It is an object of the invention to measure the change in action potential waveforms during administration of a drug by testing in cultured cells or in animals, and using this measurement to evaluate the influence of administration of the drug on biological parameters, thereby providing an approach to evaluating the effect on individual channels of a cell. The invention provides a biological parameter output apparatus that contains at least one piece of waveform information that includes at least one piece of biological parameter information, which is a set of a biological parameter identifier and a biological parameter value, and action potential waveform information, receives input of action potential waveform information, acquires at least one piece of biological parameter information based on the action potential waveform information, and outputs the at least one biological parameter information acquired. With this biological parameter output apparatus, it is possible to evaluate the effect on individual channels of a cell.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a biological parameter output apparatus and the like that estimates a biological parameter on which the effect and the like of administration of a drug and the like are exerted, by supplying, as input, the change in the action potential waveform of a cell membrane, using an action potential simulation.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, it is necessary to carry out various evaluations, including for example, the evaluation of prolongation of the QT interval in the electrocardiogram, as the testing of new drugs. Pharmaceutical companies and the like perform testing such as testing in cultured cells, testing in animals and testing on humans to test the changes exerted by these new drugs on various parameters of biological bodies and to check the effect, safety and the like.
Further, a simulation method and apparatus for diffusion of drugs in living tissues are available that enable accurate analysis of the diffusion phenomena of drugs in living tissues (see Patent Document 1). Such a simulation method is a method for simulating in-vivo diffusion of a specific substance using the finite element method, including: determining a reference diffusion property constant in a biological body using a portion of tissues separated from the biological body, without using the finite element method; setting a reference diffusion property based on the reference diffusion property constant; determining a living structure that is to be analyzed, based on the finite element method; computing diffusion in the living structure determined using the reference diffusion property constant, based on the finite element method; comparing a computed diffusion property according to a computation result of diffusion in the biological body based on the finite element method with the reference diffusion property determined without using the finite element method, and correcting the reference diffusion property constant such that a deviation between the computed diffusion property and the reference diffusion property is the minimum, thereby calculating an optimum diffusion property coefficient based on finite element method.
In addition, an arteriosclerosis degree measurement method is available that involves storing reference information of a plurality of arterial pressure waveforms respectively corresponding to stages of arteriosclerosis is stored, comparing them with arterial pressure waveform information obtained from an artery of a biological body, and outputting the age of a similar waveform (see Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3).
Furthermore, as a related technique, a simulation apparatus is available that receives a biological parameter set as input, simulates a cell, and acquires action potential waveform information (see Non-Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1JP H08-016551A (e.g., page 1 and FIG. 1)Patent Document 2JP S61-119252A (e.g., page 1 and FIG. 1)Patent Document 3JP H03-015439A (e.g., page 1 and FIG. 1)
Non-patent Document 1 Nobuaki Sarai, Akinori Noma, "simBio: platform for biological dynamic model", the journal of Japan Society of Medical Electronics and Biological Engineering, BME, vol. 18, No. 2, p. 3-11, 2004 (issued in February 2004).

Biological parameter output apparatus and program


A pick-up assembly for moving an object off a surface. The pick-up assembly includes a conveyor subassembly extending between lower and upper ends thereof. The conveyor subassembly includes a conveying means extending between the lower and upper ends, for moving the object to the upper end. The pick-up assembly also includes two or more engagement devices positioned proximal to the lower end of the conveyor subassembly for engaging opposite sides of the object respectively, to move the object onto the conveyor belt.

For many years, forage has been cut and tied into bales of different dimensions. For example, a typical bale of hay 10 is formed which is about 18 inches wide (W), 14 inches high (H), and 35 inches in length (L) (FIG. 1A). However, as is well known in the art, the bales may have various other width and height dimensions (e.g., 16 inches×18 inches, or 18 inches×22 inches), and the length may vary between about 30 inches to about 48 inches. As can be seen in FIG. 1A, the bale customarily rests on a bottom wall (not shown) having an area of L×W, presenting an identical top wall (also having an area of L×W), and exposing two sidewalls, each with an area of H×W.
As is well known in the art, the bales may be positioned in rows on the ground in the field after they are formed, so that they may be conveniently picked up, for transportation and/or processing. However, the prior art devices for picking up bales, which typically are mounted on a machine or vehicle, have some disadvantages. For instance, in a common type of pick-up device of the prior art (not shown), chains are mounted on a conveyor, and the chains include teeth (or other similar grabbing means) that are partially embedded in the bale. The teeth are pressed into the bale upon the chain engaging the bale, and the bale is thereby held on the chain, so that the bale is then moved along the conveyor. However, the teeth can damage the bale somewhat when inserted, and/or when removed.
As is well known in the art, it is advantageous to pick up the bales when the machine is moving, e.g., the machine may travel at a speed of about 8 km/hr. to about 15 km/hr, picking up bales without stopping. However, with the pick-up devices of the prior art, the bale is sometimes not picked up quickly, and the bale is then pushed along the ground by the pick-up device for a distance before the bale is picked up. This delay in picking up the bale results in dirt becoming embedded in the bale, thereby causing potentially significant problems.


A reluctance type motor capable of rotating at a high speed with a large output torque includes transistors (20a.about.20f) connected to both ends of respective phase exciting coils (39a.about.39c), a current supply control circuit for successively activating the exciting coils in response to position detecting signals representing the rotational positions of a rotor, and diodes (21a.about.21f) connecting the exciting coils and capacitors (47a.about.47c). When a current supply to the exciting coil is stopped, one of the capacitors is promptly charged with the magnetic energy stored in the exciting coil to rapidly extinguish the magnetic energy and also an exciting current supplied to a subsequently activated exciting coil is rapidly built up by use of a charged voltage in the capacitor. The position detecting element is fixed at a required position on an armature, so that an advanced-phase current supply can be made in such a manner that the exciting current is supplied to the exciting coil before salient-poles begin to enter magnetic poles, and is continued during a predetermined large electric angle.

A known reluctance type motor comprises a stator having a plurality of magnetic poles and a rotatably supported rotor having a plurality of salient-poles. A magnetic attraction force is generated between the stator magnetic poles being successively excited and their corresponding rotor salient-poles so as to rotate the rotor.
The reluctance motor is advantageous in that it generates a large output torque and requires no magnetic rotor. On the other hand, a conventional reluctance type motor has a disadvantage such that its application field is unexpectedly limited due to the difficulty of a high-speed operation.
That is, an exciting coil of the reluctance type motor has a large inductance, and thus the magnetic energy stored in the exciting coil becomes very large. Accordingly, it requires a significant time for storing or discharging the magnetic energy. In other words, a building-up and a trailing-edge of the exciting current are undesirably delayed.
Furthermore, the magnetic energy storage and discharge in a magnetic pole are so frequently repeated during one complete revolution that a torque reduction occurs together with a counter torque. Moreover, in a last stage of a current supply period, an exciting current not contributing to the generation of an output torque will increase to cause a large joule loss. As a result, an operational efficiency of the motor is lowered and, therefore, its rotational speed is remarkably reduced.
If so-called advanced-phase current supply method, in which an exciting current is supplied to the exciting coil well before the salient-poles enter the magnetic poles, is applied to drive a reluctance type motor at a high speed, a disadvantage is usually recognized such that the motor output torque will not be generated and a copper loss will take place in a section, for example, of a 30-degree advanced phase angle, or an output torque generating section becomes fairly short. More specifically, the motor output torque is reduced and a torque ripple will be generated.
If the number of salient-poles and the number of magnetic poles are increased in order to increase the output torque of the motor, the time periods required for building up and trailing off the exciting current will increase due to the stored magnetic energy, causing a marked fall of rotational speed; the construction of the motor becomes complicated; and its size inevitably increases. Especially, in the case of a three-phase full-wave reluctance motor requiring a greater number of salient-poles and magnetic poles, it is normally difficult to realize a high-speed rotation and a substantial reduction of its dimensions.
Moreover, if a high-voltage electric power source is used in order to sharply build up the exciting current at an initial stage of current supply to the exciting coil, other problems occur, such as the exciting current building up too steeply when the magnetic poles reach their magnetically saturated point to causing yibrations and electric noises.
Furthermore, another problem of the conventional reluctance type motor is that a large magnetic attraction force caused between the magnetic poles and the salient-poles acts in a wrong direction in which the large magnetic attraction force cannot contribute to an output torque generation. Also, there is another problem that an extremely large torque is generated immediately after the salient poles begin to face the magnetic poles, whereas the torque becomes small shortly before the salient poles directly face the magnetic poles, thereby causing ripple of the output torque.


