Apparatus and method for detecting the presence of macro viruses within a digital computer (1). An application program (5) is associated with the digital computer (1). A global environment (13) is associated with the application program (5). The application program (5) generates at least one local document (11). Macros contained within the global environment (13) and the local document(s) (11) are executed in a simulated manner by an emulator (15). At least one preselected decision criterion is used by a detection module (17) to declare when a macro virus is deemed to be present. Such a criterion is typically the presence of a bidirectional macro, i.e., a macro that copies from a local document (11) to the global environment (13) and vice-versa. Macros deemed to be viruses are preferably deleted by a repair module (19). Additional deletion criteria may include the presence of macros that have the same source name or the same destination name as a bidirectional macro. In the preferred emulation steps, emulator (15) tests all of the macros associated with computer (1) in two steps. The first step assumes that the macros reside within the global environment (13), regardless of whether they reside within the global environment (13) or within a local document (11). The second step assumes that the macros reside within a local document (11), regardless of whether they reside within a local document (11) or within the global environment (13).

U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,196 discusses the detection of viruses within a personal computer. However, unlike the present invention, this reference does not treat the elimination of detected viruses, nor does it discuss macro viruses.
Existing technology used by anti-virus programs to detect and repair macro viruses requires, for each unique new macro virus, the development of a detection and repair definition. After the development of the detection and repair definition, the anti-virus program must be augmented with the new definition before it can detect the newly discovered macro virus. This method has the advantage that a skilled anti-virus researcher is able to study the virus and understand it enough so that a proper detection and repair definition can be created for it. The main disadvantage is that a relatively long turnaround time is required before the general public is updated with each new definition. The turnaround time includes the duration during which the virus has a chance to spread and possibly wreak havoc, the time to properly gather a sample and send it to an anti-virus research center, the time required to develop the definition, and the time to distribute the definition to the general public. This process is similar to the process used for protecting against the once more prevalent DOS viruses.
One species of existing technology uses rudimentary heuristics that can scan for newly developed macro viruses . These heuristics employ expert knowledge of the types of viruses they seek. Often these heuristics look for strings of bytes that are indicative of viral behavior, for example, strings found in currently known viruses. Current heuristics are very good at detecting new viruses that are variants of known viruses with a high level of confidence. The main disadvantage of current heuristics is that they are good enough for detection only. This is true of both macro virus heuristics and DOS virus heuristics.

Detection and elimination of macro viruses


A lighting fixture that can be mounted on a transparent or translucent shelf using magnetic attraction between the light fixture and a matching keeper placed on the opposite surface of the shelf. The lighting fixture has a magnetic or ferrous edge that is held in place by a keeper with a similar magnetic or ferrous component.

This invention relates, in general, to a lighting fixture that will provide illumination for items displayed on a shelf made of a transparent or translucent material. The light from the lighting fixture passes through the transparent or translucent material to which the fixture is attached to illuminate an item displayed on the transparent or translucent material.
Magnets or ferrous materials are incorporated into or attached to a lighting fixture. An object containing ferrous material or magnets is placed on one side of the transparent or translucent material. The lighting fixture is placed on the other side of the transparent or translucent material. The lighting fixture and object are held in place on either side of the transparent or translucent material by the magnetic attraction between the lighting fixture and the object. The light emitted by the lighting fixture passes through transparent or translucent material to illuminate an item displayed on the transparent or transparent material. If the transparent or translucent material is magnetic or ferrous, the magnetic or ferrous object may not be required.

Lighting fixture for transparent or translucent material


A vehicle fender panel mounting structure is provided in which good protection capability may be obtained for pedestrians, even when the break line portion between the hood and the fender panel is disposed offset in the vehicle width direction further inside than the vehicle body side structural member that is the corresponding mount for the fender panel. In a body in which a break line portion, of the front fender panel and a hood, is disposed offset further to the inside in the vehicle width direction than an apron upper member, an impact absorption bracket, made up from an upper bracket and a lower bracket, is disposed in a cantilever supported state, and by rotational deformation in a direction, an outside second angled portion contacts an upright wall portion, and after that time, bending deformation occurs in a successive manner, originating at a bent portion, from an inside second angled portion toward an outside second angled portion. A reaction force in the latter half of F-S characteristics may thereby be obtained.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a vehicle fender panel mounting structure.
2. Related Art
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2004-50865 there is described a technology of mounting, through a fender bracket that has been formed in a substantially Z-shape when viewed from the side of the vehicle front direction, a top end inside portion of a fender panel to a top end horizontal portion of an apron upper member, and furthermore of mounting a reinforcement member, formed in a stepped shape when viewed from the side of the vehicle front direction, to the fender bracket inside in the vehicle width direction.
According to the above configuration, when an impact object has impacted in the vicinity of a break line portion between a hood and the fender panel, the stepped-shaped reinforcement member compresses in the direction it extends along, and by plastic deformation, energy is absorbed from secondary impact of the impact object in the vicinity of the break line portion between the hood and the fender panel.


A method for encoding a digitized audio signal which includes the step of selecting one of two or more psycho acoustic model provided for generating masking thresholds used in a data reduction process. The selecting criterion is the available data rate for the encoded bit stream. Each one of the two or more psycho acoustic models is adapted to a specific data rate of the encoded bit stream. In a second embodiment, the method includes the step of combining two or more masking thresholds resulting from different psycho acoustic models, thereby leading to a more accurate calculation of a masking threshold for the data reduction process. Further, there are appropriate apparatuses for the encoding of digitized audio signals.

The psycho acoustic model in an audio encoder, e.g. in a MPEG 1 or MPEG 2 audio system, calculates a masking threshold for data reduction purposes. The masking threshold may vary for each subband of the audio signal. The so called bit allocation process defines for each subband due to the determined masking threshold, with which resolution the subband samples should be quantized. This will vary in time with each block of audio signal samples. Therefore the necessary bitrate for an optimal sound quality should also vary for the different blocks. In practice in an MPEG1 audio system, the available desired bitrate is normally fixed for each audio channel. Because, with respect to the desired bitrate, the exact number of bits for the various parameters and data required for transmission cannot be estimated exactly in advance some bits are left over or some bits are missing. Usually a simple allocation strategy is used to overcome this problem, e.g. by assigning a nearly equal number of such bits for each subband.
The present allocation strategies mentioned above do not take into account the psycho acoustic model used in the encoder. Nowadays, encoders are optimised for a small range of bitrates. In spite of this fact such audio coders are used also for operation in a larger range of bit rates, but they are not optimised for doing so. The different bitrates may occur between the left and right channel and/or additional channels (left surround, right surround, center) and/or in MPEG LayerIII where the desired bit rate can vary from frame to frame.

Method and apparatus for encoding digital signals employing bit allocation using combinations of different threshold models to achieve desired bit rates


A process for the preparation of an oriented multilayer laminate film having at least three layers, said method including: (a) extruding in a molten state (i) polypropylene selected from a homopolymer or a copolymer of propylene wherein said copolymer comprises an alkene monomer having 2 or 4-6 carbons; (ii) adhesive; and (iii) co-polyester of a polyesterification reaction product where the reactants are at least one glycol and at least one dibasic acid with the total reactants being at least three of the glycols and dibasic acids, (b) laminating (i), (ii) and (iii) together in the molten state to form the film; (c) cooling the film; (d) drawing the film in a temperature range that allows orienting without breaking; and (e) heat setting the oriented film.

This invention relates to an oriented multilayer structure of polypropylene (referred to as PP) and a co-polyester laminated together with an adhesive and a method for making such structure.
The general foods packaging industry is forever looking for the perfect film that has excellent sealability to itself or to other films, has excellent bonding capabilities to such materials as films, vacuum deposited metals, inks, and adhesives, has excellent optical properties yielding high gloss, low haze, and high clarity, and has improved barrier properties yielding low gas transmission to gases such as air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons. Many attempts have been made to produce such a film based on single layer or multiple layer structures. Many conventional, single and multiple layer structures have been used with a moderate degree of success, such as saran-coated polypropylene, glassine, and the like. A critical characteristic that needs the greatest attention is the barrier properties. This characteristic is important because in supermarket type stores, where there are many types of products from foods to hardware, it is easy to contaminate a food product such as potato chips with a pungent odor from a soap or solvent that may be placed next to it.
Prior to the present invention, numerous multilayer films were developed for use in the packaging industry to create a film having the above mentioned desired properties. U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,797 discloses a multilayer film for use in the packaging industry comprising five layers of a polypropylene layer, an adhesive layer of anhydride modified polypropylene, a barrier layer of ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer or nylon, a heat sealable layer, and a sealant layer. It is disclosed that this film is economically competitive to make and has a combination of attributes including, as functional physical properties, high barrier to gaseous transmission through the film, and as perceived properties, high gloss, transparency, and stiffness.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,798 discloses a film material having seven layers wherein the first three layers are a nylon, the fourth layer is an adhesive layer, the fifth layer is a polyethylene or a blend of ethylene polymers, the sixth layer is an adhesive layer and the seventh layer is a sealant layer. This patent also discloses that in another embodient the first three layers are a single layer of nylon. It is disclosed that this film is adapted for use in conventional packaging equipment to economically package a variety of products.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,849 discloses a co-extruded, heat-shrinkable, multilayer polyolefin packaging film having a core layer of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer blended with ethylene propylene copolymer sandwiched between thin layers of copolymer of propylene. It is disclosed that this multilayer of polyolefin film has shrink tensions approximating those of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) films, has good optical qualities, has a wide shrink temperature range, has sealability, has resistance to tear propagation properties, and has none of the undesirable qualities of PVC film such as noxious odors and corrosive by-products.
European Patent Office publications (EP220619-A, EP220620-A, and EP220621-A) disclose biaxially drawn, co-extruded polypropylene film laminates of 3-5 layers containing a co-polyester layer of terephthalic acid, isophthalic acid, ethylene glycol, or butane diol where the carboxylic acids can contain additional functional groups to improve bonding between the layers. The laminates can also contain heat or cold sealable layers and a silicone layer.
None of the prior art discloses the present invention.

