A home fire extinguishing system is provided including a sprinkler system having a plurality of sprinkler heads adapted to dispense water in the rooms of a home upon the actuation thereof. Also provided is a manual switch for allowing the selective actuation of the sprinkler system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fire extinguisher systems and more particularly pertains to a new mobile home fire response system for extinguishing a fire within a mobile home and illuminating the same for facilitating a safe exit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of fire extinguisher systems is known in the prior art. More specifically, fire extinguisher systems heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art fire extinguisher systems include U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,139; U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,876; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 251,128; U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,155; U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,543; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,618.
In these respects, the mobile home fire response system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of extinguishing a fire within a mobile home and illuminating the same for facilitating a safe exit.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of fire extinguisher systems now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new mobile home fire response system construction wherein the same can be utilized for extinguishing a fire within a mobile home and illuminating the same for facilitating a safe exit.
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new mobile home fire response system apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the fire extinguisher systems mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new mobile home fire response system which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art fire extinguisher systems, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a mobile home including an exterior wall having a generally rectangular configuration. A plurality of interior walls are mounted within the exterior wall for defining a plurality of rooms. Note FIG. 5. Also included is a sprinkler system having a longitudinal dispensing pipe of a first diameter mounted to an interior surface of a ceiling of the home. Such longitudinal dispensing pipe is connected to a supply pipe of a second diameter greater than the first diameter. A pump is coupled between the longitudinal dispensing pipe and supply pipe. Such pump is equipped with a first mode of operation for precluding the flow of water to the longitudinal dispensing pipe. In a second mode of operation, the pump is adapted for effecting the flow of water to the longitudinal dispensing pipe at a pressure greater than that at which the water is received from the supply pipe. The longitudinal dispensing pipe of the sprinkler system further includes a plurality of lateral pipes coupled thereto and extended therefrom in perpendicular relationship therewith. Each lateral pipe terminates in a sprinkler head which resides in one of the rooms of the home. Each of such sprinkler heads includes a vertical mounting pipe mounted to an end of the associated lateral pipe. A cylindrical sleeve is rotatably mounted in coaxial relationship with a bottom end of the vertical mounting pipe by way of a plurality of bearings. Also included is an intermediate conduit including a vertically oriented upper extent with a cylindrical configuration. Note FIGS. 1 & 3. Such upper extent of the intermediate conduit is coupled to the sleeve for rotating coincidentally therewith. A slanted middle extent of the intermediate conduit is equipped with a diameter which tapers from top to bottom. A horizontally oriented lower extent with a cylindrical configuration is equipped with an open bottom and a diameter less than that of the upper extent. Each sprinkler head further includes a planar triangular plate coupled to a peripheral side edge of the open bottom of the intermediate conduit. This plate extends in front of the open bottom such that the plate resides in a vertical plane which forms an acute angle with an axis associated with the lower extent of the intermediate conduit. By this structure, upon the receipt of water by the sprinkler heads, the same are adapted to rotate about a vertical axis. Also provided is a plurality of lights each mounted within an upper corner of an associated one of the rooms of the mobile home. Note FIG. 5. Such lights serve to illuminate the associated room when actuated. A smoke detector is mounted within the mobile home and connected between the lights and pump and a power source. The smoke detector serves for actuating the lights and transferring the pump to its second mode operation upon the detection of smoke within the home. Associated therewith is a manual switch mounted within the mobile home and connected between the lights and pump and the power source. In use, the manual switch has a first orientation for maintaining the pump in its first mode operation and the light deactuated. Further, the manual switch has a second orientation for actuating the lights and transferring the pump to its second mode operation.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature an essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new mobile home fire response system apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the fire extinguisher systems mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new mobile home fire response system which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art fire extinguisher systems, either alone or in any combination thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new mobile home fire response system which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new mobile home fire response system which is of a durable and reliable construction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new mobile home fire response system which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such mobile home fire response system economically available to the buying public.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new mobile home fire response system which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new mobile home fire response system for extinguishing a fire within a mobile home and illuminating the same for facilitating a safe exit therefrom.
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a new mobile home fire response system that includes a sprinkler system having a plurality of sprinkler heads adapted to dispense water in the rooms of a home upon the actuation thereof.
Also provided is a manual switch for allowing the selective actuation of the sprinkler system.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.


A method and a switching arrangement are provided for regulating a two-dimensional vector of a controlled system with a discrete value final controlling element having a limited switching frequency. The discrete value final controlling element also has limited number of actual-value vectors. A switching arrangement, such as a microprocessor, receives actual values for the two-dimensional vector as well as a reference vector and selects three actual-value vectors that are adjacent to the reference vector. The switching arrangement generates a reference trajectory which represents a sequence of vector settings for the discrete value final controlling element. A switch from one actual-value vector to another takes place when the distance between the two-dimensional vector and a next corner point of the reference trajectory is at a minimum. The resulting mean value of the generated two-dimensional vector is equal to the reference vector.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for regulating a two-dimensional vector of a controlled system with a discrete-value final controlling element having a limited switching frequency.
Discrete-value final controlling elements only have a limited number of different states which can be set at their outputs. If an intermediate value is to be generated, an approximation is achieved by switching back and forth between adjacent states. The approximate value to be generated is a value averaged over time. The low-pass effect which is generally present in the regulation segment in technical systems smoothes the alternating variable produced.
If a two-dimensional vector of a controlled system is to be set, it is insufficient to consider each dimension separately, since they are in part dependent upon one another. Therefore, a change in the state of the final controlling element causes a change at more than one output.
Known control methods generally proceed from a one-dimensional approach. However, such an approach fails to take into consideration the manner in which the different outputs of the final controlling element depend upon each other as well as the internal states of the final controlling element.
Direct current regulation for rotary current drives using pulse inverters is described in "Regelungstechnische Praxis," Volume 24, 1983, Issue 11, pages 472 to 477. A very simple solution in terms of equipment is represented by two-point regulation. Such a regulation consists of three two-point regulators subjected to hysteresis. These regulators always cause a status change if the difference between the reference value and the actual value exceeds a certain limit. The system can therefore follow a changing reference value with maximum speed. This regulator type is used in intermediate circuit voltage inverters for regulating phase currents. Since the resulting phase currents are dependent upon one another, the switching states are not always optimal.
If the reference value periodically passes through a certain function, then suitable switching time points (with reference to the period) can be calculated in advance. The dependence of several phases on one another can be possibly taken into consideration. The disadvantage of this method is that a separate pulse pattern has to be calculated for each operating point (period duration and level). Each shift of the operating point requires a transition between pulse patterns. This transition can take a long time, in some cases, since a change in pulse pattern is only permitted at certain times within a period. At the same time, errors occur during the dynamic process, since the pulse pattern is not operated at its optimum point.
A one-dimensional process (two-point regulator with hysteresis) can be expanded to a multi-dimensional case. For this process, a hysteresis region around a reference value is predetermined instead of the hysteresis width. As soon as the actual value seeks to leave the region, a switch to another state takes place, which brings the actual value back to the inside part of this hysteresis region. With this method, the actual value is always kept within the vicinity of the reference value. Even if the reference value changes, quick following is guaranteed. The switching frequency can be influenced by the size of the hysteresis region, but cannot be precisely predetermined.
Such a multi-dimensional method is described as predictive current regulation in "Messen-Steuern-Regeln," No. 13, June 1989, pages 20 to 23, and "EPE," 1987, pages 647 to 652, entitled "New Predictive Control Strategy for PWM-Inverters." A further example of predictive current regulation with optimization in reach time for a pulse inverter is described in "IPEC," Tokyo 1983, pages 1665 to 1675. A multi-dimensional method for a GTO-I inverter is described in the lecture "Four Quadrant AC-Motor Drive with A GTO Current Source Inverter With Low Harmonics And On Line Optimized Pulse Pattern" by O. Hintze and D. Schroder, printed in the "IPEC" Conference Minutes, Tokyo 1990, pages 405 to 412.
With this method, the reference value can be reached by approximation, but it is not set as a mean value over time. It is possible that the trajectory of the actual value stays in a part of the hysteresis region for an extended period of time. This results in a mean value which is not equal to the reference value in every direction. This error has to be compensated with another regulator. This effect is particularly disruptive with large hysteresis regions and, therefore, small switching frequencies.
With a multi-dimensional method, a relatively low switching frequency and good control dynamics are achieved. The disadvantages of the method with precalculated pulse patterns are avoided in this method. However, even in this method the switching frequency cannot be predetermined precisely because it depends on the operating point at each point in time and varies greatly. Another disadvantage of this method is that the voltage is regulated, for example, but not the integral above the voltage, i.e. the current. For example, it is possible that the mean value of the voltage only becomes zero in one direction, and thus the current in the orthogonal direction to the voltage deviates significantly from the reference value for an extended period of time. Simply by activating the inverter, an error in the current is caused, which has to be balanced out again with a regulator which acts on the hysteresis region.
There is a need for a method and a switching arrangement for regulating a two-dimensional vector of a controlled system with a discrete-value final controlling element having a limited switching frequency that avoids the aforementioned disadvantages.

