Systems, methods, and computer program products for embedding a foreign data block in a host data file. In general, in one aspect, the computer-implemented method includes receiving a host data file, the host data file having a host data file format, receiving a packet to be embedded into the host data file, the packet including a foreign data block and further including a header and a trailer that delimit the foreign data block, the header including an identifier designed to be distinguishable from all other data in the host data file, a byte pattern that indicates a presence of the header, and a character encoding format of the foreign data block, the byte pattern selected based on the character encoding format of the foreign data block, and embedding the packet in the host data file.

The present invention relates to embedding and extracting data blocks in a host data file or document.
Many data formats, such as Adobe Photoshop®, can contain different blocks of data. These data blocks represent contents, such as images or text, support information, such as pointers and tables, and metadata, such as image dimensions and captions. In order for applications other than the generator of the file to understand these data blocks, the format of the data file must be documented and published, and/or a toolkit or library must be provided. If the data format is complicated, the documentation or toolkit is correspondingly complicated, which can make it difficult for another application to read, understand, and write the data format. In many cases, a file format represents a container for other data. The intent of such a format is to allow other applications to store data blocks inside of this container. However, if the container format is complicated, use by other applications is inhibited.


A method, system or computer usable program product for computing fuel economy for a vehicle by fuel source location including monitoring a fuel level for the vehicle, responsive to determining a first increase of the fuel level at a first fuel source location, computing a first fuel economy based on the first increase of the fuel level and a first distance travelled by the vehicle since a previous fuel source location, and allocating the first fuel economy to the previous fuel source location in a database.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to determining fuel economy, and in particular, to a computer implemented method for determining fuel economy by fuel source location.
2. Description of Related Art
There are many sources of costs for operating a vehicle. In addition to the purchase price of a vehicle, there is the cost of operation including maintenance, repairs, and the cost of consumables such as oil, gas, diesel, transmission fluid, windshield washer fluid, oil filters, tires, etc. The most costly consumable is the fuel, which over the lifetime of a vehicle may be greater than the original purchase price of that vehicle.
As the price of fuel increases, demand for increased fuel economy also increases. This applies not only to individuals, but to companies and other entities with fleets of vehicles. As a result, the fuel economy of many vehicles has been rising recently due to this demand and to governmental requirements of increased fuel economy. In addition, some people have been changing their vehicle maintenance and driving habits to increase their fuel economy. For example, a vehicle with properly inflated tires may be up to several percent more fuel efficient than the same vehicle with improperly inflated tires.

Determining fuel economy by fuel source location

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


The present invention pertains to an articulating joint that is disengageable between two modes of operation: unidirectional movement of the joint or bi-directional movement of the joint, with features that allow the mode to be automatically switched as required. When fully locked, the joint inhibits joint flexion while allowing joint extension. When actuated, a locking mechanism is disengaged to allow both uninhibited flexion and extension of the joint.

