Embodiments of the invention generally relate to color and appearance metric measurements and, in particular, developing instrumentation to enable self-consistent image appearance measurements within instruments of unitary construction.

Three elements are involved in seeing or perceiving color: a light source, an object, and an observer. A framework of describing human color perception according to these three elements is sometimes referred to as the visual observing situation. To build an instrument that quantifies human color perception, each item in the visual observing situation may be characterized.
The first element of the visual observing situation is a light source. A light source is a physical source of light. The visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum is defined by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) as 360 to 780 nm. A plot of the relative energy at each wavelength creates a spectral power distribution (SPD) curve that quantifies the characteristics of the light source. A CIE, illuminant is a standard table of numbers representing relative energy versus wavelength for the spectral characteristics of light sources. Some common illuminants and their CIE abbreviations are as follows: Incandescent (A), Average Daylight (C), Noon Daylight (D65), and Cool White Fluorescent (F2). By representing a light source as an illuminant, the spectral characteristics of the first element of the visual observing situation is quantified and standardized.
The second element of the visual observing situation is an object. Objects modify light. Colorants such as pigments or dyes that are in or on the object selectively absorb some wavelengths of incident light while reflecting or transmitting other wavelengths. The amount of light that is reflected, absorbed, or transmitted by the object at each wavelength can be quantified. This can be represented as a spectral curve. By measuring the relative reflectance or transmission characteristics of an object, the second element of the visual observing situation becomes quantified. Relative reflectance, or reflectance factor, is defined as the relative amount of energy measured on an arbitrary sample at a fixed geometry, in reflection, with respect to a known white sample similarly used to define the top-of-scale of the measurement. This is important to distinguish as reflectivity is also a function of angle and total reflectance would require a hemisphere to collect all angles. A device which measures relative reflectance or transmittance as a function of wavelength is typically a spectrophotometer.
The third element of the visual observing situation is the observer, which is often but not necessarily a human. A human eye has structures referred to as rods and cones. Cones are responsible for color vision and have three types of sensitivity: red, green, and blue. The CIE experimentally measured the ability of the human eye to perceive color. The experimentally derived x-bar, y-bar, and z-bar color matching functions became the CIE 1931 2° Standard Observer. The functions x-bar, y-bar, and z-bar quantify the red, green, and blue cone sensitivity of an average human observer. An updated standard was later produced and is referred to as the 1964 10° Standard Observer. This is the standard recommended for use today by the CIE.
In science and industry, the trifecta of light source, object, and observer becomes the trifecta of light source, sample, and detector. The CIE X, Y, and Z tristimulus color values are obtained by multiplying the illuminant, the reflectance or transmittance of the object, and the standard observer functions. The product is then summed for all wavelengths in the visible spectrum to give the resulting X, Y, Z tristimulus values.
A colorimetric spectrophotometer may comprise a light source, a diffraction grating, a diode array, and a processor. The instrument may be configured to produce CIE, X, Y, Z color values for a sample. Briefly, the light source illuminates the sample being measured. Light reflected by the objects is passed to a diffraction grating which breaks it into its spectral components. Much of the diffracted light falls onto the diode array which senses the amount of light at each wavelength. The spectral data is sent to the processor where it is multiplied with a user-selected illuminant and observer tables to obtain CIE X, Y, Z color values.
The CIE X, Y, Z value system is a color scale. When describing color, the CIE X, Y, Z values are not easily understood (they are not intuitive). Other color scales have been developed to better relate to how humans perceive color, simplify understanding of the metrics, improve communication of color, and better represent uniform color differences. All colors can be organized in three dimensions: lightness, chroma or saturation, and hue. Hunter L,a,b color space is a 3-dimensional rectangular color based on Opponent-Colors Theory with the following dimensions:
L (lightness) axis: 0 is black, 100 is white, and 50 is middle gray
a (red-green) axis: positive values are red, negative values are green, and 0 is neutral
b (blue-yellow) axis: positive values are yellow, negative values are blue, and 0 is neutral
The opponent-colors have been explained physiologically by the organization of cone cells into what are called receptive fields in the fovea of the human eye. A receptive field provides a number of inputs from the cone cells (both positive and negative) that can interface with ganglion cells to produce spatial edge-detection for red-green and blue-yellow stimuli. The spectral distribution for these receptive fields correlates well with a, b.
There are two popular L,a,b color scales in use today: Hunter L,a,b and CIE L*,a*,b*. While similar in organization, a color will have different numerical values in these two color spaces. Both Hunter L,a,b and CIE, L*,a*,b* scales are mathematically derived from CIE X,Y,Z values. Scales of chroma and hue are also functions of a* and b*; where chroma is the scalar magnitude, ((a*)2+(b*)2)1/2, and hue angle is represented by the arc tangent of (b*/a*).
Color measurement is employed in industry and in education according to color differences. Color differences are calculated as sample-standard values. According to the CIE L*,a*,b* color scale,
If delta L* is positive, the sample is lighter than the standard. If delta L* is negative, the sample is darker than the standard.
If delta a* is positive, the sample is more red (or less green) than the standard. If delta a* is negative, the sample is more green (or less red) than the standard.
If delta b* is positive, the sample is more yellow (or less blue) than the standard. If delta b* is negative, the sample is more blue (or less yellow) than the standard.
Total color difference (delta E*, or ΔE*) is based on the L*,a*,b* color differences and was designed to be single number metric for PASS/FAIL decisions in industry. Delta E* is determined as the square root of the sum of the squares of L*, a*, and b*:(ΔE*=√{square root over ((ΔL*)2+(Δa*)2+(Δb*)2)}
Thus far color of an object or sample has been generally ascribed to pigments or dyes of uniform extent. The use cases when applying delta E* are limited to comparing samples that do not have complicated surroundings and are observed under identical viewing conditions. Other qualities of an object also play a role in color, further complicating its measurement and characterization. Surface characteristics and geometry play an important role in color.
Surface characteristics such as high frequency spatial patterns can modulate perceived color. To accurately measure delta E*, the spatial characteristics of the human observer must be further modeled. This includes the spatial frequency response of contrast sensitivity functions (CSFs) modeling the eye physiology. Each CSF may be thought of as a convolution or low-pass filter (in the frequency domain) when observed with different sizes of receptive field; of which large receptive field apertures transfer low spatial frequency stimuli. As a result, there is a spatial-color sensitivity of the human eye, according to red-green, and blue-yellow dimensions. In general, as the spatial frequency of the stimulus increases (narrower spacing), color differences become erroneous, especially differences along the blue-yellow axis. Since the opponent-color spaces like L*, a*, b* are differentiable, there exists a direct correlation to the spatial receptive field and convolutions of the L*, a*, b* axes.
Another surface characteristic of samples is reflectance. For opaque materials, most of the incident light is reflected or absorbed. For translucent materials, most of the incident light is transmitted. Reflectance make take either of two forms. Diffuse reflection involves non-directional reflected light. This light is scattered in many directions. Specular reflection is reflection of light by which the angle of reflection matches the angle of incidence of the incident light striking the surface of the object.
For fluorescent materials, another surface characteristic is the light emitted by the material as a function of the illuminating source. Fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs), for example, are molecules that absorb light in the ultraviolet and violet wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum and re-emit light in blue wavelengths. The addition of both reflectance and fluorescence components can greatly exceed the reference white point. UV adjustments for calibrating whiteness instruments to materials was developed Ganz and Griesser. The UV control system was further refined by Imura et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,015), who extended the method to include the multiple excitation of LEDs in (U.S. Pat. No. 8,288,739).
Color is seen in the diffuse reflection, and gloss is seen in the specular reflection. The reflection at the specular angle is generally the greatest amount of light reflected at any single angle. From air-to-glass at low angles of incidence, specular reflection represents less than 4% of total incident light. For a 60° angle (as in gloss geometry), the reflection of polished glass is ˜10%. The remaining light is transmitted or absorbed with almost no diffuse reflection.
Richard Sewall Hunter, a pioneer in color and appearance, identified six visual criteria for defining a gloss scale. These are specular gloss, contrast gloss, distinctness-of-image (DOI) gloss, absence-of-bloom gloss, sheen, and surface-uniformity gloss. In the color industry, "instrumental gloss" is the most common form of gloss measurement and correlates with Hunter's specular gloss criteria. The ratio of diffuse reflection (45° to the angle of incidence) to specular reflection (equal to the angle of incidence) if subtracted from unity is a measure of contrast gloss. An exemplary geometry for measuring instrumental gloss on most samples is 60° (i.e., 60/60, defined with respect to the surface normal of the sample). Another geometry (30/30) has combined multiple field angles with a diode array to quantify reflection haze and distinctness of reflected image (DORI).
Surface texture of samples can greatly affect perceived color. Samples which have exactly the same color to a spectrophotometer, but which have different surface textures, will appear to have different colors to a human observer. Surfaces may generally be described as glossy or matte. Glossy surfaces appear darker or more saturated. Matte surfaces appear lighter and less saturated. Increased surface roughness affects perceived color such that it appears lighter and less saturated. This is caused by mixing diffuse reflectance (where humans see pigment color) with increased scatter from specular reflectance (white). The rougher the surface, the greater the scatter of the specular reflectance.
Instrument geometry defines the arrangement of light source, sample plane, and detector. There are two general categories of instrument geometries: Bi-directional (45°/0° or 0°/45°) and diffuse (d/8° sphere). Bi-Directional 45°/0° geometry has illumination at a 45° angle and measurement at 0°. The reciprocal, 0°/45° geometry, has illumination at 0° and measurement at 45°. Both directional geometries by definition exclude the specular reflection in the measurement. This is sometimes indicated in numerical tables by the phrase, "specular excluded". Bi-Directional geometry measurements provide measurements that may correspond to visual changes in sample appearance due to changes in either pigment color or surface texture. To reduce the directionality of an arbitrary sample, the 45° illumination or detection may be revolved circumferentially around the sample in at least 12 equally spaced locations (designated as 45c) or ring-shaped beams may be formed using axicon lenses or free-form optics (45a).
Diffuse (sphere) geometry instruments use a white coated sphere to diffusely illuminate a sample with 8° (d/8° viewing. Measurements on a diffuse sphere instrument can be taken with the specular included or specular excluded. Specular included measurements negate surface differences and provide values which correspond to changes in actual color (as opposed to perceived color). Specular excluded measurements negate specular reflectance on very smooth surfaces, measuring only diffuse reflectance. For illustration, as between two surfaces painted with the same red paint, one surface having a matte finish and the other surface having a high gloss finish, the specular included measurement indicates no color difference. It quantifies only colorant differences and negates differences in surface finishes. In the specular excluded mode, the readings quantify appearance differences, similar to those from the direction (0°/45°) geometry instrument. Most diffuse geometry measurements are taken in the specular included mode.
Glossmeters, spectrophotometers, and other imaging devices employed in optics are traditionally independent instruments. These devices may be specially tailored to detect and characterize very specific qualities of light while ignoring other qualities of light. Yet, gloss, reflectance, measured color, perceived color, and texture are all interrelated. When these attributes are characterized separately (e.g., by independent laboratory instruments like independent glossmeters and independent spectrophotometers), variations in environmental conditions or device-dependent parameters inevitably result in inconsistencies among the characterizations of the individual attributes. Indeed, the independent measurements may conflict over the actual appearance of a sample.
The "Spectromatch Gloss Spectrophotometer", available from Sheen Instruments, is one example attempt in the industry to combine color and gloss measurements in one unit. Devices such as this still fail to provide "constant" color difference of a sample, if paired with an external imaging system, because the appearance of surface features depends on the luminance distribution of the illumination scene. The two instruments exist separately, and information cannot be easily correlated together to calibrate consistent results.

