A vehicle collision avoidance system includes a 360 degree circumferentially rotating pulsed infrared laser beam scanner apparatus which rotates in a horizontal plane and a vertical plane simultaneously for generating a first signal representative of an obstacle. An analog processing circuit is coupled to the circumferentially rotating pulsed infrared laser beam scanner apparatus for processing the first signal and generating a plurality of signals. A processor is coupled to the processing circuit for processing the plurality of signals and generating a braking signal and providing a braking apparatus with the braking signal. Associated methods are also provided. The system and method of the invention are based on a second order model which characterizes the relationship in both space and time between the vehicle and the obstacle. The circumferentially rotating pulsed infrared laser beam scanner apparatus includes an eye-safe laser apparatus in terms of peak power, pulse width, repetition rate and divergent angle.

The present invention generally relates to vehicle collision avoidance systems and methods and more particularly to a vehicle collision avoidance system and method employing a rotating pulsed infrared laser beam scanner apparatus for detecting obstacles circumferentially of the vehicle.
Vehicle collision avoidance systems and methods are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,211, "Warning Device for Vehicles Against an Approaching Objects" discloses a warning device for use on a vehicle for sensing an approaching object when the vehicle is moving backwards. The device produces a first signal when the object is in remote proximity of the vehicle and at least a second signal when the object is in close proximity of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,051, "Collision Avoidance Alarm System" discloses a passive collision avoidance system. An optical sensor is disposed to provide a continuous raster scan of the scene within a wide angle of the direction of travel of the vehicle. This sensor output is converted into digital data and stored. A computer system compares consecutive scenes to detect identifiable objects. For such identifiable objects, the computer calculates the centroid of the object and its angle, and a measure of the size or extent of the object. Detection of an object having a constant angle and an increasing measure of extent causes an alarm to be triggered.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,037 "Automobile Collision Avoidance System" discloses a system based on laser radars for aiding in avoidance of automobile collisions. The system includes laser radars with transmitters and receivers, a computer, a warning device and an optional automatic braking device. The system compares a predicted collision time with a minimal allowable time to determine the immanency of a collision. When the system determines that a situation likely to result in an accident exists, it provides a warning. The optional automatic braking device is used when the vehicle user fails to respond to the warning.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,304 "Method and Apparatus for Displaying the Impending Danger Due to Speed Associated with the Driving Situation of a Vehicle" discloses a method in accordance with which a degree of danger is defined and calculated and displayed to the driver of a vehicle, the degrees of danger indicating whether the driver of the vehicle is driving too close to a vehicle in front or other obstacle or is driving too fast in a fog. The signals necessary for this purpose are obtained from vehicle environment sensors, for example from a distance warning radar or distance recording radar and an infrared visual range measuring system, and are analyzed, together with vehicle condition signals, by a safety computer. On the basis of its specific programming, the computer determines, for the respective current driving condition, which of two degrees of danger is instantaneously predominant and indicates the condition which is respectively more critical to safety on a display.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,384 "Collision Avoidance System for Vehicles" discloses a system including an object detection module mounted on a vehicle for detecting the presence of an object within a monitored zone of space adjacent the vehicle. The detection unit emits a plurality of beams of infrared energy and detects the reflection of such energy from objects within the zone. The detection module is typically activated by the host vehicle's electrical turn signal. The detection module includes a plurality of associated pairs of light emitting diodes and photosensitive detectors for sensing the reflected light.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,612 "Method for Avoiding Collision of Vehicle and Apparatus for Performing the Same" discloses an apparatus which determines a kind of an object ahead of a vehicle to warn a driver based on the kind of the object and properly performs deceleration and braking operations based on a position of the object and a speed of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,008 "Method and Apparatus for Predicting a Crash and Reacting Thereto" discloses an apparatus which is mounted on a vehicle and determines the time-to-impact for approaching obstacles that are within a limited distance from the host vehicle. The system can be deployed in the front of the host vehicle for warning of frontal impact, and at the sides for warning of side impact.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,470,273 "Collision Warning System" discloses a system including pairs of optical sensors integral to a moving vehicle. Each of the optical sensors of the pairs of said sensors is enabled for the detection of visible light magnitudes and infrared light magnitudes in the external vicinity of the vehicle, and for creating corresponding electrical signals. The optical sensors are directed in a physically spaced apart manner along a line of travel of the vehicle. Temporal changes in the magnitudes of the electrical signals and a probability of a collision with an object external to the vehicle are determined and a warning signal is generated when collision is possible.
As can be seen, the prior art discloses systems and methods for sensing objects and potential collisions within narrow ranges, generally in the direction of vehicle travel or to cover "blind spots", and as such there is a need for a vehicle collision avoidance system and method employing a rotating pulsed infrared laser beam scanner apparatus for detecting obstacles circumferentially of the vehicle.

Vehicle collision avoidance system and method


A stent delivery catheter comprising an elongated catheter shaft having a mounting region at the distal end for mounting a stent thereon. The elongated catheter shaft has a lumen therein for receiving an inner shaft. An inner shaft is movably carried within the lumen of the elongated catheter shaft. Extending distally from the distal end of the inner shaft is a tip. A retractable sheath extends proximally from the proximal end of the tip. The sheath, in an unretracted position covers the mounting region of the elongated catheter shaft. In use, once the catheter is in the desired bodily location, the inner shaft is moved in a distal direction relative to the elongated catheter shaft which causes the retractable sheath to be moved in a distal direction relative to the mounting region thereby exposing the stent for delivery.

In typical PTCA procedures, a guiding catheter is percutaneously introduced into the cardiovascular system of a patient and advanced through the aorta until the distal end is in the ostium of the desired coronary artery. Using fluoroscopy, a guide wire is then advanced through the guiding catheter and across the site to be treated in the coronary artery. An over the wire (OTW) balloon catheter is advanced over the guide wire to the treatment site. The balloon is then expanded to reopen the artery. The OTW catheter has a guide wire lumen which is as long as the catheter. Another type of catheter, a rapid exchange catheter wherein the guide wire lumen is substantially shorter than the catheter may be used. Alternatively, a fixed wire balloon may be used. This device features a guide wire which is affixed to the catheter and cannot be removed.
To help prevent arterial closure, repair dissection, or prevent or lower restenosis, a physician can implant an intravascular prosthesis, or a stent, for maintaining vascular patency inside the artery at the lesion. In particular, a stent is a prosthesis which is generally tubular and which is expanded radially in a vessel or lumen to maintain its patency. Stents are widely used in body vessels, body canals, ducts or other body lumens. The stent may either be a balloon or otherwise mechanically expandable stent or a self-expanding stent.
For the former type, the stent is often delivered on a balloon and the balloon is used to expand the stent exerting radial force on the constricted portion of the body lumen to re-establish patency. A common material for balloon expandable stents is stainless steel.
For the latter type, the self-expanding stents may be made of shape memory materials such as nitinol or constructed of regular metals but of a design which exhibits self expansion characteristics. Self-expanding stents are typically constrained onto the delivery catheter by means of a retractable sheath covering the stent. The self-expanding stent expands from a compressed delivery position to its original diameter when released from the delivery device, exerting radial force on the constricted portion of the body lumen to re-establish patency. One common self-expanding stent is manufactured of Nitinol, a nickel-titanium shape memory alloy, which can be formed and annealed, deformed at a low temperature, and recalled to its original shape with heating, such as when deployed at body temperature in the body.
To date, several different types of catheters with retractable sheaths have been disclosed. In one type of catheter, the sheath retracts in a proximal direction. Examples of such catheters are disclosed in WO 98/12988 as well as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,534,007 to St. Germain, both of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by reference. In another type of catheter, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,548 to Lau and U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,399 to Lau, the sheath is attached to a guidewire and moved in a distal direction to release a stent for delivery. As such, the guidewire cannot be operated independently of the sheath.
The present invention is directed to a catheter having a sheath which is retractable in the distal direction and which is suitable for use as a rapid exchange catheter, an over-the-wire catheter or a fixed wire catheter.


An image processing apparatus includes an image file creation unit, a storage control unit, an extracting unit, and a display controller. The image file creation unit is configured to create a file including a plurality of images, first management information indicating a specified Exif version, and second management information including an image size and a total number of the images in the file. The storage control unit is configured to store the image file in a storage. The extraction unit is configured to extract the image from the image file in the storage based on the second management information. The display controller is configured to display the image on a display.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, a method thereof, and a recording medium. More specifically, the present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, a method thereof, and a recording medium capable of extracting an intended small image from a single composite image comprising a plurality of small associated images, e.g., captured by a digital still camera.
2. Description of Related Art
With the spread of digital still cameras in recent years, it has been a frequent practice to connect the digital still camera to a printer via a cable or a personal computer and print captured images.
Some digital still cameras combine captured images for printing (see JP-A No. 341406/1990).
Some digital still cameras can create and record a single composite image from a series of small captured images that are associated with each other. The small images can be sequentially extracted from the recorded image data for reproduction. In this manner, there is provided a simple way of recording and reproducing motion pictures.
However, the above-mentioned composite image is printed out as a series of small images like an index print.
The composite image is displayed as a series of small images on a screen. The composite image is a single image file as data though the composite image seems to comprise a plurality of image files. Accordingly, it has been impossible to either extract or print an intended small image from the composite image created as a single image file.

