The present invention provides a method and an FSK/IM receiver to solve the problem of burst-mode detection of frequency modulated labels on an ASK (or IM) payload. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, two FSK tones of an input FSK/IM optical signal are separated and communicated to a balanced detector. At the balanced detector, the two FSK tones are subtracted from each other and result in an AC-coupled data stream. The AC-coupled data stream is communicated to a Schmitt-trigger where the hysteresis of the Schmitt-trigger finally eliminates any residual ASK (or IM) payload in the recovered output data. The present invention provides both single channel and WDM solutions.

The amount of packet-based data traffic in today's telecommunication networks is increasing steeply, and in many networks has already overtaken circuit-switched traffic. In order to answer the exploding demand for network capacity, wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) is being introduced in core networks, in metropolitan area networks, and in access networks.
In most current systems, Internet Protocol (IP) packet-based data is typically carried over WDM, with synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) or asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) as the intermediate layers. However, avoiding these intermediate layers by carrying IP directly over WDM yields more efficient and cost-effective networks, and is generally considered to be the preferred approach in data-centric networks. IP-over-WDM is supported by an optical multi-protocol label switching protocol (MPLS) formerly known as MPλS protocol, an optical multi-protocol wavelength switching protocol, and now part of Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) particularly with reference to the Lambda-Switched Capable (LSC) level, where label-switched paths (LSP-s) are being associated with optical channels. Optical packets (or bursts of packets) are switched to other wavelengths (label swapping or switching) at transmitters in network edge nodes and (optionally) in the intermediate network core nodes. Wavelength routers in the core nodes guide the packets along the appropriate network paths.
In addition to optically labeling a packet (or bursts of packets) by assigning a particular wavelength to it, a next-level label can be attached by using a particular modulation scheme. The latter may be accomplished by modulating the label information orthogonally to the packet data (i.e., modulating the phase of the optical carrier (FSK or DPSK) while the packet data is modulated on the intensity of the optical carrier). Having two optical labels is in agreement with label stacking as foreseen in MPLS, and is in accordance with switching or routing part of the streams group-wise. Henceforth, frequency shift keying (FSK) is considered as the second optical label level. To interpret the contents of the FSK label at label-controlled nodes, the FSK label needs to be separated from the amplitude shift keyed (ASK), or intensity modulated (IM) in general, payload at the incoming port. Generally, the use of a frequency discriminator, such as a narrow band optical filter, offers this capability and functions optimally for continuous bit-rate signals. However, in packet-switched networks, the receivers must function with burst-mode traffic. In such systems, correct data recovery of the optical FSK label will be hampered by residual ASK (or IM) modulation from the payload. Depending on the ratio between the ASK (or IM) and FSK bit-rates and the payload contents, the impact of this residual ASK (or IM) effect can vary from negligible to severe.
Demodulation of the FSK label by frequency discrimination acts as a moving average over the payload signal multiplied by the FSK label information ("0" or "1"). Variation of the payload contents over time will appear on the received "1" level of the FSK label. In the case of long run-lengths in the payload and/or small bit-rate ratios between the ASK (or IM) and FSK data streams, dynamic determination of the right threshold level for label data recovery is extremely difficult.

Method and apparatus for receiving frequency modulated signals on an intensity modulated optical carrier


An integrated quartz oscillator circuit is disclosed having a capacitive voltage divider, which has a first capacitor and a second capacitor, as well as having a first transconductance amplifier, which is placed in a loop connecting a first terminal and a second terminal of the first capacitor. An input of the first transconductance amplifier is connected to a center tap between the first capacitor and the second capacitor, an output of the first transconductance amplifier is connected to the first junction of the first capacitor, and the quartz oscillator circuit has a conductive element connected parallel to the second capacitor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an integrated quartz oscillator circuit having a capacitive voltage divider, which has a first capacitor and a second capacitor, as well as having a first transconductance amplifier, which is placed in a loop connecting a first junction and a second junction of the first capacitor.
2. Description of the Background Art
Quartz oscillators are used in electronic systems to provide system-internal reference frequencies and/or clock signals. Oscillating crystals exhibit damping, which can be characterized in an electrical equivalent circuit as an ohmic resistor, which is in series with a series resonant circuit of a capacitor and an inductor. To produce a stable oscillation, the energy loss occurring during the oscillation of an electrical charge in the resistor must be replaced.
This occurs, for example, by the aforementioned quartz oscillator circuit, when the oscillating crystal, optionally still supplemented with a load capacitor, is connected parallel to the capacitive voltage divider of the circuit. This type of quartz oscillator circuit is known as a Colpitts circuit with both integrated and external load capacitors. The transconductance amplifier can be a simple transistor in a collector circuit, whose collector is connected to a positive supply potential, its emitter as the amplifier output to a center tap of the voltage divider, and its base as the amplifier input to a complementary terminal of the first capacitor. The capacitive voltage divider characteristic for the Colpitts circuit determines the fractional amount of a voltage positively fed back via the thus formed loop. In the Colpitts oscillator, a voltage across one of the capacitors is measured and a current dependent on the measured voltage is supplied to the other capacitor. This results in problems in a symmetrizing of the circuit, therefore in a symmetric circuit design, which reacts less sensitively to interfering signals, occurring in a ground connection. All approaches in which the oscillating crystal or a load capacitor connected to the oscillating crystal is connected to ground are sensitive to interfering signals at the ground node. It is therefore usually necessary in integrated circuits, which have still other circuit parts apart from an (asymmetric) quartz oscillator circuit, to provide a separate ground pin for the quartz oscillator circuit.


The invention relates to an integrated antenna node (22) for use in wireless communication in a communication system (20), the wireless communication involving uplink and downlink physical-layer processing. The integrated antenna node (22) is adapted to perform, for at least one set of corresponding uplink and downlink physical-layer processing functions, only the uplink physical-layer processing functions or the corresponding downlink physical-layer processing functions. The invention further relates to a main node (21), a radio base station (28), computer programs and computer program products.

In the early days of wireless telecommunication, the radio base station architecture comprised two distinct parts: an active part comprising digital and analog components required for signal processing and a passive part comprising filters and antennas for transmitting/receiving radio-frequency (RF) signals. The link between these two parts was a high-power analog radio-frequency (RF) link. This RF feeder link often required long cables of high quality and large dimensions, which entailed high costs for keeping unavoidable signal-quality losses and power losses to a minimum.
Power amplifiers and other RF blocks have recently been integrated more closely with the physical antenna in order to avoid the above-described link and the architecture of the radio base station is changing. FIG. 1 illustrates, at the left-hand side, the traditional architecture with a base station module 1 interconnected with an antenna node 2 by means of the analog RF feeder link 3. At the right-hand side of FIG. 1, the evolution towards integrating RF functions more closely with the physical antenna is illustrated by a main node 11 interconnected with a remote radio unit 12 by means of a digital interface 13. The remote radio unit 12 is in turn connected to or comprises the physical antenna 14.
The digital interface 13 may be realized in different ways for different standards and different products depending on, e.g., bandwidth of the communication system. Examples of such digital interface comprise Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) and Open Base Station Standard Initiative (OBSAI). Proprietary digital interfaces available on the market may also be used.
The scarce spectrum availability makes the implementation of spectral efficient telecom systems highly desirable. Spectral efficiency is achieved in many different ways but recently two main directions that are if interest here can be noted. One is towards adding more antennas at each node (more antennas per radio unit or more radio units per site) making it possible to utilize MIMO or beam-forming capabilities. The other trend is to use more centralized processing in terms of data-link-layer (Layer 2) scheduling for DL and UL but also in terms of joint physical-layer processing of data from several sites. Both the addition of antennas and the requirement of centralized processing lead to higher bandwidth requirements on the digital interface between the main unit and the radio unit(s). The implementation of high-bandwidth digital interfaces is difficult technically as well as costly, and it is therefore desirable to keep the bandwidth requirements on the digital interface to a minimum.

Radio base station with asymmetric interface between baseband unit and RF unit


Sieve bend for separating particles of differing size in a liquid slurry. The bend structure defines a passage having an inlet end and a discharge end, with a throat of decreasing cross sectional area at the discharge end of the passage, and a sieve screen for receiving slurry flowing from the discharge end of the passage. The throat is formed in part by a movable member, with means for adjusting the position of the movable member to vary the cross sectional area of the throat and means for temporarily moving the movable member to an open position to clear debris from the throat. The sieve screen is mounted in a housing associated with the bend structure, and the housing is vibrated in a resonant manner to dislodge material from the screen. A repulping box is positioned midway along the screen for supplying additional liquid to the slurry as it passes over the screen.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to the construction and operation of sieves of the bend type for the separation and sizing of solid particles dispersed in a liquid medium as a slurry and, more particularly to such apparatus and methods that are applicable to the coal and mineral industry to produce two products, one comprising fine particles and the other coarse particles complying with size and quality specifications.
2. Related Art
Heretofore, various types of separating apparatus, such as sieve bends, and methods have been used for the separation of fine solid particles from a liquid medium in which they are dispersed. Such apparatus includes simple sieve racks, hydrocyclones, sieve bends and other types of apparatus making use of hydraulic separation. The coal industry, for example, makes use of sieve bends for the treatment of coal slurries. For the purpose of producing products which comply with size specifications, special techniques have been employed, such as the use of heavy or magnetic particles intermixed with the particles being subjected to separation. Such apparatus and methods have certain limitations and disadvantages, including difficulty in meeting specifications requiring a particular particle size. Furthermore, they are unable to deal effectively with sulphur or clay which may be attached to some of the particles, particularly the larger ones. In general, it may be said that the coal industry is in need of simple apparatus and methods which will make it possible to produce a product consisting of fine coal particles which comply with size specifications and are substantially free of contaminants such as sulphur.

