A network is protected against interruption of service while one or more faulty switches or optical fiber transmission lines are repaired or replaced, by an interconnecting configuration of small N×N optical input/output switches, where N is 2 or greater than 2. The switches are configured among protection and working transmission lines. The small number of fibers for each switch improves repair and installation connection reliability and permits configurations that flexibly meet differing requirements. Also the fault is monitored with a fault check signal.

United States carriers have been suffering from unpredictable failures in the transmission lines over the continent more often than the occurrence of switching equipment failure. The major failure is an optical fiber fault caused by a human error or by a natural catastrophe, such as a flood.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved protection of an optical fiber transmission network with line fault and switch fault protection.

Optical protection switching using 2 by 2 switching functions


The present invention is applicable to the field of electronic component technologies and provides a manufacturing method of a self-aligned metal oxide TFT component, including: selecting a substrate and preparing a gate on the substrate; successively disposing an insulation layer, a transparent electrode layer, and a photoresist on the gate; using the gate as a mask to perform exposure from a back side of the substrate, so as to form a source and a drain that are aligned with the gate; depositing a metal oxide semiconductor layer on the transparent electrode layer; performing etching on the semiconductor layer, the source, and the drain, so that outer ends of the source and the drain are exposed out of the metal oxide semiconductor layer; and depositing a passivation layer and leading out the source and the drain. In the present invention, a transparent conductor is used as the electrode layer, and a bottom gate is used as a mask to perform back exposure, so as to perform etching on the source and the drain, thereby implementing a self-alignment between the source or the drain and the gate, effectively reducing parasitic capacitance, and improving component performance. The component is of a bottom-gate bottom-contact structure, and there is no need to manufacture an etch-stop layer, thereby simplifying a process, reducing use of a photolithographic mask, improving production efficiency, and improving an electrical property of the component.

A metal oxide thin-film transistor (TFT) is a basic circuit component that may be widely used in various electronic systems, and it has many advantages, such as high electron mobility, a low-temperature manufacturing process, relatively high stability, and high transparency. As shown in FIG. 1, in a conventional TFT manufacturing process, an alignment between a gate (Gate) 101 and a source (Source) 102 or a drain (Drain) 103 that are of the TFT component is implemented by using two layers of different mask plates and in a manual or mechanical optical alignment manner. Restricted by factors such as precision of an alignment device, this manner results in that the source 102 and the drain 103 overlap the gate 101, thereby causing relatively large gate-source parasitic capacitance (Cgs) and gate-drain parasitic capacitance (Cgd). The relatively large parasitic capacitance generally reduces a cut-off frequency of the component (a cut-off frequency is in an inverse proportion to parasitic capacitance), thereby reducing a running speed of a circuit; in addition, the relatively large parasitic capacitance also causes that voltage of a display electrode departs from a design requirement, so that a complicated gate drive circuit is required to compensate a deviation, which increases complexity of a circuit design; in addition, parasitic capacitance that cannot be precisely controlled also increase complexity and uncertainty of the circuit design, and a minimum size of a channel (Channel) cannot be precisely controlled, thereby limiting size minimization of the channel, and making it difficult to improve performance of the component. In addition, use of a multilayer mask plate in a conventional component also increases process complexity and costs, which is unfavorable to improvement of production efficiency.
To resolve the foregoing problems, the prior art proposes a self-aligned component that is designed by using a specified process and may automatically align the source and the drain with the gate in a manufacturing process, and there is no need to align two layers of different mask plates in a manual manner or through mechanical optics, an alignment between the source or the drain and the gate may be implemented. This type of self-aligned component is widely applied to a conventional monocrystalline silicon chip (MOSFET) manufacturing process; however, a self-aligned process of the transistor in the conventional silicon chip cannot be directly applied to the metal oxide TFT.
To resolve this problem, a self-aligned process is proposed in the prior art, in which a top gate is used as a mask, an automatic alignment is performed to form the source and the drain, Ar plasma, or NH3 plasma that has more hydrogen is used to process a surface of the metal oxide of indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO), so as to reduce contact resistance of the source and the drain region. However, the Ar plasma only partially improves surface resistance of a source area, a drain area and a metal contact, but resistance of the source area and the drain area is still large, and the plasma needs additional technological processing, which increases costs; the hydrogen can spread to the channel, which degrades the device reliability and causes that the source area and the drain area are extended to the channel, an overlapped area of the gate and the source and an overlapped area of the gate and the drain increase, and parasitic capacitance increases, thereby reducing performance of the metal oxide TFT component.
In another existing self-aligned process, for example, the Chinese Patent Application No. CN201080017247, an etch-stop layer needs to be formed on a semiconductor layer; the etch-stop layer, a source and a drain are separately formed through two times of exposure, so that two times of back exposure and self-alignment increase use of a photolithographic mask and greatly increase difficulty in implementing the process. In addition, the etch-stop layer also produces an adverse effect on a semiconductor channel, thereby affecting an electrical property of a TFT.
For another example, the Chinese Patent Application No. CN201110147134 discloses a TFT manufacturing process, in which a grey-tone mask is used. By changing exposure, one set of mask plate is used to separately implement preparation of a source, a drain, and a semiconductor channel. However, a size of the channel is strictly restricted by specifications of the mask aligner, and the exposure needs to be relatively precisely controlled to distinguish the source and the drain from the semiconductor channel, so that the TFT manufacturing process is subject to a relatively large restriction and is relatively difficult to be applied, and in addition, which is unfavorable to reduction of preparation costs.

Self-aligned metal oxide thin-film transistor component and manufacturing method thereof


A horizontal scrubber may be configured for removal of sulfur dioxide and particulate matter from a gaseous stream derived from the combustion of biomass, including, for example, sugar cane bagasse. The scrubber may include a horizontally disposed housing including an inlet configured to receive a gas stream derived from combusted biomass and an outlet. The scrubber may further include a manifold of liquid nozzles disposed within the housing that are configured to provide a spray of liquid droplets in a co-current orientation to the gas stream. An array of tubes may be oriented adjacent to the manifold of liquid nozzles and may be configured to receive the gas stream and liquid droplets from the nozzle array, but providing minimal resistance to material flow. To encourage flow, members of the tube array may include circular walls with a substantially uniform cross section.

Flue gas may include any number of contaminant species including particulate matter, acids, and/or various oxides, including, for example, SO2, SO3, HCl, and nitrous oxides. Contaminant impurities may be detrimental to the environment, and it may be required to remove contaminant impurities to at least a statutory level of regulation. A number of processes have been designed to facilitate removal of contaminants and purification of flue gas. However, there remains a need for flue gas processing systems that more efficiently remove contaminant gases. Particularly, there is a need for cost effective strategies of flue gas processing that may be applied and/or retrofit in existing structures with certain restrictions.

Apparatus and method for cleaning gas streams from biomass combustion


An on-line method for determining the condition of low conductivity working fluids using alternating current, electro-impedance spectroscopy is provided by making measurements over a range of frequencies at temperatures at or above 50° C.

Working fluids, such as lubricating oils and hydraulic fluids, are important components of a wide variety of mechanical systems in which they provide one or more functions such as lubricating moving parts, transferring force or energy on the mechanical system, protecting parts against wear or even a combination of these.
These fluids typically consist of a hydrocarbon, base oil formulated with numerous additives selected to enhance one or more performance characteristics of the fluid.
With use over time these fluids may become contaminated with substances with which they come into contact, by the ingress of foreign substances in the mechanical system, by oxidation of the base oil and chemical decomposition of the additives used in the formulated fluids. The net result is a decrease in the performance characteristics of the fluid with the concomitant negative impact on the mechanical system using the fluid.
Therefore, in many industrial environments regular fluid analysis by common laboratory methods is a standard modus operandi. This necessitates running a sample of the fluid and transporting it, typically off-site, for analysis. This procedure normally takes at least three full days before the requisite analysis is completed and a report can be obtained. Such a time lag is highly undesirable.
The art is replete with proposed methods for the on-line evaluation of the quality of lubricants, many of which are based on electrical measurements, such as the dielectric constant or impedance of the fluid, with the measurements being taken most often at one, and sometimes two, discrete and fixed frequencies. Experience has shown, however, that these methods are not entirely satisfactory. For example, at some frequencies and at low temperatures the electrical property of the fluid being measured is insufficiently sensitive to give a reliable indication of the condition of the fluid and even if sufficiently sensitive, the frequency chosen may not necessarily provide an accurate indication of the condition of the lubricant. Also, the wires and other components used for making electrical measurements can produce spurious effects that obscure or distort the electrical properties of the fluid. Moreover, the best frequency for optimum sensitivity is highly dependent on the properties of the working fluid and measurements typically taken at discrete and fixed frequencies are not optimized for a specific working fluid.
Additionally, many working fluids have extremely low conductivities. For example, industrial oils typically have significantly lower conductivities than internal combustion engine lubricants undoubtedly due to the higher viscosity and lower additive concentrations of the industrial lubricants. Consequently the ability to employ electrical measurements based on fixed frequency measurements developed for engine lubricants to determine the quality or condition of that have relatively low conductivities such as industrial oils is quite problematic.
Thus there remains a need for improvements in determining the condition of a working fluid such as a lubricant.
An object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide a method for detecting the depletion of performance additives in a lubricant.
Another object is to provide an electrical measurement method for determining the condition of low conductivity industrial oil.
Still another object is to provide for improving the sensitivity in the electrical measurement for determining the condition of working fluids.
These and other objects will become apparent from the description which follows.

