Provided herein are methods for measuring wave aberrations of the eye. Retinal scattered radiation from a probing laser beam is detected, the wave front tilt is measured as first partial derivatives along known coordinates in a discrete set of the pupil points, the wave front is approximated from this data as functions of the pupil coordinates and the wave aberrations of the eye are thereby calculated. Partial derivatives are determined at any pupil point by spline approximation using the values in a discrete number of points in which the wave front tilts are measured. This set of points may be located along concentric circles or along one of the orthogonal axes. The wave front is reconstructed using numerical integration along the radii with the initial integration point in the center of the pupil. Wave aberrations are calculated from wave front data reconstructed in the form of splines.

The invention relates to medical instrumentation, in particular to diagnostic measuring devices, and can be applied, for example, for high-accuracy vision correction.
Methods are known for measuring the wave aberrations of the optical system of the human eye as a function of spatial pupil coordinates. Said methods use probing the eye with a thin laser beam, its backscattering by the retina, detection of the component exiting from the eye by means of photosensitive devices, and measurement of the wave front tilt in different pupil points with known coordinates. These data are used for the wave front approximation and calculation of the wave aberration of the eye as wave front deformations.
Some methods use measurement of the wave front structure at the exit of the eye simultaneously in time by means of partitioning this structure into subapertures (D. R. Williams, et al. Rapid, automatic measurement of the eye's wave aberrations. U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,986. Int. Cl. A61B 3/10, 13.03.2001). Subapertures are formed using a matrix of coaxial lenses and a matrix of position sensing photodetectors installed in their foci. The wave front is reconstructed from the measured set of tilts simultaneously in all subapertures.
Ray tracing method for measuring the wave front and refraction aberrations successively in time (V. V. Molebny, et al. Device for measuring refraction aberrations of the eye. (Ukrainian Patent Application No. 98105286, now Patent No. 46833, Int. Cl. A61B 3/00, A61B 3/10, A61B 3/14, filed Oct. 7, 1998), is also known. According to this method, the eye is probed by a thin laser beam (its cross-section at the eye entrance is 0.2-0.3 mm), shifted in parallel to itself over the entrance aperture of the eye successively in time, the coordinates of the points on the retina, to which the laser beam is projected, are measured at each probing. Said data obtained in a discrete set of points of the eye aperture are used to calculate the wave front tilt in these points and then approximate the entire wave front surface.
Both of the above mentioned methods use the approximation of the wave front using a series of Zernike polynomials. The use of said series results in some restrictions, which lead to non-uniform spatial resolution when describing the refraction non-homogeneity over the eye aperture. Thus, in the central zone, which is the most significant for the acuity of vision, spatial resolution is lower than in the peripheral zone if describing the refraction non-homogeneity by means of Zernike polynomials.
To obtain a higher spatial resolution in the center, the number of polynomials must be increased, therefore, measurements in the larger number of aperture points are required, not only in the center but also at the periphery, making the procedure of measurement more complicated: radiation exposure of the eye is increased, calculation process becomes significantly longer and more complicated (the number of equations increases to a few hundreds).
Both above mentioned methods are equivalent from the point of view of wave front approximation using the series of Zernike polynomials. Each method can be regarded as a prototype. Let us take the ray tracing principle for a prototype.

Method for measuring the wave aberrations of the eye


A memory device operable in either of a Secure Digital operational mode and an NVMe operational mode includes password conversion logic to enable the memory device user-mode memory blocks to be accessed in the NVMe operational mode after the memory device was locked in the Secure Digital operational mode.

Secure Digital refers to both a non-volatile memory card format developed by the Secure Digital Card Association (SDA) for use in portable devices such as solid state drives (SSDs), and protocols for interacting with such devices. Secure Digital includes, presently, five card families available in three different sizes. The five families are the original Standard-Capacity (SDSC), the High-Capacity (SDHC), the eXtended-Capacity (SDXC), the Ultra-Capacity (SDUC) and the SDIO, which combines input/output functions with data storage. The three form factors are the original size, the mini size, and the micro size. Herein the term "Secure Digital operational mode' refers to protocols for interacting with Secure Digital devices prior to the introduction of the NVMe operational mode in newer devices. The NVMe protocol/NVMe operational mode is a communications standard/protocol developed specially for Secure Storage Devices by a consortium of vendors including Intel, Samsung, SanDisk, Dell, and Seagate. It operates across the PCIe bus (hence the 'Express' in the name), which allows the drives to act more like the fast semiconductor non-volatile memory that they primarily are, rather than the hard disks they imitate.
Memory devices supporting the Secure Digital operational mode are required to support lock and unlock operations for restricting or allowing user-mode access to data stored by the memory device. A host device the interfaces with a solid state drive may lock the memory device using a password and later unlock the memory device using the same password.
SDExpress is a newer standard for memory devices. SDExpress memory devices support both the Secure Digital protocol and non-volatile memory express (NVMe) protocol. Only one protocol is selected as the operational protocol of such memory devices at any given time, with the selection made during a power-on-reset (booting) of the memory device. A host device will be denied access to stored data in user-mode memory blocks of the memory device when the SDExpress memory device is booted in NVMe operational mode, but was previously locked while in Secure Digital operational mode. The term 'user-mode' refers to an operational mode in which an authorized user of a Secure Digital memory device (typically a person or application interacting with the device via a host device) may read and/or write data to (non-hidden or 'user-mode memory blocks' of the device, depending on permissions.
FIG. 1 illustrates such a process 100 for a solid state drive 112. The solid state drive 112 is first booted in the Secure Digital operational mode 102 and then locked (SSD lock 104). Optionally, the SSD lock 104 may involve physically detaching the solid state drive 112 from a host device, e.g., unplugging or ejecting the solid state drive 112 (remove and reconnect SSD 106). However, it is not necessary in all implementations to remove and reconnect a solid state drive in order to lock the device. Next, the solid state drive 112 is booted in the NVMe operational mode 108. At this point, because the solid state drive 112 was previously locked in the Secure Digital operational mode 102, data read and write commands to the solid state drive 112 will fail (read/write failure 110).

Method to unlock a secure digital memory device locked in a secure digital operational mode


Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for remediating an instance of a visual notification interfering with an output of an application on a display device of an electronic device. An instance of a visual notification is identified on a display device. The visual notification is determined to be interfering with the output of the application on the display device. User response to the output of the application is monitored. An assessment is made, based on the monitoring, of an effectiveness of the output of the application. It is determined, based on the assessment, that there exists a failure of the effectiveness of the output of the application. A remediation action is performed in response to the determined failure. The remediation action may include removal of the instance of the visual notification, terminating a parent process of the instance of the visual notification, or restarting the electronic device.

Display screens are used in many environments today, including for posting of flight statuses at airports, train statuses at rail stations, menus of fast food restaurants, etc. These "digital signage" screens may display important information to the viewer. An airport flight status screen, for example, is where viewers can get information, via output of an application, about whether their flight is on time or there has been a gate change. Without this information readily available, people could miss their flights. Sometimes, there is a problem with the electronic device that controls output to the screen. This may cause the electronic device to display an error, warning, or other message over the output, blocking view of the output, for example, flight statuses. There exists a need to improve output display.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Remediating interference of an instance of a visual notification with an output of an application on a display device

