A high frequency coaxial cable having a foil (7a) between the cable insulator (5) and cable braid (7b), is terminated to a coaxial connector (40) in a manner that allows fast and easy cable preparation and results in a termination with minimal axial electric field lines that cause a high insertion loss and a high VSWR (voltage standing wave ratio). A bore (46) at the rear portion of the connector outer conductor, receives the cable insulator with foil around the cable insulator. The bore has a front part (54) that forms an interference fit around the foil, to avoid an axially-extending gap which might contain axially-extending field lines. The front of cable insulator and foil are flush and both abut the insulation (25) of the connector.

This invention relates to a coaxial connector for terminating to a high performance coaxial cable of the type that has a wrapped conductive shield. A coaxial cable includes a solid or stranded inner cable conductor surrounded by a layer of polymer dielectric material. The dielectric material is precisely centered within a woven braid outer cable conductor, and the cable has an outer jacket of polymer material. The outer cable conductor defines a ground return path which is necessary for microwave signal transmission.
High performance, low loss coaxial cables have been developed to transmit higher frequencies with minimal impedance discontinuities. With low loss dielectrics, these cables may transmit higher power levels with minimal attenuation. The high performance cables generally comprise an inner cable conductor surrounded by a low loss dielectric material such as cellular polyethylene, a thin wrapped metallic outer shield such as a conductive foil, a woven plated copper braid shield, and a polymer outer jacket such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC). This type of cable is desirable for use in the transmission of high rate digital signals such as those used in the High Definition Television (HDTV) industry, of a frequency of about 1 GHz and higher. FIG. 1 shows such a high performance coaxial cable 1 which comprises a center cable conductor 3 and an outer cable conductor 7 formed by a thin wrapped metallic foil 7a and a woven braid outer conductor 7b. A dielectric material, or insulator 5 separates the center conductor 3 and the outer conductor 7. The entire cable 1 is enclosed in an outer jacket 9.
Cables are generally prepared for termination to a coaxial connector by stripping, or removing, from around the center cable conductor, the dielectric material, the braid and the cable jacket to strip lengths specified by the manufacture of the RF coaxial connector. In the case of the high performance coaxial cable having a wrapped metallic foil shield, the foil is generally removed and stripped back approximately evenly with the jacket, as shown in FIG. 2a. The removal of the metallic foil in this way is an inconvenience for cable assembly manufacturers and cable installers because it requires the foil to be stripped back behind (within) the braid that surrounds it. This operation is time consuming and requires special tools, and may lead to damage of the braid.
A preferred termination technique would be to leave the metallic foil intact, i.e. flush with the dielectric material and/or braid. However, this presents a problem in terms of electrical performance. At lower frequencies, cables prepared and terminated in this way exhibit no electrical performance problems, with particular respect to return loss. However, at higher frequencies, a convoluted signal path occurs, and a higher than expected return loss or VSWR (voltage standing wave ratio) is exhibited.


Embodiments may comprise a cable network that shifts control plane functionality for multicast sessions to a cable modem termination system allowing multicast without a cable modem snooping messages from a coupled device. Another embodiment may comprise a network including a device to generate a request to join a multicast session over a cable network, a cable modem termination system in communication with the device, the cable modem termination system to receive the request from the device and to generate a flow identifier to associate with the multicast session, and a cable modem in communication with the cable modem termination system and the device, the cable modem to receive the flow identifier from the cable modem termination system and forward the multicast session to the device from the cable modem termination system based on the flow identifier. Other embodiments may comprise an apparatus that has a port to receive a request from a cable modem to join a multicast session, and circuitry to generate a flow identifier to associate with the multicast session and communicate the flow identifier to the cable modem to allow the cable modem to forward the multicast session to a device.

The Internet has changed society and is as much a part of modern culture as television and telephones. People are becoming increasingly connected to share and access information. This interconnectivity promotes improvements in the computing and communication infrastructure.
Much of this infrastructure was designed for entertainment or communication, but is being adapted to deliver general data. The addition of general information and data transmission over the legacy infrastructure has necessarily been somewhat restrained by the need for the infrastructure to continue its initial functions. Furthermore, legacy technical characteristics of this infrastructure influence the various solutions to include information storage and transmission. Most major entertainment and communication channels now include computer networking capabilities.
Many people get their television service through cable television (CATV). CATV was initially developed to deliver television signals to areas where antennas had difficulty picking up television broadcasts. Coaxial cabling is the primary type of cabling used by the cable television industry because it is much less susceptible to interference and can carry large amounts of data.
Television signals are broadcast in 6 MHz channels and this channel bandwidth was incorporated into cable television. As transmission demands increased, parts of the coaxial backbone were replaced with optical fiber to create a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network. The bandwidth of the cable infrastructure makes it an attractive technology to incorporate data transmission.
An example use of data over a cable television network was approved by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) which includes interface requirements for high speed data communication, and is called the data over cable service interface specification (DOCSIS).
Cable service providers also offer internet service through the cable television network in 6 MHz channels for downstream data. Upstream data has historically received less bandwidth and has been offered in a fraction of a channel, such as in 2 MHz provisions. This asymmetry was due to the Internet initially being an information provider. Currently, peer-to-peer computing, file sharing, gaming, and other uses have increased the need for upstream bandwidth.
Due to the legacy CATV infrastructure primarily being a broadcast channel, there are different modulation schemes for upstream and downstream transmission, for example, downstream utilize 64 and 256 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) and upstream utilizes Quadrature Phase Shift Keying or 16 QAM.
Furthermore, to allow maximum data transmission through different networks, DOCSIS supports use of various combinations of modulation and therefore different data rates, which in turn complicates the physical layer in these networks.
Placing upstream and downstream data onto the cable television network requires special equipment at each end of the HFC plant. On the customer end, a cable modulator/demodulator (cable modem, or CM) transmits and receives data over the cable television infrastructure and on the cable provider end a cable modem termination system (CMTS) is used to place and retrieve data from the cable television network.
Typically a CMTS broadcasts to numerous CMs over a shared channel while each CM separately sends upstream data. In this framework, a cable modem must select only the broadcast downstream data that is intended for it while it must follow an arbitration protocol to avoid data collisions with other cable modems while transmitting upstream data.
A CMTS may also multicast data. Multicast is based on the concept of a group where an arbitrary group of receivers can each receive a particular data stream. Hosts that are interested in receiving data flowing to a particular group join the group using Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP). Hosts must be a member of the group to receive the data stream. Multicasting conserves bandwidth by simultaneously delivering a single stream of information to multiple recipients.
CMTS multicasting may be accomplished using a multicast internet protocol (IP) address. The current version of IP (IPv4) uses a 32-bit addressing scheme, often represented by 4 numbers separated by periods such as 18.104.22.168.
IP Multicast delivers source traffic to multiple receivers without adding additional burdens on the source or the receivers while limiting network bandwidth consumption. Multicast routing establishes a tree that connects a source with receivers. Multicast delivery sends data across this tree towards receivers. Data is not copied at the source, but rather, inside the network at distribution branch points. Only a single copy of data is sent over links that lead to multiple receivers, resulting in bandwidth gains.
For example, multicast packets may be replicated in a network by a router enabled with Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) and other supporting multicast protocols. Unlike broadcast, the traffic is only received and processed by devices that are listening for it. Videoconferencing, stock quotes, news, distance learning, and distribution of software, etc., are example applications that benefit from multicasting.
DOCSIS 2.0 defines several hooks for enabling multicast over the radio frequency (RF) portion of a cable network. IGMP snooping in a CM can be used to trigger a Baseline Privacy Interface (BPI) exchange for a multicast session. IGMP snooping restrains multicast traffic and specifies how a host can register a router to receive specific multicast traffic. BPI extensions can be used to provide encryption of multicast sessions.
In conventional DOCSIS, a user at an end device may want to join a certain multicast session. For example, the device may present a web page with a channel descriptor to the user and the user can select which channel they want to view or which multicast session they want to attend. The channel descriptor may associate that channel or session with the destination IP address used in the actual multicast. To receive the multicast session or channel, the end device may send an IGMP join message to a CMTS or other server asking to join the multicast group.
In DOCSIS 2.0, a CM snoops these IGMP join messages, and when it sees an end device wants to receive a certain channel or multicast session, the CM maps a multicast address to a MAC address using RFC 1112 mapping, and uses that MAC address to set an Ethernet filter to restrain multicast traffic.
Additionally, when the CM snoops the IGMP join and gets the MAC address for the filter, the CM may negotiate a key exchange with an associated CMTS in order to decrypt the desired multicast session and forward it to the end device. Unfortunately, this conventional approach for enabling multicast traffic over a cable network does not address many multicast issues.
The current multicasting scheme allows for aliasing of traffic. According to the request for comments (RFC) 1112, aliasing of traffic may happen because only the lower order 23 bits of an IP address are mapped to a multicast Ethernet media access control (MAC) address.
A MAC address is a layer 2 unique identifier attached to most forms of networking equipment. MAC addresses may be mapped to a layer 3 protocol address and back, for example, by an address resolution protocol (ARP) or a reverse ARP (RARP). Unfortunately this can result in aliasing when the lower order 23 bits of an IP address are the same, for example, a CM configured to receive traffic for group 184.108.40.206 will also accept traffic for 18.104.22.168.
Aliasing is particularly an issue with virtual private network (VPN) and source-specific multicast (SSM) support. For VPNs, two separate networks might have the same addressing scheme, and therefore the same Ethernet MAC address. For SSM, two multicast groups might differ only by a source address, since Ethernet MAC mapping takes only the destination into account, this may also result in aliasing.
DOCSIS 2.0 also provides only limited support for multicast protocols. It does not have IGMP snooping support for IGMPv3 and SSM, Generic Attribute Registration Protocol (GARP), GARP Multicast Registration Protocol (GMRP) or Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD). This discrepancy is in large part due to the different length headers and different representations in each of the headers. This will continue to be a problem as new versions of these protocols likely will generate additional changes in their headers and therefore complicate snooping of these protocols to establish multicast sessions.
DOCSIS 2.0 leaves many other multicast issues unaddressed. One area left unaddressed is support for IP Version 6 (IPv6) since IPv6 has a dedicated control plane for multicast. Additionally, PacketCable Multimedia (PCMM) does not yet define how multicast is to be supported, and there are no appropriate hooks in DOCSIS 2.0 to support it.
Another area is limited monitoring at a CMTS. For example, IGMP v1/v2 reports may be suppressed and subsequently, it is not possible to obtain a list of CMs that joined a multicast session.
Quality of Service (QoS) is also not addressed for multicast flows under conventional DOCSIS. Multicast flows can be thought of as unidirectional flows, and in that respect, they are supported by DOCSIS specifications. However, the details on how QoS is assigned to multicast flows are not defined because unlike other DOCSIS flows they are not owned by a single modem.
Another multicast area left unaddressed by conventional DOCSIS is in routed networks on the customer premises equipment (CPE) side. The network cannot easily support routers connected in the CPE network that run Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) instead of IGMP. Additionally, in conventional DOCSIS there is no way for either a CM or CMTS to make sure a multicast session is successfully activated since there is no explicit acknowledgment in IGMPv2.
Support for multicast in current cable networks is limited in scope in at least the areas explained above. What is needed is a new multicast approach in cable networks.


