A moveable headrest is mounted on or with respect to a support for supporting a user in viewing images in a standing, seated, or reclining posture. The headrest is for supporting the head of the user in executing head movements with a changing direction-of-view. A display mounted with respect to the user's head provides the images. An actuator can be provided for moving the moveable headrest for a passive user. A sensor can be provided for sensing movements of the moveable headrest, i.e., for sensing the movements from a changing direction. The moveable headrest apparatus may include either or both the actuator and the sensor.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to imaging systems and, more particularly, to imaging systems in which a changing direction-of-view of the images is coupled to a changing direction-of-view of the head of the viewer.
2. Description of Related Art
Certain imaging systems provide the user with a light stimulus in the form of images (or for forming images) and provide other sensory stimuli as well to immerse the user in an artificial world that seems real. In active systems, movements of the user are sensed and used as inputs to a "virtual reality" engine that selects and provides the images and other sensory stimuli according to the sensed movements. In particular, the position and attitude of the head of the viewer can be monitored in three-dimensional space by several different methods. By "position" of the head is meant the translations in a three-dimensional space of the monitored head or of an arbitrary point associated therewith. By "attitude" of the head is meant the direction or direction-of-view of the monitored head or the arbitrary point. Its meaning is analogous to "attitude" in an aircraft, i.e., pitch, roll and yaw. Among these monitoring methods are: (a) the method and apparatus shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,132 for determining position and orientation of a moveable object using accelerometers, (b) the image display method and apparatus with means for yoking viewpoint orienting muscles of a user shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,436,638, and (c) optical methods such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,224 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,729,475. Sensed signals indicative of the position and attitude of the head are input to the reality engine which then generates images having a positional point-of-view as well as a direction-of-view that changes in correspondence with changes in the position and direction-of-view of the head of the user. In passive systems, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,734,421, the head of a passive user is guided in plural degrees of freedom by an actuator to view an artificial world from various positions and directions-of-view. However, these various approaches suffer from a twofold problem. First, the known active and passive systems require the user to address the imaging system with an erect standing or seated posture that can be physically wearying over extended periods. Second, in the context of active applications, such as entertainment, they require the user to exert a degree of activism that can be overly demanding and even disconcerting. Such requirements are the antithesis of the relaxed entertainment experience preferred by most users.

Moveable headrest for viewing images from different directions


According to an example aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processing core, at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processing core, cause the apparatus at least to compile a set of transactions in a block chain based resource management system that have taken place after the most recent block was established, establish a new block in the block chain, and in establishing the new block, for transactions associated with verification accept messages and lacking sufficient resources, cause transferring of the lacking resources from verification nodes having sent the verification accept messages.

Transactions in digital systems may take several different forms. For example, credit card transactions may be verified by querying, from an issuer of the card, whether a credit account associated with the credit card has sufficient remaining credit to cover the transaction. Additionally, a client identity may be verified, which may take place by requesting the client to enter a pin code or to provide a signature. In some cases, the client may be requested to present a proof-of-identity document, such as a passport. Yet further, a bank issuing the credit card may call the client's mobile phone before approving the transaction, in case the transaction meets certain criteria.
Where the digital system is not centrally managed, verifying a transaction may take place by requiring a proof-of-work from the client before agreeing to the verification. For example, before accepting a transaction, a computer system may issue a challenge to the client. The challenge may comprise a mathematical challenge, such as a partial hash function reversal, which the client can perform and the performance of which requires a moderate investment in processor cycles, for example. For example, the challenge may be computationally simple for the verifier to generate and to verify an answer the client provides is correct, but computationally more challenging for the client to perform to obtain the answer.
A further verification method is a block chain, wherein a resource is recorded in a ledger, which may be public. Changes in resource ownership take the form of transactions, wherein a transaction may comprise an identifier of a new owner, that is the recipient, of the resource, together with a cryptographic signature of the previous owner, that is the sender, such that malicious attackers cannot re-assign resources they do not own. A cryptographic signature may be generated using a private key of a private key-public key pair. Validity of the cryptographic signature may be verified using the public key, while the signature can only be generated using the private key. While the public key may be freely shared with no reduction in security, the private key is closely kept by the owner.
In a block chain, transactions are recorded in blocks comprised in the chain, wherein the chain may comprise a distributed database. In principle, a chain of previous owners, or at least their identifiers, of each resource can be assessed based on the block chain.

Management of cryptographic transactions


A jet flow generating apparatus that suppresses noise as much as possible and effectively radiates the heat generated by a heat generating member, an electronic device that is equipped with the jet flow generating apparatus, and a jet flow generating method are provided. According to the present invention, a jet flow generating apparatus comprises a plurality of chambers each having an opening and each containing a coolant, a vibrating mechanism for vibrating the coolant contained in each of the plurality of chambers so as to discharge the coolant as a pulsating flow through the openings, and a control unit for controlling the vibration of the vibrating mechanism so that the sound waves generated by the coolant discharged from the plurality of chambers weaken each other.

The present invention relates to a jet flow generating apparatus that generates a jet flow and cools a heat generating member such as an electronic part with the generated jet flow, an electronic device that is equipped with the jet flow generating apparatus, and a jet flow generating method.
As the performance of PCs (Personal Computers) has been advanced, the calorific powers of heat generating members such as ICs (Integrated Circuits) have been adversely increased. To solve such a problem, various heat radiating technologies have been proposed and/or practically used. As one of heat radiating methods, there is a method wherein heat radiating fins made of metal such as aluminum are attached to an IC, and the generated heat by the IC is transferred to the fins to radiate the heat. Alternatively, there is another method wherein hot air that stays in a casing of a PC may be forcedly exhausted with a fan, and cool air around the PC is forcedly introduced around the heat generating members with the fan. Alternatively, there is still another method wherein, with both heat radiation fins and a fan, while the contact area of the heat generation member with air is increased with the heat radiation fins, the fan forcedly exhausts the hot air around the heat radiation fins.
However, there is a problem that a thermal boundary layer of fin surface is generated on the downstream side of the heat radiation fins by the forced conversion of air by the fan, it is difficult to effectively take away the heat. To solve such a problem, for example, it is considered that the air speed of the fan may be increased so as to thin the thermal boundary layer. But, there is a problem that nose of a bearing portion of the fan and wind cut noise of the fan are generated by increasing the number of rotations of the fan in order to increase the air speed.
As a method for breaking the thermal boundary layer and effectively releasing the heat of the heat radiation fins, a combined jet flow can be used. In this method, air that is moved by a piston or the like is jetted from a hole formed on one end of a chamber. The air jetted from this hole is called a combined jet flow. The combined jet flow promotes the mixing of air, breaks the thermal boundary layer, and more effectively radiates the heat than the forced convection generated by a conventional fan. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,145.
However, according to the technology described therein, since air vibration generated by a reciprocating motion of the piston is propagated as a sound wave, the sound is heard as noise. Further, as the clock frequencies of ICs have been increased in recent years, the heats generated by the ICs have been proportionally increased. Thus, to break the thermal boundary layer formed in the vicinity of the heat radiation fins, much more air should be discharged to the IC and the heat radiation fins than before. Thus, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1A and so forth of U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,145 that vibrates the vibration film and jets air, it is necessary to increase the amplitude of the vibration so as to increase the jet flow amount of the air. Thus, if the frequency of the vibration film is in an audio frequency range, the noise of the vibration film will become a problem to solve.

Jet flow generating apparatus, electronic apparatus, and jet flow generating method


A secondary flow, turbine cooling air system for the uniform cooling of high pressure turbine module components such as the turbine shroud, turbine blade tips, turbine nozzle, transion liner, and turbine bearing support housing in a recuperated gas turbine engine is provided. The secondary flow turbine cooling system provides uniform cooling air having a similar pressure and temperature in a recuperated gas turbine engine as the compressor discharge air of a non-recuperated gas turbine engine. A method for uniform cooling of high pressure turbine module components using the secondary flow turbine cooling air system is also provided.

