A coprocessor system is disclosed in which a CPU in a game machine body and a CPU in a game cartridge are formed by CPU cores having the same architecture and memory mapping functions. The cycle time of a second CPU, for example the CPU in the game cartridge, is shorter than the cycle time of the first CPU, for example the CPU in the game machine body. The first CPU accesses memory during a first time period that is longer than the program memory access time but shorter than the first CPU cycle time. The second CPU accesses the program memory during a second time period, which is the time difference between the end of the first time period and the end of the first CPU's cycle time. The second CPU may also access the program memory during the first time period if no first CPU memory access is pending. Since the first CPU's memory access during the first time period has priority over the second CPU's, the first CPU never waits to access shared memory.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a co-processor system and an external memory unit with an auxiliary processing function. More specifically, the present invention relates to a co-processor system and an external memory unit with an auxiliary processing function, in which a program is stored in a memory of the external memory unit which is detachably attached to an information processing apparatus such as a gaming machine and an image processing apparatus, and a processor provided in the external memory unit cooperates with a processor provided in the information processing apparatus.
2. Related Art
One example of such a kind of co-processor system is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laying-open No. 6-790093 laid-open on Mar. 22, 1994. In brief, this prior art is a system in which a CPU 1 within a main unit of an information processing apparatus and a further CPU 2 called a "Mario chip" access a program in a ROM 3 as shown in FIG. 1, and the CPU 1 executes information processings according to the program. In the prior art, the program for operating the CPU 1 is transferred from the ROM 3 to a RAM 4 and stored therein (down-loaded). Thereafter, the CPU 1 indirectly executes the program of the ROM 3 by directly accessing the program being transferred into the RAM 4. On the other hand, the Mario chip 2 directly accesses the ROM 3 to execute the program in a period that no data is transferred to the RAM 4, i.e., a period that the ROM 3 is not accessed by the CPU 1.
Furthermore, a parallel processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 can be regarded as a kind of co-processsor system; however, in a case of FIG. 2 system, a first CPU 6a and a second CPU 6b are switched by a bus controller 5 to be connected to a ROM 7 in a time-sharing manner, whereby a necessary program is down-loaded from the ROM 7 to a first RAM 8a or a second RAM 8b. A common clock from a clock generator 9 is applied to the CPU 6a and the CPU 6b. Then, the CPU 6a or the CPU 6b individually and simultaneously or synchronously executes the program stored in the RAM 8a or the RAM 8b on the basis of the same clock. That is, in FIG. 2 system, the both CPUs 6a and 6b do not execute the program of the ROM 7 by directly accessing the ROM 7 in the same machine cycle period, and the program is transferred to the RAMs 8a and 8b corresponding to the CPUs 6a and 6b, and then, the CPUs 6a and 6b directly access the RAMs 8a and 8b, and therefore, the both CPUs 6a and 6b do not directly access the ROM 7 in the same operation cycle period.
In FIG. 1 prior art, the ROM 3 is occupied by the Mario chip 2 when the Mario chip 2 is to be operated. Thus, if it is required that the CPU 1 and the Mario chip 2 are to be simultaneously operated, it becomes necessary to provide a further memory such as the RAM 4. Therefore, in preparing a program, there are many operational limitations or restrictions. For example, (1) it is necessary to prepare programs individually for the CPU 1 and the Mario chip 2 on the basis of architectures suitable for the CPU 1 and the Mario chip 2. (2) If the program for the CPU 1 is to be incorporated within the ROM 3, as described above, the program must be down-loaded, and therefore, it is necessary to write the program in a series of ROM addresses. (3) If a capacity of the RAM 4 is low, the program necessary for the CPU 1 can not be loaded in whole, and therefore, it becomes necessary to divide the program into divided program blocks and to down-load respective divided program blocks. In case (3), it is necessary to write jump programs or sub-routine programs for each of the respective divided program blocks, and even if the same sub-routine program is to be used for the respective divided program block, the same sub-routine program must be prepared for each of the respective divided program blocks, and accordingly, much of the capacity of the ROM is wasted.
In FIG. 2 prior art, there is also the problem (3) of the above described FIG. 1 prior art, and in addition thereto, the RAM 8a and the RAM 8b are required, and therefore, the number of the components becomes large and the system becomes more expensive. If RAMs having small capacity are utilized to make the RAMs 8a and 8b inexpensive, the program data of the ROM 7 must be divided into program blocks each of which is equal to a maximum storage capacity of the RAM, causing the transfer of program data to the RAM frequently, and accordingly, execution of the program by the CPUs 6a and 6b are frequently stopped, and a waiting time for data transfer is increased, and a user must wait during the waiting time, and resultingly, rapid execution of the program is hindered.

Coprocessor system for accessing shared memory during unused portion of main processor's instruction cycle where main processor never waits when accessing shared memory


A side-mounted capacitor for a semiconductor die package is described. In one embodiment, a substrate has a die side to which an IC (integrated circuit) may be attached, and an edge adjacent the die side. A bypass capacitor is attached to the package substrate edge.

1. Field
The present description relates to integrated circuit packaging, and more particularly, to bypass capacitor design and placement on an integrated circuit package.
2. Background
IC's (Integrated Circuits) are manufactured in and on semiconductor wafers with several layers of active circuitry. The wafer is cut into separate semiconductor chips which are mounted to and electrically coupled to package substrates. The package substrates have several layers including a ground plane, and a power plane. The package substrates are sealed inside a package from which pins for the ground plane, power plane and active circuitry extend. These pins allow the package to be coupled to a PCB (Printed Circuit Board).
At higher clock speeds (for example higher than 1 GHz) and faster clock signal rise times (for example less than 100 psec), the power delivery design of integrated circuit packages, results in a very high loop inductance. The loop inductance of the power delivery system may be reduced using bypass capacitors. Bypass (decoupling) capacitors are also used to reduce electrical noise and to suppress unwanted radiation. The electrical noise is generated by capacitive and inductive parasitics and by the continuous switching of the transistors in the circuit.
One type of bypass capacitor is an ECC (Embedded chip capacitor). ECC's are placed on power-consuming circuits and are able to smooth out voltage variations using the stored charge on the decoupling capacitor. The stored charge is used as a local power supply to device inputs during signal switching stages, allowing the decoupling capacitor to mitigate the effects of voltage noise induced into the system by parasitic inductance. However, such decoupling capacitors use space on the chip that might otherwise be used for additional circuitry. In addition, such decoupling capacitors are complex to build within the chip's circuitry. They reduce system yield, and increase production costs. They also suffer from significant voltage leakage increasing heat and power consumption for the chip.
Bypass capacitors may also be placed on both the bottom side of the exterior of an integrated circuit package directly underneath the die (land side capacitor) and on the top side of the exterior of the package (die side capacitor). With land side capacitors, the capacitors' terminals are connected to IC loads through the package substrate. Electrically conductive vias and patterned planes within the package substrate allow the capacitors to provide bypassing capacitance to the IC.
Connection of the capacitors to the load through the vias and planes results in some "vertical" inductance, also referred to as "loop" inductance, in the supply and return via loop between each capacitor and the integrated circuit load. Land side capacitors in a typical package are located on the same side of the package as the power and data connection pins or pads for the package. As a result, the capacitors can interfere with the pins or pads on the bottom side of surface mounted components.
Die side capacitors, mounted on the opposite side from the connection pins and pads do not interfere with mounting the package. However, die side capacitors have still higher inductance characteristics. In addition, since die side capacitors attach to the metal layers of the IC, the total number of capacitors is limited by the amount of metal available on the surface of the die.
Both land side and die side capacitors require surface area on the package that then cannot be used for any other purpose. As IC's become smaller, less surface area is available for mounting capacitors. Even as packages grow smaller some space is still required for handling the package and for pressing it into sockets for burn-in, test, and installation. Handling and pressing a package risks damaging or dislodging any nearby capacitors.

Capacitor placement for integrated circuit packages


An apparatus, system, and method for dispensing a measured amount of paste is provided herein, including a flexible container for paste, comprising a closed end, a peripheral wall, and an open outlet; a top cap comprising a top surface and a bottom surface, the top cap hingedly attached to the open outlet, the bottom surface of the top cap disposed to cover the open outlet in a closed position and uncover the open outlet in an open position; and a scooper attached to the bottom surface of the top cap in a substantially perpendicular orientation, the scooper configured to dip into the container in the closed position and scoop out a measured amount of paste from the container in an open position.

Paste or paste-like materials have many uses and are utilized in a variety of field including construction, paint, art, medicine, and hygiene. Many times these pasty material are provided in tubes having a small opening through which the paste is squeezed out. A user normally makes an estimate of how much paste is required for a particular job, squeezes out what may appear to be the required amount, and uses the dispenses paste. Many times, the user overestimate the amount of paste needed and dispenses more paste than needed, and because the paste cannot easily be put back inside the tube, the extra paste ends up as waste. When using certain types of pastes, such as artist's paint or toothpaste where only a relatively small amount of paste is required at a time, waste of material is a normal and accepted outcome.
While there has been a trend to provide more user-friendly paste dispensers, further improvements in waste reduction and control over the amount of the dispensed paste are desirable. As can be seen, there is a need for a more effective and efficient paste dispenser.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatus for dispensing a measured amount of paste


An electrosurgical hand piece device is configured to cut tissue with monopolar RF energy to extract a medical lead submersed in fluid. The device includes an electrode surrounded by an electrically insulating coating that can be exposed from a distal edge of the electrode when power is supplied to the device, thereby focusing the energy at the distal edge and enabling tissue to be more easily and safely cut from around the medical lead while in fluid.

