A unified network architecture based on a medium access control (MAC) abstraction sub-layer for converging a plurality of communication standards is disclosed. The unified network architecture in a control plane comprises a first unified terminal device comprising a unified management entity in the MAC abstraction sub-layer, for mapping a unified parameter from an upper layer to a first MAC type parameter for a configuration of a first MAC type of a MAC layer complied with a first communication standard of the plurality of communication standards, and a service management entity service access point, hereafter called SME SAP, arranged between the MAC abstraction sub-layer and a service management entity (SME) of the MAC layer, wherein the unified management entity communicates with the SME via the SME SAP for setting the first MAC type parameter into the first MAC type of the MAC layer.

With rapidly growing of user's needs for accessing digital contents everywhere, various communication technologies have been developed for transmission of the digital contents. These communication technologies may be developed for different environments, different transmission speeds and/or different user requirements. In addition, several medium access control (MAC)/physical (PHY) protocols are established based on different communication standards, which define different communication methods based on heterogeneous mediums. For example, IEEE 1901 communication standard is used for power line (PLC), IEEE 802.11 communication standard is used for wireless communication (i.e. WiFi), IEEE 802.3 communication standard is used for Ethernet, and Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) communication standard is used for coaxial cables, and so on.
As a result, a MAC abstraction sub-layer is developed for converging these various communication standards. Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram of an exemplary communication device 10 in a data plane. The communication device 10 may be a mobile phone, laptop, tablet computer, electronic book, modem, or portable computer system, and uses various communication standards for communication. In FIG. 1, the MAC abstraction sub-layer is arranged between an upper layer and a plurality of MAC types of a MAC layer corresponding to a plurality of communication standards. The upper layer can be a network layer, a transport layer, an application layer or any layer responsible for processing the signalings and the packets received from the MAC abstraction sub-layer, and signalings and packets to be transmitted via the MAC abstraction sub-layer. The plurality of MAC types of the MAC layer include 802.3 MAC, 802.11 MAC, 1901 MAC and MoCA MAC complied with to the IEEE 802.3 communication standard, IEEE 802.11 communication standard, IEEE 1901 communication standard and MoCA communication standard, respectively. Further, each of the MAC types of the MAC layer includes a service access point (SAP), such that the MAC abstraction sub-layer can communicate with the MAC layer via the corresponding SAPs.
For example, when there is a packet arriving at the 802.11 MAC, the MAC abstraction sub-layer receives the packet via the SAP of the 802.11 MAC. Alternatively, when there is a packet arriving at the MAC abstraction sub-layer and is needed to be transmitted to the 1901 MAC, the MAC abstraction sub-layer transmits the packet via the SAP of the 1901 MAC. In addition, the communication device 10 in the data plane includes a plurality of PHY types of a PHY layer. The plurality of PHY types of the PHY layer include an 802.3 PHY, an 802.11 PHY, a 1901 PHY and a MoCA PHY, which is complied with the IEEE 802.3 communication standard, IEEE 802.11 communication standard, IEEE 1901 communication standard and MoCA communication standard, respectively. Thus, the packet of the 802.11 MAC, 802.3 MAC, 1901 MAC or MoCA MAC can be received/transmitted through a corresponding PHY type of the PHY layer.
However, with current MAC abstraction sub-layer architecture, it is incapable of providing a unified configuration experience to users due to various MAC types of the MAC layer (e.g. 802.3 MAC, 802.11 MAC, 1901 MAC and MoCA MAC). More specifically, it is difficult for a user to set the communication device 10 compatible of the MAC abstraction sub-layer because each MAC type of the MAC layer has a dedicated MAC parameter setting (e.g. format, length, etc). A user has to individually set the MAC parameters to conform with the parameter settings of the MAC types, causing inconvenience user experience.

Unified network architecture based on medium access control abstraction sub-layer


A magnetic recording device exhibiting reduced electromagnetic interference has a magnetic recording medium, a spindle motor for rotationally driving the magnetic recording medium, a magnetic head for writing and/or reading magnetic information and a shifting device for shifting the magnetic head. A stator core is provided with nine pole pieces divided into three groups of adjacent pole pieces. Each group of three adjacent pole pieces is wound with one of three different 3-phase coils such that adjacent pole pieces in a group have opposite polarities relative to a rotor magnet. The magnetic head is disposed corresponding to a specific slot of a stator core in the spindle motor. A shift route thereof extends outwards virtually in the radial direction from the specific slot.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic recording device such as a hard disc device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A magnetic recording device typically includes a recording medium such as a magnetic disc, a spindle motor for rotationally driving this recording medium, an electromagnetic means such as a magnetic head for writing and/or reading magnetic information to and/or from the recording medium and a shift means for shifting the electromagnetic means along the surface of the recording medium. The spindle motor has a housing mounted on, e.g., a frame of the magnetic recording device, a hub relatively rotatable about the housing, a rotor magnet attached to the hub and a stator disposed opposite to this rotor magnet. The recording medium is fitted to the hub as required.
In this type of magnetic recording device, an electric current supplied to a coil of the stator is, as required, commuted corresponding to an angular position of the rotor magnet. The recording medium is thereby rotationally driven together with the hub in a predetermined direction. The electromagnetic means is, as required, shifted by action of the shift means, whereby the magnetic information is written and/or read to and/or from the recording medium.
However, electromagnetic noises tend to occur due to the commutation of the current to the coil. When the electromagnetic noises are caused, those noises exert adverse influences on the electromagnetic means via the frame of the recording device. This in turn causes errors during a write and/or read process. Particularly when writing and/or reading is effected based on digital signals, and if the electromagnetic noises are pulse-like ones, it is difficult to eliminate those noises. This also causes the errors during the write and/or read process.
Besides, in the magnetic recording device, a magnetic flux generated leaks outside from the stator and exerts adverse influences on the electromagnetic means. This causes the errors during the writing and/or reading process.

