A maskless lithography system including an illuminating system, a SLM having a non-linear shape (e.g., curved, concave, spherical, etc.), an exposure system, and a beam splitter that directs light from the illuminating system to the SLM and from the SLM to the exposure system. In some embodiments, an optical element can be located between the beam splitter and the SLM, possibly to correct for aberrations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to lithography. More particularly, the present invention relates to maskless lithography.
2. Related Art
Lithography is a process used to create features on the surface of substrates. Such substrates can include those used in the manufacture of flat panel displays (e.g., liquid crystal displays), circuit boards, various integrated circuits, and the like. A frequently used substrate for such applications is a semiconductor wafer or glass substrate. While this description is written in terms of a semiconductor wafer for illustrative purposes, one skilled in the art would recognize that this description also applies to other types of substrates known to those skilled in the art.
During lithography, a wafer, which is disposed on a wafer stage, is exposed to an image projected onto the surface of the wafer by exposure optics located within a lithography apparatus. While exposure optics are used in the case of photolithography, a different type of exposure apparatus can be used depending on the particular application. For example, x-ray, ion, electron, or photon lithography each can require a different exposure apparatus, as is known to those skilled in the art. The particular example of photolithography is discussed here for illustrative purposes only.
The projected image produces changes in the characteristics of a layer, for example photoresist, deposited on the surface of the wafer. These changes correspond to the features projected onto the wafer during exposure. Subsequent to exposure, the layer can be etched to produce a patterned layer. The pattern corresponds to those features projected onto the wafer during exposure. This patterned layer is then used to remove or further process exposed portions of underlying structural layers within the wafer, such as conductive, semiconductive, or insulative layers. This process is then repeated, together with other steps, until the desired features have been formed on the surface, or in various layers, of the wafer.
Step-and-scan technology works in conjunction with a projection optics system that has a narrow imaging slot. Rather than expose the entire wafer at one time, individual fields are scanned onto the wafer one at a time. This is accomplished by moving the wafer and reticle simultaneously such that the imaging slot is moved across the field during the scan. The wafer stage must then be asynchronously stepped between field exposures to allow multiple copies of the reticle pattern to be exposed over the wafer surface. In this manner, the quality of the image projected onto the wafer is maximized.
Conventional lithographic systems and methods form images on a semiconductor wafer. The system typically has a lithographic chamber that is designed to contain an apparatus that performs the process of image formation on the semiconductor wafer. The chamber can be designed to have different gas mixtures and/or grades of vacuum depending on the wavelength of light being used. A reticle is positioned inside the chamber. A beam of light is passed from an illumination source (located outside the system) through an optical system, an image outline on the reticle, and a second optical system before interacting with a semiconductor wafer.
A plurality of reticles is required to fabricate a device on the substrate. These reticles are becoming increasingly costly and time consuming to manufacture due to the feature sizes and the exacting tolerances required for small feature sizes. Also, a reticle can only be used for a certain period of time before being worn out. Further costs are routinely incurred if a reticle is not within a certain tolerance or when the reticle is damaged. Thus, the manufacture of wafers using reticles is becoming increasingly, and possibly prohibitively, expensive.
In order to overcome these drawbacks, maskless (e.g., direct write, digital, etc.) lithography systems have been developed. The maskless system replaces a reticle with a spatial light modulator (SLM) (e.g., a digital micro mirror device (DMD), a liquid crystal display (LCD), or the like). The SLM includes an array of active areas (e.g., mirrors or transmissive areas) that are either ON or OFF to form a desired pattern. A predetermined and previously stored algorithm based on a desired exposure pattern is used to turn ON and OFF the active areas.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional SLM-based writing system 100 using a flat SLM 102 as a pattern generator. Light from illumination system 104 is directed to SLM 102 via a beam splitter 106 and an optical system (not shown) that contains at least an optical element 108. After reflecting from SLM 102, light is passed through beam splitter 106 and directed to a substrate 110 via an optical system (not shown) having at least an optical element 112. In order to maintain a double telecentric beam towards SLM 102 and substrate 110, optical element 108 must have a same diameter as SLM 102. Beams can be considered double telecentric when a chief ray of each beam is parallel to an optical axis of the SLM 102 and/or parallel to an optical axis of the substrate 110. There are manufacturing limits as to how large a diameter optical element 108 can have (e.g., 300–350 mm). This, in turn, limits a size of SLM 102. Throughput is based on the size of SLM 102. Thus, by restricting the size of SLM 102 because of optical element 108, throughput is much lower than what could be obtained if a diameter of SLM 102 was increased.
Therefore, what is needed is a maskless lithography system having an SLM with any sized diameter, which is also not limited by a size of an optical element that may be used to project light onto and off of the SLM.


A display apparatus includes a receiving module, a processing module, a selecting module, a power circuit, and a backlight module. The receiving module receives a pulse width modulating (PWM) signal from an external component. The processing module processes the PWM signal in a predetermined time duration. The selecting module outputs the unadjusted PWM signal to the power circuit in the predetermined time duration, and outputs an adjusted signal after the predetermined duration. The power circuit generates a first driving current for driving the backlight module to emit lights in response to the unadjusted PWM signal while the processing module processes the PWM signal. The backlight module remains a predetermined brightness after the predetermined time.

A display apparatus includes a backlight module, a driving module, and a power circuit. The driving module receives an external pulse width modulating (PWM) signal and transmits the signal to the power circuit. The power circuit outputs a working current for driving the backlight module based on the PWM signal. The driving module calculates a working cycle of the PWM signal and adjusts the PWM signal to be in a high frequency range with the constant calculated working cycle of the PWM signal to avoid audio noise being generated in the driving process and for the backlight module to remain at a predetermined brightness. Based on the calculating process, the backlight module may be lit after a certain time.

Display apparatus and backlight driving module


A transmission line sampling circuit for a T1 line is disclosed. A multi phase oscillator is connected to a plurality of state machines which are connected in parallel to a transmission line. The use of a plurality of state machines to sample the transmission line effectively increases the sample rate of the transmission line beyond that which can ordinarily be supported by a single phase oscillator running at the same frequency of the multi phase oscillator. The outputs of the plurality of state machines are provided to an arbitrator and to a MUX wherein the arbitrator decides which of the four state machines outputs should be switched through the MUX and produced transmitted on an output line.

Communications over digital lines and other media often use communication protocols that require synchronized data transmission. However, even synchronously transmitted digital data over lines experience timing shifts or phase changes during the transmission. Such timing shifts, known as jitter, can result in data lags which in length, can be anywhere from a fraction of a pulse to several pulse periods. Because of these delays, any attempt to read data at the expected or "synchronized" arrival time may result in errors. Accordingly, different approaches have been followed to determine the arrival of a block of data.
One approach has been to utilize digital phase lock loop methods to synchronize the data sampling or reading with the data arrival. However, one drawback of utilizing phase lock loop (PLL) methods is that the PLL circuits are complex and, in an integrated circuit, can consume an undesirable amount of power and circuit space. PLL circuits are generally constructed with feedback loops which can become unstable. PLL systems also increase the device cost. Accordingly, a simpler system which costs less and utilizes less power and circuitry is desirable.
Another approach has been to utilize traditional L.C. tanks. However, LC tanks are known to introduce jitter and exhibit poor stability over temperature and time.
The T1 transmission standard uses an "alternate-mark-inversion" (AMI) format. The AMI format consists of "0" bits being represented by the absence of a pulse while "1" bits are represented by pulses of alternating polarity. The time average signal voltage of T1 data transmissions, therefore, is zero volts. Additionally, the T1 standard frequency for data transmission is 1.544 Megabits per second. Because a T1 line carries twenty four channels plus one framing bit, each channel transmits at a rate of 64 kilobits per second. Additionally, T1 transmission is based on twisted pair wiring, with separate pairs being used for the transmit and receive sides of the T1 line. T1 lines also require a repeater circuit at least every 6,000 feet to regenerate the signals which are attenuated and phase distorted.
One known problem of digital transmissions at such frequencies is that line inductance and line capacitance cause significant pulse distortion and attenuation. Because a pulse is essentially a signal having a large multitude of varying frequency components, the line inductance and capacitance distort the component signals by phase shifting and attenuating the frequency components in differing amounts. The overall result is to "smear" the original pulse received at the input end of the cable to produce an attenuated signal having ripple waves superimposed thereon. Accordingly, the phases of these signals must be realigned and the attenuation must be compensated to approximately reconstruct the initial pulse.
After a pulse is reconstructed, another problem is to determine that a pulse has arrived so that the optimal sample point of the pulses of a digital stream may be determined. In a PLL system, the timing of the pulses are known because of the synchronized characteristics of phase lock loop. However, as discussed before, it would be advantageous to utilize a circuit simpler than a PLL. Accordingly, a line may be periodically sampled to determine the presence of the first pulse of a data stream. If pulses were received in an ideal shape without jitter, then the sample rate could be no faster than the actual pulse rate. However, because of pulse distortion and jitter, it is desirable to sample a digital stream for data reading purposes at or near the middle of the pulse. However, to sample in the middle of a pulse, the presence of a pulse must be detected immediately after arrival of the leading edge of the pulse. Thus, if the timing of a pulse is not known exactly, the amount of time after arrival of a leading edge should be minimized by increasing the sample rate of a transmission line.
The sample rate of the oscillator must be several times faster than the signal it is tracking to properly track the instantaneous jitter of the desired signal. For example, the T1 specification requires that 0.4 unit intervals (UI) of jitter modulating at 100 KHz be tolerated while properly determining if a 1 or a 0 has been received. At the T1 rate of 1.544 megabits/sec., a 32x oversampling clock will sufficiently track the required jitter to meet the specification. Thus, what is needed is a stable system which increases the sample rate to satisfy the T1 standard.

