A TS parser and a PES parser restructure one ES or a plurality of ESs from a TS packet and a video PID, and a PES packet and a video PID, and output them. The TS parser and the PES parser send the restructured ES(s) to a separate ES buffer. A decoder section reads a certain ES from the separate ES buffer according to an instruction from a control interface section and decodes it in units of frames or fields. A VRAM interface section classifies the image data decoded by the decoder section by program and stores them in a VRAM. An output format selector section selects a certain image data from the image data stored in the VRAM according to an instruction from the control interface section and outputs it.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to digital image decoding apparatuses and methods, and providing media, and more particularly, to a digital image decoding apparatus and method, and a providing medium which allow a data stream having a plurality of formats to be input.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 8 shows three formats of data streams in the Moving Picture Experts Group 2 (MPEG2). An elementary stream (video data or audio data) is divided into several packetized elementary stream (PES) packets. A PES packet is further divided into several transport stream (TS) packets. A TS packet is formed of a header and a payload. The header includes a packet identifier (PID) serving as the identification information of the TS packet. With the use of a PID, data in a transport stream is identified.
In a conventional digital image decoding apparatus, only the elementary stream can be input-processed among the above three formats.
An elementary stream (ES) can be input to the conventional digital image decoding apparatus, but a transport stream (TS) or a packetized elementary stream (PES) cannot be input as is.
In addition, the conventional digital image decoding apparatus cannot apply input processing to a plurality of ESs.
Furthermore, the conventional digital image decoding apparatus cannot output decoded image data in a format corresponding to a display unit.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to enable a plurality of ESs and a data stream having a plurality of formats to be input-processed.
The foregoing object is achieved in one aspect of the present invention through the provision of a digital image decoding apparatus including: structure means for restructuring an elementary stream from a data stream having a plurality of formats; first storage means for temporarily storing the elementary stream restructured by the structure means; decoding means for reading and decoding the elementary stream stored in the first storage means as required; second storage means for storing the image data decoded by the decoding means, according to programs; and output selecting means for selecting and outputting the image data stored in the second storage means, according to a display form.
The foregoing object is achieved in another aspect of the present invention through the provision of a digital image decoding method including: a structure step for restructuring an elementary stream from a data stream having a plurality of formats; a first storage step for temporarily storing the elementary stream restructured in the structure step; a decoding step for reading and decoding the elementary stream stored in the first storage step as required; a second storage step for storing the image data decoded in the decoding step, according to programs; and an output selecting step for selecting and outputting the image data stored in the second storage step, according to a display form.
The foregoing object is achieved in yet another aspect of the present invention through the provision of a providing medium for providing a program which has a digital image decoding apparatus execute processing, the processing including: a structure step for restructuring an elementary stream from a data stream having a plurality of formats; a first storage step for temporarily storing the elementary stream restructured in the structure step; a decoding step for reading and decoding the elementary stream stored in the first storage step as required; a second storage step for storing the image data decoded in the decoding step, according to programs; and an output selecting step for selecting and outputting the image data stored in the second storage step, according to a display form.
In a digital image decoding apparatus according to the present invention, structure means restructures an elementary stream from a data stream having a plurality of formats; first storage means temporarily stores the elementary stream restructured by the structure means; decoding means reads and decodes the elementary stream stored in the first storage means as required; second storage means stores the image data decoded by the decoding means, according to programs; and output selecting means selects and outputs the image data stored in the second storage means, according to a display form.
In a digital image decoding method and a providing medium according to the present invention, an elementary stream is restructured from a data stream having a plurality of formats in a structure step; the elementary stream restructured in the structure step is temporarily stored in a first storage step; the elementary stream stored in the first storage step is read and decoded as required in a decoding step; the image data decoded in the decoding step is stored according to programs in a second storage step; and the image data stored in the second storage step is selected and output according to a display form in an output selecting step.
According to the present invention, since a data stream having a plurality of formats can be processed, various connection methods can be available for connecting to a demultiplexer apparatus.

Apparatus and method for restructuring and decoding digital image data having plural formats


An Emergency Isolation and Treatment Shelter (EITS) deck system is constructed from a multiple of deck unit modules. Each deck unit module includes four adjustable leg assemblies attachable together by a lower truss between each leg assembly so as to support a deck surface panel. The size of the deck unit module defines the modularity of the EITS. Each leg assembly includes a primary leg, an intermediate leg, and a screw foot each in telescopic relationship. Each leg assembly may be telescoped independently to provide a level deck surface irrespective of the underlying terrain.

The present invention relates to a temporary emergency shelter, and more particularly to a raised deck system therefor which accommodates uneven terrain.
Most structures are built from traditional materials and features which are inappropriate for non-traditional construction applications speed of assembly is essential. One situation where common methods and materials are particularly inappropriate is emergency/natural disaster situations or military operations in remote locations. In such situations, it is required that the materials used to construct a temporary building be light weight such that they are readily transported. Other requirements include low cost, ease of assembly, and minimization of the tools required for assembly.
Various prefabricated, temporary and modular building systems currently exist. Each has various tradeoffs including transportability, construction time and resistance to the elements. Typically, the more permanent the structure the less transportable the structure becomes and the greater the terrain preparation is required upon which the temporary structure is to be built.
One complicating factor regarding the construction of a temporary structure is that the terrain where the structure is to be located may not be suitable for construction of conventional prefabricated structures. Oftentimes, the site where the structure is to be located includes undesirable terrain features such as undulated terrain and other undesirable environmental conditions such as sandy, muddy or flooded terrain which complications construction of relatively rigid and permanent temporary structures. Such complications are particularly acute for emergency hospital-type structures which require sterile locations and may need to be capable of overpressure to sustain operation in nuclear biological and chemical (NBL) environments.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a modular, lightweight, easily-assembled, relatively rigid and permanent building structure and a method for assembly therefore which readily accommodates undesirable terrain features.

Raised deck system for emergency isolation and treatment shelter (EITS)


Some implementations provide a semiconductor device (e.g., die) that includes a substrate, several metal layers and dielectric layers coupled to the substrate, a pad coupled to one of the plurality of metal layers, a first metal redistribution layer coupled to the pad, and a second metal redistribution layer coupled to the first metal redistribution layer. The second metal redistribution layer includes a cobalt tungsten phosphorous material. In some implementations, the first metal redistribution layer is a copper layer. In some implementations, the semiconductor device further includes a first underbump metallization (UBM) layer and a second underbump metallization (UBM) layer.

1. Field
Various features relate to stacked redistribution layers on a die
2. Background
A die can be defective for many reasons. The process of manufacturing dies can cause cracking in dies, which can result in defective dies. In addition, dies can be defective or fail when they are subject to relative high operating current, which can cause fast electromigration (EM) degradation near the redistribution layer/ball region in a die.
FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of a die. Specifically, FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of a die 100 that includes a substrate 101, several metal and dielectric layers 102, a pad 104, a passivation layer 106, a first insulation layer 108, a metal redistribution layer (RDL) 110, and a second insulation layer 114. FIG. 1 also illustrates a solder ball 116 on the die 100. Specifically, the solder ball 116 is coupled to the metal redistribution layer 110. The pad 104 and the metal redistribution layer 110 are a conductive material. For example, the pad 104 may be an aluminum material and the metal redistribution layer 110 may be a copper material. The first insulation layer 108 and the second insulation layer 112 are polyimide layers.
Fast EM degradation may occur at a RDL/ball region of a die due to high current and rapid copper-tin (CuSn) intermetallic formation. An example of a RDL/ball region on a die is represented by region 118 of the die 100 in FIG. 1. The result of the CuSn intermetallic formation is an EM inducted void at the RDL/ball region 118 of the die 100. Specifically, the copper material of the metal distribution layer 110 may diffuse towards the solder ball 116, creating a void at the interface (e.g., region 118) of the metal distribution layer 110 and the solder ball 116. The void that is created between the metal distribution layer 110 and the solder ball 116 prevents a current from traversing to/from the solder ball 116 to the circuits (e.g., circuit elements in the substrate 101) of the die 101. In a die that operates at high current, the rate of diffusion is substantially greater, thus reducing the lifespan of the die and/or causing the die to be defective.
Therefore, there is a need for die that is more resistant to fast electromigration (EM) degradation.