International Business Machines Corporation


A position detecting apparatus comprises a motion detecting section for generating a pulse when a carriage passes each of coordinate points set in a reciprocal movement span thereof at a predetermined pitch, and a counting section for storing position data representing an initial position of the carriage in advance, incrementing the position data in response to a pulse which is generated by the motion detecting section when the carriage is moved in the forward direction, and decrementing the position data in response to a pulse which is generated by the motion detecting section when the carriage is moved in the backward direction. Particularly, the position detecting apparatus further comprises a position data correcting section for controlling the counting section to correct the position data when the carriage is moved in the backward direction so that the position data represents a position shifted in the forward direction by a predetermined amount and to cancel the correction when the carriage is moved in the forward direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a serial printer having a carriage for conveying a print head and, more particularly, to a position detecting apparatus for detecting a current position of the carriage to control the drive timing of the print head.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical serial printer is arranged as follows. A carriage having a print head thereon is moved parallel to a platen, and the print head is driven according to print data while a paper sheet on the platen is scanned by the print head which moves together with the carriage. Such a printer comprises a position detecting apparatus to control the drive timing of the print head. This position detecting apparatus detects a current position of the carriage while the carriage is moved back and forth according to the rotation of a carriage motor, and generates position data representing the current position of the carriage. The print head is driven upon update of the position data obtained from the position detecting apparatus.
The position detecting apparatus has a linear encoder for generating an output signal which changes in level when a portion of the carriage passes each of coordinate points set in the platen span at a predetermined pitch, a pulse generator for generating a pulse in response to a level change in the output signal from the linear encoder, and a counter for counting the number of pulses generated by the pulse generator. In the initial state, the counter retains, e.g., "1" as position data representing the home position of the carriage. The position data is incremented by "1" in response to a pulse which is generated by the pulse generator when the carriage is moved forward, and is decremented by "1" in response to a pulse which is generated by the pulse generator when the carriage is moved backward.
The position detecting apparatus has the following drawback in a case where the serial printer is of an ink-jet type and performs a bi-directional printing. Generally, a serial printer of this type prints dots by injecting ink from the print head toward a paper sheet. Since the print head cannot immediately inject ink after it is driven, the printing position is deviated due to the movement of the carriage during the time lag.
FIG. 1(a) shows the position of the carriage at which the output signal of the linear encoder changes in level, FIG. 1(b) shows position data output from the position detecting apparatus when the carriage is moved forward, and FIG. 1(c) shows position data output from the position detecting apparatus when the carriage is moved backward. The position detecting apparatus outputs common position data n when the carriage passes a position P1 in its forward movement and when the carriage passes a position P2 in its backward movement. When the printer drives the print head at the timing the position data n is obtained, the print head prints dots at a position R1 or R2. (R1 denotes the position of dots printed in the forward movement of the carriage, and R2 denotes the position of dots printed in the backward movement of the carriage.) Since the printing position of dots changes depending on the moving direction of the carriage, it is difficult to align characters or symbols formed of the printed dots in the paper feed direction.


This invention provides a feedstock for improving the lactational performance of dairy cows. An essential feature of the feedstock is a dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) with a value between about 20-60 meq/100 g dietary DM. Other essential features of the feedstock are an atomic ratio of potassium:sodium between about 1-5:1, and a weight ratio of potassium:magnesium between about 3-5:1.

This invention generally relates to macromineral dietary factors with respect to ruminant nutrition. More specifically this invention relates to the effect of dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) on the health and lactational performance of dairy cattle.
Dietary macromineral elements are necessary for proper health and productive performance of lactating dairy cows. As a class of nutrients, these elements have been the subject of extensive research, and considerable information exists about individual effects of each micromineral element. Information on interrelationships of macromineral elements in diets for lactating dairy cows is relatively limited.
An early publication was the first to propose that mineral interrelations were related to acid-base status [J. Biol. Chem., 58, 235 (1922)]. It was proposed further that maintenance of normal acid-base equilibrium required excretion of excess dietary cations and anions. It was hypothesized that consumption of either excess mineral cations relative to anions or excess anions relative to cations resulted in acid-base disturbances in animals (A. T. Shohl. Mineral Metabolism. Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York. 1939).
Once animal nutritionists began to test this hypothesis, mineral interrelationships were found to affect numerous metabolic processes, and there was evidence that mineral interrelationships had profound influences. It was theorized that for an animal to maintain its acid-base homeostasis, input and output of acidity had to be maintained. It was shown that net acid intake was related to the difference between dietary cations and anions. The monovalent macromineral ions Na, K and Cl were found to be the most influential elements in the interrelationship (P. Mongin. Page 1, Third Ann. Int. Mineral Conf. Orlando, Fla. 1980).
Nutrient metabolism in animals results in the degradation of nutrient precursors into strong acids and bases. In typical rations fed to dairy cattle, inorganic cations exceed dietary inorganic anions by several milliequivalents (meq) per day. Carried with excess dietary inorganic cations are organic anions which can be combusted to HCO3xe2x88x92. Consequently, a diet with excess inorganic cations relative to inorganic anions is alkaline, and a diet with excess inorganic anions relative to cations is acidogenic.
Chloride is the most acidogenic element to be considered. An excess of dietary chloride can lead to a respiratory and/or metabolic acidosis. This is critical in ruminant nutrition because of salt (NaCl) feeding both in the diet and on an ad libitum basis. The acidogenic influence of chloride can be negated by sodium and potassium which are alkalogenic elements. Conversely, excess intake of sodium or potassium can induce metabolic alkalosis.
Blood pH ultimately is determined by the number of cation and anion charges absorbed in the blood. If more anions than cations enter the blood from the digestive tract, blood pH will decrease. It was proposed that a three-way interrelationship among dietary Na, K and Cl, i.e., the sum of Na plus K minus Cl [in meq per 100 g diet of dry matter (DM)], could be used to predict net acid intake. The term xe2x80x9cdietary cation-anion difference (DCAD)xe2x80x9d was coined to represent the mathematical calculation (W. K. Sanchez and D. K. Beede. Page 31, Proc. Florida Rum. Nutr. Conf. Univ. of Florida. 1991). Expressed in its fullest form, DCAD is written as follows:
meq[(Na++K++Ca+2+Mg+2)xe2x88x92(Clxe2x88x92+SO4xe2x88x922+PO4xe2x88x923)]/100 g of dietary dry matter (DM).
A problem with including the multivalent macrominerals (Ca, Mg, P and S) in the DCAD expression for ruminants relates to the variable and incomplete bioavailability of these ions compared to Na, K and Cl. The expression employed most often in non-ruminant nutrition is the monovalent cation-anion difference:
meq(Na++K+xe2x88x92Clxe2x88x92)/100 g dietary DM
Because of the additional use of sulfate salts in prepartum rations, the expression that has gained most acceptance in ruminant nutrition is as follows:
meq(Na++K+)xe2x88x92(Clxe2x88x92+SO4xe2x88x922)/100 g dietary DM
For a calculation, mineral concentration are first converted to milliequivalents:       meq              /            100              xe2x80x83            g    =                    (        milligrams        )                          xe2x80x83                          (        valence        )                    (              g                          xe2x80x83                        atomic                          xe2x80x83                        weight            )
The following illustrates a calculation of the meq Na+Kxe2x88x92Clxe2x88x92S value of a diet with 0.18% Na, 1.0% K, 0.25% Cl and 0.2% S. There are 180 mg Na (0.18%=0.18 g/100 g or 180 mg/100 g), 1000 mg K (1.0% K), 250 mg Cl (0.25% Cl) and 200 mg S (0.2% S) per 100 g dietary DM. The SO4xe2x88x92 entity is calculated as atomic sulfur.             meq                    xe2x80x83                  Na        =                                        (                          180                                            xe2x80x83                                          mg                        )                                          xe2x80x83                                          (                          1                                            xe2x80x83                                          valence                        )                                    (                      23                                      xe2x80x83                                    g                                      xe2x80x83                                    atomic                                      xe2x80x83                                    weight                    )                    =              7.8                          xe2x80x83                        meq                          xe2x80x83                        Na                        meq                    xe2x80x83                  K        =                                        (                          1000                                            xe2x80x83                                          mg                        )                                          xe2x80x83                                          (                          1                                            xe2x80x83                                          valence                        )                                    (                      39                                      xe2x80x83                                    g                                      xe2x80x83                                    atomic                                      xe2x80x83                                    weight                    )                    =              25.6                          xe2x80x83                        meq                          xe2x80x83                        K                        meq                    xe2x80x83                  Cl        =                                        (                          250                                            xe2x80x83                                          mg                        )                                          xe2x80x83                                          (                          1                                            xe2x80x83                                          valence                        )                                    (                      35.5                                      xe2x80x83                                    g                                      xe2x80x83                                    atomic                                      xe2x80x83                                    weight                    )                    =              7.0                          xe2x80x83                        meq                          xe2x80x83                        Cl                        meq                    xe2x80x83                  S        =                                        (                          200                                            xe2x80x83                                          mg                        )                                          xe2x80x83                                          (                          2                                            xe2x80x83                                          valence                        )                                    (                      32                                      xe2x80x83                                    g                                      xe2x80x83                                    atomic                                      xe2x80x83                                    weight                    )                    =              12.5                          xe2x80x83                        meq                          xe2x80x83                        S
The calculated DCAD value is as follows:
meq(Na+Kxe2x88x92Clxe2x88x92S)=7.8+25.6xe2x88x927.0xe2x88x9212.5=13.9 meq/100 g dietary DM
A simpler expression is as follows:
xe2x80x83DCAD=(0.18% Na/0.023)+(1.0% K/0.039)xe2x88x92(0.25% Cl/0.0355)xe2x88x92(0.2% S/0.016)=+13.9 meq/100 g dietary DM
A study was conducted which was designed specifically to evaluate the effect of DCAD on acid-base status and lactational performance of dairy cattle. Diets formulated with xe2x88x9210, 0, +10 or +20 DCAD were compared. A diet with +20 improved dry matter intake (DMI) 11% and milk yield (MY) 9% compared with a xe2x88x9210 DCAD diet. Blood bicarbonate (HCO3xe2x88x92) increased linearly with increasing DCAD, which indicated an improvement in acid-base status with high DCAD compared with low DCAD. It was concluded that responses to increasing DCAD were independent of specific Na, K and Cl effects [J. Dairy Sci., 71, 346 (1988)].
Another study evaluated the influence of Na, K and Cl at constant DCAD. Diets were formulated to provide +32 DCAD in (1) a basal diet adequate in dietary Na, k and Cl; (2) a basal diet containing an additional 1.17% NaCl; and (3) a basal diet containing an additional 1.56% KCl. Fifteen midlactation cows were assigned to replicated 3xc3x973 Latin squares. The KCl-fed cows consumed more DM and had a lower milk fat percentage than NaCl-fed cows, but there were no differences in milk yield. It was concluded that dietary DCAD was a more important determinant of dietary impact on systemic acid-base status than actual dietary concentrations of Na, K and Cl [(J. Dairy Sci., 73, 3485 (1990)].
An extensive study was conducted with 48 cows and 15 dietary treatments to investigate lactational and acid-base responses to DCAD as [(Na+K)xe2x88x92(Cl+S)]. DCAD ranged from 0 to +50 [(Na+K)xe2x88x92(Cl+S)]/100 g dietary DM. The basal diet was 54.5% concentrate, 5.5% cottonseed hulls, and 40% corn silage (DM basis). Dry matter intake (DMI) and milk yield (MY) was highest when DCAD was between +17 to +38, and +25 to +40, respectively [J. Dairy Sci., 77, 1661 (1994)].
In another study three switchback experiments were conducted with 12 cows each in early, mid or late lactation. Increasing DCAD from +5.5 to +25.8 in early lactation, and from +14 to +37.3 in midlactation, increased DMI and milk production. These effects were not observed in late lactation with either +20 or +37.5 DCAD. The study results supported the concept that response to DCAD is affected by stages of lactation [J. Dairy Sci., 78, 2259 (1995)].
The cumulative DCAD studies also have indicated that dietary K has a unique role, particularly during heat stress in dairy cows. When potassium carbonate was the source of dietary K, a linear response to dietary K in heat stressed dairy cows was observed. Every 1% increase in K raised fat-corrected milk by 8.9 lbs/day [J. Dairy Sci., 69, 124 (1986); 70, 81 (1987); and 70, 309 (1987)].
The reported studies have established the DCAD concept as an important factor in diet regimen for dairy cows. There are contradictions in the overall DCAD data reported in the literature, so that salient DCAD considerations are incentive for continued investigation.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a method for improving the lactational performance of dairy cows.
It is another object of this invention to provide a method for DCAD control to increase the dry matter intake (DMI) of lactating dairy cows.
It is another object of this invention to provide a method for DCAD control to increase the milk yield (MY) of lactating dairy cows.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method for DCAD control to increase the blood bicarbonate (HCO3xe2x88x92) of lactating dairy cows.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention shall become apparent from the accompanying description and example.


