Pressure records and vertical particle velocity records from dual sensor towed streamer data are transformed to the inline wavenumber domain. A series of scaling filters are applied to the transformed vertical particle velocity records at each inline wavenumber, wherein each of the series of scaling filters is calculated for a different cross-streamer wavenumber range and in blocks of inline traces in which all seismic events are approximately linear. The pressure spectrum and the scaled vertical particle velocity spectrum are combined to separate upgoing and downgoing wavefield components. The separated upgoing and downgoing wavefield components are inverse-transformed back to the time-space domain.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of geophysical prospecting. More particularly, the invention relates to the field of marine seismic data processing.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the oil and gas industry, geophysical prospecting is commonly used to aid in the search for and evaluation of subterranean formations. Geophysical prospecting techniques yield knowledge of the subsurface structure of the earth, which is useful for finding and extracting valuable mineral resources, particularly hydrocarbon deposits such as oil and natural gas. A well-known technique of geophysical prospecting is a seismic survey. In a land-based seismic survey, a seismic signal is generated on or near the earth's surface which then travels downward into the subsurface of the earth. In a marine seismic survey, the seismic signal may also travel downward through a body of water overlying the subsurface of the earth. Seismic energy sources are used to generate the seismic signal which, after propagating into the earth, is at least partially reflected by subsurface seismic reflectors. Such seismic reflectors typically are interfaces between subterranean formations having different elastic properties, specifically sound wave velocity and rock density, which lead to differences in acoustic impedance at the interfaces. The reflected seismic energy is detected by seismic sensors (also called seismic receivers) at or near the surface of the earth, in an overlying body of water, or at known depths in boreholes and recorded.
The appropriate seismic sources for generating the seismic signal in land seismic surveys may include explosives or vibrators. Marine seismic surveys typically employ a submerged seismic source towed by a ship and periodically activated to generate an acoustic wavefield. The seismic source generating the wavefield may be of several types, including a small explosive charge, an electric spark or arc, a marine vibrator, and, typically, a gun. The seismic source gun may be a water gun, a vapor gun, and, most typically, an air gun. Typically, a marine seismic source consists not of a single source element, but of a spatially-distributed array of source elements. This arrangement is particularly true for air guns, currently the most common form of marine seismic source.
The appropriate types of seismic sensors typically include particle velocity sensors, particularly in land surveys, and water pressure sensors (typically water pressure gradient sensors), particularly in marine surveys. Sometimes particle acceleration sensors are used in place of or in addition to particle velocity sensors. Particle velocity sensors and water pressure sensors are commonly known in the art as geophones and hydrophones, respectively. Seismic sensors may be deployed by themselves, but are more commonly deployed in sensor arrays. Additionally, pressure sensors and particle velocity sensors may be deployed together in a marine survey, collocated in pairs or pairs of arrays.
In a typical marine seismic survey, a seismic survey vessel travels on the water surface, typically at about 5 knots, and contains seismic acquisition equipment, such as navigation control, seismic source control, seismic sensor control, and recording equipment. The seismic source control equipment causes a seismic source towed in the body of water by the seismic vessel to actuate at selected times. Seismic streamers, also called seismic cables, are elongate cable-like structures towed in the body of water by the seismic survey vessel that tows the seismic source or by another seismic survey ship. Typically, a plurality of seismic streamers are towed behind a seismic vessel. The seismic streamers contain sensors to detect the reflected wavefields initiated by the seismic source and reflected from reflecting interfaces. Conventionally, the seismic streamers contain pressure sensors such as hydrophones, but seismic streamers have been proposed that contain water particle velocity sensors such as geophones or particle acceleration sensors such as accelerometers, in addition to hydrophones. The pressure sensors and particle motion sensors may be deployed in close proximity, collocated in pairs or pairs of arrays along a seismic cable.
The resulting seismic data obtained in performing the survey is processed to yield information relating to the geologic structure and properties of the subterranean formations in the area being surveyed. The processed seismic data is processed for display and analysis of potential hydrocarbon content of these subterranean formations. The goal of seismic data processing is to extract from the seismic data as much information as possible regarding the subterranean formations in order to adequately image the geologic subsurface. In order to identify locations in the Earth's subsurface where there is a probability for finding petroleum accumulations, large sums of money are expended in gathering, processing, and interpreting seismic data. The process of constructing the reflector surfaces defining the subterranean earth layers of interest from the recorded seismic data provides an image of the earth in depth or time.
The image of the structure of the Earth's subsurface is produced in order to enable an interpreter to select locations with the greatest probability of having petroleum accumulations. To verify the presence of petroleum, a well must be drilled. Drilling wells to determine whether petroleum deposits are present or not, is an extremely expensive and time-consuming undertaking. For that reason, there is a continuing need to improve the processing and display of the seismic data, so as to produce an image of the structure of the Earth's subsurface that will improve the ability of an interpreter, whether the interpretation is made by a computer or a human, to assess the probability that an accumulation of petroleum exists at a particular location in the Earth's subsurface.
Dual sensor towed streamer reflection seismic data consist of pressure field and vertical particle velocity field records. A central element in the processing chain of seismic data is its separation into records containing only the upgoing and downgoing components of the pressure wavefields. This separation can be performed after transforming the data into the frequency-wavenumber (f−kx−ky) domain, taking both the difference between and the sum of, respectively the frequency-wavenumber spectrum of the pressure record and a scaled version of the frequency-wavenumber spectrum of the vertical particle velocity record, and dividing the resulting spectra by two. (Note that, by simply using the inverse of the previous scaling filter, one could alternatively obtain the upgoing and downgoing components of the vertical particle velocity wavefields by taking a sum of and a difference between, respectively, the frequency-wavenumber spectrum of the vertical particle velocity record and a scaled version of the frequency-wavenumber spectrum of the pressure record, and dividing the resulting spectra by two.) Inverse-transformation from the frequency-wavenumber domain back to the time-space domain yields the desired upgoing and downgoing wavefield components. In this process, only the vertical particle velocity record (or alternatively, only the pressure record) is changed by scaling. For non-evanescent energy, it is scaled in the frequency-wavenumber domain by a real filter which systematically increases with increasing wavenumber for a given frequency. However, spatial aliasing in the cross-streamer direction is all too common in marine seismic surveys. The, in the case of cross-streamer aliasing, energy is wrapped to a lower cross-streamer wavenumber ky. Subsequently, if these wrap-around effects in the wavenumber are not taken into account, then the scaling filter is computed from the wrong wavenumber, one that is too low. Thus, the aliased energy in the vertical particle velocity record (or alternatively, the pressure record) is scaled by filter coefficients that are consistently too low (or too high, respectively).
The superposition of upgoing and downgoing wavefield components in the original records causes a specific pattern of receiver ghost notches in the corresponding frequency-wavenumber spectra. Whenever the recorded energy is cancelled at a specific frequency-wavenumber combination in, for example, the spectrum of the pressure field, the corresponding recorded energy is maximal in the spectrum of the vertical particle velocity. However, this correspondence causes an incorrect separation of the upgoing and downgoing wavefield components at the notches in the frequency wavenumber spectrum of the pressure record (or, alternatively, the vertical particle velocity record). At these locations, the aliased energy is incorrectly scaled for the vertical particle velocity record (or alternatively, the pressure record), so that the resulting separated wavefield components are incorrectly computed.
Thus, a need exists for a method for separation of upgoing and downgoing wavefield components in 3D dual sensor towed streamer seismic data, which properly handles aliased energy in the cross-streamer direction.

Method for wavefield separation in 3D dual sensor towed streamer data with aliased energy in cross-streamer direction


A hologram decal including a hologram layer having first and second surfaces, a first polymer layer secured to the first hologram surface, a second polymer layer secured to the second hologram surface, a pressure sensitive adhesive layer disposed on the non-hologram side of one of the first and second polymer layers, and a release liner covering said pressure sensitive adhesive layer, and techniques for making the hologram decal.

The subject invention is directed generally to hologram structures, and more particularly to laminated decals that can be incorporated into a laminated identification card or the like.
Laminated identification cards such as those containing a photograph of the authorized card holder are widely used for security purposes. Laminated identification cards commonly include other human readable information as well as machine readable information contained on a magnetic strip for example.
An important consideration with laminated identification cards is counterfeiting and/or tampering. One approach to preventing counterfeiting and/or tampering is to incorporate human or machine readable holograms that are difficult into laminated identification cards so that tampering would result in damage to the hologram which would be rendered unreadable. Counterfeiting is prevented by utilizing a hologram whose construction is difficult to ascertain. However, holograms are fragile, and must remain viewable after being subject to identification card manufacturing processes, as well as normal wear and tear, and slight flexing. Some known techniques for incorporating holograms into identification cards do not provide sufficiently high yields in production. Other known techniques for incorporating holograms into identification cards reduce the destruction of the holograms but result in an identification card wherein the hologram can be removed without destroying the hologram, which defeats the purpose of providing indications of tampering.

