This invention relates to atroipsomers of reduced tetraphenylporphyrin derivatives with halogen atoms (F, Cl, Br) in the ortho positions of the phenyl groups, particularly halogenated tetraphenylchlorins and halogenated tetraphenylbacteriochlorins, which can be used in photodynamic therapy. According to the formulae of the invention, the ortho-phenyl substituents X1, X2, X3, X4, X5, X6, X7 and X8 may be identical or different and represent halogen atoms or hydrogen atoms, provided that at least all of X2, X4, X6 and X8 are halogens, and the meta-phenyl substituents R1, R2, R3 and R4 are independently chosen from —OH, —OR or —SO2R″, where R″ are each independently chosen from —Cl, —OH, -aminoacid, —OR, —NHR, or —NR2, where R are alkyl of 1 to 12 carbon atoms or R2 represents cycloalkyl with 2 to 12 carbon atoms. The atropisomers of this invention have the majority of the substituents R1, R2, R3 and R4 on the same side of the plane defined by the macrocycle. The invention also relates to an anticancer and/or antimicrobial and/or antiviral pharmaceutical composition where atropisomers α4 and α3β are the main active ingredients, such that the mixture of atropisomers α4 and α3β constitutes more than 70% of the atropisomers present in the active ingredient and/or the atropisomer α4 constitutes more than 20% of the atropisomers present in the pharmaceutical composition.

Sulfonamide tetraphenylchlorins and tetraphenylbacteriochlorins with halogen atoms in the ortho positions of the phenyl groups were found to have particularly useful properties for photodynamic therapy (PDT) (1-4). PDT is a medical treatment that combines the use of a photosensitizing drug, light of a wavelength absorbed by that drug, and molecular oxygen to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the target tissue. The therapeutic effect is mediated by the oxidative stress locally produced by the ROS. Tetraphenylporphyrins, tetraphenylchlorins and tetraphenylbacteriochlorins derivatives are often used as PDT photosensitizers (5). These molecules have phenyl-macrocycle single bonds with hindered rotations. When the phenyl groups contain halogen atoms in the ortho positions, rotation about the single bond between the phenyl group and the macrocycle can be prevented or greatly reduced. Although the steric hindrance of the phenyl-macrocycle single bond rotation can, in principle, be overcome at high temperatures, the half-life of this rotation in halogenated tetraphenylporphyrins, tetraphenylchlorins and tetraphenylbacteriochlorins may be sufficiently long at room temperature and at body temperature to allow for the separation and independent use of stereoisomers possibly existing in this class of molecules. Stereoisomers are most frequently observed as a result of chiral atoms. The enantiomers or diastereomers resulting from the presence of chiral atoms are known to be at the origin of drugs with very differentiated interactions with biological targets. Halogenated tetraphenylbacteriochlorins, tetraphenylchlorins and tetraphenylbacteriochlorins do not have chiral atoms in the macrocycle or in the phenyl groups but have separable stereoisomers because the hindered phenyl-macrocycle single bond may generate a different spatial distribution of bulky substituents. This will be the case of such molecules when they contain non-symmetric substituents in the ortho and/or meta positions and the barrier for the rotation of the phenyl-macrocycle single bond is high. The stereoisomers that result from slow axial rotation are called atropisomers (6). Atropisomers of halogenated tetraphenylporphyrins when the substituents in the two meta positions of the phenyl groups are different (7-9). The compounds of the invention present the first evidence that atropisomers of ortho-halogenated tetraphenylchlorins and of ortho-halogenated tetraphenylbacteriochlorins are separable and that the atropisomers possess differential therapeutic effect as photosensitizers for PDT.
It may be surprising that atropisomers differing only by the conformation around a single bond may generate oxidative stresses with dramatically different therapeutic outcomes. Unexpectedly, the inventors of the present invention found that the enrichment of a mixture of atropisomers in the atropisomers with more voluminous groups on the same side of the plane defined by macrocycle can cure mice with subcutaneously implanted tumors in conditions where the mixture enriched in atropisomers with the same number of voluminous groups on both sides of the macrocycle plane do not cure any animals. The higher PDT efficacy of an atropisomer composition enriched in atropisomers with most of the meta substituents of the phenyl group bound to the macrocycle on the same side of the plane defined by said macrocycle, could not be anticipated by the expert in the field. Indeed, earlier phototoxicity studies with tetraphenylporphyrins seemed to indicate precisely the opposite, i.e., it was suggested that the four isolable atropisomers of "picket fence" tetraphenylporphyrins had no differences in photosensitizing ability (10). Moreover, the two regioisomers of benzoporphyrin derivative monoacid ring A, which is known as verteporfin and is used in clinical practice as a photosensitizer in PDT of age-related macular degeneration, are equally potent photosensitizers of tumor cells in vitro and in vivo (11). Furthermore, the two regioisomers of verteporfin each consist of a racemic mixture of two enantiomers and all enantiomers have similar pharmacological activity (12). Based in all available data, the expert in the field is led to believe that atropisomers of any given photosensitizer interact with light and with oxygen in very similar ways, and conclude the PDT efficacies of the atropisomers must be very similar. The present invention discloses for the first time therapeutically beneficial pharmaceutical compositions of atropisomers of halogenated tetraphenylchlorin or halogenated tetraphenylbacteriochlorin derivatives for use in PDT that are enriched in the atropisomer with all meta substituents of the phenyl group bound to the macrocycle on the same side of the plane defined by said macrocycle (atropisomer α4), such that the relative amount of the atropisomer α4 in the pharmaceutical composition is more than 20%. Against all expectations, it is demonstrated that the PDT efficacy in vitro of the preferred atropisomer α4 can be orders of magnitude larger than the PDT efficacy in vitro of the least photoactive atropisomer αβαβ where the voluminous substituents in the meta positions of adjacent phenyl rings are in opposite sides of the plane defined by the macrocycle ring.
FIG. 1 illustrates the various stereoisomers existing in sulfonamide halogenated tetraphenylbacteriochlorins with halogens in the ortho positions of the phenyl rings and sulfonamide groups in one of the meta positions. The three-dimensional orientation of the atoms of the stereoisomers illustrated in FIG. 1 is different and can be interconverted by the rotation of phenyl-macrocycle single bonds. Such interconversion is very slow at room temperature, or at body temperature, because of the presence of halogen atoms (F, Cl, Br) in the ortho positions of the phenyl rings, which allows for the separation and individual use of each one of the atropisomers. The bold lines in the molecular structures of FIG. 1 indicate that the bolded atoms, and the groups attached thereto, are sterically restricted so as to exist above the plane approximately defined by the macrocycle ring, that is known to be somewhat distorted from the planar geometry but that nevertheless define a restricted spatial orientation of the groups R′. The presence of all R′ on the same side of the plane defined by the macrocycle is represented as α4, when three R′ are on the same side of the plane and the last R′ is on the other side the atropisomer is represented by α3β, when two of the R′ are on each side and adjacent to each other the representation of the atropisomer is α2β2, and finally when two of the R′ are on each side but alternate in the positions with respect to the plane of the macrocycle the representation of the atropisomer is αβαβ.
It has been shown that atropisomers of halogenated tetraphenylporphyrins can be separated and may have different molar absorption coefficients in the red region of the electromagnetic spectrum (7, 9). A high molar absorption coefficient in the red, where human tissues have higher transparency than in the other regions of the visible spectrum, is a desirable property for PDT because a dye that absorbs more light is more likely to initiate the cascade of photochemical reactions that generate ROS. On the other hand, atropisomers of halogenated tetraphenylporphyrins, tetraphenylchlorins and tetraphenylbacteriochlorins may have different excited state lifetimes (13) that may influence their PDT efficacy. Shorter triplet lifetimes in aerated solutions are associated with stronger interactions with molecular oxygen, possibly mediated by charge transfer interactions (4). Remarkably, the atropisomers in FIG. 1 have different numbers and different orientations of polar groups on each side of the macrocycle and, consequently, have different polarities. The differences in polarity, shape and excluded molecular volume may provide a basis for their separation, and also have impact on their biological activity. Hence, differences in molar absorption coefficient, excited state lifetime, polarity and excluded molecular volume of the atropisomers may lead to differences in their interactions with molecular oxygen and with biological targets, and have a hitherto undisclosed impact in their PDT activity. Further, based at least on the discussion above, a person of ordinary skill in the art would have expected that atropisomers with higher molar absorption coefficients should be more effective in photodynamic therapy. However, surprisingly, the atropisomer of the present invention that has been shown to be the most efficient in photodynamic therapy is not the atropisomer that absorbs more light.
Tetraphenylbacteriochlorins are relatively unstable (14, 15) and it could not be anticipated that the separation of their atropisomers would be feasible with cost-effective procedures. The introduction of halogen atoms in the ortho positions of the phenyl rings both hinders the rotation of the phenyl-macrocycle bond and stabilizes the macrocycle against oxidation. Hence, halogenated tetraphenylbacteriochlorins have uniquely stable atropisomers, with high phenyl-macrocycle rotational barriers and oxidation potentials as high as those of tetraphenylporphyrins. These properties allow for the separation of the atropisomers of halogenated tetraphenylbacteriochlorins at temperatures equal to, or above, room temperature and in the presence of light and oxygen. Hence, the separation of such atropisomers is cost-effective. There are various ROS that can be generated by photosensitizers. The most important ROS generated by bacteriochlorins in the presence of light of an appropriate wavelength and of molecular oxygen are: singlet oxygen (i.e., the lowest electronically excited state of molecular oxygen), superoxide ion, hydrogen peroxide and the hydroxyl radical (16). The hydroxyl radical is the most reactive of these ROS. It can react with a wide range of biological targets and it may also react with the photosensitizer leading to its bleaching. The electronically excited photosensitizer can be regarded as a very special catalyst that generates ROS when it encounters molecular oxygen. However, when the photosensitizer is bleached by the ROS it cannot generate more ROS. Thus, the efficacy of a photosensitizer is given by a delicate balance between the ability of a photosensitizer to interact strongly with molecular oxygen and its ability to survive that interaction without being bleached (4). The different spatial orientations of the meta substituents in the atropisomers α4, α3β, α2β2 and αβαβ may offer distinct and unsuspected interactions with molecular oxygen. This invention demonstrates for the first time that the atropisomers α4, α3β, α2β2 and αβαβ possess differential interactions with molecular oxygen and/or ROS manifested in different triplet lifetimes and/or photodecomposition quantum yields. These differences can explain the differential PDT activity of the atropisomers.

