Processes are disclosed for performing non-microwave, non-arcjet plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition of diamond in which substantially no particles impact the growing diamond surface with energies sufficient to prevent the growth of diamond. The energies of the particles are limited by selecting frequency, pressure, magnetic fields, electrical bias, or a combination thereof to the deposition region of the chamber. Diamond materials formed by these processes are also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to CVD diamond growth. More particularly, the present invention relates to CVD diamond growth using RF/VHF plasma techniques.
2. The Prior Art
It has been known that synthesis of diamond films can be accomplished using plasma activated chemical vapor deposition processes which now comprise a well-known body of art. Briefly, when energy is applied to a mixture of hydrogen and carbonaceous gases, under certain conditions of temperature, pressure, gas mixture ratio, and other known parameters, excited species are created in the gas excitation zone and are transported by diffusion to suitable substrate surfaces, where they cause films of high-purity polycrystalline diamond to nucleate and grow.
At the time of its discovery, this phenomenon was surprising because it was well known that diamond is not thermodynamically stable under ordinary conditions. The stable form of carbon at normal pressure and temperature is graphite, and the first successful synthesis of diamond was achieved by employing enormous pressure during crystallization under conditions in which diamond is the thermodynamically favored form. The art of low-pressure diamond deposition is now well established and is the basis for a number of commercial applications, including production of diamond-coated cutting tools and diamond microelectronic packages.
Excitation of the gases can take place through a variety of means, including combustion (oxyacetylene flames), heated filaments, plasma arcjets, and microwave plasma excitation. Each of these methods has its limitations. Combustion diamond CVD is not used commercially due to its high cost and difficulty of engineering large-scale deposition systems. Hot filament systems are used to coat tools with diamond, but suffer from low growth rates and from incorporation of filament materials as impurities in the growing diamond film. Plasma torch systems are used to synthesize diamond films, but suffer from high capital and operating costs, and are difficult to scale to deposition sizes greater than a few inches in diameter. Microwave plasma diamond CVD suffers from high capital equipment cost and restricted deposition area, the latter limitation arising from the relationship between plasma excitation zone size and microwave wavelength, in which the plasma zone is commonly limited to approximately 1/4 to 1/2 the wavelength of the energy used to initiate the plasma.
In microwave diamond CVD, microwaves are admitted into a chamber filled with reactant gases. In all published systems, plasma ignition is achieved by causing resonant superposition of at least two microwaves. In many systems, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,188 and those subsequently derived from its teachings, a portion of the microwave energy admitted from one side of the reactor passes through the reaction region and is reflected from an adjustable opposing wall back into the reaction zone. The reflecting wall is adjusted to position the point of highest electric field at the locus of desired plasma ignition, and power is increased until plasma ignition occurs.
Operation of reactors in resonant cavity mode, in which reactor dimensions are at most a few multiples of the wavelength of the excitation energy, is necessitated by the requirements of diamond deposition chemistry. It is known empirically that diamond CVD does not proceed efficiently below operating pressures of approximately 10 Torr, and few if any commercial diamond CVD processes operate below 50 Torr. For example, production of bulk diamond slabs for cutting tools and heat spreaders, often done in plasma torch systems or large microwave CVD systems, takes place at pressures of 100 to 300 Torr. Because of the requirement for high pressure operation, high magnitude electric fields are needed to initiate ionization which is the basis for plasma formation. In consequence, many large-area plasma deposition technologies such as electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) cannot be used for diamond deposition because they do not operate at sufficiently high gas pressures. Resonant cavity operation provides the high electric fields needed to sustain plasmas at the high pressures required for synthesis of high quality diamond.
The need for resonant, standing-wave chamber and microwave technology fixes the physical extent of the plasma excitation region to not more than about one-half the wavelength of the excitation energy, more typically not more than one-quarter thereof. Thus, for the commercially important 915 Mhz microwave frequency, the resultant plasma in diamond CVD systems is about 4 inches in diameter under ordinary operating conditions. Various methods have been developed to circumvent some of the size constraints imposed in deposition of diamond using small microwave plasmas. These include using larger substrates in proximity to the plasma region, extending the plasma through shaping local electric fields, and moving the plasma rapidly across large substrates, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,740 to Pinneo. These methods provide an ability to diamond coat articles up to about 10 inches in diameter at 915 Mhz with penalties in growth rates and/or deposition uniformity, but the basic difficulty engendered by small plasmas in microwave-driven diamond CVD systems has not been heretofore surmounted.
It would seem that a straightforward remedy for restricted plasma size would be to employ much lower excitation frequencies with longer wavelengths to achieve bigger plasmas. This was the reason for early work in using 13.56 Mhz sources for diamond CVD tests. At 13.56 Mhz, the free space wavelength is in excess of 22 meters, which would give quite large plasmas. In practice, deposition is usually accomplished by applying the RF (radio frequency) energy to an electrode which carries the object to be coated. Inductive coupling, in which a coil external to the chamber is energized with RF, has also been tried for diamond CVD. Neither of these modalities, both well-known to those skilled in the deposition art, has been successful in producing diamond films of usable quality, but rather produce films consisting of mixed forms of carbon, including graphite, amorphous carbon, and small diamond-bonded carbon domains. These films, depending on the properties they exhibit, are often termed "diamond-like carbon" (DLC) films. Their properties are in general inferior to those of diamond; DLC is softer, less conductive of heat, less stable at elevated temperatures, less electrically insulative, etc.
Plasma consists of ionized gases, that is, gases in which electrons have been temporarily removed from their parent molecules by the action of electric fields. Ionization produces the mix of negative, positive, and neutrally charged particles known as a plasma. The charged particles in a plasma are accelerated by electric fields. When alternating electric fields are present (as they are in RF or microwave excited plasmas), charged particles gather kinetic energy during one half of the alternating voltage cycle only to lose it through deceleration during the opposite half-cycle as the field polarity reverses. The more slowly the field reverses (i.e., the lower the driving frequency), the greater the acceleration time, and the greater the kinetic energy imparted to charged particles. At 13.56 MHz (RF), a small portion of the ion population can build up to several hundred electron volts energy.
Since even the strongest chemical bonds have energies less than about 5 eV, ions from RF sources have the energy to break all chemical bonds in materials with which they collide. In contrast, at 2450 MHz (microwave), ion energies are generally less than 10 eV. Microwave plasmas produce ions which have much lower energies and which therefore do not cause disorder when they impact surfaces.
The present inability to produce inexpensive diamond films for industrial use continues to inhibit the development of what otherwise would be a significant industry based on the routine engineering use of CVD) diamond.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for CVD deposition of diamond at frequencies below the microwave range.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for CVD deposition of diamond which allows depositions over larger areas than prior-art methods.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for CVD deposition of diamond which overcomes some of the problems of the prior art.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method for CVD deposition of diamond which is lower in cost than prior art CVD methods.

RF/VHF plasma diamond growth method and apparatus and materials produced therein


A method performed by an electronic device is described. The method includes interleaving multiple input image channels to produce an interleaved multi-channel input. The method also includes loading the interleaved multi-channel input to a single-instruction multiple data (SIMD) processor. The method further includes convolving the interleaved multi-channel input with a multi-channel filter.

In the last several decades, the use of electronic devices has become common. In particular, advances in electronic technology have reduced the cost of increasingly complex and useful electronic devices. Cost reduction and consumer demand have proliferated the use of electronic devices such that they are practically ubiquitous in modern society. As the use of electronic devices has expanded, so has the demand for new and improved features of electronic devices. More specifically, electronic devices that perform new functions and/or that perform functions faster, more efficiently or with higher quality are often sought after.
Some electronic devices (e.g., cameras, video camcorders, digital cameras, cellular phones, personal cameras, action cameras, surveillance cameras, mounted cameras, smart phones, feature phones, computers, tablets, drones, televisions, etc.) capture and/or utilize images. For example, a smartphone may capture and/or process still and/or video images. Processing images may demand a relatively large amount of time, memory and energy resources. The resources demanded may vary in accordance with the complexity of the processing.
It may be difficult to implement some complex processing tasks. For example, some processing tasks may take a long time to complete and/or may yield undesirable results. This may be especially true in mobile platforms (e.g., mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptop computers, etc.) that may have limited processing, memory and/or energy resources (e.g., limited battery life). As can be observed from this discussion, systems and methods that improve image processing may be beneficial.

