A voice-controlled data system is providing that has a storage medium for storing media files, the media files having associated file identification data for allowing the identification of the media files, the file identification data including phonetic data having phonetic information corresponding to the file identification data. The phonetic data is supplied to a speech recognition unit that compares the phonetic data to a speech command input into the speech recognition unit. The data system further includes a file selecting unit that selects one of the media files based on the comparison result.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a voice-controlled data system and to a method for a voice-controlled selection, generation or compilation of media files.
2. Related Art
For many applications, e.g., multimedia systems including audio/video players, users may select audio or video files from a large list of files, e.g., music titles. Furthermore, the use of media files available over a centralized data base usable for a variety of users has become very well known. The download of audio or video files from a communication network, e.g., the Internet, has become a widespread phenomenon due to the fact that systems have been developed that allow the storing of audio and video data files in a compact way by using different compression techniques. In the art, many different formats for storing media data have been developed, e.g., the MP3 format, the AAC format, the WMA format, the MOV format, and the WMV format. For the user, it has become possible to configure a selection of different audio or video files that may be stored on one storage medium.
Additionally, many formats also allow the storing of meta-data corresponding to the media file. In many of these formats, meta-data are provided containing information about the file itself or any other information relating to this file. Such meta-data or meta-information may include data such as the title of the file, allowing the identification of the data, the artist, the year of recording, the genre, the tracks, etc.
Additionally, the voice-controlled operation of multimedia systems is well known in the art. Especially in vehicles, the voice-controlled operation of electronic systems comprising an audio module, a navigation module, a telecommunication module, and/or a radio module is a useful feature for the driver that helps him to focus on the traffic. To this end, speech recognition units are used in which a voice command from the user of the electronic system is detected and phonetic transcriptions of the detected voice command are used for executing the command of the user.
Often times, identification data allowing the identification of the media files includes data in different languages. If an entry is to be selected by speech recognition, a problem arises that neither the language of the intended entry nor the language in which the name of the intended entry is pronounced is known. The fact that the entries of the media files to be selected have names in different languages and that the language of the intended entry is not known complicates the speech recognition process. The phonetic transcriptions can either be generated automatically or they can be searched in large look-up tables containing examples of phonetic transcriptions. With the use of automatically generated phonetic transcriptions the recognition rate of the control command is low, and the use of look-up tables containing phonetic transcriptions is hardly possible when the control command comprises proper names of different languages.
In summary, often the language of the speech command input into the speech recognition unit for selecting one of the media files is not known. This complicates the speech recognition process, in particular when the user pronounces a foreign language name for one file in his own (different) mother language. The control of an electronic system having media files to select one of the files is a difficult task, because the speech recognition system has to recognize the speech input from the user, which may comprise variable vocabulary, e.g., the name or the title of the media file.
Therefore, a need exists for a system that is able to allow for the voice-controlled selection of a media file from a group of several media files containing data in different languages.

Voice-controlled selection of media files utilizing phonetic data


Methods and systems are disclosed for phototreatment in which replaceable containers comprising one or more adjuvant (consumable or re-useable) substances are employed. The adjuvant substance can be, for example, a topical substance or a coolant. Systems are disclosed for using a topical substance to detect contact of a phototreatment device with a tissue, detect speed of a phototreatment device over the tissue, detect regions of tissue that have been treated by a phototreatment device and/or to provide other benefits to the tissue such as improved skin tone and texture, tanning, etc. Safety systems are also disclosed that ensure that a proper consumable substance and/or container is connected to a phototreatment device and/or directed to a proper target. Additionally, cooling systems and methods that utilize phase change materials for extracting heat from a light generating device are disclosed.

The present invention is directed generally to systems and methods for phototreatment in which adjuvant substances are used for cooling or topical applications.
There exists a variety of conditions that are treatable using phototreatments of tissue (e.g., phototherapeutic and photocosmetic treatments). Such phototreatments include light-based hair removal, treatment of various skin lesions (including pigmented and vascular lesions as well as acne), tattoo removal, facial skin improvement, fat and cellulite treatment, scar removal, and skin rejuvenation (including wrinkle reduction and improvement of tone and texture), odor redaction, acne treatment to name a few.
Typically, light from a phototreatment device treats a tissue using a photothermal mechanism (i.e., a target structure or a tissue proximate the target structure is heated to effect the treatment) and/or a photodynamic therapy mechanism (i.e., the light causes a photochemical reaction). A variety of different light sources can be incorporated into a handpiece of a photocosmetic device for generating radiation suitable for a desired treatment of a patient's skin. These light sources, which can be either coherent or non-coherent, can emit light at a single wavelength, multiple wavelengths or in one or more wavelength bands. Some examples of such light sources include, without limitation, diode lasers, LEDs, arc lamps, flash lamps, tungsten lamps, and any other suitable light emitting devices.
Such light sources typically convert a portion of an applied electrical energy into optical energy while the rest of the electrical energy is converted into waste heat. For example, in a photocosmetic device that utilizes a diode laser bar as the source of optical radiation, up to about 40–60% of the electrical energy may be converted into waste heat. For LEDs, this loss can be as high as 70–99%. Other light sources may exhibit different efficiencies for generating optical energy. However, in general, a substantial amount of waste heat is generated that needs to be removed in order to ensure proper operation of the light source and to prevent shortening its lifetime. In addition, heat removal is important to ensure that the temperature of the components of the handpiece that are in contact with a patient's skin remain in a suitable range that is not damaging to the skin.
Adjuvant substances include consumable and reusable coolants to be applied to one or more target components of a phototreatment device. For example, because of the use of high-power radiation to perform phototreatments, one or more electronic or optical components may generate significant amounts of heat. Such components include, for example, laser diodes, LED or high-power electrical components. Coolants for removing heat from such components have been used to reduce the expense of maintaining phototreatment devices by increasing their operational lifetimes and/or to improve their safety.
Phototreatment devices are also often used with other consumable materials including, for example, topical substances. Conventional topical substances include any suitable topical liquid or emollient, such as a lotion, gel, water, alcohol, or oil. Such topical substances may be used, for example, to improve the safety of a device, efficacy of a treatment, cosmetic qualities of a treated tissue, and/or comfort of a patient.
While consumable substances, such as those discussed above may provide benefits, the use of consumable materials may lead to difficulty and expense in packaging, handling, and manufacturing of phototreatment devices employing such materials. Hence, there is a need for methods and systems that allow efficient and cost effective delivery of adjuvant substances during phototreatment.

Phototreatment device for use with coolants and topical substances


The present invention provides a lounge valve mounting housing and assembly. The housing and assembly are useful for directing air through ducts, and particularly the assembly is useful for directing air, or other fluid, through Y-shaped junctions. The housing comprises in part a plate and a supported platform. The plate mounts to a duct. An actuator assembly can be affixed to the platform. The housing further includes a cylinder; a shaft is disposed within the cylinder and extends into the duct. A flapper affixed to the shaft can direct air depending on the radial position of the shaft. The housing and assembly offers weight and capital advantages over dual valve assemblies.

Aircraft and other vehicles often include climate control and environmental control systems. One aspect of such systems is the ability to divert or control air flow between two or more positions. In an airplane cockpit, for example, there is frequently found a lounge valve system which controls air flow. In the lounge valve system, a series of valves directs air between the pilot's position and the co-pilot's position.
In prior art systems that employ the lounge valve arrangement, air from some environmental control unit such as an air conditioner or heater is directed to a general location, such as the cockpit of an airplane, through a single duct. In the cockpit area the single duct then splits into two (or more) branches in order to direct air to specific locations. A typical arrangement involves a Y junction in which air from the source is then directed to the pilot's location and to the co-pilot's location by separate ducts. Within each separate duct there is positioned a flow valve. Typically this valve is an in-line valve such that the valve is inserted into the duct by cutting the duct, placing the valve at the cut location, and then clamping each of the two severed ends of the duct to the valve. Each valve is thus independently operated so as to close air flow or allow air flow from a partial to a full amount.
This prior art means of controlling air flow is disadvantageous for several reasons. First, in the aircraft environment, weight is at a premium. The use of two or more separate valves to independently control air flow in each duct entails the use of extra weight. It would be desired to design an air flow control system that achieves a similar air control at a lower weight.
A second disadvantage and limitation of the prior art method is the cost associated with multiple valve control. The capital cost of a single valve is duplicated with each additional valve installed on the system. Cost savings is always a desired improvement.
A further disadvantage of the prior art lounge valve system is the difficulty of installing and servicing such a system. A system that uses in-line flow control valves requires a technician's labor to cut lines, install, remove and/or replace valves, and then reconnect the lines. This labor must be repeated for multiple valves if, as is typical, the system uses multiple in-line valves. A simpler system that reduces the need for such labor would be desired. Further, in the airplane environment, space is also at a premium. Thus any system that is more easily removed and/or replaced is also advantageous.
Hence there is a need for an improved flow control system. There is a need for an air control system that provides air flow control at a relatively reduced weight; that provides a cost savings over known methods, and that can be relatively easily installed and serviced. The present invention addresses one or more of these needs.

