An exemplary liquid crystal display (200) includes a liquid crystal panel (210) and a backlight module (220). The backlight module is positioned for illuminating the liquid crystal panel, and includes a light source (222) and at least one optical member (221). The at least one optical member includes absorbing material for absorbing light beams having wavelength more than 700 nanometers, such that when light beams provided by the light source transmit through the at least one optical member, at least some of the light beams having wavelengths more than 700 nanometers are absorbed by the absorbing material.

LCDs are widely used in various modern information products, such as notebooks, personal digital assistants (PDAs), video cameras and the like. The wide usage of the LCD is due to its advantages such as portability, low power consumption, and low radiation. A twisted nematic mode liquid crystal display (TN-LCD) has advantages of low cost and short response time compared with other kinds of LCDs. Therefore, TN-LCDs are particularly popular.
Liquid crystal molecules in a liquid crystal layer of the TN-LCD tilt when an electrical field is applied to the liquid crystal layer. Tilt angles of the liquid crystal molecules are distributed asymmetrically because of the so-called boundary effect. In addition, when light beams pass through the liquid crystal layer, positive phase retardations are generated. This results in viewing angle defects as well as gray-scale inversion in the TN-LCD. To overcome these problems, in general, one or more phase compensation films are added in the TN-LCD.
FIG. 10 is a schematic, exploded side elevation of a conventional LCD. The LCD 100 includes a liquid crystal panel 110, and a backlight module 120 for providing a surface light source to illuminate the liquid crystal panel 110. The liquid crystal panel 110 includes a first polarizer film 111, a first phase compensation film 112, a first substrate 113, a liquid crystal layer 114, a second substrate 115, a second phase compensation film 116, and a second polarizer film 117, disposed in that order from top to bottom. The second polarizer film 117 is disposed adjacent to the backlight module 120. The first phase compensation film 112 and the second phase compensation film 116 are both configured to provide negative phase retardations for light beams passing therethrough, and an optical axis of the first phase compensation film 112 is perpendicular to an optical axis of the second phase compensation film 116.
In operation, light beams provided by the backlight module 120 are transmitted through the second polarizer film 117 and converted to polarized light beams. The polarized light beams pass through the second phase compensation film 116, the second substrate 115, the liquid crystal layer 114, the first substrate 113, and the first phase compensation film 112 sequentially, and then emit from the first polarizer film 111, so as to enable the LCD to function. When the polarized light beams pass through the liquid crystal layer 114, positive phase retardations are generated in the polarized light beams. When the polarized light beams pass through the first phase compensation film 112 and the second phase compensation film 116, negative phase retardations are respectively generated in the polarized light beams. Theses negative phase retardations compensate the positive phase retardations. Thereby, a viewing angle of the LCD 100 is improved.
Refractive indexes of light beams having different wavelengths in the same medium are different, and this impacts optical characteristics of the first and second phase compensation films 112 and 116 as follows. Due to the difference in refractive indexes, while passing through the first and second phase compensation films 112 and 116, negative phase retardations of the polarized light beams having different wavelengths are different, and this further results in differences in polarizing directions of polarized light beams. In particular, polarizing directions of polarized light beams having long wavelengths (for example, more than 700 nm) are not perfectly perpendicular to an optical axis of the first polarizer film 111 when the LCD 100 displays a black image. That is, such light beams cannot be absorbed by the first polarizer film 111 very efficiently, and a light leakage phenomenon is generated. As a result, the phase compensation films 112 and 116 increase the brightness of the black image displayed by the LCD 100, and reduce a contrast ratio of the LCD 100.
It is, therefore, desired to provide an LCD which overcomes the above-described deficiencies.

Liquid crystal display having a light guide plate comprising a plurality of dots embedded with carbon nanotubes configured for absorbing light beams having long wavelengths


Optical flow for a moving platform may be encoded into pulse output. Optical flow contribution induced due to the platform self-motion may be cancelled. The cancellation may be effectuated by (i) encoding the platform motion into pulse output; and (ii) inhibiting pulse generation by neurons configured to encode optical flow component optical flow that occur based on self-motion. The motion encoded may be coupled to the optical flow encoder via one or more connections. Connection propagation delay may be configured during encoder calibration in the absence of obstacles so as to provide system specific delay matrix. The inhibition may be based on a coincident arrival of the motion spiking signal via the calibrated connections to the optical flow encoder neurons. The coincident motion pulse arrival may be utilized in order to implement an addition of two or more vector properties.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to object detection using optical flow in spiking neuron networks, for use in robotics, video processing, and machine vision applications.
2. Description of Related Art
Detection of object and distance estimation may be required in a variety of robotics applications for various purposes including obstacle detection and avoidance, target tracking, image dominant plane extraction, movement detection, robot navigation, visual odometry, and/or other purposes. Optical flow (OF) information may be useful for object detection and/or distance measurement.
Existing implementations may employ differential methods for optical flow estimation. Such methods may utilize successive images and solve basic optical flow equations for groups of neighboring pixels within the image, and use the optical flow to estimate distance to obstacles. However, such methods may require substantial computational resources in order to solve nonlinear algebraic equations, high frame rate, and pixel resolution to reduce noise. Optical flow cancellation that utilizes direct estimation of motion may produce noisy results. Optical flow-based object detection techniques may require multiple sensors (e.g., a camera and a range finder, multiple cameras, and/or other sensors) in order to distinguish between a close slowly moving objects and distant faster-moving objects.

Apparatus and methods for object detection via optical flow cancellation


A ground anchor includes a planar drive head with a shank extending therefrom. The shank includes a plurality of inline segments with each segment including a cylindrical shaft portion and a cone-shaped tapered portion. The tapered portion of each upstream segment is connected to a shaft portion of an adjacent downstream segment. This relationship presents a plurality of indentations along the length of the shaft. Upon penetration of the shank into the ground, the earth collapses into the indentations which resist withdrawal of the anchor from the ground due to forces acting on the structure secured to the anchor such as a tarpaulin or the like. The planar drive head lies adjacent the ground to preclude above ground interference.

This invention relates to a ground anchor and, more particularly, to an anchor configured to resist above the ground forces acting thereon.
Various types of earth anchors have been proposed for securing various structures, e.g. a tarpaulin, to the ground. Although assumably effective in their operation such anchors have become relatively complex in construction, which increases their manufacturing costs. Moreover, such anchors may be difficult to drive into the ground. Once driven, the head of the anchor may protrude above ground and cause above ground interference which may lead to injury.


A compact disc marking apparatus 10 comprising a top portion 12, a bottom portion 14 attached with a pivot or shaft 16 to the top portion 12, and a locking handle 18. A recess 12-2 receives the handle 18 when it is vertically rotated to a lowered position, when marking a disc. The bottom portion 14 comprises a first recess 14-1 and a second recess 14-2. The locking handle 18 comprises a lever member 18-1, an engaging/compression member 18-2, a flanged engaging member 18-3 (FIG. 2 ), a pivot 18-4 (FIG. 6 ), a flanged portion 18-5, and a rounded portion 18-6 (FIG. 9 ).

Since its introduction, the compact disc (CD) format has been widely accepted. There are currently many disc formats available, including CD-single, CD-video, CD-interactive, and CD-ROM, and it is expected that other CD formats to be introduced will allow the disc to be written to as well as read from, such that a user would be able to record and play back digital music and/or computer data. However, due to their small size and ease of liquidation by thieves, compact discs have become attractive targets for theft. Therefore, many CD owners perceive a need to apply identifying markings on their CDs. Such markings are typically applied with an ink marker (e.g., a felt marker) or a tacky label. However, ink is known to damage the disc and tacky labels can be removed.
Additionally, due to their great storage capacity and long life, compact discs are being employed by libraries, universities, and like institutions (even the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) for storing computer data. Such institutions also have a need to apply markings (e.g., serial numbers) to their CDs.
The present invention represents an improvement of the apparatus disclosed in the present inventor's own U.S. patent application Ser. No. 292,318, filed Dec. 30, 1988, now abandoned. The apparatus disclosed in the abandoned application was too difficult to use and was therefore unacceptable. This led to the application's and the apparatus' abandonment, and presented the present inventor the task of devising a new marking apparatus.


A molding assembly for producing a magnetic development roller having relatively precise magnetic development fields for use in an electrostatographic reproduction machine to develop a latent image recorded on a photoconductive member of the machine. The molding assembly includes a cylindrical member having a first end, a second end, a first radius, and a shell portion. The shell portion includes an outer surface, and an inner surface defining a molding cavity that has a second radius corresponding to an outer radius of a magnetic development roller molded within the molding cavity. The molding assembly also includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced channels formed within the shell portion, with each channel of the plurality having generally parallel walls, and being located immediately adjacent the inner surface of the shell portion for containing a permanent magnet suitable for inducing a magnetic field in a magnetic development roller molded within the molding cavity. A permanent magnet is placed within each channel of the plurality of channels, and is spaced from each wall of the parallel walls of each channel. As placed, the permanent magnet defines an adjustment space therefor with each wall of the parallel walls. Importantly, the molding assembly includes an adjustment device for precisely adjusting a magnetizing position of the permanent magnet within the adjustment space. The adjustment device includes at least one pair of first members for adjustably moving the permanent magnet radially relative to a center of the molding cavity, and at least one pair of second members for translating the permanent magnet non-radially relative to a center of the molding cavity, thus efficiently adjusting the magnetizing position of the permanent magnet for inducing relatively precise magnetic development fields in a magnetic development roller molded within the molding cavity.

