Methods, data structures, and systems are provided for configuring avionic equipment with profile data. Profile data is defined, stored, and/or retrieved. The profile data is used to configure one or more display fields of the avionic equipment, display units of measure, identify flight plans, define map settings, set navigation fields, define communication transceiver spacing, define data/time setup, to configure one or more timers, alarms, and/or to configure other communication, navigation, or surveillance settings associated with avionic equipment. Furthermore, instances of the profile data are associated with unique identifiers for storage and retrieval purposes.

Modern commercial/private aircraft, as well as older aircraft, include a myriad of instrumentation panels associated with electronic devices having controls, displays, and software applications, which are used to present information to pilots and/or copilots during flight. The electronic devices, controls, displays and applications are interfaced together to form avionic equipment within the aircraft.
Conventionally, pilots/copilots access one or more interface devices of the avionic equipment prior to flight, in order to customize various information in preparation for their flights. Some of this information can be merely preferences desired by the pilots/copilots, such as desired field locations for presenting flight settings/options within a display. Other information is more functional, such as flight plans for scheduled flights. Moreover, some information is used to alter displayed units of measure (e.g., metric standard versus U.S. standard, and others), which are associated with displayed flight settings/options (including instrument readings).
Typically, when avionic equipment is powered down, the then-existing settings/options for the equipment are retained and re-provided when the equipment is subsequently powered up again. Thus, when one pilot/copilot takes over for a different pilot/copilot many of the initial provided settings/options require manual adjustment. This can be time consuming, tedious, and undesirable for pilots/copilots. Moreover, manual adjustment can be repetitively required each time the equipment is powered up.
Also, many larger airlines can require that some settings/options be used by their pilots/copilots for purposes of standardization, training, and/or safety concerns. Thus, administratively defined settings/options can be circumvented or avoided altogether, when pilots/copilots manually re-enter flight settings/options. This is so, because modifying flight settings/options for conventional avionic equipment is rigid and time consuming. Therefore, many administratively defined settings/options avoid widespread enforcement by the airlines or are manually changed by the pilots/copilots.
As is apparent to one skilled in the art, existing avionic equipment does not provide practical reusable settings/options. Moreover, since the settings/options are not easily modifiable, standard required flight settings/options can be more easily circumvented or avoided by pilots/copilots. Therefore, there exists a need to better create, modify, maintain, store, and retrieve flight settings/options for avionic equipment.

Methods, data structures, and systems to configure avionic equipment with profile data


Among other aspects, provided herein is a hydrohalide salt of a multi-arm water-soluble polyethylene glycol-drug conjugate, along with related methods of making and using the same. The hydrohalide salt is stably formed, and appears to be more resistant to hydrolytic degradation than the corresponding free base form of the conjugate.

Over the years, numerous methods have been proposed for improving the stability and delivery of biologically active agents. Challenges associated with the formulation and delivery of pharmaceutical agents can include poor aqueous solubility of the pharmaceutical agent, toxicity, low bioavailability, instability, and rapid in-vivo degradation, to name just a few. Although many approaches have been devised for improving the delivery of pharmaceutical agents, no single approach is without its drawbacks. For instance, commonly employed drug delivery approaches aimed at solving or at least ameliorating one or more of these problems include drug encapsulation, such as in a liposome, polymer matrix, or unimolecular micelle, covalent attachment to a water-soluble polymer such as polyethylene glycol, use of gene targeting agents, formation of salts, and the like.
Covalent attachment of a water-soluble polymer can improve the water-solubility of an active agent as well as alter its pharmacological properties. Certain exemplary polymer conjugates are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,744,861, among others. In another approach, an active agent having acidic or basic functionalities can be reacted with a suitable base or acid and marketed in salt form. Over half of all active molecules are marketed as salts (Polymorphism in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Hilfiker, R., ed., Wiley-VCH, 2006). Challenges with salt forms include finding an optimal salt, as well as controlling solid state behavior during processing. Biopharmaceutical salts can be amorphous, crystalline, and exist as hydrates, solvents, various polymorphs, etc. Interestingly, rarely, if ever, are salt forms, let alone mixed acid salt forms, of polymer conjugates used in drug formulations.
Another challenge associated with preparing active agent conjugates of water-soluble polymers waters is the ability to prepare relatively pure water-soluble polymers in a consistent and reproducible method. For example, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) derivatives activated with reactive functional groups are useful for coupling to active agents (such as small molecules and proteins), thereby forming a conjugate between the PEG and the active agent. When an active agent is conjugated to a polymer of poly(ethylene glycol) or "PEG," the conjugated active agent is conventionally referred to as having been "PEGylated."
When compared to the safety and efficacy of the active agent in the unconjugated form, the conjugated version exhibits different, and often clinically beneficial, properties. The commercial success of PEGylated active agents such as PEGASYS® PEGylated interferon alpha-2a (Hoffmann-La Roche, Nutley, N.J.), PEG-INTRON® PEGylated interferon alpha-2b (Schering Corp., Kennilworth, N.J.), and NEULASTA® PEG-filgrastim (Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks, Calif.) demonstrates the degree to which PEGylation has the potential to improve one or more properties of an active agent.
In preparing a conjugate, a polymeric reagent is typically employed to allow for a relatively straightforward synthetic approach for conjugate synthesis. By combining a composition comprising a polymeric reagent with a composition comprising the active agent, it is possible—under the appropriate reaction conditions—to carry out a relatively convenient conjugate synthesis.
The preparation of the polymeric reagent suitable to the regulatory requirements for drug products, however, is often challenging. Conventional polymerization approaches result in relatively impure compositions and/or low yield. Although such impurities and yields may not be problematic outside the pharmaceutical field, safety and cost represent important concerns in the context of medicines for human use. Thus, conventional polymerization approaches are not suited for the synthesis of polymeric reagents intended for the manufacture of pharmaceutical conjugates.
There is a need in the art for alternative methods for preparing polymeric reagents, particularly high molecular weight polymers, in relatively high yield and purity. In the case of multiarm polymers, there is a dearth of available, desirable water soluble polymers that have well controlled and well defined properties with the absence of significant amounts of undesirable impurities. Thus one can readily obtain for example a high molecular weight multi-arm poly(ethylene glycol) but drug conjugates manufactured from commercial polymers can have significant amounts (i.e. >8%) of polymer-drug conjugate having either very low or very high molecular weight biologically active impurities. This extent of active impurities in a drug composition may be unacceptable and thus can render approval of such drugs challenging if not impossible.

Salt form of a multi-arm polymer-drug conjugate


This invention relates to compositions comprising ethylene interplymers, such as a linear or substantially linear ethylene interpolymer and polydimethylsiloxane. The compositions have good abrasion resistance without sacrificing coefficient of friction.

This invention relates to polymer compositions. In particular, this invention relates to soft, flexible polymer compositions with improved abrasion resistance. One aspect of this invention relates to polymer compositions containing linear or substantially linear .alpha.-olefin polymers and high molecular weight polydimethylsiloxane. Another aspect of this invention relates to polymer compositions containing linear or substantially linear .alpha.-olefin polymers in which the addition of polydimethylsiloxane does not substantially affect the coefficient of friction of the polymer composition nor the adhesion or heat seal strength of the composition. In yet another aspect, this invention relates to articles made from the above-mentioned polymer compositions.
Applications such as tarps, shoe soles, wire and cable insulation and jacketing where surface abrasion may occur require flexible polymers with good surface abrasion resistance. Low density (density <0.9 g/cm.sup.3) ethylene/alpha olefin copolymers have good flexibility and toughness and thus are candidates for these applications; however, the low density polymers lack the surface abrasion resistance needed for these applications. Furthermore, although additives exist which may improve the processability and other properties of the polymer composition, these same additives can change the coefficient of friction (COF) and create undesirable effects in particular applications such as in shoe soles, where surface traction is important.
A polyolefin composition is needed which has improved abrasion resistance. Another desirable feature of such a polyolefin composition is that it possess a desirable coefficient of friction. Yet another desirable feature of such a polyolefin composition is that it be easily processed, thus requiring less energy to process. These and other advantages are taught by the polyolefin composition of the present invention.

Polydimethylsiloxane containing polymer blends


Sub-arrays such as tiles or chips having pixel elements arranged on a routing layer or carrier to form a larger array. Through-chip vias or the like to the backside of the chip are used for connecting with the pixel elements. Edge features of the tiles may provide for physical alignment, mechanical attachment and chip-to-chip communication. Edge damage tolerance with minimal loss of function may be achieved by moving unit cell circuitry and the electrically active portions of a pixel element away from the tile edge(s) while leaving the optically active portion closer to the edge(s) if minor damage will not cause a complete failure of the pixel. The pixel elements may be thermal emitter elements for IR image projectors, thermal detector elements for microbolometers, LED-based emitters, or quantum photon detectors such as those found in visible, infrared and ultraviolet FPAs (focal plane arrays), and the like. Various architectures are disclosed.

