The present invention relates to a water turbine in which a unit pipe can be joined by an optional number and a rotating shaft integrated with a rotor can be joined by an optional number according to intended use or condition of use, and by which each rotor can be supported stably. A water turbine in which a rotor provided in a water conduit pipe is rotated by a water flow in the water conduit pipe and the rotation of the rotor is utilized as a motive power, wherein pluralities of the unit pipes constituting a part of the water conduit pipe are connected in order by interposing an end plate having a bearing and a water passing part between respective them, wherein pluralities of rotating shafts respectively integrated with the rotor are linearly connected by providing a connecting means between respective them while end portions opposing to each other of a pair of adjacent rotating shafts are brought into contact, wherein each of the rotating shafts is rotatably supported by respective pair of bearings arranged to neighbor each other such that at least one of the rotors is arranged between the respective pair of bearings, and thereby forming a water turbine unit.

A conventional this kind of water turbine has a formation that a long rotor shaft is provided in an axis direction in a long water conduit pipe, pluralities of rotors are arranged in a line on this rotor shaft, and an underwater hydraulic power generator is driven by rotation of the rotor shaft (see JP 2000-9012 A).
As a conventional connecting structure for linearly connecting two male screw shafts, the followings are exemplified. A small-diameter screw hole is provided on one of end surfaces opposing each other of two male screw shafts arranged linearly, a small-diameter screw shaft is provided on the other end surface, and they are screwed each other (see JP S13-3817 U). Each end surface of two male screw shafts is brought into contact, and a tubular coupler whose inner surface is provided with a female screw thread having the same pitch as that of a male screw thread of both male screw shafts is screwed on an abutted part of them to cover the abutted part (see JP 2014-15728 A). Each end surface of two male screw shafts is brought into contact, an abutted part of them is held by a pair of halved bodies of a cylindrical screw whose inner surface is provided with a female screw thread having the same pitch as that of a male screw thread of both male screw shafts, and a nut is screwed to a male screw thread provided on an outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical screw (see JP 2001-220859 A).

Water turbine, and connecting structure of two male screw shafts and connecting structure of two shafts respectively used for water turbine


An ellipsometry optical system is to analyze light beams reflected from or transmitted through optical devices or materials. The ellipsometry optical system includes a light source for generating a coherent light beam; a first beam splitter for splitting the coherent light beam into two light beams; an optical frequency shifter for shifting a frequency of one of the two light beams splitted by the first beam splitter to form a reference light beam; a circular polarization converter for circularly polarizing the other of the two light beams splitted by the first beam splitter to form a probing light beam which is a circularly polarized light beam to be applied to the optical device under test; a second beam splitter for combining the reference light beam and the probing light beam that transmitted through the optical device under test; a birefringence prism for receiving a light beam combined by the second beam splitter and separating polarization components which are perpendicular with each other; and a photo detector for receiving the polarization components and converting the same to corresponding electric signals.

Most of the optical materials such as optical fibers, optical connectors or other optical components are subject to a birefringence when an optical path for an incident light beam is deviated from optical axes of the materials. Namely, an optical beam is polarized when passing through or reflected from such birefringent materials. Thus, for example, when a circularly polarized light beam is emitted to a birefringent material and is transmitted through the birefringent material or reflected by the birefringent material, the circular polarization of the light beam is affected to be an elliptically polarized or linearly polarized light beam. As a result of such birefringence, the light beam suffers a loss of power, i.e., subject to the polarization dependent loss.
To determine the polarization characteristics or the amount of the polarization dependent loss of the optical material by measuring an azimuth (polarization angle) and an ellipticity, the conventional technologies shown in FIG. 7 have been generally used. FIG. 7A is a block diagram showing a conventional measuring method using a Soleil-Babinet compensator 14, FIG. 7B is a block diagram showing a conventional measuring method using a rotating analyzer 17, and FIG. 7C is a block diagram showing a conventional measuring method based on a power splitting process.
In FIG. 7A, a light source 11 emits a coherent light beam 5 which passes through a polarizer 13, a Soleil-Babinet compensator 14, and a device under test (DUT) 4. The DUT 4 in this case is a type of optical material or device through which the light beam 5 can transmit. The light beam from the DUT 4 is received by an analyzer 16 and a photo detector 18.
The polarizer 13 is to separate a certain polarization in the light beam from the other. The analyzer 16 has the same structure of polarizer 13 and is used for detecting the polarization of the incoming light beam. The Soleil-Babinet compensator 14 is to adjust the degree of birefringence in the light beam passing therethrough by changing a mechanical position of wedges forming the compensator. The photo detector 18 is typically a photo diode to detect the optical signal and converts the detected optical signal to a corresponding electric signal.
In the arrangement of FIG. 7A, prior to the measurement of the light beam from the DUT 4, the polarizer 13 and the analyzer 16 are first adjusted without the DUT 4 and the Soleil-Babinet compensator 14. The adjustment is made so that the optical axes of the polarizer 13 and the analyzer 16 are perpendicular with each other. In this situation, when the coherent light beam 5 is emitted, the light beam 5 is prohibited to reach the photo detector 18 because of the optical axes. Thus, the output electric current produced by the photo detector 18 is the smallest amount. When inserting the DUT 4 between the polarizer 13 and the analyzer 16 as shown in FIG. 7A, a small amount of light beam passes through the analyzer 16 and reaches the photo detector 18 since the light beam 5 is elliptically polarized by the DUT 4.
Then the Soleil-Babinet compensator 14 is inserted between the polarizer 13 and the DUT 4, and the wedge of the compensator 14 is adjusted by, for example, a micrometer head (not shown), until a point will be found where the light beam is again prohibited to reach the photo detector 18. In this point, the output electric current of the photo detector 18 becomes the minimum amount as above.
In this situation, the azimuth and ellipticity of the polarization caused by the DUT 4 can be calculated base on the reading of the micrometer which has driven the Soleil-Babinet compensator 14. Further, based on the azimuth and ellipticity thus obtained, a polarization dependent loss can also be calculated. In the example of foregoing process, the minimum point of input power to the photo detector 18 is detected. In a similar manner, it is also possible to utilize the maximum point of power as a target point by arranging the polarizer 13 and the analyzer 16 in the same optical axis.
In the example of FIG. 7B, a light source 11 provides a coherent light beam 5 which passes through a circular polarization converter 12, and a device under test (DUT) 4. The light beam from the DUT 4 is received by a rotating analyzer 17 and a photo detector 18.
The circular polarization converter 12 is formed of a polarizer 13 and a 1/4 wavelength (.lambda./4) plate 15. The circular polarization converter 12 is to convert an incoming light beam 5 to a circularly polarized light beam 8. The rotating analyzer 17 is basically the same as the analyzer 16 of FIG. 7A, however it mechanically rotates by a predetermined constant rotation rate. The photo detector 18 is typically a photo diode to detect the optical signal and converts the detected optical signal to a corresponding electric signal.
The light beam 5 emitted from the light source 11 is converted to a circularly polarized light beam 8 by the circular polarization converter 12. The DUT 4 is irradiated by the circularly polarized light beam 8 and the resulted light beam 9 from the DUT 4 may be elliptically polarized because of the birefringence of the DUT 4. The transmitted light beam 9 reaches the photo detector 18 through the rotating analyzer 17.
Since the rotating analyzer 17 rotates in the constant rate, the light beam detected by the photo detector 18 periodically changes its intensity. In other words, the light beam passing through the rotating analyzer 17 is converted to an alternating signal having the high intensity light beam and the low intensity light beam. This is because the light beam is intensified when the optical axes of the DUT 4 and the rotating analyzer 17 are aligned while the light beam is weakened when the optical axes of the DUT 4 and the rotating analyzer 17 intersect at 90 degrees. Thus, the azimuth and ellipticity caused by the DUT 4 can be calculated based on the rotation angle of the rotating analyzer 17. Further, based on the azimuth and ellipticity thus obtained, a polarization dependent loss can also be calculated.
In the example of FIG. 7C, like the example of FIG. 7B, a light source 11 provides a coherent light beam 5 which passes through a circular polarization converter 12, and a device under test (DUT) 4. Unlike the example of FIG. 7B, the light beam from the DUT 4 is received by a beam splitter 19, Wollaston prisms 201 and 202, polarization plates 221, 222 and 223, a .lambda./4 plate 152, and photo detectors 231-234 as shown in FIG. 7C.
The circular polarization converter 12 is formed of a polarizer 13 and a .lambda./4 plate 15.sub.1. The circular polarization converter 12 is to convert an incoming input light beam 5 to a circularly polarized light beam 8. The beam splitter 19 splits the circularly polarized light beam 8 into two light beams, one goes straight forward and the other goes upper direction in FIG. 7C. The Wollaston prisms 201 and 202 are birefringent polarization prisms which separate the light beam passing therethrough into an ordinary beam and an extraordinary beam. The optical axes of the ordinary beam and the extraordinary beam from the Wollaston prism are perpendicular with each other.
Thus, by properly aligning the optical axes of the Wollaston prisms 201 and 202, and by passing through the .lambda./4 plate 152 and the polarization plates 221-223, each of the four polarization components can be detected by the corresponding photo detectors 231-234. By comparing the intensities of the four polarization components detected by the photo detectors 231-234, the polarization state such as the azimuth and ellipticity caused by the DUT 4 can be calculated. Further, based on the azimuth and ellipticity thus obtained, a polarization dependent loss of the DUT 4 can also be calculated.
In the foregoing conventional measuring methods, for example in FIG. 7A using the Soleil-Babinet compensator or in FIG. 7B using the rotating analyzer, a relatively large response time is required since these methods involve the mechanically moving parts. Thus, in the examples of FIGS. 7A and 7B, it is not possible to realize a high speed measurement. In the example of FIG. 7C, a detection sensitivity is low, since the light signal from the device under test is divided into four light beams. Thus, it is difficult to improve the measurement accuracy or sensitivity in the example of FIG. 7C.