The invention provides a system and method for tracking memory information associated with dynamically loaded kernel modules with the help of a tracking system. The tracking system defines its own kernel memory allocation functions. Whenever, a dynamic kernel module is loaded/unloaded into/from the kernel space, these newly defined functions are called in response to kernel memory allocation/de-allocation requests from the kernel module. The newly defined functions are responsible for allocating and de-allocating kernel memory, as well as, keeping track of information relating to the kernel memory allocations/de-allocations. The tracked information may be used to identify the source of kernel memory leaks.

System memory in an operating system (OS) is divided into two distinct regions: kernel space and user space. Kernel space hosts the kernel or core of the OS. The kernel manages the system's resources (for example, memory, processors, I/O devices, and other resources) and communication between hardware and software components. User space is the region in which user processes/applications (i.e., not the kernel) run. The kernel space can be accessed by the user processes through the use of system calls in order to gain access to the services provided by the kernel.
In some instances, kernel modules (for example, device drivers, network drivers, file systems, and other kernel modules) are dynamically loaded into the kernel space whenever a demand for a new component arises. When a kernel module is loaded into the kernel space, a sufficient amount of kernel memory is allocated to it via a request such as, for example, user space requests through system calls, hardware requests while handling interrupts, or other requests. When a kernel module is unloaded from the kernel space, the allocated kernel memory should be de-allocated from the unloaded module and, as such, should be usable for other purposes.
Typically, the kernel resolves references to kernel memory allocation and de-allocation function addresses from the loaded kernel module to carry out memory allocation and de allocation. In some instances, the kernel utilizes a kernel global symbol table to resolve these references, wherein the kernel global symbol table maintains a list of all the kernel's resources, functions and data types provided by the kernel, functions and data types provided by loaded modules, as well as, system calls.
Generally, a memory leak is caused by an application or by a process that allocates memory for use, but does not free the memory up when it is no longer needed. This may cause the operating system (OS) to hang or otherwise function improperly until the allocated memory is released, or may cause other problems. Accordingly, kernel memory leaks occur when kernel memory is allocated to a kernel module but not de-allocated when the module is unloaded.
Hence, there exists a need for a tracking system that tracks information regarding the kernel memory allocations/de-allocations to determine the existence and/or cause of a kernel memory leak.

System and method for finding kernel memory leaks


Embodiments of the present invention include a display panel for the blind, a method for manufacturing the same and a display device for the blind. The display panel for the blind includes an array substrate, a touch substrate and an elastic film. The array substrate includes a glass substrate and data lines and gate lines formed on the glass substrate. The data lines and gate lines intersect each other so as to form pixel units, with each of the pixel units including a pixel electrode. The touch substrate includes a flexible film layer and charged columnar structures provided on the flexible film layer. The elastic film layer is provided between the array substrate and the touch substrate. The side of the touch substrate on which the charged columnar structures are formed faces the side of the array substrate on which the pixel electrodes are formed, and the charged columnar structures on the touch substrate correspond to the pixel electrodes on the array substrate one to one.

As electronic books have been developed and information technology has been enhanced, the conventional books printed in braille can not keep pace with reading requirements of blind persons gradually in terms of the kind and the number. In the prior art, a common display device can only be provided for being used by a user with normal vision, and a person with visual disability can not use the display device due to the obstacle in his or her body.
Currently, there is an urgent need for a display device for the blind which can be provided for being used by blind persons, so as to allow blind persons to read electronic books by using the display device for the blind.

Display panel for the blind and method for manufacturing the same and display device for the blind


Presented are systems and methods for securely sharing confidential information. In such a method, term vectors corresponding to ones of a plurality of confidential terms included in a plurality of confidential documents is received. Each of the received term vectors is mapped into a vector space. Non-confidential documents are mapped into the vector space to generate a document vector corresponding to each non-confidential document, wherein the generation of each document vector is based on a subset of the received term vectors. At least one of the non-confidential documents is identified in response to a query mapped into the vector space.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention are directed to sharing information. More particularly, aspects of the present invention are directed to sharing information content without revealing the source of the information.
2. Background Art
In a growing number of situations, security is becoming an issue with information sharing. One may want to share information about a topic but not reveal the source of the information. For instance, an individual in a government agency may have a confidential document that contains information relevant to an inquiry made by another at a different government agency. Because of security concerns (including revealing the document or its source), the individual with the document is prevented from sharing this information with the other individual even though the other individual may have a clear need for the information.
Existing approaches to sharing information may be grouped into two classes: "system high access" security approaches and multi-level approaches. In "system high access" approaches, all users have access to all information. This approach has the virtues of simplicity and maximal access to information. However, it is relatively poor from the standpoint of the security of the information.
In multi-level security approaches, information of interest is divided" into compartments. Individual users have access only to specific compartments. Compartmenting information through multi-level security has several drawbacks. Fundamentally, a problem exists of having to implement a computer system that can be trusted to genuinely provide multi-level security. The complexity of modern operating systems makes such an implementation a difficult task. Even if that problem is solved, the multi-level security approach has many of the same problems as the "system high" approach. If few users have access to multiple compartments, the degree of information sharing is minimized. This approach significantly enhances security, but at a cost of much more limited use of the information. However, if many users have access to multiple compartments, security is compromised. In the limit, as many users have access to many compartments, the multi-level security approach resembles a "system high" implementation.
Queries made by an individual for information may be in electronic form. This may be due to the large volume of information to be parsed or because of the anonymity electronic searching can provide. Adding to the difficulties of electronic searching are the differences between organizations that provide information. These organizations may use different terminologies, different methods of organizing data, and have different priorities in their indexing systems. Further, language issues may arise as well as name variations, transliteration differences, nicknames, and aliases. Finally, one entity may relate two concepts while another may not. The combination of these factors lead to greater hurdles in attempting to exchange information between organizations. One text has referenced multiple users working together to share limited bits of information, one at a time. To implement this approach, one would need to distribute all information from all users to all other users, which would be a significant load for multiple users with large amounts of data (Schreier, B., Applied Cryptography, 2nd Edition, John Wiley and Sons, 1996, p. 529. ).
An approach is needed that permits electronic searching for information while providing a strong level of security for participants.

Vector space method for secure information sharing


A cable assembly and method for terminating an end of a cable. The cable assembly includes a ferrule secured to a cable jacket at the end of the cable. The cable also has a braided shield which extends from the end of the cable to the portion of the inner connector positioned in the ferrule. A transition zone is provided between the end of the cable and an end of a portion of an inner connector positioned in the ferrule. A braid positioning clip engages the braided shield in the transition zone to maintain a relationship of the braided shield to the signal conductors to minimize the degradation of the electrical performance of the cable.

In the process of terminating a high speed cable, such as an RF (Radio Frequency) cable, to a connector, there are many electrical and mechanical considerations. Typical highspeed cable consists of an outer jacket, braid (for ground reference), foil, dielectric, and an inner signal conductor. Connecting the braid for ground reference is always a challenge for both mechanical and electrical performance. Not only is the mechanical connection difficult, but trying to also maintain electrical performance through the braid crimp zone is sometime problematic. The crimping process usually involves the use of a mechanical component, like a ferrule. When crimping the ferrule over the braid, foil, and inner connector there is a transition zone where the connector ends. In this zone the braid and foil may get "bunched" up causing electrical performance degradation.
It would, therefore, be beneficial to provide a device or clip which eliminates the "bunching" up of the foil and braid, thereby maintaining the appropriate relationship of the braid to the signal conductor to minimize the degradation of the electrical performance of the cable.


