Systems and methods are disclosed for identifying a dirty camera in a monocular camera comprising n cameras. For each of one or more cycles, a dirty counter variable for each of the n cameras is set to 0. For each of the n cameras, an image is captured from the camera and an image metric is determined for the image, e.g. brightness and/or contrast. If the image metric is 10% greater, or 10% less, than the image metric for any of the other n−1 cameras in the monocular camera, then that camera is determined to be dirty and a corrective action is taken, such as sending an alarm to an occupant the vehicle or initiating a cleaning operation. If the dirty condition persists for a camera that has been cleaned within a threshold period of time (i.e., recently), then an alarm is sent to an operator of the vehicle.

Vehicles operating in an autonomous mode (e.g., driverless) can relieve occupants, especially the driver, from some driving-related responsibilities. When operating in an autonomous mode, the vehicle can navigate to various locations using onboard sensors, allowing the vehicle to travel with minimal human interaction or in some cases without any passengers.
Motion planning and control are critical operations in autonomous driving. Motion planning depends greatly upon reliable detection obstacles in the environment surrounding a vehicle in autonomous driving mode. In autonomous driving mode, accurate detection of obstacles depends upon the reliability and accuracy of sensors employed by the vehicle. Such sensors are subjected to driving environments that include dust, dirt, tailpipe exhaust, smog, rain, mud, snow, and other contaminants that may reduce reliability of the sensors. Images obtained from camera sensors, for example, can become blurry or obscured from road conditions, reducing the accuracy of images obtained from such cameras. In bright light conditions, a dirty camera can produce images with too much brightness due to light refracted off the dirt on the lens of the camera. In dim, or dark, light, a dirty camera can produces images with too little brightness since what little light there is may be blocked from the camera sensor.
There are existing detection methods for a stereo camera, based upon the cameras being designed to see very similar images. With a stereo camera, one could compare images from each camera to determine whether there is a significant difference in brightness and/or contrast between images of each camera in the stereo camera. In a monocular camera, having e.g. four cameras each with a different focal length, images of the four cameras cannot be directly compared to determine whether a particular camera in the monocular camera is dirty for at least the reason that each camera in the monocular camera has a different focal length from the other cameras in the monocular camera.

Dirty monocular camera detection methods for autonomous driving vehicle


There is provided a method of operating a hearing assistance system comprising a hearing device (10, 110, 210), which comprises means (24) for stimulating a user's hearing and which is worn at one of the user's ears, and a remote device (12, 30, 40) spaced apart from the hearing device. The method comprises: establishing a wireless link (26) between the hearing device and the remote device for transmitting signals from the remote device to the hearing device, and operating the system in a base mode; detecting whether a source (28) of radio frequency signals interfering with the wireless link and having a transmission power changing according to a predictable scheme between low power regimes and high power regimes is present in the vicinity of the hearing device; and operating the system in an interference mode as long as the presence of such source of periodic signals interfering with the wireless link is detected, in which interference mode the transmission of the signals from the remote device to the hearing device is synchronized to the detected power scheme of the interfering signals in such a manner that the signals are transmitted only during the low power regimes.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a hearing assistance system comprising a hearing device which comprises means for stimulating the user's hearing and which is to be worn at one of the user's ears and a remote device spaced apart from the hearing device, wherein a wireless link is established between the hearing device and the remote device in order to transmit signals from the remote device to the hearing device. The invention also relates to a method of operating such a hearing assistance system.
2. Description of Related Art
Examples of such hearing assistance systems are binaural hearing aids (in this case the remote device is a hearing instrument which is worn at the other one of the user's ears, with both hearing instruments being hearing aids comprising a microphone and an output transducer); in this case the link may serve as a bi-directional data link for exchanging audio signals, control data, and/or commands between the hearing aids.
Other examples of such a hearing assistance systems are CROS or BiCROS systems (in this case the remote device is a wireless microphone worn at the other one of the user's ears). In a CROS (also spelled CROSS) system the hearing instrument does not comprise a microphone, while in a BiCROS (also spelled BiCROSS) system the hearing instrument comprises a microphone, depending on whether the ear at which the hearing instrument is worn needs hearing assistance or not. In both cases the ear at which the wireless microphone is worn is essentially inaidable by a hearing instrument.
According to further examples of such hearing assistance systems the remote device is a remote control for the hearing instrument (in this case the link is for transmitting control data and/or commands from the remote control to the hearing instrument), an external microphone worn by another person (for example a teacher) or an external microphone worn by the user at a place other than the ears, or a device for wireless transmission of audio signal from a external audio signal source, such as a telephone, a television, an external microphone, a hi-fi-system, etc.
Generally, the receiver unit for the wireless link could be integrated within the hearing instrument/hearing aid, or the receiver unit could be a separate device which is mechanically and electrically connected to the hearing instrument/hearing aid, usually via an "audio shoe" in order to provide the audio signals received over the wireless link to an audio input of the hearing aid.
In such known systems the wireless link from the remote device to the receiver unit included in or connected to the hearing instrument may be heavily disturbed if a source of interfering radio frequency signals comes close to the hearing instrument. A typical example for such interfering radio frequency source is a mobile phone. Typically, a mobile phone transmits TDMA (time division multiple access) signals, for example according to the GSM (global system for mobile communications) standard. In this case transmission from the mobile phone occurs periodically, with only ⅛ of the time being used for transmission. A similar periodic transmission scheme is found in cordless telephone systems using the DECT standard; also in this case only a relatively small fraction of each period is used for transmission. This applies similarly also to devices using the Bluetooth standard.
If such interfering radio frequency source is brought very close to the hearing instrument worn had the user's ear, the link between the remote device and the hearing instrument may brake down, what is very inconvenient for the user. Such radio frequency sources may be considered as "burst interferes".
Examples of wireless links for binaural hearing aid systems are found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,549,633 B1 and US 2004/0037442 A1.
According to US 2005/0117764 A1 the use of a DECT or GSM phone at one of the two sides of a hearing aid set is detected by analyzing the level difference between the left ear and right ear hearing coil in order switch the respective hearing aid to a phone mode.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,568 B1 and EP 1 501 200 A2 a hearing aid is capable of recognizing periodic RF (radio frequency) interference signals, for example from mobile phones, with the gain of the hearing aid being synchronized to the periodicity of the RF interference signals, so that the gain of the hearing aid is reduced or even set to zero during the presence of an interfering RF burst. According to US 2003/076974 A1 a hearing aid is capable of detecting the presents of characteristic RF interference signals in order to not only switch the gain of the hearing aid accordingly but also to switch other parameters, such as the filter band width, of the hearing aid accordingly. Thereby specific auditory scenes can be recognized, in particular the use of a telephone in order to adapt the operation mode of the hearing aid accordingly.
It is an object of the invention to provide for a hearing assistance system comprising a hearing device and a remote device, with a wireless link being established between the hearing device and the remote device for transmitting signals from the remote device to the hearing device, wherein the system should provide for a reliable wireless link even in the presence of a source of radio frequency signals interfering with the wireless link, which have a transmission power changing according to a predictable scheme. It is a further object to provide for a corresponding method for operating such a system.

Hearing assistance system and method of operating the same


An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body, a holding member and a supporting member coupled to the holding member. The holding member includes photosensitive drums and is configured to hold toner cartridges disposed in association with the photosensitive drums in a detachable manner and to move between a storage position in which the holding member is accommodated in the apparatus body and a replacement position. The supporting member is configured to support light source arrays in association with the photosensitive drums, to cover the holding member, to move between a retaining position where the light source arrays are positioned relative to the photosensitive drums and a withdrawn position where the light source arrays are withdrawn from the photosensitive drums, and to move to the withdrawn position in a different direction than the direction in which the holding member is moved to the replacement position.

A known image forming apparatus, e.g. an electrophotographic printer or copier, generally uses a light-emitting diode (LED) head array for exposing a photoconductive drum to light.
The LED head array is mounted on an inner side of a lid or top cover pivotally mounted to the top of a body of the image forming apparatus. When the lid is positioned at an open position, the LED head array is separated from the photosensitive drum of a process cartridge disposed in the body of the apparatus.
In the image forming apparatus, a toner cartridge is installed in a process cartridge. When the toner cartridge is replaced with a new one, the top cover should be opened so as to prevent the toner cartridge and the LED head array from interfering with each other.
However, to open the top cover, sufficient space is required above the image forming apparatus. If such space is not available, replacement of the toner cartridge can be difficult.


