A method and apparatus for assigning a temporary label to each connected area in an image by scanning the image by using a window which has a size of two pixels in the vertical direction and of a plurality of pixels in the horizontal direction. A set of values of pixels contained in the above window is obtained and one of predetermined temporary label assignment rules corresponding to the obtained set of pixel values is selected. A temporary label is assigned to each pixel contained in the window, based on the above one of the temporary label assignment rules determined as above, and on temporary labels of pixels in the second group in the window at the above each location. In addition, the temporary labels are converted to true labels, by scanning the image pixel within the at least one circumscribing area only, where each circumscribing area is predetermined so that the at least one circumscribing area contains all pixels which do not belong to a background area in the image.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for assigning a temporary label to each connected area in an image. The present invention also relates to a method and apparatus for converting a temporary label assigned to each connected area in an image, to a true label so that one true label is assigned to each connected area, and different true labels are assigned to connected areas which are not connected to each other. Generally, any area in an image is constituted by at least one pixel, and the processing must be performed on pixels when the image is processed by a computer. When the above assignment of a label to each connected area is performed by a computer, the operation of assigning the label to each connected area is actually the assignment of the label to each of the at least one pixel in each connected area. Conventionally, the assignment of the label to each pixel in an image is performed pixel by pixel in the manner of a raster scan. Namely, throughout this specification, it is assumed that scanning is performed row by row and in a predetermined direction in each row.
Generally, an image may contain one or more connected areas each of which is constituted by a group of pixels which are in contact with each other (in any of the vertical, horizontal, and diagonal directions) and having a value or values different from the value of the pixels in the background area. Note that, through the specification, the expression, "a pixel value" or "a value of pixel" means a value indicating brightness of the pixel, or a set of values indicating brightness of three primary colors.
An example of an image is shown in FIG. 1. When processing such an image, it is often required to assign a label to each of the above connected areas as indicated in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, labels A1, A2, and A3 are assigned to the connected areas, respectively. Throughout this specification, pixels in an image which do not belong to the background are treated in the same way regardless of the values of the respective pixels as long as the pixel values are different from the pixel value of the background, since the inventors' interest is directed only to the assignment of a label to each connected area. Namely, when the image to be processed is a multi-valued image such as a color image or an image with gradation, the pixels in the respective connected areas may have various values other than the pixel value of the background, the label assignment within the scope of the present invention can be carried out regardless of the pixel values within the respective connected areas as long as the pixel values are different from the pixel value of the background. Therefore, in this specification, all the explanations basically concern binary images in which it is assumed that the pixel value in the background is "0", and the pixel values in the respective connected areas are "1". In the embodiments of the present invention, the pixel values in the respective connected areas may be various values other than the pixel value of the background. However, the techniques for a binary image described in the specification can be applied to any multi-valued image for the above-explained reason.
(2) Description of the Related Art
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example binary pixel image containing a white background area and two connected areas each of which is constituted by a group of pixels (where each pixel in the respective connected areas is indicated by a black square in FIG. 2). In the raster-scan type labelling, the label assignment is carried out in two steps. First, a temporary label is assigned to the respective pixels in the image by raster-scanning the image by use of a window (or mask), and then the temporary labels are converted to true labels by raster-scanning the image again, where the true label assignment is performed so that only one true label is assigned to each connected area and different true labels are assigned to connected areas which are not connected to each other. Conventionally, the window (or mask) as indicated in FIG. 3 is used in the temporary label assignment. As indicated in FIG. 3, the conventional window contains only one pixel of interest (the pixel to which a temporary label is to be newly assigned when the window is located at each position during the raster scanning), and the window (or mask) as indicated in FIG. 3 is moved one pixel by one pixel along the paths of the raster scan so that the respective pixels in the image are scanned as the pixel of interest in the window. Namely, the raster scan is carried out concerning the pixels of interest one pixel by one pixel.
In the above operation of temporary label assignment, when the pixel of interest is determined to be connected to (in contact with) another pixel to which the temporary label has already been assigned, the same temporary label is assigned to the pixel of interest. When the pixel of interest is determined not to be connected to (in contact with) a pixel to which the temporary label has already been assigned, a new temporary label is assigned to the pixel of interest. Thus, a temporarily-labelled image, as indicated in FIG. 4, is obtained.
In addition, during the operation of temporary label assignment, connection relationships between groups of pixels (areas constituted by pixels) to which groups (areas) respectively different temporary labels are assigned, are determined as indicated in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 indicates that a temporarily-labelled area in which the temporary label "1" is assigned to respective pixels in the area, is connected to a temporarily-labelled area in which the temporary label "2" is assigned to respective pixels in the area, to a temporarily-labelled area in which the temporary label "3" is assigned to respective pixels in the area, and to a temporarily-labelled area in which the temporary label "6" is assigned to respective pixels in the area.
The connection relationship is stored in the form of a label connection table (or connection relationship table), for example, as indicated in FIG. 6. In the table of FIG. 6, one entry is provided for each temporary label, and numbers, "0", "1", "2", . . . are used as the temporary labels. In the table of FIG. 6, the number "0" is assigned as the temporary label to respective pixels in the background area. When a temporarily-labelled area in which a temporary label is assigned to respective pixels in the area, is not connected to any other temporarily-labelled area in which a first temporary label with a smaller number is assigned, "0" is written in the entry for the temporary label. When a temporarily-labelled area, in which a number is assigned as the temporary label to respective pixels in the area, is connected to any other temporarily-labelled area in which a second temporary label with a smaller number is assigned, the smaller number is written in the entry for the above first temporary label "0". Thus, the table of FIG. 6 indicates that: the temporarily-labelled area in which the number "1" is assigned as the temporary label to respective pixels in the area, is not connected to any other temporarily-labelled area in which a number smaller than the number "1" is assigned as the temporary label to pixels in the area; that the temporarily-labelled area in which the number "2" as the temporary label is assigned to respective pixels in the area, is connected to the temporarily-labelled area in which the number "1" as the temporary label is assigned to respective pixels in the area; that the temporarily-labelled area in which the number "3" as the temporary label is assigned to respective pixels in the area, is connected to the temporarily-labelled area in which the number "1" as the temporary label is assigned to respective pixels in the area; that the temporarily-labelled area in which the number "4" as the temporary label is assigned to respective pixels in the area, is not connected to any other temporarily-labelled area in which a temporary label smaller than the number "4" is assigned to respective pixels in the area; that the temporarily-labelled area in which the number "5" as the temporary label is assigned to respective pixels in the area, is connected to the temporarily-labelled area in which the number "4" as the temporary label is assigned to respective pixels in the area; that the temporarily-labelled area in which the number "6" as the temporary label is assigned to respective pixels in the area, is connected to the temporarily-labelled area in which the number "1" as the temporary label is assigned to respective pixels in the area; that the temporarily-labelled area in which the number "7" as the temporary label is assigned to respective pixels in the area, is connected to the temporarily-labelled area in which the number "5" as the temporary label is assigned to respective pixels in the area; and so on.
Based on the above label connection table as FIG. 6, a (temporary-to-true) label conversion table, as indicated in FIG. 7, is generated for use in the conversion from the temporary labels to the true labels. The label conversion table of FIG. 7 has an entry for each temporary label including that for the background area, and indicates that: the temporary label "1" should be converted to the true label "1"; that the temporary label "2" should be converted to the true label "1"; that the temporary label "3" should be converted to the true label "1"; that the temporary label "4" should be converted to the true label "2"; that the temporary label "5" should be converted to the true label "2"; that the temporary label "6" should be converted to the true label "1"; that the temporary label "7" should be converted to the true label "2"; and so on. Then, based on the above label conversion table, the above raster scan for the conversion is carried out. Namely, along the paths of the raster scan, temporary labels of the respective pixels are converted to true labels pixel by pixel. After the conversion, the temporarily-labelled image is converted to a true-labelled image, for example, as indicated in FIG. 8.
However, in the above operation of the temporary label assignment, a temporary label can be assigned to only one pixel of interest while the window is located at each location, since the conventional window contains only one pixel of interest, and the window (or mask) as indicated in FIG. 3 is moved one pixel by one pixel along the paths of the raster scan. Therefore, it takes a long time to carry out the operation of the temporary label assignment.
In addition, in the above conversion from the temporary labels to the true labels, the raster scan is carried out for all of the pixels in the image subject to the label assignment. Therefore, it also takes much time to carry out the conversion from the temporary labels to the true labels.

Method apparatus for assigning temporary and true labels to digital image


Backlit sign fabric formed by coating release paper with ink, applying a plastisol coating onto the dried ink, applying a reinforcing scrim onto the coating, curing the product, then removing the release paper.

