The invention enables a modular, typically portable, device to communicate with a host computing device to enable one or more security operations to be performed by the modular device on data stored within the host computing device, data provided from the host computing device to the modular device (which can then be, for example, stored in the modular device or transmitted to yet another device), or data retrieved by the host computing device from the modular device (e.g., data that has been stored in the modular device, transmitted to the modular device from another device or input to the modular device by a person). In particular, the modular device can include a security module that is adapted to enable performance of one or more security operations on data, and a target module that is adapted to enable a defined interaction with a host computing device. The target module can be embodied by any of a variety of modules having different types of functionality (e.g., data storage, data communication, data input and output, user identification). The modular device can also be implemented so that the security operations are performed in-line, i.e., the security operations are performed between the interface of the host computing device to the modular device and the external communications interface of the target module. Moreover, the modular device can be implemented so that the security functionality of the modular device is transparent to the host computing device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a modular, typically portable, device (as well as the methods employed by such a modular device, and systems including such a modular device and a host computing device with which the modular device communicates) that can communicate with a host computing device to enable one or more security operations to be performed by the modular device on data stored within the host computing device, data provided from the host computing device to the modular device, or data retrieved by the host computing device from the modular device.
2. Related Art
Computing capability is becoming increasingly portable. In particular, there are more and more portable peripheral devices that are adapted for communication with a host computing device (e.g., desktop computer, notebook computer or personal digital assistant) to enable particular functionality to be achieved. These portable peripheral devices can take a variety of physical forms (e.g., PCMCIA cards, smart cards, CD-ROMs) and can perform an assortment of functions (e.g., storage, communications and cryptography).
However, while portable computing affords a number of advantages, it has a significant disadvantage in that the computational environment (including the portable peripheral devices, the host computing devices in which they are used, and any other computational devices that communicate with those devices) is more susceptible to security breaches, i.e., unauthorized access to, or modification of, programs and/or data resident within the environment. Consequently, cryptographic devices and methods have been developed for use with such computational environments (as well as other computational environments) to enable increased levels of environment security to be obtained.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art system for enabling a host computing device to provide secured data to, and retrieve secured data from, a portable device. In FIG. 1, a system 100 includes a host computing device 101 and a portable device 102. The host computing device 101 and portable device 102 are adapted to enable communication between the devices 101 and 102. The host computing device 101 includes a security mechanism 101a (which can be embodied by appropriately configured hardware, software and/or firmware, such as, for example, a general purpose microprocessor operating in accordance with instructions of one or more computer programs stored in a data storage device such as a hard disk) which can be directed to perform one or more cryptographic operations.
In the system 100, if it is desired to provide secured data from the host computing device 101 to the portable device 102, the host computing device 101 causes the security mechanism 101a to perform appropriate cryptographic operations on data before the data is transferred to the portable device 102. Similarly, the host computing device 101 can receive secured data from the portable device 102 and perform appropriate cryptographic operations on the data to convert the data into a form that enables the data to be accessed and/or modified by a person who is authorized to do so.
A significant deficiency of the system 100 is that the security mechanism 101a is itself typically not adequately secure. It is commonly accepted that the components (including hardware, software and/or firmware) of most host computing devices are inherently insecure. This is because the system design of host computing devices is, typically, intentionally made open so that components made by different manufacturers can work together seamlessly. Thus, an unauthorized person may obtain knowledge of the operation of the security mechanism 101a (e.g., identify a cryptographic key), thereby enabling that person to gain access to, and/or modify, the (thought to be secured) data.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of another prior art system for enabling a host computing device to provide secured data to, and retrieve secured data from, a portable device. In FIG. 2, a system 200 includes a host computing device 201, a portable device 202 and a security device 203. The host computing device 201, the portable device 202 and security device 203 are adapted to enable communication between the devices 201 and 202, and between the devices 201 and 203. The security device 203 includes appropriately configured hardware, software and/or firmware which can be directed to perform one or more cryptographic operations.
In the system 200, if it is desired to provide secured data from the host computing device 201 to the portable device 202, the host computing device 201 first causes data to be transferred to the security device 203, where appropriate cryptographic operations are performed on the data. The secured data is then transferred back to the host computing device 201, which, in turn, transfers the secured data to the portable device 202. Similarly, the host computing device 201 can receive secured data from the portable device 202 by, upon receipt of secured data, transferring the secured data to the security device 203, which performs appropriate cryptographic operations on the data to convert the data into a form that enables the data to be accessed and/or modified by a person who is authorized to do so, then transfers the unsecured data back to the host computing device 201.
The system 200 can overcome the problem with the system 100 identified above. The security device 203 can be constructed so that the cryptographic functionality of the device 203 can itself be made secure. (Such a security device is often referred to as a security "token.") An unauthorized person can therefore be prevented (or, at least, significantly deterred) from obtaining knowledge of the operation of the security device 203, thereby preventing (or significantly deterring) that person from gaining access to, and/or modifying, the secured data.
However, the system 200 may still not always ensure adequately secured data. In particular, unsecured data may be provided by the host computing device 201 to the portable device 202 if the host computing device 201--whether through inadvertent error or deliberate attack by a user of the host computing device 201, or through malfunction of the host computing device 201--fails to first transfer data to the security device 203 for appropriate cryptographic treatment before providing the data to the portable device 202.
Additionally, the system 200 requires the use of two separate peripheral devices (portable device 202 and security device 203) to enable the host computing device 201 to exchange secured data with the portable device 202. For several reasons, this may be inconvenient. First, both devices 202 and 203 may not be available at the time that it is desired to perform a secure data exchange (e.g., one may have been forgotten or misplaced). Second, even if both devices 202 and 203 are available, it may not be possible to connect both devices 202 and 203 at the same time to the host computing device 201, making use of the devices 202 and 203 cumbersome and increasing the likelihood that unsecured data is provided by the host computing device 201 to the portable device 202.


A wide-viewing-angle liquid crystal display panel, a color film base plate (20) and a manufacturing method thereof as well as a display device. The wide-viewing-angle liquid crystal display panel comprises an array base plate (10) and a color film base plate (20). The array base plate (10) comprises a planar electrode (11) and a slit-shaped electrode (12), which are mutually superposed and insulated, and the color film base plate (20) comprises: a transparent base plate (21) oppositely arranged on one side, of the array base plate (10), provided with the planar electrode (11) and the slit-shaped electrode (12); and a color resistor (22) arranged on the transparent base plate (21) and corresponding to the slit-shaped electrode (12). The ratio of the light transmission rate T1 of anyone part of the color resistor (22) to the light transmission rate T2 of the other anyone part is equal to the ratio of the liquid crystal efficiency X2 of the slit-shaped electrode (12) corresponding to the other anyone part to the liquid crystal efficiency X1 corresponding to the anyone part. The light transmission rate of anyone position of the wide-viewing-angle liquid crystal display panel is high and uniform, bright and dark stripes are not generated, and the display effect is improved.

Along with the development of the technology of LCD panels, LCD panels with narrow viewing angles have been gradually replaced by wide view angle LCD panels.
The traditional wide view angle LCD panels comprise fringe field switching (FFS) wide view angle LCD panels, vertical alignment (VA) wide view angle LCD panels, and in-plane switching (IPS) hard-screen wide view angle LCD panels. The common points among the three types of wide view angle LCD panels lie in that: an electric field between a common electrode and a pixel electrode on an array substrate is employed to drive liquid crystals to rotate, and the rotation degree of the liquid crystals is adjusted by the control of the magnitude of the electric field, and thus the wide view angle LCD panel can be achieved.
Taking the FFS wide view angle LCD panel for example, each sub-pixel comprises a common electrode and a pixel electrode arranged on an array substrate. When one electrode of the two electrodes is a planar electrode, the other electrode is a slit electrode. The slit electrode is arranged above the planar electrode and is opposite to a color filter substrate. Color filters on the color filter substrate are arranged according to the sub-pixels and correspond to the slit electrode of the corresponding sub-pixels on the array substrate.
As illustrated in FIG. 1A, during the operation of the FFS wide view angle LCD panel, an electric field is formed between a slit electrode 2 and a underlying planar electrode 3 on the array substrate 1 and drives the liquid crystals to rotate. In general, an electric field (as shown by equipotential lines 4 in FIG. 1A) between edges of a slit (the part on the slit electrode 2, without filled patterns, is a slit) and the planar electrode 3 is the strongest, and the rotation degree of the liquid crystals is the highest and the liquid crystal (LC) efficiency is the highest here. An electric field (as shown by the equipotential lines 4 in FIG. 1A) between a central section of the slit and the planar electrode 3 is the weakest, and the rotation degree of the liquid crystals is the lowest and the LC efficiency is the lowest here (as shown by an LC efficiency wavy curve in FIG. 1B). Because the LC efficiency is fluctuated on the entire plane, the array substrate 1 suffers the phenomenon of nonuniform light transmittance. That is to say, the light transmittance is high at the place with high LC efficiency and low at the place with low LC efficiency. On the other hand, as the light transmittance of a color filter 6 on the color filter substrate 5, corresponding to the slit electrode 2, is different at different places, the light transmittance of the FFS wide view angle LCD panel is finally varied along with the variation of the LC efficiency. Therefore, the light transmittance of the FFS wide view angle LCD panel suffers loss and become nonuniform accordingly, and thus pictures displayed by the FFS wide view angle LCD panel have bright and dark stripes, and consequently the display effect is poor.
It can be seen that the traditional wide view angle LCD panel has the disadvantages of nonuniform light transmittance and poor display effect.