An assembly is disclosed for supplying compressed air to both an engine and an air suspension of a motor vehicle. The assembly comprises a direct current electric motor, a centrifugal air pump, and a piston pump. The motor has a shaft extending outwardly from opposite sides of the motor, with the centrifugal pump being driven by one end of the shaft and the piston pump being driven by the other end of the shaft. The centrifugal pump produces high volumes of air at low pressure required by the engine, while the piston pump produces low volumes of air at high pressure required by the air suspension. Bypass valves are provided to selectively divert the air provided by the pumps to the atmosphere.

Pneumatic suspension systems of motor vehicles typically require air or gas to be supplied to inflatable or bellows-type springs at relatively high pressures, but at relatively low volume. A specialized pump or compressor is normally provided to produce an air flow with these characteristics, and the air suspension compressor is generally powered by means such as a direct current electrical motor dedicated to this purpose. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,454 to Watanabe, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and hereby incorporated by reference, discloses an air suspension system having an air compressor which may be mounted under the floor of the vehicle.
Conversely, the engine of the motor vehicle may require air at relatively low pressure and high volume for engine emission applications, particularly when excess air is needed during engine start-up conditions. Therefore, a compressor having operating characteristics different than those of the air suspension compressor, as well as its own power source, is conventionally required to supply engine air.

Integral air suspension compressor and engine air pump


An imaging device for producing multicolor images from image data containing data representing an image of a first color and an image of a second color to be registered relative to the image of the first color onto a substrate by transferring toner of the first and second colors to the substrate is provided. The imaging device includes a first imager, a second imager, a photoreceptor belt, a plurality of rollers mounted to a frame of the imaging device, an angular position sensor, an image data source and a controller. The plurality of rollers define a process path along which the photoreceptor belt is driven past the first and second imagers in a process direction. The plurality of rollers includes a drive roller that exhibits an eccentricity for which a formula relating angular position as a function of the phase angle of the drive roller to eccentricity is known. The angular position sensor detects the phase angle of the drive roller. The image data source generates image data that includes a line to be printed in the first color and in the second color. The controller is coupled to receive signals from the angular position sensor, ROS imager and image data source and is configured to drive the second imager to generate an optical output. The controller includes memory and a processor. The memory stores the formula relating angular position as a function of the phase angle of the drive roller to eccentricity. The processor calculates an appropriate time delay for starting the generation of the optical output of the second imager for printing the line to be printed in the first color and in the second color based on the time of the starting of the optical output by the ROS imager to print to print that line, the signal received from the angular position sensor, and the formula relating angular position as a function of the phase angle of the drive roller to eccentricity.

This invention relates generally to imaging devices and more particularly to imaging devices with a plurality of imagers that provide sequential images to form a composite image.
Imaging devices often utilize a first color to produce an image portions of which are desired to be highlighted using a second color. In order to produce the desired results the imaging device must precisely register the highlight color with the first image. Highlight color image registration is often challenging. It is often the case that a highlight printer is designed as a retrofit of a monochromatic engine in which the quality of the motion of the photoreceptor is only good enough to limit the banding to a tolerable level. The monochromatic image is typically laid down at a constant rate of lines per unit time. If the second imager is also caused to write at a constant rate, serious errors in color to color registration may occur.
In single pass electrophotographic printers having more than one process station which provide sequential images to form a composite image, critical control of the registration of each of the sequenced images is required. This is also true in multiple pass color printers, which produce sequential developed images superimposed onto a photoreceptor belt for charging with toner to form a multi-color image. Failure to achieve registration of the images yields printed copies in which the color separations forming the images are misaligned. This condition is generally obvious upon viewing of the copy; as such copies usually exhibit fuzzy color separation between color patches, bleeding and/or other errors which make such copies unsuitable for intended uses.
A typical highlight color reproduction machine records successive electrostatic latent images on the photoconductive surface. When combined, these electrostatic latent images form a latent image corresponding to the entire original document being printed. One latent image is usually developed with black toner. The other latent image is developed with color highlighting toner, e.g. red toner. These developed toner powder images are transferred sequentially to a sheet to form a color highlighted document. Such color highlighting reproduction machine can be of the so-called single-pass variety, where the color separations are generated sequentially by separate imaging and toning stations, or of the so-called multiple-pass variety, where the separations are generated by a single imaging station in subsequent passes of the photoreceptor and are alternatively toned by appropriate toning stations. A particular variety of single-pass highlight color reproduction machines using tri-level printing has also been developed. Tri-level electro-statographic printing is described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,929. As described in this patent, the latent image is developed with toner particles of first and second colors simultaneously. The toner particles of one of the colors are positively charged and the toner particles of the other color are negatively charged.
Another type of color reproduction machine which may produce highlight color copies initially charges the photoconductive member. Thereafter, the charged portion of the photoconductive member is discharged to form an electrostatic latent image thereon. The latent image is subsequently developed with black toner particles. The photoconductive member is then recharged and image wise exposed to record the highlight color portions of the latent image thereon. A highlight latent image is then developed with toner particles of a color other than black, e.g. red, and then developed to form the highlight latent image. Thereafter, both toner powder images are transferred to a sheet and subsequently fused thereto to form a highlight color document.
The operation of highlight and color printers is well known and is described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,113,202; 5,208,636; 5,281,999; and 5,394,223, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by this reference.
A simple, relatively inexpensive, and accurate approach to register latent images superimposed in such printing systems has been a goal in the design, manufacture and use of electrophotographic printers. This need has been particularly recognized in the color and highlight color portion of electro-photography. The need to provide accurate and inexpensive registration has become more acute, as the demand for high quality, relatively inexpensive color images has increased.
The disclosed imaging device utilizes a second imager for forming the highlight latent image at a time following the forming of the first latent image that accounts for irregularities in the movement of the photoreceptor belt between the first imager and the second imager. If the second imager is an LED bar as disclosed herein, one can take advantage of its ability to fire a line of data whenever it is most appropriate for color registration.
According to one aspect of the disclosure, an imaging device for producing multicolor images from image data containing data representing an image of a first color and an image of a second color to be registered relative to the image of the first color onto a substrate by transferring toner of the first and second colors to the substrate is provided. The imaging device comprises a first imager, a second imager, a photoreceptor belt, a plurality of rollers, an angular position sensor, a first index sensor, a second index sensor, an image data source and a controller. The first imager is configured to generate an optical output corresponding to the image of the first color at a first exposure station. The second imager is configured to generate an optical output corresponding to the image of the second color at a second exposure station. The photoreceptor belt is configured to have a charge placed thereon for modification by the optical output of the first imager to be receptive to a charged toner of the first color and for modification by the optical output of the second imager to be receptive to a charged toner of the second color, the photoreceptor belt being configured to include an index. The plurality of rollers are mounted to a frame of the imaging device for defining a process path along which the photoreceptor belt is driven in a process direction. The plurality of rollers comprises a drive roller and a tensioning roller. The drive roller has a longitudinal axis about which it is mounted to rotate and a drive surface formed generally concentrically about the longitudinal axis for which eccentricity versus phase angle from a reference point data is known. The drive surface has a nominal circumference and is configured to drive the photoreceptor belt. The tensioning roller provides tension to the photoreceptor belt as it is driven about the process path. The angular position sensor detects the phase angle of the drive roller from the reference point. The first index sensor is mounted along the process path for sensing the passage of the index on the belt. The second index sensor is mounted along the process path for sensing the passage of the index on the belt. The image data source generates image data for generating an image including graphics of the first color and graphics of the second color. The image data includes a line to be printed in the first color and in the second color. The controller is coupled to receive signals from the first index sensor, second index sensor, angular position sensor, first imager and image data source and is configured to drive the second imager to generate an optical output. The controller includes memory and a processor. The memory stores the eccentricity versus phase angle from a reference point data, the time at which the first index sensor senses the passage of the index on the belt, and the time at which the second index sensor senses the passage of the index on the belt. The processor calculates an appropriate time delay for starting the generation of the optical output of the second imager for printing the line to be printed in the first color and in the second color based on the time of the starting of the generation of the optical output by the first imager to print the line to be generated in the first color and in the second color, the signal received from the first index sensor, the signal received from the second index sensor, the signal received from the angular position sensor, and the eccentricity versus phase angle from a reference point data.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, an imaging device for producing multicolor images from image data containing data representing an image of a first color and an image of a second color to be registered relative to the image of the first color onto a substrate by transferring toner of the first and second colors to the substrate is provided. The imaging device comprises a raster output scanner ("ROS") imager, a light emitting diode ("LED") imager, a photoreceptor belt, a plurality of rollers mounted to a frame of the imaging device, an angular position sensor, an image data source and a controller. The ROS imager is configured to generate an optical output corresponding to the image of the first color at a first exposure station. The LED imager is configured to generate an optical output corresponding to the image of the second color at a second exposure station. The photoreceptor belt is configured to have a charge placed thereon for modification by the optical output of the ROS imager to be receptive to a charged toner of the first color and for modification by the optical output of the LED imager to be receptive to a charged toner of the second color. The plurality of rollers mounted to a frame of the imaging device define a process path along which the photoreceptor belt is driven past the ROS and LED imagers in a process direction. The plurality of rollers comprises a drive roller having a longitudinal axis about which it is mounted to rotate and a drive surface formed generally concentrically about the longitudinal axis. The drive roller exhibits an eccentricity for which a formula relating angular position as a function of the phase angle of the drive roller to eccentricity is known. The drive surface has a nominal circumference and is configured to drive the photoreceptor belt. The angular position sensor detects the phase angle of the drive roller. The image data source generates image data for generating an image including graphics of the first color and graphics of the second color. The image data includes a line to be printed in the first color and in the second color. The controller is coupled to receive signals from the angular position sensor, ROS imager and image data source and is configured to drive the LED imager to generate an optical output. The controller includes memory and a processor. The memory stores the formula relating angular position as a function of the phase angle of the drive roller to eccentricity. The processor calculates an appropriate time delay for starting the generation of the optical output of the LED imager for printing the line to be printed in the first color and in the second color based on the time of the starting of the generation of the optical output by the ROS imager to print the line to be generated in the first color and in the second color, the signal received from the angular position sensor, and the formula relating angular position as a function of the phase angle of the drive roller to eccentricity.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.
These figures merely illustrate the disclosed methods and apparatus and are not intended to exactly indicate relative size and dimensions of the device or components thereof.

