A garment for giving front abdominal support during the advanced stages of pregnancy includes a sheet of flexible sheet material having first opposing side edges, the first opposing side edges having opposing leg opening forming notches, defining on one side of the opposing notches a garment front panel and on the other side of the opposing notches a garment rear panel, and defining between the opposing notches a panel interconnection section; the front panel having a support section including support material for supporting the wearer abdominal area; the first opposing side edges including a releasible fastener for interconnecting and for disconnecting the garment front panel and garment rear panel. The garment additionally includes an abdomen support strap extending laterally across and secured to the front panel. A method is provided of placing the above-described garment on a wearer in an advanced stage of pregnancy, including the steps of placing the sheet between the legs of the wearer so that the notches register with and receive the wearer legs; pivoting the front panel upwardly and against the front of the wearer torso and pivoting the rear panel upwardly and against the rear of the wearer torso; bringing the first side edges on the front panel and the first side edges on the rear panel toward each other; and releasibly interconnecting the front panel and rear panel first side edges by fastening the fasteners.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of maternity clothing and undergarments. More specifically the present invention relates to a maternity undergarment in the form of a brief or panty which provides abdominal support and is put on and taken off with ease. The inventive undergarment includes a rectangular sheet of light-weight flexible fabric having longitudinal side edges with opposing leg opening forming notches. The opposing notches separate the sheet into two portions, defining at one end of the sheet a garment front panel and at the other end a garment rear panel, and defining between the notches an interconnection section. The front panel includes material forming a support section which, for one embodiment, is highly elastic and resilient, and for another embodiment is heavy and stiff relative to the sheet fabric. The front panel also includes a laterally extending abdomen support strap. The longitudinal side edges, with the exception of the notches, and the support strap ends, include releasible fastening means for interconnecting and for disconnecting the front and rear panels.
To put on the garment, the fastening means are released and the front and rear panels are pivoted away from each other about the interconnection section. Then the sheet is placed between the legs of the wearer so that the notches register with and receive the wearer legs. Then the front and rear panels are pivoted upwardly and against the wearer abdomen and posterior, respectively. The longitudinal side edges are brought together and the fastening means are fastened. This garment structure and method eliminate the need for pulling the supportive front panel and strap upwardly against and slidingly over the protruding abdomen.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have long been undergarments which are assembled by the wearer from a foldable sheet of flexible material and releasibly fastened into a garment configuration.
Tedford, U.S. Pat. No 4,122,552, issued on Oct. 31, 1978, teaches a disposable undergarment. Tedford includes a rectangular sheet of flexible material having parabolic recesses midway along opposing longitudinal edges of the sheet. To either side of the recesses, the longitudinal edges include fastening strips with outer layers which peal away to expose bonding surfaces. To configure the sheet into an undergarment, the sheet is folded along a line extending between the opposing recesses, and the fastening strips are brought face to face together so that they interconnect. A problem with Tedford is that it does not provide the abdominal support needed during the advanced stages of pregnancy. There is no supportive front panel and no teaching of assembly of the garment around and against the abdomen during gestation.
Hicks, U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,855, issued on Oct. 13, 1987, reveals disposable panty. Hicks is very similar to Tedford, including a flexible and generally rectangular sheet of light disposable material. Rather than lateral recesses for forming leg openings, Hicks provides two laterally spaced apart elliptical leg ports. Rather than strip fasteners following longitudinal sheet edges, Hicks provides two strips of pressure sensitive adhesive tape extending perpendicular to and between adjacent longitudinal sheet edges brought together by the folding of the sheet. Since the tape strips extend between the edges, they permit attachment of the edges at any of various distances from each other so that one garment is adjustable to fit a variety of wearer waist sizes. Longitudinal pleats permit adjustment to fit various wearer leg diameters as well. The problems of Tedford are again presented, in addition to the need to stoop and pull the leg ports over the feet.
Russano, U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,608, issued on Aug. 20, 1996, discloses an undergarment for incontinent patients. Russano includes front and rear flexible panels for extending over the front and rear surfaces of a patient torso, respectively, top elastic panel interconnection means and a releasible opening flap at the crotch area. A central notch opening is provided at the crotch to pass a catheter. Russano is no better suited than Tedford to solving the support and garment fitting problems associated with pregnancy.
Schreiner, U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,887, issued on Jul. 3, 1990, discloses a garment with hook-and-loop fasteners. Schreiner includes a flexible sheet with leg recesses which is folded into a garment configuration and fastened, much like that of Tedford. Schreiner differs from Tedford in that the fasteners are laterally extending hook and loop fastener pads which meet and intermesh. When disassembled for laundering, the pads are separated from each other, and are then automatically retracted into pockets provided in the sheet by elastic ligaments, so that lint does not collect on the fastener pads and so that the pads do not damage other garments during laundering. The problems of providing support during pregnancy are not addressed by Schreiner.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a garment for use during the advanced stages of a pregnancy, which includes a front panel structured to lift and support the protruding abdominal area.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a garment which permits direct placement of the front panel against the torso without need of pulling the front panel upwardly against, around and over the protruding abdomen and without the resulting discomfort and potential for injury.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a garment which eliminates the need to bend down and pull the garment over the wearer feet and legs to put on and take off the garment.
If is a further object of the present invention to achieve the above-recited objects synergistically by providing a garment structure combining a supportive front panel with a laterally separating rear panel which can be releasibly inter-connected with highly secure fastener means along panel longitudinal side edges, so that the support section can be pivoted directly against the protruding abdomen.
It is finally an object of the present invention to provide such a garment which is comfortable, durable and inexpensive to manufacture.

Maternity undergarment and method of use


A cover for an electrical center of a vehicle includes a cover member defining a first cover lock assurance (CLA) feature and configured to cover electrical components of the electrical center when the first CLA feature is fully engaged with a second CLA feature defined by a housing of the electrical center and a CLA system configured to assure the full engagement of the cover member to the housing of the electrical center, the CLA system including a third CLA feature configured to selectively engage/disengage with the first and second CLA features to engage the cover member to the housing of the electrical center and a machine-readable indicator configured to be fully visible and readable by a CLA device when the third CLA feature is fully engaged and seated within the first and second CLA features.

Electrical centers for vehicles, also commonly referred to as power distribution blocks (PDBs), handle power distribution to the vehicle's electrical system. A PDB typically comprises an array of electrical components (fuses, circuit breakers, relays, etc.) in a single unit. In order to protect the PDB and its electrical components from water and other environmental conditions, a cover is typically affixed to the PDB. Cover lock assurance (CLA) involves the assurance that the cover is fully engaged with the PDB. Conventional PDB covers include CLA mechanisms that involve human-dependent confirmation, such as listening for an audible click. Human-dependent CLA is unreliable, which can result in PDB covers being lost or not fully engaged, which could result in damage to the PDB's electrical components. This potential loss/damage increases costs. Thus, while conventional vehicle electrical center covers work for their intended purpose, there exists an opportunity for improvement in the relevant art.
The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Electrical center cover with machine-readable indicator confirmation of lock engagement


A blade drive device includes a shutter unit. The shutter unit includes: a blade swingably supported; and a plurality of boards defining a blade chamber, each having an opening opened and closed by the blade, and an actuator serving as a drive force of the blade and including a rotor having a rotary shaft. The rotary shaft penetrates to the blade chamber. An elastic member is housed in the blade chamber, and urges the rotary shaft in a thrust direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to blade drive devices and optical apparatuses.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-289529, a shaft portion of a magnetic rotor is magnetized at a given polarity. The magnetic force is exerted between the shaft and a stator yoke, thereby applying a thrust-direction force to the rotor. This prevents a play in the thrust direction. Additionally, Patent Document 1 proposes that this device is employed in an aperture device of an optical apparatus
In the device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-289529, the thrust-direction force has to be generated by the magnetic force. To this end, a sufficient strength of the magnetic force and a sufficient size of the device are required. Therefore, there is a problem of a large restriction in design, thereby making it difficult to slightly adjust the force. Further, the shaft portion has to be magnetized, so that a process for magnetizing the rotor may be complicated and the cost may be increased. Furthermore, the shape of the stator may be complicated.
To overcome the above problems, it is conceivable that the rotor is urged by an elastic member such as a spring so as to apply the thrust-direction force to the rotor. However, if the spring or the like is employed, the device itself may be increased in size in the thrust direction.
Besides, the conventional stepping motors do not stably stop every other pulse in the non-energized state. Stoppable positions of the aperture blades result in every other pulse. This raises a problem that the blades cannot be controlled at high speed with high accuracy.
In a case where the all pluses are respectively associated with the aperture diameters for the purpose of overcoming the above problem, there has been an aperture device. This aperture device maintains to apply a voltage, which is lower than that used in the driving, at positions where the blades cannot stop in the non-energized state. However, power consumption may be problematic.