Cardiac pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are devices implanted within patients' bodies to treat various cardiac conditions. These devices include a power source that sends electrical signals down a cardiac lead that extends from the power source to a patient's heart. The cardiac leads can be epicardial leads, which are leads with electrodes attached to the outside of the heart, or endocardial leads, which are leads that are inserted through a vein and guided into a chamber of the heart through the vein.
Although implanted cardiac leads typically have a useful life of many years, at some point leads may become inoperative, another type of lead may be needed or the corresponding pacemaker or ICD may be removed. Although cardiac leads can be left in the heart, doing so can lead to serious medical complications for the patient. It is therefore often desirable to surgically remove such leads. In addition, there are circumstances that make removal of the lead a medical necessity, such as infection or vein obstruction.
Complicating removal of an endocardial lead extending through a patient's vein is the fact that over time, the lead tends to become encapsulated against the wall of the vein by fibrotic tissue. The fibrotic tissue can make separation and removal of the lead from the vein difficult, and severe damage can be caused removing the lead, including possible dissection or perforation of the vein.
A number of methods and devices have been developed for removing cardiac leads encapsulated by fibrotic tissue from veins of patients. One exemplary device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,515 to Tu. This device includes a cylindrical, non-conductive delivery catheter with a conductive electrode at its distal end. A conducting wire connected to an external radiofrequency (RF) energy source is secured to the electrode to deliver RF energy to the electrode. In use, the electrode and delivery catheter are advanced over an implanted cardiac lead. The RF energy source is activated and a sharp edge of the electrode is advanced into the fibrotic tissue encapsulating the lead, such that the fibrotic tissue is removed by a combination of the RF energy and mechanical cutting by the sharp edge of the electrode. As the fibrotic tissue is cut away, the cardiac lead can be removed from the vein.
Studies have found that devices employing bipolar RF energy can cause harm to patients including in some cases death and therefore monopolar RF energy is generally safer and preferred. Current monopolar RF-based lead extraction devices, however, face challenges for use in in vivo fluid environments such as when immersed in blood within a vein. Specifically, it has been a challenge for electrodes to fire or deliver sufficient RF energy to dissect tissue when completely submersed in a fluid such as blood. This is significant because modern RF electrosurgery technology leverages plasma generation by ionizing air to cause tissue dissection. When an RF electrode is completely submersed in blood as opposed to air, current density drops because the exposed surface of the electrode is in contact with the blood, which is a conductive medium, resulting in a lower impedance around the electrode. Moreover, because of the lower impedance in liquids, creating plasma in such an environment is challenging. If plasma is not created, then RF dissection/ablation becomes ineffective and the device is unable to dissect the tissue to remove the lead.


A power converter includes a switch and a controller. The switch switches electrical power in the power converter. The controller generates a switching signal to control the switch in response to a first feedback signal associated with a voltage control loop and a second feedback signal associated with a current control loop. The controller can also allow the switching frequency to hop from frequency to frequency according to a digital pattern.

Various power converters have been widely used to provide regulated output voltage and current. Typically, the power converters have a transformer that isolates the input and output terminals of the power converter for safety and reliability reasons. The input terminals at a primary-side can receive electrical power such that the transformer can pass the electrical power to the output terminals at a secondary-side. Most power converters use a switch to switch the electrical power through the transformer. In prior power converters, a controller controls the switch based on a feedback voltage signal from an optical-coupler coupled with an output voltage of the power converter. These prior power converters also required a secondary-side regulator to regulate the output voltage and current at the secondary-side of the power converter. A disadvantage of these prior power converters is that they required an optical-coupler and secondary-side regulator, thereby increasing the size and costs for the power converters.
Furthermore, in prior power converters, the switching of the electrical power through the transformer can cause electrical spikes and electromagnetic interference (EMI) in the power converters. Such prior power converters provided poor protection from spikes and EMI. Thus, what is needed is reducing the size and costs of power converters, while providing protection against electrical spikes and EMI.

Primary-side-control power converter having a switching controller using frequency hopping and voltage and current control loops


An imaging apparatus according to an embodiment includes a first light source which emits first light, a second light source which emits second light, an imaging sensor, and control circuitry. The image sensor includes a plurality of pixels to receive light from an object, reads an electric signal generated by the pixel with a rolling shutter method, and outputs the electric signal for each frame. The control circuitry causes the first light source to be turned on M (M is an integer equal to or less than N) times in N frames in synchronization with a first period based on a blanking period of the frame, and causes the second light source to be turned on by selectively using multiple lighting patterns in which lighting timing is set in synchronization with the first period and a total lighting period in the N frames is different.

For imaging apparatuses such as endoscope apparatuses, CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensors used to be primarily used; however, in recent years, CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensors have been dominant because they offer advantages in a reduction in costs, a single power source, low power consumption, etc. For CMOS image sensors, typically, a rolling shutter method is often used.

Imaging apparatus and control method having a plurality of synchronized light source devices


Method for providing avoiding of excitations of oscillations of a measuring machine and/or for reducing or damping such oscillations by actively controlling a driving unit of the measuring machine or actively controlling an actuation of an additionally attached actuator. The method using information about an actual state of the measuring device, the actual state is derived based on a dynamic model and/or by use of a suitable sensor unit. A state controller, an actuator or a frequency-filtering element are used for counteracting or preventing oscillations.

It is common practice to inspect work pieces subsequent to production on a coordinate positioning apparatus, such as a coordinate measuring machine (CMM), in order to check for correctness of predefined object parameters, like dimensions and shape of the object.
In a conventional 3-D coordinate measurement machine, a probe head is supported for movement along three mutually perpendicular axes (in directions X, Y and Z). Thereby, the probe head can be guided to any arbitrary point in space of a measuring volume of the coordinate measuring machine and the object is measurable with a measurement sensor (probe) carried by the probe head.
In a simple form of the machine a suitable transducer mounted parallel to each axis is able to determine the position of the probe head relative to a base of the machine and, therefore, to determine the coordinates of a measurement point on the object being approached by the sensor. For providing movability of the probe head a typical coordinate measuring machine may comprise a frame structure on which the probe head is arranged and driving means for moving frame components of the frame structure relative to each other.
For measuring surface variations, both measurement principles based on use of tactile sensors and of optical sensors are known.
In general, to provide a coordinate measuring machine with an improved measurement precision, its frame structure is therefore usually designed to have a high static stiffness. In order to achieve a stiff and rigid machine design, the frame structure or at least parts of it, is often made of stone, such as granite. Besides all the positive effects like thermal stability and good damping properties, the granite also makes the machine and the movable frame elements quite heavy. The high weight on the other side also requires high forces for a decent acceleration.
There are still several possible sources of error, if such technique is employed. Resonances or vibrations of machine parts when moving one frame component relative to another component are just two examples for dynamic errors. Moreover, errors emerging from vibrations coming from outside the machine are to be considered. Additionally, static errors like lack of straightness in movement and of orthogonality of the axes or lateral offset in the linear drive mechanisms may occur.
According to many approaches the mentioned errors are only analyzed statically, although they also comprise dynamic factors which are dependent on the movement of the axes, in particular dependent on the position, speed, acceleration and jerk when moving the axis. With the speed-dependent calibration, this fact is taken into account in a rather simple and inflexible way. While the static errors can be numerically reduced by the use of position calibration matrices, things get much more complex when trying to compensate the dynamic errors.
In that context, for example, it has to be considered that accelerations of one axis of the machine (which can move further perpendicular axes and the probe head), can cause linear and angular dynamic deflections of the whole frame of the coordinate measuring machine, which in turn cause measurement uncertainties and errors. These dynamic measurement errors may be reduced by taking measurements at low accelerations, e.g. by a consequently optimized trajectory of desired movement.
Known approaches are trying to suppress deflections, vibrations and/or oscillations caused by the acceleration of the machine by a technology called input-shaping, which controls the regulating variable, e.g. the force or current of a propulsion motor, in such a way as to bypass some mechanical resonances and avoid a stimulation of resonance frequencies or even actively counterforce oscillations by a accordingly manipulated variable on the output to the driving actuator control.
Also model predictive control, as a form of control in which the current control action is obtained by solving at each sampling instant a finite horizon open-loop optimal control problem, using the current state of the plant as the initial state, can be applied to CMMs. The optimisation yields an optimal control sequence and the first control in the sequence is then applied to the plant.
Exemplarily for error handling, EP 1 559 990 discloses a coordinate measuring system and method of correcting coordinates measured in a coordinate measuring machine, measuring geometrical errors while parts with various weights are mounted on the coordinate measuring machine. Compensation parameters are derived from measured results per a weight of a part and stored. A compensation parameter corresponding to a weight of a part to be measured is appropriately read out to correct measured coordinates of the part to be measured.
As a further example, EP 1 687 589 discloses a method of error compensation in a coordinate measuring machine with an articulating probe head having a surface detecting device. The surface detecting device is rotated about at least one axis of the articulating probe head during measurement. The method comprises the steps of: determining the stiffness of the whole or part of the apparatus, determining one or more factors which relate to the load applied by the articulating probe head at any particular instant and determining the measurement error at the surface sensing device caused by the load.
Another approach for error correction of work piece measurements with a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) is disclosed in GB 2 425 840. Thereby, position measurements are taken with a work piece sensing probe, in which means of measuring acceleration are provided. The measurements are corrected for both high frequency (unrepeatable) errors such as those due to vibration, and low frequency (repeatable) errors such as those due to centrifugal forces on the probe. The correction method comprises measuring the work piece, determining repeatable measurement errors from a predetermined error function, error map or error look-up table, measuring acceleration and calculating unrepeatable measurement errors, combining the first and second measurement errors to determine total errors and correcting the work piece measurements using the total errors. The predetermined error map is calculated using an artefact of known dimensions.
For handling above mentioned errors, in particular dynamic errors, usually a suitable model of the CMM is to be defined, wherein a positioning behaviour of especially the frame structure of the CMM is enabled to be described based on that model. Exemplarily, a look-up table may be defined in order to lookup a correction value correlated with an actual positioning of the frame components of the CMM. Such modelling of a CMM becomes more important along with weight (and stiffness) reduction of CMM-parts.
Weight reduction is a main topic relating to the designs of coordinate measuring machines, as if the machine components are built comprising less weight (and less stiffness) faster positioning of respective components can be achieved by causing fewer force affecting the coordinate measuring machine. On the other hand the influence of machine vibrations and torsions caused by reduced stiffness and (faster) movement of the machine components might increase with weight reduction of these parts. Thus, uncertainties of derived measurement values and errors occurring from such deformations and vibrations might increase accordingly.
An approach for a dynamic model which provides precise description of also oscillation errors due to less stiff machine constructions is known from EP 2 762 830.
However, by use of such modelling approach still errors occurring from movements of machine parts or from external influences remain. Again with view to build measuring machines less heavy and thus provide higher moving speeds for measuring designated work pieces, oscillations of the machine remain significantly influencing measured coordinates or positions.