Optical system for ellipsometry utilizing a circularly polarized probe beam


A power generation unit includes a deforming member (a beam) adapted to deform while switching a deformation direction, a first piezoelectric device provided to the deforming member (the beam), a second piezoelectric device provided to the deforming member (the beam), an inductor electrically connected to the first piezoelectric device, a switch disposed between the first piezoelectric device and the inductor, and a control section adapted to detect a voltage generated in the second piezoelectric device, and if the voltage detected has a level one of equal to and higher than a predetermined level, electrically connect the first piezoelectric device and the inductor to each other using the switch.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a power generation unit, an electronic apparatus, a transportation device, and a method of controlling the power generation unit.
2. Related Art
When a piezoelectric material such as lead zirconium titanate (PZT), quartz crystal (SiO2), or zinc oxide (ZnO) is deformed in response to an external force, electrical polarization is induced inside the material, and positive and negative charges appear on the surfaces. Such a phenomenon is called a so-called piezoelectric effect. There has been proposed an electrical power generation method of vibrating a cantilever to thereby make a weight repeatedly act on the piezoelectric material, and thus taking out the charge generated on the surface of the piezoelectric material as electricity using such a characteristic provided to the piezoelectric material.
For example, by vibrating a metal cantilever having a mass disposed at the tip and a thin plate made of the piezoelectric material bonded thereto, and taking out the positive and negative charges alternately generated on the piezoelectric material due to the vibration, an alternating current is generated. The alternating current is rectified using diodes, and then stored in a capacitor, and then taken out as electricity. Such a technology has been proposed in JP-A-7-107752. There has been also proposed a technology of arranging that a junction is closed only during the period in which the positive charges are generated in a piezoelectric device to thereby make it possible to obtain a direct current without causing a voltage loss in the diodes (JP-A-2005-312269). Since it is possible to miniaturize the power generation unit by using these technologies, there is expected an application of, for example, incorporating the power generation unit in, for example, a small-sized electronic component instead of a battery.
However, in the proposed technology according to the related art, there arises a problem that the obtainable voltage is limited up to the voltage generated by the electrical polarization of the piezoelectric material. Therefore, in most cases, an additional step-up circuit is required, and there arises a problem that it is difficult to sufficiently miniaturize the power generation unit.

Power generation unit, electronic apparatus, transportation device, and method of controlling power generation unit


A device structure for single cell gap reflective and transflective liquid crystal displays (TF-LCDs). For an entirely reflective LCD, the imbedded wire-grid polarizer (WGP) serves as a polarization-dependent for the ambient light. For a transflective TF-LCD, the WGP only covers the reflective pixels. The disclosure also includes a method of using single cell gap liquid crystal displays (LCDs) without phase retardation films by providing a single cell gap LCD having reflective pixels and transmissive pixels, covering solely the reflective pixels, with at least one of: a wire grid polarizer and a broadband cholesteric reflector (BCR), reflecting ambient light off the reflective pixels; and passing back light through the transmissive pixels whereby the cell gap LCD obtains high contrast ratios without using phase retardation films.

The transmission-type liquid crystal display (LCD) exhibits a high contrast ratio and good color saturation. However, its power consumption is high due to the need of a backlight. Under a bright ambient environment, the display is washed out by sunlight. On the other hand, a reflective LCD relies ambient light for displaying information contents. Since it does not require a backlight, its power consumption is reduced significantly. However, its contrast ratio is generally lower and color saturation is much inferior to those of the transmission type. At dark environments, a reflective LCD simply lost its visibility.
A transflective LCD has been taught by Sharp (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,281,952 B1; 6,295,109 B1; 6,330,047 B1), where each pixel is split into R (reflective) and T (transmissive) sub-pixels. Usually, the R and T area ratio is 4:1, in favor of the reflective display. The transmissive display is intended to only be used for dark ambient conditions in order to conserve power.
Two basic types of transflective LCDs are known: single cell gap (see FIG. 1a hereafter) and double cell gap (see FIG. 1b hereafter).
A recent search in the United States Patent Office directed to the subject matter of the invention hereafter disclosed developed the following eight (8) U.S. patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,341,002 to Shimizu et al. describes a double cell-gap approach to obtain equal light efficiency and contrast ratio in Transflective LCDs. The cell gap of the T pixel is twice as large as that of R pixel and requires two phase compensation films;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,131 to Hansen et al. describes a technique for converting unpolarized light into a linearly polarized light, which deals with the light source for projection displays, rather than dealing with the display device itself;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,986,730 to Hansen et al describes a display structure that can be used for both reflective and transmissive devices in which a wire grid polarizer is used where the reflective and transmissive displays share the same pixels and covers the whole pixel;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,897 to Grinberg et al. similarly describes display devices using a wire grid polarizer as a reflector for reflective display devices;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,764,324 to Lu et al. describes a reflective display device using a conductive transparent electrode (the first substrate) that has the same work function as the reflective electrode (the second substrate) for reducing image sticking;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,281,952 B1 to Okimoto et al., which describes a transflective LCD using two cell gaps for the transmissive and reflective pixels;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,295,109 B1 to Kubo et al describes a LCD with two phase retardation films; and,
U.S. Pat. No. 6,330,047 B1 to Kubo et al describes a LCD device with a LC layer disposed between two substrates with a transmissive electrode in one and a reflective electrode region in the other with a transmissive electrode in correspondence with each of the pixel areas.
For a better understanding of the prior art, reference should be made to FIG. 1a which shows a prior art view of a transflective LCD using a single cell gap, and to FIG. 1b which shows a prior art view of a transflective LCD using a double cell gap. In the single cell gap approach, the same cell gap (d) applies to both R and T modes. The cell gap is optimized for R-mode operation. As a result, the light transmittance for the T-mode is lower than 50% because the light only passes the LC layer once. In the double cell gap approach, the cell gap is d and 2d for the R and T sub-pixels, respectively. In this approach, both R and T can achieve high light efficiency. However, the T mode has four times longer response time than that of the R mode. A common problem for the above-mentioned approaches is that R and T pixels have different color saturation. For R pixels, the ambient light passes the color filter twice, but for T pixels the backlight only passes the color filter once. As a result, their color saturation is different.
It becomes very important to improve the color saturation of devices utilizing transflective LCDs, which is not available from the disclosures of the foregoing citations.

