A method and apparatus for determining the effect-particle orientation in a film or coating are disclosed. The method comprises using opposing directional reflectance measurements, preferably in continuous processes and allows for an on-line evaluation system to provide more specific control over particle orientation, thereby allowing for better color matching between and among various panels or articles.

Effect-particle orientation and its impact on appearance properties has been the subject of study within the paint industry for many years. Colorimeters and spectrophotometers are well known in the art and are used to measure certain optical properties of various paint films which have been coated over test panels. A spectrophotometer provides for the measurement of the amount of light reflected at varying light wavelengths in the visible spectrum by a painted panel that is held at a given angle relative to the direction of an incident source of light. The reflectance factor of the paint enables paint chemists to calculate color values by which to characterize various paint colors. For a paint containing no light-reflecting flakes or particles, the reflectance factor does not vary with the angle of the panel relative to the direction of the incident light except at the gloss (specular) angle.
Typical effect-particles, for example metallic or pearlescent flakes, mica or other non-spherical particles, are often utilized in paints and coatings to provide a distinctive or appealing appearance because such particles can impact the visual perception of the painted or coated surface. These particles can accentuate the appearance aspects of a substrate such as its curvature, color appearance and color intensity, which may change according to the viewing angle, a desired visual effect for substrates such as automotive panels. Ideally, flat particles provide the greatest change in color per a change in the viewing angles, whereas particles approaching a spherical shape provide the least color change with a change in the viewing angle.
Some continuous sheet and film processes include the use of effect flake particles. However, particle orientation is variable and either not monitored or unable to be monitored, beyond a visual investigation and perspective. This process has been able to achieve a visual effect, but these effects are a result of being imparted in an uncontrolled fashion. It is a very difficult, and somewhat haphazard, method of attempting to match (both visually and color-wise) metallic painted panels and sheet color using pigments and metallic pigments.
In the paint coatings industry using conventional technology, the orientation of the effect-particles is to measure the light reflection at multiple angles in a single determination (i.e., in one direction). The resultant measurement, with a subsequent calculation, provides an indication of the color appearance in a qualitative manner for the specific color being tested. Thus, the color appearance can then be compared and changed or adjusted if necessary. However the use of only a single absolute measurement is problematic because it does not provide a direct determination for identifying when an effect-particle is flat or parallel to a surface. Additionally, the single "flop calculation" method does not provide relative particle orientation suitable for in-process adjustments. Furthermore, outside influences may affect this calculated value, inferring the effect-particles are flat (usually maximizing the "flop" calculation).
Another disadvantage of conventional technology is that the processes known in the art work in a batch-like manner, where the use of a stationary panel having no vibrations is required to provide satisfactory data, and therefore, are too slow to provide adequate control feedback in many continuous processes, particularly plastic sheet processes. As a result, these processes are burdensome, time consuming, not cost effective and thus, not for use with continuous processes.
Thus, it would be desirable to have a process or apparatus capable of taking opposing directional reflectance measurements for an indication of effect-particle orientation in continuous processes, thereby allowing for better control of effect-particle orientation, which is necessary to maintain the appearance consistency of a substrate. Such process or apparatus preferably has the ability to exert greater control over the effect-particle orientation relative to the surface of the effect-particle-containing material as well as controlling the process of the sheet or film melt process, thereby improving the uniformity of sheet polymer orientation. Such process or apparatus provides for greater consistency of appearance when the effect-particle-containing material (e.g. paint, film, coating, coated article or polymer) is viewed at similar angles in opposite directions and between different articles made from the same sheet or film; greater repeatability of particle orientation from one manufacturing campaign to another; and can provide unique orientation characteristics through changing process conditions to provide nearly similar reflection characteristics in opposing directions, or very different reflection characteristics in opposing directions.

Effect-particle orientation and apparatus therefor


In a method for reconstructing an image from an echo planar imaging sequence, the echo planar imaging sequence is used to obtain multi-line k-space data from a subject and the multi-line k-space data are divided into odd line data and even line data. Fourier transform is performed on the odd line data and on the even line data separately to obtain corresponding amplitude images. The amplitude images obtained is this manner are added to produce the final image. The method effectively eliminates N/2 artifacts by over-sampling in the phase direction. By image reconstruction being carried out separately on the odd line data and even line data of k-space data and then integrating the images, the method effectively avoids the problem of the image signal loss caused by the mutual cancellation of the odd line data and even line data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic resonance imaging method, and more particularly to a method for reconstructing an image from an echo planar imaging (EPI) sequence.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An EPI imaging sequence is a fast magnetic resonance imaging sequence which only needs singe-shot pulses or multi-shot pulses to obtain a sequence of complete images. It generates a series of gradient echoes by means of alternating changes of the gradient of a magnetic field, and an image of the excited plane is obtained by performing Fourier transformation to the acquired k-space data.
In a conventional EPI sequence, the phase encoding gradient and the frequency encoding gradient of the sequence are illustrated with reference numbers 1 and 3 respectively in FIG. 1. Due to imperfections in the hardware system, such as eddy currents, delay in data acquisition, the nonuniformity of the basic magnetic field, Maxell effects, inconsistent magnetization, etc., the readout data under positive and negative frequency encoding gradients are not completely consistent. For example, there are cases such as the echo centers are inconsistent, the spacing between each line of the k-space is not equal, etc. Due to the mismatch of time or the phase differences between the odd and even echoes in an echo sequence, a low intensity overlapping image appears on a normal image after its reconstruction at a position half way offsetting an actual field of view (FOV), that is, the appearance of N/2 artifacts (also referred to as Nyqusit artifacts). In addition, due to the non-uniformity of the main magnetic field and the inconsistent magnetization, the odd and even echo signals cancel each other, leading to a signal loss in the reconstructed image.
In order to eliminate N/2 artifacts as much as possible, some correction methods, such as phase correction methods, unipolar readout gradient methods, post-processing methods, over-sampling methods, etc., are utilized in the prior art.
One of the phase correction methods is a one-dimensional phase correction method, in which before reading the image data, several echo signals without phase encoding, such as the echo signal 4 in FIG. 1, are sampled; and according to the first and the second echo signals, the position difference between their echo centers is calculated and used as a correction value to correct the collected image data, that is, to correct the echo center differences between all the odd and even lines. Since not all the echo center deviations between the odd and even lines are equal to the calculated correction value, this method can remove N/2 artifacts to a certain level and reduces the image signal loss, but it cannot eliminate all the artifacts. Furthermore, this method is unstable, especially in a medium or low permanent-magnet field. Due to the poor uniformity of the magnetic field, the relatively large gradient eddy currents and the relatively low magnetic field, the N/2 artifacts are still prominent after the phase correction, and sometimes they become even more prominent than those without the phase correction.
Another one of the phase correction methods is a two-dimensional phase correction method, in which, likewise before reading the image data, a series of echo signals with phase encoding are sampled and are then used to correct the actual image data. Although this method can solve the problem of the N/2 artifacts effectively, the rapidity of the EPI sequence is lost because of the prolonged time for sequence acquisition.
In the unipolar readout gradient method, data are collected only during the activation of a readout gradient of one polarity, so the method can avoid the problem of N/2 artifacts completely, but it cannot correct the image deformation and it wastes the scanning time. Furthermore, due to the extended echo intervals, it leads to a decrease of the equivalent sampling bandwidth in the phase encoding direction, and an increase of image deformation and distortion.
Post-processing methods can reduce the N/2 artifacts to a certain degree, but cannot avoid this problem completely. Moreover, because such methods ensue in the post-processing of already-acquired data, an image processed and corrected by this method suffers a significant loss in image information and also its reconstruction time is quite long.
An over-sampling method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,320,238 that performs over-sampling in the phase encoding direction of an EPI imaging sequence to enlarge the FOV in the phase direction, so as to correspondingly shift the N/2 artifacts out of the displayed FOV, and to achieve the goal of eliminating the N/2 artifacts. Compared with above-mentioned methods, the over-sampling method is the simplest and the most effective, but this method cannot overcome the problem of image signal loss.

Method for reconstructing image from echo planar imaging sequence


A method of reducing tracking errors in an area comprised of touching surveillance regions which involves; transmitting a plurality of signals into a region, receiving signals scattered from the region and analyzing the received signals using a processing means, to produce target measurements; dividing each region into a number of zones comprising an edge zone at each edge of said region and one or more center zones; associating target measurements with appropriate zones; apportioning said measurements into data blocks on a storage means such that each pair of adjoining edge zones form a single data block and each central zone forms a data block; updating target tracks in each data block using said target measurements; allocating target tracks from each data block to the correct region; and displaying the tracks on a visual display means. A separate list of tracks for those targets contained in the edge track zone of touching regions is maintained. In this way a single track will be maintained for a target moving in the edge zones thereby reducing the likelihood of tracking errors. The invention is particularly useful for radar tracking systems.