A connector includes: a housing; and a plurality of metal contacts supported so as to be parallel to each other with respect to the housing, each contact having a first contact arm and a second contact arm, and electrically connecting a first member and a second member to each other by bringing a first contact terminal of the first contact arm and a second contact terminal of the second contact arm into elastic contact with a conductive connection portion of the first member and a conductive connection portion of the second member respectively, the first member and the second member being disposed on both sides of the housing, wherein the housing has a through hole penetrating therethrough and formed on a side of the first contact terminal with respect to a first separation start position at which the first contact arm starts separation from the housing, and a second separation start position at which the second contact arm starts separation from the housing is disposed farther apart from the through hole than the first separation start position.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a connector including a plurality of metal contacts supported so as to be parallel to each other with respect to the housing, each contact having a first contact arm and a second contact arm, and electrically connecting a first member and a second member to each other by bringing contact terminals of the first contact arm and the second contact arm into elastic contact with a conductive connection portion of the first member and a conductive connection portion of the second member, the first member and the second member being disposed on both sides of the housing and a recording apparatus having the connector.
2. Related Art
A connector used for interconnection between a substrate on the side of a cartridge mounted to a carriage of a recording apparatus and a substrate on a side of a recording apparatus body is disclosed in Patent Document 1. A plurality of contacts of the connector are pressed and fixed to a horizontal barrier wall from one end wall surface of a housing. At least a continuous end wall extending from both side walls and the horizontal barrier wall of the housing is disposed on the other end opposed to the one end wall surface. A space surrounded with the horizontal barrier wall and the continuous end wall and extending in a horizontal direction is formed in the back of contact arms constituting the contacts on one side of the horizontal barrier wall. In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 which provides such a space, when ink is unintentionally attached to one side of the horizontal barrier wall from the ink cartridge, the attached ink is collected to the space so as to prevent the attached ink from moving to the other side of the horizontal barrier wall, thereby suppressing the attached ink from reaching the main body side substrate.
Patent Document 1:JP-A-2000-208184
However, when the ink is attached to the housing in the vicinity of a separation start position at which a contact arm of the contact starts a separation from the horizontal barrier wall (housing), that is, in the vicinity of a bent portion of the contact arm, the attached ink enters the space formed in a portion of the bent portion where the contact arm and the housing contact each other by means of a capillary phenomenon, and thus easily gathers there. Then, the contact may be corroded at the position to deteriorate the elasticity of the contact arm and a predetermined contact load may not be obtained, thereby causing contact failure. The conductivity of the contact may be deteriorated due to the corrosion.

Connector and recording apparatus having the same


Embodiments of the present invention provide a chip package including: a semiconductor substrate having a first surface and a second surface; a device region formed in the semiconductor substrate; a dielectric layer disposed on the first surface; and a conducting pad structure disposed in the dielectric layer and electrically connected to the device region; a cover substrate disposed between the chip and the cover substrate, wherein the spacer layer, a cavity is created an surrounded by the chip and the cover substrate on the device region, and the spacer layer is in direct contact with the chip without any adhesion glue disposed between the chip and the spacer layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a chip package and a method for forming the same, and in particular, relates to a chip package formed by using a wafer-level packaging process.
2. Description of the Related Art
The chip package packaging process is one important step when forming electronic products. A chip package not only provides protection for the chips from environmental contaminants, but also provides a connection interface for electronic elements therein and chips packaged therein.
Because the conventional chip packaging process is complicated, a simplified chip packaging process is desired.

Chip package and method for forming the same


A digital camera has an image sensor, a capture trigger, a processing system, and a capture buffer having multiple buffer locations. When the capture trigger is activated, a corresponding image frame is received by the processing system from the image sensor and stored in an available buffer location. Image processing is performed on the image frame. The buffer location is unavailable for storage of other image data until the image processing is complete. Auxiliary Image frames are stored in the remaining buffer locations not designated as unavailable.

Digital cameras generally have a lens system and an image sensor for collecting image data. The image data is transmitted as image frames to a processing system for processing. Each image frame generally is a separate still image. As used herein, the image frames include raw image data from the image sensor that has been digitized with an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter. As used herein, "collecting" image data refers to detecting image data at an image sensor, which is then transmitted as one or more frames.
Digital cameras also have a capture trigger, such as a shutter button, to be activated by a user when the user desires to capture a specific image (the "subject image"). When the user activates the capture trigger, the processing system detects the capture trigger and designates the image data collected by the image sensor as corresponding to the specific image desired to be captured by the user.
The image frame received from the image sensor that corresponds to the capture trigger is referred to herein as a "corresponding image frame." The corresponding image frame may be collected by the image sensor just prior to triggering the capture trigger, concurrent with triggering the capture trigger, or just after triggering the capture trigger, depending on the configuration of the digital camera.
The image sensor also may collect image data that does not correspond to activation of the capture trigger. These image frames are referred to herein as "auxiliary image frames." The auxiliary image frames may be displayed on an image display, used for performing automatic focusing, or used for other processing. The auxiliary image frames may be collected from the image sensor at full resolution or less than full resolution.
The processing system of the digital camera includes one or more processors. In some digital cameras, the processing system has a processor and a co-processor. The processor generally is configured to manage camera operation and other components of the digital camera, including transmitting and receiving instructions and data to and from the other components. The co-processor is configured to perform processing intensive operations, such as compression, blur correction, automatic focus, and other image processing.
The processing system may store image data in internal memory or removable memory before, during, and/or after processing. Internal memory includes volatile memory and/or nonvolatile memory.
Volatile memory, such as random access memory, is memory that can be accessed quickly by the processing system while operating. Nonvolatile memory, such as Flash memory, is capable of storing data for significant periods of time when power is removed from the memory.
Removable memory can be inserted into and removed from the digital camera. The removable memory has an associated memory controller that communicates image data with the processing system and controls storage and retrieval of the image data to and from the removable memory.
The processing system may transmit image data from the digital camera or receive image data via a host interface, such as a universal serial bus (USB) port. The processing system controls transmitting and receiving other data and instructions via the host interface.
The processing system processes auxiliary image frames for display on the image display. This processing is referred to herein as "display processing."
During display processing, the image data optionally is subsampled to reduce the overall processing required for the auxiliary image frame. The subsampled image data then is processed in several stages. White balance and exposure adjustment adjusts the image data for white light and under or over exposure. Color processing is performed to derive proper colors for the image data and may include color filter array (CFA) interpolation and color space processing. The image data also is processed to compensate for non-linear characteristics, such as with gamma processing.
The display processed image then is transferred to an image driver. The image driver configures the image data for an associated image display and transmits the configured image data to the image display.
The processing system also processes corresponding image frames for enhancement, restoration, and color processing to produce a final image captured when the user activates the capture trigger. This processing is referred to herein as "image processing."
Image processing generally includes processing for white balance, exposure adjustment, color processing, and non-linearity compensation. Image processing generally uses a full resolution corresponding image frame. Although, less than full resolution data sometimes may be used. The processing system stores the corresponding image frame in internal memory or removable memory.
Blur correction also is performed by the processing system in some instances. Blur is caused, for example, when a subject image moves through the field of view of the camera lens. The degree of blur is dependent on how fast the subject image is moving through the field of view. Image data is processed to remove the blur.
Additional image processing may be performed, such as for edge enhancement and automatic focus. Other processing for other automatic functions may be performed.
File compression is performed at the end of image processing in some configurations. File compression standards include joint photographic experts group (JPEG) standards, graphics interchange format (GIF) formats, tagged image file format (TIFF) formats, and other formats and standards. Video and audio capture and formatting standards also may be used, such as moving pictures experts group (MPEG) standards and audio-video-interleaved (AVI) standards.
All image processing takes time and processing resources. Often while image data is being processed, the processing system is busy with image processing and is not available to capture or process new images. In other instances, a digital camera may be processing setup commands and temporarily is not able to collect corresponding images.
In such instances, the digital camera does not immediately collect corresponding image frames when the capture trigger is triggered. In some cases, several seconds may pass before the image is captured and processed. This delay commonly is referred to as "shutter delay."
Shutter delay may frustrate a user attempting to capture an image. For example, a user attempting to capture a particular moment in a child's birthday party or at a sporting event may be frustrated if shutter delay causes the digital camera to miss capturing the anticipated image. Therefore, it is desirable to have systems and methods that provide a rapid response between activating a capture trigger and capturing image data for a subject image and to provide this response as long as available memory allows.