Blade drive device and optical apparatus


A system and data processing arrangement for promoting purchases and account activity in a credit card account or other consumer transaction involving sales of goods or services rewards a customer for purchases by providing a high rate of return for funds invested by the customer. A financial institution, general purpose credit card agency, department store, automobile manufacturer, or various other marketers of goods or services agrees to grant the customer a high rate of interest on funds invested with the firm by the customer, provided the customer makes purchases. For purchases made by the customer in a given period (such as one month or six months), the firm gives the customer the right to invest a certain percentage (such as 10%) of the amount of purchases made by the customer in that period. Using automated data processing, the firm calculates the sum of the total purchases made by the customer during the preselected period. Then, funds are accepted from the customer up to the pre-agreed percentage of purchases, and provides a deposit account for the customer, crediting the investment funds in the deposit account. The firm may limit the term during which interest is paid on accepted funds invested for a particular such period, such as a term of six months or one year, or it may simply lower the interest rate at the end of that term.

The invention relates generally to a system for promoting purchases in customer accounts such as credit card accounts, department store accounts and other consumer purchase transactions, with associated data processing.
Credit card firms such as Visa and MasterCard, automobile manufacturers, rental car companies, department stores, long distance telephone companies, financial institutions and other organizations have offered a number of different programs for promoting purchases of goods or services. These have included discount offers for certain catalog items, based on volume of activity in an account. Other promotional schemes have involved discounts on other goods or services, different from those purchased in the account. For example, discount coupons have been offered for airline tickets, based on a minimum level of investment in a bank or savings and loan. Similarly, holders of Visa cards have been offered deeply discounted or free air travel based on a certain level of activity using a general purpose charge card, or have been credited with air miles based on activity in a charge card account.
The following U.S. Patents have general pertinence to the present invention: Leon U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,457, Musmanno U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,346,442, 4,376,978, 4,597,046 and 4,774,663, Lucas U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,640, Brachtel U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,940, and Durbin U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,842. These patents relate to investment plans, allocation of investment funds among different investments and accounts, differing in liquidity and term; data processing and computerization of investment plans and electronic funds transfers, security of funds transfer arrangements and indexing of interest rates for deposit accounts. In particular, the Leon patent discloses a system for adjusting for inflation in deposit accounts and loan funds, with associated automated data processing.
Another investment offering having some relevance to the present invention is Citibank's CITI Credit Card Fund, "units" of which are sold to the public through brokers. Like a type of revenue bond, the investment guarantees a fixed rate of return. Citibank uses the invested funds to finance the purchases and cash advances of its credit card customers, and the customer's investments are secured by the card account receivables, at 100+%.
It is an object of this invention to provide a system for enabling a marketer of goods or services, a general purpose credit card firm such as Visa or MasterCard, or another similarly situated entity to offer an attractive incentive to customers toward use of a general purpose credit card, the purchase of goods, the purchase of services, or other financial activity which costs the offering entity far less than promotional schemes or arrangements conventionally used; and it is a related object to offer a consumer an attractive and safe investment opportunity in return for the purchase of goods and services.


A frequency control apparatus includes: an input operation unit which detects a presence/absence of an input of a predetermined operation by an operator; and a control unit which, when the input of the predetermined operation by the input operation unit is detected, calculates radio frequencies, each of the radio frequencies being where a minimum value of differences with respect to multiplied frequencies of a current drive frequency of a device is less than or equal to a predetermined value, and which changes the current drive frequency of the device so that minimum values of differences between the calculated radio frequencies and multiplied frequencies of the changed drive frequency are greater than or equal to a predetermined value. The control unit changes the drive frequency to lessen a change width before and after the change by either increasing the drive frequency or decreasing the drive frequency.

Conventionally, for example, a control apparatus is known which, when driving an electric fan installed in a vehicle by a switchable ON/OFF control or a duty control, depending on a signal output from a detection portion which detects the ON/OFF of a power supply switch of a radio receiver, selects the duty control in a case where the power supply switch of the radio receiver is OFF and selects the ON/OFF control in a case where the power supply switch of the radio receiver is ON (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
In addition, conventionally, for example, a control apparatus is known which, when controlling to drive an electromotor of an electric power steering apparatus of a vehicle by a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control signal, changes a drive frequency of the electromotor based on a signal output from a radio receiver (for example, refer to Patent Document 2).


A ring laser gyroscope having four independent gain regions each of which drives only one of four modes lasing within the cavity. A non-planar cavity of four intersecting segments of equal lengths is formed within a frame. Versions are disclosed for exciting plasmas therein by both d.c. and r.f. means. By selectively applying localized magnetic fields of differential strengths (by means of both permanent and electro-magnets) to the four gain regions in the cavity, gain curves having distinct, substantially non-overlapping peaks driving different polarization helicities are caused to be generated therein. Circuitry permits one to adjust the locations of the peaks of the gain curves within each of the segments in frequency to coincide with preselected resonant cavity modes. The device permits four mode multioscillator operation free from the harmful effects of mode competition inasmuch as each lasing cavity mode derives gain substantially from only one gain peak.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to rotation sensors. More particularly, this invention pertains to an improved ring laser gyroscope.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The ring laser gyroscope is a rotation sensor that senses rotation about an axis that is perpendicular to the plane of a cavity formed within a frame, preferably of glass ceramic or other low thermal coefficient material. Beams of laser light circulate in opposite directions within the cavity. In accordance with the well-known Sagnac effect, the frequencies of the two beams are altered in opposite senses (that is, one is increased while the other is decreased) by rotation about the axis and the beat frequency between the two beams then provides a measure of rotation.
Lasing is effected within the cavity by the interaction of photons with an excited medium which acts as an amplifier. In a d.c. configuration, the medium is excited by the interaction of a fill gas, typically HeNe, with flows of electrical current between electrodes arranged about or within the gyro frame. Alternatively, in an r.f. actuated device, the medium is excited by means of an electromagnetic field that oscillates at radio frequencies. Only two counterrotating lasing modes need to be supported within the ring laser cavity to obtain a measure of rotation. In a planar cavity, the counterrotating beams are linearly polarized whereas a nonplanar cavity can support both right and left circularly-polarized modes.
The (gain v. frequency) profile of an excited gain medium formed within a cavity is subject to a line broadening effect that reflects the Doppler shifts that occur as a result of the gas atoms moving in the gain medium. As a consequence, the width of the "gain curve" is considerably broader than the natural line width of the Ne transition that is responsible for the 6328 A line and exhibits a bell shape as a result of the Gaussian distribution of the velocities of the gas atoms.
The modes that will resonate, or lase, within a cavity in the presence of a sustaining gain medium are determined by the cavity's geometry. In general, a planar cavity with dielectric mirrors will support only linearly polarized modes while a nonplanar cavity can sustain circularly polarized modes. In the case of a nonplanar cavity, the right and left circularly polarized modes are separated in frequency, an effect known as "reciprocal splitting".
The multioscillator is a type of ring laser gyroscope that is characterized in operation by four lasing modes arranged into two counterpropagating pairs. One of these pairs comprises left circularly polarized light while the other comprises right circularly polarized light. In such a device, the two polarizations are separated in frequency by the reciprocal splitting effect of the (generally non-planar) ring cavity. The frequencies of the clockwise and counterclockwise (or "anti-clockwise") modes are separated in frequency by a nominal amount known as "nonreciprocal splitting". When the device is rotated, such rotation is reflected in equal and opposite changes in the amounts of nonreciprocal splitting between the frequencies of the counterpropagating beam pairs of the right and left circularly polarized modes.
The multioscillator permits one to solve the critical "lock-in" problem by using a d.c. biasing technique without the normal intolerable bias sensitivities associated with drift in the magnitude of the bias. This is accomplished by operating two rotation sensing counterpropagating beam pairs in the cavity simultaneously which are distinguished by their modes of polarization. The applied bias is configured to be equal but opposite between the pairs so that the summed rotational output is independent of any drift. Further, the presence of two frequency differences for deriving rotation provides the user with double the scale factor, and, hence, twice the sensitivity, of a two mode gyroscope. Finally, as is well known in the art, random walk is significantly reduced in the multioscillator, enhancing the reliability of the measurement that is provided by such an instrument.
While a non-planar cavity characteristically supports both left and right circularly polarized modes, the non-reciprocal splitting between counterpropagating beams of the same polarization is conventionally obtained by introducing a Faraday element. The addition of such an element poses a number of drawbacks. These include the fact that they are lossy. Further, the addition of a Faraday element involves costly processes and the resulting device is hampered in regard to nuclear hardening considerations. Commonly-owned pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 928,069 of Graham John Martin for "Geometrically Biased Ring Laser Gyroscope" teaches the imposition of a magnetic field on the gain medium to suppress two of the four modes that normally lase in a multioscillator-type configuration. The remaining two modes propagate in opposite directions around the cavity and, thus, can provide rotational information. In addition, since the two modes are of orthogonal polarizations they are separated in frequency by an amount that is determined by cavity nonplanarity. Hence, such a configuration effectively achieves nonreciprocal splitting without requiring an intracavity element.
The type of two-mode geometrically biased device described in that patent application has been found to be inadequate for accurate ring laser gyroscope use as a consequence of instabilities in the reciprocal splitting. Such instabilities are related to effects in the dielectric mirrors of the cavity. The reduction from four to two modes in the multioscillator removes the advantageous common mode rejection. This shortcoming is addressed in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 115,018 of Graham John Martin entitled "Split Gain Multimode Ring Laser Gyroscope and Method" that again utilizes a magnetic field applied to the gain medium to suppress certain modes from lasing. In contrast to the former device, four-mode operation is restored by operating across the cavity resonances from two different longitudinal mode sets. In this manner instabilities in the geometrically-induced reciprocal splitting are satisfactorily moved by the common mode rejection provided by the split-gain four-mode configuration. However, at the same time, the latter device removes lock-in without the use of intracavity elements.
While the above patent application teaches a device that does not require the introduction of an undesired intracavity element for operation, the device disclosed in the patent application, like other laser rotation sensors, is subject to operational problems that derive from "sharing" of the excited gain medium by multiple cavity modes. As discussed above, the gain curve characteristic of an excited gain region is subject to a considerable line broadening effect. In a realistic HeNe-filled ring cavity, for example, the cavity mode spacings are generally less than the width of the gain curve.
The sharing of the gain medium introduces harmful mode competition effects. Such effects result from the need for the different modes to "compete" for gain from the same set of gain medium atoms (Ne atoms in the case of a HeNe-filled ring laser). In fact, such effects have limited current practical ring laser gyroscopes to utilizing lasing transitions in atomic neon. In general, mode competition effects prevent the stable operation of two simultaneously-counterpropagating modes; a mix of the Ne.sup.20 and Ne.sup.22 isotopes has the fortunate property of allowing sustained lasing with counterpropagating beams. The mode competition effects also cause undesired interactions between the mode frequencies known as "mode pulling" and "mode pushing". Such effects upon the frequencies of the modes are quite disruptive of sensor operation which depends upon rotation-induced changes in the frequencies of such modes for determining the value of angular rate.