In order to prevent exposure mismatch on a boundary between exposure regions that causes pattern connection defects (including stitch defects), exposure is performed twice or more on a whole exposure region of a glass substrate. The exposure method includes aligning a reticle in a scanning direction, exposing the reticle pattern onto the glass substrate, moving the glass substrate one-half of the width of the reticle, and exposing an exposure area twice by repeating the exposing and moving steps.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panel substrate fabrication, and more particularly to an exposure method and system for fabricating an LCD panel substrate without stitch defects.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The exposure apparatus used for fabricating a liquid crystal display device substrate is generally either a step-and-repeat apparatus or a step-and-scanning apparatus. The step-and-repeat apparatus sequentially exposes an exposure region of a unit cell, while the step-and-scanning apparatus transcribes a reticle or a mask pattern onto each exposure region of an array substrate by synchronously moving the reticle or the mask and a substrate in the same direction.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional projective exposure steppe-and-repeat apparatus for fabricating an LCD substrate. As shown in FIG. 1, an LCD pattern on a reticle or a mask (hereafter, "reticle") 103 is illuminated by an illuminating optical system 102, and is exposed onto a predetermined exposure area on a plate 106. The plate 106 is typically a rectangular glass substrate placed on an XY stage 105.
When a pattern is transferred by the exposure, the plate 106 is moved by a predetermined distance by moving the XY stage 105. The LCD pattern is then exposed onto a new exposure area. Thus, the process of exposing the LCD pattern may occur multiple times in multiple different locations on the plate 106.
When a new pattern from a new reticle is needed, the reticle 103 is exchanged for another reticle by the reticle exchanging mechanism 110. Again, the LCD pattern on the new reticle is sequentially exposed onto a predetermined exposure region a predetermined number of times. As a result, multiple reticle patterns are transferred to the plate 106 at multiple locations.
In the above-described step-and-repeat exposure apparatus, the position of the plate 106 on the XY stage 105 is correctly monitored by a laser interferometer 107, and the coordinates of the position are determined. The alignment of the reticle 103 is performed by a reticle alignment system 108, and the alignment of the plate 106 is performed by a plate alignment system 109.
FIG. 2 shows an example of four LCD substrate patterns transferred to the plate 106 by the exposure apparatus of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, in transferring the entire LCD substrate pattern, the overall pattern is divided into, for example, six pattern regions labeled A, B, C, D, E and F. At each boundary portion between patterns (as examples, boundary 202 or boundary 204), a small amount of overlap exposure is carried out as the patterns are exposed onto 6 different positions. In the example shown in FIG. 2, each pattern region A, B, C, D, E, and F is exposed through one of six different reticles that holds the appropriate pattern for the pattern region. The six patterns are generated by repeatedly exposing and replacing reticles, thereby forming an entire LCD substrate pattern, four of which are shown in FIG. 2.
In exposing a reticle according to the above-described method, there is often an alignment discrepancy that occurs at boundary portions between patterns. FIG. 3 shows two examples of alignment discrepancy that may result from alignment error of the reticle and the plate, the distortion of the projective optical system, and other imperfections in the system.
A examples, when a pattern to be transferred is subject to a rotation error, or when there is a positional error with respect to the positions of the patterns A and B to be transferred, then there is an alignment discrepancy at the boundary of the exposed patterns as shown in FIG. 3. An additional source of alignment discrepancy or overlap error is projection lens distortion in the system.
When any alignment error occurs, there arises the problem that the LCD substrate generated by the exposure process does not have the characteristics that it was designed to have. The LCD substrate is therefore unusable for an LCD display, and represents a waste of time and materials. Not only the step-and-repeat apparatus, but also the step-and-scanning apparatus experience the same problem.
Recently, LCD panels have significantly increased in size, but the size of the exposure region covered by any particular mask has not. Thus, more exposure cycles are necessary to expose the LCD substrate. Accordingly the problem has worsened, even as commercial demand for LCD displays is increasing.
In other words, because an LCD display incorporates a large LCD substrate, exposure has to be performed many times to fabricate the LCD substrate. In an attempt to prevent alignment discrepancy, there have been attempts to carry out exposure using a minute overlap portion between exposures.
Nevertheless, in those attempts, pattern alignment discrepancy occurs between an overlapped region and a non-overlapped region. In other words, in some instances, exposure happens twice in the minute overlap region, exposure happens only once in another region, and pattern discrepancy occurs between the two regions after etching. After completing the fabrication of the liquid crystal display device, the pattern discrepancy looks like a stitch, and accordingly the screen is defective.
Thus, there is a need to address the problems noted above, and others previously experienced.

