An electronic key system for a vehicle provides a warning corresponding to a traveling state if an occupant has dropped the electronic key while a vehicle is running. A control unit 14 of the vehicle outputs a request signal Sr to the electronic key 12 at transmission intervals T corresponding to the traveling state. An answer signal Sa caused by the request signal Sr from the electronic key 12 is detected. A warning lamp 68 is lit up at a point after the detection of the answer signal Sa stops. The transmission interval T of the request signal Sr is specified in a map 88 stored in the control unit 14, and is set short corresponding to the increase of the vehicle speed V, the acceleration/deceleration ‘a’, and the yaw rate Y.

In an electronic key system for a vehicle, activation means are installed in a door handle and a trunk lid of a vehicle. When an occupant handles (activates) these activation means, communication with an electronic key is started, an ID transmitted from the electronic key and an ID registered in a control unit are compared, and, when the comparison result showing the coincidence between the IDs is obtained, a door lock and the like are released.
In addition, an activation means is installed in an ignition knob of the vehicle; and, when the occupant handles the ignition knob after the occupant gets in a four-wheeled car, the communication with the electronic key is again performed, and the ID comparison for permitting the engine to be started is performed. When the comparison result showing the coincidence between the IDs is obtained, the engine is started.
In other words, in the electronic key system for a vehicle, the electronic key functions to release the door lock and permits the engine to be started.
When the above electronic key system for a vehicle is applied to a motorcycle, there is a possibility that the engine cannot be re-started if the driver allows the motorcycle to start moving subsequent to inadvertent loss of the electronic key following start-up of the engine, although there is no problem if the occupant becomes timely aware of the fact.
Further, in the system applied to a motorcycle, the main purpose is prevention of theft; and the security system is designed to be stopped after the authorized occupant completes the authentication and rides on the motorcycle. Accordingly, there is a possibility that, if the electronic key has been dropped while the vehicle is running, for example, this fact cannot be detected.
In the prior art, the transmission interval of the request signal transmitted from the control unit while the vehicle is running is constant, and the appropriate transmission timing cannot always be realized, depending on the traveling state. For example, if the electronic key is dropped while the vehicle is traveling fast, the warning is outputted after the vehicle has traveled a substantial distance. In this case, the occupant has to return a substantial distance back to the point where the electronic key has been dropped, and there is apprehension that the time and labor required to search for the key will be substantial.
If the request signal is transmitted at short intervals constantly regardless of the traveling state, such apprehension can be eliminated. However, the result is that the electronic key transmits the answer signal correspondingly frequently, the power consumption of the battery increases, and the necessity to change the battery in a short time arises.

Electronic key system for vehicle, and vehicle


A spectrometric measurement apparatus includes a light radiation unit for radiating light onto a medium; a hole array including openings arranged one-dimensionally for transmitting diffusion light from the medium; an imaging optical system configured to focus an image from the hole array; a diffraction element configured to diffract the light for focusing the image; and a light receiving unit including pixels arranged one-dimensionally configured to receive the light that has been dispersed by the diffraction element and spectrometric sensors each corresponding to a predetermined number of the pixels. The light transmitted through each of the openings of the hole array is dispersed by the diffraction element, and then the light enters the pixels so that spectral properties of the diffusion light are acquired. The structure of the diffraction element includes variations that are formed in accordance with the height of the image that is focused by the imaging optical system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to spectrometric measurement apparatuses, image evaluation apparatuses, and image forming apparatuses.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, in the field of production printing, sheet-feed printing press machines and printers for continuous slip/form paper have been digitalized. Accordingly, numerous products using the electrophotographic method and the inkjet method have been introduced. Furthermore, user needs have increased for multidimensional, high-precision, and high-density images, with the trend switching from monochrome printing to color printing. Accordingly, services delivered to consumers have become versatile. For example, there have been various advertisements catering to personal needs such as high quality photograph printing, catalog printing, and account printing. Thus, there is increased demand for high quality images, confirmation of personal information, and color reproduction.
Various techniques have been introduced in the market for increasing the image quality of image forming apparatuses. One example is providing an electrophotographic type image forming apparatus with a density sensor for detecting the toner density of unfixed toner on an intermediate transfer body or a photoconductive body, to stabilize the amount of toner supply. Another example is for confirming personal information. Specifically, regardless of the image forming method, the output image is photographed with a camera, and the personal information is detected by variance detection based on character recognition or a difference image between plural images. Yet another example is for color reproduction. Specifically, a color patch is output, and colors are measured at one or more points with a spectrometer to execute calibration.
The above techniques are preferably performed across the entire image area, in order to accommodate image variations between different pages or within the same page.
Patent documents 1 through 5 propose evaluation methods executed in the process of measuring properties across the full width of the image.
Patent document 1 discloses a technique of arranging plural line-type light receiving elements, and providing a mechanism for moving a measurement target relative to a detection system, to measure the spectral properties across the full width of the image. A light shielding wall is provided so that reflection light crosstalk does not occur at the detection target area between the light receiving elements.
Patent document 2 discloses a technique of continuously radiating the full width of the image with light sources having different wavelength bands, and acquiring the reflection light to acquire spectral properties across the full width of the image.
Patent document 3 discloses a technique of radiating light onto the full width of a print side, detecting the density in a particular region with a line sensor camera, and averaging the density, to compare the reference densities.
Patent document 4 discloses a technique of scanning an original document and a special original document several times, and determining the similarity between the two documents by obtaining the logical sum between the images with regard to common color information.
Patent document 5 discloses a technique of radiating light onto the full width of a print side, and acquiring spectral properties across the full width of the image with the use of a combination of a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) having a two-dimensional pixel structure and a diffraction element or a refraction element.
As described above, typical configurations for measuring colors of an image across the full width of the image include the following examples. One example is irradiating the image with plural light beams having different wavelength bands and moving the measuring system and the detection target with respect to each other while photographing the image with an area sensor or a line sensor. Another example is providing plural photographing systems, and limiting the wavelength band of the reflection light from the detection target that enters the photographing system. If a positional shift occurs in the detection target while acquiring plural wavelength bands of images, the color information at the respective detection target points cannot be precisely measured. Examples of methods of precisely measuring color information in plural images having different wavelength bands are as follows. One example is comparing the intensity of the reflection light acquired at the detection target position in an image with that of an original image or original data serving as a reference. Another example is applying the Wiener estimation technique based on the intensity of reflection light acquired from the detection target positions in the images, to estimate continuous distribution properties. Thus, if the detection target positions are different in the images, errors may arise in the process of making comparisons with a reference or in the process of estimating continuous distribution properties.
Patent document 1 discloses a line-type measuring system for measuring the colors across the full width of the image that is the detection target. However, this technique does not reduce positional shifts in the images obtained at the respective wavelength bands.
Patent document 2 discloses a technique of continuously irradiating the image with light sources having different wavelength bands, and acquiring the reflection light from the detection target. However, with this configuration, a shift may occur in the time axis, and therefore it is not possible to measure the same position in the detection target. Even if plural combinations of light sources and light receiving systems are provided, the detection target positions are highly likely to shift in images of different wavelength bands. Furthermore, patent document 2 discloses a configuration of using plural rows of detectors that are filtered by different colors. In this case also, positional shifts in the images may occur among the plural colors.
Patent document 3 discloses a technique of averaging the density in the detection region, and the average value is assumed to be the representative value. However, the value obtained as the distribution of the detection target is unreliable.
Patent document 4 discloses a technique of determining the similarity between two documents by comparing an original document with a detection target by inter-image calculation for each wavelength band. However, with this method, the color variation of the detection target cannot be specified. Furthermore, in a case where an image is reconstituted based on color information items of images that are separately obtained, it cannot be determined as to whether the color variations have occurred in the actual detection target.
Patent document 5 discloses a technique of using a CCD having a two-dimensional pixel structure. The image data is acquired in one direction, and spectroscopic data is acquired in the other direction, in order to specify the color information across the full width of the image. However, in a CCD having a two-dimensional pixel structure, the reading speed is considerably slower than that of the line sensor due to limitations in the data reading properties. Accordingly, it takes a long time to acquire color information of the detection target.
As described above, in the conventional technology, with a spectroscopic sensor for measuring spectroscopic information across the full width of the target image, it has been difficult to read data at high speed while acquiring high-precision spectroscopic data.    Patent Document 1: Japanese National Publication (Japanese translation of PCT application) No. 2008-518218    Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2005-315883    Patent Document 3: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-310799    Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent No. 3566334    Patent Document 5: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2003-139702

Spectrometric measurement apparatus, image evaluation apparatus, and image forming apparatus


