A device and corresponding module are for a signaling light and/or lighting an exterior or interior ambient of a motor-vehicle passenger compartment including a type of light source. The device comprises an optical assembly of a first reflector including a mirror and a second reflector including a semi-transparent mirror. Light emitted by an LED is diffused in a curtain diffuser of a transparent material. Planes or mid-planes of the mirror, the semi-transparent mirror, and the diffuser are mutually parallel. Light transmitted or reflected by the assembly is transmitted and visible to an observer from a surface of the second reflector that is opposite to that facing other elements of the assembly. The diffuser includes a lighting sub-assembly arranged in space between the mirror and semi-transparent mirror and having a transparent optical material and a light source arranged for emission of light rays propagated within a thickness of the optical material.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to, in general, the field of lighting for signaling and/or "ambient illumination" functions m vehicles (specifically; motor vehicles) and, in particular, a device for procuring a "relief" effect in the illumination of signaling lights and/or lights for the exterior or interior fighting of vehicles.
2. Description of Related Art
Efforts are increasingly being directed toward the maximum possible reduction of the volume of housings for the accommodation of sets or sub-sets of the signaling lights that are fitted to motor vehicles as a statutory requirement. This objective is facilitated by the use of LEDs in place of or in addition to conventional lamps.
By definition, it might appear contradictory to simultaneously pursue the objective of lending depth (specifically, an impression of relief) to the light generated by signaling-light housings with this reduced volume.
From other fields (specifically, interior decoration in domestic or professional settings), systems are known for the reflection of light by mirrors arranged opposite each other, thus creating an impression of infinity by the successive reflection of the image of the location concerned from one mirror to the other. The images thus obtained, which create an impression of infinity, use fully-reflective mirrors and create an impression that does not vary substantially, regardless of whether the observer is positioned close to or at a distance from one of the mirrors concerned. The light sources used are all positioned in front of at least one of the mirrors while the observer is positioned in a space between the two mirrors.
Thus, there is a need in the related art for a device that generates an "infinity" effect in the signaling and/or ambient lighting of motor vehicles. There is a need in the related art also for such a device that permits the addition of "style" effects to the signaling lights of vehicles.

Device for procuring an infinity effect for a motor vehicle signaling light

AUTOMOTIVE LIGHTING REAR LAMPS FRANCE S.A.S.


A method including entering individual-associated data bits (IDBs) into a computerized system, the set of data of each of the IDBs including at least one personal identifier of an individual and relationship data including data on one or more related individuals and the nature of the relationship, processing the entered IDBs on a processor, generating an individual-identifier data set (IDS) for each identified individual or one of the related individuals having data in the processed IDBs, and storing IDSs of identified individuals in a database.

The Internet is very useful as a medium of communication and provision and retrieval of information. The Internet became also a medium in which individuals form or associate themselves with virtual communities consisting of individuals with common interests, backgrounds, etc. In order to belong to such a virtual community an individual 'surfing' the Internet typically needs to locate the proper website and register. It would have been useful to have an Internet-based means that will be able to associate an individual with one or more communities ("community" including individuals with family relations, individuals having a common interest, individuals having a similar origin or background, etc.), based on a self entered profile.
The Internet also proved to be a useful tool for individuals to locate family members, lost friends, etc. This requires posting notes on appropriate virtual bulleting boards, using appropriate search engines, etc. This, however, is a relatively chance process and may not always bring the desired results. It would have been useful to streamline this process.
Some background information may be found in the following publications:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,373,488 to Gasper et al., discloses a three-dimensional tree-structured data display;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,416,325 to Gross discloses a genealogical analysis tool;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,513,059 to Gupta et al., discloses an adaptive collaborative intelligent network system;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,553,350 to Carter discloses a method and apparatus for pricing products in multi-level product and organizational groups;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,570,567 to Eaton, discloses a system and method for using a graphical interface for the presentation of genealogical information;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,742,001 to Ripley discloses a system and method for sharing data between hierarchical databases; and
U.S. Pat. No. 6,886,015 to Notargiacomo et al., discloses a method and system for building a family tree.

Constructing a database of verified individuals


A magnetic detection device includes a signal processing circuit that detects a moving position and a moving direction of a magnetic mobile object using an output of a comparing circuit configured to output a signal by comparing an output signal of a magneto-electric transducer element with a threshold. A duration during which an output of the signal processing circuit is in a high level or in a low level is fixed to a period t1 or a period t2 depending on the moving direction of the magnetic mobile object. When switching of the moving direction of the magnetic mobile object takes place within the period t1 or the period t2, the signal processing circuit outputs a position signal same as a position signal indicating a position immediately before the switching of the moving direction of the magnetic mobile object due to hysteresis of the threshold of the comparing circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic detection device that detects field intensity induced by a magnetic mobile object, for example, a magnetic detection device that detects a revolution or a rotation angle of a rotating body, and more particularly, to a magnetic detection device capable of detecting a moving direction of a magnetic mobile object.
2. Background Art
Regarding a magnetic detection device that detects field intensity induced by a magnetic mobile object, there have been several techniques for a method of detecting a moving direction of a magnetic mobile object depending on a signal outputted from a magnetic detection sensor. In a case where a sensor output signal is a digital signal (rectangular wave), a method of applying voltage modulation to a sensor output signal and a method of applying time modulation to a sensor output signal are available for detection of a moving direction of a magnetic mobile object.
One of techniques in the related art for applying voltage modulation to a sensor output signal is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3588044. According to this method, a magnetic detection sensor accommodates a magnet that generates a bias magnetic field, first and second magneto-resistance effect elements disposed oppositely to the magnetic mobile object and side by side in a moving direction thereof, and output circuits for the respective magneto-resistance effect elements. The magnetic detection sensor detects a change in magnetic field in response to a movement of the magnetic mobile object and sets at least either a high level or a low level of the output signal to different potential depending on the moving direction. Accordingly, a computer unit detects the moving direction by measuring the potential of the sensor output signal.
Meanwhile, according to the method of applying time modulation to a sensor output signal, output timing (time) of a magnetic detection sensor varies with a moving direction of the magnetic mobile object. For example, when the moving direction is the forward direction, a duration of the signal is set to a and when the moving direction is the inverse direction, a duration of the signal is set to b(≠a). Accordingly, a computer unit detects a moving direction by measuring the duration of the sensor output signal.
The present invention relates to a method of applying time modulation to a sensor output signal and techniques for this method in the related art are disclosed, for example, in JP-UM-A-57-14858 and JP-A-2001-88632.
A magnetic detection device in the related art will be described first with reference to FIG. 15 through FIG. 18B.
FIG. 18A and FIG. 18B are views showing the configuration of a magnetic circuit in the magnetic detection device in the related art. FIG. 18A is a perspective view and FIG. 18B is a front view. Referring to FIG. 18A and FIG. 18B, a magnet 3 generating a bias magnetic field is disposed on the bottom surface of a signal processing circuit chip 2 formed monolithically with magneto-electric transducer elements 1a and 1b. This assembly is oppositely moved closer to a magnetic mobile object 4, so that the magneto-electric transducer elements 1a and 1b detect a magnetic field distribution developed by the magnetic field generated by the magnet 3 with an increasing proximity and movements of the magnetic mobile object 4 and output the detected magnetic field distribution as electric resistance and a change thereof. In order to detect a moving direction of the magnetic mobile object 4, it is necessary for the magneto-electric transducer elements 1a and 1b to cause a change in electric resistance with a time delay, that is, a phase difference, in association with the movements. To this end, for example, the magneto-electric transducer elements 1a and 1b are disposed side by side in the moving direction of the magnetic mobile object 4.
FIG. 15 shows a signal processing circuit of the magnetic detection device. The magneto-electric transducer elements 1a and 1b form bridge circuits 10a and 10b, respectively. When electric resistances of the magneto-electric transducer elements 1a and 1b change in response to a movement of the magnetic mobile object 4, bridge signals a and b are obtained as voltage changes. The bridge signals a and b are compared with thresholds c and d in comparing circuits 11 and 12, respectively, and converted to rectangular wave signals e and f, respectively. The rectangular wave signals e and f are inputted into a moving direction determination circuit 13 and a moving direction signal g is obtained. The moving direction signal g together with the rectangular wave signal f is inputted into an output signal generation circuit 14 and processed therein. A sensor output signal i is thus obtained as an output.
FIG. 16 shows operation waveforms of the magnetic detection device. In the drawing, small letters a and b represent bridge signals of the magneto-electric transducer elements 1a and 1b, respectively, small letters c and d represent thresholds of the respective bridge signals, and small letters e, f, g, and i represent signals of respective portions in the signal processing circuit. The waveforms show an example where the moving direction of the magnetic mobile object switches from the forward direction to the inverse direction. There is a phase difference between the rectangular wave signals e and f converted from the bridge signals a and b, respectively, and a combination thereof varies with the moving direction of the magnetic mobile object. The moving direction signal g is in a low level and a high level when the moving direction of the magnetic mobile body is a forward direction and an inverse direction, respectively. Time modulation is applied to switching timing from the high level to the low level, which is a position signal of the sensor output signal i, in sync with the rectangular wave signal f depending on the moving direction of the magnetic mobile object in such a manner that a time of the low level becomes a period t1 and a period t2 when the moving direction is the forward direction and the inverse direction, respectively.
FIG. 17 shows the bridge signal b of the magneto-electric conversion element 1b and the threshold d thereof, the signals e, f, and g of the respective portions in the signal processing circuit, and the sensor output signal i (the bridge signal a and the threshold c are omitted). The waveforms show an example where the moving direction of the magnetic mobile object switches from the inverse direction to the forward direction.
When the magnetic mobile object moves, the bridge signal b varies in response to protrusions (1) and (2) of the magnetic mobile object. The bridge signal b thus crosses the threshold d at a time A and the rectangular wave signal f switches from the low level to the high level whereas the sensor output signal switches from the high level to the low level.
Thereafter, the sensor output signal i returns to the high level at a time C after an elapse of the period t2.
At a time B at which the sensor output signal i is in the low level, the bridge signal b crosses the threshold d again. The rectangular wave signal f thus switches from the high level to the low level. Being within the period t2, the sensor output signal i cannot output the position signal in sync with the signal f of the signal processing circuit.
The computer unit determines the moving direction by measuring a duration of the low level of the sensor output signal i. The position of the magnetic mobile object is detected from the switching of the sensor output signal i at the time A from the high level to the low level. Because the duration of the low level of the sensor output signal i at the time C is the period t2, it is determined that the moving direction of the magnetic mobile object is the inverse direction and the position thereof is the protrusion (1). Thereafter, switching of the sensor output signal i again from the high level to the low level is detected at a time D. Because the duration of the low level of the sensor output signal i at a time E is the period t1, it is determined that the moving direction of the magnetic mobile object is the forward direction and the position thereof is the protrusion (1) from the sensor output signal i at the time D. Hence, the protrusion (1) after the switching of the moving direction of the magnetic mobile object is detected with a delay.
The detection delay may possibly be accumulated during repetitive operations in the forward direction and the inverse direction of the moving direction. Hence, the magnetic detection device in the related art is not suitably used when it is necessary to detect the moving position exactly by detecting the moving direction.


