The semiconductor memory device contains a voltage converting circuit. The voltage converting circuit includes a plurality of reference voltage generating circuits for respectively generating a plurality of reference voltages at different levels. The voltage converting circuit further includes a differential amplifier, an output circuit, a switching circuit and a switching control circuit. The switching control circuit and the switching circuit select one of the plurality of reference voltages and supply the selected reference voltage to the differential amplifier in response to an externally applied control signal. The differential amplifier and the output circuit apply the supplied reference voltage to an internal circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device and the operating method thereof, containing a voltage converting circuit for converting an externally applied power supply voltage to a predetermined voltage and providing the same to an internal circuit.
2. Description of the Background Art
Recently, examples of development have been published in a 4M-bit static random access memory (hereinafter referred to as SRAM) and a 16M-bit dynamic random access memory (hereinafter referred to as DRAM) utilizing a micro-lithography technology at a 0.5 .mu.m level. In these 4M-bit SRAM and 16M-bit DRAM, a short channel MOS transistor is used, having a gate length of 0.6 .mu.m or below. In a conventional 4M-bit DRAM and the like, an MOS transistor is used, which has a gate length from 1 .mu.m to about 0.8 .mu.m, and operates at a power supply voltage of 5 V.
When a short channel MOS transistor, which is used in the above-mentioned 4M-bit SRAM and 16M-bit DRAM, is operated at a power supply voltage of 5 V, it is noted that a degradation of a transistor characteristic is caused to a degree that is not negligible, presenting a problem of reliability.
In order to use a short channel MOS transistor having a gate length of about 0.5 .mu.m, controlling such a degradation of the transistor characteristic, it is intended to change the power supply voltage from 5 V, for example, to 3.3 V. When a compatibility with a power supply system of 5 V which has been widely used so far is considered, however, there is a problem in the change of a power supply voltage.
Accordingly, a semiconductor device is proposed, in which a voltage converting circuit is integrated. In the semiconductor device, an externally applied power supply voltage is held at 5 V, and the power supply voltage is reduced to a constant voltage by the voltage converting circuit, thereby allowing the internal circuit to be operated at a constant voltage independent of the fluctuation of the power supply voltage.
FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing one example of a conventional semiconductor device containing a voltage converting circuit. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a specified circuit structure of the voltage converting circuit shown in FIG. 14. The voltage converting circuit of FIG. 15 is proposed, for example, by T. Furuyama et al. in IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Vol. SC-22, No. 3, pp. 437-441, June 1987.
The semiconductor device 100 of FIG. 14 contains a voltage converting circuit 101, an internal circuit 105 and an input-output circuit 106. The internal circuit 105 comprises a memory, for example, a DRAM.
The voltage converting circuit 101 contains a reference voltage generating circuit 102, a differential amplifier 103 and a switching circuit 104. The semiconductor device 100 has a power supply terminal 10 for receiving a power supply voltage Vcc and a ground terminal 30 for receiving a ground voltage Vss. The reference voltage generating circuit 102 receives the externally applied power supply voltage Vcc and generates a reference voltage Vr almost independent of the power supply voltage Vcc. The reference voltage Vr is supplied to the differential amplifier 103, and an internal voltage Vi independent of the fluctuations of the power supply voltage Vcc and the load current is generated by the differential amplifier 103 and the switching circuit 104 and supplied to the internal circuit 105. The power supply voltage Vcc is, for example, 5 V, and the internal voltage Vi is, for example, 3.5 V.
The input-output circuit 106 is often directly driven by the power supply voltage Vcc externally applied, taking account of the connection with the peripheral logic LSI of a 5 V power supply system. Therefore, it is planned not to use a minimum gate length in the transistor of the input-output circuit 106. When the internal circuit 105 contains a memory such as a DRAM, the input-output circuit 106 mainly contains a buffer circuit. The input-output circuit 106 externally receives an address signal AD over an address terminal 40, and supplies the address signal AD to the internal circuit 105. The input-output circuit 106 supplies data DQ read from the internal circuit 105 to an external circuit over a data terminal 50, or provides externally applied DQ to the data terminal 50 to the internal circuit 105. Furthermore, the input-output circuit 106 provides a control signal CNT externally applied over a control terminal 60 to the internal circuit 105.
In FIG. 15, the reference voltage generating circuit 102 contains P channel MOS transistors 21 to 25. The transistors 21 to 23 are serially connected between the power supply terminal 10 and the ground terminal 30. The power supply voltage Vcc is voltage-divided by the transistors 21 to 23, and the voltage-divided voltage appears on the node N1. The transistor 24 is connected between the power supply terminal 10 and the node N2, and the transistor 25 is connected between the node N2 and the ground terminal 30.
When the power supply voltage Vcc is increased, the voltage of the node N1 is also increased, causing the transistor 24 to be in a non-conductive state. Thus, the increase in the voltage of the node N2 is prevented. Conversely, when the power supply voltage Vcc is reduced, the voltage of the node N1 is also reduced, causing the transistor 24 to be in a conductive state. Thus, the reduction in the voltage of the node N2 is prevented. In this way, a reference voltage Vr is generated from the node N2, almost independent of the fluctuation of the power supply voltage Vcc.
The differential amplifier 103 contains a current mirror circuit including P channel MOS transistors 31, 32 and N channel MOS transistors 33, 34. The gate of the transistor 31 is connected to the node N2 of the reference voltage generating circuit 102. A large-sized P channel MOS transistor 35 and a small-sized P channel MOS transistor 36 are connected between the node N3 which is a connection point of the transistors 31 and 32, and the power supply terminal 10. These transistors 35, 36 are added for reducing power consumption of the current mirror circuit.
In the period in which the internal circuit 105 operates, a clock signal .phi.0 applied to the gate of the transistor 35 attains a low level (logically low level), and the transistor 35 turns on. Thus, the responsibility of the current mirror circuit is increased. In the period in which the internal circuit 105 does not operate, the clock signal .phi.0 attains a high level (logically high level), and the transistor 35 turns off. In this case, the small-sized transistor 36 where a very small amount of current flows only turns on, so that the power consumption is controlled.
The switching circuit 104 includes a P channel MOS transistor 41. The gate of the transistor 32 in the current mirror circuit is connected to the node N4. The transistor 41 is connected between the power supply terminal 10 and the node N4. The gate of the transistor 41 is connected to the node N5 which is a connection point of the transistor 31 and the transistor 33 in the current mirror circuit.
When the internal voltage Vi supplied from the node N4 becomes higher than the reference voltage Vr, the value of the current flowing through the transistor 31 becomes larger than the value of the current flowing through the transistor 32. Thus the potential of the node N5 is increased. The transistor 41, therefore, falls in a weakly conductive state or a non-conductive state. As a result, the provision of the current from the power supply terminal 10 to the node N4 is stopped or reduced, and the internal voltage Vi is decreased.
Conversely, when the internal voltage Vi becomes lower than the reference voltage Vr, the value of the current flowing through the transistor 31 becomes smaller than the value of the current flowing through the transistor 32. The potential of the node N5 is decreased. Therefore, the transistor 41 falls in a conductive state, and a sufficient amount of current is supplied from the power supply terminal 10 to the node N4. As a result, the internal voltage Vi is increased.
Thus, a constant internal voltage Vi may be obtained, independent of the fluctuation of the power supply voltage Vcc or the fluctuation of the load current.
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a voltage converting characteristic of the voltage converting circuit in FIG. 15. In FIG. 16, the marks O indicate measured values, and the solid line L1 shows a simulated characteristic.
As shown in FIG. 16, the internal voltage Vi is kept at about 3.5 V set as the reference voltage Vr in the region where the externally applied power supply voltage Vcc is about 3.5 V or above.
In order to assure a stable operation of semiconductor devices used in a variety of environments, devices whose operations are unstable are rejected as defective, effecting an operating margin test before shipping. In the operating margin test, an operating test of a semiconductor device is conducted, providing a low voltage or a high voltage exceeding the range of operation ensuring voltage to the semiconductor. When 5 V.+-.10% of operation is to be assured, for example, the test is conducted within the range of 5 V.+-.20%.
In order to effect screening of defective products at the time of shipping, or assume the lifetime when used for long time, an acceleration aging test is effected by externally applying a high voltage as would not be normally used as a power supply voltage Vcc to the semiconductor device. For example, when the normal power supply voltage Vcc is 5 V, a high voltage of 7 V is applied. In this case, screening of defective products means selecting defective products by an acceleration aging test in order to insure the reliability of the semiconductor device in the market. When such an operating margin test and an acceleration aging test are intended to be applied to a semiconductor device containing a voltage converting circuit as shown in FIG. 14, as will be apparent from FIG. 16, the externally applied high voltage is not applied in the chip, so that an effective test can not be conducted.
FIG. 17 shows a semiconductor integrated circuit device capable of externally applying a high voltage in an acceleration aging test. The semiconductor integrated circuit device in FIG. 17 is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 64-55857.
In FIG. 17, a power supply voltage converting circuit 111 externally receives the power supply voltage Vcc and generates an internal voltage Vi at a lower level than that of the power supply voltage Vcc. Normally, the internal voltage Vi generated from the power supply voltage generating circuit 111 is provided to an integrated circuit block 113 over an internal power supply line 112. In an acceleration aging test, a transistor 114 attains a conductive stage by a switching signal .phi.1, and an externally applied high voltage Ve is supplied to the integrated circuit block 113 over the transistor 114 and the internal power supply line 112.
In the semiconductor integrated circuit device of FIG. 17, a variety of tests may be conducted by setting the externally applied high voltage Ve to an arbitrary level. The semiconductor integrated circuit device in FIG. 17, however, has problems which will be described in the following.
Referring to the wave form diagram of FIG. 18, generally, when a clock signal CK for controlling the operation of a semiconductor integrated circuit device transits from a high level to a low level, the state of the internal circuit changes and a current flows. Thus, the power supply current I indicates a peak. Such a peak of the power supply current I may be also observed when the clock signal CK transits from a low level to a high level. The power supply current I is provided from the external power supply via the power supply voltage converting circuit 111 to the internal integrated circuit block 113. The impedance of an output circuit (not shown) included in the power supply voltage converting circuit 111 functions as a current limiting resistor. Thus, the output circuit of the power supply voltage converting circuit 111 functions as a resistor, so that there occurs a voltage drop in the internal voltage Vi. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 18, the fluctuation of the voltage of the internal voltage Vi becomes larger compared with the voltage fluctuation of the power supply voltage Vcc. That is, the externally applied power supply voltage Vcc becomes more stable than the internal voltage Vi.
In the semiconductor integrated circuit device in FIG. 17, the amount of fluctuation of the internal voltage Vi applied to the integrated circuit block 113 at the time of normal use is different from the amount of fluctuation of the high voltage Ve applied to the integrated circuit block 113 at the time of an acceleration aging test. Therefore, there is a problem that the operating condition of the integrated circuit block 113 at the time of an acceleration aging test differs from the operating condition at the time of actual use.
Additionally, there is a possibility that the semiconductor integrated circuit device is erroneously set to an operation test mode at the time of normal use if the switch signal .phi.1 is generated for some reason. In this case, there is a problem that a high voltage is applied to the integrated circuit block 113 and the integrated circuit block 113 is destroyed.
FIG. 19 shows another example of a conventional power supply voltage converting circuit. This power supply voltage converting circuit is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 63-181196.
The power supply voltage converting circuit of FIG. 19 includes a reference voltage signal generating portion 120 for generating a reference voltage Vr corresponding to the voltage level of a control signal from a control terminal 125 and a converter 130 for converting a power supply voltage Vcc to an internal voltage Vi corresponding to the reference voltage.
Transistors 121 to 124 are connected between the control terminal 125 and the node N10 within the reference voltage signal generating portion 120. Assuming that the threshold voltages of the transistors 121 to 124 are all Vt, when the voltage of the control terminal 125 becomes higher than the voltage of the node N10 by 4 Vt or above, the reference voltage Vr rises, and the internal voltage Vi supplied from the converting portion 130 also rises. When the voltage of the control terminal 125 is at or below the value, the reference voltage Vr does not change, and the internal voltage Vi supplied from the converter 130 does not change, either.
In accordance with the power supply voltage converting circuit in FIG. 19, the internal voltage Vi generated from the converter 130 may be provided both at the time of normal use and at the time of an acceleration aging test, so that there is no problem as in the semiconductor integrated circuit of FIG. 17.
In the power supply voltage converting circuit in FIG. 19, however, an internal voltage Vi at a higher level than at the time of normal use may be generated by applying a high voltage to the control terminal 125, whereas an internal voltage at a lower level than at the time of normal use cannot be generated. Accordingly, it is impossible to apply various internal voltages to the internal circuit and conduct a V bump test (voltage fluctuation test) for checking the operation margin.

