The present invention relates to a method of producing digital holograms in a storage medium, in which the technical problem of writing computer-generated holograms by means of optical lithography as quickly as possible and with little effort with simultaneous accurate control of the timed triggering and the positioning of the write beam is achieved in that a write beam is focused onto the storage medium and moved one-dimensionally relative to the storage medium, in that a scanning beam is focused onto a trigger mask having a plurality of trigger lines and moved one-dimensionally transversely relative to the trigger lines, the movement of the scanning beam being coupled with the movement of the write beam, in that, during the scanning of the trigger lines, a timed trigger signal is generated as a function of the arrangement of the trigger lines, in that, with the aid of the timed trigger signal, the intensity of the write beam on the storage medium is controlled, and in that the hologram is written line by line by introducing radiation energy point by point, the storage medium being displaced transversely with respect to the scanning direction of the lines by a predefined distance to write adjacent lines of the hologram.

The present invention relates to a lithograph for producing digital holograms in a storage medium. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method of producing digital holograms in a storage medium.
Digital holograms are two-dimensional holograms which consist of individual points with different optical properties and from which, when illuminated with a coherent electromagnetic wave, in particular a light wave, images and/or data are reproduced by means of diffraction in transmission or reflection. The different optical properties of the individual points can be reflective material properties, for example as a result of surface topography, varying optical path lengths in the material of the storage medium (refractive indices) or color values.
The optical properties of the individual points are calculated by a computer, what are known as computer-generated holograms (CGH) are thus involved. With the aid of the focused write beam, during the writing of the hologram, the individual points of the hologram are written into the material, the focus being located in the region of the surface or in the material of the storage medium. In the region of the focus, focusing has the effect of a small area of action on the material of the storage medium, so that a large number of points of the hologram can be written on a small area. The optical property of the respectively written point in this case depends on the intensity of the write beam. For this purpose, the write beam is scanned in two dimensions over the surface of the storage medium with varying intensity. The modulation of the intensity of the write beam is in this case carried out either via internal modulation of the light source, for example a laser diode, or via external modulation of a write beam outside the light source, for example with the aid of optoelectronic elements. Furthermore, the light source can be formed as a pulsed laser whose pulse lengths can be controlled, so that control of the intensity of the write beam can be carried out by the pulse lengths.
As a result of the scanning of the intensity-modulated write beam, an area with an irregular point distribution is thus produced, the digital hologram. This can be used to identify and individualize any desired objects.
Scanning lithographic systems are intrinsically widespread. For example, scanning optical systems are incorporated in conventional laser printers. However, these systems cannot be used for the production of holograms, since the requirements for this intended application differ considerably from those in laser printers. In the case of good printing systems, the resolution is around 2500 dpi while, in the production of holograms, a resolution of about 25 000 dpi is required. In addition, in digital holography, only comparatively small areas are written. These are, for example, 1 to 5 mm2, other sizes also being possible. The accuracy of the write pattern in the case of a lithograph for the production of digital holograms of, for example, 1000×1000 points on an area of 1×1 mm2 must be about ±0.1 mm in both orthogonal directions. Furthermore, the writing speed should be about 1 Mpixel/s, in order that in each case a hologram can be written in a time of about 1 s.
Digital holograms can be produced by means of conventional scanning methods, with which the angle of the incident beam is varied by stationary optics. For example, scanning mirror lithographs with galvanometer and/or polygonal scanners operate on this principle.
In all the scanning methods known hitherto, one disadvantage is that, in a lithograph of simple structure, no timed control of the write beam is possible which is capable of maintaining a predefined point pattern of the digital hologram at the writing speeds to be achieved.
The present invention is therefore based on the technical problem of writing computer-generated holograms by means of optical lithography as quickly as possible and with little effort with simultaneous accurate control of the timed triggering and the positioning of the write beam.

Lithograph with one-dimensional trigger mask and method of producing digital holograms in a storage medium

Abstract: The technical problem is also solved by a lithograph for producing digital holograms.


A portable leg exercising apparatus especially adapted for lower back rehabilitation is provided, having an adjustable, V-shaped frame assembly constructed from lightweight tubular material, and oriented so that a base forming one side of the V lies adjacent to the floor. The other side of the V extends upwardly from the vertex at an incline forming spaced guide rails. Adjustable support braces extend between the two sides of the V-shaped frame opposite the vertex. The support braces and cross tube are adjustable to accommodate various angles of inclination of the guide rails. In the extreme lowered position, the frame assembly is substantially flattened to facilitate portability and storage. Independently movable carriages having foot pedals slide along the rails in response to the force applied by the legs of the user. Elastic cords extending between the frame and the carriages serve to provide elastic resistance to the leg motion as the carriages move upwardly along the inclined rails. The foot pedals may be lowered to enhance the portability/storage capability.

The importance of therapeutic exercise of the human body is widely accepted for a variety of innate human disabilities, as well as for muscle building, general fitness and/or weight control. Exercise also plays a critical role in the rehabilitation of patients suffering from various injuries. Indeed, physical therapists provide professional counseling for patients to individually tailor particular exercise programs to meet a patient's specific needs. Rehabilitating exercises differ depending upon the type of disability or trauma present, as well as the type of tissue targeted in the exercise. For example, rehabilitation of muscle tissue demands a different type of exercise than does the rehabilitation of tendons, ligaments, or cartilage tissues.
More specifically, oxygen plays a crucial role in the strengthening and healing process of tissue. The number of repetitions in a given exercise necessarily dictates the amount of oxygen that is supplied to a particular tissue area. It has been determined that tissues found in the lower spine area, such as ligaments, tendons and cartilage, demand a greater supply of oxygen for strengthening and healing, than does muscle tissue. Therefore, higher repetition exercises are recommended for the rehabilitation of these tissues. To facilitate the increase in repetitions, the weight or resistance opposing the exercise must be decreased.
For leg exercises, exercise bicycles and stair climbing apparatus offer low resistance movements to facilitate such aerobic or high repetition exercises. However, these devices are not viable options for all persons having lower back problems. Often persons with acute or chronic lower back problems require exercises that, as near as possible, immobilize, or at least reduce, the stress on their lower back. It can be appreciated that the movements required for both cycling and stair climbing provide excessive stress on the lower back area, and thus are often unsuitable for such patients.
Fitness centers provide various types of equipment that can isolate the leg muscles primarily for muscle building without stressing the lower back area. For example, leg press machines are commonly available in fitness centers, whereby a user utilizes an extension or pressing action of his legs to move a weighted platform, or pedals with built-in resistance, through a particular range of motion. These leg press machines have various adaptations: i.e. some machines allow the user to sit upright and exert a horizontal pressing motion; some allow the user to lie flat on the back and press the weight platform upward in a vertical direction; and still others allow the user to sit in a reclined position pressing the platform along an inclined ramp. The user can appropriately select a light weight for these exercises, thereby facilitating high repetitions; however, the primary focus remains on the muscles.
There are various other problems with using fitness center equipment for rehabilitation exercises. First, the centers are frequently inaccessible. Many people simply prefer exercising in private at home, and others find the high cost of fitness center memberships prohibitive. Further, many rehabilitation patients are physically unable to travel to the facilities to use their equipment. Also, although the type of exercising equipment normally found in fitness centers can be purchased, it is unsuitable for personal use at home. In addition to the normally high cost of such equipment, it is often too heavy and/or bulky to satisfy the portability needs of a home user.
In addition to the types of equipment described above, there are various other exercise machines more specifically tailored for use by the physical therapy or rehabilitation patient. For example, exercising devices exist that are designed for patients confined to bed. These generally employ a frame that attaches to the bed with pedals positioned above the patient's body to allow exercise of the legs. The pedals are oriented so as to limit the leg movement to a generally horizontal plane. While this and other specialized machines effectively meet particular patient needs, they have been found not to be ideally suitable for rehabilitation of disabilities, and thus relief of pain, of the lower back. These machines also generally suffer the shortcomings of high cost, limited portability, and limited versatility.
An additional shortcoming present in many prior art leg exercising apparatus of which I am aware relates to independent leg movement. For example, exercise bicycles require both legs to be used equally. Likewise, most of the leg press machines require uniform motion of both legs. It can be appreciated that many patients have disabilities, such as a particular injury of the lower back, that is best rehabilitated by exercise of one leg at a time. Also, I have discovered that movement up a gradual incline with elastic resistance of the leg movement provides a decided advantage for lower back pain relief over other machines built for general exercise and muscle building use. It is also desirable to have the ability to independently vary the amount of resistance and range of motion for each leg.
Accordingly, there is a significant need for a lightweight, portable leg exercising apparatus that provides an improved and more effective exercise device for treatment for lower back disability and is a viable option for in-home physical therapy. The device should be adaptive for patients confined to bed, and yet versatile enough for use on the open floor. It should also provide for independent and variable resistance adjustment for each leg to accommodate specific patient needs.


