Lighting control system includes lighting fixture having identification information, controller for setting lighting condition for dimming level and color temperature of illumination light of lighting fixture, and dimmer for outputting dimming signal to lighting fixture. Lighting fixture includes dimmer for modulating illumination light to superpose thereon information signal containing identification information and lighting information of lighting fixture. Controller includes wireless communication unit for outputting control signal to dimmer, display unit with touch panel, for displaying image of lighting fixture, and visible light receiver for reading identification information and lighting information from information signal superposed on illumination light. Display unit is configured to associate identification information read through visible light receiver with image of lighting fixture to display image so as to reflect lighting information.

Conventionally, there is known a lighting system configured to control dimming states (illuminance) of lighting fixtures according to a schedule set in advance to achieve labor saving and energy saving (e.g., Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-373794 (hereinafter referred to as "document 1")). In the lighting system of document D1, it is desirable that identification information such as an ID address or the like be previously set to each of the lighting fixtures connected to a main control device. In this case, it is possible to allow the lighting system to perform an ON-OFF control and an illuminance control (a dimming control) of each lighting fixture according to the schedule set in advance.
In the lighting system, there is, however, a problem that verification procedure is complicated. Because, when verifying whether or not the lighting system performs a lighting control of each lighting fixture in line with the setting, it is necessary to infer identification information related to a target lighting fixture to check a lighting state or the like of the lighting fixture based on the identification information.
There is known a lighting system in which: a lighting arrangement modulates the light output of a lighting unit dependent on an identification code; a user uses a user control device to receive light from the lighting arrangement to derive the identification code; the user control device transmits the derived identification code to a main control device; and the main control device controls the lighting arrangement in several ways (e.g., Japanese Patent Publication Application Number 2008-537307 (hereinafter referred to as "document 2")).
As is known in the art, the parameter set through a controller in a lighting control system is mainly a dimming level (brightness). However, in recent years, there are widely spread variable color-temperature of lighting fixtures, each with various kinds of LEDs (light-emitting diodes), organic EL (electroluminescence) devices or the like, having different luminescent colors. In this case, when setting a lighting condition for a lighting fixture, the controller needs to set a plurality of parameters such as brightness and a color temperature of an illumination light. The parameter setting is difficult for a general user without expertise. In the lighting system of document 2, the user control device just has some command buttons, and accordingly the lighting system is not fit for setting of a plurality of parameters.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.


In a method and apparatus for displaying resized pictures on an interlaced target display system, the contents of an input video source are initially read and decoded to obtain original input picture data and title format information that indicates scan format of the original input picture data. According to the scan format of the original picture data and the identified television system specification of the interlaced target display system, a resizing operation is then performed to resize the original input picture data and obtain resized frames having a frame size sufficient for division into even and odd fields with field size characteristics that comply with the television system specification of the interlaced target display system. The resized frames are stored in a resize memory, and the resize memory is subsequently controlled to output the resized frames in the form of the even and odd fields with a timing sequence that complies with field scanning characteristics of the television system specification of the interlaced target display system.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for digital video processing, more particularly to a method and apparatus for displaying resized pictures on an interlaced target display system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Presently, pictures in a video compact disc (VCD) title are generally encoded in one of the following three source-input formats (SIF) 352xc3x97240 at 29.97 Hz; 352xc3x97240 at 23.976 Hz; and 352xc3x97288 at 25 Hz. Different formats are used in different source materials that were published in different areas of the globe to match the television system adopted by the particular area. For example, the 352xc3x97240 at 29.97 Hz scan format is adopted by programs suitable for the NTSC system, which is widely used in North America and Japan. The 352xc3x97240 at 23.976 Hz scan format is adopted for motion picture films. The 352xc3x97288 at 25 Hz scan format, which offers a higher picture height, is adopted by programs suitable for the PAL system that is popular in both Europe and China. Since it is desirable for the published video CD to be exchangeable worldwide, the video CD player must be made to allow the display of the aforementioned video formats on different television system specifications.
The two most popular commercial television system specifications in the world are the NTSC and PAL scan formats. The NTSC scan format has a vertical refresh rate of 59.94 Hz, whereas the PAL scan format has a vertical refresh rate of 50 Hz. Both scan formats use interlaced scanning to reduce flicker. In order to target a video CD title for display on these two television systems, it is inevitable to enhance the picture elements to reach the scan resolution required by the two systems. For example, the SIF picture resolution is at least required to be increased to two times in both vertical and horizontal directions. Thus, in a typical NTSC television system, the usual frame resolution is 704xc3x97480 at 29.97 Hz, and this frame is split into odd and even fields, each for scanning within a field rate of 1/59.94 Hz.
In addition to the spatial resolution enhancement, there is also a need to adapt the temporal resolution to another format so as to avoid jittering due to differences in the frame rate and scan rate between the encoded video CD title and the target display system. This action is called frame rate conversion and makes it possible to display NTSC-encoded frames on a PAL television system, and vice versa. In general, frame rate conversion is needed for video CD titles involving the aforementioned three kinds of SIF scan formats to permit display on both NTSC and PAL television monitors.
A well-known 3:2 pull-down technique is used as a conversion for targeting motion picture film titles on an NTSC display since a 5-field time period of the NTSC display is equal to the time period of two motion picture film frames. As such, one motion picture film frame is displayed over two consecutive fields, followed by the display of the other motion picture film frame over three consecutive fields, so that motion picture film frames can be played back smoothly on the NTSC display. However, the 3:2pull-down technique uses identical picture contents to be repeated for the corresponding two fields and three fields for two consecutive motion picture film frames. This will result in a picture-shaking phenomenon when the frames are applied to an interlaced display device.
Therefore, to display SIF-formatted video CD frames on a target television system of 625-lines/50 HZ (PAL) or 525-lines/59.94 Hz (NTSC) that have 576 and 480 active lines respectively in a frame time, there is a need to modify the picture size as well as the frame rate for various formatted titles to suit the interlaced display device and to provide enough resolution from a spatial point of view and maintain continuity of motion from a temporal point of view.
The object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for displaying SIF-encoded source pictures on an interlaced television system for enriching the resolution, reducing line flicker, preserving picture aspect ratio, and maintaining good continuity of motion.
According to one aspect of the invention, a method for displaying resized pictures on an interlaced target display system comprises: reading contents of an input video source; decoding the contents of the input video source to obtain original input picture data and title format information that indicates scan format of the original input picture data; identifying television system specification of the interlaced target display system; according to the scan format of the original input picture data and the television system specification of the interlaced target display system, performing a resizing operation to resize the original input picture data and obtain resized frames having a frame size sufficient for division into even and odd fields with field size characteristics that comply with the television system specification of the interlaced target display system; storing the resized frames in a resize memory; and according to the scan format of the original input picture data and the television system specification of the interlaced target display system, controlling the resize memory to output the resized frames in the form of the even and odd fields with a timing sequence that complies with field scanning characteristics of the television system specification of the interlaced target display system.
According to another aspect of the invention, an apparatus for displaying resized pictures on an interlaced target display system comprises a video input unit, a video decoder unit, a target system selector, a resize filter, a resize memory and a display controller. The video input unit is adapted to read contents of an input video source. The video decoder unit is connected to the video input unit, and is adapted to decode the contents of the input video source from the video input unit to obtain original input picture data and title format information that indicates scan format of the original input picture data. The target system selector is operable so as to generate a select signal to identify television system specification of the interlaced target display system. The resize filter is connected to the video decoder unit and the target system selector, and receives the title format information and the select signal therefrom. The resize filter performs a resizing operation to resize the original input picture data from the video decoder unit and obtain resized frames having a frame size sufficient for division into even and odd fields with field size characteristics that comply with the television system specification of the interlaced target display system. The resize memory is connected to the resize filter for storing the resized frames therein. The display controller is connected to the video decoder unit and the target system selector, and receives the title format information and the select signal therefrom. The display controller is further connected to and controls the resize memory to output the resized frames in the form of the even and odd fields with a timing sequence that complies with field scanning characteristics of the television system specification of the interlaced target display system.

Method and apparatus for displaying resized pictures on an interlaced target display system


A production process of a conductive material includes processing graphite oxide into a graphene suspension comprising graphene monolayer nanoflakes, and processing the graphene suspension and metal or metal oxide so as to provide a liquid comprising a composite as the conductive material.

