A system and process for generating a video animation from the frames of a video sprite with user-controlled motion is presented. An object is extracted from the frames of an input video and processed to generate a new video sequence or video sprite of that object. In addition, the translation velocity of the object for each frame is computed and associated with each frame in the newly generated video sprite. The system user causes a desired path to be generated for the object featured in the video sprite to follow in the video animation. Frames of the video sprite showing the object of interest are selected and inserted in a background image, or frame of a background video, along the prescribed path. The video sprite frames are selected by comparing a last-selected frame to the other video sprite frames, and selecting a video sprite frame that is identified in the comparison as corresponding to an acceptable transition from the last-selected frame. Each newly selected video sprite frame is inserted at a point along the prescribed path dictated by the velocity associated with the object in the last-inserted frame. The process of selecting, inserting and comparing video sprite frames to create successive frames of the video animation continues for as long as it is desired to produce new frames of the video animation.

1. Technical Field
The invention is related to video techniques, and more particularly to a system and process for generating a video animation from the frames of a video sprite.
2. Background Art
A picture is worth a thousand words. And yet there are many phenomena, both natural and man-made, that are not adequately captured by a single static photo. A waterfall, a flickering flame, a swinging pendulum, a flag flapping in the breezexe2x80x94each of these phenomena has an inherently dynamic quality that a single image simply cannot portray.
The obvious alternative to static photography is video. But video has its own drawbacks. For example, if it is desired to store video on a computer or some other storage device, it is necessary to use a video clip of finite duration. Hence, the video has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Thus, the video becomes a very specific embodiment of a very specific sequence in time. Although it captures the time-varying behavior of the phenomenon at hand, it lacks the xe2x80x9ctimelessxe2x80x9d quality of the photograph. A much better alternative would be to use the computer to generate new video sequences based on the input video clip.
There are current computer graphics methods employing image-based modeling and rendering techniques, where images captured from a scene or object are used as an integral part of the rendering process. To date, however, image-based rendering techniques have mostly been applied to still scenes such as architecture. These existing methods lack the ability to generate new video from images of the scene as would be needed to realize the aforementioned dynamic quality missing from single images.
The ability to generate a new video sequence from a finite video clip parallels somewhat an effort that occurred in music synthesis a decade ago, when sample-based synthesis replaced more algorithmic approaches like frequency modulation. However, to date such techniques have not been applied to video. It is a purpose of the present invention to fill this void with a technique that has been dubbed xe2x80x9cvideo-based renderingxe2x80x9d.
It is noted that in the remainder of this specification, the description refers to various individual publications identified by a numeric designator contained within a pair of brackets. For example, such a reference may be identified by reciting, xe2x80x9creference [1]xe2x80x9d or simply xe2x80x9c[1]xe2x80x9d. Multiple references will be identified by a pair of brackets containing more than one designator, for example, [1, 2]. A listing of the publications corresponding to each designator can be found at the end of the Detailed Description section.
The present invention is related to a new type of medium, which is in many ways intermediate between a photograph and a video. This new medium, which is referred to as a video texture, can-provide a continuous, infinitely varying stream of video images. The video texture is synthesized from a finite set of images by rearranging (and possibly blending) original frames from a source video. While individual frames of a video texture may be repeated from time to time, the video sequence as a whole should never be repeated exactly. Like a photograph, a video texture has no beginning, middle, or end. But like a video, it portrays motion explicitly. Video textures therefore occupy an interesting niche between the static and the dynamic realm. Whenever a photo is displayed on a computer screen, a video texture might be used instead to infuse the image with dynamic qualities. For example, a web page advertising a scenic destination could use a video texture of palm trees blowing in the wind rather than a static photograph. Or an actor could provide a dynamic xe2x80x9chead shotxe2x80x9d with continuous movement on his home page. Video textures could also find application as dynamic backdrops for scenes composited from live and synthetic elements.
Further, the basic concept of a video texture can be extended in several different ways to further increase its applicability. For backward compatibility with existing video players and web browsers, finite duration video loops can be created to play back without any visible discontinuities. The original video can be split into independently moving regions and each region can be analyzed and rendered independently. It is also possible to use computer vision techniques to separate objects from the background and represent them as video sprites, which can be rendered in arbitrary image locations. Multiple video sprites or video texture regions can be combined into a complex scene. It is also possible to put video textures under interactive controlxe2x80x94to drive them at a high level in real time. For instance, by judiciously choosing the transitions between frames of a source video, a jogger can be made to speed up and slow down according to the position of an interactive slider. Or an existing video clip can the shortened or lengthened by removing or adding to some of the video texture in the middle.
The basic concept of the video textures and the foregoing extensions are the subject of the above-identified parent patent application entitled xe2x80x9cVideo-Based Renderingxe2x80x9d. However, the concept of video textures can be extended even further. For example, another application of the video sprite concept involves objects that move about the scene in the input video clip-such as an animal, vehicle, and person. These objects typically exhibit a generally repetitive motion, independent of their position. Thus, the object could be extracted from the frames of the input video and processed to generate a new video sequence or video sprite of that object. This video sprite would depict the object as moving in place. Further, the frames of the video sprite could be inserted into a previously derived background image (or frames of a background video) at a location dictated by a prescribed path of the object in the scene. In this regard, a user of the system could be allowed to specify the path of the object, or alternately cause a path to generated and input into the system. It is this extension of the basic video textures concept that the present invention is directed toward.
Before describing the particular embodiments of the present invention, it is useful to understand the basic concepts associated with video textures. The naive approach to the problem of generating video would be to take the input video and loop it, restarting it whenever it has reached the end. Unfortunately since the beginning and the end of the sequence almost never match, a visible motion discontinuity occurs. A simple way to avoid this problem is to search for a frame in the sequence that is similar to the last frame and to loop back to this similar frame to create a repeating single loop video. For certain continually repeating motions, like a swinging pendulum, this approach might be satisfactory. However, for other scenes containing more random motion, the viewer may be able to detect that the motion is being repeated over and over. Accordingly, it would be desirable to generate more variety than just a single loop.
The desired variety can be achieved by producing a more random rearrangement of the frames taken from the input video so that the motion in the scene does not repeat itself over and over in a single loop. Essentially, the video sequence can be thought of as a network of frames linked by transitions. The goal is to find good places to jump from one sequence of frames to another so that the motion appears as smooth as possible to the viewer. One way to accomplish this task is to compute the similarity between each pair of frames of the input video. Preferably, these similarities are characterized by costs that are indicative of how smooth the transition from one frame to another would appear to a person viewing a video containing the frames played in sequence. Further, the cost of transitioning between a particular frame and another frame is computed using the similarity between the next frame in the input video following the frame under consideration. In other words, rather than jumping to a frame that is similar to the current frame under consideration, which would result in a static segment, a jump would be made from the frame under consideration to a frame that is similar to the frame that follows the current frame in the input video. In this way, some of the original dynamics of the input video is maintained.
While the foregoing basic approach can produce acceptably xe2x80x9csmoothxe2x80x9d video for scenes with relatively random motions, such as a candle flame, scenes having more structured, repetitive motions may be problematic. The issue lies in the fact that at the frame level the position of an object moving in a scene in one direction might look very similar to the position of the object moving in the exact opposite direction. For example, consider a swinging pendulum. The images of the pendulum swinging from left to right look very similar to those when the pendulum is swinging from right to left. If a transition is made from a frame depicting the pendulum during its motion from left to right to one depicting the pendulum during its motion from right to left, the resulting video sequence may show the pendulum switching direction in mid-swing. Thus, the transition would not preserve the.dynamics of the swinging pendulum.
The previously described process can be improved to avoid this problem and ensure the further preservation of the dynamics of the motion by considering not just the current frame but its neighboring frames as well. For example, by requiring that for a frame in the sequence to be classified as similar to some other frame, not only the frames themselves, but also their neighbors should be similar to each other. One way of accomplishing this is to modify the aforementioned computed costs between each pair of frames by adding in a portion of the cost of transitioning between corresponding neighbors surrounding the frames under consideration. For instance, the similarity value assigned to each frame pair might be a combination of the cost computed for the selected pair as well as the cost computed for the pairs of corresponding frames immediately preceding and immediately following the selected frame pair, where the cost associated with the selected pair is weighted more heavily than the neighboring pairs in the combination. In regard to the pendulum example, the neighboring frames both before and after the similar frames under consideration would be very dissimilar because the pendulum would be moving in opposite directions in these frames and so occupy different positions in the scene. Thus, the combined cost assigned to the pair would indicate a much lower similarity due to the dissimilar neighboring frame pairs. The net result is that the undesirable transitions would no longer have a low-cost associated with them. Thus, choosing just those transitions associated with a lower cost would ensure the dynamics of the motion is preserved.
So far, the described process involves determining the costs of transition based on the comparison of a current frame in the sequence (via the following frame) with all other frames. Thus, the decision on how to continue the generated sequence is made without planning ahead on how to continue the sequence in the future. This works well with one exception. It must be remembered that the input video upon which the synthesized video is based has a finite length and so there is always a last frame. At some point in the synthesis of the new video, the last frame will be reached. However, unlike all the previous frames there is no xe2x80x9cnext framexe2x80x9d. Accordingly, a jump must be made to some previous frame. But what if there are no previous frames that would continue the sequence smoothly enough that a viewer would not notice the jump? In such a case the process has run into a xe2x80x9cdead endxe2x80x9d, where any available transition might be visually unacceptable.
