The present invention discloses a method for generating elevation maps or images of a tissue layer/boundary with respect to a fitted reference surface, comprising the steps of finding and segmenting a desired tissue layer/boundary; fitting a smooth reference surface to the segmented tissue layer/boundary; calculating elevations of the same or other tissue layer/boundary relative to the fitted reference surface; and generating maps of elevation relative to the fitted surface. The elevation can be displayed in various ways including three-dimensional surface renderings, topographical contour maps, contour maps, en-face color maps, and en-face grayscale maps. The elevation can also be combined and simultaneously displayed with another tissue layer/boundary dependent set of image data to provide additional information for diagnostics.

Measurement of biological tissue surface contour or layer thickness can provide useful diagnostic information in various applications. For example, arterial plaque thickness is related to the progress of atherosclerosis, carotid vessel wall thickness is also an indicator of cardiovascular disease risk; epidermal layer thickness is an indicator of burn severity.
In ophthalmology, retinal thickness may be abnormally large in cases of retinal edema or traction by membranes in the vitreous humor. On the other hand, the retina may appear thin in cases of atrophic degeneration, chorioretinitis, or trauma to the retina. Meanwhile, changes in retinal thickness may be localized or extend over large areas. In certain cases, the overall contour of the retina may become abnormal. For example, pronounced myopia, particularly due to posterior staphylomas, may create a highly concave retina. Detachment of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), subretinal cysts, or subretinal tumors may produce a relative convexity of the retina. Therefore, mapping the retina contour or retinal thickness makes it possible to determine the extent and severity of such conditions and to monitor progress of treatment.
In the past, there are a number of well-established biomedical imaging techniques that have been used for three-dimensional anatomical mapping of the eye, especially the retina, including optical coherence tomography (Zhou, Q. et al. (2004). "Mapping retinal thickness and macular edema by high-speed three-dimensional optical coherence tomography". Ophthalmic Technologies XIV, SPIE, 5314: 119-125), ultrasound (see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,871, U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,095), and confocal microscopy (see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,679; R. H. Webb (1996) "Confocal optical microscopy" Rep. Prog. Phys. 59 427-471). The three-dimensional data set has also been analyzed to identify layered structures in the tissue using a variety of approaches to image segmentation. (see for example, D. G. Bartsch, et al., (2004) "Optical coherence tomography: interpretation artifacts and new algorithm", Proc. SPIE Medical Imaging 2004: Image Processing, 5370: 2140-2151; H. Ishikawa, et al., (2005) "Macular Segmentation with Optical Coherence Tomography". Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci.; 46: 2012-201).
These prior art methods measured and/or generated a map of a tissue layer thickness by searching for the borders of the tissue layer structures, figuring out the inner and outer boundaries and then finding the distance between the inner and outer boundaries. However, a major issue associated with a tissue layer thickness map is that it sometimes cannot reveal the diagnostically more meaningful features of a diseased part of the tissue. For example, retina thickness is defined as the vertical distance between the RPE (retinal pigment epithelium) 102 and the ILM (inner limiting membrane) 104 as shown in FIG. 1. A sharp bump 106 of the retina will often be associated with a rise in the RPE 102 as well as the formation of a lesion 108 below the RPE 102, such that the RPE also has a broad rise. As a result, a retina thickness map such as the color coded one shown in FIG. 2, which corresponds to FIG. 1, cannot reveal the substantially raised bump. In fact, the color coded thickness map shows that the thickness will only slightly increase near the bump but then return to normal over it. On the other hand, although a topographic map or contour of the RPE or ILM may reveal the sharp bump better for this illustrated case than the retina thickness map, it would include both the sharp bump and the broader warping of the RPE boundary, making it difficult to separate the effect of the disease from the overall shape of the RPE boundary.
In light of the above, there is a need in the art for a method for generating elevation maps with respect to a reference fitted surface and for using the reference surface as a means of locating three-dimensionally a tissue or a layer or boundary of a tissue such as the retina, in order to provide diagnostically more meaningful information about potential diseased tissue.
The present invention is a novel and non-obvious method wherein a fitted reference surface is used to create an elevation map or image of a tissue layer/boundary with respect to the fitted reference surface. Use of such a fitted surface can minimize the perturbations of the surface associated with disease so as to approximate the tissue surface that would exist if the tissue were normal. By using such a fitted surface, either of the tissue boundary being measured, or a different boundary, the effect of disease or injury is isolated from the overall shape of the tissue of interest, providing improved diagnostic information. In addition to various ways to display the elevation data relative to the fitted reference surface, the invention also combines the elevation data with other maps or images in order to provide more meaningful information for diagnostics.

Method of bioimage data processing for revealing more meaningful anatomic features of diseased tissues


A method and an apparatus of designing a set of wavelet basis trained to fit a particular problem. The method and apparatus include constructing a neural network of arbitrary complexity using a discrete and finite Radon transform, feeding an input wavelet prototype through the neural network and its backpropagation to produce an output, and modifying the input wavelet prototype using the output.

Wavelet transforms are widely used in analysis, where they are known as "multiresolution analysis", and in image and audio compression, where they are used as a pyramid coding method for lossy compression. The wavelets used are generally from a very small set of analytically designed wavelets, such as Daubechies wavelets, or quadrature mirror filters ("QMF").
The wavelets currently used are not specific to applications and the images returned using these wavelets may lack precision (i.e. may be blurry).
For some applications, designing specific wavelets with special coding properties would be beneficial.

Method and apparatus of creating application-specific, non-uniform wavelet transforms


A magnetorheological damper device is provided having an increased shear interface area per unit volume of device, which enhances the stroking force of the damper. The damper generally includes a thrust shaft comprising an external threaded surface in threaded communication with a sealed housing, wherein at least one end of the thrust shaft extends from the housing; a plurality of rotors and stators alternatingly arranged in the housing, wherein the plurality of rotors comprise a planar surface with a centrally located aperture that is rotatably engaged with the threaded surface of the thrust shaft, wherein the plurality of stators is fixedly attached to the housing and comprises a centrally located aperture dimensioned to accommodate vertical movement of the thrust shaft and a planar surface substantially parallel to the planar surface of the at least one rotor, and wherein alternating stators comprises a permanent magnet or an electromagnet; and a magnetorheological fluid disposed in a space defined by the plurality of rotors and stators.

This disclosure generally relates to a magnetorheological fluid damper and more particularly, to a magnetorheological fluid damper providing an increased shear interface area per unit volume of device.
Magnetorheological (MR) fluids belong to a class of controllable fluids. The essential characteristic of these fluids is their ability to reversibly change from a free-flowing, linear, viscous liquid to a semi-solid with controllable yield strength in milliseconds when exposed to a magnetic field. In the absence of an applied field, MR fluids are reasonably well approximated as Newtonian liquids.
A typical MR fluid has about 20 to about 40 percent by volume of relatively pure, soft iron particles, typically about 3 to about 5 microns, suspended in a carrier liquid such as mineral oil, synthetic oil, water, or glycol. A variety of proprietary additives similar to those found in commercial lubricants are commonly added to discourage gravitational settling and promote particle suspension, enhance lubricity, modify viscosity, and inhibit wear. The ultimate strength of the MR fluid depends on the square of the saturation magnetization of the suspended particles.
MR fluids made from iron particles typically exhibit maximum yield strengths of 30-90 kPa for applied magnetic fields of 150-250 kA/m (1 Oe. 80 A/m). MR fluids are not highly sensitive to moisture or other contaminants that might be encountered during manufacture and use. Furthermore, because the magnetic polarization mechanism is not affected by the surface chemistry of surfactants and additives, it is a relatively straightforward matter to stabilize MR fluids against particle-liquid separation in spite of the large density mismatch.
Most devices employ MR fluids in a valve mode, direct-shear mode, or combination of these two modes. Examples of valve mode devices include servovalves, dampers, and shock absorbers. Examples of direct-shear mode devices include clutches, brakes, and variable friction dampers. The maximum stroking force that an MR damper can provide generally depends on the MR fluid properties, the flow pattern, and the size of the damper.
However, the range of stroking forces achievable with current MR materials, flow patterns, and damper geometries are not sufficient for these devices to be practical for some applications such as, for example, in crash energy management applications. For these types of applications, an increased shear interface per unit volume of device is desirable since it directly increases the available stroking force.


