A level shifting circuit, satisfying a requirement of a high tolerated dV/dt level, and a highly reliable inverter circuit, wherein a set pulse signal and a reset pulse signal, both of which are level-shifted to a potential side taking as reference a reference potential of a gate control terminal of a switching terminal, are obtained differentially and integrated, and, in case these pulse signals equal or exceed stipulated integrated values, are transmitted as regular control signals controlling the on/off state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a drive circuit for semiconductor power switching elements.
2. Description of the Related Art
Inverter devices are well known wherein a first switching element and a second switching element are respectively placed on a low voltage side arm (below called the "lower side") and a high voltage side arm (below called the "upper side"), the two arms being connected between the terminals of a main power supply, and the first and the second switching elements are connected in series.
In such a device, the second switching element connected to the upper side is driven in a floating potential state with respect to the reference potential, and the drive circuit includes a power supply externally insulated from a transformer. Also, in order to transmit drive signals from the low voltage side circuit to the high voltage side circuit, a level shifting (below called lower to upper level shift) device is necessary for which the transmission of a signal is possible even in the floating potential state.
Moreover, the level shifters performing signal transmission from the high voltage side circuit to the low voltage side circuit are called upper to lower level shifters. The integrated circuit (IC) incorporating these is usually called a gate driver IC. A lower to upper level shift circuit such as this is e.g. described in JP-A-9-172366.
FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing the configuration of the drive circuit of the prior art semiconductor device shown in FIG. 2 of JP-A-9-172366. In FIG. 7, an IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) 24, being the switching element of an upper arm 232, and an IGBT 25, being the switching element of a lower arm 233, are connected in series to both terminals of a main power supply 23 and constitute a half bridge. The cathode side of main power supply 23 is at earth (ground) potential Ve.
Freewheel diodes 26 and 27 are connected to IGBT 24 and IGBT 25. And then, a load 28 (an inductive load like a motor) is connected to connection point 251 of IGBT 24 and IGBT 25.
IGBT 24 of upper side 232 operates as a switch, with contact point 251 of upper side 232 and lower side 233 as the reference voltage. An upper-side regulating power supply 21 supplying power to a drive circuit and protection circuit 39 for the upper side is externally insulated by means of a transformer not illustrated.
IGBT 25 of lower side 233 operates as a switch with the ground potential as the reference voltage. A lower-side regulating power supply 22 supplying power to a drive circuit and protection circuit 40 for the lower side is externally insulated by means of a transformer.
Next, an explanation of the circuit driving IGBT 24 of upper side 232 will be given. A pulse generating circuit 31 generates, in response to an input signal supplied by an externally provided microcomputer (not illustrated) or the like, pulse shape on/off signals. Two output terminals thereof are respectively connected to the gate electrodes of level shifting high voltage nMOSFET (n-type Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor) 32 and high voltage nMOSFET 33.
The drain electrodes of high breakdown voltage nMOSFET 32 and high breakdown voltage nMOSFET 33 are respectively connected to one terminal portion of resistances 35, 34 as well as to the input sides of inverter circuits 41, 45. Zener diodes 36, 37 are connected in parallel to resistances 34, 35.
The outputs of inverter circuits 41, 45 are in addition connected to a set input (S) and a reset(R) input of a flip-flop circuit 38 via inverter circuits 42, 46, and through filters composed of resistances 43, 47 and capacitors 44, 48. The output (Q)of flip-flop circuit 38 is connected to drive circuit and protection circuit 39. IGBT 24 of upper side 232 is driven by drive circuit and protection circuit 39.
With the drive circuit for the upper side 232 such as this, IGBT 24 of upper arm 232 changes abruptly, by the switching operation of IGBT 25 of lower arm 233, from 0 V up to the rated voltage of main power supply 23 or more, with point 251 of contact with IGBT 25 of lower arm 233 as the reference potential (reference potential of regulating power supply 21 of upper arm 232).
Since there exists a parasitic capacitance C between the drain and source of nMOSFET 32 and nMOSFET 33, when a particularly fast dV/dt transient is generated, the current obtained by multiplying parasitic capacitance C and the dV/dt transient (hereafter called "dV/dt current") flows simultaneously through high voltage nMOSFET 32 and high breakdown voltage nMOSFET 33.
The dV/dt current flowing in high breakdown voltage nMOSFET 32 and high voltage nMOSFET 33 is at the same level as the current normally flowing during switching, and there arises a voltage drop across resistances 34, 35 at the same time. Because of this, it simultaneously comes about that a set signal and a reset signal are supplied to the set input and the reset input of flip-flop circuit 38.
In general, simultaneously inputting a set signal and a reset release signal to the set input and the reset input of flip-flop circuit 38 is forbidden and leads to unpredictable operation.
The fact that, in order to prevent unpredictable operation such as this, one should set the resistance value of resistances 34, 35 and the first threshold value of inverters 41, 42 to distinguish the voltage drop across resistances 34, 35 due to the dV/dt transient and the voltage drop due to the signal from pulse generation circuit 31, makes a setting with extremely high precision necessary. In JP-A-9-172366, for the case of high dV/dt transients, it is suggested to carry out a measure against erroneous dV/dt operation by means of pulse filters configured with resistances 43, 47 and capacitors 44, 48.


A method for determining a remaining service life of switching contacts in an electric switching device. The method includes operating the switching contacts so as to produce structure-borne sound signals, capturing the structure-borne sound signals, performing a Fourier transform on the structure-borne sound signals in a plurality of discrete time windows so as to produce a sonogram, determining a plurality of function values using the sonogram, and evaluating the plurality of function values using an evaluation device. Also a electrical switching device including first and second switching contacts, a sound sensor configured to capture structure-borne sound signals produced by an operation of the first and second switching contacts, and an evaluation device configured to evaluate the first structure-borne signals so as to determine a remaining service life of the first and second switching contacts.

The present invention relates to a method for determining the remaining service life of the switching contacts in an electric switching device and to an electric switching device including an evaluation unit that can be used in determining the remaining service life of the switching contacts in the device.
German Patent Application No. DE 40 28 721 C2 describes a method for determining the remaining service life of switching devices and an arrangement for carrying out the method. According to this method, only measurable values are used which can be measured in the cables of the device. Here, the structural changes to the switching device are to be intentionally avoided.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method and a device for carrying out the method by which the characterization of switching contact states with respect to the expected service life, or with respect to the respective existing state of an electric switching contact is improved.
The present invention provides a method for determining a remaining service life of switching contacts in an electrical switching device. The method includes operating the switching contacts so as to produce structure-borne sound signals, capturing the structure-borne sound signals, performing a Fourier transform on the structure-borne sound signals in a plurality of discrete time windows so as to produce a sonogram, determining a plurality of function values using the sonogram, evaluating the plurality of function values using an evaluation device.
The invention further provides an electrical switching device the includes a first switching contact, a second switching in an operable relationship to the first switching contact, a sound sensor configured to capture structure-borne sound signals produced by an operation of the first and second switching contacts, and an evaluation device configured to evaluate the structure-borne signals so as to determine a remaining service life of at least one of the first and second switching contacts.
According to the present invention, structure-borne sound signals of the switching contact arrangement which are produced by the switching operation in the contact pieces are captured, the captured structure-borne sound signals are subjected to a Fourier transform in discrete time windows to produce a sonogram, and individual function values are selectively determined from the sonogram and evaluated using an evaluation device. Preferred function values are the peak value of at least one sonogram amplitude, the rise time of a sonogram amplitude from the occurrence of the signal to its maximum value, the decay time of the sonogram amplitude as well as the centroid of the amplitude area or of the amplitude space of a sonogram amplitude or of an amplitude space.
In a preferred embodiment, by selectively choosing three different frequency bands (frequency ranges) within which to capture and evaluate structure-borne sound signals of the contact pieces, interference effects are suppressed to the greatest possible extent (frequency ranges having high noise components are selectively masked) and meaningful signals are individually determined for each switching contact. According to the present invention, this is achieved in that an integral is formed over the signals of the structure-borne sound waves of a switching contact in at least two of three frequency bands, that in the third frequency band, either an integral of the occurring sound signals is formed as well or only the amplitude value of the sonographically determined sound signal shape (sonic response) is determined, and the values obtained in this manner from the three frequency bands are evaluated using an evaluation device. In this manner, the structure-borne sound signals occurring inside a switching contact during a switching operation (opening and/or closing operation of the switching contacts) are captured and evaluated to assess the remaining service life.
Since a contact piece has particularly characteristic properties in different frequency bands which properties change as a function of its state of wear, it is possible to make a precise statement on the wear state and the associated remaining service life of the switching contact by evaluating these properties.
The bandwidths of 20 kHz-35 kHz, 50 kHz-125 kHz and 175 kHz-225 kHz have been found to be particularly preferable frequency ranges for the three frequency bands. In this connection, within the first frequency band (20-35 kHz), the amplitude response of the sonic response is determined from an appertaining sonogram and, within the second and third frequency bands (50-125 kHz and 175-225 kHz), a formed integrated value of the structure-borne sound signal amplitudes is formed. In a different procedure, it is also possible to integrate the sound signal amplitudes in all three frequency bands, and to evaluate these values afterwards.
The determination of the function values of the sonic response determined in an appertaining sonogram is preferable performed in a time interval of three to six milliseconds after the closing of the switching contacts (or the occurrence of the first structure-borne sound signal).
The method according to the present is carried out using a switching device which features an evaluation device.
In a first embodiment, the evaluation device is integrated in the switching device in addition to with sensors for structure-borne sound. In this context, the structure-borne sound sensors are coupled to the switching contact in the form of piezoelectric elements in a manner which permits capture of sound waves arising in the switching contact or in the contact piece itself.
In a preferred embodiment, the structure-borne sound sensors are arranged on the contact piece carrier via a ceramic crystal carrier or via an element which is operationally connected to the contact piece carrier with respect to the transmission of the structure-borne sound waves. In this manner, a galvanic separation between the sound sensor and the contact piece carrier is achieved while at the same time ensuring high-quality transmission of the structure-borne sound waves.
In a second embodiment, the evaluation device is designed as a separate device or as a part of a multipurpose device (multipurpose measuring instrument or diagnostic unit). In this context, as described above, the sound sensors are arranged immediately in the switching unit itself and can be contacted from outside via an interface. Thus, the expected remaining service life of the switching contacts of a switching device according to the present invention can be determined, when necessary, via an external evaluation device.

