An image sensing apparatus is provided with an image sensor having a photoelectric conversion characteristic having a linear characteristic area where an electrical signal is outputted after being linearly converted in relation to an amount of an incident light and a logarithmic characteristic area where the electrical signal is outputted after being logarithmically converted in relation to the amount of the incident light; an evaluation value detector for detecting exposure evaluation values concerning an exposure control based on a luminance information of a subject; and a central control unit for controlling the exposure based on the exposure evaluation values detected by the evaluation value detector. The central control unit includes an exposure amount control parameter calculating section for controlling an exposure amount in accordance with the photoelectric conversion characteristic using the exposure evaluation values and a dynamic range control parameter calculating section for controlling a dynamic range in accordance with the photoelectric conversion characteristic using the exposure evaluation values. Accordingly, a subject image can be picked up while an optimal exposure is made for the subject and a specified dynamic range is attained.

The present invention relates to an image sensing apparatus provided with an image sensor for generating an electrical signal corresponding to an amount of an incident light and particularly to an image sensing apparatus and an image sensing method using an image sensor having, as photoelectric conversion characteristics, a linear characteristic area where the electrical signal is linearly converted in relation to the amount of the incident light and a logarithmic characteristic area where the electrical signal is linearly converted in relation to the amount of the incident light (a linear characteristic operation and a logarithmic characteristic operation can be switched).
There have been known image sensors (also called "LOG sensor") in which a logarithmic converting circuit provided with a MOSFET is added to a solid-state image sensing device in which photoelectric conversion elements such as photodiodes are arranged in matrix, a subthreshold characteristic of the MOSFET is taken advantage of to make an output characteristic of the solid-state sensing device such that the electrical signal is logarithmically converted in relation to the amount of the incident light. Some of such image sensors are known to be such that the original output characteristic of the solid-state imaging sensing device, i.e. the linear operative state in which the electrical signal is linearly converted in relation to the amount of the incident light, and the aforementioned logarithmic operative state can be switched.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-77733 discloses an image sensing apparatus in which a linear operative state can be automatically switched to a logarithmic operative state and switching points of the respective pixels are set to be equal by giving a specified reset voltage to a MOSFET. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-300476 also discloses an image sensing apparatus in which a linear operative state can be automatically switched to a logarithmic operative state and a potential state of a MOSFET can be adjusted by adjusting a reset time of the MOSFET.
Since an output proportional to an amount of charges generated by the photoelectric conversion elements can be obtained in the case of using an image sensor in a linear operative state, there are an advantage of being able to obtain a high-contrast (having a high gradation) image signal even if an object has a low luminance and other advantages, whereas there is a disadvantage of a narrower dynamic range. On the other hand, since an output natural-logarithmically converted in relation to an amount of an incident light can be obtained in the case of using the image sensor in a logarithmic operative state, there is an advantage of ensuring a wide dynamic range, whereas there is a disadvantage of a poorer contrast due to the logarithmic compression of an image signal.
The image sensors in the above two publications only disclose that the operative state of the image sensor can be automatically changed from the linear operative state to the logarithmic operative state. However, in view of the aforementioned advantages and the disadvantages of the linear and logarithmic operative states, it is desirable to positively utilize the advantages of the respective operative states to perform an image sensing operation instead of merely automatically switching the operative states. For example, in the case of an automatic exposure control as well, there is a possibility of carrying out an optimal automatic exposure control utilizing the advantages of the respective operative states if the control is carried out in conjunction with the luminance of a subject as a target and the switching point of the image sensor from the linear operative state to the logarithmic operative state.

Image sensing apparatus and an image sensing method comprising a logarithmic characteristic area and a linear characteristic area


A method, system, and computer program product for performing remote monitoring of a patient during a routine checkup is provided. A local server is adapted for receiving instructions from a medical professional and processing the instructions into commands for remote broadcast. A network device is in remote communication with the local server. At least one modular diagnostic tool is communicable with the network device over a standardized communications link. The at least one modular diagnostic tool is operable by the medical professional based on a second portion of the commands for remote broadcast to obtain the diagnostic information. Upon a communications connection between the modular diagnostic tool and the network device, an automated process is executed to upload the diagnostic information from the modular diagnostic tool to the local server for collection and analysis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to computers, and more particularly to apparatus, method and computer program product embodiments for online monitoring of remote medical patients by a medical professional using a data processing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computers and computer systems are found in a variety of settings in today's society. Computing environments and networks may be found at home, at work, at school, in government, and in other settings. Computers and computer systems, including associated data storage, are increasingly being utilized to lower costs, increase productivity, provide security, and a host of other functions.
In the medical industry, the resources of medical professionals are increasingly spread in a variety of areas. In addition, demand for care has increased, while the supply, particularly of primary care physicians, has not. As a result, an alternative mechanism to meet medical need, such as providing contact with medical professionals for regular checkups, is needed. This alternative mechanism would help the medical professional better manage the increasing demand on their available resources, principally time, and allow for greater access to care for more patients. Currently, an effort is underway to facilitate medical consultations using computers and computing systems. This current effort, as of yet, has not fully addressed the need.

Online monitoring of patient for routine checkups

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A battery pack and a device, each including a CPU, communicate with each other. When the battery pack is mounted to the device, the CPU of the device reads a voltage V, output from dry cells built in the battery pack, from a positive terminal. The CPU sends a ready signal, and compares the read dry-cell voltage V, and a dry-cell voltage included in dry-cell state information sent from the CPU of the battery pack, in response to the sent ready signal. When the voltages match, the CPU of the device outputs an LEDON signal corresponding to the remaining capacitance of the dry cells. The CPU of the battery pack turns on some of the LEDs, the number of which corresponds to the received LEDON signal for three seconds, to indicate to the user the remaining capacitance of the dry cells. This reports the user the remaining capacitance as well as an indication of the completion of mounting.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power-supply apparatus and its mounting-completion indication method. The power-supply apparatus is used by incorporating a dry cell, or dry cells, in its body and mounting the body to a device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following description of a battery pack, having a remaining-capacity indication, has been used as a power-supply apparatus for portable camcorders and portable computers. FIG. 9 shows a circuit diagram of the electric configuration of a conventional battery pack. The battery pack has a one-chip CPU 101, including an analog-to-digital converter 102; a resistor 103, for measuring a dry-cell charging current and discharging current; dry cells 104; a thermistor 105, for measuring the surface temperature of the dry cells 104; and LEDs 106, for indicating the remaining capacity of the dry cells 104. According to the remaining capacity of the dry cells, the number of LEDs lit changes. When the remaining capacity is 20% of the full capacitance, for example, one of the LEDs 106 lights. When the remaining capacity equals the full capacitance, all five of the LEDs 106 light. The battery pack further includes a push-button switch 107 for triggering the remaining-capacity indication, the switch causing the LEDs 106 to light for about three seconds when pressed once, then to go off; a positive terminal 108 of the battery pack connected to a device; and a negative terminal 109 of the battery pack connected to the device. The remaining capacity is calculated in the following way. The CPU 101 stores the initial capacity of the dry cells 104 in advance. The CPU obtains a charging current or discharging current from the voltage across the resistor 103, and calculates the remaining capacity. Assuming that the voltages at each end of the resistor 103, having a resistance of R, are a and b, respectively, the voltage difference between a and b is measured using the analog-to-digital converter 102 (voltage b is the voltage output from the dry cells 104). When a is smaller than b, the dry cells are determined to be being discharged. When a is larger than b, the dry cells are determined to be charging. The flowing current is calculated from equation (1) described below, using the voltage across the resistor 103. EQU Charging or discharging current=(.vertline.a-b.vertline./resistance R).times.efficiency (1)
The charging efficiency and discharging efficiency are determined in advance according to the temperature. The temperature of the dry cells 104 is detected by the thermistor 105 as a voltage. The voltage is converted to a digital value, which the CPU 101 can deal with, by the analog-to-digital converter.
A current value, per unit of time calculated using expression (1), is added to the initial capacity when charging, and is subtracted from the initial capacity when discharging.
However, when a conventional battery pack is mounted to a device, there is no way to determine whether the battery pack has been correctly mounted to the device. In addition, it is difficult for a user to check the remaining capacity of the dry cells before using them, because the user must press the push-button switch 107 to check the remaining capacity. If the LEDs 106 are turned on to indicate the remaining capacity, the dry cells are then consumed, even when they are not being used for their intended purposes. When none of the LEDs 106 light, it cannot be determined whether the dry cells have completely discharged, or whether the battery is defective or mounted incorrectly. That is inconvenient.

Power-supply apparatus and its mounting-completion indication method


The present invention is directed to a class of polyesters that are lightly crosslinked polyesters made by reacting polysorbate units (linked by the reaction of their hydroxyl groups) to the carboxyl group of dimer acid. As will become clear, lightly crosslinked as used herein relates to reactions in which there is an excess of hydroxyl groups on a molar basis to carboxylic groups on the dimer acid. The polymers and a contribute softness, lubricity and antistatic properties when applied to hair, skin, textile fiber and paper.

