Provided are methods for assessment of surface rugosity of a layer of live cells using tools that determine contact angle and contact angle hysteresis.

Dry eye syndrome is a multifactorial disease of the ocular surface with clinical findings including discomfort, visual disturbance and tear film instability (1). In the US, it is estimated that 7.8% of women age 50 and over (2) and 4.34% of men age 50 and over (3) are affected by dry eye syndrome. Although the International Dry Eye WorkShop (DEWS) has categorized the types of dry eye as 1) aqueous-deficient and 2) evaporative (1), dry eye syndrome and other ocular surface disorders also involve the interaction between the cellular surface of the eye and the liquid film constituted by the tears (4).
It is widely believed that the stability/instability of the tear film depends on the surface properties of the epithelial surface, especially its wettability, or degree of retention of the tear film in contact with the ocular surface (5-7). While the wetting properties have traditionally been attributed to the presence of a hydrophilic glycocalyx (8), specifically to the highly O-glycosylated membrane-associated mucins of the ocular surface (principally MUC1, MUC4 and MUC16) (9), to our knowledge, there are no studies that directly correlate the expression and spatial distribution of cell associated mucins to the physicochemical surface properties of the ocular surface.
Immortalized corneal epithelial cell lines have been reported to differentiate, stratify and express significant amounts of mucins when cultured as a confluent monolayer of cells and stimulated with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and 10 ng/mL of epithelial growth factor (EGF) (10). In this work we induced stratification of an hTERT immortalized corneal epithelial (hTCEpi) cell line (11) over a period of 6 days and characterized the expression of mucins to correlate with the surface properties of the cells.
One method to evaluate surface properties is the sessile drop contact angle technique (5-7,12). This method is widely used and performed by measuring the contact angle between a liquid drop and a solid in air. However, measurements of the contact angle of water drops on cell cultures or tissues are misleading, because the thin film of liquid covering the surface on hydrated cells impedes the measurement of an angle. Furthermore, if the cell surface is allowed to dry, the contact angle changes values, dependent of the moisture level, as observed by Tiffany (7), suggesting the loss of the native state of the cell surface. To overcome some of the challenges intrinsic to using water as the probe, other liquids can be used to characterize surfaces, such as polar liquids (e. g. glycerol or formamide), or non-polar lipids (e.g. diiodomethane or benzene). However, polar liquids can disturb the cells due to the difference in osmolarity between the liquid and the cytosol, while many non-polar liquids interact with the phospholipids of the cellular membrane, disrupting it (13). Therefore fluid(s) used to measure contact angles of cell surfaces bathed in a fluid environment influence the interfacial properties.
Dry eye diseases and disorders are diagnosed using a battery of tests, including questionnaires, ocular surface staining, indirect measurement of the tear volume, determining the stability of tear film (tear film break up time), quantifying osmolality of the tears, and a variety of biomarkers. Although many of these endpoints provide information of certain attributes, they do not provide a definitive assessment of the state of the ocular surface, and none of these tests describes the dynamic interdependence of the constituents of the tear film and the interaction with the cellular constituents of the ocular surface.

Methods of diagnosing diseases of mucosal surfaces

The Regents of the University of California


A lenticular sheet obtained by the method including forming lenticular lens section on the input side of the sheet; forming an irregular section having a plurality of depressions and protrusions on the output side of the sheet; forming a light-absorbing layer on each protrusion; and filling each depression with a light-transmittable resin. The lenticular sheet provides a tolerance needed for fine pitch pattern processing and can be manufactured by using a conventional printing process as it is, thereby providing excellent contrast characteristics as well as excellent moldability.

In general, light sources used in projection TVs, etc., include projectors such as a compact CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and DLP (Digital Light Processing). Among those, light sources using compact display technology such as LCD and DLP are referred to as microdisplay (MD) type light sources. Transmission type screens are used for the above devices, wherein such a transmission type screen generally comprises a fresnel sheet and lenticular sheet. The lenticular sheet includes a cylindrical lens array, also referred to as a lenticular lens, on the input surface and/or output surface, and includes a light-absorbing layer disposed on the output surface in order to inhibit the reflection of external light.
To form such light-absorbing layers, printing processes have been generally used in conventional lenticular sheets for CRT screens. However, in the case of screens for MD, it is necessary to form a light-absorbing layer with high precision, because the pitch (width) of a lenticular lens is small to a degree of between several hundreds and several tens micrometers. Therefore, conventional printing processes were not applicable to lenticular sheets for MD. Additionally, in the case of a projection TV using an MD type light source, it is important to provide a sufficient degree of contrast to a screen, because the light source itself has insufficient contrast characteristics. In this regard, it is important to ensure a sufficient area of light-absorbing layer to the total area of the screen, as a primary means for providing sufficient contrast characteristics to the screen.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,224 or Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. Sho59-121033 suggests a method for producing a lenticular sheet for MD. In the method, photoresist having adhesive property is coated on the output surface of a lenticular sheet and parallel light is irradiated to the input surface of the lenticular sheet, so that the light collected on the surface of photoresist through an input lens causes the adhesion property of photoresist to be removed at the portions where the light is collected. Then, toner is coated on the surface of photoresist and parts of the toner, where the toner is not attached, are removed so that the toner can be attached only at the portions where the light is not collected, resulting in the formation of a light-absorbing layer. FIG. 7 shows a lenticular sheet 10 obtained by the above-described method. The above-described method has an advantage in that it allows a lenticular sheet 10 having a lenticular lens 13 with a fine pitch (width) to be easily manufactured, because the alignment of the lenticular lens 13 as an input lens and a light-absorbing layer 18 can be accomplished automatically during the manufacture of the lenticular sheet 10.
However, the above-described method has disadvantages that it needs additional processing steps including a step for coating photoresist, a step for irradiating light uniformly, a step for coating toner and a step for removing the toner, etc., thereby increasing the time and cost needed for the manufacture of a lenticular sheet compared to other conventional processes.
Moreover, the lenticular sheet manufactured by the above-described method has problems in that a light-absorbing layer having a sufficient area cannot be obtained, when the light collected on the photoresist layer 16 has aberration or is diffused by a light-diffusing so as to increase the area of a focus. Accordingly, the lenticular sheet should have a structure wherein a light-diffusing layer 12 is formed on the light-absorbing layer 18 (when viewed along the direction facing to a viewer). However, the above-mentioned structure increases the amount of light reflected toward the eyes of a viewer, because external light experiences diffusive reflection by the light-diffusing layer 12 before it is absorbed by the light-absorbing layer 18, and thus show a problem of degradation in contrast characteristics of the whole screen.
Further, when a light-absorbing layer is formed by means of the above-described method, the light-absorbing layer is not formed according to a predetermined design. On the contrary, the position and area of a light-absorbing layer are determined depending on the light collecting characteristics of a lenticular lens, characteristics of the photoresist or those of the light source used in forming the light-absorbing layer. Therefore, even if a designer skilled in the art wants to improve the contrast characteristics by increasing the area of a light-absorbing layer, designs on demand cannot be permitted.

