A method and an apparatus for transmitting media stream data in a cloud computing system are provided. Before the establishment of a session between a Thin Client (TC) and a media gateway, the TC and the media gateway may exchange control signaling through the Virtual Machine (VM). After the session is established, the TC and the media gateway can transmit media stream data directly by using the established session. Due to the media stream data not passing through the VM, the VM does not need to encode or decode media stream data, and therefore the Central Processing Unit (CPU) occupation rate of the VM will not be high. As a result, the quantity of VMs that can run on a corresponding physical server can be further increased so as to improve the resource utilization rate of the physical server.

In a cloud computing system, multiple virtual machines (VMs) can run on each physical server, and a cloud terminal, that is, a thin client (TC), can log in to a corresponding VM, for example, the TC logs in to the corresponding VM through the Remote Desktop Protocol, to perform communication services. In the prior art, a VM decodes a downstream data packet that is received through a stream control protocol, to obtain media stream data, then encodes the data and transmits the data to a corresponding TC. On the contrary, the VM decodes a received upstream data packet to obtain media stream data, and then encodes the data and transmits the data to a corresponding media gateway through a stream media transmission protocol.
However, the transmission of media stream data between the TC and the VM increases the transmission delay.

Exchanging media stream data between thin client and media gateway, bypassing virtual machine, in cloud computing system


Systems and methods for transporting an object on a carriage in tandem with a wheeled case are presented. A carriage in one embodiment includes a generally planar platform supported by one or more rolling members, a fence strap for holding the seat against a fence that extends upwardly from the platform, and an anchor strap connecting the seat to the wheeled case. The carriage may be used to transport any object or seat, such as a child safety seat. In another embodiment, the platform includes a leading section connected to a trailing section. The trailing section may include an opening that is sized shaped to receive at least a portion of the rolling members therethrough when the two sections are folded together.

Certain disclosed embodiments relate to portable carriage and, more particularly, to a carriage for supporting and attaching a child safety seat to a wheeled case such as a rolling suitcase.
Parents traveling by airplane with small children face a dilemma: bring the heavy car seat from home and carry it through the airport, or rent a car seat at the destination. Car rental agencies typically charge a high fee, per car seat, per day. Also, a rented car seat may be in poor condition or unsafe.
Existing systems for transporting a car seat are bulky, inefficient, and lack sufficient support for carrying a child. Strap assemblies for attaching a car seat to wheeled luggage can add too much weight, overloading the wheels and causing failure. Foldable or detachable seats, mounted to wheeled luggage, may support a child but are not designed to carry the car seat.
Thus, there is a need in the art for improved carriage assemblies that are simple to attach to wheeled luggage and strong enough to safely support a seat and provide enhanced control.


The application discloses a method and system for segmenting a lung image. The method may include obtaining a target image relating to a lung region. The target image may include a plurality of image slices. The method may also include segmenting the lung region from the target image, identifying an airway structure relating to the lung region, and identifying one or more fissures in the lung region. The method may further include determining one or more pulmonary lobes in the lung region.

With a progressive increase of industrial activities, the natural environment becomes worse, which leads to the increasing incidence of lung diseases. Among the lung diseases, the lung cancer is a main killer to human health, meanwhile some lung diseases, such as lung fibrosis, pulmonary emphysema, local tracheostenosis, also always do harm to human health. Generally, the lung may be examined by a CT of the chest and the lung. The CT of the chest and the lung may fast and accurately collect three-dimensional anatomical structure information of lung tissues. After a segmentation process, the three-dimensional structure information of lung parenchyma, a lung airway tree, a lung vessel tree in the chest lung CT image may be intuitively presented. Moreover, a segmentation of pulmonary lobe may be performed on the lung parenchyma, and information related to different pulmonary lobes may be displayed to guide surgical planning and provide real-time guide for an interventional operation, and thereby to avoid or reduce the damage to an organ in a surgical. Since segmentation of lung segment is performed based on the pulmonary lobe segmentation, the study of the segmenting pulmonary lobe in CT images may have an important value in the practical application.

Methods and systems for image segmentation

SHANGHAI UNITED IMAGING HEALTHCARE CO., LTD.


Flexible connector having a multilayer metallic strip, at least one connecting element arranged at at least one end of the strip, the layers of the metallic strip being bond one another in the region of the end of the strip.

Connectors, which must be highly flexible, are used for contacting individual cells in a battery pack or for interconnecting battery packs. The contacting of individual cells in a battery pack for electric vehicles must be flexible in order to compensate for any differences in height between the individual cells. The cell connectors are used in very large numbers in a battery pack, since the respective cells have to be connected to each other and a very large number of cells are used in battery packs for electric vehicles. For this reason, it must be possible to manufacture the cell connectors in as fully automated a process as possible in order to keep production costs low. The same also applies to high-voltage connectors, for which flexibility is of decisive importance in order to ensure simple assembly of the connector, which usually consists of two parts.
It has been found that multi-layer metallic strips can be used for such connectors. Multi-layer metallic strips are understood in the following as braids, braided strips as well as laminates. In particular, copper braids and copper laminates, so-called busbars, are used and can also be used. A copper braid is made of very thin copper strands which are intertwined or interwoven with each other. These form a highly flexible conductor which can be rolled and thus provided as copper braid strip. The individual strands have a diameter of 0.1 mm and smaller. The individual strands are therefore extremely thin and the current carrying capacity of the copper braid strip is only possible due to the large number of individual strands which are interwoven with each other. In a laminated copper strip, the individual layers are formed from copper strips. When we talk about sheets in the following, we also mean foils. The sheets or foils usually have a thickness of only 0.1 mm and less.
Due to these extremely low material thicknesses, however, the multi-layer strips are problematic with regard to contacting with connecting parts. In order to make this contacting possible, connecting elements are arranged on the strips. However, the connecting elements must be bonded to the strip. In these joining processes, especially in thermal joining processes, the joining partners are damaged by the energy input. When a braided strip is used, metal flakes are produced which can detach from the bond. Especially in battery applications, however, such metal flakes must be avoided, as short circuits caused by them can cause the greatest damage.
It has already been proposed that the metallic strips be metallically coated at the ends, in particular tin-plated in an immersion bath. A connecting eye can then be punched into the strip as a connecting element.
However, even such connecting lugs usually do not offer sufficient strength, as they are inserted directly into the material of the strip and thus the extremely thin layers of the strip.
It has also already been proposed to coat the individual layers (also known as individual strips), in particular with tin, in order to subsequently join the strips together mediated by the tin layer. In this process, energy is introduced into the laminate so that the coating melts and an intermetallic bond is formed along the coating. This, however, results in an unpurified compound, which may be disadvantageous electrically or in terms of durability.
A bonding of several layers of strips directly in order to obtain a laminated copper strip is also problematic, since in the bonding processes considerable welding energy has to be introduced into the two outer, opposing layers of the strip in order to reliably bond all layers together. This considerable welding energy can cause one or more outer layers to tear off or burn. Furthermore, hardening can occur and thus embrittlement of the joining partners.
For this reason, the subject matter was based on the object of providing a flexible connector which can be manufactured cost-effectively and at the same time provides sufficient strength for connection to electrical components.

Connector and method of manufacturing a connector


A multimer peptide from a snake venom has an activity to inhibit binding between von Willebrand factor and platelets. The multimer peptide is used to obtain a single strand peptide which does not substantially cause decrease in platelets at a minimum dose for exhibiting the activity in vivo. The single strand peptide is obtained by allowing the multimer peptide to exist together with a protein-denaturing agent, and glutathione and/or cysteine, and thereby disconnecting disulfide bonds between peptide chains for constituting the multimer peptide while substantially preserving disulfide bonds within the peptide chains. Alternatively, the single strand peptide, a mutant thereof, or a part thereof is produced by genetic engineering techniques by using genes coding for them.