The invention disclosed herein relates to automatic track handover for automatic target tracking systems on track-while-scan surveillance sensors where the surveillance area is divided into regions which touch.
In its most general sense the invention can be applied to any automatic tracking system for a surveillance sensor whose surveillance area is divided into touching regions where each region has a separate data collection time. The invention also applies to surveillance sensors which have multiple surveillance areas where each area consists of single or multiple regions which touch. A region is defined as the extent of the field of view of a surveillance sensor during the time it gathers data for either or both coherent and incoherent processing. Wide area surveillance is achieved by arranging regions such that one region will abut another.
In providing a background discussion of track handover, reference will be made to the case where the regions are divided in azimuth and the tracking operation is based on recursive estimation. The regions could equally be divided by range. The example of division by azimuth is particularly applicable to operation of an over-the-horizon radar system which achieves very wide area surveillance by abutting a number of regions, each region being formed by a number of beams.
The presence of a target is determined by signal to noise considerations after signal processing to enhance the target feature. For a particular target model, a tracking filter calculates the predicted target position in, for instance, range and bearing. The position calculation is at the time associated with the sensor's region data. The predicted position for each target is used to search the sensor's data for candidate target measurements. Once the measurements are selected they are used to update the tracking filter's target state estimate.
Target state estimates are maintained in data blocks in solid state memory. The data blocks are arranged to minimise the amount of memory space that must be accessed when updating target state estimates.
The target state estimate is a vector which consists of component estimates derived from either directly or indirectly measured parameters of a distinct object. For example, a radar may make measurements in range and bearing and the state estimate may contain the components of range, range-rate, bearing and bearing-rate. At any given time the estimated position of a target is a function of the latest measurement and the weighted effect of previous measurements.
When the track position approaches the boundary of a region which touches an adjoining region, the effect of sensor measurement scintillation causes the sensor to produce target measurements in the adjoining region. If no allowance is made for the same target to give measurements from different regions, duplicate tracks on the same target can result and the tracking errors can increase when the target approaches the boundary. This is particularly evident for targets which travel along the edge of touching regions.
Another complication associated with tracking systems for surveillance areas subdivided into touching regions is the processing overheads for sorting and selected tracks. This invention includes an approach which minimises these overheads for surveillance sensors having large track capacities, i.e. greater than 1000.
It is the intended object of this invention to alleviate one or more of the above mentioned problems or at least provide a useful alternative.

Track handover between regions within a surveillance area


Interactive multi-view video presents a new type of video capture system. Many video cameras are allocated to capture an event from various related locations and directions. The captured videos are compressed in control PCs and are sent to a server in real-time. The compressed video can also be transcoded through an off-line compression approach to further reduce the data amount. Users can subscribe to a new type of service that allows users to connect to the servers and receive multi-view videos interactively.

1. Technical Field
This invention is directed toward a system and method for interactive multi-view video which includes a new type of video capture system and method, a new type of video format, a new type of both on-line and off-line video compression, and a new type of video services.
2. Background Art
The current popularly used video form is so-called single-view video. It consists of one video clip that is captured from one video camera or multiple video clips that are concatenated using sequential time periods. For any time instance, there is only one view of an event. This kind of video form is widely used in video streaming, broadcasting and communication in televisions (TVs), personal computers (PCs) and other devices.
When reviewing conventional multimedia services (like traditional TV, video-on-demand, video streaming, digital video disc (DVD), and so on), there exist several limitations. For example, in conventional multimedia services, there is only one video stream for an event at any instance in time. Additionally, in conventional multimedia services, the viewing direction at any time instance is selected by program editors. Users are in a passive position, unable to change the camera angle or view point. Furthermore, they can only watch what has been recorded and provided to them and do not have the ability to select the viewing angles.
As an extension of the traditional single view video, EyeVision [1], is a sports broadcasting system co-developed by Carnegie Mellon University's computer vision professor Takeo Kanade. EyeVision employed 30 camcorders to shoot the game at Superbowl 2001. The videos captured from the 30 camcorders were all input to a video routing switcher and an edited video was broadcast to TV viewers. The EyeVision system, however, only provides users with one edited video without the ability for the user to select viewing directions and exercise camera control. It also only serves a TV audience and is not available in other multi-media formats.
In addition to EyeVision another multi-media device, a 3D video recorder, was designed for recording and playing free-viewpoint video [3]. It first captures 2D video and then extracts the foreground from the background. Source coding is applied to create 3D foreground objects (e.g., a human). However, like EyeVision, the 3D recorder does not allow the users to control the cameras. Additionally, the processing employed by the 3D video recorder necessitates the classification of the foreground from the background which requires substantial computational assets.
With the increasing demand for multi-view video, standardization efforts have occurred recently [4][5]. The MPEG community has been working since December 2001 on the exploration of 3DAV (3D Audio-Visual) technology. Many very diverse applications and technologies have been discussed in relation to the term 3D video. None of these applications focused on interactivity, in the sense that the user has the possibility to choose his viewpoint and/or direction within dynamic real audio-visual scenes, or within dynamic scenes that include 3D objects that are reconstructed from real captured imagery. With regard to the application scenarios it has been found that the multi-view video is the most challenging scenario with most incomplete, inefficient and unavailable elements. This area requires the most standardization efforts in the near future. Furthermore, no standardization efforts have dealt with interactivity.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method for efficiently capturing and viewing video that has many streams of video at a given instance and that allows users to participate in viewing direction selection and camera control. This system and method should have a high degree of accuracy in its calibration and provide for efficient compression techniques. Furthermore, these compression techniques should facilitate the exhibition of various viewing experiences. Optimally the hardware should also be relatively inexpensive. Such a system should allow the viewing audience to participate in various viewing experiences and provide for special effects. Additionally, this system and method should be computationally efficient and should be robust to handling large amounts of image and audio data, as well as user interactions.
It is noted that in the remainder of this specification, the description refers to various individual publications identified by a numeric designator contained within a pair of brackets. For example, such a reference may be identified by reciting, "reference [1]" or simply "[1]". A listing of the publications corresponding to each designator can be found at the end of the Detailed Description section.

System and method for interactive multi-view video


The decorative air gap cover includes a base cover and a decorative attachment. The base cover includes a cup body and a cover fastener on a top thereof. The decorative attachment includes a decorative body and a decorative fastener on a bottom thereof. The cover fastener and the decorative fastener mate with each other to allow the decorative attachment to be retained on a top of the base cover. A liquid dispenser air gap cover includes the base cover and a liquid dispenser attachment. The liquid dispenser attachment includes a liquid container, a liquid pump and a liquid fastener on a bottom of the liquid container. The cover fastener of the base cover and the liquid fastener mate with each other to secure the liquid dispenser to a top of the base cover.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to air gap covers and more specifically to decorative and liquid dispenser air gap assembly covers, which may be used to replace a prior art air gap cover.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Air gap assemblies are used for preventing backflow from a waste line to a dishwasher or any other appliance connected to the waste line. A top end of the air gap assembly is typically placed adjacent a sink in a kitchen. An air gap cover terminates the top end of the air gap assembly. The air gap cover includes an air intake slot for preventing an overflow of sewage into the dishwasher or any other appliance. However, it appears that all air gap covers are plain and unexciting.
Accordingly, there is a clearly felt need in the art for decorative and liquid dispenser air gap assembly covers that replace a prior art air gap assembly cover.

Decorative and liquid dispenser air gap assembly covers


Disclosed is a thermoplastic olefin polymer having elastic properties comprising. a) greater than 60 to 85 parts of a crystalline polymer fraction selected from the group consisting of (i) a copolymer of propylene and at least one alpha-olefin, (ii) a polybutene-1, (iii) an ethylene homopolymer or ethylene/alpha-olefin copolymer, (iv) polymer fraction (i), (ii) or (iii) in combination with, or mixtures thereof alone or in combination with, from 10 to 90 parts, based on the thermoplastic olefin polymer, of a homopolymer of propylene; PA1 b) from about 1 up to less than 15 parts of a semi-crystalline, low density, essentially linear copolymer fraction consisting substantially of units of the alpha-olefin used to prepare c) or the alpha-olefin used to prepare c) present in the greatest amount when two alpha-olefins are used; and PA1 c) from about 10 to less than 39 parts of an amorphous copolymer fraction of an alpha-olefin and propylene, with or without a diene or a different alpha-olefin termonomer.

