A flip chip substrate is provided, which includes a plurality of conductive layers, including a top layer and a bottom layer. A first plurality of contacts, including first and second contacts corresponding to a differential signal pair, are arranged on the top layer within a die bonding area. A second plurality of contacts, including third and fourth contacts corresponding to the differential signal pair, are arranged on the bottom layer. First and second traces are routed between the first and third contacts and between the second and fourth contacts, respectively, wherein the second trace is routed out of the die bonding area on a different layer than the first trace. The traces are routed in a manner that reduces the length difference between the traces.

A "flip chip" refers to an integrated circuit that includes at least one semiconductor die, which is bonded circuit-side down to a substrate, with direct electrical interconnection between the die and the substrate. Because the die is connected directly to the substrate, traditional bond wires are eliminated. The substrate can be a passive carrier such as a printed circuit board, or it can be another semiconductor chip. The substrate is normally bonded directly to a motherboard. Other flip chips and other integrated circuits employing a variety of more traditional packages such as lead frame packages, surface mounts, pin grid arrays and the like can also be mounted to the motherboard.
One purpose that the substrate serves is to allow the input-output (I/O) signals on the die to "escape" the die onto the motherboard. Dice are usually quite small, and contain as many as hundreds of I/O signals, as well as numerous power and ground connections. There can be "bumps" (i.e., solder spheres) on the surface pads of the die to facilitate electrical connections to the substrate. These bumps are densely packed together onto the small die. It may not be practical to attempt to bond such tightly packed bumps to a motherboard. The substrate serves the purpose of spreading out these densely packed bumps to a much less dense spacing, so that these I/O signals and power and ground connections can then be connected to the motherboard.
When the die is bonded to the substrate, the bumps on the die are the points of physical and electrical contact between the die and the substrate. The bumps carry electrical signals including power and ground to and from the die. The substrate has a surface, typically the surface opposite the die, which has a plurality of contacts called pads or lands. A solder ball is typically attached to each land for soldering to the motherboard. The solder balls are collectively referred to as a ball grid array, because they are usually arranged in a grid pattern.
Each bump in the die bonding area is electrically connected to a corresponding ball in the ball grid array through conductive segments called "traces" along one or more of the layers in the substrate and through one or more "vias" between the layers.
The I/O signals being routed through the substrate for communication between the die and motherboard can include many different types of signals, such as single-ended signals and differential signal pairs. A differential signal pair consists of two adjacent I/O contact pads within the die bonding area, which are routed to two adjacent balls in the package. Ideally, the routing for the two traces in each differential pair should be identical in terms of the length of the routes, the number of vias in the routes and the planes between which the traces are routed. However due to the density of contacts within the die bonding area and limitations of the substrate routing layers, it may not be possible to match both routes for the entire distance of the routes.
A large length difference between two traces in a differential signal pair increases the propagation delay in the longer trace, which should ideally be the same along both traces. In addition, jogs in one trace relative to the other trace increases the impedance of the jogging trace.
Improved routing schemes are desired for routing differential signal pairs along a flip chip substrate.

Routing scheme for differential pairs in flip chip substrates


A 3-dimensional face data restoring and collating system includes a 2-dimension face image storage unit configured to store a plurality of 2-dimensional face images of persons, and a 3-dimensional face restored shape storage unit. A 3-dimensional face shape restoring unit restores a 3-dimensional face shape data from one of the plurality of 2-dimensional face images for a target one of the persons based on a 3-dimensional reference face shape data, and stores the 3-dimensional restored face shape data in the 3-dimensional face restored shape storage unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an individual authentication technique that uses a face data in the field of biometric authentication. In particular, the present invention relates to 3-dimensional face data registering, restoring and collating system and method, in which it is aimed to improve reduction of authentication accuracy caused due to change in a facing orientation, lighting, which are obstructions to perform face authentication.
2. Description of the Related Art
A process of an individual authentication system using the biometrics is separated into a "registering process" for registering a data of an authentication target to a database in advance, and a "collating process" for determining a likelihood that indicates whether or not an image is likely to be of the target by collating a target image with images data registered in the database one by one.
The face authentication uses a feature data of a face as the data to be registered and collated. The mainstream of a method for extracting the face feature data is a method that uses a 2-dimensional front face image, which is disclosed in "Recognition of Faces by Computers—Survey" by Shigeru Akamatsu, (IEICE (The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers) Journal A Vol. J, 80-A, No. 8, August, 1997, pp. 1215-1230: first conventional example). As a specific methods, there are methods that are disclosed in the first conventional example, e.g. a "structural base method" in which the face parts such as eyes, a nose, and a mouth are detected from a 2-dimensional face image, and the face features are recognized and collated based on geometric characteristics of those parts, and a "pattern matching method" in which contrast values of the 2-dimensional face image are regarded as a set of vectors, and a peculiar face is calculates through an analysis of the main component thereof to recognize and collate the feature of the face. Both of these methods extract feature quantities form the 2-dimensional face image, and calculate the likelihood through a comparison and collation.
However, these methods for extracting the feature quantities from the 2-dimensional face image are likely to be affected by factors such as a facing orientation, lighting, and expression, which are different from those at the time of registration, and by secular changes due to over the years from the time of the registration. To deal with this, there are known face authentication systems which use the 3-dimensional data face to reduce the affect of those change factors, as disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Applications (JP-P2004-086929A and JP-A-Heisei 09-259271: second and third conventional examples). In addition, a method is studied that restores a 3-dimensional face shape data from 2-dimensional face images of a front face image, a profile, and the like, without using a 3-dimensional face measuring apparatus as disclosed in "A Morphable Model for The Synthesis of 3D Faces" by Volker Blanz, and Thomas Vetter (SIGGRAPH99, 1999: fourth conventional example).
In conjunction with the above description, an image processing apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-P2001-229400A). The image processing apparatus in this conventional example has an image input section for inputting a face image. A display section displays the face image inputted from the image input section and a message for prompting a user to specify a display position of a facial part of the face image. An input section used to input an optional point on the display. A facial part extracting section sets the point inputted from the input section as an origin and extracts another facial part based on the origin. An image generating section generates a 3-dimensional image based on the facial parts extracted by the facial part extraction section and coordinate data of the inputted origin.
Also, an image collating apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-P2004-185386A). The image collating apparatus in this conventional example collates a first 2-dimensional image and a second 2-dimensional image. An image converting section converts the first 2-dimensional image into a 3-dimensional image. A direction detecting section detects a picking direction of a target in the second 2-dimensional image. An image generating section generates a third 2-dimensional image when the target is seen from the direction based on the 3-dimensional image. An image collating section collates the second 2-dimensional image and the third 2-dimensional image.
Also, a face recognizing apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 4-242106). In the face recognizing apparatus in this conventional example, a shape measuring section measures 3-dimensional shape of a face in X-, Y-, and Z-directions. A correcting section corrects a face orientation based on a 3-dimensional shape data. A feature point extracting section extracts feature points of the face based on the corrected 3-dimensional shape data. A collating section collates the extracted feature points and feature points on a database. The correcting section includes a first correcting section directions around the Y-axis and the Z-axis, and a second correcting section a direction around the X-axis. The second correcting section rotates the feature data around the X-axis in correspondence with a line on the Y-Z plane corresponding to an angle θ between the Y-axis and a line corresponding to a ridgeline of a nose obtained as the feature points on the Y-Z plane.
In the face authentication system of the above-described conventional examples, it is necessary to supply the 3-dimensional face data in the registering process or the collating process. For this purpose, an expensive 3-dimensional face measuring apparatus is required. Also, it requires a picking-up time of several hundreds milliseconds for the measurement, which is longer than that of a still camera. Thus, there are various kinds of problems which are the obstacles for putting it into a practical use.
Further, identification/selection of suspects in criminal investigations can be considered as an object for introducing the face authentication system. However, it is necessary to build up a database of criminals by using the 3-dimensional face measuring device. Thus, a great amount of resources are required to perform 3-dimensional face measurement additionally, etc. For this reason, the system cannot be effectively operated for a long period from the time point that the system is introduced until data are sufficiently registered on the database.
Moreover, in the method disclosed in the fourth conventional example, in which the 3-dimensional data of the face is restored from the 2-dimensional images of a front face image or a profile image without using the 3-dimensional face measuring apparatus, it can be considered that the 3-dimensional face measuring apparatus becomes unnecessary by restoring the 3-dimension face shapes from face photographs of criminals that are stored through criminal investigations and registering these data to the database. However, in this method, restoration of the face is performed by referring to the 3-dimensional face measured shape of others. Therefore, sufficient restoration accuracy cannot be obtained if there are only a small number of 3-dimensional face measured shapes. Thus, it is a critical problem for this method to increase the number of the 3-dimensional face measured shapes for reference.
As described, the first problem in the above-described conventional examples is that the face authentication system using the 3-dimensional data in the criminal investigations or the like cannot be operated effectively for a long period from the time point that the system is introduced. The reason is that it does not function as the system unless there is a sufficient amount of measured data obtained by using the 3-dimensional face measuring apparatus stored in the registered database. In particular, a considerable number of registered data is required for the system to be used effectively in the criminal investigations, so that a loss-time is generated for an extremely long term.
Further, the second problem is that the restoration accuracy is reduced when the database is built by using the technique for restoring the 3-dimensional shape of the face from the 2-dimensional face images of a front face image and a profile image without using the 3-dimensional face measuring apparatus. The reason is that the restoration accuracy in the technique for restoring the 3-dimensional face shape depends on the number of 3-dimensional face measured shapes of others for reference. Sufficient restoration accuracy cannot be obtained when the number is small.