Laminated hologram decals for identification cards and the like


An “inverse” precipitation route to precipitate aqueous soluble species with copolymers as nanoparticles having a hydrophilic, polar core and a less polar shell is described.

Protein and peptide therapeutics are a growing segment of the pharmaceutical marketplace. In eleven years, from 2001 to 2012, the global sales of pharmaceutical biologic therapeutics (biologics) more than tripled from $36 billion to $163 billion. In that same period, revenue generated by biologics within the top 10 selling pharmaceuticals increased from 7% to 71% (S. Peters, Biotech Products in Big Pharma Clinical Pipelines Have Grown Dramatically, Tufts CSDD Impact Report. 15 (2013) 1). Their specificity makes them ideal therapeutics for the treatment of a variety of diseases including cancer and AIDS. This specificity comes as a result of structural complexity, which is a strength of biologics for use as therapeutics and a challenge in trying to formulate and deliver them (S. Mitragotri, P. A. Burke, R. Langer, Overcoming the challenges in administering biopharmaceuticals: formulation and delivery strategies, Nat Rev Drug Discov. 13 (2014) 655-672).
While humanized antibodies may be long circulating, proteins and peptides can be cleared from the bloodstream in a matter of minutes either due to renal clearance or enzymatic degradation (A. K. Sato, M. Viswanathan, R. B. Kent, C. R. Wood, Therapeutic peptides: technological advances driving peptides into development, Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 17 (2006) 638-642). Therefore, delivery and extended release can require encapsulation of the biologic into nanocarriers (NCs) or microcarriers (MCs). NCs can be defined as having sizes below 400 nm, making them prospects for injectable formulations, and MCs can be defined as having sizes above 1-10 microns, so that they are appropriate for depot delivery. Requirements of NCs and MCs are high loading, high encapsulation efficiency, and an appropriate release profile of the biologic therapeutic.
The term "biologic" can encompass a range of therapeutics including peptides, oligonucleotides, polypeptides, polypeptide antibiotics, proteins, and antibodies. For example, a peptide may include a sequence of 1 to 40 amino acids. While there have been recent promising advances in oral delivery of biologics, the difficulty in translocating NCs through mucus layers and across the GI (gastrointestinal) tract epithelial layer makes this a less developed area than parenteral administration. However, the principles for NC formulation apply equally to oral or parenteral NCs. Examples of carriers include hydrogel carriers composed of water soluble polymers and non-swellable carriers composed of hydrophobic or solid matrices.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Process for encapsulating soluble biologics, therapeutics, and imaging agents


An indexing device has a first crown gear arranged on a first annular body secured to an indexing table, a second crown gear arranged on a second annular body secured to a housing, and a third crown gear arranged on an axially movable third annular body. The third crown gear can be taken out of and into engagement with the other annular crown gears by a hydraulically operable lifting and lowering device. A radial bearing supports the indexing table rotatably on the housing. The lifting device has one lifting piston which is fitted to move axially inside the housing and operates with the third crown gear. The lowering device can be hydraulically operated and has at least one hollow chamber which can be filled with fluid and is bounded on the one hand by the third crown gear. A fourth annular body engaged in an annular groove in the third annular body forms a guide for moving the third crown gear. This indexing device is compact, economical to produce, easy to fit and maintain and reliable in operation.

In an indexing device, such as disclosed in Japan A-2 041 850, the fourth annular body exclusively along its exterior periphery forms a guide for the longitudinally slidable third annular body. The known lifting and lowering device used at this point has two hollow chambers separated from one another by the fourth annular body and filled alternately with liquid. In the case of this known arrangement, hydraulically controllable separate lifting pistons are used exclusively. Because of such pistons, the indexing device is of large structural dimensions. Also, this arrangement provides non-optimum flux of force. With the lifting of the third annular body for the purposes of engagement and mating of the crown gears with one another, a favorable moment of force arises as a result of the offset of the third annular body projecting out further than the crown gears.
An indexing device is disclosed in German 26 28 677 C2 wherein the radial bearing of the indexing table is arranged between the two coaxial first and second annular bodies. Each annular body is provided with respectively first and second crown gears. Compared with the devices known until this time, the rotation factor error of this indexing table is decreased. Thus, the annular bodies supporting the crown gears in turn can be configured as supporting bodies and are manufactured with great precision on their bearing surfaces. Precise manufacturing of these rings is also required with regard to the crown gears provided on these annular bodies. The parts required for precision of rotation are to be accommodated in a narrow construction space. Since the annular bodies with their crown gears are manufactured precisely, the precision of the relevant parts and the rotation precision of the indexing table are, for the most part, guaranteed.
With the known arrangement, in order to slide the axially slidable third annular body axially upwardly and consequently to disengage its third crown gear from the two other crown gears of the other annular body, lifting pistons of a hydraulically operable lifting device are arranged in the housing of the indexing device around the periphery at predeterminable defined distances from one another. The lifting pistons undertake the decoupling or disconnecting process from the center, controlled by an auxiliary attachment. For the lowering process and consequently for bringing the crown gears, which in this case are called "Hirth gearings", into engagement with one another, the lifting pistons of the lifting device are made pressureless. A disk spring set engages on the relevant lifting piston and takes over the axial resetting movement. With the force of the spring set, the engagement of the third crown gear of the third annular body with the other crown gears is secured for further operation of the switching device.
This type of structural arrangement requires a plurality of lifting pistons and disk spring sets in the housing. The hydraulic control, including the necessary casing or lining, is costly. Furthermore, the lifting and lowering device in the known indexing devices is incorporated in the housing. Raising of the indexing table from the device by means of a lifting tool or the like for maintenance and assembly procedures is achievable only with great difficulty, which also increases the concomitant costs.
An alternative type of indexing table device, disclosed in German 21 37 698 C3, has a lowering device which is hydraulically operable, and, for this purpose, has hollow chambers which can be filled with liquid. The hollow chambers are arranged at the end of the third annular body incorporating the third crown gear, and are controlled and filled with liquid alternately to bring the third crown gear in or out of engagement with the two other crown gears for fastening and release of the indexing table. Consequently, with this known indexing device, a hydraulically controllable separate lifting piston is used exclusively. For the lifting of the third annular body with the third crown gear, the liquid pressure on the third annular body works on this body eccentrically and in addition to the crown gears. Also, with lowering of the third annular body, a nonuniform liquid pressure arises and works on it. This leads to lower the maximum power flux. The "backfilling" arising as a result of the nonuniform introduction of force between the annular bodies with their crown gears and tolerance compensation thus becoming required is attained by dividing the third annular body into two partial rings. The partial rings in turn are provided with a third crown gear and are connected with one another through an elastically flexible intermediate element. Because this intermediate element is subjected to corrosion or attrition, the rigidity required for reliable operation of the lifting and lowering device is lost. Also, the required mating precision of the crown gears fitting into one another for securing the indexing device is not guaranteed. Therefore, the lifting and lowering device of this known indexing device is of complicated construction and is accessible only with difficulty for maintenance and assembly.


An automatic guitar tuning case is a tuning system to automatically, synchronously, accurately and rapidly turn an acoustic guitar or electrical guitar with no requirement of modifying the guitar. It has six optical transducers to respectively detect and convert the vibration of associated six guitar strings to electric signals. A microcontroller unit compares the frequencies of these input signals to selected tones, and then controls six electric tuning wrenches for tuning the six guitar strings. The automatic tuning guitar system also consists of a control panel for a user to preset and select tuning pattern, operate and monitor the system. It only needs to take a few seconds to tune a guitar by this tuning device.