Vinyl coated and laminated backlit signs and awnings are in wide use throughout the world. Fabrics that are used as the strength member in such applications should have exceptional geometry, the ability to withstand the rigors of further processing without distortion, and yet stable enough for use in subsequent high speed manufacturing processing.
Typically, backlit signs and awnings are constructed of a translucent sheet or panel that is stretched about a metal framework, and have a light source placed on the side opposite the side being viewed. By selectively printing opaque regions on the fabric panel, words or graphics may be formed by the translucent portions of the fabric panel. The overall effect is a lighted sign that is relatively durable, and which may be viewed during the day and at night.
The material that is commonly used to form awnings is a PVC (polyvinylchloride) film or a related PVC-based material; e.g., PVC films laminated onto knitted polyester scrims (reinforcement fabric). PVC has limited durability, tear resistance, and integrity, particularly after prolonged exposure to the outside elements and UV radiation. Consequently, it has been necessary to provide a fabric substrate or scrim for the plastisols or films to give the awning fabric sufficient strength, durability, and integrity.
Attempts have been made to utilize a scrim or woven mesh panel for constructing backlit signs and awnings. However, the presence of a scrim has been found to significantly compromise the aesthetics of the backlit awning sign. In this regard, the scrim of conventional awning fabrics tends to absorb substantially all of the incident light, making the outline of the scrim pattern highly visible to the viewer. In an attempt to mask the mesh outline, manufacturers reduced the overall area of the awning fabric covered by the scrim in order to obtain more uniform transmission of light through the fabric. This was accomplished by using low denier yarns to form the scrim and/or enlarging the interstices defined within the scrim. The result was a proportionate reduction in the durability and strength of the fabric.
To overcome these disadvantages, the inventor of the present invention previously developed a backlit and awning fabric comprising a woven scrim that was treated with an optical brightener (see U.S. Application Ser. No 08/594,984). A translucent coating or PVC plastisol was cast onto release paper and then fused together by heat in a commercial oven. A second PVC plastisol coating was cast on top of the fused PVC-release paper on which the woven scrim was laminated. These combined layers were smoothed with finishing rollers to produce a white fabric. Lastly, ink was printed on to the fabric.
While this backlit and awning fabric is superior over existing fabrics with similar applications, there remains a need to develop new and more efficient processes for applying the ink layer onto fabric to improve the visual standards for quality backlit signs. The application of the PVC plastisol to the fabric prior to the inking operation is inefficient and results in excess waste of vinyl coated fabric when the ink application is defective or in error. Further, when wet ink is applied to the PVC layer, the ink tends to diffuse into the PVC leaving a somewhat fuzzy pattern edge when the ink is later eradicated to produce the selected pattern. Thus, there is a need to produce an awning fabric which produces a higher resolution image following eradication.

Awning and backlit sign fabric having a selectively eradicable ink layer and a process for producing same


A method of pitch corrected speed control (PCSC) playback in which a decoder rate controller receives a desired playback speed from a PCSC controller and determines the number of decoded digital audio samples stored in a buffer. The rate controller then determines the required number of execution times of a parametric speech decoder based on the desired playback speed and the number of decoded samples stored in the buffer. The parametric speech decoder is then executed the determined number of times.

Audio data is increasingly being stored in digital form and played back after being converted back to analog form. For example, most audio music, whether stored on a Compact Disk ("CD") or in compressed Moving Picture Experts Group, audio layer 3 ("MP3") form, is digital. Sometimes there is a need to playback audio digital data at a different speed than what was recorded. Many digital answering machines and digital dictaphone systems allow for playback of digital messages at variable speeds.
One feature of variable speed playback that is commonly found in voice mail systems is pitch corrected speed control ("PCSC"). PCSC allows a user to control the playback speed of digital audio without the audio pitch being modified.
Many voice mail systems and other systems that have PCSC compress stored audio digital data. The data must then be decoded by a decoder before it is received by a controller that implements the PCSC. Therefore, the decoder must supply the correct amount of decoded data, and the amount of decoded data required will differ depending on the playback speed requested.
The typical voice mail system that includes PCSC encodes/compresses the stored data using a waveform coder. Waveform coders attempt to preserve the form of an audio speech wave. Examples of waveform coders include Pulse Code Modulation ("PCM"), Mu-law or A-law coders. Each waveform decoder execution produces one decoded sample.
A parametric coder can provide advantages over a waveform coder because the speech can be more highly compressed by representing speech with a set of parameters. Examples of parametric coders include Linear Prediction Coefficient ("LPC") and code excited linear prediction ("CELP") coders. Unlike waveform decoders, each parametric decoder execution produces a block of decoded samples. The size of the block is different for different parametric coders, but may be a fixed size of about a multiple of groups of ten samples. This makes it difficult to implement a parametric coder/decoder in a voice mail system having PCSC because of differences between the decoder output sample number and the number of samples needed by the controller.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for a digital audio playback system having a parametric decoder and PCSC.

Speed control playback of parametric speech encoded digital audio


A rolling bearing (10) having an outer ring (1), an inner ring (2), and a plurality of rolling elements, wherein at least one of the members, the outer ring (1), inner ring (2) and rolling elements (3), has a nitrogen rich layer and the grain size number of austenite crystal grains is in the range exceeding the number 10.

As a heat treating method which gives a long life withstanding the rolling fatigue of bearing components, there is a method in which carbonitriding is applied to the surface layer of a bearing component as by adding ammonia gas to an atmosphere RX gas at the time of hardening heating (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Hei 8-4774, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Hei 11-101247). Using this carbonitriding makes it possible to harden the surface layer and to grow retained austenite in the microstructure, thereby improving the rolling fatigue life.
Carbonitriding requires holding high temperature for a prolonged time for diffusion treatment purposes, resulting in coarsening the structure which, in turn, makes it difficult to improve crack strength, thus leaving room for improvement in this respect. Further, there is also room for improvement in respect of an increase in secular dimensional change rate due to an increase in retained austenite.
On the other hand, securement of a long life withstanding rolling fatigue, improvement in crack strength, and prevention of an increase in secular dimensional change rate can be achieved by alloy design of steel. However, alloy design poses problems, such as an increase in raw material cost.
Future bearing components are required to have characteristics enabling use at high temperatures under higher loading conditions as loads and temperatures in environments for use increase. Therefore, bearing components having a long life in respect of rolling fatigue characteristics and having high degrees of crack strength and dimensional stability will be required.


A microstructure device has a microstructure (e.g., a circuit card assembly, a printed circuit board, etc.) defining a sensitive axis and one or more isolators configured and adapted to be compliant along the sensitive axis and to be rigid along one or more other axes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) gyros, and more particularly to systems and methods that isolate vibration induced movements therein.
2. Description of Related Art
Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) integrate electrical and mechanical components on the same substrate using micro-fabrication technologies. The electrical components are fabricated using integrated circuit processes, while the mechanical components are fabricated using micromachining processes that are compatible with the integrated circuit processes. This combination makes it possible to fabricate an entire system on a chip using standard manufacturing processes. MEMS devices are commonly applied in design and manufacture of sensor devices, where the mechanical portion of the sensor device provides the sensing capability, and the electrical portion of the sensor device processes the information received from the mechanical portion.
One example of a MEMS device is a gyroscope or gyro, which can measure rotation. Specifically, MEMS gyros rely on conservation of momentum of a structure having limited oscillation motion, e.g., vibrating elements, to detect a Coriolis force and determine angular rate of rotation about an input axis. However, these vibrating elements are inherently resonant and are susceptible to additional oscillatory movements occurring outside desired axes of rotation. That is, the vibrating elements within a MEMS gyro can dynamically gain additional oscillatory movements when they resonate and incur common mode oscillations, which can cause undesired and erroneous outputs. For example, MEMS gyros are oriented and mounted to a body, e.g., an aircraft, via a suspension system. When the suspension system converts a vibration into a rotational oscillation about an input axis, a false rotation signal is generated—this is an "out of balance" condition. A loose suspension lets a gyro mass move independently from the frame thereby allowing false rotations. Further still, as the suspension system degrades with time, temperature, or other aging effects, the suspension system can stiffen and no longer isolate the MEMS die causing false rotation signals. Put simply, any vibration at a frequency that excites the output mode resonance creates errors in the output signal. Moreover, although conventional suspension systems have generally been considered satisfactory for applications where vibration isolation is needed in all directions, improved vibration isolation for MEMS devices is desired.
Despite design efforts to date, eliminating additional and undesired vibrations in conventional MEMS devices remains problematic. Accordingly, there is still a need in the art for systems and methods of isolating and attenuating vibration in an axis specific fashion. The present invention provides a solution for these problems.