Surfactants are a well known materials that possess an oil soluble and a water soluble group. The literature is full of surface active agents that have a fatty hydrophobe and a water soluble hydrophilic portion. Polysorbates are one class.
Wikiopedia defines polysorbate as an oily liquid. It is a class of emulsifiers used in some pharmaceuticals and food preparation. It is often used in cosmetics to solubilise essential oils into water based products. Polysorbates are derived from PEG-ylated sorbitan (a derivative of sorbitol) esterified with fatty acids. Surfactants that are esters of plain (non-PEG-ylated) sorbitan with fatty acids are usually referred to by the name Span.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,297,290 to Stockberger issued Oct. 27, 1981 teaches that sorbitan fatty acid esters can be prepared by forming anhydro sorbitol (a mixture of sorbitans, isosorbide, and unreacted sorbitol) by acid-catalyzed anhydrization, then reacting the resulting anhydro sorbitol with a fatty acid in the presence of a base at a temperature not exceeding about 215° C. Use of temperatures not over 215° C. results in products having substantially less color than those obtained at higher temperatures.
Polysorbates are emulsifiers, but are sticky on the hair and skin and do not provide appreciable softness, conditioning or antistatic properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,800,275 issued to O'Lenick, issued Oct. 5, 2007, incorporated herein by reference discloses "a series of polyester compounds made from the reaction of (a) a difunctional hydroxy compound, specifically polyoxyalkylene glycols, (b) a difunctional carboxylic acid, specifically dimer acid and hydrogenated dimer acid, and (c) a capping carboxylic acid, which only contains one acid group." The patent teaches, "another critical component is the mono-functional carboxylic group, which caps the polymer and provides terminal oil soluble portion to the molecule. This lowers the critical micelle concentration and provides improved skin deposition".
We have surprisingly found that contrary to the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 6,800,275, the use of a polysorbate, and dimer acid without the required capping fatty acid offers improved lubricity and skin feel.


A system is provided for positioning a substrate having a surface required to be characterized with a contact angle measurement. The system includes a stage which supports the substrate and a dispenser assembly having a dispensing tip through which a liquid droplet having a preselected volume is dispensed onto the surface of the substrate. A first actuating mechanism moves the stage in response to first actuation signals and a second actuating mechanism which changes the vertical spacing between the dispensing tip and the surface of the substrate and dispenses the liquid droplet from the dispenser assembly in response to second actuation signals. A controller is connected to the actuating mechanisms and delivers the first and second actuation signals to the first and second actuating mechanisms, respectively, so as to place the liquid droplet at a predetermined location on the surface of the substrate for performing the contact angle measurement.

This invention relates to a surface analysis system.
In general, a surface analysis system is an instrument which provides a quantitative assessment of the properties of a surface, for example, of a semiconductor wafer.
One technique for assessing the quality of the surface of a semiconductor wafer is by performing a contact angle measurement. A contact angle measurement is a simplified method of characterizing the interfacial tension present between a solid, a liquid, and a vapor. The contact angle is defined as the angle between the support surface and the tangent to the profile of the droplet at the point of contact of the liquid droplet with the surface.
The value of the contact angle of the liquid droplet will depend upon surface wettability. If perfect or complete wetting takes place between the liquid and the surface, the solid surface energy exceeds the liquid surface tension, the droplet spreads out over the surface, and the contact angle approaches zero degree. Thus, the droplet has a flatter, lower profile shape, for example, in the case when wine wets or "sheets" the surface of a glass. On the other hand, when a droplet of a high surface tension liquid rests on a solid of low energy, wetting is only partial, and the resulting contact angle will lie in the range of 0 to 180 degrees. In this case, the liquid surface tension will cause the droplet to form a spherical shape (the lowest energy shape); one example is the way water droplets "bead up" on the surface of a freshly waxed car. A detailed description of contact angle measurements is found in "Contact Angle, Wettability and Adhesion", edited by K. L. Mittal, VSP BV, The Netherlands, 1993, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Contact angle measurements can be used to determine surface cleanliness, primer efficacy, coating uniformity, and oxide thickness. One application in which measuring the contact angle is particularly useful is in evaluating the quality of hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) deposited on a semiconductor wafer surface. HMDS is typically deposited over portions of a wafer prior to depositing a layer of photoresist which serves as a mask in a subsequent etching process and is then removed. Depositing HMDS is recognized as a critical surface preparation step to ensure that the photoresist adheres properly to substrate so that "under etching" is minimized.
Devices are known for determining the contact angle of a droplet, both by direct measurement of the angle and by indirect calculation based upon measurement of the height, width, or radius of the droplet. One common technique involves projecting a silhouette image of the deposited droplet on a projection screen and determining the contact angle by direct or indirect measurements taken from the silhouette.

System for performing contact angle measurements of a substrate


A device for preparing holes in soil for planting bulbs or small plants includes a pair of mutually opposing members including scoops located along the distal portions thereof. The tool is spring biased to a normally open position for insertion into the soil. To remove soil, the handles are squeezed together, which in turn closes the scoops to entrap soil for removal.

In the past, several soil diggers have been made which included complicated mechanisms that are expensive to manufacture and prone to sticking and malfunctioning. U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,512 shows a vertical motion for closing the diggers together through the use of a toggle mechanism device that pulls the two scoops together when the vertical motion is performed. This device, whose use is taught in the '512 patent, is inserted (pushed) into the soil with a vertical motion that limits the force that can be applied to the digger. In some cases, where the soil is heavy, this vertical motion could cause user fatigue very quickly. Also, the complicated toggle mechanism takes considerable force to close and can be prone to sticking.
Larger diggers, such as post hole diggers, have been in use for many years. This type of digger is two handled in use, and was designed to make large holes in the soil, mostly to accommodate wooden fence posts.
Post hole diggers are operated by holding the long handles closely together to maintain the diggers in the open position. The post hole digger is then driven into the soil in a vertical motion. When the digger comes to a stop, the handles (one in each hand), are pulled away from each other, closing the two diggers, entrapping the soil between the scoops. Pulling the digger out of the soil will remove the trapped soil and leave a hole in the earth. Often, repeated cycles of this digger are required to get to the correct depth of the desired hole.


A system for controlling the fill of a receptacle cylinder with compressed natural gas (CNG). The flow of gas into the receptacle cylinder is controlled by a fill controller with software configured to calculate the mass of gas to be added to the cylinder as a function of the pressure and temperature in the cylinder during the fill process and to open and close a flow valve in accordance with such calculation.

In a compressed natural gas (CNG) fast fill process, the mass of gas contained in a receptacle cylinder is dependent on the temperature and pressure in the cylinder. It is therefore necessary for the fill system to account for variations in pressure and temperature in order to ensure that the fill process does not overfill or underfill the cylinder.
The most typical fill control system now used is an ambient temperature compensation system. In an ambient temperature compensation system, the fill control system attempts to fill the cylinder to a condition where the density of the gas in the cylinder is equal to the density of the gas at the rated cylinder pressure and the ambient temperature. However, during the fast fill process, the gas in the cylinder is compressed at a rapid rate. During this compression process, there is little time for a significant amount of heat transfer to occur, thus the gas temperature in the cylinder increases rapidly. As the fill is completed, the gas begins to cool and the pressure in the cylinder begins to decrease. As the temperature of the gas approaches equilibrium with the ambient temperature, the gas pressure in the cylinder decreases below the rated cylinder pressure. Thus, an ambient temperature compensation system results in underfilling of the cylinder because such system fails to account for the heat of compression in the cylinder arising from the fill process.
Current systems for dispensing CNG that do not use an ambient temperature compensation system likewise do not have the capability of determining and accurately compensating for the heat of compression generated in the receptacle cylinder. An example of a current dispensing system is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,600 to Fisher et al. In such system, the pressure and temperature at the dispenser are measured, which allows for an accurate measurement of the volume of CNG dispensed. However, like an ambient temperature compensation system, the system described in Fisher fails to account for the temperature rise in the receptacle cylinder due to the heat of compression generated during the fill process and, thus, also results in underfilling of the cylinder.
Because current systems for dispensing CNG do not have the capability of directly measuring and compensating for the temperature rise in the receptacle cylinder caused by the heat of compression inherent in the filling process, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry for a system for accurately controlling the fill of CNG cylinders by monitoring and compensating for the temperature rise in the receptacle cylinder that occurs during the fill process.

System for controlling the fill of compressed natural gas cylinders


The present invention provides a system for processing panoramic photographic images. The system includes a mirror for reflecting an image of a scene, a mounting assembly for mounting the mirror on an axis, a camera for capturing the image reflected by the mirror, a digital converter device for producing pixel data representative of the captured image, and means for radially linearly mapping the pixel data into a viewable image. The mirror includes a convex reflective surface defined by rotating around the axis: an equi-angular shape or a compensated equi-angular shape. Methods for processing images in accordance with the system are also provided.