Atropisomers of halogenated tetraphenylbacteriochlorins and chlorins and their use in photodynamic therapy


The present invention relates to a spreading signal assigning method and a signal transmitting method in a direct sequence CDMA mobile communication system, a mobile wireless communication system using the methods, and a transmitter, a receiver and a transceiver in the mobile wireless communication system in which an assignment method of a second spreading code is devised such that various services can be provided. The invention is configured such that a signal spread with the second spreading code is transmitted between a base station and a mobile station by assigning a code associated with each base station group or a code associated with each network type to which the base station group belongs as the second spreading code.

Generally, in a direct sequence CDMA system, a first spreading code group common to base stations which have the same repetition period as that of an information symbol period (hereinafter, a code which has the same repetition period as the information symbol period will be called a short code) and a second spreading code group which has a longer repetition period than the information symbol period (hereinafter, a code which has a longer repetition period than the information symbol period will be called a long code) are used. A signal is transmitted by spreading doubly with a first spreading code of the first spreading code group and a second spreading code of the second spreading code group (here, the second spreading code varies from one base station to another). The second spreading code is used in order to reduce interference from other base stations since the number of first spreading code of the first spreading code group is limited.
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of the direct sequence system used in general. In the system, received information is first-spread with a first spreading code. After that, the received information is second-spread with a second spreading code. Information which is applied to an input terminal 1 is first-spread in a multiplier 2 by multiplying the information by an output from a first spreading code generator 3. Next, a spreading output from the multiplier 2 is multiplied by an output from a second spreading code generator 5 such that second-spreading is performed and a spreading modulation signal output is obtained at an output terminal 6.
FIG. 2 shows another configuration example. According to the configuration, the received information is spread by performing an exclusive OR operation on the first spreading code and the second spreading code. A result of an exclusive OR operation of an output from the first spreading code generator 3 and an output from the second spreading code generator 5 is calculated by an exclusive OR circuit 9. Information received at the input terminal 1 is calculated using the result of the exclusive OR operation in a multiplier 8 such that the spreading modulation signal output is obtained at the output terminal 6.
Here, an orthogonal code (for example, a GOLD code) is used as the first spreading code generally. The number of the orthogonal codes which are generated is limited to the number of a spreading ratio. Therefore, in a general direct sequence CDMA communication system, a signal is spread and transmitted with the second spreading code having a longer repetition period than the information symbol period as well as the first spreading code having a repetition period of the information symbol period. The second spreading code having the longer repetition period can have a large number of spreading codes by highly increasing the repetition period.
FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of a receiver where a signal is transmitted after being spread doubly with a first spreading code and a second spreading code.
A signal which is doubly spread with the first spreading code and the second spreading code is received by an antenna part 10 and received by an RF receive part 11. The received signal is multiplied by an output from a second spreading code generator 13 in a multiplier 12 such that the received signal is first-despread. Next, an output from the multiplier 12 which is despread is multiplied by an output from a first spreading code generator 15 in a multiplier 14 such that it is second-despread, and then an output from the multiplier 14 is applied to a demodulator 16. After that, demodulated data is obtained from the demodulator 16.
Instead of despreading by using the multiplier 12 and the multiplier 14 with the second spreading code and the first spreading code, respectively, despreading can be carried out by using a multiplier with a result of an EXOR operation on the first spreading code and the second spreading code as shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of a transmitter where a signal is spread doubly with a first spreading code and a second spreading code, and is sent.
Data to be transmitted is applied to a modulator 21. An output from the modulator 21 is multiplied by an output from the first spreading code generator 23 such that it is first-spread. Next, an output from a multiplier 22 which is spread is multiplied by an output from a second spreading code generator 25 in a multiplier 24 such that it is second-spread. Then, it is applied to an RF transmitter 26. An output from the RF transmitter 26 is output from an antenna part 20.
Instead of despreading by the multiplier 22 and the multiplier 24 with the first spreading code and the second spreading code, despreading can be carried out by using a multiplier with a result of an EXOR operation on the first spreading code and the second spreading code as shown in FIG. 2.
By the way, in a wireless mobile communication system, a mobile station communicates with a telephone terminal in a public network or the like via a wireless base station. A wireless circuit can be easily listened in on or used fraudulently since the circuit is open to the air. Hence, there have been various technologies conventionally which enable a mobile station to connect to only a specific base station in order to avoid others listening in or a fraudulent use.
For example, Japanese laid-open patent application No. 63-189026 discloses an invention of a cordless telephone system such as a normal domestic cordless telephone. In the cordless telephone, a cordless handset and a cordless base transmit/receive a unique system identifying number (which is configured by a fixed identifying number which is assigned to the cordless base and the cordless handset and a plurality of identifying numbers which determine an order) such that a cordless base which can communicate with a cordless handset is identified. Communication is allowed only when the system identifying number of the cordless base matches with the system identifying number of the cordless handset.
As another example, Japanese laid-open patent application No. 7-203540 discloses an invention regarding a business cordless telephone system which provides a roaming service for a terminal which moves in a wireless service area of a PBX. In the conventional example, a cordless handset stores a plurality of unique system identifying numbers (base station IDs) which are assigned to each system which numbers can be communicated, or the cordless handset stores a network identifying number (network ID) which indicates a plurality of system identifying numbers which can be communicated by the cordless handset. When communicating, the cordless handset identifies a cordless base which can communicate with the cordless handset by transmitting/receiving the identifying numbers. That is, when the system identifying numbers or the network identifying numbers of the cordless handset and the cordless base are the same, the cordless handset and the cordless base can communicate with each other.
FIG. 5 shows an example of a generalized configuration for a roaming service between PBXs (private branch exchanges). When a mobile terminal apparatus 43 moves from a zone of the PBX A 41 to a zone of the PBX B 42, the system identifying number or the network identifying number is checked so as to determine whether the roaming service is provided.
Generally, a control for determining whether a base station and a mobile station are allowed to connect should be carried out as quickly as possible, since the control is a preparation.
By the way, if the inventions disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese laid-open patent application No. 63-189026 and Japanese laid-open patent application No. 7-203540 are applied as is to the direct sequence CDMA mobile communication system, the mobile station needs to receive and recognize the system identifying number or the network identifying number. For that purpose, the mobile station needs to know a spreading code (a long code or a short code) which the base station uses. After despreading a received signal with the spreading code, the mobile station can know the system identifying number or the network identifying number from an information symbol. In this case, if the spreading code is not known beforehand, it is necessary to identify the spreading code. Therefore, it takes much time for the mobile station to determine whether the mobile station can connect to the base station from the received signal. Thus, the above-mentioned method is not practical.

Method of assignment and transmission of spread signals in direct sequence spread spectrum CDMA mobile communication system, mobile communication system, and transmitter, receiver and transmitter/receiver of mobile communication system


A method for a parallel shift right merge of data. The method of one embodiment comprises receiving a shift count of M. A first operand having a first set of L data elements is shifted left by ‘L−M’ data elements. A second operand having a second set of L data elements is shifted right by M data elements. The shifted first set is merged with the shifted second set to generate a resultant having L data elements.