Nowadays, the primary raw material for the transparent conductive layer of the array substrate and the colorfilm substrate in the production of liquid crystal displays is indiumtin oxide (ITO), which is a metal oxide. ITO can provide high optical transparency and relatively good conductivity. However, it exhibits conductivity lower than metals such as gold and silver. Thus, there are some limitations when it is used in the fields of touch screens, displays, plasma displays, etc. Additionally, the abrasion resistance of the ITO film is relatively poor, and at the same time the cost of indium, which is the main component of ITO, is relative high, therefore, the use of optical film having better properties, such as graphene-metal composite electrode, has become a trend.
The monolayer graphene is a two-dimensional structure of a closely packed atomic monolayer. The specific electronic configuration thereof determines its excellent electrical property. In the monolayer graphene, carbon atoms periodically arrange in the graphite plane in the form of six-membered ring. Each carbon atom binds three adjacent carbon atoms via a bonds. The three hybridization orbitals, i.e. S, Px and Py, form an sp2 hybrid orbital, which imparts the graphene extremely high mechanical properties. The remaining π electrons in the Pz orbital form a π orbital in the direction perpendicular to the plane. The π electrons can move in the plane of the graphene crystal, which allows the graphene to possess a good conductivity. Furthermore, investigations indicate that transparency of a graphene electrode would not be affected when it combines in a grid style with metal having small size.
Therefore, it is possible to develop a new alternative conductive material for indium tin oxide (ITO) for the production of the conductive layer used in liquid crystal displays, by utilizing the superior conductivity and transparency of the graphene.

Conductive graphene-metal composite material, the production method of the same and use of the same


The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for determining the energy of a laser. In particular, the invention relates to an initial determination of a laser energy and the monitoring of the laser energy preferably of an excimer laser for use in a refractive laser system for treatment of any eye. An apparatus for determining an energy of an excimer laser comprises a tool comprising an area being ablated with a plurality of laser pulses of said excimer laser using at least one predetermined multi spot ablation pattern, said ablation area comprising a specific ablation area being as large as the ablation area or smaller, an image capturing means for capturing at least one image comprising at least said specific ablation area of the tool; an analyzing means for analyzing said at least one image, wherein the size of the specific ablation area provides a measure of the energy of the excimer laser.

For the initial determination of a laser energy of a refractive laser systems usually a disposable energy calibration tool is used. This calibration tool consists of a glued foil on top of a coloured base plate. A laser system with nominal fluence level (expressed in mJ/cm2) will penetrate the foil with a specified number of pulses having two target positions on the tool. To test a laser system the number of laser pulses necessary to penetrate the foil is counted and the user determines when the foil is ablated, i.e., the coloured base plate is visible.
Modifications of such base plates are known, e.g., from U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,960 to Deborah K. Hall as laser calibration device. The laser calibration device for calibrating surgical lasers is formed by superimposition of thin-films of alternating colours. After ablation by a laser beam, the resulting spherical cavity appears as a pattern of nested circles whose concentricity and spacing reflect the alignment and intensity of the laser beam. These patterns can be visually or instrumentally analyzed to determine the proper setting of the laser. A monolayer or multi-layer thin film is used to determine not only the ablative power of a laser beam, but also the variation of the ablative power over the full breadth of the beam by observing the area impinged by the beam between successive laser pulses.
The determined number of shots necessary to ablate the foil and thus causing a colour change observed by a user may vary depending on the users subjective perception.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,211,078 relates to a device for monitoring the energy and/or position of a pulsed and scanned laser beam, wherein the pulsed laser beam is intermittently directed at a sensor. The measuring of laser energy and in particular the monitoring of laser energy is accomplished by using optical photodiodes, pyroelectric or thermoelectric sensors. In particular, the laser energy is monitored during operation by measuring a divided part of the laser beam. Alternatively, the entire undivided beam can be deflected onto a sensor.
An aspect of the invention is to improve laser energy measurement and monitoring. In particular, it is an object of the invention to improve the laser energy measurement and monitoring via sensors. A further aspect of the invention is to provide a more objective measurement utilizing a laser calibration tool in order to improve the measurement accuracy.

Determination and monitoring of laser energy


This invention relates to the method for treating human baldness, including the form of alopecia commonly known as "male pattern baldness", which comprises regular topical application to the affected areas of the human scalp of minoxidil and an anti-inflammatory agent.

The present invention relates to methods, and compositions for treating human patterned alopecia, also called androgenic alopecia involving the use of minoxidil (or related compounds) and antiinflammatory agents.
Dermatologists recognize many different types of hair loss, the most common by far being "androgenic alopecia" wherein human males begin losing scalp hair at the temples and on the crown of the head in early adult life. This type of hair loss is more common and more severe in males, hence its common name "male pattern baldness". However, similar patterned baldness occurs in women, though it progresses more slowly and does not reach the end stage of complete denudation. An effective treatment for these and related conditions has long been sought.
There are two types of hair follicles which produce either "terminal hairs" or "vellus hairs". Terminal hairs are coarse, pigmented, long hairs in which the bulb of the follicle is situated deep in the skin, usually in the subcutaneous tissue. Vellus hairs, on the other hand, are fine, thin, non-pigmented short hairs whose bulbs are located superficially in the upper dermis. In patterned alopecia, follicles which produce terminal hairs are gradually converted to vellus ones through a miniaturization process.
Along with this progressive involution there inevitably occurs changes in the proportion of hairs in the various phases of the hair cycle. All follicles pass through a life cycle that includes three phases, namely, (1) anagen (2) catagen and (3) telogen. The anagen phase is the period of active hair growth and, on the scalp generally lasts from 3-6 years. Catagen is a short transitional phase when the follicle contracts in preparation for a resting period. It lasts a couple of weeks. In telogen, the follicle is in a resting phase where all growth ceases and the hair becomes short "club" hairs. When a new cycle begins, the club hair is shed. Telogen scalp hairs are relatively short-lived, about three to four months.
Normally, approximately 90% of scalp hairs are in the anagen phase, less than 1% in catagen and the remainder in telogen. With the onset of patterned baldness, a successively greater proportion of hairs are in the telogen phase, with correspondingly fewer in the active growth anagen phase.
Additionally, there may be some actual loss of hair follicles but this is limited to the last final phase. For the most part, the visible diminution in the bulk of hair is due to the miniaturization of the follicles. In completely bald areas, all the follicles are in the vellus phase producing ugly fine, short, non-pigmented hairs which are cosmetically useless. It may take 20 to 30 years for the distinctly anagen follicles on the crown to become transformed into a uniform population of vellus follicles.
Patterned baldness is sometimes called androgenic alopecia because male hormones are necessary for its development. It does not occur before adolescence, nor in castrates. Attempts to prevent alopecia by hormonal treatments by using anti-androgens or female hormones have failed. A hereditary component is also recognized since patterned alopecia runs in families. Despite intensive investigation, the mechanism whereby terminal follicles convert to vellus ones is unknown.
At the present time, one effective treatment for patterned alopecia is hair transplantation. Plugs of hair-bearing skin from the back of the scalp are transplanted into the bald areas. The procedure is costly and painful. Hundreds of plugs must be transplanted to create an appearance of hairiness. It is impossible to obtain anything near the original density of terminal hair.
Many other approaches for creating or reversing patterned alopecia have been tried including ultra-violet radiation, massage, chemical irritation and innumerable natural products and herbs. None of these has been generally accepted as effective.
Drugs offer a more rational approach--though for the most part have been designed to interfere with drug metabolism. The results have been poor to date. In Europe, a schedule of estrogens and antiandrogens have been administered orally to balding females with inconsistent results and with obvious limitations.
The androgenic hormone testosterone has been shown to stimulate hair growth when injected into the beard and pubic regions of adult females. Also, topical application to the armpit causes increased hair growth in aged persons. Nonetheless, topical application of testosterone has not been able to grow hair in balding individuals. Indeed, high doses of oral testosterone can induce patterned alopecia.
The topical application of minoxidil is currently the most effective therapy for patterned alopecia. Minoxidil is a well-known pharmaceutical agent marketed by the Upjohn Company in the form of LONITEN.RTM. tablets for the treatment of hypertension. Numerous investigators have demonstrated that it can stimulate visible hair growth in a majority of balding subjects. The structure and use of this compound is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,139,619 and 4,596,812. This compound has varying degrees of efficacy for moderating androgenic alopecia, depending on the degree of baldness, its duration, the age of the patient and, of course, on the concentration of the drug in an appropriate vehicle.
The present invention provides a novel, non-obvious and effective treatment for patterned male and female alopecia.

