An image sensor for detecting a wide spectrum includes a plurality of infrared ray receiving layers which individually receive infrared rays having different wavelengths for each pixel, the plurality of infrared ray receiving layers stacked to each other. The image sensor, which is an integrated image sensor where at least two micro bolometers are stacked, acquires spectrum information about visible rays and near-infrared rays as well as two or more infrared rays applied on an object, without mechanical/thermal/optical distortion, and provides the spectrum information to a silicon-based semiconductor such as a photodiode, thereby improving photoelectric conversion efficiency.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image sensor, and more particularly, to an image sensor for detecting a wide spectrum, in order to effectively detect various visible and infrared spectrum and accordingly enhance photoelectric conversion efficiency.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an image sensor is an electrical device for converting an optical image, that is, changes in light, into an electrical signal, and is used widely in mobile phones, digital still cameras, personal digital assistants (PDAs), toys, electronic games, robots, personal computer cameras, optical computer mice, office scanners, security surveillance cameras, night infrared cameras, recognition systems, biometric systems, wireless endoscopes, etc.
Meanwhile, one of various methods for obtaining visible images is to obtain visible color images in a visible region having wavelengths of 400 through 700 nm using a TV camera, etc.
For example, there has been developed a method of capturing red/green/blue (RGB) images at different times by rotating a color filter wheel and then combining the RGB images, a method of separating light into its spectral components using an optical spectroscope and a plurality of image sensors (generally, three RGB image sensors) to distinguish colors apart, and a method of representing colors through a single image sensor using a Bayer pattern invented by Dr. Bayer. The method using the Bayer pattern, among the methods, has low color reproducibility compared to the other two methods. Recently, a method of representing colors using the fact that the depth of silicon in which light is permeated depends on the wavelength of the light has been proposed.
In the above-described methods, the reason of creating a color image by separating RGB colors from each other, detecting and then combining the RGB colors upon viewing is because the shape and color of an object depend on the wavelengths of RGB colors. That is, an object has its intrinsic apparent characteristics in various wavelengths regions which also extend beyond the visible light region.
Accordingly, when a target object is measured in various optical regions having different spectrums, such as ultraviolet rays, near-infrared rays and infrared rays, as well as visible rays, more information about the target object can be obtained. That is, a color can be defined as a combination of two or more pieces of wavelength spectrum information, instead of as a simple RGB combination. In this case, images which are different from those which human eyes sense may appear, but such images will contain useful information when they are applied to an automated imaging system such as a machine vision system.
In general, a part of ultraviolet rays, visible rays, and near-infrared rays having wavelengths shorter than 1 μm, are sensed by a silicon-based image sensor, and infrared rays having wavelengths longer than 1 μm are sensed by an image sensor made of InSb, MCT, etc.
In order to create multichannel images using the above-described methods, different cameras including different image sensors and different technologies are needed.
However, in the case where two or more image sensors or cameras are used, a serious problem occurs in an optical arrangement upon manufacturing the image sensors or cameras, and mechanical/thermal/optical distortion is generated due to environmental factors. Accordingly, an electrical/mechanical/optical system for compensating for such mechanical/thermal/optical distortion is needed, which results in an increase of cost.

Image sensor for detecting wide spectrum and method of manufacturing the same


A data transfer request of a data pro cessing device with respect to a synchronous memory is divided by a burst transfer length unit request dividing section into a plurality of data transfer requests in which a data transfer amount is an amount of data to be burst-transferred at a time and the data to be burst-transferred at a time is within a single memory bank. An assembling section assembles the divided data transfer requests into a plurality of new data transfer requests obtained by combining the divided data transfer requests, one for each memory bank. A data processing device can efficiently access continuous data stored in a plurality of memory banks, and is useful as a memory access control circuit of controlling an access operation of a data processing device with respect to a synchronous memory.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory access control circuit of controlling an access operation of a data processing device with respect to a synchronous memory.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With recent improvements in semiconductor process technology, large-scale system circuits have been widely developed. In some large-scale system circuits, a plurality of data processing devices are provided in a single system. Such large-scale system circuits (data processing system) often adopt a unified memory access system in which the data processing devices use a single memory in common. The unified memory access system is typically provided with a memory access control circuit which arbitrates data transfer requests issued from a plurality of data processing devices to a single memory. A memory access control circuit for use in the unified memory access system has been proposed, which limits a data transfer length to a fixed length, divides each data transfer request from a plurality of data processing devices into fixed-length data transfer requests, and arbitrates the divided requests (see, for example, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2004-46371).
The unified memory access system often uses an SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM). The SDRAM comprises a column address counter in which a column address is externally supplied and preset, and can readily perform continuous data access by internally incrementing the counter. Such access is called burst access.
In the SDRAM, when another column address is input during burst access, data located at the same row address and the other column address can be accessed.
Note that, if row addresses are changed during continuous access, an operation time of a row address system (e.g., a time required for precharging, etc.) is required in addition to an operation time of a column address system, so that it takes an extra long time to read out data.
In order to eliminate such an extra access time, the SDRAM comprises a plurality of memory blocks (hereinafter referred to as a memory bank, or simply a bank) which can be independently operated. In general, the SDRAM comprises a plurality of memory banks (e.g., a bank A, a bank B, a bank C, and a bank D). These memory banks are repeatedly accessed in sequence, thereby making it possible to achieve efficient data transfer.
FIG. 11 illustrates access timing with which the banks A to D of the SDRAM are repeatedly accessed in sequence. FIG. 11 illustrates an example in which the banks are switched every four words, CL (column address strobe (CAS) latency: the number of memory cycles from when a column address is determined to when read data is determined) is three cycles.
For example, in the SDRAM which operates with this access timing, initially, an active command (Act) is used to select the bank A and provide a row address 0 (Row 0). Thereafter, a read command (Read) is input to designate a column address 0 (Col 0), thereby reading 4-word data A00 to A03 in sequence from the bank A. Thereafter, an active command designating the bank B, and a read command are input, and 4-word data is read from the bank B. Similarly, sequential access is performed for the banks C and D, so that 4-word data is read out from the banks.
Input of an active command (Act), designation of a row address, and designation of a column address by a read command (Read) with respect to the bank B can be issued at some point during the time when the bank A is accessed. Therefore, at some point during the time when a certain bank is accessed, a command is issued in advance with respect to the next bank to be accessed. By accessing the banks A to D in sequence in this manner, it is possible to eliminate a waste access time, resulting in efficient memory access. Further, in the example of FIG. 11, a precharge command (Pre) is input to the banks A and B so as to access Rows 1 of the banks A and B.
Therefore, in the unified memory access system composed of the SDRAM, when continuous data, such as audio data or image data, is stored in the SDRAM, it is possible to perform efficient data transfer. For example, FIG. 12 illustrates that the bank structure of the SDRAM is used to store continuous data, such as image data. In this example, continuous data corresponding to one line of an image is stored in the banks A to D in units of 4 words. Specifically, data 0 to data 3 are stored in the bank A, data 4 to data 7 are stored in the bank B, data 8 to data 11 are stored in the bank C, and data 12 to data 15 are stored in bank D. Data corresponding to the following one line is similarly stored in the banks A to D in units of 4 words.
The data thus stored is controlled by the memory access control circuit. For example, when a read start position is 0 and a transfer size is 16 words, the banks A to D are each accessed once so that data corresponding to one line of an image is efficiently transferred as illustrated in FIG. 13A.
However, in the above-described memory access control circuit, when data is read from some midpoint of a bank, waste data transfer may occur.
For example, as illustrated in FIG. 13B, when a read start position is 4 and a transfer size is 16 words, the banks A to D are each accessed twice in the system in which 4 banks are continuously accessed. In this case, access to the bank A at the time of the first request and access to the banks B to D at the time of the second request are wasteful, resulting in inefficient transfer.
Also, as illustrated in FIG. 13C, when a read start position is 0 and a transfer size is 90 words, the banks A to D are each accessed six times in the system in which 4 banks are continuously accessed. Also, as illustrated in FIG. 13D, when a read start position is 90 and a transfer size is 90 words, the banks A to D are each accessed seven times. Concerning the data transfer of FIGS. 13C and 13D, the data transfer of FIG. 13D has the number of times of access which is larger by one than that of FIG. 13C, no matter that the transfer size is the same 90 words.
As described above, the transfer efficiency of the above-described memory access control circuit of the unified memory access system varies depending on the read start position.
To address such transfer inefficiency, a memory access control circuit has been proposed, which changes the sequence of data to be read from the SDRAM so that memory access is always started from a predetermined bank and ended in another predetermined bank, thereby eliminating waste access (see, for example, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2000-251470).
However, in the case of the memory access control circuit which changes the sequence of data to be read out, for a bank which is accessed from some midpoint thereof, data at another column address is combined in the same bank, depending on the read start position, thereby performing data transfer with burst transfer size. Therefore, a column address needs to be input again at some point during the time when data transfer (burst transfer) is performed. Assuming that column addresses are changed at some point during the time when burst transfer is performed, when access to one bank is ended and the next bank is accessed, an invalid period (a period during which data is not output) occurs, resulting in a decrease in data transfer efficiency.
For example, FIG. 14 illustrates timing with which the SDRAM is accessed in a manner such that, when the banks A to D of the SDRAM are accessed in sequence, only column addresses are changed, but not row addresses, when the bank A is being accessed. In this example, when burst access is being performed with respect to Row 1 and Col 0 of the bank A, only the column address is changed to Col 6 while keeping the same bank and the same row address, and access is performed. In this case, another column address is input during burst access, an active command (Act), a read command (Read), and a write command can no longer be input, so that an invalid period occurs between output data of the bank A and output data of the bank B.


