In a decision-feedback equalizer for use in combination with a demodulator (13) to equalize a demodulated signal into an equalized signal through a transversal filter (15), the transversal filter filters the demodulated signal into a filtered signal in accordance with a plurality of controllable tap gains. The filtered signal is processed into the equalized signal on the basis of the binary level of the filtered signal. The controllable tap gains are produced dependent on the demodulated and the equalized signal and a plurality of parameters. A delivering circuit (38) delivers limiting values as the parameters to the transversal filter when the demodulator is put in a synchronization state. The delivering circuit delivers additional values as the parameters to the transversal filter when the demodulator is put out of the synchronization state.

This invention relates to a decision-feedback equalizer for use in equalizing a demodulated signal sent from a demodulator.
In general, a demodulator is operable in response to a received signal sent through a radio channel to demodulate the received signal into a demodulated signal. The received signal may be seriously subjected to fading during transmission. The demodulated signal may be a baseband signal having a binary level or multilevel. A decision-feedback equalizer of the type described is supplied with the demodulated signal and is operated to equalize the demodulated signal into an equalized signal. As a result, the fading is moved from the equalized signal which is put into a fading-free state.
A conventional decision-feedback equalizer comprises a transversal filter having first and second filter sections. The first filter section filters the demodulated signal into a first filtered signal in accordance with first through N-th primary controllable tap gains, where N represents a positive integer. The second filter section filters an input signal into a second filtered signal in accordance with first through M-th subsidiary controllable tap gains, where M represents a positive number. The conventional decision-feedback equalizer further comprises a first producing section for producing a third filtered signal dependent upon the first and the second filtered signals, a second producing section for producing the equalized signal dependent upon the third filtered signal, and a control section for controlling the first through the N-th primary controllable tap gains and the first through the M-th subsidiary controllable tap gains dependent upon the demodulated signal and the equalized signal.
Such a conventional decision-feedback equalizer is disclosed in "DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS" which is issued by McGRAW-HILL INTERNATIONAL BOOK COMPANY and which is written by John G. Proakis, Professor of Electrical Engineering in Northeastern University.
However, the fading inevitably and partially remains as a remaining fading in the equalized signal in the above-referred decision-feedback equalizer when the received signal is subjected to a large fading through the radio channel. As a result, the primary and the subsidiary controllable tap gains are not quickly controlled by the control section because the remaining fading remains in the equalized signal. Therefore, it is difficult for the conventional decision-feedback equalizer of the above-mentioned type to quickly equalize the demodulated signal into the equalized signal without a remaining fading.

Decision-feedback equalizer capable of producing an equalized signal at a high speed without a remaining fading


A method for continuing a measuring operation using a sonde immobilized in the well which method involves lowering, concentric to the cable, a length of tubular elements until the sonde is engaged by a special coupling fitted at the end of the length of tubular elements, the length of tubular elements serving to protect the cable. In addition, a coupling at an upper end of the length of tubular elements is equipped with a lateral window to minimize maneuvering time. After engagement, the sonde is used to carry out measurements by displacing the length of tubular elements.

There are several well-known methods for trying to grapple a measuring sonde whose handling is no longer possible through the cable, but none allows measurements to be continued at the place where they have been stopped following the immobilization of the sonde or its sticking.
A first method is common to all operations for fishing tubular parts stuck or lost in a wellbore. The well is first cleared of the measuring cable so that it does not hinder later operations. To that effect, the cable is pulled until it breaks at the brittle point which is located on the fixing device on the upper part of the sonde. After taking up the cable by means of its winch, a fishing string mainly consisting of an "overshot", as it is commonly called in the profession, adapted to clutch the top of the sonde, is run down into the well. The other components are conventionally pipes and drill collars. In this method, the difficulty consists of covering the sonde with the overshot in the absence of guiding and while groping along from the surface. This operation may actually only succeed at a slight depth and in instances where the drill hole is well calibrated and where the axis of the tubular to be fished is almost parallel to the axis of the well. Concerning measuring sondes, most of them have a small diameter with respect to the hole and these conditions are scarcely present, except in small-diameter boreholes.
The most common method is called the "cut and thread" method. It consists of cutting the cable at the level of the derrick floor without dropping the part of the cable linked with the sonde into the well. Thus, the two ends of the cut cable are provided with two half-elements constituting a quick coupling. Assemblage of the overshot and of the first drill collars is started in the derrick. The end of the cable connected to the winch is passed through these first elements when they hang on the pipe hook. The two ends of the cable are connected through the quick coupling. The cable may then be maintained taut by its winch while the overshot and the first pipes are lowered around the latter into the well. After hanging them onto the rotary table, the cable is maintained before the quick coupling is opened so as to pass the end of the cable connected to the winch through new tubular elements assembled and hung on the pipe hook, as previously. The lowering maneuver is continued by repeating this operation until the overshot, guided by the coaxial cable, covers and clutches the top of the sonde. The fishing operation is ended, as in the previous method, after the cable has been broken.
This operation is long because passing the cable through each assembled length of tubular elements causes a waste of time which is relatively considerable in relation to the usual maneuver time. In case of sticking in a borehole, it is an accepted fact that speed is a preponderant factor for the success of the fishing operation.
None of the two methods described above allows measurements to be achieved or continued with the sonde in said well.
The method in accordance with the present invention reduces the maneuver time by limiting the number of operations for running the cable through the length of tubular elements, by using advantageously a side-entry sub.
With the "cut and thread method", the sonde is never connected electrically to the surface and it has never been attempted to keep the use of the sensors of the sonde once the latter is stuck. In fact, the use of a quick coupling including sealed connections for the conductors is of no interest here since the cable will be broken after the sonde has been clutched. Furthermore, the cable being coaxial to the string of tubular elements over its total length, it is not possible to move the sonde while keeping the entire cable continuity.
The method of the invention also has the advantage of allowing measurements to be continued when the sonde has been clutched, be it towards the bottom of the well or higher up towards the surface. The measuring operation, which has been interrupted or made impossible by the immobilization of the sonde, will not be totally missed since it is now possible, with the present method, to carry out the total or at least part of the measuring program.
Besides the main advantage cited above, the invention provides a means for knowing precisely the moment of contact of the grappling sub with the head of the sonde, then for checking the holding back of the sonde by said sub. In fact, the sonde is completely operational since it is connected mechanically and electrically to the surface installation, as at the beginning of the operation. By means of sensors and through the transmission of the signals towards the surface, the operator may control that the displacement of the string makes the sonde move identically. This advantage guarantees not only that further measurements will be possible, but also that grappling of the sonde will succeed, unlike prior methods which provide no reliable information on the quality of the grappling of the sonde, which accounts for the relatively high failure rate in the most difficult cases.
Another method called "side door" method may also illustrate the prior art. It consists of using a special overshot having a lateral opening allowing the measuring cable to be passed outside the fishing string. The cable needs not be cut. The string may then be lowered in a conventional way. The overshot is guided onto the head of the sonde as in the "cut and thread" method, then the operation is continued according to the same methodology. This "side door" method is not used for wells deeper than 1,000 meters because it involves high risks of damage of the cable upon lowering of the string towards the well bottom, and in case of cable breakage, the absence of guiding of the overshot most often compromises recovery of the sonde. In fact, when the overshot gets close to the head of the immobilized or stuck sonde, the well will, by that fact, give rise to considerable friction on the end of the string outside which the cable is located and is therefore very vulnerable. Moreover, the mechanical actions necessary to grapple the sonde are most often exceed the strength of conventional cables. In order to make the limited use of this method quite clear, the following recommendation, given to sonde fishing operators, may be cited: "the side door method should not be used to fish tools in open holes, but rather to fish tools stuck at the shoe of a casing string". But when measuring tools are at this level, measurements are generally finished.