Oversampled state machine for jitter tolerant pulse detection


The method includes adjusting, by one or more computer processors, a JAVASCRIPT object notation structure to comprise a tag on at least one object and a tag on at least one array. The method further includes receiving, by one or more computer processors, data indicating a first set of at least one change to the JAVASCRIPT object notation structure. The method further includes adjusting, by one or more computer processors, the tags in the JAVASCRIPT object notation structure to include the first set of the at least one change in the JAVASCRIPT object notation structure. The method further includes receiving, by one or more computer processor, data indicating the first set of the at least one change to the JAVASCRIPT object notation structure is complete. The method further includes displaying the first set of the at least one change to the JAVASCRIPT object notation structure based upon the adjusted tags.

The present invention relates generally to JAVASCRIPT Object Notation, and more particularly to tracking changes within JAVASCRIPT Object Notation.
JAVASCRIPT Object Notation (JSON) is an open standard format that uses human-readable text to store or transmit data objects consisting of attribute value pairs and ordered list of values. It is used primarily to transmit data between a server and web application as an alternative to eXtensible Markup Language (XML). Although originally derived from the JAVASCRIPT scripting language, JSON is a language-independent data format. Code for parsing and generating JSON data is readily available in many programming languages.
JSON generally ignores any whitespace around or between syntactic elements (e.g., values and punctuation, but not within a string value). However, JSON only recognizes four specific whitespace characters: the space, horizontal tab, line feed, and carriage return. JSON does not provide or allow any sort of comment syntax.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Tracking changes within Javascript object notation

International Business Machines Corporation


A soft tissue fixing anchor includes: an anchor member which is inserted to the bone cavity interior and prevented from moving in the bone cavity interior by the artificial joint when the artificial joint is implanted; and a suture of which one end portion is fixed to the anchor member and the other end portion is exposed to a bone cavity exterior of the bone so as to be sutured to the soft tissue.

In general, a soft tissue is a tissue comprising the human body and refers to a tissue such as a ligament, a tendon, and a joint sac. These soft tissues may be divided into tissues that are attached to bones and tissues that are not attached to the bones.
Here, in the case of the tissue attached to the bone, there is a tissue such as a rotator cuff connecting the scapula and the humerus, a tissue such as a ligament connecting the pelvis and the femur, or a tissue such as a ligament connecting the humerus and the forearm.
The tissue attached to the bone may be deformed or ruptured due to aging or trauma, or an end thereof may be peeled from the bone (full-thickness tear). In this case, treatments for fixing the soft tissue are performed.
These treatments may be divided into a non-surgical treatment and a surgical treatment according to a degree of damage. The non-surgical treatment is a conservative treatment performed through drugs or exercise, and the surgical treatment is a treatment in which a damaged tissue is pulled with a suture and fixed to the bone.
Meanwhile, if avascular necrosis occurs at an end portion of the bone, the end portion of the bone is replaced with an artificial joint. To replace the artificial joint, as illustrated in FIG. 1, first, the soft tissue (not illustrated) is peeled from the bone, and then an end portion (not illustrated) of the necrotic bone is cut, a bone cavity tissue of the remaining bone H1 is removed, a hole 11 is drilled in the bone H1 from which the bone cavity tissue is removed by using a drill and the like, and a suture 12 is connected to the hole 11. Thereafter, an artificial joint (not illustrated) is implanted into a bone cavity interior G10, and the suture 12 is connected to the peeled soft tissue (not illustrated) to fix the soft tissue.
However, since an existing soft tissue fixing technology has a technical configuration of drilling the hole 11 for connecting the suture 12 to the bone H1, there is a problem that bone loss occurs, and since a significant tensile force is applied to the suture 12 connecting the hole 11 of the bone H1 and the soft tissue (not illustrated), in the case of a patient whose bone is weakened due to aging, there is a problem that the hole portion of the bone does not sustain the tensile force of the suture.

Soft tissue fixing anchor and soft tissue fixing method using the same


A fishing leader dispenser having in combination a leader spool having leader wrapped thereon and a protective cover which resiliently fits over the leader on the leader spool. This leader spool includes a tubular hub having an enlarged central opening, a pair of spaced apart outwardly extending flanges molded to the circular hub and a finger depression formed on the inner surface of the tubular hub. The protective cover includes a resilient strip formed into a broken annulus presenting two free ends. The protective cover is sized to resiliently fit between the pair of flanges and around the hub covering the leader. The protective cover further has a notch provided along an edge of the resilient strip through which the leader is extended. Finally, the protective cover is provided with an outwardly extending protrusion for manipulating the protective cover positioned over the leader wound on the hub.

The present invention relates to a fishing leader dispenser which has an enlarged central opening to allow a user to insert a couple of fingers through the opening, to allow the spool to spin around the fingers when drawing leader from the spool.
Fishing leader dispensers are known such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,297 To Bailey et al. The known leader spools used with leader dispensers generally have a small central hole which does not allow for a user to insert fingers through the central opening.
Further, a common problem with leader spools is that it is difficult to maintain the leader on the spool so that the leader does not unwind unintentionally from the spool when not in use.
The present invention overcomes the known problems relating to leader spool dispensers.


An adjustable driver pin connector compression tool comprising a body that is configured for receiving a plurality of different sized connectors. A sliding head assembly is slidably mounted within the interior of the body. The sliding head assembly being operatively coupled to a driver pin bolt moveable between at least two fixed driver pin positions.

The electronics, telecommunications, and cable television industries have used a variety of cables and wires to perform various jobs. Each cable or wire has various size and shaped connectors based upon either an industry standard or in some cases a proprietary manufacturing standard. The industry has used compression tools to attach various sizes and types of connectors onto wires. A common practice has been to use a compression tool having a universal compression head and then attach an appropriate adapter to the tool to couple a connector of a specific length, diameter or other dimension to a corresponding cable.
A universal type of compression tool having an adjustable adapter to vary connector size is known to be compact because it is designed to fit only one connector at a time. Compactness great for ease of handling and storage. Typically, in the early stages of a universal compression tool's life span the universal tool works as intended, but there are many drawbacks as the tool ages. One drawback is that the interchangeable adapters can be lost or damaged. Another drawback is that depending on the design the additional interchangeable and/or movable parts create wear, looseness of the adaptor insert and eventual failure of the universal-type connector compression tool. The instant invention addresses the abovementioned drawbacks of the universal connector compression tool.