A location detection apparatus is disclosed that includes: a light source; a light output side reflector having a reflecting surface for reflecting light from the light source to a space; a rotation mechanism for rotating the light output side reflector; a first light receiving element for receiving the light reflected from an object existing in the space; a light reception side reflector for reflecting the light from the object to the first light receiving element; a second light receiving element for receiving the light from the light output side reflector; a light conductor for conducting the light reflected from or transmitted through the reflecting surface toward the second light receiving element when the light output side reflector is in a predetermined position; and a rotational position detector that detects rotational position of the light output side reflector based on a detection result of the second light receiving element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a location detection apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
Patent Document 1 proposes a range sensor as one technique for detecting a distance to and a direction to an object existing in an external space. The range sensor includes a light source, a projection mirror, a light reception mirror, and a light receiving element. The projection mirror and the light reception mirror are rotatable together. The light from the light source is incident on the projection mirror along a rotation axis, and the projection mirror reflects the incident light to the external space. Then, the light may be reflected by an irradiated object (i.e., an object to be detected) existing in the external space, and the light from the object is reflected by the light reception mirror and conducted to the light receiving element. Based on a result of the light reception by the light receiving element, the range sensor detects a distance to and a direction to the object.
Patent Document 1: JP-2005-55226A corresponding to US-2005/0024625A
According to the technique disclosed in the Patent Document 1, however, rotational position of the light reception mirror is detected by a resolver or a rotary encoder, which brings a difficulty associated with an increase in size of the range sensor. Further, the technique proposed in Patent Document 1 employs a relatively large scale configuration where a hollow structure motor drives the rotation axis, which is integrated with a cover of the light reception mirror etc. Thus, there arises a difficulty associated with an increase in size of the resolver and the rotary encoder, and inhibition of the range sensor from having a smaller size and lighter weight as a whole.


Techniques for designing optical devices with high reflection isolation are disclosed. According to one aspect of the devices, a pair of conjugate optical filters is used. To preserve the performance of the filters and minimize insertion loss, a lens has a first side and a second side, the first side being preferably perpendicular to an optical axis of the lens, and the second side being nearly perpendicular to the optical axis of the lens. Thus one of the conjugate optical filters is deposed towards the first side of the lens and the other one of the conjugate optical filters is deposed towards the second side of the lens. When a reflected light from one filter, presumably carrying residuals of a transmitted signal, hits another filter, the residuals are blocked, resulting in great isolation for the R-channel from the T-channel.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is generally related to the area of optical communications. In particular, the present invention is related to optical wavelength multiplexing or add/drop devices with high reflection channel isolation and the method for making the same in compact size.
2. The Background of Related Art
The future communication networks demand ever increasing bandwidths and flexibility to different communication protocols. Fiber optic networks are becoming increasingly popular for data transmission due to their high speed and high capacity capabilities. Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) is an exemplary technology that puts data from different sources together on an optical fiber with each signal carried at the same time on its own separate light wavelength. Using the WDM system, up to 80 (and theoretically more) separate wavelengths or channels of data can be multiplexed into a light stream transmitted on a single optical fiber. To take the benefits and advantages offered by the WDM system, there require many sophisticated optical network elements.
Optical add/drop and multiplexer/demultiplexer devices are those elements often used in optical systems and networks. For example, an exchanging of data signals involves the exchanging of matching wavelengths from two different sources within an optical network. In other words, an add/drop device can be advantageously used for the multi-channel signal for dropping a wavelength while simultaneously adding a channel with a matching wavelength at the same network node. Likewise, for transmission through a single fiber, a plurality of channel signals are combined via a multiplexer to be a multiplexed signal that eventually separated or demultiplexed via a demultiplexer.
A fundamental element in add/drop devices and multiplexer/demultiplexer is what is called a three-port device. As the name suggests, a three-port device has three ports, each for a multi-channel signal, a dropped or added signal or a multi-channel signal without the dropped or added signal. FIG. 1A shows a typical design of a three-port add/drop device 100. The optical device 100 includes a common (C) port 102, a reflection (R) port 104, and a transmission (T) port 106. When the device 100 is used as a multiplexer (i.e., to add a signal at a selected wavelength λK to other signals at wavelengths other than the selected wavelength λK), the T-port 106 receives a light beam at the selected wavelength λK that is to be multiplexed into a group of beams at wavelengths λ1, λ2, . . . λN excluding the selected wavelength λK coupled in from the C-port 102. The R-port 104 subsequently produces a multiplexed signal including all wavelengths λ1, λ2, . . . λK, . . . λN.
Likewise, when the optical device 100 is used to demultiplex signals, the C-port 102 receives a group of signals with wavelengths λ1, λ2, . . . . λK, . . . λN. The T-port 106 produces a signal with the selected wavelength λK while the R-port 104 subsequently produces a group of signals including all wavelengths λ1, λ2, . . . λN except for the selected wavelength λx. In general, the optical paths towards a R-port and a T-port are respectively referred to as R-channel and T-channel.
FIG. 1B shows an exemplary internal configuration 110 of the optical device 100 of FIG. 1A. As shown in FIG. 1B, there is a first GRIN lens 112, an optical filter 114 (e.g., a multi-layer thin film filter) and a second GRIN lens 116. In general, a dual-fiber pigtail is provided in a holder 118 (e.g., a dual-fiber pigtail collimator) and coupled to or positioned towards the first GRIN lens 112, and a single-fiber pigtail is provided in a second holder 120 and coupled to or positioned towards the second GRIN lens 116. Essentially the two GRIN lenses 112 and 116 accomplish the collimating means for coupling an optical signal with multi channels or wavelengths in and out of the C port 102, the R port 104, or the T port 106. In general, the three-port device 100 is known to have a very low coupling loss from the C-port to both the R-port and the T-port for use as a demultiplexing device, or vise versa as a multiplexing device.
As a result, the three-port device 100 is often used to assemble a four-port thin film interference filter based optical wavelength add/drop device. FIG. 2A shows a four-port add/drop device 200 and respective functions of the four ports labeled, respectively. An incoming network fiber provides a light beam including wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) optical signals, for example, with or at wavelengths λ1, λ2, . . . , λk, . . . λn, to an input port 202 of the device 200. A predetermined signal channel which is carried by a wavelength λk is dropped, for example, to a local site for use through a drop port 204. At the same time, a new signal at a wavelength λk′ that is identical or substantially similar to the dropped wavelength λk is coupled to an add port 208. A newly combined or multiplexed signal including wavelengths λ1, λ2, . . . , λk′ . . . λn is out from an express port 206.
Traditionally, the four port device 200 is made by cascading two three-port devices. FIG. 2B shows an internal configuration 210 employing two three-port devices 212 and 214, such as the one 100 of FIG. 1B. Essentially, the three-port devices 212 and 214 are cascaded to form a four port add/drop device.
In general, the optical filters (e.g., thin film filter or TFF) can achieve nearly 100% reflection for the R-channel. For instance, TFF with a reflection index of 99.99% to 99.999% can be routinely achieved and commercially available. This is equivalent to 40 dB to 50 dB isolation for the T-channel from the R-channel. In other words, the mount of residual signal of the R channel transmitted through the TFF and mixed into the T-channel signal is −40 dB to −50 dB of the R-channel signal. The signal exiting the T-port of the 3-port device contains basically the pure T-channel signal, with the R-channel signal residual of −40 dB to −50 dB of its original signal intensity.
However, the optical filters by the state-of-art TFF deposition technique can only achieve 97.5% to 99% transmission for the T-channel signal. This is equivalent to 15 dB to 20 dB isolation for the R-channel signal from the T-channel signal. The signal exiting the R-port of the 3-port device contains not only R-channel signal, but also some residual of the T-channel signal that can be of −15 dB to −20 dB of its original signal intensity. As a result, the residual of the T-channel signal would interfere with the R-channel signal, especially when a new signal is added into the transmission fiber that is using the same T-channel optical carrier signal, leading to complexity and difficulty when processing the R-channel signal.
To increase the isolation for the R-channel signal from the T-channel signal, several methods have been used for removing the T-channel signal residual in the R-channel signal. One approach that is commonly adopted is to use a pair of conjugate filters with the corresponding spectral characteristics are reciprocal to each other. FIG. 3 shows one of the practical implementation of the above idea. The filters 302 and 304 are deposited with multiplayer coatings to allow transmitting only wavelength λ1 and λ2, respectively. When a light beam including signals at various wavelengths including λ1 and λ2 is coupled by the collimator 306 to the filter 302, a substantial portion of the signal at λ1 passes the filter 302, and at the same time, nearly all the signal λ2 and the residual portion of λ1 are reflected to the filter 304. The reflected light beam then impinges upon the filter 304 that transmits only a signal at λ2. As a result, the signal at λ2 is pure and is isolated from possible interference. Although this approach increases the R-channel isolation, this approach demands stringent assembling tolerance and technical challenge. In addition, the high isolation device build in such way suffers high cost and bulky size.
US Patent Application publication 2003/0228101 discloses the use of multiple filters in a compact package form. FIG. 4 duplicates FIG. 1 of US Patent Application publication 2003/0228101 in which a filter is attached to an end surface 34 of a second fiber or a rear face 40 of a GRIN lens 4. In operation, an incoming light signal includes two wavelength λ1, λ2 and travels from the first fiber 30 through the GRIN lens 4, then reaches the first filter 5. The first filter 5 is designed to just pass a light with a wavelength of λ1. The light of wavelength λ1 goes through the first filter 5 to reach another device, for example, a single fiber collimator. The light signal reflected by the first filter 5 then goes back through the GRIN lens 4 and reaches the second filter 6. The second filter 6 is designed to just pass a light only with a wavelength of λ2. The light of wavelength λ2 goes through the second filter 6 and travels along the second fiber 32 to another device for further processing.
In other words, the two filters 5 and 6 are conjugate. The second or conjugate filter 6 is deposited either on the end facet 40 of the R-channel fiber or the surface 34 of the fiber 32. The film filter deposited there has to be thin enough so that it can be fit into an air gap between the dual fiber pigtail 3 and the R-channel lens 4. The gap thickness is typically in the range of few tens micrometers to a few hundreds micrometers. This approach has the advantage of enjoying the same compact size and reliability as the standard three-port devices. However, the performance is not as desirable as the free-space approach shown in FIG. 3.
Generally, a fiber end facet is made to have a slanted angle θ for the purpose of reducing back reflection. Typically, the slanted angle θ=8° is widely adopted, but the angle is not always confined to 8°. With such slanted angle, the returned light imaged onto the R-channel fiber is no longer aligned with the mechanical axis of the R-channel fiber, resulting in an offset angle of φ=3.65°, when the light wavelength is near 1.5 μm and when the fiber core index is 1.45. FIG. 5 shows the relationships of the slanted angle θ, the offset angle φ, and the fiber (mechanical) axis of a fiber 400 with a slanted facet 402.
Because of the slanted facet, the light incident angle on the filter is 8°+3.65°≈12°. As a result, the filter performance is severely degraded when the light incident is at such high range, as it is known in the art that the filter performance depends on the light incident angle. FIG. 6 is a testing result, clearly showing the deadband increase as the result of incident angle increasing from 0° to 10°. It is also clear that the deadband increases non-linearly with the incident angle: when the incident angle is very small, the deadband is the same; while after 4°, the deadband increases dramatically with the further increase of the incident angle. For many fiber optic telecommunication applications, such as the fiber to the home (FTTH) applications, it requires that a deadband of a filter (e.g., thin film filter or TFF) is no more than 35-50 nm with isolation better than 40 dB, wherein a deadband is referred to a region between a stopband and a passband of the spectrum of the filter. Practically, it is difficult to meet the requirements when the light incident angle is at ˜12°.
Accordingly, there is a great need for techniques for providing high isolation from the T-channel channel such that the errors or residuals to the R-channel are minimized. The devices so designed are amenable to small footprint, broad operating wavelength range, enhanced impact performance, lower cost, and easier manufacturing process.

