The liquid crystal display device with a simple configuration is capable of emitting light with a desired color temperature, achieving high light use efficiency, and displaying high quality images. The liquid crystal display device includes a planar lighting device and a liquid crystal display panel. The planar lighting device includes a light source having LED chips for emitting blue light, a transparent light guide plate having a light entrance plane admitting light emitted by the light source and a light exit plane emitting planar light, and a fluorescent member disposed between the light emission plane and the light entrance plane and having one or more fluorescent substance coated areas for emitting white light by converting blue light from the light source into white light and one or more blue light passing areas passing blue light as blue light. The liquid crystal display panel essentially includes red, green and blue filters.

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device comprising a planar lighting device and a liquid crystal display panel, the former comprising a light guide plate that emits illuminating light through a light exit plane by diffusing light emitted by a light source.
There is known a liquid crystal display device comprising a liquid crystal display panel and a backlight unit or a planar lighting device for illuminating the liquid crystal display panel by radiating light from behind the liquid crystal display panel. The backlight unit is configured using a light guide plate for irradiating the liquid crystal display panel by diffusing light emitted by an illuminating light source and optical members such as a prism sheet and a diffusion sheet.
Backlight units currently used in liquid crystal display devices such as large liquid crystal televisions are predominantly of a type called direct illumination type having no light guide plate but comprising optical members such as a diffusion plate disposed immediately above the illuminating light source. This type of backlight unit comprises a light source constituted by cold cathode tubes provided on the rear side of the liquid crystal display panel whereas white reflection surfaces inside the backlight unit secure uniform light amount distribution and a necessary brightness. To achieve a uniform light amount distribution with the direct illumination type backlight unit, however, the backlight unit needs to have a given thickness, say about 30 mm, in a direction perpendicular to the liquid crystal display panel. While demands of still thinner backlight units are expected to grow in the future, achieving a further reduction of thickness to say 10 mm or less with a direct illumination type backlight unit is deemed difficult in view of uneven light amount distribution expected to accompany that type.
Thus, there has been proposed a backlight unit of a type using a light guide plate that is formed of a transparent resin containing scattering particles for diffusing light (see JP 07-36037 A, for example).
JP 07-36037 A, for example, discloses a light diffusion light guide light source device comprising a light diffusion light guide member having at least one light entrance plane region and at least one light extraction plane region and light source means for admitting light through the light entrance plane region, the light diffusion light guide member having a region that has a tendency to decrease in thickness with the increasing distance from the light entrance plane.
In the planar lighting device mentioned above, light emitted by the light source and admitted through the light entrance plane into the light diffusion light guide member receives a single or a multiple scattering effect at a given rate as the light propagates through the inside of the light diffusion light guide member. Moreover, a significant proportion of light that reaches both end planes of the light diffusion light guide member or a surface of a reflector is reflected and returned back into the diffusion light guide member.
The above composite process produces light beam that is emitted through the light exit plane highly efficiently with a directivity to travel obliquely forward as viewed from the light source. Briefly, light radiated by the light source is emitted through the light extraction plane of the light diffusion light guide member.
Thus, the prior art literature mentioned above purportedly states that a light guide plate containing scattering particles mixed therein is capable of emitting uniform light with a high light emission efficiency.
As regards the light guide plate used in the planar lighting device, there have been disclosed a light guide plate in the form of a flat plate and a light guide plate composed of a portion shaped to have a region with a tendency to grow thinner with the increasing distance from the light entrance plane attached to the other portion, as well as the light guide plate mentioned above that is shaped to have a region with a tendency to grow thinner with the increasing distance from the light entrance plane.
Resides fluorescent tubes such as cold cathode tubes, light emitting diodes (hereinafter referred to also as "LEDs") may also be used to provide a light source for supplying light into the light guide plate of the planar lighting devices as mentioned above (see JP 2005-183139 A and 2006-47975 A).
Use of LEDs, which are capable of emitting light having a high directivity, to provide a light source enables light admitted into the light guide plate to be guided deeper into the light guide plate and hence a larger planar lighting device to be designed. Another advantage is that LEDs help achieve a simple configuration of the power supply.
JP 2005-183139 A discloses a liquid crystal display device comprising color compensation means that performs color compensation through subtractive color mixing. The color compensation means is located somewhere between a white light source and a display surface of the liquid crystal display element, say either between the light entrance plane of the light guide plate and the light source, or between the radiating plane of the light guide plate and the liquid crystal display element, or in both of these locations. Note that the white light source used therein is of a type to produce white light through additive color mixing using a first light source for emitting monochromatic blue light and a second light source for emitting monochromatic red light in such a manner as to blend blue light emitted by the first light source, green light produced from the monochromatic blue light through wavelength conversion, and red light emitted by the second light source.
JP 2006-47975A discloses a color image display device comprising light shutters, a color filter having at least three component colors of red, green, and blue corresponding to the light shutters, and a backlight for transmitted lighting. The backlight has LEDs provided therein. Now, let any wavelength occurring at 5 nm increments in a visible range of 380 nm to 780 nm be λn nm, the spectral transmittance [%] of a red pixel of the color filter at the wavelength λn nm be TR(λn), and the relative luminescence intensity normalized by the entire luminescence intensity at the wavelength λn nm of light emitted by the backlight be I(λn). Then I(620−680)×TR(620−680)≧1.1 holds in the above color image display device.
JP 07-253577 A discloses a color display device comprising light shutters for controlling transmitted light amount, color filters having three component colors of red, green and blue, and a light source. The light source is a single monochromatic white light source having therein synthesized monochromatic luminescence properties of the three colors and produces light having peak wavelengths that coincide with the peak wavelengths of the respective component colors in the transmitted wavelength ranges and having a spectroscopic property characterized by relatively narrow ranges. The three-color light transmitted through the color filter form a triangle on the chromatic coordinates having a greater area than the triangle that shows the transmittance characteristics of the color filters.
JP 2003-207770 A discloses a color liquid crystal display device using blue, green and red light emission diodes as a color light source for the backlight together with blue, green and red color filters. The blue light emission diode has a peak wavelength in a range of 430 nm to 480 nm, the green light emission diode has a peak wavelength in a range of 520 nm to 570 nm, and the red light emission diode has a peak wavelength in a range of 620 nm to 660 nm. The color filter has a spectral transmittance of 80% or more at the peak wavelengths of the blue, green and red light emission diodes.
JP 2004-85592 A discloses a liquid crystal display device using a color filter having red, green and blue pixels, wherein the transmittance at a wavelength at which the transmittance in a wavelength range located on the shorter-wavelength side of the wavelength at which the transmittance of the green pixel peaks coincides with the transmittance in a wavelength range located on the longer-wavelength side of the wavelength at which the transmittance of the blue pixel peaks is 10% or less, whereas the transmittance of the green pixel at the peak wavelength is 60% or more and the transmittance of the blue pixel at the peak wavelength is 50% or more.


A compact sensing apparatus having reduced cross section and methods are provided for sensing the magnitude and direction of an electrical or magnetic field. The compact sensing apparatus and method preferably provide one of two transducer orientations in relation to the direction of the field arranged in the sensor apparatus to provide the smallest possible cross section. The compact sensing apparatus preferably includes a plurality of mounting pins. Each of the plurality of mounting pins preferably includes a first pin portion and a second pin portion connected to the first pin portion at a predetermined angle. The predetermined angle is preferably less than 180 degrees and more preferably in the range of about 70-110 degrees. A transducer formed from a semiconductor wafer is preferably mounted to the first pin portion for generating a transducer signal, and a signal conditioner also preferably formed from the same semiconductor wafer is mounted to the second pin portion for conditioning the transducer signal.