A light guide path element is provided with: a first light guide path for guiding a light beam having a first wavelength; a second light guide path for guiding a light beam having a second wavelength; a first separating device for irradiating the light beam having the first wavelength irradiated from a first light source onto an information record medium and transmitting a light beam reflected therefrom; a second separating device for irradiating the light beam having the second wavelength irradiated from a second light source onto an information record medium and transmitting a light beam reflected therefrom; a first grating for input-coupling one portion of the light beam transmitted through the first separating device to the first light guide path and transmitting another portion of the light beam transmitted through the first separating device; a second grating for input-coupling one portion of the light beam transmitted through the second separating device to the second light guide path and transmitting another portion of the light beam transmitted through the second separating device; a first light receiving portion for receiving the light beam transmitted through the first grating or the second grating; a second light receiving portion for receiving the light beam guided by the first light guide path; and a third light receiving portion for receiving the light beam guided by the second light guide path.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an optical pickup having a light guide path element in which a light guide path is laminated on a substrate, and more particularly to an optical pickup which can commonly use two wavelengths different from each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, in addition to a CD (Compact Disc) or CD-R (CD-Readable), which have been conventionally utilized as an optical disc, a DVD is getting popular which can improve the record density, so that the usage of the optical pickup necessary for those different types of discs becomes various. While the CD or the CD-R utilizes a laser light whose wavelength is about 780 nm, the DVD utilizes a laser light whose wavelength is about 650 nm. Thus, different optical pickups are employed for those different wavelengths. In order to reduce the cost and miniaturize the apparatus, an optical pickup is desired which can be commonly used for the CD or CD-R and the DVD.
However, there is a problem that a structure of an optical system in the above-mentioned desired optical pickup commonly usable for two different wavelengths becomes complicated, resulting in that the cost is increased and the miniaturization of the optical pickup becomes difficult.
On the other hand, a light guide path element, to which the integrated circuit technology is adapted, is being developed nowadays. If such a light guide path element is adapted to the optical pickup, since elements having various functions can be integrated in a multiple-layered structure, it is possible to realize an optical pickup which is small and reliable.
However, in case that an optical pickup usable for two different wavelengths is constituted by using such a light path element, since the light sources for the respective wavelengths are disposed separately, it is difficult to couple and transmit the light beams, which are emitted from respective light sources, and to irradiate the light beams onto an information record medium through a common optical system. Furthermore, in case of reproducing the CD or DVD, it is necessary to perform the focusing servo control and the tracking servo control. These servo controls may not be always the same for various types of the discs such as the CD and the DVD. For example, as for the tracking servo control, the 3-beams method may be employed for the CD while the ordinary phase different method may be employed for the DVD. In such a case, the structure of the grating and the light receiving portions become complicated, resulting in that it is difficult to couple them with the light guide path element.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a light guide path element, which can be commonly used for information record mediums corresponding to two different wavelengths, can have a rather simple structure and can be rather easily miniaturized, and also provide an optical pickup having such an optical guide path element.
The above object of the present invention can be achieved by a light guide path element provided with: a first light guide path for guiding a light beam having a first wavelength; a second light guide path for guiding a light beam having a second wavelength; a first separating device for irradiating the light beam having the first wavelength irradiated from a first light source onto an information record medium and transmitting a light beam reflected therefrom; a second separating device for irradiating the light beam having the second wavelength irradiated from a second light source onto an information record medium and transmitting a light beam reflected therefrom; a first grating for input-coupling one portion of the light beam transmitted through the first separating device to the first light guide path and transmitting another portion of the light beam transmitted through the first separating device; a second grating for input-coupling one portion of the light beam transmitted through the second separating device to the second light guide path and transmitting another portion of the light beam transmitted through the second separating device; a first light receiving portion for receiving the light beam transmitted through the first grating or the second grating; a second light receiving portion for receiving the light beam guided by the first light guide path; and a third light receiving portion for receiving the light beam guided by the second light guide path.
According to the light guide path element of the present invention, the light beam having the first wavelength is emitted from the first light source, and is irradiated onto the information record medium by the first separating device. Then, the reflected light beam is transmitted through the first separating device and reaches the first grating. Then, one portion of this light beam is input-coupled to the first wave guide path while another portion of this light beam is transmitted and is received by the first light receiving portion. The light beam guided by the first wave guide path is received by the second light receiving portion.
On the other hand, the light beam having the second wavelength is emitted from the second light source, and is irradiated onto the information record medium by the second separating device. Then, the reflected light beam is transmitted through the second separating device and reaches the second grating. Then, one portion of this light beam is input-coupled to the second wave guide path while another portion of this light beam is transmitted and is received by the first light receiving portion. The light beam guided by the second wave guide path is received by the third light receiving portion.
Therefore, it is possible to irradiate the light beams having two different wavelengths onto the information record medium and guide the light beams by the different wave guide paths respectively, so that a light guide path element commonly usable for the two wavelengths (e.g., for the CD or the DVD), which is suitable for miniaturization and whose structure is simplified, can be realized.
In one aspect of the light guide path element of the present invention, at least one of the first separating device and the second separating device is provided with a light guide path having a grating for input-coupling the light beam and a grating for output-coupling the light beam so as to irradiate the light beam onto the information record medium.
According to this aspect, at least one of the first separating device and the second separating device input-couples the light beam from the light source by one grating and, after the light beam is guided by the light guide path, irradiates the light beam onto the information record medium by another grating. Therefore, regardless of the position of the information record medium, by designing one grating for input-coupling in correspondence with the position of the light source and also designing another grating for output-coupling in correspondence with the optical axis of the light beam, a light guide path element commonly usable for the two wavelengths, whose degree of freedom as for the arrangement is high and whose structure is rather simple and suitable for the miniaturization, can be realized.
In another aspect of the light guide path element of the present invention, at least one of the first separating device and the second separating device is provided with a separation film laminated on the first and second light guide paths for selectively reflecting and transmitting the light beam in correspondence with a phase difference given to the light beam.
According to this aspect, one of the first separating device and the second separating device reflects the light beam from the light source by the separation film, which is laminated on the light guide path element, toward the information record medium, and transmits the reflected light beam while giving the phase difference to the reflected light beam. Therefore, it is possible to construct the separating device without equipping the light guide path or the grating, so that a light path element commonly usable for the two wavelengths, whose structure is rather simple and suitable for the miniaturization, can be realized.
In another aspect of the light guide path element of the present invention, the first separating device generates three beams by diffracting the light beam having the first wavelength so that a tracking error signal is generated by use of the three beams on the basis of a light reception output of the third light receiving portion.
According to this aspect, when the light beam having the first wavelength is inputted to the first separating device, it is diffracted so that the three beams are generated in the light guide path surface. Then, the tracking error signal is generated on the basis o the light reception output of the third light receiving portion by use of those three light beams. Therefore, a light path element commonly usable for the two different wavelengths, which can easily perform the tracking error detection by means of the 3-beams method typically used for the CD, can be realized.
In another aspect of the light guide path element of the present invention, each of the first grating and the second grating are divided into two areas so that a focus error signal is generated by a beam size method by the light beam transmitted through one of the two areas and the light beam transmitted through another of the two areas at the second light receiving portion and the third light receiving portion.
According to this aspect, the light beam having the first wavelength is transmitted through the first grating which is divided into two areas, so that the focus error signal by means of the beam size method is generated in the second light receiving portion. The light beam having the second wavelength is transmitted through the second grating which is divided into two areas, so that the focus error signal by means of the beam size method is generated in the third light receiving portion. Therefore, a light guide path element, which can cope with the focus error detection for the optical disc, by designing the grating pattern, can be realized.
In another aspect of the light guide path element of the present invention, the first wavelength is 650 nm and the second wavelength is 780 nm.
According to this aspect, the light beam having the wavelength of 650 nm for the DVD and the light beam having the wavelength of 780 nm for the CD or the CD-R can be commonly used. Therefore, a light guide path element commonly usable for the DVD and the CD i.e., the typical optical discs capable of high density recording, whose structure is rather simple and suitable for the miniaturization, can be realized.
The above object of the present invention can be also achieved by an optical pickup having the above described light guide path element of the present invention (including the various aspects thereof, wherein an RF signal is generated on the basis of a light reception output of the first light receiving portion, and a focus error signal is generated on the basis of a light reception output of the second light receiving portion and a light reception output of the third light receiving portion.
According to the optical pickup of the present invention, the light beam having the first wavelength is emitted from the first light source, and is irradiated onto the information record medium by the first separating device. Then, the reflected light beam is transmitted through the first separating device and reaches the first grating. Then, one portion of this light beam is input-coupled to the first wave guide path while another portion of this light beam is transmitted and is received by the first light receiving portion. The light beam guided by the first wave guide path is received by the second light receiving portion. Then, the RF signal is generated on the basis of the light reception output of the first light receiving portion while the focus error signal is generated on the basis of the light reception output of the second light receiving portion.
On the other hand, the light beam having the second wavelength is emitted from the second light source, and is irradiated onto the information record medium by the second separating device. Then, the reflected light beam is transmitted through the second separating device and reaches the second grating. Then, one portion of this light beam is input-coupled to the second wave guide path while another portion of this light beam is transmitted and is received by the first light receiving portion. The light beam guided by the second wave guide path is received by the third light receiving portion. Then, the RF signal is generated on the basis of the light reception output of the first light receiving portion while the focus error signal is generated on the basis of the light reception output of the third light receiving portion.
Therefore, it is possible to irradiate the light beams having two different wavelengths onto the information record medium and guide the light beams by the different wave guide paths respectively, so that an optical pickup commonly usable for the two wavelengths (e.g., for the CD or the DVD), which is suitable for miniaturization and whose structure is simplified, can be realized.
The nature, utility, and further features of this invention will be more clearly apparent from the following detailed description with respect to preferred embodiments of the invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings briefly described below.