Combination of minoxidil and an antiinflammatory agent for treating patterned alopecia


An overflow cover assembly and kit for making same comprising at least a cover piece including a snap on section and a hanger which is configured to engage a bracket crossing and engaged over a port of an overflow system, the hanger mounting to the overflow port bracket using screws from the previous hanger engaged thereto and the cover piece being engaged to the hanger by two screws provided in the kit, the cover assembly accommodating replacement of either one or two screw cover embodiments and being provided in various finishes and in regular size or being oversized.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to universal bath tub overflow assemblies, which historically have been made in one size. Building codes require a tub overflow assembly to be incorporated in bath tubs and nearly all of these assemblies incorporate an outer exposed cover plate located on the front side of the bath tub above the drain. This exposed plate is the subject of this application. The overflow cover plate assembly nearly always is attached to the waste assembly using one or two screws, which historically are exposed and are necessarily plated to match the finish of the cover plate.
2. Prior Art
In the United States and most other countries, all bath tubs are required by code to incorporate a waste and overflow system into the drain assembly. Usually these systems incorporate a vent or port located above the drain which usually is covered by a round or rectangle plate, which necessarily plated to match the trim of tub (chrome, nickel, brass, etc.) which is affixed with one or two matching exposed screws. Some models incorporate a flip lever which controls the tub drain, but most do not.
The universal overflow cover assembly of the present invention serves as a replacement for these round or rectangular plates, with or without a flip lever.
Over time, such plates routinely discolor or the tub discolors around the 00 of the plate. When this happens they are changed, either in the same plated finish or, in a new plated finish in situations where the bathroom, during remodeling, is having the bathtub faucet finish changed, such as, from chrome finish to gold, brushed nickel or oil rubbed bronze finish.
Heretofore the cover plates have always been made the same size (00). Also, some manufactures use one screw and others use two screws to attach them over the overflow system port. And finally, not all screw lengths and thread sizes are/were the same.
Because of this, the market has faced the following problems while replacing these cover plates:    1. Older bath tubs which have developed discoloration around the plate still have the discoloration showing after installing a new plate because all have been produced in only one diameter (00).    2. New screws have had to be provided in special finishes to match the plate, in different lengths and of different thread sizes to accommodate replacement of same, at great expense and causing confusion.
Accordingly, there is a need for a solution to these problems, which the universal overflow cover assembly and kit of the present invention solves.

Universal tub overflow cover assembly and kit


A polymer having a repeating unit represented by Formula 1, wherein R1 through R14, X1, and Ar1 are the same as defined in the detailed description, and an organic light-emitting diode including the polymer are described.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to polymers and organic light-emitting diodes including the polymers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Organic light-emitting devices are lightweight self-emissive devices, which are manufactured using a relatively small number of components by simplified manufacturing processes. Organic light-emitting devices provide high-quality images and have wide viewing angles. Furthermore, organic light-emitting devices provide high color purity, realize full moving images, have low power consumption and operate at low voltage. Because of these characteristics, organic light-emitting devices are suitable for use in any kinds of electronic devices.
Typically, an organic light-emitting device has a structure including a substrate, an anode, organic layers, and a cathode, which are sequentially stacked on the substrate. The organic layers include a hole transport layer (HTL), an emission layer (EML), and an electron transport layer (ETL).
When a voltage is applied to the anode and the cathode, holes injected from the anode move to the EML via the HTL, and electrons injected from the cathode move to the EML via the ETL. The holes and electrons recombine in the EML to generate excitons. The excitons radiatively decay to emit light having a wavelength corresponding to the band gap of a material.
Materials used to form organic layers may be classified as either vacuum-depositable materials or solution-coatable materials according to the method used to form the organic layer. Solution-coatable materials should be miscible with a solvent to form a composition that may be coated on a substrate by a known solution coating method, such as inkjet printing, screen printing, or spin coating.

Polymer and organic light-emitting diode including the same


A bimetallic strip or band for manufacturing metal saw blades and metal band saw bands includes a support strip and a tool steel top layer. The top layer is high speed tool steel. The support strip is martensitically hardenable maraging steel having a maximum carbon concentration of 0.05 wt. % and a content of alloying elements of at least 10 wt. %.

Bimetallic strips for metal saw blades and metal band saw bands are manufactured by welding a tool steel top layer, preferably comprised of high speed tool steel, onto a support strip, e.g., by means of electron beam welding. Typically, this is followed by tempering the zone hardened in the welding by means of tempering heat treatment of the raw strip and by subsequent soft-annealing heat treatment of the raw strip in the weld seam region. The softened strip is then sent to fabrication operations such as final machining, etc.
After the sawteeth are machined and, possibly, set, the metal saw blade or metal band saw band is hardened and tempered. The hardening and tempering temperatures must be set appropriately for the tool steel or high speed tool steel alloy. Accordingly, the hardening temperature used for the bimetallic product is unusually high for the steel of the support strip and, therefore, excessively large grains can form and the material can be embrittled.
In order to withstand the high operational stresses which occur, and to do so with a long service life and with good cutting properties of the saw, the final hardness of the high speed tool steel teeth must be at least 65 HRC. The hardness of the support strip must be at least 470 HV in order to avoid undesirable edge deflection and to provide good guiding stability. For band saws, it is crucially important that the support strip have high bending fatigue strength and good toughness.
It is known that the use of carbon steels and preferably spring steels with carbon contents of 0.2-0.6% and contents of alloying elements of up to 10% is desirable for these uses. Such materials can be welded to high speed tool steel by the use of suitable methods which minimize the tendency to form:
brittle regions, or PA1 regions of inferior hardness
in the weld zone. Such brittle or soft regions can form during welding and/or during heat treatment. They result from diffusion of elements, particularly carbon, due to different concentrations or activities of the diffusing elements in the alloys of different composition.
Austrian Pat. 371,149 discloses the microalloying elements can be added to the support strip material, to avoid excessively large grain formation in the hardening process. The hardening process is directed at the high speed tool steel material and, thereby, prevents degradation of the toughness parameters.
All bimetallic saw strips for cutting metal thus have the disadvantage that, when one attempts to employ suitable hardening and tempering processes to produce good cutting properties in the top layers comprised of tool steel or high speed tool steel, it is difficult to simultaneously obtain good properties of the support strip. In particular, the bending fatigue strength of the support strip is limited. Consequently, fractures of the saw strip can occur, as a result of fatigue of the material of the support strip, even though the basic cutting properties remain satisfactory. Higher quality cutting materials can be employed such as in the cutting layers which have better cutting properties, but their use is uneconomical. This is because the service life of the support strip is much less than the service life of the sawteeth.