Optical module with high reflection isolation and compact size


Provided is a current measuring device for measuring current, including a conductor adapted to pass current therethrough, at least a pair of voltage sensing terminals arranged apart from each other on the conductor in the current flowing direction, and a substrate to which the voltage sensing terminals are connected. The substrate is long in the current flowing direction, and connection portion of the substrate that are connected to the voltage sensing terminals are arranged closer to one end side of the substrate in the lengthwise direction.

Patent Literature 1, for example, discloses a structure of a circuit board, which incorporates a shunt resistor and a temperature detection circuit, disposed in a case. Such a structure can detect current flowing through a battery (or cells), for example, so as to detect the charged state of the battery.


The present invention is generally directed to a novel process for the production of nanowires and nanobelts and the novel nanostructures which can be produced according to the disclosed processes. The process can be carried out at ambient pressure and includes locating a metal in a reaction chamber, heating the chamber to a temperature at which the metal becomes molten, and flowing a vapor-phase reactant through the chamber. The vapor-phase reactant and the molten metal can react through a thermal CVD process, and nanostructures can form on the surface of the molten metal. Dimensions of the nanostructures can be controlled by reaction temperature.

Nanostructures have found application in many fields including electronics, optoelectronics and catalysis due to their unique physical properties. For instance, low dimensional nanostructures offer enhanced material characteristics due to quantum confinement effects when compared to bulk structures. In addition, these materials offer high surface to volume ratio and a high fraction of chemically similar surface sites. Nanostructures that have been successfully employed in a number of applications include nanotubes, nanowires, nanobelts, nanosheets, nanopaintbrushes and even nanodiskettes.
Nanostructures have been formed via a variety of processes and from several different materials. For instance, carbon nanotubes have been formed and used primarily in the study of thermal, optical and electrical transport phenomena in one-dimensional objects. Nanostructures such as nanowires and nanobelts have also been formed of materials including oxides of zinc, tin, indium, cadmium, magnesium and lead as well as silicon-based materials and carbides for use in a variety of in semi-conducting applications. These materials show promise in other applications also, including probe microscopy tips in sensing applications and interconnects in nanoelectronics.
Nanostructures formed of materials which display unique optical as well as electrical characteristics are being explored for use in the field of optoelectronics. Specifically, gallium-based materials such as gallium oxide and gallium nitride as well as nanomaterials of indium phosphide, gallium phosphide and cadmium sulfide have attracted a great deal of attention due to their unique electronic and luminescence properties.
Processes used to form nanostructures have included, for example, physical evaporation via vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) systems, various catalyst assisted methods, methods involving electric arc gas discharge, and pulsed laser ablation techniques. Such techniques often involve several processing steps as well as requiring the use of expensive catalysts and/or high pressure conditions. Moreover, many of these techniques cannot be accomplished without utilizing expensive and complicated equipment. In addition, such techniques have been utilized with a relatively small number of materials, and generally only used to form homogeneous nanostructures.
The breadth of application for nanostructures could be vastly increased by a simpler, less expensive method of formation. For example, a simpler method of formation could provide a route for formation of novel nanowires and nanobelts formed of materials not utilized before in such structures including novel pristine, hybrid, doped and hetero-structure nanostructures.


The rotary cultivator enables an operator to cultivate an area immediately adjacent to (for example) perennial plants. The cultivator is a tractor-mounted tool with an articulated boom. A rotary cultivator head is disposed at a distal end of the boom so that a tractor operator can manipulate the boom and attached cultivator head through a full range of motions. The cultivator head includes a rotary disk with two essentially identical blade assemblies. Each blade assembly has a short blade that rotates within the periphery of the disk, and a long blade that extends beyond the periphery of the disk. The long blade has an extended segment that is flexible and elastic so that when the long blade extended segment contacts the stalk/trunk of a perennial plant, the extended segment elastically deforms so that the stalk/trunk is not damaged.

Perennial crops (such as grapes) are negatively impacted by the presence and growth of weeds in the areas surrounding and adjacent to the crops. Similar concerns also apply to immature trees, shrubs, and many crops grown on lattice works, and various other types of scaffolding. Crops that fall into these categories frequently have trunks/stalks that are relatively substantial and robust, but are more vulnerable than the trunks of mature trees.
These types of crops are frequently grown in widely spaced rows and may produce products (such as fruits) that are in relatively close proximity to the ground. Weeds around the crops compete with the crops for light, moisture, and soil nutrients. The weeds may also bring undesirable insects and diseases, and interfere with workers' ability to care for and maintain the crops. Weeds also obstruct harvesting machinery and add time and expense to the harvesting process.
Herbicides are frequently used to control the weeds around perennial crops however, even if the herbicides do not directly damage the crops, the plants may absorb some or all of the herbicide chemicals and express the chemicals in their fruits and other products. Over-spraying and spray drift may cause the herbicides to be deposited directly on the fruits/products. Further, the use of herbicides and other chemical sprays always evokes concerns regarding the unintended effects of the sprays on the local ground and surface water as well as the flora and fauna in the environment associated with the affected fields. Additionally, there is a general market preference (and an associated higher price) for products grown "organically" without the use of chemical sprays.
Weeds can be removed manually by a worker on foot using a mechanized or non-mechanized tool. Although these methods are relatively simple and in some respects inexpensive, they are also slow, inefficient, and increase labor costs. Most hand-carried tools are limited to cutting the weeds on the surface and lack the practical ability to cultivate large areas in a relatively short period of time.
More powerful tractor-mounted tools are also used to remove weeds around perennial crops. Although traditional brush-hog type mowers can quickly cut the weeds, working in close proximity to the trunks/stalks of the crops can be a slow process and any operator error may result in the loss of a valuable plant. Additionally, some areas immediately adjacent to the crops simply cannot be addressed by this process and the mowers are not capable of actually penetrating the ground and cultivating the soil.
Recently, new and powerful tractor-mounted cultivator systems have become available to cultivate the areas around the crops. These cultivator systems commonly use an array of mechanical and electrically-based sensors to prevent the cultivating mechanism from contacting the selected plant. However, these systems are generally complex and prone to problems in a field environment. Further, the systems require support and integration equipment that significantly increases the size and weight, and technical complexity of the overall device so that the systems cannot be used on small tractors.
The need exists for a simple and efficient cultivating system that allows a tractor-mounted device to operate in close proximity to targeted plants such as perennial crops, shrubs, and immature trees without damaging the targeted plants. The current invention comprises a system compatible with relatively small and simple farm tractors that enables an operator to quickly and efficiently cultivate the area immediately adjacent to the targeted plants.

The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture


A powered fastener driver includes a driver blade movable from a top-dead-center position to a bottom-dead-center position for driving a fastener into a workpiece, a drive unit for providing torque to move the driver blade toward the top-dead-center position, and a rotary lifter engageable with the driver blade. The lifter having a body and a drive pin coupled to the body. A roller is positioned on the drive pin and engages with a tooth of the driver blade when moving the driver blade from the bottom-dead-center position toward the top-dead-center position. The roller includes a first engagement section that receives an end portion of the tooth and a second engagement section. An engagement member engages the second engagement section for aligning the first engagement section of the roller with the end portion of the tooth to facilitate meshing between the end portion of the tooth and the roller.