Vibration isolated MEMS structures and methods of manufacture


A multilayer chip capacitor, and a method for manufacturing the same are provided. The capacitor includes a capacitor body having a plurality of dielectric layers stacked therein, a plurality of first and second internal electrodes formed on the dielectric layers, each of the internal electrodes including a main electrode portion and a lead portion, chip-protecting side members formed on both sides of the capacitor body to contact both sides of the first and second internal electrodes, and a pair of external electrodes formed on the outer surface of the capacitor body. The width of the main electrode portion is the same as that of the dielectric layers, and the width of the lead portion is smaller than that of the dielectric layers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayer chip capacitor, and, more particularly, to a multilayer chip capacitor, designed to avoid occurrence of cracks caused by a thickness difference and short circuit caused by misalignment of cutting lines, thereby enhancing reliability of devices, and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a multilayer chip capacitor (MLCC) comprises a plurality of dielectric layers referred to as ceramic green sheets and internal electrodes formed between the plurality of dielectric layers. Since such a multilayer chip capacitor can realize a higher electrostatic capacitance with a small size while being easily mounted on a substrate, it is widely used as a capacitive component of various electronic devices.
Such a multilayer chip capacitor is manufactured by alternately stacking dielectric layers having two internal electrodes of different polarities printed thereon to form a stack, compressing and sintering the stack, and then forming terminal electrodes at opposite ends of the stack. At this time, when forming the internal electrodes on the dielectric layers, margins are provided to each of the dielectric layers in a width direction of the internal electrode in order to prevent electrical short while protecting the internal electrodes. Accordingly, in view of the overall appearance of the chip capacitor, a thickness difference occurs between a central portion of the chip capacitor where the internal electrodes are formed and both sides of the chip capacitor where the margins are provided. Such a thickness difference of the chip capacitor causes cracks of the chip capacitor, in particular, during a sintering process, and is a negative influence on reliability of the capacitor.
FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a first internal electrode and a second internal electrode of a conventional multilayer chip capacitor. Referring to FIG. 1, the first and second internal electrodes 22 and 23 are printed on dielectric layers 12 and 13 generally referred to as ceramic green sheets. The first and second internal electrodes 22 and 23 extend longitudinally (an L-direction) from one end of the dielectric layers 12 and 13 towards the other end thereof, respectively. The lengths of the internal electrodes 22 and 23 are shorter than those of the dielectric layers 12 and 13, so that each of the internal electrodes is exposed only at one end of the dielectric layers 12 and 13, and is not exposed at the other end thereof. As a result, the dielectric layers 12 and 13 have longitudinal (L-direction) margin portions 32b and 33b of a predetermined size y, respectively. Additionally, the widths of the internal electrodes 22 and 23 are shorter than those of the dielectric layers 12 and 13, so that the dielectric layers 12 and 13 have widthwise (W-direction) margin portions 32a and 32b of a predetermined size x at both sides thereof, respectively. Herein, the term "widthwise (or W-direction) margin portion" means a margin portion between an edge of the dielectric layer and that of the internal electrode, and refers to a portion extending over the entire length of the dielectric layer. The W-direction margin portions 32a and 32b are needed to prevent electrical short while protecting the internal electrodes.
Meanwhile, when the stack is produced by alternately stacking and compressing the dielectric layers with the internal electrodes 22 and 23 formed thereon, the W-direction margin portions 32a and 33a cause a thickness difference to occur between the center of the chip capacitor and both sides thereof. In FIG. 2, a non-uniform thickness of the capacitor is illustrated. FIG. 2 is a cross section taken along line A-A′ of FIG. 1, illustrating a stack of the dielectric layers having the internal electrodes formed thereon. The stack 100a of FIG. 2 is prepared by alternately stacking the dielectric layers 12 having the first internal electrodes 22 formed thereon and the dielectric layers 13 having the second internal electrodes 23 formed thereon. As shown in FIG. 2, a thickness t2 of the stack at the center of the internal electrodes is greater than a thickness t1 of the stack at the widthwise margin portions of the stack where the electrodes are not formed. When sintering the stack 100a having such a thickness difference, the thickness difference is further increased, causing lots of cracks to be created on the sintered stack 100b. Accordingly, when completely manufacturing the multilayer chip capacitor by forming the external electrodes on the stack, the multilayer chip capacitor is likely to malfunction due to the cracks.
In order to solve the problem resulting from the thickness difference, an approach has been suggested, wherein the electrodes are formed as thin as possible by reducing contents of metal, such as Ni, in conductive paste upon screen printing of the electrodes. However, it is difficult to print internal electrodes having a thickness of about 1 μm with current screen printing technology. On the other hand, although an approach has been suggested, wherein the thickness difference is complemented by printing dielectric slurries on a portion where the thickness difference occurs, this approach requires additional processes, and fails to completely solve the problem of cracks resulting from the thickness difference.
Additionally, in order to solve the problem caused by the thickness difference, U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,527 discloses an approach wherein the dielectric layers are stacked after forming the internal electrodes thereon without providing the W-direction margin portions. According to the disclosure, after stacking the dielectric layers, coating is performed on a drawing portion of the internal electrodes in order to protect the drawing portion during wet etching, and then wet etching is performed to form the W-direction margin portions. As such, due to complicated processes, this method is not only ineffective in terms of cost and time, but also difficult to secure uniformity of wet etching.

Multilayer chip capacitor and method for manufacturing the same


An fluid ejection device includes nozzles and includes firing resistors which correspond to the nozzles. Each firing resistor and corresponding nozzle are located in zones on the fluid ejection device where each zone has at least one firing resistor and corresponding nozzle. Addressable select logic responsive to a select address couples fire pulses to the firing resistors in the zones so that each firing resistor in each zone is coupled to the same fire pulse.

A conventional inkjet printing system includes a printhead, an ink supply which supplies liquid ink to the printhead, and an electronic controller which controls the printhead. The printhead ejects ink drops through a plurality of orifices or nozzles and toward a print medium, such as a sheet of paper, so as to print onto the print medium. Typically, the orifices are arranged in one or more arrays such that properly sequenced ejection of ink from the orifices causes characters or other images to be printed upon the print medium as the printhead and the print medium are moved relative to each other.
Typically, the printhead ejects the ink drops through the nozzles by rapidly heating a small volume of ink located in vaporization chambers with small electric heaters, such as thin film resistors. Heating the ink causes the ink to vaporize and be ejected from the nozzles. To heat the ink, power is supplied to the thin film resistors. Power consumed by the thin film resistors is equal to Vi, where V is the voltage across the thin film resistor and i is the current through the thin film resistor. The electronic controller, which is typically located as part of the processing electronics of a printer, controls the power supplied to the thin film resistors from a power supply which is external to the printhead.
In one type of inkjet printing system, printheads receive fire signals containing fire pulses from the electronic controller. The electronic controller controls the drop generator energy of the printhead by controlling the fire signal timing. The timing related to the fire signal includes the width of the fire pulse and the point in time at which the fire pulse occurs. The electronic controller also controls the drop generator energy by controlling the electrical current passed through the thin film resistors by controlling the voltage level of the power supply.
Typically, control of the fire signal timing and the voltage level of the power supply works well for smaller printheads having smaller swath heights and for printheads capable of printing only a single color. These printheads tend to be relatively easier to control as they only need one fire signal to control the ejection of ink drops from the printhead.
With single color printheads having larger swath heights, thermal gradients can become pronounced. The thermal gradients can result in drop volume variation across the printhead. To offset this effect, the fire pulse width can be adjusted while printing using approaches such as dynamic pulse width adjustment (DPWA) algorithms. With large thermal gradients, there may not be a high enough degree of control in the DPWA algorithms to control the drop generator energy across the printhead.
Multiple color printheads which use black drop generators at higher drop volumes and color drop generators at lower drop volumes can also be difficult to control. Higher volume drop generators require a higher turn on energy than lower volume drop generators. Consequently, the ejection of ink drops from multiple color printheads can be difficult to control.
For reasons stated above and for other reasons presented in the Detailed Description section of the present specification, a fluid ejection device is desired which provides greater control of drop generator energy across the printhead.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An information processing apparatus includes: a supplied electric power value accepting unit accepting a supplied electric power value, which is a difference between an electric power value of microwaves incident on a microwave irradiation apparatus and an electric power value of microwaves reflected by the microwave irradiation apparatus; a temperature accepting unit; an electric energy calculating unit calculating an electric energy corresponding to a microwave irradiation time, using the supplied electric power value; a temperature change calculating unit calculating a temperature change corresponding to the microwave irradiation time, using the accepted temperature; a judging unit, using the electric energy, the temperature change, and a relational expression for associating the electric energy and the temperature change, judging whether the relational expression is satisfied within a tolerable range; and an output unit outputting occurrence of an abnormality, when it is judged that the relational expression is not satisfied within the tolerable range.

