Described embodiments include a comparator circuit comprising an input voltage terminal, a reference voltage terminal, and a rising edge decode circuit having inputs coupled to the input voltage terminal and the reference voltage terminal. The rising edge output provides a rising edge decode signal indicating the input signal transitioned from being smaller than the reference voltage signal to being larger than the reference voltage signal. A falling edge decode circuit has inputs coupled to the input voltage terminal and the reference voltage terminal, and a falling edge output providing a falling edge decode signal indicating that the input signal transitioned from being larger than the reference voltage signal to being smaller than the reference voltage signal. Also, a decode logic circuit provides a comparator output in response to the rising edge decode signal and the falling edge decode signal.

This description relates to comparators. A comparator is a device that compares two voltages or currents at its inputs and outputs a digital signal indicating which of the inputs is larger. A comparator typically has two analog inputs and one binary digital output. Comparators are sometimes used, for example, to determine whether an input has reached a predetermined threshold value.
It is generally desirable for a comparator to have faster rise and fall times (i.e. lower delay) than an operational amplifier. However, the decreased delay comes with a tradeoff against other parameters such as bias current, offset, etc. Methods and circuits that are implemented to attain lower comparator delay may lead to a higher bias current, which is an undesirable result. Even a higher bias current may not decrease the comparator delay beyond a certain limit after the transconductance (gm) of the input stage transistor is saturated.
The transconductance of a transistor increases linearly as the bias current increases, but only until the saturation point is reached. After transconductance saturation occurs, no further improvement in delay times can be achieved by increasing the bias current. Accordingly, a limit exists on how much increasing the bias current can decrease the delay. Also, increasing the bias current increases power consumption and decreases battery life. A need exists for a comparator having shorter delay times while also maintaining an acceptably low power consumption.

Comparator architecture for reduced delay and lower static current


A mechanical harvester for harvesting, topping and sacking bulb crops, such as onions. The harvester extracts the onions from the ground and transports them rearward to a cutting assembly by conveyor systems that drop out small onions, dirt, rocks and debris. The cutting assembly comprises a set of elongated cutting blades positioned to cooperatively accept and sever the leaves and roots from the bulb. The offal drops away from the harvester to the ground by manner of gravity. After cutting, the onions are transported through an inspection assembly for inspection, sorting, grading and further distribution. The onions are then transported rearward to a sacking assembly for placing the onions into sacks, to a chute device returning the onions to the ground or to a conveyor system transferring the onions to an adjacent vehicle. Platforms on the sides and ends of the harvester facilitate the above operations.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates generally to mechanical harvesters for use in harvesting crops. More specifically, the present invention relates to such harvesters that may be moved along the ground and which are particularly suitable for harvesting bulb crops such as onions, beets, radishes, turnips, garlic and the like. Even more specifically, the present invention relates to such mechanical harvesters that are able to separate the useful crop from its associated plant material, such as roots and tops, and place the processed crop into bags or sacks.
2. Background
As is well known, the harvesting of bulb crops such as onions, beets, radishes, turnips, garlic and the like (also collectively referred to herein as xe2x80x9conionsxe2x80x9d) present particular problems that make harvesting of such crops more difficult and expensive than many other types of crops. Typically, the useful bulb portion of these crops grow in the soil with roots growing down from the useful portion and top plant material growing upward above the soil. To harvest the crops, the entire plant must first be extracted from the ground and then the roots and tops must be cut off. Harvesting these crops by hand is a very expensive, labor intensive process requiring a significant number of laborers to extract the crops and then separate the bulb from the roots and tops. As a result, mechanical harvesters for harvesting these crops have been in use for a number of years. Unfortunately, many of the mechanical harvesters have had problems with nicking, cutting or bruising of the bulb or failing to cut-off the roots and tops in the proper location relative to the bulb (in those machines which are even configured to cut-off both roots and tops).
In regards to the previous onion field harvesting machines that are configured to extract onions and remove the tops and roots therefrom, U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,589 to Hagiz on Feb. 15, 1983, U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,296 to Kruithoff on Jun. 28, 1988, U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,549 to Shuff on Mar. 30, 1993, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,634 to Saito on Nov. 15, 1994, and others disclose various methods of air flow generation and direction to orient the onion tops and roots in a manner such that they may be severed from the onion bulb. In the inventions listed above the onions are removed from the soil by a conveyor apparatus and then positioned by various means of air flow generation and direction so as to direct the tops and roots into severing devices that shear or cut the onion appendages by mechanisms having rotating or reciprocating blades. These prior mechanical harvesters have achieved some degree of success. However, because onions do not grow uniformly and typically vary in size, shape and bulb diameter, mechanical harvesters that utilize air flow generators to orientate the bulb for cutting generally are only partially effective at cutting tops and roots at uniform lengths. Often the onions harvested by these machines require the onions to be topped by use of an additional device prior to the harvesting operation, require the tops of the onions be significantly dried out prior to harvest, or require additional manual trimming and clipping prior to the curing and/or grading processes.
Other bulb or root crop harvesting machines use gathering mounts and lifting frame assemblies to convey the crops by their leafy appendages to various cutting devices that separate the leafy materials and the roots from the useful crop. U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,257 to Mortensen and Browning on Nov. 6, 1979, as well as many earlier patents, disclose such root crop harvesters of this nature. These devices rely on the lifter assemblies to convey the vegetables up through the severing devices in order to accomplish the leafy material separation. The patent to Spiegel, U.S. Pat. No. 2,368,895 dated Feb. 6, 1945, discloses a carrot and onion harvester. As is typical with the Mortensen and Browning root crop harvester the topping bar assemblies are well known in the art and are widely described as to form and function. Although the topping bar assemblies are very successful at removing the tops by a crimping or pinching action, these, devices typically result in a less than clean severed cut at the ends of the leaves and the top of the root crop. Such cuts are typically less desirable or not acceptable for fresh market onions due to the unfinished appearance of the onion bulb.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,589 to Hagiz on Feb. 15, 1983, U.S.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,597,909 to Lauridsen on Aug. 10, 1971, and others disclose machines for harvesting onions and the like having various lifting and cutting mechanisms that also utilize bagging or sacking devices for placing the finished product directly in the bag or sack for market. These bagging or sacking devices typically employ delivery devices consisting of upright chutes or collection bins that collect topped onions for later placement into sacks or bags. By design, these chutes and bins are used to direct the onions. As a result, they provide numerous opportunities for damage to occur to the onion from onion to onion and onion to machine contact. Mechanical damage or excessive bruising is not acceptable for fresh market onions and can be a market or cosmetic defect that lowers the price and reduces the marketability of the onions, thereby causing economic loss to either or both the harvester and grower. In addition, the mechanical damage is often a pathway for pathogens to enter the bulb of the onion.
It can be appreciated, therefore, that what is needed is a mechanical harvester for harvesting bulb crops, particularly onions, that effectively and efficiently harvests the onions from the field and provides for improved culling and cutting of the onions, particularly the removal of the tops and roots. The desirable harvester would reduce the amount time and labor necessary to harvest onions and be suitable for harvesting onions when the tops are still green (requiring less field drying time). To accomplish this, the desired harvester should not rely on blown air to orientate the onion for cutting.
The mechanical harvester for harvesting onions of the present invention solves the problems and provides the benefits identified above. That is to say, the present invention provides a harvester for harvesting onions that results in improved extraction of the onions from the field, improved removal of the unwanted root and top portions from the onion and placement of the cut onions in bags or sacks, while substantially reducing the amount of time and labor necessary to harvest the onions.
In the primary embodiment of the present invention, the harvester of the present invention primarily comprises a harvester frame, comprised of a plurality of frame members, having a top portion and a pair of opposing sides. The harvester is suitable for being towed behind a tractor or other apparatus or for being modified to be self-propelled. At the front end of the harvester is a crop extracting mechanism comprising a lifting bar for extracting the onions from the field and flapper wheel for coaxing the onions into a one or more conveyor assemblies. In the preferred embodiment, the flapper wheel first assists in the placement of onions on a lifting conveyor assembly and then on an inclined elevator assembly, each of which has a conveyor system that allows small, unmarketable onions and any debris to fall through the conveyor onto the ground below the harvester. The lifting conveyor assembly is hydraulically connected to the frame so that the operator of the unit can raise or lower the lifting assembly so as to transport the harvester between fields and/or to place the lifting bar on the upper portion of the soil when harvesting. The conveyor systems deliver the onion plants to a cutting assembly which removes the roots and tops from the onion bulb. After cutting, the onions are transported rearward to an inspection assembly for final culling of unmarketable onions and debris and then to a sacking assembly where the onion bulbs are placed in burlap or like sacks.
The cutting assembly of the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a plurality of roller bar cutters connected at opposing ends to an upper bearing block assembly and a lower bearing block assembly. A hydraulic motor powers the cutting assembly to rotate the roller bar cutters. In the preferred embodiment, the roller bar cutters are grouped in sets, each set having at least a pair of roller bar cutters that rotate in opposite directions to each other. Preferably, the roller bar cutters rotate in a generally flat elliptical path to provide a more even upper compound surface to minimize the surface damage to the onions. The roller bars have a leading edge which is shaped and configured to a sharp angle to further facilitate cutting the onions without harming the onions. The cutting assembly of the preferred embodiment also includes a topping length limiting device that extends the entire length of the roller bar cutters to limit how short the top leafage is cut relative to the top of the onion. Channeling and deflecting devices are utilized to funnel the onions to the optimum location for cutting and to deflect the cut waste materials away from the harvester and the onions to the rear of the harvester for inspection and sacking.
To further facilitate the inspection, culling of onion plants and debris and sacking operations, the harvester has one or more platforms attached to the sides or back end for workers to stand on while the harvester is pulled or driven through the field. In the preferred embodiment, the harvester has three sets of platforms, two along both sides and one along the back end. The side platforms are utilized for removing debris and inspecting the cut onions and for assisting the cutting of the onions. The rear platform is utilized for the sacking operation. For ease of use, the rear platform can raise or lower by use of a hydraulic ram assembly.
Accordingly, the primary objective of the present invention is to provide a mechanical harvester for harvesting onions having the features generally described above and more specifically described below in the detailed description.
It is also an important objective of the present invention to provide a mechanical harvester that effectively and efficiently harvests onions from the field, cuts the tops and roots off of the onions and places the onions into bags or sacks.
It is also an important objective of the present invention to provide a mechanical harvester that extracts onions from the field, cuts the roots and tops off the onions, provides for culling and inspection of the onions and has the ability to place the cut onions in a sack.
It is also an important objective of the present invention to provide a mechanical harvester where the length of the residual top of the onion is controlled in reference to the shoulder of each bulb, where the length of residual top is the same for each bulb, and where the tops may be trimmed to a desirably short length without damaging the bulbs.
Yet another important objective of the present invention is to provide a mechanical harvester that utilizes a plurality of roller bar cutters that rotate in a generally elliptical path so as to cut the tops off of onions without damaging the onions.
The above and other objectives of the present invention will be explained in greater detail by reference to the attached figures and the description of the preferred embodiment which follows. As set forth herein, the present invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, mode of operation and combination of parts presently described and understood by the claims.