Method and switching arrangement for regulation of a two-dimensional vector of a segment by means of a value-discrete setting element with a limited switching frequency


In erasing a memory block of memory cells, a semiconductor tub that contains a memory block to be erased can be biased with a high, positive voltage. The control gates of the memory cells that make up the memory block can be biased with a negative voltage. An erase verification can then be performed to determine if the memory block has been successfully erased. If the memory block has not been erased, the erase operation of biasing the tub with the positive voltage and the control gates with the negative voltage can be repeated until the erase verification is successful.

Memory devices can include internal, semiconductor, integrated circuits in computers or other electronic devices. There are many different types of memory including random-access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), and flash memory.
Flash memory devices have developed into a popular source of non-volatile memory for a wide range of electronic applications. Flash memory devices typically use a one-transistor memory cell that allows for high memory densities, high reliability, and low power consumption. Common uses for flash memory include personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital cameras, and cellular telephones. Program code and system data such as a basic input/output system (BIOS) are typically stored in flash memory devices for use in personal computer systems.
A typical erase operation holds the word lines of the memory block being erased at ground potential while the tub of the memory block is formed is biased at a high positive voltage. The high positive voltage can typically be in a range of 22-24V. The memory block is typically 64 pages of single level cell data and 128 pages of multilevel cell data where each page is page is typically comprised of 2048 bytes of data with 32 word lines.
The capacitance of the tub of the memory block being erased can typically be relatively high. The high capacitance makes it difficult for the charge pump to increase the voltage of the tub to the required high erase voltage. Therefore, a larger charge pump is used to produce the necessary high tub voltage, which often leads to larger die size. This goes against the trend by memory device manufacturers of reducing memory die size.
Additionally, the power consumption of the larger charge pump is high because of its size. Larger charge pumps are not as efficient as smaller charge pumps and, therefore, waste power more so than smaller pumps. The higher power consumption of the inefficient large charge pumps also goes against the current trend by memory manufacturers of reducing power requirements for memory devices.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below that will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art to reduce the typical high erase voltage in a non-volatile memory device.

Erase voltage reduction in a non-volatile memory device


A method for forming a coating material capable of forming a hydrophobic, microstructured surface. The method comprises treating micro or nano-particles particles with a hydrophobic agent and an additive to form larger particles with the hydrophobic agent bonded thereto. The invention also comprises the coating material thus formed.

The present invention relates in general to coating technology. More particularly, it relates to a method for forming a material capable of forming a microstructured surface on an object and the material formed thereby.
The wettability of solid surfaces is a very important property, and is governed by both the chemical composition and geometrical microstructure of the surface. Currently, hydrophobic surfaces with water contact angle higher than 130° are arousing much interest because they will bring great convenience in daily life as well as in many industrial processes. Various phenomena, such as sticking snow, contamination or oxidation, are expected to be inhibited on such a surface.
An important application for these hydrophobic surfaces is making self-cleaning coatings based on their water and dirt repellency. These self-cleaning coatings not only provide value-added products with a high potential to save on cleaning and other maintenance cost, but also are good for the ecobalance of the coated product, since cleaning chemicals no longer pollute the water and since energy is saved by reducing or eliminating maintenance cycles.
Conventionally, super-hydrophobic surfaces have been produced mainly in two ways. One is to create a rough structure on a hydrophobic surface, and the other is to modify a rough surface by materials with low surface free energy. Up to now, many methods have been developed to produce rough surfaces, including solidification of melted alkylketene dimer, plasma polymerization/etching of polypropylene in the presence of polytetrafluoroethylene, microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of trimethylmethoxysilane, anodic oxidization of aluminum, immersion of porous alumina gel films in boiling water, mixing of a sublimation material with silica or boehmite, phase separation, and embossing. To obtain super-hydrophobic surfaces, coating with low surface energy materials such as fluoroalkylsilane is often necessary.
The invention is generally directed to a novel method for making coating materials capable of forming a hydrophobic, microstructured surface, which may be used to make self-cleaning coatings.

Method for forming coating material and the material formed thereby

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A voice recognition method and system. A voice command can be received from a speech recognition unit associated with a device by a language switching module configured in association with the device. The voice command is recognized and processed into particular content to identify via a language database, a language associated with the device. The language can then be changed based on a detected language so that the language can be altered without reference to an instruction manual. In one scenario, a user walks toward the machine or device associated with the user device and speaks the desired/known language. The device “listens” to the voice, detects the language, and changes the user interface accordingly.

User interfaces are utilized in a variety of devices and systems, ranging from personal computers to mobile devices, such as smartphones, machines, and systems, such as automobiles, appliances, and other mechanisms.
User interfaces allow a user to operate an information platform in a convenient and user-friendly manner. Such a user interface typically includes hardware (physical) and software (logical) components, although some user interfaces are implemented in the context of a GUI (Graphical User Interface). The user interface can be employed to operate the machine in an easy (self exploratory), efficient, and enjoyable (user-friendly) manner to produce a desired result. This generally means that the operator needs only provide minimal input to achieve a desired output, and also so that the device minimizes undesired outputs.
One problem encountered in such user interface components is the use of different languages (i.e., a variety of users may speak different languages). To overcome language barriers, a greater number of applications are produced to provide a UI (User Interface) output in multiple languages. Conventionally, a physical key located on the machine or device may be employed to change the language, which is not recognizable and lacks universal design features. Thus, such a physical key implementation is limited in practical usage. Regardless of the use of a physical key, however, difficulties are faced by users when encountering a UI associated with a language other than that spoken by the user.
Based on the foregoing, it is believed that a need exists for an improved method and system for switching UI languages, as will be described in greater detail herein.


