth element 12 allows a big reduction of the angle of the blue dichroic coating, at the expense of a small increase of the angle of the red dichroic coating. The smaller these angles, the better the coatings perform with respect to dichroic shift light.
A second advantage of the 6-element prism assembly is increased transmission, because of the improved performance of the coatings.
An important disadvantage of the 6-element prism assembly is the increased cost.
Another disadvantage is the increased required optical path length, measured along the optical axis. This makes it more difficult and costly to design and manufacture a suitable projection lens.

Prism assembly for use in optical devices and projector comprising such a prism assembly


A torque wrench is disclosed having torque range indicators. The torque wrench includes a handle, a torquing tool, a mounting bar and a programmable interface module. At least one torque sensor is communicatively coupled to the interface module. The interface module includes an input device able to receive at least one predetermined torque value, a torque value indicator, a torque range indicator, and a controller. The torque value indicator, the torque sensor, and the torque range indicator are communicatively coupled to the controller, and the controller is programmed to activate the torque range indicator based on a torque range calculated by comparing a torque value received from the torque sensor to the at least one predetermined torque value.

In many industrial applications, the tightening of threaded fasteners to a specific degree or torque is of extreme importance. For example, in the assembly of automobiles or aircraft, it is imperative that nuts, bolts, screws, lugs, and the like, are tightened to a pre-specified torque to ensure the resulting assembly functions properly not only at initial use, but over the long term. Moreover, it is not sufficient that the device simply be tightened as far as possible as this may result in stripping of the threads or vibrational problems in the resulting assembly.
Accordingly, it has long been known to use torque wrenches for tightening such devices. Such wrenches are not only able to rotate and tighten the device, but also provide the user with some sort of indication as to exact torque being applied. Such devices can be as straight forward as a bendable beam type wrench having a straight strain gauge thereon, whereby the user is provided with an indication as to the torque being applied by observing the degree of deflection of the bendable beam relative to the strain gauge. The strain gauge is provided with numbered graduations to provide the user with an accurate measurement.
In still further devices, it is known to provide the torque wrench in a ratchet type of assembly wherein each rotation or click of the ratchet represents a discrete level of torque being applied. However, such a device is normally not sufficiently accurate for the specifications being set forth by the automotive and aircraft industries which commonly employ such devices. More specifically, as each click represents only a discrete number of foot pounds, any movement between clicks will result in additional torque being applied, but not measured.
In still further torque wrench designs, known as shearing stress designs, sensors are mounted to a transducer of the wrench. The sensors measure the shearing stress being applied to the transducer as the wrench is rotated. A processor is provided on the wrench to then calculate the resulting torque based on the shearing stress being measured.
However, all currently known torque wrenches suffer from certain drawbacks resulting in less than optimal torque values and/or require an inordinate amount of time to use properly. For example, as the operator is rotating a fastener it becomes difficult for the operator to continue torquing the fastener while at the same time having to read the actual torque value on the torque value display. Similarly, the operator, in an attempt to reach the optimum torque value, may have to slowly proceed with small incremental increases in the applied torque until the optimal torque value is reached. It may take even a further amount of time if the operator is determined to achieve the exact prescribed torque value, even tough a variation of the prescribed or predetermined torque value is acceptable.

Torque wrench with torque range indicator and system and method employing the same


An applicator device for a fluid, gel-like, pasty or powder product comprising a storage compartment in which the product is accommodated in free form, and an outlet for the product. A barrier is provided which in at least one operating condition at least partially blocks a straight path for the product from the storage compartment to the outlet.

The invention concerns an applicator device for a fluid, gel-like, pasty or powder product, in particular a cosmetic product, comprising
a storage means in which the product is accommodated in free form, and
an outlet for the product.
Applicator devices of the above-indicated kind are known. Particularly when the product is in fluid (low-viscosity) form but also in the case of gel-like, pasty and powder products, it has frequently been observed in relation to conventional applicator devices that the result of the applicator device being shaken, as occurs in particular when it is being transported from the manufacturer to the shop, is that the product passes from the storage means to the outlet and through the outlet. In particular those amounts of the product which pass through the outlet are then wasted in terms of the subsequent (appropriate) use. In addition they contaminate the applicator device.
However, the fact of the applicator device being shaken when being carried around in a handbag or the like, that is to say in the course of everyday activity, can also represent a problem. More specifically the result of the applicator device being shaken in that fashion can also be that product issues from the outlet.
Therefore the object of the present invention is to develop the applicator device of the kind set forth in the opening part of this specification in such a way that it is better protected from the detrimental consequences of being shaken.