Liquid crystal display substrate fabrication


A tone waveform reproduction apparatus, for an electronic musical instrument employing a plurality of samples in consonance with tone ranges, that can reduce a change in a timbre so that it will not be noticeable, and that can provide a natural transition of musical tones. An address generator generates a read address for a waveform memory. In the waveform memory are stored waveform data that differ for each timbre and each specific pitch range. A digital filter has a low-pass property and is controlled by a cutoff controller to adjust a timber or a tone quality. The cutoff controller generates a cutoff control signal for compensating for a discontinuity, at a point where tone ranges are switched, of reproduced frequencies of tone signals extracted from the waveform memory, and outputs the cutoff control signal fcn.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tone waveform reproduction apparatus, and in particular to a tone waveform reproduction apparatus that is employed for electronic musical instruments.
2. Description of the Related Arts
In an electronic musical instrument for storing a tone waveform in a memory and reading it for reproduction, when a pitch is changed for reproduction of a tone waveform, a frequency band included in the original waveform that is reproduced is shifted. Therefore, when the pitch is raised, a reproduced tone waveform is shifted to a frequency higher than the original frequency band, so that the sound of the resultant tone sounds high. On the other hand, when the pitch is decreased, the reproduced tone waveform is shifted to a frequency lower than the original frequency band, so that the sound of the resultant tone sounds low.
Conventionally, to resolve this problem, a method is employed for varying a cutoff frequency of a filter in consonance with keys on a keyboard, i.e., a key scaling method. With this key scaling method, the above problem can be considerably resolved when a single basic tone waveform is used for all the keys on a keyboard.
However, when a plurality of basic tone waveforms, i.e., a plurality of samples, are used in consonance with tone ranges, a reproduced frequency for a tone waveform corresponding to each key is as is indicated by a solid line a in FIG. 5. And if the key scaling b is applied for the reproduced frequency, the frequency is as is indicated by broken line c. It should be noted that the reproduced frequencies a and c are properties obtained after conventional cutoff control was executed at cutoff frequency fco.
As is apparent from the reproduced frequency a, at a point where samples are switched, i.e., where tone ranges are switched, a sample in the low range sounds high while a sample in the high range sounds low. Furthermore, as is apparent from the reproduced frequency c, even when key scaling is applied for the reproduced frequency a, the reproduced frequency is discontinuous at a point where the samples are switched, so that a timbre is rendered unnatural. As is evident from the above description, a conventional cutoff control cannot resolve the problem arising from a timbre being rendered unnatural at a point where samples are switched.

Apparatus for reducing change in timbre at each point where tone ranges are switched

Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


An image forming apparatus including an image bearing member bearing thereon a toner image charged to a predetermined polarity, a transferring device for electrostatically transferring the toner image borne on the image bearing member to a recording material, first and second cleaning members for electrostatically removing from the image bearing member any toner residual on the image bearing member when the toner image is transferred to the recording material, a first power supply for applying a bias of the same polarity as the predetermined polarity to the first cleaning member, a second power supply for applying a bias of a polarity opposite to the predetermined polarity to the second cleaning member, and a controller for variably controlling the condition of the bias applied to the first cleaning member and the condition of the bias applied to the second cleaning member independently of each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic printing method or an electrostatic recording method such as, for example, a copying machine, a printer or a facsimile apparatus, and particularly to an image forming apparatus in which a toner on an image bearing member is electrostatically removed.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, as a plural-color or full-color image forming apparatus adopting an electrophotographic printing method, there has been proposed an image forming apparatus of a so-called intermediate transfer type in which toner images of respective colors formed on an image bearing member such as a photosensitive drum are successively superposed one upon another on an intermediate transfer member to thereby form a color image thereon, and the color image is collectively transferred to a recording material.
In such intermediate transfer type, a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum by charging means, exposing means and developing means disposed around the photosensitive drum. Then, the toner image on the photosensitive drum is electrostatically transferred to an intermediate transfer member such as an intermediate transfer belt in a primary transfer portion by transferring means. Also, yellow, magenta, cyan and black toner images can be successively transferred to the intermediate transfer member to thereby form a full-color image on the intermediate transfer member.
The toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer member is carried to a secondary transfer portion by the rotation of the intermediate transfer member, and is electrostatically transferred to a recording material. As a method of removing any toner not transferred to the recording material at this time but residual on the intermediate transfer member (untransferred residual toner), there is a method of urging a cleaning blade against the intermediate transfer member to thereby remove the residual toner. There has also been proposed a method of applying a bias to a cleaning member to thereby electrostatically remove the residual toner.
The method of electrostatically removing the toner is advantageous to such a problem as the influence upon the life of the intermediate transfer member which poses a problem when the toner is removed by blade cleaning means, or the fluctuation of a load by the fluctuation of frictional resistance.
Here, as regards the charging polarity of the untransferred residual toner after secondary transfer, there are the toner charged to the positive polarity and the toner charged to the negative polarity.
So, two cleaning members are used to collect both of the untransferred residual toner charged to the positive polarity and the untransferred residual toner charged to the negative polarity to thereby sufficiently remove the untransferred residual toner.
Biases of different polarities are applied to the two cleaning members. That is, a bias of the positive polarity is applied to one of the two cleaning members, and a bias of the negative polarity is applied to the other cleaning member. In this manner, the untransferred residual toner after the secondary transfer is sufficiently removed. However, there has arisen the problem that even if as described above, two cleaning members are provided and biases of different polarities are applied to these two cleaning members, when image formation is continuedly effected, the untransferred residual toner after the secondary transfer becomes incapable of being sufficiently collected.

Image forming apparatus featuring first and second cleaning members wherein a voltage applied to the second cleaning member is changeable


A composite material of the invention is a mixture of cellulose microfibers having a carboxyl group content of 0.1 to 3 mmol/g and a moldable polymeric material selected from the group consisting of a biomass-derived polymer and a petroleum-derived polymer. The biomass-derived polymer is preferably polylactic acid or pulp. The cellulose microfibers are preferably present in an amount of 0.01% to 60% by mass. Another composite material of the invention is a mixture of cellulose composite microfibers and a moldable resin, the cellulose composite microfibers being obtained by adsorbing a surfactant onto cellulose microfibers having a carboxyl group content of 0.1 to 3 mmol/g.

While plastic materials derived from petroleum that is a finite resource have been heavily used, the recent spotlight is focused on environmental load-reducing technologies. With this tendency, materials using cellulose fibers, which are biomass abundantly occurring in nature, have been attracting attention, and various techniques about the improvement thereon have been proposed. For example, patent literatures 1 and 2 below describe a paper material using oxidized pulp obtained by treating pulp with an oxidizing agent in the presence of an N-oxyl compound, such as 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperizin-N-oxyl (hereinafter abbreviated as TEMPO).
A composite material obtained by mixing fibers with a nanoscale diameter (nanofibers), called microfibrils, with other materials is known. For example, patent literature 3 below discloses a composition containing a thermoplastic polymer matrix and a cellulose filler formed of cellulose microfibrils with a diameter of about 2 to 30 nm.
Patent literature 4 below describes a degradable or biodegradable polymer composition containing a biodegradable plastic and ascidian cellulose fibers. The ascidian cellulose fibers are microfibers with a diameter of 0.1 μm or less obtained by cutting the epitheca of ascidians with, e.g., a cutter, into pieces of about 5 to 20 mm, crushing the pieces using a mixer or a like machine, followed by microfibrillation using a beater or a like machine.
Patent literature 5 below describes a high strength material having a bending strength in a specific range as measured by a prescribed method of measurement, which contains 65% to 100% by weight of cellulose microfibrils and 0% to 35% by weight of an additive (e.g., a thermosetting resin, a thermoplastic resin, or starch) each based on the solids content.
The assignee common to this application previously proposed a gas barrier composite molded article having a layer of a gas barrier material containing cellulose fibers having an average fiber diameter of 200 nm or smaller and a carboxyl group content of 0.1 to 2 mmol/g (see patent literature 6 below). The cellulose fibers used here have a smaller diameters than conventional microfibers called nanofibers and are obtained by oxidizing natural cellulose fibers, such as wood pulp, in the presence of a TEMPO catalyst and subjecting the resulting oxidation product dispersion to a defibration operation using a mixer or a like device. The gas barrier composite molded article of patent literature 6 exhibits high gas barrier performance against various gases, including oxygen, water vapor, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen.
Non-patent literatures 1 through 3 below report obtaining a polylactic acid/cellulose nanowhisker (needle-like cellulose microfiber) composite material from a dispersion of cellulose nanowhiskers in an organic solvent, e.g., toluene, cyclohexane, or chloroform.
Cellulose nanowhiskers are obtained by hydrolysis of the amorphous regions of a cellulose raw material with sulfuric acid, followed by ultrasonication. Although the cellulose nanowhiskers are stably dispersible in water owing to the sulfuric acid group introduced into the cellulose units as a result of hydrolysis, they usually agglomerate or flocculate without being dispersed stably in an organic solvent, such as an alcohol or a non-aqueous solvent. In order to obtain a composite material composed of a plastic material such as polylactic acid and cellulose nanofibers such as cellulose nanowhiskers and exhibiting the full characteristics of the cellulose nanofibers, it is necessary to stably disperse the cellulose nanofibers in an organic solvent in which the plastic material is soluble. In this regard, the techniques of the non-patent literatures 1 to 3 achieve stably dispersing cellulose nanowhiskers in an organic solvent by modifying (hydrophobilizing) cellulose nanowhiskers by treating with an anionic surfactant, such as a phenyl-containing phosphoric ester.
Patent literature 6 supra also proposes a gas barrier material containing cellulose fibers having an average fiber diameter of 200 nm or smaller and a carboxyl group content of 0.1 to 2 mmol/g. The cellulose fibers are microfibers having a smaller diameter than conventional microfibers called nanofibers and are obtained by oxidizing natural cellulose fibers, such as wood pulp, in the presence of a TEMPO catalyst and subjecting the resulting oxidation product dispersion to a defibration operation using a mixer or a like device.