Systems and methods for image processing in a deep convolution network


A controller driver includes an overdrive processing unit generating corrected image data based on image data and image data of one frame previous to the image data, a data line driver generating a liquid crystal driving voltage, a roundabout route bypassing the overdrive processing unit and allowing the one frame previous image data to be input to the data line driver, a second expander outputting the one frame previous image data to one of a connection route to the overdrive processing unit and the roundabout route, a command controller supplying a moving/still image switching signal S1 for indicating switching between moving image display and still image display to the second expander. The second expander selects the connection route to the overdrive processing unit in displaying a moving image and selects the roundabout route in displaying a still image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a controller driver for driving a liquid crystal panel and a liquid crystal display apparatus using the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Portable information equipment such as mobile phones and PDA includes a controller driver for driving a liquid crystal panel. Some controller drivers have an image memory capable of storing image data of one frame and a simple controller for generating a synchronization signal to indicate a display timing of the image data stored in the image memory. In this configuration, if there is no need to switch display images such as when displaying a still image, it is possible to display a still image by displaying the image data stored in the image memory on a liquid crystal panel without receiving image data from an external processor such as CPU. Such a configuration is effective for reducing power consumption.
FIG. 16 shows an example of a conventional liquid crystal display apparatus that has a controller driver with a built in memory. The conventional liquid crystal display apparatus includes a liquid crystal panel 7, a gate line driver 6 for driving a gate line of the liquid crystal panel 7, and a controller driver 8 for receiving image data Dn from a processor 5 such as CPU and displaying it on the liquid crystal panel 7 of a mobile phone terminal or the like. The controller driver 8 includes an image memory 83 capable of storing image data of at least one frame, a tone voltage generator 17 for generating a tone voltage, a data line driver 89 for driving a data line of the liquid crystal panel 7, a timing controller 18 for indicating the data line driver 89 and the gate line driver 6 of a display timing, and a command controller 80 for indicating the tone voltage generator 17 of a setting of a tone voltage and indicating the timing controller 17 of an image display timing and so on. The configuration of the controller driver 8 shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and a controller driver may include a gate line driver or may further include a power supply circuit.
As described above, since the controller driver 8 has the image memory 83 capable of storing image data of at least one frame, it is possible to display a still image that is stored in the image memory 83 on the liquid crystal panel 7 without a need to transfer image data from the external processor 5. Specifically, the command controller 80 indicates the image memory 83 to transfer image data to the data line driver 89 and further indicates the data line driver 89 and the gate line driver 6 of atiming to display the image. This configuration allows stopping the operation of the external processor 5 during still image display and thereby reducing power consumption.
As mobile phone terminals become highly functional, they are required to have a function to display moving images. However, a liquid crystal panel has a slow speed of response to a change in display images, which causes an image out of focus when displaying moving images. To overcome this drawback, overdrive processing is performed in a large-sized liquid crystal panel or the like in order to improve a response speed of liquid crystal. The overdrive processing compares present image data with one frame previous image data. If a tone increases and thus luminance is higher, it drives a liquid crystal panel with a higher liquid crystal driving voltage than a normal level. If, on the other hand, a tone decreases and thus luminance is lower, it drives a liquid crystal panel with a lower driving voltage than a normal level. This processing increases a response speed of a liquid crystal panel. The overdrive processing is detailed in Japanese Patent No. 2616652, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-365094 and 2003-202845, for example.
Adding an overdrive processor to the controller driver 8 with the image memory 83 enables to improve a response speed of liquid crystal. However, there is a restriction in power consumption for portable information equipment such as a mobile phone terminal, and thus a power consumption of the controller driver 8 is preferably small. Merely adding the overdrive processor to the controller driver 8 results in an increase in power consumption of the controller driver 8.
FIG. 16 shows the configuration where an overdrive processor is merely added to the controller driver 8. The overdrive processor 16 compares present image data Dn that is supplied from the command controller 80 with image data Dn−1 of immediately previous frame that is supplied from the image memory 83 so as to detect a change in tone between the two image data. Further, it supplies corrected image data Ddn in accordance with a tone change between the image data Dn and Dn−1 to the data line driver 89. The data line driver 89 drives the liquid crystal panel 7 based on the corrected image data Ddn, thereby improving a response speed of the liquid crystal panel 7.
When the controller driver with the configuration of FIG. 16 outputs a still image in, the overdrive processing unit 16 compares present frame image data Dn with previous frame image data Dn−1 and, if the comparison result matches, it supplies the original image data, not corrected image data, to the data line driver 89. Therefore, the conventional controller driver shown in FIG. 16 require the overdrive processing unit 16 to operate when outputting a still image as well, which hinders reduction of power consumption in still image display.

Controller driver and liquid crystal display apparatus using the same


An operative arm of an earth moving machine includes a dipper stick having a distal end, a bucket coupled to the distal end of the dipper stick, a hydraulic actuator coupled to the dipper stick, and a linkage generally interposed between the bucket and the hydraulic actuator. The linkage includes the following items: (i) a first lever rotatably coupled to the dipper stick and the hydraulic actuator, (ii) a linear actuator rotatably coupled to the dipper stick, (iii) a second lever rotatably coupled to the first lever and the linear actuator, and (iv) a bucket lever interconnecting the second lever, the linear actuator and the bucket.

The preferred embodiment relates to an operative arm of an earth moving machine, and in particular to an operative arm of an excavator, whereto the following disclosure explicitly refers without thereby losing its general nature.
In general, the operative arm of excavators comprises a terminal arm (commonly known as a "dipper stick") which, at its end, bears a hinged bucket and which is provided with a hydraulic actuator, whose rod is coupled to the bucket via a lever.
As is well known, the bucket can be used both to dig, break up the soil and load and transport material. Operators want high digging or impacting forces on the soil for digging operations, while during loading and transporting operations operators want an opposite need—having a wide angular excursion of the bucket.
Known systems attempting to increase the rotating torque of the bucket (and hence the digging force) include hydraulic systems that provide a momentary increase in pressure during the operation of the actuator that sets the bucket in rotation. However, repeated and frequent pressure peaks entail a high risk of breakage in the hydraulic system of the excavator.

Operative arm excavator including linkage generally interposed between bucket and hydraulic actuator


A bone instrumentation cover or shield has a hollow cap or casing for encapsulating projecting parts of instrumentation installed in a bone, and a fastener portion provided at a lower edge of the cap or casing for securing it to the bone or to parts of the instrumentation where it is installed in the bone. The instrumentation shield or cover is designed to provide a medically-safe physical barrier for implantation between projecting parts of bone instrumentation constructs and surrounding bone and soft tissues, in order to minimize local irritation or injury and also serve as a barrier to ingrowth from bone and/or fibrous tissues. The shield or cover can be formed in a variety of forms, from rigid casing, to semi-pliable sheath-like structure, to soft pouch or cinch sack. The cap or casing is readily applied over the instrumentation, then cinched, tied or fastened to the instrumentation or adjacent areas, using a locking toothed edge, suture ties, suture strings, drawstrings and the like. The cover is made of medically safe material, and can come in various sizes or constructed to be pliable, stretchable, or adaptable with slidable, displaceable or pleated panels.

Spinal bone deterioration, disc rupture, degenerative disc disease or deformity is surgically correctable by installing a rod secured to pedicle screws mounted into good bone in order to support or reinforce the deteriorated, weakened, or deformed area
However, the presence of instrumentation installed in bone can present problems for the patient. Projecting parts of the instrumentation can irritate and cause swelling or injury to the surrounding tissues. Ingrowth of bone or fibrous tissue into parts of the instrumentation is possible if the bone or tissue regenerates, causing possible interference with the function of the instrumentation or perhaps making it difficult to later remove the instrumentation if it is no longer needed or if a next progressive stage of instrumentation is required. Many of the systems in use tend to be fairly bulky and frequently lead to problems within patients. Bursae may form which can lead to pain and possible skin necrosis and breakdown. Removing the instrumentation may ultimately be necessary in such cases. It is therefore desirable to provide a way to protect the body and the instrumentation installed in bone during spinal or reconstructive surgery.


Provided is a kaolin having a finer particle size and a narrower particle size distribution, in combination with suitable morphology. Also provided are a method of preparing the kaolin product and methods of use.

In the discussion of the background that follows, reference is made to certain structures and/or methods. However, the following references should not be construed as an admission that these structures and/or methods constitute prior art. Applicants expressly reserve the right to demonstrate that such structures and/or methods do not qualify as prior art.
Kaolin is a naturally-occurring hydrated aluminum silicate crystalline mineral (kaolinite), in the form of hexagonally shaped, stacked platelets of irregular orientation. Hydrous kaolin is characterized by its fine particle size, plate like or lamellar particle shape, and chemical inertness.
Current methods of producing calcined kaolin involve preparing a chemically dispersed blunged/degritted kaolin crude, subjecting it to centrifugation and magnetic separation, followed by spray drying, pulverization, calcination and pulverization. Current techniques for obtaining finer particle size kaolin, such as media grinding, have a detrimental effect on the morphology of the calcined kaolin and a negative impact on performance in the final application of the kaolin product.
Calcination of kaolin at temperatures up to about 1100° C. cements particles together and produces products of improved whiteness and opacity. Such pigments are widely used by the paper, plastics, rubber and paint industries. U.S. Pat. No. 3,586,523 to Fanselow et al, is directed to producing low abrasion fine particle size opacifying calcined kaolin clay, such as the pigments supplied under the registered trademarks ANSILEX® and ANSILEX® 93. Such pigments have an average particle size of about 0.8 microns.
There is an on-going unmet need in the art for a heat-treated kaolin product with both a finer and steeper particle size distribution and useful performance properties and methods of producing same in order to improve performance in various applications. The present disclosure addresses this need.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


There is disclosed a method for the manufacture of coating or doctoring blades, wherein an elastomeric wear-resistant material at the blade tip is provided in a continuous process. During the manufacturing, the thickness of the applied elastomeric material is determined by winding the blade (containing the applied polymer composition) into a coil before the applied composition is fully cured. Successive turns of the coil are separated by a distance which is smaller than the initial thickness of the applied composition, such that the only partly cured composition is deformed by adjacent turns of the coil into the desired thickness and/or shape.