Process for preparation of oriented multilayer laminate film


An exercise system includes a plurality of exercise terminals, wherein a workout of an exerciser includes at least two exercises performed at one or more of the exercise terminals. Each exercise terminal includes a communication device for communicating to the exerciser information regarding an exercise of the workout subsequent to a current exercise in the workout.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to an exercise system and, more particularly, to an exercise terminal network including exercise terminals usable by an exerciser in a training or rehabilitation program. The exercise terminal network facilitates the use of different exercise terminals by an exerciser during a workout.
2. Description of Related Art
An exerciser participating in a training or rehabilitation program will generally perform a variety of exercise activities. These activities can include stretching, walking, biking, swimming, and jogging, as well as the utilization of one or more exercise devices. Such exercise devices include, for example, weight machines, stair climbers, steppers, rowing machines, ski machines, treadmills, cross trainers, and stationary bicycles. Some of these devices are part of exercise apparatus or machines and are controllable by controllers (such as processors) in accordance with exerciser-selected program data which sets and/or varies the exercise level. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a stationary bicycle 5 which provides automatically-varying exercise levels as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,358,105 to Sweeney, Jr. The control system for the stationary bicycle includes a microcomputer 10 which communicates electronically with a keyboard 12, a read-only memory 14, and a display 16. The read-only memory 14 stores the operating program for microcomputer 10 and a plurality of pre-stored exercise programs which are selectable by an exerciser. Movement of pedals 20 rotates a sprocket 22, which causes a chain 24 to drive a small diameter sprocket 26 attached to a flywheel 28. The variable load which an exerciser must overcome in order to rotate sprocket 22 is generated by an alternator 30, which provides a variable resistance to the effort of the exerciser through its driving connection with flywheel 28 by a gear belt 32. Microprocessor 10 controls the loading circuit of alternator 30. The output of microcomputer 10 on line 34 is a pulse width modulated signal, the width of which is proportional to the effort required by the exerciser. The changes in pulse width vary the field current in the alternator to cause variations in the resistance of the alternator to the force exerted by the operator. An exerciser using the stationary bicycle may select a pre-stored exercise program from read-only memory 14 for execution by microcomputer 10 to automatically vary the exercise difficulty level by generating pulses whose width is a function of the effort required by the exerciser. Using keyboard 12, an exerciser is also able to select a difficulty level and an exercise time.
Other exercise apparatus are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,337 to Shuy; U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,257 to Dyer et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,710 to Watterson et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,504 to Trulaske et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,025 to Dalebout et al.
From workout to workout, an exerciser will often vary his/her exercise activities to achieve particular fitness goals and/or to avoid injury. For example, the exerciser may vary the time, the distance and/or the speed of his/her jogging from workout to workout. Similarly, the exerciser may vary the exercise apparatus used, as well as the exercise program, the different difficulty level(s) and/or the total exercise time from workout to workout. Thus, for example, an exerciser using an exercise apparatus may select exercise program data (for example, an exercise program, a difficulty level, and/or a total exercise time) which defines a relatively easy workout on a day following a relatively hard workout. Or, an exerciser may utilize a stationary bicycle and a stair climber during one workout and a treadmill and weight machines during another workout. In addition, after several months of a training routine, an exerciser will likely find that he/she is able to perform at higher activity levels. In the case of jogging, this may mean the exerciser is able to job for longer times and distances at higher speeds. In the case of using an exercise apparatus, it may mean that the exerciser is able to use the exercise apparatus at higher difficulty levels and/or for longer total exercise times.
However, exercisers attempting to achieve specific fitness goals may have problems selecting exercises, exercise apparatus, and/or exercise program data for each of the exercise apparatus to best achieve their goals and to maximize the benefits of workouts. While health clubs may have fitness consultants who assist exercisers in the initial selection of exercise apparatus, exercise program data, and other exercises which are best suited for the exerciser and his/her fitness goal, exercisers are often left on their own after this initial assistance. As the exerciser""s fitness level increases, the initial selections of exercise apparatus, exercise program data, and other exercises may no longer be suitable. While an exerciser could hire a fitness consultant, this can be very expensive for exercisers participating in a long-term training program.
Additionally, exercisers who use exercise apparatus at home and exercise on their own generally do not have fitness consultants available to guide them through the selection of particular exercise apparatus, exercise program data, and other exercises to achieve specific exercise goals. Such guidance may be particularly important for persons following a program of exercise prescribed by a doctor. For example, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research recently recommended that rehabilitation programs for heart attack patients include exercise training customized to fit the patient""s heart condition and other physical traits. While patients could undertake such rehabilitation programs on their own, a panel of cardiologists gathered by the Agency reported that studies have shown that patients who participate in comprehensive rehabilitation programs under close physician scrutiny are more likely to follow better heart habits for life, while those who try on their own often fail. Particularly important is a customized exercise program, where a doctor determines which exercises (e.g., walking or bicycling) are best, as well as how much exertion the patient can take. Where such rehabilitation programs utilize exercise apparatus such as treadmills, stationary bicycles, stair climbers, and the like, the exercise program data selected by the patient must be carefully chosen in view of the particular patient""s recovery and physical characteristics. Participation in other exercises such as jogging or biking must also be based on the patient""s recovery and physical characteristics. The selection of exercise apparatus, of exercise program data, and of other exercises may be difficult for the patient.
For these and other reasons, exercisers frequently do not receive the full benefits of their exercise because the selected exercise program data or other exercises are either too easy or too difficult or not well-suited to the ultimate fitness/medical goals or medical history of the exerciser.
One or more exercise terminals are connected via a communications link to a central computer to form an exercise terminal network. These exercise terminals may include exercise apparatus terminals, exercise station terminals, and exerciser data input terminals. The central computer has a memory for storing a database which includes, inter alia, data regarding the exercisers who use the exercise terminal network. An exerciser may consult with a fitness consultant(s) (e.g., a physician, a physical therapist, or a personal trainer) to develop an exerciser profile and/or to set certain fitness goals. The profile and/or goal data, along with any other desirable data, is entered into the database using, for example, a display (such as a computer monitor) and an input device (such as a keyboard and/or a pointing device such as a mouse or trackball) of the central computer. The data in the database may be used by a system control program of the central computer and/or by the fitness consultant(s) to determine workouts for each exerciser which will best help the exerciser achieve the fitness goals which he/she has set.
The workouts may include the use of one or more of the exercise apparatus terminals in the exercise terminal network. In this regard, the system control program and/or the fitness consultant(s) select exercise data for controlling these one or more exercise apparatus terminals. This exercise data may include an exercise program selection, an exercise time, and/or a difficulty level(s) and is selected based exercise data selection criteria which may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the exerciser""s profile data, the exerciser""s fitness goal data, and data regarding the exerciser""s previous workouts.
The workouts may also include exercises such as stretching, sit-ups, pull-ups, and the like which are performed without using an exercise apparatus or machine. In this regard, the system control program and/or fitness consultant(s) select exercise data such as a number of repetitions and/or a time period for the exercise. Again, this exercise data is based on criteria which may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the exerciser""s profile data, the exerciser""s fitness goal data, and data regarding the exerciser""s previous workouts. For such exercises, the exercise data may be communicated to the exerciser using an exercise station terminal.
Each exerciser using the exercise terminal network is preferably assigned an exerciser identifier such as an exerciser identifier number. An exerciser using a particular exercise terminal enters his/her exerciser identifier using, for example, a numeric keypad. A processor of the exercise terminal uses the entered exerciser identifier to access the database stored at the central computer. In the case of an exercise apparatus terminal, for example, exercise data is retrieved and the processor of the exercise apparatus uses the retrieved exercise data to control the exercise apparatus. In the case of an exercise station terminal, exercise data such as a number of repetitions and an exercise time is retrieved and the processor communicates the exercise data to the exerciser via a speaker and/or a display.
While the exerciser is exercising, one or more physiological parameters of the exerciser such as heart rate, blood pressure, and the like may be monitored. The system control program and/or the fitness consultant can use such data in order, for example, to select future exercise data, to select the next exercise to be performed in the current workout, and/or to select or vary the exercise data for the next exercise in the current workout.
At the end of an exercise, the exerciser is prompted using aural and/or visual prompts as to which exercise should be performed next or that the current workout is over.
The exerciser may periodically update his/her profile data in the database using one of the exerciser data input terminals connected in the exercise terminal network. These data input terminals may, for example, include a device for measuring some physiological parameter such as weight, heart rate, blood pressure, and the like and a device for communicating these parameters to the database of the central computer. Such updated profile data may be used to determine the effect of the workouts on the exerciser and to select exercise data for future workouts. The profile data may also be updated using an exercise terminal or a computer having a display and an input device(s).


