A compact stacked mold is provided by reducing the sand-metal ratio. Cavities (11, 12) are formed on upper and lower sides (13, 14) of a chill plate (10) corresponding to one half of a cam profile, and the upper and lower sides (13, 14) are aligned with parting surfaces of a mold (15).

The present invention relates to metal chill plates which are implanted in a mold or flask and a stacked flask assembly using the metal chill plates.
There is a wide range of application for composite materials having a chilled structure which is obtained by rapidly cooling a molten metal poured into a mold or flask having metal chill plates.
In industrial application, these composite materials are typically utilized for making automotive type engine cam shafts and similar types of engine parts in a manner that the cam shafts are cast within the mold in which the chill plates are located to produce hardened surface areas at pre-selected locations on the cam shafts.
Actually, in Japan and Europe, more than 70% of medium and small internal combustion engines excluding those for large ships use the cam shafts made of cast iron having chilled surface areas formed on cam or lobe portions. By chilling the entire circumferences of cam or lobe portions the hardness of the chilled portions and the micro-structures thereof can be further improved, thus, the application of such materials is increased.
Systems for casting the chilled cam shafts currently produced in Japan and Europe are generally classified into (1) casting using a green sand high pressure mold obtained by mechanical ramming and (2) casting using a mold hardened by using a chemical binder. In either case, a mold structure is employed in which the chill plates are implanted in the mold to forcibly cool and harden cam or lobe portions concurrently with casting. In the United States, the cam shafts are hardened by quenching because such automated implantation of the chill plates in the casting mold is not available.
The recent trend toward automobiles of higher performance has resulted in more complicated valve mechanisms, and this necessitates increasing the number of cams disposed within a predetermined length of the cam shaft and making the surfaces of the increased number of cams harder. For this reason, casting methods utilizing chill plates are attracting more attention.
Referring to casting process by implanting the chill plates in the mold, the green sand high pressure casting wherein water and green sand added with a binder are simply mechanically rammed has been found unsatisfactory in that it is limited in adaptability to product designs intended for the increased number of cams and in that water included in green sand reacts with poured molten metal in contact with the chill plates resulting in accidental internal gas defects which increase in proportion as the number of cams increases.
For the above reasons, the casting using the chemically hardened mold which easily accommodates to near net shapes and has high adaptability to product designs is more advantageous than the casting using the green sand high pressure mold, although the latter provides high productivity. Under such circumstances, most Japanese and European firms producing the chilled cam shafts employ casting based on a shell mold process or cold box process utilizing a chemically hardened mold, and only a limited number of firms employ casting using the green sand high pressure mold for items in limited design shapes.
The chemically hardened molds for the chilled cam shafts for the internal combustion engines of automobiles are produced using the shell mold process wherein upper and lower molds (cope and drag frames) are independently made and are aligned and bonded after manually implanting the chill plates therein. Gating systems used in this case include those to obtain horizontally poured and laterally arranged plural shots, vertically poured and laterally arranged multiple shots, vertically poured and longitudinally arranged plural shots, and vertically poured stack-cast laterally arranged multiple shots.
In the prior art as described above, the stack-cast laterally arranged system is preferred to any other system for casting of the cam shafts from the viewpoint of chill hardness, hardness of shafts, ease of forming hollow shafts, yield in terms of weight, productivity in molding, and productivity in pouring. However, this system has problems to be solved in the aspects of bending of shafts, casting defects, and automated implantation of chill plates and is to be improved further for a better sand-metal ratio. Especially, the sand-metal ratio makes it difficult to form a more compact stacked mold.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to solve the above problems and points to be improved.


The method for the heat treatment of waste includes introducing the waste by into a bag and placing the bag inside an apparatus for treating waste, the apparatus including a cylindrical barrel, a removable closure lid and a bottom moveable inside the barrel, at least in the direction of the lid. After the bag has been placed in the apparatus heat treatment of waste is carried out by raising the temperature of the lid and the bottom and by providing this lid and this bottom with a hold temperature. At least during the rise in temperature of the lid and the bottom, and before the hold temperature is reached, this lid and this bottom are moved towards each other at least once. A temperature conferred on the lid differs by at most 2° C. from the temperature of the bottom.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for heat treatment of waste as well as an apparatus for implementing this method.
This invention concerns the field of waste treatment, more particularly that of the treatment of waste by heat, inside a heated chamber. This invention will have applications most particularly, but by no means limitatively, in the treatment of household, hospital or biohazardous waste.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
Waste treatment methods of this type are already known, which consist of introducing waste into a bag before placing inside an apparatus designed to treat such waste a load consisting of the bag and the waste contained therein.
The method then consists, after placing the load inside the apparatus, of raising the temperature of the bottom and of the lid and then applying a hold temperature to this bottom and this lid, and therefore the load. Moreover, before this hold temperature is reached, the bottom and the lid are moved towards each other at least once and the load may be compacted.
For the implementation of the method, an apparatus is used, in particular one such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,204,956, comprising a bottom and a lid incorporating heating means, which lead to an inhomogeneity of temperature inside the load. This inhomogeneity leads to the inhomogeneous and/or incomplete treatment of the waste (which is not acceptable for hospital or biohazardous waste) or requires, for an appropriate treatment of such waste, that the duration of the implementation of the method be extended substantially, which entails the consumption of a considerable amount of energy.
Moreover, this method consists of moving the bottom and the lid towards each other, and even compacting the load. Now, when the load contains a non-compactable object, the movement of the bottom and the lid towards each other is interrupted and the load is directly subjected to the hold temperature. The interruption of this movement of the bottom and of the lid leads to insufficient compaction of the load, which once again leads to an inhomogeneity of temperature inside this load with the same consequences as described above.
Furthermore and in spite of the movement of the bottom and the lid towards each other, the load usually contains a certain quantity of residual air, which causes poor conduction of the heat and therefore an inhomogeneity of temperature inside the load, again with the same consequences as described above.
Finally, the method involves allowing the air to be evacuated out of the apparatus, which then includes a filter designed to filter said evacuated air. Now, such a filter is particularly sensitive to the presence of liquids in the evacuated air, water in particular, which will render said filter totally inactive and will require it to be cleaned, and even removed. In order to overcome this drawback, the apparatus is equipped with means designed to detect the presence of such a liquid and to interrupt the waste treatment process if such a liquid is detected. Given that most waste will contain such a liquid, either the treatment of this waste will be rapidly interrupted, or the time during which the load is heated will have to be extended significantly, which, once again, will entail the consumption of a considerable amount of energy.

Method and apparatus for heat treatment of waste


A method of data replication in a clustered computing environment comprises receiving, at a selected indexer within a plurality of indexers in a cluster, data from a forwarder indexer, wherein the selected indexer is designated as a primary indexer for the data, wherein the primary indexer has primary responsibility for responding to search queries pertaining to the data, wherein the cluster comprises a plurality of sites. The method further comprises receiving, at the selected indexer, data replication instructions, wherein the data replication instructions comprise a number of other indexers in the cluster for storing a replicated copy of the data and further comprise a number of sites from the plurality of sites across which to store a replicated copy of the data determined in accordance with a site replication factor.

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Today's Internet has evolved into a ubiquitous network that has compelled many businesses to rely upon it as a major resource for doing business. For example, many businesses may employ services on the Internet to perform backup of their various aspects of their local computing resources, including providing for high availability of backed up data.
In response to the need to provide for a networking infrastructure with both high availability of data and recover from disasters, cluster architectures were developed. Briefly, a cluster architecture can be defined as multiple loosely coupled network devices that cooperate to provide client devices access to one or more services over the network.
However, some cluster architectures that are employed for data backup may spread different portions of data across a large number of members within the cluster to minimize the likelihood of loss of large amounts of data should one of the members fail. However, when loss of even a portion of the data may be significant to the clients depending upon the cluster, this may not be a tolerable result. Therefore, It is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made.
The performance and capabilities of computing devices have increased dramatically since their introduction. However, computing devices of all types remain susceptible to device failures, whether from malfunctioning device hardware or from external conditions such as a loss of electrical power. For businesses and users that rely on computing devices, such failures can result in highly undesirable downtime and possible data loss.
For some computing environments, a cluster architecture may be configured to mitigate some of the problems caused by device failures. In general, a cluster consists of multiple computing devices that may be connected by a network and that operate in a coordinated fashion to provide access to data and/or one or more computing services. In order to provide for high data availability and the ability to recover from disasters, a cluster architecture may be configured to replicate data stored by the cluster across multiple components of the cluster. In this manner, if one or more of the cluster components fails, data stored by the failed components may be made available through one or more of the other components storing a replicated copy of the data.
Some cluster architectures that are employed for data backup may spread different portions of data across a large number of components within the cluster to minimize the likelihood of losing large amounts of data should one or more of the components fail. However, when loss of even a portion of the data may be significant, this may not be a tolerable result.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Data replication and site replication in a clustered computing environment