UV-VIS spectroscopy instrument and methods for color appearance and difference measurement


Systems, methods, and apparatuses using a memory device and one or more processors communicably coupled to the memory device. The one or more processors are structured to receive information relating to a mobile device of a user; receive information regarding fraudulent activity on an account; associate the information regarding fraudulent activity on the account with one or more pieces of information relating to the mobile device to associate the mobile device with fraudulent activity; detect the mobile device based on the information relating to the mobile device; responsive to detecting the mobile device, determine that fraudulent activity is associated with the mobile device; and in response, provide a notification to a component proximate to the mobile device to alert the component of fraudulent activity.

Financial institutions desire to detect and mitigate fraudulent activity. Fraudulent activity may include identity theft, forgery, credit/debit card fraud, wire fraud, loan fraud, and so on. Traditionally, fraud tracking may include generating a poster with identity information regarding a potential fraudster. The posters may be distributed to various locations, such as at a branch location of a financial institution or to law enforcement officials. Accordingly, personnel at those locations may identify the potential fraudster if the person is recognized in comparison with the poster. However, people may change their looks and the personnel may not carefully examine the posters, such that the efficacy of such posters is relatively low. In this regard, tracking these individuals by providing posters or notifying individual branches may not provide efficient or effective results.

Systems and methods for using location services to detect fraud


A reactor 20 has a plurality of tubular downcomers 32, 34, 36, 38, 40 and risers 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, joined by sections 86, 88 in a continuous serpentine path the tubes dimensioned to provide substantially plug flow conditions for solid and liquid reagents fed into a first downcomer 24 with the products extracted from final riser 52. The reactor 20 is designed for a desired residence time by the number, height and diameter of the tubes. The downcomers 24, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40 may include a bend to improve residence time and to thereby reduce the number of tubes required for a desired overall residence time. The reactor 20 can be used in a leaching operation for producing synthetic rutile, where a pre-treated feedstock including ilmenite, leueoxene or titania slag is leached with hot HCl.

Titanium dioxide is widely used as a white pigment in paints, plastics and paper. Two types of titanium dioxide are produced, namely rutile and anatase.
There are two commercial processes for the production of titanium dioxide pigment, namely the sulfate process and the chloride process. The sulfate process is capable of using a feedstock with a relatively low titanium dioxide content, such as ilmenite. However, the capital costs of a modern sulfate process can be higher than that of an equivalent chloride process plant. Furthermore, there is a higher volume of waste products to be treated and disposed of in the sulfate process due to the use of a more impure feedstock and the fact that the sulfuric acid used in the process cannot be readily recovered and recycled.
Accordingly, the chloride process is now a more common process and is growing relatively more rapidly than the sulfate process. However, the feedstock suitable for use in the chloride process usually needs to have a higher titanium dioxide content and to contain fewer impurities than those which are suitable for the sulfate process.
Titanium dioxide is commonly found in nature in the form of ilmenite (FeO.TiO2) which may contain from 40% to 80% titanium dioxide, higher grade feedstock also being referred to as leucoxene. Titanium dioxide is also found in nature as a mineral rutile, in which form it has been extensively mined as a feedstock for the chloride process. Deposits of other titanium bearing feedstock have been discovered but because of the grade or technical difficulties have not yet been commercially exploited.
Naturally occurring ilmenite is sometimes used in the chloride process but its low titanium dioxide content coupled with the need to dispose of excessive quantities of chloride waste has meant that its use has been limited.
Processes have been developed with the aim of upgrading the titanium dioxide content of ilmenite to a value approaching the equivalent of natural rutile. These processes involve treatment of the ilmenite to remove the iron fraction from the ilmenite by leaching. The first stage of such treatment is the potentiation of the ilmenite to make it more susceptible to leaching. Such potentiation treatments include the partial reduction of the iron fraction in the ilmenite; pre-oxidation of the ilmenite feed followed by partial reduction of the iron fraction in the ilmenite; reduction of the iron fraction to the metallic state, such as the Becher process or smelting of the feedstock. "Potentiation" of the feedstock is understood to create pores, passages, voids or similar spaces in the body of the material as well as convert the iron component to a more readily leachable oxidation state whereby chemical action by acid is enhanced.
Once the feedstock has been prepared leaching is then carried out. Several leaching procedures are known in the prior art among which are the following:                1. Leaching in a batchwise process in rotating spherical pressure vessels at an elevated temperature to enhance the reaction rate; one such process is known as the Benilite process;        2. Leaching in vertical cylindrical liquid/solid fluidised bed reactors; one such process is the Laporte process;        3. Leaching in staged vertical fluidised cylinders, in such a manner that the leach liquid flows continuously from one stage to another in a counter current fashion whilst the solids are fed and removed in a batchwise manner in a single stage cylinder; one such process is the Tiomin Synthetic Rutile (TSR) process.

Production of synthetic rutile by continuous leaching


An apparatus to project graphical images upon a substantially transparent windscreen head-up display of a vehicle includes an excitation light source projecting a laser beam based upon a graphical image command and a telescope for expanding the laser beam. The apparatus further includes a multi-mirror device including a plurality of mirrors sequentially irradiated by the expanded laser beam to simultaneously scan a plurality of laser beamlettes and the windscreen including a surface receiving the plurality of laser beamlettes, each of the received plurality of laser beamlettes emitting visible light upon the surface.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Presentation of information to the operator of a vehicle in an effective manner is desirable and reduces strain upon the operator. Display techniques are known wherein light is projected upon a screen, and the light is converted into a viewable display upon the screen. Applied to transportation applications, such displays are known as head-up displays, wherein information is projected upon a visor, a screen between the operator and a windscreen, or directly upon the windscreen. However, known systems projecting light directly upon a windscreen frequently require a coating or material that significantly decreases the transparency of the windscreen. As a result, head-up displays are frequently restricted to limited region upon the windscreen.
Vehicle systems monitor a great deal of information. In particular, vehicle systems utilizing driving aids such as adaptive cruise control (ACC), automatic lateral control, collision avoidance or preparation systems, and lane keeping aids monitor and process information regarding the operating environment surrounding the vehicle. Additionally, information is available from a variety of sources to locate the vehicle in relation to a 3D map database, plan a travel route for the vehicle to a destination, and correlate this travel route to available information regarding the route. Additionally, on-board vehicle systems provide a wide variety of information that can be used to improve control of the vehicle. Additionally, vehicle to vehicle communications are known to utilize data collected in one vehicle in communicating with vehicles elsewhere on the road.
Existing methods to project light upon a display screen include either a single stroke, single beam vector (vector stroke graphics or stroke-raster) or a bitmapped architecture (a matrix-addressed display). Either method limits efficiency and the amount of information that can be presented upon a display.