Restoring and collating system and method for 3-dimensional face data


According to the invention, the method of primary processing of a first set of primary data (IM,f) representing physical quantities includes:

The present invention concerns, in general terms, a method and device for processing data, notably the representation, generation, restitution, regeneration or iterative processing of data.
More particularly, the present invention relates to the transmission (that is to say the representation at a distance) and/or the storage (that is to say the representation in a memory) of data, with or without compression thereof. These data can advantageously consist in the digital or analogue data of an image or sequence of images, and/or the digital or analogue data relating to sound (music, speech, etc), and/or the digital or analogue data relating to any mono or multidimensional signal.
Before disclosing the objectives and means of the invention, it is proposed below to give the following definitions:
xe2x80x9cSet of dataxe2x80x9d: set of any data representing physical quantities (usually voltage levels) which can themselves represent other physically perceptible or measurable quantities. In favoured applications, the sets of data concerned are images, sound or mono or multidimensional signals, etc. In the application relating to image processing, reference will sometimes be made to the xe2x80x9cimagexe2x80x9d instead of the xe2x80x9cset of dataxe2x80x9d relating to the image. That which will be disclosed below with regard to xe2x80x9cimagesxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9csub-imagesxe2x80x9d is respectively applicable to xe2x80x9csets of dataxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9csub-sets of dataxe2x80x9d and vice versa.
xe2x80x9cRepresentation of dataxe2x80x9d: any xe2x80x9cprocessingxe2x80x9d of a set of data of a given type, resulting from the perfect or imperfect transformation of the said set of data into another type. For example: the data can consist in the 256 grey levels of the pixels of an image, their representation consisting of a series of binary words able to be stored or transmitted; conversely, the representation of the data consisting of the said binary words can consist in their transformation in order to regain data of the same type as the initial data.
xe2x80x9cPrimary representationxe2x80x9d: by convention, any processing resulting from the transformation of the data of a first type to data of a second type. In this case a xe2x80x9cprimary processingxe2x80x9d of the data will be spoken of.
xe2x80x9cSecondary representationxe2x80x9d: by convention, the transformation of data of the second type resulting from a primary processing. In this case a xe2x80x9csecondary processingxe2x80x9d will be spoken of.
xe2x80x9cRestitution of dataxe2x80x9d: the particular case of a secondary representation in which the data of the second type are transformed into data of the first type. This restitution can be perfect or imperfect.
A xe2x80x9cmetric spacexe2x80x9d is a set of elements with a functional distance which is symmetrical, positive and satisfies triangular inequality. This space is xe2x80x9ccompletexe2x80x9d when it contains all the limit points of all the convergent series.
A xe2x80x9cLipschitz mappingxe2x80x9d: a mapping which transforms the points of a metric space in the same space and for which all the ratios of the distance of two elements transformed by the said mapping to the distance of the two said elements is limited.
A xe2x80x9ccontractive mappingxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9ccontractionxe2x80x9d: a Lipschitz mapping for which the smallest of the majorants (contraction factor) of the said set of ratios is less than unity. However, within the meaning of the present invention, all the convergent mappings, that is to say those having a fixed point (thus enabling successive approximations to be used) in a sub-set of the metric space are contractive.
A xe2x80x9csimilarityxe2x80x9d is a Lipschitz mapping for which the ratio of the distance of two transformed elements to the distance of the said elements is a fixed quantity. A linear similarity is a xe2x80x9csimilitudexe2x80x9d.
A xe2x80x9ccontractive similarityxe2x80x9d is a Lipschitz mapping for which the ratio of the distance of two transformed elements to the distance of the said elements is a fixed quantity strictly less than unity.
The xe2x80x9cfixed pointxe2x80x9d of a contraction of a complete metric space in the same space (or of a sub-set of this space in itself) is the sole element which is left invariant by the said contractive mapping.
The xe2x80x9cconstructionxe2x80x9d of a contractive mapping on a set of data consists in forming a family of contractions able to transform the data and selecting the parameters of one of the said contractions in order to satisfy one or more predetermined conditions.
The xe2x80x9cmethod of successive approximationsxe2x80x9d makes it possible to approach, iteratively, as close as wished, the fixed point of a contraction. Starting from an arbitrary element, the said contraction is applied thereto. The same contraction is then applied to the previously obtained transform. By reiterating this process, the fixed point of the contraction is approached successively and ineluctably.
xe2x80x9cA better approximationxe2x80x9d of an element in a metric space is a point in a sub-set of candidates, which are themselves points in the said space, which minimises the distance to the said element.
xe2x80x9cA good approximationxe2x80x9d of an element in a metric space is a point in a sub-set in the said space which is close, with a predetermined error, to a predetermined best approximation.
Various image representation methods, with compression, using the fractal technique, are known in the state of the art.
Through the document U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,447, a method and device are known for processing or storing an image with compression of the data relating to the initial image. In this method, the data relating to the initial image are divided, that is to say the image is divided into a plurality of elementary sub-images (referred to as xe2x80x9cdomain blocksxe2x80x9d). This method next consists in generating an ordered dictionary of a set of reference sub-images (referred to as xe2x80x9crange blocksxe2x80x9d) formed from portions of an image of predetermined size which has undergone a certain number of predetermined operations such as rotation and turning about various axes of symmetry. Next, for each elementary sub-image a comparison is made with all the reference sub-images of the dictionary and the reference sub-image which is the most similar to the elementary sub-image under consideration is selected from the dictionary. Finally, the method consists in processing or storing parametric information relating to the addresses of the reference sub-images selected from the dictionary, in order to represent each of the original elementary sub-images.
It is through this set of operations that the method described in this document makes it possible to obtain a first representation of the image with compression of the data.
In order to effect, from the said parametric information, the restitution of the initial image, the method and device described in this document perform the following operations: from an initial arbitrary image, steps similar to those above are carried out, that is to say the initial arbitrary image is partitioned and a dictionary is formed from the elementary sub-images thereof. However, the dictionary is formed only partially, performing for each sub-image only the predetermined operation corresponding to the relevant address of the dictionary for the position of the sub-image under consideration.
The data thus obtained are used for reiterating this process until the difference between two consecutively obtained images is less than a predetermined threshold. The image obtained lastly is then an approximation of the initial image.
This method, which is of interest on a theoretical level, has the major drawback that it is sometimes difficult to put into practice on an industrial level with the means known at the present time. This is because each image necessarily involves a lengthy analysis with the creation of a particularly large dictionary, the elementary sub-images of the image to be stored or transmitted all being compared with each of the reference sub-images present in the dictionary. The inventors, who carried out simulations, thus found that, for certain images of average size and resolution (512xc3x97512 pixels with 3xc3x97256 colour levels), the processing time for compression was around 1000 to 2000 seconds on a workstation, that is to say around half an hour. Such a processing time is obviously prohibitive for almost any industrial application.
Through the document WO-A-93/17519, another method and device for image processing with compression of the data relating to the initial image are known. In this method the data relating to the initial image are also partitioned, that is to say the image is divided into a plurality of elementary sub-images (referred to as xe2x80x9cdomainsxe2x80x9d). In this method a set of fractal transforms linking the sub-images to the set of initial data is next determined, that is to say a portion of the image similar to the elementary image under consideration is sought in the initial image, so as to minimise the error between the initial data and the approximate data item thus obtained. The coefficients of the set of fractal transformations thus produced constitute the first representation of the initial image.
In order to effect the restitution of the image, the method and device described in this document seek the fixed points of the elementary fractal transformations whose coefficients were received, without however explaining how this search is carried out. The initial image is thus restored by assembling the restored sub-images.
This method is also of interest on a theoretical level. However, the inventors found significant degradations of the quality of the restored image.
The inventors have sought to develop a data processing method of the same type as the methods of the state of the art analysed above, but having better performance both with regard to the quality of the restored data and with regard to the processing speed.
During their research, the inventors discovered that the reason why the methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,447 and WO-A-93/17519 have the above-mentioned defects relates to the fact that the two methods involve geometric transformations of portions of images consisting essentially of contractive similarities (construction of the dictionary in U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,447 and fractal transformation in WO-A-93/17519). They were in fact able to show that it is a question in both cases of using an idea broadly shared by persons skilled in the art interested in fractal compression at the time of filing of the present application, an idea according to which the images, whatever their origin, consist essentially of elements or parts having themselves significant degrees of resemblance.
However, the performance of WO-A-93/17519 is in fact very weak with regard to the quality of the image restored, since the inventors discovered that the capabilities for the restitution of contractive similitudes are very limited, contrary to the belief of the said persons skilled in the art of the date of filing of the present application.