Wide-viewing-angle liquid crystal display panel, color film base plate and manufacturing method thereof as well as display device

Chengdu BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.


A process for the production of methanol comprises feeding an amount of a hydrocarbon feedstock and an amount of an oxygen feedstock to a partial oxidation reactor to produce a partial oxidation reactor effluent comprising hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide; adding an amount of a hydrogen feedstock to the partial oxidation reactor effluent to produce a synthesis gas stream having a predetermined ratio of hydrogen to carbon monoxide; and, subjecting the synthesis gas stream to methanol synthesis to produce a methanol product stream and a tail gas stream wherein reformation is not used to provide hydrogen as a product. Reformation may be used to consume hydrogen so that carbon dioxide preferably obtained as a by product of another process so that the instant process becomes effectively a temporary carbon sink to convert carbon dioxide, which would otherwise be released to the atmosphere, to a stored carbon source.

Methanol is a synthetic fuel which is produced from reactants which provide carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. There are various sources of each of these molecules. For example, the requisite carbon may be obtained from coal (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,249 Avery), natural gas (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,589 Fong et al.) and heavy hydrocarbons such as pitch and atmospheric and vacuum residues (see for example Canadian Patent Application No. 2,060,108 Naber). Similarly, the oxygen and hydrogen, which are combined with the carbon during the synthesis step to form methanol, may be obtained from various sources. These include electrolysis, as well as the water gas shift reaction. For example, Avery and U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,245 (McGregor et al.) disclosed the use of electrolysis to provide hydrogen and oxygen. In the case of Avery, the oxygen is added together with steam to a gasifier to produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen for synthesis (column 4, lines 46-50).
Methanol is advantageous as a substitute fuel for gasoline as well as diesel fuel since it is a cleaner burning fuel (i.e. the fuel is converted to carbon dioxide and water with fewer by-products being produced). The reduced emissions associated with methanol will not favor its production unless methanol can be produced in a cost effective manner. In the retail marketplace, methanol must be priced competitively with gasoline and diesel fuel to be a commercial alternative fuel.
The advantage of methanol being a low polluting fuel will be reduced, or potentially lost, if the process for producing methanol has substantial emissions of greenhouse gases. Typical commercial processes, which are in operation to date, produce about 600 to 1200 pounds of carbon dioxide per ton of methanol produced. Therefore, while the methanol produced by these processes may be relatively non-polluting compared to gasoline and diesel fuel when it is combusted, when considered with the manufacturing process, the production and use of methanol may in fact be a substantial source of greenhouse gases.


A process for preparing a porous ceramic material, is disclosed. The process uses an organic sponge material, and a ceramic slurry. The ceramic slurry contains liquid, gluten, and ceramic material.. In the first step of the process, the ceramic slurry is applied to the sponge in order to substantially saturate it with slurry. Thereafter, the saturated sponge is dehydrated until it contains less than about 5.0 weight percent of liquid. The dehydrated sponge is then fired at a temperature of from about 1,100 to about 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Processes are known for making shaped ceramic materials using natural objects as a mold. However, when such processes are used to attempt to make complicated shapes, many problems often arise. In the first place, because of the high shrinkage of most ceramic materials, cracking of the ceramic body often occurs upon drying the green body and/or upon firing it. In the second place, inasmuch as moisture often is present in the pores of the green body, the evaporation of this moisture during drying or firing often causes cracking of the body.
It is an object of this invention to provide a ceramic batch material which is uniquely suitable for forming complicated shapes.
It is another object of this invention to provide a ceramic batch material which will expand during thermal processing and will assume the shape of a mold in which it is situated.
It is another object of this invention to provide an intermediate material which is comprised of the ceramic batch material and which can be used to form a fired, shaped body.
It is another object of this invention to provide a multiplicity of objects and compositions which can be made from the ceramic batch material discussed above.
It is another object of this invention to provide a process for growing plants with some of the fired objects of this invention.


Display of an independent visual background provides a visual reference corresponding to the perceptions of a person""s vestibular system, thereby substantially reducing or eliminating motion sickness that otherwise occur due to a mismatch between the visual perception of motion or non-motion and the sensations of the vestibular system. If the person is wearing a head-mounted display (HMD), is in motion, or is in a moving environment, a motion tracking system or other motion sensors are employed to produce signals indicative of the motion of the environment and/or of the person. The signals produced are then processed using a vestibular model, producing a modified signal corresponding to the perception of motion by the person""s vestibular system. Using this modified signal, the independent visual background is displayed to the user, providing a visual reference that corresponds to the perception of the vestibular system. If the person is in a fixed environment and watching a moveable or moving display, the IVB can either be included on the image or in a peripheral area around the display. The perceptibility of the IVB can be adjusted by the observer to minimize its distracting impact on a visual task, while ensuring that it is sufficiently perceptible to avoid motion sickness.