There are various fastener drivers known in the art for driving fasteners (e.g., nails, tacks, staples, etc.) into a workpiece. These fastener drivers operate utilizing various means known in the art (e.g., compressed air generated by an air compressor, electrical energy, a flywheel mechanism, etc.) to drive a driver blade from a top-dead-center position to a bottom-dead-center position.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Lifter mechanism for a powered fastener driver


An open-pored metal body, which is formed having a core layer (A) consisting of Ni, Co, Fe, Cu, Ag or an alloy formed having one of said chemical elements, wherein one of said chemical elements is present in the alloy at more than 25 at %, and a gradated layer (B) is formed on surfaces of the core layer (A), said gradated layer being formed by intermetallic phase or mixed crystals of Al, and a layer (C), which is formed having aluminum oxide, is formed on the gradated layer (B).

The present invention relates to a process for producing an open-pored metal body, preferably an open-pored metal foam body having an oxide layer, in particular a structured support material based on an open-pored semifinished metal part, and also a metal body produced by the process. Open-pored bodies, in particular bodies which comprise a metal foam, are known per se. Pure metal bodies consisting of an element or an alloy, i.e., for example, metal foam struts without outer protective shell, have deficiencies such as a low mechanical strength of ductile metals, low thermal stability, lack of corrosion resistance and the undesirable migration of elements from the material of an open-pored body into a functional coating formed thereon. The undesirable migration of elements from the metallic material into an active, functional coating formed thereon can change the crystal structure, chemical composition and preferred oxidation states of elements of the coating and consequently adversely affect the function thereof as thermal conductor, electric conductor or catalyst for chemical reactions. Particularly in the case of catalytically active functional coatings, this can lead to poisoning of a catalytically active component, which can lead to impairment of the selectivity in favor of undesirable secondary reactions and also to accelerated aging and loss of the catalytic activity of a catalyst.
Thus, a metal foam for use in exhaust gas systems is known from US 2007/0160518 A1.
US 2014/0221700 A1 relates to a surface modified on the surface.
A catalyst having an aluminum oxide layer is disclosed in US 2012/0302811 A1.
DE 38 83 722 T2 describes a process for producing ferritic stainless steel.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,012,598 B2 relates to a metal foam body.
A process for producing a metal arrangement is disclosed in US 2013/0061987 A1.
A metal-supported catalyst structure is described in US 2014/0106962 A1.

Method for producing an open-pored metal body having an oxide layer and metal body produced by said method

FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V.


A device which employs an acoustic signal having one or more frequencies for penetrating into ground, water, or sediments and vibrating a compliant buried object is provided. When these acoustic signals encounter an acoustically compliant object such as a mine, the acoustic signals vibrate the compliant object, leading to a vibration of the compliant object against the boundaries of the surrounding medium such as ground sediment, creating a nonlinear distortion of the probing signal including the generation of harmonics and acoustic waves with combination frequencies (nonlinear signals). These nonlinear vibrating signals are received from the surface by a sensor. The amplitude of the measured nonlinear signals indicates the presence of an acoustically compliant object such as a mine.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method and apparatus for acoustic detection of buried man-made objects, and more particularly to a method and apparatus which emits an acoustic signal comprising one or more frequencies and measures vibrations of the ground/sediment surface to detect buried objects such as mines.
2. Related Art
The oldest and probably the most common method of locating land mines involves prodding the ground with a stick or other implement to locate a mine. Presently, metal detectors are used to detect mines by measuring the disturbance of an emitted electromagnetic field caused by the presence of metallic objects in the ground. For ferromagnetic objects, magnetometers are employed. These sensors measure the disturbance of the earth's natural electromagnetic field. Both types of detectors cannot differentiate a mine from metallic debris, leading to 100-1000 false alarms for each real mine. In addition, most of the modern antipersonnel mines are made of plastic with very few or no metal parts, making them undetectable by metal detectors.
New methods for detecting mines involve ground-penetrating radar, infrared imaging, X-ray backscatter technique, and thermal neutron activation, Gros and Bruschini, "Sensor technologies for detection of antipersonnel mines" A survey of current research and system developments, International Symposium on Measurement and Control in Robotics (ISMCR '96), Brussels, May, 1996. These methods (except the thermal neutron activation) rely on imaging and cannot differentiate a mine from rocks or other debris. The drawbacks of the thermal neutron activation technique, apart from system complexity, are the limited depth of penetration and the potential danger to the operator due to the neutron source.
There are a number of acoustic methods of detecting buried objects such as mines. One such method is set forth by Don and Rogers, "Using acoustic impulses to identify a buried non metallic object" Journal of Acoustical Society of America, 95(5), Part 2, 1994, which describes measuring acoustic reflection from an object and comparing it to a measurement taken at a microphone positioned over a homogeneous matrix. Likewise, the following patents provide the examples of the acoustic detection methods:
House, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,063, discloses a method and apparatus for acoustic energy identification of objects buried in soil. This method identifies a buried object by viewing the images of the acoustic energy reflected from the soil and, therefore, is unable to differentiate a mine from debris with the similar acoustic reflectivity.
Rogers, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,848, compares a reflected signal with a reference signal reflected from the ground where presumably no buried objects are located. The differences between these two signals indicates the presence of an object. The drawback of this method is that any variations in the physical properties of the ground (density, porosity, moisture content, etc.) as well as the presence of non-target objects (rocks, tree and grass roots, debris, etc.) will create a difference from the reference signal and, consequently, lead to a high rate of the false alarms.
Caulfield, U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,467, discloses an acoustic detection method is based on comparison of the measured "signature" of the object with the predetermined and stored reference "signatures." The signature is derived from the properties of the object such as acoustic impedance, absorption, velocity and the porosity. This method is intended to identify the substance inside an enclosure and may work well for detecting and identifying substances in enclosures with known acoustical properties such as a suitcase, mail package, etc. However, when the enclosure is the earth, this method may not work at all because the acoustical properties of the earth may vary in wide ranges which cannot be predicted. Therefore, these unknown variations in the acoustical properties of the "enclosure" (earth) will interfere with the determination of the properties of the buried object.
Geohegan, Jr., et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,485, discloses a sonar system for identification of certain resonant body target such as mine. The system radiates two acoustic signals of different frequencies F.sub.1 and F.sub.2 which are transmitted toward the target and the acoustic returns are separated into the component frequencies, detected, and thereafter subtracted from one another. A signal above a threshold value indicates a resonant body target. The received signals have the same F.sub.1 and F.sub.2 frequencies as the radiated signals. The frequencies F.sub.1 and F.sub.2 must be within the resonance frequency of the expected target. A processing algorithm subtracts envelopes of received signals with the frequencies F.sub.1 and F.sub.2 looking at the time-variation of the resulting signal due to a resonance "ringing" effect from resonating target.
Pipkin, U.S. Pat. No. 3,705,381, discloses a resonant target sonar system for detection and classification of underwater targets. The system broadcasts two signals: one is a high frequency signal, and the other one is a low frequency signal with the frequency "substantially similar to the resonant frequency of the target." This patent searches resonance targets and requires prior knowledge of their resonance frequencies. Processing of the signal consists of subtraction (in time domain) of two high frequency signals reflected from the target: one is reflected from the target during the broadcasting resonant low frequency signal, and another one without resonant signal.
Au, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,786,405, discloses a communication system which utilizes a well known parametric sonar, first published in 1968 by Westervelt, and is aimed to generate narrow beam low frequency sound signals. It radiates two high frequency highly directional signals (primary signals) into a nonlinear medium such as water. Nonlinear interaction of the primary signals within the water column generates narrow beam secondary radiation at a difference frequency. This phenomenon has nothing to do with a target and takes place in the water column. Once the secondary signal is formed, it can be used for various applications as any other directly radiated signal.
Bealor, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,757,287, discloses a sea bottom classifying sonar with several transducers. It broadcasts and receives acoustical signals with the same frequency as ordinary sonar.
Moore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,603,919, discloses a radar or sonar system including a continuous spectrum of electromagnetic or compressional wave energy transmitted to define a wide band of frequencies.
None of these previous efforts, taken either alone or in combination teach or suggest all of the elements, nor the benefits and utility of the present invention.

Method and apparatus for acoustic detection of mines and other buried man-made objects

The Trustees of the Stevens Institute of Technology


The present invention relates to a vertical-horizontal filter unit for the biological purification of polluted water, comprising an upper zone of a soil patch planted with plants, having inlets for the polluted water, and arranged underneath a sand layer with a lower filter zone made of gravel and at least one removal point for the purified water, wherein between the upper and lower filter zones a barrier layer with openings is arranged and the filter unit is sealed against the soil on the sides and at the bottom. The openings in the barrier layer are arranged along the edge and/or the barrier layer does not reach the edge of the patch completely. The invention is characterized in that the upper zone acts as an aerobically cleaning zone and the lower zone as an anaerobically cleaning zone.