A method of estimating a capacitance of each resource in a programmable logic device (PLD) is described. The current drawn by a reference circuit implemented in the PLD is measured at a given frequency and operating voltage. The capacitance of the reference circuit is calculated using the current drawn, the frequency, and the operating voltage. The current drawn by a resource load coupled to the reference circuit is measured at the given frequency and operating voltage. The capacitance of the resource load coupled to the reference circuit is calculated using the current drawn, the frequency, and the operating voltage. The capacitance of the resource load may be calculated by subtracting the capacitance of the reference circuit from the capacitance of the resource load coupled to the reference circuit.

The present invention relates to programmable logic devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to estimation of resource capacitances within a programmable logic device.
Logic devices may be roughly divided into two categories: fixed logic devices and programmable logic devices (PLDs). Fixed logic devices, such as microprocessors and application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), have internal logic fully determined at the end of the design cycle. The design reached at the end of the fixed logic device design cycle is implemented during fabrication into the fixed logic device. This implemented logic may be tested to measure the dynamic power required by the fixed logic device. Dynamic power is the power consumption of the logic device due to the switching of internal nodes and inputs and outputs in an active device. Because all fixed logic devices implementing the same design are identically fabricated, determining the dynamic power used by one fixed logic device provides an estimate of the dynamic power used by all fixed logic devices implementing the same design. As a result, fixed logic devices have a known range of dynamic power usage.
In contrast, the end of the design cycle of a PLD, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), occurs after the PLD is fabricated. Thus, while the programmable logic is implemented in the PLD at fabrication, a particular internal configuration logic of these PLDs is determined by a user after PLD fabrication. The internal logic of a PLD is defined by creating connections between the internal resources of the PLD (e.g. interconnect lines, look-up tables, and flip-flops). Additionally, with the advent of reprogrammability, the same PLD may have many different implemented designs at different times. Because different designs may be implemented in the logic within a PLD, the dynamic power required by the PLD may not be measured until the particular design to be implemented is defined and implemented in the PLD. Note that while it is possible to measure the power used by a particular design by standard means after a design is implemented within a PLD, it would be useful to obtain an estimation of power used by a particular design prior to the implementation of the design in the PLD. To this end, it would be desirable to provide a generic method that captures all the internal capacitances of the resources within a PLD for use with a tool to estimate power.
Power in a CMOS logic device is measured by the following equation:
P=C*V2*fxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(Equation 1)
where C is the capacitance of all of the resources within the logic device, V is the operating voltage of the logic device, and f is the operating clock frequency of the logic device.
In PLDS, a user may select different resources to form different designs, in addition to selecting the operating clock frequency for the design. For example, a first user design, created from a first set of PLD resources in a particular PLD may consume 10W of power while a second user design created from a second set of resources in that PLD may consume 20W of power. Thus, the power used by a PLD for a given design depends on the resources used by that design. Therefore, Equation 1 (the power equation) is modified for PLDs to measure power used by each resource, as shown by the following equation:                     P        =                              ∑            i                          xe2x80x83                                                      xe2x80x83                                                        C              i                        *                          V              2                        *            f                                              (                  Equation                                xe2x80x83                              2                )
where Ci is the capacitance of the ith resource within the PLD, V is the operating voltage of the PLD, and f is the operating clock frequency of the PLD. Both the operating voltage and the operating clock frequency are determined by the user. Thus, only the capacitance of each resource within the PLD is unknown.
It would be desirable to provide a power estimating tool to generate the power analysis for a particular design implemented in a PLD. For example, a power estimator may be a piece of software which takes as parameters a design definition file (e.g. a .ncd file) and user parameters (e.g. operating frequency of the design) and in return provides an estimate of the power consumption of the PLD implementing that design. However, to estimate power in this way using Equation 2, the capacitance of each resource on the PLD used in the design must be known. The presence of PLD device packaging as well as the small scale of the silicon die precludes the direct measurement of the capacitance of individual PLD resources. Thus, a tool estimating power in a PLD according to Equation 2 first requires a capacitance of each resource used for a particular design within the PLD. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a method for estimating capacitances within a PLD to serve as a basis for such a power estimating tool.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a method of estimating a capacitance for each quantifiable resource in a programmable logic device (PLD). Note that because some resources in a PLD are always instantiated together, these co-instantiated resources are grouped as one resource for the purpose of determining capacitance. The current drawn by a reference circuit implemented in the PLD is measured at a given frequency and operating voltage. The capacitance of the reference circuit is calculated using the current drawn, the frequency, and the operating voltage. The current drawn by a resource load coupled to the reference circuit is measured at the given frequency and operating voltage. The capacitance of the resource load coupled to the reference circuit is calculated using the current drawn, the frequency, and the operating voltage. The capacitance of the resource load may be calculated by subtracting the capacitance of the reference circuit from the capacitance of the resource load coupled to the reference circuit. Each resource within the PLD may be sequentially used as a resource load, thereby determining the capacitance of each resource within the PLD as described above.
To ensure that the currents drawn by the reference circuit and the resource load coupled to the reference circuit are sufficiently large enough to measure, multiple identical reference circuits may be implemented in the PLD. Using multiple identical reference circuits, a proportionally larger total current is drawn. As a result, noise margins and resolution are improved in the power calculation. The total current drawn by all of the reference circuits, along with the frequency and the operating voltage, is used to determine a total reference circuit capacitance. This total reference circuit capacitance is divided by the number of reference circuits to estimate a capacitance for each individual reference circuit. Similarly, multiple identical loads are coupled to the reference circuit, respectively. The total current drawn by all of the reference circuits plus the loads (i.e., loaded reference circuit) is measured and used to determine a total loaded reference circuit capacitance. The capacitance of one loaded reference circuit is estimated by subtracting the total reference circuit capacitance from the total loaded reference circuit capacitance and dividing by the number of reference circuits.

Determination of capacitances of individual resources in programmable logic devices


An assembly for loading a self-expanding prosthetic heart valve into a delivery device includes a support member including a body and a backing plate. The body has a longitudinal axis, a base end, a second end, and a recess extending along the longitudinal axis from the second end toward the base end. The recess has a bottom member defining a seating surface adapted to support the prosthetic heart valve. The backing plate is fixed to the body so as to define a void space between the backing plate and the body. The backing plate includes an inlet port and the recess includes a plurality of outlet ports. The inlet and outlet ports are in fluid communication with the void space. When the heart valve is received on the seating surface, each outlet port is rotationally aligned with a corresponding pocket formed between first and second cuffs of the heart valve.

The present disclosure relates to prosthetic heart valve implantation and, more particularly, to assemblies and methods for loading a self-expanding collapsible heart valve into a delivery device.
Prosthetic heart valves may be formed from biological materials such as harvested bovine valves or pericardial tissue. Such prosthetic valves are typically fitted within a stent, which may be inserted into the heart at the annulus of the compromised native valve to replace the functioning of the native valve. To perform such insertion procedure using a minimally invasive technique, it is typically necessary to compress the stent to a reduced diameter for loading into the delivery device.
In the case of prosthetic valves formed from biological materials, the stented valve is preferably preserved in the open condition for storage as compression of the valve material for extended periods may compromise the integrity of the biological valve. It may therefore be necessary to crimp the valve, or reduce its diameter for loading into the delivery device, in the operating arena.
Present crimping devices and methods for collapsing a stented valve, including direct radial assemblies, have proven to be unsatisfactory as they include bulky assemblies, are difficult to master, are time consuming to use, impart undue stress on the stented valve, and/or exhibit other undesirable qualities. Moreover, it is sometimes difficult to securely engage the stent with a retaining element of the delivery device. Further, prosthetic heart valves that incorporate two separate cuff layers may present particular difficulties in loading the valve into the delivery device, which are not encountered with prosthetic heart valves that incorporate a single cuff layer. It would therefore be beneficial to be able to collapse a stented bioprosthetic heart valve using apparatus and techniques that overcome the deficiencies of conventional devices. In addition, such devices and methods could be useful in loading the collapsed stented valve into a minimally invasive delivery device.

St. Jude Medical, Cardiology Division, Inc.


The present technology relates to methods, systems and computer program products for detecting objects in images captured by a camera of a mobile device. The detection of objects (such as barcodes, QR codes, and text) in images can be based at least in part on image gradients of the image. The image can be divided into a plurality of regions, each having a dominant gradient direction. Based at least in part on the dominant gradient directions of the regions satisfying orientation thresholds, the regions can be identified as candidate or non-candidate regions for corresponding to a predetermined object. The candidate regions can be merged if they satisfy a connecting criterion. The merged regions can then be analyzed to determine if the merged regions satisfy a geometric property of the predetermined object, such as having a rectangular shape substantially similar to that of a barcode.

