There is provided an image processing device including a data acquisition unit configured to acquire a recommended angle-of-view parameter that represents a recommended angle of view for a subject in an environment that appears in an image, and a display control unit configured to overlay on the image a virtual object that guides a user so that an angle of view for capturing an image of the subject becomes closer to the recommended angle of view, using the recommended angle-of-view parameter. The recommended angle-of-view parameter is a parameter that represents a three-dimensional position and attitude of a device that captures an image of the subject at the recommended angle of view.

The present disclosure relates to an image processing device, an image processing method, and a program.
In recent years, digital still cameras and digital video cameras have been used by many users. In addition, smartphones having camera modules capable of capturing still images or moving images have also been in widespread use. Consequently, opportunities for users who have no high image capturing skills to capture images have significantly increased.
Under such circumstance, JP 2011-087131A discloses a technology of assisting in the image capturing action of a user by displaying a composition frame, which represents a recommended composition, such that the composition frame is overlaid on an input image.

Automated guidance when taking a photograph, using virtual objects overlaid on an image


A storage system comprising an inner rod, an outer body, an upper foot, a lower foot, and a one or more pegs. Said outer body rotatably attaches to said inner rod. Said upper foot and said lower foot press against a ceiling and a ground surface. Said inner rod comprises a tension rod having a variable length. Said one or more pegs extend out from said outer body.

This disclosure relates generally to a storage system. A few examples of such systems can be found in various patent records and include these record numbers: CN202653807U, US 20130037503 A1, CA20002314439 20000721, U.S. Pat. No. 1,610,534 A, U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,237 A, U.S. Pat. No. 3,570,412 A, U.S. Pat. No. 8,408,405 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,061 A, and US 20070080120 A1.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant disclosure as claimed. Accordingly, an improved storage system would be advantageous.


A vehicle-to-vehicle communication system includes a controller programmed to digitally sign each of a plurality of basic safety messages (BSMs) using a private key and broadcast each of the BSMs via the transceiver at respective transmit power levels according to a predetermined power level sequence that is defined by one or more values generated from the private key.

Vehicles have operated in the absence of vehicle-to-vehicle communications for many years. However, with the push toward fully autonomous vehicles there are some benefits to incorporating vehicle-to-vehicle communications. Such communication systems can provide improved situational awareness of the operation of nearby vehicles. In addition, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication can also provide information on nearby traffic management and road infrastructure. To fully utilize vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems, the vehicles must transmit a variety of information at periodic intervals. Such information is available to all receivers which may or may not use the information for the desired purpose. To ensure widespread adoption of the technology, such vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems must address privacy concerns to prevent unauthorized uses of the information.

Privacy protection system for vehicle communication


A system for determining a position of an object includes an imaging system having a x-ray source and an imager, and a processor configured to obtain a tomosynthesis image of an object using the imaging system, and determine a position of the object using the tomosynthesis image. A method of determining a position of an object includes obtaining a tomosynthesis image of an object, and determining a coordinate of the object relative to a radiation machine using the tomosynthesis image. A device for determining a position of an object includes a processor for determining a coordinate of the object relative to a radiation machine using a tomosynthesis image. A method of determining a position of an object includes obtaining an image of an object, obtaining a reference image of the object, comparing the reference image with the image, and determining a coordinate of the object based at least in part on a result of the comparing, wherein the reference image has a plane that is parallel with a plane of the image.

1. Field
This application relates generally to radiation devices, and more specifically, to treatment and diagnostic radiation devices that generate and/or use tomosynthesis images.
2. Background
Various systems and methods exist to provide radiation therapy treatment of tissue (e.g., tumorous tissue) with high-energy radiation. While some patient conditions require whole body radiation treatments, many forms of radiation treatment benefit from the ability to accurately control the amount, location and distribution of radiation within a patient's body. Such control often includes using a multi-leaf collimator to shape a radiation beam such that the beam has a shape that approximates that of the tumorous region.
Regardless of the form of radiation, many existing radiation treatment procedures require a location of a target region be determined in order to accurately register the target region relative to a radiation source before radiation is applied to the target region. This requires a 3D image of the tumor and surrounding tissue, and is generally accomplished by performing a computed tomography. Computed tomography is an imaging technique that has been widely used in the medical field. In a procedure for computed tomography, an x-ray source and a detector apparatus are positioned on opposite sides of a portion of a patient under examination. The x-ray source generates and directs a x-ray beam towards the patient, while the detector apparatus measures the x-ray absorption at a plurality of transmission paths defined by the x-ray beam during the process. The detector apparatus produces a voltage proportional to the intensity of incident x-rays, and the voltage is read and digitized for subsequent processing in a computer. By taking thousands of readings from multiple angles around the patient, relatively massive amounts of data are thus accumulated. The accumulated data are then analyzed and processed for reconstruction of a matrix (visual or otherwise), which constitutes a depiction of a density function of the bodily section being examined.
A problem associated with registering a target tissue using a CT image is that the CT image may take too long to obtain. In order to perform CT image reconstruction, a sufficient amount of CT image data needs to be generated over a prescribed range of gantry angles. These CT image data take time to generate. Mechanical configuration and/or regulatory rules may limit the rotation rate of a gantry on which the x-ray source and the image detector are mounted. The CT imaging devices that are attached to the gantry of radiation therapy machines have rotation speed that is limited to one rotation per minute. Because of the duration required to generate sufficient CT image data, a patient may not feel comfortable confined within a gantry opening.
In some cases, it may be desirable to continuously monitor a position of a target tissue while a treatment procedure is being performed. For example, a target tissue may move due to physiological movement (e.g., breathing, cardiac motion, coughing, etc.) of a patient. In such cases, it would be desirable to track a movement of the target tissue to ensure that a treatment radiation beam is accurately aimed towards the target tissue. In existing radiation treatment systems, tracking of target tissue does not use CT imaging technique. This is because collecting a sufficient quantity of CT image data for image reconstruction while considering breathing motion may take a long time, and therefore, may not be performed at a fast enough rate, at least not fast enough for real-time tracking of target tissue.

Patient setup using tomosynthesis techniques


A microfluidic device may employ one or more sorting stations for separating target species from other species in a sample. The separation is driven by magnetophoresis. A sorting station generally includes separate buffer and sample streams. A magnetic field gradient applied to the sorting station deflects the flow path of magnetic particles (which selectively label the target species) from a sample stream into a buffer stream. The buffer stream leaving the sorting station is used to detect or further process purified target species labeled with the magnetic particles.

Sorting cells based on their surface markers is an important capability in biology and medicine. Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting (MACS) has become widely used as a cell sorting technique because it allows the rapid selection of a large number of target cells. The applications of MACS span a broad spectrum, ranging from protein purification to cell based therapies. Typically, target cells are labeled through a superparamagnetic particle that is conjugated to a molecular recognition element (e.g. a monoclonal antibody) which recognizes a particular cell surface marker.
Application of MACS has typically been limited to pre-enrichment before fluorescence-based cytometry. Nevertheless, due to its high throughput compared to other methods such as Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS), MACS is still a widely used technology.
Current MACS systems are capable of high-purity selection of the labeled cells. However, they operate in a "batch mode" where the non-target and target cells are sequentially eluted after the application of the external magnetic field. In other words, the cells attached to magnetic particles are held in place while the unattached cells are eluted. Then, after this first elution step is completed, the magnetic field that prevented the magnetic particles from being eluted is removed and the magnetic particles can be eluted and recovered to recover target cells.
In order to achieve higher throughput and higher recovery of the rare cells (or other target components), improvements on existing MACS systems are needed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Microfluidic magnetophoretic device and methods for using the same

The Regents of the University of California


A plurality of photo detectors are arranged outside the display screen of a projection display apparatus having a built-in digital convergence correction system and a function for adjusting data in the frame memory so as to coincide the photoelectric devices of the photo detectors with the adjustment patterns is provided. The adjusted data when the convergence on the entire screen of the display is adjusted and the adjusted data when the convergence is adjusted by the adjustment function before misconvergence is generated are memorized beforehand. When misconvergence is generated, the convergence is adjusted by the adjustment function again, and a corresponding correction value is obtained on the photo detector by calculating the adjusted data at this time and the prememorized adjusted data, and a correction value on the entire screen is obtained by executing an interpolation calculation from this correction value, and the misconvergence on the entire screen is corrected.

The present invention relates to a convergence correction system for a CRT display apparatus such as a color TV set, a display, and a projection TV set for correcting misconvergence using a digital memory and more particularly to a convergence correction system with recovery function for correcting misconvergence using a photo detector and a display apparatus using it.
In a color projection display apparatus using a plurality of projection tubes, misconvergence is generated on the display screen because the incident angle to the screen varies with each projection tube. To correct this misconvergence precisely on the screen, a convergence correction system is used. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Sho 57-212492 discloses a digital convergence correction system which can adjust convergence with high precision. However, it is not taken into account in the above correction system that there is a possibility that the convergence changes due to geomagnetism and temperature after convergence adjustment. If this occurs, it is necessary to adjust the convergence each time. Therefore, for example, an apparatus for automatically correcting this misconvergence is proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Sho 63-209388.
As a method for detecting misconvergence, in the aforementioned conventional example, a method that a light-position sensor using a detection device having a position calculation function, for example, a semiconductor light-position sensor is arranged in the overscanned area is used. However, a light-position sensor is generally expensive. On the other hand, for example, as an art indicated in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Sho 63-224572, a method that a plurality of inexpensive photoelectric devices which are neighboring to each other detect in the same way as a light-position sensor is known. However, to correct misconvergence with high precision, it is necessary to detect it at a plurality of positions and arrange many photoelectric devices. As a result, a problem arises that the number of connected lines increases and the control becomes complicated.

