An autofocus device includes a stage, a magnifying optical system, a light source device, an iris which is arranged at a position opposite to a sample of the magnifying optical system and configured to limit a light beam emitted from the light source device, and an AF camera which receives, via the magnifying optical system, a reflected light beam which is reflected from a reflection surface after the light beam reaches a glass member via the iris and the magnifying optical system. The light source device emits the light beam at a non-zero angle relative to the axis of the magnifying optical system. The control unit adjusts the position of the stage so as to match the position of a captured image of a shield with a target position. With such a configuration, it is possible to achieve the autofocus at high speed.

Generally, the resolution of a microscope is determined by the numerical aperture (NA) thereof. If the numerical aperture is greater, the resolution of the obtained image is higher, but the focal depth will be shorter, and as a result, it is difficult to make the focusing.
The automation of microscopes with a large numerical aperture such as a super-resolution imaging device is not popular. The reason why the automation is not popular is because there is no such a technology that can perform autofocus with high precision, wide range and high speed.
Conventionally, there are many autofocus methods, and they are mainly classified into two kinds to be described in the following. All of these autofocus methods have a problem in focusing precision, focus range and/or focusing speed.
FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating a first kind of method in the prior art. The first kind of method is based on the contrast of an image of an iris captured by a camera. As illustrated in FIG. 30, in the first kind of method, an iris 502 is arranged at a position conjugate with a sample placed on the bottom surface of a glass container 501, and an image of the iris 502 is formed at the position of the sample (on the bottom surface of the glass container). Then, the image of the iris reflected from the glass surface is captured by a camera 503. The image of the sample is focused by performing a stage scan in which the glass container or the objective lens is moved in the vertical direction so as to focus on the image of the iris. According to the first kind of method, it is possible to automatically focus a microscope with a large numerical aperture at high precision.
The problem with the first kind of method is that the stage scan is required during the focus, which is time-consuming. Depending on the speed of the stage scan, it usually takes about tens of seconds. The stage scan may be eliminated by using a multifocal system that includes two cameras so as to shorten the focus time, it may result in a problem that the range for viewing the image of the iris is narrow.
FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating a second kind of method in the prior art. The second kind of method performs focus based on the position of a reflected light beam on the glass surface. The light beam from an LED 561 passes through an objective lens 523, and is incident on a sample 522 at an angle. Then, the reflected light beam is captured by a CCD camera 564. In the second kind of method, since the beam position may be controlled to the center, the focus may be maintained constantly.
The problem with the second kind of method is that the focus precision is poor. The poor focus precision is caused by the distortion of the optical system. If the position of the light beam deviates by X due to the distortion of the optical system, then the position of the incident light beam deviates by X/magnification. Since such deviation may be caused by various external factors such as heat and vibration, it is necessary to adjust the offset every time. Further, the focus range and the focus precision depend on the angle at which the light beam is incident on the glass surface S.
Therefore, it is a dilemma to decide which one of the focus range and the focus precision should be prioritized.

Autofocus device, and optical apparatus and microscope including the same


This disclosure relates generally to a system and method to estimate an operational risk associated with one or more failures in at least one unit of a process plant. There is a continuous stream of operational data of several variables such as temperature, pressure, etc. Detections are defined in terms of acceptable/unacceptable ranges of parameters over a finite period and operating load of the unit. Often, these predefined parameters must be within a specified range based on operating condition of the process plant and when the measured parameters go beyond, a failure is detected. A risk priority number is estimated from number of occurrences of failure mode, average percentage change from dynamic limits with severity and degree of correlation with detectability from operational data and dynamic limits. Herein, operational risk associated with failure modes can be calculated and updated from time to time automatically from the stream of operational data.

Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) is a step by step approach for identifying possible failure modes in design, manufacturing/process, operation or services. Assessing the operational risk associated with failure modes is an important aspect of FMEA for enabling decision making with regards to either design changes or operations. There are several ways in which the operational risk can be assessed. One such method popular in FMEA application is the use of risk Priority Number (RPN) which is used for assessing operational risk associated with potential failures identified during FMEA analysis to prioritize addressing the operational risks and take corrective action against high operational risk failure modes. Existing RPN calculation method requires past experience and engineering judgement to rate each failure by giving occurrence, severity and detectability rating to each failure mode.
Existing methods require cross functional teams to sit together which take a lot of time to come up with ratings for failures and is based on subjective judgement of the team. In process FMEA, equipment or plant degrades with time changing the operational risk profile and hence it is difficult to estimate operational risk associated with failures from experience at more frequent intervals.

System and method for calculating risk associated with failures in process plants


A flexible display substrate mother board and a method of manufacturing a flexible display substrate are provided. The method includes: forming a heating pattern layer on a support substrate, wherein the heating pattern layer includes a plurality of regional blocks spaced apart from each other; forming a flexible substrate on the substrate provided with the heating pattern layer, and forming display elements on the flexible substrate; and heating the flexible substrate by utilization of the heating pattern layer, cutting the flexible substrate, stripping the flexible substrate corresponding to the regional block from the support substrate, and forming flexible display substrates. The method can avoid the damage of the display elements on the flexible substrate when the flexible substrate and the support substrate are separated from each other, and avoid uneven separation.

Flexible display technology has developed rapidly in recent years, and hence the properties, from the screen size to the display quality, of flexible displays have achieved great progress. Cathode ray tubes (CRTs) on the verge of disappearance or today's popular liquid crystal displays (LCDs) essentially belong to rigid displays. Compared with rigid displays, the flexible displays have many advantages, such as impact resistance, shock resistance, light weight, small size and more convenient for carrying.
Typically, there are three types of flexible displays: e-paper (flexible electrophoretic display), flexible organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and flexible LCDs. The method of manufacturing a display substrate of the flexible display typically includes: forming a flexible substrate on a support substrate; then, forming film layers of a display structure; and finally, stripping the flexible substrate from the rigid support substrate by laser irradiation.

Flexible display substrate mother board and method of manufacturing flexible display substrate


A winding machine for plastic foil webs has two pairs of arms which can be swung about a common axis and which all have the same length so that the pairs of arms rotate like the hands of a clock. As one pair of arms has a roll wound on a winding sleeve therebetween, the other pair of arms holds its winding sleeve in readiness at a rest position. When the finished roll is swung away from the winding position and is severed from the oncoming web, the winding tube between the second arms is brought into the winding position.

The winding of synthetic resin or plastic foil webs onto a succession of winding tubes had, in the past, made use of a turret arrangement (German patent document 23 17 325) or an endless conveyor system (German patent document 32 16 399).
In the first of these systems, the turntable, turret or winding tube carrier has two pairs of oppositely disposed arms on the turret between which winding tubes can be received and in fixed angular relationship about the axis of rotation of the turret.
When one winding tube is in the winding position to receive the web and form a roll, a completed roll on the other pair of arms can be removed and a new winding tube inserted so that, upon rotation of the turret through 180.degree., a completed roll is moved out of the winding position and a fresh winding tube is positioned at the winding position.
In the endless chain system, winding tubes are entrained in succession of the winding position between pairs of endless chains which carry away the completed rolls. Both systems are expensive, occupy considerable space and require complex kinematics and auxiliary elements to effect roll transfer, winding tube insertion and the like.
In practice it is found that they cannot be used effectively when the foil is fed at high speed and high-speed change at the winding position of a completed roll if a new winding tube is required.

Method of and apparatus for rolling up plastic foil


A system and method for volume rendering a light field, wherein the light field data is subjected to a layering scheme introducing a partitioning of the hogels into subsets. Each subset corresponding to a sub-volume of the layer volume, corresponds to the sub-region of the layer. Novel partitioning of the data combined with an efficient local memory caching technique, plenoptic downsampling strategies to reduce memory bandwidth requirements and volume rendering algorithm to produce a rendered light field image. A reduction in the total number of samples required can be obtained while still maintaining the quality of the resulting image. A method is also provided to order memory accesses aligned with ray calculations in order to maximize access coherency. Real-time layered scene decomposition can be combined with surface rendering method to create a hybrid real-time rendering method that supports rendering of scenes containing superimposed volumes and surfaces.