Conventionally, there are known microwave irradiation apparatuses for irradiating microwaves (electromagnetic waves) on a content, thereby performing heating or the like of the content. See, for example, JP 2006-516008A (Tokuhyo).
Conventional heating using a heater is external heating that gradually applies heat from the surface of a material toward the internal portion by thermal conduction, radiation, convection, or the like. Meanwhile, heating using microwaves is characterized in that it is internal heating that causes a material itself to generate heat. The heating using microwaves is further characterized in that it is rapid heating compared with conventional heating using thermal conduction or the like. Since heating using microwaves is internal heating and rapid heating in this manner, it may cause thermal runaway by rapidly heating part of an irradiation target. Also, there is another problem in which such an abnormality cannot be easily detected because the microwave irradiation region is typically shielded and cannot be observed from the outside.
The present invention was arrived at in order to solve the above-described problems, and it is an aspect thereof to provide an information processing apparatus and the like capable of easily judging whether or not an abnormality related to microwaves has occurred in a microwave irradiation apparatus.

Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program


A method and a device for manufacturing packages are provided. The method comprises providing a tubular first package part of a sheet of thermoplastic coated packaging material including at least one layer of an induction heatable material. The first package part has a sealed first joint between two mutually opposing edge sections of the sheet. The method further comprises joining together the first package part and a second package part by a second joint, the first and the second joint intersecting each other. The method further comprises arranging induction heating means including at least two conductors extending along each other, so that the conductors extend along the second joint and sealing the second joint by feeding an inducing current through the induction heating means. The inducing current is conducted by the conductors along the second joint in opposite directions in said at least two conductors.

Techniques are known for sealing joints when manufacturing packages. One example of such a known technique is ultrasonic sealing, where ultrasonic energy is applied to a hot-binding medium provided in the joint to seal it. According to another known technique, an adhesive is applied in the joint for sealing. If the joint is of such a kind that it comprises one conductive medium and one hot-binding medium, induction heat sealing can be used to seal the joint.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,889,263 discloses an apparatus for induction sealing of a packaging material comprising an aluminium foil layer. The apparatus comprises an inductor with two parallel conductors interconnected by two transverse conductors. The parallel conductors are disposed in an electrically insulated carrier portion. The transverse conductors are arranged in the upper surface of the inductor and coincide with the outer defining lines of a flat-laid tube of packaging material. The inductor is comprised in a sealing jaw, which is arranged to squeeze a double layer of the packaging material against a counter jaw. The parallel conductors are connected to a current source, whereby an induction current is generated in the aluminium foil layer. Heat is generated, and each of the conductors forms one seal of the packaging material. Between these two seals, the package material may be cut. Thus, by means of this apparatus, one seal of each of two packages can be formed at a time. The apparatus is limited for sealing joints between mutually united and compressed layers of the packaging material, i.e. for transverse sealing of a flat-laid tube of packaging material.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,185 discloses an induction sealing device for sealing a closure about an access area of a container. Either the closure or the container comprises a metal medium forming a continuous conductive area around the access area. A conductor is arranged to be provided around the access area, on the outside of the closure and the container. A flowing current in the conductor causes an induced current in the metal medium, which induced current follows the flowing current around the access area. Heat is generated, by means of which the closure is chemically bonded to the container along a joint.
The above mentioned induction sealing device is limited to cases where a continuous conductive area is provided along the entire joint to be sealed. If there should be a discontinuity present in the conductive area, the induced current would be prevented from following the flowing current around the complete access area, and instead would be spread into undesired areas. Such a spreading might cause damaging generation of heat in these undesired areas. Further, the generation of heat in the desired area might be insufficient, a bad sealing of the joint being the result.

Method and device for manufacturing packages


A biochip device for electrical analysis of biological membranes. The device may include a substrate assembly defining an array of apertures and including thin-film devices configured to sense an electrical property of biological membranes that seal the apertures. The device also may include an electrical interface coupled electrically to the thin-film devices and configured to electrically couple the thin-film devices to a control apparatus. The electrical interface may define a plurality of interface elements, and the apertures may be in excess over the interface elements.

Analysis of cells by patch clamping is a powerful electrophysiological recording technique. Patch clamping is used to study electrical properties of cell membranes, particularly activity and regulation of ion channels included in the membranes. This technique has gained popularity as a measurement tool because it is one of the most direct and meaningful ways to study how the activity of ion channel proteins is modulated by physiological factors in general, and pharmaceutical compounds in particular.
Patch clamping was developed as a procedure performed manually. In traditional patch clamping, a glass pipet of small diameter is placed against the membrane of a cell. Application of a vacuum to fluid in the interior of the pipet pulls the membrane against the end of the pipet, creating a tight, resistive seal between the perimeter of the pipet end and a "patch" on the membrane. This seal, often termed a gigaseal because of its gigohm or near-gigohm resistance, directs electrical current along a path from the bore of the pipet through the patch and/or the whole cell. When the patch is permeabilized selectively, the electrical properties of the remainder of the cell membrane, other than the patch, may be measured in a whole-cell analysis. Alternatively, the remainder the cell membrane may be removed, leaving only the patch to be analyzed.
In either case, a current or voltage applied across the cell or patch membrane may be measured. For example, a "stimulation" voltage may be applied between 1) an "external" electrolytic fluid that holds the cell (or patch) and 2) an "internal" electrolytic fluid in the interior of the pipet. Such a stimulation voltage produces a corresponding response in ion flow (and thus the electrical current) through the whole cell membrane or membrane patch. The impedance of the membrane determines the magnitude of the current. Ligand- and/or voltage-induced changes in ion channel activity thus produce corresponding changes in the impedance of the membrane and in the magnitude of the current. In a typical approach, the voltage (or current) may be fixed or "clamped" during analysis, while the resultant current (or voltage) is measured, thereby producing a voltage-(or current) clamped analysis.
Despite the sensitivity of the patch-clamp method, the manual approach with a pipet may not be suitable for analysis of libraries of compounds, such as in high-throughput drug screens. In particular, with the manual approach, cells are analyzed one at a time. Accordingly, testing the effects of chemical compounds may be too slow to screen large numbers of candidate compounds.
Efforts to improve the speed of patch-clamp analysis have focused on analyzing more than one cell at once. For example, the single pipet may be replaced with an array of apertures defined by a planar material. With such a "planar patch-clamp" device, cells may be disposed at each of the apertures and electrically monitored with circuits specific for each aperture.
Despite their potential for increased throughput, these planar patch-clamp devices may be inadequate for a number of reasons. For example, some patch-clamp devices use movable electrodes that are not dedicated to individual apertures. Such devices may limit the number of apertures that can be excited and monitored in parallel and increase the incidence of mechanical malfunction with moving parts. Other patch-clamp devices may include dedicated monitoring circuits but lack integration of their circuitry, for example, having a separate sensor circuit for each aperture. Such separate circuits place a practical limit on the density of apertures that may be included, based on the size and complexity of the resulting electrical interface. Accordingly, this aperture limit places a corresponding limit on the number of cells/compounds/conditions that may be analyzed in an experiment. Furthermore, such insufficiently integrated devices may not allow the conditions at individual apertures to be monitored and modified automatically and selectively.

Electrical analysis of biological membranes


A mobile communication system and a method for capturing information of other mobile communication terminals located within a distance from the user's mobile communication terminal may include a first mobile communication terminal for transmitting capture signal, location information and identification information; the second mobile communication terminals for transmitting location information and identification information of the second mobile communication terminals; and a base station for transmitting the GPS driving signal to the second mobile communication terminals and capturing information of the second mobile communication terminals.

1. Field of Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a mobile communication system, and more particularly, to a mobile communication system and a method for capturing information of other mobile communication terminals located within a range from the user's mobile communication terminal.
2. Discussion of the Background
Recently, with the development of mobile communication industry, the use of mobile communication service has spread, so most people carry a mobile communication terminal to use mobile communication services.
Nevertheless, if people who carry a mobile communication terminal face emergency situations (e.g., people may be attacked by criminals) it may be possible to collect evidence of the crime by using the mobile communication terminal.
The present disclosure relates to a mobile communication system and method for capturing information of other mobile communication terminals located within a certain distance from the user's mobile communication terminal.

Mobile communication system and method for capturing information of other mobile communication terminals


Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a grounding apparatus for use with a spray device associated with a vehicle. The grounding apparatus is biased toward the ground so that a portion of the grounding apparatus makes contact with the ground even in uneven terrain. The grounding apparatus is configured to be mounted in a receiver portion of a trailer hitch. In addition, provided herein is a system for powering a spray device with a DC power source, such as an automotive battery. The system includes an oscillator coupled to a step up transformer.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present system and techniques, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
It is known to use spray devices to apply a spray to a wide variety of target objects. Recently, the agriculture industry has used electrostatic spray devices for application of herbicides and pesticides to crops for controlling weeds and insects. The use of electrostatic spray devices in agricultural settings presents challenges related to the desired mobility and portability of these devices. For example, the target spray area for a field or orchard may be large, requiring that the spray device be moved repeatedly to spray the crops. In such arrangements, providing a power supply for the spray device that is portable and efficient may be challenging.
For spray devices that are used in conjunction with motorized vehicles or other transport mechanisms (e.g., carts or trailers), the spray devices are separated from the ground by rubber tires. This may allow the spray device itself or neighboring structures to hold a charge, which in turn may harm the electrical system of the spray device when a discharge occurs. In certain instances, the spray device may be grounded by dragging a large and heavy metal chain behind the equipment. However, such chains may not provide a constant connection with the ground if the vehicle moves over uneven terrain or if the chain becomes tangled.