People inflicted with isolated quadriceps (thigh muscle) weakness or partial or total paralysis of the quadriceps (knee extensors) often lack the muscle strength to walk safely without collapsing under their own weight and falling. Often these people are prescribed a knee-ankle-foot orthosis (KAFO) to prevent their knee from flexing during the stance phase of gait, the period of the walking cycle when their leg is weight bearing.
Conventional KAFOs lock the knee joint in constant full extension during walking. Unfortunately, abnormal gait patterns must be adopted by KAFO users to overcome the inability to flex the knee when the leg swings forward during the swing phase of gait. These abnormal gait patterns can lead to chronic injuries, excessive energy expenditure and cosmetic implications. Walking with a fully locked knee also limits the user's mobility and prevents them from safely and efficiently walking on inclines, stairs and uneven surfaces.
A new type of KAFO known as a Stance Control Knee-Ankle-Foot-Orthosis (SCKAFO) has recently emerged, which prevents knee flexion to provide limb support in stance, and allows free knee motion in swing. A substantial portion of the population using fixed leg braces have sufficient muscle strength in their legs to benefit from a SCKAFO, including patients afflicted with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, polio/post-polio, incomplete spinal injury, unilateral leg paralysis/paresis, trauma, congenital defects and isolated quadriceps weakness/absence.
While commercial SCKAFOs do promote a more natural gait to some extent, they suffer from functional and structural limitations. Current SCKAFOs either require the knee to be fully extended to engage the knee-joint lock ([4, 19 20] and therefore would not support the limb in stumbling with a partially flexed leg), require specific unnatural ankle angles to engage the knee-joint lock [19, 2] do not allow knee extension when locked to resist flexion during stance (preventing stair/ramp climbing), or are too heavy and bulky for many potential clients and are thus energy exhaustive, obstructive, intimidating or unattractive. Brace-users wearing these orthoses are not permitted natural leg motion and are, therefore, limited in where they can walk; are not given sufficient support in case of stumbling; or have excessive energy expenditure and thus early fatigue during ambulation due to the heavy and cumbersome design. The bulkiness of these orthoses also tends to discourage their use for cosmetic reasons.
Numerous attempts have been made over the past century to design a practical SCKAFO. Harrison et al. developed a prototype SCKAFO knee joint based on a roller clutch design [1]. As is common to most roller clutches, the rollers are contained in a cage to promote simultaneous wedging of all the rollers. The knee-joint design connected a control arm to the roller cage. Actuation of the control arm would position the cage to hold the rollers at the wide end of their respective wedge-shaped chambers. The rollers would therefore be prevented from contacting both the inner and outer race of the clutch and locking up. Pivoting the cage back to its original position, via the control arm, would return the rollers to their intended duty of providing unidirectional rotation of the concentric races. The roller clutch joint could therefore provide uninhibited movement during swing and unidirectional motion during stance. Unfortunately, the joint had an excessively thick profile and the rollers were prone to jamming into the wedges and required an impractically high disengagement force that tended to deform the cage.
As a second effort, Harrison et al. developed a wedge-joint model [1]. The joint model used a solenoid-actuated wedge, which lodged itself into the rear joint space of a polycentric knee joint during stance, thus allowing joint extension while preventing flexion. During the swing phase, the solenoid would retract the wedge from the joint space and allow free extension and flexion. It was found that an excessive amount of force was needed to retract the wedge from the joint space. The wedge also experienced significant plastic deformation due to the high, localized loads endured while preventing flexion.
As a third design, Harrison et al. developed and tested a lever-lock knee joint design [1]. The lever-lock design consisted of a ring attached to the lower portion of the orthosis that rotated freely through a hole made in an actuation bar, connected to the upper portion of the orthosis. While the hole remained perpendicular to the ring's tangent, the joint allowed rotation in both directions. When the solenoid pivoted the actuation bar, the hole in the bar would sit at an angle to the ring and the ring would jam to prevent flexion. However, the joint was considered expensive to manufacture, the joint sliding action was found to be too rough, and the ring was subject to scoring under medium loads.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,096 to Harris discloses a dynamic knee orthosis that unlocked following a pre-selected dorsiflexion of the ankle, followed by a pre-selected plantar flexion of the ankle [2]. The automatic locking knee joint incorporated a complex linkage system of levers and springs, using the concept of impingement to lock the knee. The design is impractical, as it requires the patient to make specific ankle movements during the gait cycle to engage the knee lock. A locking knee brace, which relies on ankle motions to engage and disengage the locking mechanism, cannot be used by people with fused, deformed or spastic ankles, and would not be suitable for stumbling. Dynamic knee joints, which rely on the concept of impingement, are often prone to jamming, and require large disengagement forces to unlock the knee if any external knee moment is present [3].
A hydraulic-based, automatic locking knee device was designed by the University of Toledo [4]. The joint system consisted of a hydraulic fluid filled bulb positioned below the heel, attached to a hydraulic line running to the knee that attached to a piston, which engaged and disengaged the knee locking mechanism. At heel strike, the bulb was compressed and the displaced hydraulic fluid would extend the piston to engage the lock. At heel off, the bulb relaxed and the piston would fall downward to disengage the lock. The locking mechanism required the knee to be fully extended in order to lock. This requirement would not provide security when climbing stairs or walking on uneven ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,950 to Weddendorf discloses a friction-based automatic-locking orthotic knee device [5]. At the knee joint, two bevelled, serrated brake plates were fixed to the lower portion of the orthosis. They were positioned just below either side of a bevelled shoe, fixed to the upper portion of the orthosis. The lower portion of the orthosis could move up and down relative to the upper portion at the knee joint. A spring at the knee joint kept the serrated brake plates and the bevelled shoe separated. The application of weight to the knee joint at heel strike thrust the lower portion of the orthosis toward the upper portion, ramming the serrated brake plates into the bevelled shoe thus jamming the shoe between the sandwiching plates. Releasing body weight at heel off allowed the joint spring to separate the brake plates from the sandwiched shoe. Disadvantages of this design include the knee joint's inability to allow extension during stance, potential jamming issues and wear of the bevelled shoe and brake plates from repeated use.
Recently a dynamic knee joint was developed that incorporated a band brake to inhibit knee flexion, as disclosed by Tokuhara et al. [6]. The device named Intelligent Brace II (IB-II) had a heel contact switch which activated the band brake, located at the knee joint. An onboard microcomputer detected resistance in the knee and calculated the optimal braking force to be imparted to the knee via a stepping motor. Weighing well over 3.7 kg (8.2 lbs), the IB-II is too heavy for practical application. A practical SCKAFO must weigh less than 5 lbs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,003 to Allard, et al. [21] used a spring across a knee joint to provide a knee-extension moment while permitting knee flexion and a mechanism to lock the knee in full extension. However, the device required a specified ankle angle in order to release the knee lock. Kofinan et al. used an elastic cord to resist knee flexion in stance and allow uninhibited knee movement beyond 25° of knee flexion [7]. The pre-stressed elastic cord was attached across the knee joint, anchored on the upper and lower sections of the SCKAFO. The eccentric knee joint was positioned posterior to the cable/elastic cord's line of tension. The eccentricity of the knee joint provided a greater knee extension moment due to the increased distance between the knee joint axis and the cable's line of tension. Knee flexion was constantly resisted by an extension moment created by the tension in the cable/elastic cord. When the knee was brought to 25° flexion, the distance between the cable's line of tension and the knee-joint axis equalled zero and thus the external moment imposed on the knee joint by the elastic was zero. Any further flexion of the brace beyond 25° caused the steel cable to wrap around a pin protruding from the knee axis. The pin held the cable's line of tension at the knee axis maintaining a zero external extension moment. This functionality also allowed for unassisted sitting while wearing the brace.
The theory followed that, in stance, loading of the braced limb would not cause the knee to flex beyond 25°; therefore, the elastic cord would provide a stabilizing extension moment throughout stance. One design aspect that differed from most SCKAFOs was that, as in able-bodied gait, some knee flexion in early stance would be permitted. In terminal stance, the knee would flex beyond 25° in preparation for swing. The external extension moment would disappear beyond 25° knee flexion allowing uninhibited movement of the knee in swing.
The design required a straight line of action for the cable and the spring. In order to achieve this, it was not possible to have the orthosis uprights follow the curvature of the limb and large spacers had to be used to anchor the orthosis upright to the AFO component. This made the device bulky medial-laterally. The brace was designed for children. Designing the brace to accommodate the higher knee moments generated by adults would have required even bulkier attachments for the spring.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,500,138 to Irby et al. discloses a SCKAFO, which integrated a conventional unidirectional clutch into the joint [3]. The orthosis is electro-mechanically actuated, using pressure sensors positioned beneath the heel and forefoot to detect heel strike and heel off. Integrated circuitry interprets signals from the pressure sensors and controls a solenoid which engages/disengages a wrap-spring clutch built onto the knee joint. The wrap-spring clutch uses a close-wound helical spring to transmit torque across a pair of mating concentric clutch hubs.
When the knee attempts to flex, the spring tightens over both concentric hubs, stopping relative motion between the two, thus preventing knee flexion. To disengage the clutch in swing, the spring is loosened. Loosening is achieved by pulling back on one end of the spring, called the control tang, via a solenoid. Though the electromechanical knee joint system proved to be quite effective, the device's excessive profile and bulk limits the practicality of the orthosis.
Myers of NASA developed a releasable conical roller clutch knee joint similar to an overrunning roller clutch design [8]. The upper and lower housing of the knee joint rotated about a needle bearing. The conical inner surface of the upper housing contained tapered pockets. Fixed to the inside of the housing was a cage retaining rollers in the tapered pockets. Springs influenced the rollers to remain in the wide ends of the tapered pockets. The conical inner surface of the lower housing was meant to contact the rollers when the upper and lower housings were brought together. A cam lay between the two housings of the knee joint, connected to an actuation rod, running to a heel-strike mechanism positioned near the foot. The mechanical heel-strike mechanism employed a series of levers and pushrods to convert foot pressure into a pulling force on the actuation rod.
At the beginning of stance, the heel strike mechanism converted foot pressure to a pulling force on the actuation rod. A pull on the actuation rod caused the cam to force the upper and lower housings together. The rollers were brought into contact with the walls of the tapered pockets and the conical inner surface of the lower housing. Flexion of the knee in this state would cause the rollers to roll into the tapered end of the pockets, and jam them between the conical inner surface of the lower housing and the walls of the tapered pockets. The wedging force would prevent the knee from rotating into further flexion. Knee extension in this state would cause the rollers to move to the wide end of the tapered pockets. In this state, the rollers were not subject to jamming and the knee was allowed to extend freely.
When foot pressure was removed at the onset of swing, a spring in the heel-strike mechanism forced the actuation rod upward. When the heel-strike mechanism pushed up on the actuation rod, the cam forced the upper and lower housings apart. No locking could occur in this state since the rollers were no longer in contact with the conical inner surface of the lower housing, and the potential of jamming was eliminated. The knee joint was therefore free to rotate in flexion and extension. Despite its apparent utility, the cost of machining the conical roller clutch device was too high for practical application. Furthermore, in order to withstand the stresses applied to the joint, the roller clutch would be excessively large and heavy.
Since January 2002, four SCKAFOs have been released on the market: Otto Bock's Free Walk, Becker Orthopedic's UTX and 9001 E-Knee, Horton Technology Inc.'s Stance Control Orthotic Knee and Fillauer's Swing Phase Lock. Though they have made it into the commercial market, these locking knee joints do not fully satisfy the size, weight, cost, function and cosmetic requirements of individuals that use these devices.
Manufactured by two different companies under two different names, the Otto Bock Free Walk and Becker UTX share the same ratchet/pawl design. A spring-loaded pawl locks the knee automatically when the knee moves into full extension prior to heel strike. To disengage the lock, 10% dorsiflexion of the ankle causes a control cable connected to the pawl to be pulled. Simultaneous knee hyperextension is required to nullify any flexion moment about the knee and, thus, free the pawl for disengagement.
The main disadvantage of this design is that full knee extension is required to engage the knee-flexion lock before weight bearing. The brace therefore provides no support to users if their knee is flexed when the leg is loaded, a common event in walking stairs, inclines, uneven ground or in stumbling and relaxed standing. This SCKAFO therefore does not practically serve many potential SCKAFO users that may be too weak to fully extend their leg while walking. The disengagement mechanism requires 10% dorsiflexion; therefore it cannot be used by patients with fused, deformed and spastic ankles. In addition, the delicate tubular steel structure may be unappealing to clients who feel they need more support [9].
Horton Technology Inc. produces Horton's Stance Control Orthosis as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,635,024. The locking mechanism is modeled after a standard unidirectional clutch design and involves an eccentric cam, which jams itself into a friction ring attached to the upper knee joint. The cam is connected to a pushrod, attached to a thermoplastic stirrup, which is displaced just below the heel of the client. Heel contact causes the stirrup to be pushed upward to engage the pushrod and nudge the cam into the upper joint head. The surface of both the steel cam and steel friction ring are textured with micro grooves. These grooves eliminate any slipping between the friction ring and the cam. When the cam is engaged, flexion will cause the friction ring to pull the cam into itself, thereby locking it. Knee extension will, however, cause the cam to be pushed away from the friction ring, and continue unimpeded.
Once heel contact ceases, a spring pushes the pushrod down, the cam disengages, and the knee is allowed to move freely. A hyperextension moment about the knee is required to eliminate any impinging force on the cam and allow it to disengage freely. The Horton Stance Control locking mechanism can also be outfitted on a KAFO with a free moving ankle. In this case, the pushrod is attached to the heel. Whenever the foot planterflexes (pointing toes downward), the cam is pushed upward to engage.
The orthosis as a whole is somewhat bulky [12] and the joints themselves are relatively large and heavy by KAFO standards. While Horton's Stance Control Orthosis does have the ability to lock at any knee angle, its weight and bulk are not well tolerated by many individuals using the device.
Both mechanical actuation methods used to control the device have their shortcomings. Objects such as clothing, or debris when walking outdoors, can become lodged between the foot and the stirrup. The bulky thermoplastic foot shell may prevent the client from donning a shoe, and the free-ankle option cannot be used by people with fused, deformed or spastic ankles.
In response to the limitations of the Stance Control Orthosis'mechanical actuation methods, Horton Technology Inc. had planned to release the Smart Knee—an electromechanical orthosis [13], which uses the same locking mechanism as Horton's Stance Control Orthosis, but replaces the stirrup and pushrod with pressure sensors below the foot and solenoids to actuate the lock. The Smart Knee was to be released in 2003 but has not become available as of 2006.
Basko Healthcare has developed a novel, gravity actuated, knee-joint locking mechanism for its Swing-Phase Lock orthosis as disclosed in published U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2003/0153854 [15]. For this device to function, a weighted pawl falls in and out of locking position, depending on the hip angle. When the hip is flexed anterior to the body, as in terminal swing, the weighted pawl falls into the locked position, preventing knee flexion. The knee must be fully extended for the pawl to fall into the locked position. When the hip is swung behind the body, prior to swing, the weighted pawl falls out of engagement and the knee is allowed to flex freely. A hyperextension moment of the knee is required to eliminate any impinging force on the pawl to allow it to fall out of engagement freely. The thigh angle required to engage and disengage the pawl is manually set on the joint head itself by an orthotist. Only one Swing Phase Lock is mounted on the KAFO. The other orthotic knee joint, mounted on the medial side of the KAFO, is a simple mechanism that uses friction and a spring to regulate knee flexion during swing phase [14]. As the locking mechanism is position dependent, this design is not effective for climbing stairs or walking on uneven ground. The joint only locks with full knee extension. This requirement limits where the patient can walk and provides no support if the patient stumbles in mid-step.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,503 to Naft et al. discloses Becker's 9001 E-Knee which is essentially a magnetically activated one-way dog clutch. The joint integrates two ratchet plates that are spring biased apart. One of the ratchet plates is positioned within an electromagnetic coil. When electric pressure sensors below the foot detect foot contact with the ground, the electromagnetic coil is energized and the ratchet plates are forced together. When engaged, the ratchet plates allow relative angular motion in only one direction. In stance, knee flexion is resisted while knee extension is still allowed.
Ratchet devices suffer from two inherent disadvantages including noise and a limited number of locking positions. Like a household ratchet tool, the 9001 E-Knee generates a clicking sound when rotated under engagement. The joint will therefore generate an unnatural ratchet sound whenever the user extends their knee in stance. Cosmetics are equally as important as function to KAFO users. If an orthosis looks or sounds unnatural, the device will draw unwanted attention to the user and the orthosis will not be used.
Unlike most friction-based clutches, a ratchet device only has a finite number of locked positions. The 9001 E-Knee houses 60 ratchet teeth, thereby allowing up to 6° of free-fall knee flexion before the joint settles into the locked position. Users that require the confidence of a rapid engaging knee lock will not tolerate this lack of support.
The 9001 E-Knee's biggest drawback is its size, weight and cost. Measuring over 2 cm thick, the 9001 E-Knee has a large profile that can be obtrusive and severely affect the orthosis' cosmetic appeal. The electromagnetic coil contributes to make the 9001 E-Knee the heaviest of all SCKAFO joints on the market. The joint's excessive weight places an unnecessary burden on the user, increasing energy expenditure during ambulation and leading to premature fatigue. The 9001 E-Knee is the most expensive of all SCKAFO joints, costing nearly double the price of other commercial SCKAFO joints.
The Free Walk/UTX [19] and Swing Phase Lock offer limited functionality as they both require the knee to be fully extended before they can provide support in stance. This is an unrealistic and potentially hazardous requirement as the user may load their leg with a flexed knee when climbing stairs, walking inclines or uneven surfaces, during relaxed standing or reacting to a stumble. Many KAFO users do not have the muscle strength required to fully extend their knee consistently during walking. A SCKAFO that requires full knee extension to activate any knee support jeopardizes the user's safety and mobility.
The key disadvantages of the Horton Stance Control Orthosis and 9001 E-Knee are their excessive weight and bulk. A major reason among clients for abandoning the use of long leg braces is that the assist device is too bulky and unpleasant for frequent use [16]. Potential users already suffer a physical weakness and will not wear a heavy SCKAFO that demands an excessive amount of energy to walk. Orthotic knee joints must also have a thin profile medial-laterally. An excessive profile can cause the lateral (outer) knee joint to collide with passing objects and the inner medial joint to rub against the opposite knee. If the user is wearing a brace on both legs, the inner knee joints could collide during walking. The excessive physical size and weight of the Stance Control Orthosis and the 9001 E-Knee make them too obtrusive and heavy for many users to tolerate.
Cosmetics are an extremely important issue for KAFO users. If an orthosis looks unnatural, sounds unnatural, or forces the user to move in an unnatural manner, the orthosis may not be used, regardless of how well it functions. The ideal orthosis should be unnoticeable under clothing and generate no noise. The excessive profiles of both the Stance Control Orthosis and 9001 E-Knee create a very bulky look even underneath clothing. The thermoplastic stirrup integrated into the foot piece of the Stance Control Orthosis adds further bulkiness to the braced leg. Because the 9001 E-Knee is a ratchet device, it generates an unnatural ratchet sound when rotated under engagement. For most clients, walking with a brace that generates clicking sounds is unacceptable. A practical SCKAFO, therefore, must be relatively silent.
There is therefore, a need for an articulating joint that delivers a combination of function and structure that permits natural gait and addresses the limitations of SCKAFOs currently known in the art.
This background information is provided for the purpose of making known information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.