Over the years sensors have been developed which include transducers that possess a specific preferred orientation in relation to an electrical field, a magnetic field, or a mechanical force to be sensed. To maximize the response of the sensor, the transducer must be oriented in the direction of this field or force. Some examples of electrical or magnetic field sensors are position and proximity sensors such as Hall effect, magnetoresistor, capacitive, and inductive sensors and electrical current field sensors. Mechanical force sensors generally measure the flow or pressure of a liquid or gas, the mechanical stress or weight of an object, or the acceleration of an object. These sensors generally have a preferred orientation of the transducer to the electrical or magnetic field or to the physical force being sensed in order to maximize the sensitivity of the transducer.
Also, there may be other extraneous electrical or magnetic fields or mechanical forces in the system. The transducer may have to be oriented relative to these extraneous fields or forces in a specific direction to reduce the sensitivity of the transducer to them. This helps to eliminate sensing errors or noise caused by the movement of other objects or caused by the presence of other fields or forces.
These sensors also conventionally employ signal conditioning circuitry or a signal conditioner to amplify or otherwise condition the transducer signal. The signal conditioner is needed, for example, because the transducer signal is usually too low in magnitude to overcome noise or contains a large offset or other error signals that overdrive sensitive monitoring equipment. Otherwise, the transducer signal is not conducive to transmission over a distance to a remotely located sensor monitoring circuit.
Additionally, the sensors are often used in mechanical systems that have restrictions on overall size, weight, structural integrity, reliability, and cost. For these reasons, the sensor is usually made as small as possible by using transducers and signal conditioners that are electronic or that contain electrical devices manufactured on semiconductor wafers.
A first significant problem with transducers and signal conditioners which are manufactured as semiconductor devices, however, is that the electrical conductivity or other operating characteristics change significantly in response to changes in temperature. This can result in a significant change in transducer output as a function of temperature. Because most of the mechanical systems in which these sensors operate can experience rather significant changes in operating temperature, the effects of these temperature changes on the sensor output constitutes an error signal and should therefore be eliminated or reduced if possible.
The elimination of this error signal is usually a function of the signal conditioner and is usually accomplished in several related ways. The transducer and signal conditioner that are to be used together in any single sensor are usually manufactured at the same time using the same manufacturing process and are located as closely as possible in relation to each other on the same semiconductor wafer. This is done primarily to make the physical proportions of the components that comprise the transducer and the signal conditioner equal or proportional in width, length, and depth of features and to have equal relative concentrations of the various semiconductor materials used to form the components. For instance, all transistor bases, emitters, and collectors will be essentially the same relative size even if they are manufactured slightly larger or smaller than intended, and will have generally the same concentrations of materials regardless of whether they are at the intended levels of these various concentrations. The electrical conductivity of any particular electrical component in the transducer or the signal conditioner is proportional to the size of its features as well as the concentration of materials from which the component is manufactured. Any two components on the wafer located in close proximity to each other with the same dimensions and formed from the same relative concentrations of materials generally will have equal electrical conductivities if they are at the same temperature. Also, any component located near another component which has the same concentrations of materials but whose dimensions are not equal but are proportional to the other component will have an electrical conductivity that is proportional in the same degree as the dimensions if they are both at the same temperature. Because the size and composition of these components are set during manufacture, any short term changes in their electrical conductivity under identical electrical conditions are generally caused only by changes in the temperature of the component.
In this manner any specific component or collection of components on the transducer required for proper operation can be duplicated in the signal conditioner at the same size or at a specific proportional scale and with equal concentrations of materials. For example, some transducers employ four resistors in a Wheatstone bridge configuration. Any one or more of these resistors can be made with equal dimensions and with equal composition of materials on the signal conditioner. Under these conditions, the electrical conductivity of both pairs of resistors generally will be equal if their temperatures are equal. In any case, if the temperature of the transducer components is the same as the temperature of the signal conditioner components, both the transducer and signal conditioner will contain components that experience equal or proportional electrical conductivity due to the effects of temperature alone.
One of two methods are generally used in association with a signal conditioner to determine this change in electrical conductivity and then to produce a corresponding signal that cancels the effects of this change on the transducer output. First, if size allows, a complete duplicate of the transducer can be made on the signal conditioner. This duplicate transducer is then electrically, magnetically, or physically shielded from the field or force being sensed or is in some manner made unresponsive to the sensed parameter. An equal excitation or drive signal is then applied to both the components comprising the active transducer and the components comprising the duplicate passive transducer on the signal conditioner. The output of the signal conditioner passive transducer is then relative only to temperature and is then subtracted from the output of the active transducer that responds to the field or force. This is usually accomplished in a differential amplifier or a similar electronic circuit.
A second method, for example, can be used where space for the signal conditioner is more limited. A representative part of the transducer at any proportion can be duplicated on the signal conditioner. This representative part can be chosen to be a part that is unresponsive to the parameter being sensed or can be physically oriented to a position where it is not affected or otherwise shielded from the parameter being sensed. In any case, it is designed so its electrical conductivity is proportional only to changes in temperature. The change of the transducer output due to the cumulative changes of electrical conductivity of all transducer components due only to changes in temperature is determined by direct measure or by mathematical calculation during the sensor design phase. This yields a specific level of transducer output change per degree of change in temperature. This information is used to design a circuit with a specific amount of gain determined by the relationship of the change in electrical conductivity of the signal conditioner duplicate component to the change in transducer output caused by a change in temperature. This circuit monitors the change in electrical conductivity of the signal conditioner duplicate component and then amplifies this change by the amount required to yield an equivalent signal level change that is then subtracted from the transducer output as above.
Long term changes of electrical conductivity are a second significant problem in semiconductor components. This is usually caused by electromigration of the atoms of the material comprising the components from their positions as manufactured along paths of electrical current into areas that are not designed to contain them. For instance, the atoms comprising the base structure of a transistor can migrate into the areas occupied by the emitter and the collector, and vice versa. This changes both the physical size of the component as well as its concentration of the materials comprising the component. Any component in the transducer will experience these effects the same as an identical component in the signal conditioner provided the current through both components is kept equal over the life of the sensor. This is felt the same way as the short term effects of temperature as above by both components in the transducer and in the signal conditioner and is thus effectively compensated for in the same manner as short term changes in temperature.
During the manufacturing process, both the transducer and the signal conditioner are formed on a common surface on the wafer known as the planar surface. Since components are not usually formed on top of other components, this results in transducers and signal conditioners that have a large surface area relative to the depth of the devices. The area taken up by these devices is generally measured along this planar surface. The depth of all such semiconductor devices is usually fixed by design considerations and is not relative to the number of devices.
Prior art sensors generally manufacture the signal conditioner and transducer on the same wafer and interconnect the two using conductive traces defined directly on the wafer. The prior art sensors are then installed as a single monolithic chip in the sensor. Since the transducer generally should be oriented in a specific direction relative to the field being sensed, this requires that the signal conditioner be oriented also to the field in like manner.
Also, the amount of area occupied by the transducer is much smaller than the area occupied by the signal conditioner. Orientation of both a transducer and a signal conditioner along the same plane generally produces a larger cross section for the sensor than could be achieved by orienting the transducer to the field and orienting the signal conditioner separately in whatever direction needed to realize the smallest cross section. Because the signal conditioner does not require a specific orientation in relation to the field, a much smaller cross section in relation to a specific direction of measurement can be realized by changing the orientation of the transducer and signal conditioner so they are orthogonal. This can only be accomplished if the transducer and signal conditioner are physically separated and electrically connected using some means other than the conductive traces so the transducer can be oriented to the field or force separately from the signal conditioner.

Compact sensing apparatus having transducer and signal conditioner with a plurality of mounting pins


A method of reducing EMI when printing an image with a printer having a laser includes determining edge pels located near an edge of the image, determining interior pels located within the image and not edge pels, forming edge pels by operating the laser at a first duty cycle and forming at least a portion of a plurality of interior pels by operating the laser at a second duty cycle longer than the first duty cycle. Another aspect is a method of reducing EMI in a printer when forming a latent image on a photoconductive member by gating a light source ON and OFF, including the steps of identifying a first region near an edge of an image to be formed, the first region being formed by gating the light source at a first frequency; and identifying an interior region of the image to be formed, the interior region being formed by gating the light source at a second frequency lower than the first frequency.