Technically complex sewage plants are used in urban conurbations for the purification of household and industrial wastewater. In contrast, in rural areas, there is a need for cost-effective and ecologically compatible wastewater purification units, e.g., constructed wetlands, which may be incorporated into the landscape picture and operated in an environmentally compatible way.
Such constructed wetlands include, for example, the constructed wetland described in DE 42 25 699. The constructed wetland comprises a four-layer, vertically permeated earthen body, which is planted with reeds. The carbon degradation, the nitrification, and the phosphorous elimination occur by absorption in the earthen body in the first two layers. The nitrification is performed in the third layer. In addition, a straw carbon wastewater extract is introduced into the third layer as an organic carbon source. The layers are constructed from various materials and have differing homogeneity. The dwell time is achieved in that a backup is generated in the polluted water flowing from top to bottom.
A biopolder [intermediate bed] for the biological purification of soils and sludges is described in DE 43 23 610, in which an aerobic area and an anaerobic area are situated one above another. In the anaerobic area, nitrogen oxides are converted into nitrogen and oxygen and/or water by denitrifying microorganisms. The wastewater first permeates the aerobic area and subsequently the anaerobic area. The organic pollutants present in the soil or sludge, e.g., petroleum, are chemically converted by aerobic microorganisms. The pollutants or reaction products which are not converted in the aerobic area reach the anaerobic area and may be converted therein by further microorganisms. A water-permeable nonwoven material may be situated between the aerobic area and the anaerobic area. The upper area is formed by a soil or sludge layer and the anaerobic area by a drainage bulk product.
A vertical-horizontal filter unit for the purification of wastewater is described in DE 197 37 690. The unit comprises a lower filter zone and an upper filter zone. The upper filter zone may contain clay minerals and/or iron filings, and the lower filter zone comprises fine gavel and/or medium gravel and carbonaceous additives may be admixed therewith. A barrier layer having openings is located between upper filter zone and lower filter zone. A division into an aerobic area or an anaerobic area is not described.
The units described in the prior art have problems in regard to the achievability of an optimum metabolic performance for various reasons, in particular denitrification performance in the aerobic area. It is therefore desirable to provide a unit in which an increase of the metabolism, in particular the denitrification, may be achieved via suitable devices and measures, in order to thus eliminate pollutants and environmentally-harmful substances.
This object is achieved by a horizontal-vertical filter unit and a method described herein.

Vertical-horizontal filter unit for the biological purification of polluted water


It relates to computer communication technology. A method and system for transmitting voice messages are disclosed. The method includes: voice data collected by the first intercom terminal are received; whether the size of the voice data collected reaches a predefined threshold are circularly detected; and when the size of the voice data collected reaches the predefined threshold, or when the voice data collected doesn't reach the predefined size but contains a voice message terminator, the voice data collected are upload to the transit server via a predefined network, to realize asynchronization between voice data collection and uploading. Thus the problem of the prolongation of the intercom data transmission time associated with existing processes is solved by such an effective intercom data transmission method. In this method, the collection and uploading of the voice data can be done asynchronously, thus the delay of intercom can be reduced and the experience of the users of intercom terminal can be improved.

The network-based voice intercom is a network-based message transmission application and it can simulate the behavior of short message service to provide a new interaction mode for network users.
However, in the existing processes, an intercom terminal of a sender (e.g., mobile terminal) records a voice message when it receives a user intercom command (e.g., an instruction triggered by touching), and then, the voice message is uploaded to a server, finally an intercom terminal of a recipient can download the voice message from the server and play it. As can be seen, the intercom terminal of the recipient has to wait to download the voice message until after the intercom terminal of the sender has completed the upload of the complete voice message of one time of intercom. This takes additional time for the transmission of intercom voice messages, leading to a reduction in the intercom experience of users.

Method and system for transferring speech information

TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED


A system for estimating a length of a conductor (110) having a first end (111) and a second end (112) includes a device (120) capable of placing an electric signal on the conductor, an impedance element (130) that maintains the electric signal within a predetermined voltage range, and a timer (140). The device places the electric signal on the conductor such that the electric signal travels along the conductor from the first end to the second end and back to the first end. The timer determines a time required for the electric signal to travel along the conductor from the first end to the second end and back to the first end. The length of the conductor may be estimated based on the time. A compensation factor may be determined based on the length or the time, and may be used to compensate for signal attenuation in the conductor.

Electronic systems, such as computer systems, rely for proper operation on the transmission of electric signals among the various components of the system. In a computer system, for example, electric signals must be transmitted between the computer and a keyboard, a video monitor, a mouse, and any other peripheral electronic devices coupled to the computer. The phrase "peripheral device" will be used herein to mean any electronic device coupled to a computer or forming a part of any electronic system, including a keyboard, a video monitor, and a mouse.
Under certain circumstances it may be desirable to place the computer in one location and to place the peripheral devices in another location separated from the computer's location by a certain distance. Category 5 (CAT5) cable or similar cable is often used for the purpose of carrying electric signals between the computer and the peripheral devices. It is well known that an electric signal becomes attenuated as it travels along a cable, and that the degree of attenuation is directly proportional to the length of the cable. Such attenuation can be compensated for by appropriately boosting or otherwise filtering the electric signal in order to return it to its original characteristics. The amount of compensation required in order to properly filter an electric signal will be referred to herein as a "compensation factor." The term "filter signal" will be used herein to refer to the supplemental electric signal that, when added to the electric signal, compensates for any attenuation and restores the electric signal to its original characteristics. The filter signal for a particular electric signal is generated by a device or a circuit that has been configured by taking into account the compensation factor.
A reason for wanting to compensate for attenuated electrical signals becomes apparent when an analog, high-resolution video signal, for example, is transmitted along a long series of conductors. As cable length increases, the video signal becomes increasingly distorted and blurry, leading to user fatigue and loss of usefulness of the video signal.
One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that a well known method for measuring the length of a conductor is to use various forms of a Time Domain Reflectometer, or TDR. A TDR is capable of taking extremely high accuracy measurements, but the expense and manual intervention required are prohibitive where an inexpensive and automatic method can be used. An automatic compensation system is desirable because it requires less user intervention than a manual compensation system. However, while they function well, the existing automatic compensation systems are expensive and complicated. Accordingly, there exists a need for a simple and inexpensive system and method capable of automatically determining a compensation factor and/or a filter signal needed to compensate for an attenuated electric signal in an electronic system.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figures illustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention. Additionally, elements in the drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. The same reference numerals in different figures denote the same elements.
The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprise," "include," "have," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.
The terms "left," "right," "front," "back," "top," "bottom," "over," "under," and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. The term "coupled," as used herein, is defined as directly or indirectly connected in an electrical, mechanical, or other manner.

KVM switch configured to estimate a length of a conductor


A relaxation apparatus which comprises a reclining chair for supporting thereon a whole body of a person who desires relaxation. The person resting on the reclining chair is cyclically vibrated at a frequency not higher than 25 Hz. A control is provided for controlling the vibrating device. The maximum absolute value of acceleration of the vibration produced by the vibrating device to vibrate the person supported on the reclining chair is not greater than 0.1 G. The control controls the acceleration in dependence on the frequency of vibrations outputted by the vibrating device such that the acceleration is small when the frequency of vibrations outputted by the vibrating device is low while the acceleration is large when the frequency of vibrations is high.