The valve actuator (10) has a movable control element (12) which is typically connected to the valve to be opened/closed and a propulsion device (16) which may be a hydraulically operated piston (16) for moving the movable control element. A resilient element (22) which may be in the form of a spring arrangement has a stroke extending from a first relatively unloaded position to a second relatively loaded position and a transmission mechanism (18) is also provided, where the resilient element is loaded under the action of the propulsion device via the transmission mechanism and is configured to urge the moveable portion of the propulsion device towards the first position via the transmission mechanism when loaded. The transmission mechanism provides a gearing ratio reduction between the moveable portion of the propulsion device and the resilient element.

Valve actuators are used to open or close valves. They are often pneumatic or hydraulic, and use a cylinder and piston arrangement to move a control rod. The control rod will be attached to the gate of a gate valve, and by filling or emptying the piston with an appropriate working fluid, the gate may be moved and the valve opened or closed.
A typical design will comprise a piston deployed within a chamber, the piston being attached to a control rod. The piston will define two chambers within the actual chamber: a first chamber and a second chamber. The first chamber will be subjected to the working fluid acting upon the piston, and will include a working fluid inlet. To enable the piston and control rod to return to a certain position, be it open or closed, the second chamber will include some form of resilient bias, such as a spring. As the working fluid is pumped into the first chamber under pressure, the fluid will act on the piston, expanding the first chamber, and compressing the second chamber and the spring. The movement of the piston will in turn move the control rod and gate, thus moving the valve typically from a closed to an open position. Once the fluid pressure is released, the force stored in the spring will act upon the piston, re-expanding the second chamber and compressing the first chamber, thus typically moving the valve from an open to a closed position.
When the pressure is vented, the valve is preferably arranged such that the compressed spring drives the valve to the closed position. This valve set-up is often used as part of a 'fail safe' system and in some cases such as when actuators are used to operate X Tree production master valves, a combination of the actuator spring closing force and the valve gate are used to cut wire or logging cable, so that if the valve is required to close in an emergency, it can do so even during times when work over operations are under way. A great deal of force is required, not only to overcome the valve drag but also to cut cable.
The inventor of the present invention has recognised that a major driver in the design of such actuators is the spring requirement and often the size of an actuator is dictated by the size of the closing spring. Space is a constraint in many processing facilities, be it in subsea manifolds or in petro chemical processing facilities. Weight is also an issue, particularly where deployment of hardware involves lifting large packages of equipment into deep water.
A disadvantage of such an arrangement is that the chamber must be a considerable length in order to house the spring and allow for the necessary movement of the piston, leading to a large and cumbersome actuator.
More importantly, conventional actuators suffer from a major disadvantage that the closing force supplied by the resilient element/spring directly to the moving actuator is not constant, because the spring effectively supplies more closing force at the beginning of the closing stroke than at the end, but it is typically at the end of the stroke that a great deal of force is required to finish the closing stroke, particularly to cut the cable if present.

KOP SURFACE PRODUCTS SINGAPORE PTE. LTD.


This invention relates to sports rackets with which the impact or vibration transmitted to the body such as the arms, of a user when the sports racket is used is largely reduced. The sports racket according to the present invention comprises as at least a part of the material constituting said sports racket a vibration-reducing material having a vibration loss coefficient of not less than 0.01 at room temperature, comprising epoxy resin, polyamide resin, and a filler.

Various sports are widely loved and sports instruments specifically adapted to each sport have been used. Various industrial materials have been developed and new materials have been applied to the various sports instruments.
For example, in the field of tennis rackets, recently, there is a trend that larger rackets or rackets with larger frames than before, especially those made of a material which is light but yet has a sufficient strength and rigidity, are increasingly used.
The frames of conventional ordinary tennis rackets are made of wood, fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) such as glass fiber-reinforced plastics and carbon fiber-reinforced plastics, or metals such as aluminum alloy. Recently, the percentage of those made of plastics, especially fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) was sharply increased because of the developments in the molding technique, ease of production and due to their good reputation among tennis players.
Although the above-described materials used in the conventional rackets intrinsically have relatively good vibration-damping property, it is not sufficient for sharply and effectively damping the impact and vibration generated when a ball is hit.
Under these circumstances, recently, a large number of people of a wide range of ages have started playing tennis as a light sport. With this sharp increase in the population of the tennis players, number of tennis players suffering from disorders such as "tennis elbow" which is a disorder of elbow is also sharply increased.
It is thought that the disorder called tennis elbow is caused by the impact and vibration generated when a ball is hit with the gut face of a racket, transmitted through the racket frame to the elbow of the player. Especially, when a beginner or a middle class player who is not very good at playing tennis and who cannot properly hit the ball with the sweet spot continues to play tennis with its accompanying unnatural swinging a racket with a large frame made of a light material (Sweet spot is the central portion of the gut face. If the racket hits a ball with a portion other than the sweet spot, the impact and vibration generated thereby are transmitted to the elbow).
Further, even if the tennis elbow is not caused, the impact and vibration generated by racket when hitting a ball with a portion other than the sweet spot is transmitted to the hand, arm or elbow of the player and prevent the player from enjoying a comfortable play under sharp and proper hitting and playing feelings. Further, with such a hit force is not properly and effectively transmitted to the ball due to the generation of the impact and vibration, so that powerful and high level techniques cannot be performed. As a result, the fun of playing tennis is reduced.
Thus, the lighter the impact or the vibration from the racket when hitting a ball, the better. Further, if the impact or vibration is light, even if a portion somewhat outside the sweet spot hits the ball, the player feels as if the ball was hit with the sweet spot, so that even beginners can comfortably play tennis with comfortable hitting feelings.
On the other hand, for the purpose of reducing the impact and vibration when hitting a ball, a "stabilizer" has been proposed and is commercially available. The "stabilizer" is a molded article of rubber or soft synthetic resin, and is inserted between adjacent guts or is pressingly attached to the gut face. Although the "stabilizer" is effective for reducing the vibration of the gut per se, it does not function to effectively dampen the vibration transmitted from the gut face to the body of the player via the frame.
As can be seen from the above description, needless to say, it is very important that the frame structure per se effectively damp the impact or vibration transmitted from the gut face to the body of the player through the frame when hitting a ball, and realization of such a racket has been strongly desired with the proviso that the frame structure does not bring about a problem such that the overall weight of the racket is too heavy or the strength of the racket is too low.
Regarding other sports, in most sports in which a sports instrument is handled with the body such as arms or legs, there is a problem caused by the transmission of the impact or the vibration generated by the playing.
For example, the problem that the impact or vibration caused by hitting a ball gives undesirable results also resides in playing golf. Generally, if a ball is hit with the sweet spot of the head portion of a golf club, the ball gains the maximum initial velocity and the flying direction of the ball is also stabilized. On the other hand, if a ball is hit with a portion outside the sweet spot, the club head is rotated about the center of gravity thereof, so that the initial velocity of the ball is decreased and so the flying distance of the ball is decreased accordingly. Further, the direction of the flying out of the ball is shifted and so the ball may fly in an undesirable direction.
To improve the flying distance and flying direction of the ball, several proposals have been made. That is, it has been proposed to adjust the weight distribution of the head portion of a golf club so as to adjust the position of the center of gravity of the head and to increase the moment of inertia of the head (Japanese Utility Publication (Kokoku) No. 53-288). It was also proposed to change the horizontal and vertical lengths of the hitting area of the head portion of a golf club (Japanese Laid Open Utility Model Application (Kokai) Nos. 61-165762 and 63-192474). However, these proposals do not solve the problem of the impact or vibration caused by hitting a ball and do not solve the problem of the uncomfortable palsy feeling and accumulation of fatigue in the wrists, arms and elbows caused by the transmission of the impact and vibration generated when hitting a ball to the player.
Thus, a golf club shaft which has a function to effectively dampen the impact and vibration has been demanded.
To effectively prevent the transmission of impact and vibration to the person handling a sports instrument through the sports instrument, or to effectively damp an external impact and vibration by the properties of the sports instrument is desired in using other sports instruments than tennis rackets and golf clubs. Examples of the such sports instruments include rackets for other than tennis such as for squash, badminton and the like, skis, stocks for skiing, baseball bats, sticks for hockey, ice hockey, gate ball and the like, and bows and arrows for archery, Japanese archery and the like.

