Author: claimsbot

1. A method for manufacturing a light-emitting material comprising the steps of:
forming a first layer containing a first luminescence center element in a container;
forming a second layer containing a host material adjacent to the first layer in the container; and
doping the second layer with the first luminescence center element by performing heat treatment to the first layer and the second layer in the container.
2. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 1, wherein the heat treatment is performed at a temperature greater than or equal to 700\xb0 C. and less than or equal to 1500\xb0 C.
3. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 1, wherein the heat treatment is performed under a sulfidation-gas atmosphere.
4. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 1, wherein the first luminescence center element is at least one selected from the group consisting of copper, silver, gold, manganese, terbium, europium, thulium, cerium, praseodymium, samarium, erbium, aluminum, chlorine, and fluorine.
5. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 1, wherein the host material is at least one selected from the group consisting of zinc sulfide, cadmium sulfide, calcium sulfide, yttrium sulfide, gallium sulfide, strontium sulfide, barium sulfide, zinc oxide, yttrium oxide, aluminum nitride, gallium nitride, indium nitride, zinc selenide, zinc telluride, barium-aluminum sulfide, calcium-gallium sulfide, strontium-gallium sulfide, and barium-gallium sulfide.
6. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 1, wherein the first layer contains a second luminescence center element different from the first luminescence center element.
7. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 6, wherein a light-emission color from the first luminescence center element and a light-emission color from the second luminescence center element are in a relation of a complementary color.
8. A method for manufacturing a light-emitting material comprising the steps of:
forming a first layer containing a first luminescence center element in a container;
forming a second layer containing a host material over the first layer in the container; and
doping the second layer with the first luminescence center element by performing heat treatment to the first layer and the second layer in the container.
9. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 8, wherein the heat treatment is performed at a temperature greater than or equal to 700\xb0 C. and less than or equal to 1500\xb0 C.
10. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 8, wherein the heat treatment is performed under a sulfidation-gas atmosphere.
11. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 8, wherein the first luminescence center element is at least one selected from the group consisting of copper, silver, gold, manganese, terbium, europium, thulium, cerium, praseodymium, samarium, erbium, aluminum, chlorine, and fluorine.
12. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 8, wherein the host material is at least one selected from the group consisting of zinc sulfide, cadmium sulfide, calcium sulfide, yttrium sulfide, gallium sulfide, strontium sulfide, barium sulfide, zinc oxide, yttrium oxide, aluminum nitride, gallium nitride, indium nitride, zinc selenide, zinc telluride, barium-aluminum sulfide, calcium-gallium sulfide, strontium-gallium sulfide, and barium-gallium sulfide.
13. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 8, wherein the first layer contains a second luminescence center element different from the first luminescence center element.
14. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 13, wherein a light-emission color from the first luminescence center element and a light-emission color from the second luminescence center element are in a relation of a complementary color.
15. A method for manufacturing a light-emitting material comprising the steps of:
forming a first layer containing a first luminescence center element in a container;
forming a second layer containing a second luminescence center element and a host material adjacent to the first layer in the container; and
doping the second layer with the first luminescence center element by heating the first layer and the second layer in the container.
16. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 15, wherein the heat treatment is performed at a temperature greater than or equal to 700\xb0 C. and less than or equal to 1500\xb0 C.
17. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 15, wherein the heat treatment is performed under a sulfidation-gas atmosphere.
18. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 15, wherein the first luminescence center element is at least one selected from the group consisting of copper, silver, gold, manganese, terbium, europium, thulium, cerium, praseodymium, samarium, erbium, aluminum, chlorine, and fluorine.
19. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 15, wherein the host material is at least one selected from the group consisting of zinc sulfide, cadmium sulfide, calcium sulfide, yttrium sulfide, gallium sulfide, strontium sulfide, barium sulfide, zinc oxide, yttrium oxide, aluminum nitride, gallium nitride, indium nitride, zinc selenide, zinc telluride, barium-aluminum sulfide, calcium-gallium sulfide, strontium-gallium sulfide, and barium-gallium sulfide.
20. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 15, wherein the first layer contains a third luminescence center element different from the first luminescence center element.
21. The method for manufacturing a light-emitting material according to claim 20, wherein a light-emission color from the first luminescence center element, a light-emission color from the second luminescence center element and a light-emission color from the third luminescence center element are in a relation of a complementary color.
22. A light-emitting element comprising:
a pair of electrodes;
a light-emitting layer between the pair of electrodes and comprising:
a binder; and
a plurality of particles of a light-emitting material which contains a first luminescence center element,

wherein the plurality of particles have different concentrations of the first luminescence center element.
23. The light-emitting element according to claim 22 further comprising an insulating layer between the pair of electrodes.
24. The light-emitting element according to claim 22, wherein the insulating layer comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of yttrium oxide, titanium oxide, aluminum oxide, hafnium oxide, tantalum oxide, silicon oxide, barium titanate, strontium titanate, lead titanate, silicon nitride, and zirconium oxide.
25. The light-emitting element according to claim 22, wherein the first luminescence center element is at least one selected from the group consisting of copper, silver, gold, manganese, terbium, europium, thulium, cerium, praseodymium, samarium, erbium, aluminum, chlorine, and fluorine.
26. The light-emitting element according to claim 22,
wherein the light-emitting material contains a second luminescence center element,
wherein the second luminescence center element is at least one selected from the group consisting of copper, silver, gold, manganese, terbium, europium, thulium, cerium, praseodymium, samarium, erbium, aluminum, chlorine, and fluorine, and
wherein the second luminescence center element is different from the first luminescence center element.
27. The light-emitting element according to claim 22, wherein the light-emitting material comprises a host material doped with the first luminescence center element.
28. The light-emitting element according to claim 27,
wherein the host material is at least one selected from the group consisting of zinc sulfide, cadmium sulfide, calcium sulfide, yttrium sulfide, gallium sulfide, strontium sulfide, barium sulfide, zinc oxide, yttrium oxide, aluminum nitride, gallium nitride, indium nitride, zinc selenide, zinc telluride, barium-aluminum sulfide, calcium-gallium sulfide, strontium-gallium sulfide, and barium-gallium sulfide.
29. A light-emitting device includes the light-emitting element according to claim 22, further comprising a control means for controlling light emission of the light-emitting element.
30. An electronic device comprising the light-emitting element according to claim 22, further comprising a control means for controlling light emission of the light-emitting element.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

What is claimed is:

1. A pilot authentication system comprising:
a processor located in an aircraft and connected to an avionics computer of the aircraft;
a plurality of sensors connected to the processor and located proximal to the pilot; and
a transceiver connected to the processor,
wherein the processor monitors the plurality of sensors and the avionics computer, determines whether an alert condition is present, and sends an alert signal over the transceiver in response to the alert condition.
2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:
a base station;
a second transceiver connected to the base station; and
an alarm system connected to the base station,
wherein the second transceiver receives the alert signal, the base station processes the alert signal, and the base station activates the alarm system in response to the alert signal.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the alert condition is triggered by an unauthorized pilot controlling the aircraft.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the alert condition is triggered by physical distress experienced by the pilot.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the alert condition is triggered by the aircraft flying unattended.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors includes at least one fingerprint sensor.
7. The system of claim 6, wherein the at least one fingerprint sensor scans at least one fingerprint of an individual controlling the aircraft.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one fingerprint is compared to a database of authorized fingerprints to determine if the pilot is authorized to control the aircraft, said database being located in the processor.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the database of authorized fingerprints can be remotely updated to selectively add and delete digitized fingerprints of individuals authorized to control the aircraft.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors includes at least one biometric sensor.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one biometric sensor monitors the heart rate of the pilot.
12. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one biometric sensor monitors the body temperature of the pilot.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor contains a threshold value corresponding to a maximum time period for which the controls of the aircraft can be left unattended.