Method for analysis of a working fluid using impedance spectroscopy

ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company


A polyimide film comprising a polyimide and a lithium iron phosphate and a polyimide laminate thereof are disclosed. The weight percentage of the lithium iron phosphate is between 1 wt % and 49 wt %, and the weight percentage of the lithium iron phosphate is based on the total weight of the polyimide film. The polyimide laminate comprises a substrate and a polyimide film. The polyimide film covers the substrate.

Polyimide (PI) is a macromolecular material including strong mechanical properties, heat endurance under high temperature, and electric insulating properties. Now, polyimide has become an important material for manufacturing flexible printed circuits (FPC). For instance, when the manufacturers manufacturing the flexible printed circuits, circuit diagrams are designed onto the flexible copper clad laminates (FCCL), and then the circuit diagrams are covered by the polyimide films including adhesives so as to manufacture the flexible copper clad laminates covered with the polyimide films. Since printed circuit boards are important components in fields of electronic products, polyimide films have become necessary materials for manufacturing electronic products.
Since the great competence of the consuming of electronic products in daily lives, consumers have more demands on the appearance or color of the electronic products. While black color has become a fashion of mobile phones and notebooks, electronic products having a black appearance have become a symbol of fashion. On the other hand, the designs of electronic products have become more complicated with the development of technologies. Since the quality of the electronic products depends on the circuit diagrams on the printed circuit boards, the circuit diagrams have become the core technique that need to be protected. For the flexible copper clad laminates covered with the polyimide films, the polyimide films on the copper clad laminates are usually yellow, the derivative colors, or other colors with high transparency. Therefore, circuit designs on the cable layer on printed circuit boards are easily decoded or plagiarized because the transparency of the flexible copper clad laminates covered with the polyimide films. Moreover, the market of the products and the running of the companies are affected.
Therefore, now designers need to solve the problems met in the previous polyimide films that the circuit diagrams are easily decoded according to the transparency of the polyimide films.

Polyimide film and polyimide laminate thereof


Disclosed herein is a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar device, including: a continuous wave (CW) signal generator configured to generate a transmit (Tx) CW signal; a radio frequency (RF) transmitter configured to transmit the generated Tx CW signal as an RF signal through a Tx antenna; an RF receiver configured to receive a CW signal which is reflected and returned from a forward object after the Tx CW signal is transmitted; a target detector configured to extract speed and angle using a frequency difference between the Tx CW signal and the reflected CW signal, and detect an approaching target; and a detection controller configured to control the RF transmitter to transmit the Tx CW signal as a signal having a triangular waveform in a time-frequency graph and to additionally transmit the Tx CW signal as a signal having a crossbar waveform at a predetermined frequency for a predetermined time, and extract speed and angle from the reflected CW signal having a crossbar waveform so as to detect the approaching target, when the sign of the target speed extracted from the reflected CW signal having a triangular waveform is negative (−).

Conventionally, an adaptive cruise control (ACC) radar has been used in the case where a vehicle follows a forward vehicle with a predetermined distance therebetween as illustrated in FIG. 1. However, the requirements for the radar device have been increased. Thus, when the forward vehicle suddenly stops so that the interval between the vehicles momentarily decreases, the target may not be easily detected only through the radar device. FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating a transmit (Tx) signal and a receive (Rx) signal of an FMCW radar device. Theoretically, only a frequency difference between the Tx signal and the Rx signal must be extracted as illustrated in FIG. 3. Due to the characteristic of the radar, however, the radar directly mixes the Tx signal and the Rx signal to extract the best signal. Thus, a large DC component may exist as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. In the case of a short-distance object as illustrated in FIG. 4, however, when the frequency is moved toward the DC component region due to a speed difference, the signal cannot be extracted. In this case, the radar may miss the target. That is, the control distance of the radar may be limited.
Furthermore, when an in-phase (I) channel and a quadrature (Q) channel exist for each channel in a receiver circuit of the radar device, the sign of speed may be extracted through phase information. However, when I/Q channels do not exist for each channel, the sign of frequency is extracted as only a positive value corresponding to an absolute value as illustrated in FIG. 3. In this case, since phase components are not detected in case of short distance and high speed, there exists a frequency region in which the target cannot be detected.
(Patent Document 1) Korean Patent No. 1,083,660 registered on Nov.9, 2011.

Frequency modulated continuous wave radar device, and object detection method using continuous wave thereof


There is herein defined optics (e.g. an array of optics) forming an optical beam to either produce a collimated or diverging/converging beam emerging from a virtual source point to illuminate a hologram. There is also described an optical beam illuminating a reflection hologram from the front and a further configuration where an optical beam combined with a holographic optical element (HOE) minor enables rear illumination of a reflection hologram.

There exists a need in the art to provide a compact and self-contained method for lighting a display hologram uniformly which can produce high quality images. Most commonly, hologram illumination systems employ a spot-lamp in front and above the hologram, which must be placed at a relatively large distance comparable or greater than the size of the hologram itself, and is therefore bulky, unweildy and impractical in many applications. In addition, such a lamp's illumination is generally not uniform, being stronger in the centre of its distribution. Many applications would benefit from a compact illumination system integrated closely with the hologram itself. Examples would include display holograms to be mounted on a wall like a common painting or photograph without apparent additional separate lighting, and automotive brake or tail lights, where there is not space for external lighting.
Ideally such a compact illumination system is also insensitive to stray light, particularly other typical light sources (such as ceiling spot lamps) or any other lighting sources used for ambient illumination which emit near the direction of the main light source used to illuminate the hologram, and which result in unwanted secondary images.
Although there have been previous ways of illuminating holograms all of these have particular difficulties. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,366,371 B1 which relates to use of a reflection hologram in transmission geometry has poor efficiency and stray light control.
Relevant background patents are Dausmann DE 10 2007 022 247 A1 and Ceres U.S. Ser. No. 14/253,733, which are incorporated herein by reference.
It is therefore an object of at least one aspect of the present invention to obviate or mitigate at least one or more of the aforementioned problems.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus and method for forming an optical beam to either produce a collimated, diverging or converging beam to illuminate a hologram.
It is a yet further object of at least one aspect of the present invention to provide improved holographic displays as a general graphic medium, suitable for advertising, technical and medical visualisation, industrial and consumer applications (e.g. posters, 3D photographs, automotive lighting etc.)

Holographic display apparatus illuminating a hologram and a holographic image


The invention relates to an arrangement of contact areas and test areas on patterned semiconductor chips. The contact areas and the test areas are electrically connected to one another via a conduction web. Whereas the contact areas are arranged in a first region, which has no components of an integrated circuit, the test areas lie in a second region of the top side of the semiconductor chip, which region has components of an integrated circuit.

Continuous miniaturization of the contact areas on semiconductor wafers gives rise to problems, in particular, in the context of the functional test at the wafer level of a semiconductor chip since, with an increasing number of contact areas per test in conjunction with miniaturization of the dimensioning of the contact areas, increased contact problems occur during the test. Problems also arise when bonding contact areas which have already been damaged by the functional test on account of the test tips, with the result that increased rejects occur during production.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 5,506,499 discloses providing a test area which is separate from the contact area for bonding and is electrically connected to the contact area. This configuration requires additional chip area in order to accommodate the additional test area besides each contact area on the semiconductor chip. The solution disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,506,499 leads to an enlargement of the required chip area and is at odds with miniaturization endeavors in semiconductor technology.

Semiconductor wafer with electrically connected contact and test areas


A method of testing a downhole formation using a formation tester on a drill string. The formation tester is disposed downhole on a drill string and a formation test is performed by forming a seal between a formation probe assembly and the formation. A drawdown piston then creates a volume within a cylinder to draw formation fluid into the volume through the probe assembly. The pressure of the fluid within the cylinder is monitored. The formation test procedure may then be adjusted. The test procedure may be adjusted to account for the bubble point pressure of the fluid being monitored. The pressure may monitored to verify a proper seal is formed or is being maintained. The test procedure may also be performed by maintaining a substantially constant drawdown rate using a hydraulic threshold or a variable restrictor.

