A voltage recovery switch for neutralizing a first voltage and a second voltage in a non-volatile memory. The voltage recovery switch includes a first PMOS transistor having a gate electrically connected to a third voltage and a source electrically connected to the first voltage, an NMOS transistor having a gate electrically connected to a control signal and a drain electrically connected to a drain of the first PMOS transistor, and a second PMOS transistor having a gate electrically connected to a fourth voltage, a source electrically connected to the source of the NMOS transistor, and a drain electrically connected to the second voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a voltage recovery switch, and more specifically, to a voltage recovery switch without device breakdown issue in non-volatile memory.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Memory is one of the most important components in electronic products and is categorized into two types: volatile memory and non-volatile memory. Since data stored in non-volatile memory can remain in the memory cells even the power supply connected to the non-volatile memory is shut down, non-volatile memory, such as flash memory, is more frequently used in various electronic products than volatile memory is.
According to the prior art, a non-volatile memory cell is formed on a substrate and comprises a source, a drain, and a stacked gate. Normally, the stacked gate comprises floating gate and a control gate, and a silicon oxide layer is positioned between either the floating gate and the substrate or the control gate and the floating gate to isolate either two of the substrate, the floating gate, and the control gate. The stacked gate technique used in non-volatile memory applies a high potential voltage to the control gate to change stored electron amounts in the floating gate by either electron FN tunneling effects or hot electron injection, which eventually changes the threshold voltage of the select gate and records data.
Generally, the non-volatile memory comprises a charge pump for generating the high potential voltages previously mentioned, such as a positive voltage of 10V and a negative voltage of 10V, for the purpose of programming or erasing of the non-volatile memory. After programming or erasing of the non-volatile memory, the non-volatile memory works at a power supply voltage level, normally between an operating voltage Vdd of +3V and a grounded voltage of 0V. Simultaneously, the charge pump is turned off, and the high potential voltages are discharged by the power supply voltage. However, a bounce phenomenon of the voltage level of the power supply voltage frequently occurs when the huge amount of charges are directly conducted from the high potential voltages to the power supply voltage, such as electrically connecting a positive voltage of +10V and a negative voltage of 10V respectively to the operating voltage Vdd and the grounded voltage, leading to noise and malfunction of the voltage recovery switch.
In order to prevent the bounce phenomenon previously mentioned, a voltage recovery switch is frequently employed in the non-volatile memory according to the prior art to electrically connect the high potential voltages to neutralize positive and negative charges in the high potential voltages until the high potential voltages are mildly decreased to a lower voltage level. The high potential voltages are then electrically connected to the power supply voltage for further discharge. Since most portions of the positive and negative charges in the high potential voltages are neutralized by the voltage recovery switch,the bounce phenomenon during the discharge of the high potential voltages by the power supply voltage is limited to be within an acceptable range.
Please refer to FIG. 1 showing a schematic view of a voltage recovery switch 10 according to the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, the voltage recovery switch 10 comprises a first NMOS transistor 12, a PMOS transistor 14, and a second NMOS transistor 16. A drain and a gate of the first NMOS transistor 12 are electrically connected to the positive voltage of +10V and a first control signal CTRL1, respectively, and a source and a gate of the PMOS transistor 14 are electrically connected to a source of the first NMOS transistor 12 and a voltage with a constant voltage level, such as the grounded voltage, respectively. A drain, a gate, and a source of the second NMOS transistor 16 are electrically connected to a drain of the PMOS transistor 14, a second control signal CTRL2, and the negative voltage of 10V, respectively. The structure of the voltage recovery switch 10 is revealed in JSSC 2000 November, xe2x80x9cA Channel-Erasing 1.8V-Only 32 Mb NOR Flash EEPROM with a Bitline Direct Sensing Schemexe2x80x9d and is abbreviated for simplicity of description.
The first and second control signals CTRL1 and CTRL2 are employed to respectively turn off the first and second NMOS transistors 12 and 16 during programming or erasing of the voltage recovery switch 10 to prevent neutralizing discharge of the positive and negative voltages. After the programming or erasing of the non-volatile memory, the first and second control signals CTRL1 and CTRL2 are employed to respectively turn on the first and second NMOS transistors 12 and 16, so as to neutralize and therefore discharge the positive and negative voltages by the voltage recovery switch 10.
The first NMOS transistor 12 can be directly control by a logical signal, such as the first control signal CTRL switching between 3V and 0V. However, The second NMOS transistor 16 is electrically connected to a negative voltage having a large absolute value, such as a voltage of 10V, and can only be operated in a cut-off region when a negative voltage VN is applied on the second NMOS transistor 16 by the second control signal CTRL2. In order to control the second NMOS transistor 16, the second control signal CTRL2 needs to be a control signal switching between the negative voltage VN and 0V. As a result, the cost for the circuit design of the non-volatile memory is much increased. In addition, as the second NMOS transistor 16 is turned on, the voltage difference between the gate and the source of the second NMOS transistor 16 is 13V, which frequently leads to breakdown of the second NMOS transistor 16.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a voltage recovery switch so as to prevent device breakdown of transistors in a non-volatile memory.
According to the claimed invention, the voltage recovery switch is employed for neutralizing a first voltage and a second voltage in a non-volatile memory. The voltage recovery switch comprises a first PMOS transistor, an NMOS transistor, and a second PMOS transistor. A gate of the first PMOS transistor is electrically connected to a third voltage, and a source of the first PMOS transistor is electrically connected to the first voltage. A gate of the NMOS transistor is electrically connected to a control signal, and a drain of the NMOS transistor is electrically connected to a drain of the first PMOS transistor. A gate of the second PMOS transistor is electrically connected to a fourth voltage, a source of the second PMOS transistor is electrically connected to a source of the NMOS transistor, and a drain of the second PMOS transistor Is electrically connected to the second voltage.
It is an advantage of the present invention over the prior art that the control signal of the voltage recovery switch employed to control the NMOS transistor is a frequently adapted logical signal. The cost burden for the circuit design of the non-volatile memory as revealed in the prior art is therefore prevented. In addition, the second PMOS transistor is inserted between the NMOS transistor and the second voltage. The voltage difference between the gate and the source of the NMOS transistor is well controlled, preventing breakdown of the NMOS transistor.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, which is illustrated in the multiple figures and drawings.