It is widely known that platelets closely participate in crisis of so-called thrombosis represented by myocardial infarction and cerebral thrombosis ("Platelets", edited by Yamanaka and Yamazaki, Igaku-Syoin, pp. 158-163 (1991)). Recently, it has been reported that the binding between von Willebrand factor as one of blood proteins and glycoprotein Ib located on platelet surfaces is important for platelets to adhere to intravascular subendotherial tissue, which is considered as an early reaction to cause thrombosis (J. P. Cean et al., J. Lab. Clin. Med., 87, 586-596 (1976)).
It is known that the binding between the two species of the proteins does not occur in an ordinary state, but it occurs only when a high shear stress is exerted in vivo (T. T. Vincent et al., Blood, 65, 823-831 (1985)). The methodology to observe the binding exo-vivo includes a widely spread method which uses certain substances such as ristocetin as an antibiotic (M. A. Howard, B. G. Firkin, Thromb. Haemostatis, 26, 362-369 (1971)) and botrocetin as a protein originating from a snake venom (M. S. Read et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 75, 4514-4518 (1978)). Platelet aggregation occurs when these substances are added to a suspension of platelets. These aggregation depends on the binding between von Willebrand factor and glycoprotein Ib (M. A. Howard, B. G. Firkin, M. S. Read et al., supra).
Several compounds have been already reported, which exhibit an inhibiting action on the platelet aggregation mediated by ristocetin or botrocetin. Such known compounds include, for example, aurintricarboxylic acid (M. D. Phillips et al., Blood, 72, 1989-1903 (1988)), and dye substances such as aromatic amidino compounds (J. D. Geratz et al., Thromb. Haemostasis, 39, 411-425 (1978)), as well as partial fragment peptides of von Willebrand factor or glycoprotein Ib (Y. Fujimura et al., J. Biol. Chem., 261, 381-385 (1986); K. Titani et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 84, 5610-5614 (1987)).
It has been also reported that peptides having similar platelet aggregation-inhibiting activities are present in snake venoms. An international publication pamphlet of WO9208472 describes such peptides from Crotalus horridus horridus and Cerastes cerastes, each peptide comprising two different strands having a molecular weight of about 25 kilodaltons in which the homology is high at least in amino acid sequences on N-terminal side. A platelet aggregation-inhibiting peptide, which has been reported by Peng et al. (M. Peng et al., Blood, 81, 2321-2328 (1993)) as obtained from Echis carinatus, is also extremely similar to the peptides described above in its in vitro activity, molecular weight, etc. Any of the platelet aggregation-inhibiting peptides originating from snake venoms inhibits platelet aggregation mediated by ristocetin or botrocetin at a low concentration of 2 to 5 .mu.g/ml or less in vitro.
The international publication pamphlet of WO9208472 does not describes the anti-thrombus activity upon administration to animals. Accordingly, as described in Example 1 in this specification, the present inventors purified a peptide having equivalent properties to the peptide described in the pamphlet, considering a purification method for the peptide originating from Crotalus horridus horridus described in the pamphlet, in order to investigate the action upon administration to animals. As a result, the present inventors observed almost complete disappearance of platelets in blood upon administration in a small amount of 100 .mu.g/kg. However, the international publication pamphlet of WO9208472 describes neither suggestion nor solution of such a problem upon administration to animals.
Moreover, the peptide from Echis carinatus obtained by Peng et al. has its molecular weight of about 26 kilodaltons under a non-reduced condition as measured by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, while the peptide provides two peptides of about 14 kilodaltons and about 16 kilodaltons under a reduced condition. Accordingly, it is postulated that this peptide is also homologous to the peptide originating from Crotalus horridus horridus. It has been also reported for this peptide that remarkable decrease in platelets is observed upon administration to animals (M. Peng et al., Blood, 81, 2321-2328 (1993)).
The respective peptides originating from snake venoms, which inhibit the binding between von Willebrand factor and platelets, have high homology in their amino acid sequences, and they are also extremely similar in their molecular weights. In addition, according to the result described above, it is assumed that these peptides also have an activity to cause decrease in platelets in vivo. Namely, these peptides inhibit the binding of von Willebrand factor with platelets in vitro at a low concentration, however, they are difficult to be utilized as an anti-thrombosis drug for in vivo administration. The present inventors have considered the mechanism to cause the decrease in platelets as follows.
The peptides from snake venoms, which inhibit platelet aggregation mediated by ristocetin or botrocetin at a low concentration, have, for example, an amino acid sequence as described in the international publication pamphlet of WO9208472. According to the amino acid sequence, the peptide from snake venom conserves approximate positions of cysteine residues and a part of a sequence considered to be necessary for the lectin activity (W. I. Weis et al., Science, 254, 1608-1615 (1991)), as compared with a peptide having a calcium-dependent lectin activity reported by Drickamer et al. and referred to as "C-type lectin" (K. Drickamer, J. Biol. Chem., 263, 9557-9560 (1988)).
Other than the above, peptides having high homology to the C-type lectin in their amino acid sequences have been obtained from snake venoms, including, for example, botrocetin obtained from Botrops jararaca (Y. Usami et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 90, 928-932 (1993)), rattle snake lectin obtained from Crotalus atrox (J. Hirabayashi et al., J. Biol. Chem., 266, 2320-2326 (1991)), and alboaggregin obtained from Trimeresurus albolabris (E. Yoshida et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 191, 1386-1392 (1993)).
These peptides also conserve approximate positions of cysteine residues and a part of the sequence considered to be necessary for the lectin activity, as compared with C-type lectin. It is also known that C-type lectin has an activity to agglutinate cells, bacteria and so on through glycoproteins (sugar chains) on their cell membranes (K. Drickamer, J. Hirabayashi et al., supra).
When the platelet-aggregation is measured in vitro, collected blood samples are often added with citric acid, sodium citrate, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as anticoagulants, and hence calcium is chelated in such a platelet aggregation-measuring system. Accordingly, calcium-dependent reactions are inhibited. For this reason, it is difficult to detect in vitro whether or not the peptides from snake venoms exhibiting the platelet aggregation-inhibiting activity have the lectin activity.
Thus it is considered that the peptides from snake venoms express the C-type lectin activity in the presence of calcium in vivo upon administration to animals, and they cause aggregation of platelets. It is assumed that such an action is one of factors to cause the observed phenomena such as collection of platelet aggregates in microvessels, and consequent decrease in platelets or thrombocytes (thrombocytopenia).
Therefore, in order that the peptide from snake venom which inhibits the binding of von Willebrand factor with platelets functions as an anti-thrombosis drug which is efficacious in vivo such as in experiments with animals, it is necessary to obtain a new active peptide prepared by conversion into a molecule which does not cause decrease in platelets.

Peptide having anti-thrombus activity and method of producing the same


A head suspension assembly for a disk drive has elongated members, in the form of flat strips of stainless steel, which have distal ends welded to the mounting ends of stainless steel load beams with the load beam and the stainless steel strips in alignment. Magnetic heads are mounted in corresponding positions on the distal ends of the load beams. The stainless steel strips are welded together at their distal ends with the load beams aligned with one another and the magnetic heads on the distal ends of the load beams facing in opposite directions. The stainless steel strips are of the same thickness as the reinforcing plates or swage plates which they replace. The load beams are spaced apart by the combined thickness of the stainless steel strips. An arm of an actuator is positioned between and secured to the mounting ends of the stainless steel strips, providing an A-frame type of structure which is light in weight, dimensionally stable and rigid. The A-frame structure is of reduced thickness with respect to conventional head suspensions, permitting closer disk spacing and replaces a corresponding length of heavier conventional arm structure to thereby reduce head suspension inertia.

Trends in disk drive developments require an increase in the volumetric density of information storage and a reduction in the time required to access the stored information. One approach to increasing the density of information storage is to increase the number of disks in a given volume. This requires a reduction in the axial spacing of the disks which directly affects the design of the transducer suspension assembly, necessitating a reduction in its thickness. Increasing the number of disks increases the required number of transducers, load beams and arms for the actuator assembly, all of which add to the mass, of or weight of, the actuator assembly, which supports, moves and positions the transducers. This is inconsistent with a requirement for reducing the time required for accessing information on the disks.
A transducer assembly conventionally comprises an arm connected to an actuator to be moved thereby. The distal end of the arm is connected to one end, called the mounting end, of a flexible or resilient load beam. A transducer, for example, a magnetic head or other head, is flexibly supported on the distal end of the load beam in a position confronting the surface of the disk. In a disk stack of two or more disks, one arm of the actuator assembly will carry two such load beams in back-to-back relationship with the faces of the heads confronting the adjacent surfaces of adjacent disks in the disk stack.
The load beams are fabricated of resilient stainless steel sheet which, in one form factor, are usually of the order of three mils in thickness. The load beams have channel or U-shaped cross sections. The mounting end of the load beam which is attached to the distal end of the arm, is fabricated with a reinforcing plate which is welded thereto. This reinforcing plate, which is used to mount the load beam, also has an essential reinforcement function for bending of the load beam, during the load beam fabrication process. This bend in the load beam is made to provide the required spring loading of the head against the surface of the disk, as is well known. Common practice in attaching the load beam to the arm is to screw the mounting end of the load beam to the arm through holes provided through the load beam and the reinforcing plate. See Robert B. Watrous U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,931,641 and 4,167,765. More recently, the reinforcing plate has been provided with a boss which fits into a hole in the distal end of the arm. See Coon et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,395 as an example. The boss is ball swaged in that hole to securely attach the load beam to the arm. The reinforcing plate, or swage plate, is an indispensable part of the load beam structure.
In such arrangements, the reinforcing plate (insert 132), which may be 20 mils thick, as stated by Coon et al., adds to the thickness of the actuator assembly at the point of its attachment to the distal end of the arm, which is a factor in any attempt to reduce disk spacing. Prior art practice, whether the load beam is attached to the distal end of the arm by means of screws or by ball swaging, places the reinforcement plate between the load beam and the distal end of the arm. Thus the thickness of the actuator assembly at the distal end of the arm, which comprises the sum of the thickness of the arm, twice the thickness of a load beam, twice the thickness of a reinforcing plate, twice the thickness of a screw head, if screw attachment is used, and twice the clearance between a disk surf ace and the arm assembly at the distal end of the arm, determines the minimum axial spacing of the disks. There must be clearance between the disk and the arm assembly for mounting error tolerances and relative movement of the various structures during shock and vibration.
The patentees Coon et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,395, discuss the prior art arrangement aforesaid and, in an effort to achieve a reduction in disk spacing, disclose an arm structure to reduce the thickness of the actuator assembly measured across the mounting ends of the load beams adjacent the distal end of the arm, i.e., the load beam/arm attachment, by placing the load beam between the reinforcing plate (insert 132) and the arm. Then, by controlling the actuator assembly to prevent the reinforcing plates (inserts 132) from passing between the adjacent disks, the disk spacing may be reduced by twice the thickness of a reinforcing plate (insert 132). This, of course, assumes that the combined thickness of the two heads, their flexure mounts, the thickness of the distal ends of the load beams, and the clearance between the distal ends of the load beams, is less than the thickness of the actuator assembly at the load beam/arm attachment location.
FIG.1 of this application illustrates a prior art structure of the type disclosed and patented by Coon et al. Axially spaced disks 1 rotate about an axis 1. An arm 3 of an armstack structure, has a distal end 3a to which the mounting ends 4a of a pair of load beams 4 are attached. The distal ends 4b of the load beams 4 flexibly mount the transducers 5 which have faces which confront respective surfaces of the adjacent disks 1. A swage plate 6 is welded to the mounting end 4a of each load beam 4. A boss 6a is an integral part of each swage plate 6. The load beams are disposed against opposite faces of the distal end 3a of the arm 3, in which position the bosses 6a project into opposite ends of an opening 3b in the distal end of the arm 3. These bosses are ball swaged in the hole 3b to secure the load beam to the arm 3.
The swage plates 6 are shown in a position between the disks 1. According to Coon et al, if the swage plates 6 are prevented from passing between the disks, the disk spacing may be reduced a distance equal to twice the thickness of the swage plates 6. In that situation the disks need to clear only the load beams 4, since the swage plates 6 remain outside the peripheral edges of the disks 1.
As will be seen by reference to FIG.1 herein, using the Coon et al. swage plate thickness of 20 mils, this spacing, from that required to clear the swage plates 6, may be reduced by 40 mils, providing the same clearance for the load beams as that which had been provided for the swage plates. A reduction in disk spacing by this approach, however, is limited by the axial dimension of the bosses 6a. The bosses must be of sufficient length to obtain and maintain a secure grip on the wall of the hole 3b. Additionally clearance is required between the ends of the bosses sufficient to avoid end-to end contact during swaging.
In a more recent prior art design, the bosses are designed so that one boss fits within the other within the hole in the arm. This is known as an interlocking swage. Ball swaging through the inner boss simultaneously secures the bosses together and secures the outer boss in the hole in the distal end of the arm. This reduces the thickness of the arm/load beam assembly.