Methods, devices, and computer programs are presented for consolidating overlapping data provided by multiple sources. One method includes operations for associating a plurality of devices to a user, each device operable to capture data associated with the user, and for receiving, from the plurality of devices, captured data about a first activity associated with a first period of time. Additionally, the method includes operations for detecting that the received captured data from two or more devices provide overlapping information about the first activity, and for evaluating one or more rules for consolidating the overlapping information to produce consolidated data. The consolidated data provides a unified view of the first activity during the first period of time. The consolidated data is stored in permanent storage and made available for presentation to the user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present embodiments relate to methods, devices, systems, and computer programs for analyzing data, and more particularly, methods, devices, systems, and computer programs for consolidating overlapping data provided by multiple devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of portable devices has grown exponentially over the last few decades, and in particularly, the use of biometric monitoring devices that users wear on their bodies to measure activity levels, as well measuring environmental or user parameters (e.g., temperature, heart rate, altitude, etc.). Sometimes, data related to user activities may be acquired from multiple devices, such as a pedometer, a smart phone, a GPS (Global Positioning System) device, a thermometer, a weight scale, etc.
Occasionally, two or more devices can provide information about the same parameter related to activities of the user. For example, a user may get a step count from a pedometer worn on the wrist and from a step counter embedded on a running shoe. However, the accuracy of the different devices may change according to the inherent accuracy of the device or according to environmental circumstances (e.g., poor GPS satellite data reception).
When the user gets conflicting information from multiple devices, the user may not know which is the accurate data. A system is desired to identify the best source of information in order to provide the best possible data to the user.
It is in this context that embodiments arise.


A casing for electric stoves includes an annular frame and a bottom board that are detachably coupled through a plurality of connectors. The frame has at least one lateral side with an air convection means located thereon. The bottom board has an upper surface with a heat control means installed thereon. Through the detachable bottom board, the entire electric stoves need not to be disassembled or removed when malfunction occurs and needs repair. By separating the bottom board from the frame, the electric link between the heat control means and the electric stove can be disconnected to replace the heat control means. Thus the malfunction can be fixed quickly, and interruption or delay of cooking that might otherwise happen can be prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a casing for electric stoves and particularly to a casing for wedged or non-wedged type of electric stoves which has a detachable bottom board separated from the casing. In the event of malfunction, replacing a heat control means on the bottom board can quickly fix the malfunction without interrupting or delaying cooking.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electric stoves are cooking instruments that do cooking through electric energy. Electromagnetic stoves heat the bottom of an iron cookware through electromagnetic agitation for cooking while electric stoves directly heat a cookware through a heater.
The electric stoves can be divided into single stove type or multi-stove type depending on the number of stoves. The single stove type usually can be moved freely. The multi-stove type usually is embedded in a counter top of the kitchen. Both type of the electric stoves have at least one heater and a heat control means located in a casing. The casing has a top surface covered by a glass or ceramic face panel. to serves as a holding surface and aesthetic counter top between the electric stove and the cookware.
The casing usually has four sides and a bottom that are combined into one inseparable piece. The heater and heat control means are fastened to the bottom of the casing. In the event of a malfunction for the single stove or multi-stove type, the face panel and heater would have to be removed from the upper side in this order and possible malfunction spots in the heat control means are then tested through an electric inspection instrument. If the source of malfunction cannot be determined on-site, the entire set has to be returned to factory for further inspection followed by repairs or replacement of elements. For the wedged type electric stove, removal (removing) of the electric stove forms a big and unsightly opening on the kitchen counter top. Moreover, either the single stove or multi-stove type, cooking cannot be done during repairing. Furthermore, (And) the duration of repair time is often unpredictable.


The present invention relates to a method for differentiating a neural stem cell into a neuronal cell such as a neuroblast or a neuron in vitro or in vivo. Particularly, the invention provides for a method for neural stem cell differentiation by contacting the neural stem cell with a 5HT1A ligand or agonist.

Neural stem cells have been isolated from various regions of both rodent and human nervous systems and expanded in vitro as free floating aggregates (U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,832 to Weiss et al.) or as a monolayer attached to a substratum-coated dish (U.S. Pat. No. 5,753,506 to Johe). Neural stem cells are capable of extended self-renewal and have the ability, under appropriate conditions, to generate one or more subtypes of neurons and glia cells in vitro. By virtue of these properties, neural stem cells and their progeny can be applied for pharmaceutical drug discovery and for cell transplantation in neurological disorders.
The fate of neural stem cells can be controlled by a variety of extracellular factors. Growth factors such as basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (bFGF), Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF), Transforming Growth Factor (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,851,832 and 5,753,506) and Leukemia Growth Factor (LIF; U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,530 to Carpenter) have all been shown to control the in vitro proliferation of neural stem cells. Growth factor expanded stem cells can differentiate into neuron and glia after mitogen withdrawn from the culture medium, but the proportion of neural stem cells that differentiate into neurons is minimal. However, the proportion of neural stem cells differentiating into the neuronal pathway can be increased by exposing the neural stem cells to various other growth factors such as Platelet Derived Growth Factor (PDGF; U.S. Pat. No. 5,753,506); bFGF (U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,948 to Gage and Jasodha); including neurotrophins such as Brain-Derived Growth Factor (BDNF; Shetty and Turner, J Neurobiol. 1998;35:395–425); Neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) and Neurotrophin-4 (NT-4; Caldwell et al., Nat Biotechnol. 2001;19:475–9); and Notch antagonists (U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,902 to Artavanis-Tsakonas et al.), to increase the quantity of neurons derived from a certain amount of neural stem cells.
For a variety of drugs used to treat psychiatric disorders, accumulating data from experimental studies are now providing novel insights into the mechanism by which the drugs produce their clinical effects. For example, preliminary data has indicated that treatment with the antidepressant drug fluoxetine increases neurogenesis in adult rat hippocampus (Mahlberg, et al., J. Neurosci. 2000;20:9104–10), which may be the reason for the delayed effects of the drug. In addition, numerous studies have shown that retinoic acid has similar differentiation effects in several mammalian systems, including rat, mouse and human embryonic stem cells and human neuroblastoma cells (Inatani et al., Brain Res 2001; 20:217; Guo et al., Electropheresis 2001; 22:3067; Jelitai et al, J Neurobiol 2002; 51:54–65; Lopez-Carballo et al., J Biol. Chem. PubMed ID: 12000752, e-publication ahead of print; Schuldiner et al., Brain Res 2001; 913:201–5; and Freemantle et al., Oncogene 2002; 21:2880–89). This suggests that diverse mammalian stem cells will be similarly affected by a specific compound or drug. However, further experimental data on the cellular mechanisms of action of drugs such as these are still needed, and a possible application of them outside of a clinical setting has, until now, remained unexplored.
The availability of large quantities of neuronal cells such as neurons or neuroblasts is important for the application of such cells both in vivo and in vitro, e.g., in cell transplantation therapy for neurodegenerative diseases and in vitro drug testing in psychiatric disorders. Such quantities can only be obtained by differentiation of cultured neural stem cells into these cell types, which requires large-scale cell culture using a significant amount of various growth factors and/or neurotrophins. Given the sparse availability of neural stem cells, especially human neural stem cells, the cost of growth factor and neurotrophin preparations, and the inability of some factors to cross the blood-brain barrier, there is a need for more efficient and economically viable strategies for differentiating neural stem cells into neuronal cells such as neuroblasts and neurons. This invention addresses these and other needs in the art.

Method for neural stem cell differentiation using 5HT-1A agonists


A flexor hinge orthosis comprises a forearm frame; a first frame connected to the forearm frame to be rotatable about a first rotation axis that extends in a lateral direction; a second frame configured to be fixed to a palmar of a user and connected to the second frame to be rotatable about a second rotation axis that extends in an upward-and-downward direction; a thumb frame; an operating lever; an actuating lever; an actuating rod; and a finger frame.