Bend type separator for solid particle separation


A battery terminal connector which is capable of reliably maintaining an electrical cable or harness in electrical contact with a battery, while having the added benefit of having an economical two-piece construction whose individual members are formed by separate stamping operations. The two-piece construction permits one member to be sized and structured to securely clamp the battery terminal post while the second member is sized and structured to securely crimp the electrical cable or cables. The battery terminal connector includes two separate circumferential bands, each of which circumscribes and clamps the battery terminal post. The circumferential bands define a circumferential slot therebetween which slightly extrudes the battery terminal post to increase the retention capability of the battery terminal connector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to battery terminal connectors which are employed to connect a wire harness or electrical cable to a battery in automotive and marine applications. More specifically, this invention pertains to a two-piece stamped battery terminal connector whose construction provides improved retention of the connector to the battery post while also permitting repeated use without significant loss in structural integrity.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electrical harnesses and battery cables used in automotive and marine applications are typically attached to the terminal post of a lead-acid storage battery with some form of battery terminal connector. To ensure that a reliable electrical contact is maintained, the battery terminal connector must be constructed such that it will remain securely attached to the terminal post of the battery even when subjected to road vibrations and various other adverse conditions. At the same time, the battery terminal connector must almost permit the battery cable to be easily disconnected and reconnected from the battery to facilitate the removal or replacement of the battery. As a result, the structural criteria for battery terminal connectors includes the retention strength of the connector, the ease with which the connector can be attached to and detached from the battery, and the ability to be reused numerous times without a significant loss in the structural integrity of the connector.
Conventionally, a battery terminal connector is attached to one of two battery terminal posts which are formed from a lead alloy. Typically, the terminal post has the shape of an inverted frustum of a cone, which facilitates the ease by which the connector can be mounted to and removed from the terminal post. The most common form for a battery terminal connector is a die cast lead split collar design. The collar includes a yoke formed at the split to form a slot therebetween. The split collar construction enables the connector to be expanded and easily slipped over the battery terminal post. Thereafter the slot is collapsed, generally with a bolt and nut combination mounted to the yoke, to reduce the diameter of the collar and thereby frictionally secure the connector to the battery post.
However, the smooth tapered shape of the terminal post does not provide an ideal attachment site for the connector. In particular, the shape of the terminal post naturally urges the connector upward and off the terminal post when subjected to vibration or accidental impact. This condition is further exasperated by the use of petroleum jelly or other lubricants which are often applied to the terminal post to reduce the buildup of chemical deposits on the terminal post and connector. As a result, a very high clamping force is necessary to provide reliable attachment of the connector to the terminal post.
However, conventional connectors have a smooth and equally-tapered interior surface by which contact is made with the terminal post. As a consequence, the clamping pressure of the connector is reduced because it is distributed over the relatively large and uninterrupted surface of the terminal post. Such connectors must therefore be designed to have sufficient structural strength to impart higher clamping forces on the terminal post than would be required if either the connector or the terminal post were provided with an irregular surface feature.
To reduce the level of clamping loads necessary to retain the connector on the terminal post, it has been suggested in the prior art to provide longitudinal serrations or the like about the circumference of the connector. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 2,068,452 to Hansen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,794 to Dittmann, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,726 to Kato et al. While such an approach does improve the clamping pressure of the connector relative to its available clamping load by reducing the connector's contact area, the slight twisting action often necessary to remove a connector from the terminal post will severely damage the soft lead material from which the terminal post is made.
Even when a connector is adequate in terms of gripping power, repeated detaching and reattaching of the connector causes work hardening and plastic deformation of the material, thereby making it more difficult to sufficiently clamp the connector onto the post to get an adequate electrical connection. Consequently, as the clamping force of the connector is reduced, it becomes prone to being vibrated or accidently dislodged from the battery post. In automotive and marine applications, the resulting loss of electrical power to the vehicle's accessories, such as headlamps and control systems, can be extremely hazardous.
While die cast lead connectors are more common, one-piece battery terminal connectors formed from sheet metal have been suggested by the prior art due to the manufacturing advantages associated with shearing, stamping and bending operations, such as lower costs and reduced waste and scrappage. Examples of stamped connectors known in the prior art are taught by U.S. Pat. No. 2,222,577 to Thompson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,568,138 to Bakker et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,355 to Kourimsky et al. While each of the approaches taught by the above prior art provides manufacturing benefits, each is generally limited in terms of the clamping force it can generate and/or its structural strength. Because of the substantially unreinforced framework formed during the bending operation, the connectors of both Thompson and Bakker are highly susceptible to plastic deformation and buckling of the connector under high clamping loads, particularly at the point where the fastener passes through the connector. The connector taught by Kourimsky is susceptible to plastic elongation of the clamping arms because, with three clamping bands and the limited length of the terminal post, the widths of the bands are severely limited. Moreover, the connector taught by Bakker is highly susceptible to work hardening and fracture of the connector material from repeated use because the connector's arms are flexed in the plane corresponding to their widest dimensions, which intensifies the elongation and compression at the connector's radially outer-and inner-most extremities, respectively. Accordingly, the stamped battery terminal connectors of the prior art do not provide adequate strength and structural durability to survive the repeated use and abuse often encountered in automotive and marine applications.
From the above discussion, it can be readily appreciated that the prior art does not disclose a battery terminal connector which has the cost advantages of being formed by a stamping operation while also providing the structural and clamping strength necessary to survive repeated use in an automotive or marine environment.
Accordingly, what is needed is a low-cost battery terminal connector which can be formed by a stamping operation, while being capable of providing sufficient structural strength and flexibility to permit repeated attachment and detachment. In addition, such a terminal connector should also possess the ability to generate a clamping force which will securely retain the connector on the battery terminal post without damaging the terminal post.


A scroll-type fluid machine has a fixed scroll (40) fixed in a housing (10), a movable scroll (52) that forms pressure chambers (52) in between the movable scroll (50) and the fixed scroll (40) and is orbitable relative to the fixed scroll (40), a support wall (14) that is provided for the housing (10) and supports thrust load transmitted from the movable scroll (50), and a thrust bearing (74) disposed in between the movable scroll (50) and the support wall (14). The thrust bearing (74) includes a retention hole (76) formed in the support wall (14), a pressure-receiving piece (78) retained in a recess (76), and an abrasion-resistant board (80) that is set in between the movable scroll (50) and the pressure-receiving piece (50) and has a sliding surface that comes into sliding contact with the pressure-receiving piece (78).

For example, a scroll-type fluid machine that is applied as a compressor of a refrigeration circuit has fixed and movable scrolls in a housing. The fixed and movable scrolls form pressure chambers in consort with each other.
The movable scroll is caused to make an orbiting movement relative to the fixed scroll. In response to this orbiting movement, a refrigerant (working fluid) within the refrigeration circuit is drawn into the pressure chamber and compressed in the pressure chamber. The compressed refrigerant is subsequently discharged from the pressure chamber through a discharge port of the compressor toward a condenser of the refrigeration circuit.
In the refrigerant compression process, the pressure of the refrigerant becomes high within the pressure chamber, so that the movable scroll is applied with high thrust load. This thrust load functions to move the movable scroll away from the fixed scroll in its axial direction.
The thrust load hampers the smooth orbiting movement of the movable scroll. The compressor is therefore provided with a thrust-receiving device, namely a thrust bearing, in between a support surface of the housing and the movable scroll. The scroll-type fluid machines disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. 2005-248925, 2005-291151 and 2005-307949 each have a plurality of pressure-receiving pieces serving as a thrust bearing, the pieces being arranged in a circumferential direction. Each pressure-receiving piece is made, for example, of PPS (Poly Phenylene Sulfide) resin or the like, and is retained in a retention hole or groove that is formed in the support surface of the housing.
In each of the scroll-type fluid machines described in the above publications, the movable scroll slides against the pressure-receiving pieces. The sliding surface of the movable scroll, which slides against the pressure-receiving pieces, is generally made of an alumite film. It is known that the alumite film has a function not only as an oxidation-resistant film but also as an abrasion resistant-film for being excellent in capability of retaining lubricating oil because of its porosity.
On the other hand, the alumite film has a rough surface, so that alumite abrasion dust is produced during an initial running-in period. The abrasion dust works as abrasive, and roughens the sliding surfaces of the pressure-receiving piece and the movable scroll. Once roughened, the pressure-receiving piece is worn by abrasive wear. When the pressure-receiving piece gets thinner along with the abrasion, a gap is created between the fixed and movable scrolls. In result, the airtightness of the pressure chambers is reduced. This causes a leakage of a working fluid from the pressure chambers, leading to a degradation in compression performance. Compression efficiency and volumetric efficiency are also reduced.
One way to avoid the reduction of the compression efficiency and the volumetric efficiency is to decrease the surface roughness of the sliding surface of the movable scroll. It is bothersome, however, to grind the sliding surface of the movable scroll after the alumite film is formed. Moreover, a device for performing such a process needs to be installed, and manufacturing cost will be increased.