The invention concerns the resolution of directional information in sonar arrays. In particular it concerns a method for resolving such directional information, which may be useful in hydrographic surveys. The method comprises the steps of receiving a block of sensor data, containing time series from an array of hydrophone sensors, and beamforming to produce beam data including estimates of the directions of arrival from those beams and estimates of source strength. The method further comprises the steps of selecting a subset of the beams and refining the estimates of the directions of arrival from those beams, and, combining the refined estimates of directions of arrival from those beams with either the sensor data or the beam data, and performing a fit to the sensor data or beam data to develop an output containing refined direction of arrival data and refined source strength data.

Active sonar antenna systems collect information about the direction of objects or sound sources as well as their range. In order to achieve angular resolution the antenna must have directional properties. A number of individual omnidirectional hydrographic transducers may be arrayed and operated to obtain the desired directivity.
In general a hydrophone receive array will receive maximum intensity from a steered direction, and will also receive side lobes of lesser intensity offset from the principal direction. The overall pattern is known as the 'beam pattern', and the antenna is generally operated using a process called 'beam forming' to achieve a desired pattern.
Beam forming consists in summing the individual sensor signals with appropriate delays and weights. If it is done in the frequency domain, or in the time domain with narrowband signals, no delays are needed, because they can be incorporated as phase within complex weights.
Beam forming is well understood and produces unambiguous results from simultaneous returns from the bottom, but suffers from a number of drawbacks. It is expensive since a large well populated array is required for good angular resolution. The sensors must also be packed close together to avoid aliasing. Considerable computational resources are required to process the large number of sensors.
Alternatively, interferometric methods may be used. Interferometry provides an alternative to beam forming. The technique consists in estimating the time delays between sensors, either by correlation, or timing the interval between zero crossings; the travel time gives the range and the difference in time of between the two sensors gives the angle. This technique provides very high resolution, the hardware is relatively simple and little processing is required, however there are a number of drawbacks. For instance, the technique needs careful calibration and is unable to resolve more than one source at each range without special fixes. The technique enjoys poor public image and is fragile. The results need intelligent filtering and interpretation.