Lounge valve mounting housing and assembly


A process for generating animated images of a two-dimensional array of objects advancing in a third dimension includes the steps of: defining an array of objects; defining a start position, an end position, and an advancement path associated with each of the objects, each advancement path extending from the associated start position to the associated end position; defining an associated rate of advancement for each of the objects along the associated path; defining a manifold surface including a locus of points each being defined in a three dimensional coordinate system and having an associated height coordinate value, each of the objects being associated with one of the points on the manifold surface; determining an associated advancement start time for each of the objects based on the associated rate of advancement and an associated height coordinate value of an associated point on the manifold surface; and defining animated images of the array of objects advancing along the associated advancement paths in accordance with the associated rates of advancement and the associated advancement start times. The manifold surface provides an animator with a means for controlling a resulting animation in order to achieve a desired animated effect without the need to perform a cumbersome trial and error process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of computer animation. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for generating computer animated images of a two-dimensional array of objects advancing in a third dimension.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A common recurring problem in the field of computer animation is how to design and generate animated images of a two-dimensional array of objects advancing in a third dimension. The array of objects may be a regular or irregular array, and each of the objects of the array may be growing, gradually appearing, hurling through space, or propagating in any type of medium. As examples, the desired contents of an animation may include accelerated animated sequences depicting strands of hair growing on a human, patches of fur growing on an animal, blades of grass growing from the ground, a grove of trees growing in a forest, a hive of bees exiting a nest, icicles forming outwardly from a surface, crystals growing in a lattice, and spouts of water spraying from several sources. It is often desirable to depict the evolution of such processes in reverse such as for example in a sequence where the growth of hair is reversed. These are just a few examples of a wide variety of accelerated animated sequences depicting natural and organic types of processes which the animator must design to look natural.
As a more specific example, for various applications in the fields of medicine and medical training, it is often desirable to generate animated images depicting an accelerated growth of anatomical elements (e.g., bones, muscles, vascular tissue, organs, and other tissue) of a human or animal. Such animated images are also useful in special effects applications for motion pictures. In such applications, it may be desirable to provide a visual transformation from an invisible state to a visible state and vice-versa
The subject matter of animated images of a two-dimensional array of objects advancing in a third dimension may also include animated sequences depicting unnatural or non-organic processes such as a hale of projectiles shot from a gallery of guns, or a matrix of light beams propagating from a plurality of sources. These are just a few examples of a wide variety of animated sequences depicting artificial processes which an animator may wish to design in order to achieve some particular desired effect.
In order to generate animated images of a two-dimensional array of objects advancing in a third dimension, it is necessary for an animator to first generate a model for the objects using primitives and attributes of the objects including their associated sizes and shapes, and also specifying paths of advancement of the objects in the third dimension including start positions and end positions. Subsequently, for each of the objects, the animator must specify animation attributes including a rate of advancement of the object as well as a start time specifying when the object will begin to advance along its associated path.
Various problems arise for the animator in generating models specifying attributes of the objects. However, these model generation problems are specific to the types of objects being modeled. For example, the generation of models for muscle fibers of a muscle structure is complicated by the fact that the muscle fibers must be substantially confined to the volume of the muscle structure which may change during the course of animation.
Animators face another problem, not specific to the types of objects being modeled, in designing the animation of a two-dimensional array of objects advancing in a third dimension. The problem in designing such animation attributes is that when the animator specifies rates of advancement for each associated object, as well as associated start times for advancement of each of the objects, the animator has no means by which to predict the overall look of the advancement of the objects. Typically, the animator must repetitively design the animation by defining the rates of advancement and the start times by hand and then view the resulting animated images in order to determine whether the animation appears natural or appears to have some other desired effect. For example, in the case of an organic growth process, the animator must design the rate of advancement and the start time for each object and then view the resulting animated images in accordance with a cumbersome trial and error process in order to achieve a desired appearance of organic growth.
What is needed is a system and method for generating realistic animated images of a two-dimensional array of objects advancing in a third dimension wherein the animator is provided with a means for controlling the resulting animation in order to achieve a desired animation effect without the need to perform a cumbersome trial and error process.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for generating realistic animated images of a two-dimensional array of objects advancing in a third dimension wherein the animator is provided with a means for controlling the resulting animation in order to achieve a desired animated effect.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for generating realistic animated images of a two-dimensional array of muscle fibers of a muscle structure as the muscle structure moves in accordance with an animated sequence.
Briefly, a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a process for generating animated images of a two-dimensional array of objects advancing in a third dimension. The process includes the steps of: defining an array of objects; defining a start position, an end position, and an advancement path associated with each of the objects, each advancement path extending from the associated start position to the associated end position; defining an associated rate of advancement for each of the objects along the associated path; defining a manifold surface including a locus of points each being defined in a three dimensional coordinate system and having an associated height coordinate value, each of the objects being associated with one of the points on the manifold surface; determining an associated advancement start time for each of the objects based on an associated height coordinate value of an associated point on the manifold surface; and defining animated images of the array of objects advancing along the associated advancement paths in accordance with the associated rates of advancement and the associated advancement start times. Each of the objects has an associated identification value that is mapped to an associated point on the manifold surface, and the identification values are assigned to the associated objects in accordance with a noise function.
The step of defining an associated rate of advancement for each of the objects along the associated path further includes the steps of: defining an average duration attribute associated with the array of objects, the average duration attribute indicating an average time required for advancement of the objects from the start positions to the end positions along the advancement paths; defining an average duration variance attribute associated with the array of objects, the average duration variance attribute indicating a variance in the time required for each of the objects to advance from its start position to its end position along its associated advancement path; and defining the associated rate of advancement based on the average duration attribute and the average duration variance attribute using a noise function.
In one embodiment, the step of defining an array of objects includes defining a muscle structure including an array of fibers each being defined by at least one associated primitive describing the fiber. In this embodiment, the start position, end position, and advancement path associated with each of the fibers is defined by the associated primitive. Also in this embodiment, the step of defining animated images includes defining animated graphical images of portions of the fibers gradually appearing or disappearing along the associated primitive.
In one embodiment, the step of defining the manifold surface includes: defining a first mathematical relationship expressed as a function of a first predefined frequency value defining at least one set of local maxima points on the manifold surface; determining a second mathematical relationship expressed as a function of a second predefined frequency value that is lower than the first predefined frequency value; and clamping the first mathematical relationship based on the second mathematical relationship so that each of the local maxima points of the set has an associated height value that is substantially close to the height values of other ones of the set of local maxima points.
The step of defining a muscle structure further includes: generating a muscle surface having an array of control points configured to form an outer surface generally defining a muscle structure having an associated volume; specifying a desired fiber diameter value for each of the muscle fibers; and determining attributes of each of the primitives defining the associated muscle fibers based on the volume of the muscle structure and the desired fiber diameter value.
In one embodiment, the step of determining attributes of each of the primitives further includes: determining a maximum transverse cross-sectional area of the muscle structure, the area being bounded by a curve tracing the cross-sectional area on the outer surface; determining at least one scaled down continuous curve based on the boundary curve, the first scaled down continuous curve being concentric with the boundary curve; determining fiber center points along the scaled down continuous curve; and determining an actual fiber diameter value for each of a plurality of fibers to be defined along the scaled down continuous curve.
An important advantage of the process of the present system for generating realistic animated images of a two-dimensional array of objects advancing in a third dimension is that the manifold surface provides the animator with a means for controlling the resulting animation in order to achieve a desired animated effect without the need to perform a cumbersome trial and error process.

System and method for designing computer generated imagery of a two dimensional array of objects advancing in a third dimension


In a radio pager capable of receiving a paging signal subjected to multilevel digital frequency modulation, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) receives a demodulated voltage signal in the form of an analog signal from a demodulator. The ADC functions to define the upper limit of an analog signal conversion range with a first reference voltage and to define the lower limit of the same with a second reference voltage. Even when at least one of the demodulation sensitivity and demodulated center voltage of the demodulated voltage signal changes with a change in temperature and causes the signal to change, the relation between the signal range of the demodulated voltage signal and the analog signal conversion range of the ADC is maintained constant. Therefore, even if the demodulated voltage signal before temperature compensation changes, the ADC is capable of outputting a stable digital signal identical in content or data with an intermediate frequency signal input to the demodulator.