Magnetic recording device having reduced electromagnetic interference


A method for fabricating a circuit device includes preparing a laminating sheet comprising a conductive film, insulation resin formed on the surface of the conductive film, and a first conductive path layer formed on the surface of the insulation resin. Semiconductor elements are adhered and fixed on the first conductive path layer. A sealing resin is provided as an overcoat to the first conductive path layer and the semiconductor elements. The method includes forming a second conductive path layer by etching the conductive film into a predetermined pattern and forming an external electrode at predetermined points of the second conductive path layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for fabricating a circuit device, and in particular, a method for fabricating a thin type circuit device that utilizes a conductive plated layer and conductive layer and is able to achieve multi-layer connection.
2. Description of the Prior Arts
Recently, IC packages have been actively employed in portable devices, and small-sized and high density assembly devices. Conventional IC packages and assembly concepts tend to greatly change. For example, this is described in, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-133678. This pertains to a technology regarding a semiconductor apparatus in which a polyimide resin sheet being a flexible sheet is employed as one example of insulation resin sheets.
FIG. 13 through FIGS. 15A, 15B and 15C show a case where a flexible sheet 50 is employed as an interposer substrate. Also, the views illustrated upside of the respective drawings are plan views, and the views illustrated downside thereof are longitudinally sectional views taken along the lines A—A of the respective drawings.
First, copper foil patterns 51 are prepared to be adhered to each other via an adhesive resin on the flexible sheet 50 illustrated in FIG. 13. These copper foil patterns 51 have different patterns, depending upon cases where a semiconductor element to be assembled is a transistor or an IC. Generally speaking, a bonding pad 51A and an island 51B are formed. Also, an opening 52 is provided to take out an electrode from the rear side of the flexible sheet 50, from which the above-described copper foil pattern 51 is exposed.
Subsequently, the flexible sheet 50 is transferred onto a die bonder, and as shown in FIG. 14, a semiconductor element 53 is assembled or mounted. After that, the flexible sheet 50 is transferred onto a wire bonder, wherein the bonding pads 51A are electrically connected to the pads of the semiconductor elements 53 by thin metal wires 54.
Finally, as shown in FIG. 15A, sealing resin 55 is provided on the surface of the flexible sheet 50, and the surface thereof is completely sealed with the sealing resin 55. Herein, the bonding pads 51A, island 51B, semiconductor elements 53 and thin metal wires 54 are transfer-molded so as to be completely overcoated.
After that, as shown in FIG. 15B, connecting means 56 such as solder and a soldering ball is provided, wherein spherical solder 56 deposited to the bonding pad 51A is formed via the opening 52 by passing through a solder reflow furnace. Further, since semiconductor elements 53 are formed in the form of a matrix on the flexible sheet 50, these are diced to be separated from each other as shown in FIG. 15.
In addition, the sectional view of FIG. 15C shows electrodes 51A and 51D on both sides of the flexible sheet 50 as the electrodes. The flexible sheet 50 is generally supplied from a maker after both sides thereof are patterned.
Since a semiconductor apparatus that employs the above-described flexible sheet 50 does not utilize any publicly known metal frame, the semiconductor apparatus has a problem in that a multi-layer connection structure cannot be achieved while it has an advantage by which a remarkably thin package structure can be brought about, wherein path is carried out with one layer of copper foil pattern 51, which is provided substantially on the surface of the flexible sheet 50.
It is necessary to make the flexible sheet 50 sufficiently thick, for example, approx. 200 μm, in order to retain supporting strength to achieve a multi-layer connection structure. Therefore, there is a problem of retrogression with respect to thinning of the sheet.
Further, in the method for fabricating a circuit device, a flexible sheet 50 is transferred in the above-described fabrication apparatus, for example, a die bonder, wire bonder, a transfer mold apparatus, and a reflow furnace, etc., and the flexible sheet 50 is attached onto a portion called a "stage" or a "table".
However, if the thickness of the insulation resin that becomes the base of a flexible sheet 50 is made thin at approx. 50 μm, and where the thickness of a copper foil pattern 51 formed on the surface thereof is thin at 9 through 35 μm, there is a shortcoming in which the insulation resin is warped as shown in FIG. 16 to cause its transfer performance to be worsened, and mountability thereof on the above-described stage or table is also worsened. It is considered that this is because the insulation resin itself is thin in order to be warped, and warping occurs due to a difference in the thermal expansion coefficient between the copper foil pattern 51 and the insulation resin. In particular, there is another problem in that, if a hard insulation material not using any core material of glass cloth fibers is warped as shown in FIG. 16, the insulation material is easily collapsed by compression from above.
Since the portion of the opening 52 is compressed from above when being molded, a force by which the periphery of the bonding pad 51A is warped upward is brought about, the adhesion of the bonding pad 51A is worsened.
Also, the resin material that constitutes a flexible sheet 50 has less flexibility, or if a filler to increase the thermal conductivity is blended, the flexible sheet 50 is made hard. In such a case, where bonding is carried out by a wire bonder, there may be a case where the bonded portion is cracked. Also, when performing transfer molding, there is a case where the portion with which a metal die is brought into contact is cracked. This remarkably occurs if any warping shown in FIG. 16 is provided.
Although the flexible sheet 50 described above is such a type that no electrode is formed on the rear side thereof, there are cases where an electrode 51D is formed on the rear side of the flexible sheet 50 as shown in FIG. 15C. At this time, since the electrode 51D is brought into contact with the above-described fabrication apparatus or is brought into contact with the transfer plane of transfer means between the fabrication apparatuses, another problem occurs in that damage and scratches arise on the rear side of the electrode 51D, wherein the electrode is established with such damage and scratches retained, the electrode 51 itself may be cracked due to application of heat later on.
Also, if an electrode 51D is provided on the rear side of the flexible sheet 50, a problem occurs in that, when carrying out transfer molding, no facial contact with the stage can be secured. In this case, if the flexible sheet 50 is composed of a hard material as described above, the electrode 51D becomes a fulcrum and the periphery of the electrode 51D is compressed downward, wherein the flexible sheet 50 is cracked.
The present inventor proposed use of an insulation resin sheet for which the first thin conductive layer and the second thick conductive layer are adhered by insulation resin.
However, although the first conductive layer, which is thin, is finely patterned in achieving a multi-layer connection structure, there is a problem in that the second conductive layer, which is thick, is not suitable for fine patterning.