Recent work has shown the benefits of panoramic imaging, which is able to capture a large azimuth view with a significant elevation angle. If instead of providing a small conic section of a view, a camera could capture an entire half-sphere or more at once, several advantages could be realized. Specifically, if the entire environment is visible at the same time, it is not necessary to move the camera to fixate on an object of interest or to perform exploratory camera movements. Additionally, this means that it is not necessary to stitch multiple, individual images together to form a panoramic image. This also means that the same panoramic image or panoramic video can be supplied to multiple viewers, and each viewer can view a different portion of the image or video, independent from the other viewers.
One method for capturing a large field of view in a single image is to use an ultra-wide angle lens. A drawback to this is the fact that a typical 180-degree lens can cause substantial amounts of optical distortion in the resulting image.
A video or still camera placed below a convex reflective surface can provide a large field of view provided an appropriate mirror shape is used. Such a configuration is suited to miniaturization and can be produced relatively inexpensively. Spherical mirrors have been used in such panoramic imaging systems. Spherical mirrors have constant curvatures and are easy to manufacture, but do not provide optimal imaging or resolution.
Hyperboloidal mirrors have been proposed for use in panoramic imaging systems. The rays of light which are reflected off of the hyperboloidal surface, no matter where the point of origin, all converge at a single point, enabling perspective viewing. A major drawback to this system lies in the fact that the rays of light that make up the reflected image converge at the focal point of the reflector. As a result, positioning of the sensor relative to the reflecting surface is critical, and even a slight disturbance of the mirror will impair the quality of the image. Another disadvantage is that the use of a perspective-projections model inherently requires that, as the distance between the sensor and the mirror increases, the cross-section of the mirror must increase. Therefore, in order to keep the mirror at a reasonable size, the mirror must be placed close to the sensor. This causes complications to arise with respect to the design of the image sensor optics.
Another proposed panoramic imaging system uses a parabolic mirror and an orthographic lens for producing perspective images. A disadvantage of this system is that many of the light rays are not orthographically reflected by the parabolic mirror. Therefore, the system requires an orthographic lens to be used with the parabolic mirror.
The use of equi-angular mirrors has been proposed for panoramic imaging systems. Equi-angular mirrors are designed so that each pixel spans an equal angle irrespective of its distance from the center of the image. An equi-angular mirror such as this can provide a resolution superior to the systems discussed above. However, when this system is combined with a camera lens, the combination of the lens and the equi-angular mirror is no longer a projective device, and each pixel does not span exactly the same angle. Therefore, the resolution of the equi-angular mirror is reduced when the mirror is combined with a camera lens.
Ollis, Hernan, and Singh, "Analysis and Design of Panoramic Stereo Vision Using Equi-Angular Pixel Cameras", CMU-RI-TR-99-04, Technical Report, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, January 1999, disclose an improved equi-angular mirror that is specifically shaped to account for the perspective effect a camera lens adds when it is combined with such a mirror. This improved equi-angular mirror mounted in front of a camera lens provides a simple system for producing panoramic images that have a very high resolution. However, this system does not take into account the fact that there may be certain areas of the resulting panoramic image that a viewer may have no desire to see. Therefore, some of the superior image resolution resources of the mirror are wasted on non-usable portions of the image.
Panoramic imaging systems also typically require large amounts of computing resources in order to produce viewable panoramic images, especially when displaying the images at an appropriate frequency for video. A single panoramic image may be composed of more than a million pixels. Due to the non-linear mappings of many mirrors and lenses used in existing panoramic imaging systems, and the characteristics of the hardware, software, and/or other computing resources used in conjunction with these mirrors, many of these systems require large amounts of processor resources, processing times, and expert operators in order to produce viewable panoramic images. These problems are particularly apparent when multiple panoramic images are captured and shown sequentially at a frequency rate suitable for video.
The present invention has been developed in view of the foregoing and to address other deficiencies of the prior art.


The present invention is directed to a vehicle motion control system for maintaining vehicle stability by controlling the braking force applied to at least one of the driven wheels and non-driven wheels of a vehicle. A vehicle motion control is performed by applying the braking force to at least one wheel, on the basis of a condition of the vehicle in motion and irrespective of depression of a brake pedal. The braking force is applied to at least one wheel so as to cause an increase in turning radius, when an excessive oversteer occurs during vehicle motion. Whereas, the braking force is applied to at least one wheel so as to cause a decrease in turning radius, when an excessive understeer occurs during vehicle motion. In the case where an excessive braking to at least one of the driven wheels is detected, when an engine brake is exerted on the vehicle, a correction control is performed to increase the braking force applied to at least one of the non-driven wheels. For example, when an excessive slip rate of at least one of the driven wheels is detected, a desired slip rate of at least one of the non-driven wheels is corrected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle motion control system for controlling vehicle motion, and more particularly to the control system for restraining an excessive oversteer and excessive understeer which will occur during, for example, cornering, by applying a braking force to each wheel of the vehicle irrespective of depression of a brake pedal.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Recently, a vehicle is provided with a braking force control system for controlling the braking force applied to the vehicle to perform an anti-skid control, a traction control, a front-rear braking force distribution control, and etc. In the U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,431, for example, an apparatus for controlling vehicle motion through the use of a brake controlling system which compensates for the influence of lateral forces on the vehicle. The apparatus is constituted so as to control the braking force applied to the vehicle by the braking force control system in response to a comparison of a desired yaw rate with an actual yaw rate, thereby to improve the vehicle stability during the course of vehicle motion such as cornering.
In general, "oversteer" and "understeer" are used to indicate a vehicle steering characteristic. When the oversteer is excessive during vehicle motion such as cornering, the rear wheels of the vehicle have a tendency to slip excessively in the lateral direction to cause a decrease in turning radius of the vehicle. The oversteer occurs when a cornering force CFf of the front wheels largely exceeds a cornering force CFr of the rear wheels (i.e., CFf>>CFr). As shown in FIG. 14, when a vehicle VL is undergoing a cornering maneuver along a curve of a turning radius R, for example, a lateral acceleration Gy which is normal to the vehicle's path of motion is calculated in accordance with an equation of Gy=V.sup.2 /R, where "V" corresponds to a vehicle speed, and a total CFo of the cornering force is calculated in accordance with the following equation: EQU CFo=.SIGMA.CF=m.multidot.Gy
where "m" corresponds to a mass of the vehicle VL. Accordingly, in the case where the sum of the cornering force CFf and the cornering force CFr is larger than the total cornering force CFo for the vehicle's cornering maneuver along the curve of the turning radius R (i.e., CFo<CFf+CFr), and the cornering force CFf of the front wheels largely exceeds the cornering force CFr of the rear wheels (i.e., CFf>>CFr), i.e., the oversteer is excessive, then the vehicle VL will be forced to turn in a direction toward the inside of the curve in the vehicle's path to cause a reduce in turning radius of the vehicle VL as shown in FIG. 14.
When the understeer is excessive during cornering, the lateral slip of the vehicle will be increased, the vehicle VL will be forced to turn in a direction toward the outside of the curve in the vehicle's path to cause an increase in turning radius of the vehicle VL as shown in FIG. 15. Thus, the excessive understeer occurs when the cornering force CFf of the front wheels is almost equal to the cornering force CFr of the rear wheels so as to be balanced with each other, or the latter is slightly larger than the former (i.e., CFf<CFr), and when the sum of the cornering force CFf and the cornering force CFr is smaller than the total cornering force CFo which is required for the vehicle's cornering maneuver along the curve of turning radius R (i.e., CFo>CFf+CFr), then the vehicle VL will be forced to turn in the direction toward the outside of the curve in the vehicle's path thereby to increase the turning radius R.
The excessive oversteer is determined on the basis of a vehicle side slip angle or vehicle slip angle .beta. and a vehicle slip angular velocity D.beta., for example. When it is determined that the excessive oversteer occurs during cornering, a braking force will be applied to a front wheel located on the outside of the curve in the vehicle's path, for example, to produce a moment for forcing the vehicle to turn in the direction toward the outside of the curve, i.e., an outwardly oriented moment, in accordance with an oversteer restraining control, which may be called as a vehicle stability control. On the other hand, the excessive understeer is determined on the basis of a difference between a desired lateral acceleration and an actual lateral acceleration, or a difference between a desired yaw rate and an actual yaw rate, for example. When it is determined that the excessive understeer occurs while a rear-drive vehicle is undergoing a cornering maneuver, for example, the braking force will be applied to a front wheel located on the outside of the curve and applied to both of the rear wheels to produce a moment for forcing the vehicle to turn in the direction toward the inside of the curve, i.e., an inwardly oriented moment, in accordance with an understeer restraining control, which may be called as a course trace performance control. The above-described oversteer restraining control and understeer restraining control as a whole may be called as a steering control by braking.
In Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 7-125625, there is disclosed an apparatus for correcting an abnormal motion of a vehicle by applying a braking force to each wheel. With respect to a prior apparatus, it is raised in the publication such a problem that a desired slip rate is determined only on the basis of a motion of the vehicle, irrespective of a driving condition of the vehicle driven in response to depression of an accelerator pedal, so that a vehicle driver's intention is never reflected during the correcting operation of the vehicle. According to the apparatus proposed in the publication, therefore, the desired slip rate is corrected in accordance with the braking force applied to a driven wheel, thereby to control the braking force smoothly and reflect the driver's intention.
According to the apparatus disclosed in the Patent Laid-open Publication No. 7-125625, however, a desired slip rate provided for a non-driven wheel is not corrected, while the desired slip rate provided for the driven wheel is corrected. Therefore, in the case where an engine brake is exerted on a vehicle during the above-described braking control thereof, if an actual slip rate of the driven wheel exceeds the desired slip rate, a lateral force of the driven wheel will be reduced to be lower than the desired value. As a result, the above-described steering control by braking might be deteriorated.
Since the above-described apparatus is aimed to reflect the driver's intention to accelerate the vehicle, it might be sufficient to correct the desired slip rate only for the driven wheel. However, when the driver release the accelerator pedal, the engine brake is caused to apply to the driven wheel the braking force which is to be made relatively large in a specific vehicle condition. Accordingly, a braking force exceeding the braking force which is necessary for the steering control by braking may be applied to the driven wheel, so that the lateral force to the driven wheel might be reduced. If the braking force caused by the engine brake is smaller than the desired braking force, the steering control by braking will not be deteriorated. However, the braking force may be increased by the engine brake to exceed the desired braking force, even when it is necessary to reduce the braking force during the steering control by braking. As a result, an excessive oversteer might be caused with respect to a rear-drive vehicle, and an excessive understeer might be caused with respect to a front-drive vehicle.
In such a condition that the engine brake is exerted on the vehicle, it is impossible to reduce the braking force applied to the driven wheel, which exceeds the desired braking force, but it is possible to increase the braking force applied to the non-driven wheel so as to balance the braking force between the front section and rear section of the vehicle, whereby the necessary lateral force can be obtained. In other words, if the braking force applied to the nondriven wheel is increased to balance with the braking force applied to the driven wheel so as to control a braking force distribution between the driven wheel and non-driven wheel to be a desired distribution for the steering control by braking, the necessary lateral force can be obtained. In stead, a driving force applied to the driven wheel can be reduced. In this case, however, it is necessary to provide another apparatus for controlling the driving force, so that the apparatus will become large in scale and high in cost.