This invention relates generally to cooling systems for turbine modules and more specifically to high pressure cooling air systems for turbine modules in recuperated gas turbine engines.
The durability and performance of a gas turbine engine is directly related to the life and efficiency of the high pressure turbine (HPT) module components. Under normal operating conditions for gas turbine engines, the engine turbine components are exposed to extreme temperatures, which in time, have the potential to cause distress, reduce engine efficiency and reduce service life. If the engine is allowed to operate at these extreme temperatures the increased thermal expansion and contraction of these components adversely affects clearances and the relationship between components with different coefficients of thermal expansion. Consequently, these components must be cooled to avoid potentially damaging consequences at elevated operating temperatures. In a non-recuperated gas turbine engine, a portion of the compressed air from the main flow path is extracted at the output of the compressor, upstream of the combustion chamber, for cooling the HPT module components. When a recuperator is added to the thermodynamic cycle of the engine, the temperature of the compressor discharge air is elevated hundreds of degrees, as it passes through the recuperator. Therefore, the recuperator discharge air is too hot and does not have the capability to provide adequate cooling to meet the HPT module requirements.
A cooling system for a recuperated gas turbine engine is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,457. In the '457 patent, a portion of compressed air from the main air stream is diverted around the combustion chamber to cool the bearing chamber. However, the air is diverted through the high temperature side of the engine, resulting in increased temperatures of the cooling air. This design therefore compromises the effectiveness of the cooling air.
An alternative cooling system for a gas turbine engine is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,204,406. In the '406 patent, the cooling system delivers cooling air to the internal part of the engine from the compressors through conduits. In areas where high pressure is required, part of the conduit is routed externally through an intercooler to maintain the required temperature and pressure. This adds external plumbing which, in turn, adds weight while each external connection provides a potential leak path. The tortuous internal conduits described in the '406 patent are also susceptible to blockage and seal leakage.
As can be seen, there is a need for a cooling system for recuperated gas turbine engines that is efficient and straightforward in design.

Secondary flow, high pressure turbine module cooling air system for recuperated gas turbine engines


A slot die coater planarizing an upper surface of an encapsulation layer and a coating method using the same. The slot die coater includes a slit nozzle configured to supply a coating solution. The slit nozzle includes a hole vertically penetrating a center portion thereof, a first bottom surface disposed at a movement direction side of the slit nozzle with reference to the hole, and a second bottom surface disposed at an opposite direction side of the movement direction of the slit nozzle with reference to the hole. A width of the first bottom surface is different from the width of the second bottom surface.

Field
Exemplary embodiments relate to a slot die coating apparatus using a slot die coater, and a coating method using the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a slot die coater configured to flatten an upper surface of an encapsulation layer, and a coating method using the same.
Discussion of the Background
A liquid crystal display (hereinafter "LCD") is one of the most widely used flat panel displays. The LCD includes two display panels provided with electric field generating electrodes, such as pixel electrodes and a common electrode, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the two display panels. In the LCD, voltages are applied to the electric field generating electrode to generate an electric field in the liquid crystal layer. As a result of the generated electric field, liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer are aligned and polarization of incident light is controlled, thereby displaying images.
Two display panels forming the liquid crystal display may be made of a thin film transistor array panel and an opposing display panel. In the thin film transistor array panel, a gate line transmitting a gate signal and a data line transmitting a data signal are formed to cross each other, and a thin film transistor connected to the gate line and data line and a pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor may be formed. The opposing display panel may include a light blocking member, a color filter, a common electrode, etc. If necessary, the light blocking member, the color filter, and the common electrode may be formed in the thin film transistor array panel.
Recently, significant research has been performed in an attempt to reduce cost by forming the constituent elements on one substrate. In this case, after forming the liquid crystal layer, a process of forming an encapsulation layer sealing the liquid crystal layer and adhering a polarizer thereon is performed. However, the resulting encapsulation layer is not flat such that lifting of the polarizer may be generated.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the inventive concept and, therefore, it may contain information that does not constitute prior art.

Slot die coating apparatus and coating method using the same


A portable trommel has a chassis, including support wheels at one end thereof for movement of the trommel. A trommel is rotatably mounted on the chassis and has an input and an output end. A hopper and an input conveyor, for supplying material to be screened to the input end of the trommel, are mounted on the chassis adjacent the input end of the trommel. An output or fines conveyor, for collecting material passing through the trommel screen, is mounted on the chassis, below the trommel. A stockpiling conveyor is mounted on the chassis and has a lower end adapted to receive screened material from the fines conveyor and an upper end for discharging screened material to form a stockpile. The stockpiling conveyor can be in two parts, which can be folded into a retracted position for storage and transportation, and further can be mounted for rotation about a vertical axis to enable an arcuate storage pile to be formed.

Trommel equipment is widely used for sorting material by size in various industries including construction, waste disposal, landscaping, and building demolition. It is also used by aggregate producers. Trommel screens are cylindrical in shape, open at both ends, and in use are rotated. The trommel is inclined, so that material naturally tends to travel from the higher end to the lower end. The material to be processed is dumped into the higher end of a trommel screen and rotation causes the material to tumble towards the lower end. Some of the material, the 'fines', falls down through the trommel screen and the balance, the coarse material, is discharged out the lower end.
Portable trommels are known. Conventional portable trommel equipment typically comprises a rotary trommel, an input conveyor, and a fines conveyor. These are mounted together on chassis, which is provided with wheels at one end and a "fifth wheel" at the other, for connection to a conventional tractor unit. The input conveyor serves to feed the trommel with materials that are deposited on it. The fines conveyor collects 'fines' falling through the trommel screen, and can extend the length of the machine from underneath the trommel to a discharge end.
In order to stockpile screened materials or direct them into a transporter container, typically a separate stacking conveyor must be used. This additional conveyor must be positioned accurately relative to the trommel equipment such that it properly receives screened materials from the fines conveyor. The use of a separate stockpiling conveyor results in substantial costs associated with installing and transporting an additional piece of equipment. These costs can result in trommel machines being inconvenient or impractical for many applications.
Once a stockpiling conveyor has been configured for operation with a trommel machine, its position is fixed and it is not usually practical to adjust its position. Hence, the size of a stockpile that it can make is limited. A tractor or loader is then required to remove processed materials from the stockpile at regular intervals. The processed material is transported to a separate ground area for storage or deposited into a truck. This extra step requires the use and operation of costly loading equipment.
By its very nature, a portable trommel is intended to be frequently and readily moved between different locations. With current portable trommels it is often necessary to provide a stockpiling conveyor. This requires transportation of two separate pieces of equipment. Also, setting up the two pieces of equipment and ensuring they are properly aligned can take from 2 to 4 hours. This results in considerable additional cost.
Further, the material stockpile must be continually serviced by loading equipment in order to prevent the pile from exceeding its maximum height and so that the trommel may process a constant amount of material feed. Over a period of a day, a substantial amount of material must be removed from the fixed stockpile area underneath the stockpiling conveyor. In order to maintain operation of the trommel equipment at an efficient level, two tractors or loading units are required.
Accordingly, there is a need for a stockpiling arrangement for a portable trommel machine, which provides a stockpiling facility and reduces equipment and set up costs as much as possible. Preferably, such an arrangement should also operate as a loader and be capable of rapidly changing from stockpiling to depositing processed materials into a truck or other transport vehicle. Finally, there is a need for a trommel machine which can stack a larger volume of material than is currently possible, without substantially interrupting or reducing the efficient operation of the trammel equipment. Finally, any such modification should still enable a portable trommel to be transported readily on ordinary roads, i.e., it should not be of excessive height or width.


A method maneuvers vehicles in clusters. The method forms a first main cluster, the first main cluster having at least two 1st-order sub-clusters that each have at least one cluster vehicle, and having a first cluster formation with a predefined cluster length. The method determines a first leading vehicle for the first main cluster from the cluster vehicles; and maneuvers the first main cluster. The cluster vehicles of the first main cluster orient themselves to the first leading vehicle. The first cluster formation is maintained for the first main cluster for as long as the maximum length of the first main cluster remains less than or equal to the sum of the predefined cluster length and a tolerance length.