Head suspension assembly for a disk drive


The present invention provides a system for vehicle security, personalization, and cardiac activity monitoring of a driver wherein electrocardiography of a driver is monitored and registered which is used for identification of a person entering in the vehicle and personalization of vehicle based on user preferences thereby act as intruder detection towards vehicle security. In addition to registration the present invention also monitors cardiac activity of driver in a continuous and real time fashion without any intrusion to driver with the facility of generation of alert and making emergency call.

Cardiac diseases are one of the leading causes of death in the western countries and due to stressful lifestyle are alarmingly increasing in Asian and South Asian counties as well. The majority of cardiac deaths are sudden, and nearly half of the cardiac deaths occur outside hospitals. Staggeringly, 63.4% of heart disease deaths that occurred fall into the category of sudden cardiac death. In addition, 46.9% of heart disease patients who died, did so before reaching the hospital, while another 16.5% were pronounced dead on arrival or died immediately upon arrival in the emergency room. In fact, cardiac disease is the leading cause of death in the developed countries as well as in most of the emerging nation. Studies indicate that approximately 70% of the people who die of cardiac diseases are not diagnosed until their death. These studies demonstrate that all patients with diagnosed cardiac disease and people with high risk of cardiac disease would benefit by being monitored for early detection of cardiac abnormalities. Interestingly, most of the cardiac abnormalities, in many cases are transient and can be avoided if detected at an early stage. (Chaikowski et al. z. telemed med. telemat.-2008.-Vol. 6, No 1.-P.25-27).
Vehical driving is affected by an increasing number and complexity of Driver Assistance Systems (DAS), resulting in a raised cognitive load of a driver. Consequently, these DASs add to the distraction from the main activity of driving (Riener et al., 2009). A number of potential solutions have been proposed so far, however, these techniques broaden the perception horizon of a driver e.g. the introduction of the sense of touch as additional information modality or the utilization of multimodal instead of unimodal interfaces. These solutions demand attention of the driver. In order to cope with the issues of workload and/or distraction, it is essential to find a non-distracting and noninvasive solution for generation of significant sensory information about the driver's awareness and health condition.
For many of the above stress monitoring systems it is also expected to confirm the identity of the driver to avoid an unauthorized access to a vehicle and thus enable decision making for alert generation. There are biometric techniques for disclosing the identity of the driver to the car. Fingerprint is one of the most popular methods. Recently it has been shown that ECG can be used as a biometric input for person identification. The work in (Irvine et al., 2009, EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing Volume 2009, Article ID 243215, 13 pages) describes the results of such an experimentation of using ECG as a biometric.
Some of the inventions which deal in cardiac monitoring in vehicle are as follows:
US20070265540 discloses a heart-rhythm monitoring device for a vehicle which determines whether a driver has an arrhythmia while driving the vehicle or not.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,641 discloses an apparatus and method to monitor heartbeat pulse information for improving the awareness of vehicle drivers by prompting the vehicle driver when it is determined that the awareness of the vehicle driver is decreasing due to the driver falling asleep. However, it failed to disclose the ECG monitoring and secure biometric identification of the driver with display of ECG waveform along with heart rate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,072 discloses a human condition and security controlling apparatus on road-vehicles for detecting the condition of a driver by measuring fluctuation in heart rate and taking a given security action in accordance with the detected result but it failed to disclose ECG monitoring and biometric identification of driver.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,599,243 discloses a system for advising or averting potentially dangerous driving situations based on an analysis of driver stress but it failed to disclose display of health status or ECG waveform and generation of alert with the facility of making E-call in case of emergency.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,783,997 discloses a cardiac rate measuring apparatus which measures the cardiac rate of a driver without restraining motions of the driver and U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,902 discloses a system for monitoring, recording and/or analyzing vigilance, alertness or wakefulness and/or a stressed state of an operator of equipment or machinery but both failed to disclose ECG monitoring and biometric identification of the driver with display of ECG waveform along with heart rate and also facility of making emergency call.
However, all the above mentioned inventions do not provide personalization of vehicle and identification of driver by using Electrocardiography.
In order to overcome the above mentioned drawbacks in the prior art, the present invention provides an integrated the ECG sensing device in vehicle for vehicle security, personalization and monitoring the heart status.

System for vehicle security, personalization and cardiac activity monitoring of a driver


Aspects of the disclosure provide for mechanisms data anonymization. A method of the disclosure includes: receiving, by a processing device, a user input initiating anonymization of a first electronic document, wherein the first electronic document comprises at least one first data item relating to personally identifiable information and at least one second data item not related to the personally identifiable information; in response to receiving the user input, generating a second electronic document, wherein the second electronic document comprises a digital fingerprint of the first electronic document and the at least one second data item; and transmitting, to a server, the second electronic document as an anonymized version of the first electronic document.

Data anonymization may involve processing data so that a user associated with the data cannot be identified by the recipient of the data. For example, personal information that can be used to identify the user, such as names, addresses, and Social Security numbers, can be removed or encrypted to prevent disclosure of the identity of the user. Some regulations, such as the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), set data protection or privacy requirements, some of which may be met by using data anonymization methods.

Methods, systems, and media for data anonymization


A braiding path generating method includes the following steps. Firstly, a mandrel model is received. Then, an outer diameter of the mandrel model is obtained. Then, a target braiding angle is obtained according to a target coverage rate and the outer diameter of the mandrel model. Then, a braiding simulation path is generated according to the target braiding angle.

The braiding system is braided with wire materials on the mandrel, so that outer surface of the mandrel is covered with wire material to make a braided product or increase strength of the product. However, in terms of the mandrel with variable cross-sections, the wire coverage is usually difficult to be controlled within an expected range, and thus it may cause uneven strength of the final product.

Braiding path generating method and device using the same, and dynamic correcting method and braiding system using the same

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE


A switch assembly includes a switch actuator assembly which is operable to actuate a plurality of switches. The switch actuator assembly includes a pushbutton which is manually depressed to move a core relative to a coil from a first position to a second position. As the core moves to the second position, the plurality of switches are actuated and a magnetic field from the core cooperates with a base or frame member to hold the core in the second position. As the pushbutton returns to its unactuated position, a force transmitting lever moves into an extended position in engagement with a coil switch actuator arm. Subsequent depressing of the pushbutton causes a drive pin connected with the pushbutton to depress the force transmitting lever to open a coil switch and deenergize the coil. As the pushbutton is subsequently released, the core and drive pin move upwardly. The coil switch then closes and a retainer pin connected with the core pushes the force transmitting lever back to a retracted position. A remote switch is provided to interrupt a circuit for energizing the coil.