During the drilling and completion of oil and gas wells, it may be necessary to engage in ancillary operations, such as monitoring the operability of equipment used during the drilling process or evaluating the production capabilities of formations intersected by the wellbore. For example, after a well or well interval has been drilled, zones of interest are often tested to determine various formation properties such as permeability, fluid type, fluid quality, formation temperature, formation pressure, bubble point, formation pressure gradient, mobility, filtrate viscosity, spherical mobility, coupled compressibility porosity, skin damage (which is an indication of how the mud filtrate has changed the permeability near the wellbore), and anisotropy (which is the ratio of the vertical and horizontal permeabilities). These tests are performed in order to determine whether commercial exploitation of the intersected formations is viable and how to optimize production.
Wireline formation testers (WFT) and drill stem testers (DST) have been commonly used to perform these tests. The basic DST tool consists of a packer or packers, valves, or ports that may be opened and closed from the surface, and two or more pressure-recording devices. The tool is lowered on a work string to the zone to be tested. The packer or packers are set, and drilling fluid is evacuated to isolate the zone from the drilling fluid column. The valves or ports are then opened to allow flow from the formation to the tool for testing while the recorders chart static pressures. A sampling chamber traps formation fluid at the end of the test. WFTs generally employ the same testing techniques but use a wireline to lower the formation tester into the borehole after the drill string has been retrieved from the borehole. The WFT typically uses packers also, although the packers are typically placed closer together, compared to DSTs, for more efficient formation testing. In some cases, packers are not even used. In those instances, the testing tool is brought into contact with the intersected formation and testing is done without zonal isolation.
WFTs may also include a probe assembly for engaging the borehole wall and acquiring formation fluid samples. The probe assembly may include an isolation pad to engage the borehole wall. The isolation pad seals against the formation and around a hollow probe, which places an internal cavity in fluid communication with the formation. This creates a fluid pathway that allows formation fluid to flow between the formation and the formation tester while isolated from the borehole fluid.
In order to acquire a useful sample, the probe must stay isolated from the relative high pressure of the borehole fluid. Therefore, the integrity of the seal that is formed by the isolation pad is critical to the performance of the tool. If the borehole fluid is allowed to leak into the collected formation fluid, a non-representative sample will be obtained and the test will have to be repeated.
Examples of isolation pads and probes used in WFTs can be found in Halliburton's DT, SFTT, SFT4, and RDT tools. Isolation pads that are used with WFTs are typically rubber pads affixed to the end of the extending sample probe. The rubber is normally affixed to a metallic plate that provides support to the rubber as well as a connection to the probe. These rubber pads are often molded to fit within the specific diameter hole in which they will be operating.
With the use of WFTs and DSTs, the drill string with the drill bit must first be retracted from the borehole. Then, a separate work string containing the testing equipment, or, with WFTs, the wireline tool string, must be lowered into the well to conduct secondary operations. Interrupting the drilling process to perform formation testing can add significant amounts of time to a drilling program.
DSTs and WFTs may also cause tool sticking or formation damage. There may also be difficulties of running WFTs in highly deviated and extended reach wells. WFTs also do not have flowbores for the flow of drilling mud, nor are they designed to withstand drilling loads such as torque and weight on bit.
Further, the formation pressure measurement accuracy of drill stem tests and, especially, of wireline formation tests may be affected by mud filtrate invasion and mudcake buildup because significant amounts of time may have passed before a DST or WFT engages the formation after the borehole has been drilled. Mud filtrate invasion occurs when the drilling mud fluids displace formation fluid. Because the mud filtrate ingress into the formation begins at the borehole surface, it is most prevalent there and generally decreases further into the formation. When filtrate invasion occurs, it may become impossible to obtain a representative sample of formation fluid or, at a minimum, the duration of the sampling period must be increased to first remove the drilling fluid and then obtain a representative sample of formation fluid. Mudcake buildup occurs when any solid particles in the drilling fluid are plastered to the side of the wellbore by the circulating drilling mud during drilling. The prevalence of the mudcake at the borehole surface creates a "skin". Thus there may be a "skin effect" because formation testers can only extend relatively short distances into the formation, thereby distorting the representative sample of formation fluid due to the filtrate. The mudcake also acts as a region of reduced permeability adjacent to the borehole. Thus, once the mudcake forms, the accuracy of reservoir pressure measurements decreases, affecting the calculations for permeability and producibility of the formation.
Another testing apparatus is the formation tester while drilling (FTWD) tool. Typical FTWD formation testing equipment is suitable for integration with a drill string during drilling operations. Various devices or systems are used for isolating a formation from the remainder of the borehole, drawing fluid from the formation, and measuring physical properties of the fluid and the formation. Fluid properties, among other items, may include fluid compressibility, flowline fluid compressibility, density, resistivity, composition, and bubble point. For example, the FTWD may use a probe similar to a WFT that extends to the formation and a small sample chamber to draw in formation fluid through the probe to test the formation pressure. To perform a test, the drill string is stopped from rotating and moving axially and the test procedure, similar to a WFT described above, is performed.


The present invention provides a maleate, phosphate, sulfate, hydrochloride of a cyclohexane derivative, N′-[trans-4-[2-[7-(benzo[b]thiophene)-7-piperazinyl]ethyl]cyclohexyl]-N,N-dimethylurea, as shown in Formula I and crystal forms thereof. The crystal forms have low hygroscopicity and good stability and are convenient for long-term storage and transportation; or the crystal forms have a long half-life in vivo, high bioavailability and small individual difference, and thus have obvious clinical application advantages.

The present inventors have disclosed in CN 106518841A a compound 1 of Formula I having the chemical name N′-[trans-4-[2-[7-(benzo[b]thiophene)-7-piperazinyl]ethyl]cyclohexyl]-N,N-dimethylurea. A cyclohexane derivative N′-[trans-4-[2-[7-(benzo[b]thiophene)-7-piperazinyl]ethyl]cyclohexyl]-N,N-dimethylurea as shown in Formula I has D2/D3 antagonist effect, 5-hydroxytryptamine absorption inhibition effect and anti-schizophrenic effect, and particularly has high D3/D2 receptor selectivity and small side effect,

In order to improve the stability of the compound during formulation as well as during storage and to improve the pharmacokinetic properties of the compound, a more advantageous compound form is required, such as a salt of a compound of Formula I.

Shanghai Jingxin Biology & Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd

Zhejiang Jingxin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.


A valve insert for a valve assembly, the valve insert positionable within a valve inlet end and/or a valve outlet end and including a fluid passageway to permit fluid flow through the valve assembly. The valve insert is formed having an outer surface for supporting the valve insert within the bore and an inner surface defining a fluid passageway, the inner and outer surfaces extending longitudinally between a proximal face configured to engage a valve seat, and an opposed outer face. The valve insert further includes a recessed portion formed on the outer surface, the recessed portion being configured to receive a seal to sealingly engage the bore.

During fracking and other oilfield operations, valves such as gate valves, for example, are subject to harsh conditions during operation. These include but are not limited to high flow rates, corrosive chemicals, and fine sand, each contributing to significant wear on the various valve seals and seat pockets typically associated with such valves. Once the valve is brought in for service after use, it needs to be disassembled and thoroughly inspected. Oftentimes parts need to be replaced or reworked, which can be expensive and time consuming. For example, contaminants may erode the valve body sealing surfaces requiring weld repair, heat treatment, and machining.
With respect to gate and other types of valves, access to the internal valve seats and/or inserts requires extensive disassembly and emptying lubricants before these and other components can be replaced. After replacement of a valve seal and/or valve insert, assembly of the gate member and greasing the valve must be performed. Regardless of which components are damaged and/or need to be replaced, these activities can be time consuming and tedious, increasing the length of time that the valve assembly is out of service.

Valve assembly with a replaceable valve insert


The subject mater herein relates to voice applications and, more particularly, speech recognition application grammar modeling. Various embodiments provide systems, methods, and software to present one or more user interfaces through which to receive input to define and manipulate properties of a graphical listen element, wherein the properties identify one or more data sources. Some such embodiments further include building a speech recognition program grammar as a function of one or more graphical listen elements, wherein the grammar includes a representation of data retrieved from the one or more data sources.

Speech recognition applications, such as telephone interactive voice response systems, can be created using graphical programs. Such graphical programs provide tools for use in creating speech recognition grammars. A speech recognition grammar includes words or phrases that a speech recognizer within a speech recognition system will recognize as valid input into the system.
The graphical programs that provide tools for use in creating speech recognition grammars are useful when creating finite grammars, such as when acceptable inputs include, for example, numbers or yes/no answers to questions. However, when the number of acceptable inputs includes larger volumes of possibilities, such as when the acceptable inputs include large amounts of data from databases, these graphical tools are lacking and require error-prone, manual coding. Further, if the data of these grammars is dynamic, modifying the grammar as dictated by changes in the underlying data also requires manual coding.