A removable cassette for a peristaltic pump includes a cassette body and an occluder disposed at least partially in the cassette body and configured to be movable between an occluding position and a non-occluding position. The occluder includes an occluder body and an anti-ejection member integrally formed on the occluder body. The anti-ejection member is configured to substantially prevent the removal of the cassette from the peristaltic pump when the occluder is in the non-occluding position.

The present invention relates generally to a peristaltic pump and a removable cassette therefor.
Peristaltic pumps are often used to deliver fluid in a very controlled manner such as, for example, the intravenous delivery of medicine to a patient. The peristaltic pump may generally include a pump body having a cassette removably attached thereto, and a tube supported by the cassette. A fluid (e.g., medicine) flows through the tube, generally by increments, as the tube is occluded against a race formed in the cassette in response to rotational movement of a planetary system of rollers driven by a motorized drive shaft. In some instances, the cassette may further include an occlusion mechanism or occluder that interacts with the tube to occlude the tube to substantially prevent fluid inside the tube from flowing through the tube.

Peristaltic pump and removable cassette therefor


The present disclosure discloses an optical imaging lens group including, sequentially from an object side to an image side along an optical axis, a first lens having a positive refractive power; a second lens having a negative refractive power; a third lens having a refractive power; a fourth lens having a refractive power, and an image-side surface thereof being a concave surface; a fifth lens having a refractive power; a sixth lens having a refractive power, and an object-side surface thereof being a convex surface; and a seventh lens having a negative refractive power. A distance TTL along the optical axis from an object-side surface of the first lens of the optical imaging lens group to an imaging plane of the optical imaging lens group and a total effective focal length f of the optical imaging lens group satisfy TTL/f<1.

With the rapid development of CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) and CCD (Charge Coupled Device) and the market guidance, small imaging lens assemblies are trending toward large aperture, large image plane and small size, making the design of small imaging lens assemblies increasingly difficult.
At present, in order to further enhance the imaging effect of portable imaging device imaging, the conventional solution of each terminal is to cutout the main body of the object through an algorithm, and then integrate the blurred background and the main body to achieve the effect of highlighting the main body. However, the disadvantage of this method is that the algorithm cutout cannot accurately locate the edges of the main body. Thus, the final imaging effect makes the transition between the main body and the background appear extremely unnatural, and the effect of optical depth of field cannot be fully achieved, which presents new challenges to optical design.
In order to improve the above-mentioned situation, optical designers need to design an optical system with a larger aperture to achieve a shallower depth of field. At the same time, the focal length may be increased to obtain a shallower depth of field. However, a larger focal length will lead to a larger optical system structure, which contradicts the portability required by the terminal device. Therefore, how to increase the focal length without changing the overall length of the optical system is a big challenge for optical design.


Components for a multiple window unit sunroof are pre-assembled at the factory and include a support frame having vertical beam members which have water weep channels on their top faces for routing away from the sunroof moisture entering under the glazing panel adjacent side edges which overlap the drain channel. The support frame is snugly received in a boot. Removable locator jigs are attached to the perimeter frame of the glazing panels to position them and hold them while mounting flanges are being installed.

A sunroof which is of a sunroom is a very popular building feature. A skylight as disclosed in the Mearl Minter U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,638 utilizes a single glazing panel. What is needed is a sunroof utilizing glazing panels interconnected as disclosed in Mearl Minter U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,215 Apr. 16, 1991 assigned to Pella Corporation, Pella, Iowa. It is desirable to factory assemble as much of the sunroof as possible leaving a minimum amount of assembly for the job site. A sunroof assembly at the job site should be "installer friendly". The sunroof should include as many as four glazing panels and involve a composite frame readily mounted in a roof opening. A built-in water weep system should be provided. Installation jigs are desirable for assuring that the glazing panels are properly positioned on the supporting composite frame. The frame should be mounted in a protective boot.


In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, a system and method for providing compatibility between a load having a reactive impedance during steady-state operation and a secondary winding of an electronic transformer driven by a leading-edge dimmer may include a first circuit and a second circuit. The first circuit may cause the load to have a substantially non-reactive impedance when the first circuit is enabled. The second circuit may enable the first circuit to cause the load to have the substantially non-reactive impedance during a duration of time following start-up of the electronic transformer and disable the first circuit after the duration such that the load has the reactive impedance during steady-state operation of the load.

