A portable electronic multi-functional computer-communicator device is described which has a flexible rollable display and may be converted to various states and shapes, each designed to replace certain class or classes of existing electronic devices.

1. Field of the Described Embodiments
The described embodiments relate to portable electronic device that can also be used on a desktop or when mounted in a vehicle. In particular methods for expanding the functionality and improving usability of electronic devices are disclosed.
2. Related Art
In the recent years, the classes of portable computer-communicator devices called "smartphones" and "tablets" have experienced dramatic advancements and improvements, primarily in the fields of data processing/remote data communication performance and multimedia input/output capabilities. With powerful processors, fast data communication capabilities, vast memory storage and large high-resolution displays, these devices have a strong potential each to perform nearly every task related to data processing, data input/output or remote voice/data communication that a person may encounter while on the go or away from a desk. However, their other characteristics important for consumers—general and specific usability, operational convenience, data security, physical reliability, upgradeability, battery life—have stayed at approximately same levels or even deteriorated.
In many cases, the limiting factor preventing tablets and smartphones to perform the majority of tasks small laptop PCs (ultrabooks) are used for, is not processor speed (computational power) or memory size or battery life—it's insufficient user interface capabilities.
The existence of the vast majority of such devices in a single form factor only (namely the flat planar one), without any shape or form factor conversion capabilities, is becoming a limiting factor not only for functional expansion, but for attempts of designers to bring operational convenience and reliability of such devices to a normal level easily achievable (for a subset of functions supported by a common smartphone or tablet) by many alternative devices, for example watches, cameras and computer keyboards.
The flat planar form factor with a large display on one side and fixed main camera on other side is generally suitable for a multitude of possible applications but fits well only a few of them and creates significant handling inconvenience and operational problems for others. For example, for photo or video shooting the user has to hold the unit at its edges to avoid blocking or accidentally touching the display. The sides of the unit have become narrow and as a result the number of physical buttons has decreased to a minimum—so for almost every function or command, even for the most common ones like camera shutter or zoom control, the user has to use virtual buttons or menus on the display and therefore has to look at it the latter very often. Such mode of handling, combined with narrow, often slippery sides of the unit, highly increase chances of the device being dropped and broken or lost. Bottom line is that the prevalent form factor with a large touch-sensitive display on one side of a flat planar body does not allow the user to have a convenient grip, required not only when shooting photos or videos but also in many other common situations: phone call, video chat, interactive video game etc. Moreover, many smartphones made in the last couple of years are too wide to be carried comfortably in a pocket or operated by one hand.
Text typing using a virtual keyboard on a tablet or a smartphone is another example of a very inconvenient operation. It requires high visual concentration and coordination of fingers. In most situations, maximum two fingers can be used. There's no reliable tactile feedback from virtual keys (especially before they are actually pressed) so typing is slow and prone to errors. The few available models featuring mechanical keyboards bring additional problems such as increase in device size and weight, decrease in display size, and mechanical keys being still too small to be convenient. As a rule, the keys are located in the same plane as the display so convenient desktop operation is not possible. The last problem also applies to a recently introduced solution featuring a combination of a displayed virtual keyboard and a physical protrusions appearing permanently or on-demand at the display surface over virtual keys. Even traditional full-size mechanical keyboards used in a bundle with desktop PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones have significant drawbacks: they are bulky items that cause strain to user's eyes (because for many users their sight has to be constantly switched between the display and the keys) and to user's hands (because the palms have to be kept raised above the desk surface and constantly moved).
The usability of a common smartphone or a tablet for specific situations may be improved by addition of accessories that vast majority of users purchase separately, for example back covers, cradles/stands, carrying pouches, wireless earpieces etc. Unfortunately, these accessories often bring their own inconveniences: they reduce portability of the device and oblige the user to carry, store and locate additional pieces, including chargers or other accessories for accessories.
If a smartphone or a tablet is carried in a pocket or a bag, it may take few seconds or even more time for the user to locate, take and activate it. This can be critical in certain situations requiring immediate response such as call answer or photo/video shooting start. The lack of physical buttons also contributes to such delays because the user has to use long menu paths and/or virtual controls requiring visual attention and therefore a specific positioning of the device body to operate.
Even interaction with common accessories while performing standard tasks may present a problem. A smartphone can easily become misplaced, forgotten in a pocket or a bag, lost or stolen. Accepting the call requires first to locate the phone, then to take it properly in hand, then to operate a virtual (in most cases) control. Usage of wireless earpieces is limited by additional overhead these devices bring in the form of necessity to store the small device, to track/remember its location, to charge it separately and possibly carry additional accessories for this accessory.
The bottom line is the majority of users have to purchase and carry daily two or three devices out of the list:                smartphone        tablet        laptop
The reason is each of these three classes has undergone optimization for a specific usage pattern: a smartphone for on-the-go operation, a tablet for using when standing occasionally or sitting (but without a desk), and a laptop to be used at a desk.
The problem is not only in necessity to buy and carry two or three devices of different types, together with many accessories, to fulfill daily tasks. The real magnitude of this consumer problem lies in the fact that many of the common tasks (such as photo/video shooting, text typing, gaming, professional applications etc.) are not supported with satisfactory levels of efficiency, flexibility and convenience, even by the most suitable representatives of the three device classes.
The crossover-type devices that have been produced recently such as
enlarged smartphones;
small tablets;
laptops convertible to smartphones (via flipping touchscreens, double displays etc.)
are combining drawbacks of their two classes as well as advantages. The users need the benefits of each device class at a certain time, not a compromising solution at all times.
Some prototypes that were announced are convertible devices utilizing flexible displays and capable of conforming to shapes and functional profiles of two devices from separate classes—i.e. a smartphone and a tablet. However, these prototypes do not solve many of the problems (insufficient display size, display is not kept flat, very limited camera size and therefore quality, no convenient text typing mode etc.).
As a result, none of the devices existing currently—either on the market or as a prototype is capable of efficiently replacing a smartphone, a tablet, an ultrabook and a high-quality point-and-shoot camera at the same time.

Portable computer-communicator device with rollable display


A tool and system for loosening or removing a torque resistant threaded fastener assembly. The system can be used with a bench receiver or vehicle mounted receiver and can be used to loosen “frozen” threaded fastener assemblies. The orientation of the components enables a user to place sufficient torque on a “frozen” threaded fastener. In this way the system enables the user to remove or disassemble a corroded combination (e.g.) a corroded or rusted nut and bolt.

A common problem in mechanical work is a fastener assembly that cannot easily be removed. Rapid disassembly and assembly of components during maintenance or repair is important in both commercial and do it yourself work. Do-it-yourself mechanics use hand powered wrenches of various designs. These impose continuous torque on a fastener but typical cannot place much more than 200 ft.-lbs. torque. Commercial mechanical shops use impact wrenches for quick disassembly. Impact wrenches impose intermittent torque on a fastener and, depending on manufacturer, typically provide about 230-800 ft.-lbs. torque.
In the repair or maintenance of many mechanical assemblies, a worker can encounter a "frozen" bolt in combination with a complementary threaded member such as an assembly held with a nut and bolt. A "frozen" fastener (e.g., a corroded or rusted nut or bolt) is one such that the environment of use of the nut and bolt has caused significant corrosion, rusting or other chemical change in the surface of the fasteners, such that the bolt assembly resists the application of even substantial amounts of torque for initiating rotation with respect to the complementary threaded member and subsequent removal, disassembly or reassembly without damage. Often, for economic considerations, the re-use of the nut and bolt is important since either the nut or bolt cannot be obtained on the marketplace or is cost prohibitive. During maintenance or repair, the amount of torque required for rotation of a nut with respect to the bolt or threads can be such that the torque applied by the common tools such as an ordinary wrench or ratchet socket and handle is insufficient to rotate the bolt with respect to the complementary threaded member. Such a torque can easily exceed 800 ft.-lbs. torque and can result in the mechanical failure of the fastener.
Considering this problem, a substantial need exists for a tool as a part of a system for frozen nut removal that can significantly increase the amount of continuous torque that can be applied to a nut frozen on a thread, such that the nut can be removed without damage to the nut thread or the nut and bolt assembly. Torque levels in the range of 400-1500 ft.-lbs. torque may be required.

High torque tool assembly and system for loosening a torque resistant threaded fastener and socket stabilizer


Methods and compositions for treating or preventing inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis or multiple sclerosis are provided, comprising the step of delivering to the site of inflammation an anti-microtubule agent, or analogue or derivative thereof.