It is possible to avoid the dead end issue by improving the foregoing process to recognize that a smoother transition might have been possible from an earlier frame. The process as described so far only takes into account the cost incurred by the present transition, and not those of any future transitions. However, if the cost associated with making a particular transition were modified to account for future costs incurred by that decision, no dead end would be reached. This is because the high cost associated with the transition at the dead end would be reflected in the cost of the transition which would ultimately lead to it. If the future costs associated with making a transition are great enough the transition would no longer be attractive and an alternate, less xe2x80x9ccostlyxe2x80x9d path would be taken. One way of accomplishing the task of accounting for the future transition costs is to sum the previously described cost values with a cost factor based on the total expected cost of the future sequence generated if a certain transition decision is made. To arrive at a stable expression of costs, the future costs would be discounted.
The foregoing analysis results in a cost being assigned to potential transitions between frames of the input video. During the synthesis of the desired new video sequence, the basic idea will be to choose only those transitions from frame to frame that are acceptable. Ideally, these acceptable transitions are those that will appear smooth to the viewer. However, even in cases where-there is no choice that will produce an unnoticeable transition, it is still desirable to identify the best transitions possible. Certain techniques can be employed to smooth out these rough transitions as will be explained later.
In regard to the synthesis of a continuous, non-looping video sequence, a way of accomplishing the foregoing goals is to map the previously computed transition costs to probabilities through a monotonically decreasing function to characterize the costs via a probability distribution. The probability distribution is employed to identify the potentially acceptable transitions between frames of the input video clip. Prior to actually selecting the order of the frames of the input video that are to be played in a synthesizing process, the number of potentially acceptable transitions that there are to choose from can be pruned to eliminate those that are less desirable and to reduce the processing workload. One possible pruning procedure involves selecting only those transitions associated with local maxima in the probability matrix for a given source and/or destination frame as potentially acceptable transitions. Another pruning strategy involves setting to zero all probabilities below a prescribed minimum probability threshold. It is noted that these two strategies can also be combined by first selecting the transitions associated with the local probability maxima and then setting the probabilities associated with any of the selected transitions that fall below the minimum probability threshold to zero.
Once the frames of the input video clip have been analyzed and a set of acceptable transitions identified, these transitions are used to synthesize the aforementioned continuous, non-looping video sequence. Essentially, synthesizing the video sequence entails specifying an order in which the frames of the input video clip are to be played. More particularly, synthesizing a continuous, non-looping video sequence involves first specifying a starting frame. The starting frame can be any frame of the input video sequence that comes before the frame of the sequence associated with the last non-zero-probability transition. The next frame is then chosen by selecting a frame previously identified as having a potentially acceptable transition between the immediately preceding frame (which in this first instance is the starting frame) and the remaining selected frames. If there is more than one qualifying frame, then one of them is selected at random, according to the previously computed probability distribution. This process is then repeated for as long as the video is running.
The next phase in the generation of a new video sequence from the frames of the input video clip involves rendering the synthesized video. In regards to the continuous, non-looping video sequence, the new video is rendered by playing the frames of the input video clip in the order specified in the synthesizing process. As the generated video is continuous, the synthesizing process can be on-going with the rendering process. This is possible because the synthesizing process can specify frames to be played faster than they can be played in the rendering process.
Although the foregoing process is tailored to identify low cost transitions, and so introduce only small, ideally unnoticeable, discontinuities in the motion, as indicated previously there may be cases where such transitions are not available in the frames of the input video clip. In cases where transitions having costs that will produce noticeable jumps in the synthesized video must be employed, techniques can be applied in the rendering process to disguise the transition discontinuities and make them less noticeable to the viewer. One of the smoothing techniques that could be employed is a conventional blending procedure. This would entail blending the images of the sequence before and after the transition to produce a smoother transition. Preferably, the second sequence would be gradually blended into the first, while both sequences are running using a crossfading procedure. Another smoothing technique that could be employed would be to warp the images towards each other. This technique would prevent the ghosting associated with the crossfade procedure as common features of the images are aligned.
While the foregoing description involves analyzing the frames of the input video clip as a single unit, this need not be the case. For example, the frames of the input video clip could be advantageously segmented prior to analysis where the video includes a object that is of interest, but where the rest of the scene is not. The object of interest could be extracted from each frame and a new video sequence of just the object generated using the previously-described processes. It is noted that a video generated in this way is referred to a video sprite. One use for a video sprite is to insert it into an existing video. This would be accomplished by inserting the frames of the video sprite into the frames of the existing video in corresponding order. The frames of the video sprite would be inserted into the same location of each frame of the existing video. The result would be a new video that includes the object associated with the video sprite.
As mentioned previously, an object could be extracted from the frames of the input video and processed in accordance with the present invention to generate a new video sequence or video sprite of that object. In addition, the translation velocity of the object for each frame would be computed and associated with each frame of the video sprite. The portion of previously-described analysis involving computing a transition cost between the frames of the input video clip could be modified to add a cost factor based on the difference in velocity of the object between the frames involved. This would tend to influence the selection of acceptable transitions to ensure a smooth translation motion is imparted to the rendered video. The rendering process itself would also be modified to include an additional procedure for inserting the extracted regions depicting the object (i.e. the frames of the video sprite) into a previously derived background image, or a frame of a background video, in the order specified by the synthesis procedure. Each video sprite frame is inserted at a location dictated by a prescribed path of the object in the scene and the velocity associated with the object in the selected video sprite frame. This can be done by making the centroid of the inserted extracted region correspond with a desired path point. Thus, the generated video, which is referred to as a video animation, would show the object moving naturally about the scene along the prescribed path. This path could mimic that of the object in the input video clip, or it could be prescribed by a user.
With regard to the option of a user prescribing the path, one embodiment of the present video based rendering system and process would involve the user specifying successive points along a desired path through a background scene. For example, the user could select points in a background image, or a frame of a background video, displayed on a computer monitor. This could be done on a point-by-point basis, or the user could move a cursor along a desired path that the object of interest is to take in the new video animation. In the latter case, points along the traced path would preferably be recorded and used to define the path. Frames of the video sprite showing the object of interest would be selected and inserted in a background image or frame along the user-specified path. As with the previous embodiment, the velocity of the object in the selected frames would be taken into consideration.
More specifically, the so-called user-controlled movement embodiment involving a user-specified path can be implemented as follows. First, a video sprite of an object it is desired to feature in the video animation is input into the system, along with a user-specified path. Next, one of the frames of the video sprite is selected as the first frame, and inserted into a frame of an existing video sequence at a point on the user-specified path, to produce the first frame of the video animation. The existing video sequence can simply be multiple copies of the same background image, or a frame of a background video which changes over time. The previously-selected frame of the video sprite is then compared to the other video sprite frames to identify potentially acceptable transitions between the selected frame and the other frames, and a video sprite frame that was identified as corresponding to an acceptable transition from the last-selected frame is selected. This frame is designated as the currently selected video sprite frame in lieu of the last-selected frame. The new currently-selected frame is then inserted into the next consecutive frame of the aforementioned existing video sequence at a point along the user-specified path dictated by the velocity associated with the object in the last-inserted frame. The result of the insertion action is the creation of the next frame of the animated video. The currently-selected frame of the video sprite is next compared to the other video sprite frames to identify potentially acceptable transitions between it and the other frames, just as was done with the first video sprite frame. The foregoing process of selecting, inserting and comparing video sprite frames to create successive frames of the video animation continues for as long as it is desired to produce new frames of the video animation.
The above-described process actions involving comparing a selected video sprite frame with all the other video sprite frames to identify acceptable transitions therebetween is preferably accomplished as follows. First, the translation velocity associated with the object for each of the frames of the video sprite is computed. These velocities are used to compute a velocity cost indicative of the difference in the object""s velocity between the currently selected frame (which may be the first frame) and each of the other video sprite frames. In addition, an image similarity cost associated with transitioning from the selected frame to each of the other frames is computed. Next, an error cost related to the user-specified path is computed between the selected video sprite frame and each of the other frames. This error cost is a function of the distance between the next recorded point in the user-specified path and the current position of the object in the path, as well as the velocity of the particular xe2x80x9cotherxe2x80x9d frame under consideration. An anticipated future transition cost representative of the transition costs that would be incurred if the transition between the selected video sprite frame and each of the other frames were implemented is also respectively computed for each of the other frames. The velocity cost, image similarity cost, error cost and future transition- cost are added together to produce a directed future cost for the transition between the selected video sprite frame and each of the other video sprite frames. These directed future costs are then mapped to probability values using a monotonically decreasing function to produce a probability distribution for the costs. And finally, those video sprite frames that are associated with a transition having a probability maximum between the selected video sprite frame and the other video sprite frames are designated as corresponding to an acceptable transition.
It is noted that the foregoing user-controlled motion video rendering system and process can also be implemented without the path being directly specified by a user. Rather, the path could be generated in other ways and input into the present system.