Scroll-type fluid machine including thrust receiving device


The present invention provides an improved process for inducing the expression of the light chain and heavy chain of the said rHu biosimilar Ranibizumab by employing natural sugars such as lactose and galactose. The replacement of IPTG with natural sugars overcomes the regulatory limitation of synthetic element trace contamination in the final drug substance and reduces the burden on the recombinant host cell.

IPTG is most commonly used as an inducer for the expression of rHu Ranibizumab and other recombinant therapeutic proteins. High cost and increased metabolic burden leading to considerable damage to the expression host are some of the critical drawbacks associated with the use of IPTG in existing processes. IPTG is not a naturally occurring compound and "trace contaminations" (ppm) may potentially be of concern to various regulatory authorities.
IPTG used for induction is not an innocuous inducer; instead, it causes damage to the E. coli BL21 (DE3) host, which bears a metabolic burden due to its content of plasmids carrying the genes of the recombinant protein to be overexpressed.
Replacing IPTG with natural sugar effector molecules helps to reduce the metabolic stress on bacterial cells and lead to higher biomass and protein yield. An antibody fragment is more complicated than other recombinant proteins; therefore, the induction strategy that works for other recombinant proteins may not give positive results with the former.
The process for parent Indian Patent Application to the present invention relates to novel cloning, expression and refolding process for preparing antibody fragments. The process for inducing the expression of the light and heavy chains of Ranibizumab employs the addition of IPTG.
Due to the encumbrances observed by a person skilled in the art, while employing IPTG as an inducing agent, there is a need to replace IPTG with naturally occurring sugars. Donovan R. S. et al in a research article titled, 'Optimizing the expression of a monoclonal antibody fragment under the transcriptional control of the Escherichia coli lac promoter', published in Can J Microbiol. 2000 June; 46(6):532-41, compares the expression of a monoclonal antibody Fab fragment in Escherichia coli strain RB791/pComb3, induced with either lactose or isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG), to determine if lactose might provide an inexpensive alternative to induction with IPTG. Moreover, Donovan R. S. employ a lac promoter for periplasmic expression of Fab.
It is therefore evident from above, that there have been no attempts in prior art disclosures reporting the use of lactose or galactose for the cytoplasmic expression of recombinant humanized (rHu) Ranibizumab antibody fragment in a recombinant host cell such that the yield of the said antibody fragments is increased.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

IPTG-free induction process for expression of biosimilar rHu Ranibizumab antibody fragment using

COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC & INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH


A method for outputting a 3D image and a display apparatus using the same are provided. The method for outputting a 3D image includes generating a left eye image and a right eye image using an input image, decreasing resolution of the left eye image and the right eye image by a predetermined positive number of times and outputting the left eye image and the right eye image by increasing an output frequency by the positive number of times. Accordingly, a 60 Hz timing controller used for a general display apparatus may be used and thus, a flickering effect and a cross-talk effect may be prevented.

1. Field
Methods and apparatuses consistent with exemplary embodiments herein relate to a method for outputting a three-dimensional (3D) image and a display apparatus using the same, and more particularly, to a method for outputting a 3D image which generates a left eye image and a right eye image using an input image, and outputs the generated left eye image and right eye image alternately, and a display apparatus using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A 3D stereoscopic image technology is applicable to various fields such as information communication, broadcasting, medicine, education & training, military, games, animation, virtual reality, Computer Aided Design (CAD), and industrial technology, and is regarded as a core base technology for the next generation 3D stereoscopic multimedia information communication, which is required in all the aforementioned fields.
Generally, a stereoscopic sense that a person perceives occurs from a complex effect of the degree of change of thickness of the person's eye lens according to the location of an object to be observed, the angle difference of the object observed from both eyes, the differences of location and shape of the object observed from both eyes, the time difference due to movement of the object, and other various psychological and memory effects.
In particular, binocular disparity, caused by about a 6˜7 cm lateral distance between the person's left eye and right eye, can be regarded as the main cause of the stereoscopic sense. Due to binocular disparity, the person perceives the object with an angle difference, which makes the left eye and the right eye receive different images, and when these two images are transmitted to the person's brain through retinas, the brain can perceive the original 3D stereoscopic image by combining the two pieces of information exactly.
There are two types of stereoscopic image display apparatuses: glasses-type apparatuses which use special glasses, and nonglasses-type apparatuses which do not use such special glasses. A glasses-type apparatus may adopt a color filtering method which separately selects images by filtering colors which are in mutually complementary relationships, a polarized filtering method which separates the images received by a left eye from those received by a right eye using a light-shading effect caused by a combination of polarized light elements meeting at right angles, or a shutter glasses method which enables a person to perceive a stereoscopic sense by blocking a left eye and a right eye alternately in response to a sync signal which projects a left eye image signal and a right eye image signal to a screen.
A 3D image comprises a left eye image perceived by a left eye and a right eye image perceived by a right eye. A 3D image display apparatus displays the stereoscopic sense of a 3D image by displaying a left eye image and a right eye image alternately.
Meanwhile, a related art 3D display apparatus processes a left eye image and a right eye image in resolution of 1920*1080 into a left eye image in resolution of 1920*540 and a black image and a right eye image in resolution of 1920*540 and a black image respectively, and inserts a black image between the left eye image and the right eye image before outputting the images, as illustrated in FIG. 1. That is, a related art display apparatus outputs images in the order of a left eye image L1->a black image->a right eye image R1->a black image->a left eye image L2-> . . . . In this case, a related art display apparatus uses a 120 Hz timing controller to have a left eye image L1 and a left eye image L2 be displayed at an interval of 60 Hz.
A related art display apparatus according to FIG. 1 may reduce a cross-talk effect where a left eye image and a right eye image appear to be overlapped with each other and may also reduce a flickering effect when the interval between a left eye image and the next left eye image becomes 60 Hz. However, in order to display a left eye image L1 and the next left eye image L2 at an interval of 60 Hz, a 120 Hz timing controller should be used instead of a 60 Hz timing controller which is generally used, making the system complicated.
In addition, another related art display apparatus outputs a left eye image and a right eye image in resolution of 1920*1080 at an interval of 60 Hz without adjusting the size of the left eye image and the right eye image in resolution of 1920*1080, as illustrated in FIG. 1. That is, a related art display apparatus according to FIG. 2 outputs images in the order of a left eye image L1->a right eye image R1->a left eye image L2->a right eye image R2.
The related art display apparatus according to FIG. 2 may use a 60 Hz timing controller, but a flickering effect may occur as the interval between a left eye image L1 and the next left eye image L2 is 30 Hz.
Accordingly, a method for outputting a 3D image using a 60 Hz timing controller which is used in a general display apparatus without causing a flickering effect is required.

Method for outputting three-dimensional (3D) image at increased output frequency and display apparatus thereof


A color image processing pipeline performs an interpolation on color data to generate triplets located at distinct pixel locations. The pipeline includes defect correction and image enhancement blocks having a first color interpolation block for generating RGB information for each pixel of an input image pixel pattern, and a second color interpolation block for receiving the RGB information to provide enhanced RGB pattern pixels. Dedicated line memories and delay circuits associated with the defect correction and image enhancement blocks permit real-time processing of pixel data. First and second read/write buffers store a subset or pixel block of the image data, and invert a scanning mode of pixel data being fed to the dedicated line memories and delay circuits associated to at least the first color interpolation block, from row-wise to column-wise, for each subset of data to be stored therein.