The present invention relates generally to compositions and methods for treating or preventing inflammatory diseases.
Inflammatory diseases, whether of a chronic or acute nature, represent a substantial problem in the healthcare industry. Briefly, chronic inflammation is considered to be inflammation of a prolonged duration (weeks or months) in which active inflammation, tissue destruction and attempts at healing are proceeding simultaneously (Robbins Pathological Basis of Disease by R. S. Cotran, V. Kumar, and S. L. Robbins, W. B. Saunders Co., p. 75, 1989). Although chronic inflammation can follow an acute inflammatory episode, it can also begin as an insidious process that progresses with time, for example, as a result of a persistent infection (e.g., tuberculosis, syphilis, fungal infection) which causes a delayed hypersensitivity reaction, prolonged exposure to endogenous (e.g., elevated plasma lipids) or exogenous (e.g., silica, asbestos, cigarette tar, surgical sutures) toxins, or, autoimmune reactions against the body""s own tissues (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis). Chronic inflammatory diseases therefore, include many common medical conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, restenosis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, surgical adhesions, tuberculosis, chronic inflammatory lung diseases (e.g., asthma, pneumoconiosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, nasal polyps and pulmonary fibrosis), periodontal disease (i.e., periodontitis) and polycystic kidney disease.
Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a common, chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by raised, inflamed, thickened and scaly lesions, which itch, burn, sting and bleed easily. In approximately 10% of patients, psoriasis is accompanied by pronounced arthropathic symptoms that are similar to the changes seen in rheumatoid arthritis. Approximately 2 to 3% of the U.S. population suffers from psoriasis, with 250,000 new cases being diagnosed each year.
At present, the cause of psoriasis is unknown, although there is considerable evidence that it is a polygenic autoimmune disorder. In addition, there is currently no cure for psoriasis. Available treatments include topical therapies such as steroid creams and ointments, coal tar and anthralin, and systemic treatment such as steroids, ultra violet B, PUVA, methotrexate and cyclosporin. However, unsatisfactory remission rates and/or potentially serious side effects characterize most anti-psoriatic therapies. The overall cost of treating psoriasis in the United States is estimated at between $3 to $5 billion per year, making psoriasis a major health care problem.
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS), affecting 350,000 people (women:men=2:1) in the United States, with 8,000 new cases reported each year, is the most common chronic inflammatory disease involving the nervous system. Typically, MS presents clinically as recurring episodes of adverse neurological deficits occurring over a period of several years. Roughly half of MS cases progress to a more chronic phase. Although the disease does not result in early death or impairment of cognitive functions, it cripples the patient by disturbing visual acuity; stimulating double vision; disturbing motor functions affecting walking and use of the hands; producing bowel and bladder incontinence; spasticity; and sensory deficits (touch, pain and temperature sensitivity).
The cause of MS is unknown, although there is considerable evidence that it is an autoimmune disease. Currently, there is no cure available for multiple sclerosis, and present therapeutic regimens have been only partially successful. For example, although chemotherapeutic agents such as methotrexate, cyclosporin and azathioprine, have been examined for the management of patients with treatment unresponsive progressive disease, minimal long-term beneficial effects have been demonstrated to date.
Other therapeutics which have been recently approved include interferon-xcex2 for use in ambulatory patients with relapsing-remitting MS (Paty et al., Neurology 43:662-667, 1993), specifically, Betaseron (recombinant interferon xcex2-1xcex2; human interferon beta substituted at position 17, Cys(copyright) Ser; Berlex/Chiron) or Avonex (recombinant interferon xcex21xcex1; glycosylated human interferon beta produced in mammalian cells; Biogen). Unfortunately, while Betaseron provides for an enhanced quality of life for MS patients, disease progression does not appear to be significantly improved. Adverse experiences associated with Betaseron therapy include: injection site reactions (inflammation, pain, hypersensitivity and necrosis), and a flu-like symptom complex (fever, chills, anxiety and confusion).
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a debilitating, chronic inflammatory disease affecting 1 to 2% of the world""s population. This condition causes pain, swelling and destruction of multiple joints in the body and can also result in damage to other organs such as the lungs and kidneys. People with advanced disease have a mortality rate greater than some forms of cancer and because of this, treatment regimes have shifted towards aggressive early drug therapy designed to reduce the probability of irreversible joint damage. Recent recommendations of the American College of Rheumatology (Arthritis and Rheumatism 39(5):713-722, 1996) include early initiation of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy for any patient with an established diagnosis and ongoing symptoms. Anticancer drugs have become the first line therapy for the vast majority of patients, with the chemotherapeutic drug, methotrexate, being the drug of choice for 60 to 70% of rheumatologists. The severity of the disease often warrants indefinite weekly treatment with this drug and, in those patients whose disease progresses despite methotrexate therapy (over 50% of patients), second line chemotherapeutic drugs such as cyclosporin and azathioprine (alone or in combination) are frequently employed.
Restenosis
Restenosis is a form of chronic vascular injury leading to vessel wall thickening and loss of blood flow to the tissue supplied by the blood vessel. It occurs in response to vascular reconstructive procedures, including virtually any manipulation which attempts to relieve vessel obstructions, and is the major factor limiting the effectiveness of invasive treatments for vascular diseases. Restenosis has been a major challenge to cardiovascular research for the past 15 years. According to 1994 estimates (U.S. Heart and Stroke Foundation), over 60 million Americans have one or more forms of cardiovascular disease. These diseases claimed approximately 1 million lives in the same year (41% of all deaths in the United States) and are considered the leading cause of death and disability in the developed world.
Currently, no existing, technically approved, treatments for the prevention of restenosis have been effective in humans. Systemic therapies which have been investigated include agents directed at treatment of endothelial loss, anti-platelet agents (e.g., aspirin), vasodilators (e.g., calcium channel blockers), antithrombotics (e.g., heparin), anti-inflammatory agents (e.g., steroids), agents which prevent vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation (e.g., colchicine) and promoters of re-endothelialization (e.g., vascular endothelial growth factor). Local treatments which have been investigated include local drug delivery (e.g., heparin) and beta and gamma radiation. All have been disappointing in human use, primarily because they appear to act on a limited portion of the restenotic process. Systemic treatments have also encountered the additional problem of achieving adequate absorption and retention of the drug at the site of the disease to provide a lasting biological effect, without causing unfavorable systemic complications and toxicities.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) refers to chronic disorders (primarily Crohn""s disease and ulcerative colitis) that cause inflammation or ulceration in the small and large intestines. Briefly, approximately 2 million people in the United States suffer from IBD with males and females affected equally. The peak incidence primarily occurs between the ages of 15 and 30 with a second peak often reported between 55 and 60 years of age. Although there are many documented patterns of prevalence, it is a disease of unknown cause.
IBD is often characterized with alternating periods of remission followed by periods of unpredictable relapse or flare of varying severity. About 50% of patients are in remission at any given time and the majority suffer at least one relapse in a 10 year period. In addition, there are many systemic complications that accompany this disease with the most common being arthritis. Symptoms of arthritis occur in one fourth of all people with IBD. Joint inflammation occurs most often when the colon is involved in the disease process and flares when the bowel disease is most active. This form of inflammatory arthritis does not cause permanent deformity and is often short lived. Other complications of this disease include eye inflammation (iritis, conjunctivitis and episcleritis), mouth inflammation (mucositis), skin inflammation (erythema nodosum and pyoderma gangrenosum), musculoskeletal abnormalities (ankylosing spondylitis), renal complications (kidney stones and fistulas to urinary tract), gallstones and other diseases of the liver (e.g., hepatitis) and biliary system (sclerosing cholangitis). Unfortunately, in many cases, long-term disease ( greater than 10 years) can lead to more severe complications such as colonic cancer and extraintestinal carcinomas.
At present, there is no cure for IBD. Many of the current therapeutic agents focus on controlling the disease symptoms by suppressing the inflammation associated with the disease. The principle drugs used to treat IBD are aminosalicylates and corticosteroids and for those individuals that do not respond well to these agents, antibiotics and immunosuppressive medications can also be used. Although drug treatment is effective for 70 to 80% of patients, surgery is often required for individuals having more active disease. Chronic symptoms and complications associated with active disease such as intestinal blockage, perforation, abscess, or bleeding can be relieved and corrected with invasive surgery. Although surgery does not cure the disease permanently and recurrence rate is high, it does relieve active symptoms.
Surgical Adhesions
Surgical adhesion formation, a complex process in which bodily tissues that are normally separate grow together, is most commonly seen to occur as a result of surgical trauma. These post-operative adhesions occur in 60 to 90% of patients undergoing major gynaecologic surgery and represent one of the most common causes of intestinal obstruction in the industrialized world. These adhesions are a major cause of failed surgical therapy and are the leading cause of bowel obstruction and infertility. Other adhesion-treated complications include chronic pelvic pain, urethral obstruction and voiding dysfunction. Currently, preventative therapies, administered 4 to 5 days following surgery, are used to inhibit adhesion formation. Various modes of adhesion prevention have been examined, including (1) prevention of fibrin deposition, (2) reduction of local tissue inflammation and (3) removal of fibrin deposits. Fibrin deposition is prevented through the use of physical barriers that are either mechanical or comprised of viscous solutions. Although many investigators are utilizing adhesion prevention barriers, a number of technical difficulties exist. Inflammation is reduced by the administration of drugs such as corticosteroids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories. However, the results from the use of these drugs in animal models have not been encouraging due to the extent of the inflammatory response and dose restriction due to systemic side effects. Finally, the removal of fibrin deposits has been investigated using proteolytic and fibrinolytic enzymes. A potential complication to the clinical use of these enzymes is the possibility for excessive bleeding.
Inflammatory Lung Diseases
Chronic inflammatory lung diseases, including for example, asthma, pneumoconiosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, nasal polyps and pulmonary fibrosis, affect many people worldwide. Typically such diseases are characterized by an invasive inflammatory process, and thickening of the affected tissues.
For example, nasal polyps are characterized by thickened tissue of the nasal lining. Polyps may occur in respiratory diseases such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, primary ciliary diskinesia and immune deficiencies. Nasal polyps are thought to develop as a manifestation of chronic inflammatory processes involving the upper airways. They are found in 36% of patients with aspirin intolerance, 7% of those with asthma, 0.1% in children and about 20% in those with cystic fibrosis. Other conditions associated with nasal polyps are Churg-Strauss syndrome, allergic fungal sinusitis and cilia dyskinetic syndrome and Young""s syndrome. About 40% of patients with surgical polypectomies have recurrences (Settipane, Allergy Asthma Proc. 17(5):231-236, 1996).
The main symptoms of nasal polyposis are nasal obstruction and disturbance of sense of smell. The objectives of medical treatment of nasal polyposis are (1) to eliminate nasal polyps and rhinitis symptoms, (2) to re-establish nasal breathing and olfaction and (3) to prevent recurrence. Occlusion of the nasal passage by a few large polyps can be treated by simple polypectomy to help the patient breathe through the nose. The aim of surgery is to restore the physiological properties of the nose by making the airway as free from polyps as possible and to allow drainage of infected sinuses. However, recurrent nasal polyposis is one of the most common unsolved problems of clinical rhinology. Complementary medical treatment of polyposis is always necessary, as surgery cannot treat the inflammatory component of the mucosal disease. Topical corticosteroids are the most widely utilized treatment to reduce the size of polyps and to prevent recurrence after surgery. Steroids reduce rhinitis, improve nasal breathing, reduce the size of the polyps and decrease recurrence rate but they have negligible effect on the sense of smell and on any sinus pathology. The use of steroids in polyposis, however, is associated with infectious complications that require antibiotics. Other drugs for the management of nasal polyposis include H1-receptor antagonists (e.g., azelastine HCL) and anti-diuretics (e.g., furosemide). These treatments are not always effective and recurrence rates are still very high. Current medical treatment of nasal polyposis utilizes corticosteroids to alleviate the symptoms of the disease but has no action against the underlying pathology of the disease. In addition, recurrence of the disease or resistance to steroid therapy has been observed in patients with nasal polyps.
Graft Rejection
Graft rejection is a complex process whereby the grafted tissue is recognized as foreign by the host""s immune system. On the basis of morphology and the underlying mechanism, rejection reactions fit into three categories: hyperacute, acute and chronic. With the risks of infection eliminated and early (acute) rejection being managed by immunosuppressive therapy, chronic rejection has become an increasingly important cause of graft dysfunction and ultimate failure. Currently, chronic vascular rejection is the leading cause of death or graft failure in cardiac transplant recipients after the first year.
The present invention provides compositions and methods suitable for treating or preventing inflammatory diseases. These compositions and methods address the problems associated with the existing procedures, offer significant advantages when compared to existing procedures, and further provide other, related advantages.
Briefly stated, the present invention provides methods for treating or preventing inflammatory diseases, comprising delivering to a site of inflammation an anti-microtubule agent. Representative examples of such agents include taxanes (e.g., paclitaxel and docetaxel), campothecin, eleutherobin, sarcodictyins, epothilones A and B, discodermolide, deuterium oxide (D2O), hexylene glycol (2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol), tubercidin (7-deazaadenosine), LY290181 (2-amino-4-(3-pyridyl)-4H-naphtho(1,2-b)pyran-3-cardonitrile), aluminum fluoride, ethylene glycol bis-(succinimidylsuccinate), glycine ethyl ester, nocodazole, cytochalasin B, colchicine, colcemid, podophyllotoxin, benomyl, oryzalin, majusculamide C, demecolcine, methyl-2-benzimidazolecarbamate (MBC), LY195448, subtilisin, 1069C85, steganacin, combretastatin, curacin, estradiol, 2-methoxyestradiol, flavanol, rotenone, griseofulvin, vinca alkaloids, including vinblastine and vincristine, maytansinoids and ansamitocins, rhizoxin, phomopsin A, ustiloxins, dolastatin 10, dolastatin 15, halichondrins and halistatins, spongistatins, cryptophycins, rhazinilam, betaine, taurine, isethionate, HO-221, adociasulfate-2, estramustine, monoclonal anti-idiotypic antibodies, microtubule assembly promoting protein (taxol-like protein, TALP), cell swelling induced by hypotonic (190 mosmol/L) conditions, insulin (100 nmol/L) or glutamine (10 mmol/L), dynein binding, gibberelin, XCHO1 (kinesin-like protein), lysophosphatidic acid, lithium ion, plant cell wall components (e.g., poly-L-lysine and extensin), glycerol buffers, Triton X-100 microtubule stabilizing buffer, microtubule associated proteins (e.g., MAP2, MAP4, tau, big tau, ensconsin, elongation factor-1-alpha (EF-1xcex1) and E-MAP-115), cellular entities (e.g., histone H1, myelin basic protein and kinetochores), endogenous microtubular structures (e.g., axonemal structures, plugs and GTP caps), stable tubule only polypeptide (e.g., STOP145 and STOP220) and tension from mitotic forces, as well as any analogues and derivatives of any of the above. Within other embodiments, the anti-microtubule agent is formulated to further comprise a polymer.
Representative examples of inflammatory diseases which may be treated include multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, arthritis, stenosis, graft rejection, surgical adhesions, inflammatory bowel disease and inflammatory lung disease.
Within certain embodiments of the invention, the anti-microtubule agents may be formulated along with other compounds or compositions, such as, for example, an ointment, cream, lotion, gel, spray, foam, mousse, coating, wrap, paste, barrier, implant, microsphere, microparticle, film or the like. Within certain embodiments, the compound or composition may function as a carrier, which may be either polymeric, or non-polymeric. Representative examples of polymeric carriers include poly(ethylene-vinyl acetate), copolymers of lactic acid and glycolic acid, poly (caprolactone), poly (lactic acid), copolymers of poly (lactic acid) and poly (caprolactone), gelatin, hyaluronic acid, collagen matrices, celluloses and albumen. Representative examples of other suitable carriers include, but are not limited to ethanol; mixtures of ethanol and glycols (e.g., ethylene glycol or propylene glycol); mixtures of ethanol and isopropyl myristate or ethanol, isopropyl myristate and water (e.g., 55:5:40); mixtures of ethanol and eineol or D-limonene (with or without water); glycols (e.g., ethylene glycol or propylene glycol) and mixtures of glycols such as propylene glycol and water, phosphatidyl glycerol, dioleoylphosphatidyl glycerol, Transcutol(copyright), or terpinolene; mixtures of isopropyl myristate and 1-hexyl-2-pyrrolidone, N-dodecyl-2-piperidinone or 1-hexyl-2-pyrrolidone.
Within yet other aspects, the anti-microtubule agent may be formulated to be contained within, or, adapted to release by a surgical or medical device or implant, such as, for example, stents, sutures, indwelling catheters, prosthesis, and the like.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become evident upon reference to the following detailed description and attached drawings. In addition, various references are set forth below which describe in more detail certain procedures, devices or compositions, and are therefore incorporated by reference in their entirety.