A laser processing apparatus which is high in production efficiency, and capable of easily and automatically changing processing heads from one to another according to the type of the thermal processing to be done is disclosed. The laser processing apparatus includes a plurality of processing heads composed of a processing head for cutting work, a processing head for welding work and a processing head for hardening work. The laser processing apparatus moves one processing head toward a processing position with respect to the frame having a laser beam generator by a processing head driving unit. The apparatus includes a workpiece moving system for moving a workpiece with respect to the processing head positioned in the processing position. Therefore, a compact laser processing apparatus, high in production efficiency, and which is capable of selecting an optimum processing head from processing heads according to the type of the thermal processing to be done, results.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laser processing device.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, as laser processing apparatus of this type, there have been known those which perform thermal processing, such as cutting, welding and heating, by radiating a laser beam on the surface of a workpiece. As an example, reference is here made to the apparatus shown in FIG. 6.
The reflection mirror 53 is for changing the travelling direction of a laser beam 52 emitted from a laser beam generator 51. And, the laser beam reflected by the reflection mirror 53 is incident on a processing head 54.
A workpiece 55 is disposed just under the processing head 54 and in a fixed state to a moving device 56. The moving device 56 is moved while the laser beam 52 is radiated onto the workpiece 55, whereby a spot of the laser beam 52 formed on the workpiece 55 moves in a relative manner. In this way, a predetermined thermal processing is applied to the workpiece 55 using the laser beam 52.
As an example of such thermal processing, cutting work will be explained below. As shown in FIG. 7, the condenser lens 57 is disposed fixedly in the interior of the processing head 58. The laser beam 52 which is incident on the processing head 58 passes through the condenser lens 57 while being converged by the same lens. Then the workpiece 55 is melted in the position of the focus point 59 of the laser beam 52. As a result, the portion of the workpiece 55 melted as molten metal 60 by the laser beam 52 is blown off by the strong stream of the processing gas 61 which is active gas, e.g., oxygen gas, to form cut slot 62 in the workpiece 55.
In welding work, the laser beam needs to have a higher power output than the laser beam used in the cutting work. Therefore, a parabolic mirror which has a high strength under high-light or high-heat conditions, as compared with the condenser lens, is conventionally used. As shown in FIG. 8, a plane reflective mirror 63 and the parabolic mirror 64 which is disposed opposite to the plane reflective mirror 63 are disposed fixedly in the interior of the processing head 65. The laser beam 52 incident on the processing head 65 is reflected from the plane reflective mirror 63 and is incident on the parabolic mirror 64. After the travelling direction of the laser beam 52 is changed by the parabolic mirror 64, the laser beam 52 is converged and the converged laser beam 52 is radiated on the workpiece 55. Then, the workpiece 55 is melted in the position of the focus point 66 of the laser beam 52. At the same time, the processing gas 68 which is inert gas, e.g., argon gas, is applied weakly to the workpiece 55. As a result, the portion of the workpiece 5 melted as molten metal 67 by the laser beam 52 is covered with a weak stream of the processing gas 68, and again solidifies while the oxidation thereof is prevented.
On the other hand, in heating work, such as hardening, it is required that the energy of a laser beam is distributed uniformly. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, a kaleidoscope 70 is disposed fixedly in the interior of the processing head 71. The laser beam 52 which is incident on the processing head 71 passes through the condenser lens 72 while being converged by the same lens. The converged laser beam 52 is incident on the kaleidoscope 70. The laser beam 52 is made to be in multiple reflection inside of the kaleidoscope 70, so that the energy distribution of the laser beam 52 becomes uniform. The laser beam 52 is radiated on the workpiece 55 after passing through the condenser lens 73. A laser beam absorbent 74 of a graphite type is coated on the surface of the workpiece 55 in order to absorb the laser beam 52 efficiently. After the workpiece 55 is rapidly heated by the radiated laser beam 52 so as to reach a hardening temperature, the workpiece 55 is rapidly cooled owing to the its heat conduction. As a result, the laser beam 52 forms a hardened portion 75 in the workpiece 55.
Thus, it is desirable to use the processing head having optical elements, such as a condenser lens, a parabolic mirror or kaleidoscope, according to the type of a thermal processing to be done. Also, if the laser processing apparatus is to perform one type of thermal processing, it is desirable to select the processing head having the optimum optical elements according to the processing conditions desired.
However, in the conventional laser processing apparatus, the processing head is semifixed or detachably fixed. Therefore, in the case of performing different types of thermal processing in such a conventional laser processing apparatus, it is necessary to change processing heads from one to another appropriately according to the type of the thermal processing to be done. In the conventional laser processing apparatus, this processing head changing operation is conducted manually, thus causing the problem of lowering production efficiency.
A known type of laser processing apparatus capable of solving the above-mentioned problem is shown in Fig. 10. The laser processing apparatus includes a frame 102, and further includes a processing head for welding work 106, a processing head for cutting work 105 and a processing head for hardening work 107, which are disposed fixedly to the frame 102 through a holder 119. Moreover, the laser processing apparatus includes a plane reflective mirror 104 which can move in order to introduce a laser beam 103 emitted from a laser beam generator 101 into the one of the three processing heads 106, 105 and 107. That is, according to the laser processing apparatus, an optimum processing head can be selected from the three processing heads 106, 105 and 107 by moving the reflective mirror 104. And, a desired thermal processing can be performed by moving a workpiece 126. The workpiece 126 is moved by a moving device 127 having a first direction feeding device 130 and a second direction feeding device 140. Therefore, there is no need to change the processing heads from one to another appropriately according to the type of the thermal processing to be done.
However, in the above-mentioned laser processing apparatus, the three processing heads 106, 105 and 107 are disposed fixedly to the frame 102. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a large space where the moving device 127 can move the workpiece, because the moving device 127 needs to move toward three positions corresponding to each processing heads 106, 105 and 107, and further to move within a processing range for processing the workpiece 126 by each processing head. For instance, as shown in the left side of FIG. 10, the moving device 127 has to be able to move to a position shown by the dotted line. Therefore, there is a problem that the size of the laser processing apparatus is increased.


An apparatus (10) encloses a movable vehicle seat (12) and an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device (14) which is inflatable into engagement with an occupant of the seat (12). An electric motor (42) is operatively connected to the seat (12) to move the seat (12) when the motor (42) is actuated. A first actuating means (50) actuates the motor (42) in response to input from the occupant so as to move the seat (12) to a position selected by the occupant. A second actuating means (92) actuates the motor (42) in response to crash conditions so as to move the seat (12) with reference to the crash conditions.

An inflatable vehicle occupant protection device, such as an air bag, is inflated upon the occurrence of a vehicle crash. The air bag is part of a vehicle occupant protection apparatus which further includes a crash sensor and an inflator. The crash sensor senses vehicle conditions that indicate the occurrence of a crash. When the crash sensor senses a crash-indicating condition of at least a predetermined threshold level, the inflator is actuated. The inflator then emits inflation fluid which inflates the air bag into the vehicle occupant compartment. When the air bag is inflated in this manner, it engages an occupant of the vehicle to help protect the occupant from a forceful impact with parts of the vehicle as a result of the crash.
The manner in which the air bag engages the vehicle occupant can be influenced by factors such as the force with which the occupant moves against the air bag and the pressure of the inflation fluid in the air bag. Those factors, in turn, can be influenced by various conditions that exist at the time of the crash. Such crash conditions may include deceleration or other vehicle conditions, and/or vehicle occupant conditions such as the weight and position of the occupant.


A storage console assembly for a motor vehicle having a floor comprising a bracket removably coupled to the floor, a lower rail attached to the bracket and a main body slidably engaged with the lower rail. An upper rail attached to a top portion of the main body. An upper body having a top portion and a handle is slidably engaged with the upper rail. The main body is arranged to be moved longitudinally within the vehicle with respect to the bracket, and the upper body is arranged to be moved longitudinally within the vehicle with respect to the bracket and the main body.

Automotive vehicle interiors typically include storage console assemblies positioned in the center of bench type seats or between a pair of bucket type seats. These storage console assemblies, also known as center console assemblies, often act as an armrest for the vehicle passengers and usually include at least one storage compartment. The storage compartment may also include a pivotal lid for accessing the interior of the storage compartment. Finally, the center console assembly may include cup holders accessible to vehicle passengers located next to, or behind the center console assembly.
In recent years, many efforts have been made to increase the flexibility of storage options within a vehicle interior. One such effort has been the provision of removable or slidable center console assemblies that may be positioned alternatively between either the front or the rear passenger seats in a vehicle. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,529 discloses a center console assembly capable of sliding along a guide member extending longitudinally within the vehicle. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,088 discloses a center console assembly capable of sliding along a stationary rail member attached to the vehicle body and extending longitudinally within the vehicle. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,857 discloses removable console assembly which may be attached to one of two mounting assemblies located between the front and rear seats of a vehicle. However, one drawback of such assemblies is that removable center console assemblies are generally unavailable to the second row passengers when the console is in the forward position of the center console assembly within the vehicle and must be removed and reinstalled in a second position within the vehicle to be accessible to the second row passengers. The slidable center console assemblies disclosed in the prior art have a similar disadvantage in that such assemblies require the use a track extending longitudinally within the vehicle which may obstruct the ability of a vehicle occupant to move laterally within the vehicle.


