A method and system for processing network data and displaying the results using a customizable user interface are disclosed.

The amount of network traffic on the Internet continues to escalate. At the same time, the number of potential security and data integrity threats, such as malware, also continue to escalate. It is becoming increasingly difficult to track the prevalence and spread of these threats due to the overwhelming amount of network traffic.
What is needed is an improved method and apparatus for collecting and analyzing network traffic to identify potential threats. What is further needed is the ability to filter and/or aggregate the collected data to identify patterns that indicate the presence of potential threats.
Equally important to data collection and analysis is having a "frontend" user interface that allows a user to quickly understand the data and identify patterns in the data. It is important to allow a user select the type of data of interest and to present the relevant data to the user in a way that a human being can quickly understand. In the prior art, user interfaces would allow a user to filter data by selected criteria. However, prior art user interfaces were limited because the criteria were not updated in real-time as the underlying dataset itself evolved.
What is needed is an improved user interface that permits a user to customize the user interface to be able to select the data of interest. What is further needed is a user interface that is modified in real-time as the underlying data set changes.

Method and apparatus for enhanced network data processing and customizable user interface


An image sensor and a method of manufacturing the same capable of improving image quality by preventing the generation of a lens bridge formed due to a mutual connection of neighboring microlenses. The image sensor can include a semiconductor substrate having a plurality of photodiodes formed thereon; an insulation layer formed over the semiconductor substrate; a color filter layer formed over the insulation layer; a planarization layer formed over the whole surface including the color filter layer and having a plularity of concave regions and a convex regions repeatedly arranged in a pixel period; and a microlens formed over each of the concave regions and the convex regions.

An image sensor is a semiconductor device for converting an optical image into an electrical signal. The image sensor may be classified as a charge coupled device (CCD) and a complementary metal oxide silicon (CMOS) image sensor (CIS).
Such an image sensor may be include a photodiode for sensing irradiated light and a logic circuit unit for processing the sensed light into an electrical signal and concert it into data. The greater capacity the photodiode has for receiving light, the better the photosensitivity characteristics of the image sensor.
In order to enhance such photosensitivity, a technique may be for enlarging a fill factor of the area the photodiode occupies among the entire area of the image sensor or condenses light into the photodiode by changing the optical path incident on the region other than the photodiode.
Such a condensing technique may include forming a microlens. A convex microlens may be formed on and/or over the uppermost surface of the photodiode using material having good light transmittance to refract the path of incident light so that light in greater quantities may be irradiated to the photodiode region. The light horizontal to the optical axis of the microlens may be refracted using the microlens so that the focus thereof is formed at a predetermined position on the optical axis.
An image sensor may include photodiode, an interlayer dielectric layer, a color filter layer, and a micro lens. The photodiode may perform the function of sensing and converting light into an electrical signal. The interlayer dielectric layer may perform the function insulating each metal wiring. The color filter layer can represent three primary colors of light such as red (R), green (G), and blue (B). The microlens may perform the function of condensing light into the photodiode.
As illustrated in example FIG. 1, an image sensor can include insulating layer 20 formed on and/or over semiconductor substrate 10 formed with a plurality of photodiodes 40. Color filter layers 30 representing red (R), green (G), and blue (B) corresponding to the plurality of photodiodes 40 may be formed on and/or over insulating layer 20. Planarization layer 25 for planarizing the uneven surface layers of color filter layers 30 may be formed on and/or over color filter layers 30.
A plurality if microlenses 50 each corresponding to the plurality of photodiodes 40 and color filter layers 30 may then be formed on and/or over planarization layer 25. Microlenses 50 may be formed in a convex lens pattern for collecting light to photodiodes 40 by patterning microlenses 50 using a photoetching process.
As illustrated in example FIG. 2A, photoresist 60, which is a material for microlens 50, may be coated on and/or over planarization layer 25.
As illustrated in example FIG. 2B, photoresists 60 may then be covered with mask 61 and then subjected to an exposure process using a defocus phenomenon so that photoresist 60 is patterned in a trapezoidal pattern.
As illustrated in example FIG. 2C, photoresists 60 in a trapezoidal pattern may then be heated up to a melting point and then reflowed. Subjecting to the reflow process, the photoresist pattern has mobility and is rounded so that microlens 50 is completed. Forming microlens 50 in this manner, however, may generate gap (G) between neighboring microlenses 50. In the microlens forming process, the gap between neighboring microlenses may have the largest effect on the performance of the image sensor.
The smaller the gap, the more the light sensitivity of the device is improved, sometimes as much as by 10 to 15% or more. Moreover, as the gap between the microlenses is smaller, a flux amount of light is large and the optical efficiency of light transferred to the lower end of a light diode in the device ma be increased.
In the case of a CMOS type device where a metal wiring may be provided in a pixel region, the light passes through the metal wiring arranged to avoid a path of light from the upper layer to the lower end to decrease the probability of it being scattered.
As described above, a microlens may be formed by a process patterning organic material in a form of a photoresist capable of being reflowed by using thermal energy at the place where the microlens is positioned on a planarization layer or a plane formed of the same material such as an oxide thin film, etc., using a lithographic method and then applying heat to reflow it.
When forming a microlens using such a process, since the width of the gap of the microlens may be determined using the gap of a pattern formed through a photolithographic before reflow, the minimum line width of the gap may be limited to 50 nm due to the limitation of lithographic resolution.
When making the gap of the microlens narrow below 50 nm by making the reflow excessive, since the flow of the microlens is determined using an equilibrium condition between surface tension and the reflow, it may be very difficult to control the generation probability of the lens bridge.
As illustrated in example FIG. 3, formation of a lens bridge may result in a mutual connection of neighboring microlenses. Consequently, it may be impossible to greatly reduce the size or otherwise eliminate the gap between neighboring microlenses.

Image sensor and method of manufacturing the same


A protective film structure (100) includes a base (110) and a resistive film (120) formed on a surface of the base. The base is comprised of amorphous boron nitride or amorphous boron carbide, and is formed on a surface of a substrate (10) to be protected. The resistive film includes an adhesive layer (121), an intermediate layer (122) and an outermost layer (123), which are formed on a surface of the base one on top of the other in that order.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to protective films and particularly to a protective film structure for portable electronic devices.
2. Description of Related Art
With the development of wireless communication technology and information processing technology, portable electronic devices, such as mobile telephones and notebooks, are now in widespread use. These electronic devices enable consumers to enjoy the convenience of high technology services, anytime and at virtually any location.
Generally, an electronic device has most of its electronics in one housing, called a body. The exterior surface of the body is normally made of light weight plastics or magnesium alloy. However, plastic products give customers a "cheap" feeling. The mechanical properties of magnesium alloy decay overtime. The magnesium alloy also has a rough surface, poor corrosion resistance and is highly inflammable.
What is needed, therefore, is to provide a protective film structure with good corrosion resistance, good surface roughness and hardness, as well as good mechanical properties.


The present disclosure relates to engineered microorganisms that produce amino acids and amino acid intermediates. In particular, the disclosure relates to recombinant nucleic acids encoding operons that increase production of aromatic amino acids and the aromatic amino acid intermediate shikimate; microorganisms with increased production of aromatic amino acids and the aromatic amino acid intermediate shikimate; and methods related to the production of aromatic amino acids, the aromatic amino acid intermediate shikimate, and commodity chemicals derived therefrom.