Method for determining the remaining service life of the switch contacts in an electric switching device and electric switching device with an evaluation unit for carrying out said method


A nose assembly and method for controlling the rotation and stabilizing the orientation of a vehicle during landing maneuvers. The vehicle includes a nose assembly that is coupled to an airframe thereof and that has a frame and flap assembly. The flap assembly includes an actuating means and a flap coupled to the frame such that the actuating means moves the flap from and between a fully retracted position and a fully extended position in response to a guidance signal received from a flight control computer. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the flap assembly includes a plurality of flaps each coupled to the nose assembly frame and an actuating means that selectively positions the plurality of flaps in response to a signal. The method for rotating a vehicle from a nose-forward orientation to a base-forward orientation includes the steps of orientating the vehicle in nose-forward flight, rotating the vehicle in a first direction, and selectively actuating one of a first and second flap from a retracted position toward an extended position to generate a damping moment tending to position the vehicle in a base-forward orientation.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a direction control assembly for an aerospace vehicle and, more particularly, to a flap assembly at the forebody of a reusable launch vehicle for rotating and stabilizing the vehicle during entry and pre-landing maneuvers.
2. Discussion
Reusable launch vehicles used to deploy satellites in a predetermined orbit about the earth include single stage to orbit ("SSTO") vehicles that are designed to perform their intended operation and return to earth without jettisoning any portions of the vehicle. Accordingly, SSTO vehicles do not include discardable booster rockets or fuel tanks. Rather, the fuel supply elements of SSTO vehicles are retained throughout the flight thereby increasing the need to minimize fuel consumption in order to decrease the unusable weight carried into orbit. The present invention addresses these concerns by providing a vehicle rotation and control mechanism that reduces propellant acquisition subsystems and the propellant required to properly position the vehicle for landing.
Vertically landing SSTO vehicles commonly include a conically shaped airframe configured for stable flight in a nose-forward orientation. However, since the vehicle is vertically landed in a rearward or tail-first orientation a rotation of the vehicle during the landing sequence is required. Currently, SSTO vehicles of this class perform the rotation maneuver through the use of engine power. More specifically, the maneuver includes starting several of the main engines, retracting entry flaps so that the vehicle pitches up to initiate rotation, and selectively throttling up the engines to arrest rotation and place the vehicle into the desired base-first orientation. In order to minimize the quantity of propellant consumed by the engines between the rotation and touch down phases of the landing procedure, this rotation maneuver is generally conducted at a relatively low altitude. While this procedure is viable, a considerable amount of propellant is used during the starting and operation of the engines and the propellant feed system becomes heavy and complex. Further, the relatively low altitude compresses landing functions into a shorter timeline.


A method, computer program product and system that enables dynamic determination of device attributes and dynamic configuration of device drivers for storage devices in a heterogeneous storage environment. Attributes of a device are dynamically determined by an application program, and those attributes are used by the application program to configure the device driver. The application program and the storage device being configured remain operational during the reconfiguration process.

As businesses increasingly rely on computers for their daily operations, managing the vast amount of business information generated and processed has become a significant challenge. Most large businesses have a wide variety of application programs managing large volumes of data stored on many different types of storage devices across various types of networks and operating system platforms. These storage devices can include tapes, disks, optical disks, and other types of storage devices and often include a variety of products produced by many different vendors. Each product typically is incompatible with the products of other vendors. Because of these complexities in managing a heterogeneous storage environment, specialized storage management applications have been developed to assist network and information administrators in managing storage resources.
Storage devices have become increasingly sophisticated, providing such capabilities as allowing input and output to be scheduled through multiple paths to a given disk within a disk array. Such disk arrays are referred to herein as multi-path arrays. Often, vendors of storage devices provide their own application programming interfaces (APIs) and/or command line utilities for using the specialized features of their own storage devices, but these APIs and command line utilities are not compatible from vendor to vendor. Implementing the ability to use these features in application programs, such as storage management applications, is complicated by the fact that detailed attribute information from the storage device is needed. For example, to make use of a multi-path disk array, the type of the disk array is needed. This attribute information is typically not available to an application program, because it is not used by, and therefore not available from, the underlying operating system.
Typically, the storage devices available to a host computer system are determined at boot time by the operating system. Determining that a new device has been added or providing a modified driver for a storage device requires rebooting the host computer system or using an operating system command line utility. These operating system operations typically require shutting down application programs running on the host system, including storage management applications, thereby disrupting business operations. With today's 24×7 operating environments, such shutdowns can be very costly. The ability to make configuration changes to storage environments dynamically while application programs are running is needed.
For example, to add a new type of storage device to a storage environment, a vendor of a storage management application often must modify an existing version of the storage management application code, as well as add a new storage device driver or modify an existing storage device driver. The new storage device is tested by storage management application vendor personnel and incorporated into a later release of the storage management application.
This process for making new storage devices available has proven costly for vendors of storage management applications, as support for each new storage device requires a new release, a costly and time-consuming project. Furthermore, the release process has proven untimely for the vendors of storage devices, as support for their products depends upon the release schedules for storage management applications in which their products are used, slowing time to market for storage devices.
What is needed is the ability to dynamically add or modify support for a storage device in a storage management application.

Dynamic discovery of attributes of storage device driver configuration


Thermal barrier coating systems for use with hot section components of a gas turbine engine include an inner layer overlying a bond coated substrate and a top layer overlying at least a portion of the inner layer. The inner layer includes a thermal barrier material such as yttria-stabilized zirconia. The top layer includes a rare earth aluminate. The thicknesses and microstructures of the layers may be varied depending on the type of component to be coated. Articles incorporating the thermal barrier coating system exhibit improved resistance to CMAS infiltration.