UV laser beamlett on full-windshield head-up display


A novel ethylenically-unsaturated 1,3-diketoamide functional compound, polymers comprised thereof, and latex formulations containing polymeric ingredients having 1,3-diketoamide functional pendant moieties are disclosed. The 1,3-diketoamide functional pendant moieties have excellent hydrolytic stability.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to ethylenically-unsaturated 1,3-diketoamide functional compounds and polymers prepared therefrom. The invention is also related to latex formulations containing polymeric ingredients having 1,3-diketoamide functional pendant moieties which advantageously exhibit excellent hydrolytic stability.
2. Related Background Art
Ethylenically-unsaturated monomers containing active methylene groups such as ##STR1## and polymers prepared from such monomers having pendant active methylene groups have long been known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,459,790 discloses acetoacetates, such as 2-acetoacetoxyethyl methacrylate and 2-acetoacetoxyethyl acrylate, for forming polymers to be used as gelatin extenders or substitutes in photographic films.
Polymerizable compounds having amide groups and active methylene crosslinking sites in side chains extending from ethylenically unsaturated backbones are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,195. These polymerizable compounds, which are used to form polymers which can act as polymeric color couplers, binders and gelatin extenders, are generically represented by the formula: ##STR2## wherein R is hydrogen or methyl; R.sup.1 is cyano or ##STR3## wherein R.sup.2 is alkyl; Z is --X--R.sup.3 --X-- or ##STR4## wherein each --X-- is --O-- or --NR.sup.4 --, provided at least one --X-- is --NR.sup.4 --, wherein R.sup.4 is hydrogen or alkyl, R.sup.3 is divalent hydrocarbon and D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 together are carbon atoms necessary to complete a 5 to 7 membered ring. Acetoacetamidoethyl methacrylate is exemplified as a useful polymerizable monomer.
The preparation of various acetoacetates and acetoacetamides is well known For example, J. Witzeman, et al., The Journal of Organic Chemistry, 56, 1713-18 (1991) discloses the preparation of acetoacetates and acetoacetamides by reaction of various nucleophiles with tert-butyl acetoacetates. This reference reports that acetoacetylated materials may be used as chemical intermediates in the pharmaceutical, agrichemical, chemical and polymer industries.
More particularly, it is known to use acetoacetoxy-functional moiety-containing polymers in combination with polyfunctional amines in latex compositions. Such compositions may be applied to substrates to form films by crosslinking the amines with the acetoacetoxy-functional moiety through the formation of enamine linkages. For example, PCT International Publication No. WO 93/16133 discloses a particularly advantageous storage-stable single-package latex formulation containing a polymeric ingredient having at least acetoacetoxy functional pendant moieties. This reference discloses that preferred acetoacetoxy functional moiety-containing ingredients include acetoacetamides, such as acetoacetamide methacrylate and acetoacetamide acrylate, as well as acetoacetoxyethyl methacrylate ("AAEM"), acetoacetoxyethyl acrylate ("AAEA"), allyl acetoacetate and vinyl acetoacetate. The use of acetoacetamides in a latex formulation is not exemplified. None of these references disclose or suggest an acetoacetamide compound having an arylene radical therein, or the use of such an acetoacetamide in a latex formulation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,974 discloses an acrylic polymer, which is used as a pigment grinding vehicle having pendent tertiary alkyl primary amine groups and at least one other pendent functionality reactive with isocyanate groups. The monomer having pendent tertiary alkyl primary amine groups may be prepared by reacting a tertiary alkyl isocyanate, such as meta-isopropenyl-.alpha., .alpha.-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, with a tertiary alcohol, such as diacetone alcohol (4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-pentanone), in the presence of a catalyst. There is no disclosure or suggestion, however, of preparing acetoacetamides.
While the acetoacetoxy functional moiety-containing ingredients disclosed in WO 93/16133 may be used to provide desirable latex formulations, there is a continuing need for improved hydrolytic stability of acetoacetoxy functional moieties employed in aqueous polymer formulations. A latex formulation having acetoacetoxy functional pendent moieties with improved hydrolytic stability will advantageously have enhanced storage stability and thus significant commercial advantage over prior art formulations.

Latex formulations containing ethylenically-unsaturated 1,3 diketoamide functional polymers


An exemplary light emitting device includes a blue-green light source and a orange-red light source. The blue-green light source emits blue-green light and the orange-red light source emits orange-red light when they are activated. The blue-green light and the orange-red light are mixed together to obtain white light.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure generally relates to light sources, particularly, to light-emitting devices emitting white light by mixing blue-green light and orange-red light.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, a white light-emitting device is obtained by combining a blue light-emitting diode (LED) and a yellow phosphor layer. FIG. 1 shows a spectrum of the light emitted from the conventional white light-emitting device. Obviously, the light emitted from the conventional white light emitting device includes blue light having a wave crest 1 near 441 nm. Because the blue light having a wavelength near 441 nm has high light intensity, the white light emitted from the conventional white light emitting device is prone to causing damage to human eyes.
What is needed, therefore, is a light emitting device and a method for mixing light thereof which can overcome the above-described shortcomings.

Light emitting device and method for mixing light thereof


A system is provided for controlling automatic brake systems to avoid pulsing vehicle brakes at certain natural vibration frequencies of the vehicle's mechanical systems such as a powertrain and driveline. The natural vibration frequencies of the vehicle's systems are determined and correlated with a range of possible braking regimes implemented by an on-board automatic brake control, such as an anti-lock braking (ABS) system. A proposed, normally appropriate ABS braking response to a sudden braking condition is either modified, accelerated or delayed when the proposed response is deemed likely to excite a vehicle natural frequency. The system improves ABS operation in vehicles having high effective inertia powertrains, such as those used in hybrid electric vehicles.

Environmental concerns and the need for fuel conservation has spurred the development of new hybrid propulsion systems for vehicles. Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) powertrains for example, typically include electric traction motors, high voltage electric energy storage systems, and modified transmissions. Electric energy storage systems include batteries and ultra capacitors. Primary power units for these systems may include spark ignition engines, compression ignition direct injection (e.g., diesel) engines, gas turbines and fuel cells.
HEV powertrains are typically arranged in series, parallel or parallel-series configurations. With parallel-series arrangements, multiple motors operating in multiple operating modes sometimes require the use of several gear sets to effectively transmit power to the traction wheels. As a result, HEV powertrains often possess considerable effective inertia at the wheels compared to conventional ICE powertrains. This is due in part to the potentially large inertia of the hybrid motor devices, as well as the significant gearing from motor to wheels that is often employed.
Powertrains possessing relatively high effective inertias such as those of HEVs, result in certain problems that require solutions. For example, the application of braking force to the vehicle's traction wheels during a sudden braking event, may result in a very rapid angular momentum change in the powertrain. Specifically, a rapid deceleration of the traction wheels during braking results in a counter-torque being transmitted from the traction wheels back through the driveline. Because many of the components connected in the driveline have relatively large effective inertias at the wheels, the counter-torque produced by the braking event can produce relatively high reactive torque levels in the powertrain. This reaction torque is transmitted through the gearing mechanisms to the transmission housing, and can have deleterious effects on powertrain and driveline components, particularly under sudden conditions, such as when the vehicle's ABS system is activated.
The problems described above can be exacerbated by automated control of the vehicle's braking system, as occurs when the vehicle's ABS is actuated, since the ABS is capable of cycling or "pulsing" the brakes at a frequency much higher than the driver. Because of the large inertia of the HEV's powertrain and highly geared electric motor, pulsing the brakes can excite the natural vibration frequencies of the vehicle or certain of its mechanical subsystems, such as the driveline and powertrain. For example, ABS excitation at certain frequencies can excite the roll mode of the engine block and transmission case on the engine mounts. Depending on the mounting configuration, excitation of this roll mode can also excite engine block modes such as fore/aft or lateral motion. The excitation described above can occur for either of two reasons. First, the large inertias and high gear ratios characteristic of HEV's shift some of the natural frequencies down to a range where they can be excited by the ABS. Second, the ability of the braking system to excite additional modes may be amplified because of the large inertias and high gear ratios. ABS excitation of the natural frequencies of the vehicle's mechanical systems can impose undesirable levels of stress on driveline and powertrain components, increasing the likelihood of noise, vibration, harshness, and even component degradation.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a system for avoiding or reducing pulsing of a vehicle's brakes at certain natural frequencies of the vehicle's mechanical components and subsystems. The present invention is intended to satisfy this need.

System for controlling brake pulsing at vehicle natural vibration frequencies


A process for generating a serial number from a random number is suitable for being used on a device that uses serial number in a bus. First, this process generates a serial number for use from a random number according to a seed number, and then it checks if this generated serial number is repeated in the bus. When this generated serial number is the same as the serial number corresponding to any other devices that are of the same kind as the above mentioned device in the bus, a new serial number for use will be generated.