Reflective and transflective liquid crystal display using a wire grid polarizer


Input information of a multidimensional array is divided into a plurality of divided areas, accumulated information is generated by calculating accumulated values at respective element positions of the input information from a corresponding reference location for each of the plurality of divided areas, and the generated accumulated information is held in a memory for each divided area. Calculation using the accumulated information is executed for a predetermined processing range. The input information is divided into the plurality of divided areas so that two neighboring divided areas have an overlapping area, and the overlapping area has a size at least in which the whole processing range fits.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing method and apparatus for image processing, image recognition, image composition, information analysis, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
The information processing field frequently handles multidimensional array information. In this field, processes associated with image processing, image recognition, image composition, and statistical processing often calculate and use a sum total value of elements within a range of a specific area. For this purpose, as an example of an application used to execute information processing, a spreadsheet application such as Excel™ available from Microsoft has a function of calculating a sum of elements within a designated rectangle in a two-dimensional table. Also, a programming language for calculations such as MATLAB™ available from Mathworks has a function of calculating a sum of elements in a matrix.
In the computer graphics field, F. C. Crow has proposed a concept of accumulated image information called a rectangular summed-area table with respect to source input image information (F. C. Crow, "Summed-Area Tables For Texture Mapping", Computer Graphics, 1984. (to be referred to as Reference 1 hereinafter)). In this Reference 1, a two-dimensional array having the same size (the same number of elements) as an input image is defined as a summed-area table, I(x, y) is defined as a pixel value at a coordinate position (x, y) of the input image, and a component C(x, y) at the same position (x, y) of the summed-area table is defined by:
                              C                                (                          x              ,              y                        )                          =                              ∑                                                            x                  ′                                ≤                x                                                              y                  ′                                ≤                y                                                                    I                                      (                                                x                  ′                                ,                                  y                  ′                                            )                                                          (        1        )            That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, a sum total value of pixels in a rectangle, which has pixels at an origin position (0, 0) and the position (x, y) in the original input image as diagonal points, assumes the value C(x, y) at the position (x, y) in the summed-area table shown in FIG. 4B. Note that the original summed-area table of Reference 1 defines the lower left position of an image as an origin position. However, this specification uses the upper left as the origin of an image in order to maintain consistency with the following description.
According to this definition, a sum of I(x, y) in an arbitrary rectangular area horizontally or vertically allocated on an input image can be calculated by referring to only four points on the summed-area table using the following equation. For example, as shown in FIG. 4C, a sum total C(x0, y0; x1, y1) of pixel values in a rectangular area having, as diagonal points, (x0, y0) and (x1, y1) can be calculated by:C(x0,y0;x1,y1)=C(x0−1,y0−1)−C(x0−1,y1)−C(x1,y0−1)+C(x1,y1)  (2)In this manner, a sum total of values in an arbitrary rectangular area on an image can be calculated quickly.
In the image recognition field, Viola and Jones use the term "Integral Image" to refer to accumulated image information equivalent to the summed-area table. According to Viola and Jones, by cascading a large number of weak discriminators each including a plurality of rectangular filters using this "Integral Image", high-speed face detection processing is implemented (P. Viola, M. Jones, "Rapid Object Detection using a Boosted Cascade of Simple Features", Proc. IEEE Conf. on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, Vol. 1, pp. 511-518, December 2001. (to be referred to as Reference 2 hereinafter)). Also, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2004-185611, 2005-044330, and 2005-293061 describe an object detection method based on the idea of Reference 2.
In a pattern identification method described in Reference 2, as shown in FIG. 7A, a processing window 801 as a rectangular area having a specific size is shifted within an image 800 as a processing target. It is then determined whether or not the processing window 801 at each shift destination includes a human face. Face detection processing in the processing window is executed in a plurality of stages, and different combinations of weak discriminators are assigned to respective stages. Each weak discriminator detects a so-called Haar-like feature, and is configured by a combination of rectangular filters. Non-patent Reference 2 implements high-speed pattern identification represented by face detection with this configuration.
Upon generation of the aforementioned accumulated image information called the summed-area table or integral image from input image information, the bit precision of a buffer used for storing the generated information is normally specified based on a worst case value that may be calculated. Then, based on the bit precision, a buffer size (a size of a temporary holding area) is determined. That is, letting Ximg be the width (the number of pixels in the horizontal direction) of input image information, Yimg be the height (the number of pixels in the vertical direction), and Nimg (bits) (Nimg is a positive integer) be the bit precision of each pixel, a worst case value Cmax corresponds to the sum total value of all pixels when all the pixel values assume a maximum value Imax. That is, Cmax is given by:
                              C          max                =                                            ∑                                                0                  ≤                  x                  <                                      X                    img                                                                    0                  ≤                  y                  <                                      Y                    img                                                                                I                                            (                                  x                  ,                  y                                )                                              =                                    I              max                                                  X              img                                                  Y              img                                                          (        3        )
Therefore, a 1-element bit precision Nbuf of a buffer used to store the accumulated image information must be a bit precision Nbuf—max that can store Cmax, and assumes a value considerably larger than Nimg although it depends on an image size. For example, when an 8-bit Grayscale image having a VGA size is used as an input image, Nimg=8, Ximg=640, and Yimg=480. Therefore, Cmax=78336000=4AB5000h, that is, a buffer having a precision Nbuf=Nbuf—max=27 bits must be created. When the accumulated image information for an entire area with respect to input image information must be temporarily held, a memory area such as a RAM as large as Nbuf—max×Ximg×Yimg=8294400 bits must be created, thus limiting processing resources. Hence, the bit precision Nbuf of the buffer must be reduced by an arbitrary method. In particular, when processing based on such accumulated information is implemented in hardware, a considerable problem is posed since work memory size is directly related to circuit scale. Even in the case of software processing, however, if Nbuf can be reduced, a smaller buffer can be used, thus reducing resource consumption.
Reference 1 describes one method of reducing the bit precision Nbuf of the buffer. That is, input information is divided into, for example, blocks of 16×16 pixels, and Summed-area tables are independently calculated for respective blocks. If the input information has a bit precision Nimg=8 bits, the bit precision of the buffer required at this time is 16 bits. In addition, a 32-bit value of an original Summed-area table corresponding to a pixel position which neighbors the upper left end corner of each block in an upper left oblique direction is held. In order to restore a value corresponding to a desired position, a 32-bit value held by a block including that position need only be added to a 16-bit value at that position.
However, these calculations do not suffice to actually restore the value of the original Summed-area table. That is, conventionally, a sum total value of a desired area can be calculated by making simple additions and subtractions given by equation (2) with reference to four points. However, since a calculation required to restore a value of each point is added, the calculation load increases considerably. When this method is implemented by hardware processing, the circuit scale required for calculations increases. Even in the case of implementation by software processing, processing speed is reduced.

Information processing method and apparatus


A disk recording checking method in which recording is performed on a disk having radially different recording tracks each divided circumferentially into a plurality of sectors. The method employs a continuous writing device for continuously writing data onto a predetermined number of the sectors, and a continuous checking device for checking the data, while continuously reading the data from the predetermined number of the sectors. The method utilized checks both the number of errors in each code sequence and the total number of errors in each sector to determine if the data in the sector is valid.

The present invention generally relates to a checking method for a disk recording apparatus, and more particularly, to a disk recording checking method in which it is possible to judge at the time of recording whether or not a series of data have been recorded on predetermined sectors of a recording track of on a disk.
Conventionally, in a disk recording apparatus in which recording is performed on a disklike recording medium having a radially coaxial or spiral recording track divided into a predetermined plural number of sectors each acting as a recording unit, it has been a common practice that where recording is performed continuously on a plurality of the sectors, a check as to whether or not the recording has been performed properly is carried out by reading the contents in each of the sectors each time recording has been performed in each of the sectors. This known recording method has been disadvantageous in that it is difficult to reduce the recording time due to the waiting time required for rotating the disk.
In a prior art sector data validating method for validating data of sectors of a recording track on a magneto-optical disk, etc., at the time of reading immediately after the writing (referred to as "RAW" (Read After Write), one sector is divided into a plurality of code sequences. Each of the code sequences is constituted by a data portion and an error-checking code portion. In this arrangement, if the error-checking code portion is made larger in size in each of the code sequences, more errors in the data portion can be dealt with by the error-checking code portion. However, data efficiency drops due to the increase of the ratio of the error-checking code portion to each of the code sequences. Therefore, the ratio between the data portion and the error-checking code portion in each of the code sequences is determined by considering the characteristics of the recording medium, the error correcting method, etc.
In the prior art sector data validating method, the data of the sector is regarded as being valid if the total number of errors in the sector is not more than the total number of correctable errors in the error-checking code portions. However, where the number of errors in the sector is approximate to the limit of the correctable errors in the error-checking code portions during a check at the time of reading immediately after writing, i.e., during a RAW check, such an undesirable phenomenon may take place in that the number of errors in the sector exceeds the limit of the correctable errors due to adherence of dust to the recording medium which has accumulated after the recording process. These additional errors will only become detected during ordinary reproduction performed upon a lapse of a predetermined time period after writing, and thus, it becomes impossible to correct the errors by the error-checking code portions. Especially, when using a recording medium having a poor signal-to-noise ratio, e.g., the magneto-optical disk, etc., this effect becomes conspicuous.

Disk recording checking method for determining if a disk is defective by the number of errors present


A spot beam hopping packet scheduler system performs efficient switching over links such as hopped spot beams which compete with each other for physical properties and resources. The spot beam hopping packet scheduler system provides statistical weighting and prioritization capabilities while accommodating resource competing links such as wireless hopped spot beams. The spot beam hopping packet scheduler system receives downlink cell ID and packet burst memory pointers from a burst assembly/congestion controller and provides packet burst information to antenna controller and modulators. The spot beam hopping packet scheduler system includes a downlink queue that is coupled to the burst assembly/congestion controller and receives the downlink cell ID and packet burst memory pointers. A cache is coupled to the downlink queue and receives and stores data from the downlink queue. A downlink search controller is coupled to the downlink queue and the cache and includes control logic operative to search the downlink queue for packet bursts, and fill any empty cache slots with appropriate data from the downlink queue. A cache search controller is coupled to the cache and includes control logic operative to search the cache in a pre-configured weighted order for compatible packet bursts based on beam angle interference, beam amplifier power and aggregate target power.