A tool for removing an object from a hole in a workpiece which includes a first and second arm pivotably connected together. Each arm having an opening between the ends. The second arm also has a drill hole at the second end. A liner bushing and a drill bushing can be provided in the drill hole. To remove the object from the workpiece, the drill hole is positioned over the object and the arms are adjusted until at least one (1) of the openings of one of the arms is positioned over an existing hole in the workpiece. A securing bolt is then inserted through the opening in the arm into the hole in the workpiece and tightened to secure the tool to the workpiece. Next, a drill bit is positioned in the opening of the drill bushing adjacent the object and rotated until the drill bit is completely through the object.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tool which allows for quick and easy removal of objects from a hole in a workpiece. In particular, the tool of the present invention allows for quick and accurate removal of broken bolts from threaded holes in engine components.
(2) Related Art
In the past, objects, such as broken bolts, which were stuck in holes in a workpiece were removed from the holes by free hand drilling. However, there are many problems associated with the use of free hand drilling. Mainly, it is difficult to quickly align the drill bit with the center of the broken bolt. It is also difficult to maintain the alignment which results in crooked drilling and damage to the hole. One (1) solution was to use a drill bar such as the adjustable drill bar by United California Corporation. However, the adjustable drill bar is a unitary piece, which limits its use. To use the adjustable drill bar, the securing hole in the workpiece which is used to secure the adjustable drill bar to the workpiece must be in a straight line with the broken bolt to be removed. In addition, the securing hole must be a distance from the broken bolt less than the length of the bar. This greatly reduces the versatility of the tool.
There remains a need for a tool which is adjustable accurately and securely positioned over an object in a workpiece to enable accurate and quick removal of the object from the workpiece using a drill.

Tool for removing an object from a workpiece


A lane monitoring method for a vehicle includes: detecting a lane of the vehicle with the aid of a camera of the vehicle; recording driving status measuring signals of the vehicle; evaluating the driving status of the vehicle according to at least one lane departure criterion; upon meeting the lane departure criterion, checking whether decision criteria for detecting an intentional trajectory shortening maneuver have been met; and generating a lane departure warning signal as a function of the evaluation according to the lane departure criterion, the output of the lane departure warning signal being suppressed if an intentional trajectory shortening maneuver is detected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and method for providing lane monitoring for a vehicle during driving.
2. Description of the Related Art
A lane departure warning (LDW) system provides a driver assistance function which performs a check during driving of whether the vehicle is remaining within the present lane or is about to depart from the lane. For this purpose, limit lines on the sides of the lane are detected by one or multiple cameras of the vehicle.
Published German patent documents DE 195 07 957 C1 and DE 199 37 489 B4, as well as U.S. Pat. No. 7,400,236 B2, show such lane monitoring systems having a lane departure warning function. Functions of this type are typically based on the evaluation of image sequences from a forward facing camera. U.S. Pat. No. 7,400,236 B2 proposes the use of a front camera of this type and an additional rear view camera for the purpose of detecting the side lines ahead and in back.
In some LDW systems, a time to crossing the side line marking the lane is ascertained as tLC (time to line crossing) and compared with a threshold value for the purpose of warning the driver before the actual departure from the lane. If the time drops below this threshold value, the LDW signal is output, for example to a display device in the cockpit.
However, warning signals of this type may be distracting to the driver and divert his attention during dynamic driving operations, for example if he wishes to deliberately depart from the lane.

Lane monitoring method and lane monitoring system for a vehicle


A system and method for creating teleconferences that leverage social networking websites and messaging thereof. The system includes a teleconferencing website hosted on a server for scheduling a teleconference in response to user input, and for generating a message for display on a social networking website. The message includes information about the teleconference and a link to one or more invitees to the teleconference. The system further includes an interactive voice response system for hosting the teleconference to connect at least some of the one or more invitees to the teleconference. The system further includes a client application running on a mobile device associated with each of the at least some of the one or more invitees. The client application receives a notification of the teleconference from the social networking website, and includes a control interface to enable an associated invitee to join the teleconference.

This disclosure relates generally to teleconferencing, and more particularly to a teleconferencing system and method that leverages connections and followings formed on social networking websites.
Social networks are pervasive in today's modern Internet ecosystem, and are increasingly becoming the center of Internet user's interaction with others. Businesses, groups, and individuals alike, are becoming aware of the power of Web-based social networks, and are leveraging their power to make connections and foster interaction and communication.
Despite the rapid speed with which many users communicate, or follow web-based social networking information, there is still a largely unmet need for better real-time interaction. For instance, on the Twitter website, users can instantaneously receive "Tweets" or short message service (SMS) messages by other users they follow, but unless the tweeting users are correspondingly following each and every one of their following users, the following users have no way of interacting with the tweeting users in real-time.
Further, text-based communication often lacks a "voice" of the communicator. Subtleties of spoken communication such as tone and inflection, which convey significant information by themselves, are difficult to convey by the written word or typed phrase. Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method that leverages web-based social networking with voice conferencing.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Social networking-based teleconferencing system and method


An integrated circuit device comprises at least one connectivity identification module. The at least one connectivity identification module is arranged to determine an initial sensed state of at least one external signal path of the integrated circuit device, cause the at least one external signal path to be pulled towards an opposing state to the initial sensed state therefor, determine a new sensed state of the at least one external signal path of the integrated circuit device, and identify a presence of a broken connection within the at least one external signal path, if the new sensed state of the at least one external signal path does not match the initial sensed state of the at least one external signal path.