A monitoring system for a NAC (Notification Appliance Circuit) is provided. The monitoring system includes a system controller, and a NAC comprised of one or more notification appliances that may be in a series. The NAC and its appliances may be operatively coupled to the system controller. The system controller is operable to determine whether a notification appliance has sufficient voltage at a low voltage operation. The system controller may control the voltage to the NAC in order to provide power to simulate operation of the NAC using battery power. A voltage may be measured during the simulation (such as at one end of the NAC). The measured voltage may be compared with a predetermined minimum operating voltage for the notification appliance. Based on the comparison, it may be determined whether the one or more appliances on the NAC may operate properly when the NAC is operated using battery power.

A fire alarm system typically includes one or more notification appliances that notify the public of an alarm. A Notification Appliance Circuit (NAC) powers the notification appliances that are connected to a fire alarm control panel. A primary power source (such as line power from an AC line) may supply power to the fire alarm control panel. The fire alarm system may also include a backup voltage source that supplies power to the fire alarm control panel. The backup voltage source (such as a battery) is used when the primary power source is unavailable. Abnormal conditions may cause either the primary or backup power supply to operate at a voltage less than nominal. The lowest voltage that will power the NAC is defined as the worst case operating voltage. The NAC may provide power from the control panel to the notification appliances. The notification appliances draw a significant amount of current from the NAC and create a voltage drop across the wires. The voltage drop may reduce the voltage supplied to the notification appliances at the end of the NAC (opposite the control panel) to a level that is below the voltage necessary to power the notification appliance.
Notification Appliances have a specified operating range. During the design of the fire alarm system, a designer estimates whether all the notification appliances will be powered above their specified minimum operating voltage at the worst case operating voltage. To make this estimation, the designer predicts the voltage drop from the fire alarm panel to the last notification device. The voltage drop calculation is based on the electrical characteristics of the NAC as it is configured in the specific installation. The designer then subtracts the predicted voltage drop from the worst case output voltage of the fire alarm panel and compares the result to the minimum operating voltage of the notification appliance. The NAC design is acceptable when the calculated voltage is above the minimum operating voltage of the notification appliance.
However, the installed system may differ from the designed system. For example, the wiring distance of the NAC may differ due to practical considerations in the building, or alternate routings of the wires by the electrical installers. The actual voltage drop on a NAC in the installed system is frequently different than the calculated voltage drop. Therefore, it is important to confirm, after installation, that the NAC has sufficient voltage to operate the notification appliances.
Conventionally, it was difficult to test the voltage drop in an installed system. It was even more difficult to test the voltage drop at or near the lowest suitable voltage on the NAC. The lowest suitable voltage on the NAC is typically the voltage supplied from the control panel when the backup power source, for example, one or more batteries, are at the end of their rated life. The NAC voltage drop is difficult to determine at the lowest suitable voltage because the nominal output voltage of the control panel is significantly higher than the worst case operating voltage.
Notification appliances draw more current at low voltage than they do at higher voltages. If less current is drawn from the NAC, then the voltage drop across the NAC will also be reduced. Measuring the voltage at the control panel and then at the last notification appliance during higher voltage operation (supplied by the primary power source or the backup power source at the beginning of its rated life), will not give an accurate measurement of the voltage drop in the system during the lowest voltage operation (i.e. when the battery is at the end of its rated life).
In a system where the lowest voltage condition occurs when the batteries are nearly discharged, the only way to measure the voltage drop on a NAC during the lowest voltage operation and verify that it is within its designed parameters, is to power the system from batteries for an extended period of time, until the batteries are near their rated end of life and then activate the notification appliances and measure the voltage drop on each NAC. This is generally not practical and is often not done because it is time consuming and potentially damaging to the batteries. In a system where the lowest voltage occurs when the AC power supply is operating under abnormal conditions (for example a fault on the AC line lowers the system voltage), it is difficult to create the abnormal condition. It requires powering the panel from expensive equipment to vary the AC input. This equipment may be practical in a lab environment but very impractical for a field technician to carry. Accordingly, a need exists for testing whether the NAC is capable of operating at a reduced or worst case system voltage that is simple in design and operation.

System for testing NAC operability using reduced operating voltage


The invention relates to a storage layer (4) for storing x-ray information, comprising a large number of needle-shaped storage material areas (15A to 15L) for guiding light radiation (17 to 28, 30 to 35). An absorption zone (14A to 14N), which contains absorption material for absorbing light radiation (17 to 23, 30 to 35, 39) lies between the individual needle-shaped storage material areas (15A to 15L) and absorbs less than all of the light radiation that it receives. The invention also relates to a device for reading x-ray information from a storage layer of this type and to an x-ray cassette which has a device of this type for reading x-ray information.