The present invention relates to a radio pager and, more particularly, to a radio pager capable of receiving a paging signal subjected to multilevel digital frequency modulation.
In a radio pager of the type described, a paging signal coming in through an antenna is applied to a radio or radio frequency (RF) section. The RF section amplifies the paging signal and converts its frequency to thereby output an intermediate frequency (IF) signal. The IF signal is applied to a demodulator. The demodulated voltage, or analog signal, is applied to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The ADC converts the input voltage to a digital on the basis of first and second reference voltages which respectively define the upper limit and lower limit of the conversion range assigned to the analog signal or demodulated voltage. The digital signal output from the ADC is delivered to a controller including a decoder. The decoder decodes the input digital signal and outputs the resulting address number, message and so forth. The controller compares the decoded address number and an address number assigned to the pager and stored in an address memory beforehand. If the two address numbers compare equal, the controller alerts the user of the pager to the incoming call.
It is optimal that the reference voltages delimiting the signal conversion range of the ADC be matched to the maximum variation range of the demodulated voltage. However, when the demodulation characteristic of the demodulator noticeably depends on temperature, it is necessary to broaden the signal conversion range of the ADC. A broader ADC conversion range directly translates into a lower ADC resolution and therefore into a greater ADC error. As a result, the output digital signal is more susceptible to noise and other undesirable factors. Further, the relation between the signal conversion range of the ADC and the demodulated voltage, e.g., its center voltage depends on temperature. It is therefore likely that despite that the demodulator receives IF signals identical in content or data, the ADC outputs digital signals different in content.

Radio pager having correcting circuit responsive to temperature variation


An amplifier includes a first pair of transistors (the first pair) that defines a first output, each transistor of the first pair having a gate coupled to a first input terminal; a second pair of transistors (the second pair) that defines a second output, each transistor of the second pair having a gate coupled to a second input terminal; a first capacitor coupled to the second output terminal and to the gate of a first transistor of the first pair; a second capacitor coupled to the second output terminal and to the gate of a second transistor of the first pair; a third capacitor coupled to the first output terminal and to the gate of a third transistor of the second pair; and a fourth capacitor coupled to the first output terminal and to the gate of a fourth transistor of the second pair.

A radio frequency (RF) amplifier is a device used to amplify RF signals in several applications, for example wireless receiver applications. The RF amplifier is coupled between an input circuit, for example a low noise amplifier (LNA), and a mixer to prevent the mixer from loading the LNA.
An exemplary RF amplifier 100, hereinafter referred to as the amplifier 100, is illustrated in FIG. 1 (Prior Art). An output (Vin+ and Vin−) of the LNA is coupled to gates of a transistor 105, a transistor 110, a transistor 115, and a transistor 120 through capacitors, for example a capacitor 125 (Cac), a capacitor 130 (Cac), a capacitor 135 (Cac), and a capacitor 140 (Cac), respectively. In order to prevent the amplifier 100 from loading the LNA and degrading quality factor, the amplifier 100 requires a specific input resistance. Equation (1) illustrates the input resistance of the amplifier 100.
                    Rin        =                  real                                [                          1                                                (                                      1                    +                                          gm                      ×                      Zo                                                        )                                ×                s                ×                Cp                                      ]                                              (        1        )            where gm is transconductance of the amplifier 100, Zo is impedance of a load 145, s represents complex frequency and can be determined as s=j*2*pi*f, where f is frequency, and Cp (Cpp+Cpn) is equivalent parasitic capacitance of either the transistor 105 and the transistor 110 or the transistor 115 and the transistor 120.
The parasitic capacitances of the transistor 105 and the transistor 110 are represented as a parasitic capacitor 150 (Cpp) and a parasitic capacitor 155 (Cpn). The parasitic capacitances of the transistor 115 and the transistor 120 are represented as a parasitic capacitor 160 (Cpp) and a parasitic capacitor 165 (Cpn). The parasitic capacitance degrades the input resistance of the amplifier 100 in presence of the load 145. The input resistance of the amplifier 100 also gets degraded when a phase delay from an input (Vin+ and Vin−) to an output (Vo+ and Vo−) deviates by 180 degrees. The degradation in the input resistance loads the LNA and affects gain, frequency selectivity and noise performance of the LNA.
In light of the foregoing discussion, there is a need to prevent loading of the LNA. Further, there is also a need to maintain a common mode voltage associated with the output of the amplifier 100 within a desired range to improve linearity.

Amplifier with improved input resistance and controlled common mode


An active clamp circuit for electronic components includes two sets of diode connected transistors that are inversely connected in parallel across an output of the component for providing both positive and negative differential conducting paths. The diode connected transistors cooperatively operate to limit a differential output voltage between the positive and negative conducting paths. An emitter follower buffer includes the clamp circuit and is configured to limit RF energy incident to an analog to digital converter (ADC). The emitter follower buffer includes two input transistors having their emitters each connected to at least one diode connected transistor connected to the clamp circuit. A receiver includes the differential amplifier and an analog to digital converter. A method for limiting the energy of analog signals in the receiver includes the step of operating the clamp circuit to limit the analog signals transmitted to the analog to digital converter (ADC).

Analog to digital converters (ADC's) are used in various electronic systems for converting analog signals to corresponding digital signals. An analog signal is any variable signal continuous in both time and amplitude, whereas a digital signal is represented by a series of data bits such as logical "0" and "1". With analog signals, small fluctuations in the signal can imply meaning, but they may also be simply noise. With repeated transmission, duplication and processing noise elements can inadvertently become dominant. Translation of the analog signal to a digital signal can achieve both high fidelity and perfect reproduction capability and, as such, is often highly desirable.
One type of analog to digital converter (ADC) called a delta-sigma ADC (also known as a sigma-delta ADC) subtracts a feedback signal from the analog input signal to provide an error signal. The error signal is then quantified and filtered to form a digital output signal.
High-resolution analog to digital converters (ADC) are used in radar, missile and communication systems. For example, in receivers for radar systems, RF signals are downconverted to an intermediate frequency (IF), which are then fed into an analog to digital converter (ADC) for conversion into digital signals.
One problem with analog to digital converters (ADCs) is that large input signals can cause oscillation, or limit cycling, in the digital output signals, which can shut down the entire system. For example, in a radar receiver, large input signals (e.g., co-channel interference, large main bang leakage due to mistimed bases, or bright close range targets with improper gain control) can cause the analog to digital converter (ADC) to oscillate. The analog to digital converter (ADC) can remain in this state (i.e., oscillation of the digital output signals) indefinitely, or until another strong input signal initiates a normal operational state.
In order to alleviate oscillation, gain control circuits can be used to detect and process signals that are outside of an acceptable signal strength. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,088,794 to Nichols, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,191,725 to Lavoie disclose radar systems having gain control circuits. Another approach to this problem involves changing the architecture of the analog to digital converter (ADC) to suppress limit cycles.
Unfortunately neither of these approaches has achieved completely satisfactory results. A particular shortcoming is a significant degradation in receiver dynamic range.
Hence there is a need for a circuit that overcomes one or more of the technical problems as stated above.

Active clamp circuit for electronic components


A wire clamp for protecting a wire in a reciprocating machine includes an upper clamping member and a lower clamping member configured for slidably sandwiching the wire therebetween. The upper clamping member or the lower clamping member is pivotably mounted to the reciprocating machine. When the wire bends to travel during reciprocating movement, the upper and lower clamping members are pivoted with the wire to prevent the wire from being sharply bent which leads to stress concentration. Thus, fatigue of the wire will be reduced and a life span of the wire will be prolonged.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wire clamps, and particularly to a wire clamp for protecting a wire in a machine which performs a reciprocating motion.
2. Description of Related Art
A reciprocating machine, such as a punch, a lock seaming machine and etc, has a moving part which performs a reciprocating motion. Wires, such as electrical wires, data wires and etc, are connected to the moving part with their corresponding ends. The other end of each wire passes through a hole of a chassis of the machine to be connected with a power source or a controller. The wires are generally directly clamped at the hole. However, a clamped portion of each wire is sharply bent frequently and stressed when the wires moves together with the moving part of the machine. Thus, the wires are easily fatigued and even broken.
What is desired, therefore, is a wire clamp for protecting a wire in a reciprocating machine.

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.


An image-processing device and method for enhancing the luminance and the image quality of display panels, the device and method includes a color distribution calculating unit which classifies the original image-color data, and then calculates the ratio of the color data in block B2 to all input image-color data. A control-variable generating unit determines the value of the converting-control variable and the value of the backlight luminance-control variable according to the ratio. The converting-control variable will be output to a numerical converting unit so as to convert the original image-color (RGB) data to the new image-color (R′G′B′W′) data. The backlight luminance-control variable will be output to a backlight luminance-control unit so as to control the backlight luminance.