The traditional approach for improving microbial production of natural products, such as amino acids, antibiotics, etc., includes altering key structural or regulatory genes of the biosynthetic pathway followed by measuring the amount of desired product that is produced. Each change then reveals the presence or absence of a bottleneck and, based on those results, the next gene is deleted or overexpressed, and the cycle repeats until product titers/yields can no longer be improved substantially. Although this step-wise approach can yield improvements in flux through these pathways, it is a tedious and time-consuming strategy, given that metabolic pathways tend to be well balanced and rarely does a single change increase flux dramatically. Indeed, some bottlenecks will not be revealed until others are relieved. This process typically leads to the identification of local yield maxima, but not the global optimal yield.
These challenges are particularly evident in efforts to engineer Escherichia coli to produce high yields of aromatic amino acids. With advances in metabolic engineering and discovery of novel biosynthetic pathways in plants, aromatic amino acids, which have been important commodities used as animal feeds, food additives, and supplements, can also serve as precursors to a variety of commercially valuable molecules and pharmaceutical drugs (Gosset, G. Curr Opin Biotechnol 20:651-658, 2009; and Sprenger, G A. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 75:739-749, 2007). It has recently been shown that L-tyrosine over-producing strains of Escherichia coli grown on glucose can be used to produce biopolymer starting materials such as p-hydroxycinnamic acid and p-hydroxystyrene, and drug precursors such as reticuline, an important intermediate in biosyntheses of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (Minami, H J et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:7393-7398, 2008; Sariaslani, F S et al. Annu Rev Microbiol 61:51-69, 2007; and Sato, F T et al. Curr Pharm Biotechnol 8:211-218, 2007). Yet, of the three aromatic amino acids derived from the shikimate pathway, the L-tyrosine yield has been shown to be the lowest. While L-tyrosine titers of over 50 g/L can be produced using E. coli in a 200-L bioreactor by improving the fermentation and isolation steps (Patnaik, R et al. Biotechnol Bioeng 99:741-752, 2008), the production strain only yielded about 0.10 gram of L-tyrosine per gram of glucose (Olson, M M et al. Microbiol Biotechnol 74:1031-1040, 2007). Accordingly, a need exists for further improvements in L-tyrosine yields to make the process as economically competitive as the processes used to synthesize other amino acids, such as L-lysine, L-glutamate, and L-alanine (Ikeda, M. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 69:615-626, 2006; and Leuchtenberger, W et al. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 69:1-8, 2005).
Another problem with increasing L-tyrosine yields is that despite a vast wealth of literature accumulated over the past thirty years pertaining to the enzymatic activities and expression properties of the shikimate pathway, the pathway remains difficult to engineer (Bongaerts, J et al. Metab Eng 3:289-300, 2001; Gosset, G. Curr Opin Biotechnol 20:651-658, 2009; Herrmann, K M and Weaver, L M. Physiol Plant Mol Biol 50:473-503, 1999; Ikeda, M. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 69:615-626, 2006; and Sprenger, G A. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 75:739-749, 2007). Previous L-tyrosine engineering work has most often focused on the transcriptional deregulation of the tyrR and/or trpR regulons, followed by removing the feedback inhibition on two key enzymes, 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate (DAHP) synthase (AroG), which catalyzes the first committed step to the shikimate pathway, and the dual function chorismate mutase/prephenate dehydrogenase (TyrA), which catalyzes the first two steps in L-tyrosine biosynthesis from chorismate (Lutke-Eversloh, T and Stephanopoulos, G. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 75:103-110, 2007; and Olson, M M et al. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 74:1031-1040, 2007). Co-expression of the rate-limiting enzymes shikimate kinase (AroK or AroL) and quinate/shikimate dehydrogenase (YdiB), and deletion of the L-phenylalanine branch of the aromatic amino acid biosynthetic pathway have been shown to increase the L-tyrosine production (Gavini, N and Pulakat, L. J Bacteriol 173:4904-4907, 1991; Lutke-Eversloh, T and Stephanopoulos, G. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 75:103-110, 2007; and Olson, M M et al. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 74:1031-1040, 2007). Furthermore, overexpression of phosphoenolpyruvate synthase (PpsA) and transketolase A (TktA), altering glucose transport and use of other carbon sources, such as xylose and arabinose, have also been shown to increase the precursor pools to the shikimate pathway (Ahn, J O et al. J Microbiol Biotechnol 18:1773-1784, 2008; Daraths, K et al. Journal of the American Chemical Society 114:3956-3962, 1992; Li, K and Frost, J W. Biotechnol Prog 15:876-883, 1999; Lutke-Eversloh, T and Stephanopoulos, G. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 75:103-110, 2007; Patnaik, R and Liao, J C. Appl Environ Microbiol 60:3903-3908, 1994; Yi, L et al. Biotechnol Prog 19:1450-1459, 2003; and Yi, J et al. Biotechnol Prog 18:1141-1148, 2002. In these previous studies, gene expression was modified for only a few candidates of the L-tyrosine pathway at a time, and a large number of strains had to be screened to circumvent bottlenecks. However, a problem with these approaches is that while one pathway bottleneck may be eliminated, a new bottleneck may be introduced somewhere else along the pathway.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improved approaches for engineering new microbial strains that contain all the genes necessary for producing amino acids and stable amino acid intermediates that reduces biosynthetic pathway bottlenecks and optimized the production of the amino acids and stable amino acids intermediates, thus improving overall product yield.

Metabolic engineering of the shikimate pathway

The Regents of the University of California


A front vehicle-body structure flows air from the vehicle lower side to its upper side. After hitting a front bumper face, the air is separated and flows around and along a top face of an exterior member, ensuring aerodynamic performance. Embodiments include exterior members covering the upper side of an engine room, and a front grille disposed on a lower side relative to a front end portion of the exterior member. A rectification member extends the width of the exterior member in the vehicle width direction on the lower side of the exterior member front end portion. The rectification member includes a front piece portion extending toward the vehicle up-down-direction lower side from the exterior member to an upper end portion of the front grille, and a lower piece portion extending toward the vehicle rear side from an upper end of the front piece portion.

A cross-sectional shape of a bumper face has been conventionally known which allows air (traveling air) hitting a vehicle front portion to flow along the bumper face (see, Japanese Patent No. 6313240). For example, in a conventional structure disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 6313240, a front under grille is provided at a vehicle-width-direction center of a bumper face, and an upper portion of the front under grille includes a protrusion protruding toward the vehicle front side. The protrusion is provided with a first inclined face inclined rearward and upward and a second inclined face inclined rearward and downward, and the front-rear length of the first inclined face is provided to be longer than the front-rear length of the second inclined face. This makes it easier for a vehicle front portion to be pressed downward during traveling of the vehicle, thereby attempting to improve traveling stability.
Meanwhile, it is preferable that traveling air flowing from the vehicle front side hits the bumper face and then flows from the vehicle lower side to the vehicle upper side below an exterior member such as a bonnet and a bumper face upper so that air separated at a front end lower portion of the exterior member flows along a top face of the bonnet; however, when designability of the vehicle is emphasized, the air separated at the front end lower portion of the exterior member is excessively separated above the front end of the exterior member, and traveling air after separation cannot flow along the top face of the bonnet, which leads to a problem of deterioration of air resistance.