An optical system for projection photolithography is disclosed. The optical system is a modified Dyson system capable of imaging a large field over both a narrow and a broad spectral range. The optical system includes a positive lens group having a positive subgroup of elements that includes at least a plano-convex element and a negative subgroup that includes at least a negative meniscus element. The lens subgroups are separated by a small air space. The positive and negative subgroups constitute a main lens group arranged adjacent to but spaced apart from a concave mirror along the mirror axis. The system also includes a variable aperture stop so that the system has a variable NA. A projection photolithography system that employs the optical system is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical projection systems, and in particular to a high variable numerical aperture, large-field unit-magnification projection optical system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Photolithography is presently employed in sub-micron resolution integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing, and also to an increasing degree in advanced wafer-level IC packaging as well as in semiconductor, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), nanotechnology (i.e., forming nanoscale structures and devices), and other applications. These applications require multiple imaging capabilities from relatively low (i.e., a few microns) resolution with large depth of focus, to sub-micron resolution and a high throughput.
The present invention, as described in the Detailed Description of the Invention section below, is related to, and an improvement on, the optical system described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,494 (hereinafter, "the '494 patent") issued on Jul. 5, 1983 to Ronald S. Hershel and assigned to General Signal Corporation, which patent is hereby incorporated as a reference.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional diagram of an example prior art optical system 8 according to the '494 patent. The optical system described in the '494 patent and illustrated in FIG. 1 is a unit-magnification, catadioptric, achromatic in the g-h band and is an anastigmatic optical projection system that uses both reflective and refractive elements in a complementary fashion to achieve large field sizes and high numerical apertures (NAs). The system is basically symmetrical relative to an aperture stop located at the mirror, thus eliminating odd order aberrations such as coma, distortion and lateral color. All of the spherical surfaces are nearly concentric, with the centers of curvature located close to where the focal plane would be located were the system not folded. Thus, the resultant system is essentially independent of the index of refraction of the air in the lens, making pressure compensation unnecessary.
Optical system 8 includes a concave spherical mirror 10, an aperture stop AS1 located at the mirror, and a composite, achromatic piano-convex doublet lens-prism assembly 12. Mirror 10 and assembly 12 are disposed symmetrically about an optical axis 14. Optical system 8 is essentially symmetrical relative to an aperture stop AS1 located at mirror 10 so that the system is initially corrected for coma, distortion, and lateral color. All of the spherical surfaces in optical system 8 are nearly concentric.
In optical system 8, doublet-prism assembly 12 includes a meniscus lens 13A, a piano-convex lens 13B and symmetric fold prisms 15A and 15B. In conjunction with mirror 10, assembly 12 corrects the remaining optical aberrations, which include axial color, astigmatism, petzval, and spherical aberration. Symmetric fold prisms 15A and 15B are used to attain sufficient working space for movement of a reticle 16 and a wafer 18.
Optical system 8 also includes an object plane OP1 and an image plane IP1, which are separated via folding prisms 15A and 15B. The cost of the gain in working space is the reduction of available field size to about 25% to 35% of the total potential field. In the past, this reduction in field size has not been critical since it has been possible to obtain both acceptable field size and the degree of resolution required for the state-of-the-art circuits.
However, most present-day (and anticipated future) high-technology micro-fabrication processes (e.g., for wafer-level IC packaging, semiconductor fabrication, forming MEMS and nano-structures, etc.) include performing a large number of exposure steps using 200-mm and 300-mm wafers. Further, the exposures must be performed in a manner that provides a large throughput so that the fabrication process is economically feasible.
Unfortunately, the optical system of the '494 patent is not capable of providing high-quality imaging at large field sizes (e.g., from three to six 34×26 mm step-and scan fields) with minimum resolution ranging from 0.75 micron to 1.4 microns. Such performance is necessary for, among other things, so-called "mix-and-match" applications, wherein different masks requiring different resolutions (which, in turn typically requires different photolithographic systems) are used in the microdevice fabrication process.
It would be advantageous to have a projection optical system capable of providing large-field, lower-resolution imaging, and moderate size field, high-resolution imaging. In order to reduce the large number of exposure steps required by the '494 patent associated with the 200-mm and 300-mm wafers, it is necessary to develop a large-field projection lens capable of imaging multiple step-and-scan fields (34 mm×26 mm) or multiple step-and-repeat fields (22 mm×22 mm). This would provide increased system throughput in these applications. Accordingly, there is an increasing demand for a high NA large-field, variable numerical aperture, high throughput projection photolithography system capable of low and high resolution imaging suitable for bump technology as well as for Mix-and-Match applications. The present invention solves those problems and provides such a projection optical system.

High NA large-field unit-magnification projection optical system


Provided is a method of analyzing performance according to inter-cell interference control based on coordinated multipoint (CoMP) communication in a heterogeneous network (HetNet) to check that performance is enhanced by applying a variety of scheduling and pre-coding based on the CoMP communication in a HetNet environment of a Long Term Evolution-Advanced system to analyze the performance. The method applies a variety of scheduling and pre-coding based on coordinated beamforming scheme of CoMP communication technology, where the scheduling includes coordinated scheduling technique and the precoding includes QR decomposition, Tomlinson-Harashima precoding, polar decomposition, and singular value decomposition techniques, and compares and analyzes performances when there are only macrocells or when there are picocells at the boundaries of the macrocells, thereby checking that the gain is enhanced.

Recently, along with the widespread proliferation of smartphones, users' desires to receive support of high-quality data services anywhere at any time are increasing tremendously. Thus, there is a need for a technology for providing a high data rate for the terminals at the boundaries of cells as well as at centers thereof.
Although it is possible to increase a data transfer rate by supporting an additional antenna port for each cell at the center of the cell, it is difficult to increase the data transfer rate over a limit at the boundary of the cell without inter-cell cooperation because the terminals at the boundary of the cell are significantly affected by interference from neighboring cells.
In addition, in order to enable a high-rate data service even at a region in which there are many users, frequency reuse technology using a small cell, such as a picocell or femtocell, in an area covered by a macrocell is being widely used, thereby further increasing a need for a technology for efficiently controlling interference between transmission points.
The technology for efficiently controlling interference between transmission points is a major issue in this field. In particular, the technology is called coordinated multipoint (CoMP) by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and has been selected as a research item for Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) Release 11.
Accordingly, there is a great need to develop technologies for mitigating the inter-cell interference, increasing transfer efficiency, and evaluating their performances through CoMP technology.

Apparatus and method for analyzing performance according to inter-cell interference control based on coordinated multipoint communication in heterogeneous network

INDUSTRY FOUNDATION OF CHONNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY


An organic light emitting display including: a substrate having a center region; a pixel unit on the substrate and at the center region of the substrate; a non-pixel unit on the substrate and at an external circumference of the pixel unit; a ground ring in the non-pixel unit; a mother substrate wiring line on the substrate and at the external circumference of the ground ring; and a connection wiring line for electrically connecting the ground ring and the mother substrate wiring line to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic light emitting display and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
An organic light emitting display is a kind of flat panel display (FPD) that uses an organic light emitting diode (OLED) to generate light by re-combining electrons supplied by cathodes with holes supplied by anodes. The OLED is thin and has a wide view angle and high response speed.
The conventional organic light emitting display includes a pixel unit (or display region) including pixels arranged in a matrix, and a non-pixel unit (or non-display region) including a power source and a driving unit for driving the pixels. The pixels of the pixel unit include thin film transistors (TFTs) and the OLEDs required for driving or switching the pixels. The pixel unit and the non-pixel unit are electrically connected to each other by a plurality of lines.
The conventional organic light emitting display is manufactured by forming the TFTs and forming, encapsulating, and modulating the OLEDs. In the organic light emitting display, static electricity can be generated internally or externally from the manufacturing processes. That is, static electricity can be generated by most manufacturing processes including the deposition and etching processes during the manufacturing of the organic light emitting display or can be generated by the external environments while an image is displayed on the organic light emitting display.
Accordingly, the internal circuit of the organic light emitting display may be damaged by the electrostatic discharge (ESD) generated by manufacturing processes and external environments.

Organic light emitting display with a ground ring and method of manufacturing the same


A center bearing hanger assembly (68) for supporting a drive shaft (62) of a vehicle is provided. The center bearing hanger assembly (68) includes a center bearing (66), which supports the drive shaft, having an outer housing (76). The outer housing (76) is mechanically coupled to a male hanger (102). The male hanger (102) is received by a female receptacle (104). The female receptacle (104) is attached to an undercarriage of the vehicle. The center bearing hanger assembly (68) increases the ease of vehicle assembly.