Video-based rendering with user-controlled movement


An accessory device is disclosed. The accessory device may include a light guide assembly that directs light from a light source (or sources) through an opening of the accessory device, and in particular, in a base portion of the accessory device. The light guide assembly may be disposed in a compartment of the accessory device and include a light guide body as well as a light guide insert disposed in an opening of the light guide body. To form the opening, a single cutting operation may cut through the base portion and the light guide body so that the respective openings of the base portion and the light guide body are aligned. The light guide body may be designed to receive the light from the light source and direct or focus the light toward the light guide insert. The light guide insert may refract, scatter, and/or diffuse the light.

Accessory devices can be used to provide a protective cover for electronic devices. Some accessory devices include a layer (or layers) of material having a pre-cut opening in the layer(s), with the pre-cut opening aligned with an object disposed in the accessory device. However, several issues can arise with pre-cut openings. For example, the object must be properly aligned with the pre-cut opening. One solution is to laser cut the opening to expose the object. However, the layer(s) may include a fabric layer that is sensitive to laser cutting and may burn or char while forming the opening.

Multi-piece light guide for enhanced alignment through an opaque surface


A wall construction for wire-bound boxes utilizing split cleats in at least one pair of opposing walls, wherein two rectangular panels or mats are aligned in the same wall, the opposing ends of the cleats of the panels being shortened for receiving therebetween an auxiliary support member, the support member being clamped between the opposing ends of the upper and lower cleats when the wires are tightened in the assembly of the walls. A face board or a pair of face boards, bridges the opposing ends of the panels and the auxiliary support member therebetween.

In the construction of wire-bound boxes it is conventional for the bottom, the top, and the walls to be fabricated as separate units and shipped to the customer unassembled. The units can be grouped in convenient quantities of like sizes for the most economical shipment and storage by the customer.
The user of the boxes assembles the units into box form, including threading the loops on the ends of the wires attached to the wall blank and twisting or otherwise fastening the projecting ends of the wires together to tension the wires around the walls to form the rectangular wall structure of the box.
It has been conventional for each wall of the wall structure to comprise a panel or mat, having cleats forming the top and bottom portions of the frame work of the panel. These cleats run the full length of the wall of the box and form the lateral edges of the rectangular wall. The cleats are part of the fundamental framework of the box, when assembled, giving not only strength to the box, but serving to help to maintain the rigidity of the wall of the box against collapse into a parallelogram.
Recently, the scarcity of lumber and high cost of lumber, particularly of good quality and proper length, has made the fabrication of wire-bound boxes much more expensive. In particular, good quality cleats as required in the construction of relatively long boxes, e.g., over six feet long, are not only relatively expensive, but in fact difficult to procure. It is to be understood, of course, that in wire-bound boxes, the width of the cleat is a function of the length. When the cleat is longer, it must also be wider for strength to support the weight of the contents of the box against the bottom of the box, and to avoid distortion of the walls of the box due to horizontal internal pressure by the contents of the box.

Wall construction for wire-bound boxes having split cleats


An integration type D/A and A/D converter having improved linearity and low power consumption. Logic circuits such as ECL counters consuming a major part of power of the D/A and A/D converters are realized through CMOS process. Current source circuits, current switch circuit and comparator circuit of the integration type A/D converter are realized in IC through bipolar process ensuring high accuracy and low noise. Logic parts such as counter is realized through CMOS process.

The present invention relates to a digital-to-analogue (D/A) converter and an analogue-to-digital (A/D) converter. More particularly, the present invention concerns a signal processing circuit such as pulse duration generating circuit or the like for determing integration time of an integration type D/A converter and A/D converter of low power consumption and improved linearity.
As typical integration type D/A converter and A/C converter employed heretofore in the digital audio-signal recording/reproducing apparatus, there can be mentioned those disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 99821/1982 and 197910/1982 (JP-A-5799821 and JP-A-57-197910). More specifically, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 99821/1982 discloses an integration-type 16-bit D/A converter in which currents of two constant current sources weighted in the ratio of 1 to 2.sup.8 are charged in a capacitor constituting a part of integrator for periods corresponding to data placed in an eight more significant bit (MSB) counter and an eight less significant bit (LSB) counter, respectively, to derive an analogue output signal. Assuming, for example, that the sampling period is 20 .mu.sec (sampling frequency-50 KHz), the time T taken for conversion is 10 .mu.sec and that the number N of bits is equal to eight, the clock frequency f required for the counter is given by ##EQU1## Thus, the D/A converter can be realized in the form of a monolithic IC. Further, by dividing the input data into three or more parts, the clock frequency required for the counters can be further decreased.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 197910/1982 discloses an integration type 16-bit A/D converter in which two current sources of current values weighted in the ratio of 1 to 2.sup.7 are provided in correspondence with nine more significant bits and seven less significant bits, respectively, wherein an analogue value sampled at an integrator element is roughly discharged with the current weighted "2.sup.7 ", being followed by the discharge with the current weighted "1", while counting the time taken for the discharge, to thereby obtain 16-bit digital data. The clock frequency f required for the counter is about 50 MHz on the assumption that the sampling period is about 20 .mu.sec. With this arrangement, the A/D converter can be realized in a monolithic IC structure. By providing more than two weighted current sources and counters, respectively, the clock frequency required for the counter can be further decreased.
In conjunction with implementation of the D/A converter and A/D converter, bipolar process is suited for realizing the current source circuits and current switch circuits constituting parts of the converters in respect to attainable high accuracy, low noise and high speed. In that case, however, when implementation in the monolithic IC is prerequisite, the counters must be constituted by using logic elements such as ECL (emitter-coupled logic) or the like of large scale and high power consumption. In this conjunction, no consideration is paid to the power consumption in the hitherto known techniques.
Further, since the current value of the current source for the more significant bit data is 256 times (128 times in the case of the A/D converter) as large as that of the current source for the less significant bit data, there is produced error when the signal for controlling the periods of charge and discharge is deviated due to the switching jitter. In the case of the D/A converter, the permissible value of jitter is ##EQU2## on the assumption that the clock frequency is 25 MHz.
It is observed that the output linearity of the A/D and D/A converters implemented in IC undergoes degradation due to the jitter of the counter clock signal. FIG. 14 of the accompanying drawings illustrates graphically a relation between the clock jitter and S/N ratio. More specifically, this figure illustrates a modulation degree versus S/N characteristic of an integration type D/A converter in which the clock signal is frequency-modulated. As will be seen in the figure, a curve 33 of -6 dB/oct is obtained, which means that S/N ratio (and hence dynamic range) is degraded due to the clock jitter.


Substrates having modified effective thermal conductivity for use in the sequential lateral solidification process are disclosed. In one arrangement, a substrate includes a glass base layer, a low conductivity layer formed adjacent to a surface of the base layer, a high conductivity layer formed adjacent to the low conductivity layer, a silicon compound layer formed adjacent to the high conductivity layer, and a silicon layer formed on the silicon compound layer. In an alternative arrangement, the substrate includes an internal subsurface melting layer which will act as a heat reservoir during subsequent sequential lateral solidification processing.

I. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates to techniques for processing of semiconductor films, and more particularly to techniques for processing semiconductor films on glass or other substrates.
II. Description of the Related Art.
Techniques for fabricating large grained single crystal or polycrystalline silicon thin films using sequential lateral solidification are known in the art. For example, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/390,537, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein and which application is assigned to the common assignee of the present application, particularly advantageous apparatus and methods for growing large grained polycrystalline or single crystal silicon structures using energy-controllable laser pulses and small-scale translation of a silicon sample to implement sequential lateral solidification are disclosed. Using the sequential lateral solidification technique, low defect density crystalline silicon films can be produced on those substrates that do not permit epitaxial regrowth, upon which high performance microelectronic devices can be fabricated.
The effectiveness with which sequential lateral solidification can be implemented depends on several factors, the most important of which corresponds to the length of lateral crystal growth achieved per laser pulse. Such lateral crystal growth depends on several parameters, including the duration of the laser pulses, film thickness, substrate temperature at the point of laser pulse irradiation, the energy density of the laser pulse incident on the substrate, and the effective thermal conductivity of the substrate. In particular, if all other factors are kept constant, reducing is the thermal conductivity of the substrate will have the effect of increasing lateral crystal growth.
While there have been attempts to utilize low thermal conductivity materials, such as porous glass, in connection with sequential lateral solidification for the purpose of enhancing lateral crystal growth, such attempts have not achieved commercially viable results. For example, when a porous glass layer is used under a silicon film in the sequential lateral solidification process densification, and subsequent physical distortion, of such glass has been observed. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a technique for fabricating substrates having a modified effective thermal conductivity in order to optimize the sequential lateral solidification process.
An object of the present invention is to provide substrates having modified effective thermal conductivity which can be later used in an optimized sequential lateral solidification process.
A further object of the present invention is to provide substrates having modified effective thermal conductivity.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide substrates having a directionally optimized effective thermal conductivity.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide multi layer substrates where one or more of the subsurface layers act as a heat reservoir in order to optimize the effective thermal characteristics of the substrate.
In order to achieve these objectives as well as others that will become apparent with reference to the following specification, the present invention provides a substrate having modified effective thermal conductivity for use in the sequential lateral solidification process. The substrate includes a base layer, e.g., glass, a low conductivity layer formed adjacent to a surface of the base layer, a high conductivity layer formed adjacent to the low conductivity layer, and a silicon layer formed on the high conductivity layer.
In a preferred arrangement, the low conductivity layer is porous glass, and is in the range of 5,000 Angstroms to 2 microns thick. The high conductivity layer may be a metal, and should be sufficiently thin so as to not increase the overall vertical conductivity of the substrate, preferably in the range of 50 to 5,000 Angstroms thick.
An intermediate silicon compound layer is preferably formed between the silicon layer and the high conductivity layer. The silicon compound may be silicon dioxide, and should be sufficiently thick to prevent diffusion of impurities from the high conductivity layer. It is preferred that the silicon compound layer is in the range of 200 to 2,000 Angstroms thick.
In an alternative arrangement, the present invention provides a substrate having modified effective thermal conductivity for use in the sequential lateral solidification process, wherein the high conductivity layer is replaced by an internal subsurface melting layer. In this arrangement, the substrate includes a base layer, a low conductivity layer formed adjacent to the base layer, a subsurface melting layer having a melting point which is less than that of silicon and formed adjacent to the low conductivity layer, a silicon compound layer formed adjacent to the subsurface melting layer, and silicon layer formed on the silicon compound layer.

Specialized substrates for use in sequential lateral solidification processing

The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York


A data distribution apparatus and method for distributing data from a first group of devices to a second group of devices through a series of controlled coupling units to evenly distribute processing load associated with the data among the second group of devices. The coupling units have memory for storing values relating to an accumulated processing load of data distributed through the coupling unit. The coupling units distribute data and/or descriptive indicators representing data based on kinds of data, such as job classes, and processing loads that are previously estimated. By distributing based on processing load, a plurality of processes can be performed nearly simultaneously without excess waiting.

FIG. 4 illustrates coupling units employed in a data distribution apparatus as proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 185561/90. Coupling unit 1 has two data input lines 2, 3, two data output lines 4, 5, a switch 6 for switching the data connecting patterns in the coupling unit, a group 7 of counters corresponding to each kind of data or work unit, and a control unit 8 for controlling the group of counters to switch the data connecting patterns in accordance with the contents of counter group 7. A first pattern, in which input lines 2, 3 are connected to output lines 4, respectively (a "parallel pattern"), and a second pattern in which input lines 2, 3 are connected to output lines 5, 4, respectively (a "cross pattern") are shown.
FIG. 5 illustrates two data connection patterns that are realized by switch 6 in coupling unit 1. In FIG. 5, the upper pattern is the parallel pattern and the lower pattern is the cross pattern. FIG. 6 illustrates the general construction of a conventional data distribution apparatus 9, which distributes data from a first memory group 10 to a second memory group 11.
In this system, coupling units 1 are arranged in a 4.times.3 matrix. Because first memory group 8 has eight memories, four units, each having two input lines, are provided in each vertical row and log.sub.2 8=3 rows in each horizontal row. Generally, in order to distribute data equally from a first group of N memories to a second group of N memories, it is necessary to form a data distributing apparatus having a group of coupling units which are arranged in a matrix of (N/2).times.log.sub.2 N rows. It should be noted however that there are various other methods of arranging a network which have a plurality of coupling units, and that the technique according to the present invention may be similarly effectively applied to these methods. The details of a coupling unit arrangement such as that shown in FIG. 6 and other coupling unit arrangements are explained in the report of the Electronic Communication Society Proceedings, Vol. J86-D, No. 6, p. 1272.
The first memory group stores at a minimum the data or work units to be processed. The second memory group is used as a temporary storage area for processing the data or the work units stored in the first memory group. A plurality of coupling units 1 equally distribute in second memory group 11 The data or work units stored in first memory group 10.
For this description, it is assumed that the object of distribution is data only, and that data are transferred from the first group 10 of N memories to the second group 11 of N memories after being classified into K different kinds of data. More specifically, each of the data belongs to any one of a number of kinds 0 to K-1. As is known, if the total number Nx of data for the X-th (X=0, . . . , k-1) kind are transferred from the first group of memories to the second group of memories, Nx/N number of data for each memory are transferred to second group of memories. Thus, each Nx/N number of data are transferred to second memory group and the data for all kinds of the X-th (X=0, . . . , K-1) data are distributed to the second memory whereby data distribution will be completed.
As The data distribution operation is started, data are successively sent from first group 10 to either of data input lines 2, 3 or to the coupling units in the first row, which are connected with the respective memories in the first group. Each coupling unit 1 in the first row sets either one of the two connection patterns for switch 6 (FIG. 5), according to an instruction from control circuit 8, to move the input data in accordance with switch 6 and to transfer the data to coupling units in the second row which is connected to the coupling unit 1, through either of data output lines 4 or 5. This operation is then repeated. The respective coupling units 1 in the second row and those in The subsequent rows also repeat a similar operation. Data that are output through either of data output lines 4 or 5 of each coupling unit 1 belonging to the final row are stored separately in the respective corresponding memories in the second memory group while being arranged according to kind.
Control circuit 8 determines the connection patterns for switch 6 in the following manner. Prior to data distribution, the counters for the respective coupling unit 1 are all initialized to zero. The counters are controlled so that when data belonging to an X-th (X=0, . . . , K-1) kind are output from data output line 4, the X-th counter in the counter group is increased by "1". Also, if similar data are output from data output line 5, counter group 7 is controlled by control circuit 8 so that "1" is subtracted from the X-th counter in counter group 7. More specifically, if the count of the X-th counter in counter group 7 is positive at a certain point in time, it means that the majority of data of the X-th kind output from coupling unit 1 up to that time was delivered through data output line 4. Similarly, if the count of the counter in counter group 7 is "0", it means that only half of the number of the data of the X-th kind output from this coupling unit 1 up to that time were delivered through data output line 4, and the remaining half of the data were delivered through the data output line 5. As a result, data belonging to the X-th kind are equally distributed and output with respect to coupling unit 1. If the count of a counter it means that the majority of the data was delivered through data output line 5. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the counts of the counters are "1", "5", "0", and "-2", respectively. The "1" indicates that the number of data of the 0-th kind delivered by data output line 4 is greater than the data delivered by data output line 5 by one; "5" indicates that the number of data of the first kind delivered by data output line 4 is greater than the data delivered by data output line 5 by five; "0" indicates that the number of data of the second kind delivered by data output line 4 is equal to the data delivered by data output line 4; and "-2" indicates that the number of data of the third kind delivered by data output line 5 is greater than the data delivered by data output line 4 by two.
Thus, counter group 7 can be used to control the condition of local distribution of the data delivered through two output lines 4 and 5 of coupling unit 1 for each kind of data. To realize equal distribution of data for each kind of each of the output lines in the coupling unit, the counts of all the counters in group 7 are "0" when data distribution is completed.
Control circuit 8 of the respective coupling unit seeks the difference in the counter values corresponding to the kind of incoming data each time data are transmitted to data input line 2, 3. If the counter value is positive or zero, the control unit 8 connects data input lines 2 or 3 to data output lines 5, 4, respectively. If the counter value is negative, the control circuit connects data input lines 2, 3 no data output lines 4, 5, respectively, thus determining the connection patterns for switch 6. The data which have been sent to the data input lines are delivered to the data output lines in accordance with the thus determined connection pattern for switch 6, and further delivered to the group of coupling units connected to these data output lines.
For example, it is assumed that data which belong to the 0-th kind are input through data input line 2 and data which belong to the first kind are inputted through data input line 3, and that the counts of the counters corresponding to these kinds are "1" and "5" respectively. This means that the number of data of the 0-th kind input to the coupling unit and output by data output line 4 up to that time is greater than that of data output by data output line 5 by one, and similarly, the number of data of the first kind output by data output line 5 by five. In this case, since data distribution is deviated to data of the first kind rather than data of 0-th kind, it is advantageous if data input line 2 is connected to data output line 4 and data input line 3 is connected to data output line 5 to reduce such deviation of distribution of data of the first kind. According to the above described method, the difference between the counts of the two counters is negative since 1-5=-4, and the connection pattern for this value is selected for switch 6.
According to the data distribution apparatus as described above the number of data or work units may be equally distributed. Since the processing load of the data or the work units varies depending on their contents, however, the processing loads will not be equal, if data processing is executed by the second group of memories. For example, even if data are distributed equally from the first group of memories to the second group of memories, when the distributed data or work units are processed by the second group, the processing time is determined by completion of processing by the memory in the second memory group which is the most heavily loaded and takes the longest processing time, thus resulting in extended processing time. It was also a problem that many of the memories in the second memory group caused the working efficiency to be lowered. Under these circumstances, if a large number of data or work units are to be processed, the processing efficiency is lowered.