Method for continuing measurements after recovery of a measuring tool immobilized in a well


A system and method for controlling hypersonic boundary layer transition for a hypersonic flight vehicle are disclosed. The reduction or elimination of hot streaks that naturally occurs in the boundary layer transition process during hypersonic flight is achieved by utilizing various techniques. One such technique utilizes roughness elements to counteract streak development. The techniques for reducing or eliminating the streaks are tailored such that the nonlinear stages of transition are profoundly altered. This results in significant drag reduction, and consequently an increase in range of the vehicle, and also a reduction of the weight penalty due to the Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) as less protective material would be required, thus allowing for an increased payload and/or range of the vehicle.

Laminar-turbulent transition in hypersonic boundary layers is a major unresolved topic in Fluid Dynamics. Although significant progress has been made in recent years, crucial aspects of the transition physics are still in the dark. For the future High-Speed Civil Transport (HSCT), as well as for numerous defense-related applications such as high-speed missiles, high-speed reconnaissance aircraft, the Theater Missile Defense (TMD) interceptors, and the Hyper-X program, considerable progress toward the understanding of high-speed boundary layer transition is required in order to develop reliable transition prediction methods that can be used for the design and safe operation of such advanced flight vehicles. The crucial need for reliable transition prediction methods for high-speed applications is due to the fact that transition to turbulence in supersonic/hypersonic boundary layers is associated with considerable increases in heat transfer. The increased heat loads (caused by transition) on the structure of the flight vehicles represent the main difficulties in designing and operating high-speed vehicles. Appropriate measures to guard against the heat transfer due to aero-thermal loads are expensive and/or result in significant weight penalties. Good estimates of the transition location are of vital importance because only then can the aero-thermal loads and surface temperatures be adequately predicted. In addition to surface heating, transition to turbulence also has a significant effect on the aerodynamic performance of high-speed flight vehicles, as the skin friction for turbulent boundary layers is considerably higher than for the laminar boundary layer.
The understanding of transition for low-speed (incompressible) boundary layers is far ahead of that for high-speed (compressible) boundary layers, although many crucial aspects are also still not understood even for the low-speed case. There are several important reasons for the significant gap in understanding of high-speed transition relative to low-speed transition. Of course, historically, high-speed flight, in particular hypersonic flight, has not been considered until recently and therefore the need to understand and predict transition did not exist earlier. However, there are two other main reasons why it is more difficult to obtain knowledge for high-speed boundary layer transition than for the low-speed case: i) Quality experiments for high-speed transition are considerably more difficult to carry out than for incompressible transition and require high-speed testing facilities that are expensive to construct and expensive to operate. ii) The physics of high-speed boundary layer transition are much more complex than for low speeds.
From linear stability theory, it is known that multiple instability modes exist for high-speed boundary layer flows, in contrast to only one mode (Tollmien-Schlichting, TS) for the incompressible case. The so-called first mode in supersonic boundary layers is equivalent to the TS-mode in incompressible boundary layers. However, in contrast to incompressible boundary layers, where, according to Squire's theorem, two-dimensional waves are generally more amplified than three-dimensional waves, for supersonic boundary layers three-dimensional (oblique) waves are more amplified than two-dimensional ones. Thus, experiments and theory always have to address the more complex problem of three-dimensional wave propagation. In addition to the first mode, which is viscous, higher modes exist for supersonic boundary layers that result from an inviscid instability mechanism. According to Linear Stability Theory (LST), the most unstable higher modes are two-dimensional unlike oblique first modes. Also from linear stability theory, it is known that the first mode is dominant (higher amplification rates) for low supersonic Mach numbers while for Mach numbers above 4 the second mode is dominant (most amplified). In addition, for typical supersonic/hypersonic flight vehicle configurations, the three-dimensional nature of the boundary layers that develop, for example, on swept wings and/or lifting bodies, can give rise to so-called cross-flow instabilities and, as a consequence, cross-flow vortices that can be stationary or traveling. Due to the difficulties in carrying out experiments (and "controlled" experiments, in particular) and due to the existence of multiple instability modes, the role and importance of the various instability modes in a realistic transition process are not understood at all. Of course, when amplitudes of the various instability modes reach high enough levels, nonlinear interactions of these modes can occur. As a consequence, the transition process in high-speed boundary layers is highly non-unique (our simulations support this conjecture, see Section 3, below), which means that slight changes in the environment or vehicle geometry may significantly alter the transition process.
An additional difficulty arises from the fact that for high-speed boundary layers the transition processes in free flight may be very different from those in the laboratory. The difference between conditions for free flight ("hot," atmospheric conditions) and the laboratory ("cold" conditions) has a considerable effect on the stability behavior and, as a consequence, on the transition processes. This is best summarized by the following quote from a pioneer in experimental high-speed transition research: " . . . one should not expect a transition Reynolds number obtained in any wind tunnel, conventional or quiet, to be directly relatable to flight." Furthermore, there are still crucial unresolved issues in the understanding of hypersonic transition (e.g. roughness, nose radius, approach flow conditions, etc.) that hamper the progress needed for the development of hypersonic flight vehicles. These topics are investigated below.
These facts clearly indicate already the critical need of investigating high-speed boundary-layer transition. The numerical simulation codes can be tested and validated by detailed comparison with laboratory experiments. Thereafter, they can be applied with more confidence to predict the effects of various conditions on the transition processes and the resulting aerodynamic and aero-thermodynamic behavior. Thus, simulations can provide the crucial understanding and information necessary for design and safe operation of high-speed vehicles.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a system and method for controlling hypersonic boundary layer transition for a hypersonic flight vehicle that are able to overcome the above disadvantages.
Advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the detailed description of the invention hereinbelow.

Control of hypersonic boundary layer transition

The Arizona Board of Regents on Behalf of the University of Arizona


A zoom lens and an imaging apparatus are disclosed. The zoom lens includes, in order from an object side to an image-plane side, a first lens group having a positive refractive power, a second lens group having a negative refractive power, a third lens group having a positive refractive power, a fourth lens group having a negative refractive power, and a fifth lens group having a positive refractive power. During a change of a lens zoom position from a maximum wide angle state to a maximum telephoto state, at least the second lens group moves toward an image side, the third lens group moves toward an object side, and the fourth lens group is fixed in an optical-axis direction. An aperture stop is disposed near the object side of the third lens group. The first to fifth lens groups satisfy predetermined conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a zoom lens and an imaging apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to a small-sized and high-performance zoom lens having a high zooming ratio, and an imaging apparatus using the zoom lens.
2. Description of Related Art
Digital cameras have been popular, which adopt the following recording system. Namely, the recording system employs, as recording means in the cameras, an imaging device using photoelectric conversion elements, such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor). The imaging device forms an object image on a surface thereof, and records the object image by causing the photoelectric conversion elements to convert amounts of light of the object image into electrical outputs, respectively.
Recently, in lens-incorporated cameras, there is a growing demand, among many users, for zoom lenses having a higher zooming ratio.
This is because, unlike a single-lens reflex camera, lenses cannot be interchanged in a lens-incorporated camera, so that if the zooming ratio is low, it is difficult to accommodate various photographic scenes.
Zoom lenses realizing a high zooming ratio have been proposed, e.g., in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-287681 (Patent Document 1), Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-215385 (Patent Document 2), and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-3554 (Patent Document 3).
A zoom lens described in the Patent Document 1 is constructed by arranging, in the order from an object side, a first lens group having a positive refractive power, a second lens group having a negative refractive power, a third lens group having a positive refractive power, a fourth lens group having a negative refractive power, and a fifth lens group having a positive refractive power. In embodiments thereof, zoom lenses having a zooming ratio of about 10 times are disclosed.
A zoom lens described in the Patent Document 2 is constructed by arranging, in the order from an object side, a first lens group having a positive refractive power, a second lens group having a negative refractive power, a third lens group having a positive refractive power, and a fourth lens group having a positive refractive power. In embodiments thereof, zoom lenses having a zooming ratio of about 12 times are disclosed.
A zoom lens described in the Patent Document 3 is constructed by arranging, in the order from an object side, a first lens group having a positive refractive power, a second lens group having a negative refractive power, a third lens group having a positive refractive power, a fourth lens group having a positive refractive power, and a fifth lens group having a positive refractive power. In embodiments thereof, zoom lenses having a zooming ratio of some 20 times are disclosed.