Promoting functional hand activities is a crucial rehabilitation goal for persons with tetraplegic spinal cord injury (SCI). Some people with mid- to low-level cervical (C) SCI achieve useful tenodesis grasp, which is opposition of the thumb and the index and middle fingers through reciprocal wrist extension and finger flexion, with the aid of a wrist-driven flexor hinge orthosis (WDFHO). Generally, persons with C6 and C7 tetraplegia can use a WDFHO for a variety of daily activities, such as eating, dressing, using the toilet, grooming, and writing. The WDFHO enables persons with tetraplegic SCI to attain a functional tenodesis grasp that creates enough passive tension in the paralyzed thumb and finger flexor muscles (such as flexor pollicis longus, flexor digitorum superficialis, and flexor digitorum profundus) with active wrist extension by contraction of the innervated extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB) and extensor carpi radialis longus (ECRL). Therefore, the WDFHO is an aideal device for persons with C6 or C7 tetraplegia who have wrist extensors with muscle strength of grade 3 or above on the manual muscle test (MMT) and who have either flickers or no finger movement to furnish their prehension effectively.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, The WDFHO is made up of three main components: finger, palmar, and forearm. These three components are hinged at the anatomical axes of the wrist and metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints J1 and J2. The WDFHO operates on a two-hinge parallelogram system that converts actively controlled wrist extension to passive flexion of the fingers at the MCP joint J2, resulting in a three-point prehension or three-jaw chuck grasp in which the index and middle fingers move together toward the immobilized thumb. Conversely, when the wrist flexes actively or passively due to gravity, the MCP joint J2 extends and the fingers open. An adjustable actuating lever 50 at the wrist joint J1 determines the level of wrist extension, allowing the hand to open and close at varying degrees. The level of wrist extension needed is based on the size of the object to be grasped.
The flexor hinge orthosis (FHO) was originally designed to restore upper-limb function of persons with poliomyelitis. As the incidence of poliomyelitis decreased, researchers began to investigate the application of FHO to other populations with upper-limb paralysis, such as SCI, hemiplegia, and brachial plexus injury.
Variations of FHOs exist for persons with SCI who are unable to use the wrist extension functionally. Persons with high-level SCI who lack voluntary wrist extension and hand motion are suitable candidates for the ratchet FHO, the Mckibben FHO, the electric motor-driven FHO, and the shoulder harness-driven FHO.
The ratchet FHO is designed to push a ratchet lever until the fingers reach the desired position. To form a three-point prehension, the user must exert force on the lever to passively close the fingers by gross motion of the other hand or by pushing against any stationary object. When the ratchet button is tapped, the ratchet lock is opened and the grasp is released.
Two external power sources, compressed carbon dioxide (CO2) gas or an electric motor, can also substitute for paralyzed wrist extensors in a second variation of the FHO. The CO2 gas is used to inflate an artificial muscle, also referred to as the Mckibben muscle, which consists of an inner rubber tube and an outer helically woven fabric. When pressurized with CO2, this flexible rubber "bladder" expands against the woven fabric and shortens in length like a real muscle. Inflation of the artificial muscle propels the fingers into flexion against the stable thumb, and grasp release after deflating the Mckibben muscle can be achieved by gravity, spring, or the pull of a rubber band. The electrical motor-driven FHO is powered by a rechargeable battery pack. It can be controlled by a switch, which the patient may activate using any available muscle. The electromyography (EMG) signal can proportionally control the electric motor using a microprocessor.
Finally, the Bowden cable system can be incorporated to activate three-point prehension in the shoulder harness-driven FHO. In this orthosis, the shoulder motion pulls the cable out of its housing and transfers power from the shoulder musculature to the FHO to release the grasp. Grasp closure is produced by a rubber band or flexor spring pull.
These four FHO variations are complex. These orthoses are subject to actuators' bulkiness, poor cosmesis, and donning issues and require more technical support and more sophisticated training programs than the WDFHO prototype operated by voluntary wrist extension.
Until now, other rehabilitative approaches also have been attempted to improve hand function in persons with tetraplegic SCI. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) enables persons with tetraplegia to restore grasp function. This system uses electrical current pulses to excite nerves going to paralyzed muscles and provokes contraction of the muscles required for grasp and release. In addition, reconstructive surgery can be performed to transfer active muscles or shorten tendons to enhance grasp force.
Despite the emergence of new technologies and evolution of upper-limb rehabilitation for persons with tetraplegia, the WDFHO still continues to be used to improve hand function because of its noninvasiveness, simplicity of design, relatively low cost, and easy availability in the market. However, little is known about the biomechanical properties of this orthosis. Most of the available studies for the WDFHO date from the 1960s to the mid-1980s and only discuss basic construction and structural modifications. Furthermore, the majority of information on using the WDFHO in clinical practice comes from protocols that various departments had written for their own use, and clinical reports in the literature rely heavily on questionnaires to evaluate the efficacy of the WDFHO. Thus, it is difficult to accurately assess the usefulness of the WDFHO and to clearly understand its function without a careful biomechanical analysis involving mechanical modeling of the operating principle. Given the limited information on biomechanical characteristics in the literature, additional biomechanical assessment for the WDFHO is imperative. The present inventors have evaluated the effectiveness of the WDFHO by providing quantitative biomechanical analysis of the orthosis.

Flexor hinge orthosis and wrist-driven flexor hinge orthosis


A seating apparatus having a base, front and rear upright support members, and two vertical transverse support members. The transverse members comprise the seating means. Extending from the rear upright support members are two vertical supports holding two rear upright support members. Leg support members are rotatably mounted to the transverse support members. Coupled by ratchet devices to the rear of the seating means is a seat back. The seat back is composed of two vertical seat back members separated by horizontal seat back members. The ratchet allows the seat back to be 90 degrees from the seating means or to rearwardly pivot to parallel with said seating means. Legs formed at the top back of the seat back support the seat back against the ground when the seat back is fully reclined. Arm support members are pivotally coupled to the sides of seat back. Also disclosed are two pneumatic devices. The first pneumatically advances a horizontal armature. The second pneumatically advances a vertical armature.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to pneumatic apparatus with armature for controlling bodily insertion devices.
More particularly, the present invention relates to adjustable pneumatic apparatus and a collapsible seating apparatus which may used therewith.
In a further and more specific aspects, the invention relates to an adjustable, collapsible, and portable seating apparatus which can support the body in a variety of positions, including fully reclined.
2. Prior Art
Seating apparatus of many kinds are widely known. The art is replete with various apparatus used to sit upon, including adjustable chairs and folding chairs that store away in a minimum of space. Yet only medical appliances with a minimum of comfort, if any, are available for seating so that the sitter's legs are comfortably spread apart. Further very few seating apparatuses are available for restraining the sitter. Additionally, this seating apparatus has no specific seating surface.
Pneumatic devices of many kinds are widely known. Yet a pneumatic device comprising armature to which bodily insertion devices may be attached and then controlled to move forward via the pneumatics are believed to be unknown. Further unknown is such a device which may be adjustable on a vertical scale for proper alignment with bodily orifices.
It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies inherent in the prior art.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide improvements in seating apparatus.
Another object of the invention is the provision of improvements especially adapted for use in connection with seating apparatus allowing a myriad of seating and reclining positions.
And another object of the invention is to provide improved means for comfortable seating wherein the user's legs are spread apart in a comfortable fashion.
Still another object of the immediate invention is the provision of an improved pneumatic device used to move forward or advance bodily insertion devices.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide means for allowing the user to gently urge the armature of the pneumatic device to advance bodily insertion devices.
Yet still another object of the invention is the provision of improved means for adjusting the vertical position of the armature of the pneumatic device.
A further object of the instant invention is to provide improvements in seating apparatus which may used in connection with means for allowing the user to gently urge the armature of the pneumatic device to advance bodily insertion devices.
And a further object of the invention is the provision of a seating apparatus having a ratcheting back rest.
Yet a further object of this invention is to provide a seating apparatus having a ratcheting back rest that moves from upright to a fully reclining position.
And yet an object of the invention is the provision of a collapsible, easily portable seating apparatus having means for restraining the arms and legs of the sitter.
Still yet an object of the invention is the provision of a collapsible and portable seating apparatus.
And Still yet an object of the invention is the provision of a comfortable seating apparatus with no seating surface.

Pneumatic apparatus for controlling certain bodily insertion devices and collapsible seating apparatus


Disclosed are methods of using enterovirus-specific primers for the detection and identification of enterovirus infection. Also provided are isolated nucleic acid molecules and kits useful for detection and diagnostic testing of enterovirus infection in a subject.

Enteroviruses (EVs) (genus Enterovirus, family Picornaviridae) constitute a broad range of pathogens etiologically responsible for a wide range of diseases in both humans and in other animals. Enteroviruses are small RNA viruses that contain positive, single stranded RNA as the genome. Five groups are found within the enteroviruses: coxsackievirus A, coxsackievirus B, echovirus, poliovirus, and the numbered enteroviruses. Most EV infections are asymptomatic or result in only mild symptoms, such as non-specific febrile illness or mild upper respiratory symptoms (for example, the common cold). However, enteroviruses can also cause a wide variety of other clinical illnesses, including acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis, aseptic meningitis, undifferentiated rash, acute flaccid paralysis, myocarditis, and neonatal sepsis-like disease.
Molecular diagnostic tests to detect EV in clinical specimens usually target highly conserved sites in the 5′ non-translated region (5′-NTR), allowing detection of all members of the genus (Romero, J. R., Arch. Path. & Lab. Med. 123:1161-69, 1999). These tests are genus-specific and provide an EV-positive or EV-negative result but cannot be used to identify the serotype.
Molecular diagnostic tests that target the EV VP1 capsid gene, which correlates with serotype determined by antigenic methods (Oberste et al., J. Virol. 73:1941-48, 1999), can provide both virus detection and identification (Oberste et al., J. Clin. Microbiol. 38:1170-74, 2000 and Oberste et al., J. Clin. Virol. 26:375-77, 2003). However, the identification of serotype, particularly from clinical specimens, is problematic because the virus titer is very low in original specimens. As a result, non-specific amplification can out-compete virus-specific amplification. Additionally, highly degenerate, inosine-containing primers used in diagnostic tests to broaden specificity to include all serotypes (Casas et al., J. Med. Virol. 65:138-48, 2001) often result in non-specific amplification of host cell nucleic acids that obscure the virus-specific product (Rose et al., Nucl. Acids. Res. 26:1628-35, 1998). To overcome these limitations additional molecular diagnostic methods are needed.