A gauge for measuring and/or marking teeth or models of teeth for the determination of the placement of attachments for orthodontic braces. The gauge has a first arm with a gauge element with a longitudinal extension portion lying on a first axis and a vertical extension portion extending generally perpendicularly from the first axis of the longitudinal extension portion. The gauge has a second arm which has a pointer or marking element at an end thereof, the pointer element having a tip which is spaced apart from the longitudinal extension portion of the first arm, the first and second arm being connected together to maintain the spaced apart relationship between the tip of marking element and the longitudinal extension portion with the vertical extension portion extending towards the pointer or marking element. The invention also provides a gauge element for converting a bow divider into a gauge for measuring and/or marking teeth for the determination of the placement of attachments for orthodontic braces. The gauge element has an elongate extension portion lying on a first axis and a vertical extension portion extending generally perpendicularly to the first axis of the elongate extension portion with the vertical extension portion extending outwardly between about 2.00 mm and 3.00 mm from the longitudinal extension portion.

The invention is in the field of measurement gauge that is used to assist in accurately placing the braces (individual attachments primarily composed of brackets and tubes) onto the upper and lower teeth on an orthodontic patient.
Presently, all measurement gauges used to position attachments on teeth function by making a linear measurement from the edges or cusp tips of all anterior (front) or posterior (back) teeth on the labial (lip) or buccal (cheek) side of the individual teeth toward the gingival (gum). This measurement is at a set distance from these landmarks i.e. cusp tips and biting edges of all teeth. Due to the anatomic variation in the height of cusps of posterior teeth, random wear patterns, and occasional cusp fractures, this method has numerous shortcomings in accuracy.
In reality, the orthodontist wants to position the attachments on all teeth so that the marginal ridges of the posterior teeth (the biting surface peripheral ridges located on the interproximal or side of the tooth) line up next to adjacent teeth in height. The marginal ridges should line up with little or no individual tooth marginal ridge variation in height to achieve the correct position of both upper and lower posterior teeth in order to allow opposing teeth to fit together when a person bites (or occludes) their teeth together.
The attachments on the posterior teeth should initially be positioned on each tooth so that when a straight wire (bent in the shape of an upper or lower dental arch of teeth) is engaged in the brackets and tubes, the teeth being adjusted will eventually be ideally aligned one to the other in either an upper or lower dental arch, and when the opposing teeth are brought together in a neutral bite, they occlude (fit together) ideally.
There accordingly remains a need for an accurate and easy to use gauge for measuring and/or marking teeth of an orthodontic patient for placement of braces thereon.
The invention provides a gauge that ideally accomplishes the need to measure and/or mark teeth easily and accurately so that braces can be correctly placed on the teeth in the ideal occluso-gingival position.
The invention provides a gauge with two arms. The first arm has two measuring axes. The first axis, (axis A) extends longitudinally along the long axis of the first arm and is used to measure the anterior teeth, i.e. the upper or lower cuspids and incisors. A vertical extension 38 is attached at a right angle to axis A and lies along an axis B, and the vertical extension 38 is typically rested on the mesial (the one closest to the front of the mouth) marginal ridge of a posterior tooth with axis A perpendicular to axis B and held parallel to the long axis of the tooth. The second arm of the gauge carries a pointed element, which may include an assortment of marking means, including but not limited to a pencil lead, washable inks delivered through a fine point, a grease pencil marker, or other known marking means or a non-marking means. The key element or measurement of the difference between axis A and the vertical tip of the axis B is approximately 2.5 mm with a variation of about 0.50 mm for most patients.


An X-ray diagnostic apparatus includes an X-ray generating unit which generates X-rays, an X-ray detecting unit which detects X-rays transmitted through a subject, a C-arm on which the X-ray generating unit and the X-ray detecting unit are mounted, a support mechanism which movably supports the C-arm, a high voltage generating unit which generates a high voltage for generating X-rays from the X-ray generating unit, a first foot switch to input a first user instruction associated with generation of the X-rays, a second foot switch to input a second user instruction associated with movement of the C-arm, and a control unit which controls the high voltage generating unit in accordance with the input of the first user instruction and controls the support mechanism in accordance with the input of the second user instruction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an X-ray diagnostic apparatus having a C-arm.
2. Description of the Related Art
In diagnosis or medical treatment based on angiography, a device such as a guide wire or catheter is inserted into a blood vessel. An operator advances a device to a morbid region of a subject in diagnosis of the morbid region while referring to fluoroscopic image data obtained by fluoroscopy and reference image data obtained by imaging at the same position as that of the fluoroscopic image data upon injecting a contrast medium in advance by using an X-ray diagnostic apparatus for circulatory organs.
In addition, in many cases, an operator advances a device to a morbid region while calling up and checking, on a monitor, fluoroscopic image data for displaying a blood vessel structure in real time by temporarily injecting a small amount of contrast medium into the blood vessel and reference image data.
Furthermore, an operator often advances a device to a morbid region while displaying and checking, on a monitor, image data (fluoroscopic road map image data) in which a blood vessel image and a guide wire image are extracted by subtraction processing for fluoroscopic image data for displaying a blood vessel structure, which is obtained in real time, and reference image data obtained in advance by imaging at the same position as that of the fluoroscopic image data.
When a morbid region to be treated is determined to some extent, an operator advances a device inserted into the blood vessel or performs medical treatment while observing the morbid region from at least two positions by displaying fluoroscopic image data and reference image data or fluoroscopic road map image data concerning the morbid region on the monitor. In addition, an observation region is imaged as needed.
An X-ray diagnostic apparatus for circulatory organs comprises an X-ray generating unit which applies X-rays to a subject, an X-ray detecting unit which is positioned to face the X-ray generating unit through the subject and detects X-rays, and a C-arm which holds the X-ray generating unit and the X-ray detecting unit. It is known that X-ray diagnostic apparatuses for circulatory organs include a single plane system comprising one C-arm and a biplane system comprising two C-arms (see, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2001-137222).
In the present circumstances, although an X-ray diagnostic apparatus of the biplane system requires no complicated operation for the movement of the C-arms because observations from two positions can be simultaneously performed by using the two C-arms, the apparatus demands a large installation area and is expensive, and hence its installation is limited.
In contrast, an X-ray diagnostic apparatus of the single plane system does not demand a large installation area and is inexpensive as compared with that of the biplane system, and hence is installed in many places.
In the single plane system, however, every time the observation position is changed, the C-arm must be moved, and image data such as fluoroscopic image data, reference image data, and fluoroscopic road map image data at the position to which the C-arm is moved must be displayed. These operations must be manually performed using an operating unit. Such operations are cumbersome and difficult for an operator who manually operates a device such as a catheter or guide wire during diagnosis or medical treatment.