In a rolling element accommodating belt having a rolling element accommodating section for individually accommodating a plurality of balls at predetermined intervals while the plurality of balls are rolling and circulating in an infinite circulating passage of linear guide, the rolling element accommodating belt accommodates the balls in the rolling element accommodating section and aligns the balls in the direction of aligning balls in the infinite circulating passage. The rolling element accommodating section includes: a restraint accommodating section for restricting the accommodated balls in all directions; and a no-restraint accommodating section in which the accommodated balls are not restrained at least in one direction.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a linear guide device and a rolling element accommodating belt for the linear guide device.
2. Related Art
A linear guide device having a plurality of rows of infinite circulating passages includes: as shown in FIG. 29, a guide rail 12; a slider 16 arranged being capable of moving relatively with this guide rail 12; and a plurality of rolling elements 46 (in this example, balls) which roll between the guide rail 12 and the slider 16 under a load. The guide rail 12 has a rolling element guide face 14 on which the rolling elements 46 roll. The slider 16 includes: a slider body 17; and a pair of lid members (end caps) 22 attached to both end portions of the slider body 17 in the moving direction.
For example, as shown in FIG. 30, the slider body 17 includes a load rolling element guide face 18 which is opposed to the rolling element guide face 14 of the guide rail 12. The load rolling element guide face 18 and the rolling element guide face 14 form a rolling element track passage 26 that is a region for giving a load to the rolling elements. The slider body 17 also includes a rolling element return passage 20 in which the rolling elements roll under no load. Further, in the pair of lid members 22, the direction change passages 24 are formed which respectively continue to both end portions of the rolling element track passage 26 and the rolling element return passage 20.
A plurality of rows of the infinite circulating passages 28 are composed of the rolling element track passage 26, the pair of the direction change passage 24 and the rolling element return passage 20. When a plurality of the rolling elements 46 roll in each infinite circulating passage 28, the slider 16 can be relatively moved in the guide rail 12.
In the linear guide device, when the slider is moved relatively with the guide rail, the rolling elements move while they are rolling in the same direction. Therefore, the adjoining rolling elements are rubbed with each other. Accordingly, it is impossible for the rolling elements to roll smoothly. Therefore, an intensity of noise is increased and the rolling elements are early abraded.
In order to solve the above problems, a rolling element accommodating belt is proposed in which the generation of noise is suppressed and in order to smoothly operate the linear guide device, the rolling elements are aligned in the infinite circulating passage so as to compose a rolling element row. (Concerning this technique, refer to Japanese Patent No. 2607993 (Patent Document 1), Japanese Patent No. 3243415 (Patent Document 2), Japanese Patent No. 3447849 (Patent Document 3), Japanese Patent No. 3299450 (Patent Document 4), JP-A-11-247854 (Patent Document 5), Japanese Patent No. 3263005 (Patent Document 6), and JP-A-10-318257 (Patent Document 7))
For example, as shown in FIG. 31, according to the technique described in Patent Document 1, the rolling element accommodating belt 150 includes a spacer member 151 having concave portions on both side faces. This spacer member 151 is provided between the adjoining rolling elements 46 in the infinite circulating passages. Both sides of the adjoining spacer members 151 in the width direction of the infinite circulating passage are connected to each other by a connecting member 152. A portion in which the rolling element 46 is accommodated, which will be referred to as a rolling element accommodating section-hereinafter, is formed by the space member 151 and the connecting member 152 so that the accommodated rolling element 46 can be restrained in all directions and prevented from coming off from the rolling element accommodating section. Due to the above structure, it becomes possible to prevent the rolling elements from being rubbed and competed with each other. Accordingly, the circulating property of the rolling elements can be improved.
Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 30, according to Patent Document 2, the rolling element accommodating belt 62 includes: a spacer member 51; and a connecting member 52. The spacer member 51 has a pair of rolling element contact faces 54a, 54b slidably coming into contact with the outer circumference of the rolling element. The connecting member 52 is a belt-shaped member made of flexible thin material. This connecting member 52 connects the adjoining spacer members to each other. The rolling element 46 is interposed between the adjoining spacer members 51 so that the rolling element 46 can be restrained.
When the rolling elements 46 are accommodated in the rolling element accommodating section formed by the spacer member 51 and the connecting member 52, the rolling element row 62 is composed, and this rolling element row 62 is circulated in the infinite circulating passage 28. Due to the foregoing, it is possible to suppress the rolling elements 46 from being rubbed and competed with each other. Therefore, the circulating property of the rolling elements 46 can be improved. In this case, this rolling element accommodating belt 50 is formed being provided with both end portions, and a gap is formed between both end portions 59 (top and tail) of the rolling element accommodating belt 50, that is, both end portions 59 of the rolling element accommodating belt 50 are not connected to each other. According to this rolling element accommodating belt, it is possible to omit a connecting work in which both end portions of the rolling element accommodating belt are connected to each other so as to form an endless rolling element accommodating belt. Further, it is easy to automatize the assembling process.
However, according to the technique described in Patent Document 1, the rolling element accommodating sections are respectively formed so that all the accommodated rolling elements can be prevented from coming off in all directions of the rolling element accommodating sections. That is, the size of the opening of each rolling element accommodating section is smaller than the outside dimension of the rolling element. Therefore, in order to assemble the rolling element into the rolling element accommodating section from the outside, it is necessary to push each rolling element into each rolling element accommodating section. This assembling work takes time and labor.
In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is disclosed that at the time of forming the rolling element accommodating belt, each rolling element is accommodated in each rolling element accommodating section by means of insertion forming. Therefore, the process, in which each rolling element is incorporated into each rolling element accommodating section, is not needed. However, in the case where each rolling element is accommodated in each rolling element accommodating section by means of insertion forming at the time of forming the rolling element accommodating belt, the following problems may be encountered. As described in Patent Document 3, in order to give a rotating property to the rolling element (ball), it is takes a very long period of time, and further it is difficult to give a smooth rotating property to the rolling element (ball). In some cases, it is impossible to give a rotating property to the rolling element (ball) according to the type of resin. Further, in order to form an appropriate clearance between the rolling element (ball) and the rolling element accommodating belt, a special process such as a process of sucking water or absorbing oil is needed.
On the other hand, according to the technique described in Patent Document 4, in the rolling element accommodating section, all the accommodated rolling elements can pass through in the direction of both sides of the rolling element accommodating belt. That is, this rolling element accommodating section is formed in the azimuth so that the rolling element can be allowed to come off from the rolling element accommodating section. In this case, in the rolling element accommodating belt, the connecting members are guided by the groove-shaped guide portions formed in the slider on both side in the width direction of the infinite circulating passage. However, according to the technique described in Patent Document 4, all the accommodated rolling elements are accommodated being allowed so that they can come off from the rolling element accommodating section. Accordingly, the rolling element accommodating belt and the rolling elements are moved in the infinite circulating passage independently from each other in the directions of both sides of the rolling element accommodating belt. Consequently, the connecting member of the rolling element accommodating belt is strongly rubbed with the guide section, which might damage the connecting member.
Further, the linear guide device described in Patent Document 1 is composed in such a manner that the spacer members 151 of the rolling element accommodating belt 150 completely hold the rolling elements 46. Therefore, when the connecting member 152 of the rolling element accommodating belt 150 is elastically deformed into an arcuate shape in the direction change passage 24 formed in the lid member (end cap) 22, the spacer members 151 of the rolling element accommodating belt 150 and the rolling elements 46 interfere with each other on the inner circumferential side of the direction change passage 24. Therefore, an excessively strong tensile force is repeatedly given to the connecting member 152 of the rolling element accommodating belt 150. Accordingly, there is a possibility that the connecting member 152 of the rolling element accommodating belt 150 is broken.
In the linear guide device described in Patent Document 5, clearance is made between the rolling element passing in the direction change passage and the end portion on the outer circumferential side of the spacer member. However, in this case, the rolling element rolls in the direction change passage while the spacer member and the rolling element are pushing to each other, that is, while the connecting member is being given a force. Accordingly, in the same manner as that of the case described in Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that the connecting member of the rolling element accommodating belt is broken.
When the above linear guide device is manufactured, the rolling element row is incorporated into each infinite circulating passage by the procedure shown in FIGS. 32(a) to 32(f).
Specifically, the procedure is executed as follows. First of all, as shown in FIGS. 32(a) and 32(b), one of the lid members (end caps) 22 is removed from the slider 16. From the thus opened portion, the rolling element row 62 is inserted into the infinite circulating passage 28. The rolling element row 62 is inserted into the infinite circulating passage 28 until the state shown in FIG. 32(c) can be obtained. In the same manner, as shown in FIG. 32(d), the rolling element row 62 is successively assembled into each infinite circulating passage 28. As shown in FIG. 32(e), after the rolling element rows 62 have been assembled into all infinite circulating passages 28, the lid member 22, which was removed before, is attached to the slider body 17. Finally, as shown in FIG. 32(f), the slider 16, into which the rolling element rows 62 have been assembled, is attached to the guide rail 12.
However, according to this method of manufacturing a linear guide device, when the rolling element row 62 is assembled into each infinite circulating passage 28, as shown in FIGS. 32(d) and 32(e), the end portions 59 of all the rolling element rows are located at the opening portions of the infinite circulating passages 28. Therefore, under the condition that the lid member 22 is attached to the slider body 17 and the opening portions of the infinite circulating passages 28 are closed, positions of the end portions 59 of all the rolling element row 62 are left being aligned.
For example, as described in Patent Document 6, existence of the end portions of the rolling element accommodating belt, which is formed being provided with end portions, can be a cause of obstructing the smooth operation of the linear guide device. That is, since the rolling element accommodating belt, which is bent in the direction change passage, tends to return to a linear shape, the end portion of the rolling element accommodating belt is abraded with the inner wall of the infinite circulating passage, and the circulating resistance is increased. Further, since the rolling element at the end portion of the rolling element accommodating belt proceeds into a region, in which a load is given to the rolling element, without being drawn by the proceeding rolling element, when the rolling element is moved from the no-load region into the load region, a high circulating resistance is generated. In this connection, Patent Document described above discloses a technique of reducing an increase in the circulating resistance described above, however, as long as the end portion itself is existing, it is difficult to completely eliminate the generation of the circulating resistance.
According to the above method of manufacturing a linear guide device, under the condition that the positions of the end portions 59 of all the rolling element rows 62 are aligned, the slider 16 is assembled to the guide rail 12. Due to the foregoing, for example, as shown in FIG. 32(f), in a linear guide device having a plurality of rows of the infinite circulating passages, in the case where the number of the rolling elements composing the rolling element row in the infinite circulating passage and the length of the rolling element accommodating belt are the same as those of the rolling element row in the other infinite circulating passage, the phases of the end portions of the rolling element rows coincide with each other in the aligning direction of the infinite circulating passages. Accordingly, a case, in which the end portion of the rolling element accommodating belt and each portion of the infinite circulating passage interfere with each other, substantially simultaneously occurs with respect to all the infinite circulating passages. Accordingly, vibration and noise are more increased at the time of operation.
In this connection, for example, Patent Document 7 discloses a technique in which end portions of the rolling element accommodating belts, which are opposed to each other, are connected with each other. However, even when the end portions are connected with each other, it is inevitable that the thus connected portion is formed into a special shape with respect to the shape of the other portion. Therefore, even in the case where the end portions are connected to each other, a circulating resistance is generated in the connected end portion which is different from the circulating resistance generated in the other portions. Therefore, when the phases of the infinite circulating passages coincide with each other in the aligning direction, a smooth operation of the linear guide device is obstructed.
According to the technique described in Patent Document 4, the rolling element accommodating section of the rolling element accommodating belt is composed in such a manner that the rolling element accommodating section allows the accommodated rolling element to come off. Therefore, when the rolling element row of this type rolling element accommodating belt is incorporated into the infinite circulating passage, under the condition that one of the lid members is removed from the slider, while the rolling element accommodating belt is intermittently fed into the infinite circulating passage according to the pitch of the rolling element accommodating sections, the rolling elements are accommodated in the rolling element accommodating section from the thus opened portion. In this way, the rolling element row is composed and inserted. After the rolling element row has been inserted into the infinite circulating passage, the lid member, which was removed before, is attached to the slider body. However, even in this technique described in Patent Document 4, positions of the end portions of all the rolling element rows are aligned. From this viewpoint, this technique described in Patent Document 4 is the same as the technique described in Patent Document 2. That is, the phases of the infinite circulating passages coincide with each other in the rolling element aligning direction. Therefore, the problem caused by vibration and noise, which are generated at the time of operation, can not be solved.