Techniques for volume rendering light fields for volume data visualization on light field displays are desirable. Volume rendering a light field offers the opportunity to achieve a new level of convincing immersive experiences. Volume rendering is particularly useful in medical imaging visualization, seismic visualization, fluid dynamics, and industrial inspection. Specifically, within the medical field, the ability to view three-dimensional (3D) imaging resulting from scans such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), for example, allows for in depth understanding of human anatomy and facilitates efficient diagnostics. Furthermore, when this visualization capability can be performed at real-time interactive rates, more detailed, efficient and accurate diagnostics can be performed using larger more detailed datasets that can also incorporate a temporal element.
In terms of real-time computer graphics, 3D scenes are typically represented as a set of surfaces using e.g. polygons, points, splines. Real-time surface rendering techniques known in the art generally only synthesize images of a scene where light is reflected. One method of representation that enables modelling beyond surface reflections involves using volumetric representations coupled with volume rendering techniques. However, this generally requires many rays and many samples of the volume data. As volume rendering is computationally intensive, accelerated methods that are less computationally expensive and preserve image quality are desired for volume rendering light fields.
Usable light field displays have been said to require at least billions of pixels to achieve acceptable quality. Light field rendering thus requires rendering orders of magnitude more pixels or rays than conventional two-dimensional (2D) image rendering. Thus, for light field volume rendering, it can be observed that many more rays are required. Given the inherent intersection/overlap between the many rays in a light field, in light field volume rendering rays may be observed to be loading many of the same samples repeatedly. However, a coherency scheme, that exploits this inherent reuse, is less obvious.
A ray-casting method, as described by Stegmaier et al., seems to be the preferred method, as it allows for increased control of sampling and runs at real-time rates on modern GPUs. It is commonly observed that a modern GPU implementation of volume rendering has a dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) memory bandwidth bottleneck, as the ray casting procedure requires many samples to be taken of the volume data set. Voxels from the volume data are accessed by the rendering algorithm multiple times. If all accesses involve a read from DRAM, memory bandwidth and latency can become a serious performance bottleneck.
There remains a need for a light field volume rendering system and method which can provide good resolution at acceptable working speeds.
This background information is provided for the purpose of making known information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.

Light field volume rendering system and methods


A memory device includes a memory cell storing data as stored data, an output signal line, and a wiring to which a voltage is applied. The memory cell includes a comparison circuit performing a comparison operation between the stored data and search data and taking a conduction state or a non-conduction state in accordance with the operation result, and a field-effect transistor controlling writing and holding of the stored data. A voltage of the output signal line is equal to the voltage of the wiring when the comparison circuit is in the conduction state.

1. Field of the Invention
One embodiment of the present invention relates to a memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, memory devices capable of rewriting data have been developed.
As an example of such memory devices, a content addressable memory can be given.
The content addressable memory is a memory device capable of identifying data stored in a memory cell with respect to search data, in addition to rewriting data.
The content addressable memory is used for a set-associative cache memory for example. The set-associative structure is a data storage structure including a plurality of tags, and a content addressable memory is used as each of the tags. The use of the content addressable memory for the cache memory can increase the data communication speed between a CPU and the cache memory.
A memory cell in a content addressable memory includes, for example, a memory circuit which holds data and a plurality of comparison circuits which compare the data stored in the memory circuit with specific data (e.g., Patent Document 1).
In Patent Document 1, multi-bit data can also be identified by a level comparison circuit and a match detection circuit.

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A digital signal receiving apparatus includes a detection-judging portion having a first smoothing filter generating a first smoothed signal by smoothing an auto-correlation signal and judging a possible presence of a desired signal when a signal level of the first smoothed signal is greater than a reference level and an absence of the desired signal when being smaller than the reference level. The smoothing filter includes a limiting portion limiting a fluctuation width of the first smoothed signal; and an adjusting portion configured to adjust the fluctuation width of the first smoothed signal limited by the limiting portion to be reduced while an elapsing time after the detection-judging means judges the possible presence of the desired signal is increasing.

A known digital signal receiving apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2001-4736A (hereinafter, referred to as reference 1, see FIG. 4) for example. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a general configuration related to a digital signal receiving apparatus 70 disclosed in the reference 1. As illustrated therein, the digital signal receiving apparatus 70 receives a desired signal S contained with a correlated noise signal N as an ambient noise, by an antenna 71. Then, the digital signal receiving apparatus 70 down-converts the received signal to a desired frequency band at a high-frequency processing portion 72. Further, the digital signal receiving apparatus 70 generates a corresponding digital signal (S″+N″) by converting the signal from analog to digital at an A/D converting portion 73 and outputs the digital signal to a noise-filtering unit 74.
In addition, the digital signal receiving apparatus 70 receives the noise signal N by means of another antenna 75. Then, the digital signal receiving apparatus 70 down-converts the received noise signal N to a desired frequency band at a high-frequency processing portion 77 of a reference noise signal-output portion 76. Further, the digital signal receiving apparatus 70 generates a reference noise signal Nr, which is correlated to the noise signal N, by converting the signal N from analog to digital at an A/D converting portion 78, and outputs the digital signal to the noise-filtering unit 74.
The noise-filtering unit 74 generates a noise cancel signal AN via an adaptive filtering-portion 79 on the basis of the reference noise signal Nr, and filters out the noise signal N by adding the digital signal (S″+N″) inputted from the antenna 71 to the noise cancel signal AN at an adder 80. A filter coefficient of the adaptive filtering portion 79 is successively updated so that the noise signal N (N″) is reduced to a minimum by the filter coefficient updating portion 81.
However, according to the digital signal receiving apparatus 70 of the reference 1, the antenna 75 and the reference noise signal-output portion 76 (the high-frequency processing portion 77 and the A/D converting portion 78) are required for receiving the noise signal N, thus leading to an increase of a size of a circuit. In this case, it is necessary not to input a desired signal S to the antenna 75. In other words, if the desired signal S is inputted to the second antenna 75, the desired signal S may be also generated as the noise cancel signal AN at the adaptive filtering portion 79 and the desired signal S may sometimes be filtered our or removed.
Another digital signal receiving apparatus has been proposed in Japanese Patent No. 2005-45314A (hereinafter, referred to as reference 2, see FIG. 1). The reference numerals described below related to Reference 2 are depicted in FIG. 1 of Reference 2. The digital signal receiving apparatus according to the reference 2 includes an adaptive filter (17), filter controlling means (18c) and demodulating means (18d). The adaptive filter (17) includes an adaptive mode and a non-adaptive mode. In the adaptive mode, a filter coefficient is successively updated and an ambient noise is filtered out in a signal-receiving standby state for receiving a desired signal. In the non-adaptive mode, updating of the filter coefficient is stopped in a signal-receiving state for receiving the desired signal. The filter controlling means (18c) controls switching of the adaptive mode and the non-adaptive mode of the adaptive filter (17). The demodulating means (18d) demodulates an output (correlation signal) of the adaptive filter (17) and generates a demodulated signal. The adaptive filter (17) includes an adaptive filter portion (17a, 17b) and a filter coefficient-updating portion (17c, 17d). At the adaptive filter portion (17a, 17b), the filter coefficient is changed in accordance with a change of the ambient noise in the signal-receiving standby state. The filter coefficient updating portion (17c, 17d) successively updates the filter coefficient of the adaptive filter portion (17a, 17b) so as to reduce the ambient noise to a minimum. When detecting means (18) judges a possible presence of a desired signal in a situation where the apparatus is in a signal-receiving standby state, the filter controlling means switches the adaptive filter from an adaptive mode to a non-adaptive mode so as to stop updating the filter coefficient.
In such a case, in the signal-receiving standby states the adaptive filter successively updates the filter coefficient and filters the ambient noise, reacting to the adaptive mode. On the other hand, in the signal-receiving state for receiving the desired signal, the adaptive filter stops updating the filter coefficient reacting to the non-adaptive mode. In other words, in the non-adaptive mode, the adaptive filter filters the ambient noise by use of the filter coefficient updated for filtering the ambient noise in the adaptive mode. Accordingly, in the signal-receiving state for receiving the desired signal, even when the ambient signal and the desired signal have a correlation, the ambient signal is filtered by the adaptive filter and the desired signal is received appropriately. In addition, even when the ambient signal and the desired signal have a correlation, the ambient signal and the desired signal can be selectively received because the filter controlling means controls the switching of the adaptive mode and the non-adaptive mode. Accordingly, the size of the circuit can be reduced in comparison with a configuration of the circuit in which the ambient signal and the desired signal are separately received.
However, in this type of digital signal receiving apparatus, in a signal receiving state for receiving a desired signal, when a pulse-shaped interfering wave is contained, a correlation output (an error signal e2) of the adaptive filter, which contains therein a pulse-shaped interfering wave, is inputted to a detection-judging portion. In this case, the detection-judging portion may not judge detection accurately even in a signal receiving state, and may judge there is an absence of a detection of a desired signal. Here, because the adaptive filter is not accurately controlled (switching control between an adaptive mode and a non-adaptive mode), the adaptive filter erroneously learns a desired signal as an ambient noise, thereby disabling to demodulate a desired signal accurately.
A need thus exists for providing a digital signal receiving apparatus, which can accurately judge a detection of a desired signal and prevent an adaptive filter from erroneously learning a desired signal even when a pulse-shaped interfering wave is contained.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A voltage-controlled current source provides operation as either a differential current source for a floating load, or operation as a grounded current source when one end of the load is grounded. Switching between operation as a differential current source and operation as a grounded current source is automatic, and will accommodate significant lead resistance between the source and the load. Additionally, in absence of a grounded load the circuit can provide active common mode reduction using active feedback to reduce common mode voltage on the load.