The human eye cannot detect infrared light. But infrared energy can be detected electronically. Sophisticated electronic instruments exist which can scan a scene and convert the infrared light to an electrical signal which can be displayed on a video monitor, analyzed by a computer, or recorded on film. Electrically, the output of these instruments is very similar to the output of a conventional video camera.
IR imaging systems are designed to satisfy different performance parameters, depending on their intended use. Military applications, such as missile guidance, require the highest level of accuracy and reliability.
Due to their complexity, IR imaging systems are expensive, sensitive, high-maintenance devices. To assure proper operation of these systems and to achieve their full performance requires frequent test and calibration. Engineers, who design IR imaging systems, test them during the design and development stage to evaluate performance parameters and to refine designs to optimize performance. Manufacturers of IR imaging systems need to compare actual performance to specifications, and need to calibrate the systems prior to delivery. End users must test their systems regularly to verify proper operation, and must recalibrate them periodically while they are in the working environment.
Some of the important performance characteristics of an IR imaging system are spatial resolution (ability to resolve fine detail), thermal resolution (ability to resolve small temperature differences), speed (ability to respond to a rapidly changing scene without blurring), and dynamic range (how large a temperature span it can view without saturating). Standard tests have been developed to quantify these characteristics.
IR Test Equipment
Setup, test, and calibration of IR imaging systems requires the use of specialized test equipment. This test equipment is designed to create an infrared scene of precisely known characteristics, to project this scene to the input of the IR imaging system being tested, and to evaluate the quality of the output of the IR imaging system.
Infrared Scene Projector (IRSP)
An Infrared Scene Projector (IRSP) may be used to test a wide variety of sensors used by the US military and major defense contractors. Generally, an IRSP comprises a large number of thermal (IR) emitters, arranged in an array of pixel elements, such as 1024×1024 pixel elements.
The IRSP may use a single chip IR emitter array to produce actual thermal imagery. The emitter array utilizes a large number of pixels to generate the image (similar to how a digital camera uses a large number of pixels to capture an image). Each pixel emits thermal energy that is ultimately captured by the sensor under test. There are many types of emitters such as resistive bridges, Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), lasers, deformable membranes, micro mirror arrays, etc. Of these emitter types, resistive bridge arrays and micro mirrors are the most widely used. Resistive bridges may offer the best performance in terms of temperature range, speed (frame rate and thermal transition time) and thermal resolution.
Resistive Bridge Pixel Elements
Each pixel element (or "emitter pixel") of a resistive bridge array generally comprises a heating element (resistor) that is suspended over a temperature controlled substrate. Suspending the resistor keeps the cool substrate from restricting the emitter pixel's temperature range.
Although the resistor and support features for resistive bridge structures may be laid out in different formats, use different materials and have different drive circuitry, the overall structure, and architecture of the pixels are generally always the same. A key aspect of the resistive bridge pixel is that it is, as the name implies, a bridge structure. A resistor, absorber, encapsulant and leg are suspended above the substrate. This suspended bridge performs several functions, among them are thermal isolation from the cool substrate, and formation of a resonant optical cavity. Although resistive bridge structures can be made in many ways, there are several defining characteristics:                1) Thermal resistor suspended as a bridge over an air gap (also known as an optical cavity)        2) Interface to a silicon CMOS chip that provides power to the suspended resistor        3) Use of an absorber layer to increase optical fill factor        4) Use of leg structures to tune thermal conduction to the cooled silicon substrateLarge Arrays
Fabricating large arrays for imaging applications as well as scene projection is often limited by the yield of the large array. While there is a demand for large arrays, it is typically not economical to produce a large monolithic array, optical or mechanical. Tiling of smaller arrays can improve yield but, in the past, has left seams between the tiles that were comparable to the size of a pixel or larger and introduced unacceptable artifacts in both imaging and scene projection applications.
Bolometer
The techniques disclosed herein for tiling arrays of pixel elements may have applications beyond thermal emitters such as arrays of resistive pixel elements. For example, in creating tiled arrays of thermal detector pixel elements, such as microbolometers.
A bolometer is a device for measuring the power of incident electromagnetic radiation via the heating of a material with a temperature-dependent electrical resistance. A bolometer consists of an absorptive element, such as a thin layer of metal, connected to a thermal reservoir (a body of constant temperature) through a thermal link. The result is that any radiation impinging on the absorptive element raises its temperature above that of the reservoir—the greater the absorbed power, the higher the temperature. A microbolometer is a specific type of bolometer which may be used as a detector in a thermal camera. Infrared radiation strikes the detector material, heating it, and thus changing its electrical resistance. This resistance change is measured and processed into temperatures which can be used to create an image. Unlike other types of infrared detecting equipment, microbolometers do not require cooling.
Through Silicon Vias
A through-silicon via (TSV) is a vertical electrical connection (via) (Vertical Interconnect Access) passing completely through a silicon wafer or die. TSVs are a high performance technique used to create 3D packages and 3D integrated circuits, compared to alternatives such as package-on-package, because the density of the vias is substantially higher, and because the length of the connections is shorter. See, for example, A Study of Through-Silicon-Via Impact on the 3D Stacked IC Layout, Kim et al., ICCAD '09, Nov. 2-5, 2009, incorporated by reference herein as an example of making connections through a semiconductor chip. See also Fabrication and characterization of metal-to-metal interconnect structures for 3-D integration, Huffman et al., © 2009, TOP Publishing Ltd and SISSA, incorporated by reference herein.
Some Prior Art
The following patents and publications are incorporated in their entirety by reference herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,600,148 discloses low power infrared scene projector array and method of manufacture. The array combines a two-tier architecture created with special processing whereby each pixel member resides on an elevated platform directly over discrete pixel control electronics and electrically conducting traces couple a plurality of pixels so that they can be controlled to project thermal images at equal to or faster than video frame rates. Microlens assemblies coupled to each discrete pixel improves the thermal efficiency of the array for certain applications. In the method of fabrication, a semiconductor microbridge-type structure obtains with the use of sacrificial layers under deposited pixel members in a compact array so that the pixel electronics reside beneath their associated pixel and the array electronics inhabit the same chip as the array thereby improving fill factor and time constant of the resulting array.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,439,513 discloses fast microbolometer pixels with integrated micro-optical focusing elements. Each microbolometer pixel includes a focusing element located between the pixel body and a substrate, this focusing element preferably sending radiation back towards the central portion of the microbolometer. There is also provided a microbolometer array having a plurality of such microbolometer pixels.
Characterization of the Dynamic Infrared Scene Projector (DIRSP) Engineering Grade Array (EGA), Manzardo et al., SPIE Vol 3697, April 1999, incorporated by reference herein, discloses a 672×544 format suspended membrane microresistor emitter array. Underlying CMOS electronics for the array contain addressing decoder and MUX electronics, as well as integrated sample and hold FET electronics. The DIRSP array is designed for either 32 or 64 parallel analog channel input operation.

Techniques for tiling arrays of pixel elements


A substrate or semiconductor device, semiconductor device assembly, and method of forming a semiconductor device assembly that includes a barrier on a solder cup. The semiconductor device assembly includes a substrate disposed over another substrate. At least one solder cup extends from one substrate towards an under bump metal (UBM) on the other substrate. The barrier on the exterior of the solder cup may be a standoff to control a bond line between the substrates. The barrier may reduce solder bridging during the formation of a semiconductor device assembly. The barrier may help to align the solder cup with a UBM when forming a semiconductor device assembly and may reduce misalignment due to lateral movement of substrates and/or semiconductor devices.

Semiconductor device assemblies, including, but not limited to, memory chips, microprocessor chips, and imager chips, typically include a semiconductor device, such as a die, mounted on a substrate, the semiconductor device assembly may be encased in a plastic protective covering or metal heat spreader. The semiconductor device assembly may include various functional features, such as memory cells, processor circuits, and imager devices, and may include bond pads that are electrically connected to the functional features of the semiconductor device assembly. The semiconductor device assembly may include semiconductor devices stacked upon and electrically connected to one another by individual interconnects between adjacent devices within a package.
Various methods and/or techniques may be employed to electrically interconnect adjacent semiconductor devices and/or substrates in a semiconductor device assembly. For example, individual interconnects may be formed by reflowing tin-silver (SnAg), also known as solder, to connect a pillar to a pad. Individual interconnects may be formed by reflowing various materials such as, but not limited to, tin-silver-copper solder, indium, or the like, as would be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. Typically, the pillar may extend down from a bottom surface of a semiconductor device towards a pad formed on the top surface of another semiconductor device or substrate. A pillar may have a base portion comprised of copper (Cu) and an end portion comprised of solder. The pillar may include a layer of nickel (Ni) positioned between the copper portion and the solder portion, which acts as a barrier to prevent copper mixing and consumption by the solder during reflow and subsequently prevents electromigration of the solder into the copper during the solder reflow process. However, in some instances solder flows out and around the nickel barrier to the copper portion of the pillar, often referred to as solder slumping, which may lead to copper consumption, intermetallics (IMC) issues, and possible shorting between pillars.
Various methods and/or techniques may be employed to support adjacent dies and/or substrates in a semiconductor device assembly. For example, thermal compression bonding (TCB) with non-conductive film (NCF), which may include a wafer level underfill (WLUF), is a technique that may be used to connect a semiconductor device to a substrate to create a semiconductor device assembly. As an example, underfill material, which may be a laminated sheet of film, is deposited onto a wafer comprising multiple dies. The wafer may be diced to form individual dies that are then bonded to a substrate. One potential disadvantage of WLUF is the presence of voids due to the topography (e.g., copper traces, solder mask) of the substrate. For example, the topography may inhibit WLUF from flowing outside the die area.
When forming a semiconductor device assembly it may be desired to have a specific bond line between the semiconductor device and the substrate or adjacent semiconductor device. During the bonding process, the force applied during the bonding process may need to be varied in an attempt to obtain the specified bond line. For example, when the NCF material is at a high viscosity state a higher force may need to be applied to obtain the desired bond line, but as the NCF is heated during the TCB process the viscosity of the NCF may decrease so that less force is required to obtain the desired bond line. The change in viscosity during the TCB process, which in turn causes a variation in the applied force may make it difficult to consistently obtain the desired bond line for the duration of the process.
A higher force applied during the TCB process may help to eliminate the WLUF voids, but the higher applied force may cause solder to unintentionally bridge across traces and/or interconnects of the semiconductor device assembly as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art. Alternatively, the solder thickness may be reduced to help eliminate bridging, but a reduced solder thickness may lead to metastable IMC issues as would be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art.
Additional drawbacks and disadvantages may exist.
While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.


