A motor vehicle management system provides theft prevention based on contextual information. The motor vehicle management platform includes sensing equipment that can provide input data to determine a context of the vehicle and an operator of the vehicle. The context can include location information of the motor vehicle and an identity of the operator of the motor vehicle. Based on permissions for the operator, the system can determine if a context of the vehicle violates permissions for the identified operator.

Motor vehicles are being equipped with more electronic equipment and more sensors. That trend is predicted to continue as manufacturers continue to increase the amount of automation and functionality provided in cars, trucks, and other vehicles. The increasing electronics provides significant improvements to entertainment systems, navigation, and driving. Networking motor vehicles allows remote contact to the vehicles for access to entertainment and help services. The increasing technology has also provided tracking and alerting systems that can monitor location of a car. These tracking technologies have been leveraged for post-theft tracking solutions, which are initiated after theft of the car has already taken place.
Despite technological increases in cars, technology systems referred to as "theft-prevention" systems often operate as theft recovery systems, allowing a response to theft of the vehicle. Currently the best methods for theft prevention are the same that have been around for a long time; namely, locking the doors, or using a steering wheel lock, or other similar mechanism.
Descriptions of certain details and implementations follow, including a description of the figures, which may depict some or all of the embodiments described below, as well as discussing other potential embodiments or implementations of the inventive concepts presented herein.

Multi-modal context based vehicle theft prevention


An apparatus and method for communications are disclosed. The apparatus may include an a quantizer having three levels, and a switching power amplifier configured to drive a load having first and second terminals, wherein the switching power amplifier is further configured to switch the first and second terminals between first and second power rails only if the output from the quantizer is at one of the three levels.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly, to concepts and techniques relating to switching power amplifiers for quantized signals.
2. Introduction
In portable audio devices, there is a need to conserve power in order to increase battery life. For this reason, sigma delta modulators have been used to drive switching power amplifiers, such as Class-D amplifiers and the like. Various techniques have been used to modify the output from the sigma delta modulator to drive these power amplifiers. These techniques are employed in an open loop fashion and do not take into consideration the effect of the noise shaping properties of the sigma delta modulator. This has a potential impact on the audio quality.

Switching power amplifier for quantized signals


A universal pigment preparation including a flocculation-stabilizing medium including (a1) reaction products of di- or polycarboxylic acids or hydroxycarboxylic acids with di- or polyols, and (a2) reaction products of alkylene oxides with alkoxylatable compounds, and at least one pigment. Paints, varnishes, printing inks, coating materials, floor coatings, potting compounds and filling compounds may be made using the universal pigment preparation.

The present invention relates to a universal pigment preparation for blending with conventional dye and binder systems, and to the production thereof.
Universal pigment preparations are pigment preparations which have good meterability and are used for coloring both aqueous and solventborne paints.
In the production of universal pigment preparations, dispersants or emulsifiers are used, and these physically stabilize the pigment particles in their finely divided form in an aqueous or aqueous/organic medium. For the selection of the dispersants, in addition, compatibility in the various applications is essential. For example, the preparations should be introduced into the application medium easily and without flocculation or reaggregation of the pigment particles.
Since the introduction of water-thinnable basecoats and topcoats, paint manufacturers have had the problem of having to manufacture and stock every shade in the form of the water-thinnable paint and additionally of the solvent-based paint or the precursors in question, in order to be able to accommodate the different equipment used by the user.
It is necessary to use a specific grinding component for production of a suitable pigment paste for every paint system. After production of the pigment paste, one or more further binders in each case are used to complete the paint. These constituents have to be matched to one another in order to obtain a suitable coating medium; for example, it has to be storage-stable and meet the high visual demands. It is possible for grinding to be effected in the main paint binder or for special paste resins (grinding resins) to be used for production of the pigment paste. A general problem is the need to have to create and store a pigment paste for every different paint system for every shade. This makes manufacturing costly and necessitates holding of a large stock.
In the architectural paints segment, for example, universal pigment preparations are used for the coloring of white or transparent base paints. These paints fulfil both a decorative purpose and a protective purpose on buildings. For instance, a universal pigment preparation can be used to color a water-based dispersion wall paint and a solventborne alkyd-based wood paint. It is no longer necessary to go to the lengths of stocking and formulation development of two pigment preparations for the particular intended use. All that is required in hardware stores and specialist dealers is accordingly a dispenser system for blending of a great multitude of shades.
The prior art discloses that, for production of universal pigment preparations, alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs), specifically octyl- and nonylphenol ethoxylates, are used as dispersing additives in an aqueous medium, since these have a good cost-benefit ratio. Regrettably, it has been found that the degradation products of the APEs are bioaccumulative and act as hormone analogues. For many applications, nonylphenol ethoxylates are therefore already banned. Use in coatings and paints is still legally permitted in Germany, but there is a strong trend in the industry to dispense with these raw materials.
As an alternative to APEs, it is possible to use dispersing additives based on styrene oxide. U.S. Pat. No. 6,552,091 and EP 0 940 406 describe the synthesis of such structures and the use thereof in aqueous universal pigment preparations.
DE10 2011 010580, by contrast, describes the use of oleyl ethoxylates and dispersing additives in aqueous universal pigment preparations. WO 2009/127668 A1 uses a grinding medium rather than a dispersing additive. These grinding media comprise an aqueous formulation composed of a water-thinnable alkyd resin and an acrylate resin. These grinding media can be used for production of aqueous universal pigment pastes.
The disadvantage of the above-described universal pigment preparations/pastes is the use of water. Thus, use in the field of isocyanate-crosslinked polyurethane coatings (2K PU) is not possible. Universal pigment preparations are therefore not used nowadays in the field of industrial paint systems, where the use of 2K PU coatings is standard practice.
WO 2006 097378 describes an aqueous and solventborne pigment preparation composed of a ketone-formaldehyde grinding resin and a styrene oxide-containing dispersant as grinding medium. The solvent used is, for example, butylglycol. It is stated that these pigment preparations can be used both in solventborne and in solvent-free paints. There is no description of use in 2K PU coatings.