In USB (Universal-Serial Bus) or IEEE 1394 Bus, every device will be given one and only  serial number or ID. Generally speaking, the processes for generating a serial number at present can be divided into two kinds. Wherein one kind  One of the processes for generating a serial number is to use a fixed serial number on devices of the same kind. Although this process is simple and convenient, the devices of the same kind cannot be connected to one and the same USB or IEEE 1394 Bus and be used normally.
The other commonly known process for generating a serial number is to store the serial number of devices in ROM, EPROM, EEPROM or flash memory, in order to make the serial number one and only . However, this process will cause the increase of the cost for programming the serial number and the  increase of  the expenses for memory circuit components in the process of manufacturing the devices. Apart from this, it is necessary to have control to prevent the serial number from repetition in the process of manufacturing, and in order to have the function of control, a related control circuit must be provided accordingly.

Generating a serial number from random numbers


A first semiconductor substrate having at least one integrated semiconductor device is provided. A lift-off layer is formed on a main surface of the first semiconductor substrate. The lift-off layer is patterned so as to form openings in the lift-off layer that are arranged on either side of a first portion of the lift-off layer. The first substrate is connected together with a second substrate by an interconnect structure to form an assembly with the main surface of the first semiconductor substrate being exposed. Exposed surfaces of the assembly are coated with a parylene coating, with a first portion of the parylene coating being supported by the first portion of the lift-off layer. The first portion of the parylene coating is selectively removed using a lift-off technique that removes the first portion of the lift-off layer. The lift-off technique is performed after connecting the first substrate and second substrates together.

Semiconductor packaging is commonly used to house and protect integrated circuits, such as controllers, ASIC devices, sensors, etc. Semiconductor packaging should protect the integrated circuits and associated electrical connections (e.g., wire bonds, solder connections, etc.) from potentially damaging environmental conditions, such as extreme temperature variations, moisture, dust particles, etc. Packaging of sensor devices such as MEMs (micro-electromechanical systems) sensor devices presents unique challenges. MEMs devices are commonly used to measure environmental parameters such as temperature, pressure, sound, composition of atmosphere, etc. The sensor elements therefore require at least partial exposure to the exterior environment so that the environmental parameter can be accurately measured. Packaging for a MEMs device therefore must meet the dual goal of protecting the integrated circuits and associated electrical connections while exposing the sensor element(s) of the MEMs device to the exterior environment.
A variety of molded package structures are used to package semiconductor MEMs devices. For example, a pre-molded structure can used to package a MEMs device, and the cavity can be filled with a soft gel, such as a silicone gel. These gels seal and protect the circuitry and electrical connections. According to another technique, the package is molded directly on the MEMs device so as to seal and protect the MEMs device with the encapsulant material (e.g., plastic or ceramic). This may be done by transfer molding, for example. According to another technique, the encapsulant material can be partially formed around the MEMs device, with an opening or chamber exposing a sensing portion of the MEMs device. This opening or chamber can be filled with a soft silicone gel.
The above described techniques suffer from several drawbacks. For example, the gels described above can potentially damage the MEMS device and/or degrade the performance of the MEMS device. In fact, the above mentioned gels cannot be used with certain MEMs devices because the gels partially or completely block the sensor. Furthermore, the molding processes used to form the packaging structures can be costly because these processes require custom tooling for specific MEMS device geometries.

Method of forming a protective coating for a packaged semiconductor device


A bias circuit for a smart power amplifier includes a high power mode bias circuit and a low power mode bias circuit, and operates only one of the bias circuits selectively using a switching circuit according to an input signal. Therefore, the bias circuit of high power mode and the bias circuit of the low power mode are divided and can be optimized according to characteristics of the power. Accordingly, a gain difference with respect to each power can be minimized and the low power mode can be controlled with a small amount of current in a state of initial current with a low power and in a middle power, such that an efficiency of the power amplifier can be improved at low power.

Recently, explosive developments in wireless communications have paved the way for communicating data through a portable terminal without limitations of time and place. However, many users have recognized various restrictions of conventional wireless communication services, and those restrictions need to be improved. Representative problems include short maximum call duration of the potable terminal and bad speech quality of the service. The maximum call duration of the portable terminal largely relates to a capacity of battery used in the portable terminal. The batteries that are commonly used are relatively small and light, and can be used for a relatively long time compared to the conventional batteries. However, performance of the batteries does not yet satisfy the user's needs and expectations. This is because a power amplifier module of the communication terminal has a low efficiency. A power consumption of the power amplifier module occupies much of (about 50˜70%) the power consumption of the entire system, such that the low efficiency of the power amplifier module degrades the efficiency of the entire system and largely contributes to shorten the maximum call duration.
The conventional power amplifier used in the wireless terminal is comprised of a typical CLASS AB power amplifier that uses small amount of current at a low power and increases the amount of the current as an input power is raised up. This is an essential method for increasing call duration of the wireless terminal while using minimum power, and is the most widely used method in code division multi access (CDMA) methods in which the linearity is an important performance index.
FIG. 1 is a conventional bias circuit diagram 100 of a power amplifier. A conventional bias circuit 100 of the power amplifier is an emitter follower circuit using a negative feedback circuit. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional bias circuit 100 includes a feedback transistor Q3 105 that is connected to an emitter of emitter follower stage transistor Q2 103 through a feedback resistor R1 107. A collector of the feedback transistor Q3 105 is connected to a reference voltage source Vref through a reference resistor R2 109. A base of the emitter follower stage transistor Q2 103 is connected to a node N1 113 between the reference resistor R2 109 and the feedback transistor Q3 105. A collector of the emitter follower stage transistor Q2 103 is connected to an operation voltage source Vcc and an emitter of the feedback transistor Q3 105 is grounded. A base of the power amplifier stage transistor Q1 101 is connected to a node N2 111 between the emitter follower stage transistor Q2 103 and the feedback resistor R1 107.
In this conventional bias circuit 100, an amount of current for the power amplifier transistor Q1 101 may be easily controlled using the reference resistor R2 109, and an amount of a feedback current may be controlled using the feedback resistor R1 107. The current feedback by the feedback resistor R1 107 is amplified by the feedback transistor Q2 105. As a result, a current flowing into the base of the emitter follower stage transistor Q2 103 is reduced in amount. Therefore, an amount of current increases according to the input power in the CLASS AB power amplifier may be controlled, such that optimized linearity and efficiency can be determined.
As widely known, an efficiency of the conventional power amplifier is based on a maximum output (about 28 dBm). However, the practical terminals are used at a low output (about 5˜0 dBm) more frequently than at the maximum output. Thus, efficiency at a low output is important to extend duration of the battery, and there have been extensive studies on improvements of the power amplifier module.
A conventional method for improving efficiency of the power amplifier module uses a smart power amplifier having a low power mode and a high power mode. Most of operations of the bias circuit having a mode change type between the low power mode and the high power mode are performed by inserting a circuit for controlling an amount of current of the bias circuit. A switch circuit for subtracting some amount of current is added in a path where the reference current flows.
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram 200 illustrating this conventional mode change bias circuit. That is, the conventional bias circuit 200 includes a switching transistor Q4 201 connected to a node N1 113 in the bias circuit 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. A collector of the switching transistor Q4 201 is connected to the node N1 113, an emitter thereof is grounded, and a base thereof is connected to a mode selection voltage source Vmode through a resistor R4 205.
According to this conventional bias circuit 200, in a high power mode, a low voltage (e.g., a logic low signal) is applied to the mode selection voltage source Vmode. Accordingly, the switching transistor Q4 201 is turned off so that the bias circuit 200 operates identically as the bias circuit 100 in FIG. 1 and some level of gain and linearity can be maintained to the point of highest power.
To the contrary, in a low power mode, a high voltage (e.g., a logic high signal) is applied to the mode selection voltage source Vmode. Accordingly, the switching transistor Q4 201 is turned on and a portion of the reference current flowing into the reference voltage source Vref of the bias circuit 100 is consumed. Therefore, the reference current flowing into the bias circuit is reduced. This lowers an operation point of the power amplifier transistor Q1 101 and reduces the gain and a current consumption and, as a result, the efficiency of operation in the low power mode can be improved.
Meanwhile, this conventional bias circuit 200, having a mode change type, further includes only the switching transistor Q4 201 as compared to the bias circuit 100 shown in FIG. 1, and uses only one bias circuit. Therefore, if the low power mode is performed in the conventional bias circuit 200 having a mode change bias circuit, the gain increases as the power increases.
Moreover, the mode change to the low power mode compulsorily reduces suitable initial current that should be used in the power amplifier originally because the conventional mode change bias circuit 200 performs the mode change by reducing the reference current. Therefore, in the low power mode, a gm (transconductance) of the power amplifier transistor decreases and thus the gain is reduced. The gain reduced by the decrease of current becomes independent of the initial current of the low power mode in respect of an amount of current as the input power increases. Therefore, the gm increases, and, as a result the gain, is likely to return to the original gain following that of the high power mode, such that a gain variation in power occurs. This gain variation in is an obstacle of reducing the initial current of the low power mode, and degrades an advantage of the low power mode at the boundary point between the low power and the high power.
In addition, if gain flatness is reduced to make the gain variation great, the gain of the power amplifier is not estimated as a fixed value. As a result, various parts for controlling gains according to the output of the power amplifier may not operate normally. This reduction of the gain flatness makes it difficult to set the initial current smaller when the low power mode is designed. The efficiency of low power mode becomes improved as the initial current is set to be as small as possible, but the gain variation in the power increases to restrict the reduction of the initial current.
Moreover, in case of using the convention mode change type bias circuit for reducing the reference current, if the power increases to specific input power, the bias circuit in the low power mode is not driven by a smaller current but by a larger current as if in the high power mode. This is an unavoidable problem due to the characteristics of the CLASS AB power amplifier requiring more current as the input power increases, and a feedback current should be controlled to effectively suppress the increase of the current. However, the conventional mode change bias circuit uses a single bias circuit, such that an amount of the feedback current is not controlled differently between the lower mode and high power mode because the identical bias circuit is used in the low power mode and the high power mode.