In a front panel apparatus for an electric apparatus including a volume knob partially exposed outward from an operating port opened at a front panel of a casing of a disk drive, and a light emitting diode for emitting light based on a starting signal of the disk drive, the volume knob is molded by a light transmitting synthetic resin, the light emitting diode is arranged rearward from the volume knob, and light is made to be incident on the volume knob from the light emitting diode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a front panel apparatus used for an electric apparatus of, for example, a disk drive of DVD+RW or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a related art, there is an example of a disk drive of DVD+RW shown in FIG. 6. The example includes a volume knob 3 partially exposed outward from an operating port 2 opened at a front panel 1a of a casing 1, and a light emitting diode LED opposed to a display port 4 of the front panel 1a via a lens 5. Further, numeral 6 designates a jack for a headphone and numeral 7 designates a push button for extracting and retracting a tray 8.
Explaining an operating procedure, when a power source is connected to the disk drive to start, the light emitting diode LED is made to emit light based on a starting signal thereof, and the display port 4 is lighted via the lens 5. In the starting state, the tray 8 is unloaded (refer to an imaginary line of FIG. 6), a disk (not illustrated) is mounted onto the tray 8, thereafter, the push button 7 is depressed to load the tray 8 (refer to a bold line of FIG. 6), the disk on the tray 8 is rotated by a turn table, information recorded on the disk is read to reproduce by an optical pickup, an amount of reproduced sound thereof is adjusted to constitute a large sound amount by rotating the volume knob 3 in a left direction a or a small sound volume by rotating the volume knob 3 in a right direction b, and the controlled reproduced sound is heard by the headphone connected to the jack 6.
Although according to the above-described constitution of the related art, the starting state is displayed by lighting the display port 4 by making the light emitting diode LED emit light via the lens 5, according thereto, a number of parts is increased by an amount of using the lens 5, integrating operation is troublesome by taking time and labor in welding the lens 5 to the front panel 1a and manufacturing cost is expensive.

Front panel apparatus for electric apparatus


Disclosed is an accessory for eyeglasses. This accessory for eyeglasses may be used for numerous purposes including, but not limited to, prominently displaying branding indicia, advertising indicia, or any combination thereof. In certain aspects, the accessory for eyeglasses may include a clip configured to secure around an earpiece of a pair of eyeglasses. In certain aspects, the clip includes spaced first and second members connected through a U-shaped bend such that the second member is biased in the direction of the first member. The first member includes an attachment feature protruding from one side thereof in a direction away from the second member, and the second member is divided into a central member centered between spaced side members. The accessory for eyeglasses further includes a button configured to be removably attached to the attachment feature.

The present invention relates generally to decorations and ornaments for eyeglasses, and more particularly, to an accessory displaying indicia thereon configured to removably attach to the earpiece of eyeglasses.
Businesses are continuously looking for new ways and real estate to advertise, while consumers are continuously looking for new ways to accessorize. When these interests can be satisfied by the same product, both parties obtain a benefit.
Decorations and ornaments are well known for accessorizing clothing, hats, shoes and other articles. Glasses and sunglasses, referred to generically herein as "eyeglasses," are one such article yet to be exploited for accessorizing. While prescription eyeglasses come in many different styles, such styles are typically relatively generic so that eyeglasses can be worn on a daily basis without starkly contrasting with the wearer's outfit and other accessories. Sunglasses, which are typically worn only as needed, may be more decorative, but are usually still fairly generic so as not to clash with an outfit and other accessories.
There are times when a person wishes to highly accessorize their outfit, for example, at a sporting event, political rally, concert, etc. During such times, it would be desirable to offer an additional way to accessorize. It would further be desirable to utilize an article already being worn as the supporting surface for an additional temporary and interchangeable accessory. It would further be desirable to provide an accessory that attaches to an article without damage or modification to the article, and an accessory with a universal means of attachment and a display portion that can be highly customized.


Disclosed is a protective film, which includes: a protective film sheet; a protective layer; and a release layer, a lead tab is connected to an end part of the release layer, and a positioning mechanism is arranged on the protective layer to align the protective film sheet with a screen of an electronic device.

The use of electronic devices is becoming more and more popular in modern society, and these kinds of intelligent electronic devices are usually provided with a screen, which generally has a touch function. Keys on the screen are touched to communicate or menus are touched to get information through a conductive characteristic of fingers. In order to prevent a screen surface from being often touched or damaged by external friction or collision, it is necessary to paste a protective film on the screen.
A current protective film is generally a hard protective film with a high strength, such as a tempered glass film, which is hard in texture and has a strong adhesion. The protective film generally comprises a protective film sheet adhered with glue on one face for pasting on the screen surface, a release layer attached to an adhesive end of the protective film sheet, and a protective layer attached to the other end of the protective film sheet. The protective film with this structure cannot be positioned, and the release layer of the protective film is not easy to peel, so that the quality of film pasting cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, the current protective film is not suitable for matching with a film pasting machine.

Protective film and method for peeling release layer thereof


A multistage pump with axial thrust optimization is disclosed includes a pump discharge nozzle and a bypass system coupled to the pump discharge nozzle. The bypass system includes a throttle valve operatively coupled to the pump discharge nozzle, and a bypass line provided at the multistage pump. The bypass line is conducts flow from the throttle valve to a clearance gap of an axial thrust balancing arrangement. The throttle valve may be actuated to adjust a balancing flow through the bypass line such that pressure at the clearance gap is adjusted to increase and decrease fluid pressure at the clearance gap to balance axial thrust at different operating states of the multistage pump.

Axial thrust is the resultant force of all the axial forces (F) acting on the pump rotor. Axial forces acting on the rotor in the case of a single-stage centrifugal pump includes: The axial impeller force which is the difference between the axial forces on the discharge-side and suction-side impeller shroud; Momentum force which constantly acts on the fluid contained in a defined space; resultant pressure forces arising from the static pressures up and downstream of the shaft seal on the relevant shaft cross-section; Special axial forces, e.g. when changes to the vortex conditions in the clearances between impeller and casing (side gaps) occur during the start-up process; Other axial forces such as the force of the rotor weight on non-horizontal centrifugal pumps or magnetic pull in the electric motor, e.g. in close-coupled pumps.
In the case of multistage pumps with diffusers (e.g. boiler feed pumps), the axial impeller force is largely determined by the impeller's axial position in relation to the diffuser. The rotation of the fluid handled in the discharge-side and suction-side clearances between impeller and casing exerts a strong influence on the axial pressure forces. The mean angular velocity (see Rotational speed) of the rotating fluid handled reaches approx. half the impeller speed. In addition, as a result of Coriolis accelerations, the inward directed clearance flow in the suction-side (i.e. outer) clearance between impeller and casing (side gap) further increases the side gap turbulences. In the discharge-side (i.e. inner) side gap of multistage pumps whose impellers are not hydraulically balanced, the process is reversed as a result of the outward-directed gap flow. The vortex motion is decelerated resulting in an increase of the axial force, and hence of axial impeller force.
Various forms of axial thrust balancing includes: Mechanical: wherein complete absorption of the axial thrust via a thrust bearing (e. g. tilting pad bearing, rolling element bearing); Design-based: back-to-back arrangement of the impellers or stages (see Back-to-back impeller pump); Balancing or reduction of the axial thrust on the individual impeller via balancing holes; Balancing of the complete rotating assembly via a balancing device with automatic balancing (e.g. balance disc and balance disc seat) or partial balancing via a balance drum and double drum; Reduction at the individual impeller by back vanes.
Normally, a multistage pump is equipped with balancing piston to balance the axial thrust developed by impellers. The residual thrust is taken by the thrust bearings. The residual axial thrust is minimum at BEP flow and maximum at minimum flow condition. This restricts the use of antifriction bearing for multistage pumps due to excessive heat generation at minimum flow condition. Therefore, for higher pressure & high-speed applications, forced oil lubricated tilting pad bearings are used. However, the cost of tilting pad bearings and corresponding lube oil plant is very high when compared with antifriction bearings with sump oil lubrication.