An image processing apparatus capable of executing loop playback of a video from a start position desired by a system user without requiring setting thereof in advance. A button displayed on a console section shifts a playback position of the video to a desired position according to an operation by a user. A comparative determination section determines whether or not a shifted playback position shifted backward. When the shifted playback position shifted backward, a video controller stores the shifted playback position as a start position of a loop playback section and the playback position before being shifted as an end position of the same, and gives an instruction for controlling loop playback of the loop playback section defined by the start position and the end position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, a method of controlling the same, and a storage medium, and more particularly to a technique for displaying a maintenance video about paper jam removal, toner change, etc., in an image processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H8-69223 proposes a technique of instructing a maintenance procedure using a video when a maintenance work, such as paper jam removal and toner change, is necessary, which enables a system user to easily perform maintenance.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-333463 proposes a playback device including a unit that resumes playback from a frame before a desired time period, and a unit that sets the number of playback loops, and also proposes a unit capable of setting a point in a video from which loop playback is desired to be executed.
Domestic re-publication of PCT international application WO2007/029489 proposes a unit that automatically calculates, only by pressing a replay key, a start position of a scene of a video, based on information on importance or the like of scenes in the video, and executes playback of the scene.
However, when a maintenance procedure is instructed by video as proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H8-69223, it is necessary to perform complicated operations of paper jam removal or the like, simultaneously while watching the maintenance video. Therefore, if it takes time to understand an instructed part of the maintenance procedure and operations for the instructed part cannot be executed within an assigned time period, the maintenance video proceeds to a next part corresponding to a next part of the procedure. To overcome this problem, if a method of setting a section for loop playback in a video as proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-333463 is adopted, it is just possible to execute loop playback of a video portion corresponding to a part of the maintenance procedure for which it takes more time to complete operations than assigned.
However, even though a system user causes the video to go back by a value set before executing a maintenance work or a value registered in advance for replay, the video does not necessarily go back to a position from which the system user desired to restart the playback. Further, since the unit proposed in Domestic re-publication of PCT international application WO2007/029489 determines a restart position automatically from information on the importance of scenes or the like, the video does not necessarily go back to a position from which the system user desires to restart playback.

Image processing apparatus capable of loop playback of video, method of controlling the same, and storage medium


The liquid supply device supplies ejection liquid to a plurality of ejection heads from a liquid tank, and comprises: a supply pipe which connects the liquid tank to the plurality of ejection heads, an upstream end portion of the supply pipe being connected to the liquid tank, a downstream side of the supply pipe being branched into a plurality of branch pipes having different numbers of branches by means of a plurality of ramifying sections, ends of the plurality of branch pipes being respectively connected to the plurality of ejection heads; and a flow path resistance altering device which alters a flow path resistance in at least one of flow paths from the plurality of ramifying sections to the plurality of ejection heads, wherein branch pipes having a relatively small number of branches among the plurality of branch pipes are connected to ejection heads having a relatively high ejection frequency among the plurality of ejection heads.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid supply device and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a liquid supply device and an image forming apparatus using the liquid supply device suitable for supplying a liquid for ejection to a multiple head formed to a long dimension by joining together ejection heads having nozzle rows.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of inkjet printers, a composition using a line head having a nozzle row of a length corresponding to the full width of the recording medium (a so-called "full line head") is known in order to achieve high-speed printing, or the like. In general, when an inkjet head is formed as a line head, it becomes difficult to supply ink along a single long dimension. Therefore, it has been thought to improve liquid supply performance by joining together short heads in order to form a long dimension head, and dividing up the flow path to correspond to each short head unit.
In this case, if supply pipes are formed in parallel for the head units from a main tank forming a liquid supply source, then it is necessary to provide the same number of supply pipes as the number of heads, and this gives rise to layout problems. As a means for avoiding such problems, it has been thought to branch off-the-supply tubes at intermediate positions.
In this respect, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-244681 discloses flow path connection configurations for cases where there are a plurality of nozzle unit elements (short heads), and respective connection configurations involving serial arrangement, parallel arrangement or a combination of these arrangements. However, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-244681 simply proposes connection methods, and does not disclose which flow path configuration would be suitable under which conditions.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-118135 discloses a method where, in order to supply liquid to a plurality of heads from one main tank, the tank is connected to the heads by repeated branches based on two-branch joints. However, in the case of Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-118135, it is necessary to provide repeated branches in a symmetrical fashion in order to equalize the pressure loss at each print head. Consequently, there are very significant restrictions on the layout. Moreover, the method described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-118135 also entails a problem in that it cannot be applied to an odd number of heads.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-153622 discloses a composition in which a flow path resistance altering device is provided in the course of a tube which connects a cap unit used in a cleaning operation for restoring the ejection performance of an inkjet head to a plurality of pumps. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-153622 relates to flow paths for ink removal, and it achieves reductions in maintenance and initial refill times, simplification and improved performance of the pump unit, and compactification of the apparatus. However, it does not describe the features of a flow path system for supplying ink to a plurality of heads.

Liquid supply device and image forming apparatus


A pharmaceutical composition includes a physiologically active conjugate including a Thymosin alpha 1 (TA1) peptide conjugated to a material which increases half-life of the TA1 peptide in serum of a patient when the conjugate is administered to a patient. The material may be a substantially non-antigenic polymer. In a method of the invention, the substantially non-antigenic polymer is conjugated to a TA1 peptide. Compositions according to the invention are administered to patients in need of immune stimulation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to Thymosin alpha 1 peptides.
2. Description of the Background Art
Thymosin alpha 1 (sometimes referred to as TA1) is a 28-amino acid thymic peptide with immunomodulatory properties, homologous to a natural product originally isolated from thymosin fraction 5 of calf thymus. Its biological effects include augmentation of T lymphocyte functions and include modulation of interleukin-2 (IL-2), stimulation of interferon-γ production, induction of T lymphocytes and NK cell activity, and stimulation of thymopoiesis. Thymosin alpha 1 also has been shown to up-regulate MHC Class I expression.
There remains a need in the art for improved compositions containing TA1 and related peptides.

Thymosin alpha 1 peptide/polymer conjugates


A method for image reconstruction that utilizes the benefits of compressed sensing (“CS”) while incorporating a priori knowledge of object spatial support into the image reconstruction is provided. Image data is acquired from a subject, for example, with a medical imaging system, such as a magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”) system or a computed tomography (“CT”) system. An estimate of the spatial support of the subject is produced, for example, using a low resolution image of the subject, or an image reconstructed from undersampled image data in a traditional sense. An estimate image of the subject is also produced by using traditional image reconstruction methods on the acquired image data. An image of the subject is then reconstructed using the produced estimate image and produced spatial support estimate. This method allows for the reconstruction of quality images from undersampled image data in a computationally efficient manner.

According to standard image reconstruction theories, in order to reconstruct an image without aliasing artifacts, the sampling rate employed to acquire image data must satisfy the so-called Nyquist criterion, which is set forth in the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem. Moreover, in standard image reconstruction theories, no specific prior information about the image is needed. On the other hand, when some prior information about the desired or target image is available and appropriately incorporated into the image reconstruction procedure, an image can be accurately reconstructed even if the Nyquist criterion is violated. For example, if one knows that a desired target image consists of only a single point, then only two orthogonal projections that intersect at that point are needed to accurately reconstruct the image point.
If prior information is known about the desired target image, such as if the desired target image is a set of sparsely distributed points, it can be reconstructed from a set of data that was acquired in a manner that does not satisfy the Nyquist criterion. Put more generally, knowledge about the sparsity of the desired target image can be employed to relax the Nyquist criterion; however, it is a highly nontrivial task to generalize these arguments to formulate a rigorous image reconstruction theory.
The Nyquist criterion serves as one of the paramount foundations of the field of information science. However, it also plays a pivotal role in modern medical imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging ("MRI") and x-ray computed tomography ("CT"). When the number of data samples acquired by an imaging system is less than the requirement imposed by the Nyquist criterion, artifacts appear in the reconstructed images. In general, such image artifacts include aliasing and streaking artifacts. In practice, the Nyquist criterion is often violated, whether intentionally or through unavoidable circumstances. For example, in order to shorten the data acquisition time in a time-resolved MR angiography study, image data is often acquired using a radial sampling pattern that undersamples the peripheral portions of k-space.
Recently, a new mathematical framework for image reconstruction termed "compressed sensing" (CS) was formulated. In compressed sensing, only a small set of linear projections of a sparse image are required to reconstruct a quality image. The theory of CS is described by E. Candès, J. Romberg, and T. Tao, in "Robust uncertainty principles: Exact Signal Reconstruction from Highly Incomplete Frequency Information," IEEE Transactions on Information Theory 2006; 52:489-509, and by D. Donoho in "Compressed Sensing," IEEE Transactions on Information Theory 2006; 52:1289-1306, and is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,646,924.
The work of Candès, et al., and Donoho produced both exact and approximate recovery sampling conditions for convex functionals, albeit with a higher sampling constant. In aspiration of reducing sampling requirements closer to the l0-associated theoretical limit, quasi-convex, almost everywhere ("a.e.") differentiable prior functionals, such as P(v)=∥v∥pp with 0<p≦1 have been investigated recently. Such prior functionals more closely resemble the target l0-norm than does the l1-norm. While these methods cannot guarantee numerical achievement of global minima, they consistently outperform analogous convex techniques in practice.
The field of medical imaging can benefit from compressed sensing. In x-ray computed tomography ("CT"), fewer measurements translates to a lower radiation dose received by the patient. Similarly, in magnetic resonance imaging ("MRI"), decreasing the required number of measurements necessary to form an image allows for faster exams, which improves patient comfort and thereby minimizes the likelihood of subject motion. Additionally, clinical throughput is increased which potentially translates to reduced patient costs.
While natural and medical images share many characteristics, differences between the applications do exist and several key features unique to medical imaging have yet to be exploited within CS. In medical imaging, in general, image background is often defined by zero signal. Moreover, the spatial support of objects of interest in medical images is often known a priori or can be easily estimated. For example, in time-resolved HYPR imaging, as described, for example, by C. Mistretta, et al., in "Highly Constrained Backprojection for Time-Resolved MRI," Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2006; 55(1):30-40, object support in a single time-frame is a subset of the support of the composite image used in the constrained backprojection operation. Support information could also be estimated from the low-resolution "scout" images typically acquired during pre-scan localization in both MRI and CT.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a method for image reconstruction that utilizes the framework of compressed sensing, while allowing a faster, more robust reconstruction process that is closer to an l0-minimization.