Lenticular sheet and transmission type screen using the same


A light source suitable for use in a projection system is described. The light source is in a form of an arc lamp including an arc gap defined between an anode and a cathode. The arc gap is positioned at the focal point of a parabolic reflector which is truncated at its focal plane. A spherical reflector oppositely directed to the parabolic reflector and concentric with the focal point of the parabolic reflector is arranged so as to direct light from the arc which has not been intercepted by the parabolic reflector back into the arc gap.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to light sources. The invention has particular although not exclusive relevance to light sources for use in a projection system.
One form of projection system includes one or more spatial light modulators, each modulator being controllable so as to modulate an incident light beam. Each spatial light modulator is controlled by signals from an input video signal, and may be used to modulate light of a different colour, the coloured spatially modulated light beams then being combined to form a beam which is projected onto a projection screen.
2. Description of Related Art
Spatial light modulators may take various forms. One example is a liquid crystal light modulator as for example described in EP 401912. Another example is a tiltable mirror device as for example disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,863. Such tiltable mirror devices comprise an array of mirrored elements, each element being arranged to be electrostatically deflectable between an "on" position in which light is reflected from the element onto a projection screen, and an "off" position in which the light is directed towards a beam dump dependent on address signals applied to the array. Thus a spatially modulated beam is produced comprising "white" areas corresponding to light from the "on" elements and "black" areas corresponding to light from the "off" elements. In practice greyscales are produced by temporal modulation.
In order to illuminate spatial light modulators, it is necessary to use a high intensity light source in order to provide a substantially uniform light beam. It is also necessary for the overall dimension of the projection system, and thus the light source to be relatively compact.
ILC Technology Inc of California, USA manufacture a compact, high intensity light source which may be used for projection systems incorporating a number of spatial light modulators. This light source comprises a compact xenon arc lamp arranged to operate with an input power supply of one kilowatt to produce a 5 cm diameter output beam. Such a light source, however, suffers the disadvantage that much of the light beam does not lie within the visible spectrum. Furthermore there is a limit to the amount of input power which may be supplied to the device due to problems of overheating.
In our copending International Patent Application WO 93/26034, there is described an arc lamp suitable for use as a high intensity light source in a projection system incorporating a number of spatial light modulators. The contents of WO 93/26034 are incorporated herein by reference. In the arc lamp described in WO 93/26034, a parabolic reflector is arranged to reflect the light produced by the arc into a directional light beam. Secondary reflection means are arranged to redirect part of the reflected beam to compensate for regions of the beam which are obscured by one of the electrodes of the arc lamp. Various heat sinks are provided within the light source so as to dissipate heat generated by the electrodes which define the arc.
The arc lamp described in WO 93/26034 will now be briefly described with reference to FIG. 1 which is a schematic, partially sectioned side view of the arc lamp described in WO 93/26034.
Referring to FIG. 1, the arc lamp comprises a cathode 101 and an anode 103 in a xenon atmosphere enclosed in an enclosure defined by a parabolic reflector 105 and a light emitting sapphire window 107 formed in the shape of a lens. The cathode 101 is supported by thin metallic supports 109, and is connected to a DC voltage supply (not shown). The anode 103 is connected to a battery via a conductive path through a mounting including a heat sink 113.
In use of the lamp, an arc is struck between the anode 103 and cathode 101. As the arc is arranged to be at the focal point of the parabolic reflector 105, light from the arc will be reflected by the parabola to form a substantially parallel beam directed out of the enclosure through the sapphire window 107. The light source is provided with an outer conical reflector 115, which is arranged to deflect light at the periphery of the beam towards the central portion of the enclosure to be reflected by an inner conical reflector 117 whose reflective surface is parallel to that of the outer reflector. The outer conical reflector 117 directs the light out of the window 107, thus compensating the central part of the output beam which is obscured by the presence of the cathode 101.
Heat dissipation from the lamp is improved by the presence of cooling fins 119 formed on the cathode 101. Cooling fins 121 are also formed on the heat sink 113.
A magnet 123, which may be a permanent magnet or an electro-magnet, is arranged in the anode mounting 113 so as to provide an axial magnetic field in the direction between the anode 103 and cathode 101. This magnetic field acts as a focusing field, reducing the diameter of the arc and thus reducing the divergence of the output beam. Inserts 125 and 127 of a soft magnetic material may be used to concentrate the magnetic field produced by the magnet 123.
It will be seen that this prior art light source, suffers the disadvantage that the output beam has a characteristic divergence and efficiency which is related to the size of the arc and to the focal length of the parabolic reflector 105. Thus the divergence is related to the size of the lamp and in order to reduce the divergence or increase the efficiency of the output beam, the lamp must be made larger.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a light source comprising an arc lamp which may have lower divergence and higher efficiency than have previously been possible, without the necessity of increasing the size of the lamp.

Light source in the form of a sealed beam ARC lamp including three reflective surfaces


A method of manufacturing flash memory devices includes depositing a nitride film over a semiconductor substrate and forming an oxide film below the nitride film using an oxidization process involving an anneal process. A tunnel oxide film or an ONO2 oxide film having a thin thickness and a good film quality is formed and the operating performance of memory cells is improved.

The present invention relates generally to a method of manufacturing semiconductor memory devices and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing flash memory devices.
In general, a memory cell pattern of a flash memory device has a structure in which a semiconductor substrate 11, a tunnel oxide film 13, a floating gate 14, an ONO dielectric film 15 and a control gate 16 are sequentially laminated, as shown in FIG. 1. Recently, the tunnel oxide film 13 is not formed of only a pure silicon oxide film (SiO2), but is formed to include an oxynitride layer in which nitrogen is incorporated into silicon oxide (SiO2). To form the tunnel oxide film of oxynitride, a process of depositing the silicon oxide film (SiO2) and a process of combining nitrogen and the silicon oxide film (SiO2) are sequentially performed on the semiconductor substrate 11. Charge breakdown (Qbd), Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) stress, hot carrier injection and endurance characteristics of the tunnel oxide film formed of oxynitride are superior to those of a tunnel oxide film comprised of pure silicon oxide film (SiO2).
It has been discovered that lower concentrations of nitrogen in the tunnel oxide film, tend to trap more charge at the floating gate, i.e., the threshold voltage of the memory cell is shifted. Therefore, the concentration of nitrogen in the tunnel oxide film needs to be maintained within a predetermined range. As the demand for more highly integrated semiconductor memories leads to smaller features and higher device densities on a chip, the thickness of the tunnel oxide film is reduced. As the thickness of the tunnel oxide film is reduced, the quantity of nitrogen to be incorporated into the tunnel silicon oxide film (SiO2) film should be correspondingly reduced. The above issue becomes an even bigger concern when a flash memory device has an ultra fine pattern with typical dimensions of 70 nm or less. Additional issues arise at these feature dimensions because the breakdown characteristics of the tunnel oxide film are degraded by electrons that move through the tunnel oxide film, and the gate characteristics are degraded as programming and erasing operations are repeatedly performed on memory cells.
The ONO dielectric film 15 has a structure in which an ONO2 oxide film 15a, an ONO2 nitride film 15b and an ONO3 oxide film 15c are sequentially layered. The ONO dielectric film 15 has a significant influence on the electrical characteristics for the program, erase and read operations of the memory cells. The thickness of the ONO dielectric film 15, as well as the quality of each of the three layers, ONO2 oxide 15a, ONO2 nitride 15b and ONO3 oxide film 15c all have a significant influence on the operating characteristics of the memory cells. Of these, the thickness and quality of the ONO2 oxide film 15a have the greatest effect on the charge leakage and charge retention characteristics of a cell transistor. This is because the function of the ONO2 oxide film 15a is to block leakage current from electrons injected into the floating gate 14. Therefore, the ONO2 oxide film 15a should be formed to thin, yet of high quality.
The ONO2 oxide film 15a and the ONO3 oxide film 15c are generally deposited by a Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method using DSC (Dichlorosilane, SiH2Cl2) or silane (SiH4). The quality of an oxide film formed by CVD is, however, inferior to that of oxide films formed by a thermal dry and wet oxidization process. Therefore, to form an oxide film with a thin thickness and a good film quality, a thermal oxidization process is generally used. However it is difficult to form a thin ONO2 oxide film 15a on the floating gate 14 by means of the thermal oxidization process because the floating gate 14 is a doped polysilicon film.
Since the polysilicon film constituting the floating gate 14 has a grain structure, there are grooves at the grain boundaries on its surface, as shown in FIG. 1. When the ONO2 oxide film 15a is deposited on the floating gate 14, the ONO2 oxide film 15a becomes thicker in the neighborhood of the grain boundary grooves on the surface of the polysilicon film owing to thermodynamic driving forces. Not only does the ONO2 oxide film 15a have increased thickness, but it also has an unstable interface.
In addition, the as deposited ONO2 nitride film 15b often has a porous structure and is brittle. To improve the quality of the ONO2 nitride film 15b, a high-temperature anneal process is performed after depositing the ONO2 nitride film 15b. For this reason, to attain the required operating characteristics (charge leakage and charge retention) necessary for memory cells, a high-temperature wet anneal process for improving the film quality of the ONO dielectric film 15 is carried out for a long time under atmospheric pressure following deposition of the ONO dielectric film 15.
However, when the ONO dielectric film 15 is exposed under a high-temperature wet atmosphere for a long time, a thermally driven regrowth within ONO dielectric film 15 leads to a "punch" phenomenon in the ONO2 nitride film layer 15b. This results in changing the dielectric constant of the ONO dielectric film 15, and the read, program, and erase operational characteristics of a cell transistor are degraded.

Method of manufacturing flash memory device


A decimation system and decimation circuit for decimating waveform data on an oscilloscope. The decimation circuit is implemented using sixteen parallel 16-to-1 multiplexers connected in parallel to a data bus which selectively captures samples based on control signals generated by a sample counting circuit. Decimation factor and phase values can be input to program the amount of decimation performed by the circuit. The decimation system provides even more flexibility in controlling the decimation and is formed by combining several of the decimation circuits with corresponding analog-to-digital converters and memory segments.