The present embodiments relate to an etchant and a method of fabricating an electric device including a thin film transistor. The etchant includes a fluorine ion (F−) source, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), a sulfate, a phosphate, an azole-based compound, and a solvent. The etchant and method of fabricating an electric device including a thin film transistor, can etch a multi-layered film including copper layer, and a titanium or titanium alloy layer in a batch and can provide a thin film transistor having a good pattern profile at high yield. When reusing the etchant, uniform etching performance can be maintained with a long replacement period of the etchant, and therefore costs can be saved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present embodiments relate to an etchant and a method for fabricating an electric device including a thin film transistor using the same. More particularly, the present embodiments relate to an etchant that can provide a high quality display due to a high aperture ratio and high definition, and reduced register-capacitor signal delay (referred to as RC delay), and a method for fabricating an electric device including a thin film transistor using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an active matrix liquid crystal display and an active matrix organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, a thin film transistor (TFT) is generally used as a switching device at each liquid crystal cell or each pixel.
Recently, there has been a tendency to increase the size of liquid crystal displays and organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays. Accordingly, there is a greater requirement for higher resolution. The larger liquid crystal displays and OLED displays with higher resolution necessarily require reduced RC delay. The reduced RC delay can be accomplished by minimizing resistance of wires.
In general, molybdenum (Mo) with resistivity of less than 12 μΩcm and aluminum (Al) with resistivity of less than 5.5 μΩcm are used as wire for a thin film transistor or an electrode. Since these metals have high resistivity, they tend to make it difficult to manufacture a larger liquid crystal display and OLED display with higher resolution. Accordingly, since copper (Cu) has resistivity of less than 2.2 μΩcm, it is being researched as an alternative wire and electrode.
However, copper can be applied to all of a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode of a thin film transistor, but when it is applied to a gate electrode, it has poor adherence to a glass substrate where a thin film transistor is formed. In addition, when it is applied to a source electrode and a drain electrode, it may react with a silicon (Si) film that is used as a buffer. Therefore, when copper is applied to a gate electrode, a source electrode, and/or a drain electrode, it cannot be used as a single layer but is used as a copper/titanium or a copper/titanium alloy by disposing a barrier metal such as titanium (Ti) beneath it.
The copper/titanium or copper/titanium alloy is treated with a photolithography process and an etching process to form a wire and an electrode. A copper (Cu) layer as a first gate metal layer is deposited on a substrate. Then, a titanium (Ti) layer or a titanium alloy layer as a second gate metal layer is deposited on the first gate metal layer. Then, the second gate metal layer is selectively patterned to form a second gate pattern, and the first gate metal layer is selectively patterned to form a first gate pattern.
The patterning process of the first and second gate metal layers is included in an etching process. The first gate metal layer and the second gate metal layer are separately etched.
When copper/titanium or a copper/titanium alloy is not simultaneously but is separately etched, the fabrication process not only becomes complex, but also its yield rate may be deteriorated. The present embodiments overcome the above problems as well as provide additional advantages.

Etchant and method for fabricating electric device including thin film transistor using the same


A cloud computing system, which works in cooperation with a plurality of relay devices, is configured to receive measurement data transmitted from each of the relay devices arranged in respective bases and perform accumulation processing in a hierarchical structure of a logical tree form in a measurement database, and perform aggregation analysis processing on the measurement data subjected to the accumulation processing in the respective bases and for each integration target between the bases. The aggregation analysis processing is performed on the measurement data for the each integration target between the bases by recognizing a relationship between the bases under the same starting point on the basis of a measurement unit of a measurement value or a type of a measurement source as for the value in the source accumulated in the database as an ending point of the hierarchical structure.

Recently, a technology referred to as Internet of Things (IoT) attracts attention. This IoT is a technology of realizing utilization of data generated from objects by making every object (sometimes referred to as a thing) accessible to the Internet with an OPEN characteristic.
The IoT technology is expected to be the fourth industrial revolution, and rapidly changes various industrial fields by connecting things to the Internet. For example, user spending in the domestic market grows at an average of 16.9%, and the domestic market in 2020 is predicted to reach 14 trillion yen. In Germany, an effort of industry 4.0 starts, and this is an active market worldwide.
On the background of this, in the measuring instrument manufacturing industry, this year is regarded as the IoT first year, and development of a measurement system using the IoT technology is expected along with the development of infrastructure (sometimes referred to as infra. or base).
However, until now, no system has been proposed to provide a measurement solution service that meets such expectations. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a background art related to the IoT technology in association with a cloud computing technology. Patent Literatures 2 and 3 disclose background art regarding the cloud computing technology. Patent Literature 4 discloses one technology regarding collection of measurement (measurement) data. Furthermore, Patent Literature 5 discloses one technology regarding display of measurement data.

Measurement solution service providing system


A circuit configuration for measuring the capacitance of structures in an integrated circuit having a test structure and a reference structure, includes first and second series circuits, each having two transistors connected in series and connected in parallel between supply terminals each providing one supply potential. The test structure is connected to a coupling node of the transistors of the first series circuit. The reference structure is connected to a coupling node of the transistors of the second series circuit. The supply terminals of the series circuits are connected to a controllable voltage source. A voltage-dependent differential capacitance measurement can be carried out on the test structure by using the circuit configuration.

The present invention relates to a circuit configuration for measuring the capacitance of structures in an integrated circuit having a test structure and a reference structure. The circuit configuration includes first and second series circuits having transistors with controlled paths connected in series. The transistors of the series circuits are connected in parallel between supply terminals each supplying one supply potential. A terminal for the test structure is connected to a coupling node of the transistors of the first series circuit. A terminal for the reference structure is connected to a coupling node of the transistors of the second series circuit.
Integrated circuits have a structural, topographic construction, which is generally disposed in layers. For example, the integrated circuit has transistors and metal conductor tracks which are applied in layers one beside another or one above another on a semiconductor substrate. Modern integrated semiconductor circuits almost always have relatively small structure sizes and are operated with increasingly rising clock rates. The influence of capacitances on the signal speed generally increases with increasing transmission rates. Such capacitances can occur, for example, between the layers of metal conductor tracks and/or contact-making areas of transistors. In the course of the continued development of an integrated circuit, the aim is therefore to determine various types of capacitances and to influence them in a desired way.
Capacitances are determined, for example, by using large test structures. In addition, capacitances in integrated circuits can be determined through the use of the so-called charge-based capacitance measurement (CBCM) technique. That technique is described, for example, in a publication entitled xe2x80x9cInvestigation of Interconnect Capacitance Characterization Using Charge-Based Capacitance Measurement (CBCM) Technique and Three-Dimensional Simulationxe2x80x9d, by D. Sylvester, J. C. Chen and C. Hu, in IEEE J. Solid State Circuits, 33 (1998). The method described therein is applied in particular to the determination of different types of capacitances on metal conductor tracks in an integrated circuit. A measurement circuit having two transistor series circuits which are each connected to a test structure and, respectively, a reference structure, is also presented. Through the use of that circuit, relatively small structures or small capacitances in integrated circuits can in particular advantageously be determined. That is because, by including a reference structure, parasitic capacitances, for example on feed lines, can be compensated for in particular. In so doing it circumvents the metrological problem that, as a result of smaller and smaller values of the capacitances to be measured, corresponding calibration of measuring instruments is generally no longer sufficient to eliminate measurement errors.
The function of the circuit which is described resides in particular in that the test structure associated with a specific capacitance, and the reference structure placed in a relationship thereto, in each case have their charge reversed between two potentials. In that device, in each case the average charge reversal currents are measured and their difference is used to determine the capacitance to be determined.
Different types of capacitances generally occur at contacted areas of a transistor in an integrated circuit. They can, for example, be a so-called junction capacitance, a capacitance between source/drain regions and a substrate, a so-called thin layer capacitance, a capacitance between a gate region and the substrate, and a so-called overlap capacitance, a capacitance between the gate region and the respective source/drain region. Those capacitances generally depend on the respective potential value being applied. That means that those capacitances are voltage-dependent and therefore have to be determined in a voltage-dependent, differential capacitance measurement. Since, in the circuit described, the capacitances have their charges reversed between a fixed reference potential of the integrated circuit and a positive potential, voltage-dependent capacitance measurement is only possible to a restricted extent.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a circuit configuration for measuring the capacitance of structures in an integrated circuit, which overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type and with which a voltage-dependent, differential capacitance measurement is possible.
The reference structure has a construction which is essentially similar to the test structure. The construction may be of the layer type, for example when measuring capacitances at the terminals of a transistor disposed in layers. It is also possible to measure so-called lateral wire-wire capacitances in the test structure, using an appropriately similarly constructed reference structure which, in this case, contains only the wiring which is essential for the measurement.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, in an integrated circuit having a test structure with a terminal and a reference structure with a terminal, a circuit configuration for measuring a capacitance of structures. The circuit configuration comprises supply terminals each supplying a respective supply potential. A controllable voltage source is connected to the supply terminals. First and second series circuits each have two transistors with controlled paths connected in series. The transistors of the first and second series circuits are connected in parallel between the supply terminals. A first coupling node is connected to the terminal for the test structure and is connected to the transistors of the first series circuit. A second coupling node is connected to the terminal for the reference structure and is connected to the transistors of the second series circuit.
A voltage-dependent, differential capacitance measurement can be carried out by connecting the supply terminals of the two series circuits to the controllable voltage source.
For example, the supply voltages are set by the voltage source in such a way that the result is a relative potential difference of 0.1 V, for example. The level of the supply voltages can be varied in discrete steps between the measurements. In this way, different working points are established on the capacitances to be measured, which means that a differential capacitance measurement can be carried out.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, in each case PMOS transistors are used for charging each of the test structure and the reference structure, and NMOS transistors are used for discharging the test and reference structures. When the supply voltage falls, there is the risk that the gate voltage which is present will rise above the threshold voltage of the PMOS transistor. Lowering the gate voltage in this regard to negative values in order to avoid potential shifts on the entire integrated circuit is generally not suitable. NMOS transistors are provided in the circuit configuration according to the invention to ensure complete charging of the test and reference structures, even at potential values which are close to the reference potential of the integrated circuit. The gate connections of the respective NMOS transistors can be controlled by a positive potential in such a way that the respective transistor is located in the low-resistance range, even at a low supply potential.
In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, in a similar way, the circuit configuration for setting working points with a negative potential value has NMOS transistors each having an insulated p-doped trough. The insulated trough, which is located in a likewise p-doped substrate, in this case is connected to a corresponding negative potential.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a circuit configuration for measuring the capacitance of structures in an integrated circuit, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Circuit configuration for measuring the capacitance of structures in an integrated circuit