The present invention relates to electrical circuits for providing current through a load impedance, where the current source is differential and provides a symmetrical, high impedance drive to the load. This type of current source is particularly useful in instrumentation that makes impedance measurements using low excitation.
Many different types of current sources are known in the art. These circuits vary greatly in complexity and performance to fit their intended application. Furthermore, they are frequently modified to support unipolar or bipolar and fixed or voltage programmable operation. Instrumentation current sources generally fall into two categories, those that drive floating loads and those that drive grounded loads. The single op-amp, ideal current source (see, e.g., p.182 xe2x80x9cThe Art of Electronicsxe2x80x9d, Horowitz and Hill, Cambridge University Press, 1989) is an example of a current source that drives a floating load. One problem with this type of source is that the output current is not controlled if the load is grounded to the current source common. The ideal source also produces a common mode voltage on the load that may be unwanted.
A modified Howland current source, illustrated in FIG. 1, is an example of a current source that will drive a grounded load. It was developed specifically to drive current into a load that has one end tied to the current source ground, ensuring low impedance between the load and ground. The Howland current source with its many variations and improvements has been used very successfully in instrumentation, but it does have one drawback. The current source output and return have different impedances, creating an unbalanced load. Different impedances at each end of a current source load do not create a problem for the current source in isolation, but in application there is always some stray noise coupling into the load. Most noise couples either capacitively or inductively from the environment into the current source leads. Noise can also couple through the voltage measurement circuits via their power supplies. Much of the noise couples into the load as common-mode current. Differential voltage inputs are used extensively to reject common mode voltage noise but they too are limited.
When common mode currents act on an unbalanced load, they react differently with different impedances on each side of the load to create normal mode errors that cannot be rejected by differential voltage inputs. These errors can be significant when making precision measurements or whenever the common mode voltages are large compared to the desired measurement signal. One method for balancing the load is to provide a differential current source with a symmetrical, high impedance drive to the load. An early example of a differential current drive is the circuit described in NASA Tech Brief #MSC-16475, Winter 1977. This circuit provides differential output with two identical, out of phase outputs, but drives one end of the load from zero source impedance. This effectively introduces a ground at one end of the load and will not eliminate common mode voltage errors. A second example of a differential current source, illustrated in FIG. 2, is the circuit described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,729. This differential current source is a practical circuit and achieves the goal of minimizing the effect of common mode voltage on precision measurements as long as the load remains floating. However, if one side of the load is grounded to the current source common there is a significant error in current output.
Thus there is a need for a new current source that has the advantages of a differential current source for floating loads but will also tolerate grounded loads.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a new current source that operates as a differential current source when the load is floating and, upon grounding the load, will automatically operate as a grounded load current source with reduced common mode rejection.
Another objective is to ensure the load current will change only by a small, predictable amount when operation changes from one mode to another, thereby enabling the invention to be used in applications where the measurement wiring is pre-installed and difficult to change or when unintentional grounding occurs during operation.
Another objective is to create a current source that can be configured for an operation selected from the group consisting of AC operation, DC operation, unipolar operation, bipolar operation, for operation with resistive loads, for operation with reactive loads, and a combination thereof.
Another objective is that the invention can be easily modified for range selection by switching in sense resistors of different values.
To achieve these objectives, the present invention is constructed of two, substantially identical, modified Howland current sources driving the load simultaneously but out of phase with each other. The current from each half is equal to the full desired current output but they have opposite sign. An external voltage source drives one half of the current source and an amplifier is used to create an opposite phase voltage to drive the other half. The inverting amplifier can optionally be omitted if the second half of the current source is configured for inverting operation. In addition to the Howland architecture, the invention requires active feedback, to center its operation about ground. This prevents the current source output amplifiers from floating to one power supply rail or the other (e.g., active feedback comprising a means to center the operating voltage between power supply rails). The circuits used to center operation also act to reduce DC current if the current source is configured for AC operation.
The near perfect symmetry of the circuit according to the present invention allows one half to operate essentially alone if the other is grounded. Any impedance between zero and infinity can be tolerated between one half and ground, allowing for significant lead resistance or high impedance shorts between one side of the load and ground. The error in current between floating and grounded operation is limited to one half of the difference between the two halves. The current into a floating load is the average of the current that would be produced by the two halves if they were standalone. The current into a grounded load is that of the ungrounded half. This difference can be very small if a precision voltage inverter and well-matched programming resistors are used. If the load is floating, active common mode reduction can be added that uses active feedback to reduce noise induced common mode voltage on the load. Common mode voltage is sensed and fed back to intentionally bias the operating point.
When tracking common mode voltage, the current source can cancel much of its effect by creating low impedance to the common mode voltage while maintaining its typically high impedance to the load.
These and other objectives and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Differential current source with active common mode reduction


A method for synchronized transmission of audio data streams in a bus system, for example, based on the IEEE 1394 Standard, and a circuit system for performing said method including at least one data source and at least one data sink. The data source includes at least one clock or timer unit and at least one generator unit. The generator unit is connected to the clock or timer unit and receives at least one data frequency.

Synchronization between data sources and data sinks in data buses which are based on asynchronous data transmission is conventionally achieved by the "time stamp" method. In this regard, methods have been developed for the IEEE 1394 Standard which likewise are based on the time stamp principle; the approach selected thus far, however, is based on the fact that the data source communicates the data sample rate to the data sink via a control channel before the transmission of the audio data begins.
Data packets having multiple audio data samples are subsequently transmitted via an isochronous data channel, each data packet being provided with a "time stamp" which represents the presentation time of the first audio data sample. The sample data frequency must be recovered using a phase locked loop (PLL) circuit and using information about the number of data samples per data packet.

Circuit arrangement and method for synchronised transmission of audio data streams in a bus system


A method for providing lawful interception information for an Internet of Things network (IoT Network) is provided. The method is performed by a topology of probes and comprises: receiving, through an interface, a request for information about a lawful interception target, the request including a specification for the information to be tracked and reported; generating a hierarchy of information elements based on the specification; determining a set of data sources for providing the requested information according to the hierarchy of information elements; determining a hierarchy of probes based on the set of the data sources; configuring the topology of probes based on a set of configurations; activating LI operation in the topology of probes; performing LI operation by the topology of probes; verifying effectiveness of reporting conforming to reporting requirements and taking corrective action; and updating learning data in the historical database at the end of LI operation.

With the proliferation of IoT, an ever-increasing number of IoT devices are being connected to the network. The IoT devices may be diverse and heterogeneous. Further, an IoT device may be part of one or more IoT networks at any given instant, may be mobile or stationary, may be communicating for various purposes.
A number of challenges arise with respect to enabling effective lawful interception (LI) over the IoT networks. For example, LI can be performed for intercepting information transmitted by a Car-IoT network, in order to determine a location of the vehicle, activities performed by a suspect driver, presence of a list of IoT devices connected with the Car-IoT network, etc. Existing LI mechanism for telephone networks (Telco-LI) may provide some of these information. For example, Telco-LI can provide location information based on base station locations and hand-over (HO) activities. However, this is not precise and comes with time-lag. Also, the speed and direction information is likely to be inaccurate.
Moreover, while Telco-LI may provide information on the online activities (call, content, data) in case the activities happen through TelCo infrastructure, the nature of additional devices connected, nature of activities (transaction, etc.) of the suspect and events related to the usage of the Car-IoT including additional devices by the suspect cannot be tracked using TelCo-LI. TelCo-LI also fails to provide other information, such as driving behavior of the driver (speed pattern, route selection, change route, stoppages), activities (ex. fueling, maintenance, accessing traffic information, etc.) performed through the Car-IoT devices, etc.
There are also other attributes of Telco-LI that make it unsuitable for LI for IoT. For example, the nature of tracking for IoT can be very different depending on the nature of the IoT networks, and scope and type of investigation. Hence what is required to be tracked and the information required to be tracked can be quite different for different scenarios. Moreover, the number of devices involved and the amount of content and event information can be very large. Sending such data in original form on a real-time/semi-real-time basis to the LI is likely to impose network resource constraint and may hamper the activities those are being tracked. Also, it is likely to be a constraint on the LEA to process such large data to extract relevant information for investigation for effective LI. Since the nature of information required from different LI probes in IoT network scenario is different in priority and frequency of tracking, the LI would require relevant and related information to be sent based on priority and frequency instead of sending raw information from individual probes. On the other hand, Telco-LI typically has standard LI probes and interfaces in the network, and may not be able to provide the configuration flexibility demanded by different types of IoT networks and devices, and for different scopes and types of investigation.