The present invention relates to a storage layer for storing and a conversion layer for storing and converting x-ray information which has a multitude of needle-shape storage material areas as well as a device for reading x-ray information from a storage layer and an x-ray cassette therefor.
In particular for medical purposes, an image is generated by x-radiation of an object, for example, of a patient, where the image is stored in a storage layer as a latent image. Thus, such an x-radiation image contains x-ray information about the object. To read the x-ray information stored in the storage layer, it is excited using a radiation source. Due to this excitation, the storage layer emits light that exhibits an intensity that corresponds to the x-ray information stored in the storage layer. The light emitted by the storage layer is received by a receiving means such that the x-ray information stored in the storage layer can then be made visible. For example, the x-ray information can be displayed directly on a monitor. Typically, such storage layers are applied to a carrier material that can be either transparent or reflecting. With a reflecting carrier material, both the radiation source and the receiving means are arranged on the same side of the carrier material, that is, on that side of the carrier material where the storage layer is located. If the storage material is located on a transparent carrier material, then the radiation source is located on one side of the carrier material, and the receiving means on the opposite side of the carrier material. This arrangement has the particular advantage that a larger amount of the radiation emitted by the storage layer can be captured by the receiving means. A better reproduction quality of the x-ray information stored in the storage layer is, therefore, possible.
For example, from the patent document DE 198 59 747 C1 it is known to use a special storage layer for storing x-ray information, where the storage layer exhibits a special crystallite, needle-shaped structure. The special storage layer exhibits numerous "needles" that can serve the purpose of guiding both the excitation and the emission radiation. Crystalline "needles" are cultivated for such storage layers. Such a needle storage layer is constructed of binary alkali halides, such as cesium bromides, CsBr. These structured alkali halides can be doped with suitable activators such as gallium, thallium, europium, etc. Depending on their given purpose, the individual needle crystals vary in height between 100 and 600 μm and have a thickness of about 10 μm. Typically, the individual needles are separated from one another by a small air gap. Both the excitation and the emission lights are guided in the individual needles that serve as light conductors according to the principle of total reflection. Incident excitation radiation that arrives at a certain angle is largely transmitted without scattering until it strikes an information center in the crystal lattice of the needle, where the x-ray information is stored. The emission radiation that is generated through the excitation of the information center is transferred in the respective needle and is guided out of this needle such that it can be detected by the receiving means. Such a needle-shaped storage layer is known, in particular, from the European patent application EP 0 751 200 A1. Using this special storage layer reduces scattering of the excitation radiation within the storage layer. In particular, when reading the x-ray information that is stored in the storage layer line by line, scattering of the excitation radiation perpendicular to the direction of the lines is disadvantageous because information centers may be excited that belong to a line of the storage layer other than the one that is being read at the moment. In this manner, emission radiation may get "lost"; i.e., it cannot be detected by the receiving means. In addition, scattering of the emission radiation within the storage layer is reduced with the result that in particular a good local resolution is achieved for the detection of the emission radiation in the receiving means. However, it has been found that, for example, excitation radiation that enters the storage layer at an incident angle that is greater than a certain angle does not remain in the respective needles but instead passes perpendicular through these needles. Especially because these needles exhibit an irregular outer structure, scattering of the excitation radiation can occur that is disadvantageous for the quality of the reproduction of the x-ray information. Since, in particular, the irregular outer structure of the needles results in a portion of the excitation radiation not being fully reflected in the needle, a blurring is created in the reproduction of the x-ray information. A similar situation applies to the emission radiation that is essentially emitted isotropically by an information center that is struck by the excitation radiation. Due to the aperture angle that is determined by the relation between the refractive index of air to the alkali halide of which the individual needles have been cultivated, a portion of the emission light is not fully reflected in the needle but instead is emitted from the respective needle. This leads to a corresponding degradation of the local resolution when detecting the emission radiation.
Alternatively to the interim storing of x-ray information in the storage layer, as described above, x-ray information that is contained in the x-radiation can also be converted directly into light radiation using a conversion layer. This light radiation that contains an image of the x-ray information can then be detected by a light-sensitive sensor and converted into electrical signals. Such a conversion layer and a device where such a coating is used are known, for example, from the patent documents DE 195 05 729 C1, DE 195 06 809 A1 or DE 195 09 021 C2. The conversion layer for converting the x-radiation into light radiation is designated as a so-called scintillator layer that may consist essentially of cesium iodide CsI. X-ray detectors that contain such conversion layers are already available on the market today. For example, the company Trixell, 460 Rue de Pommarin, 38430 Moirans, France, uses such a conversion layer in their product Pixium 4600. These conversion layers for converting x-radiation into light radiation contain numerous conversion zones with materials that directly convert x-radiation into light radiation. Similar to the storage layers described above, these conversion zones are arranged in the conversion layers in needle-shape next to one another. This means that the conversion of x-radiation to light radiation occurs in the individual needles. The light energy, which has a low energy in comparison to the x-radiation, can exit a needle where it was generated due to the aperture angle at the barrier layers of the needles and can arrive at one or more other needles. This has the result that light radiation that has been generated in a certain needle exits that conversion layer at an entirely different location, and is therefore detected by the light-sensitive sensor at a location that does not correspond to the location of the needle where the light radiation was generated. As was the case previously with the storage layers, the local resolution is falsified during the detection of the light radiation that is emitted by the conversion layer due to the described scattering.

Storage layer, conversion layer and a device for reading x-ray information, in addition to an x-ray cassette


An IPS mode liquid crystal display device includes a first set of pixels of different colors, each of the pixels having a data line along a side thereof and a gate line along a side thereof, wherein one of the pixels is a white (W) pixel; a second set of pixels of different colors, each of the pixels having a data line along a side thereof and a gate line along a side thereof, wherein one of the pixels is a white (W) pixel; wherein the first set of pixels and the second set of pixels is adjacent to each other. In another embodiment, the IPS LCD includes a plurality of R (Red), G (Green), B (Blue) and W (White) pixels defined by a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of data lines; a driving element in the pixel; and at least one pair of electrodes disposed in the pixel to form a horizontal electric field, wherein the R, G, B, and W pixels are arranged in a zigzag pattern in a data line direction, and each of R, G, B, and W pixels is arranged to be symmetric with respect to the gate line to adjacent R, G, B, and W pixels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an in-plane switching mode liquid crystal display device, particularly to the in-plane switching mode liquid crystal display device of 4-pixels structure including R (Red), G (Green), B (Blue) and W (White) pixels having compensated main viewing angle to improve brightness and viewing angle characteristic.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A light, thin, small flat panel display device have been actively studied, because such display devices may be used in various portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) and notebook computers, which have received great interest recently. An LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a PDP (Plasma Display Panel), an FED (Field Emission Display), a VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Display), or the like have been developed as the flat panel display device. Of these flat panel display devices, the LCD is used because of the improved mass-production technique, the simplified driving system and the high picture quality.
The LCD device has various display modes according to the arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules. Among these display modes, a TN mode (Twisted Nematic mode) LCD device is used because of good display characteristic of the white and black colors, fast response time, and low driving voltage. In the TN mode LCD device, the liquid crystal molecules arranged substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate align in the substantial vertical direction to the surface of the substrate when voltage is applied. When the voltage is applied, thus, the viewing angle is narrow because of the refractive anisotropy of the liquid crystal molecules.
To solve the viewing angle problem, LCD devices of various modes having a wide viewing angle characteristic are used, and of them, an in-plane switching mode LCD device is actually used for mass production. The IPS mode liquid crystal display device has an improved viewing angle characteristic by forming a horizontal electric field that is substantially parallel with the surface of the substrate and thus aligning the liquid crystal molecules in a plane.
FIGS. 1A and 1B show a related art IPS mode LCD device.
As shown in FIG. 1A, in the PS mode LCD device, a common electrode 5 and a pixel electrode 7 are parallel disposed on the liquid crystal display panel 1, and a rubbing direction of an alignment layer (not shown) on the liquid crystal display panel 1 is formed at a certain angle to the common electrode 5 and the pixel electrode 7. Accordingly, when a voltage is not applied to the pixel electrode 7, the liquid crystal molecules 42 are arranged in the rubbing direction to be aligned at a certain angle to the common electrode 5 and the pixel electrode 7.
When a voltage is applied to the common electrode 5 and the pixel electrode 7, a horizontal electric field that is substantially in parallel with the surface of the panel 1 is generated between the common electrode 5 and the pixel electrode 7. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 1B, the liquid crystal molecules 42 are aligned in a direction substantially perpendicular to the common electrode 5 and the pixel electrode 7.
Namely, when the voltage is applied thereto, the liquid crystal molecules 42 are rotated in the same plane along with the horizontal electric field, and as a result a gray inversion caused by the refractive anisotropy of the liquid crystal molecules can be effectively prevented.
In the IPS mode LCD device, however, there is disadvantage in that color is shifted according to the direction of the viewing angle. Not shown in Figure, the common electrode 5 and the pixel electrode 7 are formed on a first substrate (i.e., the TFT substrate on which a thin film transistor is formed) of the liquid crystal display device. When a voltage is applied thereto, therefore, the liquid crystal molecules 42a near the first substrate are aligned to be perpendicular to the common electrode 5 and the pixel electrode 7 by the horizontal electric field, while the liquid crystal molecules 42b near a second substrate (i.e., the color filter substrate on which a color filter is formed) are aligned at a certain angle to the common electrode 5 and the pixel electrode 7. That is, the liquid crystal molecules 42a, 42b are twisted from the first substrate to the second substrate. At this time, since the liquid crystal molecules 42 are twisted in a specific direction, a color shift occurs in directions of viewing angles of X, Y as illustrated in FIG. 1(b), thereby causing deterioration of image quality.
To solve this problem, an improved IPS mode liquid crystal display device has been introduced. As illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, in the IPS mode liquid crystal display device, a data line 3 is arranged at the certain angle to the gate line 2, that is, not arranged in perpendicular with the gate line 2. Further, the common electrode 5 and the pixel electrode 7 disposed in the pixel region defined by the gate line 2 and the data line 3 are disposed at a certain angle to the gate line 2, that is, the common electrode 5 and pixel electrode 7 are parallel the data line 3. In the pixel, region a common line 8 and a pixel electrode line 9, which are respectively connected to the common electrode 5 and the pixel electrode 7, are overlapped to generate the storage capacitance.
A thin film transistor 15 including a gate electrode 16, a semiconductor layer 17, a source electrode 18 and a drain electrode 19 is disposed near the crossing of the gate line 2 and the data line 3. A signal from the outside is applied through this film transistor 15 to the pixel electrode 7 to generate the horizontal electric field in the liquid crystal layer. Because the liquid crystal molecules are rotated in the same plane along with the horizontal electric field, the gray inversion caused by the refractive anisotropy can be prevented.
The related IPS mode LCD device having the above structure will be described in more detail accompanying with FIG. 2B.
As shown in FIG. 2B, a gate electrode 16 is formed on a first substrate 20, and a gate insulating layer 22 is deposited over the first substrate 20. A semiconductor layer 17 is formed on the gate insulating layer 22, and the source electrode 18 and the drain electrode 19 are formed on the semiconductor layer 17. Further, a passivation layer 24 is formed over the first substrate 20.
In addition, a plurality of common electrodes 5 is formed on the first substrate 20, and the pixel electrode 7 and the data line 3 are formed on the gate insulating layer 22, so that the horizontal electric field may be applied between the common electrode 5 and the pixel electrode 7.
On the second substrate 30, a black matrix 32 and a color filter layer 34 are formed. The black matrix 32 is for shielding the light transmitting the area where the liquid crystal molecules are not operated. The black matrix 32 is mainly formed on the thin film transistor 10 and on the area between pixels (that is, gate line area and a data line area), as illustrated in FIG. 2B. The color filter layer 23 includes R (Red), B (Blue), G (Green) colors for implementing actual colors.
A liquid crystal layer 40 is formed between the first substrate 20 and the second substrate 30.
In the related art IPS mode liquid crystal display device, the data line 3, the common electrode 5 and the pixel electrode 7 are disposed at the predetermined angle to the gate line 2. At this time, in the pixels adjacent to the corresponding pixel, especially, the pixels positioned at the upper and lower area of the corresponding pixel, the data line 3, the common electrode 5, the pixel electrode 7 are disposed at a certain angle with the gate line 2. However, these adjacent pixels are symmetric with the corresponding pixel. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 3, the pixels are disposed in a zigzag shape in a longitudinal direction of the data line 3. In FIG. 3, we will omit the detailed structure of the IPS mode liquid crystal display device and shows only the R (Red), G (Green) and B (Blue) pixels defined by the gate line and the data line are, because each pixel has the same structure as the pixel illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, because the R, G, B pixels are respectively formed in a zigzag shape, (i.e., the gate line and the data line are formed in a zigzag shape), a horizontal electric field is formed at each R, G, B pixels in a direction different from that of adjacent R, G, B pixels (in a symmetric direction centering around the gate line respectively). Accordingly, the liquid crystal molecules of the corresponding pixels are twisted in the opposite direction with those of the adjacent pixels from the first substrate 20 to the second substrate 30. As a result, the direction of main viewing angle becomes different in each adjacent R, G, B pixels (i.e., the viewing angles in the adjacent R, G, B pixels are symmetric centering around the gate line) to compensate the viewing angle, and thus the color shift can be prevented.
However, the related IPS mode liquid crystal display device of such a structure has following problems.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, in the related art IPS mode liquid crystal display device, the R, B pixels (R, G, B may form one pixel) are repeatedly formed over the entire liquid crystal display device (in other words, the pixel having R, G, B sub-pixels are repeatedly formed over the entire liquid crystal display device). In the R, G, B color filter layers 34 made of the color resist are respectively formed at the R, G, B pixels. Accordingly, because the light having the wave length except for the wave length of the corresponding color is absorbed in each R, G, B pixel, the intensity of light transmitting the color filter layer 34 is weakened, so that the brightness of the liquid crystal display device may be deteriorated.