Speech recognition application grammar modeling


A double-sided, direct-irradiation type backlight unit has a structure of capable of reducing the luminance irregularity and improve the luminance efficiency. The backlight unit has a scatter-reflection rod member 101 between each adjacent two of elongate lamps. The scatter-reflection rod member 101 has a symmetric shape with respect to the line passing the center thereof in X-direction, and that passing the center thereof in Y-direction. The light emitted from the elongate lamp 102 in X-direction is reflected by the scatter-reflection-rod member 101 and then travels in the direction toward the front- and rear-side diffusion plates 106.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a backlight unit for use in a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly, to a direct-irradiation type backlight unit in which a light source is disposed to oppose a light-emitting surface of the backlight unit.
The present invention also relates to a liquid crystal display device having such a backlight unit.
2. Description of Related Art
A backlight unit for use in a liquid crystal display (LCD) device is roughly classified into two types. One is a direct-irradiation type and the other an edge-light type having an optical guide plate. In the direct-irradiation type backlight unit, a plurality of light sources (lamps) are disposed to oppose a light-emitting surface of the backlight unit. A higher luminance can be easily obtained in the direct-irradiation type backlight unit as compared to the edge-light type backlight unit.
FIG. 10 is an exploded view showing the structure of an LCD device generally designated by numeral 200. A liquid crystal (LC) panel 202 of the LCD device 200 is sandwiched and held between a shield frame 203 and a backlight unit 201, and controls a transmission of the light emitted from the backlight unit 201 to thereby display images on the screen of the LC panel. FIG. 11 is an exploded view showing in detail the structure of the backlight unit shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 12 includes a sectional view showing a part of the backlight unit 201 taken along the line A—A of FIG. 10, and a graph showing the luminance distribution on a diffusion plate 216 of the backlight unit shown in the sectional view.
As shown in FIG. 11, the backlight unit 201 includes a backlight chassis 218 for defining the light-emitting surface of the backlight unit 201. Lamps 213 are disposed between a reflection plate 211 and the diffusion plate 216, and supported by a pair of lamp supporting members 215 in such a manner that the lamps 213 are spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval. For example, the distance between the diffusion plate 216 and the center of the lamp 213 is set at about 10 to 17 mm; and the distance between each adjacent two of the lamps 213 is set at about 20 mm. One input terminal of the lamps 213 is grounded through a return cable 214. To the other input terminal is applied, by an inverter 219, a high alternating voltage of about 1000 to 1600 V at a peak, which is generally called a lighting start voltage. A larger length of the lamp 213 increases the lighting start voltage.
When the lamp 213 is disposed in an environment such as a dark state or low temperature state, the impedance of the lamp 213 is increased. It becomes, therefore, necessary to set the lighting start voltage higher than usual, assuming that the length of the lamp 213 is not changed. This leads to an increase in the size and cost of a power supply board, or inverter 219, for supplying the electric power to the lamp 213. When a conductive material is disposed in the vicinity of the lamp 213, an electrical discharge in the lamp 213 is induced by a leakage current 220 flowing between the lamp 213 and the conductive material. Thus, it becomes possible to lower the lighting start voltage even in the case of a dark state or low temperature state. For this reason, in the backlight unit 201, a metal is often used for the reflection plate 211.
The diffusion plate 216 has opposing edges supported by the lamp supporting member 215 and a central portion supported by a spacer 212 which is attached onto the reflection plate 211. The light emitted from the lamp 213 enters the diffusion plate 216 directly or by reflection from the reflection plate 211. The light incident onto the diffusion plate 216 then diffuses through an optical sheet assembly 217 such as including a diffusion sheet and a lens sheet, and exits the backlight unit 201.
In the backlight unit 201, the distance between the lamp 213 and the diffusion plate 216, and the angle of the light incident onto the diffusion plate 216 generally change depending on the position as viewed in the X-direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the lamp 213 in FIG. 11. Therefore, on the surface of the diffusion plate 216, the highest luminance is observed at the position right above the lamp 213, and the lowest luminance is observed at the position right above the intermediate position between each adjacent two of the lamps 213, as will be understood from the graph of FIG. 12. In this case, there arise a problem in that a luminance irregularity is observed on the light-emitting surface of the backlight unit 201. The backlight unit 201 also has the problem that the light, which is emitted from a lamp 213, travels in X-direction and illuminates the other two lamps 213 disposed adjacent to the former, are absorbed by the surfaces of the latter, resulting in a low luminance efficiency.
Patent Publications JP-A-4-275525 and -10-39808 describe an LCD device that can solve the above problems. FIG. 13 shows a sectional view of the backlight unit described in JP-A-4-275525, wherein the reflection plate 211 includes a convex portion 211M having a peak at the intermediate position between the adjacent two lamps 213. A reflection film having a mirror surface is formed on the convex portion 211M. With this configuration, the light emitted from the lamp 213 and traveling in the X-direction is reflected by the mirror surface of the reflection film formed on the convex portion 211M of the reflection plate and then travels in the direction toward the diffusion plate 216. This reduces the luminance irregularity observed on the light-emitting surface and thereby increases the luminance efficiency.
A double-sided display LCD device is known such as described, for example, in Patent Publication JP-A-2000-338483. The double-sided display LCD device has a display screen on the front side as well as on the rear side of the backlight unit. FIG. 14 is an exploded view showing the structure of the double-sided display LCD device. As shown in FIG. 14, the doublesided display LCD device 200a includes a liquid crystal (LC) panel 202 and a shield frame 203 on the front side (shown at the top in the drawing) as well as on the rear side (shown at the bottom in the drawing) of a double-sided backlight unit 204. The double-sided backlight unit 204 has a structure such as obtained by bonding the rear sides of two of the single-sided backlight units .
FIG. 15 is an exploded view showing the structure of the double-sided backlight unit described in JP-A-2000-338483. FIG. 16 is a sectional view showing a part of the backlight unit 204 and taken along the line B—B of FIG. 14. In this double-sided backlight unit 204, the diffusion plates 216 are disposed near both the front and rear sides of the backlight unit 204 to sandwich therebetween the lamps 213. Unlike the single-sided backlight unit shown in FIG. 12, the double-sided backlight unit 204 does not include the reflection plate 211 opposing the diffusion plate 216, allowing double-sided emission by a plurality of the lamps 213 arranged in a line. As shown in FIG. 16, which shows the double-sided backlight unit 204 similarly to FIG. 12, the double-sided backlight unit 204 has a symmetric structure with respect to the center of the lamps 213 disposed at the center of the backlight unit.
As will be understood from the graph of FIG. 16, also in the double-sided backlight unit 204, the luminance efficiency is lower and the undesirable luminance irregularity is observed on the front- and rear-side diffusion plates 216 similarly to the single-sided backlight unit 201 having the cross section shown in FIG. 12. Further, as described above, the double-sided backlight unit 204 does not include the reflection plate unlike the single-sided backlight unit 201 that includes the reflection plate 211 disposed on the rear side of the lamp 21. Therefore, the technique used in JP-A-4-275525 cannot be applied to the double-sided backlight unit 204 for solving the above problems. Further, in the double-sided backlight unit, the absence of the reflection plate 211 made of a metal makes it impossible to lower the impedance of the lamp 213 and thereby to raise the lighting start voltage especially in the case of a dark state or low temperature state.

Backlight unit in a liquid crystal display device


Perceived clarity of an image presented by a display can be improved using an image stabilization technique to stabilize the image relative to a user's retina. During an illumination period, stabilization actuators are controlled to move a display panel or adjust optical components in the path of light associated with the image to shift the location of the image on the user's retina in response to head or eye movement detected by the system. In some embodiments, a display is configured to illuminate an image, and at least one stabilization actuator is configured to stabilize the image in a retina space associated with a user. Changes in the retina space can be detected by one or more sensors configured to detect a head position of the user and/or an orientation of the user's retina. The image is stabilized in retina space using the stabilization actuators.

Head-mounted displays are commonly used with virtual reality or augmented reality systems. When the display panel is attached to the head of a user, the display panel is forced to move with the head motion of the user. However, the display panel is not necessarily stable with respect to a retina space of the user because the eyes move independently from the head. In particular, a biological process referred to as vestibulo-occular-reflex (VOR) moves the eyeballs automatically in response to signals from the vestibular system (e.g., inner ear). When the images on the display panel move with respect to the user's retina, the images can be blurred. Trying to compensate for the measured head and/or eye movement in virtual reality/augmented reality systems is a major challenge.
Conventional solutions to this problem include increasing the refresh rate of the display panel and shifting the location of image frames on the display, increasing the frame rate of the image rendering pipeline, decreasing the persistence of the display (e.g., periodically illuminating the backlight such that pixels are visible for a smaller percentage of each frame display period), and introducing changes in the rendering pipeline based on the motion of the image in the user's retina space to compensate for the negative effects. However, each of these solutions has drawbacks. For example, the amount of compensation may be limited when displaying a previously rendered image frame in a new location on the display panel (e.g., moving more than a few pixels can be easily detected as the image shifts off the display area). As another example, increasing the frame rate requires a faster image rendering pipeline and increases the required bandwidth between the image rendering pipeline and the display, which can be limited by the physical, thermal, electrical, and algorithmic constraints of the system. As yet another example, decreasing the persistence of the display panel can be limited by the available brightness of the backlight, and driving a higher output for shorter periods of time can decrease the lifetime of electrical components in the display panel. Therefore, there is a need for addressing these issues and/or other issues associated with the prior art.

Retina space display stabilization and a foveated display for augmented reality


A system for the unified provisioning of virtual and physical disk images is created. The system includes a library of disk images. Client devices are able to upload to, and select disk images from the disk library. The library is able to determine the hardware requirements of a client device, and format the disk image accordingly. The library supports both virtual machine and physical computer systems, and is able to modify the stored disk image to accommodate either type of client device. The library can modify images to be bootable from a wide variety of storage device types, including iSCSI, and DAS, for example.