An apparatus is provided with a display unit and a optical filter. The unit has pixels arranged in a matrix form, which are groped into a first group and second groups to display two-dimensional image information constituting elemental images, the image information being obtained from different directions. The optical filter has a first optical opening opposed to the first pixel group and second optical openings opposed to corresponding one of the second pixel groups. The center of the first pixel group is coincident with the axis of the first opening, each center of the second pixel groups is deviated from corresponding one of the second opening axe, and the deviation is gradually increased depending on a distance between the first and the second pixel group centers. The light rays are directed to a reference plane from the first and second pixel groups through the first and second opening axes.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a display apparatus for displaying a three-dimensional image, particularly to a method of disposing elemental images to secure a maximum viewing zone, a method in which an observer can recognize deviation from the viewing zone, and an apparatus for realizing this method.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are various systems for displaying a three-dimensional image, and there may be roughly two methods. One of them is a system for a stereoscopic viewing using a binocular parallax, and the other method is a space image reproduction system for actually forming the space image in space.
As the binocular parallax system, there have been proposed various systems with or without the presence of glasses, for example, a stereoscopic system including video information for left/right eyes (so-called stereoscopic method) and a multi-view system in which a plurality of observation positions at the time of video photography are disposed to increase an amount of information and to expand an observable range. Here, in the stereoscopic system, two photography positions are disposed for left and right eyes to obtain images for left and right eyes so that the images are visible with the left and right eyes, respectively. In the multi-view system, the video photography positions are further increased as compared with the stereoscopic system.
In contrast to the binocular parallax system, the space image reproduction system in which the image is reproduced in the space is an idealistic system for three-dimensional image reproduction, and holography is classified in the space image reproduction system. This system is sometimes referred to as an integral imaging (II) system proposed by Lippmann in France in 1908 (also referred to as an integral photography (IP) system, and sometimes as a light ray reproduction method), and is also sometimes classified in the binocular parallax system. However, in the II system, light rays travel in reproduction optical paths at the time of reproducing, which are opposite to photographing optical paths at the time of recording to reproduce a complete three-dimensional image. Therefore, an ideal integral imaging (II) system must be classified in the space image reproduction system.
This integral imaging (II) system or the light ray reproduction system has been disclosed, for example, in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication Nos. 10-239785 and 2001-56450. Here, meanings of terms of the integral imaging method and light ray reproduction method are not exactly established in a stereoscopic display method, but the methods may be considered based on about the same principle. In the following description, the system will be referred to as the "integral imaging system" as a concept including the light ray reproduction system.
In recent years, a system which includes a lenticular lens or a parallax slit combined with a display has come into the mainstream for displaying three-dimensional images. In such a system, stereoscopic observation is possible without any glasses. If the three-dimensional image is displayed without any glasses as in the multi-view system or the II system, the following system or apparatus is sometimes used. In the system, a display unit is provided, which has a plurality of two-dimensionally arranged pixels, and an optical barrier is disposed in front of the pixels. The pixels-display a two-dimensional image, which is projected in a front space through the optical barrier to form a three-dimensional image. The optical barrier has openings, slits, or exit pupils, each of which has a size smaller than that of the pixels, typically, so as to pick up one image from the pixel. The optical barrier has a function of controlling a transmission of light rays emitted from the pixels so that the optical barrier is called a transmission control unit and the opening is called a transmission control section, and the openings are realized by pinholes or micro lenses, which are two-dimensionally arranged. In a three-dimensional image display apparatus, a natural three-dimensional image can be reproduced. A liquid crystal display unit can be used as the display unit, which includes image display elements corresponding to the pixels arranged in a matrix form.
A large number of elemental images each composed of two-dimensional images are displayed on the pixels for the three-dimensional image, which are observed subtly different in a visible way in accordance with a viewing angle, wherein each of the pixels have a positional relationship with the individual pinholes or micro lenses on the three-dimensional image display apparatus. That is, light rays are emitted to the front space of the display apparatus from the elemental images through the corresponding pinholes or micro lenses, or from a light source through the pinholes or micro lenses and the elemental images. These light rays form a three-dimensional real image in front of the transmission control sections, such as the pinholes or the micro lenses. When paths of these light rays are extrapolated on the rear space in the back side of the transmission control sections of the pinholes or the micro lenses, a three-dimensional virtual image (image which does not exist as viewed on a rear-space side) is observed on the rear space of the transmission control sections of the pinholes or the micro lenses. That is, as observed by the observer, the three-dimensional real image is observed by a group of light rays which are emitted from the elemental image and form the image in the front space of the transmission control sections, and the three-dimensional virtual image is observed by the group of light rays which also form the image in the rear space of the transmission control sections.
As described above, various systems for displaying the three-dimensional image in real space have been proposed. In an ultimate three-dimensional image display, the displayed image seems to be natural as if the displayed image actually existed in the real space. From this standpoint, the integral imaging system in which convergent points are not located at a viewing distance is assumed to be a superior method, because a natural stereoscopic image can be formed by a simple construction. Since the visible images are successively changed in accordance with the angle viewed by the observer through the windows, a natural motion parallax is obtained, and a more realistic stereoscopic image can be reproduced. In this respect, this method is superior.
It is to be noted that a multi-view display apparatus without any glasses seemingly has a construction similar to that of the display apparatus of the II system. However, the display apparatus of the multi-view system is obviously different from the II system in that the light rays from the apparatus are converged on an observation plane positioned in a visual distance. For the display apparatus of the multi-view system, the observer is requested to be positioned in or around the visual distance, and a converging point of the light rays in this visual distance is requested to be set to be (1/integer) times of an interval between the eyes. In other words, when the observer is positioned in the visual distance, the light rays passing through (1/integer) of an exit pupil need to be incident upon observer's both eyes. For the display apparatus of the multi-view system, even when the number of two-dimensional images obtained from different directions and corresponding to one exit pupil is small, the three-dimensional image can be recognized by the binocular parallax. Therefore, when the number of pixels is limited because of various circumstances such as a resolution of an image display unit in the display apparatus of the multi-view system, there is a merit that the three-dimensional image of high precision can be represented as compared with the II system. However, when the observer moves in a transverse direction in the display apparatus of the multi-view system, and when an interval between the converging points is not sufficiently short, there is a problem that flipping of the three-dimensional image is observed or that the viewing zone along the viewing direction is limited.
In the apparatus without any glasses, there is a common problem in which a viewing region may be limited, even if the three-dimensional image can be observed without glasses.
The light rays from the light source are radiated in all directions via each pixel of a transmission type display unit in which the parallax information is displayed, and transmitted through the transmission control section such as a pinhole array, a slit plate, a fly-eye lens array, or a lenticular lens array having an array of exit pupils, as described above. Accordingly, the light rays are so controlled as to bear parallax information and are projected in a predetermined direction. The light rays emitted in the predetermined direction are incident upon the observer's eyes and visually recognized by the observer's eyes in accordance with observer's eye positions, and the three-dimensional image is recognized by the binocular parallax. If a sufficiently large number of light rays are projected in the front space, the three-dimensional real or virtual image is formed in front of or behind the display unit, and the observer can recognize the image. In this specification, a combination of two-dimensional images obtained from various directions on one exit pupil is referred to as elemental images.
In the above-described display apparatus, the light rays emitted from the pixels are designed to pass through the corresponding exit pupil and are directed to a predetermined direction, but some of the light rays are actually passed through another exit pupil, especially through the adjacent exit pupil, and are directed to another direction. The light rays passing through this wrong exit pupil form an image (hereinafter referred to as a quasi image) different from the original three-dimensional image (hereinafter referred to as the correct image). The quasi image resembles the correct image, but is formed into a distorted image in accordance with a deviation of a designed value. When the wrong light rays hinder the correct image, the correct and quasi images are visually recognized in an intermingled manner.
Essentially, when the integral imaging system (II system) that is of a photographic concept is to be realized with electronic devices such as LCD and PDP, there is a concept of viewing zone, but a method of preparing the image displayed on the image display unit in consideration of the viewing zone has not been studied. If the concept of viewing zone is not introduced in the formation of the three-dimensional image to be displayed by the image display unit, there is a problem that an actual viewing zone is narrowed as described hereinafter.
In the three-dimensional image display apparatus of the II system in which the viewing zone is not considered, a positional relation between the elemental images corresponding to the exit pupil is not studied in detail. In the II system, there are provided a main viewing zone or a main lobe in which the correct image is produced, a transitional zone in which the quasi image is produced, and an intermingled zone or a side-lobe zone between the main viewing zone and the transitional zone, in which the quasi and correct images are intermingled. In any case, there is a problem that the main viewing zone only for the correct image is narrow even as compared with the intermingled transitional zones, and is a limited region, which cannot substantially be used practically.
As described above, in the three-dimensional image display apparatus in which the II system is used, a problem that the viewing zone is narrow and the region including the intermingled and visually recognized correct and quasi images is large has been pointed out.
Moreover, as described above, in the three-dimensional image display apparatus without any glasses, the observer may be shifted into the side-lobe zone from the main viewing zone, when the observer moves along the display panel. Therefore, the quasi image different from the true image may be gradually intermingled, and the quasi image may be perceived. This is because a part of the elemental image displayed by the pixel for displaying the three-dimensional image disposed adjacent to the original pixel for displaying the original three-dimensional image is visually recognized via the opening disposed opposite to the certain pixel for displaying the three-dimensional image in a case where the opening is observed from a wide field of view including the deviating observation position.
The three-dimensional image display apparatus using the above-described construction can be used in various fields, and a medical application is one of the applications of the apparatus. When the three-dimensional image display apparatus is used in the medical field, what is remarkably important is that the quasi image cannot be perceived or that the observer can recognize that the three-dimensional image perceived by the observer includes the quasi image. However, in a conventional three-dimensional image display apparatus, the quasi image is inevitably perceived. Moreover, when the perceived three-dimensional image includes the quasi image, it cannot constantly be recognized that the quasi image is observed in a case where the perceived three-dimensional image includes the quasi image.
To solve the problem, the use of refraction of light has been proposed as disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2002-72136. It is to be noted that in this publication a color filter having a function of an optical shutter constitutes the pixel for displaying the three-dimensional image, and a white point light source array is disposed on the rear surface of the color filter instead of using the optical barrier.
In the technique described in the above-identified Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2002-72136, a transparent medium whose refractive index is larger than 1 is inserted between the color filter and the white point light source array. In this structure, light ray components on the side of the wide field of view can totally be reflected by the surface of the transparent medium on the side of the color filter among the light rays from each white point light source. Therefore, when a distance between the transparent medium and the color filter is appropriately set, the light rays from the white point light source disposed opposite to the pixel for displaying the three-dimensional image can be prevented from entering the adjacent pixel for displaying the three-dimensional image. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the quasi image from being perceived.
However, since the refraction of light rays is used in this method, the region of the observation position in which the true image can be perceived is broadened. Therefore, there is a problem with the image, in situations in which the observation position is moved irregularly or when the number of pixels for displaying the two-dimensional image included in the pixels for displaying the three-dimensional parallax is changed. Specifically, a natural movement pattern is lost.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Three-dimensional image display apparatus, method of distributing elemental images to the display apparatus, and method of displaying three-dimensional image on the display apparatus


The invention relates to medicine, or exactly to methods of non-invasive investigations of a living organism state, in particular, for diagnostics of pathological changes in tissues of human and animals organism. The apparatus relies upon illuminating the investigated organ of the body with infrared radiation of 0.6-1.5 um wavelength range and simultaneous scanning of the investigated organ volume with a focal spot of a focused beam of amplitude-modulated ultrasound waves, at least one of the parameters which appear as a result of the transmitted and/or back scattered infrared radiation being recorded. The presence and the type of pathology in the investigated organ is judged by the value and/or the characteristics of the relative changes in the above mentioned parameters during the scanning process.