In plane switching mode liquid crystal display device having 4-pixel structure


An image server and an image communication system capable of displaying images of plural image servers differing in IP address on a browser window by using a versatile browser, and a methods for controlling them. Plural image servers communicate with a client computer displaying image information presented from image servers through a network. Of the plural image servers, the controller of a certain image server receives a request from the client computer, and displays the image data of the image server and image data of other plural image servers simultaneously on the browser window of the client computer. Accordingly, the controller of the designated image server creates display information, and supplies the information to the client computer.

In a recent network image communication system, image servers storing images taken by plural cameras are installed at plural positions, these image servers are connected through the Internet, and the image of each image server can be observed by a computer terminal at the center (hereinafter called client PC). This system is widely used as camera system or monitor system and the like.
FIG. 27 is a block diagram showing a conventional camera system.
In FIG. 27, the camera system is composed of image servers 702 to 705 for storing images taken by cameras, a client PC 701 observing the images of image servers as the center, and a local area network (LAN) 716 for connecting them.
The image servers 702 to 705 are identical in configuration. Each one of the image servers 702, 703, 704, and 705 has a mutually different IP address, and the user specifies the IP address, so that the client PC 701 takes in the image of the image server of the specified IP address.
The image server 702 is composed of an image server controller 706, a memory 707, a LAN interface unit 708, an image input unit 709, and an image data creator 710.
The image server controller 706 controls the entire image server 702.
The memory 707 includes an HTML data storage 7071 for storing web pages, an image data storage 7072 for storing image data taken by camera, and a user setting information storage 7073 for storing various data specified by the user.
The LAN interface unit 708 is an interface for connecting to the LAN.
The image input unit 709 receives an image signal v taken by a camera (not shown in FIG. 27) of the image server 702.
The image data creator 710 creates image data in JPEG or other formats from the image signal sent from the image input unit 709.
The LAN interface unit 708 is an interface for connecting to the LAN.
The client PC 701 includes a PC controller 711 for controlling the entire computer system, an input unit 712 for entering or manipulating various data, a display unit 713 for displaying image data from the image servers 702 to 705, a memory 714, and a LAN interface unit 715 for connecting to the LAN. Herein, the memory 714 includes a browser storage 714a for storing browser or other browsing software and the like.
The operation of the camera system is explained by referring to FIG. 28.
FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing the operation of the conventional camera system.
In FIG. 28, when the image server controller 706 judges that the signal designating the IP address is received from the client PC 701 (S141), the image server controller 706 acquires the HTML data for initial image which is the home page information from the HTML data storage 7071 of the memory 707, and transmits the data to the client PC 701 (S142). The client PC 701 requests transmission of image data according to the HTML data for initial image.
When the image server controller 706 judges that a transmission request of image data is received (S143), the image server controller 706 takes in the image data from the image data storage 7072 of the memory 707, and transmits the data to the client PC 701 (S144).
At step S143, if image data is not requested, and it is judged that transmission request of other data than image data is received from the client PC 701 (S145), the image server controller 706 takes in the requested data from the memory 707, and transmits the information according to the request to the client PC 701 (S146).
When the image server 703, 704, or 705 is accessed from the client PC 701, each image server operates in the same manner.
In the conventional camera system, if desired to display images of image servers of plural different IP addresses on the screen of the client PC 701, each one of the image servers needs to be accessed.
Specifically, from the started browser, the IP address of only one image server can be accessed, and the browsers as many as the number of image servers to be displayed needs to be started, and the IP addresses as many as the number of image servers needs to be accessed individually.
Therefore, to display images of image servers of plural different IP addresses on one screen, the exclusive browser software for arranging images of plural browsers started on the screen as desired by the user, and for observing the images of plural image servers simultaneously on the screen, needs to be installed in the client PC.
To create such exclusive software, the user is required to have an advanced professional knowledge.
Using the exclusive software, as mentioned above, it is possible to display images of image servers of plural different IP addresses on the one screen, but it is costly to create such exclusive software. If the exclusive software is not free, the user's expenses are increased.
If general public users desire to observe images of image servers of plural different IP address on one browser window screen, the images are displayed only in computers in which the exclusive software is installed, and general public users not having computer with installed exclusive software cannot observe the images of image servers.