Mechanical harvester for harvesting bulb crops


In a method for achieving higher S/N, one or more signals are received and processed to provide one or more streams of samples. In a first processing scheme, the sample stream(s) are equalized within an equalizer to generate symbol estimates, which may be subsequently processed (e.g., despread and decovered) to provide a first stream of recovered symbols. Each sample stream is filtered with a set of coefficients and may be scaled with a scaling factor. The scaled samples for all streams are then combined to generate the symbol estimates. The sample stream(s) may also be processed by a second processing scheme with one or more rake receivers to provide a second stream of recovered symbols. The signal quality for each processing scheme can be estimated and used to select either the first or second processing scheme.

1. Field
The present invention relates to data communication. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel and improved method and apparatus for processing a received modulated signal using an equalizer and a rake receiver for improved performance.
2. Background
A modern day communication system is required to support a variety of applications. One such communication system is a code division multiple access (CDMA) system that supports voice and data communication between users over a terrestrial link. The use of CDMA techniques in a multiple access communication system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,307, entitled "SPREAD SPECTRUM MULTIPLE ACCESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM USING SATELLITE OR TERRESTRIAL REPEATERS," and U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,459, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING WAVEFORMS IN A CDMA CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEM." Another specific CDMA system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,211, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HIGH RATE PACKET DATA TRANSMISSION," issued Jun. 3, 2003, (hereinafter, the HDR system). These patents are assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference.
A CDMA system is typically designed to conform to one or more standards. Such standards include the "TIA/EIA/IS-95 Remote Station-Base Station Compatibility Standard for Dual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular System" (the IS-95 standard), the standard offered by a consortium named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP) and embodied in a set of documents including Document Nos. 3G TS 25.211, 3G TS 25.212, 3G TS 25.213, and 3G TS 25.214 (the W-CDMA standard), and the "TR-45.5 Physical Layer Standard for cdma2000Spread Spectrum Systems" (the CDMA-2000 standard). New CDMA standards are continually proposed and adopted for use. These CDMA standards are incorporated herein by reference.
A CDMA system typically employs a rake receiver to process a modulated signal that has been transmitted on the forward or reverse link. The rake receiver typically includes a searcher element and a number of finger processors. The searcher element searches for strong instances of the received signal (or multipaths). The finger processors are assigned to process the strongest multipaths to generate demodulated symbols for those multipaths. The rake receiver then combines the demodulated symbols from all assigned finger processors to generate recovered symbols that are estimates of the transmitted data. The rake receiver efficiently combines energy received via multiple signal paths.
The rake receiver provides an acceptable level of performance for CDMA systems operated at low signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). For CDMA systems designed to transmit data at high data rates, such as the HDR system, higher S/N is required. To achieve the higher S/N, the components that make up the noise term N need to be reduced. The noise term includes thermal noise (No), interference (Io) due to transmissions by other transmitting sources and transmissions for other users, and inter-symbol interference (ISI) that can come from multipath and distortion in the transmission channel. For CDMA systems designed to operate at low S/N, the ISI component is typically negligible compared to other noise components. However, for CDMA systems designed to operate at higher S/N, the other noise components (e.g., interference from other transmission sources) are typically reduced, and ISI becomes a non-negligible noise component that may have a large impact on the overall S/N.
As noted above, the rake receiver provides acceptable performance when the S/N of the received signal is low. The rake receiver can be used to combine energy from various multipaths, but generally does not remove the effects of ISI (e.g., from multipath and channel distortion). Thus, the rake receiver may not be capable of achieving the higher S/N required by CDMA systems operating at higher data rates.
As can be seen, techniques that can be used to process a received modulated signal to achieve higher S/N needed to support higher data rates are highly desirable.

Method and apparatus for processing a modulated signal using an equalizer and a rake receiver


A composite overwrapped pressure vessel is provided which includes a composite overwrapping material including fibers disposed in a resin matrix. At least first and second kinds of fibers are used. These fibers typically have characteristics of high strength and high toughness to provide impact resistance with increased pressure handling capability and low weight. The fibers are applied to form a pressure vessel using wrapping or winding techniques with winding angles varied for specific performance characteristics. The fibers of different kinds are dispersed in a single layer of winding or wound in distinct separate layers. Layers of fabric comprised of such fibers are interspersed between windings for added strength or impact resistance. The weight percentages of the high toughness and high strength materials are varied to provide specified impact resistance characteristics. The resin matrix is formed with prepregnated fibers or through wet winding. The vessels are formed with or without liners.

The development of advanced composite materials has enabled the development of tanks and pressure vessels which are of lightweight and which have very thin walls. It will be appreciated that for aerospace applications, weight is a key parameter. More specifically, weight conservation is extremely important in such aerospace applications because the lighter the tank or pressure vessel, the more weight that can be allotted to the vehicle payload. Stated differently, cost is a barrier for commercial space applications, and every pound saved in the weight of a vehicle tank or pressure vessel can translate to a corresponding one pound increase in payload. The weight problem has been addressed through the use of high performance materials.
However, a challenge presented by such new high performance materials is the low impact damage tolerance thereof.
Exploring the latter point in more detail, high performance, filament wound composite pressure vessels, such as are used in solid propellant propulsion, spacecraft energy storage systems, and other similar demanding applications, have always been susceptible to damage from low velocity impact in both operational and non-operational environments. Concrete examples of this include a dropped wrench during the fabrication or assembly of the pressure vessel or the system with which the vessel is integrated, and an accidental "nudge" from a forklift or other of the innumerable tooling devices involved in the fabrication and assembly operations. It is noted that these things may or may not degrade the capability of the pressure vessel and a particularly worrisome problem is that these impacts, and the damage therefrom, may not be detectable. Thus, the need exists for a way to improve the capability of these pressure vessels to withstand such potentially degrading impacts, particularly if this can be done with little or no appreciable degradation in pressure vessel performance and without any increase in weight.

Pressure vessel with improved impact resistance and method of making the same

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration


An electronic strobe flash apparatus includes a first energizable flash tube arranged to project light in a first direction to directly illuminate a scene, a second energizable flash arrange to project light in a second direction to indirectly illuminate the scene, a battery power supply for providing a source of charging energy, first and second high voltage discharge capacitors coupled to the first and second flash tubes, and electronic control means for providing charging current from the power supply to the first high discharge voltage capacitor until it is charged to a predetermined discharge voltage and for then charging the second high voltage discharge capacitor to the predetermined discharge voltage level. Preferably, the electronic control means includes a single DC/DC converter coupled through a miniaturized relay to the first and second high voltage capacitors to successively charge each under charge control signals provided by a microcontroller. The charging of the first high voltage discharge capacitor to the predetermined high voltage level takes place more rapidly than the charging of the second high voltage discharge capacitor, since the capacitance of the latter exceeds the capacitance of the former. Preferably, if the user of the camera attempts to depress the shutter release button to take a picture, the automatic exposure control system of the camera provides a warning to the user in the event that the second high voltage discharge capacitor is being charged so that the user can either wait until charging is complete or depress the shutter release button further and make an exposure employing only the direct flash unit. The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides for rapid recharging of the low-capacitance, high voltage discharge capacitor of the direct flash unit which may be sufficient under the circumstances and which avoids unnecessary charging of the large capacitance high voltage discharge capacitor of the indirect flash unit and consequent waste of battery energy. Preferably, a ceiling detector provides a control signal that inhibits charging of the indirect flash tube high voltage capacitor.

