An antenna module, which minimizes a space, in an electronic apparatus set, occupied thereby without changing characteristics thereof, improves a degree of freedom of the installation structure thereof to increase the space utilization of the set, and achieves miniaturization and multi-functionality of electronic apparatuses, and an electronic apparatus having the antenna module. The antenna module includes a PCB (printed circuit board) made of nonconductive material having flexibility; an antenna element mounted at a designated position of the upper surface of the PCB; a ground line formed on the PCB so that the ground line is connected to a ground terminal of the antenna element, and provided with a joint portion formed at one end thereof; a feeder line formed on the PCB so that the feeder line is connected to a signal terminal of the antenna element, and provided with a joint portion formed at one end thereof; and a passive line, having a designated length, formed on the PCB in parallel with the feeder line. The joint portions of the ground line and the feeder line are bonded to designated positions of a set of the wireless electronic apparatus, and a portion of the antenna module having the antenna element mounted on the PCB is located outside the set.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna module installed on an electronic apparatus having a wireless communication function, and more particularly to an antenna module, which minimizes a space, in an electronic apparatus set, occupied thereby, improves a degree of freedom of the installation structure thereof to increase the space utilization of the set, and achieves miniaturization and multi-functionality of electronic apparatuses, and an electronic apparatus having the antenna module.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to meet the recent development of semiconductor and communication technique, electronic apparatuses having a wireless communication function for improving mobility and portability thereof by users (hereinafter, referred to "wireless electronic apparatuses") have generally been used. A cellular phone is a good example of a wireless electronic apparatus. In order to satisfy user's requirements to the portability, wireless electronic apparatuses have been gradually developed into increasingly light-weight and miniature devices.
Further, in order to satisfy user's requirements to the convenience in possession so that a single apparatus has at least two functions, the wireless electronic apparatuses have been multi-functionalized so as to include at least one function selected from MP3, camera, credit card, and wireless contact-type traffic card functions.
Accordingly, the miniaturization of components of the wireless electronic apparatuses has been researched. The above research is applied to an antenna for transmitting and receiving wireless signals. The conventional wireless electronic apparatuses generally use internal antennas so as to reduce the size of products. The internal antennas include a microstrip patch antenna, a flat inverted F-type antenna, and a chip antenna.
The microstrip patch antenna is embodied by a microstrip patch printed on a printed circuit board. In the chip antenna, multi-layered radiation patterns having various shapes including a spiral shape are formed in a dielectric block, and are electrically connected, thereby functioning as an antenna having a route of current corresponding to a designated frequency.
As shown in FIG. 1, an inverted F-type antenna comprises a radiation patch 11 formed at a designated height from the upper surface of a PCB (printed circuit board) 10, a feeder line 12, for applying current, and a ground line 13, which are connected to one edge of the radiation patch 11. The feeder line 12 and the ground line 13 are perpendicular to the radiation patch 11, and bonded to signal and ground patterns on the PCB 10.
The radiation patch 11 may have a rectangular shape. In FIG. 1, in order to expand a transmitting and receiving band and improve antenna characteristics, the radiation patch 11 on a rectangular conductive plane is divided into slits having designated shapes, thereby being deformed to a spiral shape. The radiation patch 11 may be deformed into various shapes. In the inverted F-type antenna of FIG. 1, the radiation patch 11 has two current routes, and receives and transmits frequency signals having wavelengths corresponding to electric lengths of the two current routes.
Here, the feeder and ground lines 12 and 13 of the radiation patch 11 may be supported by a designated dielectric, for example, a ceramic block.
As shown in FIG. 1, the above-described conventional internal antenna requires a peripheral space having a designated size or more, which is not grounded, in order to maintain characteristics thereof, when the internal type antenna is mounted on a wireless electronic apparatus set 10. Accordingly, the conventional internal antenna occupies a space, on the wireless electronic apparatus set, having a size larger than that of the antenna. It is difficult to prepare the corresponding space on wireless electronic apparatuses, which require miniaturization and multi-functionality. If it is possible to decrease the above space, the wireless electronic apparatus can be further miniaturized. Accordingly, it is necessary to decrease the space for installation of the antenna on the wireless electronic apparatus.
Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-87022 discloses an antenna module having a high mounting density. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the antenna module disclosed by the above Patent. With reference to FIG. 2, the antenna module comprises an antenna element 22, a driving circuit 23 for supplying current to the antenna element 22, and a waveguide 24 extended from one side surface of a PCB 21, on which the driving circuit 23 is installed, for connecting the driving circuit 23 and the antenna element 22. Here, the waveguide 24 is formed on a hard member having flexibility, and is bent so that the antenna element 22 can be three-dimensionally disposed on the PCB 21. In the antenna module having the above constitution, the antenna element 22, the waveguide 24, and the PCB 21 are integrally formed, thereby reducing the number of steps of an assembly process and achieving freedom of disposing wires or components.
When the waveguide 24 is vertically folded to be installed in a wireless electronic apparatus after the above antenna module is manufactured, the impedance of the waveguide 24 of the antenna module is changed, thereby causing signal loss and deteriorating characteristics of the antenna module.
Therefore, there has been developed an antenna module, which requires a small installation space on an electronic apparatus set and has a high freedom of disposition without changing characteristics thereof.

Antenna module and electronic apparatus having the same


In a method of chrominance signal interpolation, in which output chrominance signals (OUTUV) are interpolated (MED) from mutually corresponding input chrominance signals (INUV(Nxe2x88x921), INUV(N)) from mutually neighboring input images, a color saturation value of at least one of the output chrominance signals (OUTUV) is smaller than an average of color saturation values of the mutually corresponding input chrominance signals (INUV(Nxe2x88x921), INUV(N)) corresponding to the one output chrominance signal (OUTUV) if the mutually corresponding input chrominance signals (INUV(Nxe2x88x921), INUV(N)) meet a predetermined criterion. The expression xe2x80x9ccorrespondingxe2x80x9d relates to the chrominance signals concerned (INUV(Nxe2x88x921), INUV(N)) correspond both as to spatial positions in the mutually neighboring input images (N, Nxe2x88x921) and as to chrominance values, i.e., either U/I or V/Q. The criterion may be that the reference value (REF) lies between the corresponding input chrominance signals (INUV(Nxe2x88x921), INUV(N)), or that differences between the corresponding input chrominance signals (INUV(Nxe2x88x921), INUV(N)) exceed a predetermined threshold.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and device for chrominance signal interpolation. The invention also relates to a display apparatus comprising such a device.
2. Description Of The Related Art
It is known from literature (see Ref. [3] in the List Of References) that the Human Visual System (HVS) is more sensitive to luminance than to chrominance stimuli. Therefore, in many video-processing algorithms, the algorithm applied to the luminance signal is much more advanced then the one applied for the chrominance signal.
In scan-rate-conversion algorithms, like the PROZONIC (see Ref. [1]) and MELZONIC (see Ref. [2]), color processing is non-motion compensated. Motion artifacts in the chrominance signal caused by the conversion from, e.g., 50 Hz interlaced to 100 Hz interlaced are, to a significant extent, masked by the fact that the HVS is less sensitive to the chrominance signal as stated before. However, for very saturated colors, the artifacts can become visible and annoying.
If the luminance signal is motion compensated (MC) while the chrominance signal isn""t, a misalignment in moving objects occurs for temporal interpolated images. This misalignment is especially annoying for very saturated dark colors, where the constant luminance principle is jeopardized most severely due to the gamma correction of individual R, G, and B signals.
It is, inter alia, an object of the invention to provide an improved chrominance signal interpolation. To this end, the invention provides a chrominance signal interpolation method and device, and a display apparatus comprising such a device.
In a method of chrominance signal interpolation in accordance with a primary aspect of the present invention, in which output chrominance signals are interpolated from mutually corresponding input chrominance signals from mutually neighboring input images, a color saturation value of at least one of the output chrominance signals is smaller than an average of color saturation values of the mutually corresponding input chrominance signals corresponding to the one output chrominance signal if the mutually corresponding input chrominance signals meet a predetermined criterion. The expression corresponding means that the chrominance signals concerned correspond both as to spatial positions in the mutually neighboring input images and as to chrominance type, i.e., either U/I or V/Q. The criterion may be that the reference value lies between the corresponding input chrominance signals, or that differences between the corresponding input chrominance signals exceed a predetermined threshold.
These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.


Embodiments of the disclosure include a shallow trench isolation structure having a dielectric material with energetic species implanted to a predetermined depth of the dielectric material. Embodiments further include methods of fabricating the trench structures with the implant of energetic species to the predetermined depth. In various embodiments the implant of energetic species is used to densify the dielectric material to provide a uniform wet etch rate across the surface of the dielectric material. Embodiments also include memory devices, integrated circuits, and electronic systems that include shallow trench isolation structures having the dielectric material with the high flux of energetic species implanted to the predetermined depth of the dielectric material.