A device and a method for providing an electrical current to an electrical load is disclosed. In particular, the device comprises a memory storage device for storing a plurality of ideal voltage waveforms; an electronic controller arranged in data communication with the memory storage device, the electronic controller operable to select one of the plurality of ideal voltage waveforms to compute a reference voltage and a switching period based on a predetermined rule; and an electronic switch arranged to receive the switching period to switch the electronic switch between an on state and an off state, wherein the electrical current is calculated based on a function of the reference voltage and the switching period of the electronic switch.

The following discussion of the background to the invention is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention only. It should be appreciated that the discussion is not an acknowledgment or admission that any of the material referred to was published, known or part of the common general knowledge of the person skilled in the art in any jurisdiction as at the priority date of the invention.
Existing switched mode power supply (SMPS) devices typically comprise numerous elements such as capacitors, inductors, and regulators. Such elements take up space and introduce possible distortions to electrical components and circuitries.
Devices or systems, also known as drivers, for driving electrical loads typically comprise digital or analog voltage or current controllers arranged in configurations not limited to, isolated or non-isolated configurations. Such controllers typically operate to take in electrical input such as alternating current and voltage to provide a regulated output. Most advanced controllers comprise some form of feedback mechanism/loop to ensure that at least one electrical parameter, such as electrical current, is maintained at a desirable or allowable range while achieving an acceptable level of power factor. However, in order to improve overall performance, conventional controllers typically incorporate electrical/electronic components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors etc. to compensate for distortion, reduce harmonics or improve power factor. Such components increase the overall cost and also increase form factor.
Further, the feedback of most existing controllers require the sensing of a variety of electrical parameters at every predetermined interval(s). Such sensing may increase the amount of time required to process the electrical input in order to produce the regulated output.
Some electrical loads such as LED units or LED lamp units are typically sensitive to fluctuations in current and temperature. As such, electrical controllers for LEDs need to take into account temperature and current requirements. The issue of noise generated by electronics and electrical components is an important consideration for sensitive electrical loads.
The present invention seeks to provide a system and method that alleviates the above-mentioned drawbacks or meet the above needs at least in part.

Device and method for providing an electrical current to an electrical load via a plurality of ideal voltage waveforms

OPULENT ELECTRONICS INTERNATIONAL PTE. LTD.


Design time artifacts ordered in a dependency tree according to a call order defined by a database application accessing data in a database can be classified as source and/or sink artifacts. The dependency tree can be traversed in a direction reverse of the call order to determine, for each sink artifact, one or more required source artifacts upon which the sink artifact depends and that is needed to provide correct data inputs for operation of the sink artifact. Based on the traversing, implicitly dependent sink artifacts positioned earlier in the call order that their required source artifacts can be identified, and a new call order can be defined in which all of the required source artifacts for the implicitly dependent sink artifact are called before the implicitly dependent sink artifact.

A database deployment infrastructure can be a service layer of a database management system that simplifies the deployment of database objects and other design time artifacts by providing a declarative approach for defining these design time artifacts and ensuring a consistent deployment into the database management system environment (DBMS), based on a transactional all-or-nothing deployment model and implicit dependency management. Such an approach can leverage capabilities of a modern high-speed DBMS, such as for example the HANA in-memory DBMS available from SAP SE of Walldorf, Germany, which can provide very high performance relative to disk-based approaches.
Using various customization-enabling integrated development environments (IDE), such as for example the HANA Studio available for use with the HANA IM-DBMS (available from SAP SE of Walldorf, Germany), a user may, using a group of design time artifacts, create information models, tables, landscapes, etc. on a different system or systems than that on which a DBMS is executed.
The design time artifacts used at the various levels of a database architecture (e.g. the tables in a physical layer; various joins, views, or other aggregations implemented in one or more logical layers; semantic objects in a semantic layer such as a calculation engine or the like; and application objects in an application layer) can include a variety of dependencies (e.g. an artifact can have one or more dependencies on other objects and can also be have other objects with dependencies on them. Not all dependencies between artifacts can be perceived simply by inspecting structural dependencies. For example, a statement in SQL (structured query language) or another special-purpose programming language for managing data of a DBMS can be used to generate a view or other data aggregation at the logical or physical table level of the database. Such statements are typically generated without knowledge of dependencies that may arise from other SQL statements or from actions occurring due to programming at other database levels. Without this knowledge, it is possible for design time artifacts of the database environment to be called in an order that leads to errors.

Sorting runtime calls of design time artifacts via data dependencies


A bidirectional equalizer and an equalization method using the bidirectional equalizer. The bidirectional equalizer includes: a first equalizer to eliminate inter-symbol interference present in a data sequence transmitted from a transmitter and to generate a first candidate data sequence; a first time reverse operator to reverse the order of the transmitted data sequence and to generate a reversed data sequence; a second equalizer to eliminate inter-symbol interference present in the reversed data sequence and to generate a second candidate data sequence; a forward Viterbi decoder to receive the first candidate data sequence, and to decode and output the first candidate data sequence for every data symbol using a first minimum path metric calculated by a maximum likelihood (ML); a reverse Viterbi decoder to receive the second candidate data sequence, and to decode and output the second candidate data sequence for every data symbol using a second minimum path metric calculated by ML; a second time reverse operator to reverse the order of the decoded second candidate data sequence output from the reverse Viterbi decoder and to output the reversed decoded second candidate sequence; and an arbitrator to compare the first minimum path metric with the second minimum path metric, and to selectively output an output of the forward Viterbi decoder or an output of the second time reverse operator according to the comparison result.

1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to a bidirectional equalizer, and more particularly, to a bidirectional equalizer, which can correctly select an output with the lowest error probability among outputs of a forward equalizer and a reverse equalizer without channel estimation, and an equalization method using the bidirectional equalizer.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a major factor degrading the performance of a high speed digital communication system is inter-symbol interference. The inter-symbol interference is caused by linear channel distortion, a multipath channel, abnormal frequency characteristics, and so on. Many studies have been conducted to reduce such inter-symbol interference caused by channel distortion, and channel equalizers, which can reduce bit detection error by compensating for a received signal passing through a distorted channel using a particular algorithm, have been developed.
Conventional channel equalizers use a method in which a transmitter transmits a training sequence, which is recognizable by a receiver, to the receiver for a predetermined period of time, and the receiver compares a received signal with an original signal and estimates the level of distortion of a channel. Also, the conventional channel equalizers perform equalization by continuously controlling tap coefficients using a least mean square (LMS) algorithm that is relatively simple to implement.
However, since the conventional channel equalizers are unidirectional, it is difficult for the conventional channel equalizers to effectively eliminate interference between pre-ghost symbols, and also end up amplifying a high frequency component while removing inter-symbol interference, resulting in increasing noise in a received signal. To solve the above listed problems, bidirectional equalizers have been suggested.
There are many types of bidirectional equalizers. Among them, bidirectional arbitrated decision-feedback (BAD) equalizers stand out for their high performance. For more information, see the study by A. C. Singer, U. Madhow, C. S. McGahey, and J. K. Nelson, entitled "Bidirectional Arbitrated Decision-Feedback Equalization", in IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. 53, no 2. 214-218, February 2005.
Conventional BAD equalizers use an algorithm that performs by: generating two candidate data sequences using a forward equalizer and a reverse equalizer; passing the generated candidate data sequences through an estimated channel and reconstructing a received signal; comparing the reconstructed received signal with an original received signal; and outputting an output with the lowest error probability based on the comparison result. Meanwhile, the conventional BAD equalizers use the impulse response characteristics of a training sequence to estimate a channel.
However, it is difficult for the conventional BAD equalizers to accurately estimate a channel due to a limitation in the length of a training sequence, and even more difficult to accurately estimate a channel when using training sequences received at regular intervals in a dynamic environment where channel characteristics change frequently. Accordingly, the conventional BAD equalizers have a high risk of error during the reconstruction of a received signal passed through an estimated channel.