Apparatus and methods for encoding and decoding video data having improved quantization parameter prediction are presented and can include using a combination of quantization parameter prediction values obtained from respective ones of a plurality of quantization parameter prediction methods to encode or decode the video data.

To achieve high compression efficiency, image and video coding schemes usually employ prediction and transform to leverage spatial and temporal redundancy in the video content. Generally, intra or inter prediction is used to exploit the intra or inter frame correlation, then the differences between the original image block and the predicted image block, often denoted as prediction errors or prediction residuals, are transformed, quantized and entropy coded. To reconstruct the video, the compressed data are decoded by inverse processes corresponding to the prediction, transform, quantization and entropy coding.
In at least some conventional codecs, quantization parameters (QPs) can vary over blocks, also called Coding Units (CUs). A QP is then coded for each block in the stream. A prediction process is applied to reduce the coding cost of this parameter. In HEVC for instance, the QP value can be predicted from the QPs of the top and left CUs surrounding the current CU. In addition, a global QP offset value (QPo), depending on the bit depth of the signal) and local delta QP (dQP) values can be coded. In general, an embodiment provides improved coding and decoding of these quantization parameters or the like for an encoder and/or a decoder.

Quantization parameter prediction for video encoding and decoding


A sheet conveyance device including first to third conveyance units, independent driving unit, device driving unit, and control unit. The first conveyance unit includes a first holder that holds one edge of a sheet, and conveys the sheet. The second conveyance unit includes a second holder that holds one edge of the sheet, and conveys the sheet. The third conveyance unit is supported to be swingable between a reception position at which it receives the sheet from the first conveyance unit, and a transfer position at which it transfers the sheet to the second conveyance unit. The third conveyance unit includes a third holder that holds the other edge of the sheet conveyed by the first conveyance unit, and conveys the sheet held by the third holder. The independent driving unit drives the first conveyance unit. The control unit adjusts the speed at which the sheet is conveyed.

The present invention relates to a sheet conveyance device which conveys a sheet.
Conventionally, as a sheet conveyance device which conveys a sheet, a sheet conveyance device which includes a sheet reversing unit and is applied to a sheet-fed offset rotary printing press equipped with a reversing mechanism and capable of printing on one or both of the two surfaces of a sheet, has been proposed, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-219058 (literature 1). In the printing press proposed in literature 1, a sheet conveyance device including a reversing unit is interposed between first and second, adjacent printing units, and performs a selective reversing operation for a sheet conveyed by the sheet conveyance device to allow single-sided printing and double-sided printing on the sheet.
In the printing press described in literature 1, the reversing unit includes a transfer cylinder (reference numeral 17) and impression cylinder (reference numeral 16). In double-sided printing, the trailing edge of a sheet conveyed while the leading edge of the sheet is gripped by the transfer cylinder is gripped by the impression cylinder to convey the sheet with its trailing edge leading, and turn it.
However, in the printing press described in literature 1, when the sheet size is changed, engagement of a gear which drives the impression cylinder is canceled before activation of the printing press, the phase of the impression cylinder relative to the transfer cylinder is changed so that a gripper device of the impression cylinder is opposed to the trailing edge of the sheet held on the transfer cylinder, and then the gear must be engaged again. This increases the operator's burden, and its preparation takes a considerable time.


A device, system, and method are directed towards enabling a network application to process and respond to requests from client devices. A rules engine receives a page, evaluates a set of rules, and performs actions based on the rules. Actions may modify the page or perform other actions affecting the environment. A rules engine may also process rules prior to processing pages, in order to optimize subsequent evaluation of the rules.

The global wireless market has been experiencing tremendous growth over recent years. This growth includes an increased demand for data services, such as Internet browsing, text messaging, multi-media messaging, and email. There also has been a proliferation of types and models of wireless devices.
Client devices differ from each other in a number of ways, including screen size, color capabilities, communication protocols, character sets, markup languages, and input mechanisms. Network carriers may also employ differing communication protocols or have other specifications that impact communication. Data services, such as web sites, email providers, and others are faced with tasks of handling these differences. Network application developers may find it useful to have systems and methods that facilitate communication with client devices, while aiding in the tasks related to handling the variety of client devices and network carriers.
The generation of pages, such as web pages or application pages, for delivery to client devices, may involve a high degree of complexity. A page may be changed in a number of ways prior to delivery to client devices. These include such changes as inserting an advertisement, altering a page header, updating text or graphic content, or otherwise changing the content or layout of a page. The process of making changes, tracking the changes, and verifying correctness of updates may require a large investment of time. The process is also prone to errors. It is desirable to have efficient mechanisms for managing these processes, and reducing errors. Therefore, it is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made.

Engine for processing content rules associated with locations in a page


A floating magnetic head device in which a slider carrying a magnetic head is supported by a supporting member. An intermediate layer composed of elements of the groups III or IV of the Periodic Table and an upper layer composed of hard carbon are sequentially deposited at least on the surface of slide rails formed on the major surface of the slider operating as a floating surface. It is possible with the floating magnetic head device to reduce the abrasion and sticking between the slider and the magnetic disc for improving abrasion resistance and CSS durability of the slider and the magnetic disc as well as durability and operational reliability of the magnetic head and the magnetic disc as articles of commerce.

This invention relates to a floating magnetic head device advantageously used for writing or reading information signals on of rom a magnetic disc, also referred to herein as a hard disc. The invention also relates to a method for producing the floating magnetic head device.
The hard disc device, built into e.g., a computer for recording and reproducing the information, naturally includes a magnetic disc as an information recording medium and a magnetic head for recording and reproducing the information on or from the disc.
For avoiding damage to the magnetic head due to contact with the magnetic disc surface, a so-called contact start stop (CSS) floating magnetic head is in use as the magnetic head. The CSS type floating magnetic head is in surface contact with the magnetic disc surface during start and stop and is floated with an extremely small distance (flying height) from the magnetic disc surface by an air current generated on the disc surface during high-speed rotation of the disc.
The floating type magnetic head device includes a slider carrying a magnetic head, a gimbal spring in the form of a flexible plate spring secured to the slider, a suspension in the from of a plate spring having its one end secured to this gimbal spring and an arm mounted via a base plate to the other end of the suspension. The slider mounting end of the gimbal spring has a dimple providing a protuberance for limiting the floating distance of the slider carrying the magnetic head from the disc surface.
The slider is a substrate formed e.g., of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 --TiC and is usually prepared by machining using a grindstone. The slider is made up of an air inlet groove for causing the magnetic disc to be floated with a small flying height from the magnetic disc in a stabilized floating state, a pair of slide rails formed on both sides of the air inlet groove and a magnetic head element fabricated by a vacuum thin-film forming technique on the slide rails on an end face thereof directed towards the air inlet end.
Each slide rail has an air lubricating surface, an air inlet end of which has a small taper which is a moderately inclined surface with a gradient of not more than 1.degree.. The slider is floated under an air pressure generated on each air lubricating surface. The tapered portion is responsible to a greater extent for the generation of the air pressure on the air lubricating surface.
The magnetic head has a lower-layer core on the substrate, a conductor coil and an upper layer core formed on the lower layer core via an insulating film. The upper layer core and the lower layer core are magnetically coupled to each other via a back gap and a magnetic gap, with the conductor coil in-between, for constituting a magnetic circuit.
With the above-described floating magnetic head, the slider is contacted with the magnetic disc surface during start and stop and is slid on the magnetic disc surface immediately after start and immediately after stop. Thus the floating magnetic head suffers from the problem of low CCS durability. There is also a problem that powder debris generated due to sliding contact between the two surfaces becomes affixed to the slider surface to cause premature deterioration of the floating performance of the slider.
Thus it may be envisaged to use an upper layer of hard carbon typified by diamond-shaped carbon on the slider surface. The diamond-shaped carbon can be formed into a film at lower temperatures. In addition, the diamond-shaped carbon exhibits self-lubricating properties when in the state of a thin film and has a low frictional coefficient and high hardness on being formed into a film, so that it is superior in abrasion resistance. Thus, by forming the upper layer of hard carbon, it becomes possible to prevent abrasion which otherwise tends to be produced between the slider surface and the magnetic disc surface.
Recently, a demand has been raised towards high density recording on the hard disc. For meeting this demand, it is necessary to reduce tie flying height to as small a value as possible. For suppressing the spacing loss, the upper layer needs to be of an extremely reduced thickness, while the upper layer needs to exhibit sufficient adhesion with respect to the slider. However, the upper layer formed of hard carbon, especially diamond-shaped carbon, has a higher internal stress and poor adhesion with respect to the slider. On the other hand, the smaller the thickness of the upper layer, the more significant is the lowering of adhesion thereof with respect to the slider.

Floating magnetic head and method for producing same


An optical member comprising OD-doped silica glass, optionally doped with fluorine. The optical member is particularly advantageous for use in connection with radiation having a wavelength shorter than about 248 nm. In certain embodiments the optical member can be advantageously used for wavelength as short as about 157 nm.