Likewise the performance of U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,447 are very limited with regard to processing time. As the capabilities for the restitution of contractive similitudes are intrinsically limited, the author of U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,447 is led to set up a large dictionary which is constructed on the basis of numerous transformations of sub-images in the method according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,447: it is a case in fact of artificially multiplying the resemblance elements, which certainly makes it possible to substantially improve the quality of the restored image, but at the expense of the calculation time.
The inventors have therefore sought to produce a method and device for the processing of data, notably of images, making it possible to obtain better performance than the aforementioned state of the art both with regard to the quality of the data or of the restored image and with regard to calculation speed, and able to result in a significant compression of the data to be transmitted or stored.
In cases where the images to be compressed or restored are very large, the devices known at the present time, which use data of all parts of the image, must have available a large memory space, which makes them expensive and slow.
In general terms, according to a fist aspect, the present invention relates to a method for the primary processing of a first set of primary data representing physical quantities, characterised in that it includes:
a set division step during which the first set of data is divided into first sub-sets of data, and
for each first sub-set of data:
a step of xe2x80x9cconstructingxe2x80x9d a first type of global contractive mapping, for the said first sub-set of data, whose fixed point constitutes an approximation of all or part of this sub-set,
using, to do this, at least one mapping belonging to the group of mappings consisting of multidimensional mappings and non-linear mappings, and
determining parameters of the global contractive mapping so as to allow the use, on a second sub-set of data, of a method of successive approximations converging towards the fixed point of a second type of global contractive mapping;
the set of parameters thus determined constituting a primary representation of the said first set of data.
In general terms, according to a second aspect, the present invention relates to a device for the primary processing of a first set of primary data representing physical quantities, characterised in that it has:
a means of inputting primary data,
a set division means adapted to divide the first set of data into first sub-sets of data, and
a construction means adapted, for each first sub-set of data, to construct a first type of global contractive mapping, for the said first sub-set of data, whose fixed point constitutes an approximation of all or part of this sub-set,
using, to do this, at least one mapping belonging to the group of mappings consisting of multidimensional mappings and non-linear mappings, and
determining parameters of the global contractive mapping so as to allow the use, on a second sub-set of data, of a method of successive approximations converging towards the fixed point of a second type of global contractive mapping; and
a means of outputting the set of parameters thus determined, parameters which constitute a primary representation of the said first set of data.
Owing to these provisions, the sub-sets of first data being processed successively, the memory space used, and, in particular, the fast memory space, is reduced. The method of the invention can therefore be implemented on all systems, independently of their memory capacity.
In addition, the sets of primary data of large size can thus be processed in pieces, each piece corresponding to a first sub-set of data. Likewise, the method of successive approximations can be implemented in pieces.
Finally, when it is desired to restore only part of the image constituting the set of primary data, for example in a case where it is desired to display part of an image, the invention makes it possible to consider only the parameters associated with the first sub-sets of primary data which contain the said image part.
In addition, in accordance with the invention, in order to process, and notably to represent, a set of initial data representing physical quantities, notably with compression of the said initial data, it suffices to construct, by appropriate means, a global contractive mapping, acting on the said data.
Another important characteristic of the invention lies in the fact that, in order to construct the said global contractive mapping, it is necessary to use at least one mapping belonging to the group of mappings consisting of multidimensional mappings and non-linear mappings. In doing this, any recourse to mathematical transformations belonging to the class of contractive similarities is excluded, which makes it possible to avoid the drawbacks mentioned above.
However, in order to construct the said global contractive mapping acting on the data, a person skilled in the art has a very wide range of mathematical tools which he can use. He can consequently choose from amongst these tools those which are the most favourable to performance, for example in conjunction with the type of data to be represented or the particular mapping concerned. Such a possibility does not exist in the state of the art analysed above and proves very advantageous. Thus, for example, in the case of a local processing of the image, by partitioning the latter into elementary sub-images, a person skilled in the art can choose, for the local processing, mappings which are not necessarily contractive, which gives him an important choice in the possibilities of local processing of the image and thus leaves him great freedom. In particular, he can choose, at the local level, Lipschitz mappings which will enable him to facilitate the use of the contractive nature of the global mapping.
In addition, the use of a method of successive approximations leaves a person skilled in the art the freedom to choose the final distance between the said fixed point and the data thus restored or generated.
By avoiding the formation of a dictionary and the lengthy analysis described in the document U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,447, and owing to the characteristics of the present invention, the processing of an image is notably accelerated compared with the aforementioned US document. By implementing their preferred embodiment, the inventors found that, for an image of 512xc3x97512 pixels with 3xc3x97256 colour levels, the processing time was approximately less than 100 seconds on a workstation; they also have every reason to believe that the improvements made to the method and device briefly defined above will make it possible to obtain performance with regard to speed.
It should also be noted that, since the constructed elementary mappings belong to the group of mappings consisting of multidimensional mappings and non-linear mappings, the mappings belonging to the class of similitudes are avoided, with the advantages observed above.
According to a third aspect, the present invention relates to a method for the secondary processing of several sub-sets of parameters, characterised in that it includes:
for each sub-set of parameters, an xe2x80x9citerative calculationxe2x80x9d step during which, using the said sub-set of parameters, there is implemented, on a second sub-set of data, a method of successive approximations converging towards the fixed point of a second type of global contractive mapping, using, to do this, at least one mapping belonging to the group of mappings consisting of multidimensional mappings and non-linear mappings, and
an assembly step during which the fixed points resulting from the iterative calculation made on each sub-set of parameters are combined, in order to constitute a secondary representation of the sets of parameters.
According to a fourth aspect, the present invention relates to a device for the secondary processing of several sub-sets of parameters, characterised in that it has:
calculation means adapted, for each sub-set of parameters, to effect an iterative calculation using the said sub-set of parameters and on a second sub-set of data, in order to implement a method of successive approximations converging towards the fixed point of a second type of global contractive mapping, using, to do this, at least one mapping belonging to the group of mappings consisting of multidimensional mappings and non-linear mappings, and
an assembly means adapted to combine the fixed points resulting from the iterative calculation made on each sub-set of parameters, in order to constitute a secondary representation of the sets of parameters.
These aspects of the invention have the same advantages as those set out above. They are therefore not repeated here.
In addition, the method of successive approximations used for the secondary processing is implemented in a particularly simple fashion using the parameters obtained at the end of the primary processing, because these parameters are independent of the dimensions of the elementary sub-set with which they are associated. The inventors found, in the field of image processing with compression, good performance both with regard to the quality of the restored image and with regard to the processing speed mentioned above.
The present invention also aims to remedy an other problem where the compressed images subsequently give rise to decompressions which are liable to have different resolutions or different image dimensions, the devices of the prior art require the use of all the compressed data, which impairs their speed and efficiency.
According to a fifth aspect, the present invention relates to a method for the primary processing of a set of data representing physical quantities, a primary processing method taking into account a minimum dimension and including an xe2x80x9cinitial partitioningxe2x80x9d step during which the said set of data is partitioned into initial elementary sub-sets,
a primary processing method characterised in that it includes:
a) for each elementary sub-set which does not have the said minimum dimension, at least one iteration of a sequence of steps including:
a step of estimating suitability of division, during which a suitability of division of the said elementary sub-set is estimated, and
when the suitability estimation does not meet predetermined quality criteria, a step of xe2x80x9cpost-partitioningxe2x80x9d of the said sub-set into intermediate elementary sub-sets,
b) a xe2x80x9cconstructionxe2x80x9d step in which, for each of the elementary sub-sets, whether it results from the initial partitioning or from a post-partitioning and whether or not it has itself been the subject of a post-partitioning, an elementary mapping is constructed in the elementary sub-set under consideration, determining the parameters of the elementary mapping so as:
to make contractive a first type of global mapping, for the said set of data, a global mapping belonging to the group of mappings consisting of multidimensional mappings and non-linear mappings, the restrictions of the global mapping to the elementary sub-sets consisting of the said elementary mappings, the fixed point of the global mapping constituting an approximation of all or part of this set,