Image processing apparatus including image extraction unit, method thereof, and recording medium


A flush toilet includes a toilet main body made of ceramics and a rear storage configured to store at least a part of a control unit. The rear storage includes a supporting wall that divides a storage region into upper and lower regions and that joins left and right side walls of the skirt and the water discharge trap. The supporting wall includes a horizontal wall that extends in a horizontal direction from a joining portion between the supporting wall and the water discharge trap, and left and right lower walls that are provided outside the horizontal wall in a left-right direction and below the horizontal wall and that are joined to the left and right side walls of the skirt. The left and right lower walls on a rear side are separated in the left-right direction by the horizontal wall.

Conventionally, as a flush toilet which is flushed with flush water to discharge waste, there is known, for example, as described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-114632) and Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2017-89282), a so-called "full skirt" or "total Hakama" flush toilet in which a skirt formed on an outer side than a side surface of each of a bowl of a toilet main body made of ceramics and a water discharge trap is formed all around the toilet main body, and formed seamlessly in terms of desirability of the toilet main body. In this conventional "full skirt" or "total Hakama" flush toilet, a storage section that is available for storing a control unit including a function of controlling discharging and stopping of flush water to the bowl of the toilet main body is provided in a region more rearward than the bowl of the toilet main body, and four sides of this storage section is surrounded with ceramics.
Also, in the conventional flush toilet described in Patent Document 1, the storage section that is available for storing the control unit provided more rearward than the bowl of the toilet main body has left, right and rear sides surrounded with the skirt. Further, in this storage section, a supporting wall that supports the control unit extends substantially horizontally from a joining portion between the supporting wall and a discharge trap to the skirt on the left and right sides, to acquire strength of the storage section, and to acquire a storage region above the horizontal supporting wall in the storage section. Similarly, in the conventional flush toilet described in Patent Document 2, the storage section that is available for storing the control unit provided more rearward than the bowl of the toilet main body has left, right and rear sides surrounded with the skirt. In this storage section, a supporting wall that supports the control unit includes a horizontal wall that substantially horizontally protrudes leftward, rightward and rearward from a joining portion between the supporting wall and a water discharge trap, a stepped portion that descends from left, right and rear ends of the horizontal wall, and a lower wall that is joined to this stepped portion and that is provided below the horizontal wall. Additionally, the lower wall of the supporting wall is formed in a region from the stepped portion to outside the water discharge trap in a left-right direction and behind the water discharge trap. Furthermore, in a conventional flush toilet described in Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2020-165170), a storage section that is available for storing a control unit provided more rearward than a bowl of a toilet main body has left, right and rear sides that are not surrounded with a skirt made of ceramics and that are open. Also, in this storage section, a supporting wall that supports the control unit is provided, and the supporting wall includes a horizontal wall that substantially horizontally protrudes from a joining portion between the supporting wall and a water discharge trap. Further, a descending stepped portion is provided on left and right sides of the horizontal wall.
On the other hand, one of aims that have been requested to be achieved in recent years with design diversification of the flush toilet and improvement in design such as appearance of the flush toilet is to acquire a large storage region that stores a control unit in a region more rearward than a bowl of a toilet main body, while reducing (slimming) an external dimension of the whole toilet main body. Particularly, in the so-called "full skirt" or "total Hakama" flush toilet, as a larger storage region of the storage section that is provided more rearward than the bowl of the toilet main body to store the control unit is acquired, there is concern about lack of strength, and hence one of requested aims is to increase strength of the whole toilet main body while also increasing strength of the storage section. However, in the conventional flush toilet described in Patent Document 1, in the storage section of the control unit that is provided more rearward than the bowl of the toilet main body, the supporting wall that supports the control unit simply extends substantially horizontally from the joining portion between the supporting wall and the discharge trap to the skirt on the left, right and rear sides. Consequently, there is a problem that the storage region is limited to a region above the substantially horizontal supporting wall and that it is difficult to acquire the storage region in a region below the horizontal supporting wall or the like. Also, in the conventional flush toilet described in Patent Document 2 in which the supporting wall that supports the control unit in the storage section of the control unit includes the horizontal wall, the stepped portion, and the lower wall, as compared with the conventional flush toilet described in Patent Document 1, a larger storage region of the control unit can be acquired. In the conventional flush toilet described in Patent Document 2, however, the lower wall of the supporting wall is widely formed in the region outside the water discharge trap in the left-right direction and behind the water discharge trap. Consequently, there is concern about lack of strength, and there is a problem that the whole toilet main body might increase in size to make up for the lack of strength. Furthermore, in the conventional flush toilet described in Patent Document 3, the left, right and rear sides of the storage section of the control unit are not surrounded with the skirt made of ceramics, and hence there is a problem that this flush toilet has insufficient strength compared to the full skirt flush toilet.
Accordingly, the present invention is aimed at solving problems of the conventional arts described above and is aimed at providing a flush toilet in which a large storage section of a control unit in a toilet main body can be acquired, and strength of the whole toilet main body can be increased, while suppressing an external dimension of the whole toilet main body.


The invention relates to a tap changer for voltage regulation with semiconductor switching components on a regulating transformer having a regulating winding. The tap changer is of a modular design and each module comprises, respectively, one partial winding of the regulating winding that is connectable or disconnectable by means of semiconductor switching components. Varistors and capacitors are additionally integrated for protecting the semiconductor switching components against high voltages.

A regulatable transformer with semiconductor switches is already described in DE 22 48 166. The secondary winding there comprises a specific number of regulating winding parts, a certain number of which are assembled in a series-connected group of windings, wherein each winding group has two or three regulating winding parts that are connected in parallel. In that arrangement, each winding part is provided with a contactless switch. This reference also describes another variant wherein the secondary winding of the transformer comprises a group of series-connected regulating winding parts, with each winding part comprising four contactless switches. The arrangement is equipped such that terminal voltage polarity of the regulating winding part is reversible and the entire regulating winding part is optionally bypassable as well.
A further apparatus for stepped switching of the secondary voltage of a transformer is known from DE 25 08 013 [U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,395]. The secondary winding is grouped in partial windings in that case too, and semiconductor switches can also be provided.
DE 197 47 712 describes a similar type of tap changer arranged on a tapped transformer that is constructed as an autotransformer. Individual winding parts that are connectable individually and independently from each other, are also provided here. Besides fixed taps of the regulating winding, this arrangement also comprises separate switchable or connectable winding parts.
Known from WO 1995/027931 [U.S. Pat. No. 5,604,423] are various embodiments of another tap changer for uninterrupted load transfer, wherein thyristors also serve as switches. Different winding parts of a tap winding can then be connected or disconnected as part of the secondary winding of the respective tapped transformer by anti-parallel connected thyristor pairs. The specification further proposes a method termed "discrete circle modulation" for realizing as fine-stepped a voltage regulation as possible with a limited number of winding taps present, in which method the thyristors are activated in such a manner that intermediate values of the secondary voltage result.
A modularly constructed semiconductor tap changer system is known from the publication "A new approach to solid-state on load tap changing transformers" (Osman, Demirci; David, A., Torrey; Rober, C., Degeneff; IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Vol. 13, Issue: 3, July 1998). There, the regulating winding is connected in series with multiple modules. Each of the modules comprises semiconductor switches and partial windings with different numbers of turns. Targeted actuation of the semiconductor switches allows the partial windings to be connected with or disconnected from the regulating winding. By the different numbers of turns it is even possible to switch partial windings against each other and against the main winding.
In the solutions known from the prior art, semiconductor switches de facto take over the function of the mechanical selector arm in classic mechanical tap changers. Individual winding taps of the regulating windings can specifically be connected or disconnected by the semiconductor switches. It is also possible to subdivide the regulating winding into partial windings that are separately connectable.
These tap changers must comply with the requirements of the different IEC standards 60214-1 in combination with IEC 60060. Among others, a separate source AC withstand voltage test and a lightning impulse voltage test have to be performed. In the separate source AC withstand voltage test, a single-phase alternating voltage of a frequency of 50 or 60 Hz is applied for 60 seconds. According to the approved medium operating voltage, these values can range from 20 kV to 325 kV. The lightning impulse voltage test must be performed at the standard 1.2/50 μs. The alternating voltage can rise up to a level of 1.8 MV in the process. Since these alternating voltages apply immediately at the tap changer, in particular at the semiconductor switches, and since it is either not possible or only possible with great effort to design the semiconductor switches for such high alternating voltages, damages to the semiconductor switches are likely to occur.


