A frequency synthesizer is built using a phase locked loop incorporating a single side band mixer in the input. The single side band mixer is preferably realized with digital logic and FETs, and the resulting frequency synthesizer simultaneously improves control over the frequency resolution, noise floor and operating frequency range.

Frequency synthesizers are used in a wide range of electronic equipment, particularly in radio and television tuners, cable modems and other high-frequency data communication equipment, and test equipment, therefore in many of these applications a wide frequency output range with low noise is desired and, in the past, it has been common to achieve these ends using a circuit based on a phase-locked loop (PLL) control system.
A phase-locked loop is a closed-loop feedback control system that generates an output signal in relation to the frequency and phase of an input reference signal, automatically raising or lowering the frequency of a voltage controlled oscillator until it matches the reference signal in both frequency and phase. This technique is widely used in radio, telecommunications, computers and other electronic applications and facilitates the stablization of a generated signal or the detection of signals in the presence of noise. The technique of constructing an integrated circuit to hold a complete phase-locked loop building block is well known in the art and is widely used in modern electronic devices, with signal frequencies from a fraction of a cycle per second up to many gigahertz.
The PLL circuits discussed herein are constructed using analog circuitry. The most common form of analog PLL is constructed from a phase detector, a low-pass filter and a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) placed in a negative feedback configuration. The PLLs discussed herein also contain frequency dividers in the feedback path and in the reference path in order to make the PLL output frequency an integer multiple of the reference signal frequency. Under initial conditions, a first assumption is that the VCO is generating an output signal that is likely to be at nearly the same frequency as the reference signal. If the phase from the VCO output signal falls behind that of the reference signal, a charge pump within the phase detector changes, the control voltage output from the phase detector so that the VCO frequency increases. Likewise, if the VCO output signal phase creeps ahead of the reference, the phase detector causes the charge pump to change the control voltage to slow down the VCO. The low-pass filter serves the function of smoothing out the abrupt changes in control voltage from the charge pump. Since initially the VCO output signal may be far from the reference frequency, practical phase detectors may also respond to frequency differences, so as to increase the lock-in range of allowable inputs.
A well known method of achieving a wide frequency range for either single or multiple frequency bands up to and even beyond 2000 MHz is to have a separate voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) working with the PLL for each frequency band. This technique requires significantly more components than a single-VCO circuit and adds more sources of noise to the circuit.
One method for addressing the problem of a wide frequency range while maintaining low noise is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,311 entitled PHASE-LOCKED LOOP CIRCUIT. Multiple pre-scaler circuits are used, each dividing the output signal frequency by a predetermined number. These separate pre-scaled signals are then combined back together to feed into the phase comparator of the PLL as a single signal. This approach adds considerable complexity to the circuit as multiple pre-scaling circuits are required.
Another method of providing a wide frequency range is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 6,788,157 entitled PROGRAMMABLE FREQUENCY SYNTHESIZER which discloses the use of a regenerative frequency divider and programmable integer divider to provide wideband frequency coverage from a single narrowband oscillator. However, the noise reduction provided by this circuit is quite limited, with no more than 3 dB of noise reduction realized by each of the three frequency divider elements disclosed in the invention.
Still another method of providing a wide frequency range along with improved noise performance is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 6,977,556 entitled RATIONAL FREQUENCY SYNTHESIZERS which discloses the use of multiple single side band (SSB) mixers for a range of frequency ratios based on the output frequency and the reference frequency. While this invention enables performance across a wide frequency range, the use of multiple SSB mixers, ratio dividers and associated control circuitry is a complex approach to providing a wide frequency range with low noise.

Frequency synthesizer using a phase-locked loop and single side band mixer


Systems, apparatus and methods include control techniques for controlling operation of pre-mixed internal combustion engines in response to a load shedding event. The control techniques determine, in response to the load shedding event, a number of cycles in which to skip combustion of the fuel in the at least one cylinder based on an air-fuel ratio limit in the exhaust flow, prevent combustion of the fuel in the at least one cylinder during the number of skipped cycles, and combust the fuel in the at least one cylinder each time the number of skipped cycles are complete.

Rapid load shedding during operation of pre-mixed spark-ignited and/or dual fuel engines results in a rapid increase in engine speed. In order to slow the engine, existing control strategies prevent combustion in the cylinders during the power stroke. However, for pre-mixed and dual fuel type engines, this can lead to exhaust manifold over-pressure (EMOP) events because the exhaust lambda (λ), or air-fuel ratio (AFR), is below its flammability limits. Thus, there remains a need for additional improvements in systems and methods for controlling engine overspeeding while avoiding EMOP events in response to a load shedding event.

Engine response to load shedding by means of a skip-spark/fuel strategy


A computer implemented method for searching for a key in a radix search tree in a memory of a computer system. A table of keys is organized in a radix search tree stored in a memory of a computer system. The keys are divided into a string of symbols. Each node in the tree corresponds to a symbol. A path from a root node to a leaf node at level n in the tree represents a string of n symbols comprising a key. Each node is capable of having m possible entries corresponding to m possible symbol values. Each entry comprises a pointer to a son node and an existence map indicating which entries exist in the son node. In the preferred embodiment, the existence map is a bit mask that indicates, based on bit positions enabled and disabled in the bit mask, which entries exist in the son node pointed to by the pointer. By providing an existence map along with the pointer to a son node, m memory locations for m entries are allocated for the son node only if all of the m possible entries are used. Memory locations for entries that would otherwise be empty are not allocated, thereby minimizing memory resources required by a radix search tree.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the field of data structures stored in a memory of a computer system. More specifically, the present invention is related to a method for efficiently storing a key of tables in a memory of a computer system through the use of an improved radix search tree.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are numerous prior art methods for searching for data in a data structure stored in a memory of a computer system to find a particular item of information. Certainly, it is appropriate to implement methods for organizing and searching for data in the data structure in a way that reduces the amount of memory required to store the data and perform the search in a more efficient manner.
Before discussing the prior art methods, a brief mention of terms commonly used in the description of data structures and search techniques performed thereon is in order.
A table or a file is a group of data elements, each of which may be called an entry or a record in the table. Generally, a key is associated with each record. The key is used to differentiate among different records. The key associated with a particular record may or may not need to be unique, depending on the search method utilized in accessing the table. Furthermore, the key may or may not be embedded within the record itself.
A search method accepts a key value as input and attempts to locate a record within a table stored in the memory of a computer system whose associated key is the key value. The search method may return a record, or a pointer to the record. The contents of the record may be data, program code, or a pointer to either data or program code. If the search of a table is unsuccessful in finding the key, then there is no record in the table associated with the key value. Typically, if the search is unsuccessful, an insertion is performed to add a new record with the key value as its key.
A table is stored in a data structure in the memory or an external storage, e.g., magnetic disk, of a computer system. The form of the data structure may be an array of records, a tree, a linked list, etc. Certain search methods are generally more applicable to one form and location of a data structure than another. Thus, the data structure in which a table is stored is, in part, selected according to the search method to be used to access information within the table. The present invention is related to search operations on a file or table that is organized as a tree structure.
A prior art search method utilizes a tree to facilitate searching a table stored in the memory of a computer system. The prior art search method forms a tree based on symbols of which the keys are comprised. This is generally referred to as a radix search tree. For example, if the key is comprised of the hexadecimal characters 0 through F, each successive hexadecimal digit position in the key determines 1 of 16 possible sons of a given node in the tree.
A table 100 comprising a set of keys is illustrated in FIG. 1A. For purposes of example, the set of keys in the table are comprised of from two to four hexadecimal digits. However, it is understood by those of ordinary skill in the related arts that the keys could conceivably be of any length, or all the same length. Moreover, the table typically has substantially more keys than presented in this example.
The tree illustrated in FIG. 1B, referred to generally as 111, represents a radix search tree. The tree 111 organizes the set of keys listed in the table of keys illustrated in FIG. 1A to facilitate the radix search method. Taking, for example, the first key in the table at 101, i.e., key 14(h), a root node 110 in the tree 111 points to a son node 120 at which is stored the first hexadecimal symbol 1 in the key. Node 120, in turn, points to the hexadecimal symbol 4 at node 121. Since the hexadecimal symbol 4 is the last symbol in the key 14(h), the node 121 points to a son node 150 indicating the end of a key (eok) has been reached. Node 120 also points to another son node 122, in which is stored the hexadecimal value 6 corresponding with the second symbol value in the keys 160(h) at location 102, 16E(h) at location 103, and 16E9(h) at location 104 in the table 100. Node 122, in turn, points to son nodes 123 and 124. The symbol stored in node 123 corresponds to the third symbol having a value of 0(h) in key 160(h) at location 102 in table 100. The symbol value E(h) stored in node 124 corresponds to the third symbol in keys 16E(h) and 16E9(h) at locations 103 and 104, respectively, in table 100. Finally, node 124 points to son node 125, in which is stored the last symbol value of 9(h) in the key 16E9(h) at location 104 in table 100. The end of the string of symbols 1(h), 6(h) and 0(h) representing the key 160(h) is indicated by the end of key (eok) stored in node 151, which is the son of node 123. The string of symbols representing the key 16E9(h) is likewise terminated by an eok at node 152. The other subtrees illustrated at 130 and 140 are organized in a similar fashion to the subtree illustrated at 120.
As mentioned above, the leaf nodes in FIG. 1B, e.g., nodes 150, 152, 153, etc., represent the end of a key. The leaf nodes generally contain a pointer to a record or entry that is being stored in the memory of a computer system. However, it is conceivable that the leaf node may store the pointer to a program code segment. A software program controlling the computer system to perform the search could then cause the computer system to jump to the program code segment pointed to by the pointer for further program execution.
Note that while the keys illustrated in FIG. 1A consist of the 16 hexadecimal characters O-F, the keys could also be represented by some other set of characters. For example, if the keys consist of the English language alphabetic characters A-Z, each letter of the alphabet determines a branch in a tree. In other words, each node in the tree 111 can contain m pointers, corresponding to m possible symbol values in each position of the key. Thus, if the keys were alphabetic, there would be 26 pointers in each node, each pointing to a son node, where each son node corresponds to one of 26 possible symbol values.
FIG. 2A illustrates the partial memory layout 200 for the nodes in a radix search tree data structure in which is stored the table 100 in a memory of a computer system. Since the keys in table 100 are hexadecimal, there are 16 memory locations required for each node in order to provide 16 pointers to 16 possible son nodes in the tree 111. For example, symbol value 1(h) in node 201 can be followed by any one of 16 hexadecimal symbol values, each represented by a different son node. Thus, 16 memory locations are reserved at memory block 210 for pointers to the 16 possible different son nodes.
Symbol value 2(h) in node 201 represents a different branch in the tree, and can also be followed by any one of 16 different hexadecimal symbol values. Hence, 16 memory locations are allocated at memory block 240 for storing a pointer to a potential son node which, in turn, stores a symbol following the symbol value 2(h). As illustrated in FIG. 2, three of the memory locations at memory block 240 contain pointers to the next symbols in the keys 2A(h), 214(h) and 2BF5(h) in table 100.
Moreover, in addition to the 16 memory locations reserved for pointers at each node in the tree, there may be an extra pointer corresponding to an end of key or a flag with each pointer indicating that the pointer points to a recorder program code segment rather than another node in the tree.
Of particular importance is the fact that a pointer in a node is associated with a particular symbol value based on the location of the pointer, i.e., based on the offset, or location, of the pointer relative to the first pointer at the first memory location in the node. In other words, the first pointer corresponds to the first possible symbol value, in this case, 0(h), while the second pointer corresponds to the second possible symbol value, i.e., 1(h), etc. Thus, it is unnecessary to store the actual symbol values in the nodes of the tree. Rather, only a pointer to a son node corresponding to the symbol value is required. From the location of the pointer, it can be determined the symbol value corresponding to the son node pointed at by the pointer. However, if the symbol values are not stored in the nodes of a tree, it is paramount that a memory location for each possible pointer, whether or not that pointer is ever utilized, be reserved in each node.
Given this requirement, it is clear that when the set of keys in a table is sparse, as in the case of the set of keys in table 100, the prior art method of storing a table of keys in a tree for later radix searching wastes a large amount of memory space. What is needed, therefore, is a method for storing information in a tree structure in the memory of a computer system and for subsequently searching the tree such that the amount of memory required to store a sparse table of keys is minimized.
Moreover, what is needed is an apparatus for carrying out the method for searching the tree in the memory of a computer system in such a way that the method operates in a fast, efficient manner.