14. The system of claim 2, wherein the base station further comprises a master database of digitized fingerprints of individuals authorized to control at least one aircraft.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the master database can be updated to selectively add or delete digitized fingerprints of additional individuals authorized to control at least one aircraft.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the processor can be updated with records from the master database.
17. A method of authenticating a pilot comprising:
providing a fingerprint database of individuals authorized to control an aircraft;
scanning at least one fingerprint of the pilot at the controls of the aircraft;
comparing the at least one fingerprint to the database of individuals authorized to control the aircraft; and
in response to a negative comparison,
generating an alert signal in a processor in the aircraft; and
transmitting the alert signal from the aircraft to a ground-based monitoring system.
18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:
receiving the alert signal at the ground-based monitoring system;
processing the alert signal; and
activating an alert system in response to the alert signal.
19. The method of claim 17 further comprising:
receiving the alert signal at the ground-based monitoring system;
extracting at least one fingerprint of the pilot from the alert signal;
storing the at least one fingerprint in a storage means at the ground-based system; and
alerting law enforcement authorities.

1. A system, comprising:
one or more processors; and
a memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing program instructions executable by the one or more processors to implement:
accessing data representing an image;
accessing a look-up table defining a mapping of pixel values to respective energy values, wherein the energy values indicate the importance of each pixel with respect to resizing operations;
determining a respective energy value for each pixel of the image dependent on said mapping;
identifying a seam of the image having a lowest cost, wherein the cost of the seam is dependent on the respective energy values of pixels of the seam; and
performing a resizing operation on the image along the identified seam to produce a resized version of the image.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further executable to implement repeating said identifying and said performing for a next lowest cost seam until the resized version of the image meets a specified target size or a specified target aspect ratio.
3. The system of claim 1,
wherein the resizing operation comprises a reduction operation; and
wherein said performing comprises removing the pixels of the seam.
4. The system of claim 1,
wherein the resizing operation comprises an expansion operation; and
wherein said performing comprises replicating the pixels of the seam and inserting the replicated pixels into the image.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the cost of the seam is dependent on one or more of: a sum of the respective energy values of all pixels of the seam, an average of the respective energy values of all pixels of the seam a weighted average of the respective energy values of all pixels of the seam, or a maximum value of the respective energy values of all pixels of the seam.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein said identifying a seam of the image having a lowest cost comprises identifying a shortest path across the image.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein said identifying a seam of the image having a lowest cost comprises applying a dynamic programming technique.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the look-up table maps one or more ranges of pixel values to respective energy values.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the look-up table maps a pre-defined maximum or minimum energy value to two or more pixel values.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the two or more pixel values are determined dependent on a pixel value threshold.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further executable to implement modifying the mapping of pixel values to respective energy values in the look-up table.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein said modifying the mapping is dependent on user input.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the pixel values mapped to respective energy values represents one or more of: an absolute color value, an absolute intensity value, a difference in color values, a difference in intensity values, a derivative of two or more pixel values, an average of two or more pixel values, a maximum of two or more pixel values, or a minimum of two or more pixel values.
14. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors comprise at least one of: a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), or a graphics processing unit (GPU).
15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, storing program instructions computer-executable to implement:
accessing data representing an image;
accessing a look-up table defining a mapping of pixel values to respective energy values, wherein the energy values indicate the importance of each pixel with respect to resizing operations;
determining a respective energy value for each pixel of the image dependent on said mapping;
identifying a seam of the image having a lowest cost, wherein the cost of the seam is dependent on the respective energy values of pixels of the seam; and
performing a resizing operation on the image along the identified seam to produce a resized version of the image.
16. The storage medium of claim 15, wherein the program instructions are further executable to implement repeating said identifying and said performing for a next lowest cost seam until the resized version of the image meets a specified target size or a specified target aspect ratio.
17. The storage medium of claim 15,
wherein the resizing operation comprises a reduction operation; and
wherein said performing comprises removing the pixels of the seam.
18. The storage medium of claim 15,
wherein the resizing operation comprises an expansion operation; and
wherein said performing comprises replicating the pixels of the seam and inserting the replicated pixels into the image.