A foldable element support made from planar sheet of material that can be formed by folding into a support for positioning and securing a refractor lens to a luminaire housing. The foldable element support is a planar sheet that has a central base having a central opening, a plurality of foldable securing arms formed into the central base for attaching the support to a luminaire housing, and a plurality of peripherally-arranged support flanges for supporting and positioning the upper rim of the refractor lens in proximity to the luminaire housing. The folded support can be manipulated into the folded configuration by hand, with hand tools, or by a machine.

The present invention pertains generally to a lens support for a luminaire.
A typical luminaire includes a luminaire housing that includes a housing body, a lamp socket, typically a ballast, and electrical circuitry and connections to an electric power source, and an illumination element such as a reflector or a refractor lens to direct light emitted from a lamp inserted into the lamp socket away from the luminaire and toward the illuminated area. The refractor lens typically has a domed shape, having an upper rim that defines an opening, and a lower, larger opening, through which emitted light passes. The refractor lens is positioned and secured to the luminaire housing by a refractor lens support, shown in FIG. 10 and known in the art. The prior art refractor lens support 100 typically has a circular flange 102 that can register with the inner surface of the upper support rim of the refractor lens, and a plurality of arms 104 extending upward from the circular flange that can be secured to the luminaire housing. The refractor lens can be secured to the luminaire housing by positioning the circular flange 102 of the refractor lens support against the inside of the support rim of the refractor lens. The refractor lens support typically has one or more temporary positioning tabs 106 extending from the annular rim 108 that can be manipulated with a machine tool to engage the upper edge of the support rim of the refractor lens, to temporarily fix the prior art refractor lens support 100 to the refractor lens. Once temporarily fixed to the refractor lens, the prior art refractor lens support can be secured to the luminaire housing. The prior art refractor lens support is typically pre-formed in a three-dimensional configuration by machining means well known in the art, with the circular flange curved downward from the annular rim to conform with the inside curved surface of the support rim of the refractor lens, and with the securement arms and temporary positioning tabs directed upward to engage the luminaire housing and the upper edge of the support rim, respectively.
Nevertheless, there remains a need to provide a refractor lens or reflector support that is less expensive and more energy efficient, that can be manufactured and stored more easily and cost effectively, and that does not require a substantial investment in tooling for low- and high-quantity production.

