A method and apparatus for manufacturing electrodes for capacitors having a plurality of thin metal coatings on a ceramic dielectric substrate, with the coated substrates assembled in a monolithic structure. A layer of green ceramic material is formed on a support tape. This green ceramic tape is moved in registration with a stencil web overlying the tape. The stencil web has openings corresponding to the configuration of the conductive coating to be formed on the tape. The sandwich of tape and web is moved through a sputtering chamber in which a selected metal or alloy is sputtered from a target so as to fall on the stencil web, coating the ceramic tape wherever openings are present. The sputtering chamber is arranged so that initially the ceramic tape receives a light, low energy metal coating before being exposed to maximum sputtering. This allows a reflective coating to be formed to reflect thermal energy before the intensity of the thermal radiation reaches a level that would damage an uncoated ceramic. The coated ceramic substrate tape may then be divided and assembled into multi-layer monolithic capacitors. In a related embodiment, the metallic electrodes may be sputtered onto a plastic carrier film to form a transferable layer or decalcomania, with the electrodes later transferred to the surface of the ceramic substrate.

This invention relates in general to the manufacture of monolithic capacitors and, more specifically, to the production of metal electrodes on ceramic dielectric substrates for such capacitors.
Conventional multilayer capacitors generally consist of a number of alternate layers of conductive metal electrodes and dielectric layers, all connected in parallel so as to provide an increase in the electrical capacitance for a given area. This structure is generally referred to as a monolithic construction of electrodes and dielectrics or as a monolithic capacitor. The dielectric may be an insulating synthetic resin, a ceramic material or other insulator. A variety of conducting materials, typically metals, may be used in the electrodes.
At the present time, the electrodes are formed on a dielectric substrate through a "silk screen" printing process in which a type of printing ink comprising finely divided precious metal particles (typically having diameters of about 1 micrometer) dispersed in a resinous carrier are forced through a screen stencil onto the substrate. The conductive ink is generally deposited to a thickness of at least about 0.001 inch in order to provide the required conductivity. Because of the particulate nature of the conductor and the non-conductive resin matrix, the resulting layer does not have an optimum high conductivity. As the layer is made thinner than about 0.001 conductivity decreases to an undesirable degree, decreasing at an exponential rate until substantially zero conductivity results when the layer has a thickness substantially equal to the metal particle diameter. With 1 micrometer (0.0004 inch) particles, about 25 layers of particles are required to provide the necessary 0.001 inch thickness. Such electrodes have been found to be effective with dielectric substrates which also have thicknesses of about 0.001 inch.
Recently, dielectric materials have been developed which are effective even when used in sheets much thinner than 0.001 inch. Unfortunately, when capacitors having thick conductive electrodes on thin dielectric sheets are stacked to form multi-layer capacitors, the sheets do not conform well to the edges of the electrodes, leaving voids and sharp edges which are conducive to electrical breakdown of the capacitor in use.
Thus, the present methods of using silk screened capacitors with relatively thick electrodes and substrates tend to produce multilayer capacitors which are undesirably thick and undesirable for use with miniaturized electronic assemblies.
While silk screening remains the customary method of fabricating multilayer capacitors, attempts have been made to use other methods for applying a conductive layer to form the electrodes.
As described by Behn et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,329, simple capacitors have been made by vacuum evaporating a metal such as aluminum onto a substrate, followed by forming a layer of synthetic resin by gas polymerization, then vacuum evaporating another metal layer. This method is complex and cannot effectively produce multilayer ceramic capacitors comprising alternate layers of metal and ceramic dielectrics at high rates.
Another method of producing laminated capacitors is described by Behn in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,378,382 and 4,508,049. Here, carriers are located in recesses in a drum, which is rotated to move the carriers alternately through vacuum chambers which deposit a metal such as aluminum, then a synthetic resin dielectric, by vacuum deposition. This is another complex system, requiring complex seals where the drum enters and leaves the vacuum chambers. This method does not seem adaptable to ceramic dielectrics and precious metal electrodes in high temperature resistant capacitors.
Thus, there is a continuing need for methods and apparatus for producing high temperature resistant monolithic capacitors using thin ceramic dielectric substrates and thin precious metal electrodes.

Method for manufacturing electrodes for multilayer ceramic capacitors


A spin dryer for centrifugally removing water droplets attached to a plurality of substrates comprises a rotor having a main shaft formed in a lower portion, substrate holding means for holding a plurality of substrates such that main surfaces of the substrates are perpendicular to the main shaft of the rotor, the holding means being positioned in symmetry with respect to the main shaft of the rotor and rotated together with the rotor, a treating vessel surrounding the rotor and the substrate holding means, an air inlet port formed in an upper portion of the treating vessel for introducing air into the treating vessel, and an exhaust port formed in a side portion of the treating vessel in a manner to extend upward from the bottom portion of the treating vessel to reach at least the height position of the rotor.

The present invention relates to a spin dryer for centrifugally removing a liquid material from a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for LCD (liquid crystal display device) so as to dry the substrate surface and also relates to a substrate drying method.
In the manufacture of a semiconductor device, a semiconductor wafer is subjected to washing with chemicals and water, followed by drying the wafer so as to cleanse the wafer surface. Used in the drying step is a spin dryer disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,075, Japanese Utility Model Disclosure (Kokai) No. 63-180925, Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 7-17651, and Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 6-97148.
When it comes to the spin dryer disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,075, it is necessary to introduce a drying air effectively into the cradle and to distribute efficiently the introduced drying air into spaces between adjacent wafers in order to bring the drying air into contact sufficiently and uniformly with each wafer. Also, dusts generated from a driving source of the cradle and the peripheral equipment and particles generated by static charging are likely to be contained in the drying air, with the result that these particles are attached to the wafer in the drying step so as to bring about a wafer contamination problem. Further, it is possible for the air discharged through an outlet port of the drying chamber to flow backward into the drying chamber, with the result that the particles contained in the discharged air are likely to be attached to the wafer.
In the spin dryer disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Disclosure No. 63-180925, a pair of box-shaped cassette holders are rockably supported by a pair of frame walls erected on a rotor. The spin dryer is constructed to permit these cassette holders to be moved away from or toward each other. In this apparatus, cassettes each housing a large number of wafers are inserted into the paired cassette holders, followed allowing these cassette holders to be moved away from each other. Then, when the rotor is rotated under this condition, the cassette holders assume a horizontal posture so as to permit the liquid material attached to the wafer to be centrifugally removed from the wafer surface. In this apparatus, however, the wafers after the washing treatment are inserted together with the cassette into cassette holder. Naturally, the cassette holder occupies a larger volume, leading to enlargement of the drying apparatus. In addition, the cassette is also dried together with the wafers, leading to a longer time required for the drying operation. Further, since the cassette is inserted into the cassette holder, the flow of the drying air is disturbed, leading to a lower drying efficiency. Still further, the disturbance of the drying air flow causes the particles to be more likely to be attached to the wafers, leading to the wafer contamination problem.
The apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 7-176512 comprises a mount (cassette) for holding wafers transferred by a transfer arm and a box-shaped cradle for housing the mount (cassette). The cradle is equipped with a holding member for holding the mount in a lower position of the wafers and with another holding member for holding the mount in the central position of the wafers. Since the mount in place of a cassette is put in the box-shaped cradle, the volume occupied by the cradle is diminished, leading to miniaturization of the drying apparatus. However, since the cradle is in the shape of a box, a drying air flowing within the cradle is disturbed, leading to a low drying efficiency. In addition, the disturbance of the drying air flow causes particles to be attached to the wafer, leading to a wafer contamination problem.
Further, the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Disclosure No. 6-97148 comprises a pair of inclinable cradles positioned to face each other and a horizontal holding mechanism for horizontally holding these cradles. Also, holding mechanisms for holding the peripheral portions of the wafer are mounted to the side walls of each of these cradles so as to prevent the wafers from being dropped during rotation of the cradle. However, the wafer holding mechanism included in the apparatus disclosed in this prior art is considerably complex in construction. Also, since a spring force is utilized for holding the wafer, the contact area between the holding member and the wafer is increased. It follows that a foreign matter is likely to be attached to the wafer, giving rise to contamination of the wafer. Further, where the pushing force of the spring is excessively large, the wafer is likely to be deformed.
What should also be noted is that, in the conventional spin dryer, it is necessary to lessen the impact received by the wafer during rotation of the cradle at a high speed so as to prevent the damage done to the wafer.


A beverage crate includes a base and a plurality of walls extending upward from the base. The base together with the plurality of walls define a container interior for receiving beverage containers. By reconfiguring the crate, the storage volume of the container interior is selectively adjustable to accommodate different size beverage containers. Thus, the same crate could be used for different size beverage containers.