Calcium-magnesium-aluminum-silicate (CMAS) infiltration is a phenomenon that is linked to thermal barrier coating (TBC) spallation in hot section turbine components.
Thermal barrier coatings are utilized on hot section engine components including combustor section and turbine section components to protect the underlying base materials from high temperatures as a result of the flow of hot gases of combustion through the turbine. These hot gases of combustion can be above the melting point of the base materials, which typically are superalloy materials, being based on iron, nickel, cobalt and combinations thereof. The thermal barrier coatings provide passive protection from overheating, and are used in conjunction with cooling airflow that provides active cooling protection.
Under service conditions, these thermal barrier-coated hot section engine components can be susceptible to various modes of damage, including erosion, oxidation and corrosion from exposure to the gaseous products of combustion, foreign object damage and attack from environmental contaminants. Environmental contaminants that can be present in the air include sand, dirt, volcanic ash, sulfur in the form of sulfur dioxide, fly ash, particles of cement, runway dust, and other pollutants that may be expelled into the atmosphere, such as metallic particulates, such as magnesium, calcium, aluminum, silicon, chromium, nickel, iron, barium, titanium, alkali metals and compounds thereof, including oxides, carbonates, phosphates, salts and mixtures thereof. These environmental contaminants are in addition to the corrosive and oxidative contaminants that result from the combustion of fuel. These contaminants can adhere to the surfaces of the hot section components, which are typically thermal barrier coated.
At the operating temperature of the engine, these contaminants can form contaminant compositions on the thermal barrier coatings. These contaminant compositions typically include calcia, magnesia, alumina, silica (CMAS), and their deposits are referred to as CMAS. At temperatures above about 2240° F., these CMAS compositions may become liquid and infiltrate into the TBC. This infiltration by the liquid CMAS destroys the compliance of the TBC, leading to premature spallation of the TBC. In addition to the compliant loss, deleterious chemical reactions with yttria and zirconia within the TBC, as well as with the thermally grown oxide at the bond coating/TBC interface, occur and result in a degradation of the coating system.
The spallation due to CMAS infiltration has become a greater problem in jet engines as their operating temperatures have increased to improve efficiency, as well as in engines operating in the Middle East and in coastal regions. High concentrations of fine sand and dust in the ambient air can accelerate CMAS degradation. A typical composition of CMAS is, for example, 35 mole % CaO, 10 mol % MgO, 7 mol % Al2O3, 48 mol % SiO2, 3 mol % Fe2O3 and 1.5 mol % NiO. And of course, spallation of the TBC due to exposure to CMAS at elevated temperature only sets the stage for more serious problems. Continued operation of the engine once the passive thermal barrier protection has been lost leads to rapid oxidation of the base metal superalloy protective coating and the ultimate failure of the component by burn through or cracking. In fact, such significant distress has been observed in both military and commercial engines.
Various solutions to the problem of CMAS degradation have been attempted. However, as operating temperatures of engines have gradually trended higher, ever more effective treatments are required. What is needed is a TBC system that is resistant to CMAS penetration at elevated temperatures.

Thermal barrier coating systems including a rare earth aluminate layer for improved resistance to CMAS infiltration and coated articles


A photography system includes: a camera containing a first communication unit; and a photography illumination device containing a second communication unit, wherein: the camera wirelessly transmits from the first communication unit to the second communication unit a first signal that commands, from the camera side to the photography illumination device side, a preparatory flash emission that precedes a main flash emission during photography; the photography illumination device wirelessly transmits from the second communication unit to the first communication unit a second signal that includes flash emission timing information of the preparatory flash emission, and that carries information, from the photography illumination device side to the camera side, as to the effect that the first signal has been received; and the camera starts photometric processing during the preparatory flash emission based upon the flash emission timing information.

A technique is known for synchronizing, between a camera and an electronic flash device that are connected together via wireless communication, the timing of monitor flash emission by the electronic flash device and the timing of photometry by the camera (refer to Patent Document #1). According to Patent Document #1, a master electronic flash device transmits a packet including a command for performance of monitor flash emission to a remote electronic flash device, and, upon reception of this packet, the remote electronic flash device performs monitor flash emission on the basis of a timing specified by the packet.

Photography system, camera, and photography illumination device


A seat of a vehicle is connected to the vehicle body by a support linkage that enables movement of the seat. A hydraulic actuator is connected between the seat and the vehicle body to produce motion which counteracts the influence of the vehicle body movement on the seat. An air bag, coupled between the seat and vehicle body, has a variable spring preload to compensate for differing masses placed on the seat. A motion sensor detects movement of the seat and a displacement sensor detects seat displacement. A force sensor detects a force exerted on the actuator by an operator sitting in the seat. A controller responds to the motion and displacement sensors by operating the actuator to nullify effects of the movement of the vehicle body from acting on the seat, and responds to the force sensor by varying the spring preload of the air bag to maintain the force exerted on the actuator to within a defined range.

Vibration has an adverse affect on the productivity of work vehicles used in agriculture and construction in which an operator sits in a seat of a cab that is supported on a chassis. As the vehicle moves over the ground, vibration disturbances are transmitted through the vehicle components to the seat and the operator. The motion disturbances experienced by such vehicles increase operator fatigue and can result in considerable operator discomfort over sustained working periods. Thus, it is desirable to reduce operator movement by minimizing motion disturbances that otherwise are transmitted to the seat.
Motor vehicles have traditionally incorporated devices into suspension systems between the wheels and the vehicle chassis to attenuate vibration induced by the road. Additional vibration isolation devices sometimes are placed between the vehicle chassis and the cab in which the operator rides to further reduce road vibrations and engine induced vibration. Those previous suspension systems typically performed poorly in the frequency range where the human body is most sensitive, i.e. one to ten hertz. When subjected to vertical movement, or bounce, the human abdomen resonates at approximately four to eight hertz while the head and eyes resonate at ten hertz. The upper torso of a person resonates in response to pitch and roll movement at between one and two hertz. As a consequence, the vehicle suspension system needs high performance at these frequencies and directions in order to counteract vibration effectively.
Very soft cab mounts can provide attenuation in this low frequency range (one to ten hertz), but have very poor force rejection ability. In other words, a relatively small external force applied to the cab causes the vehicle cab to deflect unacceptably. Other vehicle suspension systems, which are relatively stiff and thus have good force rejection, tend to provide poor low frequency isolation. In many instances, such systems actually amplify the frequency range to which the human body is most sensitive.
It is more desirable to have a suspension system which is hard relative to external forces acting on the vehicle body, but soft to disturbances transferred from the chassis up to the cab, in other words, a hard/soft system. With such a system, the body feels rigid when the operator climbs into the vehicle, but the offending vibrations which would otherwise be transmitted from the chassis to the body are attenuated.
With reference to FIG. 1, a conventional passive suspension system for a vehicle consists of a spring and a damper 7, such as a conventional shock absorber, connected in parallel between the chassis 8 and body 9 of the vehicle. The motion of the body is defined by the expressions: EQU P=K.delta.+R(V.sub.I -V.sub.0) EQU .delta.=V.sub.I -V.sub.0
The transmissibility of the suspension is given by: ##EQU1## where M is the mass of the body, K is the stiffness of spring 6, R is the damping coefficient R of the damper 7, V.sub.0 is inertial velocity of the body mass, V.sub.I is the inertial velocity of the chassis disturbance, and s is the Laplace variable.
A trade-off exists in the design of this simple spring and damper suspension system. In order to isolate vibrations at relatively high frequencies above the suspension's natural frequency, it is desirable to reduce the damping coefficient R. However, such a system tends to resonate, as an automobile with badly worn and ineffective shock absorbers, thereby producing a very springy ride. Increasing the damping coefficient to overcome the springy ride problem decreases isolation above the suspension's natural frequency.
Previous attempts to avoid this trade-off employed a dynamically altered control force applied across the suspension. In that system the force Fc exerted by the damper varied in proportion to the mass velocity. The motion of the mass in that system is defined by the expressions: EQU p=K.delta.+RV.sub.0 EQU .delta.=V.sub.I -V.sub.0
Thus the dependence on the motion of the chassis has been removed. The transmissibility of the suspension is given by: ##EQU2##
As evident from the above transmissibility function, the feedback from the sensed mass motion affects only the damping term in the denominator, eliminating the trade-off between dampening at resonance and isolation above the suspension's natural frequency.