Convergence correction system with recovery function and display apparatus using the same


A high-efficiency, compact and low-cost electric power storage air-conditioning system incorporates inside its air-conditioner an electric power storage unit including a battery which is electrically interconnected to a d.c. system of the air-conditioner. Charging of the battery is controlled to be executed only during a steady operation of the air-conditioner when its load is light. Since a d.c. voltage of the battery is used directly as a d.c. voltage to drive the air-conditioner, a high efficiency, minimized loss and economical operation conditioning system is achieved.

The present invention relates to an air-conditioning system, and in particular, it relates to an electric power storage air-conditioning system which is able to store surplus electric power during the night-time, when the electric power demand is low, and to use the stored electric power during the day-time, when the electric power demand is high.
Recently, the electric power consumption at the peak-time during day-time use in the summer season has increased enormously, sometimes causing an insufficiency in the available power supply. As one of the countermeasures to cope with such an insufficiency in the power supply, a solar power generation system for generating electric power using solar energy during day-time use has been proposed and development of such systems is in progress. Further, a home-appliance electric power storage system which is capable of storing surplus electric power in a battery during the night-time and retrieving the stored electric power from the battery during the peak-time of the day has been contemplated.
Although, during the peak-time of the day the electric power demand may not be satisfied due to a shortage of the power supply, during the night-time there is surplus of electric power, since most of the factories consuming electric power are not operating at that time. The main cause for the shortage of electric power during the peak-time of the day is caused by the abundance of home-use air-conditioners. As a countermeasure to such a problem, an electric power storage air-conditioner has been proposed, as described in JPA Laid-open No.6-137650. This prior art air-conditioner has a battery and an arrangement for charging its battery from the a.c. side via a control circuit dedicated to the battery and for supplying d.c. power from the battery to the inverter of the air-conditioner.
In the case of a solar power generation system for operating the air-conditioner, a d.c. voltage generated or stored in the battery first must be inverted to an a.c. voltage and then converted to d.c. within the air-conditioner for driving the motor. Therefore, it is inevitable for the system efficiency to decrease substantially.
In the case of a home-use electric power storage system, in the same manner as described above, the d.c. voltage stored in the battery first must be inverted to an a.c. voltage and then converted to a direct current within the air-conditioner for driving the motor. Thus, a drop in the system efficiency cannot be avoided, similar to the above case.
In addition, for the electric power storage air-conditioner disclosed in JPA Laid-Open No.6-137650, a charging control circuit is required which is dedicated for controlling the charging of the battery. This charging control circuit further requires, in addition to a rectifying and smoothing circuit, provision of an active filter circuit for eliminating harmonic currents involved in its a.c. input, which is noted as a problem to be solved. Thereby, as a result of provision of such circuits, the system configuration becomes complicated, large-sized and costly.

Electric power storage air-conditioning system


The present invention relates generally to hospital gowns and more specifically to gowns with specific pockets, slits to allow mounting catheter bag concealed inside gown of patient for maximum mobility and privacy with various monitors, catheters and lumens attached and passing through openings in gown to reach the patient's body and closures that are simple to use and provide for patient privacy with approximately 125% wrap around.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to hospital gowns and more specifically to gowns with specific pockets, slits to allow for maximum mobility of patient with various monitors, catheters and lumens attached and closures that are simple to use and provide for patient privacy.
2. Prior Art
The basic requirements for hospital gowns are ease of access to various areas of the patients body for examination or treatment purposes by the medical professionals involved; a sterile garment to provide coverage of the patient during examination, hospital stay or surgery; and minimum coverage for protection of patient modesty. Various attempts have been made to improve the design of hospital gowns in these areas with some attention to improving the ease of dressing the patient in such garments but with little attention to the convenience and mobility of the patient.


A thermoreversible recording material having its transparency changed in accordance with its thermal history, in particular the rate of cooling and the temperature to which it has been heated, comprises a matrix material and an organic compound of low molecular weight, wherein the matrix material comprises polyvinyl acetal, and the organic compound of low molecular weight comprises a saturated carboxylic acid or derivative thereof. The matrix material may further contains a material selected from a group consisting of epoxy resin, phenol resin, epoxy compound, aldehyde compound and isocyanate compound. A thermoreversible recording medium comprising the above thermoreversible recording material may be selectively heated by a thermal head or the like to record visual information. The visual information may be erased by heating the medium and cooling it slowly.

This invention relates to: thermoreversible recording materials which permits repeated reversible recording and erasure of visual information by the use of a heating means; to thermoreversible recording media using those thermoreversible recording materials; and to recording methods using those thermoreversible recording media.
A thermoreversible recording material has a property that its degree of transparency or transmittance at least with respect to visible light, varies in accordance with its thermal history. It is therefore possible, through the application of, for example, a thermal head or other heating means to such a thermoreversible recording material, to create a difference in the thermal history between a specific portion of the material and another portion, thereby creating a difference in the transmittance between the two portions for purposes of display or recording.
Thermoreversible recording materials according to the prior art are disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No. S55-154198.
The thermoreversible recording materials disclosed in this publication are made of a matrix material of polymers, such as polyester, or resins, in which are dispersed organic compounds of low molecular weight, such as behenic acid.
FIG. 27 shows a hysteresis curve illustrating the variation of the light transmittance of a prior-art thermoreversible recording material against temperature, with transmittance on the vertical axis and temperature on the horizontal. Following is a description of the properties of thermoreversible recording materials according to the prior art with reference to FIG. 27. Points (A), (B), (C) and (D) in FIG. 27 show values of transmittance at respective temperatures. Specifically, (A) and (D) denote transmittances at room temperature (RT), (B) denotes transmittance at temperature T1, and (C) denotes transmittance at temperature T2.
In the vicinity of room temperature (RT), thermoreversible recording materials according to the prior art exhibit either low transmittance (A) (an opaque state) or high transmittance (D) (a transparent state) in FIG. 27, depending on the thermal history. If such a thermoreversible recording material is heated to a temperature T1 which is above a temperature T0, its transmittance will change from either (A) or (D) to (B), and if it is then cooled to room temperature, its transmittance, which in any case was (B), will stabilize at (D).
If, on the other hand, the thermoreversible recording material, the transmittance of which at room temperature was either (A) or (D), is heated above a temperature of T2 which is higher than temperatures T0 and T1, its transmittance, which was (A) or (D), will pass transmittance (B) and change to (C). That is, its transparency will decrease somewhat compared to (D). If it is then cooled to room temperature, its transmittance, which in any case was (C), will change to (A) and the thermoreversible recording material will stabilize at an opaque state (A).
The following examples of this property are disclosed in Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No. S55-154198 referred to above.
(1) When a thermoreversible recording material comprising a normal-chain copolyester of high molecular weight whose principal components are an aromatic dicarboxylic acid and an aliphatic diol, together with docosanoic acid, was heated to 72.degree. C. and cooled, it exhibited a stable transparency. It was possible to return it to an opaque state only by re-heating it to a temperature of 77.degree. C. or above.
(2) When a thermoreversible recording material comprising a copolymer of vinylidene chloride and acrylonitrile, together with docosanoic acid and a fluoride lubricant to improve fluidity, was heated to 63.degree. C. and cooled, it exhibited a stable transparency. It was possible to return it to an opaque state only by re-heating it to a temperature of 74.degree. C. or above.
(3) When a thermoreversible recording material comprising a copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate, together with docosanol, was heated to 68.degree. C. and cooled, it exhibited a stable transparency. It was possible to return it to an opaque state only by re-heating it to a temperature of 70.degree. C. or above.
(4) When a thermoreversible recording material comprising a polyester together with docosanoic acid was heated to 72.degree. C. and cooled, it exhibited a stable transparency. It was possible to return it to an opaque state only by re-heating it to a temperature of 77.degree. C. or above.
Devices that record by image formation using heat-generating recording elements, on the other hand, are widely used because the heat-generating recording elements are inexpensive, the recording process is simple, and the price of the devices can be kept low. A well known method of this type is thermosensitive recording, which makes use of direct writing on thermally sensitive paper and finds application in telefax terminals and printers.
The recording paper used in this method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Kokoku Publication No. S45-14039, and uses a color-producing or developing reaction between a colorless die (leuco die), which serves as the electron donor, and a developer (a phenolic acid substance), which serves as the electron receptor, with a thermosensitive layer that assists the reactions between the two substances.
When heat energy from the heat-generating recording elements of a recording device is applied to this recording paper, the colorless die and developer melt and react to produce color. The difference in density between the portions in which color is produced and those in which it is not records characters and graphics in visible form.
However the range of temperatures within which thermoreversible recording materials according to the prior art will attain a transparent state is, as has been above described, extremely narrow: 5.degree. C. (77.degree.-72.degree. C.) for case (1), 11.degree. C. for case (2), 2.degree. C. for case (3) and 5.degree. C. for case (4), or at most only 11.degree. C.
To achieve a display of excellent contrast using a display device using a thermoreversible recording material, it is desired to provide a colored plate at the back of the display plate formed of the thermoreversible recording material, and, by selectively making the printed portion of the display plate transparent with a thermal head or other heating means, and leaving the background portions opaque, so that the color of the colored plate is seen only through the printed portion.
However, the range of temperatures within which a transparent state can be attained using the thermoreversible recording materials according to the prior art is, as has been above described, narrow, making it difficult to exert the requisite temperature control over the thermal heads or like heating means and to obtain stable transparency when images are to be repeatedly formed.
Again, the contrast (ratio of transmittances between the transparent and opaque states) for the prior-art thermoreversible recording materials is not particularly large, and further improvement has been desired.
There has not been any recording device which performs display in visible form on cards, sheets, or other recording media, that is to say printing, and recovers this printed portion by erasing it in its entirety, thereby enabling new printing on the recovered portion.
Thus thermosensitive paper, once printed, can only be destroyed should the information no longer be required, and in the present era of information and communication, an enormous amount of paper to be disposed of have resulted in a growing consumption of natural resources. There has also been a growing trend to encourage the use of regenerated paper as a way of conserving natural resources, but the manufacture of regenerated paper also consumes resources.
It is therefore desirable to develop a reusable recording medium and associated printing device capable of printing on a recording medium in directly visible form, recovering it by erasing the printed portion in its entirety, and printing again onto the recovered portion.