A processor technology advances, newer software code is also being generated to run on machines with these processors. Users generally expect and demand higher performance from their computers regardless of the type of software being used. One such issue can arise from the kinds of instructions and operations that are actually being performed within the processor. Certain types of operations require more time to complete based on the complexity of the operations and/or type of circuitry needed. This provides an opportunity to optimize the way certain complex operations are executed inside the processor.
Media applications have been driving microprocessor development for more than a decade. In fact, most computing upgrades in recent years have been driven by media applications. These upgrades have predominantly occurred within consumer segments, although significant advances have also been seen in enterprise segments for entertainment enhanced education and communication purposes. Nevertheless, future media applications will require even higher computational requirements. As a result, tomorrow's personal computing (PC) experience will be even richer in audio-visual effects, as well as being easier to use, and more importantly, computing will merge with communications.
Accordingly, the display of images, as well as playback of audio and video data, which is collectively referred to herein as content, have become increasingly popular applications for current computing devices. Filtering and convolution operations are some of the most common operations performed on content data, such as image audio and video data. As known to those skilled in the art, filtering and correlation calculations are computed with a multiply-accumulate operation that adds the products of data and co-efficients. The correlation of two vectors, A and B, consists in the calculation of the sum S:
                                          S                                      [              k              ]                                =                                    1              N                                                                  ∑                                  i                  =                  0                                                  N                  -                  1                                                                                a                                                        [                    i                    ]                                                  ·                                  b                                                        [                                          i                      +                      k                                        ]                                                                                ,                            Equation                                                            (          1          )                    that is very often used with k=0:
                              S                                [            0            ]                          =                              1            N                                                        ∑                              i                =                0                                            N                -                1                                                                                a                                                  [                  i                  ]                                            ·                              b                                                  [                  i                  ]                                                                                Equation                                                            (          2          )                    In case of an N tap filter f applied to a vector V, the sum S to be calculated is the following:
                    S        =                              ∑                          i              =              0                                      N              -              1                                                                    f                                            [                i                ]                                      ·                          V                                            [                i                ]                                                                        Equation                                                            (          3          )                    Such operations are computationally intensive, but offer a high level of data parallelism that can be exploited through an efficient implementation using various data storage devices, such as for example, single instruction multiple data (SIMD) registers.
Applications of filtering operations are found in a wider array of image and video processing tasks and communications. Examples of uses of filters are reduction of block artifacts in motion picture expert group (MPEG) video, reducing noise and audio, decoupling watermarks from pixel values to improve watermark detection, correlation for smoothing, sharpening, reducing noise, finding edges and scaling the sizes of images or video frames, up sampling video frames for sub-pixel motion estimation, enhancing audio signal quality, and pulse shaping and equalizing the signal in communications. Accordingly, filtering as well as convolution operations are vital to computing devices which offer playback of content, including image, audio and video data.
Unfortunately, current methods and instructions target the general needs of filtering and are not comprehensive. In fact, many architectures do not support a means for efficient filter calculations for a range of filter lengths and data types. In addition, data ordering within data storage devices such as SIMD registers, as well as a capability of adding adjacent values in a register and for partial data transfers between registers, are generally not supported. As a result, current architectures require unnecessary data type changes which minimizes the number of operations per instruction and significantly increases the number of clock cycles required to order data for arithmetic operations.

Method and apparatus for parallel shift right merge of data


Described herein is a method of sharing a frequency resource between a plurality of transmission/reception pairs in a communication system. Also described is an inner-cell coordinator included in the communication system that may be used to carry out the method of sharing a frequency resource between a plurality of transmission/reception pairs.

1. Field
The following description relates to a method of sharing a frequency resource between a plurality of transmission/reception pairs in a communication system.
2. Description of Related Art
Researches on a communication system that includes a plurality of transmission/reception pairs have been pursued to increase data transmission rate and reliability of communication. To increase efficiency of the communication system, the plurality of transmission/reception pairs may use the same frequency resource. An example of a transmission/reception pair is a base station and a terminal that may be referred to as a base station-terminal pair. Each of the plurality of transmission/reception pairs may be a base station-terminal pair in a multi-macro cellular environment, and the plurality of base station-terminal pairs may increase a cell capacity and may increase efficiency at a cell edge by using the same frequency resource.
In the multi-macro cellular environment, the plurality of base station-terminal pairs work together as a coordinated set. The base station-terminal pairs may have difficulty in coordinating a resource in real time, for example, because of the mobility of the terminals. To coordinate the resource in real time, base stations may exchange information such as scheduling information.
A relay channel, for example, an X2 channel, may be used by base stations to coordinate inter-cell interference. 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) defines an X2 channel as an interface between base stations, and the X2 channel allows several messages for Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (ICIC). However, a period of exchanging messages between base stations in the X2 channel can be several tens of milliseconds which is excessively long. Therefore, when the terminals have a mobility, the base stations may have difficulty in exchanging information in an X2 channel in real time.

Scheduling information sharing protocol of communication system


A system, in a vehicle consist including at least a fuel car operably connectable to a powered vehicle via a fuel distribution path, includes a communication module and a determination module. The communication module is configured to communicate via a first channel and a second channel. The second channel is associated with the fuel distribution path and is configured to communicate a status signal. The determination module is configured to associate the fuel distribution path with the powered vehicle based at least in part on at least one of the status signal or an acknowledgment message indicating receipt of the status signal.

A vehicle system may include one or more powered vehicles that may be mechanically linked (directly or indirectly) to non-powered vehicles. The powered and non-powered vehicles of the vehicle system may travel as a group along a designated route. In cases where the vehicle system includes multiple powered vehicles, the vehicle system may coordinate operations of the powered vehicles to move the vehicle system. For example, a rail vehicle system may include a powered unit consist that has one or more powered units mechanically coupled to one or more non-powered rail cars. Vehicles in a consist may include a lead powered unit and one or more remote powered units and/or trail powered units. (Remote powered units are those that are spaced apart from the lead powered unit by one or more non-powered vehicles. Trail powered units are those that are in the same powered unit consist as the lead powered unit, and thereby not spaced apart from the lead powered unit by one or more non-powered rail vehicles, but that are subordinate to control by the lead powered unit). The lead vehicle may control operation of one or more remote vehicles.
In certain vehicle systems, a lead vehicle communicates with remote powered vehicles via a multiple unit (MU) line. Conventional MU communications do not identify a particular remote vehicle for which a command is intended. Instead, a similar command is sent to all remote vehicles. Ethernet over MU signals may be overlaid on one or more channels of a MU line, and may include identification information of a sender or intended audience. However, such identification information may only be useful when a receiving vehicle has previous knowledge of the identity or location of a sender.
In certain vehicle systems, fuel cars (also known as fuel tenders) may be employed to carry fuel and to supply fuel to one or more powered vehicles. For example, liquid natural gas (LNG) or compressed natural gas (CNG) may be employed as a fuel source for one or more powered vehicles. However, LNG and CNG may not be readily available along a route traversed during a mission. Thus, fuel cars may be added to a consist to provide additional fuel carrying capability. Further, fuel cars may be replaced and/or added at various points during performance of a mission to provide additional fuel. As powered vehicles consume fuel during a mission, those vehicles that require additional fuel may request fuel from a fuel car. A fuel car may be operably connected with plural vehicles, for example, via separate, dedicated fuel supply lines. For proper response to fuel requests, the fuel car must be able to determine which fuel supply line provides fuel to a particular vehicle requesting fuel. Because communications utilizing MU or Ethernet over MU communications may be configured so that all vehicles have access to messages, it may be difficult to determine which vehicle is requesting fuel. It may be desirable to have a system or method that differs from those that are currently available.


A universal direct current brushless air conditioning system preferably includes a blower unit and a compressor unit. The blower unit preferably includes an evaporator, at least one inlet fan, at least one outlet vent, a direct current controller, a thermostatic expansion valve and a mounting enclosure. The compressor unit preferably includes a compressor, a condenser, at least one exhaust fan and a mounting enclosure. The compressor includes a motor. Significantly, the inlet fans, the at least one exhaust cooling fan and the compressor motor are a DC brushless type for drawing less electrical power. The blower unit and compressor unit are connected to each other through any suitable tubing and wires. A reverse valve is preferably included to allow the universal direct current brushless air conditioning system to be used as a heat pump to output heat.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to air conditioning systems. More particularly, the invention relates to a direct current air conditioning system that incorporates all brushless-technology components. The system can be configured to incorporate a split air conditioning architecture or, alternatively, a unitary housed system. The system is particularly well suited for use to cool an open-air vehicle, such as a golf cart, boat cabin, or any other vehicle having an available power supply in the range of 9 to 600 volts DC.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Efficient and effective direct current air conditioning systems for small battery-powered vehicles have been developed in the past. However, the prior art direct current air conditioning systems have several drawbacks. Existing direct current air conditioning systems have poor overall cooling ability relative to the amount of power consumed. The direct current air conditioning systems also have been bulky, generally due to their containment within a single enclosure. Oftentimes, such single enclosure designs also require an added support structure due to weight concentration in a particular area.
Accordingly, there is an established need for a universal direct current air conditioning system, which incorporates all brushless-technology components to increase the efficiency of the air conditioning system, and which may be housed in two separate enclosures.