The invention relates to a method for maneuvering vehicles in clusters.
Systems for vehicles that ensure that a vehicle follows a vehicle in front are known. One example of these is an automatic vehicle following system as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,449. In this case, the trajectory of the vehicle in front is followed and at the same time the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle in front of it is adjusted.
There are furthermore concepts that relate to convoy vehicle management, that is to say controlling vehicles within a convoy. In this case, the convoy of vehicles is formed and controlled taking maximum fuel efficiency into consideration. As a distance between at least two vehicles decreases, the air resistance of the respectively following vehicles is reduced, resulting overall in a reduction in the energy consumption of the vehicles involved. It is assumed that an overall energy saving of up to 20% is able to be achieved by way of traveling in a convoy.
The concepts described above do not however target reducing congestion. Congestion formation is however increasing to a greater extent specifically in built-up areas because the road network is not designed to be able to cope with the increasing volume of traffic. It would therefore be desirable to efficiently use the available traffic area.
The invention is therefore based on the object of specifying a method for maneuvering vehicles in clusters, by way of which method efficient use of the available traffic area is ensured.
The object is achieved by the features of the independent patent claims. Advantageous embodiments are described in the dependent claims. It is pointed out that additional features of a patent claim dependent on an independent patent claim, without the features of the independent patent claim or only in combination with a subset of the features of the independent patent claim, may form a separate invention independent of the combination of all of the features of the independent patent claim and that may be made into the subject matter of an independent claim, a divisional application or a subsequent application. This applies analogously to the technical teaching described in the description, which teaching may form an invention independent of the features of the independent patent claims.
One aspect of the invention relates to a method for maneuvering vehicles in clusters, wherein the method comprises:
forming a first main cluster, wherein the first main cluster comprises at least two 1st-order subclusters each having at least one cluster vehicle and wherein the first main cluster has a first cluster formation with a predefined cluster length;
determining a first lead vehicle for the first main cluster from the cluster vehicles; and
maneuvering the first main cluster, wherein the cluster vehicles of the first main cluster orient themselves with respect to the first lead vehicle and wherein the first cluster formation is maintained for the first main cluster for as long as the maximum length of the first main cluster is less than or equal to the sum of the predefined cluster length and a tolerance length.
In the context of the present document, the term "cluster vehicle" should be understood to mean any type of vehicle by way of which people and/or freight are able to be moved. Possible examples of this are: motor vehicle, trucks, land vehicles, buses, driver's cabs, cable cars, elevator cars, rail vehicles, watercraft (for example ships, boats, submarines, diving bells, hovercraft, hydrofoils), aircraft (aeroplanes, helicopters, ground effect vehicles, airships, balloons). The vehicle is preferably a motor vehicle. A motor vehicle in this sense comprises an automobile, a motorcycle and a tractor.
In the context of the present document, the term "maneuvering vehicles in clusters" is understood to mean leading and/or controlling and/or steering and/or piloting a plurality of vehicles in a vehicle group to a location and/or along a path and/or along a route. A main cluster is thus a vehicle group consisting of at least two vehicles that travel together in a coordinated manner. In the context of the present document, the vehicles that are in the vehicle group are called cluster vehicles. The cluster vehicles usually have the same destination or intermediate destination and/or wish to cover the same path or intermediate path. The vehicles that have already been identified as vehicles belonging to the main cluster are furthermore likewise referred to as cluster vehicles, for example because they have the same destination or intermediate destination but have not yet taken up their respective cluster position within the cluster formation.
The formation adopted by the main cluster depends on various factors. A cluster formation is in this case understood to mean a specific arrangement of at least two cluster vehicles. According to the present document, a cluster has at least two subclusters, wherein the respective subcluster has at least one cluster vehicle.
According to the present document, the cluster formation represents the basic arrangement within a main cluster. The cluster formation thus provides information about how many subclusters (for example 1st-order subcluster, 2nd-order subcluster, etc.), and thus how many cluster vehicles, are involved in the main cluster. The cluster formation furthermore describes the basic arrangement of the 1st-order and possibly 2nd-order subclusters within the main cluster. The term "subcluster" should be understood below to mean a collective term for 1st-order subclusters and/or 2nd-order subclusters. A 1st-order subcluster is always part of a main cluster. A 2nd-order subcluster is always part of a 1st-order subcluster and therefore also part of a main cluster.
The cluster formation thus in principle describes the arrangement of the individual cluster vehicles with respect to one another within the subclusters and the arrangement of the individual subclusters with respect to one another within the main cluster. In other words, the cluster formation describes how the cluster vehicles are arranged geometrically within the subclusters and how the subclusters are arranged geometrically within the main clusters. The cluster formation does not however describe the exact location of each cluster vehicle. This means that the cluster formation is maintained even when the individual cluster vehicles fluctuate around their singly assigned cluster positions, as long as this takes place within a predetermined radius around the assigned cluster positions. By way of example, the cluster formation describes the arrangement of four 2nd-order subclusters that each consist of four cluster vehicles, wherein the 2nd-order subclusters are arranged behind one another in the direction of travel. According to a further example, the cluster formation describes the arrangement of three 2nd-order subclusters in an upside-down triangle in the direction of travel, wherein each 2nd-order subcluster consists only of one vehicle.
The singly formed cluster formation has a particular predefined cluster length. In other words, the particular cluster formation predefines a length of the main cluster. In the present document, the cluster length is intended to be defined on the basis of a rectangular envelope imagined around the respective cluster formation. In the present document, the cluster length should not necessarily correspond to the longest dimension of a rectangular envelope imagined around the respective cluster formation, but rather correspond to the dimension, lying essentially in the direction of travel, of a rectangular envelope imagined around the respective cluster formation. The term "essentially in the direction of travel" is understood to mean a dimension that does not have to point exactly in the direction of travel but that is closest to the direction of travel. Direction of travel in this case means the direction of travel of the respective main cluster, wherein the direction of travel of the respective main cluster is preferably determined by the direction of travel of the respective lead vehicle. Travel in a straight line should be taken as a basis for defining the cluster length, and the dimension of the cluster formation in the direction of travel should be considered on the basis thereof. The definition of the cluster length described above applies in the same way to the length of the subclusters, the maximum length of a main cluster, etc.
The cluster vehicles are assigned to the respective subclusters in accordance with various criteria. For the 1st-order subclusters, the size of the respective cluster vehicles is applied. Accordingly, for example in the case of a main cluster that consists of two 1st-order subclusters, trucks and buses are assigned to a first 1st-order subcluster and automobiles and vans are assigned to a second 1st-order subcluster. According to another example, in the case of a subcluster that consists of two 1st-order subclusters, a bus is assigned to a first 1st-order subcluster and a plurality of automobiles are assigned to the second 1st-order subcluster; in this case, the second 1st-order subcluster comprises as many automobiles whose cumulative length corresponds to the length of the bus in the first 1st-order subcluster. In other words, the second 1st-order subcluster is filled with the same number of automobiles that form the same length as the first 1st-order subcluster.
For the 2nd-order subclusters, criteria such as the degree of automation of the cluster vehicles, the engine power of the cluster vehicles, the destination or intermediate destination of the cluster vehicles, the navigation destination of the cluster vehicles, the adjusted speed (for example adjusted by a cruise control system) of the cluster vehicles, the common travel route or the common travel route section of the cluster vehicles etc. are applied.
A 2nd-order subcluster preferably comprises only cluster vehicles of the same vehicle type. By way of example, a first 2nd-order subcluster comprises only automobiles, whereas a second 2nd-order subcluster comprises a truck. As an alternative or in addition, a 2nd-order subcluster comprises only cluster vehicles that have essentially the same vehicle length. By way of example, a first 2nd-order subcluster then comprises only automobiles of the same length, whereas a second 2nd-order subcluster comprises a truck. As an alternative or in addition, a 2nd-order subcluster meets the condition whereby at least one of the cluster vehicles of the 2nd-order subcluster has a partly automated, preferably a highly automated, even more preferably a fully automated degree of automation.
As already described, a lead vehicle (for example first lead vehicle, second lead vehicle, etc.) for the respective main cluster is selected from the cluster vehicles. An additional lead vehicle may furthermore be selected from the cluster vehicles for a subcluster, preferably for each subcluster. In this case, a lead vehicle may at the same time also serve as an additional lead vehicle. The cluster vehicles of the respective main cluster or of the respective subcluster that are not a lead vehicle or additional lead vehicle are referred to as following vehicles.
The term following vehicle in the present document is understood to mean a vehicle that follows another vehicle, specifically the lead vehicle or additional lead vehicle. In this case, however, the term "follow" should not be understood to mean a spatial arrangement of the following vehicle with respect to the lead vehicle or additional lead vehicle. This means in particular that a following vehicle does not necessarily have to be arranged behind a lead vehicle or additional lead vehicle, but rather may for example be arranged next to or slightly offset from or in front of the lead vehicle or additional lead vehicle. A following vehicle position is thus not necessarily a position behind the lead vehicle or additional lead vehicle, but rather describes the property whereby the following vehicle follows the lead vehicle or additional lead vehicle.