The present invention relates to electrostatographic image development using magnetic development rollers, and more specifically to a molding assembly for producing electrostatographic magnetic development rollers having precise magnetic development fields.
In the well-known process of electrostatographic printing, a charge retentive surface, typically known as a photoreceptor, is electrostatically charged, and then exposed to a light pattern of an original image to selectively discharge the surface in accordance therewith. The resulting pattern of charged and discharged areas on the photoreceptor form an electrostatic charge pattern, known as a latent image, conforming to the original image. The latent image is developed by contacting it with a fine electrostatically attractable powder known as "toner." Toner is held on the image areas by the electrostatic charge on the photoreceptor surface. Thus, a toner image is produced in conformity with a light image of the original being reproduced. The toner image may then be transferred to a substrate or support member (e.g., paper), and the image affixed thereto to form a permanent record of the image to be reproduced. Subsequent to development, excess toner left on the charge retentive surface is cleaned from the surface.
The process as described above is useful for light lens copying from an original, or for printing electronically generated or stored originals such as with a raster output scanner (ROS), where a charged surface may be imagewise discharged in a variety of ways.
In the process of electrostatographic printing, the step of conveying toner to the latent image on the photoreceptor is known as "development." The object of effective development of a latent image on the photoreceptor is to convey changed toner particles to the latent image at a controlled rate so that the toner particles effectively adhere electrostatically to the image areas on the latent image.
A commonly used technique for development involves the use of a two-component developer material, which comprises, in addition to the toner particles, a quantity of magnetic development carrier granules or beads. The toner particles adhere triboelectrically to the relatively large carrier beads, which are typically made of steel. When the two-component developer material is placed in a magnetic development field, the carrier beads with the toner particles adhering thereto form what is known as a magnetic development brush, wherein the carrier beads form relatively long chains which resemble the fibers of a brush on a developer or development roller. The development roller is typically in the form of a cylindrical sleeve rotating around a fixed assembly of permanent magnets called a magnetic development roller. When the magnetic development brush is introduced into a development zone adjacent the photoreceptor, the electrostatic charge on the photoreceptor will cause the toner particles to be pulled off the carrier beads in the chain and onto the latent image.
Another known development technique involves a single-component developer, that is, a developer which consists entirely of toner. In a common type of single-component system, each toner particle has both an electrostatic charge (to enable the particles to adhere to the photoreceptor) and magnetic development properties (to allow the particles to be magnetic developmentally conveyed to the photoreceptor). Instead of using magnetic development carrier beads to form a magnetic development brush, the magnetized toner particles are caused to adhere directly to a magnetic development roller. In the development zone adjacent the photoreceptor, the electrostatic charge on the photoreceptor will cause the toner particles to be attracted from the magnetic development roller to the photoreceptor. Conventionally, magnetic development rollers each typically includes a plurality of poles for attracting the toner particles. These poles may be positioned on the periphery of the magnetic development roller at such positions to obtain optimum transfer of the toner particles to the photoconductive surface of the drum.
Magnetic development rollers have typically been manufactured with a core or body and magnets positioned on the periphery of the core. Typically the magnets are glued to the periphery of the core. The gluing of magnets to a core contributes to a series of problems. The gluing leads to positioning errors both radially and tangentially, reducing the quality of the roll. Further, added cost may be required to perform subsequent machining of the periphery of the roll to obtain needed accurate tolerances.
More recently, it has been known to mold magnetizable material about a shaft to form a magnetic development roller. The magnetizable material may be one of any suitable moldable materials but, preferably the materials include ferrite, or neodymium iron boron powder. Permanent magnets are imbedded in the molding assembly and are positioned near the periphery of the mold cavity of the assembly where the molded material is to be placed, in an attempt to transfer precise magnetic development fields from the permanent magnets to the magnetizable material within the mold cavity.
The following disclosures may be relevant to various aspects of the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,971 discloses a method of manufacturing a magnetic development roller. The method includes the step of disposing a plurality of pairs of magnetic development poles each having the starting magnetic development pole and terminal magnetic development pole of a magnetic development line of force on the peripheral surface of a cavity in a metal mold in which a resin magnet is molded. The lines of flux are in parallel lines
U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,796 discloses an improved bar magnet and method of construction and an improved magnetic development core. An assembly of magnet is shown for use in a processing station of a printing machine. The bar magnet is formed of permanent magnet material having magnetic development domains therein that are magnetized along epicyclical curve segments. The external magnetic development flux density is improved over that of a conventionally magnetized magnet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,582 discloses a magnet roll including magnet pieces adhesively secured to a supporting shaft to increase the magnetic development flux density of a pole. The pieces are disposed so that they have repelling magnetic development forces in the interface between the piece behind the pole and the piece adjacent thereto.
The use of magnetizable material molded about a shaft however is plagued with several problems. Wear of the mold during the molding process, which is attributable to the abrasive nature of the ferrite material within the mold cavity magnets relative to the mold cavity, and which can change the radial positioning of the permanent magnets, thus affecting the strength of the magnetic development fields of a molded roller. Such wear is critical because the effective field of the permanent magnet is reduced as a cubic function of the distance between the permanent magnet and the molded material in the cavity, and because the portion of the mold between the molded material and the magnet must be kept to a minimum.
Further, the circumferential positions of the permanent magnets are critical because those of the poles within the molded magnetic development roller are critical for the proper transfer of the toner within the development unit of the printing machine. The circumferential positioning of the magnetic development fields of the permanent magnets can cause the fields to interact with each other within the mold, thus making it very difficult to predict where to place the permanent magnets within the mold around the mold cavity in order to obtain a magnetic development roller with poles positioned precisely in particular locations about its circumference.
Further, manufacturers may manufacture several different such rolls, rolls with poles in various positions, yet all these rolls must have the same length and diameter in order to fit a particular machine. Such differences in the positioning of the poles requires a separate expensive mold for each particular pole configuration, thus resulting in change-over costs when manufacturing rolls with identical diameters and different pole positions.
Attempts to position the permanent magnets precisely for desired radial and circumferential induced pole positioning, usually require that the positions of the permanent magnets be determined for example by using computer modeling. However, it has been found that even computer modeling is accurate only to approximately plus or minus one to three degrees. Therefore, further trial and error costly, as well as imprecise adjustments are often necessary following even such computer modeling.
There is therefore a need for an efficient, low cost molding assembly for producing electrostatographic magnetic development rollers that have precise magnetic development fields.

Molding assembly for producing magnetic development rollers having precise magnetic development fields


An apparatus is described which can receive a large number of earplugs from a box and dispense one or two of them at a time to a worker. The apparatus includes a wheel (22, FIG. 1) which is rotatable on a frame (12) and which has holes (24) that move in a circular path and that can each receive a single earplug (16). As each hole moves over a dispense passage 18, the earplug in the hole can fall out, and be dispensed. A barrier (42, FIG. 2) lying above the wheel, prevents an earplug from falling into a hole that lies at the passage. The barrier covers only one side (52) of the path (32) of the holes, to allow a deformed earplug to move along the other, uncovered side (54) of the path. The wheel has a narrow slot (80) extending from each hole to the periphery, so a tool can be projected through a frame opening (84) and through the slot to dislodge an earplug stuck in a wheel hole.

Large numbers of disposable earplugs are used in industrial plants, with each worker taking a pair of earplugs at a time. In some situations, a large box of earplugs is opened, and workers place their hands in the box to pick up a pair of earplugs. If a worker picks up more than two earplugs, he may simply throw the additional ones away. Furthermore, if a worker has dirty hands, he may leave dirt on other earplugs and other workers will not want to use them. Another approach is to place each pair of earplugs in a separate plastic bag. The disposable earplugs may cost only several pennies apiece, so the need to place pairs of them in separate packages can add substantially to the cost of a box of several hundred earplugs. A dispenser which enabled "loose" earplugs to be used, with minimal wastage by workers taking more than two earplugs at a time and which avoided soiling of earplugs as a result of handling by workers, would be of considerable value.


A documentation management system including an optical disk for storing a predetermined format for a document and data entered in the document, an area setting device for setting in a predetermined portion of the format least one first area in which a person having a read right may read data, and at least one second area in which a person having a write right may write data, and a document processor having an input device to input the format and the data, and an output device for displaying the format and the data.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a documentation management system using document processors Such a word processors and work stations. More particularly, the present invention relates to a documentation management system suitable for managing preparation, routing, and approval of documents, such as routine approval slips and communication sheets, in which reading and writing are generally restricted to particular persons.


