To include a switch transistor inserted between a data bus and an input end of a signal receiving circuit and turned off when a potential of the data bus reaches VPERI−NVth, and an assist transistor that drives the input end of the signal receiving circuit to have VPERI. According to the present invention, because the switch transistor and the assist transistor assist a receiving operation performed by the signal receiving circuit, amplitude of a transferred signal can be reduced without reducing a transfer rate. With this configuration, power consumed by charging or discharging of the data bus can be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly relates to a semiconductor device including a signal transfer line and a signal receiving circuit.
2. Description of Related Art
A signal transfer line is used to transfer signals in a semiconductor device and to transfer signals among plural semiconductor devices. There have been known a single-end method using a single signal and a differential method using complementary signals as methods of transferring signals in semiconductor devices (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-273980).
However, a signal transfer line is charged or discharged when a logical level of a signal to be transferred is inverted no matter what method is used, and it results in consumption of power. Therefore, when the number of signal transfer lines is large, a charging/discharging current increases accordingly. Accordingly, it is desired to suppress the power consumed by charging or discharging of the signal transfer line as much as possible for purposes intended at low power consumption.

Semiconductor device having signal transfer line


A system and method are provided for coupling a hub to a main shaft of a wind turbine. Accordingly, a plurality of fasteners are arranged within corresponding through holes of the hub of a wind turbine. At least one circumferential ridge segment is arranged radially adjacent to the head sections of the plurality of fasteners so as to resist a torque applied to each of the plurality of fasteners. A connection mechanism is utilized to secure the plurality of fasteners within the plurality of through holes so as to limit an axial translation of the plurality of fasteners prior to the coupling of the hub to the main shaft.

Wind power is considered one of the cleanest, most environmentally friendly energy sources presently available, and wind turbines have gained increased attention in this regard. A modern wind turbine typically includes a tower, a generator, a gearbox, a nacelle, and a rotor having a rotatable hub with one or more rotor blades secured thereto. The rotor may also be mechanically coupled to a main shaft that drives the gearbox. The gearbox then drives the generator. The main shaft, the gearbox, and the generator are mounted on a bedplate support frame located within the nacelle. The one or more rotor blades capture kinetic energy of wind using known airfoil principles. The rotor blades transmit the kinetic energy in the form of rotational energy so as to turn a shaft coupling the rotor blades to the gearbox, or if a gearbox is not used, directly to the generator. The generator then converts the mechanical energy to electrical energy the electrical energy may be transmitted to a converter and/or a transformer housed within the tower and subsequently deployed to a utility grid.
For conventional wind turbines, in order to fasten the hub to the main shaft, threaded fasteners are generally secured in threaded fastener holes formed in the body of the hub and corresponding holes formed in the main shaft. However, the hub body is often a cast component which is formed from a relatively soft casting material, compared to the material of the threaded fasteners. As such, it is common to lose a significant amount of preload of the threaded fasteners due to the relaxation of the hub threads. Thus, some wind turbines have employed through fasteners to avoid the loss of preload due to the relaxation of the hub threads.
While employing through fasteners may eliminate the loss of preload due to the relaxation of the hub threads, the utilization of through fasteners may create additional challenges. Specifically, the hub is typically mounted to the main shaft after the nacelle has been mounted atop the tower. As such, the joining of the hub to the nacelle is accomplished at a significant height (e.g., about 150 meters) above the ground. Because the hub is typically suspended a significant height above the ground during installation, safety limitations preclude personnel from entering the hub prior to its coupling to the main shaft. As such, personnel are not available to insert and align the fasteners prior to the hub's coupling to the main shaft. Additionally, not being permitted to enter the suspended hub may also preclude the ability of personnel to provide a counter torque to the fasteners during the coupling operation.
Thus, the art is continuously seeking new and improved systems and methods that address the aforementioned issues. Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to an improved mounting system and method for coupling the hub to the main shaft of the wind turbine.

System and method for coupling a hub to a main shaft of a wind turbine


A merchant website automatically detects whether a customer device has a registered payment application; if so, the website generates a custom protocol message that is triggered on checkout to initiate payment via the payment application. Details of the transaction are passed to the payment application via a payment server so that the user can authorize the transaction within the payment application.

Conventional methods of online payment include an online checkout model, where a customer orders a 'basket' of goods or services on a merchant website, and selects a 'checkout' option to order and pay for the contents of the basket. Payment may be effected by entering details of a payment card, including card number, card holder name, card expiry data, CVC code and billing address. Some of these details may be pre-stored to save the customer from entering them every time, but this raises security issues.
In an alternative 'hosted checkout' model, payment is handled by a third party payment service such as PayPal® or Google Checkout®. A checkout page of the merchant website includes one or more 'pay buttons' which launch the payment service; the customer logs on to the payment service, and if the payment is authorised, a confirmation is sent to the merchant to complete the transaction.


A method for robust embedding of information into video content, said method comprising of breaking said video content into a series of at least one unit; selecting at least one of said units; selecting at least one parameter for at least one of said units and performing at least one geometric transformation on said selected units according to said parameters selected for said unit, thereby to embed said information in said video content.

Illegal copying aid distribution of multimedia content (audio and video) is prevalent in recent years, especially using the Internet. This illegal copying and distribution is an infringement of copyright protection laws and cause financial damages to the rightful owners of the content. It is therefore of great interest to find methods that would stop or at least reduces illegal copying and distribution of multimedia files without offending rightful usage.
Methods for usage rights enforcement of digital media, such as video or audio are known. Some of these methods of enforcement require unique digital watermarks to be embedded into each copy of the media at the source, prior to its distribution to an authorized party. If usage of the content by an unauthorized party is identified, the identity of the authorized party who originally received the content is readily determined from the unique embedded digital watermark.
Other methods use watermarks and steganograms for digital rights management (DRM). In this case, substantially imperceptible information is embedded in the digital content. This information is able to certify usage rights regarding the digital content.
Methods for embedding substantially imperceptible messages in the form of watermarks or steganograms into content are well known. However, since watermarks should be embedded into the digital media content in a manner that does not reduce the quality of the media, it is hard to maintain robustness against malicious attempts to remove the watermark as well as against various changes to which the digital content is subjected while using legitimate digital processing and compression. In particular, it is hard to maintain robustness against averaging of several copies, where each copy contains a different watermark.
PCT application number IL01/00923 describes a method for efficient on-line, real-time watermarking of video and/or audio and/or other digital content. The method, dubbed "watermark by selection", is based on first selecting salient fractions of the content, whose removal will greatly reduce the quality of the content, then dividing each of the fragments into several segments. Each segment is then replicated N times, and each copy is marked with a special steganogram that preferably cannot be perceived by a human but can be detected by the embedder (or a suitable reader). Each replicated segment is viewed as "alphabetic symbols". On-line, real-time watermarking is based on first encoding the desired message using the above alphabetic symbols, and then selecting between alternative copies that correspond to the symbols in order to produce the analog of the desired sequence of symbols. This basic scheme can thereafter be augmented with error correcting codes and error resilience methods. However, the security of the method relies on the underlying watermarking scheme, i.e., the method by which various steganograms were embedded in the various segments.
Various attacks against watermarks are known. Malicious attacks attempts to render the watermark undetectable, e.g., by using various image-processing methods and/or averaging of several instances with different embedded steganograms. Recompression of the video with different codecs and various frame-rates also render many of the current watermarking methods ineffective.
There is thus a recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a method and system that allow robust embedding of watermarks and steganograms in digital video, which will overcome the drawbacks of current methods as described above.

Method and system for robust embedding of watermarks and steganograms in digital video content


Disclosed are methods and devices comprising an elongated probe for the in vivo detection of meconium in amniotic fluid held in an amniotic sac based on detecting the presence of Zinc-coproporphyrin I (ZnCP). ZnCP is excited at approximately 405 nm and emits characteristic fluorescence, centered at about 580 nm and less intensely at 630 nm.

