The present embodiments relate generally to systems and methods for performing a measurement on an ultrasound image displayed on a touchscreen device. The method may include: receiving, via the touchscreen device, first input coordinates corresponding to a point on the ultrasound image; using the first input coordinates as a seed for performing a contour identification process on the ultrasound image, wherein the contour identification process performs contour evolution using morphological operators to iteratively dilate from the first input coordinates; upon identification of a contour from the contour identification process, placing measurement calipers on the identified contour; and storing a value identified by the measurement calipers as the measurement.

Medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging systems are becoming increasingly accessible. Some modern ultrasound medical imaging systems connect to off-the-shelf display computing devices such as those running iOS™ or Android™ operating systems. As compared to traditional ultrasound systems that have keyboards, a trackball or other physical input controls, off-the-shelf display computing devices typically receive input via touchscreens. While the use of touchscreen input may allow for a more familiar user interface similar to what is used on consumer devices, it may be difficult to be as precise using touchscreen input versus the physical controls of traditional ultrasound systems.
One area where this lack of precision may present a challenge is performing measurements on ultrasound images. Traditional manual approaches to caliper placement involve placing a first edge of the caliper on one side of the imaged structure to be measured, and then placing the second edge of the caliper on an opposing side of the imaged structure to be measured. Using a touchscreen to precisely place the edges of the calipers may be difficult since a fingertip of an ultrasound operator may typically be larger than that of the arrowhead of a cursor manipulated by manual controls (e.g., a trackball). These challenges may be even more pronounced in instances where the ultrasound operator is wearing protective gloves as they have less tactile feedback about finger placement.
Additionally, the screen size of off-the-shelf display computing devices vary greatly. In certain instances, measurements may be performed on tablet-sized computing devices with larger displays, and distances between points for caliper placement may be easily positioned. However, in certain other instances, the off-the-shelf display computing devices may also be smartphones with smaller display sizes. In these instances, a fingertip may have less pinpoint accuracy and it may be difficult to perform a measurement if the distance that is desired to be measured is small. For example, it may be difficult to place the two edges of a caliper on an ultrasound image because the two points are displayed close together on a smaller display.
Some traditional attempts at addressing these challenges include using measurement tools to automatically place calipers. However, these automatic tools rely on image analysis techniques that may not be accurate, and thus, may result in incorrect caliper placements. For example, some of these image analysis tools include contour identification techniques (e.g., an active contour model or "snakes" algorithm) that attempt to identify a structure within an ultrasound image. However, these algorithms typically require complex mathematical operations such as solving of differential equations that are computationally intensive. This may make them difficult to perform on mobile devices that have limited processing capabilities and battery power.
There is thus a need for improved ultrasound systems and methods for performing a measurement of an ultrasound image displayed on a touchscreen device. The embodiments discussed herein may address and/or ameliorate at least some of the aforementioned drawbacks identified above. The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related thereto are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings herein.
Unless otherwise specifically noted, articles depicted in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

Systems and methods for performing a measurement on an ultrasound image displayed on a touchscreen device


A system and method for fault detection is provided. The fault detection system provides the ability to detect symptoms of fault in turbine engines and other mechanical systems that have nonlinear relationships between two or more variables. The fault detection system uses a neural network to perform feature extraction from data for representation of faulty or normal conditions. The values of extracted features, referred to herein as scores, are then used to determine the likelihood of fault in the system. Specifically, the lower order scores, referred to herein as “approximate null space” scores can be classified into one or more clusters, where some clusters represent types of faults in the turbine engine. Classification based on the approximate null space scores provides the ability to classify faulty or nominal conditions that could not be reliably classified using higher order scores.

Modern aircraft are increasingly complex. The complexities of these aircraft have led to an increasing need for automated fault detection systems. These fault detection systems are designed to monitor the various systems of the aircraft in an effect to detect potential faults. These systems are designed to detect these potential faults such that the potential faults can be addressed before the potential faults lead to serious system failure and possible in-flight shutdowns, take-off aborts, and delays or cancellations.
Engines are, of course, a particularly critical part of the aircraft. As such, fault detection for aircraft engines are an important part of an aircraft's fault detection system. Some traditional engine fault detection has been limited to methods of fault detection that are based on linear relationships between variables in the system. While these methods have been effective in detecting some faults, they are less effective in detecting faults in systems where there are significant nonlinearities in the system. Many complex systems, such as turbine engines, have substantially nonlinear relationships between variables in the system. In these types of system, the nonlinear relationship between variables reduces the effectiveness of these linear techniques for fault detection.
Thus, what is needed is an improved system and method for fault detection that is able to detect and classify fault in systems with nonlinear relationships among variables or observed measurements.

Fault detection system and method using approximate null space base fault signature classification


A touch panel includes: a first touch panel substrate having a first surface and having a flexibility; a second touch panel substrate arranged a fixed distance away from the first touch panel substrate via spacers, having a second surface that faces the first surface; a position detecting section formed on the first surface, and detecting a position where the first touch panel substrate is being pressed based on changes in surface acoustic waves generated on the first surface; and a resin film formed on the second surface.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a touch panel, an electro-optic device, a manufacturing method for an electro-optic device and an electronic device.
2. Related Art
In recent years, in conjunction with the increasing use of small information electronic devices such as personal digital assistants (PDA) and palm top computers, liquid crystal display devices that have a touch panel mounted as an input device on a liquid crystal panel have become widely used.
An example of this type of touch panel is an ultrasonic surface acoustic wave system includes: a glass substrate, a transmitter that transmits a surface acoustic wave over a surface of the glass substrate, and a receiver that detects transmitted surface acoustic waves.
When a user touches a surface of the glass substrate with a finger or the like, the surface acoustic waves that are being transmitted over the surface of the glass substrate become attenuated at the touched position.
In an ultrasonic surface acoustic wave type of touch panel, it is possible to detect a position touched by a user using this property of surface acoustic waves to become attenuated at a touched position.
However, in a typical ultrasonic surface acoustic wave type of touch panel, because surface acoustic waves are generated on the topmost surface, the surface acoustic waves also become attenuated if water droplets or oil droplets, or dirt or the like are adhering to this topmost surface.
Because of this, an ultrasonic surface acoustic wave type of touch panel erroneously detects locations where water or oil droplets or dirt have adhered as positions touched by a user's finger or the like.
In a touch panel device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2004-348686, because the touch panel is formed by a single glass substrate, it has poor impact resistance and when the glass has been formed as a particularly thin plate, there is a problem in that it is broken by only a slight impact.
Therefore, a touch panel has been proposed in which a transparent resin film or the like is arranged on the topmost surface of the glass substrate that is transmitting the surface acoustic waves.
For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2004-348686, a touch panel is disclosed that includes: a glass substrate over which a surface acoustic wave is transmitted; a transducer that sends and receives surface acoustic waves and is arranged facing circumferential edge portions of this glass substrate so as to form a pair; a detecting section that, based on surface acoustic waves that are sent and received by the transducer, detects a touch position of an object that is touching a predetermined operating area; and a transparent resin film that is arranged so as to sandwich a space layer between itself and the glass substrate, and that has a plurality of dot spacers formed on a surface thereof that faces the glass substrate.
In addition to a transparent resin film, a transparent glass substrate or the like is also used to protect the topmost surface of a substrate over which surface acoustic waves are transmitted.
By employing this type of touch panel structure, because the transparent substrate over which surface acoustic waves are transmitted is not exposed but is covered by a transparent resin film, it is possible to prevent any malfunctions that are caused by scratches or dirt or other contamination, and it is also possible to prevent glass substrate shards from flying should the glass substrate be broken.
In the above described patent document, the outer surface of the transparent resin film forms an input surface that is pressed by a user, and when an input is made a predetermined position of an outer surface of the transparent resin film is pressed so as to bend the transparent film.
The bending portion of the transparent resin film makes contact with the glass substrate surface and causes the surface acoustic waves being transmitted over the glass substrate surface to become attenuated.
The transducer detects a position pressed by a user based on the attenuation factor of these surface acoustic waves.
However, in a transparent resin film (glass substrate), because there is a high modulus of elasticity (Young's modulus), the resin film is not sufficiently bent by the pressing of the user and it is not possible to attenuate the surface acoustic waves being transmitted over the glass substrate surface.
As a result, there is a problem in that it has not been possible to detect the precise position pressed by a user and input malfunctions occur.

Touch panel, electro-optic device, manufacturing method for electro-optic device and electronic device


An induction cooktop appliance system and method for controlling the induction cooktop appliance based on a cookware position is provided. A variable power signal can be applied to an induction coil from an inverter. The power signal can be driven at a test frequency and an operating frequency. An electrical signal can be detected across a shunt resistor based on the test frequency and a cookware position can be determined based on the electrical signal. The operating frequency supplied to the induction coil can be modified based on determined cookware position.