Provided here are systems and methods for predicting risk of a substance use disorder and for providing decision support to healthcare professionals to implement a treatment regimen recommendation and mitigate any potential risk of a substance use disorder.

Substance abuse and dependence are defined collectively in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) as substance use disorder (SUD). SUD is a medical condition in which an individual has a diminished ability to control the use of one or more legal or illegal substances. These substances include alcohol, cannabis, opioids, and nicotine. In a 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a substance use disorder involving the use of alcohol or illicit drugs in the past year affected approximately 19.7 million people (aged 12 or older). When these results were further parsed, about 14.5 million people had an alcohol use disorder and 7.5 million people who had an illicit drug use disorder. While drug use disorder involving marijuana affected 4.1 million people, opioid use disorder (OUD) involving prescription pain relievers or heroin affected about 2.1 million people. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of deaths in the United States due to opioid overdose rose more than 10% from 42,249 in 2016 to 47,600 in 2017, with prescription opioid medications accounting for 35.8% of all opioid-related deaths in 2017. General trends from 2006 indicate that rates of opioid prescription have decreased, but an estimated 17.4% of the U.S. population filled at least 1 prescription in 2017 with the average person receiving 3.4 prescriptions. Additionally, misuse of these medications continues to be problematic, as an estimated 11.1 million individuals (12 years or older) misused prescription pain relievers in 2017, including hydrocodone, oxycodone, and fentanyl products.
Different strategies have been implemented to help alleviate this public health crisis, including publication of opioid prescribing guidelines by the CDC in 2016. There is some evidence that the guidelines have contributed to decreased prescription rates for high-dosage opioid medications and lower percentages of patients with overlapping opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions. However, the CDC guidelines have had little effect on opioid overdose deaths, and have resulted in some unintended consequences, such as the abrupt discontinuation of opioid medications in patients who still need pain relief and the dismissal of patients from medical care. Moreover, several medical associations have raised concerns that efforts to limit opioid misuse and abuse have had a detrimental effect of unduly restricting pain management for patients with legitimate medical need for opioids, including those with cancer, cancer survivors, and others with debilitating chronic pain. These unintended consequences underscore the challenge of balancing the benefits of opioids for pain management and the risk of developing an opioid use disorder.

Methods and systems for evaluation of risk of substance use disorders


A coil-wound heat exchanger with mixed refrigerant shell side cooling that is adapted to reduce radial temperature maldistribution by providing tube sheets at one end of a warm bundle that are each connected to tube sheets in a single circumferential zone and are in fluid flow communication with a control valve. Tube sheets at the other end of the warm bundle are each connected to tube sheets in a single radial section and in multiple circumferential zones. A temperature sensor is provided in each circumferential zone. When a temperature difference is detected, one or more of the control valves is adjusted to reduce the temperature difference.

Coil-wound heat exchangers ("CWHE") are often a preferred type of heat exchanger used in natural gas liquefaction systems. In a CWHE, the fluid(s) to be cooled are circulated through many layers of tubes that are wrapped around a central mandrel, separated by axial spacers, and contained within a shell space. The assembly of tubes, mandrel and spacers forms a tube bundle, or bundle. Refrigeration is provided by a flow of an expanded refrigerant (often a mixed refrigerant) through the shell space. A common problem with CWHEs is temperature maldistribution of the refrigerant between concentric zones in the shell space, meaning that there is a radial temperature gradient between zones in a particular location between the warm and cold ends of the bundle.
Attempts have been made to correct such radial temperature maldistribution by "zoning" the tube sheets—meaning routing tubes that are connected to each of the cold end and warm end tube sheets through a single zone. This configuration is described in greater detail herein in connection with FIGS. 3 & 3A. Valves are provided upstream of each of the warm end tube sheets to enable flow through each zone to be independently controlled, thereby providing a means for reducing temperature gradients by changing the proportion of tube side flow in each zone to more closely match the proportion of shell side refrigerant in that zone.
Such configurations increase the cost of building the CWHE because the number of tube sheets required at both the cold and warm ends is a function of the number of zones, which often results in a greater number of tube sheets than required to accommodate the number of tubes in the bundle.
Therefore, there is a need for a CWHE configuration that enables flow adjustments to correct radial temperature maldistribution with less of the incremental cost and complexity associated with prior art solutions to radial maldistribution.


A method and system for selectively replicating data from a primary database associated with a primary server to a secondary database associated with a secondary server. The secondary server determines that a replication task using a first update command has modified the primary database. The secondary server determines a primary table in the primary database has been updated. The secondary server generates a secondary federated table that is coupled to the primary table. The secondary server obtains a second update command based on the first update command from the primary database and applies the second update command to a secondary table in the secondary database using the secondary federated table.

Computer applications use databases to store information. A database typically includes a sophisticated set of software functions, often referred to as a database management system (DBMS), that enable a user to define and create the database, update and query the database, and otherwise maintain the database. Databases offer security and ensure that updates are atomic, durable, and consistent, but often at the cost of complexity. It is not unusual for a business to employ full-time database specialists to maintain the business' databases. Application providers may desire to use a database to store critical data, such as configuration data, but do not want to require a customer to incur additional support costs associated with maintaining complex database software, or, in some cases, even be aware that an application is using a particular DBMS. Thus, application providers may desire the benefits of a DBMS, but desire to shield their customers from the complexity associated with a DBMS.
Certain applications are designed to operate cooperatively over a network in a distributed manner. For example, a telecommunications system may involve a number of data servers networked together in a cluster. Each server in the cluster communicates with other servers in the cluster. Each server may have an associated database in which information, such as configuration information, is maintained. Information maintained in the database may relate to an individual server, such as a hostname or Internet Protocol (IP) address, or may be common to each server on the network, such as whether the servers implement simple network management protocol (SNMP). It is not unusual in distributed systems for one server to be identified as a master or primary server, and the remaining servers to be designated as slave or secondary servers. Certain configuration changes made to the primary server may be required to be made to each of the secondary servers. Ideally, each time such a configuration change is made to a primary server, the appropriate configuration change will be made to the secondary servers without human involvement. While most modern DBMSs today have certain capabilities for propagating data among distributed databases, such as via database replication, implementing and maintaining replicated databases can require significant expertise. Moreover, replication increases the complexity of restoring a corrupted database or adding a new secondary database to a cluster, does not allow selective updating of secondary databases, and requires that each database be from the same DBMS vendor. Thus, there is a need for a mechanism for replicating database information among distributed databases that does not require significant database expertise from a customer, that is reliable and works in a multi-vendor environment, and that enables selective replication over a distributed network substantially simultaneously.