The present invention relates to the field of obstetrics and particularly to methods and devices useful in prenatal identification of meconium in amniotic fluid.
Amniotic fluid is a liquid that surrounds and protects the fetus inside the amniotic sac within the uterus.
During gestation, the colon of a fetus fills with meconium, fetal feces comprising bile and its metabolites, gastrointestinal and pancreatic secretions, mucus, cellular debris, swallowed vernix caseosa, lanuge, and blood. Usually, the fetus is continent until birth, but in a significant minority of births (7-22%) it is observed that the fetus has excreted a significant amount of meconium into the amniotic fluid leading to meconium-stained amniotic fluid (MSAF).
The pathophysiology of meconium excretion into the amniotic fluid is not entirely understood but it has been suggested that in some cases, the meconium excretion is caused by fetal distress due to, for example, acute or chronic fetal hypoxia.
Meconium present in the amniotic fluid apparently has a detrimental effect on the fetus, for example causing umbilical vessel constriction, vessel necrosis, and production of thrombi, potentially associated with ischemic cerebral palsy. Meconium alters the level of zinc in amniotic fluid, which may reduce the antibacterial properties of amniotic fluid, potentially facilitating intra-amniotic infection. Meconium has also been implicated as leading to other adverse effects, for example, increased preterm labor, altered coagulation profile in the fetus and neonatal seizures. Although the direct and indirect effects remain uncertain, MSAF is consistently identified as a predictor of maternal and perinatal complications with increased fetal risk, especially when fetal exposure time has been extended and the fluid is concentrated. It has been demonstrated that infants born in the presence of MSAF have lower overall infant assessment scores in comparison to newborns without meconium staining.
5-20% of infants born with meconium-stained amniotic fluid have meconium aspiration syndrome where meconeal particles enter the fetal lungs, leading to severe respiratory disorders. Infants with severe meconium aspiration syndrome develop pulmonary hypertension, progressive respiratory distress, hypoxia, hypercapnia, and acidosis. Infant mortality from meconium aspiration syndromes accounts for 2% of all perinatal deaths in developed countries.
A number of methods and devices are known for identifying the presence of meconium in amniotic fluid.
Amniocentesis is an invasive sampling technique which has become established in obstetric care for prenatal genetic testing (karyotyping).
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,759 is taught an invasive method for detection of meconium, blood or vernix in amniotic fluid by absorbance spectroscopy of a sample of amniotic fluid acquired by penetrating an amniotic sac.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,351 is taught an invasive method for the detection of meconium or blood in amniotic fluid by penetrating an amniotic sac with a probe and withdrawing amniotic fluid through the lumen of the probe into an observation chamber.
In amnioscopy, a health-care professional directly observes the forebag of an amniotic sac through a dilated cervix to look for meconium staining. Although useful in identifying heavy staining, amnioscopy has not proven effective in identifying milder cases of staining. Amnioscopy requires an undesirable degree of cervical dilation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,693 is taught non-invasive detection of meconium in amniotic fluid held in an amniotic sac based on detecting fluorescence of the bilirubin component of meconium in meconium-stained amniotic fluid. A probe is placed against the body (preferably the uterine wall) and monochromatic excitation light at a wavelength of 488 nm or 514 nm (produced by an argon laser) is projected from the probe through the body tissue into the amniotic sac. If present in the amniotic fluid, bilirubin absorbs the excitation light and emits characteristic fluorescence.
It would be highly advantageous to have a method for detecting the presence of meconium in amniotic fluid having advantages over the methods known in the art.

Device and method for identification of meconium in amniotic fluid

Tel Hashomer Medical Research Infrastructure and Services Ltd.


A brake-pressure control device for a road vehicle with a hydraulic brake system has a pneumatic brake booster provided with a change-over device which changes over the brake booster to a mode with an increased boost factor when the speed with which the driver actuates the brake pedal exceeds a threshold value. A reaction piston of the axial force-transmission train, leading from the brake pedal via the reaction piston, a flexible reaction element and the driving piston of the brake booster to the master cylinder, is constructed in two parts. One of the two part-pistons engages axially on the reaction element and the other of the part-pistons acts as a valve element of the inlet valve and via which the driving chamber of the brake booster can be exposed to the ambient pressure. The two part-pistons have complementary threads which engage one another. The pedal-side part-piston can be driven by a device on an electric motor with the effect of shortening the total length of the reaction piston and is activated in the direction of rotation when the actuating speed of the brake pedal is higher than the threshold value.