Topically applicable, dermatological/pharmaceutical compositions contain, formulated into a physiologically acceptable medium, benzoyl peroxide, at least one naphthoic acid compound and at least one compound of the polyurethane polymer type or derivatives thereof, wherein the benzoyl peroxide and the at least one naphthoic acid compound are dispersed therein.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to compositions for topical administration, and their applications as cosmetic or pharmaceutical products, such compositions being particularly useful for the treatment of acne.
2. Description of Background and/or Related and/or Prior Art
Acne is a frequent multifactorial pathology which affects skin rich in sebaceous glands (face, scalpular region, arms and intertriginous regions). It is the most frequent of the dermatoses. The following five pathogenic factors play a decisive role in the constitution of acne:
1. genetic predisposition;
2. overproduction of sebum (seborrhoea);
3. androgens;
4. follicular keratinization disorders (comedogenesis); and
5. bacterial colonization and inflammatory factors.
There are several forms of acne, which all have in common the impairment of the pilosebaceous follicles. There may be mentioned in particular acne conglobata, acne keloid of the nape of the neck, acne medicamentosa, recurrent miliary acne, acne necrotica, acne neonatorum, premenstrual acne, occupational acne, acne rosacea, senile acne, solar acne and acne vulgaris.
Acne vulgaris, also called polymorphic juvenile acne, is the most common. It comprises four stages, but passage through all the stages is not obligatory:
Stage 1 corresponds to comedonal acne characterized by a large number of open and/or closed comedones, and of microcysts.
Stage 2, or papulopustular acne, is of mild to moderate seriousness. It is characterized by the presence of open and/or closed comedones, of microcysts, but also of red papules and of pustules. It affects mainly the face and leaves few scars.
Stage 3, or papulocomedonal acne, is more serious and extends to the back, to the thorax and to the shoulders. It is accompanied by a larger number of scars.
Stage 4, or nod ulocystic acne, is accompanied by numerous scars. It has nodules as well as large purplish and painful pustules.
The various forms of acne described above may be treated with active agents such as anti-seborrhoeic agents and anti-infective agents, for example benzoyl peroxide (in particular the product Eclaran® marketed by Pierre Fabre), with retinoids such as tretinoin (in particular the product Retacnyl® marketed by Galderma) and isotretinoin (the product Roaccutane® marketed by Laboratoires Roche), or with naphthoic acid derivatives. Naphthoic acid derivatives such as in particular 6-[3-(1-adamantyl)-4-methoxyphenyl]-2-naphthoic acid, commonly called adapalene (the product Differine® marketed by Galderma), are widely described and recognized as active ingredients that are as effective as tretinoin for the treatment of acne.
The combination of several local treatments (antibiotics, retinoids, peroxides, zinc) is also used in dermatology to make it possible to enhance the efficacy of the active ingredients and to reduce their toxicity (Cunliffe W. J., J. Dermatol. Treat., 2000, 11 (suppl2), pgs. 13-14).
The multiple application of different dermatological products may be quite cumbersome and demanding for the patient.
Therefore, one must understand the importance of developing a novel treatment that is effective on dermatological conditions in a stable composition offering a good cosmetic property and allowing a single application and a pleasant use for the patient.
Among this range of therapies proposed by one skilled in the art, nothing has encouraged the combination, in the same composition, benzoyl peroxide and a retinoid.
However, the formulation of such a composition poses several problems.
First of all, the efficacy of benzoyl peroxide is linked to its decomposition when it is brought into contact with the skin. Indeed, it is the oxidizing properties of the free radicals produced during this decomposition which lead to the desired effect. Accordingly, to maintain optimum efficacy of the benzoyl peroxide, it is important to prevent its decomposition before administration, that is to say during storage.
Now, benzoyl peroxide is an unstable chemical compound, which makes its formulation in finished products difficult.
The solubility and stability of benzoyl peroxide have been studied by Chellquist et al. in ethanol, propylene glycol and various mixtures of polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400) and water (Chellquist E. M. and Gorman W. G., Pharm. Res., 1992, Vol 9: 1341-1346).
Benzoyl peroxide is particularly soluble in PEG 400 and ethanol as the following table shows:
Solubility of benzoylSolventperoxide (mg/g)PEG 40039.6Ethanol17.9Propylene glycol2.95Propylene glycol/water (75:25)0.36Glycerol0.15Water0.000155
This document moreover specifies that the stability of benzoyl peroxide is greatly influenced by the chemical composition of the formulation and by the storage temperature. Benzoyl peroxide is extremely reactive and is degraded in solution at low temperature because of the instability of its peroxide bond.
The authors thus observed that benzoyl peroxide in solution is degraded more or less rapidly in all the solvents studied depending on the type of solvent and its concentration.
The benzoyl peroxide degradation time in PEG 400 (0.5 mg/g), in ethanol and in propylene glycol are respectively 1, 4, 29 and 53 days at 40° C. Such a degradation does not allow the preparation of a product useful for sale.
Thus, to limit the problem of rapid instability of benzoyl peroxide in solution, it was found to be advantageous to formulate the benzoyl peroxide in dispersed form. However, this type of formulation is not completely satisfactory since degradation of benzoyl peroxide is still observed in the finished product.
Another difficulty that has to be overcome for the preparation of a composition comprising both benzoyl peroxide and a retinoid is that most retinoids are particularly sensitive to natural oxidation, to visible light and to ultraviolet radiation, and benzoyl peroxide being a strong oxidant, the chemical compatibility of these compounds in the same formulation poses numerous problems of stability from the physical and chemical point of view.
A study of stability of two retinoids was carried out by combining two commercial products, one containing a retinoid (tretinoin or adapalene) and the second based on benzoyl peroxide (B. Martin et al., Br. J. Dermatol., (1998) 139, (suppl. 52), 8-11).
The presence of the benzoyl peroxide-based formulation causes a very rapid degradation of the oxidation-sensitive retinoids: measurement shows that 50% of the tretinoin is degraded within 2 hours, and 95% within 24 hours. In the composition in which the retinoid is adapalene, no degradation of adapalene was measured for 24 hours. This study confirms that benzoyl peroxide is degraded and degrades oxidation-sensitive retinoids over time by gradually releasing benzoic acid into finished products.
Now, it is clear that the degradation of benzoyl peroxide and of retinoids is not desirable since it damages the efficacy of the composition containing them.
Nothing has encouraged the combination of these two active agents to obtain a stable composition of the emulsion type given that it was commonly known that the presence of benzoyl peroxide chemically and physically destabilized this type of composition.
Furthermore, it was sought to develop compositions which make it possible to enhance the topical penetration of certain active agents by incorporating, into compositions, compounds of the polyurethane polymer type or derivatives thereof (EP-0,299,758). The product Avita®, marketed by BERTEK Pharmaceuticals Inc., is an example thereof. It contains in particular 0.025% by weight of tretinoin, relative to the total weight of the composition, solubilized in compositions of the gel or cream type and containing polyurethane polymers (type 2 polyolprepolymers marketed by Bertek Pharmaceuticals Inc.) to limit desquamation, irritation and drying of the skin.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Dermatological/pharmaceutical compositions comprising benzoyl peroxide, at least one naphthoic acid compound and at least one polyurethane polymer


A variable-capacitance diode element is disclosed which comprises a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type having an epitaxial layer of the first conductivity type provided on a main surface portion thereof, said epitaxial layer having a higher resistivity than that of said semiconductor substrate; a first diffusion layer of the first conductivity type diffused in said epitaxial layer and having a lower resistivity than that of said epitaxial layer; a second diffusion layer of a second conductivity type surrounded by said first diffusion layer and having a lower resistivity than that of said first diffusion layer; and a third diffusion layer of the second conductivity type of a small diffusion length covering an exposed portion of a major surface of said first diffusion layer and an exposed portion of a major surface of said second diffusion layer. With such construction, the capacitance variation range of the diode element is widened, and the high-frequency serial resistance R.sub.s is reduced, so that the quality factor Q is enhanced.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a variable-capacitance diode element, and more particularly it pertains to such a diode element which is improved in respect of saturation tendency of the capacitance-voltage characteristics thereof and has the high-frequency serial resistance R.sub.s reduced so as to represent an enhanced quality factor Q.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, most variable-capacitance diode elements are fabricated in the form of planar construction. Description will now be made of a conventional variable-capacitance diode element with reference to a fabricating process as illustrated in FIGS. 1(a) to (c).
In FIG. 1, an N-type semiconductor substrate 1 having a lower resistivity is prepared which is provided, by means of a vapor-phase growth process, with an N-type epitaxial layer 2 having a higher resistivity than that of the semiconductor substrate 1, say about 1 .OMEGA.cm and a thickness of about 4-5 .mu.m (FIG. 1(a)). A major surface of the epitaxial layer 2 is subjected to a thermal oxidization treatment so that a thermally oxidized film (SiO.sub.2) 3 is formed in a thickness of about 1 .mu.m, and then an opening portion 6 is formed in the film 3 by means of an etching process. Subsequently, by means of an ion implantation process and under such conditions as acceleration voltage of 130 KeV and dosage of (2 to 3).times.10.sup.13 cm.sup.-2, an N-type impurity element is implanted into the the epitaxial layer 2 through the opening portion 6 through which the major surface of the epitaxial layer 2 is exposed, thereby forming an N-type diffusion layer. It is also possible that the ion implantation may be effected in such a manner that the impurity element is implanted through an oxide film of 100-3000 .ANG.. Thereafter, the resultant composite structure is subjected to a heat treatment which also serves to effect annealing for recovery of latice defects resulting from the ion implantation and carrier recovery, thus resulting in an N.sup.+ -type diffusion layer 4 being formed which has a higher impurity concentration than that of the aforementioned epitaxial layer (FIG. 1(b)). Subsequently, a P.sup.++ -type diffusion layer 5 is formed which has a smaller diffusion length than that of the diffusion layer 4 and covers the exposed portion of the diffusion layer 4 in such a manner that a PN junction is defined between the diffusion layer 5 and the diffusion layer 4 and epitaxial layer 2 (FIG. 1(c)). Electrodes are then provided at the top and bottom of the resulting composite structure respectively, and in this way, a variable-capacitance diode element is provided.
With reference to FIG. 2, explanation will be made of depletion layer of variable-capacitance diode element. Assuming that the impurity concentration of the P.sup.++ -type diffusion layer 5 is sufficiently higher than that of the N.sup.+ -type diffusion layer 4 and epitaxial layer 2, the width of depletion layer extending in the P.sup.++ -type diffusion layer 5, when a reverse bias voltage V.sub.R is applied, becomes very small, i.e., negligible as compared with the width of depletion layer extending in the N.sup.+ -type diffusion layer 4 and epitaxial layer 2. The variable capacitance C.sub.j of the variable-capacitance diode element is considered to consist of a combination of a junction capacitance C.sub.j1 due to a depletion layer 7 resulting from the PN junction between the N.sup.+ -type diffusion layer 4 and the P.sup.++ -type diffusion layer 5 and a junction capacitance C.sub.j2 due to a depletion layer 8 resulting from the PN junction between the epitaxial layer 2 and the diffusion layer 5. The impurity concentration of the epitaxial layer 2 is lower than that of the N.sup.+ -type diffusion layer 4 so that the width of the depletion layer 8 of the epitaxial layer becomes greater than that of the depletion layer 7 of the diffusion layer 4. Furthermore, by increasing or decreasing the applied voltage V.sub.R, the width of the depletion layer 7, 8 is increased or decreased so that the capacitance C.sub.j1, C.sub.j2 is varied, thus resulting in variable capacitance C.sub.j which consists of a combination of the capacitances C.sub.j1 and C.sub.j2 as mentioned above.
The variable capacitance of the variable-capacitance diode element is given by the following expressions: ##EQU1## where W.sub.j is the width of depletion layer; N (x) is the impurity concentration; K.sub.S is the dielectric constant of the semiconductor substrate; .epsilon..sub.O is the dielectric constant in a vacuum (8.85.times.10.sup.-12 F/m.sup.2); q is electron charge (1.60.times.10.sup.-19 C); .PHI..sub.B is the diffusion potential at the PN junction; n is a constant determined from the concentration gradient of the impurity element in the diode element; and A is the area of the diode element.
It will be seen from Equations (1) and (2) that the width of depletion layer depends on the impurity concentration of the semiconductor layer forming the PN junction with the P-type diffusion layer 5. Making an explanation with reference to FIG. 3, when reverse bias voltage V.sub.R is applied to the variable capacitance diode element, the width W.sub.j2 of the depletion layer 8 in the epitaxial layer 2 the impurity concentration of which is lower than that of the diffusion layer, becomes greater than the width W.sub.j1 of the depletion layer 7 in the diffusion layer 4; and as the applied voltage V.sub.R is increased, the depletion layer 8 is caused to extend until it contacts the semiconductor substrate 1, and further extension thereof is prevented.
A further explanation will be made with reference to the capacitance-voltage characteristics illustrated in FIG. 3. With the conventional variable-capacitance diode element, as shown by curve (I), if the applied voltage exceeds V.sub.O, then the slope of the curve will become gentler so that saturation tendency be occur and thus the capacitance will be saturated at C.sub.S. Such conventional variable-capacitance diode element is disadvantageous in that the depletion layer 8 extending from the periphery of the diffusion layer 4 is caused to extend into contact with the semiconductor substrate 1 and the rate of change of the capacitance C.sub.j with voltage becomes lower. Thus, it has so far been a task to increase the quality factor Q and improve the saturation tendency of the capacitance-voltage characteristics without increasing the high-frequency serial resistance R.sub.S.
By increasing the thickness t of the epitaxail layer 2, it is possible to prevent the depletion layer 8 from extending into contact with the semiconductor substrate 1, thereby solving the aforementioned problem. However, such a procedure is disadvantageous in that the increase in the thickness of the epitaxial layer 2 immediately below the diffusion layer 4 results in the high-frequency serial resistance R.sub.S being increased so that the quality factor Q is decreased. Thus, it is not allowable to make the epitaxial layer 2 thicker than in the prior art.