In the field of integrated circuit (IC) devices, reliable connections between different components are essential for correct functioning. In order for an IC device to be able to correctly function in relation to an external component, each connection within a signal path between the semiconductor die of the IC device and the external component must be reliable and intact, i.e. not broken. In the case of safety devices, this issue is of particular importance, since a single broken connection can result in a complete failure of the device or the system it is integrated into. For example, the root cause of such a failure may be a broken connection to an input device such as a sensor or a broken connection to an output device such as a unit controlling a motor. Thus, ensuring the reliability of connections is of major importance for safety devices.
Conventionally, this may be achieved through the use of redundant connections. However, a problem with this technique is that it requires the number of input/output pads/contacts to be substantially doubled. Since the number of input/output pads/contacts within an IC device is limited, and their availability typically at a premium, this doubling requirement is clearly undesirable.
Alternatively, the reliability of connections may be increased by repeating the corresponding input/output operations. For example, data signals may be transmitted twice, and the two versions of the transmitted data are compared in order to identify the presence of broken connections. However, a problem with this technique is that it requires specific transmission protocols or a specific functionality on the device boundary or within the transmitting or receiving device that is aware of this replication. Accordingly, such a technique increases the signalling complexity and other overheads.
Alternatively still, other means outside of the IC device may be used to determine the reliability of connections. However, a problem with this technique is that it requires specific external hardware to observe the IC device and its connections, thereby increasing the cost and real estate requirements of the system.

Integrated circuit device and method of identifying a presence of a broken connection within an external signal path


In a method for operating a radio station, the radio station periodically receives content files via a satellite data channel. The received content files are stored. At least some of the stored files are then retrieved, played and broadcast in accordance with an electronic schedule. In accordance with another method, a plurality of affiliate radio stations are provided with content files via a satellite-based content delivery system. Each of the affiliate radio stations is also provided with an electronic schedule that instructs an automation system of the affiliate radio station to retrieve, play and broadcast ones of the content files, thereby generating a near real-time radio broadcast. Methods and apparatus for recording said content files for tiers of affiliates, and for recording said content for multiple or singular affiliates, are also disclosed.

A broadcast network, as defined herein, is a network wherein one or more content providers deliver audio, visual, or multimedia content to a plurality of affiliates, each of which broadcasts its received content to a multitude of listeners or viewers. One example of such a broadcast network is a radio network.
Traditionally, the content provider in a broadcast network transmits one or more real-time network feeds to each of the affiliates in its network. Each of the affiliates then amplifies and broadcasts its network feed. Each network feed delivers "network content", and is not localized to the particular market in which an affiliate broadcasts. However, a network feed will typically have a number of predetermined fixed-length "breaks" inserted therein. At each break, the content provider will close one or more relays to switch over to a local broadcast source (or sources). The local broadcast source(s) are then used to air local news, weather, identification information, imaging, spots (i.e., commercials), live feeds and other local content.

Systems, methods and apparatus for operating a broadcast network


A circuit for maintaining a constant voltage across and constant current through an RF cavity includes a RF cavity comprising a common-gate or common-base transistor associated with a current control circuit maintains a constant current flowing through the RF cavity. The current control circuit has a current control BJT associated with the RF cavity and a resistor between the emitter of the current control BJT and the negative source voltage of the RF cavity. The current control BJT and resistor operate as a current source or sink as necessary to maintain a constant current flow through said RF cavity. A constant voltage regulation portion of the circuit maintains a constant voltage across the RF cavity and includes a zener reference diode and a voltage regulation BJT. The zener reference diode has an associated isolation operational amplifier circuit for isolating the zener reference diode from current fluctuations at the source while permitting the zener reference diode to respond to voltage difference changes across the RF cavity. The zener reference diode and voltage regulation BJT control voltage applied to the RF cavity. The current control circuit and constant voltage regulation circuit automatically maintain a constant current passing through and constant voltage difference across the RF cavity.

Field of the Invention
For a variety of electronic circuits, it is necessary, or at least desirable, that field effect transistors (FETs) be connected in a common-gate configuration or that bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) be connected in a common-base configuration. These applications include high-frequency oscillator designs as well as various amplifier applications. High-frequency oscillator designs include tuned resonance cavities that either use a common-gate FET or common-base BJT as the active device. Amplifier applications include power amplifiers and low-noise amplifiers.

Constant current and constant voltage regulating circuit for common-gate or common-base transistor devices


A system for control of a fluid flow. The system includes an array of fluidic oscillators. Each fluidic oscillator carries an oscillating flow of the fluid and includes a throat, an input port connected to the throat, two control ports connected to the throat and two output ports extending from the throat. A feedback line is connected to each of the two output ports and each of the two control ports. The system further includes a plenum connected to the input ports of the fluidic oscillators to supply the fluid to the fluidic oscillators and a feedback chamber disposed along each feedback line of each fluidic oscillator to provide a feedback path for the control fluid to cause oscillatory fluid motion between the first output port and the second output port, the frequency of which may be modulated by adjusting the volume of the feedback chamber.

Steady boundary layer blowing as a means to remove loss generating separated flow in gas turbine engines is well established. The source of the blowing flow comes from higher pressure regions of the engine or an auxiliary source. The extraction of this high-pressure flow results in a penalty on overall engine performance and efficiency. Prior art on control of boundary layer separation typically reports that the use of unsteady blowing reduces the necessary amount of mass required by steady blowing by factors ranging from 2 to about 100. A means of improving blowing efficiency is to introduce unsteady blowing through fluidic oscillators where a flow of fluid is pulsed without mechanical actuators into the boundary layer upstream of the separation point. However, the frequency, amplitude, and phase of the unsteadiness are critical to proper application of unsteady blowing for boundary layer control.
Therefore there is need of a method of implementing unsteady boundary layer injection using fluidic oscillators. In particular, there is a need for new techniques for operating unsteady fluidic oscillators that take into account the dynamics of the overall fluidic dynamic system.

Method and system for flow control with fluidic oscillators


Methods, systems, and devices for managing a power system are described. A power management system may include multiple interconnected power supply and control units that plug directly into a standard residential power outlet. A power management system may include multiple interconnected power supply and control units that plug directly into a standard residential power outlet. Together, the interconnected power supply and control units may provide a distributed power backup system in the form of a home energy nano-grid. The power management system may provide backup power, power sharing, and device inter-connectivity while enabling efficient scalability and the robustness of a distributed system. The power management system may also include a power usage monitoring unit, which may gather data and use it to improve the efficiency of power usage throughout the home.

The following relates generally to power management, and more specifically to managing the power system of a building (e.g., as a component of a home automation system).
Home automation may allow a user to monitor and control functions of a residence. A residence in which automation may be controlled by a user remotely may be referred to as a smart home. Smart homes may enable automation of multiple systems, which may include lighting, HVAC, security, appliances, and others. A smart home may automate blinds, lights, and lamps. Additionally, a smart home may allow user control of systems such doors, temperature, security components, and others remotely. Smart homes may enable energy savings for a user. HVAC systems may have customizable schedules for heating and cooling. Automation of heat and lighting may allow users to reduce their usage while the user is away. Additionally, smart homes may prevent or mitigate damage to the home. Sensors to detect water leaks or other hazards in a home may enable systems to stop damage before it happens. Smart homes may be built on a variety of protocols, each of which may suitable for different devices or functions.
Some buildings, including some smart homes be subject to unpredictable power supply, power shocks, loss of power, or time varying energy pricing. This may result in lost efficiency, data loss or damage to electronic devices.