Satellites and other spacecraft are in widespread use for various purposes including scientific research and communications. These communications missions, however, cannot be accurately fulfilled without digital communications. In many applications, the satellite relies upon a form of digital communication referred to as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) to relay various information.
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is one of the general class of digital switching technologies that relay and route traffic by means of a virtual circuit identifier (VCI) contained within the cell. Unlike common packet technologies, such as X.25 or frame relay, ATM uses very short, fixed length units of information, called cells. In applications utilizing ATM, packets at a source are first broken up into these fixed length packets (ATM cells), transmitted, and then reassembled at a destination. ATM cells are 53 bytes long. They consist of a 5-byte header (containing an identifier of data flow which implicitly identifies the source address and the destination address) and a 48-byte information field. The header of an ATM cell contains all the information the network needs to relay the cell from one node to the next over a pre-established route. User data is contained in the remaining 48 bytes.
ATM uses a concept of virtual networking (or channels) to pass traffic between two locations, establishing virtual connections between a pair of ATM end-systems which are needed to connect a source with a destination. These connections are termed "virtual" to distinguish them from dedicated circuits. ATM cells always traverse the same path from source to destination. However, ATM does not have to reserve the path for one user exclusively. Any time a given user is not occupying a link, another user is free to use it.
ATM connections exist only as sets of routing tables held in each network node, switch, or other intermediate system, based on the virtual circuit identifier (VCI) and virtual path identifier (VPI) contained in the cell header. When a virtual path is established, each node (or switch) is provided with a set of lookup tables that identify an incoming cell by header address, route it through the node to the proper output port, and overwrite the incoming VCI/VPI with a new one that the next node along the route will recognize as an entry in its routing table.
The cell is thus passed from switch to switch over a prescribed route, but the route is "virtual" since the facility carrying the cell is dedicated to it only while the cell traverses it. Two cells that are ultimately headed for different destinations may be carried, one after the other, over the same physical wire for a common portion of their journey.
Prior art satellite implementations use fixed beams which are configured so that they do not interfere with each other. With this setup, ATM switching functionality can be implemented in a manner which is functionally equivalent to traditional ground based ATM implementations. However, such methods do not have the ability to handle hopped spot beams where all beams use the same frequency spectrum (frequency reuse) in a satellite that has fewer spot beams than destinations. Generally, the frequency spectrum is reused multiple times between different spot beams in order to increase the utilization of the allocated frequency spectrum. For a satellite that has fewer spot beams than destination regions (or cells), the spot beams are in turn reused (i.e., hopped) to service multiple destination regions in a Time Division Multiplexed basis. Time division multiplexing uses fixed time intervals (slots) during which each spot beam transmits a burst of packets to its respective destination. Since spot beam destinations need to be chosen dynamically for each slot based on the packets scheduled out at that time, the switch needs to be able to carefully select the packets for each beam in each slot so that none of the spot beams spatially interfere with each other in the respective slot. Also, the switch needs to provide fairness with flexibility to prioritize bandwidth offered to customers appropriate to the specific business model for the system. The said flexibility needs to be achieved on a system that uses hopped spot beams and frequency reuse. Traditional ATM methods do not accommodate switching over links which compete with each other for physical properties and resources such as frequency isolation, transponder power, and bandwidth.
Another disadvantage of traditional ATM methods is that they are not capable of handling spot beam power constraints. The power required for transmitting packets can vary between destination regions due to a number of factors such as weather and altitude. Each spot beam is limited in its power output capability such that certain beams are more capable than others. Also, there would be a limit on the total power summed across all active spot beams. Therefore, the switch has to be able to schedule packets to spot beams in a manner that none of the spot beams exceed their individual power capacities as well as not to exceed the total power output capacity of the satellite for all spot beams combined for each Time Division slot.
The disadvantage associated with these conventional asynchronous transfer mode packet scheduling techniques have made it apparent that a new technique for spot beam hopping packet scheduling is needed. The new technique should be able to efficiently handle spot beam hopping constraints which traditional ATM implementations do not handle.

Spot beam hopping packet scheduler system in satellite communication


A common process control graphical user interface plant operators, plant maintenance personnel, and management is disclosed which provides a real-time interface to both the process and the plant. The common interface is modular in design and is capable of supporting various specializations for each user type. Operator consoles are dedicated to each section of the plant and include additional functions such as maintenance, configuration, simulation and supervisory information. The unified for common graphical interface replaces control room displays filled with single case analog controllers, meters, and digital indicators. The common interface addresses the functions that previously were provided by the panel motor start/stop buttons and status indications, chart recorders, annunciator panels and subsystem interfaces. From a console, operators manage alarms, adjust the process by entering new setpoints or other parameters, “zoom in” on particular portions of the process for details, and utilize other specialized applications to work with their batch, advanced control, or business applications. The interface will run in both dedicated and non-dedicated modes, will run as a rich client or as part of a browser style interface utilizing web services and will run on workstations, laptops, tablet PC's, handhelds, and smart phones.