Foldable support for a domed illumination element


A thermoplastic polymer of relatively low melt temperature is blended with at least one of thermosets, elastomers, and thermoplastics of relatively high melt temperature in order to produce a polymer blend which absorbs relatively high quantities of latent heat without melting or major loss of physical and mechanical characteristics as temperature is raised above the melting temperature of the low-melt-temperature thermoplastic. The polymer blend can be modified by the addition of at least one of fillers, fibers, fire retardants, compatibilisers, colorants, and processing aids. The polymer blend may be used in applications where advantage can be taken of the absorption of excess heat by a component which remains solid and retains major fractions of its physical and mechanical characteristics while absorbing relatively high quantities of latent heat.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is generally related to polymer alloys and their applications. Particularly, the invention is directed to making polymer alloys with high heat storage capacity within room temperature and adequate engineering attributes for use in building construction.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Polymer blending has been subject of major efforts to develop new polymers of modified properties. U.S. Pat. No. 5,614,305 to Lavengood et al. discloses a blend of nylon with rubber with higher levels of impact resistance than nylon can provide. U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,546 to Abeler et al. discloses a blend of PVC with lauriltin compounds which provides improved stability upon prolonged exposure to light and heat. U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,525 discloses polymer blend compositions with improved toughness characteristics. U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,494 to Henton et al. discloses polymer blend compositions with improved resistance to heat. U.S. Pat. No. 5,391,622 to Ho et al. discloses polymer blends which exhibit high levels of electrical conductivity.
The above inventions are examples of those seeking to develop polymer blends with new combinations of properties. The polymer blend which is subject of this application is distinguished from all past inventions by the presence of thermoplastics of relatively low melt temperature (say, within the comfort range of room temperature) in the blend; said thermoplastics are absorb relatively large quantities of latent heat in the vicinity of their melt temperature. However, said thermoplastics have limited serviceability, because they soften and melt within room temperature. We have discovered that blending of said thermoplastics with thermosets or high-temperature thermoplastics can yield polymer blends with relatively high levels of strength and stiffness within room temperature (and even at elevated temperatures), where the low-melt-temperature thermoplastics still absorbs relatively large quantities of latent heat. Absorption of latent heat in said polymer blends is not accompanied with major loss of mechanical properties. Such novel polymer blends can be used in energy-efficient building construction, and also can find broader applications involving storage of excess heat.
It is an object of this invention to develop a polymer alloy with desirable physical and mechanical characteristics and relatively high heat storage capacity, that includes at least one low-melt-temperature thermoplastic capable of latent heat storage within the service temperature range and at least one thermoset (or high-melt temperature thermoplastic, or elastomer) to provide the blend with desirable physical and mechanical characteristics.
It is another object of this invention to develop polymer composites of desirable physical and mechanical characteristics and relatively high heat storage capacity, with at least one of fillers and fibers embedded within a polymer alloy that includes at least one low-melt-temperature thermoplastic capable of latent heat storage within the service temperature range.
It is another object of this invention to develop polymer alloys and composites with relatively high heat storage capacity, that remain solid within the service temperature range.
Applicant has discovered that low-melt-temperature thermoplastics, when blended with thermosets (or high-melt-temperature thermoplastics, or elastomers) can provide their latent heat storage capacity while the alloy remains solid in the vicinity of the melt temperature of said low-melt-temperature thermoplastic. Addition of fillers and reinforcement with fibers can enhance the physical and mechanical characteristics of the polymer alloy within the service range of temperature and also at elevated temperatures.
According to the invention, there is provided a polymer alloy where at least one low-melt-temperature thermoplastic provides relatively large latent heat storage capacity within the service range of temperature, and at least one of thermosets, high-melt-temperature thermoplastics, and elasomers are used in the alloy to ensure that the whole blend remains solid and provides desirable physical and mechanical characteristics within the service range of temperature. The polymer alloy can be refined through the addition of fillers, fibers, and other additives.
None.
Most materials store relatively small quantities of heat through temperature rise without phase change, and store relatively large quantities of (latent) heat with a relatively small temperature rise once they undergo phase change (e.g., melting). There are many applications where heat storage capacity of materials is an important design criterion. For example, materials capable of storage of relatively high quantities of heat within the comfort range of room temperature can benefit the energy-efficiency of buildings. There are also many electrical and mechanical applications where excess heat has to be removed (e.g., stored in other materials) within a certain temperature range in order to avoid over-heating.
Thermoplastics provide diverse melt temperatures. During melting, however, thermoplastics cease to retain the desirable physical and mechanical characteristics associated with the solid phase (e.g., strength and stiffness), and thus fail to meet such basic serviceability requirements as the ability to support or contain. The relatively high latent heat storage capacity of thermoplastics is therefore accompanied with loss of serviceability (stiffness, strength, etc.).
Applicant has discovered that blending of thermplastics of low melt temperature with thermosets (or high-melt-temperature thermoplastics, or elastomers) can yield a polymer alloy in which the low-melt-temperature thermoplastic provides its relatively high latent heat storage capacity while the thermoset (or high-melt-temperature thermoplastic, or elastomer) prevents the whole blend from melting or major loss of physical and mechanical characteristics as the melt temperature of the low-melt-temperature thermoplastic is exceeded. This polymer alloy can be modified by the addition of fillers, fibers, fire-retardants, compatibilisers, and other additives in order to tailor certain aspects of its processing and/or performance characteristics.
Different low-melt-temperautre thermoplastics, including polyethylene glycol, polycaprolactone triol, polycaprolactone diol, polyvinyl acetate, polybutyl methacrylate, poly n-butyl methacrylate, polylaurylactone, and polymethyl methacrylate can be used in the polymer alloys for latent heat storage within the service temperature of particular applications. In the case of applications with elevated service temperature, one can use thermoplastics such as acrylics and (thermoplastic) polyesters for the purpose of latent heat absorption.
Different thermosets, including epoxies, polyesters, phenolics, silicones, urethanes and urea melamine can be used in conjunction with the low-melt-temperature thermoplastics in the polymer alloys. Elastomers such as natural rubbers, polyisoprenes, neoprenes, polysiloxanes, diisocyanate polyesters, and butadiene-styrene copolymers can also be used in conjunction with low-melt-temperature thermoplastics. Depending on the service temperature of particular applications, one can also use higher-melt-temperature thermoplastics such as acetals, cellulosics, and polycarbonates in conjunction with lower-melt-temperature thermoplastics.
When at least one of thermosets, elastomers and higher-melt-temperature thermoplastics are blended with low-melt-temperature thermoplastics, the resulting polymer alloy retains the relatively high latent heat storage capacity of the low-melt-temperature themoplastics, with the alloy remaining solid as the melt temperature of the low-melt-temperature thermoplastic is exceeded. The alloy is therefore capable of substantial latent heat storage while remaining solid upon temperature rise.
Alloys of low-melt-temperature thermoplastics with at least one of thermosets, elastomers and high-melt-temperature thermoplastics can be modified by the addition of fillers, fibers, fire retardants, compatibilisers, and other additives. The polymer alloys can also be subjected to different processing techniques suiting polymers and polymer composites, including compression molding, bulk molding, filament winding, hand lay-up, injection molding, pultrusion, extrusion, reaction injection molding, resin transfer molding, sheet molding, and spray deposition.

Polymer alloys with balanced heat storage capacity and engineering attributes and applications thereof


An image processing apparatus according to an embodiment includes an acquiring unit and a determination unit. The acquiring unit acquires information of a relative position between a radiographic space where a subject is radiographed by an X-ray diagnosis apparatus and a scanning space where the subject is scanned by an ultrasound probe. The determination unit determines a position almost the same as the position scanned by the ultrasound probe in the radiographic space, according to the information of the relative position acquired by the acquiring unit. The acquiring unit acquires the information of the relative position based on an X-ray image radiographed by the X-ray diagnosis apparatus.

Conventionally, the cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been known as an example of heart failure treatment. This therapy is used for treatment of a disease in which abnormality of the impulse conduction system of the heart leads to a wrong timing of motion of the cardiac muscle surrounding a ventricle, so that core-walls of the right and left ventricles do not move at the same time, and the ventricles do not contract at the correct timing, thus causing insufficient cardiac output of the blood, for example.
In the CRT, an electrode is placed in the part where the heart hardly moves (the site of latest activation) so that the ventricles of the heart contract in a synchronized manner. Specifically, in the CRT, the site of latest activation is determined through strain analysis by using an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus, and the electrode is placed on the closest vein to the site of latest activation with reference to the X-ray image radiographed by an X-ray diagnosis apparatus.
The electrode placed as described above applies stimuli electric potential at a proper timing, whereby the cardiac muscle contracts at a proper timing and controls the motion of the ventricles. In the conventional technology, however, correct positional information of the site of latest activation in an X-ray image can be hardly obtained.

Image processing apparatus, X-ray diagnosis apparatus, and registration method


A new class of metal-exchanged, metal-impregnated zeolite catalysts has been prepared for the oxidation of halogenated organics including chlorinated, fluorinated and chloro/fluoro hydrocarbons. These catalysts are supported or unsupported, comprising from 0 weight percent, hereinafter wt.%, to about 95 wt. % of a binder, from about 10 wt. % to about 95 wt. % of a metal-exchanged zeolite, and from about 0.2 wt. % to about 12 wt. % of an impregnating metal compound, said percentage being calculated as the metal loading on an oxide basis, where the metal in the metal-exchanged zeolite can be selected from the representative and illustrative group consisting of V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Fe, Mo, and Mn and the impregnating metal compound can be selected from the representative and illustrative group consisting of compounds of Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Mo, Pd, and Pt. A process for making the catalysts and a process for the oxidation of the halogenated organics are disclosed which occur at relatively low temperatures, from about 100.degree. C. to about 650.degree. C., and at pressures near atmospheric and for residence times from about 0.01 seconds to about 20 seconds.