Method and apparatus for data distribution


A method for determining the boundaries of text or character strings represented in an array of image data by shape, without a requirement for individually detecting and/or identifying the character or characters making up the strings. The method relies upon the detection of connected components within words to first determine text line boundaries and to isolate the connected components into text rows. Subsequently, the structural relationships between the components within and defining rows (i.e. overlap, inter-character spacing, and inter-word spacing), are used to further combine adjacent sets of connected components into words or similar units of semantic understanding within text rows.

Text in electronically encoded documents (electronic documents) tends to be found in either of two formats, each distinct from the other. In a first format, the text may be in a bitmap format, in which text is defined only in terms of an array of image data or pixels, essentially indistinguishable from adjacent images which are similarly represented. In this format, text is generally incapable of being subjected to processing by a computer based on textual content alone. In a second format, hereinafter referred to as a character code format, the text is represented as a string of character codes (e.g. ASCII code). In the character code format, the image or bitmap of the text is not available.
Conversion from bitmap to character code format using an optical character recognition (OCR) process carries a significant cost in terms of time and processing effort. Each bitmap of a character must be distinguished from its neighbors, its appearance analyzed, and in a decision making process, identified as a distinct character in a predetermined set of characters. As examples of OCR techniques, U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,628 to Scott discloses a method for reading data which circumnavigates a character image. U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,190 to Borland et al. teaches a character feature detection system for reading alphanumeric characters. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,869 to Miyatake et al. suggests a a more efficient method for tracing contour lines to prepare contour coordinates of a figure within an image consisting of a plurality of lines.
When the electronic document has been derived by scanning an original, however, image quality and noise in its reproduction contribute to uncertainty in the actual appearance of the bitmap. A degraded bitmap appearance may be caused by an original document of poor quality, by scanning error, or by similar factors affecting the digitized representation of the image. Therefore, the decision process employed in identifying a character has an inherent uncertainty about it. A particular problem in this regard is the tendency of characters in text to blur, or merge. Most character identifying processes commence with an assumption that a character is an independent set of connected pixels. When this assumption fails, due to the quality of the input image, character identification also fails. A variety of attempts have been made to improve character detection. U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,490 to Mano discloses a method and apparatus for recognizing skewed characters on a document. A rectangle is created around each character image, oriented with the detection orientation rather than the image orientation, and position data for each rectangle is stored in a table. The rectangle is created by detecting a character's outline. U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,461 to Schlang discloses a text line bounding system wherein skewed text is adjusted by analyzing vertical patches of a document. After the skew has been determined, each text line is bounded by determining a top, bottom, left, and right boundary of the text line. U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,105 to Gray et al. discloses a scan controller for normalizing a character in a character recognition apparatus wherein a character is analyzed by determining certain character characteristics including top, bottom, right and left character boundaries. U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,740 to Ross discloses a processing means for use in an optical character recognition system wherein sub-line information is used to analyze a character and identify it. U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,392 to Barski et al. discloses a document recognition system which recognizes an unknown document form by comparison against a library of templates, thus allowing for the intelligent association of text characters in certain locations of the unknown document to aid in the recognition thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 5,142,589 to Lougheed et al. discloses a system for repairing digital images of broken characters which first dilates the character strokes to fill small gaps therein and then erodes the image to conform to the original strokes, thereby producing recognizable characters before separation into individual digits for recognition. U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,719 to Budd et al. teaches a character recognition system and method for teaching and recognizing characters. The method obtains an image, identifies a character, samples the character, and then does a vector correlation of the sample points to stored points of known characters to recognize the character.
OCR methods have sought to segment images in various fashions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,461 to Schlang suggests a text line bounding system for nonmechanically adjusting for skewed text in scanned text. The skew angle of the text is then established, following which the text lines are statistically bounded. The actual text data is then rotated according to the orientation established for conventional processing. U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,344 to Peppers et al. teaches preprocessing of character recognition so as to obtain data necessary for character recognition. Page segmentation is performed by simultaneously extracting a plurality of features, separation between lines, separation between characters, and separation between the lines and the characters are simultaneously performed, and a calculation time for normalizing the separated individual characters can be reduced, thereby performing preprocessing required for character recognition systematically at high speed.
OCR methods have sought to improve reliability by use of dictionary word verification methods, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,445 to Hoshino. However, the underlying problem of accurate character detection of each character in a character string remains. The article "F6365 Japanese Document Reader" Fujitsu Sci. Tech. J., 26, 3, pp. 224-233 (October 1990) shows a character reader using the steps of block extraction, skew adjustment, block division, adjacent character segmentation, line extractions, and character recognition by pattern matching, with dictionary checking, and comparison.
It might be desirable, to identify a set of characters forming a word or character string as such, as shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,905,927 to Reed, in which for a text string, a set of three scans across the text, parallel to its reading orientation are employed, each scan deriving information about transitions from black to white across the scan. U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,072 to Kawa suggests a similar arrangement, operable to produce a set of values representative of the leading and trailing edges of the character.
In addition to an OCR system operating on printed or typed textual images, numerous references deal with recognition of handwritten text which has been converted into an electronic representation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,857 to Tappert shows processing a word with the segmentation and recognition steps combined into an overall scheme. U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,972 to Yoshida et al. suggests a recognition system for recognizing a plurality of handwritten characters. U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,977 to Ohnishi et al. discloses a method for identifying a plurality of handwritten connected figures, including identifying and prioritizing branches of the connected figures. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,725 to McCubbrey teaches a computer system for mail sorting of hand-addressed envelopes that first calculates an interstroke distance for character strokes within a digitized address and then, using the interstroke distance, the strokes are grouped into words for further processing.
The choice of entire words as the basic unit of recognition, has also been considered in signature recognition, where no attempt is made to maintain characters as having separate identities, and is suggested by U.S. Pat. No. 3,133,266 to Frishkopf, which still relies on subsequent feature identification methods for identifying characteristics of the image of the character. Signature recognition has also used comparison techniques between samples and known signatures, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,644 to Parks et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,701,960 to Scott which suggest that features plotted on x-y coordinates during the signature process can be stored and used for signature verification.
Alternative modes of expressing character recognition are known, U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,281 to Hillenbrand et al. teaches the use of polynomials for generating and reproducing graphic objects, where the objects are predetermined in the form of reference contours in contour coordinates.
Certain signal processing techniques for comparing known signals to unknown signals are available if the word can be expressed in a relatively simple manner. U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,828 to Pirz et al. discloses a spoken word recognizor wherein an input word is recognized from a set of reference words by generating signals representative of the correspondence of an input word and the set of reference words and selecting a closest match. U.S. Pat. No. 4,977,603 to Irie et al. teaches an arrangement for pattern recognition utilizing the multiple similarity method, capable of taking structural features of a pattern to be recognized into account, so that sufficiently accurate pattern recognition can be achieved even when the pattern may involve complicated and diverse variations. "An Efficiently Computable Metric for Comparing Polygon Shapes," by Arkin, Chew, Huttenlocher, Kedem and Mitchell, Proceedings of First Annual ACM-SIAM Symposium on Discrete Algorithms, January 1990 (pp. 129-137) suggests that metrics can be established for shape matching.