Method for compressed sensing image reconstruction using a priori knowledge of spatial support

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research


A combined cardiotomy and venous return reservoir which combines defoamed and filtered cardiotomy blood with venous blood in a common chamber and then passes the combined blood fractions through a second defoaming element to achieve positive mixing of the blood fractions before they exit the device.

Cardiotomy reservoirs which reclaim blood drawn from a surgical site by defoaming and filtering the blood to remove foreign matter are well known. References which describe various cardiotomy reservoir structures include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,507,395; 3,768,653; 3,891,416; 3,993,461, 4,157,965; 4,164,468; 4,208,193; 4,243,531; 4,705,497; and 4,743,371.
Typically, before it is oxygenated and returned to the body, blood which has been cleansed and defoamed in a cardiotomy reservoir is combined with blood extracted from a vein in the patient's body. To simplify the necessary connections for such procedures and to reduce the volume of the extracorporeal blood circuit, it has been proposed that cardiotomy blood and venous blood be combined in a cardiotomy reservoir and the combined fractions directly fed into an oxygenator. The depth filter media used in modern cardiotomy reservoirs, however, can damage healthy cells, especially under high pressures and, therefore, blood obtained directly from a venous shunt which is uncontaminated by foreign matter should not be forced through such filter media if possible.
Combined cardiotomy and venous return reservoirs which provides separate flow paths into common collection reservoirs for venous return blood obtained and for cardiotomy blood are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,705,497 and 4,737,139.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,497 describes a combined cardiotomy and venous return reservoir in which the venous blood does not pass through any filtering or defoaming element and in which the venous and cardiotomy blood separately enter a pooling reservoir at different levels. The device includes no means to assure positive mixing of the blood fractions. The device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,139 has a significant disadvantage in that the blood from the two sources is never positively mixed. In this device the cardiotomy blood is filtered through reticulated polyurethane foam defoaming element, a felt depth filter and a mesh fabric screen while the venous blood is only passed through the polyurethane foam and mesh fabric elements. The device is arranged in such a manner that the venous and cardiotomy blood fractions have separate flow paths into the common reservoir with the venous blood entering the common collection reservoir below the cardiotomy blood. This flow pattern can result in significant layering of the blood, especially since the exit port is at the bottom of the collection reservoir and the venous blood typically is fed into the device at a much higher rate than cardiotomy blood.

Method and apparatus for combining cardiotomy and venous blood


Provided is a lithium air battery, and more particular, a lithium air battery including a buffer layer consisting of a conductive ion-exchange resin and a mesoporous carbon formed between an electrolyte and a catalyst layer configuring a cathode to prevent a contact between the catalyst layer and a large amount of electrolyte in the lithium air battery, thereby reducing occurrence of overvoltage at the time of charging and discharging the battery. At the same time, the lithium air battery of the present invention may suppress evaporation of the electrolyte solution to improve durability, thereby preventing deterioration in performance of the battery, and extending a lifespan.

Recently, in accordance with an increase in carbon dioxide emission due to consumption of fossil fuel, a rapid change of crude oil price, and the like, development of a technology of converting from gasoline and diesel oil to an electric energy as an energy source of automobile has been spotlighted. Commercialization of an electric automobile has progressed, and for a long-distance driving, a lithium ion battery which is a storage battery has been required to have large capacity and high energy densification. However, the current lithium ion battery has a limitation in battery capacity, which has difficulty in a long distance driving. Therefore, research into a lithium air battery having larger capacity and higher energy density than those of a theoretical lithium ion battery has been actively conducted.
In general, the lithium air battery includes an anode capable of adsorbing and emitting lithium ions, a cathode including an oxidation-reduction catalyst using oxygen in the air as a cathode active material, wherein a lithium ion conductive medium is provided between the cathode and the anode. That is, the lithium air battery, which is a battery having the cathode using oxygen in the air as the active material, is a battery capable of charging and discharging the battery by performing an oxidation-reduction reaction of oxygen in the cathode.
The lithium air battery has a theoretical energy density of 3000 Wh/kg or more, which corresponds to an energy density about 10 times larger than that of the lithium ion battery. In addition, the lithium ion battery is environmentally friendly and provides improved stability as compared to the lithium ion battery.
However, an electrode structure of the existing lithium air battery has problems in that at the time of charging and discharging the battery, a large amount of an electrolyte contacts a catalyst layer to generate overvoltage, or a solvent of an electrolyte used between the solid electrolyte and a porous air-cathode is evaporated, such that the lithium air battery has deteriorated performance and reduced a lifespan.
As the related art document regarding the above-description, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0028164 A1 entitled "lithium air battery" is disclosed.


Disclosed herein are a package and a method for manufacturing the same. The package includes: a first package including a first printed circuit board having a first surface and a second surface and having a first die mounted on the first surface, the first die having a through silicon via; a second package including a second printed circuit board having a first surface and a second surface and having a second die mounted on the first surface, the second die having a through silicon via; first external connecting terminals electrically interconnecting the first surface of the first printed circuit and the first surface of the second printed circuit disposed to be opposite to each other; and first connecting bumps electrically interconnecting the first and second dice. Therefore, power signals are independently applied to each of the dice, thereby making it possible to improve power stability of each of the dice.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a package and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In accordance with the demand for multi-function, compactness, and high performance in the electronic industry, attempts to dispose various semiconductors such as a system in package (SIP) semiconductor, a system on chip (SoC) semiconductor, or the like, to be adjacent to each other have been conducted.
In addition, a semiconductor having a through silicon via (TSV) structure is very useful in terms of high performance and compactness. Research into a method for mounting a printed circuit board has been conducted in order to maximize performance of the semiconductor having the through silicon via (TSV) structure.
Furthermore, in accordance with the demand for high-performance and high-speed semiconductor, a transistor has been integrated in the semiconductor an operating speed of the semiconductor has increased, such that a problem associated with power stability of the semiconductor has been caused.
In order to solve the problem, attempts to reduce inductance for a current path by reducing a length of a via and a wiring of a substrate and to reduce impedance of a network to which power is transferred by disposing a capacitor to be adjacent to the semiconductor have been conducted.

Package and method for manufacturing the same


An organic light-emitting diode display panel may include a base substrate, an array structure layer, an organic light-emitting layer, a thin film packaging layer, a touch screen layer, and a polarizer layer. The array structure layer, the organic light-emitting layer, and the thin film packaging layer may be sequentially arranged on the base substrate. At least one of the touch screen layer and the polarizer layer may be located in the thin film packaging layer. An inorganic material layer in the thin film packaging layer may be replaced by the touch screen layer and/or the polarizer layer arranged in the thin film packaging layer to reduce a thickness of an OLED display panel.

Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display panels have various features such as low power consumption, high color saturation, a wide viewing angle, ultra-thin and foldability, so that the OLED display panels have gradually become a mainstream in display technology. In order to ensure the various features of the OLED display panels, a thin film packaging layer is arranged in the OLED display panel, and includes a plurality of inorganic material layers and a plurality of organic material layers alternately arranged. The plurality of inorganic material layer is configured to prevent moisture and oxygen from permeating. The plurality of organic material layer is configured to reduce pressures on the inorganic material layer, and to prevent the inorganic material layer from being cracked or even broken due to an external force. In a long-term research, Application found and practice that a multilayer structure of the thin film packaging layer increases a number of layers of the OLED display panel, and increases a thickness of the OLED display panel, thereby a length the optical path is increased, and efficiency of luminous flux is reduced.

Organic light-emitting diode display panel and organic light-emitting diode display apparatus

Wuhan China Star Optoelectronics Semiconductor Display Technology Co., Ltd.


A first application may output a form comprising payment fields. An operating system (OS) may receive, from a contactless card, a uniform resource locator (URL) comprising encrypted data. A second application received from the URL by the OS may be executed. The second application may transmit the encrypted data to an authentication server, the authentication server to verify the encrypted data. The second application may receive, from a virtual account number server, a virtual account number, an expiration date associated with the virtual account number, and a CVV associated with the virtual account number. The second application may provide the virtual account number, expiration date, and CVV to an autofill service of the OS. The autofill service of the OS may autofill the virtual account number the payment fields of the first application.