Variable-capacitance diode element having wide capacitance variation range


A corrugated box making machine has a vacuum transfer mechanism for moving corrugated boards along a path of conveyance including stations having printing and die cutter mechanisms which operate on the boards. The printing mechanisms include a print and impression cylinder, the latter being mounted in a vacuum housing that also holds drive rolls for moving the boards along the path during which the boards are held against the rolls by vacuum in the housing. The latter is movable substantially above the print cylinder to provide convenient access for maintenance of the print cylinder or replacement of its printing plates.

The present invention generally relates to box making machines which, for example, print on and/or slot, crease, or cut corrugated boards as they are conveyed along a horizontal path typically by rolls or endless belts. The boards are printed as they pass in the nip between a print cylinder and an impression cylinder. The print cylinder is equipped with printing dies or plates in the form of letters and/or numerals that form the indicia to be printed upon the boards in ink which is supplied to the print cylinder in any suitable manner typically by an ink roller.
Periodically an operator must access the print cylinder in order to change the print plates for another job to be run through the machine or simply to clean the print cylinder including the printing plates. This requires that the machine be stopped and the operator access the print cylinder. However in the typical box making machine this can be difficult if not awkward because the impression cylinder and the transportation mechanism such as feed or pull rolls are inhibiting if not blocking the desired access to the print cylinder.
In the typical, if not standard box making machine, the height of the path of conveyance of the boards is approximately forty-six inches (46″). In some machines of the prior art, this dimension has been raised to approximately 80″ in an effort to provide better access to the print cylinder depending on the type of transportation mechanism of the boards. However this type of machine requires platforms to allow the operators to access anything at boardline such as the feed table, requires that infeed and outfeed devices be elevated and requires that the print cylinder assembly be lowered to the operator for changeover and maintenance. Operator platforms present a hazard to safety while also encumbering the infeed and outfeed areas of the machines. Furthermore they do not alleviate the problem when certain transport mechanisms are being used by the machine. In addition, increasing or decreasing the height of the conveyance path detracts from the ability to accommodate some auxiliary equipment which is fitted for use with standard machines utilizing a conveyance path of forty-six inches.
Some other machines in the prior art use pits in the ground below the machine to allow the print cylinder to be accessed by the operator for setting up printing plates for a new job. However such pits present a safety hazard and while also attracting trash and other waste materials. They also encumber and increase the cost of the machine in the same way as other prior art machines. Furthermore the use of such machines is not adaptable to certain box making machines where the transportation mechanism and the impression cylinder are located in the same housing.
Other box making machines of the prior art are provided in sections that are horizontally movable along the path of conveyance between open positions providing access to the printing and impression cylinders for set-up, and closed positions for operating the machines. These machines increase the cost and require greater areas to accommodate them. The time required to allow an operator access to the print cylinders in these machines is significant as the entire machine must be opened one section at a time. In addition, they are not necessarily adaptable to box making machines whose transportation mechanisms are included in the same housing containing the impression cylinder.


A bias circuit includes a transistor having a control gate, a first terminal and a second terminal coupled to a ground level, a first resistor coupled to the control gate, a first capacitor coupled between an input signal and the first resistor, a diode coupled between a connection point of the first capacitor and the first resistor, and the ground level, a second capacitor coupled between the control gate and the ground level, a second resistor coupled between the control gate and the ground level, a third resistor coupled between the control gate and a predetermined voltage, a fourth resistor coupled between the predetermined voltage and the first terminal, and a fifth resistor coupled between the first terminal and a bias signal. A current through the transistor corresponds to the input signal, and the bias signal is generated according to the current through the transistor.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a signal amplifier circuit, and more particularly to a signal amplifier circuit with an adaptive bias.
2. Description of the Related Art
In amplifier application, efficiency and linearity are major considerations. For current wireless communication systems, radio frequency (RF) power amplifier (PA) consumes a majority of the power for portable products. Consequently, a conventional method to extend operation and standby time of wireless communication systems is improving the efficiency of the PA.
In the application of some wireless systems, the bias of the conventional PA is operated at a fixed voltage. PA often operates at 6-8 dB backed off from P1dB (1 dB compression point) to satisfy the linearity requirements of the system, such that PA generally operates in a low-efficiency state. For example, for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation techniques used in wireless local area network (WLAN), specific data sequences lead to a high peak to peak ratio (PARR) of the output signal. PA needs to operate in wider linear region to reduce distortion of the transmitted signal, thus PA generally operates in low-efficiency region. For example, the average of power added efficiency (PAE) of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) RF PA is generally below 10%.
For both efficiency and linearity, the conventional technique receives the peak level of the signal by a coupler and power detector first, and then transforms the signal into a bias signal through DC/DC converter to enhance PAE. However, the bias circuit comprising the coupler, power detector and DC/DC converter is not easy to integrate into a transmitter due to high costs and large size.

Bias circuits and signal amplifier circuits


An apparatus and method for adding input voltage signals. First and second input voltage signals are respectively sampled onto first and second capacitors during a first clock phase. In response to a second clock phase, the first sampled input voltage that is held on the first capacitor is coupled to the negative input terminal of an amplifier, and the second sampled voltage held on the second capacitor is coupled to the positive terminal of the amplifier. A feedback voltage is provided from the amplifier output to the negative amplifier input via the first capacitor during the second clock phase. The first and second input voltage signals are added at the amplifier during the second clock phase to output the sum in response to the sampled input voltage signals and the output feedback, whereby the resulting transfer function is independent of capacitor mismatch and non-linearity.