Implementing electronic circuits involves connecting isolated devices or circuit components through specific electronic paths. In silicon integrated circuit (IC) fabrication, it is necessary to isolate devices that are formed in a single substrate from one another. The individual devices or circuit components subsequently are interconnected to create a specific circuit configuration.
As the density of the devices continues to rise, parasitic inter-device currents become more problematic. Isolation technology, therefore, has become an important aspect of integrated circuit fabrication. For example, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices generally comprise an array of memory cells for storing data and peripheral circuits for controlling data in the memory cells. Each memory cell in a DRAM stores one bit of data and consists of one transistor and one capacitor. Within the array, each memory cell must be electrically isolated from adjacent memory cells. The degree to which large numbers of memory cells can be integrated into a single IC chip depends, among other things, on the degree of isolation between the memory cells. Similarly, in metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) technology, isolation must be provided between adjacent devices, such as NMOS or PMOS transistors or CMOS circuits, to prevent parasitic channel formation.
Shallow trench isolation (STI) is one technique which can be used to isolate devices such as memory cells or transistors from one another. The typical STI process consists of a blanket pad ox, blanket silicon nitride followed by a trench mask and etch through silicon nitride, pad ox and into the crystalline silicon substrate. The mask is stripped and a liner oxide is grown and annealed. Next, high density plasma (HDP) oxide is deposited to fill the trench and again heated to density the deposited oxide. Finally, the HDP oxide overburden is polished back to the buried silicon nitride and the silicon nitride/pad oxide is stripped prior to gate oxidation. As the HDP fills the trench it forms a vertical seam where the deposited layers of the HDP begin to join to fill the trench.
During the high temperature processing at liner oxide anneal and HDP oxide densification, stresses can develop because of non-uniform heating of the wafer. Within the active region, these stresses can modify the transistor performance. At the wafer level, non-uniformity of stress can cause localized overlay registration errors during the gate masking process. In addition, during the mechanical planarization this seam of the HDP is more vulnerable to over etching as compared to the adjacent HDP layer. As a result, a defect can be created at the seam that can lead to operational problems for the device.
Accordingly, it is desirable to improve the trench isolation techniques to address those and similar problems.


An improved current steering cell for a DAC which eliminates the need for an inverter reduces the noise at the common mode. The cell includes a first and a second current steering MOS transistor of a first polarity type, each having a gate and a pair of current passing terminals. The cell has an input terminal for receiving digital input signals coupled to the gate of the first of the pair of current steering transistors, and a common mode node for receiving an input current coupled to the same one of the pair of current passing terminals of each current steering MOS transistor. The current output terminal of the cell is coupled to the other of the pair of current passing terminals of the first of the current steering MOS transistors. Finally, the cell includes a third MOS transistor of the opposite polarity type to the current steering MOS transistors, having a gate and a pair of current passing terminals for passing a current through the transistor, the gate of the third MOS transistor being coupled to the gate of the first MOS current steering transistor, and the current passing terminals of the third MOS transistor being coupled between the gate of the second MOS current steering transistor and one of the pair of current passing terminals of the second MOS current steering transistor.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for current steering in a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). Most DACs require a current steering cell in order to provide glitch-free operation at the output. Current steering cells require complementary input signals. Prior art cells generated these input signals by using an input signal of one polarity and passing it through an inverter to generate the complementary signal. Such a prior art steering cell is shown in FIG. 1.
Bias voltages bv.sub.1 and bv.sub.2 are fed to bias voltage input terminals 201 and 202, respectively. Representative bias voltages may be 2.0 v and 1.5 v, respectively, for a supply voltage of 3.3 v. Transistors 203 and 204 are the cascode current source transistors for the current steering cell. Cascode transistors 203 and 204 set the biases necessary to establish the current I through the cell. They are of the same polarity type (P-channel in the example), and also are of the same polarity type as the current steering transistors 205 and 206 (which are also P-channel).
Some prior art current steering circuits use a single transistor instead of two transistors 203 and 204, but the cascoded pair of transmitters shown in FIG. 1 provides a higher output impedance. Ideal current sources have infinite output impedance.
Logic cell 207 provides the input signal to line 208, which is coupled to the respective gates of P-channel current steering transistors 205 and 206. Line 208 is coupled directly to the gate of transistor 205, and is coupled through inverter 209 to the gate of transistor 206. As discussed above, inverter 209 ensures that steering transistors 205 and 206 will receive complementary inputs.
The complementary input signals to P-channel steering transistors 205 and 206 cause disturbance of the common mode signal at node 210, which in turn causes disturbance in the value of the cell current I appearing at terminal 211.

Current steering circuit for a digital-to-analog converter


The present invention teaches a container for compact disks includes a base portion and an integrally formed support portion which is connected to the base portion by a flexure hinge. The support panel includes a compact disk holder which facilitates mounting a compact disk on the support panel. The flexure hinge allows the support panel to pivot from a first position in which the support panel and the compact disk are located in a recess, formed in the base portion, to a second position in which the support panel and the compact disk are pivoted away from the base portion. A cover is attached tot he support panel at a location close to the hinge. Opening the cover causes the support panel to rotate from the first position to the second position thereby facilitating installation or removal of a compact disk.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to containers and, more particularly, to a storage unit for compact disks which features ease of use.
2. Prior Art
The prior art related to containers or storage units for compact disks includes the well-known type of container known as a jewel box. This container typically is formed as a clear plastic box with an internal platform. The platform includes a hub portion with spring fingers which closely fit the center hole of a compact disk. This type of container typically has a snap-fit lid which is both difficult and time consuming to open. Typically two hands are needed to pry open the lid. Once the lid is opened, the user must grasp the rim of the compact disk which rests close to the platform and pry the compact disk away from the hub. During this process the compact disk usually bends and the user often becomes concerned that excessive force may be applied to the compact disk.
To install a compact disk into a conventional jewel box the lid must again be pried open and the compact disk must be pushed onto the hub. This process again bends the compact disk and the handling process leaves often finger prints and minute particles of dirt which are inadvertently transferred from the user's hands.
The conventional jewel box container is especially difficult and frustrating for children and older persons who lack the manual dexterity required to perform the required actions needed to remove and replace a compact disk in an efficient manner.
The conventional jewel box container requires a separate printed paper or cardstock package insert in order to present graphic and text information regarding the compact disk stored therein.
Additionally, the covers of conventional jewel box containers include a relatively thin plastic panel, which is subject to cracking and breakage.
The prior art related to compact disks includes the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,793,480, 5,168,991, 5,244,084, 5,421,452, 5,246,107, 5,450,953 and 5,462,160.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,480 to Gelardi et al shows a storage container which is formed by two pivotally connected panels and a holder which automatically moves to an intermediate position when the two panels are separated.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,991 to Whitehead et al shows a storage container which is formed by two pivotally connected panels and a holder which can slide to a position between the panels when the two panels are opened and are in-line.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,084 to Chan shows a case which is formed by two outer shells which are connected to hold a disk holder. The disk holder can be turned out of the shells and then turned into the shells. A wedge block on one of the shells is engaged into an opening in the disk holder to lock the disk holder into the shells.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,452 to Hybiske shows a case which includes a pocket section into which a tray section, which holds a disk, is slideably mounted. The tray and the pocket section are fabricated from a single sheet of cardboard and a plurality of plates which hold a compact disk. The plates are connected by hinges to form an accordion-like structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,953 to Reisman shows a package which includes a rectangular envelope which contains a slideable carrier sheet which holds a compact disk. The carrier sheet includes a tab which extends into a slit in the envelope to restrict motion so that the carrier sheet is only partially removable from the envelope.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,160 to Youngs shows a storage container which includes a flexible sheet which is cut to form a flap which holds a compact disk. The container is formed of flexible sheets which may have holes punched to create a booklet of storage containers.
Despite the developments of the prior art, there remains a need for a storage unit for compact disks which is easy to use, easy to imprint and relatively rugged.