Systems and methods for lawful interception of electronic information for internet of things


A filling and packaging machine capable of supplementing the shortage of heat quality without lowering package speed when a film is heat-sealed while being pressurized by a vertical sealing mechanism, comprising a film folding mechanism having an inner surface guide member for guiding the film laterally, formed on the inner surface side of the film folded up into two parts, a pair of right and left pre-heating block members having tilted support surfaces or are support surfaces formed along the width-direction of the film on the outer surface side of the film through a specified interval from the inner surface guide member so that the interval on the upstream side of the film in feeding direction is larger than the interval on the downstream side, and heaters installed in the pre-heating block members.

A packaging bag into which a material to be packaged, for example, a liquid, powder or a viscous material is filled, the resultant bag being then sealed up has heretofore been formed generally by sealing vertically and laterally three or four sides of a packaging film made of packaging material, such as a film of a synthetic resin or a laminate formed by bonding the same film of a synthetic resin as mentioned above and aluminum foil together.
As an example of a machine for obtaining such a packaging bag, a filling and packaging machine for making three-side-sealed packaging bags will be described by using FIG. 10 and FIG. 11. Referring to the same drawings, a retainer frame 2 is provided at one side of a machine base 1 of the filling and packaging machine, and a raw film roll R made of a rolled film F mounted on this retainer frame 2 is detachably and replaceably retained on the retainer frame 2. On an upper portion of the machine base 1, a film guide mechanism 3 and a film folding mechanism 4 are provided. On a front side portion of the machine base 1, a vertical sealing mechanism 5, a lateral sealing mechanism 6 and a cutter mechanism 7 are provided in the mentioned order from the upper side. The packaging film F is introduced via the film guide mechanism 3 onto the film folding mechanism 4. The film F is folded vertically in two by the film folding mechanism 4. The resultant film is fed as the film F while being held between left and right vertical seal rolls 5A provided in the heated vertical sealing mechanism 5. The film F is heat sealed with the vertical sealing rolls 5A so that the film F is cylindrically and vertically sealed FH. The film F is then heat sealed laterally with left and right lateral seal rolls 6A provided in the heated lateral seal mechanism 6 so that the film F is laterally sealed FS. Owing to this lateral sealing FS, a bottom portion constituting a packaging bag P is formed. Into a bottomed cylindrical film F thus formed, a material M to be packaged made of a liquid and the like is filled by, for example, a filling nozzle 8A of a filling mechanism 8. The film F is further fed and laterally sealed FS again at a bag-mouth portion of the film F with the lateral seal rolls 6A of the lateral sealing mechanism 6, the material W to be packaged being thereby sealed to form continuous packaged bags P. Intermediate portions of the laterally sealed FS zones of the continuous packaged bags P are cut with a cutter mechanism 7, and the packaged bags P are sent out in an individually separated state. A filling and packaging machine thus formed is known.
In the case of this machine, the above-mentioned lateral sealing mechanism 6 includes two pairs of sealing rolls, i.e. lateral sealing rolls 6A of the first lateral sealing mechanism 6 and those 6A of the second lateral sealing mechanism 6 provided in a vertically separated state. The material W to be packaged filled into the film F fed as the film F is formed into a cylindrical bag by the filling nozzle 8A of the vertical filling mechanism 8 is heat sealed laterally FS with the two lateral sealing rolls 6A, which are provided in the first lateral sealing mechanism 6, as the material W is forced out with the film F pressed in a sandwiched state by these lateral seal rolls. The portion FS laterally heat sealed with the lateral sealing rolls 6A of the first lateral seal mechanism 6 is pressed again by the lateral sealing rolls 6A of the second lateral sealing mechanism 6 in a low-temperature overheated condition or in a normal temperature condition so as to keep excellent the sealed condition of the laterally sealed FS portion.
In the above-described related art filling and packaging machine, the film F is fed as the film is heat sealed with a pair of vertical sealing rolls 5A of the vertical sealing mechanism 5. When a rotational speed of the two vertical sealing rolls 5A provided in the vertical sealing mechanism 5 is low, the contact time of the vertical sealing rolls 5A and film F becomes long, so that the heat of the vertical sealing rolls 5A is transmitted in a proper condition to a thermally fusible resin layer of the film F, which is then thermally melted. Therefore, the heat is transmitted in a proper condition to the vertical sealing FH portion of the film F, which is thereby melted. Accordingly, the proper heat sealing can be carried out on the vertical sealing FH portion of the film F. Since the region of the film F held between, pressurized by, and heat sealed with a pair of vertical sealing rolls 5A becomes a narrower region Ti as shown in a schematic diagram of FIG. 11, in inverse proportion to the transfer speed of the film F since the region of the film F held between and heated with the two vertical sealing rolls 5A is disposed in a plane in which the circular vertical sealing rolls 5A are positioned in an abutted state with respect to the film F. As a result, a shortage of the quantity of heat occurs in the portion of the film F which is on the forward side thereof with respect to the direction of the rotation thereof and in the portion of the film F which is on the rearward side thereof with respect to the same direction, and imperfect heat sealing occurs in some cases in the vertical sealing FH portion contacting these two portions.
Under the circumstances, a filling and packaging machine, in which these points are taken into consideration has been proposed [refer to, for example, JP-A-2001-72019 (Publication 3 to 4 pages, FIG. 1 and FIG. 2)] which is provided with a preheating mechanism 11 between the upper side of a vertical sealing mechanism 5, i.e. a film folding mechanism 4 on the upstream side in the transfer direction of a film F and the vertical sealing mechanism 5, the preheating mechanism 9 being positioned between both edges of the film F folded in two, to preheat end portions of both edges of the film F, for the purpose of making up for the shortage of the quantity of heat occurring while the film is heat sealed as the film is pressurized by the vertical sealing mechanism 5.
However, the means for preheating the film F, which is made of a preheating mechanism 11 provided in the related art filling and packaging machines including that disclosed in JP-A-2001-72019 employs a structure for heating the film F by bringing the edge portions only of the folded film F into contact with the preheating mechanism 9. Therefore, contact regions with respect to the preheating mechanism 9 are small, so that the film F is partially heated. In consequence, the heat of the heated portions propagates and escapes to the surrounding portions of the film F, so that it cannot be said that the preheating effect is excellent. This poses a problem of necessarily setting high the preheating temperature of the preheating mechanism 11, and there is also the possibility that a fused layer on the inner side of the film F is melted and damages the film F. This phenomenon would occur noticeably in the structure disclosed in JP-A-2001-72019 in which a preheating mechanism is provided on the inner side of a film to be folded.
Other conceivable preheating means include a preheating means in which heaters are contained, for example, in rollers for feeding the film F, and the film is fed out as the film F is held tightly between the heated rollers or as predetermined tension is exerted thereon. Thus, the film F heated with the preheating means made of rollers is sent into the film folding mechanism and folded in two, and the film F is then sent into a vertical sealing mechanism. When the heated film F is sent into the film folding mechanism, friction is liable to occur between a guide of the film folding mechanism and film F, though the degree of the friction differs depending upon the kind of the material of the film F. There is the possibility that the film F meanders due to an increase in the level of the friction.
As filling and packaging machines formed with these points taken into consideration, the applicant of the present invention has proposed filling and packaging machines in which a preheating means is added to a film folding mechanism disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2002-104310 etc.
In the filling and packaging machine disclosed in JP-A-2002-104310 etc., the film is preheated in the widthwise direction thereof, so that the film as a whole folded in two is fed out as the film is heated. Therefore, the film is sent in a preheated state while maintaining the non-heat-losing effect to a vertical sealing point in which a subsequent step is started. This solves the problems encountered in the above-mentioned related art (JP-A-2001-72019) filling and packaging machine. However, since it is generally necessary to introduce the film from the upper guide rolls while folding up the film in two so that the film is squeezed, the preheating means for pressing the film from the outside tends to tangentially contact in the widthwise direction. In the invention disclosed in JP-A-2002-104310, the film as a whole is preheated in the widthwise direction thereof. Therefore, when the film feeding speed is comparatively low, the heat is transmitted comparatively well to the film, and a good preheated condition of the film can be maintained. A heat transfer rate tends to lower in inverse proportion to the film feeding speed, and, therefore, it is conceivable that a shortage of the quantity of heat is brought about due to the film preheating operation.
Under the circumstances, the present invention aims at providing a filling and packaging machine formed with attention paid to these problems, and capable of making up for a shortage of the quantity of heat occurring when a film is heat sealed as the film is pressurized by a vertical sealing mechanism without causing a packaging rate to lower.


A handheld dental instrument has a horizontal level indicator and a vertical midline angle marker pin mounted on a bite line plate. The bite line plate has an arcuate front and a pair of protruding positioning pins. The bite line plate is rotatably mounted to a handle. The dental device is used in the formation of custom fitted lab fabricated dental prosthesis to improve dental bite registration recording of a patient's horizontal and vertical angles by the dentist and transferred to the dental lab technician to permit the formation of a prosthesis.