A package (10) for a bulb (12) having a bulbous, light-emitting end (14) and a socket end (16), has a first thin-walled plastic body (18a) arrayed along a longitudinal axis (20) and having a closed end (22) and an open end (24), the open end (24) having a diameter D transverse to the longitudinal axis sufficient to admit insertion of the bulbous, light emitting end (14) of the bulb (12), the closed end (22) of the first thin-walled plastic body (18a) formed with at least one internal surface support (26) extending away from the longitudinal axis (20) in a plane transverse to the longitudinal axis and substantially contiguous with a curve of the bulbous light emitting end (14), the open end (24) providing a circumferential coupling area (28); and a second thin-walled plastic body (18b) formed with a socket receiving end (32) and a mating coupling area (34) formed to conform to the circumferential coupling area (28) and coupled thereto. The package is preferably made by a method of packaging a light bulb as described above wherein the method comprises the steps of: forming a hollow body (18) to receive the light bulb; separating the body (18) into a bottom portion (18a) and a top portion (18b); inserting a light bulb (12) into the bottom portion (18a); inverting the top portion (18b) and placing the top portion 918b) within the lower portion (18a) in a manner to grasp the socket end (16) of the light bulb (12); and sealing the top portion (18b_ to the bottom portion (18a) to form the package (10).

Individual packages for common light bulbs, such as the 60, 75 and 100 watt bulbs used in households, often comprise a clear, plastic envelope that is rectangular in a front elevation and triangular in a side elevational. The construction is usually referred to as a "clam shell" package and can include descriptive literature within the package. While this form of packaging has worked well, it is relatively expensive and limited to single bulb packaging and it would be an advance in the art to provide a convenient and economical replacement package that was capable of standing on a shelf, hanging from a hook, provided multiple bulbs in a convenient package all the while protecting the enclosed fragile light bulb or bulbs during shipping and handling. It would be a further advance in the art to provide new, inexpensive methods for packaging these bulbs.


A spacecraft electronics equipment module that is structurally and thermally independent of a core spacecraft structure to which it can be mounted. The module takes the form of a thermal radiation panel on which electronic components are directly mounted. The panel is attachable to the core structure using a statically determinate mount that renders the module structurally and thermally independent of the core structure. A combination of mounting brackets and struts secures the module from translational movement in all three axes, but permits thermal expansion and contraction in the plane of the panel without transferring any thermally induced forces to the core structure. A radiation shield secured over the electronics components also serves to further stiffen the panel and to enhance thermal conduction into the panel, which can radiate heat from both faces. Heat pipes can be attached to the panel to further enhance distribution of heat across the panel.

This invention relates generally to modular spacecraft configurations and, more particularly, to modular spacecraft electronic equipment panels that can be externally mounted on a core spacecraft structure. Conventional spacecraft designs have placed electronic equipment units on panels located inside box-like equipment compartments, with the panels typically forming the walls of the compartments. The equipment compartments are an integral part of the spacecraft structure. Complex interconnecting wiring connects the different electronic units together. Heat dissipated from the electronics equipment is conducted into the compartment panels and radiates into space. The size of each compartment is determined in part by the heat radiating area needed to cool the equipment, so there is often unused volume within each compartment. Because only one side of the equipment panel is used as a radiator, the equipment compartments often have to be very large to maintain desired operating temperatures. A related problem is that accessing equipment requires the removal of panels from the equipment compartment. Not only are compartments of this type bulky to accommodate in a launch vehicle and difficult to access for servicing, but they typically need to be coupled to other thermal radiator panels, through heat-conducting pipes, to provide overall thermal management of the spacecraft.
Further, because the equipment compartments are integral with the core structure of the spacecraft, thermally induced stresses are a significant problem because of temperature differences between the modules and the spacecraft core structure. In brief, these conventional equipment compartments are structurally and thermally dependent on the spacecraft core structure, and the overall design of the spacecraft must take into account the thermal requirements of each module and the structural forces resulting from the presence of each module.
As a result of these difficulties, the spacecraft core structure is usually constructed to have a relatively high weight and volume, to support the modules and to provide an adequate thermal radiation area. Also, it is usually the case that the choice of materials of both the modules and the spacecraft core structure is limited because there is a concern for differential thermal expansion. A further difficulty is that removal or addition of an electronics equipment unit upsets the overall structural and thermal design to some degree. Alignment problems, thermal management problems, or both, can result from simply removing or adding a unit.
All of the foregoing problems are attributable to interdependence of the equipment compartment(s) and the spacecraft core structure, which together interact, both structurally and thermally, as parts of a larger assembly. It will be appreciated, therefore, that there is a need for a different approach to the construction of spacecraft modules for supporting electronic equipment, to overcome the difficulties noted above. The present invention satisfies this requirement and has additional advantages that will become apparent from the following summary.

Externally mountable spacecraft equipment module


A lighter-than-air aircraft includes a gas envelope for containing a buoyant gas, and a propulsion system is carried by the gas envelope. A solar panel is carried by the gas envelope for powering the propulsion system when generating sufficient power. A closed loop combustion generating system is also carried by the gas envelope for powering the propulsion system when the solar panel is not generating sufficient power. The fuel for the closed loop combustion generator is regenerated by the solar panel from its exhaust when the solar panel is generating sufficient power.

High altitude, long-duration solar powered aircraft have been proposed for both commercial and military applications. For example, lighter-than-air aircraft have been proposed for cellular telephone applications. Military applications also include telecommunication applications as well as providing surveillance.
There is a domain in the upper stratosphere at 60,000 feet where it is ideal to position a lighter-than-air aircraft. This altitude allows on-board sensors to see over the horizon at least 350 miles in any direction. In most such applications, long duration station keeping is essential. Consequently, the issue is not in getting an aircraft to 60,000 feet, but in maintaining power so that the on-board sensors and electronics are continuously powered for extended periods of time, which may be from a few weeks to several months to even longer.
Electrical energy generated using solar cells or photovoltaic cells are typically used to power lighter-than-air aircraft. For example, U.S. patent application No. 2002/0005457 discloses a lighter-than-air aircraft powered with flexible solar cells integrated within the material covering the aircraft. Although the energy provided by solar cells is adequate to power lighter-than-air aircraft while in the sunlight, the challenge is to repeatedly get through the night. To keep a large lighter-than-air aircraft in a general location at 60,000 feet requires a significant amount of power. The solar panels not only need to take in enough solar energy to power the aircraft during the day, but also needs to take in additional power to be stored in batteries so that it can be used during the night.
In addition, extra power is needed to maintain position due to the upper winds or air currents at 60,000 feet, and for maintaining direction of the solar panels toward the sun as the direction of the sun changes throughout the day. This puts a bigger demand on the ability to store power for use during the night. One approach is to place more solar panels on the aircraft for collecting and storing the additional power, but this results in an increase of the weight of the aircraft. The greater the weight, the greater the volume of lift gas required, which increases the amount of material necessary to contain the lift gas. These increases in weight and volume impose additional power requirements.
As an alternative to placing more solar panels on the aircraft, one approach is to maintain an optimum position of the solar cells in relationship to the sun. For example, most all spacecraft are solar powered. In such spacecraft, the solar panels are rotatable so that an optimum angle can be maintained between the solar panels and the sun. However, these systems are not particularly advantageous on a lighter-than-air aircraft. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,409, solar panels mounted on an outer surface of a lighter-than-air aircraft are movable over a portion of the surface thereof to adjust for changes in the direction of the sun, or if maintained in a stationary position, for the inclination of the sun throughout the day.
Another approach to providing the power needed throughout the night is to use fuel cells. For example, the power requirements for the high altitude airship (HAA) as designed by Lockheed Martin Corp. are met by a combination of solar cells, fuel cells and batteries, wherein the fuel cells provide electrical power during the night. The fuel cells receive the gaseous elements of hydrogen and oxygen for generating electrical power.