A coating composition for applying to a substrate and containing a resinous binder with fluorescent colorants in an upper layer and light-absorbing particles in a lower layer. The coating composition exhibits a first color when exposed to light of a first intensity, the first color being dominated by absorbance of light by the colorants and the light-absorbing particles. When exposed to light of a higher intensity, the coating composition exhibits a second color dominated by fluorescent light emitted by the colorants.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to coating compositions containing fluorescent colorants, more particularly, to coatings containing fluorescent colorants that appear to change color with varying levels of light intensity.
2. Prior Art
Colored coating compositions typically include colorant particles dispersed in a resinous binder. The coating composition may further include reflective pigments, such as aluminum flake or metal oxide coated mica or other color effect pigment compositions or substrate-hiding materials, such as titanium dioxide. Conventional automotive solid-colored coatings include a resin and colored pigments which determine the desired coloration of the coating. Typically, solid color pigments are of a size such that they will scatter incident light effectively. The scattering will be in all directions.
Conventionally, in a pigmented coating composition, light that is scattered back out of the coating is described as being diffusely reflected while light that is scattered forward through the coating composition and is described as diffuse transmission. This scattering, in particular diffuse reflectance, is often desirable, providing opacity to the coating and hiding the surface of a coated article. Solid color pigments also typically absorb a portion of the incident light such that the light that is diffusely scattered and the remainder that is diffusely transmitted has a perceived color. These coating compositions may include a reflective pigment such as aluminum flake or metal oxide coated mica or other color effect pigment compositions. The portion of the incident light that is not absorbed or diffusely reflected by the colored pigment will interact with these color effect pigments. This portion of incident light may be specularly reflected by aluminum flake, or may interact with the coated mica or other effect pigment to produce a reflection whose perceived color is influenced by the structure of the pigment via an interference phenomenon. If this portion is specularly reflected by aluminum flake, there may be a perceived change in the color of the coating composition, typically described as flop. The perceived color will appear bright at viewing angles close to specular (on face), and appear to darken at viewing angles far from specular (on flop).
Such color effect pigments and coating compositions are desirable in the marketplace as styling tools in automotive coatings. However, angle-dependent color effect pigments are costly to prepare. The perception of color by the human eye is dependent on many factors, not the least of which is the environment surrounding a colored surface. One readily available environmental feature that affects the color of automotive coatings is the presence and intensity of sunlight. Some colors appear different in shade than when in direct sun. The advantages of producing color effects in coating compositions based on variable environmental light levels have not been fully exploited.
Accordingly, a need remains for producing cost-effective color effect coating compositions for use as alternative styling tools which use the surrounding light levels to control the perceived color of a coating composition.

Coating composition with flourescent colorants having color effect dependent on light intensity


A method for purifying used antifreeze is disclosed. An antifreeze recycling systems uses a simple-distillation apparatus adapted to distill clean antifreeze from used antifreeze. A novel scraper blade is used in the simple-distillation apparatus. Also, antifreeze recycling methods that minimize waste and generate nontoxic, landfillable waste are provided. An antifreeze product produced by the present method, and a nontoxic, landfillable sludge product produced by the present method, are disclosed.

The present invention relates to antifreeze recycling systems. The present invention further relates to a simple-distillation apparatus adapted to distill clean antifreeze from used antifreeze. More particularly, the present invention relates to antifreeze recycling methods that minimize waste. Further, the present invention relates to antifreeze methods systems that generate nontoxic, landfillable waste. Also, the present invention relates to an antifreeze boiler comprising a scraper blade to scrape antifreeze sludge from the side of the antifreeze boiler. In addition, the present invention relates to an antifreeze product produced by the present method. Also, the present invention relates to a nontoxic, landfillable sludge product produced by the present method.
No system exists that provides a simple-distillation apparatus and method that generates clean, reusable antifreeze and nontoxic, landfillable waste. Also, no system exists that provides a scraper blade to remove antifreeze sludge from the sides of an antifreeze distillation boiler. In addition, no system provides a method that generates nontoxic, landfillable sludge instead of hazardous liquid waste.
Therefore, a need exists for a simple-distillation apparatus and method that generates clean, reusable antifreeze and nontoxic, landfillable waste. Also, a need exists for a scraper blade specially adapted to remove antifreeze sludge from the sides of a boiler. In addition, a need exists for a method that generates nontoxic, landfillable sludge instead of hazardous liquid waste.


A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a piezoelectric layer is made of a complex oxide having a perovskite structure and containing bismuth, iron, barium and titanium. Further, the driving waveform includes: a polarization stage in which a first voltage larger than a coercive voltage of the piezoelectric layer is applied so as to polarize the piezoelectric layer; a relaxation stage in which the voltage being applied is changed from the first voltage to a reverse-polarity voltage of the first voltage so as to relax the polarization of the piezoelectric layer; and a discharge stage in which the voltage being applied is changed from the reverse-polarity voltage to a voltage larger than the first voltage so as to discharge a liquid.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to liquid ejecting apparatuses equipped with a piezoelectric element that includes electrodes and a piezoelectric layer to generate a change in pressure of a pressure generation chamber communicating with a nozzle opening.
2. Related Art
As a typical example of liquid ejecting heads mounted in liquid ejecting apparatuses, there is provided an ink jet recording head, for example, in which a part of a pressure generation chamber that communicates with a nozzle opening for discharging ink droplets is configured with a vibrating plate, and this vibrating plate is deformed by a piezoelectric element and pressurizes ink in the pressure generation chamber so as to discharge the link through the nozzle opening as an ink droplet.
As a piezoelectric element used in a liquid ejecting head, there is provided such an element that is configured by sandwiching a piezoelectric material which has an electromechanical conversion function, for example, a piezoelectric layer made of a crystallized dielectric material between two electrodes. Such piezoelectric element is mounted in a liquid ejecting head as a flexural vibration-mode actuator, for example. Note that, as a typical example of the liquid ejecting head, there exists an ink jet recording head, for example, in which a part of a pressure generation chamber that communicates with a nozzle opening for discharging ink droplets is configured with a vibrating plate, and this vibrating plate is deformed by the piezoelectric element and pressurizes ink in the pressure generation chamber so as to discharge the ink through the nozzle opening as an ink droplet.
A piezoelectric material that is used as a piezoelectric layer constituting such piezoelectric element is required to have an excellent piezoelectric characteristic, and as a typical piezoelectric material, lead zirconate titanate (PZT) can be cited. However, in view of an environmental problem, a piezoelectric material without containing lead or a piezoelectric material whose lead content is suppressed has been required. As a piezoelectric material without lead, for example, there exists a BiFeO3-based piezoelectric material containing Bi and Fe (for example, see JP-A-2007-287745).
However, because such a piezoelectric layer that is made of a complex oxide without lead or with a suppressed lead content does not provide a sufficient amount of displacement in comparison with lead zirconate titanate (PZT), an increase in the amount of displacement is needed.
Of course, not only the ink jet recording head, but also other types of liquid ejecting heads that discharge a liquid other than ink have the same problem; in addition, the same problem also occurs in piezoelectric elements that are used in other apparatuses than the liquid ejecting head.


A cabinet assembly has at least one cabinet. Each cabinet is a frame and has multiple erect bars, a front board, a rear board, a bottom board, a left opening, a right opening, a wheel assembly and an inner chamber. The wheel assembly is mounted on a lower surface of the bottom board and has multiple wheels and a substrate. The wheels are mounted on the lower surface of the bottom board. The substrate is mounted below the bottom board and contacts to the wheels, allows the wheels to slide on the substrate and holds the cabinet. The inner chamber is formed between the front board, the rear board and the bottom board and communicates with the left opening and the right opening. Therefore, users put the objects from both the left opening and the right opening, so the cabinet assembly is very convenient for the users.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a cabinet assembly, and more particularly to a cabinet assembly that is moveable, is convenient for users to take objects from or put the objects in the cabinet assembly and is able to be reused. The users can decide how many cabinets they want to use according to available space.
2. Description of the Related Art
With reference to FIG. 14, a conventional cabinet (30) has an open front, a rear and an inner space. The open front may comprise a door (32), a window or the like to close the open front. The inner space has a board (31). The board (31) allows users to put books or other objects on the board (31) in the inner space.
When the books (21) are put on the board (31) close to the rear, the board (31) near the open front still has almost a half space being available. Thus, the users can put another books (22) on the board (31) in the half space. However, the outer row of books (22) shelters the inner row of books (21), and the users cannot see titles of the books (21), so users are difficult to find a book they want. Moreover, when the users want to take the books (21) from the cabinet (30), they have to remove the outer row of books (22) and then take the books (21). Therefore, it is inconvenient for the users and is time-consuming.
Furthermore, if the books or objects are arranged disorderly in the conventional cabinet (30), the appearance of the cabinet (30) with the disorder books or objects is mess when the cabinet (30) does not have a door (32) or has a see-through window or door (32).
Additionally, if the users live in a city, they usually live in a limited space, such as an apartment or the like. Therefore, how to completely use the space and to make the space cozy without stress is important to the users. However, the conventional cabinet (30) has a fixed size, so the conventional cabinet (30) and cannot fit with spatial designs for different rooms or apartments. For example, a traditional wooden cabinet has an unchangeable size, so the traditional wooden cabinet and an available space cannot match exactly. Accordingly, a specific cabinet will be produced for a specific available space, but the users have to spend much time, a lot of money for the specific cabinet. Moreover, the wooden cabinet is heavy and is hardly disassembled. Once the wooden cabinet is submerged in flood, it has to be thrown away, so it wastes wooden source.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a cabinet assembly to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned.