In recent years, pixels of some panels are composed of four sub-pixels. There are red (R), green (G), blue (B), and white (W) sub-pixels. This RGBW color system can improve the optical efficiency of liquid-crystal displays, where the sub-pixels are arranged as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,929,843 proposed an RGB-to-RGBW image-data converting and processing method as shown in FIG. 3 where R, G, and B are inputs of the image color, and R′, G′, B′ and W′ are outputs of the image color, and a minimum-value extractor 11 that chooses the value W′ for white light to emit. The algorithm is as follows:
R′=R
G′=G
B′=B
W′=min(R, G, B)
Because image colors red (R), green (G), and blue (B) can be enhanced by the white sub-pixel at the same time, the image luminance can be enhanced by way of the above algorithm. However, the drawback of the algorithm is that the hue and saturation of the original image cannot be preserved. This is caused by the same increment of image colors red (R), green (G), and blue (B), which results in the possibility of changing the ratio of the original image colors red (R), green (G), and blue (B). The change can be understood by the following equation:R:G: B≠(R′+W′):(G′+W′): (B′+W′)
Consequently, the hue and saturation of the image are changed resulting from the ratio of the image colors red (R), green (G), and blue (B) changed. The schematic diagram for color space is shown in FIG. 4. For the convenience of comparison, all schematic diagrams for color space are expressed as two dimensions (G) and (R). In FIG. 4, point A represents the original image color (RGB) while point A′ represents the resultant image color (R′G′B′) after the processing according to the algorithm. By observing FIG. 4, the path for converting point A to point A′ does not pass through the original point, although the method proposed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,929,843 enhancing the luminance whereas the hue and saturation of the original image cannot be preserved.
For improving the drawback that although the method proposed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,929,843 enhancing the luminance whereas the hue and saturation of the original image cannot be preserved, U.S. Pat. No. 6,724,934 proposed a new RGB-to-RGBW image-data numerical converting and processing method.
The method used by U.S. Pat. No. 6,724,934 is that classifying in advance according to the numerical relation among red (R), green (G), and blue (B) data of the image pixel. If the data are classified in block B1, as shown in FIG. 5, thenW′=min(2×R,2×G,2×B)
R′=2×R−W′
G′=2×G−W′
B′=2×B−W′
In FIG. 5, point A represents the original image color (RGB) while point A′ represents the resultant image color (R′G′B′) after the processing according to the algorithm. Converting from point A to point A′ not only increases luminance double but also preserves hues and saturation of original colors. This is due to R:G:B=(R′+W′): (G′+W′): (B′+W′).
However, if the data are classified in block B2, as shown in FIG. 6, after the numerical relation among red (R), green (G), and blue (B) data of the image pixel is classified, thens=1+{min(R,G,B)/[max(R,G,B)−min(R,G,B)]}
W′=min(s×R, s×G, s×B)
R′=s×R−W′
G′=s×G−W′
B′=s×B−W′
In FIG. 6, point B represents the original image color (RGB) while point B′ represents the resultant image color (R′G′B′) after the processing according to the algorithm. Converting from point B to point B′ not only increases luminance s-times but also preserves hues and saturation of original colors. This is due to R:G:B=(R′+W′):(G′+W′):(B′+W′).
Nevertheless, although the method proposed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,724,934 not only increases luminance but also preserves hues and saturation of original colors, the drawback of this algorithm is that the extents of increasing luminance for image colors (RGB) in block B1 and block B2 are different. The extent of increasing luminance for image color in block B1 is 2 while the extent of increasing luminance for image color in block B2 is s (wherein 2≧s≧1). Especially for those high-luminance and high-saturation images in block B2, of which the extents of increasing luminance are quite different from the extent of increasing luminance for image color in block B1. Because the extents of increasing luminance for those high-luminance and high-saturation images in block B2 approximate to 1 whereas the extent of increasing luminance for image color in block B1 is 2. This results in a too large variation of the simultaneous contrast, and the quality and effect of the image display are degraded. Especially when those images display high-luminance, high-saturation colors, and high-luminance but tend to white color at the same time, the whole image quality is mostly degraded.
Aim to the aforementioned drawbacks, the Samsung Company proposed a paper named 'Implementation of RGBW Color System in TFT-LCDs' in the SID2004 conference. The paper depicted an RGB-to-RGBW image-data numerical converting and processing algorithm of Adaptive White Scaling (AWS).
Please refer to FIG. 7, at the same time of inputting the original image color (RGB), a prescribed luminance-enhancement gain w will be sent to the color distortion analyzer 22. The color distortion analyzer 22 will calculate the color-distortion value e for the image before and after the luminance enhancement according to the inputted original image color (RGB) data and the luminance-enhancement gain w. If the calculated color-distortion value e is greater than the critical value, the w controller 23 will lower the luminance-enhancement gain w, and a new luminance-enhancement gain w will be sent to the color distortion analyzer 22 to recount the color-distortion value e. Based on this loop, the process will continue until the color-distortion value e is smaller than the critical value. The luminance-enhancement gain w is sent to the RGBW converter 21 at this time.
Accordingly, different images have different luminance-enhancement gains w so as to control the color-distortion value e before and after the luminance enhancement for different images to be lower than the critical value, and to restrain the phenomenon of too large variation of the simultaneous contrast before and after the luminance enhancement for some images.
However, the algorithm depicted in the paper has drawbacks as follows:                1. It is necessary to calculate the color-distortion value e before and after the luminance enhancement repeatedly so as to obtain the best luminance-enhancement gain w for the input image data (RGB). The method will spend complicated and much investment of hardware and image calculation.        2. For reducing the color-distortion value e before and after the luminance enhancement, and improving the phenomenon of too large variation of the simultaneous contrast before and after the luminance enhancement, the Adaptive White Scaling (AWS) algorithm is achieved by decreasing the luminance-enhancement gains w. In other words, although the quality of image display contrast is remedied, the effect of luminance enhancement needed by the system cannot be retained. Please refer to FIG. 8, which shows the color space that is displayed when the luminance-enhancement gain w is 2 (w=2). For reducing the color-distortion value e before and after the luminance enhancement, the luminance-enhancement gain w is decreased (as shown in FIG. 9). Even when those images display high-luminance and high-saturation colors and high-luminance but tend to white color, for the purpose of restraining the phenomenon of too large variation of the simultaneous contrast after the luminance enhancement for images, the luminance-enhancement gain w is obligated to be decreased to 1 approximately (as shown in FIG. 10). As a result, the effect of enhancing the color luminance of whole image is almost lost, and it is not able to achieve the goals of increasing luminance, preserving hues and saturation of colors, and preserving the image-contrast quality concurrently.

Image-processing device and method for enhancing the luminance and the image quality of display panels


The invention provides an aluminum alloy material consisting essentially of, by weight percent, 1% to 1.8% Cu, 0.8% to 1.4% Mg, 0.2% to 0.39% Si, 0.5% to 0.4% Fe, 0.05% to 0.40% Mn, with the balance aluminum with normal impurities. The alloy forms two precipitation phases during heat treatment and age hardening: a beta phase of Mg.sub.2 Si and an S' phase of Al.sub.2 CuMg. The alloy has improved formability without significant sacrifice of strength, and is particularly suited to be formed into automobile sheet metal parts such as hood lids, trunks lids, and fenders.

Aluminum alloys are enjoying growing use as automobile parts and are rolled into sheets which may be stamped into hoods, trunk lids, doors, and fenders, and the like from the aluminum alloy sheet. At present, however, none of the existing aluminum alloys suitable for use in forming automobile panels and parts appears to satisfy the specifications of the various automotive companies, as the standards tend to differ from one company to the other. For example, one company's requirements may emphasize alloy strength (e.g., a yield strength in excess of 25 ksi), while other companies may prefer a softer alloy (e.g., a 15-18 ksi yield strength in the as delivered state), which has superior formability properties. Often, improvements in an alloy's formability decreases the ability of heat treatment of the alloy to improve its strength. As such, there exists a need for an alloy which may be formed easily into automotive body panels, but which has good age hardening properties so that when the alloy panels are heat treated, such as during the paint baking cycle, the strength of the alloy increases.
Various studies and previous attempts have been made to develop improved aluminum alloys which may be suitable for use in manufacturing automobile body panels, for example, and which have a composition displaying good age A hardening properties. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,958 (Komatsubara) discusses a T-4 tempered and straightened rolled sheet Al-Mg-Cu series aluminum alloy which according to the patentees contains from 1.5 to 5.5% by weight of magnesium and 0.18 to 1.5% by weight of copper as the essential alloying ingredients, in an effort to improve mechanical properties, formability, and to help avoid formation of Luder's marks. U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,932 (Park) appears to pertain to an alloy composition containing 0.4% to 1.2% Si, 0.5% to 1.3% Mg, 0.6% to 1.1% Cu, and 0.1% to 1% Mn. The patentee states that the alloy is responsive to high temperature artificial aging treatments.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,842 (Jeffrey et al.), the patentees discuss a method for producing Al-Mg-Si alloy sheets and articles. The patentees, however, do not attempt to create phases in an effort to improve the age hardening properties of the alloy.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,472 (Fister) proposes an aluminum alloy containing 0.9 to 1.5% magnesium, 0.4 to 0.8% silicon, and 0.9 to 1.5% copper, which purports to give the alloy high strength, extrudability, and weldability.
However, the foregoing alloys require very close control over the natural and artificial aging cycle if appropriate combinations of strength and formability are to be achieved. In practice it is important that the T4 strength be relatively low, and the natural aging rate be slow, so that good formability can be maintained over a long period of time. Subsequently the alloy needs to show a high precipitation hardening response during the paint bake cycle so that a high final strength in the formed, painted part can be achieved.