The present invention relates generally to a center bearing hanger assembly particularly suited for automotive vehicle applications and more particularly, to an apparatus for attaching a center bearing to an undercarriage of an automotive vehicle while eliminating fasteners.
There is a continuous effort to reduce the number of components in automotive vehicles. The reduction in components should be done in a manner such that the costs to produce the components and the vehicle are reduced while still maintaining or increasing ease of manufacturing and assembly of the vehicle.
Now referring to FIG. 1, a typical two-piece drive shaft 10 of an automotive vehicle is shown having a first half 12 and a second half 14. The drive shaft 10 has three U-joints 18; a first U-joint 18a attaching the first half 12 to a transmission, a second U-joint 18b attaching the first half 12 to the second half 14, and a third U-joint 18c attaching the second half 14 to a rear axle. The center of the drive shaft 10 is supported by a center bearing 22 supported by and fastened to a crossmember or bracket 24 using washers 25 and threaded fasteners 26. The crossmember 24 is directly fastened to an undercarriage of the vehicle with additional threaded fasteners 28.
The driveshaft 10 is used when larger distances exist between the transmission and the rear axle of the vehicle. The center bearing 22 provides support in the center of the drive shaft 10 while still allowing the drive shaft 10 to rotate and transfer mechanical energy from the transmission to the rear axle.
The existing attachment method used to attach the center bearing 22 to the undercarriage of the vehicle isolates the center bearing 22 from the undercarriage in only the vertical direction (Z-direction). Therefore, undesired vibration and noise created by the rotation of the drive shaft and movement in the fore, aft, and lateral directions (X and Y directions) are transferred through the undercarriage into an occupant compartment of the vehicle.
A disadvantage also exists during assembly of the vehicle, in that the drive shaft 10 needs to be supported while fasteners 28 are torqued through the crossmember 24 to the undercarriage of the vehicle. Therefore, it is difficult for a single operator to attach the center bearing 22 to the undercarriage without having assistance from additional operators or equipment. This method may increase time, energy, and costs in assembly of the vehicle.
It would be desirable, to support the drive shaft and center bearing of a vehicle without using fasteners. The reduction of fasteners can reduce assembly time, energy, and costs.
It would also be desirable to isolate the drive shaft in the X and Y directions from the undercarriage of the vehicle, thereby preventing the potential for vibration and noise to enter the occupant compartment of the vehicle.
The forgoing and other advantages are provided by a center bearing hanger assembly for a vehicle having a drive shaft. The center bearing hanger assembly includes a center bearing, which supports the drive shaft, having an outer housing. The outer housing is mechanically coupled to a male hanger. The male hanger is received by a female receptacle. The female receptacle is attached to an undercarriage of the vehicle.
The present invention has several advantages over existing center bearing support assemblies. The present invention decreases the number of assembly components, thereby saving time, energy, and costs in manufacturing and assembling of a vehicle.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it isolates a drive shaft in all directions from an undercarriage of a vehicle. Therefore, vibration and noise created by the rotation of the driveshaft is prevented from entering an inner compartment of a vehicle.
The present invention itself, together with further objects and attendant advantages, is best understood by reference to the following detailed description, with reference to the accompanying drawings.


Apparatus and methods are described herein for a secondary valve apparatus that can be deployed within an existing implanted prosthetic heart valve. In some embodiments, a secondary prosthetic heart valve apparatus is implanted in series with an existing deteriorating implanted prosthetic valve. The secondary valve apparatus can restore proper valve function without disruption to the failing previously implanted valve. In some embodiments, the secondary valve apparatus can be positioned on an atrial portion of the existing valve, and be delivered transseptally. In other embodiments, the secondary valve apparatus can be positioned at a ventricular portion of the existing valve and delivered transapically. Devices and methods to prepare the existing valve to receive a secondary valve apparatus are also described herein. In some embodiments, a balloon expansion device can be used to expand an inner diameter of the existing valve to provide space for the secondary valve to be disposed.

Embodiments are described herein that relate to devices and methods for use in the delivery and deployment of prosthetic heart valves, and particularly to devices and methods for delivery of a prosthetic heart valve within an existing implanted prosthetic heart valve.
Prosthetic heart valves can pose particular challenges for delivery and deployment within a heart. Valvular heart disease, and specifically, aortic and mitral valve disease is a significant health issue in the United States (US); annually approximately 90,000 valve replacements are conducted in the US. Traditional valve replacement surgery involving the orthotopic replacement of a heart valve is considered an "open heart" surgical procedure. Briefly, the procedure necessitates surgical opening of the thorax, the initiation of extra-corporeal circulation with a heart-lung machine, stopping and opening the heart, excision and replacement of the diseased valve, and re-starting of the heart. While valve replacement surgery typically carries a 1-4% mortality risk in otherwise healthy persons, a significantly higher morbidity is associated to the procedure largely due to the necessity for extra-corporeal circulation. Further, open heart surgery is often poorly tolerated in elderly patients. Thus elimination of the extra-corporeal component of the procedure could result in reduction in morbidities and cost of valve replacement therapies could be significantly reduced.
While replacement of the aortic valve in a transcatheter manner is the subject of intense investigation, less attention has been focused on the mitral valve. This is in part reflective of the greater level of complexity associated to the native mitral valve apparatus, and thus, a greater level of difficulty with regards to inserting and anchoring the replacement prosthesis. A need exists for delivery devices and methods for transcatheter mitral valve replacements.
Some known delivery methods include delivering a prosthetic mitral valve through an apical puncture site. In such a procedure, the valve is placed in a compressed configuration within a lumen of a delivery catheter of, for example, 34-36 French (Fr) (i.e., an outer diameter of about 11-12 mm). Delivery of a prosthetic valve to the atrium of the heart can be accomplished, for example, via a transfemoral approach, transatrially directly into the left atrium of the heart, transapically via the ventricle, or via a jugular approach. After the prosthetic heart valve has been deployed, various known anchoring techniques have been used. For example, some prosthetic heart valves are anchored within the heart using anchoring mechanisms attached to the valve, such as barbs, or other features that can engage surrounding tissue in the heart and maintain the prosthetic valve in a desired position within the heart. Some known anchoring techniques include the use of an anchoring tether that is attached to the valve and anchored to a location on the heart such as an interior or exterior wall of the heart.
In addition, some prosthetic heart valves can be prone to wear over time. Valve function can then be slowly compromised as this occurs, and symptoms may recur. It is therefore desirable to be able to implant another prosthetic valve within the failing implanted valve. Often, however, the prosthetic valve construction may include an inner valve frame with a relatively small diameter, as is the case with many replacement prosthetic mitral valves, which can be too small to easily receive a new prosthetic valve therein. This may be particularly true in the case of transcatheter valves, where the device profile is reduced.
Thus, a need exists for improved devices and techniques for deploying and implanting a prosthetic heart valve apparatus or a portion of a prosthetic heart valve apparatus within various types of existing implanted prosthetic valves.

Apparatus and methods for delivery of a prosthetic valve within an existing implanted prosthetic valve


The present invention is directed to system, methods and computer program products for generating a graphical module for the display of a query-specific content. The method according to one embodiment comprises receiving a query, determining a category identifier for the query and retrieving a category template corresponding to the category identifier for the query. At least one template query is performed, the template query corresponding to a request for data specified by the category template, and a template module is generated that comprises the data retrieved by the template query. The template module is combined with a search results page responsive to the query for display to a user.

A primary goal of the Internet search engine is to accomplish the task of indexing a continually expanding collection of data. A multitude of techniques have been developed to crawl through content on the Internet and index each content item that the crawler encounters. The result is a tremendous searchable database what allows users to quickly find documents that are relevant to a given search query.
The current state of the art, however, merely provides search results matching or related to a given query and does not fully exploit known categorical attributes of a given search to fully optimize the manner in which a search engine presents a search results page. For example, a user may enter a search query comprising the name of a musician and may receive a search results page with links to a plurality of content items related to the musician, such as the official website of the musician, lyrics of songs by the musician, photos regarding the musician, etc. Where one or more specific content items related to the user are not included in the search results, the user typically must enter one or more subsequent search queries and review one or more sets of search results. This approach has the disadvantage of increasing the response time to providing an answer to the initial query intention of the user.
Prior art techniques attempt to remedy this situation by providing a list of related queries at the top of a search results page. For example, in response to a query for a musician, a search results page may display a list of the top related queries as one or more hyperlinks to subsequent search results pages. This solution is not ideal as the user must still navigate to one or more subsequent search results pages. Furthermore, the related links that the search results page provides do not represent the full spectrum of information for a given query.
Thus there is a need in the art for an interactive module for inclusion in a search results page that is operative to provide the user with direct content experiences as well as links to a plurality of content items related to a given search query. Additionally, there is a need for a search module that provides a comprehensive listing of available search queries or topics. Furthermore, there is a need in the art for a modernization of the standard search results page to decrease the amount of time necessary for a user to locate information that he or she desires. The systems and methods of the present invention provide solutions to this need by providing a dynamic and interactive module that is operative to provide the relevant data seamlessly and efficiently in the context of a search results page.

System and method for inclusion of interactive elements on a search results page


A self-locking structure of a split roller bearing cage includes recesses, locker plates and locking projections. The recesses are defined in outer circumferential surfaces of opposite joint ends of two semicircular split roller bearing cage half-parts along horizontally inscribed tangential lines, that meet an outer circumference of the annular split roller bearing cage and intersect perpendicular with a split center axis of the annular split roller bearing cage. Recesses have widths and depths suitable to receive locker plates. The locker plates are horizontally attached to bottoms of the recesses defined in opposite joint ends of one of the cage half-parts. Locking projections are formed at bottoms of other recesses defined in opposite joint ends of the other cage half-parts to be coupled with respective locker plates. The two cage half-parts are aligned and engaged at their joint ends, forming a full circle. The locker plates can be automatically coupled to the locking projections.