Apparatus and method for grounding an electrostatic device attached to agricultural spray equipment


A driver arrangement comprises a current regulator (12), to which at least one light-emitting diode (15, 42) can be connected, and a driver circuit (13) that is coupled to the current regulator (12) and features a measurement input (20) for receiving a measurement signal (SM) that is dependent on the operation of the at least one light-emitting diode (15, 42). The driver circuit (13) is designed for adjusting the current level of the current regulator current (IS) of the current regulator (12) in dependence on the measurement signal (SM) such that a light quantity (SL) emitted by the at least one light emitting diode (15, 42) has a constant brightness value.

A light-emitting diode or LED makes available a light quantity such as, e.g., a luminous flux or an illuminance. The light quantity depends on the temperature of the light-emitting diode. In this case, the light quantity decreases as the temperature increases.
Document DE 19917239 A1 describes a method for determining correction factors in order to compensate the temperature drift of the radiant intensity of an LED. In this case, the temperature dependence of the conducting-state voltage of the LED is used for measuring a temperature of the LED.
Document US 2010/0194961 A1 concerns a camera that features a display, backlighting and an ambient light sensor.

Driver arrangement and method for driving at least one light-emitting diode


Various implementations include a bag organizer system that includes at least one pocket disposed within a bag cavity and is coupled to a fixed surface within the bag cavity. The pocket includes at least one pocket side wall having a first edge and a second edge opposite the first edge along a longitudinal axis of the pocket. The first and second edges of the pocket side wall at least partially define an opening to a pocket cavity defined by the pocket side wall and a closed end of the pocket cavity, respectively. The pocket is expandable and collapsible, and the pocket is coupled to the fixed surface by a single seam extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pocket, and the closed end of the pocket is not coupled to the fixed surface such that the pocket is hingedly coupled to the fixed surface via the single seam.

When traveling, people may wish to carry certain items with them. For most people these items include a mobile phone, identification (e.g., driver's license, government ID card, or passport), credit card(s), keys, eyewear (e.g., sunglasses and/or eyeglasses), and lip wear (e.g., lipstick and/or lip balm). Typically, bags are used to carry these items. Bags may include a handbag (or "purse"), travel bag, backpack, tote bag, beach bag, carry-on bag, suitcase, overnight bag, "man-purse" (also known as a "murse"), etc.
Some bags include built-in pockets and/or elastic bands. The pockets are typically formed by sewing fabric to the front or back inner panel of a bag with two side seams and a bottom seam. The side seams are spaced apart from each other, and the bottom seam runs perpendicular between the side seams. An opening to the pocket is defined between the side seams, the pocket material, and the liner and is above the bottom seam. Although these pockets may be sized to receive eyewear, the fabric material does not protect the eyewear from being crushed or damaged by other objects in the bag.
Other bags may include removable organizers that include a main panel and define multiple pockets attached to the main panel, but these removable organizers are not secured to the bag, making them susceptible to shifting within the bag during travel. In addition, the removable organizers do not have pockets that provide sufficient protection for eyewear.
Thus, there is a need in the art for an improved bag organizer system.

Bag organizer systems and methods of assembly


A rolling bearing assembling method includes: providing a subassembly member in which a cage and an outer ring raceway of an outer ring are combined with each other; disposing a rotary member that includes groove portions formed on an outer circumference thereof, concentrically with the outer ring so that the plurality of groove portions confront respectively pockets of the cage; disposing a guide member including a guide hole, above the rotary member; supplying tapered rollers from the guide hole between the pockets and the groove portions, respectively; rotating the rotary member by a predetermined angle so that the tapered rollers are pushed radially outward by raised portions between the adjacent groove portions thereby accommodating the tapered rollers into the pockets, respectively; providing the seal ring on the inner ring raceway; and assembling the hub main body together with the outer ring.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for assembling a rolling bearing, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for assembling a double row tapered roller bearing.
A wheel of a motor vehicle is supported rotatably relative to a suspension system on a body side by a rolling bearing, and a wheel of a heavy vehicle such as a bus or a truck in motor vehicles is normally supported by a double row tapered bearing in which tapered rollers are arranged in double rows.
Incidentally, rolling bearings having a construction referred to as a so-called third generation hub unit have been proposed with a view to reducing the number of constituent components to thereby reduce production costs. As is shown in FIG. 10, this hub unit includes a hub main body 51, an inner ring 52 fixedly fitted on one end portion of the hub main body 51, an outer ring 53 provided on an outside diameter side of the inner ring 52 and the hub main body 51, a first row of tapered rollers 54a and a second row of tapered rollers 54b which are provided rollingly between an outer circumferential surface of the inner ring 52 and the hub main body 51 and an inner circumferential surface of the outer ring 53 and a first seal ring 55a and a second seal ring 55b which are adapted to form a seal between inner circumferential surfaces of both end portions of the outer ring 53 and the outer circumferential surface of the hub main body 51 and an outer circumferential surface of an end portion of the inner ring 52 which confronts an inner side of the vehicle (a right-hand side as viewed in FIG. 10). In addition, a flange 56 for mounting a wheel (not shown) is provided at an end portion of the hub main body 51 which confronts an outer side of the vehicle, and on an outer circumferential surface of an intermediate portion of the hub main body, a first inner ring raceway 58a is formed in such a manner as to confront, of the two raceways, that is, the first outer ring raceway 57a and the second outer ring raceway 57b, the first outer ring raceway 57a which is disposed on the outer side of the vehicle (a left-hand side as viewed in FIG. 10). In addition, a second inner ring raceway 58b is formed in such a manner as to confront the second outer ring raceway 57b on an outer circumferential surface of the inner ring 52 fitted on to be fixed to an end portion of the hub main body 51 which confronts the outer side of the vehicle.
The vehicle outer side tapered rollers 54 are arranged circumferentially at equal intervals between the first outer ring raceway 57a and the first inner ring raceway 58a by a cage 60a, and the vehicle inner side tapered rollers 54b arranged circumferentially at equal intervals between the second outer ring raceway 57b and the second inner ring raceway 58b by a cage 60b. In addition, in FIG. 10, reference numeral 59 denotes a splined hole formed in a central portion of the hub main body 51 with which an end portion of a drive shaft or axle (not shown) of the vehicle is brought into spline engagement.
In the hub unit constructed as has been described above, since the flange portion 56 is formed at the vehicle outer side end portion of the hub main body 51, the vehicle outer side seal ring 55a needs to be provided on an inner circumferential surface of the vehicle outer side end portion of the outer ring 53 before the hub main body 51 is inserted into the outer ring 53. Consequently, being different from a conventional double row tapered roller bearing, this hub unit is assembled by a method described, for example, in JP-A-2004-257553.
Namely, as is shown in FIG. 11, firstly, a subassembly member 70 is prepared in which the vehicle outer side cage 60a and the tapered rollers 54a are combined with each other, and this subassembly member 70 is then combined with the outer ring 53. More specifically, the subassembly member 70 is set on the first outer ring raceway 57a.
Following this, the seal ring 55a is fitted in to be fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the vehicle outer side end portion of the outer ring 53 (refer to FIG. 12), and the vehicle inner side end portion of the hub main body 51 is inserted from a vehicle outer side opening of the outer ring 53 in such a state, and the first tapered rollers 54a retained by the cage 60a are provided on the outer circumferential surface of the second inner ring raceway 58b (refer to FIG. 13). Then, although illustration is omitted, the inner ring 52 in which the second tapered rollers 54b are provided on the second inner ring raceway 58b is inserted from the vehicle inner side opening of the outer ring 53, and the inner ring 52 is fitted on to be fixed to the outer circumferential surface of the vehicle inner side end portion of the hub main body 51. Thereafter, the seal ring 55b is fitted in to be fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the vehicle inner side end portion of the outer ring 53, whereby the hub unit can be obtained.
In addition, it is described in Patent Document No. 1 that when assembling the hub unit in the way described above, a cylindrical support table is used to support the tapered rollers 54a from below in the steps shown in FIGS. 11 to 12 with a view to shorten the assembling time and to give a proper preload to the rollers.
According to the assembling method and apparatus described in JP-A-2004-257553, although the assembling time of the hub unit can be shortened more than the other conventional methods and apparatuses, when mounting the tapered rollers on the cage, the worker needs to place a plurality of tapered rollers in pockets of the cage one by one, and this increases the production costs and imposes a limitation on to the efforts to shorten the assembling time.