Lighter-than-air aircraft including a closed loop combustion generating system and related methods for powering the same


An apparatus for directing light beams onto a target comprising a beam splitter for splitting a main beam into a first split beam and a second split beam; a first beam path for the first split beam, the first beam path including a first aperture, a first lens and a second lens; a second beam path for the second split beam, the second beam path including a second aperture, a third lens and a fourth lens; a plurality of mirrors arranged such that the first split beam and the second split beam intersect at the target. An apparatus can also include means for placing a target in the image plane of a first aperture and a second aperture.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optics. More specifically, the present invention relates to an optical setup for writing high-quality interference patterns with a well characterized period and chirp.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Many satellite and terrestrial optical communication systems require transmission of analog optical signals. Commonly, amplitude modulation of the optical carrier is used. However, this approach suffers from poor signal to noise ratio. It is well known that broadband modulation schemes that utilize higher bandwidth than that of the transmitted waveform may improve the signal to noise ratio over that using amplitude modulation. Pulse position modulation (PPM) is one such technique. In pulse position modulation, a shift in the pulse position represents a sample of the transmitted waveform. This is shown in FIG. 1. It can be shown that for a given power source SNRPPM∝SNRAM (tP/τ)2 where tp is the spacing between the unmodulated pulses and τ is the pulse duration, respectively. Pulse position modulation for optical communications requires new techniques for generating trains of optical pulses whose positions are shifted from their unmodulated positions in proportion to the amplitude of a transmitted waveform. Various types of devices are known to those skilled in the art. Such devices utilize distributed feedback reflector in electro-optically active waveguides. Techniques for forming distributed feedback methods are inconsistent.
One of the steps in creating a distributed feedback reflector includes creating an interference pattern on a layer of photo resist. The photo resist is then exposed, for example, to ultra-violet light in order to create a desired pattern. The interference patterns for surface and volume holograms are generally created with one of the following: wavefront-splitting interferometers, phase-masks, and amplitude-splitting interferometers.
Wavefront-splitting interferometers provide two interfering beams that are carved from different areas of the wavefront of a spatially coherent beam. Such splitting however, results in diffraction at the boundary of the cut, causing parasitic fringes.
Phase-masks are illuminated by a single laser beam, creating interfering beams on a closely positioned target. Because of its simplicity, this technique has been very popular for writing fiber Bragg gratings with uniform periods. Phase masks may also be used for making linearly-chirped gratings. The major drawback of this method is due to the imperfections of available phase masks. Usually, a third beam (zero-order diffraction) is present at the output of the phase mask in addition to the desirable first-order diffracted beams. Since the intensity of the parasitic beam is relatively high (typically 3–5%), it causes strong (more than 50%) parasitic modulation of the hologram at a double period.
Amplitude splitting interferometers create two interfering beams by splitting a parent beam in two on a partially-reflecting beam splitter. The beams are then spatially shaped and combined on a target. With this technique, large-area holograms have been written using beam expanders. Furthermore, interference patters with linear and quadratic chirps have been manufactured employing optical beams with spherical wavefronts. This technique, however, requires considerable beam expansion for achieving uniform illumination across large areas. As has been already mentioned, this creates unwanted diffraction on system apertures.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a system for writing high-fidelity gratings with well-characterized periods and chirps.

Apparatus and method for directing a light beam to a target


A pressure balance or proportioning valve which comprises a disk-shaped mobile unit (10) having a pair of cylindrical shells (12) extending from each side of the mobile unit (10) which is axially movable in a bore (2) of a housing which contains hot and cold water inlet (5) and outlet (3, 4) pipes. The housing includes hot and cold water outlet pipes (3, 4), a cold water inlet (5) or supply pipe in one end of the bore, and a hot water inlet (5) or supply pipe at the other and opposite end of the bore. The hot and cold water supply pipes terminate in end walls (7) and have cylindrical side walls (13) adjacent the end walls with openings (14) extending radially through the cylindrical side walls (13). The mobile unit (10) is disposed intermediate the end walls (7) and moves axially, in response to unequal water pressure, in the bore between the end walls (7). Movement of the mobile unit (10) results in the cylindrical shells (12) either blocking or uncovering the radially extending openings (14) thereby equalizing the amount of hot and cold water entering the hot and cold water outlet pipes.

Considerable pressure variations are often encountered in hydraulic systems that include hot-water and cold-water supply lines. These pressure variations are due to large, unforeseen drops in hot or cold water supply pressure. The pressure drop occurs if another faucet, a dishwasher, a washing machine or the like is turned on, or a toilet is flushed. This pressure drop results in rapid change of water temperature. In order to prevent this disturbing phenomenon a pressure balancing device is disposed in the system which compensates for pressure variations between cold and hot water supply pipelines by restricting the flow from the pipeline with the higher pressure.
Generally pressure balancing devices are of two main types: pressure balancing devices with deformable membrane and pressure balancing devices with sliding box. Both of these types of pressure balancing valves exhibit certain characteristic advantages and disadvantages.
The pressure balancing valves with a membrane comprise a mobile unit which is supported by a tight deformable membrane, and which moves when there are pressure differences between the supply lines in order to partially choke or restrict the pipeline with the greater pressure. The presence of the membrane ensures a separation between the supply lines. But the membrane itself confers features of instability upon the device. The membrane easily generates vibrations and, under certain conditions, these vibrations can attain a seriously disturbing intensity. Furthermore, in view of the structure of these devices, although the membrane may have a relatively large diameter, the useful active cross-section upon which the pressures act for the operation of the device turns out to be rather limited, so that it is necessary to make these devices relatively large in order to obtain proper operation.
Pressure balancing devices with a sliding box comprise a piston box mounted in the bore of a body which contains supply lines. They are less subject to instability and to major vibrations but they do not provide separation between the supply lines, thereby requiring nonreturn valves in the supply lines. Furthermore, the piston box has a small diameter when compared to the general dimensions of the device, and the pressure forces applied upon the box are small. Consequently, the box cannot be provided with a retaining packing or seal because that would give rise to excessive wear and tear, which impairs the operation of the device. Therefore, the box and the pertinent bore must be precision machined, which is expensive and results in easy clogging. Finally, the requirement for precision machining necessitates a metal structure from the main parts, and this leads to formation of calcium deposits that obstruct the operation and can lead to the blockage of the device.
In view of the above, the main purpose of this invention is to provide a pressure balancing device that will not be subject to phenomena of instability or to vibrations, a device that will not require particularly expensive machining, that will ensure separation between the supply lines, and in which the useful cross section subject to pressures will be as great as possible in relation to the external dimensions of the device so as to permit the production of embodiments with reduced size to enable their installation in small bodies or cartridges.


There is provided a hydraulic steering assembly for applying a force to two or more marine propulsion units. Each propulsion unit has a steering axis and a tilt axis. The tilt axis is generally perpendicular to the steering axis thereof. Each propulsion unit is rotatable about the steering axis and is supported for arcuate movement about the tilt axis thereof. The steering assembly comprises a hydraulic steering actuator including a cylinder and an elongated piston rod. The cylinder has a first end and a second end. The elongated piston rod is reciprocatingly mounted within the cylinder and extends through the cylinder for movement along a piston rod axis. A pair of support arms are pivotable about the tilt axis of a first propulsion unit. The support arms are connected to the piston rod axis allowing arcuate movement of the piston rod about the tilt axis, while maintaining the piston rod axis parallel to the tilt axis. A pivot member is pivotally mounted on the first said propulsion unit for pivoting about a first link axis, which is parallel to the steering axis. The actuator is pivotally connected to the pivot member for pivoting about a second link axis, which is parallel to the piston rod axis. A connecting member is connected to the actuator. The connecting member includes a portion for connecting the connecting member to the actuator and a portion for pivotally connecting an elongated member to the connecting member.

This invention relates to steering assemblies for simultaneously steering two or more marine propulsion units, and in particular, to a connecting member for coupling the propulsion units together, allowing for simultaneous steering.
Hydraulic steering systems have been developed for marine propulsion units. Such steering systems conventionally include a steering wheel with an associated hydraulic pump and hydraulic lines connecting the pump to a steering assembly. The steering assembly is mounted on a propulsion unit. In some earlier systems, the steering assembly includes a pivot plate or pivot member which is pivotally connected to the tiller of an outboard motor or other propulsion unit. A pair of support arms or support brackets extend outwardly from the tilt tube of the motor. The piston rod of a hydraulic actuator is mounted on the support arms. The actuator has connecting members extending outwardly from the cylinder thereof which are pivotally connected to the pivot member for pivoting about an axis parallel to the piston rod.
When there are two or more propulsion units, a tie-bar typically connects the steering assembly to the second propulsion unit. Conventionally, the tie-bar is connected to the tillers or to plates attached to the tillers. More recently, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,406,340 to Fetchko et al., the tie-bar has been connected to a member attached to the pivot plate, allowing for rotation of the steering assembly about a steering axis and arcuate movement of the steering assembly about a tilt axis that is generally perpendicular to the steering axis.