Systems and methods for acquiring information about a defect on a specimen are provided. One system includes an optical subsystem configured to acquire topography information about the defect. The system also includes an electron beam subsystem configured to acquire additional information about the defect. One method includes acquiring first data for the defect using an optical technique and second data for the defect using an electron beam technique. The first and second data is acquired while the specimen is disposed in a single vacuum chamber. The method also includes determining topography information about the defect from the first data. In addition, the method includes determining additional information about the defect from the second data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to systems and methods for acquiring information about a defect on a specimen. Certain embodiments relate to a system that includes an optical subsystem configured to acquire topography information about the defect and an electron beam subsystem configured to acquire additional information about the defect.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following description and examples are not admitted to be prior art by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Inspection processes are used at various times during a semiconductor manufacturing process to detect defects on a specimen such as a reticle and a wafer.
Inspection processes have always been an important part of fabricating semiconductor devices such as integrated circuits. However, as the dimensions of semiconductor devices decrease, inspection processes become even more important to the successful manufacture of acceptable semiconductor devices. For instance, as the dimensions of semiconductor devices decrease, detection of defects of decreasing size has become necessary since even relatively small defects may cause unwanted aberrations in the semiconductor devices. Accordingly, much work in the inspection field has been devoted to designing inspection systems that can detect defects having sizes that were previously negligible.
Another important part of yield control is determining the cause of the defects on the wafer or reticle such that the cause of the defects can be corrected to thereby reduce the number of defects on other wafers or reticles. Often, determining the cause of the defects involves identifying the defect type and other characteristics of the defects such as size, shape, composition, etc. Since inspection typically only involves detecting defects on the wafer or reticle and providing limited information about the defects such as location, number, and sometimes size, defect review is often used to determine more information about individual defects than that which can be determined from inspection results. For instance, a defect review tool may be used to revisit defects detected on a wafer or reticle and to examine the defects further in some manner either automatically or manually. Defect review can also be used to verify that defects detected by inspection are actual defects instead of, for example, noise and nuisance events.
Some examples of commonly used defect review tools include high resolution optical imaging systems, scanning electron microscopes (SEMS) and less commonly transmission electron microscopes. In order to be successful, the defect review tool must be able to accurately find the defects that are to be reviewed. For instance, if the defect review tool determines an incorrect location for a defect, during review at the incorrect position the defect review tool field of view (FOV) may be located on a non-defective portion of the specimen or a portion of a specimen containing a different defect. In this manner, when the defect review tool is erroneously positioned above a non-defective portion of the specimen, the defect review tool may determine that the detected defect is not an actual defect. Alternatively, if the defect review tool is erroneously positioned above a different defect on the specimen, the defect review results for the reviewed defect may be assigned to the wrong detected defect. As such, if the defect review tool cannot accurately find the defects that are to be reviewed, the defect review results may be substantially inaccurate and without user intervention (e.g., manually reviewing the defect review results) such inaccuracies may be largely undetected. Therefore, if the results of defect review are used to monitor and control semiconductor fabrication processes, the monitor and control may be ineffective or possibly even detrimental to the performance of the semiconductor fabrication processes.
Finding the defects in a defect review process is not trivial for a number of reasons. For instance, different coordinate sets are involved in determining the coordinates of the defect with respect to the FOV of the defect review tool. One set of coordinates is the set of coordinates in which the defect location is reported by the inspection tool that detected the defect. The defect location coordinates may be referenced to the inspection tool stage coordinates and translated such that the defect coordinates are referenced to the center of the specimen. An additional set of coordinates is the set of coordinates of the specimen with respect to the stage of the defect review tool. Since the specimen is typically moved from the inspection tool to the defect review tool, the coordinates of the specimen reported by the inspection tool will need to be translated to the review tool stage coordinates. During this coordinate mapping, there are systematic and random errors that need to be corrected before the review tool can locate the defect.
A number of different methods and systems have been developed to improve the defect finding step of defect review processes. To eliminate the systematic errors, normally wafer alignment, die corner registration, and defect coordinate deskew steps are performed. However, there are still random errors in the defect coordinates that are caused by the defect detection technology (such as technology for imaging or collecting scattered light from the defect) and defect location calculation and interpolation. In addition, different thermal conditions in the inspection tool during the defect detection and in the defect review tool during defect review may produce random error in the defect coordinates. One method to eliminate this random error that is commonly referred to as automatic defect locating (ADL) is performed using the defect review subsystem of the defect review tool. ADL may include generating a low resolution image (or large FOV image) of a specimen at approximately the location of a defect reported by the inspection tool using an optical microscope (OM) or a SEM of a defect review tool. The defect may then be redetected in the low resolution image. For instance, the large FOV image can be compared to a reference image to detect the defect in the low resolution image. A small FOV image of the defect may then be captured which is commonly used for defect classification purposes.
Such methods have a number of disadvantages. For instance, the FOV on the specimen during ADL is dependent on the defect coordinate inaccuracy of the inspection tool that inspected the specimen. In one such example, if the coordinates of the defect reported by the inspection tool are substantially inaccurate, then the FOV used for the low resolution imaging may need to be large enough to ensure that the defect is located in the image, but so large that defect redetection (particularly for relatively small defects) may not be possible or will take a relatively long time to perform. In addition, the sensitivity of ADL is limited by the parameters used for ADL including the FOV, pixel density, image integration time, noise in the image including specimen charging effects in SEM images, and the redetection algorithm that is used. Furthermore, ADL performed using SEM images will not be able to redetect defects that are inherently not visible to the SEM such as defects that are located below an upper surface of the specimen. Moreover, ADL performed using SEM images may also have a low redetection success rate for other types of defects such as low contrast defects, defects that are overwhelmed by unpredictable noise generated in the images, and defects that are too small to be redetected in low resolution SEM images.
An additional disadvantage of currently used methods and systems is that during ADL, imaging of the specimen by the SEM may cause contamination of each area that is imaged (e.g., both a defect die and a reference die). In addition, if all defect redetecting functions are performed in electron beam mode, then such repeated exposure of the specimen to the electron beam increases the potential for surface contamination and damage. The specimen must also be imaged at least twice by the SEM: at least once during ADL, and again during review. Therefore, such repeated exposure to the electron beam may increase the probability of damage to and contamination of the specimen. Furthermore, in order to mitigate the effects of ADL on the throughput of the defect review process, the low resolution imaging by the SEM may be performed with relatively high current and landing energy. Therefore, the portions of the specimen imaged during ADL may be subjected to conditions that are more likely to cause damage to and contamination of the specimen.
A different apparatus for reviewing defects on an object is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,407,373 to Dotan, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. As described by Dotan, the apparatus includes a stage for receiving the object thereon, and both an OM and a SEM. The OM is used to redetect previously mapped defects on the object surface. Once the defect has been redetected, a translation system moves the stage a predetermined displacement such that the defect is positioned for review by the SEM.
Since the apparatus of Dotan does not use the SEM to redetect defects, the apparatus described by Dotan is less likely to cause electron damage and contamination of the specimen than the ADL methods described above. However, redetecting the defect as described by Dotan is disadvantageous for a number of reasons. For instance, such redetection may be quicker than the inspection process since only the positions in the defect map produced by inspection that indicate a potential defect are examined by the OM of the defect review apparatus. However, the defects still have to be redetected, which may limit the throughput, sensitivity, and accuracy of the defect location of the defect review process.
The apparatus disclosed by Dotan also has some of the disadvantages of ADL described above. For instance, the FOV on the specimen during the redetection described by Dotan is dependent on the defect coordinate inaccuracy of the inspection tool that inspected the specimen, which is disadvantageous as described further above. In addition, like ADL, the sensitivity of the defect redetection disclosed by Dotan is limited by the parameters of the OM including the FOV, the pixel density, and the redetection algorithm. Furthermore, most of the time, the imaging mode of the defect review tool is substantially different from the imaging mode used by the inspection tool to detect the defects. As a result of using this ADL method, there is no guarantee that the redetected defects in the FOV of the defect review tool are the same defects that are reported by the inspection tool. This error will cause false defect classification and incorrect defect root cause analysis.
Once a defect has been located in the defect review tool, information about the defect such as topography information (e.g., height) and non-topography information (e.g., width, shape, etc.) may be determined from data acquired by the SEM. Topography information about the defect can advantageously be used to determine whether the defect protrudes above the surface of the specimen or whether the defect extends into the specimen, which provides information about the defect type. A SEM can be used to determine such topography information by imaging the defect at an oblique angle of incidence or low angle illumination. Once the topography information has been acquired, the SEM can acquire additional, non-topography information about the defect with high angle illumination that is optically more favorable than low angle illumination for acquiring non-topography information. In particular, low angle illumination reduces the resolution of the data acquired by the SEM. Therefore, data responsive to non-topography information can be acquired by the SEM with higher resolution and greater accuracy using high angle illumination. Using the SEM in this manner to acquire both topography information and non-topography information about defects is disadvantageous for a number of reasons. For instance, using the two illumination modes to acquire the different types of information about the defects greatly reduces the throughput of the defect review process.
Accordingly, it may be advantageous to develop methods, defect review tools, and systems for locating a defect in a defect review process that are independent of the defect coordinate accuracy of an inspection tool, are not limited by the parameters of the imaging subsystem used to image the specimen during defect locating, do not cause charging and/or contamination of the specimen during defect locating, and do not reduce the throughput of the defect review process. It would also be advantageous to develops systems and methods for acquiring information about a defect on a specimen that can acquire topography information about the defect without using an electron beam technique thereby increasing the throughput of the methods and systems.


A beverage vending machine installation comprising a cabinet and a trolley unit, the cabinet defining a void in which, in use, the trolley unit can be positioned. The cabinet has an opening and at least one door moveable between open and closed positions. A trolley unit comprises at least one beverage vending machine. The trolley unit is moveable relative to the cabinet between an installed position and an uninstalled position. In the installed position the trolley unit is positioned within the void of the cabinet such that at least one door may be closed to allow operation of the vending machine installation. In the uninstalled position, the trolley unit is removed from the cabinet after opening at least one door to allow access to the trolley unit.

Vending machines for dispensing beverages such as coffee are well-known in the art. Typically, such vending machines allow for delivery of beverages in a 'self-service' mode of operation where a customer operates the vending machine without direct external supervision. Vending machines of this type may be provided as a stand-alone item situated on a worktop, bench or similar. Alternatively, where the vending machine is to be used in a public place as opposed to a private setting, it is known to locate the vending machine within a cabinet to form a vending machine installation. Typical locations for such vending machine installations include service stations and the communal areas of public buildings such as theatres, gymnasiums, cinemas, etc. The cabinet in which the vending machine is installed serves to provide a secure means of housing the vending machine to prevent unauthorised operation or access to parts of the vending machine not required for direct operation. In addition, the cabinet may provide sites for advertising and instructions for operation of the machine to be displayed. In known vending machine installations, access to the vending machine within the cabinet is provided by a rear-facing opening in the cabinet, that is, on the side of the cabinet opposed to the side at which the customer operates the vending machine. Opening the cabinet from the rear has in the past been necessary to allow access to the vending machine for repair and maintenance since a number of the components of the vending machine are inaccessible from the front side. It is preferable to situate the cabinet against a wall or similar structure to minimise the space taken up by the installation within the room, foyer, etc. A problem with known vending machine installations is that locating the installation in this way makes ready access to the rear of the cabinet difficult. Typically, this is solved by providing a room, corridor or similar space behind the wall against which the vending machine installation is located. Access is then obtained through an aperture in the wall. A disadvantage of this solution is that extra floor space is taken up by the room or corridor behind the cabinet.
It is well-known to try and make the dimensions of the vending machine installation as small as possible to allow the installation to be located in smaller establishments. However, this has a disadvantage that the vending machine and its associated equipment within the cabinet can be difficult to access for maintenance purposes, even where the cabinet is accessed from the rear. In particular, portions of the vending machine and ancillary equipment located on the lateral sides of the units are difficult to access due to the close proximity of other equipment and walls within the cabinet.


