An audio processing system includes an audio receiving module, a sound source separation module and a noise suppression module. The audio receiving module receives at least two audio signals. The sound source separation module receives a plurality of space features of the audio signals and obtains a main sound source signal separated from the audio signals based on the space features. The noise suppression module processes the main sound source signal based on an averaged amplitude value of noise in the main sound source signal so as to suppress noise in the main sound source signal. Each audio signal of the at least two audio signals includes signals from a plurality of sound sources.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an audio processing system and, more particularly, to an audio processing system for eliminating noise.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, with the fast development of multimedia techniques, the functions of smart phone, such as video recording or voice recording, are getting more and more powerful, and the requirement for recording voice or video is also greatly increased. However, when a user records voice in an actual application, due to the background circumstance, some additional noises, for example human voice in the background, may appear in the voice recorded by the user, resulting in that the quality of the voice recording is low. Besides, because the use of mobile phone is so popular, users often perform speech communication via the mobile phones when they are moving. However, the quality of such speech communication may be low due to the background noises, and this problem becomes more serious when the hand-free function of mobile phone is used.
For example, it is very dangerous for a driver to use a mobile phone when driving a car, and thus the hand-free function becomes indispensable to the driver. However, the hand-free function is likely to be influenced by lots of background noises, for example, roadwork sound and car horn sound, which may reduce the quality of phone call or even distract the driver's attention, resulting in traffic accidents.
Therefore, there is a need to provide an improved audio processing system, which can effectively suppress background noises and thus provide a better audio signal quality.


An apparatus for the stripping of insulation lengthwise from an insulated wire or cable on a continuous basis for the recovery of the metal core of the wire or cable. The apparatus has a framework supporting a rotatable feeder wheel having one or more generally “V”-shaped grooves or cable guide paths that are preferably of unlike circumferences so that varying diameters of insulated cable may be stripped quickly. The feeder wheel works in cooperation with a movable carriage assembly supporting rotatable circular cutting tools. The grooves can be formed with shoulders and relieved slots for grabbing the cable. The apparatus further has a transmission mounted to the framework and connected to the feeder wheel by a shaft. The transmission is driven by either a removable electric motor or fixed electric motor.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for the stripping of insulation lengthwise from electrical wires and cables on a continuous basis for the recovery of the metal core.
The metal core of insulated electrical cable has a greater reclamation value if the outer insulating cover has been removed. Past practices taught burning the rubber or plastic insulation from the metal core. However, this practice released toxic pollutants into the environment and degraded the reclamation value of the metal core by contaminating the metal. Thus, many patented prior art devices teach machines that assist with or strip the insulation from an electrical cable to increase the reclamation value of the metal core. Most of these machines work in a continuous manner by pulling the cable past a knife or cutting blade by means of input or feeder wheels. The inventor has found that a key element to the efficient and long term operation of these devices is the ability of the feeder wheels of the machines to grab and pull cables in varying states of integrity and cables of different sizes and types.
One prior art device is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,327, issued Aug. 6, 1996, to Roger Schultz. This patent teaches a cable stripping device that uses a flat input or drive wheel to pull the cable into the apparatus. The drive wheel has slots that would be difficult to clean after being filled with pulling lubricant that typically exists on older reclaimed cable. In addition, this patent teaches a device with a single input or drive wheel of a single diameter. As such the cable rate of travel will be the same for cables with large cross-sectional diameters as for cables with small diameters, making this machine a tedious means to reclaim cables with small diameters. Further the apparatus requires multiple positioning wheels of different sizes that must be interchanged to accommodate cables of different sizes. This is cumbersome and time consuming.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,735, issued Apr. 18, 1992, to John and Michael Ramun, teaches in-feed and exit drive rollers with cable guides made up of shallow, rounded concave grooves. These shallow, rounded gable guide grooves are likely to be subject to a rapid build-up of pulling lubricant found on the cables that will interfere with the ability of the machine to pull the cable. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,967 issued Jul. 20, 1982, to William B Greenberg, employs drive rollers with shallow grooves that are longitudinally corrugated that will also likely be subject to the rapid build-up of puling lubricant.
A number of other patents teach machines that strip the insulation from a cable, including: U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,132 issued Jun. 18, 1974, to Emery Manning et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,967 issued Jul. 20, 1982. These machines appear to be overly complicated devices utilizing complex mechanisms for feeding and cutting insulation from the cable metal core.
Many of the prior art wire stripping machines taught in the literature are relatively large and complicated machines that do not appear to be easily transported to a job site or stored out of the way. Further devices have only a single drive wheel, or multiple drive wheels all of a similar diameter, thus they have a single rate of speed for processing small and large cables alike, unless they use stepped motors or multiple speed transmissions. The prior art wire stripping machines also employ drive or input wheels with cable contact surfaces that will be subject to the build-up of cable pulling lubricants that will interfere with the operation of the device.

Apparatus and method for stripping insulation lengthwise fom electrical wires and cables


An adapter for the coupling of two shaft ends in a defined angular orientation with respect to the longitudinal shaft axes. The adapter is mounted in a defined angular orientation on a first shaft, and on the side associated with a second shaft it has a receptacle for receiving the second shaft. The second shaft has an end that is partially flattened The receptacle is surrounded by a flange in one partial segment of which is at least one projection having inclined surfaces of such dimensions, that the projection fits interlockingly into the flattened part of the second shaft upon reaching the desired angular orientation of the two shafts. The adapter according to the invention is particularly suited for the connection of the shaft of a drive unit with the shaft of an rotary encoder.

Several possibilities for connecting the shaft of a drive unit with the shaft of an rotary encoder are known. For example, the connection can be established with the aid of suitable couplings, perhaps such as those described on page 41 of "Digital Longitudinal and Angular Metrology" by A. Ernst, Verlag Moderne Industrie, publs., 3rd ed., 1989. With extreme measuring demands, correspondingly high demands are also made regarding the torsional rigidity on such couplings. An alternative for avoiding the problems arising in this connection lies in the use of a so-called stator coupling where the actual coupling is not disposed on the rotor side but rather is disposed between the drive housing and the scanning unit of the rotary encoder, i.e. on the stator side. Such a coupling is known, for example, from FIG. 24 on page 43 of the above mentioned book.
In the case of stator coupling of the drive and rotary encoder shafts, the driveshaft is rigidly connected with the rotary encoder shaft by the aid of a center screw which is arranged coaxially with respect to both shafts. However, problems arise under certain conditions with this type of rotary encoder mounting. For example, the place where the two shafts meet each other may not directly accessible. If at the same time a defined angular orientation between the two shafts is demanded, for example, because of the defined association of a reference pulse of the rotary encoder to the driveshaft, an elaborate adjusting process of the two systems with respect to each other is the result. There is furthermore the danger that, following the performance of an adjustment of the two shafts with respect to each other, the two shafts are again twisted with respect to each other in an undesirable way because of the tightening of the central screw.

Adapter for coupling two shaft ends in a defined angular orientation


A clip including two plates that preferably are substantially parallel, a spacer that connects the plates and that holds the plates apart by a gap, and at least one part of a hook-and-loop fastener attached to at least one of the plates opposite the other of the plates. Also, a clip including a plate, one or more structures for fastening the plate to an object, and at least one part of a hook-and-loop fastener attached to the plate. In addition, a method of using such clips.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a J-clip that includes at least part of a hook-and-loop type fastener.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is often necessary or useful to secure a cover, sheet, drape, curtain, board, screen, tarp, or some other item to a structure of some type. However, in many instances, the structure does not have any convenient hardware for attaching the item.
One example is when ice in a hockey arena or ice rink needs to be covered, for instance with artificial turf. An ice cover typically is placed over the ice, and then the turf is placed over the ice cover. However, a problem often arises with this typical arrangement. In particular, the turf tends to slide on the ice cover. This sliding can lead to bulges and uneven spots on the turf, especially where two or more pieces of turf meet at a seam. This situation is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.
In FIG. 1, ice cover 1 is placed over ice 2. Turf 3 is placed over ice cover 1 and has slid up against dasher 4, creating bulges 5. FIG. 2 illustrates that bulges are also likely to form along seam 6. Other bulges can form at other locations on the turf. These bulges can be inconvenient and even hazardous to people walking on turf 5.
Many other situations exist where a cover, sheet, drape, curtain, board, screen, tarp, or some other item typically is situated in place without being securely fastened. Some apparatus that helps to prevent sliding once the item is in place would be very useful.


An apparatus, system and method for adaptively controlling a frame interval between ultrasound scanning frames of an ultrasound elasticity imaging scan. The system includes a transmitter for transmitting ultrasound beams to a subject during an ultrasound elasticity imaging scan, and a receiver for receiving ultrasound beam echoes from the subject responsive to transmitted ultrasound beams. The system also includes a processor for processing a plurality of the ultrasound beam echoes to determine a strain variation of the tissue undergoing strain, calculating a value for an ultrasound scanning frame interval adapted for imaging the tissue undergoing the determined strain variation, and setting the value of the ultrasound scanning frame interval for acquiring ultrasound elasticity images of the tissue undergoing the determined strain variation.