This invention relates to dental devices and procedures used in the formation of custom fitted dental prosthesis and especially to a dental alignment instrument for a dentist or a dental lab technician to acquire the proper bite angle of a patient.
Dental prostheses, such as crowns, bridges, veneers, dentures and related dental procedures are well known in the art for restoring damaged or missing teeth within the mouth of a patient. In general terms, the area to be restored is initially prepared by the dentist, such as by reducing a damaged tooth by drilling and shaping procedures, to form a suitable base adapted to receive and support a prosthetic crown. The prepared area including adjacent and opposing tooth and gum structures is then replicated by means of a dental impression defined typically by a curable vinyl elastomer or the like carried on a suitably shaped impression tray which is placed into the patient's mouth for the duration of a short cure cycle. The dental impression is then used to form the appropriate mold or molds from which the desired dental prosthesis is formed, normally from a castable gold alloy or the like. Other types of dental prostheses may require an imprint of the patient's bite registration.
The dental impression or bite imprint is commonly fitted into a dental articulator in the course of producing the requisite mold or molds for the final prosthesis. However, in accordance with standard dental laboratory procedures, the dental articulator is oriented horizontally to correspondingly reproduce a horizontal patient bite line or angle. Unfortunately, the actual bite angle in many patients deviates from a horizontal plane. As a result, the prosthesis is shaped for precision custom fit according to a horizontal patient bite line which does not in fact exist. When the dentist attempts to place the prosthesis into the patient's mouth, an improper or unsatisfactory fit is recognized. Since most bite angle deviations are relative small, the dentist normally tries to remedy the prosthesis misfit by trial and error grinding of the prosthesis. This approach can be extremely costly to the dentist by substantially increasing the time needed for proper prosthesis fit and placement. Moreover, and more importantly, trial and error attempts to reshape the prosthesis often result in a poor fit and resultant poor service life and patient dissatisfaction.
In the past, dental appliances have been proposed particularly in the field of orthodontics for use in measuring the patient's bite line or angle. However, such appliances have been relatively costly and difficult to use, and further have not provided a bite angle indication which can be satisfactorily communicated to and reproduced at a dental laboratory located typically at a different facility. Accordingly, in spite of the aforementioned problems attributable to bite angle variations, the general dental practice has been to ignore the problem or otherwise accommodate bite angle deviations by estimation and/or trial and error procedures.
Prior U.S. Patents relating to dental instruments can be seen in the Frisbie U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,619 for a dental impression tray with a level indicator which is provided with a level indicator to indicate a patient's bite angle. The impression tray is placed into the mouth of the patient and holds the level indicator to indicate the patient's bite angle, particularly with respect to deviations from a horizontal plane. The bite angle information is used subsequently in dental laboratory procedures to accommodate the specific bite angle in the formation of a dental prosthesis. In the Lee et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,917, a system for establishing a reference plane for dental casts is provided so that the patient's teeth can be oriented to a horizontal reference plane. The apparatus includes a face bow with an adjustable nasion relator assembly and a level gauge and a bite fork.
In the Diamond U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,474,555 and 4,422,849 and 4,455,137, a dental instrument and method for positioning an orthodontic bracket is disclosed and has a housing on which is positioned an arm that includes a means for releasably holding the orthodontic bracket and includes level indicating means used for displaying the extend of inclination of the arm with respect to a predetermined plane. The Hernandez U.S. Pat. No. 3,693,260 is a multi-purpose adjustable occlusal fork. A horizontal bite plate support is combined with a dental articulator which has a calibrated vertical post member which has a connection to support a face bow in a position to establish the location of a patient's transverse mandible hinge axis. The Jaccard Patent No. 4,908,949 is an air bubble level for portable tools. The Keller Patent No. 5,738,517 is an apparatus and method of fixed reference examination of dental patients and includes a bubble level carried by a face bow. The Andrews Patent No. 5,176,515 is a dental treatment method and apparatus which includes a level.
The present invention is a dental device and procedure used in the formation of custom fitted lab fabricated dental prosthesis, such as crowns, fixed bridges, removable dentures, and interior veneers. The dental instrument is used to improve dental bite registration accordingly to the patient's horizontal and vertical angles by the dentist and transferred to the lab technician to permit the formation of a prosthesis. A lab technician can continuously check the horizontal and vertical line angles while fabricating the dental appliance.


Reversal of reduced intestinal mucosal mass and absorptive function in patients by the administration of low doses of exogenous HGF either systemically or intraluminally.

The invention relates in general to the treatment of intestinal epithelial cell syndromes in humans characterized by reduced absorption of foodstuffs by intestinal cells. More particularly, the invention relates to stimulation of epithelial cell growth and function in the small intestine of patients requiring same by treatment with with Hepatocyte Growth Factor ("HGF").
The etiology of inadequate intestinal absorption includes: loss due to development abnormalities such as intestinal atresias and in utero midgut volvus; postnatal loss from surgical resection after infarction (midgut volvulus or vascular occlusion), trauma or tumor; inflammation, such as is due to infection (necrotizing enterocolitis and acute gastroenteritis) and autoimmune etiologies such as in Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis.
Many of the conditions result in "Short Bowel Syndrome" ("SBS"), the expression applied to syndromes that occur following extensive resection of the small intestine. The main consequence of SBS is malabsorption, which leads to malnutrition, dehydration, and potentially lethal metabolic alterations. The severity of the syndrome is determined by the length of functional small intestine remaining after resection. The adaptive response of the remaining intestine is the crucial factor in the subsequent quality of life of such patients. altered motility, resulting in increased luminal absorptive ability. However, this adaptive response is frequently insufficient to allow for sufficient enteral nutrition.
To better the quality of life of the aforementioned patients, it is essential to increase the capacity for absorption of the remaining small intestine. It follows, therefore, that there is an important need for agents to stimulate the functioning and numbers of the remaining epithelial cells lining the small intestine in such disorders.
Regeneration of the liver in experimental animals after partial hepatectomy or liver injury is believed to be due, at least in part, to the effects of HGF on hepatocytes. HGF is a heterodimeric, heparin-binding protein composed of heavy .alpha. and light .beta. chains of molecular weights of 70 kDa and 35 kDa, respectively, that is known to stimulate the growth, i.e., DNA synthesis, of hepatocytes in tissue culture. Matsumoto et al., Crit. Revs. Oncogen. 3: 27 (1992).
Recent studies have demonstrated that HGF stimulates the growth, not only of hepatocytes in culture, but also of intestinal crypt (IEC-6) epithelial cells in vitro. Dignass et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 202: 701 (1994). In addition, it has been demonstrated that the expression of HGF and HGF receptor (c-MET) genes can occur in the gastrointestinal tract, lung, kidney, brain, thymus and pancreas. Based on such studies, it has been speculated that HGF is a mesenchymal cell-derived growth factor that acts on epithelial cells through paracrine and endocrine mechanisms to achieve cell growth. Matsumoto et al. (1992), above.
Despite these speculations, it is not known whether HGF has cell growth and increased cell function effects on intestinal epithelial cells in vivo, that is, whether HGF, administered systemically or intraluminally to animals suffering from intestinal malabsorption due to reduced epithelial cell number and function, e.g., in SBS, would increase the numbers and functional activity of the epithelial cells of the remaining small intestine sufficient to reverse intestinal malabsorption in such subjects.
It is an object of this invention to use HGF in vivo to increase the functional (i.e., absorptive) capacity of small intestinal epithelial cells remaining following the institution of intestinal malabsorption as a result of mass reduction or functional reduction of a portion of the small bowel.

Treatment of intestinal epithelial cell malfunctions with Hepatocyte Growth Factor


A switch device includes a body with switch pivotably connected to a top thereof and two terminals extend through an underside of the body. A first contact point is connected to one of the terminals and a bi-metallic plate has a first end fixed to the other terminal. A second contact point is connected to an underside of a second end of the bi-metallic plate and located above the first contact point. A pull member has an upper end pivotably connected to the switch member and a lower end of the pull member supports the underside of the second end of the bi-metallic plate. An upper end of a push member is pivotably connected to the switch member and a lower end of the push member is in contact with the bi-metallic plate. A spring is biased between the push member and the body so as to provide a push force to the push member. A board movably received in a recess in an inside of the body and movable by an adjusting member extending through a hole through the body. A biasing member has a first end connected to the second end of the bi-metallic plate and a second end of the biasing member is engaged with the board. The biasing force of the biasing member relative to the bi-metallic plate is adjusted by moving the adjusting member.