Method for storing a tree of potential keys in a sparse table


A pixel structure includes an active switching device, a patterned common electrode layer, an insulation layer, a patterned oxide electrode layer and a patterned passivation layer. The insulation layer covers the patterned common electrode layer. The patterned oxide electrode layer is disposed on the insulation layer and electrically connected to the active switching device. The patterned oxide electrode layer includes a semiconductor part and a conductive part. The semiconductor part and the patterned common electrode layer substantially overlap to each other in a vertical projection direction. The conductive part and the semiconductor part are connected to each other, the conductive part and the patterned common electrode layer do not overlap to each other in the vertical projective direction, and the conductive part is a pixel electrode. The patterned passivation layer covers the semiconductor part, and the patterned passivation layer has an opening exposing the conductive part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pixel structure, a display panel and fabrication thereof, and more particularly, to a pixel structure and a display panel having a patterned oxide electrode layer with a semiconductor part and a conductive part and fabrication method thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Liquid crystal display (LCD) panel has been widely used in various types of display devices due to its advantages such as compact size, superior display quality and low power consumption. The conventional LCD panel such as twisted nematic (TN) type LCD panel, however, suffers from the disadvantage of narrow viewing angle, and thus its application is restricted.
To address the narrow viewing angle of TN LCD panel, several wild viewing angle LCD panel e.g. in-plane switching (IPS) LCD panel and fringe field switching (FFS) LCD panel have been proposed. The conventional IPS LCD panel has wider viewing angle, but the region corresponding to the pixel electrode and the common electrode is not light permissible. Therefore, light transmittance and aperture ratio are reduced. The conventional FFS LCD panel has higher light transmittance compared with the IPS LCD panel, but requires two layers of patterned conductive layers including the patterned pixel electrode and the patterned common electrode. Thus, the fabrication cost and the process complexity are both increased. In addition, rubbing mura tends to occur to the alignment film disposed on the patterned pixel electrode, which causes uneven brightness problem.

Pixel structure, display panel and fabrication method thereof


An exercise method and apparatus means for increasing swing speed and swing strength of sporting and self defense implements, by supporting an athlete, while swinging the implements, in a range of angles that take advantage of the direct downward acceleration due to gravity. Comprised of a rigid human support, and a stationary base of sufficient height, with the means of securing the angle with respect to the gravitational acceleration, the athlete swings an implement just as he would standing vertical, in an attitude off vertical to make the most of increasing forces on the implement being swung.

1. Field of Invention
This invention generally relates to exercise methods and exercise machines, specifically to methods and machines for improving swing speed and swing strength of sports and self defense implements.
2. Prior Art
Previously swing exercise methods and machines apply resistive forces to handles by the means of tethers and linkages connected to free weights and other resistive force elements. This invention uses the actual implement to be swung and repositions the complete athlete to angles advantageous for exercising the swing muscles. This invention makes drastic improvements over its predecessors.
A swinging implement tethered to a cable with tension makes the swing awkward and unlike actual circumstances as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,403 to George, 1996 Dec. 10. Forces with erratic magnitude and direction result due to the cable's limitation to apply only a concentrated, point, tensile load in the direction of the cable path. The direction of the force from the cable does not match the desired path of the mechanics of the human body. Multiple, unhelpful, components of the forces act on the implement, in multiple directions outside the desired swing path. Stretch and inertia of the cable add to the awkward feel at the implement grip as it improperly influences the natural motion through the athlete's arms.
A swinging implement connected to free weights, or other resistance means, via linkages and linear slides produces erratic, inconsistent forces that only follow the restrictive path of the machine as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,402 to Hart, 1992 Oct. 20 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,684 to Levatino, 1993 Jul. 20. The static coefficient of friction, acting on all the moving parts, results in a significantly greater start up resistance than the dynamic coefficient of friction, once the motion is started. The varying inertia of all the moving parts, the variation of fits and tolerances, lubricants and surface conditions, and variations in the mechanical properties of the base materials all add up to erratic motion and inconsistent resistive forces.
The desired smooth fluid swing along a path established by each person's body mechanics is replaced by choppy resistance along a restrictive course. Poor technique and unnecessary stress on the body can result.
The resistance created using this invention is smooth and repeatable because it is based on gravity and the mass of the implement. The athlete is working against forces due to the direct downward acceleration due to gravity, and the implement's inertia, not erratic, intermittent friction of pulleys, gears, sliding and translating mechanisms. Additionally, the path of motion follows the natural mechanics of the human body and in no way is restricted. This is important because each person's body is unique and it enables the swing motion to be the athlete's own individual technique. The motion is not limited or restricted in any way, enabling the user to swing freely without a preset path. Motion can be smooth and fluid, possibly avoiding injury that can result from sudden, jerky or intermittent force variations.
The batter uses his actual bat or implement, not a part of the machine. The batter gets accustomed to the grip and feel of his bat so the experience is closer to reality.
The new invention is more versatile. It can be applied in all sports or other activities, such as defense mechanisms, that require swinging an instrument or tool. It accepts a down-to-up swing, as in golf and hockey, overhead up-to-down swing as in a tennis serve, and side-to-side swing as in baseball.
The new invention is portable, lightweight, and economical and assembly is quick and easy.