An anti-dazzle imaging camera is provided that includes a photorefractive crystal that is wavelength-agnostic. The photorefractive crystal is configured to receive an optical beam. When the optical beam includes no laser, the photorefractive crystal is configured to pass the optical beam unchanged to an imaging detector. When the optical beam includes a laser, the photorefractive crystal is configured to attenuate the laser to generate a modified optical beam and to pass the modified optical beam to the imaging detector.

Current warfare tactics include the use of lasers in an attempt to dazzle imaging cameras, thereby interfering with the ability of the cameras to image enemy targets. Laser threats are changing at a rapid pace as these warfare tactics continue to evolve. In order to minimize these threats, anti-dazzle devices have been developed to attenuate the lasers. For example, conventional anti-dazzle devices include filter wheels, liquid crystal devices and acoustic-optic filters. However, these conventional devices have disadvantages that can affect their performance. For example, mechanical filter wheels, which make use of multiple single-frequency thin-film filters, are expensive and slow. They also require a motor, a power source and an external trigger, which increase the weight, volume and expense of the resulting device.


Heterogeneous braided multifilament of first and second set of yarns mechanically blended by braiding, in which first and second set of yarns are composed of different fiber-forming materials.. Heterogeneous braids are useful for preparation of surgical sutures and ligatures.

This invention relates to braided multifilaments, and especially to sterilized, braided multifilaments suitably adapted for use as surgical sutures or ligatures.
Braided multifilaments often offer a combination of enhanced pliability, knot security and tensile strength when compared to their monofilament counterparts. The enhanced pliability of a braided multifilament is a direct consequence of the lower resistance to bending of a bundle of very fine filaments relative to one large diameter monofilament. However, for this enhancement to be realized, the individual multifilaments must be able to bend unencumbered or unrestricted by their neighboring filaments. Any mechanism which reduces this individual fiber mobility, such as simple fiber-fiber friction, a coating which penetrates into the braid interstices, or a melted polymer matrix which adheres fibers together, will adversely affect braid pliability. In the extreme case where the multifilaments are entirely bonded together, the pliability or bending resistance closely approximates that of a monofilament.
Unfortunately, the prior art abounds with attempts to improve specific properties of multifilament braids at the expense of restricting the movement of adjacent filaments which make up the braid,. For example, multifilament sutures almost universally possess a surface coating to improve handling properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,532 discloses a polyester coating for multifilament sutures. The preferred polyester coating is polybutilate, which is the condensation product of 1,4-butanediol and adipic acid. U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,256 discloses a suture coating copolymer of at least 90 percent .epsilon.-caprolactone and a biodegradable monomer, and optionally a lubricating agent. Examples of monomers for biodegradable polymers disclosed include glycolic acid and glycolide, as well as other well known monomers typically used to prepare bioabsorbable coatings for multifilament sutures.
An alternative to the use of the commonly accepted coating compositions for multifilament sutures to improve handling properties is disclosed in U.S. Pat. 3,527,650. This patent discloses a coating composition of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) particles in an acrylic latex. Although the PTFE particles act as an excellent lubricant to decrease the surface roughness of multifilament sutures, the particles have a tendency to flake off during use. Also, this particular coating is a thermoset which requires a curing step for proper application.
More recently, a dramatic attempt has been made to create a monofilament-like surface for a multifilament suture. U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,941 discloses the preparation of "composite" sutures derived from different synthetic polymers. The composite suture is composed of a core of low melting fibers around which are braided high melting fibers. Because of the lack of cohesiveness of the dissimilar fibers, the low melting fibers in the core are melted and redistributed throughout the matrix of the braided, high melting fibers. Although these composite sutures represent an attempt to combine the best properties of different synthetic fibers, it unfortunately fails in this respect due to increased stiffness (as evidenced by FIG. 3 which is described in detail below), apparently due to the reduction of fiber mobility resulting from the fusing of the fibers together.
Another attempt to enhance the properties of multifilament sutures can be found in WO 86/00020. This application discloses coating an elongated core of a synthetic polymer having a knot tenacity of at least 7 grams/denier with a film-forming surgical material. The film-forming surgical material can be absorbable or nonabsorbable, and can be coated on the elongated core by solution casting, melt coating or extrusion coating. Such coated multifilament sutures suffer from the same deficiencies which plague conventionally coated multifilament sutures.
All of the attempts described in the prior art to improve braid properties have overlooked the importance of fiber-fiber friction and its impact on fiber mobility and braid pliability. The properties of concern here include the fiber-fiber frictional coefficients (which frequently relate to the polymer's surface energy), the fiber cross-sectional shape and diameter, and the braid structure which influences the transverse forces across the braid. If fibers composed of highly lubricous polymers are used in the traditional manner, then a highly pliable braid can be prepared. However, in most cases, these braids will be relatively weak and unusable. Hence, a tradeoff between braid strength and pliability exists in the design of conventional braided multifilaments.
In view of the deficiencies of the prior art, it would be desirable to prepare multifilament sutures exhibiting improved pliability and handling properties. More specifically, it would be most desirable to prepare braided multifilaments composed of dissimilar fiber-forming materials in which the fiber-forming materials contribute significantly to enhanced pliability for the braided multifilament without appreciably sacrificing its physical properties.


Strong authentication of packets sent between nodes of different clusters in a two-tier ad hoc network is provided by the cluster heads. Each cluster head authenticates nodes that enter the cluster. Thereafter, when a sending node requests a session from its cluster head with a receiving node in another cluster, the cluster head negotiates a session secret key (SSK) with the corresponding cluster head of the receiving node. Further, the cluster head provides authentication tags for the sending node to use with each packet. Each authentication tag is time-stamped, digitally signed by the cluster head, encrypted with the SSK, and includes indicators of message integrity, including a sequence number and TCP header field of checksum. The sending node further calculates a check result from a number of the authentication tags, encrypted with the SSK, so that the receiving node can authenticate the number of packets.