EP 1 156 889 B1 discloses a continuous process for manufacturing coating or doctoring blades, which at their working tip are provided with a wear resistant soft or rubbery elastomeric material. The soft or rubbery material at the blade tip is provided using ultra fast-curing elastomeric compositions in a continuous process. The previous problems related to the use of closed moulds for providing the tip material were avoided in a convenient manner by the process disclosed by EP 1 156 889. In short, the process comprised the application of the fast-curing polymer composition by means of a treatment station which was given a relative movement with respect to a blade substrate in the form of a band. The applied composition was then allowed to spread out so as to reach the very extreme of the edge of the blade substrate, whereupon the composition was cured to form an elastic and tack-free coating.
The geometrical profile of the applied composition obtained by the above process is determined by the rheological properties and the reactivity of the applied composition, such as flow characteristics, rate of viscosity increase, etc., thus allowing control only of the width of the applied composition. Parameters that could be adjusted were the properties of the polymer composition, the casting output, and the relative speed between the treatment station and the blade substrate.
Although giving some important advantages compared to still older technology, the process of the above '889 patent still require a great deal of post processing, such as cutting, machining, grinding or the like in order to obtain a controlled profile having a constant and well controlled thickness.

Method of manufacturing a coating or doctoring blade


An apparatus for use in dispensing coin rolls is disclosed. The apparatus includes a receptacle, to hold the coin rolls in a vertically stacked array, a dispensed, to dispense the coin rolls from a bottom of the receptacle, and a controller, to control the dispensing means responsive to instructions from a user. The apparatus may be used to construct a change making machine, and a plurality of change making machines may be used to form a broad cash and coin dispensing system that is centrally controlled.

The use of currency in the form of paper bills and metal coins remains a fixture of the modem commercial world. While a large portion of commercial transactions make use of non-currency financial instruments such as credit cards, debit cards, checks and the like, the continued extensive use of currency seems assured. The favourable characteristics of currency include convenience, especially for smaller transactions, and anonymity of purchase.
The wide use of metal coins however presents problems for bulk users of coins, such as retail merchants, and also for the suppliers of bulk coins, primarily banks.
For customer convenience, retail merchants generally prefer to maintain an adequate supply of coins at least most of the time. However, the type of currency offered at any given time by their customers is unpredictable and inconsistent. In many cases a series of customers will offer only paper currency, in which case the merchant's coin reserves may be quickly depleted. This can inconvenience subsequent customers. Many merchants would then find it desirable to replenish their coin reserves, and would do so if it could be done quickly, accurately, and conveniently.
At present, the primary source of bulk coins are local bank branches, staffed by tellers. Therefore it becomes necessary to travel to the branch, wait in line, and be served by bank staff. Banks of course are usually only open during regular business hours, whereas many merchants are open evenings and even overnight. Such merchants often have no recourse but to wait until the next day.
Besides merchants, there are always individuals and other organizations that at various times have a need for bulk coins. They too generally have to go to the bank and wait in line. Another example where coins are in high demand are casinos, particularly the slot machines which use a token type metallic coin, generally valued at one dollar. The high volume nature of the slot machines often means that there is a steady stream of customers seeking to purchase tokens in bulk.
For banks, casinos, and other suppliers, providing bulk coins can present complicated management problems that are usually costly and unrewarding. To begin with, the coins themselves are heavy and bulky. Storage and transportation of the coins is therefore complex and costly. As noted, live staff are invariably needed to effect the transaction. This again is costly, and is particularly noteworthy in contrast to the comparative ease and low cost manner by which paper currency is routinely dispensed through automatic teller (ATM) machines. Additionally, due to the commodity-like nature of the matter, the profit margins that can be charged for bulk coin transactions are generally fairly low compared to other financial services. In many cases there is no additional charge as the service is included in the client's regular fees. So the result is that the supplying of bulk coins is generally a problematic business proposition —having cumbersome management issues, high costs, and low returns.
Most of the solutions offered to improve upon this situation involve attempts to build some sort of automatic dispensing machine for coins, similar to the ATM's commonly used to dispense paper currency. It should be noted that for convenience bulk coins are invariably provided in rolls, wrapped in paper or plastic. Thus the dispensing machines typically store a given capacity of coin rolls of different denominations, and attempt to dispense a given selection of coin rolls as required by the customer. This arrangement, if it works, would succeed in removing the need for a permanent staff person to handle every transaction.
In practice there have been problems with the automatic coin dispenser machines provided so far. While the need for a transaction clerk may be removed, there is always a need for regular service to replenish the coin reserves. To minimize this cost a high coin reserve capacity is important. However, most of the machines available to this point have not been constructed to have a high capacity, and have therefore incurred relatively large costs in this regard.
Another problem with the machines available so far is that they usually rely on some sort of mechanical system to grasp and eject each coin roll. These systems are especially prone to jamming and breakdown. This is not surprising, as individual coin rolls are an especially bulky and heavy item to manage, and accordingly present special problems. When there is a breakdown, there is of course the need to send a service person, which adds to costs. Further, until the machine is serviced the unit is not operational.
For example, one machine uses a series of stacked trays to hold the coins. Each tray can only hold only one single-file layer of coin rolls. Accordingly, it takes several stacks of such trays, arranged side-by-side, and a correspondingly large machine, to attain any sort of meaningful overall capacity. There is a solenoid-based dispense mechanism that moves between trays, both vertically and horizontally, to dispense Individual coin rolls as instructed from each denomination. The actual ejection method consists of the solenoid based plunger mechanically pushing the first coin roll in line in the particular tray. Since this system has a mechanical part that positions the dispense mechanism, and another part that ejects a specific coin roll, it is excessively complicated and therefore prone to jamming and breakdown. Another problem is that the machines are slow, being able to dispense only one coin roll from one denomination at a time. Yet another problem is that these machines cannot handle plastic shrink-wrapped coin, since plastic-wrapped coin rolls tend to flex excessively. Accordingly, when contacted by the solenoid based plunger, plastic coin rolls may flex rather than be ejected. Another problem is that the user interfaces of the machines are hard-to-use and complicated, unlike, for example, ATM machines. Additionally, there may be poor integration with the overall financial system of which the machines are a part.
In the absence of any meaningful solution to the problems posed by the automatic coin dispensing machines produced so far, using and providing bulk coins may continue to be a costly and inconvenient proposition.