A support device for supporting a musical instrument includes a base, the base includes a first side portion and a second side portion. The support device also includes a support body rotatably coupled to the base. The support body includes a first support surface and a second support surface. The first support surface defines a channel in the support body, the second support surface is substantially planar. The support body is configured to rotate between at least a first position and a second position around an axis intersecting the first side portion and the second side portion.

Musical instruments, such as stringed musical instruments including acoustic guitars, electrical guitars, bass guitars, and the like, may require setup and periodic maintenance for proper function and performance. During manufacture, setup, and maintenance, the instrument may be subjected to various forces associated with manipulating and working on the instrument. These forces may damage the instrument. A support device may be used to mitigate some of the forces on the instrument.


The invention presents to a user a situation of the collision of an avatar against another object in a three-dimensional virtual space in an easy-to-understand manner. When the avatar is being navigated forward in the three-dimensional virtual space, if the avatar collides at its head node against a fixed object arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space (the object simulating a billboard, for example), an alert frame is displayed in the upper portion of the display area of a browser for displaying the three-dimensional virtual space. At the same time, an artificial collision sound is outputted. Thus, the alert frame corresponding to the colliding node is displayed and different collision sounds are outputted according to colliding nodes, so that the collision situation is presented to the user in an intuitively understandable manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The presents invention generally relates to a three-dimensional virtual space information processing apparatus, a three-dimensional virtual space information processing method, and a medium for providing a three-dimensional virtual space information processing program. More particularly, the present invention relates to a three-dimensional virtual space information processing apparatus, a three-dimensional virtual space information processing method, and a medium for providing a three-dimensional virtual space information processing program that, when an avatar moving in a three-dimensional virtual space collides against a predetermined object, present in an easy-to-understand manner the collision situation of the avatar by making an alert corresponding to a collision portion of the avatar.
2. Description of Related Art
A cyberspace service named Habitat (trademark) is known in the so-called personal computer communications services such as NIFTY-Serve (trademark) of Japan and CompuServe (trademark) of US in which a plurality of users connect their personal computers via modems and public telephone network to the host computers installed at the centers of the services to access them in predetermined protocols.
Development of Habitat started in 1985 by Lucas Film of the US, operated by Quantum Link, one of US commercial networks, for about three years. Then, Habitat started its service in NIFTY-Serve as Fujitsu Habitat (trademark) in February 1990. In Habitat, users can send their alter egos called avatars (the incarnation of a god figuring in the Hindu mythology) into a virtual city called Populopolis drawn by two-dimensional graphics to have a chat (namely, a realtime conversation based on text entered and displayed) with each other. For further details of Habitat, refer to the Japanese translation of xe2x80x9cCyberspace: First Steps,xe2x80x9d Michael Benedikt, ed., 1991, MIT Press Cambridge, Mass., ISBN0-262-02327-X, the translation being published Mar. 20, 1994, by NTT Publishing, ISBN4-87188-265-9C0010, pp. 282-307.
However, in the related art cyberspace system, a virtual street, a virtual room interior, and the like are drawn in two-dimensional graphics. In such an environment, movement of an avatar backward or forward is realized simply by moving it up or down in a two-dimensional background, providing poor representation for enabling the user to experience walk or movement in the virtual space. Because this scheme makes the user look at the virtual space in which the user""s avatar and another user""s avatar are shown from the viewpoint of a third person, the sense of pseudo experience is marred to a large extent.
To solve these problems, a capability that displays a virtual space in three-dimensional graphics and allows the user to freely walk with the viewpoint of the avatar in the displayed three-dimensional space is implemented by use of a three-dimensional graphics data description language called VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 9-81781. Details of VRML are disclosed in the Japanese translation of xe2x80x9cVRML: Browsing and Building Cyberspace,xe2x80x9d Mark Pesce, 1995, New Readers Publishing, ISBN 1-56205-498-8, the translation being entitled xe2x80x9cGetting to Know VRML: Building and Browsing Three-Dimensional Cyberspace,xe2x80x9d translated by Kouichi Matsuda, Terunao Gamachi, Shouichi Takeuchi, Yasuaki Honda, Junichi Rekimoto, Masayuki Ishikawa, Takeshi Miyashita and Kazuhiro Hara, published Mar. 25, 1996, Prenticehall Publishing, ISBN4-931356-37-0 and xe2x80x9cRecent Trends of VRML And CyberPassage,xe2x80x9d by Kouichi Matsuda and Yasuaki Honda, The xe2x80x9cbitxe2x80x9d Magazine, Kyoritsu Publising, 1996 (Vol. 28, No. 7, pp. 29 through 36, No. 8, pp. 57 through 65, No. 9, pp. 29 through 36, No. 10, pp. 49 through 58) for example.
The official and complete specifications of xe2x80x9cThe Virtual Reality Modeling Language Version 2.0, ISO/IEC CD 14772xe2x80x9d are published on the Internet.
VRML 2.0, the latest version of VRML, claims that it can describe and represent the autonomous behavior of an object in a three-dimensional virtual space. Therefore, when walking around with a viewpoint of an avatar in a virtual space represented by three-dimensional graphics in a browser for VRML 2.0, namely a three-dimensional virtual space, a user of that avatar can have a sensation as if he or she is actually in that space.
For the above-mentioned VRML 2.0 browser and the software for a shared server, xe2x80x9cCommunity Place (trademark) Browser/Bureauxe2x80x9d has been developed and commercialized by Sony Corporation, the applicant hereof. Its beta version (namely the test version) can be downloaded from Sony""s Internet home page.
Referring to FIG. 14, there is illustrated an example of a three-dimensional virtual space as displayed in a related-art VRML browser (hereafter simply referred to as a browser). As shown, if an avatar being navigated by its user in the three-dimensional space displayed in the browser collides against a fixed object 301 simulating a billboard, for example arranged in the virtual space, a frame indicative of the collision is displayed on the four sides of the display area of the browser (the frame hereafter referred to as an alert frame). At the same time, an artificial collision sound (an alert sound) is generated. Thus, the user is alerted that the avatar collided against the fixed object 301.
However, the provision of this alert frame alone presents a problem of making it difficult for the user to understand a situation in which an avatar collides against an object not appearing in the avatar""s visibility range, or the browser display area. This situation includes, for example, that the avatar being navigated with its viewpoint directed upward (the browser display area set upward) collides against an object simulating a stone (this object currently not appearing in the browser display range) lying at a foot of the avatar and cannot move forward any further and that the avatar being navigated backward (the browser display area set forward) collides at its back against an object simulating a building wall (this object not appearing in the browser display range) and cannot move backward any further.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an easy-to-understand presentation of a situation in which an avatar collides against an object in a three-dimensional virtual space.
A three-dimensional virtual space information processing apparatus comprises a detecting means for detecting, if an avatar collides against an object in a three-dimensional virtual space, the colliding node of the avatar and an alerting means for providing an alert corresponding to the colliding node detected by the detecting means.
A three-dimensional virtual space information processing method comprises the steps of detecting, if an avatar collides against an object in a three-dimensional virtual space, the colliding node of the avatar and outputting an alert corresponding to the colliding node detected by the detecting step.
A program providing medium provides a computer program comprising the steps of detecting, if an avatar collides against an object in a three-dimensional virtual space, the colliding node of the avatar and outputting an alert corresponding to the colliding node detected by the detecting step.
In the three-dimensional virtual space information processing apparatus described in claim 1, the three-dimensional virtual space information processing method, and the program providing medium, if an avatar collides against a predetermined object, the colliding node of the avatar is detected and an alert corresponding to the colliding node is provided by means of an alert frame and an alert sound for example.

Collision detection apparatus and method for avatars in a three-dimensional virtual space


To terminate polishing at an appropriate position, an end point position of the polishing is sensed. According to one embodiment, a method that chemomechanically polishes a substrate including a functional chip is provided. The method includes: a step of disposing the functional chip on the substrate; a step of disposing an end point sensing element on the substrate; a step of sealing the substrate on which the functional chip and the end point sensing element are disposed with an insulating material; a step of polishing the insulating material; and a step of sensing an end point of the polishing based on the end point sensing element while the insulating material is polished.

To achieve downsizing and improved performance of electronics products, a three-dimensional mounting technology that piles up a plurality of semiconductor chips in multi-layer and produces one package has been gathering attention. There has been also invented a three-dimensional mounting technology that stacks thin-plated semiconductor chips having similar functions or thin-plated semiconductor chips having different functions for improved integration and achieves high-density mounting of the semiconductor chips by providing electrical connections between the respective semiconductor chips. There may be a case where an interposer and an interconnection chip are used in a package having a three-dimensional structure for electrical connection between the semiconductor chips. For formation of a three-dimensional wiring structure, there may be a case where a layer on which a semiconductor chip is disposed is sealed with an insulating material and a next wiring structure is formed on the insulating material.