Embodiments of the present invention are generally related to imaging systems, and, more particularly, to adaptively controlling a frame interval between ultrasound scanning frames for an ultrasound elasticity imaging scan.
Ultrasound elasticity imaging is useful for distinguishing tissues having different elastic properties. To perform ultrasound elasticity imaging of tissue in a desired region of interest (ROI), the tissue is excited, or palpated, by an external force, such as by manual palpitation, vibrational devices, and/or ultrasound beams. Alternatively, tissue may be excited by internal forces, such as forces resulting from a heart beat or blood vessel pulsation. Tissue deformation responsive to the excitation may be detected by directing ultrasound beams at the excited tissue and monitoring ultrasonic pulse echoes from the tissue at different times during excitation to obtain strain information related to elasticity of the tissue. Because strain is a function of a derivative of displacement, at least two time separated imaging frames received from the deformed tissue are required for each estimate of strain. Accordingly, elasticity imaging relies on sensing tissue deformation between two imaging frames to obtain strain information.
In conventional ultrasound elasticity imaging, a time interval between imaging frames to be compared for obtaining strain information is typically fixed a constant value. The fixed time interval is typically selected based on a general knowledge about the strain force being applied, such as a frequency and/or amplitude of the force. However, there may be times during elasticity imaging when there is no displacement, or only rigid displacement between frame intervals. Consequently, strain information may be difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. Conversely, when a deformation during a frame interval is too great, the resulting echoes may be insufficiently correlated to enable a reliable strain estimation.

Apparatus, system, and method for adaptively controlling a frame interval between ultrasound scanning frames for an ultrasound elasticity imaging scan


Various aspects of the disclosure relate to evaluating the electromagnetic impedance characteristics of a material under test (MUT) over a range of frequencies. In particular aspects, a system includes: an electrically non-conducting container sized to hold the MUT, the electrically non-conducting container having a first opening at a first end thereof and a second opening at a second, opposite end thereof; a transmitting electrode assembly at the first end of the electrically non-conducting container, the transmitting electrode assembly having a transmitting electrode with a transmitting surface; and a receiving electrode assembly at the second end of the electrically non-conducting container, the receiving electrode assembly having a receiving electrode with a receiving surface, wherein the receiving electrode is approximately parallel with the transmitting electrode, and wherein the transmitting surface of the transmitting electrode is larger than the receiving surface of the receiving electrode.

In U.S. Pat. No. 7,219,024, a system is described for conducting electromagnetic impedance spectroscopy to non-invasively determine the in-place compaction (i.e., density) and moisture of various engineering materials, with specific interest in soils. The system uses an algorithm to relate the measured impedance of the soil over a frequency range to the compaction level (density) of the soil and the moisture level. In this conventional system, a user inputs the soil characteristics as determined by standard laboratory tests, which provide the plasticity limits (ASTM D4818, a standard issued by ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pa.), particle size distribution (ASTM D422), and Proctor limits (ASTM D698 and D1557) of the soil. The algorithm then correlates the measured impedance over a range of frequencies to the compacted soil density and moisture level in the field. In order to make these correlations, the conventional system must develop a library of the impedance characteristics of soils with varying levels of compaction and moisture levels. Real-time calculations and correlations made by the system algorithm are predicated on this library.
In conventional approaches, the library is developed with a combination of testing procedures in the laboratory and in the field. The laboratory testing has limitations due to the size of the test fixture capable accommodating the compaction method, as well as the amount of soil required to perform an in-laboratory test. Additionally, it is difficult to reliably recreate field compaction results in a laboratory due to the methods of field compaction, control of the compaction variation with depth, the distribution of moisture, and other factors. While field testing is more accurate than laboratory testing in replicating field compaction methodologies, it is limited in terms of the type of soils that can be tested. Additionally, changes in weather conditions will inevitably limit the conditions of a field test. As examples, weather will affect variables such as the amount of precipitation in a sample, timing of the precipitation, ambient temperature, and amount and duration of direct sun exposure.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Parallel plate capacitor system for determining impedance characteristics of material under test (MUT)


A method of making a hygroscopic chewing gum is provided which results in improved gum texture, better dimensional stability and reduced moisture pick-up by the hygroscopic ingredients. The hygroscopic ingredients are added and blended with the gum base in a mixer, for at least about one minute before the bulk sweeteners are added. Fats and/or emulsifiers, and colors, may be added along with the hygroscopic ingredients and blended with the gum base. After the hygroscopic ingredients have been mixed with the gum base, bulk sweeteners and other chewing gum ingredients are added to the mixer and blended.

Hygroscopic ingredients in chewing gum cause the chewing gum to pick up and absorb moisture during and after manufacture. Excessive moisture pick-up, occurring in chewing gum containing significant quantities of hygroscopic ingredients, can soften these gums causing wrapping difficulties and slower processing of the gums. Moisture pick-up, and the resulting softening, can also cause the gum to spread during sheeting, making it difficult to maintain proper length and width of the chewing gum sheets.
The hygroscopic chewing gum ingredients which can cause these processing difficulties after absorbing moisture, include particularly sodium chloride, ammonium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium chloride, and other chloride salts, salt substitutes and mixtures thereof. Other hygroscopic ingredients can cause these processing difficulties to a lesser extent, including licorice powder, powdered fruit, spray dried fruit flavors, cocoa powder, powdered onion and garlic, brown sugar, dried honey solids and corn syrup solids. Ordinarily, processing difficulties do not occur in chewing gums which contain very minor quantities of one or more hygroscopic ingredients. The excessive moisture pick-up, and the resulting processing difficulties, are most apparent for chewing gums containing more than 2% by weight hygroscopic ingredients, and particularly for chewing gums containing more than 3% by weight hygroscopic ingredients. Chewing gums containing more than 2% by weight hygroscopic ingredients are referred to herein as "hygroscopic chewing gums."
U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,974, issued to Patel et al., discloses the use of encapsulated salts to enhance flavor and sweetness of chewing gum. The salt, which can include a blend of about 1 to 4 parts by weight sodium chloride per part by weight potassium chloride, is coated or encapsulated to provide a delayed release. The salt, which constitutes about 0.01-0.5 weight percent of the gum, can be pre-mixed with molten chewing gum base to eliminate a "moist spot" problem caused by hygroscopicity of the salt. The base is then cooled and solidified before being added to the chewing gum formula.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,727, issued to Dave et al., discloses using a minor quantity of cocoa powder to enhance the flavor of a synthetic chewing gum base. The amount of cocoa powder is limited to levels which do not impart a noticeable chocolate flavor to the chewing gum and cannot, in any event, exceed about 2.4 percent of the gum base.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,431, issued to Friello et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,217,368, issued to Witzel et al., both disclose the addition of particulated sweeteners to a chewing gum base, in order to achieve delayed release. Included among the mentioned sweeteners are the ammonium, sodium and potassium salts of glycyrrhizin.