Mobile and wireless technology is growing at a rapid rate. These advances have resulted in breakthroughs that have made feasible new applications of data communication. For example, in areas in which there is little or no communication infrastructure, or the existing infrastructure is expensive or inconvenient to use, wireless mobile users may still be able to communicate through the formation of an ad hoc network.
In an ad hoc network, each mobile node operates not only as a host but also as a router, forwarding packets for other mobile nodes in the network that may not be within direct wireless transmission range of each other. Each node participates in an ad hoc routing protocol that allows it to discover "multi-hop" paths through the network to any other node.
Since ad hoc networks lack an infrastructure, ad hoc networks allow for unrestricted mobility and new communication uses. For example, a collaborative office or training environment may be readily created with laptop computers and computer peripherals capable of wireless communication with one another. As another example, a battlefield command and control system may allow the sharing of sensor and command information between wireless nodes carried on military vehicles and by soldiers. As yet another example, emergency personnel may coordinate logistics and relief actions in an austere environment such as the site of an earthquake or other natural disaster. As yet a further example, intelligent wireless sensor networks may be mounted on mobile platforms.
Merely being able to communicate by wireless transmission is not enough for a reliable network since networks in general have a number of security requirements. Information should be transmitted and stored by the network in a confidential manner so that only authorized parties may read it. Information should be transmitted so that integrity is maintained, preventing unauthorized parties from altering the information (e.g., writing, deleting, changing status, creating, or replaying). Information should be subject to access control by or for the target (receiving) node. In addition, the assets of the network should be available to authorized parties, and thus not be unduly susceptible to denial of use attacks.
Wireless transmissions are generally more prone to attacks that impact these security requirements. For instance, the wireless transmission may be susceptible to the attacks of eavesdropping, replay, and spoofing. These security requirements are complicated by the nature of ad hoc networks. Mobile nodes tend to have power constraints, either due to the use of portable power supplies or due to physical and regulatory constraints on the radiated power of the wireless transmission. Often mobile nodes are constrained in the processing speed and memory storage to reduce the amount of heat generated, power consumption, size, and cost. In addition, wireless communications is more easily intercepted and disrupted than hard-wired communication media.
Authentication of mobile nodes and the source of communication from mobile nodes is a crucial guarantee for many of these security concerns. Unauthenticated messages may be discounted, reducing the potential harm that may result from relying upon an untrustworthy communication. In conventional wireless networks, base stations are fixed and share secret keys with mobile nodes. The base station acts as a certification authority (CA) for authenticating mobile nodes that are in its purview. The CA needs to be a completely trusted entity that issues a digital certificate to any mobile node that needs to be authenticated. A sending node uses the digital certificate, or digital signature, by sending it along with a message encrypted with a private key. Upon receipt, the receiving node decrypts the message with a public key.
Strong authentication in conventional wireless networks thus requires base stations, significant processing overhead by mobile nodes to use a public-private key encryption for each message, and thus significant power consumption. These constraints are undesirable or unavailable in ad hoc networks.
Consequently, a significant need exists for a method for authenticating mobile nodes and communication within an wireless network, especially an ad hoc network.

Authentication scheme for ad hoc and sensor wireless networks


A projection device includes a diffuser and a light source system. The light source system includes a light source, a dichroic element, an actuator, and a reflector. The light source generates a light beam that is directed to the dichroic element. The dichroic element forms first and second individual light beams from the light beam. The first individual light beam is transmitted to the diffuser. The second individual light beam is reflected from the reflector to the diffuser. The actuator is fixed to the reflector and has a removal frequency exceeding 20 Hz.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to projection, and, particularly, to a projection device providing reduced speckle contrast.
2. Description of the Related Art
In laser projectors, speckles of an image occur due to the employment of laser light sources. The speckles can mask part or all image information, negatively affecting the users' viewing experience. Speckles may cause the user vision uncomfortably.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a projection device which can overcome the described limitations.

Projection device providing reduced speckle contrast


A computer device and method for encoding a message corresponding to an outcome of a computer game, and a computer device and method for decoding the message to detect a fraudulent outcome. The computer device used to generate the encoded message includes (1) a memory device containing encoding control code and (2) a processor configured to process the encoding control code in conjunction with a computer game outcome to generate an encoded message containing the computer game outcome and to transmit the encoded message to a human-readable output device, such as a display device. The computer device includes various tamper resistant or tamper evidence features. A secure module containing the processor and memory is used to plug into an existing personal computer or dedicated game device. The device also includes a system for metering use of a computer game. The method for encoding the message includes the steps of executing a computer game program to generate a computer game outcome, encoding the computer game outcome to generate an encoded message, and providing the encoded message to a user, who may then transmit the encoded message to a device configured for decoding the encoded message to reveal the computer game outcome. A second central or host computer device is used to decode the encoded message. The second computer device has (a) a memory device containing decoding control code and an encoded message corresponding to a computer game outcome and (b) a processor configured to process the code to decode the encoded message to reveal the computer game outcome.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to authentication of computer generated game or test results ("outcomes"), and more particularly, to a system by which persons who play games or take tests on a game or testing computer, respectively (hereinafter the "game computer" or "testing computer"), may submit the outcomes of the games or tests to a central authority having at least one central computer, and have the central computer "certify" those outcomes as being accurately reported and fairly achieved. This certification of the computer generated result constitutes a "remote-auditing" of the activity taking place on the game computer. In one application, the system enables computer generated game tournaments in which players play the games on game computers and compete against each other by submitting the outcomes for those tournament games to the central computer, which certifies the outcomes and rates and ranks the players. In another application, the system provides for players of computer games to obtain a certified ranking and rating without participation in a tournament. In other embodiments, the system provides for self-authentication and certification of outcomes for games played on the game computer by the game computer itself, or for mutual-authentication and certification of such outcomes on any other game computer in the system. The system further enables the submission and certification of test outcomes using the same methodology.
The present invention also provides for "pay-per-use" in the home video game environment, where any game computer may be turned into a video game arcade machine by metering usage of the game computer and/or game programs that run on the game computer. Players simply pay per game, or for play over a specified period of time in accordance with different pricing protocols. The invention also allows for "time-dependent disablement" which lets players acquire game consoles for a relatively low down payment. Charges for game play may then be incurred on a daily, weekly, monthly, or some other periodic basis.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Tournaments are a popular form of recreation and are amenable to many forms of organized activities, such as sports or games. There are two primary types of tournaments. In the first, players compete against one another (i.e., head-to-head), singularly or in teams, under controlled conditions. Examples include boxing, chess, karate and the like. In the second, players play a game without direct or simultaneous interaction with another player, where the player having the best score (e.g., golf, bowling, etc.), fastest time to completion (e.g., puzzles) or some combination thereof is pronounced the winner. Winners earn recognition for their skill and sometimes even prizes. Accomplished players of games of skill are often provided with an officially recognized ranking, rating and/or title.
Classic tournaments are usually held at a specific time and at a specific location, where they are conducted under a set of rules which apply equally to all contestants, and under the supervision of one or more judges and/or a sanctioning authority. A typical chess tournament may include one hundred to two hundred players who get together at a central location. They pay an entry fee and play a series of games over the course of a specified time period under the auspices of an officially sanctioned tournament director(s). At the end of the competition, the players are ranked and cash prizes are awarded to the top finishers. The United States Chess Federation administers a national rating system that ranks players with a numerical rating based upon the results of tournament sanctioned games against other rated players. Ratings may change over time as the player wins and loses games played in ongoing tournaments. Various rating ranges are given named titles. For example, an "Expert" chess player has a rating of between 2,000 and 2,200 and a "Master" chess player has a rating over 2,200 and so on.
The aforementioned tournaments have several drawbacks. Since most tournaments are held at some specified location, it is likely that some players may have to travel an appreciable distance, incurring expenses for travel, food, lodging and the like. Furthermore, it is often difficult to schedule a given tournament at a time that is convenient for all participants. In addition, there are only a limited number of sanctioned tournament directors who are available to run such tournaments. Since the fundamental object of any tournament is to ensure the integrity and authenticity of the results, without a tournament director, the results of the tournament are not verifiable. It is also difficult and impractical to run niche tournaments that appeal to a very small segment of the population, as the fixed costs associated with running a tournament can make it economically impractical where only a few participants are involved.
Aside from the so-called classic tournaments mentioned above, the players of many popular computer generated games enjoy competing for bragging rights as to who has the best score. Most arcade gaming machines typically display a series of high scores identifying the most recent top scoring players who played on a specific machine. Similarly, some dedicated game systems such as Nintendo, Sega and the like, and personal computers with dedicated game software, may display a series of high scores identifying top scoring players. While this enables a player who achieves a sufficiently high score to compare his or her performance with other players who have played on that particular machine or computer with that software, there is no way to prevent players from lying to others about their "purported" score. Therefore, there exists a need for a system whereby players of such games can register their scores with a central computer that certifies the scores and enables players to receive their ranking/rating with respect to other players on a national or even worldwide scale. In this connection, such a system could enable players of such games to participate in "electronic" tournaments where players either play individually or in teams on independently disposed game computers, or head-to-head via an on-line connection between at least two competing players.
One approach to electronic tournaments is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,271 to Thacher et al. ("Thacher"). In the Thacher system, a plurality of gaming terminals are networked to a central computer. A player purchases credit, enters a tournament, and is assigned a unique identification code. This identification code is stored in the gaming terminal and at the central computer. The player then proceeds to play a tournament game on the gaming terminal. When the player has finished the game, the player's score is transmitted to the central computer along with the player identification code and a game identification number. The central computer sorts through all of the scores at the conclusion of the tournament and determines a winner. The Thacher patent claims to provide some level of protection against substitution of players by utilizing a separate personal identification code for each player. Thus, to the extent that a player's personal identification code is not compromised, the person playing the game is uniquely identified with the achieved score. This arrangement has disadvantages, however, including the extensive network between all of the participatory game terminals, and the inability to verify that the scores in the tournament games were accurately reported and fairly achieved. For example, there is nothing in the Thacher system which prevents a player from modifying the game software to produce a more favorable outcome, or from intercepting communications of score and identification data from the remote gaming terminal to the central computer and then altering the same to register a false score.
Another well known system for "authenticating" video game scores utilizes a primitive method in which players take photographs of both video screens containing game scores and the game console, and then mail the pictures to a central authority. The monthly magazine Nintendo POWER publishes the Power Players' Arena, in which top scoring players are identified. Top scoring players receive Nintendo POWER Stamps which can be redeemed for prizes. The photograph of the video screen ostensibly prevents a player from simply making up a score. The photograph of the video screen and the game console supposedly enables the central authority to determine whether the player has utilized any unauthorized device to change the standard play conditions for the game. This system has a number of disadvantages. Taking a clear photograph of a video display is often difficult due to the reflective nature thereof. There is also a considerable amount of time that is required to transmit the photograph to the central authority and players must wait for the scores to be authenticated by Nintendo and thereafter published. This system is also vulnerable to players hacking the game software. No effort is made to determine whether or not the game software was tampered with. The use of well known interposing devices such as the GAME GENIE, which fits into the access port of a standard game console and enables codes to be entered that temporarily change the play conditions as software instructions are loaded into the read-write memory of the game console from the read-only memory of the game cartridge, is ostensibly prevented by requiring that a photograph of the entire game console accompany the photograph of the video screen. However, players can easily circumvent this problem by playing a game with an interposing device, taping the output with a VCR, thereafter removing the interposing device, and then playing back the recorded game for a subsequent photograph to be made without the interposing device installed in the game console.
Thus, there exists a need for a system that enables game computers operating independently at different times or in different places to certify their game outcomes in a manner that can be verified by a recipient thereof for purposes of comparison with other game outcomes. The system should allow such certification to be performed either by another game computer, or by a central computer. The system should not require complicated networking or real-time connections between the game computers, or between each game computer and the central computer during game play. The system should further allow for establishing the players' ranking, rating and/or title with respect to other players of the games based upon the players' certified scores.
In view of the above, there also exists a need for a system which permits players to participate in tournaments on game computers at any place and any time, without requiring complicated and costly networks or an on-line connection between the game computer and a central computer while the game is being played, without the need for the players to go to a specified location, and without the need to have an officially sanctioned tournament director present where the games are being played while still ensuring the authenticity of the participants' scores. The system should further allow for establishing the players' ranking, rating and/or title in the tournaments with respect to other players of the games based upon the player's certified scores.
It is also known in the art to remotely control and monitor the use of video game software as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,479 to Hornbuckle. This patent teaches a system whereby rental software is downloaded from a central computer to a remote control module (RCM) which is operably associated with a game computer. The RCM operates to receive rental software packages from the central computer, and to control and verify the use of such software on the game computer. The rental software resides in the insecure memory of the game computer. A portion of the software is referred to as a "key module", a part of the software that is essential to program execution and without which the overall program will not execute on the game computer. The key module resides in an encrypted format, and must be decrypted by the RCM. After such decryption, the key module is loaded with the rest of the program into the RAM of the game computer for execution. When the program is terminated, the decrypted instructions are erased from the RAM of the game computer. The RCM records the elapsed time between starting and stopping of the rental program, and stores such information in its memory for subsequent processing.
The Hornbuckle system suffers a primary drawback in that the key module resides in the insecure RAM of the game computer, thereby enabling a hacker to get at the key module, and allowing replacement of the key module in the data storage of the game computer. It would therefore be desirable to provide a system in which the use of game programs can be metered using cryptographic protocols without compromising secure encrypted portions of the such programs by not loading the same in unencrypted format into the insecure memory of a game computer. It would also be desirable to provide a system in which use of the game computer itself can be metered using similar protocols.