An image recording apparatus for recording an image by using a plurality of recording elements which are driven an accordance with an image signal includes a first correction unit for correcting driving conditions of the recording element, and a second correction unit for correcting a level of the image signal, wherein a variation in the recording elements is corrected by a combination of the first and second correction units. A driving voltage or a width of drive pulse which is applied to each recording element is controlled as a driving condition, thereby making uniform an uneven image density.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an image recording apparatus for recording an image by using a plurality of recording elements.
2. Related Background Art
Hitherto, in such a kind of apparatus, a multi recording head in which a plurality of recording elements are arranged in one recording head to reduce the recording time as short as possible is mainly used as a recording head for use in a printer, a facsimile apparatus, a copying apparatus, or the like. Generally, however, in the case where the recording elements of one multi recording head have been driven under the same driving condition from a viewpoint of a manufacturing problem, an uneven image density occurs in a recording image due to a variation in recording characteristics by the recording elements, so that a recording image of good quality is not achieved. Therefore, an apparatus to prevent the above uneven image density has been proposed. The above apparatus has: memory means for printing a test pattern of a certain predetermined density for a recording head in the case where recording characteristics of recording elements are uneven and for calculating and storing data according to recording characteristics of the recording elements; and means for correcting input image data on the basis of the memory means and the stored data.
For instance, a multinozzle head of the ink jet type has a multihead 61 which is constructed by arranging recording elements 62 in a line as shown in FIG. 6A. In the case where input signals to the image recording elements are set to be uniform as shown in FIG. 6B, an uneven image density as shown in FIG. 6C occurs as an example. In this case, the input signals are corrected as shown in FIG. 6D, a large input signal is given to the image recording elements in the portion of low densities, and a small input signal is given to the image recording elements in the portion of high densities. In the case of a recording system which can modulate a dot diameter or a dot density, a diameter of dot which is recorded by each image recording element is modulated in accordance with the input signal. For instance, in the ink jet recording system of the piezoelectric type, a driving voltage or a pulse width which is applied to each piezoelectric element, while in the case of the thermal copy transfer recording system, a driving voltage or a pulse width which is applied to each heating element is changed in accordance with the input signal, thereby making uniform the dot diameters or dot densities by the recording elements. Thus a density distribution is made uniform as shown in FIG. 6E. On the other hand, in the case where it is impossible or difficult to modulate the dot diameter or dot density, the number of dots is modulated in accordance with the input signal. A larger number of dots are printed by the image recording elements in the low density portion and a small number of dots are printed by the image recording elements in the high density portion, so that a density distribution is made uniform as shown in FIG. 6E.
A correction amount in the above cases is obtained, for instance, by the following method.
The case of correcting an uneven image density of a multihead comprising 256 nozzles will now be described as an example. FIG. 7 shows an uneven image density distribution which occurs when dots have been printed by a certain uniform image signal S. First, a mean density OD of the head is obtained. Then, densities OD.sub.1 to OD.sub.256 of the portions corresponding to the nozzles are measured. Subsequently, .DELTA.OD.sub.n =OD-OD.sub.n (n=1 to 256) are obtained. Now, assuming that the relation between the value of the image signal and the output density, that is, the tone characteristic is linear as shown in FIG. 8, it is proper to correct the image signal by only .DELTA.S in order to correct the density by only .DELTA.OD.sub.n. For this purpose, it is sufficient to execute a table conversion as shown in FIG. 9 to the image signal. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 301 denotes a straight line of an inclination of 1.0. An input signal is generated without being converted. On the other hand, reference numeral 302 denotes a straight line of an inclination of (S-.DELTA.S)/S and when an input signal of S is given, a signal of S-.DELTA.S is generated.
Therefore, if the head is driven after executing a table conversion as shown by the straight line 302 in FIG. 9 for the image signal corresponding to the n-th nozzle, a density of the portion which is printed by the n-th nozzle is equal to OD. By performing such a process for all of the nozzles, the uneven image density is corrected and a uniform image is derived. That is, the uneven image density can be corrected by previously obtaining data indicating which table conversion should be optimally performed to the image signal corresponding to which nozzle.
However, in the above conventional example, actually, the tone characteristics of all of the nozzles are not expressed by the straight lines as shown in FIG. 8. Drawbacks in the case where the tone characteristics of the nozzles differ will now be explained. The case of correcting a difference of the image densities between two nozzles will now be considered for simplicity of explanation.
In FIG. 10, reference numeral 401 denotes a tone characteristic of a nozzle-1 and 402 indicates a tone characteristic of a nozzle-2. Since an ink discharge amount of the nozzle-2 is larger than that of the nozzle-1, the nozzle-2 has such a tone characteristic. In the case of correcting the density difference for the input signal S as mentioned above, the image signal for the nozzle-2 is increased by (S-.DELTA.S)/S times. Thus, the tone characteristic 402 is extended in the X direction by only S/(S-.DELTA.S) times. The extended tone characteristic 402 is as shown at 402' in FIG. 11.
Although the density difference for the input signal S has been corrected, density differences still remain in the other regions. To correct the density differences for all of the regions, it is necessary that all of the tone characteristics of the nozzles are expressed by straight lines.
However, since the ink emission amounts of the nozzles actually differ, the tone characteristics of the nozzles also differ.
Therefore, there is a drawback such that even if an uneven image density could be corrected at a certain print duty, uneven image densities remain at the other duties and it is very difficult to correct the uneven image densities for the whole region.
The above drawback is not limited to the foregoing ink jet system. Even in the other systems such as thermal copy transfer system, LED printer, and the like, there is a variation of dot diameters which are printed by the heating elements and there is also a variation of tone characteristics. It is, therefore, also similarly very difficult to correct the uneven image densities.

Image recording apparatus having density correction of plural recording elements


Thermal removal of optical fiber coatings by insertion through heated ferrules to form ferrule assemblies for fiber optic connectors, and related assemblies are disclosed. An optical fiber includes a glass fiber, having a cladding and core, surrounded by a protective coating. By removing the coating at an end portion of the optical fiber, the end portion may be precisely positioned and secured within a ferrule to enable reliable optical communications. The coating may be thermally removed, or substantially thermally removed, by inserting the optical fiber through a rear opening of the ferrule which has been heated above a temperature sufficient to change the coating to a non-solid state. In this manner, the coating may be efficiently removed from the end portion of the optical fiber while being inserted into the ferrule bore of the ferrule to enable efficient forming of a ferrule assembly for a fiber optic connector.

The disclosure relates generally to fiber optic connectors, and more particularly to removing polymer coatings overlaying optical fibers, which may be used when preparing the optical fibers for attachment in ferrules of the fiber optic connectors.
Benefits of optical fibers include extremely wide bandwidth and low noise operation. In cases where high bandwidth is required between two interconnection locations, fiber optic cables having fiber optic connectors may be used to communicate information between these locations. The fiber optic connectors may be used to conveniently connect and disconnect the fiber optic cables from the interconnection locations, for example, to facilitate maintenance and upgrades.
Fiber optic connectors include a ferrule assembly having a ferrule. The ferrule has several purposes. The ferrule includes an internal pathway, called a ferrule bore, through which an optical fiber is supported and protected. The ferrule bore also includes an opening at an end face of the ferrule. The opening is where an optical core of an end portion of the optical fiber may be located to be aligned to an end portion of another optical fiber of a complementary connector. The optical core may be as small as eight (8) microns, such that the end portions of the optical fibers need to be precisely aligned to establish an optical connection.
The optical fibers typically include a glass fiber (e.g., cladding and optical core) surrounded by a protective polymer coating, which is removed from an end portion of an optical fiber prior to being disposed within the ferrule bore of the ferrule. This is because the polymer coatings do not currently have the robust mechanical properties necessary to be attached to the ferrule bore to withstand the cyclical tension experienced during the use of the fiber optic optic connector over time without displacement creep or breakage. Also, the glass fiber of the optical fiber is not centered within the polymer coating with sufficient accuracy to permit the glass fiber to be precisely located within the ferrule bore without removing the coating. For at least these reasons, the coating is removed from the end portion of the optical fiber prior to being disposed in a ferrule.
Various methods are available to remove the coating from an optical fiber, including hot gas stripping, mechanical stripping, chemical stripping, and laser stripping. All of these methods have drawbacks. Hot-gas stripping uses a heated jet of gas (e.g., nitrogen or air) to melt and remove the coating, but considerable debris is often created. The hot-gas stripping approach may also incompletely evaporate the coating, and/or may overheat heat-sensitive materials in close proximity to the fiber core.
Mechanical stripping of optical fibers includes physically removing the coating material from the glass fiber with a semi-sharp edge of a stripping blade made of a metal or a polymer, as may be similar to mechanical stripping of electrical wires. However, mechanical stripping may have issues because the optical fiber may be damaged, and stripping blades are needed that require time-consuming inspection and replacement procedures. Chemical stripping of optical fibers uses chemicals to dissolve the coating from the glass portion of the optical fiber, but these chemicals require extensive procedures to protect the environment and safety measures to protect personnel.
Laser stripping utilizes one or more laser beams to strip the coating from glass optical fibers typically using a vaporization or ablation process as laser energy is absorbed by the polymer coatings. In order to remove the coatings around a circumference of the optical fiber the laser energy must be distributed around the circumference which, typically requires added complexity and cost. For example, complex three-dimensional mirrors may be utilized, or the optical fiber may be moved relative to a laser beam using specialized equipment.
In addition, once coating is removed from an end portion of an optical fiber using any of the above-mentioned methods, the optical fiber is vulnerable to damage. A stripped portion of an optical fiber may be damaged merely by being in contact with particulates which could scratch or damage an exterior surface of the optical fiber where coating has been removed. Any coating stripping process completed prior to insertion of the optical fiber into a ferrule must be managed carefully so that the stripped portion of the optical fiber is not damaged prior to being protected within the ferrule.
What is desired is a more cost-effective and efficient method to prepare an end portion of an optical fiber for terminating into a ferrule so that the end portion is coupled to the ferrule and the coating of the end portion of the optical fiber is removed or substantially removed. The method and associated equipment should remove the coating from the end portion of the optical fiber while minimizing damage to the optical fiber. The method should also be efficient, inexpensive, and not require unsafe chemicals.