Semiconductor device containing voltage converting circuit and operating method thereof


A color camera apparatus comprises an image pickup element having a stripe/mosaic type color filter and photo-electrically converting an arriving optical image so as to obtain at least a signal including a brightness component and a color component multiplexed with each other. And, the apparatus comprises an A/D converter for digitizing above multiplexed signal, and a brightness signal processing circuit which separates the brightness component from the multiplexed signal and carries out an aperture correction by means of a delay element having a delay amount corresponding to two horizontal scanning period. And further, the apparatus comprises a color signal processing circuit which separates the color component from the multiplexed signal so as to obtain two line-sequential color difference components through a predetermined arithmetic procedure. And, the color signal processing circuit not only carries out a circular-type noise removal processing operation by means of the delay element having the delay amount corresponding to two horizontal scanning periods, but carries out a rearrangement of said line-sequential color difference components by use of the same delay line.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital signal processing for a TV camera, and more particularly to a digital signal processing system for a TV camera using a piece of solid image pickup element (for example, a charge coupled device; i.e. CCD) equipped with a color filter of mosaic/stripe type.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 15 shows a conventional example having a signal processing system using such an image pickup element. In the drawing, an image signal photoelectrically converted in a CCD 21 is subjected to a CDS processing (i.e.; a correlation double sampling processing), an AGC processing (i.e.; an automatic gain control), and a gamma correction in a circuit block 22. Then, the image signal is converted into a digital signal in an A/D converter circuit 23. The digitized signal is delayed by an amount of two horizontal scanning periods in a 2H delay circuit 24, and is fed in parallel to an LPF 25, a horizontal aperture processing circuit 26, a vertical aperture processing circuit 27, a false color suppression circuit 28, a white balance correction circuit 29, a picture plane division photometry circuit 30, and a brightness peak detecting circuit 31.
A brightness signal is separated in the LPF 25, and sent to an adder 32. On the other hand, an aperature correction component with respect to the brightness signal is produced in the horizontal aperture processing circuit 26, the vertical aperture processing circuit 27, an adder 33, a low brightness suppression processing circuit 34 and a highlight processing circuit 35 for applying corrections with respect to both a low-brightness and a high-brightness. In turn, the aperture correction component is added to the brightness signal in the adder 32.
The corrected brightness signal is sent to an D/A converter circuit 37 after having been applied an amplitude correction of a highlight portion in an auto-knee processing circuit 36.
On the other hand, a color signal outputted from the white balance correction circuit 29 is fed to a color separation time-sharing circuit 38 and, subsequently, added to a color difference matrix circuit 42 via a gain control circuit 39, an LPF 40, and a color difference clamp circuit 41. Then, thus line-sequentially obtained color signal becomes a regular color difference signal by being rearranged in a rearrangement process by use of a delay line, and sent to the D/A converter circuit 37.
The false color suppression circuit 28 detects an appearance of a false color, and suppresses the false color signal by controlling the gain control circuit 39 on the basis of the result of the detection.
Both the picture plane division photometry circuit 30 and the brightness peak detecting circuit 31 measure quantities relating to photo receiving condition on an image pickup surface. A micro computer 43 is connected to these picture plane division photometry circuit 30 and the brightness peak detecting circuit 31 through a data bus 44 to monitor and control the measuring results and conditions of above-described respective circuit blocks. Consequently, a brightness signal and a color signal, both processed in the optimum way, are outputted from the D/A converter circuit 37 after having converted into analogue signals therein.
In this manner, functions required for processing TV camera signals normally include various functions such as an aperture correction, a black level/highlight level setting, a direct current reproduction, a gamma correction, a noise removal etc.
Especially, since an aperture correction in a horizontal direction requires the signal delay equivalent to two horizontal scanning periods, it is noted that its signal processing order should be carefully determined.
Furthermore, the signals of image pickup element having a color mosaic filter, which is an object of the present invention, include brightness signals and color signals multiplexed together. Therefore, a function for separating both signals, and a function for rearranging separated line-sequential color signals simultaneously by use of the delay line are required. Furthermore, in this case, what kind of order should be applied to process these functions becomes the maximum problem in a system constitution.

Digital signal processing system for color camera apparatus including separate delays for color signal and brightness signal processing


A method and apparatus for reducing video crosstalk in a data carrier located within a lower vestigial sideband (VSB) of a standard television signal. Specifically, an apparatus according to the invention comprises a single bandpass filter for conditioning a VSB television signal, and a frequency interleaver for spectrally adding the data carrier to the lower VSB of the standard VSB video signal. The filter removes removing video components from the lower VSB of a standard VSB video signal, including frequencies greater than the highest frequency nominally associated with the lower VSB of the standard television signal, illustratively 250 Khz above the nominal VSB bandedge. The filter also boosts frequencies in a spectral boost region within a passband for boosting region. The boosted frequencies comprise image frequencies associated with the non-VSB spectrum attenuated by the filter. The compensation is required to ensure that the above image frequencies are not over-attenuated by a standard television receiver Nyquist filter.