The present invention generally relates to switched capacitor circuits, and more particularly to a switched capacitor summing circuit that is independent of the mismatch and non-linearity characteristics of the signal capacitors.
The ubiquitous switched capacitor charge transfer circuit has long been used in a wide range of signal processing applications. Switched capacitor circuits are a class of discrete-time systems that are often used in connection with filters, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), digital-to-analog converters (DACs), and other analog/mixed signal applications. Conventional switched capacitor circuits are based on creating coefficients of a transfer function by transferring charge from one input capacitor C1 to a second capacitor C2 in the feedback loop of an amplifier via the virtual node of that amplifier so as to create a transfer of C1/C2.
However, finite amplifier DC gain and bandwidth results in incomplete charge transfer from C1 to C2. This, together with inaccuracies in the matching of the capacitors C1 and C2, results in the creation of an inaccurate transfer function. Many applications, such as ADCs, accurate high-Q filters, etc. require very high accuracies in the transfer function, such as accuracies exceeding 0.1%. This kind of accuracy is virtually impossible using conventional circuits in modern day CMOS processes. Often, the values of the capacitors are trimmed at manufacture, or some active calibration routines are executed, switching in and out small value capacitors in order to create an accurate transfer. Such schemes are expensive for high volume manufacture. To reduce capacitor mismatch problems, special capacitors such as double poly or Metal-Insulator-Metal (MiM) capacitors may be used, but the capacitor mismatch problem is not eliminated. Further, such circuits that employ voltage-to-charge and charge-to-voltage translations via the virtual earth node have limited immunity to extraneous noise sources, as the virtual earth node is a well known pick-up point for unwanted noise.
The present invention addresses these and other shortcomings of the prior art, and provides a solution to the problems exhibited by prior art switched capacitor summing circuits.
In various embodiments, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for summing a plurality of input voltage signals and providing optional level shifting, where the resulting transfer function is independent of capacitor mismatch and non-linearity.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a circuit is provided for adding a plurality of input signals. The circuit includes an amplifier having first and second input terminals and an output terminal. A first capacitance is coupled to receive a first input signal and to store a corresponding first voltage in response to a first clock phase, and a second capacitance is coupled to receive a second input signal and to store a corresponding second voltage in response to the first clock phase. In response to a second clock phase, a first switch circuit is coupled to the first capacitance to provide the first voltage to the first input terminal of the amplifier, and to couple the output terminal of the amplifier to the first capacitance via a feedback loop. A second switch circuit is coupled to the second capacitance to provide the second voltage to the second input terminal of the amplifier in response to the second clock phase. In this manner, the amplifier outputs a voltage signal corresponding to a sum of the first and second input signals that is independent of a ratio of the first and second capacitances.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for adding input voltage signals. First and second input voltage signals are respectively sampled onto first and second capacitors during a first clock phase. In response to a second clock phase, the first sampled input voltage that is held on the first capacitor is coupled to the negative input terminal of an amplifier, and the second sampled voltage held on the second capacitor is coupled to the positive terminal of the amplifier. A feedback voltage is provided from the amplifier output to the negative amplifier input via the first capacitor during the second clock phase. The first and second input voltage signals are added at the amplifier during the second clock phase to output the sum in response to the sampled input voltage signals and the output feedback, whereby the resulting transfer function is independent of capacitor mismatch and non-linearity.
It will be appreciated that various other embodiments are set forth in the Detailed Description and Claims which follow.

Switched capacitor summing system and method


System and method for decoding punctured subframes. A preferred embodiment comprises a first deinterleaver unit (for example, 5-ms deinterleaver 502) and a second deinterleaver unit (for example, 20-ms deinterleaver 504) operating in parallel, deinterleaving one symbol stream using 5- and 20-ms duration frame formats, for example. After the reception of each 5-ms subframe, the subframe is decoded in a decode unit (for example, rate matching, decoding, and CRC checking (RDC) unit 530) to verify that the subframe contains 5 ms duration frame data. If so, the subframe is noted. If all 5-ms subframes in a 20-ms duration frame contain 5-ms duration data, no decoding of results by the second deinterleaver unit is needed. If the entire 20-ms duration frame is not all 5-ms duration data, then the 5-ms duration data subframes are zeroed and the remaining data is decoded as 20-ms duration data.

The use of wireless telephones and communications systems has become so widespread that they have become a fixture in everyday life. A significant percentage of the population subscribes to wireless telephone and/or communications service of one form or another. Wireless devices now offer more than simple voice. The user may be able to send and receive messages, browse the Internet, access computer networks, and so forth on a wireless device that is connected to a wireless communications system.
To support such a wide variety of different services, a large amount of data must be received at and transmitted from a wireless device and some of that data must arrive at the wireless device in a timely fashion. Data that is urgent in nature may often be sent at a higher priority than typical data. This highly urgent data may be sent at the expense of typical data. An example of high urgency message is a message that contains media-access control (MAC) state transitions. Its timely reception may be vital to the continued operation of the wireless device.
Some wireless communications systems support the use of messages with different frame durations. In such systems, typical communications will transmit data in frames of a specified duration and for messages of high-urgency, a shorter duration frame may be used. Shorter duration frames may be used to ensure that the high-urgency message be transmitted as soon as possible and to minimize disruption to normal message traffic. In an IS-2000 compliant communications system, for example, data is normally transmitted in frames with a 20 millisecond (ms) duration. However, highly urgent messages can be transmitted in a shorter duration frame. The shorter duration frame has a five (5) ms duration.
When the shorter duration frame is transmitted, it may simply be inserted into a first available 5 ms subframe of the 20 ms frame, obliterating any data that was in that particular 5 ms subframe. This method of transmission is referred to as puncturing, wherein the 20 ms frame has been punctured by the 5 ms frame. Unfortunately, the puncturing of the 20 ms frame by the 5 ms frame can make it more difficult to decode the frames at the receiver, especially if no frame duration indicator or flag is asserted. When no indication as to the currently arriving data's frame duration is provided in the signaling, the receiver does not know if it has received a 5 ms frame or a 20 ms frame. Therefore, receiver design may need to be made more complex when frame puncturing is supported.
A relatively straight forward approach to decoding received signals in a communications system that permits frame puncturing involves receiving each 5 ms subframe and decoding the 5 ms subframe as a 5 ms frame. At the same time, the received signal is buffered so that information is not lost in case the received data is actually part of a 20 ms frame. Then, when a complete 20 ms frame (four 5 ms subframes) have been received and it is determined that at least one of the 5 ms subframes is actually part of a 20 ms frame, the buffered data (with any actual 5 ms frame data eliminated) is decoded. If none of the four 5 ms subframes contain 20 ms frame data, then the 20 ms frame decoding need not be performed.
One disadvantage of the prior art is the decoding of the 20 ms frame cannot start until all four 5 ms subframes have been processed. This requires a 20 ms buffer which adds costs and increases power consumption.
A second disadvantage of the prior art is that once the four 5 ms subframes have been processed, the 20 ms frame decoding cannot begin until additional post deinterleave processing to the 20 ms frame data is performed. This adds additional latency to the 20 ms frame decoding.
A third disadvantage of the prior art is that additional hardware in the form of a burst post-processing deinterleaver, an additional memory interface, additional decoders, control hardware, and so forth is needed.
A fourth disadvantage of the prior art is that if during the frame transmission the transmitter enters discontinuous mode (DTX) after transmitting a 5 ms frame, the receiver cannot turn off its power to reduce power consumption.
A fifth disadvantage of the prior art is that although the shorter duration frame, for example, 5 ms, is always decoded, the majority of the data being received by the wireless device is in the longer duration frame format, for example, 20 ms. Therefore, a large amount of unnecessary processing is being performed.

Method and apparatus for decoding punctured subframes


A method for accessing a network by a home base station and a home base station management server for a home base station to access a network are provided, wherein the method includes: the home base station management server receivinges a registrationer request sent from the home base station through by a communication link between the home base station management server and the home base station; the home base station management server determines judging whether to allow the home base station to access the network; the user authentication and registration information including: a security key and access port information; after allowing the access of the home base station, the home base station management server configuring a frequency of the home base station; and after finishing frequency configuration, the home base station management server configuring a radio parameter of the home base station.