Remote-auditing of computer generated outcomes, authenticated billing and access control, and software metering system using cryptographic and other protocols


A wing mechanism for selectively exerting a downwardly directed force to a vehicle having a vehicle body. The wing mechanism includes a wing member, a pair of wing tips and a drive assembly. The pair of wing tips are moveably coupled to opposing ends the wing member and arranged to be moved by the drive assembly between a retracted position wherein the wing tips are retracted within a cavity in the wing member and a deployed position wherein each of the wing tips extends outwardly from the perimeter of the wing member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wing mechanisms, air spoilers and air foils for a motor vehicle, and more particularly to a rear wing mechanism that is selectively positioned from within the vehicle cockpit.
2. Background Art
Genrally, various types of rear spoilers or wing mechanisms for motor vehicles have been proposed in order to improve high-speed stability of vehicles. In some arrangements, a fixed-type rear spoiler is used in which a spoiler fin or wing member is fixedly mounted to a rearward portion of the vehicle. However, rear wing mechanisms of this type are known to undesirable affect the performance characteristics of the vehicle when the vehicle is operated at relative low speeds.
Alternative approaches have included using a retractable rear wing mechanism in which the wing member is wholly retracted into the body of the vehicle when the stabilizing effect of the wing mechanism is unnecessary. However, because the wing must be stowed within the vehicle, these types of arrangements typically intrude into and reduce the interior space, such as a trunk compartment, available for the vehicle. Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for an effective yet relatively compact wing mechanism.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a wing mechanism is provided for selectively exerting a downwardly directed force to a vehicle body. The wing mechanism includes a wing member pivotably coupled to the vehicle body. A pair of wing tips are moveably coupled to the wing member at opposing ends. The wing tips are selectively moveable between a retracted position wherein the wing tips are retracted within a cavity in the wing member and a deployed position wherein each of the wing tips extend outwardly from the perimeter of the wing member. A drive assembly is coupled to the wing tips for selectively moving the wing tips between the extended position and the retracted position.
In accordance with other aspects of the present invention, the drive assembly is further coupled to the wing member to control rotational position of the wing member about the pivot coupling to the vehicle body. The drive assembly can include a pair of cams selectively moveable by a drive motor, each of the cams positioned relative to a respective one of the wing tips to engage a cam follower located on each wing tip to move the wing tip to the deployed position. Each of the wing tips can be spring biased to the retracted position. Still further, the drive assembly can be coupled to the wing member and the cams, and arranged to move each cam in conjunction with moving the wing member about the pivot coupling to the vehicle body.
These and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment(s) when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings

Dual action spoiler with CAM actuated tips


A method of forming a shallow trench isolation (STI) region in a silicon substrate creates an STI region that extends above a top surface of the silicon substrate. A planarizing dielectric layer is formed on the substrate and extends above the field oxide regions. The planarizing dielectric layer is removed by chemical mechanical polishing or blanket etch back, for example, as well as those portions of the field oxide regions that extend above the top surface of the substrate and the active regions. The step height is thereby eliminated or significantly reduced.

An important aim of on-going research in the semiconductor industry is increasing semiconductor performance while decreasing power consummation in the semiconductor devices. Planar transistors, such as metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), are particularly well-suited for use in high-density integrated circuits. As the size of MOSFETs and other devices decrease, the dimensions of source/drain regions, channel regions, and gate electrodes of the devices, also decrease. One of the techniques to shrink device sizes is that of shallow trench isolation (STI). The use of STI significantly shrinks the area needed to isolate the transistors better than the local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) technique. STI provides superior latch-up immunity, smaller channel width encroachment and better planarity. The use of STI techniques eliminates the bird-beak frequently encountered with LOCOS.
In conventional STI formation techniques, the hard mask is formed on a silicon substrate that will form the active silicon regions. The hard mask may be, for example, nitride or other suitable material. After patterning, etching is performed through the openings in the hard mask to create recesses in the active silicon regions of the silicon substrate. An insulating material, such as oxide or other suitable material, is deposited in the recesses on the hard mask. A chemical mechanical planarization is then performed to remove the insulator material on top of the hard mask and planarize the top of the STI region. The chemical mechanical planarization stops on the hard mask. Following the planarization, the hard mask layer is removed from the top of the silicon substrate. When the hard mask is a nitride, for example, this is achieved by etching with hot phosphoric acid.
The STI process described above creates STI regions that extend beyond the top surface of the silicon substrate. A schematic depiction of such an arrangement is shown in cross-section in FIG. 1A. A silicon substrate 10 has an STI region 12 formed as described above. A portion 14 of the STI region extends above the silicon substrate 10 by an amount H. This may be referred to as the step height (H). A polysilicon gate 16 is shown passing over the step 14 created by the STI region 12.
The difference in height between the top surface of the STI region 12 and the top surface of the silicon substrate 10 can result in problems in the photolithographic patterning or etch considerations. In other words, the height of the step can cause pattern integrity issues of the polysilicon gate. These include reduced lithography depth of focus, a variation in line width of the polysilicon, jagged edges on the polysilicon line, etc. See, for example, FIG. 1B which shows a top view of a conventional STI arrangement in which the height of the step causes pattern integrity issues. Additionally, if the step is excessive, polysilicon material can be trapped along the step to thereby cause "stringer" defects. Stringers 18 are schematically depicted in FIG. 1B. Hence, undesirable height of the step may produce pattern integrity issues that reduce the quality of the semiconductor device that is ultimately produced.