The invention relates generally to medicine, or more particularly to methods of non-invasive investigations of living organisms, and more specifically, for diagnostics of pathological changes in tissues of human and animal organisms.
A number of methods of medical diagnostics, which employs transillumination of organs and tissues by radiation, are known. One of the most widely used is X-ray diagnostics (see Physics of image visualization in medicine. C. Webb, ed., vol. 2, p. 382, Moscow, Mir, 1991 (Translated from English)) but this method is not safe for a patient and the serving personnel, since sources of ionizing radiation are used during the corresponding procedure.
The above mentioned disadvantage is not applicable to ultrasound diagnostics (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,799 cl. A 61 B 10/00, NKI 128 660, 1984) which is a non-invasive method, practically harmless both to patients and personnel. It permits revealing sufficiently small pathological growths (about 3 mm diameter) (see The comparison of the sensitivity of ultrasound echo and shadow methods for determination of calcification of breast tissues/ Proc. Conf. Ultrasound Biology & Medicine--Ubiomed. YI, Warsawjablonna, Sep. 19-23, 1983, pp. 41-49). However, this method is sensitive only to the acoustic "contrast" of pathological tissue, which is often insufficient to identify the type of the pathology.
Good possibilities for identifying the type of the pathological tissues may be possible by optical spectroscopy. The method closest to the present is a spectral method of optical diagnostics of internal organs, based on transillumination of the investigated organ by radiation of the near infrared (NIR), 0.6-1.5 um wavelength range and recording of the intensity of the transmitted illumination at several wavelengths. The presence of a "shadow" or a change in the photodetector output signal serves as a criterion of the pathology. This method may be considered similar to the present method and equipment.
This method, has however, considerable disadvantages over the present invention: strong scattering of optical radiation in tissues, provoked by their micro-inhomogeneity, does not permit revealing a pathology growth in the investigated organ depth, if the growth size is much less than the distance separating it from the organ front and bottom surfaces.
The known apparatus for the realization of the transillumination method (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,637, cl. A 61 B 6/08, NKI 128-664, 1989) contains an NIR-radiation source with an optical system and a photodetecting device, coupled to a recorder. The investigated organ, a mammary gland, for example, is placed between two transparent plates, compressing the organ and shaping it into a plane-parallel, trapezoid or other forms. The means of moving the "NIR-radiation source--photodetecting device" pair over the organ surface are also available. The main disadvantage of this apparatus is its low sensitivity in revealing the pathology at an early stage due to the above mentioned strong scattering of NIR-radiation by biological tissues.
The task of the invention is elimination of the above mentioned disadvantages of the prototype, i.e. to achieve increasing in the spatial resolution under the conditions of a strong optical NIR-radiation scattering by the investigated tissues.

Method and apparatus for diagnostics of internal organs


A sensor unit includes a motion sensor which detects a motion of an object, outputs a detection value, and is mounted on the object through an attachment, a filter which receives the detection value, passes a given frequency band, and is able to change a cutoff frequency of the frequency band, and a control unit which controls the cutoff frequency, wherein the control unit determines the cutoff frequency in accordance with hardness of the attachment.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a sensor unit, a motion analysis device using the sensor unit, and the like.
2. Related Art
In a motion sensor which detects a motion of an object, the accuracy of a motion to be detected may change depending on a mounting method on the object. JP-A-2009-125507 describes a technique in which an object for motion detection is a person who makes a golf swing, and a motion sensor is put directly on the ear to detect an accurate motion of a head of the person.
However, when an object is a person, the person may be unwilling to bring the motion sensor into direct contact with the skin. When an object is, for example, an expensive item or a precious item, there is a need for avoiding the direct attachment of the motion sensor to the object. Even when an object is an item which is used in an athletic competition, the mounting of the motion sensor during the competition is banned by regulations, and there is a need for facilitating attachment and detachment. In this case, the motion sensor may be mounted on the object through an attachment, and there is a demand for detecting an accurate motion through the attachment.
The attachment is not limited to a hard fixing instrument. For example, when an object is a person, the person puts the gloves to which the motion sensor is attached, and the motion of the person is detected. At this time, the attachment is the soft gloves. The material for the attachment may change depending on the object for motion detection, or may be selected from a plurality of materials.
Noise which occurs due to the movement of the object is transferred to the motion sensor through the attachment. For example, a motion sensor is mounted on a skate blade through an attachment to detect a motion of an athlete. At this time, high-frequency noise which occurs due to minute unevenness of an ice surface is transferred to the motion sensor.
However, noise may be most absorbed or may not be absorbed by the attachment depending on hardness of the attachment. Accordingly, even when a sensor unit which includes a motion sensor and a filter passing a prescribed frequency band is used, if the type of the attachment changes, it is difficult to detect an accurate motion of an object to be measured.


A compound eye is provided. The compound eye includes a microfluidic device defining a plurality of wells therein. A plurality of lenses are disposed in corresponding wells of the microfluidic device. Each lens has a tunable focal length. A tuning structure tunes the focal length of each lens in response to a predetermined stimulus.