It is useful to think of printed images as being constructed of printer elements, or pels. A pel is sometimes referred to as a dot, and the resolution of a printer is often characterized by the number of dots that it can print within a given linear distance, such as 1,200 dots per inch.
Laser-based electrophotographic printers typically form images by scanning a laser across the surface of a drum. The laser is pulsed on and off as it scans across the surface of the drum. Those portions of the drum surface that are struck by the beam of the laser undergo a physical change that enables the drum to pick up and then place toner on a sheet of paper.
To form a dot, the laser may be pulsed on and then off again for a given length of time within the pel. Often, a fifty percent duty cycle is used, meaning that the laser is off for approximately half of the total scan width of the pel, and on for approximately half of the total scan width of the pel. For example, the laser may be off as it scans across the first quarter of the pel, then pulsed on as it scans the middle half of the pel, and then pulsed off again as it scans across the final quarter of the pel. If a duty cycle greater than about fifty percent is used, the area of the drum surface affected tends to be greater in size than desired, producing a dot of a size that is larger than typically necessary.
Among the general design goals of printers are those of increased speed and increased resolution. Increasing printer speed means to decrease the amount of time required to print a page, or in other words, increase the scan speed of the laser. Increasing the resolution of the printer means to decrease the size of the pels, or in other words, put more pels within a given linear distance. Achieving either of these goals results in the laser operating at an increased frequency. For example, if the scan speed of the laser is increased, then it forms more pels per unit time. Since the laser typically is pulsed on and off again for each pel as described above, the laser is pulsing on and off more frequently per unit time. Similarly, if the resolution increases, then more pels are formed per unit scan distance of the laser. Assuming that the laser scan speed is not reduced, this also means that the laser is pulsed on and off more frequently per unit time. Increasing both speed and resolution at the same time only compounds the situation.
The frequency at which the laser operates tends to be related to the electromagnetic interference (EMI) that is produced by the printer. Typically, increasing the operating frequency of the laser tends to increase the EMI produced by the printer, and any reduction in the operating frequency tends to decrease the EMI. Other factors which tend to affect EMI are the amount of common mode current present on the cable which connects the laser to the laser controller, and the length of that cable.
Governments regulate the amount of radiated EMI that a device such as a printer may emit. Thus, the amount of EMI produced by a printer is of great concern to printer manufacturers. Some manufacturers have reduced the length of the cable carrying the laser control signal to reduce EMI, or reduced the voltage of the laser control signal to the laser, which tends to reduce the current. Other techniques include using coaxial cable or adding toroids to the cable. These methods tend to reduce the antennae effects of the cable, but they tend to be expensive and are typically used as a last resort to save the product schedule. What is needed, therefore, is a method of reducing EMI produced by a printer, without significantly increasing the production cost or reducing the speed or apparent resolution of the printer.


A heart rate sensor within a hearing assistance device may provide heart rate information or other sensor data, which may be used to determine how well the hearing assistance device fits the patient's ear. The heart rate sensor data provides quantitative feedback that indicates how well the hearing assistance device fits the patient's ear. The heart rate sensor data may be used to provide an indication to the patient to reseat or otherwise adjust the fitting of the hearing assistance device. The improved fitting process provides the ability for the audiologist and patient to identify a preferred or optimized hearing assistance device geometry. This improved fit provides improved performance and reliability of the hearing assistance device.

Hearing assistance devices may include hearing aids, such as behind-the-ear (BTE), in-the-ear (ITE), in-the-canal (ITC), receiver-in-canal (RIC), completely-in-the-canal (CIC), or other types of hearing aids. To improve hearing assistance device performance, an audiologist may provide a custom fitting of the hearing assistance device for the patient (e.g. user). The fitting may include determining a hearing assistance device size, an RIC cable length, a CIC device molding, or other patient customization. However, even with customization, the fitting of a hearing assistance device may change throughout a day, thereby modifying or reducing the hearing assistance device performance. It is desirable to improve hearing assistance device fitting and performance to provide consistent and reliable performance throughout the device lifetime.

Hearing assistance device fitting based on heart rate sensor


A mounting structure is used for mounting a first data storage device or a second data storage device. A first guiding tab is formed on a side surface of the second data storage device. A second guiding tab is formed on a side surface of the second data storage device. A height of the first guiding tab from a bottom surface of the first data storage device is different than a height of the second guiding tab from a bottom surface of the second data storage device. The mounting structure includes a bracket and a sliding member. The bracket includes a side wall. A flange is formed on an edge of the side wall. A first guiding slot is defined in the side wall and extends to the flange to define a first guiding entry. A second guiding slot is defined in the side wall and extends to the flange to define a second guiding entry. The sliding member is slidably attached to the flange.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a mounting structure and, more particularly, to a mounting structure for data storage device.
2. Description of Related Art
Data storage devices are continually improving. With the development of computing technology, many new types of storage devices have improved communication interfaces, larger capacities, and are smaller in size. These new types of data storage devices are usually placed in a single storage server to enlarge storage capacity. Different types of data storage devices may be assembled in the single storage server. Occasionally, when data storage devices are integrated into the storage server, different types of data storage devices may inadvertently be placed in erroneous positions. This creates a mismatched interface communication between the data storage devices and a circuit board of the storage server, and potentially leading to a failure of the data storage devices and the circuit board.
Therefore, a mounting structure to fix a data storage device in a computer is desired to overcome the above-described shortcomings.