Account identifiers for payment cards are often long numeric and/or character strings. As such, it is difficult for a user to manually enter the account identifier correctly. Indeed, users often make mistakes and enter incorrect account numbers into computing interfaces (e.g., payment interfaces). Often, native operating system (OS) applications downloaded from application stores may include functionality to assist users in entering account identifiers into forms. However, some users may not have such applications on their devices. Therefore, these users must manually enter the account identifier correctly.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Using on-demand applications to generate virtual numbers for a contactless card to securely autofill forms


Disclosed are systems and methods for mapping a patient's lymphatic system. An exemplary method includes generating a three-dimensional (3D) model of a bronchial network in the patient's chest, generating a lymphatic tree map by fitting a model lymph node map to the 3D model, receiving locations of a plurality of identified lymph nodes, updating the positions of lymph nodes on the lymphatic tree map, and displaying the updated lymphatic tree map.

Diagnosis and treatment of disease, such as cancer, in a patient's lungs require knowledge of the internal anatomy of the patient's chest. The patient's chest includes various structures and distributed networks, such as the bronchial, vascular, and lymphatic systems, and the locations of such structures as well as the patterns of flow in every patient are unique. Larger structures and lumens may be identified via analysis of radiographic images of the patient's chest. However, smaller structures may not be identifiable based on image analysis. Thus, it is hard to visualize smaller structures in a patient's chest without exploratory or interventional procedures. It is preferable to be able to diagnose the degree to which cancer has developed and spread though the patient's body without resorting to extensive interventional procedures. This process is also known as cancer staging.
For example, to determine the extent to which cancer has developed and spread through a patient's body, in the case of solid tumors, a clinician may follow the Union for International Cancer Control's (UICC) TNM staging system to determine the size and/or extent of the primary tumor, a degree of spread to the lymphatic system, and the presence of distant metastasis. The UICC's TNM staging system considers the primary tumor (T), regional lymph nodes (N), and distant metastasis (M) to describe the size and spread of cancer through the patient's body. Cancer may spread via the lymphatic or vascular systems as cancer cells break off from tumors and find their way into lymph nodes and vessels. The cancer cells may then be distributed via the lymphatic and/or vascular systems and thereby spread to other parts of the patient's body.


An automatic transmission includes a piston movable in an axial direction, a plurality of friction plates disposed on a side of a first surface of the piston, a fastening hydraulic chamber applying a hydraulic pressure to a second surface of the piston to move the piston to a fastening position where the friction plates are pressed to be fastened to each other, a release hydraulic chamber applying a hydraulic pressure to the first surface of the piston to move the piston to a release position where the friction plates are released, and a hydraulic pressure control valve that supplies and discharges the hydraulic pressure to and from each of the fastening hydraulic chamber and the release hydraulic chamber. An area of the second surface of the piston for receiving the hydraulic pressure is set to be larger than an area of the first surface for receiving the hydraulic pressure.

An automatic transmission incorporated in a vehicle such as an automobile includes a planetary gear set and a plurality of friction fastening elements such as a multi-plate clutch and a multi-plate brake. As the friction fastening elements are selectively fastened according to the operation state of an engine, it is possible to automatically shift to a predetermined gear position. The friction fastening element includes a plurality of friction plates disposed with a clearance therebetween and a piston pressing the friction plates. The piston is moved between a fastening position where the friction plates are pressed to be fastened to each other and a release position where pressing of the friction plates is released and thus the friction plates are in a released state.
Patent Literature 1 discloses an automatic transmission in which a fastening hydraulic chamber is disposed on one side in an axial direction of a piston and a centrifugal hydraulic chamber (release hydraulic chamber) is disposed on the other side, and a through-hole through which the fastening hydraulic chamber communicates with the centrifugal hydraulic chamber is formed in the piston. A predetermined hydraulic pressure is supplied from different oil passages to the fastening hydraulic chamber and the centrifugal hydraulic chamber. A pressure regulator valve is assembled in the oil passage for the centrifugal hydraulic chamber.
It is necessary in the automatic transmission to shorten a fastening control time while reducing a fastening shock applied to the friction fastening elements when being switched from a released state to a fastened state. To shorten the fastening control time and reduce the fastening shock at the same time, it is necessary to cause a large flow rate of oil to flow at a precharge hydraulic pressure or the like for the purpose of shortening the fastening control time, and at the same time, to reduce the flow rate (reduce the hydraulic pressure) of oil immediately before a stroke is completed for the purpose of reducing the fastening shock. In this case, precise flow rate control must be executed, so that hydraulic pressure control tends to be complicated. Consequently, it takes a long time to execute fastening control for fastening the friction fastening elements, thus reducing response of the friction fastening elements.


A support structure is configured to be pierced by stems of flowers to hold the flowers in place and to retain moisture. The support structure extends along a longitudinal path and has front and rear surfaces and two opposite side surfaces. A backplate overlies the support structure's rear surface. A frame overlies the support structure and is attached to the backplate to hold the support structure against the backplate. The frame includes longitudinal bands that extend along the longitudinal path along the support structure. The frame further includes cross bands that extend about the support structure's front and side surfaces in directions that are perpendicular to the longitudinal band. Each cross band crosses the longitudinal bands at crossing points at which the longitudinal band is perpendicular to and adjoined to and underlying the respective longitudinal band.

A floral arrangement includes cut flowers held in place by a support structure of floral foam. The floral foam is commercially available in many shapes, including a ring shape for making floral wreaths. To make the arrangement, a florist pierces each flower's stem into the foam, thereby forming a channel in the foam that snugly holds the respective flower in place. The flowers can be sufficient in number to completely hide the foam from view.


Systems and methods are disclosed for assessing the quality of medical images of at least a portion of a patient's anatomy, using a computer system. One method includes receiving one or more images of at least a portion of the patient's anatomy; determining, using a processor of the computer system, one or more image properties of the received images; performing, using a processor of the computer system, anatomic localization or modeling of at least a portion of the patient's anatomy based on the received images; obtaining an identification of one or more image characteristics associated with an anatomic feature of the patient's anatomy based on the anatomic localization or modeling; and calculating, using a processor of the computer system, an image quality score based on the one or more image properties and the one or more image characteristics.