Halogenated organics, including volatile and nonvolatile chlorinated, fluorinated and chloro-fluoro hydrocarbons, represent a considerable health and environmental risk. The destruction of these compounds normally requires high temperature oxidation in the presence of a supported catalyst such as chromium oxide supported on alumina or other types of supports. Hunter et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,513 has reported a process using a fluid bed reactor and chromium oxide catalyst impregnated on alumina for a process for burning catalytically chlorinated hydrocarbons including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB). His apparatus requires a continuously fluidized bed of catalytic particles and is accomplished at a temperature range between 460.degree. C.-745.degree. C.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,423,024 Wolford described the oxidation of saturated aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide and hydrogen chloride over a molecular sieve catalyst in the temperature range between about 180.degree. C. to about 400.degree. C. The catalyst was made of any type of molecular sieve type catalyst including such catalysts as zeolites and other shape selective or shape restricted catalytic compositions.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,806, Hyatt teaches the use of a copper exchanged zeolite in a process to recover chlorine values from essentially perchlorinated hydrocarbons. This reaction involves the controlled oxidation of the chlorinated hydrocarbons in such a way as to optimize the recovery of chlorine gas. The invention was primarily geared toward the recovery of chlorine from the bottoms (high boiling by-products) produced during certain chlorination reactions.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,807, Johnston described the use of chromium impregnated supports for a process to recover chlorine values from chlorinated organics especially perchlorinated organics. Like Hyatt, this process was geared toward recovering chlorine primarily from perchlorinated hydrocarbons in a temperature range from below 500.degree. C. or typically below 450.degree. C.
The above catalysts and processes involve either the use of exchanged zeolites for oxidation of chlorinated organics or the use of metal-exchanged zeolites or metal-impregnated zeolites for the recovery of chlorine from essentially perchlorinated hydrocarbons. Further, the above processes dealt mostly with fluidized reactors and fluidizable catalysts. Therefore, the catalysts were normally in the form of pure zeolite powders or finely divided particulates not suitable for fixed bed reactors.
Although zeolites (U.S. Pat. No. 4,423,024) were used to destroy chlorinated organics, exchanging the natural catalytic sites of a zeolite can so alter the catalytic behavior of the zeolite as to shut down reaction pathways that would have occurred without exchange. Thus, the mere fact that the unexchanged zeolite could be used to destroy chlorinated hydrocarbons, albeit less efficiently compared with the catalysts of the present invention, in no way suggests that exchanged zeolites would function analogously.

Catalysts for the destruction of halogenated organics


Methods, devices and systems provide improved detection, sensing and identification of objects using modulated polarized beams. An example polarization sensitive device includes an illumination source, and a modulator coupled to the illumination source to produce output beams in which polarization states or polarization parameters of the output beams are modulated to produce a plurality of modulated polarized beams. The device further includes a polarization sensitive detector positioned to receive a reflected portion of modulated polarized beams after reflection from an object and to produce information that is indicative of modulation and polarization states of the received beams. The information can be used to enable a determination of a distance between the polarization sensitive device and the object, or a determination of a polarization-specific characteristic of the object.

Optical detection and sensing techniques find applications in a variety of fields, including 3-dimensional imaging, metrology, navigation, medical imaging and diagnosis, microscopy and many more. In active illumination systems, a light source is used to illuminate an object of interest, and a detector or sensor receives the reflected light to perform detection and sensing. These systems may use different types of light sources, having different spectral bands or intensities. In some systems, the light source can have a particular polarization, which is detected upon reflection from the object. The use of polarized light can provide additional information about the object or the scene to augment the information obtained based on non-polarized illumination. The disclosed embodiments provide improved methods and devices for detection and sensing that utilize polarized light sources.

Polarization sensitive devices, methods and applications

ARIZONA BOARD OF REGENTS ON BEHALF OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA


A method for forming CMOS devices on a semiconductor substrate is disclosed in which gate structures are formed within both the core region and the non-core region of the semiconductor substrate. The gate structures include a gate dielectric layer and a gate film stack that includes a conductive layer and an overlying hard mask. The hard mask is then removed from the gate structures in the non-core region. A salicide process is then performed so as to form a silicide layer in the non-core region. A barrier layer is formed that extends over the core region and a pre-metal dielectric film is formed that extends over the barrier layer. A selective etch process is performed so as to form self-aligned contact openings that extend through the pre-metal dielectric film and through the barrier layer in the core region. These openings are then filled with conductive material to form self-aligned contacts in the core region. This produces a CMOS device in the core region that has high device density and includes high-speed CMOS devices the non-core region.

In sub-micron Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) manufacturing self-aligned contact (SAC) technology has been successfully used to achieve chip size reduction. In conventional SAC processes structures that are to be connected with overlying layers using a self-aligned contact are closely spaced on the semiconductor substrate. A silicon nitride barrier layer is formed over the structure that is to be contacted. A pre-metal dielectric film of oxide or doped oxide is then deposited over the barrier layer. A selective etch is then performed to form contact openings that extend through the pre-metal dielectric layer. This etch stops on the barrier layer. The exposed portions of the barrier layer are then removed, exposing the structure that is to be contacted. A metal layer is then deposited and planarized to complete the self-aligned contact. The etch stop layer prevents over-etch, aligning the contact with the structure to be contacted and preventing current leakage that could result from improper alignment.
SAC processes allow for the formation of closely spaced structures, giving high density semiconductor devices. However, the speed of devices formed with SAC processes is significantly less than the speed of devices formed with non-SAC processes. Accordingly, there is a need for CMOS devices that have both high density and high speed. Also, there is a need for a process for forming CMOS devices that have both high density and high speed. The present invention meets the above needs.

Method for forming cmos device with self-aligned contacts and region formed using salicide process


A chair comprising a supporting structure having a seat and a backrest, in which the backrest comprises a deformable resting portion made of plastic material which has a non-planar resting surface provided with at least one weakened area which enables an elastic deformation of the resting portion so that the resting portion assumes a configuration bent backwards under the action of a thrust applied backwards by the user, two uprights formed integrally on the lateral sides of the resting portion, and two side connection elements, which connect the backrest to the supporting structure, formed integrally at the bottom ends of the uprights. The backrest is provided with elastic stiffening elements made of a material different from the material constituting the resting portion and arranged only in an area corresponding to the uprights so as to bestow upon said uprights a rigidity to bending higher than that of the resting portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chair comprising a supporting structure having a seat and a backrest, in which the backrest comprises:
a deformable resting portion made of plastic material having a non-planar resting surface and provided with at least one weakened area that enables elastic deformation of the resting portion so that the resting portion assumes a configuration bent backwards under the action of a thrust applied backwards by the user;
two uprights formed integrally on the lateral sides of the resting portion; and
two side connection elements that connect the backrest to the supporting structure and are formed integrally at the bottom ends of the uprights.
2. Description of the Related Art
A chair of this type is known from the document No. EP-A-1557115, filed in the name of the present applicant. In the prior art chair, the backwards inclination of the backrest consists in part of an elastic deformation of the resting portion of the backrest and in part of a movement or a deformation of the connection elements that connect the backrest to the supporting structure. The resting portion and the side uprights of the backrest are made of a single injection-moulded plastic material. In the prior art chair, it is important to use for the production of the backrest a plastic material with good characteristics of rigidity in order to ensure the return of the backrest in the undeformed position when the thrust applied backwards by the user ceases. The plastic material used for the production of the backrest must moreover ensure that the backrest exerts a sufficient elastic thrust on the back of the user in the deformed position, given that the elastic reaction of the backrest has a marked impact from the standpoint of comfort.
To meet the aforesaid needs, the chair known from the document No. EP-A-1557115 must be made of a plastic material with high elastic properties, for example nylon.
To reduce the cost of production of the chair, it would be desirable to use a less costly plastic material, for example polypropylene. However, a less costly plastic material, such as for example polypropylene, would not present the elastic properties sufficient for guaranteeing proper operation of the backrest and the desired characteristics of comfort.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,669,301 discloses a chair comprising a seat and a backrest, both formed by a panel made of flexible plastic material, preferably polypropylene. The panel constituting the seat or the backrest is provided with a plurality of weakened areas constituted by through cuts. The panel comprises a continuous perimetral frame made of a second plastic material with a higher rigidity than that of the material constituting the panel. However, the continuous perimetral frame prevents the backrest from assuming a configuration bent backwards under the action of a thrust applied backwards by the user.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive chair that will overcome the drawbacks of the prior art.


An imager includes an array of pixel sensors. Each pixel sensor indicates at least two different primary color components of an image. For each pixel sensor, at least two storage locations are located in the array and store the indications from the pixel sensor.

The invention relates to an imager.
Referring to FIG. 1, a typical digital camera 12 uses an imager 18 to electrically capture an optical image 11. To accomplish this, the imager 18 typically includes an array 13 (see FIG. 2) of photon sensing, pixel sensors 20. During an integration interval, each pixel sensor 20 typically measures the intensity of a portion, or pixel, of a representation of the image 11 that is focused (by optics of the camera 12) onto the array 13. At the expiration of the integration interval, each sensor 20 typically indicates (via an analog signal, such as a voltage, for example) an intensity of light of the pixel.
The camera 12 typically processes the indications from the pixel sensors 20 to form a frame of digital data (which digitally represents the captured image) and transfers the frame (via a serial bus 15, for example) to a computer 14 for processing. For video, the camera 12 may capture several optical images and furnish several frames of data, each of which indicates one of the captured images. The computer 14 may then use the frames to recreate the captured video on a display 9.
Referring to FIG. 2, the sensors 20 are typically arranged in rows and columns. In this manner, after the expiration of the integration interval, row 24 and column 22 decoders (of the imager 18) may begin selectively, electrically selecting the sensors 20 to retrieve the indications from the sensors 20.
The decoders 22 and 24 route the selected indications to signal conditioning circuitry 26 which might include, for example, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and circuitry to compensate for noise that is introduced by the sensors 20. The signal conditioning circuitry 26 may furnish data signals to an output interface 28 which includes circuitry for interfacing the imager 18 to other circuitry of the camera 12. A control unit 30 may coordinate the above-described activities of the imager 18.
Typically, a multi-color mosaic filter (not shown) covers the array 13 and configures each sensor 20 to sense the intensity of a primary color component of the associated pixel. For example, for the set of red, green and blue primary colors, the filter may cause each sensor 20 to sense either a red, green or blue primary color component of the pixel. Thus, with this arrangement, each sensor 20 only senses one primary color component of the pixel. However, for true color imaging, it may be desirable to obtain the other primary color components of the pixel.
Typically, the missing primary color components are obtained through interpolation. Using interpolation, the missing primary color components for a given pixel are derived by interpolating color components from the nearest pixels (adjacent, for example), or "nearest neighbors." For example, if a given sensor 20 senses a green component of a pixel, the red primary color component for that pixel may be interpolated from the information provided by neighboring sensors 20 that sense red primary color components. However, the interpolation only provides estimates (and not the actual values) of the missing color components.
Thus, there is a continuing need for an imager that provides actual primary color components of each pixel.