Coin roll dispenser and system incorporating same


An image-wise exposure apparatus comprises a light source for producing recording light, to which a photosensitive material is to be exposed, and a spatial modulation device provided with a plurality of picture elements located in the form of a two-dimensional array. The spatial modulation device raster-scans the picture elements and thereby carries out spatial modulation of the recording light. A picture element shifting device changes the optical relationship between the spatial modulation device and the photosensitive material. A controller sets all of the picture elements of the spatial modulation device to a totally closed condition for a single frame period and drives the picture element shifting device while all of the picture elements of the spatial modulation device are being in the totally closed condition. Effects of a picture element shifting operation are thereby obtained sufficiently, and image-wise exposure is carried out quickly.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image-wise exposure apparatus, wherein a photosensitive material is exposed image-wise by using a spatial modulation device, such as a liquid crystal panel. This invention particularly relates to an image-wise exposure apparatus, wherein a picture element shifting operation is carried out such that a high resolution image may be obtained on the photosensitive material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An image-wise exposure apparatus has heretofore been proposed, wherein recording light is modulated by a spatial modulation device, such as a liquid crystal panel, the modulated recording light is irradiated to a photosensitive material, and the photosensitive material is thereby exposed image-wise. Such an image-wise exposure apparatus is described in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4(1992)-7542. Basically, the spatial modulation device comprises a plurality of picture elements (in the cases of the liquid crystal panel, a plurality of liquid crystal cells), the transmittances or the reflectivities of which can be changed, and which are located in the form of a two-dimensional array.
Also, as a spatial modulation device suitable for such an image-wise exposure apparatus, a mirror array device is known. The mirror array device comprises a plurality of small mirrors, which are located in the form of a two-dimensional array, and a driving means for changing the orientations of the respective small mirrors independently. The orientation of each small mirror of the mirror array device is changed such that light incident upon the small mirror may be selectively reflected toward one of two directions.
With the mirror array device described above, in cases where the driving means of the mirror array device is controlled in accordance with an image signal, the light impinging upon a predetermined projection surface via a small mirror can be modulated for each small mirror, and the image can be projected onto the projection surface. Also, in cases where a photosensitive material is located along the projection surface, the photosensitive material can be exposed image-wise. In such cases, the amount of light impinging upon the photosensitive material can be controlled for each small mirror by, for example, carrying out pulse width modulation of the on time of each small mirror (i.e., the time during which each small mirror is set in the orientation that causes the light to impinge upon the photosensitive material) within a frame period. In this manner, a gradation image can be formed on the photosensitive material.
In these types of image-wise exposure apparatuses, the plurality of the picture elements of the spatial modulation device, which are located in the form of the two-dimensional array, are often raster-scanned in accordance with an image signal, such as a television signal according to the national television system committee (NTSC) standards or the high definition television (HDTV) standards. In such cases, the driving circuit for the spatial modulation device can be formed with a comparatively low cost by utilizing a commercially available integrated circuit for image signal processing, or the like.
It has been proposed that, in cases where a photosensitive material is exposed image-wise by utilizing a spatial modulation device, such as a liquid crystal panel, the so-called "picture element shifting" technique may be utilized in order to increase the density of picture elements of the formed image and thereby to obtain a high resolution image. As described in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4(1992)-7542, with the picture element shifting technique, the optical relationship between the spatial modulation device and the photosensitive material is changed such that, after exposure dots have been formed on the photosensitive material by the light having passed through the picture elements of the spatial modulation device (e.g., in the cases of the liquid crystal panel, the liquid crystal cells), exposure dots may further be formed between adjacent exposure dots by the light having passed through the picture elements of the spatial modulation device. Also, the image-wise exposure is carried out each time the optical relationship is changed.
As for the image formed by the image-wise exposure, the aforesaid exposure dots constitute the picture elements of the formed image. In this specification, such that the picture elements of the formed image may be discriminated from the picture elements of the spatial modulation device, unless otherwise specified, the picture elements of the formed image are referred to as the exposure dots.
For example, the spatial modulation device may comprise i number of picture elements, which are arrayed along an X direction, and j number of picture elements, which are arrayed along a Y direction. In such cases, if the picture element shifting operation is carried out one time along the X direction and one time along the Y direction, 2i number of exposure dots will be recorded along the X direction on the photosensitive material, and 2j number of exposure dots will be recorded along the Y direction on the photosensitive material. Specifically, in such cases, it is possible to record the same number of exposure dots as that of the exposure dots, which will be recorded when the image-wise exposure is carried out one time by using a spatial modulation device comprising 4(i.times.j) number of picture elements. Therefore, the resolution of the image formed on the photosensitive material can be increased.
In order to change the optical relationship between the spatial modulation device and the photosensitive material in the manner described above, the spatial modulation device may be moved. Alternatively, the photosensitive material may be moved. As another alternative, an optical member located between the spatial modulation device and the photosensitive material may be moved.
Ordinarily, in the cases of the spatial modulation device, such as the liquid crystal panel, it is difficult to integrate a large number of picture elements at a high density. However, if the aforesaid picture element shifting technique is employed, a high-density image can be formed with the image-wise exposure by using a spatial modulation device, which comprises a comparatively small number of picture elements located at a comparatively low density.
When the aforesaid picture element shifting operation is carried out, if the photosensitive material is left to be exposed to the recording light, the effects of the picture element shifting operation will become small. Therefore, as described in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4(1992)-7542, it is considered to block all of the picture elements of the spatial modulation device, such as the liquid crystal panel, from light and to carry out the picture element shifting operation in this state.
However, heretofore, sufficient consideration has not been given to the control for setting all of the picture elements of the spatial modulation device to the condition blocked from light. Therefore, in cases where the spatial modulation device is set to the condition blocked from light, a long time has heretofore been required for the image-wise exposure.


Invention provides a method for an e-mail based interface to function as a single common access point for requesting, receiving, publishing, accessing and sharing various data from multiple, remote information systems. The invention becomes akin to a human relay operator in the loop which is transparent to the user. By relaying the e-mail chain, the invention performs multiple functions based on the originating request, and reply as a human would.

Electronic mail or "E-mail" is a store and forward method of sending and receiving messages over an electronic communication system, and is typically perceived as an infrastructure connecting people through a human interface means at both ends. E-mail messages may contain text, files, and even images. But what if an e-mail user desired to "pull" rather than "push" information from another computer?
The existing e-mail infrastructure provides a foundation to expand upon beyond the traditional uses of e-mail systems. Applying automation and intelligence that would allow e-mail messages to contain data opposed to just message text, is an open and challenging problem in support of data sharing and information collection needs which the prior art has not adequately addressed.
Referring to FIG. 1, before the widespread use of the internet, there were attempts to use e-mail to access the internet. These methods provided a text only representation of a webpage that was delivered in an e-mail message (see). To enter data back into any form fields, the user had to find where to enter the information, send the request back to the webpage to retrieve the results, and then view the results. That required, to do an internet search, or get a weather forecast, the user would first have to have the page e-mailed to them, then determine how to enter the data in the returned page, send the message back, and decipher the results.
Still referring to FIG. 1, one problem with this prior art method of accessing the internet over e-mail is that the process becomes confusing to the user who is requesting information. A second problem is that the domains are not data specific. That means if a particular piece of information is needed from a particular source that is known, it is desirable to retrieve the data directly from that source. A third lies in the fact that the results are formatted based on the provider, not the requestor. Therefore, when sending a request, the results are returned in a format that may not format well in an e-mail message.
In light of the aforementioned deficiencies in the prior art, it would therefore be desirable to transform the data into a format that would appear legible in an e-mail message. Lastly, there are no specific ways to upload or submit information directly into specific sources. It would be desirable to not only request information from a particular source, but to contribute as well. To date, the prior art has not addressed this need in this manner.

Method and apparatus for providing access to information systems via e-mail

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force


Proposed is a storage system and a data guarantee method capable of guaranteeing and verifying the reliability of data in a short period of time even with the heavy usage of inexpensive hard disk drives. This storage system having a storage apparatus that provides a storage extent for reading and writing data from and in a host system, and a storage controller for controlling the storage apparatus includes a first generation unit for generating a guarantee number in data from a host system to be stored in the storage apparatus showing the guarantee of the data, a second generation unit for generating a guarantee number showing the guarantee of parity data corresponding to data from the host system, and a verification unit for verifying the guarantee number showing the guarantee of data from the host system and the guarantee number showing the guarantee of the parity data.

The present invention generally relates to a storage system and a data guarantee method, and, for instance, can be suitably applied to a storage system using inexpensive hard disk drives.
In recent years, pursuant to the development of information society, the volume of data from a host system to be stored in a storage apparatus is increasing rapidly, and the storage capacity in a storage apparatus is being enlarged according to such rapid increase. Thus, in a storage apparatus, a disk array configured from RAID (Redundant Array of Independent/inexpensive Disks) is foremost created from hard disk drives, and a plurality of such physical storage resources are gathered to create a physical volume in order to seek the enlargement of the storage capacity in the storage apparatus.
As the hard disk drives supporting the foregoing RAID configuration, there are expensive hard disk drives having high performance and high reliability of data, and inexpensive hard disk drives capable of storing large capacity data but unable to guarantee the reliability of data.
These hard disk drives are used appropriately in consideration of the quality and volume of data to be stored in the storage apparatus, customer needs, and other factors.
Particularly in recent years, demands for storing data with the heavy use of inexpensive hard disk drives are increasing.
As primary technology for increasing the reliability of data to be stored in inexpensive hard disk drives, there is the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-251960. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-251960 proposes a method of guaranteeing the reliability of data by creating compressed data of host data, and comparing the compressed data and data to be stored in a storage extent that is different from the storage extent to which such compressed data is to be stored.

