A method for multiplexed analysis using ion mobility spectrometer in which the effectiveness and efficiency of the multiplexed method is optimized by automatically adjusting rates of passage of analyte materials through an IMS drift tube during operation of the system. This automatic adjustment is performed by the IMS instrument itself after determining the appropriate levels of adjustment according to the method of the present invention. In one example, the adjustment of the rates of passage for these materials is determined by quantifying the total number of analyte molecules delivered to the ion trap in a preselected period of time, comparing this number to the charge capacity of the ion trap, selecting a gate opening sequence; and implementing the selected gate opening sequence to obtain a preselected rate of analytes within said IMS drift tube.

The enormous complexity of biological samples (e.g., from proteomics) and the need for both biological and technical analysis replicates impose major challenges for multidimensional separation platforms in regard to both sensitivity and sample throughput. A major potential attraction of the Ion Mobility Spectrometry-Time-Of-Flight-Mass Spectrometry (IMS-TOF MS) platform is the ability to provide separation speeds exceeding that of conventional condense phase separations by orders of magnitude. Known limitations of most typical IMS-TOF MS platforms that impede this attraction include the need for extensive signal averaging due to factors that include significant ion losses in the IMS-TOF interface and an ion utilization efficiency of less than ˜1% with continuous ion sources (e.g., ESI).
A multiplexed IMS-TOF approach has been shown to provide up to 10-fold increase in sensitivity as compared to the conventional signal averaging approach in regard to analysis of peptide mixtures. This sensitivity improvement is based on introduction of multiple ion packets into an IMS drift tube on the time scale of a single measurement in the signal averaging experiment. Each ion packet injection occurs during a constant IMS gate open event. Ion injection process is governed by an extended pseudo-random sequence that mitigates diffusion-driven ion cloud expansion and enables efficient ion accumulation prior to each gate open event. Short (˜100 us) IMS gate open events minimize contribution of the ion injection term on IMS resolving power. A complete description of this invention is found in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/701,752, entitled "Method of Multiplexed Analysis Using Ion Mobility Spectrometer" the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The need in multiplexing the IMS-TOF is strongly dictated by the total number of analyte molecules delivered to the ion trap (preceding the IMS drift tube) per unit time and by the charge capacity of that trap. Given lower abundance signals, ion trap may remain under filled with ions in the course of IMS separation, implying no need in multiplexing to attain efficient ion utilization. In this case, ion accumulation over the entire IMS separation would be rather beneficial for achieving high sensitivity. For higher abundance ion signals, the ion trap will be over filled with ions in a fraction of IMS separation timescale, thus requiring the purging the trap multiple times throughout a single IMS separation. Therefore, a combination of approaches is needed to maximize instrument sensitivity in analysis of complex samples with broad dynamic range.
The present invention describes an approach for increasing the dynamic range of a multidimensional IMS-TOF system in analysis of biological samples. The key feature of this invention is that the multidimensional system automatically adjusts to analyte abundances in the course of experiments, providing an ultra-high sensitivity for a variety of biological samples that significantly vary in complexity and dynamic range.
Additional advantages and novel features of the present invention will be set forth as follows and will be readily apparent from the descriptions and demonstrations set forth herein. Accordingly, the following descriptions of the present invention should be seen as illustrative of the invention and not as limiting in any way.

Dynamic multiplexed analysis method using ion mobility spectrometer


The present invention provides a method of fabricating a 3D stacked IC SiP which includes: providing a first semiconductor wafer having a plurality of first dies formed thereon, each having a first wire bond pad and a first dielectric layer, at least a portion of the first wire bond pad is not covered by the first dielectric layer and constitutes an exposed area of the first die; providing a plurality of second dies, each having a second wire bond pad and a second dielectric layer, at least a portion of the second wire bond pad is not covered by the second dielectric layer and constitutes an exposed area of the second die different in size from that of the first die; aligning the second dies with the first dies and bonding the second dielectric layer to the first dielectric layer; plating the first semiconductor wafer bonded with the second dies.

System-in-packages (SiPs) of various three-dimensional (3D) stacked architectures have found increasing use in the field of integrated circuit (IC) SiP testing. For example, a 3D SiP of the most typical type, i.e., an SiP containing two vertically stacked chips, can be formed by any of the following approaches:
1) three-dimensionally attaching the two vertically stacked dies onto a substrate with a curing adhesive, and connecting contacts of the two dies to the substrate with wire bonds;
2) three-dimensionally attaching the two vertically stacked dies onto a substrate with a curing adhesive, and using wire bonds to connect the contacts of the upper die to a bond pad of the lower die and the contacts of the lower die to the substrate;
3) flipping over the upper die, interconnecting the upper and lower dies by reflowing solder bumps that have been formed on surfaces of the upper and lower dies in advance, and connecting the contacts of the lower die to the substrate using wire bonds; and
4) flipping over the upper die, interconnecting the upper and lower dies by reflowing solder bumps that have been formed on surfaces of the upper and lower dies in advance, and connecting the contacts of the lower die to the substrate through preformed silicon vias (TSVs) extending between the contacts and a back side of the lower die.
In these approaches, the solder bump flip chip processes have been finding increasingly extensive use, particularly in the future high density SiPs based on TSVs and micro-solder-bump flip chip process. However, the application of the solder-bump flip chip process using densely arranged solder bumps in 3D stacking and interconnection still remains a great challenge and leads to high manufacturing costs. In particular, the void-free filling and reliable curing of a liquid medium within the gaps between the dies after the flipping and solder bump reflowing is a very challenging process to yield and cost issues.

Methods of fabrication and testing of three-dimensional stacked integrated circuit system-in-package

SHANGHAI JADIC OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


In an electric pump unit, communication between arcuate ports provided in correspondence with a discharge side and a suction side of an internal gear pump is selectively permitted and prohibited in correspondence with movement of a spool of a relief valve. If fluid pressure at the discharge side of the internal gear pump becomes greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the spool moves across an inner arc of one of the arcuate ports corresponding to the suction side of the internal gear pump and from a position at which the spool prohibits the communication between the arcuate ports to a position at which the spool permits the communication. As the spool moves away from the position at which the spool blocks the communication between the arcuate ports, the opening degree of the relief valve changes in accordance with a downward convex curve.

The present invention relates to an electric pump unit formed by unitizing an electric motor and an internal gear pump, which is driven by the electric motor to draw and discharge fluid such as oil, and to an electric oil pump apparatus having the electric pump unit.
As means to deal with global environmental problems, electric oil pump apparatuses are now broadly used in transmissions of vehicles such as automobiles. An electric oil pump apparatus compensates for a drop in hydraulic pressure in a transmission caused by stopping idling of a vehicle.
The electric oil pump apparatus includes an electric pump unit formed by unitizing (integrating) an electric motor and an internal gear pump, which is driven by the electric motor to draw and discharge oil (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-188968). In the electric oil pump apparatus, the internal gear pump and the electric motor rotate about a common rotary shaft. This decreases the number of the components, reduces the size of the electric oil pump apparatus, and lowers the cost for manufacturing the apparatus.
In the electric oil pump apparatus, the hydraulic pressure at the discharge side of the internal gear pump may become higher than discharge pressure of the internal gear pump. In this state, an excessive load acts on the electric motor, which drives the internal gear pump. This may cause a loss of synchronism, or irreversible stopping of the electric motor. To solve this problem, a relief valve may be deployed in the electric pump unit to allow fluid to flow back to the suction side of the gear pump if the hydraulic pressure at the discharge side of the internal gear pump becomes greater than or equal to a predetermined value (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-13641). The relief valve has a spool (a valve body) that moves toward the suction side of the internal gear pump depending on the hydraulic pressure at the discharge side of the internal gear pump.
However, if such movement of the spool causes a relatively rapid increase of the opening degree of the relief valve, an excessive amount of oil flows back from the discharge side to the suction side of the internal gear pump. This decreases the volume efficiency of the internal gear pump (actual discharge amount of the internal gear pump/theoretical discharge amount of the internal gear pump). Thus, the flow rate of the oil may not satisfy the level required for the transmission of the automobile.
If the chamfer angle, or the angle between a slanted surface formed around a valve head of the spool and a wall surface defining a valve hole for receiving the relief valve, is reduced, the gradient of the linear relation between the movement amount of the spool and the flow rate of the oil becomes more gradual. This prevents the above-described decrease of the volume efficiency of the internal gear pump. However, the loss of synchronism of the electric motor, which is caused by the excessive hydraulic pressure produced at the discharge side of the internal gear pump, cannot be effectively avoided.
To solve this problem, a fluid discharge portion including a small annular opening and a large opening communicating with the small opening may be formed in the valve hole (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-98507). This allows the oil to pass through the portion communicating the discharge side with the suction side of the internal gear pump at an improved passing characteristics.
However, since the fluid discharge portion has a complicated shape, machining the valve hole to form the fluid discharge portion is troublesome. Also, with reference to FIG. 1 of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-98507, for example, the relief valve is provided between a discharge port and a suction port, which are at a position spaced from the internal gear pump and extend in complicated manners. This complicates the structure of the electric oil pump apparatus and increases the number of the components of the electric oil pump apparatus. This technique thus cannot meet a recent requirement in a component of an automobile, which is decreasing the size and the weight of the components.