Mounting structure for data storage device


A liquid crystal display device having a pair of substrates with a display medium interposed therebetween, includes: a plurality of scanning lines and a plurality of data lines provided on one of the pair or substrates so as to cross each other; a plurality of switching elements, each of the switching elements being connected with one of the scanning lines and one of the data lines; an insulating layer provided so as to cover the plurality of scanning lines, the plurality of data lines, and the plurality of switching elements; a plurality of pixel electrodes provided on the insulating layer, each of the pixel electrodes partially overlapping at least one scanning line and at least one data line; and a plurality of contact holes formed in the insulating layer, through each of which an output terminal of a respective switching element and a respective pixel electrode are connected. The display medium contains a liquid crystal material, and liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal material are oriented in at least two directions on at least one of the pair of substrates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device having a sufficiently wide viewing angle which can be used in flat displays incorporated in, for example, portable information terminal devices, personal computers, word processors, amusement equipment and televisions viewed by a plurality of people, as well as display boards employing a shutter effect and display devices provided on windows, doors or walls.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional liquid crystal display device is known which includes a pair of substrates and a liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween. On one of the pair of substrates, scanning lines, data lines, switching elements and pixel electrodes are provided. The scanning lines and the data lines are provided so as to cross each other. Each of the switching elements is provided to be connected with the respective scanning line and data line. Each of the pixel electrodes is provided in a respective rectangular region enclosed by the scanning lines and the data lines to be in connection with the respective switching element.
In such a liquid crystal display device, each pixel electrode needs to be provided in the respective rectangular region without making a contact with the crossing scanning lines and data lines. Therefore, each pixel electrode is formed so that the periphery thereof is separated from the scanning lines and the data lines. As a result, the pixel electrode is made small, which results in a low aperture ratio.
A liquid crystal display device is proposed which is capable of providing a higher aperture ratio (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 4-120516). The liquid crystal display device described in the above-mentioned publication includes a pair of substrates, a liquid crystal display layer interposed therebetween, scanning lines and data lines provided in a crossing manner on one of the pair of substrates, and switching elements provided in connection with the scanning lines and the data lines. Pixel electrodes are provided on an insulating layer covering the scanning lines, the data lines and the switching elements. Each of the pixel electrodes is connected with an output terminal of the respective switching element via a contact hole formed in the insulating layer.
In such a liquid crystal display device, the scanning lines and the data lines are provided on a different level from the pixel electrodes. Thus, even when the pixel electrodes are overlaid above the scanning lines and the data lines, the pixel electrodes are prevented from being shortcircuited therewith. Accordingly, the pixel electrodes can be made larger than those of a liquid crystal display device in which pixel electrodes, the scanning lines and the data lines are provided generally on the same level. Furthermore, an electric field occurring in a horizontal direction between each pixel electrode and the respective scanning and data lines can be minimized, thereby restraining defective orientation.
Although such a liquid crystal display device may be capable of obtaining a high aperture ratio, there still remains a problem of a poor viewing angle characteristic owing to the usage of TN (twisted nematic) mode. This is due to the following reasons.
Conventionally, TN or STN (super twisted nematic) liquid crystal display devices employing a nematic liquid crystal material are put into practical use as display devices utilizing an electro-optic effect. Such liquid crystal display devices require polarizing plates as well as an alignment layer. In such a liquid crystal device, liquid crystal molecules function as follows. As shown in FIG. 15A, the liquid crystal molecules are provided with a pretilt angle under an initial orientation state (i.e., a state with no voltage applied). As shown in FIG. 15B, the liquid crystal molecules rise in the same direction (rotate in the same direction) under application of a voltage. Under such a state, transmittance of the liquid crystal device varies relative to various viewing directions. For instance, the transmittance is different when viewed from directions represented by arrows A and B (hereinafter, simply referred to as "directions A and B"). Moreover, at a gray scale level, phenomena that remarkably deteriorate the display quality, such as inversion, may occur depending on the viewing angle. A cell of the liquid crystal display device under application of a saturation voltage is shown in FIG. 15C.
In order to minimize the inversion which occurs due to a narrow viewing angle characteristic of a liquid crystal display device, the following five types of liquid crystal display apparatuses with wider viewing angle characteristics have been proposed.
A first liquid crystal display apparatus includes two polarizing plates disposed so that the polarizing axes are perpendicular to each other with a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal device sandwiched therebetween (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 4-338923 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 4-212928). Although the liquid crystal display apparatus has a great effect in improving the viewing angle characteristic thereof, the liquid crystal display apparatus has low merit for practical use since the liquid crystal display apparatus basically employs depolarization by scattering and thus the brightness is half as much as the brightness of a typical TN liquid crystal display apparatus.
A second liquid crystal display apparatus includes random liquid crystal domains for enhanced viewing angle characteristics. Such random liquid crystal domains are obtained by disturbing the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules, for example, by polymer walls or protrusions (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 5-27242). Since the liquid crystal display apparatus includes random liquid crystal domains, the polymer material spreads over to picture element regions. Each picture element region is defined between each pixel electrode and a region of a counter electrode corresponding to the pixel electrode, including the pixel electrode and the region of the counter electrode corresponding to the pixel electrode. Moreover, disclination lines between the liquid crystal domains are randomly generated and such disclination lines are not eliminated even under application of a voltage. Consequently, the second liquid crystal display apparatus has a lower light transmittance under no applied voltage and a lower contrast under application of a voltage due to a lower black level.
A third liquid crystal display apparatus has a remarkably improved viewing angle characteristic since the liquid crystal molecules in each picture element region are oriented in an axially-symmetric manner within a polymer wall (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 6-301015 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-120728), or alternatively since the liquid crystal molecules are oriented in a concentric or radial manner between the upper and lower substrates by subjecting the picture element regions to an alignment treatment (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 6-324337 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 6-265902). As shown in FIG. 15D, the former liquid crystal display apparatus includes a pair of substrates 101 and 102 and liquid crystal molecules 109 in a liquid crystal region 108 enclosed by a polymer wall 107. The liquid crystal molecules 109 are oriented in an axially-symmetric manner by the polymer wall 107, and are given a pretilt angle under an initial orientation state. In FIG. 15D, reference numeral 110 denotes a disclination line. As shown in FIG. 15E, when a voltage is applied, the liquid crystal molecules 109 rise in the same direction (rotate in the same direction). Under such a state, a generally uniform transmittance is obtained when viewed from either directions A or B. A cell of the liquid crystal display device under application of a saturation voltage is shown in FIG. 15F.
The former liquid crystal display device, however, has a difficulty in controlling the pretilt angle and pretilt direction. On the other hand, the latter liquid crystal display device has a difficulty in performing concentric or radial orientation treatment for each of the picture element regions in terms of mass-production.
A fourth liquid crystal display apparatus includes an alignment film made of a crystalline polymer having spherulites. A spherulite is a spherical polycrystal in which a plurality of crystals are radially arranged starting from one point. Liquid crystal molecules are radially aligned along the spherulites, thereby enhancing the viewing angle characteristics (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 6-308496).
A fifth liquid crystal display apparatus includes liquid crystal molecules randomly oriented by applying alignment films on substrates with an alignment treatment such as rubbing (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 6-194655). When a voltage is applied to such a liquid crystal display apparatus, disclination lines are generated between liquid crystal domains due to a reverse tilt, thereby resulting in lower contrast.
The above-described liquid crystal display apparatuses with wide viewing angles have a region where a polarizing axis of the polarizing plates and an orientating axis do not align with respect to each other. As a result, the transmittance of such a liquid crystal display apparatus is reduced by at least about 10% compared with that of a conventional TN liquid crystal display apparatus. In the case of liquid crystal display device of an axially symmetrically aligned micro cell mode (hereinafter, simply referred to as an "ASM" mode) disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 6-301015, lattice-like walls made of polymer are necessary to be provided outside the pixel electrodes in order to achieve an axially-symmetric orientation with high repeatability. Furthermore, convex portions are also necessary to be formed in a counter substrate (on which a color filter is provided) for accurate positioning of the axially-symmetric orientation axes. Accordingly, the number of steps for producing the liquid crystal display apparatus is increased. Moreover, if spacers, which are used to maintain uniform thickness of the cell, are dispersed in the picture element regions, axially-symmetric orientation is prohibited. In this regard, the spacers are necessary to be fixed outside the picture element regions.

LCD with different surface free energies between insulator and pixel electrode


A voltage regulator circuit having a series device external to an integrated circuit voltage regulator. The external series device provides a voltage drop prior to the voltage being input to the voltage regulator during high power applications. Depending on the power level, low or high, one of two transistors will be activated. For low power applications, a transistor attached directly to the input voltage is active and the external series device is bypassed. For high power applications, the external series device provides a voltage drop prior to the input voltage reaching the second transistor thereby lowering the power to be dissipated by the integrated circuit.

An alternator, as in an automotive application, provides a voltage to the vehicle's load circuits. The voltage supplied by the alternator is subject to wide variations and transients that can be harmful to the circuits. Typically, a voltage regulator is used to provide a constant voltage. The voltage regulator takes a voltage directly from the alternator, or battery, and changes it to the desired voltage while suppressing any transients.
Typically, in automotive applications, the voltage is reduced from a nominal vehicle level, typically nine to sixteen volts, to a desired voltage level by a series regulator. In a series regulator the current used by any load circuit passes through the regulator. The product of the voltage across the regulator and the current through the regulator is the power dissipated by the regulator. This power dissipation by the regulator causes the temperature of the regulator to rise, thereby limiting the amount of current it can deliver to a load circuit at a fixed voltage. The package of the regulator limits the amount of heat that can be dissipated at a steady state fixed rate from the regulator, which is typically an integrated circuit die. As the power dissipation increases, the temperature of the regulator package and integrated circuit die also increase. Manufacturer specifications determine how much power can be reliably dissipated by the regulator package before the integrated circuit is adversely affected. Typically, at power levels above the manufacturer's specifications the integrated circuit die becomes separated from the regulator package, resulting in failure of the voltage regulator.
The cost of an integrated circuit depends on the cost of the integrated circuit die, or inner workings of the circuit, and the cost of the integrated circuit package, or the outer housing of the integrated circuit. As would be expected, the package for an integrated circuit capable of dissipating high power is expensive.
Methods exist for overcoming the limitations of the integrated circuit package power dissipation capabilities. One method is to employ a heatsink on the integrated circuit package thereby extending the power dissipation capability of the integrated circuit package. Another method is to employ a transistor that is external to the integrated circuit for dissipating the power. This method reduces the amount of power that must be dissipated by the integrated circuit, and allows the voltage regulator to be provided in a less expensive package. However, the regulator circuit becomes more difficult to design because the external components adversely affect the stability of the integrated circuit. Additionally, because of the external components, the package cost of the system integrated circuit is increased.
On the one hand, the output voltage must be kept at a specific value, five volts for example. High input voltages to the integrated circuit will require maximum power dissipation and it would be beneficial to reduce the voltage externally before it reaches the integrated circuit. On the other hand, the regulator must be capable of operating at low input voltages in which case it becomes undesirable to have an external power drop before the regulator integrated circuit. Having to simultaneously meet these two diametrically opposing conditions exemplifies how difficult it is to control the power dissipation in a voltage regulator integrated circuit.