An electric drive apparatus and method for controlling medium-voltage alternating current motors wherein a multi-phase power transformer having multiple secondary windings provides multi-phase power to multiple power cells, each of which have a single-phase output and are controllable by a modulation controller. The primary and secondary windings in the power transformer may be star- or mesh-connected; the secondary windings may be shifted in phase. Because the power cells are connected in series, the maximum output voltage for each cell may be less than the maximum line-to-line voltage. The power cells can have a tri-state output which can be controlled using pulse-width modulation techniques. AC input power is converted to DC output power for each output phase. Output power modulation can be produced by interdigitating a selected number of carrier signals so that harmonic components reflected back to the input are attenuated.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a variable-speed motor drive, and a method for operating a variable-speed motor drive, particularly to motor drives employing pulse-width modulation (PWM) driving methods, and especially to medium-voltage AC motor drives employing PWM driving methods.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, existing AC medium-voltage variable-speed drives for induction motors use a variation of current source topology, with a phase-controlled SCR input stage and a 6-pulse or 12-pulse output. This topology may sometimes have the drawbacks of harmonic line currents, a variable power factor, and motor torque pulsations. These traits are especially problematic at higher power levels typical for medium voltage motor drives. Because of these and other disadvantages of the current source topology, pulse width modulated (PWM) circuits are preferred to provide motor control. Pulse width modulation is a form of modulation in which the value of each instantaneous sample of the modulating wave is caused to modulate the duration of a pulse. In PWM, the modulating wave may vary the time of occurrence of the leading edge, the trailing edge, or both edges of the pulse. The modulating frequency may be fixed or variable.
In a PWM circuit, a reference signal may be used to generate a train of pulses, the width of each pulse being related to the instantaneous value of the reference signal. The pulses may be generated by using a comparator to compare the reference signal with a carrier signal, which may be a saw tooth or triangular wave. When the reference signal exceeds the carrier signal, the output of the comparator is high; at other times, the output of the comparator is low. The comparator output does provide a train of pulses representing the reference signal. The pulses are then used to drive an electronic switching device for intermittently applying a voltage across the load.
One problem associated with some PWM circuits is current ripple. When a voltage is suddenly applied across an inductive and resistive load, such as an electric motor, the current through the motor rises almost linearly with time. When the voltage is then turned off, the current through the motor does not immediately fall to zero, but decreases approximately linearly with time, as the inductor's magnetic field collapses. Thus, the input voltage pulses applied across the load result in a current which has a ripple. This ripple is inherent to all PWM amplifiers. The magnitude of the ripple is directly proportional to the supply voltage and inversely proportional to the switching frequency and the inductance of the motor. Current ripple is undesirable because it wastes energy in the motor and may cause torque pulsations in the motor. The ripple current waveform has both a wanted component and an unwanted component due to ripple. Only the wanted component does useful work in the motor. If the current has any ripple, the RMS value is larger than the wanted value. The difference between the RMS current and the wanted current contributes only to wasteful heating of, and torque pulsations in, the motor, thus reducing efficiency. In order to achieve maximum efficiency, the wanted and RMS currents generally should be equal. This conditions occurs when there is no ripple, i.e., when the output follows the reference exactly.
The electronic switches used in PWM circuitry can be arranged in a bridge circuit to connect the power source to the load. Typically, the bridges are connected such that, at certain moments, the respective contributions to the voltage applied to the load by the right and left bridge poles cancel each other, and, at other moments, the contributions have the same polarity. The net result is that the voltage applied across the load is zero during those moments when both bridge poles have the same polarity, and is equal to the supply voltage at all other times.


A method of performing an autobaud function in data communication equipment utilizing a predetermined state flow machine for processing the bits of at least a portion of a command bit stream for identifying transmit characteristics of a corresponding information bit stream.

The present invention relates to autobaud functions of data communication equipment, and more particularly to a method of performing an autobaud function in data communication equipment utilizing a predetermined state flow machine for processing the bits of at least a portion of a command bit stream.
In modern data communication systems, data terminal equipment (DTE), like personal computers, workstations and the like, communicate data among other DTE's over communication media utilizing correspondingly coupled data communications equipment (DCE), like modems or terminal adapters, for example. Generally, the DTE's are coupled to their respective DCE's by conventional asynchronous, serial communication lines, like RS-232 lines, for example. An information bit stream of digital data is transferred over the communication lines in the form of words or characters, conventionally represented by 7 or 8 coded bits, from the DTE to the DCE for conversion and transmission thereby over the communication media to a remote DCE and associated DTE. Each word or character generally has appended to it at least one parity bit which may be coded in accordance with any one of a number of different parity types. Normally, the receiving DCE does not have prior knowledge of the transmit characteristics, i.e. bit rate, word length, and parity type, of the information bit stream which it is about to receive from the DTE.
For this purpose, an autobaud function may be implemented in the DCE in accordance with some predetermined command standard in order for the DCE to determine such transmit characteristics from attention characters of a command bit stream which precedes the information bit stream of the digital data transfer. Some DCE's respond to a command bit stream which includes certain predetermined ASCII attention characters in sequence in order to determine the word length and parity type of the remaining command bit stream and the succeeding information bit stream.
One presently known autobaud function starts by measuring the length of a start bit of the first attention character which precedes the first attention character of the command bit stream, then samples and rotates each received bit of the first ASCII attention character into a byte, then samples the next two bit intervals for parity type and word length information which is saved. After the first attention character is received, the same operation, except for the measurement of the length of the start bit, is performed for the second attention ASCII character of the command bit stream. Once all of the information of the characters is gathered, a decision on the transmit characteristics of word length and parity type is made and the DCE is configured based on the measured bit rate and word length and parity type determined from the associated attention characters of the command bit stream. In this autobaud procedure, much of the processing to determine the word length and parity type is performed after all of the attention characters of the command bit stream has been received and before the first bit of the remaining command bit stream, which may begin as soon as one half of one bit interval after the last bit of the attention characters has been sampled.
Most modern DCE's use digital signal processors or micro controllers for processing the bit streams transferred thereto from their associated DTE's. Existing processors of the DCEs are generally limited in performance, that is, the processor may be capable of executing the decision making steps of the gathered information of the command bit stream for determining the word length and parity type within the one half bit interval for a bit rate of say 4800 or 9600 bits per second, for example; however, with higher bit rates say on the order of 20-40 kilobits per second, the DCE processor may not achieve a successful autobaud task within the allowable time frame. Of course, it is always possible to substitute a higher performance processor, but this tends to affect the cost of the DCE and ultimately, the market competitiveness thereof.
Accordingly, it is desired to perform the autobaud function in a DCE substantially independent of the transferring data bit rate from an associated DTE without incurring additional significant costs so as not to affect market place competitiveness of the DCE. It would also be desirable to implement the autobaud function at the higher transfer bit rates without having to provide additional special purpose hardware to achieve the autobaud capability at such higher rates.