Induction cooking appliances are more efficient, have greater temperature control precision and provide more uniform cooking than other conventional cooking appliances. In conventional cooktop systems, an electric or gas heat source is used to heat cookware in contact with the heat source. This type of cooking is inefficient because only the portion of the cookware in contact with the heat source is directly heated. The rest of the cookware is heated through conduction that causes non-uniform cooking throughout the cookware. Heating through conduction takes an extended period of time to reach a desired temperature.
In contrast, induction cooking systems use electromagnetism which turns cookware of the appropriate material into a heat source. A power supply provides a signal having a frequency to the induction coil. When the coil is activated a magnetic field is produced which induces a current on the bottom surface of the cookware. The induced current on the bottom surface then induces even smaller currents (eddy currents) within the cookware thereby providing heat throughout the cookware.
Due to the efficiency of induction cooking appliances, precise control of a selected cooking temperature is needed. Some systems include a position sensor to determine the position of the cookware in relation to the induction coil to improve efficiency of the induction cooking appliance. Examples of position sensors include capacitance-based position sensors, laser based position sensors, eddy-current sensing position sensors, and linear displacement transducer-based position sensors. However, each of these sensors has disadvantages including impractical size, complexity, and cost.
Thus, a need exists for an improved induction cooktop control method that overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages. A system and method that can improve cookware position detection would be particularly useful.

Method to detect a position of a cookware utensil in an induction cooktop system


A bonding structure and the method of fabricating the same are disclosed. The bonding structure of the invention includes a copper-based pad formed in an insulator layer and a protection layer substantially covering top surface of the copper-based pad. The protection layer is self-aligned formed and the material thereof is selected from a group consisting of metal nitride, copper alloy, copper compounds, and a combination thereof.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor structure and in particular to a copper-based bonding structure with a surface protection layer.
Conventional semiconductor devices typically comprise a semiconductor substrate, normally of doped monocrystalline silicon, and a plurality of sequentially formed inter-layer dielectrics and interconnected metallization layers defining conductive patterns. An integrated circuit is formed containing a plurality of conductive patterns comprising conductive lines separated by interwiring spacings, and a plurality of interconnect lines, such as bus lines, bit lines, word lines and logic interconnect lines. Typically, the conductive patterns on different metallization layers are electrically connected by a conductive plug filling with a via opening, while a conductive plug filling a contact opening establishes electrical contact with an active region on a semiconductor substrate, such as a source/drain region. Conductive lines are formed in trenches which typically extend substantially horizontal with respect to the semiconductor substrate. Semiconductor chips comprising five or more levels of metallization are becoming more prevalent as device geometries shrink to submicron levels.
Copper (Cu) and copper alloys have received considerable attention as a replacement material for aluminum (Al) in ultra large scale interconnection metalizations. Copper is relatively inexpensive, easy to process, has lower resistance than aluminum, and has improved electrical properties over tungsten (W), making copper a desirable metal for use as a conductive plug as well as conductive wiring.
In the formation of copper interconnects using a damascene metallization process, copper is exposed in a bonding pad area. The bonding pad area is located on the top surface of the integrated circuit structure formed on the semiconductor substrate. The bonding pad area is the region where wires make contact with bonding pads to form electrical connection with the Cu interconnects. In this case, where the copper interconnects are exposed in the bonding pad area, the copper can be designed to act as an interconnect as well as a bonding pad.
Conventional techniques for wire bonding, however, are not compatible with bonding pads comprising Cu. Existing bonding techniques such as wedge bonding and ultrasonic bonding require thermal agitation, that is, rubbing the wire against the bonding pad to form a bond therebetween. The existing technology works for the bonding of either gold wires or aluminum wires to aluminum pads. However, such technologies do not work for the bonding of gold wires or aluminum wires to copper pads, since copper is easily oxidized, forming copper oxide which is an insulator.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,236 issued to Cheung et. al., methodology is disclosed for electrically connecting wires to a Cu interconnect by forming an intermediate Al pad on the Cu interconnect. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,494 issued to Besser et. al. another methodology is disclosed for electrically connecting wires to a Cu interconnect by forming an Al pad and an intermediate diffusion barrier on the Cu interconnect. In both described patents, uses the Al pad is used, however, disadvantageously, as it increases the resistance of the interconnection system.
A need therefore exists to form a reliable copper pad so that conventional wire bonding technology can be employed.

Bonding structure and fabrication thereof

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A portable grill or portable kitchen unit for outdoor use, and includes a cooking unit which is translatable between a position over a heat source and a position laterally adjacent to the heat source, for cooling and/or further preparation of foods being cooked within the unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to portable grill or portable kitchen units designed for outdoor use, and in particular to an outdoor portable kitchen unit which includes a cooking unit which is translatable between a position over a heat source and a position laterally adjacent to the heat source, for cooling and/or further preparation of the foods being cooked within the unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable outdoor grills have been known for many years, and recently the trend has been toward more complex units, offering larger cooking areas and greater degree of heat source control. However, a need has existed for units with incorporated food preparation areas, as well as a more convenient means of removing the cooked foods from the burner region for cooling an/or further preparation. It is therefore an object of the present invention to fulfil these needs, by providing a portable kitchen unit having food preparation areas on either side of the cooking area, and being provided with a grill or grate-style cooking surface which, together with an incorporated grate support/surround and a hood unit, is translatable fully laterally to one side of the heat source/burners, so as to provide a convenient means of removing the cooked foods from the heat source for cooling and/or further preparation.

Portable kitchen with movable cooking unit


Prefetches to a cache memory subsystem are made from predictions which are based on access patterns stored by context. An access pattern is generated from prior accesses of a data processing system processing in a like context. During a training sequence, an actual trace of memory accesses is processed to generate unit patterns which serve in making future predictions and to identify statistics such as pattern accuracy for each unit pattern. In a replacement list, prefetched objects are included at the head of the list. Within a prefetch, objects are listed by order of expected time of access, with alternatives at predicted times of access. When an object is used, it is moved to the head of the list and any prefetched alternatives to that object, indicated by like time marks, are moved to the tail of the list. Alternatives may be listed according to degree of match of a current access pattern and a stored access pattern and by prior accuracy of the unit pattern. A server includes a demand access queue which preempts fetches of objects identified by a prefetch queue.

Caching of data in fast memory is a technique widely used in computer systems to improve performance. Caching is usually done between levels of a memory hierarchy, where data must be transferred from slower, secondary storage "up" to faster, primary storage for use. The transfer of data from slow to fast storage usually happens automatically and invisibly to the application requesting data. The cache algorithm reads requested data from slow memory if it is not in cache, causing the application to wait, or immediately responds if the requested data is in cache by returning the fast memory address of the data. The terms paging and buffering are also used to refer to data caching.
One example of a data cache found in almost every operating system is the paging mechanism for virtual memory management. In this case, data objects are program pages, and the cache is a "working set" of pages kept in main memory when the process is executing. Another common use of data caching is in database or file systems, particularly client-server systems that cache data at the client. Much work on data caching has been done and can be found in operating systems or database textbooks. Two major aspects of any cache management algorithm are its replacement policy and prefetch policy, which both affect efficiency of the cache.
Since a cache is kept full, any new data object transferred from secondary storage to the cache must replace some other object. A cache management algorithm chooses a data object for eviction according to some replacement policy. Many replacement policies have been studied in computer science literature. Most replacement policies in commercial systems are variations or approximations of the Least-Recently-Used (LRU) policy, which stipulates that the object evicted is that object which was used least recently. In the literature, such policies are often compared to a proven optimal policy known as OPT. OPT stipulates that the object evicted from cache is that object which is used furthest in the future. However, this requires perfect and complete knowledge of the future access sequence, so OPT is therefore considered impossible to implement.
Cache management either operates by demand fetching, in which case all objects must be requested by the application program before being brought into cache, or it implements some policy for prefetching objects. The most common prefetch policy is to cluster objects that are often used together near each other on secondary storage, and then fetch an entire cluster of objects into cache when any object in the cluster is requested. Defining how objects should be clustered is considered a relatively difficult problem to solve automatically, and any given clustering necessarily favors some access patterns over others. A prefetched cluster often includes many objects that do not get used, but includes no information to guide the replacement policy in choosing between unused objects for eviction: A second prefetch policy sometimes used is to augment the cache manager with code that uses knowledge of application semantics to prefetch data. For example, an application that displays 3-D spatial data might implement a prefetch heuristic that fetches objects nearest the requested object in a cartesian coordinate system.