Images produced by cameras on mobile electronic devices such as cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) are often of poor quality because cameras of the mobile electronic devices have inexpensive optics, small apertures, slow shutters and in many cases fixed-focus lenses. Such cameras often show blur (both motion and focus blur) and noise. Moreover, in situations where the lenses are close to the object, the depth of field is poor and the blur problem grows worse with the introduction of varying amounts of blur through the images produced by different lenses. Illumination variations are an additional problem and cannot be rectified easily using the flash on cell phone cameras, since the flash on these devices is usually not strong enough and tends to create illumination variations.
Some efforts have been made to identify objects captured in images produced by cameras of poor quality. However, conventional systems for detecting objects captured by such images are often complex and require extensive computation by the processor of the camera device. One type of conventional system uses a number of filters that each analyze and process the image for objects associated with that filter. However, such system utilizes a large amount of processing power. There is, therefore, a need for a robust and efficient method and system for detecting predetermined objects in images of varying quality produced by mobile electronic devices such as cell phones and PDAs.

Detecting objects in images using image gradients


A data communication method and apparatus for a retail organization is disclosed. In the method an intermediate data processing entity generates a set of data for sending to at least one mobile terminal based on data from at least one data processing device associated with the retail organization and send the generated set of data to the at least one mobile terminal. At least one mobile terminal may send user data to the intermediate data processing entity. Upon receipt of user data from at least one mobile terminal the received user data is processed in the intermediate data processing entity to determine if data is to be communicated from the intermediate data processing entity. If it is determined that communication of data is needed, data can be communicated to at least one of a data processing device associated with the retail organization and at least one mobile terminal.

A common model of selling and delivering, or retailing, goods and/or services in a wide geographical area is to have a plurality of local or regional sales organizations. The local organizations cover each a different country or a specific area, for example a part of a continent. The local organizations can have a varying degree of responsibility in locally organizing the actual sales and delivery of goods and/or services to consumers or other clients.
Selling of automotive products, for example cars, accessories and/or parts thereof, can be mentioned as an example of a global retail organization where a great number of local organizations, possible smaller intermediate organizations, and typically thousands of dealers are involved. Thus the manner how automotive products dealerships can be organized will be used in this description as an example of a global retail organization.
In a typical sales organization for automotive products a manufacturer with global markets communicates with a national or regional higher level sales organization in each country or region. The head offices of the national organizations then communicate either directly with dealers in different areas, or with a further organizational layer such as a state level sales organization. Even the national level is then typically divided into a plurality zones or areas, each typically with a number of sales units known as dealers. In the sales organization information is passed horizontally between the different levels.
A large multilayered organization typically requires substantial amount of resources to ensure that all those who need information coming from the top do receive it and also that any feedback is properly processed, such as filtered, and that any important information is not lost in the system but is fed back to the top level. Ensuring that appropriate information and training is communicated to correct recipients in timely fashion can require a considerable amount of administration and management resources. For example, managing of product launches and/or new product variations or modifications may require communication through multiple hierarchical layers, each equipped with their own systems. The communication may involve a number of different data processing systems, each introducing complexity to the system.
For example, the local retailing units are typically equipped with their own computerised information systems. In automotive products industry these are often referred to as dealer management systems. The local and intermediate level systems can be provided by a number of different suppliers and based on different software and hardware component, protocols and so on. The manufacturer's systems are typically based on big mainframe computers which may not be well suited for communication with distributed data systems. This all affects the interoperability between the systems in different locations and levels.
Access to higher level systems can be restricted so that the lower levels of an organization may have only limited access rights, if any rights at all, to the higher level systems. Even if the access rights are given for all relevant personnel, information may be obtained only in a particular location, for example via a computer terminal in the local sales office. This can inhibit the sales personnel from even trying to access the information, for example in the middle of sales negotiations in a showroom or forecourt. This can mean that the front line sales staff cannot easily access data available e.g. at the manufacturer's databases, in particular when there is an immediate need for the data for ensuring proper understanding of the product and efficient sales. There may also be interoperability problems and delays in communications between the various different local systems and the manufacturer's mainframe computers, which can further discourage efficient use of the data systems.
As a result the communication channel can be long, complex and difficult to use. There may also be severe interoperability, delay and engagement problems in communications. In addition to introducing complexity and delays to communications from the top to the bottom and vice versa, information and messages may get distorted, send to wrong recipients, and even worse, lost.
Occasions such as new product launches, for example introduction of a new car model, sales campaigns, special offers and so on can involve a considerable amount of communications between various organizational layers, travel and training sessions, and can therefore be very costly. More communications is also required because product life spans are getting shorter. There is also an increasing demand to make modifications to existing products and add new variations in relatively short notices. The inflexible management systems and multilayered communication channels may cause unnecessary delay in the communications of relevant information in such situations. The frontline sales personnel should nevertheless receive enough accurate information and training as quickly as possible to ensure smooth introduction of the new product lines, modifications and variations. The front line sales personnel should also be able to quickly feed back information of any feedback they receive from the clients and of any other observations they might have concerning the new or somehow altered products. Therefore anything that could shorten the communication channel, reduce the complexity and improve the quality of communications over the different hierarchy levels would be desired.

Communication method, apparatus and system for a retail organization


A catalyst component (X") obtained by treating an olefin polymerization catalyst (X) formed from (A) a solid titanium catalyst component comprising magnesium, titanium, halogen and an electron donor as essential ingredients, (B) an organoaluminum compound catalyst component, and as required, (C) an electron donor with an alpha-olefin by preliminarily polymerizing the alpha-olefin in an amount of 0.1 to 500 g per gram of the solid titanium catalyst component (A) in the presence of said catalyst (X), and contacting the treated catalyst (X') with at least 0.1 mole, per gram-atom of titaninum in the treated catalyst (X"), of oxygen. A process for producing the olefin polymerization catalyst component. A catalyst (Y) for olefin polymerization formed from [I] the above catalyst component (X"), [II] an organoaluminum compound catalyst component and as required [III] an electron donor. Also provided is a process for polymerizing olefins in the presence of the olefin polymerization catalyst (Y).

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a catalyst component for olefin polymerization which can give an olefin polymer, particularly an olefin copolymer in a high yield with a decreased amount of a by-product amorphous polymer, a process for producing the catalyst component, a catalyst for olefin polymerization, and a process for polymerizing olefins in the presence of the catalyst.
Olefin polymers, particularly olefin copolymers produced by using the catalyst component of the present invention have a low proportion of amorphous polymers. Films produced from these olefin polymers or copolymers, therefore, have excellent antiblocking property. As a result, the amount of an antiblocking agent such as silica can be decreased, and a film having excellent transparency can be obtained.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many proposals have already been made on the method of producing a solid titanium catalyst component comprising magnesium, titanium, halogen and an electron donor as essential ingredients. It is known that the use of this solid titanium catalyst component in the polymerization of alpha-olefins having at least 3 carbon atoms can give highly stereoregular olefin polymers.
However, olefin copolymers obtained by using the solid titanium catalyst components so far proposed contain large amounts of by-product amorphous polymers, and film products prepared from these copolymers have the defect of being inferior in antiblocking property. This necessitated the incorporation of an antiblocking agent such as silica powder in the polymers, and the resulting films tend to have reduced transparency.