Customers of lighting are increasingly choosing low-power lighting to meet their lighting needs. Typically, such low-power lighting employs halogen light bulbs, light-emitting diode light bulbs, compact fluorescent light bulbs, or other types of light bulbs or lamp assemblies that produce light with intensity on par with that of traditional incandescent light bulbs, but with significantly less power consumption. However, many of such light bulbs or lamp assemblies operate using a voltage (e.g., 12 volts) much less than that typically provided by traditional power infrastructures. For example, in the United States, public utilities generally provide electricity in the form of a 60-Hertz sinusoid with a magnitude of 120 volts. Thus, for low-power lamp assemblies to properly operate in the existing power infrastructure, a voltage transformer must be interposed between the public electricity source and the lamp assembly.
Transformers present in a power infrastructure may include magnetic or electronic transformers. A magnetic transformer typically comprises two coils of conductive material (e.g., copper) each wrapped around a core of material having a high magnetic permeability (e.g., iron) such that magnetic flux passes through both coils. In operation, an electric current in the first coil may produce a changing magnetic field in the core, such that the changing magnetic field induces a voltage across the ends of the secondary winding via electromagnetic induction. Thus, a magnetic transformer may step voltage levels up or down while providing electrical isolation in a circuit between components coupled to the primary winding and components coupled to the secondary winding.
On the other hand, an electronic transformer is a device which behaves in the same manner as a conventional magnetic transformer in that it steps voltage levels up or down while providing isolation and can accommodate load current of any power factor. An electronic transformer generally includes power switches which convert a low-frequency (e.g., direct current to 400 Hertz) voltage wave to a high-frequency voltage wave (e.g., on the order of 10,000 Hertz). A comparatively small electronic transformer may be coupled to such power switches and thus provides the voltage level transformation and isolation functions of the conventional magnetic transformer.
FIG. 1 depicts a lighting system 101 that includes an electronic transformer 122 and a lamp assembly 142. Such a system may be used, for example, to transform a high voltage (e.g., 110V, 220 V) to a low voltage (e.g., 12 V) for use with a halogen lamp (e.g., an MR16 halogen lamp). In some instances, such a transformer 122 may be present in a lighting fixture configured to receive a lamp assembly 142, wherein such lamp assembly 142 includes a source of light (e.g., LEDs 152) for providing illumination. Generally, a transformer 122 designed to receive an incandescent or halogen lamp assembly "expects" a linear load (e.g., one which has a primarily constant impedance, in which current varies in a linear fashion with the voltage applied to the load). However, when a lamp that has a non-linear operating mode (e.g., including but not limited to a light-emitting diode, or LED, lamp) is used with an electronic transformer designed to receive a linear load, the electronic transformer may not function properly, due to the fact that the non-linear load may present widely varying impedances for different time durations.
Furthermore, an electronic transformer 122 may have a power rating range, such as from a minimum power rating to a maximum power rating (e.g., zero watts to 60 watts). When a non-linear load is coupled to electronic transformer 122, the varying non-linear impedance may consume power that falls outside the power rating range.
Referring to FIG. 1, lighting system 101 may receive an AC supply voltage VSUPPLY from voltage supply 104. The supply voltage VSUPPLY is, for example, a nominally 60 Hz/110 V line voltage in the United States of America or a nominally 50 Hz/220 V line voltage in Europe. Electronic transformer 122 may receive the AC supply voltage VSUPPLY at its input where it is rectified by a full-bridge rectifier formed by diodes 124. As voltage VSUPPLY increases in magnitude, voltage on capacitor 126 may increase to a point where diac 128 will turn on (the diac break-over voltage), thus also turning on transistor 129. Once transistor 129 is on, capacitor 126 may be discharged and oscillation will start due to the self-resonance of switching transformer 130, which includes a primary winding (T2a) and two secondary windings (T2b and T2c). Switching transformer 130 may be a saturable core transformer, and if the impedance of lamp assembly 142 is too low, the core of switching transformer 130 may saturate causing the voltage across the base-emitter junction of transistor 129 to go to zero, thus turning off transistor 129. Thus, the load presented to transformer 122 by lamp 142 must be low enough that the current through switching transformer 130 at the break-over voltage of diac 128 will saturate switching transformer 130, causing it to oscillate.
Lamp assembly 142 may receive the AC supply voltage VS at its input where it is rectified by a full-bridge rectifier formed by diodes 144. Such voltage may charge a capacitor 146, thus providing a direct current voltage for linear regulator 148. Linear regulator 148 may be operable to provide a regulated voltage to LED driver 150, which itself may include circuitry for driving an output voltage or current to LEDs 152, thus generating photonic energy. During start-up of electronic transformer 122, capacitor 146 needs to charge to a voltage sufficient to allow linear regulator 148 and LED driver 150 to begin steady-state operation. Because capacitor 146 is the primary load to electronic transformer 122 while linear regulator 148 and LED driver 150 start-up, a non-linear load is provided to electronic transformer 122. Upon start-up of electronic transformer 122, capacitor 146 initially provides a low impedance to electronic transformer 122, and electronic transformer 122 may begin oscillating. However, when capacitor 146 reaches a voltage equal to a diode threshold voltage below the peak voltage value from electronic transformer 122, capacitor 146 then presents a high impedance to electronic transformer 122, and electronic transformer 122 may stop oscillation. If the voltage across capacitor 146 is less than the steady-state voltage of linear regulator 148 and LED driver 150, then lamp assembly 142 may fail to present a linear load to electronic transformer 122.

Systems and methods for low-power lamp compatibility with an electronic transformer


A method for tracking a predetermined, two-dimensional portion of an image throughout a sequence of images, the method comprises the steps of selecting a reference frame; selecting the predetermined, two-dimensional portion within the reference frame by choosing a polygon that defines the boundary of the predetermined portion; fitting a reference mesh having at least three corner nodes and an inside node to the reference polygon; tracking the reference polygon in subsequent or previous image frames by tracking the corner nodes; mapping the reference mesh into the tracked polygon in the subsequent or previous image frames; and refining locations of the inside and corner nodes in the subsequent or previous image frames for tracking local and global motion of the predetermined portion.