Thermoreversible recording material, thermoreversible recording medium and recording method


A charging member includes a conductive support, a conductive adhesive layer that is arranged on the conductive support and contains a crosslinking agent having two or more functional groups reacting with a halogen group and a resin having a halogen group, and an elastic layer that is arranged so as to contact with the conductive adhesive layer and contains a rubber material having a halogen group, wherein the resin having a halogen group in the conductive adhesive layer and the rubber material having a halogen group in the elastic layer are cross-linked by reaction with the crosslinking agent at least at an interface between the conductive adhesive layer and the elastic layer.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a charging member, a charging device, a process cartridge, an image forming apparatus, and a method of manufacturing a charging member.
2. Related Art
In an image forming apparatus employing an electrophotographic system, first, charges are formed on the surface of an image holding member, which is formed of a photoconductive photoreceptor including an inorganic or organic material, by using a charging device, an electrostatic latent image is formed thereon by laser light obtained by modulating an image signal, and then, the electrostatic latent image is developed with charged toner to form a visualized toner image. Then, the toner image is electrostatically transferred to a recording medium such as a recording sheet via an intermediate transfer member or directly and is fixed to the recording medium, and thus, a desired reproduced image may be obtained.
Further, as the charging device which charges the surface of the image holding member, a charging member is suitably used.

Charging member, charging device, process cartridge, image forming apparatus, and method of manufacturing charging member


A method and apparatus for painting all or part of a cut edge of a precoated steel sheet or its shaped article to which a masking film is attached, wherein a painting pad comprised of a sponge or nonwoven fabric and/or woven fabric is impregnated with a paint, the surface of the painting pad is wiped with gas to remove the excess paint, then the painting pad is pressed against the cut edge of the precoated steel sheet under force control.

Consumer goods such as electrical products, furnitures, building materials, auto parts, are being reassessed as to the steel sheet used in their external structures from the viewpoint of recycling, elimination of harmful substances in waste disposal, and the ecology. Further, even among the steel sheets used, ferrous metal manufacturers are painting the outer surface of the steel sheet with the paint of the final product and using this as starting material. Therefore, the precoated steel sheet is being viewed with interest as being capable of eliminating the painting step at the manufacturer of the final product.
The problem with using such a precoated steel sheet as an outer plate is that, when cutting the precoated steel sheet to the final dimensions of the finished product, the cut edge becomes a bare ferrous metal having no paint or plating. Therefore, for products which are to be used in environments requiring rust-proofing (even products used in normal indoor environments often require rust-proofing at portions exposed at the outside in view of the image of the product) and products where the strange feeling given by the color of the paint of the precoated steel sheet and the metallic luster of the cut edge would detract from the image of the product, one either has to give up on the use of a precoated steel sheet (use an ordinary steel sheet and paint it after processing) or else paint the cut edge after the processing.
Note that in the case of such post-painting of the cut edge, it is necessary to prevent the paint from spreading to the decorative surface of the precoated steel sheet so as to protect the beauty of the decorative surface. However, the thickness of the steel sheet used here is about 1 mm or an extremely thin steel sheet of even less than 1 mm. Painting such a thickness of a cut edge without spreading over to the decorative surface is extremely difficult even using various manual painting methods such as spray painting or roller painting--it is close to impossible to perform by automatic painting machines.
In the past, the technique known as "masking" is used to deal with this problem. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the portion on the precoated steel sheet 1, on which spreading of paint was desired to be prevented, was covered in advance by masking tape 2 along the surface to be painted, the painting was conducted in that state, then the tape was peeled off after painting. Thus the beautiful painting free from spreading to the surface to be protected can be obtained. By masking in this way, various methods of painting were possible. However, when attaching the masking tape, it is necessary to attach the tape exactly along the complicated contour of the processed surface of the product. This could only be done by careful manual work by workers and was therefore a costly, time-consuming technique.
As a prior art relating to coating of a chemical on to the end edge of a plate material, while differing in the field of art, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 5-263271 has proposed a technique of coating a photoresist on to the end edge of a lead frame plate.
However, in the protective painting of the cut edge of a precoated steel sheet to which the present invention is concerned, it is most preferred from the perspectives of the cost of the painting and the beauty of the exterior appearance that only the cut edge and its surroundings be painted, and therefore, the spray painting of the above prior art is not suitable for the protective painting of the cut edge of a precoated steel sheet even assuming masking.
Further, in the case of simple roller painting, the cut edge of the steel sheet near the knife edge, where in general even burrs remain, is painted, and therefore, there is the problem of easy damage to the roller. On top of this, the portion of contact becomes the point contact of the painting roller and the cut edge of the steel sheet and therefore, the actual contact area becomes small. Accordingly, a large fluctuation in the contact force of the painted portion per unit area unavoidably occurs. In particular, in the case of thick painting providing a thickness of several tens of microns so as to cover burrs on the cut edge, it is difficult to paint uniformly and stably.
Further, the prior art of coating a chemical on to the end edge of a plate material disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 5-263271 describes an invention for coating a resist on the end edge of a lead frame plate. Not only does the field of art differ, but when making a painting device held by, for example, a robot and using the motion of the robot to perform the painting as in the present invention and, when the portion to be painted is an open end edge, the application thereof becomes difficult. Accordingly, improvement of the method and apparatus of painting and rust-proofing the cut edge or end edge of a precoated steel sheet has been desired.
Further, the decisive point in using a precoated steel sheet as an exterior plate is that shaping giving a large deformation easily causes damage to the coating of the precoated steel sheet at the portion coming into contact with the shaping die, when shaping the original precoated steel sheet. Therefore, when shaping a product to a large extent, the practice has been to attach to one or both surfaces of the original precoated steel sheet a plastic film serving as both a lubricating film and protective film at the time of shaping by the die.
The plastic film which is attached, however, has to be removed after the shaping or after the assembly of the product (almost always manually peeled off by workers). Considering the work efficiency at this time, it is not possible to adhere the plastic film too strongly to the precoated steel sheet.
In recent years, the quality of steel sheet and coatings have been improved and it has become possible to perform the shaping of the steel sheet even with major deformation, but in products making use of this feature, in particular when performing sophisticated shaping in several steps, if performing the first shaping, then, for example, peeling off the adhered plastic film, as partially shown in FIG. 20 and FIG. 25 explained below, and performing the next shaping step in that state, the plastic film portion wrinkles and is printed on the product and thereby becomes a cause detracting from the appearance of the product and a cause of flaws in the expensive die. Accordingly, improvements have been sought in the method for attaching a plastic film to a precoated steel sheet capable of preventing flaws in the painted surface at the time of shaping a product of a structure using a precoated steel sheet for the exterior plate.

Method of painting cut edge of precoated steel sheet and painting apparatus for same


There is provided a device for supplying secondary air, which comprises a secondary air passage for supplying secondary air, to an exhaust passage of an engine, upstream of an exhaust purification device provided in the exhaust passage, a pump provided in the secondary air passage for supplying a secondary air, a battery used for driving the pump, at least one opening-closing device for opening and closing the secondary air passage, and a pressure sensor provided between the pump and the opening-closing device for detecting a pressure in the secondary air passage. A malfunction of at least one of the pump and the opening-closing device is detected on the basis of at least one of the pressures detected when the secondary air passage is opens and when the secondary air passage is closed. The malfunction detection is ceased when the voltage of the battery changes by a value larger than a predetermined value when the pressure sensor detects a malfunction of the pressure variation in the secondary air passage for detecting a malfunction of at least one of the pump and the opening-closing device.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for supplying secondary air into an exhaust passage, of an engine, upstream of an exhaust purification device arranged in the exhaust passage.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known engine is comprises an exhaust purification device including a catalyst having an oxidizing ability in an exhaust passage for purifying carbon monoxide (hereinafter, referred to as "CO"), hydrocarbon (hereinafter, referred to as "HC") and nitrogen monoxide (hereinafter referred to as "NO") contained in an exhaust gas. Further, a technique for supplying air from an air pump into a secondary air supplying passage connected to the exhaust passage and having an opening-closing valve therein to supply the air as secondary air into the exhaust passage to increase the concentration of the oxygen in the exhaust gas, thereby facilitating the oxidation of HC and CO contained in the exhaust gas and thus purification of the exhaust gas, is known.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-83048 discloses a secondary air supplying device comprising an air pump, an opening-closing valve and a check valve along the flow direction of the secondary air. In the disclosed secondary air supplying device, a pressure sensor is arranged between the air pump and the opening-closing valve or between the opening-closing valve and the check valve. In such a device, when malfunction occurs in components such as the air pump and the opening-closing valve, the efficiency for purifying the exhaust gas decreases and an exhaust emission gets worse. Therefore, in the device, it is judged if the malfunction of the components occurs on the basis of the pressure detected by the pressure sensor and/or the variation of the pressure.