Method for identifying word bounding boxes in text


A surgical kit suitable for repair of articular surfaces in the talocrural joint, includes: a surgical implant having a cap with an outer surface conforming to a talus dome surface and an inner surface having a central implant anchoring peg extending perpendicularly from said inner surface, a hollow tubular shell suitable for correct pre-drilling for implantation of the surgical joint implant in the dome of the talus, and a saw guide conforming and fixable to the lower portion of the tibia and providing saw guide surfaces in at least one plane, suitable for osteotomy of a lower portion of a tibia to expose the dome of the talus.

Introduction
Osteochondral defects of the talar dome are mostly caused by a traumatic event. They may lead to deep ankle pain on weight bearing, prolonged swelling, diminished range of motion, and synovitis. The mean cartilage thickness of the talar dome is in the range 1.2 to 1.4 mm. Cartilage defects are strongly linked to the subchondral bone. The main target in the treatment of talar osseochondral defects (OCDs) is repair of the subchondral bone. A healthy restored subchondral bone plate would decrease the pain, improve the load-bearing capacity of the ankle, and improve chondrocyte survival in the remaining cartilage
Treatments
Treatment options for OCDs are numerous. The highest success rates were reported for bone marrow stimulation, such as drilling or microfracturing, (85%) and osteochondral autograft transfer (87%). Because osteochondral autograft transfer can cause knee morbidity, the conclusion was that debridement and bone marrow stimulation remains the treatment of choice for primary OCDs (i.e., those without previous surgery) up to 15 mm.
During debridement and bone marrow stimulation, the OCD is preferably approached by anterior ankle arthroscopy with the ankle in full plantar flexion for adequate exposure of the defect.
However, the ankle is a congruent joint with limited surgical access. Some defects are located so far posteriorly that they may not be accessible by anterior ankle arthroscopy.
Lesions after failed previous surgery or large lesions can be treated by various alternative surgical methods, including autologous cancellous bone grafting, osteochondral autograft transfer, and autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI). Although successful results can be achieved, disadvantages of these secondary methods include pain at the donor site, limited availability of graft material, and two surgical procedures in the case of ACI. An alternative without these disadvantages would be desirable. The methods mentioned above are sometimes combined with osteotomy for better access to the talar dome.
Metal Implants
Because of the disadvantages of current secondary treatment methods, metal resurfacing inlay implants have been developed and started to reach the market. A precise surgical technique is required in terms of implantation depth, position, and orientation because of the biomechanical properties of the ankle joint. A protruding implant may damage the opposite cartilage by causing excessive contact pressures during loading, which is thought to be due to "plowing" of the cartilage. On the other hand, a deep implant might result in collapse of the adjacent cartilage due to insufficient support.
If the lesion is located on the medial side of the talar dome (ca 60% of cases), most of these treatment options require a medial malleolar osteotomy in order to obtain access to the talar dome. A medial malleolar osteotomy is an established approach for the operative treatment of medial osteochondral defects of the talar dome and fractures of the talar body. There are different varieties of osteotomy to get access to the talar dome. A commonly used osteotomy is the oblique medial malleolar osteotomy, which is a crucial step in the surgical implantation of the resurfacing inlay implants. To obtain a congruent joint surface after refixation, the osteotomy should be directed perpendicularly to the articular surface of the tibia at the intersection between the tibial plafond and medial malleolus. At an instructional course on the metallic implantation technique, surgeons experienced technical difficulties performing a successful medial malleolar osteotomy. The difficulties included sawing at an angle that allowed refixation of the distal fragment without creating an articular incongruence, as well as identifying the intersection between the tibial plafond and medial malleolus. Thus, knowledge of the angle of the osteotomy relative to an anatomic landmark such as the long tibial axis would be helpful for use during surgery, as well as surgical tricks to identify the intersection.
It has been reported that a medial malleolar osteotomy frequently led to local osteoarthritis and less favorable clinical findings than arthrotomy without osteotomy.
The advantages of implants over complete replacement of the joint have stimulated a further development of smaller implants that can be implanted with less invasive surgery. In this development there has also been an effort to achieve small joint implants, suitable for repair of a small bone and/or cartilage injury that have a minimal influence on the surrounding parts of the joint. In the current development, such small implants are designed with an implant body that may be formed as a mushroom cap with a hard surface to face the articulating side of the joint and a bone contacting surface engaging the bone below the damaged part of cartilage. The shape and the curvature of the articulating surface of the implant may be designed to be a reconstitution of the shape and the curvature of the part of the joint when it was undamaged. Such implants are usually designed as mushrooms with an implant body or head and with a peg or a rod projecting from the bone contacting side of the implant body for anchoring the implant into the bone. The cap of the mushroom for repair of the talus dome is often slanted or irregular to conform to the shape of the original undamaged ridge or dome of the talus.
There is a lack of talar metal resurfacing implants with an exact match of the undamaged talar anatomy, as well as metal resurfacing implants that can be placed not only at the edge of the medial talar dome, but placed more centrally on the medial talar dome.

Surgical kit for repair of articular surfaces in the talocrural joint including surgical saw guide


Various embodiments of the invention provide methods, systems, and computer-program products for providing a plurality of speech analytics engines in a speech analytics module for detecting semantic and non-semantic speech characteristics in the audio of a call involving an agent in a contact center and a remote party. The speech analytics module generates event notification messages reporting the detected semantic and non-semantic speech characteristics and these messages are sent to an event handler module that forwards the messages to one or more application specific modules. In turn, the application specific modules provide functionality based on the semantic and non-semantic speech characteristics detected during the call such as, for example, causing information to be presented on the screen of a computer used by the agent during the call.

Contact centers frequently employ speech analytics systems to detect the meaning of words spoken during a call by a remote party or an agent of the contact center. Many such systems employ various forms of algorithmic-based processing of digital speech signals to recognize the meaning of words. These speech analytics systems may be referred to as semantic-based speech analytics systems since the speech is analyzed to determine its meaning.
However, research into speech analytics has also suggested that speech can be analyzed to provide non-semantic-based indicators such as, for instance, a speaker's gender, age, personality, emotion, and/or identification. Accordingly, as algorithms that identify such indicators are refined to provide more accurate results, the use of these types of indicators are expected to be more frequently incorporated into contact centers. For instance, customer service applications performed within a contact center may benefit from obtaining non-semantic speech indicators for a call such as knowing the age or gender of a caller. In many instances, a contact center may find it advantageous to deploy a single speech analytics system that is capable of providing both semantic and non-semantic speech indications. Accordingly, it is with respect to these considerations and others that the disclosure herein is presented.

Contact center speech analytics system having multiple speech analytics engines


A method of and apparatus for packaging a stack of tiles of which the tiles are supported on one edge thereof, in which the stack is supported at its base from one side only of the longitudinal central line of the stack and at another location of the stack, whereby to permit wrapping and securing a strap around that section of the stack which is unsupported at its base to form a tile package.