Linear guide device and rolling element accommodating belt for the same


A compact and inexpensive optical head that enables stable compatible playback and compatible recording with optical discs of different kinds with the use of a single objective lens is achieved. The order of diffracted light at which the diffraction efficiency by a diffraction element forming the objective lens becomes the maximum is set to the third order for blue light, the second order for red light, and the second order for infrared light in the inner peripheral portion of the diffraction element, and to the sixth order for blue light, the fourth order for red light, and the third order for infrared light to limit the aperture for infrared light in the intermediate peripheral portion. In the outer peripheral portion, the aperture for red light is limited by setting the order to an integer other than multiples of 3 for blue light.

Regarding a compact disc (hereinafter, abbreviated to CD) deemed as the first generation of optical discs, information is recorded in or played back from (hereinafter, referred to as recorded in/played back from) an optical disc having a 1.2-mm-thick protective layer by setting the numerical aperture of the objective lens to 0.45 to 0.5 and using infrared light having a wavelength of 780 nm. In the present specification, the protective layer is defined as a transparent medium from a surface from which a light beam comes incident on an optical disc to the information recording surface. Regarding a digital versatile disc (hereinafter, abbreviate to DVD) as the second generation, information is recorded in/played back from an optical disc having a 0.6-mm-thick protective layer by setting the numerical aperture of the objective lens to 0.6 and using red light having a wavelength of 655 nm. Regarding a Blu-ray disc (hereinafter, abbreviated to BD) as the third generation, information is recorded in/played back from an optical disc having a 0.1-mm-thick protective layer by setting the numerical aperture of the objective lens to 0.85 and using blue light having a wavelength of 405 nm. Further, regarding another next generation DVD (hereinafter, referred to as HD-DVD) adopting a standard different from that of a BD, information is recorded in/played back from an optical disc having a 0.6-mm-thick protective layer, which is the thickness same as in a DVD, by setting the numerical aperture of the objective lens to 0.65 and using blue light having a wavelength of 405 nm.
An optical disc device that records/plays back information in/from, an optical disc of the third generation is configured to achieve a density higher than achieved before by employing a blue laser light source having a shorter wavelength and an optical system having a larger numerical aperture, and a widespread use in the future is expected. However, for either a BD or an HD-DVD, both of which are high density optical discs, there has been a demand to inherit assets accumulated in DVDs and CDs on one hand, and on the other hand, there has been a demand in terms of the device size for an optical disc device capable of recording/playing back information in/from different optical discs with the use of a single optical head. In order to achieve the both demands, it is necessary to provide an optical head capable of focusing a light beam to the limit of diffraction on optical discs having different protective layer thicknesses.
Conventionally, there has been proposed a configuration with the purpose of recording/playing back information in/from optical discs of different kinds using light beams having plural wavelengths. This configuration will be described using FIG. 23 and FIG. 24.
FIG. 23 is a cross section schematically showing the configuration of an example of an optical head as a first prior art. Referring to FIG. 23, a light beam 63 having a wavelength of 405 nm and emitted from a blue laser light source 61 and a light beam 64 having a wavelength of 655 nm and emitted from a red laser light source 62 are converted to parallel light by a collimator lens 65 and respectively focused by a diffraction element 66 and a refracting lens so as to be converged onto optical discs. The diffraction element 66 has a convex lens action and is configured to generate second-order diffracted light most strongly for light having a wavelength of 405 nm and to generate first-order diffracted light most strongly for light having a wavelength of 655 nm. The light beam 63 having a wavelength of 405 nm is diffracted by the diffraction element 66 and becomes second-order diffracted light, which is converged onto the information recording surface of an optical disc 51 having a 0.1-mm-thick protective layer by the refracting lens 67. Meanwhile, the light beam 64 having a wavelength 655 nm is diffracted by the diffraction element 66 and becomes first-order diffracted light, which is converged onto the information recording surface of an optical disc 52 having a 0.6-mm-thick protective layer. Light respectively reflected on the optical discs 51 and 52 is detected by a light detector 68.
FIG. 24 is an enlarged cross section of the diffraction element 66 and the refracting lens 67 shown in FIG. 23. As is shown in FIG. 24, the diffraction element 66 has different configurations in a region 66a inside the aperture for the light beam 64 and a region 66b on the outside of the region 66a. The region 66a is configured in such a manner that second-order diffracted light of the light beam 63 is converged onto the optical disc 51 and that first-order diffracted light of the light beam 64 is converged onto the optical disc 52, both via the refracting lens 67. The region 66b is configured in such a manner that second-order diffracted light of the light beam 63 is converged onto the optical disc 51 and that the first-order diffracted light of the light beam 64 has aberration with respect to the optical disc 52, both via the refracting lens 67. In this manner, spherical aberration resulting from a difference in thickness of the protective layers can be corrected (for example, see Patent Document 1).
As a second prior art, there has been proposed a configuration of an optical head compatible with optical discs of three kinds, in which a diffraction element, two wavelength-selective phase plates, and an objective lens are combined. This configuration will be described using FIG. 25.
FIG. 25 is a cross section schematically showing the configuration of an example of an optical head as a second prior art. Referring to FIG. 25, blue light 71a having a wavelength of 405 nm and emitted from an optical unit 70 becomes almost parallel light as it is diffracted by a diffraction element 72 and refracted by a concave lens 73, and is converged onto the information recording surface of an optical disc 51 having a 0.1-mm-thick protective layer after chromatic aberration of an objective lens 77 is corrected. Red light 71b having a wavelength of 655 nm and emitted from the optical unit 70 is changed to divergent light by the concave lens 73 without being affected by the diffraction element 72 and the phase thereof is corrected by a wavelength-selective phase plate 75, after which it is converged onto the information recording surface of an optical disc 52 having a 0.6-mm-thick protective layer. Further, infrared light 71c having a wavelength of 780 nm and emitted from the optical unit 70 is changed to divergent light by the concave lens 73 without being affected by the diffraction element 72 and the phase thereof is corrected by a wavelength-selective phase plate 76, after which it is converged onto the information recording surface of an optical disc 53 having a 1.2-mm-thick protective layer. Light respectively reflected on the optical disc 51, 52, and 53 travels in an inverse route to be detected by a light detector in the optical unit 70.
The wavelength-selective phase plate 75 is provided with a phase shift pattern 75a having a step-profile such that generates a phase difference for a light beam having a wavelength of 655 nm and generates a phase difference of almost an integral multiple of the corresponding wavelength for light beams having wavelengths of 405 nm and 780 nm, that is, such that makes the phase difference zero. The wavelength-selective phase plate 75 therefore gives no influence to phase distributions of the light beams 71a and 71c. The wavelength-selective phase plate 76 is provided with a phase shift pattern 76a having a step-profile such that generates a phase difference for a light beam having a wavelength of 780 nm and generates a phase difference of almost an integral multiple of the corresponding wavelength for light beams having wavelengths of 405 nm and 655 nm, that is, such that makes the phase difference zero. The wavelength-selective phase plate 76 therefore gives no influence to phase distributions of the light beams 71a and 71b.
The objective lens 77 is configured so that blue light having a wavelength of 405 nm is converged onto a BD having a 0.1-mm-thick protective layer when it comes incident thereon as parallel light, and when information is recorded in/played back from a DVD having a 0.6-mm-thick protective layer, spherical aberration is generated due to a difference in thickness. This spherical aberration is corrected with the use of the concave lens 73 and the wavelength-selective phase plate 75. Also, spherical aberration generated when information is recorded in/played back from a CD having a 1.2-mm-thick protective layer is corrected with the use of the concave lens 73 and the wavelength-selective phase plate 76 (for example, see Patent Document 2).
As a third prior art, there has been proposed a configuration to record/play back information in/from plural optical discs by mechanically switching plural objective lenses (for example, see Patent Document 3).
As a fourth prior art, there has been proposed a configuration regarding an HD-DVD to record/play back information in/from optical discs of different kinds. This configuration will be described using FIG. 26 and FIG. 27.
FIG. 26 is a cross section schematically showing the configuration of an example of an optical head as the fourth prior art. Referring to FIG. 26, a light beam 83 having a wavelength of 405 nm and emitted from a blue laser light source 80, a light beam 84 having a wavelength of 655 nm and emitted from a red laser light source 81, and a light beam 85 having a wavelength of 780 nm and emitted from an infrared laser light source 82 are focused by an objective lens 86 provided with a diffraction element 86a so as to be converged onto optical discs.