The present invention relates to a switch assembly for use in electrical circuitry.
A known switch assembly for use in electrical circuitry is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 951,669, filed Sep. 25, 1992 by Mohabbatizadeh et al. and entitled "Switch Assembly". The switch assembly disclosed in the aforesaid application includes a manually actuatable member which is movable relative to a switch housing to effect operation of an actuator assembly between unactuated and actuated conditions. A holding coil is energizeable to maintain the actuator assembly and switches in their actuated conditions. A control assembly is effective to control energization of the holding coil in response to movement of the manually actuatable member.
In one embodiment of the switch assembly illustrated in the aforementioned application Serial No. 951,669, the control assembly includes optical sensors which cooperate with shutters to control the output from the control assembly. The shutters move with the manually actuatable member and are effective to cause a change in the condition of the optical sensors upon movement of the manually actuatable member. The shutters change the condition of the optical sensors in a manner which effects energization or deenergization of the holding coil only in response to movement of the manually actuatable member through a complete operating stroke.


An enhancement and retrieval method for natural language data using a computer is disclosed. The method includes executing linguistic analysis upon a text corpus file to derive morphological, part-of-speech information as well as lexical variants corresponding to respective corpus words. The derived linguistic information is then used to construct an enhanced text corpus file. A query text file is linguistically analyzed to construct a plurality of trigger token morphemes which are then used to construct a search mask stream which is correlated with the enhanced text corpus file. A match between the search mask stream and the enhanced corpus file allows a user to retrieve selected portions of the enhanced text corpus.

The invention disclosed herein relates generally to natural language data processing and, more particularly, to a computer based method for enhancing natural language data for subsequent processing, and for retrieving natural language data from the enhanced natural language data using morphological and part-of-speech information.
Sophisticated techniques for archival of electrical signals representative of natural language data allow most business organizations and libraries to store vast mounts of information in their computer systems. However, regardless of how sophisticated the archival techniques become, the stored information is virtually worthless unless such information can be retrieved when requested by an individual user.
Typical techniques for retrieving a desired text use "keyword" and "contextual" searches. Each of these techniques requires the user to provide a fairly precise query or else retrieval of the desired text can be greatly compromised. As an example, a user may attempt to retrieve information on "heat seeking missiles", and request every textual fragment containing the word "seeking". Unfortunately, this technique would fail to retrieve fragments such as "successful missiles sought heat sources" or "smart missile seeks heat".
Alternatives have been suggested wherein a predetermined root of the keyword to be searched and a truncation mask are combined to increase the probability of matching various word endings or inflections. For example, if the exclamation point symbol "!" represents the truncation mask, then "seek!" would match "seeks" or "seeking" but still would fail to match "sought" and thus this approach does not fully resolve problems created by differences in word inflection.
A method for using morphological information to cross reference keywords used for information retrieval is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,426. The method described therein is primarily concerned with generating a compressed text and then searching for information in the compressed text using intermediate indexes and a compiled cross reference table. Although the method of the present invention also uses morphological information, the present invention has no requirements either for text compression or any such intermediate indexes and cross reference table. Further, the method described in the foregoing patent does not employ word sense disambiguation or part-of-speech (POS) information to refine the search. Accordingly, if the method described therein was utilized to search a text for "recording", it would likely find occurrences such as "record" "records", "recorded", "recording"and possibly "prerecorded" and "rerecorded"; however, such method offers no provisions to refine the search to retrieve those occurrences only where "recording" is used as a noun, for example. Thus, it is desirable for the retrieval method to allow the user to specify word usage as part of the search strategy. In this manner, the user may request that occurrences of a predetermined word be retrieved only when the predetermined word is specifically used, for example, either as a verb, adjective, or noun.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved natural language data retrieval method which is not subject to the foregoing disadvantages of existing information retrieval methods.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method for enhancement of natural language data such that the enhanced data may be conveniently used in a subsequent natural language processing scheme such as natural language data retrieval.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a natural language data retrieval method which uses morphological and part-of-speech information to increase the probability of retrieving selected textual information.

Method for natural language data processing using morphological and part-of-speech information


It is determined whether a login button is pressed or not. If the login button being pressed is sensed, a user authentication window appears. After the user authentication window appears, it is determined whether an authentication code is input or not. If an authentication code is input, then it is determined whether a prescribed period of time has passed or not since the last logout. If it is determined that a prescribed period of time has not passed since the last logout, authentication is performed in MFP. It is then determined whether the authentication is “OK” or not. If the authentication is “OK,” the authentication is successful. A login process is then executed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an authentication apparatus including authentication means for executing a user authentication process when the apparatus is to be used.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a user authentication process is generally performed in terms of security, for example, in information processing apparatuses such as printers or MFP (Multi Function Peripheral).
Specifically, in the user authentication process, it is known that a user is recognized by entering a user ID and a password from an operation panel, and whether the user is permitted or not permitted to use the apparatus is determined.
Because of this user authentication process, the use of the apparatus is not allowed as long as the user ID and the password that are registered in advance are not entered. The user authentication process is therefore effective in particular when the apparatus control is performed or when security is intended to be enhanced.
In such information processing apparatuses, when a user inputs the correct user ID and password in a not-permitted (prohibited) state in which the apparatus use is not permitted, the apparatus is switched to a permitted state (login state) in which the apparatus use is permitted. The user is thus allowed to make a copy, for example. Once the user has finished the processing such as copying, the user sets the not-permitted state (logout state) in which the apparatus use is not permitted.
The information processing apparatus having the function of the user authentication process described above is sometimes inconvenient for the user. Specifically, even when the user becomes aware that one copy is missing after completion of copying and wants to make one more copy, if the logout state is set at that moment, the user has to enter the user ID and the password as the first procedure to switch the apparatus to the login state, even immediately after completion of copying. It requires time and effort.
In order to address this, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-110863 discloses that when the apparatus is shifted to the logout state and thereafter shifted to the login state again in a prescribed period of time, the user authentication process is executed only with a password which requires less inputs.
In the user authentication process in the publication above, however, a user ID and a password are registered in the apparatus in advance. Therefore, in the environment in which a plurality of information processing apparatuses are used, similar information has to be input and registered, which operation is very complicated and cumbersome.
Moreover, it is not preferable in terms of security that user information is stored in each apparatus. In response, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-092018 discloses that user information is stored in an authentication server connected via a network in order to execute the user authentication process. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-036701 discloses that user information is stored in an original, particular information processing apparatus connected via a network and is then used to execute the user authentication process.
In the above-mentioned technique of executing the user authentication process by storing user information in an authentication server or in a particular information processing apparatus, the user needs to access the authentication server via the network. For example, when the user becomes aware that one copy is missing after completion of copying and wants to make one more copy, if the logout state is set at that moment, the user has to input the user ID and the password as the first procedure to access the authentication server for execution of the user authentication process, even immediately after completion of copying, as described above. In recent years, the technique of accessing the authentication server, etc. for the user authentication process becomes complicated, in particular, in terms of security, so that it may take more time to shift to the login state.

Authentication apparatus, authentication system, authentication method, and recording medium having authentication program recorded thereon

KONICA MINOLTA BUSINESS TECHNOLOGIES, INC.


Arrangement for electromagnetically screening a connection (1) between an electrical conductor (2) and an electrical coupling element (3) connected to the conductor (2) is proposed. The conductor has an electrically effective screen (4) of a synthetic material containing carbon fibers. The coupling element (3) is also surrounded by an electrically effective screen (5) of a synthetic material containing carbon fibers, which is integrally connected with the screen (4) of the conductor (2) to form an overall shield.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an arrangement for electromagnetically screening of a connection between an electrical conductor and an electrical coupling element connected to the conductor, wherein the conductor has an electrically effective screen containing a synthetic material having carbon fibers.
Description of Related Art
Electrical conductors, which have at least one electrical line surrounded by an insulation have been used worldwide for years. The electrically effective screen consists predominately of copper wires which are formed as a non-woven material or as a stranded material around the insulation of the conductor.
Particularly in the manufacture of motor vehicles or in airplanes, a large quantity of such screen conductors are used which may be combined in compact units, for example, in cable harnesses or in cable sets. Therefore, the weight of such an electrical conductor is a decisive factor.
In particular in the automobile and aerospace industries it is therefore desirable to lower the weight of the conductor units in order to primarily reduce the fuel consumption. For this reason, it is known for example, to use aluminum or aluminum alloys instead of copper for the electrical conductors. It is also known from DE 199 07 675 A1 to manufacture the screen of the electrical conductor of a composite fiber material with electrically conductive fibers, for example, carbon fibers.
The screened conductors are, as a rule, connected to coupling elements, such as bushings or plugs, in order to be able to connect them to further conductive units, for example, to electrical components, or to the body of a motor vehicle. The coupling units may produce electromagnetic fields which can be connected to the body of a motor vehicle. The coupling elements can be permeable to harmful electromagnetic fields which can be produced by the conductor itself or by outside sources. The desired electromagnetic compatibility of such arrangements can be impaired as a result.