Optical imaging and microscopy are extremely important in biological studies and biomedical applications. As such, there has been a significant amount of research dedicated to the creation of optical components and modules at the micro-scale. This research has led to the development of such products as semiconductor-based avalanche photo-detector (APD) that can detect single photons and artificial retinas. However, compared to the maturity and tremendous success of other miniaturized systems such as integrated circuits and image processing systems, the development in miniaturized optical systems as a whole lags behind. For example, current microscopic optical systems are generally bulky and expensive. Consequently, there exists an ongoing need for optical imaging and microscopy systems that are much smaller scale and less expensive than present systems.
Traditional man-made optical systems are comprised of multiple lenses wherein one or more of the lenses are physically displaced to realize variable-focus. Traditional lens systems realize tuning of the focal length by mechanical displacement of fixed-focal lenses, thereby requiring complicated mechanical components and controlling systems. Tunable microlenses adjust the focal lengths of the lenses by changing either the shapes of the microlenses or the refractive indices of the lens materials. Different mechanisms have been used in these prior tunable microlenses, including reorientation and redistribution of liquid crystals, electrowetting of a liquid droplet, electrochemically activating liquids, and mechanical actuation of polymeric materials or liquids. While these microlens technologies do simplify lens tuning, they still require complicated electronic and mechanical control systems that do not readily scale down to the microscale level and that consume too much power. Alternatively, tunable microlenses have been fabricated from responsive gel microparticles. These types of microlenses take advantage of the change in refractive indices of gels due to reactions to proteins or responses to temperature. However, as a microlens for optical applications, these types of microlenses fabricated from responsive gel microparticles have their drawbacks, such as a small focal length tuning range, difficulty in accurate controlling the shape of the lens, low transparency to visible light and a rough lens surface.
Natural eyes generally fall into two categories, namely, camera-eyes and compound eyes. A camera-eye (e.g., a human eye) generally relies on a single-aperture lens to focus images onto a retina. In the human eye, focusing at different distances is made possible by altering the tension on the flexible crystalline lens, and thus the curvature and focal length of the lens, by ciliary muscles. Compared to compound eyes, camera-eyes have high sensitivity and resolution but small field of view (FOV). Because of the limited viewing angle, the head and/or body must move or rotate to capture the complete visual image of the surrounding area. Therefore, mimicking this type of eye generally requires extensive and complicated electronic and mechanical control systems that, as heretofore described, does not readily scale down to the microscale and consumes a significant amount of power. Furthermore, owing to diffraction effects, a simple scaling down of known classical image optics based on camera-eyes would drastically reduce the resolution and potentially also the sensitivity.
On the other hand, for small invertebrates with external skeletons, such as flies and moths, utilize compound eyes. Compound eyes combine small eye volumes with a large field of vision at the cost of comparatively low spatial resolution due to the small image field of each eye. These compound eyes provide sufficient visual information without overloading their owners' brains with complicated image processing. Similar to manmade microlens arrays, compound eyes utilize multiple lens elements. However, achieving a wide field of vision in microlens arrays has been hindered by the inherent flatness of the arrayed optical components fabricated using semiconductor technologies. In addition, the need to align multiple layers of arrayed components during assembly is a big disadvantage compared to forming an optical system using single lenses.
Therefore, it is a primary object and feature of the present invention to provide an artificial compound eye incorporating a plurality of variable focus, optical microlenses that are autonomously tuned by local environmental parameters.
It is a further object and feature of the present invention to provide an artificial compound eye incorporating a plurality of variable focus, optical microlenses that is much smaller in scale and less expensive than present lenses.
It is a still further object and feature of the present invention to provide an artificial compound eye incorporating a plurality of variable focus, optical microlenses that is compact and easily fabricated.
In accordance with the present invention, an artificial compound eye is provided. The compound eye includes a base having a plurality of wells formed therein. A plurality of tunable ommatidia having focal lengths are received in corresponding wells.
The compound eye may also include a plurality of actuators. Each actuator is engageable with a corresponding ommatidium for tuning the focal length of the ommatidium. Each actuator includes a hydrogel. The hydrogel has a configuration responsive to a predetermined stimulus. The hydrogel is movable between a first configuration wherein the lens has a first focal length and a second configuration wherein the lens has a second focal length in response to a predetermined stimulus. It is contemplated for the predetermined stimulus to be temperature.
The compound eye may include a plurality of photodetectors. Each photodetector detects an image received by a corresponding ommatidium. A plurality of waveguides guide the image from corresponding ommatidia to corresponding photodetectors.
The base of the compound eye may include a slip having first and second sides and a plurality of apertures therethrough. Each aperture communicates with a corresponding well. Each ommatidium includes first and second layers having an interface. The interface has an outer periphery. The first layer is formed from an oil-based fluid and the second layer is formed from a water-based fluid. At least of a portion of the second layer of each ommatidium is received in a corresponding well.
The base of the compound eye includes an outer surface having the plurality of wells formed therein and an inner surface. It is contemplated for the outer surface of the base to be generally arcuate. A cover may overlap the outer surface of the base. A heating element may be positioned adjacent the inner surface of the base.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, an artificial compound eye is provided. The compound eye includes a microfluidic device defining a plurality of wells therein. A plurality of lenses are disposed in corresponding wells of the microfluidic device. Each lens has a tunable focal length. A tuning structure is provided for tuning the focal length of each lens in response to a predetermined stimulus.
The tuning structure includes a plurality of hydrogels engageable with corresponding lenses. Each hydrogel is movable between a first configuration wherein the corresponding lens has a first focal length and a second configuration wherein the corresponding lens has a second focal length in response to a predetermined stimulus. It is contemplated for the predetermined stimulus to be temperature.
The compound eye may include a plurality of photodetectors. Each photodetector detects an image received by a corresponding lens. A plurality of waveguides guide the image from corresponding lenses to corresponding photodetectors.
The microfluidic device includes a slip having a plurality of apertures therethrough. Each aperture communicates with a corresponding well. Each lens includes first and second layers having an interface. The interface has an outer periphery. The first layer is formed from an oil-based fluid and the second layer is formed from a water-based fluid. At least of a portion of the second layer of each lens is received in a corresponding well.
The base of the compound eye includes an outer surface having the plurality of wells formed therein and an inner surface. It is contemplated for the outer surface of the base is generally arcuate. A cover may overlap the outer surface of the base. A heating element may be positioned adjacent the inner surface of the base.
In accordance with a still further aspect of the present invention, a compound eye is provided. The compound eye includes a microfluidic device with a base having an outer surface defining a plurality of wells and an inner surface. A first fluid is disposed in the plurality of wells. A second fluid intersects the first fluid at a plurality of interfaces. Each interface defines a lens having a focal length. A tuning structure tunes the focal length of each lens in response to a predetermined stimulus.
The tuning structure includes a plurality of hydrogels positioned in corresponding wells. Each hydrogel is movable between a first configuration wherein the corresponding lens has a first focal length and a second configuration wherein the corresponding lens has a second focal length in response to a predetermined stimulus. A plurality of photodetectors detect images received by corresponding lenses. A plurality of waveguides guide the images from corresponding lenses to corresponding photodetectors.
The microfluidic device includes a slip affixed to the outer surface and having a plurality of apertures therethrough. Each aperture communicates with a corresponding well. The first fluid is a water-based fluid and the second fluid is an oil-based fluid. The outer surface of the base is generally arcuate. The microfluidic device may also include a cover overlapping the outer surface of the base and a heating element adjacent the inner surface of the base.


A seat belt device includes a belt reel on which a webbing is wound, an electric brush motor for driving the belt reel, a motor control part that performs drive control of the electric brush motor, a voltage detecting part that detects a voltage generated between both terminals of the electric brush motor, and a failure determining part that determines whether the electric brush motor has failed or not on the basis of the presence or absence of a voltage having a frequency component caused by the drive control of the electric brush motor that is detected by the voltage detecting part while the electric brush motor is driven by the motor control part.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication (JP-A) No. 2003-160024 discloses a seat belt device configured to enable a passenger to confirm a failure occurring in a pretensioner motor and the like. The disclosed seat belt device includes a motor, a motor driving means, a driving force transmitting means, and a failure determining means. The failure determining means determines the presence or absence of a motor failure on the basis of a current waveform generated when the motor driving means drives the motor while the driving force transmitting means interrupts transmission of a driving force from the motor to a seat belt wind-up device.
In the seat belt device shown in JP 2003-160024 A, detection of a motor failure is started and performed when an ignition switch is turned on, when a driver's-side door switch is turned on, or when depression of a brake pedal is detected. Due to a relatively few motor-failure detection opportunities, it may occur that a passenger cannot be restrained by a seat belt due to a motor failure occurring when an emergency condition happens on the vehicle.
With the foregoing prior problem in view, an object of the present invention is to provide a seat belt device which is capable of appropriately detecting a motor failure.


An electronic component of the invention has: a substrate; first to third terminal portions disposed on the substrate; and at least one spiral conductor portion disposed between the first and second terminal portions. The third terminal portion is not electrically connected to other portions of the substrate, and the first and second terminal portions are electrically connected to or disconnected from each other. In the electronic component, the number of production steps is smaller, the cost is lower, and a more highly accurate inductor component is realized as compared with a laminated electronic component in which emphasis is put on increase of the capacitor component. It is possible to realize an electronic component having accurate band- or low-pass filter characteristics.