The present invention relates to a pump, which comprises a pump body, a pair of check rings and a pneumatic control valve. When the pneumatic control valve is operated, a main shaft in the pump body is enabled to reciprocally move in a shaft hole, thereby enabling two diaphragms to be stretched and compressed at the same time for performing the compressing and the sucking stroke for the liquid; when subject to the hydraulic pressure, an arc-shaped convex ring of each of the check rings is deformed, and a contract ring is contracted for enclosing the main shaft thereby forming a liquid checking effect; when each of the check rings is not subject to the hydraulic pressure or the air pressure, the arc-shaped convex ring is not deformed thereby forming a slit between the contract ring and the main shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pump, especially to a pump installed with at least a check ring, wherein the check ring is capable of enclosing a main shaft for providing a liquid checking effect or capable of releasing the main shaft for forming a slit. Furthermore, the present invention provides a check ring used in a pump.
2. Description of Related Art
A pump is device for transporting liquid, air or special fluid medium, i.e. a machinery acting on fluid. Take a semiconductor wafer manufacturing factory for example, when a wafer is desired to be processed with cleaning and etching, a strong acid or string alkaline liquid is required, and during the process of a conventional kinetic pump being used for transporting the strong acid or strong alkaline liquid, the securing position of the impeller of the kinetic pump may have damages such as cavitation or acid corrosion thereby causing the liquid to be contaminated. As such, skilled people in the art have developed a pneumatic dual-diaphragm pump integrally made of an acid and alkaline resistant material, e.g. polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which is trademarked as Teflon, thereby preventing the pump from being damaged by the strong acid or strong alkaline liquid.
The mentioned pneumatic dual-diaphragm pump is a volume pump, in which a pump body is connected with a pressure control valve, the pneumatic dual-diaphragm pump is to utilize the pressure control valve to drive a reciprocally-moving main shaft installed in the pump body, and the main shaft is received in a shaft hole, and two ends of the main shaft are respectively installed with a full-cover diaphragm, each diaphragm divides two pump chambers into an individual air chamber and an individual liquid chamber. When high pressure air is introduced into the pump, the pressure control valve is driven to act for allowing the main shaft to reciprocally move, thereby causing the two diaphragms to be deformed at the same time for changing the volume of each liquid chamber, so the liquid is sucked in or pumped out due to the pressure difference.
For providing a sealing effect to the pump chambers at two ends of the main shaft, a seal ring is respectively installed at two sides of the shaft hole, the main shaft is sleeved with the two seal rings and reciprocally moved. Wherein, the main shaft and the seal rings are made of an acid and alkaline resistant material, e.g. Teflon. When the liquid transportation is finished and the air source is not yet closed, the pressure control valve still drives the main shaft in the pump body to reciprocally move, so the main shaft is forced to directly and repeatedly rub against the seal rings without the heat dissipating and lubricating effects provided by the liquid, thereby causing the two components being heated and expanded due to heat, thus dead latch is formed. At this moment, if no proper action is taken, the main shaft and the seal rings may be melted due to the high temperature, thereby damaging the main shaft and the seal ring.


A fuel vapor adsorption filter for mounting within an intake air channel connected to an engine extends across the intake air channel in order to adsorb fuel vapor within the intake air channel when the engine has been stopped. The filter includes an adsorbing agent for adsorbing the fuel vapor. A holding layer is formed by a first non-woven fabric and serves to contain and hold the adsorbing agent. The first non-woven fabric is formed of thermoplastic resin fibers. A cover layer is made of a second non-woven fabric and serves to cover at least one side of the holding layer opposing the downstream side of the intake air channel. The second non-woven fabric is formed of thermoplastic resin fibers. The resin fibers forming the second non-woven fabric of the cover layer have an average diameter between 100 μm and 330 μm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fuel vapor adsorption filters, and in particular to fuel vapor adsorption filters that are mounted within an intake air channel and extend across the intake air channel. The intake air channel is connected to an engine, e.g., an internal combustion engine, in order to adsorb fuel vapor within the intake air channel when the engine has stopped.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-276486 teaches a known fuel vapor adsorption filter. As shown in FIG. 7, a fuel vapor adsorption filter 90 of this publication is constituted by activated carbon granules 91 interleaved between holding layers 94 made of non-woven fabrics. The activated carbon granules 91 are bonded to the holding layers 94 by adhesive layers 92. In addition, the holding layers 94 are covered with heat-resisting nets 96. The heat-resisting nets 96 keep flames from not directly affecting the holding layers 94 of the fuel vapor adsorption filter when the engine has backfired.
However, if the mesh of the heat resisting net 96 is not fine enough, flames produced by an engine backfire may directly affect the holding layers 94, which are made of non-woven fabrics, through the openings of the net 96. On the contrary, if the mesh of the heat resisting net 96 is too fine, the resistance against the flow of the air through the net 96 may increase, causing an insufficient flow rate of intake air to be supplied to the engine.


A method of disrupting the normal behavior and natural development cycle of wood-boring insects by applying mechanical vibrations and detecting wood-boring insects by monitoring their vibration patterns.

Insects like the Emerald Ash Borer, Asian Longhorn Beetle and Mountain Pine Beetle are destroying our forests. There are no simple ways to stop the spread of these insects. It is known that predators can detect some of their prey by listening for and hearing their prey move below the surface. Examples of this are the robin and the worm, the mole and the grub and the woodpecker and the wood-boring insect. It is also known that prey may stop moving when it knows a predator is nearby. An example of this is the wood-boring insect will stop moving when it detects the vibrations of a nearby woodpecker pecking. It is also known that adult and larvae insects cannot remain immobile for an extended period or their natural development cycle will be disrupted and they may have impaired development or die of starvation. This invention capitalizes on this natural predator/prey interaction to kill insects in trees.
The maximum frequency of a woodpecker pecking on a tree is 20 times per second (20 Hz). The maximum velocity that a woodpecker's head reaches is 7 meters per second. The maximum G-force that each peck from a woodpecker can generate is 1500 Gs within 1 millisecond.

Disrupting the behavior and development cycle of wood-boring insects with vibration


A message system includes voice or data messages and which allows such messages to be retrieved at the convenience of the recipient. A preferred data messaging system architecture according to the present invention includes a digital signal processor at a communications entry point, an operational API, a number of calling device personality and rules sets, a storage input/output, and voice and data message storage. The digital signal processor determines the type of communications device contacting the system. The operational API interacts with the calling device to a set of operating rules. These rules specify the calling device's abilities to navigate through a messaging path and provide capability which may be required for the calling device type. The calling device personality and rules set modules preferably contain a feature set for the particular type of communication device. Each personality and rules set module preferably contains all the resources needed for navigation and operations, such as storing, retrieving, and converting to and from other types of formats. The storage input/output provides an interface between the personality and rules set module and the voice and data message storage. The voice and data message storage maintains the messages and other information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communications systems and, more particularly, to a data messaging architecture which supports the upload and download of both analog and digital media from the same communications network entry point from different communications devices.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Telephone voice message services record and store voice messages directed to voice messaging customers. These messages are often converted from analog to digital information. The digitized messages may be saved, retrieved, forwarded, or otherwise treated in the same manner as other digital data. A typical voice messaging system saves digitized voice information in a format similar to that used for storing computer data. While convenient, voice messaging systems may only receive voice information, it cannot receive fax, data, or other types of information. FIG. 1A illustrates a typical voice messaging system 100. A communications network 102, such as a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) or Integrated Signaling Digital Network (ISDN), connects a number of telephones 104, 106. A voice messaging system 108 is part of the communications network 102 (or is a peripheral device to the network).
If the user of a first telephone 104 is a voice messaging subscriber, the user may access the voice messaging system 108 by calling a predetermined telephone number and, for example, providing a personal identification number (PIN) via DTMF (Dual Tone Multiple Frequency) tones by pressing buttons on a Touch-Tone telephone. Once the user has gained access to the system, the system may play prerecorded (or speech synthesized) messages which prompt the user through a menu of choices. The user may respond, for example, using DTMF tones, or speaking into the telephone, if the system has speech recognition capability. The menu may tell the user how many messages have been received, allow the user to retrieve messages, allow the user to record an outgoing message, forward messages to others, etc.
If the user of a second telephone 106 is not a voice messaging subscriber, the user may be provided only limited access to the system 108. For example, if the user calls a voice messaging subscriber and the call is forwarded to the system 108, the user may be permitted only to leave a message for the subscriber.
Facsimile (fax) messaging systems are proposed. For example, Octel has proposed a fax messaging system which allows faxes to be recorded and retrieved, forwarded, accessed by one or more recipients, or otherwise handled. FIG. 1B illustrates a proposed fax messaging system 150. A communications network 152, such as a PSTN or ISDN connects a number of fax machines 154, 156. A fax messaging system 158 is part of the communications network 152 (or is a peripheral device to the network).
If the user of a first fax machine 154 is a fax messaging subscriber, the fax machine may access the fax messaging system 150 by calling a predetermined telephone number and, for example, providing a PIN by pressing buttons on a Touch-Tone telephone. Once the fax machine has gained access to the system, the system may provide the fax machine with faxes addressed to the fax machine 154 or receive a fax from the fax machine 154. Other options may also be available, such as forwarding faxes, establishing fax distribution lists, and permitting several recipients to obtain the same fax from the system 158. While also convenient, the proposed fax messaging system may only send and receive fax data.
Moreover, for a service provider, such as a local or long distance telephone service provider, to provide both voice and fax messaging systems, two complete systems having two network communications entry points is necessary. The two systems will also have two separate user navigation schemes. FIG. 2 illustrates a communications system 200 having separate voice and fax messaging systems. A communications network 202 connects several telephones 204, 206 to a voice messaging system 208 and several fax machines 254, 256 to a fax messaging system 258. Note that two complete systems 208, 258 are provided. Each system has its own entry point (i.e., each is accessed by dialing a different number). Each system has a separate menu and user prompts. (The fax messaging system may have few or no prompts because a fax machine is a "dumb" device. A "dumb" device is one in which messages are sent and retrieved by predetermined codes that are not manipulated by the user.) Also, other types of data (moving and still video, computer data, etc.) cannot be handled by either system. Because an increasing amount of telephone line traffic is data rather than voice, it would be convenient for telephone network customers to be able to "leave" data messages in the same way that voice messages may be left.
The ability to "leave" data messages for others has many benefits. For example, some computer software providers remotely update their products. That is, software updates are performed over telephone lines via modems. To perform these upgrades, the software provider contacts each individual customer, connect the software provider's computer to the customer's computer and downloads the upgraded software. These upgrades may take several hours to complete. Thus, the total time for a software provider to upgrade all of its clients is n*t, where n is the total number of clients to be upgraded and t is the total time to perform a single upgrade.
Remote upgrades have a second drawback. Whenever two computers communicate via modem, computer hackers have an opportunity to obtain access to the communicating computers. Thus, the direct communication between the customer's and the software provider's computers is an opportunity for a hacker to access one or both of these computers. These upgrades would be more secure if they did not involve a direct communication between computers.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a data messaging system which handles analog and digital data, including voice, fax, computer data, and video information.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a messaging architecture which can receive messages of different formats at a single network entry point.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a manner in which computers or other communications devices may indirectly communicate.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a voice and data messaging system operable with different types of calling devices without modifying the calling devices.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a modular data messaging system which can be supplemented to handle different communications format without significant modifications to the overall system.