to allow the use of a method of successive approximations converging towards the fixed point of the said global contractive mapping; all the parameters thus determined, as well as, when at least one post-partitioning step has taken place, an item of partitioning information, representing each said post-partitioning, constituting conjointly a primary representation of the said set of data.
According to a sixth aspect, the present invention relates to a device for the primary processing of a set of data representing physical quantities, taking into account a minimum dimension, characterised in that it has:
an initial partitioning means adapted to partition the said set of data into initial elementary sub-sets,
calculation means adapted, for each elementary sub-set which does not have the said minimum dimension, to effect at least one iteration of a sequence of steps including:
a step of estimating suitability of division during which a suitability of division of the said elementary sub-set is estimated, and
when the suitability estimation does not meet predetermined quality criteria, a step of xe2x80x9cpost-partitioningxe2x80x9d of the said sub-set into intermediate elementary sub-sets,
a xe2x80x9cconstructionxe2x80x9d means adapted, for each of the elementary sub-sets, whether it results from the initial partitioning or from a post-partitioning and whether or not it has itself been the subject of a post-partitioning, to construct an elementary mapping in the elementary sub-set under consideration, determining the parameters of the elementary mapping so as:
to make contractive a first type of global mapping, for the said set of data, a global mapping belonging to the group of mappings consisting of multidimensional mappings and non-linear mappings, the restrictions of the global mapping to the elementary sub-sets consisting of the said elementary mappings, the fixed point of the global mapping constituting an approximation of all or part of this set,
to allow the use of a method of successive approximations converging towards the fixed point of the said global contractive mapping;
an output means adapted to transmit the set of parameters thus determined, as well as, when at least one post-partitioning step has taken place, an item of partitioning information, representing each said post-partitioning in order to constitute conjointly a primary representation of the said set of data.
By virtue of these provisions, since the primary representation includes all the parameters related to all the elementary sub-sets, whether or not they have given rise to a post-partitioning, it will be possible to sort the parameters which it is wished to process as a function of the dimension of the elementary sub-set to which they are related.
If it is wished to restore the set of primary data with, for the restitution, a smaller size than that of the set of primary data, it will be possible not to take account of the parameters relating to the smallest elementary sub-sets.
On the other hand, if it is wished to restore the set of primary data with, for the restitution, a larger size than that of the set of primary data, it will be possible to take account of all the parameters constituting the primary representation.
Likewise, depending on the fineness of the details which it is wished to restore (fineness related to the resolution), it will be possible to take into account more or fewer parameters, as a function of the size of the elementary sub-sets with which they are associated.
According to a seventh aspect, the present invention relates to a method for the secondary processing of a set of parameters associated with at least one item of partitioning information, resulting from a primary processing of a first set of data, a secondary processing method characterised in that it includes:
a step of determining a minimum dimension of elementary sub-sets,
a step of determining elementary sub-sets constituting a partitioning of a second set of data, a step taking into account on the one hand the said minimum dimension and on the other hand the presence of partitioning information corresponding to the said sub-sets,
a step of selecting, from the set of parameters, parameters associated with the said determined elementary-sets, and
an xe2x80x9citerative calculationxe2x80x9d step during which, using the selected parameters and the determined elementary sub-sets, use is made, on the second set of data, of a method of successive approximations converging towards the fixed point of a global contractive mapping of the second type, the restrictions of the global mapping to the elementary sub-sets consisting of the said elementary mappings, using, to do this, at least one mapping belonging to the group of mappings consisting of multidimensional mappings and non-linear mappings.
According to a eighth aspect, the present invention relates to a device for the secondary processing of a set of parameters associated with at least one item of partitioning information, resulting from a primary processing of a first set of data, characterised in that it has:
a means of determining a minimum dimension of elementary sub-sets,
a means of determining elementary sub-sets constituting a partitioning of a second set of data, a means taking into account on the one hand the said minimum dimension and on the other hand the presence of partitioning information corresponding to the said sub-sets,
a means of selecting, from the set of parameters, parameters associated with the said determined elementary-sets, and
calculation means adapted to effect iterative calculations, using the selected parameters and the determined elementary sub-sets, in order to implement, on the second set of data, a method of successive approximations converging towards the fixed point of a global contractive mapping of the second type, the restrictions of the global mapping to the elementary sub-sets consisting of the said elementary mappings, using, to do this, at least one mapping belonging to the group of mappings consisting of multidimensional mappings and non-linear mappings.
These aspects of the invention have the same advantages as those set out above. They are therefore not repeated here.
The present invention also aims to remedy an other technical problem: where several images must be decompressed and displayed simultaneously, the known devices of the prior art require the opening of as many files as there are images to be decompressed, which makes the decompression operation slow.
According to a ninth aspect, the present invention relates to a method for the primary processing of at least two sets of primary data representing physical quantities, referred to as xe2x80x9cfirst sets of dataxe2x80x9d, characterised in that it includes, for each first set of data:
a step of xe2x80x9cconstructingxe2x80x9d a first type of global contractive mapping, for the said first set of data, whose fixed point constitutes an approximation of all or part of this set,
using, to do this, at least one mapping belonging to the group of mappings consisting of multidimensional mappings and non-linear mappings, and
determining parameters of the global contractive mapping so as to allow the use, on a second set of data, of a method of successive approximations converging towards the fixed point of a second type of global contractive mapping;
a step of organising a computer file including data representing each set of parameters resulting from a construction step applied to each first set of data, the parameters thus organised in a file constituting a primary representation of the said first sets of data.
According to a tenth aspect, the present invention relates to a device for the primary processing for at least two sets of primary data representing physical quantities, referred to as xe2x80x9cfirst sets of dataxe2x80x9d, characterised in that it has:
a means of inputting primary data,
a construction means adapted, for each first set of data, to construct a first type of global contractive mapping, for the said first set of data, whose fixed point constitutes an approximation of all or part of this sub-set,
using, to do this, at least one mapping belonging to the group of mappings consisting of multidimensional mappings and non-linear mappings, and
determining parameters of the global contractive mapping so as to allow the use, on a second set of data, of a method of successive approximations converging towards the fixed point of a second type of global contractive mapping; and
an organisation means adapted to organise a computer file including data representing each set of parameters resulting from a construction step applied to each first set of data, the parameters thus organised in a file constituting a primary representation of the said first sets of data.
Owing to these provisions, since a file is organised with parameters relating to several sets of data, when it is desired to gain access simultaneously to parameters relating to different sets of data, for example in order to display on a screen data dependent on these parameters, the opening of several computer files is avoided. The method according to the invention therefore affords a significant gain in time.
For example, when the parameters constitute compressed data relating to images, a rapid display of several decompressed images is possible.
According to an eleventh aspect, the present invention relates to a method for the secondary processing of a set of parameters resulting from a primary processing of a first set of data, a secondary processing method characterised in that it includes:
a step of reading from a file, during which at least part of the set of parameters is read from a file common to several sets of parameters, and
an xe2x80x9citerative calculationxe2x80x9d step during which, using the said set of parameters, a method of successive approximations converging towards the fixed point of a global contractive mapping of the second type is implemented on a second set of data using, in order to do this, at least one mapping belonging to the group of mappings consisting of multidimensional mappings and non-linear mappings, this fixed point constituting a secondary representation of the said first set of data.
According to a twelfth aspect, the present invention relates to a device for the secondary processing of a set of parameters resulting from a primary processing of a first set of data, characterised in that it has:
a means of reading from a file, adapted to read at least part of the set of parameters from a file common to several sets of parameters, and
calculation means adapted to effect iterative calculations, using the said set of parameters, in order to implement, on a second set of data, a method of successive approximations converging towards the fixed point of a global contractive mapping, using, to do this, at least one mapping belonging to the group of mappings consisting of multidimensional mappings and non-linear mappings, this fixed point constituting a secondary representation of the said first set of data.
These aspects of the invention have the same advantages as those set out above. They are therefore not restated here.
The invention also relates to a printer, a photocopier, a camera and a facsimile device including a processing device as succinctly disclosed above.
The invention also relates to a memory which stores:
parameters and partitioning information resulting from a primary processing as succinctly disclosed above, and
instructions for software making it possible to implement a secondary processing method as succinctly disclosed above.
The advantages of these devices and memory being identical to those disclosed above, they are not repeated here.