Generally, when using a video camera or a digital still camera to photograph a color image, the incident light passes through filters for extracting certain wavelength components, such as the basic color components R (red), G (green) and B (blue). In a two-dimensional image, the imaging unit is composed of many pixels arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions. Each pixel of the two-dimensional image contains either red, green or blue color light because of the filtering of the incident light.
According to one of several alternative techniques, the type of filter is changed for every pixel and the filters are cyclically aligned in the order: R, G, B, R, G, B in the horizontal direction. This defines the color of the pixels aligned on a horizontal line of the pixel array of the sensor.
As a consequence, information of the photographed colored object is obtained only once every three pixels. In other words, an object cannot be color photographed other than in units of three pixels.
To reconstruct all the pixels of the two-dimensional image of the photographed object, it is necessary to interpolate color pixel data to obtain the color components of red, green and blue color using information contained in neighboring pixels of the pixel to be reconstructed/enhanced.
Generally, a value corresponding to the interpolated pixel is reconstructed by averaging corresponding values of a plurality of pixels surrounding the location of the pixel to be interpolated. Alternatively, the interpolated pixel may be determined by averaging the values of the pixels remaining after discarding pixels of maximum and minimum values of the neighboring pixels of the pixel to be interpolated. Also well known are techniques for detecting an edge of a photographed object by analyzing the pixels surrounding the considered cluster.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,322; U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,861; U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,064; U.S. Pat. No. 6,642,962; U.S. Pat. No. 6,570,616; U.S. published Patent Application No. 2003/0053687; U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2003/0007082; U.S. published Patent Application No. 2002/0101524; U.S. Pat. No. 6,366,694; European Patent Publication No. 0 497 493; European Patent Publication No. 1 176 550; and European Patent Publication No. 1 406 447 disclose techniques that are used in image processing.
Generally, the data acquired by the sensor according to a special pattern, for example the one known in the art as a Bayer color-filter array (CFA), the pattern of which is shown in FIG. 1, is characterized by associating just one of the three basic color components to each pixel. Therefore, a good quality RGB image is obtained by a specific image processing sequence (via hardware or an image generation pipeline (IGP) or via software) to generate a high quality color image. Generally, in cascade of such an image processing subsystem is associated a data compression block for reducing the band necessary for transmitting the color reconstructed image from the image processing subsystem or mass storage support, or to a remote receiver or a display unit.
Data, for example in the Bayer format, as acquired by a digital sensor, clearly represents a gross approximation of the chromatic components of the reproduced scene. It is very-importance that the accuracy of the color reconstruction via interpolation algorithms be performed on the raw data acquired by the digital sensor.
FIG. 2 illustrates a functional block diagram of a state-of-the-art image generating pipeline (IGP) for processing raw image data as acquired by a digital sensor according to a Bayer pattern to produce a high quality image in either a CIF or a QCIF format. The high quality image is to be eventually compressed by the CODEC block either in a JPEG or MPEG4 format or another similar type format for storing or transmitting the image.
The algorithms carried out by the IGP pipeline following the pre-processing block are described below, assuming for evaluation purposes, that the sensor provides a 644*484 Bayer pixel array. The IGP performs the following four sequential steps:
Defect Correction: The function of the block Def Corr is to correct various sensor damages resulting in the failure of single pixels. For the majority of applications it renders tolerable the use of sensors having a total number of single pixel defects below a certain limit. Def Corr operates a 5×5 filtering action, therefore, it loses four rows and four columns.
Color Interpolation 1: The function of the block Col Int 1 is to generate proper RGB information for each pixel of the sensor array from the Bayer pattern data. Col Int 1 operates a 5×5 filtering action, therefore, it loses four rows and four columns.
Color Interpolation 2: The function of the block Col Int2 is that of a low-pass filter. It receives the RGB pattern pixels output by the preceding block and outputs Col Int 1 RGB pixels of enhanced definition. Col Int 2 operates a 3×3 filtering action, therefore, it loses two rows and two columns.
Colored Matrix+Aperture Correction+Gamma Correction: The function of the components of this composite block may be recalled as follows.
Col Mat improves color rendition and color saturation of the image. In particular, it corrects the spectral sensitivities of the imaging sensor for enhancing chromaticity of the display in consideration of the characteristics of human sight. Col Mat has no losses of rows or columns.
Ap Corr corrects out-of-focus appearance caused by the weighed average processing, by locally enhancing contrast at contours. Ap Corr operates a 3×3 filtering action, therefore, it loses two rows and two columns.
Gamma compensates display characteristics of monitors. This is done by using a LUT (look-up-table) that can be effectively used to simultaneously correct brightness. The Gamma block has no losses of rows or columns.
Therefore, the combined processing block has a loss of two columns. Because of the various filters, a total of 12 rows and 12 columns will be lost, therefore, the final image will include 632×472 pixels. To obtain a VGA image (640×480), 8 rows and 8 columns are to be recovered.
After the application of Def Corr, 4 rows and 4 columns are recovered. After the application of Col Int 2, 2 rows and 2 columns are recovered. After the application of Apcor, 2 rows and 2 columns are recovered.
This can be arranged in different ways. In the analysis presented herein the choice has been of known IGP architectures of this type. However, they have the drawback of accounting for a burdensome overhead in reading from and writing data in the RAM at every step of the processing.
For the sample application considered:                Readings from the RAM:
Def Corr: [(5×644)×480]/2=772,802 words (1 word=2 short int=32 bit);
Col Int 1: [(5×640)×476]/2=761,600 words;
Col Int 2: [(3×3)×640×478]/2=1,376,640 words;
Ap Corr, Col Mat, Gamma: [(3×3)×640×478]/2=1,376,640 words;
Total readings from the RAM: 4,287,682 words                Writings in the RAM:
Def Corr: [(640)×480]/2=153,600 words (1 word=2 short int=32 bit);
Col Int 1: [3×(640)×480]/2=460,800 words;
Col Int 2: [(3)×638×478]/2=457,446 words;
Ap Corr, Col Mat, Gamma: [3×640×480 ]/2=460,800 words;
Total writings in the RAM: 1,532,646                total number of processed pixels in each block of the pipeline
Def Corr: (640×480)=307,200 pixels;
Col Int 1: (640×480)=307,200 pixels;
Col Int 2: 3×(638×478)=914,892 pixels;
Ap Corr, Col Mat, Gamma: 3×(640×480)=921,600 pixels;
Total number of processed pixels: 2,450,892 pixels;                Arrays shift: 0;        Extra memory requested to store the intermediate arrays: 0.
It may be observed that there is no computational overhead. In contrast, there is a large overhead in reading and writing data at every step that causes a high number of Dcache misses. Moreover, the processed image is stored as a whole in the RAM only after the IGP ends.
FIG. 3 shows a possible hardware architecture for the IGP of FIG. 2. Data is read from the embedded RAM in raster mode with the above-specified constraints, and the hardware scheme of FIG. 3 highlights the sizes of the line memories (LM) that are required.
Some of the line memory blocks include delay circuits (LM+D) necessary to filter the data. If m*n is the size of the filter, m lines of n delays circuits are needed to make available the filter m*n data to the functional block.
The interconnections of (n−1) line memories and (m−1) delay circuits to obtain the data for a 5*5 filter are shown in FIG. 4. As may be observed from the scheme of FIG. 3, all line memories that are needed in a hardware implementation of an IGP pipeline have the length of a full line of pixels of the input Bayer image. This weighs the total memory resources that are needed.
Although, as already noted above, the Codec block that generally follows (in cascade) the IGP pipeline, commonly operates sequentially on blocks of pixels into which a full image is divided. It would appear sensible to devise an IGP pipeline that would work on blocks of pixels in which the input image could be divided in compliance with the input requisites of the Codec block, but this approach has not been so far followed. This evident dismissal of the idea of implementing an IGP pipeline that could work in a "block mode" rather than in "raster mode" is due to the stringent quality requirements that certain basic functions that the IGP pipeline is intended to perform. In particular, the color information reconstruction by interpolation algorithms of pixels is a basic function to perform.
On account of an imposed uncompromised quality of color information reconstruction pixel-by-pixel from Bayer (or alike) data, if a block mode processing is considered in lieu of a raster mode processing, a substantial overlapping of the blocks of a subdivision of the pixels of the input image becomes mandatory and this will significantly increase computational overhead. This occurs because the non-linear filters (m*n) that are implemented in the IGP pipeline of the image pixels produce an output (i*j), where i<m and j<n.
Therefore, if two consecutive blocks of a subdivision of the image are not overlapped (by a quantity (m-i) in one direction or of (n-j) in the other direction), the contours of objects of the scene reproduced in the image could be lost. Consequently, the computational overhead that would be necessary to account for passing from a raster mode to a block mode architecture of an IGP pipeline practically nullifies any savings that may be achieved in terms of the total memory requirement.

Processing pipeline of pixel data of a color image acquired by a digital sensor


A network device includes several modules and a microcontroller for indicating working operations of the network device. The network device is configured for outputting a plurality of indicating control signals based on a detected signal power and a detected battery capacitance of the network device. The network device indicates the signal power and the battery capacitance based on the indicating control signals.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present disclosure relates to network communications, and particularly to a network device for indicating control operations.
2. Description of Related Art
With the continued development of network communication technology, cable modems have been widely used to connect personal computers (PCs) to a central device, thereby allowing users to conveniently connect to the Internet from home.
Typically, users or operators will assess the battery capacitance or signal power of cable modems by connecting the cable modems to another PC to determine these values via a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), a webpage, a console, or a Telnet interface. This method requires the cable modem to connect to an additional PC or terminal device, which is complex and time-consuming.

Network device and method for indicating signal power transmitted and battery capacitance of same


An electronic device includes a chip with an integrated electronic component and a terminal made of a first metal material. The device further includes a lead made of a second metal material different from the first metal material. A bonding wire made of a selected one of the first and second metal materials has opposite ends coupled with the terminal and the lead. An interface element having a first layer made of a selected one of the first and second metal materials and a second layer made of an unselected one of the first and second metal materials has the first layer coupled with the bonding wire and the second layer coupled with a component, wherein the component is ether the terminal or the lead.