Resolving directional information in sonar arrays


A photonic crystal structure that is composed of a host media having periodic dielectric holes disposed in the media at a period of ah. Each dielectric hole has a radius rh. The host media has an absolute refractive index expressed as |nh| that is less than 0.2. The photonic crystal structure has at least one reflection minimization layer disposed at an air/photonic crystal interface. The reflection minimization layer has periodic dielectric holes disposed therein at a period am with each dielectric hole having a radius rm such that ah=am and rm>rn and a beam steerable device including the photonic crystal structure. The device having a scanning rate of larger than 1 KHz and a scanning angle up to ±25 degrees.

The present invention pertains to reflection minimized photonic crystals and to devices utilizing such materials.
Typical 2-dimensional photonic crystals consist of a dielectric slab having periodic dielectric regions present in the form of air holes or dielectric rods in air. For purposes of light propagation, infinite thickness can be assumed. Refractive indices less than 1 and even refractive indices having negative values can be engineered in various photonic crystals.
When there is a mismatch between the refractive index of the photonic crystal and the refractive index of an associated background media or air, certain amounts of light reflection can occur. Light reflection occurs when light incident from a background or air region to the photonic crystal lacks unity of absolute refractive index. In situations where the absolute refractive index is much less than 1 or much larger than 1, this disunity results in large amounts reflection. This limits the transmissive effectiveness of the photonic crystal.
In beam steering applications utilizing superprism effects, large refraction angles are achieved by engineering photonic crystal structures with extremely small absolute refractive indices at the crystal interface. This enables significant refraction corresponding to small variations in the incident angle as light enters the crystal structure. The need for ever smaller absolute refractive indices as well as negative refractive indices increases as the need for devices with ever wider beam steering angles increases.
Such small absolute refractive index values result in large amounts of reflection at the interface between the photonic crystal and air or the background media. Such reflection phenomena limit the effectiveness of the photonic crystal structure and any associated device, such as a beam steering structure and super prism lenses.
It would be desirable to provide a reflection minimized photonic crystal structure. Various methods have been proposed, but the need for effective reflection minimization remains. Devices utilizing photonic crystals with effective reflection minimization would find application in numerous configurations including but not limited to superprism lenses and beam steering devices such as near vertical-incidence thin structures.

Reflection-minimized photonic crystal and device utilizing same

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


A de-icing and anti-icing composition in the form of an aqueous solution which includes molasses, and an inorganic freezing point depressant in the form of a chloride salt.