Process control systems are widely used in factories and/or plants in which products are manufactured or processes are controlled (e.g., chemical manufacturing, power plant control, etc.) Process control systems are also used in the harvesting of natural resources such as, for example, oil and gas drilling and handling processes, etc. Virtually any manufacturing process, resource harvesting process, including agriculture, can be automated through the application of one or more process control systems.
"Distributed" process control systems, like those used in chemical, petroleum or other processes, typically include one or more process controllers communicatively coupled to one or more field devices via analog, digital or combined analog/digital buses. The field devices, which may be, for example, valves, valve positioners, switches and transmitters (e.g., temperature, pressure, level and flow rate sensors), are located within the process environment and perform process functions such as opening or closing valves, measuring process parameters, etc. Smart field devices, such as the field devices conforming to the well-known Fieldbus protocols, such as the FOUNDATION™ Fieldbus protocol, may also perform control calculations, alarming functions, and other control functions commonly implemented within the controller.
The process controllers receive signals indicative of process measurements made by the field devices and/or other information pertaining to the field devices and execute a controller application that runs, for example, different control modules which make process control decisions, generate control signals based on the received information and coordinate with the control modules or blocks being executed in the field devices, such as HART and Fieldbus field devices. The control modules in the controller send the control signals over the communication lines to the field devices to thereby control the operation of the process.
Information from the field devices and the controller is usually made available over a data highway to one or more other hardware devices, such as operator workstations, personal computers, data historians, report generators, centralized databases, etc., typically placed in control rooms or other locations away from the harsher plant environment. These hardware devices run applications that may, for example, enable an operator to perform functions with respect to the process, such as changing settings of the process control routine, modifying the operation of the control modules within the controller or the field devices, viewing the current state of the process, viewing alarms generated by field devices and controllers, simulating the operation of the process for the purpose of training personnel or testing the process control software, keeping and updating a configuration database, etc.
As an example, the DeltaVTM control system, sold by Emerson Process Management includes multiple applications stored within and executed by different devices located at diverse places within a process plant. A configuration application, which resides in one or more operator workstations, enables users to create or change process control modules and download these process control modules via a data highway to dedicated distributed controllers.
Typically, these control modules are made up of communicatively interconnected function blocks, which are objects in an object oriented programming protocol that perform functions within the control scheme based on inputs thereto and provide outputs to other function blocks within the control scheme. The configuration application may also allow a designer to create or change operator interfaces which are used by a viewing application to display data to an operator and to enable the operator to change settings, such as set points, within the process control routine. Each dedicated controller and, in some cases, field devices, stores and executes a controller application that runs the control modules assigned and downloaded thereto to implement actual process control functionality.
The viewing applications, which may be run on one or more operator workstations, receive data from the controller application via the data highway and display this data to process control system designers, operators, or users using the user interfaces, and may provide any of a number of different views, such as an operator's view, an engineer's view, a technician's view, etc. A data historian application is typically stored in and executed by a data historian device that collects and stores some or all of the data provided across the data highway while a configuration database application may run in a still further computer attached to the data highway to store the current process control routine configuration and data associated therewith. Alternatively, the configuration database may be located in the same workstation as the configuration application.
As the number and type of control and support applications used in a process control environment have increased, different graphical display applications have been provided to enable users to effectively configure and use these applications. For example, graphical display applications have been used to support control configuration applications to enable a configuration engineer to graphically create control programs to be downloaded to the control devices within a process plant.
Additionally, graphical display applications have been used to enable control operators to view the current functioning of the process plant, or areas of the process plant, to enable maintenance personnel to view the state of hardware devices within the process plant, to enable simulation of the process plant, etc. However, these graphical display applications have, in the past, been created as part of or to support the specific applications with which they are associated, and thus are generally limited in usefulness to the specific process function for which they were created. For example, it is difficult, if not impossible, to use a currently available graphical program created to support a control operator in a maintenance, a configuration or a simulation function. Conversely, it is difficult, if not impossible to use currently available graphics programs designed for a maintenance technician to support a control operator, a configuration engineer or in a simulation function. In summary, currently available graphics programs are specialized and not versatile.
As a particular example, some process control configuration applications presently include a library of template objects, such as function block template objects and, in some cases, control module template objects, which are used to create a control strategy for a process plant. The template objects have default properties, settings and methods associated therewith and the engineer using a graphical configuration application can select these template objects and essentially place copies of the selected template objects into a configuration screen to develop a control module.
During the process of selecting and placing the template objects into the configuration screen, the engineer interconnects the inputs and outputs of these objects and changes their parameters, names, tags and other properties to create a specific control module for a specific use in the process plant. After creating one or more such control modules, the engineer can then instantiate the control module and download it to the appropriate controller or controllers and field devices for execution during operation of the process plant.
Thereafter, the engineer may use a different graphical display creation application to create one or more displays for operators, maintenance personnel, etc. within the process plant by selecting and building display objects in the display creation application. These displays are typically implemented on a system wide basis in one or more of the workstations and provide preconfigured displays to the operator or maintenance persons regarding the operating state of the control system or the devices within the plant. These displays generally take the form of alarming displays that receive and display alarms generated by controllers or devices within the process plant, control displays indicating the operating state of the controllers and other devices within the process plant, maintenance displays indicating the functioning state of the devices within the process plant, etc.
However, these displays are generally preconfigured to display, information or data received from the process control modules or the devices within the process plant. In some known systems, displays are created through the use of objects that have a graphic associated with a physical or logical element and that is communicatively tied to the physical or logical element to receive data about the physical or logical element. The object may change the graphic on the display screen based on the received data to illustrate, for example, that a tank is half full, to illustrate the flow measured by a flow sensor, etc. However, the graphical displays used for configuration, operator control, maintenance and simulation activities now need to be created separately from one another using different graphical editors as the separate graphical editors are not translatable between the needs of operators, maintenance personnel, configuration personnel, simulator personnel and management.
Thus, similar to the control configuration application, the display creation application may have template graphical display items, such as tanks, valves, sensors, operator control buttons like slide bars, on/off switches, etc. which may be placed on a screen in any desired configuration to create an operator display, maintenance display and the like. When placed onto the screen, individual graphic items may be interconnected on the screen in a manner that provides some information or display of the inner-workings of the process plant to users. However, to animate the graphic display, the display creator must manually tie each of the graphical items to data generated within the process plant, such as data measured by sensors or indicative of valve positions, etc. by specifying a communication link between the graphic item and the relevant data source within the process plant. This process is tedious, time consuming, may be fraught with error and must be carried out separately for process control, maintenance simulator, configuration and supervisory personnel.
While the control template objects within the control configuration application and the display items within the display creation application are convenient because they can be copied and used to create many different control modules and graphical displays, there is often a need to create numerous of the same control module and graphical display for different equipment within the process plant. For example, many medium to large sized process plants have numerous instances of the same or similar equipment that can be controlled and viewed using the same basic general control module and display.
To create these numerous control modules and displays, however, a general control module or display module is created and this general control or display module is then copied for each of the different pieces of equipment for which it is applicable. Of course, after being copied, each of the new control or display modules must be manually altered in the configuration application to specify the particular equipment to which it is attached and all of these control and display modules must then be instantiated and downloaded to the process control system.
Unfortunately, the control modules and displays items discussed above are not modular in any manner. Thus, after being copied, each of the control modules and displays must be manually and individually altered using the appropriate configuration application to specify the equipment within the plant to which they are to be associated. In a plant having many copies of the same type of equipment (i.e., replicated equipment), this process is tedious, time consuming and fraught with operator introduced errors. Still further, once programmed, these different control modules and displays are not aware of each other.
Therefore, to make a change to the control modules once created, the engineer or operator must manually make the same change to each of the different control modules for the different replicated equipment which, again, is time consuming and tedious. The same problem applies for the graphical views created for the different sets of replicated equipment within the plant. In other words, once a specific control module or a specific graphical view is created (individually or by being copied from a template object) and is then tied to a particular set of equipment within the plant, this control module or graphical view exists as a separate entity or object within the system without any automatic awareness of the other control modules or graphical displays that are the same or similar to it.
As a result, changes applicable to every one of the control modules and graphical displays of a particular type must be made individually on those modules and displays. This problem is even more evident when graphical views are created for the same equipment but in different functional contexts within the plant, such as for control viewing, maintenance viewing and simulation functions. In this case, the graphical views are created separately without any knowledge or awareness of one another.
Thus, while graphic displays have been provided in and associated with different applications used for different general activities performed within a process plant, these graphic displays and associated graphic display editors were generally added on at the functional level of the application for which they were created to support. As a result, the graphical editors, to the extent they currently exist, have only enabled the user to create graphics that support specific functionality need by a specific application. Previous process plants did not provide a graphical display editor that could be used by or that could support the graphical needs of various or multiple activities being performed in the context of plant configuration and support. Thus, for example, a graphical display editor used to support or enable control configuration activities only enabled the user to create control programs and did not support the needs or functionality of operator or maintenance displays. Similarly, graphic display editors used for creating operator views, maintenance views, etc. to be provided to a control operator or maintenance technician during operation of a plant, did not support functionality associated with configuration activities, simulation activities, etc.
As a result of the graphic display needs being supported at the individual functional levels of the process plant, such as at the control configuration, maintenance support, control operator support and simulation support functional levels, different displays created by these various editors end up modeling and depicting the same components within the plant, which results in the duplication of graphical display efforts by various different personnel with the process plant. This duplication of effort is manifested not only in the effort needed to create the different graphical displays depicting the same process element for different uses, but also in the effort needed to tie the graphical elements used in different display applications to the actual hardware or software elements within the process plant to which they are associated.
Because graphical support for various process plant activities has been provided after the fact, and as part of the actual activity being performed, graphical support is not integrated in the plant environment in a manner that enables common graphics to be created and used within the plant at the various different functional levels of the plant. This non-integration of graphics leads to the graphics actually created for the different functions being different from function to function or from application to application, which can lead to confusion on the part of users who, while familiar with one specific type of graphical display, might occasionally need to view different displays associated with different operations or functions within the plant.
For example, graphical support for operations, maintenance and supervisory functions related to operations and maintenance are typically all different, not integrated, involve different techniques and require training. On the other hand, the provision of graphical display support at the various different functional levels of the plant (e.g. operations, maintenance, management, installation and set-up, etc.) leads to the duplication of various graphic support elements, both in creating displays and properly connecting the elements within the displays to actual hardware or software elements within the plant.
As a result, there is a need for common graphics user interface for process control systems where the various functional levels that support a process or plants, e.g. operations, maintenance, supervisory, etc. are integrated into a single interface platform to eliminate duplication involved in employing non-integrated programs and to better assist all process control personnel in becoming familiar with the interfaces used by their coworkers. Such a common or universal graphics interface should be easily modified and manipulated by the end users while making some displays, such as alarms or other imperative displays, non-occludable.

Graphic display configuration framework for unified process control system interface


A device for coupling a shoe to a sports implement, such as a skate frame, includes a first abutment and retention front element for containing the longitudinal, lateral and perpendicular movements of the shoe with respect to the frame, and a second self-fastening rear element which is also articulated to the frame.