Quad gain ring laser gyroscope with independent gain regions


First and second transmission paths are provided between a first port to which an antenna is connected and a second port to which a transceiving circuit is connected. First to fourth reception filters, an amplifier circuit, and first to fourth hybrid circuits are provided on the first transmission path. A reception signal from the antenna is transmitted from the first port to the second port via the first hybrid circuit, the first and second reception filters, the second hybrid circuit, the amplifier circuit, the third hybrid circuit, the third and fourth reception filters, and the fourth hybrid circuit in this order. This reception signal does not return to the amplifier circuit, whereby the reception signal is prevented from oscillating due to positive feedback.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transceiving filter for selecting a transmission signal and/or a reception signal and allowing these signals to pass. The present invention further relates to a communication device including this transceiving filter.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, a base station of a mobile communication system has a transceiving filter including an amplifier circuit for amplifying a reception signal between an antenna at the top of a tower and a transceiving circuit.
For example, International Application Published under the Patent Cooperation Treaty No. 02/31997 (hereinafter referred to as a patent document 1) discloses a transceiving filter including first and second transmission paths between a first port to which an antenna can be connected and a second port to which a transceiving circuit can be connected.
FIG. 6 illustrates the configuration of the above-described transceiving filter. As shown in this drawing, an antenna ANT, a transceiving circuit 10, a first transmission path P1 for allowing a reception signal to pass, and a second transmission path P2 for allowing a transmission signal to pass. Reception filters Rx1 and Rx2 with a band pass characteristic for allowing the reception signal to pass and an amplifier circuit LNA are provided on the first transmission path P1. A transmission filter Tx1 with a band attenuation characteristic for attenuating only the reception signal is provided on the second transmission path P2.
According to the above-described configuration, a reception signal input from the antenna ANT is amplified in the first transmission path P1 and transmitted to the transceiving circuit 10. A transmission signal transmitted from the transceiving circuit 10 is transmitted to the antenna ANT via the second transmission path P2.
Further, International Application Published under the Patent Cooperation Treaty No. 01/35684 (hereinafter referred to as a patent document 2) discloses a transceiving filter having a first directional circuit at a first junction of a first transmission path and a second transmission path. This first directional circuit is provided for transmitting a reception signal from a first port toward a second port via the first transmission path. The transceiving filter further has a second directional circuit at a second junction of the first transmission path and the second transmission path. The second directional circuit is provided for transmitting a transmission signal from the second port toward the first port via the second transmission path.
The first directional circuit includes at least one first circulator for transmitting the reception signal input from the first port to the amplifier circuit and transmitting the transmission signal from the second transmission path to the antenna, and the second directional circuit includes at least one second circulator for transmitting the reception signal amplified by an amplifier circuit to the second port and transmitting the transmission signal input from the second port to the second transmission path.
FIG. 5 illustrates an example configuration of the patent document 2. In this example, two reception filters Rx1 and Rx2, and an amplifier circuit LNA are provided on a first transmission path P1. A circulator 15 having first ports (1), (2), and (3) is provided at a first junction of the first transmission path P1 and a second transmission path P2. Further, a circulator 16 having second ports (1), (2), and (3) is provided at a second junction of the first transmission path P1 and the second transmission path P2. A direction from the first port (1) to the first port (2) and a direction from the first port (2) to the first port (3) are determined to be a forward direction of the circulator 15. A direction from the second port (1) to the second port (2) and a direction from the second port (2) to the second port (3) are determined to be a forward direction of the circulator 16. Subsequently, a reception signal input from a port #1 is input to the first port (2) of the circulator 15 and transmitted from the first port (3) to the first transmission path P1. The reception signal is amplified by the LNA, input to the second port (3) of the circulator 16, and output from the second port (1) to a port #2.
A transmission signal input from a transceiving circuit 10 to the port #2 is transmitted from the second port (1) to the second port (2) and further transmitted to the first port (1) of the circulator 15 via the second transmission path P2. Then, the transmission signal is transmitted from the first port (1) to the first port (2) and output to an antenna ANT via the port #1.
However, in the case of FIG. 6, the first and second transmission paths P1 and P2 are provided and the LNA is provided on the first transmission path P1. These two transmission paths often form a feedback loop. The reception filter Tx1 is provided for allowing a signal in a transmit frequency band to pass and attenuating a signal in a receive frequency band. If attenuation near this receive frequency band is inadequate, an output signal from the LNA is positively fed back to the LNA via the reception filter Rx2, the transmission filter Tx1, and the reception filter Rx1 in this order, whereby this output signal oscillates. Therefore, a large attenuation near the receive frequency band of the transmission filter Tx1 should be achieved so that the gain of the feedback loop bercomes 1 dB or less, whereby the signal oscillation reduces. In this case, it becomes necessary to increase the width of an attenuation band of the receive frequency band of the transmission filter Tx1 and/or decrease the width of a transmit frequency band of each of the reception filters Rx1 and Rx2. Consequently, the insertion loss (IL) of the transmit frequency band and/or that of the receive frequency band, and the noise figures (NF) of this transceiving filter increase. Further, the group-delay (GD) characteristic of this transceiving filter deteriorates.
Where the transceiving filter with the circulators 16 and 15 shown in FIG. 5 is used and two signals whose frequencies are different from each other are input, as transmission signals, from the transceiving circuit 10 to the circulators 16 and 15, intermodulation (IM) distortion occurs in the circulators 16 and 15, whereby IM-distortion signals are output from the second ports (2) and (3) of the circulator 16. For example, where high-power circulators are used and transmission power of 45 dBm is input to the transceiving filter, the tertiary IM-distortion level in the receive frequency band becomes high so as to be about −80 dBm. This significant IM distortion occurs due to the characteristic of ferrite used for making the transceiving filter nonreciprocal.
If a tertiary IM-distortion signal in the receive frequency band is output from the first port (2) of the circulator 15, this signal is transmitted, as a disturbing wave, from the antenna to a nearby base station. Subsequently, the reception sensitivity of the base station deteriorates. If the tertiary IM-distortion signal is output from the first port (3) of the circulator 15, it is amplified by the LNA, whereby the reception sensitivity of a base station of this transceiving filter deteriorates.
The allowable value of a tertiary IM-distortion signal generated by transmission paths of currently used systems is about −100 to −120 dBm. However, it is difficult for the transceiving filter with the above-described configuration including the circulators to maintain the allowable level.

Transceiving filter and communication device


A pulse width of a pulse having a nominal pulse width is modulated in accordance with a digital value to be communicated. The number of clock cycles that the modulated pulse width exceeds the nominal pulse width is counted. Various embodiments use a counter to determine the extent that the modulated pulse exceeds the nominal pulse width. The counter is initialized to a value (P) upon detection of a first edge of the extended pulse. The counter is configured to rollover or is reset when the counter reaches a count of P+M, where M represents the nominal pulse width count. In various embodiments, P is zero. The counter is halted upon detection of a second edge of the extended pulse. The resulting count represents the digital data value.