Computers historically have booted from direct attached storage (DAS). With the advent of storage array networks (SANs) it is now possible to boot physical computers from disks in a SAN. With the advent of Virtual Machines it is possible to boot multiple virtual computer systems on a single physical computer from virtual disk images located on either on SAN or DAS storage. Furthermore, virtual machines may boot directly from 'pass thru' disks located on either SAN or DAS storage.
Some iSCSI target implementations use virtual disk images as the base storage for the SAN disks. Consequently, it is possible to have a physical machine booting from a directly attached disk. It is possible to have a virtual machine booting from a virtual disk image located on a directly attached disk. It is possible to have a physical machine boot from an iSCSI disk that is actually a virtual disk image on an iSCSI target. It is also possible to have a virtual machine boot directly from a physical 'pass thru' disk.
The configuration and management of these various boot images and methods is complex and the choice of what method to use may depend on the performance needs of the computer system.

Unified provisioning of physical and virtual images


In an embodiment, a prosthetic leg including a modular knee element coupled to a modular ankle element. The modular knee element includes a knee motor rotatable about an axis of a shaft in the knee motor. The modular ankle element includes a drive portion coupled to a surface-contacting portion via a pylon having a top and bottom end. The top end is coupled to the drive portion and the bottom end is coupled to the surface-contacting portion. The drive portion includes an ankle motor coupled to a rotary series elastic actuator (RSEA) and a first pulley coupled to the RSEA. The surface-contacting portion includes a hinge and a second pulley with a belt engaging at least a portion of at least one of the first and second pulley, and a modular foot element coupled to the bottom of the hinge.

Amputations impact the lives of a significant portion of the world's population. Many people require some type of rehabilitation for mobility and living happy lives. In the United States, lower extremity amputations occur at a rate of approximately 185,000 people per year. It also takes up to 60% more metabolic energy compared to healthy subjects for transfemoral amputees to walk. Even though many rehabilitation and treatment options exist, no product today can mimic the full functionality of a human limb.

Light weight, modular, powered, transfemoral prosthesis


A propulsion engine for an aeronautical vehicle defines a radial direction and a cooling air flowpath. The propulsion engine includes a power source; and a fan including a fan blade rotatable by the power source and extending generally along the radial direction, the fan blade defining an inlet, an outlet, and a cooling air passage extending between the inlet and the outlet and in airflow communication with the cooling air flowpath, the inlet being positioned inward from the outlet along the radial direction to provide a cooling airflow through the cooling air flowpath.

Distributed electric power propulsion systems for aeronautical vehicles, such as airplanes, have been proposed wherein a plurality of electric propulsors are arranged along, e.g., the lengths of the wings of the aircraft and/or at an empennage of the aircraft. A central electrical power source may be provided to generate or store electric power, and a distribution bus may distribute the electric power to each of the plurality of electric propulsors. Some of these electric propulsion systems may utilize one or more underwing gas turbine engines to generate electric power, or alternatively may have a dedicated turboshaft engine to generate electric power.
Regardless, the electric propulsors generate heat during operation that must be rejected. Proposed systems generally utilize a thermal bus circulating a liquid phase thermal fluid to each of the plurality of electric propulsors to gather heat from the plurality of electric propulsors and reject such heat through one or more heat sinks. However, such systems generally require long lengths of conduit, a large amount of thermal transfer fluid, and accessory systems, together adding weight, cost and complication.
Accordingly, a thermal management system for a distributed electric propulsion system having a reduced complexity, weight, and/or cost would be useful.

Propulsion engine thermal management system


A method of bleaching and fixing a developed silver halide color negative element comprising mixing a bleaching solution containing an oxidizing agent with a fixing solution containing a silver ion solubilizing agent to form a bleach-fixing solution; shortly after or simultaneously with said mixing, bleach/fixing the silver halide element by contacting it with the bleach/fixing solution; and discarding the bleach/fixing solution after one use; wherein the bleach/fixing step is performed at an elevated temperature; and wherein the silver halide color negative element comprises a silver bromoiodide emulsion with an average iodide content of more than 1 mol % iodide.