Electric pump unit and electric oil pump apparatus


The present invention provides an LED lighting device inlaid on a ceiling. The ceiling is divided into a plurality of lattice by a matrix of metal strip, plastic strip or wood strip, a matrix of LED are installed on the lattice; an AC power is inputted through a power line to an AC/DC converter for being converted into a DC power, and then the DC power passes through a current stabilizer, a resistor, a connector for being inputted to two ends of each row of the LEDs; LEDs of each row are serially connected.

Conventional lighting devices such as incandescent lamp, fluorescent lamp not only consume too much electricity by the lighting devices but also raise the surrounding temperature due to high heat dissipation that indirectly increase air condition load, and therefore cause global warming to harm the environmental protection.
For example, referring to FIG. 1, which shows a ceiling 1 of an office. The ceiling 1 is divided into a plurality of lattice 12 by a matrix of metal strip 11, some lattices 12 are installed with fluorescent lamp 13 for lighting. The fluorescent lamp 13 consumes too much electricity and dissipates too much heat, therefore it cause the disadvantages of the fluorescent lamp 13. However, LED consumes much less electricity and dissipates much less heat, so LED lighting devices become more popular and practical.
Facing the global warming problem, it is therefore an object of the present invention to save electricity consumption of the lighting devices and lower the heat dissipation in office.

Abstract: Another embodiment of the present invention is to divide a ceiling into a plurality of lattice by a matrix of metal strip, plastic strip or wood strip, a plurality of vacated frame are formed on the lattice for being inlaid with a plurality of LED module respectively; a connector and a matrix of LED are installed on the LED module; a plate is installed on the upper edge and lower edge of the vacated frame; a power line, an AC/DC converter, a current stabilizer and a resistor are installed on the plate; an AC power is inputted through the power line to the AC/DC converter for being converted into a DC power, and then the DC power passes through the current stabilizer, the resistor, the connector for being inputted to two ends of each row of the LEDs; LEDs of each row are serially connected.


A cover for a display device for a communication device is provided. The cover comprises: external dimensions shaped to fit said cover in a case for said communication device; a top surface; a bottom surface; a non-opaque region adapted to cover said display device allowing a user to see said display device; and a region defining a top of an enclosure cavity for a speaker associated with said communication device. Sound holes in the cover are preferably present. A recess around the region is provided for fitting with a cover for the recess. A communication device comprising the cover is also provided.

Typical voice communication devices, such as cellular phones, have a receiver transducer (speaker) located at a top portion of the device and a transducer (microphone) located at the bottom portion.
In designing a communication device, the speaker must be mounted within an enclosure. Typically, the enclosure is a plastic injection moulded piece. To fix the speaker within the enclosure, the top of the enclosure is frequently designed to provide a cover for the speaker. However, this approach limits aesthetic possibilities for the device as there are limitations to colour and texture treatments available for plastics typically used in casings.
There is a need for a display cover which provides an improvement over the prior art.

Display cover for a communication device


A construction member, comprising an elongated body having a longitudinal dimension with a first end and a second end. Complementary end rotational joint portions are provided at the first end and at the second end of the elongated body, for interconnecting first end to second end a plurality of the construction member so as to form a polygon with construction members. A longitudinal rotational joint portion is provided in the longitudinal dimension of the elongated body for interconnecting two longitudinally adjacent ones of the construction member so as to interconnect polygons of the construction member at a common edge of the polygons to form a polyhedron.

A polygon is a figure lying in a plane and made of a series of straight segments which form its sides, where each of the sides has an end common with the preceding and the following side. These common ends make the corners of the polygon.
A polyhedron is a 3D geometrical shape made of polygons named faces, whose common sides are the edges. The intersections of the edges of a polyhedron are the vertices. The term polyhedron is also used to describe a solid whose border is made of polygons, with the edges of the polyhedron named the skeleton. The border of a polyhedron is generally considered closed, as all the faces are in contact with other faces with all their sides. In the present context, the definition of a polyhedron will be extended to open borders when the combination of polygonal faces results in an open border.
As mentioned above, a definition describes a polyhedron as a solid whose border is made of polygons. However, the skeletons defined by the edges of given polyhedra can form mechanisms. More specifically, some polygons of polyhedra can be deformed such that some polyhedra are deformable while satisfying the geometric constraints of polyhedra.
If the polygonal faces of a polyhedron are rigid and the angles between the polygonal faces (dihedral angles) can change, mechanisms can be obtained. For instance, an open polyhedron consisting of two polygons linked by a common side can form a mechanism if the two polygons can move with respect to one another. Some closed polyhedra are deformable, yet the deformable closed polyhedra are rare and they exist only for concave polyhedra, while all the convex polyhedra are rigid. In the publication "Polyhedra" (Cambridge University Press, 1997), Cromwell describes deformable polyhedra, and provides some examples, such as the Steffen mechanism.
A class of toys has been developed from the concept of deformable polyhedra. The toys of this class are made of rigid polygon-shaped parts that can be assembled with other polygon-shaped parts by a rotational joint between each adjacent polygon-shaped part, the axis of the rotational joint lying on the common side of the polygon-shaped parts, i.e., at the junction of the polygon-shaped parts. The rotational DOF between adjacent polygon-shaped parts (i.e., the change in dihedral angle) enables versatile construction of 3D structures and mechanisms. The sides of the polygon-shaped parts are of equal length so that all polygon-shaped parts are compatible.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,041, issued to Ziegler on Mar. 15, 1988, U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,070, issued to Liu on Aug. 13, 1996, U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,306, issued to Cunningham on Apr. 20, 1999, and the Jovo™ website (www.jovo.com), each disclose various connections between rigid polygon-shaped plates. More precisely, U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,041 describes interlocking fingers permitting a hinging action. U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,070 introduces swivel connectors joining the polygon-shaped parts. U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,306 describes plastic hinges formed integrally with the polygon-shaped parts. The systems Polydron and Frameworks (www.polydron.co.uk), disclose hinged rigid polygon-shaped parts and polygon-shaped frames, respectively. U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,365, issued to Engel on Dec. 5, 1995, and Geofix™ (www.geoaustralia.com), disclose rigid polygon-shaped frames to be hinged to one another. In all of the above-cited references, the geometry of each of the polygon-shaped parts cannot be modified, as the polygon-shaped parts are rigid. Pieces of the above-cited references are sold in kits comprising numerous parts representing the-various basic polygons, such as the triangle, the rectangle, the pentagon, etc.
Another concept discussed in the publication "Polyhedra" is the rigidity of the skeleton of polyhedra. It is known that the triangle is the only polygon that cannot be deformed. All the other polygons are deformable in a plane, such as the rectangle that can be deformed to a parallelogram, and the square that can be deformed to a diamond. The skeleton of a cube, formed of six squares, is flexible such that any of the faces can be deformed to a diamond, and the cube is deformed to a more general parallelepiped. The skeleton of a tetrahedron, formed of four triangles, cannot be deformed. Therefore, there are some mechanisms and some structures amongst the skeletons of convex polyhedra, if proper DOF are provided.
If all edges of the skeleton of a polyhedron can change their length simultaneously while the vertex angles are constant, the polyhedron keeps its general shape but changes its size. This type of mechanism is presented in "Regular Polyhedral Linkages" by Wohlhart (CK 2001, May 20–22, 2001, Seoul, Korea, pp. 239–244), where each face of the polyhedron includes a mechanism allowing its expansion. The mechanism obtained has one degree of freedom (DOF). Such one-DOF expansion is found in many deployable mechanisms. For example, the mechanisms of Hoberman, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,700, issued on Jul. 24, 1990, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,031, issued on Jun. 18, 1991, describe one-DOF expansion spheres and construction members for forming such mechanisms.
If all angles of a polygon or a polyhedron skeleton can vary, the figures obtained will generally be very mobile. For instance, a four-sided polygon (e.g., a rectangle) allowing all angles thereof to change, will not remain planar. A practical example of this is given by Roger's Connection system (www.rogersconnection.com), which combines rods magnetized at their ends and steel balls in order to allow the assembly of many rods on a same ball, thus creating three-DOF spherical joints between the rods. Accordingly, Roger's Connection system can be used to form an infinite number of polygons and skeletons of polyhedra, with the balls positioned at the vertices and the rods representing the edges. The polyhedron skeletons formed by Roger's Connection system are generally deformable, with angles between the sides of the polygons constituting the faces of the polyhedra changing in a plane of the polygons, but are also deformable by losing the planarity of these polygons, due to the numerous DOF provided at the vertices by the steel balls. Structures can however be obtained if triangles are used, the latter being undeformable faces. Other systems using a similar concept include Geomag (www.constructiontoys.com), Magz (www.naturetapestry.com/magz.html), and Polygonzo™, Cuboctaflex™, Dodecaflex™, and Icosaflex™ (all at www.orbfactory.com).
As mentioned above, the possibility of assembling the sides of rigid faces by rotational joints allows the fabrication of structures, but rarely of mechanisms if they represent closed convex polyhedra (i.e., the skeletons are limited to being rigid). The rotational joints allow varying of the angle between two polygonal faces, whereby many different polyhedra can be constructed with a limited number of parts. However, for the toys using rigid faces, the possible polyhedra are limited to the available parts of the toy, as the polygon-shaped parts provided are often only the triangle, square, pentagon and hexagon. Therefore, a polyhedron having octagons, such as the truncated cube or the great rhombcuboctahedron, cannot be reproduced with the above-described rigid-face toys.
On the other hand, the possibility of varying all the angles results in mechanisms with too many DOF that do not preserve the planarity of the polygons, and hence do not preserve the polyhedral geometry. There is an exception if the parts are assembled using triangles. In this case only, it is possible to obtain structures, but rarely mechanisms with relatively few DOF.
A compromise between these two options is to allow the variation of angles in the planes of the polygons in addition to allowing the variation of the dihedral angle, while preserving the planarity of the polygons. Another level of flexibility could also be provided by allowing a variation in the length of the sides.