Sports instrument and impact-absorbing element to be attached to sports equipment


An image processing apparatus, a display apparatus, and an image processing system and method, for displaying image data, are provided. The image processing apparatus includes a color gamut converter configured to convert a color gamut of at least a portion of an image received from the display apparatus, a controller configured to control the color gamut converter to convert color gamut of at least the portion of the image data based on region division information of a display image received from the display apparatus through the communicator and profile information for converting color gamut of a plurality of divided regions based on the region division information. Thus, the display apparatus displays image data converted into multiple-color gamut without an additional component for converting image quality and color gamut of the image data.

1. Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to image processing, and more particularly, to an image processing apparatus, a display apparatus, an image processing system and method, for displaying image data converted into a multiple-color gamut.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, a display apparatus may store information for converting a color gamut of an image displayed on a screen into a color gamut desired by a user. The information may be generated based on a measurement value of an image quality of the image displayed on the screen.
The display apparatus may convert the color gamut and an image quality of the image data displayed on the screen based on pre-stored information and display the image in which the color gamut and the image quality are converted based on the information.
However, a related art display apparatus requires at least two components (hereinafter, referred to as an image quality correction chip) in order to convert image data into a multi-color gamut. That is, the related art display apparatus must include at least M image quality correction chips in order to convert a color gamut of M regions of the same image. For example, if an image has three regions, a related art display apparatus requires at least three image quality correction chips to convert a respective color gamut of the three regions.

Image processing apparatus, display apparatus, and image processing system and method, for displaying image data


By forming a hardmask layer in combination with one or more cap layers, undue exposure of a sensitive dielectric material to resist stripping etch ambients may be reduced and integrity of the hardmask may also be maintained so that the trench etch process may be performed with a high degree of etch selectivity during the patterning of openings in a metallization layer of a semiconductor device.

1. Field of the Invention
Generally, the present disclosure relates to the fabrication of integrated circuits, and, more particularly, to the formation of metallization layers of reduced permittivity by using low-k dielectric materials.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an integrated circuit, a very large number of circuit elements, such as transistors, capacitors, resistors and the like, are formed in or on an appropriate substrate, usually in a substantially planar configuration. Due to the large number of circuit elements and the required complex layout of advanced integrated circuits, the electrical connections of the individual circuit elements are generally not established within the same level on which the circuit elements are manufactured. Typically, such electrical connections are formed in one or more additional "wiring" layers, also referred to as metallization layers. These metallization layers generally include metal-containing lines, providing the inner-level electrical connection, and a plurality of inter-level connections, also referred to as vias, which provide the electrical connection between two neighboring stacked metallization layers, wherein the metal-containing lines and vias may also be commonly referred to as interconnect structures.
Due to the ongoing demand for shrinking the feature sizes of highly sophisticated semiconductor devices, highly conductive metals, such as copper and alloys thereof, in combination with a low-k dielectric material, have become a frequently used alternative in the formation of metallization layers. Typically, a plurality of metallization layers stacked on top of each other is necessary to realize the connections between all internal circuit elements and I/O (input/output), power and ground pads of the circuit design under consideration. For extremely scaled integrated circuits, the signal propagation delay and, thus, the operating speed of the integrated circuit may no longer be limited by the field effect transistors but may be restricted by the close proximity of the metal lines, owing to the increased density of circuit elements, requiring an even more increased number of electrical connections, since the line-to-line capacitance is increased, which is accompanied by the fact that the metal lines have a reduced conductivity due to a reduced cross-sectional area. For this reason, traditional dielectrics, such as silicon dioxide (k>3.6) and silicon nitride (k>5), are replaced by dielectric materials having a lower dielectric constant k, which are therefore also referred to as low-k dielectrics having a relative permittivity of 3.0 or less. The reduced permittivity of these low-k materials is frequently achieved by providing the dielectric material in a porous configuration, thereby offering a k-value of significantly less than 3.0. Due to the intrinsic properties, such as a high degree of porosity, of the dielectric material, however, the density and mechanical stability or strength may be significantly less compared to the well-approved dielectrics silicon dioxide and silicon nitride.
During the formation of copper-based metallization layers, a so-called damascene or inlaid technique is usually used, due to copper's characteristic of substantially not forming volatile etch products when being exposed to well-established anisotropic etch ambients. In addition, copper may also not be deposited with high deposition rates on the basis of well-established deposition techniques usually used for aluminum, such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Thus, in the inlaid technique, therefore, the dielectric material is patterned to receive trenches and/or vias, which are subsequently filled with the metal by an efficient electrochemical deposition technique. Moreover, a barrier layer is usually formed on exposed surface portions of the dielectric material prior to filling in the metal, which provides the desired adhesion of the metal to the surrounding dielectric material and also suppresses copper diffusion into sensitive device areas, as copper may readily diffuse in a plurality of dielectric materials, in particular in porous low-k dielectrics.
In some conventional approaches, the process of filling in a conductive metal, such as copper, may be accomplished in a so-called dual damascene strategy, in which the via opening, connecting to an underlying metal region, and a corresponding trench may be filled in a common deposition process, thereby enhancing the overall process efficiency. For this purpose, the via opening and the trench are formed in the dielectric material of the metallization layer under consideration and subsequently the barrier material and the copper material are filled in, wherein each of these processes may be performed commonly for the via opening and the trench. For example, after the deposition of an appropriate dielectric material, for instance a low-k dielectric material, a patterning sequence is performed, wherein, in some illustrative approaches, the via opening may be formed first, at least partially, followed by the patterning of a trench in the upper portion of the dielectric material. Consequently, in this approach, the patterning of the trenches has to be accomplished on the basis of a surface topography including the previously formed via openings or portions thereof, which may be accomplished by planarizing the surface topography prior to lithographically patterning an etch mask for the trench etch process. Thus, during the overall patterning sequence, resist masks, possibly in combination with appropriate planarization materials, which may frequently be provided in the form of organic materials, may have to be deposited and formed above the dielectric material with a subsequent resist removal process, which may increasingly damage the sensitive dielectric material, in particular when highly-scaled semiconductor devices are considered, which may require ultra low dielectric constant, for example based on porous dielectric materials, as will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1a-1d.
FIG. 1a schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor device 100 in an advanced manufacturing stage, in which one or more metallization layers are to be formed above a device level of the semiconductor device 100. In the manufacturing stage shown, the semiconductor device 100 comprises a substrate 101, which, for convenience, is to be considered as an appropriate carrier material having formed thereon one or more material layers for receiving semiconductor circuit elements, such as transistors, capacitors, resistors and the like, which for convenience are not shown in FIG. 1a. For example, the substrate 101 may represent a semiconductor material, for instance, a silicon material in combination with an appropriate semiconductor layer, such as a silicon-based layer, in and above which transistor elements may be formed. In other cases, a buried insulating layer (not shown) may be formed between the substrate material and the corresponding semiconductor layer, thereby providing a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) configuration. As previously discussed, the circuit elements provided in the device level of the semiconductor device 100 may have critical dimensions of approximately 40 nm and less, depending on the technology standard under consideration.
Above the substrate 101, including the semiconductor circuit elements, a metallization system is provided, which may be represented by a first metallization layer 110 comprised of a dielectric material 111, which may be provided in the form of a conventional dielectric material, such as silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride and the like, depending on the overall device and process requirements. In sophisticated applications, the dielectric material 111 may comprise a low-k dielectric material to reduce the overall parasitic capacitance between adjacent metal regions. Furthermore, the metallization layer 110 may comprise a metal region, for instance in the form of a metal line 112, which may include a highly conductive metal, such as copper, in combination with a barrier material 112A, which in turn may include two or more layers, such as tantalum, tantalum nitride and the like, in order to obtain the desired barrier and adhesion effect. For example, tantalum nitride may provide enhanced adhesion to the surrounding dielectric material, while tantalum may provide a superior copper diffusion blocking effect, while also endowing enhanced mechanical stability to the copper material of the metal region 112. Furthermore, the metallization layer 110 may include an etch stop layer 113, which may be comprised of silicon nitride, silicon carbide, nitrogen-containing silicon carbide and the like, wherein the etch stop layer 113 may not only act as an etch stop material during the further processing of the device 100, but may also confine an upper surface of the metal line 112, for instance in view of undue copper diffusion and any interaction of reactive components, such as oxygen, fluorine, with the highly reactive copper material in the metal line 112.
A further metallization layer 120 is provided in an initial stage, that is, a dielectric material 121 is formed above the metallization layer 110 and is comprised of an appropriate material and with a desired thickness so as to receive a via opening and a trench opening in accordance with the design rules in a subsequent manufacturing stage. For instance, in sophisticated applications, the dielectric material 121 may comprise a low-k dielectric material having a reduced density, for instance by creating a porous structure so as to obtain moderately low values for the dielectric constant. Thus, the dielectric material 121 may exhibit a reduced mechanical stability and may also be sensitive to a plurality of etch chemistries which may be frequently applied during the further processing of the device. For this reason, typically, a cap layer 122 may be provided in an attempt to enhance the overall resistivity of the dielectric material 121 with respect to the further processing. For example, the cap layer 122 may be comprised of any appropriate material, for instance silicon dioxide, and the like, or the cap layer 122 may represent a surface portion of the dielectric material 121 having received an appropriate treatment, such as an oxidation process and the like. Furthermore, in the manufacturing stage shown, an etch mask 130 may be formed above the cap layer 122 and may be comprised of one or more resist materials, possibly in combination with other organic materials or other anti-reflective coating (ARC) materials, according to well-established techniques, so as to enable a lithographic patterning of the etch mask 130.
Typically, the device 100 as shown in FIG. 1a may be formed on the basis of well-established process techniques. For example, the circuit elements (not shown) may be formed by using sophisticated process techniques in conformity with design rules in order to obtain feature sizes as required. After forming an appropriate contact structure (not shown), that is, an interlayer dielectric material having a planarized surface topography for enclosing and passivating the circuit elements, including appropriate conductive elements connecting to contact areas of the circuit elements, the one or more metallization layers 110, 120 may be formed. For this purpose, the dielectric material 111 may be deposited and subsequently be patterned to receive vias and/or trenches, followed by the deposition of the barrier material 112A, which may be accomplished by sputter deposition, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and the like. It should be appreciated that the metallization layer 110 may be formed by similar process techniques, as will be described with reference to the metallization layer 120, depending on the overall process and device requirements. Thereafter, the metal, such as copper, may be filled in, for instance, by electroplating, wherein, prior to the electrochemical deposition process, a conductive seed layer, such as copper and the like, may be formed by appropriate deposition techniques, such as sputter deposition, electroless plating and the like. After filling in the copper material, any excess material thereof may be removed, for instance by electrochemical etching, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) and the like. Next, the etch stop layer 113 may be formed by depositing one or more appropriate materials, on the basis of well-established CVD techniques. Next, the dielectric material 121 may be formed by any appropriate deposition technique, such as CVD, spin-on processes and the like. Thereafter, the cap layer 122 may be formed, for instance, by oxidizing a surface portion of the dielectric material 121, if the material 121 has an appropriate material composition, or by depositing an appropriate thin material layer so as to not unduly affect the overall permittivity of the dielectric material 121. Finally, the etch mask 130 may be formed by depositing a resist material, possibly in combination with appropriate ARC materials and the like and performing a lithography process to form an opening 130A that substantially corresponds to a via opening to be formed in the dielectric material 121. Based on the etch mask 130, an etch process 131 is performed for etching through the material 121, wherein the corresponding etch process is stopped on and in the etch stop layer 113. Subsequently, the etch mask 130 is removed, for instance by resist stripping processes including oxygen plasma based recipes, possibly in combination with reactive components such as fluorine, which may be present in the etch chamber due to the previously performed etch steps, which may result in a more or less pronounced material removal of the cap layer 122 and possibly of the sensitive dielectric material 121.
FIG. 1b schematically illustrates the semiconductor device 100 after the above-described process sequence. Hence, the cap layer 122 and possibly a surface area of the dielectric material 121 may exhibit a certain degree of etch damage 122A caused by the previous etch processes for removing the etch mask 130.
FIG. 1c schematically illustrates the semiconductor device 100 in a further advanced manufacturing stage, in which a planarization material 132, for instance in the form of an organic material, may be formed in the via opening 121A and above the dielectric material 121 and the cap layer 122. As previously explained, the planarization material 132 may provide a substantially planarized surface topography and may also act as an ARC material during the lithography process for patterning a further etch mask 133, which may be provided in the form of a resist material and the like. The planarization layer 132 may be formed by depositing an appropriate material in a low viscous state by spin-on techniques and subsequently hardening the material 132. Thereafter, an appropriate resist material may be deposited and may be patterned to form a trench opening 133A, which may be used as an etch mask during an etch process 134. During the etch process 134, the planarization layer 132 may be patterned first and subsequently the material of the layer 121 may be removed so as to form a trench therein. Thereafter, the mask 133 and the planarization material 132 may be removed, for instance, by well-established plasma strip recipes, during which, however, the dielectric material 121 and cap layer 122 may be exposed to the corresponding reactive ambient.
FIG. 1d schematically illustrates the semiconductor device 100 after the above-described process sequence, wherein a trench 121T may be formed in an upper portion of the dielectric material 121, which, however, may comprise significant damage at a surface 122B thereof, due to the preceding plasma-based processes for removing the etch mask 133 and the planarization layer 132. Consequently, in particular in highly scaled semiconductor devices, significant surface irregularities may be created in the dielectric materials of respective metallization layers, thereby providing non-uniform process conditions during the further processing of the devices, for instance in view of subsequent deposition techniques for forming a barrier material and a highly conductive metal in combination with subsequent planarization processes, wherein the highly irregular surface conditions of the dielectric material 121 may also have a negative impact on the finally obtained device characteristics.
The present disclosure is directed to various methods that may avoid, or at least reduce, the effects of one or more of the problems identified above.