Electronic strobe flash systems mounted on or in a camera and involving the rapid discharge of a high voltage through a flash lamp synchronized with the exposure of an image frame are well-known in the photographic art. For a flash exposure of a scene, it is desirable to illuminate the scene indirectly so that it appears to be illuminated from above in a way characteristic of natural lighting and to illuminate the scene directly to soften dark shadows caused by obliquely directed light. The indirect illumination is commonly known as bounce flash, since the light is typically directed upward and bounced off a reflective ceiling and onto the scene, although it is also known to bounce the flash off a vertical wall or panel to provide side illumination. Flash light aimed directly at the scene is referred to as direct illumination or fill-in flash. Where natural illumination from above is available, such as in daylight outdoor scenes, direct or fill-in flash may be employed to soften shadows falling on the subject to be photographed. Conversely, in indoor scenes, where illumination from above is not available or does not possess natural light spectral characteristics, it is desirable to provide indirect illumination by bouncing flash light off a ceiling and onto the scene or subject to be photographed. In such situations, it is also desirable to provide direct illumination so as to again fill in shadows created by the downwardly directed bounce flash illumination. The combination of bounce and fill in flash illumination minimizes the undesirable effects of direct illumination alone, including harsh shadows, red eye, specular reflections, and high contrast or loss of tonal detail depending on the distance of subjects in the image. Unfortunately, indirect flash illumination requires much more energy than direct illumination due to light intensity loss by absorption and scattering by the ceiling or wall surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,616 describes a photographic flash apparatus for providing both fill-in and bounce flash illumination provided by a direct illumination flash bulb 17 and an indirect illumination flash bulb 19, which are simultaneously charged from a single battery 20 and a discharge capacitor 23. The high voltage capacitor 23 is discharged simultaneously through the flash tubes 17 and 19 synchronously with the operation of the camera shutter. By configuring the direct and indirect flash tubes differently and choosing appropriate circuit components, bounce flash illumination provided by the indirect flash tube 19 exceeds the fill-in illumination provided by the direct flash bulb 17. The amount of illumination provided is measured by a photo detector aimed at the scene, and both fill-in and bounce flash light is terminated simultaneously when a desired total reflection of light from the scene is achieved. A ratio of indirect to direct illumination of about 75:25 is sought in the operating example of the circuit described in the '616 patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,238 discloses an electronic strobe flash apparatus for bounce and fill in flash illumination of a scene also having direct and indirect flash tubes coupled in parallel to a charging capacitor, battery, DC/DC converter, and control circuit and to separate quenching circuits for separately halting discharge through each of the flash tubes. In the flash apparatus of the '238 patent, the control circuit is switched into operation synchronously with the camera shutter release and first causes the indirect flash lamp to discharge and emit bounce flash illumination on the scene. During a 40 microsecond period, a photo detector circuit measures the light reflected from the scene and, if the reflected light falls below a certain threshold indicating the absence of a suitable reflective ceiling surface, the bounce flash illumination is quenched and fill-in flash illumination is simultaneously commenced. If, however, the bounce flash illumination reflected from the scene is sufficiently high, then bounce flash illumination continues until the reflected light reaches a second threshold, whereupon bounce flash illumination is quenched and fill-in illumination is commenced. The photo detector and control circuit continues to monitor the accumulated reflected light and quenches fill-in illumination when the total measured illumination reaches a further threshold related to the film type and shutter speed. The user may override the control circuit by disabling bounce flash illumination when there is sufficient overhead illumination or when no ceiling is present.
A further U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,312 to Weaver et al, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, describes a direct and indirect flash illumination system wherein the presence of a suitable reflective ceiling surface is detected by light reflected therefrom is employed to control the ratio of indirect and direct illumination and, in conjunction with light reflected from the scene, total illumination. In one embodiment, an active radiation emitter transmits IR radiation upward in a manner such that a portion of the radiation is reflected back to a photo detector which provides a first signal containing information relating to the distance between the surface and the flash system as well as the quality of the reflective surface. A control system responsive to the signal causes both bounce and fill-in flash illumination when the indirect reflecting surface is within a predetermined distance and causes operation of only fill-in or direct flash illumination when the indirect reflecting surface is not within the predetermined distance. The first signal and a further signal developed by a photodetector aimed at the scene are employed in controlling total illumination by separately quenching the direct and indirect illumination.
In an alternative embodiment, a photo detector aimed upward is employed in a passive mode to detect bounce flash illumination reflected back from the ceiling, if present, in order to provide the first signal under the circumstances previously described. Thus, the '312 patent discloses a system which determines the presence or absence of a suitable reflective ceiling by measuring light reflected therefrom and controls bounce flash illumination in dependence thereon. Variable flash output and aperture selection can be combined in a single system to match the optical depth of field with the depth of illumination provided by the bounce and/or fill-in flash illumination. A quick recycle mode is also disclosed wherein bounce flash illumination is suppressed. In the various disclosed embodiments, when bounce flash illumination is allowed, it commences simultaneously with fill-in flash illumination, and the illumination from both the direct and indirect flash tubes is quenched either simultaneously or in an order dependent on the detected light returning from the scene in accordance with known exposure control algorithms.
In a further U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,865 to Fujino et al, a pair of separately controlled direct and indirect flash apparatus are disclosed which may or may not be incorporated into the camera body wherein bounce and fill-in illumination are provided of a scene under a number of operating algorithms. Preferably, the fill-in illumination is provided by a direct flash lamp, battery, charging circuit and control circuit, all incorporated in the camera body, and bounce illumination is provided by an indirect flash apparatus having a self-contained battery, charging capacitor and micro-computer based control system which may be mounted to hot-shoe of the camera body as if the camera had no internal flash apparatus. The various modes of operation include a charging subroutine illustrated in FIG. 7 where it appears that charging of the external and internal flash apparatus high voltage capacitors is triggered simultaneously and the priority of direct and indirect flash illumination may depend on which capacitor charges up first. The speed of charging the high voltage capacitor of the internal flash apparatus may be affected by prioritized allocation of current drawn from the battery for powering other camera functions, such as automatic focus and motorized film advance as shown in FIG. 17.
The "bounce surface" from which a flash of light can be bounced to illuminate a subject either below or beside the surface, such as a ceiling or a wall, typically varies considerably in reflectivity. Inherently, a large amount of the flash light directed at the bounce surface is either absorbed or reflected elsewhere than on the scene intended to be illuminated, particularly as the distance between the indirect flash lamp and the bounce surface increases. Due to the inherent dissipation of the bounce illumination, the indirect flash units have been designed to deliver two or three times as much illumination as the direct illumination flash lamps, as described above. Thus, the prior patents described above have emphasized the desirability of providing the bounce flash illumination first or at the same time as the fill-in flash illumination of the scene. Since the energy requirements for the bounce flash illumination well exceed the requirements for direct flash illumination, a problem arises in the time delay it takes to charge up a single high voltage capacitor to a voltage sufficient to deliver the required bounce flash illumination first. It would be desirable to decrease the time between successive exposures with the fill in flash and to avoid unnecessary charging of the high voltage capacitor for the bounce flash.


Indium tin oxide films deposited on substrates are subjected to reactive ion etching in a plasma containing dissociated hydrogen bromide or a mixture of dissociated hydrogen bromide and dissociated boron tinchloride.

The invention in this case related to a new and improved method of etching indium tin oxide films.
Indium tin oxide (In203:Sn) hereinafter termed ITO is particularly adapted, when used in thin film form, for use as transparent electrode for display devices in particular optoelectric devices such as liquid crystal displays, electroluminescent devices, and image sensors. Further electrodes formed of patterned thin film ITO are also particularly adapted for use on various semiconductor devices.
ITO electrodes are commonly formed by depositing a thin film of ITO on a desired substrate, providing a patterned photoresist layer on thin film ITO, etching the ITO film through the photoresist layer with an etchant that etches the ITO film at a significantly faster rate than the photoresist layer and the substrate.
In the past, frequently wet etching of ITO films with solutions of HI, HCl, oxalic acid and mixtures of HCl and HN03 have been carried out. However, these wet etching methods have not proved to be successful. Since wet etching is carried out by a reaction which proceeds isotropically, overetching of the patterned photoresist layer frequently occurs resulting in poorly defined and incomplete etch patterns of the ITO films.
Mohri et al Japanese Journal of Applied Physics Vol. 29, No. 10, October 1990, pp L1932-L1935 teaches the etching of ITO thin films with a plasma etching using a CH4/H2 gas mixture. While etching with such a plasma results in the production of fine ITO patterns it has the defect in that some polymerization of the CH.sub.4 occurs resulting in contamination of the resultant ITO pattern.
Kuo et al Proceedings Electrochemical Society 1990 90 (14 pp. 765-772) shows reactive ion etching with fluorochlorocarbon gases such as CF.sub.3 C1 or CF.sub.2 C1.sub.2. While such a method also results in the formation of finely etched ITO patterns it also has the defect of contamination due to polymerization of the fluorochlorocarbon gases. In addition these gases are considered to be harmful to the environment, their use is being severely restricted and may be entirely banned in the near future.
Calahorra et al J. Electrochem. Soc., Vol. 136, No. 6, June 1989 pp 1839-1840 shows reactive ion etching of ITO films with HI gas. Such a method results in the production of finely etched ITO patterns. However HI gas is dangerous to use since HI gas is unstable tending to form the explosive H2.
Ghezzo U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,240 shows etching of ITO films with a concentrated solution of HBr. While this method shows improved ITO patterns as compared with other wet etching methods, the etching still procedes isotropically resulting in patterns that are insufficiently fine and homogeneous for many purposes.
Rossi et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,993 shows sputter etching of ITO films with a plasma consisting of dissociated argon.