Bidirectional equalizer with improved equalization efficiency using viterbi decoder information and equalization method using the bidirectional equalizer

Educational Foundation of Kyungpook National University


A method for monitoring an image of an examinee's eye includes: obtaining first image data including a first examinee's eye image captured by a first ophthalmologic photographing apparatus, and additional information including type information on the first examinee's eye image; obtaining second image data including a second examinee's eye image captured by a second ophthalmologic photographing apparatus different from the first ophthalmologic photographing apparatus, and additional information including type information on the second examinee's eye image; recognizing the first examinee's eye image and the second examinee's eye image as the same type of images, based on the additional information; and correcting a difference between the first examinee's eye image and the second examinee's eye image.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method for monitoring an image of an examinee's eye, and a monitoring system.
2. Related Art
Ophthalmic photographing apparatuses include ophthalmic optical coherence (OCT) tomography apparatuses, fundus cameras, scanning laser ophthalmoscopes (SLOs), and the like. In a follow-up monitoring by an ophthalmic photographing system, there is a case where images of the same area are obtained at different inspection times and dates. For example, when an ophthalmic OCT apparatus is used, a tomographic image of the fundus is obtained multiple times. The course of a lesioned part is monitored based on the difference of the tomographic images.
In such monitoring, the following procedures are conceived. That is, image data corresponding to an obtained image is selected from an examinee's eye image stored in an ophthalmic image filing system. Then, by displaying this image data on a display monitor, the follow-up monitoring of the examinee's eye image is conducted.
Related technical literature: JP-A-2008-29467

Method for monitoring image of examinee's eye and monitoring system


In a system for broadcasting video programs to a user including a display, a system and method for providing program information or a copy of at least a portion of a program to the user. In one embodiment, a controller receives an input signal representing a request for summary information concerning a program, the program having a beginning and the input signal generated at a time during the broadcast. The controller provides via the display a summary of the program from the program beginning to the input signal time in response to the input signal. A controller may alternatively monitor a period of time during which the display is tuned to a broadcast of a program, the period starting during the broadcast. The controller is used to provide via the display a copy of at least a portion of the program when the period exceeds a predetermined threshold time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for providing video program information or video program content to a user.
2. Background
Cable and satellite television service providers now offer subscribers hundreds of channels, each broadcasting a wide variety of video programs, thereby presenting subscribers with hundreds of programming choices at any given time of day. As a result, a subscriber is often forced to switch between television programs of interest, or to finish watching one program before the subscriber can begin watching another program, the broadcast of which has already started.
Moreover, the onset of television viewing by a subscriber is often asynchronous with respect to program broadcast schedules. Still further, television programs may not fit into standard one-half or one hour time slots, or the time then available to a subscriber for viewing. Thus, inevitably, some program of interest to a subscriber will be in-progress, no matter when the subscriber chooses to begin watching television.
For all of these reasons, subscribers to cable and/or satellite television services are often faced with decisions as to whether to begin watching a program that is already in progress. That is, for an in-progress program, no mechanism or procedure exists for a subscriber to "catch-up" on that portion of the program already broadcast. Similarly, for an in-progress program, no mechanism or procedure exists for a subscriber to obtain a copy of that portion of the program already broadcast, or a complete copy of the program, either automatically or upon a request by the subscriber.
In that regard, on-screen television program guides are known which afford the display of television program information, which may include program start and end times, as well as a brief, and often cryptic, description of the program. However, such program guides neither deliver nor support the delivery of "catch-up" information tailored for an individual viewer and a given program based on the time that the viewer begins watching the program.
Still further, in addition to well known video cassette recording (VCR) systems, which can be programmed in advance of the broadcast time of a television program to automatically record the program at the broadcast time, digital video recording (DVR) systems are known that can also record television programs, either as scheduled events or on a speculative basis based on pre-determined user preferences provided to the DVR system by the user. In that regard, current DVR systems also allow a user to go back to any point in the locally stored video content, up to the existing storage capacity of the DVR system.
Such existing VCR and DVR systems, however, do not allow a user to obtain that portion of an in-progress program already broadcast (including from the beginning of the program), or a complete copy of the in-progress program if the user was not previously tuned to the particular channel on which the program is broadcast. In addition, although streaming video methods exist that allow a user to download digital video, such methods do not work seamlessly and/or dynamically with passive television viewing. That is, such methods again do not allow a user to automatically obtain that portion of an in-progress television program already broadcast (including from the beginning of the program), or a complete copy of the in-progress program.
Thus, there exists a need for a system and method that would, in a system for broadcasting video programs, allow a user to "catch-up" on a program already in progress. Such a system and method would allow a user, such as a cable or satellite service subscriber, to initiate a request for and receive a timely synopsis or summary of major events, actions, outcomes, or other information pertaining to a program, the broadcast of which is already in progress.
In addition, there exists a need for a system and method that would allow such a user, either automatically or upon request, to obtain a copy of at least a portion of a program, the broadcast of which is already in progress. Such a system and method would allow a user to dynamically retrieve, store and manage the video content of such programs. Such systems and methods would thereby enhance the value of video programming by making such programming more comprehensible, interesting, and entertaining to viewers. In such a fashion, such systems and methods would increase the likelihood that such programming will be watched by more viewers, which is an important goal of program content providers, cable and/or satellite television service providers, and advertisers.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for providing video program information or video program content to a user


A filter to be mounted in a valve seat member for filtering liquid is proposed which can be manufactured without a drawing step, thereby improving productivity and cost performance of a piston pump in which such a filter is mounted. The filter is a flat metal plate including a main body formed with a plurality of filter holes in a central portion thereof, and a plurality of projections integrally and radially outwardly extending from a perimeter of the main body so as to be circumferentially spaced apart from each other. The filter is pushed into a filter mounting hole formed in a valve seat member of a discharge valve in a piston pump with the projections bent toward the opening of the filter mounting hole while being pressed against the inner surface of the filter mounting hole under an elastic restoring force and fixed to the valve seat member.

This invention relates to a filter formed of a metal plate mounted e.g. in a hole as a liquid passage for removing any foreign matter in the liquid, a piston pump having a discharge valve including a valve seat member in which the abovementioned filter is mounted, and a method of mounting the filter in the valve seat member of the piston pump.
Among pumps mounted in brake hydraulic pressure controllers as their sources of hydraulic pressure for driving them, piston pumps (also called plunger pumps) are most popular. JP patent publication 2003-528244 discloses such a piston pump.
The piston pump disclosed in this publication includes a discharge valve comprising a valve body and a tubular valve seat member having a bottom and formed with a filter mounting recess (hole) having an opening facing a pump chamber. A filter is mounted in the filter mounting recess so that brake fluid flows through the filter. The filter disclosed in this publication is a molded product which also serves as a spring retainer and includes a cylindrical portion. Thus, this filter has to be formed by drawing, i.e. pressing, which is less productive and thus costly. The filter further includes a flange at one end of the cylindrical portion only and has no such flange at the other end. Thus, the filter can only be pushed into the filter mounting hole with the other end of the cylindrical portion first and not the other way around. This makes it difficult to mechanize the steps of mounting such a filter into the filter mounting recess.

Filter, piston pump using the filter, and method of mounting the filter in a valve seat member of the piston pump


An apparatus and method are provided for deciphering recorded digital audio signals and using a smart card to pay for deciphering. Encrypted digital audio signals are recorded onto a recording medium, such as a compact disc or the like. When the user desires to listen to the recording, the encrypted recording is inserted into a player/recorder and a prepaid smart card is inserted into a smart card reader connected to the player/recorder. The smart card reader deducts a predetermined value from the card before allowing the player/recorder to decipher the encrypted recording, and record the deciphered audio onto a recording medium for playback.