Methods and devices for processing data and notably for compressing and decompressing images

Abstract: a set division step (200A to 202) during which the first set of data is divided into sub-sets of first data, and

Abstract: for each first sub-set of data:

Abstract: a step (205 to 207) of xe2x80x9cconstructingxe2x80x9d a global contractive mapping of the first type, for the said first sub-set of data, whose fixed point constitutes an approximation of all or part of this sub-set. The set of parameters (ai, b) thus determined constitutes a primary representation of the said first set of data.


By analyzing hematopoietic stem cell proliferation regulators produced by stroma cells, a cDNA library is constructed and novel hematopoiesis-associated genes are isolated. Genes encoding the proteins as specified in the following (a) or (b): (a) having an amino acid sequence represented by one of SEQ ID NOS selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12; or (b) having an amino acid sequence derived from the amino acid sequence as defined in the above (a) by deletion, substitution or addition of one to several amino acids and having an activity of regulation hematopoietic stem cell proliferation.

Hematopoietic stem cells present in a bone marrow, and mesencymal stem cells serve to maintain an adult body life by being differentiated over their entire life span into respective blood cells, bones, cartilages, fat cells and the like the supply of which is done by them continuously. Recently, these tissue-specific stem cells were reported to be capable of being differentiated also into the cells of multiple organs (nerve, liver, lung, intestinal tracts, cardiac muscles, muscles and the like) under a certain condition, and it is considered to be very important to understand their proliferation mechanisms also in view of the application to a transplantation therapy and a regenerative medicine.
A large number of attempts have been made heretofore to accomplish an in vitro amplification of a hematopoietic stem cell, and some of them were successful to some extent. In bone marrow stromal cells as considered to form a hematopoietic microenvironment (niche) and regulate proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic precursor cells via hematopoietic factors and an adhesion molecules. Those reported as the hematopoietic factors produced by the stromal cell are cytokines such as IL-3 and IL-6, SCF, receptor-type tyrosine kinase ligands such as an Flt-3 ligand (Gibson, F. M. et al., Br J Haematol 1995), a differentiation-inhibiting factor Notch ligand jagged-1 (Varnum-Finney, B. et al., Blood 1998).
However, most of the membrane-binding factors and adhesion molecules required for the hematopoiesis described above are considered to be unidentified. While it is impossible to culture a hematopoietic stem cell for a prolonged period only by combining currently known factors with each other, such a culture is possible for a certain time period in the presence of stromal cells which are hematopoiesis-supporting cells, suggesting that the stromal cells may express hematopoiesis-related proteins which have not been identified.

Hematopoietic stem cell proliferation regulators and polynucleotides encoding the same

Japan as represented by the President of the National Cancer Center


A CPU increments the variation in the corresponding monitor value in a monitor value storage area secured in a RAM, each time an event to be monitored has occurred. When the monitor value must be stored, the CPU adds the incremented one of the variations in the individual monitor values stored in the monitor value storage area to the corresponding value in a monitor value saving area secured in the system area of the disk, executes monitor value saving control by which the monitor value is replaced with the resulting monitor value, and then clears the monitor value storage area.

This invention relates to a disk drive with a PFA function and a monitor value saving control method in the disk drive.
In recent years, a magnetic disk drive with the function of predicting a failure in the drive beforehand (a PFA function: predictive failure analysis (PFA) mechanism) has been developed. The PFA function monitors, as the parameters for PFA, (the number of occurrences and the like of) various events that can contribute (have a close cause and effect relation) to failures in the magnetic disk drive and predicts a failure in the drive from the monitor values (parameter values). Such a PFA mechanism has been disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,439 (issued to Egbert et al. on Feb. 22, 1994). The parameters are data items used to determine whether or not the drive is in a critical condition. Typical ones of the parameters include start-up time, the number of starts/stops of motor (the number of CSSs), the number of seeks, the number of substitute sectors (the number of times that spare sectors on the spare track preliminarily provided are substituted for defective sectors), power-on time, start retry (the number of times that the motor has been started by retry), the number of power cycles (the number of power ON operations), the number of occurrences of read errors (read error rate), and the number of occurrences of seek errors (seek error rate).
The aforementioned parameters change at various times, such as at the time of start-up of the drive or a read/write operation. Since the monitor value of a parameter of this type takes a unique value to the disk drive, it is necessary to save it in a nonvolatile storage medium (e.g., a disk or a nonvolatile memory). Saving the data in a nonvolatile storage medium, however, needs a lot of time. An event accompanying an operation required to be processed at high speeds is sometimes used as a parameter to be monitored, depending on the way that the parameter is decided. In this case, since sensing the relevant event and updating the monitor value can decrease the performance of the drive, the monitor value has to be saved in as short a time as possible.
To solve this problem, the monitor values of various parameters have been stored in a cache memory provided in the disk drive. Specifically, the monitor values of various parameters are temporarily stored in a volatile memory, such as a RAM, faster in access speed than a nonvolatile storage medium. In a situation where the performance is not affected, a monitor value saving process has been performed which saves the monitor values in the volatile memory into a nonvolatile storage memory (a nonvolatile memory or a disk).
The cache memory provided in the drive unit, however, has a limited memory capacity and is also used for various control actions, in addition to the storage of the aforementioned various parameters. For instance, the total capacity of the cache memory is 688 bytes, of which 535 bytes are used for control of the mechanical system of the drive unit and 33 bytes are used for communication with the host unit. In addition, 19 bytes are used for power saving, 35 bytes for read/write operation, 22 bytes for UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter), 5 bytes for security, and 12 bytes for work registers. The total number of bytes necessary for the above-described control operations is 661 bytes. As a result, the remaining 27 bytes are the number of bytes that can be used to save parameters for PFA. The parameters for PFA require 4 bytes for start-up time, 4 bytes for the number of CSSs, 4 bytes for the number of seeks, 2 bytes for the number of substitute sectors, 3 bytes for power-on time, 8 bytes for start retry (4 bytes for parameter 1, 2 bytes for parameter 2, and 2 bytes for parameter 3), 4 bytes for the number of power cycles, 4 bytes for seek error rate, and 4 bytes for read error rate, which come to 37 bytes in total and cannot be saved in the cache memory. This limits the number of parameters stored in the cache memory, causing the problem of failing to provide a satisfactory PFA function. On the other hand, the idea of increasing the capacity of the cache memory leads to the problem of raising cost.

Disk drive with a PFA function and monitor value saving control method in the same


An information recording and reproduction apparatus comprising a recording and reproduction section configured to record and reproduce information in and from one recording medium of a first group and at least one recording medium of a second group, which has a smaller recording capacity than the one recording medium of the first group, and a registering section configured to reserve, in the one recording medium of the first group, a recording region which corresponds to the recording capacity of the at least one recording medium of the second group.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information recording and reproduction apparatus and an information recording and reproduction method, for selective recording/reproduction into/from a large-capacity stationary recording medium and a detachable/portable recording medium. Further, the invention relates to a broadcast-receiving apparatus, which selectively records and reproduces received information onto/from the above recording media.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, television receivers with high-capacity hard disks, as well as portable recording media have been developed. For example, HDDs (Hard Disk Drives) of 80 GB are now not uncommon, and these are of the stationary type. As a portable type, DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disk-Random Access Memory) of 4.7 GB is commonly used, and they can be attached to the TV receiver.
In these types of TV receivers, programs or other input information can be recorded/reproduced to/from either/both an HDD and DVD-RAM. Further, information in the HDD can also be transferred to DVD-RAM, and vice-versa. However, due to the difference in disk capacity, various problems arise, particularly when information is transferred from HDD to DVD-RAM. For example, the user might not know whether programs stored on the HDD have been copied onto DVD-RAM or not, or how many DVD-RAM disks are required for copying a certain program. When copying information to DVD-RAM, the user may have to use several disks, thus involving mounting them separately, which is troublesome.
If a DVD-RAM disk for recording onto recording is not mounted, a so-called "just recording" function, in which the recording rate is automatically adjusted to completely fill the disk, cannot be used.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication Nos. 11-7705, 2000-175139, and 5-282793, and the like disclose examples of the known art regarding a technique which performs recording and reproduction between the two kinds of recording media.
However, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 11-7705 relates to a technique in which data recorded in a video CD (Compact Disk) is copied to DVD-RAM having a different sector size from that of the video CD.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-175139 relates to the technique in which part of a video data file recorded in the detachable optical disk is copied as the file to on HDD.
Further, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 5-282793 relates to the technique in which track and sector numbers of the large-capacity optical disk are transformed corresponding to the track and sector numbers of the small-capacity optical disk.
However, in these publications of unexamined applications, no solutions are offered to the above-described various problems which occur in recording the information recorded in HDD in DVD-RAM.

Information recording and reproduction apparatus, information recording and reproduction method, and broadcast receiving apparatus


A device, in particular for use in an electronic controller, includes a card rack and a subassembly. The device is manufactured by soldering over a large area the unpopulated back side of the subassembly to this card rack. The soldering can be performed using a reflow soldering process and can be automated, and thus suitable for mass production. The electrical connections of the subassembly are led spatially and electrically separately from the mechanical attachment of the subassembly to the card rack. The subassembly can be an additional component mounted on the card rack with a new additional function, so that the controller can be flexibly adapted to a given requirement profile in a simple manner by combining, in a flexible manner, a plurality of subassemblies with different layouts and modes of operation on the card rack.

German Patent Application No. 42 08 594 describes a first card rack, which can be, for example, a printed circuit board, and a subassembly soldered to this first card rack, which consists of a second card rack and components mounted on the same. This German Application shows a film PC board as a second card rack with SMD (Surface Mounted Device) modules mounted using a reflow soldering procedure, which are interconnected by printed conductors provided on the film PC board. The subassembly is used for repairing defective PC boards or for supplementing the PC board layout with additional electronic components mounted on the subassembly. For this purpose, the film PC board is soldered to the electric contact points referred to as pins. The vibration strength of the film PC board is ensured using an adhesive applied between the film PC board and the PC board. It must be considered disadvantageous in this design that when the film PC board is mounted on the PC board the additional mechanical fastening by the adhesive and soldering to the pins must be performed in separate steps. Heat cannot be properly removed from the subassembly through the adhesive and the pins. It is also disadvantageous that the subassemblies soldered to the contact pins of the components can only be mounted on the unpopulated back of the PC board and soldering must be done manually.