Reactive ion etching or indium tin oxide


A method for displaying a position of an alignment mark, an array substrate and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The method for displaying the position of the alignment mark includes: forming an alignment mark on a surface of a base substrate; forming a first isolation layer covering the alignment mark; forming a via hole in the first isolation layer to expose the alignment mark; applying a first material in the via hole to form a first material pattern; and applying a second material on surfaces of the first material pattern and the first isolation layer to form a second material film, wherein the first material and the second material are configured to have different polarities, so that the second material cannot be attached to the first material pattern.

In existing liquid crystal display panels, a Color filter On Array (COA) technology has been known, which can improve an aperture opening ratio of the liquid crystal display panels so as to improve brightness and image quality of the liquid crystal display panels. A manufacturing process of such an array substrate includes steps of: S1: forming an alignment mark and a thin film transistor on a surface of a base substrate, and forming a first isolation layer on the alignment mark, the thin film transistor and the base substrate; S2: coating a black matrix material on a surface of the first isolation layer to form a black matrix material film, i.e., covering the alignment mark with the first isolation layer and the black matrix material film, so that the alignment mark is covered by the first isolation layer and the black matrix material film and the position of the alignment mark cannot be displayed; and S3: by an exposure machine, carrying out alignment according to the alignment mark and carrying out exposure on the black matrix material film to form a black matrix pattern aligned with other patterns in previous processes. Alignment between the existing exposure machine and the alignment mark adopts a light transmission mode. Due to high optical density of the black matrix material film, the exposure machine cannot clearly identify the alignment mark under the black matrix material film.

Method for displaying position of alignment mark, array substrate and manufacturing method thereof

Hefei Xinsheng Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.


A method, medium, and system generating a video abstract with high processing speeds, may include a detecting of an event candidate section from video data, based on audio information, a detecting of shot change information from the detected event candidate section, a detecting of final event sections from the detected event candidate section, based on the detected shot change information and visual information, and a generating of video abstract information by merging the extracted final event sections.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a high-speed video abstract generation method, medium, and system, and more particularly, to a method, medium, and system in which an event candidate section is detected based on audio information, a final event section is detected from the detected event candidate section based on visual information, and video abstract information of the detected final event section is generated.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a conventional method of summarizing the content of a provided video, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0017389 discusses summarizing such content by events within the video, e.g., using replay, a live event, and a setup event. However, in this conventional technique, visual information and audio information are individually processed to summarize video data, resulting in slow processing speeds.
Similarly, as a multimedia content indexing method, U.S. Pat. No. 6,714,909 discusses, with respect to the content of a provided news video, multi-modal information such as visual, audio, and text is used for generating news content information at a high level, such as abstract generation, speaker recognition, and subject recognition. However, again, this conventional multimedia content indexing technique also individually processes visual information and audio information to generate abstract information, resulting in slow processing speeds.
Thus, as described above, in conventional multi-modal information based summary techniques, since visual information and audio information are individually processed for multi-modal processing and an abstract is generated by integrating a result of the processing, the processing thereof takes a relatively long time. Namely, in conventional multi-modal information based summary techniques, and particularly in the case of summarizing based on visual information of HD video, for example, since two hours of HD images of visual information has approximately 15 GB to 18 GB of video data, a very large processing capacity is required for the processing of video information. Therefore, in these conventional techniques, the speed of detecting an event and generating an abstract becomes notably time consuming, which the present inventors have found to be an undesirable hindrance to the field.
Thus, the present inventors believe there is a need to improve processing speeds for generating video abstracts.

Method, medium, and system generating video abstract information


An electrical connector assembly including a plug assembly and a socket assembly. The plug assembly includes a first flex cable and a first housing, and a biasing member. The socket assembly includes a second flex cable and a second housing. The plug assembly is adapted to be inserted into the socket assembly to electrically connect the first flex cable to the second flex cable. The biasing member is adapted to be contacted by a portion of the second housing to move the first flex cable out of an aperture of the first housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector arrangement between a flat flex cable and a component of an electrical circuit or another flat flex cable.
2. Brief Description of Prior Developments
EP 0443655 A1 describes a connector arrangement between a flat flex cable and a component of an electrical circuit. Flat flex cables are finding ever-increasing application in bus systems—for example, in automobile manufacture. There, flat flex cables, which are connected to form ring circuits and by means of which a multiplex control of diverse components occurs, replace costly and, in particular, heavy-weight cable harnesses.
Known from EP 02006691 is a connector arrangement for flat flex cables by means of which two such ribbon cables are connected to each other. For this purpose, respective conductor strands are stripped of insulation at the connecting site between the ribbon cables and these sites are pressed together by a clamp under application of an elastic pressure. This simple method of connection has proven itself useful, but can be applied only to a connection of flat flex cables placed under one another.
The present invention is based on the problem of further developing a generic connector arrangement in such a way that, with it, flat flex cables can be manufactured with circuit boards as well.
The present invention is based on the basic idea of affixing a housing to a cable end of the connecting flexible ribbon, in which the region that is to be contacted is subjected to an elastic spring force, by means of which this region is pressed against the contact surfaces of a mating connector.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Connector arrangement between a flat flex cable and a component


There is provided a door structure for a vehicle. The door structure comprises an upper door hinge; a lower door hinge; a door main body having an upper hinge mounting portion at which the door main body is mounted with the upper door hinge and a lower hinge mounting portion at which the door main body is mounted with the lower door hinge; an outer impact bar disposed in the door main body and extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle; an inner impact bar disposed in the door main body and extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle; and a connecting bracket connecting the front end of the outer impact bar and the front end of the inner impact bar to the upper hinge mounting portion of the door main body.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-216831 discloses a door main body having a door outer panel and a door inner panel as a door structure for a vehicle. The door main body is provided with a pair of plated beltline reinforcements, both of which are disposed between the door outer panel and the door inner panel and extend in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle along the beltline of the door main body. Front ends of the beltline reinforcements are connected to each other via a reinforcing member that is disposed at a door hinge of the door main body. Further, an impact bar is provided below the beltline reinforcements (which function as an inner impact bar in this invention).
Although the pair of beltline reinforcements as disclosed above are just connected to each other at their front ends, the beltline reinforcements are not connected to the impact bar. Therefore, the beltline reinforcements and the impact bar independently absorb a load of a vehicle collision during a front collision or a side collision, which disadvantageously may not result in absorbing the load sufficiently during the vehicle collision.
This invention is made so as to address this problem. A purpose of this invention is to provide a door structure for a vehicle which is capable of inhibiting the door or a passenger compartment from being deformed during a vehicle collision, by transmitting the load of the vehicle collision not only to an inner impact bar but also to the outer impact bar (via a door hinge) during a front collision, and by transmitting the load of vehicle collision not only to an outer impact bar but also to the inner impact bar (via a connecting bracket) during a side collision.


A resilient or flexible skirt panel assembly having an integral bracing system is provided. In operation, the bracing system need not attach directly to a trailer base rail. The innovation includes straight, straight-angled and curved skirt panel orientations. Additionally, angled braces, ‘v-braces,’ ‘v-wings,’ and integral rib bracing mechanisms are provided. In aspects, the skirt panel and bracing mechanisms can absorb (or bend) under force while effectively having a ‘memory’ to return to their original shape upon removal of the force. The skirt assembly can include a hem along the bottom edge of the skirt panel thereby enhancing performance and longevity of the assembly. Additionally, an “anti-skid” clamping assembly can be employed to connect the skirt assemblies to the trailer I-beam, base rail or cross-members.

With today's focus on fuel efficiencies, there has been growing emphasis on increasing vehicle and particular truck aerodynamics. In accordance therewith, manufacturers and third-parties have designed and developed a wide variety of aerodynamic solutions that reduce wind drag upon trucks and trailers.
One particular line of products is the trailer skirt. A trailer skirt is essentially a downward extension of the trailer sides, particularly between the landing gear and the rear wheels that prevent accumulation of air beneath the trailer. Thus, aerodynamics and fuel efficiency can be enhanced by directing air down the side of the trailer decreasing air drag on the trailer.