Multistage pump with axial thrust optimization


An adapter for motor replacement includes fixing portions. The adapter has a shape of being placeable so as to be bridged between a housing that fixes a motor and a pulley that is fixed to the motor and transmits a rotary drive force via a belt and to avoid a space for removing the motor from the housing. The fixing portions are respectively fixed to the housing, to which the motor is fixed, and the pulley fixed to the motor.

As a drive mechanism for a joint shaft of a robot, a mechanism may be used to transmit a drive force of a motor to the joint shaft via a pulley and a belt. There is known a robot provided with a plurality of motor units including a motor and a belt as a plurality of joint shafts (e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2014-79863).

Adapter for motor replacement and motor replacement method


A haptic feedback method includes: driving a haptic feedback film layer to switch between at least two vibration modes, wherein the at least two vibration modes include a first vibration mode and a second vibration mode, a first position is different from a second position in a first direction, and the first position is a position of a first point when the haptic feedback film layer vibrates in the first vibration mode, and the second position is a position of the first point when the haptic feedback film layer vibrates in the second vibration mode.

A haptic feedback film layer is a device that achieves various senses of touch. Currently, when haptic feedback is performed by using a haptic feedback film layer, the haptic feedback film layer may be driven to vibrate based on a control signal. When a user touches the film layer, the friction between a finger and the film layer changes compared with the case where the film layer does not vibrate, such that the haptic feedback film layer achieves simulation of different senses of touch.

Haptic feedback method and apparatus, and non-transitory computer storage medium


An axle suspension suspends a rigid axle body from a frame of a vehicle. The suspension has a pivot bearing for pivotally supporting the axle body, a spring arrangement for resiliently coupling the axle body to the frame, a thrust arm extending in a longitudinal direction between the axle body and the frame, and a steering arm extending generally horizontally and transverse to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. The steering arm has one end connected to the frame and a second end connected by the pivot bearing to the axle body. The axle body supports rotatable wheels. According to the present invention, the suspension includes a pivot stop between the axle body and the vehicle frame. The pivot stop is coupled to the axle at a first joint which is spaced apart from a pivot axis of the axle, and coupled to the frame at a second joint. The line connecting the two joints extends generally parallel to the main axis of the axle body. During pivoting of the axle body about the pivot axis, and during spring deflection, in which the distance between the axle body and the vehicle chassis varies, the joints move with respect to each other. The pivot stop primarily limits the axial distance between the two joints and thereby limits the pivoting angle range of the axle body. Preferably, a line connecting the two joints extends generally horizontally and transverse to the fore-and-aft axis of the vehicle.

The invention relates to a suspension for a rigid axle body which is pivotally supported and spring suspended with respect to the chassis or frame of an agricultural or industrial vehicle.
Agricultural and industrial vehicles, such as agricultural tractors, are frequently equipped with a rigid front axle body, which carries steerable wheels. To avoid loss of ground contact by the wheels when encountering uneven ground, the front axle body is supported in pivot bearings on the vehicle chassis. Depending on the vehicle design, which may be in unit body construction or contain a base frame that carries the vehicle components, the front axle body may be pivoted through one or more pivot pins aligned with each other from the front axle support, which is fastened to a vehicle component, or it may be pivoted from a part of the vehicle base frame. The pivot angle is limited so that the axle body and the wheels do not collide with other vehicle components during pivoting. At an excessive pivot angle, for example, the tires as well as the fenders could damage the chassis. The maximum allowable pivot angle depends upon the vehicle geometry and may, for example, amount to 11 degrees. It is therefore desirable to limit the pivot angle of the axle body.
It is also known to support the front axle by springs from the vehicle chassis, in order to improve the safety of operation and the driving comfort of a vehicle, especially at higher transport speeds. For example, EP-B-0 518 226 shows a front axle which is supported from the vehicle frame by a hydro-pneumatic spring arrangement with two hydraulic cylinders. Each of the hydraulic cylinders has one end coupled to a part of the front axle near the front wheels, and another end coupled to a frame component projecting to one side of the engine enclosure. Such an arrangement with hydraulic cylinders cantilevered far outboard limits visibility. If the hydraulic cylinders are relocated further inboard, the axle pivoting angle is limited.


A device for laying a film 3 emerging from a slot die 2 onto a take-off roll 1 has at least one electrode that is arranged parallel to and at a short distance from the surface of the take-off roll 1 and to which electric voltage in the range from 4 to 12 kV is applied. This electrode is, for example, a metal strip 4, which has a tapering strip edge 6 this is directed toward the surface of the take-off roll 1. In addition to this metal strip 4, one or a plurality of electrodes 5, 8 and 16 are arranged at a distance from the surface of the take-off roll. These additional electrodes have applied to them an electric voltage whose magnitude is the same as or different from that applied to the metal strip 4. As a result, additive electric fields to the electric field of the one metal-strip electrode are formed.

In the production of films, in particular stretched very thin and thin films with thicknesses between 1 .mu.m and 30 .mu.m, plastic granules are first melted in an extruder, and the extruded plastic melt is fed to a slot die. The prefilm emerging from this slot die is laid onto a take-off and chill roll and, after leaving the take-off roll, is stretched in and transverse to the machine-running direction in a stretching frame.
In order to stabilize the laying of the prefilm onto the take-off roll, in the prior art additional forces are applied to the prefilm in the region between the emergence of the prefilm from the slot die and the point at which it is laid on the take-off roll. The additional forces applied can be produced using an air jet from an air knife to blow against the prefilm, the spraying of water into the gore of the prefilm before the point at which it is laid on the take-off roll, the formation of a water film on the take-off roll and the generation of an electric field by means of an electrode at high voltage, the field lines of the electric field being directed toward the surface of the take-off roll. The forces additionally applied are used for the lateral outward displacement of air enclosed between the surface of the take-off roll and the underside of the prefilm, that is the side of the prefilm facing the take-off roll, under the gore of the prefilm before the prefilm is laid onto the take-off roll, in order in this way to stabilize the laying of the prefilm onto the roll surface over a predefined wrap angle. If this is not successful, air inclusions that are more or less large, so-called "pinning" bubbles are produced, which are located between the underside of the prefilm and the surface of the take-off roll, and impair the smoothness and thus the quality of the prefilm cooled down on the take-off roll, as well as the film biaxially stretched therefrom.
It is known to arrange a metal strip made of stainless steel parallel to the take-off roll surface as electrode, the metal strip generally being stamped out or cut out from a metal foil of about 20 .mu.m thickness in a width of 10 mm. A metal strip of this type has the disadvantage that it cannot absorb sufficiently high clamping forces, which are necessary to clamp the metal strip with the desired accuracy at a uniform distance from the take-off roll. Furthermore, it is disadvantageous that the edges of the metal strip produced by the cutting or stamping process are irregular, with the result that the electric field between the metal strip and the take-off roll is distorted. These distortions of the electric field are also further amplified on account of an irregular spacing of the metal strip from the take-off roll surface. The distortions of an electric field lead on the one hand to electric flashovers, as a result of which the prefilm can be damaged, and on the other hand to a nonuniform laying of the prefilm onto the take-off roll, as a result of which air inclusion between the prefilm and the take-off roll can continue to occur. The distortions of the electric field overall do not lead to the desired film quality.
The PCT Application WO 95/21735 (German Utility Model G 94 02 027) discloses a device for the production of films, in particular thin or very thin films, having a rotating roll, using which a plastically deformable film, preferably supplied through a slot die, is conveyed and oriented, an electric voltage, through which the supplied film is laid onto the roll, being applied between the roll and a metal strip that is arranged parallel to and at a short distance from the roll; in this device the metal strip has a sharp longitudinal edge which is arranged lying next to the roll and is directed toward the latter. The sharp longitudinal edge is constructed in the manner of a cutting edge on a sharply tapering region of the metal strip, the metal strip being arranged lying next to the roll at a distance smaller than 6 mm. The center line of the sharply tapering region is aligned with the center of the roll. The use of such a metal-strip electrode improves the film quality, but not to the desired extent, since although the air inclusions become smaller in their diameters and fewer in their number, this is in no way to the extent which is sought.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,619 discloses an electrostatic pinning process in which a wire electrode is arranged between an extrusion die and a take-off roll. A shield at bias voltage is located between the extrusion die and the wire electrode. The bias voltage of the shield is 1 to 10 kV, whereas a voltage of 6 to 15 kV is applied to the wire electrode. In the case of this process, it is essential to apply the highest possible electrostatic charge to the film to be laid onto the take-off roll, in comparison with an arrangement in which the shielding is at ground potential. To this end, there is an optimum bias voltage of the shield, which depends on the voltage of the wire electrode, but differs significantly from the latter and from ground potential. The net current or the electrostatic charge to the film results from the difference between the current from the wire electrode and a previously measured current to the shield, which is obtained by applying voltage to the shield and the wire electrode being at ground potential. For a predefined voltage, which is applied to the wire electrode, a high current generation results from a low electric voltage on the shielding, but also a great number of field lines, the majority of which end on the shield and not on the film. By increasing the voltage on the shield, the current decreases, but more field lines end on the film, as a result of which the major part of the current is deflected onto the film. The overlaying of two electrostatic fields does not take place, since the electrically biased shield serves to deflect field lines directed toward it from the wire electrode in the direction of the film.
The object of the invention is to develop further and to improve a device of the type described at the beginning in such a way that the air inclusions become significantly smaller and fewer than in the case of laying devices for films known in the prior art.