The present invention relates to a relaxation apparatus and a method for providing relaxation and recreation for a person by applying a vibratory stimulus to the person.
It has long been well known that as a cradle or a rocking chair makes it clear, a person can feel relaxed when cyclically oscillated moderately. The Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 4-216743, published Aug. 6, 1992, discloses a vibrating floor system comprising a flat support accommodated within a recess defined in a floor in flush with the floor and isolated from the floor. The flat support is oscillatably supported by means of a plurality of spring members and is adapted to be vibrated in two directions perpendicular to each other by means of respective vibrating mechanisms according to a predetermined pattern of vibration selectable through a control device.
It is well known that vibration applied to a local portion of a human body is sensed by acceleration sensitive receptors found on the skin. However, moderate oscillation or vibration applied to the whole body of a human being is detected mainly by cerebellum and semicircular canals. Accordingly, by oscillating or vibrating the whole body of the person moderately, it is rather feasible to lead the person to relaxation. Since the flat support disclosed in the above mentioned publication is used to support thereon the whole body of the person who desires relaxation, it appears that the vibrating floor system is satisfactory. However, it has been found that mere application of the vibration to the body of a human being does not necessarily lead to relaxation and will often provide an uncomfortable sensation to the person.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,532,089 issued Oct. 6, 1970 to Arntzenius discloses a bed or table supporting the body of a patient for reciprocation generally along the vertical or long dimension of the heart of the patient synchronously with the heartbeat that is sensed by a heartbeat sensor. With this bed or table, the patient""s body is described accelerated rhythmically and synchronously with heartbeat, with varying degrees of magnitude (from 0 to 3 g) and duration (0 to 100 msec) of acceleration.
According to Arntzenius"" patent, the bed is reciprocated in a direction generally along the vertical or long dimension of the heart of the patient, which corresponds to the lengthwise direction of the bed as viewed with the patient lying on the bed. While Arntzenius is silent as to the specific frequency of vibration of the bed, it describes that the patient""s body on the bed is accelerated rhythmically and synchronously with the heartbeat, with varying degrees of magnitude from 0 to 3G and duration of 0 to 100 msec of acceleration. Assuming that the heartbeat is 65 per minute, the frequency of vibration synchronized with the heartbeat may correspond to about 1.8 Hz. However, Arntzenius"" patent is directed to the bed for aiding cardiovascular circulation and is in no way related to the relaxation apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,305 issued Jan. 9, 1979 to Steuer discloses a relaxation apparatus including a mattress consisting essentially of an inflatable hollow body defining an interior space and having an upper reclining surface area for carrying a human body. According to this patent, an air pump is connected to the hollow body for inflating it with air. A vibrating device cooperates with the pump for periodically varying the pressure in the interior space at a preselected frequency so as to raise and lower the reclining surface area periodically. The vibrating device includes a control system for varying the preselected frequency within a range containing the respiration rates. The control system may include means for varying the amplitude of the periodic pressure variations.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,250 issued Jul. 12, 1972 to Adams discloses a relaxation apparatus comprising an upholstered seat accommodated within a housing for permitting a person to recline on the seat, a pair of rockers supporting the housing and adapted to be driven by a drive unit for driving the rockers to rock the housing, a vibrator connected to the seat for vibrating a person on the seat, and one or a plurality of sensory stimulators. The sensory stimulators useable in this relaxation apparatus are described including loudspeakers or earphones for providing aural stimuli, one or more displays for providing visual stimuli, food materials for providing gustatory stimuli, a scent generator for providing olfactory stimuli, and so on.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,492 issued May 6, 1986 to Manahan discloses a therapeutic bed comprising upper, intermediate and lower frame structures all drivingly coupled with each other. Specifically, the upper frame structure is pivotable about its central longitudinal axis with respect to the intermediate frame structure which is also pivotable about its central longitudinal axis with respect to the lower frame structure. Independent mechanical means having variable speed controls each employ a rotating eccentric arm which oscillates the respective pivotable frame structure so that the bed itself can oscillate in a circular rhythmic fashion, most nearly analogized to a boat at anchor rolling in a gentle sea.
A bed similar to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,492, but movable in a circular or rotary path only in a vertical plane is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,661 issued Apr. 12, 1994 to Lloyd.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,570,676 issued Oct. 9, 1951 to Henderson discloses a reciprocating bed comprising a bed support capable of being oscillated in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal sense of a human body lying on a mattress which is mounted on the bed support through a plurality of coiled springs. This patent describes that best results would be brought about when the bed support is reciprocated in length (i.e., vibrating amplitude) from xe2x85x9 to 18 inches (about 3 to 460 mm) and/or at a rate of 24 to 800 strokes per minute (corresponding to a vibration frequency of about 0.4 to 13 Hz).
Avestibular motion table disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,614 issued May 28, 1996 to McNamara et al. is generally similar to the bed disclosed in Henderson""s U.S. Patent Number discussed above. This patent describes that best results would be brought about when he vestibular motion table is cyclically in a direction longitudinally thereof about xc2xd inch in each cycle (corresponding to a vibrating amplitude of about 13 mm) and/or at a frequency of 0 to 200 cycles per minute (corresponding to 0 to 3.3 Hz).
The present invention has been devised to provide an improved relaxation apparatus effective to positively bring the person into a state of relaxation.
To this end, in accordance with a broad aspect of the present invention, a relaxation apparatus which includes a support means for supporting a whole body of a person who desire relaxation. The support means is employed in the form of a reclining chair having a seat, a seatback tiltable relative to the seat, and a footrest tiltable to the seat. A vibrating means is employed to vibrate the support means to vibrate the whole body of the person at a frequency not higher than 25 Hz. A control means controls the vibrating means such that the maximum acceleration of the vibration produced by the vibrating means to vibrate the person supported on the support means is not greater than 0.1 G. Specifically, the control controls the acceleration in dependence on the frequency of vibrations outputted by the vibrating means such that said acceleration is small when the frequency of vibrations outputted by the vibrating means is low while the acceleration is large when the frequency of vibrations is high.
Preferably, the vibrating means has a capability of vibrating the support means selectively in at least first and second planes perpendicular to each other; and wherein the vibration applied from the vibrating means to the support means and then to the body of the person is such that a portion of the body of the person adjacent the waist will not be excessively pulled rearwards with respect to a position at which the vibrating means is started.
The support means may be supported by a base. In this case, to enable the person resting on the support means to be quickly led to relaxation, the vibration applied from the vibrating means to the support means and then to the body of the person is preferably of a kind that the head of the person being vibrated can move while depicting a straight path or a downwardly curved path, and/or a portion of the body of the person adjacent the waist will not be pulled rearwards more than a prescribed level.
Preferably, the vibration produced by the vibrating means acts directly on the whole body of the person and wherein said support means is movable in a direction conforming to a direction of propagation of vibrations transmitted by the vibrating means to the person.
The relaxation apparatus may further include a relaxation sensor for detecting the degree of relaxation enjoyed by the person with its output used to vary a pattern of the vibration produced by the vibrating means, and/or at least one additional vibrating means for vibrating a local portion of the body of the person, and/or at least one of a heating means for heating the body of the person, a cooling means for cooling the body of the person, at least one auxiliary stimulus means for applying an auxiliary stimulus to the person in synchronism with the vibration, and a massaging means for massaging a local portion of the body of the person.
Preferably, one or both of the frequency and the acceleration are variable according to a pattern of vibration applied to the person.
The vibrating means utilizable in the practice of the present invention may be of a type capable of cyclically vibrating the support means in a single plane, or may be of a type capable of cyclically vibrating the support means in two plans perpendicular to each other. In the latter case, the acceleration represents a rotational acceleration having vector components acting in respective directions perpendicular to each other and the maximum value of which is preferably the maximum rotational acceleration.
The reclining chair forming the support means comprises a seat, a seatback tiltable relative to the seat at an angle of about 90xc2x0 to about 180xc2x0 and a footrest tiltable relative to the seat at an angle of about 90xc2x0 to about 180xc2x0. As a matter of course, when the seatback and the footrest are set at respective 180xc2x0 positions relative to the seat, the reclining chair as a whole represents a configuration similar to a bed. Preferably, the reclining chair may be of an electrically powered reclining chair in which one or both of the seatback and the foot rests are electrically powered to tilt.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the relaxation apparatus may further comprises an additional vibrating device such as, for example, at least one massaging device for massaging a localized area of the body of the person desiring relaxation. In addition to or separate therefrom, a cooling means and/or a heating means may be employed together with or separate from an auxiliary stimulating means for applying an auxiliary stimuli to the body of the person synchronously with the vibration applied thereto.
If the upper limit of the absolute value of the acceleration exceeds 0.1 G, most of the people will feel uncomfortable and/or unbearable. By way of example, FIG. 5 illustrates how people being vibrated entirely at a varying frequency would feel with change in effective value of the vibratory acceleration. The graph of FIG. 5 is reproduced from a book entitled xe2x80x9cNingen-Kogaku Gairon (Introduction to Human Engineering)xe2x80x9d published from Asakura Shoten. In this graph, a curved band A represents the region of vibrations the average people can bear; a curved band B represents the region of vibrations the average people feel uncomfortable; and a curved band C represents a region of threshold of the vibratory stimulus.
The effective value of the acceleration may be about 0.0001 G. This value of 0.0001 G is far smaller than that shown in the graph of FIG. 5. However, according to the graph of FIG. 6 in which an objective evaluation (i.e., 95% reliable region of the acceleration felt comfortable by people) is shown as a result of investigation carried out by the inventors, the vibration at an acceleration in the order of 10xe2x88x924 G could be felt comfortable so long as the vibration is of a relatively low frequency, especially not higher than 1 Hz. Although the vibration is barely felt by persons if the acceleration is smaller than 0.0001 G, some people may be brought into a relieved state depending on the vibratory frequency even though no vibration is sensed.
According to the present invention, the vibrating means is preferably capable of vibrating the support means at a frequency corresponding to the eigen (proper) vibration of a railway car that is lower than 25 Hz, with an acceleration of a magnitude corresponding to 1.5 or less of the coefficient of railway riding comfort. As discussed in xe2x80x9cShindou Kougaku Handobukku (Handbook of Vibration Engineering)xe2x80x9d, pp 1144-1146, published 1991 from Kabushiki Kaisha Yokendo of Japan, the proper vibration of the railway car that is lower than 25 Hz is made up of a low frequency vibration (not higher than 2 Hz) and a high frequency vibration (7 to 13 Hz) both acting in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the length of the railway car and a low frequency vibration (1 to 3 Hz) and a high frequency vibration (8 to 13 Hz) both acting in a vertical direction perpendicular to the length of the railway car.
Also, according to the handbook, supra, the proper vibration of an ordinary railway bogie car includes a linear vibration represented by cyclic movement in a direction conforming to the length of the bogie car, a vertical vibration represented by cyclic movement in a vertical direction perpendicular to the length of the bogie car, a horizontal vibration represented by cyclic movement in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the length of the bogie car, and rotatory vibrations such as rolling, yawing and pitching. The proper value of the linear vibration is considered to be within the range of 1.5 to 2.5 Hz, that of the vertical vibration is considered to be within the range of 1 to 3 Hz and that of the horizontal vibration is considered to be not higher than 2.0 Hz. Other than those vibrations, the bogie car exhibits a flexing vibration of 8 to 13 Hz commonly in those directions, and in all cases, the newer the railway car, the lower the frequency of vibration.
Relationships between the railway riding comfort and the vibrating characteristics of the railway car acting in respective directions are shown in FIGS. 36A to 36C. Referring to these figures, at a low frequency region not higher than 3 Hz that can be perceived by the sense of proportion, the linear vibration acting in a direction conforming to the length of the railway car is of such a low level as compared with that acting in any other direction that the linear vibration will not almost affects the riding comfort. However, 5 to 10 Hz region of the linear vibration is associated with the riding comfort and it has been found that the lower the level of this vibration, the higher the riding comport. Also, if the frequency of vibration of the railway car exceeds 25 Hz, passengers on the railway car will feel uncomfortable even though the acceleration is low and will therefore find difficulty relaxing.
In view of the foregoing, in the practice of the present invention, the support means is vibrated at a frequency which is not higher than 25 Hz in the horizontal (leftwards and rightwards) direction perpendicular to the longitudinal sense of the body of the person desiring relaxation and which, as far as the vertical (up and down) direction is concerned, corresponds to the level of acceleration corresponding to 1.5 or less of the riding comfort of the railway car. As a result thereof, the person can be led to relaxation without feeling any discomfort which would be brought about by velocity and vibration.
By the reasons discussed hereinabove, the vibrating means is so designed as to apply the vibration of a frequency not higher than 25 Hz. However, considering that people have their own personal preference, the frequency of vibration applied from the vibrating means to the support means is preferably not higher than 12 Hz.
In order to render the relaxation apparatus to accommodate preference of the user which may vary from person to person, the vibratory frequency and/or the effective acceleration may preferably be adjustable. Change in vibratory frequency and/or effective acceleration may be automatically accomplished either according to the length of time passed, a 1/f fluctuation pattern or the number of cycles of vibration. Alternatively, it may be accomplished manually by the user. In particular, where one or both of the vibratory frequency and the effective acceleration are desired to be changed or adjusted according to the length of time passed or the number of times of application of the vibration (i.e., the number of times of use of the apparatus), this can be accomplished by the use of a timer or a number-of-use presetting device. Where one or both of the vibratory frequency and the effective acceleration is desired to be changed or adjusted according to the 1/f fuzzy scheme, it can be implemented by the use of a computer executable software that causes the vibrating means to produce a pattern of 1/f fuzzy vibration. Again, design may be made that one or both of the vibratory frequency and the effective acceleration can be gradually reduced according to the length of time passed or the number of times of application of the vibration, so that the person on the support means can be smoothly led to relaxation.
To apply vibration to the body of the person on the support means involves the body of the person being cyclically shifted forwards and backwards. Accordingly, a zero-velocity condition will occur for a considerably slight length of time at the time of reversal of one of the forward shift and the backward shift to the other. The shorter the duration of the zero-velocity condition, the better. By way of example, if the duration of the zero-velocity condition will be about 500 msec, it is not proper since the person will feel discontinuity of the cyclic movement.
Also, the use may also be made of a relaxation sensor for detecting the degree of relaxation enjoyed by the person, an output from said relaxation sensor being used to vary the pattern of vibration produced by the vibrating means. Specifically, depending on the degree of relaxation detected by the relaxation sensor, the vibrating means may be brought to a halt or may be set in a predetermined vibrating mode and/or an awaking stimulus may be applied to the person being oscillated. This is particularly advantageous where the user resting on the support means begins to sleep.
The use of the relaxation sensor may not be essential in the practice of the present invention, in which case the relaxation apparatus may be so designed that upon passage of a predetermined length of time of use of the apparatus or increase of the number of times of use of the apparatus over a predetermined value, the vibrating means can be brought to a halt or be operated under a predetermined vibrating mode, and/or an awaking stimulus can be applied to the person being relaxed.
The relaxation apparatus of the present invention may also comprise one or all of a heating means for heating the body of the person, a cooling means for cooling the body of the person, an auxiliary stimulus means for applying an auxiliary stimulus to the person in synchronism with the vibration, and a massaging means for massaging a local portion of the body of the person.
Preferably, regardless of the use of the heating means, the cooling means and the auxiliary stimulus means, the reclining chair employed for the support means is preferably in the form of an electrically powered reclining chair having the seatback and the foot rest that can be electrically driven to assume a horizontal position generally in flush with the seat to render the reclining chair to assume a substantially full flat position. Setting the reclining chair in the full flat position may be made in response to the degree of relaxation sensed by the relaxation sensor, passage of the predetermined length of time of use of the apparatus and/or increase of the number of times of use over the predetermined value. This feature is particularly advantageous in that the seat occupant being relaxed can readily feel at easy with increase of the degree of relaxation.
The present invention also provides a method of relieving a person desiring relaxation. This method comprises the steps of preparing a support means for supporting thereon a whole body of the person; vibrating the support means to vibrate the whole body of the person; and controlling the vibrating means to generate vibrations of a frequency not higher than 25 Hz with the maximum absolute value of acceleration of the vibration being not greater than 0.1 G.
In the practice of the present invention, the vibration produced by the vibrating means may be applied to the body of the person in any desired manner and in any desired mode. By way of example, where the support means comprises a reclining chair of the type referred to hereinbefore, i.e., that having a tiltable seat back and a tiltable footrest, the reclining chair as a whole may be vibrated in one or a combination of any desired directions including an x-axis direction conforming to the longitudinal sense of the body of the person, a y-axis direction perpendicular to the longitudinal sense of the body of the person and also to the x-axis direction, a z-axis direction perpendicular to any of the x-axis and y-axis directions and a combination thereof.
On the other hand, where the support means comprises the reclining chair of a type that is suspended by a stand for cyclic rocking motion in a direction conforming to the longitudinal sense of the body of the person, the vibrating means may be of a type capable of cyclically pushing the reclining chair from rear of the tiltable seatback.
In any event, in accordance with the present invention, it is essential that the frequency of vibrations applied to the body of the person occupying the support means should not exceed 25 Hz with the acceleration not greater than 0.1 G and variable in dependence on the frequency of vibrations. Specifically, the acceleration may be small or large when the frequency of vibrations is low or high, respectively. Thus, in the present invention, the frequency of vibrations and the acceleration are correlated with each other.