A conventional switch device, especially for those switches using bi-metallic plate to prevent from being burn when an overload is happened, generally includes a bi-metallic plate which is deformed under overload conditions so as to separate the two contact points respectively located on the bi-metallic plate and one of the two terminals. Some inherent shortcomings for these conventional safety switch devices are found. There are too many parts involved in the safety switch device and a longer period of time is required when assembling the switch device, this increases the cost of the products. The parts might be arranged inaccurately and affects the deformation of the bi-metallic plate. Once the bi-metallic plate is deformed to cut off the circuit, because of the improper arrangement of the parts as mentioned above, the bi-metallic plate could deform to re-connect the two contact points to connect the circuit again. Because the inaccuracy of the deformation of the bi-metallic plate, the switch member does not set the "OFF" position after the bi-metallic plate is deformed to cut off the circuit.
Therefore, it is desired to have a device to ensure that the bi-metallic plate has proper flexibility and is deformed to accurately separate the two contact points and to pivot the switch member to "OFF" position.


A system for automatically recognizing a battery characteristic includes a battery information storage device for storing battery information; and a battery management device is connected to the battery information storage device and configured to battery management standards with reference to the battery information stored in the battery information storage device. In various cases in which a battery model applied to a system changes or various battery models are applied to a single system, the battery management device automatically recognizes characteristics of the different battery models, which allows the battery to be managed according to the optimized management standards suitable for the characteristics of the battery.

Generally, a battery used in a power storage apparatus or an electric vehicle includes cells of the same kind, and the battery is connected to a battery management system (BMS), or a battery management device, which is configured to have predetermined management standards according to characteristics of cells of the given kind.
However, in the case the kind of cells changes, the characteristics of the cells may also change. In this case, the battery management device connected to the battery should be replaced with another device which has battery management standards optimized for the characteristics of the cells.
However, with the recent diversification of battery models, there is difficulty in applying different battery management devices to various battery models. In addition, as the number of batteries used in a single system increases rapidly, the likelihood that in the future, batteries of various models will be used together in a single system is high and therefore, expected that the difficulty in operating a system will also increase.

System for automatically recognizing battery characteristic, battery information storage device for the same, and method for automatically optimizing battery management device by using the same


A measurement system includes a gain chain configured to amplify an analog input signal; a range selector configured to select a gain between the analog input signal and a plurality of analog-to-digital converter (ADC) outputs from a plurality of ADCs, wherein each ADC output has a path, and a gain of each output path is made up of a plurality of gain stages in the gain chain; and a mixer configured to combine the plurality of ADC outputs into a single mixed output.

Materials and device property measurements (e.g., electron transport properties such as Hall, mobility and carrier concentration, etc.) often require continuous measuring over decades or orders of magnitude changes in the property. Capturing this requires switching from one set of analytical electronics to another, the different electronics being configured for the different ranges (e.g., decades or orders of magnitude) in the measured property. This switching causes glitches and/or gaps in the measured signal. It also disturbs the data collection process in other ways, such as by causing transients that might compromise the measurement.
Analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) play a key role in the electronics doing the amplifying, filtering, sampling, and digitizing of measured signals in these measurement systems. Therefore, ADC signal processing must be carefully configured for operational conditions, including the range of the measured property. Yet carefully configuring an ADC system for one range likely renders it unsuitable for others. This can lead to error, particularly when properties vary across ranges. Selective amplification can address these errors. Amplifiers, however, introduce their own errors. Those errors derive from amplifier noise, offsets, gain errors, and phase mismatches. In addition, carefully configuring gain over several ranges requires flexibility most amplification systems lack. Small signals need large gain to increase the resolution and noise performance. When the signals become larger over the course of the measurement, that same large gain can cause ADCs to saturate. This can cause distortion and signal loss.
To increase flexibility in configuring gain, amplifier stages can be switched on and off, or in and out of the signal chain. At any given time, the amplifiers switched on are those configured for the current signal range. When the signal enters another range, the system switches to another amplifier chain configured for the new range. However, glitching and discontinuity in the measurement often manifest during the transition.
FIG. 1 shows that effect in a conventionally ranged measurement. Specifically, FIG. 1 shows conventional ranging data 104 over a discontinuity D that results when the measured signal increases through a transition tTR from lower range r1 to higher range r2. FIG. 2 shows an example of a conventional ranging setup 120 that can cause the discontinuity D shown in FIG. 1. Conventional ranging setup 120 includes two gain chains A and B. Gain chain A is dedicated to, and configured for, lower range r1 (FIG. 1). Specifically, both the gain of amplifier GA and the ADC A are configured for lower range r1. Gain chain B is dedicated to, and configured for, higher range r2 (FIG. 2). This means that the gain of amplifier GB and ADC B are configured for r2.
When the measured signal is small (i.e., in lower range r1), the channel selection component 122 of ranging setup 120 selects gain chain A. As the measured signal increases toward higher range r2, and transitions between ranges at tTR, channel selection component 122 engages electronics gain chain B. In this way, channel selection component 122 attempts to ensure that the measurement system has configured gain over the two different ranges. As shown schematically in FIG. 1, however, the transition tTR can introduce the discontinuity D in the measured data. This is because switching between gain chains A and B may introduce transient signals, noise, or glitches resulting from "warming up" or initiating use of the equipment dedicated to measuring over the transitioned-to range.
Discontinuity D results in two types of ranging error. These errors occur when two ranges (e.g., r1 and r2) have different configured amplifier profiles (A and B, respectively). In the first type of error, the amplifier profile mismatch causes unwanted amplitude discontinuities or jogs (ΔV) in measured output voltage. In the second type, temporal data discontinuity, data flow can be cut off during a range to range transition. In FIG. 1, this manifests in the data gap in the time period from tTR to tB. Temporal data discontinuity happens when changing ranges involves "warming up" or engaging new electronics, specifically the amplifiers associated with profile B. Collecting data is inaccurate or impossible until these transients dissipate. Transients from the cooling down or shutting off of amplifiers associated with amplifier profile A may also cause delays or glitches in the measurement system.
Configuring setups like 120 to eliminate discontinuity D is difficult or impossible. The configuration is limited by the simplicity and lack of variability of the components (GA, ADC A, GB, and ADC B). Therefore, there is a critical need for new and improved solutions for providing robust, high quality, low noise source or measurement signals even as measured signals vary over decades or orders of magnitude. There is a critical need for flexible solutions to provide smoother transitions between ranges that diminish or eliminate such discontinuities as shown in FIG. 1.

Ranging systems and methods for decreasing transitive effects in multi-range materials measurements


Disclosed is a vehicular headlamp including: a basic lamp unit configured to form a main light distribution pattern that is controlled in light distribution so as to satisfy illuminance requirements at a plurality of predetermined sites in a low beam light distribution pattern which is projected on a vertical virtual screen positioned in front of a vehicle; and a plurality of additional lamp units controlled in light distribution so as to irradiate light to any one of left and right diffusion regions adjacent to the main light distribution pattern. The low beam light distribution pattern is formed on the vertical virtual screen by combining the basic lamp unit and the plurality of additional lamp units.

A multi-lamp type vehicular headlamp known in the related art is provided with a plurality of lamp units, each of which has an inherent light distribution characteristic. Such a vehicular headlamp has a configuration in which the plurality of lamp units are selectively turned ON, and the illumination lights from the respective lamp units that are turned ON are integrated with each other, thereby forming a light distribution pattern with a pattern shape or luminosity distribution so as to match with various vehicular traveling situations (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2004-95480 and 2007-134052).


Both the viscosity of a plastisol comprising a dispersed polymer, a plasticizer for the polymers and at least one liquid diluent, and exudation of liquids from articles formed from the plastisol are minimized when the difference between 1) the weighted average of the Hildebrand solubility parameter values of all liquid ingredients, including plasticizer, in the plastisol and 2) the Hildebrand solubility parameter of the dispersed polymer is ±0.6 to ±1. The plastisols of the present invention are suitable for fabrication into films and molded objects, and as coating materials for a variety of metallic and non-metallic substrates.