An apparatus and methods are suggested for measuring reflectivity R of highly reflecting coatings, and, in particular, of very high reflectivity {(1-R)<0.001} mirrors based on the simultaneous measurement of power reflected from and transmitted through an optical cavity bounded by a mirror of unknown reflectivity and a reference mirror of predetermined reflectivity. To confirm the obtained results the reference mirror is replaced by another mirror of unknown reflectivity manufactured together with the first examined mirror in the same coating run.

The measurement of reflectivities for low loss, highly reflecting coatings needed for mirrors in laser cavities and other optical instruments has been demonstrated over the last decade. It is a problem for mirrors with reflectivities substantially close to unity to determine the mirror's optical properties using conventional measurements such as measurements with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometers. To measure high reflectivities, the so-called ring down measurement method has been developed (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,571,085 and 4,793,709).
According to the ring down measurement two mirrors with unknown reflectivity are introduced into an optical cavity. An external laser beam is directed into the cavity to accumulate optical energy inside the cavity. Afterward the laser source is turned off abruptly and the stored energy is allowed to decay. Kinetics of the decay determine the total losses of the cavity, and the unknown reflectivity of the mirror is determined as half of the value of measured cavity losses.
If the examined mirror's losses are comparable to the intrinsic cavity losses it becomes impossible to distinguish the mirror losses from the total losses of the cavity, and as a result the definition of the mirror reflectivity becomes unreliable.
Another technique to measure total cavity losses for obtaining the mirror's reflectivity has been disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,573. According to this technique a laser source with harmonically modulated intensity is coupled to an optical cavity which includes a mirror with unknown reflectivity. The total cavity losses are inferred from the phase shift induced on the laser signal while it passes through the cavity. This method, similar to the ring down measurement, obtains the unknown reflectivity of the mirror as half of the value of the total cavity losses. For intrinsic cavity losses compared to mirrors losses, this method experiences the same drawbacks as the ring down measurements.
The method of the present invention and the system for its implementation overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
It is the object of this invention to provide a method for the measurement of the reflectivity of high quality mirrors.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a method for evaluation of the reflectivity of high quality mirrors.
An additional object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for implementing the aforementioned methods.

Method and apparatus for measurement of reflectivity for high quality mirrors

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University


A camera triggering system for panorama imaging is provided. The system comprises a mounting member comprising holes, wherein a predetermined number of magnets are coupled within the holes. The system further comprises a base plate with the magnetic proximity sensor coupled to it. The system further comprises a camera mount coupled to the base plate. The system further comprises mounting connectors to connect the system to a camera support structure such as an unmanned aircraft or a tripod. The base plate and camera mount carrying the camera rotates with respect to the mounting member. As the sensor passes by the magnets, the trigger for the shutter is activated.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to a camera triggering system for panorama imaging and more particularly to a camera triggering system for panorama imaging that is mountable to another device.
2. State of the Art
Panorama or Panoramic photos are generally considered photos that are greater in horizontal field of view than that of the human eye which is about 160 degrees. There are several types of panorama cameras and methods of acquisition. For the purpose of this invention we will focus on the method known as "Segmented Capture" or "Stitched Panoramas."
Segmented/Stitched capture panoramas are created by joining together multiple photographs with slightly overlapping edges on horizontal field of view. Software is then used to blend the edges of the photos together to create a seamless 'stitched' image.
It is important that the images captured for a segmented panorama be captured at fairly precise angular increments. The angle of increments is dependent on the lens field of view. Narrow field of view lenses will require more increments than wide angle lenses. It is common practice to use wide angle or fisheye lenses which usually require between 4 and 8 images to capture a full 360 degree horizontal field of view panorama. So, for example a 6-shot segmented panorama would need each photo captured 60 horizontal degrees apart from one another. Six shots at 60 degrees apart completes a 360 degree panorama.
There are various mounts that may be utilized for capturing a panorama image; however, these conventional mounts require a photographer to touch or otherwise interface with the camera during the acquisition of images for the panorama.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved mounting system that allows for capture of panorama images without the need of human interface with the camera during acquisition of images.

Camera triggering system for panorama imaging


A sensor interface is disclosed including a flexible substrate in which are embedded sensors for measuring physical parameters such as temperature, displacement, velocity, acceleration, stress, strain, pressure and force present between objects such as a railcar bearing and a truck side frame. The substrate is positioned between the objects of interest Electronic components such as a data processing unit, a data storage device, a communication device and a power source may also be embedded within the substrate. The electronic devices communicate with one another and the sensors to process signals generated by the sensors indicative of the parameters being measured.

While there are many applications of sensors attached to rigid objects to measure stresses therein, and sensors that can measure the relative movement between such objects and sensors that are built in to various materials of construction (often called "smart materials"), these sensors are not embedded inside elastomeric or compliant substrates which also serve a mechanical interfacing role to allow the objects to move slightly relative to each other.
Some sensors are built into flexible objects like gloves in order to provide haptic feedback in robotic and other human interface applications. These configurations do not provide the desired sustained interface between two rigid objects.
The benefits of this invention are the provision of compliance, sensing data processing and communications functions within one item which can be installed in the place of a similarly shaped substrate devoid of any sensor.

Flexible sensor interface for a railcar truck


The present invention discloses an OLED touch control display device and driving method thereof. The OLED touch control device of the present disclosure sets a transparent touch control electrode and a second thin film transistor in the pixels, a gate of the second thin film transistor is connected to a scanning line corresponding to the pixels, a source is coupled to the touch control lines, a drain is coupled to the touch control electrode. During driving state, a scanning signal is sequentially transmitted to the plurality of scanning lines in each frame period, and a touch control chip used to charge the plurality of touch control lines in one of two adjacent frame periods, and receive a touch control signal transmitted by the plurality of touch control lines in the other of any two adjacent frame periods, thereby achieving high-sensitivity touch sensing, high module yield, and low product cost.

Organic light emitting displays (OLED) have many advantages, such as self-illumination, low driving voltage, high luminous efficiency, short response times, high resolution and contrast, nearly 180° viewing angles, wide operating temperature range, flexible display, and large-area full-color display etc., and recognized by the industry as the most promising display device.
According to driving methods, OLED can be divided into two types: passive matrix OLEDs (PMOLEDs) and active matrix OLEDs (AMOLEDs), namely direct addressing and thin film transistor (TFT) matrix addressing. Wherein, AMOLED has pixels arranged in an array, which is an active display type, has high luminous efficiency, and is generally used on high-resolution large-sized display devices.
OLED devices generally include a substrate, an anode disposed on the substrate, a hole injection layer disposed on the anode, a hole transport layer disposed on the hole injection layer, and a luminous layer disposed on the hole transport layer, an electron transport layer on the luminous layer, an electron injecting layer disposed on the electron transporting layer, and a cathode disposed on the electron injecting layer. The principle of illumination of OLED devices is that semiconductor materials and organic luminous materials are driven by electric fields, causing luminescence by carrier injection and recombination.
Specifically, OLED devices generally use an ITO electrode and a metal electrode respectively as the anode and cathode of the device, under driven by a certain voltage, electrons and electron holes are injected respectively from the cathode and the anode to the electron transport layer and the electron hole transport layer, the electrons and the electron holes migrate to the luminous layer respectively through the electron transport layer and the electron hole transport layer, and meet in the luminous layer to form excitons and excite the luminescent molecules, which emit visible light through radiation relaxation.
In the prior art, if the OLED display devices are required to have a touch control function, a full-fit touch control technology or an on-cell touch control technology is generally adopted. Both of technologies have problems such as large signal noise, low touch control sensitivity, and low final module yield, which ultimately leads to high product cost and poor user touch control experience.

Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Semiconductor Display Technology Co., Ltd.