Light guide path element and optical pickup


The invention concerns remote sampling of video clips stored in a repository, such as a computer. The video clips, in principle, resemble video tapes, and contain both audio and video information. However, the video clips are stored in digital format.. In sampling, a single video frame and a segment of audio information is transmitted to a remote computer. The single frame is displayed while the audio is played. The invention allows a user to retrieve an entire video clip after the sampling.

Historically, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) have been used primarily for routine operations such as dispensing cash, making cash advances, providing account balance information, and the like. The capabilities of the machines have been limited to those of a bank teller, consistent with the designation "Automated Teller Machine."
The Inventors believe that the capabilities of the ATM can be extended beyond merely automating the function of the bank teller. The ATM can assume, or at least assist, functions performed by bank officers, such as granting of loans and extending lines of credit. In this capacity, it can be desirable to equip ATMs with video conferencing capability, in order to allow ATM customers to hold video conferences with the bank officers.
If an ATM is equipped with video conferencing capability, it may be desirable to use the video conferencing equipment for purposes in addition to communicating with bank officers. Customers of the ATM may wish to hold video conferences with other parties, or use the equipment for other purposes.


A method for recording magnetic resonance image data of a patient ventilated by means of a ventilation apparatus is provided. The method includes assigning influencing information describing the effect of a respiratory movement on the image data recording to pulse sequence information, determining a magnetic resonance protocol for actuating a magnetic resonance device and a ventilation protocol for actuating the ventilation apparatus, and coordinating with one another in time, taking into account the pulse sequence information together with the influencing information, an imaging objective and a ventilation requirement, and actuating the magnetic resonance device and the ventilation apparatus in a time-coordinated manner on the basis of the magnetic resonance protocol and the ventilation protocol.

Magnetic resonance tomography is a well-known and long-established imaging technology which is mainly employed in the medical imaging field. In most cases recording magnetic resonance image data takes a relatively long time, since for example a plurality of layers must be recorded one after another, and the like. Moreover, movements during the recording of an image lead to undesirable artifacts which have a detrimental effect on the image quality. Apart from other movements this applies in particular in the case of respiratory movements. For this reason magnetic resonance devices are known which at certain time instants during the recording of the image data output what are known as breath-hold commands so that a patient who is the subject of a magnetic resonance image data acquisition can hold his or her breath for a certain period of time and as a result motion artifacts can be avoided. In the magnetic resonance tomography of ventilated patients there is however the problem that said conventional breath-hold commands, which are issued automatically by the magnetic resonance device, do not work correctly. It has therefore been proposed that a ventilation apparatus will be briefly stopped manually during the recording of magnetic resonance image data whenever the operator of the magnetic resonance device issues a corresponding command to an anesthetist actuating the ventilation apparatus. This process is complicated and prone to error and optimal results cannot be obtained.
With regard to other imaging techniques, solutions have already been discussed which are aimed at improving the image quality in the event of a respiratory movement or indeed to avoid respiratory movement artifacts. Thus, it is provided in DE 10 2008 032 827 A1 to take into account in the reconstruction of the image data a ventilation signal of a ventilation device used in any case for ventilating a patient under general anesthetic who is being examined by means of a medical imaging system, so that no separate device for measuring the respiratory movement is required. For example, the ventilation signal can be used for gating in respect of the respiration. In DE 10 2008 030 891 A1 it is proposed to interrupt the ventilation of an anesthetized patient by means of a ventilation device as a function of a sensed operating status of a medical system fully automatically for the duration of a diagnostic or therapeutic examination. The intention in doing this is to relieve the pressure on the medical personnel.
A common feature of the two cited possibilities is that they are very poorly suited to use in connection with magnetic resonance tomography, which is due in particular to the duration of the recording of the magnetic resonance image data. Thus, there is no question of the ventilation device (ventilation apparatus) being stopped for the entire duration of the image recording session. The condition of many patients who are to undergo examination is poor, so that only very brief ventilation pauses, if any, are conceivable. The long duration of the pulse sequences in magnetic resonance also conflicts with the idea of controlling the start of the magnetic resonance acquisition as a function of the ventilation cycle, because a certain time elapses until magnetic resonance image data is actually measured and the respiratory position changes. Consequently, techniques such as those cited above, which are designed for x-ray-based imaging methods, are only usable to a very limited extent within the framework of magnetic resonance.

Method for recording magnetic resonance image data when using a ventilation apparatus


The pump comprises a cylinder delimiting a pumping chamber in which a piston is mounted to slide between an admission orifice and a delivery orifice, the piston including a pumping orifice which is associated with a closure member mounted to pivot about an axis adjacent to the pumping orifice and including a closure face that is substantially plane and that faces the piston.

Numerous positive displacement pumps are known in which the substance to be measured out comes into contact with one of the sides of a piston that is movably mounted in a cylindrical pump chamber.
In pumps of that type, the other side of the piston is in contact with the ambient medium and there is a major risk of the substance which is being handled becoming contaminated. To mitigate that drawback, it is necessary to provide a bactericide or sterile water on the side of the piston that is contact with the ambient medium, thereby requiring the pump to be relatively complex in structure, in particular at the piston sealing ring, in order to prevent the bactericide or the sterile water passing to that side of the piston which is in contact with the substance to be measured out.
Positive displacement pumps are also known that include an admission opening at one end of the pumping chamber and a delivery opening at an opposite end thereof, the piston then having a pumping opening passing therethrough which is alternately opened and closed by means of a non-return valve. The substance to be packaged then comes into contact with both faces of the piston so that the danger of contamination exists only relative to the piston rod, where such risks are relatively easily contained. Nevertheless, the presence of a non-return valve that is not accessible without disassembling the pump makes the operations of cleaning and sterilizing the pump complex. In addition, because of the non-return valve, the pump can be operated only with liquids that are free from particles and pieces of matter, since they could jam the non-return valve in an open position.

Positive displacement pump with pivot piston valve


An infrastructure element includes a computer that includes a processor and a memory. The memory stores instructions executable by the processor such that the computer is programmed to classify a traffic condition of a road segment based on data received from an object detection sensor with a field of view including the road segment and that is communicatively connected to the computer. The computer is programmed to broadcast, to an area including the road segment, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication parameter, determined based on the classified traffic condition and specifying one or more of (i) a channel identifier, (ii) a transmission rate, (iii) a transmission power, or (iv) a message size.

A vehicle can broadcast data about an environment or area around the vehicle via one or more wireless communication networks and/or protocols, e.g., vehicle-to-vehicle (V-TO-V) or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X or V2I) communications. Data shared via V-to-V or V2X communications can include data about a condition of infrastructure, (e.g., a defective bridge), traffic speed, a planned lane change, speed change, or other maneuver of another vehicle etc. However, V-to-V and/or V2X communication networks, e.g., available bandwidth for radio frequency (RF) communications, may become congested due to a number of vehicles broadcasting data and/or an amount of information each vehicle broadcasts. Congestion occurs when, e.g., a bandwidth of the communication network is utilized such that a sender of data, e.g., a vehicle computer, cannot access network resources to broadcast data, e.g., insufficient bandwidth is available to transmit one or more packets needed to provide data. Such congestion may cause that a vehicle fails to transmit critical information to other vehicles because of the congestion.


Text and line art image data is distinguished from halftone image data for selectively enhanced rendering thereof. Specifically, a method of rendering a raster pixel image from a stored bitmap includes (i) determining whether an orphan pixel is detected within a bounded sampling window of the bitmap, and, (ii) processing at least one selected pixel of the bitmap within the sampling window relative to the determining of whether an orphan pixel is detected. In general, an orphan pixel is defined as an isolated white or black pixel in a halftone image. In one embodiment, an orphan pixel is recognized as having a predefined pixel value and as having no other pixels with that value adjacent thereto within the sampling window. In the event an orphan pixel is detected within the window, then the bitmap within the window is determined to be halftone image data and the selected pixel is processed accordingly. In the event an orphan pixel does not exist within the window, then the bitmap within the window is recognized as text or line art image data and processed respectively. In addition, a method of forming a dither matrix for a halftone image includes generating a pixel pattern such that an orphan pixel exists within the pattern of the dither matrix. The orphan pixel is designed into the halftone image. This measure increases the probability that orphan pixels will exist and be detected in the resultant raster image array. Thus, during subsequent rendering of the raster pixel image, selective application of resolution enhancement techniques may occur based on whether or not an orphan pixel is detected in the sampling window.