Beverage crates are typically designed for a particular beverage container (e.g. bottle or can) size and configuration. The interior volume defined by the base and walls of the crate is constant, whether the beverage crate is a nestable crate, collapsible crate, or a stackable full-depth crate. Sometimes, a beverage crate can accommodate a small number of beverage container variations, e.g. a taller bottle and a shorter bottle both having the same body diameter.


An engine start switch includes, a case member which includes a tubular support portion having an opening portion formed on the front side, a slide member which is slidably supported in a front-rear direction in the inner portion of the tubular support portion, an operation member which is connected to the front side of the slide member, and is movably supported in the front-rear direction in front of the tubular support portion, an annular coil antenna configured to radiate a radio wave signal forward, a wiring substrate which is electrically connected to the coil antenna, and detection means for detecting a rearward movement of the operation member. The coil antenna is attached to the front side of the wiring substrate to configure an antenna substrate assembly, and the antenna substrate assembly is attached to the case member to be positioned between the slide member and the operation member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an engine start switch, and particularly, to an engine start switch in which the number of components is decreased and assembly is simple.
2. Description of the Related Art
A system referred to as a keyless entry system is widely spread, which can perform locking or unlocking of a door in a vehicle or a vehicle operation such as starting and stopping of an engine using wireless communication between an on-board communication device mounted on the vehicle and a portable machine (hereinafter, abbreviated as an electronic key) referred to as an electronic key without using a mechanical type key.
In the keyless entry system, a radio signal (hereinafter, abbreviated as a request signal) referred to as a request signal is sent from the on-board communication device to the electronic key, and a radio signal (hereinafter, abbreviated as a response signal) referred to as a response signal corresponding to the request signal is sent from the electronic key to the on-board communication device.
In addition, authentication is performed based on the response signal which is received by the on-board communication device, and when the authentication is established, the above-described vehicle operation is permitted. For example, it is possible to start or stop the engine by operating an engine start switch which is disposed in the cabin of a vehicle.
In recent years, when a battery of the electronic key side is consumed and the response signal is not sent from the electronic key, as the engine start switch used in the keyless entry system, an engine start switch is in practical use, which includes a coil antenna capable of outputting drive radio waves generating an electromotive force for driving the circuit of the electronic key side when the electronic key is held in the vicinity of the engine start switch.
A technology with respect to the engine start switch is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,810,363. FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a start and stop switch device 101 (engine start switch) according to U.S. Pat. No. 8,810,363.
The start and stop switch device 101 performs collation (authentication) of an ID code (ID information) using wireless communication between a vehicle and a portable machine (electronic key), and is used as an ignition switch of a smart ignition system (keyless entry system) which starts an engine by operating an ignition switch when the collation is established.
As shown in FIG. 9, the start and stop switch device 101 includes a switch unit 158, a push button 159, a coil antenna 160, an antenna case member 166, a circuit substrate 173, a lid member 176, and a garnish 184 (cover member).
The antenna case member 166 includes a switch accommodating portion 169, a cylindrical portion 167 and a flange portion 168 which are formed on the front side of the switch accommodating portion 169, and a substrate accommodating portion 170 which is formed on the rear side of the switch accommodating portion 169. The switch unit 158 is accommodated in the switch accommodating portion 169, the coil antenna 160 is accommodated inside the cylindrical portion 167, and the circuit substrate 173 is accommodated in the substrate accommodating portion 170.
In addition, the push button 159 is disposed to cover the outer circumferential portion of the cylindrical portion 167, and the garnish 184 (cover member) is disposed to cover the outer circumferential portion of the push button 159. Moreover, the lid member 176 is disposed to cover the rear side of the circuit substrate 173.
The push button 159 receives a rearward pressing operation. The switch unit 158 switches a switching mode (a connection state or the like of the circuit) corresponding to the pressing operation with respect to the push button 159.
The coil antenna 160 includes a cylindrical bobbin 164, and a coil 120 which is formed by winding a wire around the outer circumferential portion of the bobbin 164. Both end portions of the coil 120 are connected to the circuit substrate 173 via a terminal 165 which is a wiring member. An electronic component is mounted on the circuit substrate 173, and generates electric signals becoming transponder drive radio waves (drive radio waves). In addition, the coil antenna 160 outputs (radiates the electric signals forward) the electric signals generated by the circuit substrate 173 as the transponder drive radio waves. The circuit substrate 173 is connected to an external circuit (not shown) via a wire (not shown) which extends to the outside through an opening portion 177 formed on the lid member 176.
The start and stop switch device 101 is configured as above. In addition, when the battery of the portable machine side is consumed and the radio signals is not sent from the portable machine, if the portable machine is held in the vicinity of the start and stop switch device 101, the coil antenna 160 outputs the transponder drive radio waves toward the portable machine. In addition, on the portable machine side, it is possible to generate an electromotive force for driving a transponder (response circuit) using the transponder drive radio waves.


A composite container is provided for vacuum packaging of products which is constructed, as follows. A hollow body portion defines a desired shape for the container and has an inside surface. A liner layer is in superimposed position within the body portion and covers the inside surface for receiving the product inside the liner layer and the body portion of the container. An elastic material is positioned between the body portion and the liner layer for movably attaching the liner layer to the body portion in the superimposed position while allowing the liner layer to constrict and move away from the body portion by stretching of the elastic material when a vacuum is formed on the product packaged in the container and then allowing the liner layer to move back into the superimposed position within the body portion of the container by retraction of the elastic material when the container is opened and the vacuum on the product is removed.

Composite containers have been utilized in lieu of metal, plastic or glass containers in many instances for packaging of various products including food products due to their cost efficiencies, etc. If these products are packaged with an internal vacuum, problems have arisen with respect to the strength of the body portion of the composite container to maintain its shape after a vacuum is pulled on the product.
In an effort to overcome this problem, a loose liner system has been utilized in these composite containers, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,425, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. As may be seen in this U.S. patent, a liner is utilized inside the composite container which is secured solely at the opposite ends thereof for a free inward collapsing of the liner with the product being packaged upon a vacuum being pulled on the product.
However, this composite container with a loose liner system produces additional problems. When the vacuum is released on the product after opening of the composite container, the incoming air does not push the liner back to its original position superimposed against the inside of the body portion of the container and the liner stays constricted or pulled up against the product. This causes the volume available to the product within the container to remain reduced and does not allow the product to settle back into the container. The product is at or near the opening of the container and causes difficulty in spooning or scooping the product without spillage. The product is also pressed against the liner and the end closures when under vacuum and embeds itself into these materials. When the vacuum is removed some of the product remains stuck to the liner and the end closures which causes product spillage. Also, the liner inside of the container looks baggy or loose when the product is removed, providing a bad impression to the customer.

Composite container for vacuum packaging of products


A wiper system (10), comprising a wiper arm (12) having a geometrical axis of rotation (x), a connecting arrangement (14) configured to connect the wiper arm to a motor-driven rotating shaft (100), wherein the connecting arrangement is configured to transfer the rotating motion of the shaft into a rotating motion of the wiper arm about said geometrical axis of rotation, a spring arrangement (24) configured to resiliently press the wiper arm against the connecting arrangement in the axial direction, and a tilting arrangement (30) configured to vary the inclination of the pressed wiper arm relative to said geometrical axis of rotation based on the rotational position of the wiper arm about said geometrical axis of rotation. There is also provided a vehicle comprising such a wiper arm system.

The vehicle industry is constantly striving to reduce fuel or power consumption. To this end more aerodynamic shapes of the vehicles are developed. This is the case not only for passenger cars, but also for trucks and other vehicles. For instance, for trucks, developers and designers strive to provide a more aerodynamic shape to the cab of the truck. This implies a more curved windscreen which impacts related features such as the windscreen wiper system of the vehicle. To achieve a good wipe with windscreen wipers, the attack angle of the wiper blade should be as normal to the windscreen as possible and maintaining a substantially constant angle to the same throughout the complete wiping motion. With a highly curved windscreen and a conventional wiper system this is not achievable for some parts of the windscreen.