The present invention relates generally to a parallel decimation circuit for decimating waveform data on an oscilloscope.
Traditionally, digital storage oscilloscopes (DSOs) capture an electrical signal (waveform) and allow the user to view a trace of the captured signal in a time (x-axis) versus amplitude (y-axis) display. This is done by digitally sampling the waveform, thereby generating a number of samples. Current DSOs can acquire data at a rate of 109 samples per second. At this rate, a gigabyte of storage is needed to cover one second of data. Storing this amount of data quickly exceeds the capacity of even the largest DSO memories. Furthermore, display screens lack the resolution to display this amount of data. Realistically, a display needs only about 1000 data points to produce a suitable trace of the waveform. Thus, to display a one second trace, almost 106 samples are discarded between each of the display points.
For these reasons, DSOs commonly reduce the number of samples through a reduction operation called decimation. The decimation operation can be performed during acquisition of the waveform, storage of the samples, processing of the data, and/or rendering of the display. For most of these stages the decimation operation may be performed in software. However, during acquisition the software implementation is too slow to keep pace with the incoming data.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An example method for providing a user with service technical data is provided. A server stores original service technical data and annotated data in a server where the annotated data is associated with the original service technical data. The server determines an access level of the user such where the access level of the user determines what service technical data may be sent. A portion of the service technical data is sent from the server to a device associated with the user, based at least in part on the access level of the user. The server also receives additional annotated data generated by the user where the additional annotated data is associated with the original service technical data.

Mobile devices such as smart phones or tablets are becoming increasingly popular amongst technicians that service equipment in the field. Mobile devices comprise numerous computing functionalities, such as email readers, web browsers, and video recorders. Mobile devices are often used for downloading books and videos as well. Today, many mobile devices comprise video cameras and microphones to provide users with the ability to communicate face-to-face.


An object of the present invention is to provide an optical fiber strain measuring apparatus which can perform precise measurement without causing any fluctuation in signal level. To achieve the above object the present invention comprises: a polarization plane rotation device 105 which rotates a plane of polarization of an optical pulse; a photo-directional coupler 106 which projects an optical pulse projected from the polarization plane rotation device 105 into an optical fiber 107 to be measured, and projects out backscattering light produced in the optical fiber 107 to be measured; a polarization plane rotation device 160 which rotates a plane of polarization of a reference light; a light mixing device 109 for mixing the backscattering light projected out from the photo-directional coupler 106 and the reference light projected from the polarization plane rotation device 160; and a signal processing section 111 which detects the mixed light projected from the light mixing device 109, converts the detected light into an electrical signal and subjects the electrical signal to a predetermined operational processing to obtain a measurement waveform.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical fiber strain measuring apparatus which measures strain of an optical fiber by heterodyne detection of mixed light comprising reference light and backscattering light from the optical fiber.
2. Description of the Related Art
An optical fiber strain measuring apparatus is an apparatus which, in general, projects an optical pulse from one end of an optical fiber to be measured, takes out backscattering light produced in the optical fiber from the end into which the optical pulse was projected, subjects mixed light of the taken out backscattering light and continuous light having a certain wavelength (reference light) to heterodyne detection using a photodetector, and measures a distorted position in the optical fiber from a relation between a time since the optical fiber was projected and a detected signal.
As described above, since the optical strain measuring apparatus measures a distorted position based on the detection result of mixed light comprising the taken out backscattering light and the reference light, it is required that the strength and the like of the reference light is stable uniformly in order to perform a precise measurement.

Optical fiber strain measuring apparatus


An optical tape pick up unit includes a holographic optical element and an aspheric objective lens. The holographic optical element splits a laser beam into first order beams and introduces pre-compensating wavefront error into the first order beams. The aspheric objective lens focuses the first order beams onto optical tape and introduces wavefront error into the first order beams having a magnitude similar to and polarity opposite that of the pre-compensating wavefront error.

Optical tape is a data storage medium. In certain examples, it can take the form of long narrow strips onto which patterns can be written and from which patterns can be read. Optical tape may facilitate higher data transfer rates, greater storage capacity, and reduced access times relative to magnetic tape. Moreover because optical tape is written and read using optical pick up units that do not touch the recording surface of the tape, it may be more durable than magnetic tape.
Optical tape is being explored to meet future high capacity tape demands by incorporating multiple optical pick up units (OPUs) in a drive. A tape drive employing optical technology should be cost-competitive compared to existing magnetic tape drives. With as many as 24 or more OPUs in each drive, low OPU cost could be desirable.

Optical tape pick up unit with holographic optical element


Methods are provided including receiving a plurality of images from at least one image acquisition system; selecting at least a portion of a set of images for analysis using at least one attribute of image metadata; selecting at least one method for deriving quantitative information from the at least a portion of the set of images; processing the selected at least a portion of the set of images with the selected at least one method for deriving quantitative information; associating the derived quantitative information with the at least a portion of the set of images via a data structure; selecting at least one method for aggregating at least a portion of a set of derived quantitative information into a reduced set of results; and generating at least one report to represent the reduced set of results for one of an individual image and the set of images as a pool.

Data mining is a technique by which patterns may be identified in seemingly unstructured data. This data can be any type of data, for example, data mining is often used in the medical field so that information associated with a single patient, or group of patients, may be located in existing databases of unstructured data. Data mining techniques are discussed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,112,194; 7,539,927; 7,594,889; 7,627,620; and 7,752,057, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in their entirety.
As discussed above, one area where there is an ever increasing need to identify patterns in unstructured data is in the medical field. Medical data exists in various forms, for example, patient histories and demographic data, clinical and lab results, images (computed tomography (CT) scans, ultrasounds, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) scans and the like), billing information and insurance codes. Just imaging systems and assays alone produce a tremendous amount of relatively unstructured data. As discussed above, many conventional data mining techniques are available to locate patterns in this vast amount of unstructured data so that more accurate diagnoses may be provided and more subtle markers of disease and disease progression may be identified.

Database and imaging processing system and methods for analyzing images acquired using an image acquisition system


In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method for dispatching a function call includes receiving, at a supervisor processing element (PE) and from an origin PE, an identifier of a target device, a stack frame of the origin PE, and an address of a function called from the origin PE. The supervisor PE allocates a target PE of the target device. The supervisor PE copies the stack frame of the origin PE to a new stack frame on a call stack of the target PE. The supervisor PE instructs the target PE to execute the function. The supervisor PE receives a notification that execution of the function is complete. The supervisor PE copies the stack frame of the target PE to the stack frame of the origin PE. The supervisor PE releases the target PE of the target device. The supervisor PE instructs the origin PE to resume execution of the program.

Various embodiments of this disclosure relate to dispatching function calls in a computer system and, more particularly, to dispatching function calls across devices.
During execution of a program, one or multiple function calls may be made. Function calls alter a program state by switching execution context and allocating frames on a dedicated stack, usually referred to as "call stack."
Generally, when a function is called during execution of a program, parameters of the call are saved onto a current stack frame, a program counter is saved into a link register, and the program branches to the address corresponding to the called function's code. The called function then allocates a stack frame on top of the previous stack frame and uses the new stack frame as its execution context. The called function accesses its parameters from the stack frame of the caller. When the called function returns, the return value is saved onto the stack frame of the caller. The called function's stack frame is removed, and the program branches to the address contained in the link register. The caller accesses the return value from its own stack frame.

Dispatching function calls across accelerator devices

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


In a shift lever to which operating force for changing a transmission by a driver is applied, a basal end thereof is inserted in a hole formed in a lever holder. Movement of the shift lever in the axial direction is prevented by an elastic member. When large force acts in the axial direction of the shift lever, the elastic member deflects and the shift lever moves in the axial direction, thereby allowing absorption of the load applied to the shift lever.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shift lever device having a shock absorbing structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 10, the bottom end of a shift lever 102 is mounted on a control shaft 104 and the control shaft 104 is supported axially by a shaft 108 of which both ends are supported by bearings 106. As a result, when a shift operation of the shift lever 102 is effected, the control shaft 104 rotates to allow selection of a desired shift range.
However, the shift lever 102 has high rigidity, and therefore, even if axial impact force (high load) acts on the shift lever 102 at the time of sudden deceleration of a vehicle (for example, at the time of collision), absorption or alleviation of the impact force could not be achieved.

Collapsible shift lever having a shock absorbing spring


Embodiments of a product dispenser are taught which utilize an inertial valve to open the dispenser upon acceleration of the dispenser. The product dispenser includes an enclosure defined by at least one sidewall and a valve support plate. At least one inertial valve is located on the valve support plate to dispense material or product through the at least one valve.