The present invention describes a novel process for the conformal coating of polymer fibers of nonwoven substrates. This process is based on modification of polymer fiber surfaces by controlling the degree of etching and oxidation to improve adhesion of initiators to the surface and to facilitate subsequent conformal polymer grafting. The modified fiber surfaces render new functionalities to the surface, such as increased hydrophilicity, attached ligands or changed surface energy. The invention includes the modified polymer fibers produced by the process described herein.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,823 [Anders, Hoecker, Klee, and Lorenz] [1] reports using UV light in the wavelength range of 125-310 nm to activate polymer surfaces in the presence of oxygen with a partial pressure of 2×10−5 to 2×10−2 bar. The activated surface is subsequently grafted. However, this patent is limited to the use of surface hydroperoxides obtained from UV activation to initialize grafting.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,084 (Moya, Wilson) [4] discloses a composite porous membrane formed from a porous polymeric substrate and a second polymer which has been cross-linked by heat and UV. The modification of the second polymer is over the entire surface, which is attained by placing a membrane in contact with a second polymer solution and initiator and exposing everything to UV or mild heat in order to crosslink a second polymer on the substrate surface. This scheme can be categorized as a "grafting to" technique where the adsorption of a second polymer to the fiber surface is the critical step.
UV-initialized grafting is generally performed by exposing the substrate to UV light in monomer solutions. It can take place in the range 100-450 nm for a variety of molecules. U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,823 [Anders, Hoecker, Klee, and Lorenz] [1] reported using a preferred UV wavelength in the range 290-320 nm. PCT/WO/02/28947 A1 [Belfort, Crivello and Pieracci] [5] reported using UV wavelengths in the range 280-300 nm. These inventions do not refer to the use of a photosensitizer in the grafting process.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,390 [Crivello, Belfort, Yamagishi] [6] discloses a process to modify polysulfone porous membranes without photosensitizers. As a result, only the outer surface of the membranes described in this reference was modified through the treatment. The polysulfone membranes cannot be rewetted after drying.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,883,150 [Charkaudian] [7] reports that implanting a photosensitizer into the backbone of the polysulfone membrane results in better wetting properties. Nonetheless, it is difficult for most of these implanted photosensitizers to survive the high temperature conditions that are generally used for polymer processing. For example, fiber or nonwoven production with melt-blowing processes requires temperatures above 120° C.
In summary, while surface modification methods such as those described above may generate some coatings on the fiber surface of fiber nonwoven webs or mats, a conformal coating cannot be assured by these methods because they do not provide the necessary means either to overcome possible differences between the surface energies of the substrate and second polymers, or to generate a surface with a high density initiator.
It is, therefore, desired to have a surface modification method which can warrant conformal coating for a wide range of polymer fibers. It is also desired that this method be robust and easy to scale-up. The present invention seeks to meet these and related needs.

Conformal coating of polymer fibers on nonwoven substrates

Pathogen Removal and Diagnostic Technologies, Inc.


Compounds of general formula I

The present invention is directed to novel compounds, to a process for their preparation, their use and pharmaceutical compositions comprising the novel compounds. The novel compounds are useful in therapy, and in particular for the treatment of pain.
The xcex4 receptor has been identified as having a role in many bodily functions such as circulatory and pain systems. Ligands for the xcex4 receptor may therefore find potential use as analgesics, and/or as antihypertensive agents. Ligands for the xcex4 receptor have also been shown to possess immunomodulatory activities.
The identification of at least three different populations of opioid receptors (xcexc, xcex4 and xcexa) is now well established and all three are apparent in both central and peripheral nervous systems of many species including man. Analgesia has been observed in various animal models when one or more of these receptors has been activated.
With few exceptions, currently available selective opioid xcex4 ligands are peptidic in nature and are unsuitable for administration by systemic routes. One example of a non-peptidic xcex4-agonist is SNC80 (Bilsky E. J el al., Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 273(1), pp. 359-366 (1995)). There is however still a need for selective xcex4-agonists having not only improved selectivity, but also an improved side-effect profile.
Thus, the problem underlying the present invention was to find new analgesics having improved analgesic effects, but also with an improved side-effect profile over current xcexc  agonists, as well as having improved systemic efficacy.
Analgesics that have been identified and are existing in the prior art have many disadvantages in that they suffer from poor pharmacokinetics and are not analgesic when administered by systemic routes. Also, it has been documented that preferred xcex4 agonist compounds, described within the prior art, show significant convulsive effects when administered systemically.
We have now found that certain compounds not specifically disclosed by, but included within the scope of WO 98/28275, exhibit surprisingly improved xcex4-agonist properties and in vivo potency.
The novel compounds according to the present invention are defined by the formula I
wherein
R1 is selected from any one of
where each R1 phenyl ring and R1 heteroaromatic ring may optionally and independently be further substituted by 1, 2 or 3 substituents selected from straight and branched C1-C6 alkyl, NO2, CF3, C1-C6 alkoxy, chloro, fluoro, bromo, and iodo. The substitutions on the phenyl ring and on the heteroaromatic ring may take place in any position on said ring systems;
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is a compound according to FIG. I wherein R1 is as defined above and each R1 phenyl ring and R1 heteroaromatic ring may independently be further substituted by a methyl group.
A more preferred embodiment of the present invention is a compound according to FIG. I wherein R1 is pyridinyl, thienyl or furanyl.
Within the scope of the invention are also salts and enantiomers of the compounds of the formula I, including enantiomers of salts.
When the phenyl ring and the heteroaromatic ring(s) are substituted, the preferred substituents are selected from anyone of CF3, methyl, iodo, bromo, fluoro and chloro.
Reaction step g in Scheme 1, vide infra, is performed by reacting an intermediate compound of the general formula II
wherein PG is a urethane or benzyl-like protecting group, such as Boc, with 8-quinolinyl boronic acid, using a palladium catalyst, e.g. Pd(PPh3)4, in the presence of a base, e.g. Na2CO3, to give the compounds of general formula III,
which is thereafter deprotected, under standard conditions and alkylated under reductive conditions with a compound of the general formula R1xe2x80x94CHO to give compounds of the general formula I.
Suitable palladium catalysts include, but is not limited to, PdCl2(with a phosphine), Pd(OAc)2 (with a phosphine), Pd(dba)2, PdCl2(dppf) CH2Cl2, Pd(PPh3)4, and Pd/C.
Suitable bases include, but is not limited to, triethylamine, sodium and potassium carbonate.
Suitable reducing agents to be used includes, but is not limited to, sodium cyanoborohydride and sodium triacetoxyborohydride.
The novel compounds of the present invention are useful in therapy, especially for the treatment of various pain conditions such as chronic pain, neuropathic pain, acute pain, cancer pain, pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis, migraine, visceral pain etc. This list should however not be interpreted as exhaustive.
Compounds of the invention are useful as immunomodulators, especially for autoimmune diseases, such as arthritis, for skin grafts, organ transplants and similar surgical needs, for collagen diseases, various allergies, for use as anti-tumour agents and anti viral agents.
Compounds of the invention are useful in disease states where degeneration or dysfunction of opioid receptors is present or implicated in that paradigm. This may involve the use of isotopically labelled versions of the compounds of the invention in diagnostic techniques and imaging applications such as positron emission tomography (PET).
Compounds of the invention are useful for the treatment of diarrhoea, depression, anxiety, urinary incontinence, various mental illnesses, cough, lung oedema, various gastro-intestinal disorders, spinal injury and drug addiction, including the treatment of alcohol, nicotine, opioid and other drug abuse and for disorders of the sympathetic nervous system for example hypertension.
Compounds of the invention are useful as an analgesic agent for use during general anaesthesia and monitored anaesthesia care. Combinations of agents with different properties are often used to achieve a balance of effects needed to maintain the anaesthetic state (e.g. amnesia, analgesia, muscle relaxation and sedation). Included in this combination are inhaled anaesthetics, hypnotics, anxiolytics, neuromuscular blockers and opioids.
Also within the scope of the invention is the use of any of the compounds according to the formula I above, for the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of any of the conditions discussed above.
A further aspect of the invention is a method for the treatment of a subject suffering from any of the conditions discussed above, whereby an effective amount of a compound according to the formula I above, is administered to a patient in need of such treatment.
A further aspect of the present invention is intermediates of the general formula II,
wherein PG is a urethane or benzyl-like protecting group, such as Boc,
Methods of Preparation
The compounds according to the present invention may be prepared by following the known procedures described in e.g. xe2x80x9cAdvanced Organic Chemistryxe2x80x9d third edition by Jerry March, John Wiley and Sons Inc.; New York (1985): Step (a): p848; Step (b): p848; Step (c): p657; Step (d):p875; Step (e): p371-373; Step (f): p364-366; Step (g): N. Miyaura and A. Suzuki, Chem. Rev., 95, 2457-2483(1995); Step (h): xe2x80x9cProtective Groups in Organic synthesisxe2x80x9d p 327-329, by Theodora W. Greene and Peter G. M. Wuts, Second Edition, John Wiley and Sons Inc.; New York (1991). These references are hereby incorporated in full.