FIG. 27 is a partial enlarged cross section of the objective lens 86 shown in FIG. 26. As is shown in FIG. 27, the objective lens 86 has different configurations in an inner peripheral portion 87, an intermediate peripheral portion 88, and an outer peripheral portion 89. In other words, the diffraction element 86a is configured in such a manner that the inner peripheral portion 87 generates first-order diffracted light most strongly for light having each wavelength, the intermediate peripheral portion 88 generates third-order diffracted light most strongly for light having a wavelength of 405 nm and second-order diffracted light most strongly for light having a wavelength of 655 nm, and the outer peripheral portion 89 makes the maximum diffraction order different for light having a wavelength of 405 nm and light having a wavelength of 655 nm. Further, the refraction surface of the objective lens is configured in such a manner that the strongest diffracted light as described above is converged onto a corresponding optical disc, and aspheric surface coefficients are different in the respective inner peripheral portion 87, intermediate peripheral portion 88, and outer peripheral portion 89.
In this manner, the objective lens 86 converges light at the diffraction order that is generated most strongly by all the peripheral portions of the diffraction element 86a for the light beam 83 onto the information recording surface of an optical disc 54 having a 0.6-mm-thick protective layer, converges light at the diffraction order that is generated most strongly by the inner peripheral portion 87 and the intermediate peripheral portion 88 of the diffraction element 86a for the light beam 84 onto the information recording surface of an optical disc 52 having a 0.6-mm-thick protective layer, and converges light at the diffraction order that is generated most strongly by the inner peripheral portion 87 of the diffraction element 86a for the light beam 85 onto the information recording surface of an optical disc 53 having a 1.2-mm-thick protective layer. In this manner, by correcting spherical aberration resulting from differences in wavelength and in thickness of the protective layers and making the diffraction orders different in the respective regions of the diffraction element 86a, it is possible to limit apertures so that NA1 is given as the numerical aperture for the light beam 83, NA2 is given as the numerical aperture for the light beam 84, and NA3 is given as the numerical aperture for the light beam 85 (NA1>NA2>NA3) (for example, see Patent Document 4).
The respective prior arts described above, however, have the following problems.
In the first prior art, it is possible to record/play back information in/from a BD and a DVD with the use of a single objective lens; however, it is impossible to record/play back information in/from a CD. Because spherical aberration resulting from a difference in thickness of the protective layers between a BD and a DVD is corrected using second-order diffracted light generated in the diffraction element 66 for light having a wavelength of 405 nm and first-order diffracted light generated in the diffraction element 66 for light having a wavelength of 655 nm, it is impossible to converge light having a wavelength of 780 nm most suitably onto the information recording surface of a CD having a 1.2-mm-thick protective layer. First-order diffracted light is also generated in the diffraction element 66 for light having a wavelength of 780 nm. However, because the wavelength is almost twice as long as 405 nm, the thickness of the most suitable protective layer becomes almost as thick as the protective layer of a BD, which makes it impossible to record/play back information in/from a CD. Further, because the aperture limiting means is absent for light used for recording/playing back information in/from a CD, the numerical aperture cannot be set to 0.45. In short, this method relates to the compatibility between a BD and a DVD, and new technical means is necessary to achieve the compatibility among three wavelengths including the wavelength of light needed to record/play back information in/from a CD.
In the second prior art, the compatibility is achieved in recording/playing back information in/from a BD, a DVD, and a CD with the use of the diffraction element and the two wavelength-selective phase plates. However, because the diffraction element and the wavelength-selective phase plates are provided with the wavelength selectivity for three wavelengths, the grooves become deeper and a loss of light amount is increased by a diffraction loss on the groove inclined planes and an error of groove depths. In particular, the diffraction element 72 that diffracts blue light and does not diffract red light and infrared light is formed in a 4-step saw-teeth shape and the depth of all the steps exceeds 20 μm. This makes it impossible to secure sufficient manufacturing accuracy for a diffraction element to which the accuracy one order of magnitude smaller than the wavelength is required. In addition, because the aperture limiting means is absent for light used to record/play back information in/from a DVD and a CD, an optical filter or the like is necessary to set the numerical aperture for a DVD to 0.6 and the numerical aperture for a CD to 0.45. This configuration is a complicated configuration using an optical filter or the like in addition to a diffraction grating, a concave lens, two wavelength-selective phase plates, and an objective lens. The mass of a movable portion in the actuator that drives the optical head is consequently increased, which not only makes the driving at high double speeds for focusing and tracking difficult, but also brings disadvantages in terms of costs.
In the third prior art, because the objective lenses are switched, plural objective lenses are necessary. This poses problems that not only the number of components is increased, but also a size reduction of the optical head becomes difficult. In addition, the need for the switching mechanism makes a size reduction of the device more difficult.
In the fourth prior art, the compatibility is achieved in recording/playing back information in/from an HD-DVD, a DVD, and a CD by correcting spherical aberration and limiting the aperture with the use of the diffraction element. However, because the diffraction orders of the diffraction element are changed, when the wavelength changes from the design wavelength, the converging performance is deteriorated. The diffraction angle of the diffraction element increases as the diffraction order becomes higher and the wavelength becomes longer, and decreases as the pitch of the diffraction grating becomes longer. Hence, in a case where the diffraction orders are changed within the diffraction element, a change of the diffraction angle in response to a change of the wavelength differs from region to region, which makes it impossible to converge a light beam to a single point. A change of the wavelength is attributed to variations of the wavelengths and the temperature dependence in the light sources. The variations of the wavelengths are of the order of ±5 nm in the blue laser light source and of the order of ±10 nm in the infrared laser light source. The temperature dependence is of the order of ±2 nm in each light source. These cause a change from the design wavelength.
According to the configuration of the fourth prior art, because the diffraction order of the light beam 83 changes from the first order to the third order when the diffraction grating of the diffraction element changes from the one in the inner peripheral portion to the one in the intermediate peripheral portion, by setting the pitch of the diffraction grating in the intermediate peripheral portion to three times the pitch designed as the first-order diffracted light, it is possible to make a change of the diffraction angle in response to a change of the wavelength between the inner peripheral portion and the intermediate peripheral portion constant. However, because the diffraction order of the light beam 84 changes from the first order to the second order, a change of the diffraction angle in response to a change of the wavelength between the inner peripheral portion and the intermediate peripheral portion cannot be made constant unless the pitch of the diffraction grating in the intermediate peripheral portion is set to twice the pitch designed as the first-order diffracted light. Hence, when the diffraction orders change for the both light beams, a change of the diffraction angle cannot be made constant, which makes it impossible to converge a light beam to a single point when the wavelength changes.
In view of the foregoing, a practical compatible optical head capable of recording/playing back information in/from optical discs respectively having 0.1-mm-thick, 0.6-mm-thick, and 1.2-mm-thick protective layers using three wavelengths for blue light, red light, and infrared light has not been achieved.    Patent Document 1: JP-A-2004-192783 (pages 12-18, FIGS. 1 and 2)    Patent Document 2: JP-A-2003-281775 (pages 6-11, FIG. 1)    Patent Document 3: JP-A-11-296890 (pages 4-6, FIG. 1)    Patent Document 4: JP-A-2004-362626 (pages 5-14, FIGS. 1 and 3)


A method and tabular data stream format is provided for the transmission of tabular data between a client process running on a client computer and a server process running on a server computer via a network such as the Internet. The tabular data stream format, called the Advanced Data TableGram (ADTG) format, is ideally suited for marshaling tabular data in both directions between a Web browser and a Web server. A Web browser query is processed by the Web server retrieving tabular data from a database and converting the data into a Rowset. The Rowset, in turn, is formatted into an ADTG message. The ADTG message includes a Header section, a HandlerOptions section, a Row section, and an End section. The Header section includes data representing global parameters for a tabular data stream. The Handler Options section contains data representing parameters for controlling the processing of the tabular data stream by a process receiving the tabular data stream. The Descriptors section includes data representing properties of the tabular data stream. The Row section includes data representing the properties of rows and values of the columns of the tabular data stream. The End section contains data that denotes the end of parts of an ADTG message, called resultsets, or the end of the entire ADTG message.