The present disclosure provides a concentrating photoelectric conversion device that can efficiently obtain a power generation amount even if a deflection and a strain are generated. A position shift detection element group (7A, 7B, 7C, and 7D) includes some photoelectric conversion elements in a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements (7n). Some photoelectric conversion elements are disposed with centers of light receiving regions (100) of the photoelectric conversion elements being shifted from a center of a focused spot (300) in upward, downward, rightward, and leftward directions by a predetermined distance in a state where the light receiving surface of the power generation panel is opposite to light. The position shift detection element groups are provided in at least three places on the light receiving surface of the power generation panel to correct a light tracking orbit.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a concentrating photoelectric conversion device that collects light to convert the light into power.
2. Description of the Related Art
Photoelectric conversion devices, such as a solar cell, in which sunlight is used as an environmentally-friendly energy source, nowadays attract attention. In photoelectric conversion devices, a concentrating photoelectric conversion device that collects the sunlight is used to enhance power generation efficiency. Although a photoelectric conversion element (power generation element) used in the photoelectric conversion device has high conversion efficiency, the photoelectric conversion element is very expensive. Therefore, a high-magnification optical mechanism having a light collecting magnification of 1000 times or more is provided in the photoelectric conversion device to effectively use the expensive photoelectric conversion element (for example, see Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 53-53040).
Additionally, the large-scale photoelectric conversion device that outputs large power is being developed in order to enlarge the photoelectric conversion device.

Concentrating photoelectric conversion device

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


An intra-ocular ball for constituting a prosthesis after enucleation or evisceration of an eye is made of porous sintered alumina having interconnected pores with a diameter of about 300 microns, and capable of receiving a driver after colonization.