This invention relates to the processing of color silver halide photographic materials. It more specifically relates to a method of bleach/fixing color silver bromoiodide photographic materials.
During processing of silver halide color photographic elements, the developed silver is oxidized to silver(I) by a bleaching agent, and the silver(I) is concurrently or subsequently dissolved by a fixing agent and removed from the element. If the silver is bleached and fixed concurrently, the process is referred to as a bleach/fixing process. Bleach/fixing of silver halide photographic elements containing silver chloride or silver bromochloride emulsions is well known and relatively rapid and complete silver oxidation in the presence of those kinds of emulsions can be accomplished. Bleaching agents that are commonly used in these bleach/fixers are complexes of high valent metal ions such as iron(III) with aminopolycarboxylic acid ligands, for example the ammonium salts of complexes of Fe(III) with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), N-methyliminodiacetic acid (MIDA), diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), and ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid (EDDS). Fixing agents that are commonly employed are ammonium or sodium thiosulfate salts, sometimes in combination with thiocyanate salts such as ammonium or sodium thiocyanate.
There continues to be interest in rapid photographic processing of photographic elements, including rapid bleaching or bleach/fixing. However, when silver halide color negative photographic elements containing predominantly silver bromide or silver iodobromide emulsions (such as color negative camera films) are bleached and fixed, bleaching and fixing can be slow and is often incomplete, particularly in a bleach/fixing process. In particular, iodide in the silver halide emulsions can retard bleaching and fixing. The residual silver can lead to variability in the photographic response and in the quality of the photographic image due to density variations from the residual silver. To help overcome this bleaching difficulty several alternative approaches have been tried. Silver halide emulsions with low iodide content (less than 2 mol %, preferably less than 1 mol %, more preferably less than 0.5 mol %) may be used, as described in EP 0 271 061 B1 (Ikenoue et al). Unfortunately such emulsions can lack the desired sensitivity to light that is necessary for a practical camera film element. Bleaching accelerators such as organic thiols or amines, silver salts of organic thiols, or compounds which release organic thiols, have been incorporated into the film elements, the bleaching solutions, or processing solutions used before the bleaching solution, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,893,858 (Wabnitz); U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,834 (Lau et al); U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,865,956; 4,923,784 (Harder et al); GB 1,138,842; Swiss Pat. 336,257; and EP 0 329 052 A2 (Kuse et al). However, these compounds often cause instability of the bleaching solution, or lose their effectiveness over time, and often bleaching is still incomplete despite the use of these accelerators. Coupler compounds that release bleach-accelerating compounds during image development (so-called bleach accelerator-releasing couplers, or BARCs) have been dispersed and incorporated into color negative film elements as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,839 (Szajewski); U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,406 (Begley et al); U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,879 (Begley et al); U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,828 (Begley et al); U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,470 (Bohan et al); and EP 0 193 389 B2 (Hall et al)).
These compounds can improve bleaching by bleaching agents such as the ammonium, potassium, or sodium salts of Fe(III)EDTA, Fe(III)EDDS, Fe(III)(MIDA)2, Fe(III)(DTPA), or relatively dilute Fe(III)PDTA (a complex of Fe(III) with 1,3-propanediaminetetraacetic acid) that have relatively weak bleaching power, especially bleaching solutions of these bleaching agents that have been weakened during continued processing by the carrying-in of preceding color developer solution. Despite the use of these BARCs, which significantly improve bleaching rates, bleaching is still often too slow or incomplete for a rapid bleaching process. Stronger bleaching agents can be used, such as FeCl3, potassium ferricyanide, relatively concentrated Fe(III)PDTA, hydrogen peroxide, periodate, or various catalyzed persulfate bleaches. But these bleaching agents, while effective, often require additional processing solutions (e.g. stop baths, accelerator baths) that are inconvenient for rapid, efficient processing. Furthermore, these bleaching agents are not compatible with thiosulfate fixing solutions and it has not been possible to prepare stable bleach/fixing solutions using these bleaching agents with the commonly used thiosulfate fixing agent.
There remains a need for a rapid, complete, non-staining silver removal process for silver halide color negative elements that have silver iodobromide emulsions with average iodide content of more than 1 mol % and good light sensitivity. There also remains a need for rapid processes that result in less densitometry variability, and that provide the rapid attainment of a stable density image.
This invention provides a method of bleaching and fixing a developed silver halide color negative element comprising
mixing a bleaching solution containing an oxidizing agent with a fixing solution containing a silver ion solubilizing agent to form a bleach/fixing solution;
shortly after or simultaneously with said mixing, bleach/fixing the silver halide element by contacting it with the bleach/fixing solution; and
discarding the bleach/fixing solution after one use;
wherein the bleach/fixing step is performed at an elevated temperature; and
wherein the silver halide color negative element comprises a silver bromoiodide emulsion with an average iodide content of more than 1 mol % iodide.
This method allows the separate bleaching and fixing processing steps for silver bromoiodide color negative elements to be combined into one bleach/fixing step. With this invention strong oxidizing agents such as high concentrations of Fe(III)PDTA or Fe(III)(MIDA)2 can be used in combination with silver ion solubilizing agents, (particularly thiosulfate), a combination which is not stable when stored in a single solution with bleach/fixing properties. This method makes it possible to remove silver from silver bromoiodide emulsions without the need for accelerators added to either the silver halide photographic element or to the bleach/fixing solution, although they may be added if desired. With this method high speed silver halide color negative elements can be bleached and fixed in 30 to 90 seconds in a single solution with complete removal of the incorporated silver components.
Additionally the process is efficient and cost effective. No seasoning of the process solution occurs from one silver halide color negative element to degrade the silver removal rate of subsequent elements. Additionally only the minimum amount of solution required to process the film element is used in the process. Since small volumes are used, the temperature of the process can be raised rapidly with a minimum amount of energy required and need only be maintained at the high temperature for the short time of the process. The waste solutions may be easily collected for treatment to remove the silver ion by conventional means such as electrolysis.
In this invention a bleaching solution containing an oxidizing agent and a fixing solution containing a silver ion solubilizing agent are mixed to form a bleach/fixing solution. Shortly after or simultaneously with said mixing, the developed silver halide element is bleach/fixed by contacting it with the bleach/fixing solution. The bleaching solution and the fixing solution may be mixed by any means which will accomplish the goal of combining the two solutions and then making them available for contact with the silver halide element. It is anticipated that the solutions will be kept in separate reservoirs until they are combined. They may be pre-diluted to working strength solutions and then combined, or they may be in a concentrated form and combined simultaneously with the addition of water. Each solution may be in one part or multi-parts prior to combination to form the bleach/fixing solution. Preferably, each will be kept as one part at working strength and combined prior to use.
They may be combined in the processing station where they will come in contact with the photographic element or they may be combined in a channel leading to the processing station. The processing station may be any area within a processing apparatus wherein a photographic element can come in contact with a processing solution. Nonlimiting examples include tanks, chambers, channels and drums. The station may be dedicated to one type of processing solution or it may be utilized for one or more different types of processing solutions. The fixing solution and the bleaching solution may be combined in any manner known to those skilled in the art such as by mixing, agitation, spraying or any other means. The phrase xe2x80x9cshortly after mixingxe2x80x9d describing when the photographic element is put in contact with the bleach/fixing solution means within one hour of mixing. Preferably it means within 10 minutes of mixing, more preferably within one minute of mixing and most preferably within 10 seconds of mixing. The photographic material may also be placed in contact with the bleach/fixing solution simultaneously with the mixing of the fixing solution and the bleaching solution.
Bleach/fixing the silver halide element by contacting it with the bleach/fixing solution may also be done by any practical means, many of which are known to those skilled in the art. For example, the photographic material may be dipped in the bleach/fix solution, sprayed with the solution, transported on a belt through the solution or wetted by contact with a drum rotated through the solution. In one embodiment a method of processing may be utilized which comprises the steps of loading the photographic material into a chamber adapted to hold the material therein, introducing a metered amount of solution into the chamber, rotating the chamber and continuously sweeping the surface of the material as the chamber rotates to thereby form a wave in the solution through which the material passes, the whole volume of solution for a given stage being spread over the whole material area in a repetitive manner to enable uniform processing. The bleach/fixing process is generally performed in 20 to 120 seconds, and more preferably in 30 to 90 seconds.
The invention is most useful when bleach/fixing is done at an elevated temperature to achieve more rapid processing. At such elevated temperatures the bleach/fixing solution is very unstable Preferably the photographic element is bleach/fixed at greater than 45xc2x0 C. A useful range, however, is 30xc2x0 C. to 65xc2x0 C., with 45xc2x0 C. to 65xc2x0 C. being more preferred and 45xc2x0 C. to 55xc2x0 C. being most preferred. The fixing and or bleaching solutions may be heated prior to mixing or during mixing or the bleach/fix solution may be heated after mixing. Preferably the bleach/fix solution is heated after mixing and some amount of time must be allowed for this process.
The bleach/fixing solution is discarded after one use, which generally means after one roll of film has been processed. As nonlimiting examples, one roll of film can be a 15 exposure roll of APS film, a 40 exposure roll of APS film, a 24 exposure roll of 35 mm film or a 36 exposure roll of 35 mm film.
Photographic bleaching compositions useful in this invention generally include one or more persulfate, peracid (such as periodates or percarbonates), peroxides (such as hydrogen peroxide) or high-valent metal ion bleaching agents, such as iron(III) complexes with simple anions (such as nitrate, sulfate, and acetate), or with carboxylic acid or phosphonic acid ligands. Particularly useful bleaching agents include iron complexes of one or more aminocarboxylic acids, aminopolycarboxylic acids, polyaminocarboxylic acids or polyaminopolycarboxylic acids, or salts thereof. Particularly useful chelating ligands include conventional polyaminopolycarboxylic acids including ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and others described in Research Disclosure 38957, noted below, U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,958 (Buchanan et al) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,753,423 (Buongiome et al). Biodegradable chelating ligands are also desirable because the impact on the environment is reduced. Useful biodegradable chelating ligands include, but are not limited to, iminodiacetic acid or an alkyliminodiacetic acid (such as methyliminodiacetic acid), ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid and similar compounds as described in EP-A-0 532,003, and ethylenediamine monosuccinic acid and similar compounds as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,120 (Wilson et al), all of which are incorporated herein by reference in relation to their description of bleaching agents.
These and many other such complexing ligands known in the art including those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,262 (Schwartz), U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,779 (Cullinan et al), U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,037,725, 5,061,608 (Foster et al), U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,491 (Foster et al), U.S. Pat. No. 5,523,195 (Darmon et al), U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,958 (Buchanan et al), U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,552,264, 5,652,087 (Craver et al), U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,844 (Feeney et al) U.S. Pat. No. 5,652,085 (Wilson et al), U.S. Pat. No. 5,693,456 (Foster et al), U.S. Pat. No. 5,834,170 (Craver et al), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,226 (Strickland et al), all incorporated herein by reference for their teaching of bleaching compositions. The total amount of bleaching agent(s) in the composition is generally at least 0.0001 mol/l, and preferably at least 0.05 mol/l. These amounts would apply to bleach/fixing compositions also.
Particularly useful oxidizing agents are iron complexes of one or more of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid (EDDS, particularly the S,S-isomer), methyliminodiacetic acid (MIDA) or other iminodiacetic acids, beta-alaninediacetic acid (ADA), ethylenediaminemonosuccinic acid (EDMS), 1,3-propylenediaminetetraacetic acid (PDTA), nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), and 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid (PDCA). For processing color negative materials a ferric complex of PDTA is preferred. Multiple bleaching agents can be present if desired.
Most useful are iron complexes having a redox potential greater than +150 mV vs Normal Hydrogen Electrode (NHE) at the pH of the bleach/fixing solution. The method used to determine the redox potential of the bleaching agent applies to a xe2x80x9cferrous-ferric-chelating agentxe2x80x9d system and is a potentiometric measurement as described by J. Bond and T. I. Jones in xe2x80x98Transactions of the Faraday Societyxe2x80x99, Volume 55, pp1310-1318, published in 1959, and incorporated herein by reference. For example, by their method, ferrous-ferric-EDTA has a redox potential of +118 mV vs NHE at pH 6 and ferrous-ferric-PDTA has a redox potential of +250 mV vs NHE at pH 5.
Other components of the bleaching solution include pH buffers, halides, corrosion inhibiting agents, and metal ion sequestering agents. These and other components and conventional amounts are described in the references in the preceding paragraph. Bleaching accelerators such as organic thiols or amines, silver salts of organic thiols, or compounds which release organic thiols, may be utilized although they are not necessary. The pH of the bleaching composition is generally from about 3 to about 6.5.
Useful fixing agents or silver ion solubilizing agents for photographic fixing compositions are well known. Examples of photographic fixing agents include, but are not limited to, thiosulfates (for example sodium thiosulfate, potassium thiosulfate and ammonium thiosulfate), thiocyanates (for example sodium thiocyanate, potassium thiocyanate and ammonium thiocyanate), thioethers (such as ethylenebisthioglycolic acid and 3,6-dithia-1,8-octanediol), imides and thiourea. Thiosulfates and thiocyanates are preferred, and thiosulfates are more preferred. Ammonium thiosulfate is most preferred. The general amount of total fixing agents in the fixing composition of this invention is at least 0.001 mol/L, and preferably at least 0.1 mol/L. These amounts would apply to bleach/fixing compositions also.
It is also known to use fixing accelerators in fixing compositions. Representative fixing accelerators include, but are not limited to, ammonium salts, guanidine, ethylenediamine and other amines, quaternary ammonium salts and other amine salts, thiourea, thioethers, thiols and thiolates. Examples of useful thioether fixing accelerators are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,124 (Schmittou et al), incorporated herein for the teaching of fixing compositions.
The fixing compositions use in this invention generally contain one or more monovalent or divalent cations supplied by various salts used for various purposes (for example, salts of fixing agents). It is preferred that the cations be predominantly ammonium cations, that is at least 50% of the total cations are ammonium ions. Such fixing compositions are generally known as xe2x80x9chigh ammoniumxe2x80x9d fixing compositions.
The fixing compositions used in this invention can also include one or more of various addenda optionally but commonly used in such compositions for various purposes, including hardening agents, preservatives (such as sulfites or bisulfites), metal sequestering agents (such as polycarboxylic acids and organophosphonic acids), buffers, and fixing accelerators. The amounts of such addenda in the working strength compositions would be readily known to one skilled in the art.
The desired pH of the fixing compositions useful in this invention is 8 or less, and can be achieved and maintained using any useful combination of acids and bases, as well as various buffers.
Other details of fixing compositions not explicitly described herein are considered well known in the art, and are described for example, in Research Disclosure publication 38957 (noted below), and publications noted therein in paragraph XX(B), U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,176 (Schmittou et al), U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,839,262, 4,921,779, 5,037,725, 5,523,195, 5,552,264, all incorporated herein by reference for their teaching of fixing compositions.