The current state of the art for coping with snow and ice on roads usually involves applying a deicer material such as a salt to the road surface. Sometimes antiskid materials such as sand or other aggregates such as gravel are added with or without a salt.
The use of salt and compositions having high concentrations of salt, cause an undesirable corrosive effect on vehicles, the road surface, and the environment with respect to the run off of water containing salt which contaminates the surrounding land and water.
Considering the above problems associated with salt formulations, there has been a continuing need for a deicing composition or formulation which can effectively melt snow and ice yet which reduces the corrosion and environmental contamination referred to above. In response to the above problems associated with the use of road salt, the prior art has looked to alternative formulations which are less corrosive and more environmentally friendly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,101 (Janke et al.) relates to a deicing composition containing a by-product of a wet milling process of shelled corn. Corn kernels are steeped or soaked in a hot solution containing small amounts of sulfurous acid. The corn kernels are separated from the steep water and steep water solubles are used in the production of a deicing composition.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,918 (Toth et al.) relates to a deicing composition which comprises a mixture containing at least one component selected from a number of chlorides or urea and an admixture of waste concentrate of alcohol distilling that has a dry substance content of from 200 to 750 g/kg and from 10% to 80% by weight of water.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,080,330 (Bloomer) teaches a composition for use in preventing the formation of ice or snow on outdoor surfaces, such as roadways or aggregate stockpiles, and also for deicing surfaces upon which snow or ice has formed. The composition is formed from a waste product of the process of removing sugar from sugar beet molasses, also known as desugared sugar beet molasses.
The Janke et al., Toth et al. and Bloomer materials are naturally occurring substances with hundreds (if not thousands) of components such as complex carbohydrates, starches, sugars, proteins etc. and are normally used with a salt.
The above de-icing solutions now being introduced in the field employ agricultural residues e.g., corn based distillers solubles and solubles from the corn wet milling industries. These naturally occurring substances, which also include brewers condensed solubles, are extremely variable in composition, viscosity, film forming tendency, freezing temperature, pH etc., and consequently give varying performance when used in de-icing solutions. Depending upon the source and batch, these materials at low temperatures sometimes exhibit such resistance to flow that they cannot be applied evenly to a road surface or mixed with a chloride, rendering them virtually unsuitable for use.
Furthermore, these patents utilize materials which have highly undesirable or unnecessary ingredients leading to practical difficulties by manufacturers and users, such as stratification in storage, biological degradation, odor, plugging of filters and spray nozzles and environmental difficulties e.g. high biological oxygen demand due to the very high organic contents (about 40% by weight), presence of phosphorus compounds and heavy metals.
To improve quality and performance, and to meet current mandated standards, there is an immediate need for synthetic, chemically modified thickeners, and carefully purified materials which can be substituted for the currently used agricultural residues. Such a formulation would improve performance and reduce metal corrosion, spalling of concrete, toxicity and addresses environmental concerns.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a deicing formulation which exhibits improved performance standards which overcomes the prior art problems described above.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a deicing formulation which utilizes a synergistic combination of a low molecular weight carbohydrate and an inorganic freezing point depressant.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a deicing formulation which utilizes a low molecular weight carbohydrate to provide for improved ice melting properties and exhibits less corrosion.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a deicing formulation which provides consistent physical and chemical properties, thereby assuring consistent quality and performance.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an economical, highly effective deicing formulation.
The present invention is based upon the discovery that low molecular weight (about 180 to 1,000) carbohydrates when used with an inorganic freezing point depressant such as a chloride salt has a synergistic effect upon freezing point depression. The formulation of deicing/anti-icing compositions employs carbohydrates of less than about 1,000 molecular weight, such as glucose/fructose, disaccharides, trisaccharides, tetrasaccharides, pentasaccharides, hexasaccharides, and mixtures thereof. The broader operative range for the carbohydrate molecular weight is from about 180 to 1,500, with the range of about 180 to 1,000 being preferred.
The basic composition of the present invention consists of at least the first two of the following three components in aqueous solution depending upon ambient weather conditions, terrain, nature and amount of freezing/snow precipitation, and environmental concerns:
(1) Inorganic freezing point depressants preferably in the form of chloride salts which include magnesium chloride, calcium chloride and sodium chloride. Metal acetates e.g. calcium magnesium acetate, and other suitable acetates may also be used.
(2) Low molecular weight carbohydrates in the 180 to 1,500 range (180-1,000 preferred). These carbohydrates can be obtained from a wide range of agricultural based products such as those derived from corn, wheat, barley, oats, sugar cane, sugar beets etc.
(3) Thickeners are used in certain applications as the third key component to increase the viscosity of the composition so that the liquid remains in contact with the road surface or with the solid particles in piles of rocksalt/sand, or rocksalt/aggregates, or salt alone, or sand or aggregate. Thickeners are mainly cellulose derivatives or high molecular weight carbohydrates. Typical molecular weights for cellulose derivatives are for methyl and hydroxy propyl methyl celluloses from about 60,000 to 120,000 and for hydroxy ethyl celluloses from about 750,000 to 1,000,000. Carbohydrate molecular weights range from about 10,000 to 50,000.
These components are used in an aqueous solution in the following concentrations:
In a further embodiment of the present invention it has been found that molasses functions as a highly effective carbohydrate in the above formulation.
The above described compositions provide a de-icing and anti-icing formulation which can be formulated more uniformly to provide for more consistent properties from batch to batch, while at the same time providing for increased ice melting properties.


An electro-optical display system includes a rear reflective heterogeneous polarizer having first and second regions. The first region transmits a first polarization state and reflects a second polarization state and the second region transmits the second polarization state and reflects the first polarization state. The system further includes a front heterogeneous polarizer having third and fourth regions. The third region is substantially aligned with and approximately the same size and shape as the first region and the fourth region is substantially aligned with and approximately the same size and shape as the second region.