Athlete positioner for increasing swing speed and strength


A solution to an interference effect problem associated with laser processing of target structures entails adjusting laser pulse energy or other laser beam parameter, such as laser pulse temporal shape, based on light reflection information of the target structure and passivation layers stacked across a wafer surface or among multiple wafers in a group of wafers. Laser beam reflection measurements on a target link measurement structure and in a neighboring passivation layer area unoccupied by a link enable calculation of the laser pulse energy adjustment for a more consistent processing result without causing damage to the wafer. For thin film trimming on a wafer, similar reflection measurement information of the laser beam incident on the thin film structure and the passivation layer structure with no thin film present can also deliver the needed information for laser parameter selection to ensure better processing quality.

Severing an electrically conductive link of an integrated circuit (IC) chip and trimming thin film on a silicon wafer are two examples of laser processing of light reflective multilayer structures. One of the major challenges associated with laser processing of such process targets is that the constructive or destructive interference effect stemming from different thicknesses of the multiple passivation and target material layers affects the percentage of laser energy that can be effectively absorbed by the link or thin film process target. This in turn affects the process result when constant laser pulse energy is used to process the process target. In some cases, when the interference effect reduces the percentage of laser energy absorbed by the process target, incomplete blowing of the link or trimming of the thin film results in a failed process. In some other cases, when the interference effect increases the percentage of laser energy absorbed by the process target, over-processing results in poor process quality such as over-blowing a passivation layer. Interference effects significantly affect the risk of damage to the silicon wafer as well. Variation of the interference effect is related to the variation of passivation layer thickness for a given number of passivation layers, passivation layer material, link or thin film thickness and material, laser wavelength used, and other such factors. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to make a passivation layer thickness uniform across the surface of a wafer or among multiple wafers in a group of wafers. This makes laser processing inconsistent and difficult to control. Moreover, the overlying passivation layer thickness and material type affect the link blowing process because the rupture behavior depends on these characteristics.
Interference effects on laser processing resulting from multiple layer structure parameter variation, including passivation layer thickness, have been reported and analyzed in detail by a variety of publications, including applicant's PhD thesis, titled: "Laser processing optimization of semiconductor based devices," YL Sun, Oregon Graduate Institute of Science & Technology, 1987 (Sun thesis). The Sun thesis also analyzed in detail the impact on memory chip link processing of different thicknesses of the overlying passivation layer.
U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2006/0216927 A1 of Cordingley, et al. ('927 publication) proposed adjusting laser pulse energy by measuring at least one of a thickness and reflectance of a layer to determine a variation of a laser pulse characteristic. The '927 publication suggested several approaches to determining such variation, including (1) simply measuring reflectance from the target, (2) measuring the passivation layer thickness and material refractive index with ellipsometry or spectral analysis, and (3) measuring reflectance at two different wavelengths and calculating the thickness of the oxide (i.e., the passivation layer). There are problems associated with each of these proposed approaches.
For proposed approach (1), in the case of link processing, the link width is about 1.0 μm. The smallest practicable laser beam spot size for a laser processing system is typically larger than the link width, therefore, a simple reflectance measurement with the laser beam or other system light source provides a mixture of reflectance contributions from the link structure and from the neighboring structure on the silicon wafer with no link present (impacted by all of the different passivation layers stacked over them). The '927 publication stated that positioning the laser spot relative to the link twice in different locations enabled derivation of reflection information from the link portion. The teaching of the '927 publication was to use only this reflection information from the link to control the processing laser parameters. As discussed in the Sun thesis, however, the reflection information from the multilayer structure neighboring but not including the link and the passivation layer structure underlying the link also plays very significant roles in the successful link processing. Contrary to what was suggested by the '927 publication, a higher reflectance measured from the top surface of the link does not necessarily dictate higher laser energy to achieve better process quality.
For proposed approach (2), the problem is that the measurement is performed off line with ellipsometer or spectral analysis equipment, which off-line measurement increases manufacturing cost and is very time consuming. Moreover, these techniques can work when there is only one layer overlying the link and when the complex refractive index of the link material is well known. For acceptable accuracy, the measuring beam spot size has to be smaller than the link width. This is impractical with most commercially available ellipsometers and spectral analysis equipment. For the case in which there are multiple passivation layers overlying the link, or in which the complex refractive index of the link material is unknown, it is almost impossible to determine the thickness of each layer and its refractive index. On the other hand, if successful, this measurement provides information about only the passivation layer overlying the link. This measurement does not provide information about risk of laser damage to the silicon wafer in the area neighboring the link because the issue of passivation layers stacked over the wafer surface region unoccupied by the link is not addressed.
For proposed approach (3), there are two different lasers or light sources required for making the measurement. The '927 publication stated that, when the reflectance at two different wavelengths is measured, the passivation layer thickness can be calculated with the known refractive index of the passivation layer material. Again, this proposal fails to realize that, to make the proposed practice feasible, one has to meet an impracticably realizable condition that the light spot size be smaller than the link width. There is also required knowledge of the complex refractive index of the link material. The measured reflectance of the overlying passivation layer represents not only the behavior of the overlying passivation layer itself, but also the behavior of its interface with the link, as taught by the Sun thesis. Moreover, whenever the link material, such as polysilicon, is partly transmissive of laser output, the underlying passivation layer also contributes to the measured reflectance.
The '927 publication acknowledged the issue of link width and laser beam spot size and proposed performing more measurements with the laser beam spot shifted to different locations relative to the link to derive reflection information by the link structure. This approach is tedious, requiring a long time to carry out. More importantly, the '927 publication failed to teach or appreciate the importance of the layer structure neighboring the link on the link laser processing and laser parameter selection or the importance of the underlying passivation layer structure on the link processing. Therefore, selection of laser pulse characteristics based on the thickness and reflectance measurements of a layer over a target structure, as taught by the '927 publication, would afford no warranted improvement of the laser processing.

Laser processing of light reflective multilayer target structure


Printing format display equipment for displaying image data on a CRT display. The image data includes different parts with varying printing formats, and for reading printing formats for different areas of the image data from the image data itself and displaying those printing formats on the CRT display at positions corresponding to the different areas of the image data, which is already being displayed on the CRT display, allowing the user to accurately determine the printing formats without having to actually print the image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to printing format display equipment for displaying image data that is intended to be printed and that contains different parts with varying printing formats.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The advancement of computer-aided desk top publishing (hereinafter referred to as DTP) in recent years now allows users to create complex documents combining various types of visual data, including photographic images, business graphics such as charts and graphs, and expanded or shrunken text.
However, when color correction is performed on color output sent to the printer in order to accurately print a color image and retain the same printing formats (or printing properties) as set in the document, the printing formats output are sometimes faded in comparison to the graphics in the document, and the graphics lose some of their impact. Sometimes the life-like appearance of photographic images is lost when performing color correction on highly saturated, vivid colors sent to the printer.
Towards this problem, recent achievements have been made that allow different parts of the same document to be appropriately expressed by setting the printing formats for each part of the image data. A technology has been proposed (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication HEI-7-236066) In which the printing formats can be set manually for each part of the document, or printing formats appropriate for each part of a document can be set automatically through a computer process.
A reliable way to check the printing condition of data set in the manner described above is to print the document out, but this trial-and-error method of verification can be a waste of printing time, paper, ink, and the like. To avoid this waste, users display their documents on a CRT or similar type display and verify the printing conditions on the screen before actually printing the document. However, CRT displays use an additive color mixing process, while printers use a subtractive color mixing process, making it impossible to accurately verify the printing conditions in this way.
Although users might be certain of printing conditions for image data set entirely by themselves, much of the image data is set by people other than the user. Furthermore, when settings are made automatically by a computer as described above, no one knows what settings have been made, potentially leading to further misunderstanding.
In DTP, multiple image data is created using various software programs and then combined to create one document.
However, if the user does not understand or forgets what printing settings have been made when creating a document, he or she cannot accurately verify the printing settings, even if it was the user who set the printing formats.

Printing characteristic display equipment for displaying image data on a display allowing the user to determine printing characteristics using print characteristic markers without having to print the image


Provided is a substrate processing apparatus. The substrate processing apparatus includes an index part including a port on which a container containing a substrate is placed and an index robot, a processing part for processing the substrate, and a buffer unit disposed between the processing part and the index part to allow the substrate transferred between the processing part and the index part to be temporarily stayed therein. The processing part includes a glue removal processing module, a substrate cooling processing module, a heat processing module, and a functional water processing module which are disposed along a transfer passage for transferring the substrate.