The procedures described in the present document for determining a cluster formation are executed by a control device. The control device may be arranged in or on a cluster vehicle or externally to the vehicle, for example in a computer center, a data processing center, a traffic control center or a traffic management system, a server or on a cloud. The cluster formation is preferably determined in a lead vehicle or additional lead vehicle.
The main cluster or main clusters and the subclusters are maneuvered by the cluster vehicles orienting themselves with respect to the lead vehicle or the respective additional lead vehicle. The lead vehicle or additional lead vehicle may in this case take on the task of defining a route followed by the individual cluster vehicles, preferably the following vehicles. The lead vehicle or additional lead vehicle may furthermore take on the task of maneuvering the individual cluster vehicles along the defined route. The lead vehicle or additional lead vehicle preferably has a sensor system by way of which the cluster vehicles are maneuvered.
When maneuvering, the main cluster or the subclusters acts or act as a fixed unit. In this case, the cluster vehicles of the first main cluster orient themselves with respect to the first lead vehicle; the cluster vehicles of the second main cluster possibly orient themselves with respect to the second lead vehicle; and the cluster vehicles of the respective subclusters possibly orient themselves with respect to the respective additional lead vehicles. The cluster vehicles of a main cluster do not always in this case have to travel at the same speed or with the same steering angle or along or offset in parallel with the same trajectory, but the cluster vehicles of a main cluster follow the same trajectory as a unit. The cluster vehicles of a 2nd-order subcluster however travel at least at the same speed. In addition, the cluster vehicles of a 2nd-order subcluster may also travel along or offset in parallel with the same trajectory and/or with the same steering angle. The individual 2nd-order subclusters may thus each move at different speeds. In other words, the cluster vehicles of a first 2nd-order subcluster may move at a different speed than the cluster vehicles of a second 2nd-order subcluster.
The maneuvering may comprise executing maneuver steps. In this case, the maneuver steps may be performed by one cluster vehicle executing the maneuver steps after the other or else all of the cluster vehicles executing the respective maneuver steps at the same time.
In order to maneuver, the cluster vehicles may receive maneuver signals that are then correspondingly implemented in the respective cluster vehicle. The maneuver signals may be received by a communication device arranged in or on the respective cluster vehicle. The lead vehicle or additional lead vehicle preferably transmits the maneuver signals to the following vehicles or to the communication device of the respective following vehicle. The maneuver signals comprise at least one of the following items of information: information regarding the cluster route, information regarding the route of the respective cluster vehicle, information regarding the speed of the respective cluster vehicle, information regarding the distance between a cluster vehicle and one or more adjacent cluster vehicles, information regarding the direction of travel of the respective cluster vehicle, information regarding the cluster position of the respective cluster vehicle, information regarding a steering motion of the respective cluster vehicle, etc.
The maneuver signals are preferably updated for one or more cluster vehicles when another output situation results and/or one or more cluster vehicles deviate from the previously transmitted maneuver signal (setpoint situation). Such maneuver signals that are suitable for updating and/or correcting purposes comprise at least one of the following items of information: information regarding an acceleration impulse of the respective cluster vehicle, information regarding a braking impulse of the respective cluster vehicle, information regarding a steering correction angle of the respective cluster vehicle, etc.
In other words, the cluster vehicles are steered and corrected by the lead vehicle or additional lead vehicle in terms of their position, their direction of travel, and their speed and steering commands. As a result, better use is thereby made of the driving lane width or the existing driving lane area, as a result of which congestion formation is ultimately reduced.
In order to form a main cluster, a corresponding cluster position in the main cluster or subcluster may be assigned to each cluster vehicle after a cluster formation (for example first cluster formation, second cluster formation, etc.) is determined. The corresponding cluster position describes the position of the cluster vehicle in the main cluster or subcluster as well as the position of the cluster vehicle within the cluster formation in accordance with the previously determined cluster formation. The cluster vehicles may then adopt the cluster position respectively assigned thereto. In order to assign a corresponding cluster position to each cluster vehicle, each cluster vehicle may have a communication device that receives the corresponding cluster position. The corresponding cluster position is preferably transmitted by a control device, as described above, to the respective communication device. The communication may in this case take place in a wired manner (for example by way of a USB interface) or wirelessly (for example Bluetooth, WLAN, mobile radio). The corresponding cluster position is preferably assigned to the respective cluster vehicle by a lead vehicle or by an additional lead vehicle.
After the reception of the corresponding cluster position, it may be decided whether the respective cluster vehicle is already occupying its corresponding cluster position or whether a shunting procedure is required in order to adopt the corresponding cluster position. This decision may be made for example in a position adoption device that is arranged either in each of the cluster vehicles or in one of the cluster vehicles or externally to the vehicle by a central device, for example in a computer center and/or on a server and/or in a cloud. If it has been decided that the respective cluster vehicle has to be shunted to the cluster position assigned thereto, then a shunting trajectory is calculated. The shunting trajectory may be determined by the position adoption device. The shunting procedure for the respective cluster vehicle may likewise be controlled by the position adoption device. As an alternative or in addition, the shunting procedure may be controlled by the control device described above. The assignment procedure is executed by the control device described above. The required shunting procedures for the cluster vehicles may be executed either in succession or simultaneously. The shunting procedures are preferably performed with the additional assistance of sensor systems arranged in or on the cluster vehicles.
The cluster formation may for example be selected such that the sum of the shunting paths for the cluster vehicles required to adopt the respective cluster positions is a minimum. The cluster formation may thus for example be determined not only depending on the vehicle dimensions of the cluster vehicles and the driving area available for travel, but rather also depending on the sum of the required shunting paths for the cluster vehicles. It is in this case attempted to find a cluster formation in which as many cluster vehicles as possible require a small or even no shunting path in order to shunt from their actual position to the respective cluster position.
In the context of the present document, a sensor system is understood to mean a system having one or more sensors, wherein the sensor system comprises at least one of the following apparatuses: ultrasound sensor, radar sensor, lidar sensor and/or camera. The sensor data recorded by the sensor system may originate from one of the abovementioned apparatuses or from a combination of a plurality of the abovementioned apparatuses (sensor data fusion). The sensor system is advantageously integrated into a driver assistance system of the respective cluster vehicle and may be used for the respective actions of the method for maneuvering vehicles in clusters.
During the maneuvering of a main cluster, the cluster vehicles essentially keep the vehicle arrangement in its respective cluster formation, for example in the first cluster formation and/or in the second cluster formation. In this case, the cluster vehicles move essentially in their assigned cluster position. This does not however mean that each cluster vehicle maintains the exact same position during the maneuvering. Each cluster vehicle may move or stay around the particular cluster position in the cluster formation within a tolerance area. The previously determined cluster formation, and therefore also the cluster positions, in principle essentially remain the same for the cluster vehicles.
The first cluster formation is in this case maintained for the first main cluster for as long as the maximum length of the first cluster is less than or equal to the sum of the predefined cluster length and a tolerance length. In other words, the first cluster formation as has been determined only ceases to exist when the cluster vehicles leave their determined cluster position to such an extent, that is to say move away beyond the tolerated radius around their particular cluster position to such an extent, that the dimensions of the first cluster formation that were determined beforehand are no longer able to be maintained. Whether the cluster vehicles of the first main cluster are still within the dimensions of the first cluster formation is able to be determined on the basis of the maximum length of the first main cluster. The maximum length of the first cluster describes the maximum length, that is to say the actual maximum length, of the first main cluster. The tolerance length is the length of a tolerance area adjoining the predefined cluster length.
The maximum length or the actual length of the first main cluster does not necessarily have to match the predefined cluster length. The maximum length is preferably determined by the longest dimension, in the direction of travel, of a rectangular envelope imagined around the respective current cluster arrangement, that is to say around the respective current arrangement of the subclusters and the associated cluster vehicles. Direction of travel in this case means the direction of travel of the respective current main cluster, wherein the direction of travel of the respective main cluster is preferably determined by the direction of travel of the respective lead vehicle. The current arrangement of the subclusters and of the associated cluster vehicles incorporates a certain fluctuation of the cluster vehicles around their singly assigned cluster position, as has also been explained further above.
In other words, the cluster formation of the first main cluster is not changed as long as the subclusters or the cluster vehicles move essentially in the first main cluster at their respective cluster positions including a certain tolerance. If the cluster vehicles deviate from the cluster positions assigned thereto beyond the tolerance, then the cluster formation is no longer maintained for the first main cluster. Tolerance in this case means a predetermined radius around the singly assigned cluster position.