Scrambling and encryption of broadcast signals to prevent unauthorized listening or viewing of audio and video programs is a well known technique in the art of pay-per-view services. In the case of cable or satellite television transmissions, a set-top box is programmed by the broadcasting service to descramble or decipher channels which are subscribed to, and paid for, by a user. When a user desires to access a pay-per-view service, such as a pay-per-view movie, one method requires the user to call up the service provider to order the movie. The user receives an authorization code to enter manually into the set-top box. If the user waits until the start of the movie before calling for an authorization code, the user will miss the beginning of the movie.
Smart cards, also known as prepaid transaction cards, have been used in various business sectors to prepay for services, such as long distance telephone service, photocopy machines, and train transportation. A card equipped with a magnetic or electronic recording medium, such a magnetic strip or a memory chip, is sold to a user. Monetary value is encoded on the cards' recording medium, the amount of which is determined by the user within limits set by the service provider. For example, when a smart card is used for daily commuting on a local rail system, the maximum monetary value which can be placed on the card may be limited by the amount of currency that will be accepted by the card vending machine. The amount that a smart card can have at any one time may also be limited for security reasons, since the card is not limited to use by any one person and is simply a means to convert legal tender to a more convenient electronic form.
Electronic transfer of digital information to a user is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,262. A user selects information to be retrieved, and inserts a prepaid card into an information vending machine. The vending machine deducts an amount needed to pay for the selected information, and records the purchased information onto a recording medium, which can be the smart card, an IC card, a floppy disk, and the like. The information is transferred to the user in a readily readable format.
Dissemination and sale of a digital product using personal computers is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,898,777. An encrypted digital product, such as software, is downloaded to a user computer. A purchaser triggers a purchase, using unencrypted purchasing software provided with the encrypted product, between the personal computer and a bank network. The merchant receives credit for the purchase from the banking network, and the encrypted product is deciphered by the purchasing program. In this manner the merchant does not have to deal with giving the user cumbersome decipher keys to enter manually.

Method and apparatus for providing prepaid music card for deciphering recorded broadcast audio signals


A dielectric filter exhibiting excellent filter characteristics in which the manufacturing cost is reduced by forming coupling loops for dielectric resonators generally in the same shape. First through fourth TM double-mode dielectric resonators are aligned in a row with their openings facing in the same direction. First and second metallic panels are screwed to the resonators to cover their openings. An input loop and an output loop are mounted on the first panel in such a manner that they obliquely face the intersecting areas of the respective dielectric members of the first and fourth dielectric resonators, respectively. Also attached to the first panel are generally "V"-shaped coupling loops. Also disclosed is a dielectric duplexer constructed of a plurality of such dielectric filters.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dielectric filter and a dielectric duplexer using TM multi-mode dielectric resonators.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, TM double-mode dielectric resonators with cross-shaped dielectric members disposed in a cavity having a conductor on its outer surface have been used in a bandpass-type dielectric filter. An example of this type of dielectric filter is shown in FIG. 6.
Referring to FIG. 6, a dielectric filter generally designated by 101 has four TM double-mode dielectric resonators 102, 103, 104 and 105 aligned in a row with their openings facing in the same direction, and metallic panels 106 and 107 to cover the openings of the resonators 102 through 105.
The dielectric resonator 102 is constructed in the following manner. A cavity 102a having openings at its forward and back ends and a cross-shaped dielectric member 102XY are integrally formed of the same dielectric material. Further, a conductor 102b is disposed on the outer surfaces, except for the openings, of the cavity 102a. The dielectric member 102XY is formed of a horizontal dielectric portion 102X and a vertical dielectric portion 102Y, so that the single TM double-mode dielectric resonator 102 can form a two-stage resonator. The TM double-mode dielectric resonators 103, 104 and 105 are constructed in a manner similar to the above-described dielectric resonator 102.
An input loop 108 and an output loop 109 are attached to the panel 106 and connected to an external circuit via a coaxial connector (not shown). Fixed to the panel 107 are coupling loops 107a, 107b, 107c and 107d each for coupling adjacent dielectric resonators.
The operation of the dielectric filter 101 constructed as described above will now be explained. High-frequency power is first supplied to the dielectric filter 101 to magnetically couple the input loop 108 and the vertical dielectric portion 102Y serving as a first-stage resonator. Due to this magnetic coupling, the TM110Y mode shown in FIG. 7B is excited in the vertical dielectric portion 102Y, and is then electromagnetically coupled within the dielectric member 102XY to the horizontal dielectric portion 102X used as a second-stage resonator. Accordingly, a TM110X mode illustrated in FIG. 7A is further excited in the horizontal dielectric portion 102X, and is then magnetically coupled to the coupling loop 107a.
The coupling loop 107a opposedly faces not only the horizontal dielectric portion 102X used as the second-stage resonator, but also the horizontal dielectric portion 103X serving as a third-stage resonator. Thus, the coupling loop 107a magnetically coupled to the horizontal dielectric portion 102X is further magnetically coupled to the horizontal dielectric portion 103X. Because of this coupling, the TM110X mode shown in FIG. 7A is excited in the horizontal dielectric portion 103X, and is further electromagnetically coupled within the dielectric member 103XY to the vertical dielectric portion 103Y used as a fourth-stage resonator. Due to this coupling, the TM110Y mode illustrated in FIG. 7B is excited in the vertical dielectric portion 103Y, and is then magnetically coupled to the coupling loop 107b.
The coupling loop 107b is connected to the coupling loop 107c, and as in the case with the loop 107b opposedly facing the vertical dielectric portion 103Y as the fourth-stage resonator, the loop 107c opposedly faces the vertical dielectric portion 104Y used as a fifth-stage resonator. Accordingly, the loop 107b magnetically coupled to the vertical dielectric portion 103Y is further magnetically coupled to the vertical dielectric portion 104Y via the coupling loop 107c.
Thereafter, in a manner similar to the above procedure, the vertical dielectric portion 104Y is electromagnetically coupled to the horizontal dielectric portion 104X serving as a sixth-stage resonator. The horizontal dielectric portion 104X is further magnetically coupled via the coupling loop 107d to the horizontal dielectric portion 105X used as a seventh-stage resonator, which is then electromagnetically coupled to a vertical dielectric portion 105Y as an eighth-stage resonator. Finally, the vertical dielectric portion 105Y is magnetically coupled to the output loop 109, and the generated magnetic field is then output via a coaxial connector (unillustrated).
However, in the above conventional type of multi-stage dielectric filter shown in FIG. 6, the shape of the loops for coupling the TM110X mode generated in the horizontal dielectric portions, such as the coupling loops 107a and 107d, greatly differ from that of the loops for coupling the TM110Y mode generated in the vertical dielectric portions, such as the coupling loops 107b and 107c. This requires two types of molds for producing the above types of loops, thereby increasing the cost.
The above-mentioned increased cost particularly originates from the loops for coupling the vertical dielectric portions which are formed in a curved, complicated shape, in contrast to the simply shaped loops for coupling the horizontal dielectric portions. Further, the loops for coupling the vertical dielectric portions are easily deformed due to their complicated shape, which may disadvantageously change the coupling amount between the vertical dielectric portions, thereby further varying the filter characteristics.
Moreover, although the coupling loops 107a through 107d are mounted on the same panel 107, the input and output loops 108 and 109 are unable to be attached onto the panel 107 due to lack of space, since the loops 108 and 109 would otherwise overlap with the coupling loops 107a and 107d, respectively.
Additionally, the dielectric filter 101 has frequency adjustment means for each of the vertical dielectric portion and the horizontal dielectric portion of each TM double-mode dielectric resonator, and coupling control means for controlling the coupling coefficient between the vertical and horizontal dielectric portions (neither of these means are shown in FIG. 6). Generally, threaded metallic or dielectric rods are used as the frequency adjustment means and coupling control means.
The frequency adjustment means and the coupling-coefficient control means are mounted on the panel 106. More specifically, the above means for the TM double-mode dielectric resonator 102 are attached in the vicinity of the input loop 108, while the means for the resonator 105 are fixed in the vicinity of the output loop 109.
Consequently, when the frequency adjustment means and the coupling-coefficient control means provided near the input loop 108 are actuated, the coupling coefficient between the input loop 108 and the vertical dielectric portion 102Y may disadvantageously be changed. Likewise, when the frequency adjustment means and control means in the vicinity of the output loop 109 are actuated, the coupling coefficient between the output loop 109 and the vertical dielectric portion 105Y may unfavorably be changed.