An adaptive resource utilization apparatus for an application. The apparatus includes a costing subsystem engine configured to measure resource utilization of application-defined subsystems within that application as well as a feedback mechanism configured to interface the application to the costing engine. The application is enabled to modify its operating parameters based on resource utilization of its individual subsystems as presented to the application by the feedback mechanism.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of microprocessors. More specifically, the invention relates to operating system policy regarding the utilization of microprocessors.
2. Description of the Related Art
PC (Personal Computer) based applications, such as videoconferencing that involve heavily multimedia (audio, video and data) streams which must be simultaneously processed, place heavy demands upon the processor and resources of the platforms where these applications are executed. In addition to their appetite for processing power, these applications must execute in real-time, i.e., the multimedia processing must occur in tightly constrained time intervals. More recently, desktop personal computers have used true demand-paged multi-tasking operating systems (such as Windows NT(trademark)) wherein both multimedia applications and third party applications (other than multimedia, such as a spreadsheet) vie and contend for key system resources such as processor xe2x80x9cbandwidthxe2x80x9d (referring to the amount of computational resource utilized per unit time) and memory. Where a third party application (an application other than multimedia) and the multimedia application so contend, two situations arise: (1) the third party application will take resources away from the multimedia application causing the multimedia application to be unable to meet its real-time deadlines for a desired quality of service (QOS) and/or (2) the third party application will execute sluggishly and nonresponsively and may be xe2x80x9cstarvedxe2x80x9d by the multimedia application for the computational resource.
Operating systems are ordinarily designed to distribute system resources evenly by preventing the monopolization of resources by one application to the exclusion of others. Most commercial operating systems for desktop PCs are not designed to accommodate real-time applications specifically, but rather, are designed to allocate resources without regard to any real-time constraints by a particular application. Real-time multimedia applications that are sensitive to latency are becoming more and more prevalent and will only increase with the advent of innovations such as the Intel Pentium Processor with MMX Technology(trademark) (having special instructions geared toward the processing of multimedia). The emergence of videoconferencing transmission standards, broadband data delivery and high-bandwidth information pathways will additionally serve to increase the use of multimedia applications. The increased load on microprocessors and system resources due to the widening use of applications will not be appropriately accounted for by operating system policy. Commercial operating systems are by necessity targeted to a broad base of applications of different types, and favors fairness and resource use equalization between applications.
Because an operating system is designed to execute a broad range of application with widely differing usage characteristics, it is very difficult to tailor a commercial shrink-wrapped desktop operating system to the needs of any particular application. Rather, it is more feasible for individual applications to be able to control the individual resources being consumed in response to contention for system resources by other applications. This will allow such an application to consume heavily when there is no contention and voluntarily consume less when there is contention.
Currently, there is no practice for allowing applications to modify their own operation depending upon their utilization of system resources. Further, though an operating system may compute resource utilization by application, it does not compute, load or utilization for the individual and subsystems of running applications. Operating systems do track utilization of threads. However, they have no knowledge of the internal structure of applications that are multi-threaded. If an application is partitioned into a number of subsystems with each subsystem consisting of several distinct threads, current operating systems provide no mechanism to back the processor utilization of individual subsystems. Further, there is no mechanism for meaningfully presenting and packaging statistics related to load to an application such that the application can intelligently respond by modifying its operating parameters. Traditional operating system costing does not allow for distinguishing between short-term transient aberrations and long-term utilization trends which meaningful statistics would provide. The most effective and efficient way of utilizing available resources is to allow application to control the operating parameters of their own threads and subsystems based on dynamic-statistical feedback of and estimates (costing metrics) of resource utilization.
There is a need for providing costing metrics to applications to allow the application to modify its operation to more effectively respond to contention for system resources by other applications running concurrently.
What is disclosed is an adaptive resource utilization apparatus for an application. The apparatus includes a costing subsystem engine configured to measure resource utilization of application-defined subsystems within that application as well as a feedback mechanism configured to interface the application to the costing engine. The application is enabled to modify its operating parameters based on resource utilization of its individual subsystems as presented to the application by the feedback mechanism.

Dynamic feedback costing to enable adaptive control of resource utilization


Method and apparatus facilitate alignment of a print image to a desired position. The print image includes a set of original linear groupings of pixels. A distortion of the print image is determined as compared to the desired position. Based on the determined distortion, a set of original linear groupings of pixels to warp is identified. A set of warped linear groupings of pixels is then generated, which correspond to the set of original groupings of pixels. A placement location in the print image for the warped linear groupings of pixels so generated is identified, and the print image is printed with the set of warped linear groupings of pixels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hybrid printers that put two images on a single page, more specifically, this invention solves the print quality problem that results from misregistration of portions of the second print image on the first print image.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hybrid printers print two images on a single page. A common type of hybrid printer combines laser and color ink-jet printing on a single page. In this type of printer, the laser print engine will print the black image on the page and then feed the paper into a color printer, such as an ink-jet, where the color (CMY) part of the image will be printed. The largest print quality issue that results from this process is the lack of uniform registration between the black and color portions of the image. Whenever the black plane of an image is stretched or compressed in the horizontal or vertical direction, the color planes that are subsequently printed will appear misregistered.
Distortion in the black plane image is inherent in some print processes and may not vary between printers of the same model. The distortion measured for such printers will stay the same throughout the life of the printer. Many factors cause black plane distortion in the laser printing process such as heat, variations of speed of the paper, humidity, and optical characteristics of the laser system Distortion may be in both the horizontal and vertical directions, may be linear or non-linear, and could be in both processes. If the distortion is identified and measured it becomes predictable and may be masked or camouflaged.
The human eye cannot detect the distortions that exist in the laser process when only the black and white image is printed. However when another undistorted or differently distorted image, such as a color image, is printed on top of the black and white image, distortions of the black plane image become apparent. Thus, it is therefore not cost effective to correct the distortions of the laser printer in hardware. This invention addresses the need for masking or camouflaging distortions of the black plane image without hardware.

System and method of printer image warping


An error correction apparatus includes an error correction circuit configured to selectively perform error correction on a portion of data that is at least one of written to and read from a plurality of memory cells of a memory device. The portion of data is at least one of written to and read from a subset of the plurality of memory cells, and the subset includes only fail cells among the plurality of memory cells. The error correction apparatus further includes a fail address storage circuit configured to store address information for the fail cells.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate to semiconductor memory devices and memory systems, for example, memory devices capable of repairing a fail cell by performing selective error correction coding (ECC), and memory systems including the same.
2. Description of Conventional Art
Advancement in semiconductor manufacturing technology has resulted in an increase in the memory capacity of semiconductor memory devices. As microfabrication process technology has advanced, the number of fail memory cells has increased. When the number of fail cells increases, not only does production yield of semiconductor memory devices decrease, but memory capacity cannot be guaranteed. Methods of repairing fail cells may improve yield of semiconductor memory devices.