A liquid crystal display ("LCD") is a thin, flat display device made up of any number of color or monochrome pixels arrayed in front of a light source or reflector. It has many advantages over competing technologies because it uses very small amounts of electric power and is therefore suitable for use in battery-powered electronic devices, and because of its thinness.
Each pixel in an LCD consists of a layer of liquid crystal ("LC") molecules suspended between two transparent electrodes, and sandwiched between two crossed linear polarizers (i.e., polarizers with axes of transmission which are perpendicular to each other). Without the liquid crystals between them, light passing through one polarizer would be blocked by the other. The liquid crystals act as polarization modifying light valves by changing the polarization state of the light coming from the rear polarizer. In order to function in this manner, the liquid crystal molecules must be correctly aligned so that they accept light of the polarization state transmitted by the rear polarizer and can rotate it to the polarization state that is transmitted by the front polarizer. Various techniques are known for achieving the appropriate alignment of the liquid crystal molecules. These include mechanical rubbing, which introduces microscopic grooves, or use of oriented linearly polarized UV illumination of an appropriate alignment layer substrate. Application of an electric field, by applying a voltage to the transparent electrodes, can modify the degree of polarization rotation, thus enabling fine control of the light passing through the pixel. The operation of LCDs depends on the correct relationship between the axis of transmission of the rear polarizer, the alignment of the liquid crystal layer (both for light entering and leaving) and the axis of transmission of the front polarizer.
The pixels by themselves do not generate light and therefore an LCD requires external illumination, either from ambient sources for a "reflective" LCD or from a backlight for a "transmissive" LCD (or from a combination in the case of a "transflective" LCD). A large portion of the power consumption of a transmissive LCD is devoted to the backlight. However one problem with known transmissive LCDs is that the vast majority of this power is expended in producing light that is ultimately not used in the display output, since it is filtered out. A typical light yield (i.e., the fraction of generated light that is transmitted by a fully active pixel) of these known LCDs is approximately 5%-7%.
Light loss that is intrinsic to LCD designs is typically due to the following elements (assuming illumination from an unpolarized white source):                color filter set: approximately 28% transmission;        aperture ratio: approximately 70% transmission; and        rear and front polarizers: approximately 40% transmission.Color filters are required since backlight typically generate white light. The aperture ratio arises since some of the area of an LCD does not transmit light.
Polarization losses arise from intrinsic aspects of the design of LCDs. As has been described, LCDs require illumination to be linearly polarized and appropriately oriented, which typically results in the loss of at least half of the light available from the backlight.
Various attempts have been made to improve the light yield of LCDs, which could greatly improve the electrical efficiency of LCDs, therefore enabling more power efficient appliances, extending battery life for mobile devices, reducing needed backlight illumination components since fewer or lower power lamp elements would be needed to provide a certain level of brightness, and improving heat management in display units since much of the lost light is absorbed as heat. One method of improving light yield is through polarization light recycling, disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,038,745. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a typical prior art transmissive LCD 10 which includes polarization light recycling in order to improve the light yield. FIG. 1 shows only those elements directly involved in light recycling and does not show many other elements often found in LCDs (e.g., color filters, prism sheet, diffusers, etc). LCD 10 includes a liquid crystal layer 17. Liquid crystal layer 17 is sandwiched by a homogenous front polarizer 19 and a homogenous rear reflective polarizer 18. Rear polarizer 18 transmits light of a first polarization ("P1") and reflects light of a second polarization ("P2"). Front polarizer 19 is crossed with rear polarizer 18 (i.e., has perpendicular transmission axes) and transmits P2 light. Liquid crystal layer 17 functions as a plurality of polarization modifying light valves (i.e., pixels) each of which can rotate incident P1 light to include a P2 component, depending on the amount of applied voltage. LCD 10 further includes a backlight unit 11 that includes a backlight 12 for generating unpolarized white light, a rear reflector 14 for reflecting light, and a light guide 30 for guiding and homogenizing generated and reflected light.
In operation, backlight unit 11 produces a uniform distribution of white unpolarized illumination that includes both P1 and P2 light (arrow 20). This light is incident on homogenous rear reflecting polarizer 18 that transmits one polarization P1 (arrow 21) and reflects the majority of the other component, P2 (arrow 23), back into backlight unit 11. LC layer 17 converts some of the polarization of arrow 21 to P2 light and transmits that as arrow 24, of which the P2 light portion is ultimately transmitted by homogeneous front polarizer 19 as arrow 25.
Meanwhile, in backlight unit 11, elements such as rear reflector 14 convert P2 of arrow 23 so that it now has components of both P1 and P2 (arrow 26), thus allowing an increase in the amount of "recycled" P1 (arrow 27) available for transmission. A portion of the recycled P1 (arrow 27) is converted to recycled P2 (arrow 28) by LC layer 17, which is ultimately transmitted (arrow 29) by homogenous front polarizer 19. This process is repeated many times to increase the total amount of P2 light transmitted to the viewer. Commercial versions of the recycling technology shown in FIG. 1 are known to increase the light yield by approximately 30%.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for an LCD system that has an improved light yield relative to known systems.