Detection and identification of enteroviruses by semi-nested amplification of the enterovirus VP1 protein

United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Redox flow batteries including a half-cell electrode chamber coupled to a current collecting electrode are disclosed herein. In a general embodiment, a separator is coupled to the half-cell electrode chamber. The half-cell electrode chamber comprises a first redox-active mediator and a second redox-active mediator. The first redox-active mediator and the second redox-active mediator are circulated through the half-cell electrode chamber into an external container. The container includes an active charge-transfer material. The active charge-transfer material has a redox potential between a redox potential of the first redox-active mediator and a redox potential of the second redox-active mediator. The active charge-transfer material is a polyoxometalate or derivative thereof. The redox flow battery may be particularly useful in energy storage solutions for renewable energy sources and for providing sustained power to an electrical grid.

Global energy consumption is projected to significantly increase by mid-century, and this increased need may be partially met through use of renewable energy sources. Due to the intermittent nature of some of these renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, it is desirable to incorporate compatible large-scale energy storage devices into the energy grid. Use of such grid storage is also being driven by the evolving features of the electrical grid, such as green grid technology, smart grid technology, and a distributed structure of the grid, as well as by other technological developments including electric vehicles.
In conventional flow batteries, electrolyte (e.g., catholyte and anolyte) that includes one or more dissolved electroactive species oftentimes flows through an electrochemical cell that reversibly converts chemical energy to electricity. The electroactive components are dissolved in a solvent rather than being in a solid state in such flow batteries. The electrolyte is stored external to the cell (e.g., in tanks), and can be pumped through the cell or fed into the cell via gravity. Thus, spent electrolyte in the cell is recovered for re-energization and replaced with electrolyte from the external tanks Conventionally, charge is stored and drawn from the electrolyte solution. While flow batteries may be charged and discharged without degradation of performance, conventional flow batteries commonly have low energy densities and include costly materials.
There are some recent attempts to combine the infrastructure of lithium-ion batteries with the advantages of redox flow batteries (RFBs). In one example, intercalation materials and conductive additives were made into suspensions that circulate between the electrochemical cell and external storage tanks. However, the parasitic energy losses associated with pumping the highly viscous materials and the inherent deficiencies of the intercalation materials makes this system impractical for large-scale energy storage. Previous research has also reported lithium-ion RFB systems where an aqueous iron-based cathode was separated from a metallic lithium anode by a solid lithium-ion conductor, and it was pumped to flow through the cathode in a loop. Both of these systems have decreasing voltage with charge cycling, low capacity, and limited stability of the solid lithium-ion conductor. There is also a report of a battery that is a hybrid of these two systems (intercalation cathode and lithium metal anode), but it has very low loading of the cathode material and therefore very low energy density. In addition, all of the non-aqueous studies reported have energy densities more than an order of magnitude lower than state-of-the-art aqueous RFB chemistries.

Polyoxometalate active charge-transfer material for mediated redox flow battery


Systems and methods are described for a media guidance application (e.g., implemented on a user device) that explains sports terminology to a user accessing content that corresponds to a sporting event. The media guidance application may detect terms used in the content, determine the terms are unique to the sport, and display definitions and explanations alongside the terms.

The amount of media available to users in any given media delivery system can be substantial. Unfortunately, users unfamiliar with the media can be exposed to large amounts of information which may be difficult to comprehend. In particular, media associated with sports can feature technical terms and colloquial phrases that can alienate a user and prevent him/her from enjoying the content, or understanding the sport. Conventional media systems may define technical terms in a media asset, but they do not consider the education level or previous exposure to the media asset the user may have. As a result, conventional media systems may make inefficient use of resources, only to inundate the user with irrelevant information, making the media asset less enjoyable.

Systems and methods for dynamically educating users on sports terminology


An integrated magnetic filter inductor having series and common mode windings includes a magnetic core (44) having a first leg (46), a second leg (48), and a third leg (50). The first leg (46) is connected to the second leg (48) with bridging structures (52) and (54). In a similar manner, the third leg (50) is connected to the second leg (48) with bridging structures (56) and (58). A common mode winding (64) is wound about the bridging structure (52) with a given dot orientation. A common mode winding (66) is wound about the other bridging structure (54) with the same dot polarity. Current flowing into the dot terminal of the common mode winding (64) and out of the dot terminal of the common mode winding (66) result in a net zero magnetic flux induced in the magnetic structure (44). A common mode winding (68) is wound about the bridging structure (56) with a predetermined dot polarity. A common mode winding (70) is wound about the other bridging structure (58) with the same dot polarity. Therefore, when current flows into the dot end of one of the windings (68) and (70) and out of the dot end of the other winding, the net flux induced in the magnetic structure (44) is zero. A primary winding (62) is wound about the second leg and induces a flux into the magnetic structure (44).

Filter inductors have seen widespread use in linear and switching power supplies. Low pass filters are required in almost every power conversion application to reduce input and output ripple currents of a power supply. In linear converters where sinusoidal AC inputs are rectified to various DC levels, low-pass filters are required to prevent the undesired AC components from appearing at the output terminals of the converter. In switching power supply converters the inductor requirements are even greater. In addition to the low-pass filter requirements of the switching converter, inductors are used to store and transfer energy, and to block or reduce large current pulses during each switching cycle. All switching power supply converters switch a DC voltage at a relatively high frequency, transform the signal, then rectify the high frequency AC to a DC output. As a result of the high frequency switching and large current pulsing, Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) filters are required to block voltage spikes, switching harmonics, and associated noises generated within the switching converter. EMI filters are also required to reduce susceptibility problems due to conducted and radiated interferences from the outside world.
Typically, a low-pass or EMI filter consists of some type of series inductance and associated shunt capacitance. The series inductance must have the characteristics of a high value of inductance with a low series resistance, resulting in a relatively low power loss for the filter. A filter may also consist of multiple series and common mode inductance stages separated by shunt capacitance between each stage for maximum low-pass and EMI filtering of a DC signal. In the past, this has been achieved by winding a single coil about a magnetic core for each discrete inductance requirement. Magnetic integration can be used to combine multiple series and common mode windings on a single magnetic core resulting in inductor designs of lower cost, size, weight and even improved efficiency.

Integrated magnetic inductor having series and common mode windings


A method and device of feature enhancement for digital image processing. A predefined feature in one dimension of the image is searched to obtain several peaks, and each peak is either a local maximum or local minimum. Each peak is enhanced by adding an offset to increase the local maximum or decrease the local minimum. The offset of each peak is computed by calculating the difference between each peak and the preceding peak, then multiplying by a preset ratio.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image processing, and more specifically, to one-dimensional feature enhancement.
2. Description of the Related Art
A pointing device such as mouse is a standard peripheral for a computer system. A mechanical mouse typically has rollers, or wheels, that contact a rubber-surfaced steel ball at the equator thereof and convert the rotation of the ball into electrical signals. The mechanical mouse has a number of shortcomings such as deterioration or damage to the surface of the mouse ball and mouse pad, resulting form the mechanical construction and operation thereof that rely to a significant degree on a fairly delicate compromise about how mechanical forces are developed and transferred. An optical mouse utilizes optical and electronic method to compute the movement of the mouse, is a popular replacement for the mechanical mouse. Compared with the conventional mechanical mouse, an optical mouse offers better reliability and performance. Thus optical pointing devices have captured significant market share.
An optical mouse typically has a logical operation circuit and a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) photosensing array comprising photo detectors. The CMOS photosensing array sequentially captures images of the area in which optical mouse moves and generates digital signals representing the captured image.
Images captured by the photo detectors are typically different from the real images as the captured images are distorted by both the external environment and internal signal processing and noise. The distortion of the captured image makes identifying the image in later stages of processing difficult. Therefore, appropriate actions for correcting the captured digital images are required. Examples of correction methods are image restoration, image enhancement, information extraction, link to database, and Geometric Information System (GIS). By performing correction to the captured image, the image becomes clearer and can be more easily recognized, furthermore, the similarity between the captured and real images can also be increased. Image enhancement corrects the digital image by enhancing particular features in the image. Commonly used image enhancement techniques are edge enhancement, contrast stretch, and feature extraction.
Digital images are composed of resolution cells with finite dimensions, and the edges of the image are usually blurry after the extraction process. The edge enhancement technique is an image enhancement method that clarifies the image outlines by generating spatial derivatives or digital image gradients.
The contrast stretch technique enlarges the contrast range in the image to make the image look clearer. The technique stretches each original digital value to a corresponding full range digital value according to a specific stretching ratio. A common contrast stretch technique is called linear contrast stretching, which transforms the largest recorded value to a largest allowable digital value, the smallest recorded value to a smallest allowable digital value, and transforms the remaining values according to a linear relationship. Gaussian stretching is another similar transformation technique, which assumes the distribution of the digital values is a bell shape.
Conventional image enhancement techniques correct digital images using a two-dimensional computation. However, the cost and power required for implementing two-dimensional computation in the integrated circuit are comparatively large due to the large data load and complicated computations. The present invention thus provides a simplified image enhancement method for enhancing features in digital images through one-dimensional computation.


Solid objects are formed in an imagewise layering process in which components of a dispersion are homogenized to form an alloy. Imagewise exposure of the layers to radiation to form an alloy permits separation of the exposed, homogenized regions from non-exposed, non-homogenized regions. As each layer is formed and imagewise homogenized, contiguous layer regions are bonded together to form a homogenized, three-dimensional object which may be separated from surrounding dispersion.