In a magnetic disk apparatus, the integral value of position information representing the current position of a magnetic head is obtained from address code data corresponding to a cylinder number recorded on a disk. The decimal value of the position information is computed from the level values of burst data recorded on the disk. The moving speed value of the magnetic head and a remaining distance are calculated on the basis of the position information having the obtained integral and decimal values. Two target speed values are extracted from a speed table in accordance with the remaining distance, and an intermediate value between the two target speed values is approximately computed. With this operation, a more accurate target speed value corresponding to the remaining distance is obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for controlling the moving speed of a magnetic head.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional magnetic disk apparatus of, e.g., a sector servo type, position information is produced on the basis of servo data prerecorded on a disk as a recording medium, and positioning control of a magnetic disk is performed in accordance with the position information. This positioning control includes speed control and position control. In speed control, the actual moving speed value of the magnetic head is obtained in accordance with the produced position information, and the moving speed value of the magnetic head is adjusted such that the actual moving speed value coincides with a target speed value. That is, control is performed to position the magnetic head at a target position, i.e., a target cylinder (track). In contrast to this, in position control, when the magnetic head is moved to the target position by the speed control, the position of the magnetic head is adjusted such that the current position, of the magnetic head, which is based on the position information coincides with the target position. That is, control is performed to position the magnetic head at the center of the target cylinder.
A target speed value VR of the magnetic head is determined in accordance with a remaining distance XE from a current position Xn to a target position XR of the magnetic head. In accelerating the magnetic head, a maximum speed value Vmax is used. In decelerating the magnetic head, a speed value which changes as shown in FIG. 1 is generally used as a target speed value. Referring to FIG. 1, reference symbol V denotes the moving speed value of the magnetic head. In decelerating the magnetic head, the target speed value VR of the magnetic head corresponding to the remaining distance XE is calculated according to the following equation: ##EQU1## where S is a coefficient. However, it is difficult to perform the calculation of equation (1) by firmware. In practice, therefore, a speed table in which the target speed value VR corresponding to the remaining distance XE is preset is used to obtain a value similar to the target speed value VR calculated according to equation (1).
In this case, in order to obtain the accurate target speed value VR, a speed table having detailed position data shown in, e.g., FIG. 3, is required. That is, a speed table is required in which the remaining distances XE representing the distances between the current positions and target positions of the magnetic head are set as real numbers including zero and decimals such as 0.25, 0.50, . . . In contrast to this table, in a speed table shown in FIG. 4, the remaining distances XE are set as integers representing cylinder numbers, such as 0, 1, 2, . . . Therefore, by using the speed table shown in FIG. 3, a more accurate target speed VR can be obtained.
In order to use the speed table (FIG. 3) in which the remaining distances XE are set as real numbers, a large storage capacity is required as compared with the case wherein the speed table (FIG. 4) in which the remaining distances XE are set as integers is used. In addition, even if such a speed table is used, as the remaining distance XE becomes closer to 0, i.e., the current position Xn of the magnetic head becomes closer to the target position XR, an error in the target speed value VR is increased. For example, in the speed table shown in FIG. 4, if the remaining distance XE is a value between 249.75 and 250.00, the corresponding target speed value VR is 9.99 or 10.00. That is, the difference is 0.01. If, however, the remaining distance XE is a value between 0 and 0.25, the corresponding target speed value VR is 0.00 or 0.32. That is, the difference is increased to 0.32. This is because as the current position Xn of the magnetic head becomes closer to the target position XR, the speed curve of the magnetic head becomes steeper.
Furthermore, in the conventional magnetic disk apparatus having the speed table of FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. 5, as long as the magnetic head is located in the same cylinder (nth cylinder in this case), the current position of the magnetic head is indicated by the same value regardless of whether the magnetic dead is located at a position P1, P2, or P3 on the disk. Therefore, an accurate target speed value corresponding to the remaining distance cannot be obtained. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the moving speed value V to the target speed value VR greatly varies during deceleration of the magnetic head.
Note that a magnetic disk apparatus using a position detector such as a linear sensor is employed in order to accurately detect the current position of the magnetic head. Such a magnetic disk apparatus, however, requires a complicated arrangement, and an increase in cost is inevitable.
Since the moving speed value of the magnetic head greatly varies during deceleration of the magnetic head, the settling time is prolonged, resulting in an increase in the time required for seeking the magnetic head.
Under the circumstances, demands have arisen for a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus which can accurately move the magnetic head to a target position at high speed.

Apparatus for controlling moving speed of magnetic head


A sanding block and a kit for sanding curved surfaces are provided. The sanding block includes an elongated body which has a first sanding surface; and a sandpaper removably affixed to the first sanding surfaces wherein the body is elastically deformable such that the block can conform against a curved surface to be sanded.

This invention is generally in the field of hand tools for shaping and smoothing contoured surfaces, and more particularly sanding such surfaces to a desired smoothness or finish.
In numerous industries, products are made or repaired to have a desirably smooth, finished surface. Representative examples of these industries and products include furniture, shelving, and other woodworking; automotive body production and repair, nautical vessel body production and repair, exterior and interior finishing (e.g., drywall, kitchen countertops, bathroom vanities) in the construction of houses and other buildings. In all of these non-limiting examples, various surfaces require sanding to complete the product or project.
Flat surfaces and rounded surfaces with relatively large radii can generally be finished using power disk sanders or the like. However, surfaces having relatively sharp contours or curvilinear features generally require sanding by hand. For example, linear or elongated surface contours may be sanded by hand using contour sanders (i.e., sanding blocks) having a shape which fits into an almost perfect engagement with the elongated surface contour. However, when it is desired to sand another surface contour, another sander which mimics this new surface contour must be used. Furthermore, there are typically surface contours which do not have a matching pre-fabricated sanding block, and thus, finishing the surface becomes more difficult and/or less precise. For example, a conventional rigid sanding blocks designed for sanding a structure having a perfect 90° angle will gouge those structures that are imperfect, e.g., as found in some houses where corners may not be precisely 90°. Such blocks are also unforgiving of imperfect sanding strokes on even those corners that are perfect, and may still result in gouging. It therefore would be desirable to provide sanding blocks that offer better adaptability to different contoured surfaces for a variety of sanding applications.

Sanding blocks for use with adhesive-backed sandpaper


An interpretation workstation based apparatus having an "Auto Fault" software stored therein automatically identifies a plurality of fault cuts in each of a plurality of horizons in a seismic data volume in response to a plurality of predetermined "horizon time structures". When a processor in the workstation executes the "Auto Fault" software, the processor will receive the "horizon time structures" and perform the following steps: (a) identify valid gaps in each of the horizon time structures where each gap has a proper length and a proper slope, (b) locate midpoints in each of the valid gaps, (c) draw fault cuts at each of the midpoints of each of the valid gaps in the horizon time structure where the drawn fault cut has an inclination angle equal to a predefined and user input inclination angle for single horizon analysis, and an angle determined by association for multiple horizon analysis, and (d) extend the upper and the lower part of the horizon of the horizon time structure to the newly drawn fault cuts until a pair of fault contacts on the fault cuts are determined whereby each of the plurality of fault cuts in each of the plurality of horizons in the seismic data are automatically and rapidly determined.