When a reaction liquid is passed through a gas-liquid separation pipe having a larger volume per unit length than the volume per unit length of a pipe, a headspace part into which gas can be released is formed above the gas-liquid separation pipe, and the byproduct gas generated by the reaction changes into bubbles, moves upward in the reaction liquid, and is continuously released from a gas-liquid interface into the headspace part. While the gas is removed in the gas-liquid separation pipe, the pressure of the headspace part is controlled so as to be constant by a pressure adjustment device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas-liquid separation method and unit, and particularly relates to a gas-liquid separation method and unit suitable for removing a byproduct gas generated in a reaction for forming metal microparticles with a continuous production process of the metal microparticles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Magnetic particles contained in a magnetic layer constituting a magnetic recording medium have preferably small particle sizes and superior monodispersibility from the viewpoint of the quality. In producing the metal microparticles, a reaction for forming the metal microparticles is occasionally accompanied by the generation of a byproduct gas (for instance, hydrogen gas).
The reaction accompanied by the byproduct gas is so hardly continued that a continuous processing apparatus for continuously producing the above described metal microparticles has not yet practically been realized. That is because 1 mol of a byproduct gas produces the byproduct gas expanded to as large a volume as 22.4 l, and in the case of continuous treatment, unless the byproduct gas can be effectively removed in the flow of the continuous treatment, it causes various detrimental effects. For instance, if the byproduct gas can not be effectively removed in the flow of the continuous treatment, the flow of the continuous treatment becomes unstable to make a mixing field and a reaction field nonuniform, and thereby to make the equilibrium of the reaction hardly proceed to a reaction-accelerating direction. In addition, when a temperature of a solution is controlled for the reaction, if the byproduct gas can not be effectively removed in the flow of the continuous treatment, the reaction temperature can not be accurately controlled, because gas has a low coefficient of thermal conductivity. As a result of the detrimental effects, there arise such problems that the produced metal microparticles increase in particle sizes, and that the monodispersibility gets worse.
There are various general methods for separating and removing gas from liquid. The typical ones include a degassing method with a separating film (for instance, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-333236, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-253272 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-52325); a degassing method by using an adsorbent having gas absorptiveness (for instance, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-113115); a degassing method by decompression; a degassing method by heating; and a degassing method by mechanical methods such as a cyclone method and a trapping method (for instance, Japanese Publication of International Patent Application No. 2002-529228, Japanese Publication of International Patent Application No. 2002-529233 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-281637).


An expander (M) employing steam as a working medium is formed from a first radially inner group of axial piston cylinders (49) arranged annularly on a rotor (27) so as to surround the axis (L) of an output shaft (28), and a second radially outer group of axial piston cylinders (57) arranged annularly so as to surround the first group of axial piston cylinders (49). The first and second groups of axial piston cylinders (49, 57) are driven by a common swash plate (39), and the first and second groups of axial piston cylinders (49, 57) are arranged with circumferentially displaced pitches. High-temperature, high-pressure steam firstly operates the first group of axial piston cylinders (49), then operates the second group of axial piston cylinders (57), and the outputs from the two are combined to drive the output shaft (28). This achieves a further reduction in the size and a further increase in the output of the axial type expander (M).

Japanese Patent No. 2874300 and Japanese Utility Model Registration Application Laid-open No. 48-54702 disclose a piston pump or a piston motor that includes two groups of axial piston cylinders arranged on radially inner and outer sides. Either of these employs an incompressible fluid such as oil as the working medium, the groups of axial piston cylinders on the radially inner and outer sides are arranged with their phases displaced circumferentially, and in the former case the piston diameter of the group of axial piston cylinders on the radially inner side is smaller than the piston diameter of the group of axial piston cylinders on the radially outer side.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-320453 discloses an expander in which a group of axial piston cylinders and a group of vanes are arranged respectively on the radially inner side and the radially outer side of a rotor, and supplying high-temperature, high-pressure steam to the group of vanes via the group of axial piston cylinders converts pressure energy into mechanical energy.
Expanders employing high-temperature, high-pressure steam as the working medium can be divided into a vane type in which a rotor slidably supporting a vane is disposed within a cam ring, a radial type in which a plurality of cylinders and pistons are arranged radially relative to an axis, and an axial type in which a plurality of cylinders and pistons are arranged parallel to an axis.
Although the vane type expander has the advantage that a high steam expansion ratio can be obtained, a long sealing length between the tip of the vane and the inner periphery of the cam ring is required relative to the volume, and since sealing is difficult, there is a large amount of steam leakage, which is a problem.
In the radial type expander, since the cylinders and the pistons are arranged radially relative to the axis, not only does a fan-shaped dead space formed between adjacent cylinders cause an increase in the dimensions, but is also, if a sliding surface of a rotary valve for distributing the steam among the cylinders is cylindrical and a sliding clearance is provided, there is the problem of an increase in the amount of steam leakage compared with a rotary valve having a flat sliding surface.
In contrast, since the axial type expander has its cylinders and pistons arranged in the axial direction, dead space between the cylinders can be made small and the layout on a radial cross section can be made compact, and the dimensions thereof can be made smaller than the radial type expanders where the dead space is large. Furthermore, the amount of steam leaking between the cylinders and the pistons is smaller than the amount of steam leaking between the vane and the cam ring and, moreover, since it is possible to employ a rotary valve having a flat sliding surface and low leakage of steam, a higher output can be achieved compared with the vane type or radial type expanders.


A method is provided for providing extra insulation between lead layers and first and second shield layers of a read head so as to prevent electrical shorting therebetween. A sensor layer is partially formed with a capping layer of a first oxidizable metallic layer. A lead layer is formed with a second oxidizable metallic capping layer thereon. A rear edge of the partially completed sensor is then formed followed by formation of an insulation layer which seals the rear edge. The wafer, upon which the components are constructed, is then subjected to an oxygen-based plasma which oxidizes the oxidizable layers with the second oxidizable metallic layers oxidizing at a faster rate than the first oxidizable metallic layer. The second oxidized layer then provides the desired extra insulation between the lead layers and the second shield layer. The read head produced by the method includes a sensor layer and first and second lead layers. A first metal oxide layer is on the sensor layer and a sensor layer and a second metal oxide layer is on each of the first and second lead layers. The sensor layer, the first and second lead layers and the first and second metal oxide layers are located between first and second gap layers and the first and second gap layers are located between first and second shield layers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spin valve read head with plasma produced metal oxide insulation layer between lead and shield layers and, more particularly to a read head that caps first and second lead layers with a metallic oxide layer that, in combination with a gap layer, provides electrical insulation between the lead layers and a shield layer so as to prevent electrical shorts therebetween, and a method of making the read head.
2. Description of Related Art
A read head includes a sensor that is located between first and second non-magnetic gap layers which, in turn, are located between first and second shield layers. The resistance of the sensor changes in response to magnetic fields in the tracks of a rotating disk. A sense current conducted through the sensor results in voltage changes that are detected by processing circuitry as readback signals. The sensor may be a spin valve sensor or an anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) sensor. A spin valve sensor, which is preferred, includes a spacer layer that is located between a pinned layer and a free layer, and an antiferromagnetic layer that pins the magnetic moment of the pinned layer. An AMR sensor includes a ferromagnetic stripe. First and second lead layers are connected to side edges of either sensor for conducting a sense current therethrough.
Each of the lead layers has an end edge that abuts a respective side edge of the sensor to form what is known in the art as a contiguous junction. The distance between the contiguous junctions defines the track width of the read head. A hard magnetic layer typically underlies each lead layer and also has an end edge that abuts a respective side edge of the sensor. The hard magnetic layer, known in the art as a hard bias layer, longitudinally biases the sensor to stabilize its magnetic domains so as to prevent Barkhausen noise. Alternatively, each lead layer may overlap a portion of the sensor to form what is known in the art as a continuous junction. The track width of a continuous junction read head is defined by the distance between the overlapping portions. The contiguous junction configuration is preferred to the continuous junction configuration because one masking step can be employed for defining the track width of the sensor as well as depositing the leads to make the contiguous junctions.
The areal or bit density of a read head is determined by its track width and read gap. Track width defines the number of tracks read per inch (track density), while read gap defines the number of bits read per inch of track (linear density). From these parameters, the bits read per square inch of recording surface can be determined. With regard to read head construction, track density is easier to increase than linear density. In order to maximize linear density, the first and second gap layers at the top and the bottom of the sensor must be extremely thin. For instance, for a 10 Gb/in.sup.2 read head, the total read gap should be about 150 nm. With a sensor thickness of about 35 nm, this leaves about 115 nm to be allocated between the first and second gap layers. However, a gap layer of 57 to 58 nm may not be sufficiently thick to protect a lead layer from electrical shorts. Because of the large area of the lead layers, there is a high risk that the adjacent gap layers will have pinholes that permit shorting. This has a serious impact on manufacturing yield.
One way to minimize the risk of pinhole shorts is to deposit additional insulation material outside the sensor frame. This can be accomplished by depositing a layer of insulation immediately on top of the first gap layer outside the sensor frame, and then depositing another layer of insulation outside the sensor frame just before the second gap layer is formed. This leaves only the first and second gap layers within the sensor frame, but thickens the insulation depth outside the sensor frame where the lead layers extend to the terminals. Unfortunately, a portion of each lead layer between a contiguous junction and the additional insulation layers is protected only by the first and second gap layers, which leaves that portion at risk of shorting to a shield layer. Another problem with this arrangement is that the additional insulation layers thermally insulate the sensor, thereby increasing the risk that heating of the sensor will alter its magnetic characteristic. A further drawback is that a masking step is required for each of the two additional insulation layers.

Spin valve read head with plasma produced metal oxide insulation layer between lead and shield layers and method of making

International Business Machines Corporation


The present disclosure relates to, inter alia, a method of quantitating an amount of an antibody molecule from a mixture comprising two or more antibody molecules, comprising separating each of the two or more antibody molecules from the mixture by hydrophobic interaction chromatography high performance liquid chromatography (HIC-HPLC) and quantitating an amount of each antibody molecule, wherein the molecular weight of each antibody molecule is within 15 kDa of any other antibody molecule in the mixture and either each antibody molecule is different from another antibody molecule in the mixture by more than about 0.25 unit on the Kyte & Doolittle hydropathy scale or each of the antibody molecules when nm alone on HIC-HPLC elutes at distinct run time with little overlap from the other antibody molecules in the mixture, or both.