Printer using hybrid reflex writing to color register an image


A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium has a program stored therein for causing a computer to execute a process. The process includes estimating a cost of executing a live migration of a virtual machine, using a count value of an access counter for counting the number of accesses to a memory allocated to the virtual machine, a capacity of the memory, and a bandwidth of data transfer between physical machines relating to the live migration.

In recent years, virtual machine technology (virtualization technology) has been actively used for running virtual machines (VM) on physical machines (PM). By using the virtual machine technology, multiple virtual machines can run on a single physical machine. And each of the virtual machines can run an operating system and/or an application that may be different from those running on the other virtual machines.
By introducing the virtual machine technology on a server, multiple virtualized servers can be aggregated in one physical server. This aggregation is reasonable, and results in cost reduction. However, for example, there are cases where one of the aggregated virtual machines may adversely influence the other virtual machines when load states of the virtual machines change. Therefore, live migration technology has been developed in the virtual machine technology that migrates a virtual machine to another physical machine without stopping services provided by the virtual machine.
An overview of the live migration technology will be described. Live migration methods can be classified into the pre-copy method and the post-copy method. When executing a live migration, switching needs to be executed for a virtual machine to be migrated, at least for its contents of the physical memory, storage, and network. The pre-copy method is a method that moves the state of a CPU after having the content of the physical memory moved. In contrast to the above, the post-copy method moves the state of the CPU without moving the content of the physical memory. In this case, although the content of the physical memory has not been moved to a destination machine, the address translation table of the virtual memory system on the destination machine is set to an empty state. With this setting, when the CPU accesses the memory on the destination machine, data to be accessed does not exist in the physical memory at an initial stage. Therefore, a page fault occurs, which causes required pages loaded from a hard disk to fill the physical memory.
Note that a large-capacity memory does not need to be moved on the hard disk because the large-capacity memory on the hard disk is shared when using either of the methods.
There is a conventional technology that determines whether a live migration is feasible when a live migration is requested, and stops the live migration if a negative determination is obtained (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This technology assigns an attribute of safety level to each VM to prevent a low safety level VM and a high safety level VM from running on the same computer. This avoids a circumstance where execution of a high safety level VM is adversely influenced by a defect of a low safety level VM.
Also, there is a technology that determines necessity of a migration based on load information just before executing the migration to avoid unnecessary migrations (see, for example, Patent Document 2). Note that, as for the load information, Patent Document 2 only discloses CPU usage rates and memory usage rates of a source server, a destination server, and a virtual machine.
Also, there is a technology that estimates time required for movement for a virtual machine to move from a physical machine, on which the virtual machine is currently running, to another physical machine (see, for example, Patent Documents 3-4). Patent Documents 3 and 4 disclose that memory transfer time can be estimated using a memory change rate.
Also, there is a technology that determines a degree of difference between two consecutive frames of images using a counter value that counts the number of write accesses to a frame memory of a camera (see, for example, Patent Document 5).
A rate of memory overwrites during a memory transfer in a live migration (namely, a rate of copy operations that need to be executed again) is called a "dirty rate" (or "memory change rate"). The dirty rate is a value obtained by dividing an amount of memory change by an amount of memory transfer. If the dirty rate is too high, there may be a case where a memory transfer cannot be completed. To cope with such a case, an implementation may be adopted that stops the context to forcibly end a memory transfer. In this case, likelihood is high for service outage time to exceed an acceptable range. It should be avoided to exceed the limit of service outage time that is specified in a service level agreement (SLA) with a customer who uses a service of virtual machines. Therefore, to avoid such a long service outage, there is a case where load distribution is secured by stopping a live migration of a virtual machine to be migrated, and instead, executing a live migration of another virtual machine.
Therefore, it is necessary to avoid a state where a context stop continues for a long time due to a live migration, or stoppage of a live migration in advance. To achieve these requirements, it is necessary to keep load of a physical machine at a low level in usual operations before a live migration, and to obtain a memory dirty rate so that a memory transfer time can be predicted for executing a live migration.
Note that a prediction value T of a memory transfer time required for a live migration is obtained by the following formula where M is a memory capacity, tp is a data transmission band width (transfer throughput) used for a live migration, and r is a dirty rate (a value obtained by dividing an amount of memory change by an amount of memory transfer).T=M/{tp(1−r)}  (1)
Therefore, the memory transfer time for a live migration can be estimated if the dirty rate in usual operations is obtained.
However, there is an overhead increase to detect the dirty rate in general. A method of detecting the dirty rate for a live migration is as follows. First, an area that has been copied is set as a write-protected area at a hardware level. Then, a write request to the write-protected area is trapped at a software level. The trap triggers a predetermined routine to operate for detecting the write to the specific area, and for storing information about the write. This process makes the routine operate every time a write is trapped, which causes an increase in overhead. Therefore, if this process is used for detecting the dirty rate in usual operations, a considerable overhead is inevitably generated. This makes the load greater for the usual operations of the virtual machine.
Therefore, a technology has been needed for quickly obtaining estimation values of a dirty rate and a memory transfer time for a pre-copy in usual operation while a live migration is not being executed.

Virtual machine management method and apparatus


A method of filling gaps between adjacent gate electrodes of a semiconductor structure. A self-planarizing material is deposited over the structure. A first portion of such material flow between the gate electrode to fill the gaps and a second portion of such material becomes deposited over tops of the gate electrodes and over the gaps to form a layer with a substantially planar surface. A phosphorous dopant is formed in the second portion of the self-planarizing material. Thus, relatively small gaps may be filled effectively with a layer having a very planar surface for subsequent photolithography. The phosphorous dopant provides gettering to remove adverse effects of alkali contaminant ions which may enter the gap filling material. The dielectric constant of the material filing the gaps, i.e., the first portion of the gap filling material, being substantially free of such contaminants, has a relatively low dielectric constant thereby reducing electrical coupling between adjacent electrodes. The self-planarizing material is a flowable material. The flowable oxide may be spun on or may be deposited by gaseous deposition. The phosphorous dopant may be provided by, for example: implanting phosphorous ions into the second portion of the self-planarizing layer and heating the material to both cure such material and activate the phosphorous ions; depositing a phosphorous doped layer over the layer of self-planarizing material, heating the structure to out-diffuse the phosphorous dopant into the second portion of the self-planarizing material and selectively removing the deposited layer; or by curing the spun-on self-planarizing material in a phosphine environment.

