A vehicle trip recording apparatus collects trip data for manipulation by a separate computer. The computer software contains all the required controls and data manipulation programs for the trip recording device. The trip recording device contains only the hardware to collect and save distance pulses, current time and date, to talk with the computer, and a two button command interface. Of the two button command interface, one of the buttons selects between automatic or manual mode. The second button is a push type and performs the start/stop trip function when the first button is in the manual position. When the first button is in the automatic position, the second button preforms the start/stop calibrate function. Once the trip data has been downloaded into the computer, the trip data can be formatted, printed and saved with the separate computer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to vehicle trip data recording devices which use uniform pulses electronically generated, from a drive train, to record distances traveled in a motor vehicle. Specifically, the present invention relates to a device that can record the date, start time, distance travelled, and the stop time of a motor vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Many operators use motor vehicles in situations in which it is necessary to monitor and record time and distances traveled. These people are required to distinguish between personal and business use of a motor vehicle in order to pro-rate those expenses which can be used as an income tax deduction. Tracking distances traveled at all times for the complete year is necessary to determine the proper amount of motor vehicle usage which can be written off against federal income taxes.
In another situation it is desirable to keep accurate records of distances traveled in a motor vehicle when the operator reclaims expenses from a client or employer. Currently the vehicle operator is responsible, in most cases, for logging of vehicle activity in order to be reimbursed for vehicle expenses. The manual recording of log information is time consuming and tedious. A different example is the situation in which a motor vehicle, is operated by an employee, and the employer wishes to monitor time and distances traveled in order to determine if unauthorized private use of the vehicle has occurred.
At the present time this motor vehicle usage assessment is more often than not made at the end of the year. The assessment is only a rough guess because of a lack of documentation or a low cost tracking system to collect the vehicle usage information. Great attention to detail on a daily basis is required to record the data necessary to make the proper assessment of vehicle usage. Obviously therefore considerable error in the tax deduction calculation can occur one way or the other because of the wildly inaccurate rough guess technique. Manual recording of distances traveled by a given motor vehicle is a time consuming process and is subject to human error.
Devices of related art, which are intended to assist in collecting motor vehicle usage data, all do more than just collect time/distance travelled. Related art devices have an array of different types of operator interfaces including keypads, buttons, switches and displays to assist the user with categorizing or manipulating the data collected from the time/distance trip recording device. Other devices of related art require the user to categorize the data or information to be collected at the start of each trip. Some devices of related art require that information, such as present odometer reading at the start of a trip or when fuel is added to the vehicle, be entered by the operator when the event occurs.

Apparatus and method for recording motor vehicle travel information


Aspects include real-time context based recipe recommendations including receiving, at a mobile device, an identifier of an available food item that is offered for purchase at a food marketplace. A request for recipes that specifies the identifier of the available food item and a list of identifiers of food items previously selected by the shopper for purchase is sent to a recipe application. At least one recipe selected by the recipe application is received at the mobile device and presented to the shopper. The recipe includes the available food item and at least a subset of the food times previously selected by the shopper. The identifier of the available food item is added to the list of food items previously selected by the shopper for purchase based on determining that the shopper has selected the available food item for purchase.

The invention relates generally to a recipe recommendation system, and more specifically, to a real-time context based recipe recommendation system.
One reason that shopping at a farmer's market is different than going to a grocery store is the changing variety of food item choices due, for example, to seasonal and other local conditions. Oftentimes shoppers do not bring a set grocery list but instead show up and see what looks good that week. Shoppers may find a unique food that they would like to try but aren't sure how to use or prepare the food. Thus, a shopper at a farmer's market runs the risk of buying a basket full of food and going home and still not having anything to make for meals because none of the purchased items work together. Coming home from grocery shopping with nothing to make for dinner may occur more frequently when shopping at a farmer's market type of venue however it can also happen when shopping in a standard grocery store when the store is out of a key ingredient, has seasonal specials, or has selected items at reduced prices.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Real-time context based recipe recommendation system

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


Disclosed herein are systems and methods for accurate removal of I/Q mismatch in received signals of an analog FM receiver. The analog FM receiver includes a down-converter, a calibration circuit that estimates I/Q mismatch values, and a compensation circuit that uses the estimated mismatch values to reduce the effects of I/Q mismatch. In one aspect, the calibration circuit uses an adaptive dual-parameter compensation scheme to iteratively correct the received signals by approximating a coefficient value and an amplitude value that minimize the signals' amplitude variation from the amplitude value. In another aspect, phase and amplitude mismatch parameters can be determined using the coefficient value.

In low-IF receivers, a radio-frequency (RF) signal is mixed down to intermediate frequency (IF) before data is recovered from the received signal. Low-IF receiver architecture is popular due to its inherent immunity to DC offsets and noise. An analog low-IF receiver often includes a quadrature down-converter that initially down-converts an incoming analog frequency-modulated (FM) signal to two ideally matched channels before further converting data carried by these channels into digital data.
In particular, an input analog FM signal may be represented as a combination of two sinusoids that are 90° or a quadrature phase apart from each other. This separation may be accomplished by first splitting the signal equally between two channels using, for example, a flow splitter. The resulting signals are then each mixed with signals produced by two local oscillators. The two local oscillator signals have a quadrature (90°) phase difference between them which separates the input signal into an in-phase (I) component and a quadrature-phase (Q) component, where the in-phase component is often associated with information carried by a cosine sinusoid and the quadrature component is often associated with information carried by a sine sinusoid.
This operation of mixing an input signal with the two quadrature phase oscillator signals alters the frequency content of the input signal. For example, mixing a signal m(t) with two oscillator signals sin(ωLOt) and cos(ωLOt) is mathematically equivalent to multiplying, in time domain, the signal m(t) with the complex sinusoid ejωLOt=cos(ωLOt)+j sin(ωLOt). This will produce a resulting signal m(t)ejωLOt in which its frequency content is shifted by ωLO in comparison to m(t).
The mixed outputs may then be low-pass filtered to generate low-IF analog "I" and "Q" signals before being sampled and converted to digital values using analog-to-digital converters (ADC) on the respective channel paths.
The parallel nature of the two channels requires the channels to be closely matched for accurate I/Q measurements. In addition, the phase difference between the two channels must ideally be 90° at all frequencies. Often times, however, these requirements are not met due to the circuit's susceptibility to I/Q channel imbalance. One source of I/Q channel imbalance may be the flow splitter used to divide an incoming analog signal equally between the "I" and "Q" paths which may introduce phase and gain differences between the two paths. Another source of imbalance is the quadrature phase splitter used to generate the "I" and "Q"-oscillator signals which may introduce a non-orthogonal phase difference between the two signals. Furthermore, there may be differences in conversion losses between the output ports of the "I" and "Q"-channel mixers. In addition, filters and ADC's on the "I" and "Q" paths may not be perfectly matched. Theses complications will be referred to herein as "I/Q mismatch." I/Q mismatch often times degrade the performance of a communication system. While various components of a communication system may be carefully designed and manufactured, I/Q mismatch can nevertheless occur due to temperature dependencies or other environmental phenomena affecting the quality of the components.
Hence, it would be desirable to provide a method and implementation for accurate I/Q mismatch compensation and calibration in an analog FM receiver.

Systems and methods for I/Q imbalance correction and calibration of variable modulus signals


A bedside rail, a system of coordinating two bedside rails, and a method of using the one or more bedside rails to prevent a user of an associated mattress from having their elbows slide off the mattress. Each bedside rail has an adjustable vertical component as well as an adjustable bar that can separately moves along the vertical component. A supporting line can extend between the adjustable bars of two bedside rails along opposing sides of a mattress. A cushioned portion over the vertical component can be selectively elevated adjacent to and above a top surface of the mattress along both sides thereof.

The present invention relates to bed rails and, more particularly, one or a pair of bedside rails providing an adjustable rail surface along a bedside to keep elbows from sliding off the bed as well as providing support for users getting in or out of bed.
Getting sufficient sleep is an essential element to a healthy lifestyle. During sleep many things can cause the sleeper to inadvertently wake up, disturbing an otherwise good night's sleep, and thus preventing this essential element. One thing that can cause this disturbance is when an elbow of the sleeper slides off their mattress, jolting the sleeper awake.
As can be seen, there is a need for a beside rail providing and adjustable cushioned surface adjacent to and above an upper surface of the mattress, thereby keeping elbows from sliding off the mattress. This adjustable cushioned surface can also be a support surface for getting in or out of bed. The beside elbow rail may or may not extend to the ground. Two bedside rails can be connected through or under the mattress by a supporting line for preventing either from be knocked over or pushed away from their optimal bedside location.