The following Patents describing automatic tuning devices use electromechanical devices to change or maintain pitch.
US Patent Application 20080006140, Adams, Jan. 10, 2008 "Device and Method for Automatic Tuning of a String Instrument in Particular a Guitar" discloses an automatic tuning devise for a guitar, by recording a tone and output of a corresponding digital signal to a comparator device for comparison of the digital signal with a digital signal corresponding to the desired tone, then adjust the tension of the string accordingly.
US Patent Application 20070240554, Hany, Oct. 18, 2007, "Musical tuning switcher" discloses that the invention is an attachable string tension control device for adjusting the pitch of each string of a musical instrument. Allowing an operator to switch instantly between a variety of pre-selected tunings.
US Patent Application 20070214935, Lyles, Sep. 20, 2007, "Stringed musical instrument using spring tension" discloses a stringed musical instrument employs springs to apply tension to corresponding musical strings. Each spring is chosen and configured for its ability to impart a string tension generally matched to the appropriate tension of the string at perfect tune.
US Patent Application 20060037459, Skinn, Feb. 23, 2006 "Apparatus and method for self-tuning stringed musical instruments with an accompanying vibrato mechanism" discloses that an automatic tuning guitar system for a stringed instrument is provided having a string adjustment assembly comprising a motor and gear assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,047, Cumberland, Aug. 21, 2001 "Apparatus for tuning stringed instruments" discloses a microprocessor-controlled tuning apparatus for a stringed instrument, wherein the tension of a string is detected by a sensor, compared with a reference value, and readjusted until the detected value conforms with the reference value.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,886,270, Wynn, Mar. 23, 1999 "An electromechanical tuner for stringed instruments" discloses that the invention is an automatic tuning guitar system for a stringed instrument. An input sensor detects the tone of a plucked string and converts it to a square wave of the detected frequency, which is compared by the microprocessor and energizes the solenoid for engaging the gear mechanism for tightening or loosening the string to obtain the required frequency.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,859,378 Freeland, Jan. 12, 1999 "Musical instrument self-tuning system with cape mode" discloses a control system for automatically tuning a stringed musical instrument with a capo installed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,824,929, Freeland, Oct. 20, 1998 "Musical instrument self-tuning system with calibration library" discloses a control system for automatically utilizing a library of calibration functions to tune a stringed musical instrument in a plurality of operating conditions without recalibration.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,437,226 Oudshoorn, et al. (2002)
U.S. Pat. No. 6,184,452 Long (2001)
U.S. Pat. No. 5,886,270 Wynn (1999)
U.S. Pat. No. 5,824,929 Freeland, et al. (1998)
U.S. Pat. No. 5,767,429 Milano, et al. (1998)
U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,970 Zacaroli (1996)
U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,793 Pattie (1994)
U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,797 Zacaroli (1992)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,550 Kugimoto (1990)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,908 Skinn, et al. (1989)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,923 Minnick (1986)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,715 Nourney (1980)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,052 Hedrick (1978)
These systems or devises are all need to be added on a musical instrument or modify the musical instrument and no one use optical pickup to tune a stringed musical instrument.


A method, computer readable storage, and apparatus for improving subdivision schemes for subdivision surfaces. The present method can correct distortion from the base mesh caused by prior art subdivision and smoothing schemes. In one embodiment, the method includes: (a) subdividing a curve having original vertices producing additional vertices; (b) smoothing the curve into smoothed vertices comprising smoothed original vertices and smoothed additional vertices; and (c) adjusting positions of the smoothed vertices.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to providing a general set of subdivision rules, which provides more control over the subdivision process. More particularly, the present invention provides a set of subdivision rules which blend approximating spline based schemes with interpolatory schemes, and allows any number of refinements to be performed in a single operation. The present invention also works for both triangles and quadrilaterals in the same mesh. The result is a subdivision scheme, which provides a more natural and desirable effect than existing rules.
2. Description of the Related Art
Subdivision surfaces are a popular modeling tool used in computer graphics. This is in part because these surfaces combine the benefits of both polygonal and NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline) modeling. Subdivision surfaces, like NURBS, allow users to model smooth surfaces by manipulating a small set of control vertices. A subdivision scheme defines how a base mesh is iteratively divided until a "smooth" surface is produced.
Current subdivision rules, such as the Catmull-Clark algorithm, can result in a surface that is smaller than the base mesh. For example, see FIG. 1, which illustrates a prior art method of subdividing a base mesh 100. The base mesh 100 is divided into a first subdivided surface 102, the first subdivided surface 102 is further divided into a second subdivided surface 104. The second subdivided surface 104 can be continuously divided, resulting in an approximation of a limit curve 106. Note how the limit curve 106 is smaller than the original base mesh 100. This "distortion" is a result of the subdivision and smoothing schemes used, and may not be what the user intended. Further, current subdivision schemes and smoothing schemes may produce unwanted effects.
Another limitation of the prior art is that a base shape, for example a square, can only be subdivided into a number of smaller pieces that is a power of 4. For example, a square can be subdivided into a 2×2 grid of 4 pieces, a 4×4 grid of 16 pieces, etc. However, the prior art subdivision schemes do not allow for a square to be subdivided into an arbitrary number of pieces, for example a 5×5 grid of 25 pieces.
The prior art also does not allow to mix triangles and quadrilaterals in the same base mesh. For example, the Catmull-Clark method works only with quadrilaterals, the Butterfly method only with triangles. What was generally done was to perform a first ad hoc subdivision step to transform general objects into triangles or quads only. The problem with this is that the resulting shape is then generally not very pleasing.
Therefore, what is needed, is a more flexible approach of creating improved subdivision surfaces.

Unified subdivision scheme for polygonal modeling


A differential communication system includes a first differential communication device including a differential transmitter, a second differential communication device including a differential receiver, and a differential isolator coupling the differential transmitter to the differential receiver. The differential receiver includes a comparator operative to develop waveform region information from the received waveform, a filter adapted to remove noise from the received waveform using the waveform region information, and an adaptive sampler adapted to adjust a received waveform sampling point after it has been filtered.

A battery electric vehicle, or BEV, is a type of electric vehicle (EV) that uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable electric vehicle batteries (EVBs), also known as "battery packs" and "traction batteries." BEVs use electric motors and motor controllers instead of (or in addition to) internal combustion engines for propulsion. A battery-only electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle derives all of its power from its battery packs while a pluggable hybrid electric vehicle derives part of its power from its battery packs and part of its power from an internal combustion engine.
Battery pack designs for Electric Vehicles (EVs) are complex and vary widely by manufacturer and specific application. However, they all incorporate a combination of several mechanical and electrical component systems which perform the basic required functions of the pack. Moreover, battery packs incorporate many discrete cells connected in series and parallel to achieve the total voltage and current requirements of the pack. Battery packs can contain several hundred individual cells.
To assist in manufacturing and assembly, the large stack of cells is typically grouped into smaller stacks called modules. Several of these modules will be placed into a single pack. Within each module the cells are welded together to complete the electrical path for current flow. Modules can also incorporate cooling mechanisms, temperature monitors, and other devices. In most cases, modules also allow for monitoring the voltage produced by each battery cell in the stack by a battery management system, or "BMS." The battery pack also contains a variety of other sensors, such as temperature and current sensors, which are monitored by the BMS. BMS can also be responsible for communications with the world outside the battery pack.
There are generally a number of battery management systems in a battery electric vehicle. These systems may comprise a printed circuit board with discrete and/or integrated circuits and provide a number of sensor and communication protocols. In particular, battery management systems typically digitally communicate with a master battery controller and may communicate with other battery management systems.
Digital communication in the harsh environment of a battery electric vehicle can be problematical. For example, there may be common mode voltages in the tens of volts between various parts of the system. Since digital communication typically uses much lower voltages, the common mode voltages can be a problem. Furthermore, the battery electric vehicle environment may generate very high frequency noise, e.g. 100 MHz and above, which can disrupt the logic a BMS.
Because of the problems of differential communication in noisy environments, Manchester coding is sometimes used. However, prior art methods of decoding Manchester coded data are, themselves, prone to error due to a number of factors including oscillator mismatches between transmitting and receiving devices.

Method and apparatus for differential communications


A technique is provided for automatically generating a bone mask in CTA angiography. In accordance with the technique, an image data set may be pre-processed to accomplish a variety of function, such as removal of image data associated with the table, partitioning the volume into regionally consistent sub-volumes, computing structures edges based on gradients, and/or calculating seed points for subsequent region growing. The pre-processed data may then be automatically segmented for bone and vascular structure. The automatic vascular segmentation may be accomplished using constrained region growing in which the constraints are dynamically updated based upon local statistics of the image data. The vascular structure may be subtracted from the bone structure to generate a bone mask. The bone mask may in turn be subtracted from the image data set to generate a bone-free CTA volume for reconstruction of volume renderings.