Universal direct current brushless air conditioning system


A display may include a backlight structure. The backlight structure may include a light guide plate. Holes in the light guide plate may be configured to receive corresponding light-emitting diodes. The holes may separate an edge portion of the light guide plate from a main central portion of the light guide plate. Adhesive may be attached to the lower surface of the edge portion. The adhesive may be attached to a device housing or may be attached to a flex circuit that is attached to the housing with additional adhesive. The light-emitting diodes may be mounted within packages in pairs. The packages may be mounted on the flex circuit. Traces on part of the flex circuit may be covered by part of the light guide plate without any intervening adhesive. A reflective structure may be interposed between the traces and parts of the main portion of the light guide plate.

This relates to electronic devices with displays, and more particularly, to backlight structures for displays.
Electronic devices such as computers and other electronic equipment often use backlit displays. A typical backlight structure may include light-emitting diodes that launch light into the edge of a plastic light guide plate. As light travels within the light guide plate, some of the light is scattered through the surface of the plate and serves as backlight for overlapping display structures.
In some displays, the edge of the light guide plate is serrated to accommodate a row of light-emitting diodes. A bezel structure may be used to help hold the components in a display of this type such as the light guide plate and other backlight structures in position within an electronic device.
It may be desirable to form a groove in a housing to help retain the backlight and other display structures within the housing without using bezel structures. With this type of arrangement, one edge of the light guide plate may be retained within the groove and another edge of the light guide plate may be held in place using adhesive. The use of this type of arrangement may help minimize the size of the device, but the presence of the adhesive under the light guide plate may affect the quality of the backlight that is produced.
It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved arrangements for backlighting displays for electronic devices.

Display backlight having light guide plate with light source holes and dual source packages


An adapter enables a rider to adjust an angular orientation of a binding relative to a sport board without removing a foot, comprising a base plate, a top plate, and a locking mechanism supported by the top plate having a pair of insertion members configured to selectively engage a plurality of recesses formed in the base plate. The top plate and base plate can each have a center opening and a fastener supported by the center opening of each of the top plate and base plate to axially couple the top plate to the base plate.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure generally relates to sporting equipment having at least one binding mounted on a platform. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to such sporting equipment wherein the binding is selectively releasable to pivot or rotate about a generally vertical axis without requiring removal of a boot from the binding.
2. Description of the Related Art
The sport of snowboarding has been practiced now for numerous years and has gained tremendous popularity across the country and throughout the world. A snowboarder typically wears snowboarding boots that are firmly held into boot bindings. The bindings are rigidly attached to the board to allow the user to properly maneuver the board when riding. Different from skiing, however, the snowboarder places both feet onto a single board, one in front of the other, and typically stands at an angle to the direction of travel. Each rider may set the angle of the feet differently but the feet typically remain at an angle to the direction of travel.
With reference to FIG. 1, when moving toward a ski lift or when maneuvering on generally flat ground, a snowboarder generally removes one foot from the snowboard and pushes the snowboard along while maintaining the other foot locked at an awkward angle on the board relative to the direction of travel. Riding or moving the snowboard with the user's front foot locked in the inward pointing direction exerts a considerable amount of force on the rider's front knee, leg and hip.

Rotationally adjustable adapter for sport boot binding


A medium tension circuit breaker having a dielectric blast gas, the circuit breaker comprising a cylindrical insulating casing filled with dielectric gas under pressure, a fixed main contact, a fixed arcing contact, a fixed blast piston, and moving equipment connected to an operating member and comprising a moving main contact, a moving arcing contact, and a blast cylinder associated with a blast nozzle, wherein the circuit breaker includes a drive piston whose section is not less than 1.3 times the section of the blast piston, the drive piston moving relative to a second cylinder.

Medium tension circuit breakers (i.e. in the range 3 kilovolts to 45 kilovolts) as manufactured at present on the above-indicated principle cannot interrupt currents of more than 25 kiloamps when the operating energy is low (less than 300 joules). However, with the present increase in power being conveyed by medium tension lines, it is becoming necessary to have apparatus available which is capable of interrupting higher currents, e.g. as high as 45 kiloamps to 50 kiloamps.
An object of the present invention is to provide such apparatus.
Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus which is unsophisticated, and therefore relatively cheap to manufacture and to maintain.
Another object of the invention is to provide a circuit breaker that requires little operating energy, so that the cost of its control system is low.
The circuit breaker of the invention is of the type in which the increase in pressure on tripping due to an electric arc appearing between the arcing contacts is made use of to exert a driving force on the moving equipment, thereby applying additional energy to the operating member which therefore does not itself need to be too powerful. In high tension applications, such an arrangement is known, as described, for example, in French Pat. No. 85 00610, in German patent application No. 31 32 825, and in U.S. Pat. No. 2 957 063. In circuit breakers of this type, the increase in pressure which occurs in the vicinity of the arc propagates to a piston connected to the moving equipment and provides additional drive.
The ease and the speed with which pressure propagates depend firstly on the obstacles on the gas flow path between the arcing zone and the piston, and secondly on the way the pressure gradient changes between the arcing zone and the face of the piston.
In the devices described in the above-mentioned documents, the gas propagates along annular ducts whose small section does not encourage rapid flow; in addition, the pressure gradient between the arcing zone and the face of the piston falls off very quickly such that the mechanical action of gas falls off very quickly after the arc has appeared.
In order to mitigate these drawbacks, the invention proposes providing a circuit breaker in which pressure is transmitted quickly to the piston connected to the operating member and in which the flow of gas from the arcing zone takes place quickly and without disturbance.
Another object of the invention is to provide a circuit breaker in which the arc is subjected, when the circuit breaker is opened, to two blasts, one in the moving direction of the moving parts, and the other in the opposite direction.

Medium tension gas blast circuit breaker


A system and method for analyzing the cognitive involvement of one or more audience members may include receiving a first indication of cognitive involvement of an audience member in a presentation and calculating a cognitive involvement score from the first indication.

"Cognitive involvement" refers to both the degree of focus on an event and overall activity of one's mental processes on tasks associated with that event. The focus on an event refers to the degree of concentration on a subject, for example, the degree to which a student is concentrating on his or her teacher's lesson. The overall activity of one's mental processes relating to an event refers to the amount of effort an individual puts forth on events or tasks related to the presentation. While it is impossible to accurately and dynamically calculate the mental processes of a human being, a close approximation may be derived from the overall physical activity of that person and the degree to which the physical activities relate to the presentation. For example, a student who is actively taking notes, or answering a teacher's question is more likely to be actively processing a teacher's lesson than one who is doodling, or sitting still.
It is important for anyone presenting information to another to be able to assess the cognitive involvement of his or her audience in order to determine the effectiveness of their presentation. From the presenter's perspective, the ability to determine the cognitive involvement of each audience member at any point in the presentation may be an invaluable means for critiquing or improving one's presentation skills, or as a means for dynamically changing a presentation in order to better serve the needs and interests of an audience.
In face-to-face, one-on-one interactions, a presenter may be able to identify when a listener is cognitively involved in the presentation by paying attention to visual clues. For example, seeing another person's eyes wander, or watching them doodle in a notebook suggests that the person is not focusing on the presentation. When the presentation is not face-to-face, or when the presenter is speaking to more than one individual, the presenter is not able to as easily determine whether each audience member is cognitively involved at any point in time.
Multiple methods have been developed and used in order to attempt to analyze the cognitive involvement of an audience member. Such methods typically rely on a user's response, such as user feedback, a user question, or other user activity intended to convey information to the presenter. For example, the analyzer system, as described at www.perceptionanalyzer.com, provides a remote device for users to respond to questions. Any system or method that requires an affirmative response of an audience member as a sole criteria is inherently flawed, because the audience member is aware that the presenter expects a response. This knowledge provides an incentive to the audience member to respond, therefore artificially inflating any determination of the involvement of the audience member.
Instead, it is desirable to determine the cognitive involvement of audience members using an objective formula, based on realistic criteria in order to arrive at a cognitive involvement score. Such a system preferably includes the ability to rely on criteria other than prompted or unprompted audience responses. In addition, it is desirable to provide a means for dynamically displaying the results of the determination to the presenter.


Focus calibration in an optical drive. Optics are moved with respect to a disc in the optical drive. A first interface of the disc is optically detected at a first distance, and a first drive signal value is detected at the first interface. A drive signal change is determined using a second drive signal value at a second distance. A gain is determined using the drive signal change and a thickness associated with the first and second distances.