Optical fibers offer many advantages over traditional wires in communications networks. Data is encoded by modulating an optical signal that is transmitted along the optical fiber to a receiver. The data is subsequently recovered through demodulation of the received optical signal.
Due to the nature of the optical signal and the transmission medium, communication through the use of optical pulses is preferred over phase, amplitude, or frequency modulation of a sinusoidal carrier. One such encoding technique frequently used to communicate analog information in a public switched telephone network is pulse code modulation. Pulse code modulation uses groups of pulses in specific patterns to represent individual digital values. PCM digitally encodes the sampled analog data such as speech by providing a pulse sequence corresponding to a digitized sampled value.
One disadvantage of PCM is that lookup tables are required for encoding and decoding circuitry. Another disadvantage is that a frame sizeable enough to accommodate the largest pulse sequence is required to communicate each code. A four bit optical PCM frame is limited to representing one of sixteen values despite the ability of electronic equipment to switch faster and thus sustain greater data capacity in the same time frame.

Method and apparatus for compacting data in a communication network

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Described herein is an apparatus, for shielding light generated by a laser during non-destructive inspection of an object. The apparatus includes a light shield at least partially enveloping the laser and defining a first opening through which light generated by the laser passes from the laser to the object. The light shield is opaque and includes at least one first biasing mechanism. The apparatus also includes at least one first light seal coupled to the light shield about the first opening of the light shield. The at least one first biasing mechanism is configured to urge resilient deformation of the at least one first light seal against the object. When the at least one first light seal is resiliently deformed against the object, light generated by the laser is constrained within a light containment space defined between the light shield, the at least one first light seal, and the object.

Non-destructive inspection of an object using a laser light to generate a stress wave in the object and detecting characteristics of the stress wave to determine structural defects in the object are known. Due to the high energy associated with laser lights used in such conventional non-destructive inspection techniques, and the potential for the laser light to be reflected or scattered off of an object and cause bodily harm, objects are traditionally inspected in an enclosed room void of human presence.

Apparatus, systems, and methods for inspecting a part


Active client buffer management methods, systems, and apparatus for transmitting electronic data from a server to a client having a limited receive buffer are disclosed. The receive buffer is managed by determining a consumption rate at the client and adjusting the transmission rate of the server responsive to the determined consumption rate to manage the fill level of the receive buffer.

Electronic data such as multimedia content (MM) is routinely transmitted from a server to a client over a network. A receive buffer within the client functions to accommodate the differences between the transmission rate of the electronic data between the server and the client and the consumption rate of the electronic data at the client. The receive buffer empties during periods when the consumption rate of the electronic data is higher than the transmission rate and fills when the consumption rate is lower than the transmission rate.
Typically, prior to the presentation of the electronic data at the client, the receive buffer is filled with electronic data. If the receive buffer is depleted during the presentation of electronic data, disruptions in the presentation of the electronic data will occur. The amount of data within the receive buffer (referred to herein as the buffer fill level) may be affected by network conditions and/or the consumption rate of the electronic data at the client. Network conditions, especially in home wireless networks, change as a function of time, thereby varying the transmission rate of the network. Additionally, in variable bit rate (VBR) streaming systems, the consumption rate of the electronic data at the client varies as a function of time as well.
Two known approaches for transmitting data to avoid depletion of the receive buffer include an averaging transmission system and a buffer fill level feedback system. In an averaging transmission system, the server transmits data at an average transmission rate based on the average bit rate for the entire electronic data file. In a buffer fill level feedback system, the client informs the server when the buffer is above a high fill level or below a low fill level. The server then transmits at a higher rate when the buffer is below a low fill level and at a lower rate when the buffer is above a high fill level. In both of these approaches, a relatively large receive buffer is necessary to guard against depletion of the receive buffer. The use of a relatively large receive buffer, however, increases the size and cost of the client, thus affecting adversely portability and profitability.
Accordingly, methods, systems, and apparatus are needed to alleviate the impact of VBR streaming and bandwidth variations on performance that are not subject to the above limitation. The present invention fulfills this need among others.


Disclosed is an IC card having a connector wherein a socket or a jack can be inserted in a direction that is parallel to the face of the IC card. The connector includes a connector body having a rotatable housing attached thereto. The housing has an opening by which a socket or a jack can be fitted and secured to the connector body. When a socket or a jack is not connected to the IC card, the housing member can lie level along the face of the IC card but when a socket is to be connected, the housing can be raised such that it is almost perpendicular to the face of the IC card. The socket or the jack can therefore be inserted parallel to the face of the IC card.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer integrated circuit (IC) card, such as a PCMCIA card, and in particular to an IC card connector which allows a socket or a jack to be inserted such that it is positioned parallel to a face of the IC card.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, a personal computer has a plurality of integrated circuits (ICs) or large scale integrated circuits (LSIs) mounted in it for connection to external devices, (e.g., photomagnetic disk drives, CD-ROM drives, or token ring networks) and also includes a printed circuit board with a dedicated connector that is attached to the body of a computer.
A printed circuit board on which a discreet IC or LSI is mounted can no longer be attached to an A4-sized notebook or an A5-sized sub-notebook portable computer, such as, for example, a ThinkPad (a product of International Business Machines Corporation) because the size of the computer case is limited.
The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) for the standardization of personal computer IC cards, such as memory cards, was established in the United States in 1989, and determined the standards for personal computer IC cards. Accordingly, an IC card that conforms to the standards is called a PCMCIA card.
Since the size of a PCMCIA card is standardized, and since various integrated circuits are packaged on this card which is almost the equivalent in size of a business card, many recent portable computers include a slot for such a PCMCIA card. However, a disadvantage of such PCMCIA cards is that it is difficult to attach a connector for an external device to the PCMCIA card because it is extremely thin, about 3 to 10 mm.
One technique which has been proposed to resolve this shortcoming is shown in FIG. 1 and involves the use of an intermediate conversion cable 106 to connect a PCMCIA card 102 to an external socket 104. A disadvantage of this structure, however, is that an attachment portion 108 of the PCMCIA card 102 can be easily damaged when the conversion cable 106 is pulled.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,479 discloses a structure of a modular jack connector that is composed of a flat plate member which extends from one end to the other and parallel to the face of an IC card, wherein is formed at one end a hole having a freely opened and closed cover that, when open, permits the insertion of a modular jack so that the jack is positioned perpendicular to the face of the IC card.
Since U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,479 discloses that a modular jack must be inserted such that it is perpendicular to the face of the IC card, when another PCMCIA card is inserted adjacent to that card, it is possible that the modular jack will abut upon the newly inserted PCMCIA card, thereby making it difficult to insert the modular jack or preventing the PCMCIA card from being coupled with a connector.


A portable, hand-held personal identification device for providing secure access to a host facility includes a biometric sensor system capable of sensing a biometric trait of a user that is unique to the user and providing a biometric signal indicative of the sensed biometric trait. A processing unit responsive to the biometric signal is adapted to compare the biometric signal with stored biometric data representative of the biometric trait of an enrolled person that is unique to the enrolled person, and to provide a verification signal only if the biometric signal corresponds sufficiently to the biometric data to verify that the user is the enrolled person. The verification signal includes information indicative of the enrolled person or the device. A communication unit, including a transmitting circuit, is adapted to transmit the verification signal to a host system.