Electrophotographic processes for producing a permanent image on media are well known and commonly used. In general, a common process includes: (1) charging a photoreceptor such as a roller or continuous belt bearing a photoconductive material; (2) exposing the charged area to a light image to produce an electrostatic charge on the area in the shape of the image; (3) presenting developer particles (toner) to the photoreceptor surface bearing the image so that the particles are transferred to the surface in the shape of the image; (4) transferring the particles in the shape of the image from the photoreceptor to the media; (5) fusing or fixing the particles in the shape of the image to the media; and (6) cleaning or restoring the photoreceptor for the next printing cycle. Many image forming apparatus, such as laser printers, copy machines, and facsimile machines, utilize this well known electrophotographic printing process.
In laser printers, an image is typically rasterized to form a bit pattern which is stored as a binary image bitmap for subsequent rendering to a final output image. The image bitmap is also referred to as a picture element ("pixel") raster image. In the rasterizing process (i.e., forming the binary bitmap), graphic elements, such as continuous lines (line art) and text character outlines are converted to pixel patterns that approximate the source image shape. Continuous tone data, such as photographic data (both color and gray value images) are also converted to pixel patterns that approximate the source continuous tone image data. However, to effectively portray the original source image for continuous tone data, each pixel of the source image must be represented by multiple bits which define either a color or a gray level and which are subsequently converted, typically, to a binary image bitmap. Hereafter, it is to be understood that when the term "gray" is used, it applies to both color and black/white images and, when applied to a color image, relates to the intensity of the color.
Conventionally, in order to represent gray level images on a bi-level (black and white) printer, the pixel data, if not already gray level, is converted into a gray level, multi-bit configuration. For example, when a multi-bit configuration of 8 bits per pixel is employed, 256 gray levels can be represented by the digital pixel values. The individual gray level pixels are converted to binary level pixels (i.e., bi-level data for subsequent rendering) through the use of a dithering process. Spatial dithering (or digital halftoning) is the converting of the multi-bit pixel values (of a source image) to fixed-size, binary, multi-pixel groupings that approximate the average gray value of the corresponding source data. This dithering process provides a halftone texture to selected areas of the image so as to provide gray value variations therein. Thus, for example, with binary pixels, a 6.times.6 multi-pixel grouping can, in theory, simulate 36 levels of gray, and an 8.times.8 grouping can simulate 64 levels.
The dithering process (i.e., halftoning) employs a comparison of the individual pixel values (specified by a source image intensity array) against a threshold matrix (dither matrix or device best threshold array) to control the conversion of the gray level values to appropriate patterns of bi-level data. For purposes of this discussion, a gray level value of 255 in a source image is considered to be "white", and a gray level value of 0 is "black". The threshold matrix comprises a plurality of row-arranged gray level values which control the conversion of the gray level pixel values to bi-level pixel values which are stored in a resultant page buffer array (raster) bitmap. During the dithering process, the threshold matrix is tiled across the image pixels to enable each gray level image pixel to be compared against the correspondingly, logically-positioned gray level value of the threshold matrix. In essence, each entry in the threshold matrix is a threshold gray level value which, if exceeded by the source image gray level pixel value, causes that gray level image pixel to be converted to a "white" pixel (or a binary logical "zero"). If, by contrast, the source image gray level pixel value is less than or equal to the corresponding threshold matrix gray level value, it is converted to a "black" pixel (or a binary logical "one", i.e., a complementary or opposite pixel value relative to "zero").
Thus far, the discussion has focused on the differences between rasterizing text (or line art) and halftone images. However, in either case, once a raster page buffer array bitmap is generated from a source image, whether the image is text, line art, or halftone, the desired output image is created (rendered) by causing a laser to be modulated in accordance with the bit pattern stored in the image page buffer array bitmap. The modulated laser beam is scanned across a charged surface of a photosensitive drum in a succession of raster scan lines. Each scan line is divided into the pixel areas and the modulated laser beam causes some pixel areas to be exposed to a light pulse and some not, thus causing a pattern of overlapping pixels on each scan line. Where a pixel area is illuminated, the photosensitive drum is discharged, so that when it is subsequently toned, the toner adheres to the discharged areas and is repelled by the still charged areas. The toner that is adhered to the discharged areas is then transferred to paper and fixed in a known manner.
In general, the fidelity of the output image relative to the source data is directly related to the resolution of pixels (dots) in the output image. Arbitrary analog images cannot be exactly reproduced by a bitmap raster. For example, as a result of the images's pixel configuration, image edges that are either not parallel to the raster scan direction or not perpendicular to it appear stepped. This is especially noted in text and line art.
Various techniques have been developed to improve the quality of the output image of a raster bitmap. These enhancement techniques include: edge smoothing, fine line broadening, antialiasing (to smooth jagged edges), and increasing the resolution of the laser printer. These enhancing techniques typically modify the signals to the laser to produce smaller dots that are usually offset from the pixel center, or in other words, to produce gray scale dots. However, most of the enhancing techniques operate on the data after it has already been rasterized, and hence after the fine detail has already been lost. Thus, most enhancing techniques employ interpolation methods upon the raster data to "best" render the image.
As an example, although the prior art has attempted in a variety of ways to overcome the stepped appearance of pixel image edges for text and line art, one of the more widely used techniques is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,641 to Tung, assigned to the Assignee of this application, the disclosure of which is incorporated in full herein by reference. Tung discloses a character generator that produces a bitmap of image data and inputs that bitmap into a first-in first-out (FIFO) data buffer. A fixed subset of the buffer stored bits forms a sampling window through which a selected block of the bitmap image data may be viewed (for example, a 9.times.9 block of pixels with the edge pixels truncated). The sampling window contains a center bit cell which changes on each shift of the image bits through the FIFO buffer. As the serialized data is shifted, the sampling window views successive bit patterns formed by pixels located at the window's center bit cell and its surrounding neighbor bit cells. Each bit pattern formed by the center bit and its neighboring bits is compared in a matching network with prestored templates. If a match occurs, indicating that the center bit resides at an image edge and that the pixel it represents can be altered so as to improve the image's resolution, a modulation signal is generated that causes the laser beam to alter the center pixel configuration. In general, the center pixel is made smaller than a standard unmodified bitmap pixel and is possibly moved within the confines of the pixel cell. The pixel size alteration is carried out by modulating the laser contained in the "laser print engine" of the laser printer. The system taught by Tung is now generally referred to as Resolution Enhancement Technology (RET) and enables substantially improved image resolutions to be achieved for text and line art.
Although conventional pixel resolution enhancement techniques work well for edge smoothing of text and line art images, the techniques are not really intended for halftone images. Namely, there are generally not discrete "edges" in halftone images that are to be smoothed. Thus, when complex images that include both text (or line art) and halftone are processed through a resolution enhancement technique, the text or line art is enhanced (edges are smoothed) but the halftone image quality may in fact be diminished. The high frequency nature of any halftone image (i.e., the black to white transitioning) may especially be undesirably altered as a result of RET. This is because RET (or edge smoothing) is, conventionally, applied to the entire raster image, regardless of whether the data (pixel pattern) is representative of text, line art, or halftone images. Text (or line art) simply has not been distinguishable, and has not been distinguished, from halftone images in raster arrays for any kind of selective application of such resolution enhancement techniques.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to improve the rendering of complex images embodying text, line art and/or halftone data.

Encoded orphan pixels for discriminating halftone data from text and line art data


The present invention relates to systems and methods for verifying the appropriateness of shared content. In a first embodiment, a system displays a link to a site addressable by an identifier. The system includes an indexer that determines a content type for the site. A link displayer displays a link to the site, wherein the displayed link has a graphical presentation associated with the content type. In a second embodiment, a method displays a link to a site addressable by an identifier. The method includes the steps of: (a) determining a content type for the site; and (b) displaying a link to the site, the link having a graphical presentation associated with the content type.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to content delivery over a network.
2. Background Art
Applications such as instant messenger (IM) and email allow users to share messages with other users over one or more networks, such as the Internet. A message may contain an identifier, such as a uniform resource locator. The identifier may address content across the network, including HTML, pictures, and video. An application may display a link to the content within the message. When selected, the link automatically opens the content without regard for appropriateness.
Unfortunately, some content may be inappropriate. This can be especially troublesome when content is shared between users over a network. For example, two users may communicate using an IM or email application. One of the users (the sender) may send a message with a link pointing to content that is inappropriate to view at work. Unaware of the content, the other user (the receiver) may select the link, inadvertently directing the user to the inappropriate content. To deal with this, the sender may first annotate the link with a message such as "nsfw—not safe for work". However, this approach requires that the sender follow an etiquette and be aware of the recipient's sensitivities.
In another example, a sender may send a message having a link pointing to content that is inappropriate for children. Parental control software may block access to content addressed by the link. For example, parental control software may specify a web site blacklist or whitelist. The blacklist establishes a list of identifiers to block, whereas the whitelist establishes a list of identifiers to allow. This approach is limited as the identifier may not be a good indicator of the underlying content.
Methods and systems are needed to improve existing screening techniques.