Data may be transmitted as a sub-carrier in the lower vestigial sideband (VSB) spectral region of a standard television signal, e.g., a National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) broadcast video signal. Normally the standard television signal is generated by double sideband modulating a radio frequency (RF) picture carrier with a baseband composite video signal and thereafter vestigial filtering the modulated signal to remove the majority of the lower sideband. The vestigial sideband, which nominally extends to 1.25 MHz below the picture carrier, contains low frequency luminance information. This low frequency luminance information within the vestigial sideband is duplicated by low frequency luminance information within the television signal extending from the picture carrier to 1.25 MHz above the picture carrier. It has been determined that a portion of the luminance information in the vestigial sideband may be replaced with auxiliary digital audio information or other information without significantly affecting the video signal recovered by a receiver. The other information may comprise, e.g., a quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulated data signal.
K. Jonnalagadda, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,003, discloses an apparatus for removing video signal from a portion of the vestigial sideband of a television signal and inserting a digital audio signal therein. Unfortunately, the disclosed apparatus is susceptible to the introduction of errors in the inserted digital audio signal due to video crosstalk.
Therefore, it is seen to be desirable to provide a video crosstalk resilient apparatus and method for inserting data as a sub-carrier in the lower VSB spectrum region of a television signal.

Reducing video crosstalk in a data carrier located within a vestigial sideband of a standard television signal


A motorized shower water diverter valve for a handheld shower is connected to a shower water inlet pipe in lieu of a conventional showerhead. A conventional showerhead is then connected to one of two valve outlets and a hose for the handheld shower is connected to the other valve outlet. The valve may be constructed as a rotary or linear type. A motor output shaft is coupled to a gear assembly to either rotate a valve core of a rotary valve or laterally displace the core of a linear valve. The gear assembly may include a slip clutch. There is also provided a control circuit for operating the motor, a wireless remote control and a sensor for enabling the control circuit to detect the position of the valve core.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to diverter valves for selectively coupling a shower water supply elbow to either a conventional showerhead, a hose of a handheld shower, or both.
2. Antecedents of the Invention
Diverter valves have been employed in conjunction with handheld showers to enable one to employ either a conventional fixed showerhead, a handheld shower, or both. The diverter valves were coupled to the shower water supply elbow located at an elevated level above one's head, and were inaccessible to many handicapped individuals. Thus, a person who was unable to reach a diverter valve, but who was capable of showering by oneself utilizing a handheld shower, required assistance in operating the diverter valve. Further, persons who were of sufficient height to access a diverter valve, but were incapacitated due to limited strength, nerve damage, etc. were unable to manipulate the valve.


The system includes the monitor agent that analyzes log of an entity. When an abnormality is detected, the monitor agent notifies about the abnormality to the control manager. The control manager decides a countermeasure and a countermeasure request party from the database and informs them to the action agent which the countermeasure request party. The action agent implements the countermeasure.

According to development of recent network technologies, although the utilization of WWW (World Wide Web) that is a distribution system on the Internet has been rapidly expanded and various HTTP servers providing information have been progressively increased, illegal accesses have also increased in accordance with the increase of the number of servers.
This type of illegal access may include detecting a security hole on a network to invade and attack a system via the security hole. In this case, the security hole is detected through a procedure in which (1) an operating host is detected, (2) services offered are detected, (3) network configuration is detected, (4) OS is identified, (5) application software are identified, and (6) the security hole is detected. Thereafter, an illegal access is made by generating a system error, for example, by sending a large number of packets to the target system by utilizing many stepping-stone sites.
It is impossible to differentiate such an illegal access from the ordinary access. Therefore, it is usually difficult for a system manager to detect an illegal access until invasion and attack have been made.
Conventionally, when it is recognized that large number of packets are being received, it is considered that an illegal access is about to be made. In this case, a countermeasure is adopted for minimizing actual damage due to the illegal access as fast as possible.
However, once attack is started, it is extremely difficult to defend this attack. Even if appropriate countermeasures are taken, the website has to be disadvantageously closed temporarily. Particularly, in a website continuously providing services for a large number of users such as banks and transport facilities, the influence due to closing of the website affects various areas, and there is a possibility that enormous actual damage is brought.
Thus, how to minimize the damage by such illegal access has become a significant problem, and desirably, a configuration in which no damage occurs even when an illegal access is performed is needed.

Method of and system for managing information, and computer product


A process and apparatus for electromagnetically forming the end of an electrically conductive 2024 aluminum tube onto an end fitting includes energizing a main coil around a field concentrator movable into an opening in the main coil. The field concentrator has a wide circumferential flange that narrows down to an inner radial web having an axial channel through the center. The field concentrator is split horizontally into two halves, so the top half can be removed for insertion of the tube end and the end fitting. The end fitting has a tubular body that fits snugly into the end of the tube. A pair of carriages mounted on rails clamp the tube, and a gripper holds the end fitting in the proper position in the tube end. The carriages carry the field concentrator, and the tube with its end fitting positioned in the center of the field concentrator web, into the coil where a magnetic field generated by the coil and concentrated by the field concentrator forms the end of the tube onto the end fitting. Two axial edges of the forming magnetic field are positioned over or slightly inward from two cylindrical portions of the end fitting when the tube is formed onto the end fitting.

There are many uses of an elongated metal tube having end fittings connected to the tube with a rigid mechanical joint. Push rods and torque tubes are two very common uses of this type of device. Torque tubes are used for mechanically transmitting torque from a driver to a driven device through a torque tube. These applications often require that the torque tube be light and inexpensive, have high fatigue strength and an ultimate yield strength at the end fitting equal to or exceeding that of the tube itself. Drive shafts for vehicles such as cars and trucks are examples of a type of torque tube requiring such characteristics. Presently, vehicle drive shafts are made of steel tubing attached at their ends to torque coupling fittings such as U-joint components or the like. The use of aluminum tubing in a vehicle drive shaft would have an attractive weight saving benefit, but the difficulties of forming high strength aluminum tubing onto the end fittings without expensive preliminary heat treating has deterred the use of aluminum tubing in this application.
In aviation applications, the requirements for light weight mechanical systems have dictated use of aluminum tubing for torque tubes for many years. However, the apparatus and methods for attachment of the end fittings on these torque tubes have some unsatisfactory properties that manufacturers and operators of commercial transport airplanes would prefer to eliminate. Riveting the end fitting onto the tube is costly because it is labor intensive. The rivets can loosen after extensive service, resulting in lost motion and possibly resulting eventually in failure after many years unless the torque tube is inspected and repaired or replaced when the rivets begin to loosen.
Welding or brazing the tubing to the end fitting presents the difficulties of a heat affected zone adjacent the fused joint, and low tolerance fit-up requirements for the fitting and the tube. Crack propagation in the fused joint can also be a problem; it may be difficult to detect by ordinary inspection procedures, and failures that do occur may be catastrophic and result in failure of flight critical control surfaces. Therefore, welding or brazing is rarely used in load-bearing flight critical hardware.
Mechanically forming the tubing onto the end fitting is a promising technique because it does not require fasteners nor produce the heat affected zone of a fused joint. Some potentially usable techniques for exerting pressure on the aluminum tubing to deform it around the end fitting for this purpose are swaging, hydroforming, rubber press forming, electromagnetically forming, explosive forming. Electromagnetic forming is especially appealing because of the potential for efficient, high volume, precisely repeatable production processes, but existing apparatus and techniques to deform aluminum tubing materials possessing the required properties of high strength and corrosion cracking resistance have resulted in formation of cracks in the tubing during forming onto the end fitting. The resulting cracks are unacceptable because of the shortening of the fatigue life of the torque tube.
Electromagnetically pulse forming 2024 aluminum tubing in the T-3 condition onto end fittings shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,872 using an "exploding coil" for electromagnetically forming the 2024 aluminum was time consuming, because a new coil was needed for each forming operation. The exploding coil literally burst like a hand grenade, creating a shower of copper wire fragments that required careful shielding to prevent injury to the workers, and to protect them from the loud noise involved in the operation.
The production equipment used to form the tubing around the end fittings must be durable, repeatable and accurate. That is, it must be capable of producing many parts without wear or need for adjustment. The parts it produces must always be the same for a given setting of the equipment, and the equipment must be capable of easily, quickly and accurately indexing the parts to be formed in exactly the same place so they are positioned accurately with respect to each other and with respect to the equipment each time a torque tube is made. Likewise, the components of the equipment must be accurately positioned relative to each other the same way each time the tube is formed on an end fitting so that substantially identical torque tubes are made using identical settings of the equipment and acting on identical parts.
Thus, there has been an urgent need for an apparatus for electromagnetic pulse forming an end fitting on an aluminum tube for manufacture of torque tubes, push rods and other such devices. The apparatus should form acceptable joints even if the tubing material were primed with corrosion protection coatings before forming, and should be useful to form the end of the tube onto the end fitting without further preparation such as sizing, heat treating or freezer storage. The process for such an optimal system would produce very little or no scrap or rework, would be low in production cost, and would produce a torque coupling to the tube material that would be stronger than the tube itself and, when used to make torque tubes for aviation applications, would withstand fatigue loading for a period exceeding about four times the service life of an airplane.