Wiper system and a vehicle comprising such a wiper system


This invention relates to a hydrogen-absorbing alloy, and particularly provides a hydrogen-absorbing alloy having a body-centered cubic structure which has a periodical structure formed by spinodal decomposition, has a large hydrogen storage amount, has excellent hydrogen desorption characteristics and can mitigate activation conditions, the alloy comprises at least two elements of alloy components, wherein the relational curve between chemical free energy of solid solutions and an alloy composition has a shape describing an upwardly convexed curve, or said alloy comprises two solid solutions having a regular periodical structure formed by spinodal decomposition within a region satisfying the relation d.sup.2 G/dX.sub.B.sup.2 <0 (where G is chemical free energy and X.sub.B is a solute alloy concentration) as the principal phase.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hydrogen-absorbing alloy. More particularly, this invention relates to a hydrogen-absorbing alloy having a body-centered cubic lattice structure which has a periodical structure generated by spinodal decomposition, has a large hydrogen storage capacity, has excellent hydrogen desorption characteristics and can mitigate an activation condition.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Solar energy, atomic power, wind power, geothermal heat, re-utilization of waste heat, etc, have been proposed as new energy sources to replace fossil fuel from the aspect of the environmental problems of the earth. In any of these cases, the common problem is how to store and transport energy. A system which electrolyzes water by using solar energy or water power and uses the resulting hydrogen as an energy medium can be said to provide ultimate clean energy in the sense that the starting material is water and the product obtained by consuming this energy is water, too.
As one of the means for storing and transporting this hydrogen, a hydrogen-absorbing alloy can absorb and store a hydrogen gas to a capacity about 1,000 times the volume of the alloy itself, and its volume density is substantially equal to, or greater than, that of liquid or solid hydrogen. It has long been known that metals and alloys having a body-centered cubic lattice structure (hereinafter called the "BCC structure"), such as V, Nb, Ta, Ti--V alloys, etc, absorb and store greater amounts of hydrogen than an AB.sub.5 type alloy such as LaNi.sub.5 and an AB.sub.2 type alloy such as TiMn.sub.2 that have been already put into practical application. This is because the number of hydrogen absorbing sites in the crystal lattice is large in the BCC structure, and the hydrogen absorbing capacity according to calculation is as great as H/M=2.0 (about 4.0 wt % in alloys of Ti or V having an atomic weight of about 50).
A pure vanadium alloy absorbs and stores about 4.0 wt %, which is substantially similar to the value calculated from the crystal structure, and desorbs about half this amount at normal pressure and room temperature. It is known that Nb and Ta as the elements of the same Group 5A of the Periodic Table exhibit a large hydrogen storage capacity and excellent hydrogen desorption characteristics in the same way as vanadium.
Because pure V, Nb, Ta, etc, are extremely high in cost, however, the use of these elements is not realistic in industrial applications which require a considerable amount of the alloys such as a hydrogen tank or a Ni--MH cell. Therefore, properties of alloys have been examined within the range having a BCC structure such as Ti--V, but new problems have arisen in that these BCC alloys merely absorb and store hydrogen at a practical temperature and pressure but that their hydrogen desorption amount is small, in addition to the problems encountered in V, Nb and Ta in that the reaction rate is low and activating is difficult. As a result, alloys having a BCC phase as the principal constituent phase have not yet been put into practical application.
The conventional attempt to control the characteristics by alloying has been carried out by component design in all of the AB.sub.5 type, the AB.sub.2 type and the BCC type. However, the set range of the component does not exceed the category of the intermetallic compound single-phase and the BCC solid solution single-phase in all of these examples. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 59-78908 is an example of the prior art references in this field. As a method of producing a body-centered cubic lattice type alloy composition and its hydrides at room temperature, this reference discloses a method of producing metal hydrides which comprises reacting (a) a body-centered cubic system structure containing titanium and a second metal selected from the group consisting of molybdenum, vanadium and niobium, (b) a solid solution alloy containing at least about 1 atm % of a third metal selected from the group consisting of aluminum, cobalt, chromium, copper, manganese, nickel, iron, gallium, germanium, silicon and mixtures thereof under the state where the third metal is dissolved in the body-centered cubic structure system, when the second metal is vanadium or niobium or, whenever desired, when the second metal is molybdenum, and a hydrogen gas at a temperature of from about 0 to about 100.degree. C., whereby the reaction rate between the solid solution and hydrogen at this temperature is at least about 10 times the reaction rate between non-alloy titanium and hydrogen at this temperature and at an equal hydrogen pressure.
However, this prior art reference does not describe the case other than the solid solution single-phase at all, although the two-phase region exists in Ti--V and Ti--V--Fe systems in the case of the alloys having the BCC structure. Further, although the technology of this reference can mitigate the reaction rate and the activation condition, it cannot improve the desorption characteristics per se, that is, the mitigation of the desorption temperature and the pressure condition.
Several attempts have been made recently to obtain multi-phase alloys. For example, Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 4-80512 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,597) discloses an extremely broad concept including the single-phase and the multi-phase without specifying the crystal structures of the alloy phase. Though the patents and the researches of the hydrogen-absorbing alloys have been limited in the past to the category of the single-phase intermetallic compounds, this prior art reference describes the technology for controlling the optimum structures such as the combination of the multi-phases and the structures that can fully exploit the effects as the hydrogen-absorbing alloys, though the reference does not define the combinations of the phases, the structures and the components that give concrete effects. The Examples of the reference disclose multi-phase alloys having a crystallographically random structure originating from an amorphous phase, for quenched films.
Further, other prior art references include research papers ("Science", Vol. 260 (1993), pp. 176; "Electrical Steel Making", Vol. 66 (1995), pp. 123), and so forth. These references describe the deviation of the components from the stoichiometric composition of a Laves phase as an intermetallic compound in the AB.sub.2 alloy and the second phase that appears due to the addition of the third and fourth elements. However, these papers describe that the Laves phase as the principal phase exhibits the fundamental effects as the hydrogen-absorbing alloy, that is, the hydrogen-absorbing capacity, the hydrogen desorption temperature, the equilibrium pressure, etc, while the second phase is small in amount and is limited to the accompanying effects such as a mitigation of the activation condition, an improvement in durability, and so forth. As described above, the multi-phase technology according to the prior art has not yet succeeded in accomplishing a drastic increase of the hydrogen absorbing capacity and the mitigation of the absorption and desorption condition. The development of the technology capable of further improving these characteristics has therefore been desired.

Director-General of Agency of Industrial Science and Technology


A loop interference canceller that carries out an adaptive operation of responding to time variations of the phase or level of loop interference wave or key station wave at high speed and with high accuracy and reduces the size of an apparatus. The loop interference canceller of the present invention limits the number of data pieces of the transmission path characteristic estimation section, realizes expansion to the entire band not through interpolation but through 0 insertion in a frequency domain and windowing after time domain transformation to reduce the number of data pieces processed and speed up the adaptive operation of the loop interference canceller, and can thereby realize high trackability for time variations of the phase and level of loop interference wave or key station wave, increase the accuracy of processing inside, perform high accuracy cancellation operation, reduce the circuit scale and achieve an advantageous effect of realizing miniaturization of the apparatus.