19. The storage medium of claim 15, wherein the cost of the seam is dependent on one or more of: a sum of the respective energy values of all pixels of the seam, an average of the respective energy values of all pixels of the seam, a weighted average of the respective energy values of all pixels of the seam, or a maximum value of the respective energy values of all pixels of the seam.
20. The storage medium of claim 15, wherein said identifying a seam of the image having a lowest cost comprises one or more of: identifying a shortest path across the image or applying a dynamic programming technique.
21. The storage medium of claim 15, wherein the look-up table maps one or more ranges of pixel values to respective energy values.
22. The storage medium of claim 15, wherein the look-up table maps a pre-defined maximum or minimum energy value to two or more pixel values.
23. The storage medium of claim 22, wherein the two or more pixel values are determined dependent on a pixel value threshold.
24. The storage medium of claim 15, wherein the program instructions are further executable to implement modifying the mapping of pixel values to respective energy values in the look-up table.
25. The storage medium of claim 15, wherein each of the pixel values mapped to respective energy values represents one or more of: an absolute color value, an absolute intensity value, a difference in color values, a difference in intensity values, a derivative of two or more pixel values, an average of two or more pixel values, a maximum of two or more pixel values, or a minimum of two or more pixel values.
26. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
accessing data representing an image;
accessing a look-up table defining a mapping of pixel values to respective energy values, wherein the energy values indicate the importance of each pixel with respect to resizing operations;
determining a respective energy value for each pixel of the image dependent on said mapping;
identifying a seam of the image having a lowest cost, wherein the cost of the seam is dependent on the respective energy values of pixels of the seam; and
performing a resizing operation on the image along the identified seam to produce a resized version of the image.
27. The method of claim 26, further comprising repeating said identifying and said performing for a next lowest cost seam until the resized version of the image meets a specified target size or a specified target aspect ratio.
28. The method of claim 26,
wherein the resizing operation comprises a reduction operation; and
wherein said performing comprises removing the pixels of the seam.
29. The method of claim 26,
wherein the resizing operation comprises an expansion operation; and
wherein said performing comprises replicating the pixels of the seam and inserting the replicated pixels into the image.
30. The method of claim 26, wherein the cost of the seam is dependent on one or more of: a sum of the respective energy values of all pixels of the seam, an average of the respective energy values of all pixels of the seam, a weighted average of the respective energy values of all pixels of the seam, or a maximum value of the respective energy values of all pixels of the seam.
31. The method of claim 26, wherein said identifying a seam of the image having a lowest cost comprises one or more of: identifying a shortest path across the image or applying a dynamic programming technique.
32. The method of claim 26, wherein the look-up table maps one or more ranges of pixel values to respective energy values.
33. The method of claim 26, wherein the look-up table maps a pre-defined maximum or minimum energy value to two or more pixel values.
34. The method of claim 33, wherein the two or more pixel values are determined dependent on a pixel value threshold.
35. The method of claim 26, further comprising modifying the mapping of pixel values to respective energy values in the look-up table.