In a wide variety of image sequence processing and analysis tasks, there is a great need for an accurate method for tracking the intensity and motion of a portion of an image throughout an image sequence. This portion, called the reference region hereinafter, may correspond to a particular object or a portion of an object in the scene.
Tracking the boundary of an object has been discussed in M. Kass, A. Witkin, and D. Terzopoulos, "Snakes: Active Contour Models", International Journal of Computer Vision, volume 1, no. 4, pp. 321-331, 1988; F. Leymarie and M. Levine, "Tracking Deformable Objects in The Plane Using An Active Contour Model", IEEE Transactions Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, volume 15, pp. 617-634, June 1993; K. Fujimura, N. Yokoya, and K. Yamamoto, "Motion Tracking of Deformable Objects By Active Contour Models Using Multiscale Dynamic Programming", Journal of Visual Communication and Image Representation, vol. 4, pp. 382-391, December 1993; B. Bascle, et al., "Tracking Complex Primitives in An Image Sequence", in IEEE International Conference Pattern Recognition, pp. 426-431, October 1994, Israel; F. G. Meyer and P. Bouthemy, "Region-Based Tracking Using Affine Motion Models in Long Image Sequences", CVGIP: Image Understanding, volume 60, pp. 119-140, September 1994, all of which are herein incorporated by reference. The methods disclosed therein, however, do not address the tracking of the local deformations within the boundary of the object.
Methods for tracking local deformations of an entire frame using a 2-D mesh structure are disclosed in J. Niewglowski, T. Campbell, and P. Haavisto, "A Novel Video Coding Scheme Based on Temporal Prediction Using Digital Image Warping", IEEE Transactions Consumer Electronics, volume 39, pp. 141-150, August 1993; Y. Nakaya and H. Harashima, "Motion Compensation Based on Spatial Transformations", IEEE Transaction Circuits and System Video Technology, volume 4, pp. 339-357, June 1994; M. Dudon, O. Avaro, and G. Eud; "Object-Oriented Motion Estimation", in Picture Coding Symposium, pp. 284-287, September 1994, CA; C.-L. Huang and C.-Y. Hsu, "A New Motion Compensation Method for Image Sequence Coding Using Hierarchical Grid Interpolation", IEEE Transactions Circuits and System Video Technology, volume 4, pp. 42-52, February 1994, all of which are herein incorporated by reference. However, these methods always include the whole frame as the object of interest. They do not address the problem of tracking an individual object boundary within the frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,530, which is herein incorporated by reference, discusses a method for tracking an object within a frame. This method employs a single spatial transformation (in this case affine transformation) to represent the motion of an object. It forms a template of the object, divides the template into sub-templates, and estimates the individual displacement of each sub-template. The parameters of the affine transformation are found from the displacement information of the sub-templates. Although this method employs local displacement information, it does so only to find a global affine transformation for representing the motion of the entire object. Therefore, while it tracks the global motion of an entire object, it cannot track any deformations that occur within the object (i.e., local deformations).
Although the presently known and utilized methods are satisfactory, they are not without drawbacks. In addition to the above-described drawbacks, they also do not take into account the effects of frame-to-frame illumination changes.
Consequently, a need exists for an improved tracking technique that can track objects within a scene which are undergoing local deformations and illumination changes.