Low power lasers are used to read and write data on the data side of optical media, such as compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), and the like. Typically, a laser beam writes various types of data on a data side of a disc while the disc is rotating. Data may be recorded by making marks on the disc, representing binary digits. Various data writing strategies have been employed to create desirably shaped marks that are precisely positioned and that have sharp edges to enable detection.
Labels on such optical discs are typically used to provide descriptive human-readable indicia of the data content recorded on the disc, as well as illustrations, artwork, and the like. Such descriptions and images are generally handwritten, affixed, or marked on the side of the disc opposite the data side. Recently, apparatus and methods have been developed with the ability to generate an image or label on non-data areas, such as the non-data side (the "label side") of an optical disc, using a low power laser, such as the same laser that is employed to read and write digital or electronic data on the data side of the disc. For example, see U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0108708, Anderson, et al. which is commonly assigned with the present application.
Conventional optical disc drives have a focusing servo incorporating a focus actuator, generally including a voice coil motor. The focus actuator moves an objective lens in a Z-axis direction relative to the disc, to generally maintain the lens at a constant optimal position, sometimes called "best focus" position, relative to the disc. The "best focus" position is typically optimized for reading and writing data on the data side of the disc, such as by selecting a default position where the laser beam is focused on a spot at a layer of recording material below the surface of the data side. The use of a defocused spot for writing disc labels is described by Anderson, et al., in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/732,047, filed Dec. 9, 2003, which is commonly assigned with the present application. By defocusing a laser spot rather than using a focused laser spot, a larger marking spot can be achieved on optically labeled disc media without a sacrifice in speed.
In order to accurately position the objective lens at a desired focal position, such as an offset from the "best focus" position, it is desirable to know the amount of movement of the focus actuator given an applied voltage or current. In particular, it is helpful to know or learn the electrical to mechanical gain of the voice coil motor of the focus actuator. This gain may be used to determine the variations in voltage that must be applied to the voice coil motor to allow the positioning of the objective lens at a desired offset from best focus. A value for the gain is generally specified in a data sheet provided by a manufacturer of the voice coil motor, but such figures are typically of limited value, due to variances that may in some cases be plus or minus forty percent (±40%) for a focus actuator voice coil motor installed in an optical drive. Such a wide variation may result in laser-produced markings that undesirably have degraded image quality.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Muscle treatment devices and methods are described for applying pressure to and facilitating the stretch of muscles in a body. The muscle treatment device preferably includes an elongate shaft, an intermediate member engaged to the shaft, and at least one muscle treatment member engaged to both the shaft and intermediate member such that in use, the at least one muscle treatment member is prevented from rotating around the longitudinal axis of the shaft. In a method if using the device to facilitating the stretch of muscles in a body, a patient preferably shortens the muscle being treated, applies angular pressure to the muscle by contacting skin tissue such that it directly affects and/or pins the underlying targeted muscular structure of the muscle with the outer surface of the at least one muscle treatment member, and then lengthens the muscle.

Muscle aches and pains are common and can involve more than one muscle. Muscle pain also can involve ligaments, tendons, fascia (the soft tissues that connect muscles), bones, and organs. Muscle pain is most frequently related to tension, overuse, or muscle injury from exercise or physically-demanding work. In these situations, the pain tends to involve specific muscles and starts during or just after the activity and may persist if not treated appropriately.
Muscle pain also can be a sign of conditions affecting your whole body, like some infections (i.e. the flu) and disorders that affect connective tissues throughout the body (i.e. lupus). One common cause of muscle aches and pain is fibromyalgia, a condition that includes tenderness in muscles and surrounding soft tissue, sleep difficulties, fatigue, and headaches.
In the case of muscle pain from overuse or injury, a patient may attempt to treat the muscle by resting that part of the body or by taking an anti-inflammatory medication such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Other treatments may include applying ice to the injury to reduce pain and inflammation. The application of heat to the affected area may also be used to soothe the injured muscle. Muscle aches from overuse and fibromyalgia may respond well to massage. Gentle stretching exercises after a long rest period may also be helpful. However, there are many injuries where such remedies will not be helpful and will need the expertise of a physical therapist, chiropractor, or the like. Such a medical professional may be able to facilitate the healing of injured muscles by applying the appropriate pressure above or below the injury in order to: facilitate healing to the injured site by focusing a stretch to the injury; or by reducing tension around the injury, thereby allowing the injury to heal better due to relief from duress. All this in order to relax muscle tension and promote healing, for example.
Many people such as weightlifters, runners, and athletes in general, or non-athletes that have musculoskeletal injury, constantly have muscle aches and pains. The treatment regimen of shortening a muscle, applying pressure to an affected area of the muscle, and then lengthening the muscle is a proven muscle treatment technique that is well known within manual medicine. While medical professionals may apply this technique to patients, it is difficult and cumbersome for patients to perform self-treatment using this technique, especially on parts of the body that are difficult to reach with one's own hands. In addition, it is not always feasible for a patient to seek the aid of a medical professional every time he or she has a muscle strain or serious injury that needs treatment.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Asymmetries are detected in one or more images by partitioning each image to create a set of patches. Salient patches are identified, and an independent displacement for each patch is identified. The techniques used to identify the salient patches and the displacement for each patch are combined in a function to generate a score for each patch. The scores can be used to identify possible asymmetries.

The present disclosure relates to image analysis, and more specifically, to asymmetry detection.
Asymmetry detection is used, for example, in the medical field to identify tumors and other abnormalities in organs. Asymmetry detection can use a variety of methods to automate image analysis. The various methods are associated with a range of accuracies and costs.

International Business Machines Corporation


A system can include a print type classifier to receive a print message that indicates that a file has been selected to be printed. The print type classifier can also determine a print type of the file. The system can also include a print content analyzer to assign a category to the file characterizing a topic of the file based on the content of the file. The print type analyzer can also generate a content representation of the file that characterizes a summary of content of the file. The system can further include a recommendation engine to provide supplemental content based on at least one of the print type, the category and the content representation of the file, wherein the supplemental content is in a printable format.

Digital printing (or simply printing) refers to methods of printing from a digital based image directly to a variety of media. In computing, a printer is a peripheral which produces a representation of an electronic file (e.g., a document) on physical media such as paper or transparency film. Some printers are local peripherals connected directly to a nearby personal computer. Some printers are network printers with built-in network interfaces that can serve any user on the network. Some local printers can be designed to support both local and network connected users concurrently. Some printers can print documents stored on memory cards or from digital cameras and scanners.

Providing supplemental content based on a selected file


Novel macrocyclic lactone antibacterials isolated from a culture containing the microorganism S. aerocolongenes sub sp. antibiotica SCC 1886, ATTC 55003 and their use for treating and/or preventing antibacterial infections, especially Chlamydia infections are disclosed.

This invention relates to a culture that is the microorganism Saccharothrix aerocolongenes subsp. antibiotica SCC 1886, ATCC 55003 which produces six novel macrocyclic lactone antibacterial antibiotics. This invention also relates to a method of treating and/or preventing bacterial infections especially Chlamydia-caused infections by use of the macrocyclic lactone antibacterial antibiotic(s) or pharmaceutical compositions containing such macrocyclic lactone antibacterial antibiotics.
Macrocyclic lactone antibiotics are a class of antibacterials including, for example, kijanimicin which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,542; tetrocarcins which are disclosed, for example, by N. Hirayama et al. in Tetrahedron Letters; Vol. 21, (1980) 2259 and Tamaoki et al. in J. Antibiotics Vol. 33, (1980) 946; and Antlermycins which are disclosed by K. Kobinata et al. in J. Antibiotics (1980) Vol. 33, 244 and 772. No prior art reference of which we are aware discloses the macrocyclic lactone antibacterial antibiotics of this invention.

Macrocyclic lactone antibacterial antibiotic compounds


A heterojunction bipolar transistor, comprising an elongated base mesa, an “H” shaped emitter, two base electrodes, an elongated collector, and two elongated collector electrodes. The “H” shaped emitter is formed on the base mesa and has two parallel bars connected by a cross-bar. Two elongated emitter electrodes are formed respectively on the two parallel bars of the “H” shaped emitter. The “H” shaped emitter has two recesses respectively on two opposite sides of the cross-bar between the two parallel bars. The two base electrodes are formed on the base mesa respectively at the two recesses of the “H” shaped emitter, each of which has a base via hole near a center of the base mesa. The elongated collector is formed below the base mesa. The two elongated collector electrodes are formed on the collector respectively at two opposite sides of the base mesa.

In recent years, with the rapid development of mobile devices industry, the demand of high power, high power gain and high power added efficiency devices is also growing. The integrated circuits using compound semiconductor heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) have been widely used in the power amplifier of mobile devices for their high power, high power gain, and high linearity. Therefore, by improving the layout design of the compound semiconductor HBT circuit, the power gain and power added efficiency of the HBT can be enhanced, and the competitiveness of the product containing the HBT can be increased.
The output power gain of an HBT is related to the base-collector junction capacitance, and the capacitance is proportional to the base area. The larger the ratio of the emitter area to the base area (EA/BA) is, the smaller the base-collector junction capacitance is. Therefore, by increasing the ratio of the emitter area to the base area, the base-collector junction capacitance can be effectively decreased, thereby enhancing the output power gain.