Chewing gum containing stabilized hygroscopic ingredients


The present invention is an electrolyte for a lithium ion rechargeable battery and a lithium ion rechargeable battery that includes the same. More particularly, the present invention discloses an electrolyte for a lithium ion rechargeable battery that provides excellent cycle life characteristics and high-temperatures storage stability and prevents a drop in discharge capacity of a battery at low temperature, and a lithium ion rechargeable battery including the same. The lithium ion rechargeable battery including the electrolyte provides improved cycle life characteristics and prevents the problems of a drop in discharge capacity at low temperature and high-temperature swelling through the formation of a stable SEI film at the initial charge cycle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrolyte for a lithium ion rechargeable battery and a lithium ion rechargeable battery that includes the electrolyte. In particular, the present invention provides an electrolyte for a lithium ion rechargeable battery that provides excellent cycle life characteristics and high-temperature storage stability. The electrolyte also prevents a drop in discharge capacity of a battery at low temperatures. The present invention also provides a lithium ion rechargeable battery that includes the electrolyte.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As the electronics industry has advanced, technical research into portable and wireless electronic instruments including telephones, video cameras, and personal computers has progressed rapidly. Accordingly, a small rechargeable battery that is lightweight and has high energy density is increasingly in demand to power these instruments. Particularly, a rechargeable battery that has a non-aqueous electrolyte and uses a lithium-containing metal oxide as a cathode active material and a carbonaceous material capable of lithium intercalation/deintercalation as an anode active material to provide a voltage of about 4 V fills these requirements.
Lithium ion rechargeable batteries have an average discharge voltage of about 3.6 to 3.7 V and thus can provide relatively high electric power compared to other alkali batteries, Ni—MH batteries, Ni—Cd batteries, etc. However, in order to obtain such a high drive voltage level, an electrolyte composition that is electrochemically stable in the charge/discharge voltage range of 0 to 4.2V is required. For this reason, a mixture containing a cyclic carbonate-based solvent such as ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, and butylene carbonate, for example, is generally used as an electrolyte.
During the initial charge cycle of a lithium ion rechargeable battery, lithium ions are discharged from a lithium metal oxide, which is the cathode active material, and move toward a carbon electrode, which is the anode, so that lithium ion intercalation into carbon can be made. During this process, the lithium may react with the carbon electrode to produce Li2CO3, Li2O, LiOH, etc., thereby forming a film on the surface of the anode. Such a film is referred to as a Solid Electrolyte Interface (SEI) film.
After the SEI film is formed at the initial charge cycle, it serves as a barrier for preventing lithium ions from reacting with the carbon anode or other substances and also forms an ion tunnel during the following charge/discharge cycles. The ion tunnel prevents collapse of the carbon anode that is caused by the dissolving lithium ions in high-molecular weight organic solvents that are present in the electrolyte. It also prevents the movement of lithium ions with the solvents, which results in intercalation into the carbon anode. Therefore, once the SEI film is formed, lithium ions are prevented from reacting with the carbon anode again or from undesirably reacting with other substances. Thus the concentration of lithium ions can be maintained constant.
However, as charge and discharge cycles repeat electrode plates repeatedly expand and shrink and local over-voltage may be applied. Under these circumstances, a passivation layer such as an SEI film may be gradually degraded with the lapse of time and the surface of the anode may be exposed and may undesirably react with the surrounding electrolyte. In addition, gases are generated from the undesired side-reaction, which thereby increases the internal pressure of the battery and significantly degrades the cycle life characteristics of a battery. The gases that are generated mainly include CO, CO2, CH4, C2H6, etc., depending on the kind of the carbonate used in the electrolyte and the type of anode active material (J. Power Sources, 72 (1998) p. 66–70).
Additionally, a certain graphite-based anode active material may cause the decomposition of a carbonate-based electrolyte and the separation of a carbonaceous material, thereby detracting from characteristics of a battery including electric capacity, cycle life characteristics and storage characteristics. Particularly, such problems are exacerbated for batteries that use an electrolyte that contains propylene carbonate. Propylene carbonate is decomposed at an anode during the first charge cycle, thereby decreasing the initial capacity significantly.
In order to prevent the decomposition of cyclic carbonates and the separation of carbonaceous materials caused by graphite-based anode active materials, a method of adding a crown ether (12-crown-4) to an electrolyte based on propylene carbonate and ethylene carbonate has been suggested (J. Electrochem. Soc., Vol. 140, No. 6, L101 (1993)). However, this method is problematic in that a large amount of expensive crown ether is needed to prevent the decomposition of cyclic carbonates to a desired degree, and the battery characteristics obtained by the method are not sufficient for practical use.
Additionally, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 8-45545 discloses a method of adding vinylene carbonate to an electrolyte based on propylene carbonate and ethylene carbonate in order to prevent decomposition of the electrolyte. According to the method, vinylene carbonate is reduced at an anode during charge cycles to form an insoluble film on the surface of graphite (anode), thereby preventing reduction of solvents such as propylene carbonate and ethylene carbonate.
However, this method using vinylene carbonate alone cannot accomplish the formation of a complete SEI film at the first charge cycle. As charge and discharge cycles are repeated at room temperature, the film may crack and vinylene carbonate is decomposed and consumed again in order to compensate for such cracked portions. Ultimately, it is not possible to obtain stable cycle life characteristics of a battery. Further, although cycle life characteristics of a battery may improve by increasing the amount of vinylene carbonate, the method still has problems in that the discharge capacity of a battery decreases rapidly at low temperature and swelling of a battery may occur when it is stored at high temperature.

Electrolyte for lithium ion rechargeable battery and lithium ion rechargeable battery including the same


A duct is provided and includes a tubular member having an inlet portion, an outlet portion and a central portion interposed between the inlet and outlet portions and a tributary tubular member fluidly coupled to the tubular member at the central portion. The tributary tubular member includes first and second torus sectors defining first and second apertures, respectively, through which an upstream end of the central portion extends. The second torus sector is disposed within the first torus sector to define a sectioned toroidal annulus about the first and second apertures and between an exterior surface of the second torus sector and an interior surface of the first torus sector.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to aircraft environmental control systems (ECS) and, more particularly, to an economical (ECO) low pressure ECS.
The environmental control system (ECS) of an aircraft provides air supply, thermal control and cabin pressurization for the crew and passengers. Avionics cooling, smoke detection and fire suppression are also commonly considered part of an aircraft's environmental control system.
Current ECS design is directed to the development of economical ECS architectures that operate using lower engine pressures as compared to earlier designs in order to save fuel. Such goals suggest that the turbine be configured to operate as a cooling turbine during ground operations and as a power turbine in flight but require an additional connection to cabin air and often rely on relatively large line sizes and duct bend radii that consume a relatively large portion of available packaging volume. The goals also need to be achieved without negatively impacting the water extractor efficiency of conventional systems.


A method and an apparatus for hearing assistance, capable of compensating the lowering of the speech recognition ability related to the deterioration of the auditory sense center. The input speech is divided into voiced speech sections, unvoiced speech sections, and silent sections, of which the voiced speech sections and the silent sections are appropriately extended/contracted while the unvoiced speech sections are left unchanged, and then these sections are combined in an identical order as in the input speech, so as to obtain output speech which is easier to listen for a listener with a handicapped hearing ability. Also, only the silent sections other than the punctuation silent sections for pauses due to punctuation between sentences can be contracted and the speech speed for each of the voiced speech sections can be adjusted, and then the adjusted voiced speech sections, the unvoiced speech sections, the punctuation silent sections and the contracted silent sections can be combined in an identical order as in the input speech, in order to realize the real time hearing assistance without extending the speech utterance period.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for assisting the hearing of persons with hearing impairment or advanced age.
2. Description of the Background Art
In general, when the hearing ability such as a critical speed for speech recognition (a maximum speech speed for which the speech can be recognized correctly) is lowered due to the hearing impairment or the advanced age, the rate of correct speech recognition for the speeches uttered at normal speech speed or faster than normal speech speed considerably decreases.
Conventionally, a hearing aid device has been the only means for providing an assistance to such a person with handicapped hearing ability. However, the conventional hearing aid device functions only to compensate the transmission characteristics of the external ear and the middle ear in the auditory sense system by means of simple frequency characteristic improvement and gain control, so that it has been impossible for a conventional hearing aid device to compensate the lowering of the speech recognition ability related to the deterioration of the central auditory sense system.
In this respect, it is possible to make it easier for those who have the handicapped hearing ability to hear the speech correctly, by lowering the speech speed uniformly while maintaining the other speech characteristics.
However, when the speech speed is lowered uniformly, the speech utterance period is inevitably extended, and such an extended speech utterance period can cause the serious problem in a case of broadcasting or tape recording in which the period of time available for the utterance of the speech is limited in advance.
In addition, such a slowed down speech utterance can cause the further serious problem in a case of the TV broadcasting in which the speech is delivered in correspondence to the displayed visual information, such that the discrepancy between the slowed down speech utterance and the normal speed visual information may cause the confusion which rather obstructs the hearing.

Method and apparatus for hearing assistance with speech speed control function


An information processing apparatus includes an image pickup unit, an extracting unit, an estimating unit, a categorizing unit, and a recording control unit. The image pickup unit captures an image of a subject. The extracting unit extracts a human figure from the captured image of the subject captured by the image pickup unit. The estimating unit estimates a posture of the human figure extracted by the extracting unit. The categorizing unit categorizes the posture of the human figure estimated by the estimating unit into a previously prepared pose. The recording control unit controls recording of the captured image on the basis of the pose that the posture of the human figure is categorized into by the categorizing unit.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information processing apparatuses, information processing methods, and programs. More specifically, the present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program allowing users to more surely and more easily take images of a subject in a specific pose.
Description of the Related Art
Recently, it has been studied to automatically record an image of a subject in accordance with a pose of a person serving as the subject while the image of the person is being captured with image-capturing-function attached electronic devices, such as digital cameras and mobile phones.
For example, there is a related art for comparing a feature point of a skin color region extracted from a captured image with a feature point of a pose image set in advance and recording the image if the corresponding feature points match or are similar (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-263422).

Information processing apparatus and method for extracting and categorizing postures of human figures


The present invention is to install a transmission belt between two noncircular synchronous transmission pulleys, thereby providing a non-sliding synchronous transmission feature between the belt and the pulleys, when the noncircular active pulley is driven to synchronously link the noncircular passive pulley to rotate through the transmission belt, a noncircular synchronous transmission pulley set having periodically varying speed ratio and circumference compensating function is formed, through the two pulleys being formed with certain noncircular wheel shapes, during the synchronous transmission, the circumferences of the two wheel shapes can be mutually compensated.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention is to install a transmission belt between two noncircular synchronous transmission pulleys, thereby providing a non-sliding synchronous transmission feature between the belt and the pulleys, when the noncircular active pulley is driven to synchronously link the noncircular passive pulley to rotate through the transmission belt, a noncircular synchronous transmission pulley set having periodically varying speed ratio and circumference compensating function is formed, through the two pulleys being formed with certain noncircular wheel shapes, during the synchronous transmission, the circumferences of the two wheel shapes can be mutually compensated, thereby when generating periodically varying speed ratios during the synchronous transmission, the tightness of the synchronous transmission belt can be remained the same or restrained within a smaller tightness varying level, a following pre-stressed idle wheel can therefore be optionally installed.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Both or at least one of a conventional active pulley and a passive pulley are a circular pulley and the other is a noncircular pulley for forming performing the synchronous transmission, when the active pulley is driven in the revolving period, the active pulley performs the driving with periodically varying speed ratios to the passive pulley through a synchronous transmission belt, the tightness of the synchronous transmission belt installed between the circular pulley and the noncircular synchronous transmission pulley is often varied with respect to the varying speed ratios, even if a following pre-stressed idle wheel being installed, a situation of the transmission belt being released from the transmission pulley under high rotation speed may still occur.