The present invention disclosed herein relates to a substrate processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a substrate processing apparatus which can perform wet and dry cleaning on a substrate and a substrate processing method.
Photomasks are used in a photolithograph process for transferring a predetermined photoresist pattern on a wafer together with an exposure device. Such a photomask includes a predetermined light blocking layer pattern or a phase shift layer pattern on an entire surface thereof. A photomask is manufactured by attaching a pellicle covering a light blocking layer pattern or a phase shift layer pattern on a mask substrate to protect the light blocking layer pattern or the phase shift layer pattern.
Also, a cleaning process is performed on the photomask to remove contaminations occurring due to various factors. The cleaning process is classified into a wet cleaning process using H2SO4 and a dry cleaning process using ultraviolet rays or heat. The cleaning process may be necessarily performed after a repair process for photomask is performed.
However, to perform the existing photomask cleaning process, an apparatus for the wet cleaning and an apparatus for the dry cleaning should be separately provided. Thus, it may take a relatively long time for the process processing time, and also back contamination may occur due to external exposure of the photomask.

Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method


A removable semiconductor memory card for a portable appliance is provided comprising a memory with a portion thereof dedicated to deleted files, and a memory card controller that operates to recognize a memory delete command associated with a specific file, and to shift the specific file to the deleted files portion of the memory.

Memory cards for portable appliances do not allow for the recovery of erased files. Any recovery of erased files must be implemented through a function associated with the operating system of the appliance itself. For example, most PCs have the capability for the recovery of erased files through a recycle bin. However, for memory cards for non-PC appliances, such as cameras, for example, where the memory card may be moved from appliance to appliance, this capability is lost.

File recovery system for a removable portable memory device


The invention relates to a method (19) for starting an electric single-phase induction motor (1), wherein during a start-up interval of the start-up cycle for starting said electric motor (1), the frequency (fref) of the electric current for driving said electric motor (1) is set to a first frequency (fstart), and later to the operating frequency (frun) of the electric motor (1), wherein the first frequency (fstart) is higher than the operating frequency (frun).

Electric motors as such are well known in the state of the art and used for converting electric energy to mechanical energy. Depending on the situation and requirements of a certain task, different types of electric motors are used.
One particular requirement often occurring is the possibility to drive the electric motor at variable speeds (rotational speeds). Another requirement is a long lifetime and a simple construction of the electric motor. Both requirements are useful in reducing initial cost as well as the cost for the overall lifetime.
So-called induction motors are widely used for achieving said requirements. In principle, induction motors have a rotor in form of a cage, wherein the electric conductors within the cage are always short-circuited. The movement of the rotor is induced by applying a rotating magnetic field by means of the stator. For this purpose, usually a multiphase alternating electric current—a so-called rotating electric current—is applied to the different electric coils within the stator. Each phase of the electric current is connected to one of different groups of electric coils in the stator. The different groups of electric coils as well as the electric phases are connected and arranged in a way that a rotating magnetic field is created.
Depending on the rotation speed of the rotating magnetic field, the rotor of the electric motor will run at different speeds. The rotation speed of the rotor will be approximately the same as the rotation speed of the magnetic field, generated by the stator. Nevertheless, a small slip will occur, resulting in a slightly reduced rotation speed of the rotor, as compared to the rotating speed of the magnetic field.
For achieving different rotation speeds of the induction motor, it is necessary to provide the electric motor with an appropriately phase shifted rotating electric current of variable frequency. Such a rotating current can nowadays be provided easily and relatively inexpensively by using electric inverters.
However, sometimes there is a requirement that only two supply lines for supplying the electric motor with electric energy are desired. This requirement occurs frequently, when existing machinery is to be upgraded. Here, sometimes the requirement occurs that a standard, two-phase electric motor (presumably with a fixed rotation speed) is to be replaced by a variable electric motor. In such a situation, providing an additional electric conductor is usually too expensive and/or problematic or not possible at all.
In such a situation, so-called two-phase induction motors can be used. To be able to produce a rotating magnetic field out of a two-phase electric current, usually two separate groups of electric coils (so-called windings) are used, namely the main winding and the auxiliary winding. To generate a phase shift between the two windings, an electric component is needed that shifts the phase of (part of) the electric current. Usually, capacitors are used for this task. This way, by an appropriate assembly of the main winding and the auxiliary winding on the stator, a rotating magnetic field can be produced, so that the motor can be started from a halted state.
A big disadvantage of single-phase induction motors is that during the start-up phase (in particular at zero or very low rotating speeds) the electric motor has a very low impedance and consequently an extremely high current is drawn, unless special precautions are made. According to the state of the art, safety resistors are frequently introduced in series to the electric windings of the electric motor during the start-up phase. This way, overheating effects and a too high load on the electric source can be avoided.
Nevertheless, yet another problem still persists. Since the maximum generated torque is a function of both the electric current and the rotor speed, the initial torque is comparatively low. Hence, the safety resistors are not allowed to be too restrictive. Normally, a current that is about five times larger than the nominal current of the electric motor is provided for initially supplying the electric motor, so that a sufficiently high torque for a fast and reliable start of the electric motor is achieved. This, however, necessitates constructing many parts of the electric motor larger than it is necessary for nominal operation. This, of course, increases the weight and the cost for such an electric motor.
An example for such a multi-phase induction motor and a preferred method for starting said motor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,560 A1. However, the technical system described in said document is strictly limited to multi-phase electric motors. Furthermore, additional sensors are needed for verifying the successful start-up of the electric motor.
Hence, there is still a need for an electric motor, in particular a two-phase induction motor that has less weight and can be started more reliable.

Method for starting a single-phase induction motor


A motor drive circuit, in which a first transistor at a drive stage, a second transistor at an output stage to be driven by the first transistor and a third transistor downstream the output stage for a short braking operation are formed in a common substrate or a common well of the substrate, a region of either a P type or an N type in either the substrate or the well is connected with the first transistor via a conductor so that a parasitic transistor is formed in which the substrate or the well serves as its base, whereby a current flowing from the first transistor to the second transistor during the short braking operation is sinked by turning on the parasitic transistor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motor drive circuit and a motor drive system using the same, and more particularly relates to a motor drive circuit formed in an IC which prevents a transistor in the output stage thereof from being damaged when the motor is in a short-braking operation.
2. Background Art
FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing an example of conventional motor drive circuits. FIG. 7 is a view showing a structure of transistors Q1, Q2 and Q3 on a semiconductor chip when the motor drive circuit in FIG. 6 is formed in an IC.
The transistor Q1 is a PNP type transistor which drives the transistor Q2 at the output stage, and the emitter of the transistor Q1 is connected to a power source line Vcc, the collector thereof is connected to the base of the transistor Q2 and the base thereof is adapted to receive a driving signal. The transistor Q2 is an NPN type transistor, the collector thereof is connected to the power source line Vcc, and the emitter thereof is connected to a output terminal 2 and the collector of the transistor Q3. The transistor Q3 is an NPN type transistor which turns on during a short braking operation, the emitter thereof is connected to a GND line to ground the same and the base thereof is adapted to receive a control signal for a short braking. To the output terminal 2 a three phase motor such as for a fan is connected.
A motor driving circuit for only one selected phase is explained hereinbelow, because those for the other two phases are identical to that explained. For driving the motor 1 the transistor Q1 at a drive stage for the first time is turned on and in response thereto the transistor Q2 at the output stage is turned on to allow a current flow to the motor 1 from the power source line Vcc via transistor Q2. As a result the motor is driven.
In order to stop the motor 1, the motor 1 has to enter into a short braking condition in which the transistor Q1 is turned off and the transistor Q3 at the output stage is turned on, and thereby the output terminal 2 is conductively connected to the GND terminal. As a result, the current flowing through the motor 1 flows toward the GND line. Further, by turning off the transistor Q1, the transistor Q2 is turned off and the current from the power source line Vcc to the motor 1 is interrupted.
During the short braking operation, a counter electromotive force is generated in the motor and the potential of the output terminal 2 is rendered negative. At this moment, a parasitic transistor Q4 indicated by dotted line in FIG. 6 turns on. As a result, the base potential of the transistor Q1 lowers and the transistor Q1 is turned on. Subsequently, the transistor Q2 also turns on. The parasitic transistor Q4 is formed by the base 6 of the transistor Q1 a its collector, a P type substrate 3 as its base and the collector 7 of the transistor Q3 as its emitter. When the transistor Q2 is turned on, a large current flows into the transistor Q2. Therefore when such a motor drive circuit is formed in an IC, a large current flows into the transistor Q2 during a short braking operation, which possibly damages the transistor Q2.

Motor drive circuit and motor drive system using the same


A method and system for a secure login solution for users logging into computers and systems that require authentication is provided incorporating one-time passwords. The method and system allows a user to establish a login key combination in relation to a login key structure. The login key combination is in association with an identification means, such as a username/ID, and allows the user to generate a one-time passcode in response to a random login key. The method and system is directed at situations where the user desires to log into a system from a computer or other electronic device that may not be secure, including for example from computers or devices other than the user's own and/or by using a communications connection that may not be secure, such as a wireless network connection. The method and system is simple and easy to implement and does not require the use of physical devices.