Device for laying a film emerging from a slot die onto a rotating take-off roll


A signal conversion circuit (20) of a multiprimary display device (100) includes a low-range multiprimary signal generation section (21), a high-range luminance signal generation section (22), and a rendering process section (23). The low-range multiprimary signal generation section includes a first filter section (21a) which is capable of extracting a low-range component from an input image signal and a multiprimary conversion section (21b), whereas the high-range luminance signal generation section includes a luminance conversion section (22a) and a second filter section (22b) which extracts a high-range component of a luminance signal. The signal conversion circuit further includes a chromaticity conversion section (24) and a luminance/chromaticity change detection section (25). As a frequency characteristics profile of the first filter section, one frequency characteristics profile is selected from among a plurality of predefined frequency characteristics profiles, in accordance with a result of detection by the luminance/chromaticity change detection section.

In commonly-used display devices, each pixel is composed of three subpixels for displaying three primaries of light, i.e., red, green, and blue, whereby multicolor display is achieved.
However, conventional display devices have a problem in that they can only display colors in a narrow range (called a "color gamut"). When the color gamut is narrow, some object colors (i.e., colors of various objects existing in nature; see Non-Patent Document 1) cannot be displayed. Therefore, in order to broaden the color gamut of a display device, there has been proposed a technique which increases the number of primary colors to be used for displaying.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a display device which performs display by using six primary colors. Patent Document 1 also discloses a display device which performs display by using four primary colors and a display device which performs display by using five primary colors. An example of a display device which performs display by using six primary colors is shown in FIG. 25. In a display device 800 shown in FIG. 25, one pixel P is composed of a red subpixel R, a green subpixel G, a blue subpixel B, a cyan subpixel C, a magenta subpixel M, and a yellow subpixel Ye. The display device 800 attains multicolor displaying by intermixing the six primary colors of red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow which are displayed by the six subpixels.
Increasing the number of primary colors to be used for displaying, i.e., performing display by using four or more primary colors, provides a broader color gamut than those of conventional display devices which perform display by using three primaries. In the present specification, display devices which perform display by using four or more primary colors will be referred to as "multiprimary display devices", and display devices which perform display by using three primary colors (i.e., those which are conventional and commonly used) will be referred to as "three-primary display devices".
However, given the same screen size, in order for a multiprimary display device to display an image having a similar resolution to that of a three-primary display device, the device structure needs to become finer, whereby the production cost is increased. The reason is as follows. When the number of subpixels per pixel increases from 3, to 4 or more in a multiprimary display device, the subpixel size needs to become smaller than that of a three-primary display device in order to obtain the same number of pixels in the same screen size. Specifically, given a number m of primary colors to be used for displaying (m≧4), the subpixel size must become 3/m. For example, in a multiprimary display device which performs display by using six primary colors, the subpixel size must be made ½(= 3/6).
Techniques for solving this problem are proposed in Patent Documents 2 and 3. In the multiprimary display devices disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3, the plurality of subpixels composing each pixel are regrouped into a plurality of imaginary pixels (called "virtual pixels"), and display is performed by regarding each of the plurality of virtual pixels is regarded as the smallest unit of multicolor displaying. As a result, even if the resolution of an input image is higher than the panel resolution, it is possible to suitably perform display.
Thus, the multiprimary display devices of Patent Documents 2 and 3 can provide a displaying resolution that is higher than the panel resolution, so that an image having a similar or higher resolution can be displayed with the same subpixel size and screen size as those of the three-primary display device. Moreover, they can be produced with a similar cost to that of a three-primary display device.
As a specific exemplary construction of multiprimary display devices capable of performing display with virtual pixels as described above, Patent Documents 2 and 3 disclose a construction where a signal conversion circuit for converting a three-primary image signal into a multiprimary image signal has a low-range multiprimary signal generation section, a high-range luminance signal generation section, and a rendering process section.
The low-range multiprimary signal generation section of this construction generates a low-range multiprimary signal based on an input image signal. The low-range multiprimary signal is a signal in which a low-range component of the input image signal has been adapted to multiprimaries. Based on the input image signal, the high-range luminance signal generation section generates a high-range luminance signal. The high-range luminance signal is a signal in which a high-range component of the input image signal has been subjected to luminance conversion. The rendering process section performs a rendering process onto a plurality of virtual pixels, based on the low-range multiprimary signal which has been generated by the low-range multiprimary signal generation section and the high-range luminance signal which has been generated by the high-range luminance signal generation section.
In the signal conversion circuit of the above construction, human visual characteristics are taken into account, i.e., there being higher sensitivity with respect to a luminance signal than with respect to a color signal (i.e., the luminous factor as to color differences is lower than the luminous factor as to luminance); thus, a multiprimary process is applied to the low-range component of an input image signal, whereas a luminance conversion process is applied to the high-range component. Then, the low-range multiprimary signal and the high-range luminance signal resulting from these processes are combined, and rendered onto virtual pixels, whereby an image signal (multiprimary image signal) corresponding to four or more primary colors is output.


An automatic vending machine having a bill input inlet disposed at a predetermined position of a front cabinet, a bill discriminating apparatus embedded inside of the front cabinet at an identical height level to the bill input inlet for discriminating the authenticity of a bill induced through the bill input inlet and for storing the bill, wherein the bill input inlet is constructed of an opening and closing structure, the inlet comprising: a door inducing member installed between upper side of the bill input inlet and the bill discriminating apparatus being connected to the front; a bill input inlet door disposed to slide toward the door inducing member; and a door control unit for opening the bill input inlet door by being hitched and stopped with the stopping pin for a predetermined time duration after the door is pushed up open and released and for closing the door as it falls down by its weight with the stopping pin being raised, thereby conveniently inserting a bill only by using one hand of a customer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic vending machine and more particularly to an opening and closing structure of a bill input inlet thereof to get a bill conveniently inserted only by using one hand of a customer as a bill input inlet door is opened, hitched and maintained by a stopping pin of door control means for a certain time duration and the stopping pin is raised to let the door drop by its weight.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, an opening and closing structure of a bill input inlet of an automatic canned product vending machine, as shown in FIG. 1, includes a bill input inlet(11) disposed at a predetermined position of the front cabinet(10), a bill discriminating apparatus(30) embedded inside of the front cabinet(10) at a same height level for discriminating the authenticity of a bill induced through the bill input inlet(11) and for storing the bill and a movable bill input inlet door(20) hinged at the upper side of the bill input inlet(11) for opening and closing the bill input inlet(11).
The bill discriminating apparatus(30) includes a bill guiding groove(31) disposed at an identical height with the bill input inlet(11) for getting a bill(a) conveniently drawn-in, and a bill inducing inlet(32) connected to a bill guiding area(31) for getting a bill(a) rolled in.
Therefore, in order to get the bill input through the bill inducing inlet(32) of the bill discriminating apparatus(30), the bill is flattened and drawn into the bill inducing inlet(32) through the bill guiding area(31) after the bill input inlet door(20) is swung up open.
However, in case one hand of a customer is occupied with an umbrella or other parcels, it is difficult to flatten a bill and to insert a bill through the bill input inlet(11) and the bill guiding area(31) to the bill inducing inlet(32) with the bill input inlet door(20) lifted open.


There is provided a hair drying system which comprises a support means for an individual which causes the individual's hair to hang vertically, generally away from the individual's head. A hair drying means is positioned with respect to the hanging hair and directs room temperature or warmed air through the hair to effect drying. Fingers and/or ribs can be incorporated into the hair drying means to help separate the hair and better direct the air flow through the hair.

The hair care industry currently uses a variety of hair drying apparatuses when it is necessary to dry and style an individual's hair. These hair drying apparatuses range from the large stand alone hood type of hair dryers to the portable hand held blow dryers.
The large stand alone hood type of hair dryers work effectively to dry and style an individuals hair while at the same time, they provide the freedom for the beautician to perform additional tasks. The problems associated with these type of hair dryers is the excessive amount of time it takes to dry and style the individual's hair. When using the hood type of hair dryers, the individual is normally sitting upright with their hair laying against the top and sides of their head. The hood type of hair dryers dry the individual's hair from the scalp to the ends of the hair. Depending on the length of the individual's hair, the desired style and the thickness of the individual's hair, the hood type of hair dryers must penetrate multiple layers of hair in order to completely dry and style the hair. The time required for this hair drying and styling can be as long as 45 minutes to an hour.
The portable hand held blow dryers have become popular in recent times. They are capable of blow drying an individual's hair in a substantially shorter period of time when compared to the hood type of hair dryers. The hand held blow dryers blow room temperature or heated air towards and through the wet hair of the individual. The blowing effect of this moving air has the tendency to separate the hair while the warm air aids in the evaporation of the water and thus the drying of the hair. This combination of separating the hair by blowing room temperature or warmed air into and through the hair significantly reduces the time necessary to dry the individual's hair. In addition, the blown air can be directed to specific areas of the individuals hair to effectively shorten the time required to dry the entire head of hair. The problem with these hand held portable blow dryers is that the individual or the beautician is required to manually operate the hair dryer and is therefore not provided the freedom to perform additional tasks.
Accordingly, what is needed is a hair drying system which is capable of drying the individual's hair in a limited amount of time while at the same time not requiring the personal attention of the individual or the beautician to operate the hair dryer and thus provide the necessary freedom for the beautician to perform additional tasks.