The present invention relates to a brake-pressure control device for a road vehicle having a hydraulic multi-circuit braking system, and, more particularly, to a brake-pressure control device in which there is provided for generating the brake pressures to be fed into the wheel brakes a master cylinder which can be actuated by means of a pedal-controlled pneumatic brake booster provided with a change-over device which responds to the actuating behavior of the driver and which causes an automatic change-over of the brake booster from a value of the boost factor required for limited braking to a higher value of the boost factor required for full braking, at least in the event that the speed .phi. with which the driver actuates the brake pedal in the introductory phase of a braking operation exceeds a threshold value.
Generally speaking, a brake-pressure control device is provided in a brake system in which a master cylinder actuatable by a pedal-controlled pneumatic brake booster generates the brake pressures to be fed into the wheel brakes. The control device includes a change-over device which responds to the actuating behavior of the driver and brings about an automatic change-over of the brake booster from a value of the boost factor required for limited braking to a higher value of the boost factor required for full braking, at least in the event that the speed .phi..sub.s with which the driver actuates the brake pedal in the introductory phase of a braking operation exceeds a threshold value .phi..sub.s. A brake-pressure control device of this type is the subject of the applicant's earlier German unpublished patent application P 42 08 496.2.
In the aforementioned brake-pressure control device, the vacuum brake booster is provided with a solenoid-valve arrangement which, by actuation with an electrical output signal from the electronic control unit, can be driven out of the basic position, in which a control channel of the control part of the brake booster, via which pressure compensation can take place between the vacuum chamber and the driving chamber of the brake booster, is connected to communicate with the vacuum chamber; the driving chamber is shut off from the outside atmosphere, into an energized operating position in which the driving chamber of the brake booster is loaded with the ambient pressure via a throughflow path opened in this operating position and belonging to the solenoid-valve arrangement, but the control channel is shut off from the vacuum chamber.
The basic position of the solenoid-valve arrangement is assigned to the non-actuated state of the brake system and its limited-braking mode. The valve arrangement is changed over into its energized position when, during the actuation of the brake pedal, the threshold value .phi..sub.s of the actuating speed is exceeded. The control channel of the control part is guided outwards via a flexible line and a bushing of the housing of the vacuum chamber. The solenoid valve is arranged in the outer space of the vacuum chamber and, in its basic position, connects this bushing to a second bushing leading back into the vacuum chamber. In the energized operating position of the solenoid valve, which is assumed when the valve is actuated by an output signal characteristic of the exceeding of the threshold value .phi..sub.s of the actuating speed of the brake pedal, the first bushing is shut off from the second bushing and the latter is instead connected to the outside atmosphere, so that the brake booster works with maximum brake boosting.
The brake-pressure control device explained thus far has the disadvantage in functional terms that, when the change-over device responds, the increase in brake force takes place, as it were, abruptly. For a minimum response time, it is virtually impossible for the driver to influence the brake force, and this can considerably impair at least the driving comfort during a braking operation. A constructional disadvantage is that the solenoid valve arranged outside the housing of the brake booster requires considerable space which is exceedingly difficult to provide in the conventional arrangement of the booster/master-cylinder unit in the upper rear part of the engine space, where the hydraulic unit of an anti-lock system, which necessary in combination with the brake-pressure control device, is also often accommodated.
An object of the present invention is, therefore, to improve a brake-pressure control device to the effect that, while having an improved response behavior in the sense of better metering of the brake force or vehicle deceleration, it can nevertheless be produced with a small space requirement.
This object has been achieved, according to the present invention, by providing that the reaction piston is of two-part design and comprises a first part-piston which can be supported axially on the reaction disc and which is guided axially displaceably, but non-rotatably, on the housing part carrying the reaction disc, as well as a second part-piston which forms the sealing flange of the inlet valve and which is rotatable, the two part-pistons being in engagement with one another via complementary threads extending in the axial direction; the change-over device comprises an electric motor of reversible direction of rotation, by means of which the second part-piston can be driven in rotation via a reduction gear, while, in the event that the driver actuates the brake pedal at high speed at the start of a braking operation, an activation of the electric motor takes place in that direction of rotation which ensures that the relative rotational movement of the two part-pistons leads to a shortening of the reaction piston as a whole and, at the latest at the end of a braking operation, an activation of the electric motor takes place in the opposite direction of rotation, until a position of the part-pistons of the reaction piston corresponding to a maximum length of the latter is reached again; the electric motor is arranged in a pedal-side end portion of the control-part housing, so as also to execute the movements of the latter, and is coupled in drive terms to the rotatable part-piston via a hollow shaft coaxially surrounding the pedal tappet.
Accordingly, a two-part construction is provided for the reaction piston, with a first piston element which can be supported axially on the reaction disc and which is guided axially displaceably, but non-rotatably, on the housing part carrying the reaction disc, and with a second piston element which forms the sealing flange of the inlet valve and which is rotatable. The piston elements of the reaction piston are in engagement with one another via complementary threads extending in the axial direction. The change-over device comprises an electric motor of reversible direction of rotation, by way of which the second piston element forming a sealing flange can be driven rotationally via a reduction gear, while, in the event that the driver actuates the brake pedal at high speed (.phi.>.phi..sub.s) at the start of a braking operation, an activation of the electric motor takes place in that rotation direction which ensures that the relative rotational movement of the two piston elements leads to a shortening of the reaction piston as a unit. At the latest at the end of a braking operation, an activation of the electric motor takes place in the opposite rotation direction, until a basic position, corresponding to a maximum length of the reaction piston, of its piston elements is again reached. The electric motor is arranged in a pedal-side end portion of the control-part housing so as also to execute the movements of the latter and is drivingly coupled to the rotatable reaction-piston element via a hollow shaft coaxially surrounding the pedal tappet.
An advantage of the brake-pressure control device according to the present invention is that, when the change-over device responds, the brake force does not abruptly assume a high value, but increases continuously with a time behavior predetermined by the speed of the electric motor. The pedal reaction detectable by the driver is essentially that the brake pedal can be actuated with little force until the brake booster finally reaches the drive level, that its driving chamber is under atmospheric pressure and a further increase in brake pressure, without boosting, takes place only in correlation with an increase in the force with which the driver actuates the brake pedal. Since the forces necessary for the opening actuation of the inlet valve of the brake-pressure control device according to the present invention are low, the control motor can be a motor with a power consumption of a few watts, i.e. of sufficiently small construction to ensure that it can be installed in the pedal-side end portion of the control-part housing with its motor shaft parallel to the central axis of the control part. The motor drives, via a pinion of small diameter, a gearwheel which is connected rotationally fixedly to the hollow shaft and the diameter of which is between three (3) and eight (8) times larger than that of the pinion in order to ensure a sufficient reduction of the motor speed.
Both in reigns of as space-saving a form of construction as possible and from the point of view of an exact mounting of the hollow shaft provided for the opening control of the inlet valve, it is especially advantageous if the hollow shaft is mounted slidably on a cylindrical portion of the pedal tappet passing centrally through the control-part housing, which achieves a large "bearing length", within which transverse forces acting on the reduction gearwheel connected to the hollow shaft can be absorbed effectively.
If, as in the preferred configuration of the brake-pressure control device, the reaction-piston element engaging on the reaction disc is a threaded cap whose thread is in engagement over a portion of its length with an end portion, configured as a threaded bolt, of the rotatable reaction-piston element, and, in combination therewith, the reaction-piston element supportable on the reaction disc can be supported axially on a stop element arranged fixedly relative to the control-part housing, after a small initial portion of the relative stroke of the two reaction-piston elements has taken place in the event of an activation of the brake-pressure control device, then the brake-pressure control device can also be utilized for an automatic actuation of the brake system. That is, an actuation takes place without the cooperation of the driver, for example for the purpose headway control and/or drive-slip control and/or for an activation, desirable for other reasons relating to driving dynamics, of one or more wheel brakes of the vehicle.
In one particularly advantageous embodiment of the brake-pressure control device of the present invention, the valve spring, which urges the annular disc valve element of the control part of the brake booster into bearing contact with the seat of compensating valve and with the reaction-piston element of the inlet valve and which, in a conventional brake booster, is supported on an annular shoulder of the pedal tappet, is supported on a radially inward-projecting supporting flange of a flanged sleeve. The latter is inserted firmly into the control-part housing, and the rotatable hollow shaft which prevents the valve spring from being supported on the pedal tappet, passes through the flanged sleeve.
The objects of the present invention are also achieved in that the housing-side valve element of the compensating valve, on which the valve element in the annular disc form can be supported by its radially outer region, comprises a sleeve-shaped part which is guided on the control-part housing displaceably in a pressure-tight manner in the axial direction. The sleeve-shaped part is in engagement, via a thread extending in the axial direction over a length portion of the sleeve casing, with a complementary thread of a rotatably mounted hollow shaft which, in the tubular portion of the control-part housing through which the pedal tappet passes centrally, coaxially surrounds the latter at a radial distance and is sealed off from the tubular portion of the control housing and which can be driven in rotation by an electric motor of reversible rotational direction, provided as an actuating device of the change-over device, but is secured against axial displacement within the control-part housing, while, in the event of an actuation of the brake pedal taking place at excessive speed (.phi.>.phi..sub.s), the electric motor is activated in that rotation direction in which the axial displacement, resulting from the rotation of the hollow shaft, of the sleeve-shaped compensating-valve element, on which is supported the annular-disc shaped valve element, which is also a valve element of the inlet valve, leads to a lifting off of the annular-disc shaped valve element from the sealing face of the reaction piston. At the latest at the end of the brake actuation the electric motor is driven in that rotation direction in which the axial displacement, resulting therefrom, of the sleeve-shaped compensating-valve element once again returns into the basic position of the annular-disc shaped valve element. The basic position corresponds to the blocking state of the inlet valve.
The immediately-above-described embodiment of the brake-pressure control device provides, both an initiation of a braking operation with a very rapid rise in brake pressure and an automatic actuation of the brake system, as is necessary, for example, for a headway-control mode or a drive-slip control mode.
If the electric motor, which can once again be rated at an advantageously low power consumption, is accommodated in a pedal-side end portion of the control-part housing and the reduction ratio of the gear formed by a driving pinion of the motor and a driving toothing of the hollow shaft is between 1/4 and 1/8, then it is especially advantageous if the toothing with which the driving pinion of the electric motor meshes is configured as an internal toothing arranged on the pedal-side end portion of the hollow shaft. This allows an especially space-saving arrangement of the electric drive motor which can then be accommodated for the most part within the clear cross-section of the tubular portion of the control-part housing.
The necessary securing of the axially displaceable valve element of the compensating valve can be achieved in a simple way by a small tube which forms part of the passage channel connecting the vacuum chamber to the annular space of the control part communicating with the vacuum chamber and which starts from the valve element and is displaceable in a pressure-tight manner in a housing bore otherwise limiting the channel.
In order to hold the annular-disc shaped valve element in the form of an annular disc securely in the position necessary for the various valve functions, the valve spring urging this valve element into bearing contact with the axially movable rib-shaped valve element of the compensating valve of the control part is supported on an inner radial step of a flanged sleeve which coaxially surrounds the pedal tappet at a clear radial distance. The flanged sleeve also has an outer radial step, on which the sealing cuff is supported axially and, via a casing-shaped portion of the flanged sleeve connecting the two steps to one another, radially, and is held in sealing bearing contact with the inner cylindrical surface of the rotatable hollow shaft. The flanged sleeve is arranged rotationally fixedly within the control-part housing.
The relevant securing of the flanged sleeve against rotation can be achieved in a simple way in that the flanged sleeve is provided, within a casing portion pointing towards the sealing element in the form of an annular disc, with a transverse bolt passing through a long hole of the pedal tappet which is itself non-rotatable as a result of connection to the brake pedal.

Brake-pressure control device for a road vehicle


Provided are a pressurizing module and a blood pressure measuring device including the pressurizing module. The pressurizing module includes a driving block optionally discharging compressed air; and a bellows-type airbag formed to overlap with the driving block, and comprising an inner space accommodating the compressed air discharged from the driving block, a plurality of wrinkles flattened so as to expand the inner space, and a pressurizing surface formed at an end portion of the wrinkles and spaced apart from the driving block as the inner space expands.