Storage system and data guarantee method


A clutch disc assembly is provided with a support structure and friction generating members that provide generally constant friction generation, even when misalignment occurs between adjacent members. The clutch disc assembly 1 includes a hub 2, a fourth friction washer 19, a clutch plate 3 and a second coil spring 7. The fourth friction washer 19 is fixed to the hub 2 and has a tapered surface 19a. The clutch plate 3 has an inner peripheral edge tapered portion 3c which is abutted against the tapered surface 19a and disposed on the outer periphery of the hub 2. The second coil spring 7 couples the hub 2 to the clutch plate 3 in a circumferential direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clutch disc assembly for use in a clutch mechanism in a motorized vehicle where the clutch disc assembly is configured to allow for slight misalignment between a transmission input shaft and a flywheel of an engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
A clutch disc assembly used in a clutch mechanism in a motorized vehicle typically includes a pair of disc-shaped input plates, an output hub engaged with a flange in an outer periphery thereof, and an elastic member disposed so as to be compressed in a circumferential direction between the input plates and the output hub when the input plates and the output hub are rotated relatively. The input plate can be coupled to an engine flywheel, and a transmission shaft is inserted into a center of the output hub so as to be engaged with the output hub. The clutch disc assembly further includes a friction generation mechanism that produces a friction when the input plates and the output hub are relatively rotated.
Upon allowing torsional vibrations to be inputted to the clutch disc assembly thus organized, the input plates and the output hub are periodically rotated relatively through the elastic member, to thereby generate a hysteresis torque. As a result, the torsional vibrations are attenuated. The characteristics of a low rigidity (a wide twist angle) and a low hysteresis torque are preferable in order to attenuate the fine torsional vibrations.
The above-mentioned conventional clutch disc assembly also includes a bushing which is disposed in the inner peripheral edge of the input plates in such a manner that the bushing is abutted against the outer periphery of the hub, to thereby position the input plates with respect to the hub. It is very common for the transmission shaft to radially displaced or inclined with respect to the clutch disc assembly which is fixed to the flywheel of the engine, thus producing a slight misalignment. The hub being in engagement with the transmission shaft, is therefore radially displaced or inclined with respect to the input plates due to the misalignment of the shaft. However, because the hub cannot move radially with respect to the input plate, an unbalanced load is developed between the outer peripheral surface of the hub and the inner peripheral portion of the bushing. For that reason, when the transmission of the torsional vibrations makes the input plates and the hub rotate relatively, unwanted friction is produced between the bushing and the hub in response to relative rotation therebetween. As a result, the entire hysteresis torque is increased, and the fine torsional vibrations are transmitted to the transmission side without being absorbed by the clutch disc assembly, whereby a clack sound is liable to be generated in the transmission.
There also exists a clutch disc assembly of the separation type in which the conventional flange is separated from the hub to form a separated flange, and the separated flange and the hub are coupled to each other by a low-rigidity elastic member. In the clutch disc assembly of this type, a relative twist angle between the input plates and the hub is increased, and the clutch disc assembly exhibits two steps or levels of torsional characteristics, one level having a low rigidity and the second level having high rigidity.
In the friction generation mechanism, between one input plate and the respective separated flanges, the flange portion of the hub are disposed friction members which abut against the respective flanges and pressing members that presses the respective friction members against the corresponding flange portions. On the other hand, the bushing is relatively non-rotatably fitted to the inner peripheral end of the clutch plate. The bushing is abutted against the side surfaces of both the flanges. Also, the bushing is abutted against the outer peripheral surface of a boss, to thereby radially position the input plate and the hub.
In the above-mentioned separated-hub type clutch disc assembly, for example, there is a case in which the input plate is off-center with respect to the hub. In this case, an unbalanced load is developed between the outer peripheral surface of the hub and the bushing. As a result, the hysteresis torque in a range where the twist angle is small is increased, whereby the fine torsional vibrations cannot be effectively attenuated.


A manufacturing control system, having a data base storing a procedure table for managing the sequence of manufacturing processes and manufacturing conditions in industrial products to be manufactured, and for controlling a manufacturing line of industrial products on the basis of the contents of the procedure table. The system includes a modify instruction classifying unit for receiving a data modify instruction for modifying the data managed in the data base and classifying the data modify instruction by an instruction pattern. A data modifying unit searches for the data to be modified by the data modify instruction from the data base depending on the classification by said modify instruction classifying unit and automatically modifying all the data to be modified according to the data modify instruction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manufacturing control system of a semiconductor device or other industrial product and its data modifying method, and more particularly, to a manufacturing control system and data modifying method capable of easily changing a manufacturing process and manufacturing conditions in a manufacturing line for manufacturing various kinds of products.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a manufacturing control system for manufacturing a semiconductor device or other industrial product, there is a case in which the manufacturing process and condition may be modified because of a change in the design of a product to be manufactured, or the like. In conventional manufacturing control system for manufacturing various kinds of products, a system manager has to search for the data on the manufacturing process and condition to be modified for every item to be changed, in case of changing a manufacturing process and condition, thereafter executing the modification.
FIG. 6 is a high-level view showing modifications on the manufacturing processes and manufacturing conditions in a conventional manufacturing control system.
As shown in FIG. 6, the manufacturing control system 100 comprises a data base 20 storing a procedure table 21 capable of managing the sequence of manufacturing processes and conditions in every item of the industrial products to be manufactured. With reference to FIG. 6, the procedure tables 21 for three kinds of the products X, Y, and Z, are respectively provided in the data base 20. In the procedure table 21 of FIG. 6, the title of each manufacturing process is represented by an alphabet character and each manufacturing condition is represented by a numeral. The product "X" has the manufacturing processes in the following sequence; {A-B-C-D-E- . . . }, with the manufacturing condition (1) attached to the manufacturing process "A", (2) attached to "B", (3) attached to "C", (4) attached to "D", and (5) attached to "E". The above relationship is represented by {A(1)-B(2)-C(3)-D(4)-E(5)- . . . }. In the same way, the product "Y" has the manufacturing processes and conditions in the sequence of {A(6)-F(7)-C(8)-G(4)-E(10)- . . . }, and the product "Z" has the manufacturing processes and conditions in the sequence of {A(11)-D(4)-C(13)-E(14)-F(15)- . . . }.
In case of performing modifications such as deletion or addition of the data, a change in the manufacturing sequence, or the like by optionally designating a product, a manufacturing process, or a manufacturing condition, a system manager would search every procedure table 21 of all the products stored in the data base 20 for the objects to be modified, so to modify the data thereof properly in this manufacturing control system 100. When modifying content without designating a product, the objects to be modified are searched in all the procedure tables 21 of all products. The corresponding objects, if existing, are properly modified. A modify instruction to the data is given by, for example, an input of a command from the terminal of a work station 51 connected to the manufacturing control system 100 through a network line 52.
The number of the procedure tables 21 managed in the data base 20 becomes enormous corresponding to the increase in the number of the products to be manufactured, in the above described conventional manufacturing control system 100 having a manufacturing line for manufacturing hundreds of types of products. Accordingly, the above-mentioned modification by a system manager by searching every procedure table 21 in the data base 20 one by one, in changing the manufacturing process and condition, would require enormous working processes, with an increasing possibility of causing a data modification error.
The conventional method of changing a manufacturing condition in the above-mentioned manufacturing control system is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Laid-Open (Kokai) No. Heisei 4-193462, "A Method of Setting Manufacturing Conditions". This method however, does not to decrease the working processes when changing a manufacturing process or a manufacturing condition, but makes a working terminal display the modified condition accurately when setting a condition in an actual work.
In the above described conventional manufacturing control system, the data modification by a system manager in every procedure table of each unit of a semiconductor device to be manufactured, in case of changing a manufacturing process, or a manufacturing condition of the industrial products, would require enormous working processes, thereby increasing the possibility of causing a data modification error.

Manufacturing control system capable of changing a manufacturing line easily and its data modifying method


A method of authenticating an entity by a receiving party with respect to an electronic communication that is received by the receiving party and that includes both a unique identifier associated with an account maintained by the receiving party and a digital signature for a message regarding the account, consists of the steps of, before receipt of the electronic communication, first associating by the receiving party a public key of a public-private key pair with the unique identifier and, thereafter, only conducting message authentication using the digital signature received by the receiving party in the electronic communication and the public key associated with the account identifier.