LCD with complimentary heterogeneous polarizers for polarization light recycling


Disclosed herein is a delivery composition for administering a hydrophobic active agent. In one embodiment, a delivery composition for local administration of a hydrophobic active agent to a tissue or organ of a patient is disclosed. In one embodiment, the delivery composition includes a cationic delivery agent, a therapeutically effective amount of a hydrophobic active agent and a pharmaceutically acceptable aqueous carrier. In one embodiment, the cationic delivery agent includes polyethyleneimine (PEI). In an embodiment, the invention includes a drug delivery device including a substrate; and coated therapeutic agent particles disposed on the substrate, the coated therapeutic agent particles comprising a particulate hydrophobic therapeutic agent; and a vinyl amine polymer. Methods of making the delivery composition, as well as kits and methods of use are also included herein.

Generally, the initial focus during development of a biologically active agent is the physiochemical properties of the pharmaceutical compound, in particular the therapeutic function of the compound. Once the biological activity of the active agent is defined, the design focus typically shifts to the systems and formulations by which the active agent is delivered. In particular, one focus during development of delivery systems and formulations is the provision of a system or formulation in which therapeutic titers of the active agent are able to reach the appropriate anatomical location or compartment after administration.
The phrase "route of administration" refers to the path by which an active agent is brought into contact with the body and is determined primarily by the properties of the active agent and by the therapeutic objectives. The route of administration that is chosen for a particular active agent may have a profound effect upon the speed and efficiency of the active agent upon administration.
In general, routes of administration can be classified by whether the effect is local or systemic. For local delivery, an active agent is applied directly to the tissue or organ for which treatment is sought. The effect of local delivery is limited primarily to the tissue or organ to which the active agent is applied. For example, local delivery may be accomplished through the use of compositions such as liniments, lotions, drops, ointments, creams, suppositories, emulsions, solutions, suspensions and the like. Local delivery can also be accomplished using special delivery devices such as catheters, syringes or implantables designed to convey drug to a specific region in the body. In contrast, an active agent administered systemically enters the blood or lymphatic supply and may be felt some distance from the site of administration. For systemic delivery, oral and parenteral routes are typically used.
A particular example of a site of administration is the vascular system. The vascular system of the human is subject to blockage due to plaque within the arteries. Partial and even complete blockage of arteries by the formation of an atherosclerotic plaque is a well-known and frequent medical problem. Frequently, such blockage occurs in the coronary arteries. Blockages may also occur secondary to past treatment of specific sites (restenosis—such as that stemming from rapidly dividing smooth muscle cells). In addition, blockages can also occur in the context of peripheral arteries.
Blockages may be treated using atherectomy devices, which mechanically remove the plaque; hot or cold lasers, which vaporize the plaque; stents, which hold the artery open; and other devices and procedures designed to increase blood flow through the artery.
One common procedure for the treatment of blocked arteries is percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), also referred to as balloon angioplasty. In this procedure, a catheter having an inflatable balloon at its distal end is introduced into the coronary artery, the deflated, folded balloon is positioned at the stenotic site, and then the balloon is inflated. Inflation of the balloon disrupts and flattens the plaque against the arterial wall, and stretches the arterial wall, resulting in enlargement of the intraluminal passageway and increased blood flow. After such expansion, the balloon is deflated, and the balloon catheter removed. A similar procedure, called percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), is used in arteries other than coronary arteries in the vascular system. In other related procedures, a small mesh tube, referred to as a stent is implanted at the stenotic site to help maintain patency of the coronary artery. In rotoblation procedures, also called percutaneous transluminal rotational atherectomy (PCRA), a small, diamond-tipped, drill-like device is inserted into the affected artery by a catheterization procedure to remove fatty deposits or plaque. In a cutting balloon procedure, a balloon catheter with small blades is inflated to position the blades, score the plaque and compress the fatty matter into the artery wall. During one or more of these procedures, it may be desirable to deliver a therapeutic agent or drug to the area where the treatment is occurring to prevent restenosis, repair vessel dissections or small aneurysms or provide other desired therapy.
Additionally, it may be desirable to transfer therapeutic agents to other locations in a mammal, such as the skin, neurovasculature, nasal, oral, the lungs, the mucosa, sinus, the GI tract or the renal peripheral vasculature.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Compositions and methods for delivery of hydrophobic active agents