A waterproof casing contains a lens-fitted photographic film unit in a watertight manner so as to take underwater photograph. The waterproof casing is provided with an air flow opening. An air-permeable waterproof sheet is attached to the air flow opening form the inside so that air can pass through the sheet freely so as to regulate the internal pressure of the waterproof casing but water will not enter the waterproof casing. In a preferred embodiment, the waterproof casing consists of a transparent main body with a bottom opening and a bottom lid. The air flow opening is formed os as to be covered by a film winding knob of the waterproof casing. Structure to be fitted in the bottom opening is formed with another air flow opening to which the air-permeable waterproof sheet is attached. Outside this structure is disposed a waterproof sheet having an opening at a position facing the air flow opening of this structure. The waterproof sheet is covered by the bottom lid.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waterproof casing, and more particularly to a waterproof casing suitable for housing an underwater camera.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various equipment used in the water or rain are protected by waterproof casings. For example, in the field of photography, underwater cameras are commercially available, wherein a lens-fitted photographic film unit (hereinafter simply referred to as film unit) with a photographic film preloaded therein is encased in a waterproof casing. As is well know, the film unit consists of a film housing equipped with a simple photograph-taking mechanism and an outer casing formed of cardboard covering the film housing.
Such an underwater camera can take photographs at a depth of up to 2 to 3 meters, or in other moist environment such as in the rain or snow. The waterproof casing is constituted of a transparent box-shaped casing body and a lid, both molded from plastic, and is completely sealed. The film unit can be operated from outside the waterproof casing, since the waterproof casing is provided with operating portions for engagement with corresponding operating portions of the film unit. After all the frames are exposed, the underwater taking camera is forwarded to a photo laboratory, as it is, for photofinishing. The developed photographic film and resultant photoprints are returned to the user, but the waterproof casing and the film unit are not returned to the user.
In such a waterproof casing containing a film unit, when the ambient temperature changes, its internal pressure changes because of expansion or contraction of the air inside thereof. The change of the internal pressure causes failure of the film unit, or deformation of the waterproof casing, the deformation resulting in mechanical disconnection between the film unit and the waterproof casing.
In order to solve such problems, a pressure-control valve can be used for controlling the internal pressure of the waterproof casing. However, such a valve is expensive and requires a space for attachment, and so is not suitable for an underwater taking camera having a film unit.
Waterproof casings have been suggested in Japanese Utility Model Publ. No. 4-356 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-open Publn. Nos. 3-45535, 3-86338 and 4-70638, in which the internal pressure of the waterproof casing is controlled while overcoming the above problems of cost, space, etc. Such a waterproof casing is formed with an air flow opening which is covered by an air-permeable waterproof sheet. Air can pass but water cannot pass through the air-permeable waterproof sheet. However, the air-permeable waterproof sheet is a thin film formed of polymer, and so is easily torn. Furthermore, the air-permeable waterproof sheet is always exposed to the outside of the waterproof casing, so if a very thin and strong wire or the like were inserted into an air flow opening, the very thin air-permeable waterproof sheet (which is only several microns thick) would be pierced and torn.


A method is described for reducing multiples in marine seismic data using at least two sets of signals representing seismic energy reflected and/or refracted from an earth structure using a plurality of seismic receivers located in a body of water with the two sets differing in the traveltime of signals through the body of water, separating said signals into up- and down-going wavefields and combining the two sets to remove multiples.

Marine seismic surveys are usually conducted by towing an energy source and seismic detectors behind a vessel. The source imparts an acoustic wave to the water, creating a wavefield which travels coherently into the underlying earth. As the wavefield strikes interfaces between earth formations, or strata, it is reflected back through the earth and water to the detectors, where it is converted to electrical signals and recorded. Through analysis of these signals, it is possible to determine the shape, position, and lithology of the sub-bottom formations.
In other marine survey methods, the detectors and/or sources are placed at or close to the sea bottom, such as ocean bottom cables (OBCs) or in wells drilled into the sea bottom.
A seismic wave generated in (or reflected of) earth strata passes into the water in a generally upward direction. The wave that travels only once upwards, termed the "primary", travels through the water and past the seismic detector which records its presence. The wavefield then continues to travel upward to the water's surface (which can be regarded as a free surface), where it is reflected back downwards. This reflected, or "ghost", wavefield also travels through the water and past the detector(s), where it is again recorded. These down-going ghost reflections are an undesirable source of contamination of seismic data, since they obscure the interpretation of the desired up-going reflections from the earth's interior.
As described for example in the published international patent application WO-03/058281 ghost reflections or events can be regarded as being filtered or transformed versions of the direct signalD=G U  [1]where D is the down-going wavefield, U is the desired up-going wavefield and G is the ghost filter or ghost operator that emulates the effects of the reflecting surface such as additional traveltime (or depth of the receiver or source below the reflecting surface) and phase changes. Knowledge of G or an approximation thereof, allows an operator to remove ghost from the recorded data using subtraction and/or an inverse operation.
In addition to generating ghosts, the free surface also gives rise to a series of one or more subsequent reflections or multiples that are reflection of ghost events in the deeper layers of the earth. In contrast to ghosts these events are registered in the up-going wavefield and are, hence, not separable from the desired primary event through a separation of the recorded wavefield into up- and down-going.
Free-surface multiple reflections can be classified according to their order, which is equal to the number of reflections from the free surface, e.g. first (second) order free-surface multiple reflections undergo one (two) downward reflections from the sea-surface before being detected as up-going by the hydrophones, and so on. Of course, the multiples themselves generate ghost events in the recorded data.
The problems relating to the removal of ghosts (deghosting) and of multiples attracted a lot of efforts in the industry and generated a large body of literature, of which only a small amount can be reasonably cited. For deghosting methods, reference is made for example to the above WO-03/058281, further to WO-02/01254 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,529,445 and GB patent applications 2363459 and 2379741.
Multiple removal methods are described for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,757,723, 5,587,965, 5,995,905 and 6,101,448.
A recent publication by Calvert and Will presented as paper A15 at the 65th EAGE Conference June 2003 proposes to use a traveltime filter to suppress first order multiples in a time lapse seismic survey using an ocean bottom cable with sparsely distributed receivers to monitor changes in a subsurface reservoir.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for removing multiples from recorded or acquired marine seismic data.


A document processing apparatus that is adapted to the state of document data to be processed and performs document processing at low cost and efficiently. When document data comes over a communication line, a communication section receives the same to pass the received document data to a storage location selector. If the total size and the number of documents received are less than the predetermined values, the storage location selector transfers the document data to a part of the main memory. If the storage location selector cannot transfer the document data to that part, the storage location selector transfers the document data to one of auxiliary memories. The document data stored in one auxiliary memory is read by the CPU to be processed by the same and an image processor. The results of the document processing are stored in the main memory to be transferred to an output unit over an input/output interface 10 to be recorded.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a document processing apparatus such as a printer for externally taking in an image for processing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a printer, or a document processing apparatus, is connected to a communication medium such as a network. Document data is entered by an external host computer into the document processing apparatus. The entered document data is temporarily held in an auxiliary storage unit in the document processing apparatus. The temporary holding of the data is generally referred to as spooling. The spooling allows the document processing apparatus to adapt itself to the variation in the amount of data supplied from the host computer as well as the variation in the data transfer rate caused by the busy condition of communication line. Consequently, problems such as paper jamming on the printer can be handled only by the document processing apparatus.
The spooled data are sequentially read from the auxiliary storage unit, processed in the document processing apparatus to be converted to visible image data that is outputted onto medium such as paper. Generally, the auxiliary storage unit is large in storage size but slow in access speed, taking time in read/write operations. Therefore, it takes time to read spooled data from the auxiliary storage unit; especially, if the data processing time in the document processing apparatus is short, reading the data from the auxiliary storage unit forms a bottleneck in the flow of the entire processing of the document processing apparatus, sometimes retarding the processing.
To solve this problem, a technique was proposed as disclosed in Japanese Patent Non-examined Publication No. Hei-4-54525. In the disclosed method, a buffer of small storage capacity and an auxiliary storage unit having large storage capacity are arranged at the same time. Data is once written to the buffer. When the small-capacity buffer is emptied as the processing progresses, data is moved from the large-capacity auxiliary storage unit to the small-capacity buffer. Thus, processing delay is absorbed by the small-capacity buffer, realizing smooth data transmission.
However, when an attempt is made to implement the above-mentioned conventional technique on a color page printer in which data amount per page is very large, the small-capacity buffer cannot handle required data. Namely, in a page printer, an image to be outputted is generated for each page. Further, in a color printer, images are generated in the same number as the number of colors to be used, four colors of CMYK or RGB for example. Hence, a plurality of images are generated per page. Recently, image resolution has been increasing rapidly, requiring larger storage capacity per page. Consequently, a color page printer requires a storage capacity that is especially large. In the processing in which data amount is very large as compared with the number of pages to be outputted, it is required, beginning from the output processing of the first page, to perform data transfer from the large-capacity auxiliary storage unit to the small-capacity buffer a plurality of times. During the transfer processing, the output processing is interrupted, thereby diminishing the effect of small-capacity buffer installation. Increasing the storage size of the small-capacity buffer increases its production cost.
Spooling incessantly coming color information makes the small-capacity buffer always full to make the auxiliary storage unit always busy, thereby increasing the possibility of the conflict in timing between a write request by external retry and a request for reading from the buffer. If such a conflict occurs, the read operation is disabled, further lowering the processing speed.