1. Field of the Invention
Present embodiments are related to a dispenser which may or may not include a product container or enclosure. More specifically, present embodiments are related to a dispenser which has an inertial valve for dispensing a material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Product dispensing devices include enclosures that dispense either powder or liquid. Some of the most successful cosmetic products sold in recent years belong to the "loose powders" category which spill easily and the quantity of powder passing through a standard enclosure, using a sifter plate, is hard to control. (See FIGS. 1a and 1b.)
So if, by mistake, a larger amount of loose powder than needed is released from a container it will invariably inconvenience the customer either by spilling on their clothes, in their bags or on the floor. Accidents with liquid dispensers are invariably more inconvenient.
In order to control the flow some designs use a sifter cover plate which covers the sifter holes when the powder is not being accessed (FIG. 2). To utilize these devices, a user rotates the cover plate so that the cover plate holes align with the holes in the sifter plate. Then the powder is allowed to flow until the desired amount passes through. Finally the user rotates the sifter cover plate back into its passive position inhibiting flow, of powder for example, until use is desired again.
It would be desirable to provide a structure which dispenses a desirable amount of a material contained in the dispenser. It would be further desirable to provide a feature which may be capable of allowing any excess material to be deposited back into the dispenser container.


Various embodiments are described herein for allowing a user in a vehicle to view at least one AR image of a portion of the vehicle's surroundings. At least one real world camera may be used to obtain at least one real world image of the portion of the vehicle's surroundings and at least one display may be used to display the at least one AR image to the user. Location, orientation and field of view data for the at least one real world camera is obtained and a virtual world camera having similar characteristics is generated to obtain at least one virtual world image of a portion of the virtual world data that corresponds to the real world data. The at least one AR image is generated by combining the at least one virtual and real world images.

Conventionally, cameras attached to vehicles are intended to increase the vehicle driver's awareness of the surrounding obstacles and are intended for the purpose of safety. These cameras are typically facing or angled downwards, and they don't give a high level view of the surroundings of the vehicle; a high level view is meant to be a view that is directed towards the horizon. Additional cameras can be bought and used as dash cams to see a high level view of the vehicle's surroundings but the uses of these additional cameras have predominantly been for documenting events that occur outside of the vehicle. Therefore, these cameras are tailored for the driver's perspective and not for the vehicle passengers who may want to access to a view of the vehicle's surroundings which may include an Augmented Reality (AR) world which is a combination of real world surroundings and superimposed virtual reality objects. The augmented reality world may be of interest to the vehicle passengers for educational or entertainment purposes, also known as infotainment. Also most of these camera feeds are only streamed for viewing when the vehicle is stationary or when it is reversing to prevent the driver from distraction.
Moreover, conventional AR viewing devices that are used for viewing augmented reality images or video streams such as cellphones, tablets, and wearable glasses, for example, each have a screen position that may be oriented in several ways. The physical location of these AR viewing devices may be determined mainly through the Global Positioning System (GPS). The orientation of the AR viewing devices may be obtained by using a gyroscope and a magnetometer, or a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) technique, or even using stationary 2D or 3D targets. However, this has only been done before for people who are on foot. Also, a limitation with using stationary 2D or 3D targets is that the AR experience is limited to the immediate vicinity of the stationary marker.
However, these location and orientation methods have a number of drawbacks. For instance, the civilian GPS system, when used by a user on foot for localization, has a radial error ranging from 10 meters to 30 meters. If the GPS data from the civilian GPS system is used to create an augmented world, then this error causes the augmented world viewpoint to suffer dramatically in precision.
The same holds true for finding orientation with a gyroscope and a magnetometer. When a magnetometer is used for finding orientation, the accuracy has an error of between 10 to 35 degrees depending on the materials that are present in the surrounding environment. Also a gyroscope has errors in measurement of tilt (i.e. yaw, roll, and pitch) ranging from 20 to 70 degrees depending on the accuracy of the gyroscope. Moreover, a gyroscope shows a constant speed drift in yaw, roll, and pitch due to the nature of measurements.
In the SLAM technique, the 3D world map of a user's surroundings is constructed while the user is moving through the surroundings. This gives rise to the problem of the constructed real world getting defined relative to the initial camera state rather than actual global real world coordinates. In particular, this technique uses the spatial features around it to determine how the camera has moved relative to the initial direction the camera was facing. Accordingly, its orientation is defined relative to a local reference rather than the globe itself, which is limiting. Also, in the SLAM technique, any sudden camera movements may cause loss of tracking which might not be recoverable. The SLAM technique determines the orientation and location of the camera relative to the camera's original position by adding up differential vectors of the camera's movement. This leads to the accumulation of errors in measurement. In cases where a sudden change in position occurs, the error in measurement of the change may be so high that it may not be possible to determine the current position of the camera.
Lastly, the conventional usage of stationary 2D or 3D targets limits a user to see the AR world only when the user is in the vicinity of a particular 2D or 3D target and only when the camera is pointed at the 2D or 3D image target. Furthermore, the stationary 2D or 3D target is conventionally placed on the stationary object itself for which virtual information is generated. Accordingly, this confines the experienced AR world to a small area around the 2D or 3D target.


A multi-axial bone engaging fastener assembly includes a bone screw having a partially spherical head. The bone screw head is truncated at an upper surface in which a tool receiving recess is defined. The assembly includes a receiver member including a central bore that defines a tapered recess to receive the head of the bone screw. The bore of the receiver member also defines a channel communicating with the recess and configured to receive a spinal rod therein. A portion of the channel is threaded to receive a set screw above the rod. The assembly also includes a crown member disposed between the rod and the head of the bone screw. As the set screw is tightened into the receiver member, the set screw compresses the rod against the crown member, which presses the head of the bone screw into the tapered recess. In one embodiment, the head of the bone screw includes a flared edge that penetrates at least the crown member as the assembly is tightened. In another embodiment, the bone screw head includes a plurality of circumferential ridges configured to bite into the crown member. In a further aspect, the crown member is threaded to be inserted into the receiver member by threading through the threaded portion of the receiver member.