System and method for capturing image data

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Valve discs for use with fluid valves are disclosed herein. An example valve disc for a fluid valve includes a base portion having a first side to engage a seat of the fluid valve and a second side opposite the first side, the second side being generally planar and having a centrally located recess to receive a valve stem. The valve disc further includes a circumferential wall extending away from a peripheral edge of the second side, an inner surface of the wall and the second side defining a cylindrical cavity, wherein a height of the circumferential wall is at least twice a thickness of the circumferential wall.

Pressure relief valves are used in a variety of applications to maintain a pressure within a system below a predetermined maximum pressure (e.g., a maximum fluid pressure). Specifically, if the pressure within the system exceeds a predetermined maximum pressure, the pressure relief valve vents a fluid or vapor to the atmosphere and/or other outlet until the pressure within the system decreases below the predetermined maximum pressure. The amount and rate at which the fluid or vapor is vented to the atmosphere is associated with the magnitude of the pressure within the container.
Different pressure relief valves have different sizes, start-to-discharge pressures (e.g., a pressure at which fluid begins to flow within the pressure relief valve), and flow capacities. A pressure relief valve may be selected for use with a system based on a design specification of the system such as a maximum pressure to which a pressure vessel within the system can be safely exposed.
Known pressure relief valves often include a single spring that exerts a force on a stem to urge a valve disc (e.g., a fluid flow control member) towards a valve seat. A fluid valve can include a seat that is made of a hard material (e.g., a metal). In some examples, the seat is integral to a fluid valve body (e.g., not fitted to the valve body). When the valve disc engages the valve seat, fluid flow within the pressure relief valve is prevented. When pressure within the system exceeds the maximum pressure, the force exerted by the spring is overcome, and the valve disc is urged away from the valve seat. Thus, pressure is reduced in the system until it is below the maximum pressure.


The present invention relates to a crystalline form of (S)-7-(1-(but-2-ynoyl)piperidin-4-yl)-2-(4-phenoxyphenyl)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydropyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine-3-carboxamide (Compound 1) for inhibiting Btk, methods of preparation thereof and pharmaceutical compositions, and use of the crystalline form above in the treatment of a disease, or in the manufacturing of a medicament for the treatment of a disease, such as an allergic disease, an autoimmune disease, an inflammatory disease, and a cancer.

Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) belongs to the Tec tyrosine kinase family (Vetrie et al., Nature 361: 226-233, 1993; Bradshaw, Cell Signal. 22: 1175-84, 2010). Btk is primarily expressed in most hematopoietic cells such as B cells, mast cells and macrophages (Smith et al., J. Immunol. 152: 557-565, 1994) and is localized in bone marrow, spleen and lymph node tissue. Btk plays important roles in B-cell receptor (BCR) and FcR signaling pathways, which involve in B-cell development, differentiation (Khan, Immunol. Res. 23: 147, 2001). Btk is activated by upstream Src-family kinases. Once activated, Btk in turn phosphorylates PLC gamma, leading to effects on B-cell function and survival (Humphries et al., J Biol. Chem. 279: 37651, 2004).
These signaling pathways must be precisely regulated. Mutations in the gene encoding Btk cause an inherited B-cell specific immunodeficiency disease in humans, known as X-linked a gamma-globulinemia (XLA) (Conley et al., Annu. Rev. Immunol. 27: 199-227, 2009). Aberrant BCR-mediated signaling may result in dysregulated B-cell activation leading to a number of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Preclinical studies show that Btk deficient mice are resistant to developing collagen-induced arthritis. Moreover, clinical studies of Rituxan, a CD20 antibody to deplete mature B-cells, reveal the key role of B-cells in a number of inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosis (Gurcan et al., Int. Immunopharmacol. 9: 10-25, 2009). Therefore, Btk inhibitors can be used to treat autoimmune and/or inflammatory diseases.
In addition, aberrant activation of Btk plays an important role in pathogenesis of B-cell lymphomas indicating that inhibition of Btk is useful in the treatment of hematological malignancies (Davis et al., Nature 463: 88-92, 2010). Preliminary clinical trial results showed that the Btk inhibitor PCI-32765 was effective in treatment of several types of B-cell lymphoma (for example, 54th American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting abstract, December 2012: 686 The Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (Btk) Inhibitor, Ibrutinib (PCI-32765), Has Preferential Activity in the ABC Subtype of Relapsed/Refractory De Novo Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL): Interim Results of a Multicenter, Open-Label, Phase! Study). Because Btk plays a central role as a mediator in multiple signal transduction pathways, inhibitors of Btk are of great interest as anti-inflammatory and/or anti-cancer agents (Mohamed et al., Immunol. Rev. 228: 58-73, 2009; Pan, Drug News perspect 21: 357-362, 2008; Rokosz et al., Expert Opin. Ther. Targets 12: 883-903, 2008; Uckun et al., Anti-cancer Agents Med. Chem. 7: 624-632, 2007; Lou et al, J. Med. Chem. 55(10): 4539-4550, 2012).
International application WO2014173289A disclosed a series of fused heterocyclic compounds as Btk inhibitors. In particular, WO2014173289A disclosed (S)-7-(1-(but-2-ynoyl)piperidin-4-yl)-2-(4-phenoxyphenyl)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydropyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine-3-carboxamide

Compound 1 is a potent, specific and irreversible BTK kinase inhibitor. The data generated in preclinical studies using biochemical, cell based and animal studies have suggested that Compound 1 is of significant benefit in inhibiting tumor growth in B-cell malignancies. Compound 1 was shown to be more selective than ibrutinib for inhibition of BTK vs. EGFR, FGR, FRK, HER2, HER4, ITK, JAK3, LCK, and TEC, indicating that Compound 1 will have less side-effects than ibrutinib in clinic.
However, Compound 1 prepared in accordance with WO2014173289A was found to be in amorphous form, as confirmed by the X-Ray Powder Diffraction (hereinafter XRPD) pattern of FIG. 1A (the existence of a large bump distributed in a wide range) and the TGA/mDSC curves of FIG. 1B (no substantial glass transition signal). The amorphous form of Compound 1 presents some challenges for drug formulation due to its low stability and difficulties to handle. Therefore, there is a need to develop new forms of Compound 1, especially crystalline forms, which are stable and easy to handle and to process in the manufacture and preparation of drug formulations.

Crystalline forms of (S)-7-(1-(but-2-ynoyl)piperidin-4-yl)-2-(4-phenoxyphenyl)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydropyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine-3-carboxamide, preparation, and uses thereof


A light-weight set of four substantially flat rectangular plates sequentially connected to each other by hinges is pivotably mounted to a pick-up truck tailgate. Flat bar stock braces with orthogonal end tabs fit to tab-receiving elements attached to selected ones of the interconnected plates to secure them in predetermined angular relationships. The plates can thus be secured so that an enlarged containment space is generated to effectively extend an enclosed load space over the width and length of the tailgate. Similarly, by use of a pair of braces on each side, the central two of the four interconnected plates can be securely arranged to provide a flat workbench surface above the entire tailgate. Selected power tools may be mounted thereunder to project operating tool bits, e.g., a router bit, to machine workpieces on the workbench. The system can be readily placed in a folded storage position immediately adjacent the inside surface of the tailgate when not in use, with the braces securely retained in normally found recesses within the inside surface of the tailgate.