Every day computer users login to computers and systems that require authentication by providing the authenticating system with information that will positively identify the user. In most cases that information consists of a username/ID and a matching static, reusable password. Replacing such static passwords with single-use passwords and, where possible, using two-factor authentication is one approach for securing corporate networks, applications and information assets.
Unfortunately, use or transfer of sensitive information can create security vulnerabilities for many different reasons. For example, in situations where the user attempts to login to a system from a computer or other electronic device using a communications connection, such as the Internet, information traveling over the network may be intercepted by unauthorized individuals using network sniffers. This information can then subsequently be used to illegally obtain access to the system. The use of more secure communications protocols, such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL), improves security by encrypting the information being transmitted, thereby making it virtually impossible for others to use it to gain access to the system, even if they manage to intercept the user identifying information. Unfortunately many authenticating systems do not use secure protocols, leaving sensitive information vulnerable to attack.
Another problem with authentication using a static, reusable password is that hackers may be able to gain access to the system by guessing the password. This applies not only to weak passwords that can be uncovered by using dictionary attacks, often passwords include the user's name, his nickname, spouse's or pet's name, etc. Although this threat can be reduced by having the authenticating system impose a maximum number of login attempts before blocking the account, it remains a real threat nonetheless.
One significant security threat involves widely available spyware, including keystroke capturing software which, as the name suggests, captures the keystrokes that are made on a computer's keyboard and stores this information for later retrieval by or transmission to the person or persons who installed the software or who know of its presence. In many cases, the existence of this software is difficult or virtually impossible to detect. Even if encryption of the information is used during transmission over a network, the presence of this type of software on the computer from which a user logs in is not going to provide any security, as the username/ID and password have already been captured at the source, before it has been encrypted. This threat is particularly acute when the user is accessing systems from a computer or other electronic device that may not be his own, such as other people's computers or, more particularly, computers found in public places such as hotels, airports and Internet cafes, to name but a few.
In view of these vulnerabilities and in order to limit the risk of unauthorized access, methods are available that enable the use of one-time passwords (OTP), thereby greatly increasing login security. In such cases, where passwords are only valid for a single login, even capturing or knowing the password will be meaningless as it can only be used once. In broad terms there are two major types of OTP solutions: (i) hardware based solutions; and (ii) S/KEY based solutions.
Hardware Based Solutions
The vast majority of OTP solutions involve the use of some kind of physical device, such as tokens, smart cards, USB flash drives, etc., that will generate them. Companies providing such hardware based solutions include VERISIGN™, ACTIVIDENTITY™, VASCO™ and RSA SECURITY™ to name a few. Most, like RSA's authentication token for example, generate a new 6-digit numeric passcode every 30 or 60 seconds that will be used together with a user's PIN code to create a one-time password. This is generally referred to as two-factor authentication.
Other approaches, such as the systems and methods taught in European Patent Application No. EP 1 445 917 to Kuclar et al. and U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0172272 to Ehlers et al. for example, include the use of a mobile communications device, where the one-time password is sent by the authenticating system to the user's mobile phone or other mobile device via a Short Message Service (SMS). Other systems, such as those described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2002/0038426 to Pettersson et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,636,973 to Bagley for example, use biometric devices such as iris scanners and fingerprint scanners to positively identify the user. All of the above described methods require the use of a physical device.
The use of physical devices however has several distinct disadvantages. In addition to the significant cost of implementing device-based solutions, particularly where the number of users is large, their biggest drawback is that the authentication device may not be available, be rendered useless by abuse or accident or may be lost. In the latter case there is a theoretical chance of an individual gaining unauthorized access to a system where for example key-stroke logging software was running on the computer from which a login was attempted and the username/ID and the static password or PIN code have already been captured. Although the risk in the case of loss can be minimized by the immediate reporting of the loss of the device, all scenarios mentioned above will prevent a legitimate user who, for whatever reason, does not have access to the authentication device from obtaining access to the remote system. The use of non-OTP access in that case could of course significantly compromise security.
S/KEY Based Solutions
These are software solutions based on S/KEY, a one-time, challenge-response password scheme developed for use on UNIX™-like operating systems to authenticate a user based on a one-way hash function. Generic open source implementations can be used to enable its use on other systems.
A user's real password is not directly transmitted across the network. Rather, the real password is combined with a short set of characters and a decrementing counter to form a one-time password. As the one-time password is only used once, passwords intercepted by a password sniffer or keystroke logger are not useful to an attacker.
Because the short set of characters does not change until the counter reaches zero, it is possible to prepare a list of single-use passwords, in sequence, that can be carried by the user. Alternatively, the user can present the password, characters and desired counter value to a local calculator to generate the appropriate one-time password that can then be transmitted over the network.
The S/KEY solution, however, also has drawbacks. It is sensitive to a "man in the middle" attack if used by itself, although this could be solved by using SSL or a similar security protocol which authenticates the server and gives point-to-point security between the client and server.
In addition, the secret passwords used by S/KEY solutions may of course never travel across an insecure network and it is the user's responsibility to see to this. A user should therefore only be able to change his secret password or create a new list of one-time passwords when logged in from a machine on a secure network or on the console of the system.
Lastly, because the number of hash function iterations executed by the user decreases by one each time, this solution of course requires the user to re-initialize the system whenever the last single-use password has been used or he will be unable to log in again.
One approach where no device is necessary is taught in U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0206919 to Montgomery et al., which describes a method where the user is required to generate a one-time PIN code by performing mathematical manipulations on the user's known PIN code and a system supplied random number or on the user's known PIN code, a system supplied random number and a transformation PIN code, making it prone to error and less user-friendly.
In view of the foregoing, what are needed are methods and systems for enabling secure login solutions using OTP that overcome the limitations and disadvantages of the prior art. In particular, what are needed are methods and systems for enabling secure login solutions using OTP that are easy to implement, require no physical devices, require no extra computational power, and require no mathematical or other data manipulation on the part of the user.

Method and system for providing a secure login solution using one-time passwords


Provided are a reaction tube, a substrate processing apparatus, and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device capable of suppressing a non-uniform distribution of a gas in a top region to improve the flow of the gas and film uniformity within and between substrate surfaces. The reaction tube has a cylindrical shape, accommodates a plurality of substrates stacked therein, and includes a cylindrical portion and a ceiling portion covering an upper end portion of the cylindrical portion, the ceiling portion having a substantially flat top inner surface. A thickness of a sidewall of the ceiling portion is greater than that of a sidewall of the cylindrical portion.

An example of a substrate processing apparatus includes a semiconductor manufacturing device, and a longitudinal apparatus has been known as an example of a semiconductor manufacturing device. In the example of the substrate processing apparatus, a boat is included as a substrate retaining member configured to retain substrates (wafers) in a reaction tube in a multi-stage manner, and the substrates are processed in a process chamber in the reaction tube in a state in which the plurality of substrates are retained on the boat.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-52319 discloses that a plurality of wafers 200 which are to be processed in a batch are inserted into a reaction tube 203 while the plurality of wafers 200 are stacked on a boat 217 in a multi-stage manner, at least two types of sources are simultaneously supplied into the reaction tube 203, and a film is formed on the wafers 200 placed in the reaction tube 203.
However, as illustrated in FIG. 9A, since an upper tubular portion of a conventional reaction tube 203 is dome-shaped, a large space is formed between an upper internal surface of the reaction tube 203 and a ceiling plate 211 formed on the top of the boat 217. Thus, in an upper region in the reaction tube 203 (hereinafter referred to as a 'top region'), a gas is supplied into a process chamber 201 via gas supply holes formed in a nozzle 710. Then, the gas flows upward in the reaction tube 203 and is then exhausted via an exhaust pipe in a low portion of the reaction tube 203. A part of the gas flowing upward in the reaction tube 203 is stagnant in the top region, thereby causing a non-uniform distribution of the gas in the top region. Also, as illustrated in FIG. 9B, when the reaction tube 203 having plasma generation structures 429 is used, a buffer chamber 423 is installed in the reaction tube 203 and a gas is thus likely to stagnate in an upper space in a buffer chamber wall 424 forming the buffer chamber 423, thereby causing a non-uniform distribution of the gas in the top region.