Thermoplastic olefin polymers prepared by physically blending or mixing monoolefin copolymer or terpolymer rubbers and polyolefins are known (see, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,036,987, 3,835,201 and 4,748,206). However, in order to achieve a good dispersion of the rubber in the polyolefin it is necessary to employ energy intensive mixing.
The formation of thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) from such blends is also known. Although there are a number of methods taught, the one generally practiced is dynamic vulcanization of such blends, such as by the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,558.
In order to avoid the disadvantages associated with physical blending while at the same time avoid the necessity to dynamically vulcanize such blends, efforts have been made to produce reactor or chemical blends of a crystalline polypropylene and an amorphous ethylene-propylene copolymer rubber by sequential polymerization in a reactor.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,195, for example, the preparation of polyolefin thermoplastic elastomers by a two-stage polymerization process using stereospecific catalysts composed of an organoaluminum compound and a solid catalyst component on a magnesium halide support is taught. In the first stage 5-50 wt. % of a homopolymer of propylene is formed, and in the second, 50-95% of an ethylene-propylene copolymer having a propylene content of 5-60% is prepared by adding ethylene monomer which reacts with the unreacted propylene monomer of the first stage. The polypropylene produced in the first stage and the ethylene-propylene rubber of the second stage are believed to be chemically combined so as to form a block copolymer. One of the disadvantages of this method is that the temperature in the second stage must be kept relatively low, i.e. not more than 50.degree. C., in order to prevent agglomeration of the ethylene-copolymer rubber particles and reactor fouling. This need to operate the second stage at relatively low temperatures penalizes the process with respect to heat exchange and diminishes catalyst mileage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,652 also describes the preparation of polypropylene thermoplastic elastomers in two stages. In the first stage the propylene is polymerized to a homopolymer polypropylene. In the second stage, ethylene is added and ethylene and propylene are polymerized in the presence of a solvent, preferably at temperatures of 60.degree.-77.degree. C., to form rubbery copolymers and block copolymers of the polypropylene and ethylene/propylene rubbery copolymer. The polymerizations conditions employed in the second stage leads to the formation of a partially soluble rubbery copolymer which tends to cause the resultant product to lump or agglomerate. These lumps or agglomerates must be broken up to provide a homogeneous product. Typically this is done by grinding on a mill. As a matter of fact, it is known that when over 20%, based on the thermoplastic elastomer, of the rubbery ethylene/propylene copolymer is produced during the preparation of the thermoplastic elastomer, it is impossible to avoid agglomeration of the particles even when the polymerization takes place in the presence of stereospecific catalysts (see, e.g., European application 0029651 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,259,461).
Polymerization of such rubbery copolymers in a gas process, even in small amounts of 20% or more, likewise leads to product agglomeration and fouling of the reactors. This reactor fouling effectively prevents one from conducting such a polymerization process in gas phase.
Therefore, it is necessary to be able to produce a thermoplastic olefin polymer having the desired balance of mechanical properties in a reactor or sequence of reactors, including, where desirable, at least one gas phase reactor, which avoids the disadvantages associated with the present methods of producing this type of polymer.

Thermoplastic olefin polymer and method of preparing same


In a changeable chuck system which can grip and release a workpiece by means of a chuck C by itself, fluid shut-off valves 20a and 20b are provided on a fluid supply portion provided on the tip of a main spindle 2 of a machine tool. When the chuck C is mounted on the main spindle 2, the fluid shut-off valves 20a and 20b are automatically connected to fluid couplers 111a and 111b provided behind the chuck C, and a jaw operating cylinder 90 provided in the chuck C is actuated by a fluid supplied from a rear portion of the main spindle 2 to open and close gripping jaws 93. Thus, the gripping jaws 93 can be operated by means of the jaw operating cylinder 90 provided in the chuck C when the chuck C is mounted on the tip of the main spindle 2.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a changeable chuck system which is changeably mounted on a main spindle of a machine tool. More specifically, the invention relates to a changeable chuck system including a chuck, which can grip and release a workpiece by itself and which can be detached from a chuck mounting portion, such as the tip of a main spindle of a machine tool or a fixed workpiece-handling position other than the main spindle, to be transferred to another chuck mounting portion while gripping the workpiece.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A chuck system of this type is disclosed in Japanese Patent Appln. Laid-Open No. 5-253713 published on Oct. 5, 1993. In this system, a chuck is mounted on a chucking jig provided at a location other than the tip of a main spindle of a machine tool. When a fluid communication between a fluid connection port on the side of the chucking jig and a fluid supply/discharge port on the side of the chuck is established, pressurized fluid is supplied from the side of the chucking jig to a cylinder chamber of a chuck-jaw operating cylinder in the chuck via a check valve, so that the cylinder is actuated to open and close chuck jaws. The check valve prevents the fluid supplied to the cylinder chamber from being discharged to maintain the pressure of the supplied fluid so as to maintain the workpiece gripping state in which the workpiece is gripped by the chuck. While the workpiece gripping state is maintained, the chuck is detached from the chucking jig, and then, the chuck is mounted on the main spindle of the machine tool. Then, at the tip of the main spindle serving as a chuck mounting portion, a pull rod, which passes axially through the main spindle and which is linked to a rotating cylinder connected to the back end of the main spindle, is engaged with a piston rod which projects backwards from a piston of the chuck-jaw operating cylinder provided in the chuck. While the workpiece is mounted on the main spindle, if the workpiece gripping force is not sufficient with only the fluid pressure maintained by the check valve, the rotating cylinder forces the pull rod to draw the piston of the chuck-jaw operating cylinder to increase the gripping force for safety.
Another chuck system is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-28324 published on Jul. 21, 1987. In this system, pressurized fluid is supplied to the interior of a chuck from a supply port provided in the outer periphery of the chuck. By a check valve provided in the chuck and an air chamber (an accumulator chamber). the pressurized fluid is confined in a cylinder chamber provided in the chuck. In this state, the chuck is prepared on a workpiece mounting setup portion other than a main spindle of a machine tool, and an opening rod provided on the workpiece mounting setup portion pushes a release shaft projecting at the rear side of a piston of a cylinder in the chuck to move the piston to open chuck jaws. After a workpiece is introduced between the chuck jaws, the opening rod is moved backwards, and the workpiece is gripped by the chuck jaws, which are closed by the force of a spring for biasing the piston in a gripping direction and by the confined high-pressure fluid. The chuck thus gripping the workpiece is detachably mounted on the main spindle of the machine tool by means of a pull rod provided on the main spindle. After the machining is completed by means of the machine tool, the pull rod pushes the release shaft and the workpiece is removed from the main spindle. Thereafter, the pull rod is released and the chuck is detached from the main spindle.
Another chuck system is also disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Appln. Laid-Open No. 59-5210 published on Jan. 13, 1984. In this system, two arms are provided on a pivot which is pivotable and movable forwards and backwards in an axial direction. A chuck gripping mechanism is provided on each of the tips of the arms. A self-hold type chuck, such as a front chuck, is gripped by the chuck gripping mechanism to be moved to a mounting position of a main spindle, and then, the chuck is mounted on the main spindle by means of a connecting mechanism. In this mounted state, the machining is performed.
Still another chuck system is disclosed in Japanese Patent Appln. Laid-Open No. 62-193710 published on Aug. 25, 1987. In this system, chuck mounting means is provided on the front portion of a main spindle. A chuck is mounted on the main spindle by the chuck mounting means. In this mounted state, a jaw operating shaft is moved by means of a draw bar to open and close jaws.
In the case of the aforementioned chuck system disclosed in Japanese Patent Appln. Laid-Open No. 5-253713, irrespective of the fluid supplied to the jaw operating cylinder, when the chuck is mounted on the chuck mounting portion other than the main spindle, the jaw operating cylinder in the chuck is operated by the fluid to open and close the jaws. On the other hand, when the chuck is mounted on the main spindle, no pressurized fluid is supplied to the jaw operating cylinder in the chuck, and the gripping force of the jaws is increased (the jaws are further moved in the gripping direction) using the driving force of a separate rotating cylinder. Therefore, when the chuck is mounted on the main spindle, cylinders of two systems must be used to move the jaws in the gripping direction, so that there are cylinders that are not fully used. In addition, when the pressurized fluid operating the jaw operating cylinder in this chuck system is a pressure oil, if the pull rod draws the piston rod of the jaw operating cylinder on the main spindle to increase the gripping force, the pressure oil confined in the cylinder chamber of the jaw operating cylinder comes to have a negative pressure, so that the check valve preventing reverse flow of the pressure oil is opened to allow the fluid to leak. Therefore, when the drawing of the pull rod is released after the machining is completed on the main spindle mounting thereon the chuck, the pre-established pressure in the jaw operating cylinder becomes less than that before the piston rod is drawn by the pull rod, so that there occurs a problem in that the workpiece gripping force can not constantly be maintained. Moreover, in this system, when the pressure oil is charged while the chuck is mounted on the main spindle, even if it is tried to move the piston in the jaw releasing direction, the piston can not move since the pressure oil is incompressible. Therefore, there is a disadvantage in that the workpiece can not substantially be released when the chuck is mounted on the main spindle.
In the case of the aforementioned chuck system disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-28324, an air chamber in the case of a pneumatic system or an accumulator chamber in the case of a hydraulic system is installed in the chuck system. Therefore, even when the chuck is mounted on the main spindle, the fluid can be caused to flow into the air or accumulator chamber by pushing the release shaft, so that the workpiece can be removed. However, when it is intended to increase the gripping force while the chuck is mounted on the main spindle, or when it is intended to supply the fluid to the interior of the chuck during the rotation of the main spindle, high-pressure fluid must be supplied from the supply port again, so that an additional fluid piping must be connected to the supply port while the chuck is mounted on the main spindle.
In the case of the aforementioned chuck system disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Appln. Laid-Open No. 59-5210, the self-hold type chuck is mounted on the main spindle, and the jaws can not be opened and closed while the chuck is mounted on the main spindle. Therefore, there are problems in that the workpiece can not be removed and the gripping force can not be increased at the position of the main spindle.
In the case of the aforementioned chuck system disclosed in Japanese Patent Appln. Laid-Open No. 62-193710, although the jaws can be opened and closed while the chuck is mounted on the main spindle, there is a problem in that when the chuck is detached from the main spindle, the jaws are opened, so that the workpiece can not be gripped.