This invention relates generally to integrated circuits and manufacturing methods and more particularly to structures and methods having improved planarity and alkali ion gettering properties.
As is known in the art, in forming small line width geometries in a semiconductor process using photolithography, it is necessary to provide a highly planar surface for various photolithographic masks used in such process. Further, in the fabrication of dynamic random access memories (DRAMs) a plurality of gate electrodes are formed adjacent one another with relative small separation, i.e., gaps, between each adjacent pair thereof. Thus, it is necessary to fill these gaps width a suitable material, preferably a material with a low dielectric constant to prevent coupling between the adjacent electrodes as well as to provide a planar surface for subsequent photolithography.
With one process, after the gate electrodes are formed, a dielectric layer of silicon nitride is chemically vapor deposited (CVD) over the surface. The CVD silicon nitride is a conformal deposition and therefore gaps remain between adjacent gate electrode structures. The gap width between gate electrode structures after the layer of silicon nitride is deposited is in the order of 1200 xc3x85. Next, a layer of boron phosphorous doped glass (BPSG) is chemically vapor deposited over the structure to fill in the gaps. The CVD BPSG is thick enough to not only fill the gaps but also extends over the tops of the CVD silicon nitride layer and over the filled gaps to a thickness in the order of 4000 xc3x85-5000 xc3x85.
As is also known in the art, contaminants, such as sodium ions, or other alkali ions may come into contact with the outer BPSG layer. However, the phosphorous in the BPSG layer acts as a gettering material to counteract the effect of the alkali ion contaminant. The structure is then heated to form a more planar surface. However, because of high degree of planarity required for the subsequent photolithographic processing, e.g. metal layer patterning into electrically conductive wires, relatively expensive chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) may be required to form a surface with the requisite degree of planarity.
The invention relates to the filling of gaps such as those between adjacent gate electrodes of a semiconductor structure. In one embodiment, a self-planarizing material is deposited over the structure. A first portion of such material flows between the gate electrodes to fill the gaps and a second portion of such material becomes deposited over tops of the gate electrodes and over the gaps to form a layer with a substantially planar surface. A dopant, here phosphorous, is formed in the second portion of the self-planarizing material.
In accordance with the invention, relatively small gaps may be filled effectively with a layer having a very planar surface for subsequent photolithography. Further, the phosphorous dopant provides gettering to remove adverse effects of alkali contaminant ions which may enter the gap filling material. Still further, the dielectric constant of the material filing the gaps, i.e., the first portion of the gap filling material, being substantially free of such contaminants, has a relatively low dielectric constant thereby reducing electrical coupling between adjacent electrodes.
In accordance with one feature of the invention, the self-planarizing material is a flowable material. The phosphorous dopant may be provided by, for example: implanting phosphorous ions into the second portion of the self-planarizing layer and heating the material to both cure such material and activate the phosphorous ions; depositing a phosphorous doped layer over the layer of self-planarizing material, heating the structure to out-diffuse the phosphorous dopant into the second portion of the self-planarizing material and then selectively removing the deposited layer; or by curing the spun-on self-planarizing material in a phosphine environment.

Integrated circuits and manufacturing methods


A plurality of pickup coils 2A and 2B are provided, resonance capacitors 3A and 3B forming resonance circuits 4A and 4B resonating at the frequency of an inductive path 1 are respectively connected in series with the pickup coils 2A and 2B, and the resonance circuits 4A and 4B are connected in series. Further, the resonance circuits 4A and 4B are respectively provided with rectifier circuits 6A and 6B for rectifying voltages generated by the resonance circuits 4A and 4B. The rectifier circuits 6A and 6B are connected in parallel and feed power to a load 10. Moreover, a switch 5 is provided to switch a connected state and an open state between the resonance circuits 4A and 4B, and a voltage controller 11 is provided to control an output voltage applied to the load 10, by controlling the switch 5.

An example of a secondary-side power receiving circuit of conventional noncontact power supplying equipment is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-178104.
In the secondary-side power receiving circuit of the noncontact power supplying equipment, a capacitor forming, with a pickup coil, a resonance circuit resonating at the frequency of an inductive path is connected in parallel with the pickup coil, a rectifying/smoothing circuit is connected to the capacitor, a constant voltage control circuit for controlling an output voltage to a reference voltage is connected to the rectifying/smoothing circuit, and an inverter and a control power supply are connected to the constant voltage control circuit as an example of a load. An electric motor including a speed reducer is connected to the inverter.
The constant voltage control circuit is made up of a coil for limiting a current, a voltage generator for generating the reference voltage, a comparator for comparing the output voltage and the reference voltage, an output adjusting transistor including a FET which is connected between the output ends of the rectifying/smoothing circuit and is turned on by the comparator when the output voltage exceeds the reference voltage, and a diode and a capacitor which form a filter. The control power supply supplies control power to the voltage generator and the comparator.
With the configuration of the constant voltage control circuit, when a load decreases due to the stop and so on of the electric motor, the output voltage increases. When the output voltage exceeds the reference voltage, the output adjusting transistor is turned on by the comparator, and the output voltage is reduced and kept at the reference voltage.
However, according to the conventional configuration, when the load decreases due to the stop and so on of the electric motor, the output adjusting transistor is turned on and thus current passes through the output adjusting transistor even though power supply to the load is unnecessary, resulting in a loss.

Secondary-side power receiving circuit of noncontact power supplying equipment


An elevator in which hoisting ropes pass under first and second diverting pulleys, in which a suspension device crosses a line between guide rails. The first and second diverting pulleys may be mounted on the suspension device such that the first and second diverting pulleys may be on a first side and a second side, respectively, in which the sides being opposite, of the line between the guide rails. A frame of the elevator car may be mounted on the suspension device which is supported by a first suspension point and a second suspension point. The first suspension point and the second suspension point may be at a horizontal distance from each other and on opposite sides of each other, and that the first and second suspension points may be on a line between the guide rails or on a line parallel with the guide rails.

In prior-art elevators, in which the elevator car is suspended on hoisting roping with 2:1 suspension ratio, the hoisting roping can be led to travel to the car and back from the car upwards at a desired distance from the center point of the elevator car if the rope is led to pass under diverting pulleys that are at a horizontal distance from each other and are in connection with the elevator car, via which diverting pulleys the elevator car is supported in the vertical direction with the hoisting roping. With this arrangement the freedom for placement of the traction sheave and of the rest of the machinery can be increased. In thus this way, for example, placement of the traction sheave in the center of the elevator hoistway can be avoided and the traction sheave can be placed very close to a wall of the elevator hoistway. The diverting pulleys have conventionally been mounted in a manner that allows rotation on a rigid suspension means, on which the frame of the elevator car is for its part mounted. The layout of the elevator is affected by a number of factors, such as the placement of the traction sheave, guide rails, counterweight and door openings of the elevator. It can be necessary, for one reason or another, to dispose said suspension means at an angle. More particularly, if it is a question of suspension in which said suspension means is on the bottom part of the car, the hoisting roping travels on the sides of the elevator car and it is not advantageous to dispose the door openings of the elevator car on those sides. On the other hand, it is advantageous to dispose the guide rails of the car, guided by which the elevator car travels, on these opposite sides. In these types of solutions, it is advantageous e.g. for increasing the centricity of the suspension, to configure the suspension means to cross the line between the guide rails at an angle such that the diverting pulleys mounted on it are disposed on opposite sides of the line between the guide rails, such that also the line between the diverting pulleys crosses the line between the guide rails at an angle. The frame of the elevator car is mounted on a suspension means for being supported by the suspension points comprised in the suspension means, on its top surface, which suspension points are on a line between the diverting pulleys, either at the center of the suspension means or at the ends of the suspension means. A problem in the solutions has been the production of undesirable torques in the frame of the car, the results of which has been inter alia uneven wearing of the guide shoes and the transmission of noise excitations to the car. Now it has been noticed that each suspension point of a suspension means crossing the guide rail line at an angle produces, with its vertical force component, local torque in the sling of the car, because the suspension point is at a distance from the guide rail line in the depth direction of the car. One consequence is an unnecessary horizontal force pair forming in the top guide shoe and bottom guide shoe, which has been manifested as said problems.


The purpose of this invention is:                new selenohydroxy acid compounds and their derivatives;        their process for the preparation;        use of the new compounds as precursors of L(+)-selenomethionine and/or source of selenium in human or animal nutrition, in cosmetics and pharmaceutics;        and nutritional, cosmetic and pharmaceutical compositions containing them.