An apparatus is disclosed in one embodiment of the invention as including an array of lighting modules organized in an alternating grid-like pattern. Each lighting module includes a pair of opposing light-emitting sides and a pair of opposing light-obstructing (e.g., light-reflecting) sides. Each lighting module in the grid-like pattern is mounted transversely to the lighting modules that are adjacent to it. As a result, each lighting module in the array illuminates the light-obstructing sides of lighting modules that are adjacent to its light-emitting sides.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus and methods for providing visually captivating lighting effects.
2. Background of the Invention
Signage and other visual elements are used extensively in today's world to convey information, provide entertainment, and/or establish a particular mood or ambiance. As technology has improved, so has the sophistication of signage and other visual elements. For example, improvements in areas such as light generation (e.g., LEDs as opposed to incandescent bulbs) and lighting controls have enabled significant advances in signage and other visual elements. Signage displaying static content has given way to or been enhanced by more advanced signage capable of displaying moving images and/or other dynamic or changing content. This is evident in the billboard industry where conventional static billboards have given way to electronic billboards capable of displaying myriad types of static and/or dynamic content.
In some cases, lighting elements such as flashing lights, colored lights, color-changing lights, cove lighting, indirect lighting, or the like may be used to create special lighting effects to capture an audiences' attention and thereby captivate, entertain, or convey information. Coves or other structures or shapes may be used in conjunction with lighting to create an extensive range of lighting effects to capture the attention or to create a particular mood or atmosphere. Used correctly, lighting and other visual elements may be used to heighten a sense of drama in a particular space or structure or make a space or structure feel brighter or more inviting. Lighting may also be used to enhance or highlight particular details of buildings, landscapes, or other structures.
As with most fields of endeavor, improvements or variations are constantly sought after by those of skill in the art. For example, new types of signage, visual elements, or lighting effects are desired to captivate, entertain, convey information, establish mood or ambiance, or provide a desired experience.

Lighting array providing visually-captivating lighting effects


A biological optical measurement instrument includes a single temperature sensor that detects a radiation temperature from a plurality of light emitting elements that emit light of a predetermined wavelength, and an absorption coefficient correcting unit that corrects an absorption coefficient value of a notable substance inside the object on the basis of the radiation temperature detected by the temperature sensor, referring to data indicating a correspondence relationship between a temperature obtained in advance for each emitted light of the plurality of light emitting elements and an absorption coefficient value that varies according to the temperature.

A biological optical measurement instrument is a device that is capable of irradiating a living body with near infrared rays and detecting light passed through the inside of the living body or reflected by the inside of the living body to simply measure blood circulation, hemodynamics and a variation of Hb inside the living body with less restraint and non-invasiveness to an object. In recent years, a technique that images measured data obtained from a plurality of measurement regions of a living body using a multi-channel device has been realized, and is expected to be applied to clinical tests.
In the biological optical measurement instrument, a semiconductor laser (hereinafter, abbreviated as LD) for emission of near infrared rays is used. It is known that the LD has temperature dependency on electric characteristics (threshold current, driving voltage and the like) or optical characteristics (optical output, wavelength and the like).
In the biological optical measurement instrument, a living body is irradiated with near infrared rays of a predetermined output, and a variation of Hb is calculated by light passed through the inside of the living body or reflected by the inside of the living body and an absorption coefficient value of Hb in blood. The absorption coefficient value of Hb in blood varies according to a wavelength value of the near infrared rays. Thus, if electric characteristics and optical characteristics vary according to a temperature change in an LD, the wavelength value of the near infrared rays varies, and thus, the absorption coefficient value of Hb also varies, which affects detection of the variation of Hb.
In this regard, PTL 1 discloses a technique that controls a driving voltage according to a driving current of an LD to stabilize a wavelength of the LD. PTL 2 discloses a technique that corrects a temperature of an LD using a Peltier element to reduce a wavelength variation.
PTL 3 discloses a technique that corrects a parameter such as an absorption coefficient value of Hb according to a temperature change in an LD in a calculation process of the concentration of oxy Hb or deoxy Hb in an optical measuring device such as an oxygen monitor to correct a wavelength variation due to the temperature change in the LD.

Biological optical measurement instrument and operation method therefor


When a concentration measured by a sensor is lower than a predetermined threshold, it is judged that a liquid is any different type of aqueous solution, and also, it is judged whether or not the different type discrimination is adequate. When the discrimination is adequate, the number of different type discriminating times is counted up based on a predetermined counted value, and when the number thereof is equal to or larger than a determination threshold, the different type discrimination is determined. At this time, at least one of the predetermined counted value and the determination threshold is dynamically set based on a liquid level of a reducing agent tank, so that the counting and/or the different type discriminating determination is performed considering convection which is changed according to a level change to thereby discriminate with high precision whether or not the liquid is the different type of aqueous solution.

There has been proposed an exhaust emission purifying apparatus in which a liquid reducing agent or its precursor is injection-supplied to an exhaust emission upstream side of a NOx reduction catalytic converter disposed in an engine exhaust system, so that NOx in the exhaust emission and the reducing agent are subjected to a catalytic-reduction reaction, to thereby reductively purify NOx into harmless components. In the exhaust emission purifying apparatus, when the concentration of the liquid reducing agent or its precursor is changed depending on some factor, there is a possibility that NOx purification efficiency in the NOx reduction catalytic converter is degraded, so that required NOx purification performance may not be obtained. In particular, if a mixing ratio between solute and solvent in the liquid reducing agent or its precursor is improper or if any different type of aqueous solution or water is mixed into the liquid reducing agent or its precursor, the above-mentioned problems are prominently caused. Therefore, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3687915 (Patent literature 1), the applicant of the present invention has proposed a technology for, even if convection is generated in a liquid stored in a reducing agent tank, discriminating with high precision a liquid type of the liquid, by utilizing a concentration sensor which measures the concentration of a liquid reducing agent or its precursor based on temperature rise characteristics of a heating element.

Exhaust emission purifying apparatus for engine


An information recording device includes a recording medium in which renewal data, which is a target of a data refresh operation, is recorded, a reading module that reads the renewal data recorded in the recording medium, a renewal module that performs updating of a value indicating a state of the data refresh operation, a generation module that generates parity data based on the value and the read renewal data, and a recording module that records the renewal data after recording the generated parity data.