Noncircular synchronous transmission pulley set having periodically varying speed ratio and circumference compensating function


Techniques are developed for defining an engine which has as its input two-dimensional drawing views, wherein the engine produces a three-dimensional geometric solid. The engine comprises, among other things, a set of rules for identifying particular elements within the various two-dimensional views, and for determining the useful relationships between elements (e.g., arcs, lines, and the like) in one view vis-a-vis related elements in another view, to thereby ascertain the three-dimensional form defined by these elements and their corresponding relations to other elements.

The pervasiveness of CADD/CAM systems over the last thirty years has revolutionized the design and manufacturing industries worldwide. Specifically, the wide availability of advanced modeling tools since the early 1970's has enabled engineers and designers to design, modify, and fabricate three-dimensional objects quickly and economically. Toward this end, much emphasis has been placed on the manufacturing end of the process--i.e., the task of using three-dimensional design data to create prototypes, molds, and finished products via numeric control techniques (NC) and stereo lithography. The actual design and creation of three dimensional models, however, is in many respects problematic, and can best be understood in the context of the basic principles of three-dimensional design.
Solid modeling packages traditionally use one of two solid generation modes: constructive solid geometry (CSG), and boundary representation (B-REP). The CSG approach involves using the three main operations defined by George Boole (thus known as Boolean operations), namely: "union", "difference", and "intersection". These Boolean operations are applied to pairs of objects at a time. Thus, as is well known in the art, the union operation is used to add the volumes of two solids, the difference operation is used to subtract one volume from another, and the intersection operation is used to define a volume consisting only of the region in space occupied by both solids. For example, with reference to FIG. 1A, a cylindrical rod 104 and block 102 are shown along with the various solids that result from each of the three Boolean operations--i.e. difference (solid 106), union (solid 108), and intersection (solid 110).
In contrast, The B-REP approach represents a solid as a set of vertices, edges, and faces, wherein the faces completely enclose a volume. For example, referring now to FIG. 1B, a three-quarter cylinder 112 is represented by four surface elements: three planar surfaces (top face 114, bottom face 116, and front plane face 118) and one cylindrical surface 120. The topology of this solid can be represented using a linear graph 122 wherein the nodes of the graph represent the faces and the connections represent shared edges.
There are four primary methods of generating basic solids: axial sweeps, rotational sweeps, blended solids, and free-form solids. Axial sweeps are solids defined by the volume created by translation of a planar object axially through space. For example, a cylinder can be created through axial sweep of a circle. Rotational sweeps are solids defined by the volume created by rotation of a planar object through space around a line. Blended solids are solids defined by a series of closed curve sets, wherein either straight or smooth blends are used to transition between each successive curve. Free form solids are usually generated by fitting a dense set of points, or by meshing two orthogonal curve sets, to create a skin which encloses the volume. A fifth category, analytic solids, consists of boxes (right rectangular hexahedron), right cylindrical rods, cones, spheroids, and toroids. These solids are all special cases of the axial and rotational sweep.
Further information regarding these and other solid generation methods as used in a CADD/CAM environment can be found in a number of standard texts, for example: HANDBOOK OF SOLID MODELING (LaCourse ed., 1995) and Martti Mantyla, AN INTRODUCTION TO SOLID MODELING (1988). The contents of these texts are hereby incorporated by reference.
In addition to the references listed above, well-known subroutines and equations related to basic solid geometry can be found in a number of standard texts, for example: Korn & Korn, MATHEMATICAL HANDBOOK FOR SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS (1961); Gerald Farin, CURVES AND SURFACES FOR COMPUTER AIDED GEOMETRIC DESIGN (2d ed., 1990); Su Bu-Qing & Liu Ding-Yuan, COMPUTATIONAL GEOMETRY: CURVE AND SURFACE MODELING (1989); Peter Lancaster & Kestutis Salkaukas, CURVE AND SURFACE FITTING (1986); Tom Lyche and Larry L. Schumaker, MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN COMPUTER AIDED GEOMETRIC DESIGN (1989). These texts are hereby incorporated by reference.
Despite the extensive use of software-based systems for facilitating the design of articles of manufacture, existing software-based design tools generally focus on the development of a set of two-dimensional views, leaving it to the experience, intuition, and expertise of the machinist to create a three-dimensional object from the information set forth in a plurality of two-dimensional representations of the object.
Other presently known systems permit a designer to prepare a three-dimensional drawing in simulated three-dimensional space; however, the systems are typically cumbersome, and are neither intuitive, easy to learn, nor particularly user-friendly once learned. Moreover, such three-dimensional design packages do not adequately take into account the fact that most qualified designers are trained in a two-dimensional paradigm; that is, the engineering and design curricula extant today are built around various teaching and training models which, although mature and powerful, are unambiguously two-dimensional in focus and orientation.
At least one study has shown that approximately 70% of all three-dimensional CADD system users employ these systems in a two-dimensional mode--that is, they perform three-dimensional design by creating multiple two-dimensional drawings which are later converted by human machinists into a three-dimensional object. As a result, designers and engineers have accumulated vast inventories of two-dimensional drawings and data which cannot be conveniently converted into three-dimensional objects.
Methods have been developed to facilitate, on a limited scale, generation of three-dimensional objects using two-dimensional data as input; see, for example: Suzuki, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,428,715, issued Jun. 27, 1995; Azarbayejani et al., 5,511,153, issued Apr. 23, 1996; Kurashige et al., 5,363,476, issued Nov. 8, 1994; Abrams et al., 5,587,913, issued Dec. 24, 1996; and Niu et al., 5,561,748, issued Oct. 1, 1996. However, these methods are concerned generally with projection, extrusion, or mapping of two-dimensional data within three-space rather than the substantially more vexing problem of constructing solid objects from an arbitrary set of two-dimensional views.
Systems and methods are therefore needed which overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and which facilitate the conversion of two-dimensional drawings into three-dimensional object data.

Methods for automatically generating a three-dimensional geometric solid from two-dimensional view sets including automatic segregation of open, closed and disjoint curves into views using their center of gravity


A temperature indicator having a tubular structure; a float or floating particles releasably held in place in the tubular structure by a temperature dependent material that is activated at or about a critical temperature, the float or floating particles having a first density; and a fluid within the tubular structure, the fluid having a second density that is less than the first density. When the temperature indicator is heated to the critical temperature, the temperature dependent material activates and releases the float or the floating particles, which rise in the fluid so as to be visible as in indicator that the critical temperature has been reached.

1. Technical Field
This invention is generally related to the technical field of devices for measuring the internal temperature of masses, and more specifically related to the technical field of devices for showing if the internal temperature of a mass has reached a certain value.
2. Prior Art
There are many situations or applications where it is desirable to know or show when the internal temperature of a mass has reached some critical value and visually show this change externally. For example when cooking foods such as turkey, chicken, and roasts it would be useful to show when the internal temperature or doneness has been achieved. This is also true when heating foods in a microwave oven as the heating can be non-uniform. An indicator showing that the entire food item, or at least some internal portion of the food item, has reached some critical temperature throughout the thickness of the food item would be advantageous. Similarly, when shipping perishable foods, vaccines or medications, it is important to know if the internal contents have exceeded some peak temperature.
A number of devices have been used to measure internal temperatures. Volk Enterprises, Inc. uses a spring that is compressed and held in the compressed state by a sharp melting polymer or other material that will release the spring and allow an indicator to become visible when heated to the melt temperature. The spring may not be able to be used in microwave heating applications as the induced eddy currents from the microwave radiation may heat the metal spring and may cause a premature release. Moreover, as the spring subjects the restraining material to some stress, the restraining material may become subject to viscoelasticity near the melt temperature so that the release of the spring may become heating rate dependent. Additionally, it is not a closed system and is subject to contamination.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,387,438 describes a peak temperature indicator that uses a sharp melting column of a material, such as a polymer, wax, metal, or other material, that restrains a float. When the entire column becomes a liquid, the float will rise to the top of a protruding transparent enclosed system. While this concept is simple and easy to use, it does have some deficiencies. The polymers tend to be relatively insensitive to microwave heating; hence the melting of the polymer is dependent on heat transfer from the surrounding food. In addition the polymers expand approximately 8% when heated from its solid crystalline state into its liquid state.
A simpler and less expensive device that avoids these problems is disclosed in the present specification.


Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for reinforcement learning using confidence scores. One of the methods includes receiving a current observation; for each of multiple actions: determining a respective value function estimate that is an estimate of a return resulting from the agent performing the action in response to the current observation, determining a respective confidence score that is a measure of confidence that the respective value function estimate for the action is an accurate estimate of the return that will result from the agent performing the action in response to the current observation, adjusting the respective value function estimate for the action using the respective confidence score for the action to determine a respective adjusted value function estimate; and selecting an action to be performed by the agent in response to the current observation using the respective adjusted value function estimates.