A serpentine guard trace for reducing far-end crosstalk of a micro strip transmission line is provided. The serpentine guard trace reduces receiving-end crosstalk caused by an electromagnetic interference of a signal of a nearby transmission line when transmitting a high speed signal through a micro strip transmission line on a printed circuit board. The serpentine guard trace is located between two nearby transmission lines and has a line width narrower than that of transmission lines for an effective serpentine structure. A characteristic impedance of the serpentine guard trace increases due to the narrow line width. Termination resistors having impedance which is the same as the characteristic impedance of the serpentine guard trace are located on both ends of the guard trace to minimize a reflection wave generated in the serpentine guard trace. The receiving-end crosstalk can be effectively reduced by using the serpentine guard trace instead of a linear guard trace. Accordingly, the serpentine guard trace can be effectively used when a high speed signal is transmitted on a printed circuit board.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transmission line, and more particularly, to a channel structure including a serpentine guard trace for reducing receiving-end crosstalk caused by electromagnetic interference of a signal of a nearby transmission line when transmitting a high speed signal through a transmission line on a printed circuit board.
2. Description of the Related Art
Far-end crosstalk refers to an interference between a signal transmitted through one transmission line and a signal transmitted through a nearby transmission line when transmitting the signal using a plurality of pairs of transmission lines. The far-end crosstalk is a phenomenon due to an electromagnetic interference and causes serious signal loss when transmitting a high speed signal.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the far-end crosstalk occurring in the other transmission line 120 when a signal is applied to one of two nearby transmission lines 110 and 120. The transmission line to which the signal Va is applied is called an aggressor line 110, and the transmission line to which no signal is applied is called a victim line 120. The far-end crosstalk is caused by inductive coupling due to a mutual inductance Lm and capacitive coupling due to a mutual capacitance Cm shown in an electrical element model of FIG. 2. The far-end crosstalk is divided into crosstalk propagating to a transmitter and crosstalk propagating to a receiver. When the crosstalk reaches both ends, the crosstalk becomes receiving-end crosstalk (VFe) and transmitting-end crosstalk (Vne), respectively. In FIG. 1, Va is a voltage applied to the transmitting end of the aggressor line, and TD is a transmission time for the transmission. In FIG. 2, CS is a self capacitance per unit length, and LS is a self inductance per unit length. In FIG. 1, when it is assumed that a termination resistor R0=Z, Mathematical Expression 1 below is derived.
                              Vne                                (            t            )                          =                              1            4                                          (                                          Cm                Ct                            +                              Lm                Ls                                      )                                          (                                                            V                  a                                                                  (                  t                  )                                            -                                                V                  a                                                                  (                                      t                    -                                          2                                            TD                                                        )                                                      )                                              [                  Mathematical                                                              Expression                                                              1                ]                                          Vfe                                (            t            )                          =                              1            2                                          (                                          Cm                Ct                            -                              Lm                Ls                                      )                                                        δ                                                                                V                  a                                                                  (                                      t                    -                    TD                                    )                                                                    δ                                                                                t                                                          [                  Mathematical                                                              Expression                                                              2                ]
Here, l is a length of the transmission line, TD is a transmission time for the transmission line, Cm is a mutual capacitance per unit length, Ct is a sum of self capacitance and mutual capacitance per unit length, Lm is a mutual inductance per unit length, and LS is a self inductance per unit length. In addition, Va(t) is a voltage applied to the transmitting end of the aggressor line, Va(t−TD) is a voltage applied to the transmitting end of the aggressor line after TD, and δVa(t−TD)/δt is a variation of Va(t−TD) according to time t. In addition, R0 is a termination resistor disposed at both ends of the two signal lines, and Z is a resistance value which is the same as a resistive component of a characteristic impedance of the signal line.
The transmitting-end crosstalk (Vne) occurs continuously with a constant level while the signal propagates to the receiving-end as shown by Mathematical Expression 1. Accordingly, the transmitting-end crosstalk can be easily removed by digital calibration and so forth. However, the receiving-end crosstalk (VFe) instantly occurs only when an applied signal is changed, as shown by Mathematical Expression 2. Accordingly, it is difficult to remove the receiving-end crosstalk in a circuit. On the other hand, in case of a transmission line in a homogeneous medium such as a strip line, capacitive coupling strength is equal to inductive coupling strength. Ideally, Mathematical Expression 2 is equal to 0. Accordingly, in a system where the receiving-end crosstalk is a serious problem, the strip line is used as the transmission line to solve the problem. However, the strip line is more expensive in production than the micro-strip line. Therefore, the micro-strip line is used for a general digital system.
In case of the micro-strip line of which one side is exposed to air, the inductive coupling is stronger than the capacitive coupling. The coupling exponentially decays as the distance between the nearby transmission lines becomes larger. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the receiving-end crosstalk by sufficiently separating the nearby transmission lines one from another. To verify this, in a cross sectional view of a printed circuit board of FIG. 3, the receiving-end crosstalk is measured by alternating the distance S of the nearby transmission lines between 14 mil and 42 mil, to obtain the result of FIG. 4. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, a dielectric material such as FR-4 (Flame Retardant-4) having a dielectric constant ∈ of 4.5 may be used for the printed circuit board. In FIG. 3 'mil' is a unit of length, 1 mil is equal to 1/1000 inch, and 'Air' means that one side of the transmission line is exposed to air. '1.4 mil' is a thickness of a printed circuit board, '8 mil' is a thickness of a dielectric material, '0.7 mil' is a thickness of the transmission line, '14 mil's are width of the transmission lines, and 'S' is the distance between the nearby transmission lines. In FIG. 4, the vertical axis represents the strength of crosstalk of the receiving end in units of mv, and the horizontal axis represents the transmission time in units of ps.
Referring to FIG. 4, as the distance between the nearby transmission lines is increased, the receiving-end crosstalk is reduced, and, however, the considerable receiving-end crosstalk remains. In FIG. 4, a solid line represents the far-end crosstalk in case of the distance between the nearby transmission lines is 14 mil, and a dotted line represents the far-end crosstalk in case of the distance between the nearby transmission lines is 42 mil. To reduce the remaining receiving-end crosstalk, as shown in FIG. 5, a guard trace is located between the nearby transmission lines as in the conventional methods. FIG. 6 shows a cross sectional view of a printed circuit board for verifying the reduction of the receiving-end crosstalk of the guard trace structure of FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, characteristic impedance of the guard trace between the nearby transmission lines is generally equal to that of the signal line. Accordingly, a termination resistor of the guard trace has the same resistance with other signal lines. In FIG. 5, TD is a transmission time for the transmission line, Z is a resistance value which is the same as a resistive component of a characteristic impedance, Va1 is a voltage applied to the transmitting end of the aggressor line, R0 is a termination resistance of the transmission line, R1 is a termination resistance of the guard trace, and VFe is a crosstalk of the receiving end of the victim line. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, a dielectric material such as FR-4 (Flame Retardant-4) having a dielectric constant ∈ of 4.5 may be used for the printed circuit board. In FIG. 6 'Air' means that one side of the transmission line is exposed to air, '1.4 mil' is a thickness of a printed circuit board, '8 mil' is a thickness of a dielectric material, '0.7 mil' is a thickness of the transmission line. '14 mil's represent the width of the transmission lines, the width of the guard trace, and the distance between transmission line and guard trace.
FIG. 7 shows a measurement result of the receiving-end crosstalk with respect to time axis to verify an effect of the guard trace of FIGS. 5 and 6. In FIG. 7, the vertical axis represents the strength of crosstalk of the receiving end in units of mv, and the horizontal axis represents the transmission time in units of ps. In FIG. 7, a solid line represents the receiving-end crosstalk without guard trace, and a dotted line represents the receiving-end crosstalk with conventional guard trace. As shown in FIG. 7, when the conventional guard trace is used, the receiving-end crosstalk is partially reduced, however, the system performance cannot be remarkably improved.