Olefin polymerization catalyst component, process for production thereof, olefin polymerization catalyst, and process for polymerizing olefins


There is provided an electronic component excellent in moisture resistance capable of ensuring electrical connection between electrodes and hermeticity of a sealed region including a vibrating part and suppressing an increase in size. An electronic component including a piezoelectric element provided with a vibrating part and a first electrode on one face of a piezoelectric substrate and a printed circuit substrate having a second electrode is constituted by including: a bump provided in advance on one of the first electrode and the second electrode and connected to the other of the first electrode and the second electrode; an annular first metal layer surrounding the vibrating part; and a solder material with a solidus temperature lower than the bump, sealing a space between the first metal layer and the printed circuit substrate to make a placement region of the vibrating part a hermetic space, whereby moisture permeation into the hermetic space and the outward spread of the solder material can be suppressed, and a space for the bump to spread by being melted can be omitted. Moreover, the electrical connection between the electrodes and the sealing of the placement region can be performed in separate processes, so that high hermeticity can be obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic component including a piezoelectric element provided with vibrating part which generates a vibrational wave on a substrate and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an example of a piezoelectric element, there is a surface acoustic wave (SAW) element. This SAW element is an element which uses a surface acoustic wave propagating along the surface of a solid body and, for example, has a structure in which plural comb electrodes making pairs called ITDs are provided on one face of a piezoelectric substrate. When an electrical signal is applied to comb electrodes making one pair, an electric field is generated around these comb electrodes, a SAW generated by excitation of these comb electrodes propagates along the surface of the piezoelectric substrate to excite comb electrodes making another pair, and the SAW is converted into an electrical signal in these comb electrodes. For example, a SAW filter, for example, as one of the SAW elements obtains a filtering function using such a conversion, and it is widely used, for example, for a portable electronic device.
The SAW element needs to secure an active region as a space for the comb electrodes to vibrate and for the SAW to propagate, and in order to prevent the comb electrodes from being corroded by moisture and damaged by impact, the active region needs to be sealed hermetically. Therefore, the SAW element is sometimes manufactured as one electronic component (SAW device) by being mounted on a printed circuit substrate and provided with a sealing member so that the active region is hermetically sealed. Various studies on materials used as the sealing member and methods for performing this sealing have been so far performed.
For example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 each disclose a SAW device in which a dam made of a photosensitive material and preventing a resin from flowing into an active region is provided on a functional face of a piezoelectric substrate of a SAW filter so as to surround comb electrodes, a paste resin is supplied so as to cover the outer periphery of the dam and the periphery of the piezoelectric substrate, then this resin is cured to become an exterior resin, and the active region is sealed by being surrounded with the exterior resin and the dam.
Patent Document 3 discloses that a first metal layer is provided on a functional face of a piezoelectric substrate of a SAW filter so as to surround input/output electrodes and comb electrodes, while an annular second metal layer is provided at a position corresponding to the first metal layer on a mounting face of a printed circuit substrate, and solder bumps on substrate electrodes on the printed circuit substrate side and a solder layer on the second metal layer on the printed circuit substrate side are formed, respectively, by printing. Cream solder is used for these solder bumps and solder layer. After the input/output electrodes are temporarily fixed onto the substrate electrodes via the solder bumps, for example, by ultrasonic thermocompression bonding, by carrying the piezoelectric substrate and the printed circuit substrate through a reflow furnace, the input/output electrodes of the SAW filter and the substrate electrodes of the printed circuit substrate are electrically connected by melting the solder bumps, and simultaneously the first metal layer and the second metal layer are bonded by melting the solder layer, thereby sealing an active region.
Patent Document 4 discloses a SAW device in which a first metal layer is provided on the entire peripheral side face of a piezoelectric substrate of a SAW filter, while a second metal layer is provided on a mounting face of a printed circuit substrate so as to surround a projection region of the piezoelectric substrate onto the mounting face, the SAW filter and the printed circuit substrate are electrically connected by bonding input/output electrodes on the piezoelectric substrate side and substrate electrodes on the printed circuit substrate side each via a solder material, and then the solder material is further supplied in a cylindrical shape so as to span the first metal layer and the second metal layer to thereby seal an active region.
Patent Document 5 discloses a SAW device in which an annular first metal layer is provided on a functional face of a piezoelectric substrate of a SAW filter so as to surround input/output electrodes and comb electrodes, while a second metal layer is provided at a position corresponding to the first metal layer on a mounting face of a printed circuit substrate, and by pressurizing the piezoelectric substrate with respect to the printed circuit substrate, the input/output electrodes of the piezoelectric substrate and substrate electrodes of the printed circuit substrate are thermocompression-bonded and electrically connected, and simultaneously the first metal layer and the second metal layer are thermocompression-bonded to thereby seal an active region.
However, in the SAW devices described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the dam and the exterior resin sealing the active region are both composed of an organic substance. Since the organic substance generally has higher moisture permeability than inorganic substances such as metal, there is a possibility that corrosion of the comb electrode cannot be sufficiently suppressed. In these SAW devices, for example, it is thought to suppress the corrosion by forming a protective film made of SiO2 (silicon oxide) on the comb electrode or increasing the thickness of the exterior resin, but when the protective film is formed, this protective film influences the vibration of the comb electrode, which may cause a degradation in the electrical property of the SAW filter. Moreover, when the thickness of the exterior resin is increased, these SAW devices may possibly increase in size.
In the SAW device described in Patent Document 3, using the cream solder as the bumps for connecting the input/output electrodes and the solder layer for sealing, the connection between the electrodes and sealing are performed simultaneously by melting the cream solder, and therefore the older bumps wet to the respective electrodes when melted, so that the occupied area of the solder bumps becomes larger. As a result, a reduction in the size of the SAW device may possibly be hindered.
Moreover, for example, in this Patent Document 3, it is suggested that Sn (tin)—Sb (antimony)-based and Sn—Ag (silver)-based solders are used as the solder materials, but since the solidus temperatures of these solder materials are generally low, for example, from about 218° C. to about 245° C., there is a possibility that when the SAW device is mounted on another electronic device by reflowing, the solder bumps and the solder layer are melted again by heat of the reflow furnace, the electrical connection between the SAW filter and the printed circuit substrate is damaged, and that the solder layer is not uniformly fixed to respective portions when solidified after reflowing, so that the hemeticity of the active region lowers.
Further, in the SAW device described in Patent Document 4, the first metal layer is provided on the entire peripheral side face of the piezoelectric substrate of the SAW filter, but considering that the SAW filter is generally manufactured by being cut to have a predetermined size after comb electrodes are formed on the piezoelectric substrate and that the thickness of one piezoelectric substrate is, for example, from about 0.3 mm to about 0.5 mm, it is technically difficult to provide the metal layer on the entire peripheral side face of the piezoelectric substrate as described above, and even if it can be realized, it may cost a lot.
Furthermore, in the above SAW device, for sealing, the solder is supplied in a cylindrical shape so as to spread from the peripheral side face of the piezoelectric substrate of the SAW filter toward the outside on the printed circuit substrate, so that, for example, compared with when a metal layer is mounted on a functional face of a SAW filter and solder is supplied to the metal layer for sealing as in the SAW device described in Patent Document 3, the region to which the solder is supplied on the mounting substrate becomes larger. This may cause an increase in the size of the SAW device.
Moreover, in the SAW device described in Patent Document 5, the thermocompression bonding between the first metal layer and the second metal layer is performed simultaneously with the thermocompression bonding between the input/output electrodes and the substrate electrodes, but the printed circuit substrate is usually composed of ceramics or the like and therefore sometimes warps, which makes it difficult to uniformly thermocompression-bonding the electrodes and the metal layers, and raises a concern about problems such as poor connection and non-ensuring of hermeticity.
From the above circumstances, a SAW device excellent in moisture resistance and productivity capable of suppressing an influence on the electrical connection between electrodes and the hermeticity of the sealed region when it is heated for mounting on another electronic component, and further suppressing an increase in size has been demanded.
(Patent Document 1)
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 8-316778 (Paragraph numbers 0009, 0010 and FIG. 2)
(Patent Document 2)
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-64732 (Paragraph number 0024 and FIG. 1)
(Patent Document 3)
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-153579 (Paragraph numbers 0045 to 0047, 0061, 0062 and FIG. 2)
(Patent Document 4)
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 9-289429 (Paragraph number 0010 and FIG. 1)
(Patent Document 5)
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-214469 (Paragraph number 0040 and FIG. 1)

Electronic component and manufacturing method thereof


A data generation method by a computer is disclosed. First waveform data including marking information at a first position on a waveform, and acquiring second waveform data are acquired. A transformation function is specified that transforms the first waveform data to reduce the difference between a first value of a time axis for a first characteristic point in the first waveform data and a second value of the time axis for a second characteristic point, in the second waveform data, corresponding to the first characteristic point. Third waveform data are generated, in which the marking information is applied at a second position corresponding to the first position in the first waveform data, the second position being determined by using the transformation function.

Recently, a technology of an electro-cardiogram analysis using AI (Artificial Intelligence) has been developed. An electro-cardiogram (ECG) provides important information for a diagnosis of a cardiac condition. The ECG illustrates arrhythmias and an abnormal conduction of excitation. If there is a delay or an interruption of conduction in a right leg or a left leg, a unique ECG pattern is illustrated. It is also known that an ST portion and a T wave in the ECG are altered from a normal waveform in a patient with angina pectoris or a myocardial infarction.
The ECG analysis using AI is known to use annotated data to accurately classify the arrhythmias by a deep learning.
[Non-Patent Document 1]    Rajpurkar P et al., "Cardiologist-Level Arrhythmia Detection with Convolutional Neural Networks", 6 Jul. 2017.