Method for patterning a metallization layer by reducing resist strip induced damage of the dielectric material


A light emitting device includes a first patterned electrode 12 and a second patterned electrode 13 both of which are formed on a wiring board 11, an LED chip 19 mounted on the second patterned electrode 13, a metal wire 20 electrically connecting the LED chip 19 and the first patterned electrode 12 to each other, and a lens member 21 made of a transparent synthetic resin for packaging the LED chip 19 and the metal wire 20. The first patterned electrode 12 is circular and formed with a cutout 14 at the center thereof. The second patterned electrode 13 is arranged in the cutout 14. With this arrangement, the lens member 21 can be formed into a predetermined configuration, while the reflection of light by the patterned electrodes can be ensured.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting device including an LED chip mounted on e.g. a printed wiring board and packaged in a lens member made of a synthetic resin, while also relating to a method of making such a device.
2. Description of the Related Arts
A typical light emitting device of the above-described type includes a pair of first patterned electrode and second patterned electrode formed on an upper surface of a wiring board. On the upper surface of the second patterned electrode is mounted an LED chip, which is electrically connected to the first patterned electrode by wire bonding using a thin metal wire. A lens member made of a transparent synthetic resin is formed on the upper surface of the wiring board at the portion where the LED chip is mounted to package the LED chip and the metal wire.
FIGS. 10 and 11 show a structure disclosed in JP-A 4-28269 as a prior art device. Specifically, a second patterned electrode 2 of a metal film is formed into a circular configuration on the upper surface of a wiring board 1, and an LED chip is mounted at the center of the circle. The circular second patterned electrode 2 is formed with a cutout 4 extending radially inward from the circumference of the circle toward the LED chip 3. A first patterned electrode 5 of a metal film is formed on the upper surface of the wiring board 1 to extend radially outward from a portion within the cutout 4. The inner end of the first patterned electrode 5 is electrically connected to the LED chip 3 by wire bonding using a thin metal wire 6. On the upper surface of the second patterned electrode 2 is provided a lens member 7 formed by dropping an appropriate amount of transparent synthetic resin in a liquid state onto the second patterned electrode for bulging the resin into a hemispherical configuration and then hardening the resin.
In the prior art structure, since the lens member 7 is provided on the second patterned electrode 2 in the form of a circular metal film, the circular second patterned electrode 2 serves as a reflection film of the light emitted from the LED chip 3, whereby the brightness of the emitted light is enhanced.
However, the following problem is caused by the provision of the cutout 4 extending from the circumference of the second patterned electrode 2 toward the LED chip 3 and the provision of the first patterned electrode 5 of the metal film in the cutout 4 to extend radially outward.
When the transparent synthetic resin for forming the lens member 7 is dropped, in a liquid state, onto the upper surface of the circular second patterned electrode 2, the transparent synthetic resin spreads radially outward over the circular second patterned electrode 2 to reach the outer circumference of the second patterned electrode 2 and bulges into a generally hemispherical configuration on the second patterned electrode due to the surface tension. In this state, the synthetic resin is hardened to become the lens member 7.
However, since the outer circumference of the second patterned electrode 2 is interrupted at the portion formed with the cutout 4, and the first patterned electrode 5 is provided at the cutout 4 to project outward, part of the transparent synthetic resin dropped in a liquid state onto the second patterned electrode 2 spreads through the cutout 4, i.e. along the upper surface of the first patterned electrode 5 to project outward from the outer circumference of the second patterned electrode 2.
As a result, the lens member 7 after the hardening does not become a round circle corresponding to the configuration of the second patterned electrode 2 as viewed in plan but becomes an irregular shape partially projecting outward at the portion where the first patterned electrode 5 is provided. Further, the configuration cannot be made generally uniform with respect to a plurality of lens members 7, and the variation of the configuration of the lens members is large.
Conventionally, to solve the above problem, a dam ring 8 surrounding the LED chip 3 and the metal wire 6 is provided on the upper surface of the circular second patterned electrode 2, as shown in FIG. 12. By dropping the transparent synthetic resin in a liquid state into the dam ring 8, the lens member 7 having a predetermined configuration can be formed, and the variation of the lens configuration can be reduced.
However, the provision of the dam ring 8 on the circular second patterned electrode 2 increases the manufacturing cost, which may result in the price increase. Further, the dam ring 8 blocks the light emitted from the LED chip 3 to reduce the amount of light.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a light emitting device capable of solving the above-described problems and to provide a method of making such a device.