Quinolinyl-piperidin-4-ylidene-methyl-benzamide derivatives for the treatment of pain

Abstract: Compounds of general formula I

Abstract: R1 is selected from any one of phenyl, pyridinyl, thienyl, furanyl, imidazolyl, and triazolyl;

Abstract: are disclosed and claimed in the present application, as well as their pharmaceutically acceptable salts and pharmaceutical compositions comprising the novel compounds and their use in therapy, in particular in the management of pain.


A system (10) includes a packet-switched network (12). A plurality of telephones (21-26) are each coupled to the network. A call manager server (31) is also coupled to the network, in order to interact with the telephones to implement telephony functions. Each of the telephones has the capability to act as an independent network client, by using Internet-compatible protocols to communicate directly with a resource server, without the participation or even the awareness of the call manager server. The resource server may be a local server (32) coupled directly to the network, or a remote server (66-68) coupled to the network through some other network, such as the Internet (52).

This invention relates in general to a telephone system and, more particularly, to a telephone system in which communication with the telephone is effected through a packet-switched network.
In a facility or situation where several telephones are required, the traditional approach was to install wiring which served as dedicated telephone wiring. In recent years, however, as the use of computers has expanded, the need for communication between computers has caused organizations to add an additional level of wiring, which is a network to interconnect the computers.
It has been previously recognized that it can be advantageous and cost-effective to use a single network of wiring to effect both telephone services and communication between computers. To this end, telephones have previously been developed which can be coupled to a traditional computer-type network, such as a network conforming to the industry standard commonly known as Ethernet. While these existing network-based telephone systems have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been satisfactory in all respects.
More specifically, each of the telephone units in an existing system usually has only a moderate amount of intelligence, and is limited in its functional capability by the fact that it basically operates under the control of a central control unit commonly referred to as a call manager server. As a result, the typical telephone is only as powerful as the call manager server to which it is a slave. It is difficult or impossible for third-party vendors to provide new features for such a telephone. In fact, even the manufacturer of the telephone system would typically need to develop and deploy a software upgrade to the call manager server in order to add new functionality, and such an upgrade might be cost-prohibitive if its utility was limited to a particular system, or to a particular type of system.
These limitations are ironic in view of the fact that an extensive volume of information is typically available through the packet-switched network utilized by the telephone system. For example, many such networks are coupled to the Internet, and thus have access to the wealth of information which is in the subset of the Internet commonly known as the World Wide Web (WWW). Computers which use the network have ready access to most or all of the resources of the WWW. However, because existing telephone units for packet-switched networks are basically designed to communicate only with each other and with a call manager server, and are designed to carry out this communication through use of a dedicated protocol, they have no capability to access resources which may be available through the network but which cannot be accessed with the dedicated protocol. Stated differently, existing telephone units are not capable of using a public network communication protocol which will permit them to act as an independent network client with respect to available network resources that are not part of the specific telephone system itself.
From the foregoing, it may be appreciated that a need has arisen for a method and apparatus which provide telephone units of a network-based telephone system with the capability to independently access network resources outside the telephone system itself. According to the present invention, a method and apparatus are provided to address this need, and involve operating a control unit of a telephone unit so as to selectively cause the telephone unit to facilitate a telephony function by transmitting and receiving, through a network interface, message units of a first type which are in a digital format, and operating the control unit to selectively cause the telephone unit to function as an independent network client capable of communicating directly with a server by transmitting and receiving, through the network interface, message units of a second type which are in a digital format and which conform to a public network communication protocol.

Method and apparatus for operating a telephone as an independent network client


An air duct system comprising an air duct having a main body, a visible light source, and one or more photovoltaic devices. The main body of the air duct defines a passageway having a reflective inner surface. The visible light source is configured to generate visible light, where the visible light source directs the visible light along the reflective inner surface of the air duct. The one or more photovoltaic devices are disposed along the reflective inner surface of the air duct, where a portion of the visible light generated by the visible light source is converted into electrical power by the one or more photovoltaic devices.

There is an ongoing effort to reduce the weight of an aircraft. A reduction in weight typically results in a corresponding reduction in fuel consumption of the aircraft and may also allow for an increase in payload capacity. Electrical power, current, and electronic signals are typically conducted through wires or cables constructed of copper or aluminum as the conductive medium. For example, wiring is used in the passenger cabin of the aircraft to power various electronic devices such as, for example, overheard lighting and displays. However, wiring contributes significantly to the total weight of the aircraft.

Aircraft air duct system for transmitting electrical power and visible light


A method comprising receiving a syntax element to be encoded as a code word of a set of code words, determining a mapping between the syntax element and the code word on the basis of a hierarchy level in a tree structure, using the mapping to obtain the code word, and updating the mapping is disclosed.

A video codec comprises an encoder which transforms input video into a compressed representation suitable for storage and/or transmission and a decoder than can uncompress the compressed video representation back into a viewable form. Typically, the encoder discards some information in the original video sequence in order to represent the video in a more compact form, for example at a lower bit rate.
Typical video codecs, operating for example according to the International Telecommunication Union's ITU-T H.263 and H.264 coding standards, encode video information in two phases. In the first phase, pixel values in a certain picture area or "block" are predicted. These pixel values can be predicted, for example, by motion compensation mechanisms, which involve finding and indicating an area in one of the previously encoded video frames (or a later coded video frame) that corresponds closely to the block being coded. Additionally, pixel values can be predicted by spatial mechanisms which involve finding and indicating a spatial region relationship.
The second phase is one of coding the error between the predicted block of pixels and the original block of pixels. This is typically accomplished by transforming the difference in pixel values using a specified transform. This transform is typically a Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) or a variant thereof. After transforming the difference, the transformed difference is quantized and entropy encoded.
By varying the fidelity of the quantization process, the encoder can control the balance between the accuracy of the pixel representation, (in other words, the quality of the picture) and the size of the resulting encoded video representation (in other words, the file size or transmission bit rate). An example of the encoding process is depicted in FIG. 1.
The decoder reconstructs the output video by applying a prediction mechanism similar to that used by the encoder in order to form a predicted representation of the pixel blocks (using the motion or spatial information created by the encoder and stored in the compressed representation of the image) and prediction error decoding (the inverse operation of the prediction error coding to recover the quantized prediction error signal in the spatial domain).
After applying pixel prediction and error decoding processes the decoder combines the prediction and the prediction error signals (the pixel values) to form the output video frame.
The decoder (and encoder) may also apply additional filtering processes in order to improve the quality of the output video before passing it for display and/or storing as a prediction reference for the forthcoming frames in the video sequence. An example of the decoding process is depicted in FIG. 2.
In typical video codecs, the motion information is indicated by motion vectors associated with each motion compensated image block. Each of these motion vectors represents the displacement of the image block in the picture to be coded (in the encoder) or decoded (at the decoder) and the prediction source block in one of the previously coded or decoded images (or pictures). In order to represent motion vectors efficiently, motion vectors are typically coded differentially with respect to block specific predicted motion vector. In a typical video codec, the predicted motion vectors are created in a predefined way, for example by calculating the median of the encoded or decoded motion vectors of the adjacent blocks.
In typical video codecs the prediction residual after motion compensation is first transformed with a transform kernel (like DCT) and then coded. The reason for this is that often there still exists some correlation among the residual and transform can in many cases help reduce this correlation and provide more efficient coding.
Typical video encoders utilize the Lagrangian cost function to find optimal coding modes, for example the desired macro block mode and associated motion vectors. This type of cost function uses a weighting factor or λ to tie together the exact or estimated image distortion due to lossy coding methods and the exact or estimated amount of information required to represent the pixel values in an image area.
This may be represented by the equation:C=D+λR  (1)where C is the Lagrangian cost to be minimised, D is the image distortion (in other words the mean-squared error) with the mode and motion vectors currently considered, and R is the number of bits needed to represent the required data to reconstruct the image block in the decoder (including the amount of data to represent the candidate motion vectors).
When source symbols are coded using code words which may have different lengths, the source symbols are translated to unique code words. This kind of coding can be called as a variable length coding (VLC). The coding may be designed so that more probable symbols are represented with shorter code words and less probable symbols are represented with longer code words. Shorter code words can be represented with less bits compared to longer code words when the code words are transmitted. One aim of the variable length coding is to reduce the amount of information needed to represent the symbols compared to the situation that the symbols were encoded as such. In other words, when a set of symbols is translated to code words, the resulting coded representation should contain fewer bits than the source. The set of symbols may include many kinds of information. For example, a set of symbols can be a file consisting of bytes, an information stream such as a video stream or an audio stream, an image, etc.
The design of variable length code words can depend on the probability statistics of the source of which the source symbols represent. To obtain a set of code words for variable length coding probability statistics can be gathered from some representative source material and the code words are designed around those statistics. This may work quite well, but in many cases statistics are not stationary and may vary in time and having fixed set of code words may not produce good compression. To achieve better compression, the set of variable length code words could be constantly adapted locally to observed statistics of the source.
One way of performing adaptation is to keep track of symbol frequencies and use the frequencies to define the set of variable length code words on-the-fly as the symbols are coded. This kind of full adaptation is quite complex operation, especially if the range of source symbols is large. In practical implementations, some form of suboptimal adaptation may be performed. For example, the encoder could use a number of predefined sets of variable length code words and select one set of them based on estimation of local statistics. In another implementation coder could gradually adapt the code words of the set so that only few of the individual code words of the set are changed at a time so that the complexity per coded code word is low.