In carrying out broadcast wave relay SFN (Single Frequency Network), for example, in terrestrial digital broadcasting, use of an OFDM transmission scheme is under study in recent years. The OFDM transmission scheme is a scheme whereby many carriers orthogonal to one another are modulated by digital data transmitted, those modulated signals are multiplexed and transmitted. The OFDM transmission scheme is characterized in that increasing the number of carriers used to several hundreds or several thousands extends the symbol time extremely and further adding a replica of a signal of the last part of an effective symbol period before the effective symbol period as a guard period signal makes the signal less susceptible to delay signals.
These features raise the possibility of a broadcasting network through a single frequency, that is, SFN, and therefore as described above, the OFDM transmission scheme is attracting attention as a transmission scheme for terrestrial digital broadcasting.
As a method of realizing an SFN, it is technologically easier to adopt a method of transmitting a signal to various relay broadcasting points using channels different from channels for broadcasting waves such as optical fibers and microwave and transmitting the signal at the same frequency. However, the method using optical fibers has a problem of channel cost and the method using microwave requires new frequency resources to be secured.
Therefore, there is a demand for the realization of an SFN through relays of broadcast wave without requiring additional frequency resources.
Realizing a broadcast wave relay SFN involves the possibility of causing deterioration of the quality of the relay signal and problems of oscillation, etc., of an amplifier because of a phenomenon of radio waves emitted from a transmission antenna wrapping around a reception antenna.
To prevent loop interference of the broadcast wave relay SFN, the following measures may be possibly taken:
(1) Reduce loop interference by arranging a transmission antenna separate from a reception antenna and using shielding by mountains and buildings, etc.
(2) Reduce loop interference by improving directional characteristics of transmission/reception antennas
(3) Cancel loop interference by signal processing technology
However, since there are various situations of mountains and buildings and sufficient suppression of loop interference cannot be expected from measures like improvement of directional characteristics of antennas alone, it is effective to use a loop interference canceller using the signal processing technology in (3) in addition to the measures in (1) and (2).
Conventionally, there is a proposal on a technique as such a signal processing technology (e.g., see Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 11-355160) which estimates a frequency characteristic of a loop interference transmission path from a received OFDM signal, carries out an IFFT (Inverse Fast Fourier Transform) on the frequency characteristic data of the estimated loop interference transmission path to transform it into impulse response data on the time axis, sets the impulse response data as filter factors in a transversal filter to thereby create a replica signal of the loop interference and cancel the loop interference by subtracting this replica signal from the received signal. Furthermore, as its high-speed calculation processing technology, there is a transmission path characteristic estimation section provided with a decimating processing circuit (e.g., see Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-223663). An example of the signal processing technology in a loop interference canceller will be explained using a drawing.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an example of an arrangement of pilot signals and shows an arrangement of pilot signals used in DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting- Terrestrial) scheme which is a European terrestrial digital broadcasting scheme and ISDB-T (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting-Terrestrial) scheme which is a Japanese terrestrial digital broadcasting scheme.
White circles in FIG. 1 represent data carriers and black circles represent pilot carriers (SP: Scattered Pilot) which are scatteringly arranged.
Furthermore, in FIG. 1, k on the horizontal axis (frequency axis) denotes a carrier number and n on the vertical axis (time axis) denotes a symbol number. At this time, an SP signal is transmitted using a carrier having a carrier number k=kp that satisfiers the following (Expression 1). (Where, "mod" in the expression denotes a calculation of a remainder and "p" denotes a non-negative integer.)kp=3(n mod 4)+12p  (Expression 1)
From this (Expression 1), it is clear that the carrier number of the SP is determined by the remainder of 4 of the symbol number n.
Furthermore, the SP signal is modulated based on a pseudo-random code string, the amplitude and phase thereof are determined by only the carrier number k arranged and do not depend on the symbol number n. How to determine the amplitude and phase is not important to this explanation and will be omitted, but it is determined by the remainder of 4 of the symbol number n as in the case of the carrier number of the SP.
Furthermore, at the right end of carriers, pilot signals are placed independently of symbol numbers. This pilot signal is also modulated based on a pseudo-random code string and the amplitude and phase thereof are determined by the remainder of 4 of the symbol number n. When the remainder of 4 of the symbol number n is 0, this pilot signal also follows (Expression 1), and therefore hereafter, pilot signals will also be included in the definition pilot carriers or SP.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a loop interference canceller 3.
Inside a filter factor generation section 33, a transmission path characteristic estimation section 331 estimates a transmission path characteristic F(ω) from an output s(t) of a subtractor 31 and the output is supplied to an input of a residual characteristic calculation circuit 3309.
Inside the transmission path characteristic estimation section 331, an FFT (First Fourier Transform) circuit 3301 extracts a signal whose length corresponds to an effective symbol period from the output s(t) of the subtractor 31, applies an FFT to thereby transform s(t) which is a signal in a time domain into a signal in a frequency domain and the output s(ω) is supplied to an input of a symbol number extraction circuit 3302 and a first input of an SP extraction circuit 3303.
The symbol number extraction circuit 3302 extracts a symbol number for specifying the carrier number of SP from information on symbols such as TMCC (Transmission Multiplexing Configuration Control) included in the input s(ω). After symbol numbers are extracted once, adding the symbol numbers may also substitute for extraction processing. The remainder of 4 of the symbol number which is minimum information necessary to specify the carrier number, amplitude and phase of SP is output and the output is supplied to the respective second inputs of the SP extraction circuit 3303, a transmission path characteristic calculation circuit 3304 and an SP combination circuit 3305. Hereinafter, the symbol number will no longer be used directly, and therefore the remainder of 4 of the symbol number will be renamed a "symbol number."
According to the specification of the symbol number extraction circuit 3302, the SP extraction circuit 3303 extracts a signal Sp(ω) of only the SP signal from the output s(ω) of the FFT circuit 3301 and the output Sp(ω) is supplied to a first input of a transmission path characteristic calculation circuit.
According to the specification of the symbol number extraction circuit 3302, the transmission path characteristic calculation circuit 3304 generates a specified SP signal Xp(ω) whose amplitude and phase are known inside, divides the SP signal Sp(ω) which is the output of the SP extraction circuit 3303 by the Xp(ω) to calculate a transmission path characteristic Fp(ω) with respect to SP and the output is supplied to a first input of the SP combination circuit 3305.
The SP combination circuit 3305 stores transmission path characteristic Fp(ω) corresponding to four symbols for the SP, combines the SP distributed to the four symbols into the original arrangement of carriers according to the instruction of the symbol number extraction circuit 3302 and newly outputs a transmission path characteristic Fp′(ω) corresponding to the combined SP. That is, it rearranges carriers in order of left end of Fp(ω) with symbol number 0, left end of Fp(ω) with symbol number 1, left end of Fp(ω) with symbol number 2, left end of Fp(ω) with symbol number 3, second from the left end of Fp(ω) with symbol number 0, . . . . The transmission path characteristic Fp′(ω) with respect to the combined SP which is the output is supplied to interpolation circuit 3306.
The interpolation circuit 3306 interpolates the transmission path characteristic Fp′(ω) scatteringly obtained with respect to the combined SP and estimates a transmission path characteristic for the entire signal band.
That is, the interpolation circuit 3306 interpolates the transmission path characteristic at the positions of data carriers deleted from between SPs and obtains a transmission path characteristic for the entire signal band using the transmission path characteristic for the already calculated SP. There may be various possible methods for interpolation such as a method of applying a low pass filter in the carrier direction. This method realizes interpolation by carrying out a convolutional calculation according to an impulse response of the low pass filter. However, from the standpoint of accuracy and stability, the impulse response cannot be helped but be set to a finite length. The interpolation circuit 3306 outputs the transmission path characteristic for the entire signal band obtained and the output is supplied to a decimating circuit 3308.
The decimating circuit 3308 decimates data and reduces the number of data pieces to shorten the processing time in the subsequent circuits. The decimating processing is carried out in such a way as to prevent the phase relationship from being shifted by the transform into the time axis at the IFFT circuit 3310 and prevent the position of carrier data which becomes a central frequency of IFFT processing from being shifted. Under the constraint of IFFT processing, data is decimated for every power of 2 in the number of data pieces. The number of data pieces decreases as the decimating interval increases, but as described in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-223663, there is a practical limit and it is limited to approximately 2 or 4. Furthermore, when data is not decimated, the decimating circuit can be omitted. The data F(χ) after the decimating is output from the transmission path characteristic estimation section 331 and the output is supplied to the residual characteristic calculation circuit 3309.
FIG. 3 schematically expresses the internal operation of the transmission path characteristic estimation section 331. The operation has already been explained, and therefore the figure will be used only for reference and explanations thereof will be omitted.
The residual characteristic calculation circuit 3309 calculates a cancellation residual E(ω) from the output F(ω) of the transmission path characteristic estimation section 331 and the output is supplied to the IFFT circuit 3310.
The IFFT circuit 3310 carries out an IFFT on the output E(ω) of the residual characteristic calculation circuit 3309 to thereby transform a residual E(ω) in the frequency domain into a residual e(t) in the time domain and the output is supplied to a factor updating circuit 3311.
The factor updating circuit 3311 calculates a filter factor w_new(t) from the output e(t) of the IFFT circuit 3310 based on a predetermined factor updating expression and the output is supplied as the output w_fir(t) of the filter factor generation section 33 to a second input of a FIR filter 32.
Then, the condition under which the loop interference canceller 3 cancels loop interference will be explained.
First, the output F(ω) of the transmission path characteristic estimation section 331 is expressed by (Expression 2).
                              F                                (            ω            )                          =                              w_in                                      (              ω              )                                            1            -                          {                                                w_in                                                        (                    ω                    )                                                      w_out                                                        (                    ω                    )                                                      w_loop                                                        (                    ω                    )                                                  -                                  w_fir                                                        (                    ω                    )                                                              }                                                          (                  Expression                                                              2                )
Therefore, the condition under which the loop interference signal is canceled by the subtractor 31 is expressed by (Expression 3).w—in(ω)w—out(ω)w—loop(ω)=w—fir(ω)  (Expression 3)
Here, when the cancellation residual E(ω) is defined as shown in (Expression 4),E(ω)=w—in(ω)w—out(ω)w—loop(ω)−w—fir(ω)   (Expression 4)to modify (Expression 2), then (Expression 5) is obtained.
                              E                                (            ω            )                          =                  1          -                                    w_in                                            (                ω                )                                                    F                                            (                ω                )                                                                        (                  Expression                                                              5                )
Here, suppose the frequency characteristic of the reception section is flat within the signal band using a simplified model. The transfer function w_in(ω) becomes constant D and is calculated within the residual characteristic calculation circuit 3309 based on (Expression 6).
                    D        =                              ∑            ω                                          F                                      (              ω              )                                                          (                  Expression                                                              6                )
At this time, the cancellation residual E(ω) is expressed by (Expression 7).
                              E                                (            ω            )                          =                  1          -                      D                          F                                            (                ω                )                                                                        (                  Expression                                                              7                )
Furthermore, the factor updating expression at the factor updating circuit 3311 is defined by (Expression 8)w—new(t)=w—old(t)+μe(t)  (Expression 8)where, w_old(t) in (Expression 8) is a factor before updating and μ is a non-negative constant of 1 or below.
In the above described configuration, feedback control operates so that the cancellation residual E(ω) which is a difference between the loop interference transfer function w_loop(ω)w_out(ω) and transfer function w_fir(ω) of the FIR filter 32 converges to 0 and only the key station wave component is output to the output s(t) of the loop interference canceller 3.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram in which annotations are made on the number of data pieces processed at various sections of the loop interference canceller 3. Connections in the respective sections and their processing are completely the same as those in FIG. 2, and therefore explanations of their operations will be omitted. The number of data pieces applies to the case of the transfer in mode 3 of the aforementioned ISDB-T scheme.
At the input/output of the FFT circuit 3301, the input of the symbol number extraction circuit 3302 and the first input of the SP extraction circuit 3303, the number of data pieces is 8192. At the output of the SP extraction circuit 3303, the first input and output of the transmission path characteristic calculation circuit 3304 and the first input of the SP combination circuit 3305, the number of data pieces is 469 which is the number of SPs included in one symbol. At the output of the SP combination circuit 3305 and the input of the interpolation circuit 3306, the number of data pieces is 1873 which is the number of SPs corresponding to four symbols (however, the pilot at the right end is common). At the output of the interpolation circuit 3306 and the input of the decimating circuit 3308, the number of data pieces represents a carrier allocation, and therefore it is 8192 in the same way as the input/output of the FFT circuit 3301. At the output of the decimating circuit 3308, the input/output of the residual characteristic calculation circuit 3309 and the input/output of the IFFT circuit 3310, the number of data pieces changes according to how data is reduced by the decimating processing, but it is the same number of data pieces and realistically 2048 or 4096 or 8192.
This loop interference canceller is required to provide high trackability with respect to time variations of the phase and level of a loop interference wave or key station wave, high accuracy cancellation operation and miniaturization of the apparatus.
However, in the above described configuration, the transmission path characteristic of the entire signal band is estimated through interpolation on the transmission path characteristic by SPs first and then the residual characteristic is calculated, and therefore the number of data pieces increases, which prevents high-speed processing, and moreover the incompleteness of the impulse response of a low pass filter used for interpolation (e.g., finite length) reduces the estimation accuracy of the transmission path characteristic and there is also a problem that the low pass filter requires a large circuit scale.