Method for polishing substrate including functional chip


The present invention discloses a process for removing undesired particles from a gas stream including the steps of contacting a composition containing an adhesive with the gas stream; collecting the undesired particles and adhesive on a collection surface to form an aggregate comprising the adhesive and undesired particles on the collection surface; and removing the agglomerate from the collection zone. The composition may then be atomized and injected into the gas stream. The composition may include a liquid that vaporizes in the gas stream. After the liquid vaporizes, adhesive particles are entrained in the gas stream. The process may be applied to electrostatic precipitators and filtration systems to improve undesired particle collection efficiency.

Environmental standards for particulate emissions by coal-fired electrical power plants, petroleum refineries, chemical plants, pulp and paper plants, cement plants, and other particulate-emitting facilities are becoming increasingly more demanding. For example, air quality standards in the United States now require power plants to remove more than 99 percent of the fly ash produced by coal combustion before flue gas may be discharged into the atmosphere. As environmental standards tighten, there is a corresponding need for a more efficient means of particulate removal.
Electrostatic precipitators and filtration systems are two commonly used devices for the removal of undesired particles from the gas streams produced by plants and refineries. As used herein, "undesired particles" refers to any particulate matter that is desired to be removed from a gas stream. In electrostatic precipitators, undesired particle-laden gases pass negatively charged corona electrodes which impart a negative charge to the undesired particles. The charged particles then migrate towards positively charged collection plates alternately positioned between the corona electrodes. The undesired particles accumulate on the collection plates and are removed by various techniques, including sonic horn blasts or rapping of the collection plates. Electrostatic precipitators may employ one stage for both the charging and collection of undesired particles or multiple stages with the charging and collection being done in different stages.
Filtration systems, such as baghouses, remove undesired particles from gas streams by passing the gas streams through large filters. The filters have pores large enough to pass the gases in the gas stream but small enough to prevent passage of undesired particles. The filters may be of a fabric, metal, paper or ceramic construction. The undesired particles can be removed from a filter by many techniques including shakers, pulse jets, or reverse gas flow.
In both electrostatic precipitators and filtration systems, efficiency and cost are critical considerations. The efficiency of electrostatic precipitators is decreased by undesired particle reentrainment into a gas stream during the removal of undesired particles from the collection plates. Field studies have shown that as much as 80 percent of the particulate emissions into the atmosphere from electrostatic precipitators result from such reentrainment.
Filtration system efficiency is decreased by the build-up of undesired particles on the filter. Particle build-up clogs filter pores, hindering the passage of the gas stream through the filter, which causes a large pressure drop across the filter. To reduce the pressure drop, the filters require frequent cleaning to reduce the build-up of undesired particles on the filter. The need to frequently clean the filters increases not only operating costs but also undesired particle emissions.
Numerous approaches have been proposed for increasing the efficiency of electrostatic precipitators and filtration systems. In one approach, ammonia gas and sulfur trioxide may be injected into a gas stream to form ammonium sulfates on the surfaces of undesired particles. This approach has several drawbacks. First, a possible product of the reaction between ammonia gas and sulfur gas is ammonium bisulfate which fouls the electrostatic precipitator or filtration system components. Such component fouling impairs the operation of the components and increases undesired particle emissions and unit operating costs. Second, the use of ammonia gas in the gas stream may require additional downstream gas purification steps to remove unreacted ammonia gas from the gas stream prior to discharge. Ammonia gas is known to create environmental damage and increase the opacity of the discharged gas stream. Finally, the odor associated with ammonia may also cause problems in the disposal of the undesired particles after collection.
Another approach to reduce undesired particle emissions is to employ a wetted collection surface. In such "wet systems," a liquid, typically water, is supplied to the collection surface to enhance undesired particle collection and reduce reentrainment. Unless expensive materials are employed, however, components of wet systems can suffer high corrosion rates due to acid formation.
Other approaches to increase electrostatic precipitator and filtration system efficiency similarly require the addition of expensive components to new or existing units and/or otherwise raise other operational complications.

Method and apparatus for decreased undesired particle emissions in gas streams


A method of generating an IRF pattern for testing an IC and a test pattern generator are disclosed. In one embodiment, the method includes: (1) identifying a path of the integrated circuit for inline resistive fault pattern generation, (2) determining if the path is a minimal slack path of the IC and (3) generating, when the path is the minimal slack path, a restricted inline resistive fault pattern for the path using only a capture polarity having a minimal inherent margin.

Semiconductor manufacturers perform a series of tests to detect faults in manufactured ICs. Some of the defects, such as line resistive vias and bridges, can be effectively caught by conducting testing at the functional speed of the IC. Automatic Test Pattern Generation (ATPG) tools can provide fault models that can be used to generate tests for detecting at-speed failures. An ATPG tool is often used to generate a test pattern (an input or test sequence) that, when applied to an IC, allows a tester to determine between correct circuit behavior and faulty circuit behavior caused by defects.
The generated test patterns for at-speed testing require a first part that launches a logic transition value along a path and a second part that captures the response at a particular time based on the clock speed of the system. In a typical synchronous design style, the logic transition value is applied ("launched") at a launch flip-flop of the path and retrieved ("captured") at a capture flip-flop of the path. Located between the launch flip-flop and the capture flip-flop of the path is combinational logic.
Inline resistive fault (IRF) pattern generation is an example of a test pattern generated for at-speed testing of an IC. IRF pattern generation is used to create at-speed scan based testing patterns to launch data from one register (i.e., the launch flip-flop) and capture the data at the next register (i.e., the capture flip-flop) while operating the IC at or close to the functional speed. IRF patterns test one polarity of data transitioning through the path so at the capture register (or capture flip-flop) data will either be rising or falling, but both directions are not tested.
Due to the manner in which storage elements are characterized in a cell library, IRF patterns may be generated that allow setup times to be missed and the capture flip-flop still capture data. Setup time is understood as the amount of time needed for an input data signal to precede the arrival of the clock signal at a clocked element and result in a known clock to output delay value. Setup time is not a timing requirement for a storage element to successfully capture arriving data. A storage element may still capture data when the setup time is missed, but the magnitude of the setup time miss can vary greatly between if rising or falling data is arriving at the storage element. Since data may still be captured even when setup times are missed, the results of IRF testing may be flawed. As such, improved IRF testing would be beneficial in the art.

Method of generating a restricted inline resistive fault pattern and a test pattern generator


A method for automatic resetting of a timer according to the exit time when an item starts descending from a flying object. The resetting is based on a number of altitude values, which are continuously measured by performing air pressure measurements or position measurements. Furthermore, a microprocessor based apparatus implementing said method is described. The timer can be used for activating an external mechanical or electrical apparatus e.g. a canopy or an audible warning device.

Prior art devices designed to activate an acoustic signal, a canopy opening mechanism or other operators are all based on the principle of activating the device when a certain barometric air pressure and/or air speed has occurred or after a preset elapsed time after a mechanical or electrical chronometer has been activated manually, see e.g. EP 48 07 33 and US 47 83 027.
None of the prior art devices are able to determine the exit time automatically, which could otherwise enhance the safe function of such devices and further contribute to presenting better information, preferably audible, to the parachutist when descending.

Method for resetting a timer and a timer especially for use in connection with an item descending from a flying object


A system and method to allow gold to circulate as digital cash through the global computer network (Internet) and/or private communication networks much like cash currently circulates in the physical world. A computer system (emint) will create digital representations of gold (ecoins). Each ecoin will represent a weight of gold held at a participating secure storage facility (storage site), and each ecoin is given by the emint a unique Digital Hallmark.TM. by which it can be distinguished and identified. The sum total of all circulating ecoins (denominated in physical measures such as weights such as grams and/or ounces and fractions thereof) will equal the weight of all the gold held for safekeeping at the storage site(s) for the users of the emint. The ownership of gold is not transferred by a computer system executing debits and credits between individual accounts, but instead by individuals directly transferring ecoins amongst themselves (as is done in cash transactions, i.e., without double-entry bookkeeping).