A scanning probe microscope (SPM) is provided capable of a narrow to a wide range observation according to observed targets or purposes without replacing a scanner while maintaining a high resolution. The SPM is provided with a probe-side scanner 10 and a sample-side scanner 11. The probe-side scanner 10 is to move the probe 13 in X-, Y-, Z-axis directions, and the sample-side scanner 11 is to move the sample 12 in the X-, Y-, Z-axis directions. A scanner with a small maximum scan range is used as the probe-side scanner 10; a scanner with a large maximum scan range is used as the sample-side scanner 11; and both can be switched between each scanner for use according to the observed targets or purposes. Alternatively, the probe-side scanner 10 is used for scanning in a narrow range, and the sample-side scanner 11 is used to move the field of view.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a scanning probe microscope (SPM).
2. Description of Related Art
A scanning probe microscope (SPM) scans a sample surface with a tiny probe, and detects an interaction between the tiny probe and the sample, so as to detect and to image a shape or physical quantity of the sample surface. One type of the SPM is scanning tunneling microscope (STM), in which the type of interaction measured is an electrical current flowing between the probe and the sample. Another type of the SPM includes atomic force microscope (AFM), in which the atomic force between the probe and the sample is monitored.
FIG. 3 shows a structure of the major parts of a conventional AFM (for example, referring to Japanese Laid-Open Application No. 2000-338027 ([0003], [0004], FIG. 7)). The conventional AFM includes a cantilever 34 with a sharp probe 33 at the front end, a displacement detection system for detecting a displacement of the cantilever 34, and a three-dimensional scanner (3D scanner) 31 for carrying a sample 32 thereon and moving the sample 32 along the X-Y-Z axis directions. When the front end of the probe 33 is relatively close (with a gap less than several nanometers) to the sample 32 mounted on the 3D scanner 31, an atomic force (attractive force or repulsive force) is present between atoms of the front end of the front probe 33 and atoms of the sample 32. On one hand, the scanner 31 is used for scanning the sample, such that the probe 33 moves relatively along the sample 32 surface within an X-Y plane. On the other hand, the scanner is used to move the sample in the z-axis direction such that a constant atomic force between the probe 33 and the sample 32 is maintained by feedback controlling the distance between the probe 33 and the sample 32 (the height in a Z-axis direction). The feedback in the Z-axis direction corresponds to a surface topography of the sample 32, and a three-dimensional image of the sample surface is obtained accordingly.
The displacement detection system is used to detect a displacement of the cantilever 34 in the Z-axis direction, which includes a laser source 35 for irradiating a laser beam to the vicinity of the front end of the cantilever 34, and an optical detector 36 for detecting the laser beam reflected by the cantilever 34 etc. By detecting the bending angle of the cantilever 34 according to an optical lever principle, the up and down movements of the cantilever 34 can be detected.
In the SPM, besides configuring the 3D scanner to carry the sample and to move the sample for making observations, a 3D scanner 30 can be also installed on the cantilever 34, and the probe 33 is moved by the 3D scanner 30 for making observations as shown in FIG. 4. In such a case, according to the signals from the displacement detection system, the displacement of the 3D scanner 30 in the Z-axis direction is feedback controlled in a manner that the atomic force between the probe 33 and the sample 32 is maintained constant, while a three-dimensional image of the sample surface is obtained by scanning along the sample 32 surface within the X-Y plane.
A scanner is generally a cylindrical body that includes piezoelectric elements, and moves freely in X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions, respectively, within a preset range under an externally-applied voltage. An observable range of the SPM is determined by the movable range (i.e., maximum scanning range) of the scanner in the X-Y axis direction. A scanner with a relatively large maximum scan range can ensure a relatively large observation range. To extend the maximum scan range of a scanner, the size of a scanner can be increased. On the other hand, to obtain an image with a high resolution, and to enhance the sturdiness of the whole device, the size of the scanner must be reduced. That is, it is generally difficult for a scanner with a relatively large maximum scan range to yield an image with a high resolution. Accordingly, it is difficult to ensure both a relatively large observation range and a high resolution at the same time.
Therefore, in the SPM, scanners with different maximum scan ranges must be used separately according to the observed targets or purposes. However, a problem in which the time-consuming practice of replacing scanners and the subsequent changing of settings will occur.
Also, in recent years, to correct the scale error caused by the non-linearity of the piezoelectric elements, a scanner incorporated with a position sensor has been widely used. The displacement of the scanner can be detected by the position sensor, and the displacement signal is fed back to the scanner's driving mechanism, thereby obtaining an image over a large area while maintaining the linear state. However, being incorporated with the position sensor, the device is further enlarged in size. Consequently, it is difficult to make observation at high resolution.
Also, the field of view is moved as time passes by, due to the heat drift of the sample in the SPM. Therefore, the extent that the field of view is moved by the heat drift, etc., is generally detected based on the obtained image and is corrected by the scanner, such that the observation can be resumed in the same field of view. However, when a small scanner is used for observation with a high resolution, and as the maximum scan range being smaller, the displacement of the field of view cannot be completely corrected during a long observation period. Occasionally, the desired area to be observed is moved outside of the field of view.


An extender for conventional round electrical boxes permits the user to incrementally extend the height of the box, as dictated by a particular application. The extender is adapted to fit inside the electrical box and to extend the height of the box, as determined by the thickness of a spacer placed between mounting ears of the extender and mounting columns of the box that are aligned when the extender is inserted into the box.

This invention relates generally to round electrical boxes and, more particularly, to an extender for such boxes that enables compliance with a certain provision of the National Electrical Code.
Article 370-20 of the National Electrical Code requires that in walls or ceilings of concrete, tile or other noncombustible material, electrical boxes shall be installed so that the front edge of the box will not set back of the finished surface more than 1/4" or 6.35 mm. It is also provided that in walls or ceilings constructed of wood or other combustible material, electrical boxes shall be flush with the finished surface or project therefrom. In many applications, it is not possible to meet these requirements of the National Electrical Code using conventional 4" round plastic nail-on electrical boxes, such as the Carlon B120A electrical box, for example. This is because the height of these boxes does not permit them to be mounted such that the front edge thereof is flush with the finished surface, as required by the National Electrical Code. Electrical inspectors are therefore presently unable to enforce compliance with the Article 370-20 of the National Electrical Code in applications in which use of these conventional round boxes do not permit compliance.
The present invention provides an extender for a conventional round electrical box which permits the user to incrementally extend the height of the box, as required in a particular application. The extender is adapted to fit inside the electrical box and to extend the height of the box, as determined by the thickness of a spacer placed between mounting ears of the extender and mounting columns of the box that are aligned when the extender is inserted into the box.


A zoom lens is provided which has a wide angle of view and is bright and in which the entire lens system is compact and which can achieve high optical characteristic over the entire zoom range.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a zoom lens and an image pickup device including the same and, in particular, to a zoom lens and an image pickup device suitable for use in image pickup optical systems of a digital still camera, a video camera, a security camera, a broadcast camera, a film camera, and the like.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an image pickup optical system included in an image pickup device including a solid-state image pickup element is desired to have high optical characteristic to an extent equivalent to supporting a high resolution solid-state image pickup element and further be capable of taking images at various magnifications.
A zoom lens for a security camera is desired to have a super wide angle of view and a small F-number. Furthermore, imaging of a subject in twilight time and nighttime uses not only visible light but also near infrared light. Accordingly, a degree of out-of-focus is required to be reduced in a wide wavelength range including near infrared light to visible light. Furthermore, the size of entire system is required to be small.
As a zoom lens configuration satisfying such demand, configurations of negative-lead type zoom lenses are known that include a lens unit having a negative refractive power arranged on the most object side. As to negative-lead type zoom lenses, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-134887 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-175174 disclose zoom lenses that include, in sequential order from the object side to the image side: a first lens unit having a negative refractive power; and a second lens unit having a positive refractive power, wherein both the lens units are moved to perform zooming.

Zoom lens and image pickup device including the same


In an ink jet printer, a belt-type preheating unit 2 pressingly heats a recording sheet 6 while transporting the recording sheet in a transport direction B on a belt. A suction transport device 3 is positioned downstream of the belt-type preheating unit 2 in the transport direction B. The suction transport means transports, on its transport belt, the recording sheet 6 heated by the belt-type preheating unit 2 in the transport direction B while fixing the recording sheet onto the transport belt by a vacuum suction. An ink jet print head, positioned confronting the suction transport device 3, records images by ejecting water-based ink onto the recording sheet which is being transported by the suction transport device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
For safety reasons, the ink used in ink jet printer is usually a water-based ink. To prevent clogging of nozzles, water-based ink that evaporates slowly must be used. However, such ink also dries slowly after printing so that printed sheets are difficult to handle. Because water-based ink runs easily, there has been a problem of different color inks running together and mixing during color printing. Also, precision of printing drops when recording sheets wrinkle, expand, or stretch. Attempts have been made to reduce severity of these problems by improving the recording sheets. However, these methods require production of special sheets that are expensive. Recording devices for rapidly drying the ink on the printed sheets are described on page 35 in the February 1994 issue of Hewlett-Packard Journal (not prior art). Actual methods described include heating printed sheets directly after printing to dry the printed sheets. The printed sheets are heated by streams of hot air, by radiant heat, or by heated platen rollers.
However, all these methods require detection of the temperature of the printed sheet and control of energization of the heat source. Safety measures such as for preventing overheating and generation of smoke and fire are necessary. Normally heating efficiency is low. However, power consumption is not always low. Generally a long waiting period is required for the heat source to heat up after the power is turned on until when printing is possible.