According to one embodiment, at least one of the 1st-order subclusters has at least two 2nd-order subclusters each having at least one cluster vehicle. A 2nd-order subcluster is excluded from the first main cluster if the maximum length of the first main cluster is greater than the sum of the predefined cluster length and the tolerance length.
If a 2nd-order subcluster thus moves too far away from the originally defined first cluster formation, maneuvering the first main cluster with the originally defined first cluster formation would be too complicated. Excluding a 2nd-order subcluster therefore restores efficient maneuvering of the first main cluster.
According to a further embodiment, the first main cluster has different types of vehicle. The different types of vehicle preferably comprise automobiles (for example van, SUV, limousine, cabriolet, coupe, combi, roadster), in each case with and without trailers; trucks; land vehicles; and buses.
According to a further embodiment, the method furthermore comprises forming a second main cluster for cluster vehicles, wherein the second main cluster has a second cluster formation, determining a second lead vehicle for the second main cluster from the cluster vehicles; and maneuvering the first main cluster and the second main cluster, wherein the cluster vehicles of the first main cluster orient themselves with respect to the first lead vehicle and the cluster vehicles of the second main cluster orient themselves with respect to the second lead vehicle, wherein the 2nd-order subcluster excluded from the first main cluster is furthermore incorporated into the second main cluster.
According to a further embodiment, the method furthermore comprises determining an additional lead vehicle for at least one of the 2nd-order subclusters from the cluster vehicles of the first main cluster and/or of the second main cluster; wherein maneuvering the first main cluster and/or the second main cluster comprises maneuvering the at least one 2nd-order subcluster, wherein the cluster vehicles of the respective 2nd-order subcluster orient themselves with respect to the respective additional lead vehicle.
According to one embodiment, the first cluster formation and/or the second cluster formation are determined depending on the vehicle dimensions of the respective cluster vehicles and the driving area available for travel. Vehicle dimensions in this case in particular mean the external dimensions, for example the width, the length and the height, of the respective cluster vehicles. In this case, the vehicle dimensions may be maximum specifications, for example the overall width, that is to say the distance from one wing mirror to the other, or another maximum dimension, for example the vehicle width of the chassis when the wing mirrors are folded in. The driving area available for travel comprises one or more traffic structures on which vehicles are able to move from one location to another. The driving area available for travel is in particular formed from one or more driving lanes. Depending on the embodiment, the driving area available for travel, in addition to the roadway or roadways, may also be formed by at least one of the following: one or more verges, one or more hard shoulders, one or more lane boundaries, one or more cycle lanes, one or more sidewalks, one or more parking areas or parking spaces, one or more stopping locations, one or more emergency lanes and one or more traffic calming areas. The driving area available for travel is preferably a fixed surface, such as for example an asphalt concrete surface, a cement concrete surface, a plaster surface and/or a compressed aggregate surface.
In other words, in order to determine the first cluster formation and/or the second cluster formation, the driving area available for travel, that is to say for example the width and number of existing driving lanes, as well as the vehicle dimensions of the cluster vehicles, are determined, and the arrangement of the cluster vehicles is defined accordingly.
According to a further embodiment, when the first main cluster and/or the second main cluster is formed, the cluster vehicles are arranged independently of predefined driving lanes and/or predefined minimum distances between the cluster vehicles.
In other words, the cluster vehicles may be arranged so as to be distributed over the driving lanes such that possibly more than one vehicle occupies a driving lane. The cluster vehicles may furthermore be arranged such that driving lane boundaries are crossed by one or more cluster vehicles. In other words, a cluster vehicle does not have to travel within the driving lane predefined by driving lane boundaries, but rather may for example travel such that a driving lane boundary is situated below the vehicle. In this case, the cluster vehicles may arrange themselves such that they travel closer next to one another and/or behind one another than would be the case when maintaining predefined minimum distances.
If the cluster vehicles are arranged across the predefined driving lanes or so as to fall below the predefined minimum distances, optimum use is able to be made of the available driving area and the number of vehicles per driving area is able to be increased. This may contribute to reducing congestion.
According to a further embodiment, when the first main cluster and/or the second main cluster is formed and/or maneuvered, at least one wing mirror of at least one of the cluster vehicles of the first main cluster and/or of the second main cluster is folded in. The distance between the individual cluster vehicles is thereby able to be reduced, resulting in a more compact cluster formation and efficient use of the driving area available for travel.
According to a further embodiment, the first main cluster and/or the second main cluster have cluster positions corresponding to the first cluster formation or the second cluster formation. In the case of traffic driving on the left-hand side, at least one of the following actions is performed: determining the cluster vehicle at the front left cluster position, in the direction of travel, of the first main cluster as first lead vehicle; determining the cluster vehicle at the front left cluster position, in the direction of travel, of the second main cluster as second lead vehicle; and determining the cluster vehicle at the front left cluster position, in the direction of travel, of a 2nd-order subcluster as additional lead vehicle. In the case of traffic driving on the right-hand side, at least one of the following actions is performed: determining the cluster vehicle at the front right cluster position, in the direction of travel, of the first main cluster as first lead vehicle; determining the cluster vehicle at the front right cluster position, in the direction of travel, of the second main cluster as second lead vehicle; and determining the cluster vehicle at the front right cluster position, in the direction of travel, of a 2nd-order subcluster as additional lead vehicle.
By selecting one of the front cluster vehicles as the lead vehicle, the cluster vehicles following behind it (following vehicles) are easily able to orient themselves with respect to the lead vehicle.
According to a further embodiment, the method for maneuvering vehicles in clusters furthermore comprises one of the following actions: the cluster vehicle that has the highest degree of automation from the first main cluster is determined as first lead vehicle of the first main cluster; the cluster vehicle that has the highest degree of automation from a 2nd-order subcluster is determined as additional lead vehicle; and the cluster vehicle that has the highest degree of automation from the second main cluster is determined as second lead vehicle of the second main cluster.
The cluster vehicles at the edge of the roadway or just the lead vehicle preferably have or has a device with highly accurate digital GPS in order to determine a location and/or a high-resolution camera, for example for detecting roadway markings. Using the described device and/or high-resolution camera, it is possible for the cluster vehicle or vehicles at the edge of the roadway or the lead vehicle to precisely follow the edge of the road. The following vehicles are then able to orient themselves with respect to the lead vehicle using a near-field sensor system, for example ultrasound sensors. For example, the following vehicles may adopt a minimum distance in terms of width with respect to one another. This constellation represents a case that is advantageous in terms of cost since it is not necessary to equip every cluster vehicle with a device with highly accurate digital GPS and/or a high-resolution camera in order to be maneuvered in the cluster.
The term "degree of automation" in the context of the document should be understood to mean driving with automated longitudinal or transverse guidance or autonomous driving with automated longitudinal and transverse guidance. Exemplary degrees of automation are assisted, partly automated, highly automated or fully automated driving, the degree of automation being cited here in increasing order. These degrees of automation have been defined by the German Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) (see BASt publication "Forschung kompakt" [Compact research], issued November 2012). In the case of assisted driving, the driver continuously performs longitudinal or transverse guidance while the system takes over the respective other function within certain limits. In the case of partly automated driving (TAF), the system takes over the longitudinal and transverse guidance for a certain duration and/or in specific situations, wherein the driver has to continuously monitor the system as in the case of assisted driving. In the case of highly automated driving (HAF), the system takes over the longitudinal and transverse guidance for a certain duration without the driver having to continuously monitor the system; the driver must however be capable within a certain time of taking over vehicle guidance. In the case of fully automated driving (VAF), the system is able to automatically manage driving in all situations for a specific application case; a driver is then no longer required for this application case. The four degrees of automation mentioned above in accordance with the definition of the BASt correspond to SAE Levels 1 to 4 of the SAE J3016 standard (SAE—Society of Automotive Engineering). By way of example, highly automated driving (HAF) according to the BASt corresponds to Level 3 of the SAE J3016 standard. SAE J3016 furthermore also provides SAE Level 5 as the highest degree of automation, this not being contained in the definition of the BASt. SAE Level 5 corresponds to driverless driving, in which the system is able to automatically manage all situations in the same way as a human driver throughout the entire journey; a driver is then generally no longer required.
The lead vehicle (for example first lead vehicle, second lead vehicle, additional lead vehicle) may advantageously be changed when required for example due to a change in the surroundings. For example, a following vehicle may then be selected as lead vehicle or additional lead vehicle and the original lead vehicle or additional lead vehicle then becomes a following vehicle.
By virtue of the method described above for maneuvering vehicles in clusters, optimum use is able to be made of the driving area available for travel, in particular the roadway width, as a result of which the flow density of the vehicles is able to be increased and ultimately congestion formation or congestion length is able to be reduced. CO2 emissions are thereby also able to be reduced, and at the same time driving comfort is able to be increased.
With regard to further technical features and advantages of the method according to the invention for maneuvering vehicles in clusters, reference is made to the explanations in connection with the method according to the invention, the figures and the description of the figures.