Plural leds mounted within a central cutout of a surrounding circular reflective electrode


Techniques for determining scale factor values when encoding audio data are described. According to one technique, a particular scale factor value (SFV) is estimated using an audio quality estimator function that is non-linear. After a certain point, a decrease in noise results in a smaller increase in audio quality. According to another technique, an initial SFV is estimated for each scale factor band (SFB). When estimating the cost of transitioning from one SFB to another, only a proper subset of possible SFVs are considered. The proper subset is based, at least in part, on the initial SFV.

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it is not to be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art, merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Audio coding, or audio compression, algorithms are used to obtain compact digital representations of high-fidelity (i.e., wideband) audio signals for the purpose of efficient transmission and/or storage. A central objective in audio coding is to represent the signal with a minimum number of bits while achieving transparent signal reproduction, i.e., while generating output audio which cannot be humanly distinguished from the original input, even by a sensitive listener.
Advanced Audio Coding ("AAC") is a wideband audio coding algorithm that exploits two primary coding strategies to dramatically reduce the amount of data needed to convey high-quality digital audio. Signal components that are "perceptually irrelevant" and can be discarded without a perceived loss of audio quality are removed. Further, redundancies in the coded audio signal are eliminated. Hence, efficient audio compression is achieved by a variety of perceptual audio coding and data compression tools, which are combined in the MPEG-4 AAC specification. The MPEG-4 AAC standard incorporates MPEG-2 AAC, forming the basis of the MPEG-4 audio compression technology for data rates above 32 kbps per channel. Additional tools increase the effectiveness of AAC at lower bit rates, and add scalability or error resilience characteristics. These additional tools extend AAC into its MPEG-4 incarnation (ISO/IEC 14496-3, Subpart 4).
AAC is referred to as a perceptual audio coder, or lossy coder, because it is based on a listener perceptual model, i.e., what a listener can actually hear, or perceive. A common problem in perceptual audio coding is bitrate control. According to the concept of Perceptual Entropy, the information content of an audio signal varies dependent on the signal properties. Thus, the required bitrate to encode this information generally varies over time. For some applications bitrate variations are not an issue. However, for many applications a firm control of the instantaneous and/or average bitrate is desired.
The three basic bitrate modes for audio coding are CBR (constant bitrate), ABR (average bitrate) and VBR (variable bitrate). CBR is important to bitrate-critical applications, such as audio streaming. Unlike CBR, in which bitrates are strictly constant at each instance, ABR allows a variation of bitrates for each instance while maintaining a certain average bitrate for the entire track, thereby resulting in a reasonably predictable size to the finished files. As the name indicates, VBR allows the bitrate to vary significantly; however, the sound quality is consistent.
A CBR codec is constant in bitrate along an audio time signal, but is typically variable in sound quality. For example, for stereo encoding at a bitrate of 96 kb/s, an encoded speech track, which is "easy" to encode due to its relatively narrow frequency bandwidth, sounds indistinguishable from the original source of the track. However, noticeable artifacts could be heard in similarly encoded complex classical music, which is "difficult" to encode due to a typically broad frequency bandwidth and, therefore, more data to encode.
Simultaneous Masking is a frequency domain phenomenon where a low level signal, e.g., a narrow-band noise (the maskee) can be made inaudible by a simultaneously occurring stronger signal (the masker). A masked threshold can be measured below which any signal will not be audible. The masked threshold depends on the sound pressure level (SPL) and the frequency of the masker, and on the characteristics of the masker and maskee. If the source signal consists of many simultaneous maskers, a global masked threshold can be computed that describes the threshold of just noticeable distortions as a function of frequency. The most common way of calculating the global masked threshold is based on the high resolution short term energy spectrum of the audio or speech signal.
Coding audio based on a psychoacoustic model encodes audio signals above a masked threshold block by block. Therefore, if distortion (typically referred to as quantization noise), which is inherent to an amplitude quantization process, is under the masked threshold, a typical human cannot hear the noise. A sound quality target is based on a subjective perceptual quality scale (e.g., from 0-5, with 5 being best quality). From an audio quality target on this perceptual quality scale, a noise profile, i.e., an offset from the applicable masked threshold, is determinable. This noise profile represents the level at which quantization noise can be masked, while achieving the desired quality target. From the noise profile, appropriate quantization step sizes are determinable. The quantization step sizes are a significant determining factor of the coding bitrate.
The more bits allocated for encoding a block of audio, the less noise may be generated during the quantization process. However current techniques for estimating how many bits to allocate are inefficient. For example, current techniques estimate audio quality based on an erroneous assumption of the noise-to-audio quality relationship. As another example, current techniques take into account all possible scale factor values at each scale factor band, which requires a significant number of calculations.
Based on the foregoing, there is room for improvement in estimating scale factor values when encoding audio data.

Determining scale factor values in encoding audio data with AAC


Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an apparatus including a memory array including a plurality of sub-arrays. A plurality of temporary storage units (TSUs) is coupled to the plurality of sub-arrays. Each TSU indicates whether the respective sub-array is undergoing one of a read operation and a write operation. A control circuit is coupled to each of the plurality of sub-arrays through a data bus. The control circuit transmits a read pulse or a write pulse as a first pulse with a delay in response to the sub-array undergoing the read operation or the write operation and transmits, instantaneously, the first pulse to one of the plurality of sub-arrays in response to the sub-array not undergoing the read operation or the write operation.

Memory circuits, such as random-access memory (RAM), are important to the operation of integrated circuits (ICs). Memory circuits include a collection of electrically operated bit cells that can be read and/or written in any order and can electrically store working data or machine code for a device. Some types of RAM (e.g., static RAM) in particular are a "volatile" form of memory, in that power is required to maintain the stored information. Non-volatile memory, such as magnetic RAM, continues to hold data even when there is no power to the device. Despite the advantage of not needing continuous power to store data, non-volatile memory typically features slower and possibly different writing and reading times required for each pulse as compared to volatile memory. This limits the ability to use non-volatile memory solutions in certain contexts.