Glass cloth which is formed of a warp yarn and a weft yarn of the same glass yarn, wherein a ratio of warp yarn width to weft yarn width is not less than 0.80 and not more than 1.20 and a ratio of an elongation rate in a length direction when a load in a range of 25 N to 100 N per 25 mm width of the glass cloth is added in a warp yarn direction, to an elongation rate in a width direction when said load is added in a weft yarn direction is not less than 0.80 and not more than 1.20.

Recent applications of glass cloth used in a printed circuit board have widened to the development of package applications. Many packages have a square shaped XY plane and a substrate called an interposer used in this package is required to have no anisotropy in the XY directions.
For these packages, generally, a polyimide film based substrate or a substrate impregnated with a matrix resin and glass cloth as a reinforcing material is used. In view of the requirements for such an application, such as high rigidity, high dimensional stability, low thermal expansion, and the like, the use of a film substrate using glass cloth has been increasing. However, anisotropy in the XY directions of the film substrate, expressed by structural differences between the warp yarn direction and the weft yarn direction derived from the glass cloth, has now become a problem. At the same time, because of a requirement for a thinner package, a thinner interposer itself is needed and thus the thickness of the glass cloth used is required to be as thin as 50 μm to 20 μm.
For such a thin glass cloth, those with a reduced clearance rate by narrowing yarn distance by a fiber-opening treatment have been proposed in JP-A-5-286055, JP-A-8-18179, JP-A-11-114956 and JP-A-2002-38367.
However, the invention described in JP-A-5-286055 aims at the suppression of the dimensional change rate in a multilayer plate molding and in the Examples thereof, a multilayered plate composed of a 6 layered prepreg is described, but there is no description of a one-layer film substrate.
Also the invention described in JP-A-8-18179 aims at the improvement of the heat resistance in soldering and there is no description on the effects of anisotropy in the XY directions.
The invention described in JP-A-11-114956 also aims at the prevention of pore generation in a resin during prepreg preparation and there is no description on the effects of anisotropy in the XY directions.
Furthermore, in the invention described in JP-A-2002-38367, there is a description that suggests a reduction of anisotropy in the XY directions by increasing the opening rate in the XY directions. However, sufficient reduction of anisotropy in the XY directions could not be attained, as shown by the difference between the opening rate of the warp yarn and the opening rate of the weft yarn in the Examples described in Table 1 or 4. As is also clear from the description on the dimensional change rate between the width and the length directions in the Examples described in Table 1 or Table 2, there is no description of a one-layered film substrate, although a multi-layered plate composed of a 4 layered prepreg is described.

Glass cloth and film substrate using the same


Differential amplifier includes a differential amplifier circuit, a bias circuit and an output circuit. The differential amplifier circuit includes first and second differential amplifier sections. The first differential amplifier section includes a first PMOS transistor which has a source connected with a power supply line, and a first pair of PMOS transistors which have sources connected with a drain of the first PMOS and gates respectively receiving first and second input voltages. The second differential amplifier section includes a first NMOS transistor which has a source connected with a ground line, and a second pair of NMOS transistors which have sources connected with a drain of the first NMOS and gates respectively receiving the first and second input voltages. The bias circuit activates one of the amplifier sections in response to a control signal. The output circuit outputs an output signal from an output of the activated differential amplifier section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a differential amplifier.
2. Description of the Related Art
A differential amplifier outputs an output signal corresponding to a potential difference between two input signals and is widely used in integrated circuits.
A differential amplifier 100 installed in LSI (Large Scale Integrated circuit) is typically composed of a pair of PMOS transistors 101 and 102 whose sources are coupled to a common node and a PMOS transistor 103 inserted between the common node and a power supply terminal 104 having a power supply voltage VDD, as shown in FIG. 1. Input voltages VIN+ and VIN− are supplied to gates of the PMOS transistors 101 and 102, respectively. A constant bias voltage is applied to the gate of the PMOS transistor 103. The PMOS transistor 103 functions as a constant current source to send a constant bias current IBIAS to the sources of the PMOS transistors 101 and 102.
If the input voltage VIN+ is lower than the input voltage VIN−, the whole of the bias current IBIAS flows through the PMOS transistor 101, and is taken out as an output current IOUT+. On the other hand, if the input voltage VIN+ is higher than the input voltage VIN−, the whole of the bias current IBIAS flows through the PMOS transistor 102, and is taken out as an output current IOUT−. When the output currents IOUT+ and IOUT− flow into loads, an output of the differential amplifier 100 can be taken out also as a voltage. It should be noted that the differential amplifier can be formed of not PMOS transistors but NMOS transistors.
In order to normally operate such a differential amplifier, the two input voltages supplied to the differential amplifier need to be limited to a certain range. That is, it is not allowable that the two input voltages extend to the entire range between a ground voltage VSS and the power supply voltage VDD. For example, the two input voltages VIN+ and VIN− of the differential amplifier 100 shown in FIG. 1 need to be higher than the ground voltage VSS and lower than the voltage VDD−(VGS+VDS(SAT)). Here, the VDS(SAT) is the voltage between the drain and source of the PMOS transistor 103 when the PMOS transistor 103 is used in a saturation region. The VGS is the voltage between the gate and source of the PMOS transistor 101 (or the PMOS transistor 102) when the bias current IBIAS flows through the PMOS transistor 101 (or the PMOS transistor 102). Similarly, when the differential amplifier is formed of NMOS transistors, the input voltages VIN+ and VIN− need to be higher than the VSS+(VGS+VDS(SAT)) and lower than the power supply voltage VDD. The limit on the input voltage of the differential amplifier reduces the free degree of the design of the differential amplifier, and is not desired.
A CMOS operation amplifier circuit is described in Japanese Laid open Patent application (JP-A-Heisei 3-62712). In this conventional example, an allowable range for the input voltage of the differential amplifier is extended. The differential amplifier is composed of a pair of P-channel transistors for receiving input signals, a pair of N-channel transistors for receiving the input signals, and a circuit for synthesizing the outputs of the transistor pairs. The P-channel transistor pair and the N-channel transistor pair are different in the allowable range for the input voltage. Thus, the differential amplifier can be operated if the two input voltages are within the voltage range in which at least one of the P-channel transistor pair and the N-channel transistor pair can be operated.
In the differential amplifier, it is also desired that the power consumption is small in addition to the wide allowable range for the two input voltages. Since a large number of differential amplifiers are used in the LSI, it is extremely effective for the reduction in the power consumption of the LSI that the power consumption is small.

Differential amplifier operable in wide range


A method and system for performing a task on a computer is provided, in which the procedure is organized into multiple stages. Each stage of the task has an associated sub-task. Requests for the procedure are represented by “work packets” that stored in a holding area at each stage, such as a stack or a queue, until it is advantageous for a processor to execute them. Each work packet contains data and/or instructions for performing the sub-task of the stage. When a processor is available, it finds a stage having unexecuted work packets and executes a batch of work packets by repeatedly performing the sub-task of the stage. This repeated execution of a sub-task allows a processor to maximize its native time-saving mechanisms, such as cache. The invention may advantageously be used as an alternative to conventional thread-based programming.

Server programs are designed to run on server computers for the purpose of executing procedures in response to requests from client programs. During the course of a day, a server program may receive thousands, millions, or even billions of requests from client programs, each request asking for the performance of some task. For each request received, the server program allocates an independent "thread" of execution. A "thread scheduler" running on the server computer executes the thread on the first available processor. The thread is then permitted to use the processor to perform a series of sub-tasks required to perform the overall task and fulfill the request. Examples of sub-tasks include parsing character strings contained in the request, searching a database, and requesting disk I/O. When the thread stops running, either as a result of being suspended by the thread scheduler or by voluntarily giving up control of the processor, the thread scheduler may give control of the processor to another thread. This helps ensure that the processor always has work to do.
Unfortunately, a thread-based approach to processing client requests is often inefficient. Passing control of a processor from thread to thread may cause the processor to switch between unrelated pieces of code, thereby reducing program locality and consequently hindering the processor's native time-saving mechanisms, such caches, translation lookaside buffers and branch predictors. Thread-based programming can create additional problems on multiprocessor systems. For example, running the same thread on several processors can also result in two or more processors attempting to access the same data, thereby requiring the use of such synchronization mechanisms as locks, mutexes and critical sections. Multiple processors trying to access the same data may also have to consume bandwidth and CPU time trying to update one another's cache.
Thus it can be seen that there is a need for a method and system for performing a task on a computer that avoids the above-mentioned disadvantages.

Method and system for performing a task on a computer


A method, system, and computer program product for prioritizing directory scans in cache by a processor is provided. While traversing a directory in the cache, one of attempting to acquire a lock for a directory entry and attempting to acquire access to a track in the directory entry is performed. If one of the lock is not obtained for the directory entry and the access to the track in the directory entry is not obtained, the directory entry is added to a reserved data space. Following completion of traversing the directory, a return is made to the reserved data space to process the directory entry and the track in the directory entry.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to computers, and more particularly to a method, system, and computer program product for prioritizing certain cache directory scans for better performance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cache memories in computer systems have associated directories of entries of data files. Various kinds of directory scan commands ensure that the directory and associated files in a particular cache is current. A DISCARD scan discards or demotes tracks of data from the cache directory that meet the criteria of the scan. A COMMIT scan synchronously destages tracks from the cache directory that meet the criteria of the scan. Because COMMIT scans involve the synchronous destage of data from the cache to disk, they consume more computing resources and take more time to execute than do other scans, such as DISCARD scans which are not as resource intensive.