Serpentine guard trace for reducing crosstalk of micro-strip line on printed circuit board


A package includes a base portion, and a lid which is placed on the base portion to define an inner space with the base portion and has a metal plate layer and a brazing material layer that is laminated on the metal plate layer, in which the base portion has a metalized layer which is joined with the brazing material layer around the inner space in a plane view, and the brazing material layer has a protrusion which protrudes in a opposite direction of the base portion on an outer peripheral side surface of the metal plate layer.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a package, an electronic device including the package, an electronic apparatus, a moving object, and a method of manufacturing an electronic device.
2. Related Art
In recent years, in various communication devices, and particularly, in mobile communication devices, there has been a strong demand for reduction in size for an electronic device. As electronic devices used in the mobile communication devices, there are a piezoelectric resonator, a piezoelectric oscillator, a piezoelectric sensor, a SAW filter, and the like.
In the piezoelectric devices whose size reduction is demanded as mentioned above, a configuration in which an element is sealed in a package formed of, for example, ceramics or the like to obtain stable properties have been known. As a specific example, a base member containing ceramics as a main material is used, an electron element is mounted in an opening portion of the base member, and a metal lid is joined by welding and the like so as to form an airtight space having high reliability in the opening portion.
FIGS. 7A and 7B are cross-sectional views showing a schematic configuration of a package structure disclosed in JP-A-2005-142329. FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view before a lid is joined and FIG. 7B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part after the lid is joined.
As shown in FIG. 7A, the package structure disclosed in JP-A-2005-142329 is configured such that a ceramic base 601 in which a metalized layer 602 is formed in an outer peripheral portion, and a lid 603 which is formed of two layers of a metal plate 603a and a brazing material 603b are airtightly sealed by joining the metalized layer 602 and the brazing material 603b by welding and the like.
In the structure, the lid 603 is formed of two layers of the metal plate 603a and the brazing material 603b as described above and has a bank portion 603C in which a part of the metal plate 603a protrudes toward the brazing material 603b at an outer peripheral end. Then, the brazing material 603b is prevented from being ejected to the outside from an interface portion between the metalized layer 602 and the metal plate 603a by joining the ceramic base 601 and the lid 603 by melting the brazing material 603b in a state in which a surface of the lid 603 on which the brazing material 603b is formed and the metalized layer 602 are in contact, and thus, deterioration in airtightness is prevented.
However, in the package structure disclosed in JP-A-2005-142329, although it is possible to prevent the brazing material 603b from being ejected at the interface portion between the metalized layer 602 and the metal plate 603a, the bank portion 603c is provided in which the outer peripheral portion of the metal plate 603a which forms the lid 603 protrudes toward the brazing material 603b. Thus, the brazing material 603b is not likely to flow out in the outer peripheral portion of the metal plate 603a. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7B, the brazing material 603b in which the ceramic base 601 and the lid 603 are joined is in a state in which a fillet 604 is not likely to be formed over the metalized layer 602 and the entire outer peripheral portion of the metal plate 603a.
In the package structure disclosed in JP-A-2005-142329, since a joining width (a seal pass 605) in which the metalized layer 602 of the ceramic base 601 and the brazing material 603b of the lid 603 are melted to be joined becomes narrow, there is a problem in that when the brazing material 603b is melted less, airtightness is deteriorated.
Furthermore, in the package structure disclosed in JP-A-2005-142329, since the fillet 604 of the brazing material 603b is not likely to be formed over the entire outer peripheral portion of the metal plate 603a, it is difficult to confirm a sealing state in an external inspection. Thus, there is a concern that the quality of an electronic device may not be maintained since it is very difficult to determine whether or not the sealing state is satisfactory in the package structure disclosed in JP-A-2005-142329.

Package, electronic device, method of manufacturing electronic device, electronic apparatus, and moving object


A machine for righting and aligning articles comprises at least one housing able to receive an article in a lying position, pre-oriented, and let it fall into a drop chute; end stop and support elements in the housing to hold a differentiated configuration of the article during its falling; a partition wall dividing the drop chute into two compartments; and a first diverter plate actuated to change position and direct the articles towards one and the other of the compartments, in an alternating manner. It includes two further partition walls dividing the two compartments into four subcompartments, each one for one article upright positioned, and a pair of second diverter plates actuated to change position and direct the articles towards one and other of said subcompartments, in an alternating manner.

Machines for positioning initially disorderly arranged articles in a predetermined position and in an aligned arrangement are common in several industrial sectors. Machines for righting and arranging bottles or empty containers in an orderly manner and in an upright position, resting on their base and having the filling opening at their upper part, are used especially in the packaging sector art. Generally said filling opening forms a neck constituting a geometric shape differentiated from the bottle or container in an end located opposite to another end constituting a base, thus being defined an imaginary longitudinal axis between both ends.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,659 discloses an operating principle which has turned out to be the most commonly used in many kinds of machines for positioning articles, on the basis of the use of said differentiated geometric shape for righting the articles. Such a principle comprises first arranging the articles individually in a housing, so that the differentiated geometric shape faces one end or the other of the housing, and then dropping the article by gravity through the open bottom wall of the housing inside a drop chute whose funnel comprises end stop and support configurations intended for keeping said differentiated geometrical shape whichever its relative position with respect to the housing may be, in order that the article always falls on its base. For this purpose, at least one of said end stop configurations has such a shape that it forces the article to be placed differently in the drop chute funnel depending on said relative position of the differentiated shape, so that said shape is always located above one of said support configurations. The machine adopts a rotary shape in which a plurality of said cavities intended for receiving an article are arranged radially in the periphery of a circular structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,662,872 discloses a rotary positioning machine intended for bottles or empty light containers, wherein a series of housings are attached to the rotary structure, arranged tangentially in its periphery around a container that receives the articles in a disorderly arrangement and that is fitted with means for loading in each housing a container or a bottle in a flat position, having its longitudinal axis pre-oriented according to the tangential direction of the housing and having its neck either at the rear or at the front with respect to the rotation direction. Each of said housings has an open bottom wall over a drop chute which moves together with it. A stationary support plane comprising two interruptions in two opposite sections of the turn path is located between the open bottom walls of the housings and their respective drop chutes. Through said interruptions the articles fall by gravity inside the drop chute. Said end stops and supports, located in certain areas of said housings, are intended for holding said neck when the container falls inside the drop chute through said support plane interruption, so that the container is always in an upright position inside the drop chute, having its neck in the upper part and its base in its lower part. Finally a baffle means transfers the containers oriented in an upright position from the drop chutes to an exit conveyor. This machine further includes a partition wall that divides vertically a lower part of each drop chute into two equal compartments, and a diverter plate arranged in a hinged fashion in an upper end of said partition wall and actuated by actuating means so as to alternately change its position, in order to guide the articles falling at either of both compartments, the machine thereby being able to load during a whole turn two articles in each drop chute through the same peripheral housing.
Nevertheless, in this rotary positioning machine, the housings of entrance and the compartments of the drop chutes have appropriate fixed dimensions for articles of an only size. In order to adapt the machine to articles of different sizes it would be necessary to replace these housings and drop chutes, among other elements, which represents a high cost in time in the operation of substitution, a greater investment in the manufacture of the alternative elements and a greater cost of necessary storage for said elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,333 patent of the present applicant, discloses a rotary machine that obeys to the same principle although with a single interruption in the support plane and an only enclosure in each drop chute. Nevertheless, this machine is adapted to adjust to the handling of bottles or containers of different sizes by means of the incorporation of means for moving the end stops and supports located in the housings and destined to maintain the neck of the container when this one falls within the drop chute, as well as to move the sidewalls of the drop chute and other elements destined to fit the machine to articles of different sizes. All the movable elements of all the housings and drop chutes are displaced simultaneously by means of a relative angular displacement of a circular, coaxial substructure, to which these movable elements are fixed.
An object of the present invention is to provide a machine for righting and aligning articles by means of drop chutes with multiple compartments based on the mentioned principle to drop the articles in a drop chute, provided with four subcompartments in each drop chute.
Another object of the present invention is the one to provide a machine like the one described in the previous paragraph in which each drop chute includes two compartments and means to divide each one of these compartments into two subcompartments or to adjust automatically the housings of entrance, the compartments as well as the articles of different sizes.