The present invention generally relates to the use of a visual reference to prevent apparent motion sickness caused by conflicting sensed cues, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus that visually indicate a background reference corresponding to the vestibular senses of the inner ear.
A problem commonly experienced by people traveling in a vehicle, aircraft, or boat is motion sickness. Motion sickness occurs because of a mismatch between the sensations felt in the inner ear vestibular system and those experienced through other senses, such as a person""s visual perceptions. It should be noted that for purposes of this discussion and as used in the claims that follow, it will be understood that the vestibular system of the inner ear is an xe2x80x9cinertial motion sensor.xe2x80x9d Balance receptors in the inner ear respond to gravity (e.g., changes in orientation), velocity, and changes in velocity (accelerations) experienced while moving. When the sensations experienced by the inner ear fail to match visual cues, motion sickness often results.
For example, a passenger traveling along a winding road in an automobile experiences linear and angular accelerations each time the vehicle travels around a curve. The response of the vestibular sensing system to the acceleration caused by the motion of the vehicle will not match the visual perception unless the person is continually viewing the road so that the perception of the person""s inner ear corresponds to the visually perceived path of the vehicle around curves. It is for this reason that the driver of a vehicle normally does not experience motion sickness, even though motion sickness may result when the person is traveling as a passenger in the vehicle driven along the same road and in the same manner, by someone else. A driver continuously watches the road and visually perceives the motion of the vehicle so that the visual perceptions match the senses of the inner ear. Passengers in a vehicle, who are reading, or only viewing the interior of the vehicle, or carrying on other activities that cause them not to watch the road, will have a visual perception that does not match the senses of their inner ear. As a consequence, the passengers may experience symptoms associated with motion sickness, such as nausea, headache, and disorientation. Most people find that while traveling as a passenger, they can generally avoid motion sickness by watching the road as if they were driving the vehicle, so that their visual input more closely matches the sensations of their vestibular system. However, when confined within an interior cabin of a ship or in other situations in which the actual movement of the person experienced by the vestibular inner ear apparatus cannot readily be related to the visual perception of that movement, motion sickness is not so easily avoided.
The equivalent of motion sickness can also be experienced when a person is not moving, but the visual input experienced by the person appears to indicate that the person is moving. When a person is in an earth-fixed, and non-moving environment, the mismatch between an apparent self-motion that is evoked visually and the sensation by the inner ear indicating that no environment motion is actually being experienced can cause the symptoms of motion sickness. The conditions leading to this problem can occur, for example, when viewing an IMAX(trademark) motion picture presentation (i.e., a movie displayed on a wrap-around screen) in which motion is portrayed, or when participating in a flight or driving simulation running on a computer, or when viewing moving images in an artificial environment produced with a head-mounted display (HMD). Accordingly, as used throughout this disclosure and in the claims that follow, the term xe2x80x9cmotion sicknessxe2x80x9d is intended to encompass any of the symptoms commonly associated with being in a moving environment, as noted above, as well as corresponding symptoms experienced by persons who are not moving, but are exposed to a virtual environment in which motion is displayed, causing the perception of motion by the person.
The unpleasantness associated with motion sickness during travel can be sufficient to cause a person to refuse to travel under the conditions that produce motion sickness. Similarly, the motion sickness that can result when interacting in a simulator or viewing a virtual environment presentation may preclude a person from viewing a presentation on a surround screen or from participating in a simulator or virtual environment experience. It would be unfortunate, when such visually stimulating experiences are becoming more readily available and more refined due to advances in graphics and display technology, that concern about motion sickness might prevent someone from enjoying these experiences. Accordingly, a solution is needed that will enable a person to participate in activities where visual scene motion may evoke illusory self-motion without concern that the symptoms of motion sickness will be felt, or at least, that the severity of such symptoms can be controlled. Ideally, any solution that avoids these symptoms should also be applicable to preventing actual motion sickness caused when a person is in motion, as described above.
Recognizing that motion sickness is caused by a sensory mismatch, a solution purportedly addressing this problem is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,680 (Butnaru). This patent discloses the use of a display on which xe2x80x9can artificial labyrinthxe2x80x9d is presented. The artificial labyrinth is displayed in an HMD or as a projection onto the retina and comprises an array of lines that are controlled to indicate movement of the user""s head in regard to a baseline position. The reference teaches that this indication should be updated at least every 150 ms. The artificial labyrinth includes visual cues that show changes in roll, pitch, yaw, and elevational position of the user""s head. To sense these changes in position, head-mounted gyroscopic, accelerometers, or magnetostrictive sensors are employed. The signals produced by the sensors are input to a microprocessor that controls the display of the visual cue lines directly in response to the sensor output signals. The patent also teaches that a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver can be included to provide an orientation or location signal that is visually presented to a user. The cue lines indicative of the user""s orientation relative to the baseline are displayed on transparent lenses of an HMD, or projected onto corrective or plain lenses of glasses, or projected into space a few feet in front of the user as a holographic display, or projected onto the retina of the user.
Alternatively, the Butnaro patent teaches that a camera and a projector can both be mounted on a glasses frame worn by the user and used to produce a recorded image of a scene in front of the user. The recorded image is conveyed to a microprocessor and averaged with other images produced by the camera to produce a slowly changing display of the user""s environment. The slowly changing display is projected onto the lenses of the glasses, so that the user only perceives the averaged image as displayed by the projector on the inner surface of the lenses. The patent also indicates that a less desirable technique senses orientation with sensors that are not mounted to the user, but are instead responsive to the orientation of an environment (such as an automobile, aircraft, or boat) in which the user is traveling.
There is a substantial problem with the solution proposed by Butnaro to prevent motion sickness. Butnaro teaches that the signals produced by head-mounted accelerometers or other motion sensors are directly indicative of the observer""s true orientation and motion and thus, that these signals correspond to the sensations of the inner ear. Butnaro apparently fails to fully appreciate that some motion tracker sensors do NOT produce signals indicative of the true orientation and motion to which the devices are subjected. For example, accelerometers do not sense true constant linear or angular velocities, whereas an inertial tracker may do so. Butnaro apparently fails to fully appreciate that the response of the vestibular receptors to motion does NOT correspond to that of head-mounted accelerometers or other motion sensors. As will be clear from the discussion that follows, tracker/accelerometer signals must be manipulated appropriately so that simulated vestibular signals match real ones. Finally, Butnaro apparently fails to fully appreciate that the response of the vestibular receptors often does NOT reflect the true orientation and motion of a person""s head and body. Indeed, it is very possible that a mismatch between the visual cues provided by the Butnaro system and the perceived sensations of a user""s vestibular system might tend to cause motion sickness rather than prevent it. For example, a person may be learning a task in a simulation while in a moving environment such as a car, airplane, or centrifuge. Butnaro proposes to provide a visual reference that matches the person""s true orientation and motion. However, if the real angular motion exceeds the vestibular semicircular canal long time constant (as further discussed below), the vestibular signal will indicate that the person is stationary. Presentation of a visual reference indicating the true rotational motion of the person would be in conflict with the perception of that person""s vestibular receptors, and this conflict between the vestibular perception and Butnaro""s visual reference would be likely to exacerbate rather than alleviate motion sickness. The rotating environment case may be an extreme example, but nevertheless illustrates the fundamental issue with the disclosure of this prior art patent. More subtle cases illustrating problems with the reference are associated with time delays and phase shifts between tracker signals and vestibular perception. Time delays and phase shifts are known to evoke motion sickness.
Another example to illustrate discrepancies between vestibular perception and true motion is otolith ambiguity. This ambiguity can occur because the sensation of the otolith organs (in the inner ear) may reflect either linear acceleration or head tilt with respect to gravity. The ambiguity is apparent in the illusion of upward pitch experienced by pilots during forward linear acceleration in higher performance aircraft. The system disclosed by Butnaro would not take this ambiguity into account.
It would therefore be preferable to provide visual cues that truly match the perceptions of the vestibular organs, even though to do so may require that a signal indicative of the actual physical motion and acceleration experienced by a user be modified in accord with a vestibular model, to correspond to the true perceptions of the vestibular system. Also, it is possible that the model may need to be refined to achieve optimum results. For example, it may also be necessary to compensate for the affects of aging or other variability in the perceptions of users when providing a visual reference that corresponds to the sensations of the inner ear for a specific person. For this reason, any system and model attempting to match a visual perception with the perception of the vestibular organs should be capable of reprogramming and refinement to fine tune the match between the visual cues and the perceived motion by the person""s vestibular system. Butnaro""s disclosed invention does not have the capability of providing such compensation or modifying the visual cues to account for differences between individuals.
In addition, the invention disclosed in the above-referenced Butnaro patent is unlikely to be of significant benefit if the user is in an earth-fixed environment where visual scen motion causes the person to feel that he/she is moving, such as can occur when viewing a surround screen motion picture presentation, or when viewing and participating in a driving/flight simulator or virtual environment display. Also, it is probably impractical to require a user to continually wear an HMD or other display device while traveling for an extended period of time. In some cases, it will be preferable to provide an independent visual background (IVB) providing the required visual cues that are projected onto an interior surface of a cabin of a boat or other conveyance, or which is included in a surround presentation or in the background on a display so as to provide a visual reference corresponding to the perception of a person""s inner ear vestibular system. One advantage of such an IVB reference is that a plurality of people to which the display surface is visible will all benefit from viewing the reference.
Another problem with Butnaro and other prior art techniques that attempt to provide a visual reference to avoid motion sickness is that the visual reference can be too distracting. For example, in the technique disclosed in the Butnaro patent, it is clear that the cue lines must be very perceptible. There is no suggestion in the Butnaro patent of any steps that might be taken to reduce a user""s perception of the cue lines, to avoid the distraction that they would cause while carrying out any other visual task. For example, if a user is attempting to watch a movie while a passenger on an aircraft, the Butnaro system would likely interfere with the enjoyment of the movie by overlaying the very visible and distracting cue lines on the visual input, thereby detracting from the scenes portrayed on the movie screen or other display. Butnaro""s cue lines must be interpreted to determine the motion that has been sensed and require that a user be trained to interpret the motion and pay close attention. Accordingly, it appears that the user must directly xe2x80x9cseexe2x80x9d the cue lines to make the correct interpretation, or they will have little benefit. Intently watching a movie would interfere with the process of interpreting the cue lines if they are not so apparent, and the cue lines would thus provide little benefit.
No apparatus or technique is known that can provide an IVB truly corresponding to the sensations of a person""s vestibular system that does not interfere with other visual tasks, or which can be controlled by a user, or which can provide a benefit for a plurality of people. The present invention addresses these issues.
In accord with the present invention, a method is defined for preventing a person from experiencing motion sickness. In one embodiment of the method, a motion experienced by the person is sensed, producing a signal indicative of the motion. The signal is processed so as to produce a modified signal that is compensated to correspond to a perception of the motion by the vestibular system of the person. Using the modified signal, an IVB is produced that includes visual cues matched to the perception of the motion by the vestibular system. This IVB tends to compensate for any mismatch between the visual perceptions of the person and the perception of motion by the person""s vestibular system.
In one embodiment, the step of processing includes the step of employing a semicircular canal model to modify the signal to correspond to that of the vestibular system. In another embodiment, an otolith model is employed to modify the signal. In addition, the step of processing preferably includes the step of compensating the signal for the affects of individual differences in the perception of motion by the person""s vestibular system.
For certain applications of the present invention, the step of displaying includes the step of projecting the IVB onto a surface that at least partially surrounds the person. Furthermore, the step of displaying can include the step of displaying a grid of lines comprising the visual cues that match the perception of the motion by the vestibular system. The grid of lines includes a first set of lines and a second set of lines, with the first set of lines being generally orthogonal to the second set of lines. Alternatively, the step of displaying the IVB may include the step of displaying a plurality of lines comprising the visual cues. In this embodiment, the plurality of lines match the perception of the motion by the vestibular system.
It is understood that the person may be engaged in an activity that involves a visual task, such as watching a motion picture in which considerable motion occurs. In this case, the step of displaying the IVB is implemented so as to limit a distracting affect of the IVB on the person while engaging in the visual task. Thus, it is preferable that the person be enabled to control one or more variables that affect the perceptibility of the IVB. These variables include an absolute or relative luminance of the IVB on the display, a relative position, extent, or size of the IVB, and a position at which the IVB appears relative to a position at which the visual task appears. Another controllable variable is a timing with which the display of the IVB occurs. For example, the control can be employed to modify a periodic time interval during which the IVB is repetitively displayed, an interval between successive periodic displays of the IVB, and/or a rate at which the IVB is periodically displayed. Yet other variables controllable by a user include a relative position, an extent, and a size on a display at which the IVB is displayed, either a focus of the IVB relative to a display or a depth of focus of the IVB in the space visually perceived by the person, a color of the IVB, and a color contrast of the IVB relative to a background on which it is displayed.
If the visual task comprises the step of viewing an image in which substantial motion is portrayed, the method preferably further includes the step of displaying the IVB so as to avoid obscuring the image.
In other applications of the present invention, the step of displaying includes the step of moving the visual cues about in a manner consistent with the perception of the motion by the vestibular system of the person.
The step of sensing motion preferably comprises the step of sensing at least one of a linear position, an angular position, a linear velocity, an angular velocity, a linear acceleration, and an angular acceleration, to which the person is subject. (It is noted that in most applications, six degrees of freedom will be sensed, although in certain applications, sensing three degrees of freedom can provide the signals necessary to fully implement the IVB.) When processing the signal, the step of modifying the signal is preferably carried out as a function of a first time constant and a second time constant. In this embodiment, the second time constant is substantially longer in duration than the first time constant.
Another aspect of the present invention is directed to a system for preventing a person from experiencing motion sickness due to a difference between a visual sensory perception and a vestibular system perception of motion. The system preferably includes a memory in which a plurality of machine instructions are stored, a display, and at least one motion sensor that produces an output signal indicative of motion. A processor, which is coupled to the memory, the display, and the one or more motion sensors, executes the plurality of machine instructions. These machine instructions cause the processor to carryout functions that are generally consistent with the steps of the method discussed above.
Still other aspects of the present invention are directed to a method and system for reducing an adverse physiological reaction caused by differences in a visually perceived motion and a lack of motion as sensed by the internal vestibular system of a person. In these aspects of the invention, a fixed IVB comprising visual cues substantially corresponding to and consistent with the lack of motion sensed by the internal vestibular system of the person is provided and displayed relative to an image depicting substantial motion that is being viewed by the person. The display of the IVB occurs without obscuring the image. The visual cues, which are consistent with the lack of motion perceived by the internal vestibular system of the person, substantially reduce an adverse physiological reaction that would be experienced by the person if the IVB were not displayed.