The home base station has different names in different standard organizations, which is called as Home Node B (HNB)/Home Evolved Node B (HeNB) (the home base station of the Third Generation mobile communication technology (3G) is called as HNB, and the base station of Long Time Evolution (LTE) is called as HeNB) in Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards organization, and is called as Femto (a general name of all types of home base stations) in other standard organizations such as the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2). In fact, they are essentially the same, and are all femtocells. The home base station is a miniature and low-power cellular base stations, which are mainly applies in indoor places such as home and office. The function of it is to act as supplementary of the indoor coverage of a cellular network and provides voice and data service for users.
The term of Femto Cell is initially proposed by British Ubiquisys Company, and is originated from the deficiency of the early coverage of the Third Generation mobile communication technology (3G) and the challenge of the Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) technology. The emphasis of network construction of the 3G in the initial stage of development is outdoor coverage, but the requirements for indoor communication of the users usually cannot be well satisfied. Especially, the Wi-Fi technology is rapidly generalized in recent years and the Wi-Fi/cellular dual-mode cellphones are continuously increased, but the 3G voice and data services have a risk of being offloaded. In this case, the concept of Femto Cell is followed by mobile operators since it was proposed. With this new technology and terminal, the mobile operators can enter into the market of home and office places which were formally controlled by the fixed network and the Wi-Fi network.
Femto Cell is able to automatically complete configuration and automatically start work through a broadband circuit connection such as an existing Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) and Local Area Network (LAN), etc., and a connection of the remote end from the Internet protocol (IP) to the mobile network implemented by a dedicated gateway. It has a figure that is similar to the Wi-Fi, and may be applied separately or may be integrated in the home gateway as a part of the home network. Meanwhile, Femto Cell is a new technology which implements the fixed mobile convergence, and is the best way to implement the Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC), which helps mobile operators maximize their benefits and reduce the dependence on the cellular/Wi-Fi dual-mode cellphone, so as to provide differentiated services. Today, with the trend of fixed mobile convergence increasing, the development of Femto Cell even becomes the focus of the industry.
The site registration and authentication will be involved in the process of the home base station accessing the network. The home base station is generally fixed in one place for use at present, and when performing site registration and authentication, a port problem will not be involved, however, once the home base station moves to other areas, the problem that the home base station is unable to access the network caused by the home base station locating in other areas besides the registration place.

Method for home base station to access network and home base station management server


The preferred embodiment of the invention features a yardage measuring device for determining the position of the ball on the field after each play, or down, in a football game. The device locks the chain at any given amount of advancement and a see-through window represents the exact distance from the nose of the ball to the nearest yardline. An alternate embodiment can be used as a replacement for the standard 10 yard chain.

Through over a century of football, the common ten yard device consisting of two poles and a fixed length of link chain disposed therebetween has been in continuous use. While this ten yard device has served the game of football adequately, it has several disadvantages. In moving the chain along the sideline on a first down, or change of possession, the link chain is dragged along the ground. Upon storage, the two poles are placed side by side and the link chain wrapped around the poles, resulting in wasted time in unwrapping the link chain when desired for use.
Also, the present ten yard device provides no means to measure and record intermediate distances. Such intermediate distances are usually marked off by eyesight. A down marker rod is set by eyesight on the sideline between downs to record the yardage position of the ball on the field. After an incomplete pass, a penalty, an out of bounds or an exchange of fields, the football is placed in position on the field by an official by eyesight. Also, on a first down or change of possession, the 10-yard chain is spotted on the sideline by eyesight.
This particular method is outstandingly outmoded in terms of providing suitable replacement of the football and of setting the 10-yard chain befitting modern standards.
In aligning two objects separated by 18 yards, which is the distance from either sideline to the nearest inbounds line, an error in alignment of one degree from parallel results in an error on the field of 11 inches.
It would be advantageous to improve the method by which the position of the football is determined, eliminating inaccuracies in referee and sideline crew judgment and/or eyesight.
With this objective in mind, the present invention provides a useful alternative and/or supplement to the standard uprights that is both simple and effective.
The present invention does not attempt to defy tradition, and has kept the improvement within narrow boundaries consistent with a respect for customary procedure and a love of the game.
One embodiment of the invention provides a rotatable rotor within a housing that attaches to one of the uprights and which precisely dispenses a given amount of chain as the two uprights are parted. The rotative position of the rotor is carefully maintained by means of a spring and ratchet mechanism.
In accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a rotatable rotor within a housing that is attached to an upright. The rotor dispenses up to five yards of chain, the free end of which can be attached to a link. Used in conjunction with a substantially identical apparatus, the respective free chain ends can be connected together by the link so that the total amount of chain between uprights is, of course, ten yards. The rotatable rotor in this embodiment is spring-loaded, but there is no need for a ratchet mechanism.

Retractable football yardage measuring apparatus


A device comprising a means to re-direct the line of sight of a camera function of a smartphone.

The problem of distracted walking is a relatively new one. Each year, more and more people are injured as a result of texting, talking or listening to music while on their cell phones. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly 5,000 pedestrians were killed and an estimated 76,000 injured in traffic collisions in the United States in 2012; nearly one death every 2 hours and an injury every 7 minutes. The issue has become such a problem that some towns, such as Fort Lee, N.J., have banned texting while walking. If caught texting while jaywalking in that town, violators face an $85 fine. In London, England, some lamp posts have been padded in order to protect the large numbers of people using their mobile devices while walking. Even New York City has lowered the speed limit in some areas as a way to help cut down on the number of pedestrian injuries. Arkansas, Illinois, and New York have all tried unsuccessfully to ban using a mobile device while walking.
Common risks associated with distracted walking include: injuring someone else, tripping, sprains, strains, fractures, cuts, bruises, broken bones, concussions, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and death. In 2008, more than 1,000 people were injured seriously enough to seek medical attention at the emergency room as a result of texting and walking—double the year previous (which was double the year previous as well). In 2010, researchers at The Ohio State University estimated that 1,500 pedestrians were treated in emergency rooms for injuries related to using their cell phones while walking; an increase of 50% from just two years prior.
A study published in 2012 by researchers from New York's Stony Brook University found that those who texted while walking were 60 percent more likely to veer off line than non-texters. Scientists call the phenomenon "inattentive blindness." The human brain has evolved to only be able to adequately focus attention on one task at a time.
When Safe Sound Family analyzed the data in the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS)—which estimates the number of injuries nationwide based on reports by 100 participating hospitals—it was found that there were nearly 5,000 estimated cases of injuries caused by phones and phone accessories that occurred on roads or highways and in other public places (not at home) that were treated in hospital in the United States in 2013. The number of actual injuries caused by distracted walking is bound to be quite higher than this, as the data from the CPSC only looked at those injuries which resulted in medical treatment at a participating hospital, and minor injuries were likely treated at home or another medical treatment facility not included in the reporting data. There is also the stigma and shame associated with reporting an injury in which one is partially at fault, and so some people may not have been upfront with the fact that they were using a mobile device when their injury occurred.
In addition to texting while walking, talking, checking email, using social networking apps and even playing games all contribute to the problem of distracted pedestrians.
According to data via the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the highest percentage of pedestrian deaths relative to all traffic fatalities occurs in New York City (51%), Los Angeles (42%) and Chicago (30%). After years of decline, pedestrian deaths have started to increase since 2009, and while there is no reliable data directly related to cell phone use, experts speculate that the increase is due in part to distracted users on their cell phones while walking.
Researchers from Ohio State University found that young people (under the age of 25) are more likely to be injured while on their cell phones, and men are more likely than women to be injured while using a mobile device. Their statistics showed that talking on the phone made up about 69 percent of injuries, while texting only accounted for about 9 percent.
One of only a few studies focusing on the issue, found that although pedestrian injuries overall had dropped, ER visits tripled between 2004 and 2010 for pedestrians using cell phones. No doubt as more data is collected on the issue, the numbers of those affected by distracted walking will continue to rise.
Augmented reality software which "films" a user's surroundings currently exist; for example, the following apps: Type While Walk: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/type-while-walk/id721584816?mt=8; and Walking Text: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andpi.walktext. There are, however, problems associated with these apps. For instance, when such an app is in activated, the user only has a view of his or her feet, as depicted in FIG. 10, or, if the user wants to "see" what is in front of his or her, must hold his or her smartphone straight outward at a 90° angle from their body; an uncomfortable position which quickly results in fatigue to the user's arm.
There is a need, therefore, to make smartphones "smarter" for users when walking. More particular, a device capable of providing the user with an image of his or her immediate surroundings while the user is walking and texting (or using an app) that is natural for the user (increasing user compliance) and does not cause the user fatigue.


The information supplying apparatus (11, 131) is configured to supply first information to an image processing apparatus performing image processing for reducing an image component which is included in an image obtained by image pickup through an optical system and is generated due to aberration of the optical system. The first information is used in the image processing. The information supplying apparatus includes an information acquiring part (11) configured to acquire second information showing a state of at least one of an optical adjusting element (15) included in the optical system and an operation part operated for actuating the optical adjusting element, and an information generating part (131) configured to generate, based on the second information, the first information used in the image processing performed at a point in time after acquisition of the second information.