The purpose of this invention is:                new selenohydroxy-acid compounds and their derivatives;        their process for the preparation;        their use as precursors of L(+)-selenomethionine and/or source of selenium in human or animal nutrition, in cosmetics and pharmaceutics;        and nutritional, cosmetic and pharmaceutical compositions containing them.
State of the Art
This invention relates to new selenohydroxy-acids (SHA) and their derivatives, their preparations and applications in nutrition, cosmetics and pharmaceutics. More particularly, this invention relates to the synthesis of 2-hydroxy-4-methylselenobutyric acid, its salts and esters and amides derived from 2-hydroxy-4-methylselenobutyric acid as selenomethionine precursors and particularly L(+)-selenomethionine precursors according to a biomimetic approach using enzymes with animal or human origin.
Selenium is a micro-nutrient essential particularly for Man and mammals (Wendel, A.; Phosphorus, Sulfur Silicon Relat Elem.; 1992; 67, 1-4, 405-415). It participates in the biosynthesis of selenoproteins such as Glutathion peroxydase, as well as Thioredoxine reductase and Selenoprotein, in the form of L(+)-selenocysteine or L(+)-selenomethionine (Muller, S. et al.; Arch. Microbiol., 1997; 168; 421). According to FDA-RDAs 10th edition 1989 (Selenium: its molecular biology and role in human health; Hatfield, D. L. Eds; 2003; Kluwer Acad. Publishers; second edition; 299-31), Man's daily needs of selenium vary from 10-30 μg for a child to 40-70 μg for an adolescent-adult, these rates being higher particularly for women during pregnancy (65 μg/day) and during breast feeding (75 μg/day). The additional amount of L(+)-selenomethionine (2.7 μmoles of selenium equivalent) for breast feeding women significantly increases the concentration of selenium in their milk (McGuire, M. K. et al.; Am. J. Clin. Nutr.; 1993; 58; 5; 649).
Man is auxotrophic for L(+)-selenomethionine, which means that he is incapable of synthesising it. Therefore, the only way to obtain it is through food. Ideally, selenium should be absorbed in its natural form, in other words in organic form. Nevertheless, several forms of selenium may be used as a food complement; inorganic selenium for example such as sodium selenite; and organic selenium for example such as L(+)-selenomethionine. Knowing that more than 80% of total organic selenium in plants (particularly wheat, corn and soya) consists of L(+)-selenomethionine, this amino acid is the most appropriate and least toxic form of selenium, and is better than sodium selenite as an animal or human food complement (Schrauzer, G. N.; J. Am. Coll. Nutrit.; 2001; 20; 1; 1-4). L(+)-selenomethionine has better bio-availability and is much better tolerated than sodium selenite (Mony, M C et al.; J. of Trace Elem. Exp. Med.; 2000; 13; 367-380).
L(+)-selenomethionine has anti-oxidative properties due to the presence of selenium in its molecular structure (Tapiero H et al.; Biomed. Pharmacother.; 2003; 57; 3-4; 134-144). It has been shown that L(+)-selenomethionine very effectively traps peroxynitrite, an extremely toxic metabolite generated in all inflammatory situations and for which the deleterious action causes cell death (Assman, A. et al.; Arch. Biochem. Biophys.; 1998; 349; 201-203).
A selenium food complement proved to be very beneficial in many situations (nutritional deficiency, diseases, exposure to radiation, etc.). This is particularly true for children suffering from genetic diseases such as phenylcetonuria or hyperphenylalaninemia, since these children have low protein diets (Reilly, C. et al.; Am. J. Clin. Nutr.; 1990; 52; 150-165). Selenium in organic form such as L(+)-selenomethionine associated with vitamins has protective effects with regard to UV radiation in man (La Ruche et al.; Photodermtol. Photoimmunol. Photomed.; 1991; 8; 6; 232-235). L(+)-selenomethionine protects against the deleterious biological effects of high energy ionising radiation (Kennedy, A R et al.; Free Rad. Biol. Med.; 2004; 36; 2; 259-266).
Furthermore, several organoselenium derivatives have been effective in the prevention of some types of cancer in Man. In this context, it has been shown that L(+)-selenomethionine causes activation of a DNA repair system, mediated by the p53 tumour suppressor, thus reducing the accumulation of mutations in somatic cells (Seo, Y R et al.; PNAS; 2002, 89; 22;14548). It has been shown that a complement of up to 200 μg/Se/day of L(+)-selenomethionine in Man very significantly reduces the incidence of cancers such as cancer of the lungs, colorectal cancer and prostate cancer. Seven out of a total of eight clinical tests to evaluate the effect of selenium on the incidence of cancer gave positive results (Whanger, P D; Br. J. Nutr.; 2004; 91, 1, 11-28). This confirms the many studies carried out on animals.
Some rare selenohydroxy-acid derivatives have already been described as synthetic intermediates in the preparation of organic derivatives. These are essentially arylselenohydroxy-acid derivatives. For example, this is the case for the methyl ester of 2-hydroxy-4-phenylselenobutyric acid (J.-G. Boiteau, Organic Letters, 2001, 3 (17), 1737-2740). Furthermore, a selenoxide of 2-hydroxy-4-methylselenobutyric acid has been suggested as an intermediate of oxydative degradation of L(+)-selenomethionine (Gammelgaard, B. et al.; Talenta; 2003; 59; 1165-1171).
Surprisingly, 2-hydroxy-4-methylselenobutyric acid itself, its salts and its ester and amide derivatives, are not known. Unlike arylselenohydroxy acid derivatives, these latter compounds may represent potential precursors of selenomethionine. After an enzymatic or chemical transformation, 2-hydroxy-4-methylselenobutyric acid, its salts and its ester and amide derivatives, after eventual hydrolysis, can lead to selenomethionine according to the following transformation

Furthermore, 2-hydroxy-4-methylsulfobutyric acid is known as a methionine precursor for food (WO 9636598; 21 Nov. 1996).
One of the purposes of this invention is to create new compounds containing selenium that, after being administered to man or to animal, may be precursors of selenomethionine, and therefore sources of selenium for the organism. Compounds according to the invention can penetrate inside tissues or cells to be biotransformed into selenomethionine or derivatives so that selenium can be incorporated into proteins of the organism.
These purposes are achieved through this invention that is based on the design of new selenohydroxy-acid derivatives and their esters and amides, which are biotransformed by enzymes present in animal or human cells to generate selenomethionine. This has been exemplified by the Applicant.

Selenohydroxy acids and their derivatives, applications in nutrition, cosmetics and pharmaceutics

Abstract: The new compounds that are the subject of this invention satisfy the general formula (I):

Abstract: in which                n=0, 1 or 2,        R1=OH, OCOR3, OPO3H2, OPO(OR4)(OR5), or OR6,        R2=OH, R3, or NHR7,        R3=particularly alkoxyl (C1-C26), ceramide 1, ceramide 2, ceramide 3, ceramide 4, ceramide 5, ceramide 6a and 6b, S-cysteinyl, or S-glutathionyl, carnitoyl, lipids, polyols,        OR4=OR5=particularly alkoxyl (C1-C26), ceramide 1, ceramide 2, ceramide 3, ceramide 4, ceramide 5, ceramide 6a and 6b, S-cysteinyl, or S-glutathionyl, carnitoyl, lipids, polyols,        OR6=pyruvate, lactate, citrate, fumarate, maleate, myristate, palmitate, stearate, palmitoleate, oleate, linoleate, natural fatty acids, or 13-cis retinoate,        R7=H, alkyl, natural amino acids, or natural amines.


A CD player includes a device main body, a blind panel that covers the front surface panel side of the device main body, an operating part for operating the device main body, a display part for displaying the contents of an operation, and a blind panel moving and operating mechanism for moving the blind panel between a shield position where the front surface panel side is shielded and an operative position where the front surface panel side is exposed and the operating part can be used. The operating part is arranged on a surface opposed to the front surface panel of the device main body in the shield position of the blind panel, and the display part is arranged on the front surface panel of the device main body. The size of the operating part and the size of the display part are enlarged to improve an operability and a viewability of the display part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automotive electronic device in which the front surface side of a device main body is covered with a blind panel to hide its existence, so that the electronic device can be protected from a robbery.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automotive electronic devices such as a CD player, a DVD player or a car navigation device may be possibly stolen by breaking window glass when the existence thereof is known outside the vehicle.
In order to protect the electronic device from the above-described robbery, an automotive electronic device as disclosed in, for instance, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. hei 9-123842 has been developed. As shown in FIGS. 9A to 9D, an automotive electronic device 101 has an operating panel 103 arranged in the front part of a device main body 102. The operating panel 103 is moved by a panel driving and operating mechanism (not shown) between a first position (see FIG. 9A) in which an operating surface 104 is located in a front surface and a second position (see FIG. 9D) in which a surface 105 except the operating surface of the operating panel 103 is located in the front surface. Further, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, there has been an electronic device that an operating part 106 and a display part 107 are provided on the front surface of a device main body 102, they are covered with a blind panel (blindfold panel) 108 to hide the existence of the automotive electronic device when they are not used, and the blind panel 108 is moved to a position in which the blind panel 108 does not interfere with the operating part 106 and the display part 107 upon using.
In the above-described conventional automotive electronic device, since both the operating part 106 and the display part 107 are arranged on the operating surface 104 of the operating panel 103 or the front surface of the device main body 102, there have been such problems as described below.
Since the operating part 106 and the display part 107 undergo a spatial restriction due to their existence, so that the size of the operating part 106 or the display part 107 cannot be enlarged. Therefore, the operability of the operating part 106 or the visibility of the display part 107 is not good.
Further, since the operating part 106 and the display part 107 are provided on the same surface, a part of the display part 107 is inconveniently hidden by the tips of fingers by which the operating part 106 is operated. Therefore, sometimes, the display part 107 is hardly visually recognized while operating the operating part 106.