Alleviating motion, simulator, and virtual environmental sickness by presenting visual scene components matched to inner ear vestibular sensations


Sand is an irritant to people and animals. The application of the sand remover powder mixture consisting of 40% montmorillonite and 60% Maranta arundinacea and rubbed/wiped removes sand from effected areas of skin and hair on humans and animals better together than in their individual natural state. In some embodiments sand remover powder can contain fragrance. Sand remover powder and rubbing/wiping can be used to remove residue from hair. Sand remover powder can be used as a body powder. Some sand remover powder embodiments can be ingested.

Spending time in locations where there is sand can be an irritant to people and animals. Locations where there is sand include but not limited to beaches, lakes, rivers, sand dunes, and playgrounds. Adults, children and pets need a solution to remove sand. Talc powder and baby powders have been used in the past. Some locations provide showers to rinse sand from skin to be dried off with a sandy towel.
Sand remover powder from skin and hair invention creates a sand remover powder comprising of two powder components bentonite clay (sodium bentonite, calcium bentonite, montmorillonite) and a starch powder (Maranta arundinacea, arrowroot, tapioca starch, rice starch, corn starch) to remove sand. These two primary ingredients are ingestible. When scented, they may or may not be ingestible. Scents will be skin and hair safe.
Sand remover powder from skin and hair can be transported and contained in a vessel not limited to a bottle, bag, can, and or jar. Sand remover powder to be accessed and dispensed through an opening in said vessel for application to effected area of skin and hair. Dispensing opening retains a method to be resealed to reduce the intrusion of moisture.


A mobile terminal including an upper body having an upper surface, a display located at the upper body, a lower body having first and second upper surfaces, the upper body being connected to the lower body for movement between a closed configuration in which the upper body completely covers the second upper surface and an open configuration in which the upper body partially covers the second upper surface to expose a portion of the second upper surface, the upper surface of the upper body being substantially co-planar to the first upper surface of the second body in the open and closed configuration, a first camera located at one of the upper body and the lower body, and at least one camera-dedicated key located at said portion of the second upper surface exposed in the open configuration, the at least one camera-dedicated key being configured to control the first camera.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal, and more particularly, to a mobile terminal having a camera.
2. Description of Related Art
A mobile terminal is a device that can be carried around and provides one or more functions such as voice and video call communication, inputting and outputting information, storing data, and the like. Recently, the functions supported by the mobile terminal have become more diversified, and more sophisticated, such as capturing images or video, reproducing music or video files, playing games, receiving broadcast signals, and the like. By integrating all of these additional functions, the mobile terminal may be embodied in the form of a multimedia player.
In order to implement the various functions of the multimedia player, the multimedia player requires sufficient support in terms of hardware or software, for which numerous attempts are being made to improve implementation. For example, a user interface allowing users to easily and conveniently search for and select one or more functions continues to be developed. Thus, the mobile terminals include sophisticated graphic user interfaces (GUIs) that the user can use to access the various functions on the terminal. For example, the user can access a main menu and then select from one of a plurality of submenus such as an e-mail submenu, a calling history submenu, an Internet access submenu, a pictures submenu, or the like. Once the user selects a particular submenu, the mobile terminals may provide yet another list of submenus or options that the user can select to perform a desired function.
In line with the advancement of the information communication sector, common users have begun to produce faster or more meaningful information than in the past, thereby forming a user created contents (UCC) culture. Specifically, a user can combine photo images or video with writings/articles/or other commentary and upload the same to a website, such as a portal site, to allow other users to easily watch or read them via the UCC.
In order to easily produce contents by using the mobile terminal, it is necessary to properly dispose a camera for capturing images or video or a manipulating unit for manipulating the camera.


A magnetic propulsion toy system is provided having a track (11), a boost station (12) and a car (14) made of magnetic material. The boost station has control circuit (18) with a battery (19), a wire coil (21), a capacitor (22), a manual triggering switch (24), an automatic triggering switch (27) and a manual delay triggering switch (29). An infrared emitter/detector (28) is coupled to the automatic triggering switch and manual delay triggering switch.

Toy racetrack systems in which toy vehicles are raced around a track have existed for many years. These racetracks systems have propelled or driven the car about the track in a variety of different manners.
One popular racetrack system which has been developed utilizes a partially elevated track so that a car placed upon the track is gravitationally accelerated down a slope and along the track. This racetrack system is somewhat limiting since the car must be manually set back upon the elevated portion of the track each time it is raced.
Another popular racetrack system utilizes a car with an electric motor and a racetrack with an electric power supply with embedded electrode rails along the entire length of the racetrack. An operator controls the speed of the car by controlling the voltage potential between the rails. This type of system is commonly referred to as a slot car set. The tracks of these systems are comprised of several segmented sections which are coupled together end to end. However, over time the electrical connectors between the rails of these sections become worn, bent or broken, rendering the track inoperative. These race car sets also do not require a great deal of skill to operate and therefore their operators quickly lose interest in their operation.
Racetrack systems have also been designed with boost stations which accelerate the car forward by placing a force upon the car. One type of boost station utilizes two spinning wheels between which the car is passed so that the spinning wheels propel the car forward. Another type of boost stations has been designed which utilize an electromagnetic coil sized and shaped to encircle the track and a car made of magnetic material. Current is passed from a battery through the electromagnetic coil so that a magnetic field is created which causes the car to accelerate, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,218,164. As the boost from these systems is quite weak, this system must utilize several boost stations in order to propel the car completely around the track. The use of several boost stations is inefficient and costly. Also, should the electromagnetic coil be energized after the car has passed the center of the coil the resulting magnetic field will pull the car backwards towards the coil. This backwards pull will retard, stop or reverse the direction of the car. This may result even if the operator properly commences the energization of the coil but then delays releasing the trigger and thus stopping the energization.
It thus is seen that a need remains for a system for propelling a car around a track in a manner which requires operator skillfulness and yet in an efficient manner. It is to the provision of such that the present invention is primarily directed.

Johnson Research & Development Company, Inc.


A touch screen controller is configured for use in an electronic system. The electronic system comprises: the touch screen controller, a host processing system physically distinct from the touch screen controller, a display screen, and a proximity sensor element. The touch screen controller comprises proximity sensor control circuitry, a rendering module, and display refresh circuitry. The proximity sensor control circuitry is configured to operate the proximity sensor element to sense input objects in a sensing region of the electronic system. The rendering module is configured to render three-dimensional object representations for display on the display screen. The display refresh circuitry is configured to update the display screen with an image received from and processed by the host processing system and with the three-dimensional object representation rendered by the rendering module.

Input devices including proximity sensor devices (also commonly called touchpads or touch sensor devices) are widely used in a variety of electronic systems. A proximity sensor device typically includes a sensing region, often demarked by a surface, in which the proximity sensor device determines the presence, location and/or motion of one or more input objects. Proximity sensor devices may be used to provide interfaces for the electronic system. For example, proximity sensor devices are often used as input devices for larger computing systems (such as opaque touchpads integrated in, or peripheral to, notebook or desktop computers). Proximity sensor devices are also often used in smaller computing systems (such as touch screens integrated in cellular phones).
When an electronic system includes both a display and a proximity sensor device, the host processing system of the electronic system may handle all processing or all processing that does not involve proximity input sensing. As the number of integrated functions performed on an electronic system increase, the processing burdens imposed on the host processing system of the electronic system also increase, resulting in host processing system induced latency in the electronic system. As a result, one or more functions of the electronic system may suffer from performance shortcomings due to the burden placed of the host processing system. For example, a delay between user input via the proximity sensor device and provision of visual feedback to the user via the display may arise because of host processing system induced latency.