Dielectric filter having a plurality of TM multi-mode dielectric resonators


An apparatus and methods facilitate collection of print job status information. A first method configures a computer to obtain status information for subsequent print jobs to a printer. The first method supplies a proxy printer driver in place of an actual printer driver associated with the printer. The first method may hook a function in the actual printer driver. The first method may also configure the computer to spool RAW datatype to the printer. The first method may also store a unique identifier of the computer in the registry. The first method may also set a flag within the registry so as to indicate that the computer is able to provide status for print jobs on the printer. A second method gathers print status for a print job from a computer to a printer. The second method executes a proxy printer driver while producing the print job, wherein the proxy printer driver is a proxy for an actual printer driver. The second method inserts into the print job a unique identifier of the print job. The second method also queries at least one of a spooler and the printer regarding status of the print job. Optionally, the second method may detect inception of the print job and produce a notification of the status of the print job. In executing the proxy printer driver, the second method preferably receives a call to a function and calls a corresponding function in the actual printer driver. In some embodiments, the proxy printer driver produces RAW data. The apparatus is a computer readable medium on which is embedded a computer program. The program comprises a proxy printer driver translation part, the proxy printer driver translation part being a proxy for an actual printer driver translation part. Optionally, the program comprises one or more of a status configuration utility, a status monitor, a spooler comprising a port monitor, a graphic device interface, a registry, the actual printer driver translation part and an application.

End-users of computer systems often desire status information regarding print jobs. Existing system and application software provide end-users with mechanisms for obtaining print job status on current WINDOWS™ operating systems, but these mechanisms often fall short of meeting the expectations of users. These mechanisms include the "Printers" folder provided by MICROSOFT WINDOWS™ and the DOCWISE™ package provided by Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, Calif.
A WINDOWS™ user can click on a printer icon in the "Printers" folder or double-click on the printer icon in the task bar to view a window 100, as illustrated in FIG. 1, containing status information related to her print jobs. Unfortunately, this status might be more accurately called "print queue status." The window 100 shows a list of jobs waiting to be sent to the printer. As each job is sent to the printer, it is removed from the list regardless of whether or not it has completed printing. The state of the printer is displayed provided that a job is currently printing. Most printers have a buffer of memory for accepting incoming jobs. Often, this buffer provides more than enough storage to accommodate the job. This causes all of the print job data to flow into the printer buffer, which removes the print job from the printer status window 100. The print job might suffer from any number of problems while being processed by the printer; however, WINDOWS™ has no provision for informing the user of these problems. Once the print job data has been transmitted outside of the operating system, WINDOWS™ considers the job completed successfully, despite the fact that end-users do not share this optimism and this behavior does not meet end-users' expectations.
Recognizing these problems, Hewlett-Packard has developed software that independently provides print job status. This software is called DOCWISE™. In use, DOCWISE™ displays a print job status window 200, as shown in FIG. 2, when an end-user has requested notification. If the end-user requests notification when his print job has completed, the window 200 is displayed at that time. If the end-user requests notification when a problem is encountered while processing his print job, the window 200 is displayed at that time. The notification behavior is configurable.
FIG. 3 illustrates a system memory 300 utilized by DOCWISE™. The system memory 300 is divided into a user mode segment 310 and a kernel mode segment 315. Kernel mode is a privileged operating system mode reserved for low level drivers and low level operating system components. In the user mode segment 310 of the system memory 300 are an application 320, a spooler 330, a registry 340 and a status monitor 350. The application 320 initiates a print job. Processing of the print job involves a print driver, the spooler 330 and a graphic device interface (GDI) 360, as will now be briefly described. A print driver is modified (by DOCWISE™) and resides in part in the application 320 and in part in the kernel mode segment 315. The modified print driver configuration part 370, which runs in the same address space as the application 320, is responsible for collecting information about the configuration of the job and the printer. The modified print driver translation part 375, which resides in the kernel mode segment 315, is responsible for using the collected information along with a description of the print job to produce something that the target printer can understand. At the interface between the user mode segment 310 and the kernel mode segment 315 is the GDI 360. The GDI 360 is the subsystem of the operating system responsible for handling drawing API calls, which the application 330 makes to the operating system when printing. The GDI 360 handles the drawing API calls by translating them into corresponding calls to the modified printer driver translation part 375, which then generates print data. Then, the GDI 360 sends the print data to the spooler 330. The spooler 330 forwards print data from the GDI 360 to a target printer (not shown). The spooler 330 includes a modified port monitor 380 that adds to the stream of data sent to the printer (also called "output stream" or "print stream") a unique job identifier to facilitate tracking of the print job.
The registry 340 is a collection of settings in the WINDOWS™ operating system. These settings are used by the modified port monitor 380 and the status monitor 350. The status monitor 350 is responsible for monitoring print job status. The status monitor 350 detects the initiation of a print job and tracks the job as it is processed by the source computer system and the target printer. More specifically, DOCWISE™ detects when a print job is initiated, determines the WINDOWS™ ID (identification) of the job in order to track it within the spooler 330, and uniquely marks the job so that it can be identified within the printer. These steps will now be explained in greater detail.
The WINDOWS™ NT 4.0 operating system provides convenient APIs (application programming interfaces) that provide notification of when a job is initiated. The APIs FindFirstPrinterChangeNotification and FindNextPrinterChangeNotification can be used with the flag PRINTER_CHANGE_JOB to monitor for the initiation of a new print job. Once notified of the existence of a new job, the spooler 330 can quickly be queried for the most recently added job using the EnumJobs API. Once the job in the spooler 330 has been identified, its job ID can be obtained.
The task of marking the print stream with a unique identifier can be divided into three subtasks: (1) determining a unique identifier; (2) insuring that the unique identifier is known to the status monitor 350; and (3) inserting commands that are required to mark the print stream. DOCWISE™ constructs a unique identifier by forming a combination of the network identifier of the source computer and the local print job ID. The unique identifier is then unique everywhere on the network, not just on the local machine. The network identifier of the local machine can be stored in the registry 340 and retrieved as required. Because the registry is easily accessible to programs, the network identifier can be reliably obtained anywhere it might be required (i.e. for inserting the commands required to mark the print stream). The local print job ID is also available throughout much of the operating system. As described above, the status monitor 350 can obtain the local print job ID by immediately querying the spooler 330. The local print job ID is also made available to kernel programs (which are not able to call normal API functions), such as the modified printer driver translation part 375.
DOCWISE™ inserts the commands that are required to mark the print stream in two steps. First, the modified printer driver configuration part 370 gathers the information that is required to mark the print stream and places this information into the DEVMODE ("device mode") data structure 385, where such print job settings as number of copies, duplex, color, etc. are stored. Next, the modified port monitor 380 uses this information to make the actual modification to the print stream.
Unfortunately, DOCWISE™ suffers from a number of problems having to do with reliability and availability. First, DOCWISE™ uses a specially modified printer driver. It can be extremely difficult to modify some printer drivers and to make the modified printer drivers available to end-users. Because many different business entities supply printer drivers to end-users, the necessary cooperation and coordination among these entities is challenging to achieve at best and impossible at worst. Second, DOCWISE™ uses a specially modified port monitor to modify the job stream. Because DOCWISE™ is linked to a particular port monitor technology, end-users wishing to use a different port monitor are unable to take advantage of the print job tracking capabilities supplied by DOCWISE™. Third, printing must occur to a local port—not a shared network queue as is often used in a network environment where print job status is most important—for DOCWISE™ to operate properly. If a remote spooler is utilized, DOCWISE™ cannot provide print status information. The first two problems, by depending on special modifications to software that may vary, result in a brittle solution that is difficult to maintain. The third problem severely limits the availability of the desired print status feature. In summary, DOCWISE™ only works under the following three conditions: (1) a printer driver must be modified; (2) a port monitor must be modified; and (3) printing must occur to a local port. Unfortunately, if these conditions are not met, the user simply does not receive print job status. As a result, the user can get the impression that DOCWISE™ behaves inconsistently.