During fixing, or bleach/fixing the composition in the processor may accumulate dissolved silver salts, and other substances that are extracted from the processed photographic element. Such materials, and particularly the silver salts, can be removed using known means, such as ion exchange, electroysis, electrodialysis and precipitation.
The method of the invention is utilized with developed color silver halide negative elements. The photographic elements to be developed can be exposed with various forms of energy which encompass the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum as well as the electron beam, beta radiation, gamma radiation, x-ray, alpha particle, neutron radiation, and other forms of corpuscular and wave-like radiant energy in either noncoherent (random phase) forms or coherent (in phase) forms, as produced by lasers.
The photographic elements are preferably exposed to actinic radiation, typically in the visible region of the spectrum, to form a latent image, and then processed to form a visible dye image. Development is typically followed by the conventional steps of bleaching, fixing, or bleach/fixing, to remove silver or silver halide, washing, and drying.
Photographic color developers reduce silver halide to silver and to produce dye images in exposed areas of the material. Color developer compositions typically include one or more color developing agents and various other conventional addenda including preservatives or antioxidants (including sulfites, and hydroxylamine and its derivatives), sulfites, metal ion sequestering agents, corrosion inhibitors and buffers. These materials can be present in conventional amounts. For example, the color developing agent is generally present in an amount of at least 0.001 mol/l (preferably at least 0.01 mol/l), and an antioxidant or preservative for the color developing agent is generally present in an amount of at least 0.0001 mol/l (preferably at least 0.001 mol/l). The pH of the composition is generally from about 9 to about 13, and preferably from about 11.5 to about 12.5.
Exemplary color developing compositions and components are described for example, in EP-A-0 530 921 (Buongiome et al), U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,725 (Cullinan et al), U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,264 (Cullinan et al), U.S. Pat. No. 5,508,155 (Marrese et al), U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,804 (Vincent et al), U.S. Pat. No. 4,482,626 (Twist et al), U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,307 (Kapecki et al), in U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,174 (Ishikawa et al), U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,646 (Kobayashi et al) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,716 (Vincent et al), all incorporated herein for their teaching about color developing compositions.
Useful preservatives in the color developing compositions include sulfites (such as sodium sulfite, potassium sulfite, sodium bisulfite and potassium metabisulfite), hydroxylamine and its derivatives, especially those derivatives having substituted or unsubstituted alkyl or aryl groups, hydrazines, hydrazides, amino acids, ascorbic acid (and derivatives thereof), hydroxamic acids, aminoketones, mono- and polysaccharides, mono- and polyamines, quaternary ammonium salts, nitroxy radicals, alcohols, and oximes. More particularly useful hydroxylamine derivatives include substituted and unsubstituted monoalkyl- and dialkylhydroxylamines (especially those substituted with sulfo, carboxy, phospho, hydroxy, carbonamido, sulfonamido or other solubilizing groups). Mixtures of compounds from the same or different classes of antioxidants can also be used if desired.
Examples of useful antioxidants are described for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,804 (noted above), U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,174 (noted above), U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,646 (noted above), U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,974 (Marrese et al), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,327 (Bums et al), the disclosures of which are all incorporated herein by reference for description of useful antioxidants. Many of these antioxidants are mono- and dialkylhydroxylamines having one or more substituents on one or both alkyl groups. Particularly useful alkyl substituents include sulfo, carboxy, amino, sulfonamido, carbonamido, hydroxy and other solubilizing substituents.
Particularly useful color developing agents include aminophenols, p-phenylenediamines (especially N,N-dialkyl-p-phenylenediamines) and others which are well known in the art, such as EP 0 434 097A1 (published Jun. 26, 1991) and EP 0 530 921A1 (published Mar. 10, 1993).
Preferred color developing agents include, but are not limited to, N,N-diethyl p-phenylenediamine sulfate (KODAK Color Developing Agent CD-2), 4-amino-3-methyl-N-(2-methane sulfonamidoethyl)aniline sulfate, 4-(N-ethyl-N-xcex2-hydroxyethylamino)-2-methylaniline sulfate (KODAK Color Developing Agent CD-4), p-hydroxyethylethylaminoaniline sulfate, 4-(N-ethyl-N-2-methanesulfonylaminoethyl)-2-methylphenylenediamine sesquisulfate (KODAK Color Developing Agent CD-3), 4-(N-ethyl-N-2-methanesulfonylaminoethyl)-2-methylphenylenediamine sesquisulfate, and others readily apparent to one skilled in the art. A most preferred color developing agent is KODAK Color Developing Agent CD-3 for the processing of color reversal materials.
The method of this invention is used to bleach/fix color negative silver halide photographic materials comprising a silver bromoiodide emulsion with an average iodide content of grater than 1 mol % iodide, and more preferably greater than 2 mol % iodide. The color negative film element comprises a support and one or more silver halide emulsion layers (or color records) containing an imagewise distribution of developable silver halide emulsion grains, and has one or more color forming couplers associated therewith. A wide variety of types of photographic films containing various types of emulsions can be processed using the present invention, the types of elements being well known in the art. Representative color negative films that can be processed using the present invention include, but are not limited to, KODAK ROYAL GOLD(copyright) films, KODAK GOLD(copyright) PLUS 100 film, KODAK GOLD(copyright) SUPER 200 film, KODAK PRO GOLD(trademark) film, KODAK GOLD ULTRA 400 film, FUJI SUPER G Plus films, FUJI SMARTFILM(trademark) products, KONICA VX films, KONICA SRG3200 film, 3M SCOTCH(copyright) ATG films, AGFA HDC and XRS films films, KODAK FUNTIME(trademark) film, KODAK EKTAPRESS PLUS(trademark) films, EASTMAN EXR(trademark) films, KODAK ADVANTIX(trademark) films, KODAK MAX(trademark) films, and FUJICOLOR NEXIA(trademark) film.
Generally, the iodide content of the silver bromoiodide emulsions is less than about 40 mol %, preferably from about 1.0 to about 10 mol %, and more preferably, from about 2.0 to about 6 mol %. The emulsions can be of any crystal morphology (such as cubic, octahedral, cubooctahedral or tabular as are known in the art), or irregular morphology (such as multiple twinning or rounded). Especially useful in this invention are tabular grain silver halide emulsions. Tabular grains are those having two parallel major crystal faces and having an aspect ratio of at least 2. The term xe2x80x9caspect ratioxe2x80x9d is the ratio of the equivalent circular diameter (ECD) of a grain major face divided by its thickness (t). Tabular grain emulsions are those in which the tabular grains account for at least 50 percent (preferably at least 70 percent and optimally at least 90 percent) of the total grain projected area. Preferred tabular grain emulsions are those in which the average thickness of the tabular grains is less than 0.3 micrometer (preferably thinxe2x80x94that is, less than 0.2 micrometer and most preferably ultrathinxe2x80x94that is, less than 0.07 micrometer). The major faces of the tabular grains can lie in either {111} or {100} crystal planes. The mean ECD of tabular grain emulsions rarely exceeds 10 micrometers and more typically is less than 5 micrometers.
In their most widely used form tabular grain emulsions are high bromide {111} tabular grain emulsions. Such emulsions are illustrated by Kofron et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,520, Wilgus et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,226, Solberg et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,048, Maskasky U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,435,501, 4,463,087 and 4,173,320, Daubendiek et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,414,310 and 4,914,014, Sowinski et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,122, Piggin et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,061,616 and 5,061,609, Tsaur et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,147,771, ""772, ""773, 5,171,659 and 5,252,453, Black et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,219,720 and 5,334,495, Delton U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,310,644, 5,372,927 and 5,460,934, Wen U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,698, Fenton et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,760, Eshelman et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,612,175 and 5,614,359, and Irving et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,954.
Ultrathin high bromide {111} tabular grain emulsions are illustrated by Daubendiek et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,672,027, 4,693,964, 5,494,789, 5,503,971 and 5,576,168, Antoniades et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,250,403, Oln et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,970, Deaton et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,965, and Maskasky U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,955. High bromide {100} tabular grain emulsions are illustrated by Mignot U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,386,156 and 5,386,156.
Such color silver bromoiodide elements generally have a camera speed defined as an ISO speed of at least 25, preferably an ISO speed of at least 50, and more preferably an ISO speed of at least 100. The speed or sensitivity of color negative photographic materials is inversely related to the exposure required to enable the attainment of a specified density above fog after processing. Photographic speed for color negative films with a gamma of about 0.65 has been specifically defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as ANSI Standard Number PH 2.27-1979 (ASA speed) and relates to the exposure levels required to enable a density of 0.15 above fog in the green light sensitive and least sensitive recording unit of a multicolor negative film. This definition conforms to the International Standards Organization (ISO) film speed rating.
The photographic elements processed in the practice of this invention can be single or multilayer color elements. Preferably, the elements have at least two separate light sensitive emulsion layers, and each layer contains a silver bromoiodide emulsion as defined above. Preferably the elements are multilayer color elements typically containing dye image-forming units (or color records) sensitive to each of the three primary regions of the visible spectrum. Each unit can be comprised of a single emulsion layer or multiple emulsion layers sensitive to a given region of the spectrum. The layers of the element can be arranged in any of the various orders known in the art. In an alternative format, the emulsions sensitive to each of the three primary regions of the spectrum can be disposed as a single segmented layer. The elements can also contain other conventional layers such as filter layers, interlayers, subbing layers, overcoats and other layers readily apparent to one skilled in the art. A magnetic backing can be used as well as conventional supports.
The photographic element may also comprise a transparent magnetic recording layer such as a layer containing magnetic particles on the underside of a transparent support, as described in Research Disclosure, November 1992, Item 34390 published by Kenneth Mason Publications, Ltd., Dudley Annex, 12a North Street, Emsworth, Hampshire PO10 7DQ, ENGLAND. Typically, the element will have a total thickness (excluding the support) of from about 5 to about 30 microns. Further, the photographic elements may have an annealed polyethylene naphthalate film base such as described in Hatsumei Kyoukai Koukai Gihou No. 94-6023, published Mar. 15, 1994 (Patent Office of Japan and Library of Congress of Japan) and may be utilized in a small format system, such as described in Research Disclosure, June 1994, Item 36230 published by Kenneth Mason Publications, Ltd., Dudley Annex, 12a North Street, Emsworth, Hampshire PO10 7DQ, ENGLAND, and such as the Advanced Photo System, particularly the Kodak ADVANTIX films or cameras.
In the following Table, reference will be made to (1) Research Disclosure, December 1978, Item 17643, (2) Research Disclosure, December 1989, Item 308119, (3) Research Disclosure, September 1994, Item 36544, and (4) Research Disclosure, September 1996, Item 38957, all published by Kenneth Mason Publications, Ltd., Dudley Annex, 12a North Street, Emsworth, Hampshire PO10 7DQ, ENGLAND, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. The Table and the references cited in the Table are to be read as describing particular components suitable for use in the bromoiodide elements of the invention. The Table and its cited references also describe suitable ways of preparing, exposing, processing and manipulating the elements, and the images contained therein. Photographic elements and methods of processing such elements particularly suitable for use with this invention are described in Research Disclosure, February 1995, Item 37038, and Research Disclosure, September 1997, Item 40145, both published by Kenneth Mason Publications, Ltd., Dudley Annex, 12a North Street, Emsworth, Hampshire PO10 7DQ, ENGLAND, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The photographic elements can be incorporated into exposure structures intended for repeated use or exposure structures intended for limited use, variously referred to as single use cameras, lens with film, or photosensitive material package units.
The photographic elements may be used in association with materials that accelerate or otherwise modify the processing steps e.g. of bleaching or fixing to improve the quality of the image, although this is not necessary with the current invention. Bleach accelerator releasing couplers such as those described in EP 193,389; EP 301,477; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,163,669; 4,865,956; and 4,923,784, may be useful. Also contemplated is use of the compositions in association with nucleating agents, development accelerators or their precursors (UK Patent 2,097,140; U.K. Patent 2,131,188); electron transfer agents (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,859,578; 4,912,025); antifogging and anti color-mixing agents such as derivatives of hydroquinones, aminophenols, amines, gallic acid; catechol; ascorbic acid; hydrazides; sulfonamidophenols; and non color-forming couplers.
The photographic elements may also be used in combination with filter dye layers comprising colloidal silver sol or yellow, cyan, and/or magenta filter dyes, either as oil-in-water dispersions, latex dispersions or as solid particle dispersions. Additionally, they may be used with xe2x80x9csmearingxe2x80x9d couplers (e.g. as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,237; EP 96,570; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,420,556; and 4,543,323.) Also, the compositions may be blocked or coated in protected form as described, for example, in Japanese Application 61/258,249 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,492.
The photographic elements may further be used in combination with image-modifying compounds such as xe2x80x9cDeveloper Inhibitor-Releasingxe2x80x9d compounds (DIR""s). DIR""s usefuil in conjunction with the compositions of the invention are known in the art and examples are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,137,578; 3,148,022; 3,148,062; 3,227,554; 3,384,657; 3,379,529; 3,615,506; 3,617,291; 3,620,746; 3,701,783; 3,733,201; 4,049,455; 4,095,984; 4,126,459; 4,149,886; 4,150,228; 4,211,562; 4,248,962; 4,259,437; 4,362,878; 4,409,323; 4,477,563; 4,782,012; 4,962,018; 4,500,634; 4,579,816; 4,607,004; 4,618,571; 4,678,739; 4,746,600; 4,746,601; 4,791,049; 4,857,447; 4,865,959; 4,880,342; 4,886,736; 4,937,179; 4,946,767; 4,948,716; 4,952,485; 4,956,269; 4,959,299; 4,966,835; 4,985,336 as well as in patent publications GB 1,560,240; GB 2,007,662; GB 2,032,914; GB 2,099,167; DE 2,842,063, DE 2,937,127; DE 3,636,824; DE 3,644,416 as well as the following European Patent Publications: 272,573; 335,319; 336,411; 346, 899; 362, 870; 365,252; 365,346; 373,382; 376,212; 377,463; 378,236; 384,670; 396,486; 401,612; 401,613.
Such compounds are also disclosed in xe2x80x9cDeveloper-Inhibitor-Releasing (DIR) Couplers for Color Photography,xe2x80x9d C. R. Barr, J. R. Thirtle and P. W. Vittum in Photographic Science and Engineering, Vol. 13, p. 174 (1969), incorporated herein by reference. Generally, the developer inhibitor-releasing (DIR) couplers include a coupler moiety and an inhibitor coupling-off moiety (IN). The inhibitor-releasing couplers may be of the time-delayed type (DIAR couplers) which also include a timing moiety or chemical switch which produces a delayed release of inhibitor. Examples of typical inhibitor moieties are: oxazoles, thiazoles, diazoles, triazoles, oxadiazoles, thiadiazoles, oxathiazoles, thiatriazoles, benzotriazoles, tetrazoles, benzimidazoles, indazoles, isoindazoles, mercaptotetrazoles, selenotetrazoles, mercaptobenzothiazoles, selenobenzothiazoles, mercaptobenzoxazoles, selenobenzoxazoles, mercaptobenzimidazoles, selenobenzimidazoles, benzodiazoles, mercaptooxazoles, mercaptothiadiazoles, mercaptothiazoles, mercaptotriazoles, mercaptooxadiazoles, mercaptodiazoles, mercaptooxathiazoles, telleurotetrazoles or benzisodiazoles.
The silver bromoiodide elements of the invention are generally sold packaged with instructions to process in known color negative processes such as the Kodak C-41 process as described in The British Journal of Photography Annual of 1988, pages 191-198. If a color negative film element is to be subsequently employed to generate a viewable projection print as for a motion picture, a process such as the Kodak ECN-2 process described in the H-24 Manual available from Eastman Kodak Co. may be employed to provide the color negative image on a transparent support.
The invention will be illustrated by the following examples that are not meant to limit the scope.