A method for determining the orientation of a digital image, includes the steps of: employing a semantic object detection method to detect the presence and orientation of a semantic object; employing a scene layout detection method to detect the orientation of a scene layout; and employing an arbitration method to produce an estimate of the image orientation from the orientation of the detected semantic object and the detected orientation of the scene layout.

There are many commercial applications in which large numbers of digital images are manipulated. For example, in the emerging practice of digital photofinishing, vast numbers of film-originated images are digitized, manipulated and enhanced, and then suitably printed on photographic or inkjet paper. With the advent of digital image processing, and more recently, image understanding, it has become possible to incorporate many new kinds of value-added image enhancements. Examples include selective enhancement (e.g., sharpening, exposure compensation, noise reduction, etc.), and various kinds of image restorations (e.g., red-eye correction).
In these types of automated image enhancement scenarios, one basic piece of semantic image understanding consists of knowledge of image orientation—that is, which of the four possible image orientations represents "up" in the original scene. Film and digital cameras can capture images while being held in the nominally expected landscape orientation, or held sideways. Furthermore, in film cameras, the film may be wound left-to-right or right-to-left. Because of these freedoms, the true orientation of the images will in general not be known a priori in many processing environments. Image orientation is important for many reasons. For example when a series of images are viewed on a monitor or television set, it is aggravating if some of the images are displayed upside-down or sideways. Additionally, it is now a common practice to produce an index print showing thumbnail versions of the images in a photofinishing order. It is quite desirable that all images in the index print be printed right side up, even when the photographer rotated the camera prior to image capture. One way to accomplish such a feat is to analyze the content of the scene semantically to determine the correct image orientation. Similar needs exist for automatic albuming, which sorts images into album pages. Clearly, it is desirable to have all the pictures in their upright orientation when placed in the album.
Probably the most useful semantic indication of image orientation is the orientation of people in a scene. In most cases, when people appear in scenes, they are oriented such that their upward direction matches the image's true upward direction. Of course, there are exceptions to this statement, as for example when the subject is lying down, such as in a picture of a baby lying on a crib bed. However, examination of large databases of images captured by amateur photographers has shown that the vast majority of people are oriented up-right in images. This tendency is even stronger in images produced by professional photographers, i.e., portraits.
Another useful semantic indication of image orientation is sky. Sky appears frequently in outdoor pictures and usually at the top of these pictures. It is possible that due to picture composition, the majority of the sky region may be concentrated on the left or right side of a picture (but rarely the bottom of the picture) Therefore, it is not always reliable to state "the side of the picture in which sky area concentrates is the up-right side of the picture".
Text and signs appear in many pictures, e.g., street scenes, shops, etc. In general, it is unlikely that signs and text are placed sideways or upside down, although mirror image or post-capture image manipulation may flip the text or signs. Detection and recognition of signs can be very useful for determining the correct image orientation, especially for documents that contain mostly text. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,151,423 issued Nov. 21, 2000, Melen disclosed a method for determining the correct orientation for a document scanned by an OCR system from the confidence factors associated with multiple character images identified in the document. Specifically, this method is applicable to a scanned page of alphanumeric characters having a plurality of alphanumeric characters. The method includes the following steps: receiving captured image data corresponding to a first orientation for a page, the first orientation corresponding to the orientation in which the page is provided to a scanner; identifying a first set of candidate character codes that correspond to characters from the page according to the first orientation; associating a confidence factor with each candidate character code from the first set of candidate character codes to produce a first set of confidence factors; producing a second set of candidate character codes that correspond to characters from the page according to a second orientation; associating a confidence factor with each candidate character code from the second set of candidate character codes to produce a second set of confidence factors; determining the number of confidence factor values in the first set of confidence factors that exceed a predetermined value; determining the number of confidence factor values in the second set of confidence factors that exceed the predetermined value; and determining that the correct page orientation is the first orientation when the number of confidence factors in the first set of confidence factors that exceeds the predetermined value is higher than the number of confidence factors in the second set of confidence factors that exceeds the predetermined value. This method was used to properly re-orient scanned documents which may not be properly oriented during scanning.
In addition to face, sky and text, other semantic objects can be identified to help decide image orientation. While semantic objects are useful for determining image orientation, they are not always present in an arbitrary image, such as a photograph. Therefore, their usefulness is limited. In addition, there can be violation of the assumption that the orientation of the semantic objects is the same as the orientation of the entire image. For example, while it is always true that the texture orientation is the same as a document composed of mostly text, it is possible that text may not be aligned with the upright direction of a photograph. Furthermore, automatic detectors of these semantic objects are not perfect and can have false positive detection (mistaking something else as the semantic object) as well as false negative detection (missing a true semantic object). Therefore, it is not reliable to rely only on semantic objects to decide the correct image orientation.
On the other hand, it is possible to recognize the correct image orientation without having to recognize any semantic object in the image. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,694 issued Sep. 26, 1989, Takeo teaches a method of determining the orientation of an image of a human body to determine whether the image is in the normal erect position or not. This method comprises the steps of obtaining image signals carrying the image information of the human body, obtaining the distributions of the image signal levels in the vertical direction and horizontal direction of the image, and comparing the pattern of the distribution in the vertical direction with that of the horizontal direction, whereby it is determined whether the image is in the normal position based on the comparison. This method is specifically designed for x-ray radiographs based on the characteristics of the human body in response to x-rays, as well as the fact that a fair amount of left-to-right symmetry exists in such radiographs, and a fair amount of dissimilarity exists in the vertical and horizontal directions. In addition, there is generally no background clutter in radiographs. In Comparison, clutter tends to confuse the orientation in photographs.
Vailaya et al., in "Automatic Image Orientation Detection", Proceedings of International Conference on Image Processing, 1999, disclosed a method for automatic image orientation estimation using a learning-by-example framework. It was demonstrated that image orientation can be determined by examining the spatial lay-out, i.e., how colors and textures are distributed spatially across an image, at a fairly high accuracy, especially for stock photos shot by professional photographers who pay higher attention to image composition than average consumers. This learning by example approach performs well when the images fall into stereotypes, such as "sunset", "desert", "mountain", "fields", etc. Thousands of stereotype or prototype images are used to train a classifier which learns to recognize the upright orientation of prototype scenes. The drawback of this method is that it tends to perform poorly on consumer snapshot photos, which tend to have arbitrary scene content that does not fit the learned prototypes.
Depending on the application, prior probabilities for image orientation can vary greatly. Of course, in the absence of other information, the priors must be uniform (25%). However, in practice, the prior probability of each of the four possible orientations is not uniform. People tend to hold the camera in a fairly constant way. As a result, in general, the landscape images would mostly be properly oriented (upside-down is unlikely), and the task would be to identify and orient the portrait images. The priors in this case may be around 70%–14%–14%–2%. Thus, the accuracy of an automatic method would need to significantly exceed 70% to be useful.
It is also noteworthy that in U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,443 issued Jun. 24, 1997, Goodwin teaches how to determine the orientation of a set of recorded images. The recorded images are scanned. The scanning operation obtains information regarding at least one scene characteristic distributed asymmetrically in the separate recorded images. Probability estimates of orientation of each of the recorded images for which at least one scene characteristic is obtained are determined as a function of asymmetry in distribution of the scene characteristic. The probability of correct orientation for the set of recorded images is determined from high-probability estimates of orientation of each of the recorded images in the set. Note that Goodwin does not rely on high-probability estimates of the orientation for all images; the orientation of the whole set can be determined as long as there are enough high-probability estimates from individual images.
Semantic object-based methods suffer when selected semantic objects are not present or not detected correctly even if they are present. On the other hand, scene layout-based methods are in general not as reliable when a digital image does not fall into the types of scene layout learned in advance.
There is a need therefore for an improved method of determining the orientation of images.

Method and system for determining image orientation


The polishing slurry includes polishing particles having a mean particle diameter of less than about 5 xcexcm. The slurry contains at least about 0.5 total weight percent oxidizer selected from at least one of the group consisting of HNO3, Ni(NO3)2, Al(NO3)3, Mg(NO3)2, Zn(NO3)2 and NH4NO3. A small but effective amount of a co-oxidizer selected from the group consisting of perbromates, perchlorates, periodates, persulfates, permanganates, ferric nitrate, cerium-containing salts, perbenzoic acids, nitrite compounds, perborate compounds, hypochlorite compounds, chlorite compounds and chloride compounds accelerates removal of substrates; and water forms the balance of the aqueous slurry.