The present invention relates to a device for connecting a shoe to a sports implement, such as a skate frame with wheels which are arranged mutually in-line or otherwise.
Currently, conventional skate comprise a shoe, formed for example by injecting plastics so as to form a shell whereto a quarter is articulated. A frame, usually also made of plastics, is associated at the sole of said shell and has a U-shaped cross-section between the wings of which two or more in-line wheels are pivoted.
This construction has the severe limitation that it can be used only for skating, accordingly forcing the user to remove, before wearing the skates, the shoes that he usually wears for normal walking.
Swiss Patent No. 602147 discloses a skate with in-line wheels composed of a shoe which can be detached from a frame. The frame has a fixed abutment which protrudes at one of its ends, has an arched shape and interacts with the tip of the shoe, so as to allow optimum centering thereof and prevent it from lifting.
The ends of a traction element are associated at the opposite end, laterally to the frame. The traction element surrounds the rear of the heel of the shoe and has a tensioning lever which interacts with the upper edge of the heel and the free end whereof is associated with the shoe by means of an adapted band that surrounds it.
In this construction, both the forward abutment and the rear traction element require adapted seats provided on the shoe approximately at the sole. The lever is also provided with a strap which prevents accidental disengagement of said lever by surrounding the ankle and therefore must be fastened and unfastened by the user. This is not always easy, since these operations are performed while crouching.
Moreover, locking the shoe requires operations which, if they are not performed with the necessary attention, can cause sudden disengagements of the frame and of the shoe, with consequent injury to the user.
A skate with in-line wheels is also known which is marketed by the Italian company MGM under the trade-name HYPNO. Such skate is provided with a shoe which can be detached from a frame supporting a plurality of mutually in-line wheels.
At the frame there is provided an engagement element, such as a pivot, for a grip element constituted by a blade arranged below the sole of the shoe. The shoe is locked with respect to the frame by means of an H-shaped rod provided at the rear of said frame. The ends of the H-shaped rod are pivoted to the frame at one end and pivoted, at the other end, to a lever which interacts with an adapted element associated with the shoe.
Although this conventional skate partially solves the above-mentioned drawbacks, it is complicated from the structural and constructive point of view, and it is also complicated for the user to mutually connect the frame and the shoe.
The conventional skate is also expensive because of the large number of component parts used both in the shoe and in the frame in order to achieve mutual coupling.
Moreover, the complexity of the above-described skate is due to the many parts employed and to the many work steps required for the production and complete assembly of the skate; all this accordingly entails a high final weight and cost, while the kind of walk allowed when the shoe is not coupled to the skate is awkward because of the weight and rigidity of the sole.

Device for connecting a shoe to a sports implement


A production method of a carbon particle by a detonation method includes a step of disposing an explosive substance in a periphery of a raw material substance, and a step of subjecting the explosive substance to a detonation. The explosive substance is a liquid at normal temperature and normal pressure. The raw material substance contains an aromatic compound having 3 or more nitro groups.

Nano-scale diamond (also called nanodiamond) has a large number of excellent properties such as a high hardness and an extremely low coefficient of friction, and therefore, it has been already utilized in various fields and its development of application has been investigated as an extremely promising new material.
It is known that the nanodiamond can be synthesized by, for example, utilizing a detonation reaction of a high explosive. This synthesis method is one generally called a detonation method, in which detonation is performed with only a low explosive raw material as a carbon source, and carbon atoms decomposed and liberated from a molecule constituting the low explosive raw material by the detonation reaction are formed as diamond at high temperature and high pressure during the detonation. As for production of the nanodiamond by the detonation method, for example, see Non-Patent Literature 1.
The production of the nanodiamond by the detonation method has hitherto been performed in, for example, the East European countries such as Russia and the Ukraine, the United States of America, China, and the like. In these countries, since a military waste low explosive is inexpensively available as the low explosive raw material that is the carbon source, trinitrotoluene has been used alone, or trinitrotoluene and cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX, also called hexogen) or cyclotetramethylenetetranitramine (HMX, also called octogen) have been used together.

Method for producing carbon particles by detonation

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


The present invention relates to a biosynthetic cerebrospinal fluid control and method of use. Additionally, this invention relates to the isolation and purification of stable liquid human prealbumin, a component in the biosynthetic cerebrospinal fluid control.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a stable biosynthetic liquid cerebrospinal fluid control and method of use. Additionally, this invention relates to the isolation and purification of stable liquid human prealbumin, a component in the biosynthetic cerebrospinal fluid control.
2. Description of Related Art
Cerebrospinal fluid is formed by an ultrafiltration of the plasma. Normal values for cerebrospinal fluid analytes are not the same as plasma values. This difference is a result of the filtration process being selective and the fact that the chemical composition is adjusted by the blood-brain barrier. Analysis of this chemical composition is an important diagnostic procedure. Disease increases cerebrospinal fluid protein concentrations. Elevated cerebrospinal fluid total protein is an indicator of central nervous system pathology such as damage to the blood-brain barrier caused by meningitis or hemorrhage. IgG is the primary immunoglobulin of cerebrospinal fluid. It is increased in several neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis and viral meningoencephalitis. Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid by serum protein electrophoresis is an important diagnostic test in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Low glucose values signal infections such as bacterial, tuberculous or fungal meningitis. Low values are also seen as a result of infiltration of the meninges with malignant cells. High lactic acid levels in cerebrospinal fluid indicate bacterial or tuberculous infection and rule out viral meningitis. Low cerebrospinal fluid chloride levels can be used as an indicator of tuberculous meningitis.
Since the chemical composition of cerebrospinal fluid is similar to plasma comparable tests are performed. However, the levels of these constituents are not the same resulting in different normal values than those used for plasma. In order to assess the accuracy and precision of these diagnostic tests, a control similar to cerebrospinal fluid must be run. In the case of serum protein electrophoresis, a known protein control is always run in a separate well. The protein fractions in cerebrospinal fluid are not always clearly detected. Therefore, a control in which all the serum protein fractions are clearly defined is important. Most cerebrospinal fluid controls are prepared from actual spinal fluid. There are no tests, however, to detect the presence of infectious diseases in spinal fluid. Additionally, the recovery of spinal fluid is difficult and expensive and the quality is varied. Other cerebrospinal fluid controls have been made from normal human blood serum diluted with a diluent containing glucose and chloride ions, and then lyopholized. Reconstitution of the control is then required before it can be used. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,753,925.

Biosynthetic cerebrospinal fluid control


The present invention provides a semiconductor nanoparticle assembly having improved luminous efficiency, heat resistance, and oxidation resistance, and a method for manufacturing the same.

In recent years, a high-performance phosphor having high luminous efficiency and brightness and emitting light in a variety of colors has been indispensable for use in a labeling agent in bio-imaging, a display, LED lighting, or the like. In addition, in the display or the lighting, it has been required for a phosphor to have a color rendering property and durability. A conventional phosphor using a rare earth ion or a transition metal ion has been used for a display or the like because of better durability than an organic dye or the like, but does not necessarily have sufficient brightness or color rendering property. A phosphor having higher performance than these phosphors, particularly, a phosphor having high brightness has been demanded.
As a high-performance phosphor to realize these demands, a semiconductor nanoparticle has attracted attention. As a semiconductor nanoparticle to emit fluorescent light, a semiconductor nanoparticle in Group II-VI or Group III-V has been widely known. However, when these semiconductor nanoparticles are used, brightness per particle is not sufficient at present.
On the other hand, in general, brightness of particles formed only of core semiconductor nanoparticles is much lower than semiconductor nanoparticles each having a core/shell structure. By using a semiconductor material having a wider bandgap than a core particle as a shell, a quantum well is formed, and brightness is remarkably improved due to a quantum confinement effect. Therefore, as a method for attaining high brightness, a method for increasing brightness per particle by assembling semiconductor nanoparticles each having a core/shell structure has been considered.
In addition, a technology of confining by dispersing and fixing semiconductor nanoparticles in a matrix such as transparent glass to obtain a solid material exhibiting a high brightness light emission characteristic for a long time under various environments and suitable for an optical application has been also proposed.
Specifically, JP 4403270 B1 and JP 4840823 B1 (corresponding to US 2009/108235 A) disclose a fluorescent glass fine particle having semiconductor nanoparticles dispersed therein by combining a reverse micelle method and a sol-gel method using a precursor of glass. An aggregate using semiconductor nanoparticles and fluorescent enhancement particles together as described in JP 2013-57630 A and an aggregate by controlling aggregation of semiconductor nanoparticles with a physical energy as described in WO 2012/026150 A (corresponding to US 2013/153837 A) have been also known.

Semiconductor nanoparticle assembly and method for manufacturing the same

Abstract: The present invention relates to a semiconductor nanoparticle assembly which includes an aggregate having a plurality of coated semiconductor nanoparticles aggregated, said coated semiconductor nanoparticles each containing a semiconductor nanoparticle having a core/shell structure and a translucent coating layer having a thickness of 3 nm or more and 15 nm or less for coating the semiconductor nanoparticle.


A self-service terminal comprises a pc core; at least one module coupled to the pc core; a control application executing on the pc core for controlling the operation of the terminal; and a management application executing on the pc core. The management application is arranged to (i) monitor state of health of the pc core, the control application, and the at least one module, (ii) detect a fault state at any of the pc core, the control application, and the at least one module, (iii) monitor the control application to ascertain if a filter criterion is satisfied, and (iv) transmit a fault signal from the terminal only if the filter criterion is not satisfied.