In general, any electronic device comprises one chip or more (e.g., of semiconductor material) on which one or more actual electronic components are integrated. The chip is typically encapsulated in a package comprising an insulating body, for example, of polymeric material, in order to be insulated and protected from the external environment. The package includes electrically conductive leads exposed from the insulating body, which leads are coupled with corresponding electrically conductive terminals, for example, contact pads of the chip. The leads act as electrical interface elements between the chip and the external environment (i.e., for the connection of the electronic components with other electric/electronic elements).
Typically, the contact pads are electrically coupled with the corresponding leads through circular cross-section or flat rectangular cross-section bonding wires of electrically conductive material. In jargon, this operation is called wire-bonding.
In general, the pads are made of an electrically conductive material comprising one or more metal elements. For example, the contact pads are usually formed by means of a metallization layer comprising aluminum (Al) or an alloy comprising aluminum (such as AlSi or AlSiCu) deposited during the manufacturing of the electronic components on the chip.
Similarly, the bonding wires and the leads are formed of an electrically conductive material comprising one or more metal elements as well. In particular, the material of the bonding wires and of the leads may be different from the material of the contact pads. For example, the use of materials comprising copper (Cu) is preferred for the manufacturing of the bonding wires and the leads due to the high conductivity (both electric and thermal) of such a metal element.
Consequently, during the manufacturing of the electronic device the operation of wire bonding comprises soldering, to the contact pads of a material (e.g., comprising aluminum), the bonding wires of another material (e.g., comprising copper).
However, the different metal elements included in such materials determine different thermal expansion coefficients (for example, aluminum has a thermal expansion coefficient that is approximately double than a thermal expansion coefficient of copper). This difference between the thermal expansion coefficients may cause a weakening of the soldering between the two materials, particularly when the electronic device is used in a system subject to high operating temperature and/or substantial temperature changes; for example, this may occur in outdoor applications and/or by Joule effect due to (possibly varying) electric currents that cross an electric connection formed by the lead, the contact pad and the bonding wire.
The weakening of the soldering is exacerbated when the electronic device is used in a system subject to mechanical stresses of not negligible intensity (for example, in automotive applications, in industrial machinery, but also in portable applications). In fact, the mechanical stresses in combination with the high operating temperatures and/or the substantial temperature changes may lead to a rupture of the soldering and to a detachment of the bonding wire from the pad (event also known as "bond lift-off") or to the development of cracks in the bonding wire at the interface between a portion of the bonding wire soldered to the contact pad and a portion of the bonding wire separated therefrom (event also known as "heel crack").
This weakening of the structure may cause a reduction, or even an interruption, of a flow of electric current through these bonding wires (for example, generated by input/output signals or by a power supply of the device), with the consequence of reducing an efficiency of the electronic device, down to prevent the performing of the operations for which it is designed.

Electronic device with bimetallic interface element for wire bonding


In a voltage-level shifter, an input line is configured to convey an input voltage to be shifted. A pair of transistors is coupled to and is configured to receive the input voltage from the input line. There is a first side and a second side, with each side comprising the following: a low-voltage transistor that is coupled to the pair of transistors, a medium-voltage transistor that is coupled to the low-voltage transistor, a high-voltage transistor that is coupled to the medium-voltage transistor, and an output line, which is coupled to the first and second sides, for providing an output voltage that is higher than the input voltage.

Integrated circuits include many different components and are represented by many different designs. Examples of different designs are digital signal processors, central processing units, field-programmable gate arrays, memory, and so on. Non-volatile memory is one type of memory that preserves data with or without power. Manufacturers of non-volatile memory work continuously to improve the speed at which their memory operates and voltage shifters are one component in memory.
One problem with memory speed is found in the time it takes to shift lower input voltages to the higher voltages used by memory. Conventional voltage shifters shift relatively low voltage, for example a 1.8V logic signal, to a relatively high voltage, for example a 3.3V signal.
FIG. 1 is one example of a conventional voltage-level shifter 10. Shifter 10 receives a 1.8V signal at input 12 and "shifts" it to an output signal of 3.3V at output 14. Shifter 10 operates as follows.
Transistors 16 and 18 are thin-oxide, short-channel transistors that are inherently fast and small, but only tolerate voltage up to VDD from power supply 20. Transistors 16 and 18 are in an inverter configuration.
Transistors 22 and 24 are thick-oxide, long-channel transistors (relative to transistors 16 and 18) that can therefore tolerate higher voltage than transistors 16 and 18. Transistor 22 is connected to input 12 and receives the same input signal as transistors 18 and 16. Transistor 24, however, receives the inverted signal of input 12, because of the inverter configuration of transistors 16 and 18. Assuming input 12 is a high (VDD) voltage, then the gate of transistor 24 is deasserted (for example, a low voltage for N-channel transistors), while the gate of transistor 22 is asserted (for example, a high voltage for N-channel transistors).
Transistor 22 turns on, or begins conducting, because it is being asserted, while transistor 24 turns off because it's being deasserted. The effect of this is to turn on, or assert transistor 26 and turn off, or deassert transistor 28, which are both connected to power 30 at voltage level VCC, which is at 3.3V. Transistors 28 and 26 are thick-oxide, long, P-channel transistors (relative to transistors 16 and 18) that can therefore tolerate higher voltage than transistors 16 and 18. Because transistor 26 is on and conducting, while transistor 24 is off, output 14 is at VCC. Therefore the input voltage of 1.8V has been level-shifted to 3.3V. If input 12 goes to zero, then the opposite holds true, in that output 14 will go to zero as well.
One problem with voltage-level shifter 10 is that it is slow. In many electronic systems, memory being one example, rapidly functioning circuits are important to overall system performance.
Accordingly, what is needed is a faster voltage-level shifter. The present invention addresses such a need.


A toner which is less likely to cause toner leakage and which is less likely to cause aggregation after being left to stand under a high temperature condition. A toner for developing electrostatic images, comprising colored resin particles comprising a binder resin and a colorant, and an external additive, wherein a conditioned bulk density obtained by a powder flowability analyzing device is from 0.525 g/mL to 0.565 g/mL.

In image forming devices such as an electrophotographic device, an electrostatic recording device and an electrostatic printing device, the following image forming method is widely used and applied to copy machines, printers, facsimile machines, and multifunctional printers: an electrostatic latent image is formed on a photoconductor, and the formed image is developed with a toner for developing electrostatic images, thereby forming a desired image.
For example, in an electrophotographic device based on electrophotography, generally, the surface of a photoconductor composed of a photoconductive substance, is uniformly charged by various methods; an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoconductor; the electrostatic latent image is developed with a toner; and a toner image is transferred to a recording medium such as a paper sheet and fixed by heating, etc., thereby obtaining a copy.
In recent years, there is a strong demand for electrophotographic devices that can produce high quality images and adapt to high speed printing. Along with this, there are diversified needs for toners. Especially, there is a strong need for prevention of so-called toner leakage, which is a defect that toner leaks mainly from a sealing part of a developing device, and which interferes with continuous printing and leads to toner loss.
As a technique for preventing toner leakage, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses the use of a toner having an apparent loose density of from 0.310 g/ml to 0.410 g/ml and a volume average particle diameter of from 5.00 μm to 10.00 μm in a developing unit including a powder seal mechanism. In Patent Document 1, it is described that the flowability and so on of the toner can be controlled by setting the apparent loose density and volume average particle diameter of the toner within the above ranges.
As another technique for preventing toner leakage, for example, Patent Document 2 discloses a cleaning device comprising: a predetermined cleaning member for removal of toner from the surface of a cleaning target body; a frame body forming a storage room for storing the removed toner; and a predetermined sealing structure sealing between the cleaning member and the frame body to prevent toner leakage from the storage room.
However, in Patent Document 1, there is almost no description of the method for controlling the apparent loose density. Therefore, no insight can be obtained from Patent Document 1, which is practical to prevent toner leakage in light of toner properties. The technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 does not contribute to an improvement in toner properties.

Toner for developing electrostatic images


A flip chip light-emitting diode package comprising a Schottky diode group, a light-emitting diode and a plurality of bumps is provided. The Schottky diode group comprises a plurality of Schottky diodes electrically coupled in series or in parallel. The bumps are disposed between one of the Schottky diodes and the light-emitting diode so that the Schottky diode group and the light-emitting diode are connected reverse and in parallel. The light-emitting diode is disposed on one of the Schottky diodes and connected together by a flip-chip bonding process. The flip chip light-emitting diode package prevents damaging from electrostatic discharge and promotes light extraction efficiency. In addition, the submount of the Schottky diode is fabricated by using silicon material. Since silicon is an excellent material for heat dissipating, light extraction efficiency and reliability of the package is increased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flip chip light-emitting diode package. More particularly, the present invention relates to a flip chip light-emitting diode package capable of preventing damage from electrostatic discharge, promoting emission efficiency and thermal dissipation characteristics to increase lifetime.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, III–V nitride semiconductor materials have been utilized to fabricate high-temperature devices and opto-electronic devices capable of emitting light in the blue to ultraviolet wavelength range. In particular, nitride based compounds semiconductor that contains group III–V elements including GaN, GaAlN and InGaN have been used to fabricate various types of light-emitting diodes.
FIG. 1A is an equivalent circuit diagram of a conventional flip chip light-emitting diode package. To prevent any electrostatic discharge (ESD) from damaging the light-emitting diode structure 30, the light-emitting diode 30 is connected in parallel with a Zener diode 40. The Zener diode 40 is always being turned on because the Zener diode 40 operates at a breakdown region. When a forward bias voltage is applied to the two terminals V+ and V− of the light-emitting diode 30, carriers in the P-N junction of the light-emitting diode 30 generate a forward current leading to the emission of light. However, if an abnormal voltage or static charge is applied to the light-emitting diode 30, excess voltage will discharge through the Zener diode 40 operating at the breakdown region. The discharge current passes through the Zener diode 40 instead of the light-emitting diode 30 so that the light-emitting diode 30 is protected against irreversible damage due to an abnormal voltage or large static electricity discharge.
FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional flip chip light-emitting diode package. As shown in FIG. 1B, a transparent substrate 32, an N-doped GaN layer 34, a P-doped GaN layer 36 and electrodes 38a, 38b together form the group III–V GaN light-emitting diode 30 in FIG. 1A and an N-doped silicon 42, a P-doped silicon 44 and metallic layers 46a, 46b together form the Zener diode 40 in FIG. 1A. The bumps 50a and 50b shown in FIG. 1B are made from a solder material. Through the bumps 50a and 50b, the P-doped silicon 44 is electrically coupled to the N-doped GaN layer 34 and the N-doped silicon 42 is electrically coupled to the P-doped GaN layer 36 so that an equivalent circuit as shown in FIG. 1A is formed.
In a normal operation, a forward bias voltage is applied to the V+ and V− terminal of the flip chip light-emitting diode 30 so that a current flows from the P-doped GaN layer 36 to the N-doped GaN layer 34 to produce light. The light so generated extracts from the transparent substrate 32. When an abnormal voltage or static charge is applied to the terminals V+ and V−, the excess voltage causes a discharge current through the N-doped silicon 42 to the P-doped silicon 44 without passing through the light-emitting diode 30.
Although the aforementioned structure protects the light-emitting diode against ESD, additional processes are required to form the P-doped silicon 44 within the N-doped silicon 42. The most common technique of forming the P-doped silicon 44 within the N-doped silicon 42 includes an ion implantation method. The ion implantation method is capable of forming a doped region having a given depth more accurately than a conventional diffusion method. However, forming the P-doped silicon 44 within the flip chip light-emitting diode package demands an accurate control of the dosage as well as energy through the ion accelerator of an ion implant equipment. Hence, expensive equipment (ion implant equipment and accessory gas supply system and vacuum system) must be purchased and a lot of time must be spent to produce a package with this structure.