Method for region tracking in an image sequence using a two-dimensional mesh


In order to correct measurement magnification and measurement position of a spectral image with high efficiency and with high accuracy using an electronic spectroscope and a transmission electron microscope regarding the spectral image formed in two orthogonal axes which are an amount of energy loss axis and a measurement position information axis; a method for correcting magnification and position and a system for correcting magnification and position, both of which are capable of correcting measurement magnification and measurement position of a spectral image with high efficiency and with high accuracy using an electronic spectroscope and a transmission electron microscope regarding the spectral image formed in two orthogonal axes which are an amount of energy loss axis and a measurement position information axis, are provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transmission electron microscope provided with an electronic spectroscope which spectrally decomposes an electron beam by an amount of energy which the electron beam has and, more particularly, relates to a transmission electron microscope which makes a convergent position differ in an energy dispersion direction of an electronic spectroscope and a direction perpendicular to the energy dispersion direction. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method for correcting magnification or position that can perform correction of magnification or correction of measurement position of a spectral image acquired by the transmission electron microscope with high efficiency and high accuracy, and relates to a correction system for achieving the correction method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Processing dimensions of a silicon semiconductor, a magnetic device, and the like have been becoming minute and their high integration has been being achieved; and deterioration of device characteristics and degradation of reliability have been further becoming important problems. In recent years, a spectral analysis and a two-dimensional element distribution analysis using a (scanning) transmission electron microscope ((S) TEM) and an electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) have been becoming indispensable analysis means in order to analyze defects of semiconductor devices in a nanometer range and basically investigate and solve defect causes in development of new processes and in mass production process.
An electron energy loss spectrum is broadly classified into a zero loss spectrum that does not lose energy when passing through a sample, a plasmon loss spectrum acquired by exciting a valence band electron and losing energy, and a core electron excitation loss spectrum acquired by exciting a core electron and losing energy. In the core electron excitation loss (core loss) spectrum, a fine structure is observed in the vicinity of the absorption edge. This structure is referred to as an energy loss near-edge structure (ELNES), and has information in which an electron state and a chemical-bonding state of a sample are reflected. Furthermore, an energy loss value (absorption edge position) is specific to an element; and therefore, qualitative analysis can be made. In addition, information related to peripheral coordination of an element of interest can be acquired from a shift of an energy loss value which is referred to as a chemical shift; and therefore, simple state analysis can also be made.
Conventionally, in the case where an electron energy loss spectrum at a different point on a sample is acquired, both a scanning transmission electron microscope in which a sample is scanned with a narrowly concentrated electron beam using a scanning coil and an electronic spectroscope which can spectrally decompose by an amount of energy in which the electron beam has are combined; and accordingly, the electron beam passed through the sample is spectrally decomposed and the electron energy loss spectrum is continuously acquired.
However, in the case of such a technique, the aberration and the position of origin of the electron energy loss spectrum are changed by a drift in accelerating voltage of the electron beam and a change in magnetic field and electric field due to a disturbance change in device periphery; and therefore, it is difficult to compare shapes of the energy loss near-edge structure or minimal chemical shifts, in the electron energy loss spectra for measurement positions.
In a usual transmission electron microscope, focal point positions in an x axis and a y axis are set on the same surface and a transmission electron microscope image is acquired; whereas, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. H10-302700 (patent document 1) discloses that a focal point position of the x axis is set to a spectral surface and the other focal point position of the y axis is set to an image surface by making the focal point positions different in the x axis and the y axis in order to solve the aforementioned problem.
As a result, the electron energy loss spectrum in the y axis direction of a sample can be separated and observed. That is, as shown in FIG. 3B, an image acquired by an image detector can be observed such that the x axis is an amount of energy loss and the y axis is a spectral image having position information of the sample. The spectral image is observed in a belt-like shape in response to each laminated film observed in the transmission electron microscope image shown in FIG. 3A. Consequently, there can be observed the electron energy loss spectra at different positions of the sample at the same time, and it is possible to compare in detail energy loss near-edge structures or minimal chemical shifts, in the electron energy loss spectra for the different positions.
The spectral image having an amount of energy loss in the x axis and sample position information in the y axis is a two-dimensional image which is acquired by the image detector by changing lens action of the electronic spectroscope or the like, and by making the focal point positions different in the x axis and the y axis. The width in the y axis direction of the spectral image can be freely adjusted by changing the focal point positions in the x axis and the y axis; however, an observation magnification in the y axis direction in the spectral image needs to be calculated because the observation magnification between the transmission electron microscope image and the spectral image is different.
It is possible to calculate the observation magnification of the spectral image from both a film thickness measured by the transmission electron microscope image and a belt-like width of the spectral image; however, in the case of a sample where a chemical shift is observed at a laminated film interface and the like, it is difficult to calculate a correct observation magnification of the spectral image because the laminated film interface blurs in the spectral image.
Furthermore, it is not possible to simultaneously observe the transmission electron microscope image and the spectral image acquired by matching the focal point positions in the x axis and the y axis. That is, in the spectral image, it is difficult to correctly associate a position in the y axis direction where the electron energy loss spectrum is acquired with one in the transmission electron microscope image.

Transmission electron microscope provided with electronic spectroscope


A mobile device for use in a contents sharing system is provided. The mobile device includes a communications interface configured to communicate with a location processor and to transmit activity information, relating to usage of the mobile device, and location information, relating to a location of the mobile device, to the location processor. The location information is used for identifying at least one Point Of Interest (POI).

1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for identifying points of interest in a contents sharing system.
2. Description of the Related Art:
In recent years there has been a large increase in the number of users carrying mobile devices that are capable of capturing and transmitting user information. Such mobile devices, such as point and shoot cameras or smart phones, can be equipped with sensors, such as Global Position System (GPS) sensors, that can be used to determine the location of the mobile device.
There is a need for systems that can aggregate user information along with location information in a meaningful way. Using a smart phone with a GPS sensor and a camera as an example, it will be appreciated that at many geographic locations, for example, popular tourist sites, users with such smart phones may record similar images at the same or similar GPS co-ordinates.
Users can then, for example, upload their pictures (or other multimedia files) to a cloud-based multimedia sharing service, and such multimedia images may be stored at the cloud based service along with GPS co-ordinates. It will be appreciated that, in many locations, there will be points of interest (e.g., a statue at a tourist site) that would be of interest to a large number of users who visit that location. If the number of users is great, such a cloud based service will store a large number of similar images with the same or similar GPS co-ordinates. Hence, it will be appreciated that location data alone provides a poor indication of what the image data relates to. As a result, there is a need for a technology that can provide better characterization of stored multimedia data.
In addition to points of interest that remain in a location for a considerable amount of time (e.g., a statue at a tourist site), there will also be transient points of interest that may only exist for a limited time. For example, a location, such as a town square, could host a concert located in one corner of the square. Such a concert would be a point of interest for the duration of the concert (e.g., one day). A cloud based image storage service would store a large number of images of this town square, and may have no way for users to identify which images are of the concert.
Therefore, a need exists for ways of identifying points of interest (either temporary points of interest or fixed points of interest) based on the activity of users. The identification of points of interest at a location or in a surrounding area is useful, both for real time sharing of information between mobile users, and for categorizing user data associated with that location.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present invention.

Apparatus and method for identifying point of interest in contents sharing system


In one embodiment, a method for operating a server is provided. The method comprises receiving a plurality of reports from a community of users, each report identifying an email message as spam or not spam; and determining if the email message is spam based on a number of the reports received from the community of users, and a trust factor associated with each user.