A method of driving an ink-jet printhead, the ink-jet printhead having a pressure chamber to be filled with ink, a piezoelectric actuator for varying a volume of the pressure chamber, and a nozzle, through which an ink droplet is ejected, connected to the pressure chamber, the method including applying a driving pulse to the piezoelectric actuator to change the volume of the pressure chamber, thereby ejecting the ink droplet through the nozzle due to a change in pressure in the pressure chamber caused by the change in volume of the pressure chamber, and changing a volume of the ink droplet ejected through the nozzle by maintaining a rising time of the driving pulse constant and adjusting a duration time of a maximum voltage of the driving pulse.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of driving an ink-jet printhead. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of driving an ink-jet printhead using a driving waveform capable of representing gradation.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, ink-jet printheads eject fine droplets of ink for printing at desired positions on a recording medium to print an image of a predetermined color. Ink-jet printheads may be classified into two types according to a mechanism used to eject an ink droplet. A first type is a bubble jet type ink-jet printhead, which generates a bubble in ink using a heat source to eject an ink droplet by an expansion force of the bubble. A second type is a piezoelectric type ink-jet printhead, which ejects an ink droplet by pressure applied to ink due to a deformation of a piezoelectric body.
FIG. 1 illustrates a structure of a conventional piezoelectric type ink-jet printhead.
Referring to FIG. 1, an ink-jet printhead 10 includes a pressure chamber 15 filled with ink to be ejected. Ink supply paths 28 and 34, through which ink is supplied from an ink reservoir 35 to a pressure chamber 15, are connected to one side of the pressure chamber 15. Ink discharge paths 29 and 36 are connected to the other side of the pressure chamber 15. A nozzle 13 for ejecting the ink is formed at an end portion of the ink discharge paths 29 and 36. A vibration plate 23 is provided in an upper portion of the pressure chamber 15. A piezoelectric actuator 25 for providing a driving force to eject the ink by vibrating the vibration plate 23, which changes a volume of the pressure chamber 15, is provided on the vibration plate 23. The piezoelectric actuator 25 includes a common electrode 26 formed on the vibration plate 23, a piezoelectric film 14 formed of a piezoelectric material on the common electrode 26, and a driving electrode 27 formed on the piezoelectric film 14 for applying a driving voltage to the piezoelectric film 14.
In such a piezoelectric type ink-jet printhead 10, when a driving pulse having a predetermined driving voltage is applied to the piezoelectric film 14 through the driving electrode 27, the vibration plate 23 is bent by the deformation of the piezoelectric film 14, thereby decreasing the volume of the pressure chamber 15. As the volume of the pressure chamber 15 decreases, the pressure in the pressure chamber 15 increases. This increase in pressure in the pressure chamber 15 causes the ink in the pressure chamber 15 to be ejected out of the printhead 10 through the nozzle 13. Then, when the driving pulse applied to the piezoelectric film 14 is removed, the vibration plate 23 is restored to an original shape thereof and the volume of the pressure chamber 15 increases. As the volume in the pressure chamber 15 increases, the pressure in the pressure chamber 15 decreases. This decrease in pressure causes ink to be absorbed from the ink reservoir 35 through the ink supply paths 34 and 28, thereby refilling the pressure chamber 15 with ink.
The above-described piezoelectric type ink-jet printhead is advantageous in representing gradation because it can eject ink droplets having a variety of volumes through the nozzle 13, which has a uniform diameter, depending on the waveform of the driving pulse applied to the piezoelectric actuator 25.
FIG. 2 illustrates driving waveforms for use in a conventional method of driving the ink-jet printhead shown in FIG. 1.
The driving pulses shown in FIG. 2 have waveforms to adjust a volume of a droplet in two steps. More specifically, a first driving pulse to eject a droplet having a relatively smaller volume includes a first pulse and a second pulse. A second driving pulse to eject a droplet having a relatively larger volume includes only a second pulse. The second pulse is a main pulse providing a driving force sufficient to eject an ink droplet, while the first pulse is an auxiliary pulse that is not sufficient to cause ejection of an ink droplet.
When the first pulse is initially applied to the piezoelectric actuator 25, prior to application of the second pulse, the vibration plate 23 vibrates slightly due to the first pulse before the droplet is ejected and the meniscus of the ink in the nozzle 13 retreats. When the second pulse for ejecting the droplet is applied at the point when the meniscus of the ink retreats, the volume of the droplet is reduced. Accordingly, a diameter of a dot printed on the recording medium decreases. When the second driving pulse having only the second pulse is applied to the piezoelectric actuator 25, a droplet having a relatively larger volume is ejected. Accordingly, the diameter of a dot printed on the recording medium increases.
However, in the above driving method, accurately adjusting a timing of the retreat of the meniscus of the ink is difficult. The speed when a smaller droplet is ejected is slower than that when a larger droplet is ejected. Accordingly, a position of the dot on the recording medium is changed, which deteriorates print quality.
FIG. 3 illustrates driving waveforms used in another conventional method of driving an ink-jet printhead.
According to the driving waveforms shown in FIG. 3, by selectively applying a first pulse to eject a droplet having a small volume and a second pulse to eject a droplet having a large volume, droplets having three different volumes can be ejected. More specifically, when a first driving pulse including only the first pulse is applied to the piezoelectric actuator 25, a droplet having a small volume is ejected and a dot having a small diameter is printed on the recording medium. Although not shown, when only the second pulse is applied to the piezoelectric actuator 25, a droplet having a large volume is ejected and a dot having a large diameter is printed on the recording medium. When a second driving pulse including both the first and second pulses is applied to the piezoelectric actuator 25, a droplet having a small volume is initially ejected and a droplet having a large volume is ejected to overlap the droplet having the small volume, which prints a dot having the largest diameter on the recording medium.
According to the above driving method, although there is a difference in the ejection speed of the droplet having a relatively larger volume and that of the droplet having a relatively smaller volume, since the slow speed of the droplet having a smaller volume can be compensated for by applying the first pulse to eject the smaller droplet prior to the second pulse to eject the larger droplet, the two droplets can be located at the same position on the recording medium.
However, in the above conventional driving method, ejection timing control is difficult with respect to two droplets having different ejection speeds. Furthermore, when two droplets are overlapped to print a dot having the largest diameter on the recording medium, it is difficult for the printed dot to have a perfect circle and the diameter of the dot is not proportional to the volumes of the ejected droplet.


The present invention discloses an image display device, comprising: a lookup table specifying a corresponding relationship between color saturation represented by gradation and set values associated with part including the minimum value of the color saturation; a first color saturation setting unit for setting color saturation associated with the set value greater than or equal to a predetermined value based on the lookup table; and a second color saturation setting unit for setting color saturation associated with the set value less than the predetermined value by calculating values which gradually decreased to the minimum value of the color saturation as the set value decreases.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a television and an image display device, and in particular, to a television and an image display device in which color saturation can be adjusted.
(2) Description of Related Art
In an image display device such as a television, a user can perform various color corrections of picture quality (color density, luminance, brightness and so forth) to obtain a display suiting users' taste because the color and brightness of images vary with image sources. A recent digitization tends to perform the various color corrections using digital technique. It is common to set the quantity of adjustment for color corrections into a register as a set value when a digital color correction is performed.
In a television, for example, an eight-bit register is used to set adjustment values for color corrections, enabling 256 gradations (a variable range) to be adjusted. However, a user tends to prefer a deep-color picture quality in a recent television, so that an adjustment value for color density (color saturation) tends to deviate to a high density side as a whole. In other words, as shown in FIG. 7, a number of adjustable gradations provided for a user is only 68 of 0 and 142 to 200 (a range in which gradation can be set), in addition, only 14 extracted from the 68 gradations are associated with the set values, so that a user can select only gradations associated with the set values.
The following are known as related art on color-density setting: a color correction circuit in which color density is adjusted by digital signal processing not to cause color collapse (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-103505); a color adjusting circuit in which a synthesizing ratio of each signal of RGB to a luminance signal is changed to continuously adjust color density from color image to monochrome image (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-129369); a color circuit adjusting device capable of adjusting a color circuit without using an SMPTE color bar pattern generator (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 06-6838); and an on-screen display device guiding procedures for picture quality adjustment (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 05-183946).
In the above, color is deleted at a minimum value (zero in FIG. 7). That is to say, as illustrated in FIG. 8, when color density is gradually reduced by a user, the color density changes at a substantially constant ratio until one step before the minimum value and is reduced to zero at the minimum value to turn into a monochrome display. Even if color density is thus set and if adjustment values associated with a plurality of set values are distributed throughout a plurality of adjustment values (throughout 0 to 256 gradations), a user will not feel odd.
A recent trend in user's taste for deep colors causes the distribution of set values to deviate to a high density side as a whole, producing a large change between the minimum value and one step before the minimum value, which causes a user to feel odd. Furthermore, 0 to 142 gradations on the lower density side out of 256 gradations are not allowed to be set by a user, which cannot suit the taste of users who are fond of a light color.

Television and image display device in which color saturation can be adjusted


A connector housing for an electrical connector has a housing body having one or more contact receiving passageways and one or more contact-securing members. Each contact-securing member is pivotably mounted on the housing body about a pivot axis, spaced apart from the pivot axis and extending parallel to the pivot axis, and pivotable about the pivot axis into the contact receiving passageway. The contact-securing member has a latching lug, a securing arm extending towards the contact receiving passageway, and a recess positioned on a side of the securing are opposite the latching lug.

Conventional electrical connectors often have connector housings that secure the position of electric contacts, such as pin contacts. The electrical contacts generally have regions which form a positive fit with a contact-securing member formed in the housing and extending in at least one direction. In this manner, an undesirable removal of an installed electrical contact from the housing can be prevented. However, these conventional electrical connectors are known to suffer from the fact that the contact-securing notch design often break if manufactured imprecisely and/or if excessive forces act on them.
Publication DE 10 2012 102 966 A1, filed by the Applicants, describes a plug element in which the contact-securing member has at least one elongation portion. As a result, it is elastic and manufacturing tolerances can be compensated. Various described embodiments show contact-securing members having large openings which extend along a pivoting direction through a contact-securing member of the connector housing. While this configuration of a contact-securing member has good elasticity, it suffers from several disadvantages. For example, since an outer surface of the contact-securing member has a number of openings extending over a large area, and the majority are used for the elongation portion, the use of an outside of the contact-securing element for additional elements is no longer possible. For example, handles, latching elements or inscriptions cannot be positioned in the region of the elongation portion. In addition, manufacturing such a contact-securing member and housing is very complex, because the structures of the elongation portions and the structure of the latching lug can only be produced with injection-moulding method by a combination of lateral slides which are movable in different directions. This means that even small changes in the configuration of the elongation portion or the latching lug, require large portions of the tools used, including the lateral slides, to be redesigned or reconfigured. This is generally expensive and complex, and greatly limits the variety of connectors that can realistically be produced.