This specification relates to reinforcement learning systems.
In a reinforcement learning system, an agent interacts with an environment by receiving an observation that either fully or partially characterizes the current state of the environment, and in response, performing an action selected from a predetermined set of actions. The reinforcement learning system receives rewards from the environment in response to the agent performing actions and selects the action to be performed by the agent in response to receiving a given observation in accordance with an output of a value function representation. The value function representation takes as an input an observation and an action and outputs a numerical value that is an estimate of the expected rewards resulting from the agent performing the action in response to the observation.
Some reinforcement learning systems use a neural network to represent the value function. That is, the system uses a neural network that is configured to receive an observation and an action and to process the observation and the action to generate a value function estimate.
Neural networks are machine learning models that employ one or more layers of nonlinear units to generate an output for a received input. The output of each hidden layer is used as input to the next layer in the network, i.e., the next hidden layer or the output layer. Each layer of the network generates an output from a received input in accordance with current values of a respective set of parameters.
Some other reinforcement learning systems use a tabular representation of the value function. That is, the system maintains a table or other data structure that maps combinations of observations and actions to value function estimates for the observation-action combinations.

Reinforcement learning using confidence scores


In an abnormal shadow detecting system, a mammary gland distribution map generating system generates a mammary gland distribution map of each of left and right breasts by dividing an image of each of the left and right breasts into a plurality of ranges according to the density of the image on the basis of image data representing the image, and an extracting system extracts a bilaterally asymmetric range by comparing the ranges of the mammary gland distribution map for one of the left and right breasts with those of the mammary gland distribution map for the other breast.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system for detecting an abnormal shadow in a radiation image, and more particularly to a system for detecting an abnormal shadow of a breast and/or a bilaterally asymmetric shadow of breasts on the basis of image data representing a radiation image of the breast or breasts.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the medical field, to find a diseased part of a patient or to observe a diseased part of a patient and diagnose progress of disease by reading a radiation image of the object (patient) has been a common operation. However, radiation image reading often depends upon experience and abilities of the reader and is not necessarily objective.
For example, it is necessary to find an abnormal shadow representing a growth and/or a micro calcification representative of a cancerous part in a mammogram (a radiation image of a breast) taken for the purpose of a breast cancer examination. However, depending on the reader, the abnormal shadow cannot be properly detected. Accordingly, there has been a demand to properly detect an abnormal shadow including shadows of a growth and a micro calcification irrespective of abilities of the reader.
In order to meet this demand, there have been proposed abnormal shadow detecting systems (computer-aided image diagnosis systems), for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,334 in which an abnormal shadow is automatically detected by the use of a computer on the basis of image data representing a radiation image of the object. In the abnormal shadow detecting system, an abnormal shadow is automatically detected on the basis of the density distribution in the shadow and/or the feature of the shadow by the use of an iris filter processing which is mainly suitable for detecting a growth shadow and/or a morphology filter processing which is mainly suitable for detecting a micro calcification shadow.
The abnormal shadows in the mammogram include a bilaterally asymmetric shadow and an abnormal shadow which appears due to change with time.
The bilaterally asymmetric shadow is a benignant shadow which cannot be perfectly determined not to be a shadow of a cancerous part, belongs to category III (It is said that to detect such an abnormal shadow is important in a medical examination), and is characterized in that the left and right breasts are not symmetric in density.
The abnormal shadow which appears due to change with time is an abnormal shadow representing a part which has been altered into cancer and is characterized in that the mammograms of the same object taken at different times are different from each other in density.
Since ranges of such abnormal shadows are not necessarily circular convex ranges or ranges of high brightness in the mammograms, and are characterized in that a density difference exists between particular images, such abnormal shadows cannot be detected by the conventional iris filter processing or a method simply using the density of the radiation image.
Though various methods of detecting a prospective abnormal shadow related to breast cancer have been proposed, no method of efficiently detecting a bilaterally asymmetric shadow or an abnormal shadow which appears due to change with time has been proposed. Though we, this applicant, have proposed in our U.S. Pat. No. 6,272,233 a method of detecting an abnormal shadow in which the density of a radiation image of the left breast of a patient is compared with that of a radiation image of the right breast of the same patient, the method is for evaluating the probability that a prospective abnormal shadow range detected in one of the radiation image of the left and right breasts represents a true cancer by comparing the output signals obtained by carrying out the iris filter processing on the prospective abnormal shadow range and the corresponding part in the other radiation image, and is not effective for detecting a bilaterally asymmetric shadow.


A low power flip-flop includes first to fourth signal generation circuits and an inverter. The first signal generation circuit receives the clock signal, the data input signal, and a first internal signal that is an output of the second signal generation circuit and generates a second internal signal. The inverter receives the first internal signal and generates an inverted first internal signal. The second signal generation circuit receives the first internal signal and the output signal that is an output of the third signal generation circuit, and generates the inverted output signal. The third signal generation circuit receives the clock signal and the inverted output signal and generates the output signal. The fourth signal generation circuit receives the inverted first internal signal, the second internal signal, and the clock signal and generates the first internal signal.

The inventive concept relates generally to a class of electronic circuits commonly known as "flip-flops." More particularly, the inventive concept relates to low-power flip-flops.
A flip-flop is an electronic circuit with two stable state that can be used to store binary data. The value of the stored data may be changed by varying input signal(s) applied to the flip-flop. Flip-flops are fundamental building blocks of many digital electronic systems used in computers, communications and many other systems. There are different types of flip-flops that may be variously implemented.
Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet personal computers (PCs) require low-power designs. Because many processors used in mobile devices include numerous flip-flops, the provision of more power-efficient flip-flops may greatly reduce overall power consumption of mobile devices.
Certain flip-flops may consume power in relation to a logic-level transition of a clock signal, even when no change in logic state occurs in the flip-flop. This characteristic may disproportionately affect power consumption in a mobile device having relatively low switching activity. Accordingly, a flip-flop having reduced power consumption is required, particularly in applications of performance states characterized by relatively low change in data.


The present invention relates to organic semiconductor diodes, in particular, to the diodes with nonlinear current-voltage characteristics, which are used for power switching, rectifying variable signals, and frequency mixing. The organic semiconductor diode with the p-n junction comprises an anode, cathode, a hole transport layer in contact with the anode, and an electron transport layer in contact with the cathode, and two transport layers being in contact with each other. Another aspect of the present invention is a Schottky barrier diode comprising anode, cathode, and an organic semiconductor layer, wherein the semiconductor layer is either hole or electron transport layer. At least one of the transport layers is characterized by a globally ordered crystalline structure with intermolecular spacing of 3.4±0.3 Å in the direction of one crystal axis. One more aspect of the present invention is a method for obtaining an organic semiconductor layer with the electron-hole type of conductivity.