Method and apparatus for providing print job status

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


In guide grooves formed at both side edges of a lower face of a tray and fitted to a pair of left and right guide members of a cabinet, the guide groove substantially in a U-like shape on one side is inserted with a front end portion of an elastic plate integrally projected at a front portion of the cabinet, a recess portion is formed at a portion of one side face of the guide groove 12 opposed to the elastic plate in a state of containing the tray into the cabinet, and formed such that by bringing the one side face of the guide groove 12 into elastic contact with the elastic plate opposed to the recess portion in moving the tray forward, other side face of the guide groove is brought into contact with reference guide faces of the guide member on one side to thereby prevent the tray from being inclined.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk player for reproducing, recording or erasing an optical disk or a photomagnetic disk (hereinafter, abbreviated as disk) of DVD RW or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a prior art disk player disclosed in JP-A-2003-16712. According to the disk player, as shown by FIG. 12A, a tray 3 made of a synthetic resin for a disk D is arranged to be movable forward and rearward a, b between side plate portions 2a, 2b of a cabinet 1 made of a synthetic resin, a rack 4 is formed at a vicinity of one side edge of a lower face of the tray 3 along a direction of forward and rearward a, b, a pinion 5 rotatable regularly and reversely c, d is provided at the cabinet 1 to be opposed to the rack 4, the tray 3 is moved forward a by rotating the pinion 5 regularly c based on an unloading signal, at this occasion, as shown by imaginary lines, the tray 3 is moved forward a while being inclined by a rotational force M of the pinion 5 in a direction of rotating regularly c, and a center axis O1 of the tray 3 is positionally shifted from a center axis O2 of the cabinet 1 creating an undesirable appearance. Further, when the tray 3 is moved rearward b based on a loading signal, inclination of the tray 3 is corrected and in correcting the inclination, the tray 3 is rocked or emits an undesirable noise.
Hence, as shown by FIG. 12B, there is provided an elastic plate 6 extended rearward from a rear end of one side edge of the tray 3 and opposed to side plate 2a of the cabinet 1, and a front end portion of the elastic plate 6 is brought into elastic contact with side plate portion 2a in moving the tray 3 forward a to thereby prevent the tray 3 from being inclined.
According to the above description of the prior art, since the elastic plate 6 is extended rearward from the rear end of the one side edge of the tray 3, when a rear end of the tray 3 is inserted into the cabinet 1 while swinging in a left and right direction in an integrating step of a factory, there is a concern that the elastic plate 6 will impact the side plate portion 2a or the like of the cabinet 1 resulting in damage, and when the elastic plate 6 is damaged, tray 3 may have to be replaced. Further, the cabinet 1 needs to be longer than the tray 3 by an amount of a length L of the elastic plate 6 and therefore, there is also the disadvantage of a larger disk player.


Disclosed is a disk drive including an actuator having a coil, a head attached to the actuator, and a disk including at least a first track and a second track, and a processor for controlling operations in the disk drive including a seek operation from the first track to the second track in which the head is moved between the first track and the second track by the movement of the actuator. The processor under the control of a program generates a deceleration velocity profile for the seek operation that is determined based upon a deceleration velocity profile function that includes a back electromagnetic force (BEMF) model to take into account back electromagnetic forces (BEMFs) associated with the coil of the actuator such that the BEMFs are mathematically modeled. The head is commanded to seek to the second track utilizing the deceleration velocity profile function that includes the BEMF model.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to disk drives. More particularly, the present invention relates to a disk drive that implements a seek operation that utilizes a deceleration velocity profile which mathematically models back electromagnetic forces (BEMFs) associated with an actuator.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Related Information
Today, computers are routinely used both at work and in the home. Computers advantageously enable file sharing, the creation of electronic documents, the use of application specific software, and electronic commerce through Internet and other computer networks. Typically, each computer has a storage peripheral such as a disk drive (e.g. a hard disk drive).
A huge market exists for hard disk drives for mass-market computer systems such as servers, desktop computers, and laptop computers. To be competitive in this market, a hard disk drive should embody a design that is adapted for providing rapid access to data and providing high data storage capacity, while at the same time being energy efficient.
Satisfying these competing constraints of rapid access to data, high data storage capacity, and energy efficiency requires innovation in many of the numerous components of the disk drive.
Further, many newer smaller hard disk drives require reduced power consumption, as well as reduced memory usage, in the processing circuitry of the disk drive itself.
Typically, the main assemblies of a hard disk drive are a head disk assembly (HDA) and a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA). The head disk assembly includes an enclosure including a base and a cover, at least one disk having at least one recording surface, a spindle motor for causing each disk to rotate, and an actuator arrangement. The PCBA generally includes circuitry for processing signals and controlling operations in the disk drive.
An actuator arrangement that is commonly used in hard disk drives is a rotary actuator arrangement included as part of a head stack assembly (HSA) that includes a collection of elements of the head disk assembly. The collection typically includes certain prefabricated subassemblies and certain components that are incorporated into the head disk assembly. For example, a prefabricated head stack assembly (HSA) may include a pivot bearing cartridge, a rotary actuator arrangement, and permanent magnets and an arrangement for supporting the magnets to produce a magnetic field for a voice coil motor.
The rotary actuator arrangement of the HSA may also include a coil forming another part of the voice coil motor, an actuator body having a bore through it, and a plurality of arms projecting parallel to each other and perpendicular to the access of the bore. The rotary actuator arrangement of the HSA may also include head gimbal assemblies (HGAs) that are supported by the arms. Each HGA includes a load beam and a head supported by the load beam. The head is positioned over a track on a recording surface of the disk to write or read data to or from the track, respectively.
Because of the competitive pressure to continually develop hard disk drives that provide faster and more robust access to data, techniques are continuously being developed to decrease the access time to data. One technique to accomplish this is by increasing the speed at which the HSA is pivoted to position the head over a track of the disk in order to access data as part of a seek operation. Particularly, in order to provide faster access to data, techniques are continually being developed to decrease seek time to data.
The seek time generally refers to the time required to move the head of the actuator from a current position or current track to a target position or target track. The seek time is determined by the mechanical characteristics of the HSA and by a seek profile. The seek profile defines, during the time that the actuator is accelerated and decelerated en-route to the target track, a desired acceleration/deceleration profile and desired velocity profile to achieve an efficient and predictable arrival of the head to the target track of the disk.
Disk drive makers work diligently to improve the seek profile and the seek operation. Disk drives now commonly employ velocity profile algorithms as part of their seek operation to efficiently and accurately move the head of the actuator to the target track.
One common problem associated with velocity profile seeking algorithms is the effect of back electromagnetic forces (BEMFs) associated with the coil of the actuator. Previous attempts have been made to account for BEMFs of the coil of the actuator by utilizing look-up tables to approximate how much BEMF is present for a given amount of current applied to the coil. Unfortunately, the use of a look-up table to approximate BEMFs requires a large amount of memory in the circuitry of the disk drive itself.

Disk drive to implement a seek operation utilizing a deceleration velocity profile that mathematically models BEMFs


Segmentation of three dimensional objects may be implemented using a neural network model, a clustering module, a factorization module, and a geometric fitting module. The neural network model is configured to analyze point cloud data for a geographic region and assign probability values outputted from the neural network to points in the point cloud data. The clustering module is configured to group a subset of the probability values based on relative locations of the assigned points in the point cloud data. The factorization module is configured to factor a matrix with the subset of the clustered probability values to assign a line for a three dimensional object of the geographic region. The geometric fitting module is configured to fit at least one predetermined shape for the three dimensional object to the point cloud data based at least on the assigned line.

Object detection is an important task in computer vision for computers to understand the world and make reactions. Objection detect is applicable to a variety of technological fields including, but not limited to, navigation, driving assistance, and autonomous driving. Traditional techniques of detecting and mapping objects are non-scalable and expensive because it involves field inspection or manual annotation with high quality data. Other automated techniques of detecting and mapping objects require large computational resources or are too slow to provide optimal results. Moreover, for some applications it may be important to know the exact locations of objects along with their geometric features.