Reaction tube, substrate processing apparatus and method of manufacturing semiconductor device


A detector 50 is included in a laser apparatus for generating a high energy laser beam to protect against the uncontrolled escape of the high energy laser beam from its prescribed optical path 14. The high energy laser beam proceeds along the optical path 14 and is directed to a work site 44 by a series of reflective surfaces in its path 26 and 30. The series of reflective surfaces function to change the path 14 of the beam 32 from the generating source to the work station 44. Associated with each of the reflective surfaces is a detector 50 which comprises a conductive frame 51 having a front face 52 and a back face 54. The back face 54 is equipped with a thermal sensor 60 which is positioned in a base portion 64 of the heat conductive frame 51. The detector is equipped with cooling means 58 and 66 for maintaining the threshold temperature. The sensor 60 which is affixed to the base portion 64 having a controlled thickness is preset at a threshold temperature such that in the event the reflective surfaces 26 or 30 breaks or otherwise fails permitting the beam 32 to strike the heat conductive frame 51 it would cause sudden rise in temperature of the sensor which would trigger the control circuit 69 to shut down the power supply 92 that energizes the high energy gain module 12.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to the optical systems of high energy laser apparatus an more particularly to protection devices for sensing when the potentially damaging radiation breaks free from its designated optical path posing a hazard to the environment outside the optical system.
2. Discussion
High energy lasers have demonstrated utility for many industrial applications. Such laser beams can be used for manufacturing operations ranging from welding automobile body frames to drilling small size holes in metal. The systems are reliable, they can perform with very exacting precision and perform those tasks quite rapidly. As these systems come into greater usage they could pose a hazard to the general working environment in which they are employed unless equipped with appropriate protective devices.
A brief explanation of the construction of the high energy laser system may be helpful in providing a better understanding of the need for protective devices to be incorporated in the apparatus. The high energy laser systems generally comprise a solid state laser source such as a power oscillator that generates a pulse beam, a zig-zag slab gain medium for generating the high power beam. The amplified beam is out-coupled or extracted with a generated beam that ranges from 10 watts to 5,000 watts and greater. The optical path of the beam is such that as it is out-coupled from the laser cavity it is directed onto a series of reflecting surfaces and thereby transmitted to the work site where the beam is to be used. The laser slab that is employed is generally a neodymium YAG ("Nd-YAG") single crystal which is positioned between two reflective surfaces, one which is totally reflective at the front end of the laser slab and at the other end of the laser slab the energy beam is out-coupled through another surface that is partially transmissive and partially reflective. The total reflectivity of the surface at the front end redirects the beam back into the slab and proceeds to zig-zag back and forth between the two reflecting surfaces as it gets properly amplified and is then out-coupled.
It will be understood that the invention is not limited to a particular laser system or geometry. The failure detectors of this invention can be used to advantage with any laser gain medium such as gas, chemical or solid state, equipped with appropriate reflecting mirrors. The light is collimated and amplified by cycling it back and forth through the gain medium.
As long as the high intensity beam remains on the pre-determined optical path from the totally reflecting surface through the out-coupling reflective surface and through the other parts of the optical system until it reaches the work site through a controlled path there is no particular hazard. However, in the circumstance one of the reflective surfaces or other parts of the optical path should experience mechanical failure or for any reason cease to intercept the high power beam, the high energy beam will escape the intended beam path and pose a risk to the environment of the apparatus.
Previous attempts to monitor the conditions in the high energy laser apparatus employed thermal responsive fuse type structures positioned behind the mirrors that melted or fused when heated beyond a threshold temperature. Thermal fuses are bulky and useable only one time. The escape of a 5000 watt beam from its optical path could readily strike through the containing walls of the apparatus and cause damage to property and persons in fractions of a second. The hazards to persons in the vicinity of the apparatus could result in blindness and cause severe burns.
There is a need for detection devices that respond very quickly de-energizing the system thereby minimizing any delay factor between the time mirror failure occurs and the response of any sensing device thereby preventing the beam from escaping from the intended path and is reuseable.

Mirror failure detector for high power lasers


A comparison device includes a one-threshold comparator receiving an input signal and a set value and generating a resultant signal. The comparison device further includes a sampler for sampling the resultant signal and a controller for blocking the sampler, after a switching of the input signal, as long as a timeout mechanism does not indicate that a given timeout duration has elapsed since the verification of a predetermined instability criterion.

We will discuss hereinafter the disadvantages of prior art considering the special case of onboard comparators in a micro controller used in a slaving system.
Slaving systems are systems for which the output is equal to a set value as closely as possible. To achieve this, these systems use a feedback from the output of the system to its input, so that the measured signal at the output from the system (also called the comparator input signal) can be compared with a set value.
Therefore, it is normal that a slaving system comprises a micro controller equipped with a comparator that, after detecting an equality (or non-equality) between the input signal and the set value, generates a comparison signal (also called output signal in the remainder of this description), for example to directly modify execution of a slaving algorithm, to change the state of some outputs of the system or to control capture of a value of a counter that will be used by the algorithm to adjust system controls.
A very large number of comparison techniques are known to generate an output signal representing a difference between an input signal and a set value. This comparison signal varies between high and low logic levels as a function of the result of the comparison.
As illustrated on FIG. 1, the comparison with a "threshold" is a first technique according to which the output signal OUTPUT—1 switches over to the high logic level VCC when the input signal INPUT is greater than or equal to the set value VCONS, and to the low logic level VSS when the input signal INPUT is less than the set value VCONS.
This relatively old comparison technique has not been very successful for different reasons, and particularly sensitivity to noise.
The presence of a noisy signal at the comparator input may cause random operation or system failure, because when the noisy signal becomes close to the set value, the so-called one-threshold comparator generates unstable controls CMD_INST.
To overcome this problem, an analogue hysteresis is traditionally used on the comparator so that noise carried by the input signal is not retransmitted to the system.
More precisely and as illustrated in FIG. 1, a comparator with hysteresis (or a "two-threshold" comparator) (also called a Schmitt trigger) is characterized by two switching thresholds: a low switching threshold VIL and a high switching threshold VIH. According to this second technique, when the input signal INPUT reaches the high switching threshold VIH, the output signal OUTPUT—2 switches from the low logic level VSS to the high logic level VCC and when the input signal INPUT reaches the low switching threshold VIL, the output signal OUTPUT—2 switches from the high logic level VCC to the low logic level VSS.
Note that as the difference between the high switching threshold VIH and the low switching threshold VIL becomes greater, the comparator becomes more reliable and insensitive to parasite fluctuations superimposed on the input signal INPUT. This voltage difference between the two switching thresholds VIH and VIL is called hysteresis. The difference between the high switching threshold VIH and the low switching threshold VIL also forms the margin of immunity to noise that is the voltage difference that an input signal may have without leading to a particular incident on operation of a system.
Although the comparator with hysteresis was a major step forward in the mechanism to generate a comparison signal without instability, the second known technique does have the disadvantages that it is expensive in silicon surface area and is not very efficient. Hysteresis is typically adjusted to the maximum noise value that the signal to be observed is supposed to carry at the output from the slaving system (in other words the comparator input signal). This maximum noise value is particularly difficult to estimate since micro-controllers have been developed for a wide variety of applications and not for a specific application. It would be possible to implement adjustable analogue hysteresis on comparators. However, this would make this second technique according to prior art even more expensive in silicon surface area.
Another major disadvantage of this second known technique is due to the fact that hysteresis introduces a delay on availability of information, and this delay is additional to the time necessary for the slaving algorithm to adjust its actions on the system. Thus, this latency between equality of the input signal and the set value and the reaction of the system may reduce the precision of system control.

Device for comparing an input signal with a set value and correspondinng electronic circuit


The present disclosure describes a gummy dosage form including: an amino acid in an amount of about 20% by weight or greater; a hydrophilic bulking agent; and a hydrophilic long-chain polymer, wherein at least a portion of the hydrophilic long-chain polymer comprises low methoxyl pectin. The gummy dosage forms can further include additives such as flavorants, fiber, and pH-adjusters. The disclosure further comprises methods for preparing such gummy dosage forms, wherein a hydrophilic bulking agent, a hydrophilic long-chain polymer, and water are combined to give a mixture and heated to give a hydrocolloid system in the form of a slurry; mixing an amino acid with the slurry; and setting the resulting mixture to give the gummy dosage form.

Oral dosing of many materials with desirable properties and functions can be problematic when provided in a chewable form because the intrinsic taste of such materials can be unpleasant, particularly in children and geriatric adults. The intrinsic bitterness of certain active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in particular can present a major obstacle to the acceptance, compliance, and effectiveness of treatments including oral, chewable dosing.
Previous approaches to addressing the problem of poor palatability of certain materials have been based mainly on nullifying undesirable tastes using flavor additives, chemical chelation (e.g., using ion exchange resins and β-cyclodextrins) and physical encapsulation. These systems can be adapted into solid dosage forms or liquid-based formulations as solutions, suspensions, or multi-phase emulsions.
Gummy dosage forms are particularly effective for enabling compliant dosing in children, as well as geriatric adults, as these forms provide a palatable, chewable base, can incorporate APIs, and have low intrinsic taste response. However, while gummy dosage forms provide the basis for effective dosing of active ingredients to children (and geriatric patients) their application for the delivery of certain APIs and like materials has been highly restrictive due to the limited number of active ingredients that are compatible with the gummy dosage platform and/or difficulties with incorporating the API in a sufficiently high concentration.
One type of active ingredient that would be desirably incorporated within a gummy form includes amino acids, which are promising candidates for treatment of a wide range of illnesses. For example, L-serine is being studied for the treatment of neurological brain diseases such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's Disease, and Parkinson's Disease. However, the inclusion of sufficient quantities of amino acids remains a challenge. It would be beneficial to provide methods for providing relatively high quantities of such active ingredients in gummy dosage forms so as to provide gummy dosage forms having relatively high concentrations of these active ingredients.