In recent years, a technology of rewriting (i.e., renewing or refreshing) recorded information is applied to an information recording device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) and a solid state drive (SSD) in order to maintain quality of information recorded in a recording medium of the information recording device. Major factors that require rewriting of information in the recording medium are, for example, magnetic interference due to recording in an adjacent track in a HDD and data retention in a SSD.
In a HDD, when it is determined that magnetic interference due to recording in an adjacent track has occurred, a process that is called data refresh is performed. It is common in the data refresh process to read recorded information, temporarily record the read information in a retraction track, and rewrite back in the track in which the read information has been originally recorded.
Temporary data recording in a retraction track is to prepare for process interruption of a HDD during performance of the data refresh process due to a loss of power source, etc. Therefore, process time of the data refresh process is lengthened due to the temporary data recording in the retraction track.
However, generally the data refresh process is undesirably time-consuming.

Information recording device and information recording method


The present invention discloses a voltage up converter, including: a detector for detecting a level of an internal power to generate the internal power higher than an external power; an asymmetrical oscillator for generating a frequency in which a high level width and a low level width are different according to the output from the detector; and a pump for generating the internal power by performing a pumping operation according to the output from the asymmetrical oscillator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a voltage up converter, and more particularly to, a voltage up converter which can improve voltage up efficiency.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In general, a voltage up converter generates a power voltage having a higher internal power level than that of an external power, by using the external power. Hereinafter, the external power is referred to as VDD and the internal power is referred to as VPP.
The VDD itself has a high power level. Therefore, a doubler (pump for generating a power twice as high as the external power) can generate a high internal power. For example, the doubler can generate 3V of VPP voltage level by using 2.5V of VDD.
However, as the external power is gradually lowered, the doubler is not able to generate a high internal power. Here, a tripler (pump for generating a power three times as high as the external power) has been suggested. For example, the tripler can generate 3.5V of internal power by using 1.5V of external power.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional voltage up converter using a tripler. The operation of the conventional voltage up converter of FIG. 1 will now be explained with reference to FIG. 2.
A detector 10 detects a VPP potential, and outputs a start signal start when the VPP potential is lower than a specific potential. An oscillator 20 is operated according to the start signal start, for generating a signal osc having a constant period as shown in FIG. 2. A controller 30 is operated according to the output signal osc from the oscillator 20, for generating first and second control signals control1 and control2 as shown in FIG. 2. A pump 40 generates a VPP power according to the first and second control signals control1 and control2. FIG. 3 is a detailed circuit diagram illustrating the pump 40. The operation of the pump 40 will now be explained with reference to FIG. 3.
When an external control signal t1 is enabled in a high level, a transistor TR0 of a first pump 40a is turned on, and a boot node boot is charged by a VDD power. The external control signal t1 is disabled in a low level, and the first control signal control1 is enabled at the rising edge of the output signal osc from the oscillator 20. Accordingly, the first pump 40a is operated. That is, the first control signal control1 is applied to a capacitor C1 of the first pump 40a, and thus a potential of the boot node boot becomes 2×VDD, which is higher than the external power.
When an external control signal t2 is enabled in a high level, a transistor TR1 of the first pump 40a is turned on, and charges of the boot node boot are transmitted to a pump node pump of a second pump 40b.
The external control signal t2 is disabled in a low level, and the second control signal control2 is enabled at the falling edge of the output signal osc from the oscillator 20. Therefore, the second pump 40b is operated. That is, the second control signal control2 is applied to a capacitor C2 of the second pump 40b, and thus a potential of the pump node pump becomes 'potential of the pump node+VDD'. The maximum potential which can be pumped by the second pump 40b becomes 3×VDD.
When an external control signal t3 is enabled in a high level, a transistor TR2 is turned on, and the VPP power increases by charge sharing between the pump node pump and the VPP power.
Thereafter, the external control signal t3 is disabled.
The VPP power gradually increases by repeating the above pumping operation. When the VPP power reaches a target level, the start signal start is disabled to stop the pumping operation.
However, after the operation of the first pump 40a controlled by the first control signal control1, the level of the boot node boot of the first pump 40a tends to be continuously lowered after the rising edge of the first control signal control1. The boot node boot of the first pump 40a boosted by the first control control1 is one node of the capacitor C1, and the potential of the boot node boot is gradually lowered due to variations of an environment and a leakage current of the capacitor C1. In addition, charge sharing between the boot node boot and the pump node pump is not charge sharing using normal complete charges. That is, a smaller amount of charges than a pumping amount are supplied to the pump node pump due to the leakage current.
As described above, dropping of the boot node boot by the leakage current and the variations of the environment reduce efficiency of the tripler. The dropping of the boot node boot is more serious when the oscillator 20 has a long period. It is because the dropping of the boot node boot occurs for half a period of the oscillator 20.
In the general output signal osc from the oscillator 20, a low width (LW of FIG. 2) and a high width (HW of FIG. 2) are identical in one period. As a result, the output signal osc from the oscillator 20 having such a time width reduces efficiency of the tripler.


A method for forming a thin film transistor includes joining a crystalline substrate to an insulating substrate. A doped layer is deposited on the crystalline substrate, and the doped layer is patterned to form source and drain regions. The crystalline substrate is patterned to form an active area such that a conductive channel is formed in the crystalline substrate between the source and drain regions. A gate stack is formed between the source and drain regions, and contacts are formed to the source and drain regions and the gate stack through a passivation layer.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to display devices, and more particularly to thin film transistors having a crystalline channel that meets low-temperature processing requirements of low-cost and/or flexible substrates.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mainstream thin film transistor (TFT) devices are comprised of amorphous or polycrystalline materials as active channel materials. One reason for the use of such materials is that amorphous and polycrystalline materials permit large area and low cost deposition. This is particularly suitable for low-cost substrates such as glass or flexible plastic. However, the performance of these devices (particularly mobility and therefore drive current and switching speed) is limited by the non-crystalline nature of the semiconductor active material. On the other hand, high processing temperatures typically required for crystalline semiconductor materials are not compatible with low-cost substrates associated with amorphous and polycrystalline devices.
Active matrix TFT organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays employ amorphous and polycrystalline devices. Typically amorphous hydrogenated silicon (a-Si:H) or low temperature polysilicon (LTPS) TFTs are employed as a backplane. However, the mobility of a-Si:H is too low for high resolution OLED displays, and LTPS suffers from device-to-device threshold voltage (VT) variation and compensation circuitry limit resolution.


A connector fitting structure comprises a first connector in which an opening is defined by notching a front end portion of one side wall thereof, a second connector fitted with the first connector, an initial fitting member capable of retaining provisionally the second connector inside the first connector, and final fitting means for urging the second connector in a first direction to fit with the first connector, wherein a front end portion of the second connector is inserted from the opening into inside of the first connector along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and provisionally retained by the initial fitting member, thereafter the second connector is fitted with the first connector by the final fitting means.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector fitting structure and a connector fitting method for fitting a male and a female connector together through the press-fitting operation of a slider after a box body (e.g., auxiliary machinery) is incorporated into a main body (e.g., a vehicle body).
2. Description of Related Art
FIGS. 6 and 7 show a conventional connector fitting structure which is described in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 5-114436.
As shown in FIG. 6, this structure comprises a box body 42 incorporated into a panel (a vehicle body) 41, a male connector 43 securely mounted inside the box body 42, and a female connector 44 fitted into the male connector 43 from the opposite side of the panel 41. The box body 42 may be an auxiliary machine or the like.
The male connector 43 is provided with a lever 45 capable of pivoting and suitable for fitting the connector in with moderate force, and the female connector 44 is provided with slidable contact projections 46 for engaging with the lever 45. A mating groove 47 for use in operating the lever 45 is formed in the box body 42 as shown in FIG. 7. The male connector 43 is slidable in the fitting direction along rails 48 in the box body 42.
The male connector 43 is provisionally retained in the box body 42, which is then incorporated into the panel 41. The box body 42 is incorporated in the direction in which the connectors are fitted together. When the female connector 44 is pressed against the male connector 43, the lever 45 is pivoted while the male connector 43 is sliding back, whereby the female connector 44 and the male connector 43 are fitted together with moderate force.
The same effect can be achieved in such a way that securing previously the female connector 44 so as to be projected from the panel opening 49, then incorporating the box body 42 into the panel opening 49 and simultaneously pressing the male connector 43 against the female connector 44.
In the aforementioned conventional structure and method, however, there has developed a problem of making the assembling impossible in a case where there exists an interference object (not shown) in the direction of incorporating the box body 42 or where the direction of incorporating the box body 42 is perpendicular to the direction of fitting the connectors 43 and 44 together, since the directions of incorporating the box body 42 and fitting the connectors 43 and 44 together are the same, that is, limited to one.
FIG. 8 shows another fitting structure which is described in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 4-179009.
This structure is intended to connect a switch contact 56 and an operating unit 57 together without any positional slippage therebetween. In this structure, a circuit board 52 is provided on the dash board 51 so as to be movable within the range of bringing a retaining pin 53 into engagement with a provisional holding hole 54. While the switch contact 56 (one connector) is provided on the circuit board 52, the mating operation unit 57 (the other connector) is provided on a cluster board (a box body) 55. Further, on the cluster board 52, there are provided positioning pins 59 engaging with engaging holes 58 of the dash board 51 and the circuit board 52. According to the structure, since the circuit board 52 is properly positioned simultaneously with that the cluster board 55 is incorporated with the dash board 51 along the direction of connection of the switch contact 56 and the operation unit 57, the switch contact 56 and the operation unit 57 are connected together without any positional slippage.
In the structure, however, it is needed to move the positioning pins 59 and the box body 55 integrally and move the circuit board 52 by means of the positioning pins 59 when the box body 55 is incorporated and when the connectors 56, 57 are fitted together, which has made the incorporating and fitting operations troublesome.