Method of performing an autobaud function using a state flow machine


A control system 20 for an automotive vehicle 22, such as an adaptive cruise control (ACC) system, is provided including a controller 24. The controller 24 is electrically coupled to a radar system and a navigation system. The detection system 28 detects an object and generates an object profile. The navigation system 34 generates a navigation signal. The controller 24 in response to the object profile and the navigation signal, generates a predicted future path profile and inhibits resume speed of the vehicle 22 in response to the predicted future path profile. An additional feature of the invention is that the controller 24 may also be electrically coupled to a yaw rate sensor 30. The yaw rate sensor 30 senses the yaw rate of the vehicle 22 and generates a yaw rate signal. The controller 24 in response to the yaw rate signal inhibits resume speed of the vehicle 22.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to vehicle adaptive cruise control systems, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for adjusting vehicle speed and inhibiting vehicle resume speed in response to object detection and road curvature.
2. Background of the Invention
Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) has reached a level of technical and business readiness such that it is beginning to appear in the consumer market as a comfort and convenience system. Consumer technical enthusiasm for ACC has increased because of their interest in intelligent vehicles and systems such as collision warning and collision avoidance. ACC performs as an enhancement to traditional cruise control by automatically adjusting a set speed, which is set by the vehicle operator, to allow a vehicle to adapt to moving traffic.
Under normal driving conditions the ACC system is engaged with a set speed equal to a maximum autonomous speed that is desired by the operator and the ACC system operates in a conventional cruise control mode. When the vehicle approaches traffic, the ACC system automatically adjusts the set speed to follow the traffic at a desired headway distance. When the traffic clears or the vehicle changes lanes the ACC system slowly resumes the speed of the vehicle to the set speed. When the vehicle approaches slow traffic the ACC system is automatically disengaged and the operator manually follows slower vehicles in the slow traffic. When the slow traffic is no longer in front of the vehicle the operator pushes the resume button and the ACC system accelerates the vehicle back to the set speed.
Current ACC systems are unable to reliably classify stopped objects to the degree necessary to actively cause a vehicle to brake in the presence of stopped objects. The stopped objects may be impending when the vehicle is passing a target vehicle or when the vehicle is changing lanes. The current ACC system therefore relies on the operator to stop the vehicle. The stopped object may be another vehicle or some other object. Objects such as bridges, signs, guardrails, and construction barrels that overhang or are near a road edge are also not detected by the ACC system. Since, the ACC system does not detect stopped objects the ACC system may interpret the stopped object as though the road in front of the vehicle is clear and attempt to attain the resume speed. Just as in any cruise control system driver intervention may be required.
As may be expected path prediction of traditional ACC systems generally classifies close objects, less than 50 meters, very well during normal driving conditions in which road curvature is very slow such as highway type roads. However, as the range increases beyond 90 to 100 meters fundamental assumptions of the yaw rate prediction become less statistically valid and may result in misclassifications. As the operated vehicle is following a target vehicle the ACC system radar field may not be continuously directed at the target vehicle, therefore not detecting the target vehicle and begin to accelerate the vehicle. Also "driver hunting" as in transitional maneuvers such as in lane changes and entry and exit conditions become more pronounced. Misclassifying objects is more evident with roadside clutter, which can cause the ACC system to interpret the roadside clutter as in-path targets at longer ranges.
Traditional ACC systems were designed to only react to moving targets presented by normal traffic under extended cruise control operation, thereby, compromising the goals of a collision warning or avoidance system. The current statistical nature of the path prediction in ACC systems can potentially be annoying to the operator of the vehicle by alerting the operator in unnecessary conditions and applying vehicle brakes or accelerating the vehicle in unwarranted situations.
It would therefore be desirable to develop an ACC system that correctly classifies stopped objects. It would also be desirable for the ACC system to correctly classify objects during operation on a curved road. Correctly classifying objects in various road conditions may increase the success of ACC systems in the consumer market and also increase the collision warning capabilities of a vehicle.

Object detection in adaptive cruise control


Provided is a block copolymer with an acid group that, when used as a dispersant, can provide a dispersion composition having excellent dispersion stability, a dispersant containing the block copolymer, and a pigment dispersion composition using the dispersant. The block copolymer is an ABA block copolymer including an A block and a B block and has the feature that its acid value is 30 to 250 mgKOH/g and the B block contains a structural unit derived from a vinyl monomer with an acid group.