An array substrate and a method for fabricating the same are disclosed. The method for fabricating the array substrate comprises: forming a pattern of a gate electrode (2) and a common electrode (3) on a substrate (1); forming a pattern of a gate insulating layer (4), an active layer (5), a source/drain electrode layer (6) and a first passivation layer (7), wherein the first passivation layer (7) has a via hole and a thin film transistor (TFT) channel window, and the TFT channel window is located above the gate electrode (2); forming a TFT channel and a pixel electrode (9) with slits, wherein the pixel electrode (9) is connected to one of the source/drain electrode (6) through the via hole. The method is not only simple and stable but also improves the TFT quality.

Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display (TFT-LCD) is a widely-used Flat Panel Display (FPD).
With the improvement in technologies, consumers are expecting higher picture quality from mobile devices. Currently, the conventional Twisted Nematic (TW) LCD may not provide good enough picture quality as required by the market. As a result, all manufacturers are now implementing in the mobile devices various wide viewing angle techniques having better picture qualities, such as In-Plane Switching (IPS), Vertical Alignment (VA), Advanced-Super Dimensional Switching (AD-SDS, also abbreviated as ADS).
In the ADS mode, a multi-dimensional electric field is generated with both an electric field produced at edges of slit electrodes in the same plane and an electric field produced between a slit electrode layer and a plate-like electrode layer, consequently, liquid crystal molecules at all orientations, which are located directly above the electrodes and between the slit electrodes in a liquid crystal cell, can be rotated, thereby enhancing the work efficiency of liquid crystals and increasing the light transmittance. Therefore, the ADS technology can improve the picture quality of TFT-LCDs and has advantages of high transmittance, wide viewing angle, high aperture ratio, low chromatic aberration, low response time and being free of push Mura, etc.
Currently, an array substrate is obtained through forming patterns using multiple patterning processes. Each patterning process involves the processes of masking, exposing, developing, etching and removing, where the etching includes dry etching and wet etching. The number of the patterning processes may be used to evaluate the complexity of the fabrication of the TFT-LCD array substrate. In this sense, reducing the number of patterning processes is equivalent to reducing the manufacturing cost.
It may take at least four patterning processes to form an array substrate such as a bottom gate using the currently available technologies. Such processes are complicated, costly and the production cycle is relatively long. Therefore, it is needed to reduce the number of patterning processes, thereby reducing the production cycle and cost for fabricating the array substrate.

Array substrate and method for fabricating the same


The present invention relates to novel stabilized phosphorous ylides and processes for their preparation. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for substituting the carbonyl oxygen of 2-formyl- or 2-oxoalkylidenetriphenyl-phosphoranes (OATP) by other stabilizing groups to form novel compounds having an increased tendency to form complexes or compounds which absorb in the visible region of the spectrum.. The compounds according to the present invention are. Compounds of the formula (1) EQU Ph.sub.3 .dbd.CH--C(R).dbd.Nu (1) PA1 Nu is S, Se, C(CN).sub.2, NH, PhN, PhNHN, ##STR1## or a radical of the formulae (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) ##STR2## wherein Z is C(CH.sub.3).sub.2, S or N(CH.sub.3) and n=1 or 2 (provided that the combinations R.dbd.Ar, SAlk or OAlk and Nu.dbd.NPh, and the combinations R.dbd.H, Alk or aryl and Nu.dbd.S are excluded) are disclosed, as well as methods for making them.. wherein R is hydrogen, a C.sub.1 -C.sub.5 -alkyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.3 -fluoroalkyl or perfluoroalkyl radical, an unfluorinated or fluorinated C.sub.6 -C.sub.14 -aryl radical or a group OCH.sub.3 ; and

The contents of the references cited in the specification are hereby incorporated by reference.
Synthetically valuable 2-oxoalkylidenetriphenylphosphoranes (OATP) are usually prepared in two ways. Either by reaction of triphenylphosphine with .alpha.-haloketones and subsequent treatment of the resulting phosphonium salt with alkali metal hydroxide (M. I. Shevchuk et al., Zhurnal obshei Khimii, Vol. 40, N 1, pp. 48-57, 1970) ##STR3## (R=alkyl, aryl or alkoxy) or by acylation of methylenetriphenylphosphorane with acyl chlorides (H. J. Bestmann et al., Chem. Ber. 95, 1513, 1962) or reactive carboxyl derivatives (Y. Sheng et al., Synthesis, 1984, p. 924-926). EQU Ph.sub.3 P.dbd.CH.sub.2 +RCOX.fwdarw.Ph.sub.3 P.dbd.CH--COR
(R=alkyl, perfluoroalkyl or aryl; X=halogen, OR)
Some phosphorus ylides containing other stabilizing groups have been prepared by reaction of phenylethynyltriphenylphosphonium bromide (II) with anilines, enamines or acetoacetate (H. Hoffmann et al., Tetrahedron Letters N17, 1964, pp. 983-987) ##STR4## or by acylation of methylenetriphenylphosphorane with imidoyl chloride (H. Yoshida et al., Synthesis 1977, pp. 626-628). ##STR5## R.sup.1 (V).dbd.Ar; R.sup.2 (V).dbd.Ar, SAlk, OAlk
Some 2-thioxoalkylidenetriphenylphosphoranes (VII) have been prepared by alkylation of triphenylphosphine with thio derivatives (VI) (EP-A-052 931); ##STR6## M (VII).dbd.S; R.sup.1, R.sup.2 .dbd.H, Alk, Aryl
Except for the above mentioned processes, it has not been possible hitherto by the prior art to obtain phosphorus betaines having a stabilizing group other than the carbonyl oxygen in the .beta. position. Phenylethynyltriphenylphosphonium bromide (II), imidoyl chlorides (IV) and the alkylated (thio)carbonyl compounds are usually accessible with great difficulty, so that the preparation of phosphorus betaines containing the above mentioned groups should be limited to only a few examples.
On the other hand, substitution of the oxygen by other groups having different steric and electronic properties would be an expedient way to modify organic compounds.

Process for the preparation of novel stabilized phosphorus ylides


Sensors, including time-of-flight sensors, may be used to detect objects in an environment. In an example, a vehicle may include a time-of-flight sensor that images objects around the vehicle, e.g., so the vehicle can navigate relative to the objects. Sensor data generated by the time-of-flight sensor can be impacted by glare. In some examples, corrected data is generated by quantifying glare. A glare region including pixels that are not associated with an object in a range of the time-of-flight sensor may provide glare intensity and glare depth values used to quantify the glare. The glare intensity and glare depth may be used to correct measured data.

Sensors, such as time-of-flight sensors, may be unreliable in certain environments, including environments in which objects have high reflectivity. For instance, highly reflective objects can cause glare, and glare can result in inaccurate measurements of both intensity and distance. Such inaccuracies can create difficulties in appropriately identifying and/or characterizing the highly reflective object, as well as other objects in the data. When such a sensor is intended for use on an autonomous vehicle, glare can be a hindrance to identifying and/or characterizing potential obstacles to travel, thereby reducing safety.


A laser welding apparatus and method utilizes a pressure foot carried on a laser welder as the laser welder traverses an elongated weld line. The foot is L-shaped comprising a vertical mounting leg for attachment to the welder and a horizontal pressure plate at the lower end of the mounting leg. The pressure plate includes a cylindrical bearing element that creates a contact area with the items being welded that closely surrounds the weld site being contacted by the laser beam. At least one adjustable biasing unit forces the pressure plate into engagement with the items being welded to tightly press such items against an underlying support surface to cause close contact of the items only adjacent the weld site. Since the pressure foot is carried on the welder, the contact area of the pressure foot will move in concert with relative motion between the welder and the support surface to traverse along the weld line. No other clamps are used.