Coding using a mapping between a syntax element and a code word


The hold current of a breakover type surge protection device is increased by irradiating the device with .gamma. or x rays so as to form crystal lattice defects in the semiconductor regions thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of controlling the hold current of a surge protection device for protecting electric circuits from abnormally high voltages and currents caused by, for example, lightning, switching surges or the like.
2. Prior Art Statement
A wide range of devices referred to as surge protection devices have been devised. Even the number of such devices that fall in the category of two-terminal surge protectors is considerable. The better of these are not limited to the function of clamping the voltage across the device terminals at a fixed breakdown voltage at the time of breakdown caused by occurrence of a surge (i.e. do not function simply as constant-voltage diodes). Instead they further exhibit negative characteristics when the absolute value of the device current that begins to flow at the time the device breakdown increases to above the breakover current value. As a result of this breakover, the voltage across the terminals after breakdown is shifted to a clamp voltage that is lower than the breakdown voltage. It therefore becomes possible to absorb large currents.
Among the surge protection devices of this type some utilize avalanche or Zenner breakdown as the initial breakdown mechanism, while others use punch-through for this purpose. U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,185 teaches a number of surge protection devices which, though being of various types, all have one of the basic structures shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a surge protection device 10 having a first semiconductor region 1 constituted by a semiconductor wafer or semiconductor substrate. While the first semiconductor region 1 is shown as being of p conductivity type in the drawing, it can instead be of n type. A second semiconductor region 2 and a third semiconductor region 3 are successively formed on one principal surface of the semiconductor region 1, ordinarily by double diffusion. A fourth region 4 is formed on the other principal surface.
Structurally speaking, the surge protection device 10 shown in FIG. 1 is formed with the regions 1, 2, 3 and 4 stacked vertically in the thickness direction of the region 1. Moreover, as will be clear from the explanation of the device's operation given later, the device current resulting from surge absorption flows mainly in the thickness direction of the first region, between the third and fourth regions. The device can therefore be said to be of the vertical type. While not shown in the drawings, there is also a lateral type surge protection device in which the fourth region 4 is situated on the front surface at a position offset laterally from the second and third regions 2, 3. In the interest of simplicity, only the vertical type device will be explained in the following.
The second region 2 and fourth region 4 have to be of opposite conductivity type from the first region 1. Therefore, as shown in the figures, in the case where the first region 1 is of p conductivity type, the second region 2 and the fourth region 4 are of n conductivity type. In actual practice, it is usually better for them to be of somewhat low concentration n type (n.sup.- type). On the other hand, since the third region 3 constitutes one end of the main device current path after breakdown, it preferably has high conductivity. That is to say, it is preferably a high concentration semiconductor region. It can be constituted of a silicide, for example. When, differently from what is shown in the drawing, the first semiconductor region 1 is of n conductivity type and the second semiconductor region 2 is of p conductivity, the third region can be formed of metal. In general, when the third region is constituted of semiconductor, its conductivity type is selected to be opposite that of the second region 2. Thus in the illustrated case, it is of p type (preferably of p.sup.+ type).
The same can also be said of the fourth region 4. That is to say, since it suffices for the fourth region 4 to be able to inject into the first semiconductor region 1 carriers that are minority carriers in the first region 1, it does not necessarily have to be constituted of semiconductor but can be constituted of a metal material, for example, or of a silicide if the first semiconductor region 1 is of n type. If it is constituted as a semiconductor region, then the first semiconductor region 1 has to be of the opposite conductivity type, namely of n type (preferably n.sup.- type). While in some cases the third region 3 and the fourth region 4 are each formed of a plurality of laterally spaced sub-regions, for the purposes of the explanation given here the groups of sub-regions can be considered to be represented by the single regions shown in the drawings.
As the device terminals of the surge protection device 10 having the aforesaid sectional structure there are provided a first device terminal T.sub.1 which is in ohmic contact with both the second semiconductor region 2 and the third region 3 and a second device terminal T.sub.2 which is in ohmic contact with the fourth region 4.
This requires an electrode structure formed of an appropriate conductive material. In the illustrated arrangement, an opening is provided in the principal surface insulation film 61 on the front side of the first semiconductor region 1 and a first electrode 71 is formed in this opening so as to make ohmic contact with both the third region 3 and the second semiconductor region 2. The first device terminal T.sub.1 is led out from the first electrode 71. On the other hand, an opening is provided in the principal surface insulation film 62 on the rear side and a second electrode 72 is provided both within and beyond the edges of this opening so as to make ohmic contact with the surface of the fourth region 4. The second device terminal T.sub.2 is led out from the second electrode 72.
In the aforesaid sectional structure, when a surge voltage arises across the first and second device terminals T.sub.1, T.sub.2 at a relatively large magnitude and in such phase as to apply a reverse bias voltage across the pn junction between the first region 1 and the second region 2 (in the illustrated case, in the phase that causes the first device terminal T.sub.1 to become positive), either breakdown, avalanche or Zenner, occurs at the pn junction between the first and second regions or the upper extremity of the depletion layer produced at the pn junction between the first and second regions reaches the third region 3, resulting in punch-through state.
On the other hand, carriers which will be minority carriers in the first region 1 are injected into the first region 1 from the fourth region 4. Since the injected minority carriers collect in the second region 2, device current begins to flow. The voltage at which this operation starts is indicated in the operating characteristics of the surge protection device 10 shown in FIG. 2 as breakdown voltage V.sub.BR.
Even if the second region 2 and the third region 3 should be electrically shorted at their surfaces by mutual connection with the second device terminal T.sub.2, once the flow of minority carriers starts via the second region 2 and rises to the point that the product between itself and the resistance along the path thereof in the second region 2 (the voltage drop) becomes equal to the forward voltage at the rectifying junction formed between the second region 2 and the third region 3 (the pn junction in the illustrated case), the pn junction turns on so that minority carriers for the second region 2 are injected from the third region 3 into the second region 2.
This injection of minority carriers into the second region 2 causes the device current flowing between the first and second device terminals T.sub.1, T.sub.2 to become even larger, as indicated in FIG. 2 by the portion of the characteristic curve where the curve rises rapidly in the direction of the current axis. Since this in turn promotes the injection of minority carriers from the fourth region 4 into the first region 1, a positive feedback is obtained. Thus, as can be seen from the voltage vs current (V-I) characteristic curve in FIG. 2, when the current flowing between the first and second device terminals T.sub.1, T.sub.2 becomes greater than the value indicated as the breakover current I.sub.BO, the positive feedback within the device manifests itself in the form of a negative characteristic. As a result, the voltage across the first and second terminals T.sub.1, T.sub.2 shifts to a clamp voltage (or ON voltage) V.sub.P that is lower than the breakover voltage V.sub.BO at which breakover commenced and also lower than the breakdown voltage V.sub.BR at which breakdown started. Therefore, the device is able to absorb large surge currents while holding down the amount of heat it generates.
The maximum current which the surge protection device 10 can absorb across its first and second terminals T.sub.1, T.sub.2 is generally referred to as its "surge absorption capacity." On the other hand, the minimum device current capable of maintaining the device in its on state after it has once turned on is called its "hold current" I.sub.H. That is to say, after the surge has subsided and it is no longer possible to maintain a current through the device that is at least as large as the hold current I.sub.H, the device automatically resumes its earlier (turned off) state, thus returning to the state prior to the occurrence of the surge.
Let us now consider the "follow current effect" as it relates to the hold current I.sub.H.
A surge protection device of this type is ordinarily connected between the power source and a load circuit (the circuit to be protected) so as to be in parallel with the load circuit. Owing to the aforesaid breakover mechanism, therefore, when the clamp voltage V.sub.P at the time the surge protection device is turned on is lower than the power source voltage, the surge protection device will remain in the on state even after the cause of the surge has disappeared and thus continue wasteful consumption of electric power. This is known as the "follow current effect" and is basically undesirable.
One way of overcoming this problem is to design the device to have a high clamp voltage V.sub.P. However, this is usually not practical since the clamp voltage V.sub.P is related to the breakover voltage V.sub.BO and generally cannot be specified independently. Another way is to set the hold current I.sub.H at a high value (though it cannot be set too high because this too will of course also increase the amount of power consumed by the device). In the past, this expedient has not worked very well either. More will be said about this later.
Obviously a surge protection device having the structure just explained with respect to FIG. 1 is able to absorb surges of only one polarity. Specifically, the surge has to be of the polarity which causes the first device terminal T.sub.1 side to become positive. The device is thus a single polarity surge protector. In contrast, the structure shown in FIG. 3 is one example of a conventional device structure that is capable of absorbing surges of either polarity, notwithstanding that it is based on approximately the same structural principle as the device of FIG. 1. Since the exemplified structure possesses all of the constituent elements of the earlier described surge protection device 10 constituted for absorption of surges of a single polarity, these elements are assigned the same reference symbols as in the earlier example. Except as otherwise stated, the whole of the explanation given above also applies to these elements.
One newly required condition for realizing a device for absorbing surges of either polarity is that, like the second semiconductor region 2, the fourth region 4 also be limited to being a semiconductor region which forms a pn junction between itself and the first semiconductor region 1. Further, there is additionally provided a fifth region 5 which is able to inject into the fourth semiconductor region 4 carriers that are minority carriers from the viewpoint of the fourth region 4 and which, together with the fourth semiconductor region 4, is electrically connected with the second device terminal T.sub.2 (the contact of the fifth region with the fourth region being from the side opposite from that in contact with the first semiconductor region 1).
With this arrangement, the fourth semiconductor region 4 performs exactly the same function as the region 4 of the earlier described surge protection device for absorbing surges of a single polarity. Moreover, when a surge of the opposite polarity is applied, that is when, in the drawing, the first device terminal T.sub.1 becomes negative and the second device terminal T.sub.2 becomes positive, the fourth semiconductor region 4 functions as a semiconductor region equivalent to the second semiconductor region 2 and, in exactly the same way, when the surge of opposite polarity being discussed here is applied, the fifth region operates in place of the third region in the same way as the third region. Therefore, as regards the V-I characteristics, there appears in the third quadrant of FIG. 2 a hysteresis curve symmetrical with respect to the origin to that shown in the first quadrant. While, as is true of the third region 3, the fifth region 5 is also preferably constituted of high concentration p type semiconductor, in view of the operating principle involved, it is not limited to this constitution and need only have high conductivity, as is preferable in view of the fact that it constitutes one end of the main device current path after breakdown. It can therefore alternatively be constituted of silicide or, depending on the conductivity type of the first semiconductor region 1, of metal.
In the foregoing explanation no distinction was made among avalanche breakdown, Zenner breakdown and punchthrough. However, the thicknesses of the second semiconductor region 2 and the third region 3 (as well as the thickness of the fourth semiconductor region 4 and the fifth region 5 in a device capable of absorbing surges of either polarity), the geometric parameters of the individual regions, the impurity parameters thereof and the like have to be optimally selected in the light of the particular breakdown mechanism employed. It should be understood, however, that the relationship among the laminated layers remains as schematically illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3 irrespective of the breakdown mechanism. In addition, the foregoing explanation also applies substantially without modification even with respect to a surge protection device which uses the lateral structure touched on briefly earlier in place of the illustrated vertical structure.
Whatever the initial breakdown mechanism may be, a surge protection device of the aforesaid type is desired to exhibit various electrical properties, typical of which are
1) Stable breakover voltage V.sub.BO, PA1 2) Large surge absorption capacity, and PA1 3) A well-designed hold current I.sub.H that is of an appropriately large magnitude and varies little between different devices.
For a surge protection device of this type, the most fundamental of these properties is the breakover voltage V.sub.BO (which is why this voltage is also referred to simply as the "operating voltage"). Unless every effort is made to ensure that this voltage is close to that stipulated by the device design specifications, the resulting product will be of little or no commercial value.
Since the breakover voltage V.sub.BO is governed almost totally by the characteristics of the pn junction at the start of breakdown, the impurity concentrations of the semiconductor substrate 1 and the second semiconductor region 2 are subject to considerable limitation, as is the impurity concentration of the fourth semiconductor 4 as well in the case of the surge protection device shown in FIG. 3. What becomes a problem here is the impurity concentration distribution of the semiconductor substrate used as the first semiconductor region 1. Even with today's semiconductor wafer technology, this distribution is generally quite uneven, with a difference of around 5% or more existing between the center and peripheral regions of the substrate. Moreover, it is also impossible to avoid uneven impurity concentration distribution at the time of forming the second and third regions in such a substrate 1.
Notwithstanding, thanks to various improvements that have been implemented, it is now possible to hold the deviation between the actual and target values of the breakover voltage V.sub.BO to within 10%. Similarly, numerous innovations have made it possible to bring the surge absorption capacity mentioned in 2) above up to a considerably high level.
Regarding hold current, however, no effective means is yet available which can be applied in the fabrication process for providing the properties set out in 3) above. One principal reason for this is that the hold current is affected by the current amplification factors at the equivalent transistor structures constituted by the first, second and third regions and by the second, third and fourth regions. As a result, the hold current is sensitive to and varies largely with even slight differences in the concentration and diffusion depth of diffused impurities and in the impurity concentration distribution of the substrate. Thus, while it has been possible to fabricate surge protection devices with desired hold current values on a small-scale, test manufacture basis, it has been found extremely difficult to achieve like results in volume production.
In production it has in fact up to now been found necessary to check the electrical properties of each wafer in the course of the manufacturing process and to modify the ensuing processing steps in line with the detected values. Even so, product yield has been highly unsatisfactory. For example, when 2,500 devices according to the basic structure shown in FIG. 3 were fabricated to have a breakover voltage of 150 V, the value of the hold current I.sub.H was found to vary greatly within a range of 150 to 800 mA. The product yield based on a hold current in the range of 250-350 mA as being acceptable was under 20%.
The present invention was accomplished in the light of the foregoing circumstances and has as its object to provide a method of controlling surge protection device hold current for enabling easy improvement of the hold current value of a breakover type surge protection device.