Construction members for three-dimensional assemblies


The preparation and use of novel porous poly(aryl ether) articles is disclosed. The porous articles are prepared from blends of poly(aryl ether) polymers with polyimides by selectively decomposing the polyimide phase. The preferred reagents used to decompose the polyimide phase include monoethanolamine and tetramethylammonium hydroxide. The porous articles can be configured as a single layer or as a multilayer article. The porous articles of the present invention are unique that at least one of the layers exhibits a narrow pore size distribution. The articles of the present invention can be used as a porous media for a broad range of applications, including porous membranes for fluid separations, such as microfiltration, ultrafiltration, and gas separation, as a battery separators, and as a sorption media.

Microporous polymeric poly(aryl ether) membranes that include polysulfone and polyphenylene oxide membranes are well known in the art and are used widely for filtration and purification processes, such as filtration of waste water, preparation of ultrapure water and in medical, pharmaceutical or food applications, including removal of microorganisms, dialyses and protein filtration. The polysulfone membranes are manufactured from a number of polysulfone type polymers, including bisphenol A based polysulfone, biphenyl based polysulfone and polyether sulfone. While these membranes have found broad utility for a variety of purposes, they suffer from several disadvantages, such as a broad and frequently non uniform pore size distribution, and susceptibility to fouling. The microporous membrane materials are frequently divided into two categories based on pore size: microporous and mesoporous. Microporous materials typically contain pores with diameter greater than 50 nm, while mesoporous materials are usually defined as those with pore diameter in the range of 2–50 nm. It is particularly difficult to prepare mesoporous poly(aryl ether) membranes.
Preparation of porous poly(aryl ether) membranes is well known in the art. Phase inversion method has been used extensively for the preparation of such membranes. The membranes thus obtained are frequently asymmetric with graded pore size across the cross section. Such membranes are frequently mechanically weak and the amount of open pore space on the surface of the membrane as a fraction of the available surface area is relatively small, as disclosed for example, by Kools, W., in WO Patent 0189672 A1; 2001.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,852,388 and 4,944,775 disclose preparation of asymmetric poly(phenylene oxide) membranes. The process involves forming a solution of the poly(phenylene oxide) in a solvent system, forming a nascent membrane from the solution, followed by coagulating the nascent membrane in a coagulation bath formed from a liquid that is miscible with the solvent system but is a non-solvent for the poly(phenylene oxide) polymer. Preparation of porous poly(phenylene oxide) hollow fiber membranes is described by S. Berghams et al. in the article entitled "Spinning of hollow porous fiber via the TIPS mechanism", Journal of Membrane Sciene, Volume 116, page 171–184, 1996, and by J. Smid et al. in the article entitled "The formation of asymmetric hollow fiber membranes for gas separation, using PPE of different intrinsic viscosities", Journal of Membrane Science, Volume 64, page 121–128, 1991. The porous hollow fibers are produced by a solution based spinning process wherein the nascent hollow fibers are solidified by a thermally induced quenching or by a coagulation in a non-solvent.
Preparation of highly asymmetric, anisotropic polysulfone membranes is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,886,059 and 5,958,989. Also known is the preparation of polysulfone membranes with a mixed isotropic and anisotropic structure as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,742, and preparation of isotropic polysulfone membranes as described by A. L. Ly et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,034.
It is also known to produce porous poly(aryl ether) membranes, including porous polysulfone membranes by a melt extrusion process. For example, T. B. Meluch et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,218,441 disclose preparation of polysulfone semipermeable membranes from polysulfone mixture with a solvent, and a non-solvent by a melt extrusion process.
It is also known to produce multilayer porous membranes or porous membranes comprised of multiple porous zones. Preparation of reinforced, three zone microporous membranes is, for example, disclosed by M. T. Meyering et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,513,666. Such multizone porous membranes are known to provide improved mechanical properties, particularly in fluid separation applications that require periodic backwashing, are known to exhibit a lower cross membrane pressure drop, a decreased susceptibility to breach of the membrane separation layer and a decreased propensity of fouling.
A recent report by Y. Ding and B. Bikson entitled "Novel macro and meso porous materials prepared from polysulfone/polyimide blends" in "Material Research Society Symposium Proceeding", Volume 752, AA1.3, Boston, 2002, describes preparation of porous polysulfone films from its blends with a phenylindane containing polyimide by decomposing the phenylindane containing polyimide with a hydrazine solution in methanol. However, the use of hydrazine based chemical system is hazardous and complex. Thus, there still remains a need in the art to produce poly(aryl ether) porous articles, including porous membranes, with improved properties by a simple and commercially benign method that does not utilize hazardous chemicals in membrane fabrication.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Preparation of porous poly(aryl ether) articles and use thereof


A “light field morpher,” as described herein, provides a computationally efficient system and method for image-based three-dimensional (3D) morphing and texture transfer of 3D objects by morphing “light fields” or “lumigraphs,” associated with source and target 3D objects. The light field morpher is applicable to morphing of objects having either or both Lambertian, or non-Lambertian surfaces, including surfaces having complex properties such as fur, subsurface scattering, and hypertextures, without the need for object modeling, or otherwise recovering detailed object geometry. Light field morphing begins by first specifying corresponding 2D and 3D feature elements, such as, “feature lines,” “feature polygons,” and “background edges,” in the input light fields representing the source and target light fields. Once the feature elements have been specified, “ray-space warping” of both light fields then warps those light fields to produce feature alignment. These warped light fields are then blended to produce a light field morph.

1. Technical Field
The invention is related to morphing three-dimensional objects represented by light fields, and in particular, to a system and method for image-based three-dimensional morphing and texture transfer based on a correspondence between rays of source and target light fields.
2. Related Art
Metamorphosis, or morphing, is a popular technique for creating visual effects. In general, image morphing is the construction of an image sequence depicting a gradual transition between two images. Thus, when used effectively, morphing can produce a compelling illusion that an object is smoothly transforming from one object into another. Morphing two-dimensional (2D) images simply morphs the images themselves. However, when morphing images represented by three-dimensional (3D) models, intermediate 3D models; i.e., "morphs" are typically generated directly from the given models rather than simply morphing the images themselves. These morphs are then rendered to produce a morphed image sequence depicting a transformation from a source 3D model to a target 3D model.
With conventional 3D morphing schemes, creating the morphs is independent of the viewing and lighting parameters. Consequently, a single morph sequence can be created then rendered with various camera angles and lighting conditions during rendering. This differs from the 2D morphing approach where a new morph must be recomputed every time it is desired to alter the viewpoint or the illumination of the morphed view.
A variety of conventional schemes for morphing 3D objects have been proposed. Many such schemes are designed for geometry-based objects, i.e., objects whose geometry and surface properties are known, either explicitly as with conventional boundary-based techniques, or implicitly as with conventional volume-based techniques. In either case, such techniques typically rely on a three-dimensional mesh-type model of the objects being morphed. Unfortunately, where the geometry is unknown or difficult to model, such conventional 3D morphing schemes fail to create realistic morphs.
Volume-based 3D morphing schemes typically based on the concept of "volume morphing." Volume morphing schemes typically use a source and a target volume for creating morphs. Volume data used by such schemes is typically acquired by a number of techniques, including scanning, voxelizing a geometric model, interactive modeling, or procedurally defining hypertexture volumes as functions over 3D space. However, such methods either require extensive user input or interaction, or are very computationally expensive, or both.
Another scheme approaches 3D morphing using a technique termed "plenoptic editing." This scheme first recovers a 3D voxel model from the image data and then applies traditional 3D warping to the recovered model. Visibility issues can be resolved with the recovered geometry, but there are problems, including a Lambertian surface assumption needed for voxel carving, and fundamental difficulties associated with recovering detailed surface geometry from images. Further, Lambertian surface patches are idealized and assumed to have a constant luminance value. Consequently, the use of Lambertian surfaces fails to consider specular components to the reflected spectrum that exists on real, or non-Lambertian, surfaces. Such real, or non-Lambertian, surfaces typically exhibit specular characteristics that are not adequately modeled by this plenoptic editing scheme.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method for morphing 3D objects without the need to explicitly consider object geometry. Further, such a system should both minimize user interaction and be computationally efficient. Finally, such a system and method should be capable of effectively morphing objects that include non-Lambertian and other specular surfaces.