The present invention relates generally to the field of medical imaging and particularly to the field of volumetric medical imaging. Specifically, the invention relates to a technique for segmenting bone and vasculature data in computed tomography.
Volumetric medical imaging technologies use a variety of techniques to gather three-dimensional information about the body. For example, computed tomography (CT) imaging system measure the attenuation of X-ray beams passed through a patient from numerous angles. Based upon these measurements, a computer is able to reconstruct images of the portions of a patient's body responsible for the radiation attenuation. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, these images are based upon separate examination of a series of angularly displaced cross sections. It should be pointed out that a CT system produces data that represent the distribution of linear attenuation coefficients of the scanned object. The data are then reconstructed to produce an image that is typically displayed on a cathode ray tube, and may be printed or reproduced on film.
For example, in the field of CT angiography (CTA), vasculature and other circulatory system structures may be imaged, typically by administration of a radio-opaque dye prior to imaging. Visualization of the CTA data typically is performed in a two-dimensional manner, i.e., slice-by-slice, or in a three-dimensional manner, i.e., volume visualization, which allows the data to be analyzed for vascular pathologies. For example, the data may be analyzed for aneurysms, vascular calcification, renal donor assessment, stent placement, vascular blockage, and vascular evaluation for sizing and/or runoff. Once a pathology is located, quantitative assessments of the pathology may be made of the on the original two-dimensional slices.
The CTA process may include processes for segmenting structures in the image data, such as the vasculature and/or the bone structures. Such segmentation typically involves identifying which voxels of the image data are associated with a particular structure or structures of interest. Segmented structures may then be viewed outside of the context of the remainder of the image data or may be masked from the remainder of the image data to allow otherwise obstructed structure to be viewed. For example, in CTA, segmentation may be performed to identify all voxels associated with the vasculature, allowing the entire circulatory system in the imaged region to be extracted and viewed. Similarly, all voxels of the bone structures may be identified and masked, or subtracted, from the image data, allowing vasculature and/or other structures which might otherwise be obscured by the relatively opaque bone structures to be observed during subsequent visualization.
However, segmentation of vasculature and bone structures may be complicated by a variety of factors. For example, in CTA, overlapping image intensities, close proximity of imaged structures, limited detector resolution, calcification, and interventional devices may make the identification and segmentation of bone and vascular structures difficult. Furthermore, anatomic regions and sub-regions of complex anatomy within the imaging volume may benefit from differential processing techniques. In particular, the complex landscape of the bone and vasculature in the head and neck region, may benefit from differential processing based on distinct sub-regions within the overall regions.
Because of these complicating factors, existing segmentation techniques may improperly exclude image data from the segmented structure due to poor edge recognition and/or non-homogeneities in the image data. Such exclusions may potentially result in early or erroneous termination of the segmentation technique. Furthermore, splits or mergers in the structure of interest may not be properly segmented by existing techniques due to these shortcomings. Alternatively, overlapping intensity ranges and/or poor edge recognition may result in the improper inclusion of proximate background regions in the segmented structure, leading to late termination of the segmentation process.
As a result, proper segmentation of a complex or contiguous three-dimensional structure, such as the vasculature around the head and neck region, may require operator intervention or input. In particular, operator intervention may be needed to designate initial start points and/or to prevent the inadvertent inclusion or exclusions of volume data from the segmented structure. For example, the operator may manually remove bone by drawing contours around bone on a few slices and building up the bone structure to be removed. Based on the results, the operator may repeat this process for the slices in question until a satisfactory result in achieved, at which time the operator may proceed to the next set of slices to be iteratively processed in this manner. This process may be particularly difficult in the head and neck region due to the poor bone boundaries observed via CT and other imaging modalities. Furthermore, the shape of the bone may change rapidly in the space of a few slices, preventing the operator from using the same contour as an initial reference in more than a few slices. As a result, the operator may have to redraw or reset the contour repeatedly throughout the process, potentially taking over an hour to process an imaged head and neck volume. In addition, the operator intervention may lead to inter- and intra-user variability in the segmentation of structures.
Due to the labor intensiveness of this process, the operator may attempt to reduce the processing time by limiting the process to a region or volume of interest corresponding to the location of the pathology. Limiting the process in this manner, however, does not take full advantage of the entire set of volume data available. Furthermore, limiting the processing to the known or suspected region of a pathology may prevent additional pathologies which are obscured from being discovered, despite the availability of the data. It may, therefore, be desirable to automate the process for segmentation, extraction and masking of structure in the CTA process for complex anatomic regions, such as the head and neck.

Method and apparatus for segmenting structure in CT angiography


A multiple pass machining method for removing excess flash from a formed part to approximate a desired, curved profile on the formed part includes moving the part relative to a grinder in p straight passes, wherein a first pass removes a portion of flash is at an angle E relative to a stack axis of the part and each remaining straight pass is at an incremental angle F. A portion of the flash is thereby removed to approximate a master profile on an abraded edge of the part.

This invention relates generally to manufacturing of parts having a curved profile, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for machining formed parts that are particularly suited, but not limited to, the manufacturing of airfoils.
An airfoil chord and length trimming operation is performed during manufacturing of compressor blades or vanes. This process produces square burred edge shapes that are aerodynamically unacceptable. The leading edge shape of the airfoil is formed in a secondary operation to produce a radiused leading edge that is aerodynamically acceptable. Acceptability of the leading edge shape is determined by comparing the shape of the airfoil leading edge shape against a predetermined required aerodynamic shape in the form of a reticule. Reticules are created for each required inspection section from an aerodynamic glass master. There is an applicable machining tolerance that allows variation in accordance with the capability of the process.
At least two known methods are currently used to produce leading edge aerodynamic profiles. The first method is a manual operation in which an operator holds onto the part and presses the airfoil edge against a rotating abrasive wheel or belt while moving it through a series of motions to generate the correct edge shape. Edges are then tumbled in an abrasive medium for further rounding. Disadvantages of this method include variability in the consistency of the edge profile and the time required to perform the task, both of which depend upon the skill level of the operator.
A second known method effectively replaces the operator in the first method with a six-axis machine or robot, which is also used in conjunction with a secondary tumble process in an abrasive medium. Multiple passes have been necessary to remove sufficient material before the secondary tumble process can be used to produce the required aerodynamic shape, because satisfactory approximations have not been available to generate sufficiently accurate edge profiles.

Methods and apparatus for machining formed parts to obtain a desired profile


Disclosed are improved polymer materials. Also disclosed are fine fiber materials that can be made from the improved polymeric materials in the form of microfiber and nanofiber structures. The microfiber and nanofiber structures can be used in a variety of useful applications including the formation of filter materials.

The invention relates to polymeric compositions with improved properties that can be used in a variety of applications including the formation of fibers, microfibers, nanofibers, fiber webs, fibrous mats, permeable structures such as membranes, coatings or films. The polymeric materials of the invention are compositions that have physical properties that permit the polymeric material, in a variety of physical shapes or forms, to have resistance to the degradative effects of humidity, heat, air flow, chemicals and mechanical stress or impact. The invention also pertains generally to the field of filter-type media for the filtration of fluids including gaseous and liquid materials. The filter media includes at least a micro- or nanofiber web layer in combination with a substrate material in a mechanically stable filter structure. These layers together provide excellent filtering, high particle capture, efficiency at minimum flow restriction when a fluid such as a gas or liquid passes through the filter media. The substrate can be positioned in the fluid stream upstream, downstream or in an internal layer. A variety of industries have directed substantial attention in recent years to the use of filtration media for filtration, i.e. the removal of unwanted particles from a fluid such as gas or liquid. The common filtration process removes particulate from fluids including an air stream or other gaseous stream or from a liquid stream such as a hydraulic fluid, lubricant oil, fuel, water stream or other fluids. Such filtration processes require the mechanical strength, chemical and physical stability of the microfiber and the substrate materials. The filter media can be exposed to a broad range of temperature conditions, humidity, mechanical vibration and shock and both reactive and non-reactive, abrasive or non-abrasive particulates entrained in the fluid flow. Further, the filtration media often require the self-cleaning ability of exposing the filter media to a reverse pressure pulse (a short reversal of fluid flow to remove surface coating of particulate) or other cleaning mechanism that can remove entrained particulate from the surface of the filter media. Such reverse cleaning can result in substantially improved (i.e.) reduced pressure drop after the pulse cleaning. Particle capture efficiency typically is not improved after pulse cleaning, however pulse cleaning will reduce pressure drop, saving energy for filtration operation. Such filters can be removed for service and cleaned in aqueous or non-aqueous cleaning compositions. Such media are often manufactured by spinning fine fiber and then forming an interlocking web of microfiber on a porous substrate. In the spinning process the fiber can form physical bonds between fibers to interlock the fiber mat into an integrated layer. Such a material can then be fabricated into the desired filter format such as cartridges, flat disks, canisters, panels, bags and pouches. Within such structures, the media can be substantially pleated, rolled or otherwise positioned on support structures.
In making non-woven fine fiber filter media, a variety of materials have been used including fiberglass, metal, ceramics and a wide range of polymeric compositions. A variety of techniques have been used for the manufacture of small diameter micro- and nanofibers. One method involves passing the material through a fine capillary or opening either as a melted material or in a solution that is subsequently evaporated. Fibers can also be formed by using "spinnerets" typical for the manufacture of synthetic fiber such as nylon. Electrostatic spinning is also known. Such techniques involve the use of a hypodermic needle, nozzle, capillary or movable emitter. These structures provide liquid solutions of the polymer that are then attracted to a collection zone by a high voltage electrostatic field. As the materials are pulled from the emitter and accelerate through the electrostatic zone, the fiber becomes very thin and can be formed in a fiber structure by solvent evaporation.
As more demanding applications are envisioned for filtration media, significantly improved materials are required to withstand the rigors of high temperature 100° F. to 250° F. and up to 300° F., high humidity 10% to 90% up to 100% RH, high flow rates of both gas and liquid, and filtering micron and submicron particulates (ranging from about 0.01 to over 10 microns) and removing both abrasive and non-abrasive and reactive and non-reactive particulate from the fluid stream.
Accordingly, a substantial need exists for polymeric materials, micro- and nanofiber materials and filter structures that provide improved properties for filtering streams with higher temperatures, higher humidities, high flow rates and said micron and submicron particulate materials.