Method of forming a semiconductor arrangement with reduced field-to active step height


A home occupant detection and monitoring system has a sensor unit having a radio wave transmitter, a radio wave receiver, and a wireless transmitter configured to detect and receive vital signs of an occupant; a user interface having a microcontroller, a wireless receiver configured to receive the wireless signals transmitted from the sensor unit, a means for user input, and a network card; and a means for alerting occupants and third-parties to a triggering event; wherein the microcontroller, based upon logic, activates the alerting means at the triggering event.

Modern home and commercial security systems are generally comprised of three primary detection methods to detect intruders: door/window sensors, motion sensors, and glass break sensors. While these technologies can be effective in some situations, they are all possible to defeat so as to miss an intruder or unwanted occupant. As an example, glass break sensors can be defeated by a glass cutter or by simply breaking a window with minimal sound; motion sensors can be defeated by crawling or otherwise keeping a low profile while moving close to walls; and door/window sensors can be overcome with the use of magnets. Other means and methods may be available to defeat these technologies. In addition to these problems, intruders can gain access to a home or business when an alarm is not activated, lying in wait until other occupants have gone to sleep or left the business. In addition, such systems require time money and time in installing and maintaining a sensor at each door, window or other potential entry point.
Therefore, there is a need for a security system that is not limited to monitoring entry points, and that can constantly monitor occupants in a home, business, or other structure to prevent an unwanted occupant from entering, or remaining, in a structure.
Further, there are currently no systems for simultaneously monitoring the health status of each occupant within a structure. In other words, many deaths occur each year that may have been preventable, had other occupants in the home been alerted to a health emergency. For example, several children die each year from suffocation. If someone would have been alerted to the child's distress, the child might have been saved. As such, there is a need for a system that not only monitors a home for intrusion purposes, but that monitors the occupants' health statuses as well.

Home occupant detection and monitoring system


A liquid dispenser head includes a plurality of nozzles, a plurality of liquid chambers, and a plurality of vibration members. The nozzle is used to discharge liquid. The liquid chamber communicates with the nozzle. The vibration member has a vibration portion, which is used as a deformable wall face of the liquid chamber. The vibration member includes a metal member and a resin layer directly formed on the metal member, and the resin layer has a coefficient of linear expansion greater than a coefficient of linear expansion of the metal member.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a method of manufacturing a liquid dispenser head, the liquid dispenser head, a liquid dispensing unit having the liquid dispenser head, and an image forming apparatus having the liquid dispenser head.
2. Description of the Background Art
In general, an image forming apparatus is available as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copier, a plotter, or a multi-functional apparatus having multiple functions thereof. Such image forming apparatus may include a liquid dispensing unit having a liquid dispensing head (or a recording head) for dispensing droplets of recording liquid onto a recording sheet to form an image on the recording sheet.
Such sheet includes, but is not limited to, a medium made of material such as paper, string, fiber, cloth, leather, metal, plastic, glass, timber, and ceramic, for example. Further, the term "image formation" used herein refers to providing, recording, printing, or imaging an image, a letter, a figure, or a pattern to a sheet. Moreover, the term "liquid" used herein is not limited to recording liquid or ink but includes anything discharged in fluid form. Hereinafter, the recording liquid is referred to as ink for simplicity of description.
Furthermore, a liquid dispensing unit having a liquid dispenser head can be used in any application area, including, but not limited to, forming an image on a sheet, dispensing liquid for specific purposes (e.g., fabrication of semiconductor), and the like.
Such liquid dispensing unit or image forming apparatus have found industrial applications in such fields as cloth-printing apparatuses and metal wiring devices, while commercial demand for better image quality and faster printing speed continues to grow.
In view of such demand for better image quality, nozzle density, or a number of nozzles per unit area of the liquid dispenser head, continues to increase, narrowing spacing between pressure chambers of a recording head and increasing an energy frequency, or number of vibrations applied to the recording head.
Further, in view of such demand for faster printing speed, a line printer having page-wide arrays (PWA) of recording head has been developed. The main advantage of such PWA head is that it has a length sufficient to print a single line image on a recording medium with a single liquid discharge. However, a drawback of such PWA head is that its manufacture requires consistently high precision to very narrow tolerances.
In general, a recording head or liquid dispenser head includes a nozzle, a liquid chamber that communicates with the nozzle, and a pressure generator to generate pressure for discharging liquid droplets from the nozzle.
Such recording head may use known methods for discharging liquid droplets, such as a thermal method, a piezoelectric method, and an electrostatic method. In the thermal method, an electricity-heat conversion element such as a heating resistor is used to cause a film boiling of liquid. In the piezoelectric method, an electricity-mechanical energy conversion element such as a piezoelectric element is used. In the electrostatic method, an electrostatic actuator, which generates electrostatic force, is used.
A liquid dispenser head employing a piezoelectric element may have an elastically deformable vibration plate, with a protruded portion (or convex portion, or island portion) provided on the vibration plate in a direction extending in a longitudinal direction of the liquid chamber, in which a displacement energy of the piezoelectric element is transmitted to the vibration plate via the protruded portion.
Such protruded portion is provided on the vibration plate to effectively deform a wall face of the liquid chamber and to suppress interference between adjoining liquid chambers.
In general, the vibration plate is made of polymer film bonded to a thin metal plate. For example, the polymer film is bonded to the thin metal plate with an adhesive agent and the thin metal plate is etched to form the protruded portion (or island portion), in which an area other than the island portion may be coated with the adhesive agent.
Alternatively, a thermosetting resin such as thermosetting polyimide may be directly applied to a SUS (stainless steel) plate to form the vibration plate.
Although such polymer film product or thin metal plate product may have a variable thickness, such thickness in variation of product may similarly appear when manufacturing products having different sizes. For example, a thickness in variation of a polymer film having larger area and a polymer film having smaller area may have a similar trend, as may a thickness variation of a thin metal plate having larger area and a thin metal plate having smaller area.
Accordingly, even if the liquid dispenser head is enlarged or lengthened, the thickness (or height) of the protruded portion of the vibration plate can be controlled to within a given thickness variation.
A different problem arises, however, in that an etching with etchant is conducted on the thin metal plate of the vibration plate, which is prepared by bonding the polymer film to the thin metal plate with an adhesive agent as described above. Consequently, the adhesive agent may come into contact with the etchant during the etching, by which the adhesive layer may be eroded or partially degraded by the etchant. Such erosion or degeneration of the adhesive layer may cause variation in thickness of the vibration plate, which may result in unacceptable variation in vibration performance of the vibration plate.
Furthermore, variation in thickness of the polymer film and variation in thickness of the adhesive layer may cause unacceptable variation in vibration performance of the vibration plate.
If a resin layer such as a polyimide is directly applied to and formed on the thin metal plate (e.g., SUS plate) without using an adhesive layer, such variation in thickness of the adhesive layer is, of course, no longer an issue for liquid dispenser head manufacture.
Such resin material (e.g., polyimide) must be heated to a higher temperature for imidization and cooled to room temperature to form a vibration plate having a resin layer formed directly on a metal plate, wherein such method is called a varnish method.
After forming the resin layer on the metal plate, some portion of the metal plate is removed by etching. When such etching is conducted, a portion of the resin layer corresponding to a removed portion of the metal plate (i.e., etched portion of the metal plate) may wrinkle.
More specifically, the vibration plate has a vibrating portion made of a resin layer and a protruded portion (or island portion) made of a metal layer. Such protruded portion of the vibration plate is bonded to a piezoelectric element.
Because some portion of the metal layer is removed by etching to form the protruded portion, some portion of the resin layer, which corresponds to the removed portion of the metal layer, is no longer bonded to the metal layer. Such portion of the resin layer may be termed a "resin only portion," and wrinkles are more likely to appear in such resin only portion area of the resin layer.
If such wrinkles do appear in the resin layer of the vibration plate, displacement energy of the piezoelectric element may not be effectively transmitted to the liquid chamber, thus degrading droplet discharge performance or creating unacceptable variation in the droplet discharge performance of each liquid chamber (or nozzle).

Liquid dispenser head, liquid dispensing unit using same, image forming apparatus using same, and method of manufacturing liquid dispenser head


Microelectronic contact structures (260, 360, 460) are lithographically defined and fabricated by applying a masking layer (220, 320, 420) on a surface of a substrate (202, 302, 402) such as an electronic component, creating an opening (222, 322, 422) in the masking layer, depositing a conductive trace of a seed layer (250, 350, 450) onto the masking layer and into the openings, and building up a mass of conductive material on the conductive trace. The sidewalls of the opening can be sloped (tapered). The conductive trace can be patterned by depositing material through a stencil or shadow mask (240, 340, 440). A protruding feature (230, 430) may be disposed on the masking layer so that a tip end (264, 364, 464) of the contact structure acquires a topography. All of these elements can be constructed as a group to form a plurality of precisely positioned resilient contact structures.