Connector fitting structure and fitting method using the same


The description relates to a seismic imaging technology technique for modeling a subsurface structure through waveform inversion in the Laplace domain. The seismic imaging system comprises a scaled gradient calculating unit calculating a scaled gradient, a modeling parameter updating unit updating the model parameters using the scaled gradient direction, and an iteration control unit controlling the scaled gradient calculating unit and the modeling parameter updating unit to repeat processing iteratively until a stopping criteria is met.

1. Field
The following description relates to a seismic imaging technology technique for modeling a subsurface structure through waveform inversion in the Laplace domain.
2. Description of the Related Art
Technologies for imaging a subsurface structure through waveform inversion have been studied and developed. The full waveform inversion method was initially developed in the time domain to recover subsurface information. Later, this work was extended to the frequency domain. However, full waveform inversion methods have limitations due to local minima in their objective functions. Also, full waveform inversions of field data remain limited due to insufficient low-frequency information.
Recently, a Laplace-domain waveform inversion technique has been proposed to address problems associated with inversions in the frequency or time domains. See Shin, C., and Y. H. Cha, 2008, Waveform inversion in the Laplace domain: Geophysical Journal International, 173, 922-931; and Pyun, S., W. Son, and C. Shin, 2011, 3D acoustic waveform inversion in the Laplace domain using an iterative solver: Geophysical Prospecting, 59, 386-399. Also see Bae H. S., C. Shin, Y. H. Cha, Y. Choi, and D. J. Min, 2010, 2D acoustic-elastic coupled waveform inversion in the Laplace domain: Geophysical Prospecting, 58, 997-1010 and Kim, M. H., Y. Choi, Y. H. Cha, and C. Shin, 2009, 2-D frequency-domain waveform inversion of coupled acoustic-elastic media with an irregular interface: Pure and Applied Geophysics, 166, 1967-1985.
Laplace-domain waveform inversion could solve the problems of insufficient low-frequency information and local minima by using the zero-frequency component of a damped wavefield. Combining the work of Bae et al. (2010) and Kim et al. (2009) above, we have developed an inversion algorithm that can account for the effects of elastic waves in a marine environment and describe irregular submarine topography which was disclosed in Kang, S. G., H. Bae, and C. Shin, 2012, Laplace-Fourier domain waveform inversion for fluid-solid media: Pure and Applied Geophysics, 169, 2165-2179. However, the inversion can produce artifacts near the seafloor due to topography, and it requires longer streamers than required for frequency-domain inversions for the recovery of deep-water structures.

Seismic imaging system for acoustic-elastic coupled media using accumulated Laplace gradient direction

Seoul National University R&DB Foundation


A method of coating the interior surface of a latex balloon with a gaseous fragrance or scented formula, using a micro infusion injector.

The invention relates to latex balloons and scenting additives. Colorful inflated balloons are a significant and common symbol of universal celebration. Whether at holiday events, conventions, festivals, music concerts, or family gatherings such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, showers, etc., colorful balloons represent celebration and special occasions to everyone, everywhere in the world. Along with the celebratory effect of colorful balloons are the unique and interesting scents that are associated with such events. Scents are used in the marketplace as an additive in a wide array of products, including "plug-in" room air fresheners, automotive "vent" fragrance devices, "scented" baby dolls, "scented" magic markers, "scented" liquid bubble blowers, and even "scented" bowling balls. A colorful latex balloon that, when inflated, automatically gives off a pleasant scent or smell—such as a white balloon with flower scent for a wedding or a green balloon with a pine scent for the Christmas holiday—would provide a simple and inexpensive way to enhance any celebration experience.


A pre-reading method and a programming method for a 3D NAND flash memory are provided. The pre-reading method comprises the following steps. A selected string includes a first memory cell, two second memory cells and a plurality of third memory cells. The two second memory cells are adjacent to the first memory cell. The third memory cells are not adjacent to the first memory cell. A first pass voltage is applied on the second memory cells, a second pass voltage is applied on the third memory cells, and a read voltage is applied on the first memory cell via a plurality of word lines for reading a data of the first memory cell. The first pass voltage is larger than the second pass voltage.

As critical dimensions of devices in integrated circuits shrink to the limits of common memory cell technologies, designers have been looking to techniques for stacking multiple planes of memory cells to achieve greater storage capacity, and to achieve lower costs per bit.
Therefore, a structure for three-dimensional integrated circuit memory with a low manufacturing cost, including reliable, very small memory elements is provided.

Pre-reading method and programming method for 3D NAND flash memory


A method for providing a display to a flight crew of an aircraft includes receiving a required time of arrival (RTA) control instruction for arriving at a particular waypoint at a particular time, calculating an initial required aircraft speed at which the aircraft is required to fly in order to arrive at the particular waypoint at the particular time, and providing a flight display comprising a speed tape. The method further includes receiving an input accepting the RTA control instruction and calculating an updated required aircraft speed at which the aircraft is required to fly in order to arrive at the particular waypoint at the particular time. Still further, the method includes updating the flight display comprising displaying the updated RTA target speed on the speed tape using a second symbology that is different from the first symbology and discontinuing the display of the first symbology.

The ever increasing amount of air traffic has caused a marked increase in the workload of air traffic controllers in high traffic density areas around airports. The Next Generation (NextGen) overhaul of the United States airspace system and the companion Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) overhaul of the European airspace system are proposing various trajectory-based mechanisms to ease the pressures on the air traffic management on those continents. Some solutions being suggested include the increased use of onboard Required Time of Arrival (RTA) systems that allow an aircrew limited control of aircraft spacing and separation in areas where ATC personnel face heavy workloads.
A flight management system (FMS) is an onboard system that may include RTA capability. This RTA capability allows an aircraft to "self-deliver" to a specified waypoint or waypoints of a flight plan at a specified time along a four-dimensional trajectory (latitude, longitude, altitude, and time). The RTA system may be used within the context of a Controlled Time of Arrival (CTA) system to help manage the burden on an air traffic control (ATC) system resource.
These RTA systems may also be used to control speed transitions in multi-segment flight plans. Flight plans are developed in segments between "waypoints," or points in space defined by latitude, longitude, an altitude. These segments have physical or regulatory maximum and minimum airspeed constraints. Further, one or more waypoints in the flight plan may have an RTA assigned to those waypoints, which may be a specific arrival time (i.e. an "At Time RTA") or may be a one sided restriction such as arriving "no earlier than" or "no later than" a specific time.
Notwithstanding the numerous advantages of the NextGen and SESAR programs, a significant problem has arisen with respect to the capabilities of existing navigation systems that limit the ability of aircraft to reliably meet the air route (waypoint) time constraints imposed. For example, there are numerous onboard aircraft, ship-borne, and motor vehicle navigation systems that may calculate and display an Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA). However, there is no navigation system currently available that displays an indication to an operator that allows the operator to determine whether or not a required waypoint time constraint may be reliably satisfied.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a system and method that may compute an aircraft's motion in four dimensions (e.g., three spatial dimensions and time) and reliably predict the aircraft's arrival time at a predetermined waypoint, by providing a graphical display to an operator of the aircraft's progress that enables the operator to adjust the aircraft's movement and achieve the desired arrival time. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present disclosure will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the inventive subject matter and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the inventive subject matter.