Method for maneuvering vehicles in clusters

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft


The conditional access system in a single frequency network in a digital broadcasting system includes a main broadcasting system transmitting encoded broadcasting signals including a data stream and transmitter identification information (TII) through a main broadcasting network; a repeating system amplifying and transmitting encoded broadcasting signals of the main broadcasting network, or modulating and amplifying a stream input by the main broadcasting system through a cable, and repeating broadcasting signals of the main broadcasting system through a repeating network; a subscriber station decoding the encoded signals of the main broadcasting network included in the broadcasting signals received through the main broadcasting network or the repeating network, TII, and an encoding key according to a decoding method; and a decoding key provider receiving a decoding key from the main broadcasting or repeating system, authenticating a user, and transmitting the decoding key to a charged subscriber station through a mobile communication network.

Digital broadcasting has characteristics of providing multiple channels, high quality, and multiple functions. In particular, developments of multiplexing techniques have enabled concurrent combination of images, speech, and data irrespective of contents and sizes and transmission of them, and have formed a return channel through a modem to allow interactive services. Accordingly, digital data broadcasting has overcome the problems of conventional analog broadcasting and has provided multimedia services with high added value to viewers.
However, when security between a transmitter and a receiver is not guaranteed in digital data combined broadcasting, the commercial structure of the broadcasting cannot be maintained. Broadcasting service providers have attempted to bring out services that depend on advertisement for income by activation of multiple channels and professional channels, to provide quality broadcasting services to subscribers, and to provide charged broadcasting services such as Pay-TV or Pay-Per-View (PPV) to bill TV subscription fees, and they also desire to have their various multimedia data protected and have control of the subscribers who are authorized to have a right to view the data. To solve the problems, the CAS (Conditional Access System) has been developed.
The CAS is a system for allowing subscribers having a right to view TV programs to receive specific programs by introducing the concept of subscriptions to the broadcasting, and it deals with a process for each digital broadcasting receiver to determine which broadcasting program a viewer will receive. In the CAS, a transmitter transmits encoded program signals and an entitlement given to an individual receiving user or a specific group to a receiver, and the receiver controls the ability of the subscriber having entitlement to decrypt the signal by using a smart card attached to the receiver.
Also, the conventional terrestrial and satellite digital broadcasting set the conditional access to the contents or users to thereby provide a charged service. In this instance, a process for encoding a stream to which the conditional access is applied and a process for canceling the conditional access through an encoding key received by a charged subscriber through a mobile communication network or another encoding key assigned through a smart card can be performed.
In general terrestrial and satellite digital broadcasting, a transmitter for forming a main broadcast network is provided on the single frequency network (SFN), a shade area in which no service is received is generated within the main broadcast network, and a gap filler for servicing the shade area is provided to thereby solve the problem of the shade area in the main broadcast network. For example, in a satellite digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) system, most regions are available for receiving signals from a satellite, and the gap filler is used to acquire a receiving region in the shade regions in which no direct signal receiving is allowed, such as regions in a subway, a tunnel, and a building.
In detail, when it is not easy to directly receive satellite signals on the ground side, that is, within the tunnel, underground, and building, the gap filler receives the satellite signals through a satellite signal receive antenna and starts broadcasting.
Main broadcasting stations represent broadcasting stations that function as a main center of the broadcasting network system, and they plan, produce, and transmit broadcasting programs. In Korea, radio broadcasting stations include KBS, MBC, CBS, BBS, PBS, SBS, and Keukdong Broadcasting, and television broadcasting stations include KBS, MBC, and SBS. The broadcasting stations located in Seoul are established to be their transmitters. Commercial broadcasting in the USA or Japan forms broadcasting networks through contracts, but Korean broadcasting systems have a single organization such as KBS or have the same capital system such as MBC and CBS, and hence the transmitters perform a strong role in the system and management in addition to broadcasting substantially as headquarters.
Further, a repeater station is an auxiliary station with less power consumption, and is also called a satellite station. Conventionally, a broadcasting station has a service region, that is, a designated broadcasting region, but since boundary regions have a weak radio wave arrival and blanket areas, the satellite station is installed for the boundary regions. It is installed at mountaintops for receiving radio waves from the transmitters, and it receives the waves through high-sensitivity receivers, electrically amplifies them, and broadcasts them as radio waves of different frequencies.
However, when a main broadcasting network service provider is different from a repeater service provider, the repeater service provider generates the cost of installing and maintaining a broadcasting network in the shade region, and the repeater service provider charges for the usage of the repeating network. That is, the repeater service must be a charged service for the purpose of activating the repeating network, but no appropriate treatment for the charged service has been provided up to now.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Conditional access system for each transmitter in single frequency network, and a method thereof


Methods and systems for supporting presentation using a zoomable space. In an exemplary method, a structure, such as a hierarchy, of presentation information is provided. The presentation information may include slides, text labels and graphical elements. The presentation information is laid out in the zoomable space based on the structure. A path may be created based on the hierarchy and may be a sequence of the presentation information for the slide show. When a modification is received in at least one of the hierarchy and the layout, the path may be automatically updated based on the modification. During a presentation, the presentation information is displayed based on the path.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to methods and systems for supporting a slide show presentation using zoomable user interface.
2. Description of Related Art
Performing presentations using computerized slide shows has become popular. Microsoft® PowerPoint® and other presentation software allow the user to create individual slides for presentation slide shows by providing an interface for mimicking physical presentation media such as 35-mm slides or overhead transparencies. In the days of physical slides or transparencies, the linear search meant flipping through slides in a carousel or through transparencies in a pile. In software presentation tools, this search often means scrolling through the linear sequence of slides. Software presentation tools also typically offer interfaces to simplify jumping to a slide out of the linear sequence. Such interfaces include scrollable lists of slide titles, a scrollable grid of slide thumbnails, or hyperlinks.
In the case of scrolling lists or grids, user interfaces typically make use of traditional GUI (graphical user interface) features that were designed primarily for use at an individual workstation. As a result, they can be inappropriate in the presentation setting as they require a high level of attention and pointing precision. In addition, the presenter often has a latent goal of maintaining a professional appearance. Yet, traditional interface designs may be professionally inappropriate both because of the precision needed for use and their general visual appearance. In contrast, hyperlinks reduce the amount of attention and precision needed to navigate out of the linear sequence. They can also be authored to be visually consistent with the presentation content. However, hyperlinks are frequently not created because presenters are frequently unable or unwilling to anticipate all the points at which they may want to deviate from the primary storyline.
A related problem with the slide show metaphor arises in reusing a presentation with multiple audiences. Such reuse often even occurs in impromptu situations. In these situations, the presenter typically adapts the existing presentation by omitting or including details as time or feedback require. Under the slide show metaphor, this often means scrolling past slides and improvising transitions to accommodate for the lacking visual aid. Again, the presenter is left to orient the audience to any modifications made to the original linear slide order.
In this type of systems, the user can place each slide in order so that the slides are shown to his/her audience sequentially as the presentation is preceded. However, the user must follow a predetermined sequence during the presentation and do not have a freedom to easily return to the previous subjects and/or search specific information without going through each slide.
Another system for presentation allows a user to better organize the slides having the user manually create a hierarchy for the slides so that the user becomes aware of the categories. However, during the presentation, this software uses the traditional mere sequence of the slides, resulting in the deficiencies similar to those described above.