This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 10-2005-0021141 filed Mar. 14, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a self-locking structure of a split roller bearing cage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, when it is desired to frequently exchange a rotating shaft and a bearing, the bearing is preferable to take the form of a split roller bearing in order to facilitate separation/coupling with the rotating shaft. In such a split roller bearing, its split roller bearing cage, which is internally coupled to a bearing inner race and externally coupled to a bearing outer race, is split into two semicircular half parts along a split center axis. In use, the split roller bearing cage half parts are aligned to form a full circle, and are firmly engaged, at their opposite joint ends, to each other under assistance of locking means to substantially prevent unwanted separation therebetween before being mounted in a block case.
Considering an exemplary configuration of prior art locking means for use in such a split roller bearing cage, screw-holes are formed at opposite joint ends of two semicircular half parts of the split roller bearing cage, and connector plates are arranged over the opposite joint ends of the cage half parts, which were accurately aligned with each other to form a full circle. As screws are fastened through the screw-holes of the cage half parts and the connector plates, the two cage half parts are combined with each other via the connector plates.
Such a locking means, however, has a troublesome use problem. For example, in certain mechanical devices using a special large number of bearings, such as roller conveyers, cast-iron rolling rolls, etc., a plurality of screws must be fastened to or unfastened from the locking means one by one whenever it is required to combine or split a split roller bearing for the exchange of an associated rotating shaft. This results in very consumptive labor and time and consequently only a low operational efficiency.

Self-locking structure of split roller bearing cage


A memory controller sequentially holds access requests including access addresses. A semiconductor memory includes a plurality of banks each having a plurality of pages. The memory controller decides page hit/page miss of the bank corresponding to each of the held access addresses. Further, the memory controller outputs an all-banks precharge command for performing a precharge operation of all the banks when deciding, based on an analysis of the successive access addresses, that outputting the all-banks precharge command results in improvement in access efficiency. It is possible to precharge the plural banks only by supplying the all-banks precharge command once, and therefore, in a case where the number of empty cycles for the insertion of a command is small, it is possible to supply the command efficiently to the semiconductor memory according to the states of the banks.

1. Field
The present embodiments relate to a memory controller controlling access to a semiconductor memory, and relates to a system.
2. Description of the Related Art
For improving access efficiency, many of semiconductor memories such as SDRAMs have a plurality of banks capable of independent operation. In order to access a memory cell in a semiconductor memory of this type, it is necessary to supply an activate command, a read or write command, and a precharge command. The activate command is a command for selecting a word line and latching, in a sense amplifier, data held in memory cells connected to the selected word line. The read command is a command for reading the data latched in the sense amplifier. The write command is a command for rewriting the data latched in the sense amplifier in order to write data to the memory cell. The precharge command is a command for resetting bit lines connecting the memory cells to the sense amplifier to a predetermined voltage.
Generally, a unit of data latched in a sense amplifier at a time is called a page. In a case where a memory cell stores one-bit data, the number of bits of one page equals the number of memory cells connected to one word line. To read or rewrite data latched in the sense amplifier, it is only necessary to supply a read command or a write command to a memory. On the other hand, to read or rewrite data not latched in the sense amplifier, it is necessary to supply an activate command prior to the read command or the write command. In a case where the sense amplifier is latching data of another page, it is further necessary to supply a precharge command prior to the activate command.
The state where data input/output is possible only with the read command or the write command is called page hit. On the other hand, the state where the activate command is necessary prior to the read command or the write command is called page miss. In a case where a semiconductor memory has a plurality of banks, page hit or page miss is decided for each bank.
Conventionally, in order to reduce access time, there has been proposed a method in which, when it is found that the state of a bank is page miss, a precharge operation of this bank is performed after a read operation or a write operation of another bank (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 9-237490; hereinafter, reference 1). There has also been proposed a method in which, when an activate command and a read command are supplied to a bank in response to an access request, a precharge command to a bank corresponding to a subsequent access request, if its state is page miss, is executed prior to the read command (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-342159; hereinafter, reference 2).
In the method of the reference 1, the time from the supply of the access request to the start of the access in the bank corresponding to the page miss is long. Therefore, in the entire memory including a plurality of banks, access efficiency is not improved. In the method of the reference 2, in a case where the state of the bank to be accessed next is page miss and an empty clock cycle exists, the precharge command is always inserted between the activate command and the read command in other words, the states (page hit or page miss) of the plural banks to be accessed at and after the third time are not used as a basis of the decision on whether to insert the precharge command or not. This necessitates inserting one precharge command per bank, and if there is no empty clock cycle, the precharge command cannot be inserted. As a result, access efficiency cannot be sometimes improved sufficiently.

Method and apparatus for controlling memory precharge operation


Various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed towards a memory device including a first memory element and a second memory element. The memory device includes a substrate and a bottom electrode disposed over the substrate. The first memory element is disposed between the bottom electrode and a top electrode, such that the first memory element has a first area. A second memory element is disposed between the bottom electrode and the top electrode. The second memory element is laterally separated from the first memory element by a non-zero distance. The second memory element has a second area different than the first area.

Many modern-day electronic applications, such as data mining of big data or image recognition for autonomous driving, utilize deep neural networks that use vast amounts of computation power. The deep neural networks are often implemented on neuromorphic computing chips that emulate the human brain, where a digital representation of neurons are programmed in weight values (e.g., the digital neuron may have 4 weight values) much like a neuron in the human brain.

Synapse-inspired memory element for neuromorphic computing

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A thermal assisted magnetic recording head of the present invention has an air bearing surface (ABS) opposite to a magnetic recording medium, a core that can propagate laser light as propagating light, a plasmon generator that includes a generator front end surface facing the ABS, and a main pole that faces the ABS and emits magnetic flux to the magnetic recording medium. The plasmon generator is opposite to a part of the core and extends to the generator front surface, is coupled with a portion of the propagating light that propagates through the core in the surface plasmon mode to generate a surface plasmon, propagates the surface plasmon to the generator front end surface, and generates near-field light (NF light) at the generator front end surface to irradiate the NF light to the magnetic recording medium. The ABS has a protrusion that is closer to the leading side than the generator front end surface in the down track direction, and that protrudes more toward the magnetic recording medium than the generator front end surface upon operation of the thermal assisted magnetic recording head.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermal assisted magnetic recording head, and it particularly relates to a thermal assisted magnetic recording head using a plasmon generator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, in a magnetic recording device typified by a magnetic disk device, in association with high recording density, there is a demand for improvement in performance of thin film magnetic heads and magnetic recording media. As the thin film magnetic head, composite-type thin film magnetic heads are widely used in which a reproducing head having a magneto-resistive effect element (MR element) for reading, and a recording head having an induction-type electromagnetic transducer element for writing, are laminated on a substrate.
The magnetic recording medium is a discontinuous medium where magnetic grains are aggregated, and each magnetic grain has a single magnetic domain structure. Each recording bit on the magnetic recording medium is configured by a plurality of magnetic grains. In order to increase the recording density, asperities at the border between adjacent recording bits need to be decreased by decreasing the size of the magnetic grains. On the other hand, decreasing the size of the magnetic grains, i.e., decreasing in the volume of the magnetic grains, results in a decrease in the thermal stability of magnetization in the magnetic grains. In order to resolve this problem, it is effective to increase the anisotropic energy of the magnetic grains. However, the increased anisotropic energy of the magnetic grains enhances the coercive force of the magnetic recording medium, making it difficult to record the information by an existing magnetic head.
As a method for resolving this problem, so-called thermal assisted magnetic recording is proposed. In this method, a magnetic recording medium with a high coercive force can be used. At the time of recording information, the simultaneous addition of a magnetic field and heat to a portion of the recording medium where the information will be recorded increases the temperature of that portion. This results in information being recorded by the magnetic field at the portion where the coercive force is decreased. Hereafter, the magnetic head used for thermal assisted magnetic recording is referred to as a thermal assisted magnetic recording head (TAMR head).
In thermal assisted magnetic recording, a laser light source is commonly used for heating a magnetic recording medium. As heating methods, a method to heat a magnetic recording medium with laser light (direct heating) and a method to convert the laser light into near-field light (NF light) to heat a magnetic recording medium (NF light heating) are known.
As an example of direct heating, in JP H10-162444, a head using a solid immersion lens for an optical magnetic disk is disclosed. The head forms a super fine optical beam spot on an optical magnetic disk, and records a signal in a super fine magnetic domain.
As an example of NF light heating, in JP 2001-255254, an NF light probe used for optical recording, i.e., a so-called plasmon antenna is disclosed. The NF light probe is configured with a metallic scatterer in the shape of a conical body or film-like triangle formed on a substrate, and a film such as a dielectric body formed around the scatterer, and generates NF light from plasmon excited by light. The NF light is a type of so-called electromagnetic field formed around the periphery of a material, and diffraction limitations due to the wavelength of the light can be ignored. By irradiating a microstructure with light having the same wavelength, NF light depending upon the scale of the microstructure is formed, and it is even possible to focus light onto a very small domain on the order of tens of nm.
In JP 2004-158067, an NF light probe used for a single magnetic pole type perpendicular magnetic recording head is disclosed. The NF light probe is a scatterer made of gold, and is formed perpendicular to the magnetic recording medium contacting the main pole.
One of the problems with the TAMR head is the reliability of the plasmon antenna against heat. As described in JP 2001-255254 and JP 2004-158067, when light is directly irradiated to the plasmon antenna, the temperature of the plasmon antenna drastically rises, and the thermal reliability decreases. In US2010/0103553, instead of directly irradiating the plasmon antenna with light propagating through the core, a technology is disclosed in which the surface plasmon is excited at a plasmon generator adjacent to the core via a buffer layer. The propagating light is coupled with a plasmon generator in a surface plasmon polariton mode, and excites the surface plasmon at the plasmon generator. Specifically, evanescent light which penetrates the buffer layer is generated at an interface by the total reflection of the light propagating through the core at the interface of the core and the buffer layer. Collective vibration of electric charges in the plasmon generator, i.e., surface plasmon, is coupled with the evanescent light, and the surface plasmon is excited at the plasmon generator. The surface plasmon excited at the plasmon generator propagates to the generator front end surface via a propagation edge, and generates NF light at the generator front end surface. According to this technology, because light that propagates through the core is not directly irradiated to the plasmon generator, it is possible to prevent an excessive temperature increase at the plasmon generator. Such a plasmon generator is referred to as a surface evanescent light coupling type NF light generator.
However, in current TAMR, deterioration of recording characteristics (such as the S/N ratio) in association with continuous recording has been confirmed. As the main factor, agglomeration of the generator front end surface of the plasmon generator is recognized. The agglomeration is a phenomenon where metal atoms gather, and it occurs as a result of diffusion and movement of the metal atoms using heat and stress as the driving force. Asperities exist on an air bearing surface of the magnetic head slider and a surface of the magnetic recording medium, and the generator front end surface of the plasmon generator may make contact with the magnetic recording medium during the operation of the magnetic recording device. The temperature increase and stress increase due to the impact occurring at this time cause the agglomeration. In general, because metal formed by sputtering or a plating method has low density, the density is gradually increased due to heat or stress, and the volume is easily reduced. Since the plasmon generator is normally formed by sputtering, agglomeration and a recess from the air bearing surface in association with the agglomeration easily occur. As a result, the distance between the plasmon generator and the magnetic recording medium is increased, and the capability to heat the magnetic recording medium decreases over time, causing the deterioration of the S/N ratio. Therefore, it is desirable to suppress the agglomeration of the plasmon generator in order to secure the reliability of the TAMR head.
The object of the present invention is to provide a TAMR head with high reliability where the agglomeration of the generator front end surface of the plasmon generator rarely occurs, and a manufacturing method thereof.