Method and apparatus for assembling rolling bearing


Methods, techniques, and systems for dynamically allocating graphics processing units among virtual machines are provided. Example embodiments provide a dynamic GPU allocation system (“DGAS”), which enables the efficient allocation of physical GPU resources to one or more virtual machines. In one embodiment, the DGAS comprises virtualization logic running on a server computing system that computes GPU benefit factors for the virtual machines on a dynamic basis, and combines the computed GBFs with static priorities to determine a ranked ordering of virtual machines. The available GPU resources are then allocated to some subset of these ranked virtual machines as physical GPU capacity is matched with the requirements of the subset. Physical GPU resources are then allocated to the subset of virtual machines that have the highest promise of GPU utilization.

A graphics processing unit (GPU) can be a useful resource to accomplish activities such as accelerating three dimensional (3D) graphics and video processing due to the parallel computing nature of these tasks. More specifically, the highly parallel structure of a GPU makes it more effective than a general-purpose CPU for algorithms that process large blocks of data in parallel such as 3D graphics that involve, for example, transforms, lighting, textures, shading, etc. In computing systems that contain both a computer processor unit (CPU) and a GPU, computations such as 3D graphics or motion compensation performed for video decoding, that are simple, repetitive, high throughput, and not as latency sensitive can be offloaded to a GPU in order to provide faster computations and leave more room for other tasks to be processed by the CPU.
A typical computing system is expected to have a much larger number of CPU cores than GPUs. GPUs come in a variety of forms. A GPU might be integrated with the CPU on the same chip and share system memory or may be made available on a separate card connected to the CPU and memory through, for example, a PCI (Peripheral Controller Interface) bus.

Dynamic allocation of physical graphics processing units to virtual machines


Technologies for generating and displaying media search results on a computing device include determining search criteria based on media stored and/or accessed on the computing device. One or more search queries are generated based on the search criteria and submitted to one or more search engines. Any search results are analyzed for relevancy to the media and/or user, and relevant search results are displayed on a display of the computing device. The user may select one or more of the displayed search results to access additional information, websites, and/or perform other functions related to the displayed search result.

Computing devices are becoming ubiquitous tools for personal, business, and social uses. Many user's store vast amounts of media content on their computing devices. In fact, many user's store their media content libraries on mobile computing devices to allow them access to the media content at any time. Such media content may include, for example, music, e-books, videos, pictures, documents, games, podcasts, contacts, messages, mailing lists, appointments, to-do lists, various applications, recipes, Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds, and other content. A user's collection of media content is generally indicative of their personal tastes and interests. Many users' media collections are not static; rather, the user will often add to and update their collection over time as their preferences and interests broaden and/or change.
Many users enjoy expanding and learning about their interests (e.g., learning about new artists or upcoming books). One way in which users learn more about their media content collections is through online searching. By using online search tools, user's may learn additional information about their tastes and interest, expand their interests and media collections, and receive updates related to their interests. For example, user's may periodically visit a music site to learn about any new releases or upcoming concerts by their favorite band. Many company websites and fansites are available for such purposes. Of course, such additional searching and information gathering consumes a significant amount of the user's time, which may have been better spent enjoying their media collection. Additionally, the very act of searching for such additional information and updates becomes increasing difficult as the user's media collection and tastes expand. Although some recommendation systems are available (e.g., those recommendation systems designed to recommend music similar to the user's taste), the resulting recommendations are often very narrow (e.g., simply another song that the user may like) and lack any additional or related information that may be of interest to the user.

Generating and displaying media content search results on a computing device


An optical measuring system includes a calibration apparatus having at least one optical marker and a code. The optical measuring system includes a memory unit that stores a metadata record with calibration parameters that have physical state and change variables that are specific to the calibration apparatus. The calibration apparatus is configured to encrypt a link to the metadata record stored in the memory unit. The optical measuring system includes an optical sensor configured to capture image data containing the at least one optical marker and the code. The optical measuring system includes a control unit configured to evaluate the image data captured by the optical sensor, decrypt the code captured by the optical sensor, access the memory unit via the link, read the metadata record stored therein, and include the read calibration parameters and the at least one optical marker in the evaluation of the image data.

This disclosure relates to an optical measuring system, which has at least one optical sensor for capturing image data and a control unit that is configured to evaluate the captured image data. Further, the present disclosure relates to an optical measuring method for carrying out a calibration or measurement process.
Example optical measuring systems for determining a geometry, a position or a movement of an object are known and represented by so-called multi-camera systems. Optical measuring systems of this type serve to check workpieces, for example as a part of quality assurance, or to determine the geometry of a workpiece completely as a part of what is known as "reverse engineering". This type of optical measuring system is also referred to as a coordinate measuring machine (CMM).
In practice, such optical measuring systems are likewise installed in partly or fully automated assembly lines, too, in order to monitor geometries (forms), positions and/or changes in position of tools and/or workpieces, for example.
A calibration is necessary to ensure proper functioning of the optical measuring system. A self-calibration of the optical sensor is referred to as intrinsic calibration. If an optical measuring system has a plurality of optical sensors, e.g., a multi-camera system, a calibration of the individual optical sensors in relation to one another is moreover necessary. This calibration is referred to as an extrinsic calibration.
Typically, a calibration apparatus is used as a reference object for such a calibration (intrinsic and/or extrinsic calibration). In practice, these calibration apparatuses are also referred to as targets or calibration plates. Capturing the calibration apparatus as a reference object is normally based on an algorithmic evaluation of the captured image data, with the algorithm identifying specific features of the calibration apparatus by way of a comparison with target features. In practice, these specific features are represented by the features of optical markers that are arranged on the calibration apparatus. The position of an optical marker on the calibration apparatus is an example of such a feature.
By way of example, the optical markers can be configured as depressions or bores in a plate. Conventionally, the optical markers are arranged on the calibration apparatus in the form of point patterns or checkerboard patterns (so-called checkerboards), with the point patterns or checkerboard patterns usually being arranged along horizontally and vertically extending, equidistant grid lines.
The optical sensor records one or more optical markers of the calibration apparatus within the scope of the intrinsic calibration. The control unit evaluates the image data supplied by the optical sensor and determines the position of the optical marker (actual position) therefrom. This actual position is subsequently compared by the control unit to the real position (target position) of the optical marker. During the intrinsic calibration, 3-D coordinates of the optical markers are converted into a 2-D projection of these 3-D coordinates. If such a target/actual comparison is repeated for a plurality of optical markers then there is an increase in the accuracy of the intrinsic calibration in comparison with an intrinsic calibration in which the target/actual comparison is only carried out with one optical marker.
In the case of the extrinsic calibration, a relationship of the coordinate system of a first optical sensor is determined in relation to a stationary coordinate system, as a result of which a relative position of the first optical sensor is determinable relative to a position of a second optical sensor. This type of calibration is carried out if the optical measuring system has more than one optical sensor, e.g., in the case of so-called multi-camera systems. In the case of the extrinsic calibration, too, target positions of the optical sensors, known in advance, are compared by the algorithm of the control unit with the actual positions captured by the optical sensors, with the accuracy of the extrinsic calibration increasing with the number of target/actual comparisons.
In practice, a plurality of further parameters in addition to the target/actual comparison of the position of the optical markers are taken into account, by means of which the accuracy of the intrinsic and extrinsic calibration, and hence the accuracy of the measuring or calibration process, is increased. Examples of such additional features can be, inter alia, thermal expansion, rigidity, individual bending, material, weight and/or center of gravity of the employed calibration apparatus. It is also possible to take account of features of the optical markers, such as the form, color and size thereof, for example.
Here, some of these features influence the true position of the optical markers on the calibration apparatus directly. By way of example, a thermal expansion or gravity-induced individual bending of the calibration apparatus leads to a "distortion" of the true position of the optical markers on the calibration apparatus. By way of example, an error in the target/actual comparison of the target/actual position of the optical markers can be corrected by the algorithm of the control unit by taking account of these physical changes.
As a rule, the additional parameters or the specific state and change variables are entered manually into a file by specialist staff for each employed calibration apparatus. Such a file is read by the control unit during a calibration or measurement process and included in the algorithmic evaluation of the image data. Since an individual file is produced for each calibration apparatus and a unique assignment of each file to the respectively associated calibration apparatus needs to be ensured, each file is stored on a separate data medium.
Such a data medium is provided with a readable number or identification, which is also provided on the calibration apparatus belonging to the data medium. The file provided in this way is provided manually by a user by way of entering the readable number or identification into an input window for the control unit. By way of example, the input window is produced by the algorithm, with the entered number or identification being used by the algorithm to include the file with the specific state and change variables contained therein when evaluating the image data.
Independently of the employed optical measuring system or the algorithm, there is the fundamental problem that the manual creation of files that contain the features or the state and change variables specific to the calibration apparatus harbors a significant source of error. By way of example, human errors may occur in the creation of such a file as a result of a lack of concentration or work overload. Such errors, e.g., incorrectly entered features, lead to an incorrect calibration and hence to an incorrect measuring process, as a result of which, for example, the rejection rate of workpieces, and hence the production costs, are increased.
A further source of error is harbored by the assignment of the data media, on which the files are respectively stored in an individual fashion, to the respectively associated calibration apparatus since errors likewise caused by humans may arise during the comparison of the readable numbers or identifications. Here, an incorrect assignment between a file and a calibration apparatus may arise, for example. Such an incorrect assignment likewise leads to an incorrect calibration and hence to an incorrect measuring process.
Moreover, the option of automating a calibration or measuring process is lacking as a result of the manual production of the file and the manual entry of the number or identification into the input window during a calibration process. By way of example, such automation would be very advantageous, particularly when using calibration apparatuses of different types and designs.

Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik GmbH


A test apparatus for testing the performance of a rotary drive includes a aft which extends along a longitudinal axis, at least one support for supporting the shaft in an elevated position, and a flywheel of predetermined weight rotatably attached to the shaft so that upon rotation of the shaft the flywheel rotates as well. A rotary drive powers the rotation of the shaft and flywheel, the rotary drive having a hydraulic motor which is in fluid communication with a reservoir containing hydraulic fluid by way of a servo valve. A microprocessor controls the rotation of the shaft by the rotary drive. The test apparatus further includes a rotary encoder, a torque sensor, and pressure sensors for monitoring the angular displacement of the system, the torque on the shaft, and various system pressures respectively.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to equipment used for testing, and more particularly to a test apparatus for testing the performance of a rotary drive, specifically a hydraulic motor.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Prior classes of submarines, in order to handle weapons, have resorted to manually controlled hydraulics and manual labor. With the advent of a new class of United States submarine, this traditional manner of handling weapons has been replaced by computer controlled hydraulic system which is more complex than the prior manners of handling such weapons. Consequently, it is necessary to obtain a better understanding of fine positioning of weapons in a torpedo room containing such weapons.
During the construction of this new class of submarine, there was very limited testing at the system level of the hydraulic components, computers, and controlling software used in the weapons handling system. This limited testing was primarily due to budget and time constraints, along with the lack of a shore-based computer controlled hydraulic submarine weapon handling simulator facility. The present invention is provided for overcoming these above-noted constraints.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A method of detecting significant events intersecting a borehole from an image of the borehole wall having: (a) converting the image into a three-dimensional orientation space; (b) selecting a parameter relation that represents the intersection of an event (3,5 and 6) with the borehole wall; (c) creating a parameter space consisting of numbers as a function of the parameters, wherein each number is a measure of the support in the orientation space for an event characterized by the parameters that pertain to that number; (d) selecting in the parameter space a set of the largest numbers, wherein the parameters that pertain to each of these largest numbers represent the intersections of the significant events with the borehole wall; and (e) presenting the intersections pertaining to the set of the largest numbers as a list of data representing significant events.

The image of the wall of the borehole comprises a two-dimensional array of numbers, each number being the magnitude of a relevant borehole parameter at a point on the borehole wall. In the image, the co-ordinates of the point are given by the circumferential direction and the depth along the borehole. A tilted planar event intersecting a cylindrical borehole wall is shown on the image as a sinusoidal line.
The image is used for sedimentological and structural geological interpretation of the formation around the borehole. In this image relevant events have to be distinguished from the intersections shown in the image, this is normally done manually, however several automatic procedures have also been developed in the industry. These are generally based on variants of dip-meter algorithms, that determine cross-correlations of the button signals of the dip-meter in order to establish the orientation of formation layers intersecting the borehole wall. Dipmeter algorithms, however, are most suited to determine continuous or slowly varying bedding dips, but they are not capable of detecting intersecting planar events or single thin events that have an orientation that significantly deviates from the bedding orientation. For this reason, dipmeter algorithms are not useful to detect fractures in borehole images and the development of automatic procedures for fracture detection is an active area of research.
Such an image can be obtained by employing an acoustic tool, such as the Ultrasonic Borehole Imager (UBI) tool available from Schlumberger or the Circumferential Borehole imaging Logging (CBIL) tool available from Baker. These tools obtain an image from the borehole wall by emitting a focused beam of high-frequency acoustic energy towards the borehole wall, followed by a series of measurements on the signal that is reflected back from the borehole wall. Such an image can also be obtained by employing a microresistivity tool such as the Fullbore Micro Imager or the Formation Micro Scanner available from Schlumberger. The microresistivity tool comprises a number of pads with individual electrodes, which pads are during normal operation in contact with the borehole wall. The image can also be obtained by employing any other suitable tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,371 discloses a method of detecting significant planar events intersecting a borehole from an image of the borehole wall, which image comprises a two-dimensional array of numbers, each number being the magnitude of a relevant borehole parameter at a point defined by the circumferential direction φ and the depth z, which method comprises the steps of:    (a) determining for each point i of the image the slope ηi of the sinusoids by computing the edge gradient direction;    (b) selecting a parameter relation (zi=d−R tan Φ cos (φi−α)) that represents the intersection of a planar event with the borehole wall, wherein the intersection is characterized by three parameters (Φ, α, d);    (c) creating a discretized three-dimensional parameter space consisting of numbers as a function of the three parameters (Φ, α, d), wherein each number is a measure of the support for a sinusoid passing through (φi, zi) with slope ηi characterized by the parameters that pertain to that number;    (d) selecting in the parameter space a set of the largest numbers, wherein the parameters that pertain to each of these largest numbers represent the intersections of the significant planar events with the borehole wall; and    (e) presenting the intersections pertaining to the set of the largest numbers as a list of data representing significant planar events.
The intersection that pertains to the values for each parameter that pertain to the significant planar events can be presented to obtain a treated image.
Steps (c) and (d) of the known method are implemented via a so-called Hough Transformation. Improving the Hough Transformation by using the edge gradient direction is known from the article 'Generalizing the Hough transform to detect arbitrary shapes', D. H. Ballard, Pattern Recognition, Vol. 13, No. 2, pages 111–122, 1981.
In the known method information obtained from the edge gradient direction is used to further constrain the number of sets of parameters for which the support has to be evaluated. A disadvantage of the known method is that the edge detector is only capable of detecting the most prominent local orientation, which is insufficient in case of combined fractures and bedding or in case of intersecting fractures.


Cold thread forming tap or screw tap with a shaft, said shaft having a chuck portion at the one end and a forming or cutting profile portion on the other end, the forming or cutting profile portion being realised as a separate profile element and being fixable centrically and secured against rotation on the shaft by means of a fixing device, characterised in that the profile element has a small axial length and on the outside a lead-in or starting tap cone, respectively, that juts and/or indentations are formed at the end of the shaft and on that side of the profile element facing the shaft, which interlock in a positively fitting manner, that an automatic centring of the profile element takes place on the shaft when the profile element is put onto the shaft.

It is known to create interior (or female) threads with the aid of a screw tap or a thread forming tap. Screw taps evolve from screw bolts by generating cutting edges through the introduction of axis parallel or slant flutes. In the lead-in region, a so-called starting taper is provided, which is mostly realised in conical form. The hole in the workpiece is pilot-drilled with the core diameter.
Thread forming taps are also geometrically derived from a screw bolt. However, they do not remove any material, but only displace it. The workpiece is therefore pilot-drilled with the average pitch diameter. The thread forming tap has an ascending profile on the cone point, which progressively displaces the material.
It is known to increase the wear resistance of thread forming taps through selection of the material they are made from and by heat treatment. On this occasion, particular advantages are brought about by coating with titanium nitride (Maschinenmarkt, Würzburg 92 (1986) 40, pages 88 to 92). But it is also known to form thread forming taps from hard metal (Maschine+Werkzeug 12/95, pages 26 to 28).
From DE 39 34 621 C2, a thread forming tap has become known, with a cylindrical chuck shaft and a form-giving region with polygonal cross-section differing from the annular shape, as well as with thread corrugations on the outer perimeter which correspond to the thread which is to be produced. In the region of the cross section corners of the form-giving region, cylindrical ridges from particularly hard and wear resistant material are soldered into corresponding, axially running grooves, which ridges have a contour on the outer perimeter matching the thread corrugations. Thread forming taps have the same thread profile as screw taps, but have a polygonal cross section in their profile portion, with three or six "corners", e.g.
The profile portion of thread forming taps and screw taps has a first forming region by which the thread is essentially produced, as well as a guiding portion following thereafter. This serves for the guiding of the tool when it is turned back from the bore, after completion of the interior thread.
Thread forming taps and screw taps are relatively expensive to manufacture and consist of a high-quality material, as the case may be. After wear or damage, the tool is no more useful.
The invention has the objective to create a cold thread forming tap or screw tap which can be produced with little expenditure of material and manufacture.