Device for using in an electronic controller


A transmission circuit transmits a command to a contactless IC card. A receiving circuit receives a transmission signal from the IC card and an amplifying circuit in the receiving circuit amplifies the reception signal. An impedance element to which the reception signal is applied is provided at a preliminary stage of the amplifying circuit. The impedance element is controlled so that the impedance thereof is lowered, and an input signal to be input into the amplifying circuit is muted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reader-writer terminal device for a contactless IC card (smart card), a radio frequency identification (RFID) card or a contactless data carrier (hereinafter these are collectively referred to as a contactless IC card), a communication system including the reader-writer terminal device and the IC card, and a contactless data carrier incorporating the IC card and the reader-writer terminal device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In data communication using an IC card, a command response system in which one is a command transmitting side and the other is a response transmitting side in receiving a command is generally adopted. However, there is a case in which the receiving side and the transmitting side are not fixed at the initial point of time of the data communication, or there is a case in which the receiving side and the transmitting side replace each other in the middle of the data communication. Even in these cases, the transmitting side and the receiving side are fixed by dividing the data communication into short periods.
In data communication using an IC card, the time interval from the receipt of a command to the output of a response is usually defined by standard, individual specifications, etc. The time interval from the completion of the transmission of the command to the start of the receipt of the response is referred to as a waiting time. Data communication with a shorter waiting time can make the overhead time short and have an advantage in communication performance.
On the other hand, the IC card side in the contactless data carrier usually does not have a battery and a clock signal generating circuit. In this case, the reader-writer terminal side must maintain transmission of a carrier to supply power to the IC card side or reproduce a system clock signal.
Further, on the IC card side, a load modulation scheme is used as a response transmitting means. The switching system switches the load of the IC card on the IC card side, that is, varies carrier amplitude by increasing or reducing a load of an antenna on the reader-writer terminal side transmitting the carrier in accordance with variance of the impedance at an antenna end on the IC card side. According to such system, the response is received on the reader-writer terminal side by detecting the variation in carrier amplitude at the antenna end on the reader-writer terminal side.
A transmission circuit and a receiving circuit are mutually connected via the antenna on the reader-writer terminal side for transmitting a command to the IC card side and receiving the response. Thus, during the transmission of the command, a transmission signal from the transmission circuit creeps into the receiving circuit by itself. If the difference between the large amplitude of an input signal creeping into the receiving circuit during the transmission of the command and the small amplitude of a response receiving input signal is large, an amplification circuit in the receiving circuit is saturated by the large amplitude input during the transmission of the command. The receiving circuit cannot receive the response until the saturated state disappears.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of the transmission circuit and the receiving circuit in a conventional reader-writer terminal device. Both a transmission circuit 22 and a receiving circuit 23 are connected to an antenna 21. The receiving circuit 23 composed of a detecting circuit 23a, a low pass filter (LPF) circuit 23b, an amplifying circuit 23e and a digitization circuit 23d.
FIGS. 2A-2E illustrate examples of signal waveforms at main portions in FIG. 1, respectively. FIG. 2A illustrates an antenna waveform, FIG. 2B illustrates an output waveform (a detection waveform) of the detecting circuit 23a, FIG. 2C illustrates an input waveform of the amplifying circuit 23e, and FIG. 2D illustrates an output waveform of the digitization circuit 23d.
As shown in FIG. 2A, a carrier signal is modulated by the command (transmission data) at the transmission circuit 22 during a command transmission period and transmitted from the antenna 21. FIG. 2A illustrates an example in which the carrier signal is modulated with 100% modulation, when the data is transferred between the reader-writer terminal device and the IC card. The transmission of the response is started from the IC card after the lapse of the waiting time just after the transmission period.
Since the large amplitude signal creeps into the receiving circuit 23 via the antenna 21 during the command transmission period, the detecting circuit 23a, LPF circuit 23b, amplifying circuit 23e and digitization circuit 23d operate respectively, digital data corresponding to the command is generated as shown in FIG. 2E. Since the large amplitude signal is input into the amplifying circuit 23e, it operates in a saturated state during the waiting period just after the command transmission period. As a result, the receiving circuit 23 enters a response receiving period, and when receiving the response from the IC card, the input waveform into the digitization circuit 23d hardly reaches a threshold voltage (VREF), then the response at an initial response in the response receiving period becomes impossible to be received. The period in which the response cannot be received becomes a bottleneck, it becomes impossible to shorten the waiting time then performance of the whole of the communication system is prevented from being improved.
Such problems can occur not only between the reader-writer terminal device and the IC card but also in the contactless data carrier equipped with both a reader-writer terminal part having the function of the reader-writer terminal device and a contactless IC card part having the function of the contactless IC card. As examples of the contactless data carrier, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc., incorporating the IC card part having a function of short-distance data communication, respectively, are cited.
In Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 11-46354, a sound/image transmission device is described, wherein the transmission device multiplexes and transmits sound and an image, and separates them into the sound and the image to reproduce them on the receiving side, in which the operation of the receiving part is stopped during transmission of image blocks, and the transmission state is switched to the receiving state when the transmission of the image blocks is completed.

Reader-writer terminal device for contactless IC card, communication system and contactless data carrier


Implementations relate to determining a secondary language proficiency measure, for a user in a secondary language (i.e., a language other than a primary language specified for the user), where determining the secondary language proficiency measure is based on past interactions of the user that are related to the secondary language. Those implementations further relate to utilizing the determined secondary language proficiency measure to increase efficiency of user interaction(s), such as interaction(s) with a language learning application and/or an automated assistant. Some of those implementations utilize the secondary language proficiency measure in automatically setting value(s), biasing automatic speech recognition, and/or determining how to render natural language output.

A user may have interest in having content that is not in the same language as the primary language of the user provided in response to interactions of the user. For example, a user may utter one or more phrases in a secondary language, to an automated assistant, that would require recognition of the utterance in a language other than the primary language of the user. In many instances, an automatic speech recognition model is configured to recognize utterances in the primary language of the user and is less likely to recognize utterances in a secondary language. In those instances, the automated assistant may be unable to respond to such utterances and/or may misinterpret the utterances by attempting to understand the utterances as terms in the primary language of the user.
As another example, a user may have interest in learning a secondary language but may not effectively identify resources for learning the language that are directed to users with the proficiency of the user and/or other knowledge of the user. For example, a user may be provided with translations of a phrase but the phrase may be too complex for a user to fully comprehend in its entirety. This can result in the user not utilizing resources of an automated assistant that would otherwise be capable of assisting in the language learning process.

Determining and utilizing secondary language proficiency measure


A device adapted to discharge a volatile material includes a display frame having a front face and a rear face and an opening disposed in the rear face. The device further includes a dispenser disposed within the display frame. The dispenser includes a blister that holds a volatile material and a permeable membrane that extends across an open end of the blister. The rear face includes an integral foot member connected to an upper portion of the display frame at a hinge and the integral foot member is actuable between first and second states about the hinge. Further, the permeable membrane is disposed adjacent the rear face and regulates release of the volatile material therethrough.

1. Field of the Background
The present invention generally relates to a volatile material dispensing system, and more particularly, to a volatile material dispenser in combination with an adjustable chipboard holder.
2. Description of the Background
Volatile material dispensers have been used to provide fragrances to office or home settings. One such dispenser is an ornamental design for a combined picture frame and potpourri holder. The design includes front and rear panels angled from each other. A recess is centered within the front panel to provide an area to insert a photograph. A bridge connects both the front and rear panels.
Another such ornamental design for a dispenser includes a combined air freshener and picture frame. The frame includes front and rear faces, wherein the front face includes two rectangular stepped portions extending outwardly therefrom and the rear face is planar. An opening extends through the front and rear faces adjacent an upper portion of the frame.
Yet another dispenser includes first and second panels. A base joins the first and second panels to provide a platform to support the device in a tent configuration. The second side panel has a tab extending therefrom. Means are provided to capture the tab that is associated with the first side panel. An opening in one of the side panels is provided for mounting a volatile material filled reservoir.


An aircraft includes a short-range radar that is configured to detect a trajectory, which is specified based on a position detection of the aircraft by a ground station.

In aerospace technology, VTOL refers to any type of aircraft, drone or rocket that has the ability to take off and land again in an essentially vertical manner and without a take-off and landing runway. This collective term is subsequently used in a broad sense, which includes not only rigid-wing aircraft with wings, but also rotary wing aircraft, such as helicopters, gyrocopters, gyrodynes and hybrids such as compound helicopters or combination helicopters, as well as convertiplanes. Furthermore, this includes aircraft with the ability to take off and land at particularly short distances (short take-off and landing, STOL), to take off at short distances, but to land vertically (short take-off and vertical landing, STOVL) or to take off vertically, but to land horizontally (vertical take-off and horizontal landing, VTHL).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,032 A, which is incorporated by reference herein, describes an automatic landing system for driving an unmanned aircraft along a predetermined path to a predetermined point on the ground. The system contains an image processing device in a motion compensation processor that calculates aircraft parameters. These calculations are based on the movement of elements in the video of an imaging sensor on board the aircraft. The motion compensation processor also measures the distance between two beacons that are a known distance from each other on each side of the apparent impact point. A recovery control processor on the ground calculates commands for the autopilot that corrects the aircraft's trajectory. The video image can either be transmitted via a data connection to the ground station or the image processing can be carried out on board the aircraft.
A precision aircraft landing system in accordance with DE 60 106 446 T2, which is incorporated by reference herein, determines the location of the aircraft in real time by measuring an elapsed time between a query and transponder response signal at a plurality of predetermined locations. The system achieves accurate aircraft positioning by measuring the transponder-response-difference phase to calculate an approach angle.
The approach according to aspects of the invention is based on the knowledge that vertical landings should be performed on small and densely modified landing sites on a precisely predetermined trajectory in order to prevent collisions with or disturbances from other users, vehicles, pedestrians, etc.
The proposed approach also takes into account the fact that high-precision on-board systems for spatial location and understanding of the situation are usually complex and expensive.
Finally, the invention is based on the insight that the correct approach towards certain landing sites, such as helipads, should be well known, and it is therefore not necessary for every approaching aircraft to acquire this knowledge automatically. Instead, they only need to be told in a suitable way how to follow the prescribed trajectory.