Rendering and displaying a three-dimensional object representation


A lock set includes a hollow intermediate spindle connected to a door latch and to an inner handle assembly, a turning rod extending inside the intermediate spindle, a coupler connected to a key-operated lock of an outer handle assembly so as to be turned thereby and connected to the turning rod so as to actuate the turning rod, a first clutch plate fitted around the turning rod for rotation together with the turning rod, and a second clutch plate movably disposed around the turning rod for sliding away from or toward the first clutch plate. In a preferred embodiment, the coupler has a hole to receive a tail end of the key-operated lock. The tail end is rotatable limitedly within the hole of the coupler.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a door lock, more particularly to a lock set which has inner and outer handle assemblies through which a door latch can be operated to latch or unlatch a door.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to provide door locks with diverse functions desired for different purposes and applications, various forms of lock sets having inner and outer handles have been suggested in the art. One example of such lock sets includes an inner handle assembly provided with a locking spindle having a knob which can be operated by the user from the inside of the door to lock the door, or to lock permanently a lock body mounted inside an outer handle permanently while permitting the outer handle assembly to idle until the locking spindle is operated to an unlocking position.
Another type of lock set has an inner handle assembly which is not provided with any locking spindle and which can be rotated freely even when an outer handle assembly is locked. The outer handle assembly may be locked or unlocked by operating it with a key.
There is still another type of lock set with a freely rotatable inner handle assembly which has no locking spindle and with an outer handle assembly which can be unlocked with a key. But, when the key is withdrawn from the outer handle assembly, the outer handle assembly is locked back.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,296 discloses a lock set which includes a hollow outer spindle mounted on an outer handle assembly, a hollow intermediate spindle connected to an inner handle assembly for connection with a door latch, and a turning rod extending inside the intermediate and outer spindles. Two slide plates and two clutch plates are mounted on the turning rod inside the outer spindle. With the clutch plates mounted on the turning rod, the outer handle assembly is permitted to idle when a lock body provided therein is in a locking state. When a key is inserted into the lock body, the lock body can be rotated by turning the key to unlock a door. However, the door must be opened before the key is withdrawn from the lock body. If the key is withdrawn from the lock body, since the key has to be turned back for withdrawal, the lock body can be turned together with the key to its locking position, and the door can be locked back and cannot be opened.


A tag with features to enable its authenticity to be determined includes a hidden code intermixed with a visible pattern such that the hidden code is not readily detectable under ambient light condition, without the use of a specially designed reader. In one embodiment the tag is formed with a first layer containing a hidden code, formed of reflective elements, which overlies a second layer which is designed to absorb light having a predetermined wavelength (e.g., IR light). The hidden code can be detected by projecting a light source having the predetermined wavelength (e.g., an IR source) at a predetermined angle on the tag and using a sensor to sense the reflection from the tag.

A problem exists in that many items are being counterfeited. The items being counterfeited include a wide range of documents of all types as well as products and goods (e.g., currency, pharmaceuticals, and numerous brand name goods) to which counterfeited documents are appended. The counterfeited products and goods may bear tags and like identification documents, which counterfeiters append to the goods and products, falsely identifying them as the goods and products of bona fide manufacturers and distributors. Counterfeiters cause financial losses to the bona fide manufacturers and distributors by palming off their counterfeit products for the bona fide products. In addition, for example, in the case of pharmaceuticals, counterfeit products may cause harm to persons by providing an incorrect dosage or an incorrect medication. Also, the counterfeit product may have been "cut" thereby leading to an incorrect dosage. It is therefore desirable to have a means to easily detect the authenticity and provenance of products.
The term "tag" or "instrument" as used herein and in the appended claims is intended to include any stand alone card and/or document, as well as any tag, instrument, card or document intended to be appended or affixed to, or accompanying, goods and products.


A lightweight shelter for hikers that uses two trekking poles for support. This shelter includes an outer canopy (or “fly”) that is rectangle shaped at the base, and a sleeping area which is uniquely positioned on a diagonal relative to the rectangular outer wall. This shelter also includes a ridgeline supported by two trekking poles which are positioned on the crossing diagonal to the sleeping area and inwards from the base of the outer wall such that this shelter can erect into a stable position without additional support beyond what is provided by the canopy.

Lightweight hikers often use portable shelters which incorporate their trekking poles as the structure of that shelter for the purpose of saving weight. These trekking pole designs are typically lighter than a traditional tent because they avoid the weight of dedicated tent pole set. However, trekking pole shelters remain less popular than tents with traditional tent poles due in large part to disadvantages commonly associated with trekking pole tents; most notably the complex pitching process that most trekking pole designs require. Other disadvantages also common to trekking pole designs including limited headroom, poor structural robustness, and interference in the doorways or floor area by the positioning of the trekking pole(s).
Existing trekking pole based designs can be complex to pitch for many reasons. Some of the most common reasons are (1) the base of the canopy has a complex shape (e.g. many sides, or non-symmetrical, or non-intuitive angles), (2) the shelter has many undefined dimensions (e.g. height, angles) where measuring or estimating is required, (3) the structure is not stable while partially assembled so it requires on-going support from the user during pitching, and (4) the completed structure is not independently robust and thus requires additional support from guylines. As such, achieving an good pitch often requires extensive trial and error, or substantial experience with that shelter.
Simpler trekking pole designs which avoid much of this pitching complexity are less common, but some designs do exist which are based around a simpler rectangle shape which requires fewer estimates of stake positions. Of these, the four sided pyramid design is the most common where a single pole at or near the center provides the structure and this central pole position further reduces other guesswork (e.g. the canopy will limit the pole height so pre-measuring is not required). Despite greater simplicity, the popularity of this geometry is inhibited by other fundamental downsides including limited headroom from using only one pole, and the central location of that pole typically interferes in the doorway and/or sleeping area.
As such, users of trekking pole shelters have generally had to choose between difficult to pitch designs or simpler designs with limited headroom. There have been attempts to retain the simplicity of a rectangle based design while alleviating the lack of headroom by using two trekking poles inside a rectangle. However, prior designs using two trekking poles inside of a rectangle have included other undesirable downsides. These two poles are sometimes positioned at or near the edges of the rectangle (e.g. A-frames or offset A frames) which adds headroom but with the downsides of (1) steep walls that are poor in high winds, (2) instability during the pitch as the peaks are not stable without additional guylines, (3) hassle and weight from mandatory guylines to support the steep walls and (4) a need to pre-measure the pole lengths. Of the few trekking pole designs that use both a rectangle and two poles located substantially inward from the walls, all of them have positioned those poles atop of the floor where they interfere within the sleeping area of that shelter. Thus, there is a need for a trekking pole design which preserves the simplicity of the pyramid design while avoiding many or all of the aforementioned downsides common to trekking pole shelters.

X-Mid geometry for a trekking pole shelter


A touch panel includes first sensing pads, first bridge lines, second sensing pads, adjusting electrodes, second bridge lines and third bridge lines. The first sensing pad has a first opening. The first sensing pads and the first bridge lines are arranged alternately along a first direction and electrically connected to each other. The second sensing pads and the second bridge lines are arranged alternately along a second direction and electrically connected to each other. The adjusting electrodes are disposed in the first openings and the second openings, and the adjusting electrodes are electrically disconnected from the first sensing pads and the second sensing pads. Adjacent adjusting electrodes are electrically connected through the third bridge line. The first sensing pads, the second sensing pads and the adjusting electrodes are made of a same patterned conductive layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a touch panel and a touch display panel, and more particularly, to the touch panel and the touch display panel with low capacitive load.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Because of the intelligent characteristics of human-computer interaction, touch panels have replaced keyboards and have been widely applied to the external input interfaces of many instruments. In recent years, as the applications of electronic products have developed diversely, consumer electronics with the integration of the touch panels and display panels are commercialized a lot and have evolved flourishingly, for example, mobile phones, GPS (global positioning system) navigator systems, tablet personal computers (PCs) and laptop PCs.
Among the current diverse technologies of the touch panels, capacitive touch panels have become a mainstream technology in the mid-to-high-end consumer electronics owing to its outstanding features, such as high accuracy, multi-touch property, better endurance and high touch resolution.
Generally, touch display panels can be divided into several categories according to how touch devices integrate with the display panels. In the so-called out-cell type touch display panels, the touch devices are first produced on a substrate, and the substrate with the touch devices are then affixed on the outer surface of the display panel. In this case, the touch devices do not well coordinate with the display panel and the out-cell type touch display panels are the thickest. In the so-called on-cell type touch display panels, the touch devices are disposed directly outside of the display panel. In this case, the touch devices coordinate with the display panel more and the on-cell type touch display panels are thinner. In the so-called in-cell type touch display panels, the touch devices are disposed on an inner surface of the display panel. In this case, the touch devices coordinate with the display panel most and the in-cell type touch display panels are thinnest. Because the touch devices are directly formed on the inner surface of the display panel in the in-cell type capacitive touch display panels, the distance between sensing pads of the touch panel and common electrodes of the display panel is shorter, and the capacitive load between the sensing pads and the common electrodes is greater. Moreover, the sensing pads are employed to detect the capacitance variation between the touch points in the mechanism of the capacitive touch panels, and the exact positions of the touch points are determined according to the capacitance variation. If the capacitive load between the sensing pads and the common electrodes exceeds a limit, the capacitance variation detected by the sensing pads may be affected so that both the touch sensitivity and the accuracy deteriorate.