1. Field
Disclosed herein is a blood pressure measuring device for measuring a blood pressure of a patient either once or continuously.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of blood pressure measuring devices have been developed in the interests of monitoring the blood pressure of individuals and thereby improving the public health. Blood pressure measuring methods include a Korotkoff sounds method, an oscillometric method, a tonometric method, and the like. The Korotkoff sounds method, which is a typical blood pressure measuring method, measures the systolic pressure at which the pulse sound is first heard and the diastolic pressure at which the pulse sound is barely audible in a depressurization process after blood flow is blocked by sufficiently pressurizing a body part through which arterial blood flows.
The oscillometric method and the tonometric method are used in digital blood pressure measuring devices. The oscillometric method measures the systolic pressure and the diastolic pressure by detecting a pulse wave generated in a depressurization process that depressurizes a body part at a constant speed. The detection of the pulse wave is conducted after sufficiently pressurizing the body part through which arterial blood flows so as to block arterial blood flow. This is similar to the Korotkoff sounds method. The oscillometric method may also be conducted in a pressurization process that pressurizes the body part at a constant speed. A pressure at which the amplitude of a pulse waveform is at a specific level may be measured as a function of the systolic pressure or the diastolic pressure, as compared to a pressure at which the amplitude of the pulse waveform is at a maximum. Alternatively, a pressure at which the amplitude of the pulse waveform varies greatly may be measured as a function of the systolic pressure or the diastolic pressure. During the depressurization process of the body part at a constant speed after the pressurization process, the systolic pressure is measured before the moment at which the amplitude of the pulse waveform is at the maximum, and the diastolic pressure is measured after the moment at which the amplitude of the pulse waveform is at the maximum. On the contrary, in the pressurization process of the body part at a constant speed, the systolic pressure is measured after the moment at which the amplitude of the pulse waveform is at the maximum, and the diastolic pressure is measured before the moment at which the amplitude of the pulse waveform is at the maximum.
The tonometric method compresses a body part so that arterial blood flow is not completely blocked and continuously measures blood pressure by using the size and form of a sphygmus wave generated by pressurizing the body part.
Recently, a portable blood pressure measuring device, which can measure blood pressure by using an oscillometric method or a tonometric method without any inconvenience to a user has been developed. The portable blood pressure measuring device can be installed in a body part such as a wrist. However, the portable blood pressure measuring device needs improvement in terms of size and precision control of blood vessel pressurization pressure.

Pressurizing module and blood pressure measuring device including the same


A cooling system for a transition duct for routing a gas flow from a combustor to the first stage of a turbine section in a combustion turbine engine is disclosed. The transition duct may have a multi-panel outer wall formed from an inner panel having an inner surface that defines at least a portion of a hot gas path plenum and an intermediate panel positioned radially outward from the inner panel such that at least one cooling chamber is formed between the inner and intermediate panels. The transition duct may also include an outer panel. The inner, intermediate and outer panels may include one or more metering holes for passing cooling fluids between cooling chambers for cooling the panels. The intermediate and outer panels may be secured with an attachment system coupling the panels to the inner panel such that the intermediate and outer panels may move in-plane.

Typically, gas turbine engines include a compressor for compressing air, a combustor for mixing the compressed air with fuel and igniting the mixture, and a turbine blade assembly for producing power. Combustors often operate at high temperatures that may exceed 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Typical turbine combustor configurations expose turbine blade assemblies to these high temperatures. As a result, turbine blades and turbine vanes must be made of materials capable of withstanding such high temperatures. Turbine blades, vanes, transitions and other components often contain cooling systems for prolonging the life of these items and reducing the likelihood of failure as a result of excessive temperatures.

Turbine transition component formed from an air-cooled multi-layer outer panel for use in a gas turbine engine


A pannus support member is configured to support and contain a pannus during a surgical procedure to provide unobstructed access to the surgical site and provide, post surgery, a clean site that is exposed to air to promote proper healing.

Pannus is a medical term for a hanging flap of tissue. When involving the abdomen, it is called a panniculus and consists of skin, fat, and sometimes contents of the internal abdomen as part of a hernia. A pannus can be the result of loose hanging tissues after pregnancy or weight loss. It can also be the result of obesity which unfortunately is becoming more and more widespread in society. A pannus can come in many different sizes and shapes and can become very large, even hanging down below the knees. The extra tissue of a hanging pannus can make personal hygiene difficult. Skin conditions such as yeast infections under the pannus are common problems since the tissue under the pannus is not properly exposed to air but rather is a warm, moist area where bacteria thrive. A massive hanging pannus can get in the way of walking and prevent a person from performing many of life's daily tasks. A smaller pannus can be an annoyance with clothing as the individual sits or stands.
In term of abdominal panniculi, a grading system has been developed to better assist the physician in classifying the degree of the pannus. The grading system is as follows: grade 1: panniculus barely covers the hairline and mons pubis but not the genitalia; grade 2: extends to cover the genitalia; grade 3: extends to cover the upper thigh; grade 4: extends to cover the mid thigh; and grade 5: extends to cover the knees or beyond.
One situation where a pannus is particularly troublesome and must be properly dealt with is during the delivery of a child from an obese woman. It is generally understood that the term "obese" actually refers to anyone who is more than 30% over their ideal body weight. Obesity can be the result of many factors, including inactivity, poor diet, and certain health-related complications. Obesity is becoming a growing concern among both genders and all age groups. In 1962, 13% of the American population was classified as obese. By 1994, this number had increased to 23%. Yet, just six years later in 2000, this number had skyrocketed to over 30%. Today, an estimated two-thirds of Americans are considered overweight while one in three is obese. As a result, in America, being obese has officially become a marker for classifying a pregnancy as high risk.
Of particular concern for women of childbearing age are the effects that obesity can have on your reproductive health. Obesity put you and your baby at risk for some serious health complications. If a person is obese during pregnancy, the person is at risk of several serious health complications, including: (a) preeclampsia which is a condition which causes high blood pressure, fluid retention, and swelling during pregnancy (When serious, preeclampsia can restrict placental blood flow, endangering baby); (b) gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes that develops during pregnancy and prevents the body from breaking down sugar and can put the baby at risk for gaining too much weight in utero; (c) cesarean section: women who are obese during pregnancy have an increased risk of experiencing problems during delivery and labor is more likely to be slow and prolonged, increasing the likelihood of cesarean section; (d) postpartum infection: Obesity during pregnancy also makes a woman more vulnerable to experiencing a difficult postpartum recovery and in particular, if a woman had a c-section, they are at risk for developing dangerous postpartum infections.
The presence of a pannus during a cesarean section surgical procedure complicates the overall process and additional procedures must be followed to prepare the woman for surgery. As is know, in a conventional cesarean section surgical procedure, after the skin is thoroughly cleansed with an aseptic solution and sterile drapes spread over the surgical field, the abdomen is entered by making an incision through all the layers of the abdominal wall: the skin, the fat and then several muscle layers and muscle sheaths (fascia). This incision can be made either vertically below the umbilicus like a zipper, or horizontally right above the pubic bone, a "bikini cut." Usually all the intestines have been pushed up into the upper abdomen by the enlarged uterus and the uterus lies directly against the abdominal wall. Next, the incision through the muscle wall of the uterus is made and stopped just short of the amniotic sac that contains the baby. The amniotic sac is ruptured carefully, so as not to hurt the baby, and the baby is delivered much as if she were coming out through the vagina.
Recent studies have found that maternity units are not particularly well equipped for obese pregnant women. Presently, fairly crude techniques are used to deal with obese pregnant women that have a pannus that is obstructing the abdomen area where the cesarean section is to be performed. For example, in order to push the pannus back and hold the pannus away from the underlying tissue where the cesarean incision is to be made, an elongated band, such as adhesive tape or the like, is attached to the lower abdomen above the incision on either side and is pulled up and back with sufficient force to lift the pannus away from the underlying tissue, and the other end of the band is fixedly attached to another structure. The structures to which ends of the band are attached can be legs of the bed or other fixtures in the operating room. Once the pannus is lifted, the surgical procedure continues. After delivery of the baby, the incision is closed up and the patient is brought to a recovery room. Unfortunately, the pannus is let to hang back over the incision. As mentioned above, the hanging of the pannus over the incision provides a warm, moist area where bacteria thrive and proper healing is more difficult.
It will be appreciated that while a cesarean section is described herein as being a surgical procedure that is complicated by the presence of a pannus, any surgical procedure where an incision is made in the abdomen or proximate area that is covered by a pannus is equally complicated by the presence of the pannus.
There is therefore a need to provide a pannus support member or adapter that is designed not only to be worn prior to a surgical procedure, such as a cesarean section, but also after it during the recovery period.