Medical imaging is an important technology used to gain anatomic and physiologic data about a patient's body, organs, tissues, or a portion thereof for clinical diagnosis and treatment planning. Medical imaging includes, but is not limited to, radiography, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), fluoroscopy, single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET), scintigraphy, ultrasound, and specific techniques such as echocardiography, mammography, intravascular ultrasound, and angiography. Imaging data may be obtained through non-invasive or invasive procedures. The fields of cardiology, neuroscience, oncology, orthopedics, and many others benefit from information obtained in medical imaging.
In the field of cardiology, in particular, it is well known that coronary artery disease may cause the blood vessels providing blood to the heart to develop lesions, such as a stenosis (abnormal narrowing of a blood vessel). As a result, blood flow to the heart may be restricted. A patient suffering from coronary artery disease may experience chest pain, referred to as chronic stable angina during physical exertion or unstable angina when the patient is at rest. A more severe manifestation of disease may lead to myocardial infarction, or heart attack. A need exists to provide more accurate data relating to coronary lesions, e.g., size, shape, location, functional significance (e.g., whether the lesion impacts blood flow), etc. Patients suffering from chest pain and/or exhibiting symptoms of coronary artery disease may be subjected to one or more tests, such as based on medical imaging, that may provide some indirect evidence relating to coronary lesions.
In addition to CT, SPECT, and PT, the use of medical imaging for noninvasive coronary evaluation may include electrocardiograms, biomarker evaluation from blood tests, treadmill tests, and echocardiography. These noninvasive tests, however, typically do not provide a direct assessment of coronary lesions or assess blood flow rates. The noninvasive tests may provide indirect evidence of coronary lesions by looking for changes in electrical activity of the heart (e.g., using electrocardiography (ECG)), motion of the myocardium (e.g., using stress echocardiography), perfusion of the myocardium (e.g., using PET or SPECT), or metabolic changes (e.g., using biomarkers).
For example, anatomic data may be obtained noninvasively using coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA). CCTA may be used for imaging of patients with chest pain and involves using CT technology to image the heart and the coronary arteries following an intravenous infusion of a contrast agent. However, CCTA also cannot provide direct information on the functional significance of coronary lesions, e.g., whether the lesions affect blood flow. In addition, since CCTA is purely a diagnostic test, it can neither be used to predict changes in coronary blood flow, pressure, or myocardial perfusion under other physiologic states (e.g., exercise), nor can it be used to predict outcomes of interventions.
Thus, patients may require an invasive test, such as diagnostic cardiac catheterization, to visualize coronary lesions. Diagnostic cardiac catheterization may include performing conventional coronary angiography (CCA) to gather anatomic data on coronary lesions by providing a doctor with an image of the size and shape of the arteries. CCA, however, does not provide data for assessing the functional significance of coronary lesions. For example, a doctor may not be able to diagnose whether a coronary lesion is harmful without determining whether the lesion is functionally significant. Thus, CCA has led to a procedure referred to as an "oculostenotic reflex," in which interventional cardiologists insert a stent for every lesion found with CCA regardless of whether the lesion is functionally significant. As a result, CCA may lead to unnecessary operations on the patient, which may pose added risks to patients and may result in unnecessary heath care costs for patients.
During diagnostic cardiac catheterization, the functional significance of a coronary lesion may be assessed invasively by measuring the fractional flow reserve (FFR) of an observed lesion. FFR is defined as the ratio of the mean blood pressure downstream of a lesion divided by the mean blood pressure upstream from the lesion, e.g., the aortic pressure, under conditions of increased coronary blood flow, e.g., when induced by intravenous administration of adenosine. Blood pressures may be measured by inserting a pressure wire into the patient. Thus, the decision to treat a lesion based on the determined FFR may be made after the initial cost and risk of diagnostic cardiac catheterization has already been incurred.
To fill the gaps left by each of the pure medical imaging and invasive procedures described above, HeartFlow, Inc. has developed simulation and modeling technology based on patient-specific imaging data. For example, various simulation, modeling, and computational techniques include, but are not limited to: computational mechanics, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), numerical simulation, multi-scale modeling, monte carlo simulation, machine learning, artificial intelligence and various other computational methods to solve mathematical models. These techniques may provide information about biomechanics, fluid mechanics, changes to anatomy and physiology over time, electrophysiology, stresses and strains on tissue, organ function, and neurologic function, among others. This information may be provided at the time of the imaging study or prediction of changes over time as a result of medical procedures or the passage of time and progression of disease.
One illustrative application of computational simulation and modeling is described by HeartFlow, Inc., for modeling vascular blood flow from non-invasive imaging data, including assessing the effect of various medical, interventional, or surgical treatments (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,386,188; 8,321,150; 8,315,814; 8,315,813; 8,315,812; 8,311,750; 8,311,748; 8,311,747; and 8,157,742). In particular, HeartFlow, Inc. has developed methods for assessing coronary anatomy, myocardial perfusion, and coronary artery flow, noninvasively, to reduce the above disadvantages of invasive FFR measurements. Specifically, CFD simulations have been successfully used to predict spatial and temporal variations of flow rate and pressure of blood in arteries, including FFR. Such methods and systems benefit cardiologists who diagnose and plan treatments for patients with suspected coronary artery disease, and predict coronary artery flow and myocardial perfusion under conditions that cannot be directly measured, e.g., exercise, and to predict outcomes of medical, interventional, and surgical treatments on coronary artery blood flow and myocardial perfusion.
For the above-described techniques, and many other applications of image-based modeling and simulation, the characteristics and quality of the image data is important. During acquisition of medical imaging data, a variety of artifacts or limitations may exist that affect the quality of the image. For example, settings and capabilities of spatial and temporal resolution, energy-tissue interactions, patient or organ movement, reconstruction algorithms, hardware failures, timing or acquisition, detector sensitivity, medication or contrast media administered, patient preparation, and various other factors can affect the resulting image quality. Effects include, but are not limited to, poor resolution, motion or blurring artifacts, high noise, low contrast of tissue, poor perfusion, partial volume effect, distortion, clipping of structures, shadowing, etc. Since these quality issues may affect the performance and accuracy of models and simulations based on the imaging data, there is a need to determine if image quality is suitable or to determine the effect of image quality on modeling and simulation results.
As a result, there is a need for methods and systems for assessing and quantifying medical image quality and, more particularly, to methods and systems for assessing and quantifying medical image quality in relation to patient-specific modeling of blood flow. The foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure.

Methods and systems for assessing image quality in modeling of patient anatomic or blood flow characteristics


A new family of aluminosilicate zeolites designated UZM-44 has been synthesized. These zeolites are represented by the empirical formula.NanMmk+TtAl1-xExSiyOz where “n” is the mole ratio of Na to (Al+E), M represents a metal or metals from zinc, Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 and or the lanthanide series of the periodic table, “m” is the mole ratio of M to (Al+E), “k” is the average charge of the metal or metals M, T is the organic structure directing agent or agents, and E is a framework element such as gallium. UZM-44 has catalytic properties for carrying processes involving contacting at least one low carbon number aliphatic hydrocarbon having from 1 to about 4 carbon atoms per molecule with the catalytic composite comprising UZM-44 to produce at least one aromatic hydrocarbon.

Zeolites are crystalline aluminosilicate compositions which are microporous and which are formed from corner sharing AlO2 and SiO2 tetrahedra. Numerous zeolites, both naturally occurring and synthetically prepared, are used in various industrial processes. Synthetic zeolites are prepared via hydrothermal synthesis employing suitable sources of Si, Al and structure directing agents such as alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, amines, or organoammonium cations. The structure directing agents reside in the pores of the zeolite and are largely responsible for the particular structure that is ultimately formed. These species balance the framework charge associated with aluminum and can also serve as space fillers. Zeolites are characterized by having pore openings of uniform dimensions, having a significant ion exchange capacity, and being capable of reversibly desorbing an adsorbed phase which is dispersed throughout the internal voids of the crystal without significantly displacing any atoms which make up the permanent zeolite crystal structure. Zeolites can be used as catalysts for hydrocarbon conversion reactions, which can take place on outside surfaces as well as on internal surfaces within the pore.
A particular zeolite, IM-5, was first disclosed by Benazzi, et al. in 1996 (FR96/12873; WO98/17581) who describe the synthesis of IM-5 from the flexible dicationic structure directing agent, 1,5-bis(N-methylpyrrolidinium)pentane dibromide or 1,6-bis(N-methylpyrrolidinium)hexane dibromide in the presence of sodium. After the structure of IM-5 was solved by Baerlocher et al. (Science, 2007, 315, 113-6), the International Zeolite Structure Commission gave the code of IMF to this zeolite structure type, see Atlas of Zeolite Framework Types. The IMF structure type was found to contain three mutually orthogonal sets of channels in which each channel is defined by a 10-membered ring of tetrahedrally coordinated atoms, however, connectivity in the third dimension is interrupted every 2.5 nm, therefore diffusion is somewhat limited. In addition, multiple different sizes of 10-membered ring channels exist in the structure.
Applicants have successfully prepared a new family of materials designated UZM-44. The topology of the materials is similar to that observed for IM-5. The materials are prepared via the use of a mixture of simple commercially available structure directing agents, such as 1,5-dibromopentane and 1-methylpyrrolidine. UZM-44 may be used as a catalyst in processes for the conversion of low carbon number compounds, such as methane, to at least one aromatic compound, such as benzene.
Literature has proposed to produce aromatic compounds such as benzene, toluene and xylenes from petroleum naphtha streams. Attempts have also been made to produce useful aromatic compounds from low molecular weight aliphatic compounds by, for example, the pyrolysis of natural gas, acetylene and other gases. However, this technique produces benzene and other useful aromatic compounds in very low yields while producing large amounts of tar, insoluble carbon residue and high molecular weight aromatic compounds, all of which are of little commercial use. Specifically, in the pyrolysis of methane and acetylene, the reaction is carried out at a temperature of about 1,000° C. or higher with a conversion rate of only a few percent and a selectivity to naphthalenes of less than 1%, and thus has little practical application.
There are reports in the art of processes for converting natural gas into aromatic compounds. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,935 discloses a process for producing liquid hydrocarbons from natural gas, in which natural gas is first separated into a methane rich fraction and a C2+ fraction, the methane is then selectively oxidized with oxygen, the effluent from the selective oxidation is then mixed with a part of the C2+ fraction and the resulting mixture pyrolyzed to obtain an aromatic product. The final step is carried out at a temperature of about 300° C. to about 750° C. in the presence of an aromatizing catalyst consisting essentially of a zeolite, gallium, at least one metal from the Group VIII metals and rhenium and at least one additional metal selected from the group consisting of: tin, germanium, lead, indium, thallium, copper, gold, nickel, iron, chromium, molybdenum and tungsten; an alkaline metal or alkaline earth metal and an aluminum matrix.
It is also known that the non-oxidative conversion of methane to benzene via dehydroaromatization can be carried out using Mo/HZSM-5, see L. Wang, L. Tao, M. Xie, G. Xu, J. Huang, and Y. Yu Catal. Lett. 1993, 21, 35 and that dehydrocondensation of methane, optionally in the presence of CO or CO2, to form benzene and naphthalene can be carried out using a molybdenum/HZSM-5 or iron/cobalt modified Mo/HZSM-5, see S. Liu, Q. Dong, R. Ohonishi and M. Ichikawa, Chem. Commun. (1998), p. 1217-1218, and S. Liu, L. Wang, Q. Dong, R. Ohonishi, and M. Ichikawa, Stud. Surf Sci. Catal., Vol. 119, p. 241-246. These catalysts are known to deactivate both by coking and by damage from the repetitive regenerations required in the process. In contrast to this art, a catalyst which comprises a UZM-44 zeolite and which optionally can contain a promoter such as iron, cobalt, tungsten, or molybdenum can be used to successfully catalyze the conversion of at least one low carbon number aliphatic hydrocarbon to at least one aromatic compound. In addition less deactivation under process conditions may be observed than typical with MFI based catalysts.