The present invention discloses a method for recovering a lost data unit, the method including: partitioning data to be transmitted into one or more data units, sorting the data units according to importance levels of the data units, and determining a check rule for the one or more data units, performing, by a transmitting end, a calculation on the sorted data units according to a predetermined algorithm depending on the check rule, to generate one or more corresponding check units; transmitting, by the transmitting end, the one or more data units to a receiving end in a sorted order, and transmitting the corresponding check units to the receiving end; recovering, by the receiving end, a lost data unit according to the receiving data units and check units as well as the check rule. With the method, the loss-preventative capability of the data units may be improved.

The multimedia communication service is a primarily developed service in the Next Generation Network (NGN), and is implemented by using the IP-based packet switched technology to transmit multimedia packets over a wired or wireless channel.
The multimedia communication service generally selects an IP (Internet Protocol) network as a bearer network for the transmission of the multimedia data. However, as a bearer network, the IP network has the disadvantage that it cannot provide a full QoS (Quality of Service) guarantee. Although some strategies have been developed to provide certain QoS for the bearer layer of the IP network, it is far from being sufficient to provide services for a carrier class network. Thus, for a multimedia communication service which utilizes the IP network as its bearer network, especially a communication service with a high real-time demand, such as the audio/video communication, a corresponding measures for QoS guarantee from the bearer layer to the application layer of the network should be established so as to ensure the accurate transmission of the multimedia data. The measures for QoS guarantee should take into account not only the problems such as multi-path and fading associated with the wireless channel, but also the problems of the multimedia packets during transmission cause by network congestion such as delay, and packet loss.
When the data packets obtained by packetizing the multimedia data are transmitted over the IP network, they may be lost due to the transmission quality of the transmission channel. Accordingly, the packet loss will lead to a decreased recovery quality of speeches or images received by the receiving end, and thereby a significant deterioration of the overall performance of the multimedia communication. So in a multimedia communication system, the resilience and correction of errors due to the packet loss is very critical for improving the quality of the multimedia communication. The common correction measures include the packet retransmission mechanism and Forward Error Correction (FEC) mechanism.
The packet retransmission mechanism means to require a transmitting end to retransmit the lost packet(s). In this way, the problem of communication quality degradation due to the packet loss can be solved effectively. However, the communication delay due to the lost packet retransmission by the transmitting end is usually intolerable for a session-based application, such as a video-conference, etc., especially for an application based on IP multicast service which is now increasing rapidly. In such a case, it is impossible to provide packet retransmission for each user to retransmit the lost packet(s). For this reason, the retransmission mechanism is generally applicable to only the multimedia communication services which have a relatively low real-time demand.
The FEC mechanism is usually applicable to the multimedia communication services with a higher real-time demand. For the multimedia communication data transmitted based on IP network, the FEC mechanism for it often utilizes the Erasure Codes to recover the lost packets effectively. The principle of the Erasure Codes is as follows:
The receiving end recovers the lost packet(s) according to the inherent redundancy between the received packets. At present, a Reed-Solomon (RS) Code is generally used as the common Erasure Code. In the case of a code rate of ½, a RS Code enables the recovery of 33% of the lost packets. However, the computational complexity is much higher when utilizing a RS Code to recover the lost packets, which limits the application of the RS Code to the services with a large amount of data.
The H.264 standard, in which many error-resilience approaches are presented, is an IP-oriented video compression codec transmission standard finally constituted in May, 2003 by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The RFC 2733 protocol which supports the H.264 standard and is advanced by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), i.e. "An RTP Payload Format for Generic Forward Error Correction" protocol, specifies a payload format of the multimedia data encapsulated in a Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) data packet. The RFC 2733 protocol specifies three RTP packetization approaches for the FEC mechanism. Based on these three RTP packetization approaches, the FEC algorithm is to perform an Exclusive Or (XOR) operation to RTP data packets to generate FEC check packets, wherein the format of the generated FEC check packets also follows the format of the RTP data packets; then the transmitting end transmits the RTP data packets and the generated FEC check packets to the receiving end respectively; the receiving end recovers the lost packet(s) due to the quality of the transmission channel according to the received RTP data packets and the FEC check packets.
The three RTP packetization approaches for the FEC mechanism specified in the RFC 2733 protocol are as follows:
(1) The First Scheme:
a   b   c   d   e_each letter represents onemultimedia data packet followingthe RTP format;f(a, b)  f(b, c)  f(c, d)  f(d, e)_each function value representsone FEC check packet;
The meaning of the above representation is: for a sequence of multimedia data packets a, b, c, d, e . . . , a XOR function expression f( ) is used to generate the corresponding check packets. For example, if the data packets a and b are input parameters respectively, the output value f(a, b) derived from the XOR operation of the function f( ) is regarded as a check packet, i.e.:
f(a, b) = a ⊕ b_the check packet f(a, b) is obtained by performing XORoperation on each binary bit of the data packet a and eachcorresponding binary bit of the data packet b in a properorder;
In this way, the rest may be deduced by analogy, that is, the check packets f(b, c), f(c,d), f(d, e) may be obtained respectively;
(2) The Second Scheme:
f(a, b)  f(a, c)  f(a, b, c)  f(c, d)  f(c, e)  f(c, d, e)_each functionvaluerepresents oneFEC checkpacket;
The process for generating each of the check packets is the same as that of the first scheme;
(3) The Thirst Scheme:
a   b   c   d_each variable represents onemultimedia data packetfollowing the RTP format;f(a, b, c)  f(a, c, d)  f(a, b, d)_each value represents one FEC checkpacket;
The process of generating each of the check packets is also the same as that of the first scheme.
In summary, the relationship between the RTP data packets and the FEC check packets may be described using a mathematical model of a check matrix: in which the elements of the check matrix are 0 or 1. If the element at the crossing of the mth row and the nth column is 1, it means that the mth check packet and the nth data packet are correlated (i.e. the related packets, as the parameters of the function f( ) respectively, participate in the generation of the check packet). While if the element at the crossing of the mth row and the nth column is 0, it means that the mth check packet is independent of the nth data packet.
For example, the relationship between the RTP data packets and the generated FEC check packets in the third scheme can be expressed by the following check matrix:
      [                            1                          1                          1                          0                                      1                          0                          1                          1                                      1                          1                          0                          1                      ]                      a                    b                    c                    d
In the above matrix, a, b, c and d represent four data packets respectively; the first check packet f1=f(a, b, c)=a⊕b⊕c because each of the elements at the crossings of the first row with the columns in which the data packets a, b and c are located is 1. Similarly, the second check packet f2=(a, c, d)=a⊕c⊕d and the third check packet f3=f(a, b, d)=a⊕b⊕d. Each of the check packets is generated by performing an XOR operation on each corresponding bit of each of the data packets.
Also in the RFC2733 protocol, the length of the longest RTP data packet is used as a reference, zero(s) are padded at the end of the rest data packets so that the lengths of all of the data packets participating in the XOR operation may be made identical. Therefore, the length of a FEC check packet is equal to that of the longest data packet participating in generating the FEC packet.
The three RTP packetization approaches for the FEC mechanism advanced in the RFC 2733 protocol have the following characteristics respectively:
The first scheme enables the recovery of a single lost data packet with a probability of 100%, and the recovery of any two lost data packets with a probability of 94%; however it cannot recover three successively lost data packets. The redundancy of this packetization approach is 44.4%, in which:Redundancy=the number of check packets/(the number of data packets+the number of check packets)×100%.
The characteristic of the second scheme lies in that only the check packets are transmitted while the data packets are not transmitted, and the original data packets are recovered according to the received check packets at the receiving end. The redundancy of this packetization approach is 16.7%. However, this scheme can recover only any single lost data packet as well as certain successively lost data packets, but cannot recover the data packets according to a single received check packet.
On a condition that the redundancy is 42.9%, the third scheme can recover any single lost data packets, two successively lost data packets or certain three lost data packets. The probability of completely recovering three lost data packets is 80%, however this scheme cannot recover three successively lost data packets with a probability of 100%.
For example, when the packets f(a, b, c), c and f(a, c, d) are lost at the same time, the packet c cannot be recovered; when the packets f(a, c, d), f(a, b, d) and d are lost simultaneously, the packet d cannot be recovered.
In addition, during the process of calculating and generating the check packets, the length of the longest data packet is used as the reference, zeros have to be padded at the ends of all the rest data packets such that the lengths of all the data packets participating in the XOR operations are identical, and thus the length of a generated check packet is equal to that of the longest data packet participating in generating the check packet, which by all means leads to a higher bit overhead occupied by the check packets and hence a lower data transmission efficiency.
As can be seen from the above that the packetization approaches in the RFC 2733 protocol have an insufficiency in the capability of recovering the lost data packets so that the lost packet(s) due to the quality of the transmission channel cannot be recovered efficiently, which brings about a deterioration in the overall performance of the multimedia communication to a certain extent.