Marine steering assembly with connecting member


A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) which operates at UHF frequencies and which includes a two element antenna. The SAR generates a null in the backlobe of the antenna pattern at the location of a target which is steered rather than trying to obtain directivity in the mainlobe. Both analog and digital implementations are provided. In the analog approach, required phase shifts are performed at a frequency higher than the RF output frequency and the receive and transmit nulls are steered separately to increase the width of the null so as to allow for wider SAR swaths. The digital implementation involves steering the null only on receive and multiplying fast time samples by a complex phase correction similar to that used in the analog approach to form the beam. The phase correction is also performed prior to range resolution which employs "stretch" processing, so as to achieve high range resolution.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to synthetic aperture radar (SAR) including adaptive signal processing, and more particularly to a foliage penetrating SAR mapping system which operates in the UHF frequency band.
2. Description of Related Art
The principle of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mapping is well known and comprises a radar system, which is carried by an aircraft traversing a particular area of interest and is typically used for ground mapping. The frequencies and accordingly the wavelengths normally used by such radar systems such as Ku-band, are substantially if not entirely blocked by ground foliage, i.e. trees and brush.
While there is a current need for a compact foliage penetrating radar, relatively long wavelengths, e.g. UHF, are required and must be combined with high resolution which require wide bandwidth. Such a capability would be most welcome in applications requiring reconnaissance or destroy missions to be performed by unmanned aircraft. Such a mission could reveal concealed equipment e.g. tanks, trucks and weaponry which is at present prevented from being detected by SAR mapping radar equipment operating, for example, in the Ku-band. While one such Ku-band SAR system radar is presently known and which is mounted in an aircraft known as an unmanned air vehicle (UAV), there is a limited space, particularly for the antenna in a UAV. In order for such an aircraft to act as a platform for a UHF SAR, an antenna is required that operates across a very large fractional bandwidth and must be small and light enough to fit in the space presently allocated for the existing antenna system.
At present there is no known antenna or SAR system that will fit in the nose portion of a relatively small unmanned reconnaissance vehicle that has the capability of penetrating foliage so as to detect targets which are obscured by trees, underbrush and other types of foliage.


Disclosed is a new compound semiconductor represented by the chemical formula: Bi1-x-yLnxMyCuOTe where Ln belongs to the lanthanoid series and is any one or more elements selected from the group consisting of La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu, M is any one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Ba, Sr, Ca, Mg, Cd, Hg, Sn, Pb, Mn, Ga, In, Tl, As and Sb, and 0<x<1, 0≦y≦1 and 0<x+y<1. The compound semiconductor can replace a conventional compound semiconductor or be used as a thermoelectric conversion device together with a conventional compound semiconductor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compound semiconductor and its manufacturing method, and a thermoelectric conversion device using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A compound semiconductor is a compound that is composed of elements from two or more different elements, not a single element such as silicon, germanium and so on, and acts as a semiconductor. Currently, various kinds of compound semiconductors have been developed and used in various industrial fields. For example, the compound semiconductor is representatively used to a solar cell or a light emitting device including a light emitting diode or a laser diode, using the photoelectric conversion effect, a thermoelectric conversion device using the Feltier Effect, and so on.
Among them, the thermoelectric conversion device is applied to thermoelectric power generation, thermoelectric cooling and so on. For example, thermoelectric power generation is a type of power generation that converts thermal energy into electric energy using a thermoelectromotive force caused by temperature difference in a thermoelectric conversion device.
The energy conversion efficiency of the thermoelectric conversion device is determined depending on Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity of a thermoelectric conversion material. More specifically, the energy conversion efficiency of the thermoelectric conversion material is in proportion to the square of Seebeck coefficient and the electrical conductivity, and in inverse proportion to the thermal conductivity. Therefore, it is required that the development of a thermoelectric conversion material having high Seebeck coefficient or high electrical conductivity or low thermal conductivity so as to improve the energy conversion efficiency of a thermoelectric conversion device.

Compound semiconductor and its manufacturing method, and thermoelectric conversion device using the same


A method of music instruction utilizing a system capable of producing two or more sounds perceived by the user as originating in specific locations in three-dimensional space relative to the user, with the system comprising a user interface, a sound generator, a transmitter, and a monitoring device, and the method comprising the steps of obtaining the system; interacting with the user interface of the system to provide instruction to the sound generator; interacting with the monitoring device; generating the one or more sounds perceived to be emanating from some location in three-dimensional space based on the instruction provided; transmitting output signals to the monitoring device; and perceiving the sounds by means of the monitoring device, with the method being practiced at the same time that the user either plays or does not play a musical instrument.

Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the field of instruction of musicians. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a method of instruction using a virtual metronome that gives the musician the perception of audible sounds emanating from various locations in three-dimensional space.
Description of Prior Art
Musicians have traditionally used many different methods for learning and improving their musicianship. One such method is to employ a metronome to maintain a steady beat during practice of a musical instrument. A metronome is a mechanical or electronic device that makes repeated audible sounds at an adjustable pace, used for marking rhythm. Metronomes measure time in beats per minute. Metronomes allow the user to vary the tempo of the beats by increasing or decreasing the beats per minute generated by the metronome. The metronome was first patented in 1815 by Johann Maelzel as a tool for musicians under the title "Instrument Machine for the Improvement of all Musical Performance, called Metronome."
Metronomes come in mechanical, electronic, and software forms. A mechanical metronome typically has a pendulum arm that swings back and forth to an adjustable tempo. The very first metronomes were mechanical, and they remain popular even today. However, due to cost and accuracy improvements, electronic metronomes have become the standard.
There is a huge variety of electronic metronomes on the market. Electronic metronome models range from the very simple to the very elaborate. Simple electronic metronomes duplicate in electronic format the function of the mechanical metronome. More elaborate electronic metronomes incorporate sounds and clicks to denote musical meter and subdivided rhythmic groups. Some electronic metronomes assist the musician with a visual representation of when the beat will sound. Finally, the most elaborate electronic metronomes will record and analyze the musician's timing and rhythm and provide a visual depiction and breakdown of how accurate the musician is.
Software based metronomes provide the musician with all of the options available with mechanical and electronic metronomes, but with the audible sounds being controlled and generated by a computer.
A metronome is used by musicians to keep an exact and steady tempo when practicing. Use of a metronome during practice increases the musician's sense of rhythm and timing. Practicing scales, various music drills, or a piece of music to a metronome assists musicians in developing a more precise and accurate sense of time. Use of a metronome assists in learning consistency of tempo and rhythmic beats, and can be incorporated into a practicing technique wherein the metronome is set to progressively higher speeds. Sheet music often has metronome markings that show the speed at which the work should be played. Similarly, when recording music, metronomes are used to set click tracks, which then allow musicians to separately play the different parts of a work which are then synchronized to the click track.
Regular practice with a metronome allows a musician to work on fundamentals, drills, and music while simultaneously building a more precise perception and execution of rhythm and timing. The regular pulse of the metronome creates an external reference point that allows the practicing musician to compare and adjust his or her own rhythm and time to the external reference point. Metronome use can be built into a musician's practice sessions as the musician sees fit. The metronome does not have to be the central focus of a practice session or exercise or drill. The benefits of using a metronome in terms of building a more precise sense of rhythm and time are there for a musician even if the metronome is in the background of the musician's focus during a given practice session.
The metronome thus assists the musician with improving the perception of rhythm and time as made manifest in music's beats/pulse, subdivisions, and meter. Existing metronomes easily facilitate practice regimes, exercises, and drills meant to boost a musician's precision. Existing metronomes allow a musician to make improvement in these areas the centerpiece and focus of a given practice. Use of metronomes in any practice session often has the secondary benefit of improving a musician's sense of rhythm and time.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, existing metronomes are quite limited as a pedagogical tool across the many other aspects of sound and music. They do not assist in the developing of precise perceptions by the musician of other fundamental components and dimensions of sound and music. Existing metronomes do not measure and create an external reference point for the spatial aspects of sound, the distance and placement aspects of sound, the shape aspects of sound, the movement aspects of sound, the volume and crescendo/decrescendo aspects of sound (e.g., emanation and decay aspects of sound), the dynamic aspects of sound, the color/timbral aspects of sound, the pitch/frequency aspects of sound, the harmonic and non-harmonic aspects of sound, or the orchestration aspects of sound.
It is therefore shown that there is a need for a method of music instruction that allows the musician practice tools for addressing multiple aspects of music and sound.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a method of music instruction that allows the musician practice tools for addressing multiple aspects of music and sound.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method of music instruction that uses an improved metronome.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a method of music instruction that allows the musician to perceive metronomic sounds in various locations in three-dimensional space.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a method of music instruction that allows the musician to perceive metronomic sounds that dynamically move through three-dimensional space.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a method of music instruction that allows the musician to perceive metronomic sounds that manifest the Doppler Effect.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a method of music instruction that allows the musician to customize the experience of perceiving metronomic sounds that are located in and dynamically move through three-dimensional space.
Other objects of the present invention will be readily apparent from the description that follows.


A resonant converter is provided which may be used for supplying power to the primary conductive path of an inductively coupled power transfer (ICPT) system. The converter includes a variable reactive element in the resonant circuit which may be controlled to vary the effective inductance or capacitance of the reactive element. The frequency of the converter is stabilised to a nominal value by sensing the frequency of the converter resonant circuit, comparing the sensed frequency with a nominal frequency and varying the effective inductance or capacitance of the variable reactive element to adjust the converter frequency toward the nominal frequency.