Arrangement for electromagnetic screening


A device for outputting video signal includes a magnification alteration processing section that alters the magnification of image data expanded in frame memory in such a manner that the number of pixels in the frame memory and the number of pixels of the display area of a display section are equal. The device further includes a control section for deciding whether or not the magnification alteration processing of the image data by the magnification alteration processing section is to be executed when the image data is being converted into video signals.

Broadly speaking, there are two conventional modes used for creating video signals, the NTSC mode and the PAL mode, when image data expanded in frame memory is output to a display. However, recently, a video signal standard known as "CCIR REC 601 (referred to below as "REC 601")" that can be used for both modes using the same hardware structure has become common.
A description will be given here using FIGS. 3 to 6 of a video signal output device that is based on REC 601. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the structure of a digital camera that uses a video signal output device that is based on REC 601. FIG. 4 shows the standards for the NTSC mode and the PAL mode. FIG. 5 shows the concept of the video signal timing in the NTSC mode. FIG. 6 shows the concept of the video signal timing in the PAL mode.
As is shown in FIG. 3, a digital camera 30 is provided with a video signal output section 36 that reads image data expanded in frame memory 35 has 640 pixels in a horizontal direction and 480 pixels in a vertical direction at a timing that corresponds to the video signal, and then adds the appropriate control signals and outputs a video signal. In addition, the video signal output section 36 is also formed with a variable magnification processing section 37 that serves as a video signal output device based on REC 601 by performing magnification alteration processing corresponding to either the NTSC mode or PAL mode on image data that has been expanded in the frame memory 35.
The image data expanded in the frame memory 35 may be image data input using a CCD 31, image data received via a communication section 32, or image data stored in an image data storage section 33. After the image data has undergone predetermined image processing in an image processing section 34, it is expanded in the frame memory 35. Moreover, video signals output from the video signal output section 36 may be displayed on a display section 40 such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like via an I/F section 38 and a display control section 39, or may be displayed on an external display device using a video signal OUT.
Next, a description will be given of the magnification alteration processing in the magnification alteration processing section 37. In REC 601 one pixel that is digitally specified by horizontal scanning and vertical scanning is not formed as a square. The reason for this is because in order to be able to handle both the NTSC mode and PAL mode standards shown in FIG. 4 using the same hardware structure and the same drive frequency, an intermediate frequency (13.5 MHz) is designated in which square pixels are formed in both modes.
Therefore, in the PAL mode, it is necessary to magnify the 480 lines in the vertical direction in the frame memory 35 to 576 effective display scan lines, and it is also necessary to magnify the 640 lines in the horizontal direction to 720 effective display clocks. Namely, when converting into a PAL mode video signal, magnification processing of 9/8 magnification in the horizontal direction and 6/5 magnification in the vertical direction is carried out in the magnification alteration processing section 37. Moreover, in the NTSC mode, it is necessary to magnify 640 lines in the horizontal direction into an effective display clock number of 720 clocks. Namely, when converting into a NTSC mode video signal, magnification processing of 9/8 magnification in the horizontal direction is carried out in the magnification alteration processing section 37.
In this way, in REC 601, magnification processing of 9/8 in the horizontal direction is normally carried out. Because the senses of a person are able to recognize a distortion of between approximately 3 to 5%, the 9/8 magnification processing is a necessary measure. Namely, if the 9/8 magnification processing is not carried out, a distorted image that has been contracted by 88.9% is displayed, which is sufficient distortion to be easily noticeable.
When the magnification alteration processing is performed, because in 9/8 magnification processing 8 pixels are increased to 9 pixels, interpolation magnification alteration processing is performed in which a filtering process is performed for 8 pixels so as to create the 9th pixel. Here, for a natural image such as image data obtained by photography using the CCD 31, because the image has smooth color changes, when the image is displayed after interpolation variable magnification processing, the resolution of the image is decreased, however, to the human eye there does not appear to be any distortion.
Next, a description will be given while referring to FIG. 7 of the outputting of a video signal by the video signal outputting section 36 to the display section 40 which displays images by overwriting ODD/EVEN fields in time shifts. FIG. 7 shows the concept of the lines when a display is made by overwriting in time shifts.
As is shown in FIG. 7, the CCD 31 inputs image data at a resolution of 320 lines in the horizontal direction and 240 lines in the vertical direction. The image processing section 34 expands the image data by altering the magnification thereof by a factor of 2 in both the vertical and horizontal directions (to a resolution of 640 lines in the horizontal direction by 480 lines in the vertical direction). The display section 40 then overwrites ODD/EVEN fields in time shifts. The result of this is that the image data is displayed at a resolution of 320 lines in the horizontal direction by 240 lines in the vertical direction.
The reason for the CCD 31 inputting the image data at a resolution of 320 horizontally and 240 vertically is because in monitoring mode it is necessary for the transfer load to be light and the display to be made in real time. Furthermore, the reason why the display section 40 overwrites ODD/EVEN fields in time shifts is because the resolution performance of the LCD of approximately 5 inches or less (i.e. the display section 40) used in monitoring mode is approximately 320 in the horizontal direction by 240 in the vertical direction.
However, in the above described conventional technology, various problems have occurred to do with the image quality of displayed images as is described below.
The first problem is that displayed graphic images become blurred. Namely, in the above conventional technology, because magnification alteration processing is always performed for graphic images created purely by data such as E-mail, WEB browsers, set screens, photography mode characters, times, photography numbers, and the like, these graphic images become blurred because of the filtering process.
The second problem is that when natural images are displayed on the NTSC mode display section 40 using PAL mode video signals, the image quality is deteriorated. Namely, because the majority of display sections 40 have the NTSC mode pixel layout (because the 480 lines in the vertical direction are displayed progressively, this comes to approximately 90% of 240 lines—i.e. of half of the 480 lines) due to the demands of the marketplace and the like, the number of lines is absolutely insufficient for video signals in the PAL mode that require 288 lines. Consequently, in the above conventional technology, when natural images are displayed on the NTSC mode display section 40 using PAL mode video signals, although the 5/6 magnification alteration processing in a straight direction is performed in the display section 40, the magnification alteration processing by the magnification alteration processing section 37 does not take into account the magnification alteration processing by the display section 40. Therefore, the image quality is deteriorated due to the repeated magnification alteration processings.
The third problem is that when image data stored in the image data storage section 33 or the like is displayed, it is difficult for this to be displayed on the display section 40 in a short time. Namely, the image data input from the CCD 31 in a high definition (i.e. high pixel number) digital camera, which have become common in recent years, greatly exceeds the number of pixels required for the video signal standard (640 horizontally by 480 vertically). For example, image data having 1280×960 pixels or 1600×1200 pixels is stored in the image data storage section 33 as a main photograph image. If, however, the image data is not to be used as data, but is instead to be displayed on an external display device via the device display section 40 and the video signal OUT, a resolution of 640 in the horizontal direction and 480 in the vertical direction is sufficient. Therefore, in the above conventional technology, the image data of the main photograph image is reduced in the image processing section 34 and expanded in the frame memory 35 and magnification alteration processing is normally performed on the expanded image data in the magnification alteration processing section 37. As a result, it is difficult to display the image data in a short time.
The fourth problem is that it is difficult to confirm framing from an image displayed on the display section 40. Namely, the current situation is that in order for the non-effective range to not be displayed, only 90% or so of the effective display range of the display section 40 is displayed. However, in the above conventional technology, because the magnification alteration processing section 37 always performs the magnification alteration processing to match the number of scan lines of the display section 40, the reality is that it is not possible to display all of the image data expanded in the frame memory. Therefore, it is not possible to display 100% of photographed image data or of an image when monitoring or the like which makes it difficult for framing to be confirmed.
The fifth problem is that when ODD/EVEN fields are overwritten in time shifts, there is a possibility that appropriate overwriting will not be carried out. Namely, when image data is magnified vertically and horizontally by a factor of 2 and expanded in the frame memory 35 as a pair, while it is necessary for this pair to be overwritten in time shifts as a pair once again on the display section 40, there may be a wrong positioning of one line depending on the specifications of the display section 40, in which case the appropriate overwriting is not carried out.

Magnification alteration processing method which accords with types of image data and image processing apparatus which uses the method


A flexible capacitive coupler assembly includes a flexible dielectric substrate assembly having a front surface and a rear surface, the front surface having thereon a macroscopic metal capacitive pad. A package supports the flexible dielectric substrate. An electrical connection is made to package wiring or leads on the flexible dielectric substrate to establish electrical contact with a computer subsystem.