The conventional pick-up truck, having a tailgate which can be secured in an upright position to define a containment space over a load bed and which can be lowered to a substantially horizontal position, is now a very common vehicle in most countries. The utility of such a truck is generally limited by the size of its load-carrying containment space. Since it is not practical to have a pick-up truck of adjustable width, and since long objects usually cannot conveniently be carried upright, often the only effective way to enlarge the load-carrying space is to lower the tailgate to its open horizontal position. While this may enable a user of the truck to carry relatively long loads, such use may be in violation of traffic regulations and, also, it may be difficult to ensure secure retention of the long load within the extended space on the truck. There is, therefore, a clear need for an economical way to enlarge the load-carrying portion of a conventional pick-up truck while ensuring safe containment of a load carried therein.
There is yet another kind of utility which a user may find highly desirable, namely the facility for deploying one or more power tools on the truck for machining of wood or metal workpieces, e.g., for repairs, construction, or other similar applications. Preferably, any modification of the conventional pick-up truck tailgate for this purpose should enable a user, at low cost and with little effort, to be able both to enlarge the load-carrying space and to create an effective workbench equipped with one or more power tools.
An exemplary structure for simply extending the load-carrying space of a pick-up truck is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,472,639 to Bianchi, titled "TAILGATE ATTACHMENT FOR EXTENDING THE CARGO SPACE OF VEHICLES", which provides a hinged back panel with a pair of side panels pivotably attached to the sides thereof, the panels being compactly carried against the inside surface of the closed tailgate when not in use and being pivotable into a perpendicular relationship with respect to the opened tailgate. In effect, the disclosed structure creates a pseudo-tailgate and planar extensions of the sides of the pick-up truck.
Another somewhat similar solution is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,773 to Smith, titled "VEHICLE TAILGATE EXTENSION ASSEMBLY", which provides a slidingly stored assembly of flat panels normally folded away adjacent an inside surface of the tailgate and disposable to form extended sides and a back in a manner generally similar to that of Bianchi.
Permanently attached and slidably disposable structures for effectively extending the tailgate rearwardly of the truck are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,850 to Tillcry, titled "TAILGATE EXTENSION", and U.S. Pat. No. 4,778,213 to Palmer, titled "EXTENDABLE VEHICLE TAILGATE ASSEMBLY".
U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,306 to Linder, titled "CABINET AND TABLE UNIT FOR A VEHICLE" and U.S. Pat. No. 2,784,027, to Temp, titled "DRAWER UNIT FOR PICK-UP TRUCKS", teach examples of known structures which include slidably extendable work surfaces and sets of drawers for containing work tools that may be provided to conventional pick-up trucks. Such structures are relatively complex, heavy and expensive.
The above-discussed exemplary prior art does not provide a user the option, with a single structure to readily increase his load-carrying space or to set up a workbench to which he may mount one or more power tools for convenient machining of workpieces at the truck tailgate itself. The present invention is intended to meet this perceived need.

System mountable to a tailgate of a pick-up truck to improve the utility thereof


A correction algorithm for substantially eliminating "stair case" type artifacts in dental scans is described. In one specific embodiment, all high density object boundaries in the reformatted images are identified. To identify high density object boundaries, structures in the reformatted image are separated into two classes, namely, structure containing teeth and structure not containing teeth. Then, within each class, fuzzy logic is used to define the membership grade of each pixel. Particularly, linear interpolation is utilized to determine the boundary, and to reduce the probability that spike noise will be erroneously considered as high density objects, the N by N neighbors of the boundary candidate are searched to ensure that the number of pixels that belong to the high density object exceeds a certain predefined threshold. Such searching can be performed by summing the N by N neighbors of the membership function, .xi., and comparing the summation against a pre-defined threshold. Once the boundaries of the neighboring rows are located, the difference between the true boundary of the current row and the average boundary location of the two neighboring rows is determined to generate a boundary error candidate, .delta..sub.i,j. Since multiple boundaries can be found within each row, all the error candidates for the row are recorded and tested to determine the consistency among the error candidates within each row. Particularly, the average error candidate, .delta..sub.j and the average of the quantity .vertline..delta..sub.i,j -.delta..sub.i,j .vertline. for all the error candidates for row j is determined to produce .omega..sub.j. If .omega..sub.j is less than a pre-defined threshold, the shift in object boundaries for row j is likely caused by motion, and a simple linear shift of the row by an amount .delta..sub.i,j is performed. Otherwise, each boundary that has significant shift is smoothed along the boundary direction with the neighboring rows.

In at least one known CT system configuration, an x-ray source projects a fan-shaped beam which is collimated to lie within an X-Y plane of a Cartesian coordinate system and generally referred to as the "imaging plane". The x-ray beam passes through the object being imaged, such as a patient. The beam, after being attenuated by the object, impinges upon an array of radiation detectors. The intensity of the attenuated beam radiation received at the detector array is dependent upon the attenuation of the x-ray beam by the object. Each detector element of the array produces a separate electrical signal that is a measurement of the beam attenuation at the detector location. The attenuation measurements from all the detectors are acquired separately to produce a transmission profile.
In known third generation CT systems, the x-ray source and the detector array are rotated with a gantry within the imaging plane and around the object to be imaged so that the angle at which the x-ray beam intersects the object constantly changes. A group of x-ray attenuation measurements, i.e., projection data, from the detector array at one gantry angle is referred to as a "view". A "scan" of the object comprises a set of views made at different gantry angles during one revolution of the x-ray source and detector. In an axial scan, the projection data is processed to construct an image that corresponds to a two dimensional slice taken through the object. One method for reconstructing an image from a set of projection data is referred to in the art as the filtered back projection technique. This process converts that attenuation measurements from a scan into integers called "CT numbers" or "Hounsfield units", which are used to control the brightness of a corresponding pixel on a cathode ray tube display.
With respect to reformatted dental scans, the reformation is performed across slices along a pre-defined curved line, in a similar manner as multi-planar reformation. A pronounced "stair case" artifact may appear in the reformatted image. This artifact is caused by patient motion and/or by irregular table motion. Increasing the amount of motion suppression in the tomographic reconstruction reduces the motion effect. For example, and for motion suppression, the projection data set is first multiplied by a set of "underscan" weighing factors before the reconstruction process. Since the underscan weighting reduces the contribution at the beginning and end of the projection data set, patient motion related artifacts can be substantially reduced.
The underscan weighting, however, reduces the contribution from the views that are closest to the projections used in the generation of the neighboring slices. As a result, although the motion effect within each tomographic slice is reduced, the discontinuity between slices is increased.
It would be desirable to provide a correction algorithm which is effective in correcting images for stair case type artifacts in dental scans. It also would be desirable to provide such an algorithm which enables reducing the motion effect within each tomographic slice without increasing the discontinuity between slices.

Stair-case suppression for computed tomograph imaging


A control method of a fan comprises steps of: detecting a rotational speed of a blade and a rotor position of the blade; generating a control signal according to the rotational speed and a predetermined rotational speed; obtaining a Back-EMF waveform according to the control signal, the rotational speed, the rotor position and a waveform; adjusting the phase of the Back-EMF waveform; and outputting a switch control signal.

Field of Invention
The invention relates to a control method and a control system and, in particular, to a control method and a control system of a fan.
Related Art
A fan is commonly used for the heat dissipation. When a fan is applied to a client system, it usually will be increased or decreased in the number of blades according to the different requirements of the client system, and also the rotational speed of the fan will be controlled and driven by a control chip or apparatus, so that the rotational speed of the fan can be properly adjusted to fit the actual operation conditions of the client system.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the architecture of a conventional fan. The fan in FIG. 1 is instanced as a DC brushless fan. The fan 1 includes a control system outputting four switch signals T1˜T4 to four switch elements 12 for switching the phase. The four switch elements 12 are connected to a coil of a motor 13. The control system 11 includes a control unit 111 and a comparator 112. The control unit 111 outputs a switch control signal to the comparator 112, and the comparator 112 compares the control signal and a triangle wave to output the switch signals T1˜T4. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of two waveforms of the conventional switch control signal, and FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of the conventional switch signals. Conventionally, the common driving method of the fan is hard-switching method which is shown by the switch control signal V1 in FIG. 2A. However, the hard-switching method easily causes larger vibrations. Therefore, in order to reduce vibrations, another driving method, i.e. soft-switching method, is used, which is shown by the switch control signal V2 in FIG. 2A. In FIG. 2B, the switch signals T1˜T4 are generated according to the switch control signal V2 of the soft-switching method. The regions a in FIG. 2B denote the portion of the soft-switching.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a vibration spectrum of a conventional fan, wherein the abscissa axis represents the frequency of the rotational speed while the ordinate axis represents the amount of the vibration. FIG. 3 is obtained by transforming the vibration of the fan with a Fourier transform, and the vibration level can be known from FIG. 3. From FIG. 3, it can be seen that the largest vibration level of the conventional fan is larger than 1.5G, and therefore the vibration amount can not be effectively decreased even if the soft-switching method is used to drive the fan.
Otherwise, mechanism design is mostly used for solving the vibration problem of the fan. For the mechanism design, for example, several anti-vibration pads can be added or the mechanical resonance point can be changed to reduce the vibration. However, the frequency multiplication effect caused by the motor can not be overcome by the mechanism design. Besides, the mechanism design will increase the cost and also can not effectively solve the vibration problem.
Therefore, it is an important subject to provide a control method and a control system of a fan that can decrease the fan's vibration under the current driving circuit and architecture for enhancing the efficiency and decreasing the electric pressure.