Method and system for verifying the appropriateness of shared content


Described above is a method of enlarging a character that is represented by a reference pattern of pixels. The method includes a step of converting pixels of the reference pattern to corresponding rectangles of pixels in an enlarged pattern of pixels. Further steps includes identifying acute right angles in the reference pattern, wherein each such acute right angle has horizontal and vertical edges with corresponding lengths, and determining the lengths of the horizontal and vertical edges of the acute right angles. Right angles neighboring identified acute right angles are also found and the lengths of their edges are calculated. A determination of whether to smooth a right angle in the enlarged pattern is made by examining the corresponding right angle in the reference pattern and its neighboring right angles. Specifically, the determination is made based upon the lengths of the edges of the various right angles.

Computer and computer-related equipment commonly use bitmaps to represent textual characters. A bitmap is a two-dimensional array of bits or values corresponding to a similar two-dimensional array of pixels on a display or printed page. In a simple bitmap representing a character, a pixel or potential dot position is represented by a single bit. If the bit is equal to "1", a dot is to be printed or displayed in that pixel position. If the bit is equal to "0", no dot is to be printed or displayed in that pixel position--the position is left blank or printed with a background color.
When printing, it is possible for a computer to send actual bitmaps to a printer. In many cases, however, a printer will store one or more libraries of character bitmaps that can be used by the computer without downloading.
It is desirable to limit the amount of memory required to store the bitmaps in the printer. Accordingly, the bitmaps are often stored at a low pixel resolution (small number of pixels) compared to the higher resolution (higher number of pixels) at which they will be printed. Before printing a particular character, its bitmap must be enlarged to an appropriate size. Many printers allow characters to be scaled by a variable factor before printing.
Most enlargement schemes start with a one-to-one mapping of every pixel in a reference bitmap to a corresponding rectangular region or pixel array in an enlarged bitmap. If a dot is present at a particular pixel location in the reference bitmap, every pixel location in the corresponding rectangular region of the enlarged bitmap is filled in with dots.
While this scheme results in an accurate enlargement of the reference bitmap, it causes a degradation in perceived print quality. This is primarily because of diagonal edges in the bitmaps. Since each pixel of the reference bitmap is represented in the enlarged bitmap by a rectangular region of dots, diagonal edges appear to as a series of "stairsteps." In other words, diagonal edges are jagged rather than smooth.
Edge smoothing algorithms have been developed to improve the perceived print quality of enlarged character bitmaps. However, the effectiveness of these algorithms depends on the ability to detect the correct edges to smooth. This is especially important with ideographic characters like Chinese, Kanji, and Hanja.
Many edge smoothing algorithms are implemented in hardware with a method of mask comparison. Hardware implementations have the benefit of faster computational speed when compared to software implementations, but are not as portable to different character sets and fonts. Moreover, the results of mask comparison are highly dependent on the set of masks being employed in the edge detection process. The more cells in the masks, the more accurate the edge detection process. Hence, the tradeoff for an accurate edge smoothing process is often a loss in throughput.
It would be desirable to provide an edge smoothing method that achieves both high throughput and superior print quality, while conserving memory and other hardware resources.

System for enlarging and smoothing textual characters


A data management system, which is implemented by one or more information processing apparatuses, includes a program storage unit that stores an operation management program, a generating unit that embeds the operation management program in first data and thereby generates second data including the operation management program. When an operation is performed on the second data at an external apparatus, the operation management program sends operation information indicating the operation from the external apparatus to the data management system.

1. Field of the Invention
An aspect of this disclosure relates to a data management system, a data management method, and a data management apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A file management system stores, provides (sends, delivers, or distributes), and manages electronic files (which are hereafter simply referred to as "files") such as document files and image files. Such a file management system makes it possible to provide files via a network using, for example, an email or a shared folder. While a file management system enables users to easily share files, it may pose a risk that files are obtained by unauthorized users and distributed to unknown places. Also, a provider of a file cannot determine or manage the status of the file after it is received by a receiver (e.g., whether the file is viewed or printed by the receiver). Thus, a file management system has a security risk.
Here, there exist technologies that allow a provider of a file to determine the status of the file after it is received by a receiver. For example, there is a technology such as the Message Disposition Notification (MDN) for reporting to a sender of an email that a receiver has opened or received the email.
Also, there exist technologies for preventing an unauthorized user from viewing or printing a delivered file containing confidential information. For example, there is a technology for protecting a file with a password. Also, there is a technology (e.g., tint block printing) that makes information in a file illegible when the information is printed by a printer or a multifunction peripheral.
However, MDN can be used only for reception of emails. That is, MDN cannot be used to determine whether (or when) a file, which has been delivered via a protocol such as the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or the Server Message Block (SMB), is opened. Also with the above technologies, it is not possible to determine when and where a delivered file is printed.
Here, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-336315 discloses a system where a sender apparatus and a receiver apparatus are connected to an electronic document delivery server. In the system, a sender operating the sender apparatus can determine the delivery status of an electronic document via the electronic document delivery server.
However, the technology disclosed by Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-336315 only makes it possible to confirm the delivery of electronic documents sent from sender apparatuses to receiver apparatuses that are connected to the electronic document delivery server and managed by the system. That is, the technology of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-336315 does not make it possible to confirm the delivery of electronic documents sent to apparatuses not being managed by the system. Accordingly, the technology of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-336315 does not make it possible to determine where and when an electronic document, which is sent to an apparatus not being managed by the system, is viewed or printed. Also, the technology of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-336315 requires a large cost to construct the system.

Data management system, data management method, and data management apparatus


A system and method for locating plural remote transmitters in which many, relatively inexpensive transmitters may simultaneously send identifying signals to one or more receiving stations. The receiving stations detect the signals from the remote transmitters, determine the time of arrival of the signals and decode the information (if any) contained in the signals, all without synchronization between the receiving stations and the transmitters or among the transmitters and all without a central system for polling the various remote transmitters. The system combines the signal information received from two or more receiving stations to determine the geolocation of the transmitting units.