Prioritization of directory scans in cache

International Business Machines Corporation


A rotary adsorber for continuous bulk separations is disclosed. The rotary adsorber includes an adsorption zone in fluid communication with an influent adsorption fluid stream, and a desorption zone in fluid communication with a desorption fluid stream. The fluid streams may be gas streams or liquid streams. The rotary adsorber includes one or more adsorption blocks including adsorbent structure(s). The adsorbent structure adsorbs the target species that is to be separated from the influent fluid stream. The apparatus includes a rotary wheel for moving each adsorption block through the adsorption zone and the desorption zone. A desorption circuit passes an electrical current through the adsorbent structure in the desorption zone to desorb the species from the adsorbent structure. The adsorbent structure may include porous activated carbon fibers aligned with their longitudinal axis essentially parallel to the flow direction of the desorption fluid stream. The adsorbent structure may be an inherently electrically-conductive honeycomb structure.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an adsorption system for continuous bulk separations where separation of a species in a fluid stream is accomplished through continuous selective adsorption onto an adsorbent and subsequent desorption of the species from the adsorbent.
2. Description of the Related Art
The potential of adsorption systems for bulk separations has not been realized on industrially significant scales. Despite inherently low thermal efficiencies, distillation is still the operation of choice for bulk separation of a broad range of compounds. Adsorption separations can be carried out with greater thermal efficiencies, but they typically involve higher capital cost, batch wise operation, and are relatively unfamiliar technologies in the bulk separations industry.
Rotary solvent concentrator wheels are a well-established technology for the removal of solvent vapors in automotive spray booth air; i.e., for concentration of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to permit economical incineration. The rotary wheel includes an adsorbent material through which a high volume of VOC-laden air is passed at near ambient temperature. The wheel rotates, exposing about 330° of the arc to the contaminated air stream, resulting in capture of the VOCs on the adsorbent and discharge of clean air to the environment. As the wheel continues to rotate, the adsorbent passes through a regeneration zone, covering about 30° of the arc, through which a much lower volume of hot air (e.g., at a temperature of about 120° C.) is passed. The captured VOCs are desorbed into the hot air stream, which is passed to an incinerator for destruction of the VOCs. In essence, about a 20:1 concentration of the VOCs is obtained, which makes possible the economical incineration of the VOCs. U.S. Pat. No. 5,693,123 describes the use of such a rotary concentrator with extruded adsorbent blocks for removal of impurities from gas streams.
However, there is still a need for an improved adsorber system where separation of a species in the fluid stream is accomplished through continuous selective adsorption onto an adsorbent and subsequent desorption of the species from the adsorbent.

Rotary adsorbers for continuous bulk separations


A connector has female and male housings (10, 60). A cam pin (63) projects from the male housing (60), and a jaw (65) bulges out at the end of the cam pin (63). A lever (30) is mounted to the female housing (10), and has a cam groove (33) for engaging the cam pin (63). A step (38, 39) in the cam groove (33) defines an accommodating portion (42) for the jaw (65). The depth of the accommodation portion (42) is larger near the entrance of the cam groove (33) so that the jaw (65) initially is accommodated loosely. However the depth of the accommodating portion (42) is smaller towards the back of the cam groove (33) to prevent loose movements.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a lever-type connector, to a connector assembly and to an assembling method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-14142 discloses a lever-type connector with first and second housings that are connectable with each other. A lever formed with a cam groove is mounted in first housing and the second housing includes a cam pin. A jaw bulges radially out at the leading end of the cam pin and engages a step at an intermediate position of the cam groove. The step extends substantially horizontally at the same depth along the cam groove, and a space above the step accommodates the jaw. The cam pin enters the cam groove when the two housings are fit lightly together. The lever then is rotated so that the cam pin moves towards the back of the cam groove to urge the housings to a properly connected state. The jaw slides on the step so that the lever does not come out of the first housing during the connecting operation.
A clearance is formed between the step of the cam groove and the jaw due to a dimensional tolerance or the like. If this clearance is too small, it may be difficult for the jaw to move above the step. Thus, a contact pressure of the step of the cam groove and the jaw becomes too high, which might result in difficulty in starting the lever rotation. On the other hand, if this clearance is too large, the central axis of the cam pin may incline with respect to a vertical axis upon the receipt of connection resistance of the two housings while the cam pin is moving in the cam groove. In short, there is no problem if the clearance is set suitably, but it is difficult to constantly define a specified clearance for each product in view of variation in production.
The invention was developed in view of the above situation, and an object thereof is to improve the operability of a movable member for connecting or assisting the connection of a connector with a mating connector.