This invention relates to polishing slurries. In particular, this invention relates to slurries for polishing nickel-plated hard disks with an enhanced removal rate and a reduced surface roughness.
The typical manufacturing process for memory hard disk media involves plating an aluminum disk substrate with a layer of nickel phosphorus alloy. Polishing this nickel alloy""s surface with a fine polishing slurry obtains a smooth and flat surface. This polished nickel-plated substrate is then suitable for application of a layer of magnetic storage media, such as used for hard disks. The increasing demands for higher storage capacity in hard drive manufacturing have necessitated a substantial increase in areal density, i.e., data storage capacity per unit surface area, on the disk media. This requires that significant improvements be made in the manufacturing of the rigid hard disks, including enhanced plating uniformity, reduced surface roughness after polishing, and enhanced texturing characteristics. The polishing process is one of the critical factors required to fulfill these new requirements.
Significant improvements in surface inspection metrology have allowed disk manufacturers to inspect for small surface defects previously undetectable. This technology advancement has led to optimization of polishing parameters to reduce defects including: polishing cycle time; polishing pressure; and resolution rate of upper and lower table of the polishing machine. Optimizing polishing parameters requires a high degree of expertise and is time consuming. Other advances have been made in the area of consumables, such as, polishing pads, abrasive slurries, and cleaning materials. Unfortunately, conventional aluminum oxide slurries (5 to 50 m2/g, surface area and 1 to 10 xcexcm mean diameter, size distribution) create micro-scratches and micro-pits on substrates"" surfaces. Because these slurries create these defects, it is difficult for disk manufacturers to obtain smooth surfaces using conventional alumina slurries, i.e., a roughness of less than 3xc3x85, which is preferred for good deposition of a magnetic layer.
Conventional polishing slurries can result in uneven plating of the magnetic layer after polishing the substrate. Since the clearance between magnetic heads and the magnetic layer is less than 0.2 xcexcm, small surface defects on the magnetic layer such as nodules may crash and damage the magnetic heads. Other defects, such as scratches and pits, cause errors in reading or writing information on hard disks. There are several possible causes for these defects, including: 1) the surface morphologies of the aluminum oxide abrasives are irregular or contain sharp edges where the grinding action of these abrasives on the substrate""s surface introduces polish scratches; 2) the presence of unwanted fine aluminum oxide particles generated from the abrasive""s size reduction process causes micro-pits; and 3) the agglomeration of the aluminum oxide particles in the polishing slurry and in the pores of the polishing pads causes scratches or pits in the substrate""s surface. For the above reasons, it is difficult for disk manufacturers to achieve a defect-free and low roughness surface, i.e., Ra (peak-to-valley height) of less than 3 xc3x85 with conventional alumina-based slurries.
The increasing demands of the computer hard disk industry for defect-free and low roughness surfaces have forced slurry manufacturers to explore alternative polishing agents, such as, solution derived colloidal metal oxide materials. The mean diameters of these colloidal particles are typically in the range of 0.01 to 1 xcexcm; and these small and soft particles potentially offer enhanced substrate surface characteristics. However, slurry manufacturers are currently encountering two problems with colloidal slurries. First, the polishing rates of these slurries are substantially lower than conventional alumina-based slurriesxe2x80x94disk manufacturers utilizing colloidal based slurries have to increase polishing cycle time, slurry consumption and even the number of polishing machines in order to maintain the required production throughput. Second, these colloidal particles also have a strong tendency to aggregate, coagulate and gel due to their small particle sizes, high ionic strength, and the low pH range. Therefore, colloidal slurries often have a short or insufficient shelf life.
Manufacturers have attempted to use smaller and/or softer alumina-based abrasive particles and different chemical additives such as chelating agents and oxidizers to reduce or eliminate surface irregularities. Furthermore, slurry manufacturers have attempted to use various unstable oxidizers such as hydrogen peroxide, aluminum nitrate and ferric nitrate to enhance the polishing removal rate. These oxidizers cannot be premixed with the slurry; and disk manufacturers must add these oxidizers, such as ferric nitrate, at their point of use. The use of ferric nitrate is also undesirable because it stains the polishing equipment.
Other manufacturers have used various unconventional abrasives such as boehmite and fumed metal oxides to achieve smooth substrates surfaces. Kodama et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,837, disclose the use of a persulfate accelerator with a silica sol or gel. In addition, Streinz et al., in PCT Pub. No. 98/23697 disclose the use of a triple salt of 2KHSO5.KHSO4.K2SO4 (approximately 50% monopersulfate) or hydrogen peroxide oxidizers with a ferric nitrate catalyst for use with fumed silica and alumina dispersions for polishing hard disk substrates.
Dromard et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,273, disclose the use of anionic dispersing agents, such as sodium polyacrylate or polymethacrylate. These dispersing agents stabilize an aqueous suspension of anhydrous alumina and silica for papermaking industry coatings. Some slurry manufacturers have attempted to stabilize basic colloidal silica slurries, which is stable over an extended period of time. Although the suspension is stable, the polishing rate is substantially slower than conventional acidic alumina slurries. Adding various chemical oxidizers such as hydrogen peroxide, aluminum nitrate and ferric nitrate to these slurries increases their polishing rate. These oxidizers either reduce the shelf life of the slurries or they become unstable before they reach the end-users. Another alternative is to add the oxidizer solution to the slurries at the point of use; however, it is undesirable for disk manufacturers, because special handling and storage facilities for the hazardous materials are required at end-users"" sites.
It is an object of the invention to provide a slurry for reducing surface roughness of metal substrates.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a slurry for accelerating the polishing process.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a stable colloidal polishing slurry with enhanced polishing characteristics and minimized surface defects.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a polishing slurry having improved polishing performance on Ni-P plated substrates for computer hard disks.
The polishing slurry includes polishing particles having a mean particle diameter of less than about 5 xcexcm. The slurry contains at least about 0.5 total weight percent oxidizer selected from at least one of the group consisting of HNO3, Ni(NO3)2, Al(NO3)3, Mg(NO3)2, Zn(NO3)2 and NH4NO3. A small but effective amount of a co-oxidizer selected from the group consisting of perbromates, perchlorates, periodates, persulfates, permanganates, ferric nitrate, cerium-containing salts, perbenzoic acids, nitrite compounds, perborate compounds, hypochlorite compounds, chlorite compounds and chloride compounds accelerates removal of substrates; and water forms the balance of the aqueous slurry.
The method of polishing optionally contains the following steps to maintain oxidation potential. First, introducing a precursor polishing slurry into a mixing vessel, the polishing slurry contains polishing particles; at least about 0.5 weight percent total oxidizer, the oxidizer being selected from at least one of the group consisting of HNO3, Ni(NO3)2, Al(NO3)3, Mg(NO3)2, Zn(NO3)2 and NH4NO3; and balance water. Then mixing a small but effective amount of co-oxidizer into the precursor polishing slurry forms an active polishing slurry, the co-oxidizer being selected from at least one of the group consisting of perbromates, perchlorates, periodates, persulfates, permanganates, ferric nitrate, cerium-containing salts, perbenzoic acids, nitrite compounds, perborate compounds, hypochlorite compounds, chlorite compounds and chloride compounds. Then, polishing the substrate, with the active polishing slurry with the co-oxidizer having at least eighty percent of its as mixed oxidation potential, maximizes polishing rate.


The invention relates to aqueous dispersions of plastics having a solids content of 30 to 70% by weight and a reduced formaldehyde content, based on polymers of one or more monomers from the group comprising acrylic acid esters, methacrylic acid esters, vinyl esters, olefins, vinyl halides, vinylaromatics and ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acids and amides thereof, and a content of 0 to 10% by weight, based on the total weight of the polymer, of N-alkylamides and/or N-alkoxyalkylamides of ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acids, wherein the dispersion contains 0.05 to 10% by weight, based on the polymer, of one or more peroxy compounds from the group comprising hydrogen peroxide, organic peroxides, perborates, percarbonates, persulfates and perphosphates. The dispersions of plastics modified according to the invention are suitable for use as binders, coating agents, impregnating agents and adhesives in all fields in which a low formaldehyde content or a reduced release of formaldehyde during processing is required.

1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to aqueous dispersions of plastics which have a reduced formaldehyde content and contain one or more peroxy compounds from the group comprising peroxides, perborates, percarbonates, persulfates and perphosphates for reduction of the content of free formaldehyde.
2) Background of the Invention
Aqueous dispersions which are self-crosslinking if appropriate and are based on synthetic resins are used to bond nonwovens, which are mainly used in the medical or hygiene sector. The base polymer usually consists of homo- or copolymers of acrylic acid esters or methacrylic acid esters, vinyl acetate homopolymers or vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymers, as well as polymers based on styrene-butadiene or vinyl chloride, if appropriate with a content of self-crosslinking comonomers. The crosslinking which proceeds during the drying operation on self-crosslinking polymers causes an increase in wet and dry strength of the nonwovens under mechanical stress and improves the resistance of the nonwovens to cleaning with water and solvents.
The crosslinking agents employed in practice are mainly monomers containing N-methylol groups, such as N-methylol derivatives of unsaturated organic acid amides (N-methylol-acrylamide) or esters thereof (N-(isobutoxymethyl)acrylamide). N-Methylol compounds split off formaldehyde in an aqueous medium. When these compounds are used as crosslinking agents in an aqueous medium, free formaldehyde is split off above all during drying, because of the condensation reaction. The free formaldehyde thus formed is still contained in the nonwoven even after intensive drying.
The redox catalysts employed during the polymerization, for example Bruggolit or Rongalit (alkali metal formaldehyde sulfoxylates), which also release formaldehyde in an aqueous medium, are another source of free formaldehyde in aqueous synthetic resin dispersions.
Because of the toxicological objections to formaldehyde, which have been discussed for a relatively long time, and the stipulation that only limited formaldehyde concentrations are permitted in the finished nonwoven for nonwovens in the medical and hygiene sector, there exists the need to provide dispersions of plastics having a reduced formaldehyde content as binders for nonwovens.
DE-A1 33 28 456 (EP-A1 143 175) claims formaldehyde-free, crosslinkable polymer systems having crosslinking components based on N-methylol amide and/or N-methylol ether-amide groups. The reduction in formaldehyde content is achieved by addition of a formaldehyde acceptor based on cyclic ureas, such as, for example, ethyleneurea, which bonds the free formaldehyde formed. The disadvantage of this procedure is that specifically the wet strength values of the bonded nonwovens are reduced by the addition of water-soluble organic substances, and formaldehyde is still present, although in bonded form, and can be released, for example, under exposure to heat.
A path analogous to that of DE-A1 33 28 456 with the disadvantages just mentioned is taken in EP-B1 80 635. In this case, urea is added to the dispersion as a formaldehyde scavenger.
The present invention therefore has the objective of drastically reducing the formaldehyde content in aqueous dispersions of plastics based on self-crosslinking polymers or non-crosslinking polymers, without adversely influencing the strength of substrates bonded with these dispersions and avoiding renewed release of formaldehyde during processing.