Contemporary computer and communications systems commonly comprise several subsystems, each implementing one or more computation or communication functions. Each subsystem is outfitted with external connector sockets for communicating with other subsystems and for drawing power. The subsystems are mounted in proximity to each other in mechanical structures in the form of industry standard sized racks or custom-sized chassis.
FIG. 1A illustrates a representative contemporary computing center having two servers 1 and a data storage 2. The servers 1 include subsystems 3 that are housed in industry-standard 19-inch racks. The subsystems 4 of the storage 2 are housed in a custom-size chassis. The servers 1 and storage 2 are typically in an environmentally controlled data center or server room. The subsystems 3-4 are interconnected with each other and to outside communication links through electronic or optical cables 5. AC or DC electrical power must also be supplied to the subsystems 3-4 and is typically distributed via under floor cabling 6 from a power source.
The rack/chassis-based architecture of FIG. 1A has several advantages: (1) the subsystems may be arbitrarily arranged in the room, subject to cooling and cabling distance constraints, and (2) the subsystems may have different form factors. However, this type of packaging suffers from several operational disadvantages: (1) scaling difficulty; (2) cable management; (3) connector unreliability; and (4) unreliability of wire and cable assemblies. These problems contribute to the overall unreliability of today's high-performance computer and communications systems and lead to increased costs of ownership, maintenance, and upgrade of the systems.
The first disadvantage of current computer and communications systems is the difficulty one would encounter when the system's capacity or functions need to be expanded. This can occur even if a system was designed to accommodate a certain degree of growth. For example, to connect a new server into a network, additional communication cables need to be connected to a network switch. However, if the switch is fully allocated at capacity with insufficient free network ports, the upgrade becomes difficult and costly, particularly if the system must remain operational while the expansion is performed.
The second disadvantage of current computer and communications systems is the management of interconnect cabling and wiring. Given the large number of wires and cables in a computer facility, it is not uncommon that service and support personnel may incorrectly connect or disconnect a cable. The potential for other errors, such as plugging a cable into a wrong subsystem and leaving a cable unconnected, can also occur, particularly when system operation must be restored quickly. For optical cables, one must select the proper speed, wavelength, and distance parameters.
The third disadvantage of current computer and communications systems is the unreliability of connectors. Electrical connectors can degrade over time due to micro-fretting wear, which can lead to corrosion. As a metal connector corrodes, its electrical resistance increases, causing intermittent or hard failures in the system. Optical connectors may be mishandled, jarred, or contaminated by finger oil or dust, causing an intermittent open circuit in the system. In addition, optical-to-electrical transceivers can fail. These hazards and failures result in an increased cost of maintenance for the system.
The fourth disadvantage of current computer systems is the unreliability and cost of cables. Both electrical and optical cables can be broken, cracked, bent, compressed, or otherwise mishandled. Glass-based optical cables can also be damaged if stepped on or if the maximum bending radius is exceeded. Although cables are typically designed to meet certain system parameters, they are not always manufactured to such tolerances.
Electrical cables may also carry undesirable shield or ground currents between subsystems with chassis grounds or signal grounds at different electrical potentials, particularly when the subsystems are powered from different AC branch circuits. Cables can also undesirably pick up external electromagnetic interference or electrostatic discharges. These unwanted shield, ground, or signal currents can cause intermittent or hard errors in the communication between the subsystems, resulting in transient or hard failures in the whole systems.
The above disadvantages contribute to the unreliability, inflexibility, and high cost of ownership of existing computer and communications systems. Therefore, there remains a need for a modular computer system that has reliable and simple interconnection, and is easy to expand and service. To address this need, a scalable computer system has been previously disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/264,893, which uses upon surface-mounted capacitive couplers for intercommunication. These couplers can be made from a variety of materials with different advantages. Rigid couplers, such as ceramic, have the advantage of being commercially available and easily integrated into a package by nature of the strength of the material. Being thick and self supporting they can be easily mounted mechanically and easily soldered for electrical connection.
Conversely, thin, flexible, polymer-type couplers, such as Kapton, Upilex, Teflon, etc, have different advantages. Technically, thin flexible couplers are advantages primarily due to the fact that their flexible nature eliminates the variable of substrate flatness. When substrates are not flat, the gap that is created between the halves of the coupler are not only large, but variable, which will limit the speed of data transfer. The flexibility of the flexible couplers allow them to be assembled in such a way as to have the couplers in intimate contact, such that only a dielectric layer over the metal coupler pad defines the separation.
Available flexible dielectric substrates, such as Kapton, also have the advantage of improved signal characteristics. The lower intrinsic dielectric constant of these materials reduces interfering cross-talk between adjacent channels.
Flexible couplers have the advantage of reduced manufacturing costs. Where rigid couplers, such as ceramic, have high materials costs and machining costs, flexible organic material is inexpensive and can be bulk processed. It also can be quickly and easily laser machined.
Finally, although rigid couplers are durable for mounting and soldering, they are brittle and therefore fragile. Rigid couplers such as ceramic will shatter on impact or if twisted. Flexible organic dielectrics are extremely durable to shocks or twisting. They are also able to withstand high temperatures and are chemically resistant.
The advantages of thin flexible couplers make them outperform the rigid interposers. However, integration of these couplers relies on the ability to make connection to the back side of the coupler via soldering. In the case of existing rigid couplers, such as ceramic, this is not an issue. However, in the case of a flexible dielectric materials (e.g. Kapton, Teflon, Upilex, etc), soldering to the backside of the coupler impairs the function of the coupler. Soldering a wire to the back side of a thin flexible material has a variety of challenges associated with it. Due to the thin cross-section of these dielectric films, and their poor thermal conductivity, the localized heating associated with soldering results in local hot spots which heavily taxes materials characteristics, such as adhesion of metals. Even more important than this is the form taken by the solidified solder, and the resulting deformation of the dielectric. Due mostly to the rigidity of the wire being connected to the coupler, the front surface of the coupler is most likely going to be deformed during soldering as shown in FIG. 1B. In FIG 1B, the dielectric film 7 is deformed along with the bonding pad 8 when the wire 9 is soldered to the pad using solder 10.
Even if the deformation of the front surface can be overcome such that the front surface of the coupler is not significantly compromised by the soldering operation, there are still several problems associated with direct soldering of wires to the coupler. Connecting multiple wires to the small area provided by the coupler can present similar problems that the existing system includes meaning cable management and unreliability of wire and manual solder connections. These wires can also limit the freedom of motion of the coupler, limiting the proximity of the coupler to the matching coupler. Finally, individual soldering of each wire will drive up cost, compounded by the additional cost it would require to overcome these technical challenges listed.
There is a need in the art for a flexible capacitive coupler assembly for providing for communications between computer subsystems.

Flexible capacitive coupler assembly and method of manufacture

International Business Machines Corporation


Techniques are described for facilitating use of sequences of invocable services in a configurable manner, including by providing a metering service that tracks the use of invocable services by other invocable services or applications. In at least some situations, the invocable services are fee-based Web services or other fee-based network-accessible services, and are made available by providers of the services for use by others in exchange for fees defined by the service providers. The described techniques facilitate use of a sequence of such invocable services by applications in a manner configured by the creators of the applications and providers of the services, including to allow the application creators to define pricing terms that will be used to determine fees that end users of the applications will be charged for use of the invocable services via the applications.

Various mechanisms exist to allow computers and executing software applications to interact. For example, remote procedure call ("RPC") protocols have long existed that allow a program on one computer to cause a program on another computer to be executed. In a similar manner, various object-oriented architectures such as CORBA ("Common Object Request Broker Architecture") and DCOM ("Distributed Component Object Model") provide remote execution capabilities. In addition, various middleware programs have been implemented to connect separate applications (often of distinct types and from unrelated sources) to allow communication. For example, various EDI ("Electronic Data Interchange") networks exist that provide standard mechanisms to allow a computer system of one user of the network to send data to a computer system of another user of the network.
The widespread popularity of the World Wide Web ("Web") has provided additional opportunities for computers to inter-communicate. For example, much current Web use involves users interactively requesting Web pages from Web servers (e.g., via Web browser applications executing on user computers) and receiving the requested information in response. In addition, there is also growing use of the Web to support the programmatic interaction of remote applications to exchange information via defined APIs ("application program interfaces"), such as via Web services. Web services allow heterogeneous applications and computers to interact, and can be defined and implemented using a variety of underlying protocols and techniques. For example, some Web service implementations return data in XML ("eXtensible Markup Language") format using HTTP ("HyperText Transport Protocol") in response to a Web service invocation request specified as a URI ("Uniform Resource Identifier"), such as a URL ("Uniform Resource Locator") that includes a specified operation and one or more query parameters. In other implementations, additional underlying protocols are used for various purposes, such as SOAP ("Simple Object Access Protocol") for standard message exchange, WSDL ("Web Services Description Language") for description of service invocations, and UDDI ("Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration service") for discovery of available services.
Although Web services and other mechanisms allow various applications and computers to interact, various problems exist with the use of such interaction mechanisms. For example, if a developer of an application would like to incorporate the use of fee-based Web services that are available from third parties in the application, but in a manner that the end users of the application will be responsible for corresponding fees, such functionality is typically difficult and costly to implement. In addition, many fee-based Web services may offer relatively limited capabilities, and a user may desire to offer to others a new fee-based Web service with enhanced capabilities based on use of one or more other third-party fee-based Web services, but such functionality is also typically difficult and costly to implement. Such functionality may include, for example, mechanisms to track the use of the various services and determine corresponding fees, as well as mechanisms to collect specified payments from users of the services and to allocate such payments among the various service providers.