The sharing an image of a local participant in a group with at least one other participant in that group commences by establishing, for that local participant, orientation information indicative of an orientation of the communication channel local participant relative to a display screen and a video camera. The local participant sends his or her image of the local participant along with the orientation information to at least one other participant. The orientation information enables display of the image of the local participant with a common orientation recognized by the at least one other participant.

In the early days of radio and television, a small number of nationwide networks broadcast entertainment for contemporaneous audience consumption, thereby providing a common cultural experience shared by large segments of the population. Now, many more sources of content exist and many content subscribers have the ability to record content for time-shifted viewing or for viewing-on-demand. The ability of individual content subscribers to select content from an ever-increasing array of content has significantly diluted the cultural experience of large audiences viewing the same content simultaneously because of desire of content subscribers to consume the same content as others in their social network at substantially the same time.
Various techniques exist to facilitate the simultaneous sharing of content. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,653,545 by Redmann et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 7,518,051 by Redmann both teach a distributed musical performance system that includes a distributed transport control. The distributed musical performance system disclosed in these patents enable substantial synchronization of the execution of commands to play, pause, rewind, fast-forward, and stop media playback at each location, regardless of network latency.
Other efforts to share content include the integration by the cable television network CNN of a video feed of President Obama's inauguration with a parallel Facebook-based feed so participants could see comments made by friends in real-time. Unfortunately, not all participants enjoyed a synchronized video feed, so some comments appeared long before or long after viewing of the actual event.
One company, frog design inc now provides an application for the iPhone called "tvChatter" that uses Twitter as a background service to collect and redistribute contemporaneous commentary for live broadcasts of new television episodes. Unfortunately, content subscribers in an earlier time zone can enter comments about portions of the content net yet viewed by content subscribers in a later time, leading to complaints of "spoiling" the outcome of television programs, which can significantly detract from sharing comments on elimination-based reality shows or suspenseful dramas.
Other efforts to share content include the ability of certain gaming consoles, most notably the Microsoft Xbox 360, to implement a Netflix movie-streaming application that offers the option to "Watch with Party." After a Netflix and Xbox Live account holder logs in, the account holder's Xbox Live avatar becomes the participant's on-screen persona. The participant can select "Start Party" and invite other, Xbox Live and Netflix subscribers currently on-line to join the party. The account holder that initiated the "party" can select movies from the regular Netflix catalog by browsing posters in the hierarchical arrangement (e.g., by theme, by genre, by rating, by similarity to other movies, etc.). Invited party members can select movies, which appear as suggestions. After selection of a suggested movie, the application performs a bandwidth test for video quality. Assuming sufficient bandwidth exists, the application launches, causing an on-screen image of a theatrical venue to appear, and the party members' avatars then enter and take seats. The movie begins playing on the screen within the simulated theatrical venue. The participants can have their corresponding avatars "emote" by selecting one of eight or so choices, in response to which the participant's avatar will make arm gesture and mime catcalls or cheers. A transport control allows the party members to pause, rewind, fast-forward, and resume playback across all the party member platforms.
Another example of content sharing includes video conferencing. Many organizations now maintain special facilities for video conferencing that offer one or more video screens and video cameras. Using such a facility, a panel of participants can "meet" with one or more participants at one or more remote sites. Such video conferencing facilities allow the sharing of presentation materials, for example Microsoft PowerPoint® slides. Further, such video conferencing facilities can include special video cameras for capturing images of physical documents to share among participants. Several vendors, including Cisco Systems, sell cameras, monitors, lighting systems, and video networking equipment to establish a video conferencing facility having the ability to exchange video and audio among other video conferencing facilities.
Cisco has also published a telepresence interoperability protocol (TIP) to improve the ability of video conferencing facilities to interoperate with each other even when using equipment from different manufacturers. The Internet Engineering Task Force now has under review a more general but competing standard "Controlling Multiple Streams for Telepresence" (CLUE).
Despite the various efforts to share content, difficulties persist. Thus, a need exists for a system, which affords simultaneous sharing of content across a distributed audience.

Telepresence communications system and method


This facsimile device comprises inputting means for inputting image data of a subject copy having a width in a main scanning direction larger than an A3-size width, reading means for divisively reading lines of the image data in a sub-scanning direction by dividing the image data into divisional lines of data having a predetermined width, image rotating means for performing an image rotation with respect to each of the divisional lines of data so as to supply rotated divisional lines, encoding means for encoding each of the rotated divisional lines into encoded data, and outputting means for outputting the encoded data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a facsimile device and a controlling method thereof, and more particularly, to a facsimile device reading and transmitting a large-size subject copy, and a controlling method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, when a facsimile device reads and transmits a large-size subject copy, the conventional facsimile device divides image data of the subject copy in a main-scanning direction, and transmits the divided image data of the subject copy.
However, according to the above-mentioned conventional method, when a size of the subject copy is longer in a sub-scanning direction than a recording paper having a standard size, the subject copy needs to undergo a further dividing process in a device receiving the transmitted image data of the subject copy, depending on a size of a recording paper set in the receiving device.

Facsimile device reading lines of image data divisively in a sub-scanning direction


A reprographic machine having a plurality of operating subsystems employs a setup procedure that prevents use for copying until all subsystems reach operating conditions. To avoid the need for time lost in the setup procedure where a power shut down is short, a bypass system, which senses the duration of the shut down, is utilized to allow prompt return to the copy function. Heated elements, such as fuser rolls, motors, and the like can be utilized to provide a timing function, based on temperature decay characteristics relative to time. The sensed temperature can be used as a control parameter for allowing bypass of the setup procedures.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to setup systems for machinery having a plurality of subsystems. The invention relates particularly to such setup systems for reprographic machines and more particularly to systems for bypassing such setup systems.
2. Description of Related Art
Many types of machinery having a plurality of subsystems, particularly reprographic machines, include lengthy setup systems that are initiated when the equipment is first turned on to assure that all of the subsystems are in operational condition prior to use of the machine, for example, to make copies. These setup systems are normally implemented in process control algorithms resident in the operating software of the machine. Particularly, these process control algorithms are uncertain of how long the machine has been turned off. Thus the machine cannot determine whether there has been a lengthy shut down, extending for hours or days, or a momentary shut down, extending for 5-30 seconds. The shut down creates the need for the photoreceptor and development system to undergo a rest/recovery cycle and if this time of recovery is unknown, then, to ensure copy quality, a full set up procedure must occur prior to making a copy, whenever the machine is turned on, even if the duration of the shut down is only a few seconds.
This is disadvantageous because there are many instances when a software anomaly will occur which is difficult to clear through normal machine commands. Under these circumstances, it is common to momentarily turn the reprographic machine off so that the software systems will be reinitialized and the machine will be ready to make copies when it is turned back on. Under these conditions, the subsystems such as the photoreceptor and the fuser are substantially at operating conditions and normal copying could commence. However, the process control algorithms do not recognize this condition and require the machine to cycle through a full setup procedure. This results in postponing the availability of the machine to make copies, thereby resulting in loss of production by reason of unnecessary down time. Operator frustration also occurs because of an unnecessary waiting period before copies can be made.


The apparatus comprises a device which explores without contact the inner contour of the frame rim (16) and employs an optical device (30) for sensing the image of characteristic points of the rim inner contour, an analyzer for analyzing the sensed images for determining the spatial coordinates of the characteristic points, and a calculating device for reconstituting the shape and/or the profile of the contour of the frame rim from these spatial coordinates.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically taking a reading of the shape and/or the profile of the inner contour of a rim of a frame of glasses.
To construct pairs of corrective glasses by an automated procedure it must be possible to effect precisely and automatically the grinding of the lenses of these glasses with a grinding machine controlled with data, which include in particular the geometrical parameters providing an exact definition of the shape and profile of the outer contour of the lenses. These parameters depend, on one hand, on the physiological parameters of the user of the pair of glasses, such as in particular the distance between the pupils of the eyes and the position of the eye with respect to the lens and, on the other hand, on the shape and/or the profile of the inner contour of the frame rim of the glasses receiving the lens.
Many methods and devices have been proposed which permit automatically taking a reading of the last-mentioned data. However, it has been found that all the devices employed at the present time do not permit obtaining a sufficient precision of the reading or a sufficiently fine definition, in particular owing to the use of mechanical followers which are only rarely perfectly adapted to the profile of the inner contour of the rim explored by the followers, as well as a complete angular scanning of this inner contour.

Apparatus for automatically taking a reading of the shape and/or the profile of the inner contour of a frame rim of glasses


Aspiration tubing for use in a phacoemulsification system is provided having a modified lumen that enhances resistance of fluid flow through the lumen to reduce post-occlusion surge, the modification comprising recesses or protuberances formed in the interior surface of the lumen, a freely-moving object disposed in the flow path of the lumen, or one or more bends.