Imager having multiple storage locations for each pixel sensor


In a magnetic head which can be mounted in large number on a rotating drum in large number and cope with a highfrequency band, a leading core and a trailing core can be easily discriminated from each other, and the type of a magnetic head can be easily identified. There is disclosed a magnetic head including a pair of magnetic head halfmembers obtained by forming magnetic metal layers serving as magnetic cores on a part on a nonmagnetic substrate and a thinfilm coil buried in the pair of magnetic head halfmembers, the pair of magnetic head halfmembers being joined to each other through a magnetic gap formed between the magnetic metal layer of one magnetic head halfmember and the magnetic metal layer of the other magnetic head halfmember, wherein an identification groove is formed in one magnetic head halfmember, and the formed identification groove makes the appearances of the pair of magnetic head halfmembers asymmetrical.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic head being suitable for a video cassette recorder, a video tape recorder, a magnetic disk apparatus, or the like and, more particularly, to a magnetic head having a coil which is formed by a thinfilm process.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a magnetic head used in a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus such as a video cassette recorder, a video tape recorder, or a magnetic disk apparatus, a metalingap (MIG) type magnetic head in which a magnetic metal film is formed on a magnetic gap forming surface of a magnetic core consisting of ferrite or a socalled laminate type magnetic head in which a magnetic metal film is sandwiched by a pair of nonmagnetic ceramic substrates, and the like are in practical use.
The magnetic head copes with improvement on image quality or progressing of digitalization. For this reason, the magnetic head must exhibit preferable electromagnetic conversion characteristics in a highfrequency band to obtain highdensity recording performance. However, the MIG type magnetic head is not preferably used in a highfrequency band because its high impedance. In the laminate type magnetic head, a magnetic metal film constituting a magnetic path must be decreased in thickness when a track width is reduced for highdensity recording, and, therefore, reproducing efficiency is degraded.
As in a helicalscantype magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus, in a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus in which a recording/reproducing operation is performed while a magnetic head is rotated, the magnetic head is mounted on a rotating drum. At this time, in a MIG type magnetic head or a laminate type magnetic head, a magnetic head is adhered to a terminal plate, and the terminal plate is fixed to a rotating drum, thereby mounting the magnetic head on the rotating drum. Here, the terminal plate includes a terminal corresponding to a lead line extending from a coil wound on the magnetic core of the magnetic head. The coil wound on the magnetic core and an external circuit are rendered conductive to each other through the terminal plate.
In a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus in which a magnetic head is mounted on a rotating drum as described above, in order to increase a data transfer rate, a large number of magnetic heads are desirably mounted on a small rotating drum.
However, a terminal plate generally has a large size. For this reason, according to the method in which a magnetic head is adhered to a terminal plate and fixed thereto, and the magnetic head is mounted on a rotating drum as described above, a large number of magnetic heads cannot be easily mounted on a small rotating drum. More specifically, since an MIG type magnetic head or a laminate type magnetic head requires a terminal plate when the head is mounted on the rotating drum, the magnetic heads mounted on the rotating drum are limited in number.
As a magnetic head which solves the problem on the MIG type magnetic head or the laminate type magnetic head described above and copes with a highfrequency band, for example, as described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 63231713, a magnetic head (to be referred to as a bulk thinfilm head hereinafter) in which a magnetic path constituted by a magnetic metal layer is made small, and a coil for driving a magnetic head is formed by using a thinfilm process is proposed.
As shown in FIG. 1, a bulk thinfilm head 100 includes a magnetic head halfmember 103a in which a magnetic metal layer 102a serving as a magnetic core is formed on a part on a nonmagnetic substrate 101a and, similarly, a magnetic head halfmember 103b in which a magnetic metal layer 102b serving as a magnetic core is formed on a part on a nonmagnetic substrate 101b. One pair of magnetic head halfmembers 103a and 103b are joined to each other such that the magnetic metal layer 102a of one magnetic head halfmember 103a opposes the magnetic metal layer 102b of the magnetic head halfmember 103b through a magnetic gap g1.
In the bulk thinfilm head 100, thinfilm coils are buried into one pair of magnetic head halfmembers 103a and 103b to be wound on the magnetic metal layers 102a and 102b. External connection terminals 104a and 104b extending from the thinfilm coils are formed to be exposed on the side surface of the bulk thinfilm head 100.
In the bulk thinfilm head, in addition to excellent characteristics in a highfrequency band, the coils for driving the magnetic head are buried in the magnetic head halfmembers serving as the thinfilm coils. For this reason, the magnetic head can be directly mounted on the rotating drum without using a terminal plate. More specifically, in the bulk thinfilm head, the coil for driving the magnetic head is constituted by the thinfilm coil buried in the magnetic head, and the terminal extending from the thinfilm coil is formed to be exposed outside the magnetic head. For this reason, the magnetic head can be mounted on the rotating drum without using a terminal plate. Therefore, in the bulk thinfilm head, a large number of magnetic heads can be mounted on a small rotating drum.
In a conventional MIG type magnetic head or a conventional laminate type magnetic head, when a magnetic head is adhered to a terminal plate and fixed thereto, the left and right winding guide grooves for winding a coil for driving the magnetic head are made different from each other to prevent the magnetic head from being erroneously adhered to the adhering surface of the terminal plate.
More specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 2 which shows an example of the MIG type magnetic head, the width of a winding guide groove 111a formed in one magnetic core 110a is increased, and the width of a winding guide groove 111b formed in the other magnetic core 110b is decreased. In this manner, a leading core serving as a magnetic core on the side on which a magnetic recording medium advances during a recording/reproducing operation can be discriminated from a trailing core serving as the other magnetic core.
In contrast to this, in a bulk thinfilm head, since a thinfilm head serving as a coil for driving a magnetic head is used, no winding guide groove is required. Therefore, in the bulk thinfilm head, the shape of the leading core and the shape of the trailing core are symmetrical. For this reason, in the bulk thinfilm head, it is disadvantageously difficult to discriminate the leading core from the trailing core.
In the MIG type magnetic head or the laminate type magnetic head, when the color or the like of the terminal plate is changed, different types of magnetic heads, i.e., magnetic heads respectively having different azimuths, can be discriminated from each other.
On the other hand, a large number of magnetic heads can be mounted on a small rotating drum without using terminal plates. However, when the magnetic heads are to be directly mounted on the rotating drum without using terminal plates, the types of the magnetic heads cannot be discriminated from each other depending on the colors or the like of terminal plates.

Magnetic head with groove positioned to identify head orientation


Disclosed herein are a mask for forming a landing plug contact hole to vertically expose an active region of a semiconductor substrate to a bit line or storage node contact, and a plug forming method using the same. Through the use of the crescent-shaped masks, it is possible to increase the critical dimension at a lower end of the resultant contact hole in contact with an active region of a semiconductor substrate, thereby enabling exposure of a wider area of the active region to be connected with the bit line or storage node contact.