A deformable cap for a computer pointing device is provided that may be particularly useful for miniature joystick-type pointing devices such as the TrackPoin™ and ScrollPoint™ devices manufactured by the IBM corporation of Armonk, N.Y. When an operator places a fingertip on the cap, the cap deforms thereby advantageously increasing the surface area of contact between the cap and the fingertip. All embodiments of the cap are placed on an upper portion of a control stick of the pointing device. A first embodiment of the cap includes a bottom support, a disc, a plurality of wire supports, and an elastic cover that overlays the disc and wire supports. An inner surface of the cover may be scored to ensure repeatable deformation of the cap. A spring may be attached to a lower surface of the disc to assist the cap in regaining its original shape once the operator's fingertip is removed. A second embodiment of the cap includes a bottom support, a plurality of wire supports, and an elastic cover overlaying the wire supports. An inner surface of the cover may be scored. The cap may be hollow or may be filled with a deformable material. A third embodiment of the cap includes a bottom support and an elastic cover in which an inner surface of the cover may be scored. The cap may be hollow or may be filled with a deformable material.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer input devices and, more particularly, to a deformable cap for a computer pointing device.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Modern computer systems that implement graphical user interfaces ("GUIs") typically include one or more pointing devices for the computer operator. Pointing devices typically allow an operator to move a cursor about the computer screen and to select objects. A commonly used pointing device is the computer mouse. Operation of the computer mouse typically requires a relatively large flat space. A variety of other pointing devices have been developed in an attempt to reduce the area occupied by the pointing device or required for use by the pointing device. A pervasive trend with notebook-style portable computers (also referred to as laptop computers) is attempting to reduce the size of every component of the computer while maintaining ease of use for the operator. Development of new pointing devices is, therefore, particularly important for portable computers. For instance, the computer mouse is difficult to use when not sitting at a desk. Additionally, pointing devices that utilize less area may be mounted directly on the portable computer.
One type of alternative computer pointing device is a miniature joystick-type pointing device that is often mounted within a keyboard. An example of a miniature joystick-type pointing device is the TrackPoint™ manufactured by the IBM Corporation of Armonk, N.Y. The TrackPoint™ includes a control stick placed within a keyboard, typically between the "G", "H", and "B" keys. The keyboard may be that of either a portable computer or a desktop computer. The top of the control stick is typically covered by a cap with a high-friction fuzzy surface. An operator applies a force to the control stick using a single finger. The bottom of the control stick is coupled to a sensor that detects any movement of the control stick. The sensor is located within the keyboard. The output of the sensor is typically adapted such that a force applied by an operator in a given direction on the control stick results in movement of a cursor on a computer monitor in the corresponding direction.
A similar miniature joystick-type pointing device is the ScrollPoint™ also manufactured by the IBM Corporation of Armonk, N.Y. The ScrollPoint™ includes a control stick covered by a cap of a high-friction fuzzy material and is mounted on a computer mouse between the two mouse buttons. The control stick is coupled to a sensor located within the computer mouse. An operator applies a force to the control stick using a fingertip and the direction of the force is detected by the sensor. The output of the sensor is typically adapted to control scroll bars located on a computer monitor.
Although miniature joystick-type pointing devices, such as the TrackPoint™ and ScrollPoint™, occupy a minimal amount of space and provide an intuitive interface for an operator to control a cursor or a scroll bar, utilization of the devices by an operator may sometimes prove difficult. Since the devices are made small enough to comfortably fit on a keyboard or mouse, the surface area of contact between the operator's finger and the cap of the control stick is small. Additionally, both the cap and the operator's finger have convex shapes that further reduce the contact surface area.
Although the cap placed on the control stick may be made of a high-friction fuzzy surface (i.e., a surface with a plurality of short fiber adhered to it outer surface), the operator may still be required to exert a relatively large force to keep his/her finger from slipping off the cap. First time users may experience difficulty exerting the correct force to keep their fingers from slipping. Additionally, after extended use of the pointing device, an operator may experience pain and soreness in his/her fingertip.
The high-friction fuzzy surface of the cap may become smooth after use thereby necessitating frequent replacement. As the surface of the cap becomes smooth, an operator will be required to exert even greater force to keep his/her finger from slipping. If the cap is not replaced once it becomes smooth, the operator may experience increased levels of discomfort in his/her fingertip.
It is therefore desired to develop an improvement to the miniature joystick-type pointing device that increases the comfort level of the operator using the device. New operators of the pointing device should be able to easily adapt to utilization of the device. Additionally, long-term use of the pointing device should not cause the operator to experience discomfort in his/her finger. It is also desired that the improvement may work with both new pointing devices and existing pointing devices already in use such as the TrackPoint™ and ScrollPoint™.

Deformable cap for a computer pointing device

International Business Machines Corporation


A time-of-flight light detection system includes: a plurality of circuits arranged sequentially along a signal path that comprises a plurality of signal channels, the plurality of circuits including a first circuit and a second circuit arranged downstream from the first circuit; a reference signal source configured to generate a plurality of reference signals, where each of the plurality of signal channels at the first circuit receives at least one of the plurality of reference signals; and an evaluation circuit coupled to the plurality of signal channels to receive a processed reference signal from the signal path, the evaluation circuit further configured to compare the processed reference signal to a first expected result to generate a first comparison result.

Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to one or more objects in a field of view. In particular, light is transmitted towards the object. Single photodetectors or arrays of photodetectors receive reflections from objects illuminated by the light, and the time it takes for the reflections to arrive at various sensors in the photodetector array is determined. This is also referred to as measuring time-of-flight (TOF). LIDAR systems form depth measurements and make distance measurements by mapping the distance to objects based on the time-of-flight computations. Thus, the time-of-flight computations can create distance and depth maps, which may be used to generate images.
LIDAR receiver systems require ISO26262 compliant development according to ASIL-B/-C/-D. Reliable propagation of photodetector current signals to LIDAR system controller integrated circuit (IC) along a receiver signal path and reporting in case of deviations/faults is needed to comply with this requirement.
In current LIDAR systems, an extra laser diode flash, point laser, or bar laser is used to perform a continuous check of the optical system including the photodetector array. This is a basic check of the photodetector cell and will not be sufficient to check all technical relevant parameters of the receiver IC, such as gain, cut-off-frequency, group delay, etc.
Therefore, an improved device having an improved way of monitoring the receiver signal path may be desirable.

Random hardware fault and degradation protection apparatus for time-of-flight receiver


An LC display comprises in order (a) a light source, (b) a transparent polymeric film bearing on the light exit surface of the film an array of close-packed convex microlenses having a distribution of sizes and oriented in one direction, whereby the light output is preferentially spread in a desired direction, and (c) an LC panel. A related process and film are also disclosed.