The crystalline lens of the human eye transmits and focuses light and is located behind the iris attached to the wall of the eye by suspensory ligaments known as the zonules. The lens consists of a more rigid central nucleus surrounded by peripheral cortical material, which has a softer consistency. A fine membrane known as the capsule contains the entire lens.
Cataract formation refers to a loss of transparency of the crystalline lens of the eye and is a common occurrence with age. This results in a progressive reduction in vision, which can be restored with surgery. Cataract surgery involves removal of the cataractous lens and insertion of a plastic intraocular lens to replace the crystalline lens. Removal of the cataractous lens is accomplished using ultrasonic energy to fragment and aspirate the lens by a technique known as phacoemulsification.
During such surgery, a central opening is formed in the anterior portion of the capsule to permit access to the lenticular material. An ultrasonic handpiece, typically including a needle having an outer wall and central lumen, is then inserted, contacted against and caused to fragment the lens. An elastomeric sleeve surrounding the needle provides a conduit irrigating the eye to replace material aspirated through the needle. Once the nuclear material of the lens has been removed with the assistance of ultrasonic energy, softer cortical material may be aspirated with an irrigation/aspiration cannula.
In both phases of the procedure it is important that the anterior chamber is maintained at a positive pressure and constant volume to prevent collapse, so as to prevent trauma to sensitive ocular tissues. Contact with the endothelial cells lining the posterior surface of the cornea or the iris can result in irreparable damage. Even more common is inadvertent contact or aspiration of the posterior capsule, which prevents the escape of the fluid contained in the posterior chamber of the eye known as the vitreous humour. Such inadvertent contact may result in rupture of the posterior capsule membrane.
Rupture of the posterior capsule and loss of the vitreous humour increases the risk of retinal detachment and cystoid macular oedema after cataract surgery, with subsequent loss of vision. Furthermore if the posterior capsule is disrupted during surgery it may not be feasible to properly place an intraocular lens in in the capsular bag remnant of the original lens, again resulting in a less favorable outcome than might be anticipated in uncomplicated surgery.
Maintaining a stable pressure and volume in the anterior chamber when performing phacoemulsification is of paramount concern. Optimal fluid dynamics implies sustaining a stable pressure and volume in the anterior chamber when performing phacoemulsification. Aspiration of fluid from the anterior chamber must be balanced by adequate infusion. The desired state of fluid balance may be summarized in the equation: Fi=Fo−Inflow (Fi) should equal Outflow (Fo). To avoid chamber collapse the pressure in anterior chamber (Pac) also must be greater than atmospheric pressure (Pa) and greater than vitreous pressure (Pv)−Pac>Pa>Pv.
The pressure in the anterior chamber depends on the infusion pressure, which is the difference between the irrigation pressure head (Pi), related to the irrigation bottle height, and the drop in pressure due to resistance to the inflow of irrigation fluid (Pd)−Pa=Pi−Pd. The anterior chamber pressure preferably should be maintained at a constant level to avoid alterations in chamber volume, which manifest as an unstable chamber during surgery.
A conventional apparatus used in cataract surgery includes a console containing a pump system used to generate vacuum and flow as well as the electrical circuitry that provides energy and control for the phacoemulsification handpiece. The pump systems are connected to the phacoemulsification handpiece and irrigation and aspiration cannula by tubing so that fluid and lens material can be aspirated from the eye.
Several types of pump systems are known for providing aspiration of fluid and lens material during phacoemulsification and cortical aspiration. The first type are positive fluid displacement pumps, such as a peristaltic pump. In such systems, fluid flow is generated by drawing suction through the tubing and significant vacuum may be achieved if the tubing becomes occluded. In other pump systems, such as a venturi pump, suction is generated in a cassette and the subsequent flow and aspiration of fluid from the eye is related to that preset suction level.
For either pump system, the sequence of removal of nuclear and cortical material is similar. Fluid is aspirated from the anterior chamber via suction applied through the phacoemulsification needle or irrigation/aspiration cannula and the associated aspiration tubing. This suction attracts nuclear or cortical material to the needle or cannula and may result in larger fragments occluding the tip or aspiration port.
The suction level within the tubing then rises until the negative pressure generated overcomes the resistance of the lenticular material, which is then aspirated down the tubing. This in turn causes a rapid equalization of pressure between the anterior chamber and the rest of the system, with a concomitant rapid increase in flow and drop in chamber pressure. This phenomenon is typically referred to as "post occlusion surge" and may cause a forward movement of the posterior capsule as the chamber pressure and volume fluctuates.
Vacuum applied by the phacoemulsification handpiece may be modulated by foot pedal control, thereby causing the pump system to respond by venting or equalizing the pressure in the system either to fluid or to air. The venting, however, occurs, some distance from the handpiece and anterior chamber and there is typically a lag before the vacuum in the tubing is restored to a positive pressure and the pressure in the anterior chamber is restored to the normal resting or unoccluded level.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to reduce the surge in flow rate that occurs with rapid fluctuations in vacuum pressure associated with occlusion of the phacoemulsification needle. Such control advantageously could reduce fluctuations in chamber pressure and shorten the time to attain equilibrium pressure, thereby enhancing safety of the surgical procedure and reducing the risk of inadvertent rupture of the posterior capsule.
One potential method for reducing fluid surges in the aspiration tubing is to reduce the maximum vacuum levels that are generated by the pump system. High vacuum levels, however, are advantageous in capturing fragments of nuclear material so that the fragments may be fractured into smaller pieces. It is therefore desirable to maintain high vacuum levels while reducing the high flow rates associated with surges that occur at those high levels of vacuum.
Another approach is to increase the resistance in the aspiration tubing by reducing the lumen or increasing the length of the aspiration tubing. While reducing the lumen size may be effective, the internal diameter of typical phacoemulsification tubing is generally about 1.5 mm, and any further reduction in diameter is likely to result in obstruction of the aspiration tubing by lens material. Increasing the tubing length may be accomplished by coiling the tubing to add further hydrodynamic resistance. In both cases, however, the increased resistance of the tubing exists for all vacuum levels. This is undesirable, as it would be preferable to maintain undiminished aspirational flow rates at low vacuum levels to facilitate attraction of lens fragments prior to occlusion.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a phacoemulsification system including flow adaptive aspiration tubing that automatically increases flow resistance in response to higher flow rates.
It further would be desirable to provide a phacoemulsification system including flow adaptive aspiration tubing that induces turbulent flow at lower flow velocities.
It would be yet further desirable to provide a phacoemulsification system including flow adaptive aspiration tubing that provides improved anterior chamber stability at higher vacuum levels.

Flow adaptive aspiration tubing and devices


A device comprises a semiconductor chip including an edge elongated in a first direction. A plurality of first pads is formed on the semiconductor chip. The first pads are substantially equal in length in the first direction to each other. A second pad is formed on the semiconductor chip. The second pad is greater in length in the first direction than the first pads. The first pads and the second pad are arranged in a line elongated in the second direction, that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction, without an intervention of any one of the first pads between the second pad and the edge.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly to an arrangement of a plurality of pads formed on a semiconductor chip included in a semiconductor device.
A semiconductor chip included in a semiconductor device has a plurality of pads, which are connected to external terminals. During a manufacturing process of the semiconductor chip, a probe needle of a test device for an electric test (pellet-on-wafer (P/W) test) is pressed against some of those pads.
A related semiconductor device is disclosed in JP-A 11-87441 (Patent Literature 1). When a probe needle is pressed against a pad for probing, a surface of the pad is scarred by the needle, making it difficult or uncertain to connect a bonding wire to that pad (bonding). In order to avoid such a situation, the related semiconductor device is configured such that a pad used for an electric test, which is hereinafter referred to as a dual-function pad, has a probe needle area against which a probe needle is pressed and a bonding wire area to which a bonding wire is connected. In other words, the dual-function pad is formed so as to have a larger area (larger pad area) as compared to a pad that is used for bonding but is not used for an electric test, which is hereinafter referred to as a dedicated pad.


An inlet assembly for an aircraft engine nacelle includes an inner barrel, an outer barrel radially spaced from the inner barrel, and a rear support for supporting the outer barrel relative to the inner barrel. The rear support includes at least one radially extending stiffener and at least one energy absorber defining a zone of deformation adjacent the inner barrel. The rear support is deformable in the zone of deformation in response to forces applied during a fan blade-out event to prevent fracture of the rear support.