The invention relates to a personal identification system employing a biometric sensor for allowing access to secure facilities.
Some security systems, such as home security systems and door locks, require a user to enter a fixed code into a device at a host facility before allowing a person access to the facility. Other systems, such as automated teller machines (ATM), require a person to submit an authorized card and also to enter a fixed code that is associated with the person""s bank accounts. Automobile alarms, locks, and disabling devices, and garage door openers can be operated by pressing a button on a small remote device to transmit a coded signal to a receiving unit on the automobile or garage.
Each of these security systems can be operated by any person who is in possession of the fixed code, the card or the transmitting device, as the case may be. Therefore, each of these systems is inherently insecure. Where absolute security is essential, some host facilities employ a biometric sensor to measure a biometric trait of a person requesting access to the host facility. The biometric trait is a unique identifier of a person, and can be, for example, a person""s fingerprint, voice pattern, iris pattern, or the like. The requesting person also enters other identifying information about himself. The measured biometric trait is compared with stored biometric data associated with the identified person and, if there is a match, the requesting person is allowed entry or access to the host facility.
In presently available biometric systems, each authorized person registers with the host facility by providing a sample of their biometric trait, for example, by having his fingerprint optically scanned into a host system data base. Each host facility must have a biometric sensor, access to the database of registered persons"" biometric trait registration data, and a processing system capable of quickly searching the database and conducting the comparison to verify a person""s identity. However, if the set of authorized persons is large, such a system would require a huge database to store the fingerprint images of all the authorized persons, and the identification process would become slower as the set of authorized persons increases.
According to one aspect of the invention, a portable personal identification device for providing secure access to a host facility includes a biometric sensor system capable of sensing a biometric trait of a user that is unique to the user and providing a biometric signal indicative thereof. A processing circuit responsive to the biometric signal is adapted to compare the biometric signal with stored biometric data representative of the biometric trait of an enrolled person that is indicative of the identity of the enrolled person. The processor provides a verification signal only if the biometric signal corresponds sufficiently to the biometric data to verify that the user is the enrolled person. The verification signal is indicative of the enrolled person or the device. A communication unit, including a transmitter circuit, is adapted to transmit the verification signal to a remote host system.
The communication unit is preferably adapted for remote communication with the host system via a wireless communication medium. The device can further include a display and a keypad.
The biometric sensor system can include a fingerprint sensor, a voice sensor, or any other type of biometric sensor. The fingerprint sensor can include a platen adapted for placing a finger thereon. The fingerprint sensor can further include an optical image sensor, which may include a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) optical sensor, a charge coupled device (CCD) optical sensor, or any other optical sensor having sufficient resolution to provide a signal indicative of a fingerprint image. In the embodiments with an optical sensor, the platen would include an optical platen, and the biometric sensor may also include a lens focusing light from the platen onto the optical sensor. The fingerprint sensor can alternatively include a direct contact sensor device, such as a capacitive sensor chip or thermal sensor chip. In these embodiments, the platen would be the surface of the sensor chip.
The processing unit can include a processor circuit, a memory and an encoder, wherein the memory stores the biometric data, and wherein the verification signal includes an encrypted signal encrypted by the encoder. In one embodiment, the encoder includes an encoding circuit, and the verification signal further includes an ID code indicative of the enrolled person or the device.
In another embodiment, the encoder comprises an encryption algorithm programmed into the processor. The encryption algorithm employs a private key indicative of the enrolled person or the device. In this embodiment, the communication unit can further include a receiver circuit. The memory can further store an ID code indicative of the enrolled person or the device. The processor unit can be further adapted to first cause the transmitter circuit to transmit an ID code signal indicative of the ID code to the host system. The receiver circuit can be adapted to receive a host response signal transmitted by the host system in response to the ID code signal. The processor unit employs the encryption algorithm and the private key to encrypt the host response signal to create the verification signal, and causes the transmitter circuit to transmit the verification signal to the host system only if the biometric signal corresponds sufficiently to the biometric data to verify that the user is the enrolled person.
In either of these embodiments, the memory can be located in a removable plug-in module, and the personal identification device further includes a socket adapted to receive the module.
According to another aspect of the invention, a portable, hand-held personal identification device for providing secure access to a host facility includes a housing. A fingerprint sensor system in the housing is capable of sensing a fingerprint of a user and providing a fingerprint signal indicative thereof. The fingerprint sensor system includes a platen on a surface of the housing adapted to receive a finger. A communication unit in the housing is adapted for wireless communication with a separate host system. The communication unit includes a transmitting circuit and a receiving circuit. A slot in the housing receives a removable smart card that includes a memory. The device can be combined with the smart card. The memory in the smart card stores a fingerprint template representative of the fingerprint of an enrolled person, and an ID code and a personal encryption key being associated with the device. A processing circuit in the device is adapted to cause the ID code signal from memory to be transmitted by the transmitting circuit. The processing circuit is further adapted to cause a host response signal received by the receiving circuit signal from the host system in response to the ID code signal to be encrypted according an encryption algorithm employing the personal encryption key and to cause the encrypted host response signal to be transmitted by the transmitting circuit only if the fingerprint signal corresponds sufficiently to the fingerprint template to verify that the user is the registered person.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, a method of providing secure access to a host facility includes the step of registering one or more persons with the host facility, including storing a unique ID code and a public encryption key for each registered person. The method also includes receiving a first transmission comprising a first user signal at the host facility, generating and then transmitting a random number signal from the host facility only if the first user signal represents one of the stored ID codes, receiving a second transmission comprising a second user signal at the host facility, decrypting the second user signal with the public encryption key associated with the registered person who is also associated with the stored ID code represented by the first user signal, and providing access to the host facility only if the decrypted second user signal represents the random number.
According to still another aspect of the invention, a method of providing access to a secure host facility only to registered persons includes registering one or more registered persons with the host system. Registering each registered person includes storing an ID code associated only with a portable hand-held device under the control of that registered person. The method also includes transmitting an ID code signal from a portable hand-held device to a host facility of the host system. The ID code signal represents an ID code associated with the transmitting device. Other steps include generating, at the host facility, a random number signal representing a random number in response to the ID code signal only if the ID code signal is representative of the ID code of the device controlled by one of the registered persons, and retrieving, with the host system, a public key associated with the one of the registered persons only if the ID code signal is representative of the ID code of the one the devices controlled by the one of the registered persons. Retrieving the public key can include retrieving the public key from a trusted third party. Further steps include transmitting the random number signal from the host facility to the transmitting device, and receiving the random number signal with the transmitting device. The method also includes generating a user fingerprint signal representing a fingerprint image of a user""s finger being placed on a platen of the transmitting device, and comparing, with the transmitting device, the user fingerprint signal to a fingerprint template stored in the transmitting device, wherein the fingerprint template represents a fingerprint image of a person who is enrolled with the transmitting device. Other steps include encrypting the random number signal with the transmitting device, the random number signal being encrypted according to an encryption algorithm employing a private key associated only with the transmitting device, transmitting the encrypted random number signal from the transmitting device to the host facility only if the fingerprint image represented by the user fingerprint signal corresponds sufficiently to the fingerprint image represented by the fingerprint template to verify that the user is the enrolled person, decrypting the encrypted random number signal with the host system, including employing the retrieved public key, and providing the user access to the host facility only if the decrypted encrypted random number signal represents the random number.
Transmitting the ID code signal, transmitting the random number signal, and transmitting the encrypted random number signal each can include transmitting via a wireless transmission. Transmitting the ID code signal, transmitting the random number signal, and transmitting the encrypted random number signal each can further include transmitting via at least one of a modem, a cable access TV line, and a computer communication medium.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a method of providing a secure function at a host facility only to a registered person includes registering a person with the host facility by storing an ID code associated only with a portable registered device controlled by the registered person, learning a synchronization counter of the registered device, storing an encryption key associated with the registered device and associating the encryption key of the registered device with the stored ID code. The method also includes generating a user fingerprint signal representing a fingerprint image of a user""s finger being placed on a platen of a portable user device, comparing, with the user device, the user fingerprint signal to a fingerprint template stored in the user device, the fingerprint template representing a fingerprint image of an enrolled person who is enrolled with the user device, and generating an access signal with the user device only if the fingerprint image represented by the user fingerprint signal corresponds sufficiently to the fingerprint image represented by the fingerprint template to verify that the user is the enrolled person, the access signal including an ID code associated only with the user device, button press information representing a requested function, and encrypted data encrypted with an encryption key associated with the user device, the encrypted data including a synchronization counter associated with the user device. The method then includes transmitting the access signal from the user device to the host facility, determining, with the host facility, if the ID code in the access signal matches the stored ID code, retrieving the encryption key of the registered device if the match is successful, employing the encryption key of the registered device to decrypt the encrypted data and determine the synchronization counter of the user device, comparing the synchronization counter of the user device with the synchronization counter of the registered device, and providing the requested function represented by the button press data only if the synchronization counter of the user device matches the synchronization counter of the registered device.
In another aspect, the invention provides a method of accessing a secure host facility, including sensing a biometric trait of a user that is unique to a user with a biometric sensor system of a portable device, and providing a biometric signal indicative of the biometric trait; comparing, with the portable device, the biometric signal with stored biometric data representative of the biometric trait of an enrolled person that is indicative of the identity of the enrolled person; providing a verification signal only if the biometric signal corresponds sufficiently to the biometric data to verify that the user is the enrolled person; and transmitting the verification signal and an ID code signal to a remote host system, wherein the ID code signal is indicative of an ID code associated only with the portable device, and wherein the host system provides access to the secure facility in response to the verification signal only if host facility determines that personal device associated with the ID code belongs to a registered person.
The system can be employed to provide secure access to a variety of different types of host facilities. The system can be used to replace security systems employing key card entry, fixed code entry, or a combination of key card and fixed code entry, which are currently employed, for example, with ATM""s, gate and garage door openers, burglar alarm systems, point of sale (POS) devices, hotel room locks, and the like. The system can also be configured for use with automotive remote key entry (RKE) systems, automotive alarm systems, and automotive immobilizers.
The personal identification device and system of the invention has several advantages. The system is very private. Persons"" biometric data, such as a fingerprint, are not stored in a central database, as with prior art systems using fingerprint identification for security. An electronic template of a user""s fingerprint is stored only with their own personal identification device, and is used only for verifying the user""s fingerprint. In the embodiment with two-way communication, the host facilities store only an ID code and a public key for each registered person. The ID code may be the serial number of the device, and the public key can be retained by a trusted third party. The private key used by the device is never disclosed.
The personal identification device is compact, being about the same size as an electronic pager. With advances in technology, it could be made even smaller. The personal identification device can be configured such that all the information that is associated with the user, i.e., the ID code, the personal encryption key, and the fingerprint template, is stored in a smart card, which can be transferred between identical devices having the image capture electronics, processing circuit, communication module and power supply. This enables the user to switch devices when one is worn out or broken without having to reregister.
The host system can be installed at host facilities with a minimal expenditure compared with current systems employing fingerprint identification for security. The biometric sensor is installed in each personal identification device, rather than with the host facility. This configuration also makes retrofitting existing security systems for use with the personal identification device a relatively simple procedure. The point of contact is with the personal identification device, which makes the present system more feasible for use at exposed, public locations, such as with automated teller machines, parked automobiles, and gate entries, where the weather and vandalism can be problems. This also makes the system of the invention more sanitary than other systems that require a person to operate a public terminal, keypad, or fingerprint scanner.
Because each user carries his own fingerprint template in the personal identification device, users can xe2x80x9croamxe2x80x9d to many different applications and host facilities without the need to enroll the template at each site. They only need to register prior to use. This can be done over the phone or over computer communication lines, such as the Internet, if only medium level security is required.
The user has total control over the procedure for accessing a host facility. The ID cannot be read unless the user presses the fingerprint reader. The random number transmission and the encrypted random number transmission cannot be xe2x80x9cscannedxe2x80x9d as the random numbers are different each time access to a host facility is requested. The personal identification device can be used in conjunction with conventional telephone lines or computer network communication lines without any risk of theft.
Personal identification devices could be sold via any retail outlet, for example, as a shrink wrap product. As the units are manufactured with unique ID codes and private keys there is no need to control the sale in any way.
Unlike prior art biometric identification systems, the user is already enrolled by the first use of the personal identification device. This completely eliminates the delays and problems associated with enrolling large numbers of users and storing each user""s biometric data.