A media sheet has a substrate with an image-receiving layer disposed thereon. The image-receiving layer has a first pigment having particles with a size of about 50 to about 400 nanometers, a second pigment having plate-like particles, and a third pigment that either having a porous structure with an oil absorption of about 50 to about 300 cubic centimeters of oil per 100 grams, or a porous structure comprising substantially non-porous particles.

Color photographic printing using digital imaging devices, e.g., including electrophotographic and inkjet technologies, normally involves forming color images on media specially formulated for use in digital imaging devices. The most commonly used media for digital printing is paper-based media, because it is relatively inexpensive. In some instances, paper-based media is either specially formulated for use in electrophotographic devices or for use in inkjet devices. Although conventional paper, uncoated can be used as for both electrophotographic and inkjet printing, the print quality is poor. Coated glossy media that can generate high image quality print outs for both inkjet and electrophotographic printing are not common.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Each of a plurality of dimension coordinates corresponding to a report query has a finer grain and a coarser grain. A subset of the dimension coordinates are dimension coordinates for which there is ambiguity as to what coarser grain value should be associated with the finer grain value. For every unique finer grain value of the dimension coordinates of the subset, it is determined what coarser grain value to associate with all dimension coordinates of the subset having that finer grain value. The determined coarser grain value is the coarser grain value of one of the dimension coordinates, of the subset, having that finer grain value. For each of the dimension coordinates of the plurality of dimension coordinates not in the subset, the coarser grain value associated with that dimension coordinate is the coarser grain value of that dimension coordinate. A report is generated in view of the plurality of dimension coordinates and their associated coarser grain values.

The present invention is in the field of processing a report query to a dimensionally-modeled fact collection (i.e., facts of or derived from a collection of facts organized as, or otherwise accessible according to, a dimensional data model). In particular, the present invention relates to reporting on facts considering the phenomena in which a grain value at a second grain ("finer grain values" at a "finer grain") of one or more dimension coordinates satisfying a dimension coordinate constraint of the report query may also be the finer grain value for other dimension coordinates that also satisfy the dimension coordinate constraint but that have a different grain value at a first grain that is coarser than the finer grain ("coarser grain value" at a "coarser grain"). For readers not familiar with this terminology, the terminology of dimension coordinates, grains and grain values (including the properties of fineness and coarseness) are discussed below.
More particularly, it is known to respond to a report query to a dimensionally-modeled fact collection (facts organized in an n-dimensional data space) by performing operations with respect to dimension coordinates that satisfy a dimension coordinate constraint of the report query. Locations in an n-dimensional data space are specified by n-tuples of coordinates, where each member of the n-tuple corresponds to one of the n dimensions. For example, ("San Francisco", "Sep. 30, 2002") may specify a location in a two-dimensional data space, where the dimensions are LOCATION and TIME. Coordinates need not be single-grained entities. That is, coordinates of a single dimension may exist at, or be specified with respect to, various possible grains (levels of detail). In one example, a coordinate of a LOCATION dimension comprises the following grains: CONTINENT, COUNTRY and CITY.
The order of the grains may have some hierarchical significance. The grains are generally ordered such that finer grains are hierarchically "nested" inside coarser grains. Using the LOCATION dimension example, the CITY grain may be finer than the COUNTRY grain, and the COUNTRY grain may be finer than the CONTINENT grain. Where the order of the grains of a dimension has hierarchical significance, the value of a coordinate of that dimension, at a particular finer grain, is nominally such that the value of the coordinate of that dimension has only one value at any coarser grain for that dimension. In an example, a value of a coordinate of a LOCATION dimension may be specified at the CITY grain of the LOCATION dimension by the value "Los Angeles." This same coordinate has only one value at the COUNTRY and CONTINENT grains: "United States" and "North America," respectively.

Disambiguation with respect to multi-grained dimension coordinates


Systems and methods for operating a driveline that includes a step ratio transmission or a continuously variable transmission (CVT) that may be operated in a step ratio mode are disclosed. In one example, engagement speeds for transmission gears are adjusted as a function of vehicle mass, road grade, and requested braking torque.

A vehicle may include a transmission that may be put into a low gear range. The low gear range may provide higher levels of driveline braking during conditions where driver demand torque is low. The low gear range may also increase transmission output shaft speeds at which transmission gears are upshifted so that transmission gears may be held at engine speeds where engine torque production is greatest, thereby increasing the propulsive torque that may be delivered to a vehicle's wheels. If a human or autonomous driver engages the transmission in a low range while driver demand torque is low, the transmission output shaft speed at which the transmission is downshifted from a higher gear to a lower gear may be sufficiently high to generate a substantial amount of driveline noise and vibration. Further, the downshift may generate a larger driveline torque disturbance when the transmission is engaged in a low range since torque converter impeller speed may be higher during downshifting and since it may be more difficult to control torque transfer through gear clutches at higher driveline speeds. Therefore, it may be desirable to provide a way of operating a transmission in a low range with lower noise and vibration levels while still providing desirable levels of driveline braking.
The inventors herein have recognized the above-mentioned issues and have developed a vehicle driveline operating method, comprising: adjusting an engagement speed for a transmission gear in response to a braking torque request via a controller, where adjusting the engagement speed includes increasing the engagement speed as the braking torque request increases; and engaging the transmission gear in response to an output speed of a transmission being less than or equal to the engagement speed.
By adjusting an engagement speed of a transmission gear responsive to a braking torque request, it may be possible to provide the technical result of operating a driveline at a lower noise level, at least during some conditions. In particular, an engagement speed of a transmission gear may be lowered when a braking torque request is low so that driveline noise may be reduced when operating the transmission in a low range. Lower transmission gear engagement speeds may reduce driveline noise via lowering engine noise and electric machine noise. Even though the driveline noise and vibration may be reduced, the driveline may still provide desirable levels of braking when lower levels of braking are requested. However, if higher levels of driveline braking are requested, then the transmission gear engagement speed may be increased so that the requested braking level may be provided. In this way, driveline noise and vibration may be reduced while the driveline provides a desirable level of braking.
The present description may provide several advantages. In particular, the approach may reduce driveline noise while operating a transmission in a low range. Further, the approach may provide desirable levels of braking while operating the transmission in the low range. Further still, the approach may provide compensation for vehicle mass, requested braking, and road grade so that driveline noise and vibration may be controlled while providing desired levels of driveline braking.
The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the present description will be readily apparent from the following Detailed Description when taken alone or in connection with the accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.