Converters are widely used for various power conversion and control applications, including converting sources of direct current (DC) electrical energy into alternating current (AC) power supplies. In particular, current-fed resonant converters are widely used for various DC and AC powers supplies, due to their efficient and compact features.
A successful application of current-fed resonant converters is in Inductively Coupled Power Transfer (ICPT) systems. Other applications include induction heating.
In these and other applications of resonant converters, undesirable frequency shifts can occur, which are subject to load or circuit parameter variations. These can result in significant reduction of system power transfer capacity.
These problems can be overcome, but this requires complex design which is expensive to implement, such as third generation (G3) power supplies using complicated LC converting networks.
One example of the difficulties created by frequency shifts is resonant converter power supplies in ICPT systems. These systems (which are also known as contactless power supplies) are known to have significant advantages in applications such as the materials handling, lighting and transportation industries. There are many applications in both high and low power systems in which use of these power supplies is particularly advantageous.
ICPT systems have a primary conductive path supplied with current from a power supply which is usually a resonant converter such as a current-fed resonant converter. One or more secondary devices (which may be referred to as pick-ups) are provided adjacent to, but electrically isolated from, the primary conductive path. The pick-ups have a pick up coil in which a voltage is induced by the magnetic field associated with the primary path, and supply a load such as an electric motor, a light, or a sensor, for example. The pick-up coil is tuned using a tuning capacitor to increase power transfer to the pick-up.
The load that each pick-up supply will typically fluctuate or vary, and this load change is reflected through the mutual inductive coupling back to the supply, which affects the supply frequency. This frequency drift in turn has an adverse effect on the pick-ups because the tuning capacitor for each pick-up tunes the pick-up coil to the resonant frequency of the converter. As the converter resonant frequency drifts away, the power transferred to the pick-ups decreases, so the system becomes inefficient. Further information about the construction and design of current-fed push/pull resonant converters, particularly as they apply to ICPT applications, can be found with reference to the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,305 assigned to Auckland UniServices Limited. Further information on ICPT systems, power supplies and pick-ups for such systems can be found with reference to the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,308 also assigned to Auckland UniServices Limited.
One approach that has been used in an attempt to maintain the frequency of a converter circuit at or near resonance in response to variations in load has been to provide a plurality of capacitors in the resonant circuit which may be switched in or out of the circuit. This approach has been proposed in recently published United States patent application US2003/0210106. Switching a plurality of individual capacitors into or out of the resonant circuit means that the circuit frequency can only be controlled in a stepwise fashion. This is particularly disadvantageous with high Q systems since many separate capacitors are required, adding to cost and complexity. It also means that load variations have to be limited to make the system function effectively.

Variable reactive element in a resonant converter circuit


A continuous process by which waste water containing low to high concentrations of organic constituents and total nitrogen is biologically purified to such an extent that the organic constituents are minimized, the content of total nitrogen is completely nitrified, if it exceeds the assimilation demand, and the nitrate formed is reduced by aerating the waste water or exposing it to oxygen while not exceeding a preselected redox potential. In the subject process, the expenditure on the oxygen introduction and the expenditure on the denitrification are minimized. Further, the amount of excess sludge produced is extremely small.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a continuous process by which waste waters containing low to high concentrations of organic constituents and total nitrogen (definition as given in H 12, the German standard method for the examination of water, waste water and sludge) are biologically purified to such an extent that the said organic constituents are minimized, the said content of total nitrogen is completely nitrified, if it exceeds the assimilation demand, and the nitrate formed is reduced.
In this process, the expenditure for the oxygen introduction, the expenditure for the denitrification and the quantity of excess sludge are minimized.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known that, when waste water is treated in an upstream denitrification stage, substantial proportions of the oxygen which serves to oxidize the nitrogen compounds can be recovered by recycling activated sludge from the settling basin of the activated sludge plant and/or by recycling waste water from the nitrification basin [1] [2] [3] [4]. (The numerals refer to the references listed at the end of the specification.)
It is furthermore known that the load of organic constituents flowing into the first stage is reduced by said denitrification and that a low BOD.sub.5 sludge loading is necessary for a nitrification [1].
It is furthermore known that a complete denitrification of the water fed to the first stage is only possible if the COD feed/NO.sub.3 -nitrogen recycle ratio corresponding to the stoichiometry is 4 kg/kg or higher [2]. In the case of industrial waste waters, in particular, the ratio of organic load and total nitrogen is, however, often subject to large variations. If, during these variations, the COD feed/NO.sub.3 -nitrogen recycle ratio exceeds the above-mentioned amount of 4 kg/kg, the excess COD has to be biodegraded in the nitrification stage.
Surprisingly, it has now been found that it is possible to achieve both a complete denitrification and also a substantial biological reduction in the excess organic constituents by a controlled aeration of the first (denitrification) stage.

Process for biologically purifying waste waters


Apparatuses and methods for increasing well distributed, high quality-factor on-chip capacitance of integrated circuit devices are disclosed. In one aspect, an integrated circuit device structure includes a first metal line implemented on a metallization layer of a semiconductor substrate, the first metal line having a first set of metal fingers extending therefrom; and a second metal line electrically isolated from the first metal line, the second metal line having a second set of metal fingers extending therefrom, the first set of metal fingers and the second set of metal fingers capacitively coupled. The basic structure of metal lines with interlocking metal fingers may be repeated on multiple adjacent metallization layers, with the metal lines oriented either in parallel or perpendicular.

Capacitors are implemented within integrated circuits for a number of reasons, including coupling the power supply voltage line (e.g., bus) and the ground line (bus) to reduce voltage noise by locally meeting charge requirements for current-switching circuits. This capacitive coupling between the power supply voltage line and the ground line is known as supply bypassing. Such on-chip capacitors are typically implemented with active transistors, connected as gate capacitors, and often are implemented wherever there is space on the silicon die, between other functional circuits. That is, due to the placement of circuits, or floorplanning, within the die, there may be some regions where a small number of capacitors may be implemented because there was less need for other circuitry in that area. Conversely, there may be regions where there was no room to implement capacitors.
Gate capacitors have two commonly known issues in their use as effective integrated circuit capacitors. First, the resistance of a salicided poly gate is typically an order of magnitude higher than on-chip metal. This adds a series resistance to the gate capacitor, which reduces the quality-factor of the capacitor, thus reducing the capacitor's effectiveness. Secondly, there is a reliability restriction of connecting gate capacitors with oxide thicknesses of less than 20 Angstroms directly to a power supply line due to gate reliability concerns during an electrostatic discharge (i.e., ESD) event. Gate capacitors with larger oxide thicknesses can be directly connected, but they have much lower capacitance per unit area than gate capacitors with smaller gate thicknesses.
In many instances the physical location of the on-chip capacitors are a relatively large distance from where the stored charge is required. This distance results in a voltage droop due to the impedance of the power line when the capacitor energy is applied to the switching circuit. The higher the frequency of the switching circuit, the more the voltage droop can become, since the stored charge on the voltage line cannot keep up with the re-charge requirements between circuit switches. This voltage droop is a voltage noise on the power line which may cause degradation in circuit performance.
For example, an integrated circuit die may be 10 mm×10 mm, and have the on-chip supply coupling capacitors implemented in only one quadrant of the die, therefore easily being many millimeters from current-switching circuits requiring the capacitive charge.
Typically, integrated circuits provide some inherent capacitance due to the implementation of the metal power mesh (grid). FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary power mesh of an integrated circuit in accordance with the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, power mesh 100 shows two metal layers 105 and 110 of an integrated circuit, for example, though a typical power mesh may be comprised of several metallization layers. The layers 105 and 110 are electrically isolated from one another by dielectric layer 115. As shown in FIG. 1, the lower metallization layer includes alternating ground wires 106 (i.e., Vss) and voltage wires 107 (i.e., Vdd) which are shown running horizontally across the lower metallization layer, electrically isolated from each other by dielectric 108.
The upper-metal layer 110, which overlies the lower-metal layer 105, likewise, includes alternating ground wires 111 and voltage wires 112 which are shown running vertically across the upper metallization layer, electrically isolated from each other by dielectric 113. The power mesh 100 provides some inherent capacitance between overlapping voltage and ground wires. That is, wherever the Vdd wire of one metallization layer crosses the Vss wire of the other metallization layer a metal-to-metal capacitor is essentially effected. This capacitance however is not very significant due to the small area of intersection between the Vdd and Vss wires of adjacent metallization layers.
There is some additional coupling capacitance between adjacent Vss wires and Vdd wires on the same metallization layer, but again due to the relatively large distance between the two wires, this coupling capacitance is negligible. Typical application dimensions require an order of magnitude smaller wire spacing to provide substantial coupling capacitance.
Thus, as described above, conventional integrated circuit designs do not provide an adequate amount of well-distributed, high quality-factor coupling capacitance.

Interdigitated mesh to provide distributed, high quality factor capacitive coupling