One type of jet engine typically used on large commercial airliners is a turbofan jet engine. Such turbofan engines have a compressor, combustor and turbine, and include a fan mounted on the front of the engine. These fans, some as large as 10 feet in diameter, draw air into the engine. Some of the air is sent to the compressor and the combustor, while the rest bypasses these components through ducts along the outside of the engine. The fans include fan blades that rotate at speeds up to approximately 9,000 rpm during operation of the engine and are enclosed in a fan housing that radially surrounds the fan. Turbofan engines for airliners typically include a nacelle that at least partially surrounds the engine and provides an aerodynamic shell to minimize drag. Typical nacelles generally comprise an inlet assembly located in front of the fan, generally being attached to the fan housing and shaped to direct air into the engine, a fan cowl that encloses the fan, and a thrust reverser adjacent the rear part of the engine.
The inlet assemblies for turbofan jet engine nacelles typically include an inner barrel, an outer barrel, a forward bulkhead, and an aft bulkhead which spans between the inner and outer barrel. Typically, the aft bulkhead is an annular metal plate that is designed to fracture during the initial (albeit extremely unlikely) impact of a fan blade-out event or during the subsequent loads from the windmilling effect of the unbalanced fan. During a fan blade-out event, the fan blade impacts the fan housing at a high rate of speed generating a large impact force that is transmitted from the fan housing to the inlet assembly attached to the housing. After a fan blade-out event, the engine is shut down but the fan can continues to rotate or "windmill" as the plane is flown to a destination for repair. However, the fan is generally unbalanced and thus continued rotation of the fan can cause high loads on the fan housing. The bulkhead thus generally is reinforced with a series of structural support members extending between the inner barrel and outer barrel and connected to the bulkhead at spaced apart locations. In existing designs, the support members are spaced such that the inlet remains intact with the bulkhead being held together by the support members. The use of structural support members on the aft bulkheads of prior art inlet assemblies, however, increases the weight and cost of the nacelle.
Accordingly, there is a need for a nacelle for a turbofan jet engine having an inlet assembly that addresses the foregoing and other related and unrelated problems in the art.

Aircraft engine inlet having zone of deformation


Each crest-shape distribution region is sectioned in accordance with a value of a color obtained from extracted elements such as hue, saturation and lightness. A characteristic amount at each of a plurality of positions of an image including a designated eye is calculated, on the basis of values of obtained characteristic amounts, an image of a pupil portion is extracted, and red-eye correction processing is carried out.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing method, and more particularly to an image processing method in which defects in the color tone of the pupils of a photographed object in a digital image are detected and corrected.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, there have may many cases in which objects have been photographed such that the color of the photographed object in an image is different from the color of the actual object due to the state of reflection of light during the photographing operation. The foregoing phenomenon, called "red-eye", looks very unnatural and deteriorates the appearance of the image. Therefore, an image processing is performed to correct the images so that it looks more natural.
If a person is photographed from the front by using an electronic flash, the so-called "red-eye" phenomenon occurs which causes the pupils to be photographed red or gold. The red-eye phenomenon occurs when light of the electronic flash is made incident from the front on the opened eyes of a person in a dark place. In the foregoing state, light is regularly reflected by the eyes. The foregoing state appears in the photographed image. The red-eye phenomenon includes "red-eye" in which the pupils are photographed red and "gold-eye" in which the pupils are photographed gold. (Hereinafter, these two phenomena are collectively called "red-eye".)
Since red-eye deteriorates the quality of the photograph, a variety of image processing methods for correcting red-eye have been disclosed. For example, a method has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 7-72537 in which regions including the eyes, which are regions at which red-eye is to be corrected, are designated. Then, threshold value processing of the saturation, luminance and the hue in the designated regions is performed. If pixels are in the regions predetermined threshold values, a determination is made that there is red-eye, and the red-eye is corrected. Another red-eye correction method has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 9-261580 in which pupil candidate regions are selected in accordance with color information and saturation information about the inside portions of regions surrounded by edges. Then, all of the pupils having defective color tone among the selected pupil candidate regions are corrected so that red-eye is corrected.
The conventional methods disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 7-72537 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 9-261580 are arranged to perform threshold value processing of the saturation, luminance and the hue so as to determine the red-eye regions which must be corrected. Since the saturation, luminance and the hue of red-eye vary widely, errors in extraction and omissions from extraction cannot be prevented. There is also the concern that a strange image may be formed because flesh color portions may also be blackened in as a result of the process for correcting the red-eye of the pupils.
When extraction of edges of an image is performed as in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 9-261580, there is the concern that excess divisions or errors in dividing the regions may occur because an image has considerably complicated edges generally.
That is, sectioning into regions is not performed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 7-72537 former method. Whether or not red-eye has occurred is determined in accordance with only the threshold values of colors. Therefore, it is easy for a region which does not require correction to be erroneously detected as a region which must be corrected together with a region which must be corrected. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 9-261580 cannot accurately section the regions. Therefore, there arises the problem that it is difficult to correct only the pupil region which is the area which is the object of correction.
Hitherto, printing onto a photosensitive material of an image photographed on a photographic film (hereinafter called a "film"), such as a negative film or a reversal film, has been performed by direct exposure in which images on the film are projected to planarly expose of the surface of the photosensitive material. On the other hand, a digital photographic system has been put into practical use in which image information photographed on, for example, a film is photoelectrically read are converted into digital data which is then subjected to a variety of image processings. Thereafter, the photosensitive material is exposed in a digital manner.
The foregoing digital photographic system basically includes an image reading section, such as a scanner, for reading an image recorded on an original, such as a translucent original or a reflected original, to produce corresponding image data; an image processing section for subjecting image data inputted thereto to a variety of image processings and an image recording section having a printer for digitally exposing the photosensitive material in accordance with the to processed image data and a processor for developing the exposed photosensitive material and the like.
In the digital photographic system, the image of an original is read by the scanner. The read image is converted into digital image data. In the image processing section, image processing conditions (exposing conditions) are determined in accordance with the image data, and then a variety of image processings are performed. In the printer, the photosensitive material is scanned and exposed in accordance with processed image data so that a latent image is recorded. Then, a development process suitable for the photosensitive material is performed by the processor. As a result, a finished print is produced in which the image photographed on the film is reproduced.
The digital photographic system is able to shorten the time required to complete the exposure, that is, can quickly complete the exposure. Moreover, image information of the finished print can be stored on a recording medium, such as a magneto-optical disk. Therefore, re-reading of the film is not required and the operation for printing extra copies can quickly and easily be performed. Moreover, image processings such as editing operations (e.g., image synthesis and image division) and color/density adjustment can arbitrarily be performed. Therefore, an advantage can be realized in that a finished print which has been freely subjected to editing and image processings as needed can be output.
One of the important factors influencing the quality of the image of a portrait photograph is the reproducibility of the eyes of a human being. In particular, the red-eye phenomenon in which the eyes are photographed red due to the effects of the electronic flash or the like is a serious problem. Even in a case of a photograph of a satisfactory quality and free from the red-eye phenomenon, light must be reflected and shone in each eye. That is, if the catch light in the eye is expressed in the photograph too weakly, there arises a problem in that a portrait photograph having a satisfactory image quality cannot be obtained.
To solve the above-mentioned problems, the applicant of the present application proposed an image processing method and apparatus in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 10-75374. That is, the eye region is extracted from a region designated by an operator and including the eyes, and then determination of red-eye of the eye region is performed. If it is determined that there is red-eye, a red-eye eliminating process is performed. A catch light determination is performed after the eye region has been extracted. If a determination is made that the catch light is too weak, a process for enhancing the catch light is performed.
The above-described image processing method and apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 10-75374 enable correction of dark eyes to be performed by lowering the saturation of the eye region to make the color close to an achromatic color in a case of dark eyes. However, in a case of blue eyes, for example, the desired hue of blue is instructed in advance and stored, and conversion of the hue is carried out so as to perform correction for blue eyes. However, there arises a problem in that the difference in the hue from that of the eye of the photographed person can be recognized in the case of a close-up photograph of the eyes. In this case, an unsettling image is formed.


The present disclosure concerns a method and a device for encoding or decoding video data. It concerns more particularly the encoding according to a particular encoding mode using a decoder side motion vector derivation mode referenced as frame-rate up conversion mode or FRUC mode. It concerns encoding and decoding improvement which reduce the need for memory accesses when using an encoding mode where the motion information is predicted using a decoder side motion vector derivation method.