The present invention relates to an electronic component which is preferably used in, for example, an electronic apparatus conducting radio communication, such as a mobile communication terminal or a personal computer, and which compositely includes an inductor and a capacitor.
In a cordless telephone or a cellular telephone, in order to lower the cost and miniaturize the telephone, it is requested to reduce the sizes and number of components. In a portable electronic apparatus such as a notebook personal computer, data communication using a wireless LAN or the like is often conducted, and hence also components in such an electronic apparatus are requested to be reduced in size and number.
In such communication, an electronic component which compositely includes an inductor and a capacitor is necessary. Electronic components of this kind are often used as various filter circuits in a radio communication circuit for the purpose of selectively allowing a signal in a desired frequency band to pass therethrough, and attenuating an unwanted signal. Filters include a band-pass filter through which only a signal in a specific frequency band can be passed, a low-pass filter through which only a signal in a lower frequency band can be passed, and a high-pass filter through which only a signal in a higher frequency band can be passed.
Conventionally, a filter is sometimes configured by using an inductor component and a capacitor component which are discrete chip components, to form an LC circuit on a circuit board of a wireless apparatus. Also a dielectric filter and a surface acoustic wave filter which are configured respectively by single elements, and a composite electronic component having a filter function of a dielectric filter, such as a multilayer LC filter are used. In order to cope with various frequency characteristics, particularly, a multilayer LC filter is often used in an electronic component.
FIG. 30 is a section view of a multilayer LC filter of the conventional art, and FIG. 31 is a perspective view of a multilayer LC filter of the conventional art. (See, for example, JP-A-2000-341069 or JP-A-1-259518)
Attenuation characteristics and attenuation curve characteristics which are required in a filter are determined by an equivalent circuit of an inductor component L and a capacitor component C, and their values. When one of the values of the components is changed, it is possible to obtain desired filter characteristics. In order to realize a filter which can be used in the GHz band or the like, an impedance of a certain level or higher is required, and therefore, the inductor value or the capacitor value must be adequately controlled.
In the case where a filter is configured by a laminated element, however, the inductor component L is formed by printing or the like in a laminated member, and hence the value is inevitably small. In order to obtain necessary attenuation characteristics, therefore, the capacitor component must be increased. As a result, the material of the laminated member must be improved, and the number of laminations in the laminated member must be increased, so that the production step number and the cost are additionally required, thereby causing a problem in that the reductions of the size and the cost are inevitably limited.
In an element in which miniaturization of a certain level is requested, moreover, there is a problem in that further size reduction is naturally limited.
In pattern printing for producing an inductor component, for example, a printed pattern which is to be formed in a laminated member to produce an inductor component must be formed before a process of firing the laminated member, and hence problems such as that the value of the inductor component is unavoidably changed after a lamination process occur. Therefore, it is difficult to realize a highly accurate filter.
In a conventional electronic component such as a multilayer LC filter, as seen from the section view of FIG. 30, electrodes are configured inside a ceramic member, and hence complicated production steps must be conducted, so that it is difficult to reduce the cost. Because the production steps are complicated and the step number is increased, the steps have many causes of dispersing characteristics. In joining to an external circuit, although the impedance must be matched with that of a circuit pattern on a circuit board, circuit constants in a filter cannot be finely adjusted, and hence an external matching circuit is additionally required. As a result, it is difficult to reduce the size of a portable terminal.
As apparent also from the perspective view of FIG. 31, the inductance is configured in a planar form. In order to obtain a large inductance value, therefore, a large pattern must be formed, thereby causing a problem in that it is difficult to suppress an electronic component to a small size.
By contrast, when an LC circuit is configured by discrete chip components, arbitrary circuit constants can be obtained, and the degree of freedom in design of a circuit on a circuit board is enhanced. However, the number of components is larger than that in the case where a composite component is used, thereby causing a problem in that the mounting area is widened and a circuit board and hence an electronic apparatus are hardly miniaturized. Of course, there is a further problem in that the large number of components causes the cost to be increased.
In an attenuation curve showing filter characteristics, a pole is formed. It is requested to obtain desired attenuation characteristics by adjusting the formation of a pole. In order to realize this, the inductor and capacitor components must be adjusted. In a conventional laminated component, it is difficult to conduct this adjustment, and there is a problem in that such adjustment of the inductor and capacitor components may not result in adjustment of the formation of a pole, but in variation of the cutoff frequency.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A system and method is described for alerting authorities during a vehicle carjacking or carnapping. The method includes a first step of providing a vehicular radiotelephone communication system with speech recognition and a controller operable to monitor at least one vehicular system. A next step includes defining at least one predetermined sequence of operation of the at least one vehicular system for triggering a silent alert. The sequence can include spoken words or vehicle control operation. A next step includes monitoring the at least one vehicular system for the defined at least one predetermined sequence, such as a hidden switch activation for example. A next step includes activating a silent alert upon detection of the at least one predetermined sequence.

There have been increasing occurrences of car thieves assaulting a driver or passenger of a car and forcibly taking the car and abducting the driver or passenger of the car, i.e. "carjacking" or "carnapping". When confronted with such a situation, the abductee desires to escape to safety, or if that is not possible to notify the authorities.
On prior art solution to prevent carjacking is to sound an alarm and/or disable the vehicle through various means at the time of the carjacking. However, this may cause the thief to become angry and attack or harm the driver. Therefore, this solution is not desirable in a carjacking situation. In addition, such prior art systems are known to car thieves and can be disarmed, rendering them ineffective.
Another prior art solution is to use a panic button type of system, wherein a user need only press one button to summon assistance. Such buttons can be obvious or hidden. However, this solution suffers from the same problems as the previous solution. Namely, a car thief will know of this device and can prevent its use by assaulting the driver. Therefore, this solution is also not desirable in a carjacking situation.
What is needed is a method and system that can covertly notify appropriate authorities during a carjacking. It would be desirable if the method and system is configured such that a car thief will not know of the existence or operation thereof.


A remote control system for transmitting control movement to a controlled member, such as a throttle or transmission control lever on a marine propulsion unit, which includes an actuator unit having a lever arm for mechanically actuating the controlled member and an electric motor for electrically actuating the controlled member. A first remote control unit is provided which has a first operator mechanically connected to the lever arm for selectively transmitting movement to the lever arm upon movement of the first operator. There is also provided a second remote control unit having a second operator electrically connected to the electric motor through a central control unit for selectively transmitting an electrical signal to the central control unit for selectively transmitting movement to the electric motor upon movement of the second operator. Cables transmit movement of the lever arm and electric motor into movement of the controlled member while interlock switches and a locking mechanism preclude operation of the controlled member by one of the operators when the other of the operators is operated. The control state of the operators is indicated on selection display units.

This invention relates to a remote control system, and more particularly to an improved remote control system of a type which includes a plurality of separate operators, at least one of which may be selectively operated so as to mechanically actuate a controlled member and at least one of which may be selectively operated so as to electrically actuate the controlled member. There are provided a number of types of remote control systems which have been used in connection with a marine propulsion unit wherein two separately positioned operators may be employed to operate the same controlled member on the propulsion unit. For example, it is common practice on certain watercraft to have throttle/shift control operators both at the bridge and in the cabin of the watercraft. When such arrangements are used, it is desirable to insure that only one operator can be operated at a time and that once the controlled member is being controlled from one location this control cannot be overridden, at the other location.
One type of fully mechanical remote control system has been proposed which utilizes wire cables to transmit the movement of either of a pair of remote control operators to a controlled member on the propulsion unit via a switchover device. An example of such an arrangement is set forth in Japanese utility model S61-29068. While this type of remote control system has certain advantages, it also has certain disadvantages associated with it. For example, the wire cables connecting the operators with the switchover device and connecting the switchover device with the controlled member on the propulsion unit increases the operating load of the system. Also, this type of system may require relatively long cables, depending on the location of the operators and the size of the watercraft. The longer the cables, the more likely they are to bend causing the remote control system to malfunction. Changing control smoothly from one location to the other has also been difficult with these wholly mechanically operated systems because it has typically been difficult for someone at one remote location in the watercraft to know the control state of the operator at the other location.
While an all electrical remote control system may decrease the system's operational load and may also decrease the system's tendency to malfunction as a result of cable bending, an all electrical remote control system is disadvantageous in that no means are provided on the watercraft for manually operating the controlled member should that become necessary to maintain control of the watercraft in the event of an electrical component or power failure.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved remote control system which eliminates or reduces the above disadvantages.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved remote control system which employs a plurality of separate remotely positioned operators, at least one of which is mechanically connected to manual actuating means for selectively actuating a controlled member and at least one of which is electrically connected to electric actuating means for selectively actuating that same controlled member.


A method and an apparatus for applying film grain to stereoscopic or multi-view images or sequences of stereoscopic or multi-view images are described. After retrieving an image pair or a set of multi-view images a depth map for the image pair or the set of multi-view images and a confidence map for the depth map are obtained. Film grain is then applied to non-occluded areas of the images in accordance with depth values of the depth map and confidence values of the confidence map. Occluded areas of the images are processed separately by first deriving depth values for these areas and then applying film grain to these areas in accordance with the derived depth values.