Photolithography technology for use in making semiconductor devices has advanced into vacuum UV wavelength ranges due to the requirement of very high resolution of the devices needed for the production of very fine features of modern high-speed, high-performance, low-energy-consumption chips. Special optical materials are being researched and developed for use in the lenses manipulating the UV light at such short wavelength. Synthetic silica has found significant use in such applications.
Nonetheless, there remains a need of an optical member with high transmission and other desired features at short wavelength, especially at or below 193 nm. The present invention satisfies this need.

Optical member comprising OD-doped silica glass


A scanning type exposure apparatus includes an illumination device for illuminating a mask, a projection device for projecting a pattern of the mask onto a substrate and a scanning device for scanning, in a scanning direction, the mask and the substrate relative to the illumination device and the projection device, respectively. The projection device includes a stop device for setting an effective numerical aperture in the scanning direction to be larger than an effective numerical aperture in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction. Also disclosed are various photomasks, as well as a scanning type exposure apparatus which scans and exposes a substrate by using such photomasks and a device manufacturing method that includes a step of transferring a device pattern onto a substrate by using such photomasks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scanning type exposure apparatus and a device manufacturing method and, more particularly, to a scanning type exposure apparatus and a device manufacturing method suitably applied when various devices, such as a semiconductor device such as an IC or an LSI, a display device such as a liquid crystal display element, and a sensor device such as a magnetic head, are manufactured.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the integration density of a semiconductor device such as an IC or an LSI has increasingly accelerated, and a micropatterning technique for a semiconductor wafer in accordance with the increase in integration density has considerably developed. As examples of the micropatterning technique, various reduced projection exposure apparatuses (steppers), each of which forms the image of a circuit pattern on a mask (reticle) onto a photosensitive substrate by a projection optical system and exposes the photosensitive substrate by a step and repeat scheme, have been proposed.
In this type of stepper, a circuit pattern on a reticle is reduced and projected at a predetermined position (shot) onto a wafer surface through a projection optical system having a predetermined reduction ratio to be transferred, and, after the projection and transformation are performed once, the stage on which the wafer is placed is moved by a predetermined amount to transfer the image on another shot. These steps are repeated to entirely expose the wafer. In recent years, as examples of such projection exposure apparatuses, various step and scan exposure apparatuses, each using a scanning mechanism which can obtain a high resolution and extend the size of the exposure region, have been proposed.
Such a step and scan exposure apparatus has a slit-like exposure area and scans a reticle and a wafer with respect to an illumination optical system and a projection optical system to expose a shot. Upon completion of scanning exposure of one shot, the wafer shifts to the next step, and scanning exposure of the next shot is performed. This procedure is repeated to entirely expose the wafer.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a main portion of a conventional step and scan exposure apparatus. Referring to FIG. 10, reference numeral 201 denotes a reticle on which a circuit pattern is drawn, and reference numeral 202 denotes a projection lens for projecting the circuit pattern on the reticle 201 onto a semiconductor wafer 203. Reference numeral 204 denotes a stage on which the semiconductor wafer 203 is placed.
An illumination optical system 205 does not illuminate the entire circuit pattern on the reticle 201, but illuminates only a slit-like illumination area 206. On the semiconductor wafer 203, the image of the circuit pattern is transferred to only exposure area 207, which is a portion of semiconductor wafer 203. However, in this state of the circuit pattern, only the portion in the illumination area 206 is transferred. For this reason, the reticle 201 is scanned at a predetermined speed along a direction shown by arrow 208, and at the same time, the stage 204 is scanned along a direction shown by arrow 209 at a speed obtained by multiplying the scanning speed of the reticle 201 by the imaging magnification of the projection lens 202, to transfer the entire circuit pattern on the reticle 201 onto a shot area on the semiconductor wafer 203.
After the entire circuit pattern on the reticle 201 is transferred to the shot area of the semiconductor wafer 203, at a predetermined position, the stage 204 is moved (i.e., stepped) by a predetermined amount, and the circuit pattern is newly transferred to another shot area on the semiconductor wafer 203 by the same method. This procedure is repeated in the same manner as described above.
Referring to FIG. 10, reference numeral 210 indicates x-y-z coordinate axes. That is, an optical axis 211 of the projection lens 202 is defined in the z direction, the longitudinal directions of the illumination area 206 and the exposure area 207 are defined in the y direction, and the scanning directions of the reticle 201 and the stage 204 are defined in the x direction. This definition of the coordinate axes remains the same throughout this application, unless otherwise specified.
The reason why the step and scan exposure scheme can obtain an exposure area larger than that of a conventional stepper scheme, which is performed without using scanning, will be described below with reference to FIGS. 11(A) and 11(B).
In a conventional stepper scheme, an exposure area is limited to a range in which the aberration of a projection lens is preferably corrected. As an example, the range in which the aberration of the projection lens is corrected is indicated by a circle 221 (radius: r) in FIG. 11(A), and it is assumed that a circuit pattern is within a square area. In this case, the exposure area is the maximum square inscribed in the circle 221, i.e., a square whose side has a length of .sqroot.2r as indicated by region 222 in FIG. 11(A). The area 2r.sup.2 of the square is the area of an exposure region obtained by a conventional stepper scheme. In this case, the x and y axes of a coordinate system 223 are defined to have the same directions as those of two perpendicular sides of the square 222 as shown in FIG. 11(A).
As shown in FIG. 11(B), when the shape inscribed in the circle 221, whose aberration is corrected, is changed from a square to a rectangle 224, the length of the long side (y-axis direction) of the rectangle 224 becomes close to 2r. At this time, when the circuit pattern is scanned by a light flux in an area of the rectangle 224 in the x-axis direction to transfer the entire pattern onto a wafer, the area of the exposure area is determined to be 2rs (s: length in which scanning can be performed). This area can be set to be larger than the area 2r.sup.2. The step and scan scheme is designed for such an extension of the exposure area.
In a conventional step and scan exposure apparatus, both a reticle and a wafer are scanned to transfer an image. Therefore, synchronization between the reticle and the wafer must be precisely controlled during scanning.
However, when the scanning speed is increased to increase the throughput of the exposure apparatus, generation of a high-frequency asynchronous vibration component cannot be completely suppressed, and the positional relationship between the reticle and the wafer disadvantageously varies with time.
This phenomenon will be described below with reference to FIGS. 12(A) through 12(C). Referring to these figures, a coordinate system is defined as indicated by reference numeral 230 in FIG. 12(C), and it is assumed that a reticle 231 (FIG. 12(A)) and a wafer 232 (FIG. 12(C)) are arranged at optically conjugate positions with respect to the projection lens 233 (FIG. 12(B)). The reticle 231 is scanned in the x-axis positive direction (indicated by an arrow 234), and the wafer 232 is scanned in an x-axis negative direction (indicated by an arrow 235), thereby transferring the entire pattern.
In this case, attention is given to one small area (indicated by an area 236 in FIG. 12(A)) on the reticle 231. The moment the area 236 overlaps an illumination area 237 at time t=t1, the image of a pattern drawn at this portion is formed at the position of an image point 238 of the projection lens 233. In this case, the image point 238 is located at an end of an exposure area 239, and the image of the area 236 portion on the reticle 231 is transferred to the position of an area 240 on the wafer 232.
When scanning advances, the reticle 231 moves to positions indicated by time t=t2 and t=t3. (The reticle 231 is illustrated as being shifted in the z direction with time in FIG. 12(A) to make a positional change of the area 236 conspicuous. In actual scanning, however, the position of the area 236 is fixed in the z direction, and the reticle 231 and the wafer 232 move in only the x direction.)
At time t=t2 and time t=t3, the images of patterns in the area 236 are formed at image points 241 and 242 of the projection lens 233, and the wafer 232 is controlled such that the position of the area 240 moves in accordance with these images. However, when the scanning speeds of the reticle 231 and the wafer 232 increase, the positions of the reticle 231 and the wafer 232 cannot be completely synchronized with each other. Consequently, as indicated by a shift amount .DELTA.x in FIG. 12(C), a position at which the image of the pattern is created is shifted from a position at which the image is supposed to be transferred.
The vibration component which cannot be completely removed by synchronous control is generally generated at a very high frequency, and the sign of the shift amount .DELTA.x is inverted many times while the area 240 passes through the exposure area 239. An image to be transferred to one position on the wafer 232 overlaps an image transferred to an adjacent position, since a variation in position of approximately .DELTA.x is repeated during scanning in the exposure area 239. As a result, an image in the scanning direction is degraded.
The above influence has been analyzed using simulation in, J. Bischoff, W. Henke, J. Werf, and P. Dirksen, "Simulation on Step & Scan Optical Lithography", Proceedings on SPIE, Vol. 2197, pp. 953-964, 1994. is An influence of a high-frequency asynchronous vibration component on the image of a pattern will be described below in accordance with the results analyzed in this paper.
As influences of vibration in scanning exposure, influences in the scanning direction (the x direction in FIGS. 12(A) through 12(C)) and in a direction (the y direction in these figures) perpendicular to the scanning direction may occur. Vibrations in both the directions are considered in this case. Assume that a positional shift amount .DELTA.y in the y direction is considered the same as a positional shift amount .DELTA.x in the x direction. In this case, it is known that variations in magnitude of the shift amounts .DELTA.x and .DELTA.y almost depend on the Gaussian distribution. As a probability density function related to position, a function expressed by the following equation can be defined for each of the x and y components: ##EQU1##
In this case, .sigma.is a standard deviation, where .sigma.=.sigma.x is set for .DELTA.=.DELTA.x, and .sigma.=.sigma.y is set for .DELTA.=.DELTA.y. Therefore, it is shown that an image having vibration can be obtained by calculating a function between a light intensity distribution obtained in an ideal state free from vibration and a function D(.DELTA.) given by the above equation.
A typical calculation described in the above paper is now discussed. FIGS. 13(A) and 13(B) show a result obtained such that an image of a 0.3.times.0.3 contact hole pattern is calculated under the conditions: wavelength of exposure light=248 nm; and NA (numerical aperture) of a projection optical system=0.5. FIG. 13(A) shows an ideal state free from vibration, and FIG. 13(B) shows a state wherein a high-frequency vibration having an amplitude of .sigma.y=50 nm exists in the y direction. In an actual exposure apparatus, vibration in the y direction can be suppressed to be less than the asynchronous component in the x direction (scanning direction). Therefore, the result shown in FIG. 13(B) is understood to be approximately a result obtained in a real system.
As is apparent from FIG. 13(B), the obtained intensity distribution has a shape extending in the scanning direction, and the pattern of the contact hole is transferred with distortion. This poses a serious problem when a semiconductor circuit element having a high integration density is manufactured.
FIGS. 14(A-1) to 14(B-3) are views for explaining results obtained by examining the influences of vibration on images of patterns each constituted by three lines. Each line width is 0.3 .mu.m, and the other conditions are the same as those in the above description. In this case, the influences of vibration on patterns are repeated in the x direction (scanning direction). FIG. 14(A-1) shows a contour line distribution of light intensity of an image free from vibration, and FIGS. 14(A-2) and 14(A-3) show contour line distributions of light intensities of images degraded when an asynchronous component increases. FIGS. 14(B-1) to 14(B-3) are obtained from FIGS. 14(A-1) to 14(A-3) by plotting light intensities along the ordinates.
Since vibration in the y direction is suppressed to be less than vibration in the x direction as described above, the image of a pattern repeated in the y direction is degraded less than the image of the pattern repeated in the x direction. As a result, when patterns having the same cycle/line width are considered, the characteristics of an image to be transferred are dependent on whether the pattern has a periodicity in the y direction (direction perpendicular to the scanning direction) or the x direction (scanning direction). For this reason, the size of a pattern on a resist obtained as a product varies depending on the above-referenced direction, and a serious hinderance occurs in the manufacture of semiconductor elements.