Administration of multiple, rather than single, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to a patient may improve their diagnostic or therapeutic indication and efficacy. These mAbs may be co-formulated in a single drug product (DP) and the DP administered to a patient.
A method is required by regulatory agencies to quantitate the individual mAbs in a co-formulated drug substance (cFDS) to be incorporated into a DP, or a DP itself. Developing a method to separate two or more antibody molecules and to measure the concentration of each mAb is challenging, because the antibody molecules may have similar molecular weights, protein structures, and charge properties.

Methods for quantitating individual antibodies from a mixture


A solid oxide fuel cell module comprises a hollow support member and a plurality of fuel cells spaced apart longitudinally on one surface of the hollow support member. A plurality of interconnectors electrically connect the fuel cells in electrical series. Each fuel cell comprises a first electrode, an electrolyte and a second electrode. The first electrode of each of the fuel cells are electrically connected to the second electrode of adjacent fuel cells by a plurality of interconnectors spaced apart laterally with respect to the hollow support member. A laterally extending end of the first electrode of the said adjacent fuel cell has a plurality of recesses spaced apart laterally with respect to the hollow support member. Each of the interconnectors is positioned in a respective one of the plurality of recesses in the laterally extending end of the first electrode of the said adjacent fuel cell.

Solid oxide fuel cell modules comprising a plurality of solid oxide fuel cells connected in electrical series are known.
In our European patent EP0668622A1 a solid oxide fuel cell module comprises a plurality of solid oxide fuel cells arranged on the flat surfaces of a hollow support member. The solid oxide fuel cells extend laterally across the full lateral extent of the surfaces of the hollow support member and the solid oxide fuel cells are spaced apart longitudinally on the surfaces of the hollow support member. The adjacent solid oxide fuel cells are connected electrically in series by an interconnector. Each interconnector extends laterally across the full lateral extent of the surface of the hollow support member to electrically connect an anode electrode of one solid oxide fuel cell with the cathode electrode of an adjacent solid oxide fuel cell.
The main parameters of the solid oxide fuel module are the fuel cell active length, the fuel cell pitch and the fuel cell gap. The fuel cell active length is the length of the solid oxide fuel cell longitudinally along the hollow support member. The fuel cell gap is the distance between adjacent solid oxide fuel cells. The fuel cell pitch is the sum of the fuel cell active length and the fuel cell gap.
The fuel cell active length and the fuel cell pitch are selected to optimise performance of the solid oxide fuel cell module. The fuel cell gap should be as small as possible to maximise the fuel cell length as a proportion of the fuel cell pitch. However, the fuel cell gap is dictated by the need for an interconnector to electrically connect the adjacent solid oxide fuel cells in series and to provide a space between the interconnector and the electrodes of the adjacent solid oxide fuel cells. The fuel cell gap may be reduced by reducing the length of the interconnector and the spaces. However, this makes it difficult to accurately align the interconnectors and the electrodes to avoid electrical failure of the fuel cell structure. Thus the minimum size of the fuel cell gap is restricted by this requirement and hence the fuel cell active length as a proportion of the fuel cell pitch is not maximised.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A path (24) is formed in an intake tube (6), which supplies external air to a reciprocating engine (4). External air flowing from an inlet port to an outlet port of the path (24). A gaseous fuel path (26) is connected to the path (24) at an intermediate location thereof. A gaseous fuel, lighter than air, is supplied through the gaseous fuel path (26) into the path (24). A plurality of nets (8) are disposed in an area of the path (24) between the outlet port and the gaseous fuel path (26). The nets (28) are spaced along the length of the path (24) with the outer peripheral surface of each net (28) being in contact with the inner surface of the path (24).

In an engine which generate power by burning a gaseous fuel, e.g. Hydrogen gas, the gaseous fuel is mixed with air before being supplied to the engine. It is necessary to mix the hydrogen gas with air with a high efficiency, and, a technique to realize it is disclosed in, for example, JP 2002-81346 A. According to the technique disclosed in this Japanese patent publication, interior paths and exterior paths are circumferentially formed in an air turbo ram engine. The interior and exterior paths alternate with each other. Air compressed by a fan is blown through the respective exterior paths, and hydrogen gas is blown through the respective interior paths, whereby the air and hydrogen gas are mixed with each other. A guide vane is provided in order to forcibly direct the hydrogen gas in each interior path to flow outward, and thus the hydrogen gas flowing out in the outward direction can be mixed efficiently with the air, which is heavier in weight, blown outward from the exterior.
This arrangement, however, is for an air turbo ram engine, and, therefore, cannot be employed for engines provided with pistons, such as a reciprocating engines and rotary engines.
An object of the present invention is to provide a mixer which can mix air with a gas having a different specific gravity from air with high efficiency, and also an engine system with such mixer.

Gaseous fuel and air mixer for an engine


Disclosed is an apparatus and method for analyzing a histogram of an image, the apparatus comprising an image input module for buffering an input image, a block calculator for performing a blocking operation for dividing the image into pixel blocks of a predetermined size, and extracting and outputting a representative pixel of each block obtained in a corresponding blocking, a probability density function (PDF) operator for calculating a first histogram using all pixels of the image, and calculating a second histogram using the representative pixels input from the block calculator, and an image characteristic comparator for receiving the first and second histograms determining whether the received histograms satisfy an identity criterion and calculating a third histogram of a following image when the identity criterion is satisfied.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to still image and a moving image processing, and more particularly to an apparatus and a method for analyzing a histogram, which represents the luminance characteristic and the contrast characteristic according to RGB colors of an image, and a luminance compensation apparatus using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In processing a still image and/or a moving image, it is necessary understand the characteristics of each corresponding image in order to apply a specific algorithm. In order to understand the characteristics of an image, a histogram analysis, which represents the luminance and contrast according to RGB colors of an image, is generally used.
According to the conventional computation method using luminance in order to analyze a histogram, luminance values of each pixel constituting a corresponding image in an input image are calculated, and the number of pixels having a corresponding luminance value is determined. The histogram is computing the number of pixels having a particular luminance value against the luminance values. Accordingly, the number of pixels as a function of specific luminance value is expressed in a graph by the histogram. In this case, when data of an input image correspond to data of an RGB domain, a histogram is computed after the data is mapped to a color space from which luminance components of the data can be extracted, or a histogram is computed with respect to each of RGB. Generally, the histogram computed as described above is used by converting histogram distribution into a monotonically increasing function, by accumulating the histogram distribution through a cumulative distribution function (CDF).
FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the construction of a conventional luminance compensation apparatus using a histogram analysis. The conventional luminance compensation apparatus includes a histogram analysis unit 10, a luminance compensation function generation unit 11, and a mapping unit 13. The histogram analysis unit 10 includes a probability density function (PDF) operator, calculates luminance values of each pixel constituting a corresponding image in an input image, and calculates the number of pixels corresponding to each luminance value, thereby analyzing a histogram. The luminance compensation function generation unit 11 includes a cumulative distribution function (CDF), computes a cumulative distribution of a histogram, and generates a mapping function for luminance compensation based on the computed cumulative distribution. The mapping unit 13 compensates luminance values of an input image according to the mapping function generated by the luminance compensation function generation unit 11.
FIGS. 2A to 2C are graphs illustrating an exemplary histogram, cumulative distribution function, and mapping function of an image, respectively. As shown in FIG. 2A, a histogram is obtained by classifying luminance values of an input image into 0 to 255 and making a graph showing the number of pixels as a function of each luminance value. FIG. 2B shows a cumulative distribution function generated by the luminance compensation function generation unit 11. In this case, for example, when an input image has a resolution of 720×480, the cumulative distribution function has 345,600 final cumulative values. FIG. 2C shows a mapping function, which may be a function obtained by converting the cumulative distribution function into a 256-level gray scale. Consequently, such a mapping function has output luminance values corresponding to luminance values of input pixels.
FIG. 3 is a view illustrating an image frame for explaining a general histogram analysis method for an image. As indicated by the arrows in FIG. 3, when analyzing a histogram for an input image, the histogram analysis unit 10 uses a so-called pixel-by-pixel analysis method in which all pixels constituting the image are sequentially examined.
However, such an analysis method requires a large amount of calculation for analysis of a large still image or a high-resolution moving image. Particularly, devices such as mobile terminals have recently shown a tendency to reproduce a digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) signal and a moving-image file, and also to be equipped with a liquid crystal display (LCD) capable of displaying a high-resolution image. Therefore, when the histogram analysis method as described above is used to analyze a high-resolution moving image or the like in a mobile terminal having a relatively poorer calculation capability, there is a problem in that a great amount of hardware resources are required.

Apparatus and method for histogram analysis of image and luminance compensation apparatus using the same


A hydraulic drive device including a center section for rotatably mounting a hydraulic pump and hydraulic motor on respective running surfaces. The center section further includes a pair of ports connecting the running surfaces, where the ports are not located in the same plane but are rather offset from one another with respect to the pump running surface, so that one of the ports is closer to the pump running surface than the other port.