Data generation method, computer-readable recording medium, and information processing apparatus


A method and apparatus for reducing noise in a communication signal is provided. The method includes converting raw channel data from the communication signal to a sequence of transition code symbols, each symbol having a plurality of bits, each bit having a position within the symbol. The method also includes sending the bits of each symbol to a plurality of bins, each bin corresponding to the position of each bit within the symbol. For each bin having a number of transitions greater than a number of non-transitions, the method also includes flipping every bit in the bin and setting a corresponding bit in a flip control word to a first value. The method still further includes binary adding the flip control word to each transition code symbol.

Jitter is the time variation of a periodic signal in electronics and telecommunications, often in relation to a reference clock source. Jitter may be observed in characteristics such as the frequency of successive pulses, the signal amplitude, or phase of periodic signals. Jitter is a significant, and usually undesired, factor in the design of almost all communications links. Jitter in magnetic media often constitutes the dominant source of signal noise. On average, jitter contributes eighty percent (80%) of signal noise, versus twenty percent (20%) of AWG (additive white Gaussian) noise, in modern perpendicular recording media.
Data transitions can contribute to the presence of jitter in a communication signal. In a sequence of data bits, a change from a one to a zero, or from a zero to one, represents a transition. As data transitions increase in a communication signal, a corresponding increase in jitter can be seen. As a result, as transition density in a communication channel increases, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the signal decreases.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for improved high-rate transition control code for reducing jitter noise in magnetic recording channels.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

High-rate transition control code for magnetic recording channels


Disclosed is a method of designing an ophthalmic lens including the steps of: (a) determining a preliminary lens shape by preliminary determining a shape of the ophthalmic lens; and (b) varying the preliminary lens shape so as to adjust a position of an image surface at which MTF value is maximized, such that the position of the image surface matches a desired focal length of said ophthalmic lens. A resulting ophthalmic lens constructed according to this method is also disclosed.