Connector, connector assembly and assembling method


An optical component including at least one optical supergrating is provided. The optical supergrating includes a quantized refractive index profile adapted to exhibit a finite plurality of refractive indexes; which in turn are adapted to generate a reflectance spectrum in at least one spectral band corresponding to a Fourier transformed analog refractive index profile.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to processing optical signals, and more particularly to routing, filtering and detecting optical signals.
2. Prior Art
Gratings are optical devices used to achieve wavelength-dependent characteristics by means of optical interference effects. These wavelength-dependent optical characteristics can, for instance, serve to reflect light of a specific wavelength while transmitting or refracting light at all other wavelengths. Such characteristics are useful in a wide range of situations, including the extraction of individual wavelength-channels in Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM) optical communication systems, or providing wavelength-specific feedback for tunable or multi-wavelength semiconductor lasers. Gratings are usually implemented by modulating (varying) the effective index of refraction of a wave-guiding structure. These changes in index of refraction cause incident light wavelengths to be reflected or refracted: in the case of an abrupt interface between two index values, light incident directly on the interface is reflected according to the well-known Fresnel reflection law.
The term "multi-wavelength grating" generally refers to a grating that is capable of exhibiting optical characteristics at a number of wavelengths. For example, a multi-wavelength grating may be a grating that reflects light at several select wavelengths (which may correspond to specific optical communication channels), yet is transparent to light at other wavelengths. In some situations, however, there is a need to set the optical characteristics for a continuous range of wavelengths, rather than at specific wavelength values; for example, when using an optical grating to compensate for the unevenness of optical gain profiles in laser cavities and optical amplifiers. However, achieving this requirement for a continuous range of wavelengths is difficult to meet with traditional grating technologies.
Similarly, a range of optical wavelengths may be used where many communication channels are encoded into a single optical cable by utilizing different wavelengths of light; this is more commonly known as Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) technology. Periodic gratings are often used to separate or process these channels. However, periodic grating technologies process one wavelength, forcing devices intended to process multiple wavelengths to employ multiple single-wavelength periodic gratings. This is not an attractive solution because, on top of the additional losses that each grating creates, even a single grating occupies a considerable amount of space by today's standards of integration and miniaturization. It is thus desired to have a single device capable of processing several wavelengths in a space-efficient manner.
In the field of semiconductor lasers, the output wavelength of semiconductor lasers is largely determined by the presence of "feedback elements" around or inside the laser gain section, which act to reflect light at the desired wavelength back into the laser. For multi-wavelength operation, multi-wavelength feedback is needed. Again, single-wavelength grating technology can only address this demand with a cascade of simple gratings, leading to the same (if not more notable) loss and space problems mentioned above.
In the field of optical transmission, it is well known that optical networks must contend with a property known as dispersion. This property arises from the wavelength-dependence of effective index, which in turn produces a wavelength-dependent group delay spectrum for a given type and length of optical fiber. Since an optical pulse always possesses some spectral width, this wavelength-dependence leads to different retardation of various spectral components of the optical pulse, thereby leading to its spread in the spatial domain. This spread directly impedes the operation of the optical network. Some forms of dispersion can be corrected for with single-wavelength gratings, but only on a channel by channel basis. More complicated forms of dispersion such as dispersion slope cannot be suitably corrected by single-wavelength gratings at all.
One such single-wavelength grating device is a Bragg Grating. The Bragg Grating consists of a periodic variation in refractive index and acts as a reflector for a single wavelength of light related to the periodicity (known as pitch, Λ) of the index pattern; and is frequently used in both semiconductor systems and fiber-optic systems. In practice, the Bragg Grating can usually reflect at several wavelengths, corresponding to overtones of its fundamental pitch; however, these higher-order wavelengths tend to be at quite different spectral regions than that of the fundamental wavelength, thus not making the Bragg Grating useful as a multi-wavelength reflector. Moreover, these higher-order wavelengths cannot be tuned independently of one another.
Other multi-wavelength grating technologies include: analog superimposed gratings, Sampled Gratings (SG), Super-Structure Gratings (SSG), Chirped Bragg Gratings, Dammann Gratings, Arrayed Waveguide Gratings (AWG), Echelle Gratings and Binary Superimposed Gratings (BSG).
Analog superimposed gratings are a generalization of the Bragg Grating and are rooted in a principle of superposition: a grating profile consisting of the sum of the index profiles of single-wavelength gratings reflects at all of its constituent wavelengths. Such a grating relies on an analog index variation, that is, a refractive index that changes continuously along the grating length. However, it is difficult to inscribe strong analog gratings using the well-known photorefractive effect, since the change of index under illumination varies non-linearly with stronger exposures, making the writing process difficult in semiconductors where surface relief gratings are used. It is also very difficult and generally impractical to reproducibly etch analog features into the surface of the semiconductor. The latter difficulty brought about the introduction of binary gratings, i.e., gratings that rely only on two refractive index values corresponding to the material being etched or not etched, illuminated or not illuminated.
Two representations of multi-wavelength binary gratings are sampled gratings (SG) and superstructure gratings (SSG). The SG is constructed with alternating sections of grating and grating-free regions of the waveguide. The alternating sections produce diffraction spectra consisting of multiple reflectance peaks contained within a (typically) symmetric envelope. The SG is intrinsically limited in the flexibility in the location and relative strength of reflectance peaks, and, because of the large fraction of grating-free space, is also spatially inefficient. The SG is therefore particularly unsuitable where a short grating is required or where waveguide losses are high.
With the super-structure grating (SSG), the grating period is chirped by finely varying the grating pitch, which corresponds to the length of one tooth-groove cycle. This can also be thought of as a sequence of finely tuned phase shifts; common phase profiles include linear and quadratic chirp. Such an implementation in principle allows arbitrary peak positions and relative heights, but only at the expense of extremely high resolution, corresponding to a very small fraction of the size of the grating teeth themselves.
Chirped Bragg Gratings are grating devices targeted at applications such as dispersion compensation and optical pulse compression. Here a Bragg grating's pitch Λ is varied along its length. This produces a wavelength-dependent phase spectrum which can be tailored to provide the desired group delay spectrum: τg=−dφ/dω. The delay for a given free-space wavelength λ0 then follows from the round-trip distance to where local pitch has λ0 as its Bragg wavelength: τg(λ0)=2neefz(λ0), where z(λ0) is the spatial coordinate at which Λ(z)=λ0/2neff. In practice, however, these implementations suffer from excessive group-delay ripple, indicating that the dispersion compensation is not complete.
Dammann Gratings are binary gratings devices wherein the grating features are imposed on some surface and wherein the incident light illuminates the surface at some normal or off-normal angle. The optical wavefront incident on this grating experiences a one-time interaction with the grating features and thereby experiences Raman-Nath type diffraction (as opposed to Bragg diffraction). This device is intended for free-space use and is not easily employed in guided-wave applications. Furthermore, to achieve the wavelength resolution requirements imposed by modern optical communication systems the incident light must be collimated to a very high degree, which can prove difficult in practice.
Arrayed Waveguide Gratings (AWG) are used primarily to spatially separate optical channels in a WDM environment. They operated by dividing input multi-wavelength light between an array of waveguides, wherein each waveguide is of a slightly different optical length. The resulting optical phase differences between the waveguides' respective outputs leads to a wavelength-dependent interference pattern, which with proper design can lead to a separation of wavelength components. In practice, this technology requires vast amounts of semiconductor real estate and imposes extreme manufacturing constraints.
Echelle gratings are also used primarily to spatially separate optical channels in a WDM environment. Here, a grating plane is generated by means of defining subwavelength reflective features at various glazing angles and potentially along some curved plane. The grating plane is then illuminated with multi-wavelength light, often at an oblique angle, and the individual reflections add up to substantially separate the wavelength components. The device tends to be very difficult to implement in practice, requiring both deep and flat etching characteristics when implemented in semiconductor.
Prior art regarding binary superimposed grating synthesis is presented in Ivan A. Avrutsky, Dave S. Ellis, Alex Tager, Hanan Anis, and J. M. Xu, "Design of widely tunable semiconductor lasers and the concept of Binary Superimposed Gratings (BSG's)," IEEE J. Quantum Electron., vol. 34, pp. 729-740, 1998.
Older methods in the prior art address the synthesis of "multi-peak" gratings—i.e., gratings characterized by reflectance at several "peaks", which can be controlled in their position and strength. In these methods, a grating engineer begins with a set of sinusoids, each sinusoid corresponding to a single reflectance peak and weighted according to that peak's desired relative strength. These peaks are added together (i.e. superimposed; hence the BSG is known as a superimposed grating) to produce an "analog profile". This profile is then digitally quantized by a simple threshold method. For example, if the analog profile value is positive (above a pre-selected reference) then the corresponding BSG segment is a high or binary 1 index value; if it is negative, the corresponding BSG segment is a low or binary zero index value.
However, this approach is inadequate in at least two areas: firstly, the threshold quantization process introduces intermodulation, which largely limits the applicability of BSGs synthesized in this manner to active applications (laser feedback elements and the like). Secondly, this synthesis procedure is limited to multi-peak gratings, and offers little or no control over the individual peak shape. It is also entirely incapable of generating flat-top channels, as desired by some communication applications, and of generating the near-arbitrary reflectance spectra demanded by some gain- and dispersion-compensation schemes.
Other methods for BSG synthesis include trial-and-error methods that are most often computationally difficult and inefficient.
Therefore, for detecting optical wavelengths in optical devices it is desirable to provide methods and apparatuses for overcoming the disadvantages noted above.

Method and apparatus for processing optical signals with supergratings


Methods and systems are disclosed for delivering personalized content from a first server such as a merchant Web server to a computer accessing a second server such as an affiliate Web server. A system according to the present invention includes a merchant Web server and an affiliate Web server, the affiliate Web server being coupled to the merchant Web server over a computer network. A database of user information is accessible to the merchant Web server, as is a rule base that includes a plurality of configurable rules. User identification may be collected from the computer accessing a Web site controlled by the affiliate Web server and the collected user identification may be sent to the merchant Web server, along with a request for content. User information corresponding to the collected user identification may then be retrieved from the database. The user information obtained from the database may be applied to the plurality of rules and selected content may be returned to the affiliate Web server in response to the request for content. The returned content is selected based upon the result of the application of the user information to the plurality of rules.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the delivery of personalized content over computer networks, such as the Internet.
2. Description of the Related Art
The relative low cost of transferring information over computer networks such as the Internet has deluged consumers with sales and marketing information. Much of the information received by consumers is transmitted upon request, such as when consumers view a specific Web page from a favorite or vendor. Some information, however, is pushed to the consumer, such as the case with advertisements, sometimes in the form of banner ads occupying a portion of the active area of a Web browser. Most often, the consumer has not requested the banner ad to be displayed. Its display results from an agreement between the owner of the Web site and the advertiser. Such ads are often rotated, so that repeat visitors to the Web site do not become habituated to the same advertisement each time they visit the Web site.
Some Web sites also feature links to other web sites featuring businesses with which the Web site maintains a strategic alliance or other contractual relationship. Such other Web sites may be termed affiliate Web sites. Such affiliate Web sites usually offer complimentary products and/or services. The affiliate Web sites may feature advertisements for products or services of the Web site(s) with which they are affiliated. For maximum effectiveness, however, such advertisements should be delivered in a controlled manner and the content thereof should be customized to a target audience or even to a targeted individual. However, conventional practice appears to be limited to blind rotation of static content and/or to changing the content display frequency to meet contractual terms. What are needed are methods and systems to maximize the effectiveness of content (such as advertising content, for example) to be displayed on Web sites. To maximize the effectiveness of the content and the delivery thereof requires the content to be customized and dynamically responsive to the specific individual or class of individuals viewing the content.

Methods and systems for rule-based distributed and personlized content delivery


A fuser member for fixing toner to a recording medium having a fluoropolymer non-stick topcoat on a compliant silicone rubber baselayer bonded to a metallic insert is provided. The fluoropolymer is adhered to the silicone rubber baselayer using a primer of a blend of silane and a polyamide resin. The primed silicone baselayer is preheated in an infrared oven to remove low molecular weight fractions. A primer is applied to the prebaked rubber and completely dried before applying the fluoroelastomer topcoat by spaying.

The use of a fusing member constructed with a non-stick material as a top layer and a heat resistant base layer has been known in the reprophotographic art. Typical non-stick materials which have been used include polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), perfluoroalkoxy (PFA), polychlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE), ethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE), ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polyvinyl fluoride (PVF), silicone compounds and blends of these materials.
Fluoropolymer resin by itself, though an excellent non-stick material, provides no compliance. Silicone compounds on the other hand, while compliant are readily adversely affected by silicone oil which is commonly used as a release agent in fusing applications. As the silicone compound swells, the nip characteristics change, affecting the fuse quality of the images. The silicone coating becomes susceptible to mechanical damage, such as abrasion by the print media, picker fingers and hardened toner that accumulates in the system. Fluoroelastomers, on the other hand are tougher materials which are more resistant to silicone oil. However, fluoroelastomers generally require a special oil to function in a fuser application. These special silicone oils are costly and when present on the copy media make writing on the media noticeably more difficult.
It is preferable to have a material combining the non-stick properties of fluoropolymer resins and the compliant properties of silicone elastomers. U.S. Pat. No. 3,435,500 to Aser and U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,565 to Kon disclose applying a polytetrafluoroethylene resin to a silicone rubber surface which is adhered to a metal insert and sintering the resin. Another U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,759, to Chen, et al. discloses a method of bonding a fluoropolymer resin to various substrates including silicone, via a layer of fluoroelastomer and fluoropolymer containing a polyamide-imide layer. The fluoropolymer in the latter case assumes the role of an insulator to prevent degradation of the compliant substrate and the adhesion between the layers during the sintering process.
Since most commercially available materials today compromise one necessary property in some way or another, the various solutions suggested in the prior art are not fully satisfactory. This is particularly true in color systems where gloss and gloss maintenance is a key element of the fusing system. Here, a fluoropolymer coating possessing easy wettability by a silicone release agent is a highly desirable surface characteristic.
Accordingly, it remains highly desirable to provide a fuser member where the top layer provides maximum release properties and is not affected by the use of release agents commonly in use as well as possessing compliant properties.