Machine for righting and aligning articles using drop chutes comprising multiple compartments


A method for preparing media content to be streamed to a client divides a stream of the media content at the server into multiple media segments. Each of the multiple media segments is to be stored as an individual file in a memory in a transfer protocol compliant format. A top-level manifest file is generated, which has a plurality of Universal Resource Locators (URLs). The plurality of URLs indicates an ordering of the multiple media segments to recreate the stream of media content. Responsive to a client request received over a network to present the media content in a trick play mode of operation, a modified manifest file is obtained based on the top-level manifest file. The modified manifest file includes a subset of the plurality of URLs indicating an ordering of media segments that create a representation of the stream of media content presentable in the trick play mode of operation.

Streaming of media over a network from a content server to a media or client device has become a widely adopted technique for media consumption. Two network protocols used for media streaming include the user datagram protocol Internet protocol ("UDP IP") and the transfer control protocol ("TCP") IP. UDP IP is often used for media streaming for relatively reliable networks, such as in-home streaming over wired connections. TCP IP is often used for streaming over less reliable networks.
A content server may implement the streaming of media by first dividing a media program into segments or chunks which may vary in duration but are often about one second in length. The content server publishes a playlist or manifest file that is accessible to the client device. The manifest file includes a list of URLs ("Universal Resource Locators") to media segments that make up the program.
The hypertext transfer protocol ("HTTP") based live streaming ("HLS") protocol, used with TCP IP, allows a content server to publish variant manifest files to client devices. A variant manifest file identifies multiple sets of video streams for a media program, such as a movie, a television program, etc., where each set of video streams has unique encoding parameters (e.g., bit rates, resolutions, etc.) for the media program. The client devices may dynamically switch between the sets of video streams identified in the variant manifest file as the sets of video streams are transmitted from the content server to the client devices. The client devices may choose to receive an initial set of video streams identified in the variant manifest file based on initial network conditions, initial buffer conditions, etc. For example, the client devices may choose to receive a set of high definition ("HD") video streams identified in the variant manifest file if the initial network conditions, the initial buffer conditions, etc., support the streaming of the HD set of video streams. If the initial network conditions degrade, or if the initial buffer conditions degrade, etc., then the client devices may choose to receive a set of low definition video streams identified in the variant manifest file. That is, the client device may dynamically choose different sets of video streams to receive from the content server where the different sets of video streams have different encoding parameters.
The variant manifest files are dynamically updated by the server and thus the client devices need to periodically retrieve the files. If the manifest files contain the URLs for all the media segments in a program, the size of the files may be excessively large, which can consume a substantial amount of bandwidth and place a burden on the resources of the content server and the media player as the manifest files are periodically communicated between them. One way to reduce the size of the manifest files is to only include a limited number of media segments URLs which define a window specifying a small portion of the program. The window is a moving or sliding window that includes a limited number of media segments URLs in which URLs for media segments occurring earlier in time are removed as URL for media segments occurring later in time are added.

Streaming media from a server delivering individualized content streams to clients


A display apparatus includes a display panel, a timing control part and a data driving part. The display panel is divided into N display areas. The timing control part includes a serializing part to serializing N data received in parallel to generate an N-th frame data, a overdriving part to select one of the N-th frame data and a previous frame data stored depending on whether the received data are normal and to compensate the selected frame data to generate a compensation frame data, and an interface part to divide the compensation frame data and to output the N compensation data. A data driving part includes N data driving circuits to generate data driving voltages corresponding to the N compensation data to output the data driving voltage to the N display areas where N is a natural number.

1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a method and an apparatus for processing data, more particularly, to a display apparatus capable of displaying a uniform display image and a method of manufacturing a display apparatus for performing a uniform display.
2. Description of the Background
Generally, a liquid crystal display (LCD) apparatus has been adopted as one of the most widely used display apparatus due to a thin thickness, a light weight and low power consumption such as a monitor, a laptop, a mobile phone. The LCD apparatus typically includes an LCD panel displaying an image utilizing a variation in light transmittance of liquid crystals by controlling a voltage applied by a driving part electrically connected to the LCD panel and controlling the LCD panel.
These advantages have spawned significant adoption by consumers and manufacturers of LCD apparatuses have fueled this acceptance by developing a full high definition (FHD) resolution LCD panel, for example, the resolution of which is 1920×1080.
Consequently, manufacturing of an LCD apparatus has been challenged to improve a resolution, for example, a frame rate of a signal having a frequency of about 60 Hz should be converted to the frame rate having a high frequency such as 120 Hz, 240 Hz and 480 Hz by controlling the frame rate. For instance, an approach with a multi-chip structure using two or more frame rate controller converting a frame rate of an input image has been used to drive a high-speed frame. However, the goal of the high resolution is at odds with the multi-chip structure in that a deviation among the chips occurs—a skew among signals inputted to the driving part may occur although the structures of the chips are substantially the same with one another. Thus, unwanted images are displayed on the LCD panel attributed to the skew.
One approach has been introduced to clear the skew problem occurring by determining the signals as an abnormal input which is considered out of a preset range, then a preset specific pattern is displayed so that the abnormal image may be prevented from being displayed. Unfortunately, a screen flicker occurs while the preset specific pattern is displayed is when the abnormal image is inputted. Thus, the image may be flickered, and the screen flicker may cause inconvenience to a viewer. Therefore, there is a need for an approach to enhance resolution without occurring skew and flickering problems.

Method of processing data and display apparatus for performing the method


Recombinant genetic constructs and strains of H. polymorpha having significantly increased ethanol productivity with a simultaneous decreased production of xylitol during high-temperature xylose fermentation are disclosed. The constructs include a H. polymorpha XYL1 gene encoding xylose reductase mutated to decrease affinity of the enzyme toward NADPH. The modified version of XYL1 gene under control of a strong constitutive HpGAP promoter was overexpressed in a Δxyl1 background. A recombinant H. polymorpha strain overexpressing the mutated enzyme together with native xylitol dehydrogenase and xylulokinase in the Δxyl1 background was also constructed. Xylose consumption, ethanol and xylitol production by the constructed strain were evaluated during high-temperature xylose fermentation (48° C.). A significant increase in ethanol productivity (up to 7.4 times) was shown in the recombinant strain as compared with the wild type strain. Moreover, the xylitol production by the recombinant strain was reduced considerably: 0.9 mgχ (Lχh)−1 versus 4.2 mgχ (Lxh)−1 by the wild type strain.

Ethanol produced from lignocellulosics is an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels. As a substantial fraction of lignocellulose material consists of xylose, it is necessary to ferment efficiently xylose to ethanol to make the process cost-effective [1].
Some yeasts, filamentous fungi and bacteria are able to convert xylose to ethanol. Yeasts and most of other fungi first reduce xylose to xylitol using xylose reductase, which strongly prefers NADPH as coenzyme, EC 188.8.131.52 (XR). Then they oxidize xylitol to xylulose with strictly NAD-dependent xylitol dehydrogenase, EC 18.104.22.168 (XDH) [2]. The difference in cofactor specificity results in redox imbalance that leads to decreasing ethanol production and accumulation of xylitol [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. The xylitol production has been reduced by metabolic engineering directed to optimize the expression levels of XR and XDH [9, 10, 11, 12], change the cofactor specificity of XR from NADPH to NADH [13, 13a], or modify the redox metabolism of the host cell [14, 15, 16]. The other used approach to bypass redox imbalance during xylose fermentation was based on expression of fungal or bacterial xylose isomerase, EC 188.8.131.52 (XI) which converts xylose directly to xylulose and does not require redox cofactors [17, 18]
The additional overexpression of xylulokinase, EC 220.127.116.11 (XK) (the third enzyme in the xylose metabolism) that converts xylulose to xylulose-5-phosphate, which enters the pentose phosphate pathway and then into the central metabolism, has been shown to enhance both aerobic and anaerobic xylose utilization in XR-XDH- as well as XI carrying strains [12, 19]. Overexpression of XK is necessary to overcome the naturally low expression level of this enzyme [3, 5]. The overexpression resulted in more efficient conversion of xylose to ethanol [5, 20].
The thermotolerant methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha is capable of alcoholic fermentation of xylose at elevated temperatures (45-48° C.) [21, 22, 23]. This property of H. polymorpha makes it a good candidate for use in an efficient process of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF). SSF combines enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic material with subsequent fermentation of released sugars in the same vessel. Major advantages of exploring the utility of H. polymorpha for ethanol production from cellulosic material using are this yeast has (i) well developed methods of molecular genetics and (ii) the availability of a whole genome sequence for a model strain CBS4732 [24; 25].