Anamorphic microlens arrays are arrays of elliptical or asymmetric shaped microlenses that provide selectively broader divergence of light in any one of two orthogonal directions. Their use as asymmetric diffusers in the backlights of LCD devices in televisions, notebooks, monitors and cell phones might lead to more efficient use of the available light. For example, US 2006/0239629 discusses backlight configurations for LCD devices with an asymmetric top diffuser. Light from a linear light source is transmitted through a light guide panel and outputted through a front face to a prismatic film. The prismatic film then redirects the light in a direction that is more normal to the LCD. An asymmetric diffuser is applied between the prismatic film and the LCD panel and aligned with respect to the prismatic film such that it spreads light more in a second direction than the first. The prismatic film may be a standard prismatic film such as a brightness enhancement film or a reversed prismatic film. The asymmetric diffuser may be a separate sheet disposed between the reversed prismatic film and the LCD panel or it may be laminated or produced directly on the smooth side of the prismatic film. US 2006/0239629 indicates that the asymmetric diffuser may be a holographic diffuser or may be prepared by a coating technique but does not go into details of the fabrication process. Furthermore, US 2006/0239629 does not teach the use of an anamorphic microlens array as an asymmetric diffuser.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,092,166 describes the use of anamorphic microlens arrays in projection screens to provide greater divergence in the horizontal than in the vertical viewing direction. It is indicated that improvements in the light intensity distribution may be obtained by having a mixed population of two different microlens elements in the array. However, no details are provided as to how such an array is to be fabricated. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 7,092,166 does not teach the use of the microlens array in an LCD backlight unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,700,702 also describes the use of anamorphic microlens arrays in projection screens. It is indicated that a random close-packed array of microlenses is desirable for avoiding undesirable diffraction effects such as Moiré effects. It is also indicated that a typical size for the microlenses is between 20 and 120 micrometers. However, once again, no details are provided as to how the microlens array is to be fabricated. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 6,700,702 does not teach the use of the microlens array in an LCD backlight unit. The placement of the anamorphic microlens array in an LCD backlight unit is very different from that in a projection display. In an LCD backlight unit, the anamorphic microlens array is placed between the light source and the LCD panel whereas in a projection display the anamorphic microlens array is part of a projection screen that is placed between an image forming panel and the viewer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,863 describes a method for fabricating asymmetric diffusers. A coating of photosensitive medium is first applied to a substrate and cured. The cured photosensitive medium is subjected to an optical exposure to create the desired pattern and the exposed photosensitive medium is then developed. An elastomer formulation is applied on the developed photosensitive medium and cured to create an elastomer master. The pattern on the elastomer master is then transferred to a metal roller to produce seamless diffuser films on plastic substrates. Clearly, this is a complex process requiring a very large number of steps. Furthermore, because of the relatively slow reaction of the photosensitive medium to light and the physical separation that is required between the light source and the photosensitive medium during recording, the process is extremely sensitive to vibration and movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,932,342 also describes a method for fabricating asymmetric diffusers. A dispersion of optically clear ellipsoidal particles in an optically clear medium is formed into a film by extrusion or casting. The ellipsoidal particles are aligned during the extrusion or casting process to provide asymmetric diffusers. The approach provides a volumetric diffuser wherein the ellipsoidal particles are embedded within the volume of the optically clear medium. It is preferable to have a surface diffuser wherein the diffusing elements are present only on the surface of the diffuser film in order to maximize light transmission through the diffuser film.
US 2005/0058947 describes a method for fabricating optical microstructures such as microlenses by rotating a cylindrical platform that includes a radiation sensitive layer. The optical microstructures that are imaged in the radiation sensitive layer may be developed to provide a master for replicating microlenses. The approach is similar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,863 and suffers from the disadvantages noted above. A simple method for fabricating an optical sheet suitable for use in LCD backlight units and projection screens containing on one side a close-packed random array of anamorphic microlenses is still needed.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/561,244 filed Nov. 17, 2006 describes a simple low-cost process for fabricating relatively large area microlens arrays comprising close-packed hemispherical shaped microlenses. The process involves casting a solution of an organic soluble polymer in a volatile water-immiscible organic solvent having specific gravity greater than that of water on a suitable surface, exposing the cast solution to a humid environment and condensing water droplets on the cast solution, evaporating off the solvent and condensed water droplets from the cast composition to create a first structured film with hemispherical micro-cavities, coating a second fluid polymer composition over the first structured polymer film, curing the second fluid polymer film while it is still in contact with the first structured polymer film to render it solid and create a transparent second structured film comprising a first flat side and a second side with an array of microlenses formed thereon corresponding to the hemispherical micro-cavities of the first structured film and separating the second structured film with the microlens array from the first structured film. Although this process is relatively simple to implement, it does not provide a film containing anamorphic or asymmetric shaped microlenses. In spite of the foregoing efforts, there remains a need for new anamorphic microlens array films and methods of making such a film.


A method of design and implementation of trellis codes for intersymbol interference channels is provided wherein a set of input vectors is mapped to a set of output vectors comprising the steps of forming a minimized basis having a set of minimized basis vectors configured for a set of channel output signals corresponding to the set of output vectors; selecting the smallest member of the set of minimized basis vectors as a coset vector; forming a partition basis by adding the coset vector to at least one member of the set of the minimized basis vectors; and forming a subsequent minimized basis from the partition basis. These codes circumvent the necessity for intersymbol interference removal, thereby reducing equalization complexity.

The present invention relates to a method and system for encoding channels for digital communications. More specifically, this invention relates to the use of trellis codes designed for using intersymbol interference (ISI) to increase the reliability or reduce the complexity of high speed communication across bandlimited channels.
The practice of designing error control codes independently of channel considerations has a detrimental impact on the performance of systems, particularly of systems utilizing bandlimited channels. A solution to this problem known as trellis-coded modulation was described by Gottfried Ungerboeck in an article entitled "Channel Coding with Multilevel/Phase Signals," IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, Vol. IT-28, No. 1, pp. 55-67, January 1982. Ungerboeck incorporated a modulation scheme into the encoder, and relied on a heuristic partitioning technique. Channels with intersymbol interference (ISI), however, had to be equalized to remove the interference.
Attempts have been made to extend trellis-coded modulation to specific ISI channels. For example, in 1986, Wolf and Ungerboeck designed trellis codes for the binary partial response channel by partitioning the channel output by hand (J. K. Wolf and G. Ungerboeck, "Trellis Coding for Partial-Response Channels," IEEE Transactions on Communications, Vol. COM-34, No. 8, pp. 765-773, August 1986). They also showed that the same performance could be obtained using a convolutional code followed by a precoder for the channel. This latter approach gained support in 1989 when Forney and Calderbank argued that as the cardinality of the channel alphabet increases, the performance of the precoded partial response channel approaches that of the MLSE equalized channel (G. D. Forney, Jr. and M. V. Eyuboglu, "Combined Equalization and Coding Using Precoding" IEEE Communications Magazine, pp. 25-34, December 1991). This would seem to indicate that for the binary partial response channel, at least, the code design could be done independently of the channel. However, in 1994, Hole and Ytrehus concluded that for the binary 1-D channel, the best convolutional code to precede the precoder is not necessarily a maximum Hamming distance code. By designing the code to maximize the Euclidean distance at the output of the channel, it is often possible to improve the system performance (K. J. Hole and O. Ytrehus, "Improved Coding Techniques for Precoded Partial-Response Channels," IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 482-493, March 1994).
Another approach to code design for partial response channels has been disclosed by Forney, Calderbank, Karabed, Siegel wherein the codes utilized are matched spectral null codes (G. D. Forney, Jr., and A. R. Calderbank, in "Coset Codes for Partial Response Channels; Or, Coset Code in Spectral Nulls," IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, Vol. 35, No. 5, pp. 925-943, September 1989; R. Karabed and P. H. Siegel, "Matched Spectral-Null Codes for Partial-Response Channels," IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, Vol. 37, No. 3, pp. 818-855, May 1991). However in 1992, Haeb explored trellis code design by partitioning of the output of the q-ary partial response channel by exhaustive search, and concluded that this provided a generalization of the early matched spectral null work with consequent high gains and moderate decoding complexity (R. Haeb, "A Modified Trellis Coding Technique for Partial Response Channels," IEEE Transactions on Communications, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 513-520, March 1992).
While trellis coded modulation is recognized as a powerful coding technique, what is needed is a practical method and system for applying trellis coded modulation to general ISI channels.

Method for implementing trellis codes for ISI channels


An emergency strobe light for warning the hearing impaired of emergency situations includes a bulb extending outwardly from a base along an axis. Reflectors extending outwardly from the base direct a high percentage of light output from the bulb along a horizontal plane and a vertical plane which intersect each other along the axis of the bulb. The strobe light draws little power and can be powered by a battery.

Warning lights are often used within buildings in conjunction with audio warning alarms so that the hearing impaired can be alerted to emergency conditions such as a fire. Typically, the warning light includes a flashing bulb positioned horizontally within a reflector. A Fresnel lens may be used to spread the reflected light. The bulb may be powered by a battery source to ensure that the warning light will have power in the event power to the building is disrupted.
Warning lights approved by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) are subject to light intensity requirements. Underwriters Laboratories measures the light intensity of a warning light being tested along intersecting horizontal and vertical planes which extend outwardly from the base of the warning light. The standards are found in UL 1971 (and UL 1638), "Standard for Safety Signalling Devices for the Hearing Impaired." These standards provide that the light intensity emitted by a warning light at a given angle on each of the horizontal and vertical planes must be at a certain level at a distance of 10 feet. The UL standards provide for a maximum light intensity output of 110 candela-sec at 10 ft. for ceiling and wall mounted warning lights along an axis defined by the intersection of the horizontal and vertical planes. The UL Standards provide for lesser light intensities at angles away from the axis.


A multi-purpose spade includes a central plate, first and second edge plates, and a retreating crescent blade. The central plate is generally concave. The retreating crescent blade is formed along the tip portions of the central plate and the first and second plates. The inner edge portions of the first and second plates are connected to corresponding side portions of the central plate with a predetermined angle so as to form two crest portions on the front surfaces along the side portions of the central plate. The multi-purpose spade may further comprise an extending blade configured to be connected to the retreating crescent blade.

The present invention relates to a multi-purpose spade. More particularly, this invention relates to a multi-purpose spade that comprises a detachable tip and a crescent blade.
Conventional trowel with a pointed tip in FIG. 12 has problems in using. When used in transplanting, it tends to hurt roots of plants.
Similar problems hold true for the other types of spades.


Embodiments of the present invention provide a frame synchronization method. The frame synchronization method of the wireless system includes: separately delaying a signal received from one of N receiving antennas in K tributaries, and outputting K delayed signals, where N and K are positive integers; generating a first output signal by performing a correlation operation on the K delayed signals and a preamble subsequence; generating a second output signal by performing the correlation operation on each of the K delayed signals and each of the K delayed signals itself; and performing cancellation processing for the first output signal and the second output signal to obtain a string of data stream, obtaining a maximum value of the string of data stream as a correlation peak, so as to determine a position of a frame header according to a time point corresponding to the correlation peak.