(1) Field of the invention
This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for strapping a plurality of individual tiles together to form a package. More particularly, the invention is concerned with the packaging of extruded concrete roofing tiles.
In extrusion processes for manufacturing concrete roofing tiles, the tiles are continuously extruded on pallets and are fed on a conveyor system incorporating belt conveyors from the tile extrusion machine to a depalleting device, usually via a curing zone in which the tiles are partially cured. After depalleting, the tiles are removed from the conveyor and stacked in the open air for curing or to complete the curing process as the case may be.
In order to avoid manual handling of large numbers of uncured or partially cured individual tiles, involving at least one operative with the attendant possibility of the tiles being damaged during removal from the conveyor line, stacking in the open air and transport to site, various systems have been devised for arranging the tiles in successive stacks comprising, for example 40 tiles, and securing a strap or band around each stack of tiles to form a package. By this means the number of individual units which have to be dealt with is considerably reduced, the tile packages can be handled by machines and the risk of breakage is largely eliminated.
In strapping stacks of concrete roofing tiles it is desirable, if not essential, that the strap be secured around the ends of tiles in the central longitudinal region of the stack in order to avoid damage and possible breakage to the interlocks extending along opposite sides of the tiles, during tensioning and securing of the strap. Power strapping machines are known for strapping cartons and have also been used for packaging tiles. One such strapping machine comprises a rectangular chute frame formed of inwardly opening channel sections in which a strap of plastics material is fed from a reel, the carton being fed into the space within the frame under the control of an operator so that the strap encircles the carton. The machine is then operated whereby the machine wraps the strap around the carton, tensions and secures the strap as by heat or friction welding, crimping or clipping.
(2) Description of the prior art
Such a power strapping machine is used in one packaging system known to the Applicants for strapping clay roofing tiles formed on a belt conveyor into a horizontal stack in which the tiles are disposed upright one behind the other on one of their edges and are held by hydraulic clamping devices in the stack to maintain the tiles upright. Since, a strapping machine having a rectangular chute frame cannot be used to strap the horizontal stack of tiles whilst on the belt conveyor, the stack is removed by means of the clamping devices to a roller conveyor adjacent the belt conveyor where the chute frame is positioned between adjacent rollers and the stack whilst remaining clamped is fed into the chute frame for strapping.
Also known to the Applicants is a system for packaging extruded concrete roofing tiles which involves the forming of a horizontal stack of tiles on a belt conveyor and clamping of the stack to maintain the tiles in an upright position. In this system, the conveyor is stopped at a strapping location where an open bottomed chute frame mounted on a moving trolley is positioned over the clamped stack of tiles. Then a bayonet carrying one end of the strap extending around the chute frame is fed through a channel disposed between two runs of the belt conveyor and the strap is then wrapped around the stack. Stopping of the conveyor for the strapping operation is disadvantageous since the stacking and strapping operation has to be synchronized precisely to the speed of the extrusion machine which may operate at speeds upwards of 4000 tiles per hour. Moreover, bayonet feed of the strap can give rise to problems.
Two other known systems involve the use of turntables on which extruded concrete roofing tiles fed from a belt conveyor system are stacked flat one on top of the other. The turntable is then turned to bring the vertical stack of tiles to a station at which is located a stationary strapping machine. Since the tiles are stacked on the turntable, the chute frame of the strapping machine has to be at least partially open at the bottom and the strap must be fed by hand across the opening before the machine can wrap the strap around the tile stack. In these systems, the stack is supported on a slotted base on the turntable so that the strap can be wrapped around the stack. After strapping, the turntable is turned to another station where the tile package is clamped, rotated into a horizontal position and placed on another conveyor system.
All the above systems involve the use of complicated and expensive apparatus, and sophisticated electrical control systems for synchronizing the stacking and strapping operations to the speed of the conveyor systems used and in the cases of extruded concrete roofing tiles to the speed of the extrusion machine. In the systems using turntables, stacking of partially cured or uncured tiles flat one on top of the other leads more easily to tile damage. Moreover, the apparatus have large numbers of moving parts which can be expensive to maintain and which can more easily breakdown in the dusty environment of a tile making factory.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to minimize or overcome the aforementioned disadvantages by providing a system for packaging tiles in which the apparatus has fewer moving parts, is simpler and less expensive than the aforementioned apparatus, which can strap stacks of tiles on a belt, band or chain conveyor without stopping the conveyor and which can utilize a strapping machine having a rectangular chute frame.


A method of synthesis of the four optically active stereoisomers of calanolide A and B which produces the compounds in high yields and in a high degree of purity.

The dipyrano coumarins are a group of natural products from tropical plants of the genus Calophyllum, which are typified by coumarin, chroman, and chromene ring systems assembled about a phloroglucinol core. Calanolide A and B (costatolide) and inophyllums B and P are a group of dipyrano coumarins which have been identified in screening assays as potent inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus-1 reverse transcriptase (HIV-1 RT).
The work in conjunction with this invention was supported, in part, by contracts N01-CM-17551 and -47038 from the Drug Synthesis and Chemistry Branch, Developmental Therapeutics Program of the National Cancer Institute.

Synthesis of optically active calanolides A and B and enantiomers and related compounds

The University of Tennessee Research Corporation


A logic level shifter characterized by a first inverting stage which shifts an input signal downwardly to a lower level, and a second inverting stage which shifts the lower level upwardly to an output signal level which is greater than the input signal level. Feedback from the output is used to virtually eliminate static current drain when the input logic level is 0. The method of the invention involves downwardly shifting an input range of voltages to a lower range of voltages, and then upwardly shifting the lower range of voltages to an output range of voltages which is greater than the input range of voltages. There is preferably a first inversion in the downward shift and a second inversion in the upward shift. A sensing step senses the output voltage to reduce the static current consumed by the process.

This invention relates generally to digital circuitry, and more particularly to logic level shifters for digital circuitry.
Portable computers are becoming very popular because they are easy to transport, can be used virtually anywhere, and because they are approaching the computing power of their desk-top brethren. Portable computers are also becoming smaller and lighter in weight, which generally means that the batteries which power them are also becoming smaller. As a result, the new generation of small, light, but powerful portable computers require low-power, yet high speed, circuitry.
Because portable computers are usually battery powered, it is very important that they draw as little power as possible. In consequence, the circuitry of virtually all portable computers is implemented in complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology, which is noted for its low power requirements. Also, the microprocessor or controller at the heart of the portable computer often operates internally on a lower voltage than the rest of the computer's circuitry to reduce its static power consumption. Unfortunately, lowering the voltage also reduces the speed at which the microprocessor or controller operates, which means that other portions of the circuitry must not unduly add to the delay of signals being produced by the microprocessor or controller.
In FIG. 1, a microprocessor or controller 10 can utilize an internal or "core" operating voltage of three volts d.c. but must drive external or "ring" logic at standard ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) voltages of about five volts d.c. This requires a logic level shifter 12 which couples the core logic to a pad driver 14 and, from there, to a lead 16 of the microprocessor or controller 10. The logic level shifter 12 must be capable providing sufficient current to the pad driver 14. The pad driver 14 usually drives a capacitive load C.sub.L of about 200 picofarads.
A prior art logic level shifter 12' is illustrated in FIG. 2. The channel of a p-channel metal oxide field effect transistor (MOSFET) 18 and the channel of a n-channel MOSFET 20 are coupled together in a typical series CMOS configuration between a source of the ring voltage Vr and ground. The gates of the MOSFETS 18 and 20 are coupled to the input of the logic level shifter 12', and the node 22 between the channels of the MOSFETS is coupled to the pad driver 14. Typically, the relative size of the MOSFETS are selected so that the trip point between a logic 0 and a logic 1 are skewed towards the lower end of a voltage range. For example, if the voltage range is 0-3 volts, the trip point would be made less than 1.5 volts, while if the voltage range is 0-5 volts, the trip point would be made less than 2.5 volts. This skewing of the trip point enables the input signal "IN" to have a swing of 0 to 3 volts while generating an output signal that has a swing of 0 to 5 volts.
A problem with the prior art logic level shifter 12' of FIG. 2 is that it exhibits a relatively high static current. For example, when the input signal IN is at 3 volts, the output will be at 0 volts because the n-channel MOSFET 20 is on, but the p-channel MOSFET will not be shut entirely off. Therefore, current will flow from Vr to ground through MOSFETS 18 and 20. In consequence, there is a considerable static current drain through the level shifter 12', which can quickly deplete the batteries of a portable computer.

Logic level shifter for 3 volt CMOS to 5 volt CMOS or TTL


The present disclosure discloses a method of monitoring a structure by a monitoring system including at least one strain gauge positioned on the structure and a computer processor coupled to the at least one strain gauge. According to at least one embodiment, strain data are acquired using the at least one strain gauge, and it is determined, by the computer processor, whether the structure has undergone plastic deformation according to the strain data. Further, a result is outputted according to the determination of plastic deformation.