Plastisols comprise a dispersed phase that includes but is not limited to finely divided particles of a non-crosslinked thermoplastic organic polymer and a liquid phase comprising a plasticizer for the polymer. Some texts on the subject define plastisols as including any organic polymer as the dispersed phase, while others limit the polymer to homo- and copolymers of vinyl chloride. The description of the present invention employs the broader definition.
Major end use applications of plastisols are as films, coatings and molding materials. Films and coatings are prepared by applying the plastisol to a surface as a flowable liquid. The layer of plastisol is then heated to evaporate any volatile liquids and fuse the particles of polymer to form a solid layer.
Plasticizers can be categorized based on their ability to solvate the dispersed polymer. Certain esters of phthalic acid, such as the mixed butylbenzyl ester (BBP) and benzoates of glycols such as diethylene and dipropylene glycols are particularly good solvators for polyvinyl chloride. The benzoates are therefore preferred for use in plastisol formulations containing this polymer that will be subjected to rapid processing. For many end use applications the high viscosity imparted by solvating plasticizers requires use of liquid hydrocarbons, ketones, or other classes of organic liquids to achieve the desired processing viscosity. The resultant plastisols are referred to as organosols and the organic liquids as diluents. The concentration of organic liquid in an organosol is typically greater than 5 weight percent, based on the total weight of the plastisol.
Plastisols containing other diesters of phthalic acid such as bis(2-ethylhexyl phthalate), a moderate solvating plasticizer for PVC referred to in the literature as DOP, are less likely to exhibit the substantially increased viscosity associated with the higher solvating plasticizers mentioned hereinbefore, but may still require use of an organic liquid or other viscosity suppressant(s).
Chapter 26 in volume III of a text entitled Encyclopedia of PVC Technology discusses the use of liquid hydrocarbon diluents as rheology control agents in PVC plastisols and organosols. The hydrocarbons evaluated included aliphatic hydrocarbons, and mixtures of aliphatic with 13, 16 and 98 volume percent of aromatic hydrocarbons. The data in this chapter demonstrate that the viscosity of the plastisol increased from 2.0 to 3.3 Pascal seconds (Pa·s) with increasing aromatic hydrocarbon content of from 0.02 to 98 percent. Both of these viscosity values are within the processable range.
Low viscosity plastisols prepared by mechanically dispersing a paste consisting essentially of finely divided particles of polyvinyl chloride in a plasticizer are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,702, which is incorporated herein by reference. The low viscosity exhibited by the resultant plastisol results from use of either dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether benzoate or tripropylene glycol monomethyl ether benzoate as the plasticizer. The viscosity of the plastisols are sufficiently low that they do not require use of an organic liquid to facilitate fabrication of slush molded articles or coating of the plastisol on to a self-supporting substrate such as a resilient flooring construct.
The effects of various solvents on dilatancy in concentrated phthalate ester plasticized emulsions of polyvinyl chloride were investigated by S. J. Wiley and C. W. Macosko and the results reported in the Journal of Rheology (Volume 26, Issue 6, pp 557-564). The effect of specific solvents on the strength of interparticle interactions was interpreted in terms of steric stabilization theory. The flow strength required to effect dilatancy decreased as the solvent quality of the continuous phase was reduced.
The prior art contains a variety of mathematical formulae for predicting the compatibility of polymers with various liquids, including plasticizers. The term "solubility parameter" was first used by Joel H. Hildebrand to quantify the solvating ability of specific solvents. Hildebrand expressed this parameter as the square root of the cohesive energy density, c, which had previously been defined as c=(ΔH−RT)/Vm. The solubility parameters for numerous organic compounds have been calculated using the formula developed by Hildebrand.
It was subsequently discovered that pairs of polar and non-polar molecules, which should be compatible on the basis of similar solubility parameter values calculated using Hildebrand's formula, were in fact immiscible. The presence of polar groups and the possibility of hydrogen bonding between molecules affected the solubility parameter of a molecule. Hansen considered both of these types of intermolecular interactions in developing his formula in which the total solubility parameter of a molecule is equal to the square root of the sums of the dipole, polar and hydrogen bonding contributions to the solubility of the molecule.
P. Teas developed a method for depicting the contributions of the three types of intermolecular interactions described by Hansen in two dimensions using a triangular graph. Scales for each of the three interactions appear on the three sides of the triangle When the magnitudes of the three types of Hansen interactions are determined for a particular organic liquid, the values are plotted as a single point on the graph. A group of suitable solvents for the polymer can be defined by experimentally determining which members of a groups of organic liquids exhibiting similar solubility parameter values, as represented by adjacent points on the graph, actually swell the polymers and encircling the points representing these liquids.
P. A. Small developed a method for determining the solubility parameter of compounds, including plasticizers and polymers,
by dividing 1) the sum of the molar attraction constants, also referred to as "Small's constants", exhibited by the functional groups in the compound by 2) the molar volume of the compound. Small's work is reported in the Journal of Applied Chemistry, 3, 76-80 (1953), which is hereby incorporated by reference. Unless otherwise indicated, all solubility parameter values in the following sections are expressed in Hildebrand units. The Small's constants for many solvents are reported in literature issued by suppliers of these solvents.

Eastman Specialties Holdings Corporation


A phase locked loop circuit, for providing an oscillating output signal at an output frequency, including: a reference counter; a loop counter; a phase detector having a first input coupled to the reference counter and a second input coupled to the loop counter; a voltage controlled oscillator having an input coupled to the output of the phase detector and an output for providing the oscillating output signal; a feedback loop coupling the output of the voltage controlled oscillator to the input of the loop counter; and delay circuitry, including a feedback loop, arranged to introduce a discrete delay into the output of the loop counter and/or the reference counter.

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical phase locked loop (PLL) 10. The PLL comprises in order: a reference oscillator 12, a reference counter 14, a phase detector 16, a loop filter 18, a voltage controlled oscillator 20, and a feedback loop 22 from the VCO 20 through a loop counter 24 to the phase detector 16.
Reference oscillator supplies a reference frequency signal 21, having a frequency Fref, to the reference counter 14. The reference counter operates as a divider and produces an output pulse when it has counted M input pulses of the reference frequency signal 21. The value of M can be varied via an input control signal 23. Thus the first counter produces a reduced frequency input signal 25 which has a frequency 1/M Fref.
The phase detector 16 receives the reduced frequency input signal 25 at one input and a reduced frequency output signal 27 at the other input. The output signal 29 from the phase detector passes through the loop filter 18 to provide an input voltage signal 31 to the VCO 20. The loop filter is generally a series combination of a resistor and a capacitor connected from a node, in the connection between the phase detector 16 and the VCO 20, to ground. The loop filter may alternatively include a second capacitor connected in parallel with the resistor, or in parallel with the resistor-capacitor combination. The VCO 20 converts the input voltage signal 31 to an oscillating output signal 33 at frequency Fout.
The oscillating output signal 33 is fed to loop 22, where it is input to the loop counter 24. The loop counter 24 operates as a divider producing an output pulse when it has counted N input pulses of the oscillating output signal 33. The value of N can be varied via an input control signal 35. Thus the second counter provides as a second input to the phase detector 16, a reduced frequency output signal 27 which has a frequency 1/N Fout.
When the reduced frequency output signal 27 lags the reduced frequency input signal 25, the phase detector 16 sources current to the loop filter 18 and the voltage input to the VCO 20 rises. The VCO 20 increases the frequency Fout of the oscillating output signal 33 and the reduced frequency output signal, which reduces the lag.
When the reduced frequency output signal 27 leads the reduced frequency input signal 25, the phase detector 16 sinks current from the loop filter 18 and the voltage input to the VCO 20 drops. The VCO 20 decreases the frequency Fout of the oscillating output signal 33 and the reduced frequency output signal, which reduces the lead.
Consequently, the loop moves towards 'lock' at which Fout=Fref*N/M
Such phase locked loops suffer from a number of problems. One problem is a long settling time after a change in frequency which may make it unsuitable for modern multi-slot communication systems, in which changes in frequency occur at higher rates than in non multi-slot communication systems. For example in General Packet Radio System (GPRS) the PLL at a terminal needs to change frequency every slot.
Another problem is the PLL's susceptibility to phase noise as the sensitivity of the VCO increases. The current trend is towards using low operational voltages and VCO sensitivity must be increased if the same frequency range of output is required from lower operational voltages (e.g. 3V and below). The sensitivity of the VCO may also be increased to accommodate frequency overshoot during a frequency change.
It would be desirable to provide an improved phase locked loop.