The use of spam to send advertisements to email users is becoming increasingly popular. Like its paper-based counterpart—junk mail, receiving spam is annoying.
Therefore, considerable effort is being brought to bear on the problem of filtering spam before it reaches the in-box of a user.
Currently, rule-based filtering systems that use rules written by a human to filter spam are available. As examples of the rules, consider the following rules:                (a) "if the subject line has the phrase "make money fast" then mark as spam;" and        (b) "if the from field is blank, then mark as spam."
Usually thousands of such specialized rules are necessary in order for a rule-based filtering system to be effective in filtering spam. Each of these rules are written by a human, which adds to the cost of rule-based filtering systems.
Another problem is that senders of spam (spammers) are adept at changing spam to render the rules ineffective. For example consider the rule (a), above. A spammer will observe that spam with the subject line "make money fast" is being blocked and could, for example, change the subject line of the spam to read "make money quickly." This change in the subject line renders rule (a) ineffective. Thus, a human would need to write a new rule to filter spam with the subject line "make money quickly." In addition, the old rule (a) will still have to be retained by the system.
With rule-based filtering systems, each incoming email message has to be checked against thousands of active rules. Therefore, rule-based filtering systems require fairly expensive hardware to support the intensive computational load of having to check each incoming electronic mail message against the thousands of active rules. Further, the human intensive nature of rule writing adds to the cost of rule-based systems. The term "email" as used herein is to be interpreted broadly to include any type of electronic message including voicemail messages, short message service (SMS) messages, multi-media messaging service (MMS) messages, facsimile messages, etc.

Method and apparatus to block spam based on spam reports from a community of users


A device for receiving and organizing twisted pairs of conductors from a cable having a plurality of twisted pairs of conductors includes a block with upper and lower surfaces, first and second opposing end walls that define a longitudinal axis, and first and second opposing side walls. The block further comprises at least one aperture extending from the upper surface toward the lower surface, the aperture being sized and configured to receive each of the plurality of twisted pairs of a cable. Each of the side walls includes at least one open-ended slot opening downwardly, each of the slots being sized and configured to receive a respective twisted pair of conductors. In this configuration, the device can facilitate termination of twisted pair conductors onto IDCs or the like and can provide a termination with less dimensional variation (and, in turn, less variation in electrical performance) than prior termination devices.

As is known, communications patch panels frequently incorporate the use of jack modules, like that shown at 100 in FIG. 1, that can be readily attached to and removed from the patch panel. Typically, existing jack modules 100 include a housing 102 having a front portion 104 and a back portion 110. The front portion 104 is visible to the user of the patch panel and includes one or more jack openings 106 configured to receive a communication connector (not shown). The front and back portions 104, 110 engage and mate with each other and serve to protect internal components, such as a printed wiring board 130, one or more jack receptacles 136, and/or a plurality of insulation displacement connectors (IDCs) 138. The jack receptacles 136 are mounted to the front side 132 of the printed wiring board 130, while the IDCs 138 are mounted to the back side 134. Traces (not shown) on the printed wiring board 130 electrically connect the IDCs 138 to electrical contacts 137 (see FIG. 2) housed within the jack receptacles 136. As assembled, each jack receptacle 136 aligns with a jack opening 106 in the front portion 104 of the housing 102, and the IDCs 138 are aligned with a terminal connection region 112 disposed on the back portion 110. As shown, the front portion 104 and the back portion 110 of the housing are secured together with assembly tabs 108 on the front portion 104 that engage assembly notches 109 on the back portion 110.
FIG. 2 illustrates the jack module 100 as it would be seen by a user of a typical communications patch panel. FIGS. 3 and 4 show the terminal connection region 112 in greater detail. As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal connection region 112 includes two substantially parallel rows 114 of alternating wire guide posts 116 and wire guide splitters 117. As best seen in FIG. 3, adjacent wire guide posts 116 and wire guide splitters 117 have a terminal slot 118 disposed therebetween. Each terminal slot 118 provides access to one of the IDCs 138 disposed within the parallel rows 114. Physical and electrical contact is made between a conductor (not shown) and an IDC 138 by urging the conductor into the terminal slot 118 until the conductor passes between the opposed prongs 139 of the IDC (FIG. 1). Opposed portions of the prongs 139 cut through insulation disposed around the conductor, thereby making electrical contact.
To electrically connect a cable including a plurality of twisted pairs to an existing jack module 100, first a technician determines which IDCs 138 are associated with the desired jack receptacle 136 (see FIG. 4). In FIG. 4, the IDCs 138 of interest are accessed by way of the pairs of terminal slots labeled 118a, 118b, 118c, and 118d, each of the pairs of the terminal slots 118 being configured to receive the conductors from one of the cable's twisted conductor pairs. Once the desired IDCs 138 have been determined, the technician urges the desired conductor into the appropriate IDC, typically using a device such as a punch-down tool. As shown, one twisted pair would be inserted into each pair of terminal slots 118a-118d. The wire guide splitters 117 assist the technician in separating the conductors of each twisted conductor pair, thereby making it easier for the technician to insert the desired conductor into the desired IDC 138.
Until recently, such methods of routing twisted pairs on the back of existing jack modules 100 were adequate for existing performance levels. This was because in the past variation of the routing of twisted pairs, from pair to pair, had little effect, if any, on performance. However, recent developments, such as patch panels requiring category 6 performance levels, are much more sensitive to variations in twisted pair termination and routing. One approach to reducing variation in termination and routing is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,767,241 to Abel et al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety. This patent discusses a termination cap that receives the conductors from the cable, then routes them through apertures and slots in the cap in an organized fashion. The cap is attached to the back portion of the jack module, at which time the organized conductors can be routed to their respective IDCs. Nevertheless, it may in some instances be desirable to provide even more control of the positions of the conductors in order to further reduce variation in their seating with the IDCs, which in turn can improve electrical performance and reliability.