During an enucleation operation the entire eyeball is extracted from the orbital cavity. In evisceration, only the contents of the eyeball is extracted, the scleral shell remaining in place.
In both cases, in order to avoid leaving an empty orbital cavity, it has been known for along time to insert a synthetic prosthesis of spherical shape corresponding to the shape of the normal eye, either directly into the orbital cavity after enucleation or into the scleral shell after evisceration.
On the front of this synthetic prosthesis there is placed that which is commonly called a "glass eye", which in fact, is constituted by a plastic half-shell on which an iris and a pupil are marked, with the shell serving an esthetic purpose only.
The problem posed by such prior prostheses stems from being made of a material that is biocompatible but not colonizable, such as plastic (PMMA) or silicone, thus not enabling the prosthesis to be connected to the half-shell.
It is also known to make an intra-orbital implant comprising a silicone core covered in a biocolonizable material such as expanded PTFE. The drawback of such a prosthesis is that colonization can take place only at the periphery where the biocolonizable material is to be found thus likewise making it impossible to establish a connection between such an implant and the plastic shell.
In patent U.S. Pat. No. 4 976 731 (Perry), it is proposed to make the ball out of sterile porous hydroxyapatite ceramic obtained either from coral or by synthesis. The porosity of the hydroxyapatite prosthesis enables the implant to be colonized in its entirety. That colonization makes it possible subsequently to drill a hole into the ball enabling a driver to be inserted connecting the ball to the plastic half-shell. The driver provides better transmission of movements from the ball to the plastic shell, thereby enabling the artificial eye to move in a manner equivalent to the other eye.
Nevertheless, fabricating such an implant presents great difficulty of implementation associated with very high production costs.
That is in addition to the solubility of hydroxyapatite in the organism, which solubility is of the order of 3%, and gives rise to inflammatory reactions.

F.C.I. (France Chirurgie Instrumentation) S.A.


A sheath which permits the user to adjust the degree of retentional engagement of the knife within the sheath. The sheath is provided with a simple, adjustable, latch mechanism engaging the knife to prevent their accidental disengagement. The latch mechanism is substantially received within the sheath.

Tools such as knives having a handle and a blade are often carried in sheaths attached to an article of clothing of the user. Certain prior art sheaths undesirably allow the knife to often become dislodged from the sheath when the user is active or when the sheath is not in an upright position. Various methods to prevent the knife from falling out of the sheath, or otherwise becoming dislodged, are well known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,330, issued May 25, 1976 to Hutchens discloses a knife and sheath combination wherein the knife and sheath are provided with mating areas to prevent the accidental release of the knife from the sheath.
Other more complex mechanisms have also been used to alleviate this problem. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,614, issued May 9, 1989 to Mitchell discloses a double safety lock and quick release tool and sheath assembly in which the locking mechanism includes a pair of spring-biased pins secured to the handle of the tool. The two locking pins protrude above the surface of the tool handle and tightly fit within two corresponding apertures of the tool holder. The locking mechanism also includes two activators which permit the user to release the tool from the tool holder. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,167, issued June 23, 1992 to Kelley is directed to a knife in which the handle is provided with an integral latch member displaceable by the fingers of the user. The latch engages a corresponding aperture formed in the knife sheath.
From the foregoing, it is readily apparent that these prior art inventions suffer from a number of shortcomings. In particular, and most importantly, all such prior art items do not permit adjustment of the retaining force of the knife within the sheath In addition, in some of these items, numerous parts and complex assemblies are required to establish this retentional feature Finally, and as illustrated by Kelley, recent attempts to find simpler ways to provide the desirable interlocking of the knife with the sheath have resulted in the knife itself comprising an exposed, cumbersome, fragile, locking mechanism which may impede operation of the knife by the user, and which may be damaged during normal use of the knife.
Thus, it is highly desirable to provide a sheath which can alleviate the problems associated with conventional interlocking knife/sheath combinations, i.e., which permits adjustment of the force retaining the knife within the sheath, which is of simple construction yet durable, and which does not impede operation of the knife by the user.

Sheath with adjustable latching assembly


A non-orthogonal six-rod satellite communication in motion servo system and a control method. The system comprises a measurement feedback unit, a control unit, a drive unit and a servo antenna, wherein the measurement feedback unit further comprises an azimuth angle encoder, a pitch position encoder, a roll position encoder, a polarization angle encoder and a data collection card; the control unit further comprises an ACU, a strapdown inertial measurement unit and a six-axis movement control and drive module; and the drive unit further comprises a linear motor, an azimuth turbine worm, a polarization turbine worm and an electric push rod, wherein the linear motor further comprises a first linear motor and a second linear motor; and the electric push rod further comprises a first electric push rod, a second electric push rod, a third electric push rod and a fourth electric push rod.

A conventional satellite communication in motion servo system is generally implemented in a manner of a dual-axis or tri-axis orthogonal or bias. A rotation mechanism generally adopts an axis structure. A servo control method is generally implemented in a manner of multi-motor drive based on PID classical control theory.
A character of the satellite communication in motion servo system is to require a simple and reliable system with rapid response speed, but has a low requirement on control accuracy. The satellite communication in motion servo system implemented by the orthogonal or bias axis structure has relatively complex structure and high requirement on manufacturing, mounting and adjusting accuracies. Due to the self-characteristics of the axis structure, there is a natural obstacle brought by the axis structure in miniaturization and lightweight design of the satellite communication in motion servo system, which brings difficulty in miniaturization and lightweight of the satellite communication in motion system.
The axis structure of the satellite communication in motion servo system is generally implemented by using a gear drive structure, and is sometimes implemented by using a belt drive or a chain drive. With the gear drive, especially the gear drive with three axes being space orthogonal are all driven by a gear, the satellite communication in motion servo system has an increased spatial size, a complex structure, a reduced reliability and maintainability, and vibration, shock and noise are generated in operation, moving load is generated, and no protection is provided in a case of overload. With the belt drive or the chain drive, the required mounting space is large, wearing or falling off due to vibration are prone to occur, and the response speed is low. Therefore, these axis structures of the satellite communication in motion servo system have certain limitations, and many inevitable interferences and contradictions occur especially in the miniaturization and lightweight design of the satellite communication in motion servo system.
A control method corresponding to the satellite communication in motion servo system with the axis structure is generally implemented in a manner of multi-motor driving. Generally, the conventional satellite communication in motion servo control system mainly includes a control unit, a drive unit and a measurement feedback unit. The control unit is mainly composed of an industrial personal computer or an ACU, a strapdown inertial measurement unit or a motion control unit. The drive unit is composed of a servo motor and a driver. The measurement feedback unit is composed of a rate gyroscope, a coder and the like. This satellite communication in motion servo control method has a complex structure, more middle stages, long control link and low integration level, which go against simplification and reliable design of the control system, go against debugging of the system and determination, positioning and clearing of fault, and go against miniaturization and lightweight of the system, while increasing the complexity of the structure of the satellite communication in motion servo system.

Non-orthogonal six-rod satellite communication in motion servo system and control method


A carry-ripple adder has four summing inputs for receiving four input bits having the significance w that are to be summed, three carry inputs for receiving three input carry bits having the significance w, a summation output for outputting an output summation bit having the significance w, and three carry outputs for outputting three output carry bits having the significance 2w.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a carry-ripple adder and to an adding apparatus for the summation of a plurality of binary coded numbers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Adders are known in the art and generally serve for adding equivalent bits, the corresponding summation value being output as a summation or parity bit and further necessary carry bits being generated. Carry-save (CS) adders have, for example, a number of inputs having equal entitlement for receiving the number of equivalent bits to be summed and, during operation, sum the bits present at the inputs with equal entitlement. That is to say that generally the same number of controllable paths of transistors lies between a carry or summation output of a CS adder and an internal supply voltage terminal.
In carry-ripple (CR) adders, the inputs do not have equal entitlement, but rather are organized into summing inputs and carry inputs. In this case, the bits present at the summing inputs are summed taking account of the carry bits present at the carry inputs and a corresponding summation bit is output. In this case, the carry bits present at the carry inputs are obtained during the summation of equivalent bits having a lower significance. Furthermore, a carry-ripple adder supplies at carry outputs carry bits having a higher significance than the bits present at the summing and carry inputs.
In this case, the critical path between a carry input and a carry output of a CR adder is intended to be embodied with maximum speed optimization, that is to say to have the fewest possible logic gates. Consequently, CR adders are suitable for use as output stages of adding devices for adding binary coded numbers since the calculation operation, preceding from a least significant digit of the summation result, for determining the summation bit having the next higher significance, provides particularly rapidly the carry bits required for the calculation thereof.
German patent 101 17 041 C1 describes a carry-ripple adder having five inputs for bits having an identical significance w that are to be summed and two inputs for receiving carry bits having the same significance w. A summation bit having the significance w can be tapped off at an output and two carry bits having different significances 2w and 2w can be tapped off at two carry outputs.
German patent 103 05 849 B3 likewise describes a carry-ripple adder having three summing inputs for input bits having an identical significance w that are to be summed and two carry inputs for carry bits having the same significance w. A summation bit having the significance w can be tapped off at an output and carry bits having the significance 2w can be tapped off at two carry outputs.
The carry-ripper adder according to published German patent application 101 39 099 A1provides three or four inputs for input bits having the identical significance w that are to be summed and two inputs for receiving carry bits having the same significance w. A summation bit can be tapped off at an output and two outputs are provided for two carry bits having the significances 2w and 4w.