The subject matter of the present invention relates to a workstation based apparatus and associated method for automatically identifying fault curves in seismic data by using a horizon time structure, reflective of one of the horizons inherent in the seismic data, to automatically identify valid gaps in the horizon time structure having a proper length and slope, to locate midpoints in the valid gaps, to draw fault cuts at the midpoints of the gap at a user defined inclination, and to extend the horizon to the newly drawn fault cuts thereby automatically identifying the fault curves in the seismic data.
Faulting of stratigraphic subterranean formations creates hydrocarbon traps and flow channels. As a result, accurate identification of the fault curves and fault surfaces is essential to the interpretation of most seismic data volumes. Those persons involved in exploration to locate such hydrocarbon traps and flow channels in the formations use an interactive workstation on which is displayed sections of seismic data. The seismic data includes a plurality of fault curves or fault cuts, each fault cut representing the intersection of a fault surface with a horizontal "horizon" inherent in the seismic data. However, when using most existing workstation tools that include interactive computer programs, the interpretation of fault cuts on horizons in the seismic data is tedious and time consuming; that is, the workstation operator must view the seismic data volume on the workstation display, manually determine by viewing the seismic data where a plurality of horizons are located in the seismic data, and manually determine by viewing the plurality of horizons where a plurality of fault cuts are located in each of the plurality of horizons in the seismic data volume. This manual method for determining the fault cuts in the horizons on the seismic data, aside from being very tedious and time consuming, produced an inconsistent set of results in terms of accuracy because the accuracy of the results depended upon the mental awareness of the workstation operator.
Therefore, a more accurate method and apparatus adapted to be disposed in a computer workstation for identifying fault cuts in seismic data is needed for automatically determining, from an input seismic data volume that contains a plurality of horizons, where one or more fault cuts are located in each of the plurality of horizons in the seismic data.
For example, one such method and apparatus, for automatically determining where a plurality of faults are located in the plurality of horizons in seismic data, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,320 to Simpson et al, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in this specification. In the Simpson et al patent, a seed fault is placed by a user in the seismic data, and a plurality of fault curves are determined, by a computer program executing in a workstation, in response to the seed fault placed by the user in the seismic data.
However, recalling that the seismic data includes a plurality of horizons and each of the plurality of horizons in the seismic data include a plurality of faults, while the Simpson et al patent does require the seismic data and a seed fault in the seismic data for determining the plurality of faults in the seismic data, the Simpson et al patent does not determine one or more fault cuts in a horizon (also called "a horizon time structure") from the horizon time structure itself.

Method and apparatus for automatically identifying fault cuts in seismic data using a horizon time structure


Disclosed is an image display apparatus, including: a first image pickup unit; a second image pickup unit; a display unit for displaying a first image picked up by the first image pickup unit and a second image picked up by the second image pickup unit; a detecting portion for detecting conditions of the first and second image pickup units; and a display control portion for causing the display unit to display one of the first image and the second image based on a result obtained by the detecting portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display apparatus and is suitable for use in, for example, a head mounted image display apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, mixed reality (MR) techniques have been known as techniques for seamlessly merging the real world with the virtual world in real time, that is, techniques capable of integrating the real world with the virtual world in real time with comfortable feeling to use the integrated world.
The following technique has been proposed as one of the MR techniques. According to this technique, a video see-through HMD (head mounted display) is used. An image of a subject substantially identical to a subject observed at an eye position of a person on whom the HMD is mounted is picked up by a video camera or the like. The picked up image is overlapped with computer graphics (CG) to display an overlapped image such that the person on whom the HMD is mounted can observe the overlapped image.
FIG. 6 is a structural view showing a conventional video see-through HMD. Because of a pair of structures for right and left eyes, a structure for only one of the eyes is shown in FIG. 6. The HMD includes a display device 201 composed of a small-size liquid crystal display for right eye or left eye and the like, a display optical system 202 such as a free-form curved surface prism for enlarging an image for right eye or left eye, which is displayed on the liquid crystal display, an image pickup device 301 for picking up an image of a subject substantially identical to an object (subject) observed at a position of an eye 401 of a person on whom the HMD is mounted, and an image pickup optical system 302 for substantially aligning the eye 401 of the person on whom the HMD is mounted with the image pickup device 301.
FIG. 7 is an external view showing a video see-through HMD 501 which is mounted on a person. FIG. 8 is a simple block diagram of the video see-through HMD 501. The video see-through HMD 501 includes image pickup units 510R and 510L for picking up images to be displayed in the HMD 501, an image processing unit 540 for performing image processing such as CG overlapping on the picked up images, and display units 520R and 520L for displaying composite images in which the picked up images are combined with the CG.
The image pickup unit 510R (510L) includes an image pickup device 511R (511L) such as a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor, an AD conversion portion 512R (512L) for performing processings such as gain adjustment and correlated double sampling (CDS) on an analog signal outputted from the image pickup device 511R (511L) and then converting the processed analog signal into a digital signal, a digital signal processing portion 513R (513L) for performing processings such as gain control, color tint control, brightness control, and gamma correction on the digital signal, and a picked-up-image outputting portion 514R (514L) for outputting a picked-up-image signal to an outside.
The image processing unit 540 is composed of a personal computer, a workstation, or the like. The display unit 520R (520L) includes a display device 521R (521L) using polysilicon (p-Si) TFTs, liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCOS), or the like, a display drive portion 522R (522L) for controlling and driving the display device 521R (521L), and a display image inputting portion 523R (523L) for receiving a display image signal inputted from an outside.
When the video see-through HMD having the above-mentioned structure is mounted on a person, the person can experience a mixed reality world in which the real world is seamlessly merged with the virtual world in real time (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-133725 (paragraphs 0026 to 0036 and FIG. 1) (corresponding to EP 1098217 A1)).
However, when a malfunction such as false operation or failure in an image pickup unit which is composed of a video camera and the like occurs in the conventional video see-through HMD, there is the following problem. That is, in such a case, an image is not outputted from the image pickup unit in which the malfunction occurs to display no image on a corresponding display unit, or an image in which noises and the like are generated is displayed on the display unit.
Warning or displaying corresponding to the malfunction of the image pickup unit is not performed. Of a plurality of image pickup units provided in the video see-through HMD, an image pickup unit in which the malfunction occurs cannot be determined. A trouble portion of the image pickup unit in which the malfunction occurs cannot also be determined. Therefore, it is impossible to smoothly deal with the malfunction up to now.


[PROBLEMS] To easily associate the parameters representing the acoustic characteristic of a hearing aid with the audibility of the hearing aid user, shorten the time for adjusting the hearing aid, and improve the accuracy of the adjustment of the parameter.

A hearing aid is a device which amplifies acoustic signal received with a microphone and outputs the amplified acoustic signal from a receiver.
A gain as a function of frequency is one of acoustic parameters to determine the acoustic characteristics of the hearing aid, and is defined as the ratio of amplitude of acoustic signal after amplified to amplitude of acoustic signal before amplified.
It is necessary to determine the acoustic characteristics so as to fit to the audibility of a user of the hearing aid.
A conventional hearing aid equips a plurality of filters, each of which is composed of a condenser and a resistor, and the acoustic characteristics of the conventional hearing aid is adjusted by adjusting the characteristic of the filter.
For example, when the hearing aid equips a high-pass filter composed of a condenser and a variable resistor, the attenuation amount of the low-frequency sound can be adjusted by changing a cut-off frequency which varies depending on the resistance value of the variable resister.
Similarly, when the hearing aid equips a low-pass filter, the attenuation amount of the high-frequency component can be adjusted.
As described above, the acoustic characteristic of the conventional hearing aid is determined by adjusting the attenuation amount of the filter.
Some conventional hearing aids equip an output limiter to limit the allowable maximum amplitude of the sound by adjusting the voltage of the power source.
The above-described conventional haring aid is adjusted by a person with a special skill who manually adjusts the variable resistors equipped on the hearing aid with a screw driver.
Recently, a programmable hearing aid providing an electrically erasable programmable memory (hereinafter referred to as EEPROM) and memorizing the set point of the variable register in the EEPROM, and a digital hearing aid, the acoustic characteristic thereof being precisely adjustable by digitally processing the acoustic signal have predominated.
To adjust the modern hearing aid, a hearing aid adjuster is applied.
The hearing aid adjuster determines a plurality of acoustic parameters to realize various acoustic characteristics in the hearing aid, and set the acoustic parameters into the EEPROM equipped on the hearing aid.
When the above-mentioned modern digital hearing aid predominates, the number of the adjustable characteristics, and the number of the acoustic parameters increase, and the number of the combination of the acoustic characteristics and the acoustic parameters becomes extremely big.
The foregoing hearing aid adjuster, however, entails a drawback that it requires long time, and monstrous burden not only of a user of the hearing aid, but also of a person adjusting the hearing aid, when examining all combinations and determining the optimum combination.
For resolving the above drawback, a hearing aid adjusting method applying the Simulated Annealing Method (hereinafter referred to as the SA Method) and/or the Genetic Algorithm Method (hereinafter referred as the GA Method) is already proposed (For example, refer to Patent Publications 1 and 2).
Many hearing aids adjusted with the hearing aid adjuster may require fine adjusting to satisfy the hearing aid user's requirements and to improve the acoustic characteristics.
Further, many hearing aid users may require readjusting of the hearing aid, after using the hearing aid adjusted by the hearing aid adjuster for a certain period.
Therefore, a person who finely adjusts the hearing aid, is required the professional skill to relate the acoustic parameters to the hearing aid user's requirements.
It is difficult, however, for a person with less-experience of adjusting the hearing aid to relate the acoustic parameters to the hearing aid user's requirements, and the person may fail to finely adjust the hearing aid.
Therefore, the hearing aid adjuster which shows changing amount of the acoustic parameters depending on the hearing aid use's requirement or moderately changes the acoustic parameters in accordance with operation of a button, has been applied (For example, refer to Patent Publication 3).
[Patent Publication 1] Unexamined patent publication No. H09-054765
[Patent Publication 2] Unexamined patent publication No. 2001-175637
[Patent Publication 3] Unexamined patent publication No. H02-20200

Abstract: [MEANS FOR SOLVING PROBLEMS] By applying a two-dimensional matrix for changing the acoustic parameters of the hearing aid, a person adjusting the hearing aid can easily change the acoustic parameters depending on the audibility of the hearing aid user, the accuracy of the adjustment of the acoustic parameters is improved, and the period of time for adjusting the hearing aid is shortened.