Regarding pigment dispersion compositions, such as paints, printing inks, and makeups, the required levels and types of their functions and performances have increased and the technical challenge for stably dispersing a substance to be dispersed has become greater. For example, a pigment can more sufficiently exhibit performances and characteristics inherently possessed by its particles themselves with increasing degree of fineness, but the achievement of its sufficient dispersibility often cannot be made in combination with a vehicle alone and further requires a dispersant. Dispersion compositions famed of fine particles generally exhibit high viscosity, which not only makes it difficult to take out their products from dispersers and transport them but also, at significantly high viscosity, may cause gelation during storage and thus make it difficult to use the products.
The dispersant has a structure including a part adsorbable to a pigment and a part having a high affinity for a dispersion medium and the performance of the dispersant is determined by the balance between these two functional parts. Various types of parts adsorbable to a pigment can be used according to the surface condition of the substance to be dispersed; an acidic part (acidic dispersant) is used for a pigment having a surface biased toward the basic side, while a basic part (basic dispersant) is used for a pigment having a surface biased toward the acidic side.
Meanwhile, in producing a color filter for use in a liquid crystal display or the like, a coating film made of a dispersion composition in which a pigment, a dispersant, and a dispersion medium are mixed is formed on a substrate and exposed to light through a photomask of a desired pattern shape and unexposed portions thereof are removed with an alkaline aqueous solution (alkaline development). In this case, to remove the unexposed portions with an alkaline aqueous solution, a developing polymer with an acid group is added to the dispersion composition. During the alkaline development, the unexposed portions are removed by neutralizing the acid groups of the developing polymer with the alkaline aqueous solution to turn the developing polymer water-soluble. Therefore, basic dispersants, which are less soluble in alkaline aqueous solutions, cause deterioration in developability.
Patent Literature 1 proposes to use as a pigment dispersant an AB block copolymer composed of an A polymer block and a B polymer block and containing 90% by mass or more structural unit derived from a methacrylate monomer, wherein at least the B polymer block of the polymer blocks forming the copolymer contains at least one of two types of acid groups present in a carboxyl group-containing methacrylate monomer having a carboxyl group and a phosphoric acid group-containing methacrylate monomer having a phosphoric acid group.

Block copolymer, dispersant, and pigment dispersion composition


A finFET structure, and method of forming such structure, in which a germanium enriched nanowire is located in the channel region of the FET, while simultaneously having silicon-germanium fin in the source/drain region of the finFET.

The present invention relates to semiconductor devices, and particularly to forming source/drain regions, and forming abrupt Fin Field Effect Transistor (FinFET) junctions.
Field effect transistors (FETs) are commonly employed in electronic circuit applications. FETs may include a source region and a drain region spaced apart by a semiconductor channel region. A gate, potentially including a gate dielectric layer, a work function metal layer, and a metal electrode, may be formed above the channel region. By applying voltage to the gate, the conductivity of the channel region may increase and allow current to flow from the source region to the drain region.
FinFETs are an emerging technology which may provide solutions to field effect transistor (FET) scaling problems at, and below, the 22 nm node. FinFET structures may include at least a narrow semiconductor fin gated on at least two sides of each of the semiconductor fin, as well as a source region and a drain region adjacent to the fin on opposite sides of the gate. FinFET structures having n-type source and drain regions may be referred to as nFinFETs, and FinFET structures having p-type source and drain regions may be referred to as pFinFETs.
In some FinFET structures, different materials may be used for the fins of pFinFETs and nFinFETs in order to improve device performance. However, a material that may improve pFinFET performance may reduce nFET performance, and vice versa. For example, while pFinFET performance may be improved by forming fins made of silicon-germanium, nFinFET performance may instead be improved by forming fins made of undoped or carbon-doped silicon and may be degraded by forming fins made of silicon-germanium. Further, pFinFETs and nFinFETs are often fabricated on the same substrate.

International Business Machines Corporation


A simplified user interface for an image database management system is described. The interface provides a menu driven system for generating a search query. A remote server generates a result containing images that satisfy the search parameters in the query. The interface then displays the images in the result as simulated slides. A user organizes the simulated slides for a presentation by manipulating the simulated slides. The slides may be manipulated on a simulated light table or by placing the slides in a simulated slide carousel. The slides may be freely transferred among the light table, slide sleeve, and slide carousel. Handling images as simulated slides on equipment familiar to the user substantially reduces the time needed to learn how to use the user interface.

The present invention relates to data retrieval and display, and more particularly to an intuitive system which represents the data as simulated slide photographs with attributes of same.
As the price of electronic memory storage systems drop, many images formerly stored on paper have been converted into electronic files and stored in electronic databases. The databases typically include image management software that allows a user to organize and access the images.
Users interact with the image management software through a user interface. An input device, such as a keyboard or mouse, facilitates interaction with the user interface. Using the input device, the user inputs information that allows the image management software to select images from the database.
One problem with current user interfaces is user difficulty in mastering the commands for interface use. Before inputting information to initiate a search, users typically must first read detailed instructions. This is due primarily to the non-intuitive nature of most current user interfaces for image data search and processing. After the search result is returned by the computer system, manipulation of the search result for export to other programs or for designing a presentation is also not intuitive.
Although intuitiveness of interfaces may not be critical where users are very familiar with the computer system and associated software, these search interfaces are inappropriate for environments in which occasional or casual users regularly access the system. A public library is one example of such an environment General public access to these image database systems results in the expenditure of substantial library resources to assist library patrons in performing image searches and manipulating the results of the search.
Thus, an improved interface that simplifies the input of information used to initiate a search and simplifies the manipulation of search results is needed.
In order to reduce the learning time for user interfaces for searching an image database and for manipulating retrieved images, the present invention simplifies the query process that initiates a search and allows the results of a search to be handled using techniques typically used to handle photographic materials, such as 35 millimeter (mm) slides or the like.
In one embodiment of the invention, a user inputs a query by choosing search parameters from a pre-selected group of search parameters displayed on the screen. Each chosen search parameters allows the user to add search criteria that limits the scope of the search parameter defining the search. After the user inputs and transmits the query, a remote computer returns a search result consisting of images that satisfy search parameters in the query. Each image in the search result is displayed as a simulated photographic slide. The slides are displayed in a simulated slide sleeve. The user interface allows simulated slides to be removed from the simulated slide sleeve and sorted or rearranged on a simulated light table.
When preparing a presentation, a xe2x80x9cdigital carouselxe2x80x9d that simulates operation of a photographic slide projector carousel is used. The digital carousel facilitates sequencing of images for presentation by reordering slides according to a list that is manipulated by the user to create a user defined sequence. The digital carousel later displays the images in the user defined sequence. When a presentation compares two or more images, two or more digital carousels may be used to simultaneously display images allowing the comparison of two user or more defined sequences of images.
Most users are familiar with techniques used to handle photographic slides. Thus, allowing users to handle the results of a image database search using techniques that are typically used to handle photographic slides substantially reduces the learning time for using the interface to the image database system.