Welding systems are known using a laser beam as the energy source for welding various metallic items together. Such a system includes a downwardly directed laser beam and a horizontal worktable on which the work is supported. In many cases, the desired weld is to be formed along a continuous, elongated line. Relative motion between the laser beam and the work is thus required. Either the laser beam is movably mounted to traverse along the weld line or the worktable is movable to cause the weld line to pass beneath a stationary laser beam.
The assignee of this invention has previously used a laser welding system of this type to join together two superimposed metallic sheets. These sheets when joined together form one fin in a heat exchange unit. The joined sheets provide a fin having a central array of corrugated, cooling passages through which a fluid may be passed in a heat exchange relationship with a medium flowing along the outside of the fin. A particular heat exchange unit normally includes a large number of these fins spaced slightly apart so that the heat exchange medium will flow down along both sides of each fin. Heat exchangers of this type are often submersed in water, such as sea water, for cooling heated fluids, such as power plant fluids, that are passed through the cooling passages in the fins.
In making each fin for such a heat exchange unit, a continuous elongated weld is required to join together the two separate metallic sheets that form the fin. This weld line encircles the central array of corrugated cooling passages to prevent any leakage of the fluids contained in those passages. This weld has been formed by the assignee of this invention by moving the laser source relative to the worktable along the weld line in a continuous fashion from one end of the weld line to the other.
One problem associated with the prior known laser welding systems, including those used and known by the Applicants in welding fins for heat exchangers, is the need to firmly clamp the two metallic sheets together. This has conventionally been done by a large number of clamps, or one solid top clamp with a large number of bolts, that surround the peripheral edges of the metallic sheets to clamp them tightly along the entire length of the weld line. This is difficult and time consuming to set up and requires many clamps, or bolts, to effect close contact between the metal sheets. The time and labor involved in the clamping operation raises the costs of producing the fins. Moreover, it is not uncommon for the sheets to sometimes be separated by at least a small gap along at least a portion of the weld line, despite the presence of the clamps, leaving a weaker or non-hermetic weld at that point. This is also obviously undesirable.


An occupant restraint system (10), and an associated control method, for a vehicle (16). The system (10) includes an actuatable occupant restraint device (18) which has an adjustable aspect. An ultrasound sensor (34) senses an occupant condition at a sense rate and provides a signal (38) indicative of the sensed occupant condition. An ultrasound signal sampler function (46) of a controller (26) samples the signal (38) at a sample rate. A restraint control determination function (50) of the controller (26) makes determinations regarding control of the restraint device (18) at a determination rate using the signal samples. A weight sensor (56) and at least one seat belt sensor (58, 60) sense occupant conditions (e.g., occupant weight and seat belt status) and provide indicative signals (66, 68, 70) to a rates determination function (84) of the controller (26). The rates determination function (84) determines the sense, sample and determination rates in response to the sensed occupant conditions.

Occupant restraint systems for use in vehicles are known in the art. One type of restraint system includes an actuatable inflatable restraint module which has an inflatable restraint that is commonly referred to as an air bag. The restraint module is actuated and the air bag is inflated within a vehicle passenger compartment upon the occurrence of a vehicle crash condition for which a vehicle occupant is to be restrained.
A sensor detects a parameter which is indicative of a vehicle crash condition and provides a signal indicative thereof to a controller of the system. In response to a collision-indicating signal from the crash sensor, the controller provides an actuation signal to cause actuation of the restraint module upon a determination of a deployment crash condition.
In one example, the crash sensor is an accelerometer that provides an electrical signal having a value functionally related to the vehicle's crash acceleration. Within the controller, the accelerometer's signal is sampled and an evaluation of the information contained within the sampled signal is used to determine whether the signal is indicative of a deployment crash condition.
Restraint modules having one or more adjustable aspects to enhance performance of the restraint module are also known. Such a restraint module is commonly referred to as a "smart restraint." For example, in the inflatable restraint module, the dynamic deployment profile of the air bag is adjustable. Specifically, the inflation timing, the inflation pressure, and the positioning of the inflating air bag are all known adjustable aspects. Adjustment of the restraint module is based upon sensed occupant conditions.
As occupant restraint systems become more complex, a greater number of sensors are used to sense a greater number of vehicle and occupant conditions. The great number of sensory inputs are used in algorithms to make control determinations for the restraint module. Increases in the sampling and evaluating of sensory information increases the evaluation time of the system or increases the need for a faster, more powerful, and more expensive controller. It is desirable to control sense rate and the sample rate of data and control evaluation rate of the data so that a less expensive controller can be used in the restraint system while providing the desired level of control capability.

Occupant restraint system and control method with variable sense, sample, and determination rates


Systems and methods for analyzing groundwater samples with multiple organic tracer species from a petroleum containing reservoir include obtaining the sample, isolating an aqueous fraction of the groundwater sample, separating the aqueous fraction into a plurality of components, where each component corresponds to a different one of the organic tracer species, combining each of the separated components with at least one lanthanide element to form a plurality of component solutions, where a ratio of the at least one lanthanide element to the separated component in each component solution is 5:1 or greater, and analyzing each component solution to determine a relative amount of each organic tracer species in the groundwater sample.

A petroleum reservoir is an underground pool of hydrocarbon compounds contained in porous or fractured rock formations. The petroleum in the reservoir is accessed through one or more borings in the earth that penetrate the material above the reservoir and enable transport of the petroleum to the surface. Water flooding is used, for example, to increase the pressure within the reservoir, thereby increasing oil production rates; and to displace hydrocarbons with the reservoir. Water is ideal for flooding reservoirs due to its ready availability and immiscibility with hydrocarbons. Determining the presence of fluid flow paths between oil wells, and the flow capacity between them, allows for a more detailed description of reservoir heterogeneity and facilitates water flood rate management.


A semiconductor device with redistribution layers formed utilizing dummy substrates is disclosed and may include forming a first redistribution layer on a first dummy substrate, forming a second redistribution layer on a second dummy substrate, electrically connecting a semiconductor die to the first redistribution layer, electrically connecting the first redistribution layer to the second redistribution layer, and removing the dummy substrates. The first redistribution layer may be electrically connected to the second redistribution layer utilizing a conductive pillar. An encapsulant material may be formed between the first and second redistribution layers. Side portions of one of the first and second redistribution layers may be covered with encapsulant. A surface of the semiconductor die may be in contact with the second redistribution layer. The dummy substrates may be in panel form. One of the dummy substrates may be in panel form and the other in unit form.

In general, a semiconductor package includes a semiconductor die, a plurality of leads electrically connected to the semiconductor die and an encapsulant encapsulating the semiconductor die and the leads. In general, a POP (Package On Package) refers to a technique for vertically stacking packages incorporating at least one semiconductor die. Since the packages are individually tested and only tested packages may be stacked, the POP is advantageous in view of assembling yield.
However, in the conventional POP, since a relatively thick printed circuit board (PCB) is typically used as a substrate and a solder ball having a relatively large diameter is used as an internal conductor, the overall thickness of the POP is approximately 1 mm or greater. In addition, a circuit pattern formed on the substrate has a width of approximately 10 μm or greater.
The PCB includes a variety of organic materials, and the coefficient of the thermal expansion of the organic material may be significantly different from that of an inorganic material, such as the semiconductor die or an encapsulant, and as such a considerably severe warping phenomenon may occur to the completed POP.
Additionally, in order to fabricate a POP, the costly PCB must be purchased, increasing the manufacturing cost of the POP.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with the present disclosure as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

Semiconductor device with redistribution layers formed utilizing dummy substrates

AMKOR TECHNOLOGY SINGAPORE HOLDING PTE. LTD.


A switched reluctance machine system includes a stator, a rotor situated to rotate relative to the stator and a plurality of phase windings situated in the stator. A power supply is connected to the phase windings via power converter and a controller outputs control signals to the power converter to selectively apply power to the phase windings. The controller receives feedback signals from the phase windings that provide phase current information to the controller. The controller is programmed to analyze the phase current information and control the power converter to inject diagnostic pulses into any of the phase windings in which current in the phase winding is below a predetermined level. The rotor position is determined based on detected characteristics of the diagnostic pulses, and the characteristics may be weighted, for example, in response to an estimated position of the diagnostic pulses.