A multiple input multiple output, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) system is a frequency multiplexing system with a high spectrum utilization rate. Compared with a single input single output, single input single output (SISO) system, a spectrum utilization rate of an M*N MIMO system is Min(M,N) times of that of the SISO system, where M and N are integers greater than zero, M refers to the number of transmitting antennas, and N refers to the number of receiving antennas.
According to a radio frequency structure and spacing between antennas of the system, the MIMO system may be categorized into a centralized MIMO system and a distributed MIMO system. Generally, spacing between antennas of the centralized MIMO system is relatively small, for example, one base station connects to a plurality of antennas, and the plurality of antennas is usually arranged in one place. Spacing between antennas of the distributed MIMO system is relatively large, for example, one antenna connects to one base station, and spacing between antennas is relatively large because a distance between base stations is relatively large. Compared with the centralized MIMO system, the distributed MIMO system can obtain a higher diversity gain, which is an important development trend of a wireless communications MIMO system in the future.
However, using an existing frame synchronization method may cause a frame synchronization error in the distributed MIMO system. Therefore, a frame synchronization method that can adapt to the distributed MIMO system is required.

Frame synchronization method and apparatus of wireless system, and wireless system


A motor driver controller including a difference control section; a driver output section; a drive current detection amplifier; and a load short-circuit detection circuit. A motor and sensing resistor is coupled in series and coupled to an output terminal of the driver output section. The difference control section generates a drive voltage command signal in response to a drive current command value and a drive current detection signal. The driver output section drives the motor and sensing resistor, in response to the drive voltage command signal, and a drive current detection amplifier generates a signal fed to the difference control section, in response to a drive current of the sensing resistor. The load short-circuit detection circuit detects an abnormal oscillation waveform signal caused by a short-circuit state between the both ends of the motor.

The present invention relates to a motor drive controller for driving a voice coil motor (VCM) or the like which moves a magnetic head of a hard disk drive unit and a method for operating the same, and in particular relates to a technique effective in enabling the detection of a short-circuit between both ends of the motor and an abnormal oscillation due to the short-circuit between the both ends.
In a hard disk drive unit (HDD), a load/unload system is adopted, in which, when not performing reading and writing of data, a magnetic head is retracted to a ramp mechanism outside an outer periphery of a magnetic disk and stopped there. The magnetic head is moved from a retract position of the ramp mechanism to a disk-medium surface by a loading operation in accordance with an instruction from a host, thereby performing a read/write operation, and after the end of the read/write operation, the magnetic head is contrarily moved from the disk-medium surface to the retract position of the ramp mechanism by an unloading operation in accordance with an instruction from the host.
Furthermore, in a hard disk drive unit (HDD), a magnetic disk is rotated at high speed by a spindle motor, and then the magnetic head for read/write is brought close to a medium surface of the rotating magnetic disk, and the magnetic head is moved to a radial direction of the magnetic disk by a voice coil motor (VCM), thereby writing/reading information of the magnetic disk.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-304095 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-304096 (Patent Document 2) describe that in a voice coil motor drive circuit of a hard disk drive unit (HDD), a seek operation and a track follow operation of a magnetic head are performed by PWM driving, thereby resolving the problems, such as a design load and the scale of a circuit, in both a PWM drive system during seeking and a linear drive system during track follow. Note that, as well known, the seek operation is the operation for moving a magnetic head to a desired storage track, and the track follow operation is the operation for causing the magnetic head to follow a desired storage track for reading/writing. Furthermore, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 describe that a control circuit for feedback-controlling the drive current of a coil of a voice coil motor of a hard disk drive unit (HDD) is constituted by a digital circuit.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-184137 (Patent Document 3) describes that during tracking, in order to achieve an increase in precision of a magnetic head positioning control and a reduction of the seek time, a linear drive mode for analogically-controlling the drive current of a voice coil motor is performed when an amount of drive for moving a magnetic head is small, whereas when the amount of drive for moving the magnetic head is large, a pulse drive mode (PWM) for digitally-controlling the drive current of the voice coil is performed. In the linear drive mode, a voice coil motor drive circuit outputs a drive current corresponding to a detection output of an error detection circuit that detects a difference between a control command value and a current detection voltage obtained by converting, into a voltage, the drive current of the voice coil motor. In contrast, in the pulse drive mode, the output current of the voice coil motor drive circuit is PWM-controlled by a PWM circuit that generates a pulse whose pulse width varies in accordance with the detection output of the error detection circuit. Selection between these two drive modes is achieved by a mode switching switch, a first input terminal and a second input terminal of which are coupled to a non-inverting input terminal and an output terminal of a PMW comparator of the PWM circuit, respectively. Because the mode switching switch selects the output terminal of the PMW comparator, which is the second input terminal, in response to a drive mode switching signal of a low level, the pulse drive mode (PWM) under PWM control with a varying pulse width is performed. The mode switching switch selects the non-inverting input terminal of the PMW comparator, which is the first input terminal, in response to the drive mode switching signal of a high level, and thus there is performed the linear drive mode in which a voice coil motor drive current is continuously feedback-controlled.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-100499 (Patent Document 4) describes that, in order to detect a ground short of an output line of a VCM driver for driving a voice coil motor (VCM), a gate-to-source voltage and a drain-to-source voltage of an N channel MOS transistor for controlling the current supply to the voice coil motor (VCM) are supplied to an abnormality monitoring circuit. When the ground short of the output line of the VCM driver is generated, the abnormality monitoring circuit determines that a short-circuit is generated because the gate-to-source voltage and drain-to-source voltage of the N channel MOS transistor exceed a certain voltage, respectively.
Publication of Examined Patent Application No. 07-44399 (Patent Document 5) describes that in a BTL push-pull amplifier used for an audio amplifier, in which an output terminal of one push-pull amplifier and an output terminal of other push-pull amplifier are coupled to one end and other end of a load, there is coupled a protection circuit that prevents destruction of an output transistor when one end and other end of the load are short-circuited (load short-circuited). Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 07-44399 states that the protection circuit can reduce the maximum value of an emitter current of the output transistor when the load is short-circuited, and thus the BTL push-pull amplifier whose output transistor is unlikely to be destroyed can be realized.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-39285 (Patent Document 6) describes that an overcurrent sensing circuit and a power supply shut-down/opening and closing circuit are coupled to a servo amplifier that drives a voice coil motor (VCM) of a magnetic disk unit, and when the overcurrent sensing circuit detects an overcurrent of the voice coil motor (VCM), the power supply shut-down/opening and closing circuit shuts down electric power supplied to the servo amplifier and stops the current supply to the voice coil motor (VCM).

Motor drive controller and method for operating the same


On a photomask used for exposure processing, a plurality of pattern regions on which predetermined patterns are formed using a light shielding material are provided, and calibration marks are formed at positions corresponding to at least two opposite sides of each pattern region. During exposure processing, a deformation state of the photomask is detected based on calibration marks formed on the photomask and marks formed on a substrate stage, and a projection condition for projecting a pattern formed on the photomask on the substrate is corrected based on the detection result.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a photomask, on which a pattern is formed with a light shielding material, for transferring the pattern to a photoresist with light passed through the photomask, a method of manufacturing the photomask, and an exposure apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, for a display apparatus displaying a picture and an image, a liquid crystal display panel using a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) for example has widely been used. Also, a technique of photolithography is often used in manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel, a semiconductor device, a printed substrate and the like.
A photolithography is a technique of transferring and developing a pattern formed on a photomask on a substrate by irradiating light from a light source onto the substrate through the photomask after applying a photoresist on the substrate. On the photomask, a predetermined pattern to be transferred to the substrate is formed with a light shielding material. Therefore, the predetermined pattern is transferred on the substrate by irradiating light passed through areas other than the predetermined pattern to the substrate.
In exposure processing in which light from a light source is irradiated onto a substrate through a photomask, the photomask is expanded (deformed) due to heat from the light source. Accordingly, even when the same photomask is used, a difference occurs in patterns transferred on the substrate depending on the degree of expansion of the photomask, which may cause exposure flaws.
Therefore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-182942 proposes a technique of configuring, in a stage device for holding a photomask, a surface being in contact with a photomask using a plurality of materials having coefficients of thermal expansion different from each other. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-182942 also proposes a technique of configuring, in the photomask, a surface being in contact with the stage device using a plurality of materials having coefficients of thermal expansion different from each other. In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-182942, expansion occurred in the photomask during exposure processing can be suppressed by using differences in the degrees of expansion between a plurality of materials having different coefficients of thermal expansion.

Photomask, method of manufacturing photomask and exposure apparatus


A fully automatic clothes washing machine is provided with a heating apparatus arranged in a water container, on the upper portion of which an inner cover apparatus is installed to prevent the upward emanation of steam vapors therefrom. The water container includes a supporting member attached to the outer peripheral portion on the top portion of the water container to form an opening portion; and an inner cover apparatus attached at the edge to the supporting member and having means for forcing the other end to open or tightly close the opening portion.

The present invention is related to providing a fully automatic clothes washing machine having a heating apparatus for washing clothing with hot or boiling water, and more particularly to providing a fully automatic clothes washing machine with an inner cover apparatus disposed on the upper portion of the washing container. The washing container is separated from a top cover, thereby maintaining the actual washing container in a sealed configuration in order to prevent the upward leakage of steam vapors during the wash water heating cycle.