User interface for a browser based image storage and processing system


The present application relates to a multicomponent kit for dyeing keratin fibers which consists of    (i) a dye carrier mass (A) which is free from dyes and dye precursors;    (ii) a granular composition (B) which comprises at least one oxidation dye precursor and/or at least one direct dye and optionally at least one keratin-lightening or bleaching substance; and optionally    (iii) a suitable oxidizing agent (C);to a method for dyeing keratin fibers and to the use of a combination of a dye-free dye carrier mass (A) and a granular dye-containing and optionally bleaching-agent-containing composition (B) and optionally an oxidizing agent (C) for the individual preparation of colorants for keratin fibers directly prior to dyeing or bleaching the keratin fibers.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a multicomponent kit and to a method for dyeing keratin fibers, in particular human hair.
2. Description of Related Art
Dyes which are usually used for dyeing keratin fibers are so-called direct dyes, nitro dyes and pigment dyes or oxidation dyes which are in the form of colorless developer/coupler precursors.
Colorants produced by the prior art are supplied in customary administration forms. These administration forms vary from liquid to cream-like and wax-type products. Aerosols, for example so-called mousse hair colors, are also used. According to the prior art, pulverulent colors are likewise on the market which have to be mixed with an aqueous medium prior to use. Examples of pulverulent colorants are known, for example, from the patent specification U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,476 or the patent specification U.S. Pat. No. 6,440,175.
The stated colorants according to the prior art are usually nuanced in a ready-to-use form. This has the disadvantage that, on the one hand, a large number of nuances has to be kept in supply, which leads inter alia to high storage costs, and, on the other hand, the creation of individual or particular nuances is only possible with difficulty.

Multicomponent kit and method for dyeing keratin fibers


A sheath for the needle of a hypodermic syringe to isolate the needle so as to avoid contamination and injury, particularly after use of the needle. The sheath comprises a hollow body having an opening at one end and is movable relative to the syringe needle between a first position in which the syringe needle is wholly contained within the hollow body and a second position in which the syringe needle extends through the opening in the hollow body.

This invention relates to a protective sheath for a needle of a syringe, to a syringe for use with the protective sheath and to a combination of a syringe and a protective sheath for the needle of the syringe.
Throughout this specification, the term "syringe" shall be taken to include hypodermic syringes and other devices incorporating a needle for injection of fluid into, or extraction of fluid from, a body.
With conventional syringes, the syringe needle remains exposed after use and may cause injury or transmit infection. With a view to overcoming this problem, there have been proposals for syringes in which the syringe needle is retractable after use into the body of the syringe to isolate the needle and thereby avoid contamination and injury.
The present invention seeks to provide an alternative arrangement for isolating a syringe needle to avoid contamination and injury.


A differential pressure to electrical signal transmitter has a pair of barrier diaphragms and a central control diaphragm located between the barrier diaphragms. Input fluids are applied to respective chambers on the outside of the barrier diaphragms while the chambers between the control diaphragm and the barrier diaphragm are filled by corresponding substantially incompressible fill liquids. The fluid pressure of the two fill fluids are conducted by corresponding fluid channels to respective sides of a displacement sensing element to produce an electrical signal representative of differential pressure. The control diaphragm is biased by spring loaded spacers located on corresponding sides of the control diaphragm. The spacers have fluid passages to permit the respective fill fluids to reach the control diaphragm. A first spacer is concentric with a first chamber on a first side of the control diaphragm while a second spacer is concentric with a second chamber having a smaller diameter than the first chamber and being located on the other side of the control diaphragm. Consequently, the second spacer overlies the peripheral edge of the first chamber to produce a differential input fluid pressure overload response correlated to a non-symmetrical ratio of the directional strength of the displacement sensing element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fluid pressure to electrical signal transducers. More specifically, the present invention relates to transducers which employ differential pressure sensors to produce an electrical signal dependent upon a difference between two applied fluid pressures and to a pressure overload protection for protecting the pressure sensor from excessive fluid pressures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Differential pressure transducers, or transmitters, using a sensor which have only a small displacement over their operating range are well-known in the art as shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,712,143 of Weaver et al. In such a transmitter, the sensor is typically a strain-sensitive semiconductor wafer with means for applying pressurized fluids to respective sides of the wafer to produce a physical displacement of the wafer in response to a differential pressure of the fluids. Such differential pressure transmitters include a pair of barrier diaphragms with a fluid chamber on one side of one barrier diaphragm being pressurized with an input fluid having a first pressure and a similar fluid chamber on one side of the other barrier diaphragm being pressurized with a second input fluid having a second pressure. A respective interior chamber on the other side of each of the barrier diaphragms contains a respective substantially incompressible fill fluid. These fill fluids communicate through fluid passages with opposite respective sides of the sensor wafer, and the wafer is displaced or deflected by an amount which is dependent upon the difference between the two pressures of the fill fluids. The sensor wafer, in turn, produce an electrical output signal which is dependent upon the displacement and, hence, is representative of a differential pressure of the fill fluids which, in turn, is dependent on the differential pressure of the input fluids. Such transmitters have usually incorporated pressure overload protection to prevent the sensor wafers from being excessively displaced by overload input differential pressures which could damage the sensor wafer. Such overload protection arrangements in the prior art have been based on providing equal or similar overload protection in both directions of displacement of the sensor wafer. However, it has been found that such sensor wafers are not symmetrical in their requirements for overload protection and, hence, require a predetermined ratio of overload protection, i.e., a different overload protection in one displacement direction than the other displacement direction. As a result, the prior art overload protection has been arranged to provide protection based on the lowest displacement strength capability of the sensor wafer which inherently provided substantial over-protection of the higher displacement capability and required stronger wafers to provide a displacement capability at the lowest level which was adequate to withstand a desired input pressure range before overload protection was necessary. Consequently, it would be desirable to provide overload protection which would be correlated, or matched, to the ratio of protection requirements of the sensor wafer rather than operating with an excessive mismatch between the overload protection and the sensor wafer to be protected.