The present disclosure relates generally to switched reluctance machines, and more particularly, to sensorless rotor position detection for switched reluctance machines.
In general, a reluctance machine is an electrical machine in which torque is produced by the tendency of its movable part to move into a position where the reluctance of a magnetic circuit is minimized where the inductance of the exciting winding is maximized. In one type of reluctance machine, circuitry is provided for detecting the angular position of the rotor and energizing the phase windings as a function of the rotor position. This type of reluctance machine is generally known as a switched reluctance machine. It may be operated as a motor or a generator. The characteristics of such switched reluctance machines are well-known and are described in, for example, "The Characteristics, Design and Application of Switched Reluctance Motors and Drives" by Stephenson and Blake, PCIM '93, Nurnberg, Jun. 21-24, 1993, incorporated herein by reference. That paper describes the features of the switched reluctance machine produce the characteristic cyclically varying inductance of the phase windings.
The principal components of a typical switched reluctance drive system include a DC power supply, for example, a battery or rectified and filtered AC supply that can be fixed or variable in magnitude. The DC voltage provided by the power supply is switched across the phase windings of the motor by a power converter under the control of an electronic control unit. The switching must be correctly synchronized to the angle of rotation of the rotor for proper operation of the drive. A rotor position detector is typically employed to supply signals indicating the angular position of the rotor. The output of the rotor position detector may also be used to generate a speed feedback signal. Current feedback is provided in the controller by a current transducer that samples current in one or more of the phase windings.
The rotor position detector may take many forms. In some systems, the rotor position detector can comprise a rotor position transducer that provides output signals that change state each time the rotor rotates to a position where a different switching arrangement of the devices in the power converter is required. In other systems, the position detector can be a software algorithm that calculates or estimates the position from other monitored parameters of the drive system. These systems are often called "sensorless position detector systems" since they do not use a physical transducer associated with the rotor that determines the angular position of the rotor. Many different approaches have been adopted in the quest for a reliable sensorless system.
The energization of the phase windings in a switched reluctance machine depends on detection of the angular position of the rotor. This may be explained by reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, which illustrate the switching of a reluctance machine operating as a motor. FIG. 1 generally shows a rotor 24 with a rotor pole 20 approaching a stator pole 21 of a stator 25 according to arrow 22. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a portion 23 of a complete phase winding is wound around the stator pole 21. When the portion 23 of the phase winding around stator pole 21 is energized, a force will be exerted on the rotor, tending to pull rotor pole 20 into alignment with stator pole 21. FIG. 2 generally shows typical switching circuitry in the power converter that controls the energization of the phase winding, including the portion 23 around stator pole 21. When switches 31 and 32 are closed, the phase winding is coupled to the source of DC power and is energized. Many other configurations of lamination geometry, winding topology and switching circuitry are known in the art: some of these are discussed in the incorporated Stephenson and Blake paper cited above. When the phase winding of a switched reluctance machine is energized in the manner described above, the magnetic field set up by the flux in the magnetic circuit gives rise to the circumferential forces which, as described, act to pull the rotor poles into line with the stator poles.
In general, the phase winding is energized to effect rotation of the rotor as follows. At a first angular position of the rotor (called the "turn-on angle", TON), the controller provides switching signals to turn on both switching devices 31 and 32. When the switching devices 31 and 32 are on, the phase winding is coupled to the DC bus, causing an increasing magnetic flux to be established in the machine. The magnetic flux produces a magnetic field in the air gap that acts on the rotor poles to produce the motoring torque. The magnetic flux in the machine is supported by the magneto-motive force ("mmf"), which is provided by a current flowing from the DC supply through the switches 31 and 32 and the phase winding. Current feedback is generally employed and the magnitude of the phase current is controlled by chopping the current by rapidly switching one or both of switching devices 31 and/or 32 on and off. FIG. 3a shows a typical current waveform in the chopping mode of operation, where the current is chopped between two fixed levels. In motoring operation, the turn-on angle TON is often chosen to be the rotor position where the center-line of an inter-polar space on the rotor is aligned with the center-line of a stator pole, but may be some other angle.
In many systems, the phase winding remains connected to the DC bus (or connected intermittently if chopping is employed) until the rotor rotates such that it reaches what is referred to as the "freewheeling angle" TFW. When the rotor reaches an angular position corresponding to the freewheeling angle (the position shown in FIG. 1), one of the switches, for example 31, is turned off. Consequently, the current flowing through the phase winding will continue to flow, but will now flow through only one of the switches (in this example 32) and through only one of the diodes 33/34 (in this example 34). During the freewheeling period, the voltage drop across the phase winding is small, and the flux remains substantially constant. The circuit remains in this freewheeling condition until the rotor rotates to an angular position known as the "turn-off angle" TOFF, (when the center-line of the rotor pole is aligned with that of the stator pole). When the rotor reaches the turn-off angle, both switches 31 and 32 are turned off and the current in phase winding 23 begins to flow through diodes 33 and 34. The diodes 33 and 34 then apply the DC voltage from the DC bus in the opposite sense, causing the magnetic flux in the machine (and therefore the phase current) to decrease. It is known in the art to use other switching angles and other current control regimes.
As the speed of the machine rises, there is less time for the current to rise to the chopping level, and the drive is normally run in a "single-pulse" mode of operation. In this mode, the turn-on, freewheel and turn-off angles are chosen as a function of, for example, speed and load torque. Some systems do not use an angular period of freewheeling switches 31 and 32 are switched on and off simultaneously. FIG. 3b shows a typical such single-pulse current waveform where the freewheel angle is zero. It is well-known that the values of turn-on, freewheel and turn-off angles can be predetermined and stored in some suitable format for retrieval by the control system as required, or can be calculated or deduced in real time.
In low speed operation, most known sensorless position detection systems that are suitable for operation in the chopping mode use diagnostic pulses of some sort that are injected into an idle, or "inactive" phase winding (no phase excitation current applied to the winding). By monitoring the result of these pulses, the control system is able to estimate the rotor position and determine when the main excitation should be applied to and removed from the phase windings.
As the speed rises, the time remaining for diagnosis becomes inadequate to inject sufficient pulses for a reliable estimate of position, and the system becomes unstable because there are times when none of the phases is in a condition for diagnosis and synchronism of the control system with rotor position is lost. Rather than use diagnostic pulses, high-speed detection systems may take readings from the phase energization waveform at a predetermined reference point, then appropriate corrections are made. One such method for operating in the high-speed (single-pulse) mode is described in EP-A-0573198 ("Ray"), which is incorporated herein by reference. Ray discloses a method of flux and current measurement leading to predictions of rotor position.
Many other sensorless position detection systems are reviewed and categorized in "Sensorless Methods for Determining the Rotor Position of Switched Reluctance Motors", Ray et al, Proc EPE'93 Conference, Brighton, UK, September 13-16, 93, Vol 6, pp 7-13, incorporated herein by reference, which concludes that none of these methods is entirely satisfactory for operation over the entire operating range.
The present application addresses these and other shortcomings associated with the prior art.

Switched reluctance machine control system and method


A method for copy protection includes receiving data in a recording module representing content to be recorded on a recording medium, the data including an indication that the content is to be protected from unauthorized copying. Responsive to the indication, the recording module signals a protection module to initiate a protection protocol in synchronization with the recording module. The protection module generates control information, so as to prevent the unauthorized copying of the content that is to be protected, and conveys the control information to the recording module, in accordance with the protocol. The recording module combines the control information with the data representing the content in the recording module, for recording on the recording medium.

Compact disk (CD) recordings are a preferred means for distributing both digital audio recordings and computer software. CD digital audio (CD-DA) recordings are almost universally made in accordance with standard 908 of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), entitled "Compact Disc Digital Audio System" (Geneva, Switzerland, 1987), which is incorporated herein by reference. The 908 standard, also known as the Red Book, defines how audio data are to be encoded and recorded on the disk, enabling the data to be played back using standard digital decoding chips.
In accordance with the Red Book standard, the data on the CD are recorded in blocks (or sectors) of 98 frames, each such frame comprising one control symbol followed by thirty-two data symbols. Each symbol comprises fourteen channel bits, which correspond to a single byte of binary input data, encoded in a process of eight-to-fourteen bit modulation (known as "EFM" modulation). The data symbols include error correction codes, known as Cross Interleave Reed Solomon Codes (CIRC), which are used during playback to identify and, when possible, to correct errors in the corresponding data segments. The control symbols contain sub-code information for the block, arranged in channels that are identified in the standard as P, Q, R, S, T, U, V and W. The first two sub-code symbols contain synchronization patterns known as S0 and S1. The blocks are organized sequentially in tracks, beginning with a lead-in track 0, followed by up to 99 audio tracks. The P and Q sub-code channels contain timing and navigation information for the tracks. The Q channel in the lead-in contains the Table Of Contents (TOC) of the disk.
Different standards apply to other types of data, such as computer software, which may be recorded on CD, as well. For example, the Blue Book standard specifies multi-session recordings, that combine audio and other data on a single disk. The Orange Book applies generally to recordable CDs (CD-R), including rewritable CDs (CD-RW), which allow users to write, erase, overwrite and read CD information using properly-configured recording and playback equipment. The CD-RW format permits both audio and data recording. It is described in detail in part II of the Orange Book, which is entitled "Compact Disc ReWritable System Description" (Tentative Version 1.90, June, 1997), published by Philips Consumer Electronics B. V. (Eindhoven, Netherlands), which is incorporated herein by reference.
Inexpensive CD recording devices and read/write media that comply with Orange Book requirements have become available to consumers. Thus, it is now easy, using a conventional personal computer with a CD burner, to make exact, digital copies of all types of CDs. The CD content is read out by the computer, byte by byte, from one CD, typically a legitimately-purchased original CD, and then written to a blank CD-R or CD-RW so as to make a pirate copy. Similar copying methods may be used with other media, such as Digital Video Disks (DVD). Off-shelf software to assist the user in making such copies is also widely available. For example, Roxio™ Inc. (Milpitas, Calif.) offers "Easy CD Creator" software, which is commonly bundled with CD burners sold on the consumer market. Such software typically contains no program safeguards to prevent users from making unauthorized copies of copyright material. Financial losses to the recording and software industries due to such pirate copying are estimated to be in the billions of dollars.
Various methods are known in the art for protecting CD audio content from being copied using computer CD drives. Some of these methods are based on manipulating the sub-code control information. For example, PCT patent publication WO 01/61696, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method for copy protection of digital audio CDs based on using a non-standard number of frames in a sector of a compact audio disk, for example, 99 rather than the usual 98 frames specified by the standard. The S0 and S1 sub-code synchronization patterns are therefore displaced one frame later than they would normally be, without changing the data in the frames. As another example, PCT patent publication WO 00/74053, whose disclosure is likewise incorporated herein by reference, describes a copy protection method based on rendering certain of the sub-code information, particularly in the Q channel, incorrect and/or inaccurate. The incorrect data is ignored by an audio CD player, but renders the disk unplayable by a computer CD drive.
Other methods of copy protection involve changing the audio content of the original disk. For example, PCT patent publication WO 01/41130, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes such a method based on incorporating a pattern of latent noise into a digital audio CD by overwriting some of the original audio signal data symbols with grossly-erroneous values. The corresponding error-correction symbols are overwritten in such a way as to create an uncorrectable error in the frames containing the erroneous values. An ordinary CD player, when playing such a disk, will detect each occurrence of a latent noise value as an uncorrectable error and will apply interpolative error-concealment to prevent the output of the error. When a computer CD drive attempts to read the disk, however, and detects the intentional, uncorrectable errors, it will either read no data at all or read only the raw uncorrected data, including the latent noise.
One way in which CD-RW disks used to produce unauthorized copies of copyright material differ from CD-DA and other types of non-rewritable disks is that they typically contain a Program Memory Area (PMA), preceding the conventional Lead-In Area of the disk. The PMA is used for intermediate storage of control information during the process of recording the disk. This information includes:                Disk contents—track numbers and their start and stop times.        Disk identification.        Skip information—indicating audio tracks or parts of audio tracks to skip during playback.When the entire disk is finalized, the information in the PMA is encoded in the sub-code Q channel of the lead-in, and the PMA is erased. It is not necessary that the disk be finalized, however, in order for its contents to be played back. Most currently-available CD drives are designed for CD-RW compatibility and therefore are programmed to read and use any PMA information on the disk before going on to the lead-in and program areas of the disk. Only in Disk-At-Once (DAO) CD-RW recordings, in which the entire disk contents are copied in one operation, is the sub-code Q channel information written to the disk directly, without going through the PMA. Thus, DAO recordings, such as those made in manufacturing plants, conventionally have no PMA. CD-DA players ignore the PMA in any event.