Methods and systems for supporting presentation tools using zoomable user interface


Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Blushing Bride’ blooms on new growth without a cold requirement. It has rounded habit and glossy green, mildew-resistant leaves. The white mophead inflorescence matures to pale pink or light blue depending on the availability of aluminum in the soil.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hydrangea macrophylla, a member of the Hydrangeaceae family, hereinafter referred to by its cultivar name 'Blushing Bride'. This cultivar is grown primarily as an ornamental for landscape use and for use as a potted plant. The cultivar originated from controlled cross-pollination of Hydrangea macrophylla 'Veitchii' (unpatented) by Hydrangea macrophylla 'Bailmer' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 15,298) at the University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. in 2001, and was selected from the progeny seedlings of this cross by continued evaluation for reblooming, increased resistance to mildew, and improved leaf and flower characteristics.
'Blushing Bride' has been asexually reproduced by softwood cuttings in Athens, Ga. since 2002. The characteristics of the cultivar have been stable and reproduced true to type in successive vegetative generations.
'Blushing Bride' is distinguished from its female parent 'Veitchii' by its reblooming trait, and from its male parent 'Bailmer' by flower color, leaf color, and increased resistance to mildew. 'Blushing Bride' has glossy, darker green leaves than 'Bailmer'. 'Blushing Bride' had no mildew in late summer and fall, whereas in side by side comparisons 'Bailmer' scored up to 25% mildew leaf infections. 'Blushing Bride' has white mophead inflorescences in both non-aluminum and aluminum media, which matured to pale pink and light blue respectively, whereas 'Bailmer' produces pink or blue mophead inflorescences respectively. The sterile florets of 'Blushing Bride' are mainly double, with two layers of sepals, providing a denser inflorescence than that of 'Bailmer' and most other mopheads which have simple florets. The leaves of 'Blushing Bride' develop yellow to red autumn color whereas leaves of 'Bailmer' senesce green to brown. There are no other reblooming cultivars of Hydrangea macrophylla with white mophead inflorescences known to the inventor.

Hydrangea macrophylla plant named ‘Blushing Bride’

University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc.


A concentrated orange carrot permeate, wherein a) the amount of fructose is 2.5 to 30.0 wt. % on a dry matter basis, b) the amount of glucose is 3.0 to 20.0 wt. % on a dry matter basis, c) the amount of sucrose is 0.5 to 60.0 wt. % on a dry matter basis, and d) the dry matter is 55 to 85 wt. %, wherein the amounts of fructose and glucose are determined according to ASU L 31.00-12, wherein the amount of sucrose is determined according to ASU L 31.00-13, and wherein the dry matter is determined according to ASU L 26.11.03-1a. A caramelized concentrated orange carrot permeate, a mix of the concentrated orange carrot permeate and the caramelized concentrated orange carrot permeate, to the use of said products in food applications and to food products containing concentrated orange carrot permeate and/or caramelized concentrated orange carrot permeate.

Orange carrots (Daucus carota L.) are grown worldwide and are popular for their orange color and the healthy ingredients like carotenoids.
The orange color also made the carrots popular as a source for carrot juice. Carrot juice is also used for coloring food and as a healthy ingredient in food with a high level of carotenoids, especially β-carotene (provitamin A).
Several processes for the production of carrot juice are known. These processes are, for example, described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,787,589, 5,403,613 and 6,340,489. U.S. Pat. No. 3,787,589 describes that raw carrots are cooked in an acidic aqueous solution prior to juice extraction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,613 describes that carrots are crushed or chopped while the carrots are sprayed with citric acid or lemon juice, optionally in combination with ethyl alcohol and salt water. Thereafter the crushed or chopped carrots are heated and the carrot juice is squeezed out in a twin-screw extruder.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,489 describes that the carrots are peeled and blanched in water with a temperature of 70 to 80° C. Thereafter, citric acid is applied to the blanched carrots and the blanched carrots are crushed and squeezed to obtain the carrot juice.
It is also known to make a color concentrate by ultrafiltration of the carrot juice. The retentate, obtained during ultrafiltration, is used as the color concentrate, while the permeate is not used. The permeate is the composition that has passed through the membrane used for ultrafiltration. The orange carrot permeate as such is not very usable since it is very diluted, has no or little color, has a low amount of solids dissolved in water (<10° Brix), contains nearly no carotenoids and fibers and is not safe from a microbiological point of view. The orange carrot permeate is seen as a waste product.


Commercially available fly ash is prepared and charged in a vessel. A halogen gas is supplied to the vessel and is brought into contact with the fly ash in the vessel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of treating fly ash for improving the properties of fly ash and a fly ash cement containing the treated fly ash.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fly ash produced as a byproduct of coal combustion in a thermal power station or the like has been conventionally popular as a material for a fly ash cement. The fly ash cement containing such fly ash requires a smaller amount of water than an ordinary Portland cement itself so as to obtain the same workability, can improve fluidity of the concrete, and can reduce water permeability. The fly ash cement has many excellent properties such that contraction during drying can be reduced, hydration heat can be reduced, and the chemical resistance can be increased. For these reasons, the fly ash cement has been widely used in dam and harbor works.
As an antipollution countermeasure, a lot of power plants employ a method of reducing the combustion temperature of powdered coal to decrease the amount of NO.sub.x generated in the power plants. For this reason, the unburned carbon contained in the fly ash is increased in amount. Therefore, when an air entraining agent generally added to the cement is added to the fly ash cement, most of the air entraining agent is adsorbed by the carbon in the fly ash. The air entraining agent cannot sufficiently achieve its function.
On the other hand, the fly ash cement is said to have a lower strength than the ordinary Portland cement itself, and the following techniques are proposed to solve this problem.
These techniques are emplified by a method of increasing the fineness of fly ash, as described in Concrete Journal 7(2), 28-37 (1969), a method of activating fly ash with an acid, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,953,222, and a method of curing fly ash at a high temperature, as described in J. Am. Concr. Inst., 76(4), 537-550 (1979).
The above methods, however, require pulverization energy, a post-treatment of the acid, or high-temperature curing, resulting in complicated processes. Therefore, these conventional methods are not necessarily satisfactory.

Method of treating fly ash and fly ash cement


An oil level sensor for detecting an oil level is arranged in an engine oil pan. The oil level sensor includes a mounting section and a sensing section. An air hole is formed at an upper end of a cover member of the sensing section. The air hole is surrounded by a tubular portion of a shield member attached to a baffle plate of the oil pan. Therefore, any splashed engine oil in the oil pan is restricted from entering the cover member of the sensing section through the air hole. Also, a clearance (α) for venting air is formed between the tubular portion and the baffle plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an oil pan for an engine located below a cylinder block of the engine to store engine oil and in which an oil sensor for detecting a parameter of the engine oil is disposed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-83935 (JP '935) discloses an oil pan having an oil deterioration sensor in a bottom portion thereof for determining a time to change the engine oil for an automobile engine. The oil deterioration sensor detects the degree of deterioration of the engine oil based on a pH value. The oil deterioration sensor includes a sensing section for housing therein a sensing element, and a mounting section for supporting the sensing section. The sensing section is inserted from below through an opening formed in a bottom portion of the oil pan, wherein the mounting section is secured to the bottom portion of the oil pan.
Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 11-30115 discloses an oil pan having a baffle plate disposed above the engine oil stored in the oil pan of an engine to suppress any turmoil occurring on the upper surface of the engine oil.
The oil deterioration sensor disclosed by JP '935 includes the sensing section housed in the oil pan and the mounting section exposed to an outside of the oil pan, wherein an oil hole for in-flowing and out-flowing engine oil to pass through is formed in a vicinity of a lower end portion of the sensing section, and an air hole for in-flowing and out-flowing air is formed in a vicinity of an upper end portion of the sensing section. Therefore, if the engine oil in the oil pan rampages and generates a splash, wherein the splashed oil enters the sensing section through the air hole, the level of engine oil in the sensing section changes, leading to a possibility that such a change detrimentally affects the detection accuracy.