The present invention relates to a stackable and collapsible transport box. The transport box comprises a base plate, two shorter side walls which are mutually opposite and collapsible in a lower first plane connected to the base plate via hinge joints and two shorter side walls which are mutually opposite and collapsible in a higher second plane, also connected to the base plate via hinge joints. The base plate comprises a plurality of supporting pillars arranged as tube elements beneath the base plate and arranged as angle elements above the base plate. The angle elements are provided with step-like arrangements so that the angle elements may receive tube elements of another similar or identical transport box in the collapsed state.

EP-A-0 876 963 describes a stackable and collapsible transport box wherein the side walls can be flipped inwardly about flexible pivots. A rotatable flap, which is rotatable about a horizontal axle, is provided in one of the side walls. The rotatable flap is rotatably connected to the side wall via an insert part which is fastened to a respective indent in the side wall. The floor of the transport box is connected at its corners and in the middle region to vertical supporting pillars which are fastened to a quadrangle supporting frame. The supporting frame has an integral configuration and a massive design.
To ensure that the supporting frame is sufficiently and mechanically stable and that it is able to reliably withstand loads in excess of 1000 kg, the supporting frame needs to have a certain thickness and width. For a transport box having the dimensions of more than 1 meter by 1 meter, the production of such a stable supporting frame will require especially large matrixes. Moreover, such a supporting frame needs to be welded to the supporting pillars or glued to the pillars using an artificial resin glue of very high strength.
Another stackable and collapsible transport box is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,647. This transport box is provided with a pallet-type floor part, two mutually opposite side walls each having a lower hinge, and two other side walls each having a higher hinge. The height of the two side walls having the higher hinges is half the width of the floor part, so that the side walls may lie next to one another in the collapsed state. The maximum height of this transport box is thus limited to half the width of the floor part. Accordingly, this type of transport box can not be efficiently stacked on top of one another.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a stackable and collapsible transport box which is capable of, in the collapsed state, carrying a similarly erected transport box having a load of 1000 kg and more.


Intelligent reframing techniques are described in which content (e.g., a movie) can be generated in a different aspect ratio than previously provided. These techniques include obtaining various video frames having a first aspect ratio. Various objects can be identified within the frames. An object having the highest degree of importance in a frame can be selected and a focal point can be calculated based at least in part on that object. A modified version of the content can be generated in a second aspect ratio that is different from the first aspect ratio. The modified version can be generated using the focal point calculated based on the object having the greatest degree of importance. Using these techniques, the content can be provided in a different aspect ratio while ensuring that the most important features of the frame still appear in the new version of the content.

Due to the growing number of mobile devices and platforms with which video content can be viewed, aspect ratios such as 16:9 or 4:3 don't always provide the best viewing experience. Traditional approaches for reframing video content usually involve static cropping, where a middle point of the original frame is utilized and content falling outside the boundaries for that aspect ratio is discarded. This can causes important features of the frame (e.g., the main actor) from being cutoff or excluded entirely. These techniques often lead to unsatisfactory results due to the variety of composition and camera motion styles.


The method of the present invention changes the present day “value for value” methodology, system and process for the purchase of Stored Value Card purchases to a “value for greater value” or “value for greater perceived value” methodology, system and process by bundling the actual Stored Value Card product with coupons that would convey a value. The bundling of coupons, vouchers, and etc., with the Stored Value Card allows merchants to charge or allocate a certain fee for the coupon/voucher aspect of the Stored Value Card sale. This in turn allows merchants to transact and/or report and/or account for the sale of Stored Value Cards in a manner that avoids escheatment.

The Stored Value Industry, which is most commonly known as the Gift Card Industry and Prepaid Calling Card Industry, as it exists today, is estimated to be a $60 billion a year industry. It is also estimated there are 1.5 billion individual plastic cards produced annually in order to facilitate this industry. The Stored Value industry markets products to consumers under some very recognizable names such as Gift Card, Prepaid Calling Card, Shopping Card, Merchandise Card, Spending Card, and Shopping Card, all of which are known in the industry as Stored Value Cards. It should also be noted that some merchants are moving away from any of these commonly known names and calling them just their cards. A real world example of this is the "Starbucks Card".
Currently merchants that offer Stored Value Cards do not charge or allocate a fee for the cost of the card production, nor do they charge for any associated packaging such as envelopes that include their brand name or any other gift giving occasion themes, but allocating a fee for such value added items could solve a serious problem for these merchants as described below.
This industry presents a very unique situation in that because the original purchase of the Stored Value Card is technically a pre-paid purchase for a good or service, many cards never get redeemed for products or services while many others only get redeemed for a portion of their full value. The difference between what a consumer originally pays for a Stored Value Card purchase and what is actually redeemed is considered unclaimed property by many States. Industry experts estimate that 10% of the annual $60 billion Stored Value Card purchases go unclaimed. At the time of this writing, approximately 35 State governments mandate by law that this unclaimed property (that part not redeemed) be returned to the state. This is known as escheatment.
Presently the sales of Stored Value Cards are promoted, marketed and sold as a very simple and stand alone transaction at the consumer point of purchase (POP) level as well as the online environment. For instance, if an individual desires to purchase a $100.00 Stored Value Card, they simply give the merchant $100.00 for this purchase. This type of "value for value" transaction is typical and commonplace as it would not make sense for a merchant to discount the sale of a Stored Value Card to the general public as it would only result in the merchant trading a value in return for a lesser value. Additionally, as it exists today Stored Value Cards are typically marketed as a stand alone product without any other accompanying tangible or intangible product.
The problem with the above described methodology is that the "value for value" transaction lends itself to the required escheatment for the reason described above, that is the unredeemed amount is considered unclaimed and abandoned property. The invention as described below outlines a method and process that will make it feasible and legal for merchants to not escheat any unredeemed Stored Value Card monies as required by law. This problem has been recently discussed in much of the recent accounting press such as Price Waterhouse Coopers' QuickBrief!, Volume 2, Issue 7, December 2004, "Issues Surrounding the Recognition of Gift Card Sales and Escheat Liabilities". Also, Loeb & Loeb, LLP discussed the problem in an article called "Found Money" in PROMO Magazine, Nov. 1, 2002. In a conference-held Jun. 2-3, 2004 by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia titled "Prepaid Cards: How Do They Function? How Are They Regulated?" this matter was discussed at length as shown in the conference summary. All these articles and conferences discuss the problem and the administration issues to comply with the various State laws, but none have presented the novel solution as disclosed in the present application.

Method and system for facilitating a purchase agreement


A process for permanent waving of hair by a reaction in which cystine bridges are reduced to cysteine, the hair reshaped, and the reaction reversed. The improvement in the process resides in the step of reversing the reaction by applying to hair a composition which includes a vinyl functional silicone, a solvent, and a catalyst. The catalyst is either a carboxylic acid salt of a metal or a metal carbonyl compound. Both cyclic and linear vinyl functional silicones can be employed. Permanent hair waving neutralizer compositions are also described.