Bleach/fix solution for single-use silver removal in color negative films


A method and apparatus for assembling permanent magnet segments and a back ring wherein a fixture hold segments in circumaxially spaced relationship, adhesive is applied to the segments, externally from pressure sensitive adhesive tape and the fixture then expands to urge the segments into firm bonding engagement with the back ring.

In the manufacture of permanent magnet motors, magnet segments are conventionally secured in circumaxially spaced relationship on the interior surfaces of cylindrical back rings in a manual operation employing a two-part epoxy. The assembled magnet segments and rings are then conventionally encapsulated in an injection molding operation.
While generally satisfactory, the procedure is a slow and tedious step in the manufacturing process and the epoxy is both expensive and difficult to apply.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an efficient and more expeditious method and apparatus for assembling magnet segments on a back ring.
A further object of the invention is to provide an assembly method and apparatus which requires minimal manual intervention and which exhibits a high degree of consistency and repeatability in the results achieved.

Apparatus for mounting a plurality of magnet segments on a back ring


Disclosed herein is a dialogue system capable of identifying preliminary indications related to the failure of the vehicle through a dialogue with a user, to check a part that may not be measured by a sensor and to inhibit accidents so as to provide user safety, a vehicle having the same and a dialogue processing method.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
As for an audio-video-navigation (AVN) device of a vehicle or most mobile devices, when providing visual information to a user or receiving a user's input, a small screen and a small button provided therein may cause the user inconvenience.
Particularly, during driving, when a user takes his or her hand off of a steering wheel or when a user looks up at another place for checking the visual information and operating devices, it may interfere with safe driving.
Therefore, when applying a dialogue system to a vehicle, it may be possible to provide services in more convenient and safer manner, wherein the dialogue system is capable of recognizing a user's intention through dialogue with the user and providing information or service requested by the user.
A variety of sensors are provided in the vehicle for the safety. The sensor detects failures and problems in the vehicle. However, in the vehicle, a preliminary indication may occur before a failure signal of the sensor is output. A driver or a passenger of the vehicle may detect the preliminary indication through sense of hearing or other senses.

Dialogue system, vehicle having the same and dialogue processing method