36. The method of claim 26, wherein each of the pixel values mapped to respective energy values represents one or more of: an absolute color value, an absolute intensity value, a difference in color values, a difference in intensity values, a derivative of two or more pixel values, an average of two or more pixel values, a maximum of two or more pixel values, or a minimum of two or more pixel values.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. An apparatus comprising:
a housing including at least one wall defining a nozzle passage extending through at least a portion of the housing, the nozzle passage having a vent adjacent an upstream portion of the at least one wall, the housing including one or more housing interiors at least partially surrounding the nozzle passage;
a photocatalytic reaction chamber at least partially disposed within at least one of the one or more housing interiors at least partially surrounding the nozzle passage, the photocatalytic chamber including a plurality of photocatalytic media and a light source disposed to illuminate at least a portion of the photocatalytic media for producing a photocatalytic reaction generating a plurality of hydroxyl radicals; and
a blower at least partially disposed within at least one of the one or more housing interiors at least partially surrounding the nozzle passage, the blower fluidly coupled with the photocatalytic reaction chamber for conveying air through the photocatalytic reaction chamber and directing the air through the vent and along at least a portion of the at least one wall.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the nozzle passage includes a Coanda surface adjacent to the vent.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a first portion of the at least one wall diverges outwardly relative to an axis of the nozzle passage downstream from the vent.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein a second portion of the at least one wall diverges outwardly away from the first portion of the wall relative to the axis of the nozzle passage downstream from the first portion of the wall.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the housing includes at least two generally opposed walls defining the nozzle passage, each wall including a vent adjacent and upstream portion of each wall.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the nozzle passage has a generally quadrilateral cross-section.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the housing further defines a passage fluidly coupling the blower, the photocatalytic reaction chamber, and the vent.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the photocatalytic reaction chamber includes a removable reaction chamber cartridge, the plurality of photocatalytic media and the light source at least partially contained within the reaction chamber cartridge, the reaction chamber cartridge configured to be at least partially received within at least one of the one or more housing interiors and configured to be releasably coupled with the housing.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the photocatalytic media includes a media substrate coated with a micro-porous nano-particle membrane including a photocatalytic substance.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the photocatalytic substance includes TiO2 and the light emits ultraviolet light having a wavelength less than about 400 nm.
11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the photocatalytic substance includes at least one of ZnO and a WO3, and the light source emits light in the visible spectrum.
12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the blower is configured to push the air through the photocatalytic reaction chamber.
13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the blower is configured to pull the air through the photocatalytic reaction chamber.
14. An apparatus comprising:
a housing defining a nozzle passage extending through at least a portion of the housing, the housing having at least one Coanda exhaust adjacent to an upstream portion of the nozzle passage;
a photocatalytic reaction chamber cartridge at least partially disposed within an interior defined by the housing and at least partially surrounding the nozzle passage, the photocatalytic reaction chamber cartridge removably coupled with the housing, the photocatalytic reaction chamber cartridge including a photocatalytic reaction chamber including a plurality of photocatalytic media and a light source disposed to illuminate at least a portion of photocatalytic media for producing a plurality of hydroxyl radicals from a photocatalytic reaction of the photocatalytic media;
a blower at least partially disposed within the interior defined by the housing and fluidly coupled with the photocatalytic reaction chamber cartridge and the at least one Coanda exhaust for conveying air through the photocatalytic reaction chamber and out through the at least one Coanda exhaust.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the photocatalytic media include a substrate coated with a micro-porous nano-particle membrane of a photocatalytic substance.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the photocatalytic media includes a TiO2 photocatalytic substance, and the light source includes a UV light source emitting light having a wavelength less than about 400 nm.
17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the photocatalytic media include one of a ZnO and a WO3 photocatalytic substance, and the light source emits light in the visible spectrum.
18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the housing includes four walls defining the nozzle passage having a generally rectangular cross-section.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, including at least two generally opposed Coanda exhausts associated with two generally opposed walls defining the nozzle passage.
20. The apparatus of claim 19, including two photocatalytic reaction chamber cartridges, one photocatalytic reaction chamber cartridge associated with each of the two generally opposed Coanda exhausts.
21. An apparatus comprising:
a housing including four walls defining a nozzle passage extending through at least a portion of the housing and having a generally rectangular cross-section, two opposed walls including a respective Coanda exhaust adjacent to an upstream portion of the nozzle passage;
a photocatalytic reaction chamber cartridge at least partially disposed within an interior defined by the housing an at least partially surrounding the nozzle passage and removably coupled with the housing, the photocatalytic reaction chamber cartridge including a photocatalytic reaction chamber including a plurality of photocatalytic media and a light source disposed to illuminate at least a portion of photocatalytic media for producing a plurality of hydroxyl radicals from a photocatalytic reaction of the photocatalytic media;
a blower at least partially disposed within the interior defined by the housing and fluidly coupled with the photocatalytic reaction chamber cartridge and the at least one Coanda exhaust for conveying air through the photocatalytic reaction chamber and out through the at least one Coanda exhaust.