Engineering of xylose reductase and overexpression of xylitol dehydrogenase and xylulokinase improves xylose alcoholic fermentation in the thermotolerant yeast


A power system includes a member with two or more sections and at least one pair of electrodes. Each of the two or more sections has a stored static charge. Each of the pair of electrodes is spaced from and on substantially opposing sides of the member from the other electrode and is at least partially in alignment with the other electode. At least one of the member and the at least one pair of electrodes is moveable with respect to the other. When at least one of the sections is at least partially between the pair of electrodes, the at least one of the sections has the stored static electric charge closer to one of the pair of electrodes. When at least one of the other sections is at least partially between the pair of electrodes, the other section has the stored static electric charge closer to the other one of the pair of electrodes.

There are a growing number of devices which require portable power sources. A variety of different types of portable power sources are available.
One of these types of portable power sources is batteries. For most applications batteries provide an adequate source of power. Unfortunately, batteries have finite lifetime and thus require periodic replacement.
Another type of portable power source are solar powered systems. Solar power systems also provide an adequate amount of power and provide a recharging mechanism. Unfortunately, the recharging mechanism requires solar radiation, which may not always be available and requires proper orientation to the solar radiation, which may not always be convenient.

Rotational motion based, electrostatic power source and methods thereof


An interconnect assembly for interconnecting first and second electrical components includes a substrate having opposed first and second surfaces and a first array of contacts on the first surface for engaging corresponding elements on the first electrical component. The first array of contacts defines a compressible interface that mates with the first electrical component. The first array of contacts includes signal contacts transferring data signals across the compressible interface and the first array of contacts includes a combination of power contacts that jointly convey power across the compressible interface. The interconnect assembly also includes a second array of contacts on the second surface for engaging corresponding elements on the second electrical component. The second array of contacts having signal contacts electrically connected to the signal contact of the first array of contacts and power contacts electrically connected to the power contacts of the second array of contacts.

The subject matter herein relates generally to an interconnect assembly for interconnecting multiple electrical components, and more particularly, to an interconnect assembly having a separable mating interface.
Some electrical systems, such as servers, routers, and data storage systems, utilize electrical connector assemblies for transmitting signals and/or power through the electrical system. One particular application is a backplane and daughtercard application. The electrical connector assemblies are used to interconnect various electrical components together, such as circuit boards (e.g. backplane and daughtercard boards), chip carriers or similar substrates that are circuitized or metallized. The electrical components typically have a grid array of contacts, to which the electrical connector assemblies are connected. The electrical connector assemblies typically include a substrate having contacts arranged on both sides thereof for interfacing with the grid arrays of the electrical components.
However, known electrical connector assemblies are not without disadvantages. For instance, the interfaces typically only include one type of contact, namely signal contacts, which are mated to the electrical components. When it is required to transfer power between the electrical components, a separate connector is used and mated to transfer power between the electrical components. Such a situation complicates mating of the electrical components and increases the overall cost of the system. Therefore, a need exists for an electrical interface assembly that is capable of transferring both signal and power across the mating interface.

Interconnect assembly having a separable mating interface


A liquid droplet ejecting apparatus which ejects liquid to a recording medium, comprises a liquid droplet ejecting head including a nozzle surface in which a plurality of nozzles are formed, the nozzles being configured to eject liquid droplets; a dielectric elastomer disposed around the nozzle surface; a pair of electrodes configured to sandwich the dielectric elastomer; and a nozzle protector formed integrally with the dielectric elastomer on a recording medium side of the dielectric elastomer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid droplet ejecting apparatus, such as an ink jet printer, which ejects liquid to a recording medium.
2. Description of Related Art
An ink jet printer needs to eject ink from nozzles of an ink jet head onto target pixels on a sheet. Therefore, a nozzle surface of the ink jet head is located close to the sheet. On this account, if the sheet moving in a printing area bends, it may contact the nozzle surface of the ink jet head. If the sheet contacts the nozzle surface, the nozzle surface is rubbed to be worn away, and the sheet gets dirty. To solve this problem, a cover member may be disposed around the nozzle surface of the ink jet head. The cover member is disposed to project beyond the nozzle surface toward the sheet, and is formed so as not to block the orbit of the ink ejected from the nozzles (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication 2003-72041 for example).
The cover member is required not to obstruct a wiping operation of wiping excess ink and stains from the nozzle surface. Therefore, the cover member can move up and down by an electric-powered cylinder. To be specific, when the wiping operation starts, the cover member is caused to move up by the electric-powered cylinder while being guided by a guide rail of a base. Thus, the cover member moves away from the sheet to be located more distant from the sheet than the nozzle surface.
However, since the cover member is driven by the electric-powered cylinder, the entire apparatus increases in size. In addition, it is difficult to precisely control the distance from the cover member to the sheet by the electric-powered cylinder.

Nozzle protector for liquid droplet ejecting apparatus


A method of fabricating a CMOS image sensor is provided, in which a trapezoidal microlens pattern profile is formed to facilitate reflowing the microlens pattern and by which a curvature of the microlens may be enhanced to raise its light-condensing efficiency. The method includes forming a plurality of photodiodes on a semiconductor substrate; forming an insulating interlayer on the semiconductor substrate including the photodiodes; forming a protective layer on the insulating interlayer; forming a plurality of color filters corresponding to the photodiodes; forming a top coating layer on the color filters; forming a microlens pattern on the top coating layer; and forming a plurality of microlenses by reflowing the microlens pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image sensor, and more particularly, to a method of fabricating a CMOS image sensor. Although the present invention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for enhancing light-condensing efficiency by improving a curvature of a lens in a CMOS image sensor.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
An image sensor is a semiconductor device that converts an optical image to an electric signal. Image sensors can be classified into charge-coupled devices and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor devices.
The CMOS image sensor includes a photodiode unit sensing an applied light and a CMOS logic circuit unit processing the sensed light into an electric signal as data. Photosensitivity of the image sensor is enhanced if a quantity of light received by the photodiode is raised. To enhance the photosensitivity, a fill factor (e.g., the photodiode area divided by the entire area of image sensor) may be raised, or a path of light incident on an area other than the photodiode may be diverted to condense or direct the diverted light to the photodiode.
For example, a microlens may be used in condensing the diverted light onto the photodiode. By providing a convex microlens formed from a material having good light transmittance over a photodiode, a path of an incident light may be refracted towards the photodiode. Hence, more light can be applied to the photodiode area. In doing so, a light parallel to an optical axis of the microlens can be refracted by the microlens to focus at a prescribed position on the optical axis.
Referring to FIG. 1, a CMOS image sensor according to a related art includes one or more photodiodes 11 formed on a semiconductor substrate (not shown) to generate electric charges according to a quantity of incident light received on the photodiode(s) 11, an insulating interlayer 12 formed over the substrate including the photodiodes 11, a protective and/or first planarizing layer 13 formed on the insulating interlayer 12, a R/G/B color filter layer 14 formed on the layer 13 to transmit light having a specific wavelength therethrough, a second planarizing layer 15 formed over the substrate including the color filter layer 14, and a microlens 16 formed on the second planarizing layer 15 having a convex shape with a predetermined curvature and adapted to condense the received light onto an area of the corresponding photodiode 11 through the color filter layer 14.
An optical shielding layer (not shown) may be provided within the insulating interlayer 12 to prevent the light from one filter in the color filter layer 14 from entering another photodiode area except the corresponding photodiode 11 (i.e., the photodiode directly below a given filter). The photodiode can be replaced by a photo gate to sense the light.
In this case, a curvature, height (A), and like dimensions of the microlens 16 are determined by considering various factors including a focus of the condensed light and the like. The microlens 16 is mainly formed from a polymer-based resin by deposition, patterning, reflowing and the like. Namely, the microlens 16 has a size, position and shape related to a corresponding unit pixel and a thickness of the photosensitive device thereunder, and generally has an optimal size determined according to a height, position, size and the like of the optical shielding layer, and the radius of curvature.
Meanwhile, the shape of the lens pattern profile depends on an exposure condition (e.g., focus) of the photoresist. For instance, one or more process conditions for making the microlens can be varied according to a thin film situation of a semiconductor substrate, whereby a profile of the microlens may be changed. Since the pattern forming condition can be relatively unstable, the light-condensing efficiency can be less than optimal. Thus, in the process for fabricating the related art CMOS image sensor, the microlens 16, provided to enhance a light-condensing power, is an important factor and/or structure affecting characteristics of the image sensor. A microlens having increased light-condensing efficiency transmits more light to the photodiode 11 through the corresponding color filter layer 14 (which selects a color for detection by photodiode according to the wavelength of light that passes through it). That is, the light incident on the image sensor is condensed by the microlens 16 and filtered by the color filter layer 14, and then it enters the photodiode 11 under the color filter layer 14. In doing so, the optical shielding layer (not shown) plays a role in preventing the incident light from deviating to another light path and entering a different photodiode (usually for a different color, and always corresponding to a different location in the CMOS image sensor array).
FIG. 2 shows a color filter layer on a protective and/or planarizing layer in a CMOS image sensor according to a related art. Here, a plurality of rectangular color filter layers 14 are arranged on the protective and/or planarizing layer 13, uniformly spaced apart from each other.
However, the convex microlens in the related art CMOS image sensor has the following problems.
First of all, in the case of hemispherical microlenses, the light parallel to the optical axis is refracted by the lens and then arrives at the photosensitive device, which is located at a position opposing the lens, to operate the device normally. Yet, light that is not parallel to the optical axis may be refracted by the lens and arrive at another photosensitive device that is not supposed to receive the light. Hence, the device may operate abnormally.
Secondly, since a quantity of light arriving at the photosensitive device varies according to the species and thickness of the layer under the microlens, the light-condensing efficiency may be reduced and degrade the quality of the image.