As used herein, an electronic communication ("EC") is considered to be any communication in electronic form. ECs have become an integral part of transacting business today, especially with the growth of the Internet and e-commerce. An EC can represent, for example, a request for access to information or a physical area, a financial transaction, such as an instruction to a bank to transfer funds, or a legal action, such as the delivery of an executed contract.
Over recent years, digital signatures also have become an important part of e-commerce. The origination of a digital signature generally comprises: (1) the calculation of a message digest—such as a hash value; and (2) the subsequent encryption of the message digest. The message digest is encrypted by an electronic device generally using a private key of a public-private key pair used in asymmetric cryptography. The resulting ciphertext itself usually constitutes the digital signature, which typically is appended to the message to form the EC. The second part of originating the digital signature—encrypting with a private key—is referred to herein as "generating" the digital signature, and the combined two steps (i.e., calculating a message digest and encrypting with a private key) is referred to herein as "originating" the digital signature. Furthermore, while the generation of the digital signature is conventionally understood as the encryption of the message digest, it is contemplated herein that generating the digital signature also may include simply encrypting the message rather than the message digest. Digital signatures are important because any change whatsoever to the message in an EC is detectable from an analysis of the message and the digital signature. In this regard, the digital signature is used to "authenticate" a message contained within the EC (hereinafter referred to as "Message Authentication").
For example, a message digest may be calculated by applying a hashing algorithm—such as the SHA-1 algorithm—to the message. Such hashing algorithm may be applied either within the device or external to the device with the resulting hash value then being transmitted to the device for generation of the digital signature. In order to perform the Message Authentication in this example, the recipient of the EC must know or be able to obtain both the identity of the hashing algorithm applied to the message as well as the public key ("PuK") corresponding to the private key ("PrK") used to encrypt the message digest. With this knowledge, the recipient applies the appropriate hashing algorithm to the message to calculate a hash value, and the recipient decrypts the digital signature using the public key. If the hash value calculated by the recipient equals the hash value of the decrypted digital signature, then the recipient determines that the content of the message contained in the EC was not altered in transmission, which necessarily would have changed the hash value.
In performing Message Authentication, the recipient also authenticates the sender of the EC, in so much as the recipient thereby confirms that the sender of the EC possessed the private key corresponding to the public key used successfully to authenticate the message. This is one type of entity authentication and is based on what the sender "has" (hereinafter referred to as "Factor A Entity Authentication"). Factor A Entity Authentication is useful when the recipient of the EC has trusted information regarding the identity of the owner of the private key.
This trusted information conventionally is provided based on a digital certificate issued by a trusted third party that accompanies the digital signature and binds the identity (or other attributes) of the private key owner with the public key. A digital certificate (also known as a "digital ID") is a voucher by a third party (commonly referred to as a "Certification Authority") attesting to the identity (or other attributes) of an owner of a public key. Essentially, digital certificates are the electronic counterparts to driver licenses, passports, membership cards, and other paper-based forms of identification. The digital certificate itself comprises an electronic message including a public key and the identity of the owner of the public key. A digital certificate also typically contains an expiration date for the public key, the name of the Certification Authority, a serial number of the digital certificate, and a digital signature of the Certification Authority. One of the reasons for an expiration date is to limit the liability for the Certification Authority due to the likelihood that attributes other than the identity may change over time. The most widely accepted format for digital certificates is defined by the CCITT X.509 international standard; thus, certificates can be read or written by any application complying with X.509. Based on a digital certificate included in an EC, a recipient is able to authenticate the digital certificate using a public key of the Certification Authority and thereby, presumably, confirm the identity of the owner set forth therein.
The system wherein a digital certificate is included in an EC comprises a "public key infrastructure" (PKI) commonly referred to as the "Certification Authority Digital Signature" (CADS) system. A particular implementation 100 of the CADS system in the context of an electronic transaction between a purchaser 102 and an online merchant 110 is illustrated in FIG. 1. Under this system, a purchaser 102 using, for example, a computer 104 creates a purchase order in the form of an electronic message. The purchaser 102 includes in the message relevant account information of a financial institution 112 from which payment is to be made to the merchant 110. The account information includes, for example, a credit card number and expiration date as well as the name on the card. Software on the purchaser's computer 104 then originates a digital signature for the message using a private key of the purchaser 102 safeguarded in the computer 104. The software also maintains a digital certificate on the computer 104 issued by a Certification Authority 106a. The message, digital signature, and digital certificate then are combined into an EC, and the EC is communicated over the Internet 108 to the merchant 110.
Upon receipt, the merchant 110 authenticates the message using the public key in the digital certificate. If successful, the merchant 110 then authenticates the digital certificate using a public key of the Certification Authority 106a. Successful authentication of the digital certificate may satisfy the merchant 110 that the purchaser—the sender of the EC—is the owner identified in the digital certificate. If the merchant 110 is so satisfied, then the merchant 110 submits the account information to the relevant financial institution 112 for an approval for payment to the merchant 110 from the account. Upon receipt from the financial institution 112 of approval for payment, the merchant 110 fills the purchase order of the purchaser 102. Furthermore, confirmation of approval (or rejection) of the purchase order preferably is sent from the merchant 110 to the purchaser 102.
Unfortunately, while the CADS system enables two parties who otherwise may not have a preexisting relationship with one another to communicate with each other with the confidence of knowing the other's identity, the CADS system does have its drawbacks. For example, a digital certificate typically is issued with an expiration date, and an expired digital certificate generally is not recognized in the industry. Furthermore, if a private key is lost or stolen, then the owner of the private key must notify the Certification Authority to revoke the owner's digital certificate; however, a recipient of an EC with a digital certificate will only know of the revocation of the digital certificate if the recipient cross-references the serial number of the digital certificate against a certificate revocation list (CRL) published by the Certification Authority. Another drawback to the CADS system is that the digital certificate itself is only as good as the particular authority that issues it, and it often is necessary to obtain multiple digital certificates (i.e., from Certificate Authorities 106a, 106b to 106n) in order to create a sufficient "chain" or "network" of trust between the purchaser 104 and merchant 110 for a transaction or communication to be accepted and acted upon. Additionally, the entire CADS system rests upon the secrecy of the private key of the Certification Authority issuing a digital certificate, which, if compromised, collapses the CADS system.
In the context of an EC regarding an account, such as the example of an online purchase set forth above, another drawback of the CADS system is that the account information must be encrypted or otherwise protected if sent over an insecure communications medium, such as the Internet 108. In the example above, a hacker eavesdropping on the communication of the account information could obtain sufficient information to make fraudulent charges to the account of the purchaser, especially as not all merchants require a digital signature and digital certificate to fill a purchase order. Moreover, financial institutions have yet to standardize a requirement that a digital certificate of a purchaser be submitted as a condition precedent to approving a payment request by a merchant; instead, in determining whether a purchaser actually has the authority to effect payment to a merchant, a financial institution relies upon the personal account information provided by the merchant, and whether the account information has been reported lost or stolen. Further, digital certificates raise significant privacy issues in many circumstances.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved system of communication using digital signatures, especially wherein an EC pertains to an account upon which the person (or device) digitally signing the EC has authority to act.

Account-based digital signature (ABDS) system


A method and a device for producing a hollow body from solid round steel that has been heated to shaping temperature by piercing in an inclined rolling mill using pass-closing guide elements. For this purpose, prior to the commencement of piercing, the clear distance between the pass-closing guide elements is reduced in comparison to that of the stationary rolling phase and, after initial rolling, the distance is adjusted to the customary value for the stationary phase. The changes in distance are effected automatically through the balancing of the forces acting on the pass-closing guide elements during the shaping of the round steel and the closing forces which keep the pass opening dimension small.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a method for producing a hollow body from solid round steel that has been heated to shaping temperature.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
The basic process for producing a hollow body from solid round steel by means of inclined rolls as a preliminary step in the production of seamless pipes is known (see Stradtmann, Stahlrohr-Handbuch, 7th edition, 1973, Vulkan-Verlag, Essen). In one of the known arrangements, a two-roll inclined rolling mill with Diescher disks is used for guiding the rolling stock (DE-PS 4308721).
A uniform wall thickness in the hollow bloom or ingot has decisive importance for the distribution of the wall thickness in the finished pipe, especially the eccentricity. Ideally, this is optimal when the ingot to be pierced, or the hollow ingot formed therefrom, is located with its center axis exactly on the center axis of the rolling mill and the center axis of the piercing mandrel likewise coincides precisely with the course of the center axis of the rolling mill. Interference can bring about deviations which become noticeable as deviations from the ideal position, wherein these deviations can be divided into components in the direction of the rolls and perpendicular thereto in the direction of the guides. Ideally, deviations of the piercing mandrel are compensated by the equilibrium of forces. Deviations in the position of the initial ingot result at the start of rolling in eccentric initial piercing which, particularly in the case of thick-walled hollow bodies in which the restoring forces brought about by the force equilibrium are small, leads to noticeably one-sided wall thicknesses and accordingly to waste.
In order to prevent eccentric piercing of the kind mentioned above, it is attempted to configure the piercing operation such that, immediately after the ingot is grasped by the rolls, the guides, for example, the rotating Diescher disks, guide the ingot centrally before the end face of the ingot contacts the piercing mandrel. However, this cannot always be guaranteed due to the radius of the Diescher disks.