An offset error, an amplitude error, a phase error and a third harmonic component contained in two-phase sinusoidal signals are removed using relatively simple digital computations. An offset error contained in two-phase sinusoidal signals with a phase difference output from an encoder is detected and corrected. Then, an amplitude error contained in the offset-corrected two-phase sinusoidal signals is detected and corrected. Subsequently, a phase error contained in the amplitude-corrected two-phase sinusoidal signals is detected and corrected. Further, a third harmonic distortion contained in the phase-corrected two-phase sinusoidal signals is detected and corrected. Each correction step includes detecting an error from an ideal Lissajous waveform contained in the corrected two-phase sinusoidal signals, and adding the detected error to an accumulatively added last value to yield a new correction coefficient, thereby dynamically updating the correction coefficient.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an encoder output signal correction apparatus and method for correcting two-phase sinusoidal signals output from an encoder that detects positions, angles, velocities, angular velocities and so forth.
2. Description of the Related Art
An interval between gratings formed on a scale in an encoder is limited to process. In order to measure a finer interval than that between the scale gratings, the spatial period of a phase variation in a sinusoidal signal output from the encoder should be divided much finer and interpolated. A variety of interpolators have been employed in the art. For example, a digitized interpolator comprises an A/D converter and a memory. The A/D converter is operative to receive A-, B-phase sinusoidal signals with a phase difference of 90° output from the encoder and sample the signals at a certain frequency to convert them into digital data. The memory is employed to store a look-up table for use in searching phase angle data PH at each sampling point based on the digital data DA, DB obtained at the A/D converter, The look-up table is created based on PH=ATAN (DA/DB) using a function of arctangent (ATAN).
The A-, B-phase sinusoidal signals output from the encoder are usually not complete sinusoidal-waves and can be represented in an orthogonal coordinate system as describing an elliptical Lissajous waveform generally. When the A-, B-phase sinusoidal signals have different amplitudes in voltage, the Lissajous waveform becomes elliptical. An offset value of each signal voltage turns the Lissajous waveform into a circular or elliptical waveform deviated from the origin. The presence of a phase error brings the major and minor axes of an ellipse into a state not parallel with the coordinate axes but tilted at 45° thereto. An interpolator is made on the assumption that the A-, B-phase sinusoidal signals are sinusoidal waves. Accordingly, a deviation from an ideal sinusoidal wave exerts an ill effect on the interpolation accuracy. In order to correct amplitude errors, phase errors and offsets in the A-, B-phase sinusoidal signals, devices for the purpose have been proposed in JP-A 10-311741 and JP-A 2003-222534, for example.
In the two-phase sinusoidal signals after such the amplitude error and so fourth are corrected, however, a deviation from an ideal sinusoidal signal waveform, or a waveform distortion, is large, and the distortion factor fluctuates greatly in particular as the interval between a main scale and an index scale fluctuates. The waveform distortion is mostly caused by higher harmonic components of odd degrees (third, fifth degree, and so forth). When the two-phase sinusoidal signals with such the fluctuating distortion factor is employed in measurements, a large measurement error arises.
Several technologies have been proposed to provide sinusoidal signals from which such the higher harmonic components are removed. For example, JP-A 3-48122 proposes a technology, which provides two rectangular grating patterns with a slight phase difference on a scale and sums the outputs therefrom to just cancel higher harmonic components. JP Patent No. 2695623 proposes another technology, in which a scale with uniform gratings and a scale with non-uniform gratings are combined to provide sinusoidal signals from which such the higher harmonic components are removed.
The technology of JP-A 3-48122 reduces the waveform distortion to some extent though the accuracy is not sufficient for application to position measurements in precise machining or the like. The system of JP Patent No. 2695623 requires precise creation of a duty factor between light and dark portions while the precise creation is difficult in a fine scale.
The present invention has an object to provide an encoder output signal correction apparatus and method capable of removing a third harmonic component contained in a sinusoidal signal using relatively simple digital computations, thereby improving the interpolation accuracy in an interpolator. It is also possible to improve robustness against offset errors, amplitude errors, phase errors and higher harmonic component errors due to non-uniformity of scales and non-uniformity of alignments in an encoder.

Encoder output signal correction apparatus and method


A noise parameter test setup allows accurately measuring the four noise parameters (Fmin, Rn, Γopt) of microwave transistors over a wide frequency range using two wideband directional couplers, instead of SPDT switches, to merge the s-parameter (signal) measurement path and the noise measurement path, avoiding thus the uncertainty of the switching repeatability of the SPDT switches and improving the measurement accuracy. Calibration of the system is the same as when using switches. Additional power control precautions of the VNA sources are necessary to avoid injecting large signal power into the sensitive noise receiver during s-parameter measurements and jamming the weak noise power during noise measurement.

This invention relates to testing and characterization of low noise microwave and RF transistors and amplifiers (device under test, DUT); the method disclosed comprises a test setup for data acquisition and processing for extracting the "four noise parameters" of said DUT. The test setup uses automatic microwave tuners in order to synthesize reflection factors (or impedances) at the input of said DUT and allow collecting the necessary data using appropriate high sensitivity receivers.
All RF two-ports using semiconductor devices (DUT) contain internal noise sources which affect the purity of the signal entering at the input port and exiting (amplified) at the output port. A common way of characterizing the "purity" of the DUT at each frequency and bias condition is the noise figure: F. One definition of the noise figure is the degradation of the signal to noise ratio (S/N) between the input and output port of the DUT: F=(S.in/N.in)/(S.out/N.out) (equation 1), whereby S.in and S.out are the signal power levels at the input and output of the DUT and N.in and N.out the corresponding noise power levels. Since the DUT adds to the transmitted signal its internal noise, the S/N ratio at the input is higher than at the output, therefore F>1.
It has been established (see reference 1) that four real numbers fully describe the noise behavior of any linear noisy two-port; these are the four noise parameters. By generally accepted convention the four noise parameters (4NP) are: Minimum Noise Figure (Fmin), Equivalent Noise Resistance (Rn) and Optimum Noise Admittance (Yopt=Gopt+j*Bopt) (see reference 1). The noise behavior of a two-port only depends on the admittance of the source and not of the load. The general relationship is: F(Ys)=Fmin+Rn/Re(Ys)*|Ys−Yopt|2 (equation 2).
F(Ys) in equation 2 being the noise figure of the chain including the DUT and the receiver, the natural law of cascaded noisy two-ports described by FRIIS (see reference 2) is used to extract the noise figure of the DUT itself: FRIIS' formula is: F.dut=F.total−(F.rec−1)/Gav.dut(Sij) (equation 3); hereby F.dut is the noise figure of the DUT, F.rec is the noise figure of the receiver and Gav.dut is the available Gain of the DUT for the given frequency and bias conditions. Whereas F.total can be measured directly (see reference 6) F.rec and Gav.dut depend both, (a) on the small signal properties of the DUT, which are customarily described using the s-parameters, and (b) on the source admittance Ys per equation 2 and reference 3; Sij are the DUT S-parameters (see reference 3).
During calibrations needed in order to extract the receiver noise figure in equation 3 and during measurements, when the signal flow is switched between noise path (516) and signal path (52) in FIG. 2, any mechanical switching repeatability error of the switches (53) and (510) will affect the result. This happens because the mechanical RF switches are part of the error-correction two-port, also called "error-box" (FIGS. 7 and 13); in that case, even good switches may create an error. This is due to the complex mathematical operations required in error-term component calculations (FIG. 13), which may amplify even small changes in measurement topology (switching changes the RF behavior of the measurement path, FIG. 6).
Commonly used prior art test setups are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2: Referring to prior art FIG. 1 the test system comprises: a calibrated noise source (52), an impedance tuner (60), a test fixture (10) to hold the DUT and a sensitive noise receiver (72). The tuner (60) and the noise receiver (72) are controlled by a system computer (not shown), which sets the source admittance Ys, created by the tuner, and retrieves digitally the associated noise measurement data from the noise receiver (72). After termination of the measurement session the computer program processes the measured data and extracts the four noise parameters of the DUT for a given frequency and DUT bias conditions. To measure DUT s-parameters the switches (54) and 64) are switched towards the network analyzer (70); to measure noise figure they are switched towards the noise source (52) and the noise receiver (72); it is this switching process which creates a measurement uncertainty and therefore a potential error, depending on the quality and repeatability of the switching process, since all calculations and corrections must assume that the switches are perfectly repeatable, which is rarely the case.
From equation 2 follows that, in order to determine the four noise parameters, one would have to take four measurements at four different source admittance values Ys. However, noise measurements are extremely sensitive and various disturbances cause measurement errors and uncertainties. It is therefore the accepted procedure to acquire more than four data points, at each frequency and extract the noise parameters using a linearization and error minimization technique. This method has been used and refined for many years (see reference 5 and FIGS. 1, 2 and reference 6) but is in general cumbersome and prone to insufficiencies, since the DUT may oscillate or the impedance tuner itself may create measurement errors, which are difficult to identify and eliminate if there are not enough data points to extract the four noise parameters from. The conclusion is that, to improve the reliability of the measurement one needs more data and elaborated extraction algorithms in order to deal with the noise parameter extraction problem as a statistical observation event.
In equation 3 the available gain of the DUT can only be calculated using the DUT s-parameters; these s-parameters must be accurate and measured, if possible immediately before the noise data acquisition, to avoid device drifting and allow calculations using equation 3. This is the reason for using RF switches in the measurement path (see reference 4 and FIGS. 1, 2). These switches allow fast toggling between the noise measurement path (516) and the s-parameter (signal) path (52) in FIG. 2. The problem is that those switches (see FIGS. 3 and 4) are not perfect. Their repeatability varies from unit to unit, deteriorates with increasing frequency and is limited (see FIG. 7); it may therefore create significant measurement errors and dispersion, both in DUT s-parameter measurement and noise measurement. This is due to the internal mechanics of the switches, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. As is shown in FIGS. 7 and 14 the repeatability of the switches itself is a potential source of error and affects the end result after calibrating the system.
This invention discloses a test setup that performs the same tasks as the traditional setup without using RF switches and the thereby associated un-correctable repeatability error.