This invention relates generally to hydrostatic transaxles.
Hydrostatic transaxles ("HSTs"), including integrated hydrostatic transaxles ("IHTs"), are known in the art and are more fully described in, among others, U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,387, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Generally, an HST includes a center section or the like on which is mounted a hydraulic pump and a hydraulic motor. The hydraulic pump and the hydraulic motor each carry a plurality of reciprocating pistons that are in fluid communication through porting formed in the center section. As the hydraulic pump rotates, the pump pistons move axially as they bear against an adjustable swash plate where the degree of axial movement depends upon the angular orientation of the swash plate. Axial movement of the pump pistons forces a hydraulic fluid through the porting, which forces the motor pistons against a thrust bearing to thereby rotate the hydraulic motor. As the hydraulic motor rotates, hydraulic fluid is returned to the hydraulic pump through the porting. In this manner, the rotation of the hydraulic pump is translated to the hydraulic motor and the rotation of the hydraulic motor may be used to drive one or more axles of a riding lawn mower, small tractor, or the like.
Zero-turn, hydrostatic transaxles (HZTs) are also known in the art. Generally, an HZT is utilized in connection with a vehicle to provide for the independent control of each of the drive wheels of the vehicle. By way of example, HZTs are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,078,222 and 6,283,235 which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Additionally, Eaton has developed and marketed HZTs as their models 771 and 781. The Eaton model 771 is an assembly with one pump and one motor where two Eaton model 771 assemblies, a right and a left, are required for zero turn drive. The Eaton model 781 consists of two units similar to the Eaton model 771 but joined together to make one assembly.


A fuel filter comprising a container, a filter cartridge coaxially disposed within said container and defining therebetween a first chamber having an upper portion disposed above the filter cartridge, a lower portion surrounding the lateral surface of the filter cartridge, a second chamber disposed within the filter cartridge and a third chamber disposed below the filter cartridge, an inclined surface disposed in the upper portion of the first chamber, fuel inlet means for introducing fuel to the upper portion of the first chamber, said fuel descending along said inclined surface for initial separation of water from the fuel before passing to the lower portion of the first chamber and through the lateral surface of said filter cartridge into said second chamber, outlet means communicating with the second chamber within the filter cartridge, means for closing the ends of the cartridge so that the only passageway between the first chamber and the second chamber is through the lateral surface of the filter cartridge, and a mesh surface provided to cover and adhere to the lateral surface of the filter cartridge.

The present invention relates to the filtration of fuel, in particular fuel (generally known as gasoil) for diesel engines.
In this sector the sophistication of injection equipment requires the most careful filtration to prevent the impurities present in the fuel from causing damage to and malfunction of the delicate injection equipment.
A technical problem which has not been totally solved is caused by the presence of water parts in the fuel, which are not removed by the usual filter cartridges (designed to intercept more solid parts) and hence reach the downstream mechanical members, resulting in oxidation problems and breakage thereof.
To solve this problem, and upstream of the cartridge, there is inserted an inclined surface, generally having a frusto-conical shape, along which the entering fuel flow runs before reaching the filter cartridge.
Because the water has a greater specific gravity than the fuel, it tends to move more towards the inclined surface, where its travel is decelerated, with the result that the water particles tend to units to form relatively large water droplets, which then fall to the base of the filter, where they collect without passing through the filter cartridge.
This solution is not however totally satisfactory, in that generally at least a fraction of the water is not separated and reaches the outlet to cause the described problems.

Fuel filter, in particular for diesel fuel


A new Verbena plant particularly distinguished by large purple and white flowers, excellent flower richness, early flowering time, a strong growth habit and good resistance to powdery mildew, is disclosed.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct variety of Verbena, botanically known as Verbena sp., and hereinafter referred to by the variety name 'KLEVP12431'. 'KLEVP12431' originated from a cross-pollination conducted in April 2009 in Sydney, Australia between the proprietary female Verbena variety 'V 985' (unpatented), and the proprietary male Verbena variety derived from the cross of 'V 641' (unpatented)בV 740' (unpatented).
The seeds from the cross were sown and plants were grown for evaluation, where an individual plant designated 'KLEVP12431' was selected from the group of plants in Cobitty, NSW, Australia in September, 2010.
In September 2010, 'KLEVP12431' was first vegetatively propagated by vegetative cuttings in Cobitty, NSW, Australia. 'KLEVP12431' was found to reproduce true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation via vegetative cuttings.


A method and apparatus according to which a hydraulic fracturing fluid is communicated to a wellhead, the apparatus including a fracturing tree connected to the wellhead and into which the hydraulic fracturing fluid is adapted to flow, a fluid conduit connected to the fracturing tree and through which the hydraulic fracturing fluid is adapted to flow before flowing into the fracturing tree, the fluid conduit defining a straight fluid flow path, and a zipper module connected to the fluid conduit and out of which the hydraulic fracturing fluid is adapted to flow before flowing through the fluid conduit. The hydraulic fracturing fluid flows along the straight fluid flow path of the fluid conduit upon flowing out of the zipper module, and continues to so flow along the straight fluid flow path until the hydraulic fracturing fluid flows into the fracturing tree.

In oil or gas operations, hydraulic fracturing systems may be used to fracture one or more subterranean formations by conveying pressurized hydraulic fracturing fluid to one or more wellbores traversing the subterranean formation(s), the wellbore(s) each having a wellhead located at the surface termination thereof. These hydraulic fracturing systems require temporary surface lines, valves, and manifolds (collectively referred to as "frac iron") to deliver the hydraulic fracturing fluid from mixing and pumping equipment to one or more fracturing trees connected to the respective wellhead(s). For example, a fracturing manifold may be used to communicate the hydraulic fracturing fluid to multiple fracturing trees. In addition, a pressurization manifold may be used to communicate the hydraulic fracturing fluid to the fracturing manifold from multiple hydraulic fracturing pumps. Many hydraulic fracturing systems utilize conventional frac iron connected to, from, or between: each of the various components of the fracturing manifold, the pressurization manifold and the fracturing manifold, each of the various components of the pressurization manifold, and/or each of the fracturing trees and the fracturing manifold. This conventional frac iron is overly complex and creates a multitude of issues at the work site including, but not limited to, excessive setup time and labor costs, limited adjustability, safety risks associated with potential leak points, and decreased pumping efficiency. In extreme cases, conventional frac iron may decrease the effectiveness of fracturing operations, thereby presenting a problem for operators dealing with challenges such as, for example, continuous duty operations, harsh downhole environments, and multiple extended-reach lateral wells, among others. Therefore, what is needed is an apparatus, system, or method to address one or more of the foregoing issues, and/or one or more other issues.


An automatic control system for tracking servo unbalance of optical disc player, which comprises first and second variable gain amplifiers, first and second photodetectors, a differential amplifier having resistors and capacitor, a direct current detector, a digital storing unit having an A/D/ converter, a ROM, a D/A converter, and an analog switch whereby the tracking servo unbalance is automatically eliminated upon manufacturing a CD player as well as the direct current detector and digital storing unit can be integrated so that cost is down and improvement of reliability is obtained.