Method of controlling surge protection device hold current


In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a method for processing a digitally captured image that comprises an imaged document. The method comprises: detecting graphical information related to spatial discontinuities of the digitally captured image; detecting lines from the detected graphical information; computing effective area parameters for quadrilaterals associated with ones of the detected lines, wherein each effective area parameter for a respective quadrilateral equals an area of the respective quadrilateral modified by at least a corner matching score that is indicative of a number of connected edge pixels in corners of the respective quadrilateral; and selecting a quadrilateral of the quadrilaterals that possesses a largest effective area parameter.

FIG. 1A depicts digital camera 100 capturing an image of document 101 according to the prior art. Light is reflected from document 101 and is received by optical subsystem 102. Optical subsystem 102 optically reduces the image of document 101 to focus the image on charge-coupled device (CCD) 103. CCD 103 is typically implemented as a two-dimensional array of photosensitive capacitive elements. When light is incident on the photosensitive elements of CCD 103, charge is trapped in a depletion region of the semiconductor material of the elements. The amount of charge associated with the photosensitive capacitive elements is related to the intensity of light incident on the respective elements received over a sampling period. Accordingly, the image is captured by determining the intensity of incident light at the respective photosensitive capacitive elements via sampling the elements.
The analog information produced by the photosensitive capacitive elements is converted to digital information by analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion unit 104. A/D conversion unit 104 may convert the analog information received from CCD 103 in either a serial or parallel manner. The converted digital information may be stored in memory 105 (e.g., random access memory). The digital information is then processed by processor 106 according to control software stored in ROM 107 (e.g., PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, and/or the like). For example, the digital information may be compressed according to the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) standard. Additionally or alternatively, other circuitry (not shown) may be utilized to process the captured image such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). User interface 108 (e.g., a touch screen, keys, and/or the like) may be utilized to edit the captured and processed image. The image may then be provided to output port 109. For example, the user may cause the image to be downloaded to a personal computer (not shown) via output port 109.
The quality of the captured image is dependent on the perspective or positioning of digital camera 100 with respect to document 101. Specifically, if digital camera 100 is off-angle, the captured image of document 101 may be skewed as shown in captured image 150 of FIG. 1B. Therefore, off-angle positioning may appreciably reduce the readability of the captured image of document 101.
Accordingly, the image data may be uploaded to a personal computer for processing by various known correction algorithms. The algorithms are employed to correct the distortion effects associated with off-angle images of documents. Typical known correction algorithms require a user to manually identify the corners of a region of a captured image. By measuring the spatial displacement of the identified corners from desired positions associated with a rectangular arrangement, an estimation of the amount of distortion is calculated. The correction algorithm then processes the imaged document to possess the desired perspective and size as necessary and may produce perspective enhanced image 200 of FIG. 2.
An automatic corner detection algorithm is described by G. F. McLean in Geometric Correction of Digitized Art, GRAPHICAL MODELS AND IMAGE PROCESSING, Vol. 58, No. 2, March, pp. 142-154 (1996). McLean's algorithm is intended to correct the perspective distortion associated with "archival images of two-dimensional art objects." Accordingly, the algorithm assumes that some degree of care was taken during the imaging or photography. Thus, the algorithm assumes that the resulting distorted quadrilaterals of the art form "a set of roughly 90° corners." Upon this assumption, the corners may be estimated by analyzing the intersection of lines that form approximately 90° interior angles. Although the McLean algorithm is clearly advantageous as compared to pure manual selection of corners, the assumptions of this algorithm are not always appropriate for digital images (e.g., those taken by casual users) which may exhibit appreciable perspective distortion.