The invention concerns a method for measuring parameters necessary for producing corrective spectacles using an instrument (1) comprising the following steps: S1: positioning the wearer at a predefined distance from the frame (2) of the instrument (1), S2: placing a screen (5) of the instrument (1) opposite the wearer and displaying at least one image, S3: placing the frame of the corrective spectacles on the face of the wearer, S4: substituting the screen (5) with a one-way mirror (4) of the instrument, S5: taking the measurements.

Optical stores usually lack space: their walls and their available spaces are mostly occupied by glass display racks, mirrors allowing the customers to try on the glasses as well as screens broadcasting various information, in particular product presentations, often for advertising purposes or to keep the customers waiting. This lack of space is a major obstacle to the deployment of a measuring instrument for measuring vision parameters of a wearer, of the type of the measuring instrument described in document FR2950984 or the ACTIVISU column proposed by the Applicant. Such a column indeed takes the place of a display rack, a mirror and/or a screen.
To overcome this problem, the ACTIVISU column comprises, for example, a large one-way mirror, behind which the camera is placed. The wearer can then look at himself in the mirror to try on a frame or have her picture taken, and then see himself in the mirror after putting on her corrective glasses. A screen used for the control of the column and for different monitoring operations and interactions when taking measurements is fixed next to the column. When the column is not used to make measurements, the screen can broadcast information or animations, like the other screens in the store.
However, this screen is small compared to the advertising screens and therefore draws attention less easily. In addition, due to its position on the column, it conceals part of a wall-mounted glass display rack or prevents the fixing of such a display rack.
Furthermore, during the measurements for the customization of the corrective glass lenses and the centering/mounting of these lenses in the frame, the subject is asked to stand in front of the mirror and to look at his reflection in the latter. During these measurements, the subject must look straight ahead (while globally aiming the bridge of her frame in the mirror or the center of her face if he cannot distinguish the bridge), horizontally, at a distance generally comprised between three and five meters. This placement of the wearer relative to the measuring instrument is important for obtaining quality measurements. However, it appears that the measurements obtained are often distorted due to a wrong right-left orientation of the face of the wearer (measurement error on the heading angle), to intimidation of the wearer related to the mirror or to the environment and distorting the wearer's natural posture (measurement errors on the tilt (pantoscopic) angle and possibly the heading angle) or to a poor orientation relative to the displacement to arrive in front of the column.

Measuring instrument for measuring parameters necessary for producing spectacles


The invention provides an arrangement and a method for measuring the direct sound wrad radiated by an acoustical source under test (e.g. loudspeakers) under the influence of acoustic ambient noise sources Q1 and reflections at acoustical boundaries (e.g. room walls). An acquisition device measures a state variable pt(rm) of the sound field at a plurality of measurement points rm in a scanning range Gm by a sensor and generates a scanned data set pGm,tQ0,Q1. Based on this data set an analyzer determines the coefficients CradQ0 associated with expansion functions which are solutions of the wave equation. An identifier uses the scanned data set pGm,tQ0,Q1 for generating parameter information P for the analyzer which are the basis for separating the direct sound wrad from room reflections wref and other waves wsec scattered at the surface of the source under test. An extrapolator predicts the state variable pradQ0 of the direct sound wrad at any point outside the scanning range Gm by using the coefficients CradQ0 of the wave expansion.

The present invention and its underlying problem will hereinafter be described on the basis of recent research activities of multiple authors, however, without restricting the invention to this sort of application.
M. Melon, et. al. investigated alternative methods in the paper "Comparison of four subwoofer measurement techniques," J. Audio Eng. Soc. 55 (12), 1077-1091 (2007). At high frequencies the direct sound wrad generated by a source under test Q0 can be separated by windowing the impulse response from a later arriving room reflections wref. This technique is not applicable at low frequencies where the corresponding wave length is not small compared with the minimum distance between source Q0 and surrounding boundary surfaces.
G. Weinreich and E. Arnold suggested in the paper "Method for measuring acoustic radiation fields," published in the J. Acoustical Soc. Am. 68(2), 404-411 (1980), a holographic Input Output Field Separation Method (IOFS) for measuring the direct sound of the source under test Q0 based on an expansion of the sound pressure measured at two concentric spheres.
Melon applied this IOFS-method to loudspeakers in the paper "Measurement of subwoofers with the field separation method: comparison of p-p and p-v formulations," published in proceedings of the Acoustics 2012 Conference, 23-27 Apr. 2012, Nantes, France. The sound pS,scatQ0+Q1 reflected and scattered at the surface S0 of the source under test Q0 causes an error in the measurement if the surface S0 is not small compared to size of the scanning surface S1.
To overcome this problem C.-X. Bi suggested in the paper "Recovery of the free field using the spherical wave superposition method", published in Proceedings of the Acoustics 2012 Conference, 23-27 Apr. 2012, Nantes, France, a holographic Primary Source Field Separation Method (PSFS) using the acoustical impedance YS0 and the shape of the surface S0 as additional input information. Due to the complexity of the shape and variety of materials used in loudspeaker design those information are not easily available and the method is usually not applicable in practice.
C. Langrenne, suggested in his thesis "Methodes de regularisation du probleme inverse acoustique pour l'indentification de sources en milieu confine et pertube, Universite du Maine, 1997, a perturbation method for separating direct sound from the wave reflected and scattered at surface S0. This method requires additional measurements of the sound pressure pt(rm) at multiple measurement points rm with m=1, . . . M while deactivating the source under test Q0 and activating a perturbation source Q2(re) at multiple positions re with e=1, . . . , E in the space between outer scanning surface S2 and the room boundary SB. The perturbation technique is very time consuming because the determination of the transfer matrix H requires a large number of measurements (product of E and M).
The known field separation methods using spherical harmonics are limited to frequencies below a cut-off frequency fG≈55 N/r1, where the maximal order N of the expansion is high enough to approximate the field enclosed by a spherical scanning surface S1 with the radius r1.
Melon scans the sound pressure on a spherical surface in the half space by placing the source under test on an acoustically hard floor. The center of the scanning surface corresponds with the origin of the spherical coordinate system and is used as the expansion point r0 in the wave expansion based on spherical harmonics. Thus the expansion point r0 is not identical with the acoustical center of the source under test. The holographic measurements of loudspeaker systems using multiple transducers mounted in a large enclosure require a high order N of the wave expansion associated with a large number of measurement points to describe the sound pressure in the near field of the source at sufficient accuracy.
There is a need to find a simpler/more reliable possibility to measure the direct sound of a source under test Q0 under the influence of room reflection and ambient noise which overcomes the disadvantages of the known methods.