The present invention concerns a bone screw assembly, particularly useful for engagement in the vertebrae of the spine. In particular, the invention contemplates a bone screw assembly that is capable of achieving multiple angular orientations with respect to an elongated rod extending along the spine.
Several techniques and systems have been developed for correcting and stabilizing the spine and for facilitating fusion at various levels of the spine. In one type of system, a bendable rod is disposed longitudinally along the length of the spine or vertebral column. The rod is preferably bent to correspond to the normal curvature of the spine in the particular region being instrumented. For example, the rod can be bent to form a normal kyphotic curvature for the thoracic region of the spine, or a lordotic curvature for the lumbar region. In accordance with such a system, the rod is engaged to various vertebrae along the length of the spinal column by way of a number of fixation elements. A variety of fixation elements can be provided which are configured to engage specific portions of the vertebra. For instance, one such fixation element is a hook that is configured to engage the laminae of the vertebra. Another very prevalent fixation element is a spinal screw which can be threaded into various aspects of the vertebral bone.
In one typical procedure utilizing a bendable rod, the rod is situated on opposite sides of the spine or spinous processes. A plurality of bone screws are threaded into a portion of several vertebral bodies, very frequently into the pedicles of these vertebrae. The rods are affixed to these plurality of bone screws to apply corrective and stabilizing forces to the spine.
One example of a rod-type spinal fixation system is the TSRH.RTM.) Spinal System sold by Danek Medical, Inc. The TSRH.RTM. System includes elongated rods and a variety of hooks, screws and bolts all configured to create a segmental construct throughout the spine. In one aspect of the TSRH.RTM. System, the spinal rod is connected to the various vertebral fixation elements by way of an eyebolt. In this configuration, the fixation elements are engaged to the spinal rod laterally adjacent to the rod. In another aspect of the TSRH.RTM. System, a variable angle screw is engaged to the spinal rod by way of an eyebolt. The variable angle screw allows pivoting of the bone screw in a single plane that is parallel to the plane of the spinal rod. Details of this variable angle screw can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,909 to Sutterlin et al., owned by the Assignee of the present invention. One goal achieved by the TSRH.RTM. System is that the surgeon can apply vertebral fixation elements, such as a spinal hook or a bone screw, to the spine in appropriate anatomic positions. The TSRH.RTM. System also allows the surgeon to easily engage a bent spinal rod to each of the fixation elements for final tightening.
Another rod-type fixation system is the Cotrel-Dubosset/CD Spinal System sold by Sofamor Danek Group, Inc. Like the TSRH.RTM. System, the CD.RTM. System provides a variety of fixation elements for engagement between an elongated rod and the spine. In one aspect of the CD.RTM. System, the fixation elements themselves include a body that defines a slot within which the spinal rod is received. The slot includes a threaded bore into which a threaded plug is engaged to clamp the rod within the body of the fixation element. The CD.RTM. System includes hooks and bone screws with this "open-back" configuration. Details of this technology can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,562 to Dr. Cotrel. One benefit of this feature of the CD.RTM. System is that the fixation element is positioned directly beneath the elongated rod. This helps reduce the overall bulkiness of the implant construct and minimizes the trauma to surrounding tissue.
On the other hand, these fixation elements of the CD.RTM. System are capable only of pivoting about the spinal rod to achieve variable angular positions relative to the rod. While this limited range of relative angular positioning is acceptable for many spinal pathologies, many other cases require more creative orientation of a bone screw, for instance, relative to a spinal rod. Certain aspects of this problem are addressed by the variable angle screw of the TSRH.RTM. System, as discussed in the '909 Patent. However, there is a need for a bone screw that is capable of angular orientation in multiple planes relative to the spinal rod. Preferably, the bone screw is capable of various three-dimensional orientations with respect to the spinal rod. Screws of this type have been referred to as poly-axial or multi-axial bone screws.
Others have approached the solution to this problem with various poly-axial screw designs. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,237 to Byrd et al., a bone screw is described which includes a spherical projection on the top of the bone screw. An externally threaded receiver member supports the bone screw and a spinal rod on top of the spherical projection. An outer nut is tightened onto the receiver member to press the spinal rod against the spherical projection to accommodate various angular orientations of the bone screw relative to the rod. While this particular approach utilizes a minimum of components, the security of the fixation of the bone screw to the rod is lacking. In other words, the engagement or fixation between the small spherical projection on the bone screw and the spinal rod is readily disrupted when the instrumentation is subjected to the high loads of the spine, particularly in the lumbar region.
In another approach shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,458 to Harms et al., a spherical headed bone screw is supported within separate halves of a receiver member. The bottom of the halves are held together by a retaining ring. The top of the receiver halves are compressed about the bone screw by nuts threaded onto a threaded spinal rod. In another approach taken by Harms et al., in U.S. Pat. No., 5,207,678, a receiver member is flexibly connected about a partially spherical head of a bone screw. Conical nuts on opposite sides of the receiver member are threaded onto a threaded rod passing through the receiver. As the conical nuts are threaded toward each other, the receiver member flexibly compresses around the head of the bone screw to clamp the bone screw in its variable angular position. One detriment of the systems in the two Harms et al. patents is that the spinal rod must be threaded in order to accept the compression nuts. It is known that threaded rods can tend to weaken the rods in the face of severe spinal loads. Moreover, the design of the bone screws in the '458 and '678 Patents require a multiplicity of parts and are fairly complicated to achieve complete fixation of the bone screw.
There is therefore a need remaining in the industry for a multi-axial or poly-axial bone screw that can be readily and securely engaged to an elongated spinal rod. Preferably, the spinal rod can be of any configuration--i.e., smooth, roughened, knurled or even threaded. This need also encompasses the need for minimizing the profile and bulk of any of the components used to engage the bone screw to the spinal rod in a variety of angular orientations.


An address value is set in an address counter by a command supplied from an external circuit via data input/output pins. For this reason, no special-purpose address input pins need be arranged, and the number of pins need not be increased even when the capacity of a semiconductor memory chip is increased. Since the address value is automatically incremented by the address counter, when continuous addresses are to be accessed, the addresses need not be re-set, and a serial access can be efficiently realized. Since a chip address is assigned to each semiconductor memory chip according to a potential setting state of a chip select signal, no external control circuit for selecting a semiconductor memory chip is required, and a control operation can be simplified.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory and, more particularly, to a semiconductor memory, which can be used as a file device serving as an alternative for a floppy disk, a hard disk, or the like in information equipment such as a computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a semiconductor memory is manufactured under an assumption that it is used as a main memory for, e.g., a computer, and can be directly accessed from a CPU. More specifically, an address signal generated by a CPU is connected to an address signal of a semiconductor memory, thereby directly addressing the memory. FIG. 1 shows a typical arrangement of I/O pins of such a conventional semiconductor memory.
A semiconductor memory shown in FIG. 1 has a memory capacity of 4 Mbits (512K.times.8 bits), and is constituted by a package having 32 pins, as shown in FIG. 1. Of the 32 pins, 19 pins are address input terminals for receiving address signals A0 through A18. In this manner, the conventional semiconductor memory requires special-purpose address input terminals corresponding in number to its memory capacity.
For this reason, when the memory capacity of a semiconductor memory is increased to 8, 16, or 64 Mbits in future, the number of address input terminals is increased accordingly. Therefore, the size of the package for storing the semiconductor memory is increased. As a result, a mounting space on a printed circuit board on which the package is mounted is also increased.
Therefore, the arrangement of the conventional semiconductor memory premised on direct addressing from the CPU is suitable for a case wherein the CPU executes a program, and a case wherein the CPU directly accesses data in the memory. However, when the semiconductor memory is used as a file device requiring a large memory capacity such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or the like, it poses a problem about its mounting space.
The direct addressing method from the CPU is advantageous for a high-speed access. However, since the direct addressing method occupies a memory address space of the CPU, it undesirably oppresses the address space of the main memory. For this reason, when the semiconductor memory is used as a file such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or the like, the addressing method is preferably realized by an I/O access method. In the I/O access method, an address counter for storing addresses of the semiconductor memory is allocated in an I/O space of the CPU, and an address to be accessed of the semiconductor memory is written in the counter so as to perform a read or write operation.
However, when the semiconductor memory shown in FIG. 1 is to be accessed by the I/O access method, a control circuit such as an address circuit must be realized outside the semiconductor memory. When a file device is constituted by, e.g., a memory board mounting a plurality of semiconductor memories, a control circuit must be prepared in consideration of the memory capacities of the memories, and the number of mounted memories, and the like. As a result, the arrangement of the control circuit becomes complicated.

Semiconductor memory and semiconductor memory board using the same


An automatic playing apparatus is provided which is capable of executing an automatic performance using a complex combination of audio data and sequence data. In the apparatus, a buffer is provided between the hard disk and audio input/output devices and MIDI input/output device, and serves to temporality record and/or reproduce data to or from the hard disk. Event data of the hard disk are selectively read out to the buffer under control of the CPU, and the event data are further transferred to the audio input/output devices and the MIDI input/output device, for executing automatic performance based on audio data and MIDI data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic playing apparatus which performs an automatic performance of a musical piece in accordance with audio data and sequence data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automatic playing apparatus such as electronic musical instruments and personal computers with functions of automatically playing a musical piece have been developed. In these automatic playing apparatus, sequence data (a series of data which are representative of tone pitches and tone lengths of individual musical notes) which represent a musical piece are retained, and are read out to drive a sound source circuit for an automatic performance of the musical piece.
In recent, some other apparatus have been developed which are capable of reproducing a compact disk (CD) in synchronism with execution of the automatic performance.
The following patents and patent applications, for example, disclose apparatus which are capable of reproducing audio data in synchronism with reproduction of a series of musical-note data (typically, MIDI data):
U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,925 issued Aug. 18, 1992, Inventors: Satoru KOGUCHI, Yoshiyuki MURATA,
U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,419 issued Sep. 15, 1992, Inventor: Satoru KOGUCHI,
U.S. Ser. No. 07/625,309 filed Dec. 10, 1990, Inventor: Satoru KOGUCHI and now U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,237,
U.S. Ser. No. 07,871,241 filed Apr. 20, 1992, Inventors: Nobuo IIZUKA, Hajime MANABE,
U.S. Ser. No. 07/894,847 filed Jun. 5, 1992, Inventor: Satoru KOGUCHI, and
U.S. Ser. No. 07/926,179 filed Aug. 8, 1992, Inventor: Satoru KOGUCHI.
The automatic playing apparatus which have been proposed, however, execute nothing more than starting reproduction of audio data and sequence data in synchronism with each other, and can not combine these two data in various manners to reproduce one musical piece while performing a playing operation.


A steering system includes a steering column for rotation between at least a center position and a range of second positions and defining a central axis. The steering system also includes an actuator assembly in operative communication with the steering column to provide steering assistance, the actuator assembly comprising a pair of plates, each plate including a first helical track and a second helical track. The steering system further includes a spring element arranged with the actuator assembly to bias movement of one of the pair of plates along the central axis to influence the steering column to move to the center position.

A steering system may include an assembly to direct a set of wheels to be oriented in a center position relative to a vehicle central axis unless a steering input is applied to a steering wheel in mechanical communication with the set of wheels. Absent or following the steering input, the assembly may assist in returning the set of wheels to the center position. The assembly may include an electric actuator to facilitate returning the steering wheel to the center position. However, in a scenario involving an electrical failure, the electric actuator does not operate to return the steering wheel to the center position.