Conversion of methane to aromatic compounds using UZM-44 aluminosilicate zeolite


A monitoring tool continuously monitors for insertion, call or deletion of objects from a session. Display of this information shows any get object, set object or remove object operations in the session and shows the entry and exit points for each such object, thus assisting the user whenever objects inserted or called remain in the session and are not removed, thus allowing the user to prevent any data buildup in the session.

Many Interactive Development Environment (IDE) tools exist today to assist users in creating business enterprise computer applications and/or web pages or web applications for conducting business with on-line customers of the enterprise. A few examples are the aforementioned Eclipse® Integrated Development Environment and the Microsoft Corporation's Visual Studio® product. In practice, nearly all enterprise web applications are built using a set of libraries in a composing framework such as Apache® Struts®, Java® ServerFaces® or MicroSoft's ASP.NET®. IDE's often come bundled with web frameworks such as the aforementioned ones, for convenient use. Such web frameworks share the commonality of a session application interface for allowing developers to make objects persistent between web page invocations by an end user, but the IDE's are currently unaware of the usage of the session interfaces and they are treated just as any other library function.
Although it is often convenient to use such APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), use of them to create a way to share state information between web servers can be problematic for the user because putting too many data structures into a session can virtually clog the operation of a website. For example, use of an HttpSession to maintain temporary user state information for a user's online session can present an enormous problem is, say, 1000 logged-in users each have a one-megabyte temporary storage of session information, the requirement on the system is for one gigabyte or more of memory in use to maintain the integrity of the 1000 user sessions in operation at the time. The general rule of thumb, however, is that programmers creating software for HttpSessions should store only as much state data or information as is necessary for the current business transaction and no more. Thus, when a developer writes the source code and finds it convenient to use the HttpSession API to insert an object, they need to be consistent in removing the object from the session once it is no longer needed for the business transaction. But keeping track of what is put into the session and what is taken out is difficult to do at the time the code is being created or developed by the programmer. The available solutions all provide for inspection and removal of unnecessarily saved data only later when a debugger after the application under development has been compiled.
The present invention solves this problem by providing a static monitoring and analysis tool enhancement to the IDE system which collects information from the source code the user-programmer is building. This information is used to help the user-programmer detect conditions where objects may inadvertently have been left in session. This analysis occurs at development time instead of after the application is actually deployed.

Displaying HTTP session entry and exit points

International Business Machines Corporation


A device in a wireless communication system that includes circuitry that acquires location information of user equipment, calculates, according to at least the location information, stay time required for the user equipment to pass through the small cell, the stay time being a limited time, evaluates a mobility state of the user equipment according to the location information of the user equipment at different time by comparing the calculated stay time with a predetermined stay time threshold value, determines an operation from among a plurality of operations related to small cell detection according to changes in the mobility state and the location information of the user equipment, and execute the determined operation related to small cell detection.

A concept of heterogeneous network was first proposed in 3GPP Rel-10 and quickly becomes a hot point of focus in the art. Mobility enhancement under the heterogeneous network is one of work items in this filed, which is intended to improve network capacity while providing seamless and stable coverage for users.
Many problems have been discussed in the mobility enhancement under the heterogeneous network, and small cell detection is one of hot points of discussion focuses in the work item of heterogeneous network mobility enhancement of 3GPP. The heterogeneous network includes a large number of small cells, e.g., a micro base station, a pico base station, a femto base station, a radio remote unit and the like, which are mainly distributed in places such as home, office, shopping center and the like. Load on a macro base station is reduced and capacity of the network is also improved by switching user equipment to small cells.
However, the introduction of the concept of heterogeneous network has also brought about many problems. For example, the current mechanism for detecting adjacent cells is to ensure mobility of user equipment (UE), without considering new disposition environment in the heterogeneous network. Further, for example, in the existing standard, the mechanism for detecting adjacent cells is based on s-Measure and measurement for Reference Signal Reception Power (RSRP) and/or Reference Signal Reception Quality (RSRQ). Because of non-uniformity of distribution of the cells in the heterogeneous network, a macro cell has a good service quality but may be very close to the small cells, and the user equipment might not be able to detect the small cells within the macro cell. Also, for example, the small cell detection strategy always needs use of measurement gaps, and for the user equipment, frequent configuration of the measurement gaps not only consumes power, but also greatly occupies available resources.
It has been noted that in the disposition of the heterogeneous network, a scene of coverage by hotspot areas is very common. In this scene, the macro cell mainly provides coverage of large areas, and the small cells, e.g., the pico cells, provide service bearer on another frequency. Therefore, it is possible to improve an index of quality of service (QoS) for users in the hotspot areas, and it is also possible to improve throughput of the whole network. However, due to the inter-frequency disposition of the small cells and non-uniformity of the coverage range, it needs to design a corresponding mechanism to ensure the user equipment can effectively switch to the small cells. In 3GPP TR 36.839, inter-frequency small cell detection includes several common types:
a) Relaxed Measurement Configuration
According to types (serving as hotspots or providing coverage) of the small cells and a speed of the user equipment, a measurement cycle is increased to reduce unnecessary measurements and the user equipment moving at a high speed is not allowed to get access to the small cells within the hotspot. This scheme reduces power consumption on the user equipment side and interference on user plane of a serving cell, but has a poor accuracy and delay in detection.
b) Proximity Based Small Cell Indication
Inter-frequency cell measurement may be triggered based on Proximity Indication, and these schemes can be classified as being based on macro base station, based on small cells or based on user equipment. The schemes based on macro base station and based on small cells made no changes on the user plane, and the biggest problem is how to improve accuracy. Further, the scheme based on small cells needs to modify X2 interface. However, the scheme based on user equipment has higher accuracy and higher feasibility, but may increase complexity on the user equipment side.
c) Small Cell Discovery Signal in Macro Layer
The base station of the small cell transmits a cell discovery signal (constituted by Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) and system information) on an operating frequency band of the macro cell. Thus, the user equipment may consider the small cell as a common intra-frequency cell and perform normal procedures such as measurement reporting and the like. Then, the base station may immediately trigger handover of the user equipment, or may make the user equipment perform inter-frequency cell measurement. This scheme is relatively simple, but there exists a problem that interference is caused between the small cell discovery signal and a macro cell signal and that execution of the handover might incur a certain delay. Further, forward compatibility can not be ensured, and thus traditional users can not accept and execute related signaling.
Therefore, it is intended to provide a device and method in a wireless communication system so as to improve efficiency for small cell discovery, thereby providing seamless and stable network coverage for the user.

Device and method for proximity based small cell discovery


In the sequence program (ladder circuit), in order to give a common address between contacts of the ladder circuit longitudinally and store states before and after the processing of the contact in the ladder circuit, two types of memories corresponding to addresses at the both ends of the contact are provided and a compiler for classifying the processing into the five types and a sequence execution unit for processing a machine language of the compiler are further provided so that execution can be made even if an output instruction is provided in an intermediate portion of the ladder circuit.

The present invention relates to a sequence controlling method for processing a sequence program (flowchart of a ladder circuit).
FIG. 2 shows an example of a sequence circuit for explaining the present invention and a prior art technique. FIG. 3 shows an example of a ladder circuit in the case where the sequence circuit of FIG. 2 is arranged by a sequence program (ladder circuit) in the prior art technique.
A conventional sequence controller assumes the processing form as shown in FIG. 3 in respect to the sequence circuit of FIG. 2 to process the sequence program (ladder circuit).
More particularly, when the sequence circuit includes a circuit in which an output constitutes an input condition for another output, the sequence program (ladder circuit) is divided into two or more ladder circuits as shown in FIG. 3 to process the sequence program.
With the above processing form, however, when the sequence circuit as shown in FIG. 2 is processed, the same address must be accessed twice in the processing of the ladder circuit. This is one of the factors resulting in reduced processing speed in the sequence control which requires a high-speed processing.
Further, since the same address is accessed twice, the number of program steps is also increased and a large memory capacity for storing a sequence program is also required.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Wheel for pedal-assisted bikes includes:    a fixed structure associable with the frame of a bike having a driving pedal crank;            a circle element mounted on the structure for rotation around a main rotation axis;        a propulsion disc rotatably mounted on the structure and connectable to the crank;        an electric motor associated with the structure and for cooperating with the propulsion disc to motorize the circle element; and        transmission elements for transmitting rotary motion from the disc to the circle element which include a first detection device for detecting the force transmitted to the circle element from the disc, and including:        a first plate associated in rotation with one of the disc and the circle element;        a second plate associated with the other of the disc and the circle element;        at least a motion transmission part between the first plate and second plate.