Pannus support adapted for surgical procedures


A Venetian blind slat control mechanism comprises a set of first string ladders suspended between a head rail and a bottom rail of a Venetian blind for holding a plurality of equally spaced slats thereon before respectively fixed onto a pair of adjusting seats that, having an adjusting shaft mounted thereon, are accommodated at both ends of the head rail therein to tilt the slats into different angles thereby. A lift cord is applied to sequentially thread through cord passages of each slat before wound and suspended from a first pulley seat adapted at one end of the head rail to raise or lower the slats thereby. Between the adjusting seats inside the head rail is situated a positioning seat with a set of guide sliding members accommodated at both sides thereof in linking movement with a linkage actuating plate controlled by an operational cord that is wound and suspended from a second pulley seat adapted at the other end of the head rail. A set of second string ladders whose upper ends are respectively fixed to the guide sliding members thereof are mounted to extend downwards in a U-shaped form to cross the bottom rail, and multiple positioning steps of the second string ladder are applied to hold in place every even/odd-numbered slats thereby. Therefore, the operational cord is simply drawn to trigger the linkage mechanism and synchronically lift the second string ladders so as to alternatively collect and arrange the slats in pairs, facilitating an easier and speedier operation thereof to achieve the best using status.

The present invention is related to a Venetian blind slat control mechanism, comprising a set of first string ladders suspended between a head rail and a bottom rail of a Venetian blind for holding a plurality of equally spaced slats thereon, and a set of second string ladders whose upper ends are attached to a pair of guide sliding members connected to a linkage actuating plate and controlled by an operational cord attached to the linkage actuating plate thereof; whereby the operational cord is simply drawn to trigger the linkage mechanism thereof and synchronically lift the second string ladders so as to alternatively collect the slats in pairs in an easy and speedy manner without tilting the slats due to uneven pulling force applied thereto. Besides, the operational cord is mounted to one end of the head rail opposite to a lift cord so as to avoid confusing both cords in operation and achieve the best using status thereof.
Please refer to FIG. 1. A conventional Venetian blind slat control mechanism is made up of a Venetian blind 10 having a first string ladder 11 and a second string ladder 12 sequentially mounted to a plurality of slats 13 and respectively crossing the length of a lower rail 14 into U-shaped forms. Positioning slide posts 151 and a first and second pulley seats 152, 153 are respectively disposed at both ends of a head rail 15 for both ends of the first and second string ladders to respectively wind there-through and extend downwards there-from. When the first string ladder 11 is pulled downwards, the slats 13 of odd or even numbers will be actuated to raise upwards, each overlapping with the slat 13 above in pairs to augment the light-passable space as shown in FIG. 2. When the second string ladder 12 is pulled downwards, the slats 13 will keep gathering up from bottom to top in a sequence. A mounting seat with an adjustment member is adapted inside the head rail 15 for retaining a ladder tape (without shown in the diagram) to tilt the slats 13 into different angles thereby.
There are some drawbacks to such conventional Venetian blind slat control mechanism. First, the first and the second string ladders 11, 12 are suspended downwards from the same side of the head rail 15. In practical use, it's easy to confuse the two string ladders 11, 12 and require a repetition of the operation thereof. Besides, in case pulling force is unevenly applied onto both ends of the first or the second string ladders 11, 12, the slats 13 can easily get tilted and result in an inconvenient operation thereof. Second, the first string ladder 11 is wound across the length of the bottom rail 14 thereof. In case of a great pulling force applied thereto, the first string ladder 11 tends to raise upwards the bottom rail 14 and sequentially gather up each slat 13 from bottom to top, losing the function to pile up the slats 13 in pairs. Thus, the conventional Venetian blind slats mechanism is more difficult to manipulate in operation thereof. Third, the first string ladder 11, winding across the length at the inner side of the bottom rail 14, must first actuate the bottom rail 14 before extending through the first pulley seat 152 to suspend downwards there-from, which can waste quite a lot of efforts and pains in the operation thereof.


An optical processing circuit, such as a combinatorial network, comprises an arrangement of optical logic gates suitable for use in combination with a switched optical node of the kind having at least first and second input ports and two output ports, the node being configurable into either a cross or a bar configuration, and in which the optical processing circuit is arranged so as to receive at least three optical input signals which respectively comprise a packet identifier signal PIH which identifies whether or not a first input signal is present at the first input port of the switched optical node, the first input port being assigned a higher priority than the second input port, a first destination address AH indicating the output port of the switched optical node to which a first information carrying signal, received at the first input port, is intended to be passed, and a second destination address AL indicating the output port of the switched optical node to which a second information carrying signal, received at the second input port, is intended to be passed, and in which the processing circuit is configured to generate from these three optical input signals the following optical output signals: a contention resolution control (CRC) signal which has a first value if a routing conflict is present and a second if it is not; and a switch control generation (SCG) signal indicating whether the associated switched optical node is to be set in a cross or bar configuration.

Optical 2×2 switches are known which have two input ports and two output ports and which are configurable in either a cross or a bar configuration. When set in the bar configuration, a signal received at a first input port IP1 is connected to a first output port OP1 and a signal received at the second input port IP2 is connected to a second output port OP2. When in the cross configuration the signal at the first input port IP1 is instead connected to the second output port OP2 and likewise the signal at the second input port IP2 is connected to the first output port OP1. This functionality enables information arriving at an input to be steered to either of the outputs and is well known in communication networks for routing. Groups of 2×2 switch nodes can be combined to give switching between more than two inputs and outputs if required.
Such switched optical nodes have application in computers and in communications networks. For example, packetized information may be sent to an input which carries with it a label containing routing information in the form of a destination address AMN where M identifies the label containing the address and N is an integer value which indicates which one of N output ports of the switch the incoming signal is to be passed to. An address may indicate a final destination on a network, for example, with the switched node knowing which output port links to that address by being aware of its location within the network. Alternatively, it may indicate directly a specific output port of the switch. When a packetised signal arrives at an input node of the switch, this routing information is extracted and used to set the switch in either the cross or bar configuration so as to provide the correct route to the destination.
A problem arises if two signals arrive, at respective input ports, at the same time, and both want to be sent to the same output port. To ensure that the switch behaves predictably this can be overcome by associating a priority value with each input port, one being given a higher priority than the other, so that most times there will always be one incoming signal with a higher priority than the other. Any information arriving at the input with the high priority will get its requested routing and the information at the other port will be routed to its correct output port only if possible. If not, due to a conflict, a conflict will be signalled.
To date, such optical 2κ2 switches have been implemented using a combination of optical and electronic components. The priority information and address information has been extracted from the incoming signals by converting it to an electrical signal for processing. An electrical processing circuit has then been provided which takes these signals and from them provides the drive signals for setting the switch in the cross or bar configuration and indicating a conflict if appropriate. This electronic domain processing and the need to convert from the optical to the electronic domain slows the throughput of the switch and has been found to be limiting in the maximum rate at which signals can be passed.

All optical processing circuit for conflict resolution and switch configuration in a 2×2 optical node


A device to cancel noise in broadcast signal is disclosed. The device a first port to connect to a main antenna, a second port to connect to a noise antenna, a processor coupled to the first port and the second port to measure the broadcast signal received at the first port and a noise signal received at the second port to derive a first set of coefficients, a first adaptive filter coupled to the first port and the processor and a second adaptive filter coupled to the second port and the processor. The first adaptive filter and the second adaptive filters are configurable based on the first set of coefficients to remove the high energy parts of a frequency spectrum of signals received at the first port and the second ports respectively. The device also includes a subtraction coefficient calculator module coupled to the first filter and the second filter to derive a second set of coefficients and a subtractor coupled to the first port, the second port and the subtraction coefficient calculator module to subtract the noise signal from the broadcast signal.