Thermal assisted magnetic recording head with protrusion on leading side of plasmon generator


A rim for a bicycle has a lower bridge with infra-spoke zones of lower thickness than the thickness of the spoke attachment zones. The increase in thickness from the infra-spoke zones to the spoke attachment zones and the reduction in thickness between the spoke attachment zones and the infra-spoke zones have a sharp corner.

Bicycle wheels usually comprise a peripheral crown or rim, a central hub, and a plurality of spokes that connect the hub to the rim. Rims are generally made up of two side walls connected or jointed at one end by a circumferentially inner wall or lower bridge and at an intermediate point by a circumferentially outer wall or upper bridge. This arrangement gives the rim a substantially upside down A-shaped cross-section. The circumferentially outer portions of the side walls, typically have an outer edge that forms a channel for coupling with a tire, whereas the circumferentially inner portions of the side walls form, together with the lower bridge and the upper bridge, a chamber for the attachment of the spokes.
The spokes are attached to seats in the lower bridge or in the inner side walls. The seats generally consist of openings, smooth holes, or threaded holes depending on the method used for the attachment of the spokes.
Rims are manufactured by extruding aluminum alloy bars. The bar is shaped as a circle typically by calendaring and its top ends are jointed by welding.
In the field of bicycles, especially in the field of racing bicycles, a common goal is to reduce the weight of a wheel, and in particular a rim, without diminishing its structural strength and static and dynamic stability. Other solutions seek simple and less expensive manufacturing processes that produce aesthetically pleasing and original shapes.
In rim design, it is commonly known that the rim is in the most tension in the areas of the spoke attachment zones and this tension progressively decreases moving away from such zones. With the goal of reducing the weight of the rim, rim designs may have a greater thickness where the tensions are greater, i.e. in the spoke attachment zones, and a lower thickness where the tensions are lower, i.e. in the zones between the spoke attachment zones (the "infra-spoke zones").
Several solutions to this problem have been designed: a first known solution to the problem of rim design is described in U.S. Pat. No. 452,649 to Powell; a second solution in patent application PCT WO93/09963; a third solution in European patent EP 715,001; and a fourth solution in European patent EP 1,084,868.
In particular, PCT WO93/09963 obtains the two different thicknesses of the rim (in the spoke attachment zones and in the infra-spoke zones) starting from a rim having a lower bridge with the desired minimum thickness and thickening the spoke attachment zones with a drawing mechanical process. In European patents EP 715,001 and EP 1,084,868, by contrast, the two thicknesses start from a rim with a thickness of the lower bridge substantially equal to that desired in the spoke attachment zones and then material is removed (by chemical processing in EP 715,001 and by mechanical processing in EP 1,084,868) in the infra-spoke zones of the lower bridge.
In all the known solutions, the variations in thickness between the spoke attachment zones and the infra-spoke zones have a transition zone with a substantially curvilinear progression and different radii of curvature which range from a minimum of a few millimeters in EP 715,001 to a maximum of 100 mm in EP 1,084,868. As explained in EP 1,084,868, the progression of such a transition zone is "required" because the tensions introduced by the spokes in the rim are distributed in the rim itself with gradual progressions and "sudden" variations in thickness would lead to concentrations of tensions in the rim and, therefore, to its breaking generally by fatigue.
Moreover, such a requirement is thought of as common knowledge to people skilled in the art, who know that in order to distribute tensions, it is necessary to provide soft and gradual variations in cross-section in order to avoid point stresses.
A drawback of the known solutions is that the curvilinear progression of the variation in thickness does not allow for as great a removal of material, thus leading to a reduction in the weight of a rim not completely satisfactory. Moreover, such a curvilinear progression also defines the shape that must be given to the variation in thickness.

Lightened rim for a bicycle wheel and method for manufacturing such a rim


A test device for a TO-CAN laser includes a test socket, a coaxial waveguide substrate, and a test printed circuit board (PCB). The test socket comprises a coaxial waveguide tube accommodating a signal output pin of the TO-CAN laser and an electric-conducting slot accommodating a signal input pin of the TO-CAN laser. The coaxial waveguide substrate is respectively connected with a coaxial waveguide pin of the test PCB and the coaxial waveguide tube of the test socket. An electric-conducting slot pin of the test socket is connected with corresponding control pins of the test PCB.

TO-CAN laser is a laser diode module, in particular, to a coaxial type laser diode module. A housing of the TO-CAN laser is generally cylindrical and the TO-CAN laser is generally used in a 40 Gbit/s transmission system. At present, a most important use of the TO-CAN laser is for a short-distance transmission such as a 2.5 Gbit/s transmission and a 10 Gbit/s transmission. However, there is already coaxial cooling technology and with development of coaxial cooling technology, technologies of a 10 Gbit/s transmission and 20 km transmission have been initially available. Because of its low cost and simple process, prospect of the coaxial cooling technology is excellent.
In actual use, the TO-CAN laser needs to be tested and to obtain test information. However, when testing the TO-CAN laser, it is necessary to shorten its leads, which is not conducive to batch production and batch testing.

Test device for a TO-CAN laser and test system for a TO-CAN laser


A surface emitting semiconductor laser includes a substrate, a first conductivity-type first semiconductor multilayer reflector, an active layer, a semiconductor layer, a second conductivity-type second semiconductor multilayer reflector that includes a current confinement layer, and a heat dissipating metal member. At least the first semiconductor multilayer reflector, the active layer, the semiconductor layer, and the second semiconductor multilayer reflector are stacked in this order on the substrate. A columnar structure having a top portion, a side surface, and a bottom portion is formed from the second semiconductor multilayer reflector to the semiconductor layer. The heat dissipating metal member is connected to the semiconductor layer exposed at the bottom portion of the columnar structure.