System and method for feature-based light field morphing and texture transfer


An optical system has a focal point detection device which is suitable for telephotography and is applicable to lenses having different image screen sizes. The optical system includes a photograph section which forms an image of an object, a driving device which moves either the entire photograph section or a part thereof in an optical axis direction, a plurality of re-imaging optical systems which forms re-images of the image of the object by light beams passing through different portions of a pupil of the photograph section, a plurality of imaging devices disposed in the vicinity of image planes of the re-imaging optical systems, and a controller which controls the driving device based on electric signals from the imaging devices so that the image of the object is formed on a mechanical image plane of the photograph section. The optical system is configured so that the re-images of the image of the object are formed on the imaging devices when the image of the object is formed closer to the object than the mechanical image plane of the photograph section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a focal point detection device used in a still camera, a video camera, a television camera or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
As a focal point detection device, for example, a device using a phase difference technique, as shown in FIG. 9, has been conventionally proposed. Such a device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2-24614. In FIG. 9, (J) represents an in-focus state in which an image of an object P is formed just on a mechanical image plane 2 of a photograph lens 1. Light imaged on the mechanical image plane 2 further passes through a field lens 4p and an aperture stop 4q, and thereafter passes through a pair of secondary optical systems 4a and 4b which are spaced away from an optical axis z of the photograph lens 1 by the same distance but in opposite directions. The light is then imaged again just on an array of light receiving elements 5a and 5b. In other words, the field lens 4p is arranged so that an exit pupil of the photograph lens 1 and entrance pupils of the secondary optical systems 4a and 4b are in conjugate relations. The mechanical image plane 2, therefore, serves as an object plane of a re-imaging optical system composed of the field lens 4p and the secondary optical systems 4a and 4b, while the array of light receiving elements 5a and 5b serves as an image plane thereof.
As a result, in the in-focus state, the object P is imaged just on the mechanical image plane 2. The object P is then re-imaged just as a point image with no spread approximately at the center of each of the light receiving elements 5a and 5b.
In FIG. 9, (F) represents a so-called front-defocus state in which the photograph lens 1 is sent out forward, i.e., toward the object P, from a position at which the photograph lens 1 is positioned in the in-focus state. In the front-defocus state, the image of the object P is formed at a position shifted forward from the mechanical image plane 2 by a distance z.sub.f. This image, therefore, is blurred on the mechanical image plane 2. Also, on the light receiving elements 5a and 5b, the images of the object P are blurred and expand as compared to those formed in the in-focus state. A central point of the blurred images is closer to the optical axis z than that in the in-focus state.
In FIG. 9, (R) represents a so-called rear-defocus state in which the photograph lens 1 is sent out backward from the in-focus state position. In the rear-defocus state, the object P is imaged at a position shifted backward from the mechanical image plane 2 by a distance z.sub.r. This image, therefore, is blurred on the mechanical image plane 2. Also, on the light receiving elements 5a and 5b, the images of the object P are blurred and expand as compared to those formed in the in-focus state. The central point of the blurred images becomes more distant from the optical axis z than that in the in-focus state.
Each defocused amount z.sub.f or z.sub.r corresponds to a distance between a position at which the image of the object P is formed and the mechanical image plane 2. The defocused amount z.sub.f or z.sub.r can be obtained based on a distance between centers of light amount distributions respectively formed on the light receiving elements 5a and 5b. The photograph lens 1 is then controlled to be moved in the optical axis direction by a driving device so that the image of the object P is formed on the mechanical image plane 2.
Recently, zoom ratios of zoom lenses have become larger. Focal lengths on telephoto sides thereof have also increased more and more. In a zoom lens, if a length ratio of an object to an image of the object in an optical axis direction is a longitudinal magnification .alpha. and a height ratio of the object to the image in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis is a lateral magnification .beta., then .alpha.=.beta..sup.2. Moreover, an absolute value .vertline..beta..vertline. of the lateral magnification .beta. becomes larger as a focal length f of a photograph lens increases. Thus, the longitudinal magnification .alpha. also becomes larger as the focal length f of the photograph lens increases. In other words, assuming that the object is moved in the optical axis direction by the same amount, the defocused amount of the image becomes larger as the focal length of the lens increases.
When the defocused amount of the image is assumed to be the same, however, an object-field focal point detectable region, in which the movement of the object in the optical axis direction can be detected, becomes smaller as the focal length of the lens increases. This is apparent from FIG. 10.
When the object-field focal point detectable region is small, in order to locate a focal position, it is necessary to move a part of the photograph lens 1 or the whole photograph lens 1 forward and/or backward until the photograph lens 1 reaches a position at which the focal position can be detected. When the photograph lens is moved in a focusing direction, there is no problem. However, when the photograph lens is moved in a direction opposite to the focusing direction, the in-focus state cannot be reached, irrespective of how much the lens is moved. After it is judged that the in-focus state cannot be reached, when the movement direction of the photograph lens is reversed so that movement in the focusing direction occurs, the photograph lens enters the object-field focal point detectable region and an automatic focusing operation is made practicable. However, in this case, there are various problems of, for example, difficulty of high-speed focusing, a blur of the image due to forward and/or backward movement of the lens, and shake of an image screen in a case of moving picture such as, for example, a video image or a television image.
As the focal length of the photograph lens becomes longer, the object-field focal point detectable region becomes smaller. Various drawbacks are present in the aforementioned conventional focal point detection device.
In FIG. 11, (F) shows one of the front-defocus states in the aforementioned conventional focal point detection device. In this state, the defocused amount is the largest while the focal point is detectable. As is apparent from (F) of FIG. 11, EQU h/(L-z.sub.f0)=d/z.sub.f0
where L is a distance from the exit pupil 1a of the photograph lens to the mechanical image plane 2, z.sub.f0 is the largest defocused amount on the front-defocus side when the focal point is detectable (the object-field focal point detectable region on the front-defocus side), h is a maximum radius of a bundle of light beams, which is used in the focal point detection device, at the exit pupil 1a of the photograph lens, and d is a maximum height of the bundle of light beams, used in the focal point detection device, from the optical axis on a conjugate plane 6 of the imaging devices with respect to a re-imaging optical system.
Therefore, the expression: EQU z.sub.f0 =Ld/(h+d) (1)
is obtained.
Moreover, (R) of FIG. 11 shows one of the rear-defocus states. In this rear-defocus state, the focal point is detectable and the defocused amount is the largest. Here, EQU h/(L+z.sub.r0)=d/z.sub.r0
where z.sub.r0 is the largest defocused amount on the rear-defocus side when the focal point is detectable (the size of the object-field focal point detectable region on the rear-defocus side).
Therefore, the expression EQU z.sub.r0 =Ld/(h-d) (2)
is obtained.
The radius of the bundle of light beams, which enters the focal point detection device, at the exit pupil is generally set to be constant irrespective of an imaging state thereof. The radius h of the exit pupil of the photograph lens, in other words, is constant both in the state shown by (F) having the largest defocused amount on the front-defocus side and in the state shown by (R) having the largest defocused amount on the rear-defocus side. Moreover, the maximum height d of the bundle of light beams from the optical axis, which can be detected by the focal point detection device, at the position 6 which is conjugate to the photograph device with respect to the re-imaging optical system, is determined by the limit of the focal point detection device. Therefore, a value of d is also constant both in the state shown by (F) having the largest defocused amount on the front-defocus side and the state shown by (R) having the largest defocused amount on the rear-defocus side.
In the conventional focal point detection device mentioned above, the mechanical image plane 2 of the photograph lens is arranged at the conjugate position 6 of the imaging devices with respect to the re-imaging optical system. Therefore, the height d corresponds to the maximum height on the mechanical image plane 2.
From the expressions (1) and (2), EQU z.sub.f0 <z.sub.r0.
Thus, the size z.sub.f0 of the object-field focal point detectable region on the front-defocus side is smaller than the size z.sub.r0 of the object-field focal point detectable region on the rear-defocus side.
On the other hand, as described above, the focal length on the telephoto side becomes longer. This is because there is a great demand for telephotography. There are supposed to be many cases, therefore, in which the object P is positioned on the infinity side of the position in the in-focus state before the focusing operation. There are supposed to be more front-defocus states than rear-defocus states.
However, in the aforementioned conventional focal point detection device, the size z.sub.r0 of the object-field focal point detectable region on the rear-defocus side is larger than that on the front-defocus side. Accordingly, the conventional focal point detection device does conform to actual circumstances in which the front-defocus state occurs more frequently than the rear-defocus state.
In addition, if an existing focal point detection device can be applied to lenses having different image screen sizes, then cost can be reduced. However, when a conventional focal point detection device for a large image screen size is used with a lens having a small image screen size, the size of a region in which a measurement is conducted is too large. This results in an undesirable increase in an error in selection of a photographic subject.