A hunting arrow includes a shaft with a thin outer coating of an elastomeric material for silent draw and release of the arrow. The coating is preferably of a self lubricating material, with a non-reflective matte surface.

Bowhunting is a popular form of deer hunting and the key to a successful hunt is keeping quiet in the woods. Due to the nature of the weapon, the bowhunter must shoot from close range, and the closer the range, the more likely it is that the deer will hear the slightest noise made by the hunter. This is well known, and has been addressed in the past by the use of quiet clothing and by various attempts to eliminate noise from equipment.
The typical bowhunting arrow has a shaft of aluminum or other hard material. As the hunter draws the arrow, and then releases it, the sliding movement of an aluminum arrow shaft on the metal surface of an arrow rest produces noise which is audible to deer. Hunting literature tells of deer that were spooked and got away because of the sound of an arrow sliding on its rest. Leather, moleskin, Teflon, or other plastic coating on metal parts of the arrow rest are devices which have been used to prevent or soften these metal-on-metal sounds. These solutions are not entirely satisfactory. The materials or coatings are subject to wear, with resulting continuing change of the performance characteristics of the bow. Also, because of the wear, they have to be removed and replaced periodically.
It is an object of this invention to provide a bowhunting arrow which is inherently silent in use.


This invention relates to a process to increase the amount of polymer solute in a polymerization medium or effluent comprising introducing a fluorocarbon into the polymerization medium or effluent in an amount effective to increase the amount of polymer solute in the polymerization medium or effluent by at least 3% without causing precipitation of polymer solute from the polymerization medium or effluent, as compared to the same polymerization medium or effluent without the fluorocarbon present. This invention also relates to a process to reduce the viscosity of a polymerization medium or effluent comprising introducing a fluorocarbon into the polymerization medium or effluent in an amount effective to reduce the viscosity of the polymerization medium or effluent by at least 3% without causing precipitation of polymer solute from the polymerization medium or effluent, as compared to the same polymerization medium or effluent without the fluorocarbon present.

Unsaturated monomers, particularly olefin monomers, are polymerized in a variety of polymerization processes using a wide variety of catalysts and catalyst systems. One of the most common polymerization processes used in the production of olefin based polymers such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene, etc, is a solution based process. In such a process the formed polymer is dissolved in the polymerization medium. Often, the catalyst and monomer are also dissolved in the polymerization medium, but that is not a requirement of a "solution" process. In typical solution processes, the polymerization temperature may be at, above or below the melting point of the dry polymer. For example, in typical solution phase polyethylene processes, polymerization takes place in a hydrocarbon solvent at temperatures above the melting point of the polymer and the polymer is typically recovered by vaporization of the solvent and any unreacted monomer. In some cases solvents are used while in others, the monomer to be polymerized also acts as the solvent (e.g. a bulk process).
In each of these processes, there remain factors that influence not only the rate and volume at which the polymerization can run, but can also influence the properties of polymer produced. In a typical solution process, the polymer formed is dissolved in the solvent. The higher the concentration of the polymer in the solvent, the higher the viscosity of the polymerization reaction mixture (also called polymerization medium or medium) containing polymer, monomers and solvent. High viscosity in the polymerization reactor associated with solution process is often a limiting step for process efficiency and polymer production. High viscosity can lead to difficulties in efficient mixing in the reactor, difficulties in maintaining a homogeneous system, difficulties in avoiding product property drift (heterogeneity), and, process control problems. This is especially true for polymerization processes where the polymers produced are to have a molecular weight higher than the entanglement molecular weight. Higher operating temperature may help address these problems by reducing the viscosity of the polymerization medium, however the molecular weight of the polymer product tends to decrease with reaction temperature. Thus production of higher molecular weight polymers in solution processes is limited by the viscosity of the polymerization medium. This problem exists even with the advent of new catalyst systems. Metallocene catalysts (e.g. group 4-7 transition metal compounds having at least one cyclopentadienyl group attached to the metal) allow polymerizations to be performed at a high temperatures, such that a higher polymer concentration of higher molecular weight copolymers (e.g., 16-18 wt % for ethylene-propylene-diene monomer copolymers) can be achieved in the reactor effluent without significant operation difficulties as compared to a conventional solution process (e.g., 7-13 wt % at 30-50° C. for ethylene-propylene-diene monomer copolymers). Similarly, high reaction temperatures tend to improve the polymerization rate and solvent recovery in a solution process, however, the polymer concentration still tends to be much lower than that in an equivalent slurry process. Further, it is also difficult to produce high molecular weight polymers (>100 Mooney) in a solution process due to the nature of high viscosity of a polymer having a Mooney viscosity of 100 or more. Thus there is a need in the art for a means to reduce the viscosity and/or increase the polymer concentration in a solution polymerization process, among other things.
Likewise, viscosity and other characteristics of a polymer solution are also important factors in determining process parameters, such as throughput, volume, temperature and the like. In some systems, it is possible to have a higher amount of polymer solute present, however the viscosity of that solution makes it difficult to handle,—i.e. the more viscous the solution, the more difficult it is to pump and the more likely it is to foul. Thus the process may also be limited by solution viscosity and there is a need in the art for means to reduce solution viscosity while maintaining or even increasing solute concentration.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,470,143 discloses a process to produce a boiling-xylene soluble polymer in a slurry using certain fluorinated organic carbon compounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,990,251 discloses a gas phase process using a Ziegler-Natta catalyst system modified with a halogenated hydrocarbon, such as chloroform.
EP 0 459 320 A discloses polymerization in polar aprotic solvents, such as halogenated hydrocarbons.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,780,565 discloses dispersion polymerizations of polar monomers under super-atmospheric conditions such that the fluid is a liquid or supercritical fluid, the fluid being carbon dioxide, a hydrofluorocarbon, a perfluorocarbon or a mixture thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,878 discloses the polymerization using "constrained geometry metal complexes" of titanium and zirconium.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,534,698, U.S. Pat. No. 2,644,809 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,548,415 disclose preparation of butyl rubber type elastomers in fluorinated solvents.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,534,613 discloses use of hydrofluorocarbons as catalyst modifiers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,724 disclose the polymerization of vinyl aromatic monomers in suspension polymerization using fluorinated aliphatic organic compounds.
WO 02/34794 discloses free radical polymerizations in certain hydrofluorocarbons.
WO 02/04120 discloses a fluorous bi-phasic systems.
WO 02/059161 discloses polymerization of isobutylene using fluorinated co-initiators.
EP 1 323 746 shows loading of biscyclopentadienyl catalyst onto a silica support in perfluorooctane and thereafter the prepolymerization of ethylene at room temperature.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,056,771 discloses polymerization of ethylene using TiCl4/(Et)3Al in a mixture of heptane and perfluoromethylcyclohexane, presumably at room temperature, further a mixture of 30% perfluoromethylcyclohexane in heptane was used to cause the polymer in the slurry to float.
Additional references of interest include:
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