A remote computing system is described that includes at least one processor and at least one module. The at least one module is operable by the at least one processor to receive first operational data collected by a first line-replaceable-unit of a first aircraft during flight operations of the first aircraft, and receive second operational data collected by at least one second line-replaceable-unit of at least one second aircraft during flight operations of the at least one second aircraft. The at least one module is further operable by the at least one processor to predict, based at least in part on the first operational data and the second operational data, a failure condition associated with the first line-replaceable-unit of the first aircraft, and output, based on the impending failure condition, an indication of the predicted failure condition.

A line-replaceable-unit (LRU) is a modular component of an aircraft that is replaceable in the field or at an operating station (e.g., a hanger) that is otherwise remote from a manufacturing facility, a maintenance depot, or other maintenance location. Some LRUs perform operational fault testing and store the results as fault data in non-volatile memory that can later be retrieved by a technician for further analysis. Most fault data only provides an indication of whether the LRU passed a particular test, without much, if any contextual information about the LRU, at the time of the test. The fault data may only be retrievable from the non-volatile memory of some LRUs, by a technician, using specialized equipment either on board the aircraft (e.g., after a pilot complaint) or at a maintenance location (e.g., after the LRU has been removed from the aircraft). As such, LRU fault data is typically not easily obtainable and may only be of limited use in performing fault isolation without providing much insight into why a fault may have occurred.

Aircraft LRU data collection and reliability prediction


A sensor device, such as a biosensor, may comprise a polymer substrate, which is structured so as to form sets of microneedles and respective vias. The microneedles extend, each, from a base surface of the substrate. Each of the vias extends through a thickness of the substrate, thereby forming a corresponding set of apertures on the base surface. Each of the apertures is adjacent to a respective one of the microneedles. The device further may comprise two or more electrodes, these including a sensing electrode and a reference electrode. Each electrode may comprise an electrically conductive material layer that coats a region of the substrate, so as to coat at least some of the microneedles and neighboring portions of said base surface. Related devices, apparatuses, and methods of fabrication and use of such devices may be provided.

The present disclosure relates in general to the field of sensor devices, in particular biosensors, having microneedles and electrodes for probing a fluid, in particular a physiological fluid. It is further related to related methods of fabrication and operation.
A sensor is a device or a module used to detect events or changes in properties (e.g., chemical, physical) of the sensor or the environment of the sensor. The signals sensed are typically processed by electronics it includes or it connects to, e.g., remotely. As an important class of sensors, biosensors make it possible to obtain data about the physiological state of a person and, as such, enable a range of health and medical applications.
Being able to selectively detect biomarkers would make it possible to more efficiently reach useful information without resorting to heavy data manipulation. The current technology used in biosensors is trending towards sweat sensing. Sweat is indeed an interesting medium to probe. However, an inherent drawback of sweat is that it requires substantial physical activity to generate an adequate sample volume, unless sweat inducing drugs are relied on, which often is unsuitable.
Microneedle electrode arrays are known, which overcome this limitation by probing interstitial fluid. However, currently known devices are either painful to the end user, difficult to apply and/or inconvenient to wear for extended periods of time. In addition, the designs of such devices may not be suitable for mass-fabrication.
The paper "Development of Low Cost Rapid Fabrication of Sharp Polymer Microneedles for In Vivo Glucose Biosensing Applications" (C. Barrett, K. Dawson, C. O'Mahony and A. O'Riordan, ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology, 4 (10) S3053-S3058 (2015)) describes the fabrication of a minimally invasive transdermal sensor for direct in vivo detection of glucose in interstitial fluid, based on a dual molding technique using a PDMS polymer. However, the fabrication method described in this paper is perceived by the present Inventors as not being easily scalable. Moreover, the process used for pre-patterning the electrode materials is quite complex to implement in production.

Electrically functional polymer microneedle array

International Business Machines Corporation


A maximum voltage source selector adapted for use in a semiconductor device operative in a disable state or an enable state is disclosed. The maximum voltage source selector includes an output unit having an output node providing a maximum voltage selected from a first input voltage and a second input voltage. First and second gate transistors are commonly coupled to the output node and are respectively configured to select and provide the greater of the first and second input voltages to the output node in response to first and second selection signals without regard to whether the semiconductor device is in the disable state or the enable state. A selection unit generates the first and second selection signals in response to the first and second input voltages.

The present invention relates to electrical circuitry and more particularly a class of circuitry known as a maximum voltage source selector.
Many semiconductor devices require voltage source selectors to select and output one of multiple input voltages. Among the more general class of voltage source selectors, a maximum voltage source selector is a circuit that selects a high power supply voltage among a plurality of power supply voltages to ensure stable operation of the constituent semiconductor device. For example, a maximum voltage source selector may be used to stably operate a power supply gate of a voltage boost circuit, such as a DC-DC converter.
A maximum voltage source selector is commonly used in semiconductor devices incorporated within portable electronic devices. Thus, the maximum voltage source selector enables the semiconductor device to stably operate by selecting the higher power supply voltage between an externally provided power supply voltage and, for example, a battery power supply voltage. For ease of reference and consistent with conventional use, the higher power supply voltage provided by the maximum voltage source selector, however derived, will be referred to as a "maximum voltage" without any intent to somehow suggest a conceptual or mathematical maximum for the signal or the plurality of signals from which the maximum voltage is selected.
Conventional maximum voltage source selectors select and output a maximum voltage through a different power voltage signal path depending on whether the incorporating semiconductor device is in an enable or disable state. Unfortunately, this use of alternate power voltage signal paths increased the overall area occupied by the maximum voltage source selector.


A dynamic performance circuit adjustment system and method that flexibly adjusts the performance of a logic circuit. The dynamic performance circuit adjustment system and method facilitates flexible power conservation. In one exemplary implementation, a dynamic performance adjustment control circuit controls performance adjustments to a logic circuit (e.g., a processor) and adjusts support functions for the logic circuit. The logic circuit performs operational functions (e.g., processing) or tasks that have different performance requirements. For example, some tasks performed by the logic circuit are required to be performed in a relatively short duration of time and other tasks performed by logic circuit have relatively longer time limitations. The dynamic performance adjustment control circuit adjusts the clock frequency and voltage at which the logic circuit operates to a relatively greater frequency and voltage for tasks required to be performed in a shorter duration of time and adjusts the frequency and voltage at which the logic circuit operates to a relatively lower frequency and voltage for tasks with longer timing tolerances. The dynamic performance adjustment system and method includes provisions to manage a transition in performance and support functions in a manner that reduces the risk of spurious signals or “glitches.”