System and method for operating a vehicle in a low transmission range


A proportional pressure difference valve is disclosed between a master cylinder and normally open valves for supplying hydraulic pressure discharged from the master cylinder into wheel brake cylinders, which are connected to normally closed valves for reducing pressure. The normally open valve connected to one of the wheel brake cylinders in one hydraulic circuit is placed in its closed position, and the normally open valve connected to the other one of the wheel brake cylinders is placed in its open position and then the pressure difference valve is controlled on the basis of a monitored vehicle state variable to regulate a pressure difference between the pressure at the side of the master cylinder and the pressure at the side of the normally open valves.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle motion control apparatus, particularly relates to the vehicle motion control apparatus for shutting off one wheel brake cylinder out of a pair of wheel brake cylinders included in a hydraulic circuit, and regulating a hydraulic braking pressure supplied to the other one of the wheel brake cylinders, to restrain an excessive oversteer and/or an excessive understeer, thereby to maintain stability of a vehicle in motion.
2. Description of the Related Arts
As for a vehicle motion control apparatus, there is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3058172, which corresponds to the U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,431, for example, an apparatus for controlling vehicle motion, by determining a desired yaw rate of a vehicle, and controlling braking force in response to a comparison of the desired yaw rate with a sensed actual yaw rate of the vehicle to maintain a vehicle stability during the vehicle motion.
In Japanese Patent Laid-open publication No. 10-211873, a vehicle posture control apparatus has been proposed, so as to enable a vehicle driver to depress a brake pedal even when a vehicle posture control is being performed, and enable the posture control to be performed by his own braking operation. In this publication, it is described that the apparatus is provided with two circuits of brake conduits for communicating a master cylinder with a pair of brake cylinders out of four brake cylinders, respectively, a pair of cut-off valves for shutting off the communication between the master cylinder and the brake conduit of each circuit to be capable of being opened or closed, and a hydraulic pressure source provided for supplying brake pressure individually to the two circuits of brake conduits. As for means for controlling the vehicle posture, there are disclosed a main control section for regulating the brake pressure supplied from the pressure source into each brake cylinder, with the pair of cut-off valves placed in their closed positions to shut off the communication between the master cylinder and all of the brake cylinders, and an opening motion control section for controlling one of the cut-off valves to be changed over to an open state, when braking operation by the vehicle driver is detected by braking operation detection means.
Also, in Japanese Patent (PCT) Laid-open publication No. 2000-503279, which corresponds to the U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,018, there is disclosed a motor vehicle braking system with traction control and/or movement dynamics regulating device, as explained hereinafter. That is, to enable building up brake pressure rapidly, one additional pump is provided in each brake circuit, whose intake side is connected directly to a master cylinder, and between an intake side of the additional pump and the master cylinder, there are no hydraulic components that would act as throttles and thereby delay the brake pressure buildup. Then, with respect to an improvement of the intake side of the additional pump and its effect, it is described that the invention has the advantage of a rapid brake pressure buildup when the master cylinder is not actuated. Furthermore, it is described (with reference numerals omitted herein) that a switchover valve is embodied as a controllable differential pressure valve, that is, a pressure difference between the wheel brake cylinder side and the master cylinder side can be established, with the pressure higher on the wheel brake cylinder side. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the switchover valve is a differential pressure proportional magnet valve. Then, it is described that if a tendency to locking or slipping occurs at one of the vehicle wheels, or if the electronic control unit by means of its gyroscope finds that the vehicle is threatening to skid, then the pump motor is turned on, and that an individual-wheel brake pressure regulation is effected in a manner known per se using the return pump, brake pressure buildup valves, and brake pressure reduction valves.
In Japanese Patent Laid-open publication No. 11-301435, there is disclosed a linear pressure difference valve for use in a brake-by-wire system, similar to the valve as shown in FIG. 1 of the publication No. 2000-503279. Then, it is described (with reference numerals omitted herein) that the linear pressure difference valves allow the flow of brake fluid between a reservoir and each wheel cylinder, almost without flow resistance, at a communication position through each valve member. A valve state with the valve member placed in a pressure difference position is controlled by electric current fed to each solenoid, to control an amount of the valve member lifted from a valve seat. In the pressure difference position, the state of the valve member can be controlled from a position for completely shutting off a conduit to a throttle position, in response to the lifted amount. In the case where the lifted amount corresponds to an approximately intermediate position from the valve seat, the throttle position has been provided for the conduit, thereby to restrict the brake fluid from flowing from the wheel cylinder to the reservoir. As a result, the brake pressure in the wheel cylinder (wheel cylinder pressure) can be held with the pressure difference against the reservoir. And, there is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open publication No. 9-240455, which corresponds to the U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,581, a reservoir having a function for shutting off an intake passage for a hydraulic pressure pump when introducing brake fluid, as indicated by "200" in FIG. 6 of the Japanese publication No. 9-240455.
In order to improve a decelerating response of a vehicle, when a vehicle driver makes a braking operation while a vehicle motion control is being performed, a vehicle motion control apparatus has been proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-open publication No. 10-24821, wherein braking force applied to each wheel of the vehicle is detected by wheel braking force detection means, and wherein motion control means prohibits a wheel to be controlled from being controlled thereby, when the braking force applied to a wheel not to be controlled by the motion control means exceeds the braking force applied to the wheel to be controlled, while the vehicle motion control is being performed. And, the motion control means includes turning control means for applying the braking force to a first wheel out of all the wheels, so as to modify a vehicle moment for forcing the vehicle to be in a stable state, and deceleration control means for applying the braking force to a second wheel out of all the wheels, except for the first wheel, so as to reduce the vehicle speed.
As for the wheel braking force detection means, in Japanese Patent Laid-open publication No. 10-24821, for example, employed is wheel deceleration detection means for calculating a deceleration of each wheel on the basis of a wheel speed detected by a wheel speed sensor. Therefore, it is described that such an expensive sensor as a master cylinder pressure sensor, or wheel cylinder pressure sensor is not required. More practically, the deceleration control is prohibited, when a brake switch (stop switch) has been turned on for a period longer than a predetermined time, and when acceleration of the wheel not to be controlled is smaller than acceleration of the wheel whose deceleration is to be controlled.
According to the apparatuses as disclosed in the above publication Nos. 10-211873 and 2000-503279, however, it is required that the hydraulic pressure discharged from the hydraulic pressure pump is regulated by controlling the brake pressure buildup valves and brake pressure reduction valves, with the communication with the master cylinder being shut off, when the control for maintaining a stability of the vehicle in motion (i.e., vehicle stability control) is performed. Therefore, required is a master cylinder pressure sensor as disclosed in the above publication No. 10-211873 for detecting the master cylinder pressure discharged in response to braking operation of the vehicle driver while the vehicle stability control is being performed. And, presumably, the apparatus as disclosed in the above publication No. 2000-503279 will also require a hydraulic pressure sensor similar to the sensor as described above. However, the pressure sensor for detecting the master cylinder pressure is very expensive, so that if it is not required to detect the operation of the brake pedal during the vehicle stability control, and if the hydraulic pressure sensor can be omitted, a great cost down can be achieved.
Supposing that the linear pressure difference valve as disclosed in the above publication No. 11-301435, or known linear solenoid valves are employed, and that switching valves for use in the vehicle stability control are controlled in a different manner from the prior control manner, the vehicle stability control may be performed smoothly, without the expensive master cylinder pressure sensor provided in the apparatus. In this connection, it is described in the above publication No. 10-24821 that without using any expensive sensors such as master cylinder pressure sensor or wheel cylinder pressure sensor, motion control means can prohibit the wheel to be controlled from being controlled, when the braking force applied to the wheel not to be controlled exceeds the braking force applied to the wheel to be controlled. However, this relates to the deceleration control on the basis of the comparison between the braking force applied to the wheel to be controlled and the braking force applied to the wheel not to be controlled, without directly using the brake pressure increased in response to operation of the brake pedal. In addition, as a large number of solenoid valves are required for the apparatus as disclosed in the above publication No. 10-24821, it is difficult to provide a simple and inexpensive apparatus capable of applying the braking force to the wheel not to be controlled, when the brake pedal is depressed during the vehicle stability control, with the number of solenoid valves reduced.


According to the invention, a pull-down signal detecting apparatus includes: an interfield motion detecting module configured to determine whether or not an interfield motion between a first field signal and a second field signal exists by comparing a first counted number with a first threshold; an interframe motion determining module configured to determine whether or not an interframe motion between the first field signal and a third field signal exists by comparing a second counted number with a second threshold; a determination module configured to determine whether or not the video signal is pull-down signal based on the determination result of the interfield motion determining module and the interframe motion determining module; and a threshold control module configured to vary the first threshold, when the determination result of the interframe motion determining module corresponds with a second pull-down pattern and when the determination result of the interfield motion determining module does not correspond to a first pull-down pattern.

1. Field
The present invention relates to a pull-down signal detecting apparatus for detecting a pull-down signal generated from, for example, a cine film, and a pull-down signal detecting method. In addition, the invention relates to an improvement of an interlace-progressive converter using the pull-down signal detecting apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is generally known, currently, in a video signal of an NTSC (national television system committee) method, a PAL (phase alternation by line color television) method, or the like generally used as a standard television broadcasting method, video is scanned in a so-called interlaced scanning method that a 1-frame video signal is generated in two fields.
In recent, a thin-sized and large-screen television broadcasting receiver using a liquid crystal display and a plasma display has come into wide use. However, when an interlaced scanning video signal is displayed as it is in each scanning line using such a display, brightness of picture decreases and thus invisible video is displayed.
For this reason, in such a display, the interlaced scanning video signal is converted into a progressive scanning video signal and the converted signal is displayed. That is, in such a kind of displays, it is necessary to perform a progressive scanning converting process to convert the interlaced scanning video signal into the progressive scanning video signal.
The video signal based on the video signal the standard television method may include a video signal generated on the basis of the video of the cine film. In this case, since the number of frames at every second in the cine film and the number of frames (the number of fields) at every second in the video signal based on the standard method are set individually, generally, they do not coincide with each other.
For this reason, the video of the cine film is converted into a video signal based on the standard television method according to the interlace scanning, by using a 2-2 pull-down method, 2-3 pull-down method, or the like. The interlaced scanning video signal generated from the cine film as described above is called as a pull-down signal.
However, in the aforementioned progressive scanning converting process, it is possible to improve video quality by changing the method of the conversion process into the progressive scanning method, according to whether or not the input video signal is pull-down signal. Accordingly, it is important to accurately detect whether or not the input video signal is the pull-down signal, at the time of performing the progressive scanning converting process.
In JP-A-2002-330408, there is disclosed a technique that a integration result of difference before and after one field of the present field is determined in the whole fields by a threshold level varied by a level of an APL detector for detecting an average brightness level of an input video signal, and determination of a telecine conversion signal is performed on the basis of the field determination result of the five fields.