Scanning type exposure apparatus and device manufacturing method


The power cap includes a power supply positioned between a cover and a base. The cover is provided with clips to permit the attachment and detachment of the cover to the power supply and the base. The base is provided with surface mounted NRTC or NVSRAM chips and electrical contacts. The power supply is provided with a crystal oscillator and a battery for controlling the operation of the NRTC or NVSRAM chips, and spring contacts for maintaining the electrical connection between the base and the power supply.

The market for surface mounted Nonvolatile Real Time Clock (NRTC) devices, Nonvolatile Static RAM (NVSRAM) devices, and other lithium battery backed integrated circuits has been limited due to the physical characteristics of the battery and the crystal oscillator as well as the physical characteristics of the devices themselves.
Many current NRTC and NVSRAM devices consist of a large encapsulated part utilizing a package that must be installed by hand or wave soldering, or through the use of a special socket. However, because batteries and crystal oscillators are temperature sensitive, these devices cannot be surface mounted using reflow surface mounting techniques. Reflow surface mounting requires that the device be subjected to high temperatures (approximately 215.degree. C.) for proper attachment. These high temperatures damage the temperature sensitive batteries and crystals.
An additional problem with this technology occurs when the batteries of the devices are exhausted. When this occurs, the entire device must be removed and replaced with an new device. This creates higher costs to the user.
Because of these problems as well as the large size of the encapsulated parts, many electronic devices such as the laptop personal computer and other small scale computers have to be manufactured without these types of NRTC or NVSRAM packages.
Currently, the single chip surface mountable plastic leaded chip carrier (PLCC), small outline integrated circuit (SOIC), thin small outline package (TSOP), and small outline J-lead (SOJ) versions of the NRTC and NVSRAM are sold to electronic manufacturers without a battery or a crystal oscillator. It is the manufacturer who is required to mount a battery and a crystal oscillator on the printed circuit board after the device has been surface mounted.
A major problem with this configuration also occurs when a problem with the battery or the crystal oscillator arises or when the product has completed its useful life. When these situations occur the old battery and crystal oscillator have to be un-soldered prior to the installation of a replacement battery and crystal. This process is very timely and ultimately leads to higher manufacturing cost.
One device manufacture, SGS Thompson, has made a device having a battery and crystal module attachable to a modified NRTC device. The battery and crystal module has contact pins which extend from the module and are inserted into matching female receptacles in the NRTC device. The battery and crystal module is designed to be attached to the NRTC device after the NRTC device has been surface mounted.
While the SGS Thompson's device does have some advantages over the current DIP lead technology, the height of the device is still too large for many applications. In addition, because this device is a single chip device, the market demand for high density memory devices which combine a controller chip and a separator memory chip, can not be met.
Because of the female receptacles in the NRTC device, the NRTC device must be modified or custom made to accommodate the contact pins of the module. Therefore, these devices are not compatible with market standard NRTCs having TSOP, PLCC, SOIC, or SOJ chips.
An additional problem with the SGS device is that the cleaning materials used to clean surface mounted devices tend to get trapped in the female receptacles. Also, prior to the attachment of the battery and crystal module, the exposed contact pins of the module are highly susceptible to shorting during handling.
Currently, there also is a Low Profile Module (LPM) for NVSRAMs, which, like the SGS device, has some advantages over the DIP lead technology. However, the LPM requires the user to provide an additional socket which must be surface mounted prior to the installation of the LPM. Further, the socket and LPM device have a larger area and larger height associated with it due to the addition of the socket.


A seat belt buckle assembly (20) having: a locking assembly (22) and an integrally formed cover (26) to receive the locking assembly, the locking assembly and cover having a plurality of guiding and stabilizing members (160, 100, 110, 190, 109, 194, 150, 70a,c) configured to prevent specific relative motion between the cover and the locking assembly.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 60/710,935 filed on Aug. 24, 2005. The disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a seat belt buckle assembly comprising an improved interrelationship between a buckle cover and a frame of the buckle assembly.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved seat belt buckle assembly.
Accordingly the invention comprises: a seat belt buckle assembly comprising: a locking assembly and an integrally formed, one-piece cover to receive the locking assembly, the cover and locking assembly include a plurality of guiding and stabilizing members configured to guide the locking frame and the cover into a preferred orientation and to prevent relative motion between the cover and the frame.
Many other objects and purposes of the invention will be clear from the following detailed description of the drawings.


A thermal air flowmeter which improves air flow rate measurement sensitivity, reduces power consumption of a heating element and broadens the measuring range. A heating resistor is provided on insulating film in a thermal insulating area as a rectangular space on a flat substrate; and two resistance temperature detectors are provided upstream and downstream of the heating resistor. The sides of the rectangular thermal insulating area which are parallel to the axis of air flow are longer than its sides which are perpendicular to the axis of air flow.

[Patent document 1] JP-A No.202168/2002
[Patent document 2] Japanese Patent No. 3366818
Generally known air flowmeters which measure the intake air flow rate in an internal combustion engine of a car or the like include: an air flowmeter which measures the intake air flow rate according to heat radiation of a heating element (heating resistor) to be controlled; and a thermal air flowmeter which measures the flow rate according to the difference between the upstream and downstream temperatures of a heating element. The latter is called a temperature difference type thermal air flowmeter.
In a temperature difference type thermal air flowmeter, electrical insulating film (supporting film) is laid over the surface (top face) of a flat substrate (semiconductor substrate like a silicon substrate) and a heating element (heating resistor) is provided on this insulating film and temperature detectors (resistance temperature detectors, thermocouples, etc) are provided on both sides (air flow upstream and downstream) of the heating element. The flat substrate is coated with protective film in a way that the heating element and temperature detectors are covered.
For the purpose of thermal insulation from the heating element, a cavity is made in the flat substrate by edging to create a thermal insulating space. In the prior art, this thermal insulating space is almost square as described in the above patent documents 1 and 2.
In the prior art, the thermal insulating area on the flat substrate is almost square. The thermal insulator of the thermal insulating area on the flat substrate consists of thin electrical insulating film (diaphragm) with a thickness of several micrometers. Because the thermal insulating area is almost square, in consideration of strength, the size (square measure) of the thermal insulator is limited. If the air contains particles of dust, the particles will collide the thermal insulator and destroy the thin film (several micrometers in thickness). Since the size of the thermal insulating area is limited, it is impossible to improve the air flow rate measurement sensitivity, reduce power consumption of the heating element and broaden the measuring range.