Messaging architecture supporting digital and analog media


A security management capability enables migration of individual security rules between storage/application locations. The migration of a security rule may include selection of a location at which the security rule is to be applied and migration of the security rule to the selected location at which the security rule is to be applied. The selection of the location at which the security rule is to be applied may be performed based on security rule policies and/or security rule location selection information. The security rule is migrated from a current location (e.g., a location at which the security rule is currently applied, a management system, or the like) to the selected location at which the security rule is to be applied. In this manner, a fluid security layer may be provided. The fluid security layer may be optimized for one or more of security level, performance, cost, or the like.

Cloud-based data centers are rapidly becoming the choice of enterprises and individual users to host their data While cloud-based data centers have been re-engineered in recent years to address the growing volume of data being hosted within cloud-based data centers (e.g., to provide multi-path capabilities, higher bandwidth, higher scalability, and other features enabling support for increasing numbers of hosts), many security services providing security for cloud-based data centers are lagging in terms of technological innovation.

Apparatus and method for providing a fluid security layer


A power supply securing system includes a securing bracket (30) and a computer case (50). The securing bracket includes a securing portion (371), and is capable of receiving a power supply (10). The computer case includes a first side panel (53) and a second side panel (55) that is parallel to the first side panel. The first side panel includes a blocking member (533) capable of abutting the securing bracket and a securing piece (531) received by the securing bracket. The second side panel includes a tab (555). The securing bracket is pivotably mounted to the computer case about the securing piece and the securing bracket is capable of moving between a first position and a second position. The tab is engaged with the securing portion in the first position and is not engaged with the securing portion in the second position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mounting apparatuses, and more particularly to a mounting apparatus for securing a power supply in a computer system.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional computer system usually includes a power supply in a computer case. The installation of the power supply in the computer case usually involves the use of screws.
For example, a computer case for mounting a power supply is provided. The computer case includes a rear panel, a fixing bracket attached to the rear panel, and a bridge attached to the fixing bracket. The rear panel defines an opening therein. The fixing bracket includes a first sidewall and a second sidewall opposite each other. A receiving space is defined between the first sidewall and the second sidewall in communication with the opening in the rear panel adapted for receiving the power supply therein. The bridge includes a first end and a second end respectively connected to the first and second sidewalls of the fixing bracket for positioning and fastening the power supply. The bridge is secured to the fixing bracket by screws.
However, it is inconvenient to use the screws to secure the power supply to the computer case or remove the power supply from the computer case. The screws are small and difficult to manipulate and install. Additionally, because of their small size, the screws may be dropped by an assembler, possibly causing damage to other parts in the computer case.
What is needed, therefore, is a mounting apparatus, which allows convenient securing and removing of a power supply in a computer case.

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.


A process for producing coelenteramide or its analog in a high yield has been desired. The invention provides a process for producing di-O-methylcoelenteramide or its analog of formula (3)

A calcium-binding photoprotein is one of the proteins responsible for bioluminescence. This photoprotein instantaneously emits a flash of light upon specific interaction with Ca2+. The calcium-binding photoprotein is a complex of a protein having the catalytic function of oxygenation and the peroxide of a luciferin as a luminescence substrate. In the calcium-binding photoprotein, the protein having the catalytic function of oxygenation is called an apoprotein (e.g., apoaequorin). The peroxide of a luciferin is 2-hydroperoxycoelenterazine. Such known calcium-binding photoproteins are those derived from coelenterates, specifically including aequorin, clytin-I, clytin-H, mitrocomin, obelin, etc.
Among them, aequorin is a photoprotein isolated from the luminous jellyfish Aequorea aequorea (1: Shimomura, In: Bioluminescence, Chemical Principles and Methods, (2006) pp 90-158, World Scientific Pub. Co.; 2: Shimomura et al., (1962) J. Cell. Comp. Physiol. 59, pp 223-240). This aequorin is a non-covalent complex of apoaequorin (21.4 kDa) and a hydroperoxide of coelenterazine (3: Head et al., (2000) Nature, 405 372-376). Apoaequorin is a single polypeptide composed of 189 amino acid residues with 3 EF hand motifs characteristic of Ca2+-binding site (4: Inouye et al., (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 82, 3154-3158). In the presence of Ca2+, aequorin emits blue light (λmax=˜460 nm) by an intramolecular reaction and decomposes itself into apoaequorin, coelenteramide and CO2 (5: Shimomura & Johnson (1972) Biochemistry 11, 1602-1608; 6: Shimomura & Johnson (1973) Tetrahedron Lett. 2963-2966). The complex of Ca2+-bound apoaequorin with coelenteramide obtained by this decomposition is known as blue fluorescent protein (BFP) (7: Shimomura & Johnson (1975) Nature 256, 236-238).
The fluorescence emission spectrum of BFP is the same as bioluminescence spectrum of aequorin (8: Shimomura, Biochem. J. 306 (1995) 537-543; 9: Inouye, FEBS Lett 577 (2004) 105-110). Recombinant apoaequorin prepared from E. coli can be regenerated into aequorin by incubation with coelenterazine and molecular oxygen in the presence of EDTA and a reducing agent (10: Inouye et al., (1986) Biochemistry 25: 8425-8429; 11: Inouye et al., (1989) J. Biochem., 105, 473-477). Recombinant aequorin is highly purified (12: Shimomura & Inouye (1999) Protein Express. Purif. 16, 91-95). Recombinant aequorin has identical luminescence properties to those of native aequorin (13: Shimomura et al., (1990) Biochem. J. 270 309-312). The crystal structures of aequorin and semi-synthetic aequorin were determined (3: Head et al., Nature, 405 (2000) 372-376; 14: Toma et al., (2005) Protein Science 14:409-416) and the Mg2+binding properties of aequorin to EF hand motifs were also examined by NMR spectroscopy (15: Ohashi et al., (2005) J. Biochem. 138: 613-620).
Recently, BFP was quantitatively prepared from the purified recombinant aequorin (9: Inouye, FEBS Lett. 577 (2004) 105-110; 16: Inouye & Sasaki, FEBS Lett. 580 (2006) 1977-1982). BFP was found to have a substantial luminescence activity, catalyzing the oxidation of coelenterazine like a luciferase. The luminescence intensity of BFP is about 10 times higher than that of Ca2+-bound apoaequorin (9: Inouye FEBS Lett 577 (2004) 105-110). That is, BFP is a new bifunctional protein having both fluorescence and luciferase activities. Furthermore, by treatment with EDTA, BFP is converted into a green fluorescent protein (gFP) showing the maximum fluorescence emission peak at about 470 nm. gFP is a non-covalent complex of apoaequorin and coelenteramide and may reconstitute aequorin by incubation with coelenterazine at 25° C. in the absence of reducing reagents (9: Inouye, FEBS Lett. 577 (2004) 105-110). By incubation of various coelenterazine analogs with BFP or gFP in the presence of EDTA and dithiothreitol (DTT), semi-synthetic aequorin may also be prepared (16: Inouye et al. & Sasaki, FEBS Lett. 580 (2006) 1977-1982). Moreover, the luminescence activity of BFP as a luciferase is stimulated by adding imidazole at concentrations of 30 to 300 mM using coelenterazine and its analog as substrates (17: Inouye & Sasaki (2007) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 354: 650-655). However, the protein catalytic domains or amino acid residues for the oxygen addition to coelenterazine, which are important basic information for developing the applications of BFP and gFP, remain unknown. In solving these problems and developing the applications, it is required to easily prepare BFP and gFP of several ten milligrams. Put otherwise, it is essential to establish a process for preparing highly purified gFP from apoaequorin and coelenteramide and converting gFP into BFP.
Turning now to the production of coelenteramide, which is the starting material for producing BFP and gFP, there is known a process for producing coelenteramide, which comprises reacting the compound shown by formula below:
with p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid shown by formula below:
(6: Shimomura & Johnson, Tetrahedron Lett. (1973) 2963-2966). According to this process, the yield of coelenteramide is approximately 50%.                1. Shimomura, In: Bioluminescence, Chemical principles and methods (2006) pp 90-158, World Scientific Pub. Co.        2. Shimomura et al., (1962) J. Cell. Comp. Physiol. 59, pp 223-240        3. Head et al., (2000) Nature, 405, 372-376        4. Inouye et al., (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 82, 3154-3158        5. Shimomura & Johnson (1972) Biochemistry 11, 1602-1608        6. Shimomura & Johnson (1973) Tetrahedron Lett. 2963-2966        7. Shimomura & Johnson (1975) Nature 256, 236-238        8. Shimomura, (1995) Biochem. J. 306, 537-543        9. Inouye, (2004) FEBS Lett. 577, 105-110        10. Inouye et al., (1986) Biochemistry 25, 8425-8429        11. Inouye et al., (1989) J. Biochem., 105 473-477        12. Shimomura & Inouye (1999) Protein Express. Purif. 16, 91-95        13. Shimomura et al., (1990) Biochem. J. 270, 309-312        14. Toma et al., (2005) Protein Science 14, 409-416        15. Ohashi et al., (2005) J. Biochem. 138, 613-620        16. Inouye & Sasaki, (2006) FEBS Lett. 580, 1977-1982        17. Inouye & Sasaki, (2007) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 354, 650-655