A circuit and method for operating a polyphase dc motor of the type having a plurality of driving coils that are commutatively energized in a predetermined sequence to rotate a rotor has a zero crossing detector connected to determine when a back emf of a floating driving coil crosses zero. A generator for generating commutation sequence signals controls which of said driving coils are energized a delayed time after said zero crossing detector detects that a back emf of a floating driving coil has crossed zero. A mask circuit inhibits said zero crossing detector for a delayed time after a commutation change, in dependence upon an acceleration of the rotor. Also, a circuit is provided for adjusting the commutation delay time after a back emf of a floating one of said coils crosses zero, in dependence upon the acceleration of the rotor.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to improvements in motor driving and controlling circuitry, and more particularly, to an improved circuit and method for detecting acceleration and deceleration rates of a brushless, sensorless, polyphase dc motor, or the like, and for providing profiles of acceleration and deceleration that can be used in the operation of the motor, particularly in determining variable noise masking and commutation delay periods.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Although the present invention pertains to polyphase dc motors, in general, it finds particular application in conjunction with three phase dc motors, particularly of the brushless, sensorless type. Three phase brushless, sensorless dc motors are becoming especially popular, due to their reliability, low weight, and accuracy.
Motors of this type can typically be thought of as having a stator with three coils connected in a "Y" configuration, although actually, a larger number of stator coils are usually employed with multiple motor poles. Typically, in such applications, eight pole motors are used having twelve stator windings and four N-S magnetic sets on the rotor, resulting in four electrical cycles per revolution of the rotor. The stator coils, however, can be analyzed in terms of three "Y" connected coils, connected in three sets of four coils, each physically separated by 90.degree.. In operation, the coils are energized in sequences in each of which a current path is established through two coils of the "Y", with the third coil left floating. The sequences are arranged so that as the current paths are changed, or commutated, one of the coils of the current path is switched to float, and the previously floating coil is switched into the current path. Moreover, the sequence is defined such that when the floating coil is switched into the current path, current will flow in the same direction in the coil which was included in the prior current path. In this manner, six commutation sequences are defined for each electrical cycle in a three phase motor.
In the past, during the operation of a such polyphase dc motor, it has been recognized that maintaining a known position of the rotor is an important concern. There have been various ways by which this was implemented. The most widely used way, for example, was to start the motor in a known position, then develop information related to the instantaneous or current position of the rotor. One source of such instantaneous position information was developed as a part of the commutation process, and involved identifying the floating coil, and monitoring its back emf, that is, the emf induced into the coil as it moves through the magnetic field provided by the stator.
When the voltage of the floating coil crossed zero (referred to in the art as "a zero crossing"), the position of the rotor was assumed to be known. Upon the occurrence of this event, the rotor coil commutation sequence was incremented to the next phase, and the process repeated. The assumption that the zero crossing accurately indicated the rotor position was generally if the motor was functioning properly.
As brushless, sensorless dc motors become more and more in demand, they are being increasingly used in such applications as in disk drives for use in computer applications, such as floppy disk, hard disk, CD ROM, and other similar applications. One of the main advantages provided by such brushless, sensorless motors is the absence of brush elements. This reduces the number of parts in the motor, reduces the mean time between failure of a particular motor, and has no sparking or other undesirable spurious emf generation properties.
However, especially in computer memory drive applications, a widespread problem has been recognized in startup of the disk drive motors. Many relatively sophisticated startup algorithms have been advanced in attempts to solve some of these problems. In motor startup, typically as the motor is being accelerated, commutation and switching noise masks are not employed, primarily due to the dynamically changing period between zero crossings. Due to the changing zero crossing period, attempts to perform masking operations results in oftentimes undesirably masking an actual zero crossing, which interferes with the smooth startup of the motor.
This problem has been addressed typically by employing a minimum or zero masking time after a zero crossing. The result of such zero time mask (or no mask at all) increases in torque ripple and loss of efficiency in the startup.
Another problem that exists is at switchover when operation of the motor is switched from a startup algorithm to a steady-state operation. At such switchovers, typically mechanical jolts are experienced as well as the creation of undesirable noise spikes, since typically the switchover delay is not exactly the same as the optimum commutation delay at steady-state.
In addition, brushless, sensorless motors are finding widespread use in robotics applications. This is due, in part, to the above listed advantages of such motors. It can be seen, furthermore, that the absence of brushes in the motors used in robotics arms, for example, enables their use in hazardous or explosive environments, in contrast to prior art devices.
In any such application, however, many factors exist that may produce an undesirable deceleration of the motor. For example, in the disk drive applications described, motor bearings may seize and cause the motor to decelerate. In disk drives that may be employed, for instance, in lap top computers, a bump or jar to the computer may cause the heads of the disk drive to bind, resulting in an undesired frictional force on the disk and causing an undesirable deceleration of the motor itself.
In robotics applications, a robot arm may encounter an unexpected object or an object in an unexpected place along the path of its travel. This may cause an undesirable deceleration of the motor, and, if no corrective steps are taken, may result in the current within the motor coils increasing to the point of damaging or destroying the motor. Alternatively, the robot arm may damage the object with which it comes in to contact. This is particularly disadvantageous in such applications as automotive assembly, and the like, in which relatively expensive objects may be seriously damaged by unintended contact with the robot arm.

Method and apparatus for detecting velocity profiles of a spinning rotor of a polyphase DC motor


A printing support system for reducing an environmental load that changes an input load of a print operation depending on data representing the environmental load includes: an environmental load calculation basis information storage unit that stores environmental load calculation basis information used to calculate the data representing the environmental load; a print request input unit through which a print request including a print setting is input; an environmental load calculation unit that calculates the data representing the environmental load on the basis of the print request input by the print request input unit and the environmental load calculation basis information stored in the environmental load calculation basis information storage unit; a print operation input unit through which a print operation for instructing to start printing is input; and a determination unit that, when it is determined that the print operation through the print operation input unit has been input more than a predetermined condition on the basis of the data representing the environmental load calculated by the environmental load calculation unit, allows printing according to the print request input by the print request input unit.

1. Technical Field
The present invention related to a printing support system, a printing support program, and a printing support method. In particular, the invention relates to a printing support system for reducing an environmental load, a printing support program for reducing an environmental load, and a printing support method for reducing an environmental load, which can reduce the occurrence of misprint by demanding a user to confirm a print setting state and thus can reduce the environmental load.
2. Related Art
In conventional printing technologies, there has been a problem in that paper or ink is wasted due to misprint caused by a document data creation error or a print setting error. A system for solving the problem includes a printing system disclosed in JP-A-2004-330639 and an image forming system disclosed in JP-A-6-227006.
The printing system disclosed in JP-A-2004-330639 includes a print request input unit through which a print request according to a predetermined printing condition is input, an acquiring unit that acquires the number of printed sheets of printing paper, a memory unit that stores environment resource consumption information in respect to an amount of environment resources consumed by using a predetermined number of sheets of printing paper, a consumed resource amount calculation unit that calculates information in respect to the amount of environment resources consumed when the printing paper in which the number of sheets corresponds to the requested number of sheets to be printed has been used, an image forming unit that forms an image indicating the amount of consumed resources, and a display control unit that displays the image.
Further, in the image forming system disclosed in JP-A-6-227006, paying attention to a characteristic of a textile printing apparatus in which a basic pattern is repeated, the number of printing dots on each ink color is calculated on the basis of print data by which the basic pattern is formed. In addition, on the basis of the print data, the amount of consumption or the cost of expendable supplies, such as a head or ink, is calculated.
A default print setting may be made through a printer driver. Accordingly, by setting multi-pages on a sheet of paper or double-sided printing as a default, it is possible to save printing paper and ink.
However, in many cases, a user that routinely performs a print operation does not sufficiently check what the default print setting state is and performs a print operation by clicking a print start button on a print dialog screen of a printer driver through consecutive input operations, such as consecutive clicking operations. For this reason, in the case in which a user intends to perform single-sided printing even though double-sided printing is set as a default, the double-sided printing process is performed due to the user's negligent and consecutive clicking operations, which results in misprint. In this case, paper, ink, or the like is wasted, which consequently affects the environmental resources.
Further, in the printing system disclosed in JP-A-2004-330639, even though the image that indicates the amount of resources consumed when the printing paper of which the number of sheets corresponds to the requested number of sheets to be printed has been used can be displayed, there is the same problem as described above for a user that performs the consecutive input operations, such as consecutive clicking operations.
Furthermore, in the image forming system disclosed in JP-A-6-227006, even though the amount of consumption or the cost of expendable supplies can be calculated, there also occurs the same problem as described above only with the calculation on the amount of consumption or the cost of expendable supplies.