A method and a system configured to execute the mentioned method is suggested, where the method is capturing media content associated with at least one object, using a plurality of media capturing devices, each carried by a mobile communication device, together forming a mobile media device. The method comprise: controlling each of the mobile media devices according to a respective, predefined role and role specific rules for mobile media device movements, while capturing media content, following the movement of the at least one determined object; acquiring sensor data, indicative of the mobile media device movements, from the mobile media devices, and updating the roles of the mobile media devices, based on the acquired sensor data.

From having been limited to professional users, multi-camera production has evolved to a project form which can be executed by practically anyone. Even though numerous productions are still provided, where a plurality of cameras, each of which have limited mobility, are used, camera development now allows for more solutions which are based on cheaper, lighter and more easy-to-use devices capable of carrying and controlling cameras with extended mobility. Today there are a multitude of alternative solutions available on the market for anyone, from amateur users to professional users, aiming for a multi-camera production on a manual, semi-manual or fully automated basis.
Mobile equipment capable of capturing media, such as e.g. video, is getting more popular and the quality of videos produced with such equipment is also constantly improving. The use of video cameras in various situations, as well as the increasing distribution of such videos, also raises the demand for capturing different situations in daily life, as well as at specific events, such as e.g. sports, music and outdoor events, in a format, commonly recognized from more professional productions. Furthermore, also in professional video productions, there is a raising demand for more flexible solutions, which can provide further assistance to the video producer.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), which may also be referred to as drones, constituting flying, ground-based controlled devices or vehicles, are used in a wide variety of applications throughout society, including delivery services, remote sensing tasks, rescue services, city planning and civil engineering. UAVs are also, to an increasing extent, used for aerial photography and film production, much due to reduced sizes of commercially available UAV carried cameras, improved and simplified UAV control systems, as well as a steadily improving level of quality when it comes to cameras, carried by UAVs. There are a number of UAVs available for video production that can be remotely controlled, using e.g. Wi-Fi, 3GPP access, or some proprietary radio communication. In addition to being remotely controllable, such UAVs are also commonly capable of operating autonomously, sensing data by sensors or by camera, or as a combination of both. UAVs may also be capable of analysing sensed data, before the data is provided to a central entity for processing.
Production corporations, broadcasting big sports events, such as e.g. NFL, MLB, pro golf, as well as various types of high speed sports events, including downhill skiing, bicycle and car races, are to an increasing extent using UAVs as part of their live sports broadcasts. More and more commonly, UAVs are thereby used for capturing both taped, and live, flyover footage of various events, which are considered to be of interest to a large audience.
Use of UAVs in video production allow broadcasts of events to provide not only close-up views but also bird-eye views, and anything in-between, in a mix which aims at providing a satisfying user experience. In addition, there are numerous UAV based solutions available for enhancing video capturing even further, such as e.g. follow-me functions or support, which simplifies video production, when a specific object of interest is being continuously and autonomously followed by one or more UAVs. By applying such a follow-me technology, a UAV, programmed therefore, will be able to automatically follow a user, thereby giving the viewer many opportunities to experience a wide variety of aerial shots. Most follow-me UAVs can also alternately go from remaining stationary, tracking an object by rotating its hull/camera, to moving along with the object, all depending on the behaviour of the object. Follow-me technologies may be based e.g. on following a GPS transmitter, carried by the object to be followed, or it may be based on image recognition of the object to follow.
However, when producing video, using a plurality of mobile devices, which may include UAVs, carrying cameras, complexity arises also for the video producer, especially during real-time distribution. It is therefore a desire to simplify the mentioned type of media production, which, in addition to video, also may include other types of media, such as e.g. still pictures and audio, while maintaining a high quality production to the end users.

Method and system for media content production


A method of producing a die for use in forming fisheye steps in an automobile lens having both straight and curved portions. The plurality of fisheye steps formed on the curved portion of the lens are divided into generally parallelogram-like sections. The die comprises plural concave portions that are arranged to form the fisheye steps when applied in a lens forming process. In the die producing method, the boundary lines between concave portions corresponding to the respective fisheye steps are connected to produce approximately a straight line, to thereby improve an appearance of the fisheye steps. Further, the concave portions that are divided by longitudinal lines extending in a first direction and lateral lines obliquely intersecting the longitudinal lines and extending in a second direction are produced by NC machining using an end mill. The end mill is controlled to have a locus generally in parallel with the longitudinal lines, in which vector control is added when the end mill passes a start side lateral line that is expected to become a boundary between the concave portions and passes an end side lateral line to enter the next concave portion so that the locus of the end mill becomes perpendicular to these lateral lines.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel method of producing a die for forming fisheye steps on a lens and, in particular, a method which can improve the appearance of the fisheye steps by making a connection line, formed from the boundary lines between the adjacent fisheye steps, assume a line approximating a straight line.
2. Description of the Background Art
The designing of lenses of vehicular lamps inevitably includes designing of steps which have various shapes depending on the requirements from the light distribution control and the design. For example, fisheye steps, which are formed as an unevenness on the back surface of a lens, are used in a tail lamp etc., of an automobile.
FIG. 14 shows an example a of an outer lens, and is a formed product made of a synthetic resin material.
The outer lens a has a shape consisting of a plate-like portion b and a portion c that is continuous with the portion b and is curved and twisted as reaching along the longitudinal direction to one end. With this shape, the lens surface matches the external shape of a vehicle body.
As shown in FIG. 15, a large number of fisheye steps d, d, . . . are formed on the back surface (light incident surface) of the outer lens a so as to be arranged vertically and horizontally with each convex step occupying an approximately rectangular unit section e, e, . . . .
Since the vertical and horizontal cross-sections of the fisheye steps d, d, . . . generally have a shape of a circular arc, the fisheye steps d, d, . . . refract the light directly coming from a light source (not shown) or the light reflected by a reflection surface and deflect such light vertically and horizontally, to thereby produce a distribution of light somewhat diffused vertically and horizontally.
Therefore, when the plate-like portion b of the outer lens a is viewed from the front side, the vertical and horizontal boundary lines of the steps are seen through the lens as an orthogonal grid-like pattern; however, the curved portion c is designed such that the boundary lines of the steps form a non-orthogonal grid in accordance with a curvature of this portion.
In this design, in order to obtain a good appearance of the lines seen through the outer lens a, it is important to connect the step boundaries extending in the longitudinal direction of the outer lens a so that they form a line extending as closely in the horizontal direction as possible, and to connect the step boundaries extending in the vertical direction so that they form a line as close to a straight line as possible.
FIGS. 16(a) and 16(b) conceptually show a method of machining a die for the outer lens a, and FIGS. 19(a) and 19(b) show the part of the die that serves to form the fisheye steps on the curved portion c of the outer lens a.
The die machining process is automated using an NC machine tool or a machining center. NC machining data, which includes such information as machining conditions and movement instructions for a cutting tool, is generated based on a lens shape model obtained by a CAD system, and a die is machined by controlling the cutting tool in accordance with the NC machining data.
In order to form convex shapes of the fisheye steps, the die material is cut by an edged tool g called a ball end mill to produce concave portions f, f, . . . that correspond to the intended convex shapes, as shown in FIG. 17. The movement of the ball end mill is controlled so that it , takes a locus h as shown in plan views of FIGS. 16(a) and 16(b), and generally rectangular (as projected to a plane) concave portions f, f, . . . are formed by repeating this cutting movement a plurality of times.
Reference character u in FIG. 16(a) represents a direction of longitudinal lines i, i, . . formed as the boundaries of the concave portions f, f, . . . , and character which is perpendicular to uv, represents a direction of lateral lines j, j, . . . formed as the boundaries of the concave portions f, f, . . .. A vector v.sub.-- I represents a movement direction of the end mill g with respect to a lateral line js on the start side, and a vector v.sub.-- O represents a movement direction of the end mill g with respect to a lateral line je on the end side.
It is noted that the terms "start" and "end" with respect to the lateral lines j, j, . . . are defined relative to the movement of the end mill g, and are employed for the convenience of description.
As shown in FIGS. 16(a) and 16(b), the end mill g is controlled so as to enter the concave portion f in parallel with the longitudinal lines i, i, . . . , proceed while cutting the die material, and exit also in parallel with the longitudinal lines i, i, . . . .
The cutting is performed so that the cutting depth of the concave portions f, f, . . . becomes larger as the position reaches the centers of the concave portions f, f, . . . and smaller as the position reaches the longitudinal and lateral boundary lines.
However, according to the above method, the adjacent lateral lines i, i, . . . do not join smoothly as shown in FIG. 19(b). As a result (i.e., by transfer), irregular lateral lines appear in the outer lens a of the formed product, and the appearance of the fisheye steps d', d', . . . are deteriorated as shown in FIG. 18.
This is due to the following reasons, with reference to FIGS. 16(a) and 16(b). If the concave portions f, f, . . . are formed such that a first concave portion coincides with a second concave portion by moving the first one in the v direction, the lateral lines are connected to form a straight line but also extend obliquely, i.e., in the v direction. To avoid this phenomenon in which the lateral lines gradually deviate from the horizontal direction, it is necessary to shift the concave portions f, f, . . . in the u direction little by little.
In the case of the fisheye steps formed on the plate-like portion b of the outer lens a, since their boundary lines assume an orthogonal grid form and the individual steps are separated as rectangular sections, the boundary lines are joined to form straight lines. However, in the case of the fisheye steps on the curved portion c of the outer lens a, the boundary lines intersect each other to assume a non-orthogonal grid and the individual steps are separated as parallelogram sections. Therefore, if the concave portions f, f, . . . are formed by the end mill g proceeding in parallel with, the longitudinal lines i, i, . . . (see FIGS. 16(a) and 16(b)), the lateral lines j, j, . . . do not join properly, and the boundary lines of the fisheye steps after the forming, particularly the lines extending in the horizontal direction, are zigzagged, as seen in FIG. 18.
As the streamlined vehicle body design becomes a common trend in view of its desired aerodynamic characteristics and the design of the vehicle body and what is called a slanted body is employed widely, lamps are required to be designed to match the vehicle bodies so designed. As a result, the zigzagged lateral lines of the fisheye steps will be more noticeable, particularly in the curved portion of the outer lens, deteriorating the appearance.
As a result, according to the above-described method, it takes much time and work to modify the die and the machining data, which is one of the causes of reducing the efficiency of operation.
To solve this problem, it may be assumed that the locus of the end mill in forming the generally parallelogram-like concave portions is not changed (i.e., remains the same as in FIGS. 16(a) and (16) and the end mill entering and exiting positions with respect to the respective concave portions are gradually shifted in the u direction. However, in order to perform continuous machining according to this method, the control of the end mill movement becomes complex. On the other hand, discontinuous machining with respect to the v direction will cause disadvantages such as an increased machining time.