Pedal-assisted bikes are bicycles with an auxiliary electric motor having the following specifications:                maximum continuous power rating of the electric motor: 0.25 kW;        motor supply gradually reduced and interrupted when 25 km/h is achieved;        motor supply interrupted before 25 km/h if the cyclist stops pedalling.
The electric motor is controlled by means of a processing and control unit which controls the power supply according to the pedal force of the user, balancing the engagement of the transmission gradually from when pedalling starts, to make this smooth and regular.
For this purpose, pedal-assisted bikes have a force sensor in correspondence to the pedals or a speed sensor positioned in the pedal crank or both.
In traditional pedal-assisted bikes, the electric motor is housed directly in the hub of the motorised wheel and is powered by a battery pack which, instead, is fitted on the bicycle frame.
Considering the need to equip the bike with all the aforementioned components designed to perform various different functions, the traditional pedal-assisted systems are usually conceived, right from the design stage, to be fitted on a specific bike model.
Only rarely in fact is it possible to develop a kit able to adapt to several bike models, taking into account the considerable differences between the bicycles on the market, in particular their frames which, of course, have shapes and dimensions so different as to prevent a practical and complete standardisation of pedal-assisted systems.
It must also be underlined that the fitting of a kit for pedal-assisted bikes during the after-sales stage, even if this were possible, usually calls for the performance of inconvenient and not very practical operations concerning the adjustment and the fitting of the various components to the frame which more often than not cannot be performed by the end user and requires the intervention of an expert technician.
To partially overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, the integration is known in the motorised wheel of not only the electrical drive motor but also of the battery pack, as described for example in the patent document WO 2010/091323.
This constructive solution however is not without drawbacks either.
In this respect, it should first of all be noticed that the integration of the battery pack in the motorised wheel only in part simplifies pedal-assisted system fitting and removal operations because it in any case remains necessary to install force and/or speed sensors on the bike pedal crank, as well as all other components.
To this must be added that, quite apart from where the battery pack is positioned either on the wheel or on the frame, the motorised wheels for pedal-assisted bikes can not always be combined in a practical and easy way with the traditional mechanical gears usually used to reduce or multiply the motion transmission ratio from the pedal crank.
The fact that the hub of the motorised wheel is almost completely occupied by the electric motor in fact determines the fact that this wheel cannot be combined with gear change devices inside the hub, such as, e.g., the Rohloff gear change but can only be combined with external devices, such as traditional derailleur gears, which nevertheless are not standardised and vary according to the bike model.

C.R.D. CENTRO RICERCHE DUCATI TRENTO S.R.L.


A radio frequency (RF) switching circuit is provided. The RF switching circuit includes a low-figure-of-merit (FOM) switching path that requires a longer duration to be switched on and off and a high-FOM switching path having a higher FOM than the low-FOM switching path but that can be switched on and off faster than the low-FOM switching path. In one aspect, the RF switching circuit passes an RF signal via the high-FOM switching path while toggling the low-FOM switching path to help reduce overall switching time of the RF switching circuit. In another aspect, the RF switching circuit passes the RF signal via the low-FOM switching path whenever the low-FOM switching path is switched on to help improve overall FOM of the RF switching circuit. As a result, the RF switching circuit may achieve a good overall response time and a reasonable overall FOM.

Mobile communication devices have become increasingly common in current society. The prevalence of these mobile communication devices is driven in part by the many functions that are now enabled on such devices. Increased processing capabilities in such devices means that mobile communication devices have evolved from being pure communication tools into sophisticated mobile multimedia centers that enable enhanced user experiences.
The redefined user experience requires higher data rates offered by wireless communication technologies, such as long-term evolution (LTE) and fifth-generation new-radio (5G-NR). In this regard, a mobile communication device may need to operate in a variety of operation modes, such as multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) spatial diversity, MIMO spatial multiplexing, and/or radio frequency (RF) beamforming. In addition, it may be necessary for the mobile communication device to communicate an RF signal(s), either concurrently or alternately, in different RF bands associated with different wireless communication technologies. As such, the mobile communication device may include a number of RF filters for communicating the RF signal(s) in different RF bands. Accordingly, the mobile communication device may employ a number of switches to toggle the RF signal(s) between different RF filters in different operation modes.
Notably, a conventional switch, such as a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) switch, can be switched on and off faster. However, the SOI switch may create a relatively higher on-resistance (RON) when switched on and a relatively higher off-capacitance (COFF) when switched off. Accordingly, the conventional switch may correspond to a higher figure-of-merit (FOM) (FOM=RON×COFF) that can cause unwanted insertion loss to degrade RF efficiency and/or performance of the mobile communication device.
In contrast, a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switch, which may take longer to be switched on and off, typically has a FOM that is at least ⅓ lower than the FOM of the conventional SOI switch. As a result, it may be possible to reduce the unwanted insertion loss associated with the conventional SOI switch by replacing the conventional SOI switch with the MEMS switch, thus helping to improve RF efficiency and/or performance of the mobile communication device.


An exhaust system of an internal combustion engine having at least one cylinder comprises a main exhaust passage connected to the cylinder; a main catalytic converter disposed in the main exhaust passage; a bypass exhaust passage that diverges from the main exhaust passage, the bypass exhaust passage having a gas flow resistance larger than that of the main exhaust passage and having a downstream end connected to the main exhaust passage at a position upstream of the main catalytic converter; an auxiliary catalytic converter disposed in the bypass exhaust passage; and a gas flow switching device that is capable of forcing exhaust gas from the cylinder of the engine to flow toward the bypass exhaust passage when assuming a given operation position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to exhaust systems of a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine, that have a catalytic converter for purifying the exhaust gas from the engine, and more particularly to the exhaust systems of a double converter type that has main and auxiliary catalytic converters wherein when, like in a condition just after cold starting of the engine, the main catalytic converter is not sufficiently activated, the exhaust gas is enforcedly led to the auxiliary catalytic converter that is easily activated.
2. Description of the Related Art
Usually, in motor vehicles powered by an internal combustion engine, the exhaust system of the engine is arranged beneath a floor of the vehicle and has a catalytic converter installed therein. If the catalytic converter is arranged in a relatively downstream position of the system, the converter takes a long time to be heated to a sufficient level for the gas purifying operation thereof particularly in a condition just after cold starting of the engine. That is, for such long time, the catalytic converter fails to exhibit its normal gas purifying work. However, if, for solving the above-mentioned drawback, the catalytic converter is arranged in a relatively upstream position of the system, that is, a position near the engine, another drawback tends to arise wherein due to attack of heat of the engine and the highly heated exhaust gas from the engine, the durability of the catalytic converter is lowered.
In order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, various measures have been proposed, one of which is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application (Tokkaihei) 5-321644. In this measure, a main passage extends from an exhaust manifold of the engine to a main catalytic converter. A bypass passage having an auxiliary catalytic converter installed therein extends from an upstream part of the main passage to a downstream part of the same. A switch valve is arranged at the upstream part of the main passage to open and close the main and bypass passages selectively, and a controller is connected to the switch valve. In operation, just after cold starting of the engine, the controller controls the switch valve to take a bypass position to introduce the exhaust gas from the engine into the bypass passage.
Since, in this measure, the auxiliary catalytic converter is positioned at a relatively upstream portion of the exhaust system, earlier activation of the auxiliary catalytic converter is expected, which induces earlier exhaust gas purifying work by the exhaust system.

Exhaust system of multi-cylinder internal combustion engine


A fuel pump controller includes a detecting device for detecting environmental vibrational energy and converting the environmental vibrational energy into an electrical signal. A motor controller is coupled to a fuel pump motor wherein the electrical signal is used by the controller to command the fuel pump motor to operate at one of a plurality of speeds wherein the commanded speed is at least in part a function of the environmental vibrational energy.

Vehicle fuel pump systems commonly employ an electric motor coupled to a mechanical pump for pumping fuel from a fuel reservoir to an engine. Although it is possible to simplify the fuel system controls by operating the electric motor at a sufficiently high speed such that the pump will meet the greatest, fuel demand imposed by the engine, such a simplistic approach may degrade the fuel efficiency of the vehicle (by wasting electrical energy) and adversely effects the life expectancy of the components in the fuel delivery system. In order to operate a fuel delivery system as efficient as possible, it is common for the fuel control system to monitor one or more engine parameters indicative of the real time fuel demand of the engine. Under this controlled, approach, the fuel control system can operate the motor at slower speeds when the fuel demand of the engine is minimal or moderate and the control system can operate the pump motor at higher speeds when the fuel consumption demand of the engine is high. Although such control systems are effective for enhancing the efficiency and life expectancy of the components of the fuel delivery system, they require extra complexity, such as tying the fuel delivery system to the engine or engine control system. This complexity not only increases development costs, but it also increases the cost of implementing the system inasmuch as additional electrical conductors, connectors, and other components must be incorporated into the fuel delivery system.
The present invention provides, among other things, a variable speed motor coupled to a fuel pump, without requiring interconnection of the fuel system to the engine or engine control system for sensing the fuel demands of the engine.