The optical tomography imaging system includes a light source, a branching section which branches a light beam into a measuring light beam and a reference beam, an optical probe having an optical fiber, a measurement section which irradiates a measurement target with the measuring beam and picks up a reflected beam, and a sheath which encloses the optical fiber and the measurement section, a multiplexing section which combines the reflected beam with the reference beam to create an interference beam, an interference beam detecting section which detects the interference beam as interference signals, and a contact detecting section which detects a contact area in which the optical probe and the measurement target are in contact with each other. The contact detecting section calculates from the detected interference signals a distance between the optical probe and the measurement target, and uses the calculated distance to detect the contact area.

The present invention relates to an optical tomography imaging system which irradiates a measurement target with a light beam to capture a tomographic image of the measurement target with a reflected light beam, a contact area detecting method and an image processing method using the contact area detecting method, and an optical tomographic image obtaining method.
Optical tomography imaging systems utilizing optical coherence tomography (OCT) are one way to obtain a sectional image without cutting into a measurement target such as living tissues.
OCT is a type of optical interferometry in which a light beam emitted from a light source is split into two beams, a measuring light beam and a reference light beam, to utilize the fact that optical interference is detected only when the light path length of the measuring light beam and the light path length of the reference light beam match within the coherence length of the light source.
An example of optical tomography imaging systems utilizing OCT is disclosed in JP 2000-131222 A. This optical tomography imaging system has a light source, a first optical coupler section, which splits a light beam emitted from the light source into a measuring light beam and a reference light beam, a measurement section, which irradiates a measurement target with the measuring light beam to detect a reflected light beam, a second optical coupler section, which causes the reflected light beam to interfere with the reference light beam which has been guided along the same light path length as the measuring light beam, and a computing section which detects a tomographic image from a result of the interference.
The optical tomography imaging system according to JP 2000-131222 A obtains a two-dimensional tomographic image by connecting an optical fiber of the measurement section rotatably with the use of a rotary joint and capturing tomographic images while rotating the optical fiber. That is, the two-dimensional image is obtained as capturing tomographic images at a plurality of points around a measurement point by rotating the optical fiber.

Optical tomography imaging system, contact area detecting method and image processing method using the same, and optical tomographic image obtaining method


Methods and systems are provided for processing control values for a backlight and/or a display modulation layer of a display. A ramping pattern is determined based on the difference between new and old control values. A blanking pattern is determined based on the motion detected in frame regions. The ramping pattern or blanking pattern may take into consideration the display modulation layer response characteristics. The ramping pattern and/or blanking pattern is applied to control values for the backlight and/or display modulation layer.

In a spatial light modulator display, light from a backlight may be directed at and spatially modulated by a display modulation layer to provide an image to the viewer. In such a display, the backlight may have an array of light sources (e.g. an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs)) and the display modulation layer may have an array of pixels (e.g. liquid crystal display (LCD) pixels). For dual modulation displays, the LEDs may be driven to spatially modulate the intensity of light directed at the display modulation layer and the LCD pixels may be driven to modulate the amount of light transmitted through the pixels. Some examples of dual modulation displays are described in: U.S. Pat. No. 6,891,672 issued 10 May 2005 and entitled "High Dynamic Range Display Devices", U.S. Pat. No. 7,403,332 issued 22 Jul. 2008 and entitled "High Dynamic Range Display Devices", and United States Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0180466 published 31 Jul. 2008 and entitled "Rapid Image Rendering on Dual-Modulator Displays".
Drive values are generated based on image data, and are output to the backlight and the display modulation layer to control the image displayed on the display. For example, where the light sources are LEDs and the display modulation layer is an array of LCD pixels, LED drive values may drive the LEDs to emit light having particular luminous intensities, and LCD pixel drive values may drive the LCD pixels to assume particular transmissive states.
The time it takes for an LCD pixel to switch from one transmissive state associated with one LCD pixel drive value to another transmissive state associated with another LCD pixel drive value (i.e. the step response time of the LCD pixel) is typically much greater than the time it takes for an LED to switch between ON and OFF states, or from one luminous intensity level associated with one LED drive value to another luminous intensity level associated with another LED drive value (i.e. the step response time of the LED). For example, the step response time of an LCD pixel can be on the order of a few milliseconds or higher, whereas the step response time of an LED can be much shorter, for example, 10 to 100 nanoseconds. In some cases, it may take more than one frame period for an LCD pixel to transition from a current transmissive state to the desired transmissive state associated with a particular drive level.
The response characteristics of the LEDs and/or LCD pixels may affect the displayed image, for example, resulting in image blurring, flickering, halos or other visual artifacts that may be perceived by the viewer. Some references describing attempts to address image display issues of types that may be associated with the response characteristics of the backlight and/or LCD pixels in a display are:                United States Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0285382 published 13 Dec. 2007 (Feng);        United States Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0103424 published 10 May 2007 (Huang);        United States Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0042968 published 21 Feb. 2008 (Oh);        United States Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0057900 published 15 Mar. 2007 (Huang);        United States Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0079686 published 3 Apr. 2008 (Cemasov);        United States Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0248553 published 10 Nov. 2005 (Feng et al.);        U.S. Pat. No. 7,173,599 issued 6 Feb. 2007 (Nishimura);        United States Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0125771 published 15 Jun. 2006 (Inuzuka et al.);        U.S. Pat. No. 7,312,777 issued 25 Dec. 2007 (Miyata et al.); and        United States Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0111835 published 15 May 2008 (Hu).
There is a general desire to provide displays which provide a high-quality viewing experience. There is a general desire to provide systems and methods for ameliorating and/or overcoming image display issues related to the response characteristics of the backlight and/or display modulation layer in a display.

Systems and methods for controlling drive signals in spatial light modulator displays

Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation


A method of forming an insulated gate semiconductor device includes the steps of patterning an insulated gate electrode on a face of a substrate containing a first conductivity type region and forming a trench at the face using the gate electrode as a mask. Second conductivity type dopants are then deposited onto the bottom and sidewalls of the trench and diffused into the substrate to form a relatively lightly doped first body region. The gate electrode is then used again as a mask during a step of implanting a relatively high dose of second conductivity type dopants at the bottom of the trench. These implanted dopants are then partially diffused laterally and downwardly away from the bottom and sidewalls of the trench. The gate electrode is then used again to deposit first conductivity type dopants onto the sidewalls (and bottom) of the trench. The deposited first conductivity type dopants on the sidewalls and previously partially diffused second conductivity type dopants are then simultaneously diffused into the first body region. During this step, the deposited first conductivity type dopants diffuse laterally away from the sidewalls of trench and underneath the insulated gate electrode into the surrounding first body region to form source regions. The partially diffused second conductivity type dopants also continue to diffuse laterally away from the lowermost portions of the sidewalls of the trench and downward from the bottom of the trench to form a relatively wide second body region underneath the source region(s).