Method and device for producing a hollow body from solid round steel


The present invention provides a unique manner of identifying the Frame boundaries in multiple identical/non-identical Synchronization Channels (SCHs) in different sub-frames via a new sub frame position difference method. The method implements the differences between the different sub-frames carried by the SCH. The sub frame identity, and hence the frame boundary, can be identified by calculating the difference between the positions, based on time or number of slots/sub-frames or any data packets, of the two subsequent slots/sub-frames or any identical data packets.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of Communication Protocol in Long Term Evolution (hereinafter LTE) systems—Layer1 (Physical Layer), and more particularly, to a system and method for sub-frame IDentification (hereinafter ID) and Frame boundary detection in LTE.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the current specification document for Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) TR 25.814 v 7.0.0 (2006-06), three different options for radio frame timing detection are given as Synchronization CHannel (hereinafter SCH)-based detection, Broadcast Channel (hereinafter BCH)-based detection and reference signal-based detection.
The SCH-based detection is applicable to both hierarchical and non-hierarchical SCH. With SCH based detection, the radio frame timing can be estimated by detecting the cell-specific SCH sequence in the frequency domain employing the SCH symbol timing detected in a previous step. When primary and secondary SCH are used in the hierarchical SCH, coherent detection of the cell-specific secondary SCH can be performed using the primary SCH as a reference signal.
The BCH-based detection is also applicable to both the hierarchical and non-hierarchical SCH. For BCH-based frame-timing detection, the frame-timing is detected by decoding the BCH. This may include hypothesis testing if the BCH is transmitted less frequently than the SCH. This method requires BCH reception both for the initial cell search and neighboring cell search.
The reference signal-based detection is primarily considered for the hierarchical SCH. The frame timing information is detected by the reference signal waveform (i.e., modulation pattern). In this case, the repetition interval of the reference signal waveform should be equal to the radio frame period, or 10 milliseconds.
SCH based detection requires the detection of the cell-specific SCH sequence in the frequency domain employing the SCH symbol timing detected in the previous step. As many as 512 or more cell-specific SCH sequences need to exist, and also the UE will need to detect them by using processes such as correlation, which are time consuming. Moreover, the UE needs to store these cell-specific sequences.
BCH based detection requires the BCH reception for an initial cell search, which is not desirable. However, at this time the hypothesis testing if the BCH is transmitted less frequently than the SCH has yet to be completed.
Reference signal based detection has additional dependency on the reference signal waveform (i.e., modulation pattern) detection. Only upon reading of the reference signal contents may there be reliance on the timing in this method. Also, the reference signal waveform is only scheduled to be transmitted once per 10 milliseconds. Therefore, it imposes an additional delay in the frame boundary detection. The cell search procedure should be independent of any such signal waveform detection.
Commonly assigned US Patent Publication Serial No. US20030169702A1 to Ryu et al. describes a method of cell searching in a Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access (W-CMDA) mobile communication. According to the patent publication, an "index counter" is used to continuously calculate the timing offset or offset between frame boundaries. The index counter includes a "slot counter" and a "lower counter" which are used respectively for counting the slots and the chips corresponding to a length of a number of slots. Further, the Ryu et al. publication specifies that once the position of each asynchronous cell is determined by the slot counter, it is possible to calculate the offset between them wherein, the offset is defined as the difference between asynchronous frame boundaries. Moreover, the Ryu et al. publication describes that, using a similar process the lower counter may be able to calculate the offset between the slots corresponding to each frame. It is further mentioned in the Ryu et al. publication that such an algorithm is more time efficient for cell search.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,267 B1 to Kanterakis et al. describes an improvement to CDMA systems employing spread-spectrum modulation between a Base Station (BS) and a Remote Station (RS). The process starts with one RS receiving broadcast common—synchronization channel data, and after determining frame timing from the frame-timing signal, the signal is transmitted from a first RS-spread-spectrum transmitter as an access—burst signal. In the Kanterakis et al. patent, the BS notifies the RS about the correct receiving of the data packets. As an example, it has been specified in the patent publication that the packet could be identified as consisting of a number of frames, and sub-frames to the frames. The frames and sub-frames are identified by specific numbers. Further, the Kanterakis et al. patent describes that the correctness of the receiving of data packets could be achieved by identifying the frames and sub-frames carrying the data packets or by identifying the frames and sub-frames that have been received as error.

System and method for sub-frame ID and frame boundary detection in long term evolution


An image sensor is disclosed. The image sensor includes a plurality of photodiodes arranged in first and second directions in a matrix, a plurality of first isolation layers, each two adjacent first isolation layers arranged in the first direction being spaced apart from each other by a first distance, each first isolation layer being interposed between adjacent photodiodes arranged in the second direction, and a plurality of second isolation layers, each two adjacent second isolation layers arranged in the second direction being spaced apart from each other by a second distance, each second isolation layer being interposed between adjacent photodiodes arranged in the first direction.

An image sensor is a device for capturing optical images by converting light into electrical signals using a photosensitive semiconductor material that reacts to light. With the recent development of automotive, medical, computer, and communication industries, the demand for high-performance image sensors is increasing in various devices such as smartphones, digital cameras, game consoles, Internet of Things (IoT), robots, surveillance cameras, medical micro-cameras, etc.
Image sensors may be broadly classified into charge coupled device (CCD)-based image sensors and CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor)-based image sensors. The CCD image sensors offer the best available image quality, but they tend to consume more power and are larger as compared to CMOS image sensors. The CMOS image sensors are smaller in size and consume less power than the CCD image sensors. The CMOS image sensors may be implemented using many different scanning schemes, and because CMOS sensors are fabricated using the CMOS fabrication technology, the CMOS image sensors and other signal processing circuitry can be integrated into a single chip, enabling the production of small-sized image sensors at a lower cost. For these reasons, the CMOS image sensors are being intensively researched and rapidly coming into widespread use.


Facet-based query refinement based on multiple query interpretations is provider through a process that includes receiving a query for querying documents, of a whole document set, that deviate by one or more facet values. The process generates different query interpretations from query text of the query. The process executes the different query interpretations to obtain resulting document sets. For each different query interpretation, the executing executes the query interpretation to obtain a resulting document set corresponding to that query interpretation, and identifies facet values represented in the resulting document set. The process builds and presents to a user a query refinement interface, presenting the different query interpretations and properties of the resulting document sets, as well as, for each of the one or more facet values, and relative to each other, facet value representation of the facet value in each of the resulting document sets.

The present invention relates generally to the field of document queries, and more particularly to facet-based query refinement. Facet-based text mining is one solution for text-mining large volumes of unstructured data. A "facet" is an informational entity associated with informational elements, sometimes referred to as "documents". Facets and facet values may be generated as the result of the natural language processing (NLP) pipeline, in which annotator software detects conditions and adds facets. With respect to the documents, the NLP processes the documents, looking into them for these facet values or features. For instance, facets might be categories for categorizing products in the e-commerce space. Natural language processing might assign categories, of varying granularity, to documents, for instance identifying specific words or phrases included in the documents, creation date(s) or timeframes for the document or items them represent, or categories directed to the sentiment, tone, or expression of the documents or items they represent, as examples. Facets may be aggregated (e.g. when searching) to understand corpus characteristics. Aggregating facets refers to adding conditions, for instance query constraints when searching a document set. A system or user can specify a document set, perhaps via a query, then among that document set, software can sort, rank, and perform other processing on the categories. In some examples, formulas are applied to determine importance of each category.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A paperboard carton providing improved dispensing of a granular detergent, the carton having a box having a back panel and a front panel, and having a top opening, and a lid integrally attached to the back panel along a first score line. The carton has at least one additional score line parallel to and spaced apart from the first score line and a slit substantially through the back panel at each side edge of the back panel from the first score line to the additional score line.

Many products are provided to consumers in granular form, such as detergent granules or powders. Such products are generally used in large volumes, so there is substantial interest and benefit in making cartons for such granular detergents from paperboard or other renewable and less expensive material. All-paperboard cartons for packaging and dispensing detergent granules are known, and include the tear-tape, side fill paperboard carton of Japanese Patent Application H3-506106, filed Mar. 1, 1991 in the name of Procter & Gamble Company, and the re-fill carton of Japanese Utility Model Application H3-063669, filed Aug. 12, 1991, in the name jointly of Dai Nippon Printing and Procter & Gamble Far East Inc. Nonetheless, such cartons are not completely satisfactory, and there remains a need for further improvements in the closing of and the dispensing from such cartons.

Paperboard carton for granular detergents


The present invention relates to an airbag sensor module which detects the amount of deformation of a car body so as to detect a collision during a car collision and which is attached to the car body in an adhesive manner, and the car body which is integrated with the airbag sensor module. One embodiment of the present application discloses the airbag sensor module mounted in an adhesive manner, comprising: a main substrate which is attached to the car body in an adhesive manner; and a collision detection sensor section which is formed on the main substrate, and which detects whether the car body collides by including a strain sensor for measuring the amount of deformation by being deformed along with the deformation of the car body caused by a collision thereof.

Recently, the interest in the safety at the time of collision of the car is increased and the application of an airbag system is enlarged.
The airbag system is an apparatus for protecting a passenger in the car with being developed at the time of collision of the car.
The airbag system may comprise a sensor module capable of detecting a collision of a car, a control section for receiving a signal detected by the sensor module and deciding the development of an airbag according to the strength of the signal, and the airbag which is developed according to the signal of the control section.
The sensor module consists in general of a collision sensor and is mounted on a main collision expecting portion of the car body, and the airbag is provided at main portion of the inside of the space where the passenger sits.
Therefore, when a car collides, an impact therefrom is transmitted to the sensor module, and the control section decides whether the air bag is deployed by judging the amount of the impact measured by the sensor module, and develops the airbag when the amount of the impact is judged to reach a predetermined level.
However, the conventional airbag system described above has problems as follows:
First, the sensor module of the conventional airbag system is fixed to the car body by means of a bolt and the like as described in Korean Utility Model Application No. 20-1999-0024432, which has been already laid open, such a fixing method requires an additional separate process in the assembly of the car body, thereby making the production process of a car complicated.
Second, since the sensor module of the conventional airbag system is fixed to the car body by means of a bolt and the like, there is a problem in that a miss operation of the sensor may happen in the case where the fastening of the bolt is loosened due to a continuous vibration or external force caused during the travel of the car.
Third, the sensor module of the conventional airbag system detects the development of the airbag by using the collision sensor, and the collision sensor is configured to detect only when a significantly large impact is directly applied to prevent the miss operation. Therefore, there may arises a case of not capable of detecting the time when the airbag has to be developed such as a case where the impact is applied to the portion where the collision sensor is not provided or a case where the amount of impact is small, however, the amount of deformation of a car body is large.
Fourth, the conventional airbag system connects the collision sensor and an ECU of the car body by means of wiring, however, the connection operation may require an additional process and there may be a risk of miss operation in a case where the wire is defective upon the aging of the car.