Image system using an image server controller for generating display information of a client to access images from plural image servers on network

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A magnetic heading sensor alignment and roll reducing device is provided. A enerally cylindrical assembly has a first end and a second end. Each end has a plurality of grooves located equiangularly on a circle with the center thereof located at the cylindrical assembly's center longitudinal axis. Bearings, positioned at and supported by the first and second ends, support a magnetic heading sensor at either end thereof. The bearings provide the sensor with rotational freedom about the center longitudinal axis. A counterweight is affixed to the sensor such that its center of gravity and the sensor's center of gravity are located at a common axial loci. A plurality of longitudinal spring strips are provided to fit into corresponding ones of the grooves on the first and second ends of the cylindrical assembly. The spring strips cooperate with the inner surface of a tubular housing when the device is inserted therein. All materials used to construct the device are non-magnetic.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to acoustic towed arrays, and more particularly to a magnetic heading sensor alignment and roll reducing device for accurately positioning a magnetic heading sensor in a towed line array and for reducing unwanted roll movement of the sensor when the towed array is deployed and operated.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Towed line arrays are used extensively in submarines, surface ships and oil exploration for detection purposes. A towed acoustic line array includes a liquid-filled hose containing a linear array of hydrophones for sound detection and magnetic heading sensors for position determination. A mechanically rugged KEVLAR sheet or web is wrapped around the various elements, which is then placed inside a liquid filled hose.
The hydrophones and magnetic heading sensors are distributed inside the hose in a predetermined configuration together with their associated electronics including their power sources. These sensors are generally different types depending upon operational requirements. The towed line arrays form an acoustic beam pattern which is used for the detection of targets in the area under surveillance. Additionally, it is important to accurately determine the position of the acoustic sensors and the towed line array as a function of time. Towards this end, a series of magnetic heading sensors are distributed along the length of the towed line array. It is desirable to have relatively small magnetic heading sensors for accurate position determination.
It is imperative to keep the magnetic heading sensors aligned within the hose and symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis passing through the center of the hose. Any misalignment of the magnetic heading sensors results in erroneous heading measurements. In an effort to solve this problem, U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,712 discloses a magnetic heading sensor alignment device for maintaining a sensor along the longitudinal axis of a surrounding hose. However, the sensor is still subject to pitch, yaw and/or roll in accordance with movement of the towed line array as it is deployed and operated. Although operationally unavoidable, such movement causes the sensor to react unfavorably leading to electromagnetically induced error (i.e., by movement of conductors through a magnetic field). It is therefore desirable to have a simple device which will not only maintain the sensor position along the central longitudinal axis of the hose, but also reduce as much ambient unwanted movement of the sensor as possible.

Magnetic heading sensor alignment and roll reducing device

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A catalyst for purification of exhaust gas containing a phosphorus compound includes: a lower catalyst layer containing at least one of noble metal provided on a refractory three-dimensional structure; and an upper catalyst layer at an inflow side of exhaust gas and an upper catalyst layer at an outflow side of exhaust gas provided on a surface of the lower catalyst layer. The upper catalyst layer at the inflow side and the upper catalyst layer at the outflow side have different concentrations of noble metal. The catalyst has an intermediate zone with a length of 3 to 23% of the overall length of the refractory three-dimensional structure provided between the upper catalyst layer at the inflow side and the upper catalyst layer at the outflow side. The intermediate zone starts from a position 10 to 38% from an end face of the catalyst at the inflow side of exhaust gas.

According to tightening regulations on automobile emissions, there has been a demand for maintaining exhaust gas purification performance over a long time. This means that a demand for long service life of a catalyst as an after treatment device for exhaust gas purification has increased and also means that there has been a demand for improving the long-term durability of a catalyst. In order to improve the long-term durability of a catalyst, suppression of sintering or suppression of sulfur poisoning of the noble metal particles supported on a catalyst has been studied. Meanwhile, it is known that poisoning due to phosphorus contained in exhaust gas (hereinafter, referred to as phosphorus poisoning) exerts a great influence on deterioration in catalytic performance (Non-Patent Literature 1). In order to meet regulations which will be tightened more and more from now, it is important to suppress the phosphorus poisoning or to maintain and improve the catalytic performance after phosphorus poisoning. In recent years, there has been a demand for not only suppressing phosphorus poisoning, but also suppressing deterioration in catalytic performance even in cases where a catalyst is exposed to exhaust gas having a high temperature of 950° C. or higher. The demand for long service life of catalysts is higher than in the prior art, for example, the suppression of deterioration in catalytic performance due to both sintering and phosphorus poisoning is demanded.
The phosphorus poisoning is known to be caused by depositing or penetrating, into a catalyst layer, a phosphorus compound derived from a lubricant additive, such as zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate, which is contained in exhaust gas. It is known that phosphorus poisoning leads to deterioration in catalytic performance (Non-Patent Literature 1).
The catalytic performance deterioration due to the phosphorus poisoning is known to be caused by occurrence of the phenomena described below. Diffusional inhibition of the exhaust gas in the catalyst layer is caused by the phosphorus compound being deposited or penetrated into the catalyst layer. In addition, cerium oxide of an oxygen-storage-release material (oxygen storage material) that is widely used in a three-way catalyst and a phosphorus compound react with each other to form cerium phosphate. The oxygen storage and release are hindered when cerium phosphate is formed, and thus the release when the exhaust gas atmosphere is changed to a lean or rich state is hindered. The purification efficiency of exhaust gas decreases as these phenomena occur.
It is disclosed that performance deterioration can be decreased by using a composite oxide of ceria with zirconia in a catalyst using palladium in order to suppress the phosphorus poisoning (Patent Literature 1).
Further, it is disclosed that performance deterioration due to phosphorus is suppressed by providing a region which is not coated with a catalyst layer as a phosphorus capture zone at a front end of a catalyst structure (Patent Literature 2).
A catalyst is disclosed in which an upper catalyst layer supports Rh, a lower catalyst layer supports Pd on an upstream end, and on an upstream portion including an upstream end of a base material, a single layer constituted only by a Pd support layer is provided (Patent Literature 3).

Catalyst for purification of exhaust gas from internal combustion engine and method for purification of exhaust gas using the catalyst


An outsole for a shoe has a bottom surface with a fabric insert glued into a recess. The method of gluing the fabric insert to the shoe outsole comprises cleaning the recess of the outsole, priming the recess to receive glue, applying glue to the recess; applying glue to the fabric insert; and pressing the fabric insert into the recess to fix the fabric insert in the recess.

This application relates to shoe soles, and in particular to a plastic shoe sole having fabric applied thereto.
Typically, a shoe includes an outsole and a shoe upper or vamp secured to the outsole. The outsole of the shoe is an exposed portion of the shoe which makes contact with the ground. For this reason, the outsole is designed and manufactured with various performance characteristics, such as, traction, stability, and wear resistance. Economic factors also affect the design and manufacture of shoe outsoles. The economics of shoe manufacturing can be affected by placing fabric on the bottom surface of the outsole.

Shoe sole having fabric and method for adhering fabric to shoe sole


A system and method are described for self-aligning electrodes for color filters of passive matrix displays.

Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) use nematic liquid crystals sandwiched between glass plates to modulate light transmission through the display. When an electric field is applied to the liquid crystal layer by transparent ITO electrodes, the LC molecules, which are elongated in shape, align themselves parallel to the applied field and normal to the glass plates. In this state, polarized light travels through the LC layer without having its polarization state rotated. Because the LC module is placed between crossed polarizers, the display appears dark. In order for displays to allow light through when the applied field is off, the liquid crystal director on opposite sides of the glass chamber must be oriented 90° with respect to each other. In this situation, the polarization state of the light is rotated by 90° and exits parallel to the analyzer, thus making the display appear light. The orientation of the LC director at the surface of each glass plate is controlled by a so-called rubbing layer which is typically a polyimide layer that has undergone successive mechanical rubbing steps to create alignment of the polymer chains and mechanical grooving of the surface. This surface treatment induces the LCs to align parallel to the rubbing direction. In the current LCD manufacturing process, separate layers are used for the transparent ITO electrodes and the polyimide rubbing layers.
FIG. 1, generally at 100 shows a conventional passive matrix display. The conventional display in FIG. 1 includes a front plate and a back plate. The front plate includes glass plate 108 with a polarizing filter 110 at its exterior surface. Color filters 112, 114, and 116, red, green, and blue, respectively, are disposed on interior surface of the glass plate. The color filters 112, 114, and 116 are disposed adjacent one another. The filters are covered by transparent plate 118. Spaced apart transparent electrode 120 of ITO are disposed on the plate. These electrodes precisely overlay the color filters. Interior to transparent electrodes 120 is liquid crystal alignment layer 122.
The back plate consists of glass plate 102 that has polarizing filter 104 disposed at its exterior surface. The interior surface of glass plate 102 has spaced apart transparent electrodes 106 made from ITO disposed there. These electrodes are disposed perpendicular to electrodes 120 of the front plate. Interior to transparent electrodes 106 is alignment layer 107.
The two alignment layers are spaced apart by a spacer 124. Liquid crystals 126 are disposed in the spacer between the alignment layers.
There needs to be easy and efficient method to align the electrodes with the color filters.

Soft lithographic process for fabricating integrated ITO electrode-liquid crystal alignment layers