This invention is directed to a method of waving hair and to a silicone based neutralizer composition useful in the permanent waving of hair.
Keratin is a fibrous protein composed of eighteen different kinds of amino acids. It is widely distributed in hair and constitutes the major component thereof. Keratin is characterized by a crosslinked structure having one disulfide bond --S--S-- per average 10-20 amino acid residues. It is most frequently represented as cystine which has the formula HO.sub.2 CC(NH.sub.2)HCH.sub.2 S--SCH.sub.2 C(NH.sub.2)HCO.sub.2 H.
The first basic step in a permanent waving process is the partial reduction of cystine HO.sub.2 CC(NH.sub.2)HCH.sub.2 S--SCH.sub.2 C (NH.sub.2)HCO.sub.2 H to cysteine HO.sub.2 CC(NH.sub.2)HCH.sub.2 SH. Typically, a waving lotion containing thioglycolic acid is used in this step in a reaction in which cystine bridges are reduced to cysteine. After the hair has been reshaped, this reaction is reversed by the application to the hair of a neutralizer which is a solution containing an oxidant such as hydrogen peroxide. Cysteine residues formed during the reduction step are converted back into cystine upon neutralization.
While hydrogen peroxide is environmentally safe and pysiologically harmless, it suffers from the disadvantages that special stabilizers are required to assure stability; complexing agents are needed to bind up metallic impurities which may have a catalytic effect; and hair can be lightened at certain concentrations and pH values.
There exists therefore a need in the art for alternative forms of permanent waving neutralizer compositions. The present invention provides such an alternative in the form of a silicone based composition which has been found to effectively function as a keratin crosslinking agent in the permanent waving of human hair. It is believed that the silicone becomes part of a covalent crosslink between hair keratin fibers in providing a wave. In addition, use of the silicone has the advantage that the silicone imparts to the hair added benefits such as conditioning of the hair as well providing softness of feel.


A pattern edge detecting method includes: detecting edge points in an image of an inspection pattern acquired from an imaging device; generating a plurality of edge lines from the edge points using a grouping process; generating a plurality of edge line group pairs, each composed of a combination of first and second edge line groups to be a candidate of any of one and the other of an outside edge and an inside edge of the inspection pattern, the generated edge lines being divided into two parts in different manners; performing shape matching between the first and second edge line groups for each edge line group pair; and specifying, as an edge of the inspection pattern, one of the first and second edge line groups constituting the edge line group pair whose matching score is best of matching scores of the edge line group pairs obtained during the shape matching.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pattern edge detecting method and a pattern evaluating method.
2. Related Background Art
A method for detecting an edge of an evaluation pattern and evaluating a shape of the pattern has been widely used in various industrial fields. For example, in order to manufacture a semiconductor device with a high yield ratio, it is required to precisely measure a fine pattern, which is formed by a photolithographic process, a film forming process, and an etching process. In the conventional art for a pattern measurement, the edge of a pattern is detected in an image obtained by an imaging device of a SEM type, which is called a critical dimension scanning electron microscope (CDSEM), the detected edge coordinates are digitized, and desired information for an evaluation pattern is obtained. As a method for detecting the edge of a pattern, a threshold method has been used in the conventional art. However, in addition to the threshold method, various detecting methods including an improved threshold method are proposed, and a CD of a pattern is measured using these methods (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Pub. No. 1997-174714). In the description below, a problem in the conventional art that uses a pattern edge detecting method based on the threshold method is described, but the same problem may be generated even when the other edge detecting methods are used.
In a pattern edge detection using the threshold method, it is required to set a region called a region of interest (ROI) to a pattern. By designating a portion of a pattern whose edge is to be detected by the ROI, a desired measurement value is obtained based on the detected partial edge coordinates. On the assumption that a simple pattern, such as a line pattern, a space pattern or a hole pattern, exists in the ROI, an edge detecting process is executed. At this time, it is required to designate a pattern that exists in the ROI. When the ROI is set, ROI, an accurate pattern measurement is enabled. The reason is that an adaptable threshold method is different according to a kind of a pattern. In the case of a manual measurement, the ROI is generally set by a real-time operation of an operator. However, since it is difficult to visually differentiate a line pattern and a space pattern from image information, a time and effort are required to transmit information on an inspection pattern as an order to the operator. This situation is also applicable to the case of an automatic measurement. A pattern is measured using a coordinate value previously set in a recipe as ROI instead of real-time setting by the operator. The ROI is set by a recipe creator in preparing the recipe, and there remains a problem that the recipe creator is required to know information of a pattern in advance.
In order to resolve the above-described problem, by using a method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Pub. No. 2006-234588, it may be conceivable to determine whether a pattern within a ROI is a line pattern or a space pattern by referring the pattern with design data thereof. However, even when this method is used, an assumed pattern does not always exist in the ROI. For example, when a pattern is omitted due to a manufacture failure of the pattern or the pattern is not resolved, there arises a problem that the edge may be erroneously detected.
Meanwhile, a method for detecting the edge of a pattern without the ROI is also proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Pub. No. 2003-178314). The method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Pub. No. 2003-178314 has an advantage that the entire edge of a pattern as well as the local edge of the pattern can be detected without setting the ROI. However, if a method based on a kind of image filtering is used, two pairs of edges corresponding to a top edge and a bottom edge of the pattern may be detected. There is a problem that a desired pattern edge cannot be obtained so long as information on an inspection pattern is not referred to using any means.

Pattern edge detecting method and pattern evaluating method


A new asynchronous localization method for a network of nodes and transmitters, the position of at least one of the nodes and/or transmitters being known, involves receiving a first signal directly from a first transmitter at a first node of a first node pair, receiving the first signal relayed from a second node of the first node pair at the first node, and determining the delay at the first node between the direct and relayed first signal by comparing the direct and relayed first signals. This may be repeated with the first node acting as relay to determine the delay at the second node. Time difference of arrival and/or time of flight between first and second nodes may be determined using the determined delay at the first and/or second node and/or known node locations. The process is repeated for additional transmitters/node pairs until sufficient information is determined for desired applications.

Accurate positioning capability is an essential component of modern military tactics. Possessing real-time location information of friendly and hostile force positions enables effective attack and defense and allows accurate navigation of objectives in a safe and timely manner. Accurate position data also ensures optimum placement of munitions greatly minimizing the chances of local collateral damage and friendly fire incidents.
The most widely used method for determining location for US and allied forces is through the Global Positioning System (GPS). GPS uses a synchronous system to perform positioning (Satellite clocks and GPS receiver device's clocks have to be synchronized). GPS has a weak signal, and as such is vulnerable to signal degradation and denial due to noise or deliberate jamming. GPS also requires continuous communication with satellites and is vulnerable to loss of line-of-sight to the required number of GPS satellites due to the presence of nearby objects, such as in urban or mountainous areas, in dense foliage, underground, indoors, in outer space, etc.
The loss of GPS service can adversely impact the success of military missions where navigation, time on target and accurate placement of ordnance is essential.
In ASYNCHRONOUS DIFFERENTIAL TDOA FOR SENSOR SELF-LOCALIZATION, H. Howard Fan and Chunpeng Yan, Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing, 2007. ICASSP 2007. IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing. Vol. 2., Apr. 15-20, 2007, Pages 1109-1112, Honolulu, Hi., non-GPS positioning techniques are described. These techniques claim to perform asynchronous positioning of nodes, but only relative to some other nodes. More than two nodes are required to perform positioning.
In SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ASYNCHRONOUS WIRELESS POSITIONING BY ORDERED TRANSMISSION, U.S. Pat. No. 7,411,551, a non-GPS positioning technique is described. This technique claims it can perform asynchronous positioning of nodes, but only relative to some of other nodes and with more than two total nodes.
Needs exist for improved positioning methods and systems for non-GPS positioning.

GPS-alternative method to perform asynchronous positioning of networked nodes


A vessel is disclosed for receiving exhaled air in order to measure lung function. The vessel includes a container with two facing inlets which admit exhaled air alternatively. The container houses: either a piston which can slide in the direction of the inlets, and switches which are actuated when the position reaches the wall of the container, whereupon air is admitted through the other inlet; or, two contiguous bags to each of which air is admitted by one inlet so that they move alternately, and a switch which when actuated causes air to be admitted through the other inlet.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention concerns an expiratory air reception vessel for the measurement of lung function having an inlet.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to determine the performance and/or detect diseases of the lung, it is known how to record and at the same time analyze the volume and composition of the expired air from a test person under conditions of changing levels of physical exertion. Of particular interest are the respective proportions of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The concentration of the expired air is subject to fluctuations caused by changes in levels of exertion, and these should be recorded and indicated as soon as possible. These requirements are met by mass spectrometers, which, however, are enormously expensive and costly to procure and maintain. For this reason, expiratory air is, at the moment, fed into a bag with an outlet, so that part of the air found therein can escape and an overloading can be safely ruled out. A part of the air collected is removed and undergoes analysis as regards its composition. Here the disadvantage is that with a changing concentration of expired air, due to the immediate loss and the large volume of this air, the composition in the bag only changes very slowly. The time constant for the measurement of changes in the concentration of the air taken from the bag with the aid of a gas analyzer is therefore considerable. Moreover, it would be desirable if the volume of expired air could be determined.