Systems and methods for processing a digital captured image

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A lip ring is attached to a piston so as to be rotatable relative to the piston in a circumferential direction, and a seal portion is provided between a ring attachment groove of the piston and an attachment portion of the lip ring. During a suction stroke, the lip ring can be rotated in a circumferential direction of the piston, thus distributing wear around the entire periphery of a lip portion of the lip ring. During a compression stroke, leakage of air from a compression chamber can be prevented by means of the seal portion provided between the ring attachment groove and the lip ring.

The present invention relates to an oscillating type compressor which can be advantageously used for compressing a fluid such as air.
Generally, an oscillating type compressor comprises: a crank case; a crankshaft rotatably supported by the crank case; a cylinder provided in the crank case; a cylinder head mounted on a distal end portion of the cylinder; an oscillating type piston connected to the crankshaft and capable of reciprocally moving within the cylinder while being oscillated, the piston defining a compression chamber in the cylinder; and a lip ring for providing a seal between the piston and the cylinder.
The lip ring is made of, for example, a resin material having self-lubricating properties. It comprises an annular attachment portion located in a radially inner position and attached to an outer circumferential portion of the piston, and a lip portion which is bent from a radially outer portion of the attachment portion and extends towards the compression chamber, and adapted to make slidable contact with an inner circumferential surface of the cylinder when the compression chamber is compressed. The piston comprises a disc portion disposed on a side of the crankshaft and a retainer disposed in a face-to-face relationship to the disc portion on a side opposite to the crankshaft. The attachment portion of the lip ring is held by the disc portion and the retainer, to thereby fix the lip ring to the piston (for example, see Japanese Patent Public Disclosure No. 9-144666).
In a conventional oscillating type compressor such as that mentioned above, when the piston reciprocates within the cylinder while being oscillated, only two portions of the entire periphery of the lip portion of the lip ring, which portions are located in a direction of oscillation of the piston, are subject to wear by being strongly pressed against the inner circumferential surface of the cylinder. Therefore, a problem of premature fracture of the lip ring occurs, due to wear of the above-mentioned two portions, although the remaining portion of the lip ring is worn by only about 30% of its original thickness. The lip ring is fixedly connected to the disc portion of the piston so as to prevent leakage of air from the compression chamber. Therefore, when the oscillating type compressor is operated, concentrated wear occurs at two portions of the lip portion located in a direction of oscillation of the piston, so that the life of the lip ring becomes short.


Expandable heart valves for minimally invasive valve replacement surgeries are disclosed. The valves are rolled into a first, contracted configuration for minimally invasive delivery and then unrolled or unfurled at the implantation site. One- and two-piece stents may be used in conjunction with a plurality of flexible leaflet-forming membranes. The one-piece stents may include an annulus anchoring section, a sinus section with the membranes attached over sinus apertures, and a rigid outflow section. The two-piece stent may include a primary stent to provide a tubular base at the annulus, and a secondary stent having the membranes that couples within the primary stent. Lockout tabs to secure the stents in their expanded shapes are provided. Also, alignment structure may be provided to ensure concentric unfurling. Anchoring barbs at the stent edges or in the stent body secure the valve within the annulus. Methods of implantation are also provided.

The present invention relates generally to medical devices and particularly to expandable heart valve prostheses especially for use in minimally-invasive surgeries.
Prosthetic heart valves are used to replace damaged or diseased heart valves. In vertebrate animals, the heart is a hollow muscular organ having four pumping chambers: the left and right atria and the left and right ventricles, each provided with its own one-way valve. The natural heart valves are identified as the aortic, mitral (or bicuspid), tricuspid and pulmonary valves. Prosthetic heart valves can be used to replace any of these naturally occurring valves, although repair or replacement of the aortic or mitral valves is most common because they reside in the left side of the heart where pressures are the greatest.
Where replacement of a heart valve is indicated, the dysfunctional valve is typically cut out and replaced with either a mechanical valve, or a tissue valve. Tissue valves are often preferred over mechanical valves because they typically do not require long-term treatment with anticoagulants. The most common tissue valves are constructed with whole porcine (pig) valves, or with separate leaflets cut from bovine (cow) pericardium. Although so-called stentless valves, comprising a section of porcine aorta along with the valve, are available, the most widely used valves include some form of stent or synthetic leaflet support. Typically, a wireform having alternating arcuate cusps and upstanding commissures supports the leaflets within the valve, in combination with an annular stent and a sewing ring. The alternating cusps and commissures mimic the natural contour of leaflet attachment. Importantly, the wireform provides continuous support for each leaflet along the cusp region so as to better simulate the natural support structure.
A conventional heart valve replacement surgery involves accessing the heart in the patient""s thoracic cavity through a longitudinal incision in the chest. For example, a median sternotomy requires cutting through the sternum and forcing the two opposing halves of the rib cage to be spread apart, allowing access to the thoracic cavity and heart within. The patient is then placed on cardiopulmonary bypass which involves stopping the heart to permit access to the internal chambers. Such open heart surgery is particularly invasive and involves a lengthy and difficult recovery period.
Some attempts have been made to enable less traumatic delivery and implantation of prosthetic heart valves. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,056,854 to Boretos discloses a radially collapsible heart valve secured to a circular spring stent that can be compressed for delivery and expanded for securing in a valve position. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,077 to Dobbin describes a disk-shaped heart valve that is connected to a radially collapsible stent for minimally invasive implantation,
Recently, a great amount of research has been done to reduce the trauma and risk associated with conventional open heart valve replacement surgery. In particular, the field of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has exploded since the early to mid-1990s, with devices now being available to enable valve replacements without opening the chest cavity. MIS heart valve replacement surgery still typically requires bypass, but the excision of the native valve and implantation of the prosthetic valve are accomplished via elongated tubes or cannulas, with the help of endoscopes and other such visualization techniques.
Some examples of more recent MIS heart valves are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,552 to Anderson, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,570 to Simpson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,959 to Robertson, et al., PCT Publication No. 00/047139 to Garrison, et al., and PCT Publication No. WO 99/334142 to Vesely. Although these and other such devices provide various ways for collapsing, delivering, and then expanding a xe2x80x9cheart valvexe2x80x9d per se, none of them disclose an optimum structure for tissue valves. For instance, the publication to Vesely shows a tissue leaflet structure of the prior art in FIG. 1, and an expandable inner frame of the invention having stent posts in FIGS. 3A-3C. The leaflets are xe2x80x9cmounted to the stent posts 22 in a manner similar to that shown in FIG. 1.xe2x80x9d Such general disclosures as in Vesely stop short of explaining how to construct a valve in a manner that maximizes long-term efficacy. In particular, the means of attaching the leaflets to the MIS stent is critical to ensure the integrity and durability of the valve once implanted. All of the prior art MIS valves are inadequate in this regard.
Another problem with MIS valves of the prior art is their relatively large radial dimension during implantation. That is, these valves all utilize one or more radially-expanding stents coupled to a biological valve, and the assembly must be compressed radially and then passed through the lumen of a large bore catheter. Reducing the radial profile of the constricted valve via radial compression is problematic and conflicts with the need for sufficient circumferential length of the valve in its expanded state to fit within an adult heart valve annulus. Moreover, radial compression of the stent and biological valve must be done with great care so as not to damage the valve.
Some MIS valves of the prior art are intended to be used without removing the natural valve leaflets. Sometimes the natural leaflets are heavily calcified, and their removal entails some risk of plaque particles being released in the bloodstream. Therefore some of the MIS valves are designed to expand outward within the annulus and native leaflets, and compress the leaflets against the annulus. In doing so, a relatively uneven surface against which the valve is expanded outward is created. This irregularity creates sizing problems, and also may adversely affect the circularity of the expanded valve which negatively affects the valve efficacy by impairing leaflet coaptation.
Despite some advances in MIS valve design, there remains a need for a valve that can be constricted into a smaller package without damaging the biological valve within, and which can be reliably expanded generally into a tube against the relatively uneven surface of the annulus or annulus and intact native leaflets.
The present invention provides an expandable prosthetic heart valve for placement in a host heart valve annulus, comprising a stent body that is rolled into a compact configuration, implanted, then unrolled into a tubular shape and secured into place in the valve annulus. The valve is small enough in its contracted state to be passed down a delivery tube, thus avoiding the need for open heart surgery. Flexible membranes attach around large apertures in the inner wall of the stent body and have sufficient play to billow inward into contact with one another and form the one-way valve occluding surfaces. The stent may be one or two pieces, and the delivery and implantation may occur in one or two steps using one or two delivery tubes.
In a preferred embodiment, a prosthetic heart valve of the present invention suitable for minimally invasive delivery comprises a generally sheet-like stent body and a plurality of flexible, biocompatible membranes incorporated into the stent body to form heart valve leaflets. The stent body has a first, contracted configuration in which it is spirally-wound about an axis such that at least one winding of the stent body surrounds another winding. The stent body further has a second, expanded configuration in which it is substantially unwound and at least partly forms a tube centered about the axis and sized to engage an annulus of a patient""s heart valve. In accordance with one aspect, the stent body comprises a primary stent coupled to a secondary stent that at least partially fits within the primary stent. The flexible, biocompatible membranes are incorporated into the secondary stent. Alternatively, the stent body is formed of a single stent.
The stent body may have a plurality of sinus apertures with an outer edge of each biocompatible membrane fastening around the edge of an aperture. The sinus apertures may be generally semi-circular or generally oval. The outer edge of each membrane is desirably folded over to contact an inner surface of the stent body adjacent an edge of the associated aperture.
One embodiment of a heart valve of the present invention includes at least one guide to insure concentricity of the sheet-like stent body about the axis during a conversion between the first, contracted configuration to the second, expanded configuration. For example, the stent body may define a pair of opposed side edges that generally mate in the second, expanded configuration, and a pair of opposed end edges that extend between the side edges, and the at least one guide comprises a tab extending generally radially along each one of the end edges. Alternatively, the at least one guide comprises a tab extending generally radially from the stent body and a cooperating slot in the stent body circumferentially spaced from and axially aligned with the tab. In the latter case, the tab enters and is retained within the slot during the conversion between the first, contracted configuration to the second, expanded configuration.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the stent body defines a pair of opposed side edges that generally mate in the second, expanded configuration, and the stent body further includes lockout structure to retain the opposed side edges in mating engagement. The lockout structure may comprises tabs formed adjacent one of the side edges and apertures formed adjacent the other of the side edges that are sized to receive and retain the tabs. Desirably, the lockout structure both prevents further expansion of the stent body and contraction from the expanded tubular shape.
At least one anchoring barb may be provided extending radially outward from the stent body in the second, expanded configuration. Where the stent body defines a pair of opposed side edges that generally mate in the second, expanded configuration, and a pair of opposed end edges that extend between the side edges, the anchoring barb extends from one of the end edges.
Preferably, the stent body is formed of a single stent having an anchoring section on an inflow end, a sinus section, and an outflow section. The sinus section is between the anchoring section and outflow section, and has apertures for receiving flexible biocompatible membranes that form the occluding surfaces of the valve. Each biocompatible membrane fastens around the edge of an aperture, wherein the sinus apertures may be generally semi-circular and the outer edge of each membrane is folded over to contact an inner surface of the stent body adjacent an edge of an aperture. The outflow section may flare outward from the sinus section, and may include an apertured lattice, mesh or grid pattern.
The present invention further provides a method of prosthetic heart valve implantation, comprising providing a prosthetic heart valve in a spirally-wound contracted configuration, delivering the prosthetic heart valve in its contracted configuration through a delivery tube to a heart valve annulus, and unfurling the prosthetic heart valve from its contracted configuration to an expanded configuration that engages the heart valve annulus.
The prosthetic heart valve may comprise a single stent body having a plurality of flexible, biocompatible membranes incorporated therein that form heart valve leaflets in the expanded configuration. Alternatively, the prosthetic heart valve comprises a two-piece stent body with a primary stent and a secondary stent, wherein the steps of delivering and unfurling comprise delivering and unfurling the primary stent first and then delivering and unfurling the secondary stent within the primary stent. The secondary stent may be guided into coupling position within the primary stent using one or more guidewires. The method further may include anchoring the prosthetic heart valve in its expanded configuration to the heart valve annulus. If the native heart valve leaflets of the heart valve annulus are left in place, the step of unfurling causes the prosthetic heart valve to contact and outwardly compress the native leaflets. The step of unfurling further may include ensuring that the prosthetic heart valve remains generally concentric about a single axis, and also locking the prosthetic heart valve in its expanded configuration.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the invention will become apparent by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and drawings.