Optical system having a focal point detection device


A bulk material handling system generally consisting of means for holding the material; means for conveying the material including a first conduit formed of a permeable material having an inlet communicating with an outlet of the material holding means and an outlet, a second conduit formed of an impermeable material encompassing and spaced from the first conduit, providing a chamber therebetween, and an auger disposed in the first conduit for transporting material received through the inlet to the outlet thereof; means for rotatably driving the auger; and means for supplying a fluidizing gas under pressure to the chamber between the first and second conduits.

In a number of industries involved in the handling of bulk materials having poor flow characteristics, it commonly has been the practice to convey such materials by means of mechanical conveyors. Typically, such conveyors have consisted of screw conveyors, generally comprising an elongated, rotatable auger housed in an elongated tube. In the use of such conveyors, however, it has been found that the flow rates of sluggish and cohesive bulk materials is poor, the flow rates of such materials are difficult to control, a substantial amount of torque is required to operate such conveyors and such materials tend to build up in the tube around the auger which often is difficult, time consuming and cumbersome to clean. In addition, because of a lack of control of the flow rates in such conveyors, it is difficult to accurately meter such materials as often is required in various processes. Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved system and method for conveying bulk materials having poor flow characteristic with the use of a screw type conveyor in which the flow rate of sluggish and cohesive bulk materials is improved, the torque required to drive the augers of such conveyors is reduced and a buildup in the conduit surrounding the auger of such conveyors is reduced if not entirely eliminated.

System and method for handling bulk materials


An integrated circuit has a group of cores that communicate with a packet switch using carrierless ultra wideband (UWB) radio frequency (RF) signaling. The packet switch communicates outside the integrated circuit using optical signaling. The carrierless UWB provides for high frequency communication and processing without requiring additional space for interconnects. No special paths are necessary because the signals used by the cores for communicating with the packet switch are RF signals therefore they can be broadcast by the packet switch and be received by a plurality of cores. No conductor line or waveguide is required. Because the signals are carrierless, they can be transmitted with low power. With multiple cores providing information to the switch, the total information being received may exceed the capacity of the RF bandwidth so an external optical interface is provided to multiplex information provided via carrierless UWB RF signals by a plurality of cores.

1. Field
This disclosure relates generally to integrated circuits, and more specifically, to testing integrated circuits.
2. Related Art
Multiple core systems have been found to provide better processing power than a single core of the same size. In terms of processing power for a given area, it generally increases with the number of cores. As the number of cores increases, however, the amount of interconnect increases at an even greater rate. Thus, there is typically a judgment with regard to beneficially increasing processing power which causes the detrimental affect of increasing the amount of wiring.
Accordingly, there is a need to have multiple cores while eliminating or reducing the detrimental affect of increased wiring.


Systems and methods are provided for controlling texture sampling in connection with computer graphics in a computer system. In various embodiments, improved mechanisms for controlling texture sampling are provided that enable 3-D accelerator hardware to greatly increase the level of realism in rendering, including improved mechanisms for (1) motion blur; (2) generating anisotropic surface reflections (3) generating surface self-shadowing (4) ray-cast volumetric sampling (4) self-shadowed volumetric rendering and (5) self-shadowed volumetric ray-casting. In supplementing existing texture sampling techniques, parameters for texture sampling may be replaced and/or modified.