Device for managing termination of conductors with jack modules


A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, an application server that includes a memory storing computer instructions, and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor responsive to executing the computer instructions can perform operations including transmitting to Home Subscriber Server (HSS) a User Data Request (UDR) command without initiating a third party registration process, where the UDR command includes a request for dynamic device information associated with a communication device, and receiving from the HSS a User Data Answer (UDA) command comprising the dynamic device information associated with the communication device. Other embodiments are disclosed.

In packet-switched communication systems, such as an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network, it may be common for millions of communication devices to register with a server office of the IMS network. When a server office fails to provide services due to a catastrophic event such as an earthquake or other unexpected event, the communication devices may overload the IMS network with registration requests that could adversely affect the performance of the IMS network. Other sources of network traffic may occur in an IMS network. Accordingly, techniques for reducing network traffic would be desirable to network service providers.

Apparatus for reducing network traffic in a communication system


A sprinkler. A sprinkler nozzle assembly is coupled to a base for rotating movement. A stationary cam with cam surface engages a cam follower which open and close valves to regulate water flow as selected angles of rotation. In an embodiment, a pop-up sprinkler is provided, and the moving components are part of the riser. A turbine drive mechanism is coupled to an upper housing on which a plurality of sprinkler nozzle assemblies are affixed. The drive mechanism includes water driven impeller and a gear train adapted for operatively driving the upper housing, and associated sprinkler nozzle assemblies.

Water sprinklers of various designs have been utilized for many years. However, many of the currently utilized sprinklers are designed to provide water over a circular area that is of relatively uniform diameter. A few designs have the ability to water over selected receiving areas that are shaped as relatively circular arc portions. One of my prior patents, namely U.S. Pat. No. 7,988,071, issued Aug. 2, 2011, for a LAWN SPRINKLER, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference, provides designs for attacking some aspects of the problem of watering irregularly shaped parcels.
However, significant amounts of water are wasted due to the inability of the general public to obtain and install lawn sprinklers that are capable of watering non-uniform or irregularly shaped areas specifically and exclusively where water is needed, rather than applying a water stream relatively indiscriminately over an area that may include features where water is not required, such as driveways or sidewalks.
Since water is increasingly scarce and/or increasingly costly in many locales (whether as a result of increased fees from the utility provider, or as a result of energy costs for pumping, or otherwise) there remains a need for a lawn sprinkler apparatus that can reliably provide the needed water over the required area, while minimizing or eliminating the application of water to adjacent areas which do not require the application of water.
Thus, there remains an unmet need for an improved lawn sprinkler with suitable features and mechanical workings that would direct available water to those areas needing water, while avoiding application of water to those areas which do not require watering.


A movable cart for supporting pressurized gas cylinders in hospital operating rooms has a housing preferably proportioned to enclose a pair of cylinders in upright side by side positions. Wheels at the base of the housing are positioned to support the housing when it is tilted for transporting while enabling the housing to rest directly on the underlying surface when in a more upright orientation. A third wheel carried by a pivoting leg is swung outward from the base of the housing when it is to be tilted and moved. The housing may have a plurality of gas outlet fittings, a cylinder selector valve, plural pressure regulators for simultaneous delivery of different pressures and plural gauges for indicating pressures in different portions of the gas flow path. The cart provides a highly stable support base for the cylinders in both the upright orientation and the inclined traveling position, facilitates movement of the heavy cylinders, protects the cylinders from damage and simplifies hospital procedures which require a supply of compressed gas.

Several forms of surgical tool are pneumatic devices that are operated by a flow of pressurized gas. Many hospitals have a piped in supply of compressed nitrogen gas but often the performance of pneumatic tools is adversely affected by inadequate pressure in the piping system of such gas supplies. Consequently, it is often necessary or at least advisable to have bottled gas available in the operating room or the like.
The bottles or gas cylinders are bulky and are formed of thick metal as sizable pressures of the order of 2750 psi for example, must be contained. This makes the gas cylinders heavy and difficult to carry. The cylinders also have a narrow, elongated configuration and thus cannot safely be rested on a floor or other surface in an upright position unless some additional support is provided.
These problems have heretofore been addressed by strapping the gas cylinder to a cart like carrier. Prior carriers of this kind have an open framework of tubular members that form a cradle for receiving the gas cylinder, the cradle and thus the cylinder being in an inclined orientation. Wheels at the underside of the carrier frame enable movement of the cylinder from one location to another and also continue to support the cylinder when it is at rest including at times when it is in use.
The prior carriers serve to support a gas cylinder and facilitate movement of the cylinder but do not otherwise resolve a number of problems associated with the use of high pressure gas cylinders in an operating room or the like. The prior carriers in fact create certain problems.
The prior carriers do not provide a desirably stable support base for the cylinder. The pressure regulator and pressure gauge which are customarily attached to the outlet of the cylinder are exposed to damage. Such damage can have very undesirable consequences as an uncontrolled outflow of the high pressure gas can propel objects about the room.
The inclined orientation of the cradle and cylinder causes carriers of the above described kind to occupy an undesirable amount of space in the often crowded operating room. The problem is compounded in that it is often desired to have two or more of the carriers in the room. Two or more cylinders may be needed to provide for simultaneous gas flows at different pressures for different tools or simply to provide assurance that the gas supply will not be exhausted in the course of a surgical procedure.
The prior carriers function only as a support for a gas cylinder and are not otherwise designed to facilitate the use of pneumatic tools in surgical procedures. For example, only one gas flow at one selected pressure is is available from a single carrier itself. Pressure regulators and gauges are mounted on the cylinder itself and can be somewhat difficult to read. Cleaning the convoluted surfaces of the carrier frame and cylinder in order to provide an aseptic environment in the operating room requires an undesirable amount of effort.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above.