Much of the Internet's use is conducted through the World Wide Web, hereinafter referred to as "WWW," or simply the "Web," in which linked pages of static content, composed of a variety of media, such as text, images, audio, and video, are described using hypertext markup language (HTML). While the WWW revolution has placed a wealth of information at the fingertips of cotuntless people, and while HTML is a very good way of describing static documents, HTML provides no mechanism for interacting with Web pages. At present, a Web browser uses the Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) to request an HTML file from a Web server. HTTP is an Internet protocol designed for the rapid and efficient delivery of HTML documents. A Web browser is a client process (also called a "client") running on a local or client computer that enables a user to view HTML documents. An examples of a Web browser is the Internet Explorer, from Microsoft Corporation, of Redmond, Washington. A Web server is a server process (also called a "server") running on a remote or server computer that uses HTTP to serve up HTML docuinents and any associated files and scripts when requested by a client.
The Web server receives the request and sends the HTML page to the Web browser, which formats and displays the page. Although this model provides a client with ready access to nicely formatted pages of information, it provides only limited interaction between the client and the server. In this regard, HTML pages must be manually edited in order to change what a server sends to a client. Thus, much of the potential richness of the World Wide Web is not fully realized.
One of the biggest challenges to any Web server is to offer client's dynamic content, such as selected information retrieved from databases. A prior art approach to providing dynamic content in Web pages is through the use of the Common Gateway Interface (CGI). CGI is a common way for interfacing external applications with HTTP or Web servers in which a client, executing a CGI script embedded in an HTML page, sends a request to the Web server to execute a CGI program. The CGI script transfers environment variables comprising a query string and a path information parameter. The query string is a string of text to be searched for in the Web server's database file. The path information parameter is used to indicate the location of a file to be searched.
While CGI allows specifically requested information to be accessed from databases across the Internet, CGI has very limited capabilities. Queries performed by CGI programs amount to string matching in a data file, and the results returned to the Web browser are simply preformatted text or an HTML document listing the results. Information retrieved by CGI programs is not tabular in nature. Any tabular relationships that might have been present in the data file are lost because tabular relationships are not accommodated by CGI. Thus, CGI, while adding dynamic content to Web pages, falls short of providing the full potential of database technology through the Internet. The present invention is directed to overcoming the problem.

Method of creating a tabular data stream for sending rows of data between client and server


Aspects of the invention include a sleeve or wrap for protecting a container. In certain embodiments, the sleeve or wrap is a protective encasement for protecting a container, such as a bottle. In certain embodiments, the sleeve or wrap includes a body with a lumen, wherein the body is configured for holding and/or containing the container. For instance, in one embodiment, the protective sleeve includes a tubular body and at least a first opening in the protective body that is adapted for receiving the container. In certain embodiments, the body of the sleeve includes silicone. Accordingly, in certain embodiments, the sleeve is a protective silicone sleeve that is adapted to hold and/or contain a container, thereby protecting the container from damage (e.g., breaking). Also provided is a system for protecting a container that includes a protective sleeve, as described above, and a container that is configured for being associated, e.g., fit within, the protective sleeve.

Active lifestyles necessitate that those who engage in them constantly be on the go. Good health demands that those participating in such active living imbibe a large quantity of liquids, namely, water and other well known sports drinks. Being on the go, however, often presents the problem of needing to quench one's thirst and yet not having access to a source of liquid refreshment. Accordingly, fluid containers, such as drinking bottles, have been developed to meet such demands of active living and thereby enable those who would not ordinarily have access to liquid refreshment to store, transport, and make use of such refreshments at their convenience.
Often drinking containers used for the storing, transporting and accessing of liquid beverages are made out of plastic. Recently, however, there has been a large amount of publicity regarding the various dangers related to the chemical constituents from which the plastic containers have been made. Specifically, various chemical constituents from which plastic containers are typically made may leach into the liquid contents contained therein. This problem is of special concern where the contents of the storage container is the sole source of nutrition for the subject imbibing the contents therein.
For instance, parents are very concerned with respect to the leaching of harmful chemicals into milk or formula contained in the plastic type bottles that are often used in the feeding of their babies. Specifically, bisphenol A and/or phthalates, which may leak from plastic containers into the liquids (e.g., milk or formula) contained therein, may mimic the growing child's endogenous hormones and are, therefore, considered harmful to growing infants and children.
One way of overcoming this, and other associated problems, is the use of glass bottles. Glass, e.g., silicon-dioxide, as used in the production of glass bottles, is widely known to be inert with respect to the drinking liquids typically contained in such bottles, and is not subject to the same problem of leaching as are its plastic counterparts. A problem with glass, however, is its perceived fragility. Even though a glass bottle may be constructed to be extremely sturdy, there still persist a perception that glass bottles are prone to breaking. Such a perception may prevent the acceptance and use of glass bottles as fluid storage containers for those engaging in an active lifestyle and/or for those seeking the storage, transport, and access to fluid nutrients.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a mechanism that will allow a user to employ a storage container, such as glass, thereby being protected from the harmful effects of leaching that may be present when using plastic storage containers, and yet be free of the fear of the glass container breaking, which often persist in the minds of those engaging in an active lifestyle as well as parents with infant children. The present invention meets these and other such needs.


A sonde based antenna is used for communication within a wellbore. The sonde based antenna may include a toroidal antenna positioned about a conducting element. The sonde may be positionable within a gap sub. The sonde may be electrically connected to the first and second tubulars of the gap sub such that the tubulars are electrically coupled by the conducting element and are otherwise electrically insulated. The sonde may include a first and second structural member, the first and second structural members being electrically insulated except by the conducting element. The first and/or second structural element may extend through and/or around the toroidal antenna to, for example, add structural rigidity to the sonde.

Directional drilling of boreholes is a well-known practice in the oil and gas industry and is used to place the borehole in a specific location in the earth. Present practice in directional drilling includes the use of a specially designed bottom hole assembly (BHA) in the drill string which includes, for example, a drill bit, stabilizers, bent subs, drill collars, rotary steerable and/or a turbine motor (mud motor) that is used to turn the drill bit. In addition to the BHA, a set of sensors and instrumentation, known as a measure while drilling system (MWD), may be used to provide information to the driller to guide and safely drill the borehole. Due to the mechanical complexity and the limited space in and around the BHA and mud motor, the MWD is typically placed above the motor assembly, which may place the MWD over 50 feet from the bit. A communication link to the surface is typically established by the MWD system using one or more means such as a wireline connection, mud pulse telemetry, or electromagnetic wireless transmission. Because lag between the bit location and the sensors monitoring the progress of the drilling, the driller at the surface may not be immediately aware that the bit is deviating from the desired direction or that an unsafe condition has occurred. For this reason, drilling equipment providers have worked to provide a means of locating some or all of the sensors and instrumentation in the limited physical space in or below the motor assembly and therefore closer to the drill bit while maintaining the surface telemetry system above the motor assembly.


A plurality of blocks of a first storage device are monitored. The first storage device is related to a computer system. A subset of blocks of the plurality a compared to a first storage signature of the first storage device. Based on the comparing of the subset of blocks to the first storage signature, a security anomaly is determined on the computer system. In response to the security anomaly, a security action is performed. The security action is related to the computer system.

The present disclosure relates to computer security, and more specifically, to anomaly and threat detection based on storage block analysis and machine learning.
Anomaly detection may be the analysis, scanning, and detection of various security issues related to computer systems. Security anomalies may be software or hardware threats to computer security and may come in the form of viruses, trojans, malware, or other kinds of attacks towards a computer system. Often, the performance of anomaly detection may be based on application or file-specific monitoring and verification.


A system and method for editing digital images are described. The system for editing digital images forms an image template containing a selected record of one or more image editing operations performed on a first image to obtain a first edited image. The image template also contains the first edited image. The system then applies the image template to one or more second images.

With the increasing popularity of computers and the widespread use of the Internet, and especially of the World Wide Web, in many fields, traditional analog technology is being replaced by digital technology. One example of this transformation is in the field of photography. It is well known in the art that traditional photography involves conventional film and chemical processing, whereas digital photography involves the creation of digital photography files and the manipulation of the digital photographs through digital processing.
Generally, digital photography is advantageous over traditional photography since the repetitive costs of film and chemical processing are eliminated. Furthermore, digital photography files provide a permanent storage format previously unavailable to photographers. At the same time, a series of image editing operations may be performed on digital photographs, including cropping, color enhancement, changes to brightness, color, or luminosity, or image effects.
Although the same image editing operations may be subsequently applied to several digital images, the edited images may have different image characteristics. Therefore, the edited images may not be combined or otherwise used together without some degree of difficulty.