Commonly-owned, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/452,255 filed 26 May 95 by Eldridge, Grube, Khandros and Mathieu (status: now U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,269) and its counterpart PCT patent application number PCT/US95/14909 filed 13 NOV 1995 (status: published as WO95/14909, 06 Jun. 96) disclose methods for making resilient interconnection elements for microelectronics applications involving mounting an end of a flexible elongate core element (e.g., wire "stem" or "skeleton") to a terminal on an electronic component, coating the flexible core element and adjacent surface of the terminal with a "shell" of one or more materials having a predetermined combination of thickness, yield strength and elastic modulus to ensure predetermined force-to-deflection characteristics of the resulting spring contacts. Exemplary materials for the core element include gold. Exemplary materials for the coating include nickel and its alloys. The resulting spring contact element may be used to effect pressure, or demountable, connections between two or more electronic components, particularly microelectronic components, including semiconductor devices.
The aforementioned PARENT CASE discloses fabricating spring contact elements by depositing at least one layer of metallic material into openings defined in multiple masking layers deposited on a surface of a substrate which may be an electronic component such as an active semiconductor device. Each spring contact element has a base end, a contact end, and a central body portion. In an embodiment disclosed therein, the contact end may be offset in the z-axis (at a different height) and in at least one of the x and y directions from the base end. In this manner, a plurality of spring contact elements are fabricated in a prescribed spatial relationship with one another on the substrate. The spring contact elements make temporary (i.e., pressure) or permanent (e.g., joined by soldering or brazing or with a conductive adhesive) connections with terminals of another electronic component to effect electrical connections therebetween. In an exemplary application, the spring contact elements are disposed on a semiconductor devices resident on a semiconductor wafer so that temporary connections can be made with the semiconductor devices to burn-in and/or test the semiconductor devices prior to their being singulated from the semiconductor wafer.
As in the PARENT CASE, the present invention addresses and is particularly well-suited to making interconnections to modern microelectronic devices having their terminals (bond pads) disposed at a fine-pitch. As used herein, the term "fine-pitch" refers to microelectronic devices that have their terminals disposed at a spacing of less than 5 mils, such as 2.5 mils or 65 μm. As will be evident from the description that follows, this is preferably achieved by taking advantage of the close tolerances that readily can be realized by using lithographic rather than mechanical techniques to fabricate the contact elements.
Commonly-owned, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/955,001 filed 20 Oct. 97 by Eldridge, et al. (status: now U.S. Pat. No. 6,043,563), incorporated by reference herein, also addresses and is particularly well-suited to making interconnections to modern microelectronic devices having their terminals (bond pads) disposed at a fine-pitch. As described therein, spring contact elements may be fabricated at areas on an electronic component which are remote from terminals to which they are electrically connected, and electrically connected to the terminals via conductive lines which extend from terminals of an electronic component to positions which are remote from the terminals. In this manner, a plurality of substantially identical spring contact elements can be mounted to the electronic component so that their free ends are disposed in a pattern and at positions which are spatially-translated from the pattern of the terminals on the component. The spring contact elements include, but are not limited to, composite interconnection elements and plated-up structures. The electronic component includes, but is not limited to, a semiconductor device, a memory chip, a portion of a semiconductor wafer, a space transformer, a probe card, a chip carrier, and a socket.

Lithographically defined microelectronic contact structures


A memory device is described that includes a three-dimensional array of memory cells having a plurality of levels of memory cells accessed by a plurality of word lines, and a plurality of bit lines. Control circuitry is coupled to the plurality of word lines and the plurality of bit lines. The control circuitry is adapted for programming a selected memory cell in a selected level of the array and on a selected word line, by hot carrier generation assisted FN tunneling, while inhibiting disturb in unselected memory cells in unselected levels and in the selected level and on unselected word lines by self-boosting.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to flash memory technology, and more particularly to flash memory suitable for low voltage program and erase in a NAND configuration.
2. Description of Related Art
Flash memory is a class of non-volatile integrated circuit memory technology. Traditional flash memory employs floating gate memory cells. As the density increases in memory devices, and the floating gate memory cells get closer and closer together, interference between the charge stored in adjacent floating gates becomes a problem. This is limiting the ability to increase the density of flash memory based on floating gate memory cells. Another type of memory cell used for flash memory can be referred to as a charge trapping memory cell, which uses a dielectric charge trapping layer in place of the floating gate. Charge trapping memory cells use dielectric charge trapping material that does not cause cell-to-cell interference like that encountered with floating gate technology, and is expected to be applied for higher density flash memory.
The typical flash memory cell consists of a field effect transistor FET structure having a source and drain separated by a channel, and a gate separated from the channel by a charge storage structure including a tunnel dielectric layer, the charge storage layer (floating gate or dielectric), and a blocking dielectric layer. According to the early conventional charge trapping memory designs referred to as SONOS devices, the source, drain and channel are formed in a silicon body which can be in a strip (S), the tunnel dielectric layer is formed of silicon oxide (O), the charge storage layer is formed of silicon nitride (N), the blocking dielectric layer is formed of silicon oxide (O), and the gate comprises polysilicon (S).
Flash memory devices generally are implemented using NAND or NOR architectures, although others are known, including AND architectures. The NAND architecture is popular for its high density and high speed when applied to data storage applications. The NOR architecture is better suited to other applications, such as code storage, where random byte access is important. In a NAND architecture, the programming processes typically rely on Fowler-Nordheim (FN) tunneling, and require high voltages, such as on the order of 20 volts, and require high voltage transistors to handle them. The addition of high voltage transistors on integrated circuits, in combination with transistors used for logic and other data flow, introduces complexity in the manufacturing processes. This increased complexity in turn increases the costs of the devices.
Three-dimensional arrays of NAND memory feature even larger memory capacities in a relatively small volume. While programming a selected cell NAND array, nearby memory cells are subject to program disturb. Memory cells subject to program disturb include: a memory cell in the same NAND string; a memory cell accessed by the same word line and is in the same stack of semiconductor strips but is in a different layer of the stack; a memory cell accessed by the same word line and is in an adjacent stack of semiconductor strips though in the same layer; and a memory cell accessed by the same word line but is in an adjacent stack of semiconductor strips and in a different layer.
Hot carrier injection is memory technology suitable for low voltage programming operations, and which is configurable in a NAND architecture. Hot carrier injection in a NAND architecture has been previously described in U.S. application Ser. No. 12/797,994 filed on 10 Jun. 2010, which was published on 15 Dec. 2011 as US Patent Application Publication No 2011/0305088; and also in U.S. application Ser. No. 12/898,979 filed on 6 Oct. 2010, which was published on 5 Apr. 2012 as US Patent Application Publication No 2012/0081962, all of which are fully incorporated by reference.
It would be desirable to improve hot carrier injection in any of several ways, such as reducing program disturb.

Hot carrier generation and programming in NAND flash


An analog switch is provided to be connected to the signal lines of a bus of a computer body to be led to an expansion unit. When the signal lines of the bus of the expansion unit are pulled up, a high value is sent to the signal lines of the bus of the computer body. When the signal lines of the bus of the expansion unit are pulled down, a low value is sent to the signal lines of the bus of the computer body. After the potential levels of the signal lines of one bus equal to those of the signal lines of the other bus by the high value or the low value sent, a connection control gate array sets the analog switch on. This can allow the signal lines of both buses to be connected together without causing a transient phenomenon even while the bus cycle is being executed.

The present invention relates to a computer system suitable for adaptation to, for example, a notebook type portable computer. More particularly, this invention relates to a computer system equipped with a computer and an expansion unit to and from which the computer body is attachable and detachable.
The entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 8-44920 filed on Mar. 1, 1996 are incorporated herein by reference.
Recently, various kinds of laptop type or notebook type personal portable computers which are easy to carry around and operable on a battery are developed such type of portable computer is generally designed to be attached to an expansion unit as needed for functional expansion.
This expansion unit has a drive bay for receiving a drive unit like a hard disk drive and expansion slots to install various kinds of option cards. Therefore, connecting a portable computer to this expansion unit as needed can easily expand the functions of that portable computer without degrading the portability of the portable computer.
A new concept called hot docking has recently been introduced. This "hot docking" can permit a peripheral device such as a CD-ROM drive to be added or unstalled while the system is in operation. Various operating systems support this hot docking function.
In connecting a portable computer to the aforementioned expansion unit, the bus in the expansion unit is connected to the bus in the portable computer. When both buses are connected while the bus cycle is being executed, therefore, it is very likely that both the portable computer and the expansion unit malfunction due to a transient phenomenon or the like. This necessitates that the connection should be made while both machines are powered off.
There is a system which has a switch on the bus of a portable computer to control the connection to the bus of an expansion unit so that both buses can be connected while the system is in operation. However, this system actually connects both buses while the bus cycle of the bus on the portable computer side is idling or until it becomes unaffected by a transient phenomenon when the switch is set on.
While an expansion unit is important to expand the functions of a portable computer, the prior art prevents the connection of the bus of the portable computer to the bus of the expansion unit while the bus cycle of the bus of the portable computer is being executed.