The use of electronic components in vehicles has been on the rise since. Newer vehicles, specially hybrid or electrical power vehicles use a substantial amount of electronic circuits. These electronic circuits and the vehicle engine emit noise in amplitude modulation (AM) band and this noise causes interference with AM reception that can be typically found in most vehicles. Typically, AM frequency bands are also used for AM reception as well as digital radio broadcast.


The invention relates to a device for tensioning a threaded rod (1). The inventive device comprises: an actuator (5) which can exert an axial force; and a tie rod (6) which transmits the axial force from the actuator (5) towards a threaded end (1b) of the rod (1b), said tie rod (6) comprising at least two jaws (31) which can move radially between a closed position, in which the tie rod (6) is engaged with a threaded end (1b) of the rod (1), and an open position in which the jaws (31) are disengaged from the threaded rod (1b). Moreover, said device comprises a locking element (45) which can move between a jaw (31) opening position and a jaw (31) closing position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for tensioning a rod before locking it, for example with the aid of a nut, particularly for prestressing threaded rods used for fastening mechanical parts to one another.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Fastening rods can be tensioned by applying a clamping torque to nuts bearing axially on the parts to be assembled. Because of the friction at the face of the nut in contact with an assembled part and at the mating nut/rod threads, this clamping method does not make it possible to control with precision the axial prestressing force on the rod. Furthermore, this clamping method introduces residual torsional stresses in the threaded rod, which leads to the precautionary measure of using oversized threaded rods. Moreover, such a clamping operation leads most often to a relatively high degree of damage not only to the threads of the nut and to those of the threaded rod cooperating therewith while being tightened but also to the surface of the part against which the nut will bear as it is being turned during the clamping operation.
To avoid these disadvantages, it is possible to axially tension a threaded rod before tightening down a clamping nut onto a bearing surface. The clamping nut locks the rod when a tensioning force is released from the rod. The rod is prestressed only along its axis.
In order to exert tension on the rod, use may be made of an actuator or tensioner. Thus, after fitting the nut for clamping the assembly to the end of the rod to be prestressed, the end of the rod together with the nut is covered with the actuator. A puller in the form of a nut in the form of a draw nut is then screwed on to apply a tensile force developed by the actuator. Finally, while the rod is held in tension, the nut of the assembly is tightened down so as to bring it into contact with the part to be assembled, and the tension exerted by the actuator on the rod is released, this rod being locked by the nut of the assembly.
Often, mechanical assemblies must be held together by a number of threaded rods. The use of such pulling devices, especially when the number of threaded rods is high, entails multiple screwing and unscrewing operations for the pullers, making the assembly operations tiresome. Furthermore, the conditions under which the pulling devices are used may be difficult, which makes their use by an operator more testing still.
Document GB 2 201 745 discloses a device for tensioning a threaded rod comprising a pair of radially movable jaws arranged in a conical sleeve. A clasp nut is provided for locking the rod by bearing against a plate. A piston-cylinder assembly is arranged axially between the sleeve and the clasp nut. The piston is designed to push the sleeve axially on the side remote from the nut. An axial movement of the conical sleeve brings the jaws together radially so that they come into engagement with the threaded rod.
This device makes it necessary for the threaded rod to be formed with a free end of considerable length, corresponding to the length of the clasp nut incremented by the length of the piston-cylinder assembly and the jaws, so as to allow the jaws to come into engagement with the threaded rod.
Moreover, the jaws come into engagement with the threaded rod with a combined radial and axial movement during the application of an axial tensioning force. There is a risk that the crests of the threads of the threaded rod will bear against the crests of the threads of the jaws and become damaged.
In addition, the jaws come into engagement with the threaded rod only when an axial tensioning force is applied. Poor cooperation between the jaws and the threaded rod will not be detected prior to the application of an axial force by the piston. An operator must be able to be assured that each tensioning device is properly installed and that a puller will be able to transmit the forces satisfactorily, prior to tensioning a set of rods.
In certain devices, elements are fastened together with the aid of a large number of threaded rods and nuts. The tensioning devices are installed by operators, sometimes under difficult conditions which deprive the operators of total freedom of movement. It is necessary to facilitate the installation of each tensioning device.