(i) Technical Field
The present invention relates to a surface emitting semiconductor laser, a surface emitting semiconductor laser array, a surface emitting semiconductor laser device, an optical transmission device, an information processing apparatus, and a method of producing the surface emitting semiconductor laser.
(ii) Related Art
In surface emitting semiconductor lasers, laser output may be extracted in a direction perpendicular to substrates. Furthermore, the surface emitting semiconductor lasers are easily arranged in an array by two-dimensional integration. For these and other reasons, surface emitting semiconductor lasers are utilized as light sources for writing in electrophotographic systems and light sources for optical communication.

Surface emitting semiconductor laser, surface emitting semiconductor laser array, surface emitting semiconductor laser device, optical transmission device, information processing apparatus, and method of producing surface emitting semiconductor laser


A method includes generating a first response including a plurality of potential first objects of interest of a first shape from data regarding a region of interest (ROI), generating a second response including a plurality of second objects of interest for a second shape different than the first shape from the data regarding the ROI, and performing a morphological closing on the second response to produce a second cleaned response including a plurality of completed second objects. The method also includes decreasing the number of potential objects of interest in the first response by deleting any potential first objects that overlap any completed second objects to obtain a cleaned first response, and generating an image using at least one of the first cleaned response and the second cleaned response.

This invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for review of medical imaging exams, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for review of computed tomographic (CT) colonography and lung exams.
CT imaging provides a description of anatomy in great detail and is therefore being increasingly used for detecting and following the evolution of lesions that may be potential cancers. Radiologists search for nodules and polyps in the lung and colon using advanced lung analysis (ALA) and Computed tomographic colonography (CTC). Lung Cancer and Colon Cancer are the first and third leading cause of cancer related mortality in the US with estimated 175,000 and 57,000 deaths in 2003. Many references in the literature point to better patient management from earlier detection.
Radiologists currently detect nodules in the lung by viewing the axial slices of the chest. This is time consuming and is getting more so with the resolution increase and hence the explosion of the amount of CT slices to be reviewed. For lung CT, detection is followed by an analysis for characterization of the nodule with the help of ALA's segmentation, volume measurement and reporting tools. During some of reader studies considerable variability in the detection of small nodules in lung scans by expert radiologists was found. In addition there are similar studies in the literature that describe a sensitivity issue when detecting nodules. Similar studies show reader variability in detecting polyps. Co-pending patent application Ser. No. 10/756,872 filed Jan. 12, 2004 (hereby incorporated in its entirety) describes using shape overlay information on the virtually dissected colon has been submitted to address better visualization of the colonic polyps. Another co-pending patent application Ser. No. 10/709,355 filed Apr. 29, 2004 (also hereby incorporated in its entirety) provides a real-time 3D shape filtering method to enhance certain geometrical features. These methods provide complementary shape information that can aid in the diagnosis of anatomical and/or clinical conditions. It was noted that providing simple raw results of the shape descriptors tended to overwhelm the user with either fragmented or at times false clinical information. Such information, even though an accurate representation of the filtering, should be presented to the user in a clinically efficient manner.

Method and apparatus to facilitate visualization and detection of anatomical shapes using post-processing of 3D shape filtering


A system and method for estimating the position of an object, such as a person, animal, or machine. The system includes first and second inertial measurement units, a first and second originator antennas, and a first and second transponder antennas. The system uses data from the inertial measurement units to estimate a position of the object. The system also calculates a range measurement between the first originator antenna and first transponder antenna. The system calculates a first CPD measurement between the second transponder antenna and the first originator antenna, and a second CPD measurement between the second originator antenna and the first transponder antenna. The range measurement and at least one CPD measurement are used to update a Kalman filter for estimating the position of the object. The system determines also updates the Kalman filter when one of the inertial measurement units is in a zero-velocity condition.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to a system and method for tracking and locating a person, animal, or machine.
2. Description of Related Art
A basic principle in navigation processes is known as "dead reckoning." In dead reckoning, the current position of an object is estimated by measuring the course, speed, and time elapsed since the object was in a known starting position. For example, a person who is orienteering may utilize dead reckoning. By multiplying their average walking speed by the elapsed time, the person can estimate a total distance traveled. Using a map, the person can thus plot their path from a known starting position along a measured compass course. Dead reckoning, however, is only as reliable as the data that is used. In the orienteering example, error may be introduced in the estimates of the course traveled, the average speed, and the elapsed time. As technology developed, inertial navigation systems were developed to address these sources of error to enable more accurate navigation.
Dead reckoning devices may be used by first responders and warfighters to track the location of the first responder or warfighter when tracking systems, such as Global Positions Systems (GPS), are unavailable. Instances where GPS is unavailable may include underground or deep natural locations, such as mines, canyons, caves, tunnels, bunkers, and basements; urban locations, such as skyscrapers and other large buildings; or locations with active interference of GPS signals or high levels of electromagnetic interference.
Inertial navigation systems perform a sensor-based dead reckoning by using data from an inertial measurement unit (IMU) separately or in combination with a digital magnetic compass (DMC). IMUs typically include three mutually orthogonal linear accelerometers and three mutually orthogonal rate gyroscopes to collect time-series data of linear accelerations and angular rates in the reference frame of the IMU. Generally the three accelerations are measured by accelerometers and the angular rates are measured by gyroscopes. These six values fully characterize the dynamics of the IMU. DMCs provide three measurements of the strength of the measured magnetic field relative to the same fixed orthogonal axes used to calculate linear acceleration. In the absence of magnetic disturbances, the direction of the measured magnetic field vector gives an estimate of the "magnetic heading."
There are various grades of IMU, which vary by cost, accuracy, size, and weight. The heaviest, most expensive, and most accurate are "navigation-grade" IMUs, which often weigh between five and one hundred pounds. The weight and cost of such IMUs make them impractical for most human-portable applications. At the other end of the spectrum are "industrial-grade" IMUs, which are considerably lighter and less expensive, making them more practical for human-portable applications despite the decreased accuracy. In the middle of the spectrum are "tactical-grade" IMUs.
Typical IMUs and DMCs provide data at roughly 50 to 1000 samples per second. The "operating frequency" of, for example, an IMU is defined as the number of times per second that the six measurements (three linear accelerations and three angular rates) are taken. Each of these time steps is known as "data cycles." During each data cycle, the six measurements, collectively known as an "IMU data packet," are sent to a data processor in the inertial navigation system to integrate navigation equations known in the art to produce a current estimate of the velocity. The data processor then integrates again to produce current estimates of the position and the attitude (i.e. pitch, roll and navigation heading) of the IMU.
In a similar manner, the three measurements of magnetic field strength, collectively known as a "DMC data packet" are also taken and sent to the data processor in the inertial navigation system to produce a current estimate of the magnetic heading. The operating frequency of the IMU and the DMC may be the same or different.
The integrations performed by the data processor inherently produce finite errors in the real-time estimates of the position, velocity, and attitude, collectively known as "navigation errors." If uncorrected, these errors grow unbounded with time. To help bound the navigation errors, it is common in the art to employ various filtering techniques. One class of filters often used in inertial navigation systems is known as Kalman filters. The term "Kalman filter" will be used to collectively refer to members and variants in this class of filters, including but not limited to extended Kalman filters (EKF) and unscented Kalman filters (UKF). Kalman filters are further described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,224,575 (which is assigned to the same assignee as the present patent application), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Although navigation errors are significantly decreased using Kalman filters, other sources of error, such as inaccuracies inherent to an IMU, persist. Because the position estimate is often the most important output of an inertial navigation system, one goal of such a system is to limit the time-induced increase of errors in the position estimate. For simplification, this specification will subdivide position errors into two components, "along-track" and "cross-track" errors. "Along-track" errors refer to errors in the total distance traveled while "cross-track" errors refer to errors in the direction perpendicular to the direction of travel. Cross-track and along-track errors may also be referred to collectively as "heading errors" or "navigation errors."
Several techniques have been utilized to help reduce navigation errors in a human-portable inertial navigation system in order to make such systems more accurate for a longer period of use. One such technique for constraining both along-track and cross-track errors is to implement a zero-velocity update (ZUPT) when the IMU is at rest. During a ZUPT, the IMU updates the Kalman fitter with a velocity vector showing that the IMU is at zero velocity. Based on a ZUPT, the system may correct errors in the attitude by using the vertical gravity vector, correct position errors, and estimate correlated IMU errors. Generally, the accuracy of the real-time position estimate from the Kalman filter is directly related to the frequency of the ZUPTs.
ZUPTs are often implemented by placing an IMU on the shoe or boot of a user to utilize the fact that a shoe is normally at zero velocity for a period of time, however brief, during part of a movement, regardless of whether the user is running, walking, or even crawling. This stationary period is exploited to constrain navigation and position errors.
Current ZUPT methods may detect zero-velocity conditions for users who are walking or moving at relatively slow velocities. However, during fast movements, such as jogging, running, or sprinting, current ZUPT methods are inadequate for recognizing zero-velocity conditions. For example, during fast movements, the rotation of IMU may continue through the movement, although the overall velocity of the IMU is close to zero. Similarly, during fast movements, the IMU may be rotated such that gravity adds an additional component to each IMU axis, masking the actual acceleration components of IMU.
In addition to implementing ZUPTs, some systems use global positioning system (GPS) satellites to update the Kalman filter with a known position, thereby constraining position errors. These systems utilize a single GPS receiver, often mounted on the shoulder or torso of the user. One limitation with the use of GPS, however, is that in many locations, such as underground or in a building away from windows, a user may not be able to receive data from GPS satellites.
In the absence of a GPS signal, pedestrian tracking and navigation systems, such as inertial navigation systems, often determine a location based on the relative motion of the user, for example using an IMU located in a single shoe, boot, or other footwear of the wearer. However, these single-boot systems usually only provide acceptable tracking and position information for short periods of time, typically 15 to 30 minutes. A theoretical foot-to-foot personal tracking system was proposed by Brand and Phillips, in Foot-to-Foot Range Measurement as an Aid to Personal Navigation, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Brand and Phillips proposed a continuous foot-to-foot measurement system to determine the distance between each of a user's feet, thereby tracking the location of the pedestrian. Laverne et al. attempted to apply the Brand and Phillips system, reporting their results in Experimental Validation of Foot to Foot Range Measurements in Pedestrian Tracking, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. However, Brand and Phillips, and Laverne et al., suffer from several flaws, including inadequate RF-ranging in the foot-to-foot measurement, inadequate IMU mounting, lack of an integrated GPS receiver into the system, and inadequate filter updates to constrain navigation errors. As such, personal navigation systems proposed by Brand and Phillips and Laverne et al. remain unacceptable to use during long durations of time.
Some dead reckoning systems include RF ranging systems that may utilize a round-trip time-of-flight measurement to compute the distance between two radios, where one radio is mounted on each shoe or boot of the user. These types of systems can be further classified into "round-trip full-duplex" configurations and "round-trip half-duplex" configurations. In a round-trip full-duplex configuration, a first radio, such as an antenna, transmits a signal to a second radio, which then retransmits the same signal back to the first radio without performing any calculations using the signal. After receiving the retransmitted signal from the second radio, the first radio compares the departure time to the arrival time to calculate the round-trip signal propagation time. The system multiplies this time by the speed of light and divides by two to estimate the distance between the two radios.
In a round-trip half-duplex configuration, a first radio transmits a signal to a second radio, which then performs calculations using that signal. The second radio then transmits a new signal, which often contains the results of the calculations performed by the second radio, back to the first radio. The first radio then utilizes the data from the second radio and other data within the first radio to calculate the round-trip signal propagation time. The system multiplies this time by the speed of light and divides by two to estimate the distance between the two radios.
An improved RF-ranging technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,199,047 (which is assigned to the same assignee as the present patent application), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
As used herein, an "antenna" refers to a device that emits, transmits and/or receives wireless signals. Such devices may be generally referred to as "emitters," "transmitters," receivers," or "transceivers" in the art and may emit, transmit, and/or receive electromagnetic signals (such as RF signals), ultrasonic signals, subsonic signals, optical signals, acoustic signals, or other signals through the air. Such devices may be metallic or non-metallic and may include emitting elements, transmitting elements, receiving elements, and/or transceiving elements, depending on the type of signal being emitted, transmitted or received.
Although there have been some improvements in tracking technology, there remains a need for an improved portable tracking and location system that obviates or at least mitigates one or more of the shortcomings of previous techniques to allow more accurate computation of the current or real-time position of a user in a wide range of operating environments for an extended period of time.