The present invention is related, generally, to systems and methods for communicating information and for locating the geolocation of a remote transmitter. In particular, the present invention is related to a system for communicating from plural remote transmitters simultaneously without synchronization or polling and for determining the geolocation of specific ones of the plural transmitters.
It is well known to deploy communications systems in which a single, relatively central base unit communicates with plural, often mobile, units within its transmission range. Central dispatch systems, such as those employed by taxicabs, public services emergency personnel, and the like communicate voice and, more recently, digital data between the remote units and the central base unit. Still other present systems communicate digital data only from the remote units to the central base unit, such as "data radios" which often transmit remote sensor data from a wide geographic area to a central location. One known problem with such present systems is a need to coordinate the transmissions from the various remote units so as to avoid collisions with one another. A myriad of techniques have been used to provide such coordination or to resolve collisions. For example, in some systems, the various remote transmitters are polled by the central station in a logical or random sequence. Only the remote unit receiving the poll is then permitted to transmit during a succeeding predefined time period. In other systems, each of the remote units receives a common clocking signal and transmits to the central station at a time derived from the common clocking signal. Both these prior art schemes avoid collisions to some extent but at a cost of requiring each remote unit to be capable of both receiving and transmitting signals. Additionally, the time taken to send out polling and/or clocking signals reduces the amount of time available for the remote units to transmit.
Other prior art systems avoid collisions by assigning separate transmit frequencies for each remote unit, at an obvious cost of considerable amounts of bandwidth being occupied for systems having many remote transmitters. Still other systems permit collisions to occur and rely upon the remote transmitters to monitor the communicating frequencies to determine whether a collision has occurred and to reinitiate transmission of the message upon the detection of a collision. Again, such systems require the remote units to have the capability of both receiving and transmitting signals. In addition, such systems are sometimes known to have repeated collisions, delaying the receipt of the message contained therein, sometimes for relatively long periods of time. Finally, the number of remote transmitters is limited in such systems to a number which is dependent upon how often each of the remote units transmits and the length of each transmission.
It is also known in the prior art to geolocate a remote transmitting unit based on multiple receipts of a signal emanating from a remote transmitter. For example, plural receiving stations can receive a signal transmitted from a remote mobile unit and compare the times-of-arrival at the various receivers to determine a geolocation from which the signal was transmitted. Similarly, plural receiving stations can determine the angle-of-arrival of the signal from the remote mobile unit and by combining the different angle-of-arrival determinations at the plural stations can calculate the likely geolocation of the transmitting mobile unit. Generally, the complexity of such locating systems increases substantially with the number of remote units which must be tracked.
As in the situation for voice or data communications, if plural remote units must be tracked simultaneously, the possibility of collisions of their signals increases. As the signals, collide, it is often difficult (if not impossible) for the receiver to distinguish the location of the units sending the locating signals which have collided. To avoid collisions, some prior art locating systems have used polling, common clocking signals, individual frequencies, etc. so that the detecting receiver can unambiguously detect a locating signal. Still other systems have resorted to sending the locating signals multiple times to enhance the possibility that the central receiver has received at least one of the locating signals. This latter technique obviously relatively expensive in terms of bandwidth.
It is also been proposed for locating systems to use direct spread spectrum modulation techniques at the remote, mobile units to avoid the problems of collisions and limited bandwidth availability. In such systems, each of the remote transmitters may use a Pseudorandom Number ("PN") modulation to spread the locating signal across a wide bandwidth. Such systems are expected to meet with some success in the transmission of the locating signals by plural remote units; however, the use of such systems usually involves the design and operation of a highly complex bank of correlators which can test incoming signals for the presence of all the permitted PN codes in a very short period of time. A large number of possible PN codes usually results in a very complex and expensive receiver to detect the various possible codes. If a system uses plural receivers, as is often done to provide a relatively wide geographic range of coverage for a system, the costs of such relatively expensive receivers is multiplied by the need for plural such receivers.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel system and method for communicating simultaneously radio frequency signals from plural, geographically diverse transmitters without a common clocking signal or a polling signal.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel system and method for communicating signals from plural transmitters without a substantial number of collisions.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a novel system and method for communicating simultaneously from plural transmitters into a receiver without a bank of correlators.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a novel system and method for determining the location of one or more of plural simultaneously transmitting remote units without a common clocking signal or polling signal.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel system and method for tracking the movement of plural remote units at a relatively low cost per unit.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a novel system and method for communicating simultaneously from plural remote transmitters without synchronization of the units to each other of to the receiver(s).
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a novel signal processing architecture which simultaneously tracks the location of plural transmitting units using a time invariant matched filter.
These and many other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains from a perusal of the claims, the appended drawings, and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

System and method for geolocating plural remote transmitters


Embodiments of a method and/or system for characterizing one or more female reproductive system-related conditions can include determining a microorganism dataset associated with a set of subjects; and/or performing a characterization process associated with the one or more female reproductive system-related conditions, based on the microorganism dataset, where performing the characterization process can additionally or alternatively include performing a female reproductive system-related characterization process for the one or more female reproductive system-related conditions, and/or determining one or more therapies.

A microbiome can include an ecological community of commensal, symbiotic, and pathogenic microorganisms that are associated with an organism. Characterization of the human microbiome is a complex process. The human microbiome includes over 10 times more microbial cells than human cells, but characterization of the human microbiome is still in nascent stages such as due to limitations in sample processing techniques, genetic analysis techniques, and resources for processing large amounts of data. Present knowledge has clearly established the role of microbiome associations with multiple health conditions, and has become an increasingly appreciated mediator of host genetic and environmental factors on human disease development. The microbiome is suspected to play at least a partial role in a number of health/disease-related states. Further, the microbiome may mediate effects of environmental factors on human, plant, and/or animal health. Given the profound implications of the microbiome in affecting a user's health, efforts related to the characterization of the microbiome, the generation of insights from the characterization, and the generation of therapeutics configured to rectify states of dysbiosis should be pursued. Conventional approaches for analyzing the microbiomes of humans and/or providing therapeutic measures based on gained insights have, however, left many questions unanswered.
Cervical cancer is one of the major causes of cancer-related deaths in women, with an annual worldwide mortality of 250,000. Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA can be detected in almost all (>99%) cervical cancer specimens, and HPV is therefore considered the predominant causative agent for cervical cancer.
A woman's health is critical for her general well-being and reproductive success, and is in part determined by microbiome composition, the presence of pathogens associated with sexually transmitted infections (STI), and the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) types that can cause genital warts or cervical cancer. For example, the composition of a woman's vaginal microbiome can play an important role in women's health and reproductive success.
As such, there is a need in the field of microbiology for a new and useful method and/or system for characterizing, monitoring, diagnosing, and/or intervening in one or more health conditions associated with women's health (e.g., female reproductive system-related conditions; etc.), such as for individualized and/or population-wide use.

Method and system for characterization for female reproductive system-related conditions associated with microorganisms


A method for detecting charging current curves for electric vehicles at charging stations. In the method, a charging current curve is captured at a charging station, and the charging current curve is stored together with a vehicle identification of the charging vehicle. For each respective vehicle identification, a charging current curve at a plurality of charging stations is stored, and for the respective vehicle identification, a present charging current curve can be compared with the stored charging current curves at the plurality of charging stations. In the event of a deviation of the present charging current curve from the stored charging current curves at the plurality of charging stations which is greater than a threshold, a signal is output.

Charging stations are equipped with measuring devices, so-called smartmeters, which measure the charging current and thus the electrical energy drawn by the charging vehicle. The costs to be invoiced to the customer are at least partially calculated from the measured values of the smartmeters in the charging stations or in a central computer (backend).
For a central processing of the charging information, in particular the information on the charging current as well as on the energy drawn, the charging stations or their smartmeters are connected to a central computer via a wide area network. Within the charging station, the smartmeters are connected to the controller of the charging station, in particular via a bus system.
Usually, a charging station that no longer reacts or a smartmeter that no longer reacts is classified as defective and a service technician can inspect the charging station and the measuring device on site and correct the defect if necessary.
However, measuring devices which measure a charging current and thus an energy but this measurement is incorrect are problematic. These charging stations still report billing-relevant data to the backend. However, there, it is not possible to tell whether the data is based on a correct or an incorrect measurement. Therefore, it is almost impossible so far to conclude directly from received measured values that a measuring device in a charging station is defective.

Method for detecting profiles of charging currents


An antenna that includes, in at least one embodiment, first and second radiating elements each having a substantially conical radiating surface. Each radiating surface may be substantially linearly conical or nonlinearly conical. The radiating surfaces are substantially aligned coaxially, and the radiating elements are positioned on opposing sides of a signal launching region, extending in opposing directions from the signal launching region. A signal feed extends through the first radiating element, thereby positioning a signal launch point between the first and second radiating elements in the signal launching region proximate vertices of the first and second radiating surfaces. The first and second radiating elements have first and second included angles, respectively, that are each no less than about 40 degrees.

The rapid adoption of multiple wireless services operating at widely dispersed frequencies presents a challenge for conventional antenna designs, which typically focus on relatively narrowband characteristics in single, dual, or triple band configurations. Such designs are increasingly difficult to implement as existing frequency bands are expanded and new bands are made available to deliver new services.


A method is provided for heating the interior surface of a defined volume, such as the interior of a pipe or tank, to control the viscosity of a liquid contained within that volume. In the method, a laminated composite heater element, impermeable to water, is disposed on the surface of the receptacle, and is energized at prescribed intervals and temperatures effective to heat the interior surface of the volume.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods of controlling the viscosity of fluids. Specifically, the invention relates to a method of controlling the viscosity of a fluid in a defined volume by heating the inner surfaces of the volume through the use of a heater element such as a heater element laminated composite in the form of a thin, laminated material applied to the surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that the viscosity of a liquid is a function of the liquid temperature. It follows that heating the inner surface of a volume containing a liquid, such as the interior of a pipe or tank, will alter the viscosity of the liquid.
A variety of methods for heating surfaces through the use of heater elements exist in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,886, to Kraus et al., discloses an electrically conductive web composed of a non-woven sheet of conductive fibers and non-conductive fibers. The sheet is saturated with a dispersion containing conductive particles and dried. The Kraus et al. heater element is primarily used in heating pads.
International Application No. PCT/US94/13504 (Publication No. WO95/15670), discloses an electrically conductive composite heating assembly that has an electrically conductive non-woven fiber layer laminated between layers of fiberglass and other dielectric material. The assembly further has an abrasion resistant outer layer. The heater element is used on aerospace structures as an ice protection system to withstand repeated mechanical stress and thermal cycles in extremely harsh aerospace environments.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,696 to Hastings et al. discloses an integrally bonded laminate which is used to thermally control a surface or portion of a surface of an aircraft to which the laminate is bonded.
None of the prior art heater elements, however, have been successfully applied to the surface of a defined volume for the purpose of controlling the viscosity of the fluid contained therein.