The presence of small particles of metallic silver developed from silver halide during processing of photographic film leads to a random optical texture, which is known as film grain. The amount of film grain depends, inter alia, on the film stock.
Images or image sequences obtained with digital cameras do not contain any film grain, since there is no film and hence no grains within the film. However, a number of photographers or movie directors prefer the 'old look' of analog films. Therefore, artificial film grain has sometimes been used, e.g. for HD-DVD (High Density Digital Versatile Disc). Also some image processing applications for personal computers offer the possibility to add artificial film grain to digital images.
In this regard, U.S. Pat. No. 6,269,180 describes a method for compositing images derived from cinematographic film with video images or computer generated images. Color variations due to film grain are determined for film images. A similar level of variation is applied to the video images or computer generated images. In this way it is possible to add grain to non-filmed images so as to match said images to images derived from film.
Up to now artificial film grain has mainly been used for 2D images or image sequences. However, US 2009/0102914 discloses a method for storing stereoscopic 3D video on a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) in the form of standard video data combined with enhancement data. Film grain is removed from the enhancement data and stored as metadata on the disc. During playback the film grain is re-inserted in the enhancement data. This allows for an increased coding efficiency. No specific information is given how the film grain is re-inserted in the enhancement data, and if or how film grain is treated in the standard video data.
US 2009/0160931 describes a method for image processing that supports a stereoscopic presentation. An image processing is applied in common to the two images of a stereoscopic image pair. In order to match a visual appearance of the images for a stereoscopic presentation the two images are compared. If necessary, at least one of the images is adjusted by adjusting parameters of at least one of the image capturing components providing the images. No information is given whether this processing is also applicable to film grain in the two images.
In any case, for stereoscopic 3D or multi-view images or image sequences it has been found that film grain, be it artificial or, in case of analog film, actual film grain, often leads to a rather unpleasant viewing experience. For example, when different grain is added to the different views that are presented to a viewer, the grain is unfusable by the viewer. If the same grain is added to both views, then the viewer experiences a flat blanket of grain in the convergence plane, i.e. a wall of grain. Therefore, it is generally preferred not to add any film grain to stereoscopic or multi-view images and to remove any actual film grain by filtering. However, in an interview in the Web Portal HD HEAD it has been proposed to convert the grain in such way that it has the same depth as the object it occludes. The visual effect is that the surfaces are grainy (http://www.hdhead.com/?p=279). Unfortunately, no information is given how this can be achieved. Also, due to incomplete depth information this solution is likely to generate a rather large amount of grain artifacts.
WO 2011/142734 discloses a method for applying film grain to stereoscopic images. First film grain is added to a first view in dependence of depth values derived from a depth map. The film grain is then warped and added to the second view. Finally, holes are filled with further film grain based on the depth values for the second view.

Film grain for stereoscopic or multi-view images


A dual-drive transmission, comprising a front shaft, a back shaft, a rear axle housing having a pair of half shafts, a central propeller shaft, a hub, and an electromagnetic splined clutch; a forestage gear is disposed on the central propeller shaft, a drive gear engaged with the forestage gear is disposed on the front shaft, a pair of one-way transmission gears is disposed one on each end of the central propeller shaft, a final drive gear is disposed on the hub, a driven gear engaged with the forestage gear is disposed on one end of the back shaft, and the electromagnetic splined clutch is axially connected to the back shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vehicle transmission, and particularly to a dual-drive transmission.
2. Description of the Related Art
The need for a transmission in an automobile is a consequence of the characteristics of the internal combustion engine. Engines typically operate over a range of 600 to about 7000 revolutions per minute, while the car's wheels rotate between 0 rpm and around 1800 rpm.
Furthermore, the engine provides its highest torque outputs approximately in the middle of its range, while often the greatest torque is required when the vehicle is moving from rest or traveling slowly. Therefore, a system that transforms the engine's output so that it can supply high torque at low speeds, but also operate at highway speeds with the motor still operating within its limits, is required. Transmissions perform this transformation.
As vehicles travel downhill, they usually coast, i.e., their engines are in gear and operate at idle speeds to reduce fuel consumption yet at the same time controlling vehicle velocity. However, resistance generated by the engines operating at idle speeds also significantly affects the coasting distance. In addition, as the engine operates at idle speeds, the speed of the vehicle cannot be controlled by the engine, and in essence the transmission is "single drive".
CN Patent 2224116 discloses an axle shaft clutch for a driving wheel, which implements centrifugal separation during high-speed traveling of vehicles, so as to increase coasting distance after an engine retards the throttle. However, disadvantages of the axle shaft clutch include the following:                1. Centrifugal separation cannot be implemented at low-speeds, and thus coasting distance is not increased at low speeds;        2. The traveling speed cannot be controlled as the vehicle coasts downhill and the engine operates at an idle speed, and thus security is not ensured; and        3. The axle shaft clutch operating in a free state at a critical speed affects stability of the vehicle and increases operating noise.


A calibrating basket for a film blowing tube is provided with roller bearings to prevent stripe formation on the film and pinching of the film between the rollers.

In the production of blown film, the film-making apparatus comprises an extruder for extruding a thermoplastified synthetic resin tube which is expanded by blowing and is passed through a calibrating basket which serves to define the expanded diameter of the blown tube and thus determines the thickness of the film.
The calibrating basket is provided with guide stirrups which guide the synthetic resin tube and have foil guide rollers whose outer peripheries contact the film of the tube.
In such a calibrating basket, around the periphery of the calibrating basket and thus over the periphery of the synthetic resin tube guided through it, there are distributed a multiplicity of such guide stirrups. These guide stirrups are distributed in the longitudinal direction of the calibrating basket and, therefore, the direction of travel of the tube. The guide stirrups are provided with guide rods on which a multiplicity of film guide rollers can be provided next to on another, i.e. in neighboring relationship. The guide rods of a guide stirrup can be bent to match the shape of the synthetic resin tube.
In the past, the rollers have operated in accordance with the slide-bearing principle, i.e. were free from rolling surfaces and had relatively movable surfaces that slid on one another. These slide surfaces, could be made from a low friction material like polytetrafluoroethylene. In a special case, the guide rollers were hollow cylindrical bodies made from Teflon and were slipped onto the guide rods. Slide bearing rollers rotate around the guide rods or rest thereon generally in such manner that there are two points of contact between the slide bearing roller and the rod. A substantial amount of friction heat is generated with these rollers and sliding surfaces may even partially melt because of the friction heat which is generated. This melting of the guide rollers can result in fusion of them to the guide rods so that the guide rollers no longer are rotatable or can give rise to irregular rotation.
Immobilization of such a roller can result in the undesirable marking of the film with contact stripes. When some rollers rotate and others do not, the film may be pinched between adjacent rollers and that has a detrimental effect on film quality or increases the reject rate.
Conventional film guide rollers of the type described also have problems when the foil is somewhat tacky since then the friction between the foil rollers may be excessive and the rollers may develop rotational oscillation which can also result in film marking or detrimental calibration.

Apparatus for producing synthetic resin film


Methods and apparatus for capture management in multi-chamber pacing are disclosed. In one embodiment, the invention includes determining a combination of electrodes from a plurality of electrodes that yields the lowest polarization potential immediately following delivery of an electrical stimulus to a heart; and performing capture detection using that combination of electrodes. In order to distinguish loss of capture in one ventricle in bi-ventricular pacing, certain embodiments may also include measuring a width of a QRS complex and determining when the width is greater than a predetermined value. A method for detecting single ventricular loss of capture in bi-ventricular pacing is also described utilizing comparison of evoked QRS complex morphology to a predefined waveform.