US-A-2003042354 describes the use of strain transducers throughout the structure of an aircraft, and analysis of their outputs to detect a hard landing. Various locations for the transducers are described including a trunion bolt which is deflected in bending. If a signal from a transducer exceeds its criteria then a processor illuminates an indicator light for the appropriate landing gear.
WO-A-0039542 describes a pin bearing with strain gauges which are used to measure ground loads applied to such pin bearings in aircraft landing gear.
A problem with the method employed in US-A-2003042354 is that it is difficult to achieve a reliable detection of a hard landing. If the "criteria" are set too high then there is a risk of not detecting a hard landing, but if they are set too low then there is a chance of generating a false indication of a hard landing.

Method and apparatus for monitoring a structure


In some embodiments, methods and systems of locating overstock items at a retail sales facility include receiving an indication that a product at the retail sales facility is out of stock and determining whether the product is located on a sales floor or in the stock room at the retail sales facility; then, in response to a determination that the product is not located on the sales floor or in the stock room, tracking a location of the product based on at least one inventory management factor associated with the retail sales facility and at least one worker task event associated with the product; and outputting to a worker at the retail sales facility, based on the tracking of the location of the at least one product, an indication of a perceived location of the least one product.

Retail sales facilities often permit consumers to determine whether a product offered for sale at the retail sales facility is in stock by scanning the product. Also, consumers often request sales associates and/or managers at the retail sales facility to check whether a product of interest is in stock at the retail sales facility. Having to perform a large number of scans for low inventory and/or out of stock items often takes up a large portion of time from department managers and/or sales associates at the retail sales facility.
When a product is determined to be out of stock at the retail sales facility via a scan by the consumer or sales or stocking associate, the consumer is typically informed either that the product is not available, or that the sales or stocking associate will go to the stock room to check whether the product indicated to be out of stock may be nevertheless present in the stock room. However, since the conventional inventory management systems do not provide the sales or stocking associate with possible locations where additional units of the product indicated to be out of stock may be present at the retail sales facility, the sales or stocking associates are often forced to physically check multiple locations at the retail sales facility to look for possible additional units of the out of stock product, which is time consuming and inefficient.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Out of stock item tracking at retail sales facilities


A peak detecting circuit includes apparatus wherein an analog input signal is applied to a pair of sample and hold circuit elements with the output of the two sample and hold circuits connected, respectively, to the two input terminals of a voltage level comparator. The output of the comparator changes phase when a peak value occurs in the input analog signal. The output of the comparator is then applied to the input of the phase change detector which, in turn, produces an output signal whenever the comparator indicates that a peak has occurred in the analog input signal.

The present invention relates to signal responsive circuits. More particularly, it relates to a signal peak detector circuit.
In electronic measuring or control systems, it is often desirable or necessary to be able to detect when a peak value of a measured variable occurs. Heretofor, there have been a number of different schemes provided for detecting peak values of analog signals. In one form of such previous peak detector schemes, the peak detecting circuit is in the nature of an integrator. One of the disadvantages of this type of circuit is that integrators have a tendancy to drift. When means have been provided on such previous peak detector to overcome or compensate for the drift, the additional features, have, of necessity, added significant expense to the overall circuit. Further, it has been found that a switched or chopped input data signal could not be satisfactorily used with such previous peak detector circuits.


The present invention provides a magnetic recording medium that includes a polymeric flexible substrate and a magnetic layer coating thereon, with a binderless carbon rich layer adhered to the magnetic layer.. The present invention also provides a process for the plasma deposition of the carbon rich coating onto a magnetic medium comprising the steps of:. a. providing a magnetic medium in a vacuum chamber; PA0 b. generating carbon rich plasma in the vacuum chamber by injecting a plasma gas suitable to provide a carbon rich coating into an elongated hollow cathode; and providing a sufficient voltage to create and maintain plasma; and maintaining a vacuum in the vacuum chamber sufficient for the plasma; and PA0 c. exposing the magnetic medium to the plasma while the magnetic medium is influenced by a radio frequency bias electrode to accelerate the plasma towards the magnetic medium and deposit the carbon rich coating on the magnetic medium.

A magnetic recording medium typically consists of a magnetizable material affixed to a substrate. One general type of magnetic medium consists of a magnetizable cured pigment binder coating, derived from a dispersion of magnetizable pigment particles in a polymeric binder, which is coated on a flexible, typically polymeric, non-magnetic support.
Magnetic media are provided in a variety of forms, including audio and video tapes, computer diskettes, and stretched surface recording disks (SSR). SSR generally consist of a rigid, circular support and a thin polymeric film, having a recording layer, suitably attached to the periphery of the support. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,570.
For optimum performance, magnetic media should have exceptionally smooth, durable recording surfaces, with a minimal coefficient of friction. In present recording media the coefficient of friction often changes with changes in ambient humidity. This causes unwanted variations in the performance of the media in varied use environments.
Lubricants are often used in magnetic media to aid in minimizing the wear between the media and the recording head. A lubricant is either added to the dispersion of binder and magnetizable particles before coating, or added as an overcoat layer and allowed to soak into the magnetic layer.
A successful magnetic medium will have a sufficient surface conductivity to avoid electrical static charging during use. For example, a nonconductive magnetic layer coated on a non-conductive flexible substrate, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyamide, may require some special treatment to attain adequate conductivity. This may be accomplished by adding a conductor, such as carbon black, to the magnetic pigment before coating. As an alternative, a non-magnetic carbon black coating may be coated onto the back side of the flexible substrate, or underneath the magnetic layer on the front side of the medium.
Each of these methods of providing conductivity has deficiencies. Where carbon black is added to the magnetic layer signal loss results, since the carbon black occupies space that could be used for magnetic pigment. A separate carbon black layer requires extra processing steps, and is therefore costly and decreases production yield.
In present magnetic media, water vapor can permeate the magnetic layer and cause degradation of durability. A magnetic layer that is excessively permeable to water vapor and oxygen can also permit fungal growth or oxidation of the magnetic pigment.
Carbon coatings have been applied to rigid disks and non-binder type magnetic media, see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,031, but have not been used to successfully address durability, permeability, nor the stability of the coefficient of friction with changes in ambient humidity. Flexible magnetic recording media typically address durability by utilizing surface applied lubricants, and use carbon black to enhance conductivity.
Means for preparing a carbon coating by plasma deposition have existed previously, but have had deficiencies. U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,977 shows a method for forming a carbon film through the use of an induction plasma. The use of high gas flow, pressure, and power can cause formation of carbon powder, instead of the desirable smooth, hard carbon film.
Despite the prior availability of carbon coatings, and the means for plasma deposition of carbon coatings, there remains a need for a flexible magnetic medium having a polymeric layer containing magnetizable pigment, that does not require conductive particles dispersed in the binder layer or in a separate conductive layer. There is also a need for a magnetic medium that is very durable and has a low coefficient of friction that is stable throughout a range of ambient humidities ranging from 0 to 100%. There is also a need for a magnetic recording medium that is substantially impervious to water vapor and oxygen.

Magnetic recording medium having a carbon rich coating

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A system for controlling a plurality of electromechanical effectors operably connected to an engine to control engine parameters. The system also includes a plurality of sensors operably connected to measure a state or parameter of each effector, a power supply configured to supply power to the plurality of effectors, and a controller operably connected to the plurality of sensors, the plurality of effectors, and the power supply. The controller executes a method for an adaptive model-based control for controlling each effector, The method includes receiving a request indicative of a desired state for each effector, receiving a weighting associated each request, obtaining information about a current state of each effector, and updating an adaptive model based control (MBC) based upon the information. The method also includes generating a control command for an effector based upon the adaptive MBC and commanding the effector based upon the control command.

This disclosure relates to system control design, and more particularly to model based predictive control and power management for mechanical systems.
Complex engineered systems including such things as vehicles, gas turbine engines, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are coupled dynamic systems where response of one component may interact unfavorably with another component within the same system. This interaction can be managed via two complementary approaches: control methods that actively manage the interaction between multiple components (or sub-systems) of a subsystem and, excess design margins that ensure system-level metrics are achievable in the presence of unfavorable interactions. Advanced control design techniques can be useful in reducing excessive design margins (over-design) to either increase system performance or reduce its cost.
In electronic actuations systems used to manipulate mechanical systems such as variable geometry of a gas turbine engine, HVAC systems, and elevator systems, it becomes important to manage the amount of power being drawn at any given time such that power supplies and power delivery system are not over drawn. In order to handle this, either the power system must be sized to handle the worst case power draw of all system drawing at one time or the sub-systems have to be managed together, preventing the sum of the draw from exceeding limits. Since an engine is a highly coupled system, stopping or slowing one sub-system while another is allowed to move at full rate can be problematic therefore coordinated management is required.

Model predictive control sub-system power management