Process for the preparation of an aqueous dispersions of plastics having a reduced formaldehyde content and use thereof


The effervescent base for the preparation of effervescent tablets and effervescent granules consists of at least one acidic and one gas-evolving component, the former of which is formed by a mixture of (predominantly) monosodium tartrate and (possibly) disodium tartrate, and optionally tartaric acid. The effervescent base is prepared by mixing tartaric acid with sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate containing water of crystallization and slowly reacting the mixture at a temperature increasing to about 50xc2x0 C., after which further sodium carbonate containing water of crystallization is admixed and is allowed to react up to a temperature of about 60xc2x0 C., and drying is then carried out, preferably in vacuo, the mixture is mixed with further, now anhydrous sodium carbonate and the product is optionally pressed to give tablets. The base may additionally comprise an acid sensitive or an alkali-sensitive pharmaceutically active substance.

It is known that particularly effervescent granules consisting of citric acid and sodium bicarbonate or sodium carbonate are relatively highly sensitive to atmospheric humidity, This is also true of systems in which sodium citrates are used with alkali metal bicarbonates and/or carbonates.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,870 teaches to simultaneously incorporate tartaric acid in the surface of citric acid carrier crystals. The crystal surface can be doped with tartaric acid and then be allowed to react with carbonates and/or bicarbonates.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,540 suggests to use tartaric acid as carrier for effervescent system particles, Therefore sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate are embedded on crystalline tartaric acid and in powdered tartaric acid by granulation, whereupon the granules are covered with a solution of tartaric acid and EDTA.
Effervescent systems which are prepared using monosodium tartrate with alkali metal bicarbonates and/or carbonates are known to have improved properties, especially with respect to the sensitivity to atmospheric humidity. On the other hand, monosodium tartrate is very expensive.
Attempts have now been made to produce monosodium tartrate by reacting tartaric acid with sodium carbonate and bicarbonate by means of surface reactions.
Such surface reactions lead to mixed systems comprising monosodium tartrates and disodium tartrates. It has now surprisingly been found that relatively large amounts of monosodium tartrate are formed in surface reactions of this type, and it would have to be assumed that they give very slow effervescent systems.
On the other hand, it has been found that relatively substantial reaction of tartaric acid and resulting relatively large amounts of monosodium tartrate give very rapid effervescent systems which furthermore exhibit previously unknown stability to atmospheric humidity.
It was found, surprisingly, that the tartaric acid, which is converted to monosodium tartrate, with sodium bicarbonate gives surprisingly short dissolution times and in particular is stable to atmospheric humidity of 80% for 6 days or more.
The granules which are produced in the reaction of tartaric acid and sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate were scientifically investigated in order to clearly find out which salts predominantly occur and what is the reason for the insensitivity to moisture.


A non-volatile memory in which, during read operations, the sense amplifier's first input is connected not only to a selected non-programmed reference cell, but also to a current of a value one half the current that flows in a programmed cell; and the sense amplifier's second input is connected not only to a selected matrix cell to be read, but also to a current of a value one half the current that flows in a non-programmed cell.

In circuits made with CMOS technology, where programmable components are used to make non-volatile memories (ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, FLASH), it is necessary to provide a reference system which is able to recognize programmed elements, which are turned off and which therefore draw a zero current when driven, from the nonprogrammed, or virgin, elements, which are on, and therefore draw a current when driven. Recognition is achieved by comparing, in a differential sense amplifier, the current in the element or cell which it is desired to read with the current in a reference cell, which may itself be nonprogrammed or programmed.
However, the sense amplifier must be able to provide an output also when reading a nonprogrammed matrix cell, in which case both its inputs would be equal. Therefore, it is known to shift the discriminating threshold by a method known as "variable offset current", according to which an offset current of half the current in a nonprogrammed cell is permanently applied to the reading input of the amplifier.
While the above approach gives satisfactory results in a limited range of supply voltages, it is liable to fail at high supply voltages, because (as will be shown in more detail below) then the current in the programmed cell increasingly departs from zero, until it exceeds the value of the threshold current (i.e., half the current in a nonprogrammed cell).
The above situation effectively limits the range of acceptable supply voltages, or, from another point of view, compels the manufacturer to discard devices which would otherwise operate satisfactorily at middle voltages, because they fail at the high end of the voltage range.
The main object of the invention is therefore to provide an improved sense circuit, of the variable offset current type, for recognizing the nonprogrammed or programmed status of the cells in storage devices such as non-volatile memories, which improved sense circuit compensates the above drift of the current in the programmed cell, and extends the operating range of the sense circuit, particularly in that it allows operation in a wider range of voltage supplies.
Another object is to increase the manufacturing yield of such sense devices.

Sense circuit for storage devices such as non-volatile memories, with compensated offset current


Apparatus and method for closed-loop power control in mobile satellite communication system, which can compensate round trip delay. The apparatus for closed-loop power control includes the means of; a) converting power control order from base earth station into power control step; b) measuring channel change rate from power of pilot channel; c) making tab coefficient using said channel change rate; d) compensating channel change due to loop delay using power control step; and e) renovating received signal power using said power control step.

Generally, closed-loop power control is performed to maintain a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at a target value determined in a system. To perform a closed-loop power control, a receiver generates a power control command by comparing a received power or signal-to-noise ratio with the target value, and transmits the power control command to a transmitter. The transmitter controls the transmit power based on the power control command.
Power control technology of a Satellite Code Division Multiple Access (SAT-CDMA) mobile communication system is suggested as one of satellite transmission standards for an International Mobile Telecommunication-2000 (IMT-2000) system. It includes both of the up-link and down-link closed loop power control and the up-link open loop power control.
In the SAT-CDMA mobile communication system, the round trip delay (RTD) time taken for a power control command generated in a base station to be reflected on the received power of the base station is very long compared to a terrestrial system. When the RTD time is longer than a power control command period in the SAT-CDMA mobile communication system, power error compensation performance and loop stability become deteriorated.
To overcome the above problem caused by the long RTD time, Saints et al. suggest a power control in U.S. Pat. No. 6,075,914, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Adjusting Thresholds and Measurement of Received Signals by Anticipating Power Control Commands Yet to Be Executed." In the U.S. Pat. No. 6,075,914, Saints teaches the technology that estimates a received power after the RTD time by considering the RTD time taken for the present power control command to be reflected on the received power, and generates a power control command based on the estimated received power after the RTD time. The power control method, however, does not solve the problem that the communication system is deteriorated by the alteration of a channel during the RTD time.

Closed-loop power control apparatus for mobile satellite communication system and method thereof

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


The spectacle frame comprises two side pieces each adapted to be secured to one of two organic lenses by hinging one of its ends, and a bridge adapted to be secured between the two lenses, a part of the side pieces and/or the bridge comprising elements for directly securing them to the lenses. The securing elements are adapted to engage a portion of the cut-out edge of the lenses over a length of approximately 5-10 mm.