An electrostatic recording material, on which image information has been recorded as an electrostatic latent image, and which is capable of outputting a signal in accordance with the electrostatic latent image by being subjected to exposure scanning with reading light having been produced by a reading light source, is obtained. Electrostatic shielding is performed between a moving member, which is capable of moving at the time of the exposure scanning of the electrostatic recording material with the reading light, and which has characteristics of undergoing capacity coupling with the electrostatic recording material, and the electrostatic recording material. The exposure scanning is performed in this state.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrostatic latent image read-out method and apparatus. This invention particularly relates to an electrostatic latent image read-out method and apparatus, wherein reading light having been produced by a reading light source is irradiated to an electrostatic recording material, on which image information has been recorded as an electrostatic latent image, and which is capable of outputting a signal in accordance with the electrostatic latent image by being subjected to exposure scanning with the reading light, and the electrostatic latent image is thereby read out from the electrostatic recording material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Systems for recording and reading out radiation image information by the utilization of electrostatic recording materials have heretofore been proposed. With the proposed systems for recording and reading out radiation image information, such that a radiation dose delivered to an object during a medical X-ray image recording operation may be kept small, and such that the image quality of an image and its capability of serving as an effective tool in, particularly, the efficient and accurate diagnosis of an illness may be enhanced, a photo-conductive material sensitive to X-rays, such as a selenium plate constituted of, e.g., amorphous selenium (a-Se), is employed as an electrostatic recording material. The electrostatic recording material is exposed to radiation (i.e., recording light), such as X-rays, carrying radiation image information, and latent image charges carrying the radiation image information are thereby accumulated in the electrostatic recording material. Thereafter, the electrostatic recording material is scanned with reading light, such as a laser beam, and currents occurring in the electrostatic recording material are detected via flat plate-shaped electrodes or stripe-shaped electrodes, which are located on opposite surface sides of the electrostatic recording material. In this manner, the electrostatic latent image represented by the latent image charges, i.e. the radiation image information, is readout. (Such systems for recording and reading out radiation image information are described in, for example, Patent Literature 1, Patent Literature 2, Patent Literature 3, and Non-Patent Literature 1.)
Also, the applicant proposed an electrostatic recording material and a read-out apparatus for reading out radiation image information from the electrostatic recording material, on which the radiation image information has been recorded. The proposed electrostatic recording material comprises:
i) a first electrical conductor layer having transmissivity to recording radiation,
ii) a recording photo-conductive layer, which exhibits photo-conductivity when it is exposed to the recording radiation,
iii) a charge transporting layer, which acts approximately as an insulator with respect to electric charges having a polarity identical with the polarity of electric charges occurring in the first electrical conductor layer, and which acts approximately as a conductor with respect to electric charges having a polarity opposite to the polarity of the electric charges occurring in the first electrical conductor layer,
iv) a reading photo-conductive layer, which exhibits photo-conductivity when it is exposed to reading light, and
v) a second electrical conductor layer having transmissivity to the reading light,
the layers being overlaid in this order. (The proposed electrostatic recording material and the proposed read-out apparatus are described in, for example, Patent Literature 4.)
With the read-out apparatus described in Patent Literature 4, the electrostatic recording material, on which an electrostatic latent image has been recorded, is scanned with the reading light having been produced by a light source, and the electrostatic latent image having been recorded on the electrostatic recording material is thereby read out. The exposure scanning with the reading light may be performed with a technique, wherein the electrostatic recording material is scanned with spot light, such as a laser beam, in a main scanning direction and a sub-scanning direction, a technique, wherein a line light source for producing linear reading light is moved in a sub-scanning direction, or the like.
The conventional read-out apparatus described above is often utilized for medical purposes. In such cases, it is necessary for the dose of X-rays, which are ordinarily employed as the recording light, to be kept small. Therefore, it is required that the read-out apparatus be a low-noise system. Also, in order for adverse effects of X-ray scattering to be suppressed, a grid is often utilized at the time of the image recording. In order for moire stripes to be prevented from occurring, a moving grid, which vibrates, is often utilized at the time of the image recording. (The technique for utilizing the moving grid is described in, for example, Patent Literature 6.)
Patent Literature 1:                U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,275
Patent Literature 2:                U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,146
Patent Literature 3:                U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,626
Patent Literature 4:                U.S. Pat. No. 6,268,614
Patent Literature 5:                U.S. Patent Laid-Open No. 20010025936
Patent Literature 6:                U.S. Patent Laid-Open No. 20020001366
Non-Patent Literature 1:                "A Method of Electronic Readout of Electrophotographic and Electroradiographic Image," Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering, Volume 4, Number 4, Fall 1978, pp. 178-182
However, in the cases of electrostatic latent image read-out apparatuses provided with a moving member, which moves or has possibility of moving while the exposure scanning with the reading light is being performed, and the signal is being readout, it often occurs that the moving member constitutes a noise source, and that a signal-to-noise ratio of the signal having been read out becomes low. Specifically, in cases where the moving member has the characteristics of undergoing capacity coupling with the electrostatic recording material, if the moving member moves at the time of the exposure scanning, the problems will occur in that the capacity of the electrostatic recording material fluctuates, and that the signal-to-noise ratio of the signal obtained from the exposure scanning becomes low.
In cases where the exposure scanning is performed through the movement of the reading light source, it often occurs that the reading light source itself acts as the moving member that constitutes the noise source. Also, a releasably secured member which is not secured firmly, or the like, has the possibility of moving at the time of the exposure scanning, and it may be considered that the releasably secured member, or the like, is one kind of the moving member that constitutes the noise source. In particular, in the cases of the read-out apparatuses, in which the reading light source moves during the exposure scanning, due to the moving operation of the reading light source, there is the possibility that, besides the reading light source itself, other moving members will move.
Also, in Patent Literature 6 described above, the moving grid is described as one of the moving members. Specifically, in cases where the outputting of the signal is performed in the state in which the vibrations of the moving grid have not yet been ceased perfectly, it often occurs that the fluctuation in capacity of the electrostatic recording material occurs, and that the signal-to-noise ratio of the obtained signal become low. Therefore, it may be considered that the moving grid also acts as the moving member that constitutes the noise source. In Patent Literature 6 described above, a technique for operating the moving member at uniform speed, or a technique for performing the outputting of the signal after the movement of the moving member has been ceased perfectly is utilized in order to prevent the capacity of the electrostatic recording material from fluctuating at the time of the outputting of the signal. However, with the technique utilized in Patent Literature 6 described above, the problems occur in that a throughput of the signal outputting operation cannot be kept high.

Electrostatic latent image read-out method and apparatus


Remote indication of the charge state condition of the circuit breaker closing springs is provided by a remote indicating unit. The indicating unit interfaces with the circuit breaker closing assembly to actuate an electric switch in response to the position of the closing assembly. Actuation of the switch turns a on remote signal device when the closing spring is completely charged.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,001,742 entitled "Circuit Breaker Having Improved Operating Mechanism" describes a circuit breaker capable of interrupting several thousand amperes of circuit current at several hundred volts potential. As described therein, the operating mechanism is in the form of a pair of powerful operating springs that are restrained from separating the circuit breaker contacts by means of a latching system. Once the operating mechanism has responded to separate the contacts, the operating springs must be recharged to supply sufficient motive force to the movable contact arms that carry the contacts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,701, entitled "Operating Mechanism for High Ampere-Rated Circuit Breakers", describes an operating mechanism capable of immediately resetting the circuit breaker operating mechanism to reclose the contacts without having to recharge the circuit breaker operating springs immediately after opening the circuit breaker contacts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,667, entitled "Rating Module Unit for High Ampere-Rated Circuit Breaker", describes a circuit breaker closing spring modular unit whereby the circuit breaker operating springs are contained within a separate unit from the operating mechanism, and can be installed within the circuit breaker enclosure without disturbing the operating assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,755, entitled "Handle Operator Assembly for High Ampere-Rated Circuit Breaker", describes a handle operator unit capable of generating large spring charging force by means of an externally-accessible manually-operated handle. A ratchet and pawl assembly allows the manually-applied charging forces to be applied to the operating springs. Once the circuit breaker operating mechanism closing springs are fully-charged, some means must be employed to release the pawl to allow the closing springs to become fully operational.
British Provisional Application No. P87,407, filed Mar. 17, 1995, entitled "Closing Arrangement for High Ampere-Rated Circuit Breakers", describes an arrangement capable of releasing the fully charged closing springs.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/315,385, filed Sep. 30, 1994, entitled "Interlock for High Ampere-Rated Circuit Breaker Closing Springs", describes a closing spring interlock arrangement, which provides a method to interlock the closing springs to insure that the closing springs are released only at the appropriate time.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/220,382, filed Mar. 30, 1994, entitled "A Motor Operator Interface Unit for High Ampere-Rated Circuit Breakers", describes a simplified arrangement of an electric motor mechanism to automatically charge the circuit breaker closing springs.

Means of remote charge indication for high ampere-rated circuit breakers