Texture mapping allows a colored, or textured, signal be imaged onto geometry, giving the appearance of detail on coarse triangle meshes. Using textures is generally more efficient than refining the carrier geometry to represent the signal per vertex. While rasterization hardware has supported basic texture mapping for many years, it has recently begun to offer more powerful features.
An overview of the texture mapping process is shown in FIG. 1. Given texture map 200, having texels 202, texture mapping applies the signal of the texture map 200 to triangles 210 of a mesh according to some geometric configuration of the triangle, and/or applies some additional transformation, such as shadowing, lighting, etc. which maps texels 202 to pixels 222.
Texture mapping is a problem that implicates the Nyquist theory, to the extent aliasing is to be avoided, which states that to accurately reproduce an analog waveform, the analog signal should be sampled at a rate at least twice its highest frequency to be able to represent the signal in the digital domain with a high level of accuracy. Digital-to-analog conversion techniques are then utilized to reconstruct the original analog signal accurately. If an insufficient sampling rate is used, the result is aliasing, which is incorrectly sampled high-frequency information that appears as lower frequency noise.
Sampling issues arise in connection with texture mapping as well. The process of texture mapping samples texture maps to screen pixels, and to the extent possible, the texture map data should have been sampled at a sufficiently high sampling rate to encompass the highest of frequency information. In this regard, typically, screen objects represented by a certain number of picture elements (pixels) use texture maps with a different number of texture elements (texels). When texture maps have more texels than the pixel space, a single pixel may map to more than one texel and when texture maps have fewer texels than the pixel space, multiple pixels may map to a single texel. When there is no exact mapping between texture space and picture space, display quality issues can arise.
In effect, the texture map may either not be able to effectively map proper image detail to the designated pixel area, or conversely, a smaller pixel area may not be able to use all the texture detail from a larger/richer texture map.
Specifically, in the case where a texture map is too small compared to the pixel area being mapped, then the same texel is mapped to adjacent pixels, which causes a blockiness effect when viewing the image. In the other case, if multiple texels map to the same pixel, it is often up for grabs which exact texel, from the group of texels that could map to a given pixel, will be selected from the texture map and applied to the pixel. It is thus an algorithm-dependent process and can result in artifacts known as texture swimming and pixel-popping, both of which are very noticeable when the camera moves. Moreover, even if a substantially similar or same number of pixels and texels exist for mapping therebetween, there may be some transformation, or function, applied to the texels prior to rendering, in which case some algorithm must still decide where the pixel data should come from with respect to the texel data.
For purposes of illustrating problem(s) that may arise, the case with a number of texels greater than the number of pixels may be considered as follows. Assume there a square billboard surface in a three-dimensional (3-D) scene comprising two equilateral triangles, wherein the square is 100×100 pixels. If one applied a texture map comprising 200 horizontal red and blue stripes on top of the 100×100 pixel square area, all 200 stripes of the texture could not be discerned once applied to the billboard because the texture has more samples than the pixel area to which it will be applied. Some of the intermediate texture data will not be used in the mapping, and will essentially be ignored.
As one's 3-D viewpoint is moved over the billboard, if navigating in a game, for example, a phenomena called pixel popping arises, which is a result of the texture's stripes coming in and out of alignment with the billboard pixels. This is a case of an insufficient texture-sampling rate to describe the scene's details. This is an illustration of one type of artifact that can results, as other types of artifacts can result from a poor texture sampling as well.
There are several approaches to minimize the rendering artifacts caused by an insufficient texture-sampling rate, mostly in the form of filtering and re-sampling. The two filter methods used in the simple texturing methods like point-sampling are Magnification and Minification, which alter the texture sampling methods to help avoid the problems depicted above.
The minification algorithm is used in the case where multiple texels can map to a single pixel, and it selects the best fit texel from among the group texels that could map to the pixel. The magnification technique is used when multiple pixels can map to a single texel, and it maps a single texel to multiple pixel. There are many methods varying in speed and quality for applying textures, including point sampling, bilinear filtering, trilinear MIP-mapping, anisotropic filtering and antialiasing.
The most basic way to apply textures to a surface is point sampling, which uses a "nearest neighbor" sampling method. When the renderer fetches a piece of texture, it grabs the texture sample from the texture map that has (u, v) coordinates that map nearest to the pixel's coordinates (the pixel center), and applies it to the pixel. This approach is illustrated in FIG. 2A, wherein the relevant position of the mapping from pixel space to texel space is located at position P1. Here, since the closest texel is T1, T1 is selected. Though this approach requires the least amount of memory bandwidth in terms of the number of texels that need to be read from texture memory, i.e., one per pixel, the result often causes artifacts as discussed above, owing to insufficient samples, i.e., screen pixels, to describe the texture. But even first-generation personal computer (PC) 3-D hardware had a feature to help clean up, or at least hide these sampling problems to a certain extent, namely, by utilizing bilinear filtering.
Rather than just grab the nearest neighbor on a texture, bilinear filtering instead reads the four samples nearest to the pixel center, and uses a weighted average of those color values as the final texture color value. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 2B, a weighted average of T1, T2, T3 and T4 is taken, wherein the weights are based on the distance from the pixel center to the four texel centers. Exemplary equations for bilinear filtering known to those of ordinary skill in the graphics processing art are as follows:ca=pi,j·α+(pi,j+1)·(1−αa)cb=pi+1,j·α+(pi+1,j+1)·(1−αa)F=lrp(ca, cb)·αb,where lrp is a linear interpolation function readily understood by today's graphics processing units (GPUs). The visual net effect is to blur out a good deal of the texture artifacts seen with point sampling, but because it is only a four-tap filter working with a single texture map, the effectiveness of bilinear filtering is limited.
Another approach to improving texture image quality is a technique known as MIP-mapping, where the renderer makes multiple copies of the original texture, and each successive MIP-map is exactly half the resolution of the previous one. This effectively becomes a kind of 3-D texture, wherein the standard two coordinates, (u, v) are present, but there is also a third coordinate, d, used to measure which MIP-map(s) to select based on which map resolution will most closely match the pixel area to be mapped. In the case where a fighter plane is close to the view camera, a very detailed texture map would be selected, but as the plane flies off into the distance, successively smaller and less detailed maps would be used.
As the d coordinate increases, smaller and smaller MIP-maps are used. The derivation of the d coordinate tends to be complicated and implementation dependent, but in general relates to figuring out how much texture magnification or minification would result from a particular MIP-map selection based on the pixel area to be covered. The MIP-map with the smallest amount of texture magnification and minification is thus selected by this method. As illustrated by FIG. 2C, the problem of MIP-mapping is thus one of selecting which texture 200a, 200b, 200c, etc. to utilize to represent the number of pixels in pixel rendition 220 best.
There are a few different ways applications can use MIP-maps, and they are often dependent on graphics hardware support. In some cases, an application may opt (A) to select a single map that corresponds best to the pixel area to be mapped, (B) to apply bilinear filtering to texels in that map, and then (C) to apply the resulting averaged texels to their corresponding pixels. However, visual problems with bilinear MIP-mapping may occur at map boundaries when moving through the scene. For example, when driving down a roadway in a game, one can see visible breaks in roadway texture. This is likely due to a MIP-map switch.
A higher quality method of MIP-mapping often used is called trilinear MIP-mapping, which helps alleviate the MIP-map boundary problem discussed above. This filtering method takes two bilinear samples, using four texel samples each, from the two MIP-maps nearest to the pixel, where one texture map might be a bit larger in resolution and the other a bit smaller in resolution than the pixel area to be mapped. The trilinear algorithm then uses a weighted average to combine the two bilinear-filtered texels into a resultant textured pixel, with the map whose resolution is closer to the pixel area receiving more weight.
Even trilinear MIP-mapping suffers some shortcomings, however, mostly relating to level of detail (LOD) biasing. Each MIP-map is said to have an associated LOD, and biasing has to do with the weighting factor of the average between the two bilinear filtered samples taken from the two different maps. If LOD biasing is turned "up" too much, weighting the average more toward the smaller resolution map, texture blur can result. If the LOD bias is turned "down" too much, weighting the average toward the larger MIP-map, aliasing, and temporal aliasing, such as texture shimmering/crawling can result. LOD biasing thus alters the d value, causing smaller or larger maps to be used, although the d value is still preconfigured at development time. The main problem with these techniques is the isotropic nature of bilinear or trilinear filtering. The magnification/minification along one axis in the texture may be significantly different the magnification/minification along the other axis, which can result in aliasing along one axis and blurring in the other.
There is another filtering technique called anisotropic filtering that attempts to address the isotropic nature of bilinear and trilinear filtering. One form of anisotropic filtering uses MIP-map sampling, but rather than taking eight samples, it instead takes up to 16. In using anisotropic filtering, one specifies for the renderer what the degree of anisotropy is, which is a ratio of how far a texture can be stretched before its image quality starts to degrade.
In another form of anisotropic filtering, bilinear filtering is performed multiple times along some angle. This can be useful where "streaking" is a natural by product of the pixel rendering, e.g., as is the case with the road flying by in a race car video game. When the textured polygon is at an oblique angle to the plane of the screen, the footprint corresponding to a screen pixel mapped onto the texture becomes elongated, i.e., no longer square. More sophisticated methods use the odd-shaped collection of texels in this footprint and blend them together to produce the final result. Computing the correct shape to use for this sampling footprint, and how long it should be, is a very difficult problem. Any currently known algorithms for doing this base their computations only on the relative geometry of the screen-pixel to polygon texels alignment, and none provide flexibility that enables a developer to predictably/intelligently control the process.
This form of anisotropic sampling which multiply performs bilinear filtering is illustrated in FIG. 2D, for a point P1a, which is to be anisotropically filtered along an angle θ, defined by the ratio Δv/Δu, and a stepsize s between points P1a, P1b, P1c, etc., defined by the magnitude of Δv and Δu, in accordance with some prefixed geometric aspect of the triangle being rendered. An elliptical shape along the angle θ defines the positioning of P1b and P1c. Then, bilinear filtering is performed for each of P1a, P1b and P1c, which for this example, in a weighted fashion, blends together the corresponding groups of four: (A) T14, T11, T15 and T12, (B) T11, T12, T6 and T5 and (C) T7, T6, T8 and T1, respectively.
In using more samples in the direction the texture would have to be stretched to fit the surface where it is being applied, anisotropic filtering achieves sharper image quality than bilinear or trilinear filtering, and also avoids the texture shimmering found with point sampling. It is also noted that anisotropic-filtered text that is displayed at an angle, as might be in a billboard in a racing game, or at the start of a Star Wars movie, renders more clearly than with other filtering methods
Generally, graphics application programming interfaces (APIs) have provisions for a single vertex to store two or more texture addresses for use in multitexturing effects. Early on, multitexturing was used to create lighting effects using light maps, but it has since been applied to do additional effects like bump mapping. These multitexturing features eventually compelled 3-D chipmakers to invest chip real-estate into creating parallel pixel pipelines, and in more recent generations of chips, to process multiple texels per pixels per clock.
The advantage gained by having parallel pipes capable of handling multiple texels per pixel is that multitexturing operations can often be done in a single clock cycle, rather than having to perform multipass rendering, where each pixel in a scene is drawn several times. For each additional pass a chip has to make to render a scene, its effective pixel fill rate is divided by the number of passes that need to be made. So if a chip with 500 Mpixels/sec of fill rate had to do two passes in order to render a scene with multitexturing effects in it, that chip's effective fill rate is halved to 250 Mpixels/sec. If it makes four passes, the fill rate drops to 125 Mpixels/sec. Thus, parallel pipelines have greatly increased the efficiency of graphics rendering as well.
Multitexturing does not operate that much differently from regular single texturing, except that the separate textures have to be blended together, and then blended with the existing pixel color produced by shading. However, doubling or tripling the number of textures being used in a scene drastically increases the amount of frame buffer bandwidth required to fetch the additional textures, and if multiple passes are being done, there once was concern that overall performance would suffer. However, the evolution of extremely fast graphics processors in recent years has laid these concerns to rest.
Texturing, and multitexturing, can be used to create a wide array of visual effects, with basic surface description being only the tip of the iceberg. Developers have also discovered another way to create textures; rather than store a "canned" bitmap, a developer can instead create a small program that creates textures procedurally. This technique has been used to create anything from marble surfaces, to terrain textures in large outdoor environments, to moving water effects.
Another process many applications seek to do with 3-D is to set a mood. This is especially important to attempt to immerse gamers inside the world the developer has conjured up. One useful tool to achieve different moods is fog, which also helps give a scene an addition sense of depth of field.
Fog can be implemented in several different ways, with the variations having mostly to do with how the fog becomes foggier. Two very common methods are called linear and exponential fog, which scale linearly and exponentially, respectively, as their names suggest. Fog can also be applied per vertex or per pixel, and as in most things in 3-D, per pixel looks more convincing, but is computationally more expensive.
A more advanced method of applying fog is called range-based fog, which traditionally has not been available in consumer 3-D chips, but with the arrival of vertex shaders in DirectX8, range-based fog is an option. Another method is called fog table, where fog values are stored in a lookup table, then applied to each pixel.
But irrespective of technique, fog is a function of how far away an object is, which is usually determined by its z value, the distance from the view camera. A fog factor, whether computed linearly or exponentially, is then computed and applied to the pixel using a blending operation to combine the fog amount (color) and the lit/shaded/textured pixel color. If fog is being performed per vertex, fog operations become a part of the lighting calculation, and are interpolated across each triangle using Gouraud shading.
Another practical use for fog is to allow objects at the far clipping plane to gracefully "fade away" rather than just pop out of the scene. Fog can also be used to allow a renderer to only have to draw world objects relatively close to the view camera. So when the fog value gets near or reaches zero (fog values are typically floating-point values between zero and one, with zero being absolute fog and one being no fog), the object is essentially discarded, and no further rendering work needs to be done.
Techniques for applying transparency and translucency exist as well. Unlike opaque objects, transparent objects must generally be depth sorted in back-to-front order to ensure that the underlying colors that are blended with the transparent objects are available when the blending operation is performed. There are several formulae that get used to calculate an object's translucency, but a common formula is:co=α·cs+(1−α)·cd, wherein    co=final color of pixel    α=alpha value (between 0 and 1)    cs=color of the transparent pixel (called the source) and    cd=color of the occluded pixel (called the destination).
This formula is a sum of two pixel modulations, where the alpha value is applied differently to both pixels, and the resultant values are added together to give the final pixel color.
Thus, there are a myriad of techniques that can be applied in connection with texture sampling computer graphics; however, thus far, the selection of any of the myriad of techniques is fixed by the developer at development time without much flexibility. Since certain variables and heuristics are useful for certain graphical circumstances, and not others, the end quality result can be a mixed bag, even with ever increasing processing power. Accordingly, it would be desirable to increase the amount of intelligence applied to texture sampling algorithms at the front end of the process. In view of an increasing trend towards flex-function GPU, it would be desirable to expose controllable texture sampling for developers to apply on the fly, dynamic intelligence to handle different circumstances in the most efficacious manner. As more advanced programmable per-pixel shading and lighting algorithms become available that take into account material properties, curved surfaces, volumetric textures, and that have far more complex single-pass texture blending, it becomes all the more desirable to enable developers to have control over the texture sampling process. It might also be desirable to controllably introduce artifacts into a rendered image, such as blurring, or streaking, or shimmering. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide any one or more of an operating system, driver code, an application programming interface, a tool kit and/or functionality in the graphics pipeline itself, including the GPU or other coprocessing device, a mechanism which provides controllable texture sampling capabilities.