Wraparound canceller, relay system, and wraparound cancelling method

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method and apparatus for encoding information in a reference beacon signal for use in a time-difference-of-arrival/frequency-difference-of-arrival (TDOA/FDOA) geolocation system. Information is encoded in the reference beacon signal using variations in the times and frequencies of sequential reference signal transmissions. The encoded information may include an identifier associated with the transmitter of the reference beacon signal. A geolocation system receiving the reference beacon signal can thus differentiate it from non-cooperative target emissions as well as from other reference beacon signals.

Errors in time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) and frequency-difference-of-arrival (FDOA) measurements used to perform geolocation of non-cooperative emitters (i.e., signals of unknown format or content, transmitted from an unknown location) can be reduced by use of a reference beacon that transmits a signal from a known position. By performing a reverse geolocation using signals transmitted from a reference beacon having a known position and velocity, it is possible to estimate bias errors in the TDOA/FDOA measurements taken by the geolocation system. The estimated bias errors can then be subtracted from measurements taken of non-cooperative emitter signals to reduce the bias error in those measurements. Such correction is typically performed by a reference correction processor that is part of or operates in conjunction with the geolocation system.
Typically, TDOA/FDOA collection receivers do not, or cannot, differentiate between signals received from a non-cooperative (or target) emitter and signals received from a reference beacon. It is up to the geolocation or reference correction processor to differentiate between the two types of signals and to process each type appropriately.
In addition to identifying whether a received signal is associated with a target emitter or a reference beacon, the reference correction processor may also need to associate a given reference correction signal with the individual reference beacon that transmitted it, so that its location can be determined.
TDOA/FDOA geolocation systems currently deployed by the U.S. Government differentiate between target emitters and reference beacons and identify the source of a particular reference signal by the fact that the geolocation (or reference correction) processor directly controls the times and frequencies of the reference beacon transmissions. The geolocation processor knows a priori when in time and at which frequency transmissions from a particular reference beacon will arrive at the collectors associated with the system. This precludes the possibility of a reference beacon randomly initiating reference signal transmissions without coordination with the geolocation processor.
In order to control the transmissions of a reference beacon from a geolocation processor, a communications link is required between the two. Such a link is typically provided by a data communications network. Even with such an arrangement, however, the determination that a signal received by a geolocation system is that of a specific reference beacon, or of a reference beacon at all, is not entirely unambiguous.

Reference beacon identification using transmission sequence characteristics


Suction roll for a paper machine for dewatering a material web guided on transport belt in a web run direction. The suction roll includes a roll jacket over which the transport belt is guided, a first, external suction box that partially encompasses the suction roll and that is adapted to create a vacuum to suction the material web. The first suction box is adapted to suction at least one gusset formed between the roll jacket and the transport belt. The suction roll further includes a second suction box positioned to border the first suction box.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a suction roll for dewatering a material web guided on a transport belt in a paper machine. The suction roll includes a roll jacket over which the transport belt is guided, and a first external suction box that partially encompasses an outer periphery of the roll jacket and that is adapted to create a vacuum that suctions a gusset formed between the material web and the roll jacket.
2. Discussion of Background Information
A suction roll of the type generally discussed above is known, e.g., from GB-A-713 190. In the known arrangement, a felt guides a material web over a guide roll and through downstream nips formed by an upper press roll and two lower press rolls. The first nip is formed by a lower press roll composed of a suction roll. A first suction box is positioned in front of the suction roll and is sealed against the suction roll and against the felt in a region between the gusset and the guide roll. A second suction box extends into the two gussets formed between the upper press roll and the suction roll and between the upper press roll and the other, i.e., downstream, lower press roll, and is sealed at the bottom against the surface of the suction roll and the downstream press roll.
The dewatering effect of the suction roll can be improved with the first suction box, however, sealing of the suction box against the felt in the vicinity of the inlet gusset and in the vicinity of the upstream guide roll is not adequately achieved by a sealing plate that extends over an entire width of the suction box and that extends from the upstream guide roll to a region just in front of the inlet gusset. A wide sealing plate of this type is complex and expensive, and, because it abrades the felt, is not particularly well suited for high web running speeds. Moreover, the second suction box is also complex and expensive in that it is difficult to mount due to the narrowed space conditions.
A further problem associated with known suction rolls of the type generally discussed above is that unwanted air is sucked in. In an attempt to avoid this problem, upstream suction boxes have been utilized in rolls discussed in, e.g., CH-A-608 257, AT-A-340 763, DE-A-2 741 144, DE-A-311 570, or U.S. Pat. No. 3,291,680.
In these publications, the suction roll is encompassed on both sides by the suction box, see, e.g., AT-A-340 763. However, this arrangement also suffers from the same drawbacks discussed above, e.g., suctioning unwanted air.

Dual external suction boxes for suction roll for a paper machine


Various techniques are provided for training a neural network to classify images. A convolutional neural network (CNN) is trained using training dataset comprising a plurality of synthetic images. The CNN training process tracks image-related metrics and other informative metrics as the training dataset is processed. The trained inference CNN may then be tested using a validation dataset of real images to generate performance results (e.g., whether a training image was properly or improperly labeled by the trained inference CNN). In one or more embodiments, a training dataset and analysis engine extracts and analyzes the informative metrics and performance results, generates parameters for a modified training dataset to improve CNN performance, and generates corresponding instructions to a synthetic image generator to generate a new training dataset. The process repeats in an iterative fashion to build a final training dataset for use in training an inference CNN.

In the field of image processing, there is an ongoing need for efficient and reliable ways to detect and classify objects of interest within a field of view (e.g., a scene) of an imaging device. In one approach, various images of an object of interest are collected into a training dataset for training a neural network to classify the object. The training images may be generated with a camera capturing images of the object at various angles and in various setting. A training dataset often includes thousands of images for each object classification, and can be time consuming, expensive and burdensome to produce. Some training images may be impractical to capture using a camera due to a risky location, an attempt to capture an image of a rare and unpredictable occurrence, or a large number of imaging scenarios that are needed. Further, training a neural network can be time consuming and processing intensive, taking several days or longer to work through a training dataset. As a result, such image classification neural networks may be difficult to adapt to new objects and environments and/or update with new training data. In view of the foregoing, there is a continued need for improved object detection and classification solutions that are easily adaptable to new use cases and that provide performance or other advantages over conventional systems.

Closed loop automatic dataset creation systems and methods


A method for managing user nametags for a vehicle communications system includes receiving a nametag transfer request at a call center from a source, determining a target vehicle based on the request, generating a nametag data file including a text data file, a phoneme set, and an audio data file for each nametag, and transmitting the nametag data file to the target vehicle.