Airbag sensor module and car body integrated with airbag sensor module

KOREA INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY


A mounting assembly for a plurality of bipolar electrical components connected between two generally parallel electrical supports, each bipolar electrical component having a lower base terminal fixedly mounted to the first electrical support and a generally flat upper terminal having a random angular orientation about the central axis of the electrical components, an electrically conducting coupler which telescopically receives the upper terminal of the component to form a rigid electrical connection between the coupler and an electrical component at one end of the coupler and the other end of the coupler is electrically connected to the second electrical support.

The present invention is particularly applicable to mounting a number of diodes between two spaced electrical supports and it will be discussed with particular reference thereto; however, the invention has broader applications and may be used to mount various electrical components between two mounting structures where the components have random orientation, but require a controlled mounting orientation. Semiconducting devices, such as diodes, are commonly used in all types of electrical circuits. The semiconducting component of a diode is typically composed of a crystalline, silicon structure resembling a form of glass. These glass type structures are very fragile and can be easily broken when mounted onto an electrical circuit. The diodes in a circuit for a power source are normally connected between two electric supports or bus bars. The bipolar diode has two terminal ends, an anode terminal and a cathode terminal. The cathode terminal of the diode is typically a solid metal structure attached to the metal casing about the diode. The anode terminal of the diode typically is a flat bladed terminal. The flat bladed terminal also may have a hole in the face of the terminal so that a wire may be easily inserted and attached between the anode terminal and the electrical support. The anode terminal is connected directly to the silicon semiconducting crystalline component of the diode. As a result, the anode terminal of the diode is very fragile and cannot be twisted or moved without possible damage to the semiconducting component in the diode. During assembly, the cathode terminal is first inserted into the negative electrical support of the circuit by screwing, soldering or welding the terminal end to the electrical support. Once the diode has been secured into the negative electrical support the anode terminal of the diode is then connected to the positive electrical support to complete the circuit. A wire is normally inserted into the hole in the flat bladed anode terminal and soldered to the terminal and the other end of the wire is soldered to the positive electrical support. This assembly procedure is quite expensive. During the procedure of mounting the anode terminal of the diode, damage to the crystalline silicon semiconducting component can occur unless special precautions are taken by the worker performing the assembly procedure. Damage can result from moving the terminal while trying to insert and solder the wire end to the terminal since the crystalline structure is very fragile and any small movement to the anode terminal results in damage to the crystalline structure. Damage to the crystalline structure may also occur during the soldering of the wire to the anode terminal. The high temperatures resulting from the soldering of the wire may melt and/or structurally damage the semiconducting silicon material. The process of connecting a wire to the diode without damaging the semiconducting material complicates the assembly of the circuit. Presently there is no easy method of connecting both the anode and cathode terminals of the diode to the respective electrical supports. Prefabricated slots can be formed in one or more of the electrical supports to receive both of the terminals. However, complications result in this assembly method since the diode when threaded or welded at one end requires the other terminal end to be exactly aligned with the prefabricated slots in the electrical support. Due to the problems and expense associated with this method, manufacturers typically avoid this method and use the standard practice of soldering one wire end to the anode terminal of the diode and soldering the other wire end to the electrical support.


A diesel engine is fitted with a thin-walled wet liner fabricated of steel. The liner has a hardness that is within 10-20 Rc of the hardness of the piston rings carried on a piston within the liner. The inner surface of the liner is manufactured with a TRD=5Rvk (100−Mr2) of between 30 and 400 μm, and a compound liner thickness to bore diameter in the range of 1.5 to 4 percent.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to cylinder liners for diesel engine applications.
2. Related Art
Historically, heavy duty diesel engines have employed replaceable cylinder liners made of various grades of cast iron. Cast iron is selected for its low production cost and good wear resistance due to the presence of free graphite at the running surface which acts as a lubricant. Increased wear resistance in the cylinder bore can be achieved by hardening the base cast iron alloy to create a martensitic microstructure.
For traditional cast iron liners, it has been demonstrated that under conditions of exhaust gas recirculation, or EGR, in which some of the exhaust gases are recirculated back into the cylinder for further combustion with the fresh fuel mix, the liners have shown accelerated wear in comparison to the same liners operating under non-EGR conditions. One contributing factor is that recirculated diesel exhaust contains abrasive particles and promotes the formation of various corrosive acids within the combustion chamber which are prone to attacking cast iron liners.
In addition to the wear considerations of cast iron liners, the requirement for ever-increasing emissions regulation has the effect of reducing the performance of the engines. This, coupled with the drive to yield ever-increased power from its engines, has caused diesel engine manufactures to increase the displacement of the cylinders in order to compensate for the power loss due to EGR. One solution is to thin the liners to increase the bore size while avoiding having to increase the size of the engine block. However, there is a limit as to how thin a cast iron liner can be made and still function properly. In particular, cast iron liners of thinner wall sections are prone to cavitation and distortion because the cast iron is a relatively porous material with free graphite present at the surface.
It is known to employ steel cylinder liners, but these are not know to be suitable designed for use in a heavy-duty wet linered diesel engine applications, where the temperatures are high and the peak cylinder pressures can reach 220 bar or more. These prior steel liners are known to be either of the dry liner variety (i.e., no water cooling) or of the air-cooled variety for aircraft usage.

High strength steel cylinder liner for diesel engine


A method of producing a Pepper's Ghost Illusion comprising using a reflective and semi transparent foil formed from a polymeric composite, the polymeric composite including a flame retardant.

Video production techniques are well known in the art and are commonly used for creating lighting effects in motion pictures in the form of Pepper's ghost images. Typically a real object or an image of a subject is reflected by a partially-reflective foil that also allows a background scene to show through. From the perspective of a viewer the foil is invisible and the reflected image appears as a transparent "ghost" superimposed over the background scene.
A conventional foil used in the production of a Pepper's ghost illusion is made from a polymeric or plastic film. A preferred polymer is polyester which is used for its superior mechanical properties which are enhanced by stretching the film as it is produced. Conventional plastic foil burns easily when exposed to a naked flame and melts at high temperatures. Consequently, a conventional foil poses a safety risk and in the case of a fire the foil may melt and ignite and cause a rapid spread of flame and provide further fuel to the fire which will be dangerous to people in close proximity to the foil and may impede their safe evacuation.
Accordingly, a conventional foil should not be used as part of a lighting rig or stageset on music and theatre performances, television shows, nightclubs and other public places where local, national or international fire and safety regulations require the use of fire retardant materials. Furthermore, the response of a conventional foil to fire and heat may prevent a conventional foil being used in locations where the foil is likely to be in the proximity of heat-generating lighting or other such heat-generating equipment. This may prevent the erection of a Pepper's Ghost apparatus in confined spaces where close proximity of the foil to the lighting cannot be avoided.
In an attempt to overcome this problem manufacturers have added a fire resistant coating as an external layer on the outside of the transparent foil after the foil has been extruded or manufactured. However, the application of the external coating degrades the optical qualities of the transparent foil. In particular, the application of the external coating may result in a milky haze which makes the foil unsuitable for the Pepper's Ghost illusion. In order to be effective in delivering a quality image, the foil needs to be substantially transparent creating little or no dispersion of the light.
There are also problems associated with the present storage and transportation of the finished foil. Normally a foil is stored by placing a glue strip onto a roll core and sticking the end of the foil to the glued strip and then rolling the foil onto the core. However, the inventor has discovered that the glued strip causes a raised ridge in the foil that is carried through the rolls of the foil. This raised ridge results in deformities in the foil when it is unrolled making it unsuitable for use in creating or producing a Pepper's Ghost illusion, as the deformities/wrinkles will be evident to a viewer detracting from the illusion. The foil needs to be substantially wrinkle free and have very good optical and mechanical properties.
A number of associated problems are introduced due to the current methods of storing and transporting the foil. As described above, when the end of the foil is glued to the core of the roll, the foil is then rolled onto the core under tension, in order to prevent adjacent foil surfaces from sticking together an anti-stick filler is added during manufacture which aids in preventing the adjacent layers from sticking together. It has been found, in particular for foils comprising a flame retardant, that with a normal amount of anti-stick filler the haze of the foil is above acceptable levels of 5%. Such levels of haze once again making the foil unusable for creating lighting effects and in particular for producing the Pepper's Ghost Illusion.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a foil for creating lighting effects and in particular for producing the Pepper's Ghost Illusion, that has the required physical and optical properties such as being fire resistant to comply with local, national or international fire and safety regulations and/or allow the foil to be used in the proximity of heat-generating lighting or other such heat-generating equipment.

Method of manufacturing foil for producing a pepper's ghost illusion