Systems and methods for providing controllable texture sampling


A growth supplement for bacterial media is used to induce and/or maintain differentiation and viability of bacterial cell cultures. The supplement contains about 10 mM to about 100 mM of a sugar, an amino acid or mixtures thereof. When the media used does not contain iron and reducing agents, such as sodium thiosulfate, these are included in the supplement. The reducing agent is present preferably at about 20 to about 40 mM. The addition of this supplement results in flagellation of aflagellate variants of Salmonella and hyperflagellation of variants of Salmonella which are flagellated.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a growth supplement for culture medium for the maintenance of cell viability and for the induction of differentiation, especially of bacterial cells. It also relates to a method for growing cells, especially enteric bacteria such as variants of Salmonella enterica, for the production of biologics, such as vaccines, assays and the enhancement of protein secretion in general.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A medium which induces cell differentiation in both prokaryote and eukaryote cells will aid in understanding neoplasia, birth defects, regeneration of nervous system function after debilitating accidents, development of artificial models for diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and diabetes, as well as the production of improved vaccines to infectious disease agents and identification of contamination of animal products that are a part of the human food supply.
For example, rapid and reliable detection of Salmonella serotypes is important for determining the presence of Salmonella in food and animals, such as for example, chickens used for egg production. Standard methods for Salmonella detection are often not sensitive enough to consistently detect the presence of Salmonella serotypes in all instances. Fowl salmonellosis caused by Salmonella enterica var. Gallinarium and Pullorum are diseases of world wide significance in the poultry industry. Since its recognition as an infectious agent nearly 100 years ago, Salmonella enterica var. Pullorum has been classified as a non-motile, aflagellate chicken pathogen (Retter, N.Y. Med. J., Volume 71, 803,1990; Edwards et al, Identification of Enterobacteriaceae, Burgess Publishing Company, Minneapolis, Minn., 1962). It is particularly capable of contaminating eggs via the reproductive organs of hen (Snoeyenbos, Diseases of Poultry, ninth edition; Ed.: B. W. Calnek; 73-86, 1991). In the United States, S. enterica var. Pullorum was a major problem in the poultry industry earlier this century. The problem decreased following implementation of rigorous serological screening and depopulation of serologically positive flocks. Serological surveillance has been the primary method of keeping S. enterica var. Pullorum in check. However, problems have begun to erupt in a number of United States flocks and indications are that the standard tests for S. enterica var. Pullorum, such as the agglutination assays, are not detecting some infected flocks. Currently, S. enterica var. Enteritidis is the cause of a world-wide increase of salmonellosis in people due to its ability to colonize the reproductive organs of chickens and to contaminate eggs. S. enterica var. Enteritidis has the same lipopolysaccharide (LPS) D1 serotype as S. enterica var. Pullorum, but it is commonly flagellated and produces flagellar H-antigens that are used in a diagnostic scheme to differentiate it from other salmonellae (Edwards, supra). Glycosylated, high-molecular weight (HMW) O-antigen distinguishes virulent strains (Petter, Appl. Env. Microbiol., Volume 59, 2884-2890, 1993; Guard-Petter et al, Appl. Env, Microbiol., Volume 61, 2845-2851, 1995; Guard-Petter et al, Epid. Infec., 1996, In Press; R. Carlson, personal communication). This type of O-antigen structure contributes to the ability of S. enterica var. Enteritidis to hyperflagellate and migrate across a 2% agar surface, but this distinctive phenotype is transient and is lost upon passage and storage (Guard-Petter et al, 1995, supra; Guard-Petter et al, 1996, supra). Hyperflagellation has been described as an outer membrane change that occurs with the differentiation of vegetative bacteria into swarm cells (Allison et al, Molec. Microbiol., Volume 169, 1155-1158, 1994; Allison et al, Infec. Immun., Volume 60, 4740-4746, 1992). A genetic analysis of E. coli and S. enterica var. Typhimurium indicated that swarm cell differentiation could be observed in soft agar (Harshay et al, PNAS, USA, Volume 91, 8631-8635, 1994). A correlation between differentiation and virulence has been described for the urinary tract pathogen Proteus mirabilis (Allison et al, 1994, supra; Allison et al, 1992, supra) where other virulence factors such as toxins and metalloproteases are transcriptionally upregulated at the same time as flagellin. To date, a relationship between virulence and hyperflagellation for S. enterica var. Enteritidis has been made only in those strains that swarm on 2% agar surfaces, because even avirulent rough and semismooth strains of S. enterica var. Enteritidis produce flagella and are motile in soft agar (Guard-Petter et al, 1996, supra). These emerging concepts suggest that at least some aspects of swarm cell differentiation might be involved in the ability of S. enterica var. Enteritidis to contaminate eggs. However, evidence against an association between swarm cell differentiation and egg contamination exists. S. enterica var. Pullorum efficiently contaminates eggs while S. enterica var. Enteritidis does so sporadically (Snoeyenbos, 1991, supra; Shivaprasad et al, Avian Dis., Volume 34, 548-557, 1990; Humphrey et al, Epidemiol. Infect., Volume 106, 489-496, 1991; Keller et al, Infec. Immun., Volume 63, 2442-2449, 1995). Since S. enterica var. Pullorum is historically aflagellate it was considered that either a) the ability to flagellate and undergo swarm cell differentiation was not involved in establishing invasive infections, or b) cellular differentiation of S. enterica var. Pullorum was inhibited.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,241 (Thorns) discloses that Salmonella microorganisms produce fimbrial antigens when they grow in vivo, e.g. in the gut, in animal tissues or fluids, in food products and in some natural environments but many of the fimbral antigens are not produced when they are grown in vitro on most culture media. The patent also discloses a medium for inducing Salmonella, such as for example S. enteritidis and S. dublin, to produce a specific fimbrial antigen during in vitro culture so that fast and very specific assays can be performed. The media identified by the Thorns patent, useful for inducing a specific fimbrial antigen, SEFA, on serotypes S. enteritidis and S. dublin, are media having at least 20% by weight of their nutrient composition made up of "defined" nutrients which are inorganic salts and/or organic compounds of known molecular structure. Peptone water and Enriched E broth are given as examples of preferred liquid media, with Slanetz broth, Heart infusion broth and Vogel Bonner broth as media capable of supporting expression of the specific antigen. The patent discloses, as examples of solid media, desoxycholate citrate agar, McConkey agar, Nutrient agar, Salmonella Shigella agar, Sheep blood agar and Xylose Lysine descholate. Oxoid Isosensitest and Sensitest agars are disclosed as those which are more potent in supporting the expression of the antigen.
Existing medias do not supply bacteria with essential ingredients that enable them to display a full range of potential physiological behavior in vitro. There remains a need in the art for more effective media which maintains cell viability and induces differentiation. The present invention described below is a growth supplement for media which induces and/or maintains differentiation and maintains viability of cells, especially bacterial cells and is different from prior art media.

Complex growth supplement for maintenance of bacterial cell viability and induction of bacterial cell differentiation

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture


A shroud including an integral track for mounting inspection and cleaning tooling is described. In one embodiment, the shroud includes substantially cylindrical first and second shroud sections having a main body with a first end and a second end. One shroud first end has a weld prepared surface. Each shroud section includes a ledge in an exterior surface adjacent the first end. A weld is formed between the weld prepared surface and the first end of the second shroud section. At the weld, the shroud is substantially geometrically balanced with equal material on both sides of the weld. A geometrically balanced weld provides the same heat sink characteristics on both sides of the weld, and allows for a more uniform distribution of weld residual stresses.