1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to a method for forming plugs of a semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to a mask for forming a landing plug contact hole to vertically expose an active region of a semiconductor substrate to a bit line or storage node contact, and a plug forming method using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as design rules for semiconductor devices become smaller and the semiconductor devices become integrated with higher density, the size of the memory cells is gradually decreasing.
Achieving such a high-density integration of semiconductor devices requires vast studies of novel materials associated with lithography, cell structure and wiring, and of physical property limits associated with insulation layers, etc. In addition, there exists a need to gradually decrease the critical dimension (CD) of a bit line or storage node contact.
FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a mask pattern for forming landing plug contact holes in accordance with the prior art.
Referring to FIG. 1, a semiconductor substrate includes device active regions 10 and device inactive regions 12. A plurality of lines, i.e. gate electrodes 14, are formed on the semiconductor substrate at a constant interval. In this case, the active regions 10 between the gate electrodes 14 form contact areas e and f to be connected with bit lines or storage node contacts. In the prior art, as shown in FIG. 1, I-shaped linear masks 16 are used to form landing plug contact holes to expose contact areas e and f of the active regions 10 to the bit lines or storage node contacts.
FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the arrangement of landing plugs, bit lines and storage node contacts embedded in inter-insulation layers in accordance with the prior art. Now, a prior art method for forming bit lines and storage node contacts based on landing plugs embedded in contact holes of an inter-insulation layer will be explained with reference to FIG. 2.
In the prior art method, first, each device active region 10 of the semiconductor substrate is etched in a shallow trench isolation (STI) manner to form an associated device in the active region 12 as a device isolation layer is embedded in the resultant trench. Then, a cell transistor, including the gate electrodes 14, is formed on the semiconductor substrate, and a first inter-insulation layer 18 is formed to cover the overall upper surface of the semiconductor substrate formed with the cell transistor. The first inter-insulation layer 18, for example, is formed of an undoped silicate glass (USG) layer, boro phospho silicate glass (BPSG) layer, or the like.
The first inter-insulation layer 18, supported on the bottom semiconductor substrate, is etched by means of the I-shaped linear masks 16, thereby forming contact holes to expose the contact areas e and f of the active regions 10 between the gate electrodes 14.
Then, the contact holes of the first inter-insulation layer 18 are gap-filled with doped poly-silicon to form a conductive layer, and the resultant conductive layer is flattened by means of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), etc. In this way, the first inter-insulation layer 18 is provided with landing plugs 24 embedded in the contact holes to be vertically connected to the bit lines or storage node contacts.
Subsequently, a second inter-insulation layer 28 is deposited on the first inter-insulation layer 18, and is partially etched to form bit line contact holes (not-shown) for the interconnection of the semiconductor substrate and bit lines.
Thereby, each multi-layer bit line 26 is formed on an upper surface of the second inter-insulation layer 28 by, for example, stacking a barrier metallic layer 26a, a bit line metallic layer 26b and a hard mask 26c in sequence, and patterning the same. After completing formation of the bit line 26, a third inter-insulation layer 30 is deposited on the overall upper surface of the second inter-insulation layer 28 to cover the bit line 26. The third inter-insulation layer 30, for forming storage node contacts, is formed of a boro-phospho silicate glass (BPSG) layer, high density plasma (HDP) oxide layer, or the like.
The third inter-insulation layer 30 is partially etched to form contact holes to be connected with the landing plugs 24 located there below. Then, the contact holes of the third inter-insulation layer 30 are gap-filled with doped poly-silicon to form a conductive layer, and the resultant conductive layer is flattened by means of chemical mechanical polishing, or the like, thereby forming storage node contacts 32 in the third inter-insulation layer 30. The resultant upper portion is provided with a storage node etching stop layer 34 and a sacrificial insulation layer 36 in sequence. Here, the sacrificial insulation layer 36, for example, is formed of a silicon nitride layer, or silicon oxide layer.
Subsequently, both the storage node etching stop layer 34 and the sacrificial insulation layer 36 are partially etched to form storage node receiving openings. The storage node receiving openings are embedded with doped poly-silicon to form a conductive layer, and the resultant conductive layer is flattened by means of chemical mechanical polishing or other etching processes, thereby forming storage node electrodes 38.
One problem of the prior art semiconductor device configured as stated above is that, due to the etching slope, each landing plug 24, to vertically connect each active region with an associated bit line or storage node contact, has an insufficiently narrow critical dimension (CD) at the lower surface thereof in contact with the active region of the semiconductor substrate, although it has a wide critical dimension at its upper surface which is in contact with the second inter-insulation layer 28. As a result, as clearly explained in FIG. 2, if the active region 10 between both the adjacent inactive regions 12 has a width A, the landing plug 24 comes into contact with the active region 10 only over a width C, while a width B remains is in a non-contact state.
Another problem of the prior art is that, in the etching of landing plug contact holes using the prior art I-shaped linear masks, the contact holes associated with the bit lines are aligned linearly with the other contact holes associated with the storage node contacts, thereby causing only approximately 60% of the overall surface area of the contact holes to be exposed to the active regions. In this case, the contact holes for the bit lines occupy the remaining 40% of the area.
If the landing plug contact holes associated with the bit lines or storage node contacts are inaccurately etched to be exposed to the inactive regions of the semiconductor substrate, it inevitably results in defective contact between the active regions of the semiconductor substrate and the bit lines or storage node contacts, making it impossible to achieve a desired threshold voltage margin of a cell transistor and cause current leakage.

Mask for forming landing plug contact hole and plug forming method using the same


Various examples of methods, systems, and apparatus are provided for monitoring using an improved mouth guard apparatus. In one example, a battery-free diagnostic mouth guard includes a biting force-voltage transducer comprising a piezoelectric film; a compact resonance tank comprising a wireless sensor; and a transmitting antenna for transmitting sensing data. A piezo-voltage from the biting force-voltage transducer can bias a varactor diode loaded on the wireless sensor whose response frequency is tuned due to a capacitance change of the varactor diode. In some implementations, an external processing equipment can wirelessly detect a frequency shift of the varactor diode integrated resonator. In another example, a method includes detecting a biting force via a biting force-voltage transducer; biasing a varactor diode with a voltage from the transducer; tuning a response frequency of a split ring resonator using a capacitance change of the varactor diode; and emitting sensing data at the response frequency.

Bruxism involves the activities of grinding or clenching the teeth without functional purposes. Bruxism is one of the main contributors to temporomandibular disorder (TMD) and associated with chronic jaw pain and headache. As the second most common musculoskeletal pain, TMD affects about 10% of the general United States population. Intraoral sensing is of great interest for dentistry pathologies. Biting force measurement can be used for bruxism detection and management.

Wireless battery-free diagnostic mouth guard

University of Florida Research Foundation, Incorporated


A backlight assembly having lamp sockets and a side mold is provided. The backlight assembly includes a lamp emitting light, a lamp socket into which the lamp is inserted, and a side mold having at least one portion of a bottom surface thereof opened and including a supporting portion, a side wall formed at one side of the supporting portion, a sloping portion inclined downwardly at a side opposite to the supporting portion, and at least one socket connection portion receiving the lamp socket.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a side mold, a backlight assembly having the same, a method thereof, and a liquid crystal display ("LCD") having the backlight assembly, and more particularly, to a backlight assembly having a lamp socket and a side mold, a method of assembling the backlight assembly, an LCD having the backlight assembly, and a side mold included in the backlight assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display ("LCD") includes an LCD panel having two substrates having a plurality of electrodes thereon and a liquid crystal layer interposed there between and controls the transmittance of incident light by applying voltages to the electrodes to rearrange liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer. A backlight assembly supplying the LCD panel with light is disposed below the LCD panel. The backlight assembly is classified into an edge-type and a direct-type according to the position of a light source within the backlight assembly. In an edge-type backlight assembly, a plurality of lamps used as the light source are arranged at lateral sides of a bottom chassis. In a direct-type backlight assembly, a plurality of lamps used as the light source are arranged on the bottom surface of a bottom chassis.
In the direct-type backlight assembly, the plurality of lamps are inserted into corresponding lamp sockets so as to be engaged with the bottom chassis. A side mold covers the top surface of the lamp sockets into which the plurality of lamps are inserted. Some of the lamp sockets protrude toward the rear surface of the bottom chassis to be electrically connected with a power supply.
Since the lamp sockets are separate from one another, their positions may fluctuate randomly, which impairs structural stability of the backlight assembly. In addition, the work of inserting the lamps into the respective lamp sockets should be accurately controlled, leading to an increase in time required for assembly.

Side mold, backlight assembly having the same, method thereof, and liquid crystal display having the backlight assembly