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of computer performance maximization. More particularly, the present invention relates to managing processor performance in a handheld computer with a flexible control system and method that is dynamically adaptable to achieve conservation of limited energy and power resources.
2. Related Art
Electronic systems and circuits have made a significant contribution towards the advancement of modern society and are utilized in a number of applications to achieve advantageous results. Numerous electronic technologies such as digital computers, calculators, audio devices, video equipment, and telephone systems facilitate increased productivity and cost reduction in analyzing and communicating data, ideas and trends in most areas of business, science, education and entertainment. Typically, electronic systems designed to produce these results consume power and energy resources for these devices, such as battery power sources in portable handheld devices (e.g., a palmtop computer), are often limited and expended quickly. Traditional attempts to conserve energy are typically limited and do not facilitate efficient energy conservation when power demands are greater than zero but less than a maximum.
Electronic systems typically perform a wide range of tasks with highly differentiated processing needs. Numerous processor based electronic systems operate at differing processing requirements or ranges. For example, a handheld computer (such as a Palm VII Connector Organizer) performing Personal Information Management (PIM) tasks may require a processor to operate at a level of one Million Instructions Per Second (MIPS), while running User Interface tasks and a radio communication protocol stack simultaneously may require a processor to operate at five to ten MIPS. Another example of differing processing levels is a V.90 modem that requires approximately twice as may comparable processing cycles per unit of time (e.g., per second) as a modem which implements a slower V.34 protocol.
Typically, an electronic systems maximum capacity is designed in accordance with the greatest task envisioned by the designers and support (e.g., clock speed, operating voltage, etc.) is continuously provided at maximized levels. This often results in significant inefficiencies. For example, a power supply and clock typically continue to provide a maximum voltage power signal and a maximum frequency clock signal to a processor even when the processor is capable of performing a task at a lower frequency and voltage level. Typically, the minimum frequency and power required to adequately perform many tasks is less than the maximum designed clock frequencies and voltage power levels but the electronic system continues to supply the maximum voltage power signal and maximum frequency clock signal. For example, when a V.90 capable modem is required to operate at less than its maximum speed (e.g., due to line conditions or compatibility with another modem) the maximum operational capacity to run V.90 is not utilized by the system but support (e.g., power supply levels) is nevertheless supplied at the maximum capacity level. Continuing to provide maximum power to a device operating at less than maximum capacity wastes limited energy resources.
Traditional attempts at electronic system power conservation are typically limited to times when no processing is required and often rely on bi-static techniques that are restricted to either turning on and off a clock or power supply. For example, some traditional processing systems attempt to conserve power by starting and stopping a processor's clock when the processor is not required to be actively processing. Thus, it is typical for such devices to switch between a standby mode wherein the processor does no processing and a fully supported mode at maximum rates, even when a lesser degree of processing capability is adequate. Electronic systems often operate with a wide range of changing power requirements and traditional power conservation techniques do not maximize energy saving opportunities for varying ranges of active processing. For example, in traditional electronic processing systems the power supply continuously supports operation at the maximum rate during active processing and does not allow the device to variably throttle power consumption when the processing demands are less than maximum but greater than zero.
Some traditional power conservation techniques attempt to increase the granularity of performance control in electronic systems in which functionality is partitioned between multiple devices, subsystems or co-processors. For example, a subsystem that is not activity processing may be halted while another continues to function. This approach is still limited and fundamentally bi-static in nature with regards to any particular subsystem or co-process, the power supply continuously supports operation of the particular subsystem or coprocessor at the maximum rate and does not allow the device to variably throttle power consumption when the processing demands on the particular subsystem or co-processor are less than maximum but greater than zero. In addition, these traditional attempts compound inefficiencies by requiring extra hardware to implement each of the multiple subsystems.
As the components required to build an electronic system have reduced in size, new categories of systems have emerged. For example, one new category of computer systems is the hand held or "palmtop" computer system. A palmtop computer system is a computer that is small enough to be held in the hand of a user and can be "palm-sized." Most palmtop computer systems are used to implement various Personal Information Management (PIM) applications such as an address book, a daily organizer and electronic notepads, to name a few. One of the primary advantages of a palmtop computer is mobility and the power source often comprises a relatively small internal battery with a limited life and ability to supply energy. Inefficient power consumption often has significant adverse affects on the ease of use and the battery life of handheld computers.
Another issue is ease of use or the degree of user intervention required to manage power conservation or adjust processing performance. Requiring a user to manually adjust (e.g., turn on or off) a power consuming circuit, for example through the graphical user interface or the buttons of the handheld computer, is typically less preferable to automatically adjusting processing performance and controlling energy expenditure. Further, requiring a user to manually control a circuit (e.g., turning off a modem) may pose problems if the user forgets or does not readjust the controls (e.g., turn the modem on) at the appropriate time (e.g., when a communication is sent to the user).
What is required is a system and method that dynamically adjusts performance of a processor. The system and method should be flexibly adaptable to various performance capabilities between a maximum performance level and a minimum performance level. The system and method should provide relative power conservation while permitting processing to be performed.

Dynamic performance adjustment of computation means


A coating film processing method is used for processing a coating film formed on a surface of a substrate to prepare for an immersion light exposure process arranged to perform light exposure through a liquid. The method includes supplying a solvent-containing liquid comprising a combination of a solvent and a solvent-ability decreasing agent for decreasing solvent ability, or a diluted solvent, onto an edge portion of the coating film, thereby performing edge portion cutting; and supplying a cleaning liquid onto the edge portion of the coating film, thereby performing edge portion cleaning, subsequently to the edge portion cutting.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coating film processing method and coating film processing apparatus for processing a coating film formed on the surface of a substrate, such as a semiconductor substrate, to prepare for an immersion light exposure process arranged to perform light exposure through a liquid.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the process of manufacturing semiconductor devices, photolithography techniques are used for forming circuit patterns on semiconductor wafers. Where a circuit pattern is formed by use of photolithography, the process steps are performed, as follows. Specifically, a resist liquid is first applied to a semiconductor wafer to form a resist film. Then, the resist film is irradiated with light to perform light exposure on the resist film in accordance with the circuit pattern. Then, the resist film is subjected to a developing process.
In recent years, the integration degree of semiconductor devices becomes increasingly higher to improve the operation speed and so forth. Accordingly, photolithography techniques are required to increase the miniaturization level of circuit patterns formed on semiconductor wafers. As a photolithography technique for realizing a high resolution of a 45-nm node level, there has been proposed the following immersion light exposure (for example, see U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2006/0231206 A1). In this immersion light exposure, a liquid, such as purified water, having a refractive index higher than air is supplied between the semiconductor wafer and light exposure projection lens. The wavelength of light radiated from the projection lens is shortened by means of the refractive index of the liquid, so that the line width obtained by the light exposure is decreased.
In the immersion light exposure, a resist film is sometimes covered with a liquid repellent protection film formed thereon to prevent the liquid from being impregnated into the resist film and to prevent resist components from being dissolved into the liquid. Further, for example, an anti-reflective coating is sometimes disposed below the resist film. In general, where a film, such as a resist film, is formed on the wafer surface, a coating liquid is first applied to form a coating film, and a solvent is then supplied onto the edge portion to perform an edge-cutting process. During this edge-cutting process, process defects, such as sags, disorders, and/or humps, can be easily generated. Where films are stacked one on the other on the wafer surface, as described above, process defects can be more easily generated at the edge portion.
If process defects are generated at the edge portion, when the liquid immersion head of an immersion light exposure apparatus is traveling across the wafer edge portion, stresses are applied to the edges (end faces) of films formed on the wafer, thereby causing film peeling. This film peeling may produce deposits on the wafer surface and generate development defects, and/or may contaminate the lens of the immersion light exposure apparatus.
In order to solve these problems, cleaning may be performed on the edge portion of a coating film to prevent film peeling, after the coating film formation and edge-cutting and before the immersion light exposure. In this case, however, the apparatus structure and process steps are complicated, because the edge-cutting is followed by a soft baking process, in general.

Coating film processing method and apparatus


In the excimer lamp according to the present invention, a flat discharge vessel having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape and comprising a pair of planar parts and a pair of side-surface parts has a pair of external electrodes disposed on the respective outer surfaces of the planar parts. The end parts of the external electrodes are provided with an auxiliary electrode extending to a region that is made smaller than the distance between the planar parts. A lead that supplies electricity to the external electrode is connected to the auxiliary electrode in the region that is made smaller than the distance between the planar parts.

Excimer lamps can radiate ultraviolet, in particular, ultraviolet having shorter wavelengths and are therefore used in semiconductor production processes, liquid crystal production processes, ozone generators, and so on.
One example of such excimer lamps is described in JP-A-2013-098015 (Patent Document 1).
Such an excimer lamp 21 is illustrated in FIG. 5. A discharge vessel 22 has a flat quadrilateral cross section as a whole. External electrodes 24 are provided on opposite outer surfaces of plane face parts 23 of the discharge vessel 22, and these external electrodes 24 are connected to a high-frequency power supply (not shown).
For this discharge vessel 22, for example, a material having excellent UV transmission characteristics of 200 nm or less, for example, silica glass such as synthetic quartz glass or sapphire glass is used.
The discharge vessel 22 contains therein as a light emitting gas a rare gas such as xenon gas or krypton gas, or a mixed gas containing a rare gas and a halogen gas such as chloride, depending on the wavelength of the light to be used.
Lamp bases 30, 30 are attached to both ends of the discharge vessel 22 for fixing the excimer lamp 21 to a light irradiation device.
The structure of this excimer lamp 21 is shown in JP-A-2013-149546 (Patent Document 2), for example, and FIG. 6 illustrates the specific structure of this excimer lamp 21.
A discharge vessel 22 includes a glass tube 221 having a flat quadrilateral cross section, and a sealing member 222 inserted and welded to both ends of the glass tube. An exhaust tube 223 is provided to the sealing member 222. The sealing member 222 is inserted slightly inward from an end portion of the glass tube 221 so that the end portion of the glass tube 221 forms a skirt part 224 that protrudes out beyond the sealing member 222.
In the prior art described in Patent Document 2, a solid electrode 25 is provided at an end portion of an external electrode 24, and a lead 26 that supplies power to the external electrode 24 is connected to this solid electrode 25 by welding with glass solder 27 or the like.
The lamp base 30 is attached so as to cover an end portion of the discharge vessel 22 as illustrated in FIG. 6(B).
These excimer lamps are used for various purposes as mentioned above; however, an excimer lamp that is applied for the process of a flowing gas, for example an ozone generator, is disposed such that its lengthwise direction is along the flow direction of a gas to be processed, and the lamp irradiates the gas with vacuum ultraviolet.
In such a case, there is a problem as follows: the gas to be processed forms eddies in behind (downstream of) the lamp base 30 as illustrated in FIG. 7, a turbulent flow is generated in the gas, so that a smooth flow along the discharge vessel 22 of the excimer lamp 21 cannot be formed and an efficient process cannot be performed.
The lead 26 for power supply is connected by welding with the glass solder 27 on the (solid electrode 25 of the) external electrode 24 as illustrated in FIG. 6, and the weld portion (solder) 27 protrudes from the outer surface in the thickness direction of the discharge vessel 22 (thickness direction between the external electrodes). This makes the thickness of the lamp base 30 be much larger than that of the discharge vessel 22, which furthermore causes a defect.
Vacuum ultraviolet emitted from the excimer lamp travels a short distance in a gas, and attenuates as it is absorbed by the surrounding gas. Even in cases where the excimer lamp is used as the light source for directly irradiating an object to be processed other than gasses to be processed with vacuum ultraviolet, the lamp base has a significantly larger thickness than that of the lamp. Accordingly, the excimer lamp cannot be disposed closely to the object to be processed, and such a situation causes a defect such that effective ultraviolet irradiation cannot be performed.