Connector housing for an electric plug connector


An inverse planning method that is capable of controlling the appearance of the implanted fiducial(s) in segmented IMRT fields for cine MV or combined MV/kV image-guided IMRT is provided. The method for radiation treatment includes computing a radiation treatment plan and delivering beams to a target in accordance with the radiation treatment plan, where computing the radiation treatment plan includes introducing a penalty in an inverse planning objective function optimization calculation to discourage or avoid blockage of one or more fiducials in optimized multi-leaf collimator (MLC) apertures.

In current LINAC-based IMRT, a critical component that is missing is the real-time monitoring of the tumor position. Furthermore, a treatment verification system capable of documenting the beam targeting and preventing geographic misses is not available, especially for modern modalities such as gated delivery and therapy relying on MLC-based tumor tracking. A strategy of using combined MV treatment beam and on-board kV imaging system for real-time tracking of fiducial markers has been proposed recently. When the fiducials are inside both kV and MV beams, the geometric accuracy of the system is found to be on the order of 1 mm in all three spatial dimensions.
In using the treatment MV beam for on-line imaging, a practical difficulty is that the fiducials may be partially or completely blocked by the MLC at a certain segment (segments) of an IMRT delivery. A potential solution to the problem is to design the IMRT plan in such a way that all or some of the implanted fiducials are inside the segmented IMRT fields provided that the final dose distribution is not compromised excessively.
"Seeing" the fiducial is a general requirement whenever the fiducials need to be monitored during the beam-on time. This issue arises not only in recently available time-resolved radiation therapy, such as respiration-gated IMRT and four-dimensional (4D) IMRT, but possibly also in conventional 3D IMRT where it may be desirable to ensure that the target volume remains within a prespecified tolerance.
What is needed in the art is a method of introducing a soft or hard penalty in an inverse planning calculation to discourage or avoid the blockage of the implanted fiducials in optimized multi-leaf collimator (MLC) segments.

Including fiducial markers in radiation therapy planning to facilitate real-time position monitoring during treatment delivery

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University


An optical head includes a fixed optical system having a first light source for outputting a first collimated light having a first wavelength, a first detection system for receiving a reflection of the first collimated light from a first optical disk having a first substrate thickness, a second light source outputting a second collimated light parallel to the first collimated light and having a second wavelength different than that of the first wavelength, and a second detection system for receiving a reflection of the second collimated light from a second optical disk having a second substrate thickness different than that of the first substrate thickness. A movable optical system includes an objective lens for focusing the first light on the first optical disk, and for focusing the second light on the second optical disk and an optical system for converting a wavefront of the second light and transmitting the second light to the objective lens. A driving system moves the movable optical system in a direction relative to the first collimated light.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical head for an optical disk device which records and reproduces information by using light, and more particularly to an optical head which includes a plurality of light sources having different wavelengths.
2. Description of the Related Art
To protect the information recording layer of an optical disk, exit light from an objective lens is converged onto a minute spot when recording or reproducing information on or from the optical disk. The objective lens is designed to form the smallest possible spot for an optical disk having a substrate of a particular thickness.
Recently, to improve recording density etc., optical disks having different substrate thicknesses have been standardized. However, conventional single-light source optical systems cannot accommodate such different substrate thicknesses. Therefore, optical systems for accommodating two different substrate thicknesses have been developed.
FIG. 6 shows an example of such a two-light-source optical system. This configuration accommodates two different substrate thicknesses by using two light sources having different wavelengths.
Specifically, exit light from a first light source 1 is shaped by a collimator lens 13 and an objective lens 6, to form a minute spot on an optical disk 7 having a first substrate thickness. Reflection light from the optical disk is guided by a beam splitter 14 to a first detection system 3, which detects necessary information.
On the other hand, an integrated module 17 incorporates a second light source whose wavelength is different from that of the first light source. Exit light from the integrated module 17 is superimposed on an optical path extending from the first light source by a wavelength combining element 10. In this case, a minute spot can be formed on a second optical disk 8 having a second substrate thickness different from that of the first optical disk. Reflection light from the optical disk is separated by the wavelength combining element 10, and a necessary signal is detected by a second detection system that is provided in the integrated module 17.
Thus, the configuration shown in FIG. 6 accommodates optical disks having different substrate thicknesses by employing two light sources having different wavelengths and establishing different objective lens incident states.
However, the optical head shown in FIG. 6, is larger than the conventional single-light source optical head because the number of parts required is much greater than that of the conventional single-light source optical head. As a result, such a larger structure is more difficult to move, and hence high-speed access of the entire optical disk with a two-light-source optical head, is difficult to achieve.
To remedy the slow movement of large optical heads, a separation-type optical head is conventionally used. A conventional separation-type optical head has a structure in which the optical system is divided at a position between the objective lens and a collimator lens, so that typically only the objective lens is moved in the optical axis direction. The separation-type optical head takes into account that a variation in distance between the collimated light portion and the objective lens does not affect the optical characteristics of the head.
However, a separation-type optical head cannot be used with the head shown in FIG. 6, because the second light source is not collimated. That is, since exit light from the second light source (which is indicated by broken lines) incorporated into module 17, is not collimated between the collimating lens 13 and the objective lens 6, the optical characteristics of the second light would be changed by a variation in the distance, which would prevent a minute spot from being formed on the second optical disk. Thus, the reproduced or recorded signal from/on the optical disk would deteriorate.

Optical head having multiple light sources having different wavelengths


A pressure maintaining system for a hydrogen storage system includes a hydrogen supply feed that enables a hydrogen flow from the hydrogen storage system. A liquid phase hydrogen feed enables a liquid phase hydrogen flow to the hydrogen supply feed. A gas phase hydrogen feed enables a gas phase hydrogen flow to the hydrogen supply feed. A check valve enables fluid communication from the hydrogen supply feed to the liquid phase hydrogen feed when a pressure within the hydrogen supply feed is greater than a threshold pressure.

Fuel cell systems are increasingly used as a power source in a wide variety of applications. Fuel cell propulsion systems have also been proposed for use in vehicles as a replacement for internal combustion engines. The fuel cells generate electricity that is used to charge batteries and/or to power an electric motor. A solid-polymer-electrolyte fuel cell includes a membrane that is sandwiched between an anode and a cathode. To produce electricity through an electrochemical reaction, a fuel, commonly hydrogen (H2), but also either methane (CH4) or methanol (CH3OH), is supplied to the anode and an oxidant, such as oxygen (O2) is supplied to the cathode. The source of the oxygen is commonly air.
In a first half-cell reaction, dissociation of the hydrogen (H2) at the anode generates hydrogen protons (H+) and electrons (e−). The membrane is proton conductive and dielectric. As a result, the protons are transported through the membrane. The electrons flow through an electrical load (such as the batteries or the electric motor) that is connected across the membrane. In a second half-cell reaction, oxygen (O2) at the cathode reacts with protons (H+), and electrons (e−) are taken up to form water (H2O).
Hydrogen storage systems have been developed to provide hydrogen to the fuel cell stack. The hydrogen is generally stored in a storage vessel in gas and liquid phases under pressure and at low temperature. In some instances, gaseous hydrogen must be recirculated back to the storage vessel. However, reintroduction of gaseous hydrogen into the storage vessel can significantly increase the system pressure of the storage vessel. If the system pressure is too high, a pressure release device is activated and gaseous hydrogen is vented to atmosphere.
One traditional hydrogen storage system includes a cryo-shut-off valve that enables withdrawal of hydrogen (i.e., liquid) from the storage vessel. The cryo-valve is disposed within a vacuum isolated housing and includes a return device. The return device enables gaseous hydrogen to flow back into the hydrogen storage tank. The return device is activated when a set pressure is reached. Cryo-valves that include the return device are complicated and expensive.
Another traditional hydrogen storage system includes a check valve that is external to the vacuum isolated housing. The check valve enables gaseous hydrogen to flow back into the gas phase hydrogen within the storage vessel. As discussed above, reintroducing gas phase hydrogen into the storage vessel significantly increases the system pressure.

Closed pressure-keeping system for liquid hydrogen storage


A method of forming a thin film is provided in which a film having a first thickness is deposited over a substrate, wherein the first thickness is greater than a thickness at which the initially deposited film begins to dewet from the substrate. The initially deposited film is then stabilized to form a stabilized film. Thereafter, the stabilized film is then thinned to a second thickness, such that the resulting film now has a smaller thickness than the thickness at which the initially deposited film would begin to dewet from the substrate. However, as a result of the prior stabilization, the reduced thickness film remains free of dewetting defects.