ATMs are public access terminals that provide users with a secure, reliable, and convenient source of cash and other financial transactions in an unattended environment.
An ATM typically comprises a paneled chassis housing a plurality of interconnected modules for performing user interface, transaction, and management functions for the ATM. Typical user interface modules include a display module, a keypad module, and a card reader module; typical transaction modules include a cash dispenser module, and a statement printer module; and typical management modules include a service operator panel, a controller module, a communications module, and a journal printer module.
The ATM controller module (typically based on a PC core) has an ATM controller application program including software drivers for the modules in the ATM, and ATM controller software to manage:
(1) fault prediction and management (state of health) for the ATM modules;
(2) secure communications between the controller module and other modules, and between the ATM and both a remote transaction authorization server and a remote state of health management system server;
(3) transaction flow, business logic, and presentation of information to an ATM user (customer or service personnel) or an ATM server.
For ATMs located on Internet Protocol (IP) networks, when an ATM device or module changes from a good working state to a problem state, a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) agent will send a message to a remote management system that monitors the state of health of the ATM. The signal is sent via the communications module, which is controlled by the controller application. This level of fault/problem reporting is required for efficient management of the ATM. As part of this system each device or module sends state of health information to the PC core. This is either done in response to a request from the core or automatically in response to an event, the latter utilizing SNMP traps.
Service personnel sometimes have to open up, and/or power down a device or module in an ATM, without powering down the entire ATM, for example, to replace a part of a module. In addition, a control application executing on the ATM may attempt to reset a module to correct a fault. When one of these activities occurs, the PC core and its software will still be fully operational. In such a planned and controlled activity, the management system will be flooded with status messages from the ATM that are expected and transient. This will cause the ATM to erroneously transmit these messages to a remote management center, which may dispatch a service engineer if the status messages appear to require such a response. This causes unnecessary communications between the ATM and the management center server, as well as adding unnecessary entries to error logs, and may be very costly and inconvenient to service companies if engineers are sent out erroneously.
It is among the objects of an embodiment of the present invention to obviate or mitigate one or more of the above disadvantages, or other disadvantages associated with prior art self-service terminals.


A carton for packaging articles includes top (14A, 14B) and bottom (18, 20) connected together by spaced side walls (12A, 12B, 12C; 16A, 16B, 16C) to form a tubular structure, and an end closure structure (22) at one end of the tubular structure. Each end closure structure includes first and second top flaps (32a, 32b) connected to the top (14A, 14B) and interconnected to anchoring panels (24a, 24b). The top flaps are not directly connected together but through the top of the carton.

Wraparound type carton blanks typically include a plurality of panels foldably hinged to each other for forming top, bottom, and side walls. It is also known to provide an end closure structure of at least partially closing the end of the wraparound carton such as the carton shown in patents U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,054 to Bakx and U.S. Pat. No. 8,496,162 to Hettinger.
It is desirable to increase the security of the articles within the carton to prevent theft of the articles from the carton


A new and distinct cultivar of Geranium plant named xe2x80x98Baldescherxe2x80x99, characterized by its upright and mounded growth habit; freely basal branching habit; medium green-colored leaves with a faint zonation pattern; and red-colored semi-double flowers.

Pelargoniumxc3x97hortorum cultivar xe2x80x98Baldescherxe2x80x99.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Geranium plant, botanically known as Pelargoniumxc3x97hortorum, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Baldescherxe2x80x99.
The new Geranium is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Arroyo Grande, Calif. The objective of the breeding program is to develop new vigorous Zonal Geranium cultivars that flower uniformly and have attractive flower and foliage colors.
The new Geranium originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in 1998 of a proprietary Pelargoniumxc3x97hortorum selection identified as code number 8574-4, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary Pelargoniumxc3x97hortorum selection identified as code number 6840-3, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar Baldescher was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny from this cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Arroyo Grande, Calif.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken at Arroyo Grande, Calif., since June, 2000 has shown that the unique features of this new Geranium are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Baldescherxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Baldescherxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Geranium cultivar:
1. Upright and mounded growth habit.
2. Freely basal branching habit.
3. Medium green-colored leaves with a faint zonation pattern.
4. Red-colored semi-double flowers.
Plants of the new Geranium differ primarily from plants of the female parent selection in leaf and flower coloration. Plants of the new Geranium differ primarily from plants of the male parent selection in flower form.
The new Geranium can be compared to the cultivar, xe2x80x98Fissambaxe2x80x99, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat No. 10,364. However, in side-by-side comparisons conducted in West Chicago, Ill., plants of the new Geranium differed from plants of the cultivar Fissamba in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Geranium had fewer leaves per lateral branch than plants of the cultivar Fissamba.
2. Plants of the new Geranium had smaller and lighter green-colored leaves than plants of the cultivar Fissamba.
3. Plants of the new Geranium had fewer petals per flower than plants of the cultivar Fissamba.
4. Plants of the new Geranium had longer peduncles than plants of the cultivar Fissamba.

Ball FloraPlant, a division of Ball Horticultural Co.


A telephone status monitoring method an apparatus that monitors the status of a called party's telephone to maximize the probability of a calling party reaching the called party. The system uses a telephone status monitor to monitor the various characteristics and condition of consumer telephones such as on-hook/off-hook, number of rings to voice mail, call forwarding information and other consumer options for telephone service that are offered by telephone companies. A calling party that desires to know if a called party is available accesses a telephone status file over a network and determines if the called party is available. If the called party is available, a call can be placed. By periodically updating the telephone status file, the telephone status monitor keeps the file current for the telephones being monitored. Other capabilities allow for e-mail conversion to voice mail and "beeping" a calling party when a called party telephone is available for a call.

This invention relates generally to electronically determining the status of a telephone over a network. More specifically the present invention provides a method and apparatus for obtaining the status of a telephone, whether on-hook, off-hook, or other telephone information over a network in order to maximize the probability of reaching a desired party. It also provides a method and apparatus for sending an e-mail to the desired party for storage as a voice mail message.

Method and apparatus for obtaining telephone status over a network


A freeze-thaw stable thickening system for laundry products incorporating low levels of an acid-insoluble fluorescent whitening agent, a nonionic surfactant that comprises substantially of hydrophilic polyethoxylated alcohol oligomers, a fatty acid soap, and acidic pH adjusting agent is provided. The thickening system may be formulated with a bleaching product and preferably with a peroxide bleach product. Preferred polyethoxylated alcohol oligomers comprise a mixture of alcohols having the structure EQU CH.sub.3 (CH.sub.2).sub.n (OCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2).sub.x OH. wherein n is about 11 to about 14 and x is from 0 to about 20 and wherein the average number of ethylene oxide groups per molecule is about 6-10, and preferably about 7. Preferably the total amount of polyethoxylated alcohols having x equal to 0, 1, or 2 comprise less than about 10% by weight of the mixture of polyethoxylated alcohols.

Much prior art has addressed the development of thickened household laundry products such as detergents and bleaches. Consumer preference for such thickened products is well documented, and applications include prewash products and hard surface cleaners which require concentrating the active ingredients and/or the capability to cling to surfaces. Typical thickeners of the prior art include surfactants, polymers, or combinations thereof. A number of disadvantages are associated with such prior art thickening systems. For instance, to the extent that a thickened laundry product requires the addition of components solely for thickening, the cost of the product is increased. Moreover, many prior art thickeners are incompatible with non-chloride bleaches, such as peroxygen or peracid bleaches.
Generally, prior art thickened compositions incorporating fluorescent whitening agents require a high solids (fluorescent whitening agent) content, or additional components, such as polymers, to achieve sufficient thickening. In addition, aqueous suspensions of fluorescent whitening agents of the art are usually not stable at acidic pHs.
A thickening system which overcame some of these deficiencies by incorporating low levels of a fluorescent whitening agent as part of the thickening system was described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,302, inventors Baker et al. One embodiment of the Baker et al. aqueous bleach composition system comprises a nonionic polyethoxylated alcohol surfactant, an acid insoluble fluorescent whitening agent, and a soap to synergistically increase viscosity. Preferred surfactants include polyethoxylated alcohols manufactured by the Shell Chemical Company under the tradename "Neodol." Neodol 25-7, which is a mixture of 12 to 15 carbon chain length alcohols with about 7 ethylene oxide groups per molecule, is particularly suitable.
The Baker thickener can be used to thicken a variety of liquid laundry product compositions that contain bleaches and detergents. Typically, the thickening system is used in amounts effective to attain an intermediate viscosity (200-500 centipoise) for products such as hard surface cleaners which need sufficient residence time for use on non-horizontal surfaces. More typically, the thickening system may be formulated to have a viscosity on the order of 100-300 centipoise for use with a laundry product to enhance pourability and allow concentration of the product on heavily stained fabrics. The bleach used preferably is a peroxygen or peracid bleach, although virtually any oxidant capable of operating at acidic pHs could be used.
Despite these advantages, thickened liquid laundry products often exhibit freeze-thaw instability which is characterized by marbling and flaking of the final consumer product.