Rotational centering device for steering column

Steering Solutions IP Holding Corporation


An interference nulling system is provided which nulls out all types of interference signals received in different lobes of the receiving antenna. The data to be received is transmitted from a high quality circular polarized transmitter antenna having the same polarization as the data receiving port of the receiving antenna. The receiving antenna also has a receiving port whose circular polarization is orthogonal to the antenna port receiving the data so that this latter channel contains only interference signals. The interference signals in this latter channel are correlated with the interference components in the data channel. A control loop is employed to adaptively adjust the phase (or delay) and amplitude of the sample of the interference signal and the adaptively adjusted interference signal is subtracted from the data signal which contains some of the interference signals, thus, providing a clean data signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to nulling systems adapted to separate desired received data link signals from interference signals and/or jamming signals. More specifically, the present invention relates to right hand and left hand circular polarized electric field vectors or components and to a method of eliminating interference signals sensed at the receiver of the data link.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, data link systems have been made which employ linear polarization (LP); right hand circular polarization (RHCP); and left hand circular polzrization (LHCP) of the polarized electric field vectors.
The problem with employing linear polarization in an air to ground or ground to air data link is that the polarization of the received signals are dependent on the orientation of the antenna at the aircraft transmitter, and when the antenna is rotated with maneuvers of the aircraft, the orientation of the electric field vector is also changed and may become cross-polarized with the orientation of the receiving antenna at the ground station so that no signal or an attenuated signal is received. For this reason, data links employing aircraft have tended to employ right hand or left hand circular polarization at the antennas.
A typical prior art example is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,474 which teaches an array of eight transmitting and receiving antennas which are adapted for radar use. The dipole antenna array polarization can be adjusted to be orthogonal to the polarization of a single interference signal in the main beam. The problem with this nulling system is that the system can only be set to overcome one interference signal of unique orientation and does not deal with interference arising in the side lobes or back lobes or dynamic interference signals.
In my copending application Ser. No. 874,448, filed 2 Feb. 1978, a polarization nulling system is taught which is capable of dealing with a single polarization interference signal at a time and only interference signals that are in the main lobe of the antenna radiation pattern.
It would be extremely desirable to provide a nulling system that deals with interference arising in the main lobe as well as the side lobes or back lobes and is also capable of dealing with more than one interference signal of different polarizations at the same time.

Interference nulling system for antennas


The combined light output (chromaticity) of a white light emitting LED luminaire is electronically controlled based on measurements by a single photodiode arranged to measure the light outputs of at least a plurality of the LEDs in the array. This is accomplished by measuring the light output of the LEDs in each color separately in a sequence of time pulses. For an array of red, green, and blue LEDs there are three time pulses in a measuring sequence. During each time pulse, the current for the color being measured is turned off. The response time of a typical photodiode is extremely short, so the measuring sequence can be performed in a sufficiently short time that an-observer will not detect it (e.g. 10 ms). Measured light outputs for the colors are compared to desired outputs, which may be set by user controls, and changes to the power supply for the color blocks are made as necessary. Chromaticity is thus automatically controlled without regard to the factors which may cause it to change. The user inputs permit varying the desired chromaticity to either warm white (more red output) or cool white (more blue output).

The invention relates to a luminaire with an array of light emitting diodes (LEDS), and more particularly to a white light emitting luminaire with a control system for adjusting the individual components to maintain a desired color balance (chromaticity).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,090 discloses an LED luminaire having an array of LEDs including a plurality of LEDs in each of the colors red, green and blue. The LEDs for each color are wired in parallel and provided with a separate power supply, and a diffusion screen is provided over the array. The chromaticity of the assembly is manually controlled by three knobs for the respective colors.
LEDs are not uniformly bright; for a given drive current, light output varies from chip to chip, and also varies over the life of each chip. Light output also varies inversely with temperature, but not uniformly for each color. Finally, in a block of LEDs of a given color, the light output will vary if one or more of the LEDs fails. Given all the factors, which can affect the color balance of any array of LEDs, it would be desirable to automatically monitor and regulate the color balance, especially in a white-light emitting luminaire.
It is known to control current to an array of LEDs in a given color based temperature, for example in a traffic light. This scheme would be cumbersome in a luminaire having LEDs in a plurality of colors, because the temperature (and therefore the light intensity) does not vary uniformly for the various colors.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,783 describes monitoring the color balance of a white luminaire composed of red, green, and blue LEDs, by separately reading the red, green, and blue channels with a single photodetector. During each measurement cycle, two colors are turned off for a period of milliseconds, while the intensity of the third color is measured. This technique was found to cause perceptible flicker.
Previously filed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/663,050 attempts to solve this problem by increasing the intensity of other colors slightly just before and after they are turned off. However, perceptible flicker still existed, introducing discomfort for the user.
It would be desirable to automatically control the chromaticity of a white light emitting luminaire, without regard to the factors which cause the light outputs of the individual colors to vary.
It would further be desirable to automatically control the chromaticity without resorting to a spectrally resolving light measuring system such as a photodiode and filter for each of the respective colors.
It would be additionally desirable to eliminate any perceptible flicker during the measurement cycle eliminating discomfort for the user.
According to the invention, the combined light output (chromaticity) of a white light emitting LED luminaire is electronically controlled based on measurements by a single photodiode arranged to measure the light outputs of at least a plurality of the LEDs in the array. This is accomplished by measuring the light output of the LEDs in each color separately in a sequence of time pulses. For an array of red, green, and blue LEDs there are three time pulses in a measuring sequence. During each time pulse, the current for the color being measured is turned off. The response time of a typical photodiode is extremely short, so the measuring sequence can be performed in a sufficiently short time that an observer will not detect it (e.g. 10 ms).
Measured light outputs for the colors are compared to desired outputs, which may be set by user controls, and changes to the power supply for the color blocks are made as necessary. Chromaticity is thus automatically controlled without regard to the factors which may cause it to change. The user inputs permit varying the desired chromaticity to either warm white (more red output) or cool white (more blue output).
In order to best compensate for temperature dependent changes during a warm-up phase, the electronic control circuitry may undertake the measuring sequence more frequently during warm-up. Less frequent measurements are sufficient to compensate for long term changes in the LEDs after a stable operating temperature is reached.
Where the LEDs in each color are wired in parallel, varying the current to the remaining LEDs during the next measuring sequence can automatically compensate the failure of an LED.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the array of LEDs is driven by a current supply source that includes a measuring drive pulse having at least a xe2x80x9cturn-offxe2x80x9d portion. The LEDs in each color have a light output that has a nominal continuous value during ordinary operation and is interrupted during the xe2x80x9cturn-offxe2x80x9d portion. The array of LEDs has a combined light output when current is supplied by the current supply source. A photodiode takes two measurements. First, the photodiode measures the light outputs of all LEDs in the array. Second, the electrical current is selectively turned-off to one of the LEDs so that the photodiode measures the light output for the remaining colors in response to the measuring drive pulse. Measurement of the light output of the LED is determined by the difference between the first light level and the second light level.
These and additional advantages of the invention will be apparent from the drawing and description which follows.

LED luminaire with electrically adjusted color balance using photodetector


A circuit having a corresponding method comprises one or more circuits each to produce one or more status signals, wherein each of the status signals represents a status of a respective one of the one or more circuits; a memory; a memory controller to store a plurality of samples of the one or more status signals in the memory; a plurality of input/output terminals; an interface in communication with one or more of the input/output terminals; and a debug circuit to transfer the one or more samples of the status signals from the memory to the interface.

The present invention relates generally to integrated circuits having built-in self-test capabilities. More particularly, the present invention relates to an integrated circuit with an integrated debugging mechanism for a standard interface such as an Ethernet port, a PCI bus, and the like.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional integrated circuit 100 with an integrated debugging mechanism. Integrated circuit 100 comprises one or more debug input/output (I/O) terminals 108 and a debug circuit 102 connected to one or more circuits to be tested 104A through 104N by an optional multiplexer 106. One disadvantage of integrated circuit 100 is that an expensive piece of test equipment is required to interface with debug circuit 102 to collect status signals from circuits 104 via I/O terminals 108. In addition, the I/O terminals 108 that are dedicated to obtaining the status signals from integrated circuit 100 are generally wired to a connector only on special circuit boards used only for testing. Production circuit boards for such integrated circuits generally do not include a connector wired to I/O terminals 108. Therefore integrated circuit 100 cannot be tested on the production board.