Multilayer fuser rolls having fluoropolymer coating on a complaint baselayer


A solid-state imaging device includes a color filter on a substrate formed from a colored transparent material having a pigment with specified spectral transmissivity characteristics. The color filter possesses a plurality of spectral transmissivity characteristics in one layer. The distance from the color filter to the light sensing parts of the substrate is relatively uniform for all of the filter regions. This reduces flicker and other image characteristics defects. Since the device is not a laminate structure, cracks in the color filter due to thermal impact are reduced, and reliability is enhanced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state imaging device furnished with a single-layer color filter having a microlens, and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Prior Art
As a method of fabricating a color solid-state imaging device, recently, the method of forming a color filter directly on a substrate on which the solid-state imaging device is in the mainstream. In a smaller solid-state imaging device, a microlens is formed on a color filter, and the incident light is focused on the light sensing part through the microlens so as to enhance the light sensing sensitivity.
A conventional solid-state imaging device and its manufacturing method are described herein while referring to the drawings. FIG. 17 is a partial cross section showing the constitution of a conventional solid-state imaging device. FIGS. 18 to 31 are partial cross sections showing the method of manufacturing a conventional solid-state imaging device shown in FIG. 17 in the sequence of processes.
First in FIG. 17, the constitution of a conventional solid-state imaging device is explained.
Plural (e.g. four in FIG. 17) transparent resin layers 2 are formed in order to planarize the surface asperities of a solid-state imaging device substrate 1. Above a light sensing part 3 , a first color filter layer 4, a second color filter layer 5 and a third color filter layer 6 are formed. Further, a microlens 7 is formed above each light sensing part 3. In other words, the transparent resin layers 2 are formed between the light sensing part 3 and the first color filter layer 4, the second color filter layer 5, the third color filter layer 6 and the microlens 7 respectively so as to prevent mixture of colors and to planarize the first color filter layer 4, second color filter layer 5 and third color filter layer 6. In this constitution, the solid-state imaging device having a color filter is realized.
Its operation is as follows.
The light entering the microlens 7 in the uppermost layer is focused, and is separated into lights having spectral transmissivity characteristics individually by the first color filter layer 4, second color filter layer 5 and third color filter layer 6. The separated lights enter the light sensing part 3 beneath each color filter layer. The lights entering the light sensing part 3 are converted into electric signals, and therefore the solid-state imaging device functions to present color pictorial images.
In FIGS. 18 to 31, a manufacturing method of a conventional solid-state imaging device is described.
FIG. 18 shows the state of planarizing the surface by forming the transparent resin layer 2 on the solid-state imaging device substrate 1.
FIG. 19 shows the state of forming a dye base material layer 8 using a dye base material adding a photosensitizer containing chromium (VI) to gelatin, casein or the like. In succession, FIG. 20 shows the state of forming a patterned dye base layer 9. As shown in FIG. 19, the patterned dye base layer 9 is formed by exposing dye base material layer 8 using a mask and then developing and rinsing the dye base material layer 8. FIG. 21 shows the state of forming the first color filter layer 4 by dyeing the patterned dye base layer 9 by using a first dye solution.
FIG. 22 shows the state of forming the transparent resin layer 2 on the first color filter layer 4 for the purpose of planarizing the surface asperities of the first color filter layer 4 and preventing the mixture of colors in the subsequent dye process. FIG. 23 shows the state of forming the dye base material layer 8 similarly as in FIG. 19. FIG. 24 shows the state of forming the patterned dye base layer 9. The patterned dye base layer 9 is also formed by an exposure process using a mask and then developing and rinsing the dye base material layer 8 shown in FIG. 23. FIG. 25 shows the state of forming the second color filter layer 5 by dyeing the patterned dye base layer 9 by using a second dye solution.
FIG. 26 shows the state of forming the transparent resin layer 2 on the second color filter layer 5 for the purpose of planarizing the surface asperities of the second color filter layer 5 and preventing the mixture of colors in the subsequent dye process. FIG. 27 shows the state of forming. the dye base material layer 8 similarly as in FIG. 23. FIG. 28 shows the state of forming the patterned dye base layer 9. The patterned dye base layer 9 is formed by an exposure process using a mask and then developing and rinsing the dye base material layer 8 shown in FIG. 27. FIG. 29 shows the state of forming the third color filter layer 6 by dyeing the patterned dye base layer 9 by using a third dye solution.
FIG. 30 shows the state of forming the transparent resin layer 2 on the third color filter layer 6 for the purpose of planarizing the surface asperities of the third color filter layer 6.
FIG. 31 finally shows the state of forming the microlens 7 by patterning the photosensitive material and treating the material by heating or the like.
The conventional constitution of the solid-state imaging device has a multilayer constitution having plural transparent resin layers 2 formed between adjacent color filter layers 4-6. The conventional solid-state imaging device is accordingly weak to thermal impact from outside, and is limited in reliability. In addition, as the distance between each color filter layer and light sensing part 3 becomes longer, flicker and other defects occur in the image characteristics. Further, since the color filter layers are formed in steps, some of the incident lights run through color filter layers, and unseparated lights enter to cause defects such as white-out and white blemish in the image characteristics. The white-out means that the white point occurs on the color pictorial image. The white-out happens when non separated lights enter the light sensing part 3. Moreover, since the distance from the microlens 7 to the light sensing part 3 is long, the focusing efficiency becomes poor, and the improvement of light sensitivity of the light sensing part 3 is limited.
In the conventional manufacturing method of the solid-state imaging device, the dye base material adding a photosensitizer containing chromium (VI) to gelatin, casein or the like is used, which causes the problem of contamination by chromium. By repeating, still further, the steps of forming and dyeing the dye base layer by using the dye base material to form the first color filter layer 4, second color filter layer 5 and third color filter layer 6, many process steps are desirable to form the solid-state imaging device. Further, although the conventional manufacturing method includes the dyeing process, the conventional method causes the problems of swelling of the color filter layer pattern. As a result, the pattern dimensions are changed before and after dyeing. In the dyeing process, the dyeing occurs while a plurality of significant dyeing conditions are strictly controlled. These dyeing conditions include dye solution temperature, concentration, pH, dyeing time and dyeing fluctuations.
The invention intends to solve the above problems of the prior art. The distance from the color filter layers to the light sensing part is minimized, and the color filter layers are not mutually different in steps. As a result, a solid-state imaging device presenting excellent image characteristics is realized. It is also an object of the invention to present a manufacturing method free from chromium contamination during the dyeing process.

Solid-state imaging device and method of manufacturing the same

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method for optimizing a logical design for emulation. The present invention optimzes latch-based designs by transforming them into a flip-flop based circuit. The design is analyzed to determine whether any consecutive latches are clocked by the same clock signal. If consecutive latches are clocked by the same clock signal, for example, the same phase of the same master clock, a transparency condition exists. Transparent latches are transformed into either a flip-flop/buffer/multiplexer circuit or a buffer circuit depending upon whether the latch in the logic design has an enable input. If consecutive latches in a design are clocked by different clock signals, i.e., different phases of the master clock, no transparency condition exists. Non-transparent latches are transformed into a flip-flop.