“Threshold A is substituted in a power-on state, “threshold B”, which is lower than “threshold A”, is substituted in a power-off state, and “threshold C”, which is lower than “threshold B” is substituted during a brake operation, as a rapid deceleration determination threshold. The rotational speed of an output shaft of an automatic transmission and the rapid deceleration determination threshold are compared to determine whether a vehicle is rapidly decelerating. The engagement state of a lock-up clutch is controlled based on whether the vehicle is rapidly decelerating.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control device and a control method for an automatic transmission that determine whether the vehicle is rapidly decelerating to avoid unnecessary disengagement of a lock-up clutch.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a rapid deceleration detection device detects rapid deceleration of a vehicle, a pulse signal in sync with rotation of an output shaft of a transmission is input at first, and the lapse time from the reception of a preceding pulse signal to the reception of a next pulse signal is measured, and the vehicle speed of a predetermined time ago and the time are used to detect rapid deceleration. In addition, a pulse signal in sync with rotation of the output shaft of the transmission is input, the lapse time from the reception of a preceding pulse signal to the present, where a pulse signal is not yet received, is measured, and reduction in the vehicle speed is forecast to detect rapid deceleration even before the reception of a next pulse signal. When rapid deceleration is detected in either of these two ways, the rapid deceleration detection device determines that the vehicle is rapidly decelerating (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-116563 (JP-A-2004-116563), for example).
This eliminates the need to wait for the input of a next pulse signal in order to determine the vehicle speed, and allows quick determination of rapid deceleration of the vehicle when waiting a pulse signal at that moment when the vehicle is traveling at a low speed where the frequency of pulses from a rotation sensor is low, thus allowing a lock-up clutch to be disengaged in order to prevent engine stall.
In the rapid deceleration detection device for a vehicle of the above related art, however, rapid deceleration is determined mechanically according to variations in the rotational speed of the output rotary shaft to disengage the lock-up clutch. Therefore, rapid deceleration may be determined in the event of temporary variations in the output rotational speed to unintentionally disengage the lock-up clutch. During highly-responsive gear change control during which determinations for control are made in short periods, for example, rapid deceleration may be determined according to temporary variations in the output rotational speed due to sudden variations in the engine speed, which unintentionally disengages the lock-up clutch.

Control device and control method for automatic transmission


The invention relates to a container (1) for containing a substance. The container comprises a preformed deformable body defining a filling cavity. The body has an opening (6) and an integral planar circumferential rim (5) surrounding said opening. The opening is closed by a cover sheet (7) which is sealed to the circumferential rim by means of a circumferential sealing seam (10). The circumferential rim has a flat dispensing part which is covered by the cover sheet, which cover sheet is sealed to the dispensing part by at least two outwardly directed sealing seams (11) joining the circumferential sealing seam and extending at a distance from one another from the circumferential sealing seam to the edge of the dispensing part. A weakened seal (14) with a pointed region (15) extends between the outwardly directed sealing seams. The pointed region is directed towards the cavity and the weakened sealing seam joins the respective outwardly directed sealing seams at a distance from the location (12) where the respective outwardly directed seals join the circumferential seal.

The present invention proposes to dispense a substance from a container filled with a single portion of a substance. The container comprises a preformed deformable body, preferably made of sheet material, defining a filling cavity which body has an opening and an integral planar circumferential rim at least partly surrounding said opening, which opening is closed by a cover sheet which is sealed to the circumferential rim by means of a sealing seam.
According to the invention the substance, e.g. syrup for a soft drink or substance for coffee or other drinks is dispensed directly from the container into a serving container, e.g. a cup or a bottle. Also the water is dispensed into the serving container such that mixing takes place in the serving container thereby preventing the contamination of the dispensing apparatus with the substance.


A process for synthesizing N-[1-(S)-ethoxycarbonyl-3-phenylpropyl]-L-alanine derivatives of the following formula (I): ##STR1## in which the definition of R has the same meaning as given in the description by using a sulfite derivative to activate the C-terminus of the three dimensional structure of an amino acid of N-[1-(S)-ethoxycarbonyl-3- phenylpropyl]-L-alanine, which can effectively couple with another amino acid to form a dipeptide of formula (I). The compound of fomula (I) is an inhibitor of ACE.

The present invention relates to a process for preparing the derivatives of an inhibitor of Angiotension Converting Enzyme (hereinafter referred to as "ACE"). More particularly, it relates to a process for preparing N-[1-(S)-ethoxycarbonyl-3-phenylpropyl]-L-alanine derivatives.
Life expectancy of a person is prolonged by the breakthrough of medical technology, this contribution yields aged people. Most of the elders suffer from hypertension in some degree. Reducing blood pressure medicine is in mass demand for curing of hypertension. Developing a simple and convenient method to produce a compound that inhibits the ACE activity by means of lowering blood pressure drug thereof is long for decades.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,829 discloses that by using the derivative of L-alanine-L-proline dipeptide as the reacting agent connects other groups on the N-terminus. During the reaction, a Schiff's base obtained first then undergoes hydrogenation. Meanwhile a mixture of diastereoisomers is RSS and SSS. Among these two isomers, only SSS configuration compound can be used for clinical purpose. Therefore followed by the method mentioned above to separate the SSS configuration from the mixture is the final and critical step as a complete process.
Maintaining the assured stereo chemical structure and avoiding from different one can diminish the difficulties in purification process. In European Patent EP 0215335 discloses that the C-terminus of N-[1-(S)-ethoxycarbonyl-3-phenylpropyl]-L-alanine (hereinafter referred as to NEPA therein reacted with phosgene to form N-[1-(S)-ethoxycarbonyl-3-phenylpropyl]-L-alanine N-carboxyanhydride. Followed by the addition reaction with organic or inorganic slats of L-proline to form derivative of dipeptide. The result yields N-[1-(S)-ethoxycarbonyl-3-phenylpropyl]-L-alanyl-L-proline, a prodrug of ACE inhibitory with SSS configuration of the Enalapilat (common name is Enalapril (2)). ##STR2## Although the selectivity of dimensional structure and recovery rate thereof is relatively high during the reaction, it is needed for toxic phosgene in process. As for the purpose of industrial production, there should be a special design for avoiding from the leakage of phosgene, as critical control point for safety control of hazards.
Furthermore, PCT, WO 9602564 discloses that a yield of active thionyldiimidazole by reacting imidazole with thionyl chloride can react with NEPA to form an intermediate of acetyl base; this carboxylate intermediate can again react with amino acid to form an ACE inhibitory compound. In this reaction, using the derivative of sulfite is the derivative of imidazole can cause the second reaction, and moreover the accompanying byproduct will be produced. Therefrom unless purify from the byproduct, this process can not be accounted for a complete process.

Process for preparing N-[1- (S)-ethoxycarbonyl-3- phenylpropyl]-L-alanine derivatives


A handle apparatus includes a handle body, a trolley member that may be secured to a steering wire, and a steering member operably connected to the trolley member. Rotation of the trolley member is prevented and rotation of the steering member axially repositions the trolley member and steering wire.