Images (videos) captured through optical systems often include deterioration caused by aberration of the optical system. The deterioration includes, for example, defocusing caused by chromatic aberration of the optical system in respective colors in the captured image and distortion of the captured image caused by distortion aberration of the optical system.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-135805 has disclosed an apparatus which calculates an amount of chromatic aberration on an image pickup plane to perform image processing (hereinafter referred to as "aberration correction image processing") for correcting deterioration of a captured image caused by the chromatic aberration.
However, the aberration correction image processing requires a certain amount of time to be performed. Further, it is necessary to newly calculate correction data (hereinafter referred to as "aberration correction data") used for the aberration correction image processing because a zoom operation of an optical system changes chromatic aberration generated in the optical system. The aberration correction data for an actual zoom position is calculated by interpolation calculation or the like using the aberration correction data (table data) for representative zoom positions prepared in advance. Therefore, the calculation of the aberration correction data requires an amount of time.
The amount of time required for the calculation of the aberration correction data causes a delay from image pickup of an image (hereinafter referred to as "correction target image") which is a target of the aberration correction image processing until the aberration correction image processing is allowed after the calculation of the aberration correction data. In other words, even if the aberration correction image processing on the correction target image is desired to be started immediately after the image pickup of the correction target image, the aberration correction data cannot be generated in time for the aberration correction image processing. It is possible to generate the aberration correction data in advance by using a zoom position before the image pickup of the correction target image. However, since that aberration correction data is not generated based on a zoom position at the point in time of the image pickup of the correction target image, it is not possible to appropriately perform the aberration correction image processing.

Information supplying apparatus, lens apparatus, camera apparatus and image pickup system


A semiconductor device which can effectively suppress a short channel effect and junction leakage is provided. A semiconductor device includes a field effect transistor. The field effect transistor includes a first semiconductor region of a first conductivity type, a gate electrode formed on a gate insulating film, and source and drain electrodes. The field effect transistor also includes second semiconductor regions of a second conductivity type. The field effect transistor further includes third semiconductor regions of the second conductivity type having an impurity concentration higher than that of the second semiconductor region and formed between the source electrode and the first and second semiconductor regions and between the drain electrode and the first and second semiconductor regions, and side wall insulating films formed on both the side surfaces of the gate electrode. The source electrode and the drain electrode are separated from the side wall insulating films.

To advance the performance of a semiconductor integrated circuit, the performance of a field effect transistor serving as a constituent device must be advanced. For advancing the device performance, scaling down of the device is effective. For this reason, device performance has been improved by scaling down the device by micro patterning. However, as micro patterning advanced, a technical barrier to be solved becomes high at the same time. According to the international semiconductor roadmap, especially in relation to a technique for forming source and drain portions, a solution for realizing a junction having a depth of 10 to 20 nm in a drain-extension portion in the 65-nm generation or later cannot be found in the existing circumstances.
In this background, in order to improve both suppression of short channel effect and reduction of junction leakage, a device using Schottky source and drain to which an impurity segregation technique is applied is proposed (JP-A 2005-101588 (KOKAI)). In particular, in the 45-nm generation or later, a channel resistance caused by scattering of carriers is not a prevailing factor that degrades a drain current because of a small gate length. For this reason, improvement of device performance relying only to micro patterning is very difficult. Therefore, in order to realize further improvement of performance, a device using a Schottky source-drain maximally utilizing the characteristic feature of a Schottky junction which can inject high-speed carriers into a channel is desired (K. Ucida et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 76, 3992 (2000)). However, a device structure using a conventional Schottky source-drain has the following problem. That is, the merit of the Schottky source-drain which can inject high-speed carriers into a channel is not always maximally utilized.
Thus, the device using a conventional Schottky source-drain has a merit for short channel effect and suppression of junction leakage. However, the merit of the Schottky source-drain which can inject high-speed carriers into a channel is not always maximally utilized. More specifically, in order to improve the device performance by using an increase in rate of injection by the Schottky source-drain, a device structure must be optimized. However, up to now, it cannot be said that the device structure is optimized.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same


A pneumatic seed meter comprises a housing and a rotatable seed disc. The rotatable seed disc divides the housing into a reduced air pressure side and a seed side. The rotatable seed disc is provided with seed cells to which individual seeds are attracted by an air pressure. A double eliminator is located in the housing on the seed side so that the double eliminator knocks extraneous seeds from the seed cells of the seed disc. The double eliminator is provided with an adjustment knob extending outside the seed side of the housing for adjusting the position of the double eliminator relative to the seed disc. A transparent viewing window is mounted on the seed side of the housing opposite the double eliminator so that adjustment of the double eliminator can be monitored.

The present invention is directed to an easily adjustable double eliminator, wherein the seed meter housing has a viewing window for viewing the adjustment.
Agricultural seeding machines use air pressure to meter and transport seed and agricultural chemicals. Pneumatic seed meters on row crop planters fall into two basic systems. In one system positive air pressure, that is air pressure which is greater than ambient air pressure, is used to meter the seeds. In the other system negative air pressure, that is air pressure that is less than ambient air pressure, is used to meter the seeds. An air pump is used to create the positive or negative air pressure. The seed meter comprises a housing that is divided into two sides by a rotating seed disc. The seed disc defines a seed side and a reduced air pressure side of the housing. The differential in air pressure between the two sides attracts individual seeds to seed cells formed in the seed disc. Sometimes the seed cells attract more than one seed. Typically these seed meters are provided with a double eliminator for knocking excess seeds from the seed cells. Proper adjustment of the double eliminator is important to seed meter operation.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an easily adjustable double eliminator for a pneumatic seed meter.
It is a feature of the present invention that a viewing window is located opposite the double eliminator.
A pneumatic seed meter comprises a housing and a rotatable seed disc. The rotatable seed disc divides the housing into a reduced air pressure side and a seed side. The rotatable seed disc is provided with seed cells to which individual seeds are attracted by an air pressure differential between the seed side and the reduced pressure side operating through seed apertures associated with the seed cells. A double eliminator is located in the housing on the seed side so that the double eliminator knocks extraneous seeds from the seed cells of the seed disc. The double eliminator is provided with an adjustment knob extending outside the seed side of the housing for adjusting the position of the double eliminator relative to the seed disc. A transparent viewing window is mounted on the seed side of the housing opposite the double eliminator so that the double eliminator can be viewed through the viewing window as it is being adjusted by the adjustment knob.


A connecting tab for connecting battery cells that can prevent interference caused by contact between a housing and the connecting tab when inserting a battery module into the housing. The connecting tab includes a hole formed in a center portion thereof. There connecting tab connects the battery cells, including: a main body part formed in a plate shape; a cell bonding part in the main body that contacts the plurality of battery cells; a hole that is formed in a central portion surrounded by the cell bonding part; and a bending part that crosses the hole and is folded to be overlapped in half. With this configuration of the connecting tab, stability of the battery module can be improved.

1. Field
An embodiment of the present invention relates to a connection tab for connecting battery cells and a battery module using the same, and more particularly, to a connecting tab for connecting battery cells that can improve stability when inserting a battery module into a housing and a battery module using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a secondary battery, which is a battery that can be charged and discharged differently from a primary battery that cannot be charged, may be sorted into a low capacity secondary battery (hereinafter, referred to as a "battery cell") that is used by packaging one or a plurality of secondary batteries in a pack, and a large capacity secondary battery (hereinafter, referred to as a "battery module") for driving a motor in a battery pack unit that collects and uses several tens of battery cells, based on the usage or the battery capacity thereof
In the battery module consisting of a plurality of circular battery cells, the battery module is configured by resistively welding each neighboring battery cell and connecting tabs using the connecting tabs.
When the battery module is configured of a plurality of battery packs, the respective battery packs may also be connected to themselves by electrically connecting them using the connecting tabs and then by bending the connecting tabs. Such a battery module has a housing that surrounds the outside.
The battery module and the housing are coupled by inserting the battery module into the housing from one side of the battery module to the other side thereof, and at this time, the bent portions of the connecting tabs that connect the respective battery packs come into contact with the housing and generate interference, thereby creating a problem where stability of the battery module deteriorates.

Connection tab for connecting battery cells and battery module using the same


An actuator capable of achieving high output with a smaller number of parts is proposed. An actuator including a stator that has teeth arranged on an outer peripheral surface, a rotor that rotates around a central axis of the stator while teeth arranged on an outer peripheral surface mesh with the teeth arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the stator, and a second gear that rotates while meshing with a first gear coupled to the rotor coaxially with a central axis of the rotor and is coupled to an output shaft, in which the stator has an electromagnet, the rotor has a magnet, and a magnetic pole of the electromagnet corresponding to a position of the rotor moves along a circumferential direction of the stator.

Conventionally, actuators have been used in various devices. For example, there has been known a robot arm including a force control type actuator in a joint, in which a plurality of arms is connected with the joint interposed therebetween.
For example, Patent Literature 1 below describes a rotary actuator including an electric motor and a speed reducer. The electric motor has a rotor having a rotor shaft and an annular stator having a plurality of coil portions protruding toward the rotor side, and the speed reducer has a sun gear attached to an eccentric portion of the rotor shaft, and a ring gear in which internal teeth meshing with external teeth of the sun gear are formed.

Actuator with increased torque-to-weight ratio