A system and method collects transit vehicle arrival and departure data sent from the transit vehicle to a stationary control center. The stationary control center continuously calculates, a medial time table, a medial travel time to a destination on a transit route and a medial travel time between transit stops on the route. The medial values may be calculated differently for rush hour, holiday, or certain weather conditions to increase the accuracy of the schedule forecast. Actual position and time information of a transit vehicle may be transmitted via wireless communication from a transit vehicle to the stationary control center. The position and time information is transmitted at least when the transit vehicle arrives and departs each transit stop on the transit route. The medial values can be displayed to transit vehicle users.

Transportation systems that exist in most cities often provide transportation schedules for their buses, trams, trains, trolleys or other public transportation systems. The time schedule published by a transportation system provider provides a schedule indicating arrival and departure times of vehicles for the various transportation system routes. Sometimes a transportation system route may be called a transportation line. Even in the best of conditions, it can be difficult for a transportation vehicle operator to maintain the written schedule, particularly during peak traffic times, for reasons such a traffic conditions, weather conditions, passenger load and vehicle malfunctions. Furthermore, no matter how close a bus driver or vehicle operator is able to maintain the written schedule, a passenger who uses the public transit system or a particular transit line infrequently, or perhaps a passenger from outside of the transit area in which the particular transit vehicle operates, is unlikely to have a schedule readily available and know what the expected transit schedule arrival and departure times for each destination should be.
A passenger waiting at a transit stop for a transit vehicle does not know when the next transit vehicle will arrive at the particular stop. For example, if a passenger arrives at a particular stop a minute before the scheduled arrival time, and the transit vehicle does not arrive at the scheduled time, the passenger does not know if he arrived before or after the scheduled time and further does not know whether the transit vehicle will arrive at that particular stop at all. This consumes a passenger's time, which essentially extends the duration of what may already be a long journey in inclement weather. Such time may have been better spent by the passenger doing something else rather than waiting for the next transit vehicle. If a passenger uses a commuter bus at peak hours, a waiting passenger may be relatively certain that a vehicle will arrive on or almost on time, but if the passenger could determine if the bus was going to be late, the passenger could have stayed at their office or perform additional work prior to walking to the bus station to wait for a bus that is going to be late. Furthermore, if a passenger wants to make a transfer from one transit line to a second transit line, it would be advantageous for the passenger to know if the transit line thereon will arrive at a transfer stop in time for the transit vehicle on the second line to pick them up.
Additionally, an enormous amount of effort and man hours go in to determining a bus route schedule that includes arrival and departure times for each stop on a transit line. After determining the arrival and departure times for each stop on a transit line, these arrival and departure times must be entered by a person into a database. A database may even be used or loaded into a transit vehicle's electronics so as to inform the driver as well as the passengers, via display signs, the transit line or route number, the next stop (e.g., market street), and the expected arrival time at the next stop. If a bus is operating behind schedule, these times may not be properly adjusted to coincide with the transit vehicles actual arrival and departure times for the transit stops. Such a situation adds additional confusion to the passengers riding on or waiting for a transit vehicle and further may add stress to the transit vehicle operator or a bus driver due to the knowledge that they are running behind schedule and perhaps creating additional hardships for passengers who are attempting to transfer from one transit line to another.
What is needed is a real-time, self-learning transit stop schedule creation system and method that learns and stores transit stop arrival and departure times so as to create a flexible estimated schedule that may be electronically distributed to transit system users in real or near real time as well as displayed to transit system passengers on the bus or transit vehicle and other locations in order to help eliminate the drawbacks of the prior human inputted hard schedule that a transit vehicle driver is constantly attempting to meet regardless of the traffic conditions, weather, passenger load, day of the week or other variables that effect the timeliness of a transit vehicle's arrival and departure time at each stop on its particular transit route or line.

Transportation system arrival and departure time calculation and display system


A circuit for detecting whether an intermittent clock waveform signal of 50 MHz is received or not includes an offset receiver, a charge pump, a capacitor and a hysteresis comparator. A circuit for detecting whether a random data waveform signal of 500 MHz is received or not includes an offset-less receiver, a transition counter, a delay circuit and an AND circuit. An OR circuit outputs as a signal detection signal a signal indicating the OR operation result of respective outputs of the hysteresis comparator and the AND circuit.

The present invention relates to a signal detector for detecting an input signal in, e.g., a serial bus transceiver.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,355 discloses a bus transceiver connected to a serial bus according to, e.g., the IEEE1394 standard. This bus transceiver has a high speed, binary data transfer mode and a low speed, ternary control transfer mode. A binary receiver operates in the binary data transfer mode and a ternary receiver operates in the ternary control transfer mode. Moreover, a preemptive signaling receiver is provided to receive a clock signal. A level shifting circuit for common mode shifting of signals is provided at the input of each receiver.
The bus transceiver according to the IEEE1394.b standard requires a signal detector for detecting an input signal having various frequencies.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


In an image display apparatus, two light sources emit illumination light having different wavelengths, with which a liquid crystal display device is illuminated. By modulating the illumination light, the liquid crystal display device produces a first and a second image light having different wavelengths. Two holographic optical elements respectively reflect the first and second image lights and direct them to the user's eye so that virtual images of the images represented by the first and second image lights are formed at different positions. As the light source from which to obtain the illumination light is switched between the two, the dioptric power with which to present an image is changed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display apparatus that is worn on the user's head so as to be used in front of the user's eyes. More particularly, the present invention relates to an image display apparatus that allows simultaneous observation of a displayed image and of the outside world.
2. Description of Related Art
Head-worn image display apparatuses of the type worn on the head so as to be used in front of the eyes have been becoming increasingly popular as image display apparatuses for personal use. It is preferable that such image display apparatuses be made compact and lightweight.
For this reason, such image display apparatuses are typically built with a small display device in combination with an observation optical system that presents an enlarged virtual image of the image displayed on the display device. Moreover, it is preferable that such image display apparatuses be so designed that the distance from the eyes to the presented image (virtual image) is variable to allow the user to observe the image with a dioptric power that suits the user.
Head-worn image display apparatuses that allow the dioptric power to be varied are proposed, for example, in the patent publications cited below.                Patent Publication 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-264681        Patent Publication 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-330069        Patent Publication 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-298237        Patent Publication 4: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H6-326945
In the image display apparatus proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-264681 (laid-open on Sep. 26, 2001), the dioptric power is varied by moving along the optical axis an optical element provided in an observation optical system.
In the image display apparatus proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-330069 (laid-open on Nov. 30, 2000), a prism having a free-form surface is used as an observation optical system, and the dioptric power is varied by varying the distance between the prism and a display device.
In the image display apparatus proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-298237 (laid-open on Oct. 24, 2000), a variable-shape mirror is used as part of an observation optical system, and the dioptric power is varied by varying the shape of the mirror.
In the image display apparatus proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H6-326945 (laid-open on Nov. 25, 1994), a liquid crystal lens of which the refractive index varies according to the voltage applied thereto is used as part of an observation optical system, and the dioptric power is varied by varying the refractive index of the liquid crystal lens.
In recent years, there have also been proposed so-called "see-through" image display apparatuses that allow simultaneous observation of an image and of the outside world. A see-through image display apparatus can be worn all the time in daily life, and thus allows the user to be in touch with information all the time. This makes see-through image display apparatuses useful. For example, during a lecture, the contents of the speech can be presented in the form of images so that hearing-impaired people can easily understand them.
The problem here is that the part on which the user focuses his or her attention in the outside world changes constantly. As the focus of the user's attention changes, the observation distance varies greatly. Thus, if the presented image is presented with a fixed dioptric power, the dioptric powers appropriate for the observation of the outside world and of the image tend to differ greatly from each other. This greatly strains the user's eyes.
For this reason, in see-through image display apparatuses, it is particularly important that an image be presented with a variable dioptric power. It is especially preferable that the dioptric power with which the image is presented be switched quickly as the observation distance changes.
Certainly it is possible to achieve a variable dioptric power in a see-through image display apparatus on the basis of the conventional techniques proposed in the patent publications mentioned above. Doing so, however, has the following disadvantages. With image display apparatuses like those proposed in Japanese Patent Applications Laid-open Nos. 2001-264681 and 2000-330069, where a particular optical element needs to be moved mechanically, it is necessary to provide a drive mechanism and a mechanical power source. This makes it difficult to realize a compact, lightweight image display apparatus.
With image display apparatuses like that proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-298237, where a variable-shape mirror is used, it is necessary to provide an arithmetic processor, a drive circuit, and the like for controlling the shape of the mirror. This makes it difficult to realize a compact, lightweight image display apparatus.
With image display apparatuses like that proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H6-326945, where a liquid crystal lens is used, it is difficult to design a flat optical system, and in addition it is necessary to provide a controller for controlling the applied voltage. This makes it difficult to realize a compact, lightweight image display apparatus. Moreover, using a special and thus expensive optical element like a variable-shape mirror or a liquid crystal lens results in an accordingly expensive image display apparatus.