Method of producing a die forming lens fisheye steps


An encoder provides (2t−1) redundant symbols in a sequence of n coded symbols, and a decoder corrects up to t erroneous symbols in the sequence of n coded symbols corrupted by a plurality of symbol errors. The decoder uses an improved decoding method, the method solving a plurality of matrix equations, each matrix equation associated with a hypothetical location of error. By monitoring a plurality of solutions associated with hypothetical locations of error, a processor determines the actual number of errors, the locations of the erroneous symbols in the sequence of n symbols, and the erroneous symbol value at each error location. The improved decoder includes erasure processing and a correct symbol determination method similar to erasure processing.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to forward error correction of data in digital communications using algebraic coding over finite fields, and particularly to an apparatus and method to reliably extend error detection and correction coding for communicated data using large finite fields.
2. Related Prior Art
A systematic (n, k) error correction code appends r redundant symbols to k data symbols to provide a sequence of (n=k+r) symbols, the r redundant symbols determined by an encoding operation. The ratio k/n is known as the code rate, and the entire sequence of n symbols is known as a codeword. A common type of error correction code is known as a Reed Solomon code. See Polynomial Codes over Certain Finite Fields, Irving S. Reed and Gustave Solomon, Journal of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) 8 (2): pp. 300-304 (1960). A Reed Solomon code may associate a sequence of n codeword symbols with coefficients of a codeword polynomial, and an encoder provides a codeword polynomial that is a multiple of a code generating polynomial. The number of bits per symbol, m, is typically in the range from 8 to 16. Reed Solomon coding operations with m-bit symbols use the addition, multiplication, and division of a finite field with 2m elements, a finite field (or Galois field) known as GF(2m).
When the codeword sequence of symbols is transmitted (or stored), one or more symbols received (or recovered from storage) may be corrupted. A first form of corruption known as a symbol erasure occurs when a receiver indicates that a particular symbol in the sequence of received symbols is likely to have an erroneous value. To correct a symbol erasure, a decoder must determine the correct symbol value at the indicated symbol location. A second form of corruption known as a symbol error occurs when a receiver estimates an erroneous value for a particular symbol without indicating a likelihood of error. To correct the symbol error, a decoder must find the location of the erroneous symbol in the sequence of received symbols and determine the correct value of the erroneous symbol.
Error correction codes may also be cross-interleaved to improve correction capability, particularly with bursty errors. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,340, Error correctable data transmission method, K. Odaka, Y. Sako, I. Iwamoto, T. Doi, and L. B. Vries (1980). In a Compact Disc data storage standard, each symbol is contained in two cross-interleaved Reed Solomon codewords. See Reed-Solomon Code and the Compact Disc, K.A.S. Immink, in Reed-Solomon Codes and Their Applications, S. B. Wicker and V. K Bhargava, Editors, IEEE (1994). In the CD standard, the data can be thought of as a two-dimensional array, with rows of the array encoded to be row codewords, and columns of the array encoded to be column codewords. A column codeword is a (32, 28) code, which may be partially decoded in a prior art decoder in a first step of a prior art two-step decoding algorithm. In the first step, a typical CD decoder processes the (32, 28) column codewords, decoding to correct any single error or indicate error detection to a second step decoder. The second step uses the column error detection indications and four redundant symbols in row codewords to reliably correct s symbol erasures and t symbol errors provided that (s+2t≦4) in all rows.
A known property of Reed Solomon codes is that two different codewords with r symbols of redundancy differ in at least (r+1) symbols. If a limited number or erasures and errors occur in a received sequence of n symbols corresponding to a transmitted codeword, a decoder is able to resolve the corruptions and correctly estimate the transmitted codeword. In general, if there are s symbol erasures and t symbol errors in a Reed Solomon codeword, a prior art decoder can determine the correct codeword whenever (s+2t≦r).
When (s+2t>r), a prior art decoder typically fails to decode the codeword properly. Two kinds of decoder failure are of primary concern. An uncorrectable error is a first kind of decoder failure where a decoder signals that something occurred in decoding indicating that the correct codeword cannot be determined with certainty. In this case, the decoder typically provides an uncorrectable indicator to accompany the estimated codeword in further processing. In cross-interleaved Reed-Solomon codes, for example, a first step column decoder operating on a column codeword may provide an uncorrectable indicator which becomes a useful erasure locator for a second step row decoder operating on a row codeword.
Misdecoding is a second kind of decoder failure where one or more decoded symbols in the codeword are incorrect but the decoder does not detect and/or indicate correction uncertainty. Typically, decoder systems are required to be highly reliable, in that the probability of misdecoding is required to be very small. A higher probability of uncorrectable error is typically allowed, in part because the codeword data may be recoverable through a retransmission or storage recovery routine, if only it is known to be in error.
For example, if the number of erasures, s, is equal to the number of redundant symbols, r, a prior art decoder may always determine an error value at each erased location. However, if any other received symbols in the codeword are incorrect, the decoder misdecodes. This high misdecoding rate is typically unacceptable, and error correction may therefore be limited to the case when s<r.
An example prior art error correction code introduced in the IBM 3370 magnetic disk drive used a Reed Solomon code with three redundant eight-bit symbols per codeword, each codeword contained approximately 170 symbols of data. Three interleaved codewords provided error correction coding for each 512-byte sector of stored data. The prior art decoder could correct any codeword with a single symbol error, and detect any codeword with two symbol errors as uncorrectable. See Practical Error Correction Design for Engineers, Revised Second Edition, Neal Glover and Trent Dudley, Cirrus Logic, Bloomfield, Colo. (1991), ISBN 0-927239-00-0, pp. 274-275. The prior art decoder operating on a corrupted (173, 170) codeword with three or more symbol errors either indicated an uncorrectable codeword or misdecoded, depending on the error pattern.
An efficient method of decoding Reed-Solomon codewords with errors is known as the Berlekamp-Massey Algorithm (BMA). See Berlekamp, E. R., Algebraic Coding Theory, Revised 1984 Ed., Aegean Park Press, Laguna Hills, Calif. (1984) ISBN 0-89412-063-8, pp. 176-189, and Massey, J. L., Shift Register Synthesis and BCH Decoding in IEEE Trans Info. Theory. IT-15 (1969), pp. 122-127. In a typical structure for a BMA decoder, a first step (or unit) determines a plurality of weighted sums from an estimated codeword, the weighted sums known as syndromes. A nonzero syndrome indicates a codeword with errors. A second step (or unit) determines a polynomial known as an error locator polynomial. A third step searches to find one or more roots of the locator polynomial. At each root of the locator polynomial found in the search, the decoder determines a correct value for an erroneous symbol at a corresponding location in the codeword. When the locator polynomial is of degree two, the search to find the roots of the locator polynomial may be replaced by a direct solution using an algebraic transformation and log and antilog tables for a finite field. See Practical Error Correction Design for Engineers, Revised Second Edition, Neal Glover and Trent Dudley, Cirrus Logic, Bloomfield, Colo. (1991), ISBN 0-927239-00-0, pp. 152-156.
In an extension of the Berlekamp-Massey Algorithm, the second step of the BMA decoding method described above is modified to provide an error-and-erasure locator polynomial. The modified Berlekamp-Massey Algorithm (MBMA) can be used to correct both errors and erasures in a corrupted codeword. See Blahut, R. E., Theory and Practice of Error Control Codes, Addison-Wesley ISBN 0-201-10102-5 (1983), pp. 256-260.
A known limitation of Reed Solomon coding over a finite field GF(2m) is that the total number of bits per codeword, B, is approximately limited to (B<m 2m). Because the number of bits per symbol is typically limited to the range from eight to sixteen, the growth of coding symbol sizes (and block transfer sizes) has not kept pace with the growth of typical bus sizes (and transfers) of modern computer systems, now typically at 32 or 64 bits per bus symbol with storage block and memory page sizes starting at 32K bits. Larger bus and block sizes are desired to support higher system throughput and larger data records. Although traditional Reed Solomon coding is possible in larger finite fields, the complexity of the required components tends to grow exponentially while throughput grows linearly.
Improved error correction codes and decoding methods are desired to overcome limitations of the prior art. In particular, improved coding methods are desired for codewords with larger code symbols from larger finite fields, preferably retaining the simplicity of coding operations from smaller subfields. In addition, improved coding methods are desired which provide higher throughput in coding operations, better protection against misdecoding, and more correction power for a given code rate.
U.S. application Ser. No. 13/541,739, Construction Methods for Finite Fields with Split-Optimal Multipliers (2012), teaches improved construction methods for finite fields and, in particular, for large finite fields with a large number of bits per symbol. Methods of coding for large finite fields are desired which achieve the benefits of higher system throughput using large symbols, but without the exponential growth in implementation complexity. U.S. application Ser. No. 13/932,524, Improved Error Correction using Large Fields (2013), specifies a general method for error correction using large finite fields and apparatus for correcting a small number of errors. Improvements are desired in an apparatus and a method of decoding for three or more errors in an error correction system using large symbols.