Scalable three dimensional object segmentation


A cartridge for use in an image forming apparatus comprises a charge roller to which a predetermined voltage is applied; a photosensitive drum charged by the charge roller by rotating in contact with the charge roller; an electronic element for wireless communication which is positioned at a predetermined distance from a contact line between the charge roller and the photosensitive drum; and a shielding member made of a metal which is interposed between the contact line and the electronic element to form a shielding area for shielding electromagnetic waves generated from the contact line, the electronic element being positioned within the shielding area except for boundary portions of the shielding area. As a result, the cartridge is able to efficiently shield an electronic element from electromagnetic waves generated between a photosensitive drum and a charge roller.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cartridge for use in an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, relates to a cartridge for an image forming apparatus having an arrangement structure for shielding an electronic element from electromagnetic waves.
2. Related Art
Generally, a cartridge is detachably mounted to a main body of an image forming apparatus, such as a laser printer, a facsimile, a copy machine, a multi-functional product and so on, for forming images on printable media such as paper using an electro-photographic image forming process.
As shown in FIG. 1, the cartridge 10 includes a charging roller 11, a photosensitive drum 12, a developing roller 13, and a toner container 14. The photosensitive drum 12 and a transfer roller 21 within the main body of the image forming apparatus are engaged and rotated such that a toner image is formed on an individual sheet of printable media.
Since an amount of the toner which is stored in the toner container 14 of the cartridge 10 is limited, the cartridge 10 is provided with an electronic element 15 for measuring the amount of the toner in the toner container 14 and storing the same as data. The electronic element 15 includes a communication unit and a memory unit electrically connected to the communication to store information regarding the amount of toner contained in the toner container 14 and additional information such as the specification of the cartridge, an output condition and so on.
The electronic element 15 can also be arranged to communicate with the body of the image forming apparatus to perform information providing, data recoding and renewal and so on. Recently, the electronic element 15 having wireless communications capability has been packaged in a small sized cartridge to alert of any wire contact problem. However, when the electronic element having wireless communications capability, there has been a problem in that data stored in the electronic element 15 is often damaged due to noise generated according to an electromagnetic interference.
To resolve the above problem, there has been provided U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,327 which is entitled "PROCESS CARTRIDGE HAVING STORAGE DEVICE WHICH COMMUNICATES WITH IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS", in which the electronic element 15 is positioned in a predetermined place of the cartridge 10, as shown in FIG. 1. According to this approach as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,327, contact lines P1, P2 and P3 between the photosensitive drum 12 and adjacent rollers, such as a charge roller 11, a developing roller 13 and a transfer roller 21, are indicated as main points in which electromagnetic waves are generated. In order to shield electromagnetic waves from the main points, as shown in FIG. 1, an electronic element 15 is attached to an inner wall of a waste toner container 16.
However, the conventional approach as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,327 considers only the rectilinearity of the electromagnetic waves. In other words, such a conventional approach does not consider other properties of the electromagnetic waves, including reflection, scattering and diffraction.
Meanwhile, a contact line P1 between the charge roller 11 and the photosensitive drum 12 to which the highest voltage is applied among the contact lines P1, P2 and P3 exerts great influence on the electronic element 15. Noise from the electromagnetic waves is mainly generated, when the charging voltage applied to the charge roller 11 is an alternating current (AC) voltage.
Therefore, notwithstanding the conventional approach as described by U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,327, there has been a problem in that data of the electronic element 15 included in the cartridge 10 is still damaged due to reflection, scattering and diffraction of electromagnetic waves generated from the contact line between the charge roller 11 and the photosensitive drum 12.
Accordingly, there is a need to efficiently shield an electronic element included in a cartridge from all characteristics of electromagnetic waves generated between a charge roller and a photosensitive drum.

Cartridge for use in an image forming apparatus having an electronic element


An image processing apparatus stores moving image data including a plurality of frames and enables a user to select at least one frame from the plurality of frames included in the moving image data and select a type of processing that is to be performed to the selected frame. The apparatus executes control to perform the selected type of processing to the selected frame. Further, the apparatus manages history information indicating the frame to which the processing is performed and the type of the performed processing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method for extracting a frame included in moving image data as still image data and performing processing to the extracted frame.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, moving images can be easily captured by digital cameras or digital camcorders. The captured moving image data can be recorded and stored in a recording medium such as a digital versatile disk (DVD) or downloaded to a PC.
The moving image data is composed of a plurality of consecutive frames. That is, moving images are successively captured as plural frames to generate moving image data. Then, a frame of the plural frames constituting the moving image data can be extracted and used as still image data.
For example, a desired scene can be extracted as still image data from moving image data which was captured by a digital camera while traveling. The extracted image can be developed as a printed photograph to be included in a physical travel album. Further, in addition to moving image data captured by a user, a screen frame displayed on TV may be extracted from moving image data sent as information programs, and printed.
However, in such cases, a user needs to perform a troublesome task to retrieve a frame corresponding to a desired scene from a number of frames included in moving image data. In particular, if the moving image data is of long duration, a lot of time can be wasted retrieving a frame which is to be extracted.
To solve the above problems, a printing flag can be previously set to a particular frame in moving image data (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-229237, for example).
That is, the printing flag is set to a frame when it is detected that image content is greatly changed between frames, or a predetermined period is elapsed at the time of capturing moving images with a digital camera. The printing flag is intended to help a user to retrieve a desired frame when printing the frame later.
However, if the printing flag is set in the above-described manner, the following problem may occur. That is, in the above-described technique, a flag is automatically set while capturing moving image data, so that the flag is not necessarily set to a frame that the user most likely wants to print.
Further, since the flag is set only based on photographing conditions or contents of moving image data, when a user actually prints a desired frame later, information regarding a printing operation is not retained. That is, after the user extracts still image data from a predetermined frame in moving image data and prints the image, if the user desires to extract and print the same still image data again, a troublesome task needs to be performed to retrieve a desired frame.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method and storage medium


A back support device including a flexible support adapted to be positioned adjacent a spine of a wearer, the flexible support extending along the spine in an “S” shape. A brace portion is coupled to the flexible support at ends of the flexible support, and is adapted to force the spring portion toward the spine as a wearer bends.

Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) face a related common challenge in their daily duties. The heavy lifting of medical equipment and patients up and down flights of stairs places all EMTs at risk for experiencing frequent back injuries. Current back braces are designed to lock the back muscles and spine in one position, limiting mobility, creating discomfort, and restraining the user from doing their work.


Disclosed are a novel deuterated aryl amine compound capable of enhancing thermal stability, hole transporting capability, luminescence efficiency, etc. of an organic light emitting diode at the time of being used as a hole-injecting layer, a preparation method thereof, and an organic light emitting diode using the same.

A lot of materials for an electro-luminescence device have been developed continuously since Tang first developed an electro-luminescence device by a vacuum deposition method in 1987. However, the luminance and thermal stability of the commercialized electro-luminescence device becomes lower when used for a long time, and thus, it is necessary to be improved.
Korean Patent Publication No. 2002-62940 discloses some materials for an organic light emitting diode of an aryl amine compound represented by the following general formula:

U.S. Pat. No. 6,699,599 discloses a light emitting material, in which some or all of hydrogen atoms of Ir(ppy)3 are substituted with deuterium.
In general, when hydrogen is substituted with deuterium, an exciton is more easily generated, resulting in improved luminance efficiency. The reason is as follows. Since the bond strength between carbon and deuterium is stronger than that between carbon and hydrogen, the bond length between carbon and deuterium is shorter than that between carbon and hydrogen when hydrogen is substituted with deuterium. As the result, the Van der Waals force becomes smaller, by which the higher luminance efficiency can be obtained. However, U.S. Pat. No. 6,699,599 as mentioned above does not describe the extent to which the luminescent efficiency has been improved when hydrogen atoms of Ir(ppy)3 are substituted with deuterium atoms.

Deuterated aryl amine compound, preparation method thereof, and organic light emitting diode using the same