The opportunity to personalize features in a mobile vehicle is ever increasing as the automobile is being transformed into a communications and entertainment platform as well as a transportation platform. Many new cars will be installed with some type of telematics unit to provide wireless communication and location-based services. These services may be accessed through interfaces such as voice-recognition computer applications, touch-screen computer displays, computer keyboards, or a series of buttons on the dashboard or console of a vehicle.
Currently, telematics units in mobile vehicles establish a communication channel between an in-vehicle mobile phone and a receiver phone responsive to a user speaking a nametag to identify the phone number of the receiver phone. A user programs the nametags and the related phone numbers into the telematics unit from inside the vehicle. A user can also program the nametags and the related phone numbers into the in-vehicle mobile phone or a personal mobile phone.
The telematics unit and the mobile phone include an automated speech recognition (ASR) engine to correlate the spoken nametag with a plurality of phoneme sets. When a user buys a new vehicle with an embedded telematics unit the user generally wants to have some or all of the nametags from the initial vehicle in the new vehicle. Currently, the user must be in the new vehicle to input the list of nametags from the previous vehicle into the new vehicle for recognition by the ASR engine. Likewise, if a user buys a new vehicle with a telematics unit and wants to have the nametags from a mobile phone in the new vehicle, the user must be in the new vehicle to input the list of nametags from the mobile phone into the new vehicle for recognition by the ASR engine.
It is desirable to transfer the nametags from the initial vehicle, a website or a mobile phone to the new vehicle without requiring the user to be in the new vehicle and without requiring the user needing to recall all the nametags in the initial vehicle or mobile phone.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and system for modifying nametag files for transfer between vehicles


Computer-implemented methods and computer program products for automatically transferring expressions between rigs with consistent joint structure, and for automatically transferring skin weights between different skin meshes based on joint positioning. A method is provided for transferring an expression between a source rig and a target rig, where each rig characterizes an animated character, and each rig, in turn, is characterized by a set of joints and a skin mesh having a plurality of vertices, with each vertex characterized by a matrix of weights relating a response of the vertex to movement of associated joints. A set of offsets is calculated of joint positions of a goal expression of the source rig relative to a neutral expression of the source rig. A scaling transformation is then applied to the set of offsets to produce a scaled set of offsets, which are added, in turn, to a neutral expression of the target rig. Methods are also provided for transferring a set of skin weights between a source rig and a target rig.

An animated character rig consists of a joint hierarchy connected to a skin mesh, together defining the topology of some portion of a character's anatomy, typically the character's head. An example of such a rig is shown in FIG. 1. In a head rig, altering the positions of the joints serves as a mechanism for manipulating expressions.
The current state of the art in animation of heads is provided in Richie et al., "The Art of Rigging", (CG Toolkit, 2005), which is incorporated herein by reference.
Joints of a head rig may be represented as a set of m vectors (xi, yi, zi). One or more of the joints is assigned to each vertex of a skin mesh, each with an associated weighting value, which defines how much a specific joint or combination of joints influences the vertex in a deformation process as the joints undergo motion.
Skin meshes are defined by sets of connected vertices. The movement of each vertex is determined by a weighted linear combination of joint movements. A vector of skin weights is stored with respect to each vertex, where the elements of each vector represent the influence of each joint on the particular vertex. A rigged character has all skin weights set to produce realistic skin deformation as joints move. Producing such a set of skin weights is a time-consuming and highly skilled task.
By virtue of the association of joints and skin mesh vertices, each joint causes a set of vertices of the skin mesh to move in a weighted linear manner. An expression is created by adjusting joint positions and setting skin weights until the desired skin shape is achieved.
In accordance with current practice, skin weights are static for each rig and affect the topology of all expressions. Defining skin weights ("skinning") for a character is a time-consuming and skilled process, as care must be taken to ensure a good skin topology for all realistic joint positions.
During character creation ("rigging"), each rig requires a number of basic expressions to be defined, for example mouth open, smile, left eye blink, raise brows, etc. These basic expressions will be combined linearly by an animator to produce a full range of realistic facial appearance. It is typically required to define around 100 basic expressions to allow animators to achieve realistic results. Each of these basic expressions must be replicated across every rig to provide animators with a consistent character interface. The process of replicating each basic expression for every rig in development is time consuming and potentially error prone when performed manually.
For these reasons, there is a clear need for automatic methods of transferring skin weights, and joint positions defining expressions, between rigs.

Development tools for animated character rigging


A catheter includes a body having tubular walls defining a lumen extending along an axis from the distal end of the body to a proximal end of the body. Portions of the walls define at least one balloon hole extending from the lumen through the walls of the body. Elastomeric material restrained to the hole defining portions interiorly of the body expand outwardly of the (catheter) body to form a balloon when the lumen is pressurized with fluid. The elastomeric material my take the form of a patch or a full lining of the catheter walls defining the lumen. A method for making the catheter includes the step of retaining portions of an elastomeric layer around the hole interiorly of the lumen. A preferred method of manufacturing the catheter includes the step of providing the catheter body and an inner layer of elastomeric sheet material simultaneously in a co-extruder.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to catheters adapted for use in surgical procedures and more specifically to catheters having inflatable balloons.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In many surgical procedures it is desirable to introduce an elongate flexible object into a body conduit and to enlarge the distal end of that object at an operative site. Catheters are well known to perform this function, and in one common variety a balloon is disposed at the distal end of the catheter to provide for the desired enlargement. When this balloon is inflated, it typically exceeds the radial diameter of the catheter.
Several surgical procedures, such as embolectomy and angioplasty procedures, take advantage of this balloon catheter construction. In an embolectomy procedure, the distal end of the catheter is introduced beyond a thrombus or embolus, the balloon is inflated, and the catheter with enlarged balloon is withdrawn. In this procedure, the enlarged balloon pushes the thrombus or embolus out of the vessel as the catheter is withdrawn.
In an angioplasty procedure, the balloon of the catheter is inflated in proximity to athroscorotic plaque. In this common procedure, the pressure of the balloon forces the plaque against the vessel walls hereby enlarging the flow path through the vessel. These and other techniques benefiting from balloon catheter technology are disclosed in the following patents which are incorporated herein by reference:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Inventor ______________________________________ 3,438,375 R. Ericson 3,866,599 C. Johnson 4,217,903 R. Witherow 4,254,774 J. Boretos 4,823,812 U. Eshel 4,913,701 A. Tower 5,036,868 A. Berggren ______________________________________
In all of these procedures, the initial diameter of the catheter is of particular interest. This elongate flexible structure is typically introduced through long, sometimes torturous, conduits in order to reach the operative site. In some cases, these conduits are quite narrow so that the diameter of the catheter is of critical importance. Such is the case with arteries in the hand of a patient. An embolectomy procedure performed in these environments might require a catheter having a diameter as small as 1 French.
The problem with achieving catheter diameters of this size has been significantly compounded in the case of balloon catheters. With these devices, the balloon structure has typically been provided on the outside of the catheter thereby increasing the diameter of the device. An inflation hole extends through the catheter wall into an inflation lumen of the catheter. The balloon with a cylindrical configuration is disposed over this hole and wound on the catheter body to form a seal on either side of the hole. By pressurizing the inflation lumen, an inflation fluid passes through the hole to inflate the balloon beyond the outer surface of the catheter body.
Attempts have been made to reduce the overall thickness of this balloon structure. The catheter wall has been thinned so that the diameter of the balloon windings can be formed in a recess. This has weakened the catheter walls so that the balloon windings tend to compress the lumen of the catheter. In some instances, metal bushings have been placed over the recess to prevent the collapse of the catheter walls. In such a combination, the total thickness of the catheter is determined by the thickness of four separate structural elements, the catheter wall, the bushing, the balloon and the winding. Since each of these elements has a cylindrical configuration, the wall thickness of each element is doubled in defining the diameter of the total construction. Thus, the catheter body provides two wall thicknesses in the overall diameter of the catheter. Similarly, the bushings, the balloon, the windings and any glue associated with the winding structure each add two thicknesses of material to the diameter of the catheter. As a consequence, eight layers of material have typically contributed to the overall thickness of the catheter.
In spite of the many disadvantages relating to the overall size of such catheters, the methods for constructing the catheter have demanded this configuration. The catheter body has typically been extruded, and any recesses provided in the catheter wall have been machined along with the inflation hole. Bushings have been placed over the recesses. The balloon in the initial form of a cylindrical elastic material has been positioned across the inflation hole and the balloon has been stretched and wound over the bushings. Gluing these windings in place has completed formation of the balloon structure.
Based on this method, typical of the prior art, the entire balloon structure has been formed on the exterior of the catheter body because of its accessibility. The detrimental effect on the overall diameter of the catheter has been accepted without recourse, but it has necessarily limited any possibility of providing balloon catheters in sizes smaller than 2 Fr.