Integrated circuit with integrated debugging mechanism for standard interface


This invention is directed to a gas curtain assembly which comprises at least one structure of substantially vertical tubes on both sides of and supporting a vertical tube, forming an interconnected frame comprising at least one row of apertures for gas or fluid to pass through and forming a curtain of gas or fluid under the vertical portion of the assembly.

Gas curtains, metal wire mesh, tape or chain curtains, and Refrasil® or other refractory materials are used in continuous furnaces. If the curtain is installed at the charge end opening and discharge end opening, it significantly contributes to reduce air ingress into the furnace, reduce protective atmosphere flow rate and reduce heat losses through the charge and discharge end openings. If the curtain is installed at the beginning of the cooling zone (or in the intermediary zone or at the end of the hot zone), it significantly contributes to reduce heat losses from the hot zone into the cooling zone, separates the atmosphere of the hot zone from that in the cooling zone (which require a higher H2/H20 ratio at lower temperature to protect against oxidation of metals) and permits a higher cooling rate, shortening the cooling time and the cycle time. In the case of austenitic stainless steels and other materials, cooling from the annealing temperature must be rapid, no more than approximately 3 minutes in cooling from 1600° F. to 800° F. If cooling (zone) does not provide a cooling rate sufficient to prevent carbide precipitation, maximum corrosion resistance will not be obtained.
In the case of the muffled continuous furnaces (including humpback furnaces) installation of the curtain at the beginning of the water cooling zones is very difficult if not impossible. It is therefore desirable in the art for a gas curtain assembly that can be easily inserted into the cooling zone from the discharge end.

Gas curtain assemby for muffled continuous furnaces


A method is disclosed that enables a user to set their “away” or auto-reply messages for two or more communications services (e.g., e-mail, voice mail, etc.) in one action. Separate actions are required in the prior art to change each outgoing message for every distinct communication service. The illustrative embodiment of the present invention is a method that enables a user to change the auto-reply message for multiple communication services with less effort than was required for multiple services in the prior art. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, a text auto-reply message intended for e-mail is automatically converted into an abbreviated form for instant messaging and wireless text services and into audio for services like telephony. Furthermore, the illustrative embodiment enables the automatic translation of messages into different natural languages, and can apply rules so that the resulting messages are used appropriately.

Modern telecommunications are responsible for the phrase "the world is getting smaller every day". The technology of personal communications is so pervasive that a given person, especially in business, is expected to be in touch at all times during the day. One service that makes such contact possible is voice mail, which sends an outgoing message to callers when an incoming telephone call goes unanswered. A person using this service, or a telephone answering machine, can change the outgoing message whenever desired to better inform their callers of their schedule or current whereabouts. Frequently, however, these messages are left unchanged, only asking callers to leave a message.


A document management system includes a reception unit that receives a designated document that has been designated by a user, an extraction unit configured to extract signature information from the received designated document, a search unit configured to search a database for another document having signature information that matches the signature information extracted by the extraction unit, the another document being a different version of the designated document, and a display control unit configured to, based on a result of the search, perform control to display document information of the designated document and document information of the another document in association with version information determined based on the signature information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a document management system that manages documents, method and search apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an example of conventional technology for searching for versions of a document, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H09-34763 discloses a document management system that stores a document in association with the document ID of an immediately previous and an immediately subsequent version of the stored document. Such a document management system enables acquiring a specified version of a certain document by successively tracing through the document IDs of the immediately previous and immediately subsequent versions of the document that are associated with the certain document.
A conventional document management system manages operations such as document creation, editing, and duplication (copy), and each time a version is updated by an operation, a new document is generated and assigned a new document ID by the document management system. However, the document management system cannot detect operation execution events in cases where a document is generated, duplicated, or updated without using the functions of the document management system, such as a case in which a correction or the like is made to a document that has been emailed by a mailer or downloaded to a local environment. Accordingly, the document management system cannot generate, attach, or store a document ID to maintain the association between documents, and therefore cannot maintain the newer-older relationship between the original document and the new document. As a result, a desired version of a document cannot be retrieved.
The above situation would frequently occur in cases such as where a document management system is operating on an intranet in a general office. Examples of such cases include retrieving a document from the document management system and copying the document to a notebook PC or removable medium in order to take the document off the intranet. In such a case, even if the document is placed back into an environment connected to the intranet, the document management system cannot detect the document. In other words, the document cannot be specified by a document ID since the document was not managed in the document management system with use of a document ID. Accordingly, it is not possible to trace back to previous versions or search for related versions.
Also, if a downloaded document is saved in a server shared between departments in order to be disclosed to another department or transmitted to a member of another department by email etc., the document management system cannot detect that the document has been emailed. In other words, the document ceases to be managed in the document management system with use of a document ID and cannot be specified by a document ID, and therefore the emailed document cannot be managed in a newer/older relationship with a document in the document management system. Also, a search for related versions cannot be performed since the document management system does not store location information for transferred documents either.
In other conventional technology, there are cases in which documents having the same filename or document name are assumed to be the same file, and the version relationship between such documents is judged based on the update dates of the documents. In such cases, if a user saves a new version of a document using a different filename or document name, the new version cannot be judged to be a derivation of the original document. Furthermore, there are many cases in which attribute information such as the update date is not retained at a time of transmission or reception by email, thereby making it difficult to judge the version relationship based on attributes. A method for detecting the legitimate version relationship does not exist in such cases, and there is a risk of version relationship information being falsified.

Document management system, document management method, and search apparatus


A liquid crystal layer is provided between a pair of substrates, one of the pair of substrates is provided with a pixel region including a TFT and a light shielding layer in which an opening portion is formed, a semiconductor layer composing the TFT is overlapped with the light shielding layer and formed along one side of the opening portion, and an alignment of a liquid crystal molecule is controlled such that light which transmits through the liquid crystal layer is incident as polarized light perpendicular to the one side of the opening portion. The liquid crystal layer is particularly made of more a TN mode liquid crystal.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device using a thin film transistor (hereinafter referred to as a TFT) as a switching element, and more particularly to a light shielding method of a TFT located in a pixel.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a liquid crystal display device includes a TFT array substrate in which TFTs are mounted, a counter substrate which is located opposite to the TFT array substrate, a liquid crystal layer interposed between the TFT array substrate and the counter substrate, a polarizing plate provided on the side of the TFT array substrate opposite to the liquid crystal layer, and a polarizing plate provided on the side of the counter substrate opposite to the liquid crystal layer.
According to the liquid crystal display device, when illumination light incident from the counter substrate side transmits through the liquid crystal layer, transmittance of the illumination light is changed along with a change in orientation of liquid crystal molecules in accordance with a signal from a pixel electrode so that light having an intensity necessary to display an objective image is emitted.
When the illumination light incident into the liquid crystal display device enters into the channel formation region of a TFT, the conductivity is increased by a photoelectric effect so that it becomes a leak current (this is called a light leak current), thereby causing malfunction of the TFT In general, in order to prevent from light entering into the channel formation region, in an active matrix liquid crystal display device, a light shielding layer made of a metal material such as Cr (chromium) or Al (aluminum), a resin material, or the like is formed on the side of the counter substrate opposite to the TFT array substrate.
Most of light which transmits through the liquid crystal layer is prevented from entering into the channel formation region by the light shielding layer provided on the counter substrate side or the TFT array substrate side. However, a portion of transmitting light becomes reflection light (return light), which is reflected on an interface and the like of the TFT array substrate and enters into the TFT array substrate again so that it is incident into the channel formation region to cause a light leak current. When the amount of charges in a storage capacitor or the like is changed according to the light leak current so that an applying voltage to a pixel electrode is changed, light transmittance in liquid crystal is changed therewith. Thus, there is a problem in that a contrast ratio is reduced or color heterogeneity of a display image and improper display are caused. In particular, in halftone display, a region in which a change in light transmittance is significantly affected by a change in applying voltage is used. Thus, failure of display resulting from the light leak current in the TFT is more visible.

Liquid crystal display device having gate wiring on interlayer insulting film which is over transistor, and light shielding layer(s)

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A production system capable of further improving production efficiency and quality. The ring management system includes size measurement unit for measuring size of the ring, first convey unit for moving the ring w whose size has been measured, a first stocker having a plurality of storage positions for storing rings conveyed by the first convey unit, a second convey unit for conveying out the rings from the first stocker means for stacking, and a control unit. The control unit includes memory means for storing the rings size measured by the size measurement means in association with the storage position in the first stocker, first selection means for selecting a ring constituting a stacked ring according to the ring size stored in the memory means, and first instruction means to instruct the second convey unit to convey out the ring selected by the first selection means from the storage position pj in the first stocker.