The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-159654 filed on May 28, 2001 including the specification, drawings and abstract is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel method of designing ophthalmic lenses including a contact lens, an intraocular lens and a spectacle lens, which permits a high-precise and quick design of a lens shape capable of providing a desired refractive power. The present invention relates also to an ophthalmic lens provided according to this method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, contact lenses, intraocular lenses, spectacle lenses, and various other ophthalmic lenses have been provided in order to correct or otherwise improve the refractive abnormalities of the human eyes. An important issue concerning these lenses is to precisely establish a refractive power needed for the eyes worn with these lenses.
An refractive power of an ophthalmic lens can basically be obtained according to known equations based on Snell""s Law, while taking into account of configurations of the front and back surfaces of the lens, lens thickness, and the refractive index of the lens material.
However, an inherent problem of optical lenses, i e., effects of aberrations makes it practically impossible to provide a desired refractive power to every light rays passing through the various points on a lens. When the lens is designed and shaped on the basis of a specific refractive power existing at a certain point on the lens surface, the lens is very likely to fail in providing the desired refractive with consideration for the total range of the optical zone.
In practical cases of single-focus ophthalmic lenses for correcting myopia, hyperopia, and the like, for example, a front and a back lens surface are usually provided with a spherical shape having a single radius of curvature. This arrangement may cause significant spherical aberration, particularly when such a single-focus ophthalmic lens has high refractive power. This makes it difficult to obtain the desired refractive power with high accuracy. In multifocal lenses for presbyopia and the like, a plurality of concentric or otherwise structured segmented optical areas may be formed inside the optical zone. Such a multifocal lens is provided with a complex surface configuration in which surfaces of the segmented optical areas have spherical shapes with mutually different radii of curvature. This complex surface configuration of the multifocal lens causes an increase of spherical aberration as viewed over the entire range of the optical zone, and generates interference between the segmented optical areas that makes it more difficult to stably obtain the desired refractive power as long as the plurality of segmented optical areas are considered together. As to contact lenses, typical tendency in designing back surfaces of the lenses affects both single-focus and multifocal lenses. Namely, the back surface of a contact lens is generally provided with a relatively small radius of curvature in conformity with a cornea of a wearer, whereby the effect of spherical aberration becomes even more significant, making it difficult to obtain the desired refractive power with high precision in the entire optical zone.
To cope with these drawbacks, one method has been proposed wherein ray tracing is performed at numerous points in the optical zone to trace and analyze paths of light rays through the optical zone, and an optimal lens surface configuration is designed on the basis of analysis results to accurately establish the desired refractive power, for example. However, this method requires complex and time-consuming calculations for analyzing the paths of the light rays at the numerous points by the ray tracing, and suffers from difficulty in determining the overall configuration of the lens surface on the basis of the mutually independent analysis results obtained for the numerous points in the optical zone, as well. Therefore, the proposed method is not always effective.
Another method has also been proposed wherein MTF (modulation transfer function) is used to evaluate the effect of aberration in an ophthalmic lens whose shape is designed on the basis of general optical equations derived from Snell""s Laws. However, such a conventional method merely involves a use of MTF as a simple aberration evaluation means, and fails to propose an effective design method to provide ophthalmic lenses capable of generating desired refractive powers.
It is therefore one object of this invention to provide a novel method of designing an ophthalmic lens in which a desired refractive power is given to an optical zone of the lens with ease and high precision, while taking into account of the effect of aberration.
It is another object of this invention to provide an ophthalmic lens whose optical zone is designed to provide a desired refractive power with high precision.
The above and/or optional objects of this invention may be attained according to at least one of the following modes of the invention. Each of these modes of the invention is numbered like the appended claims and depending from the other mode or modes, where appropriate, to indicate possible combinations of elements or technical features of the invention. It is to be understood that the principle of the invention is not limited to these modes of the invention and combinations of the technical features, but may otherwise be recognized based on the teachings of the present invention disclosed in the entire specification and drawings or that may be recognized by those skilled in the art in the light of the present disclosure in its entirety.
(1) A method of designing an ophthalmic lens comprising the steps of: (a) defining a preliminary lens shape by preliminary determining a shape of the ophthalmic lens; and (b) varying the preliminary lens shape so as to adjust a peak position of MTF in relation to an image surface distance concerning the preliminary lens shape such that the peak position of the MTF conforms to a desired focal length of the ophthalmic lens.
According to the method of this mode of the invention, Modulation Transfer Function or MTF can be used as an index of an actual refractive power, and the preliminary lens shape is varied on the basis of the MTF measurements so as to establish a desired refractive power of the ophthalmic lens. This is unlike conventional lens design method wherein the MTF is simply utilized as a measure for evaluating aberrations. Described in detail, the present method utilizes MTF data computed concerning the preliminary lens shape, and detects an image distance or an image surface position where the MTF has a peak value. This image surface position is referred to as the xe2x80x9cpeak position of the MTFxe2x80x9d. An attention paid to the difference in distance between the peak position of the MTF (i.e., the image surface distance) and a desired focal position (i e., the desired focal length) of the ophthalmic lens has revealed that the difference between these distances provides indexes in the form of direction and magnitude, which are useful for varying the preliminary lens shape desirably. That is, the present method has been developed on the basis of a novel technical finding and concept that varying of the preliminary lens shape on the basis of these indexes makes it possible to define the desired refractive power of the ophthalmic lens with high accuracy. In the present method, accordingly, the peak position of the MTF is finally equal to the desired focal position, i.e., the desired focal length, thereby establishing an excellent actual refractive power of an obtained ophthalmic lens with high accuracy. As well known in the art, MTF describes the reduction in contrast of a pattern of lines, black and white, arranged at regular intervals, which is imaged through a lens. The MTF is given as a function of a spatial frequency, and is usually demonstrated on a graph in which the spatial frequency is used to enter the horizontal axis. In the present invention, however, the MTF is preferably demonstrated on a graph in which the refractive power is used to enter the horizontal axis, while fixing the spatial frequency at a predetermined value, whereby the MTF is recognized as a function of the refractive power.
The ophthalmic lens design method according to this mode of the present invention does not need as many as ray tracing or a similar calculations do the conventional lens design methods according to the ray tracing technique, and does not need as frequent as lens-shape varying processes do the conventional lens design methods in which the MTF is simply utilized for evaluating lens aberrations. Therefore, the present ophthalmic lens design method is capable of designing a shape of the ophthalmic lens that generates the desired refractive power with efficiency and accuracy.
Preferably, the following steps may be incorporated into the present method according to the mode (1) of the invention, for detecting the peak position of the MTF. This preferred mode will be described as a mode (2). (2) A method according to the above-described mode (1) of the invention further comprising the steps of: (c) determining an area to be designed within an optical zone of the ophthalmic lens with the preliminary lens shape; (d) determining a spatial frequency for the area to be designed; (e) determining a plurality of calculating positions within a predetermined range of the image surface distance in which a desired focal position of the ophthalmic lens is located, for the area to be designed; and (f) calculating the MTF by using the spatial frequency with respect to each of the plurality of calculating positions.
The preliminary lens shape may be determined according to known optics equations. For instance, the general formula for a thick lens in a paraxial region can calculate a radius of curvature of one lens surface, with the substitution of the desired refractive power, while being on the basis of a radius of curvature of the other lens surface, a thickness of a central portion of the lens positioned on an optical axis and a refractive index of a lens material. The term xe2x80x9coptical zonexe2x80x9d should be interpreted to mean an area having an ability to desirably correct a refractive power of a wearer""s eye. This optical zone is entirely or partially defined as the area to be designed. The term xe2x80x9cimage surface distance from the ophthalmic lensxe2x80x9d should be interpreted to represent an image position on the optical axis of the lens, in which light transmitted through the ophthalmic lens is imaged. This image position may be given as a distance form the ophthalmic lens as measured along a central axis of the ophthalmic lens, for example. The predetermined range of the image surface distance is preferably defined around the desired focal position of the ophthalmic lens such that the predetermined range extends from the desired focal position by a predetermined distance in opposite directions of the optical axis, thereby permitting a correction of deviation of a focal position as measured in the preliminary lens shape in both directions of the optical axis. In order to permit a detection or estimation of the peak position of the MTF, a suitable number of the calculating positions may be specified at suitable positions within the predetermined range of the image surface distance. Further, the spatial frequency for use in the calculation of the MTF may desirably be determined while taking into account of optical characteristics required for the ophthalmic lens. For the sake of facilitation of operation and interpretation of the obtained data, it is effective to conform the spatial frequency for the MTF calculation to a spatial frequency used in an inspection of a quality of the obtained ophthalmic lens. A variety of manners may be adoptable to vary the preliminary lens shape to adjust the obtained peak position of the MTF. For instance, the preliminary lens shape may be varied by adding to the preliminary lens shape a desired amount of lens power (diopter) enough to provide a refractive power that makes it possible to compensate the difference between the obtained peak position of the MTF and the desired focal position of the ophthalmic lens. Alternatively, the preliminary lens shape may be varied according to empirical formulas obtained by a great number of data collected in advance.
If a resultant amount of variation of the peak position of the MTF is well apparent form the executed variation of the preliminary lens shape, it is not essential to re-execute the MTF calculation on the basis of the varied preliminary lens shape, and reevaluate the relationship between the peak position of the re-obtained MTF and the desired focal position of the ophthalmic lens. Optionally, a combination of the processes of calculating the MTF and varying the preliminary lens shape is repeated several times so that the resultant preliminary lens shape provides the peak position of the MTF, which conforms to the desired focal position or focal length of the ophthalmic lens.
(3) A method according to the above-indicated mode (1) or (2), wherein the peak position of the MTF is adjusted by varying at least one of a front lens surface, a back lens surface and a lens thickness in the preliminary lens shape. In the ophthalmic lens design method according to this mode of the invention, the preliminary lens shape may be modified on the basis of the spatial direction and magnitude by which the peak position of the MTF and the desired focal position of the ophthalmic lens are shifted relative to each other, while taking into account of various kinds of data or wearers information. This permits a modification of the preliminary lens shape with a total view of the entire lens shape. Alternatively, the preliminary lens shape may be similarly modified, while taking into account of a specific part of the preliminary lens shape. This permits an effective re-defining of the lens shape on the basis of the MTF data.
In the latter case where the peak position of the MTF is adjusted based only on the lens shape of the specific part, it is possible to vary only one of the front and back surfaces in the preliminary lens shape, on the condition that the other one of the front and back surfaces in the preliminary lens shape is provided with a standard shape, while the lens thickness in the preliminary lens shape is determined according to strength, durability and/or other properties required for the ophthalmic lens, and is determined to have a standard dimension at a given position, such as a optical center of the lens. Consequently, the present method makes it possible to vary the preliminary lens shape with further enhanced facility and rapidity. Particularly, the present method is suitably adoptable for designing a contact lens, since it is effective for the contact lens to adopt a back surface whose shape is fixedly determined corresponding to a shape of a cornea of the wearer. In this case, for example, the shape of the front lens surface is varied with standard values given to the shape of the back lens surface and a lens thickness measured at a given position, whereby the peak position of the MTF is effectively adjusted.
(4) A method according to the above modes (1)-(3), wherein the preliminary lens shape is varied by adjusting at least one of a radius of curvature and an aspheric coefficient of at least one of a front lens surface and a back lens surface. According to the ophthalmic lens design method of this mode of the invention, the radius of curvature of the front and/or back lens surfaces is/are changed as needed, whereby the peak position of the MTF can be adjusted on the optical axis of the lens. Also, the aspheric coefficient of the front and/or back lens surfaces is/are changed as needed, whereby aberrations or other drawbacks of the lens can be suitably adjusted. Thus, the present ophthalmic lens design method makes it possible to adjust a refractive power or other optical characteristics of the lens with high accuracy.
(5) A method according to any one of the above-indicated modes (2)-(4), wherein the method is applied for designing a multifocal lens in which the optical zone includes a plurality of segmented optical areas having different focal lengths, said method further comprising the steps of: determining a plurality of said predetermined range of the image surface distance for a plurality of desired focal positions, respectively; calculating the MTF by using the spatial frequency so as to detects a plurality of the peak positions of the MTF corresponding to said plurality of said predetermined ranges of the image surface distance; and varying the preliminary lens shape such that the plurality of the peak positions of the MTF conform to the plurality of desired focal positions, respectively, within corresponding ones of the plurality of the predetermined ranges of said image surface distance. According to this mode of the invention, the ophthalmic lens design method of the present invention is effectively adaptable for designing a multifocal lens, which should be interpreted to include lenses having two or more segmented optical areas, e.g., a bi-focal lens. This method makes it enable to design with high accuracy the shape of the multifocal lens so as to provide desired refractive powers at respective segmented optical areas, where the all segmented optical areas are considered together in the process of calculating MTF, and interference between the plurality of segmented optical areas are taken into account It may be possible to independently perform ray tracing for each segmented optical area, and then to independently design each segmented optical area on the basis of the calculated MTF value as a result of the corresponding ray tracing. However, the present method makes it possible to calculate the MTF with the all segmented optical areas considered together, and to design simultaneously the all segmented optical areas on the basis of the plurality of MTF peak positions obtained in the MTF calculation. Thus, the present method permits more easier and rapider calculation of the MTF, while assuring a high accurate multifocal lens-shape design where the interface between the plurality of segmented optical areas are taken into consideration.
(6) A method according to any one of the above-indicated modes (1)-(5), wherein the optical zone includes a toric lens area provided with both of a spherical lens power and a cylindrical lens power that have desired focal positions, respectively, said toric lens area generating two of said peak positions of the MTF, and wherein the preliminary lens shape is varied in said toric lens area so that the two MTF peak positions of the toric lens area conforms to the desired focal positions of the spherical lens power and the cylindrical lens power, respectively. The ophthalmic lens design method according to this mode of the invention permits a desired lens design in which interaction between the spatial lend power and the cylindrical lens power taken into consideration, making it possible to precisely design desired refractive powers of the spherical lens and the cylindrical lens.
(7) A method according to any one of the above-indicated modes (2)-(6), further comprising the step of imaginary disposing an aplanatic lens having a given constant power in close contact with one of a front and a back lens surface of the ophthalmic lens with the preliminary lens shape, after the preliminary lens shape is determined, wherein the MTF is calculated with respect to the ophthalmic lens with the preliminary lens shape in which aplanatic lens is attached. According to this ophthalmic lens design method of this mode of the invention, the range of the image surface distance can be set to be closer to the ophthalmic lens with the preliminary lens shape and to be small in size, even in the case where the ophthalmic lens with the preliminary lens shape has a refractive power whose value is close to zero. That is, the present method is capable of limiting the required numbers of the MTF calculating positions and facilitating the required calculating process, while assuring high accuracy in designing the desired refractive power. If one of the opposite lens surfaces in the preliminary lens shape has the standard shape as defined in the above-indicated mode (2), for example, the present method is desirably performed on the assumption that the aplanatic lens is held in close contact with the corresponding lens surface having the standard shape. This arrangement makes sense theoretically, and makes it easier to calculate the lens shape.
(8) A method according to any one of the above-indicated modes (2)-(7), further comprising the steps of: calculating a center of gravity of total values of the MTF as measured within the predetermined range of the image surface distance, and defining a position of the center of gravity in relation to the image surface distance as a center-of-gravity image surface position, wherein the center-of-gravity image surface position is utilized as the peak position of the MTF, and the preliminary lens shape is varied so that the center-of-gravity image surface position conforms to the desired focal length of the ophthalmic lens. The ophthalmic lens design method according to this mode of the invention is capable of not only facilitating the detection of the peak position of the MTF, but also minimizing variation of errors of the position, thus improving reliability of the obtained design values. Further, the present design method is able to ensure a high accuracy in the resultant lens design effectively, even if the number of calculating positions for the MTF is made small, thereby improving operation efficiency with the help of the reduced amount of required calculation load. Since the center-of-gravity image surface position is utilized as the peak position of the MTF, it is effectively prevented or avoided that unexpected error signals. Affect the determination of the peak position. A variety of manners may be adoptable for specifying the center of gravity of the total values of the MTF in relation to image surface distance. For instance, the predetermined range of the image surface distance is defined around a desired center-of-gravity image surface position, so as to equally extend opposite sides of the desired center-of-gravity image surface position, and the plurality of calculating positions for calculating the MTF are determined within the predetermined range at regular intervals for calculating the MTF. The calculated MTF values obtained at respective calculating positions are processed by means of weight mean or alternatively integration, thereby specifying the center of gravity of the total MTF values in relation to the image surface distance.
(9) A method according to any one of the above-indicated modes (2)-(8), wherein the spatial frequency comprises a spatial frequency V expressed in a unit of length, and said spatial frequency V is converted to a spatial frequency U expressed in a unit of angle on the basis of a formula: U=Vxc3x97(1000/D)xc3x97(xcfx80/180), in which a desired refractive power D in said area to be designed is utilized, while the MTF is calculated by using the spatial frequency U. According to the ophthalmic lens design method of this mode of the invention, calculation errors due to the variation of the refractive power set in the preliminary lens shape can be eliminated or reduced, thus improving reliability of the obtained design value.
(10) A method according to any one of the above-indicated modes (2)-(9), wherein the predetermined range of the image surface distance is held within a range of a desired refractive power D of the ophthalmic lens xc2x11 diopter, for calculating the MTF. According to the ophthalmic lens method of this mode of the invention, a suitable range of the image surface distance, i.e., positions for image surfaces involved in calculating the MTF is effectively specified, permitting an effective lens design with a reduced amount of calculations. For an ophthalmic lens having a general configuration, preferably, the predetermined range of the image surface distance can be held within a range of the desired refractive power Dxc2x10.5 diopter, in view of generally expected errors, further easing a burden of the MTF calculation.
(11) A method according to any one of the above-indicated modes (2)-(10), wherein the step for calculating the MTF further includes the steps of: splitting the area to be designed into segments having a constant area, projecting a plurality of light rays on the area to be designed such that the plurality of light rays pass through substantially central portions of the segments, respectively, while being arranged with a pitch of 0.001-1 mm, and performing ray tracing with respect to the plurality of light rays. The ophthalmic lens design method according to this mode of the invention, makes it possible to reduce the amount of calculations required to obtain MTF value at each positions, while assuring a desired accuracy in the obtained MTF, resulting in a further ease of the burden of the calculation. A specific value of the pitch of the light rays may be suitably determined with the lens shape, the radius of curvature, and the lens diameter taken into consideration. Preferably, a pitch of 0.05-0.1 mm is adopted for use in a general lens, thus achieving both of a desired accuracy in lens designing and alleviation of the burden of calculation.
(12) A method according to any one of the above-indicated modes (2)-(11), wherein the area to be designed is specified as a circular area with a diameter of 2-10 mm. This method also permits the alleviation of the calculation burden while assuring the desired accuracy in the lens design. The same effects may be otherwise achieved by defining the area to be designed to amount to 5-95% of an entire area of the optical zone.
(13) An ophthalmic lens, characterized in that a lens shape of the ophthalmic lens is determined according to a method as defined in any one of the above-indicated modes (1)-(12). The ophthalmic lens fabricated according to the present invention can be designed to generate precisely a desired refractive power with the effect of aberration taken into account. Therefore, the ophthalmic lens of the present invention is capable establishing a required correction of a refractive power of a wearer""s eye, with high precision.