Recent advances in the field of cryptography have made possible the secure and privacy-protected transfer of digital information over insecure, open communication channels such as the global computer network known as the "Internet", by using public key encryption technologies.
Public key encryption methods have been developed for use in electronic cash. In one such method known as the RSA algorithm, encryption and decryption are accomplished by two mathematical equations which are related as inverses of each other. These equations are the private key, used by the issuing financial institution to digitally sign, or certify, a note, and the related public key, used by the recipient to determine and verify the existence of a valid signature on the note. Such protocols are known in the art and are described for example in Chaum, U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,063, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
In addition to such digital signature methods for certifying a digital note, a blind signature protocol has been developed so that the certifying financial institution cannot determine the note which it has certified, allowing the user to maintain his privacy. In such systems the user "blinds" the note he submits to the financial institution for its digital signature, the financial institution applies its digital signature to certify the note, and the user then unblinds the note and uses it to make a payment to a payee. A blind signature system is described in Chaum, U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,063 which has been incorporated by reference, and is in commercial use by DigiCash b.v. of the Netherlands.
In order to prevent a user from spending the note more than once, methods have been developed for testing the note to determine if it has already been spent. In one such system, if a note is spent twice, the identity of the user is revealed. Such a system is more suitable for lower value payments and is disclosed for example in Chaum, U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,698. For higher value payments, the payee will verify the status of the received note with the issuing financial institution, which will keep a database of issued and spent notes.
In still other methods, notes may be generated that can have plural currency values (like a wallet containing $10, $5, and $1 bills) or which can have a variable value as portions of the note are spent. Such methods are disclosed in Chaum, U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,380, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
In summary, such public key signature systems allow an issuing financial institution to digitally sign an electronic note with its secret key such that the user, and the ultimate payee, can verify the authenticity of the note and the ability to make payment. The blinding protocol protects the user's privacy by preventing the financial institution from tracing a note subsequently presented to it for payment as cash.
In such systems, the electronic note signed by the issuing financial institution is denominated in a national currency. In my prior copending application Ser. No. 08/465,430, which is hereby incorporated by reference, I have described the problems associated with payment systems based on national currencies and the problems associated with common banking practices.
A particular problem is the payment risk now inherent in existing payment mechanisms, and the problem of "float." Payment risk arises in conventional banking systems where a financial institution accepts deposits, then in turn loans out that money to others. This is known as "fractional banking," in that the financial institution only keeps on hand a fraction of the actual assets it is holding for the account of its depositors. If the financial institution fails due to bad loans or fraud, the financial institution lacks sufficient assets to pay off its depositors. This practice has lead to significant losses in connection with financial institution failures such as at the Herstatt Bank in Germany and the BCCI scandal. A related payment risk arises due to the fluctuating value of national currencies due to inflation and currency exchange rate variations dependent on the economy of the nation issuing the currency. Thus, there is a risk incurred by accepting national currencies.
"Float" is the amount of time a payee must wait for a transaction to be processed. This is considered an expense because of the unavailability of finds, which represents opportunity costs. In order to eliminate these payment risks and float, my invention disclosed in my copending parent application uses an asset (like gold) instead of a liability (national currency) for settling payments in a book-entry accounting system.
However, situations exist in which using a book-entry system for payments may be inexpedient or disadvantageous. In many cases, the payer and/or payee in a transaction may not want to be identified with a specific payment, preferring instead to remain anonymous. Currently, paper cash and metal coins provide such privacy in a transaction. Electronic cash also provides such privacy, although the payee can make himself known to the issuing financial institution as the recipient of anonymous funds when he redeems an electronic note for cash or other payment.
Also, smaller payments (generally considered to be amounts of less than U.S. $10) may be uneconomical to process through a book-entry system, because double-entry bookkeeping generally involves relating particular credits and debits to particular accounts, i.e., correctly identifying the payer and the payee with each transaction and the amounts involved. The cost of knowing the identities of customers is high if it requires human operators to verify this information.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system that provides anonymity to one or more parties in a payment transaction, and provides the advantages of elimination of payment risk as described and claimed in my prior parent application.

Electronic cash eliminating payment risk


The invention involves methods and materials related to the transformation of Brassica by particle bombardment. Specifically, the invention provides methods of preparing non-embryo Brassica tissue such that Brassica cells are capable of being cultured, transformed by particle bombardment, and regenerated into plants. In addition, this invention provides stably transformed Brassica cells as well as their progeny. This invention also provides methods of selecting Brassica tissue with liquid medium such that transformed Brassica cells are identified and regenerated into transformed Brassica plants.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to methods and materials involved in the transformation of Brassica by particle bombardment.
2. Background Information
Brassica species include a large group of agriculturally important crops that are used by humans as vegetables, edible oils, and condiments. In fact, Brassica oil production accounts for more than 12 percent of the world""s edible oil. To improve the quality of agriculturally important crops, cultivators have traditionally relied upon conventional breeding methods. With the current advances in plant molecular biology and genetics, however, cultivators can now improve plant quality through the introduction of foreign DNA.
Several different methods have been used to transform plants. One commonly used method involves bombarding plant cells with microparticles that have been coated with the DNA of interest. Indeed, particle bombardment methods have been widely used to transform corn, soybean, wheat, and rice. Attempts to transform Brassica species using particle bombardment, however, have not been as successful. In fact, the only successful transformation of Brassica required substantial manipulation of Brassica embryos. Thus, researchers currently rely on alternative approaches such as Agrobacterium-mediated methods to transform Brassica.
The invention involves the transformation of Brassica species by particle bombardment. Specifically, the invention is based on the discovery of a quick and convenient tissue preparation technique that results in Brassica cells that are capable of being cultured, transformed by particle bombardment, and regenerated into plants. In addition, the invention provides transformed cells as well as regenerated plants that grow to maturity and set seeds. Such regenerated plants and their offspring stably express the transferred nucleic acid molecule. The simplicity of the invented method described herein makes particle bombardment transformation in Brassica not only possible, but also economically feasible.
One aspect of the invention provides a method of producing transformed Brassica cells involving bombarding cells prepared from non-embryo Brassica tissue with nucleic acid-coated microprojectiles and identifying cells transformed with the nucleic acid. Cells transformed with the nucleic acid can be identified by placing the bombarded cells onto a floatation device, contacting the floatation device with liquid selection medium, and selecting cells that survive. This method can also involve regenerating Brassica plants from the transformed cells. For example, identified cells can be placed onto a floatation device that contacts liquid regeneration medium. The cells prepared from non-embryo Brassica tissue can be diploid. In addition, the non-embryo Brassica tissue can be from a seedling, for example, a 4-6 day old sterile seedling. The cells can be prepared from non-embryo Brassica tissue by cutting the tissue into pieces and contacting the pieces with induction medium. For example, the cells can be prepared from non-embryo Brassica tissue by a method comprising cutting a hypocotyl from a seedling into multiple pieces, slicing the pieces longitudinally, and contacting the epidermal side of the longitudinal slices with induction medium. The cells can also be prepared from non-embryo Brassica tissue by a method comprising macerating the tissue into a cellular slurry. For example, the cells can be prepared from non-embryo Brassica tissue by a method comprising removing the lower portion of a hypocotyl from a seedling, combining the remaining upper portion, which contains a shoot tip, cotyledons, and 10-50 percent of the hypocotyl, with induction medium, and macerating the combination into a cellular slurry. In addition, the cellular slurry can also be enriched for 46-230 micron-sized cellular matter. The nucleic acid used to transform Brassica cells can regulate the expression of or encode a polypeptide. For example, the nucleic acid can encode an anti-sense molecule, such as a ribozyme or anti-sense oligonucleotide. Further, the Brassica tissue can be from Brassica species such as Brassica napus, Brassica juncea, Brassica carinata, Brassica nigra, Brassica oleracea, and Brassica campestris (also called xe2x80x9crapaxe2x80x9d).
Another aspect of the invention provides Brassica cells and progeny thereof produced by bombarding cells prepared from non-embryo Brassica tissue with nucleic acid-coated microprojectiles and identifying cells transformed with the nucleic acid.
Another aspect of the invention provides a method for culturing Brassica tissue involving placing Brassica tissue onto a floatation device that contacts liquid medium. This liquid medium can be selection medium. Culturing Brassica tissue on selection medium can result in the identification of Brassica tissue that has been transformed with nucleic acid. In addition, this liquid medium can be regeneration medium. Culturing Brassica tissue on regeneration medium can result in the regeneration of a Brassica plant from Brassica tissue.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, suitable methods and materials are described below. All publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. In case of conflict, the present specification, including definitions, will control. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, and from the claims.

Method of selecting transformed Brassica tissue


The present invention relates to a method, system and apparatus for continuously monitoring variations in the size of particles present in a fluid on a real time basis. The method comprises of passing one or more optical signal through the fluid such as engine oil. The variation (attenuation or enhancement) in the intensity of the optical signal is continuously measured with respect to time. In an embodiment, the method, system and apparatus of the present invention enable monitoring of the amount, size and onset of particle agglomeration using single or multiple wavelengths as interrogating optical signal(s). An exemplary embodiment is provided for monitoring of the amount, size and onset of soot particle agglomeration in engine oil using single or multiple wavelengths as interrogating optical signal(s).