Clock generation circuits for an integrated circuit device are provided including a temperature sensor circuit, the temperatures sensor circuit including a calibration circuit responsive to a temperature coding signal and a temperature sensor. The temperature sensor circuit has a first or test mode state in which a temperature output signal of the temperature sensor circuit is based on a temperature sensor output control signal and a second or normal operating mode state in which the temperature output signal is based on the temperature sensor and the calibration circuit. A clock period controller circuit includes a calibration circuit responsive to a period coding signal. The clock period controller circuit generates a period control signal based on the temperature output signal and the calibration circuit of the clock period controller circuit. A clock generator circuit generates a clock signal based on the period control signal. Integrated circuit memory devices and methods for controlling the refresh period of the memory devices are also provided.

This application claims priority from Korean Application No. 2001-30522, filed May 31, 2001, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to integrated circuit devices and, more particularly, to integrated circuit devices having clocks with a selectable period and methods for using the same.
It is well known to store data in integrated circuit memory devices, including memory devices that store the data as an electric charge in a capacitor. Such memory devices typically refresh the stored data as the electrical charge may otherwise be lost, for example, due to leakage currents from a capacitor. One known approach is called a refresh operation in which the stored data is completely erased and the data is repeatedly retrieved and rewritten. An example of such a device is a dynamic random access memory (DRAM). DRAMs of this type generally cannot be accessed during the refresh operation. The time during which a DRAM cannot be accessed during the refresh operation is generally called a busy rate. It is preferable to have the busy rate as short as possible.
It is also known to provide computer systems or other devices including such DRAM with a sleep mode in which much of the electronic circuitry of the computer system is turned off to reduce power consumption. However, DRAMs of the type described above are generally not turned off because they typically need to be continuously refreshed to maintain data. Therefore, a self-refresh current generally is allowed to flow through the DRAMs even during the sleep mode of the computer system. As a result, it is desirable to reduce the self-refresh current, especially where the computer system is battery operated.
Various approaches have been suggested to reduce the self-refresh current flowing in a DRAM. One such approach is to change the refresh period of the DRAM based on the temperature of the DRAM where the temperature is divided into several ranges. More particularly, a comparatively lower period of a refresh clock may be used at a lower temperature as, typically, at a lower temperature, the DRAM is able to retain data for a longer time.
One problem with the changing of the refresh period is that the characteristics of the temperature sensor used to determine the device temperature may change significantly due to variations during manufacture of the temperature sensor. As a result, erroneous temperature measurements may be provided for the DRAM. For example, a DRAM may be operating at 60xc2x0 C., thus needing a relatively high-frequency refresh clock, but the temperature sensor may erroneously detect the temperature as 45xc2x0 C. and select a low-frequency refresh clock. In this case, refresh errors may occur, possibly resulting in lost data. While the problem of temperature sensor variability may be reduced by the use of higher performance sensors, doing so typically will result in an increase in the size of the temperature sensor. Furthermore, other manufacturing process introduced variations in the DRAM may change the length of time the DRAM is able to retain data at various temperatures. In addition, to these sources of variability, a DRAM cell may become excessively deteriorated over time and some or all of the DRAM cell may fail to refresh successfully, potentially causing the computer system to experience a refresh malfunction for the entire DRAM cell.
Embodiments of the present invention include clock generation circuits for an integrated circuit device including a temperature sensor circuit, the temperature sensor circuit including a calibration circuit responsive to a temperature coding signal and a temperature sensor. The temperature sensor circuit has a first or test mode state in which a temperature output signal of the temperature sensor circuit is based on a temperature sensor output control signal and a second or normal mode state in which the temperature output signal is based on the temperature sensor and the calibration circuit. A clock period controller circuit includes a calibration circuit responsive to a period coding signal. The clock period controller circuit generates a period control signal based on the temperature output signal and the calibration circuit of the clock period controller circuit. A clock generator circuit generates a clock signal based on the period control signal.
In further embodiments of the present invention, the calibration circuit of the temperature sensor circuit includes a plurality of fuses and the temperature coding signal selects the state of the plurality of fuses to calibrate the temperature output signal relative to an output of the temperature sensor. The calibration circuit of the clock period controller circuit may also include a plurality of fuses and the period coding signal may select the state of the plurality of fuses to calibrate the period control signal.
In other embodiments of the present invention, the state of the temperature sensor circuit is selected based on the temperature sensor output control signal. The temperature output signal may be a digital signal having a plurality of states, ones of which correspond to temperature operating ranges of the integrated circuit device. The first state may be a test mode and the second state may be a normal operating mode. The temperature sensor output control signal may include a plurality of bits that designate ones of the temperature operating ranges in the test mode. The digital temperature output signal indicates a detected temperature of the integrated circuit device. The temperature sensor circuit may also include a multiplexer that outputs the temperature output signal based on the digital temperature signal from the temperature sensor and the temperature coding signal.
In further embodiments of the present invention, the clock period controller circuit includes a plurality of period controllers calibrated by the calibration circuit of the clock period controller circuit based on the period coding signal. One of the plurality of period controllers is selected by the temperature output signal to generate the period control signal. The clock generator circuit may include an oscillator that generates the clock signal with a period based on the period control signal. The integrated circuit device may be a memory device and the clock signal may be a refresh clock.
In other embodiments of the present invention, integrated circuit memory devices are provided including a temperature sensor circuit including a calibration circuit responsive to a temperature coding signal and a temperature sensor that generates an operating temperature signal responsive to a temperature of the memory device and the calibration circuit. The temperature sensor circuit has a first state in which a temperature output signal of the temperature sensor circuit is based on a temperature sensor output control signal and a second state in which the temperature output signal is the operating temperature signal. The first state or the second state is selected by the temperature sensor output control signal. A clock period controller circuit, including a calibration circuit responsive to a period coding signal, generates a period control signal based on the temperature output signal and the calibration circuit of the clock period controller circuit. A clock generator circuit generates a refresh clock of the memory device based on the period control signal. The operating temperature signal and the temperature sensor output control signal each may include a plurality of bits, ones of which correspond to temperature operating ranges of the memory device.
In further embodiments of the present invention, methods are provided for controlling the refresh period of an integrated circuit memory device. A temperature sensor circuit of the memory device is calibrated to generate an operating temperature signal corresponding to an operating temperature of the memory device by inputting to the temperature sensor circuit a selected temperature coding signal. A test mode of the temperature sensor circuit is selected in which a temperature output signal of the temperature sensor circuit is based on a temperature sensor output control signal or a normal mode of the temperature sensor circuit is selected in which the temperature output signal is the operating temperature signal. The first state or the second state is selected by the temperature sensor output control signal. A clock period controller circuit of the memory device is calibrated to generate a period control signal having a desired period by inputting to the clock period controller circuit a period coding signal, the period control signal further being based on the temperature output signal. A refresh clock of the memory device is generated, the period of the refresh clock being based on the period control signal.

Clock generation circuits and integrated circuit memory devices for controlling a clock period based on temperature and methods for using the same