A reactor pressure vessel (RPV) of a boiling water reactor (BWR) typically has a generally cylindrical shape and is closed at both ends, e.g., by a bottom head and a removable top head. A top guide typically is spaced above a core plate within the RPV. A core shroud, or shroud, typically surrounds the core plate and is supported by a shroud support structure. Particularly, the shroud has a generally cylindrical shape and surrounds both the core plate and the top guide. The core center axis is substantially coaxial with the center axis of the shroud, and the shroud is open at both ends so that water can flow up through the lower end of the shroud and out through the upper end of the shroud. The shroud, top guide, and core plate limit lateral movement of the core fuel bundles.
The shroud, due to its large size, is formed by welding a plurality of stainless steel cylindrical sections together. Specifically, respective ends of adjacent shroud sections are joined with a circumferential weld. The weld joint supports vertical and lateral loads associated with all modes of reactor operation.
The shroud welds, however, increase the susceptibility of the shroud material to a detrimental effect known as inter-granular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC). Typically, cracking may occur in the heat affected zone of the shroud welds. Currently, volumetric inspections are performed to detect and evaluate the extent of cracking. If the cracking is determined to be significant, repairs may be performed to re-establish the integrity of the weld joint by the addition of alternate load paths.
It would be desirable to provide a shroud which has welds that are easy to inspect and, if necessary, repair. It also would be desirable to provide such a shroud which does not add significant costs to the fabrication of the shroud.

Integral forged shroud flange for a boiling water reactor


A congestion control system for packet communications networks in which access to the network is controlled to prevent such congestion. Packets within the prespecified statistical description of each packet source are marked as high priority ("green" packets) while packets exceeding the pre-specified characteristics are marked with a lower priority ("red" packets). The overall red packet rate is limited to prevent red packet saturation of the network. Packets are marked red for a continuous train of successive red packets. The introduction of red packets into the network is subjected to a degree of hysteresis to provide better interaction with higher layer error recovery protocols. The amount of hysteresis introduced into the red packet marking can be fixed or varied, depending on the statistics of the incoming data packets at the entry point to the network.

In high-speed packet switching networks, several classes of traffic share the common resources of the network. Multimedia services such as text, image, voice and video generate traffic at widely varying rates. The traffic characteristics of such different sources, moreover, vary dramatically over time. The transport network must nevertheless guarantee a bandwidth and a quality of service to each connection regardless of these differences. Managing the available bandwidth to avoid congestion and to provide such guaranteed Grades of Service (GOS) for connections with potentially dramatic differences in their statistical behavior is therefore of extreme importance in such networks. For example, while data traffic can usually be slowed down in order to cope with network congestion, real time traffic, such as voice, video or image, has an intrinsic rate determined by external factors; the ability to slow down such sources is usually very limited. Real time traffic therefore requires some level of guaranteed service and hence the allocation of resources for such connections is mandatory. The traffic must be managed, not only to guarantee the availability of resources such as link bandwidth, buffer space, switch capacity, processing resources, and so forth, but also to allocate these resources among the contending traffic streams in a "fair" manner. Network resources are finite, valuable and must be utilized in an optimal manner.
Conventional mechanisms for controlling congestion in a network rely on end-to-end control messages for regulating the flow of traffic. In high speed networks, however, the propagation delays across the network typically dominate the switching and queuing delays. The congestion control feedback messages from the network are therefore usually so outdated that any action taken by the source in response to such messages is too late to resolve the congestion which caused the messages to be initiated in the first place. Conventional end-to-end congestion control mechanisms are simply incapable of deafing realistically with congestion in today's high speed global networks.
Due to the stochastic nature of the packet arrival process, for transitory periods during the connection, the parameters of a source vary from the values determined at the connection setup time. In addition, congestion may arise in the network for brief periods during the course of the connection due to statistical variances in the multiplexing process. It is therefore important not only to regulate the access to the network at the source, but also to regulate traffic flow within the network by buffer management and scheduling functions. These traffic regulation mechanisms enforce the pre-specified classes of service. Since all congestion control procedures used in high speed networks must be available in real time, however, such procedures must be computationally simple.
In order to achieve these goals, the network must regulate the rate of traffic flow from each source into the network. Such rate-based access control mechanisms are preferable over link-by-link flow controls because such access control mechanisms maximize the speed of information transfer over the network. One well-known congestion preventive rate-based access control technique is based on the so-called buffered "leaky bucket" scheme. Such leaky bucket schemes restrict the data transmission, on the average, to the allowable rate, but permit some degree of burstiness diverging from the average. Leaky bucket schemes are disclosed in "Congestion Control Through Input Rate Regulation," by M. Sidi, W-Z. Liu, I. Cidon and I. Gopal, Proceedings of Globecom '89, pages 49.2.1-49.2.5, Dallas, 1989, "The `Leaky Bucket` Policing Method in the ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) Network," by G. Niestegge, International Journal of Digital and Analog Communications Systems, Vol. 3, pages 187-197, 1990, and "Congestion Control for High Speed Packet Switched Networks," by K. Bala, I. Cidon and K. Sohraby, Proceedings of Infocom '90, pages 520-6, San Francisco, 1990. Some of these leaky bucket congestion control schemes involve the marking of packets entering the network to control the procedures used in the network in handling those packets.
In the Bala et al. article, for example, packets leaving a source are marked with one of two different "colors," red and green. Green packets represent traffic that is within the connection's reserved bandwidth, and are guaranteed a prespecified grade of service based on some level of delay and loss probability within the network. The green packets are therefore transmitted at a rate determined at call setup time. Red packets, on the other hand, represent traffic sent over and above the reserved rate and can be viewed as an emergency relief mechanism coming into play during an overload period where the instantaneously offered traffic is above the reserved bandwidth. In other words, the amount of traffic in excess of the allocated bandwidth is marked red and sent into the network, instead of being dropped at the source. Red packets allow a source to exploit any unused network bandwidth in order to improve the efficiency of the statistical multiplexing.
The network nodes operate to store and forward packets. Green and red packets are treated differently, however. The intermediate nodes will discard red packets first at times of congestion, using a low discard threshold. As a result, red packets have a higher loss probability at the intermediate nodes, and, moreover, do not degrade the performance of the green packets to any significant extent.
One leaky bucket mechanism is described in detail in the copending application of the present applicant Ser. No. 07/932,440, filed Aug. 19, 1992, and assigned to applicants' assignee. It is of considerable importance in leaky bucket access control schemes that the red packets do not degrade the performance of the green packets. Moreover, it is also desirable that the red packets make as much use as possible of the available bandwidth on the network. For example, if the amount of red traffic is not controlled, it is possible that the red packets can destructively interfere with each other, resulting in a lower red packet throughput than the network would have otherwise permitted. These problems are of extreme concern in very large national or international networks where traffic is heavy, demand great and the efficiency of the network of paramount importance.

Rate-based congestion control in packet communications networks


A coupling member for an electric power tool is provided. The coupling member can keep a hanging member being held, even when a holding portion of the tool for holding the hanging member breaks. A coupling member for an electric power tool is configured to hook a hanging member to an electric power tool main body and can fasten the electric power tool main body therein, when one of its parts opens or closes. Further, this coupling member can be attached to the electric power tool main body with the electric power tool main body fastened therein or removed therefrom. Further, the hanging member can be hooked to the coupling member.

The present disclosure relates to a coupling member for an electric power tool, more specifically, a coupling member for an electric power tool, which serves to hook a hanging member to an electric power tool main body.
Conventionally, various measures have been taken to prevent an electric power tool from falling from a height during work. Here, Patent Literature 1 (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-199396) discloses an electric power tool provided with a strap, which can be hooked to a hook or the like attached to a handrail or a scaffold (hereinafter, referred to as a "hook at workplace"). Herewith, for example, even when a hand-held electric power tool is accidentally dropped, the dropped electric power tool can be kept suspended to the hook at workplace via the strap, when the front end of the strap is hooked to the hook at workplace. As a result, the dropped electric power tool can be prevented from being damaged, since the electric power tool does not collide against the floor (the electric power tool does not receive an impact from the floor).
However, according to a technique as described above in Patent Literature 1, the electric power tool may break due to an impact against the floor caused by being dropped, if the hand-held electric power tool is accidentally dropped before the strap is hooked to the hook at workplace. In this case, because a holding portion of the electric power tool for holding the strap (for example, a loop handle when the electric power tool is a hammer drill) breaks, this strap could not be kept being held afterwards.
The present disclosure is to solve this problem, and the object thereof is to provide a coupling member for an electric power tool, which can keep the hanging member being held even if the holding portion that holds the hanging member breaks.