The present invention relates to the processing of thin films, such as those used in the processing of very small structures such as microelectronic devices, for example.
The industry goal of reducing the size of microelectronic devices places greater demands on photolithography as a technology. As more aggressive solutions are pursued to meet such increased demands, thinner polymer films have to be used as anti-reflective coatings (ARCs) and in photoresist imaging layers. The use of thin polymer films, unfortunately, most often leads to device defects, such as those that occur due to long range van der Waals forces. Due to Van der Waals forces, localized thinning of a polymer film on a substrate occurs when the polymer film has insufficient thickness to overcome a tendency to dewet from the substrate. This leads to dewetting defects, also known as "pinhole" defects. An example of this phenomenon is illustrated in FIG. 1 for a bottom anti-reflective coating (BARC) layer disposed on a substrate of silicon dioxide.
FIG. 1 illustrates a free energy curve 10 for a BARC layer disposed on a substrate of silicon dioxide, and a second curve 12 being the second derivative of the free energy curve 10. The BARC layer becomes unstable and has a tendency to dewet catastrophically at a thickness (50 nm) below which the free energy curve 10 turns sharply lower and heads negative. Such catastrophic dewetting is referred to as spinodal dewetting. The location of the zero in the second curve 12 illustrating the second derivative of free energy indicates a crossover point at about 85 nm between a film that dewets spinodally below that thickness and dewets via nucleation and growth of holes above that thickness.
As further shown in FIG. 1, as the overall film thickness is increased, the free energy of the film passes through a maximum and starts to decrease slowly as the film thickness continues to be increased. In the thickness regime just beyond the thickness at which the film spinodally dewets, the film is metastable and can still dewet via a different mechanism. If at some localized point in the film the thickness falls below the 85 nm thickness of the crossover point, the film becomes locally unstable and dewets by a mechanism known as dewetting via nucleation and growth of holes. Consequently, by examining the curves presented in FIG. 1, a BARC film having a thickness of 80 nm, which is less than the crossover point thickness of 85 nm, is highly unstable, and dewets spinodally, rapidly dewetting to droplets. On the other hand, a BARC film having a thickness of 110 nm, does not dewet spinodally, but can still dewet locally via nucleation and growth of holes. When the thickness of the film is increased, however, the occurrence of defects becomes less likely. For example, a BARC film having a thickness of 200 nm is so far from the crossover point on the free energy diagram that random local fluctuations in film thickness no longer result in local instability of the film.
Heretofore, there has been no known solution to this problem other than to increase the thickness of the film, which runs contrary to the industry goal of reducing device size. In addition, advanced lithography processes call for reductions rather than increases in film thicknesses, especially since a thick BARC film unnecessarily increases the difficulty of etching through the BARC film. Similarly, a thick photoresist imaging layer also increases risk of line pattern collapse and reduces the process window.
Currently, it is common to utilize surface treatments such as hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) prime, prior to applying a coating such as an ARC or a photoresist. Such treatment promotes adhesion by changing the surface tension, and can also affect wettability of the coating by changing the spreading coefficient. However, even when a coating has a positive spreading coefficient, pinholes can still form when instability is present due to long range van der Waals forces. Therefore, pre-treating a surface with a surface treatment such as an HMDS prime, while affecting the size and shape of dewetting defects, does not prevent them from appearing in the first instance.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a method by which the thickness of a film utilized in semiconductor fabrication can be reduced while precluding defects in the film caused by long range van der Waals forces.

After deposition method of thinning film to reduce pinhole defects

International Business Machines Corporation


A waterproof hand-held electric breast massager includes a casing, a driving motor, a power supply element and a massaging member. The sealing cover is disposed at one end of the tubal body and at least one a protrusion at another end of the tubal body. The bottom body further has a conductive sheet, and at least one a positioning slot around a hollow portion of the bottom body. When the positioning slot of the bottom body is aligned with the protrusion, the bottom body can be inserted into the tubal body. The driving motor is mounted in the tubal body, and the driving motor has a first and a second conductive parts. The first conductive part and the conductive sheet make contact with each other. The massaging member has a bowl-like shape and a lip with an elastic curved surface at a circumference edge such that the casing is disposed perpendicular with the lip of the massaging member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a breast massager, and more particularly to a waterproof hand-held electric breast massager.
2. Description of the Related Art
Traditional beauty standards frequently consider that the breast area of a woman should have certain proportions. As a result, breast size is often an important issue for many women. Some women may use drugs or the like in an attempt to enhance breast size. Others may employ an enhancing device for the same purpose. A benefit of the later is that such devices are less harmful to the health of the individual.
Many breast enhancing devices employ suction; others may employ a massaging device. The suction-based devices require a vacuum system to provide the pulling force around the breast area that stimulates the breast tissue. However, such devices are frequently bulky, heavy and relatively complicated in structure. With respect to the massaging devices, such devices require an electric motor with a biased shaft or an eccentric weight to generate vibration or a shaking effect that is imparted onto the breast region to stimulate the breast tissue. However, such devices typically require a power cord or batteries, neither of which is ideal for use in wet conditions due to the risk of electrical shorts.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a waterproof hand-held electric breast massager to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementioned problems.

Waterproof hand-held electric breast massager


An improved trench capacitor is achieved by providing a node dielectric that lines the collar and sidewalls of the bottom of the trench. Further, the trench capacitor includes a lower portion having a diameter that is substantially the about same or greater than that of the upper portion.

Integrated circuits (ICs) or chips employ capacitors for charge storage purposes. An example of an IC that employs capacitors for storing charge is a memory IC, such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip. The level of the charge ("0" or "1") in the capacitor represents a bit of data.
A DRAM chip includes an array of memory cells interconnected by rows and columns. Typically, the row and column connections are referred to as wordlines and bitlines, respectively. Reading data from or writing data to the memory cells is accomplished by activating the appropriate wordlines and bitlines.
Typically, a DRAM memory cell comprises a transistor connected to a capacitor. The transistor includes two diffusion regions separated by a channel, above which is located a gate. Depending on the direction of current flow between the diffusion region, one is referred to as the drain and the other the source. The terms "drain" and "source" are herein used interchangeably to refer to the diffusion regions. The gate is coupled to a wordline and one of the diffusion regions is coupled to a bitline. The other diffusion region is coupled to the capacitor. Applying an appropriate voltage to the gate switches the transistor on, enabling current to flow through channel between the diffusion regions to form a connection between the capacitor and bitline. Switching off the transistor severs this connection by preventing current flowing through the channel.
The charge stored in the capacitor dissipates over time due to current leakage therefrom. Before the charge dissipates to an indeterminate level (below a threshold), the node has to be refreshed.
Continued demand to shrink devices has facilitated the design of DRAMs having greater density and smaller feature size and cell area. To produce cells that occupy less surface area, smaller components such as capacitors are used. However, the use of smaller capacitors results in decreased storage capacity, which can adversely affect the performance and operability of the memory device. For example, sense amplifiers require an adequate signal level to reliably sense the information in the cells. The ratio of storage capacitance to bitline capacitance is crucial in determining the signal level. If the capacitor becomes too small, this ratio may be too small to provide an adequate signal. Also, smaller storage capacity requires higher refresh frequency.
One type of capacitor that is are commonly employed in DRAMs is a trench capacitor. A trench capacitor is a three-dimensional structure formed in the silicon substrate. Increasing the volume or capacitance of the trench capacitor can be achieved by etching deeper into the substrate. As such, increasing the capacitance of the trench capacitor does not increase the surface area of the cell.
A conventional trench capacitor comprises a trench etched into the substrate. The trench is typically filled with n+ doped poly which serves as an electrode of the capacitor (referred to as the storage node). Optionally, a second electrode of the capacitor, referred to as a "buried plate," is formed by outdiffusing n+ dopants from a dopant source into a region of the substrate surrounding the lower portion of the trench. A n+ doped silicate glass such as Arsenic doped silicate glass (ASG) serves as the dopant source. A node dielectric comprising nitride is provided to separate the two electrodes of the capacitor.
In the upper portion of the trench, a dielectric collar is provided to prevent leakage from the node junction to the buried plate. The node dielectric in the upper portion of the trench where the collar is to be formed is removed prior to its formation. Removal of the nitride prevents vertical leakage along the collar.
However, the removal of the upper portion of the nitride layer creates pinholes at the transition between the bottom part the collar and upper edge of the node dielectric. Pinholes degrade the integrity of the node dielectric, and are a substantial source of charge leakage from the trench. This reduces the retention time of the trench capacitor, adversely impacting performance.
To prevent the formation of pinholes, a two step trench etch process has been proposed. First, the trench is partially etched by a reactive ion etch (RIE) to the depth of the collar. The RIE is selective to the hard etch mask. Typical chemistry employed for the RIE includes, for example, NF.sub.3 /HBr/He/O.sub.2. An oxide layer is deposited and etched to form the collar on the trench sidewalls. The etch, which is a RIE, is selective to silicon using, for example, CHF.sub.3 /He/O.sub.2, CHF.sub.3 /Ar, C.sub.4 F.sub.8 /Ar, or CF.sub.4 chemistry. The remaining portion of the trench is etched after collar formation. The node dielectric is then formed over the collar and lower portion of the trench sidewalls. Such a process eliminates the need to remove the upper portion of the node dielectric, thus avoiding pinholes from forming.
Although such two step trench formation is effective in preventing pinholes, the second RIE step for removing silicon may cause excessive erosion of the collar. Degradation of the collar causes leakage to occur. Furthermore, the collar acts as a hard etch mask for the second RIE trench etch, producing a lower portion of the trench having a diameter which is equal to that of the inner circumference of the collar. Thus, the lower portion of the trench is smaller than the upper portion, which has a diameter equal to about the outer circumference of the collar. This is undesirable as it reduces the capacitance of the capacitor.
From the above description, it is desirable to provide a trench capacitor with reduced charge leakage and increased capacitance.