Apparatus and method for controlled transmitting of read pulse and write pulse in memory


A syringe assembly for the delivery of medications or other liquid contents including an elongated hollow body at least partially formed by transparent material and including an indicia assembly for indicating volume measurement of and/or the existence of a void within the contained liquid. The indicia assembly includes a first indicia section and a second indicia section extending along a common wall portion, wherein a segregating section is disposed between the first and second indicia section and is structured to visually segregate the visual markings of the first and second indicia sections while being sufficiently contrasted in appearance to facilitate the independent viewing thereof. The first and second indicia sections are disposed and structured to be independently viewed along different lines of sight. One or more indicators may also be disposed on the syringe body to facilitate the determination of voids with the body interior.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a syringe structure including an assembly of indicia extending along a common wall portion of the syringe barrel and including a first indicia section and a second indicia section. A segregating section enables a contrast in the appearance of the indicia sections, thereby facilitating a viewing of the first indicia section and common wall portion through the interior of the syringe barrel and a viewing of the second indicia section from an exterior of the syringe barrel, along a line of sight directed towards an exterior surface of the common wall portion.
2. Description of the Related Art
A syringe, as commonly used in the medical profession, typically includes an elongated, hollow interior body or barrel having one end structured to receive a needle or alternatively include a converging luer, nozzle or like structure. The opposite end of the barrel is adapted to movably receive a plunger structure on the interior thereof. Moreover, the plunger structure includes a head portion movably disposed in fluid sealing engagement with interior surfaces of the barrel. The plunger also includes an elongated rod wherein the outer or free end thereof is structured to facilitate manipulation by a user's hand and/or fingers. As a result of the interaction between the plunger structure and the syringe barrel, a liquid medication or other fluid material may be drawn into the interior of the barrel and forced outwardly therefrom for delivery to a patient, IV container, etc.
As should be apparent, a determination of the measurement of the volume or quantity of the liquid contents within the barrel is frequently critical. Such an accurate determination is specifically, but not exclusively, required when a medication is being delivered to a patient. Moreover, there are situations where self medication is a common occurrence, such as in the case of an individual suffering from diabetes, wherein blurred or diminished vision is a recognized symptom. In cases such as these the accurate determination of the quantity of medication contained within the syringe may be critical. In order to overcome problems associated with accurate volume measurement of the contents of a syringe barrel, common structural features of syringe structures have included the provision of indicia disposed on the barrel in a manner and location which hopefully facilitates its reading and/or visual observation.
Accordingly in order to facilitate ease of reading the included volume measuring indicia, various structures and/or techniques have been applied to the manufacture of medical syringes which establish a sufficient visual contrast between the indicia and the structure of the barrel and/or the stopper or head of the plunger assembly. By virtue of such contrast, accurate determination of volume measurement of the contained fluid within the barrel is more reliable and efficiently accomplished. In addition, conventional syringes of the type set forth hereinafter have included various structures to improve a reliable reading, through visual determination, of the volume measuring indicia. In most instances, the material from which the syringe barrel is formed is transparent and the indicia formed on some portion of the barrel typically includes a contrasting color or other appearance which attempts to render visual observation of the indicia more efficient and effective.
In addition, more recent structuring of syringe assemblies have included the formation of various portions of the plunger specifically including, but not limited to, the plunger head or stopper being formed of a black or darkly colored plastic or like material. In contrast, the arm or shaft of the plunger may be typically formed of a white material, wherein the white color of the plunger arm enhances the visual contrast between this portion of the plunger and the normally darker color of the indicia. However, due to the fact that the volume measurement of the contents of the barrel is frequently, if not exclusively, determined by an aligned orientation of the distal extremity of the plunger head with the indicia, the black or darker color of the plunger head, such as when it is aligned with the darkened indicia, makes it difficult to accurately read the aligned indicia.
Even in light of the various attempted advances in conventional syringe design and manufacture, there still remains a need for improvements specifically, but not exclusively, directed to the structuring of an improved syringe assembly. Proposed improvements should include various operative and/or structural features which facilitate the filling, dispensing and determining of accurate quantities liquid medication and/or other fluid. Such a proposed and improved syringe assembly should therefore include an indicia assembly which accomplishes a reliable and efficient determination of volume measurement. Moreover, such efficient determination should include situations which allow a user of the syringe assembly to view the indicia from each of a plurality of different viewing vantage points. More specifically an improved and proposed syringe assembly and included indicia assembly should facilitate accurate reading of the indicia from at least two different locations of the individual. Moreover, the two different locations may include a viewing along a line of sight passing through the interior of the syringe barrel and the liquid contents contained therein. Alternately, the two different locations may include viewing from an exterior of the syringe barrel, along a line of sight directed towards an exterior surface of the improved syringe barrel. Due to the structuring of the improved indicia assembly, such different viewing locations may allow for an exclusive reading of a predetermined portion of the indicia assembly, wherein different portions of the improved indicia assembly can not be viewed from both of the two different locations.
In addition, the proposed and improved indicia assembly will significantly increase the visual contrast of the indicia assembly and the syringe barrel and/or the plunger structure, thereby enabling a significant savings in cost of material while maintaining a reliable accuracy in determining volume measurement. More specifically, the enhanced contrast of the indicia assembly relative to a remainder of the syringe assembly enables the plunger structure to be formed from other recycled plastic material since the necessity of maintaining the aforementioned bright or white coloring of the plunger structure is no longer a requirement. Therefore, recycled plastic material can be used to form the plunger structure which may result in a plunger structure having a less than totally white appearance, such as a substantially gray-colored appearance. As a result, the plunger structure will not have to be formed from a uniquely preferred plastic material, but rather can be formed from a recycled plastic material resulting in significant savings in material costs.

Syringe assembly including volume indicating indicia


The present invention relates to a temperature sensing device with a first temperature sensor mounted to a housing at a first location proximate a first surface of the housing. The first temperature sensor senses a first temperature while a second temperature sensor senses a second temperature. A processor circuit is coupled to the first and second temperature sensors and a mounting device is coupled to either the housing or the processor circuit. The mounting device mounts the second temperature sensor at a second location proximate a second surface of the housing which is spaced apart from the first surface. The processor circuit is configured to estimate a third temperature based on the first and second temperatures and a distance between the first and second locations which is an estimate of a temperature at a third location.

The present description relates generally to temperature sensing devices such as thermostats, etc. More specifically, the present description relates to mounting devices for sensors in temperature sensing devices.
Climate control systems, such as heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, typically include one or more thermostats to monitor, for example, an ambient air temperature within a particular room or space within a building to provide feedback as to whether the air temperature of the room needs to be adjusted to satisfy a predetermined set point. The thermostat is typically configured such that a temperature sensor is housed within an enclosure to sense the temperature of the air passing over, through, or in contact with the enclosure. The climate control system may then compare this air temperature to the predetermined set point to determine if the air temperature of the room needs to be adjusted to satisfy the predetermined setpoint. Typically, the temperature sensor is interconnected with a processor circuit to accomplish this function. The temperature sensor can be either indirectly coupled or directly secured to the processor circuit which includes a plurality of interconnecting members (or conductive wires). The processor circuit is coupled to the housing and is enclosed therein.
For convenience, the thermostat may be mounted to a wall or other structure within a space or room. However, when the thermostat is mounted to the surface of an outside wall or another location where the wall surface is significantly warmer or colder than the air temperature of the space or room, there may be substantial differences between the air temperature measured by the thermostat and the actual ambient air temperature of the space or room. Further, air flow through the thermostat may be minimal due to a low profile enclosure designed such that the thermostat is minimally noticeable and does not project undesirably from the wall or other mounting location. Under these conditions, the climate control system may perform inefficiently because the temperature measured by the thermostat may not be the ambient air temperature of the room, but rather a temperature somewhere between the air temperature of the room and the wall surface temperature. Previous attempts to solve this problem include affixing the sensor against a surface of the temperature sensing device housing opposite the mounting structure with an adhesive. This surface is generally planar or flat. In this arrangement extension of the sensor into the room or space is, however, limited by the dimensions of the housing which—in order to provide a low profile appearance—typically affords minimal area. Thus there is need for a device for mounting a sensor within a temperature sensing device so that the temperature sensing device may compensate for mounting surface temperature effects.


The invention relates to removable, essentially cylindrical implants which are characterized in that they can be reduced in diameter and are wrapped once or several times at one or more levels by one or more elastic, thin wire-shaped structure(s) (2a, 2b) which include(s) a catch device (3a, 3b) at least on one end thereof.

The invention relates to removable, essentially cylindrical implants.
Occasionally, for various reasons, such implants, i.e. predominantly so-called stents, must be removed from the body after the surgical procedure. In many cases, this causes problems as newly formed tissue grows to and—depending on the structure—also through the implants so that the removal may cause complications.

Removable essentially cylindrical implants


A system and method for generating and/or managing virtual network(s) is provided. The system provides an interface for end-user(s) to create a virtual network (e.g., on-demand). The virtual network comprises a plurality of servers that allow the user to, for example, develop and/or test software, migrate applications, apply tasks and/or troubleshoot scenarios in a simulated, distributed environment.