A system and method to print graphic documents in booklet format. The system allows the user to have a booklet print option available as a print option of a graphic editor. The system generates a plurality of graphic pages, and orders the pages into logical sequences, each logical sequence being associated to a predefined layout. The ordering of the pages includes ordering the plurality of graphic pages into a booklet logical sequence, where the booklet logical sequence is associated with a booklet layout. The pages are ordered according to the value of a remainder ‘R’ according to ‘R=N_modulo(4)’, wherein ‘N’ is the number of graphic pages to be ordered.

Graphic systems or editors allow the creation of multiple-page graphic documents in an electronic medium. The format of a document, such as character type or size or line spacing, can be electronically changed. Text or pictures can also be incorporated into the graphic document. It is frequently desirable to print such graphic documents with various layouts. Graphic editors offer several printing options to the user such as a full page printing, a portrait or a landscape printing orientation to name a few.
However, a specific requirement with the graphic editors is to print documents in a booklet format where the sheets of paper are printed on both sides, each side having two pages printed on it. The printed booklet may be later folded and assembled to form a small book, for example, a booklet recording a speaker's presentation.
It is of course obvious that to form a final booklet from a series of original pages, it is desirable to place the original pages in a particular order so that the booklet, when assembled, will maintain a logical reading order.
In conventional printing systems, the booklet is obtained either after printing several times an original page or by rotating a page to be printed in several orientations. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,852,487, 5,183,347 and 5,973,721 illustrate some of such prior art solutions which result in complex and long printing apparatus requiring manual human intervention.
Therefore there is a need for a method and system to easily and rapidly print in a booklet format documents that are created with a graphic editor.

Printing pages in accordance with a remainder computation formula

International Business Machines Corporation


A monitoring method includes acquiring tag identification information unique to a radio frequency identification tag carried by a person, and reader identification information about a tag reader that detects the radio frequency identification tag. Next, attribute information about the person is acquired based on the tag identification information, and area information about a detection area of the tag reader is acquired based on the reader identification information. Finally, it is determined whether the person carrying the radio frequency identification tag having the attribute information acquired is allowed to enter into the detection area based on the area information.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a monitoring method of detecting, for example, entry of a person into a prohibited area, which is a part of a relatively closed area, such as a building or an airport, based on the person's personal information or behavior (hereinafter, "movement").
2) Description of the Related Art
Conventionally a visual monitoring system is known in which a surveillance camera, the direction and the zoom of which can be remotely controlled as desired, is arranged in a specified area. Persons entering into the specified area are monitored visually from a remote place based on the images or video taken by the camera.
In this visual monitoring system, a judgment whether the person monitored by the surveillance camera is suspicious or not, is made based upon visual observation. However, the judgment becomes difficult when a lot of cameras are set because the area to be monitored is big, or the number of persons to be monitored is large.
Moreover, a wide area monitoring system has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-130781. In this wide area monitoring system, a person is identified at an entrance of, for example, a building, based on a wireless card carried by that person, and a person decided as suspicious is tracked with a surveillance camera.
In this wide area monitoring system also the suspicious person is tracked using the video taken by the surveillance camera. However, the tracking becomes difficult when there are a lot of persons around the suspicious person.
Furthermore, a monitoring system has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-163652. In this monitoring system, a portable terminal is handed over to a person entering into, for example, a building. This portable terminal is capable of determining its own position and transmitting a signal that indicates the position. In addition, a surveillance camera monitors an area of the building that is prohibited. Whether a person has entered the prohibited area is decided based on the signal from the portable terminal carried by that person, and the entry of the person into the prohibited area is re-confirmed through the images or the video taken by the surveillance camera. The portable terminal operates based on, for instance, the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system or the Personal Handyphone System (PHS).
In this monitoring system, position of the portable terminal is determined using the GPS or the PHS. However, the resolution of position measurement using the GPS or the PHS is low in view of the fact that the object of monitoring are, rooms or halls in a building, small. Therefore, the precision of the monitoring is low.
Moreover, a card monitoring system and a password monitoring system are know in which a person inserts a magnetic card or enters a password in a device provided at the entrance of, for example, a building. The person is allowed to enter into the building only if the magnetic card or password is authentic. In these card monitoring system and password monitoring system, there is a door, which is generally locked, at the entrance of the area and the area is enclosed with walls from all the sides. The door is opened only when the person has an authentic magnetic card or an authentic password. Thus, anyone without an authentic magnetic card or a password can not enter the area.
Furthermore, a transponder card monitoring system has been disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2605014. In this transponder card monitoring system, a person entering into, for example, a building, carries a transponder card that outputs a signal, and a device that receives the signal is arranged near the entrance of the building. This device receives the signal form the transponder card carried by the persons entering into the building and decides whether a person is to be allowed to enter the building based on the signal.
In the card monitoring system, the password monitoring system, and the transponder card monitoring system, whether the person is allowed to enter is decided at the entrance. However, the person is not monitored once he passes through the entrance. Furthermore, the prohibited area needs to be enclosed with walls from all sides, and a lot of doors with lock mechanism are required to allow different entry permission depending on the person. Therefore, in these systems, since the walls and the locks, the magnetic cards or the transponder cards or the devices for entering passwords are required, there is a problem that the system becomes costly. Moreover, the person can not be monitored once he passes through the door. In addition, a person may pass through the door that was opened for some reason, say for some other person. Furthermore, since checking whether the cards or the passwords are authentic and opening the door when the cards or the passwords are authentic requires time and people have to wait till the door opens even if they are authorized to enter.
Moreover, a radio terminal alarm system has been disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2901586. In this radio terminal alarm system, a radio terminal carried by a person receives a radio signal from a radio station. The radio signal indicates whether the radio terminal, that is, the person carrying the radio terminal, is allowed to enter in an area where it is trying to enter. If the person is trying to enter into a prohibited area, the radio station sends a signal to the radio terminal so as to output an alarm. Thus, a person carrying the radio terminal comes to know that the area is the prohibited area. In addition, when persons around the person hear the alarm, they come to know that the person is not allowed to enter the prohibited area and thus the alarm serves as a warning to the surrounding persons.
In this radio terminal alarm system, an alarm is generated when a person tries to enter the prohibited area. However, it is easy to stop the alarm and enter the prohibited area. Furthermore, it is impossible to flexibly change authority for entry into the prohibited area based on entry history and to control the authority of the person who has acted illegally in the past. Moreover, there is a problem that the warning is not correctly done if the radio terminal is damaged intentionally or non-intentionally or thrown away.
Moreover, in all the conventional systems described above, it can not be decided whether a person is a suspicious person and then automatically control a surveillance camera so as to monitor the suspicious person or to decide whether a person has entered an area in which he is not supposed to and show him a route which he should follow.
A system is know that employs a radio frequency identification (hereinafter, "RFID") tag to monitor movements of a person. However, there is no prior art that employs the RFID tag to a security system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of and computer program product for monitoring person's movements


A golf club utilizing a columnated beam of light for providing a guiding target, all incorporated into a golf club, having a switch that de-actuates when the club handle is dropped or rotated to a position in excess of a predetermined safe angle from vertical. Such a system to be utilized in a practical, repeatable fashion during ball address and stroke, while preventing errant light tracing during follow through. The instant abstract is neither intended to define the invention disclosed in this specification nor intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to golf clubs and, more specifically, to a golf club putter with an improved laser aiming system incorporated therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are currently a number of golf club putters that incorporate aiming assist devices. The shear number demonstrates the need and benefit of such a system. However, none of these devices as developed are capable of adapting a laser aiming system during the use of the club during its stroke.
For example, the following references all disclose golf club putters incorporating some form of laser actuated guiding or aiming system:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,221, issued in the name of Carney;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,041, issued in the name of Terry, III, et al;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,296, issued in the name of Hodgson et al;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,393, issued in the name of Molinaroli et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,562, issued in the name of Stock et al.; and
U.S. Patent Publication US200/0261072, published in the name of Adams.
However, while all of these references describe a method and means of utilizing a columnated beam of light for providing a guiding target, all incorporated into a golf club, none of these reference address the specific improvements of the present invention that allow such a system to be utilized in a practical, repeatable fashion during ball address and stroke, while preventing errant light tracing during follow through.


Card holders for personalized and customized display of interchangeable cards are disclosed.

Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the personalized display of interchangeable cards.
Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 2,803,829 discloses a cap for displaying pictures in photograph retaining pockets.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,758 discloses a changeable message stretch band allowing the wearer to communicate words and expressions using removably attached graphics.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,734 discloses a hat having an opening with a two part hook-and-pile fastening means with the first part of the fastening means around the periphery of the opening on the hat and the second part of the fastening means on cloth panels for the attachment and removal of the cloth panels to cover the opening in the hat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,479 discloses a cap with a display pouch to hold a card-like article.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,813 discloses one or more transparent pockets secured to the outside or external surface of a cap to store and display at least one object.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,523 discloses a module headwear system to detachably couple components of a hat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,381 discloses a decorative headband with an elastic and flexible band with a coupling mechanism mounted to the band for the mounting of a plurality of decorative attachments each removably attached to the coupling mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,332 discloses a hat with a window at a transparent frame installed at the front edge of the hat.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,519,779 discloses a customizable baseball cap having removable portions with indicia that may be replaced by alternate portions displaying alternate indicia.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,643,847 discloses a baseball cap with multiple pockets for the personalized placement of multiple logos, insignias, or text, wherein each see through plastic pocket is independent and allows the user to slip in personalized material through a flap.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,243,377 discloses a hat with interchangeable advertising media positioned on an exterior portion thereof.
U.S. Design Pat. No. D549,931 discloses an ornamental design for a cap having a strap partially secured to the sides of a baseball cap for holding food packages.
International PCT Application No. PCT/GB2007/003507 discloses an apparatus for playing a game of observation having a display unit that simultaneously displays a plurality of images that can be removed during the course of the game.
U.S. Patent Application 2012/0271212 discloses a lumbar back support belt with a thin stretchable top layer attached to the thicker bottom layer with a pocket sewn onto the top of the belt.
U.S. Patent Application 2012/0291179 discloses a garment body with a substantially transparent outer layer and an inner layer coupled to the outer layer by a plurality of seams forming pockets all over the garment body.
U.S. Patent Application 2014/0096300 discloses a bib with a transparent window and a back panel that forms a gap creating a pocket for the placement of decorative graphic designs.

Personalized display of interchangeable cards


The present invention relates to a heat exchanger, and more particularly, to a heat exchanger in which a partition wall integrally formed with a header is fixedly inserted into a partition inserting groove of a tank and it is easy to check leakage of a heat exchange medium between the tank and the partition wall through a leakage checking hole formed in the partition inserting groove.

In general, a heat exchanger is provided with a passage through which a heat exchange medium such as coolant or refrigerant can flow, and performs a heat exchange with the outside air while the heat exchange medium flows through the passage.
For example, the refrigerant compressed by a compressor and thus having a raised temperature is moved to a condenser. The temperature of the refrigerant is lowered by a heat exchange while the refrigerant passes through the condenser and is further lowered while the refrigerant passes through an expansion valve. After that, the refrigerant at the lowered temperature is moved to an evaporator.
In the evaporator, the heat exchange is performed to generate cool air. The cool air is then supplied to a room. In this case, a cooling operation is performed.
Meanwhile, coolant which has cooled a heated engine is moved to a heater core to perform a heat exchange. Warm air is generated by the heat exchange and then supplied to a room. In this case, a heating operation is performed.
A general heat exchanger is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. A plurality of tubes 130 provided with a flow path 131 for a heat exchange medium therein are coupled with radiating fins 140 and each end portion of the tube 130 is inserted into and coupled to tube inserting holes 121 of a header 120. The header 120 is coupled with a tank 110.
At this time, the tube 130 and the header 120, and the header 120 and the tank 110 are respectively coupled by brazing.
The brazing is a joining method in which a filler material having a melting temperature of more than 450° C. is located at a joint portion of a base metal to be joined and heated to more than 450° C. and the molten filler material is then flowed into the joint portion of the base metal to join the joint portion, and is widely used in industrial fields since it has advantages that it is possible to join different kinds of metals, the joining strength is strong and the sealing property and the corrosion-resistance are excellent.
An end portion of the partition wall 122 which is in contact with the tank 110 is also joined with the tank 110 by the brazing. In this case, a joint area where the partition wall 122 and the tank 110 are in contact with each other is small. Therefore, the joining force is weak and the joining process is difficult, which leads to generation of many defects.
Also, since it is impossible to check the joint portion where the partition wall 122 and the tank 110 are in contact with each other from the outside, it is difficult to check the generation of the defect. Further, although it is possible to check the generation of the defect, it is impossible to find the exact position where the defect is generated.
If perfect sealing is not ensured between the partition wall 122 and the tank 110 as described in above, there are problems that the heat exchange medium does not flow through the given passage but flow abnormally, and the abnormally flowing heat exchange medium obstructs the normal flow of the heat exchange medium and causes a lowering in a heat exchange performance of the heat exchanger.

Heat exchanger having integrated tank header and partition structure and partition inserting groove with leak detection


Process and device for the feeding of fluid additives and, in particular, of replenishers to a photographic processing fluid. Fluid additives are supplied to the processing fluid contained in a photographic processing tank by a feeding duct. The feeding duct is filled with processing fluid before different fluid additives are introduced into the feeding duct. The volume of the fluid additive supplied is measured by a flow meter which is arranged in an area of the feeding duct which during the measuring operation carries only processing fluid and not the fluid additive being fed into the feeding duct.

The invention relates to a process for the feeding of fluid additives to the fluid contained in a fluid system and, in particular, the feeding of replenishers to a photographic processing fluid contained in a photographic processing tank, wherein the fluid additive is entered at the first end of a feeding duct connected with the fluid system and discharged into the fluid system from a second end of said feeding duct.
Moreover, the invention relates to a device for feeding such a fluid additive. The device comprising a feeding duct whose first end is connected with the supply vessel for the fluid additive to be supplied and whose second end is connected with the fluid system to be supplied, further comprising at least one fluid feed pump and a valve arrangement which can be actuated by a control circuit and in which the feeding duct can be selectively cleared and blocked.
Feeding processes and devices of this type are known already. See, for example, EP 0 216 791 Bl. A preferred field of application of such processes and devices is the supply of a photographic processing fluid to photographic processing tanks. For this purpose a metered supply of fluid additives is provided such that the substances of the processing fluid consumed during operation are replenished in a suitable manner so that the processing fluid contained in the tank is regenerated, i.e., maintains or regains its functional properties. If the tank to be supplied is a developer tank it may be water, for example, and a number of concentrates each containing a component of the developer solution that have to be metered to the tank. If it is a fixing bath it is also water and at least one concentrate in the form of a concentrated fixing salt solution which are to be supplied for replenishment.
It is the object of the invention to provide a process which ensures a particularly reliable and economic supply of fluid additives to a system fluid and which is suitable in particular for the feeding of replenishers into photographic processing tanks.
In a process of the above type, this object is attained in accordance with the invention in that when different fluid additives are to be supplied, such fluids are successively fed into the feeding duct and in that prior to the feeding in of a fluid additive which differs from the fluid additive successively to be fed in, at least the area of the first end of the feeding duct is filled with system fluid.
Since the entrance area of the feeding duct is filled with system fluid before the fluid additive is fed, one single feeding duct can be used for all fluid additives, no matter what their chemical and physical properties are like. This was not possible so far because when certain concentrates are brought into direct contact or mixed, undesired chemical reactions occur which may lead, for example, to the formation of gases or the precipitation of substances. In the process according to the invention this danger is excluded because all additives are metered into the system fluid by which the feeding duct has previously been filled.
The invention not only offers an opportunity of using only one single feeding duct independently of the chemical nature of the fluid additives to be fed in, but also a further particularly advantageous opportunity of measuring the volume of the fluid additives supplied by means of a single flow meter which is arranged within the feeding duct.
If the fluid additives are also physically different a single flow meter may also be used subject to its arrangement in a location through which only system fluid flows during metering. In this manner a single flow meter exclusively calibrated for the system fluid can serve for determining the volume irrespectively of the fluid additive supplied. Owing to the great differences in the physical properties (viscosity and the like) of the various additives a flow meter specially calibrated for each of such fluid additives would otherwise be necessary.
In the case of a preferred embodiment, the feeding duct is filled with the system fluid using a fluid circulation system in which the system fluid is fed out of the fluid system by means of a feed pump and conveyed via a feedback duct to the first end of the feeding duct, such circulation being interrupted by the blocking of said feedback valve prior to the supply of another fluid additive into the feeding duct of the fluid circulation system and only cleared again when subsequent to such feeding, the feeding duct is once again to be filled with system fluid. In the case of such an embodiment the feeding duct can be constantly flushed with system fluid between successive supply operations so that it can be ensured that when another supply operation is initiated, the feeding duct is filled with fresh system fluid.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a device which is particularly suitable for the supplying of fluid additives to the system fluid :n a fluid system, and in particular of replenishers for a photographic processing fluid contained in a photographic processing tank.