Document process apparatus including a memory storage location function


Methods, systems, and computer-readable storage media for receiving a record including a set of attributes, each attribute having an attribute value, the record representing automatic execution of an IT process within a managed system, retrieving a model representing historical executions of the IT process and including a set of distribution parameters associated with a first type of attribute and a set of probability distributions associated with a second type of attribute, determining, for a first attribute, a first score based on distribution parameters and a value, determining, for a second attribute, a second score based on a probability distribution and a value, the second attribute being of the second type of attribute, and selectively indicating that the IT process is anomalous based on an outlier score.

Enterprises can use software systems to support and execute operations. In many cases, enterprises can use hundreds to thousands of software systems across a landscape. A landscape can include components (which can also be referred to as information technology (IT) components), such as the software systems, servers, computing devices, and the like. In many instances, landscapes can be relatively large including, for example, thousands of landscape components.
Execution of software systems across a landscape implies management of the landscape components across the landscape. For example, numerous IT processes can be executed across the landscape during management of the landscape. For relatively large landscapes, this can include hundreds to thousands of IT processes. To handle this, landscape management systems have been developed that enable automated execution and monitoring of IT processes. However, there are hundreds of parameters/dimensions that can be monitored to alert to problematic execution of automated IT processes.
Traditional alerting tools use thresholds and/or threshold combinations in alerting rules (e.g., execution lasted longer than two hours, process execution encountered one error, process execution encountered five warnings). However, such traditional alerting tools can be cumbersome in terms of computing resources that are consumed, and do not consistently generate accurate results. Further, the thresholds used typically cover values for a relatively small number of attributes, and the attributes that are monitored and the threshold values that are applied are selected based on experience or by reviewing past process executions. Accordingly, current solutions for monitoring of automated IT processes have certain disadvantages. For example, such solutions either do not scale well for large IT systems (large landscapes) and/or frequently produce false positives.

Anomaly detection for automated information technology processes


A cylindrical head boring tool (1), such as a Forstner drilling tool, with a main cutting edge (4) having a centering point (5). The main cutting edge extends diametrically across the entire circular cross-section of the boring head (3), the main cutting edge (4) having cut out surfaces (11), and chip channels (7) adjacent the main cutting edge (4). The chip channels (7) open through the outer periphery and extending obliquely through the boring head (3). Each end of the main cutting edge (4) is adjacent a preliminary cutting edge (8) coinciding with the circumference of the boring head (3) for guiding the boring tool (1). The preliminary cutting edge (8) reaches to the edge of the respective other chip channel (7) and forms the peripheral edge of an essentially cylindrically curved wall (6) of the boring head (3). The otherwise smooth wall (6) is interrupted by radial throats (13).

The invention relates to a cylindrical head boring tool, for example a forstner-boring tool, a hobby boring tool or the like, with a main cutting edge having a center point and extending essentially diametrically across the entire circular crosssection of the boring head and having shearing surfaces, along with chip channels adjacent the main cutting edge, the chip channels being open through the outer edge and extending obliquely through the boring head, such that each end of the main cutting edge adjoins a preliminary cutting edge which coincides with the periphery of the boring head, for a simple guiding of the boring tool, which preliminary cutting edge reaches to the edge of the respective other chip channel, and which is the essentially cylindrically curved wall of the boring head.
Such cylindrical head boring tools are already known. For example, DE-PS4115030 discloses a cylindrical head boring tool fashioned integrally from solid material, with a shaft-supported boring head which is provided with a central point and two peripheral cutting edges with two generally radially extending main cutting edges. The two main cutting edges are associated with chip channels which are open to the peripheral surface and to the rearward face of the boring head. The base of each chip channel is circularly rounded and extends continuously both to the chip surface of the respective main cutting edge and also to the chip channel side wall lying opposite such chip surface. Further, so-called ring hole cutters are known which include chip channels for conducting chips to the outer wall of the boring head.

FAMAG-Werkzeugfabrik Friedr. Aug. Muhlhoff GmbH & Co.


Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for handover between secondary base stations, a network device, and user equipment. The network device instructs each of at least one candidate secondary base station to make a prior path handover preparation, so that each of the at least one candidate secondary base station waits to be selected by user equipment as a target secondary base station. The path handover preparation includes at least one of the following: preconfiguring an access resource for the user equipment or establishing a data transmission channel with the network device. The user equipment is handed over to the target secondary base station in the at least one candidate secondary base station according to configuration information of each of the at least one candidate secondary base station when the user equipment needs path handover.

As mobile services increase exponentially, mobile networks are evolving toward 5G networks. Larger bandwidth and higher spectral efficiency are required in a 5G network, so as to support the explosive growth of services. Using an ultra dense small-cell network with low power can effectively provide a larger data volume. At present, a multi-connection technology involving a conventional network (for example, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network) and a 5G network has been proposed in the industry. The conventional network provides network coverage to increase mobility robustness, and the 5G network provides a higher transmission rate to increase a system capacity. However, as a coverage area of a cell decreases, user equipment (UE) is handed over more frequently between cells or between eNodeBs that serve cells. As a result, mobility of the user equipment between multiple cells seriously deteriorates.
Therefore, a method for handover between secondary eNodeBs is urgently needed, to relieve the problem of mobility deterioration resulting from frequent handover between cells because cell coverage of a secondary eNodeB in a 5G network is excessively small.

Method for handover between secondary base stations, network device, and user equipment


A method for user pairing and resource allocation, includes performing a multiuser multi-input-multi-output (MU-MIMO) user pairing process to maximize an objective metric without common rank restriction; performing a rank balancing process to determine a uniform transmission user rank along all allocated resource blocks for each user; and with the uniform transmission user rank fixed for all the users, determining optimal user pairing and allocation for each of the resource blocks for each user.

In joint user pairing and resource allocation, scheduling is considered for downlink (DL) multiuser (MU) multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) with linear precoding in which a base station schedules several user terminals to transmit at the same resource block (RB), based on certain channel information available at the base station. Several practical constraints are considered including common rank constraint, maximum number of layers allowed for MU pairing on each RB, and maximum number of layers per user allowed for MU-MIMO transmission on each RB, where the rank or the transmission rank of a user denotes the number of data symbols that are simultaneously transmitted before precoding or the number of columns of the linear precoding matrix for a user. The dynamic switching between single-user (SU) MIMO and MU-MIMO should be supported by the scheduler.
The MU-MIMO scheduling problem can be posed as an optimization problem to maximize the weighted sum rate over all available RBs as the objective function. However, with the above practical constraints, finding the optimal solution of such problem becomes non-deterministic polynomial-time hard (NP-hard).
A greedy algorithm (method) and a genetic method for MU-MIMO user pairing are presented in "Genetic and Greedy User Scheduling for Multiuser MIMO Systems with Successive Zero-Forcing," by Elliott et al., in Proc. IEEE GlobeCom, Honolulu, Hi., 2009, which only considers the narrowband MU-MIMO user pairing. The methods described by Elliot et al. do not solve the problem of MU-MIMO scheduling for wideband MIMO-OFDM with common rank constraint over all scheduled RBs.
With the rank restriction, the transmission rank for each user is then determined. The optimal user pairing and greedy method can be applied to wideband scheduling but it suffers the loss on the throughput performance.
Accordingly, improved methods are needed to achieve better throughput performance.