Provided are an output buffer circuit having an amplifier offset compensation function and a source driving circuit including the output buffer circuit. The output buffer circuit may include a plurality of channel amplifiers, each of which is configured to adjust an amount of current flowing through transistors connected to at least one of a non-inverted input terminal and an inverted input terminal of a differential input unit to compensate an amplifier offset, and adjust buffer input voltage signals to generate output voltage signals.

1. Field
Some example embodiments of the inventive concepts relate to display devices, and more particularly, to source driving circuits of display devices.
2. Description of Related Art
Display devices (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) device) include a source driving circuit and a gate driving circuit for driving a panel. The source driving circuit outputs data and includes an output buffer circuit having amplifiers.
The output deviation of the source driving circuit is desired to be relatively small in order to apply the circuit to high resolution display devices. The smaller the offset voltage of amplifiers included in the output buffer circuit, the smaller the output deviation of the source driving circuit.

Buffer circuit having amplifier offset compensation and source driving circuit including the same


A cabin air compressor housing for a cabin air compressor assembly includes a compressor volute configured to direct a compressed flow to a compressor outlet. The cabin air compressor housing also includes a journal bearing support having a journal bearing bore. The cabin air compressor housing further includes an interior portion between the compressor volute and the journal bearing support. The interior portion includes a plurality of cooling airflow holes having a ratio of a diameter of the journal bearing bore to a diameter of one of the cooling airflow holes between 3.64 and 4.52.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to aircraft environmental control. More specifically, the subject disclosure relates to a compressor housing of a cabin air compressor for an aircraft environmental control system.
Environmental control systems (ECSs) are utilized on various types of aircraft for several purposes, such as in cooling systems for the aircraft. For example, components of an ECS may be utilized to remove heat from various aircraft lubrication and electrical systems and/or used to condition aircraft cabin air. A cabin air conditioner includes one or more cabin air compressors (CACs) which compress air entering the system, from an outside source or from a ram air system. The compressed air is delivered to an environmental control system to bring it to a desired temperature and delivered to the aircraft cabin. After passing through the cabin, the air is typically exhausted to the outside. CACs are typically driven by air-cooled electric motors, which are cooled by a flow of cooling air typically drawn by the ram air system. Cooling air from the ram air system may also be used to cool bearings in the CACs.


A system for conveying information to an underwater diver wearing a mask. The information is conveyed via a field of view display system which places the information at the glance of the diver through the viewing window of the diving mask. Included are sensors for measuring the pressure in the dive tanks, for sensing the depth of the diver, and for sensing the ambient temperature of the surrounding environment. A microcomputer processes the sensed information and displays it to the diver as well as interpreting the information to provide advice such as safe assent rates which will allow the diver to avoid decompression sickness and the remaining safe dive time. The display placed within the field of view desirably includes an optical arrangement for placing an image of a visual array at a long focus distance, preferably at infinity, in relation to the eye of the diver and for magnifying the actual image of the visual array means such that the diver can readily observe the image of the visual array. The present invention keeps the diver informed of important information without the diver's attention being diverted from the surrounding environment and without requiring additional movement or effort from the diver.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus used in connection with underwater diving equipment. More particularly, the present invention relates to equipment used to apprise an underwater diver of important information needed to efficiently use diving time and to maintain safe diving conditions.
2. The Background Art
The introduction of underwater diving using Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA) in the 1940's by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Emil Gagnan opened up new possibilities in underwater exploration. Today, scuba diving is a very popular sport as well as an indispensable professional activity. It is estimated that more than 3,000,000 divers are currently "open water" certified and that another 600,000 new divers are certified worldwide each year. Thus, diving is expected to become more widespread both as a recreational activity and as a professional endeavor.
Regardless of the expansion of diving, it is considered by many to be an inherently dangerous activity. Thus, safe diving practice as well as the science and physiology of diving are taught as part of the open water certification process. Safety procedures and practices are continually being emphasized by manufacturers, educators, and participants in the industry.
In order to allow the recreational diver to participate in the sport both safely and enjoyably, it is imperative that the diver be apprised of environmental conditions during the dive as well as the status of the diving equipment. Such environmental conditions and equipment status include the elapsed time of the dive and the maximum depth of the dive and the time spent at the maximum depth. It is also important to keep an accurate log of each dive made in the recent past so that repetitive dives over a period of time can be safely performed.
While underwater diving has many hazards, one of the hazards which can be managed is decompression sickness (DCS), commonly known as the "bends." DCS comes about because inert gases (principally nitrogen, which is the major constituent of air compressed into the air tanks of most divers), are absorbed into the blood and tissues of a diver during a dive. The greater the depth of the dive (i.e., the greater the ambient pressure on the diver) and the length of the dive, the greater the amount of nitrogen which is absorbed into the diver's blood and tissues. If the diver rapidly returns to a shallower depth, or to the surface, the decrease in ambient pressure causes the nitrogen to be deabsorbed and harmful bubbles form in the tissue and blood.
The process of absorption and deabsorption of nitrogen into the blood and tissues is governed by Boyles Law and the fact that the partial pressures of inert gases (principally nitrogen), increases as the diver proceeds deeper into the dive. This causes a disequilibrium between the inert gases in the blood, fluids, and tissues of the diver's body and the air mixture being inhaled. This disequilibrium causes more of the inert gases to be absorbed by the body of the diver. Upon assent to the surface the ambient pressure is reduced and the disequilibrium is again created. This time however, excess gases are deabsorbed by the body fluids and tissues into the air mixture being exhaled. If the dissolved gases are released too quickly they form bubbles in the blood, fluids, joints, and other tissues of the diver's body which can cause problems ranging from minor discomfort to death.
DCS can be controlled by monitoring dive conditions, limiting dive depth and the length of the dive, and controlling the assent rate to the surface. Nevertheless, due to human nature and other realities of diving, divers occasionally encounter DCS because of miscalculations or misjudgments.
Potential problems with DCS exist in every dive and are dealt with by educating the diver about safe dive depths, dive times, and assent rates. Such variables can be very roughly manually calculated using dive tables, for example those provided by the U.S. Navy and other organizations, to determine the safe rate of assent from a maximum depth in conjunction with the time spent at that maximum depth. Importantly, both professional and recreational divers require accurate information about the parameters of their dives so that diving time and the depths can be maximized.
In order to give the diver the information needed to plan and control a safe dive, a diver is now often equipped with underwater stop watches, conventional magnetic compasses, analog scuba tank pressure gauges, and depth gauges, as well as occasionally a thermometer. Recently, carry-along dive computers, which monitor various environmental and equipment sensors and perform dive table type calculations, have been available to provide important information to a diver during the course of the dive.
Provided in FIG. 1 is a representation of a diver, generally indicated at 10, using one of several previously available carry-along dive computers. In the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 1, the dive computer console 18, which includes gauges or indicators 19, is connected to a scuba air tank 12 by way of a high pressure hose 20 which communicates the pressure within the scuba air tank 12 to the dive computer console 18. The diver 10 receives air from the tank 12 via a conventional mouth piece 14 connected to the tank by a low pressure hose (not represented).
In the arrangement represented in FIG. 1, the dive computer console 18 hangs down behind the diver 10, traditionally on the left side of the diver. In some instances, the dive computer console is held in the diver's hand or is attached to the diver's arm.
One readily recognized problem with the arrangement for a dive computer shown in FIG. 1 is that the diver must reach for, and grasp, the dive computer console 18 and bring it into his field of view each time the gauges or indicators 19 are to be checked. Because the diver 10 must make a conscious effort to reach for the dive computer console 18 and bring it into his field of view, it is less likely that the diver 10 will check the gauges or indicators 19 as often as is desirable due to environmental distractions or a task at hand. Also, because it is not easy to find and grasp the dive computer console 18, in a panic moment or critical situation the diver may be unable to quickly grasp it and/or bring it into his field of view.
Moreover, the arrangement using a dive computer console 18 attached to the tank 12 via a high pressure hose 20 poses the safety risk of the high pressure hose 20 or dive computer console 18 snagging or catching on underwater objects such as coral. Also, the dangers posed by rupturing the high pressure hose 20 are readily evident.
Additionally, in murky or turbid water it may be impossible to observe the gauges or indicators 19 unless they are placed against the viewing window of the diving mask 16. This requires the diver 10 to divert his attention from the task at hand on a regular basis or from a dive buddy (companion) which the diver 10 should be continuously observing in order to ensure the dive buddy's safety. Moreover, when divers are exploring coral reefs constant attention should be paid to avoiding contact with the reef; both unintentional and intentional contact by divers causes the destruction of many coral reefs in the world.
Because of these and other drawbacks and problems encountered in the present state of the art, it would be a great advance in the art to provide a dive computer which overcomes these disadvantages by providing safer and more efficient underwater diving.