Layer-by-layer solid imaging techniques, including stereolithography and selective laser sintering, have been used to produce models, mold patterns, and near net shape production parts. Stereolithography provides high accuracy and excellent surface finish, but does not normally allow for production of objects in engineering materials such as nylon or ABS. Selective laser sintering can produce objects in nylon or polycarbonate but cannot produce objects of full density, and generally produces objects having low surface quality.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,414 describes imagewise formation of an integral object which can be separated from the non-imaged regions. Processes of brazing, soldering and welding are disclosed for producing the integral object.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,330 describes generation of three-dimensional objects by creating a cross-sectional pattern of the object on the surface of a fluid medium. The physical state of the medium is altered to form successive cross-sectional layers and provide a step-wise laminar buildup of the desired object. As an example of a suitable change in physical state, the patent discloses free-radical curing of acrylate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,719 describes a solid imaging process wherein high viscosity liquids are viscosity-reduced during coating and allowed to increase in viscosity during imaging steps. In particular, the compositions contain a photohardenable monomer and a photoinitiator, and the photohardening methods suggested involved free-radical polymerization, cationic polymerization, anionic polymerization, condensation polymerization, addition polymerization, and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,816 describes a process for selectively sintering a layer of powder to produce a part comprising a plurality of sintered layers. The bulk density of the powder is increased prior to sintering or melting the powder by exposure. Attaining high bulk density of powders for sintering is difficult, however, and requires the use of substantial pressures.
It is known in the art that certain advantages are associated with providing at least one above solidus temperature component in a dispersion to be sintered. The advantages are, for example, improved wetting between the components, reduction of friction between the components to allow for greater densification, capillary forces which draw the components together and drive densification, and greater molecular diffusion between components during sintering. See, for example, R. M. German, Liquid Phase Sintering, Plenum Press, New York, 1985; and Eremenko et al, Liquid Phase Sintering, Plenum Publishing Corp., New York, 1970. These disclosures do not teach imagewise layer-by-layer formation of three-dimensional integral articles.

Solid imaging process using component homogenization


Embodiments are directed towards employing a non-repudiation process for consumer credit requests based on an affirmative authentication of a one-time-pin (“OTP”) generated from a consumer biometric smartcard. The biometric smartcard may authenticate biometric information (e.g. fingerprint, facial image, iris image, or the like) of the consumer based on biometric templates stored on the biometric smartcard. In at least some of the various embodiments, the OTP may be authenticated by an identity authority, such that an associated credit request to a provider may be authenticated. In some embodiments, the provider may request and utilize a credit report for an authentic credit request to determine whether or not the consumer has an acceptable credit rating. If the consumer has an acceptable credit rating, then the provider may provide credit to the consumer.

A consumer that wishes to apply for credit may assert his identity to a provider of credit based services, such as a bank, retailer, utility company, and the like. The consumer may apply for credit by completing a credit application (paper-based or otherwise—via phone, Internet, ATM, short message service ("SMS") or other such useful medium). Along with other relevant information, the consumer typically provides an identifier with which the provider can verify his identity. The identifier can uniquely identify the consumer such as social security number. Also, the identifier can be a transaction number by which the provider can verify the identity of the consumer within the context of a business relationship with the provider for its products and/or services.
The credit application can be completed by the consumer in the provider's presence or it can be completed at an outlet location or through some communication medium where the consumer is not in provider's presence. In the latter case, the completed credit application may be later transported (via any secure or reliable means—electronically, physically or via mail) to the provider. Unfortunately, if the consumer's identity information that is used to apply for credit is stolen, substantial financial losses can result for the consumer and the provider. However, if a consumer's identity was linked to a unique identifier on a credit application form, consumer identity theft could be reduced and a reliable non-repudiation process for credit could be established.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Non-repudiation process for credit approval and identity theft prevention


A built-in, movable, object support for installation in a console, or the like, including a housing having two opposite first side walls and an opening defined by and between the first side walls. An insert is installed through the opening in the housing. The insert has second opposite sides opposed to respective ones of the first side walls. The insert has a front closure wall which serves as a support for an object when the insert is out of the housing. Object holding and support elements are at and above the closure wall. Converging guide ribs on the housing first side walls and slide pieces on the insert second sides engage the ribs. The orientation of the ribs are such that the insert turns with reference to the housing as it moves in and out of the housing due to the guidance of the ribs. The closure wall of the insert is substantially horizontal for supporting an object with the insert out of the housing. Additional object holding elements are supported at the closure wall of the insert.

The present invention relates to a built-in, movable, object support device, particularly for vehicles, having a housing with two opposite side walls, an opening between the two side walls, an insert which can be pushed into and moved out of the housing through the opening, and a front closure wall on the insert.
Such built-in supports are used in vehicles, for instance, as ash trays (see, for instance, Federal Republic of Germany DE 31 33 299 A1 or DE 31 35 314 A1). Although known supports have proven satisfactory in practice, there are frequent difficult installation conditions, particularly if the insert is not fixed in position, for instance, a radio, but the insert is instead arranged or guided for sliding in the housing, for instance, ash trays. In such a case, pulling the insert out from the housing in a straight line is frequently made difficult by neighboring parts, such as switch knobs, or the like. The remedy of using a multiple kinematic arrangement generally is not considered due to the added expense.

Built-in, movable, object support device


An improved speed reducer assembly is provided. The assembly comprises an input shaft, an output shaft and a gear train interfacing the input shaft and the output shaft to effect a desired angular velocity ratio between the input shaft and the output shaft. A housing defines an interior area in which the gear train is disposed, the housing being configured to hold lubricant within the interior area. A pressure sensing device is mounted on the housing in communication with the interior area. The pressure sensing device is configured to output a pressure signal responsively to fluid pressure within the interior area. A second housing may be provided to sealingly enclose a portion of the pressure sensing device outside the speed reducer housing.

The present invention relates to speed reducers of the type frequently used in mechanical systems. More particularly, the invention relates to speed reducers having a pressure sensing device mounted thereon.
The use of speed reducers is well known in industry for translating rotational speed and torque from an input shaft to a desired rotational speed and torque at an output shaft that is connected, for example, to an industrial machine. Speed reducers typically include gear trains interfacing the input shaft with the output shaft so that an appropriate input/output ratio is achieved. Generally, the gear train is enclosed by a housing which holds lubricant for lubricating the gear train during use. Typically, the lubricant does not entirely fill the housing, the remainder of the housing interior being filled with air.
The lubricant in the housing is maintained in the housing interior by seals. During operation of the speed reducer, however, heat may be generated which could cause air and lubricant in the housing interior to expand, thus increasing the pressure on the seals. To maintain the housing interior pressure at or near the ambient exterior pressure, speed reducers typically include breathers or bellows to release or equalize interior pressure. If such a pressure equalizing mechanism becomes contaminated so that it ceases to function effectively, pressure may undesirably build in the speed reducer, possibly causing the housing seals to fail, thus leading to speed reducer failure.


A thin film switching array includes a plurality of switching elements arranged in the shape of an array on a substrate. Each switching element includes a thin film transistor and a compensation capacitor. One electrode of the compensation capacitor is formed by the same mask layer as the gate of the thin film transistor, and the other electrode of the compensation capacitor is common to the source electrode of the thin film transistor. The butting error due to multiple exposures of the number of blocks to compose a large area active matrix liquid crystal display, known as the block division effect, can be eliminated by laying out the compensation capacitor with area complementary to that of the stray capacitance such that the summation of the two capacitances remain constant. With constant capacitance, the feedthrough transient from the gate sigate to the liquid crystal display element becomes uniform, and one common compensating voltage can be used to offset the transient effect.