1. Field of the Inventions
The present inventions relate generally to handle apparatus for use with a steerable device for introducing diagnostic and therapeutic elements into the body.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many instances where physicians must introduce diagnostic and therapeutic apparatus, such as diagnostic and therapeutic electrodes, ultrasound transducers, biopsy devices and other surgical tools, into the body. The diagnostic and therapeutic apparatus are often carried by catheters, which allow physicians to gain access to the body in a minimally invasive manner by way of bodily lumens. In cardiac treatment, for example, a catheter is advanced through a main vein or artery into the region of the heart that is to be treated.
One method of introducing diagnostic and therapeutic apparatuses into the body is to introduce a tubular member (typically a xe2x80x9csheathxe2x80x9d) into the vicinity of the targeted region. A diagnostic or therapeutic apparatus is then passed through the tubular member to the targeted region. If necessary, the diagnostic or therapeutic apparatus may be removed after its function is performed, but the tubular member left in place, so that other apparatus may be advanced to the targeted region to complete the diagnostic and/or therapeutic procedure.
Precise placement of the diagnostic or therapeutic apparatus is very important, especially in those procedures concerning the heart. To that end, some conventional sheaths are guided to the targeted region with a steerable catheter that is located within the sheath lumen. Once the sheath reaches the targeted region, the steerable catheter is removed from the sheath and a catheter carrying the diagnostic or therapeutic apparatus is advanced through the lumen. This type of sheath lacks any onboard steering mechanism. As a result, redeployment of the distal portion of the sheath, even to a region in close proximity to the initially targeted region, requires the withdrawal of the diagnostic or therapeutic apparatus and the reintroduction of the steering catheter.
Other conventional sheaths include a steering mechanism that allows the physician to deflect the distal portion of the sheath. The steering mechanism consists primarily of one or more steering wires. One end of each steering wire is secured to the distal end of the sheath, while the other end is secured to a steering control device, such as the rotating cam and steering control knob arrangement commonly found in steerable catheters. Rotation of the control knob causes one of the wires to impart a pulling force on the distal portion of the sheath, thereby causing the distal portion of the sheath to deflect. To promote steerability, the distal portion of the sheath (which is relatively short) is typically formed from relatively soft, flexible material. Conversely, the proximal portion (which is relatively long) is formed from relatively hard, less flexible material that provides better torque transmission properties.
The inventors herein have determined that there are a number of shortcomings associated with handles conventionally used with steerable sheaths. For example, some conventional handles include a luer fitting on the proximal end thereof and a rotatable steering device that is operably connected to a steering wire. A tubular device is connected to the luer fitting on the handle with a Toughy-Borst or other connector. Rotation of the steering device causes the portion of the handle with the luer fitting to move axially relative to the remainder of the handle. This can be problematic because the tubular device typically remains in place, thereby causing the handle (and the sheath connected to the handle) to move back and forth and/or rotate.
The inventors herein have also determined that some conventional handles tend to roll around on the patient when the steering knob is rotated. As such, these handles must be operated with both hands or fixedly secured to the patient.
Some conventional handles include a strain relief element that must be glued or otherwise attached to the handle. The inventors herein have determined that the design of conventional strain relief elements adds extra steps to the manufacturing process and, accordingly, increases the cost of the handle.
Accordingly, the general objective of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that avoids, for practical purposes, the aforementioned problems. In particular, one objective of the present invention is to provide a handle apparatus for use with a steerable device that does not suffer from some or all of the aforementioned problem associated with conventional handles.
In order to accomplish some of these and other objectives, a handle apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of a present invention includes handle body defining an inner chamber, a trolley member slidably located at least partially within the inner chamber, adapted to be connected to a steering wire and defining a trolley member lumen, and a steering member rotatably coupled to handle body and operably connected to the trolley member such that rotation of the steering member axially repositions the trolley member, the steering member including a steering member lumen substantially axially aligned with the trolley member lumen.
In order to accomplish some of these and other objectives, a handle apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of a present invention includes a handle body defining an outer surface, a steering member defining an inner surface, and a trolley member adapted to be connected to a steering wire and at least partially located between the handle body outer surface and the steering member inner surface. The trolley member is operably connected to the steering member such that the trolley member will be axially repositioned in response to rotation of the steering member about the handle body.
Such handle apparatus preferably include a fitting for a luer or other connector used to connect a tubular device to the handle apparatus and allow a catheter to pass therethrough. The trolley members in each apparatus move relative to the handle body and steering member to push or pull the steering wire distally or proximally. The handle body and steering member will not move longitudinally relative to one another when the steering member is rotated. As a result, handle body and sheath will not move longitudinally during steering operations as is the case with many conventional handles.
In order to accomplish some of these and other objectives, a handle apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of a present invention includes a handle body with at least one wing member. The wing member advantageously prevents the handle body from rotating or rolling relative to the patient.
In order to accomplish some of these and other objectives, a handle apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of a present invention includes a handle body and a strain relief including a plurality of spaced portions. Such a strain relief element may be integrally formed with the handle body, thereby eliminating some of the manufacturing steps and costs associated with conventional strain relief elements.
The above described and many other features and attendant advantages of the present inventions will become apparent as the inventions become better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Handle for use with steerable device for introducing diagnostic and therapeutic elements into the body


Methods for handling a plurality of sample containers to be processed by an instrument are disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, a retaining device holds the sample containers and is indexed to align one of the sample containers to a position where communication with a sample input port of the instrument is established. A stripper moves a sample container into engagement with the sample port and, most preferably, also urges the sample container into sealing engagement with the sample port. An interference fit created between the stripper an the sample container provides a positive force that permits the sample container to be withdrawn and returned to its initial position. A lower arm assembly is disclosed which acts as a stop relative to the sample container and thus, as the stripper continues to move while the sample container is being withdrawn it overcomes the force of the interference fit and disengages the stripper. The present invention permits a single sample container to be inserted into a thermal zone to reduce the effects of the thermal zone upon samples not being processed. The present invention is also useful for manipulating a plurality of columns such as capillary columns or columns packed with a sorbent.

Currently available instruments used in analytical chemistry such as supercritical fluid extraction instruments automatically may generate multiple fractions from a single sample input and, with the incorporation of automation such as a robotic manipulator, a plurality of samples can be processed in a relatively automated fashion. However, there are several drawbacks to such a solution. First, the capital costs of the an lytical instrument and the robotic manipulator together are frequently so high as to negate any productivity gained by automation. Secondly, many instruments are not "robot-friendly" and the programming and customized hardware required to automate such systems can make them impractical. Finally, even in those systems where the samples can be input via a robotic manipulator, if the analysis performed is relatively simple, the speed at which the samples must be changed will exceed the speed at which the robotic manipulator can perform its tasks, reducing the productivity benefits to less than a maximum value.
It would therefore be desirable to automate sample input to an analytical instrument in a relatively inexpensive manner. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a simple, reliable, accurate and robust system for automated sample input that can be integrated into an analytical instrument.
Additionally, many processes are performed upon samples at elevated temperatures, while others require cooling the sample. In the past, if multiple samples were formed in a queue, many or all of the samples were placed within a thermal zone to bring them to the appropriate temperature. For example, an entire tray of samples might be placed in an oven. Such procedures, however, are thought to have deleterious effects upon the samples or at least some of the constituents of interest in the samples, thereby diminishing the accuracy of any quantitative analysis performed. In other words, the thermal "cross-talk" between the samples results in a situation whereby different samples have different sample histories. Thus, in the case of biological samples, constituents such as metabolites in the last sample from a tray that has resided in an oven while other samples were analyzed might have been adversely affected as compared to the first sample taken from the tray at a time that may have been hours earlier. It is therefore another object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for handling a plurality of samples and moving a sample into and out of a thermal zone in a manner such that only one sample at a time is exposed to the thermal zone, thereby creating substantially the same sample history for each sample. Another (secondary) object of the present invention is to provide for a plurality of customized flow paths in an instrument that makes use of automatic zero (minimal) dead volume coupling, automatic thermal zone coupling, and selectable insertion.
As used herein, the term "instrument" refers to a wide variety of devices, including, but not limited to analytical instruments. Although sample preparation instruments such as supercritical fluid extraction instruments represent a preferred application of the present invention, the methods and apparatus disclosed herein are useful in other instruments such as supercritical fluid chromatographs, liquid chromatographs, and gas chromatographs, as well as other types of instruments, such as spectrometers or supercritical fluid extraction (SPE) instrumentation. Generally, the term "instrument" is meant to apply to both instruments that perform analysis and instruments that perform sample preparation steps prior to analysis, as well as instruments that process a sample for other reasons, such creating a refined material or extracting a material for other uses.


This invention provides an image processing apparatus including a unit which generates index image data, a unit which obtains a position of thumbnail image data in the index image data, a unit which divides the index image data so as to prevent overlap of the thumbnail image data, a unit which calculates a histogram of a luminance value of image data corresponding to each partial area including the thumbnail image data, a unit which determines image correction characteristics of each piece of image data based on the histogram and performing image correction, and a unit which reconfiguring the index image data using the corrected image data to output the reconfigured index image data.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method and in particular to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method, which can perform image processing to index image data including a plurality of pieces of thumbnail image data.
Description of the Related Art
There is a function of arranging thumbnail image data of a plurality of pieces of image data, recorded in storage such as a personal computer, a recorder, a built-in hard disk of a digital television, and a built-in memory of a digital camera, to generate index image data. The thumbnail image data is data obtained by reducing original image data. When the image data recorded in storage is watched on a monitor or a digital television, the image data is retrieved using the index image data of the thumbnail image data, whereby the image data that one wants to watch can be efficiently found.
In order to enhance the display quality of the index image data of the thumbnail image data, there is a technique of applying gamma correction to the index image data based on a statistic value such as an average luminance of the thumbnail image data displayed in the index image data. With this configuration, the display quality can be improved by, for example, increasing contrast of the thumbnail image data displayed in the index image data. Meanwhile, in the gamma correction, for example, when the index image data includes a large amount of thumbnail image data of image data with high luminance, the gamma correction is performed in conformity with the thumbnail image data with high luminance. When the gamma correction is applied to the thumbnail image data with low luminance, black out may occur. Namely, gamma correction processing suitable for the majority of thumbnail image data showing the same gradation tendency may be unsuitable for a minority of thumbnail image data having a gradation tendency different from the gradation tendency of the majority of thumbnail image data. This applies not only to the gamma correction, but also to other image processing such as chromatic correction.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-195651 describes a technique of sectionalizing image data into a plurality of areas and performing gradation correction for each area, and the intensity of the correction for the area including an object to be emphasized, such as a face and a person is rendered higher than the intensity of the correction for the area not including the object to be emphasized. With this configuration, it is possible to perform such a correction that in one piece of image data, only a person is emphasized and a background wall and so on are not emphasized.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Image processing apparatus and image processing method