A computer-implemented method of enhancing data in a screenshot can include capturing a screenshot of content presented on a display and identifying within the content at least a first element comprising first semantic data. A first semantic representation of the first semantic data can be generated and the first semantic representation can be associated with the first element. The first semantic representation and the screenshot can be output.

Screenshots are images of content presented on a display, or a portion thereof, and typically provide a static representation of the display at a particular moment. For example, a screenshot can depict a computer's desktop as it appears at the time the screenshot is taken, as well as application windows that may be open, messages that are displayed, and the like. Screenshots are quite valuable in that they easily convey information in an applicable context. Accordingly, they are commonly used as a means of communication. For example, screenshots are sometimes used to depict display activity and error messages generated by computer software when an error has occurred on a computer. Such screenshots then may be electronically communicated to software support personnel for problem solving purposes. Screenshots also are often used in computer application tutorials to depict user inputs required in a particular workspace. For instance, a tutorial may include a series of screenshots, each representing a different step of a user interactive process.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


An image forming apparatus includes a main body in which a photosensitive medium is disposed, and a developing device detachably disposed at the main body to develop electrostatic latent images on the photosensitive medium. The developing device includes a developing member disposed in a developing unit to supply developing agent to the photosensitive medium, a driven member to receive power from a driving member, and to allow the developing member to rotate, and a power transmitting member to connect the developing member and the driven member, and to absorb a movement of a normal force direction of a driving force generated between the driving member and the driven member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to an image forming apparatus. More particularly, the present general inventive concept relates to a power transmitting unit to transmit power between two members, and a developing device and an image forming apparatus having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, conventional image forming apparatuses such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, and a composite apparatus have all functions thereof have a printing function to print images on a printing medium. The image forming apparatuses have a printing medium feeding unit, a photosensitive medium, a developing device, a transferring unit, a fusing unit, and a conveying unit. Alternatively, a color image forming apparatus needs the developing device having a plurality of developing units for forming color images.
The color image forming apparatus has first to fourth developing units to store yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toners, respectively. The first to fourth developing devices have first to fourth developing members to face the photosensitive medium. Each of the first to fourth developing members has a gap ring disposed at one side thereof to maintain a gap between the photosensitive medium and the developing member. Each of the first to fourth developing units is biased toward the photosensitive medium by an elastic member disposed at a rear side of each of the developing units.
The first to fourth developing members receive a driving force from first to fourth driving members disposed in a main body of the image forming apparatus, and are driven. For this, first to fourth driven members engaging with the first to fourth driving members are coaxially disposed at the first to fourth developing members, respectively. Each of the first to fourth developing members rotates counterclockwise, and the photosensitive medium rotates clockwise.
The first to fourth developing units having the above-described structure are vertically arranged at one side of the photosensitive medium by predetermined intervals. At this time, the first to fourth developing units are guided along mounting rails disposed in the main body of the image forming apparatus, so mounted to the main body of the image forming apparatus so that each of the first to fourth driven members are engaged with each of the first to fourth driving members. Also, each of the first to fourth driven members has a mounting projection to be inserted into the mounting rail at one side thereof.
Alternatively, forces operating between the fourth driven member and the fourth driving member of the fourth developing unit that is disposed to face the photosensitive medium at a lower position compared to the first to third developing units are resolved as illustrated in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1, Fd is a driving force to operate between the fourth driven member 4 and the fourth driving member 3 engaging with each other, and Fb is an elastic pressing force to push the fourth developing unit toward the photosensitive medium 1 from a rear side of the fourth developing unit. Each of the driving force Fd and elastic pressing force Fb is resolved into a tangential force Fdt and Fbt and a normal force Fdc and Fbc between the fourth driven member 4 and the fourth driving member 3. A reference numeral 5 is a mounting rail.
The two normal forces Fdc and Fbc to determine a developing nip between the developing member 2 and the photosensitive medium 1 operate in opposite direction. The normal force Fdc caused by the driving force Fd is larger than the normal force Fbc caused by the elastic pressing force Fb. Therefore, the fourth driven member 4 moves in a direction of the Fdc. Because the fourth driven member 4 and fourth developing member 2 are disposed at the same shaft 2a, a developing nip between the photosensitive medium 1 and the fourth developing member 2 is changed so that developing quality is likely to degrade.
Alternatively, because an outer surface of the photosensitive medium 1 is formed in an ellipse section not a circle section, the fourth developing member 2 is required to move within a predetermined range for uniformly maintaining the developing nip between the photosensitive medium 1 and the developing member 2. If the movement of the fourth developing member 2 is transmitted to the fourth driven member 4 disposed at the same shaft 2a with the fourth developing member 2, the movement of the fourth developing member 2 impedes engagement between the fourth driving member 3 and the fourth driven member 4.
Also, the two tangential forces Fdt and Fbt resolved from the driving force Fd and the elastic pressing force Fb cause the fourth driven member 4 to move toward a bottom end of the photosensitive medium 1. As a result, a distance between a shaft of the fourth driven member 4 and a shaft of the fourth driving member 3 is unstable.

Power transmitting unit, and developing device and image forming apparatus having the same


A technique is disclosed that enables the adaptive pooling of M transmission paths that offer a first signal-quality guarantee, or no guarantee at all, with N transmission paths that offer a second signal-quality guarantee. Through this adaptive pooling, a telecommunications channel is created that meets the quality of service or waveform quality required for a packet stream being transmitted, while not excessively exceeding the required quality. The technique adaptively recaptures any excess signal quality from one path and uses it to boost the quality of an inferior path. A node of the illustrative embodiment selects the paths to handle a current segment of source packets, based on one or more parameters that are disclosed herein. The node adapts to changing conditions by adjusting the transmission characteristics for each successive segment of packets from the source packet stream.

FIG. 1 depicts a schematic diagram of a telecommunications network in the prior art, such as the Internet, which transports data packets from one node to another. Each endpoint, server, router, or other device that is capable of transmitting and/or receiving packets in the network is generically referred to as a "network node," or simply "node." A node that originates one or more packets, as part of a packet stream, is referred to as a "source node," and a node that acts as the terminus for a packet stream is referred to as a "destination node." For the purposes of this specification, a "network path" is defined as the physical route between a pair of source and destination nodes in a network.
The service provided by a network path is characterized by its "quality of service," which, for the purposes of this specification, is defined as a function of one or more of the bandwidth, error rate, and latency from one node to another. For the purposes of this specification, the "bandwidth" from one node to another is defined as an indication of the amount of information per unit time that can be transported from the first node to the second. Typically, bandwidth is measured in bits or bytes per second. For the purposes of this specification, the "error rate" from one node to another is defined as an indication of the amount of information that is corrupted as it travels from the first node to the second. Typically, error rate is measured in bit errors per number of bits transmitted or in packets lost per number of packets transmitted. For the purposes of this specification, the "latency" from one node to another is defined as an indication of how much time is required to transport information from one node to another. Typically, latency is measured in seconds.
In the transmission of any packet stream, there is a source node and a destination node. The two nodes can be the same type of device, such as two Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) telephone clients communicating with each other, or can be different devices, such as a browser-equipped personal computer and a web server. Of course, the source node for one packet stream can be the destination node for another packet stream.
Some applications—e-mail, for example—are generally more tolerant of the quality of service provided by the network path, but some other applications—particularly VoIP telephony and streaming audio and video—are generally very sensitive and, as such, require a minimum quality of service to be present in the transmission path from source node to destination node.
Because the transmission path comprises the physical resources to ensure adequate operation in the worst case and because the network does not usually operate under the worst-case conditions, more resources are allocated to the transmission path than, on average, are necessary. This can result in a waste of transmission resources and money. Although various resource-allocation techniques, such as the pooling of a specific type of resource, can be employed to reduce this waste, some inefficiency still remains.
The need exists, therefore, for an invention that improves the utilization of resources during the transmission of a packet stream, without some of the disadvantages in the prior art.

Creating a telecommunications channel from multiple channels that have differing signal-quality guarantees