System and method for editing digital images


A base, elongated member, and illumination source are combined to form the core of an organizational unit. The base has a first support structure and second support structure which serve as legs. These support a tabletop, as well as a shelf which is used to hold footwear or other items. The shelf is perforated in order to allow for drainage and prevent moisture accumulation, enhancing drying of items placed on the shelf. The elongated member is a height-adjustable pole connected on top of the tabletop, with the illumination source being placed at the top of the elongated member. A locking mechanism is provided for the elongated member, the elongated member itself being divided into a sleeve connected to the tabletop and a post that slides into and out of the sleeve. One or more hooks and an accessory receptacle may be attached to the elongated member.

A variety of organizational storage units are individual units such as coat racks, storage bowls for keys or any other small items, shoe racks, and so on. Typically, these organizational storage units require a light nearby to illuminate the organizational storage unit in order to see the contents properly. There are, however, organizational storage units which feature a combination of organizational storage units so that an individual does not need to move from one place to another in his or her home when leaving or entering the home. The main issue with these organizational storage units which combine a few individual organizational storage units is the amount of space required within a home. If an individual has limited space, these convenient organizational storage units are not feasible to place in the home.
The present invention serves to solve these problems, create an efficient organizational unit, and serve as a decorative piece for a home. The present invention helps to reduce clutter and keeps a home cleaner. The present invention also increases lighting in a home and prevents dirt or other items from getting into the home (when the placed near an entrance). Furthermore, a combination use of space is created by integrating several units together, the several units being easily assembled thanks to a modular construction.


An in-wheel suspension including a vehicle body-side member (90). The vehicle body-side member (90) is coupled with a vehicle body at least two coupling portions (92a, 92b, 92c), one of which is positioned above a wheel center and the other of which is positioned below the wheel center, via respective elastic members (96a, 96b, 96c). The elastic member (96b) arranged at the upper coupling portion (92b) has portions with high rigidity, and portions with low rigidity formed in an oblique direction that extends upward and toward an inside of a vehicle from a position outside of the vehicle. The elastic member (96a, 96c) arranged at the lower coupling portion (92a, 92c) has portions with high rigidity, and portions with low rigidity formed in an oblique direction that extends downward and toward the inside of the vehicle from a position outside of the vehicle.

Such an in-wheel suspension is described, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-A-10-338009. The in-wheel suspension described in this publication includes a hub that supports a wheel. The wheel mainly includes a disc and a rim. The rim has a reference width and a reference diameter. The in-wheel suspension includes a wheel carrier that defines the rotational axis of the hub, and a guide member that guides the movement of the wheel carrier with respect to a support member in the axial direction. The support member includes fitting means for fitting the support member to a chassis of a vehicle. The wheel carrier is fitted to the guide member by a long-and-thin single bar, and slides according to the guidance by the guide member. The wheel carrier is prevented from rotating on the sliding axis. The wheel carrier is fitted to the both ends of the bar. The in-wheel suspension includes means for supporting a load of the vehicle transmitted to the wheel carrier by the support member. The wheel carrier, the bar, and the guide member are housed in the wheel along the diameter defined by the reference diameter. The wheel carrier, the bar, and the guide member are housed in a limited space having a shape of a cylinder where one of the surfaces of the cylinder, which extend in the axial direction of the wheel carrier, bar, and the guide member, is defined by the disc of the wheel and the other surface is defined by a virtual surface contacting the rim.
In such an in-wheel suspension including a sliding mechanism, however, degrees of freedom in movements of a tire/wheel assembly other than the vertical/substantially vertical movement and the rotational movement are actually restricted by the sliding mechanism. This makes it difficult to change the camber angle when the tire/wheel assembly moves in the vertical/substantially vertical direction (when the tire/wheel assembly jounces/rebounds), and to change the orientation of the tire/wheel assembly such that the toe-in-angle increases when a braking force is applied. Such inconvenience does not occur, for example, in a commonly used multi-link suspension without a sliding mechanism.


A method and apparatus are provided for controlling clocks for a processor and L2 cache. The clock signal to an L2 cache may be shut down in order to conserve power. Due to the nature of CMOS circuitry typically comprising the SRAM in an L2 cache, shutting down the clock signal to the L2 cache may significantly reduce the amount of power consumed by the L2 cache. A clock control circuitry may be provided to generate and control clock signals to a processor (e.g., Pentium.RTM. processor) and an L2 cache. Controllable clock skew adjustment may be provided to adjust relative timing between clock signals. Skew adjustment for the L2 cache clock may be provided with an AND gate for interrupting the clock signal. The AND gate may be controlled by one of a number of signals indicating status of the L2 cache. Address strobe, L2 idle, or pipelining conditions may determine whether the clock signal to the L2 cache may be interrupted. The use of combinational logic circuitry allows for seamless shutdown and restarting of the L2 cache clock signal. The present invention has particular application to a system where interface circuits may be used to interface a Pentium.RTM. processor to a VL bus.

Personal computers (PCs) may be provided with one of a number of types of microprocessor integrated circuits (e.g., Intel.RTM. 486, Pentium.RTM. or the like, Motorola.RTM. 68000 series, PowerPC.RTM. or other type of processor). For the purposes of this application, the term "PC" shall be construed to include desktop personal computers, work stations, lap top, portable, notebook, palm top or other types of computer systems.
For manufacturers of PCs, particularly in the IBM.RTM. compatible or ISA type environment, it may be desirable from a marketing standpoint to offer PCs with a range of processor types and/or speeds in a corresponding array of price ranges. Thus, for example, a line of PCs may be offered with different processors, from 486 type processors (typical of lower priced PCs at the time of filing of the present application) to Pentium.RTM. processors (usually offered in higher priced PCs at the time of filing of the present application).
In order to reduce manufacturing and inventory costs, it may be desirable to provide a common PC design which may accept either 486 or Pentium.RTM. processors. The use of the 486 and Pentium.RTM. processors is offered by way of example only, and the present invention is not limited to use of such processors. Other grades or ranges of processors may be applied within the spirit and scope of the present invention. However, such disparate processor types may require different clock speeds, data widths or the like, and thus it may be difficult to provide a single PC design which may accept disparate processor types.
In addition, it may be desirable to offer a PC design which may be upgraded from a lower power processor (e.g., 486 type) to a higher power processor (e.g., Pentium.RTM. type). Again, however, such upgradeability may present challenges due to the different processing requirements of the different processors, including clock speeds and data width.
In portable computers operating on battery power or in other energy saving computer systems, it may be desirable to reduce power consumption to prolong battery life or for thermal management considerations. In such systems, it may be desirable to shut down components not in use in order to conserve energy. However, some components, when shut down, may induce delays in processing when reactivated, causing delay or system failure. For example, a system memory cache, when shut down, may induce delays when restarted, negating its purpose of speeding processing or in a worse case, causing system failure.

Method and apparatus for dynamic control of clocks in a multiple clock processor, particularly for a data cache


Provision can be made of a high-speed image processing apparatus that eliminates poor visibility in a dotted configuration or a superimposed portion of two streaks upon removing a false image due to statistical noise. That is, provision can be made of a high-speed image processing apparatus capable of outputting a processed image of high visibility in accordance with a shape of a configuration of a subject appearing in an original image upon removing a false image associated with the statistical noise. A band image noise extract generating unit performs image processing by superimposing a band image, an isotropic blur image, and an anisotropic blur image while changing weighting for each pixel in accordance with edge reliability. Such a construction eliminates poor visibility in the dotted configuration or the superimposed portion of two streaks upon removing the false image in the original image.