The present invention relates generally to an active matrix liquid crystal display device, in which liquid crystal cells are arranged in a matrix as picture elements (pixels) and are driven through active devices to provide the display.
In particular, this kind of matrix display system is suitable for large area display devices utilizing a large area exposure machine (stepper) during the photo-lithography process for manufacturing the active matrix device.
Recently, high definition display has been in demand. Amorphous silicon thin film field effect transistors (TFT) are recognized as a good candidate to reproduce high quality, fine line images.
When TFTs are used, every pixel is composed of a TFT and a liquid crystal display element. The pixels are arranged in a matrix form. The liquid crystal medium is sandwiched between two transparent glass substrates. The individual electrodes of the liquid crystal display elements are disposed on the first substrate, and the common display electrodes are disposed on the second transparent glass substrate. FIG. 1 shows an equivalent circuit of a pixel. TFT 50 is used as an active switching element with a gate electrode 51, a drain electrode 52, and a source electrode 53. The source electrode 53 is connected to a display electrode 57 of the liquid crystal display element 54. Both the scan bus line 55 and the data bus line 56 are formed on the first transparent substrate and the two bus lines 55 and 56 are perpendicular to each other. The gate electrode 51 is connected to scan, bus line 55 and the drain electrode 52 is connected to the data bus line 56.
The display electrode 57 of the liquid crystal element is formed on the first transparent substrate and is connected to the source electrode 53 of the TFT 50. The common electrode 58 of the liquid crystal display element is formed on the second transparent glass substrate.
A matrix of opaque patterns is selectively printed on the second transparent substrate. These opaque patterns are used as light shields for the TFTs and increase the contrast ratio of the display. In order to avoid the leakage of any light from the gap between the display electrode 57 and the data bus bus line 56, the opaque pattern must overlap the display electrode 57.
The TFT 50, the display electrode 57 of the liquid crystal element 54, the bus line 55, and the data bus line 56 are all formed on the first substrate. Both the first substrate and the second substrate are sealed together at their peripheral regions with small spacing to embed the liquid crystal medium.
By applying address pulse sequentially to the scan bus line 55 and applying data pulse to every data bus line 56 in synchronism with the address pulse, the information signal is transmitted to all the liquid crystal pixels 54 in the same row. The signal is held for one frame period. In more detail, when the scan line 55 is addressed, a pulse is applied to the gate electrode 51 to turn on the TFT 50. The data signal voltage is impressed on the liquid crystal element 54 through data bus line 56, and the capacitance of the liquid crystal element 54 is charged up. The charge is held after the TFT is turned off. When the scan bus line 55 is addressed next time, i.e. after 16.7 msec, the liquid crystal element 54 is charged up again corresponding to the new signal. The period between successive addressing is called the "frame time".
The liquid crystal display element 54 cannot be supplied with an DC voltage, and the data signal must alternately change its polarity in successive frames. FIG. 2(a) shows the waveforms of the address pulse, FIG. 2(b) shows the waveform of the data pulse, and FIG. 2(c) shows the ideal resultant waveform across the display element 54 which is symmetrical with respect to the time axis (x-axis) with zero DC component.
Amorphous TFTs are widely used as the switching transistors of the actrix matrix liquid crystal display. The gate electrode and the source/drain electrodes of typical amorphous silicon TFTs inevitably have overlap regions. The overlap regions introduce stray gate-source capacitance CGS and stray gate-drain capacitance CGD of the TFT. As shown in FIG. 2, the capacitance CLC is in parallel with a storage capacitance Cs. The stray capacitance CGS affects the resultant waveform of the liquid crystal capacitance. With the address pulse shown in FIG. 2(a) and the data pulse shown in FIG. 2(b), the resultant waveform which appears at the liquid capacitance CLC and the storage capacitance Cs is shown in FIG. 3. A voltage spike appears at the resultant waveform when the gates electrode is dropped from a positive bias to a negative bias. The voltage step can be expressed as ##EQU1## where VG is the voltage difference between the positive bias and the negative bias at the gate electrode. The voltage spike VGS introduces an unacceptable DC voltage level across the liquid crystal capacitance The voltage spike is described in the article, "Analysis and design of a Si TFT/LCD panel with a pixel model", in the IEEE Transaction on Electron Devices, vol.36, no.12, p.2953, 1989, by Y. Kaneko et al. The DC voltage level across the liquid crystal introduces a residual image on the liquid crystal display. The residue image phenomenon of thin film transistor liquid crystal displays is described in the article, "10.4-in.-diagonal color TFT-LCDs without residue images", in the 1990 SID Digest, p.408, by Y. Kanemori et al. In order to eliminate the DC component, a negative DC bias -VGS can be applied to the common electrode of the liquid crystal capacitor, as shown in FIG. 4, where the common electrode is the common second substrate of the panel. FIG. 5 shows the resultant waveform across the liquid crystal capacitance. In FIG. 3, region A is smaller than region B, and the DC component applied to the liquid crystal is -VGS. If the negative DC bias -VGS applied to the common electrode is as shown in FIG. 5, the region A is equal to region B, i.e., the DC level is eliminated. However, if the stray capacitance of the pixels in the liquid crystal display are not uniform, the voltage spike at each pixel is different, and the DC voltage levels of the pixels in the display cannot be all adjusted to zero.
For a large area TFTLCD, the total display area is much larger than the area which can be exposed in one shot by a stepper in the photo-lithography process In the TFT fabrication process, the pattern of each mask layer is composed by a number of shots of exposures. The operation of the stepper is described in the article, "Lithography for flat paenl video dispaly", in Solid State Technology, p.103, February, 1988, by G. Resor. The patterns of one mask layer are butted by many exposures. FIG. 6 shows an example of a 10 inch TFT array, where A, B, C, . . . represent the different exposure areas. The alignment marks cannot be drawn within the display area, and must be drawn at the edge of the patterned area. If one exposure area of a stepper is 2 by 2 square inches, then the display area must be butted by 3.times.4 times of exposures. The exposure procedures are accomplished by searching for two alignment marks, next correcting for the error between substrate and the lens, and then exposing the 3.times.4 exposures step by step. It should be pointed out that the stepper machine cannot correct the butting error at each exposure.
Between each exposure, the substrate stage must be moved by a distance of 2 inches. The stage motion inevitably introduces butting errors due to "backlash". Using the substrate stepper, the exposed area A and the exposed area B in FIG. 6 may have different butting errors, which are introduced from the stage motion error.
FIG. 7 shows the effect of the butting error during production of TFTs. FIG. 7(a) shows the cross-sectional view of a pixel of an amorphous silicon TFT array. The pixel comprises an amorphous silicon TFT 140, a transparent indium-tin oxide (ITO) pixel electrode 141, and the electrode 142 of a storage capacitance. The area of the storage capacitor is the overlap region of the ITO electrode 141 and the electrode 142. The gate dielectric film 143 is also used as the dielectric film of the storage capacitor. The gate electrode 144 and the source electrode 145 have an overlap width of La. The capacitance of the gate-source stray capacitor is proportional to the width of La. FIGS. 7(b) and (c) show the pixels with alignment errors. In FIG. 7(b), the source electrode 145 and the drain electrode 146 are shifted to the right side by Lr. In FIG. 7(c), the source electrode 145 and the drain electrode 146 are shifted toward the left side by L1. It is obvious that the gate-source stray capacitance of the TFT in FIG. 7(b) is smaller than that in FIG. 7(a), and the gate-source stray capacitance of the TFT in FIG. 7(c) is larger than that in FIG. 7(a).
As discussed above, the patterns of the large area display are butted by many shots of exposure, and the butting error of each exposure is different. Different display areas exposed by the different exposures have different stray capacitance. For example, in FIG. 6, the source electrode 145 of the TFTs 140 in exposed area A is shifted to the right side of Lr, as shown in FIG. 7(b); the source electrodes 145 of the TFTs 140 in the exposed area B of FIG. 6 is shifted to the left side of L1, as shown in FIG. 7(c). Then the stray capacitances of the TFTs 140 in the exposed area A is smaller than the predicted value, and the stray capacitances of the TFTs 140 in the exposed area B is larger than the predicted value. Therefore, the induced voltage levels at the exposed area A is smaller than the predicted value, and the induced DC voltage levels at the exposed area B is larger than than the predicted value. Since the induced DC voltage levels at all exposed areas of the panel are not the same, the DC bias of the panel cannot be adjusted to be zero. Different DC voltage levels cause different transmittnce of the liquid crystal. With a small positive DC voltage level, the transmittance of the liquid crystal is enhanced. With a small negative DC voltage level, the transmittance of the liquid crystal is decreased. This "block division" phenomenon is described in detail in the article, "The 8.6 inch-diagonal TFTLCDs of symmetric sub-dot design", in the publication of the 1991 International Display Research Conference (IDRC), p.119, 1991, by K. Nakazawa et al.
To solve the block division problem of the large area thin film transistor liquid crystal display, the symmetric sub-dot design was proposed by K. Nakazawa et al in the same article. Each display element is divided into two sub-dots, such as that indicated by the dotted line 90 in FIG. 8, and each sub-dot has a TFT. These two sub-dots are symmetrical with respect to a sourcebus line. The pattern shift of the source electrode causes the optimum DC voltage to differ from the ideal value. The difference of the left sub-dot is opposite to that of the right side one. Then, the mean transmittance of these two sub-dots is "almost" constant. Thus, if the source electrodes of the TFTs in FIG. 8 is shifted to the left side, then the transmittance of the left side sub-dot is decreased and the transmittance of the right side sub-dot is enhanced.
However, as shown in FIG. 9 (which is the FIG. 3 in Nakazawa's article), the transmittance versus applied DC voltage curves of the liquid crystal are not symmetrical with respect to the zero DC voltage, and the mean transmittance of the two sub-dots are not constant. Besides, the DC voltage level of each sub-dot in a pixel is not biased to zero. Thus, the residual image may still be observable. Moreover, because the pixel is divided into two sub-dots, the area of the opaque matrix is increased and the aperture ratio (i.e. the fraction of the display area is decreased. Then the brightness of the TFTLCD is decreased.