Dynamic copy protection of optical media


Random three- and four-amino acid copolymers having lengths of 14-, 35- and 50-amino acid residues are provided. Fifty-mers of FEAK were effective inhibitors of MBP 85-99- or proteolipid protein (PLP) 40-60-specific HLA-DR-2-restricted T cell clones. These copolymers efficiently suppressed the mouse disease EAE, which was induced in a susceptible SJL/J (H-2S) strain of mice with either whole spinal cord homogenate (WSCH) or with the encephalitogenic epitope PLP 139-151 (SEQ ID NO:4). YFAK 50-mer having a molar ratio of about Y 0.8:F 0.2 inhibited binding of biotinylated MBP 85-99 epitope to HLA-DR-2 molecules more efficiently than either unlabeled MBP 85-99 or Copaxone®. YFAK and FAK copolymers efficiently suppressed EAE induced in SJL/J (H-2S) mice with the encephalitogenic epitope PLP 139-151. Copolymers YFAK, VYAK and tryptophan-containing VWAK were efficacious in alleviating severity and duration of symptoms of EAE induced by MBP 85-99 (SEQ ID NO:2), in a humanized mouse model expressing genes for both an HLA-DR-2 linked to multiple sclerosis (MS) in humans and for a T cell receptor from an MS patient.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system affecting 0.1% of the population, and is associated in northern European caucasoid MS patients with the HLA-DR-2 (DRB1*1501) haplotype (Olerup, O. et al. 1991. Tissue Antigens 38:1-15). An animal model of MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), is a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease. EAE can be induced by subcutaneous injection of peptides derived from myelin components such as myelin basic protein (MBP; Madsen, L. S. et al. 1999. Nat. Genet. 23:343-347), proteolipid protein (PLP; Greer, J. M. et al. 1992. J. Immunol. 149:783-788) or myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG; Mendel, I. et al. 1995. Eur. J. Immunol. 25:1951-1959).
In the course of EAE, autoreactive CD4+ T cells recognize self-antigens presented by murine class II MHC molecules (e.g. H-2As), ultimately leading to pathological changes that can be monitored as clinical signs of disease. EAE provides a well studied system for testing the efficacy of potential therapeutic compounds to suppress the disease. These compounds have included cytokines (Leonard, J. P. et al. 1996. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 795:216-226), peptide antigens that induce anergy (Gaur, A. et al. 1992. Science 258:1491-1494) or that induce oral tolerance (Kennedy, K. J. et al. 1997. J. Immunol. 159:1036-1044; Weiner, H. L. Exp. Med. 181:1569-1574; Nicholson, L. B. et al. 1997. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94:9279-9284).
Copolymer 1 (Cop1; Copaxone®; YEAK) is a random amino acid copolymer of alanine (A), lysine (K), glutamic acid (E) and tyrosine (Y) in a molar ratio of approximately 5:3:1.5:1. Cop1 is synthesized in solution using N-carboxyamino acid anhydrides (Teitelbaum D. et al. 1971. Eur. J. Immunol. 1:242-248). Initially, this and other related copolymers were used to define the genetic basis of immune responsiveness, now known as class II MHC genes (McDevitt, H. O., and M. Sela. 1965. J. Exp. Med. 122:517-532; McDevitt, H. O., and M. Sela. 1967. J. Exp. Med. 126:969-978). Cop1, also known as poly (Y,E,A,K) or YEAK was found to be effective both in suppression of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (Teitelbaum D. et al. 1971. Eur. J. Immunol. 1:242-248; Teitelbaum D. et al. 1973. Eur. J. Immunol. 3:273-279; Teitelbaum D, et al. 1974; Clin. Immunol Immunopathol. 3:256-262; Aharoni R. et al. 1993. Eur. J. Immunol. 23:17-25) and in the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS; Bornstein, M. B. et al. 1987. N. Engl. J. Med. 317:408-414; Johnson, K. P. et al. 1995. Neurology 45:1268-1276; Johnson, K. P. et al. 1998. Neurology 50:701-708).
Cop1 has been approved as a therapy for MS and currently is in wide use. However, while Cop1 reduces the MS relapse rate, it does not eliminate relapse, and is not curative for the disease. It is important to develop improved compositions and methods of use for treatment of MS, and for other autoimmune diseases.

Copolymers for suppression of autoimmune diseases, and methods of use

President and Fellows of Harvard College


An optoelectronic device comprises an optoelectronic semiconductor stack layer; a conductive layer on the optoelectronic semiconductor stack layer, the conductive layer comprising a top surface, a bottom surface opposite to the top surface, and a side surface; a first barrier layer covering the top surface; a second barrier layer covering the bottom surface; and a first metal oxide layer, wherein the first metal oxide layer covers the side surface, the first barrier layer, and the second barrier layer.

Because of the shortage of the petroleum energy resource and the promotion of the environment protection, people continuously and actively study the art related to the replaceable energy and the regenerative energy resources in order to reduce the dependence of petroleum energy resource and the influence on the environment. The solar cell is an attractive candidate among those replaceable energy and the regenerative energy resources because the solar cell can directly convert solar energy into electricity. In addition, there are no harmful substances like carbon oxide or nitride generated during the process of generating electricity so there is no pollution to the environment.
The basic structure of a solar-cell element includes an optoelectronic semiconductor stack layer, an upper electrode formed on the upper surface of the optoelectronic semiconductor stack layer, and a back electrode formed on the bottom surface of the optoelectronic semiconductor stack layer. Furthermore, for receiving most solar light, the upper surface of the optoelectronic stack may be covered by an anti-reflecting layer.
The solar-cell element can further connect to a base via a bonding layer to form a light-absorbing device. In additional, the base can further include at least a circuit to electrically connect to the electrode of the solar cell element via a conductive structure such as metal wire.

Optoelectronic device and the manufacturing method thereof


In a method for checking the lambda value λ indicated by a binary lambda probe, the lambda probe being situated in the exhaust line of an internal combustion engine and provided downstream from a catalyst having oxygen storage capacity, the invention provides that the time progression of the voltage signal Uλ is plotted in the range of the lambda value λactual of 1.0 indicated by the lambda probe until a first inflection point W1 and a second inflection point W2 of the voltage signal Uλ have been detected, the time derivative dUλ/dt of the voltage signal is generated, the jumps S1, S2 in the time derivative dUλ/dt which occur at the inflection points W1, W2 are compared to one another, and based on the comparison of the jumps S1, S2 the indicated lambda value λactual of 1.0 is checked. According to the invention, the actual lambda value λtarget of 1.0 is always maintained in the air/fuel mixture supplied to the internal combustion engine in order to ensure optimal conversion C of pollutants in the exhaust gas from the internal combustion engine.

For optimal conversion of pollutants contained in the exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine, namely hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) by means of oxidation and nitrogen oxides (NOx) by means of reduction, the objective is to maintain a lambda value of 1.0 for the air/fuel ratio supplied to an internal combustion engine. This lambda value is specified by a binary lambda probe, situated downstream from the catalyst, which operates as a pilot probe. However, the accuracy of the specification is influenced by various parameters such as aging of the lambda probe, the quality of the fuel supplied to the internal combustion engine, and the catalyst temperature. These deviations are not linear, however, and are therefore difficult to correct.
In light of the foregoing, the object of the present invention is to provide a method for checking the lambda value indicated by a binary lambda probe, in which the deviations between the indicated lambda value and the actual lambda value are determined, and on the basis thereof the lambda value indicated by the lambda probe may be corrected.

Method for checking the lambda value indicated by a binary lambda probe


There is a solid electrolytic capacitor having a low ESR characteristic. In accordance with the solid electrolytic capacitor using an capacitor element wherein solid electrolyte is formed, the post-etching void factor of the anode foil used for the capacitor element is set at not more than 51% or the post-etching void factor of the cathode foil used for the capacitor element is set at not more than 44%, so that an electrode foil increases in conductivity and decreases in resistivity, to thereby obtain, coupled with the solid electrolyte of a low resistivity, a solid electrolytic capacitor having a lower ESR characteristic.