An organic diode has been fabricated which makes use of the electrical conductivity of a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) [L. Boundou, J. Guastavino, N. Zouzou, and J. Martinez Vega, Influence of Annealing Treatment on the Electrical Conductivity of Low Density Polyethylene, Polymer International, 50(9), 1046–1049 (2001), incorporated herein by reference]. This paper reports on the conductivity of semicrystalline, additive free (undoped) low-density polyethylene (LDPE) samples in the form of 100 μm thick discs prepared from hot pressed LDPE pellets. Both faces of each sample were coated with gold by vacuum deposition. The samples were studied by measuring the current through the structure during a stepwise increase in the applied voltage (i.e., in the electric field) at various temperatures. The results of experiments showed evidence of annealing-induced structural changes in the samples and related changes in the distribution of trapping centers. The structure of the samples was modified by temperature variations within the range used to study the conduction mechanism.
Another diode structure was fabricated [L. S. Roman and O. Inganas, Charge Carrier Mobility in Substituted Polythiophene-Based Diodes, Synthetic Metals, 125, 419–422 (2002), incorporated herein by reference] employing the semiconducting polymer poly[3-(2′-methoxy-5′-octylphenyl)-thiophene] (PMOPT) as the active layer material. The layer of the oxidized conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped by poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT-PSS) is used as the anode. The diode was designed in the sandwich geometry with 6–10 mm active area. A copper film was deposited by evaporation onto half of a substrate. The PEDOT-PSS layer was deposited by spin coating from a 30% aqueous isopropanol solution filtered via 1-μm pore glass filter and patterned on copper. Then, the deposit was annealed during 5 min at 120° C. in order to remove residual water from the film. The semiconducting polymer was deposited by spin coating from a chloroform solution with a concentration of 5 mg/ml, to a layer thickness of 100 and 200 nm. The second electrode (Al) was vacuum deposited through a shadow mask defining the active area.
The current-voltage characteristic of the diode with a Cu/PEDOT-PSS anode was asymmetric with respect to reverse and forward bias, with a rectification range over five orders of magnitude. The capacitance versus voltage (C-V) characteristics were measured in the dark in the range of applied voltages from −3 to 3 V at a frequency of 50 kHz. The C-V characteristics of these devices agreed with the behavior of the current density and did not show evidence of a depletion layer (Schottky-type characteristics). For the reverse-biased diode with the Cu/PEDOT-PSS anode, the capacitance was constant at a forward voltage of up to 1.5 V and then continuously increased up to 3 V. It was suggested that the dependence of the carrier mobility μ on the electric field strength F was described by the formula μ=μ0 exp[(F/F0)1/2], where μ0 is the zero-field mobility and F0 is the characteristic field. The polymer parameters μ0 and F0 were determined by fitting the experimental data for the PMOPT-based diode to this dependence. For two PMOPT-based diode samples (with L=100 and 200 nm), the zero-field mobility was found to be μ0=2.4×10−6 cm2 V s with a characteristic field of F0=22.7 kV/cm. By comparing these results to the data for poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethyl-hexyloxy))-1,4-phenylene vinylene] (PMEH-PV), it was found that the carrier mobility in PMOPT was seven times higher than that in the poly(phenylene vinylene) derivative.
Organic diodes have been also made using Schottky contacts formed on a highly doped organic semiconductor [E. J. Lous, P. W. M. Blom, L. W. Molenkamp, and D. M. de Leeuw, Schottky Contacts on a Highly Doped Organic Semiconductor, Physical Review B, 51(23), 17252–17254 (1995), incorporated herein by reference]. In these diodes, the α, α′-coupled dodecathiophene oligomers with four n-dodecyl side chains at the thiophene rings 2, 5, 8, and 11:T12d4 have been used as semiconducting materials. The T12d4 was doped with 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ) in THF solution. The doping level was defined as the percentage of donated holes per thiophene ring. One DDQ molecule can donate two holes, so that the number of DDQ molecules is half the doping level. The diode structures were obtained from T12d4 solutions to which DDQ was added to a doping level of 5%, which corresponds to a donated hole density of about 4×1020 cm−3. The diode comprises a thin layer with low acceptor density (p−) at the metal-oligomer interface and a bulk semiconductor layer that has a higher dopant concentration (p+). The films were spin-deposited onto glass substrates preliminarily provided with four deposited Au stripe contacts for determination of the bulk conductivity σbulk. Gold forms the ohmic contact with doped T12d4. In the diode structure, Au was used as the bottom electrode, while the top Schottky contact was obtained by depositing In onto the organic film at a pressure of about 10−6 Torr. The Schottky-type diodes made of highly doped oligomers showed considerably improved current density at 1 V, JF(1 V), and had a rectification range over four orders of magnitude.
A metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) diode structure with poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as the semiconductor was described by E. J. Meijer, A. V. G. Mangnus, C. M. Hart, D. M. de Leeuw, and T. M. Klapwijk [Frequency Behavior and the Mott-Schottky Analysis in Poly(3-hexylthiophene) Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Diodes, Applied Physics Letters, 78(24), 3902–3904 (2001), hereby incoprorated by reference]. The P3HT-based MIS diodes were fabricated on glass substrates using patterned indium tin oxide (ITO) contacts as gate electrodes. A 300 nm thick insulating layer of novolak photoresist was spin-coated on top of the gate. Over the insulator, a 200 nm thick P3HT film was spun from a 1 wt. % chloroform solution. Finally, a 10 nm thick gold layer was deposited through a shadow mask to form the ohmic contact with the P3HT layer.
The Schottky diodes of another type [M. Narasimhan, M. Hagler, V. Cammarata, and M. Thakur, Junction Devices Based on Sulfonated Polyaniline, Applied Physics Letters, 72(9), 1063–1065 (1998), hereby incorporated by reference] were fabricated using aluminum/neutralized sulfonated polyaniline (SPAN) junctions. Thin films of SPAN-based materials were prepared on an indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates. Aluminum was vacuum deposited on top at a pressure of 10−6 Torr. The contact between ITO and polyaniline was ohmic, whereas the Al-polyaniline contact showed very good Schottky diode properties.
There are planar Schottky barrier diodes [M. Willander, A. Assadi, and C. Svensson, Polymer Based Devices, Their Function and Characterization, Synthetic Metals, 55–57, 4099–4104 (1993), hereby incorporated by reference] fabricated using poly(3-alkylthiophene) (P3AT) as an active semiconductor, with aluminum and gold electrodes used as the Schottky and ohmic contacts, respectively. Poly(3-alkylthiophene) used in the diodes was a p-doped semiconductor. A P3TO layer was spun onto a silicon wafer substrate and then covered by silicon oxide. Both metal contacts were formed on silicon oxide by vacuum deposition at a pressure below 10−6 Torr. Electrical characterization confirmed diode behavior with a rectification ratio greater than 104 at a sufficiently high voltage. The ideality factor was as low 1.2.
Schottky diodes have been fabricated [V. Kazukauskas, H. Tzeng, and S. A. Chen, Trap Level and Effect of Oxygen in Poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] Diodes, Applied Physics Letters, 80 (11), 2017–2019 (2002), hereby incorporated by reference] using poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] as an active semiconductor, and aluminum and ITO glass electrodes as the Schottky and ohmic contacts, respectively.
In all examples of the organic diodes mentioned above, the organic layers do not possess a globally ordered crystalline structure. In addition, organic compounds used in said diodes have low values of the electric conductivity. Furthermore, the organic layers of organic diodes have been manufactured in relatively expensive production process. In particular, vacuum based deposition processes have been used to fabricate the organic components of organic diodes. These vacuum processes do not create cost advantage that would be expected from introduction of a new material in well known function. Another disadvantage of the aforementioned organic diodes is low temperature stability of the organic material itself. The desirable temperature range for diode operation in many applications is between −40 and 700° C. Present organic diodes do not satisfactorily meet these temperature requirements.


A damping device, particularly for damping or avoiding pressure surges such as pulses, in hydraulic supply circuits, preferably in the form of a silencer, includes a damping housing that surrounds a damping chamber (19), has at least one fluid inlet (11), has at least one fluid outlet (13) and has a fluid receiving chamber (19) extending between the fluid inlet (11) and the fluid outlet (13). During operation of the device, a fluid flow crosses the damping chamber (19) in a through-flow direction (15), coming from the fluid inlet (11) in the direction of the fluid outlet (13). At least parts of the fluid receiving chamber (19) extend in at least one extension direction transversely with respect to the through-flow direction (15). The fluid receiving chamber (19) immediately adjoins the fluid inlet (11) and the fluid outlet (13) and is delimited by at least one yielding wall part (4).

Damping devices of this kind are state of the art. Such hydraulic dampers, also referred to as sound dampers or silencers, serve to reduce vibrations produced by pressure pulses, which a corresponding hydraulic system is regularly subject to, in particular as a result of the operation of hydraulic pumps. As described in DE 102 17 080 C1, the known damping devices of this kind have a damping housing in the form of a circular cylinder, which is spherically rounded at both axial end regions. The fluid inlet and the fluid outlet are located coaxial to the cylinder axis on one respective end region. As the damping chamber, which the fluid flow crosses from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet, a damping tube is provided in these damping devices, which extends coaxially between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet. The tube wall has openings to the fluid chamber surrounding the tube. In accordance with the cylinder diameter, the fluid chamber is radially expanded relative to the axial through-flow direction defined by the damping tube.


A gift card processing system which includes a database storing interval information representing a required interval between transactions using the gift card. The database also stores data representing the maximum amount of each transaction. The gift card processing system is part of a network that includes POS terminals at merchant locations, where the gift card may be presented. A card ID is read from the card at a POS terminal and used to access the interval data and the maximum transaction amount data.

In recent years, stored value cards, such as prepaid gift cards, have become increasingly popular among consumers. Very often the cards are given by a purchaser (of the card) to a recipient in lieu of cash, so that the recipient will have the means to purchase goods or services from a card issuing merchant. In some cases the purchaser may desire this arrangement so that the recipient does not use the card for purposes other than those intended by the purchaser. As an example, a parent may purchase a stored value card that can be used by a child only at the issuing merchant, so that the child may not use the card for goods other than those sold by that merchant.
One drawback of existing cards is that there is no effective means for controlling card use at the merchant. For example, a parent may give a card issued by a restaurant to a child away at college, desiring that the child use the card in increments for individual meals. However, there is often no effective means to prevent the child from using the card in ways not contemplated by the parent. While cards have been known to place maximum limits on individual purchases (e.g., a $100 gift card may only be used in $10 increments), there is no means available to prevent the recipient of the card from conducting many transactions over a short period of time, quickly depleting the value of the card.

Stored value card transaction control systems and methods


A method and system utilizing one or more data generating computing devices as default data warehouses in the event of a primary data warehouse failure are provided. A data warehouse provides an environment in which data from one or more data servers in one or more locations, or premises, is aggregated in a central database. In the event of a system failure, in which communication between the data warehouse and one or more servers is disrupted, a warehouse ticket file, stored on secure, distributed ticket servers, is used to identify and initialize at least one of the data servers as a failover data warehouse. Once communication between the premises and its primary data warehouse is restored, the data collected during the failover is transferred to the primary data warehouse and purged from the failover data warehouse.