Hardware logic emulators are a powerful tool used during the design of integrated circuits such as application specific integrated circuits (known to those skilled in the art as "ASICs") and microprocessors. Hardware emulation systems allow a circuit designer to implement a logical equivalent of their design in hardware prior to implementing the design as an integrated circuit. This allows the user to determine whether their design performs as expected. It also allows for the co-design of related components such as software. Hardware emulators also allow users to verify that the circuit they have designed will function in the system in which the integrated circuit will eventually reside (i.e., the "target system"). Prior art emulators utilized reprogrammable logic integrated circuits that were interconnected together with programmable interconnect resources. For examples of such emulators, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,109,353, 5,036,473, 5,452,239, and, 5,475,830, all of which are assigned to the same assignee as the present invention and all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Hardware logic emulation systems can also be constructed with many microprocessors interconnected in a massively parallel configuration. For an example of such an arrangement, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,306,286, 4,656,580, 4,914,612, and 5,551,013, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. In such an arrangement, the signals between each processor are time multiplexed. Thus, for each clock cycle, connections between the processors are established so that the processor resources necessary to evaluate the logical operations occurring during that clock cycle are interconnected. After the logic operations for that clock cycle are evaluated, the emulator reconfigures the interconnect between the processors so that the necessary processor resources are interconnected to evaluate the logical operations during the next clock cycle. U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,013, in particular, describes a preferred structure for implementation of the present invention.
Recently, latch-based designs have become common among integrated circuit designers because they can be implemented using smaller integrated circuit layout geometries than can other sequential logic functions such as flip-flops. However, while latch-based designs offer advantages when implemented on the integrated circuit, latches are difficult to implement in a processor-based emulation system. To understand why latches are difficult to implement in this environment, a brief discussion of flip-flops and latches will be provided. This discussion will refer to FIGS. 1-4. As is known to those of ordinary skill in the art, flip-flops are edge triggered sequential devices. Thus, upon the arrival of a clock ("CLK") edge, as shown in FIG. 2, the output ("Q") will take the value of the input ("D"). The flip-flop 10 shown in FIGS. 1-2 is a positive edge triggered flip-flop. In contrast to flip-flops, as is also known to those of ordinary skill in the art, latches are level sensitive sequential devices. Thus, in a latch, the output ("Q") follows the input ("D") when the clock ("CLK") goes high. The output ("Q") then holds that value when the clock ("CLK") goes low. The latch 20 shown in FIGS. 3-4 is a positive transparent latch.
A basic block diagram of the logic element of a presently preferred emulation processor is shown in FIG. 5a. The processors in a processor-based emulation system comprise an input stack 50, a logic table stack 60, and an output stack 70, as shown in FIG. 5a. The input stack 50 contains the input data signals that will comprise the inputs signals to the logic for a particular clock cycle. The output stack. 70 comprises the output signals from the logic evaluated during a particular clock cycle. The logic table stack 60 comprises the possible primitives that can be evaluated by the processor. Thus, for a given clock cycle, the input signals of the input stack are evaluated using the logic primitives of the logic table stack. The result of the evaluation is placed in the output stack.
In a typical integrated circuit design, a clock generation circuit 100 generates one or more clock signals from the clock signal which will be input to the integrated circuit design. A block diagram for a clock generation circuit 100 is shown in FIG. 5b. Clock generation circuit 100 takes the input clock signal FCLK (which can come from the target system) and generates one or more clock signals A and B. Clock signals A and B are synchronous clock signals. The clock generation circuit can further generate non-overlapping phases of clock A (signal Aph.sub.-- 1 and Aph.sub.-- 2) and clock B (signals Bph.sub.-- 1 and Bph.sub.-- 2). Clock signals that are non-overlapping never go high at the same time. In general, design engineers utilize non-overlapping clocks when designing multi-latch logic circuits. The reason for this is that when design engineers utilize overlapping clock signals in these circuit designs, it becomes difficult to control signal propagation through the latches in the user's design. This can lead to race conditions and unpredictable circuit behavior, both of which are undesirable.
The manner in which processor-based emulators operate are such that flip-flop based designs emulate properly. As discussed, processor-based emulation systems are cycle based. Thus, for a given datapath, the processor in which the particular evaluation is taking place levelizes the combinational logic, i.e., the processor orders the levels of combinational logic to ensure that the proper input signals to each level are present when that level of logic is evaluated. For each emulation cycle, the processor only evaluates the combinational logic between the sequential logic gates. In the case of a datapath containing flip-flops, such an arrangement results in functionally correct emulation because flip-flops are edge-sensitive. Therefore, the output of the flip-flop can only change state when an edge of the clock occurs. Thus, in a processor-based emulation system, for each clock cycle, the flip-flop only transfers the data signal from one datapath to the next. Thus, the flip-flops are inherently part of the datapath in a processor-based emulation system.
Latches, unlike flip-flops, are not inherently part of the design because of the transparent nature of a latch. As discussed, latches are level sensitive devices where the state of the output does not change until the clock signal it receives approaches the level that the latch is sensitive to. Because of this characteristic of latches, latches can be transparent. Transparency of a latch-based circuit path occurs when a series of latches in a particular circuit path are all clocked by the same clock phase. If a series of latches are clocked at the same time, the output signals of each of the datapaths pass right through the latches, i.e., the latches are transparent. When the possibility of transparency is present, the processor-based emulator will be unable to determine where the datapaths ends. This characteristic renders emulation of latch-based circuit designs problematic. Thus, in a processor based emulation system like that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,013, emulation of latch-based designs can be unsatisfactory.
Just as in a flip-flop based design, a circuit path of a typical latch-based design contains a datapath comprised of combinational logic feeding the inputs to the latches. An example of such a circuit path 200 is shown in FIG. 6. The circuit path 200 of FIG. 6 is comprised of latch 210, the output Q of which feeds datapath 215. Datapath 215 feeds the input D of latch 220. The output Q of latch 220 feeds datapath 225, which feeds the input D of latch 230. The emulator wants to evaluate what the circuit 200 does to a data signal at the input D of latch 210 for one emulation cycle. This means the emulator evaluates the signal path from one sequential logic element to the next sequential element. However, if each of latches 210, 220 and 230 are clocked by the same clock signal (or the same phase of the same clock signal), when each of the latches 210, 220, 230 receive a clock edge, the latches will all be transparent at the same time. Because of this, the latches 210, 220, 230 will pass the signal on their inputs D directly to their outputs Q, i.e., the latches will be transparent. This transparency makes the emulator unable to evaluate what the circuit 200 did to the data signal through a single emulation cycle. For example, if latches 210 and 230 are clocked by the same clock signal (or the same phase of the same clock signal phi), and latch 220 is clocked by a different, non-overlapping clock signal (or a different phase of the same clock signal ph2), the latches are not transparent to each other. On the other hand, if latch 210 and latch 220 are clocked by the same clock signal (or the same phase of the same clock signal), and latch 230 is clocked by a different, non-overlapping clock signal (or a different, non-overlapping phase, of the same clock signal), latch 210 is transparent to latch 220. Latch 220, however, is not transparent to latch 230. The reason for this is that the input D to latch 220 depends on the output Q of the latch (not shown) preceding latch 210 because latch 220 is clocked by the same clock signal as latch 210 (latch 210 is transparent). In contrast, the value of the input D to latch 230 depends upon the output Q of latch 220 because latches 220 and 230 are clocked by different clock signals (i.e., latch 220 is not transparent).
In contrast, flip-flops cannot be transparent. Because of this, flip-flops become inherent in a cycle based emulation environment, i.e., the output of datapath 215 and datapath 225 will be stored in flip-flops 220 and 230 respectfully. This property of flip-flops makes them ideal for this type of emulation environment. On the other hand, the transparency of latches makes them difficult to emulate. While it is possible to just substitute flip-flops for the latches in the user's design and over-sampling the signal that is input to the flip-flops to obtain the desired transparency effect, such a method results in significantly slower emulation speeds. Reduced emulation speed is highly undesirable. Thus a method of optimizing latch-based design for emulation in a processor-based emulation system is needed.

Latch optimization in hardware logic emulation systems


An input sensor voltage is stepped up to a predetermined sensor voltage by a step-up single power supply circuit 30. The voltage thus stepped up is supplied to a first differential amplifier circuit 40, a first current buffer 50 and a constant voltage circuit 60. Either first or second transistor in the first current buffer 50 is turned on in accordance with a voltage difference across a Hall element 3 provided in a gap in a magnetic core of a coil 1. A current proportionate to a voltage from the first differential amplifier circuit 40 is output from the output terminal of the first current buffer 50 through a secondary winding 1c, a resistor RL and the constant voltage circuit 60 in the direction opposite to that of the current in a primary winding 1b to balance a magnetic flux in the coil 1. The constant voltage circuit 60 maintains a voltage at its output at a reference voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to non-contact type sensors and, more particularly, to a non-contact type sensor driven by a single power supply for measuring a voltage or current on a non-contact basis.
2. Description of the Related Art
Non-contact type sensors in the art to which the invention is related include those operating on a single power supply to measure a current or voltage. Such a non-contact type sensor has an amplifier for amplifying an output voltage of a Hall element provided in the gap at a magnetic core of a secondary coil. First and second windings are wound around the secondary coil in opposite directions. A current in a direction opposite to that of the current to be measured is applied to the first winding. A current of the same ampere turns as that of a bias current to the first winding is applied to the second winding through a variable resistor to maintain magnetic flux in the magnetic core of the secondary coil at zero. Thus, a current is applied so that a bias current for a secondary current is canceled to achieve magnetic equilibrium of the secondary coil, thereby obtaining a voltage proportionate to the current to be measured.
Non-contact sensors of the related art include another type proposed by the applicant in an unpublished application. This non-contact type sensor employs driving from a single power supply of +12 V and has a configuration wherein a current in a negative direction flows from a current buffer to a secondary winding and resistor to cancel a magnetic flux generated by a current flowing through a primary winding and, when a current in the opposite direction flows through the primary winding, a current in a positive direction flows through the resistor, secondary winding and current buffer. In such a non-contact type sensor of the related art, a mid-point is provided for charging and discharging an output current, and the level of the mid-point is changed by turning the current buffer on and off. When a single power supply of +12 V is employed and first and second resistors connected to each other in series in a constant voltage circuit have the same resistance, the voltage dividing point between the first and second resistors has a voltage of +6 V. A voltage follower connected to the first and second resistors outputs the voltage of +6 V at the voltage dividing mid-point to an output terminal. A detection resistor provided at the output terminal for voltage measurement has a voltage on the side of the secondary winding which is about 0 V in the positive direction of the current and about 12 V in the positive direction of the current. Therefore, the voltage across the resistor provided at the output terminal for voltage measurement is .+-.6 V and, the range of voltage measurement is +6 V.
Further, in this non-contact type sensor of the related art, the resistance of the first resistor in the constant voltage circuit is varied. For example, if the resistance of the first voltage is set at one-half of the resistance of the second resistor when a single power supply of +12 V is employed, the voltage follower has an output of (2/3) V, i.e., +8 V because it outputs the voltage at the voltage dividing point between the first and second resistors.
Then, a negative or positive current flows from the current buffer to the secondary winding, detection resistor and voltage follower or from the voltage follower to the detection resistor, secondary winding and current buffer. At this time, the voltage of the detection resistor on the side of the secondary winding is about 0 V in the positive direction of the current and about 12 V in the positive direction of the current. That is, the voltage across the detection resistor is 8 V in the positive direction and 4 V in the negative direction, and the ratio between measuring ranges in the positive and negative directions is 2:1. Thus, the measuring ranges in the positive and negative directions can be varied by changing the resistance of the first resistor.
However, when a subbattery of +12 V is used, the method described above wherein the level of the mid-point is varied provides a measuring range of .+-.6 V which is not wide enough.
There are non-contact type sensors which include a DC--DC converter and use power supplies of +12 V and -12 V to be capable of providing a measuring range of .+-.12 V which is wide enough. This results in increases in power consumption, in the capacity of transformers and in the size of the non-contact type sensors themselves.