A hybrid electric propulsion system includes a gas turbine engine having a low speed spool and a high speed spool. The low speed spool includes a low pressure compressor and a low pressure turbine, and the high speed spool includes a high pressure compressor and a high pressure turbine. The hybrid electric propulsion system also includes an energy storage system, an electric motor configured to augment rotational power of the high speed spool, and a controller. The controller is operable to detect a start condition of the gas turbine engine, control power delivery from the energy storage system to the electric motor based on detecting the start condition, and provide a compressor stall margin using a power-assist provided by the electric motor to the high speed spool over a targeted speed range during starting of the gas turbine engine.

The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to rotating machinery and, more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for aircraft engine power-assist start stability control.
Gas turbine engines typically include multiple spools with a compressor section and a turbine section on opposite sides of a combustor section in an engine core. As an example, in a two-spool design, fuel in air that has been compressed by a low pressure compressor (LPC) followed by a high pressure compressor (HPC) of the compressor section is combusted. The combustion takes place in the combustor section to create heated gases with increased pressure and density. The heated gases are used to rotate a high pressure turbine (HPT) followed by a low pressure turbine (LPT) in the turbine section that are used to produce thrust or power. Air flows through the compressor and turbine sections differ at various operating conditions of an engine, with more air flow being required at higher output levels and vice versa. To maintain compressor stability, engine bleeds are typically used to extract engine bleed air; however, the use of engine bleeds can detract from performance and efficiency of an engine.
Some engine bleeds, such as stability bleeds or start bleeds, are primarily used during engine starting to increase HPC stall margin as the high speed rotor of the engine increases in speed. Air extracted from stability bleeds is typically dumped overboard and requires dedicated ports, valves, ducting, and the like. Stability bleeds can result in surplus HPC stall margin at some operating speeds, which can result in reduced operating efficiency.

Aircraft engine power-assist start stability control


The present invention provides a sheet aligning apparatus which comprises a containing tray for containing sheets, a sheet storing device disposed above a sheet bundle contained in the containing tray and revolved between a first position to store the sheets in the sheet storing device and a second position to shift the stored sheets to the containing tray by the sheet storing device, and a posture maintaining device for rotating the sheet storing device when the sheet storing device is revolved, so that a posture of the sheet storing device in the first position becomes substantially the same as that in the second position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet aligning apparatus for aligning sheets, and more particularly, it relates to a sheet aligning apparatus for aligning stacked sheets to form an aligned sheet bundle to be conveyed to a bookbinding apparatus, and a bookbinding apparatus having such a sheet aligning apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
In the past, a plurality of sheet aligning apparatuses were provided so that sheets are introduced into one of the sheet aligning apparatus while a sheet bundle is being discharged from the other sheet aligning apparatus. In this way, by using the sheet aligning apparatuses alternately, the continuous sheet supply was permitted.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B, there has been proposed a sheet aligning apparatus having stop fingers 305 acting as a temporary shorting means. In this aligning apparatus, each of the stop fingers 305 is formed from a plate member having an L-shaped cross-section and includes a sheet abutment portion 305a and a bottom portion or sheet dip portion 305b. Further, each stop finger is fixedly mounted on a drive shaft 305c so that the stop finger can selectively be shifted between a storing position where a sheet is guided to the dip portion 305b to abut the sheet against the abutment portion 305a and a retract position where the dip portion is spaced apart from a sheet convey surface. In addition, the stop fingers can be rotated from the storing position in an anti-clockwise direction to discharge the sheets stored on the stop fingers 305 onto a containing tray.
Incidentally, in FIGS. 18A and 18B, the reference numeral 306 denotes a paddle (sheet aligning means which can be rotated to afford an advancing force to the sheet, thereby aligning the sheet in a sheet conveying direction; 307 denotes an aligning means for aligning the sheets (sheet bundle) in a width-wise direction of the sheet and having a fixed reference plate 307a and a movable plate 307b shiftable in directions shown by the double-headed arrow to align the sheets; 309a and 309b denote sheet tip end abutment members shiftable between a protruded position where a tip end of the sheet abuts against the abutment members and a retract position where the sheet or the sheet bundle is not prevented from being conveyed from the containing tray; 310 denotes the above-mentioned containing tray; 311a, 311b and 311c denote inlet sheet upper guides; 313 denotes an inlet sheet lower guide; and 339 denotes a pair of convey rollers for conveying the sheet or the sheet bundle into the aligning apparatus.
The sheets successively conveyed into the aligning apparatus by means of the pair of convey rollers 339 are supplied onto the containing tray 310 while being guided by the inlet sheet upper guides 311a, 311b, 311c and the inlet sheet lower guide 313 in the vicinity of a sheet inlet, and then are urged against the fixed reference plate 307a and the tip end abutment members 309a, 309b by the movements of the sheet aligning means 306 and the movable plate 307b of the aligning means 307, thereby aligning the sheets.
The sheet bundle aligned by the sheet aligning apparatus is conveyed, by the convey means, from the containing tray 310 to a sheet post-treatment means for performing post-treatment (for example, stapling). In this case, the tip end abutment members 309a, 309b are shifted to the retract position so as not to interfere with the conveyance of the sheet bundle, and tip ends of the dip portions 305 of the stop fingers 305 are urged against an upper surface of the sheet bundle to be conveyed. In this condition, the next sheets (for a next sheet bundle) conveyed from the pair of convey rollers 339 are guided by the dip portions 305b of the stop fingers 305 and are urged against the abutment portions 305a, thereby storing the next sheets. After the previously aligned sheet bundle was conveyed by the convey means, the tip end abutment members 309a, 309b are returned to the protruded position, and, at the same time, the stop fingers 305 are rotated in the anti-clockwise direction by the drive shaft 305c, thereby dropping the next sheet bundle temporarily stored on the stop fingers 305 onto the containing tray 310.
However, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, after the sheets are stored temporarily by the stop fingers 305, when the sheets are transferred to the containing tray 310 by the rotation of the stop fingers 305, since the sheets are freely dropped from the stop fingers 305, if any air enters between the sheets during the dropping of the sheets onto the containing tray, the aligned sheets may be disordered. Although the disorder of an uppermost sheet can be corrected by abutting the uppermost sheet against the tip end abutment members 309a, 309b by the rotation of the aligning paddle 306 and the lateral disorder of the sheet bundle can be corrected by abutting the sheet bundle against the fixed reference plate 307a by the movement of the movable plate 307b, the other disordered conditions cannot be corrected in the above-mentioned sheet aligning apparatus. Thus, if the sheet bundle is conveyed to the stapling means (post-treatment means) in the disordered condition, the poor bookbinding will occur.
Further, since the stop fingers 305 are rotated around the drive shaft 305c, in dependence upon a thickness of a single sheet bundle, an angle between the top surface of the sheet bundle and the dip portions 305b of the stop fingers 305 is varied, with the result that a gap is created between the dip portions 305b and the sheet bundle, which may lead to incorrect storing of the next sheets. To avoid this, it is considered that various kinds of stop fingers are prepared and the stop fingers are changed in accordance with the thickness of the sheet bundle. However, in this method, the operation for replacing the stop fingers is troublesome, and since various kinds of stop fingers must always be prepared, the entire apparatus is made to be more expensive.