Memory devices with selective error correction code


A bolt-on muzzle brake having an angled base (5), clamps (2) to secure it to a firearm barrel (12), and a tube (6) at the end of the angled base (5) that redirects the recoil producing gases. The muzzle brake can be attached to a barrel without threading it on the barrel. The muzzle brake can also be attached to multiple sized barrels, different caliber barrels, and barrels with front sights all with the same muzzle brake.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to muzzle brake devices used on firearms to reduce felt recoil to the shooter.
2. Prior Art
A muzzle brake also called by other names i.e. compensator, recoil reducer is designed to vent and/or redirect recoil producing gases upon the discharge of a firearm to reduce felt recoil to the shooter. Since the muzzle brake receives and redirects the expelling gases from the barrel it must be firmly attached to the barrel. First, if the muzzle brake is not firmly attached the gas pressure at the end of the barrel can eject it from the barrel by shear force. Secondly, it the muzzle brake becomes loose from repeated firing it can also be ejected off the barrel with a bullet strike. For these reasons muzzle brakes are attached either by: (1) threading the barrel and the muzzle brake, (2) the barrel is designed/grooved for accepting a particular muzzle brake i.e. military rifle, (3) the barrel diameter and muzzle brake diameter are equal and thus a perfect fit and secured like a barrel band with set screws. However none of the disclosed patents allow for one single muzzle brake to be used on firearms without threaded barrels, barrels with a front sight, or different diameter barrels (meaning one single muzzle brake will fit on more than one size barrel). The following disclosed patents range from actual muzzle brakes to attachments for firearm accessories.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,032,339 by Bounds, U.S. Pat. No. 6,820,530 by Vais, U.S. Pat. No. 4,436,017 by Mohlin, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,852,983 by Netzer, all illustrate a screw-on type muzzle brake onto a similarly threaded barrel. These inventions met the requirement of rigid attachment to the barrel however one major drawback is that all require a barrel to be threaded. The firearm is permanently altered and if the front sight is too close to the front of the barrel it will need to be removed before the barrel can be threaded. Altering the barrel by threading it alters the value of the firearm. The second drawback is the cost for threading the barrel. Also Mohlin uses a wear ring in the front of the muzzle brake that can be replaced when it becomes worn but is not designed to be used for different calibers or different positions of the projectile passing through the exit hole due to multiple barrel sizes.
U.S. Pat. No. D449,668 by Gangl illustrates a slide-on type muzzle brake. For this design to work the inner portion that houses the barrel must be the same diameter as the barrel for a snug fit. Due to this design one muzzle brake cannot be used on multiple firearms because different firearms have different barrel diameters. Another drawback of this design is that the expelled gases are partially redirected and there is no forward pull of the firearm by gases hitting the end of the muzzle brake. The brake is strictly flow through.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,191,330 by Olson illustrates a bolt-on type firearm accessory attached to the barrel of a firearm. The design however is for a vibration damper. The side clamp as designed could not withstand the force of muzzle blast if it were used to attach a muzzle brake.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,073,755 by Poate illustrates a bolt-on type firearm accessory attached to the barrel of a firearm. The design however is for an attachment to a tripod or carriage. The side clamp is semi-cylindrical on each inside portion of the clamp and because of this shape the clamp is then restricted to one barrel size only.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,390,658 by Towson illustrates a slide-on type muzzle brake. The design allows for the muzzle brake to slide onto the barrel and hook the front sight which holds the device onto the barrel. The drawback is that the muzzle brake must fit the barrel with close tolerance including the front sight. In other words the device must be designed specifically for each barrel with a front sight for diameter and front sight location and size. Secondly on barrels without a front sight this design will not work.
One muzzle brake on the market (www.brownells.com—"adjustable muzzle brake") is a slip-on type but it cannot be used on firearms that have a front sight within 1″ of the muzzle. Also each muzzle brake will fit only one barrel size meaning that over 20 different sizes are built to fit a group of firearms.
DRAWINGS - Reference Numerals1 bolt2 upper clamp assembly2aupper clamp2bupper clamp2cupper clamp2dupper clamp5 lower clamp assembly5abase5bbolt receptor5cbolt receptor6 muzzle brake tube7 muzzle brake tube entry aperture8 muzzle brake tube exit aperture9 muzzle brake tube orifice10 orifice bolt11 cushion plate12 firearm barrel

Universal clamp-on muzzle device for multiple size firearm barrels


Apparatus and methods for providing gravity compensation to a cable-suspended, vacuum-adhered, tool-equipped crawler vehicle traveling along and following the contour of a non-level surface during the execution of an automated maintenance operation. One technical feature shared by multiple embodiments of the gravity-compensating systems is that a cable spool is operated to wind a portion of the cable from which the vacuum-adhered crawler vehicle is suspended to generate a tensile force that counteracts a gravitational force being exerted on the crawler vehicle during movement. Rotation of the cable spool may be driven by a motor or by a tensioning spring.

This disclosure generally relates to automated systems for carrying maintenance tools across surfaces, such maintenance tools including (but not limited to) sensors used in non-destructive inspection (NDI). In particular, this disclosure relates to self-propelled surface-crawling robotic vehicles (hereinafter "crawler vehicles") that are capable of moving on inclined or vertical surfaces (hereinafter "non-level surfaces") of large structures such as aircraft fuselages, storage tanks and wind turbine blades.
It is known to manually inspect and clean large structures such as aircraft fuselages, storage tanks and wind turbine blades by hoisting a person to a position adjacent to the structure. However, manual inspection and cleaning can be time-consuming and difficult operations. To mitigate the drawbacks of manual inspection and cleaning, various solutions involving automated apparatus (e.g., crawler vehicles) configured to travel along non-level surfaces of a large structure have been proposed. For example, solutions have been proposed in which a tool-equipped crawling vehicle is attached to the end of a tether cable while the crawler vehicle is in contact with and "adhered" to a non-level surface by suction or vacuum forces. The vacuum adherence functionality is provided by one or more vacuum adherence devices that enable the crawler vehicle to adhere to but still translate and/or rotate over the non-level surface.
In applications where crawler vehicles need to operate on non-level surfaces, such as moving around the circumference of an airplane fuselage, the magnitude of the vacuum adherence forces needed to sustain the desired position and navigate may be difficult to attain. And even in those cases where sufficient vacuum adherence force is available, the locomotion power required for moving the crawler vehicle in vertical or nearly vertical directions can be undesirably high. Increasing the adherence force or locomotion power adds complexity and cost to these robotic systems, and can limit their cost-effective use cases.
The existing solutions of higher suction flow (vacuum adherence) or higher-energy electrostatics (attraction) require increased complexity and system costs, as well as performance risks, including surface damage due to high adherence loads. Current solutions do not address the slippage problem associated with dirt, grease, water, or other debris on the surface of the structure on which the robot is crawling. Current tethers can keep crawler vehicles from falling to the ground, but do not help maintain vacuum adherence or electrostatic attraction to the surface in the face of gravity. Current solutions do not help crawler vehicles to maintain movement along a horizontal line without slippage in the direction of gravity. They also do not enable ascending vertical motion without higher adherence or power requirements.

Gravity compensation for self-propelled robotic vehicles crawling on non-level surfaces


Some embodiments of the invention include a novel cell phone safety monitoring system that assists a cell phone user to remain aware of areas of concern while the person is dialing, texting, or viewing text messages on the cell phone. The cell phone safety monitoring system works independently of the dialing and texting features of the cell phone and comprises an interactive camera to capture images of the areas of concern and a video safety monitor with adjustable support arms to display the captured images. In some embodiments, the interactive camera is physically separate from the cell phone and the video safety monitor with adjustable support arms. The camera can be placed anywhere suitable to capture video of areas of concern to send to the video safety monitor with adjustable support arms. In some embodiments, the video safety monitor with adjustable support arms and the cell phone are separate devices and are externally connected together by a retractable pedestal the adjustable support arms. In some other embodiments, the safety monitor is integrated into the texting display screen of the cell phone.

Embodiments of the invention described in this specification relate generally to safety devices, and more particularly, to camera and monitor safety devices including a video safety monitor with adjustable support that externally attaches to the body of a cell phone with support arms and interlocking ridges. This video safety monitor with adjustable support arms works in concert with an interactive camera. The interactive camera is focused on an area of concern in which the captured image is transmitted back to the video safety monitor with adjustable support arms. For the purpose of clarity. "Area of Concern" is defined as the area the user focuses the interactive camera, e.g., front windshield, backseat, etc.
Dialing and texting on a cell phone while driving or walking can be dangerous to the cell phone user and others nearby the cell phone user. For instance, property damage and human injuries, hospitalizations, and deaths have resulted from people dialing, texting, or reading text messages on cell phones. This is a problem for drivers of automobiles who use a mobile communication device while driving a vehicle. This is also a problem for pedestrians and drivers of other automobiles who are exposed to driver using a cell phone.
Various cameras and monitors exist to assist drivers in a number of capacities (i.e., a backup safety camera to view objects that may be present behind a car, a bumper camera to assist drivers in parallel parking, etc.). However, none of the existing cameras or monitors allow cell phone users any measure of safety while dialing, texting, and reading text when engaged in a road-related activity, such as walking, driving, or even idling at a traffic light. This safety video monitor with adjustable support arms being attached externally to the body of a cell phone will allow a measure of safety. This is made possible by the adjustable support arms that lock the video externally to the body of the cell phone. This video monitor will work in concert with an existing camera focused on an area by the user (an area of concern).
Other currently existing safety mechanisms work in concert with the cell phone to prevent dialing, viewing, or texting. This is a problem for cell phone users who expect to have the ability to use their cell phone for any necessary moment, including times when a user is engaged in such a road-related activity. For example, a person who is driving an automobile in an emergency situation may need to call the police, the fire department, a doctor or hospital, a family member, a friend, or any of several other parties who need to be informed of the emergency.
Therefore, what is needed is a safety mechanism that works independently of dialing, viewing, and texting features of a cell phone to assist a person in remaining attentive to areas of concern while the person is using the cell phone to dial, view, or text.