Arrangement and method for measuring the direct sound radiated by acoustical sources


An in-line window structure for a transport vehicle is comprised of a rectangular frame in which a fixed pane is immovably secured. A displaceable pane is positionable adjacent the fixed pane in a common plane therewith. A lock interconnects sash members of the fixed and displaceable panes when positioned in a common plane. Guide tracks are provided by an elongated straight track section extending behind the fixed pane, and commuting track sections for guided displacement of the displaceable pane from the common plane to the straight track section and behind the fixed pane and substantially in alignment therewith whereby to create an opening in the rectangular frame to one side of the fixed pane. The lock is incorporated in a handle which, when squeezed, automatically retracts a latch bolt.

In transport vehicles such as buses which are used for transporting people, many of the window structures therein comprise single panes which are secured in window frames. It is a requirement, however, that some of these window structures provide an evacuation passage for the passengers when in an emergency situation and therefore the window pane must be secured in a frame structure which will cause the pane to release itself from the frame by applying pressure against the pane. Such window structures are also commonly provided in ships where the pane cannot be opened to prevent water from infiltrating into the cabins but may be released by applying an outward pressure on the pane under emergency situations. A major disadvantage of such window structures is that they do not make it readily apparent that the window pane can be removed by applying pressure thereon from inside the vehicle. Also, the securing structure of the panes may not always cause the pane to be released by pressure due to malfunctions usually resulting from rust formation or the infiltration of foreign matter into the release mechanism. Another disadvantage of such window panes is that they cannot be forced out by children nor do children have the intelligence of realizing, particularly under a crisis situation, that a window pane can be opened by applying pressure thereon.
There is also a need to provide, in combination with such panes, a window lock which is easy and obvious to operate in order to open a window pane quickly under a crisis situation. There is also a need to provide a reliable window pane opening technique which is easy to assemble and to operate and which provides through-passage without destruction to the window pane or any part of the window frame structure.
A major inconvenience with offset sliding window panes provided on moving vehicles is that they cause friction noise with air flow when the vehicle is in motion. They also accumulate debris in the outer exposed track and cavities due to a vacuum effect caused by the air turbulence. The dirt infiltration also affects the sliding displacement of the panes in their respective track and cause wear of the nylon glide bushings. They also accumulate road salt deposits in winter months which lead to corrosion. This also makes it more difficult to remove the panes for cleaning.
Further when a single pane breaks it is often necessary to remove the frame to effectuate the glass pane replacement.

In-line window structure for transport vehicle


A method is implemented in a network element of a service network. The network element executes a packet processing element (PPE) of a plurality of PPEs, where each PPE in the plurality of PPEs executes a stage of packet processing for the service network and where the plurality of PPEs are connected to one another by a plurality of switch fabrics. The PPEs self-select a subset of a set of equivalent service chains to service with each service chain defining a subset and sequence of the plurality of PPEs. Each PPE self-selects the subset of equivalent service chains to process based upon knowledge of the plurality of PPEs servicing that stage of the full set of service chains such that there is spreading of load across all available PPEs in that stage. There is no single point of failure and minimal reassignment of PPEs for a set of equivalent data flows traversing the plurality of PPEs of the service network for changes in topography of the plurality of PPEs in the service network.

Service chaining is a process where a set of packet processing elements (PPE) perform a set of functions on data traffic received at the edge of a network or under similar circumstances. The PPE can be local to or remote from an ingress router where the data traffic is received. The data traffic after processing is returned to the ingress router for forwarding toward a destination. Service chaining usually involves creating a daisy chain of stateful PPEs. A load balancing (LB) function can be implemented between each stage of the daisy chain or with a single LB function at the ingress router.
Use of a single LB function at the ingress router requires that a full service chain of additional PPEs must be instantiated to add capacity during times of heavy usage, which can be an inefficient use of resources when only a single packet processing element in a set of otherwise available PPEs is overloaded. The single LB function at the ingress router also produces a chain of single points of failure (i.e., a failure of any PPE in a service chain causes the whole service chain to fail). Thus, the use of the single LB function at the ingress router is both fragile and requires significant overcapacity in proportion to the likelihood of failure of any PPE.
Implementing separate load balancing functions that examine multiple fields in a packet (what is typically known as a 5-tuple) in order to make load balancing decisions at each stage of a service chain is also overly resource intensive. The load balancing function either requires significant amounts of state, coordination and messaging overhead to enable proper functioning over multiple stages to configure the load balancing or a broadcasting of the data traffic to between stages.

Encoding a payload hash in the DA-MAC to facilitate elastic chaining of packet processing elements


Illuminating light at a pupil plane of an illumination optical system for illuminating a position detection mark on a substrate is limited to an annular area centered at an optical axis, and a member substantially blocks an image-forming light beam distributed over an area on a pupil plane of an image-forming optical system for forming an image of the position detection mark on an imaging device by receiving light generated from the mark, the area being in image-forming relation to the annular area on the pupil plane of the illumination optical system. Alternatively, a member gives a phase difference of approximately .pi./2 rad! between the image-forming light beam distributed over the area which is in image-forming relation to the annular area on the pupil plane of the illumination optical system and the image-forming light beam distributed over the area other than that area. The outer radius r.sub.o and inner radius r.sub.i of the annular area on the pupil plane of the illumination optical system are determined so as to satisfy the following conditions: ##EQU1## where .lambda.1 is the shortest wavelength in the wave band of illuminating light contributing to the formation of an image signal, .lambda.2 is the longest wavelength in the wave band, and P is the period of the position detection mark.

The present invention relates to a technique of aligning a mask pattern and a photosensitive substrate relative to each other, which is applicable to an exposure system used in a photolithography process in which a mask pattern is transferred onto a photosensitive substrate to produce semiconductor devices, for example. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technique of detecting a mask pattern provided on a photosensitive substrate.
In photolithography processes for producing, for example, semiconductor devices, liquid crystal display devices, thin-film magnetic heads, imaging devices (CCD), magneto-optical discs, etc., an exposure system is used in which an image of a transfer pattern formed on a photomask or reticle (hereinafter referred to collectively as "reticle") is transferred onto a photosensitive substrate, e.g., a wafer or glass plate coated with a photoresist, by a projection exposure method through a projection optical system, or by a proximity exposure method.
In such an exposure system, the reticle and the wafer must be aligned with respect to each other with high accuracy prior to the exposure process. In order to effect the alignment, the wafer has position detecting marks (alignment marks) formed (transferred by exposure) thereon in a previous processing step. By detecting the positions of the alignment marks, the position of the wafer (i.e., the circuit pattern on the wafer) can be accurately detected.
Examples of alignment mark detecting methods include a laser beam scan type detecting method, a laser interference type detecting method, etc., in which the position of an alignment mark is detected by detecting laser light scattered or diffracted by the mark. However, laser light has strong monochromatic properties; therefore, the use of laser light may cause position detection accuracy to be degraded on account of adverse effects such as multiple interference between the photoresist surface and the mark surface.
There is another position detecting method in which an alignment mark is illuminated by a broad-band light beam from a light source, e.g., a lamp, and the illuminated mark is imaged through an image-forming optical system to detect the position of the alignment mark on the basis of an image signal output from the image-forming optical system (this type of detection method will be hereinafter referred to as "imaging type position detection"). In contrast to the above-described detection methods that use laser light, the imaging type position detection has a merit that the position detection is unlikely to be influenced by adverse effects such as the presence of the photoresist.
Under the present circumstances where the patterns of semiconductor integrated circuits and other similar devices become increasingly finer, a process of planarizing (i.e., leveling) the wafer surface has recently been introduced as a process carried out after a film deposition process and before a photolithography process. The planarization process has an effect of improving device characteristics by uniformizing the thickness of a deposited film from which a circuit pattern is to be formed, and also has an effect of improving the adverse effects of the wafer surface unevenness on the line width error of a transferred pattern during the photolithography process.
However, in a detection system wherein position detection is effected on the basis of a height difference between the recessed and projecting portions of an alignment mark or a reflectivity variation at the alignment mark portion on the wafer surface, the planarization process may make it impossible to detect an alignment mark because the height difference between the recessed and projecting portions of the alignment mark is considerably reduced by the planarization. Particularly, in a process for an opaque deposited film (i.e., a metal or semiconductor film), the alignment marks are covered with an opaque film of uniform reflectivity. Therefore, position detection depends only on the height difference between the recessed and projecting portions of the marks. Thus, planarization carried out for an opaque deposited film raises the most serious problem.
Incidentally, "dark-field microscopes" and "phase-contrast microscopes" are known as optical systems for detecting only a "step" portion on a substantially flat object to be detected. One type of dark-field microscope is arranged such that an object to be detected is illuminated with a numerical aperture large enough to prevent direct light from entering the image-forming optical system, and an image is formed through the image-forming optical system by using only light scattered by the object. In another type of dark-field microscope, a circular light-blocking member is provided at a part of an optical Fourier transform plane (pupil plane) in the image-forming optical system with respect to the object to be detected such that the center of the circular light-blocking member coincides with the optical axis of the image-forming optical system, and an aperture stop (.sigma. stop) is provided by which the distribution of illuminating light over a plane in the illumination optical system which is conjugate to the light-blocking member, that is, an optical Fourier transform plane in the illumination optical system with respect to the object to be detected, is restricted within a circle which is in image-forming relation to the circular light-blocking member. As the aperture stop (.sigma. stop), a stop having an annular aperture may be employed.
A typical dark-field microscope is adapted to apply illuminating light to an object to be detected (e.g., a position detection mark on a wafer) and to form an image of only higher-order diffracted light (and scattered light), with zeroth-order diffracted light (regularly reflected light) being blocked, among light reflected and diffracted by the illuminated object. Among the diffracted light, zeroth-order diffracted light contains substantially no information concerning unevenness on the object or reflectivity variation of the object. However, higher-order (first- and higher-order) diffracted light contains such information. Therefore, the dark-field microscope enables steps to be made visible more clearly (with higher contrast) than the ordinary (bright-field) microscopes because the image is formed only from higher-order diffracted light with zeroth-order diffracted light being blocked.
Meanwhile, a typical phase-contrast microscope has a phase-contrast filter provided at a pupil plane of an image-forming optical system. The phase-contrast filter gives a phase difference between zeroth-order diffracted light and diffracted (and scattered) light of other orders. The quantity of higher-order (first- and higher-order) diffracted light generated from a mark pattern of low step is extremely small. However, in the phase-contrast microscope, zeroth-order diffracted light, which is generated in a large quantity, can also be contributed to image formation. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an image which is brighter (higher in light intensity) than in the case of the dark-field microscope. It should be noted that, when the intensity ratio of zeroth-order diffracted light to diffracted light of other orders is extremely high, the image contrast reduces, and therefore, zeroth-order diffracted light may be reduced under certain circumstances.
However, if the conventional dark-field microscope is used to detect a position detection mark on a wafer, not only zeroth-order diffracted light, which is not needed for image formation, but also diffracted light of relatively low order (i.e., useful diffracted light, which contributes to image formation) is blocked, causing the image contrast and fidelity to be degraded.
In a case where a conventional phase-contrast microscope is used to detect a position detection mark on a wafer, not only zeroth-order diffracted light, which is not needed for image formation, but also diffracted light of other orders (i.e., useful diffracted light, which contributes to image formation) is subjected to phase-difference imparting action and light-reducing action, causing the image contrast and fidelity to be degraded.
In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a position detecting apparatus which is capable of accurately and reliably detecting the position of a position detection mark, even a mark having an extremely small height difference (step) between recessed and projecting portions which constitute the mark.