Process and device for the feeding of fluid additives, and in particular the feeding of replenishers to a photographic processing fluid


A process for the selective removal of a substance from a substrate for etching and/or cleaning applications is disclosed herein. In one embodiment, there is provided a process for removing a substance from a substrate comprising: providing the substrate having the substance deposited thereupon wherein the substance comprises a transition metal ternary compound, a transition metal quaternary compound, and combinations thereof; reacting the substance with a process gas comprising a fluorine-containing gas and optionally an additive gas to form a volatile product; and removing the volatile product from the substrate to thereby remove the substance from the substrate.

In recent years, the semiconductor industry has widely adopted copper or copper-containing compounds as conductive materials and low dielectric constant (low-k) materials as insulating materials for interconnection between transistors in integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing. One manufacturing step that helps ensure the successful integration of copper and low-k dielectric materials is the deposition of barrier materials between copper and dielectric materials. The barrier materials may also be called diffusion barrier or liner materials. Barrier materials may serve both as a diffusion barrier that prevents the diffusion or migration of the conductive materials into the insulating materials and active regions of transistors, and as an adhesion promoter that eliminates delamination and voids between the conductive materials and the surrounding regions of insulating, dielectric materials.
Materials that are suitable for use as barrier materials generally possess one or more of the following qualities: strong mechanical and structural integrity, high electrical conductivity, good conformal coverage over device features, and high chemical, mechanical, and electrical stability against defect formation. Furthermore, barrier materials should have one or more of the aforementioned qualities at increasingly reduced thickness. For example, a typical barrier layer thickness may be 20 nm for a 150 nm device.
Barrier materials have evolved from transition metals such as, tantalum and tungsten, to transition metal binary compounds such as, for example, tantalum nitride (TaNx) and tungsten nitride (WNx). More recently, transition metal ternary compounds such as tungsten-nitride-carbide (WNxCy), tantalum-silicon-nitride (TaSixNy), and tungsten-silicon-nitride (WSixNy) have been considered for use as a barrier material. In this connection, one such material, tungsten-nitride-carbide (WNxCy), may be suitable for use as a barrier material in deep sub-100 nm IC devices because it is a highly refractory material with high mechanical and chemical stability even at elevated temperatures. The incorporation of carbon into these barrier materials greatly enhances the chemical and mechanical stabilities of the barrier film so that a much thinner film (<5 nm) is adequate as the copper diffusion barrier.
Transition metal ternary compound thin films are typically deposited from chemical precursors that are reacted in a processing chamber to form films in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process such as metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). As the barrier layer thickness further decreases, these barrier materials may be deposited onto semiconductor substrates (wafers) by atomic layer deposition (ALD) or atomic layer chemical vapor deposition processes (ALCVD) in which the films are deposited in controlled, nearly monoatomic layers. A high quality thin barrier film of tungsten nitride carbide can be deposited, for example, by ALD through a pulsed exposure sequence of NH3 (ammonia), B(C2H5)3 (triethyl boron), and WF6 (tungsten hexafluoride) at one or more temperatures ranging from 300 to 350° C. An example of an ALD deposition of a WNxCy film is provided, for example, in the reference Wei-Min Li et al., "Deposition of WNxCy thin films by ALCVD method for diffusion barriers in metallization", Proceedings of the 5th IEEE International Interconnect Technology Conference, Burlingame, Calif.
While the deposition process desirably forms barrier films on a substrate (typically a silicon wafer), the reactions that form these films also occur non-productively on other exposed surfaces inside of the processing chamber. Accumulation of deposition residues results in particle shedding, degradation of deposition uniformity, and processing drifts. These effects can lead to wafer defects and subsequent device failure. Therefore, periodic cleaning of the processing chambers, also referred to as chamber cleaning, is necessary. CVD chambers used for deposition of tungsten (W) metal films and binary tungsten compounds such as tungsten silicide are typically cleaned with fluorine-containing plasmas. In these cleaning processes, atomic fluorine can react with tungsten and silicon to form volatile byproducts such as, for example, WFm(m=1-6) and SiFn(n=1-4). The volatile byproducts are then removed from the chamber by vacuum pump.
While there is a large body of work on etching tungsten metal, and dry cleaning of conventional CVD chambers used for depositing tungsten metal and other dielectric materials such as SiO2, these applications and processes are not directly applicable to transition metal ternary compounds such as tungsten-nitride-carbide (WNxCy) because these materials are much more chemically stable and highly refractory. Furthermore, the incorporation of carbon into certain transition metal ternary materials poses additional challenges. Unlike tungsten and silicon, the carbon component in a thin film or deposition residue does not typically form volatile byproducts with fluorine atoms. Instead, the carbon component tends to form nonvolatile fluorocarbon polymer residues. As tungsten and/or silicon components are removed as volatile byproducts, the remaining residues become carbon enriched. Such a problem has become well known in etching and cleaning of carbon-doped silicate glass (CSG) low dielectric constant materials. In the case of tungsten carbide (WC), fluorine-containing plasmas preferentially remove the tungsten component and leave the carbon particles behind.
CVD and/or ALD chambers used for tungsten carbide and tungsten depositions have to be periodically disassembled and cleaned by mechanical means (scrubbing or blasting) and/or by wet chemical solutions. A mixture of potassium ferricyanide (K3Fe(CN)6), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and water (H2O) has been found to effectively remove WC coatings. Mechanical and wet clean processes are time consuming and labor intensive.
Accordingly, the IC industry needs a viable dry chamber cleaning technology that can reliably remove the deposition residues of transition metal ternary compounds. Compared with wet or mechanical cleaning, dry chamber cleaning preserves process chamber vacuum. Compared with disassembling the process chamber followed by wet or mechanical cleaning, a dry cleaning technology can greatly minimize chamber down time, and hence increase wafer throughput.

Removal of transition metal ternary and/or quaternary barrier materials from a substrate