Display systems and methods for providing displays indicating a required time of arrival


A method of selecting linked metric measurements from at least one of open loop and closed loop measurements is disclosed. The method includes sending by a first node a first radio communication and receiving by a second node the first radio communication over a communication link. The method also includes estimating by a second node dynamics of the communication channel using at least one of the variance and mean deviation of linked metric measurements. The link metric measurements are at least one of symbol error rate (SER), packet error rate (PER), frame error rate (FER), bit error rate (BER), signal to noise ration (SNR), and received signal strength (RSS). The method also includes the use of the above link metric measurements by the second node as Open Loop metrics and the sending back of these metrics to the first node for use a Closed Loop metrics by the first node. The method also includes categorizing the dynamics of the communications channel into one of at least two groups based on the estimate. Further still, the method comprises selecting, based on the chosen group, the use of at least one of closed loop link adaption and open loop link adaption of communication link parameters.

Highly dense and highly dynamic Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANET) often have limited bandwidth available for the measurement and control of link performance parameters. Often, a receiving node can only measure and return link performance parameters to the transmitting node at a rate that constitutes a highly undersampled closed loop control loop with respect to the link dynamics encountered. Undersampling or the need for large control bandwidth to allow for adequate sampling is the bane of many MANET closed loop control methods. Open loop methods, where adjustments in transmission parameters for the forward link (node 1 transmitting to node 2) are made by node 1 based directly on receptions made on the reverse link (node 2 transmitting to node 1), can suffer from asymmetrical channel conditions.
Accordingly, there is a need to exploit the synergistic relationship between Open and Closed loop link measurements. More particularly, there is a need to utilize the Closed Loop more in static environments where a lower update rate may be acceptable since the channel is not as dynamic and where static asymmetric channel conditions can be compensated for via the closed loop. In dynamic channel conditions, the Open Loop may be favored since the asymmetrical channel fading can be filtered via low pass filtering and the more symmetrical link components compensated for, and where the Open Loop can provide lower latency in the link measurements with respect to the Closed Loop.
Further, there is a need to utilize pre-loaded State Transition tables that utilize the measurements made from either the Open or Closed loops as "trip points" between states. Since channel estimation can be a highly non-linear process, any algorithm used would be very segmented, by necessity, in order to approach piece-wise linear operation. The utilization of a State Transition table provides an optimal form of this piece-wise process whereas each state within the table may represent an optimal set of transmission parameters for the current link condition. Additionally, there is a need for methods in which the output from both the Open/Closed loop selection/combining process and the State Transition Transmission Parameter adjustments are used to estimate actual link quality in terms of stability, capacity, margin, or packet error rate.
It would be desirable to provide a system and/or method that provides one or more of these or other advantageous features. Other features and advantages will be made apparent from the present specification. The teachings disclosed extend to those embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the aforementioned needs.

Link adaption for mobile ad hoc and mesh networks


An ink-jet printhead using a laser to expel ink includes an ink chamber to be filled with ink and an ink channel to supply the ink chamber with ink, the ink chamber and the ink channel formed in a passageway plate, a cover plate provided on the passageway plate, an ink ejection hole formed through the cover plate at a position corresponding to the ink chamber, a condenser lens provided on a bottom surface of the passageway plate at a position corresponding to the ink chamber, the laser irradiating a laser beam through the condenser lens and directly onto the ink contained in the ink chamber, to generate pressurized waves that vibrate a surface of the ink which causes an ink droplet to be expelled through the ink ejection hole from the surface of the ink.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink-jet printhead and an ink expelling method. More particularly, the present invention relates to an ink expelling method using a laser and an ink-jet printhead utilizing the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, ink-jet printheads are devices for printing a predetermined image, color or black, by ejecting a small volume droplet of printing ink at a desired position on a recording sheet. In such ink-jet printheads, ink ejection mechanisms are largely categorized into two types depending on which ink droplet ejection method is used. One type of conventional ink-jet printhead is a thermally driven ink-jet printhead in which a heat source is employed to generate bubbles in ink to cause ink droplets to be ejected by an expansion force of the generated bubbles. However, the thermally driven type, in which ink is boiled to generate bubbles, requires excess energy. In addition, there is a limitation on the type of ink used.
In addition to the above-described ink droplet ejection mechanism, a variety of different ink droplet ejection mechanisms are conventionally used in ink-jet printheads, and one example is shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1, a piezoelectric crystal 15 having a concave surface and a convex surface is installed under a surface of ink 14. One electrode 16 is provided on the concave surface of the piezoelectric crystal 15 and three electrodes 17, 18, 19 are provided on the convex surface of the piezoelectric crystal 15. The piezoelectric crystal 15 produces sonic energy, and an acoustic pressure generated by the sonic energy vibrates the surface of the ink 14. If the acoustic pressure exceeds a surface tension of the ink 14 and atmospheric pressure, ink droplets A-E are expelled from the surface of the ink 14 through a hole in a plate 13. Selective combinations of the electrodes 16, 17, 18, and 19 control an expelling direction of each of the droplets A-E. However, the above-described expelling method presents a problem due to a complex structure thereof because the hemispherical piezoelectric crystal 15 and the electrodes 16, 17, 18, 19 should be installed under the surface of the ink 14.
FIG. 2 illustrates another conventional printhead based on an ink droplet expelling mechanism using a laser.
Referring to FIG. 2, a printhead 40 includes chambers 37C, 37M, 37Y containing multiple colored inks 22C, 22M, 22Y, a semiconductor laser 28 for selectively irradiating a laser beam L onto the inks 22C, 22M, 22Y, and a condenser lens 29 which converges the laser beam L. The laser beam L emitted from the semiconductor laser 28 is selectively irradiated through the condenser lens 29 onto the inks 22C, 22M, 22Y contained in the chambers 37C, 37M, 37Y. Accordingly, the inks 22C, 22M, 22Y evaporate and the evaporating inks 32C, 32M, 32Y move to a recording sheet of paper 50. This ink expelling method, however, is disadvantageous in that control of the procedure is complex and a large amount of energy is consumed.
Other conventional ink expelling mechanisms include an ink expelling mechanism in which a buffered solution is boiled using a laser and ink is expelled by vibrations caused by the boiling of the buffered solution. This mechanism also has similar problems in that the structure of the ink-jet printhead is complex and a large amount of energy is consumed.

Ink-jet printhead and ink expelling method using a laser


The padded license plate screw is a single piece screw with a force-dispersing pad permanently attached to the head. The padded license plate screw is designed specifically to replace license plate bolts and used to prevent or minimize bumper damage that would otherwise be caused by license plate bolts in low-impact collisions. In an additional embodiment, a plurality of padded screws are integrally incorporated into a padded license plate frame. The padded license plate screws cushion the bumper to minimize damage from collision.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bumper protection devices, and particularly to a padded license plate screw designed to prevent small nicks in plastic bumpers from license plate bolts in low-speed collisions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many automobile manufacturers today value aesthetics above collision protection when deciding automobile bumper design and construction. An increase in demand for contemporary, trendy bumpers combined with a gradual relaxing of federal standards regarding bumper collision requirements have led to the use of plastic bumper covers replacing chrome bumpers. Stylish plastic bumper covers have a greater appeal to customers. Plastic can be painted to match the body color and has a more modern look than chrome. It also weighs less than chrome or metal, thereby decreasing the weight of the vehicle and increasing the vehicle's fuel efficiency level. However, when it comes to damage control plastic has a costly disadvantage. To repair a small ding or nick in a textured plastic bumper cover will require total replacement of the bumper. Similar damage to a flat plastic bumper can be repaired and repainted.
In many states vehicle owners are required to attach license plates to both the front and rear end of the vehicle. The metal bolts used to fasten license plates to the vehicle are notorious for making costly puncture dings in plastic bumper covers, especially in high traffic areas and particularly during rush hour. When stop and go traffic is prevalent, there are a high number of low-impact bumper-to-bumper taps. Such damaging taps may also occur when the driver makes a miscalculation while parking. These taps cost owners an estimated average of Three Hundred to Five Hundred Dollars in total repair costs, not including lost work time and rental car expenses. High end vehicle repairs, such as for a Jaguar or Mercedes Benz, can average from Five Hundred to Twelve Hundred Dollars.
There is a need for a device that will minimize or eliminate the damage done from nicks from license plates screws in low speed collisions. Many of the small puncture marks and nicks caused by license plate screws in such collisions could be avoided if there were some type of cushion between the screws on the moving vehicle and the plastic bumper of the stationary vehicle to absorb and disperse the force of the impact. The padded license plate screw provides such a cushion. The invention is designed to be small and unobtrusive, yet efficient in shielding the opposing bumper from the potential costly damage of a license plate bolt puncture.
There are several different types of license plate covers and screw caps conventionally available. Most, for example, screw caps designed with plastic or metallic emblems or icons, are designed for stylish purposes instead of damage reduction purposes. There are also various covered screws in other arts, such as rubber support screws for furniture. However, such devices are not designed to address the specific problem solved by this invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,944,367 issued Jul. 12, 1960 to F. C. Bontecue describes a specially constructed support structure to stabilize a table, cabinet, or similar appliance. The invention includes a cylindrical, hollow, flexible cap attached to the top of a rivet. The cap contains a boss that separates the appliance from the top portion of the cap. The boss is attached to a web that bends when there is a disproportionate amount of weight above that particular corner of the appliance, thereby leveling the appliance.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,693,495, issued Sep. 26, 1972 to D. P. Wagner describes a screw and washer encapsulated by a molded plastic fastener. The plastic fastener is designed to withstand high torque levels without stripping from the metal. The fastener's purpose is to provide an efficient way to coordinate colors of fasteners with other components of the particular construction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,834, issued Aug. 16, 1977 to D. J. Herkes discloses another plastic headed fastener. The invention features a quad-post design aiming to be capable of accepting high torque or high impact driving such that it may be drilled or tapped without damaging or stripping the plastic cap.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,833, issued Mar. 21, 1989 to A. D. Haab describes a metal threaded fastener with a polypropylene jacket covering the head and metal protuberances extending partially through the jacket. The fastener is designed for outdoor use, primarily in the construction of storage bins. The metal protuberances allow the bin assembler to hear a metal-to-metal sound when the fastener has been completely tightened in to prevent over-tightening and subsequent damage to the polypropylene jacket.
Other patents showing license plate screws or covered screws include U.S. Pat. No. 6,519,882 issued Feb. 18, 2003 to S. T. Shuen (decorative license plate frame structure); U.S. Pat. No. 4,482,278 issued Nov. 13, 1984 to J. D. Dorn (bolt with a plastic covering over the head with openings in the covering for sharp projections from the head to pass through); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,618 issued Jan. 17, 1995 to R. L. Singleton (security frame for vehicle license plates for preventing or increasing the difficulty of theft of license plates).
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a padded license plate screw solving the aforementioned problems is desired.