Technology for pre-ordering (e.g., pre-fetching content) at a shared computing premise is described. The technology can enable a user to locate and reserve an available seat at a shared computing premise (e.g., an iCafé). A service can transmit to the user a list of nearby iCafés or available seats that is ranked or ordered based on various criteria. The selected iCafé may pre-fetch content. The iCafé may also provide the pre-fetched content on removable media so that the user does not need to view all the pre-fetched content only at the iCafé. The iCafé may provide a search and/or document notification service and perform searches, download documents, and check for changes to specified documents even when the user is not logged on or using a computer at the iCafé. After the documents are retrieved and stored, the iCafé may send a notification to the user.

In many countries, computers are very expensive for people to purchase. However, even in those countries, the use of computers has become very important to stay connected with the rest of the world so that users of the computers can view or exchange information. For example, viewers may desire to exchange electronic mail, download content (e.g., video, movies, music, lectures, etc.), view web sites, subscribe to web logs ("blogs"), conduct online banking, and complete other online activities.
In those and other countries, users sometimes have access to a computer at home or in their office, but may not have access to sufficient network bandwidth to complete the online activities they desire. For example, they may live in an area where it is impractical or unaffordable to subscribe to digital subscriber line ("DSL"), satellite, cable, or other high bandwidth Internet services. In some areas, even dialup connections may be too expensive because of telephone long distance or other network charges.
Internet Cafés ("iCafé's") are popular venues that users can use to resolve many of these issues. iCafés are a type of shared computing premises that subscribe to high bandwidth network access and share that bandwidth among many computers or Internet connections located at the iCafé's. Users can use computers provided by the iCafés for a fee or may be able to bring their own computer (e.g., laptop or other mobile device) into an iCafé and connect via a wired or wireless connection to the iCafé's network for shared high bandwidth Internet access. Users arrive at iCafés and wait for such a seat open. The seat can provide a computer or just a network connection to which a user can connect a personal computer, such as a laptop or other mobile computer. The users select and download content that they are interested in by employing the shared bandwidth provided at the iCafés.


Method for controlling defrosting in a microwave oven having an infrared sensor, including the steps of (a) controlling a first defrosting up to a preset temperature upon reception of defrosting key application from a user, (b) turning over frozen food upon completion of the first defrosting, and (c) periodically detecting a surface temperature of the turned over frozen food by using the infrared sensor, and controlling a second defrosting according to the detected surface temperature and temperature variation, whereby permitting an optimal defrosting of the frozen food by making voltage application condition control according to the periodic detection of a surface temperature of frozen food by an infrared sensor, not only in the first defrosting when one side of the frozen food is heated, but also in the second defrosting after the turn over of the frozen food, and to prevent a pre-mature, or excessive defrosting by making defrosting control based on the surface temperature and the temperature variation of the frozen food.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microwave oven, and more particularly, to a method for controlling defrosting in a microwave oven, in which an actual temperature of a surface of food is detected continuously during defrosting of the food, for controlling a defrosting process.
2. Background of the Related Art
The microwave oven heats food in a cavity by means of an ultra high frequency wave (2450 MHz) from a magnetron. In order to make an accurate food heating control in the microwave oven, an infrared sensor is fitted on one side of the cavity, for projection to the food, to detect a surface temperature of the surface of the food, and transmission of the information to a microprocessor in the microwave oven, so that the microprocessor can determine heating and control conditions thereafter based on the detected surface temperature of the food.
Referring to FIG. 1, a related art microwave oven is provided with a turntable 11 for placing food to be cooked thereon, a magnetron 12 for generating, and supplying a microwave to the food in the cavity 10 through a waveguide, a cooling fan 13 for cooling the heated magnetron 12, an infrared sensor 14 for detecting a temperature of the food, and a control part (not shown) for controlling operation of the magnetron 12.
The operation of the foregoing microwave oven will be explained. When the user provides a cooking command to the microwave oven, the control part puts the magnetron 12 into operation. A microwave generated at the magnetron 12 is directed to the cavity 10 through the waveguide, and heats the food. The infrared sensor 14 detects a surface temperature of the food, and provides a voltage for a surface temperature of the food, which signal is passed through a series of signal processing, and provided to the control part. According to this, the control part operates the magnetron 12 to heat the food until a cooking temperature reaches to a target temperature, and the cooling fan 13 during cooking for cooling the heated magnetron 12. Positions of the infrared sensor 14 and the cooling fan 13 are not limited to the positions shown in FIG. 1, but may differ depending on types of the microwave oven; different from the positions shown in FIG. 1, the positions may be varied, such that the infrared sensor is fitted to a right side of the cavity, and the cooling fan is fitted to a top of the cavity.
A defrosting process of frozen food may differ from general food heating. A related art defrosting process of frozen food in the microwave oven will be explained, with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 illustrates a graph showing time vs. a temperature variation of frozen food, wherein hatched blocks denote power turned on time periods during which a power is supplied into the cavity 10 as a heating energy. That is, the magnetron is operative in periods shown in hatched blocks to direct the microwave to the frozen food inside of the cavity 10. In a case the frozen food is to be defrosted, the microwave oven is put into operation in a state a surface temperature thereof is below zero, when the infrared sensor 14 at one side of the cavity 10 detects a variation of the surface temperature of the frozen food. In the meantime, as the surface temperature of the frozen food is at a low temperature, even though the power turned on time period is long in an initial defrosting, the power turned on time period becomes shorter, gradually. That is, because a temperature of the frozen food rises gradually as the defrosting proceeds, the power turned on time periods become the shorter as a frozen food turn over time period xe2x80x98Pxe2x80x99 approaches. At the turn over time xe2x80x98Pxe2x80x99, the user opens a door on the microwave oven, turns the frozen food over, and proceeds the defrosting, again. When the defrosting is started again in a state the frozen food is turned over, a power turned on time period of the magnetron is controlled at fixed intervals baser on a time period taken from the initial defrosting to the turn over xe2x80x98Pxe2x80x99, and a power condition until the turn over time period xe2x80x98Pxe2x80x99 is reached. That is, after the frozen food is turned over, the defrosting is carried out in a certain time period and power, taking a time period taken in a first defrosting of the frozen food (a defrosting process until the turn over) and a power condition in the time period into account. Therefore, in the second defrosting process after the frozen food is turned over, a process proceeds, in which merely the magnetron 12 is turned on/off periodically based on the time period taken in the first defrosting and the power condition in the time period.
Consequently, the related art defrosting in the microwave oven has a problem in that defrosting of frozen food is not made properly in a case frozen states differ on both sides of the frozen food to be defrosted due to shape or other. In the related art defrosting, the defrosting after the frozen food is turned over is carried out regardless of the surface temperature of the turned over frozen food, that causes problems of a product reliability deterioration coming from pre-mature defrosting, or excessive defrosting, or inconvenience to the user.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a method for controlling defrosting in a microwave oven that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling defrosting in a microwave oven, which can control a second defrosting according to an actual temperature of frozen food.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, the method for controlling defrosting in a microwave oven having an infrared sensor, includes the steps of (a) controlling a first defrosting up to a preset temperature upon reception of defrosting key application from a user, (b) turning over frozen food upon completion of the first defrosting, and (c) periodically detecting a surface temperature of the turned over frozen food by using the infrared sensor, and controlling a second defrosting according to the detected surface temperature and temperature variation.
An initial voltage application time period in the step (a) or (c) is made relatively longer than the voltage application time period in a later half of each of the steps.
The step (a) includes the steps of calculating a turning over time point by using the presently progressive minimum temperature Min_T and a minimum temperature variation xcex94T, calculating a first defrosting voltage by using a greater value xcex94Tmax of the minimum temperature variation xcex94T and a maximum temperature variation xcex94Tm, and the presently progressive minimum temperature Min_T, and carrying out defrosting according to the calculation, and generating a signal sound if the minimum temperature Min_T or a maximum temperature Max_T is higher than a preset temperature, or if the turning over time point is over a preset time point.
The step (c) includes the steps of calculating a defrosting finish time point and a second defrosting time period upon reception of a starting key again after the frozen food is turned over, calculating a second defrosting voltage by using a smaller temperature variation value xcex94Tmin, and the presently progressive minimum temperature Min_T upon calculation of the defrosting finish time point and the second defrosting time period, the smaller temperature variation value xcex94Tmin being selected from the minimum temperature variation xcex94T and a maximum temperature variation xcex94Tm obtained based on the surface temperature detection of the frozen food, and finishing defrosting if the minimum temperature Min_T or the maximum temperature Max_T is higher than a preset temperature, the present time point is the same with the calculated finish time point, or the calculated defrosting time period is passed.
The voltage application condition control according to the periodic detection of a surface temperature of frozen food by an infrared sensor, not only in the first defrosting when one side of the frozen food is heated, but also in the second defrosting after the turn over of the frozen food permits an optimal defrosting of the frozen food. That is, the defrosting control based on the surface temperature and the temperature variation of the frozen food permits to prevent a pre-mature, or excessive defrosting, and the optimal defrosting made available by the present invention provides a satisfaction and reliability on the product to the user.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

Method for controlling defrosting in microwaven oven


A method for estimating a central frequency includes defining a slice group containing a plurality of slices parallel to one another within an arbitrary imaged region in a subject, measuring a central frequency of at least one slice contained in the slice group, and estimating central frequencies of the other slices based on the measured central frequency of the at least one slice.