Implantable medical devices (IMDs) for use in cardiac pacing and defibrillation are well known. Most of these devices include sense amplifier circuitry for detecting intrinsic cardiac electrical activity so that the devices may be inhibited from generating unnecessary stimulating pulses when a heart is functioning properly. While the present invention is not limited to any one IMD, it will, for the sake of brevity, be described with respect mainly to pacemaker-cardioverter-defibrillators (PCDs).
Dual-chamber cardiac pacemakers typically have separate sense amplifiers and associated circuitry for atrial and ventricular sensing. The sense amplifiers detect the presence of intrinsic signals, that is P-waves occurring naturally in the atrium and R-waves occurring naturally in the ventricle. Upon detecting an intrinsic signal, sense amplifier circuitry generates a signal for output to other components which then inhibits the delivery of a pacing pulse to the corresponding chamber.
It is desirable to accurately and reliably measure the response of the heart to an electrical stimulation pulse. Measuring such a response permits, among others, the determination of a patient's stimulation threshold, or the minimum energy a stimulating pulse must contain for a cardiac response to be evoked. Once a patient's stimulation threshold is determined, the energy content of stimulating pulses may be adjusted to avoid delivering pulses having unnecessarily high energy content. Minimizing the energy content of stimulating pulses is believed to have physiological benefits, and additionally reduces power consumption, a key concern in the context of battery-powered IMDs.
such capture detection and management is also useful in controlling a pacemaker's pacing rate, for ascertaining the physiological effect of drugs, or for diagnosing abnormal cardiac conditions. As used herein, the term "capture" means the successful evocation of a stimulated response in cardiac tissue by a pacing pulse. Capture is discussed in detail, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,615 to Markowitz et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,163,724 to Hemming et al. "Loss of Capture" (or LOC) as used herein, indicates the failure to produce an evoked response.
Immediately following delivery of a pacing pulse to cardiac tissue, a residual post-pace polarization signal (or polarization potential) is produced by the charge induced in the tissue by the delivery of the pacing pulse. If the pacing pulse causes an evoked response in the cardiac tissue, then an evoked response signal is superimposed atop the typically larger amplitude polarization potential. As a result, conventional pacemakers either cannot differentiate, or have difficulty differentiating, between post-pacing pulse polarization potential and evoked response potential.
This problem is further complicated by the fact that residual polarization potentials typically have high amplitudes, even when an evoked response signal occurs. Consequently, it becomes difficult to detect an evoked response potential using a conventional pacemaker sense amplifier employing linear frequency filtering techniques.
Some pacemakers employ sensing and timing circuits that do not even attempt to detect evoked response potential until the polarization potential is no longer present or has subsided to some minimal amplitude level. With respect to capture detection, however, such sensing after the polarization potential is no longer present typically occurs a significant period of time after any evoked response signal has occurred. As a result, these pacemakers cannot reliably detect evoked response signals. Thus, a need exists for reliably determining whether or not an evoked response has occurred in a pacing environment.
Polarization signals typically arise due to the tissue-electrode interface storing energy after a pacing stimulus has been delivered. There are typically two tissue-electrode interfaces in a pacing circuit: one for the tip electrode, and one for the ring (or PCD housing) electrode. The stored energy dissipates after the pacing pulse is delivered, creating the subsequent polarization potential.
Another problem with capture management is peculiar in multi-site pacing, e.g., bi-ventricular pacing. In single ventricular pacing, the ventricular threshold may be determined by incrementally decreasing the pacemaker output until loss of capture is detected, either by human operator or by the pacemaker logic in the capture management function. This task is simplified by the fact that loss of ventricular response is easily detected by lack of an evoked QRS complex or wave following the pacing pulse, e.g., there is no cardiac contraction in response to the pacing pulse.
In bi-ventricular pacing, the task of the threshold measurement is somewhat more complicated. For instance, in most patients, the left ventricular threshold is higher than the right ventricular threshold (this holds true in spite of recent technological improvements in the design and configuration of left ventricular leads). Yet, the right ventricular pacing electrode typically has ideal contact with the endocardium. Therefore, it is believed to be more effective than electrodes located within the coronary vein that deliver the pacing pulse to the epicardium.
If bi-ventricular threshold detection is done in a manner similar to that described above with respect to single ventricle pacing, the incremental decrease of the left ventricular output will cause loss of capture (LOC) of the left ventricle as soon as the output falls below the left ventricular threshold. However, this will not be manifested in loss of the QRS complex (loss of the ventricular contraction) following the pacing pulse because the right ventricular pacing pulse continues to pace. That is, the depolarization wave will still occur, spreading from the right ventricle electrode implantation site, e.g., the apex of the right ventricle. In other words, while the evoked QRS complex morphology may change, it will still be present, indicating capture was detected.
Similarly, incrementally decreasing the right ventricular output will cause right ventricular LOC as soon as the output falls below the right ventricular threshold. Once again, this loss of capture will be not manifested in loss of the QRS complex following the pacing pulse because the left ventricular pacing pulse will continue to pace, producing a depolarization wave starting from the left ventricle electrode implantation site. As a result, the depolarization wave propagation will still be present. Thus, bi-ventricular capture management requires more that merely detecting the absence of the QRS complex.
The problems described herein above, e.g., threshold measurement and capture detection in view of polarization potential, may also present themselves in capture management for atrial pacing, e.g., in three and four chamber pacemakers.
Various methods have been proposed in the prior art for improving the ability to detect and measure evoked responses as well as improving other aspects of IMDs.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,441 to Mader et al., discloses, in one embodiment, a method and apparatus for discriminating between ventricular depolarizations resulting from normal and abnormal propagation of the depolarization wave front through the ventricles by means of a measurement of a width of the sensed R-wave associated with the depolarization.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,967 to KenKnight, proposes an electrical therapy applied to a selected region of selected cardiac tissue, comprising the combination of two discrete therapies: pacing level therapy applied to a localized portion of a region of the selected cardiac tissue having relatively low susceptibility to defibrillation-level shock field strengths; followed by (or occurring simultaneously with) defibrillation therapy applied to portions of the tissue having regions of fibrillating myocardium over which the sub-defibrillation level shocks exert control.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,524 to Rahul describes a method and apparatus for synchronization of atrial defibrillation pulses. In one embodiment, a method and apparatus for controlling the timing of delivery of atrial cardioversion or defibrillation pulses is disclosed. In order to determine an appropriate time for delivery of a cardioversion pulse, the method and apparatus of the Rahul patent first determines the average V—V interval associated with the ventricular rhythm in the presence of atrial fibrillation. Based upon this average interval, the apparatus calculates a shorter, derived escape interval, which is used to control timing of delivery of the atrial cardioversion or defibrillation pulse.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,868 to Salo et al. proposes a cardiac stimulating apparatus and method. In particular, Salo et al. describes a cardiac defibrillator in combination with a pacing device with adjustable control of the AV interval.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,234 to Struble describes a dual site pacing system with automatic pulse output adjustment. In one embodiment, a dual site pacing system is provided with the capability of automatically detecting when there is LOC in one chamber, either ventricular or atrial. Following each delivered pair of pacing pulses to the dual sites, the pacemaker times out an appropriate blanking interval, and then times out a refractory period to coincide with the heart chamber's normal period of refractoriness following a contraction. During the refractory interval, or refractory period, the pacemaker looks to see if an excitation signal is sensed. If so, this means that a chamber was not captured, and the excitation from the other chamber (which was captured by a delivered pulse) had been conducted to the non-captured chamber.
Accordingly, various implementations of systems for capture management in multi-site pacing are known. These systems are described above and in the documents listed in Table I below.
TABLE IU.S. Pa. No.InventorIssue Date6,163,724Hemming et al.Dec. 19, 20006,148,234StrubleNov. 14, 20005,797,967KenKnightAug. 25, 19985,601,615Markowitz et al.Feb. 11, 19975,584,868Salo et al.Dec. 17, 19965,411,524RahulMay 2, 19955,312,441Mader et al.May 17, 1994
All documents listed in Table I herein above are hereby incorporated by reference in their respective entireties. As those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate readily upon reading the Summary of the Invention, Detailed Description of the Embodiments, and claims set forth below, many of the devices and methods disclosed in the documents of Table I and others documents incorporated by reference herein may be modified advantageously by using the teachings of the present invention. However, the listing of any such document in Table I, or elsewhere herein, is by no means an indication that such documents are prior art to the present invention.


A neural network employing absolute difference calculating synapse cells comprising a pair of floating gate devices coupled in parallel between an internal cell node and column line of the network. The network further includes a switched-capacitor circuit for summing all of the charges generated by all of the synapse cells within a column of the network. The circuit operates in response to a sequence of applied voltage pulses such that each cell generates a charge representing either the input, the weight, or the minimum/maximum of either the weight or the input. The accumulation of these charges represents the sum of the absolute value difference between the input voltages and the stored weights for a single column of the array.

Artificial neural networks generally consist of multiple layers of neuron devices which provide massively parallel computing power. An interesting feature of such networks is their adaptive capabilities which allow the network to learn new information. These characteristics provide parallel processing of information at high computational rates--far exceeding the performance of conventional von Neumann computers which execute a program of instructions sequentially.
Neural networks generally take the form of a matrix of connections which simulate the function of a biological nervous system. Typically, electrical circuits are employed to provide variable strength synaptic connections between a plurality of inputs and a number of summing elements (i.e., neurons). The strength of the interconnections is commonly referred as the "weight" of the network. The synaptic weight, which frequently changes during the training or learning process, basically modulates the amount of charge or voltage input into each neuron within the network.
In the past, electrical synapse cells which employ floating gate devices have been used for storing connection weights in the form of electrical charge. In a floating gate device, current flow is modulated in a way which depends upon the value of the stored electrical charge. In these cells, a dot product calculation is normally performed wherein an applied input voltage is multiplied by the stored weight to produce an output. This output is then summed with other synaptic outputs in the network. Examples of semiconductor synapse cells which employ floating gate devices for storing weights are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,956,564 and 4,961,002.
Another category of neural network computes the euclidean distance between the input value and stored weight value. This type of network calculates what is frequently referred to as a "city block" difference calculation. A city block difference calculation is performed by taking the absolute difference between an applied input and the stored weight of the cell. As in the case of synapse cells which calculate dot products, the output of a distance calculating synapse is usually summed with other similar outputs within the network. Both the multiplying and difference calculating types of neural networks are equally capable of solving computational tasks such as associative memory and pattern classification.
As will be seen, the present invention discloses a novel neural network architecture for parallel calculation of the absolute "city block" difference between an input voltage and a stored weight vector. The invented network utilizes switched-capacitor circuitry and floating gate devices for emulating the function of a biological synapse.

Neural network employing absolute value calculating synapse