System and method for tracking and locating a person, animal, or machine


Improved user interface methods facilitate navigation and programming operations for a magnified machine vision inspection system. Large composite images are determined and stored. The composite images include workpiece features that are distributed beyond the limits of a single magnified field of view of the machine vision system. Despite their size, the composite images may be recalled and displayed in a user-friendly manner that approximates a smooth, real-time, zoom effect. The user interface may include controls that allow a user to easily define a set of workpiece features to be inspected using a composite image, and to easily position the machine vision system to view those workpiece features for the purpose of programming inspection operations for them.

Precision machine vision inspection systems (or "vision systems" for short) can be utilized to obtain precise dimensional measurements of inspected objects and to inspect various other object characteristics. Such systems may include a computer, a camera and optical system, and a precision stage that is movable in multiple directions so as to allow the camera to scan the features of a workpiece that is being inspected. One exemplary prior art system that is commercially available is the QUICK VISION® series of PC-based vision systems and QVPAK® software available from Mitutoyo America Corporation (MAC), located in Aurora, Ill. The features and operation of the QUICK VISION® series of vision systems and the QVPAK® software are generally described, for example, in the QVPAK 3D CNC Vision Measuring Machine User's Guide, published January 2003, and the QVPAK 3D CNC Vision Measuring Machine Operation Guide, published September 1996, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. This product, as exemplified by the QV-302 Pro model, for example, is able to use a microscope-type optical system to provide images of a workpiece at various magnifications, and a motion control system to move the stage as necessary to traverse the workpiece surface and inspect and measure features that fall beyond the limits of any single video image.
Machine vision inspection systems generally utilize automated video inspection. U.S. Pat. No. 6,542,180 teaches various aspects of such automated video inspection and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. As taught in the '180 patent, automated video inspection metrology instruments generally have a programming capability that allows an automatic inspection event sequence to be defined by the user for each particular workpiece configuration. This can be implemented by text-based programming, for example, or through a recording mode which progressively "learns" the inspection event sequence by storing a sequence of machine control instructions corresponding to a sequence of inspection operations performed by a user, or through a combination of both methods. Such a recording mode is often referred to as "learn mode" or "training mode." Once the inspection event sequence is defined in "learn mode," such a sequence can then be used to automatically acquire (and additionally analyze or inspect) images of a workpiece during "run mode."
The machine control instructions including the specific inspection event sequence (i.e., how to acquire each image and how to analyze/inspect each acquired image) are generally stored as a "part program" or "workpiece program" that is specific to the particular workpiece configuration. For example, a part program defines how to acquire each image, such as how to position the camera relative to the workpiece, at what lighting level, at what magnification level, etc. Further, the part program defines how to analyze/inspect an acquired image, for example, by using one or more video tools such as edge/boundary detection video tools.
Video tools may be used manually to accomplish manual inspection and/or machine control operations. Also, their set-up parameters and operation can be recorded during learn mode, in order to create automatic inspection programs, or "part programs". Such tools may include, for example, edge/boundary detection tools, shape or pattern matching tools, dimension measuring tools, coordinate establishing tools, and the like. For example, such tools are routinely used in a variety of commercially available machine vision inspection systems, such as the QUICK VISION® series of vision systems and the associated QVPAK® software, discussed above.
General purpose visions systems such as Quick Vision™ frequently include a lens turret with lenses of various magnifications. It is common to inspect various aspects of a single workpiece or object using the various magnifications. Furthermore, in industrial inspection environments, very large workpieces are common. A single video image typically encompasses only a portion of the workpiece being observed or inspected, given the desired magnification, measurement resolution, and physical size limitations of such systems. In such cases, "navigation" to various microscopic features to be inspected on a workpiece can be difficult, particularly when the field of view is small compared to the size or distribution of the features to be inspected, and particularly when a number of confusingly similar or identical features are included on the workpiece. In general-purpose visions systems, during learn mode and/or manual operation, it has been conventional to navigate to view particular features on a workpiece either manually, by trial and error, or based on user knowledge of the workpiece design. However, manual navigation may be both slow and prone to errors in distinguishing between similar features.
Alternatively, user interfaces for semi-automatically navigating based on CAD images, or workpiece drawings, or the like, are known. However, in many cases CAD data or workpiece drawings may not exist, or may be in a format that is incompatible with such user interfaces. Also, the differences between the representation of a feature in a CAD-based user interface and the corresponding actual instance of the corresponding feature in a real workpiece image may limit the utility or application of such a CAD interface. For these and other reasons, a more convenient, realistic, and intuitive user interface that enhances the navigation and inspection programming related to relatively small features of relatively large workpieces would desirable.


A method for determining the sleep state of a patient includes monitoring heart rate variability of the patient and determining sleep state based on the heart rate variability. The method also may include monitoring the frequency of eyelid movements and making the sleep state determination based also on the frequency of eyelid movements. A method for determining respiratory pattern includes monitoring heart rate variability by receiving heart beat signals and determining respiratory pattern from the strength of the signals. A home-based, wearable, self-contained system determines sleep-state and respiratory pattern, and assesses cardiorespiratory risk, of a patient based on the frequency of eyelid movements, the frequency of head movements, and heart rate variability of the patient.