Non-symmetrical overload protection device for differential pressure transmitter


A system includes an illumination source, a detector and a processor. The detector acquires spectral measurements of a sample under test under at least one varying condition. The processor processes the measurements to generate at least one spectral representation that includes Raman spectra and at least one spectral representation that includes non-Raman spectra.

Spectroscopy, which broadly refers to the interaction between energy and matter, may be used for such purposes as chemical and biological sensing. In a typical spectroscopy measurement, incident radiation (photons, for example) is directed to a particular analyte (i.e., a species, molecule, compound, biological or non-biological specimens, or, in general, matter being analyzed).
Raman spectroscopy refers to the study of vibrational, rotational and other specific modes of an analyte when incident photons scatter inelastically as a result of their interaction with the analyte. The scattered photons have a frequency that may be relatively low (called Stokes scattering), or relatively high (called anti-Stokes scattering), as compared to the frequency of the incident photons. The absorption of the incident photons and the resulting shifts in the wavelengths of the inelastically scattered photons as well as the relative peaks in the Raman emission are unique characteristics of the analyte. Hence, Raman spectroscopy has wide application for chemical and biological sensing, in particularly, in a portable system.
An analyte can also emit photons through various luminescence processes. In the fluorescence process (a relatively short-lived luminescence process, as compared to the phosphorescence process, which is luminescence from relatively long-lived states), the analyte emits photons as a result of absorbing incident photons by the molecules of the analyte. Similar to the Raman process, the wavelength of the re-emitted photons can be different from that of the incident photons. Stokes fluorescence is the re-emission of longer wavelength photons (lower frequency or energy). This energy difference is the Stokes shift. In the fluorescence process, an analyte can reemit photons with higher energy than the incident photon, and the energy difference is called an anti-Stokes shift (also called "up-conversion"). In the fluorescence and the other types of luminescence emission processes (e.g., bioluminescence and chemiluminescence processes), the absorption and the re-radiation (re-emission) of the photons together with the wavelength distribution of reemitted photons are unique characteristics of a particular molecular structure of the analyte.

Multiple spectral measurement acquisition apparatus and the methods of using same