Providing configurable use by applications of sequences of invocable services


A left-eye color discrimination unit (1101) and right-eye color discrimination unit (1102) generate mask images from virtual space images. If an error part exists at the boundary between a chroma key region and non-chroma key region in the mask image, each of a left-eye mask correction unit (1108) and right-eye mask correction unit (1110) corrects the error part using another mask image generated based on the other virtual space image in addition to the virtual space image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chroma key composition technique.
2. Description of the Related Art
Chroma key composition is a technique for compositing images by overwriting an image from which a region except for a region having a specific color is extracted on another image.
In order to accurately attain the chroma key composition, a region having a specific color needs to be accurately detected. Especially, the contour of the region having the specific color needs to be accurately detected so as to obtain a pleasing appearance of a composite image.
As a conventional technique for accurately detecting the contour for the purpose of chroma key composition, a method of calculating a rough position of a region having a specific color based on color information, and calculating its outline from luminance information has been proposed, as disclosed in patent reference 1.
[Patent Reference 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-35279
However, the conventional chroma key composition is done under the assumption that an image including a region having a specific color is free from noise, and it is difficult to apply if an image is noisy.
For example, noise is generated in an image when an image is transferred via a wireless communication. Upon transferring an image via a wireless communication, if that image picks up atmosphere noise during transfer, the image suffers any loss of information (noise).
In addition, if an image has significant noise, the color of the image is different from an original color, and detection of a region having a specific color often fails upon the chroma key composition. For this reason, the chroma key composition cannot be normally done for noisy images.

Image processing apparatus and method for composition of real space images and virtual space images


In a vehicle roof structure, a roof panel has a central opening in which a roof glass is supported. A roof molding is mounted to molding mounting grooves that are formed along connecting portions between the roof panel and roof side rails extending along the roof panel. The roof molding includes a molding body and support legs. The molding body also includes: a lip portion that is formed at one side edge thereof and protrudes out of the molding mounting groove to cover a peripheral edge of the roof glass; and an inclined portion which is formed at the other side edge thereof and is inclined smoothly toward a bottom of the molding mounting groove. Therefore, the molding body continuously covers a region from the roof glass to the roof side rail, thereby improving the appearance, and further makes inconspicuous a recess defined by the molding mounting groove and the inclined portion, thereby minimizing the influence of the recess on the roof appearance, while rain water coming from the side of the roof panel is prevented from flowing over the roof side rail.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle roof structure comprising: a roof panel for supporting a roof glass at an opening provided in its central portion; roof side rails; molding mounting grooves formed along connecting portions between the roof panel and the roof side rails; and roof moldings mounted to the molding mounting grooves.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent No. 3563179 discloses a vehicle roof structure, in which a roof glass is mounted in a large opening formed in a roof panel of a vehicle, and clearances between left and right side edges of the roof glass and left and right roof side rails are covered with roof moldings (garnishes).
However, this conventional roof structure has a problem that continuity between the roof glass and the roof side rails is eliminated to deteriorate the appearance.


Provided is a power module package including: a substrate; at least one electrode arranged on the substrate; and an encapsulation member covering at least a portion of the substrate, the encapsulation member including a housing unit housing the at least one electrode. The at least one electrode is spaced apart from the encapsulation member.

1. Field
One or more embodiments of the inventive concept relate to a power module package and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a power module package having a simplified structure and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the development of power devices applied to vehicles, industrial machinery, and home appliances, the demand for power devices which are lightweight, small in size and have excellent performance has increased. Accordingly, a multichip power module package in which a plurality of semiconductor chips are mounted in one chip is commonly used, and research into simplifying a structure of the multichip power module package and reducing a size thereof has been actively conducted.
For example, a structure is suggested in which electrodes for connecting a semiconductor chip with external terminals are mounted and molded on a substrate on which the semiconductor chip is arranged, without any lead frame. The multichip power module package having the above-described structure may have a simplified structure, be lightweight and small in size because no lead frames are used during high integration. However, electrodes of the multichip power module package are frequently damaged during a transfer molding process, and thus, malfunctions may result.

SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC


A sheet-shaped switch including a first insulating sheet having a plurality of fixed electrodes formed on an upper surface thereof, a second insulating sheet having movable electrodes which are formed on a lower surface thereof such that the movable electrodes are opposed to the fixed electrodes, and an insulating spacer sandwiched between the upper surface of the first insulating sheet and the lower surface of the second insulating sheet, the insulating spacer defining through-holes which are aligned with the fixed electrodes and the movable electrodes such that each fixed electrode is able to contact an associated movable electrode through one of the through-holes. Protrusions in the form of elongated ridges are disposed between the first insulating sheet and the insulating spacer and/or between the second insulating sheet and the insulating spacer, and are formed around the through holes within 5 mm of the through holes. The protrusions facilitate a thinner switch by allowing the insulating spacer to be 75 .mu.m or less.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet-shaped switch suitable for use in a keyboard switch or the like, and particularly to a thin sheet-shaped switch.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional sheet-like or -shaped switch has been formed thick and at high cost, because first and second insulating sheets on which fixed electrodes and movable electrodes constituting the sheet-shaped switch are respectively printed, and an insulating spacer disposed between the insulating sheets are sufficiently thick.
The conventional sheet-shaped switch will now be described below with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. A first insulating sheet 1 is formed of an insulating material such as a polyester film. The thickness of the first insulating sheet 1 ranges from about 100 .mu.m to 200 .mu.m, for example. A plurality of fixed electrodes 2 each composed of a conductive material such as a single layer of a mixture of silver and carbon and first electrode patterns 4 each composed of the same material as that for each fixed electrode 2 are formed on the upper surface of the first insulating sheet 1 by printing. The thickness of each of the fixed electrodes 2 and the first electrode patterns 4 ranges from 5 .mu.m to 25 .mu.m.
An insulating spacer 5 is opposed to the first insulating sheet 1 and disposed above the first insulating sheet 1. The insulating spacer 5 has penetrations or through holes which are provided at positions opposed to the fixed electrodes 2 respectively and have sizes which are sufficiently large such that movable electrodes 8 to be described later can be respectively brought into contact with the fixed electrodes 2. Incidentally, the thickness of the insulating spacer 5 ranges from about 100 .mu.m to 200 .mu.m, for example.
A second insulating sheet 7 is composed of an insulating material such as a polyester film. The thickness of the second insulating sheet 7 ranges from about 100 .mu.m to 200 .mu.m, for example. For example, an alphabetical letter or numerical character (not shown) indicative of each switch position is printed on the upper surface of the second insulating sheet 7 or a keytop portion (drive portion) of an unillustrated keyboard switch is disposed on the upper surface thereof. A plurality of movable electrodes 8 each composed of a conductive material such as a single layer of a mixture of silver and carbon, and a plurality of second electrode patterns 10 each composed of the same conductive material as each movable electrode 8 are formed on the lower surface of the second insulating sheet 7 by printing. Incidentally, the thickness of each of the movable electrodes 7 and the second electrode patterns 10 ranges from 5 .mu.m to 25 .mu.m.
The first insulating sheet 1, the insulating spacer 5 and the second insulating sheet 7 are mutually multilayered as shown in FIG. 9. When the electrodes 2 and 8 are disposed so as to be opposed in upward and downward directions within each through hole 6 of the insulating spacer 5 by such a multilayer construction and the electrodes 8 are depressed by the operation of an unillustrated key, the movable electrodes 8 printed on the second insulating sheet 7 are brought into contact with their corresponding fixed electrodes 2. On the other hand, when the depressing force is eliminated, the movable electrodes 8 are restored to their original states by an elastic restoring force of the second insulating sheet 7.
In the sheet-shaped switch having such a structure, a space or interval defined between each fixed electrode 2 and each movable electrode 8 is held by the thickness of the insulating spacer 5 itself. This interval provides a withstand voltage between the fixed electrode 2 and the movable electrode 8. It is therefore necessary to make the insulating spacer 5 thick. Further, when one attempts to increase the withstand voltage, a thicker material is necessary as the insulating spacer 5 correspondingly, whereby a material cost becomes high.
Since the first insulating sheet 1, the insulating spacer 5 and the second insulating sheet 7 respectively use the same material and are formed to the same thickness up to now from the viewpoint of easiness on the fabrication of the sheet-shaped switch, management of the manufacturing process, maintenance, etc., the cost of materials for the sheet-shaped switch becomes high and the sheet-shaped switch is still made thick.