Electronic information devices have been digitalized in recent years, and the increase in driving frequency of microprocessor units (MPU) as a core part of these electronic information devices has been in progress, resulting in an increase in electric power consumption, and raising a remarkable problem of reliability caused by heat generation. As a countermeasure against this, attempts to reduce the driving voltage have been made. As a circuit for supplying a highly accurate electric power to the microprocessor, a DC-DC converter so called as a voltage regulator module (VRM) has widely been used. For an output-side capacitor, a large number of capacitors with low equivalent series resistances (ESR) are used for preventing any voltage drop. As a capacitor having this low ESR characteristic, a solid electrolytic capacitor using a solid electrolyte as an electrolyte has been practiced in use and widely used as a capacitor suitable for these purposes.
The increase in driving frequency of the microprocessor has been remarkable, however, with increasing the power consumption. In order to respond to that, the increase of the power supplied from the capacitor has been requested for preventing any voltage drop. In other words, a large power supply must be made in a short time, for which purpose the above-mentioned solid electrolytic capacitor is needed to not only be increased in capacity and decreased in size and voltage but also have an ESR characteristic lower than ever.
The solid electrolytic capacitor will be then described. A valve action metal foil such as aluminum, tantalum and niobium is subjected to an etching for increasing a surface-area thereof. Then, an etching is performed on the anode foil on which an anode foil oxide film was formed and also on the valve action metal foil such as aluminum, tantalum and niobium, so that a cathode foil is formed. The anode foil and the cathode foil is laminated through a separator comprising kraft paper, Manila paper, glass separator, or nonwoven fabric made of synthetic fiber such as vinylon and polyester. After an anode plug and a cathode plug are connected respectively to said anode foil and said cathode foil at optional positions, then the anode and cathode foils are rolled to form a capacitor element. A solid electrolyte is formed in this capacitor element, and the capacitor element is contained in a metal case. Then, the opening of the metal case is sealed tightly by use of a sealing resin comprising such resin as epoxy resin or by inserting a sealing rubber in the opening for a closing process.
In accordance with the solid electrolytic capacitor constructed as described above, used as the electrolyte is a solid electrolyte having a lower resistivity of not more than several tends Ω-cm compared with the conventional electrolytic solution having a resistivity of the order of 100 Ω-cm. Accordingly, the solid electrolytic capacitor has a good ESR characteristic, as described above.
By the way, for the solid electrolyte, manganese dioxide with a resistivity of a few Ω-cm has been used conventionally. Later on, a solid electrolytic capacitor using polymers of TCNQ complex, polypyrrole and thiophene dielectric with resistivities of not more than 1 Ω-cm has been put into practical use. With a further increase in driving frequency of MPU, there has been a request for a capacitor having a smaller size, a larger capacity and a lower ESR. According to the studies by the inventors, such solid electrolytic capacitor has an insufficient effect of reducing the ESR thereof, despite the low resistivity of the electrolyte.
As described above, there is a limitation to the reduction of the ESR of the capacitor solely by lowering the resistivity of the solid electrolyte to thereby improve the solid electrolyte, and a further reduction of the ESR remains as a difficult problem.
The present invention was made to solve the above-described problem and provides a solid electrolytic capacitor which uses the solid electrolyte of a low resistivity and achieves a further lower ESR.


A conveyance seat may include a seat pad, a first recess and a second recess formed in the seat pad. The first recess may have a pad-side engaging member disposed therein. The second recess may have no pad-side engaging member disposed therein. The conveyance seat may include a seat cover configured to cover the seat pad, the seat cover including a plurality of cover pieces, a first stitched portion and a second stitched portion projecting from the seat cover. At the first and second stitched portions, adjacent cover pieces may meet. The first stitched portion may have a cover-side engaging member configured to engage the pad-side engaging member. The second stitched portion may have no cover-side engaging member and may intersect with the first stitched portion at an intersection point. The conveyance seat may include a reinforcement member attached to the second stitched portion and bestriding the intersection point.

The present disclosure relates to a conveyance seat including a seat pad defining an external shape of the conveyance seat and a seat cover configured to cover the seat pad. In such a conveyance seat, stitched portions of the cover pieces of the seat cover may be accommodated in recesses formed in the seat pad and may be partly attached thereto.
JPS 63196300 (U) discloses an automobile seat including a molded pad defining an external shape and a seat cover covering the molded pad. The molded pad may have a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from above and have substantially linear recesses formed on right and left sides thereof. The recesses are concave portions formed in a seat face of the molded pad. Within the recesses, insertion wires may be disposed. Each of the insertion wires may be integrated with the molded pad so as to extend along the corresponding recess. A portion of each insertion wire may be exposed from the bottom face of the corresponding recess. The exposed portion of the insertion wire can be used for fixing a portion of the seat cover in place.
The seat cover may be formed by stitching cover material pieces together. Stitched portions are formed on the back side of the seat cover where adjacent cover material pieces are mutually stitched together. At each of the stitched portions, margins of the adjacent cover material pieces protrude from the back side of the seat cover in an overlapping manner. A suspended cloth piece configured to maintain a wire therein may be attached to one of the overlapped margins. Furthermore, the seat face of the molded pad may be covered with the seat cover in a manner such that each of the stitched portions, which protrudes from the back side of the seat cover, is accommodated in a corresponding recess. Then, the wire maintained in the suspended cloth piece may be fixed to the insertion wire, which is partly exposed from the recess, using a hog-ring. Thus, a stable arrangement of each stitched portion in the corresponding recess can be achieved.

Conveyance seat and seat cover for the same


An image data processing apparatus includes: a data dividing unit dividing arithmetic image data into arithmetic pixel data corresponding to a signal line of a display device; an adder adding first data and second data; and a data delaying unit delaying the added data, wherein the first data is the divided arithmetic pixel data from the data dividing unit, and the second data is the delayed added arithmetic pixel data from the data delaying unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image data processing apparatus and an image data processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the size of a screen of the display device has become larger and its definition has become higher, more information volume has become necessary for driving a display device, and as a result, the frequency of a signal transmitted for driving the display device is becoming higher. Such an increase in data volume of the transmission signal (increase in frequency) will be a cause of EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) to the vicinity of the display device. Therefore, a need for reducing the EMI ascribable to an electronic device having a display device has been increasing. As a method of reducing the EMI generated from an electronic device having a display device, "LVDS", "Panel Link", "SSCG", and the like have been proposed (Nikkei Electronics, 1997.11.3 (no. 702), P123-P148).

Image data processing apparatus and image data processing method


Systems and methods of managing defects in nonvolatile storage systems that can be used to avoid an inadvertent loss of data, while maintaining as much useful memory in the nonvolatile storage systems as possible. The disclosed systems and methods can monitor a plurality of trigger events for detecting possible defects in one or more nonvolatile memory (NVM) devices included in the nonvolatile storage systems, and apply one or more defect management policies to the respective NVM devices based on the types of trigger events that resulted in detection of the possible defects. Such defect management policies can be used proactively to retire memory in the nonvolatile storage systems with increased granularity, focusing the retirement of memory on regions of nonvolatile memory that are likely to contain a defect.

In a conventional storage system, such as a nonvolatile storage system, data can be stored in accordance with a predetermined error correction coding scheme, such as a low-density parity-check (LDPC) coding scheme. Such a nonvolatile storage system can include a plurality of nonvolatile memory (NVM) devices, each NVM device containing a multitude of NVM storage elements or cells for storing encoded data in the form of LDPC codewords. When reading LDPC codewords from such NVM devices, one or more reference threshold voltage levels can be established between a plurality of programming states of each NVM cell, and a threshold voltage level of the NVM cell can be compared to the respective reference threshold voltage levels to determine the actual programming state of the NVM cell.
In a typical mode of operation, in order to read a desired LDPC codeword from a selected NVM device, a hard bit read operation can be performed, in which the LDPC codeword is read from the selected NVM device as so-called "hard data" (i.e., the logical high and low bit levels in the LDPC codeword are taken as a "1" and "0", respectively). Further, a soft bit read operation can be performed, in which the LDPC codeword is read from the selected NVM device as so-called "soft data" (i.e., the logical high and low bit levels in the LDPC codeword are taken as "1" and "0", respectively, and probability information is provided indicating the likelihood that a respective bit in the LDPC codeword is a "1" or "0"). The LDPC codeword read from the selected NVM device can then undergo error correction decoding to determine whether or not the LDPC codeword is valid. If the decoded LDPC codeword is found to be invalid or "faulty" (e.g., there may have been an error correction coding/decoding failure), then additional LDPC codewords can be read from the other NVM devices, and XOR data recovery can be performed using the additional LDPC codewords in an attempt to recover the desired LDPC codeword.
Such a detection of a faulty LDPC codeword may indicate, among other things, that a physical memory page on the selected NVM device is being affected by an underlying hardware defect (e.g., an open or short circuit), or that the selected NVM device has an intrinsically high residual bit error rate (RBER). In any case, it would be desirable to have a mechanism for managing defects in nonvolatile storage systems that can be used to avoid an inadvertent loss of data, while maintaining as much useful memory in the nonvolatile storage systems as possible.

Defect management policies for NAND flash memory