Method of fabricating a trench capacitor with a deposited isolation collar


Full acoustic coupling and echo cancellation is provided in implementations where there is acoustic coupling between acoustic zones. In acoustic echo cancellation systems, including active acoustic attenuation systems and communications systems, having a first model canceling the speech of a second person in the output of a first microphone otherwise present due to electrical transmission from a second microphone to a first loudspeaker and broadcast by the first loudspeaker to the first microphone, the cancellation of the speech of the second person in the output of the first microphone preventing rebroadcast thereof by the second loudspeaker, and a second model canceling the speech of the first person in the output of the second microphone otherwise present due to electrical transmission from the first microphone to the second loudspeaker and broadcast by the second loudspeaker to the second microphone, the cancellation of the speech of the first person in the output of the second microphone preventing rebroadcast thereof by the first loudspeaker, an improvement provides a third model cancelling the speech of the first person in the output of the first microphone otherwise present due to acoustic transmission from the second loudspeaker in the second zone to the first microphone in the first zone, and a fourth model cancelling the speech of the second person in the output of the second microphone otherwise due to acoustic transmission from the first loudspeaker in the first zone to the second microphone in the second zone. Further improvements and features are provided in various combinations.

The invention relates to acoustic echo cancellation systems, including active acoustic attenuation systems and communication systems. The invention arose during continuing development efforts relating to the subject matter of U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,082, incorporated herein by reference.
In one aspect of the invention, a fully coupled active echo cancellation matrix is provided, canceling echo due to acoustic transmission between zones, in addition to cancellation of echoes due to electrical transmission between zones as in incorporated U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,082. In the latter patent, a communication system is provided including a first acoustic zone, a second acoustic zone, a first microphone at the first zone, a first loudspeaker at the first zone, a second microphone at the second zone and having an output supplied to the first loudspeaker such that a first person at the first zone can hear the speech of a second person at the second zone as transmitted by the second microphone and the first loudspeaker, a second loudspeaker at the second zone and having an input supplied from the first microphone such that the second person at the second zone can hear the speech of the first person at the first zone as transmitted by the first microphone and the second loudspeaker, a first model cancelling the speech of the second person in the output of the first microphone otherwise present due to electrical transmission from the second microphone to the first loudspeaker and broadcast by the first loudspeaker to the first microphone, the cancellation of the speech of the second person in the output of the first microphone preventing rebroadcast thereof by the second loudspeaker, and a second model cancelling the speech of the first person in the output of the second microphone otherwise present due to electrical transmission from the first microphone to the second loudspeaker and broadcast by the second loudspeaker to the second microphone, the cancellation of the speech of the first person in the output of the second microphone preventing rebroadcast thereof by the first loudspeaker. In the present invention, there is provided a third model cancelling the speech of the first person in the output of the first microphone otherwise present due to acoustic transmission from the second loudspeaker in the second zone to the first microphone in the first zone, and a fourth model canceling the speech of the second person in the output of the second microphone otherwise due to acoustic transmission from the first loudspeaker in the first zone to the second microphone in the second zone. The present invention has desirable application in those implementations where there is acoustic coupling between the first and second zones, for example in a vehicle such as a minivan, where the first zone is the front seat and the second zone is a rear seat, and it is desired to provide an intercom communication system, and cancel echoes not only due to local acoustic transmission in a zone but also global acoustic transmission between zones, including in combination with active acoustic attenuation.
In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a switch having open and closed states, and conducting the output of a microphone therethrough in the closed state, a voice activity detector having an input from the output of the microphone at a node between the microphone and the switch, an occupant sensor sensing the presence of a person at the acoustic zone, and a logical AND function having a first input from the voice activity detector, a second input from the occupant sensor, and an output to the switch to actuate the latter between open and closed states. This feature is desirable in automotive applications when there are no additional passengers for a driver to communicate with.
In another aspect of the invention, an input to a model is supplied through a variable training signal circuit providing increasing training signal levels with increasing speech signal levels or increased interior ambient noise levels associated with higher vehicle speeds. This is desirable for on-line training noise to be imperceptible by the occupant yet have a sufficient signal to noise ratio for accurate model convergence.
In another aspect of the invention, a noise responsive high pass filter is provided between a microphone and a remote yet acoustically coupled loudspeaker, and having a filter cutoff effective at elevated noise levels and reducing bandwidth and making more gain available, to improve intelligibility of speech of a person in the zone of the microphone transmitted to the remote loudspeaker. In vehicle applications, the high pass filter is vehicle speed sensitive, such that at higher vehicle speeds and resulting higher noise levels, lower frequency speech content is blocked and higher frequency speech content is passed, the lower frequency speech content being otherwise masked at higher speeds by broadband vehicle and wind noise, so that the reduced bandwidth and the absence of the lower frequency speech content does not sacrifice the perceived quality of speech, and such that at lower vehicle speeds and resulting lower noise levels, the cutoff frequency of the filter is lowered such that lower frequency speech content is passed, in addition to higher frequency speech content, to provide enriched low frequency performance, and overcome objections to a tinny sounding system.
In another aspect, there is provided a feedback detector having an input from a microphone, and an output controlling an adjustable notch filter filtering the output of the microphone supplied to a remote yet acoustically coupled loudspeaker. This overcomes prior objections in closed loop communication systems which can become unstable whenever the total loop gain exceeds unity. Careful setting of system gain and acoustic echo cancellation may be used to ensure system stability. For various reasons, such as high gain requirements, acoustic feedback may occur, which is often at the system resonance or where the free response is relatively undamped. These resonances usually have a very high Q factor and can be represented by a narrow band in the frequency domain. Thus, the total system gain ceiling is determined by a small portion of the communication system bandwidth, in essence limiting performance across all frequencies in the band for one or more narrow regions. The present invention overcomes this objection.
In another aspect of the invention, an acoustic feedback tonal canceler is provided, removing tonal noise from the output of the microphone to prevent broadcast thereof by a remote but acoustically coupled loudspeaker.
Other features and aspects are provided, as will be understood in the following description.

Coupled acoustic echo cancellation system


The apparatus for analyzing body fluids which are contained in tubes provided with an externally readable identification marking, with positive sample identification at the position at which a quantity of fluid is removed for analysis, it being possible for the tubes to be inserted into a rotatable rotor (1), is distinguished in that at least two rotors (1) can be pushed into the apparatus in a drawer-like manner, it being possible for these rotors to be driven via a laterally arranged gear wheel (9) in each case which engages in the observation slits which are arranged on the circumference of the rotor (1) and through which the identification of the tubes takes place.

Large quantities of body-fluid samples, in particular blood but also urine and other body fluids, are tested in laboratories. These fluids are contained in sample tubes from which sub-quantities are removed with the aid of pipetting devices in order that one or more analyses can be carried out. This takes place essentially automatically. The main problem here is positive identification. It is, of course, necessary to be sure that the analysis data are assigned to the correct sample, and thus to the correct patient.
For this purpose, it is known for the tubes to be provided with an automatically readable marking, e.g. a bar code. In the case of a previously known apparatus, the tubes are arranged one behind the other in a row in a drawer-like frame and are pushed into the apparatus, the individual markings being identified by an identification device during the push-in operation by virtue of said device reading the bar code. Such a device cannot be 100% reliable since the frames with the tubes may possibly be pushed in incorrectly or it could be possible for a tube to be exchanged after the push-in operation, this exchange not being detected by the apparatus since the identification has already taken place beforehand, namely during the operation for pushing the row of tubes in.
In the case of another apparatus, at the same time as the identification takes place, the fluid from the sample tube is introduced, with the aid of a pipette, into a further tube, which is located in a closed carousel. This ensures positive identification since it is not possible for any sample tubes to be removed from the carousel. The problem which does arise, however, is that two sample tubes have to be used for each body fluid, and this signifies an increase in waste.
It is also known for the tubes to be arranged in the form of a chain and, in this case, for that part of the chain in which the sample removal takes place to be guided through a closed-top chamber such that it is not possible for any tube to be removed. The identification takes place during sample removal by the pipette, thus ensuring positive identification. However, such a chain is complicated, in particular if a number of analyses are to be carried out on the same sample. If the analysis establishes that, due to critical values, a further analysis should be carried out, then the corresponding tube is no longer located at the sample-removal location and so has to be inserted manually again at the beginning of the chain. This is also very complicated.
Finally, it is known for the tubes to be inserted in a carousel or rotor, the identification taking place at the time of sample removal. Although positive identification is ensured, it is necessary, once the measurements have been completed, for the tubes to be removed individually from the rotor or for the rotor, which is positioned on a spindle, to be lifted out in order for the tubes to be disposed of. This is very complicated. There is also the problem of exchange having to take place once the analyses have been completed. If the operator is otherwise occupied at this point, which will usually be the case, then the apparatus remains at a standstill for some time until it is noticed that new tubes have to be inserted. This amount of time wasted means that the apparatus is utilized less economically and it may be necessary for overtime to be worked in order for the day's analyses to be completed as planned.