Control method and control system of fan


Disclosed herein is a copolymer, which may include side chains which may decrease the surface energy of an insulating layer, thereby improving the alignment of a semiconductor material, and side chains including photoreactive functional groups having an increased degree of cross-linking, thereby improving the characteristics of an organic thin film transistor manufactured using the same, an organic insulating layer composition including the copolymer, an organic insulating layer, an organic thin film transistor, an electronic device including the same and methods of fabricating the same. According to the copolymer of example embodiments, the surface energy of an insulating layer may be decreased, so that the alignment of a semiconductor material may be improved, thereby improving the threshold voltage and charge mobility and decreasing the generation of hysteresis at the time of driving the transistor.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate to a copolymer, an organic insulating layer composition, an organic insulating layer and an organic thin film transistor manufactured using the same. Other example embodiments relate to a copolymer, which includes side chains which may decrease the surface energy of an insulating layer, thereby improving the alignment of a semiconductor material, and side chains including photoreactive functional groups having an increased degree of cross-linking, thereby improving the characteristics of an organic thin film transistor manufactured using the same, an organic insulating layer composition including the same, and an organic insulating layer and an organic thin film transistor manufactured using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An Organic Thin Film Transistor (OTFT) may be used as a switching device for controlling the operation of each pixel of a device for driving each pixel in a flat-panel display, e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) and/or an electroluminescent display (ELD). The organic thin film transistor may be used for a smart card and/or a plastic chip for an inventory tag.
This organic thin film transistor may include a semiconductor layer having a source region and a drain region doped with an increased concentration of impurities and a channel region formed therebetween. Further, the organic thin film transistor may be configured to include a gate electrode which is insulated from the semiconductor layer and located in a region corresponding to the channel region, and a source electrode and drain electrode, which are respectively in contact with the source region and the drain region.
In initial research into an organic thin film transistor (OTFT), conventional silicon-based inorganic insulator materials, e.g., SiOx and/or SiNx, were used as insulating layers. However, as larger sized, inexpensive and flexible displays have been required, there is more demand for organic insulator materials, rather than inorganic insulator materials. Commonly usable polymer materials, e.g., polyvinylalcohol, polyvinylphenol and/or polymethylmethacrylate, have been used as a gate insulating layer of an organic thin film transistor. These polymer materials may be formed into an insulating layer through a relatively low-cost processes, e.g., spin coating, but there may be difficulty in effectively controlling the interaction between the polymer materials and organic semiconductor molecules to thus improve the performance thereof.
For example, the related art discloses an organic thin film transistor in which the driving voltage and threshold voltage thereof are decreased using a high dielectric constant insulating layer. A gate insulating layer may be formed using inorganic metal oxides, e.g., BaxSr1-xTiO3 (BST; Barium Strontium Titanate), Ta2O5, Y2O3 and/or TiO2, or ferroelectric insulating materials, e.g., PbZrxTi1-xO3(PZT), Bi4Ti3O12, BaMgF4, SrBi2(Ta1-xNbx)2O9, Ba (Zr1-xTix)O3 (BZT), BaTiO3, SrTiO3 and/or Bi4Ti3O12, through a chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, sputtering and/or sol-gel coating method. According to the related art, driving voltage may be decreased, but charge mobility may not be as high as before, and most manufacturing processes may be performed at an increased temperature of about 200° C.˜about 400° C., so that plastic substrates, for flexible displays, may not be used. General wet processes, e.g., a simple coating or printing, may be difficult to use at the time of manufacturing devices.
In an organic thin film transistor, because the surface characteristics of an insulating layer have an influence on the improvement of the performance of an organic thin film transistor, various research on a gate insulating layer, which may increase the degree of charge transport on the surface between a gate insulating layer and an organic semiconductor layer and may be formed through a simpler process, is being conducted. As the surface energy of an insulating layer is lowered, for example, the insulating layer may exhibit relatively strong hydrophobicity, and the alignment of a semiconductor material in an organic semiconductor layer may be improved, thereby realizing improved transistor performance. Accordingly, attempts have been made to improve the degree of charge transport by surface-treating an insulating layer. However, in these attempts, because additional surface-treatment must be performed, overall processibility may decrease, and costs may increase.
The organic thin film transistor, manufactured using an organic insulator, may cause hysteresis at the time of driving the organic thin film transistor because charges may be trapped and accumulated between a semiconductor and an insulator, or the organic insulator may absorb moisture due to water in the air. Due to such hysteresis, occurring at the time of driving the organic thin film transistor, use of the organic thin film transistor for actual displays and logic devices may be difficult, even if desired electrical characteristics are exhibited.

Copolymer, organic insulating layer composition, and organic insulating layer and organic thin film transistor manufactured using the same


Method and system for providing a data marking device data searching system including a user terminal connected to a server terminal over an internet connection for transmitting find music search request, the server terminal in response accessing one or more storage units and retrieving corresponding information such as other marked data for transmission to the user terminal is disclosed.

Sony Corporation and its U.S. subsidiary, Sony Electronics, Inc., introduced an electronic music marker device which is capable of "bookmarking" a music clip while being played on a radio and, which, when synchronized with a gateway device such as a personal computer, is capable of recalling information related to the bookmarked music clip such as the name of the song, the artist, the album containing the song and so on. Using the electronic music marker device, a user can conveniently recall the music clip information that the user listened to on the radio at a later time without the need to memorize the information or wait hopefully for the disc jockey on the radio to provide that information. In this manner, if the user wants to, for example, purchase the music album which the user has marked using the electronic music marker device, the user can easily identify the necessary information related to the marked music clip from the e-marks provided by the electronic music marker device.
To download or obtain information corresponding to the bookmarked music clips, the user sets up an electronic music marker device account via the gateway device, and connects the music marker device to the server terminal of emarker.com web site. The information corresponding to the bookmarked music clips such as the name of the artist, the name of the song as well as the name of the album, for example, are transmitted from the server terminal to the user's gateway device for display thereon. However, given a large number of radio stations in most metropolitan areas, it is likely that the radio stations broadcast the same songs or songs from the same album in the course of a day or even afternoon. Additionally, listeners generally only listen to one radio station at a time, such that listeners do not know whatever the other radio stations may be broadcasting at that time, which may include songs that the listeners may be interested in listening to. In particular, the users of the music marker device, even if they have similar taste in music, may not necessarily be listening to the same radio station at the same time and bookmarking the same broadcasted songs.


A mounting structure of a wheel speed sensor ring includes an intermediate ring made of aluminum which is fastened to a hub of a wheel body together with a brake disc in a state where the intermediate ring is brought into contact with the brake disc, and a pulser ring is supported on the intermediate ring in a floating state. A supported portion of the pulser ring is provided at a center position within the intermediate ring, and the intermediate ring includes a plurality of seat plate portions on an outer periphery thereof which are fastened between hub and the brake disc. The mounting structure has a compact size which permits various thermal effects caused by the generation of heat in a brake disc to be effectively suppressed.

Conventionally, in mounting a pulser ring (wheel speed sensor ring) used in an ABS (Antilock Brake System) or the like on a wheel body of a wheel, there has been known a structure wherein the pulser ring is fixed to the wheel body by fastening together with a brake disc (see JP-A-2005-271666, for example).
In the above-mentioned conventional structure, there may be a case where a brake disc expands due to its own heat generation when a brake is used at high frequency and hence, the pulser ring also expands along with the expansion of the brake disc to which it is fixed. In this case, it is necessary to take a countermeasure to assure sensor accuracy, such as the reinforcement of the pulser ring. Hence, there arises a drawback that the miniaturization of the structure is difficult to achieve.