Process for producing coelenteramide or an analog thereof

Abstract: which comprises reacting O-methylcoelenteramine or its analog with 4-methoxyphenylacetyl halide or its analog. The invention also provides a process for producing coelenteramide or its analog, which comprises demethylation of di-O-methylcoelenteramide or its analog.


A substrate material including a Si-containing substrate and an insulating region that is resistant to Ge diffusion present atop the Si-containing substrate. The substrate material further includes a substantially relaxed SiGe alloy layer present atop the insulating region, wherein the substantially relaxed SiGe alloy layer has a planar defect density from about 5000 defects/cm−2 or less. The substrate material may be employed in a heterostructure, in which a strained Si layer is present atop the substantially relaxed SiGe alloy layer of the substrate material.

In the semiconductor industry, the use of relaxed SiGe layers as a template for strained Si layer growth has been the primary approach employed to create tensile-strained Si for possible use in high-performance complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuits. The strained Si layers provide improved charge carrier transportation compared to unstrained materials.
The viability of using such materials in mainstream CMOS applications will ultimately depend on manufacturing issues such as cost and circuit yield. Because most techniques for creating a relaxed SiGe layer involve plastically deforming an initially pseudomorphic strained Si film, residual dislocation defects tend to be present in all relaxed SiGe and strained Si materials. Thus, in addition to yield challenges inherent to any material change in CMOS processing, the additional challenge of defect-related yield issues will exist as well.
To minimize this challenge, many approaches have been created in an attempt to reduce the dislocation defect density in relaxed SiGe and strained Si layers. Dislocation defects are generally reported in the prior art as threading defects, which are single defect lines that pass through, i.e., thread, a material layer. The density of the threading defects is generally reported in the range from 105 to 108 threads/cm2. Due to their lower density and lack of any reliable defect etching techniques, there has essentially been no discussions or reports of planar defects (stacking faults or microtwins) in the literature.
Because typical densities of planar defects are below 106 defects/cm2, it becomes unlikely that even low magnification plan-view transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can detect these defects. Even if a very large prepared area was made and one planar defect was detected after 20 or so frames, it would tend to be discounted as anomalous.
A recent defect etch that was developed (see, U.S. application Ser. No. 10/654,231, filed Sep. 3, 2003, which has been incorporated herein by reference) to study strained Si and SiGe layers has shown that planar defects are far more ubiquitous than previously thought. Planar defects most likely represent a far more serious threat to device operation than an isolated threading dislocation because in contrast to a threading dislocation, a planar defect represents an entire plane of broken or distorted atomic bonds and therefore defects of this type affect a larger cross-sectional area of the crystal.
In view of the serious threat of planar defects, there is a need for developing a method to reduce stacking faults and other planar defects in strained Si/relaxed SiGe technologies.

Ion implantation for suppression of defects in annealed SiGe layers

International Business Machines Corporation


A lead assembly includes an inner electrode coupled with a conductor, and an outer electrode disposed over the inner electrode, where the outer electrode is coupled with at least a portion of the inner electrode. Insulative material is disposed between a portion of the inner and outer electrodes, for example within a void between the inner and outer electrodes.

Pacemaker leads represent the electrical link between the pulse generator and the heart tissue, which is to be excited and/or sensed. These pacemaker leads include single or multiconductors that are connected to an electrode in an electrode assembly at an intermediate portion or distal end of a pacing lead. A connector is included at the proximal end to form the electrical connection with the pacemaker.
To implant the lead within the patient, the lead is often fed intravenously toward the heart, where the lead is implanted for long periods of time, i.e. chronically. During a chronic implant, the lead is subject to bodily fluids over a long period of time.
Accordingly, what is needed is a lead having a lead body with resistance to leakage. What is further needed is a lead that is manufacturable in a repeatable and reliable manner.