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A semiconductor memory device comprises a plurality of memory array blocks (B1 to B4). In each of the plurality of memory array blocks (B1 to B4), a line mode test is performed. Results of the line mode tests performed in the memory array blocks (B1 to B4) are outputted to corresponding match lines (ML1 to ML4). A flag compress (30) performs a logic operation on the test results outputted to the plurality of match lines (ML1 to ML4) and outputs the operation results as test results for the plurality of memory array blocks (B1 to B4) to the outside.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to semiconductor memory devices, and more particularly, to a semiconductor memory device with a test circuit which can simultaneously test a plurality of memory cells.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 19A is a block diagram showing a structure of a conventional semiconductor memory device with a test circuit. The semiconductor memory device shown in FIG. 19A is described, for example, in ISSCC85 Dig. of Tech. Papers pp. 240-241 by M. Kumanoya, et al..
In FIG. 19A, a memory array 1 comprises a plurality of memory cells arranged in a plurality of rows and columns. This memory array 1 is divided into four memory array blocks B1 to B4. Input/output line pairs I01 to I04 are provided corresponding to the memory array blocks B1 to B4, respectively. The memory array 1 is provided with row decoders 2a and 2b for selecting a row, and with column decoders 3a and 3b for selecting a column.
On the other hand, address signals A0 to An are applied to an address buffer 4 from outside. Further, an external row address strobe signal RAS, an external column address strobe signal CAS and an external write enable signal WE are applied to a RAS buffer 5, a CAS buffer 6 and a WE buffer 7, respectively.
The address buffer 4 is responsive to the strobe signal RAS from the RAS buffer 5 to apply the address signals A0 to An from outside to the row decoders 2a and 2b as row address signals. The row decoder 2a is responsive to the row address signals for selecting one row in each of the memory array blocks B1 and B3. The row decoder 2b is responsive to the row address signals for selecting one row in each of the memory array blocks B2 and B4. Furthermore, the address buffer 4 is responsive to the strobe signal CAS from the CAS buffer 6 for applying the address signals A0 to An from outside to the column decoders 3a and 3b as column address signals. The column decoder 3a is responsive to the column address signals for selecting one column in each of the memory array blocks B1 and B2. The column decoder 3b is responsive to the column address signals for selecting one column in each of the memory array blocks B1 and B2. The column decoder 3b is responsive to the column address signals for selecting one column in each of the memory array blocks B3 and B4.
In normal reading or writing, a switch 9 is switched to the side of a contact a. In reading, one memory cell is selected in each of the memory array blocks B1 to B4. Data having been stored in the four selected memory cells are applied to preamplifiers PA1 to PA4 through the input/output line pairs I01 to I04, respectively. One of transistors T1 to T4 is turned on by a block selector 8. This permits the data amplified by any one of the preamplifiers PA1 to PA4 to be outputted as output data D.sub.out through the switch 9 and an output buffer 11 to the external.
Also in writing, one of the transistors T1 to T4 is turned on by the block selector 8. This permits input data D.sub.in having been externally applied to a Din buffer 12 to be written in a selected memory cell in any one of the memory array blocks through the corresponding input/output line pair I01 to I04. Meanwhile, the selection of reading or writing is made by the external write enable signal WE applied to the WE buffer 7.
In the semiconductor memory device of FIG. 19A, a multi-bit test mode is available for reducing test time. This multi-bit test mode is controlled by externally applying a test enable signal TE to a test control circuit 10. In testing, the switch 9 is switched to the side of a contact b by the test control circuit 10.
In writing of test data, all of the transistors T1 to T4 are turned on by a multi-bit write control circuit 13. This allows externally applied test data to be simultaneously written in the memory array blocks B1 to B4 through the D.sub.in buffer 12 and the input/output line pairs I01 to I04.
On the other hand, in test data reading, test data having been read out of the memory array blocks B1 to B4 through the input/output line pairs I01 to I04 are amplified by the preamplifiers PA1 to PA4 before entered into an exclusive OR circuit 14. If the four data match with each other, the exclusive OR circuit 14 outputs a flag of "H", or otherwise if any one mismatch exists between the four data, it outputs a flag of "L". The output of the exclusive OR circuit 14 is extracted to the outside through the switch 9 and the output buffer 11.
More specifically, if test data of four "L"-bits have been entered into the memory array 1, outputs of the preamplifiers PA1 to PA4 will be all "L" except there exists any defective memory cell in the memory array 1, so that the exclusive OR circuit 14 outputs a flag of "H". Also, when test data of four "H"-bits have been entered, a flag of "H" will be outputted likewise if there are no deficiency in all of the memory cells. By contrast, if there exists any deficiency in the memory cells of the memory array 1, the read-out data will contain "H" and "L" mixed up even when the same data have been written in all the memory cells. This leads to output of a "L" flag by the exclusive OR circuit 14.
According to the multi-bit test mode above, execution time of the test is reduced to a quarter as compared with other test methods where test data are written in and read out of each memory cell one by one.
With the recent development in large-capacity semiconductor memory devices, however, the test time has been evidently increased. Therefore, according to the conventional multi-bit test mode, satisfying reduction in test time and thus in test cost can hardly be achieved any longer.
Therefore, as a technique which allows a drastic reduction in test time as compared with the conventional multi-bit test mode, a line mode test in has been proposed.
In an article by J. Inoue et al., entitled "PARALLEL TESTING TECHNOLOGY FOR VLSI MEMORIES", ITC Proceedings., 1987, pp. 1066-1071; an article entitled "TECHNOLOGY FOR INCREASING TEST EFFICIENCY SUITABLE FOR VERY LARGE CAPACITY MEMORIES", 1987 National Conference 165 of Semiconductor Materials Section of Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers of Japan, pp. 166, the line mode test is disclosed. All memory cells connected to a word line are simultaneously tested by introducing an on-chip test circuit.
FIG. 19B is a circuit diagram showing a structure of a memory comprising an on-chip test circuit shown in the latter document.
First, for example, "H" and "L" level data are respectively applied to the write lines W and W, and a potential on the write control line WC is raised to the "H" level. Consequently, the transistors Q11 to Q14 are turned on, so that potentials on the bit lines B1 and B2 become the "H" level and the potentials on the bit lines B1 and B2 become the "L" level. When a potential on the word line WL1 is raised to the "H" level, "H" level data are respectively written into memory cells M1 and M3. After writing, the potentials on the word line WL1 and the write control line WC are brought to the "L" level.
Thereafter, when the potential on the word line WL1 is raised to the "H" level, the data stored in the memory cells M1 and M3 are respectively read out onto the bit lines B1 and B2. Data on the bit line pairs B1, B1 and B2, B2 are amplified by a sense amplifier (not shown). Then, "L" and "H" level data are respectively applied to the write lines W and W.
When the data read out from the memory cells M1 and M3 are at the "H" level, the potentials on the bit lines B1 and B2 become the "H" level, and the potentials on the bit lines B1 and B2 become the "L" level. Consequently, the transistors Q15 and Q17 are turned on, so that both potentials of nodes N11 and N12 become the "L" level. Therefore, the transistors Q19 and Q20 are turned off, so that the node N13 precharged in advance by the precharge circuit 110 is not discharged. Thus, an "L" level flag signal is outputted to a detection signal output line DS.
It is assumed here that the memory cell M1, for example, is defective. In this case, the data read out from the memory cells M1 and M3 respectively become the "L" and "H" levels, although "H" level data were written in the memory cells M1 and M3. Consequently, the potentials on the bit lines B1 and B1 respectively become the "L" and "H" levels. When "L" and "H" level data are respectively applied to the write lines W and W, the transistor Q16 is turned on, so that the node N11 is charged at the "H" level. Consequently, the transistor Q19 is turned on, so that the node N13 is discharged at the "L" level. As a result, an "H" level flag signal indicating an error is outputted from the detection signal output line DS.
As described in the foregoing, in the above described line mode test, data are applied to the write lines W and W and then, the data are written into a row of memory cells connected to a selected word line. As a result, the same data are written in the row of memory cells. The data are read out from the row of memory cells, and data opposite to the data previously applied to the write lines W and W are respectively applied to the write lines W and W. When data read out from a row of memory cells all match data previously written in the row of memory cells, an "L" level flag signal is outputted from the detection signal output line DS. On the other hand, when at least one memory cell out of a row of memory cells connected to one word line is defective so that data read out from the memory cell does not match data previously written in the memory cell, an "H" level flag signal is outputted from the detection signal output line DS.
According to this line mode test, all the memory cells connected to one word line are simultaneously tested, and this enables a simultaneous test of a larger number of bits than in the case of the multi-bit test mode. Accordingly, a considerable reduction in test mode can be expected.
In recent years, semiconductor memory devices have come to be implemented largely as having a four-bit word organization (X4 organization), an eight-bit word organization (X8 organization) and the like on the same chip as well as a one-bit word organization(X1 organization) only. Accordingly, additional test mode circuits corresponding to those organizations are required. In order to apply the above-mentioned line mode test to a variety of semiconductor memory devices, provision of peripheral circuits such as I/O control circuit and test mode setting circuit that have been adapted to the respective semiconductor memory devices is desired.
However, it can hardly be said that specific techniques for applying the line mode test to a variety of semiconductor memory devices, and such peripheral circuits or the like have been fully developed.

Semiconductor memory device with test circuit


A device (1) for cleaning shoe soles with at least one cleaning element (2) and at least one base element (3) as support for the shoe sole, whereby the shoe sole can be cleaned/cleansed by a relative motion carried out with direct effect between the shoe sole and the cleaning element. In addition, the invention relates to a method for cleaning shoe soles, in particular with the help of the device mentioned in the beginning, whereby the shoe sole is placed on a base element (3) and the shoe sole is cleaned/cleansed by a relative motion carried out with direct effect between the shoe sole and a cleaning element (2). The cleaning effect on shoe soles is increased in that--in the case of the device--base element (3) is designed movably to create the relative motion between the shoe sole and the cleaning element (2) and/or--in the case of the method--the base element (3) is moved to create the relative motion between the shoe sole and the cleaning element (2).