Ophthalmic lens design method and resulting ophthalmic lens


A drilling platform constructed from columns of box support members. Each column has one or more spreader support brackets extending toward another spreader support bracket on an opposite column. Outwardly flaring locking arms rise from the spreader support brackets. A locking aperture is contained in the flared portion of each locking arm. The mouth of the aperture is preferably at about a thirty degree angle to its base so that the mouth is generally facing up. Spreader beams connect the columns. Each spreader beam has a locking pin at each end. The spreader beams are lowered onto the support arms of each column. As they are lowered, the locking pins are aligned to engage the locking apertures and thereby secure the spreader beams to the columns. Once the spreader beams are in place, a work platform can be built on top of the columns and spreader beams.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to drilling platforms in general and drilling platform assemblies in particular.
2. Prior Art
Drilling platforms typically include a one or more box support members. The box support members are usually rectangular steel frameworks. Two or more box support members will often be stacked one upon the other until a desired height is reached. These box supports will be arrayed in parallel columns, leaving a gap between them. The gap will generally include the center line of the well being drilled or serviced. Thus, it is important that the support structure not obstruct the center line of the well. However, it is equally important that the structure be capable of supporting the tools and equipment that are used to work over the well.
To provide the requisite support while leaving the desired gap open, spreader beams spanning the gap are used to connect the parallel columns of box support members. The spreader beams are typically substantial steel girders. Together the spreader beams and the box support columns create a foundation on which a drilling or work platform may be constructed. Once the foundation is in place, heavy oil field equipment may be supported upon the platform.
Spreader beams are currently installed using a system of driven pins and apertures. Holes are contained in each end of the spreader. Matching holes are provided in the box support members. Spreader beams are raised into place with a crane. The holes must be physically aligned by workers who then drive the pins. There is very little tolerance for error in this process, as the alignment of the apertures must be precise. The necessary precision makes for tedious and repetitive adjustments with a crane, raising and lowering the spreader beams until the apertures are aligned precisely. While this is taking place, the workers driving the pins must be in the vicinity of the apertures to guide the crane operator and to physically guide the spreader beams into place. The required proximity of the workers to and frequent physical contact with the moving steel girders places the workers at risk for injury.
Drilling rigs are typically rented by the day, at rates of many thousands of dollars per day and up. Thus, excessive amounts of time spent constructing the platform foundation can be costly. Additionally, the high labor requirements of prior art platform construction increases the cost of erecting drilling and service rigs. Therefore, a drilling platform and methods of erecting the same meeting the following objectives is desired.

Method and apparatus for constructing drilling platforms without driven pins


The disclosure of this application is directed to a medicament injection adjunct which provides a source of sterile air for loading into a medicament syringe prior to use of the syringe for withdrawing liquid medicament from a multi-dose vial. The disclosure also describes the sequence of steps involved in loading the syringe with sterile air. Embodiments involving inclusion of the adjunct in a tandem medicament package and also use of the adjunct in hospital wards or outpatient areas are also described.

The present invention relates generally to a tube or reservoir which provides a source of clean air for injection into a multi-dose medicament vial prior to withdrawing medicament from the vial for injection into a patient. The invention also relates to a method for loading sterile air into the barrel of a syringe prior to use of the syringe to withdraw medicament from a multi-dose vial.
Liquid medication which is to be injected by needle is often sold in multi-dose containers. In some cases (e.g., insulin), as many as 50 or 60 doses or shots are contained in a single vial. The vials are fitted with a rubber diaphragm, and when a dose is to be administered, the needle of a syringe is pushed through the rubber membrane and the proper amount of liquid medicament is withdrawn for injection into the patient.
Since the vial is airtight, withdrawal of liquid medicament creates a partial vacuum inside the vial, and, after a few doses have been withdrawn, the vacuum becomes enough of a factor to make it difficult to withdraw any further doses. To compensate for this, the standard practice, each time a dose is to be administered, is to inject a quantity of air into the vial first, and then withdraw the medication. As described by Sorensen et al in Basic Nursing, page 949 et seq. (W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 1979), the standard procedure includes the following steps:
1. Cleanse the stopper of the vial with alcohol or Betadine. PA1 2. Draw into the syringe an amount of atmospheric air about equal in volume to the dose to be withdrawn from the vial. PA1 3. Push the syringe needle through the stopper of the vial, and inject air into the vial. Then withdraw the amount of medication needed. PA1 4. Proceed with injection of the patient.
A source of potential problems in the above standard procedure is that, if the atmospheric air should be contaminated, the contamination is incorporated in the dose of medication and is injected through the skin (normally the body's first line of defense against infection). Pathogens in the atmospheric air are thus introduced directly into the body tissues or blood, where they can cause serious infections. The problem is aggravated if the liquid medication (e.g., NPH insulin) contains suspended solids and must be shaken before the dose is withdrawn from the vial, and shaking is a common practice even when not necessary. In any case, shaking causes the contaminated air to be thoroughly mixed with the medicament. The problem is especially aggravated after 30 or 40 shots of contaminated air have been injected into the vial.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device and a method for overcoming the above-mentioned problems associated with the injection of atmospheric air into medicament vials.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a specially designed medicament injection adjunct for furnishing the air to be injected into medicament vials.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a sequence of method steps resulting in loading a medical syringe with sterile air and using such air to obtain a dose of medication for parenteral administration to patients.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the specification proceeds.