Electrode and insulation assembly for a lead and method therefor


A segmentation operation is applied to an input image to identify foreground objects of interest, and then a shadow removal operation is applied to remove any detected shadows from the foreground segmentation. The shadow removal algorithms can leave holes and bisections in the segmentation map, however, which will then subsequently impact on an object detection step performed using connected component analysis. To get around this problem, a conditional morphological dilation operation is applied to the segmentation map to ‘grow’ the segmented blobs to fill in any holes and bisections, without re-growing shadow pixels in the segmentation. The result is an object detection method and system which is robust to illumination changes causing shadows and/or highlights.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method and system for detecting objects in images, and particularly, but not exclusively, to a method and system which detects moving objects taking into account lighting shadows and highlights of those objects.
2. Related Art
The automatic detection of moving objects such as people or vehicles within video images of a scene has been a goal of many researchers, and is a precursor to the provision of automated classification or tracking applications. Additionally, automated object detection systems are in themselves of use for monitoring and detection applications. The actual step of discriminating between picture elements (pixels) within an image which represent foreground or moving objects of interest and the background scene is known generally within the art and herein as "segmentation".
One of the problems known in the art relating to the automated detection of objects is of how to compensate for changes in lighting conditions, and in particular of how to discern between an actual object, and a shadow or highlight that that object may cast or otherwise contain. Especially within object classification or tracking systems, the need to be reasonably certain that it is the object which has been detected and not its shadow is important for subsequent matching steps, and hence techniques have been proposed in the art which detect and remove segmented pixels caused by shadows and highlights.
More particularly, McKenna et al. in "Tracking Groups of People", Computer Vision and Image Understanding, 80, 42-56, 2000 describe a pixel segmentation technique wherein an adaptive background image is employed, which recursively adapts a background image to take into account changes in illumination (which are assumed to be slow compared to object movement). A colour channel background subtraction technique is then performed, wherein for any particular input image, the RGB channels of the input image pixels are compared with the adaptive background, and dependent on the results of a logical comparison of the respective input and background R, G, or B values a pixel is set as either "foreground" or "background". The map of "foreground" pixels constitutes a mask which is then used subsequently for further processing.
Due to it having been generated using a colour-difference background subtraction technique the mask of foreground pixels contains pixels which represent object shadows and/or highlights. Therefore, McKenna et al. also describe a second pixel segmentation technique wherein shadows are detected using pixel gradient and chrominance information. More particularly, and as described in Horpraset et al. "A Statistical Approach for Real-time Robust Background Subtraction and Shadow Detection" IEEE ICCV'99 FRAME—RATE workshop, it is known that shadows exhibit a colour constancy property in that the chromaticity of a pixel which is in shadow does not significantly differ from the chromaticity of that same pixel when it is not in shadow. Instead, the only change lies in the luminance of the pixel. This colour constancy is therefore used as a first discriminator by McKenna et al in that they assume that any pixel with a significant intensity change in comparison with the background, but without a significant chromaticity change could have been caused by a shadow.
However, McKenna et al. also note that the above colour constancy discriminator fails when a foreground object is the same chromaticity as the background e.g. when black trousers cross a grey footpath. Therefore, McKenna et al. also describe using pixel gradient information of the input and background images to perform a comparison there between, on the basis that if an input pixel is a shadow pixel, then its texture information should not have changed much from its background value. A pixel is thus flagged as foreground if either chromaticity or gradient information supports that classification.
Having performed pixel segmentation using the above technique, McKenna et al then perform a connected component analysis to identify connected objects. They note that due to the chromaticity and gradient discrimination a connected object may contain "holes", in that pixels wholly located within the boundaries of the connected pixels and which should have been segmented as foreground are erroneously segmented as background, and hence not part of the connected object. To remedy this, reference is made to the "mask" produced by the RGB subtraction method described earlier, in that each "background" pixel which is part of a hole in a connected object is set to foreground if the mask from the RGB subtraction indicates that it is foreground. Thus the holes within the connected objects may be removed, and foreground and background segmentation performed which takes into account shadows.
Whilst the colour constancy and gradient techniques described by McKenna et al. are effective at identifying shadows for the purposes of a foreground-background pixel segmentation, the technique described by McKenna et al presents some problems when used in real situations due to the connected component analysis being performed before taking into account the "holes" due to the segmentation. For example, if the "holes" due to the segmentation actually overlap and completely bisect an object, then the connected component analysis will not recognise the two blobs as a single object, but instead as two separate objects. As a consequence, overlapping "holes" will not be recognised as such, and hence cannot be filled in by reference to the RGB subtraction mask. Conversely, until the connected component analysis is performed the "holes" themselves are not identified, and hence filled. The result of this paradox is that in some situations two smaller connected objects may be identified where in reality only one object exists.


A striker for game calling including a body portion, a releasable locking device located at one end of the body portion, and a peg extending from the body portion and held to the body portion by the releasable locking device.

Turkey call devices that use a pot and a hand-held striker are known. Such arrangements include a pot having a friction surface made of a material such as slate, ceramic, or other suitable material. The striker has a handle and a fixed peg. When the end of the peg is rubbed across the striker surface of the pot, a game call sound is made that simulates the sound of the game of interest, such as a turkey. An improved turkey call device is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,785,169 to James P. Moss, issued Aug. 31, 2010 and is hereby fully incorporated herein,
U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,252 shows a striker for a game caller having an interchangeable tip.
U.S. Patent Publication 2009/0053973 discloses a game caller with an attachable means on the pot for holding a plurality of strikers.


Implantable neural stimulation systems include an array of electrodes configured to apply one or more stimulation signals to a patient via one or more channels out of a multiplicity of channels during a stimulation frame and a signal processor configured to select the one or more channels for stimulation. The selection of the one or more channels is based on a probability associated with each channel within the multiplicity of channels.

Hearing loss may be due to many different causes, but is generally of two types: conductive and sensorineural. Of these, conductive hearing loss occurs where the normal mechanical pathways for sound to reach the hair cells in the cochlea are impeded, for example, by damage to the ossicles. Conductive hearing loss may often be helped by use of conventional hearing aids, which amplify sound so that acoustic information, in the form of pressure waves, reaches the cochlea and the hair cells. Some types of conductive hearing loss are also amenable to alleviation by surgical procedures.
In many people who are profoundly deaf, however, the reason for their deafness is sensorineural hearing loss. This type of hearing loss is due to the absence or the destruction of the hair cells in the cochlea which are needed to convert acoustic signals into auditory nerve impulses. People with sensorineural hearing loss are unable to derive any benefit from conventional hearing aid systems, no matter how loud the acoustic stimulus is made, because their mechanisms for converting sound energy into auditory nerve impulses have been damaged. Thus, in the absence of properly functioning hair cells, auditory nerve impulses are not generated directly from sounds.
To overcome sensorineural deafness, numerous Implantable Cochlear Stimulation (ICS) systems—or cochlear prosthesis—have been developed. Such systems seek to bypass the hair cells in the cochlea by presenting electrical stimulation to the auditory nerve fibers directly, leading to the perception of sound in the brain and at least a partial restoration of hearing function. The common denominators in most ICS systems have been the implantation of electrodes into the cochlea, and a suitable external source of an electrical signal for the electrodes.
An ICS system operates by direct electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve cells, bypassing the defective cochlear hair cells that normally convert acoustic energy into electrical activity in the nerve cells. In order to effectively stimulate the nerve cells, the electronic circuitry and the electrode array of the ICS system perform the function of separating the acoustic signal into a number of parallel channels of information, each representing the intensity of a narrow frequency band within the acoustic spectrum. Ideally, the electrode array would convey each channel of information selectively to the subset of auditory nerve cells that normally transmit signals within that frequency band to the brain. Those nerve cells are arranged in an orderly tonotopic sequence, from high frequencies at the basal end of the cochlear spiral to progressively lower frequencies towards the apex, and ideally the entire length of the cochlea would be stimulated to provide a full frequency range of hearing. In practice, this ideal is not achieved, because of the anatomy of the cochlea which decreases in diameter from the base to the apex, and exhibits variations between patients. Because of these difficulties, known electrodes can at best be promoted to the second turn of the cochlea.
The signal provided to the electrode array is generated by a signal processing element of the ICS system. In known ICS systems, the acoustic signal is processed by a family of parallel Bandpass (BP) filters, or the equivalent, resulting in M stimulation channels. Generally, the important information for speech understanding is contained in subset of all the M channels. This subset is usually made up of the channels containing the highest amplitude signals among the M channels at any given time. One common stimulation strategy selects N of the M channels for stimulation based on the amplitude of the signals in the channels. There are at least two advantages to the N out of M (N-of-M) strategy. First, an N-of-M strategy allows higher stimulation rates for a given pulse width when using non simultaneous stimulation. Second, an N-of-M strategy performs a data reduction function, in that BP channels that contain lower amplitude information are effectively muted, limiting their contribution to electrode interaction problems.
But, there are potential disadvantages to N-of-M strategies as well. The data reduction function of a standard N-of-M strategy is implemented using an all or nothing algorithm, selecting only the channels with the highest amplitude signals in a given stimulus frame. This means that all information in the lower amplitude channels is lost during that frame. This could be very disadvantageous in situations where the overall frequency distribution remains relatively constant for a period of time, such as when listening in certain noisy environments or detecting background sounds during vowels. One example of this would be someone honking a horn while someone is talking. If the horn is loud enough, its spectral content would overwhelm the talker, and the standard N-of-M decision matrix would only deliver envelope information to the pulse generator for those channels which contain "horn content". All of the other channels would be effectively muted.
What is needed is a method for processing the channels of an ICS system, which method provides the advantages of an N-of-M stimulation strategy, without muting channels having low to moderate signal amplitudes.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems for selecting one or more stimulation channels


A method including providing a substrate comprising a device layer on which a plurality of device cells are defined; depositing a first dielectric layer on the device layer and metal interconnect such that the deposited interconnect is electrically connected to at least two of the device cells; depositing a second dielectric layer over the interconnect; and exposing at least one contact point on the interconnect through the second dielectric layer. An apparatus including a substrate having defined thereon a device layer including a plurality of device cells; a first dielectric layer disposed directly on the device layer; a plurality of metal interconnects, each of which is electrically connected to at least two of the device cells; and a second dielectric layer disposed over the first dielectric layer and over the interconnects, wherein the second dielectric layer is patterned in a positive or negative planar spring pattern.