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a device for cleaning show soles with at least one cleaning element and at least one base element as support for the shoe sole, whereby the shoe sole can be cleaned/cleansed by a relative motion carried out with direct effect between the shoe sole and the cleaning element. In addition, the invention relates to a method for cleaning shoe soles, whereby the shoe sole is placed on a base element and is cleaned/cleansed by a relative motion carried out with direct effect between the shoe soles and a cleaning element.
2. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
Various devices for cleaning shoe soles/shoes are known in the state of the art.
On the one hand, shoe scrapers/door mats are very common in the state of the art. The typically known shoe scrapers/door mats are situated in front of the entry area of a house or apartment door on the ground and usually have a rough surface. Grooves, bumps or bristles are usually provided on the surface, so the user can accordingly clean his shoe soles with the help of the shoe scraper/door mat before he enters the house or apartment area. For this, the user brushes with the shoe on his foot, namely with the shoe sole, over the surface of the shoe scraper/door mat, whereby a relative motion effective directly between the shoe sole and the cleaning element is then created between the surface of the door mat, which can be generally designated as a cleaning element, and the shoe sole. In this way, the dirt particles clinging to the shoe sole are detached from the shoe sole by the cleaning element and remain on the surface of the shoe scraper/door mat, namely usually remaining sticking to the cleaning element. To increase the cleaning effect of a shoe scraper/door mat, it is also known that the shoe scraper/door mat is coated with a corresponding protective layer e.g. with a moistened absorber, to ensure with the moistened absorber, for example, that larger quantities of dirt particles clinging to the shoe soles are picked up by the cleaning element/by the coat.
On the other hand, in the state of the art devices for cleaning shoes are known, referred to as automatic shoe-cleaners, that are usually very common in hotels. These automatic shoe-cleaners often located in the hallways of hotels have, in the bottom area, a usually roundly designed, pivoted cleaning element. If the user, in particular the hotel guest, then wishes to clean/cleanse his shoes, he starts the automatic shoe-cleaner accordingly, in such a way that the cleaning element designed as a type of roller rotates at a certain speed. The user can then clean the surfaces of his shoes by bringing the corresponding shoe into contact with the rotating cleaning element, in such a way that due to the relative motion carried out with direct effect between the surfaces of the shoes and the cleaning element, namely the rotation of the cleaning element, the dirt particles clinging to the surface of the shoes are removed. Although the automatic shoe-cleaners mentioned here are not intended for the users to clean the shoe soles of their shoes but rather only the surface of the shoes, practical experience has shown that particularly hotel guests tend to also clean the shoe soles of their shoes using the automatic shoe cleaners described here.
In the state of the art on which the invention is based, devices for cleaning shoes are known that have several cleaning elements, designed as continuous belts, with bristles, whereby the cleaning elements are motor-driven in a base element or run around a base element. These devices have a certain, limited width and are usually arranged in front of businesses or stores in the entry area. The customer entering the store/business walks over the base element which is fixed in position, whereby, during the brief walking on the base element/the support of the shoe sole on the base element, the elongated designed, motor-driven cleaning elements clean the customer's shoe sole/shoe soles before he enters the store/the business.
The devices known in the state of the art for cleaning shoe soles are not designed optimally. Practical experience has shown that even if the user tries to carefully clean his shoe soles--larger dirt particles remain clinging to the shoe soles, whereby the corresponding house or apartment area is soiled in the end, because dirt particles clinging to the shoe soles often detach from the shoe soles only later. These problems are in particular attributable to the fact that a user standing on the shoe scraper/door mat can always clean only the shoe soles of one shoe, namely by first shifting his body weight almost completely onto one foot and thus onto one shoe sole and trying to move the other shoe sole less loaded by body weight back and forth and/or to accordingly brush it over the shoe scraper/door mat. So that the other shoe sole of the two shoes can be cleaned shortly thereafter, there takes place a corresponding shifting of the user's body weight onto the shoe sole already cleaned, at least in the heel, whereby he then carries out the same motion with the shoe sole yet to be cleaned. Practical experience has shown that in particular due to the low body weight load on the shoe sole to be cleaned, the relative motion carried out with direct effect between the shoe sole and the cleaning element is often not sufficient to remove all dirt particles clinging to the shoe sole. In particular, due to the low body weight load/the pressure by load on the shoe sole to be cleaned, no sufficient friction is present between the shoe sole and the cleaning element, in such a way that the cleaning effect is not optimal. Furthermore, when brushing a shoe sole on a shoe scraper it is problematic that the user brushes the feet in longitudinal direction although the profile--with crosswise grooves--of the shoe soles would be better cleaned by brushing the shoe soles in crosswise direction. Yet a brushing of the shoe soles in crosswise direction is not carried out by the user, in particular because this represents an unusual and uncomfortable motion for him/for his foot.
The cleaning effect of the devices known in the state of the art, which have a stationary base element and motor-driven cleaning elements designed as continuous belts, is not optimal either. On the one hand, the user walks on the base element only very briefly and tries--as practical experience has shown--to quickly enter the store/business in the entrances of which such devices are provided. Users regard such devices with a certain "skepticism". Because they at first notice the motor-driven cleaning elements designed as continuous belts. The users sometimes feel inhibited from walking on these devices, which is naturally understandable, because one does not wish to walk on a moving element, in order to run the risk of losing his balance and falling. It has even already occurred that users try to circumvent or to step over as quickly as possible such devices, i.e., the cleaning elements moving before their eyes, in order to have "solid ground" under their feet again as soon as possible. For these reasons, the period of time in which the users' shoe soles touch the motor-driven cleaning elements is relatively brief, in such a way that the cleaning effect is no optimal due to the brief contact time of the cleaning elements with the shoe soles.
The invention is therefore based on the technical problem of designing and further developing the known device for cleaning shoe soles/the known method for cleaning shoe soles in such a way that the cleaning effect on the shoe soles is increased.