Generally described, most corporate and governmental entities utilize computer systems, computer networks, and integrated devices that generate vast amounts of electronic data. In some cases, data is generated, processed, and discarded after serving an intended purpose. In other cases, corporate, governmental, or other entities require that data be stored and maintained for future use. Such storage methods and systems may be generically referred to as "archival." Accordingly, many data generating users look for storage solutions that correspond to the type and amount of data to be archived.
A growing category of archival is known as data warehousing. Data warehousing refers to the various activities involved in the acquisition, management, and aggregation of data from various sources into a centralized repository, such as a database. The database may be hosted by one or more servers, at least some of which may be physically proximate. Additionally, the central data warehouse may be a virtualized central repository in which a number of distributed servers pool and share data. In a typical application, a data warehouse stores time-oriented data that may be gathered from disparate sources. Data warehousing may be distinguished from the broader category of data archival in that the data warehouse maintains the stored data in a static manner. Because warehoused data cannot be modified (only added to or deleted) it may be used for analysis over time or by type. The data warehouse may also include metadata used to organize and characterize the data. In addition to the ability to store and retrieve data, many database storage solutions also include some type of data restoration process or system that enable data recovery in the event of a hardware and/or software failure. This is generally referred to as storage recovery. One embodiment for storage recovery relates to "mirrored" storage solutions in which one or more identical, redundant data repositories are maintained to replicate, or mirror, the archived data contained in a primary repository. In the event some or all of the data is lost from the primary repository, one or more complete copies of the data exists in the mirrored storage repositories. Accordingly, mirrored storage solutions provide for data recovery in the event that the primary storage repository fails to replicate previously stored data. However, once the primary storage repository fails, the data warehouse cannot continue to collect new data. Accordingly, any new data transmitted to the data warehouse would be lost, or the data processing system may have to shut down.
One attempt to provide additional data warehouse fault tolerance, referred to generally as failover support, relates to the use of a clustered database to transfer data to an alternate collection point in the event of a primary repository failure. In accordance with this embodiment, a database is installed across two or more servers that are linked together, such that each server in the clustered database is logically viewed as a node on the network. To provide for true failover support, the server nodes do not share processing resources. Environments in which storage and processing resources are not shared between nodes are generally referred to as "shared nothing" architectures. Shared-nothing environments are better suited to large, complex databases supporting unpredictable queries, as in data warehousing. Although a shared-nothing environment potentially allows for continued data collection in the event of a failure, the costs involved in providing and maintaining multiple servers for storage redundancy are prohibitive for many potential users. Accordingly, a clustered database approach may not present an affordable solution for many data warehouse applications.
Therefore, there is a need for a resource-efficient, fault-tolerant solution for data warehousing that will provide continuity of the data warehouse function in the event of a network, hardware, or software failure.

System for providing fault tolerant data warehousing environment by temporary transmitting data to alternate data warehouse during an interval of primary data warehouse failure


A powertrain includes an engine coupled to an input member of a hybrid transmission. The hybrid transmission is operative to transfer power between an input member and a plurality of torque machines and an output member. A method for controlling the powertrain includes, monitoring operation of the hybrid transmission, determining motor torque offsets for the torque machines, transforming the motor torque offsets for the torque machines to an input torque offset and an output torque offset of the hybrid transmission, and adjusting operation of the engine based upon the input torque offset and the output torque offset of the hybrid transmission.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Known hybrid powertrain architectures include torque generative devices which transfer torque through a transmission device to an output member. One exemplary hybrid powertrain includes a two-mode, compound-split, electromechanical transmission which utilizes an input member for receiving tractive torque from a prime mover power source, preferably an internal combustion engine, and an output member. The output member can be operatively connected to a driveline for a motor vehicle for transferring and reacting tractive torque therewith. Torque generative devices can include internal combustion engines, fuel cells, and torque generating machines comprising, e.g., electric machines and hydraulic machines. Torque generating machines can operate as torque motors to transfer torque to the transmission independently of a torque input from the internal combustion engine. Torque generating machines can operate as generators to transform vehicle kinetic energy transferred through the vehicle driveline to potential energy that is storable in an electrical energy storage device in the form of electric power or storable in a hydraulic accumulator energy storage device in the form of hydraulic pressure. A control system monitors various inputs from the vehicle and the operator and provides operational control of the hybrid powertrain, including, e.g., controlling engine operation, transmission operating range state and gear shifting, controlling the torque generating machines, and regulating the power interchange among the energy storage device and the torque generating machines to manage torque, speed, and power outputs of the transmission.

Method and apparatus for adapting engine operation in a hybrid powertrain system for active driveline damping

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft


A method of controlling a banknote store comprising at least one winding means and at least one elongate support means which can be wound and/or unwound from the winding means for storing and/or transporting a banknote, comprises determining the radius or diameter of a spool comprising at least the winding means using the degree of rotation of the winding means and the corresponding linear amount of movement of the elongate support means.

The invention relates to the storage of banknotes or other sheets of value, which are herein referred to simply as banknotes.
It is known hereto to provide a banknote store comprising first and second drums with a strip wound onto both drums and arranged to support banknotes disposed in succession between windings of the strip on the first drum. The strip is wound from the first drum to the second drum to expose successive supported banknotes for removal and is wound from the second drum to the first drum to enable banknotes to be deposited successively on the first drum. The second drum is driven to rotate to wind the strip from the first to the second drum while the first drum may be driven to follow the second drum. In the opposite direction, the first drum is driven to rotate to wind the strip from the second to the first drum while the second drum may be driven to follow the first drum. It is known for the first and the second drums to be fixed for rotation relative to respective shafts which are themselves driven by one or more motors.
When the strip is wound from one to the other drum, it important for the strip to be held firmly between the two drums at all times. As banknotes are stored in discrete locations relative to the strip, movement of the strip would mean that the control arrangement of the banknote store would not be able to locate the exact position of individual banknotes.
During operation, as the number of windings decreases on one drum, the length of strip unwound therefrom also decreases, provided the rotational speed of the drum remains constant. The same is true in reverse. That is, as the number of windings on the other drum increases, the length of strip being wound onto the other drum increases, again, provided the rotational speed of the drum remains constant. This is because the length of strip wound onto or unwound from a drum is dependent on the circumference of the outer winding on the drum. In the prior art, the strip may be held firmly between the drums, by winding the strip onto one drum by rotating that drum, whilst providing some resistance to rotation of the other drum, from which the strip is being unwound. This arrangement enables the strip to be held firmly only when the drums are rotating but may not when the drums are stationary.
In an alternative prior art arrangement, the drums are rotated at varying speeds. In this way, as the strip is unwound from one drum, the drum may be rotated gradually more quickly, because the length of strip being unwound from it per revolution gradually decreases. The reverse is true for the other drum, which may be rotated gradually more slowly as the length of strip being wound onto it per revolution gradually increases. The continuous adjustment of the rotational speeds of the drums requires relatively complicated and expensive arrangements and control of the motor or motors driving the shafts.
It is known that as the diameter of the banknote store increases, the stability of the store decreases, and it may interfere with other components of the apparatus. In the prior art, this problem was solved by limiting the number of banknotes that could be stored.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,753 discloses a method directed to this problem which involves a belt tightening operation to increase the storage capacity. One feature of the method is determination of the radius of a spool on a driven reel, which is used to ensure that the storage belt has the same speed at all times. The radius is determined as the ratio of velocity of the belt from a belt speed measuring sensor and the angular velocity from a stepping motor for the driven reel.


Methods and apparatus are provided for testing logic, particularly arbitration logic on a programmable chip. Secondary components on a programmable chip are configured with delay mechanisms operable to pseudo-randomly delay responses to requests received using arbitration logic. Requests are typically generated by primary components. The delay mechanisms can be used to test the ability of a programmable chip system to handle a variety of secondary component wait-state and latency characteristics. The delay mechanism can also be used to improve system performance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to digital logic devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to techniques and mechanisms for testing arbitration and bus-mastering logic associated with digital logic devices. Furthermore, the present invention relates to random modulation of response times to improve system performance in a system containing arbitration logic.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional programmable chip systems generally include a variety of primary and secondary components, such as processors, memory, parallel input/output interfaces, timers, etc. In some cases, the primary and secondary components can interact in a variety of ways. Arbitration logic is used to manage interactions between primary and secondary components. In systems with relatively complex secondary component configurations, arbitration logic can also become complex.
However, techniques and mechanisms for testing arbitration logic associated with programmable chip systems are limited.
Consequently, it is therefore desirable to provide improved methods and apparatus for testing programmable chip systems and particularly arbitration logic in an efficient manner by allowing the simulation of a variety of interaction sequences.