The present invention relates to a central frequency estimating method for use in magnetic resonance imaging, for estimating a magnetic resonance frequency, i.e., central frequency, in certain tissue, and a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus for producing a magnetic resonance image based on the central frequency acquired by the central frequency estimating method.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a technique of applying a gradient magnetic field and an RF (radio frequency) wave to a subject in a static magnetic field, and producing an image based on magnetic resonance signals emitted as an echo from protons in a region to be examined.
There is known a magnetic resonance imaging technique such as a CHESS (chemical selective suppression) technique, which collects magnetic resonance signals having a specific frequency suppressed, and produces an image based on the magnetic resonance signals having the specific frequency suppressed.
For example, the CHESS technique applies an RF wave having the same frequency as the resonance frequency of fat protons to a region to be examined in a subject to excite only the fat protons, and then applies a gradient magnetic field for saturating the fat protons to collect magnetic resonance signals having the resonance frequency of the fat protons suppressed (See Non-Patent Document 1, for example).
As can be seen from this, it is important to accurately know the resonance frequency of protons of tissue to be suppressed in the CHESS technique. The resonance frequency of protons of the tissue of interest is sometimes referred to as the central frequency.
In magnetic resonance imaging such as that according to the CHESS technique, it is desirable to accurately obtain the central frequency.
The resonance frequency of protons is determined by the magnitude of a static magnetic field and the gyromagnetic ratio that depends upon the type of protons in tissue. Thus, as the magnitude of a static magnetic field varies, so does the central frequency. An open magnetic resonance imaging system having a static magnetic field with magnetic field intensity around 0.2–0.7 Teslas, which is sometimes referred to as an open mid-to-low magnetic field system, for example, has a relatively inhomogeneous static magnetic field, and tends to have some positional variation in the magnitude of the static magnetic field.
Therefore, when the CHESS technique is employed in the mid-to-low magnetic field system, for example, a central frequency is desirably determined for each cross-sectional slice (referred to simply as a slice) of certain thickness that represents a region to be imaged in the subject.
The central frequency for each slice can be obtained by measurement in a process called a prescan, which is conducted before an actual scan for acquiring a magnetic resonance image of the subject.                [Non-Patent Document 1] Mugler J. P., 3rd and Brookeman Jr., "Three-dimensional Magnetization-Prepared Rapid Gradient-Echo Imaging," Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 15(1), pp. 152–157 (July 1990).
When the number of slices corresponding to an imaged region is large and the central frequency is obtained for every slice, the prescan requires a long time in proportion.
If the time required for the prescan increases, the subject suffers a decline in comfort, making motion of the subject more likely, so that problems may arise, such as that reliability of data for the central frequency obtained is reduced.

Magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and central frequency estimating method

GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC


A current sensing circuit for sensing a current flowing through a LED bank and a driver circuit for driving the LED bank are provided. The current sensing circuit includes: a matched transistor group, having a first current path coupled to the load device for sensing the load current and a second current path for generating a first current according to the load current; an operation amplifier, coupled to the first and second current paths; and a current source, having a third current path coupled to the second current path and a fourth current path for generating a second current according to the first current, the second current indicating conductive condition of the load device.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a light source current sensing circuit and driving circuit in a display device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a light source current sensing circuit and driving circuit in a display device, for improving efficiency.
2. Description of Related Art
Light emitting diodes ("LEDs") are known act as a source of emitted light for a wide variety of applications. LEDs are known to provide many advantages over incandescent and fluorescent illumination because of their long operating life, high efficiency, light weight, and low profile. LED light output is proportional to current therethrough. Problems can be particularly egregious for portable devices where battery output gradually decreases with time of use. Therefore, an LED driver circuit is needed that is relatively immune to small voltage fluctuations.
Moreover, LEDs are particularly convenient for applications such as backlighting liquid crystal display ("LCD") screens. The LEDs are often configured as a set of serial connected LEDs, sometimes referred to in the art and hereinafter as "LED chains," "LED sets," "LED banks," or the like. Lightweight, battery-powered devices, such as mobile computing and communications devices—e.g., personal digital assistant, cellular telephone, electronic book, and the like—may use LEDs as a back light or side light. It is important to sense the current provided to LEDs to provide adequate lighting and to minimize flickering on the screen.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional circuit diagram for sensing current provided to LEDs. As shown in FIG. 1, the current sensing circuit includes a transistor T11 and a reference resistor Rref1. For sensing a current I1 through an LED bank 101 including LEDs 101-1˜101-n, a voltage drop Vsen1 across the reference resistor Rref1 is detected. The detected voltage Vsen1 is fed to a control loop (not shown) for comparing with a reference voltage and the comparison result is used for adjusting/determining the voltage Vboost provided to the LED bank 101. Further, in order to cut off the current I1 to the resistor Rref1, the transistor T11 is provided. The transistor T11 is turned on or off according to a control signal C1. For example, when the transistor T11 is an NMOS transistor, it is turned ON if the control signal C1 is logic HIGH and OFF if logic LOW.
In order to reduce power consumption by the resistor Rref1, the resistance value of the resistor Rref1 is preferred to be small. However, as known, it is not easy to precisely control the resistance of a small resistor. Besides, the addition of the transistor T11 also reduces the efficiency of the control loop.
Therefore, a current sensing circuit for sensing a current flowing through the LED bank(s) and a driving circuit for driving the LED bank(s) are needed, which may increase the efficiency and eliminate the disadvantages occurred in controlling small reference resistors.

Light source current sensing circuit and driving circuit in a display device


The disclosed active noise suppression headphone system is directed to a headphone system that is capable of substantially suppressing high or low frequency interfering noise that penetrate through a headphone earpiece from multiple directions. An external microphone mounted with a housing of a headphone earpiece senses ambient noise outside of the earpiece. The sensed ambient noise may be processed through at least one parallel filter bank arranged in at least one headphone earpiece. Each parallel filter bank may include adaptively linked filters. The output of these filters may be amplified based on weighting factors that are dependent upon the sensed ambient noise and that are generated by a filtered x least mean square circuit. The amplified filtered outputs may be summed to generate an antinoise signal that is in input to a loudspeaker within the headphone earpiece that substantial suppresses the ambient noise before it can be perceived by an end user of the headphones.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to audio headphones, and more particularly, audio headphones having active noise suppression.
2. Related Art
Headphones are worn by an end user to enable the user to listen to audio, such as music or speech, and to listen to other useful signals. Earpieces of some headphones include components or elements to dampen or reduce the interfering effect of ambient noise, such as noises occurring at a construction site, road noises, or noises occurring around or within a vehicle. While some of these headphones dampen or reduce high-frequency ambient noise they still permit low-frequency ambient noise to enter the earpiece undampened.
Other headphones are configured such that an earpiece loudspeaker actively outputs a signal that is substantially inverse to the noise penetrating from the outside of the earpiece so that the low frequency noise is substantially canceled out before the noise enters the end user's ear. Some active noise suppressing headphones include microphones that are generally arranged on a front outside portion of one or both headphone ear pieces. These headphones operate on surrounding ambient noise through the external microphones and a separate control unit in combination with a radio and a number of control buttons. Other active noise suppressing headphones sense ambient noise with an external microphone and compensate for the sensed ambient noise with a loudspeaker internal to a headphone ear piece and an analog filter with a transfer function. Yet other active noise suppressing headphones use separate microphones paired with separate specified filters or filter hands to reduce ambient noise. The user of these noise suppressing headphones selects through switches, depending on the circumstances, whether the first filter or the second filter is used for noise suppression. Yet other active noise suppressing headphones input ambient noise received at a microphone through an adaptive filter. In these noise suppressing headphones, the adaptive filter output is aligned in with the incidence direction of the ambient noise through the use of an error microphone positioned by a loudspeaker membrane.