An absorbent structure comprising a fibrous web of cellulosic material, a first complex forming material present within said web and a second complex forming material present within said web. When wetted, the first and second complex forming materials form a complex thereby providing the fibrous web of cellulosic material with improved integrity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an absorbent fibrous web. Specifically, the present invention concerns an absorbent fibrous cellulosic web possessing improved integrity.
2. Description of the Related Art
Absorbent structures for the absorption of body fluids are known to those skilled in the art. As a general rule, such structures comprise a water-impervious backing sheet, an absorbent fibrous web, and a water-pervious body-side lining material. The fibrous web is sandwiched between the body-side liner and the backing sheet. The fibrous web is suitably formed from cellulosic material such as wood pulp fluff, cotton, rayon, and the like. Unfortunately, due to stresses placed on such fibrous webs during use, the webs have a tendency to separate into clumps of material. This is particularly true when the absorbent fibrous webs are wet. This clumping results from a tendency of the fibrous webs of cellulosic material to possess a relatively low degree of structural integrity. That is, the fibers of the web tend to separate easily thus allowing the webs to pull apart.
Means of enhancing the structural integrity of cellulosic fibrous webs are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,903,890 issued Sep. 9, 1975 to Mesek et el., is directed to a disposable diaper of simple construction. Mesek et el., describes improving the structural integrity of a fibrous web by applying a binder material to a surface of the fibrous web opposite a water-impermeable backing sheet. The binder material extends through the web thickness in spaced linear areas. The binder described may be either thermoplastic or thermosetting, and is preferably in the form of an aqueous emulsion or latex.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,989 issued Mar. 4, 1986 to Karami et el., is directed to a disposable diaper and method of manufacture. This reference describes spraying a binder between an absorbent fibrous web and a water-impervious backing sheet. The binder penetrates the fibrous web to adhere the web to the backing sheet. The presence of the binder material is described as rendering the pad highly tear resistant.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,257 issued Aug. 31, 1976 to Ring is directed to an internally adhesively bonded fibrous web. The web described by Ring has an adhesive uniformly disbursed in the X-Y direction of a fibrous web. The adhesive is not uniformly disbursed in the Z direction and is located primarily in an internal plane of the fibrous web. Thus, both outer surfaces of the web are generally adhesive free.
Unfortunately, as a general rule, when adhesives are used as described in the above references to enhance the structural integrity of a fibrous cellulosic web, the increase in integrity causes a decrease in the degree of softness or suppleness of the web. Obviously, when the fibrous webs are intended for use in products such as diapers, it is desirable that the fibrous web be highly supple, thus, increasing the comfort to a wearer. If the adhesive is not carefully selected, the adhesive may provide satisfactory structural integrity when the fibrous web is dry, but fail to provide desirable structural integrity when the fibrous web is exposed to a body fluid such as urine. Additionally, if the adhesive is hydrophobic in nature, application of the adhesive may deleteriously affect the absorbent characteristics of the fibrous web.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a fibrous web which possess both a high degree of wet and dry structural integrity and which maintains its absorbency and suppleness in both the dry and wet state.
Polymer complex formation between water-soluble polymers has been described. See for example, K. L. Smith et al., Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 51 (11), 1361, (1959); Y. Osada, Journal of Polymer Science: Polymer Chemistry Edition, 17, 3485, (1979); S. K. Chatterjee, et al., Die Angewandte Makromolekulare Chemie, 116, 99 (1983). Polymer complex formation between water-soluble polymers generally results from the formation of extremely stable hydrogen bonds between the polymers when the polymers are in contact in an aqueous solution. In particular, poly acids, such as (poly) acrylic acid or (poly) methacrylic acid, are reported to form complexes with polyethers such as (poly) ethylene oxide and polyamides such as (poly) vinylpyrrolidone or (poly) ethyl oxazoline.

Absorbent structure possessing improved integrity


The present invention relates to a wireless communication system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for transmitting, if an advertiser device is set to delay a session with respect to the request for a session from a seeker device, session delay information to the seeker device in a method for setting Wi-Fi direct service communication and to an apparatus therefor.

Wireless communication systems have been widely deployed in order to provide various types of communication services such as voice or data services. Generally, a wireless communication system is a multiple access system capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Multiple access systems include, for example, a code division multiple access (CDMA) system, a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) system, a time division multiple access (TDMA) system, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) system, and a single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) system.
Standards for a wireless local area network (WLAN) technology have been developed by the institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802.11 group. IEEE 802.11a and b use an unlicensed band at 2.4. GHz or 5 GHz and IEEE 802.11b provides a transmission rate of 11 Mbps. IEEE 802.11a provides a transmission rate of 54 Mbps. IEEE 802.11g provides a transmission rate of 54 Mbps by applying orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) at 2.4 GHz. IEEE 802.11n provides a transmission rate of 300 Mbps by applying multiple input multiple output (MIMO)-OFDM. IEEE 802.11n supports a channel bandwidth of up to 40 MHz and, in this case, provides a transmission rate of 600 Mbps. IEEE 802.11p is a standard for supporting wireless access in vehicular environments (WAVE). For example, 802.11p provides improvements necessary for support of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). IEEE 802.11ai is a standard for supporting fast initial link setup of an IEEE 802.11 station (STA).
With recent widespread application of a short-range communication technology, such as Wi-Fi, to the market, devices may be directly connected to each other instead of being connected to each other via a local network. One technology for a direct connection between devices using Wi-Fi is Wi-Fi Direct.
Wi-Fi Direct is a standard for network connectivity technologies that describes operation of a link layer. With the lack of definitions of regulations or standards for applications on top of Wi-Fi Direct, when applications are executed after a connection between Wi-Fi Direct devices is established, interoperability and inconsistency in operation between the devices occur. Due to these problems, a standard specification, called Wi-Fi Direct services (WFDS), including the technical contents of higher-layer applications is being developed by the Wi-Fi alliance (WFA).
As the WFA has recently announced a new specification for data transfer through a direct connection between mobile devices, called Wi-Fi Direct, accelerated technology development of relevant institutes is ongoing to meet a Wi-Fi Direct specification. In a strict sense, Wi-Fi Direct is a marketing term corresponding to a trademark and is referred to as Wi-Fi peer-to-peer (P2P) in a technical specification therefor. Accordingly, Wi-Fi Direct and Wi-Fi P2P are used interchangeably in the present invention in dealing with a Wi-Fi based P2P technology. In a traditional Wi-Fi network, generally, a Wi-Fi equipped device accesses an Internet network via an access point (AP). A data communication method through a direct connection between devices has been conventionally used by some users using devices such cellular phones or notebook PCs adopting a wireless communication technique such as Bluetooth. However, a transmission rate is low and an actually used transmission distance is limited to 10 m or less. Especially, when this method is used in an environment in which large-capacity data transmission is needed or many Bluetooth devices are present, there is a technical limitation in performance that a user feels.
Meanwhile, Wi-Fi P2P has added parts for supporting direct communication between devices while maintaining most functions of an existing Wi-Fi standard specification. Therefore, Wi-Fi P2P has an advantage of providing P2P communication between devices by sufficiently utilizing hardware and physical properties of Wi-Fi chip equipped devices and mainly upgrading software functions alone.
As is well known, Wi-Fi chip equipped devices have been expanded to various fields including notebook PCs, smartphones, smartTVs, game consoles, and cameras and have created a sufficient number of suppliers and technical development manpower. However, software for supporting the Wi-Fi P2P specification has not been actively developed. This is because relevant software capable of conveniently using the specification has not been distributed although the Wi-Fi P2P specification was announced.
A P2P group includes a device acting as an AP over an existing infrastructure network and this device is referred to as a P2P group owner (GO) in the P2P specification. There may be various P2P clients around the P2P GO. One P2P group includes only one GO and client devices corresponding to the other devices except for the GO.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a typical P2P network topology.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a P2P GO may be directly connected to a client having a P2P function or may be connected to a legacy client having no P2P function.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a situation in which one P2P device forms a P2P group and simultaneously operates as an STA of a WLAN to be connected to an AP.
The P2P technical specification defines an operation mode of P2P devices as illustrated in FIG. 1 as a concurrent operation.
In order for a series of P2P devices to form a group, which of the device becomes a P2P GO is determined by GO intent values of a P2P attribute ID. These values range from 0 to 15. The P2P devices exchange the GO intent values and a device having the greatest value becomes the P2P GO. Meanwhile, although a legacy device that does not support Wi-Fi P2P technology may also belong to the P2P group, the function thereof is limited to accessing an infrastructure network through the P2P GO.
According to the Wi-Fi P2P specification, since the P2P GO transmits a beacon signal using OFDM, 11b specification is not supported and 11a/g/n specification may be used for Wi-Fi P2P devices.
To perform an operation for setting up a connection between a P2P GO and a P2P client, the P2P specification broadly includes the following four functions.
First, P2P Discovery deals with technical items such as device discovery, service discovery, group formation, and P2P invitation. For device discovery, two P2P devices exchange device related information such as device names or device types on the same channel. For service discovery, the P2P devices exchange information regarding a service to be used through P2P. Group formation is a function for forming a new group by determining which device becomes the P2P GO. P2P invitation is a function for calling a permanently formed P2P group or causing a P2P device to participate in an existing P2P group.
Second, P2P Group Operation describes formation and completion of a P2P group, connection to the P2P group, communication in the P2P group, a service for P2P client discovery, operation of a persistent P2P group, etc.
Third, P2P Power Management describes a P2P device power management method and a signal processing method at a power saving mode timing.
Last, Managed P2P device describes a method in which one P2P device forms a P2P group and simultaneously accesses an infrastructure network through a WLAN AP.
Characteristics of the P2P group will now be described. The P2P group is similar to an existing infrastructure basic service set (BSS) in that a P2P GO serves as an AP and a P2P client serves as an STA. Accordingly, a P2P device needs to be equipped with software capable of performing roles of the GO and the client. P2P devices are distinguished from each other using P2P addresses such as medium access control (MAC) addresses. Notably, P2P devices that perform communication in the P2P group using P2P interface addresses need not use globally unique ID addresses. The P2P group has a single P2P group ID comprised of a combination of a service set identifier (SSID) and a P2P device address of the P2P GO. In the Wi-Fi P2P specification, WPA2-PSK/AES is used for security. The life cycle of the P2P group includes a temporary connection method, and a persistent connection method in which the same connection is attempted after a predetermined time. In the persistent group connection method, once the P2P group is formed, roles, certification, SSIDs, and a P2P group ID of the devices are cashed and so that a quick group reconnection may be established by applying the same connection format.
A Wi-Fi P2P connection method will now be described. A Wi-Fi device connection process broadly includes two phases. The first phase is discovery in which two P2P devices find each other and the second phase is group formation in which the role of a P2P GO or a P2P client is determined between the discovered devices. The first discovery phase causes P2P devices to be connected to each other and includes a search state and a listen state. In the search state, the devices perform active search using a Probe Request frame. For quick search, the range of search is restricted and search is performed using social channels ch1, ch6, and ch11. A P2P device of the listen state maintains the listen state by selecting only one of the three social channels. Upon receiving the Probe Request frame transmitted by another P2P device in the search state, the P2P device responds with a Probe Response frame. The P2P devices may reach a common channel after repeatedly performing the search state and the listen state. For selective association after finding each other, the P2P devices use the Probe Request frame and the Probe Response frame to discover a device type, a manufacturer, or a familiar device name. In order to confirm whether an inter-device compatible service is present in the P2P group, the P2P devices may use service discovery. This is intended to determine whether a service provided in each device is compatible with another device. In the P2P specification, a specific service discovery specification is not designated. A user of the P2P device may search proximate P2P devices and services provided by the devices, thereby quickly connecting to a desired device or service.
Group formation, which is the second phase, will now be described. If the P2P devices complete the above-described discovery (find) phase, checking as to whether the counterpart device is present is completed. Based on the discovery phase, the two P2P devices need to enter a GO negotiation phase to configure a BSS. The negotiation phase is broadly divided into two sub-phases: a GO negotiation phase and a Wi-Fi protected setup (WPS) phase. In the GO negotiation phase, the devices negotiates with each other about a role as a P2P GO or a P2P client and set an operating channel to be used in the P2P group. In the WPS phase, typical operation is performed as in existing WPS, for example, exchange of PIN information input by a user on a keypad or simple setup through a push button. In the P2P group, the P2P GO is in charge of a core role of the P2P group. The P2P GO assigns a P2P interface address, selects an operating channel of the group, and sends a beacon signal including various operating parameters of the group. In the P2P group, only the P2P GO is capable of transmitting the beacon signal. Using the beacon signal, the P2P device quickly confirms the P2P GO and participates in the group in a scan phase which is an initial connection phase. Alternatively, the P2P GO may autonomously initiate a P2P group session or may initiate the session after using the method described in the P2P discovery phase. Since a value for the P2P GO performing an important role is not fixed for any device but is variable by an application or a higher-layer service, a developer may select a proper value corresponding to the P2P GO according to usage of an application program.
Next, P2P addressing will be described. A P2P device assigns a P2P interface address using a MAC address in a P2P group session. The P2P interface address of a P2P GO is a BSS ID which substantially indicates a MAC address of the P2P GO.
Disassociation of the P2P group will now be described. If a P2P session is ended, the P2P GO needs to inform all P2P clients that the P2P group session is ended through de-authentication. The P2P client may also perform disassociation for the P2P GO and, in this case, a disassociation procedure is needed if possible. Upon receiving a disassociation release request from a P2P client, the P2P GO may recognize that the P2P client has been disassociated. Upon sensing an abnormal protocol error from a P2P client or sensing a P2P client that hinders a connection of the P2P group from the P2P client, the P2P GO triggers rejection of authentication or denial of association. The P2P GO records the reason of failure in an association response and then transmits the response.
In a session connection procedure among the above processes, when a seeker device (service seeker) desires to use specific WFDS according to a conventional scheme, if an advertiser device (service advertiser) is configured not to permit automatic acceptance (auto_accept), the advertiser device may defer a session request but does not transmit information indicating that a session has been deferred to the seeker device. Accordingly, the seeker device has to wait until the session request for the deferred session is received again from the advertiser device. In addition, upon accepting the session request, a user of the advertiser device can determine only whether to accept the session request. Consequently, a procedure of transmitting additional information about the session request between two devices is needed.
These problems will now be described by way of example. It is assumed that the seeker device is a smartphone, the advertiser device is a printer device, and a service that the seeker device is to use is a print service for printing an image in the interior of the smartphone through the printer device. Although the printer device may be present in the vicinity of a smartphone user, the printer device may be installed in a place which is not near the smartphone user. In this case, the printer device may be configured to perform the print service only when the printer device accepts a service request. This is because the printer device may be configured not to permit auto_accept by the user although the printer device may immediately perform the print service with respect to a service request of the smartphone in the case in which the printer device is configured to permit anto_accept.
Accordingly, it is necessary to display information indicating that a session request for the print service has been deferred on the smartphone. Information about a session requested service may be displayed on the printer device so that additional information (e.g. information indicating that a print service is $0.1 per sheet) may be displayed for the user of the printer device.
In the case of the first session request between the smartphone and the printer device, information indicating that a session has been deferred may be included in a response message to the session request and then may be transmitted. However, if the smartphone and the print device have already been connected, there is no method for transmitting a message indicating that the session has been deferred.