Monitoring the size and amount of particles or contaminants present in a fluid is important in various industrial applications. This can be achieved by utilizing direct or indirect optical measurement methods, including scattering methods.
Scattering is a general physical phenomenon whereby some forms of radiation, such as light or moving particles, are forced to deviate from a straight path by one or more localized non-uniformities in the medium through which it passes. The types of non-uniformities that can cause scattering are sometimes known as scatterers or scattering centers. The scatterers may include particles, bubbles, droplets, density fluctuations in fluids, defects in crystalline solids, surface roughness, cells in organisms, and textile fibers in clothing etc. Scattering is a very general phenomenon which can take various forms depending on the size of the scatterer as compared to the wavelength of the radiation.
As known in art the scattering phenomenon can be categorized as Rayleigh scattering or Mie scattering. Rayleigh scattering involves scattering of light, or other electromagnetic radiation, by particles significantly smaller than the wavelength of the light. For particle sizes comparable to or somewhat larger than the interrogating wavelength, Mie scattering predominates. At values of the ratio of particle diameter to wavelength more than about 10, the laws of geometric optics are mostly sufficient to describe the interaction of light with the particle, and at this point the interaction is not usually described as scattering.
Known optical methods for different applications use various wavelengths including wavelengths that are smaller, about the same as or larger than the size of the particles to be measured. One such application is to monitor the amount and size of soot particles in engine lubricating oil (hereafter referred to as 'engine oil') wherein the intensity of the interrogating optical signal when passed through the engine oil containing non-uniformities/particulate material can be analyzed to monitor the condition of the engine oil.
In standard internal combustion engines, most of the soot generated by the combustion of the fuel is released to the atmosphere via the exhaust gas, while a small fraction entered the crankcase and the engine lubricant via combustion gas blow-by (i.e. combustion gas leaking pass the piston rings, valve guides, etc.), or through deposition on cylinder walls that was subsequently scraped off by the piston rings and ultimately deposited into the lubricating oil. Further, due to more rigorous nitro-oxidation and hydrocarbon emission policies of the environmental protection agencies, engine manufacturers are increasingly using exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) to reduce atmospheric soot emissions. EGR sends some of the engine emissions, including soot, back to the combustion chamber creating a multi-pass opportunity for the soot to ingress to the lubricating oil and thereby increasing the rate of growth of soot concentration in the lubricant.
For most combustion engines, the soot content (or soot load or soot weight) increases more or less linearly with the number of hours of operation since the last oil change. As time progress the amount of soot trapped in the engine oil can reach significant levels, especially in Diesel engines. Under some conditions the accumulation of soot in the engine oil can prevent proper lubrication of the engine parts and can significantly accelerate engine wear. It is therefore important to be able to monitor the presence of soot and/or other contaminations in internal combustion engines and/or any other device where such particles may be present. Soot particles comprise the largest volume of contaminants present in used diesel engine lubrication oil. When large amount of soot is present, the lubricating oil viscosity is altered, and the oil may no longer be able to properly lubricate the engine. Furthermore large agglomerated soot particles cause abrasive action on the engine bearings. This is most insidious in regions of high-load where oil films are on the order of microns or less.
In fresh lubricating oil, the soot particles are suspended in the oil, surrounded by additives such as dispersants whose function is to prevent soot particle growth. When the dispersant is consumed or prevented to perform its function, the small soot particles can aggregate to form much larger elements. The risk to the engine is limited as long as these small soot particles remain suspended in the oil and are not allowed to agglomerate to form larger particles. However, when the soot particles grow to be of a size similar to that of the lubricating oil film thickness as found on critical parts, significant wear to the engine may rapidly occur. This condition is highly undesirable and there has been a need for systems to monitor the condition of the engine oil so that damages associated with the wear due to contaminated engine oil can be avoided or minimized.
Some of the prior art systems monitor condition of the engine oil by indirect measurements, for example by measuring surrogates, such as dielectric constant. However, these surrogates may be influenced by many parameters besides soot such as moisture, ethylene glycol, etc. It is difficult to assess the state of the engine oil using these indirect measurements.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,213 titled, "Optical determination of amount of soot in oil sample" assigned to Desjardins, John B. et al., proposes a method and apparatus for determining the concentration of materials in fluids, such as soot in diesel engine lubricating oils. An optical cell is employed in the form of a very thin tapered sample volume which is inserted into a light beam. The attenuation of the beam is measured at different locations along the varying thickness of the sample. The invention of Desjardins, et al is focused towards an improved optical cell for determining soot concentration in engine oil. Desjardin's monitor the optical transmission at one point in time. This approach does not provide information about the soot particles physical size, or the soot particle growth. Furthermore Desjardin's approach requires movement of the analytical cell in order to perform the measurement.
There is therefore a need for a method and system for a real-time and in-field monitoring the condition of soot particles present in the engine oil in order to minimize potentially high-risk circumstances of wear and damage of the engine.

Method, system and apparatus for monitoring variations in the size of particles present in a fluid


An insulated gate TFT (thin film transistor) liquid crystal pixel device driving circuit includes a supplemental capacitive element (condenser) that has the following two insulating films that is sandwiched between one electrode made of non-single crystal (semi-conductive) silicon and another electrode made of a conductor: (1) an insulating silicon-oxide film; (2) an insulating film made of the same material that was used for insulating the gate of the pixel TFT. The supplemental capacitive element is specifically provided with a thicker insulating film portion compared to that of the pixel TFT. Consequently, if the TFT gate insulating film is somehow subsequently thinned, the supplemental capacitive element is less susceptible to the occurrence of defects such as pin holes or the like. As a result, not only is the performance of the pixel TFTs upgraded, but also the reliability of the associated supplemental capacitive elements is increased. Thus, the method and apparatus in accordance with the present invention makes it possible to provide an inexpensive liquid crystal display device having improved performance over conventional TFTs combined with a greater reliability and an increased resistance of the supplemental capacitive elements to voltage spikes or the like.

Recently, there has been much active development of liquid crystal devices for use in flat panel liquid crystal displays, most notable of which have been the advances in monolithic driver panel design. Parallel to such developments, various types of thin film transistors (hereinafter referred to as TFTs) made of polycrystalline silicon have also been proposed for use in the monolithic driver panel.
In a liquid crystal display device which employs the above-mentioned TFTs and is driven by an active-matrix driving method, each pixel driver includes a supplemental capacitive element (condenser), namely, a signal accumulating capacitor. The structure of such liquid crystal display devices, which is also disclosed by example in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No.1-33833(1989), is further explained in the following paragraphs with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.
A pixel of a conventional liquid crystal display device comprises a substrate 51 and a semi-conductive layer 56 placed atop of substrate 51. Semi-conductive layer 56 is formed through a predetermined process so that it provides a source area 53 and a drain area 54 as part of TFT 52, and an electrode 55 for a supplemental capacitor 60 (i.e., the supplemental capacitive element). A gate insulating film 57 of TFT 52 is formed on top of semi-conductive layer 56. Also, a gate electrode 58 of TFT 52, another electrode 59 of supplemental capacitor 60, and an inter-layer insulating film 61 are formed on gate insulating film 57. A pixel electrode 62 for pixel 65 (which also exhibits inherent electrical capacitance) is formed on top of inter-layer insulating film 61. A source electrode 63 and a drain electrode 64 are formed on top of source area 53 and drain area 54, respectively. Pixel electrode 62 is electrically connected to drain electrode 64.
According to the above structure, however, supplemental capacitor 60 includes a only single thin insulating film, namely, gate insulating film 57 alone, between two electrodes 55 and 59. Thus, making gate insulating film 57 thinner (which would enhance the performance of TFT 52) results in making the insulating film (i.e., gate insulating film 57) of supplemental capacitor 60 thinner as well. Since insulating film (gate insulating film 57) portion for supplemental capacitor 60 is larger in area than the insulating film portion for TFT 52, making the film thinner more readily causes defects such as pin holes to occur. In other words, if gate insulating film 57 is thinned down to enhance the performance of TFT 52, supplemental capacitor 60 becomes less reliable.
To eliminate this problem, gate insulting film 57 of TFT 52 may be thinned while thickening gate insulating film 57 of supplemental capacitor 60. However, this increases the number of stages in the manufacturing process approximately two-fold as a result (i.e., the number of the stages in the photolithographic process used during device fabrication, including a patterning stage and a film forming stage, is increased approximately two-fold). Consequently, this is an undesirable situation where the yield of liquid crystal display devices during manufacturing decreases and manufacturing costs increase.

Liquid crystal display device and method for manufacturing same


A method, system, and computer-readable medium for providing a secure computer network for the real time transfer of data are provided. The data is grouped and stored as per user preferences. The data being transmitted is encrypted, decrypted, and validated by the system (assuming user identifications/passwords are verified).

The use of communications networks to collect and transfer information using the Internet is widespread. These networks are generally accessed through use of desktop and laptop computers (PCs) and also through wireless networks, such as through personal digital assistant (PDA) devices and cellular telephones. Nevertheless, many of these available networks do not allow for secure transfer of data (i.e., encryption), flexibility in how the data is grouped and shared, and/or a way of connecting disparate and legacy databases and systems. Furthermore, many of these networks require batch processes (that is, replication) and/or wired connections for transferring data from a PDA or other remote terminal to the main computer network, e.g., hotsyncing.
Methods of data exchange used by businesses involve faxing and electronic data transmission, such as through e-mail, Electronic Data Interchange ("EDI"), etc.; these methods have various limitations. EDI uses proprietary networks that are limited such that only specific transaction data can be exchanged. In addition, EDI can be prohibitively expensive for individuals and small companies and a difficult system to implement.
The development of the long awaited Web Services XML-based technologies is not complete and the technology lacks adequate security. Specifically, some necessary elements of the Web services architecture are not yet in place. In addition, programming using XML constructs is often complex and more difficult than other programming languages.
In addition, conventional data exchange frameworks generally use complex architecture, requiring proprietary networks. This complexity provides less flexibility in grouping and manipulating data and makes it difficult for users to customize their network.