A medical institution is equipped with a radiographic apparatus configured to obtain a subject image with radiation. Such a radiographic apparatus suppresses a dose of radiation to be emitted to the extent possible upon radiography. This is because radiation exposure unnecessary for a subject has to be avoided.
Accordingly, a granular false image referred to as statistical noise likely appears in the obtained image. The statistical noise is, for example, derived from unevenness of radiation detection by each detecting element of a radiation detector, and tends to be more remarkable with a less dose of radiation. Consequently, the false image remarkably appears in a portion of the image, such as a bone, where a dose of radiation is likely to lack.
The statistical noise appears not only in the bone portion but also the entire image. Thus, a construction has been conventionally designed that removes the false image derived from the statistical noise from the image to enhance visibility of the image. See, for example, Japanese Patent No. 4072491 and Japanese Patent Publication 2004-242285A. Such the image processing has a problem how an original subject image is allowed to remain while the false image is removed.
Hereinunder described are two sophisticated examples of the image processing with the conventional construction. With a method in Japanese Patent No. 4197392, edge reliability is firstly calculated for each pixel. The edge reliability is an index representing whether a variation in pixel value between a pixel constituting the image and a pixel surrounding the pixel is derived from a configuration of the subject or from the statistical noise. Then, different weights are applied to each of the pixels in accordance with the calculation results to perform image processing. Specifically, a weight of an anisotropic filter image is increased for a pixel with high edge reliability and pixel values variation due to the configuration of the subject, the anisotropic filter image being obtained by applying an anisotropic filter to an image to perform smoothing depending on a direction. On the other hand, a weight of a band image is increased for a pixel with low edge reliability and pixel values variation due to the statistical noise. This allows removal of the false image derived from the statistical noise in the image while the configuration of the subject remains.
Here, an edge indicated by the edge reliability is a streak figure derived from the configuration of the subject. Since the false image derived from the statistical noise is granular, the false image has no streak appearing therein. Accordingly, a streak figure in the image does not represent the statistical noise but represents the configuration of the subject. Thus, the streak configuration derived from the subject appears in a portion of the image having high edge reliability. As a result, an anisotropic filter is applied to the streak configuration.
In this case, the anisotropic filter is applied so as to smooth along the streak configuration. A direction of the anisotropic filter, i.e., a direction of the streak configuration is accurately calculated with suppressed noise influence by averaging gradient vectors adjacent to one another isotropically and correcting the vectors with a gradient vector with low resolution. This avoids blurring of the streak configuration itself while the statistical noise superimposed on the streak configuration is eliminated.
Next, description will be given of an image processing method in Patent Literature 4. In this method, an anisotropic filter is variable in accordance with the edge reliability even in the same direction. That is, an anisotropic filter with high direction dependency is applied when the edge reliability is high. This leads to image processing to the configuration in the image with remarkable streaks so as to remain the configuration, and leads to image processing to the blurred configuration in the image so as to remain the blurring.
Patent LiteraturePatent Literature 1Japanese Patent No. 4072491Patent Literature 2Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-242285APatent Literature 3Japanese Patent No. 4197392Patent Literature 4Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-133410A

Image processing apparatus and radiographic apparatus having the same


A device for initializing a Viterbi decoder in a receiver for signals transmitted in the form of bursts, each burst comprising a synchronization word and message data that has undergone convolutional coding in a transmitter, the position of the message data relative to the synchronization word being known, includes a detector for detecting the synchronization word, a multiplexer for applying the received signals to the Viterbi decoder in the presence of the message data and for applying to the Viterbi decoder, immediately before and immediately after the message data, a code sequence generated locally, free of errors and having a length at least equal to the truncation length of the Viterbi decoder.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is that of digital telecommunications, in particular via satellite, and in particular that of digital signal receivers for receiving convolutionally coded signals.
To be more precise, the present invention concerns a device for initializing a Viterbi decoder in a demodulator stage of a receiver for signals transmitted in the form of bursts (TDMA transmission), a receiver comprising an initialization device of this kind and a method used for this initialization.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, digital data to be transmitted can be convolutionally coded in the transmitter in order to reduce the error rate on radio transmission between the transmitter and a receiver, for example via a satellite. The convoluted data is decoded in the receiver by a Viterbi decoder. In the remainder of this description, the expression "Viterbi decoder" refers to any decoder using the criterion of maximum likelihood. The decoding is carried out after the received signal is transposed into the baseband and a decision on the symbols is not generally taken until after decoding (this is known as "soft decision").
The use of coding and decoding of this kind for continuous links is known in itself. Reference may be had, for example, to French patent application No. 2 530 096 in the joint names of NEC CORPORATION and KOKUSAI DENSHIN DENWA CO, LTD. concerning a synchronization circuit for a Viterbi decoder using a signal resulting from the difference between the maximum and minimum metrics to obtain synchronization (the mean difference between the maximum and minimum metrics has a high value when synchronization is obtained).
The drawback of this device is that a large number of errors occurs at call set-up time because when the first data is received the Viterbi decoder is not immediately ready to decode it. For this reason a large number of errors is tolerated at call set-up time. This is not a particular problem in the case of continuous transmission, but is unthinkable in the case of TDMA transmission.
In TDMA transmission each burst transmitted comprises a synchronization word, also called the unique word, and message data, the number of message data words and their position relative to the synchronization word being known.
FIG. 1 shows the structure of a transmitted data burst in the case of TDMA transmission.
The burst 1 includes a preamble in the fields CBTR and DUW and message data in the field DATA. The field CBTR includes bits enabling carrier and bit timing recovery. The field DUW includes the symbols of the synchronization word and the field DATA includes the message data bits.
In this burst the synchronization word DUW is in the preamble and its last bit is immediately followed by the first message data bit.
If convolutional coding is to be applied to the message data, the Viterbi decoder in a receiver that receives this burst must be ready to decode message data as soon as its synchronization word is detected, to prevent a burst of errors being produced when the first message data is received. The solution mentioned above (synchronizing the Viterbi decoder by monitoring the divergence of the maximum and minimum metrics) takes too long and cannot be used for TDMA transmission.
The article by Richard L. Moat entitled "ACTS BASEBAND PROCESSING", Globecom '86, IEEE Global Telecommunications Conference, Communications Broadening Technology Horizons, Conference Record CH2298-9, Houston, vol. 1, pages 578-583 describes the provision of a sequence for flushing data written in a Viterbi decoder. This sequence is made up of the first code words received of a sequence, stored in RAM and already decoded.
The drawback of this technique is that it does not prepare the decoder to receive code words and, most importantly, the words received are not necessarily code words since transmission errors may have occurred. In this case the Viterbi decoder can diverge and the last words of the block decoded do not correspond to those of the source.
An object of the present invention is to remedy these drawbacks.
To be more precise, an object of the invention is to provide a device for initializing a Viterbi decoder in a receiver for signals transmitted in the form of bursts, the bursts received possibly coming from different transmitters and being irregularly spaced in time due to the existence of a guard time between the received bursts. The initialization of the decoder must ensure correct decoding of all message data.

Device for initializing a viterbi decoder in a receiver for signals transmitted in the form of bursts, corresponding receiver and corresponding initialization method


A ski boot comprising a conventional rigid sole from which there protrudes, from the area of the forefoot and approximately up to the area of the arch of the foot, a shell open in the direction of the area of the heel of the sole, thereat and to which there is rearwardly and slideably connectable a buttress element interacting with adjustment and guiding elements of the axial position with respect to the sole and to which a height-adjustable cuff is rotatably connectable.

Presently there are in use ski boots constituted by a shell to which there is downwardly connected a sole, having a tip and a heel connectable to predisposed bindings fixed to a ski; the shell, usually provided in rigid or semi-rigid plastic material, covers approximately entirely the foot of the user.
To the shell there is rotatably connected, typically at the malleoli area, a cuff, adapted to partially cover the leg of the user to provide a support thereto during skiing.
Internally to the shell and to the cuff there is typically positioned an inner boot, provided in soft material, adapted to increase the comfort-fit for the user.
The main drawback of such known ski boots is that they must be produced, for being adequate to the size of the foot of the user, in various dimensions: this increases production costs, there being necessary different machines and molds for producing the components in the different dimensions, and moreover there exists the problem of stocking the various sizes, for both the producer and for the seller.
As a possible solution to such drawback ski boots are usually produced in a number of limited sizes so as to be able to be used, each one, by users having foot sizes which are slightly different.
This however forces the user to buy a size which does not correspond to the exact dimensions of his own foot, forcing him or her to employ other expedients, such as for example the use of socks of increased thickness, for increasing comfort and for allowing thus to transmit in an optimum manner the forces from the foot to the ski.
Such drawback is greater in the case of users which are children, whose foot typically has dimensions which increase in relatively short times.
Another problem which should be held in mind is the fact that to a fixed size there corresponds a fixed shape of the calf of the user, for which the use of larger sizes and the compensation of the greater space for the foot with a sock may bring about localized areas of compression of the upper end of the cuff on the calf.


An electronic device with a flexible display subassembly is provided. The display stack may use two layers of adhesives having different elastic properties to improve mechanical impact resistance, with a first adhesive layer made of a viscoelastic material and a second adhesive layer having a low modulus of elasticity. The display stack may also include a hot melt protective sheet (HMPS) covering the display subassembly. The HMPS may be wrapped around the two side edges of a rigid substrate to attach directly to the substrate, thereby aiding in the adhesion of the display stack to the substrate. The display stack may also includes a patterned back protective sheet in which the protective backing layer is removed along the curved portions of the display stack.

Portable electronic devices, such as electronic book (e-book) readers or tablet computers, have become increasingly popular. The front side of a typical e-book reader includes a display portion for displaying e-books or other content, and a bezel region surrounding all four sides of the display portion. It is desired by some users to reduce the size of the bezel region in proportion to the size of the display portion, and, in particular, to reduce the width of the bezel on the lateral sides of the display portion. This can help to maximize the amount of viewable display size while minimizing the overall size of the device. However, the structure of the display stack for producing the images of the content limits the ways in which the bezel can be reduced in size. Accordingly, there is a need for improved electronic devices with improved displays.