A grommet is formed having a funnel shaped portion and a tubular portion linked to a small diameter end portion of the funnel shaped portion. The grommet is inserted to an aperture of a car body panel after a wire harness is passed through and attached to the funnel shaped portion and the tubular portion, and a body latch groove provided on the external circumferential surface of the funnel shaped portion is latched to the car body panel. An extended tubular portion is provided that projects from the tubular portion, and extends inside the funnel shaped portion. A plurality of ribs is provided on an external circumferential surface of the extended tubular portion. The ribs include type one ribs having grooves on both surfaces of an element linking the rib to the extended tubular portion, and a type two rib having no groove.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a grommet for mounting on a wire harness to be wired in automobiles, and a method of forming the grommet.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known in the art to mount a grommet on a wire harness wired from an engine compartment to a passenger compartment of an automobile. Such a grommet is mounted to an aperture of a car body panel that separates a passenger compartment from an engine compartment of the automobile. The grommet protects the wire harness passing through the aperture and provides protection from water and dust, as well as sound insulation between the engine compartment and the passenger compartment.
Several grommets of this general type are known in the art. An example of such a grommet is described in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication 2004-187357 and shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B of the present application. The grommet 1 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B includes a tubular or funnel shaped portion 2 having a gradually widening diameter and a tubular portion 3 linked to the smaller diameter end part of the funnel shaped portion 2. A body latch groove portion 4 is provided in the larger diameter end part of the funnel shaped portion 2, and fixes the grommet to a car body panel. An extended tubular portion 5 projecting from the tubular portion 3, which extends inside the funnel shaped portion 2, is provided. Anti-turn-up ribs 6 are arranged at 90 degree intervals, extending from the external circumferential surface of the extended tubular portion 5. A plurality of rib portions 2a are provided on the external surface of the funnel shaped portion 2. These rib portions 2a extend and radiate from the body latch groove portion 4 to the part of the funnel shaped portion 2 where the funnel shaped portion 2 joins the tubular portion 3. The wire harness W/H passes through the tubular portion 3 into the space inside the funnel shaped portion 2 of the grommet 1. The wire harness W/H is then fixed by a tape T at the end section of the tubular portion 3.
A wire harness W/H filled with a water sealing agent is passed through and tightly attached to the extended tubular portion 5, which extends inside the funnel shaped portion 2. Thereby, the wire harness has the function of a water sealing portion. Accordingly, having the extended tubular portion projecting into the funnel shaped portion, which surrounds the water sealing portion, enables the tubular portion extending from the funnel shaped portion to flex easily along with the wire harness. Flexibility in wiring and routing is thus improved. Further, reinforcing the extended tubular portion with the anti-turn-up rib prevents the extended tubular portion from turning up, and the sealing between the extended tubular portion and the wire harness is substantially kept intact. Further, the anti-turn-up rib is reinforced by being linked to the funnel shaped portion, deformation of the funnel shaped portion is thus avoided, and deformation of the body latch groove portion on the external circumferential surface can be prevented. Thereby, the gripping force attaching the grommet to the car body panel is further improved.
The grommet shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B has the above mentioned various advantages by providing an extended tubular portion that extends inside the funnel shaped portion, along with providing anti-turn-up ribs that extend and radiate on the external circumferential surface, the ribs being linked to the internal surface of the funnel shaped portion. As shown in FIG. 7, however, a problem arises when a wire harness is passed through the grommet 1. Specifically, when a wire harness is inserted into the grommet 1, expander fingers 101 of an expander 100 are placed inside the grommet 1, and then gradually expanded therein. The wire harness is inserted in a condition where the tubular portion 3 and the extended tubular portion 5 of the grommet 1 are expanded.
Expanding the diameter of the grommet using the expander fingers is difficult since the extended tubular portion 5 and the funnel shaped portion 2 are linked by ribs 6. Thus, it is difficult to expand the grommet to the required size.
The above stated problem can be solved by disconnecting a linking portion of the extended tubular portion 5 and the rib 6, or a linking portion of the rib 6 and the funnel shaped portion 2. However, without linking the rib 6 and the funnel shaped portion 2, deformation of the funnel shaped portion 2 cannot be controlled, which leads to a decrease of the gripping force when the grommet is attached to the car body panel. Further, when the linking portion between the rib 6 and the extended tubular portion 5 is eliminated, reinforcement for the extended tubular portion becomes insufficient, which causes the following problems: the extended tubular portion may be turned up easily and the water sealing function deteriorates. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, providing a notch 7 to the linking portion between the rib 6 and the extended portion 5 to reduce the size of the linking portion is considered.
However, when the rib 6 is configured as shown in FIG. 8, a problem arises: when the grommet 1 is formed, its removal from a metal mold becomes difficult. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the grommet 1 is formed by using a metal mold 100 including an upper mold 101, a center mold 102, a lower mold 103 and a center core 104. The grommet is formed by filling the grommet forming material made of rubber or elastomer in the metal mold 100. Then, the upper, center, lower molds 101 through 103 are removed. Next, air is injected between the center core 104 and the grommet 1 using an air gun 120 so that the grommet 1 is expanded, and then the expanded grommet 1 is removed from the center core 104. In the process of the grommet 1 removal, air injected by the air gun 120 flows into the extended tubular portion 5, however, the air is not supplied between the center core 104 and a funnel shaped portion 2 of the grommet 1. As a result, the funnel shaped portion 2 of the grommet 1 cannot be sufficiently expanded, therefore, the grommet 1 cannot be removed from the center core 104.

Grommet and forming method for the grommet


A cell (1), and a transmission network formed from a plurality thereof, for communicating information at directional radio frequencies. The cell includes a first transmitter (2) for transmitting radio frequency information in a first direction (4) to define a first reception footprint (6) substantially within the cell (1). The cell (1) also includes a second transmitter (10) for transmitting radio frequency information in a second direction (12) substantially opposed to the first direction to define a second reception footprint (13) substantially overlapping the first reception footprint (6). The first and second transmitters are disposed at or adjacent a periphery (8) of the cell (1) at positions substantially opposed to each other.

LMCS/LMDS networks comprise a plurality of suitably arranged and configured transmitters operating on a frequency assignment basis. Such networks typically operate using QAM, QPSK, or some other digital modulation scheme. The networks are designed to minimise problems of intersymbol interference (ISI) at receiving sites where two or more signals could potentially be received.
There are a number of frequency assignment techniques known to the industry including:    (1) frequency division, in which an allocated spectrum is divided to form sets of frequencies which are applied to a cell structure in such a fashion that adjacent nearby cells operate on sufficiently different frequencies to avoid ISI;    (2) signal polarisation, which can effectively create or extend the number of available frequencies; and    (3) half channel interleaving, which can be used with some modulation schemes to allow a particular frequency to be reused in nearly adjacent cells.
It has been proposed to carry multiple video channels on such systems. In some countries, one or more bands around 26, 27 or 28 GHz have been reserved, whilst in others, the reserved bands are around 38 to 40 GHz. At these frequencies, the propagation of radio waves is relatively directional.


We disclose an apparatus and process for measuring the Formation Gas Pore Pressure in drilling cuttings samples in the test tube. The Apparatus consist of vertical holder for test tube, for placing the cutting sample and pipette for adding measurable quantity of liquid. (Note: “vertical holder for test tube and test tube” are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/711,435 Horizontal Binocular Microscope for vertically gravitated and floating samples). The process consist in measuring the gas bubbles size and volume in the test tube and the height of liquid covering the bubble. This we can calculate the volume and the pressure of the gas emitted out of the pores. By adding/subtracting more liquid to the sample and increasing/decreasing the height and the pressure of the liquid on the pore the test is repeated and the measurements documented in the tables for math processing to obtain the error corrections and standard deviation of the measurements. The results are expressed in Emission=V/P=mm3/Pa, Total Volume=V=mm3, Maximum Pressure=P=Pa.

During the drilling of the well, mud is circulating downhill and brings up the formation cuttings of the strata penetrated at this time. After the lag time, which comprises of the annular velocity and the depth of the well, the cuttings arrive to the surface. At the surface the sample catcher devise, disclosed by the author in patented U.S. Pat. No. 6,386,026 B1 May 14, 2002, is capturing the material and at this time the apparatus and process disclosed in this invention are measuring the physical, physical-chemical and petrochemical properties of the formation.
Conventionally grinding the sample or steaming it and measuring the gas extracted by using Gas Detectors with catalytic combustion sensors do some of the cutting gas extraction. We disclose the ways to obtain the Emission=V/P=mm3/Pa, Total Volume=V=mm3, Maximum Pressure=P=Pa of the samples of the drilled strata.

Formation gas pore pressure evaluation on drilling cuttings samples


A method, system, and computer-readable storage medium are disclosed for rendering a scene with a simulated depth of field blur. In one embodiment, the scene comprises a plurality of polygons, each polygon comprises a respective plurality of vertices, and each of the vertices has a respective depth. A respective blur radius may be determined for each vertex of each polygon as a function of the depth of the vertex. A respective blur radius may be determined for each pixel in each polygon based on the blur radii for the vertices of the polygon. Each pixel in each polygon may be rendered using the respective blur radius determined for the pixel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to computer systems; and more particularly, it is directed to the simulation of depth of field effects using computer systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the power and complexity of personal computer systems increase, graphics operations are increasingly being performed using dedicated graphics rendering devices referred to as graphics processing units (GPUs). As used herein, the terms "graphics processing unit" and "graphics processor" are used interchangeably. GPUs are often used in removable graphics cards that are coupled to a motherboard via a standardized bus (e.g., AGP or PCI Express). GPUs may also be used in game consoles and in integrated graphics solutions (e.g., for use in some portable computers and lower-cost desktop computers). Although GPUs vary in their capabilities, they may typically be used to perform such tasks as rendering of two-dimensional (2D) graphical data, rendering of three-dimensional (3D) graphical data, accelerated rendering of graphical user interface (GUI) display elements, and digital video playback. A GPU may implement one or more application programmer interfaces (APIs) that permit programmers to invoke the functionality of the GPU.
A GPU may include various built-in and configurable structures for rendering digital images to an imaging device. Digital images may include raster graphics, vector graphics, or a combination thereof. Raster graphics data (also referred to herein as bitmaps) may be stored and manipulated as a grid of individual picture elements called pixels. A bitmap may be characterized by its width and height in pixels and also by the number of bits per pixel. Commonly, a color bitmap defined in the RGB (red, green blue) color space may comprise between one and eight bits per pixel for each of the red, green, and blue channels. An alpha channel may be used to store additional data such as per-pixel transparency values.
Vector graphics data may be stored and manipulated as one or more geometric objects built with geometric primitives. The geometric primitives (e.g., points, lines, polygons, Bézier curves, text characters, etc.) may be based upon mathematical equations to represent parts of vector graphics data in digital images. The geometric objects may typically be located in two-dimensional or three-dimensional space. An object in three-dimensional space may lie on a plane referred to as a layer. To render vector graphics on raster-based imaging devices (e.g., most display devices and printers), the geometric objects are typically converted to raster graphics data in a process called rasterization.
In rendering digital images, the use of depth of field effects may be desired. In traditional photography, a depth of field blur may result from the inability of a camera lens to keep all the elements of the photograph in focus simultaneously. Consequently, elements that are out of focus may be blurred. It may be desirable to simulate such a depth of field effect in a digital image.
In one prior approach to rendering digital images using a depth of field blur, scene information is gathered from several points on the lens of the camera. The scene information is blended during the rendering of a pixel in the image to simulate a depth of field blur. For example, a ray-tracing renderer may use this approach to sample the incoming light from various points on the lens. However, many rays must typically be cast to generate an accurate depth of field blur, thereby unduly increasing the rendering time.
In another prior approach to rendering digital images using a depth of field blur, a renderer applies the depth of field blur to the rendered image as a post process using the depth information stored in the image. For example, a scanline renderer may use this approach by rendering with a pinhole camera and blurring the resulting image based on the distance of each pixel from the camera. However, unless the blur is diffused up to a depth boundary, the blurring may inappropriately mix colors at various depths in the image. Additionally, by requiring an additional process after the image has been rendered, this approach may also unduly increase the rendering time.