The present invention relates to an optical disc player, and particularly, to an automatic control system for a tracking servo unbalance of optical disc player which determines automatically a value for making a tracking servo unbalance zero and storing this value digitally thereby eliminating tracking unbalance in an usual playback operation.
General in a compact disc, a signal is recorded on a track arranged helically in a direction from an inner side toward an outer side, of which distance between adjacent tracks; i.e., track pitch of a high density, is about 1.6 .mu.m.
Compact disc player (CDP) irradiates with a laser beam from a pick-up device to a disc by focusing thereto and converting the quantity of the light reflected therefrom into an electric signal, thereby reading the signal. It is required to control the position of the laser beam to be incident on the track of turning disc.
On the other hand, a motor for turning a compact disc causes a phenomenon that moves the track inwardly and outwardly at the time of turning and therefore, the pick-up follows this and a device controls to be positioned on a proper track which is called a tracking servo. A servo error signal for informing how much deviation from an optimum state occurred is required for all servos which the compact disc player applies various optical methods to produce, however a typical method of producing the tracking servo error is known as a three-beam system.
FIG. 1 is a diagram for illustrating a principle on a three-beam system of a conventional optical disc player. As shown in FIG. 1, laser beam from a light source is divided into a number of beams by utilizing a grating which is within the interior of pick-up, and thereafter a major beam M having an intensity of greatest light quantity is positioned on a track CH0 recorded with desired signal, and sub-beams E and F provided at both sides of major beam M are positioned so as only one part of it is superposed on the track CH0.
At this moment, the beams M, E and F reflected from the disc, as shown in FIG. 2, reach the photodetectors 1-3, and a current corresponding to the light intensity is produced for each beam. The currents produced from the said photodetectors 1 and 3 are respectively applied to a variable resistor VR1, a resistor R1 and inverse terminals of operational amplifiers OP1 and OP2, thereby being converted to voltages of magnitude proportional to those currents respectively. The variable resistor VR1 is used for adjusting the disproportion of current conversion of the photodetector 1 according to the arranging error of optical parts and the like, and the outputs of the operational amplifiers OP1 and OP2 are differentially amplified through an operational amplifier OP3 whereby being used as tracking serve error signal.
On the other hand, since the sub-beams E and F are partly irradiated onto the track CH0, the interference effect from the signals decreases the reflected light quantity. Assuming that the voltages converted by the operational amplifiers OP1 and OP2 are values of V.sub.EO and V.sub.FO, when the laser beams E, M and F are moved toward the direction A whereby being out of the track CH0 in this state, the beam E covers more of into the track CH0 and accordingly, the reflected light quantity is further decreased by the interference and dispersion of the signal whereby the produced current according to the photodetoctor 1 is decreased and converted into negative(-) sensitivity of voltage through the operational amplifier OP1, and therefore as shown in FIG. 3A, the magnitude is increased toward the arrow.
Simultaneously with this, the coverage of the beam F gets with respect to the track CH0 is decreased whereby the effect of the reflected light quantity according to the signal is reduced, and therefore the magnitude of voltage V.sub.FO converted into negative (-) component by the operational amplifier OP2 is decreased toward the arrow as shown in FIG. 3B. At this moment the tracking servo error of output by the operational amplifier OP3 is decreased toward the arrow 1, as shown in FIG. 3C.
When the beams E, M and F are further deviated toward A, the beam F covers the adjacent track CH1 and since the beam E gets no longer covers the track CH0, each reflected light quantity and conversion current and voltage accordingly is reversed with above-described case and therefore, the output tracking servo error is increased toward arrow 2, as shown in FIG. 3C. When the laser beam is further out of position and approaches the track CH1 closer than the track CH0, the coverage of the beam F with respect to the track CH1, is decreased and since the beam E covers the track CH1, the output tracking servo error is decreased toward arrow 3 as shown in FIG. 3C and finally arrives directly on the track CH1. That is, every time covering one track and covering the next track, the tracking servo error cycles one period of a sine wave, as shown in FIG. 3C.
The voltages V.sub.n and V.sub.p as shown in FIG. 3C affect the control power of the tracking servo, and the greater this magnitude, the stronger the control power is but if the voltages V.sub.EO and V.sub.FO are not the same by the optical parts or the photodetectors 1 and 3 and the like, the magnitudes of voltages V.sub.p and V.sub.n becomes unequal whereby an unbalance is produced in the control of the tracking servo.
Such unbalanced condition affects the stability of tracking servo, and particularly, when a factor of unstability occurs due to the external disturbance, it exerts a bad influence on the stability of the tracking servo and this is generally called an offset or an unbalance of tracking servo. In order to eliminate such unbalance, a variable resistor VR1 for determining the voltages V.sub.EO and V.sub.FO, the conversion sensitivity of the operational amplifiers OP1 and OP2, is adjusted and thereby controlled at the product adjusting process.
Consequently, in the tracking error adjustment process according to the three-beam system of conventional optical disc player, since the manual adjustment process is required in the production process, there have been disadvantages that the system is weak in viewpoint of productivity and cost, and that the required value of the variable resistor fluctuates according to the external vibration or temperature and the like.

Automatic control system for a tracking servo unbalance of optical disk player


Various image-capturing systems are disclosed that use polarized filters to reduce or control glare effects on captured images. In one embodiment, the system includes a light source, a first polarized filter adapted to polarize light emanating from the light source; a second polarized filter adapted to perform polarized filtering on received light; and an image-capturing device adapted to receive the filtered light. In another embodiment, the system further includes an actuator to selectively move any of the polarized filter into and out of the light path. In yet another embodiment, a method of forming a resultant image comprises recording a first image with a filter set to a first polarization angle, recording a second image with the filter set to a second polarization angle, and blending the first and second images. The recording of the first and second images may be performed simultaneously or at different times.

Photography is an immensely popular activity. The works of professional still-picture photographers are illustrated everyday in newspapers, magazines, and advertisements, and the works of professional moving-picture photographers are present in television and films. Countless amateur photographers take pictures to capture many life's events. Further, with recent technological advances in cameras, along with accompanying price drops, even the most mundane activities and events are now recorded.
An early problem encountered in photography was glare directly from the Sun or by way of reflective objects. A small portion of sunlight is polarized when it passes through our atmosphere. The atmospheric haze as well as the polarized light reflected by objects cause glare that is then recorded in images taken by still-picture or video cameras. In some cases, this glare may be undesirable and can adversely affect the clarity of the taken images.
To address the problem of unwanted glare, certain types of polarized filters are used in photography to reduce glare. A portion of the light received from the sun is polarized generally in the horizontal direction. Most polarized filters used on cameras have a vertical polarization axis, i.e., they are configured to pass light polarized in the vertical direction, and block light polarized in the horizontal direction. Accordingly, these polarized filters can remove some of the atmospheric haze and reflected sunlight, leading to a reduction in unwanted glare.
However, the use of polarized filters does not protect well against glare emanating from most man-made light sources, such as camera light sources including flash sources and spot light sources. Light from a flash or lamp is typically not polarized. When light from a camera is reflected off a reflective object, such as a window, mirror, or even skin, it is not polarized. Accordingly, camera polarized filters cannot effectively reduce glare caused by most man-made light sources. Thus, the image taken is susceptible to impaired image quality due to glare emanating from camera light sources.

Camera glare reduction system and method


A fuel cell module includes a fuel cell stack, a partial oxidation reformer for reforming a mixed gas of a raw fuel and an oxygen-containing gas, a steam reformer for reforming a mixed gas of the raw fuel and water vapor, an evaporator for supplying water vapor to the steam reformer, a heat exchanger for raising the temperature of the oxygen-containing gas by heat exchange with a combustion gas, and an exhaust gas combustor for producing the combustion gas. A fuel gas discharge chamber of the steam reformer is connected to a fuel gas supply passage of the fuel cell stack through a fuel gas channel, a fuel gas outlet of the partial oxidation reformer is connected to a mixed gas supply chamber of the steam reformer through a fuel gas pipe, and a water vapor pipe extending from the evaporator is merged to the fuel gas pipe.

Typically, a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) employs a solid electrolyte of ion-conductive solid oxide such as stabilized zirconia. The electrolyte is interposed between an anode and a cathode to form an electrolyte electrode assembly (hereinafter also referred to as MEA). The electrolyte electrode assembly is interposed between separators (bipolar plates). In use, generally, predetermined numbers of the electrolyte electrode assemblies and the separators are stacked together to form a fuel cell stack.
Normally, a hydrogen gas produced from hydrocarbon based raw fuel by a reformer is used as a fuel gas supplied to the fuel cell. In the reformer, in general, a reformed gas (fuel gas) is produced, e.g., by applying partial oxidation reforming or steam reforming to such hydrocarbon based raw fuel, e.g., fossil fuel such as metal or LNG.
In this case, since the partial oxidation reformer induces exothermic reaction, the reaction can be started at relatively low temperature, and thus the start-up performance and the follow up performance are good. However, the reforming efficiency is poor.
In contrast, the steam reformer has good reforming efficiency. However, since the steam reformer induces endothermic reaction, the start-up performance and the follow up performance are poor at relatively low temperature.
In this regard, for example, a starting-up method as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-190605 (hereinafter referred to as Conventional Technique 1) is known. As shown in FIG. 9, Conventional Technique 1 relates to a method for starting-up a SOFC system equipped with a reformer 1a having a reforming catalyst, and an SOFC 2a which uses the reformed gas as a fuel.
The reformer 1a is provided in a manner that a reforming reaction tube 3a containing the reforming catalyst is disposed in a vessel 4a or runs through the vessel 4a. In the reforming reaction tube 3a, an upstream part thereof is filled with a partial oxidation reforming catalyst A and a downstream part thereof is filled with a steam reforming catalyst B, to form a reforming catalyst layered structure.
In the starting-up method, catalyst A having a partial oxidation reforming (POX) function and catalyst B having a steam reforming (SR) function are used. The method includes the steps of: increasing the temperature of catalyst A, by combustion heat or electricity, to a temperature at which POX reaction can proceed; increasing the temperature of catalyst B by POX reaction heat, increasing the temperature of SOFC 2a by feeding the reformed gas to an anode and heating catalyst B by combustion heat generated from combustion of a reformed gas discharged from the anode, or increasing the temperature of catalyst B by POX reaction heat, increasing the temperature of SOFC 2a by feeding a combustion gas produced from combustion of the reformed gas to a cathode and heating catalyst B by this combustion gas; and after catalyst B has been heated to a temperature at which SR reaction can proceed, reducing the proportion of POX reaction or stopping POX reaction and perform SR.
Further, as shown in FIG. 10, a fuel cell disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-293951 (hereinafter referred to as Conventional Technique 2) includes a body 1b of a solid oxide fuel cell, a first fuel gas supply system 2b for supplying a fuel gas to the anode side of the fuel cell body 1b at the time of power generation, a second fuel gas supply system 3b for supplying a small amount of the fuel gas as an oxidation-prevention gas to the anode side of the fuel cell body 1b during a period of starting operation of the fuel cell body 1b and a period in which operation of the fuel cell body 1b is stopped, and an oxygen-containing gas supply system 4b for supplying air as an oxygen-containing gas to the cathode side of the fuel cell body 1b all the time.
The fuel cell body 1b includes a fuel cell FC having a columnar shape formed by stacking a plurality of inter-connectors such that solid electrolytes with electrodes are positioned between the inter-connectors, a burner 5b for pre-heating the fuel cell FC during the period of starting operation, a heat exchanger 6b that is pre-heated together with the fuel cell FC during the period of starting operation and pre-heating the oxygen-containing gas by heat exchange of the exhaust gas discharged from the fuel cell FC with the oxygen-containing gas, and a steam reformer 7b and a partial oxidation reformer 8b as two types reformers. The steam reformer 7b and the partial oxidation reformer 8b are used in combination with the fuel cell FC, and pre-heated together with the fuel cell FC by the burner 5b or the like in the period of starting operation, and heated by heat produced in the fuel cell FC during power generation.
During power generation, the fuel gas required for power generation is supplied to the fuel cell body 1b at a large flow rate using the first fuel gas supply system 2b, and during the period of starting power generation and during the period where power generation is stopped, when the fuel cell body 1b goes through a cell oxidation temperature range, the fuel gas produced by partial oxidation reforming is supplied to the fuel cell body 1b at a small flow rate which is required for prevention of oxidation, by use of the second fuel gas supply system 3b.