A commodity sales data processing apparatus includes a registration unit a first antenna positioned to read information from a wireless tag in a first region in which an article is to be placed for registration in a sales transaction. A first tag reader sends article information read from the wireless tag in the first region to the registration unit. A second antenna is positioned to read information from the wireless tag a second region. A second tag reader is connected to second antenna and configured to send article information read from the wireless tag to the registration unit to register the article in the sale transaction, if not already registered, and transmit a sale finished command to the wireless tag when the article has already been registered in the transaction.

There is a commodity sales data processing apparatus, such as a POS (Point of Sales) terminal, having a function of collectively reading, with a wireless tag reader, tag information being transmitted by multiple wireless tags attached to different commodities being purchased in a sales transaction and then executing commodity registration processing for the sales transaction.
After the execution of the commodity registration processing, information indicating that the commodity has been sold (purchased) is written into the wireless tags of the commodities in the transaction by a sales finishing command.
However, if the wireless tags are being collectively read, the time required for the collective reading increases if the information indicating that each commodity has been sold must be written in the wireless tags as part of the transaction.

Commodity sales data processing apparatus with multiple tag readers


A system and method for segmenting a structure of interest are provided. The method comprises: segmenting a surface of the structure of interest; and interpolating a border of the structure of interest, wherein the border separates the structure of interest from other structures having similar properties.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to image segmentation, and more particularly, to a system and method for segmenting a structure of interest by using an interpolation of a separating surface in an area of attachment to a structure having similar properties.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Current computer-aided detection and diagnosis (CAD) techniques have been used for the early detection and screening of cancer in areas of the body such as the colon and lungs. For example, CAD techniques such as computed tomography (CT) colonography can locate and identify polyps on the colon wall by using geometric features of the colon surface and/or volumetric properties near the surface to assist with detection. Recently, such techniques have been enhanced to segment polyps to provide the entire voxel set of the polyp. This data can then be used to quantify certain characteristics of the polyp. CAD techniques such as virtual endoscopy based on two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) analysis of image data acquired during diagnostic CT scans can be used locate and identify lung nodules or aneurisms by using geometric features and/or volumetric properties of the lung and its vessel trees. Similar to CT colonoscopy, virtual bronchoscopy and lung nodule detection in chest CT scans includes advanced segmentation methods to provide a medical practitioner with information regarding detected thoracic and lung nodules. This data could then be used to quantify certain characteristics of the nodules and aid in the diagnosis of diseases associated therewith.
In the above-mentioned and other areas of CAD, the surface or boundary between, for example, a segmented polyp and a colon or bronchi lumen or between a lung nodule and the air inside the lungs is relatively easy to determine due to the large intensity discrepancy between these regions. However, the boundaries between polyp tissues of similar intensity are not very obvious. For example, a polyp 110 is always connected to another object having a similar intensity such as a colon fold 120 or colon wall 130 as shown in FIG. 1. Thus, in order to determine the surface or boundary between the polyp 110 and the colon fold 120 or wall 130 special image-processing techniques need to be applied to successfully locate and separate them.
In one image processing technique for polyp segmentation, a hysteresis thresholding is performed that uses some colonic volumetric features. This technique first locates voxels with low curvedness values and high shape indexes and then clusters them to segment the polyp. This technique, however, does not sufficiently identify small polyps and flat polyps since there is an insufficient number of voxels with low curvedness values and high shape indexes for clustering. In another image processing technique, Canny edge detectors are used to locate the polyp-lumen boundary and Radon transformation is used to identify round shaped polyps. This technique, however, does not robustly segment all polyp types.
In yet another image processing technique, a combination of knowledge-guided intensity adjustments, fuzzy c-mean clustering and deformable models is employed for locating the polyp boundary. However, this technique does not robustly segment abnormal growths from healthy tissue. Accordingly, there is a need for a segmentation technique that is capable of robustly segmenting abnormal growths or similar structures from healthy tissue or other nearby structures so that the size and structure of the abnormal growth can be monitored over time and presented to a medical practitioner for analysis.