User pairing and resource allocation for downlink multiuser multi-input-multi-output in long term evolution advanced systems


A method of solubilizing/removing cellulose or chemically-modified cellulosic polymers utilized in subterranean drilling operations such as fracturing. The method involves introducing a deep eutectic solvent (DES) into a subterranean region. Deep eutectic solvents useful as cellulose solvents include quaternary ammonium compounds, including choline chloride and chlorcholine chloride, reacted with a compound selected from amides, amines, carboxylic acids alcohols, and metal halides. The DES material can be pumped downhole after fracturing operations to remove cellulosic material used, for example, to thicken fracturing fluid which is left behind in the created fractures, on the face of the formation, along the wellbore, or elsewhere within the subterranean region. The DES can be used alone or in a sequential treatment protocol, whereby the DES is introduced into the subterranean region, followed by post-treatment introduction of water, caustic, acid or anhydride into the subterranean as a flush.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of subterranean drilling and material recovery. More specifically, this invention relates to the use of deep eutectic solvents and/or solutions to solubilize cellulose or modified cellulosic polymers used in subterranean drilling and fracturing operations.
2. Background of the Invention
Cellulose is one of the most abundant bio-renewable materials with a long and well-established technological base. Cellulose consists of poly-disperse linear glucose polymer chains which form extremely strong hydrogen-bonded supra-molecular structures making cellulose insoluble in water and most common organic liquids. Chemically-modified cellulose is significantly more soluble in water and imparts viscous properties to solutions making it useful as an ingredient in drilling and/or fracturing fluid useful in subterranean drilling operations. In the particular case of fracturing a formation, causing cracks to form in the subterranean strata, to allow for the production of hydrocarbon components with substantially greater ease, it is often necessary to clean the well bore and resulting fractures to remove cellulosic material that may have become deposited during the aforementioned operations and which will impede flow of hydrocarbons through the fractures and/or production.
As previously mentioned, cellulose is insoluble in water and most common organic solvents. Where chemically-modified cellulose is employed, it is not atypical for all or part of the material to be hydrolyzed under use conditions reforming the parent compound, cellulose, which will again become insoluble. Thus, given the frequency with which cellulosic material is employed in drilling and fracturing subterranean wells, the development of an additive and/or solvent for solubilizing cellulose and/or chemically-modified cellulosic material remains a continuing challenge in the oil and gas exploration industry.
In the prior art, room temperature ionic liquids (RTIL) can solubilize up to 15 wt % cellulose with heating to 150° F. employing preferably microwave heating. According to Swatlowski, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,824,599), a solution of cellulose in an ionic liquid can contain cellulose in an amount of about 5 to about 35 weight percent; more preferably, the cellulose is present at about 5 to 25 weight percent, still more preferably from about 10 to about 25 weight percent. According to Swatlowski, this solubility of cellulose in (RTIL), such as [C4mim]Cl, is significantly higher than can be obtained using other solvents.
Consequently, there is a need for a method of removing cellulose and/or cellulosic compounds from a subterranean region. The method may prevent/minimize the deposition of cellulose and/or cellulosic compounds on or in the subterranean region or may solubilize deposited cellulose/cellulosic compounds deposited in a subterranean region, allowing removal thereof. Desirably, the method will allow better cost performance and/or improved toxicological and/or handling properties relative to RTILs, many of which react adversely with water.


A glass holder attachment for a receptacle for items to be washed includes a holder configured to hold a plurality of stemmed glasses, a plurality of first feet to enable the glass holder attachment to be set on the receptacle and washed together with the stemmed glasses in a household dishwasher, and a plurality of second feet to enable the glass holder attachment to be set down on a level surface in such a manner that the stemmed glasses are arranged at a distance above the surface.

The present invention relates to a glass holder attachment, a unit and a household dishwasher.
The publication WO 2018/065845 A1 discloses a glass holder attachment for a crockery basket. The glass holder attachment comprises two rods, a plurality of stemmed glasses being able to be clamped therebetween in a row. Downwardly extending feet are attached to the rods opposite one another. The glass holder attachment may be supported by means of the feet on an upper frame element of the crockery basket, whilst the stemmed glasses are held suspended downwardly.


In order to provide a thin oxysulfide film excellent in crystallinity and suitable for use as a luminescent layer of a thin film EL device and a thin fluorescent film for a CRT, a metal element is evaporated from an evaporation source provided in a chamber in which a sulfur gas and an oxygen gas have been introduced to combine those substances chemically on a substrate provided in the chamber to form a thin oxysulfide film on a surface of the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of forming a thin oxysulfide film and more particularly to a method of forming a thin oxysulfide film having a good crystallinity suitable for use as a fluorescent film in thin film EL (electroluminescence) devices and CRTs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Because of many problems in respect of luminance, a dispersive type EL device which uses zinc sulfide (ZnS) fluorescent powder has been deterred its development as a light source for illumination. In its place, a thin film EL device using a thin film phosphor layer has drawn attention recently because it can generate high luminance.
In the thin film EL device, since the luminescent layer is made of a thin transparent film, halation and oozing due to scattering of light incident into the luminescent layer and light generated within the luminescent layer do not occur to any great degree, the thin film EL device exhibits clear and high-contrast display performances. Therefore, the thin film EL device is suitable for display units of vehicle-mounted type and for computer terminals, etc. as well as a light source for illumination.
The thin film EL device is generally of a layered structure comprising a transparent substrate, a transparent electrode made of a tin oxide (SnO.sub.2) layer, a first dielectric layer, a luminescent layer made of a host material layer with luminescent center impurities being added thereto, a second dielectric layer, and a rear electrode made of an aluminum layer, sequentially laminated in this order.
The luminescence process of the thin film EL device is as follows. When a required voltage is applied across the transparent and rear electrodes, an electric field is created within the luminescent layer by which electrons trapped in the interface state are drawn out and accelerated to have sufficient energy and collide with orbital electrons of the luminescent center substance, for example, Eu, to excite the orbital electrons. When the excited luminescent center substance returns to its ground state, it emits light.
In a conventional thin film EL device, a luminescent layer comprising, for example, a host material of Y.sub.2 O.sub.2 S containing Eu as a luminescent center impurity (hereinafter expressed as Y.sub.2 O.sub.2 S:Eu) is formed by the process of sputtering or electron beam deposition.
In the sputtering process, for example, a sintered pellet made of a mixture of Y.sub.2 O.sub.2 S:Eu fluorescent powder and sulfur is sputtered, thereby to deposit the sputtered mixture on a substrate.
According to the conventional method of forming the luminescent layer, when the substrate temperature and the sulfur density are low, Y.sub.2 O.sub.3 :Eu is produced while when the substrate temperature is increased to about 200.degree.-400.degree. C., Y.sub.2 O.sub.2 S:Eu is produced. The resulting Y.sub.2 O.sub.2 S:Eu, however, exhibits a low orientation characteristic and has a granular multi-crystalline structure or a structure containing a so-called dead layer in which many small crystalline grains is produced at the early stage of growth. When the substrate temperature is further increased, orientation characteristics are improved, but sulfur is eliminated, thereby producing Y.sub.2 O.sub.3 :Eu, the undesirable.
When a luminescent layer contains a dead layer, electrons in the luminescent layer accelerated by an externally applied electric field are scattered by a crystalline granular interface before they collide with luminescent center impurities so as to emit light. Thus, the externally applied electric field does not contribute effectively to the light emission.
For a CRT display, Y.sub.2 O.sub.2 S:Eu is used which is produced by sintering for several hours at a temperature of about 1000.degree. C. However, crystallinity is low unless it is sintered at high temperature and the resulting grain size is large, for example, larger than several .mu.m. Therefore, it is disadvantageous when used as a thin film luminescent material.
This problem applies not only to Y.sub.2 O.sub.2 S:Eu, but also to other thin oxysulfide films.
As described above, in the conventional method, a film having high crystallinity cannot be obtained at low temperature while if the substrate temperature is increased, sulfur is eliminated, so that a thin excellent oxysulfide film cannot be obtained in this manner either.