Thickening system for incorporating fluorescent whitening agents


A pair of interlocking bi-parting sliding doors includes a first sliding door and a second sliding door, wherein the first sliding door has a first meeting stile that includes a first side portion for maintaining a door glass panel and a first mating side portion for engaging the second sliding door, wherein the first mating side portion includes a plurality of recessed zones, and wherein the second sliding door has a second meeting stile that includes a second side portion for maintaining a door glass panel and a second mating side portion for engaging the first mating side portion of the first sliding door, wherein the second mating side portion includes a plurality of extensions, wherein when the first sliding door and the second sliding door are in a closed position, the plurality of extensions interlock with the plurality of recessed zones.

A common problem with sliding door assemblies in which normally one or more panels are moveable and one or more panels are fixed is that wind loads often cause one sliding door to separate from another sliding door, or from the side door jamb. For example, sliding doors that are built in an OXXO configuration create a condition that is generally weaker than the adjacent intermediate verticals. Each door is expected to carry only a portion of the wind load that is applied to the unit. As the doors begin to deflect under these loads, the meeting stiles will pull away from each other. The only mechanical device used to keep the doors together are the locking hardware installed in the mating door stiles. Depending on the performance requirements, it may be necessary to install multiple locks. The performance of the meeting stile is thereby limited by the strength of the locks and not by the structural properties of the door stiles.


Determination of a grid structure for a set of values in a device color space, in which heuristics are applied to a collection of color sample data in order to determine the structure of a look-up table that best fits the samples. Sampling data is sorted for each channel thereof, and the number of steps in each channel is counted. The data is checked for completeness. Steps are removed if they do not correspond to steps on the axes of a three-dimensional cube. If, as a result of step removal, a full LUT has been obtained, then the structure of the LUT has been determined and the process ends. On the other hand, if a full LUT has not been obtained, then steps are removed if they are under-correlated with other steps.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to color device modeling and specifically to determining a format of samples of a color device space in order to create a color device model.
2. Description of the Related Art
Color device modeling usually entails sampling the device space and taking measurements. For a printer that uses Red, Green and Blue (RGB) as an interface (a so-called "RGB printer"), this could mean sampling the RGB space uniformly using a 9×9×9 grid, for instance, and measuring each color patch with a spectrophotometer. The use of a complete sampling grid is not strictly speaking a necessity, but it allows efficient interpolation algorithms, such as a tetrahedral interpolation algorithm, to be used later on in the device model building.
For devices with more channels, a full sampling grid may not be desirable. For a Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK (CMYK) printer, a 9×9×9×9 sampling grid would mean printing and measuring 6561 patches. This is quite time consuming. It has been observed that for practical purposes, it is more efficient to use denser sampling for low blacK (K) levels and coarser sampling for high K levels. The ANSI IT8.7/3 target is designed with this in mind. The target does not contain randomly placed samples, however. There is still regularity within a particular K level, and one can indeed find a complete Look Up Table (LUT) structure on each K level.
If the layout of a target is known, it is possible to pre-determine the LUTs contained in the target, even by human inspection. In other words, if it is known the target is an IT8.7/3 target, then the K levels are known as well as the CMY LUTs on each K level.
However, a general problem exists that a sampled target may not be known when a color management system is implemented. One possible cause for this could be because a sampled target is not a standard target, which would be the case for multi-channel printer devices because the industry has not standardized on a multi-channel printer device characterization target yet. It could also be because the target only comes out after the system (e.g. software) is built. It would of course be nice for a system to support future targets. To meet this goal, hardcoding the locations of sampling points for LUTs is not desirable.
There is therefore a need to devise an adaptive method that would take a set of data points, perform analysis and determine the LUTs contained in the dataset. Various aspects of the present invention meet such a need.

Method of finding look-up table structures in color device sampling data


A grain images obtained by CCD line sensors are processed by binarization processing to obtain contour images of grains and images of colored portions in the grains. The images are displayed on a monitor screen of an operating panel 30. The contour images and the images of the colored portions are displayed in a superposed state. Box frames generated by a highlight display circuit in control means 12 are simultaneously displayed by being superposed on the contour images having defective portions, thus producing a highlight display of defective grains. The defective grains include a grain having a light colored portion and a grain having a dark colored portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical grain sorter used to sort out grains (defective grains) not normal in external appearance as a grain product from grain distributed on the market. More particularly, the present invention relates to an optical grain sorter of this kind arranged so that an operator can adjust a level of determination sensitivity (a threshold value set in the optical grain sorter) provided in the sorter for sorting normal grains (grains having a normal external appearance) and defective grains from each other, by seeing a display on a display device provided on the sorter.
2. Description of Related Art
In distribution of grain on the market, the commodity value should be improved by removing defective grains not normal in external appearance as grains. To do so, an optical grain sorter is used. However, while a certain degree of sorting suffices for avoiding any problem in terms of commodity value, there is a possibility of inappropriate setting of the level of sorting in some case of use of an optical grain sorter, depending on the kind or grade of grain or on the degree of cleaning. In such a case, it is necessary for an operator of the sorter to adjust the degree of sorting with the sorter as desired while checking the state of sorting with the sorter.
FIG. 1 shows the principle of grain sorting adopted in a conventional optical grain sorter. The grain sorting shown in FIG. 1 is sorting of cleaned rice grains. According to the principle, a grain from which a signal level corresponding to 75% or less of the background signal level assumed to be 100% is detected with a CCD line sensor is recognized as a grain having a light colored portion; a grain from which a signal level corresponding to 50% or less of the background signal level is detected is recognized as a grain having a dark colored portion; and these grains are determined as defective grains.
In the grain having a light colored portion, the light colored portion occupies at least a certain area in the grain surface such that this grain is discriminable from normal grains, and the degree of coloring of the colored portion is low (the color is light). In the grain having a dark colored portion, the deep colored portion has such a color in the grain surface that this grain is discriminable from normal grains, and the degree of coloring of the colored portion is high (the color is dark). The grain having a dark colored portion comprises any grain having a dark colored portion regardless of the area of the dark colored portion. The grain having a light colored portion and the grain having a dark colored portion are defective grains collectively called "colored grain".
In the conventional optical grain sorter, sorting of defective grains from normal grains is determination as to which drop in signal level from the signal level corresponding to normal grains with respect to the 100% background signal level indicates a defective grain. This is adjustment of a threshold value set in the optical grain sorter. Conventionally, the threshold value to be set is adjusted by seeing the actual state of sorting, displaying a signal from an optical sensor on an oscilloscope or touch panel monitor screen and seeing the signal.
An optical grain sorter described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-74412 displays on a monitor in an operating panel images of grains taken by image pickup means such as a CCD line sensor (binary data on the contours of grains), images of colored portions of grains having light colored portions (binary data on the shapes of the portions) and images of colored portions of grains having dark colored portions (binary data on the shapes of the portions). An operator of the sorter can determine whether or not defective grains are discriminated as expected by seeing the display on the monitor screen while seeing the actual state of sorting of grains.
The means adopted in the optical grain sorter described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-74412 has improved the trail-and-error condition in the conventional art using an oscilloscope when determination as to whether or not defective grains are discriminated as expected is required. That is, an operator of the optical grain sorter described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-74412 can directly grasp, as actual images of grains from a display on the monitor screen, the contours of grains and the sizes and shapes of colored portions in defective ones of the grains actually grasped by the optical grain sorter, instead of grasping them from a simple display of data on an oscilloscope. In this way, the facility with which a threshold value to be set in the optical grain sorter is set so that defective grains can be discriminated as expected is improved.
As a result, the operator can adjust the threshold value more efficiently in this sorter than in those previously proposed. Also, the accuracy of the threshold value is improved.
The means adopted in the optical grain sorter described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-74412 is excellent in that it enables an operator to adjust the threshold value for discrimination between normal grains and defective grains while seeing actual images of the grains on a monitor. However, it has a problem in terms of image display technique and, hence, the drawback of not facilitating discrimination between normal grains and defective grains displayed on the monitor. That is, the contours of a multiplicity of grains are displayed on one monitor screen, and colored portions of defective ones of the grains are displayed by being superposed on the contours of the grains, accompanied by their shapes and sizes. The images on the monitor are thus complicated, so that it is difficult to discriminate defective grains having light colored portions and defective grains having dark colored portions and there is a possibility of an operator failing to notice defective grains. It is necessary to unfailingly sort out defective grains having dark colored portions in particular. After the occurrence of failure to notice a defective grain having a dark colored portion and after the completion of sorting, the defective grain may be found in normal grains. Such an incident leads to a considerable reduction in reliability of the sorting process.
The technique for the optical grain sorter described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-74412 also has a problem that an operator is uncertain as to whether or not defective grains are correctly separated by air jet nozzles for separating defective grains from normal grains.