Additional error correction apparatus and method


The invention relates to a method and a device for decoding an image by means of a partition unit comprising an additional region. The method of decoding an image by means of a partition unit comprising an additional region comprises the steps of: partitioning, by reference to a syntax element acquired from a received bit stream, an encoded image, which is included in the bitstream, in at least one partition unit; define an additional region for at least one partition unit; and decoding the encoded image based on the partition unit for which the additional region is defined. The invention improves the image coding efficiency.

Recently, demands for multimedia data such as moving pictures is rapidly increasing on the Internet. However, the pace at which a bandwidth of a channel develops is increasing rapidly, and there is a need for a method of efficiently compressing the amount of multimedia data. ISO/ISE MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) and ITU-T VCEG (Video Coding Experts Group) are researching video compression standards through constant joint research.
On the other hand, when performing independent encoding on an image, since encoding is generally performed independently for each division unit including a tile, there is a problem which is not possible to refer to image data of another division unit adjacent in time and space.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method of referring to adjacent image data while maintaining parallel processing according to independent encoding as in the prior art.
In addition, an intra prediction according to an existing image encoding/decoding method configures a reference pixel using pixels nearest to a current block, but it may be not preferable to configure the reference pixel as the nearest pixel depending on a type of an image.
Therefore, there is a need for a method of improving intra prediction efficiency by configuring the reference pixel unlike the conventional method.

Method and device for decoding image by using partition unit including additional region

IUCF-HYU (INDUSTRY-UNIVERSITY COOPERATION FOUNDATION HANYANG UNIVERSITY)


Systems and methods described herein provide access to multimedia content of varying types from a variety of sources using a uniform resource locator (URL).

Users of computing devices, such as desktop PCs, set-top boxes, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and so on, have access to an ever increasing amount of multimedia content (e.g., audio, video, and other assorted data). Typically, this multimedia content is accessed, manipulated and/or presented on a computing device using a multimedia application running on the device.
Multimedia content may be accessed from a variety of different sources, in a variety of different formats, using a variety of different communications protocols. Programming each of the different applications to individually determine basic information regarding the multimedia content requires duplicated efforts and undesirably wastes time, costs, and resources that are required to individually program the multimedia applications. In addition, most current applications do not provide an extensibility mechanism to allow for new types of sources or formats. Accordingly, there is currently a need in the art for improved methods for enabling multimedia applications to access and process multimedia data without the applications having to individually interpret and determine the characteristics of the multimedia content directly.
One underlying problem with using typical multimedia applications is that in order to access multimedia content, however, is that there are many different types of formats, standards, and protocols that are used to encode and transmit digital data. Examples of different formatting standards include, for example, MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group), ASF (Advanced Streaming Format), AVI (Audio Video Interleave), Active Movie, Cinepaq, QuickTime, Indeo, ATVEF (Advanced Television Enhancement Forum) and ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee).
Examples of different protocols and languages include RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol), RTP (Real-Time Protocol), RTCP (Real-Time Control Protocol), UDP (User Datagram Protocol), HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol), MMS (Microsoft Media Server), TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), XML (extensible Markup Language), and SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language).
Accordingly, the large variety of different multimedia formats, standards, and protocols creates a burden on programmers for creating multimedia applications that are capable of accommodating the various standards, protocols, languages and requirements that can be used to present multimedia content. Individually programming the multimedia applications in this manner, however, is inefficient, particularly when a single computing system is configured with multiple applications that must each be programmed to interpret certain basic information of the multimedia content. For instance, it may be necessary for the applications to each determine what protocol to use to read the data, and once the data are being read, the format of the data.
Programming each of the different applications to individually determine how the multimedia content should be read and what format it is requires duplicated efforts and undesirably wastes time, costs, and resources that are required to individually program the multimedia applications. Accordingly, there is currently a need in the art for improved methods for enabling multimedia applications to access and process multimedia data without the applications having to individually interpret and determine the format of and the best method for reading the multimedia content directly.

System and method for accessing multimedia content


A sunroof apparatus which includes an outer panel opening and closing an open portion formed in a vehicular roof panel, a sunshade panel provided at an interior side of the vehicle relative to the outer panel and shading and exposing the interior side through the outer panel, a driving mechanism associated with the outer panel and the sunshade panel, a first clutch mechanism establishing engaged and disengaged states between the driving mechanism and the outer panel and a second clutch mechanism establishing engaged and disengaged states between the driving mechanism and the sunshade panel. The first clutch mechanism engages between the driving mechanism and the outer panel when the driving mechanism drives in one direction while the open portion is closed by the movable pane. The second clutch mechanism engages between the driving mechanism and the sunshade panel when the driving mechanism drives in other direction while the open portion is closed by the outer panel.

The present invention is generally directed to a sunroof apparatus includes a outer panel and a sunshade panel which are electrically moves.
One of the conventional sunroof apparatus of the type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,250,882. This conventional sunroof apparatus includes an outer panel, a sunshade panel, first driving mechanism and a second driving mechanism. The outer panel is opening and closing an open portion formed in a vehicular roof panel. The sunshade panel is provided at an interior side of the vehicle relative to the outer panel and shading and exposing the interior side through the outer panel. The first driving mechanism is associated with the outer panel to slide. The second driving mechanism is associated with the sunshade panel to slide.
In this conventional sunroof apparatus, the outer panel slides by the first driving mechanism and the sunshade panel slides by the second driving mechanism, respectively.
However, in the conventional sunroof apparatus having two independent driving mechanisms. The first and. second driving mechanisms are required to slide the outer panel and the sunshade panel, respectively. Thus, due to the plural or increased number of the driving mechanisms, the number of parts is increased, which results in that the production cost of the sunroof apparatus becomes higher and a control circuit for controlling both of the first and second driving mechanisms becomes much complicated.
A need exists to provide a sunroof apparatus in which outer and sunshade panels can be slid by a sole driving mechanism, for overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks.
The present invention has been developed to satisfy the request noted above and the present invention provides a sunroof apparatus which includes an outer panel opening and closing an open portion formed in a vehicular roof panel, a sunshade panel provided at an interior side of the vehicle relative to the outer panel and shading and exposing the interior side through the outer panel, a driving mechanism associated with the outer panel and the sunshade panel, a first clutch mechanism establishing engaged and disengaged states between the driving mechanism and the outer panel and a second clutch mechanism establishing engaged and disengaged states between the driving mechanism and the sunshade panel. The first clutch mechanism engages between the driving mechanism and the outer panel when the driving mechanism drives in one direction while the open portion is closed by the movable pane. The second clutch mechanism engages between the driving mechanism and the sunshade panel when the driving mechanism drives in other direction while the open portion is closed by the outer panel.
In accordance with the aspect of the present invention, When the driving mechanism drives in one direction, the outer panel slides by the first clutch mechanism. When the driving mechanism drives in the other direction, the sunshade panel slides by the second clutch mechanism. Therefore, only the driving mechanism is capable of causing the outer panel and the sunshade panel to slide.


Method for drying a surface of a disc-shaped article includes covering the surface with a rinsing liquid, whereby a closed liquid layer is formed, and removing the rinsing liquid, wherein the rinsing liquid containing at least 50 wt. % water and at least 5 wt. % of a substance, wherein the substance lowers the surface energy of water, wherein the removing of the liquid is initiated by blowing gas onto the closed liquid layer, whereby the closed liquid layer is opened at on discrete area.

The invention relates to a method for drying a surface. More specifically the invention relates to a method for drying a surface of a disc-shaped article comprising covering said surface with a rinsing liquid and displacing said rinsing liquid.
Methods for drying a surface of a disc-shaped article are typically used in semi-conductor industry for cleaning silicon wafer during production processes (e.g. pre photo clean, post CMP-cleaning, and post plasma cleaning). However, such a drying method may be applied for other plate-like articles such as compact discs, photo masks, reticles, magnetic discs or flat panel displays. When used in semiconductor industry it may also be applied for glass substrates (e.g. in silicon-on-insulator processes), III-V substrates (e.g. GaAs) or any other substrates or carriers used for producing integrated circuits.