Sleep often affects healthy individuals differently from those with heart and/or respiratory ailments. In healthy individuals, sleep generally exerts a salutary and restorative influence. In patients with respiratory and/or heart ailments, by contrast, sleep may bring on breathing disorders, myocardial ischemia, arrhythmias, and even death. Two main factors thought to be responsible for such reactions are sleep-state dependent changes in autonomic activity and depression of respiratory control mechanisms.
Sleep states include rapid eye movement (REM) state and non-REM, or slow wave sleep (SWS) state. The brain, in serving its needs for periodic reexcitation during REM sleep state and dreaming, may impose significant demands on the heart by inducing bursts of sympathetic activity which may, in susceptible individuals, compromise coronary blood flow and trigger life-threatening arrhythmias. During SWS state, hypotension may lead to under-perfusion of the heart and brain as a result of a lowered pressure gradient through stenosed blood vessels. Also, impairment of breathing ventilation during sleep by obstructive sleep apnea may cause reductions in arterial oxygen saturation. These conditions may be worsened by cardiac medications which cross the brain-blood barrier, altering sleep structure and possibly leading to nightmares with severe cardiac autonomic discharge.
Patients with coronary artery disease face nocturnal health risks. Approximately 25% of cases of first manifestations of underlying coronary artery disease include catastrophic events such as myocardial infarction and sudden death due to respiratory or cardiac distress during sleep. In a recent study, it was observed that approximately 20% of myocardial infarctions and 15% of sudden deaths occur during the period between midnight and 6:00 A.M. Such a non-uniform distribution of myocardial infarctions and sudden deaths suggests that sleep-state dependent fluctuations in autonomic nervous system activity may have precipitated a significant number of the events.
From the data, an estimated 300,000 nocturnal myocardial infarctions and 37,500 nocturnal sudden deaths occur yearly in the U.S. The latter figure is approximately equal to 88% of the number of deaths due to automobile accidents and is approximately 50% greater than the number of deaths due to HIV infection. Sudden death during sleep often victimizes infants and adolescents, and adults with ischemic heart disease, who have a median age of 59.
Different pathophysiologic mechanisms are responsible for nocturnal death in different age groups and among different patient groups. Disturbed respiration during sleep is particularly dangerous for patients with heart-related and certain other ailments. Respiratory apnea, for example, which afflicts approximately 1.5 million Americans, may bring on hypertension, myocardial infarction and sudden death, particularly in individuals with ischemic heart disease. Patients with heart failure, those with warning signs of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), pause dependent long QT syndrome or Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome (SUNDS) (which primarily affects young Southeast Asian men) also are at particularly high risk for dangerous nocturnal cardiorespiratory events. Mobile coronary care unit reports indicate a higher nighttime incidence of atrial fibrillation and arrhythmia which is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality.
Because of the known risks associated with sleep in patients with cardiac ailments and other health problems, monitoring sleep state and respiratory pattern in conjunction with synchronized cardiac monitoring, would aid in the treatment of such patients. Particularly, such monitoring would aid in the diagnosis of ailments, would offer specific information on particular patients' sleep state-dependent cardiac response, and would help in the prevention of dangerous nocturnal cardiac events. Additionally, because certain cardiac medicines, particularly those which cross the brain-blood barrier, affect heart function in often unknown and sometimes dangerous ways during sleep, monitoring sleep state in conjunction with cardiac response would aid in the selection of appropriate medicines and dosages.
Despite the known risks associated with sleep in certain individuals, however, sleep state monitoring has not been an integral component of cardiac patient care, largely because hospital-based or ambulatory monitoring sleep studies are complex and expensive and also because simple, yet accurate, equipment for monitoring sleep and heart function in the familiar home environment is not available.
Hospital-based systems are the most accurate for monitoring sleep state. One such system provides detailed information about and individuals brainwave activity through electroencepholographic (EEG) signals, eyelid movement through electrooculographic (EOG) signals, and muscle tone through electromyographic (EMG) signals. An electrocardiogram also provides information on heart function through electrocardiographic (ECG) signals. Typically, arterial blood pressure, respiration, oxygen saturation, and body movements also are recorded with hospital-based systems. The recorded events are temporally synchronized for later analysis and study.
Notwithstanding its thoroughness, there exist a number of drawbacks with the hospital-based system. The procedure is disruptive to a patient's sleep as it requires the patient to wear multiple scalp electrodes, a blood pressure cuff and respiratory recording devices. It also is disruptive to the patient's sleep because it is conducted in an unfamiliar environment. As a result, a highly disruptive "first night" effect occurs, which includes sleep that is lighter and more fragmented than usual and which may last up to 12 consecutive days. The results obtained, therefore, may not accurately reflect what will occur when the patient is released from the hospital. Another significant limitation to the hospital-based system is the cost of use as it requires a trained technician and sleep scorer to operate. Moreover, it includes sophisticated and expensive equipment and it requires a hospital stay for the patient.
The field approach equivalent, which best approaches the accuracy and thoroughness of the hospital-based system, is the system used in ambulatory polysomnography (PSG). The ambulatory PSG system is a portable system available for home-based use that includes surface electrodes connected to the scalp, eye and body. A portable recorder receives and records EEG, EOG, ECG and EMG signals. Portable equipment also exists for measuring respiration, oxygen saturation, temperature and body movement. All signals are temporally synchronous and, like the hospital-based system, are recorded first and then analyzed.
While the ambulatory PSG system has the advantage over the hospital-based system that it may be used in the familiar home environment and it appears to reveal a reduction in first night effects, it also suffers from a number of drawbacks. For example, the system may negatively affect sleep quality due to the bulk and weight of the recorders and the need for multiple scalp and body electrodes. Additionally, a technician is required to apply the electrodes and the data produced is complex, thus requiring analysis of such data by trained personnel, adding significantly to the cost of its use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,657 to Forbes, titled Cardiac Analyzer with REM Sleep Detection, discloses a home-based system for monitoring sleep state and cardiac function, much like the PSG system. The system disclosed uses sleep state sensors to detect eyelid movement, and muscle tone or brain wave activity, from which sleep state is inferred. When REM state is detected, then recording of ECG and other signals is initiated. Cardiac events attributable to SWS state phenomena or to disturbed respiration are thus not monitored.
In each of the hospital-based and ambulatory PSG systems, as well as in the system disclosed in the Forbes patent, sleep state is determined as a function of eyelid and/or head movement but not as a function of heart function. The accuracy of sleep state data therefore is limited. Additionally, the hardware required for measuring respiratory pattern is separate from the other equipment and, therefore, adds to the expense and may further disrupt sleep quality.
A more simple sleep state monitoring device available for home use is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,219 to Hobson, titled Electronic Sleep Monitor Headgear, and owned by the President and Fellows of Harvard College, which patent is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The Hobson patent is licensed to Healthdyne which sells the device under the name Nightcap. The Nightcap device includes a piezoelectric sensor that attaches to the eyelid of a patient and a tilt sensor connected to a headband worn by the patient. The eyelid sensor and tilt sensor provide electronic signals respectively representative of eyelid movements and head movements to recording circuitry through electric wires. Sleep state is determined based on the eyelid and head movement information.
While the Nightcap is available for home use, it requires the patient to wear a headband which may negatively affect the sleep quality of the patient. Also, the Nightcap device is limited to monitoring sleep state; it does not also monitor heart function, for example.
None of the prior art systems discussed above provide a simple, self-contained, home-based system that assesses sleep-related cardiorespiratory risk.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a simple system and method for assessing cardiorespiratory risk that is available for home use and which minimally affects sleep quality.

Home-based system and method for monitoring sleep state and assessing cardiorespiratory risk

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Inc.


An image processing apparatus for inputting a moving image file containing moving image data representing a series of moving images, and still image data of a plurality of pictures related to the moving image data, selecting representative still image data from the still image data of the plurality of pictures of the inputted moving image file, recording identification information for identifying the selected representative still image data in the moving image file.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and, more particularly, to processing of a representative picture of a moving image file.
2. Related Background Art
Recently, a camera-integrated digital disk recorder has been proposed for recording photographed moving image data as a moving image file. Also, a digital camera has been proposed for recording photographed moving image data as a moving image file in a solid memory such as a memory card.
In such apparatus, a user selects and reproduces a target moving image file from a plurality of recorded moving image files by verifying a thumbnail (index) image corresponding to each moving image file.
The thumbnail image is a still image, in which a representative picture corresponding to each moving image file is reduced from a normal size, and it has been suggested to use one frame being at a head of each moving image data as a representative picture.
However, depending on a content to be photographed, a head frame of each moving image data does not always represent the moving image data. If such a head frame is used as a thumbnail, it may be difficult for the user to search the target moving image file.
For example, if photographing is started in a fading-in manner from a black picture screen, a thumbnail prepared from the head frame is displayed on a totally black picture and, consequently, a content of the moving image frame cannot be determined from this thumbnail.
In order to avoid the above-described problem, instead of the head frame, one frame positioned after a passage of a given period from the head may be employed as a thumbnail image.
Such a case is effective when photographing is started in the fading-in manner from the black picture screen. However, data of a moving image photographed by the user contains a variety of contents, and thus the above-described case is not effective for all of the contents.
Especially, to make use of features of a digital disk camera or a digital camera capable of randomly designating and reproducing a plurality of recorded moving image files, it is important to provide a method of more easily forming a thumbnail image to the user so that the user can easily understand contents of the thumbnail image intuitively when selecting a target moving image file.