At least one exemplary embodiment is directed to an electronic apparatus includes a switch contact and a control unit. The switch contact is constituted of a fixed contact and a movable contact. The fixed contact includes a plurality of detection contacts and a common contact. The movable contact can be moved to a contact/noncontact state. The control unit detects a signal generated when all of the contacts in the fixed contact are simultaneously made conductive by contact of the movable contact.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus which generates a switch signal, more particularly, though not exclusively, an imaging device which generates a switch signal using a conductive detection and common contact.
2. Description of the Related Art
A switch detection pattern of a conventionally used general tact switch will be described with reference to FIG. 9. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 91 denotes a common (GND) contact (line or pattern), and reference numeral 92 denotes a detection contact (line or pattern). Accordingly, one common contact and one detection contact make a pair to constitute a fixed contact, i.e., a switch conductive section. A movable contact of a switch operation member is operated with respect to the fixed contact to electrically interconnect the common and detection contacts, so that a conductive state is set to detect a switch operation. An end surface of the fixed contact is coated with an electrically conductive material such as a metal or carbon. An example of a tact switch is discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 09-214084.
In recent single-lens reflex or digital still cameras, such tact switches are arranged in four directions, i.e., up-and-down and left-and-right directions, to constitute a direction selector used for selecting a focusing position in a finder screen or for selecting information on a monitor screen.
When the number of pieces of information to be selected are increased, selections alone in the four directions, i.e., the up-and-down and left-and-right directions, are not enough, thus creating a need to increase selectable directions. FIG. 10 illustrates a direction selector configured by annularly arranging the tact switches. Eight switches and one switch are respectively arranged in an outer periphery and in the center. The switches in the outer periphery are arranged at angular intervals of 45° around the switch in the center, and are set as switches to select angular directions and positions.
This switch needs one common contact and nine detection contacts on a circuit. In FIG. 10, nn, ne, ee, se, ss, sw, ww, nw, and cc respectively indicate detection positions of the direction selector. They are arranged in order of an upper part (north), an upper right (north east), a right (east), a lower right (south east), a lower part (south), a lower left (south west), a left (west), an upper left (north west), and a center. Reference numerals 101 to 108 denote detection contacts (lines or patterns) arranged in detection positions in the outer periphery of the direction selector. Reference numeral 109 denotes a detection contact arranged in the center. Reference numeral 100 denotes a common contact (GND) arranged in the respective detection positions to be connected together.
FIG. 11 is a sectional diagram showing a structure of the direction selector, which uses the switch detection pattern shown in FIG. 10. Reference numeral 111 denotes a direction selection member, reference numeral 112 denotes a printed circuit board, and reference numeral 113 denotes a pedestal. The printed circuit board 112 is fixed to the pedestal 113, and the direction selection member 111 is arranged on the printed circuit board 112. Reference numerals 111a, 111b, and 111c denote movable contacts, which can move up and down independently of one another with respect to a pressing operation. Reference numerals 112a, 112b, and 112c denote fixed contacts disposed on the printed circuit board 112, which can contact with the movable contacts 111a, 111b, and 111c, respectively. These fixed contacts are constructed with the conductive pattern shown in FIG. 10.
The direction selector configured as described above can be used in many compact portable electronic apparatuses because of its compact and simple structure. However, when the number of targets to be selected increases, the numbers of switches and directions increase, and the number of switch detection signals increase, thus complicating processing at a signal processing circuit. As a general method of reducing the number of signals to deal with this problem, as shown in FIG. 12, there is a conventional method of alternately thinning the number of contacts, detecting turning-on of switches at two places on both sides adjacent to the thinned place, and detecting turning-on of a switch corresponding to a middle position of the two places, i.e., the contact thinned place, by software.
Numbers and symbols in FIG. 12 are similar to those of FIG. 10. In FIG. 12, fixed contact patterns are not arranged in four places, i.e., an upper right (north east), a lower right (southeast), a lower left (southwest), and an upper left (north west). Signal detection at these omitted portions is determined by conduction of signals at the adjacent two-side positions. For example, in the case of selecting the upper right (north east), pressing is determined when conduction of both of the upper part (north) and the right (east) is detected.
Additionally, there has been proposed a technology of detecting a position and a direction more minutely by using a pointing device operable to change a resistance value of a contact in an analog fashion for a position or direction selector (a selector such as a mouse). An example of such a technology is discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-162946.
However, according to the aforementioned detection method, accurate direction selection may be difficult, or an erroneous operation may be induced. For example, to directly select a middle position or direction, switches at two places must be simultaneously operated. In practice, the simultaneous operation of the switches at two places is difficult. One of the switches is always operated first, and then the other switch is operated, causing a time difference or order in operation. In consequence, a problem arises in that an intended direction cannot be selected at once when the operation of the middle position is carried out.
Description will be made more specifically with reference to a finder screen illustrated in FIG. 13. Reference numerals a1 to g1 denote indicators of focusing points corresponding to the finder screen. In the case of changing an initial set position b2 of a focusing point to an adjacent focusing point c1, both upper and right switches are operated as the focusing point c1 is positioned obliquely right upward with respect to the focusing point b2.
However, as it is impossible to simultaneously operate both the upper and right switches without any time difference, the upper or right switch is detected first. When the upper switch is detected first, a detection order is from the focusing point b1 to the focusing point c1. When the right switch is detected first, as the focusing points c1 and c2 are present on the right with respect to the focusing point b2, a problem arises in that a changing position cannot be established. In consequence, with this switch configuration, a problem occurs when an oblique direction is selected.
Furthermore, when a pointing device operable to change a resistance value of a contact in an analog fashion is used, an expensive AD converter, complex in circuit processing, must be mounted. Thus, it is difficult to use such a pointing device for a compact portable electronic apparatus because of its size and cost.

Electronic apparatus having switch contacts


Immunogens against human extended-progastrin species comprise (A) a mimetic peptide comprised of (i) the amino acid sequence of a progastrin or a N- and/or C-terminal processed species of a progastrin joined to (ii) a 7 amino-acid spacer coupled to (B) an immunogenic carrier. Illustrative of the mimetic peptide/spacer combination are a 21 amino-acid peptide (SEQ ID NO.: 1) and other, related polypeptides (SEQ ID NOs.: 2-5). Pharmaceutical compositions containing such an immunogen display improved immunological properties, including the induction of effective antibody levels shortly after the administration of an initial course of immunogen. Levels of antibody thus elicited stay elevated for several months and readily elevate to higher levels upon subsequent boosting by a single injection of immunogen.

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are the most common form of cancer in humans worldwide and a leading cause of deaths in most countries. A number of growth factors are known to effect the proliferation of GI malignancies, and particular to them, in common, is the family of peptides hormones generated from the processing of preprogastrin. The maturation of preprogastrin in normal tissue involves the multistep processing of intermediate progastrin, leading to the predominant amidated forms of gastrin found in circulation; gastrin-34 (G34) and gastrin-17 (G17), known, respectively, as "big" and "little" gastrin. These hormones regulate mucosal cell growth and the (post-prandial) secretion of gastric acid, especially following ingestion of food. Progastrin and gastrin, particularly G17 and the glycine-extended form of G17 (gly-G17), have been reported to play a trophic role in GI malignancies, both in vitro and in vivo, and a number of observations support the case for targeted inhibition of these gastrins for therapeutic purposes.
Immunization against specific cancer-promoting growth factors and hormones is known to be useful in the treatment and prevention of certain cancers, especially breast cancer, lung cancer, and certain types of GI cancer. In addition, immunological approaches to the treatment and prevention of gastro-esophageal and gastro-duodenal ulcerating diseases also may be effective in the treatment of these chronic conditions.
Several treatment approaches have been employed successfully, especially ones that use targeted human or humanized monoclonal antibodies (huMAbs). Given the expense and difficulties of setting up manufacture and delivery of commercial huMAbs, however, less expensive alternative strategies are needed, particularly for the developing countries.
For GI cancers and diseases, these immunological approaches entail the generation of specific antibodies to neutralize the biological activity of disease promoting gastrointestinal peptide hormones. The antibodies required have to be specific for a particular growth factor or hormone, or hormone precursor. One or more factors or hormones can be selectively targeted to treat a particular disease.
For instance, human gastrointestinal hormone gastrin 17 ("huG17") is involved in gastrointestinal disease processes including gastro-esophageal reflux disease, by virtue of its ability to stimulate acid and hence cause gastric and duodenal ulceration. Additionally, huG17 has been shown to stimulate the growth of some GI cancers.
Specific anti-huG17 antibodies, which are able to neutralize the action of huG17, therefore have been used in clinical trials to treat diseases in which huG17 is involved. The anti-huG17 antibodies can be administered to the patient, e.g., by passive immunization, or they can be induced in the patient by active immunization.
Similarly, although amidated gastrins were thought to be the only biologically active forms of gastrin in circulation, there now is considerable evidence that the progastrin forms of preprogastrin have proliferative potential based upon studies with human GI cancer patients and derived human cancer cell-lines. In fact, GI cancer cells are generally inefficient at processing gastrin precursors like preprogastrin and progastrin to their normal amidated form; hence, serum levels in cancer patients show much higher levels of these precursor forms of gastrin than for the normal amidated forms. It has been reported that plasma levels of progastrin but not amidated gastrin or glycine extended gastrin are significantly elevated in patients with colorectal cancer compared with those with colorectal polyps or controls (Siddheshwar et al., Gut 48: 47-52, 2001). Also progastrin, amidated gastrin, total gastrin, and glycine-extended gastrin were detected in 100%, 69%, 56%, and 44% of colorectal cancer (CRC) patient tumors, respectively (Ciccotosto et al., Gastroenterology 109: 1142-53, 1995), suggesting that cancers indeed were faulty in processing gastrins fully.

Immunogenic compositions against human progastrin peptides