An eyewear type viewer having left and right LCD panels for the left and right eyes is arranged so that both LCD panels are driven and controlled by a single LCD drive circuit and a single timing control circuit, to reduce the weight and cost of the viewer. The timing control circuit controls the timings of the left and right LCD panels synchronously by sending a common timing control signal to both of the left and right panels, or controls the left and right panels individually by producing a first timing control signal for the left panel and a second timing control signal for the right panel. The timing control circuit may include a comparator which receives a composite control signal composed of a first component representing a write/hold signal, and a second component representing a quasi vertical synchronizing signal, and which separates the write/hold signal from the quasi vertical synchronizing signal.

The present invention relates to a LCD display system, such as an eyewear type viewer, having two liquid crystal display panels.
An eyewear type viewer is a device adapted to be worn over the left and right eyes like a pair of eyeglasses or goggles. The eyewear type viewer may have one LCD panel for both eyes or may have left and right LCD panels for the left and right eyes. Usually, the eyewear type viewer further includes one or more eyepiece lenses through which the eyes view the image or images formed by the LCD panel or panels. The eyewear type viewer is expected to serve as a display system for achieving stereoscopy and virtual reality, or a private video monitor.
Japanese Patent Application (Hei) 3-256836 shows a stereoscopic viewer which utilizes the afterimage effect (or memory effect) of the LCD. This viewer provides a stereoscopic representation by producing a picture for the left eye and a picture for the right eye, transmitted alternately by a video signal, and holds the pictures in the next field. The conventional viewer, however, requires a left drive circuit for driving the left LCD and a right drive circuit for driving the right LCD.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application (Shou) 63-331968, there is known a noiseless video representing technique (crystal, clean, still/slow) in a speed change reproduction of a VTR, which utilizes the afterimage effect. In this technique, the video signal produced during the speed change reproduction includes fields with noise, and fields without noise. On the noiseless fields, images are displayed in the normal writing manner. On each field having noise, the image of the most recent noiseless field is held (retained). In this way, the conventional display system achieves the noiseless speed change reproduction. In this case, the image reproducing equipment such as a VTR must supply a write/hold signal for controlling the timing schedules of writing and holding and a quasi vertical synchronizing signal used for the speed change reproduction.
The conventional viewer is disadvantageous, however, specifically in weight and cost because the conventional device requires two of the drive circuits for the left and right LCD panels. Besides, the two separate drive circuits tend to provide an unnatural feeling by producing unbalanced images for the left and right eyes because of a deviation between the output signals of the two drive circuits.
The conventional system further requires two signal lines and terminals for transmitting the write/hold signal and the quasi vertical synchronizing signal. In this point, too, the conventional system is not adequate for weight reduction and cost reduction.


There is provided an image display medium that includes: a pair of substrates at least one of that is light-transmissive; a liquid enclosed between the substrates; and three or more types of colored particles dispersed in the liquid that move in accordance with electric fields applied between the substrates and have different colors and charge characteristics, wherein at least one type of the colored particles has an opposite polarity from at least one other type of colored particles.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image display medium, an image display device, a storage medium storing an image display program, and an image display method.
2. Related Art
Image display media using colored particles are known as conventional image display media which have a memory property and which can be rewritten repeatedly. Such an image display medium is structured to include, for example, a pair of substrates, and plural types of particle groups having different colors and different charge characteristics which are enclosed between the substrates and can move between the substrates due to an applied electric field. Further, there are also cases in which spacing members for partitioning the region between the substrate into plural cells are provided between the substrates for reasons such as preventing the particles from concentrating at one region between the substrates.
In such an image display medium, the particles are moved by voltage, which corresponds to an image, being applied between the pair of substrates, and the image is displayed as the contrast of the particles of the different colors. Note that, even after application of voltage is stopped, the particles remain adhered to the substrates due to van der Waals force and image force, and the image display is maintained.

Image display medium, image display device, storage medium storing an image display program, and image display method


A differential impulse conveyor (10) includes a tray (12) laterally moveable in a forward direction at a first speed and in a backward direction at a second speed greater than the first speed, thereby moving goods along the tray. A plurality of legs (18, 20) support the tray during lateral movement, and a motor (30) powers a drive pulley (30). A driven pulley (36) is powered by the drive pulley, and a flexible member (34) interconnects the driven pulley and the drive pulley. At least the driven pulley has an eccentric pulley axis, thereby imparting lateral movement to the tray. A tension mechanism (38, 40) is provided to take up slack in the flexible member.

Various types of conveyors have been devised which employ an elongate tray or pan having a planar surface for transporting goods thereon. These trays conventionally have sides projecting upwardly from the planar floor of the tray, such that the tray has a generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration. Conveyors with these types of trays are preferred for various applications since the goods transported along the tray need only engage the tray during the conveying operation, and since the tray may be easily cleaned.
One type of conveyor which utilizes such a tray is a vibratory conveyor or shaker conveyor. These types of conveyors utilize a drive mechanism which essentially vibrates the tray, so that goods move along a slightly inclined or horizontal tray floor due to the forward direction imparted to the goods while raised off the floor. An earlier version of a conveyor drive is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,374,663, which utilizes a pair of crank arms. The crank arm causes a change in the rotational speed of a driven pulley. Other drives for a vibratory conveyor system are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,260,052, 4,913,281, 5,404,996, 6,019,216, 6,230,875, 6,276,518, 6,415,912, and 6,435,337. More recent drives for vibratory conveyors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,719,124 and 6,868,960. U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,655 is directed to a timing belt tensioner.
Differential impulse conveyors have significant advantage over vibratory conveyors for many applications. Differential impulse conveyors slide goods along a tray, but do not require vertical movement of the goods with respect to the tray. Goods conveyed with a differential impulse conveyor are thus generally subject to less damage than goods transported by a vibratory conveyor. Moreover, the drive mechanism itself may operate in a quieter manner and may be less susceptible to maintenance problems. An early version of a drive for an inertial conveyor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,278. Drives for differential impulse conveyors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,794,757, 6,079,548, 6,189,683, 6,398,013, 6,415,911 and 6,527,104. Another type of differential impulse conveyor drive is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,216,757.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention, and an improved differential impulse conveyor and a drive for such a conveyor are hereinafter disclosed.

Differential impulse conveyor with improved drive


Methods and apparatuses for performing inter-color-plane prediction with adaptability to various existing video content representations are provided. A plurality of predetermined rescaling schemes based on a color plane format is selected. A first block of original samples of a first color plane is encoded into a compressed bitstream. A block of reconstructed samples of the first color plane is reconstructed. An inter-color-plane prediction process is performed to produce samples of a second color plane. Said block of prediction samples of the second color plane is subtracted from a second block of original samples of the second color plane to produce a block of residual samples of the second color plane where the positions of the first block and the second block of original samples are aligned. Finally, the block of residual samples of the second color plane is encoded.

State-of-the-art video coding schemes, such as MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, and the upcoming HEVC (High-Efficiency Video Coding), support coding of image and video contents comprising one or more color planes/components. An example of such video contents is video data in YUV color space with 4:2:0 chroma format (color plane format). YUV color space comprises one luminance plane (Y) and two chrominance planes (U and V), while 4:2:0 chroma format indicates that the resolution of the two chrominance planes is horizontally and vertically half of the luminance plane resolution. Some examples of the commonly used color plane formats are illustrated in FIG. 1.
At aligned positions (as illustrated in FIG. 2), different color planes of an image often contain object shapes and features that are correlated or similar to a certain extent. By utilizing such a correlation, inter-color-plane prediction can be performed in which samples of a second color plane (such as the U plane) are predicted from prior reconstructed samples of a first color plane (such as the Y plane). During both encoding and decoding processes, reconstruction of a first block of the first color plane is performed prior to the prediction process for an aligned second block of the second color plane, so that reconstructed samples of the first block are available for generating the prediction samples for the second block. Inter-color-plane prediction is supported in the Working Draft 3 of HEVC video coding scheme.

Methods and apparatuses for encoding and decoding video using inter-color-plane prediction

Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America


Measurement accuracy provided by an optical system that uses a beam splitter is maintained, by containing the beam splitter inside a housing and supplying a dry purge gas to the interior of the housing in the region of the beam splitter while the beam splitter acts on a light source of the optical system. Also, certain portions of the beam splitter where an adhesive mounting compound is applied, are masked from the light source thus avoiding contamination of the beam splitter and degradation in measurement performance of the optical system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for enhancing measurement accuracy in an optical system, and particularly to a method of maintaining accurate measurements when using light sources and one or more beam splitter plates.
2. Discussion of the Known Art
When fabricating integrated circuit (IC) chips with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology, it is necessary to measure accurately the thickness of oxide coatings on a substrate in the order of tens of Angstrom units, wherein one Angstrom equals 10.sup.-8 centimeters. An optical system for performing such measurements is part of, for example, the Nanometrics "NanoSpec" Model 4000 microscope. Two light sources, one of ultra-violet (UV) light and the other of white light, illuminate corresponding beam splitter plates inside a housing. The thicknesses of the beam splitter plates, and the condition of the plate surfaces, must be kept constant or else the accuracy of measurements produced by the microscope will be compromised.
It is known that the UV light ionizes oxygen inside a beam splitter housing of the microscope, and that ozone is produced as a result. Also, it has also been discovered that microscopic deposits build up over time on the beam splitter plates associated with both of the UV and the white light sources. Such deposits "haze up" the plates and can not be removed without damaging the plates. Because the overall thicknesses of the beam splitter plates are important factors in the microscope measurements, the hazed up plates must be replaced periodically, e.g., every three months during normal production use. And, substantial costs are incurred to replace and align beam splitter plates in any optical system.