Cell phone video safety monitor with adjustable support arms that attaches externally to the body of a cell phone


Bone graft compositions and methods are provided for promoting cellular recruitment bone regeneration. The novel bone graft includes at least one of: fluorapatite nano-crystalline coated non-ceramic hydrophilic hydroxylapatite crystals; and a combination of fluorapatite nano-crystalline coated non-ceramic hydrophilic hydroxylapatite crystals and fluorapatite nano-crystalline coated hydroxylapatite crystal clusters. Methods include treating cells at a bone defect site with the novel bone graft, wherein fluorapatite crystallites from the fluorapatite nano-crystalline coating immediately and continuously release fluorapatite to the cellular environment over the course of treating the cells. The compositions and methods promote cell differentiation, migration, and proliferation. Through the use of compositions and methods provided herein, inhibition of the migration of connective tissue and epithelial cells to bone defect sites is realized for better bone restoration by osteoblast cells. Moreover, inhibition of inflammatory cells and bacteria at the surgical site are realized, further enhancing bone restoration.

Metal implants cannot be placed in deficient bone sites without the use of guided bone grafting regeneration procedures. Such procedures are clinically necessary in osseous defects for implant installation in orthopedics and dentistry. Grafting materials that may be used for guided bone regeneration include autograft bone, allograft bone and synthetic bioactive resorbable crystals, having physicochemical properties and biologic resorption rates to human bone. However, use of ceramic hydroxyapatite granules, bovine ceramic granules, tricalcium phosphate ceramic granules, glass and/or plastic granules results in negative systemic consequences further compromising the patient's immune system due to lack of resorption and physicochemical dissimilarities to human bone. Such materials are all considered non-resorbing filler materials which do not turn into bone, or resorb, due to their high mechanical properties and chemical dissimilarities to human bone.
Various titanium implant modalities (orthopedic or dental) have been developed in recent years with a variety of modified chemical surfaces, claiming biological protein attachment, cell attachment, and cell proliferation on their surfaces. These include ceramic hydroxyapatite coating, or calcium phosphate ceramic coating and titanium surface coating. Acid processing with fluoride surface treatment of implants and fluoride surface painting procedures have heretofore not provided any beneficial results, noting bone breakdown.
It has been reported that osteoblast proliferation and differentiation, as detected by alkaline phosphatase biochemical osteoblast marker activity, may be facilitated through free fluoride dried on the surfaces of implantable materials and devices. Free fluoride studies have been carried out for many years and have found that free fluoride may activate rapid and uncontrolled dissolution of bone, which may improve the rate of sporadic mineral apposition; however, the concentrations of free fluoride used in these studies vary considerably depending on the research equipment and testing methods used to evaluate the results. This wide range of free fluoride has not been narrowed down to an optimal free fluoride concentration by a controlled delivery mechanism with beneficial results, and without the consequences of bone necrosis due to the free fluoride's acidic poisonous nature and rapid immediate bone resorption.
There have been numerous studies of free fluoride clinical applications on the surface of human enamel carried out from the perspective of preventing caries. The concept of using sodium fluoride (NaF) to prevent caries emerged on the notion that free fluoride would either be "firmly bound" or "loosely attached" to enamel surface. This is based on early reports from in vitro studies on necrotic human tooth enamel surfaces, and clinical studies on human tooth enamel. This concept did not materialize, but instead resulted in deleterious outcomes and host bone necrosis. Hypothetically, these are alkali-"insoluble" and alkali-soluble fluorides, respectively, on various surfaces, with regard to solubility, using potassium hydroxide and with sodium-fluoride applications. Consecutive studies focused on the dissolution and mobility of free fluoride after topical applications in human and bovine tooth enamel surfaces. However, results failed to show controlled distribution of fluoride and any binding capacity to enamel surfaces. Therefore, no benefit was achieved by using free fluoride due to its instantaneous release to the cellular environment.
In other reports, mouse stem cells and osteoblast-like ROS cells responded to similar, or slightly lower, ranges of free fluoride substitution and showed good proliferation. Studies on epithelial cells in vitro focused on the presence of minute quantities of free fluoride from 5 to 50 μm (0.095-0.95 ppm F) in the culture medium, which promoted cell proliferation of human gingival epithelial cells (HGEC) and human epidermal cells (HaCaT) after 48-hour exposure. A significant difference was reported for proliferation of both cell types. The presence of "minute quantities" of free fluoride led to the production of fibronectin and laminin-5, which play a major role in cell adhesion and proliferation.
In view of the foregoing, there exists a need for bone graft and method of use that addresses the deficiencies of the related art for quicker and safer bone formation.

Fluorapatite nano-crystalline coated non-ceramic hydrophilic hydroxylapatite bone grafting compositions and methods for promoting bone regeneration


A safe, environmentally sound method for transporting energy-containing hydrocarbons from a remote natural gas source of hydrocarbons to a local site for further processing or refining. The natural gas is converted at the remote site, using a modified Fischer-Tropsch process, to produce non-volatile, long chain hydrocarbons, i.e., paraffins (C.sub.20 -C.sub.36) at the remote site, transporting the paraffins via rail, ship, or cargo air plane to a local site, and then further processing and/or refining the paraffins via distillation, cracking, or combining with other hydrocarbon feedstocks to produce fuel products at the local site for use.