Field of view underwater diving computer monitoring and display system


A data processing method and an electronic device are disclosed. The method comprises: causing at least one display content displayed by the at least one input/output display unit respectively to be independent from each other, so that processing on one current input/output display unit only affects the display content of the current input/output display unit, but does not affect other input/output display unit(s); obtaining a user operation on the at least one display area; synchronizing a system message between the at least one input/output display unit in response to the user operation, so that consistent system service is obtained from the at least one input/output display unit, wherein the at least one display content are identical or not identical.

Current electronic devices, such as a desktop computer, a notebook, a smart phone etc. may support various display output approaches. The electronic device may also support a projection function and thus support an output approach for projection display.
During implementing technical solutions of embodiments of the present application, inventors of the present application have found at least technical problems in the prior art as follows:
In a current multi-display-output enabled scenario, one display output is the primary display output of the electronic device. The rest display outputs are only used as additive expansions to the primary display outputs of the electronic device, but are not display outputs that are parallel to the primary output and run independently. For example, the output content of HDMI and the like is a mirror of the output content of the primary screen of the electronic device. Typically, a secondary screen of a multi-screen mobile phone is only used as an expansion in size to the main-screen. In the related art, there is no effective solution to address this problem yet.

Data processing method and electronic device


Provided is a navi-system or the like capable of improving accuracy of road traffic information that is created based on probe information. A navi-client 2 creates probe information including an identifier that represents a detection result as to whether a communication with a vehicle-mounted device 3 has been established or not. A server communication device 1 discriminates or selects probe information in accordance with a difference of the identifier, and creates road traffic information based on the thus discriminated or selected probe information.

A navi-server is proposed, which is configured to create road traffic information on the basis of probe information that is collected from a navi-client having a position measurement function, the probe information representing time-series measurement positions of the navi-client (see Patent Literature 1). Herein, "navi" is a short form of the word "navigation". A technique of acquiring image data from a mobile terminal device equipped with a navigation function and displaying the image data on a vehicle-mounted touch-panel type display is proposed (see Patent Literature 2).

Navi-server, navi-client, and navi-system


A lamp-within-a-lamp headlamp unit includes an inner lamp body which is adjustably received within a first end of an outer lamp housing. A second end of the outer lamp housing defines a lens through which light is projected from the headlamp unit. The inner lamp body sealably receives a lamp bulb through a bulb access opening in a first end of the lamp body which is accessed through the first end of the outer housing. Light is projected from the second end of the lamp body which can be open if appropriate focusing reflectors are provided adjacent the lamp bulb or closed by an internal lens. An area surrounding the second end of the lamp body is sealed to the outer lamp housing by a flexible inner seal which extends between the lamp body and an inner portion of the outer lamp housing. The flexible inner seal permits the inner lamp body to be adjusted relative to the outer lamp housing which is secured to a motor vehicle for aligning or aiming the light beam projected from the headlamp unit. At the same time, the flexible inner seal is sufficiently resilient so as to provide shock adsorbing support for the inner lamp body. The inner sealed headlamp permits alignment or aiming devices for the headlamp to be open to the atmosphere. A one-way vent may be installed in the outer lens of the outer lamp housing or a lens extension which extends between the outer lens and the first end of the outer lens housing.

The present invention relates in general to headlamps for a motor vehicle and, more particularly, to an improved lamp-within-a-lamp headlamp design having an inner seal between an inner lamp body and an outer headlamp housing.
Headlamps for motor vehicles have evolved from sealed beam systems wherein self-contained headlamp units each include one or two filaments, a reflector and a lens, all of which are formed into a glass shell with terminals extending out the back of the unit for electrical connections to the filament or filaments. Such sealed headlamp units are mounted into support frames which are adjusted typically from the front of the vehicle to properly align or aim the light beams projected from the vehicle.
To simplify headlight installation in a vehicle, adjustment of headlamp alignment and replacement of burned-out headlamp filaments, headlamp units have been designed which are adjustably supported within a vehicle for receiving a headlamp bulb, typically a halogen bulb, from the rear of the unit. Such improved headlamp units eliminate substantial amounts of waste when headlamp filaments burn out and must be replaced. Headlamp alignment or aiming is simplified and typically performed from the rear of the headlamp unit. Exemplary headlamp units of this form are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,413 and No. 4,569,007.
Another form of improved headlamp unit is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,334. This form of headlamp unit includes a lamp-within-a-lamp, i.e. a reflector which supports a bulb is adjustably supported within a lamp housing. As is apparent from this patent, the inner lamp or reflector is supported near the ends of adjustment screws, pivot members and the like such that it is subject to being deflected due to forces produced as the vehicle including the headlamp unit is driven. Further, the lamp housing is sealed such that dirt and moisture cannot accumulate on the lens which is on the front of the reflector. Since the lamp housing is sealed, all alignment adjusters must also be sealed where they enter the housing or else the housing seal will be compromised. The added complexity required by sealing the alignment adjusters is also apparent from a review of this patent.

Inner sealed lamp-within-a lamp headlamp for a motor vehicle


Transverse flux electric motors are made using a unique process where individual components are premade and then assembled together. A stator portion is made by nesting a coil between two stator core portions. In a disclosed example, distinct first and second stator core portions are formed. The stator core portions in disclosed examples are made from laminations or sintered powder materials. In a disclosed arrangement, a coil is supported between the core portions of the stator such that the core portions enclose at least part of axial surfaces on the coil. A rotor that has a core and a plurality of magnets is supported relative to the stator for relative rotary motion such that the plurality of magnets of the rotor interact with the stator core portions during the relative rotary motion.

This invention generally relates to transverse flux electric motors. More particularly, this invention relates to a strategy for fabricating the components of a transverse flux motor in a practical and cost-effective manner.
It has recently become apparent that there are significant advantages to utilizing gearless propulsion systems in elevator and escalator systems, for example. With a gearless propulsion arrangement, there are no gear trains between the propulsion machine or mechanism and the driven components (such as the sheaves in an elevator system). Gearless propulsion systems typically have fewer components and are more compact than traditional geared arrangements. An additional advantage is that gearless propulsion systems reduce acoustic noise and simplify maintenance procedures.
One challenge presented in attempting to use gearless propulsion systems is that they typically require electric motors, which often prove difficult to make with the desired performance characteristics. Permanent magnet motors are advantageous because they are capable of developing higher torque densities with higher efficiency compared to induction or switched reluctance arrangements. Permanent magnet transverse flux motors are capable of producing even higher torque densities than permanent magnet brushless motors.
A significant challenge is presented when attempting to build such a system because transverse flux machines are typically relatively expensive. The armature of a transverse flux motor has a complicated structure. Typical attempts include laminating arc-shaped sheets and embedding conductive coils in the laminated stack by arranging the coils within concentric slots. Although the process would be improved by utilizing wedge-shaped lamination sheets formed by a hot rolling process, that approach is undesirably expensive.
There is a need for an improved method of making the components of transverse flux electric motors that avoids the complications and expenses associated with current approaches. This invention addresses those needs while avoiding the shortcomings and drawbacks of the prior art.