The present invention has been devised to address one or more of the foregoing concerns. It concerns encoding and decoding improvement which reduce the need for memory accesses when using an encoding mode where the motion information is predicted using a decoder side motion vector derivation method.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method for decoding video data comprising frames, each frame being split into blocks of pixels, the method comprising for a block of pixels:                deriving a motion vector list of motion vector predictors using an encoding mode where motion information is obtained by a decoder side motion vector derivation method, the derivation being based on a template defining possible locations of the motion vectors; wherein:        if the size of the block of pixels is 4×4, 4×8 or 8×4 pixels, the template size in pixels is lower or equal to the block size in pixels.
In an embodiment, the template is constituted by a block of pixels having the same size than the block of pixels, located to the left of the block.
In an embodiment, the template is constituted by a block of pixels having the same size than the block of pixels, located above the block.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method for decoding video data comprising frames, each frame being split into blocks of pixels, the method comprising for a block of pixels:                deriving a motion vector list of motion vector predictors using a mode where motion information is obtained by a decoder side motion vector derivation method, the derivation being based on a template defining possible locations of the motion vectors; wherein the method further comprises:        removing some motion vectors in the list to limit the number of motion vectors to a predefined number.
In an embodiment, the removed motion vectors are the first ones in the list.
In an embodiment, the removed motion vectors are the last ones in the list.
In an embodiment, the motion vector list is limited to a predefined number of 3.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method for decoding video data comprising frames, each frame being split into blocks of pixels, the method comprising for a block of pixels:                deriving a motion vector list of motion vector predictors using a mode where motion information is obtained by a decoder side motion vector derivation method, the derivation being based on a template defining possible locations of the motion vectors;        the derivation of the motion vector list comprising deriving a first list of candidates at block level and deriving a second list of candidates at sub-block level;        the derivation of the first list of candidates comprising the evaluation of motion vector merge candidates, the evaluation of ATMVP motion vector candidates, the evaluation of unilateral predictors and the evaluation of neighbouring predictors; wherein        unilateral predictors are evaluated first before the evaluation of the motion vector merge candidates.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method for decoding video data comprising frames, each frame being split into blocks of pixels, the method comprising for a block of pixels:                deriving a motion vector list of motion vector predictors using a mode where motion information is obtained by a decoder side motion vector derivation method, the derivation being based on a template defining possible locations of the motion vectors;        the derivation of the motion vector list comprising deriving a first list of candidates at block level and deriving a second list of candidates at sub-block level;        the derivation of the first list of candidates comprising the evaluation of ATMVP candidates and the evaluation of scaled temporal predictors; wherein        the evaluation of ATMVP candidates is made before the evaluation of scaled temporal predictors.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method for decoding video data comprising frames, each frame being split into blocks of pixels, the method comprising for a block of pixels:                deriving a motion vector list of motion vector predictors using a mode where motion information is obtained by a decoder side motion vector derivation method, the derivation being based on a template defining possible locations of the motion vectors;        the derivation of the motion vector list of candidates comprising the evaluation of spatial predictors comprising predictor from the left, the above, the above right, the below right and the above left block of pixels, the evaluation of ATMVP predictors and the evaluation of temporal predictors; wherein        The evaluation of the left spatial predictor occurs after the evaluation of the above left spatial predictor.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method for decoding video data comprising frames, each frame being split into blocks of pixels, the method comprising for a block of pixels:                deriving a motion vector list of motion vector predictors using an encoding mode where motion information is obtained by a decoder side motion vector derivation method, the derivation being based on a template defining possible locations of the motion vectors;        the derivation of the motion vector list of candidates comprising the evaluation of spatial predictors comprising predictor from the left, the above, the above right, the below right and the above left block of pixels, the evaluation of ATMVP predictors and the evaluation of temporal predictors; wherein        The evaluation of the ATMVP predictors occurs first before the evaluation of the spatial predictors.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method for decoding video data comprising frames, each frame being split into blocks of pixels, the method comprising for a block of pixels:                deriving a motion vector list of motion vector predictors using a mode where motion information is obtained by a decoder side motion vector derivation method, the derivation being based on a template defining possible locations of the motion vectors;        the derivation of the motion vector list of candidates comprising the evaluation of spatial predictors comprising predictor from the left, the above, the above right, the below right and the above left block of pixels, the evaluation of ATMVP predictors and the evaluation of temporal predictors; wherein        The evaluation of the predictors occurs in the following order, first the above left spatial predictor, then the ATMVP predictors, then the below left spatial predictors, then the above right spatial predictor, then the above spatial predictor, then the left spatial predictors and then the temporal predictors.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method for decoding video data comprising frames, each frame being split into blocks of pixels, the method comprising for a block of pixels:                deriving a motion vector list of motion vector predictors using a mode where motion information is obtained by a decoder side motion vector derivation method, the derivation being based on a template defining possible locations of the motion vectors;        the derivation of the motion vector list comprising deriving a first list of candidates at block level and deriving a second list of candidates at sub-block level; wherein:        the second list of candidates contains only the best candidate in the first list when the size of the block is 4×4, 4×8 or 8×4 pixels.
In an embodiment, the best candidate is the candidate minimizing a rate distortion cost.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method for decoding video data comprising frames, each frame being split into blocks of pixels, the method comprising for a block of pixels:                deriving a motion vector list of motion vector predictors using a mode where motion information is obtained by a decoder side motion vector derivation method, the derivation being based on a template defining possible locations of the motion vectors;        evaluating the motion vector predictors in the list to obtain a best candidate;        evaluating refined vector predictors at sub pixel resolution based on the best candidate; wherein        the evaluation of refined vector predictors is limited to use pixel values in the templates of the best candidate.
In an embodiment, the best candidate is the candidate minimizing a rate distortion cost.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a computer program product for a programmable apparatus, the computer program product comprising a sequence of instructions for implementing a method according to the invention, when loaded into and executed by the programmable apparatus.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions of a computer program for implementing a method according to the invention.
At least parts of the methods according to the invention may be computer implemented. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a "circuit", "module" or "system". Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in any tangible medium of expression having computer usable program code embodied in the medium.
Since the present invention can be implemented in software, the present invention can be embodied as computer readable code for provision to a programmable apparatus on any suitable carrier medium. A tangible, non-transitory carrier medium may comprise a storage medium such as a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, a hard disk drive, a magnetic tape device or a solid state memory device and the like. A transient carrier medium may include a signal such as an electrical signal, an electronic signal, an optical signal, an acoustic signal, a magnetic signal or an electromagnetic signal, e.g. a microwave or RF signal.

Method and apparatus for encoding or decoding video data in FRUC mode with reduced memory accesses


A method of rendering an image as a plurality of bands is disclosed. A plurality of edge tracking conditions for at least one of the bands is determined, the edge tracking conditions comprising waiting for at least one other band. A plurality of distinct rendering schedules is determined for the image, each rendering schedule specifying an edge tracking condition for each of the bands, the edge tracking condition for each band being selected from the corresponding plurality of edge tracking conditions for the band. A cost for a rendering schedule is determined. The rendering schedule cost is based on an edge tracking condition specified for each of the bands using a tracking cost of edges associated with the band through at least one intermediate band positioned between the band and the band specified in the edge tracking condition. The image is rendered in accordance with a selected rendering schedule, the rendering schedule being selected based on the cost determined for the rendering schedule.

In commercial printing, printing speeds are in the thousands of pages-per-minute (ppm), typically measured in meters/second or monthly throughput. Such printing speeds are achieved using commodity hardware, and configuring software to have a suitable high level of parallelism.
Speeds of printing machines are increasing, as commodity hardware becomes cheaper and more powerful, customer demands increase, and processing becomes increasingly centralised on a global scale. Cloud-based services are an example of such trends. However, with improved hardware, deficiencies in scalability of existing software is exposed, and a need to adapt software and create new algorithms arises.
In the printing of a page, objects arrive in z-order, and are typically organised into y-dimension bands, where each band consists of one or more consecutive scan lines. Parallelism is therefore possible both in the z-dimension by processing objects as the objects arrive, and in the y-dimension by processing bands in parallel. Typically, y-dimension parallelism must wait for all objects to be received before proceeding. The obstacle to achieving y-dimension parallelism is due to dependencies between bands, caused by objects that span multiple bands on a page. If a band contains an object that starts at a scan line prior to a first scan line of the band, the object will typically need to be tracked until the state of the object at the start of the band is known, so that the band can be processed or rendered. Therefore, the band is dependent on the tracking information produced by the previous band. Tracking is a time-consuming process, typically involving the vectorising and possible scan conversion of edges if the object up to the scan line or band the object is being tracked to.
Some conventional rendering methods include expensive pre-processing of each object spanning multiple bands to form a collection of non-overlapping objects that each fit within a single predefined band. Other conventional rendering methods include merging of adjacent bands so that the merged band wholly contains objects, thereby avoiding the need to partition objects. Merging bands, however, reduces available parallelism.
Other conventional rendering methods simply re-track each object from an origin to the start of each band, for each band that the object intersects. Simply re-tracking each object can be prohibitively expensive for complex objects that intersect multiple bands, as portions of the objects need to be processed multiple times.
Thus a need exists for an improved rendering method.

Method, apparatus and system for rendering an image based on cost of tracking band edges


A combustion chamber of a burner for a vehicle heater or for thermal regeneration of an exhaust gas particle filter having a frontal boundary wall, a circumferential boundary wall, a connector for fitting a glow plug and a connector for conveying combustion air which projects from the frontal boundary wall into the combustion chamber and has at least combustion air outlets through the connector wall, in which the combustion chamber with the frontal boundary wall, the circumferential boundary wall, the glow plug connector and with or without the air supply connector takes the form of a one-piece precision-cast component.

Such combustion chambers of burners for these applications have been known. The prior-art combustion chambers were fitted together from punched and subsequently bent sheet metal parts, which involves considerable expenses for connecting the individual parts, normally by welding or soldering. These connection techniques usually lead to a thermal warping of the combustion chamber, so that the combustion chamber must be straightened before installation in the burner.

Combustion chamber of a burner for a vehicle heater or an exhaust gas particle filter