The present invention relates generally to the task of providing fossil fuel energy sources from a remote location to a local site for use. In particular, the present invention is drawn to a safe, environmentally sound method for transporting hydrocarbons from their remote, natural points of origin to local sites so that the energy content of such fuels can be used. More particularly, the present invention is drawn to a method of converting natural gas at a remote site, using a modified Fischer-Tropsch process, to produce non-volatile, long chain hydrocarbons, i.e., paraffins (C.sub.20 -C.sub.36) at the remote site, transporting the paraffins via rail, ship, or cargo air plane to a local site, and then further processing and/or refining the paraffins via distillation, cracking, or combining with other hydrocarbon feedstocks to produce fuel products at the local site for use.
Current methods for transporting certain hydrocarbon fuels via land or across the oceans present certain health hazards and environmental dangers.
Crude oil and refined fuel oil are commonly transported between continents by supertankers holding millions of gallons. Even with segmented tanks and double hull construction, unnatural disasters can occur when, due to human error or natural forces, the supertankers used to transport the oil are damaged.
In February 1996, an oil tanker ran aground off the coast of Wales in an environmentally endangered area, spilling several hundred thousand gallons of oil into the Atlantic Ocean.
The EXXON VALDEZ spill off of the coast of Alaska is one of the most vivid examples of the devastating effect that spilled fuels can have on the environment. Years following the disaster, the coastline was still being cleaned and the ecologies are still recovering as best they can.
Huge reserves of natural gas are found in many regions of the world, but they are frequently located in remote areas far from the actual centers of consumption. Traditional pipeline costs can account for as much as one-third of the total natural gas cost. Thus, there are tremendous strategic and economic incentives to provide on-site gas conversion to liquids.
Liquefied natural gas is another common fuel that is transported through tankers, trucks and pipelines and stored in large capacity tanks. In order to more efficiently transport and store natural gas, it is liquefied by reducing its pressure and temperature. Liquefied natural gas explodes easily, and it must be kept refrigerated and pressurized to remain liquefied. Any accidental leak of liquefied natural gas instantly begins to boil, gaining heat from the surrounding air, ground, building, or from whatever it may come into contact.
Natural gas is a combination of highly flammable hydrocarbon gases. Natural gas is normally composed of about 80% to 95% methane. When liquefied natural gas boils, as during a leak, it becomes even more volatile, and subject to rapid ignition and explosion from the slightest spark.
Liquefied natural gas poses even greater difficulties and dangers to the people and ecologies where it is stored and transported than crude oil. Precautions are taken to avoid explosions and fires, but disasters involving liquefied natural gas have been documented.
For example, in October 1944, a liquefied natural gas storage facility burst, releasing 2 million gallons of liquefied gas into streets and sewers of Cleveland, Ohio. The gas was easily ignited, burned and exploded, killing 131 people and razing 29 acres of developed property.
In February 1973, a liquefied natural gas tank on Staten Island, N.Y. exploded, killing 40 people. A pipeline at the same facility exploded in 1994.
A liquefied natural gas explosion occurred while workers were loading fuel trucks at a Hammond, Ind. site in February 1990. Two people were killed, several others were injured and the town was evacuated.
It is thus reasonable to seek transport methods for fossil fuels which are less vulnerable to danger.
However, it is generally accepted in the fuel production and refining industry that refining processes for fossil fuels should work to maximize the usable end product fraction at nearly every stage.
As discussed in The Encyclopedia of Energy Technology and the Environment, Vol. 2, under the main topic "Fuels, Synthetic, Liquid", at page 1520 et seq., the huge resources of natural gas have been recognized to be a source for conversion to liquid fuels as well. In general, the proven technology to upgrade methane, the main component of natural gas, is via steam reforming to produce synthesis gas, CO+H.sub.2. Such a gas mixture is clean and when converted to liquids produces fuels substantially free of heteroatoms such as sulfur and nitrogen. There are pathways from a synthesis gas which can be taken, and which have been commercialized, to produce liquid fuels from natural gas. One such pathway involves coupling with Fischer-Tropsch technology to produce fuel range hydrocarbons directly or upon further processing.
For instance, a SHELL OIL process, parts of which are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,587,008 and 4,628,133 to Minderhoud et al., and more fully described in the September 1989 issue of Process Engineering at page 21, involves modifying a Fischer-Tropsch process to produce heavy paraffins at an intermediate stage from natural gas. The purpose of this modification is to improve the end product resulting from further processing of the paraffins, by eliminating the formation of certain undesirable length hydrocarbon chains.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic illustration of the Shell Middle Distillate Synthesis (SMDS) process developed by Shell Oil Company, which uses remote natural gas as the feedstock. FIG. 1 shows a simplified flow scheme. The two-step process involves Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of paraffinic wax called the heavy paraffin synthesis (HPS). The wax is subsequently hydrocracked and hydroisomerized to yield a middle distillate boiling range product in the heavy paraffin conversion (HPC). In the HPS stage, wax is maximized by using a proprietary catalyst having high selectivity toward heavy products and by the use of a tubular, fixed-bed Arge-type reactor. The HPC stage employs a commercial hydrocracking catalyst in a trickle flow reactor. The effect of hydrocracking the light paraffins is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the product composition as a function of carbon number for the Shell Middle Distillate Synthesis process following HPS is much broader than what is obtained after the HPC step. The HPC step allows for production of a narrower range of hydrocarbons which is generally not possible with conventional Fischer-Tropsch technology. This aspect is shown in FIG. 3. Shell's two-step SMDS technology allows for process flexibility and varied product slates. The liquid product obtained consists of naphtha, kerosene and gas oil in ratios of from 15:25:60 to 25:50:25, depending on process conditions. High quality gas oil and kerosene are obtained. The products manufactured are predominantly paraffinic, free from sulfur, nitrogen and other impurities and have excellent combustion properties. The SMDS process has also been proposed to produce chemical intermediates, paraffinic sulfas, and extra high viscosity index (XHVI) lubeoils.
However, there is no teaching that producing heavy paraffins as an end product is beneficial, or that stopping the process after producing heavy paraffin is beneficial. The heavy paraffins, or wax products, produced by the modified Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process are instead immediately refined as part of a continuous process at the same location to produce middle distillate fuel oils which are low in methane and ethane content. These middle distillate fuel oils have a much greater economic value than the paraffins produced during the process and are therefore more desirable to produce as an end product. These middle distillates are also more flammable and cause more environmental damage when they are spilled.
Paraffin wax, by comparison, is non-volatile, floats on water and does not disperse or boil from its solid form at ambient temperatures. It is also considered to be of less economic value and to have few end uses as fuel. The SHELL process is the only one in the fuel production industry which considers the synthesis of paraffins to be beneficial, but solely for the purpose of further refining the paraffins in a continuing process to produce greater quantities of gasoline more efficiently.
As taught by U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,439,171, and 4,125,566, and others, heavy paraffins produced by distillation and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis are considered undesirable by-products of these fuel production processes.
Paraffin wax is simply a longer straight hydrocarbon chain than natural gas, (the shortest chains) and oils (middle length chains). Paraffin wax can be distilled to produce natural gases and oils, or added to other feedstocks to enrich the amount of hydrocarbons present or improve the quality of the refined oil. However, heavy paraffins have little use as a fuel without further refining.
Waxes alone are never transported from remote locations closer to local end user sites for fuel production refining. Paraffin waxes have been disclosed to be combined with oils and pumped through pipelines, as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,458,846 and 3,804,752. Paraffin waxes are also taught to be combined or recombined with local feedstocks to improve the quality of the end product, such as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,821,104, 3,308,052 and 2,917,375. Waxes used in these processes are often the by-products created in the initial refining.


Embodiments of the disclosure provide a video toothbrush. An exemplary video toothbrush may include a handle housing an exciter and a support element including a support neck and a support head. The support element may be configured to extend from a proximal connection with the handle to a distal end. The video toothbrush may further include a camera mounted near the distal end of the support head and a shaft extending from the support neck and configured to support a cleaning head toward a distal end of the shaft and configured to receive vibration from the exciter toward a proximal end of the shaft. The video toothbrush may also include the cleaning head having a plurality of bristles projecting in a first direction. The cleaning head may define a central opening. The central opening may be arranged to provide the camera with a view in the first direction.

The field of toothbrushes has been filled with innovations since the 1400s. In the last half century, electric toothbrushes have been introduced. Today, toothbrushes continue to incorporate further technological innovations.
Recently there have been attempts to incorporate video into electric toothbrushes to provide video electric toothbrushes. These attempts have been mainly unsuccessful for a variety of reasons. For example, certain toothbrushes have incorporated video as a secondary feature, such that a user can take a video image of the user's own teeth at a first time, and brush the user's teeth at a second time. Other approaches may permit video images of the user's teeth during brushing, but can only do so from an odd or confusing angle.
Embodiments of the disclosure address the above problems by providing improved video toothbrush systems, which may have a video camera aligned with bristles or other cleaning elements and configured to provide a live video output for brushing quality enhancement and improved user experience. Furthermore, certain embodiments of the disclosure reduce the mouth impact of the video toothbrush, permitting ease of simultaneous brushing and video observation, as well as ease of insertion into the mouth of the user.


A stick lever device including a mechanism for shifting a neutral position and capable of decreasing the number of parts of the device and facilitating the assembling. A pivotal shaft of a variable resistor mounted on a mounting member is securely mounted with a pivotal operation section including a stick lever. The mounting member is formed with two shaft holes and a support shaft of an arm member is selectively fitted in any one of the shaft holes. The pivotal operation section is provided thereon with three projections. The arm member which is urged by a spring is abutted against predetermined two of the projections depending on the position of the support shaft of the arm member, so that the neutral position of the pivotal operation section and stick lever may be shifted as desired.

This invention relates to a stick lever device adapted to control a resistance value of a variable resistor in response to operation of a stick lever, and more particularly to an improvement in a mechanism for automatically returning a stick lever. The present invention may be applied to a radio control system for carrying out remote control of a controlled model depending on the amount of operation of the stick lever.
In general, a radio control device for remotely controlling movement of a controlled model such as a model car, a model boat, a model airplane, a model helicopter or the like includes a transmitter which is provided with a stick lever device for controlling a resistance value of a variable resistor in response to the amount of operation of the stick lever. Then, the stick lever device controls electrical radiation transmitted from the transmitter to control the amount of driving of a servo mechanism or the like mounted on the controlled model, resulting in controlling a speed of traveling of the controlled model, a direction thereof and the like.
The stick lever device is generally provided with a mechanism for automatically returning the stick lever. The mechanism is adapted to automatically return the stick lever to a predetermined neutral position when an operator releases the stick lever.
Also, for example, when a model car is to be forward and rearward moved, it is not required to control a speed at which the model car is rearward driven over a wide range as compared with that at which it is forward driven. This is true of a model boat. A model airplane does not require its rearward movement. For these reasons, a mechanism is often provided which is adapted to vary the neutral position of the stick lever in the stick lever device depending on the magnitude of operation of the stick lever required depending on the type of a controlled model.
Now, a conventional stick lever device which is provided with a mechanism for varying a neutral position of a stick lever will be described hereinafter with reference to FIG. 3 and FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b).
The mechanism includes a mounting member 100 which is mounted thereon with a variable resistor 103 through a trim lever 101 and a seat plate 102. The variable resistor 103 includes a revolving shaft 104 rotatably supported on a side of the mounting member 100. The revolving shaft 104 is fixedly mounted thereon with a drum 105, which includes a stick lever 106, so that operation of the stick lever 106 permits the revolving shaft 104 to be pivotally moved. The mounting member 100 is also provided with a change-over lever 107, which is adapted to be pivotally moved about the revolving shaft 104 and selectively held in two different positions on a side of the mounting member 100 by means of a pair of pawls 108. The change-over lever 107 is mounted with an arm member 109, which is supported at one end thereof on one end of the change-over lever 107 and mounted at the other end thereof on the other end of the change-over lever 107 through a spring 110. The arm member 109 is abutted at a central portion thereof against two projections 111 and 112 provided on a side surface of the drum 105 by means of the spring 110.
The arm member 109, as shown in FIG. 4(a), urges the projections 111 and 112 provided on the drum 105 by force of a predetermined magnitude, so that the drum 105 and stick lever 106 each are set at a predetermined neutral position. As shown in FIG. 4(b), tilting of the arm member 109 due to operation of the change-over lever 107 causes a position at which each of the drum 105 and stick lever 106 is kept stationary to be varied correspondingly.
Unfortunately, the conventional stick lever device is complicated in structure, increased in the number of parts of the device and troublesome in assembling.