A three-dimensional location measurement sensor including first and second rotation plates to rotate about a fixed axial member independently of each other, a camera, formed inside the fixed axial member in the middle of the second rotation plate, a mirror, to be supported by a mirror supporting unit so as to be disposed over the camera, the mirror supporting unit being fixed to the first rotation plate, at least one light source, to be supported by a light source supporting unit so as to be disposed between the mirror and the second rotation plate, the light source supporting unit being fixed to the first rotation plate, a mark, to be supported by a mark supporting unit so as to be disposed between the mirror and the second rotation plate, the mark supporting unit being formed on the second rotation plate, and a gear unit, which is formed at an outer circumference of the second rotation plate and adjusts an inclination angle of the mirror. Accordingly, relatively easily determining the location of a target object by using the three-dimensional location measurement sensor is possible.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a three-dimensional location measurement sensor, which measures the location of a target object and the distance between the three-dimensional location measurement sensor and the target object, and a method of measuring the location of a target object and the distance between the three-dimensional location measurement sensor and the target object.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various location measurement methods and devices have been developed. Many conventional location measurement methods and devices use trigonometric methods to determine the location of an object by measuring the direction of the object with respect to a reference point and a distance between the object and the reference point. Recently, the importance of such location measurement methods and devices has gradually increased due to the development of home robots or high-speed mobile devices.
The location of an object with respect to the location of measurement sensor (hereinafter referred to as a reference point) may be expressed by using three location variables, which will be described more fully with reference to FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, suppose that O is the reference point, A is a target object, Φ is an azimuth angle of the target object A when a location of the object A is projected on the xy plane, Ψ is an inclination angle to represent the slope of a straight line between O and A. Lastly, r is a distance between O and A. Therefore, the location of the target object A may be determined by determining values of Φ, Ψ, and r. The three location variables Φ, Ψ, and r may vary together or independently of one another. Precisely determining the three location variables Φ, Ψ, and r to determine the location of the target object is crucial.
The conventional location measurement devices are classified into two groups depending on how they determine the location of a target object. A first group of conventional location measurement devices determine the location of the target object by appropriately panning and/or tilting a distance measurement device or a camera. A second group of conventional location measurement devices determine the location of the target object by using beams that are reflected from a mirror.
A conventional location measurement device in the first group should drive a distance measurement device or a camera. Thus, the first group location measurement device requires a driving unit to generate a considerable amount of driving force. An additional characteristic of the first group location measurement device is that rotating the device at a high speed while determining the location of a target object is difficult.
An example of the conventional location measurement device in the first group is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. D474489S (Cannon 2002). In U.S. Pat. No. D474489S, a driver is attached to one of a distance measurement device, an inclination angle control axis, or an azimuth angle control axis of a camera so that driving the distance measurement device or the camera in order to measure an azimuth angle may be performed independently of driving the distance measurement device or the camera in order to measure an inclination angle of the target object. However, the conventional location measurement device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. D474489 cannot rotate indefinitely.
Another example of the conventional location measurement device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,479,813. The '813 patent teaches controlling an azimuth angle independently of an inclination angle. The '813 patent also teaches that rotating indefinitely is possible due to a slip ring. However, when transmitting analog signals with the use of the slip ring, the analog signals may be distorted.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,330 discloses an infrared imaging system in which an azimuth angle and an inclination angle can be controlled using a single motor. The patented infrared imaging system, however, cannot set the azimuth angle and the inclination angle on the basis of an arbitrary location.
A conventional location measurement device in the second group measures the azimuth and inclination angles of a target object with respect to a reference location and the distance from the reference location to the target object by driving a mirror. With respect to these devices, even when the target object moves, the conventional location measurement device may determine the location of the target object because only a small portion of the conventional location measurement device is driven when determining the location of the target object.
An example of the conventional location measurement device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,459 in which two motors are provided to control the azimuth and inclination angles of a corresponding conventional location measurement device independently of each other. However, miniaturizing the conventional location measurement device disclosed in the '459 patent is relatively difficult because the conventional location measurement device needs to use a unique chain.
In short, the above-described conventional location measurement sensors (or devices) have the following disadvantages.
First, due to the limitations of a platform on which the conventional location measurement sensors are mounted, the conventional location measurement sensors cannot rotate within a range of 0–360 degrees. Therefore, a clear limit in determining the location of a target object that rotates more than 360 degrees exists.
Second, in some of the conventional location measurement sensors, an azimuth angle is dependent upon an inclination angle, and vice versa, in which case, precisely determining the distance from a reference location to a target object located in an arbitrary direction is substantially impossible.
Third, some conventional location measurement sensors use an omnidirectional mirror that provides a 360 degree field of view to a camera, in which case, the area of a region the camera needs to deal with increases resulting in a decrease in the resolution of an image of the region taken by the camera.

Three-dimensional location measurement sensor


Provided is a memory controller configured to control a flash memory device. The memory controller includes: a buffer memory configured to store data to be written in the flash memory device; a buffer memory interface configured to control read and write operations of the buffer memory; and an automatic command processing unit configured to interpret a data command generated by a host hardware device.

The present invention relates to a memory devices, and more particularly, to memory controllers and systems.
Semiconductor memory devices may include random access memory (RAM) that can freely read/write data but may lose stored data when power is cut off, a read only memory (ROM) that may not lose data once programmed and may retain the data even if power is cut off, and flash memory devices that may include factors of both RAM and ROM. A card type package of a flash memory device may be called a memory card (or a flash memory card). The memory card has come into wide use as a recording medium for digital devices such as digital cameras and/or portable music players. Also, USB memory, which may include a flash memory device packaged with a USB connector, may be perceived as a convenient data exchange medium for personal computers (PC) because it may present a preferable alternative to floppy disks. Recently, some systems have a flash memory device mounted on a mother board of a PC for use as a BIOS memory.
Flash memory cards have been used as auxiliary data storage devices in earlier systems where slow reading and writing rates of 10 MB/s or less were sufficient. However, as demands for mass-storage increase, flash memory cards ideally include a fast access rate for large-capacity data management and can perform good enough to substitute for an existing hard disk. Therefore, a buffer memory, such as an SRAM or a DRAM, may be needed. A buffer memory may have a capacity several times greater than that of a buffer memory used in early flash memory cards. However, additional software may be needed to manage the increasing capacity. In general, even a flash memory card having a buffer memory with small capacity may need a response time ranging from tens of microseconds (μs) to hundreds of microseconds. Thus, response time with respect to a host command may increase as the buffer memory increases in capacity. Accordingly, a technology for reducing the response time with respect to the host command may be beneficial.

Memory controller with automatic command processing unit and memory system including the same


There is provided a light emitting and image sensing device for a scene. The light emitting and image sensing device is formed in a semiconductor substrate and comprises a photoemitter means for illuminating the scene with light, and a photosensor means for sensing an image of the scene. The photosensor means is responsive to incident light from the scene. In another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a light emitting and image sensing device for a scene. The light emitting and image sensing device includes a photosensor means for sensing the image of the scene, the photosensor means is formed in a first semiconductor substrate and is responsive to incident light from the scene, and a photoemitter means for illuminating the scene with light, the photoemitter means is formed in a second semiconductor substrate. The second semiconductor substrate is attached to the first semiconductor substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel image sensor device, herein referred to as a light emitting and image sensing device, and the apparatus in which it is used.
2. Description of the Related Art
An embodiment of a conventional image sensor, in this case a CMOS image sensor, is schematically illustrated in cross-section in FIG. 1. A microlens 30 focuses incident light, or photons 32, on a plurality of photodiodes 34 in a silicon substrate 36. Color filters 38 filter photons of specific wavelengths so that each of the photodiodes 34 collects photons within one of three ranges of wavelengths, corresponding to red, green and blue light.
An embodiment of a conventional active pixel element in a CMOS image sensor is illustrated in schematic view in FIG. 2. The active pixel element comprises a photodiode and an active pixel circuit indicated generally by reference numerals 34.2 and 40 respectively. The photodiode 34.2 provides a photosensor signal on conductor 42. The photosensor signal on conductor 42 is read out through a buffer transistor 44 onto a column bus 46 when a row select transistor 48 is activated. A reset transistor 50 operates to reset the photodiode 34.2 to a known state.
A schematic plan view of the conventional image sensor is illustrated in FIG. 3. The conventional image sensor comprises a matrix of rows and columns of pixel elements indicated generally by reference numeral 52. Each of the pixel elements contains a photosensing structure and corresponding support circuitry, such as the photodiode 34.2 and active pixel circuit 40, respectively, illustrated in FIG. 2.
There are many image sensor applications wherein a light source is required to illuminate a scene, or an object, so that the image sensor can capture one or more images. Examples of such applications include but are not limited to video surveillance, cell phones, digital cameras and digital video systems. During low ambient light level conditions the light source is necessary for an image to be captured at all.
An example of a conventional infrared video surveillance camera is given by U.S. Pat. No. 6,642,955 by Brent Midgley et al. Midgley describes a CCD type image sensor in a camera system that switches electronically between infrared radiation sensing and visible light sensing depending on ambient conditions. Furthermore, the camera in Midgley makes use of either incandescent or LED type illuminators. These illuminators are located external to the camera system, but may be in a camera system enclosure along with the CCD image sensor.
An example of a CMOS sensor used in cell phone is given by U.S. Pat. No. 6,730,900 by Hsish et al. in which is described a novel CMOS based active sensor array that, along with focusing optics, is preferably incorporated into a cellular phone camera for producing electronic images.
A disadvantage of the prior art is the lack of integration of a light source for image illumination with the image sensor. This has resulted in excessively large image sensor products for the applications listed above. In the case of the video surveillance camera, the illuminator is either in a separate enclosure altogether, or is mounted inside the camera system enclosure thereby increasing the size.
Another disadvantage of the lack of integration is the inability to take advantage of an illumination apparatus. In a cell phone, for example, where space is a constrained, it is often not feasible to include the illumination apparatus. In this situation, a cell phone camera can only be used in conditions where ambient light is sufficient for its operation.
Furthermore, another disadvantage of the prior art is that by lack of integration the power consumption of the above mentioned products and applications is excessively large.

Light emitting and image sensing device and apparatus