The silicon bipolar transistor has been the device of choice for many high power semiconductor device applications because bipolar transistors can be designed to handle relatively large current densities and support relatively high blocking voltages. However, despite the attractive power ratings achieved by bipolar transistors, there exist several fundamental drawbacks to their suitability for all high power applications. First of all, bipolar transistors are current controlled devices which require relatively large base currents, typically one fifth to one tenth of the collector current, to maintain the transistor in an operating mode. Proportionally larger base currents can be expected for applications which also require high speed turn-off. Because of the large base current demands, the base drive circuitry for controlling turn-on and turn-off is relatively complex and expensive. Bipolar transistors are also vulnerable to premature breakdown if a high current and high voltage are simultaneously applied to the device, as commonly required in inductive power circuit applications. Furthermore, it is relatively difficult to operate bipolar transistors in parallel because current diversion to a single transistor typically occurs at high temperatures, making emitter ballasting schemes necessary.
Insulated gate semiconductor devices, including the silicon power MOSFET, were developed, in part, to address this base drive problem. In a power MOSFET, the gate electrode provides turn-on and turn-off control upon the application of an appropriate gate bias. For example, turn-on in an N-type enhancement MOSFET occurs when a conductive N-type inversion layer is formed in the P-type body/channel region in response to the application of a positive gate bias. The inversion layer electrically connects the N-type source and drain regions and allows for majority carrier conduction therebetween. The power MOSFET's gate electrode is separated from the channel region by an intervening electrically insulating region comprising silicon dioxide (e.g., SiO.sub.2). Because the gate is insulated from the channel region, little if any gate current is required to maintain the MOSFET in a conductive state or to switch the MOSFET from an on-state to an off-state or vice-versa. The gate current is kept small during switching because the gate forms a capacitor with the MOSFET's channel region. Thus, only charging and discharging current ("displacement current") is required during switching. Because of the high input impedance associated with the insulated gate electrode, minimal current demands are placed on the gate and the gate drive circuitry can be easily implemented. Moreover, because current conduction in the MOSFET occurs through majority carrier transport only, the delay associated with the recombination and storage of excess minority carriers is not present. Accordingly, the switching speed of power MOSFETs can be made orders of magnitude faster than that of bipolar transistors.
Unlike bipolar transistors, power MOSFETs can be designed to withstand high current densities and the application of high voltages for relatively long durations, without encountering the destructive failure mechanism known as "second breakdown". Power MOSFETs can also be easily paralleled, because the forward voltage drop of power MOSFETs increases with increasing temperature, thereby promoting an even current distribution in parallel connected devices. Other MOS-gated power devices such as thyristors and insulated gate bipolar transistors can also take advantage of the benefits achieved by using insulated gate electrodes for controlling turn-on and turn-off.
For example, in the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), disclosed in an article, entitled "The Insulated Gate Transistor: A New Three terminal MOS Controlled Bipolar Power Device," IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, ED-31, pp. 821-828 (1984), on-state losses were shown to be greatly reduced when compared to power MOSFETs. This performance advantage was achieved because of conductivity modulation of the IGBT's drift region during the on-state. The operation of the IGBT can be described as follows with respect to the cross-sectional representation and electrical schematic shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, respectively. In the reverse bias region, the anode is biased negative with respect to the cathode and the lower junction (J3) is reverse biased, thereby preventing conduction from the cathode to anode even though the upper junction (J2) is forward biased. This provides the device with its reverse blocking capability. In its forward blocking state when the anode is biased positive with respect to the cathode and the gate and cathode are electrically connected, the upper junction (J2) is reversed biased and conduction is prevented. If, however, a positive gate bias of sufficient magnitude is applied to the gate, the P-body region under the gate becomes inverted and the device operates in its forward conducting mode. In this mode of operation, electrons flow from the N.sup.+ source region into the N-drift region via the channel (inversion layer) under the gate. In addition, the lower junction (J3) is forward biased and the substrate P.sup.+ region injects holes (minority carriers) into the N-drift region. As the forward bias increases, the injected hole concentration increases until it exceeds the background doping level of the N-drift region. This high level minority carrier injection causes a conductivity modulation in the N-drift region and significantly reduces the IGBT's on-resistance.
As long as the gate bias is sufficiently large to produce enough charge in the inversion layer, the IGBT forward conduction characteristics will resemble those of a P-i-N diode. If the inversion layer conductivity is low, however, a substantial voltage drop across the channel will occur. To switch the IGBT from its forward conducting mode of operation to its reverse blocking mode requires the removal of the positive gate bias to thereby cut off the supply of electrons from the N.sup.+ source region to the N-drift region. Because of the high minority carrier concentration in the N-drift region, turn-off of the IGBT is not immediate, but instead is dependent on the minority carrier recombination lifetime in the N-drift region. Accordingly, the IGBT offers the potential for high forward conduction current density, full gate controlled transistor operation, low gate drive power requirements and reverse blocking capability providing directional power flow control.
One significant drawback to the operation of IGBTs at high current densities is the presence of the parasitic P-N-P-N structure between the anode and cathode which can cause a loss in the gate controlled turnoff capability. For example, as illustrated by FIG. 1B, the equivalent circuit for the IGBT of FIG. 1A includes a regenerative P-N-P-N path that can latch up if the lateral current in the P-body is sufficient to forward bias the P-body/N.sup.+ source junction. As will be understood by one skilled in the art, latch-up can be prevented so long as the sum of the current gains of the regeneratively coupled P-N-P and N-P-N transistors (.alpha..sub.pnp, .alpha..sub.npn) is less than unity. The shorting resistance R.sub.p (i.e., R.sub.p +R.sub.p+) in FIG. 1B represents the short circuit resistance between the P-body and emitter (N.sup.+ source) of the N-P-N transistor. The magnitude of R.sub.p is determined by the resistance of the P-body region underneath the N.sup.+ source, as illustrated in FIG. 1A. Because the current gain of the N-P-N transistor (.alpha..sub.npn) is directly dependent on the magnitude of R.sub.p, a small R.sub.p has been deemed essential for latch-up free operation at high forward current densities. When the P-body sheet resistance is kept low and/or the width or doping of the N.sup.+ source region is kept small, electron injection from the N.sup.+ source region to the P-body can be suppressed because the uppermost P-N junction between the P-body and N.sup.+ source is effectively short circuited, thereby eliminating the regenerative P-N-P-N path from between the anode and cathode. There are various processes that have been developed to reduce R.sub.p, including those described in articles entitled "Latch-back-free Self-Aligned Power MOSFET Structure with Silicided Source and Body Contact", IEEE Elec. Dev. Lett., Vol. EDL-9, No. 8, pp. 408-410 (1988); "SOL LIGBT Devices with a Dual P Well Implant for Improved Latching Characteristics", Proc. ISPSD, pp. 254-258 (1993); and "Latch-up Suppressed Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor by the Deep P Ion Implantation under the N Source", Jpn. Jour. Appl. Phys., Vol. 33, pp. 563-565, No. 1B, January (1994).
However, as described in an article by J. P Russell, A. M. Goodman, L. A. Goodman and J. M. Neilson, entitled "The COMFET-A New High Conductance MOS-Gated Device", IEEE Electron Device Letters, Vol. EDL-4, No. 3, March (1983), pp. 63-65, even devices having a relatively low R.sub.p can be susceptible to latch-up if sufficiently large forward current densities cause significant emitter injection into the base of the N-P-N transistor and cause .alpha..sub.npn to increase. To reduce the likelihood of parasitic latch-up, the COMFET structure was modified to include a heavily doped P.sup.+ region in the middle of the P-body region, electrically connected to the cathode contact. To further lessen the magnitude of R.sub.p, an aluminum contact was also provided for shorting the N.sup.+ source regions to the P-body region.
FIG. 2 also illustrates a prior art IGBT embodying a trench which is formed after the lightly doped P-body and N.sup.+ source regions have been formed by double-diffusion techniques. However, as illustrated, much of the N.sup.+ source regions are still exposed to the relatively light doped body region which makes this device susceptible to parasitic thyristor latch-up. In addition, the N.sup.+ source doping was made relatively high, thereby increasing emitter efficiency, and the diffusion process is relatively complicated in order to maintain the heavily doped P.sup.+ region underneath the N.sup.+ emitter without a shift in threshold voltage. This device is described in an article by Morikawa et al., entitled "US-DMOS: A Novel Structure for Power MOSFETs", Vol. J75-C-2, No. 2, Jour. of IEIC, pp. 85-91, February (1992).
Thus, notwithstanding these attempts to limit the susceptibility of insulated gate semiconductor devices to parasitic bipolar transistor turn-on, the presence of the N.sup.+ source region in the P-body continues to pose a risk that under certain operating conditions parasitic bipolar transistor turn-on will occur and in the case of the IGBT cause parasitic thyristor latch-up. Furthermore, because many of the above described prior art IGBTs are not formed using self-alignment techniques and therefore require additional masking steps, the areas of the source region and body region may also be unnecessarily large to take into account photolithographic tolerances. This limits the degree to which these devices can be integrated as small unit cells for very high current applications.

Methods of forming insulated-gate semiconductor devices using self-aligned trench sidewall diffusion techniques


A self closing cartridge for a single handle faucet includes a casing having a piston therein which is held in a normally closed, up position by water pressure. There are seal members positioned to form a seal between the sleeve and the casing. Further, a spring is incorporated to assist the hydraulic self closure of the cartridge by raising the piston to a normally closed position under low water pressure conditions and to mechanically shear and digest any deposited matter in the area of the spring.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a self closing mixing cartridge for a single handle cartridge type faucet. The cartridge uses hydraulic and mechanical structure for assuring self closure. Specifically, available water pressure is used to hydraulically lift the piston inside the cartridge up to a full time closed position while assisting the hydraulic lift with an uplift mechanical spring in low water pressure situations. In short, unless a user holds the cartridge down in an on or open position, the cartridge will rise and self close.
2. Prior Art
In order to save water/gas/sewage and the environment, city and national codes are beginning to demand auto or self closing faucets in commercial/institutional applications, although private individuals desiring to really save water etc., will also have access to the product.
One of the most common of all such faucets, with millions in use throughout the world is produced by the Moen Company of North Olmstead, Ohio.
Moen provides a single cartridge which will fit nearly all of its faucets available since approximately 1959. The cartridge of the present invention can replace all such standard factory model cartridges.
With the standard Moen model a user pulls up for on and turns the handle left/right to get hot/cold water or a mixture thereof. With the herein proposed self closing cartridge, a user pushes down for on and adjusts temperature as above.
The self closing cartridge is very marketable, of low cost and believably functional.
A new handle cap to fit the cartridge operating handle will be provided and will state "PUSH FOR ON", ETC. for easy public education on how to use this new self closing cartridge.