Device and method for maintaining sterility of multi-dose medicament vials


Light having high directivity and high uniformity is emitted. A light source apparatus (10) according to the present invention includes: a light emitting body group (11a) in which a plurality of light sources (11) that emit directional light are arranged on one surface; and a first visual field limiting film (12) that is provided on an optical path of the light emitted from the plurality of light sources (11), and outputs light that enters the first visual field limiting film in a first predetermined angular range by homogeneously diffusing the light within the first predetermined angular range.

A display apparatus such as a liquid crystal display performs illumination with use of a light source apparatus such as a backlight from a rear surface of a light modulation element such as a liquid crystal panel and controls the transmittance of light of each pixel of the light modulation element, to thereby cause an image having the luminance in accordance with the transmittance of each pixel to be observed.
NPL 1 discloses a display apparatus with which a three-dimensional image can be observed with the naked eye. In this display apparatus, a parallax barrier is provided between a backlight and a liquid crystal panel, and the observation of the three-dimensional image with the naked eye is enabled by modulating light passing through the parallax barrier by the liquid crystal panel and causing an observer to observe the modulated light.
In general, the transmittance of light of a liquid crystal panel is about a few percent. When the light passes through a parallax barrier as in the display apparatus disclosed in NPL 1, the transmittance further decreases and becomes a fraction to a few tenths of the transmittance. Therefore, in order to cause the observer to observe an image having a sufficient luminance, the luminance of the backlight needs to be very high. However, there is a problem in that the power consumption increases when the luminance of the backlight is very high. There is also a problem in that the luminous flux is not sufficient in a general high-luminance light emitting diode (LED), and the formation of a backlight having an extremely-high luminance as above itself is difficult.
NPL 2 discloses a light source apparatus including a box-like flatter, a light source such as an LED provided on the bottom surface of the flatter, a light-conductive reflection plate that covers an opening of the flatter, and a diffusion plate disposed so as to face the light-conductive reflection plate. In the light source apparatus, light emitted from the LED exits the light-conductive reflection plate while being multi-reflected between the inner surface of the flatter and the light-conductive reflection plate, and the light is diffused in a predetermined angular range by the diffusion plate so that isotropic light is output. However, even in the light source apparatus disclosed in NPL 2, sufficient luminance cannot be obtained for the use for the display apparatus as described above.

NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION


An image pickup apparatus includes an image pickup portion and a recording portion that records an image signal based on an output signal from the image pickup portion, for executing a shooting operation with a behavior of a photographer as a trigger, and obtaining a desired static image by performing an automatic manipulation processing of the acquired image; the image pickup apparatus comprising: a posture detection portion that detects a change of posture or moving situation of the image pickup apparatus, and a control portion that controls the execution of shooting operation based on the output signal of the posture detection portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus, and particularly to an image pickup apparatus which allows the execution of shooting operation without holding up the apparatus by hand and also without looking through a finder to settle a picture composition.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, image pickup apparatuses such as a digital camera, which is configured to be able to sequentially convert an optical image formed by a shooting optical system into an image signal with a photoelectric conversion device such as a solid image-pickup device, and record a thus obtained image signal in a recording medium as image data of a predetermined form, and to comprise an image display apparatus such as a liquid crystal display apparatus (LCD) which reproduces and displays the image data recorded in the recording medium as an image, have been generally commercialized and are in widespread use.
The image data which is acquired by a conventional image pickup apparatus of the above described form is primarily digital data. Such digital data is very easy to handle. For example, in a conventional image pickup apparatus, the image data acquired by an image pickup device is subjected to various kinds of signal processing by using an internal processing circuit. It is also configured that thus generated image data after signal processing is recorded in an image recording medium.
Further, in a conventional image pickup apparatus, it is made possible to constantly acquire adequate images while coping with various kinds of shooting conditions by appropriately executing various signal processing on the image signal acquired by a solid image-pickup device, etc. using a processing circuit in the image pickup apparatus.
On the other hand, in recent years, as a result of the advancement of digitization of image pickup apparatuses, the degree of freedom in the layout of the internal mechanism has increased thereby enhancing downsizing and portability. Thus, elaborately designed apparatuses which allow shooting in a wearable fashion have been commercialized. For example, the configuration is such that the device is reduced in size and thickness so as to be easily put into a pocket of clothes, etc., or is reduced in weight so as to be attached to clothes, etc. using a clip, etc., or is reduced in weight so as to be carried with ease by being hung from the neck, etc. with a strap in place of an accessory.
By the way, in a conventional image pickup apparatus, it is usual means for the photographer (user) to actuate an actuation member such as a release button that is linked with a mechanical switch, etc. as the actuation to start a shooting operation.
In this case, when actuation of the actuation member such as a release button, etc. is performed, first a preliminary operation of the shooting operation, that is, an automatic exposure setting operation, an automatic focusing operation, an automatic white balance operation, and so on are executed, and thereafter a release operation, that is, an exposure operation in which an image pickup device, a shutter mechanism, an diaphragm mechanism, and the like are driven, and a series of operation processing such as a subsequent image processing operation, a recording operation, and son on are successively executed.
In image pickup apparatuses of recent years, various proposals on actuation systems of different schemes from conventional ones, such as one in which a series of shooting operation processing can be executed, for example, by the photographer touching the surface of an image display apparatus with a finger in place of the actuation member such as a release button, etc., have been made by, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-36492.
In conventional image pickup apparatuses such as the image pickup apparatus disclosed by the above described Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-36492, it is predicated that a series of shooting operations are started by performing a predetermined actuation in a state in which the photographer holds the image pickup apparatus, or in a state in which the image pickup apparatus itself is fixed by using a tripod, etc.
Further, in recent years, various contrivances to enable the photographer to execute a desired shooting operation without holding the image pickup apparatus are proposed by, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-60584 and others.
The image pickup apparatus disclosed by the above described Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-60584 is configured such that a main body portion having a display apparatus is affixed to the palm or the back of hand, and an image pickup portion is affixed to the finger, respectively, and that detection means for detecting bends of plural fingers is provided, the detection means adapted to perform the control to switch operation modes in response to the state of the bends of the plural fingers detected by the detection means.
For example, while one is acting in an outdoor environment, etc., it is often the case that one's both hands are occupied. Even in such a case, there may be a desire to perform shooting in a wearable fashion without holding the image pickup apparatus in hand.
For example, when a photographer performs normal shooting with the both hands thereof being free, he or she can settle a picture composition and perform shooting while observing a display portion 127 provided in the back surface of an image pickup apparatus 111 by grasping the both sides thereof with both hands as shown in FIG. 40. In this case, since the photographer firmly holds the image pickup apparatus 111 with both hands, he or she can actuate a release button thereby performing shooting at a timing when a picture composition intended by the photographer is obtained.
However, in a state in which the image pickup apparatus 111 is put into a pocket 110 as shown in FIG. 41 and both hands are occupied, touching a shutter button of the image pickup apparatus 111 is difficult, and therefore shutter releasing cannot be performed.
Accordingly, for example, Japanese Application Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-224761 discloses an image pickup apparatus which performs shooting when an object becomes oriented in a desired direction. The image pickup apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-224761 automatically performs a shooting operation upon detecting the face of an object being properly oriented, and therefore is suitable for a self-shooting mode in which the photographer itself is photographed as the object.
Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-036492 discloses a digital camera which comprises release buttons on the left and the right sides, and allows the user to set which of the release buttons to enable with a touch panel. It is suggested that either one of the left and right release buttons is enabled when performing a self-shooting.

Image pickup apparatus and image acquisition method