Non-contact type sensor driven from a single power supply for allowing a compact configuration and reduced power consumption


Methods for digitizing complex surfaces of dental objects such as impressions of dental surfaces and shapes. While an impression mold is being scanned by translation along a known trajectory, typically in a plane, the line of sight of a distance probe is directed toward successive positions on the surface of the impression mold, such as by a periodic series of reflecting surfaces characterized by normal vectors at distinct non-orthogonal angles with respect to their axis of symmetry. One or more reference objects are scanned using the same translation and mirror positioning systems. Gathered coordinate data are processed to apply angular corrections and combined to form a single distortion-corrected image of the impression mold. An apparatus and methods are provided for measuring both sides of a dental object separately, and then registering the two sides relative to each other in a digital representation of the object.

Recent practice has shown the efficacy, both for diagnostic purposes and for the fabrication of various types of dental appliances, of forming digital images of teeth, or of entire sections of the mouth of a patient. In current practice, digitization is generally performed by scanning actual teeth or by scanning cast models of teeth formed using standard molding and casting techniques.
A dental impression is a negative replica of a given area of the oral cavity. The area replicated may be composed of either hard or soft tissues or both. Dental impressions are typically formed within the mouth of a patient, using an elastic material or a thermo-plastic material, such as a reversible hydrocolloid, that softens above a certain temperature. Other materials used may include various silicone or polysulfide-, and polyether-based synthetic rubber materials. Examples of dental impressions to which the instant invention may advantageously be applied are shown in FIG. 1. Dental impressions are useful for diagnostic purposes and may be used to cast molds, the casted molds being essential in the fabrication of various types of dental appliances, as will be further discussed in the disclosure that follows. In order to cast an accurate copy of teeth or parts of the mouth, plaster or dental stone is typically placed within an impression mold after the mold has been impacted by the patient.
The existing procedures for dental restoration involving the use of dental scanners typically proceeds as follows: First, a tray including an impression mold is inserted into a patient's mouth to create an impression of the patient's teeth and gingival tissue of the upper and lower jaw. The tray is held stationary until the impression material hardens capturing a negative, or reverse image of the teeth and gingival tissue. The tray is then removed from the patient's mouth, retaining the three dimensional impression of the teeth and gingival tissue of both the upper and lower jaw as well as their relative positions.
Following the creation of the impression, two separate plaster (gypsum) models must be produced by poring plaster into the impression mold. Pouring plaster into the impression mold allows separate positive models (top and bottom) of the oral structures to be created. These positive models made from the negative impression mold are referred to as "casts," and, for dental scanners, are generally made from gypsum. The two separate models are held together in a mechanical jig when it is necessary to consider the relative alignment of the upper and lower dental features, as is often the case in dentistry and orthodontia. This process requires skill and is time-consuming.
Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) are employed to determine the coordinates, in some specified frame of reference, of points on the surface of a workpiece. CMMs may be employed, for example, for digitizing or imaging that may be useful in the process of replicating a prototype for various manufacturing applications. The salient parts of a CMM include a stage, or a series of stages, for moving the object to be characterized, a probe for measuring the distance to a point on the surface of the work piece relative to a fiducial position, a control or computing system, and measurement software for converting the measurements into a meaningful format for the intended application.
One limitation imposed by existing CMMs is that even the most versatile optical sensors are unable to digitize on vertical or very steep angles measured with respect to the optical axis (or 'line of sight') of the probe. 'Vertical', in this case, refers to the surface of the scanned body lying parallel to the optical axis of the probe. An 'undercut' refers to a negative angle relative to the line of sight of the probe. Some applications, however, such as dental surface profiling for purposes of reconstruction, orthodontics, etc., as well as digitization of plastic parts, molds, etc., require measurements on vertical walls or low angle undercuts. Dental impressions, in particular, entail blind holes and sharp angles that are notoriously difficult, if not impossible, to digitize using standard CMM techniques.
As used herein, a body characterized as 'complex' is one having vertical walls or low angle undercuts. The use of prior art technology to scan a complex body requires orthogonal scanning of the object about multiple (typically 5) axis. As used herein, 'orthogonal scanning' refers to scanning of the line of sight of a probe entirely within a single plane normal to an axis of rotation. This method, while algorithmically simple, requires very large travel on the scanning stages making the equipment very expensive.
Another prior art solution to the problem of small (or zero, or negative) angles with respect to the probe line of sight entails performing non-orthogonal scanning by using a 2-axis angular arm. In this case the whole sensor is rotated, and both the complex arm and the requisite large travel ranges add to the cost of such systems. Yet another prior art solution for scanning complex bodies requires changing the sample position to allow direct line of sight for each feature. In this case very complex reconstruction software is required to merge the individual scans by 'best fit' of complex surfaces. The results of the 'stitch' depend on the quality of the data, the size and shape of common features used for references, and the robustness of the algorithms. Typically, operator intervention is required, both during the scanning (otherwise 2 or more motorized axis are required on the sample fixture) and during data processing. In some cases involving dental applications or plastic parts with smooth surface features, it is very difficult to find the right fit and reference items to register successive 'views' of the object. One solution requires 'gluing' registration features ('balls') to the sample.
Dental impressions have not been amenable to digitization for a number of reasons, primary among those reasons being that concave surfaces (and, indeed, abrupt vertical shafts, in some circumstances) are complex, in the sense defined above, prohibiting triangulation scanning processes. Moreover, the translucent optical properties of polymers typically used as impression materials do not provide clear reflecting surfaces and give rise to blurring. Thus, an automated and robust solution to the problem of digitizing complex bodies is acutely desirable as applied to the digitization of impressions, particularly dental impressions.

Double-sided measurement of dental objects using an optical scanner


The invention relates to an organic electroluminescent device comprising a light-emitting composition disposed between a first and second electrode. The composition comprises poly(fluorene-co-anthracene).

Inorganic electroluminescent devices are known in the art. The device generally comprises a thin film of phosphor disposed between two electrodes, one of which is transparent. The phosphor generally comprises zinc selenide doped with manganese, europium or terbium. Upon application of a current, the phosphor emits light. Anthracene crystals are also known in the art as an electroluminescent material. However, devices made from these materials require high voltages for operation and have low efficiency.
Organic electroluminescent devices (structure and composition) are also known in the art as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,429 (col. 2-4) and 5,408,109 (col. 5-7), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. There is a desire in the industry to develop an organic polymeric electroluminescent material which efficiently emits deep blue light without excimer formation. Excimer formation causes an undesired color shift in the emission and generally also a loss of efficiency.
Substituted polyfluorenes are known in the art as electroluminescent materials. Although substituted polyfluorenes emit predominantly blue light, they are deficient because they form excimers with red-shifted emission and often form poor films, and can be intractable polymers.
Anthracene dispersed in a polymeric binder is also known in the art as an electroluminescent material. However, these materials are deficient because, as a guest/host system, they aggregate and crystallize, lowering luminous efficiency. These materials also require high voltages to operate. Main chain anthracene homopolymer is intractable and unsuitable. Further, Yamamoto et al. report the inability to make main chain copolymers of anthracene in Macromolecules, Vol. 25, 1992, page 1214.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved electroluminescent device.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following disclosure.

International Business Machines Corporation

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University