Pseudo-random wait-state and pseudo-random latency components


In a cooking heater having an automatically opening/closing door, when a lock determination unit detects that transmission of a torque of a driving unit is stopped by detecting an abrupt deceleration, which suggests that an obstacle to the movement of an opening/closing door that is opening/closing is detected, an operation instructing unit operates the opening/closing door in an opposite direction. Further, in the closing operation of the opening/closing door, when an opening/closing door position calculating unit detects the position ahead of a completely closed position at which the opening/closing door is completely closed by the action of an intermediate switch during the closing operation of the opening/closing door, the operating instruction unit lowers the closing speed of the opening/closing door of the operation instruction unit to prevent such a situation that a user's finger or hand is caught in the opening/closing door.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooking heater for heating an object to be cooked that is placed in a cooking space of the cooking heater through an open door with the door automatically opening/closing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various cooking heaters having a front door have been hitherto proposed. Aside from such heaters, a sliding-drawer type cooking heater has been proposed. The sliding-drawer type cooking heater is suitable for a relatively large structure. Hence, the sliding-drawer type cooking heater has been used as a part of a built-in kitchen. In parallel with the diversification and unitization of cooking devices, there has been proposed a cooking device that integrates a cooktop, a drawer-type microwave oven, and an electric oven.
To give an example of the sliding-drawer type cooking heater, there is a heater having a sliding function in which a bottom that is continuous with a front door smoothly slides over a heater main body and the bottom is moved together with the door by transmitting a torque of a motor provided in the heater main body by use of a transmitting device such as a rack and pinion mechanism (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 3-45820 (p. 3, 1.5 in the upper left column'to 1.16 in the upper right column, FIGS. 2 to 4). A door opening/closing mechanism includes a latching device for keeping the door closed, a door opening/closing switch, and a controlling circuit for rotating a motor to open/close the door in response to a signal from the door opening/closing switch. When the door opening/closing switch is pressed, the latch is automatically opened, and in addition, the door starts opening/closing together with the door by means of a driving force of the motor.
As another example of the sliding-drawer cooking heater, there is a cooking heater having a drawer for receiving an object to be heated, which is provided slidably over a heater main body. When the heater detects that the drawer is pulled out, an electromagnet provided on the bottom surface of the heater main body is excited so as to attract a metal turntable supporting a heating device (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 6-109257 (paragraph [0010], FIG. 1). The electromagnet attracts the metal turntable at a timing when the drawer is pulled out, so the drawer is prevented from coming off a kitchen counter and toppling on account of losing the weight balance.
As still another example of the sliding-drawer type cooking heater, there is a microwave oven having a sliding-drawer type table (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-237053, paragraphs [0030] to [0035], FIG. 1). In this microwave oven, an open-topped heating container can be pulled out from a main-body case, and the heating container and a cover portion are provided on the main-body case for covering the container to confine the microwaves and define a heating chamber. This electric oven prevents a leakage of radiowaves owing to the provision of a choke cavity between the periphery of the opening of the heating container and the cover portion opposite to the periphery.
The applicants of the present invention propose a cooking heater having a drawer which can be pulled out from a heater main body, for accommodating an object to be heated, (Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2004-7384 and 2004-7385). According to the heater proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-7384 by the applicants of the present invention, it is possible to reduce a manufacturing cost without requiring expensive parts and material of high heat resistance and flame resistance. In addition, the heater is structured such that a sliding mechanism is not subjected to the radiowaves applied to the heating chamber, thereby eliminating the danger of electrical discharge due to the application of the microwaves. According to the heater proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-7385, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a situation in which vibrations from an opening/closing operation are transmitted to an object being heated, resulting in ejection of an overheated liquid in a steam form at a dash due to impacts resulting from the vibrations, whereby a user is scalded. Further, it is possible to control a moving speed of the door to prevent an object being heated from falling down or prevent a liquid component from overflowing due to the impact applied during the opening/closing operation. Further, the moving mechanism can be obtained without requiring expensive parts or material having a high heat resistance and flame resistance, thereby saving the manufacturing cost. In addition, the heater is structured such that a sliding mechanism is not subjected to the radiowaves applied to the heating chamber, thereby eliminating the danger of electrical discharge due to the application of the microwaves.
In the sliding-drawer type cooking heater having an automatically opening/closing door, there is a danger that a user's finger or hand could be accidentally pinched between the door and a heater main body at the time of opening the door. There is another danger that a user could get hit by the door in the course of opening the door. If the door opens/closes at a fixed speed that is low enough to ensure safety even in the case where the user's finger or hand is pinched between the door and the main body or the user gets hit by the door in order to eliminate the above danger, this slow opening/closing operation may irritate a user rather than serve the user.
To that end, in the cooking heater having an automatically opening/closing door, there is a problem remaining to be solved, in terms of preventing the danger inherent in the automatic opening/closing operation.


The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and an imaging method so as to be able to obtain disparity information, without deteriorating the image quality of the image.

Heretofore, a system to display stereoscopic image by imaging a common subject by two video cameras from the right and left at the same time, and presenting the obtained image to each of right and left eyes, is known. However, with such a system, the device is large and not only mobility is lacking, but also shift of the optical axis of the right and left cameras easily happens, and obtaining image with appropriate disparity has been difficult.
For example, there are some cases where an interval between two cameras becomes great, or the right and left optical axes are shifted during zooming due to individual difference of the lenses of the cameras, or the right and left screen size not being the same. Also, there have been other cases in that, at the time of focus operating, during operation of directing the right and left video cameras toward the subject, i.e., when performing convergence operations, right and left video cameras shift vertically.
If such shift in optical axes or the like occurs between right and left cameras, it forces the optical system of a user who is viewing stereoscopic images to perform information processing different from what is experienced in normal life, so this is a factor of visual fatigue. Further, when the user superimposes and views the right and left image without using glasses for stereopsis, the video appears unnatural since the subject looks double.
Accordingly, an imaging apparatus has been proposed such that, with a region serving as the pupil of a lens, light from a subject is divided into two light fluxes by a mirror and imaging is performed (see PTL 1, for example). With this imaging apparatus, by performing imaging with each of the two divided light fluxes, disparity information of the subject can be obtained and at the same time, an image for stereopsis to present to the right and left eyes can be obtained.

Abstract: Incident light from a subject is made to be parallel light by a relay lens unit 33, part thereof is reflected by a transmissive mirror 35, and the remaining incident light transmits the transmissive mirror 35. An imaging device 39 performs photoelectric conversion on the incident light which has transmitted the transmissive mirror 35 and images a basic image, and an imaging device 40 performs photoelectric conversion on the incident light which has reflected off of the transmissive mirror 35 and images disparity detection images. A disparity image generating unit 44 replaces pixel values of each pixel on the disparity detection images into the pixel values on the pixels on the basic image corresponding to these pixels and generates right and left disparity images. In this way, if used high-quality basic image and disparity detection image having disparity information, high-quality disparity image pair with appropriate disparity can be obtained. The present invention can be applied to a camera.


A releasably locking lid for a beverage container is disclosed. More specifically, lid embodiments include an outer surface, an inner surface, and a lip, the lid including a center piece and an outer ring that is configured to rotate relative to the center piece to releasably lock the container within a receiving space in the lid.

1. Field
The inventive field relates generally to a lid for a beverage container. More particularly, it relates generally to lids that may be releasably secured or locked to a beverage container.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Many variations of beverage container lids have been introduced in recent years. The containers have been made from various materials such as stainless steel, polymer, glass, and ceramic. Beverage containers have often been designed to keep the liquids inside either hot or cold. Some of these beverage containers are designed to mate with lids to prevent spills and to further enhance the temperature maintenance of the contained beverages.


A fishing device includes a pliable sheeting material with one or more fish shaped decals adhered to the surface of the sheeting material and at least one line attachment that attaches a fishing line or fishing leader to the sheeting material. The sheeting material may be of various shapes and sizes. The fished shaped decals adhered to the sheeting material may include a plurality of decals of various sizes and shapes. The fish shaped decals may be holograms. The fish shaped decals may also be interchangeable.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the field of fishing devices and lures, and in particular, to a fishing device which provides fish-attracting appearance and movements. More specifically, the present invention is related to various embodiments of a fishing device comprised of pliable sheeting material with one or more fish shaped decals adhered to the surface of the sheeting material and at least one line attachment providing means for attaching a fishing line or fishing leader to the sheeting material.
2. Description of the Background
Those individuals involved in fishing, whether as a sporting and recreational activity or as a commercial enterprise, are interested in attracting and catching fish with the greatest efficiency possible. Fishing devices, lures and baits have long been used as a means for increasing ones catch. This is typically accomplished by attracting fish to the bait or lure and encouraging the fish to take the bait or lure, along with an attached hook. Because such baits and lures attract fish with varying rates of success, anglers often spend considerable effort in attempting to determine which baits or lures will attract fish under certain types of conditions.
Over many years, anglers have tried a multitude of baits and lures varying nearly every aspect, including, shape, size, color and movement. Anglers have added scents, sounds and tastes to lures. They have created lures which skim the waters surface and those which dive to great depths. Despite these many variants, one fish attracting method which has seen little success is the use of a fish attracting device which mimics through appearance and movement, a school of fish comprised of the preferred prey of the species sought by the angler.
When certain fish locate a school of their preferred prey, the fish are attracted to the school by the opportunity to feed. However, not all fish are attracted to the same type of prey. For example, some fish are attracted to mullet, others to squid and still others to ballyhoo.
Accordingly, a need will be seen for a fishing device which attracts fish by creating the appearance of individual fish or schools of fish which are the preferred prey of the fish sought by the angler. A further need will be seen for such a fishing device where the fishing device can be altered to mimic the prey of various species of fish.