Oil pan for engine having a shield member covering an air hole of an oil sensor


The main object of the present invention is to manufacture, on an industrial scale, metal nanoparticles with excellent dispersion stability, and therefore provides metal nanoparticles containing a metal component, further containing at least one of phosphorus, nitrogen, and oxygen, and the average particle size being from 1 to 100 nm.

Metal nanoparticles, whose particle diameter is less than 100 nm, are very different from ordinary particles in terms of their characteristics. For instance, with gold (Au), it is known that once the particle diameter drops below 10 nm, the sintering temperature drops to under 200° C., which is far lower than the melting point.
Because their characteristics include catalytic action, these metal nanoparticles have promising applications in a variety of fields in the future. Anticipation is particularly keen regarding the use of metal nanoparticles as the main component of materials used to form electronic wiring, because of the need for higher speed and density in electronic components. In this regard there have been studies aimed at practical applications that would take advantage of the low temperature sinterability of metal nanoparticles in polyimide or ordinary organic substrates, rather than just materials such as ceramic or glass that have been used up to now.
One of the known methods for manufacturing metal nanoparticles is to obtain metal nanoparticles in the vapor phase by evaporating the raw material metal under a vacuum and in the presence of a small amount of an expensive inert gas such as helium.
According to this method, however, the amount of metal nanoparticles produced at one time is generally small. Also, because an apparatus such as an electron beam, plasma generator, laser, or inductive heater is required in order to evaporate the metal, this method is not very well suited to mass production. Furthermore, a drawback to metal nanoparticles obtained by these vapor phase methods is that when they are taken out as a solid, they tend to agglomerate.
A method for preparing metal nanoparticles from the liquid phase has also been proposed as an alternative to the above-mentioned vapor phase methods. For instance, one known method is to manufacture metal nanoparticles by reducing an ammoniacal silver nitrate complex solution in a hydrophobic reaction tank. Nevertheless, even metal nanoparticles obtained by a liquid phase method have a relatively strong tendency to agglomerate.
Also, these methods, almost without exception, require the addition of a surfactant to form a protective colloid in order for the particles to remain dispersed stably, but even so there is room for improvement in terms of dispersion stability.

Metal nanoparticles and method for manufacturing same

Osaka Municipal Technical Research Institute


A deflector which makes multilayered wiring possible and prevents contamination during the manufacture includes an electrode substrate (400) having a plurality of through holes, and an electrode pair made up of first and second electrodes which oppose the side walls of each through hole in order to control the locus of a charged particle beam passing through the through hole, and a wiring substrate (500) having connection wiring pads connected to the electrode pairs of the electrode substrate to individually apply voltages to the electrode pairs. This deflector is formed by bonding the electrode substrate and wiring substrate via the connection wiring pads of the wiring substrate.

In the production of semiconductor devices, lithography capable of exposing fine patterns of 0.1 μm or less is getting into the spotlight as a promising electron beam exposure technique. This lithography has several methods, and each method has a problem to be solved. An example is a "variable rectangular beam method" which draws a pattern with one stroke. However, the throughput of this variable rectangular beam method during patterns exposure is low. Therefore, no sufficient throughput can be obtained as a mass-production exposure apparatus for efficiently drawing patterns on a large amount of wafers.
As a lithography method capable of increasing the throughput, a "pattern projection method" which transfers a pattern formed on a stencil mask by reducing the pattern is proposed. This method is advantageous to the drawing of simple patterns having a number of repetitive portions. However, the method has many problems to be solved to increase the throughput when drawing random patterns such as logic wiring layers. Therefore, the method cannot be put into practical use without interfering with the increase in productivity.
In contrast, a multi-beam system which draws patterns at the same time with a plurality of electron beams without using any mask is proposed. This system eliminates the need to manufacture a physical mask, set the mask in an exposure apparatus, and replace the mask. Accordingly, the system can be put into practical use with many advantages. For example, a multi-electron-beam exposure apparatus for drawing patterns by using a plurality of electron beams is described in "Hiroshi Yasuda: Applied Physics 63, 1135 (1994)".
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a blanker array used in this multi-electron-beam exposure apparatus. The blanker array is a device in which blankers having apertures and blanking electrodes are arranged in the form of an array, and can individually control emission of a plurality of electron beams. In FIG. 1, reference numerals 151 denote apertures; and 152 and 153, first and second blanking electrodes. To irradiate a sample with charged particle beams passing through the apertures, a ground potential signal is applied to the first and second blanking electrodes 152 and 153. To intercept the beams, positive- and negative-potential signals are simultaneously applied to the first and second blanking electrodes.
In the above prior art using a plurality of electron beams, it is necessary to arrange a large number of blanking electrodes in the form of an array, and independently control the blankers for turning on/off the individual beams. Therefore, if the number of blankers increases, wiring for controlling the blanking electrodes becomes difficult to form. This will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the arrangement of a 6×6 blanker array from which an interconnection to each electrode is omitted. Referring to FIG. 2, an electron beam is emitted in the direction perpendicular to the drawing surface, and passes through an aperture 151. Reference numerals 152 and 153 denote a pair of blanking electrodes used to turn on/off the electron beam. In FIG. 2, interconnections to the blanking electrodes of the individual blankers are independent of each other. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion "A" in FIG. 2, and shows a structure including interconnections to the individual blanking electrodes when these interconnections are extracted from the electrodes in the Y direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the number of interconnections increases away from the device center in the interconnection extracting direction (the Y direction in FIG. 3). This makes it difficult to connect interconnections to thousands of blanking electrodes while the blanker pitch is held constant (e.g., 100 μm).
Another problem is the contamination of a process line. To connect a number of interconnections to blanking electrodes, it is possible to form these interconnections as a multilayered wiring structure in an electrode substrate which is an MEMS substrate on which the blanking electrodes are formed. To arrange thousands of blankers at a pitch of about 100 μm, however, the unit of the wiring design rule becomes submicron, so a process apparatus for a semiconductor LSI line is necessary. Unfortunately, the semiconductor process line has the limitation on fabrication that in order to avoid heavy metal contamination, the above-mentioned MEMS substrate fabricated by the MEMS process line cannot be processed on the semiconductor process line.

Deflector, method of manufacturing deflector, and charged particle beam exposure apparatus using deflector


In the present invention, reconstructed images for prediction are stored in uncompressed reference picture memory and compressed reference picture memory. A video decoder stores in uncompressed reference picture memory a reconstructed image of a frame to be decoded which has been generated on the basis of a prediction, and among reconstructed images which have been stored in the uncompressed reference picture memory, compresses a reconstructed image that will not be used for prediction of the frame to be decoded and stores the image in the compressed reference picture memory. Using the reconstructed images which are stored in the uncompressed reference picture memory and the compressed reference picture memory, the video bitstream is decoded into a video.

There are video coding apparatuses for applying coding processing to frames of an input video in conformity with a certain video coding scheme to generate coded data, i.e., a video bitstream. There are also video decoding apparatuses for receiving such a video bitstream as an input to generate a decoded video.
An example of the video coding schemes is ISO/IEC 14496-10 AVC (Advanced Video Coding). In ISO/IEC 14496-10 AVC, each frame is divided into blocks each having a size of 16×16 pixels, the block being referred to as MB (Macro Block). An MB is further divided into blocks each having a size of 4×4 pixels, the 4×4 pixel block being defined as a minimal unit of coding. An example of block division is shown in FIG. 14, where the spatial resolution of a frame is in a QCIF (Quarter Common Intermediate Format) 4:2:0 format.
The divided blocks are coded based on prediction. Intra-frame prediction predicts an image using a reconstructed image of a current frame of interest for coding processing. Inter-frame prediction, or inter-layer prediction or inter-view prediction, predicts an image using a reconstructed image of a frame coded previous to a current frame of interest for coding processing. Moreover, to reduce compression distortion, in-loop filtering is applied to the reconstructed image of a frame of interest for coding processing. A video coding apparatus and a video decoding apparatus comprise a reference picture memory for storing frames including reconstructed images (reference pictures).
Regarding video decoding apparatuses for decoding a video bitstream output by a video coding apparatus to obtain a decoded video, Patent Documents 1-3, for example, disclose techniques of applying lossy compression to a reference picture in order to reduce the memory bandwidth and/or memory size in the video decoding apparatus, and storing a resulting picture in a reference picture memory.

Video decoding apparatus, video coding apparatus, video decoding method, video coding method, and program