Path planning for a robot is a compute intensive task. For a dynamic environment this is more cumbersome where position and orientation of objects changes often. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems and methods for context based path planning for vector navigation in hexagonal spatial maps. A 2-D environment is represented into a hexagonal grid map that includes hexagonal grid cells, objects are identified based on a comparison of RGB value associated with contiguous cells. Candidate contexts are determined based on objects identified. The hexagonal grid map is rotated at various angles and compared with pre-defined map(s) to determine quantitative measure of similarity for contexts identification from the candidate contexts, based upon which a path is dynamically planned for easy and efficient vector navigation within the hexagonal grid map. The embodiments further enable generating paths for different contexts using navigable common object(s) identified between intersections of the different contexts.

Robots (in general machines) today are being made artificially intelligent (AI) by using techniques like machine learning, deep learning, and the like. However main drawbacks of these genres of techniques are: firstly, they need huge volume of training data to be fed into the system so that the system learns a model about the data and its features; then this trained system can identify or take decision for new incoming data of same category. Secondly, if some features of the training data changes then the system need to be re-trained in order to work with new types of data. Since the volume of the required training data is huge and every time the system needs to be re-trained with new type of similar data, this kind of artificial intelligence technologies are not only very complex and time consuming but they also consume a lot of energy.

Context based path planning for vector navigation in hexagonal spatial maps


A self-protected divider bridge in an integrated circuit comprising a P.sup.- substrate, a N.sup.- well, a P region forming a resistor, diffused in said well. A first and a second outmost contact and an intermediate contact are formed on the diffused region. A pad connected to the first contact receives an external voltage higher than the supply voltage of the integrated circuit. The reference potential of the integrated circuit is connected to the second contact and the substrate. A third contact formed on the well close to the first contact is connected to the first contact, and a fourth contact formed on the well close to the second contact is connected to the second contact.

The present invention relates to the field of over-voltage protection of integrated circuits and in particular to the protection of a dividing bridge comprised in an integrated circuit and receiving on one of its terminals a voltage higher than the supply voltage of this integrated circuit. Such a dividing bridge constitutes an input range extender for an integrated circuit.
To better understand the problem that the invention aims at solving, FIG. 1 shows an example of an integrated circuit associated with a step up regulator.
In FIG. 1, reference 1 designates an integrated circuit supplied between supply terminals VDD and VSS, for example respectively at +3 V and ground. A step up regulator 2 is also supplied by the voltages VDD and VSS. The step up circuit 2 conventionally comprises, for example, a coil 3 serially connected with a diode 4 and a capacitor 5. The junction of coil 3 and diode 4 is also connected to ground through a pulse controlled switch 6. Accordingly, in a known manner, a voltage V.sub.H is obtained across capacitor 5, which reaches a value higher than voltage VDD, for example 25 V.
For regulating voltage V.sub.H at a constant value, the switch 6 has to be suitably controlled. Accordingly, voltage V.sub.H is measured, its value is compared with a reference value and the comparison result determines the operation of switch 6. This regulation function is carried out by a portion of the integrated circuit 1.
In this integrated circuit, it is possible to have a reference voltage V.sub.O that is comprised between VSS and VDD, for example 1.2 volt. For comparing V.sub.H and V.sub.O, the value V.sub.H has to be divided by a resistive bridge for obtaining a value V.sub.i which is normally equal to V.sub.O. Values V.sub.O and V.sub.i are compared by a comparator 7 which controls one of the inputs of a NAND gate 8, the other input of which receives for example a square signal, and the output of which controls switch 6.
A problem lies in the implementation of the dividing bridge comprising resistors R1 and R2. If this dividing bridge is external to the integrated circuit, there is no specific problem. However, it is generally wished to integrate as many components as possible. Therefore, as shown, R1 and R2 are preferentially arranged inside the integrated circuit and voltage V.sub.H is connected to a pad of the integrated circuit. This pad must be protected against possible overvoltages originating from the voltage step up regulator, for example electrostatic discharges. This type of protection raises a specific problem because, usually, in an integrated circuit, the pad protection circuits clamp overvoltages having a value higher than the high supply potential VDD while, in the specific considered case, voltages V.sub.H which are substantially higher than VDD should not be clamped.
Protection circuits that can be associated with pads receiving high voltages have already been devised in the prior art and for example comprise MOS transistors with a thick gate insulator. However, the implementation of such unusual components is complex.
Moreover, in the field of integrated circuits, for example CMOS integrated circuits, resistors can be in the form of polycristalline stripes deposited on the upper surface of the substrate and insulated therefrom by oxide layers. However, when these resistors receive on one of their terminals a high voltage, they cannot be made on thin oxide layers which would break through under such voltages. Additionally, even with thick oxide layers, voltages applied on those resistors could create capacitive effects with underlying regions of the substrate and could limit the operating frequency of the system. Another drawback of such polysilicon resistors is that they have a low resistance per square and cannot be used for high value resistors. In any case, it is necessary with such resistors to associate with the connection pad an overvoltage protection circuit.
Another conventional way to make resistors in an integrated circuit consists in using doped stripes diffused in the substrate.
An example of such a resistor is schematically shown in the partial section view of FIG. 2A and in the corresponding upper view of FIG. 2B. The resistor is made between contacts A and B of a P-type stripe 10 diffused in a low doped N-type well 11, in turn formed in a low doped P-type substrate 12. An intermediate contact C on stripe 10 between contacts A and B constitutes an intermediate tap. Conventionally, well 10 is biased at the high supply potential VDD by a contact formed on a high doped region 13 arranged at the periphery of the well or at least close to the high potential contact on the stripe. The substrate 12 is biased at the low supply potential VSS. The contacts on the low doped regions are formed through areas of the same conductivity type with a higher doping level. In this conventional implementation, the resistor is insulated by the junction between regions 10 and 11 but this insulation is possible only if voltage V.sub.H remains lower than voltage VDD plus the forward voltage drop of a diode. As soon as V.sub.H gets higher than VDD, junction 10/11 is forward biased and there is no longer an insulation. This conventional implementation is thus not suitable for implementing resistors R1 and R2 in the circuit of FIG. 1.
Accordingly, for making resistors of the type of resistors R1 and R2, polysilicon resistors have conventionally been used with the above mentioned drawbacks.