Embodiments relate to a display device for enhancing image quality. The disclosed display device includes: a display panel configured to display an image; a Poly-Vinyl Acetate (PVA) layer configured to linearly polarize external light; and a Quarter Wave Plate (QWP) configured to circularly polarize light where the QWP has an in-plane retardation value of below 140 nm.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present application relates to a display device adapted to enhance image quality.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, display devices have been developed to be thinner, lighter, and more portable, and to have a high performance. Flat panel display devices are receiving attention in the display field due to their reduced weight and volume compared to bulky cathode ray tubes (CRTs). The flat panel display devices include OLED (organic light-emitting display) devices which display images by controlling the amount of light emitted from an organic light emission layer.
The OLED devices are self-illuminating display devices employing a light emission layer between electrodes. As such, the OLED devices do not require a back light unit or the like contrary to liquid crystal display devices. Therefore, the OLED devices can be made thinner.
Such OLED devices display images using a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix shape and each configured with 3 colored (i.e., red, green and blue) sub-pixels. Each sub-pixel includes an organic light emission cell and a cell driver independently driving the organic light emission cell.
The cell driver is configured with at least two thin film transistors and a storage capacitor which are connected between a gate line, a data line and a power supply line, in order to drive a pixel electrode of the organic light emission cell. The gate line is used to transfer a scan signal. The data line is used to transfer an image data signal. The power supply line is used to transfer a common voltage signal.
The organic light emission cell includes the pixel electrode connected to the cell driver, an organic layer disposed on the pixel electrode, and a cathode electrode disposed on the organic layer. As such, the OLED device includes an upper substrate and a lower substrate on which the thin film transistors and the organic light emission cells are formed.
The OLED device further includes a polarizing film. The polarizing film shields external light and enhances visibility of the OLED device. The polarizing film includes a poly-vinyl-alcohol (PVA) layer linearly polarizing light, a quarter wave plate (QWP) circularly polarizing light, and upper and lower tri-acetyl cellulose (TAC) layers disposed on upper and lower surfaces of the PVA layer.
Generally, a color shift phenomenon which forces a blue color to be visibly recognized is often observed in an OLED device. Such phenomenon is caused by retardation of the lower TAC layer and a spectral distribution property of the QWP. As a result, image quality of the OLED device is degraded.


The present invention relates to the field of pesticides. Disclosed are a pyrazole amide compound and an application thereof, and a fungicide. The pyrazole amide compound has a structure as represented by Formula (1). The pyrazole amide compound provided by the present invention has significant control effects on soybean rust, corn rust, wheat powdery mildew, cucumber powdery mildew, and rice sheath blight even at low concentration.

The fungicide targeting succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) is currently one of the most important fungicide varieties, succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicides fulfill the purpose of preventing and treating crop diseases by inhibiting the SDH activity of the pathogenic bacteria and then causing pathogenic bacteria death.
Because of the novel action mechanism and no cross resistance with other fungicides sold on the market, SDHI fungicides have become a research hot spot of many leading pesticide companies around the world.
Among the SDHI fungicides, pyrazole-carboxamide derivatives account for the majority of all inhibitors; and because of the broad-spectrum property and high fungicidal activity in the prevention and treatment of various crop diseases in agricultural production, pyrazole amide compound is the most widely studied class of succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors.
For example, the Chinese patent documents CN1226244A and CN101056858A disclose general formula of pyrazole amide compounds used as fungicides respectively, and specifically disclose certain pyrazole amide compounds containing diphenyl ether structure in the examples.
Furthermore, CN1226244A discloses two pyrazole amide compounds 12 and 21 containing diphenyl ether structure as follows:

CN101056858A discloses the structure of pyrazole amide derivatives containing oxime-substituted diphenyl ether fragment.

As another example, the Chinese patent document CN104557709A discloses two compounds having the following structural features.

Soybean rust, corn rust, wheat powdery mildew, cucumber powdery mildew and rice sheath blight are serious crop diseases endangering agricultural production; although the commercial pyrazole amide SDHIs have fungicidal activity on one or more of the above crop diseases, the pyrazole amide SDHIs which can simultaneously prevent and treat these serious diseases at extremely low concentration have not been discovered.
For example, after biological activity tests, all compounds disclosed in CN1226244A, CN101056858A and CN104557709A have desirable fungicidal activities in the prevention and treatment of soybean rust, corn rust, wheat powdery mildew, cucumber powdery mildew or rice sheath blight at high concentration. When the concentration is reduced, the fungicidal activity of said compounds disclosed in the prior art is poor. However, the application of pesticide at high concentration may increase cost and cause significant safety issue.

Pyrazole amide compound and application thereof, and fungicide

Shandong United Pesticide Industry Co. Ltd.


The invention relates to a bump structure of a semiconductor device. An exemplary structure for a semiconductor device comprises a substrate; a contact pad over the substrate; a passivation layer extending over the substrate and having an opening with a first width over the contact pad; a conductive via within the opening; and a conductive pillar having a second width completely covering the conductive via, wherein a ratio of the first width to the second width is from about 0.15 to 0.55.

Modern integrated circuits (ICs) are made up of literally millions of active devices, such as diodes and transistors, and passive devices, such as inductors, capacitors and resistors. These devices are initially isolated from each other, but are later interconnected together to form functional circuits. Typical interconnect structures include lateral interconnections, such as metal lines (wirings), and vertical interconnections, such as vias and contacts. Interconnections are increasingly determining the limits of performance and the density of modern ICs. On top of the interconnect structures, contact pads are formed on the interconnect structures and exposed on top surface of the respective chip for IC package. Electrical connections are made through contact pads to connect the chip to a package substrate or another die. Contact pads can be used for wire bonding or flip-chip bonding during IC packaging.
Flip-chip bonding utilizes bumps to establish electrical contact between a chip's contact pads and the package substrate. Structurally, a bump actually contains the bump itself and a so-called under bump metallurgy (UBM) layer located between the bump and a contact pad. An UBM layer generally comprises a diffusion barrier layer (or a glue layer) and a seed layer, arranged in that order, on the contact pad. The bumps themselves, based on the material used, are classified as solder bumps, gold bumps, copper pillar bumps and bumps with mixed metals. Recently, copper pillar bump technology has been proposed. Instead of using a solder bump, the electronic component is connected to a substrate by a copper pillar bump, which achieves finer pitch with minimum probability of bump bridging, reduces the capacitance load for the circuits, and allows the electronic component to perform at higher frequencies.
However, there are challenges to implementing such features and processes in IC fabrication. For example, delamination between an inter-metal dielectric (IMD) layer and an interconnect structure overlying the integrated circuits due to high stress from a copper pillar. Accordingly, what is needed is an improved bump structure and method of bump formation.

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.


A decode control apparatus for decoding encoded data and generating reverse playback image data is provided. The apparatus includes a unit for controlling the reading of the encoded data at a specified playback speed and a unit for generating, from the encoded data read under the control of the read control unit, a plurality of shortened encoded data groups. The apparatus also includes a unit for distributing the plurality of shortened encoded data groups among a plurality of decoders and a unit for generating the reverse playback image data responsive to the specified playback speed, based on decoding the plurality of shortened encoded data groups by the plurality of decoders.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a decode control apparatus, a decode control method, a computer program and a recording medium, appropriate for reverse playing back a moving picture that is encoded in accordance with moving picture experts group (MPEG) algorithm.
2. Description of the Related Art
MPEG algorithms are available as a method for compressing efficiently moving images. In accordance with the MPEG algorithm, each frame image is successively encoded (compressed) using frame correlation on a per GOP (group of picture) basis. The GOP is composed of a plurality of frames. Each frame is encoded (compressed) into images of one of an I picture, a P picture, and a B picture in accordance with the order within the GOP.
Here, the I picture is an intra-frame image that is encoded within a given frame, and the P picture is an inter-frame forward predictive encoded image that is obtained by predicting a current image based on a preceding I picture or a P picture. The B picture is a bi-directionally encoded picture that is obtained by predicting a current image based on one of the I picture and the P picture preceding in time and one of the I picture and the P picture subsequent in time.
In the discussion that follows, N represents the number of frames contained in 1 GOP, and M represents a period within which one of the I picture and the P picture appears. If the I picture (represented by "I"), the P picture (represented by "P"), and the B picture (represented by "B") are arranged in 1 GOP to be "I, B, B, P, B, B, P, B, B, P, B, B, P, B, B", N is 15, and M is 3.
Since the encoding (compression) process is performed using frame correlation on a per GOP unit basis in the MPEG method, reverse playback process using one MPEG decoder having ×1 speed throughput is subject to limitation. Hereinafter, the MPEG decoder is assumed to have 1× speed throughput. The reverse playback process refers to the operation in which a non-compressed video signal, namely, in a baseband signal state, is played back in a direction in time sequence opposite from the direction at which the video is taken (in the forward direction).
In one of available reverse playback methods, a moving image encoded in accordance with the MPEG algorithm is played back using a single MPEG decoder. In this method, only the I picture is decoded and played back. The reverse playback is possible, but a user is unable to specify a playback speed. The reverse playback operation results in an intermittently moving image rather than a naturally looking smoothly moving image.
In the MPEG algorithm, each frame image is encoded using frame correlation. To decode one of a first P picture and a first B picture other than an I picture, one of a P picture and a B picture, which are referenced to encode the first P picture and the first B picture, need to be decoded beforehand. As a result, a decoding process cannot be completed in time with a single MPEG decoder.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-175151 disclosed an MPEG decoding technique. According to the disclosure, an I picture and/or a P picture, required to decode a B picture, is decoded in advance and stored in a frame memory. The B picture is then decoded using the I picture and/or the P picture stored in the frame memory. All pictures are decoded at ×1 speed for reverse playback.
With this technique, not only the I picture in 1 GOP but also both the P picture and the B picture are decoded. In comparison with other known techniques that decode and play back only the I picture, the reverse playback operation is smooth.

Decode control apparatus, decode control method, computer program, and recording medium