Rolled minimally-invasive heart valves and methods of use


A method of performing HARQ performed by a user equipment (UE) is provided. The method includes receiving a bundling indicator which indicates the number of bundled downlink subframes, determining whether at least one bundled downlink subframe is missed by comparing the bundling indicator with the number of detected bundled downlink subframes, generating a representative ACK/NACK signal when no bundled downlink subframe is missed, and transmitting the representative ACK/NACK signal on an uplink channel. Recovery capability is maximized and the packet loss is reduced in such a situation that less number of ACK/NACK signals are fed back than that of downlink packets.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communication, and more particularly, to a method for effectively transmitting a control signal in a wireless communication system.
2. Related Art
Next-generation mobile communication systems are being standardized for the purpose of efficient connection with wired and wireless communication networks and integrated service although communication systems of previous generations provide simple wireless communication services. As high-speed large-capacity communication systems capable of processing and transmitting information of various types such as video data and radio data as well as audio data are required, development of a technique capable of transmitting a large quantity of data, which corresponds to the capacity of a wired communication network, through a wireless communication network is needed. Accordingly, an appropriate error detection scheme which can minimize information loss and increase system transmission efficiency to improve system performance becomes an essential element.
Automatic Repeat request (ARQ) transmits positive acknowledgement (ACK) signal to a transmitter when a receiver properly receives data and transmits a negative acknowledgement (NACK) signal to the transmitter when the receiver does not properly receive the data. In Hybrid Automatic Repeat request (HARQ), an ACK/NACK signal transmitted by a data receiver is represented by a small number of bits, in general.
To improve data transmission efficiency in data processing, HARQ corresponding to a combination of ARQ and channel coding of a physical layer has been proposed. HARQ not only re-transmits data that is not received by a transmitter but also store data that is not received by a receiver. When the receiver receives re-transmitted data, the received data is added to the previously stored data to improve a performance gain.
Since the receiver uses additional feedback radio resources to feed back an ACK/NACK signal to the transmitter in HARQ, efficient use of limited feedback radio resources is very important.
Hereinafter, a downlink represents a communication link from a base station to a user equipment (UE) and an uplink represents a communication link from the UE to the base station. The downlink is also referred to as a forward link and the uplink is also referred to as a reverse link. A transmitter may be a part of the base station and a receiver may be a part of the UE in the downlink. The transmitter may be a part of the UE and the receiver may be a part of the base station in the uplink.
A method of discriminating radio resources used for downlink transmission from radio resources such as frequency, time and code domains used for uplink transmission is required. This method is referred to as duplex. The uplink and the downlink can be discriminated from each other in the frequency, time and code domains as does in a multiple access scheme for identifying different users. The duplex is classified into frequency division duplexing (FDD) which discriminates the uplink and the downlink from each other according to frequency and time division duplexing (TDD) which discriminates the uplink and the downlink from each other according to time.
The uplink is discriminated from the downlink in the frequency domain in FDD, and thus transmission of data between a base station and a UE can be continuously performed in the time domain in each link. While FDD is suitable for symmetric service such as voice communication because it symmetrically allocates frequencies having the same level to the uplink and the downlink, TDD is suitable for asymmetric service such as Internet service and thus researches on the TDD have been actively carried out recently.
TDD is suitable for the asymmetric service because it can allocate time having different lengths to the uplink and the downlink. Furthermore, uplink data and downlink data are transmitted and received in the same frequency band in TDD, and thus uplink and downlink channel states correspond to each other. Accordingly, TDD is suitable for array antenna technology because a channel state can be immediately estimated when a signal is received. TDD uses the entire frequency band as the uplink or the downlink, discriminates the uplink from the downlink in the time domain, uses the frequency band as the uplink for a predetermined time and uses the frequency band as the downlink for a predetermined time, and thus transmission and reception of data between a base station and a UE cannot be simultaneously performed.
When a base station transmits downlink data in a mobile communication system, a UE transmits ACK/NACK signals with respect to the downlink data to the uplink after a predetermined lapse of time. If the time used for downlink transmission is longer than the time used for uplink transmission, the number of ACK/NACK signals to be transmitted to the uplink may be restricted. That is, a single UE should transmit ACK/NACK signals by using a number of ACK/NACK resources smaller than N for received N downlink packets. Accordingly, there is a need for an ACK/NACK signal transmitting method capable of minimizing packet loss and maximizing recovery capability even when a number of ACK/NACK signals smaller than the number of downlink packets are fed back.

Method for effectively transmitting control signal in wireless communication system