Tensioning device for prestressing a rod, and related tensioning method


An apparatus for and a method of simultaneously performing edge detection and enhancement without any additional memory storage include an image sensor sensing an image to output image data, a line buffer receiving the image data to output the image data, a register storing the image data transmitted from the line buffer, an interpolation unit performing an interpolation operation on the image data received from the register, an edge detection unit performing an edge detection operation on the image data received from the register to output an edge detection signal in parallel to the interpolation operation of the interpolation unit according to a selection signal representing a pattern of the image data stored in the register, and an edge enhancement unit enhancing an output of the interpolation unit according to the edge detection unit of the edge detection unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for and method of performing edge enhancement in a widely used popular digital camera, such as a portable digital camera, having a low number of image pixels, and more particularly, to edge enhancement apparatus and method to simultaneously perform both an edge enhancement operation and an interpolation operation without any additional circuit or block for edge enhancement.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a portable digital camera or a widely used popular digital camera, a sensed image is not vivid since an image sensor and a lens are small in size, and a function of an image processing IC has been too much simplified for a cost reduction. In particular, a boundary of the sensed image becomes blurred. In order to prevent the sensed image from being blurred, an edge enhancement method has been employed in the digital camera to enhance the boundary of the sensed image to obtain a vivid sensed image.
An edge of the sensed image contains information about the sensed image itself. The edge of the sensed image represents the boundary at which a position, a shape, and a size of an object of the sensed image are changed. The edge of the sensed image is disposed on a point at which the brightness of the sensed image is changed from a high brightness level to a low brightness level or from the low brightness level to the high brightness level.
As described above, the edge enhancement method is used to obtain the vivid sensed image in the widely used popular camera having a number of image pixels less than a standard. Among a number of edge enhancement methods, a method of detecting an edge of an original image using various methods and adding the detected edge to the original image to enhance the edge of the original image has been widely used.
The edge enhancement method is classified into one of various methods according to a kind or type of an input image, and a fastest and simplest edge enhancement method is to calculate pixel data of a center pixel and adjacent pixels of the center pixel to determine a maximum value. This method is one of a homogeneity operator method and a difference operator method.
FIGS. 1A and 1B show views explaining conventional homogeneity operator and difference operator methods, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1A, the homogeneity operator method includes forming a window having 3×3 pixels, subtracting pixel values of adjacent pixels disposed around of a center pixel of the window from a pixel value of the center pixel to obtain differences, and outputting a maximum absolute value among absolute values of the differences as an output value. Since the homogeneity operator method performs obtaining the differences between the pixel value of the center pixel and the pixel values of the adjacent pixels of the window, 8 subtracting operations are required with respect to the center pixel of the window.
As shown in FIG. 1B, the difference operator method includes obtaining a first difference between pixel values of an upper left pixel and a lower right pixel of a center pixel, obtaining a second difference between pixel values between an upper center pixel and a lower center of the center pixel, obtaining a third difference between pixel values of an upper right pixel and a lower left pixel of the center pixel, and obtaining a fourth difference between pixel values of a middle left pixel and a middle right pixel of the center pixel. Since the difference operator method requires 4 subtracting operations with respect to the center pixel, the difference operator method is faster than the homogeneity operator method in performing the subtracting operation.
The above-described homogeneity and difference operator methods are performed with respect to a black/white image having a brightness component.
Various edge detecting methods are used for a color image which is not the black/white image. Generally, in the color image having an RGB (R, G, and B components) space, operations are performed with respect to the pixel values of each color components of R, G, or B, and a gray scale edge map is produced from operation results using the following formula 1.G(x,y)=√{square root over (G2red+G2green+G2blue)}  <Formula 1>
Here, Gred represents a pixel value of a red component, Ggreen represents the edge map of a green component, and Gblue represents the edge map of a blue component.
However, in an HSV (hue, saturation, and value (brightness or luminance) components) space, the edge of the color image is detected from the value (V) component among the hue (H), saturation (S), and value (V) components. Therefore, it is possible to detect the edge of the color image by using the value (V) component rather than all color components, such as the H, S, and V components,
FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a conventional edge detector detecting the edge of the color image using a luminance component. Referring to FIG. 2, the sensed image sensed by an image sensor 201 is stored in a memory 202 as a Bayer pattern. Since 3 or more data components are required to realize the color image, pixel values of three independent color (R, G, and B) components can be used as the data components. The image sensor 201 sensing the color image requires a color filter away (CFA) in which color sensors are arranged. In each color sensor of the image sensor 201, the pixel value of one of the color components is extracted with respect to each pixel, other color components of the pixel, which is not extracted with respect to the pixel, can be calculated through the CFA using information of adjacent pixels of the pixel. This method is a generally known Bayer pattern method corresponding to a CFA method. Restoring the color image through the image sensor 201 having the CFA is called interpolation and demosaicing.
The sensed image (image information) stored in the memory 202 is processed to a RGB pattern image in a 3×3 line interpolation unit 203.
Assuming that the interpolation unit 203 performs a 3×3 line interpolation method with respect to the image information stored as the Bayer pattern in a unit of a 3×3 window having the number of 3×3 pixels, since the Bayer pattern is one of four patterns, the 3×3 window is one of the following four patterns.
00: rgrgrg . . .                gbgbgb . . .
01: bgbgbg . . .                grgrgr . . .
10: gbgbgb . . .                rgrgrg . . .
11: grgrgr . . .                bgbgbg . . .
When a 3×3 line Bayer pattern which is shown in FIG. 3A is provided to the interpolation unit 203, RGB values of the RGB pattern are as follows.                R=(R1+R2+R3+R4)/4        G=(G1+G2+G3+G4)/4        B=B1
When the 3×3 line Bayer pattern which is shown in FIG. 3B is provided to the interpolation unit 203, the RGB values of the RGB pattern are as follows.                R=(R1+R2)/2        G=G3        B=(B1+B2)/2
When the 3×3 line Bayer pattern which is shown in FIG. 3C is provided to the interpolation unit 203, the RGB values of the RGB pattern are as follows.                R=(R1+R2)/2        G=G3        B=(B1+B2)/2
When the 3×3 line Bayer pattern which is shown in FIG. 3D is provided to the interpolation unit 203, the RGB values of the RGB pattern are as follows.                R=R1        G=(G1+G2+G3+G4)/4        B=(B1+B2+B3+B4)/4
The 3×3 line Bayer pattern interpolation method may include a method of obtaining a mean of pixel values of the adjacent pixels excluding the pixels having maximum and minimum pixel values as well as the above-described method. In order to perform the 3×3 line interpolation method, 3 line data should be simultaneously transmitted to an image processor.
The RGB pattern image interpolated in the interpolation unit 203 is processed in an edge detector 206 through YCrCb(YUV) pattern converter 204 and another memory 205.
However, when the interpolation and the edge enhancement are processed on the sensed image using the above conventional methods to realize an image processed block, a time delay occurs between an input image and an output image since the interpolation and the edge enhancement are performed in a unit of a frame, and also a frame buffer and an additional memory are required to temporarily store the input image and the edge map, respectively, since the interpolation and the edge enhancement are performed in a unit of a frame.
The sensed image is not vivid since functions of an image processor IC is too much simplified to sense a clear image as the input (sensed) image due to cost reduction, and the image sensor and a lens of the digital camera having a low number of pixels are small in size. Particularly, the boundary (edge) of an object in the sensed image becomes blurred. Although the edge of the object of the sensed image can be enhanced using the conventional edge enhancement method to obtain a more vivid image, an edge enhancement apparatus employing the conventional edge enhancement method requires an additional function unit (block) in addition to an interpolation processing unit (block) as shown in FIG. 2.
Japanese patent laid-open No. hei7-107268 discloses a conventional image processing apparatus for obtaining high resolution information for a sharp edge by calculating the high resolution information adjacent resolution information in a linear interpolation unit and by adding edge information of an edge information unit to linear interpolated high resolution information.
However, since the above conventional image processing apparatus is an apparatus for processing an edge processing operation after the interpolation has been performed, the additional function block is required in addition to the interpolation block. Moreover, the above conventional image processing apparatus cannot be properly employed in the digital camera or the widely known popular digital camera.
A new method of simultaneously performing the edge enhancement and the interpolation without any additional function block needs to be easily employed in the digital camera or the widely known popular digital camera regardless of the size or the cost of the image processing IC.

Apparatus for and method of edge enhancement in image processing


A stripper head assembly for holding back pressure while stripping a work-string from pressurized well environment is disclosed. The stripper head assembly comprises a stripper head, a stripper insert, a stripper rubber, one or more retention bushing assemblies, one or more retention pins, and one or more retention apertures. The stripper head comprises an outer portion of the stripper head assembly. The stripper head comprises, from top to bottom, a top portion, a body portion, a lower neck portion and a flange base. A portion of the stripper insert fits within a portion of the stripper rubber. A portion of the stripper rubber fits within a portion of the stripper head.

Prior art cited in the parent application to this filing include: US 20150376970 A1, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,530,430 B2, 5,848,643 A, 5,647,444 A, U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,215 A, US 2013 0032359 A1, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,094 A.
In one embodiment, a stripper head assembly 100 can be used to hold back pressure while stripping work-strings in and out of pressurized well environments. Said stripper head assembly 100 can also aid in wellsite operations including horizontal drill-outs, rig assisted snubbing, reverse circulation, and sonic stimulation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method may include receiving a stream of datagrams, the datagrams having a first bit length. The method may also include selecting a block of bits from consecutively-received datagrams, the block having a second bit length greater than the first bit length. The method may additionally include determining whether a particular data field is present at a particular bit position within the block. The method may further include outputting the block as a valid block in response to determining that the particular data field is present at the particular bit position. The method may additionally include, in response to determining that the particular data field is not present at the particular bit position: discarding a received datagram from the stream of datagrams; and repeating the receiving, selecting, determining, and discarding steps until a determination is made that the particular data field is present at the particular bit position.

Telecommunications systems, cable television systems and data communication networks use optical networks to rapidly convey large amounts of information between remote points. In an optical network, information is conveyed in the form of optical signals through optical fibers. Optical fibers comprise thin strands of glass capable of communicating the signals over long distances with very low loss. Optical networks often employ wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) or dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) to increase transmission capacity. In WDM and DWDM networks, a number of optical channels are carried in each fiber at disparate wavelengths, thereby increasing network capacity.
An optical signal comprised of disparate wavelengths experiences optical dispersion, an often undesirable phenomenon that causes the separation of an optical wave into spectral components with different frequencies. Optical dispersion occurs because the differing wavelengths propagate at differing speeds. The separation of an optical wave into its respective channels due to optical dispersion may require optical dispersion compensation for the particular optical signal.
In accordance with prevalent communications standards and/or protocols, nodes may communicate information in the form of Ethernet datagrams known as blocks. The size of blocks may depend on the bit rate of communication used to communicate such blocks. For example, in 10/40/100G BASE-R Physical Coding Sublayer (BR-PCS) communication, such blocks may be 66 bits in length. As another example, in 40 Gb/s Ethernet over Optical Transport Unit (OTU) communication, such blocks may be 1027 bits in length. However, prevalent optical communications standards and/or protocols are often configured such that a datagram of a different size is used to transmit data over a fiber 28 or other transmission medium. For example, in 10 Gb/s ("10G") communication, data may be transmitted in datagrams (e.g., packets or frames) 64 bits in length. As another example, in 40 Gb/s Ethernet over OTU communication ("40G"), such datagrams may be 1024 bits in length. As a further example, in 100 Gb/s ("100G") communication, such datagrams may be 40 bits in length. Accordingly, a 10G transmitter may reassemble a series of 66-bit blocks into 64-bit datagrams for communication wherein each 64-bit datagram may include portions of one or more 66-bit blocks. A corresponding 10G receiver may receive the series of 64-bit datagrams and reassemble such datagrams into 66-bit Ethernet blocks. Similarly, a 40G transmitter may reassemble a series of 1027-bit blocks into 1024-bit datagrams for communication wherein each 1024-bit datagram may include portions of one or more 1027-bit blocks and a corresponding 40G receiver may receive the series of 1024-bit datagrams and reassemble such datagrams into 1027-bit Ethernet blocks. Also a 100G transmitter may reassemble a series of 66-bit blocks into 40-bit datagrams for communication wherein each 40-bit datagram may include portions of one or more 66-bit blocks and a corresponding 100G receiver may receive the series of 40-bit datagrams and reassemble such datagrams into 66-bit Ethernet blocks.
The process of reassembling Ethernet blocks by a receiver may be known as "block alignment." Block alignment may be performed by searching for a portion of an Ethernet block known as a synchronization header or "sync header." For example, a 66-bit BR PCS Ethernet block may include a two-bit sync header. As another example, a 1027-bit Ethernet over OTU block may include a three-bit sync header.
Because a sync header will generally appear in the same bit position of each Ethernet block, the boundaries of a block may be determined by the location of a sync header within a data stream. Accordingly, by finding a sync header in a data stream, a receiver may reassemble Ethernet blocks from a data stream.
Using traditional approaches, implementation of block alignment is challenging in terms of logic size and speed. In traditional approaches, a barrel shifter is used to shift the sync bits within a block in a single clock cycle. In the 10G case, such a barrel shifter requires 66 copies of 66-bit shift registers, which is logic consuming. Alternatively, 66 copies of 66:1 multiplexers are needed to build, which is equally logic consuming. In 40G case, the problem is even more pronounced, as a 1027-bit barrel shifter would be required.