Mounting structure of wheel speed sensor ring


A cache system having a plurality of read-in ports through which data fetched from a main memory system can be transferred regardless of the type of the data fetch request. Further, each data fetch request is output from an available read-in port, during the data fetch operation for a previous data fetch request of the same type.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cache system. A cache system is provided to speed up operations in central processing unit (CPU).
(2) Description of the Related Art
In general, a cache system comprises a cache (or caches) having an access time shorter than the main memory, and temporarily storing a part of the content of the main memory. The CPU first attempts to fetch the necessary data to execute operations from the cache. However, if the necessary data does not exist in the cache (a miss-hit occurs), a block of data which includes the necessary data is transferred from the main memory to the cache.
In the prior art, the cache system is provided with one fixed port for each type of data fetch, through which a block of data is transferred from the main memory system, when a miss-hit occurs. For example, in some types of data processing system, four types of data fetch requests are generated in the CPU, i.e., an instruction fetch request, an operand fetch request, a prefetch request, and an address translation buffer request. For each type of data fetch request, one fixed port is provided exclusively.
However, in the cache system as mentioned above, when, for example, the same type of the data fetch requests and miss-hits thereof in the cache frequently occur. Any request for transferring a block of data from the main memory corresponding to the following miss-hit which occurred on the following data fetch request, can not be accepted until the transfer of a block of data from the main memory on the previous data fetch request is completed, as only one port is available for the same type of data fetch request. Therefore, after the transfer of the block of data for the previous data fetch request is completed, then the following request for transfer of a block of data is sent to the main memory system, and after a certain access time has elapsed in the main memory system, the block of data for the following data fetch request is transferred to the cache system.
The data fetch requests of the same type are often generated successively in the CPU. For example, in a computer system in which pipe-line processing is executed, an instruction fetch request and an operand fetch request can be generated at every cycle, because an execution of a simple instruction is commenced at every cycle, but the data requested by the instruction or operand fetch requests successively generated often do not exist in the caches. Accordingly, successive fetches of blocks of data from the main storage (MS) 3 often become necessary.
In the above situation, although some time must be allowed for the data fetch operation from the main storage (MS) 3, the problem is that when the successive block fetches from the main storage (MS) 3 become necessary in the cache system in which only one port is provided for each type of data fetch request, the following block fetch operation can not be commenced until the previous block fetch operation is completed. Further, the time necessary to complete the block fetch operation includes the time for writing (move-in) the block of the data fetched from the main storage (MS) 3 into the cache, this means that an unreasonable waiting time must be allowed before the commencement of the following block fetch operations.
Although the block fetch operation in the main storage (MS) 3 is carried out regardless of the type of the data fetch request from the CPU, the operations in the CPU differ depending on the type of data fetch requests. For example, the block data fetched for the operand fetch request must be written into the cache for the operands, and the block data fetched for the instruction fetch request must be written into the cache for the instructions, and in the operations for the operand or instruction fetch requests, the block data fetched for the operand or instruction requests also must be sent directly, i.e., bypassing the cache, to the execution or instruction unit; on the other hand, the block data fetched for a prefetch request need not be sent directly to the execution or instruction unit. Further, in the operations for data fetch requests for address translation, sometimes, the block data fetched for the requests is not written into the cache.
Therefore, in the cache system of the prior art, one port is provided for each type of data fetch request exclusively, so that, during the operation of the block fetch request for one type of data fetch request, the operation of another type of data fetch request can not be commenced. However, in the cache system of the prior art, the block fetch operations for the successive data fetch request of the type can not be carried out in parallel.
As stated above, cache systems in the prior art are not efficient in the case of transferring a block of data from the main memory system when a miss-hit occurs, for the data fetch requests of the same type, especially when miss-hits frequently occur for the data fetch requests of the same type.


The present invention provides a capsule-type medical apparatus and a method of manufacturing a capsule-type medical apparatus which can prevent a contact between a burr formed on an optical dome which is a part of a capsule-like casing and a living body in a subject. The capsule-type medical apparatus has a capsule-like casing which can be introduced inside the subject. The casing is configured with optically transparent optical domes and a cylindrical trunk member having an outer diameter dimension larger than an outer diameter dimension of the optical domes. The cylindrical trunk member is fitted onto an outer circumferential surface of the optical domes so as to cover each of the optical domes up to a portion near the burr formed thereon. The cylindrical trunk member has a step higher than the burr so as to prevent a contact between the burr and a living body in the subject.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a capsule-type medical apparatus, which is introduced into an inside of an internal organ of a subject such as a patient to acquire in-vivo information of the subject, and a method of manufacturing such a capsule-type medical apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a swallowable capsule endoscope having an imaging function and a radio communication function appears in the field of endoscope. The capsule endoscope is introduced into an internal organ of a subject such as a patient for an observation (examination) of an inside of the internal organ. For example, the subject swallows the capsule endoscope from the mouth. Thereafter, the capsule endoscope moves through inside the internal organs following peristaltic movements and the like while sequentially picking up an image of the inside of the subject (hereinafter may referred to as "intra-body image") at a predetermined interval, for example, at an interval of 0.5 second. Eventually, the capsule endoscope is naturally excreted outside the body of the subject.
While the capsule endoscope is in the internal organs of the subject, the intra-body images picked up by the capsule endoscope are sequentially transmitted from the capsule endoscope to a receiver outside the body by radio communication. The subject carries the receiver, and the receiver receives the intra-body images radio transmitted from the capsule endoscope introduced inside the internal organs of the subject and stores the received intra-body images in a recording medium.
The intra-body images stored in the recording medium of the receiver are taken into an image display device such as workstation. The image display device displays the intra-body images of the subject acquired via the recording medium. Doctors, nurses, and the like can make diagnosis of the subject by observing the intra-body images displayed by the image display device.
The capsule endoscope as described above has a capsule-like casing including a transparent optical dome and a cylindrical trunk member having an open end where the transparent optical dome is attached. Inside the capsule-like casing, an illuminating unit such as an LED (light emitting diode) illuminating the inside of the internal organ through the optical dome, an optical unit such as a lens that collects light reflected from the inside of the internal organ illuminated by the illuminating unit, and an imaging unit such as a CCD (charge-coupled device) that picks up an image of the inside of the internal organ (i.e., intra-body image) formed by the optical unit are provided (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-198964, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-204924).
The optical dome of the capsule-like casing mentioned above includes a cylindrical portion fitted to the open end of the cylindrical trunk member and a dome portion having a dome-like shape. Illuminating light emitted from the illuminating unit inside the capsule-like casing passes through the dome portion to illuminate the inside of the internal organ, whereas reflected light from the inside of the internal organ thus illuminated passes through the dome portion and reaches the optical unit. Hence, mirror finish is applied to an outer wall surface and inner wall surface of the dome portion which transmits the illuminating light and the reflected light. A mold employed for molding the optical dome is divided into a mold part for molding the dome portion for which the mirror finish is required, and a mold part for molding the cylindrical portion. When the mold for the optical dome is divided into a dome-portion-side mold part and a cylindrical-portion-side mold part, the mirror finish of a semi-spherical concave surface (concave surface for forming the outer wall surface of the dome portion) of the dome-portion-side mold part can be performed easily.
However, when the optical dome is molded by the mold as mentioned above, burrs are often formed on the outer wall surface of the optical dome along a boundary line (hereinafter referred to as "parting line") between the dome-portion-side mold part and the cylindrical-portion-side mold part. When the optical dome on whose outer wall surface such a burr is formed is employed in the capsule endoscope, the burr of the optical dome comes into contact with a living body such as an inner wall of the internal organ during the travel of the capsule endoscope in the internal organ of the subject.

Capsule-type medical apparatus and method of manufacturing capsule-type medical apparatus


Methods and systems for associating a plurality of different routes with the same destination and for routing signaling messages to the destination based on originating information associated with non-adjacent signaling nodes are disclosed. A routing database in a signal transfer point includes multiple routes to the same destination. The routes are distinguishable from each other in the routing database using message origination information associated with signaling nodes that are not adjacent to the signal transfer point. When a signaling message is received, origination and destination information in the signaling message are used in combination to select among multiple routes to a destination having a network address corresponding to the destination information in the signaling message. The signaling message is then routed over the route selected using the originating information. The selected route may be a high-speed route used to provide a particular quality of service.