Method for setting communication in Wi-Fi direct service system, and apparatus therefor


A beverage container assembly composed of two identical bevrage containers which are connected together at their bottoms into a single unit. The beverage containers are identical. The beverage containers can be manually separated and the contents of the beverage containers to be consumed individually.

The field of this invention relates to food products and more particularly to the constructing of an enclosed container which is particularly adapted to contain a beverage.
The use of metallic containers which contain pressurized contents of a liquid are well-known. Soda and beer are commonly sold in such containers. The most prevalent size of such container contains twelve ounces of the beverage. To many people, to consume twelve ounces of liquid within a few minutes time is excessive. If the contents of the container is not consumed within a few minutes, either the beverage container will become warm (if it has been cold) or the pressurizing of the beverage will dissipate with the result that the contents will become "flat". For many people, in order to prevent the contents from becoming heated while saving the remainder of the contents for consumption at a later time, the beverage can is placed within a refrigerator. However, because the beverage container has been opened, the container will then become "flat" as it will lose its carbonation.


A method for changing a transparency level of a virtual keypad on a display, comprising the steps of: activating a pointing device on the display; and dragging the pointing device along the display for a predetermined distance; whereby said dragging step causes the transparency level of the virtual keypad on the display to change. The keypad can be arranged to include a stacked intuitive layout for keys, where the left side of a qwerty keyboard is placed over the right side of a qwerty keyboard to created a stacked virtual keyboard.

On devices with touchscreen displays it is often necessary to input text. This is generally done through either a physical keyboard, or through the representation of a keyboard on the touchscreen display.
In general, a keypad on a touchscreen display is small and located towards either the bottom or the top of the work area in order to provide a user with the ability to see a work area and what is being typed. Alternatively, if the keyboard is large, the work area is obscured and the user does not know what has been typed.
One solution to this is to implement a transparent virtual keypad on the touchscreen. An example of this was found in April 2004 on the website of lakefolks.org which includes keyboard transparency. This site teaches a keyboard that can be used on a personal computer where a mouse click causes a key to be registered in an application. A slider found using a menu option allows the user to make the keyboard more or less transparent.
On a wireless device, a transparent keypad was shown in April 2004 on the website of symbitz.com. This site teaches the use of a transparent keypad only for a handheld device.
The above solutions, however, do not provide the user with the ease of quickly changing the transparency of the keypad, nor do they present an optimal layout for the keys on a keypad.


A semiconductor device is fabricated by forming a semiconductor substrate as a convex shape to increase a effective channel of a transistor and by stacking a first silicon germanium layer and a first silicon layer on the semiconductor substrate to form a first layer and stacking a second silicon germanium layer and a second silicon layer on the first layer to form a second layer such that the current reduced due to the increased effective channel is ensured, thereby being capable of high speed performance.

The embodiments described herein relate to a semiconductor device and, more particularly, to a semiconductor device having a convex type gate pattern and a method for manufacturing the same.
Recently, due to increased integration of a semiconductor device, the size of the gate is gradually scaled down and the length of the channel length between source and drain regions is shortened. Due to this, the switching performance is lowered and the power consumption is increased. Furthermore, it may create a punch-through phenomenon which causes device characteristics to deteriorate.
Among the issue points, the short channel effect due to reduction of the gate channel length is most serious.
As the semiconductor device becomes highly integrated, a nano device with higher speed and lower operation voltage (e.g., 1V through 2V) is required which then requires a lower threshold voltage. However, if the threshold voltage is lowered to far, it is impossible to control the device due to the short channel effect. Furthermore, the short channel effect causes a drain induced built in leakage (DIBL) due to hot carriers.
Research regarding the short channel effect have grown. However, the short channel effect still remains due to the continuing integration of devices.
In the prior semiconductor device and fabrication method thereof, it is difficult to achieve very high speed performance due to the short channel effect in the transistor. Changes to the effective channel length and ion implantation process have been made to improve the short channel effect, but the above problems still remain.

Semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same