The present invention uses a software program to analyze all of the SS7 message traffic in a telephone network. By comparing point codes in the message data, the present invention can detect invalid and undesirable network inefficiencies in different types of telephone networks, including for example, wireline, wireless, or hybrid networks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of telecommunications. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for detecting errors that cause inefficient telephone network operation.
2. Background of Invention
SS7 is an out-of-band signaling system for the exchange of call-related information between network switching offices, in support of voice and nonvoice services. SS7 messages are exchanged between network elements over bi-directional channels called signaling links. SS7 messaging allows flexibility in providing telephone services. Numerous services such as caller ID, call forwarding, and call conferencing are made possible or greatly enhanced by SS7 messaging. However, SS7 messaging can also give rise to a number of network inefficiencies and trouble conditions. For example, invalid conditions can that consume telephone network resources without providing any benefit to the telephone network. Valid, but undesirable telecommunications events, can waste network resources. Examples of these conditions include call looping, misrouted traffic, unreported mass calling, and excessive redialing.
A call looping condition occurs when a telephone call originated by a calling party to a called party loops between an originating end office and a terminating end office one or more times. Such looping conditions can occur for a number of reasons. One common reason is errors in translations tables that are provisioned in end offices of the telephone network.
A common source of call looping occurs when a first telephone company uses a second telephone company to perform some or all of the first telephone company's call routing. The second telephone company routes its own numbers as well as those numbers sent to it by the first telephone company according to routing tables established in a switch of the second telephone company.
If the first telephone company incorrectly activates an NPA-NXX, a call looping condition can occur. For example, the first telephone might activate a particular NPA-NXX for testing purposes, but not isolate it from the rest of the system. In that case, if a subscriber of the first telephone company misdials a telephone number and dials the NPA-NXX that was activated for testing purpose, the second telephone company would not have been previously advised that it was responsible for routing the NPA-NXX. As a result, the second company's routing tables would indicate that the first telephone company is responsible for routing the telephone call. When the second telephone company receives the NPA-NXX for routing, it consults its routing tables, and sees that the NPA-NXX is assigned to the first telephone company. As a result, it will return the telephone call to the first telephone company for routing. The first telephone company receives the telephone call, and sends it back to the second telephone company for routing. The call is sent back on another trunk, without releasing the first trunk as the call has not been established. This process continues, thereby creating a call loop.
Moreover, multiple trunks are devoted to the looping calls, resulting in inefficiency in the network. For example, when all lines in the trunk are used, the looping condition results in a reorder, meaning the calling party hears a busy signal, and has to redial the called number. Moreover, if the looping calls ties up all the trunks provisioned for the first telephone company then for the duration of the looping call, subscribers of the first telephone company are not be able to make any outbound calls. Often such looping conditions go undetected, because a call could ultimately be routed to the desired called party after several looping iterations. As a result, calling parties do not complain about inability to make calls.
A misrouted traffic condition occurs when a call originated by a calling party to a called party is directed to one or more tandem switches that are not normally involved in completing the call. For example, in a metropolitan area that has five tandem switches, namely, Tandem Switches A through E, a call originating from an originating end office associated with Tandem Switch A to a terminating end office associated with Tandem Switch E desirably uses a trunk linking Tandem Switch A to Tandem Switch E. The misrouted traffic condition occurs when Tandem Switch A, instead of routing the call to Tandem Switch E, misroutes the call to one or more of Tandem Switches B, C, and D. For example, the call may be misrouted such that it "snakes" from Tandem Switch A to Tandem Switch B, from Tandem Switch B to Tandem Switch C, from Tandem Switch C to Tandem Switch D, and finally from Tandem Switch D to Tandem Switch E, using up resources of four trunks, rather than just one. This type of misrouted traffic condition is sometimes referred to as a snaking condition.
A mass calling event occurs when multiple calling parties call a common called party simultaneously, or within a short period of time. One example of such mass calling event is associated with radio station call-ins. For example, when a radio station conducts a survey or a contest during which the general public is invited to call the radio station immediately or within a specific time frame, thousands of telephone calls are originated by the radio station's listeners. As known in the art, such mass calling of a common called party causes significant stress to a telephone company's network, particularly if the radio station does not warn the telephone company ahead of time. Such mass calling events can, among other things, aggravate the call looping and misrouted traffic conditions described above.
An excessive redialing event occurs when a calling party, within a relatively short time frame, repeatedly dials one or more called numbers. For example, excessive redialing can occur when a calling party repeatedly dials the same called number until connected. Redialing can be accomplished either manually or by invoking a feature of the telephone set used by the calling party. Excessive redialing can also occur when the calling party sequentially dials a number of called numbers. This can happen, for example, during a telemarketing campaign in which a computer is used to dial a large number of potential customers' telephone numbers. As known in the art, such excessive redialing causes significant stress to the telephone company's network. Accordingly, these invalid and undesirable conditions use up valuable network resources. Moreover, the cost to telephone companies to diagnose and repair such problems can be significant.
A conventional way to prevent the call looping condition described above is to use a switch-based "hop counter." Such a switch-based hope counter ensures that a message is not excessively delayed in arriving at the destination. The basic operation of the hop counter is as follows. A telephone network provisions a hop counter at a switch. The hop count is set to a count (e.g., 10) to track the number of times a particular call is looped through the switch. Each time a call is looped back to the switch, the hop counter count is decremented by one. If the hop counter count reaches 0 the call is dropped to prevent an excessive looping condition. As known in the art, the hop counter does not help detect the root cause of the looping condition. For example, the hop counter technology that exists today is not capable of finding errors in translation tables which may cause the looping condition. Moreover, the hop counter technology is not available to all telephone companies. As a result, these telephone companies cannot prevent call looping using a hop counter.

System and method for detecting SS7 messaging inefficiency


A device for compacting a sliver (V) on a spinning machine has a driven, revolving compaction element (17) that is acted on by suction air and which has a drive element (28, 29) that, in an operating position, forms a drive connection with a driven element (7, 7z) of the spinning machine while forming a first gearing stage (G1). To make the drive of the compaction device more flexible, a second gearing stage (G2) is provided between the drive element (28, 29) of the compaction element (17) of the first gearing stage (G1) and the compaction element (17).

Numerous designs are already known in practice, wherein for compacting the fiber material (fiber strand) discharged by a drafting system unit, a compaction unit is situated downstream. Following such a compaction unit, the compacted fiber material, after passing through a nip point, is fed to a twist generation device. Such a twist generation device in a ring spinning machine, for example, is composed of a traveler that revolves on a ring, and the yarn produced is wound onto a rotating bobbin. Suctioned revolving, perforated suction drums or revolving aprons provided with perforations are essentially used as compaction units. A specialized suction area on the compaction element is thus defined by using appropriate inserts inside the suction drum or inside the revolving apron. These types of inserts may be provided, for example, with appropriately shaped suction slits to which a negative pressure is applied, thus generating a corresponding air flow at the periphery of the particular compaction element. In particular, protruding fibers are incorporated as a result of this air flow, which is oriented essentially transversely with respect to the direction of transport.
These types of devices have been illustrated and described in the publications EP 947 614 B1, DE 10 2005 010 903 A1, DE 198 46 268 C2, EP 1 612 309 B1, DE 100 18 480 A1, and CN 1712588 A, for example. These cited publications essentially involve fixedly mounted compaction units which are installed following the particular drafting system. The drive of these compaction units is sometimes achieved via specialized drive shafts that are situated over the length of the spinning machine and that are in drive connection with either a suction roller or a revolving apron. Likewise, the drive of the compaction unit may be achieved via a fixedly mounted drive connection to pressure rollers that rest on the compaction unit and by means of which the drive is transmitted to the compaction unit via friction. Furthermore, examples of drives are found in the exemplary embodiments of the cited publications, wherein the drive of the compaction unit is achieved via additional drive elements of the top and bottom rollers of the pair of delivery rollers of the drafting system unit.
Designs are also known in which conventional drafting systems may be retrofitted with such a compaction device. One such example is found in DE 102 27 463 C1, for example, in which the punch of the drafting system unit is extended in order to support an additional drive roller provided for the drive of the retrofitted compaction device, which is likewise supported on this extension. The drive roller extends over the entire length of the spinning machine.
A design is known from CN 101613896 A in which an additional element is screwed to the punch for extending the punch of the drafting system. Also described in this exemplary embodiment is a gearing stage having gear pairs via which the drive of an additional compaction device is to be achieved. This device is also relatively complicated to install and inflexible regarding the selection of certain gear ratios.
In practice, it is necessary, depending on the fiber material to be processed and the design of the compaction device, to adapt the peripheral speed of the compaction element (revolving suction drum or apron) to the peripheral speed of the pair of delivery rollers of the drafting system in order to obtain the desired compacting of the yarn. This also depends largely on the geometry of the suction slit used inside the compaction element. In many cases it is advantageous for the peripheral speed of the compaction element to be less than the peripheral speed of the delivery rollers of the drafting system in order to obtain compression of the material in the area of the suction slit. In other cases, the converse is advantageous.
A design of a compaction device is known from DE 100 50 089 C2 which is provided for retrofitting of a conventional drafting system unit. A device is proposed that allows the drafting system unit to be retrofitted with a compaction device without additional drive members. Different designs of compaction devices are disclosed in the exemplary embodiments of the cited publication. For its drive, this compaction device lies, for example, with a partial area of its periphery on the driven top roller of the pair of delivery rollers of the drafting system unit. In another disclosed design, deflection rollers connected to the compaction device are in frictional contact with the top roller of the pair of delivery rollers of the drafting system unit in order to accept the drive from the top roller.
A certain gear ratio may be specified by use of this drive device. That is, a gear multiplication or gear reduction may thus be specified. However, if it is necessary to change the gear ratio (for example, when the fiber material is exchanged), this drive device is inflexible and requires a greater expenditure of time to make this change.

Drive device for a compaction device on a spinning machine


Disclosed examples include multiple output DC to DC converters with a buck converter including a half bridge switching circuit and transformer primary winding to provide a first output voltage signal, as well as a boost converter to provide an isolated second output voltage signal. The boost converter includes a transformer secondary winding magnetically coupled with the primary winding to provide a boost converter inductor, a switching circuit, an output diode providing the second output voltage signal, and a PWM controller that synchronizes the boost converter switching with the low side switch of the buck converter based on a sensed voltage of the transformer secondary winding.

Power conversion circuits or power converters are used to convert input power to deliver output power to drive a load. Multiple output converters deliver two or more outputs, such as output voltage signals to drive separate loads, typically by converting power from a single input source or supply. In many applications, it is desirable to provide two or more isolated output voltages from a single converter. Line regulation is desirable to control the converter output voltages in the presence of potentially wide variation in the input supply voltage received by the converter, and thus it is often desirable to provide some form of regulation for both outputs. When one of the multiple outputs is isolated, namely the second, providing feedback for regulating the second converter output across an isolation barrier is impractical in many applications due to cost and/or size constraints.

Regulated multiple output isolated DC to DC converter