A toroidal lens (10) or a plurality of such lenses attached to a handle (14) for use as or in a keratoscope (12). If a plurality of lenses are employed, they are arranged either in different planes parallel to each other or concentrically in a single plane with varying degrees of ellipticity.

There are situations in which it is necessary to obtain an assessment of the degree of astigmatism of a cornea of an eye. For example, when a surgeon has made an incision in the cornea as part of an operating procedure such as insertion of an intraocular lens, it is necessary at the end of the procedure to close the incision by means of sutures. However, the sutures have to have an appropriate degree of tension to avoid inducing excessive stigmatism in the cornea. The lens of the present invention enables the surgeon to monitor readily the degree of astigmatism in a cornea as suturing is in progress and to adjust the tension of the sutures if necessary.
For example, closure of the surgical wound following cataract extraction and intraocular lens implantation may result in significant postoperative astigmatism. The amount of astigmatism is often unpredictable and may be a major factor limiting visual recovery and the final result of the procedure.
As surgical techniques and lens design have improved, other more serious complications have reduced in frequency. Patients' expectations have also increased and an excellent visual result following surgery is considered one in which patients not only have good corrected acuity, but are also able to see well without spectacles. The major problem which prevents ophthalmic surgeons from obtaining such a result is often the presence of surgically induced astigmatism. The introduction of multifocal and bifocal implants is another factor suggesting that levels of astigmatism previously considered routine may no longer be acceptable. At a recent conference (EIIC 1988) in Copenhagen, a panel of experts uniformly agreed that surgically induced astigmatism was the major remaining problem with their surgery over which they had inadequate control. This is one of the reasons why phacoemulsification and small incision cataract surgery is being considered by an increasing number of surgeons.
Even with these advanced techniques, astigmatism can still be a problem if wound closure and suture tension is not carefully monitored. Surgical Keratometers have been introduced to enable surgeons to monitor the corneal astigmatism during wound closure and adjust suture tension accordingly. These instruments have varied from complex and expensive instruments such as the Terry Keratometer to simple metal or plastic devices such as the Karickoff device which reflect a circle of light on the cornea. All these devices operate in a similar principle in that the reflected image of a circular light source will have an elliptical shape if significant astigmatism is present. More expensive instruments use incandescent or fibreoptic light sources to provide a bright image whilst the cheaper qualitative keratometers use reflected light from a metal or plastic circle. Unfortunately, the brightness of the corneal image with the qualitative keratometers is inadequate and the reflection is difficult to recognise. These qualitative keratoscopes have to be held at just the right angle to produce an image which is often difficult to recognise. The more expensive Keratometers produce adequate images, but are complex and time consuming. This has restricted their use to a small number of surgeons. The lens of the present invention is relatively inexpensive to produce compared to known qualitative Keratoscopes whilst providing a relatively bright reflected corneal image compared to known qualitative Keratoscopes.


Laying apparatus and method for cables, lines, conductors or suchlike. The apparatus comprises at least a hydraulic circuit provided with a variable delivery feed pump and with a motor connected to the feed pump in order to drive laying members for the cables and suchlike. The hydraulic circuit comprises detectors able to detect the value of pressure of the oil inside the hydraulic circuit and to compare it with a pre-determined pressure value, and valves connected to the detectors and able to reduce the delivery of the feed pump in the event that the pressure measured exceeds the pre-determined pressure value.

It is known that for the installation of cables, for example for telephones, railroads, high or low tension, for fiber optic communication or otherwise, arranged aerial or underground, considerable traction forces are required which may be dangerous to apply due to the accidental obstacles that can increase the normal sliding friction.
Laying operations are particularly difficult in the case of stringing cables on long-distance electric power lines.
In order to effect such operations, hydraulic winches are generally used, consisting of a thermal motor able to drive a hydraulic pump which in turn drives a respective hydraulic motor which determines the winding of the line that draws the cable.
Such known hydraulic apparatuses have a main disadvantage, however, which is that they have a hydraulic plant regulated only by a so-called "limit valve". Such valve makes the oil re-circulate, bypassing the pump, when the working pressure in the circuit exceeds a pre-determined value which entails excessive, or in any case dangerous, traction of the cable, due to the resistance of the structure of the latter.
In known apparatuses, the working pressure of the hydraulic circuit depends on the reaction offered to the sliding of the cable itself. Therefore, in the event of a sudden and accidental obstacle to the sliding, due for example to a guide pulley seizing, the hydraulic motor slows down and therefore there is a rise in the hydraulic pressure.
Such increase in pressure is discharged onto the hydraulic motor, which thus exerts very high and dangerous traction, which can even lead to breakage of or damage to the cable being drawn.
In such operating conditions, the recirculation valve keeps the pressure at pre-determined values, thus entailing a high transformation of the mechanical power yielded by the thermal motor, in heat, to effect the recirculation of almost all the oil. Such transformation entails an overheating of the oil, however, causing it to almost totally lose its lubrication characteristics, and damaging the rubber or plastic parts, which are sensitive to heat.
These problems are even more relevant in the case of laying cables with fiber optics, which require a particular caution in use and a precise control of the axial stress load, in order to prevent them from being ruined.
One purpose of the present invention is to achieve a laying apparatus, and perfect a laying method, for cables and suchlike, which, in the event of a sudden and accidental obstacle to the sliding of the cables, does not entail an overheating of the oil due to the recirculation of the latter.
Another purpose of the present invention is to achieve an apparatus with reversible parts which can, if necessary, be used as a brake.
A further purpose is to automate the intervention to control the overheating of the oil.
The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.

Laying apparatus for cables, lines, conductors or suchlike, and relative laying method


A method and apparatus for resolving individual signals in detector output data, the method comprising determining a signal form of signals present in the data, making parameter estimates of one or more parameters of the signals, wherein the one or more parameters comprise at least signal temporal position, and determining the energy of the signals from at least the form and the parameter estimates.