Document DE-C-291 548 discloses a type of means for directly fixing a bridge to the edge of a mineral lens.
Another category of frames of the aforesaid type, known as "three-piece frames", is available commercially.
These are frames which do not include a part adapted so as to encircle the periphery of the lenses, and which have therefore been designed so as to meet a desire for lightness and discreetness. The bridge and the side-arms of these frames are fixed to the lenses by screwing through the lenses which have therefore to be drilled for this purpose. Screwing requires recourse to a set of screws, washers, nuts and lock-nuts.
Such frames nevertheless have several major drawbacks, resulting in particular in their not being able to be assembled with lenses other than by a highly experienced and highly skilful optician. As a matter of fact, the choice of the angle at which the drilling is to be performed is critical in order that, once assembly has been carried out, the lenses are properly located in the desired wearing plane; once the angle has been chosen, it is difficult to make it comply with the drilling; finally, the optician must take all precautions to prevent the lens from cracking either during the initial drilling, or subsequently, namely during the operation of tightening the screws after fitting, or even in the course of use, under the effect of the stress exerted on the lens. In the event of breakage, the optician has to fashion a new lens and again devote considerable time and effort to the fixing thereof, and this may give rise to very significant costs. As a result, numerous opticians are reticent to propose such frames. Let us add that these frames have, for the optician, the drawback of entailing a relatively complex and costly assembly device, owing to the diversity of the pieces forming the fixing means.
Coming to the wearer, the placement of the fixing means generates a certain occular nuisance, in particular in the nasal area, owing to the fact that the screws are located within his field of vision. In extreme cases, the wearer may even manifest a convergent squint (wearers exhibiting small pupillary distances).
Finally, spectacles which include such frames are tricky to maintain. Apart from their intrinsic fragility, a problem results from the fact that, in such frames, the screws serving to fix the bridge pass through the lens and through a tab appertaining to the bridge and which is thus applied closely against the internal face of the lens. Dirt slips between this tab and the lens, which dirt is inaccessible but visible from the outside face of the lens. Ultrasound cleaning does not generally allow this dirt to be totally eliminated and the only means of removing it completely is to dismantle the bridge, with the risk of breaking the lens which this entails when dismantling and refitting.

Spectacle frame and method for securing organic lenses thereto


The present invention discloses a system and a process for rapidly detecting drowsiness in a individual operating a machine. The system can capture a plurality of facial images of the individual and compare one or more facial parameters from the images to a plurality of stored high priority sleepiness facial actions that are in a prioritized action database. Based on the comparison, a current level of sleepiness can be determined for the individual and an actuator can be actuated in order to alert the individual and possibly any other individuals that may be in the vicinity.

Accidents involving machines such as motor vehicles, heavy equipment machinery, metal stamping equipment and the like are known to occur when an operator of the machine becomes drowsy, distracted, etc. In an attempt to anticipate motor vehicle driver drowsiness, video monitoring systems that focus on the driver and capture images of the driver's facial characteristics are known. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0159344 discloses a system that processes three points of a driver's facial feature in order to calculate a head pose of the driver and determine their state during operation of a motor vehicle.
Other systems use facial imaging in order to determine behavior related to "road rage", "lying", drowsiness during monitoring of computer displays and the like. However, heretofore systems and methods have required excessive computation time and/or complex modeling of facial features in order to attempt an evaluation as to whether or not an individual is becoming or has become drowsy. As such, an improved system and/or process for rapidly detecting the drowsiness of an individual while operating a machine would be desirable.

System for rapid detection of drowsiness in a machine operator

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


An ATM inverse multiplexing cell-based system for reducing error-multiplication due to error events in the transmitted cell stream, which includes a first IMA assembly having an input coupled to an incoming cell stream from a first ATM layer device, a second IMA assembly having an output coupled to a second ATM layer device, a plurality of links coupling the first IMA assembly to the second IMA assembly. The first IMA assembly includes a multiplexer for multiplexing the incoming cell stream onto the plurality of links and for inserting onto the links framing cells in the form of "st" cells in place of idle cells and "S" cells to mark divisions in each channel corresponding to a given number of cells or a given time interval between successive "S" cells. An encoder encodes and inserts cell location information of both control cells and payload cells. The second IMA assembly includes a plurality of link buffers for receiving cells transmitted along respective ones of links. A demultiplexer demultiplexes cells by aligning "S" cells on the link buffers and releasing payload cells for CDV smoothing. A decoder extracts and decodes location information from the framing cells to identify errored or missing cells and to mark the location of those cells. A discriminator distinguishes between errors in a header and errors in a payload of an errored cell and flushes all cells in the same frame on each link upon failure to identify an "unknown" cell before encountering buffer overflow.

In an ATM Inverse Multiplexing System (formerly referred to as AIMUX but presently referred to as IMA, for Inverse Multiplexing for ATM), ATM cell traffic is transported by means of time-division multiplexing over several channels (typically T1 or E1 data links). In a cell based IMA system, these ATM cells (defined here as "payload cells") are sent on each channel in a round-robin fashion as depicted in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, an incoming cell stream 20 from an ATM layer on bus interface 21 is received by IMA device 11 of IMA system 10 and is coupled to another IMA device 12 by three channels or links 14, 16, and 18. Incoming cells 20 on incoming bus interface 21 enter the IMA device 11 and are time-division multiplexed over links 14, 16, and 18. In each channel or link 14, 16, or 18, a sequence number "S" cell is inserted periodically, as determined by a specified time interval or by a given number of cells. In this case an "S" cell precedes each series of cells from the incoming cell stream over a selected time interval or for each of a selected number of incoming cells. Another "S" cell is inserted on each channel after the last cells of the given set of cells in the incoming cell stream has been transmitted. At the IMA device 12, the egress payload cell stream is reconstructed by assembling incoming cells on each channel in the same order as they were transmitted.
A more specific configuration is shown in FIG. 2, in which one ATM Layer Device 18 is coupled through an IMA system 10 to another ATM Layer Device 19. The ATM Layer Device 18 connects to IMA device 11 via Utopia/SCI-PHY bus interface 21 which, in turn, is coupled to a number of physical layer devices 30 by Utopia/SCI-PHY bus interface 14. Each physical layer (PHY-layer) device 30 is coupled by links 34 and 36 to another corresponding physical layer device 32. Each physical layer device 32 is connected to IMA device 12 by one of several Utopia/SCI-PHY bus interface 16. IMA device 12 connects to ATM Layer device 19 by Utopia/SCI-PHY bus line 22.
Cells from ATM Layer Device 18 are sent to IMA device 11 which multiplexes them together with "S" cells, onto bus lines 14. A transmitting PHY-layer ATM device 30 sends idle cells over its link for the purpose of cell rate decoupling whenever its transmit FIFO buffer (not shown) is empty. This can occur when the incoming ATM traffic is either bursty or if the cells arrive at a rate slower than the transmit rate of the PHY device 30.
The receiving IMA device 12 must reconstruct its output stream from cells received over the constituent channels, in such a way that cell sequence integrity is preserved. Referring to FIG. 3, an input cell stream 13 is multiplexed over three links 15 (link #1), 17 (link #2), and 19 (link #3). An S cell precedes cell #1 followed by cell #1. Similarly, an S cell precedes cell #2 followed by an idle cell containing an error (error(2)) and an S cell on link 19 is followed by cell #3. The remaining cells are sent in the order shown in FIG. 3 with cells #4 and #8 containing errors (error(1) and error(3), respectively). Suppose a payload (or S) cell is lost due to an HEC error, as shown in FIG. 3 (event error (1)). If the cells are simply reassembled directly according to the successfully received payload cell sequence in each channel or link, then the output cells will no longer be delivered in the correct sequence to the ATM-layer device 12, as can be seen in FIG. 4. These errors will not be detected until an S cell is subsequently received (error-free), at which point the IMA device will realize the problem because the number of payload cells received between that and the previous S cell will be different from what is expected.
It will be seen that mis-sequencing occurs from a combination of 1)idle cells inserted in a manner that disrupts the ordered arrival sequence of payload cells and, 2) ambiguities as to where these idle cells may be in the received cell stream (and guessing wrong). These are consequences of using channels that operate in an asynchronous manner, where each channel may be operating at slightly (but nevertheless significantly) different frequencies and phase differences relative to the other channels at any given time. The mis-sequencing problem can be solved by having the channels operate synchronously with each other, but that may not always be feasible as it depends very much on the underlying telephone network infrastructure.
ATM PHY devices 32 are typically configured to discard idle cells and cells with HEC errors. If these devices can be programmed to pass HEC-errored cells on to the higher layers, additional information can be used to assist in the decoding process (see ATMF 95-1659, "Synchronous Links, Cell Loss Handling, and Control Cells in AIMUX", December 1995). However, the IMA device 12 will still need to guess whether or not a HEC-errored cell corresponds to an idle cell. Now suppose that the number of payload cells framed between two S cells is fixed. The IMA device 12 can now use this information to identify errored cells by buffering all subsequently received cells for the remainder of the frame, and count the number of payload cells (see ATMF 95-1659, supra.). If the number of payload cells is less than expected, then it may be possible to determine the position of any missing payload cell by determining the locations of the HEC-errored cells. Furthermore, cell arrival timing information can be used to reduce the range of possibilities. This can be done by either explicitly recording the arrival times or by having the PHY devices pass idle cells through. Even if all these measures are taken, certain error patterns can produce unresolved ambiguities that lead to error multiplication. An example is shown in FIG. 3 for events error (2) and error (3), where the corresponding decoded sequence is shown in FIG. 5. Moreover, buffering schemes such as this one will not work if the number of payload cells in a given frame is unknown.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a more robust solution to reduce error multiplication, as compared to the known schemes. It is a further object of the invention to provide error free multiplication which does not require additional PHY-layer signaling information from known schemes which work over asynchronous multiplexed channels. It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a solution to reduce error multiplication with no additional transmission overhead compared to existing schemes and which does not require an inordinate increase in implementation complexity or memory requirement.