Pull-down signal detecting apparatus, pull-down signal detecting method, and interlace-progressive converter


A controller and an output filter for a power converter, and a power converter employing at least one of the same. In one embodiment, the controller includes an error amplifier with first and second input terminals coupled to one of an operating characteristic and a reference voltage of the power converter, and a switch configured to couple the first and second input terminals to one of the operating characteristic and the reference voltage as a function of a power conversion mode of the power converter. In one embodiment, the output filter includes an output filter capacitor with a first terminal coupled to a first output terminal of a power converter, and an output filter inductor coupled between a second terminal of the output filter capacitor and a second output terminal of the power converter.

A power switch-mode power converter (also referred to as a "power converter" or "regulator") is a power supply or power processing circuit that converts an input voltage waveform into a specified output voltage waveform. DC-DC power converters convert a dc input voltage into a dc output voltage. Controllers associated with the power converters manage an operation thereof by controlling the conduction periods of power switches employed therein. Generally, the controllers are coupled between an input and output of the power converter in a feedback loop configuration (also referred to as a "control loop" or "closed control loop").
Typically, the controller measures an output characteristic (e.g., an output voltage, an output current, or a combination of an output voltage and an output current) of the power converter, and based thereon modifies a duty cycle of the power switches of the power converter. The duty cycle is a ratio represented by a conduction period of a power switch to a power switching period thereof. Thus, if a power switch conducts for half of the power switching period, the duty cycle for the power switch would be 0.5 (or 50%). Additionally, as voltage or current for systems, such as a microprocessor powered by the power converter, dynamically change (e.g., as a computational load on the microprocessor changes), the controller should be configured to dynamically increase or decrease the duty cycle of the power switches therein to maintain an output characteristic such as an output voltage at a desired value.
In an exemplary application, the power converters have the capability to convert an unregulated input voltage supplied by an input voltage source, such as a battery, to a higher or lower, regulated, output voltage that may fall within the range of variability of the input voltage to power a load. For example, the range of the input voltage source may be four to six volts, and the regulated output voltage may be 5 volts. Thus, under one operating condition the power converter boosts the input voltage to produce the output voltage, and under another operating condition the power converter bucks the input voltage to produce the output voltage. To provide the voltage conversion and regulation functions, the power converters include active power switches such as metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors ("MOSFETs") that are coupled to the voltage source and periodically power switch a reactive circuit element such as an inductor to the voltage source at a power switching frequency that may be on the order of five megahertz.
However, a feedback process to control a power switch in a power converter employing a buck power conversion topology produces opposite control signal changes of a comparable feedback process for a power converter employing a boost power conversion topology. In addition, a power converter configured to operate in either a buck or a boost power conversion mode experiences a discontinuity in the control process related to inherent inefficiencies in a practical circuit during transitions between buck and boost power conversion modes. Thus, the problem of controlling a power converter that may be operable in a buck or a boost power conversion mode depending on a relationship between input and output voltages thereof remains an unresolved issue.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a controller for a power converter and related method that can operate in different power conversion modes that overcomes deficiencies in the prior art.

Power converter with a dynamically configurable controller and output filter


A high-strength cold-rolled steel sheet includes a composition having controlled amounts of carbon, silicon, manganese, phosphorous, sulfur, titanium, niobium, sol. Aluminum, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, boron, calcium, REM, and iron. A microstructure thereof has a main phase of ferrite of at least 40 area %, and a second phase of a low-temperature transformation phase consisting either or both of martensite and bainite, which comprises at least 10 area % in total and retained austenite (γ) at least comprising 3 area % . An average grain diameter of ferrite has a tilt angle of at least 15° is at most 5.0 mm, an average grain diameter of the low-temperature transformation-produced phase is at most 2.0 mm, an average grain diameter of lump-like retained γ having an aspect ratio of less than 5 is at most 1.5 mm, and an area fraction of the lump-like retained γ relative to the retained γ is at least 50%.

Conventionally, refining structure has been studied as a method for improving the mechanical properties of cold-rolled steel sheets.
Patent Document 1 indicated below discloses a cold-rolled steel sheet having a structure including a low-temperature transformation phase consisting of one or more of ferrite, martensite, bainite and retained γ (retained austenite), in which the volume fraction of the low-temperature transformation phase being 10 to 50% and an average grain diameter of the low-temperature transformation phase is at most 2 μm.
Patent Document 2 indicates a method in which a cold-rolled steel sheet is manufactured using a hot-rolled steel sheet manufactured by hot rolling followed by cooling in a short length of time after the hot rolling. For example, Patent Document 2 discloses that a hot-rolled steel sheet having a microstructure containing ferrite having a small average grain diameter as a main phase is manufactured by carrying out cooling to at most 720° C. at a cooling rate of at least 400° C./sec within 0.4 seconds after hot rolling and the hot-rolled steel sheet is subjected to usual cold rolling and annealing.

Cold-rolled steel sheet with controlled microstructure, grain diameters, and texture

NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION


The x-ray crystal structure of BACE or BACE-like proteins is useful for solving the structure of other molecules or molecular complexes, and identifying and/or designing potential modifiers of BACE activity.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) causes progressive dementia with consequent formation of amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, gliosis and neuronal loss. The disease occurs in both genetic and sporadic forms whose clinical course and pathological features are quite similar. Three genes have been discovered to date which, when mutated, cause an autosomal dominant form of Alzheimer's disease. These encode the amyloid protein precursor (APP) and two related proteins, presenilin-1 (PS1) and presenilin-2 (PS2), which, as their names suggest, are structurally and functionally related. Mutations in any of the three proteins have been observed to enhance proteolytic processing of APP via an intracellular pathway that produces amyloid beta peptide (Aβ peptide, or sometimes here as Abeta), a 40–42 amino acid long peptide that is the primary component of amyloid plaque in AD.
Dysregulation of intracellular pathways for proteolytic processing may be central to the pathophysiology of AD. In the case of plaque formation, mutations in APP, PS1 or PS2 consistently alter the proteolytic processing of APP so as to enhance formation of Aβ 1–42, a form of the Aβ peptide which seems to be particularly amyloidogenic, and thus very important in AD. Different forms of APP range in size from 695–770 amino acids, localize to the cell surface, and have a single C-terminal transmembrane domain. The Abeta peptide is derived from a region of APP adjacent to and containing a portion of the transmembrane domain. Normally, processing of APP at the α-secretase site cleaves the midregion of the Aβ sequence adjacent to the membrane and releases the soluble, extracellular domain of APP from the cell surface. This α-secretase APP processing creates soluble APP-α, which is normal and not thought to contribute to AD. Pathological processing of APP at the β- and γ-secretase sites, which are located N-terminal and C-terminal to the α-secretase site, respectively, produces a very different result than processing at the α site. Sequential processing at the β- and γ-secretase sites releases the Aβpeptide, a peptide possibly very important in AD pathogenesis. Processing at the β- and γ-secretase sites can occur in both the endoplasmic reticulum (in neurons) and in the endosomal/lysosomal pathway after reinternalization of cell surface APP (in all cells). Despite intense efforts, for 10 years or more, to identify the enzymes responsible for processing APP at the β and γ sites, to produce the Aβ peptide, those proteases remained unknown until recently.
The identification and characterization of the β secretase enzyme, termed Aspartyl Protease 2 (Asp2) has been established. In addition, the X-ray crystal structure of human beta secretase in complex with a peptide inhibitor was solved and published Hong et al., Science 290: 150–53 (2000) from protein expressed in E. coli that contained no covalent sugar (glycosylation) at any of the four putative glycosylation sites within the enzyme.

Crystallization and structure determination of glycosylated human beta secretase, an enzyme implicated in Alzheimer's disease


Embodiments of the invention include printed shooting targets having reactive zones and methods related to the same. In an embodiment, the invention includes a shooting target comprising a substrate. In some embodiments, a first ink layer can be disposed on the substrate. An adhesion modifying layer disposed over the substrate and/or on the first ink layer. The adhesion modifying layer can cover less than the entire surface area of the substrate and/or first ink layer. A second ink layer disposed on the adhesion modifying layer. In an embodiment, a method of making a shooting target comprising applying discrete segments of a material over a substrate to form an adhesion modifying layer, wherein the adhesion modifying layer covers less than the entire surface area of the substrate; and applying a second ink layer over the adhesion modifying layer. Other embodiments are also included herein.

Targets for firearms are well known in the prior art. Traditional targets for firearms have various issues which limit their value to a shooter including the fact that projectile holes ("bullet holes") in the target can be difficult to see, particularly from where the shooter is positioned when firing the gun which can often times be 25 yards, 50 yards, 100 yards or farther away from the target. More recently, targets have been developed that result in the formation of a contrasting halo around the bullet hole in order to increase the visibility of the bullet hole.