In a signaling system 7 (SS7) network, signal transfer point (STP) nodes are employed to route SS7 signaling messages through the network. Conventional STP routing, as defined in Bellcore/Telecordia standard GR-82-CORE, Issue 5, December 2001, involves SS7 message routing based on a destination point code (DPC) value contained in a message transfer part (MTP) routing label in an SS7 message. Such routing is commonly referred to as MTP routing. A sample SS7 message signaling unit (MSU) 100 is shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, MSU 100 includes an originating point code (OPC) 102 and a DPC 104. In the case of signaling connection control part (SCCP) messages that require global title routing, a global title routing address translation step is required before MTP routing is performed. However, in either case, the DPC contained in the MTP routing label of an SS7 message is used to determine over which SS7 signaling linkset the message should be transmitted.
Signaling links connected to an STP are organized into groups of up to 16. Each group is known as a linkset. Furthermore, all signaling links in a given linkset must terminate at the same adjacent node. In the case of a combined linkset, all signaling links in a given linkset must terminate at the same mated pair of adjacent nodes. STP nodes are typically provisioned to distribute message transmission across all of the links in a linkset for load sharing purposes.
In addition to signaling links and linksets, a routing entity, commonly referred to as a signaling route, is also defined at an STP. A signaling route may include one or more signaling linksets. An STP may maintain a cost value associated with each route, and route availability is affected by received network management information. When multiple routes exist to the same destination, the STP may select the lowest cost route to the destination. Thus, all messages received at an STP that are addressed to a particular DPC will be routed to the destination via the first available, lowest cost route, where overall route selection is based on the DPC specified in the message being routed. Such a routing mechanism ensures that a message will be routed to the appropriate DPC, but there is no way using conventional routing procedures to control the exact path or route taken by the message based upon who is sending the message.
To illustrate conventional MTP routing, a sample SS7 network 200 is presented in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, signaling network 200 includes a pair of originating end office (EO) nodes 202 and 204, a first STP node 206, a second STP node 208, a third STP node 210, and destination end office 212. Originating end office 202 has an SS7 point code of 244-2-1 and is coupled to STP 206, which has a point code of 1-1-1. Signaling linkset LS3 interconnects end office 202 and STP 206. As such, the point code 244-2-1 is referred to as an adjacent point code (APC) with respect to STP 206. Similarly, originating end office 204 has a point code of 5-2-1 and is coupled to STP 206 via signaling linkset LS4. STP 206 is coupled to adjacent STP 208 via LS1. STP 208 has a point code of 10-10-10. STP 206 is coupled to adjacent STP 210 via LS2. STP 210 has a point code of 248-10-10.
Table 1 shown below illustrates exemplary routing data that may be maintained by STP 206. In Table 1, the exemplary routing table includes a Route DPC field, a LinkSet field, a LinkSet APC field, and a Route Cost field. The information contained in Table 1 is used by routing logic in STP 206 to determine how to direct or route a received message. In the message routing scenario illustrated in FIG. 2, STP 206 receives a first SS7 signaling message M1 from originating EO 202. For purposes of illustration, it is assumed that message M1 is addressed to the DPC 145-2-1, which corresponds to EO 212. Upon receiving message M1, routing logic in STP 206 accesses the routing information contained in Table 1 and selects an outbound signaling linkset associated with the lowest cost route to 145-2-1. In this example, the selected signaling linkset is LS1, which is connected to adjacent STP 208. Consequently, the message is transmitted to STP 208 via linkset LS1. STP 208, upon receiving the message M1, performs similar routing processing and transmits the message across another signaling linkset to destination EO 212.
TABLE 1Routing InformationRoute DPCLinkSetLinkSet APCRoute Cost145-2-1LS1 10-10-1010LS2248-10-1020 10-10-10LS1 10-10-1010248-10-10LS2248-10-1010244-2-1LS3244-2-110 5-2-1LS4 5-2-110
In the second message routing scenario illustrated in FIG. 2, a message M2 is sent by end office 204. The DPC in the message is set to 145-2-1, which corresponds to EO 212. Message M2 is received by STP 206, which again accesses the routing information contained in Table 1 and selects an outbound signaling linkset corresponding to the lowest cost route to 145-2-1. Once again, the lowest cost route is selected, which corresponds to signaling linkset LS1 (assuming LS1 is not congested or out of service) and the message M2 is transmitted to STP 208 via linkset LS1. STP 208, upon receiving message M2, transmits the message to destination EO 212.
The routing process illustrated above has significant drawbacks in situations where network operators need the ability to control the routing of some or all signaling messages traversing a network. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a network operator may install a high-speed, highly reliable signaling linkset LS5 that directly connects STP 206 and EO 212. The network operator may desire to charge a premium for signaling traffic that uses LS5 and may enter an agreement with the owner of EO 204 to ensure that all signaling messages originating from EO 204 are routed via the high-speed, reliable linkset LS5. Given the routing mechanisms currently utilized in SS7 signaling networks, there is no means for STP 206 to guarantee that messages from EO 204 will be routed via LS5.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,384,840 discloses a system for routing signaling messages to different destinations using network endpoint STPs (NESTPs) based on the nodes that are immediately adjacent to the NESTPs. However, in large telecommunications networks, the end office that originates a signaling message may not be adjacent to the node that routes the signaling message to the destination. FIG. 4 illustrates this problem. In FIG. 4, an STP 214 is located between end offices 202 and 204 and STP 206. As a result, if STP 206 implements a routing scheme such as that described in the '840 patent that relies on the immediately adjacent node to select an outbound signaling linkset, both signaling messages M1 and M2 will be routed over the same linkset, even though they originated from different end offices. Such a routing scheme is unsuitable for networks in which service providers wish to provision high-speed or high-reliability routes and selectively route messages over the high-speed or high-reliability routes independently of intermediate networks.
Therefore, there exists a long felt need for methods and systems for selecting a route among multiple routes to the same destination so that signaling messages from a particular source can be guaranteed to be transmitted over a particular routing schema independently of the intermediate network.

Methods and systems for routing signalong messages to the same destination over different routes using message origination information associated with non-adjacent signaling nodes


A system and method for electronically managing privileged and non-privileged documents in two independent schemas. One schema is a privileged schema for storing privileged documents and the other schema is a non-privileged schema for storing non-privileged documents. The two schemas are separate and distinct so that privileged and non-privileged documents are not commingled. Access to the privileged schema is restricted to privileged users while non-privileged users have access only to the non-privileged schema. As a result, privileged documents are protected against the inadvertent waiver of privilege.

The present disclosure relates generally to managing privileged documents and, in particular, to a system and method for electronically managing privileged and non-privileged documents for litigation support.
Legal matters often involve large volumes of information that must be organized and categorized in response to particular inquires or issues, such as litigation pleadings, business transactions, government regulations, and other legal matters. The information can include privileged, non-privileged and partially privileged documents which are typically managed by a centralized organization, such as a legal department or group therein having document coordinators.
The management of privileged documents in an electronic storage system poses several legal and technical challenges. The electronic storage system must be designed to protect legal claims of privilege and not allow the inadvertent waiver of privilege. The commingling of privileged and non-privileged documents in an electronic storage system can result in the inadvertent waiver of privilege. Current litigation systems do not prevent the commingling of privileged and non-privileged documents in an electronic storage system. Although users are able to mark a record, or document, as privileged, the record continues to reside in the same repository as non-privileged documents. It would be desirable for an electronic storage system, along with any supporting data repositories, to protect all privilege claims and allow for the separation of privileged and non-privileged documents.
In addition to separating privileged and non-privileged documents, it would also be desirable for an electronic storage system to allow for real-time identification of privileged material and the immediate real-time transfer of the identified privileged material to a dedicated privileged schema and the real-time removal of the privileged material from the non-privileged schema. Further, it would be desirable for an electronic storage system to provide a notification to users when the privileged status has changed or is under consideration for change to prevent inadvertent disclosure of privileged information. In addition, it would be desirable for an electronic storage system to allow for production of privileged documents from the privileged schema when required by law or court order.

System and method for electronically managing privileged and non-privileged documents


A method for dynamically establishing a communication path for a requestor by assessing an authenticity of the requestor and a communication request is provided. The method may include, in response to receiving the communication request, dynamically determining whether to establish a communication path for the requestor to a destination though a communication network by assessing the requestor based on one or more authentication rules, wherein the one or more authentication rules are based on first information associated the communication network, second information about the requestor, and third information from the requestor. The method may further include, in response to determining that the requestor satisfies the one or more authentication rules, dynamically establishing the communication path for the requestor on the communication network according to one or more communication attributes associated with the requestor.

The present invention relates generally to the field of computing, and more specifically, to computer security.
Generally, computer security, cybersecurity, or information technology security (IT security) may include the protection of computer systems and networks from the disruption or misdirection of services and applications running on computers. The field of computer security is becoming more important due to increased reliance on computer systems, the Internet, wireless network standards, and due to the growth of smart devices, including smartphones and apps. In computing, a firewall is one of the primary methods for controlling traffic over a network. More specifically, a firewall is a network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. Another method for computer protection may include endpoint authentication which is an authentication mechanism used to verify the identity of a network's external or remote connecting device. For example, wireless networks based on endpoint authentication verify user credentials, such as a service set identifier (SSID) and password, as well as security protocols used by the endpoint device.

Authenticity assessment of a requestor based on a communication request

International Business Machines Corporation


Aspects relate to mechanisms for a wireless communication device to configure and indicate one or more beams for sidelink communication with another wireless communication device. The sidelink communication can include first stage sidelink control information (SCI) and second stage SCI that may be communicated on a first beam configured on the wireless communication devices. The sidelink communication can further include sidelink data traffic that may be communication on a second beam. The second beam may be the first beam or a different beam based on at least one of a beam capability of at least the first wireless communication device or a gap between the sidelink data traffic and at least one of the first stage SCI or the second stage SCI.

Wireless communication between devices may be facilitated by various network configurations. In one configuration, a cellular network may enable wireless communication devices (e.g., user equipment (UEs)) to communicate with one another through signaling with a nearby base station or cell. Another wireless communication network configuration is a device to device (D2D) network, in which wireless communication devices may signal one another directly, rather than via an intermediary base station or cell. For example, D2D communication networks may utilize sidelink signaling to facilitate the direct communication between wireless communication devices. In some sidelink network configurations, wireless communication devices may further communicate in a cellular network, generally under the control of a base station. Thus, the wireless communication devices may be configured for uplink and downlink signaling via a base station and further for sidelink signaling directly between the wireless communication devices without transmissions passing through the base station.
In wireless communication systems, such as those specified under standards for 5G New Radio (NR), both the base station and wireless communication devices may utilize beamforming to compensate for high path loss and short range. Beamforming is a signal processing technique used with an antenna array for directional signal transmission and/or reception. For example, an antenna in the antenna array can transmit a signal that is combined with other signals of other antennas of the same array in such a way that signals at particular angles experience constructive interference while others experience destructive interference. Beamforming may be implemented in both traditional cellular network configurations and sidelink network configurations on higher frequency bands to support increased data rates.

Sidelink beam configuration and indication