Printing support system for reducing environmental load, printing support program for reducing environmental load, and printing support method for reducing environmental load


A computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions stored on the computer-readable medium for execution of the computer-readable instructions by a processor to use in a mobile device having a visual display is provided. The instructions comprise monitoring an operating temperature at the device and, when the monitored operating temperature is greater than a first threshold temperature, allowing only emergency communication and providing a visual indication indicating that only emergency communication is allowed.

The present invention relates generally to mobile communication devices which operate in wireless communication networks, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for limiting communication capabilities at the mobile device based on predetermined conditions detected at the mobile device.
Modern-day mobile communication devices which operate in wireless communication networks provide end users with the ability to place and receive two-way voice calls, send and receive text messages and e-mail messages, and send and receive other information such as Internet data. Such communication devices utilize a radio frequency (RF) transceiver for transmitting and receiving such information.
Unfortunately, adverse conditions (such as adverse temperature conditions) may compromise the performance or utility of the mobile device. For example, when a mobile device is communicating information with use of its RF transceiver, the RF transceiver heats up and its temperature rises. If the temperature of the RF transceiver is outside certain specification parameters, the RF transceiver undesirably emits spurious signals at unacceptable levels. These spurious signals may be outside certain standards, such as those established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or Industry Canada, for example, and/or cause interference with other communications in the network. In addition, if the temperature of a rechargeable battery of the mobile device is outside certain specification parameters for too long, the battery may experience permanent damage and require replacement or could even explode.
Under such adverse conditions, the mobile station could power down its circuitry and inhibit all communications, but the end user would be left with no ability to communicate information. This would be undesirable in at least some circumstances, such as in emergency situations. What are needed are methods and apparatus which overcome the deficiencies of current practices.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and apparatus for limiting communication capabilities in mobile communication devices


In order to enable simple, low-cost monitoring of a motor, a switch box cover for the motor, a condition monitoring system has a sensor unit for detecting a measured variable of the motor, a communication device, which is designed to provide a characteristic value that characterizes the measured variable to a reading device, and a supply unit for supplying the sensor unit with energy.

The invention relates to a condition monitoring system for a motor.
As a rule, the fitting of condition monitoring functions to a system, and in particular to a motor, is associated with laborious installation effort. Particularly when fitting condition monitoring functions to a motor retrospectively, very laborious and possibly structural measures are usually required. The sensors required for monitoring must be positioned on and attached to the motor. Further, the sensors must be cabled to their responsible controller. Exposed cables in the working area must be laid on trays or via underfloor cable channels in order to avoid hazards to people and machines in the working area. As a result of the additional installation of sensors and the additional laying of cables, it may be necessary to reassess the safety of a system.
In the case of retrospective fitting, the sensors required for the condition monitoring function are usually fitted to the motor retrospectively as individual functions with a great deal of effort. Retrospective fitting of this kind therefore requires considerable installation effort and parameterizing effort. A highly specialized installer is usually required for this purpose.


A circulating memory apparatus and a data storage and distribution system using a circulating recording area effectively and having an improved access efficiency to the circulating recording area are disclosed. A memory area secured in a disk unit is used in circulation thereby to record the time series input data. The time series input data are edited into a data block of a predetermined size including a plurality of subblocks, and written into the disk unit by data block. In response to a request for outputting specific data, the data are read by subblock from the disk unit into a cache memory thereby to selectively output the specific data contained in the subblocks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circulating memory apparatus and an image storage and distribution system suitable for storing time series data, or in particular to a circulating memory apparatus and an image storage and distribution system suitable for storing a plurality of series of image data.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a remote monitor system, image data picked up sequentially by image pickup devices such as Web cameras, i.e. image data input in time series from a plurality of sites are stored (recorded or held) in a magnetic disk (such as a hard disk), an optical disk or a semiconductor disk or the like large-capacity recording device, while at the same time distributing the images through a network, so that they can be monitored on the monitor screen at a remote place.
The image data recording device is limited in capacity. The monitor system of this type, therefore, employs a circulating recording method, in which the memory area secured in the recording device is used in circulation and the oldest image data in time series are rewritten sequentially by the latest image data. This method makes it possible to hold and reproduce a predetermined amount of past image data. Several well-known techniques are available to manage the memory addresses in the circulating memory apparatus of this type. The technique disclosed in JP-A-11-232842 (FIGS. 1 to 12) is an example.

Circulating memory apparatus and image storage distribution system


An apparatus for regulating voltage and aerospace electrical power systems are implemented. A multi-functional apparatus for regulating voltage, according to one embodiment, comprises: a DC to DC converter (315), wherein the DC to DC converter (315) is controlled to operate in a first direction to receive a DC voltage from a first bus (329) and to output a first regulated DC voltage adjusted to charge a battery (307), wherein the first bus (329) receives power from a second bus (201), and is controlled to operate in a second direction to receive a battery DC voltage from the battery (307) and to output a second regulated DC voltage to the first bus (329) to power a load (231) independently or in combination with the second bus (201).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical systems, and more particularly to a DC to DC converter for an electrical power system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electric systems used in complex environments such as aerospace systems, more electric aircraft systems, industrial environments, vehicles, etc., include a large number of electric systems and modules. During operation of complex environments, various electric systems and modules may need to be connected to electric power, disconnected from electric power, maintained in a powered-up state, etc., at various times. Moreover, various electric systems and modules in a complex environment may require amounts and type of electrical power specific to each system/module. The power levels required by various parts of the complex environment may also depend on the operational stage of the environment. For example, different levels of power may be needed during the start-up of main engines or auxiliary engine, during continuous operation, or during a battery recharge, in a complex environment such as an aircraft.
On present aircraft systems, three distinct sets of hardware are needed to start an auxiliary power unit (APU) or an engine, and supply the main DC power, such as, for example 28 Vdc power. The three distinct sets of hardware are an AC/DC and DC/AC converter system for starting the APU or engine, a Transformer Rectifier Unit (TRU) or Regulated Transformer Rectifier Unit (RTRU) for the supply of the main DC power, such as 28 Vdc main power, and a battery charger for charging a battery. The large number of units used to provide main DC power and engine start power, negatively impact the reliability of the aircraft, as failure or malfunction of one of the units will affect the power availability and the start procedures. Moreover, the large number of units leads to weight, volume, and cost increases for the aircraft.
Disclosed embodiments of this application address these and other issues by utilizing a multi-functional DC/DC converter that is used as a main DC supply source and as a battery charger when operating in a forward direction, and as a battery power converter to supply power for a starting APU converter, when operating in a reverse direction. The multi-functional DC/DC converter replaces multiple units: the TRU or RTRU, and the battery charger. An aerospace electrical power DC subsystem using the multi-functional DC/DC converter to start an APU or engine, and recharge a battery, leads to significant weight, volume and cost savings, and provides more reliable power functions for an aircraft.

Aerospace electrical power DC subsystem configuration using multi-functional DC/DC converter


A server includes a plurality of processors, at least some of the processors being partitioned into virtual partitions using a virtual partition hypervisor. At least one of the virtual partitions executes a virtual machine hypervisor to implement a plurality of virtual machines within said at least one of said virtual partitions. The server also executes a workload manager application configured to dynamically reallocate the processors among the virtual partitions.

Modern servers and data centers are frequently faced with unpredictable workloads. For example, a particular application executed by a server may require a small amount of system resources for the majority of the time and experience relatively infrequent peaks of high resource demand for which more computing power is needed. One approach to hosting such applications has been to dedicate sufficient static hardware resources to each application to meet at least an anticipated peak demand for the application. An obvious drawback to this approach is the fact that most of the time, these dedicated resources will remain underutilized.
Virtualization allows the manager of server hardware the ability to make optimal use of his hardware resources with the flexibility of running multiple operating systems having different resource guarantees on the same hardware. Virtualization typically takes one of two general forms: a) virtual partitioning and b) virtual machines. With virtual partitioning, processing hardware is divided by software into independently autonomous partitions that function as separate, individual server devices. In contrast, virtual machines involve the use of shared hardware to implement multiple software implementations of separate computer devices.
To implement virtualization, both virtual partitioning and virtual machines generally require the use of a hypervisor—a software application that runs on the underlying hardware and manages the virtualization. However, occasions may arise where a user desires to incorporate features available from different hypervisors into the same virtualization solution. For example, a virtual partitioning hypervisor may provide the ability to dynamically allocate physical CPUs, memory, and I/O hardware resources to a virtual partition, but may not offer a sub-CPU granularity feature or the ability to run more than one type of operating system. On the other hand, a virtual machine hypervisor may provide the ability to run different types of operating systems, but not support the dynamic allocation of hardware resources.
Another problem with virtualization is that of resource and power management. As discussed above, some virtual partitioning solutions allow for the dynamic reallocation of hardware resources among the partitions according to the relative workloads of the partitions. Nevertheless, a virtual partition having a minimum amount of allocated hardware resources may still be underutilized. By contrast, virtual machine solutions generally do not allow the dynamic reallocation of hardware resources at all.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.

Resource and power management using nested heterogeneous hypervisors

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.