A non-stage speed change gear (CVT) belt used for a speed change gear in an automobile and the like includes a plurality of endless metal rings (hereinafter, referred to simply as "rings") layered in the thickness direction. Each ring is manufactured to have a different circumferential length and thickness preset according to its layer. These rings are selected, combined, and produced into a layered ring.
Each of the rings is produced so as to satisfy the size of each layer but actual size may be slightly different from the set values. Combination of such rings may not produce a layered ring of high quality.
Rings are firstly measured in size and then placed on a storage shelf or the like. According to the measurement values, rings to be combined are selected. The selected rings are taken out of the storage shelf and layered, thereby obtaining a layered ring of high quality.
Conventionally, measurement of the plurality of rings, storage of the rings after the size measurements, selection of rings, and ring layering have been separately performed and each step or transition therebetween has been performed by a corresponding staff. Difference in quality of the staff work fluctuates production efficiency and quality of the layered rings.


At least one biosurfactant may be added to a hydrocarbon-based fluid to decrease the viscosity of the hydrocarbon-based fluid. The biosurfactant(s) may be less toxic to the environment than other diluents typically used to decrease the viscosity of such fluids. The biosurfactant(s) may be or include, but are not limited to mycolic acids, glycolipids, lipopolysaccharides, lipoproteins-lipopeptides, phospholipids, and combinations thereof.

Refining is the process of treating raw hydrocarbon (e.g. crude oil) and its conversion into lighter, higher octane number components. Crude oil is the starting point for many diverse products, such as motor oil and gasoline, but also clothes, medical equipment, electronics, vitamin capsules, tires, etc.
During the course of refining crude oil, the crude oil and resultant process streams may be subjected to separation (e.g. distillation), conversion (e.g. thermal cracking), purification, and various other treatments. Distillation is often the first step to separate the crude oil into unfinished products, which occurs by applying heat (as high as 750 F) to a stream of crude oil. The bottom product of each distillation tower may feed the next distillation tower. The tower bottom products are typically the components of the crude oil or refinery fluid that are still liquid at such elevated temperatures.
During distillation, the higher boiling compounds that may have a higher molecular weight and/or greater viscosity are separated from lower boiling compounds. After removal of the distillate, the resulting bottoms may be subjected to further processes, such as conversion and/or purification. Conversion processes include fluidized catalytic crackers, cokers, hydrocrackers, and the like. The conversion processes 'convert' or alter the structure of the hydrocarbon chain within a particular process stream.
The atmospheric or vacuum tower bottoms (VTBs), also known as 'resid', are the final bottom products from distillation. The VTBs may be processed in cokers to be upgraded into gasoline, diesel, and gas oil. The VTBs are the heaviest material in the refinery. Some VTBs are sold into the paving asphalt market as a blend component. The VTBs (a heavy hydrocarbon material) may also be further converted into more valuable products by using high temperature to break the hydrocarbon chains within the VTBs by using a coker, such as a delayed coker.
Unfortunately, as the viscosity of the process stream (e.g. a heavy hydrocarbon in a non-limiting embodiment) increases, the handling, moving, and/or further refining of the process stream becomes more difficult. For example, the VTBs may even solidify and block fluid movement within a process stream in some circumstances.
Diluents are typically added to the hydrocarbon fluid or stream to dilute the fluid and thereby decrease the viscosity to prevent solidification and/or increase fluid movement within the process stream. Common or traditional diluents are also hydrocarbon-based, such as a distillation tower cut, e.g. naphtha, which may be used for dilution and transportation of the heavy hydrocarbon. However, such diluents are difficult to handle and are highly regulated.
It would be desirable if less diluent could be added to the hydrocarbon fluid to decrease the viscosity of the hydrocarbon-based fluid. It would also be desirable if agents could be devised for decreasing the viscosity of the hydrocarbon-based fluid that are more environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional diluents.

Methods and compositions for decreasing the viscosity of hydrocarbon-based fluids during refining


The invention relates to a porous osteoinductive calcium phosphate material having an average grain size in a range of 0.1-1.50 μm, having a porosity consisting essentially only of micropores in a size range of 0.1-1.50 μm, and having a surface area percentage of micropores in a range of 10-40%.

Autologous bone harvested from the patient's own bone is the gold standard bone substitute for repairing large bone defects. However, the amount of autologous bone harvestable from a patient is limited and the bone subtraction itself poses significant health risks and results in loss of structural integrity of the remaining bone.
Developments in tissue engineering have provided synthetic implants, for instance in the form of scaffold materials, which allow attachment of bone cells and ingrowth of new bone tissue and subsequent deposition of new bone mineral. The synthetic materials may either be grafted ex vivo with bone cells prior to implantation or may be implanted as naked scaffolds that attract bone cells from the periphery to the site of the implant.
Recent advances in tissue engineering have produced a variety of valuable scaffold materials. Calcium phosphates such as hydroxyapatite (HA; the mineral phase of bone), biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) and .alpha.- or .beta.-tricalcium phosphate (TCP) are known to possess both osteoconductive (bioactive) as well as osteoinductive properties and provide very suitable scaffold materials. The bioactive nature of calcium phosphates allows them to function as a template for new bone formation by osteogenic cells through deposition of new mineral material at the scaffold's surface and is an important feature of the scaffold material. The osteoinductive nature of calcium phosphates is a qualitative feature, i.e. the capacity to induce the development of the new bone tissue, thereby enhancing the rate of deposition of new mineral depends on various material parameters. Bone induction is generally defined as the mechanism by which a mesenchymal tissue is induced to change its cellular structure to become osteogenic.
In general, porous calcium phosphates have been found to exhibit osteoinductivity. For instance, Yamasaki et al., in Biomaterials 13:308-312 (1992), describe the occurrence of heterotopic ossification (formation of new bone in tissue that do not normally ossify) around porous hydroxyapatite ceramic granules, but not around dense granules. The porous granules range in size from 200 to 600 μm, and have a continuous and interconnected microporosity of which the pores range in diameter from 2 to 10 μm.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,511,510 describes a biocompatible and biodegradable calcium phosphate that exhibits improved osteoinductivity over the porous hydroxyapatite granules of Yamasaki et al. The biodegradable calcium phosphate has a total porosity of 20 to 90%, and encompasses both macropores ranging in size from 0.1 to 1.5 mm, as well as micropores ranging in size from 0.05 to 20 μm. The biodegradable calcium phosphate material is produced by mould casting and blocks can subsequently be granulated or cut to smaller size particles. The material, when implanted, is suitable to function as a (temporary) substitute for bone.
Despite the availability of the above materials, it would be advantageous if biomaterials for use in connection with living tissues could be provided with even better osteoinductive properties, i.e. that result in even faster and more profound bone formation. It would also be advantageous if such osteoinductive materials could be easily introduced in the body of the mammal, most preferably such that they provide an easily implantable and effective scaffold material for the production of new bone in both osseous and non-osseous sites. Such material would be of much use for the production of de novo autologous bone, which might subsequently be used as bone substitute for repairing large bone defects.


An ice restrainer for mounting on a container rim. The restrainer includes a fitting adapted to be mounted to one discreet segment of the container rim and a rigid barrier pivotally attached to the fitting. The platform is repositionable between a first functioning position within the container interior for restraining and submerging ice in a beverage contained within the container wherein the barrier is adapted to permit the flow of liquids therebeyond while retaining solid objects therebehind when the container is tipped. The platform has a second non-functioning position wherein the barrier is positionable at an angle inclined from horizontal when the container is upright for replenishment of ice without removal of the fitting from the container rim.

The present invention relates to devices that retain ice or similar objects in beverage glasses, cups, or similar containers while permitting free flow of liquid beverage from the containers. More particularly, the present invention relates to ice retaining devices that retain ice but not liquid in the same container when the container is tipped or inverted.
A common problem associated with the consumption of a beverage containing ice cubes is that the ice cubes float on the surface of the beverage and therefore come in contact with the lips of the drinker. In addition to this problem, the ice cubes often greatly impede the flow of the beverage into the drinker's mouth, frustrating the drinker's desire simply to drink the beverage, rather than maneuver around ice cubes with his or her lips. When one tips the glass up to enhance the flow of liquid, the ice may come rushing toward the drinker, spilling the contents of the container on the drinker, particularly when the drinker is attempting to consume the final sip or two of the beverage and tilts the container at an extreme angle.
Previous adaptations of beverage container covers or of ice retaining devices either came in unwanted contact with the lips of the drinker, such as in elastically mounted container covers, did not provide for proper flow of liquid remaining in the container, required the user to physically hold the retainer in place upon the container to prevent the retainer from being dislodged from the container, or failed to guarantee stability of the ice retaining member so as to reassure the user that ice will be effectively retained when the container is inverted and shaken.