Provided is a temperature sensing circuit and a temperature sensing method including a delay unit delaying an input clock signal to generate a feedback clock signal, and including logic gates of which delay times are variable according to temperature, a delay control unit comparing the feedback clock signal with a reference clock signal and controlling each of the logic gates of the delay unit according to the comparison result, and an input signal control unit selecting, as the input clock signal, any one of the feedback clock signal and the reference clock signal to input the input clock signal to the delay unit.

The present invention disclosed herein relates to a temperature sensing circuit, and more particularly to a digital temperature sensor and a temperature sensing method.
The existing temperature sensing circuits have been mainly designed on the basis of an analog circuit. The analog temperature sensing circuits have limitations of a large size and large power consumption. Accordingly, nowadays, a digital type temperature sensing circuit has been researched. As an example, Korean Patent No. 1173978 discloses "Temperature sensing circuit and operating method thereof". This kind of digital temperature sensing circuit may have a temperature measurement error, as an output clock signal thereof is continuously circulated in a ring oscillator, which results accumulation of noises, such as quantization errors or jitters.

Temperature sensor and temperature sensing method

Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, Yonsei University


A gripper and a driving method using the same are disclosed, wherein an actuator has a configuration combined with a piezoelectric operating unit and a bending structure, whereby an amount of variation of a gap between fingers are amplified more than that of the piezoelectric operating unit by generating a movement of the fingers perpendicular to a movement direction of the piezoelectric operating unit, and wherein the gripper having arms including a strain gauge sensor can precisely measure a force applied to a micro object.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gripper capable of gripping micro objects of various sizes and a driving method using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
According as electronic products trend to be miniaturized and light-weighted in recent years, semiconductor technologies come to be used in the development of micro structures, micro sensors, or actuators. Besides, increased interests on human body have led new researches into manipulating bio-cells. However, the fact is that there is no equipment capable of safely moving, fixing, or combining micro structures or micro substances such as bio-cells.
It should be therefore essential that researches for a micro gripper capable of moving a target with an exact preciseness be made to safely move, fix, or combine micro electronic products such as micro structures and actuators, or micro substances such as bio-cells.
Conventionally, there are two types of micro grippers: one uses electrostatic force and the other uses thermal expansion. In order to move arms, the gripper is formed with electrodes capable of generating electrostatic force directly on a target object, and in order to increase a driving force of the gripper for better operation, a high voltage is applied between the electrodes.
However, the gripper using the electrostatic force suffers from disadvantages in that difficulties in manufacturing processes may increase to push up the manufacturing cost as a result of obtainment of sufficient driving force generated by a narrow gap between the electrodes and supply of high voltage between the electrodes, and manipulation using the high voltage may damage living objects such as cells and microorganisms.
The gripper using the thermal expansion also suffers from disadvantages in that a sufficient time may be required for an increased temperature for generating hundreds of joules, leading to slowed operating speed, and micro structures such as cells and microorganisms susceptible to heat may be damaged due to a high heat transferred to the gripper.

Gripper and driving method using the same


The present invention is directed to circuits and methods to efficiently conduct scan testing of integrated circuits in which first level packaging is varied to provide different versions of the integrated circuit. An integrated circuit is provided that includes at least one bond pad test circuit. The bond pad test circuit is coupled between a bond pad and functional components within an integrated circuit. In one embodiment, the bond pad test circuit includes a multiplexer and a D flip-flop in which the D input of the flip-flop is coupled to a bond pad. In another embodiment, the bond pad test circuit includes a multiplexer and a D flip-flop in which the D input of the flip-flop is coupled to the output of the multiplexer. A method for scan testing using an integrated circuit with a bond pad test circuit is also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to integrated circuits, and more particularly, to testing of integrated circuits.
2. Background of Invention
Effective testing of integrated circuits significantly enhances the ability of integrated circuit developers and manufacturers to provide reliable devices. Various techniques have been employed to test integrated circuits during the manufacturing process. One such technique that is commonly known, and has been used within the industry for over twenty years is scan testing.
Scan testing provides an efficient approach to testing the structural integrity of devices, such as flip-flops, within a complex integrated circuit. Scan testing does not test integrated circuit-level functionality. Rather, test personnel use scan testing to confirm that individual flip-flops within an integrated circuit function properly. The sheer number of flip-flops within an integrated circuit, which is often greater than a million, presents a daunting challenge for testing. Scan testing addresses this challenge through the use of automated test units that provide test vectors to scan paths including thousands of flip-flops within integrated circuits that have been designed to support scan testing.
Typically, complex integrated circuits are designed and implemented as a series of interconnected functional blocks, each of which can be tested independently. Devices, such as flip-flops, within these functional blocks can be designed, such that they can be connected together in a scan path to support scan testing. Flip-flops and other elements within a scan path include, in addition to inputs and outputs used for normal operation, two inputs associated with the scan testing capability. These include a scan input (SI) and a scan enable (SE) input. Flip-flops within a scan path have their output connected to the SI input of a subsequent flip-flop. The first flip-flop within a scan path receives its input from an automated test unit through a test access port on the chip. The last flip-flop within a scan path provides its output to the automated test unit through a test access port. Many scan paths can exist within a single integrated circuit.
While scan testing provides significant benefits, several shortcomings exist. When a manufacturer designs an integrated circuit, many capabilities and functions are built into the integrated circuit. Not all customers will want all capabilities and functions. Rather than designing a different integrated circuit for each individual customer need, a manufacturer can include multiple functions in a circuit, and selectively enable and/or disable certain functions through different packaging. Packaging refers to how the silicon (or other material) used to create the integrated circuit is encapsulated in a protective material and what form of access is given to the integrated circuit through contact points on the packaging.
First level packaging or interconnection refers to the technology required to get electrical signals into and out of an integrated circuit—in other words the connections required between bond pads on the integrated circuit and the contact points, often pins, of the package. For example, three common types of first level packaging are wire bonding, flip chip bonding, and tape automated bonding.
The connections between a bond pad and contact point vary depending on the functions that a manufacturer wants to offer in a particular chip version. For example, when a manufacturer wants to provide a certain function, a bond pad can be connected to a contact point. Having the bond pad connected to a contact point will enable a user to access the particular feature associated with the bond pad. Conversely, a bond pad may not be connected to a contact point. In this case, the feature associated with the bond pad would not be available to a user. Alternatively, a manufacturer can couple a bond pad to ground or to a voltage source. When the bond pad is permanently coupled to a voltage source or ground, a feature is either permanently active or inactive. In this case, there is no connection between the bond pad and the contact point. When a manufacturer offers many versions of the same chip, the permutations of which bond pads are coupled to a contact point, not coupled to a contact point, coupled to ground, or coupled to a voltage source can be large.
Using different first level packaging to provide alternative versions of the same integrated circuit can significantly reduce the cost to manufacture an integrated circuit. However, this approach presents several scan testing challenges. When different first level packaging is used to produce different versions of an integrated circuit, two scan testing approaches are typically used.
The first approach is to develop test vectors for each different version of the integrated circuit and run complete scan tests for each version of the integrated circuit based on the different packaging. While providing complete tests on each integrated circuit, this approach is inefficient in that many of the same capabilities within the same base integrated circuit are being tested over and over again. In addition, developing test vectors, test set-up, and testing for each version can be prohibitively expensive.
The second approach is to run the same general purpose scan test for each version of the integrated circuit. The shortcoming of this approach is that in an integrated circuit in which a bond pad is not connected or is permanently coupled to ground or a voltage source, the scan paths associated with those bond pads can not tested. Furthermore, chip logic associated with these scan paths can also be coupled to other scan paths. Testing of those scan paths is made more difficult because the outputs from logic devices associated with scan paths that can not be tested will be an unknown or difficult to predict. Thereby, obtaining predictable results can be difficult. Thus, some flip-flops will not be tested and others will be more difficult to test.
What is needed is a circuit and methods of testing to efficiently test packaged integrated circuits in which first level packaging of an integrated circuit is varied to provide different versions of the integrated circuit.

Systems and methods for scan test access using bond pad test access circuits