It is an object to provide a new rotational position sensor, compound rotational position sensor and motor operated power steering device capable of detecting the rotational position of a rotation detection shaft of which a steering shaft is representative. According to a compound rotational position sensor of the present invention, the number of times a steering shaft has rotated from a reference position is identified by a rotational position sensor and the angle of rotation for one turn of the steering shaft is identified by an encoder. Furthermore, the current angle of rotation of the steering shaft may be specified as an absolute angle of rotation from the reference position based on these two pieces of rotational position information. Furthermore, since a magnetic circuit that is closed by the steering shaft and the base part is formed, the efficiency of the electromagnetic induction is improved, and the electric power consumed can be controlled.

Encoders and resolvers that detect the rotational position of motor shafts, for example, are widely known for conventional rotational position sensors.
In addition, for rotational position sensors used for steering shafts provided in vehicles, for example, structures where a coiled groove is formed in the worm gear that rotates with the steering shaft, and the swinging arm of a rotational position meter is hooked into this coiled groove are known. With this rotational position sensor, the swing arm is swung and rotated by the worm wheel, and the resistance value for the position meter changes. Furthermore, the rotational position of the steering shaft has been detected based on the position meter output voltage. Such conventional rotational position sensor is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-114676, at [0023]-[0027] and FIG. 2.

Rotational position sensor, compound rotational position sensor and motor operated power steering device


After formation of a gate structure and a lower dielectric spacer laterally surrounding the gate structure, a disposable material layer is deposited and planarized such that the top surface of the disposable material layer is formed below the topmost surface of the lower dielectric spacer. An upper dielectric spacer is formed around the gate structure and over the top surface of the disposable material layer. The disposable material layer is removed selective to the upper and lower dielectric spacers and device components underlying the gate structure. Semiconductor surfaces of the gate structure can be laterally sealed by the stack of the lower and upper dielectric spacers. Formation of any undesirable semiconductor deposition on the gate structure can be avoided by the combination of the lower and upper dielectric spacers during a subsequent selective epitaxy process.

The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor device, and more specifically, a semiconductor device including a vertical stack of gate spacers and a method manufacturing the same.
Selective epitaxy is employed in many semiconductor processing steps including formation of raised source and drain regions. In a selective epitaxy process, a semiconductor material is deposited on semiconductor surfaces, while not depositing on dielectric surfaces. While a selective epitaxy process of a semiconductor material can form many useful structures, accidental exposure of a semiconductor surface prior to the selective epitaxy process causes unwanted growth of the semiconductor material directly on such accidentally exposed semiconductor surface. For example, physical exposure of a top portion of a gate electrode including a semiconductor material by an overetch of a dielectric material layer during formation of a gate spacer can lead to unwanted deposition of a semiconductor material on the top portion of the gate electrode during formation of raised source and drain regions. Thus, a method is desired for systematically preventing such unwanted exposure of a semiconductor material from surfaces of a protruding structure in a semiconductor device.

Robust gate spacer for semiconductor devices

International Business Machines Corporation


A liquid crystal display including: a lower electrode; an upper electrode facing the lower electrode; and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the lower electrode and the upper electrode and including a plurality of liquid crystal molecules aligned perpendicular to surfaces of the lower electrode and the upper electrode, wherein the lower electrode includes a center electrode disposed at the center thereof, a first cutout disposed at the center of the center electrode, and a plurality of minute branches disposed extending outwardly from a side edge of the center electrode, and the upper electrode includes a second cutout disposed between the minute branches and the first cutout, a third cutout connected to upper and lower vertices of the second cutout to form a boundary among a plurality of sub-regions together with the first cutout and a fourth cutout connected to left and right vertices of the second cutout.

(a) Related Field
The present system and method relate to a liquid crystal display, and more particularly, to a vertically aligned (VA) liquid crystal display with improved transmittance.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display generally includes two display panels on which electric field generating electrodes such as a pixel electrode and a common electrode are formed, and a liquid crystal layer interposed between the two display panels. The liquid crystal display displays an image by applying a voltage to the field generating electrodes to generate an electric field in the liquid crystal layer. Particularly, by controlling the strength of electric field being generated, the liquid crystal display is able to manipulate the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer, and thereby control the polarization of incident light transmitted by the liquid crystal layer.
A vertically aligned liquid crystal display generally refers to one in which the liquid crystal molecules are aligned with their long axes perpendicular to the planar surfaces of the display panels in the absence of an electric field. A vertically aligned liquid crystal display generally has a higher contrast ratio is large and is easily configurable to achieve a wide viewing angle.
To implement a wide viewing angle in a vertically aligned liquid crystal display, each pixel of the liquid crystal display may be formed to include a plurality of domains in which the liquid crystal molecules in each domain have an alignment direction different from that of the liquid crystal molecules in the other domains. A means of forming the plurality of domains may include forming cutouts such as minute slits on the field generating electrode. Specifically, the plurality of domains are formed when the liquid crystal molecules are aligned by a fringe field formed between the edges of the cutouts and the field generating electrodes facing the edges of the cutouts.
A display area of a pixel may be sectored into a plurality of domains by domain-forming members. The liquid molecules in each domain are generally inclined in the same direction. The domain-forming members may be formed on a substrate of both display panels (e.g., an upper substrate and a lower substrate), or only on one substrate (e.g., the lower substrate).
Recently, a method has been developed to improve the response speed of the liquid crystal display while providing a wide viewing angle. The method pre-tilts the liquid crystal molecules so that the liquid crystal molecules are tilted even in the absence of an electric field. In one case, an alignment layer having various aligning directions may be used to pre-tilt liquid crystal molecules in the various directions. In another case, an alignment aid that can be hardened after applying an electric field may be added to the liquid crystal layer to pre-tilt the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer in predetermined directions. The alignment aid may be hardened by heat or light such as ultraviolet rays. The electric field may be generated in the liquid crystal layer by applying a voltage to the electric field generating electrodes.
However, if an alignment aid for pre-tilting the liquid crystal molecules is used in the manufacture of the liquid crystal display, additional processes (e.g., hardening process for hardening the alignment aid) and costs may be required, and the manufacturing process may become complicated.