Self closing mixing cartridge for single handle cartridge type faucet


A highlight portion is detected to a high accuracy from acoustic signals in say an event, and an index is added to the highlight portion. In an acoustic signal processing apparatus 10, a candidate domain extraction unit 13 retains a domain, a length of which with short-term amplitudes as calculated by an amplitude calculating unit 11 not being less than an amplitude threshold value is not less than a time threshold value, as a candidate domain. A feature extraction unit 14 extracts sound quality featuring quantities, relevant to the sound quality, from the acoustic signals, to quantify the sound quality peculiar to a climax. A candidate domain evaluating unit 15 calculates a score value, indicating the degree of the climax, using featuring quantities relevant to the amplitude or the sound quality for each candidate domain, in order to detect a true highlight domain, based on the so calculated score value. An index generating unit 16 generates and outputs an index including the start and end positions and the score values of the highlight domain.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus and a method for processing acoustic signals, in which an index to featuring portions in the acoustic signals in e.g. an event is generated, and an apparatus and a method for recording signals, in which the index is imparted to the image signals and/or acoustic signals at the time of recording to enable skip reproduction or summary reproduction. This invention also relates to a program for having a computer execute the acoustic signal processing or recording.
2. Description of Related Art
In broadcast signals, or in image/acoustic signals, recorded therefrom, it is useful to detect crucial scenes automatically to impart an index or to formulate a summary image, in order to enable the contents thereof to be comprehended easily, or in order to retrieve the necessary signal portions expeditiously. Thus, it may be conjectured that, in an image of e.g. a sports event, preparation of a digest of the image or retrieval of a specified scene for secondary use may be facilitated by automatically generating an index to a climax portion and by imparting the index to the image/acoustic signals, such as by multiplexing.
For this reason, there is proposed in the cited reference 1 (Japanese Laying-Open Patent Publication 2001-143451) a technique in which a climax portion of an event, such as a sports event, is automatically detected and imparted as an index, based on the combination of relative values of the power level of the frequency spectrum and that of a specified frequency component. This technique, detecting the sound emitted by the spectators at the climax of the event, can be universally applied to a large variety of the events, and may be used for detecting the signal portions corresponding to crucial points throughout the process of the event.
However, the technique disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Publication suffers from the problem that, since the factors relating to the sound quality, such as the shape of the spectrum, are not evaluated, the detection precision is basically low, while the technique cannot be applied to such a case where an extraneous sound co-exists in the sound of the specified frequency.
Consequently, the technique can be applied only to acoustic signals, recorded on the event site by professional engineers of e.g. a broadcasting station, and in which there are not mixed other extraneous signals, however, the technique cannot be applied to acoustic signals mixed with an inserted speech, such as announcer's speech, commentator's speech or the commercial message, as exemplified by broadcast signals. Additionally, the technique can scarcely be applied to a case where an armature, such as one of the spectators, records the scene, because the ambient sound, such as speech or conversation, is superposed on the acoustic signals being recorded.

Acoustic signal processing apparatus and method, signal recording apparatus and method and program


An image generation system according to an embodiment includes an acquisition unit, a first processing unit, and a second processing unit. The acquisition unit acquires first image data. The first processing unit generates second image data by subjecting the first image data, acquired by the acquisition unit, to a predetermined type of image processing. The second processing unit performs recognition processing on the second image data. The first processing unit and the second processing unit perform their respective processing in synchronization with each other without depending on an instruction from a processor.

An omnidirectional image display system has been known in the art as a system for generating an omnidirectional image (also called a "bird's-eye image") based on the image data captured by a plurality of cameras and displaying the image on a display device (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-95075 (hereinafter referred to as D1)).
This omnidirectional image display system includes a processor for generating the omnidirectional image based on the image data provided by the plurality of cameras and displaying the omnidirectional image on the display device.
The processor includes a plurality of image processing modules and a central processing unit (CPU). Each of the plurality of image processing modules subjects an image, supplied by an associated one of a plurality of cameras, to processing of correcting lens distortion caused by a fisheye lens, and writes the distortion-corrected image on a semiconductor memory. Each of the plurality of image processing modules includes a display list buffer to store a display list and performs the distortion correction in accordance with the display list stored in the display list buffer. When the plurality of image processing modules obtains image data for one frame, a TRAP instruction, included in the display list, is executed to generate an interruption to the CPU's processing. In response to the interruption, the CPU performs a predetermined type of interruption processing and reads the distortion-corrected image data from the semiconductor memory to generate an omnidirectional image based on the distortion-corrected image data and display the omnidirectional image on the display device.
The CPU performs a predetermined type of interruption processing in response to the interruption by the plurality of image processing modules. However, the interruption to the CPU's processing gives rise to a delay in its processing, thus causing a decline in its processing speed.

Image generation system, image display system, image generation method, and moving vehicle

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A hinge for removably attaching a cover member to a container member. The hinge includes a first plate affixable to one of the members and a second plate affixable to the other of the members. A first tubular socket is formed integrally with the first plate and a second tubular socket is formed integrally with the second plate. The first and second tubular sockets are aligned when the first and second plates are affixed in alignment to the container and cover members. A J-shaped rod is formed with a longer leg and a shorter leg joined by a integral bail. A cap is formed on the end of the longer leg which is located away from the bail. The J-shaped rod is mounted on the first plate with its longer leg extending through the first tubular socket. A coil spring telescopes over a portion of the longer leg of the J-shaped rod with the spring engaging the first tubular socket and the cap to bias the bail against the opposite side of the first tubular socket and to seat the shorter leg in the second tubular socket. The shorter leg is movable in and out of the second tubular socket to latch the plates together or to function as a hinge permitting rotation of one plate relative to the other plate.

The invention is concerned with a removable hinge mechanism which also functions as a latch to facilitate the opening of shipping containers without damaging the containers. Products and other materials sent to trade shows and exhibitions are usually shipped in containers which have covers or sides which are nailed or otherwise fastened shut to prevent loss of the products and materials during shipping. Sometimes hinges are applied to all four corners of a cover or a removable panel to secure the cover or panel in place. Two of the hinges must be removed to swing open the cover or all four can be removed to lift off the cover. Upon arrival at the show or exhibition, the containers are opened by removal of the nails or fastening means holding the hinges in place through the use of claw hammers, crowbars or other tools. For example, it is sometimes necessary to engage the services of a workman to unscrew the hinges to remove the cover or panel of a container. Many times the shipping containers are damaged by the opening procedure, sometimes s severely that the containers must be either extensively repaired or scrapped.
An object of this invention is a hinge for a container such as a shipping container that also functions as a latching mechanism so that the container can be opened without the use of claw hammers, crowbars or other tools.
Another object of this invention is a latching hinge for a container which hinge can be disassembled without the danger of losing or misplacing the parts of the hinge.
Another object of this invention is a latching hinge which is securely held in a closed position but can be easily opened by the application of a suitably directed force.
Another object of this invention is a latching hinge which is sufficiently strong to function properly under adverse conditions.
Other objects may be found in the following specification, claims and drawings.


The invention deploys a message-based data transport platform, in which a communication engine controls the delivery of server or other backup data or other large quantity data to a remote site based on message objects as fundamental units. Data sessions from one or more servers or other data sources may be buffered over established pipes for delivery to a remote data host which likewise contains messaging control. Relatively large message units may wait for communication over the channel in a queue, and be released when prior messaging is complete. Completion port or other polling or other mechanisms may indicate that connections have become open for use. In embodiments the message objects may be signed, or encrypted to safeguard against alteration or unauthorized viewing. The communication engine may rely upon TCP or other underlying transport mechanisms to effect lower level transmission.

The increased demand for data enterprise and other storage solutions has fueled corresponding demand in data backup and management tools. Companies, government and scientific organizations and others may require the reliable backup of gigabytes or terabytes of data, or more for archival and other purposes. While physical storage media such as storage area networks, optical storage media, redundant arrays of inexpensive disk (RAID) and other platforms have increased the total archival capacity available to data managers, the ability to efficiently harvest large data backups to host facilities has not always similarly progressed.
For instance, a network administrator may periodically wish to extract the data updates stored to network storage, such as server drives on a local area network (LAN), and transport that data to a secure backup repository at a remote site. However, scheduling and executing that type of large-scale data transport is not always efficient using current technology. For instance, in the case of storing LAN data to a remote site, the administrator may attempt to move that quantity of data using a conventional network protocol, such as the Transfer Control Protocol (TCP).
However, TCP as one transport solution may prove to be a difficult vehicle to communicate the data backup to the remote host, in part because TCP tends to decompose data into comparatively small packets, on the order of a few tens of bytes to a few thousands of bytes. When attempting to drive gigabytes of original or update data to a remote host, that scale will not suffice for efficient transport. Moreover, when performing data flow control on the channel, TCP may pause to seek available bandwidth or capacity on the channel as small as a few thousand bytes, stop and fill that available space in the pipe, and then wait for additional open slots. Again, pushing data on the order of megabytes, gigabytes or more through an intermittent channel at those scales is not efficient when using the granularity of TCP API. Better large-scale and other data backup technologies are desirable. Other problems exist.

Message-based scalable data transport protocol