Methods and systems for providing a customized network


Highly oriented HgBa.sub.2 Ca.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.8+.delta. on Ni-tapes with a buffer layer of Cr/Ag or Cr/(Ag--Pd) have been described with a high transition temperature are described along with, one and two step methods of manufacture.

Layers of superconducting cuprate materials Bi.sub.2 Sr.sub.2 Ca.sub.n-1 Cu.sub.n O.sub.y (n=2 or 3) and T1.sub.2 Ba.sub.2 Co.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 Oy and T1B.sub.2 C.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 Oy have been formed as a thin film on Ag tape to provide superconducting tapes.
The newly discovered high-temperature superconducting (HTSg) compound, HgBa.sub.2 Ca.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.8+.delta. (Hg-1223) displays the highest transition temperature (T.sub.c) of 134 K at ambient pressure or 164 K at .about.30 GPa. It also exhibits a modest flux pinning strength which lies between those of YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7 (YBCO) and Bi.sub.2 Sr.sub.2 Ca.sub.n-1 Cu.sub.n O.sub.2n+4+.delta. (BSCCO) or T1.sub.2 Ba.sub.2 Ca.sub.n-1 CU.sub.n O.sub.2n+4+.delta. (TBCCO)! with n=1, 2, 3, . . . , suggesting a possible high critical current density (J.sub.c) at 77 K due to its higher Tc. Indeed, epitaxial thin films of HgBa.sub.2 CaCu.sub.2 O.sub.6+.delta. (Hg-1212), which have a T.sub.c .about.128 K and are homologous to Hg-1223, have been prepared and show a J.sub.c .about.10.sup.6 A/cm.sup.2 at 100 K, implying a J.sub.c .about.5.times.10.sup.6 A/cm.sup.2 at 77 K. Since Hg-1223 has a higher T.sub.c than Hg-1212, a J.sub.c .gtoreq.5.times.10.sup.6 A/cm.sup.2 at 77 K may be achievable in Hg-1223. Given the superior superconducting properties, Hg-1223 is therefore a desirable HTSg material for conductors, such as tapes and wires. Unfortunately, Hg-1223 is difficult to form and the compound is chemically unstable with the loss of Hg and the associated degradation at temperatures above .about.350.degree. C. This makes it extremely difficult to align the CuO.sub.2 -planes by the high-temperature melt-texturing technique commonly used for other HTSg materials. Added to the difficulty is the fact that the Hg released from the compound attacks many metals, especially at high temperatures, and forms amalgams.

High temperature superconducting tape and method of manufacture


Aircraft landing gear comprised of a wheel hub motor/generator disks stack, includes alternating rotor and stator disks mounted with respect to the wheel support and wheel. The invention can provide motive force to the wheel when electrical power is applied, e.g. prior to touch-down, thus decreasing the difference in relative velocities of the tire radial velocity with that of the relative velocity of the runway and reducing the sliding friction wear of the tire. After touchdown the wheel hub motor/generator may be used as a generator thus applying a regenerative braking force and/or a motorized braking action to the wheel. The energy generated upon landing maybe dissipated through a resistor and/or stored for later use in providing a source for motive power to the aircraft wheels for taxiing and ground maneuvers of the aircraft. Methods and apparatuses for nose gear steering and ABS braking using the disclosed invention are described.

1. Field of the Invention
The Invention relates to aircraft landing gear and, more specifically to an integrated wheel hub motor/generator, regenerative braking and/or motorized braking method for an aircraft landing gear system, which reduces wear of the braking system and the associated tires while improving stability of said aircraft and reducing the need for maintenance due to wear.
2. Related Art
It is known in the field of aircraft wheel and brake assemblies to provide a non-rotatable wheel support, a wheel mounted to the wheel support for rotation, and a brake disk stack using friction braking to convert rotary motion of said disks into friction heat energy which creates wear of said disks. Various brake actuation configurations and methods are known, as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,381,049, 4,432,440, 4,542,809, 4,567,967, 4,596,316, 4,865,162 and 6,615,958.
The current state of the art for providing braking systems for aircraft uses stators and rotors, which are forced into physical contact with each other thus generating friction heat that introduces wear of the associated disks and requires periodic maintenance to replace the worn parts.
The primary drawback of carbon disk brakes of the latest designs is that a greater volume of carbon material is needed to absorb the same amount of heat energy as that of steel disk brakes. Another drawback of carbon disk brakes is the diminished braking capacity due to moisture contamination of the carbon surfaces due to rain and the high replacement cost after they are worn.
Furthermore, aircraft are required to maneuver within the defined taxies, runways and terminals. One such requirement is the 180-degree turn that places an upper limit on the aircraft allowed for a particular runway based upon the width of the runway and the ability of said aircraft in conducting a 180-degree turn there on within the physical width of said runway. Current landing gear provides limited abilities to perform such 180-degree turns.
One significant concern in aircraft brake design is the dissipation of kinetic energy of aircraft within the braking system of the landing gear system during landing and rejected takeoff conditions. Ultimately, it is the rolling friction present between the tires and the landing surface, which slows the aircraft, thus brake capacity requirements are based upon maximum landing weight of the aircraft and the rolling friction. Braking systems of the prior art are relatively inflexible with respect to the manner in which they generate the required braking force.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Landing gear method and apparatus for braking and maneuvering


A wand for withdrawing fluid from a bag-in-a-box container and for rinsing the bag. A method of withdrawing fluid from a bag-in-a-box container and thereafter rinsing the bag is also disclosed, as is several practical examples of use of the method.

The present invention relates generally to fluid containers known generally as bag-in-a-box containers. Such containers are becoming increasingly popular and generally consist of a flexible bag which confines the fluid but which may have insufficient strength to safely contain the fluid under the stress of handling, and a surrounding box which provides structural support for the fluid filled bag as well as protection for puncture.
The disposal of such containers is enhanced over more conventional rigid wall containers in that, once emptied, the box may be collapsed for destruction or other disposition rather than returned, and the collapsed bag may be separately handled for disposition. However, disposition may be a problem where the fluid contained is environmentally unfriendly.
One disadvantage in the use of such containers in the difficulty in emptying them of their contents. Because on the nature of a fluid, the contents of the container must be withdrawn from the bottom of the container, Yet any aperture into the bottom of a container must be sealed and capable of withstanding the hydrostatic head produced by the depth of the fluid.
It is desirable to use a wand in the emptying of such containers. Wands may be coupled to flexible conduits and it is desirable to be able to successively position a plurality of containers within reach of a single permanently installed wand. Because the bag is flexible and collapses as the fluid is withdrawn therefrom, the highth of the bag will vary as fluid is withdrawn and the opening may laterally shift. This movement of the wand may adversely affect the positioning of the end of the wand relative to the container.
In one aspect, the present invention relates to a wand useful with bag-in-a-box containers, and to one which obviates most of the problems associated such the use of such containers. In another aspect, the present invention relates to methods of emptying a bag-in-a-box container and of cleaning the bag to facilitate its disposition.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to obviate many of the known problems associated with the use of bag-in-a-box containers.
These and many other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains from a perusal of the claims, the appended drawings, and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

Method and apparatus for withdrawing and diluting fluid in a bag in a box container and for rinsing the bag


This document describes biochemical pathways for producing 7-aminoheptanoic acid using a β-ketoacyl synthase or a β-ketothiolase to form either a 5-amino-3-oxopentanoyl-[ACP] or 5-amino-3-oxopentanoyl-CoA intermediate. 7-aminoheptanoic acid can be enzymatically converted to pimelic acid, 7-hydroxyheptanoic acid, heptamethylenediamine or 1,7-heptanediol or the corresponding salts thereof. This document also describes recombinant microorganisms producing 7-aminoheptanoic acid as well as pimelic acid, 7-hydroxyheptanoic acid, heptamethylenediamine and 1,7-heptanediol or the corresponding salts thereof.

Nylons are synthetic polymers composed of polyamides which are generally synthesized by the condensation polymerization of a diamine with a dicarboxylic acid. Similarly, nylons also may be produced by the condensation polymerization of lactams. Nylon 7 is produced by polymerization of 7-aminoheptanoic acid, whereas Nylon 7,7 is produced by condensation polymerization of pimelic acid and heptamethylenediamine. No economically cost competitive petrochemical route exists to produce the monomers for Nylon 7 and Nylon 7,7.
Given no economically cost competitive petrochemical monomer feedstock, biotechnology offers an alternative approach via biocatalysis. Biocatalysis is the use of biological catalysts, such as enzymes, to perform biochemical transformations of, for example, bioderived feedstocks and petrochemical feedstocks which can both be viable starting materials for the biocatalysis processes.