TFT matrix liquid crystal display with compensation capacitance plus TFT stray capacitance constant irrespective of mask misalignment during patterning

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A numerically controlled oscillator including an RTS value producing circuit which produces a series of residual time stamp (RTS) values indicative of a relation between the setting value and an actual oscillation frequency. A pulse train generator generates a pulse train in a period corresponding to the produced series of RTS values and a phase synchronous oscillator oscillates at a frequency in synchronism with the pulse train output from the pulse train generator. Preferably, the pulse train generated by the pulse train generator is supplied to the RTS value producing circuit as a signal indicative of the actual oscillation frequency.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a numerically controlled oscillator circuit capable of numerically controlling an oscillation frequency. Oscillation frequency of the numerically controlled oscillator circuit is determined by an externally supplied digital value and is used in, for example, a frequency synthesizer, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
A well known example of the conventional numerically controlled oscillator circuit is one disclosed in FIG. 6 of Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H1-114122 as a prior art of the invention disclosed thereby and has been utilized practically. A circuit construction of the prior art example is shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, the conventional numerically controlled oscillator circuit is constructed with an accumulator 40, a read-only memory (ROM) 43 and a digital-to-analog (D/A) converter 44. The accumulator 40 is constructed with a Q-bit adder 41 and a Q-bit shift register 42 for holding a result of the addition from the Q-bit adder 41. A setting value represented by Q bits is externally supplied to an input terminal 101 of the accumulator 40 and a system clock having frequency f.sub.m is input to an input terminal 103 thereof to control a latching operation of the Q-bit shift register 42, that is, a latching operation of the accumulator 40. Therefore, when a constant value K is input to the input terminal 101 of the accumulator 40, an output of the accumulator 40 is increased by the constant value K every time period of 1/f.sub.m. The Q-bit adder 42 operates on modulo 2.sup.Q to return the output of the accumulator 40 to 0 every 2.sup.Q. Therefore, an output waveform of the Q-bit adder 42 is sawtooth. The ROM 43 stores, for example, a digital value of sin(2.pi.A/2.sup.Q) in an address A thereof. Since the output of the accumulator 40 gives a phase of a sine wave and 2.pi. radian corresponds to the digital value 2.sup.Q, an output of the ROM 43 becomes a train of numerical values indicative of a sine wave having a constant frequency. The train of the numerical values output from the ROM 43 is converted into an analog signal by the D/A converter 44, resulting in a sine wave signal at the output terminal 102. The system clock at the input terminal 103 of the accumulator 40 is also supplied to the D/A converter 44 to provide a timing for executing a D/A conversion. A frequency f.sub.0 of the output of the D/A converter 44 is given by f.sub.0 =f.sub.m .times.K/2.sup.Q. That is, the oscillator circuit shown in FIG. 1 is numerically controlled to oscillate at a frequency which is determined by the setting value K which is an externally supplied digital value.
FIG. 2 shows a construction of another conventional numerically controlled oscillator circuit. This construction corresponds to one shown in FIG. 1 of the aforementioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H1-114122. The oscillator circuit shown in FIG. 2 comprises an accumulator 40, a Q-bit register 45, a D/A converter 44, a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) 46 and a frequency divider (1/D) 47. The accumulator 40 is constructed with a Q-bit adder 41 and a Q-bit shift register 42. An operation of the accumulator 40 is similar to that of the accumulator shown in FIG. 1. The Q-bit register 45 performs a latching operation according to a clock obtained by an output clock of the VCO 46 divided by D by the frequency divider 47. Assuming that the oscillation frequency of the VCO 46 is constant and the Q-bit register 45 latches a sawtooth wave from the accumulator 40 always in same phases, the D/A converter 44 outputs a DC signal. Since this state corresponds to the state in which the oscillation frequency of the VCO 46 is constant, the system is in a stable state. On the other hand, if Q-bit register 45 latches the sawtooth wave from the accumulator 40 every time in slightly different phases, the output of the D/A converter 44 does not become a DC signal, so that the oscillation frequency of the VCO 46 shall be varied. As described in the aforementioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H1-114122 in detail, if the oscillation frequency of the VCO 46 varies in a direction in which the variation of phase for latching the output of the accumulator 40 by the Q-bit register 45 is restricted, the system ultimately becomes stable due to the principle of negative feedback and the oscillation frequency of the VCO 46 ultimately becomes constant. The frequency f.sub.0 at an output terminal 102 is given by f.sub.0 =D.times.f.sub.m .times.K/2.sup.Q, where f.sub.m is a system clock frequency and K is a setting value input to an input terminal 101. In the circuit shown in FIG. 2, since the ROM for storing the sine wave data is unnecessary and the D/A converter 44 operates at a frequency which is 1/D of the oscillation frequency of the VCO 46, the oscillator circuit can operate at high frequency relatively easily.
In the oscillator circuit shown in FIG. 1, however, there is a problem that it is difficult to obtain a high frequency as the output thereof. That is, in order that the D/A converter 44 outputs a sine wave having frequency f.sub.0, the clock frequency f at which the ROM 43 and the D/A converter 44 operate must be 2 times the oscillation frequency f.sub.0 or more according to the known sampling theorem. Practically, however, in order to restrict high harmonic components of the output sine wave small enough, the clock frequency f.sub.m is preferably 5 times the oscillation frequency f.sub.0 or more. Therefore, in order to obtain the oscillation frequency f.sub.0 in the order of, for example, 50 MHz, the clock frequency f.sub.m is in a range from 100 MHz to 250 MHz or more. It is, however, very difficult to operate the D/A converter 44 at such high frequency and, even if a D/A converter 44 operable at such high frequency be realized, the D/A converter 44 has to be very expensive. Further, when the clock frequency f.sub.m is in a range from 100 MHz to 250 MHz, an access time to the ROM 43, which is also defined by the clock frequency f.sub.m, becomes in a range from 4 ns to 10 ns which is very difficult to realize even if expensive ultra high speed memory elements are used.
On the other hand, the circuit shown in FIG. 2 does not require the ROM 43 and the operating frequency of the D/A converter 44 thereof is relatively low, and, therefore, it is possible to obtain a high oscillation frequency compared with the circuit shown in FIG. 1. However, in order to obtain high oscillation frequency, the D/A converter 44 of the oscillator circuit shown in FIG. 2 must be expensive. As mentioned above, the oscillation frequency of the VCO 46 is stabilized by the principle of negative feedback and phase noise is included in the output of the VCO 46 when the frequency dividing ratio D is large. In view of this, the frequency dividing ratio D is preferably 20 or less. In such case, when the oscillation frequency is 50 MHz, the operating frequency of the D/A converter 44 must be about 2.5 MHz. However, a D/A converter 44 operable at 2.5 MHz is not inexpensive but rather relatively expensive. In this sense, the oscillator circuit shown in FIG. 2 is not suitable in obtaining a high frequency output.
Since both of the oscillator circuits shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 require the D/A converter 44, it is difficult to fabricate it as a digital LSI. That is, when the oscillator circuit is made as an LSI, the LSI includes digital circuit portions and analog circuit portions and it is very difficult to fabricate such an LSI using an inexpensive gate array.
An object of the present invention is to provide a numerically controlled oscillator circuit which does not require an expensive D/A converter, is easily capable of obtaining high frequency output easily and can be fabricated in an LSI.

Numerically controlled oscillator circuit


This disclosure provides a measurement method and an acquisition method for a packet loss rate, a terminal, and a network device. The measurement method for a packet loss rate is applicable to a terminal, and comprises: acquiring configuration information concerning an uplink packet loss rate measurement, the configuration information comprising: measurement time window information, measured service information and condition information for triggering uplink packet loss rate measurement reporting; measuring, according to the configuration information, an uplink packet loss rate; and sending report information to a network device according to the uplink packet loss rate.

A plurality of layer-2 measurements are introduced in a long term evolution (LTE) system. A packet loss rate (which may also be referred to as PLR for short) of an uplink service of user equipment (UE) (which is also referred to as a terminal) may be calculated on a network side. The packet loss rate is calculated by determining, based on a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) sequence number, a quantity of numbers lost in a specified time window.
In a 5-generation (5G) communications system, a data flow and a protocol data unit session (PDU session) are introduced on an access network side. Different PDU sessions may include a plurality of data flows, and different data flows may identify different service types (for example, a voice service or a video service). Specifically, a schematic diagram of a data mapping flow is shown in each of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. One data radio bearer (DRB) may include a plurality of data flows, and one or two logical channel numbers may be configured for a same DRB.
One DRB may include a plurality of data flows in a 5G system, and the data flow can be recognized only at a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer. As a result, when losing a PDCP sequence number, a PDCP layer of a network side cannot determine a data flow of a lost packet, and consequently cannot accurately collect statistics on a packet loss rate of an uplink service.

Method for measuring packet loss rate, method for obtaining packet loss rate, terminal, and network device


A distributed report processing system. The system includes a management server and a queue server in communication with the management server. The system also includes a plurality of report generators in communication with the management server and the queue server.

Businesses and organizations produce periodic report packages for customers, executives, investors, business partners and others. In most cases, the report packages are to be produced as quickly as possible after the underlying data are available. When multiple reports are produced from automated systems, however, they are produced in sequential order which requires time proportionate to the number of reports, accounts or records used to create the reports. In addition, if reports from multiple electronic data sources are included in a package, they are often compiled manually, requiring additional time.
In addition to periodic reports, multiple users may request multiple reports to be generated on demand through online systems. These multiple requests are also processed in sequential order, requiring time proportionate to the number of requests, reports, accounts or records used to create the reports, delaying the creation of reports for users whose requests were later in the queue.
As apparent from the above deficiencies with conventional systems for producing report packages, a need exists for a system that can distribute the creation of multiple reports across multiple processors, working in parallel, to shorten the time required to produce high volumes of reports or respond to on-demand requests from users. A further need exists for a system that can create reports from multiple electronic data sources, using multiple processors, and automatically combine the resulting reports into a report package.

Distributed report processing system and methods


A device and an associated method are provided, in which a function processes input variables and generates functional output signals. These output signals are stored and held in readiness for readout operations. Given the presence of specific conditions, an instantaneous data record is safeguarded in a nonvolatile memory device until it has been read out via an interface. The control device and the associated method make it possible to test control possibilities planned in future, without having to fear unexpected and unwanted function reactions which have an effect on the vehicle dynamics.