An inkjet printhead for use with a nozzle capper that engages the printhead when not in use, the inkjet printhead having a nozzle plate defining an array of nozzles and having an exterior surface for engagement with the capper; such that, when the capper disengages from the exterior surface, residual ink between the capper and the exterior surface moves across the exterior surface because of a meniscus between the capper and the exterior surface; wherein, the exterior surface has gutter formations for retaining at least some of the residual ink pushed along the exterior surface by the meniscus. Gutter formations running transverse to the direction that the capper is peeled away from the nozzle plate will remove and retain some of the ink in the meniscus. While the gutters do not collect all the ink in the meniscus, they do significantly reduce the level of nozzle contamination of with different coloured ink.

The present invention involves the ejection of ink drops by way of forming gas or vapor bubbles in a bubble forming liquid. This principle is generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,120 (Stemme). Each pixel in the printed image is derived ink drops ejected from one or more ink nozzles. In recent years, inkjet printing has become increasing popular primarily due to its inexpensive and versatile nature. Many different aspects and techniques for inkjet printing are described in detail in the above cross referenced documents.
Inkjet printers often have maintenance stations that cap the printhead when it's not in use. To remove excess ink from the nozzle plate, the capper can be disengaged so that it peels off. This promotes the formation of a meniscus between the capper surface and the exterior of the nozzle plate. Using contact angle hysteresis, which relates to the angle that the surface tension in the meniscus contacts the surface (for more detail, see the Applicant's co-pending U.S. Ser. No. 11/246,714, the majority of ink wetting the exterior of the nozzle plate can be collected and drawn along by the meniscus between the capper and nozzle plate. The ink is conveniently deposited as a large bead at the point where the capper fully disengages from the nozzle plate. Unfortunately, some ink remains on the nozzle plate. If the printhead is a multi-colour printhead, the residual ink left in or around a given nozzle aperture, may be a different colour than that ejected by the nozzle because the meniscus draws ink over the whole surface of the nozzle plate. The contamination of ink in one nozzle by ink from another nozzle can create visible artefacts in the print.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Intercolour surface barriers in multi colour inkjet printhead


A formulation of Coenzyme Q10, beta-carotenes, Vitamin E, and medium chain triglycerides in rice bran oil and an optional thickener, such as bee's wax, is provided in a soft gel capsule so that a maximum of the Coenzyme Q10 is absorbed by the human body. Generally, about 60 mg of Coenzyme Q10 is the normal amount provided daily to a healthy sedentary adult.

This invention relates to an improved formulation and process methodology of Coenzyme Q10 in producing soft gel capsules of this formulation. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10 or Ubiquinone) is a large molecular weight (863.63 grams) lipid compound that is produced in the liver and perhaps other body organs. The total body content is estimated to be 1.4 to 1.8 grams, depending on the age and the physical fitness of the individual. Although CoQ10 is found in the mitochondria and other organelles of every living cell, it appears to be most abundant in tissues with a high number of mitochondria and a high level of metabolic activity. For example, in the metabolically inactive blood there is approximately 4 mg, in the heart, and in the skeletal muscle 1000 mg. The blood acts as a CoQ10 reservoir and transport media between endogenous CoQ10 synthesis in the liver, exogenous CoQ10 absorption from digested food substances in the intestinal tract, and the body cells. Endogenous synthesis appears to be responsible for 56 percent and exogenous sources for 44 percent of the body's CoQ10 requirements. These numbers are currently being studied and endogenous CoQ10 synthesis may be significantly deficient in the elderly. These deficiencies are not related to the total caloric intake, but rather to the vitamin content of ingested foods. The body requires multiple vitamins for the synthesis of CoQ10.
CoQ10 requirements of the body are also variable between individuals and are dependent on age, physical activity, and disease. It is estimated that the body CoQ10 utilization is between 5 and 9 mg per day. Intercellular CoQ10 is required for the synthesis of energy and therefore essential for life. Energy synthesis occurs in the mitochondria, where CoQ10 provides an electron for the electron transport chain in the cytochrome system, in which adenosine tripohosphate (ATP) is synthesized. As CoQ10 gives up an electron for ATP synthesis, it gets oxidized. If CoQ10 is used as an antioxidant, it gets oxidized and is no longer available to provide electrons and function in the synthesis of ATP. Under conditions of high metabolic stress, endogenous sources may become inadequate to meet the body's CoQ10 requirement for ATP synthesis. Under such conditions, dietary CoQ10 supplementation has been shown to be an effective source. An improved soft gel formulation and process of CoQ10 soft gel capsule manufacturing has uses to treat heart failure, chronic fatigue and patients with psoriasis and planter warts. In all cases, it has been found that the improved soft gel formulation at ingestion rates of 30–100 mg/day of CoQ10 have been proven to be superior to commercially available 60 mg dry powder capsules, and existing 100 mg/day CoQ10 soft gel formulations.
An appropriate CoQ10 dosage for a normal individual compared to the dosage necessary for a diseased individual has been difficult to ascertain. Recommended doses of 10 to 30 mg/day were found to be ineffective for patients with significant CoQ10 deficiencies. In the past 15 years, it has become generally accepted that poor intestinal absorption of certain CoQ10 formulations limits their effective use. For this reason, 50 and 150 mg CoQ10 containing tablets or capsules are commercially available to the consumer, at a considerably higher cost.
Folkers et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,669) addresses a soft gel capsule with CoQ10 and at least one vegetable oil. This formulation was determined to increase blood CoQ10 levels to 2.5 μg/ml compared to 1.6 μg/ml for an equivalent 100 mg dose of dry powder CoQ10. Many different CoQ10 formulations have appeared which are claimed to increase intestinal absorption. However, intestinal absorption data, collected under near basal conditions, which compare CoQ10 alone in oil with dry powder CoQ10, are conclusive that oil is a better delivery agent.

Coenzyme Q10 formulation and process methodology for soft gel capsules manufacturing


A wide-angle mirror includes a back plate having an inner side formed with an annular support flange having an outer side formed with a stop ring, a mirror plate having an inner side rested on the annular support flange of the back plate and a rim rested on the stop ring of the back plate, and a plurality of press strips secured to the back plate and rested on the mirror plate. Thus, the press strips are snapped onto the back plate and rested on the mirror plate to retain the mirror plate on the back plate, so that the wide-angle mirror is assembled easily and rapidly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wide-angle mirror, and more particularly to a wide-angle mirror having enhanced structural strength and reflective effect and having an outstanding outer appearance.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide-angle mirror is mounted on a site, such as a turning section of a road or parking lot, a supermarket, a factory or the like, so as to provide a better viewing angle, thereby preventing occurrence of traffic accidents, and thereby providing a monitoring effect.
A conventional wide-angle mirror in accordance with the prior art was disclosed in the Taiwanese Patent Publication No. 340632, 356247, 433298 and 475617. However, the above-mentioned conventional wide-angle mirror has the following disadvantages. The wide-angle mirror has too many components, thereby causing inconvenience in assembly of the wide-angle mirror, and thereby increasing costs of fabrication. In addition, the back face of the back plate has a plurality of recessed portions to reinforce the strength thereof, thereby decreasing the aesthetic quality of the wide-angle mirror. Further, the mirror plate is easily distorted or deformed due to compression, thereby greatly decreasing the reflective effect of the mirror plate. Further, the wide-angle mirror has too many components, so that it is difficult to adjust the angle of the wide-angle mirror.


A backlight assembly for a gauge of an automotive display panel and a method of illuminating a gauge of an automotive display panel is provided. The backlight assembly includes a lightpipe having a U-shaped configuration and a reflective dish surrounding the lightpipe. The lightpipe and the reflective dish are disposed on a mounting plate of the gauge above a liquid crystal display (LCD). Additionally, the backlight assembly includes one or more top firing light emitting diodes (LEDs) disposed adjacent to the lightpipe. The LEDs emit light to the lightpipe which in turn transmits light to the reflective dish. The reflective dish reflects back or disperses the light evenly to illuminate the graphic applique of the gauge.

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) and backlight assemblies are used to illuminate different vehicle components and other electronics. For instance, vehicle gauge displays and entertainment centers are well-known. Typically, these displays are illuminated by one or more lightpipes or lightguides. Such lightpipes or lightguides are custom designed to fit under an entire applique of the display and are designed to distribute light across the display. In particular, one or more lightpipes or lightguides are placed underneath the display to provide illumination. However, such lightpipes or lightguides are costly because injection molding processes are employed to form the lightpipes and lightguides to achieve the required custom shaped and adequate illumination.
To properly illuminate one or more lightpipes, multiple LEDs and in particular side-firing LEDs are used. Typically, a array of side-firing LEDs is placed in the same plane as the lightpipe to flood the lightpipe with light to uniformly illuminate the display. However, such LEDs employ the assistance of outside sources, such as thin flex circuits to ensure operation due to the LEDs constraints. Specifically, such LEDs have low efficacies or ability to produce an adequate amount of light due to the power consumed to operate the LED. As such, the thin flex circuit is provided, placed under the LEDs, and delivers current to operate the LEDs. Unfortunately, the use of thin flex circuit also results in various deficiencies. First, thin flex circuits are costly as the circuits require extensive design implementation and installation to effectively and efficiently operate the LEDs. Second, the LEDs produce heat and create thermal paths, which over time causes the components of the assembly to overheat or create other problems during illumination of the gauge.