Method for controlling the viscosity of a fluid in a defined volume


An optical fiber includes a core as a light signal transmission medium, a clad surrounding the core, a first coating layer which surrounds the clad and is formed of an UV-cured polymer material, and a second coating layer which surrounds the first coating layer and is formed of an UV-cured polymer material. The difference between the refraction index of the first coating layer and that of the second coating layer ranges from 0 (excluding 0) to 0.06.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical fiber, and more particularly to a device for monitoring a coating concentricity of an optical fiber and an optical fiber suitable for the same device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an optical fiber comprises a core as a light transmission medium, a clad surrounding the core, a first coating layer which surrounds the clad and is formed of a soft material having a relatively low modulus, and a second coating layer which surrounds the first coating layer and has a relatively high modulus. In other words, the optical fiber has a double-coating structure. A conventional fiber-drawing tower has a coating unit for forming the first and the second coating layers, a curing unit for curing the first and the second coating layers, and a coating concentricity monitor disposed between the coating unit and the curing unit. The coating concentricity monitor is used for monitoring optical fiber vibration and a coating concentricity error that can be generated while the optical fiber passes through the coating unit. The coating concentricity monitor irradiates a light to a double-coated optical fiber in order to obtain a pattern that appears on a light-receiving surface after the light has passed through the optical fiber. It is possible to know the coating concentricity of the double-coated optical fiber from the said pattern. Since an optical fiber preform tends to become larger in its diameter through technological developments in optical fiber production processes, a high-speed fiber-drawing process becomes more important for the purpose of reducing the manufacturing cost and increasing the unit productivity.
However, the more the fiber-drawing speed increases, the more the temperature of the fiber increases, and the temperature increased thereby causes a variation in the refraction index values of the first and the second coating layers of the optical fiber. As the fiber-drawing speed increases, it is possible to monitor an optical fiber vibration and a coating concentricity error within a certain range of refraction index variations. However, it is not possible to monitor them above the range, because an overlapping of the pattern appearing on the light-receiving surface is generated by the increase of the refraction angle of the light for monitoring.
It is accordingly desirable to provide a device for monitoring a coating concentricity in a high-speed fiber-drawing process.

Optical fiber for high-speed fiber-drawing process and coating concentricity monitor


Single to differential interfacing. The present invention provides for an efficient solution to transform an output from a single ended source to a pair of differential signals that are provided to a differential receiver. The differential receiver is any number of devices including a differential clock receiver. The differential signals may be referenced to voltages used to receiver power supply voltages. The present invention obviates the need for an additional differential driver and its required additional devices that are need to perform transformation of a single ended signal to a pair of differential signals. There can be significant cost savings in using the single to differential interfacing that is performed in accordance with the present invention. In one embodiment, two independent power and ground planes are communicatively coupled via a transmission line, or a transmission line-like traces on a printed circuit board, are used to provide uniform impedance control for all return paths within a system. These transmission lines or transmission line-like traces on the printed circuit board have characteristic impedances higher than the characteristic impedances of other transmission paths in the system or the other traces on the printed circuit board. Moreover, a power supply that is used to bias the single ended source is floated with respect to the system ground. The present invention allows for interfacing single ended devices to devices that use differential inputs signals via a cost effective solution in terms of component costs, real estate costs, and in terms of complexity.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to device interfacing; and, more particularly, it relates to interfacing a single ended device to a device employing differential inputs.
2. Related Art
There is a movement in the art towards devices that use or require differential inputs. There have been some conventional approaches that have sought to perform the interfacing of a single ended signal to a device necessitating differential inputs. One conventional approach seeks to isolate signals. This is done by separating traces on a printed circuit board (PCB) and by providing extra ground paths through connectors or in and out of integrated circuit (IC) packages. One deficiency in this approach is that isolating these signals does not eliminate shared paths altogether. Cross-talk between the signals is reduced, but it may not be completely eliminated.
Another conventional approach uses a differential driver that provides source and return connections for every signal. This second conventional approach allows cross-talk problems to be somewhat minimized, since each signal has its own dedicated return path. However, using these differential drivers necessitates special devices and more pins within a system, thereby increasing real estate consumption, cost, and complexity within a system. In certain applications where these constraints are rigid, the incremental addition of cost and complexity may make it impracticable to use such a conventional solution. The use of these differential drivers requires the use of other special devices more pins to perform the proper interfacing. This conventional approach is exemplary of a brute force method that puts little emphasis on cost savings in any number of terms including: money, real estate, and complexity.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional systems will become apparent to one of skill in the art through comparison of such systems with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.
Various aspects of the present invention can be found in a single to differential interface. The single to differential interface includes a first isolated power and ground plane and a second isolated power and ground plane. The first isolated power and ground plane generates a single ended source output having a first current magnitude. The second isolated power and ground plane is communicatively coupled to the first isolated power and ground plane via a substantially transmission-like connection. The second isolated power and ground plane receives a pair of differential signals. The first isolated power and ground plane receives a return signal via a single return path, the return signal having a second current magnitude.
In certain embodiments of the invention, the substantially transmission-like connection includes a number of transmission lines. One of the transmission lines has a first characteristic impedance and at least one other of the transmission lines has a second characteristic impedance. The first current magnitude and the second current magnitude are substantially of a common magnitude. The substantially transmission-like connection includes a number of connection types including a trace on a printed circuit board. The substantially transmission-like connection is operable across a predetermined frequency range at which the single ended source output is operable to be modulated. The predetermined frequency range spans from DC to a maximum switching frequency. One of the differential signals of the pair of differential signals is referenced through a resistance to a voltage logic level.
Other aspects of the present invention can be found in a single to differential interface. The single to differential interface includes a single ended source, a single to differential interface circuitry, and a differential receiver. The single ended source emits a single ended source output. The single to differential interface circuitry is operable to convert the single ended source output to a pair of differential outputs. The differential receiver receives the pair of differential outputs. The single to differential interface circuitry employs a substantially transmission-like connection between the single ended source and the differential receiver.
In certain embodiments of the invention, the substantially transmission-like connection includes a number of connection types including a trace on a printed circuit board. The differential receiver includes a printed circuit board trace having a first characteristic impedance, and the substantially transmission-like connection includes an interface trace having a second characteristic impedance. The second characteristic impedance is larger than the first characteristic impedance. One of the differential outputs of the pair of differential outputs is referenced through a resistance to a voltage logic level. The single to differential interface also includes a floating power supply that biases the single ended source. In other embodiments, a current being transmitted from the single ended source includes a magnitude that is substantially equal to a magnitude of a current that is received by the single ended source.
Other aspects of the present invention can be found in a single to differential interface method. The method includes referencing a single ended source output signal to a floating single ended source ground, implementing a differential interface that is referenced to a system ground, and referencing a number of differential signals to a number of receiver power supply voltages.
In certain embodiments of the invention, one of the differential signals is referenced to one of a voltage logic level low or a voltage logic level high. The method also includes using uniform impedance control, and the uniform impedance control is operable to ensure a single return current path. The method also includes connecting a first isolated power and ground plane to a second isolated power and ground plane via a substantially transmission-like connection. The substantially transmission-like connection includes a number of connection types including an interface trace on a printed circuit board.
Other aspects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Single to differential logic level interface for computer systems

Compaq Information Technologies Group, L.P.


The first battery is configured to be charged and discharged with a larger current than the second battery. The second battery has a higher storage capacity than the first battery. When the voltage of the second battery is lower than the voltage of the first battery, the controller allows charging of the second battery through the second relay while prohibiting charging of the first battery through the first relay until the voltage of the second battery reaches the voltage of the first battery.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a battery system having a high-power battery and a high-capacity battery electrically connected in parallel to each other, and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-332023 (JP 11-332023 A) and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-041620 (JP 2008-041620 A) describe a system in which a high-power battery and a high-capacity battery are electrically connected in parallel to each other. The high-power battery can be charged and discharged with a larger current than the high-capacity battery, while the high-capacity battery has a higher storage capacity than the high-power battery.
In such a system having a high-power battery and a high-capacity battery electrically connected to each other in parallel, current (circulating current) sometimes flows from the high-power battery to the high-capacity battery. In order to prevent this circulating current, it is conceivable to keep the voltage of the high-capacity battery at a higher level than the voltage of the high-power battery.
However, when the voltage of the high-capacity battery is kept at a higher level than the voltage of the high-power battery, the available range of state-of-charge (SOC) for control of charging and discharging of the high-capacity battery may be restricted. In other words, it may become difficult to efficiently use electrical energy stored in the high-capacity battery.

Battery system and control method thereof