A receiving part for connecting a shank of a bone anchoring element to a rod. The receiving part has a first end, a second end and a recess having a substantially U-shaped cross section. The recess extends from the first end in a direction of the second end forming two legs open at the first end. The recess defines a channel to receive the rod. The channel has a longitudinal axis. The legs have an inner thread to receive a securing element having an outer thread cooperating with the inner thread. The legs are provided with stiffening structures. In one embodiment, the stiffening structures are formed by the wall thickness of the outer edges of the legs being larger than the wall thickness of the legs at a location closest to the central axis of the receiving part.

The invention relates to a receiving part for connecting a shank of a bone anchoring element to a rod and to a bone anchoring device with such a receiving part to be used in spinal surgery or trauma surgery.
A known polyaxial bone screw 100 is shown in FIG. 11. It comprises a receiving part 101 for connecting a screw element 102 to a rod 103, the outer wall of the receiving part being substantially cylindrical. The receiving part 101 has a recess 104 with a substantially U-shaped cross-section forming two open legs 105, 106 defining a channel for inserting the rod 103. An inner thread 107 is provided at said legs for receiving a securing screw 108 to fix said rod in the channel. The inner thread 107 is a metric thread.
When screwing in the securing screw 108 as shown in FIG. 13, forces directed radially outwards which are depicted by arrows A act on said inner thread which cause said legs 105, 106 to splay. This may loosen the fixation of the rod.
Several approaches have been made so far to solve the problem of the splaying of the legs. One solution is to provide tube-shaped counter-holding tools. Another solution consists in providing an outer nut to be screwed onto an outer thread of said legs as, for example, disclosed in EP 0 614 649 A. Also, outer ring-shaped securing means are known. However, securing means such as outer nuts or rings enlarge the size of the bone screw and therefore limit the clinical applications.
A further approach consists in using a specific kind of thread shape for the inner thread 107 and the corresponding thread of the securing screw. It is known to use a saw tooth thread as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,562 or a reverse angle thread such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,642 B1 or US 2002/0138076 A1 to eliminate the outwardly directed radial forces acting on said legs. A particularly advantageous thread shape is the flat thread as disclosed in US 2003/0100896 A1 which eliminates such radial forces and is easy to manufacture. The use of these specific thread shapes allows a use of the bone screw without a further outer securing device such as an outer nut or ring.
However, despite the above measures there is still a problem of a diagonal splaying of the legs at the time of final tightening of the securing screw. This splaying is caused mainly by the torque acting on said legs 105, 106 at the time of final tightening which causes a diagonal lateral deformation of the open ends of the legs in the longitudinal direction of the rod due to the friction between the thread flanks. The torque B acting on the legs is shown in FIG. 2. The deformation is shown in FIG. 14 which does not show the securing screw for the purpose of better illustration. The problem of the splaying of the legs is not restricted to polyaxial bone screws but also occurs in all so called top open bone anchoring devices including monoaxial screws which have two open legs and a slit in between for inserting the rod.
Providing flattened surfaces 109 at the sides of the receiving part which are oriented in a transverse direction of the channel, as shown in FIG. 12, does not solve the problem but contributes to minimize the size of the bone screw in a longitudinal direction of the rod.

Receiving part for connecting a shank of a bone anchoring element to a rod and bone anchoring device with such a receiving part


A lighted tube support assembly having a first base portion and an upper lighted tube support portion. The base portion would be substantially rectangular in configuration, and would define a channel therethrough of sufficient width to accommodate the width of an anti-glare panel therein. The lighted tube support portion would include a continuous ring member having a bore therethrough for slidably engaging around the outer surface of a lighted tube, and the support portion would further be secured to the base portion via a ball and socket type of joint, so that the upper tube support portion could rotate in vertical, horizontal, and rotational planes in relation to the stationary base member. It would be further provided that these assemblies would be spaced at regular intervals along the entire length of the lighted tube, and would be secured to the support structure or anti-glare panel via screws or the like attachment.

1. Field of the Invention
The apparatus and assembly of the present invention relates to lighted guidance systems for highways. More particularly, the apparatus relates to a support assembly for supporting a lighted tube mountable on anti-glare panels on portions of a highway to alert drivers to be cautious at that particular portion of the highway.
2. General Background of the Invention
In the development of the highway system, particularly in the United States, there are constant upgrades, reconstruction and new construction of portions of the highway system, particularly on the interstate system. Of course, while this type of upgrade or construction is ongoing, the various state highway departments attempt to maintain the highway open to traffic, yet are very vigilant in alerting drivers to the construction that is ongoing in a particular section of the highway. For example, one problem that has arisen is in instances when traffic is routed from a four lane highway to a two lane section of highway while the highway is undergoing repair. It is common that one of the four lane sections must be merged into the other four lane section, and commence to a two lane section. At the point of merger, while the traffic is moving from an entrance lane onto the highway, particularly at night, the oncoming traffic is often blinded by the lights of the car merging onto the highway. Therefore, there has been patented a device known as an anti-glare panel, U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,241 entitled "Lighted Anti-Glare Paddle System" which is positioned on a median, and is angulated so that a plurality of these anti-glare panels forms a continuous wall effect between the lanes, and therefore the lights of the merging traffic do not interfere with the ongoing traffic. Another important instance where highway warnings are important are sharp turns or elevated turns on an interstate system, which may result in a vehicle miscalculating speed around the turn and making contact with the sidewall of the turn, or often times at night time, not appreciating that the turn is upcoming and again, results in an accident. In these particular instances, there has been devised a particular warning system known as a lighted guidance system, which is a continuous tube extending along the wall, for example, of a walled turn in a highway, where the lighted tube containing a phosphorescent or glowing material therein, serves as a lighted alert when the automobile approaches the turn and the driver is alerted that the turn, is upcoming due to the glowing material within the tube. Often times, these tubes may be used in conjunction with the system of anti-glare panels as was discussed earlier.
One of the problems that is confronted with the use of such tubes on highway systems is the manner in which the tubes are mounted onto the anti-glare panel system on the highway. For example, if there is an attempt to mount a continuous lighted tube, which may be of several hundred feet in length along a certain portion of highway over the length of the tube, the tube may undergo turns and bends which would make it difficult to mount it on a continuous basis due to the various turns in the tube along its path. Therefore, there is a need for a support bracket which would enable a continuous lighted tube to be mounted adjacent a highway on anti-glare panels which would accommodate the various twists and turns that the tube may undergo, yet still insure secure mounting of the tube along its entire length.


A remote control system, including: a remote controller including one or more direction keys respectively corresponding to different directions and a confirm key; and a display device controlled by the remote controller; wherein: the remote controller is configured to transmit a direction control signal of a corresponding direction to the display device when one of the direction keys is pressed; and the display device is configured to, when the direction control signal is received by the display device in a first state of displaying sub-level content without displaying a card directory and corresponds to a predetermined direction, switch to a second state of displaying a card directory, the card directory including one selected card and at least one candidate card arranged in order, and at least one switch direction.

A conventional remote controller for controlling a television generally includes a power key, digital keys 0˜9, direction keys, and function keys. A user may need to press a combination of ones of the digital keys when using the remote controller to select a channel. For example, when the user wants to select channel 36, the user needs to press the digital key 3 and the digital key 6 on the remote controller, so as to control the television to switch to channel 36.

Remote control system, remote controller, display device and remote control method