System and method for segmenting a structure of interest using an interpolation of a separating surface in an area of attachment to a structure having similar properties


Disclosed are a method for preparing a positive electrode active material for a lithium secondary battery and a positive electrode active material for a lithium secondary battery, the method including: preparing a mixture of a precursor represented by Chemical Formula 1 below, a lithium composite oxide represented by Chemical Formula 2 below and capable of intercalating/deintercalating lithium ions, and a lithium feed material; and firing the prepared mixture:A(OH)2-a   [Chemical Formula 1]Li[LizA(1-z-a)Da]EbO2-b   [Chemical Formula 2]

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for preparing a positive electrode active material for a lithium secondary battery, a positive electrode active material for a lithium secondary battery, and a lithium secondary battery including the same.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Recently, with respect to the trend of miniaturization and lightweight of portable electronic devices, the batteries used as power for the devices need to be have high performance and high capacity.
Batteries generate electric power by using materials capable of having an electrochemical reaction at positive and negative electrodes. Of these batteries, a representative example is a lithium secondary battery in which electric energy is generated due to a change in a chemical potential when lithium ions are intercalated/deintercalated at positive and negative electrodes.
The lithium secondary battery is manufactured by using a material capable of reversibly intercalating/deintercalating lithium ions for positive electrode and negative electrode active materials and charging an organic electrolyte or a polymer electrolyte between a positive electrode and a negative electrode.
As for the positive electrode active material for the lithium secondary battery, a lithium composite compound is used, and examples thereof may include metal composite oxides such as LiCoO2, LiMn2O4, LiNiO2, and LiMnO2, which have been researched.
Of these positive electrode active materials, Mn-based positive electrode active materials, such as LiMn2O4 and LiMnO2, are attractive since they are easy to synthesize, are relatively cheap, have relatively excellent thermal stability at the time of overcharging as compared with the other active materials, and have less pollution on environment. However, these materials have a drawback in that the capacity is small.
LiCoO2 is a representative positive electrode active material that is currently commercialized on the market since it has favorable electrical conductivity and a high battery voltage of about 3.7 V as well as excellent cycle lifespan characteristics, stability, and discharge capacity. However, LiCoO2 is not priced competitively since it is expensive and thus accounts for 30% or more of the battery price.
LiNiO2 is difficult to synthesize even though it provides the highest charge capacity in the above-mentioned positive electrode active materials. Moreover, the high oxidation state of nickel is a causative factor of deteriorating battery and electrode lifespan characteristics. Moreover, the self discharge of nickel is severe and reversibility of nickel is deteriorated. Moreover, nickel insufficiently secures stability and thus is difficult to commercialize.
For the improvement in stability and capacity of the battery, JP 2011-216485 discloses a positive electrode active material for a lithium secondary battery, in which lithium nickel composite oxides having different particle size distributions and different compositions are mixed. Here, the degree of improvement is explained as a synergy effect due to the physical mixing of different positive electrode active materials.
KR2012-0017004 discloses a positive electrode active material for a lithium secondary battery, which is prepared by mixing precursors having different compositions and firing the mixture together with a lithium compound. However, since the firing temperature needs to be varied depending on the compositional ratio of Ni/Co/Mn in order to exhibit the maximum performance for the compositions, the corresponding technology is restricted to a mixture of precursors having very similar compositions.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Method for preparing positive electrode active material for lithium secondary battery