Software application development and testing can be a time-intensive process. A simulated environment for developing, testing, troubleshooting etc. software application(s) can be helpful in the development process. However, the configuration of appropriate hardware and/or software on dedicated physical computer(s) can be prohibitively expensive and/or time consuming.
Many software development companies provide dedicated test computers and laboratories for employees to build simulated environments internally. These environments are typically similar to the physical run-time environments, but are not run in a production state (e.g., inaccessible by end-users of the software).
User(s) desiring, for example, to develop and/or test software application(s) generally must install and configure the appropriate hardware and software requirements on dedicated physical computers. This task typically requires significant time and resources, depending on the requirements. To simplify the complexities in configuring simulated test environments, many organizations delegate such configuration tasks to Information Technology (IT) Administrators or other personnel who are skilled in the art of configuring network hardware.
These Administrators perform the installation and configuration of the test environment so that employees and users are removed from this process. The employees and users meet with Administrators in the initial setup stage to define the appropriate configuration requirements. The Administrators then build the configuration so that the users have a simulated environment to test and troubleshoot against.
As the demand and value of creating simulated environments increases, software companies have developed sophisticated tools and products that allow virtual networks (e.g., multiple virtual machines) to run on a single physical server. These products significantly reduce the resources needed to support simulated environments, but require additional time and in-depth knowledge of how to use these products.

System and method for generating virtual networks

Abstract: A user can communicate with the system via an interface (e.g., web-based) to create and/or manage the virtual network. Additionally, the system can employ a common infrastructure to facilitate creation and/or management of a variety of virtual deployment configurations. The common infrastructure can be designed, for example, by administrator(s) having knowledge of hardware and/or software available for employment within the virtual network.

Abstract: The system can further provide a load-balancing mechanism to determine and/or distribute workload to computer(s) with available resource(s). Additionally, the system can expire virtual session(s) that are no longer in use thereby releasing resources for other user(s) and/or session(s).


A vehicle network intrusion detection device, a system including the same, and a method thereof are provided. The vehicle network intrusion detection device includes a processor that records a receive timestamp of a controller area network (CAN) message for each CAN ID, calculates a residual, which is a difference between a real receive timestamp and an average receive timestamp of the CAN message, using the recorded receive timestamp, and determines whether there is a vehicle network intrusion based on the residual and a storage storing at least one of the CAN message receive timestamp, the residual, or the result of detecting the intrusion.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Today, there has been a huge increase in the proportion of an electronic control unit (ECU) loaded into the vehicle, and it has been possible to access a network over a wireless network in the vehicle.
As such, as the vehicle is connected to wireless communication and a surrounding network environment, a vehicle attack which has an influence on the ECU is possible over a network from the outside. Vehicle malfunction due to an external attack causes the vehicle and passengers to have fatal consequences.
However, vehicles which are currently mass-produced take little account of protection means for it and do not have sufficient protection means. Research and development of an intrusion detection system for vehicle protection is still in its beginning stages. Technologies for several intrusion detection systems are proposed, but, because their algorithms are complex and because there is a huge amount of computation therein, it is unable to still apply and use the proposed technologies to the vehicle because it is unable to implement the proposed technologies in a vehicle system.

Vehicle network intrusion detection device, system including the same, and method thereof

KOREA UNIVERSITY RESEARCH AND BUSINESS FOUNDATION


There is provided an alkaline cleaning of aluminum alloy, in which the attained corrosion resistance is equal or superior to the acidic cleaning agent, and which mitigates the disadvantages of the acidic cleaning agent, such as corrosion of plant, processing of the waste liquid, and energy cost, and which attains improved productivity.

Generally, aluminum and aluminum alloys are formed into a desired shape for application by means of rolling, pressing and the like. For example, a container of aluminum or aluminum alloy (hereinafter referred to as "aluminum container") is usually formed into a can by means of drawing, which is referred to as drawing and ironing. The forming lubricant adheres on the surface of the aluminum cans shaped by the forming method mentioned above. Additionally, such contaminants as fine powder generated during the forming and the like adhere on the surface. These contaminant materials are inconvenient for the subsequent surface treatments and paint coating and hence are removed by various cleaning. It is known that superiority or inferiority of the cleaning property exerts significant influence upon the surface treatments and quality of the paint coating.
The cleaning liquid, which is commercially used at present to clean the aluminum container, is a sulfuric-acid aqueous solution, which contains hydrofluoric acid and one or more surfactants, or an aqueous solution, which contains phosphoric acid, nitric acid, ferric iron and sulfuric acid, as well as one or more surfactants. These acidic cleaning liquids are very effective and have a number of advantageous features.
However, the equipment of the cleaning line of aluminum formed articles usually made of stainless steel and other steels is disadvantageously corroded by these acidic cleaning liquids. Manpower and high cost are, therefore, necessary for the maintenance of the cleaning line. In addition, the waste liquid containing hydrofluoric acid and aluminum fluoride raises environmental problems in the treatment of waste liquid containing fluorine. Furthermore, the cleaning liquid, which contains trivalent iron necessitates treatment at high temperature exceeding 70° C. and raises energy problem.
Heretofore, several alkaline cleaning liquids for the aluminum container have been proposed to solve the problems described hereinabove. In Patent Documents 1 through 5, particular compositions of the alkaline cleaning liquid have been proposed, but the industrial property is unsatisfactory. It has also been proposed to pickle after alkaline cleaning or to alkaline clean with the proviso that a neutralizing process using acidic liquid is carried out. In every case, mass production technique in industry scale is not at all established. This is because, although the pickling process introduced subsequent to the alkaline cleaning dissolves a thickly grown oxide film in the alkaline cleaning and is effective and necessary for preventing discoloration and improving the paint adherence, the existing plant and the like imposes a limitation on the use of pickling.
The alkaline cleaning liquid proposed in Patent Document 5 has a particular composition consisting of one or more alkaline builders, at least one compound selected from aminoalkyl diphosphonic acid and hydroxyalkyl diphosphonic acid, and at least one aluminum-ion blocking agent selected from alkali metal salt of gluconic acid, alkali metal salt of oxalic acid, alkali metal salt of tartaric acid, or sorbitol, and surfactant. The technique proposed is to suppress growth of oxide film on the surface of an aluminum container to be cleaned or to suppress the segregation of Mg. The pickling process is not necessary.
However, this technique does not intend to apply to industrial continuous production. Incidentally, no appropriate method of controlling alkaline cleaning liquid capable of practical application has been provided. Therefore, the level of technique at the time of 1993 roughly targeted the use the alkalinity and surface tension (Non Patent Document 1).
However, it was discovered that the alkaline cleaning liquid disclosed in Patent Document 5 is strongly influenced by the particular metal-ion component incorporated in the liquid. It was discovered that the behavior and condition of the particular metal-ion components during the industrial continuous production are as follows. Specifically, the particular metal-ion components are already present in the water used for the cleaning liquid or dissolve from the aluminum alloy. The amount of particular metal-ion components varies. Variation in the amount of the particular metal-ion components is the reason why etching-stability and uniformity cannot be continuously maintained. Particularly, local corrosion of the aluminum container is liable to occur in the cleaning (hereinafter referred to as "pitting corrosion"). This is a serious drawback that may cause the can's flange to crack.
In addition, in the production line, the alkaline cleaning liquid may be discarded or replenished at the time of plant maintenance and the like. After discarding, alkaline cleaning liquid is prepared fresh and the continuous production is started. Along with treatment of aluminum alloy, a constant portion of the alkaline cleaning liquid is discarded, and fresh cleaning liquid, which compensates for the discarded amount, is added in the continuous production. During the alkaline cleaning, the particular metal-ion components, which dissolve along with treatment of aluminum alloy, continuously increase and then reaches in the saturation state in a certain period. The period, in which the concentration of particular metal-ion components arrives at saturation state in the alkaline cleaning liquid, is determined by the size of a vessel for storing the alkaline cleaning liquid is, and the discarding and replenishing amounts mentioned above. In most of the lines, approximately 10 hours is necessary to reach the saturation state. There is a possibility that the concentration of particular alloy-components varies during 10 hours mentioned above, so that the constant property is not attained. Several of the treated aluminum containers may not be commercially accepted. The aluminum containers produced in such period may be 500,000 or more, which is a very disadvantageous production result.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (kokai) Sho 59-133382
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent No. 2587916
Patent Document 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (kokai) Sho 62-247090
Patent Document 4: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (kokai) Sho 62-182291
Patent Document 5: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (kokai) Hei4-187788
Non-patent Document 1: NP Series "Surface Cleaning Techniques" published by Maki Shoten on Nov. 10, 1993 (first edition) and Oct. 10, 1998 (first edition and second print), page 91

Alkaline cleaning liquid comprising metallic ions for aluminum or aluminum alloys and method of cleaning

Abstract: The cleaning liquid from 0.5 to 40 g/L in total of one or more alkali builders selected from alkali metal hydroxide, alkali metal carbonate, inorganic alkali metal phosphate and alkali metal silicate, from 0.2 to 10 g/L of one or more of organic phosphonic acid and its salt (A), from 0.001 to 2 g/L of one or more metallic ions (B) selected from metallic ions having from 5.0 to 14.0 of stability constant with the organic phosphonic acid and its salt, and from 0.1 to 10 g/L of surfactant. Particularly, the weight ratio of (A):(B) is in a range of from 100:0.05˜20.