The accurate detection and measurement of radiation is employed in many industries including homeland security, scientific instrumentation, medical imaging and the minerals processing industry. These and other industries use the detection and measurement of radiation for the non-invasive analysis of materials or other specimens. Transmission based imaging, spectroscopic analysis or other modalities can be used to perform such analysis.
Spectroscopy, for example, is commonly used to analyze materials. Knowledge about the material is obtained by analysis of radiation emission from elements within the specimen. This emission of radiation can be stimulated emission due to some form of incident radiation or the result of natural emission from the constituent elements.
Gamma-ray spectroscopy, for example, is a form of spectroscopy in which the emitted electromagnetic radiation is in the form of gamma-rays. In gamma-ray spectroscopy the detection of the resulting radiation is commonly performed with a scintillation crystal (such as thallium-activated sodium iodide, NaI(Tl)), though there are a number of other detector types that can also be used. NaI(Tl) crystals generate ultra-violet photons pursuant to incident gamma-ray radiation. These photons may then be directed to a photomultiplier tube (PMT) which generates a corresponding electrical signal or pulse. As a result, the interaction between the photons and the detector gives rise to pulse-like signals, the shape of which is determined by the incident gamma-ray radiation, the detecting crystal and the PMT. The fundamental form of these pulse-like signals is referred to as the impulse response of the detector.
The output from the photomultiplier is an electrical signal representing the summation of input signals, of determined form, generated in response to discrete gamma rays arriving at the scintillation crystal. By examining the detector output over time, and in particular the amplitude of the component signals, it is possible to deduce information regarding the chemical composition of the material.
Analysis by gamma-ray spectroscopy requires the characterization of the individual signals generated in response to incident gamma-rays. Signal parameters of particular interest include signal amplitude, number and time of occurrence or temporal position (whether measured as time of arrival, time of maximum or otherwise). If the arrival times of two gamma-rays differ by more than the response time of the detector, analysis of the detector output is relatively straightforward. However, in many applications a high flux of gamma-rays cannot be avoided, or may be desirable so that spectroscopic analysis can be performed in a reasonable time period. As the time between the arrivals of gamma-rays decreases, characterization of all resultant signals becomes difficult.
In particular, the analysis is affected by a phenomenon known as pulse pile-up [G. F. Knoll, Radiation Detection and Measurement, 3rd edition, Chapter 17, pp. 632-634, 658 and 659, John Wiley and Sons, New York 2000], whereby multiple gamma-rays arriving more or less simultaneously produce signals which sum together and may be counted as a single signal. The magnitude of this combined signal is greater than the individual components, leading to errors in later analysis.
The energy of an incident gamma-ray may be reflected in the amplitude of the pulse-like signal produced by the detector. The presence of specific gamma-ray energies within the detector signal is indicative of particular elements in the material from which gamma-rays originate. Thus, a failure to differentiate a large amplitude signal caused by a single scintillation event from the superposition of multiple events can have a serious effect on the accuracy of subsequent spectroscopic analysis.

Method and apparatus for resolving individual signals in detector output data

Southern Innovation International Pty Ltd.


Constant contact side bearing support of a rail car body on a multi-axle rail car truck is provided for the purpose of restraining truck hunting and controlling car rocking. A bearing receiver or cage mounted on the truck bolster in laterally offset relationship to the truck center plate bowl supports wedge shaped bearing blocks on inclined surfaces within the cage. Biasing means, e.g., a long travel coil spring, biases the bearing blocks against the inclined surfaces of the cage, thereby maintaining a substantially constant normal bearing force on the car body throughout the wear life of the bearings. In an alterative embodiment, the cage is mounted on the car body with the bearing surfaces of the bearing blocks engaging corresponding bearing surfaces on the bolster. Arrangements providing for ease of inspection and replacement of the bearing blocks are disclosed.

So called "constant contact side bearings" have been provided for many years as a means of suppression of truck hunting by increasing resistance to truck bolster swivel. Although known devices work when initially installed, the effective life is relatively short. The need for frequent adjustment and replacement has limited the gains achieved through their use. Further, improvements in the control of car rocking through the use of side bearings have been generally quite limited because the existing devices commonly in use do not dissipate energy in the vertical direction. Where elastomeric springs are used for this purpose, any improvement achieved is short lived as these springs do not maintain their vertical stiffness on a long-term basis. This is due to the temperature rise associated with the constant rubbing which causes deterioration of the elastomeric material. In efforts to compensate for this problem, the initial vertical load carried by the side bearings is made relatively large but this tends to create a derailment hazard when the side bearings are used under empty cars. Side bearings exemplary of the known prior art are disclosed in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,131,069 and 4,655,143 and in U.S Pat. No. 5,048,427.

Constant contact side bearings with spring biased sliding wedges


A failure determination device of a hybrid vehicle, includes an engine, a motor arranged in series with the engine, a clutch arranged between the motor and a driving wheel, a pressure adjusting mechanism that adjusts hydraulic pressure supplied to the clutch, and that performs wet start clutch control for adjusting the hydraulic pressure, supplied to the clutch at least upon starting, to the hydraulic pressure causing the clutch to slip, and a controller configured to calculate required driving force on the basis of accelerator opening, and calculate torque capacity of the clutch, required for transmitting the required driving force by the clutch, as target torque capacity, calculate actual torque of the engine and actual torque of the motor, and calculate a torque deviation as a deviation between the target torque capacity and a sum of the actual torque of the engine and the actual torque of the motor.

Technical Field
The present invention relates to a technique of determining whether or not an engagement failure (MIN pressure fault) of a clutch is caused due to insufficient hydraulic pressure to be supplied to the clutch in a hybrid vehicle.
Related Art
JP2010-155590A discloses a hybrid vehicle in which an engine and a motor are arranged in series, and a first clutch and a second clutch are arranged between the engine and the motor and between the motor and a driving wheel, respectively.
With thus-structured hybrid vehicle, the vehicle travels in an EV mode by using the motor only, when a first clutch is released and a second clutch is engaged, and the vehicle travels in an HEV mode by using the engine and the motor, when the first clutch and the second clutch are engaged.
Upon starting or decelerating to stop, wet start clutch control is start and stop without depending on a torque converter.

Failure determination device of hybrid vehicle and its failure determination method


The normal vector information generating device generates normal vector information on the surface of an object, and includes: an image information obtaining unit obtaining information about an image of the object, the information including luminance information about luminance of light from the object and polarization information about polarization of the light; a shadow area extracting unit extracting an attached shadow area and a cast shadow area from the image based on the luminance information and the polarization information, the attached shadow area appearing on the surface of the object depending on an angle of incidence light, and the cast shadow area appearing on the surface of a material body when the light is blocked by the object; and a normal vector information generating unit generating normal vector information identifying a normal vector on the surface of the object in the attached shadow area using the polarization information.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device which generates normal vector information on the surface of an object, and in particular to a device which generates normal vector information from a polarized image.
(2) Description of the Related Art
It is said that mobile phones with a camera, digital cameras, digital movie cameras, and the like will be highly refined in the future as in the case of high definition televisions (HDTV), and miniaturization of these is being progressed to provide added values. However, it is conceivable that miniaturization of an optical system and imaging elements causes problems of limiting sensitivity and basic imaging performances such as the diffraction limit of a lens, and that high refinement will reach the limit in the future. In this case, the image quality can be enhanced by assigning, using computer graphics, information related to various physical characteristics used to generate an image, in addition to obtained insufficient image information of an object. For this, physical information in an image generating process must be obtained beyond the range of the conventional two-dimensional image processing. Examples of such physical information include three-dimensional shape information of the object, and a light source for lighting the object. Input of shape information requires an active sensor which projects a laser light or a LED light source, a distance measuring system such as a two-eye stereo, or the like, and thus requires a large system. This generates restrictions that, for example, it is only possible to reduce a distance between a camera and an object approximately to a few meters, and a target object must be a bright solid diffuse object. Therefore, such camera or the like cannot be used to image distant outside scenes such as scenes in athletics meets and to image portraits where hairs and clothes are important.
One of techniques which can be used to image outside scenes and general objects is a technique for using polarization as a completely passive method for sensing the shapes of objects. For example, Patent Reference 1 discloses a method for generating normal vector information of portions of an object according to a method for observing specular reflection components while rotating a deflecting plate mounted in the front of the lens of a camera without making any special assumption for lighting the object (random polarization: non-polarized lighting). The surface normal vector of the object has two-dimensional degrees of freedom determined by calculating two angles that are an angle of an incident plane containing rays of incidence light and reflected light and an angle of incidence on the incidence plane. The information of incidence plane for specular reflection is calculated from the angle at which the value of luminance changed by the rotation of the deflecting plate becomes the minimum.
For example, in Patent Reference 1, the one-dimensional degree of freedom of an angle at an emission plane containing rays of incidence light and reflected light is calculated from among the normal vector information of the object according to a method for observing diffuse reflection components while rotating the deflecting plate mounted in the front of the lens of the camera without making any special assumption for lighting the object (random polarization: non-polarized lighting). The information of emission plane for diffuse reflection is calculated from the angle at which the value of luminance changed by the rotation of the deflecting plate becomes the maximum. According to this approach, it is possible to calculate two-dimensional degrees of freedom which represent the normal vectors of an object by performing stereo processing while changing the positions of the camera and the light source.    [Patent Reference 1] Specification of U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,138    [Non-patent Reference 1] Ondrej Drbohlav and Sara Radim, "Using polarization to determine intrinsic surface properties", Proc. SPIE Vol. 3826, pp. 253-263, 1999

Normal vector information generating device and normal vector information generating method