The fabrication of microsystem enabled photovoltaic (MEPV) cells of individual devices and other integrated sensors and power assemblies often requires connections to be formed between devices of different cells and between devices of a cell and other elements. Currently, such fabrication includes a number of processing steps that generally follow the creation of the circuit cells on a wafer. Representative of such processing steps are the separation of individual cells from a wafer of cells, the alignment of separated cells, and the fabrication and connection of conductors between the cells.

Fast process flow, on-wafer interconnection and singulation for MEPV


The mixer includes mixers constructed with variable gain amplifiers having two transistor pairs Qp+/Qp− and Qn+/Qn− to have a predetermined gain by using LO+ and LO− signals; and LO bias circuits connected to have bias voltages different from each other with respect to the LO+ and LO− signals of the mixers and share an input signal.

FIG. 1 shows a conventional Gilbert type active mixer.
Equation 1 expresses an operation of the active mixer.
                                          I            out                                I                          i                                                                                n                                      =                              1            π                                          {                                                            cos                                                        (                                                                  ω                                                  i                                                                                n                                                                    +                                              ω                        LO                                                              )                                                                  t                            +                                                cos                                                        (                                                                  ω                                                  i                                                                                n                                                                    -                                              ω                        LO                                                              )                                                                  t                                      }                                              [                  Equation                                                              1                ]
An output signal lout is converted to have a required frequency for ωin+ωLO or ωin−ωLO by switching operations of transistors Q+ and Q−.
The mixing operations are not influenced by a bias voltage Vbias. The bias voltage Vbias is used to determine an operating point to allow the transistors Q+ and Q− to operate properly.
FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a conventional current steering variable gain amplifier.
An input signal lin is steered by an output through a transistor Qp or a supply through a transistor Qn and controlled by a voltage Vc.
A current gain is determined by Equation 2. in below
                                                        I              out                                      I                              i                                                                                n                                              =                      1                          1              +                              exp                                                  (                                      -                                                                  V                        c                                                                    V                        T                                                                              )                                                                    ,                              V            T                    =                      kT            q                                              [                  Equation                                                              2                ]
In general, in order to guarantee a dB linearity of the voltage Vc, dependence on process, temperature, and pre-distortion has to be removed. Circuits for removing the dependence on process, temperature, and pre-distortion have been widely proposed (see: "A highly-Integrated SiGe BiCMOS WCDMA Transmitter IC", by Abdellatif Bellaouar, Michel Frechette, Ahmed R. Fridi, Sherif H. K. Embabi, International Solid-State Circuits and Systems, 2002, 14.5).


A tiered inline loveseat includes a first chair and a second chair where the second chair is positioned inline and below the first chair. The first chair includes a first seat, and a first seat back. The first seat has a front end, a back end, a first side and a second side. The first seat back is coupled to the back end of the first seat. The second chair has a second seat and a second seat back with a bottom edge and a top edge. Wherein, the top edge of the second seat back is coupled to the front end of the first seat.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure generally relates to furniture like home furniture, outdoor furniture, patio furniture, beach furniture, etc. More particularly, the instant disclosure relates to a tiered inline loveseat that seats two people inline with one another where one individual, typically the female, is positioned between the legs of the other individual, typically the male.
2. Description of Related Art
Loveseats have been in production since the early 1800s in the US. A loveseat is typically known as a couch or sofa designed for seating two persons, and it usually has two designated seats. In a typical loveseat, the seats are arranged so that the two individuals are positioned parallel to one another shoulder to shoulder.
It has been discovered that this parallel positioning of the two individuals on the loveseat is not very intimate and does not produce any heightened sensual sensations emotions, awareness, or feelings of sexual excitement or arousal. In addition, this parallel positioning requires a wide space which adds to the productions costs and limits the areas where the loveseat may be positioned.
Therefore, it is readily apparent that there is a recognizable unmet need for a tiered inline loveseat that is comfortable, easy to produce, compact, and provides a more intimate positioning of the two seated individuals.

Tiered inline loveseat and method of use thereof


A system and method are disclosed for categorizing search terms. The system accesses search history for the search terms. The system also categorizes each of the search terms based on the number of times that the respective search term appears in the search history. If the number of times the search term appears in the search history exceeds a first threshold, a search result of the search term is determined and the search term is categorized as a type that is provided for registration to a user with recognized association with the search term or a type that is excluded from registration, where the categorizing based on a ratio of a number of times the search result was selected subsequent to receiving the search term to the number of times that the search term appears in the search history.

The subject technology generally relates to categorizing search terms.
A uniform resource locator ("URL") is may be assembled in a way to convey a message or an association. Registration of URL may be obtained on a first come first serve basis, where the first user to select a unique URL obtains the right to use the URL. Sometimes, the first user to come up with a URL has little or no association with the message conveyed by the selected URL.


A client computer has a group printer driver which provides an interface as one printer driver by comprehensively managing a plurality of registered member printer drivers. This group printer driver provides a setting user interface for comprehensively setting setting items in the printer drivers, and a designating user interface for designating a desired one of these printer drivers. When a member printer driver is designated on the designating user interface, the individual user interface of the designated member printer driver is presented to make it possible to set individual items. This provides a user interface capable of efficiently and easily setting functions of a plurality of printers.

Recently, network apparatuses are generally used, and many personal computers (PCs) and printers are connected to networks. In this printing environment, printing methods such as distributed printing and broadcast printing which use a plurality of printers are known. For example, in distributed printing, a print job is divided into predetermined page ranges and printed by a plurality of printers. In broadcast printing, each of a plurality of printers is assigned printing of a predetermined number of copies, and the printing processes by these printers are performed in parallel to obtain a plurality of copies as printing output for a single job.
A plurality of printers used in the printing environment explained above sometimes have different characteristics (setting items). To set these printers having different characteristics, it is necessary to individually set the printers via user interfaces provided by printer drivers corresponding to the printers. A setting method which sets standardized contents for a plurality of printers is also proposed.
Unfortunately, in the above-mentioned conventional setting method which sets standardized contents, many inconveniences occur because conflicts between the characteristics of a plurality of printers (disagreements between settable functions of a plurality of printers) are not taken into consideration.
Additionally, printing setting for a plurality of printer drivers presumably has items which can be set more efficiently when individually set for these printer drivers than when collectively set at once. However, the conventional method does not assume printing setting like this. Furthermore, items to be individually set for a plurality of printer drivers must always be individually set in the conventional method.
The setting user interfaces of a plurality of member printer drivers can also be integrated into a single user interface and displayed in a settable manner. However, this leads to an increase in the setting items and may confuse the users.
As described above, no prior art can provide a setting environment in which a user can efficiently set items as many as possible for each of a plurality of printers. That is, although several methods have been proposed as a method of setting the contents of a plurality of member printer driver UIs by one printer driver UI, no setting method is more efficient than the method of performing setting by using individual member printer driver UIs.

Printing data processing apparatus and method


A scanning apparatus for scanning a biological sample labeled with fluorochrome includes a case, a sample table, a light source module, an image capture unit, and a driving unit. The light source module provides excitation light to the biological sample on the sample table, in which the fluorochrome is excited to generate fluorescence by fluorescence resonance energy transfer. The image capture unit catches images of the fluorescence from the biological sample. The driving unit is connected to the image capture unit to move the image capture unit. The present invention further includes a filter unit on the image capture unit to filter the fluorescence into the image capture unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a scanning apparatus, and more particularly to a scanning for scanning a biological sample labeled with fluorochrome to obtain an image for observation.
2. Description of the Related Art
With advancement in biotechnology, we pay much attention to test the biological sample, such as protein, cell, and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). In prior art, the biological sample is tested by fluorescence detection. In fluorescence detection, fluorochrome has an excitation state and an emission state to mark the specified molecules in the biological sample.
In the past, the researcher has to observe the biological sample by himself/herself to identify and analysis the test's result. However, the intensity of fluorescence will gradually reduce that the researcher may miss the fluorescence mark when he/she observe the biological sample in a time after the test. Besides, the test results for the same sample may be different while the setting conditions, such as volume or weight of fluorochrome added in the sample, or environment conditions, such as temperature or humidity, of the tests are inconsistent.
Consequently, the present invention provides a scanning apparatus to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art.