European Published Patent No. 0 976 627 discusses a braking control for a vehicle. If a radar system of a vehicle having braking control detects an object in front of the vehicle, then an estimating device judges the probability that the vehicle will collide with the object. If the estimation judgment reveals that a collision probability exists, then an automatic braking unit brings about an automatic braking to avoid an imminent collision. If, during the automatic braking, a driver-activated braking input is detected, then the urgency of the driver braking is estimated and the automatic braking control generates a braking force which corresponds to the driver input. A gentle transition from the automatic braking to the driver-controlled braking thereby results.
German Published Patent No. 38 30 790 discusses a method and a device for the automatic avoidance of collisions for automatically controllable vehicles. With the aid of this method and device, in danger situations caused by obstacles, the intention is to carry out a collision-avoiding acceleration, braking and/or evasive maneuver using an automatic collision avoidance system. This is accomplished by a hierarchically constructed method and by an associated device, data of the vehicle and its setpoint path being acquired by sensors, and setpoint signals of the vehicle path ascertained therefrom being fed to a second hierarchical step of a collision-avoidance device together with the data of an obstacle path acquired, for example, by sensors, and above that, in a third hierarchical step, the final controlling elements of the vehicle control are triggered along the lines of a collision avoidance.

Device for providing signals in a motor vehicle


The invention provides a system and device for integrating and structuring the relationships of a financial services provider (FSP) with its clients and with third parties (counterparties) with which the FSP transacts business. Preferably, each entity with which the FSP transacts business, preferably also including entities internal to the FSP, is assigned a unique, non-intelligent identifier (CCID), and a relationship is established between each identifier and at least on other entity likewise identified. The system allows the FSP's users to seamlessly access information and transact business with all entities regardless of whether such entities are clients or third party providers (such as money managers). The system can be implemented on a network system. The system preferably also includes a library by which documents required for a particular transaction or account are associated with the entity(ies) engaging in such transaction or for which the account is generated, and also preferably a tracking system for assuring that required documents are forwarded when necessary and executed and returned as required.

Computer management of many business functions has grown exponentially in the last two decades. Originally, computers operated as efficient record keepers and large databases were stored and accessed as needed. More powerful programs were developed, and product and account management functions were automated. Exemplary systems include an asset management system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,442 to Musmanno, and automated trading system of U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,044 to Kalmus, et al.--the contents of both patents are incorporated by reference as if restated in full. These systems include programmed decision-making on an account or product basis and substantially enhance performance and efficiency of the system proprietor.
However, the growth of individual products and the associated software in product management has created a second tier of system management issues. In financial services, a provider may offer several dozen different products or accounts, each having a collection of individual processing characteristics specific to that type of product or account. Indeed, as is conventional in this industry, accounts and products are added to the servicer's portfolio of offerings in an incremental fashion. The developers of the software that support the products and account innovations work incrementally and largely independently. Accordingly, these developers--consistent with their diverse backgrounds and objectives--create products and services that lack any integration therebetween or, for that matter, uniformity in design approach.
In particular regard to processing financial and brokered transactions for large clients, such as major corporations and institutional investors, the utilization of product-specific or account-type specific systems, as is typically implemented, creates various problems. One resultant problem is the duplication of data, function, and personnel for similarly-structured products administered on different systems; the evolution of these systems is not as dependent upon differing needs compared with related systems but of poor integration of similarly functions and data handled differently among the systems. Another problem is unmanageable maintenance of these types of systems; the functions performed by these systems, and the code needed to implement such functions, have grown to a size and convoluted complexity where systems integration and testing is virtually impossible and development results in the interruption of business activities. Yet another problem is the sheer complexity of the code, which is so convoluted and particular that structural and efficiency changes are difficult if not impossible to implement.
Still other shortcomings exist in present systems. Given the present global market, in which trading can be performed continuously, processing in "batch" mode is an unacceptable practice. Financial transactions can be initiated across a broad range of hardware and/or software platforms, among distributed locations, making integration and continuous processing difficult to achieve. Virtually inherent in such varied platforms are conflicting problems, the redundant generation of the same data, and the lack of coherent standards and controls for achieving systems integration.
The legacy of the above environment is a group of powerful software applications operating and accessible only independently of each other. These applications are supported and updated inconsistently across the enterprise, by different groups of engineers, with differing objectives and time frames. The end result is multiple standards, redundant files, and often data errors and failed system cross-processing. In addition, the disparate applications can create a maintenance nightmare due to the complexity and lack of common architecture.
It was with this recognition of such problems with past systems that formed the impetus and starting point for the present invention.


A conductive glass lining composition includes 100 parts by weight of a frit and 0.05 to 1.5 parts by weight of a metal fibers of 0.1 to 30 .mu.m in diameter, 1.5 to 10 mm in length and a length-to-diameter ratio of not less than 50.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a conductive glass-lining composition for glass-lined equipment, using as a base material, low carbon steel plate or stainless steel plate that can withstand severe service conditions in the chemical industry, medical industry, food industry, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional glass lining equipment has been produced by stoving a ground coat glaze with a thickness of approximately 0.2 to 0.4 mm on a base material such as low carbon steel plate or stainless steel plate so as to adhere the ground coat glaze strongly to the base material, and then by stoving a cover coat glaze having high corrosion resistance normally in a thickness of 0.8 to 2.0 mm.
Since the glass lining material that constitutes in the glass lined equipment is an insulating material having a volume resistivity of approximately 1.times.10.sup.13 to 10.sup.14 .OMEGA.cm, if the glass lining equipment is operated and agitated using a non-aqueous organic liquid, the amount of electrified charge becomes much larger than that of the leak charge, generating tens or hundreds of thousands volts of static electricity, which may cause breakage or explosion of the glass lining material even if the glass lined equipment is grounded.
To prevent the above problems, when the glass lined equipment is operated to agitate non-aqueous organic liquid, Ta metal chips are embedded in a glass lining layer in advance or Ta metal wires are wound around the surface of a baffle or the like. However, it is difficult to coat the full surface of the glass lining with Ta metal, so no sufficient countermeasures for the static electricity have yet been reached. Furthermore, where the production of a great amount of the static electricity is predicted, metal equipment such as of stainless steel is used instead of glass lined equipment.
As an example of glass lined equipment having antistatic means, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-28834 discloses a glass lined metallic can where the inside walls thereof are covered with an under glass coating layer with an upper glass coating layer coated thereon wherein the upper glass is made of conductive glass embedded with platinum wire which is connected to the base material of the metallic can. However, the portion not embedded with platinum wire can not be expected to have much antistatic properties of the glass lining.
Further, Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-25380 discloses a method for fabricating a glass lined product by adding inorganic fibers 0.1 to 3 mm in length to a frit strip having a predetermined glass composition in which 2 to 10 percent of the fibers is added to 100 percent of the strip, and by glazing with a spray gun or in a immersion bath. The inorganic fibers exemplified in this Publication are materials that have been fiberized from glass having a different composition than enamel type glass or from commercial glass; natural mineral fibers such as rock fibers and kaowool; artificial ceramic fibers or whiskers such as zirconia, alumina, chromium oxide or the like. The object of adding the fibers is to reduce air bubbles in the enamel product, to prevent giant bubbles, and to improve color spot resistance, glazing crack (fissure) resistance, thermal shock resistance and mechanical shock resistance.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-8390 discloses a glaze composition including a frit wherein the glaze composition includes 100 parts by weight of the frit and 20 to 100 parts by weight of inorganic whiskers having diameters of 0.2 to 1 .mu.m and a length-to-diameter ratio of not less than 20. The whiskers are inorganic single crystal fibers selected from the group consisting of titania, potassium titanate, alumina, silicon carbide and silicon nitride. The object of adding the whiskers is to import cutting machinability to the glass lining and to improve wear resistance.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a conductive glass lining composition capable of providing a conductive glass lining showing excellent volume resistivity.


A game-hosting service of a service provider network is configured to dynamically adjust a batching interval used to assign processes to game session requests in batches of processes. The adjustment of the batching interval may be based on a level of contention resulting from operations to assign processes to game session requests. With the batching interval adjusted, the game-hosting service may queue one or more incoming game session requests received during the batching interval, query a data store for available processes after a lapse of the batching interval, assign ones of the available server processes to the game session request(s), and instruct the assigned processes to host corresponding game sessions. Dynamically adjusting the batching interval in this manner allows high volume games to benefit from added throughput, while lower volume games can benefit from quicker latency.

Service providers offer cloud-based services to fulfill users' computing-service needs without the users having to invest in and maintain computing infrastructure required to implement the services. These service providers may maintain networks of managed computing resources and functionality to implement various types of on-demand services, such as storage services, compute-power services, database-management services, networking services, and so forth. In this way, service providers maintain service provider networks that provide users with on-demand delivery of compute power, database storage, applications, and other resources, rather than the users having to make upfront investments in hardware and spend time and resources managing the hardware.
Often, users that subscribe to the service provider for use of computing resources in the service provider network also provide products or services to their own clients. For example, the service provider network may provide a game-hosting service to game developers that deploys, operates, and scales session-based game servers in the service provider network for clients of the game developers. In this way, a game developer that has developed an online game may host their session-based, online game using virtual machine (VM) instances running on servers of the service provider network that are accessible by clients of the game developer.

Dynamic batching interval adjustment for game session creation