An apparatus for driving a three-electrode alternating current (AC) surface discharge plasma display panel (PDP) includes a scanning driver, an address driver, a common driver and a controller. The scanning driver, in which a scanning circuit is combined with a discharge sustaining circuit with respect to each of the scan electrode lines, applies scanning signals to scan electrode lines in response to scan data in a predetermined scanning order during an address period for forming wall charges at pixels to be selected and also applies discharge sustaining signals to scan electrode lines in response to discharge sustain data during a sustain-discharge period for generating light at the selected pixels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for driving a plasma display panel (PDP), and more particularly, to an apparatus for driving a three-electrode alternating-current (AC) surface discharge type PDP using an address-while-display driving method.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a general three-electrode AC surface-discharge type PDP. FIG. 2 shows an electrode line pattern of the PDP shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 shows another view of one pixel in the PDP of FIG. 1. Referring to the drawings, address electrode lines A1, A2, A3, . . . , Amxe2x88x921 and Am, a dielectric layer 11 (and/or 141 of FIG. 3), scan electrode lines Y1, Y2, . . . , Yn, common electrode lines X1, X2,. . . , Xn and a MgO layer 12 as a protective layer are provided between front and rear glass substrates 10 and 13 of a general surface-discharge PDP 1.
The address electrode lines A1, A2, A3, . . . , Amxe2x88x921 and Am, are coated over the front surface of the rear glass substrate 13 in a predetermined pattern. Phosphors (142 of FIG. 3) may be coated over the front surface of the address electrode lines A1, A2, . . . , Amxe2x88x921 and Am. Otherwise, the phosphors 142 may be coated on the dielectric layer 141 of FIG. 3 in the event that the dielectric layer 141 is coated over the address electrode lines A1, A2, . . . , Amxe2x88x921, and Am in a predetermined pattern.
The common electrode lines X1, X2, . . . , Xn and the scan electrode lines Y1, Y2, . . . , Yn are arranged on the rear surface of the front glass substrate 10 so as to be orthogonal to the address electrode lines A1, A2, A3, . . . , Amxe2x88x921 and Am in a predetermined pattern. The respective intersections define corresponding pixels. The common electrode lines X1, X2, . . . , Xn and the scan electrode lines Y1, Y2, . . . , Yn are each comprised of indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode lines Xna and Yna and a metal bus electrode lines Xnb and Ynb, as shown in FIG. 3. The dielectric layer 11 is entirely coated over the rear surface of the common electrode lines X1, X2, . . . , Xn and the scan electrode lines Y1, Y2, . . . , Yn. The MgO layer 12 for protecting the panel 1 against a strong electrical field is entirely coated over the rear surface of the dielectric layer 11. A gas for forming plasma is hermetically sealed in a discharge space 14.
The driving method generally adopted to the PDP described above is a method in which a reset step, an address step and a sustain-discharge step are sequentially performed in a unit sub-field. In the reset step, residual wall charges in the previous field are removed. In the address step, wall charges are produced at selected pixels. In the sustain-discharge step, light is emitted from pixels at which the wall charges have been formed in the address step. In other words, when an AC pulse of a relatively high voltage is applied between the common electrode lines X1, X2, . . . , Xn and the scan electrode lines Y1, Y2, . . . , Yn, surface discharges occur at the pixels at which the wall charges are formed. At this time, plasma is formed in a gas layer, and the phosphors 142 is excited due to radiation of ultraviolet rays, thereby generating light.
A plurality of unit sub-fields having the above basic operating principal are included in a unit frame, thereby displaying a desirable gradation due to different times of the sustain-discharge periods of the sub-fields.
In an apparatus for driving the PDP described above, conventionally, a scanning driver and a discharge sustaining driver are separately provided to drive the scan electrode lines Y1, Y2, . . . , Yn. The scanning driver applies scanning signals to the scan electrode lines Y1, Y2, . . . , Yn in response to scan data in a predetermined scanning order during an address period for forming wall charges at pixels to be selected. The discharge sustaining driver applies discharge sustaining signals to the scan electrode lines Y1, Y2, . . . , Yn in response to discharge sustain data during a sustain-discharge period for generating light at the selected pixels. As described above, the scanning driver and the discharge sustaining driver are separately provided to drive the scan electrode lines Y1, Y2, . . . , Yn because it is preferable that the level of a positive polarity voltage used during the address period is different from the level of a negative polarity voltage used during the sustain-discharge period, and the level of a negative polarity voltage used during the address period is different from the level of the negative polarity voltage used during the sustain-discharge period. However, the structure having separated drivers has a disadvantage of complicating a driving circuit and a control algorithm and increasing manufacturing costs.
To solve the above problem, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for driving a plasma display panel, which can simplify a driving circuit and a control algorithm and reduce manufacturing costs.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an apparatus for driving a plasma display panel (PDP) having front and rear substrates to be separated and opposed to each other and having common, scan and address electrode lines between the front and rear substrates, the common electrode lines and the scan electrode lines being arranged in parallel, the address electrode lines being arranged to be orthogonal to the scan electrode lines, thereby defining pixels corresponding to the respective intersections.
The apparatus includes a scanning driver, an address driver, a common driver and a controller. The scanning driver, in which a scanning circuit is combined with a discharge sustaining circuit with respect to each of the scan electrode lines, applies scanning signals to the scan electrode lines in response to scan data in a predetermined scanning order during an address period for forming wall charges at pixels to be selected and applies discharge sustaining signals to the scan electrode lines in response to discharge sustain data during a sustain-discharge period for generating light at the selected pixels. The address driver applies address signals to the address electrode lines in response to an input display data signal. The common driver applies common signals to the common electrode lines in response to an input common data signal. The controller processes externally input image data and generates the scanning data, the discharge sustain data, the display data signal and the common data signal.
According to the present invention, the scanning driver applies the scanning signals to the scan electrode lines in response to the scan data during the address period and also applies the discharge sustaining signals to the scan electrode lines in response to the discharge sustain data during the sustain-discharge period. Accordingly, the present invention does not require an additional discharge sustaining driver for the scan electrode lines, thereby simplifying a driving circuit and a control algorithm and decreasing manufacturing costs.

Apparatus for driving plasma display panel


An apparatus for communicating with a portable data carrier comprises a first communication interface, based on wireless data transfer technology, for receiving and/or transmitting data via a first communication channel, and a second communication interface, based on different contactless data transfer technology, for receiving and/or transmitting data via a second communication channel. A first software interface to the first communication interface via which an application program stored in the apparatus can communicate with the first communication interface. The apparatus has a second software interface via which the application program can communicate with the second communication interface, with the communication from the first software interface to the first communication interface, and vice versa, being passed via the second software interface.

This invention relates to an apparatus for communicating with a portable data carrier and to a method for communicating between an apparatus and a portable data carrier.
It is known to carry out a contactless communication between a reading device and a portable data carrier, such as e.g. a chip card, smart card, etc. For example, RFID (radio frequency identification) systems are used for contactless communication in order to carry out a communication between the reading device and the portable data carrier via an alternating magnetic field of the reading device. In RFID systems, the reading device possesses an antenna coil for producing the alternating magnetic field. The portable data carrier likewise comprises an antenna coil in order to draw the required energy from the alternating magnetic field. A combination of the antenna coil with a circuit of the portable data carrier is designated a transponder. Via the alternating magnetic field, data are also transferred between the transponder and the reading device.
It is furthermore known to equip a portable data carrier with an optical interface, namely an infrared interface, which can be configured as a transmitting apparatus, a receiving apparatus or a switchable transmitting/receiving apparatus, and constitutes an alternative data transfer channel. To use the infrared interface of the portable data carrier for transmitting data to a reading device, the infrared interface must be supplied with sufficient energy. For this purpose it has been proposed to utilize the conventional antenna coil in order to supply the infrared interface with sufficient energy via the alternating magnetic field of the reading device. The data and energy transfer is effected here via two different, contactless interfaces. The additional infrared interface constitutes an additional data transfer channel which can be configured as a transmitting apparatus, a receiving apparatus or a switchable transmitting/receiving apparatus.
When employing portable data carriers having two different, contactless interfaces, there is the problem for communication apparatuses that there must be provided, besides an interface to a contactless-type reading device, an additional interface for processing optical signals. This leads to problems in particular with the software applications implemented on the apparatuses, normally requiring that an existing application software be reworked.
Thus, a solution is required for how a reading device originally adapted only for contactless communication with a portable data carrier via a single contactless interface can be subsequently fitted in a simple manner such that a data communication between the reading device and the data carrier can also be effected via another contactless interface. For this purpose, DE 10 2005 053 210 B3 proposes converting infrared signals into contactless communication signals by means of an accordingly configured transponder. The disadvantage of this solution is the fact that a further transponder for the data conversion is required in addition to the reading device.

Apparatus for communicating with a portable data carrier


It comprises hollow body (6) with head (2) joined to base (3), in which inside of said hollow body (6) contains tip (4) fixed to referred body (6) characterised in that: tip (4) is fixed in an immobile manner to body (6) and there is at least one lateral space or cavity (5) defined between body (6) and tip (4) and said body (6) is manufactured from an elastic material, at least around the zone where said space or cavity (5) is defined.

In the state of the art, several pellets and bullets are known that comprise a tip in the form of a ball, the ball of which has a body in the form of a cylinder that is housed inside the pellet.
Thus, there are very old documents that describe a projectile with a ball tip, such as U.S. Pat. No. 1,004,510 "Projectile" from 1910. One of the embodiments comprises a tip with an oval prolongation. Thus, the projectile tip comprises a semi-ball with a prolongation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,792,869 "Expanding soft tip bullet" is also known from 2004. The purpose of the invention in this patent is an expandable pellet that comprises three parts: a lead base with a cavity covered by a "jacket" and a tip that is at least partially housed inside said cavity. Preferably, the tip is in the form of a ball, but alternative embodiments propose other rounded forms of the tip. It essentially has a cavity inside the pellet body in which the ball can move after the impact. This is what is known as an expandable pellet.
The object of the invention in U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,232 "Bullet with spherical nose portion", held by Olin Corporation (US), which is known and currently in force, is a pellet with a ball tip having predetermined characteristics. A frontal element has a predetermined durability. Moreover, said patent family includes several documents, also in force, that cover various embodiments and also claim the manufacturing procedure.
French patent No FR278068 "Projectile sous calibre, cnemise et expansif pour armes a canons lisses" from 1996, refers to a projectile that comprises three parts: a metal mass, a natural or plastic material cylinder and a jacket, also made of metal. The cylinder and mass are secured inside the metal jacket by retention means.
Patent GB 2269654 "A method of preventing the buildup of deposits of plastics material in a choked and rifled barrel of an air, gas or spring gun", from 1992 is also known, in the name of Mr Earl Hugh EDWARD, which refers to a pellet with a metal head and a plastic tail. The tail has portions that have maximum tail diameters that ensure the pellet will have a low coefficient of friction since it passes through the length of the barrel tube.

Pellet for sporting rifles and sporting guns