Methods and materials for producing 7-carbon monomers


The technology disclosed relates to determining visitor behavior. In particular, it relates to receiving preliminary geospatial coordinates of a plurality of places-of-interest, generating (i) contours of the places-of-interest and (ii) hyper-located geospatial coordinates of centroids of the places-of-interest based on processing the preliminary geospatial coordinates of the places-of-interest, and correlating (i) the contours and (ii) the hyper-located geospatial coordinates of the centroids of the places-of-interest with geospatial coordinates of visitor locations to determine the visitor behavior of visitors visiting the places-of-interest, including at least one of detecting whether the visitors visited the places-of-interest, and detecting a duration for which the visitors visited the places-of-interest.

The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also correspond to implementations of the claimed technology.
Traditional methods for studying visitors' behavior at a given place-of-interest (e.g., businesses, schools, town halls, distinctive buildings, post offices, restaurants, tourist attractions, etc.), such as surveys and manual collection, are expensive, time-consuming and cannot be easily applied at a large scale. However, in recent years, data from personal devices with location sensing capabilities, such as smartphones and wearable devices, have emerged as new sources for studying visitors' behavior. The location-specific data from visitor personal devices can be exploited by data mining algorithms to discover knowledge patterns that may be helpful for smarter planning in long-term business strategy and development. The patterns can be used to have a better understanding of the visitor traffic over time at a particular place-of-interest. The patterns may also help to pinpoint the best location for a particular brand of business, study land or rental prices of commercial and residential locations, and provide location-specific advertising. The knowledge patterns will also allow urban planners and developers the ability to find solutions for problems that require analyzing location-specific data, such as, the ideal street for a bike-share location, or reconfiguring roadways for optimal traffic flow.
A place-of-interest is generally associated with a centroid that specifies, at a minimum, geospatial coordinates of the place-of-interest (i.e., the latitude and the longitude). However, the data gathered by relying on centroids has low accuracy. The circular mapping of the centroid may not represent the actual perimeter of the place-of-interest. If one or more places-of-interest are nearby, such as multiple places-of-interest in one building structure, the circular mappings of their centroids may overlap. The overlapping may result in noisy location-specific data. Furthermore, a centroid of a place-of-interest may not be at the center of the location, and the circular mapping of the centroid may overlap with visitor traffic outside the perimeter of the place-of-interest.
An opportunity arises to leverage places-of-interest that are currently available, improve their centroid so that the improved centroid represents the center of the location, and define their physical perimeter in buildings that may be shared by multiples places-of-interest.

Visitor insights based on hyper-locating places-of-interest


An integrated liquefaction and gasification process converts bulk particulate halogen-containing waste plastic materials with minimal particle size reduction into a synthesis gas and a non-leachable, vitreous environmentally nontoxic slag. The process involves melting and cracking bulk particulate halogen-containing waste plastic material to form a lower boiling point, lower molecular weight halogen-containing oil composition which then undergoes partial oxidation in a quench gasifier to produce a synthesis gas. Any hazardous gases, liquids or solids that are produced can be purified into commercially valuable byproducts or recycled to the process, which does not release hazardous materials to the environment.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an environmentally safe process for converting waste plastic materials to valuable gas products and environmentally nontoxic slag, and more particularly to a minimum liquid discharge integrated liquefaction and gasification process for converting bulk halogen-containing waste plastic materials into a liquid hydrocarbonaceous feedstock that can be used in a partial oxidation reactor to produce a synthesis gas that is primarily carbon monoxide and hydrogen, and a non-leachable environmentally nontoxic slag.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Waste plastic materials, especially halogen-containing waste plastic materials, and particularly those with a high chloride content present especially difficult disposal problems, since these materials are subject to increasingly stringent environmental restrictions against dumping or landfill disposal. Burning the waste plastic materials is feasible only if conducted in accordance with strict environmental restrictions against atmospheric disposal of chloride-containing gases and toxic particulate by-products.
Canadian Patent Application No. 2,130,019 to Gerhardus et al. relates to a process for thermally cracking waste plastic materials which then undergo partial oxidation to produce synthesis gas. However, it is necessary to dehalogenate the waste plastic materials prior to partial oxidation because of severe corrosion problems that can occur without dehalogenation when halide-containing vapors accompanying the syngas products are cooled and condensed. The halide vapors, primarily in the form of hydrogen chloride are condensed from the gaseous degradation products which occur during liquefaction of the waste plastic materials. Dehalogenation, especially dechlorination prior to partial oxidation is an important concern because the Canadian patent relies upon radiant cooling of the partial oxidation gasification products. Therefore, the presence of hydrogen chloride or halide vapors would present severe corrosion problems in the equipment used in the process of the Canadian patent.
German Patent Application DE 4412360A1 to Rabe et al. discloses a process for recycling mixed and contaminated waste plastic materials in a gasification reaction to produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The German process utilizes liquefaction and gasification steps but does not address the problem of dealing with halogen-containing waste plastic materials.
As used herein, a partial oxidation reactor can also be referred to as a "partial oxidation gasifier," or simply a "gasifier," and these terms are often used equivalently and interchangeably. The partial oxidation reactors that are used in this invention are also commonly referred to as "quench gasifiers."
Reaction temperatures for partial oxidation typically range from about 900.degree. C. to about 2,000.degree. C., preferably from about 1,200.degree. C. to about 1,600.degree. C. Pressures typically range from about 1 to about 250 atmospheres, preferably from about 5 to about 200 atmospheres, most preferably about 20 to about 80 atmospheres.
Partial oxidation reactors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,741 to Davis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,540 to Segerstrom et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,959,080 and 4,979,964, both to Stemling, U.S. Pat. No. 5,281,243 to Leininger, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,554,202 and 5,545,238 both to Brooker et al.

Partial oxidation of waste plastic material


According to one embodiment, a multiple motor and/or pump array module for a drilling tool comprises a plurality of motors and/or pumps extending axially along generally parallel axes wherein the pumps are positioned along the axes next to each other in a parallel manner in generally the same axial location.

Progressive cavity pump style motors exist and have been employed in conjunction with power sections of drilling tools. These motors employ stators having one more lobe than associated rotors. There exists a trend to increase the number of lobes in the rotors and stators. However, increasing the number of lobes leads to complicated geometries and generally increases the costs of manufacturing such motors. Additionally, employing motors having an increasing numbers of lobes leads to low speed, high torque power generation modules.
Directional drilling tool drive trains utilize a single drilling fluid motor power section or multiple power sections arranged in series driving around a bend through a constant velocity shaft or solid torsion shaft.


An ion generating unit is made compact, yet avoids the undesired arc discharge for successfully generating the ions. The ion generating unit includes a dielectric base having a length and carrying a needle electrode and a ground electrode. The needle electrode has a pointed tip and is adapted to receive a high electric voltage relative to the ground electrode for electrically charging particles present in the surrounding air. The dielectric base being a polyhedron having multiple faces including a first face and a second face which are different from each other and have the length of the dielectric base. The needle electrode is mounted on or in a closely adjacent relation to the first face, and has its pointed tip directing forwardly along the length of the dielectric base with the pointed tip receded from the front end of the base. The ground electrode is mounted at the front end of the base in longitudinally spaced relation with the pointed tip. The ground electrode include anchor ends only by which the ground electrode is secured to the base. The anchor ends are fixed to the second face of the base, but not to the first face. Thus, the creepage distance between the electrodes extends over the first face and also the second face of the dielectric base, thereby being given an elongated distance relative to the air path between the electrodes for successfully generating the ions.

European Patent Publication EP 1 208 766 A2 discloses a like ion generating unit that includes a needle electrode and a ground electrode for developing the corona discharge to generate the ions in the air around the pointed tip of the needle electrode by applying a high voltage across the electrodes. The unit has a dielectric tube which surrounds the needle electrode and the ground electrode in the form of arc or partially cut ring. The needle electrode is held in a center of the dielectric tube, while the ground electrode is disposed at one longitudinal end of the tube in a longitudinally spaced relation to the pointed tip of the needle electrode. However, the use of the tube necessitates a dead space at a portion of the tube away from the ground electrode. For making the unit compact, it could be theoretically possible to make the wall of the tube closer to the needle electrode. However, due to the structural limitation that the needle electrode and the ground electrode are supposed to be mounted in any manner commonly on the inner face of the tube, the above approach might bring about a problem of shortening a creepage distance between the needle electrode and the ground electrode along the common inner face of the tube. When the creepage distance becomes greater than an air path between the pointed tip of the needle electrode and the ground electrode, a harmful arc discharge instead of the corona discharge would certainly develop therebetween the electrodes, failing to generate the ions. Thus, the above approach alone is found unsuccessful to make the whole unit more compact.