A method of detecting a document in a system for feeding and transporting documents includes detecting an acceleration of an accelerator idler indicating when the document trailing edge exits a feeder and a separator. The system includes a feeder stage including the feeder and the separator for receiving a document therebetween and gripping the document with a first grip, and a transport stage downstream of the feeder stage. The transport stage includes an accelerator driver and the accelerator idler for receiving the document therebetween and gripping the document with a second grip that is less than the first grip. When the document is simultaneously gripped by the feeder and separator and gripped by the accelerator driver and accelerator idler, the document slips at the accelerator driver until the document trailing edge exits the feeder and separator. The acceleration of the accelerator idler is detected to indicate when the document trailing edge exits the feeder and separator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems for feeding and transporting documents and to a system and method for detecting a document trailing edge exiting a feeder.
2. Background Art
A typical system for feeding and transporting documents includes a feeder and a separator in the document feeding portion of the system, and a series of roller pairs or belts in the document transporting portion of the system. In the feeding portion of the system, the feeder acts with the separator to feed documents singly, in order, from a stack. In the transporting portion of the system, the roller pairs and/or belts convey the documents, one at a time, past other processing devices such as readers, printers, and sorters that perform operations on the documents. The feeder is typically a feed wheel, but may take other forms. The separator may be a wheel, but also may take other forms such as a belt. Further, the components in the transporting portion of the system may take a variety of forms. Systems also include a component in the document feeding portion of the system that nudges documents into the nip between the feeder and the separator. A suitable nudger may be a nudger wheel, but may take other forms. An existing document feeder is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,854. That patent describes a document feeder with a variable speed separator.
In existing systems for transporting documents, operations that depend on the position of the document are generally performed in the transport stage, or transporting portion of the system. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,784 describes a document separation apparatus. That patent describes the downstream acceleration/deceleration of documents with pinch rollers to adjust document spacing. Although some existing systems may successfully perform operations that depend on the position of the document, these existing systems do have their limitations. In certain situations, it would be desirable to know immediately when a first document trailing edge has left the feeder so that operations can be performed on a second, following, document with the feeder as soon as possible without affecting the first document. Further, it would be desirable to know such information so that operations can be performed on the first, leading, document in the transport stage without the first document being affected by actions of the feeder. Existing systems have a shortcoming in that there is no way to know immediately when a document trailing edge has left the feeder.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a system and method for detecting a document trailing edge exiting a feeder.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for detecting a document trailing edge exiting a feeder.
In carrying out the above object, a system for feeding and transporting documents is provided. Each document has a leading edge and a trailing edge. The system comprises a feeder stage, a transport stage, a tachometer, and control logic. The feeder stage includes a feeder and a separator for receiving a document therebetween and gripping the document with a first grip. The transport stage is downstream of the feeder stage. The transport stage includes an accelerator driver and an accelerator idler for receiving the document therebetween and gripping the document with a second grip that is less than the first grip. When the document is simultaneously gripped by the feeder and separator and gripped by the accelerator driver and accelerator idler, the document slips at the accelerator driver until the document trailing edge exits the feeder and separator. The tachometer is at the accelerator idler. The control logic is configured to detect an acceleration of the tachometer indicating when the document trailing edge exits the feeder and separator, and to provide an output signal.
In a preferred embodiment, the system further comprises a control device receiving the output signal. The control device is configured to perform an operation after the document trailing edge has exited the feeder and separator.
In embodiments of the present invention, the tachometer may include an encoder and generate a pulse sequence. The control logic would then detect the acceleration based on the pulse sequence. Or, the tachometer may generate an analog velocity signal, and the control logic would then detect the acceleration based on the analog velocity signal.
In a preferred embodiment, the system further comprises a feeder tachometer at the feeder. The control logic is configured to detect a relative acceleration of the accelerator idler tachometer with respect to the feeder tachometer indicating when the document trailing edge exits the feeder and separator.
Further, in carrying out the present invention, a method of detecting a document in a system for feeding and transporting documents is provided. The document has a leading edge and trailing edge. The system includes a feeder stage, including a feeder and a separator for receiving a document therebetween and gripping the document with a first grip. The system further includes a transport stage downstream of the feeder stage. The transport stage includes an accelerator driver and an accelerator idler for receiving the document therebetween and gripping the document with a second grip that is less than the first grip. When the document is simultaneously gripped by the feeder and separator and gripped by the accelerator driver and accelerator idler, the document slips at the accelerator driver until the document trailing edge exits the feeder and separator. The method comprises detecting an acceleration of the accelerator idler indicating when the document trailing edge exits the feeder and separator.
In a preferred embodiment, the method further comprises, after detecting the acceleration of the accelerator idler, performing an operation after the document trailing edge has exited the feeder and separator. Preferably, the method further comprises providing a tachometer at the accelerator idler.
In embodiments of the present invention, the tachometer may include an encoder and generate a pulse sequence. Or, the tachometer may generate an analog velocity signal.
In a preferred embodiment, the method further comprises detecting a relative acceleration of the accelerator idler with respect to the feeder indicating when a document trailing edge exits the feeder and separator. More preferably, the method further comprises providing a tachometer at the accelerator idler, and providing a feeder tachometer at the feeder.
The advantages associated with embodiments of the present invention are numerous. For example, embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for detecting a document trailing edge exiting a feeder. Detecting the document trailing edge exiting the feeder allows operations to be performed on a second, following, document with the feeder as soon as possible without affecting the first document. Further, detecting the document trailing edge exiting the feeder allows operations to be performed on the first, leading, document in the transport stage without the first document being affected by actions of the feeder. Systems of the present invention utilize a tachometer at the accelerator idler, while methods of the present invention comprise detecting acceleration of the accelerator idler. Many document processing products could benefit from embodiments of the present invention. For example, copiers, fax machines, sheet feeders for computer printers, automatic teller machines, and document image scanners are just a few examples of products that could benefit from embodiments of the present invention.
The above object and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

System and method for detecting a document trailing edge exiting feeder


A system, method and computer program product to compute latencies of a plurality of expression trees in a basic block and to select a first and a second expression tree from the plurality of expression trees based on the computed latencies. The first expression tree is isomorphic to the second expression tree and the first and second expression trees are selected in order of largest to smallest latency. This selection ensures that the largest isomorphic expression trees are vectorized first. By vectorizing the largest isomorphic expression trees first, a basic block containing hundreds of statements can be vectorized without significant compile time. Moreover, vectorization of the largest isomorphic expression trees results in a significant improvement in system performance on SIMD processors.

1. Field
The present disclosure is generally directed to automatic vectorization. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to partial vectorization.
2. Background Art
Modern microprocessors support Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) instructions. SIMD instructions enable microprocessors to exploit data level parallelism. Specifically, a SIMD instruction performs the same identical action simultaneously on two or more pieces of data.
There are two ways to utilize the SIMD capabilities of a microprocessor. First, a programmer can write SIMD assembly language instructions. Second, a compiler can perform autovectorization. Autovectorization is a compiler transformation that automatically generates SIMD instructions for a program loop or a sequentially executing block of instructions, e.g. a basic block.
The autovectorization of code other than program loops (e.g. basic blocks) has become increasingly important in maximizing program performance. The autovectorization of basic block code is called partial vectorization or partial "simdization." Partial vectorization has been demonstrated to improve performance in many independent studies.
Partial vectorization involves analyzing a basic block and identifying groups of identical instructions which can be executed independently of each other. These groups of instructions are converted to one or more vector instructions. The number of vector instructions generated is based on the width of the vector registers of a microprocessor.
If a basic block does not contain groups of identical instructions which can be executed independently of each other, then partial vectorization is not applied to the basic block. Alternatively, if a basic block contains groups of identical instructions which can be executed independently of each other, then those instructions are converted to vector instructions. Instructions in the basic block which are not vectorized are called scalar instructions. Thus, a basic block may contain both vector and scalar instructions.
Traditional approaches to partial vectorization have suffered from scalability issues. Specifically, it has been a challenge applying partial vectorization algorithms because analyzing basic blocks with large numbers of instructions is time consuming. Currently, there are two dominant approaches to partial vectorization: dynamic programming algorithms and greedy algorithms.
Dynamic programming applies a bottom-up approach to partial vectorization. Specifically, the input basic block is represented as a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG). The DAG is built by connecting every variable's definition to its uses. Dynamic programming is then applied to the DAG. Specifically, the packing and unpacking costs of vectorization are propagated recursively from the leaves of the DAG to their parents and so on.
Dynamic programming generates the smallest number of packing and unpacking instructions. In addition, dynamic programming vectorizes the longest expressions in the basic block which thereby maximizes the number of instructions vectorized. However, compile time for dynamic programming is high and it does not scale when there are hundreds of high level statements in the basic block. Specifically, because all independent and isomorphic expressions are compared with each other, the compile time is extremely high when compiling basic blocks containing hundreds of statements.
Greedy programming, on the other hand, makes the locally optimal choice at each stage of vectorization with the hope of finding a global optimum. Greedy algorithms have reasonable compile time and scale when there are hundreds of high level statements in the basic block. However, greedy programming does not usually produce an optimal solution, e.g., it does not maximize the number of instructions vectorized. Specifically, there is no guarantee that the longest expressions in the basic block will get vectorized. Nor is there any guarantee that the packing and unpacking costs of vectorization will be minimized.