Methods and systems for block alignment in a communication system


In an embodiment of a method of providing contact information, the method includes creating a contact record in a contact management system, where a process associated with a subject of the contact record and/or a recipient of data associated with the contact record is included in creating the contact record. A unique serial number is generated corresponding to the contact record and the serial number is conveyed to the recipient. A request by an application is received for the contact record from the contact management system corresponding to the serial number and data associated with the contact record is transmitted to the application.

It is customary for individuals involved in personal, commercial or professional activities to exchange contact information with their associates. In a typical exchange, parties convey company names, personal names, job titles, telephone numbers, mailing addresses, email addresses, web page addresses and other contact information. The mode of exchange usually includes stating the information verbally, writing down the information or exchanging business cards or stationery. Traditionally, people have recorded and organized contact information manually by writing contact information into an address book or by affixing a business card or a contact entry to a record keeping system such as Rolodex®.
Today's computer-based contact management applications provide powerful search and retrieval capabilities and user friendly application interfaces, which make it convenient for individuals to enter contact information into their personal computers. Contact management applications are also found on portable devices including cellular telephones, hand-held computers, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephones, and web-based applications. Additionally, many businesses employ enterprise resource planning systems, customer relationship management systems, sales force automation systems and other systems having contact management functionality. As a result, a large number of contact management applications are available for personal and business use, and individuals regularly utilize more than one contact management application to store and maintain their contact information.
Entering contact information into multiple contact management applications requires a time-consuming and redundant manual data entry process. The high costs associated with manual data entry are well-understood, and many prior art systems have been designed to address these concerns. For example, creating an electronic backup file of a contact information database enables contact data to be automatically restored to a contact management application if the application's database becomes corrupt. Backup files also enable data from one application to be imported into another application, provided the file formats are compatible or translation from one format to another is feasible.
Some prior art systems were designed to minimize the burden of manually entering contact information through use of specialized hardware and software. In one approach, a business card scanner is used to scan the characters on a printed business card, and specialized Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software attempts to identify the scanned characters and assign the identified characters to appropriate data fields in a contact management application. These systems require the purchase of expensive hardware and software, and human oversight is needed to ensure accuracy of the recognized characters and placement of the data in the appropriate contact information field (e.g., the software may mistakenly assign a fax phone number to a voice phone number field). These scanning systems are typically adapted to work with personal computers and may not be compatible with small computing devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, and cellular telephones. These scanning systems are further limited to scanning printed business cards, thus contact information received through other conveyances (e.g., verbal or handwritten) will still require manual data entry.
In another approach, a Uniform Resource Locator ("URL") for an HTML web page is encoded into barcode format onto a business card. A recipient of the business card scans the barcode into a web browser application to access a corresponding web page containing personal contact information. This type of system is described in Software Patent Institute Serial Number TDB0901.0055, entitled "E-Business Card System," and Serial Number TDB1093.0202, entitled "Coded Business Cards." Drawbacks of this approach include high equipment costs and the inability to use the system to input data into existing contact management applications.
Small, portable devices such as PDAs, handheld computers or cellular phones present additional problems for users needing to manually enter contact information. Cellular phones, for example, include numeric keypads in which a single key is used for entry of a number and multiple letters. As a result, a user may need to press the same key three or four times to select a desired letter or number. Many pen-based PDAs do not include a physical keypad, but instead provide the user with a "virtual" keyboard on the PDA display that may be tapped with a pen. Some small computing devices include a miniaturized keyboard, but data entry remains more challenging than using a full-sized keyboard on a typical desktop or laptop computer. Because of the difficulty in entering and managing data on small devices, many users manage contact information using a software application on a desktop computer. The contact information can be entered and viewed through the desktop application and then downloaded to compatible contact management applications on PDAs, handheld computers and cellular phones via a cable or wireless network transmission.
To facilitate the electronic exchange of contact information, the Internet Mail Consortium developed a specification for an electronic business card data structure called a "vCard." Users typically exchange vCards as attachments to email messages. The recipient of a vCard may import the vCard data into a contact management application that supports the vCard format. Drawbacks of the vCard include the difficulty of maintaining up-to-date contact information once conveyed, and the lack of compatibility with traditional modes of conveyance such as a standard business card, which still requires manual input of contact information.
Web-based contact management applications have also been introduced, but these systems are not widely used due to drawbacks in the various approaches. In one approach, a subscriber enters contact information online, shares the information with other online subscribers, and may download other subscribers' contact information to a proprietary application. Among the drawbacks of these systems are the use of proprietary contact management software and the requirement that both parties be subscribers to the web-based system.
Another approach offers add-on modules to contact management applications in widely-adopted email applications to assist in maintaining current contact information. Examples of this type of system are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,694,353 and 6,701,348. In one approach, the contact management application notifies the user when the application sends an email message to a contact at an email address that is not valid. The stored contact information may then be updated using a secondary email address for the intended recipient. In another approach, a user of an email application transmits an email message to each member of the user's contact list requesting that each recipient verify the accuracy of the recipient's current contact information. One drawback to these approaches is that use is limited to certain software applications, such as Microsoft Outlook. Another drawback is that sending emails to recipients in a contact list may be inconvenient and annoying to the recipients, because the emails effectively serve as data entry forms. When a recipient's contact information is stored in multiple contact lists, the recipient may be inundated with email requests from the owner of each list to separately verify the recipient's stored contact information. Another drawback is that these systems require unique context-dependent identifiers for use in data lookup. Context-dependent identifiers include telephone numbers and email addresses. A user who lacks a required identifier cannot store and share contact information on these systems. Further, context-dependent identifiers are subject to change, for example, as the user moves or changes jobs.
Additional approaches involve generating a unique identifier for contact management records. One approach offers a service that creates a vCard record and attaches an identifier to the record. This approach does not appear to offer any means of augmenting an application such as an email application with data entry, update, synchronization or backup features—relying instead on the widespread support for the vCard data format for data entry.
There is a significant market for applications that "synchronize" contact records between different devices. The known solutions have some significant disadvantages. The object of the solutions typically involves copying a contact record from one device and adding it to another device. If the devices have the same record, these systems compare the records to find the most up-to-date version. If the solution cannot determine the most recent version, it typically presents a "conflict resolution" interface to the user, or provides a default setting that enables one system's record to prevail. As people attempt to synchronize more than two devices, the number of records to compare increases—impairing performance. When synchronization solutions attempt to retrieve data from applications behind corporate firewalls, the firewalls can undermine the synchronization solution by blocking inbound network requests. Additionally, as people increasingly adopt wireless communications devices, they may find that uploading data from these devices may also present significant performance issues. Prior art synchronization systems also have a tendency to create duplicate records, because users typically enter the minimum information necessary for a particular device (e.g., name and email address for email applications; name and phone number for phones).
Recent solutions have coupled synchronization solutions to electronic address book backup solutions. By providing a centralized server for synchronization solutions, the centralized server stores the most recent copy of each record on behalf of a user—enabling the user to enjoy synchronization and backup in a single application. By augmenting synchronization solutions with a user interface that enables the user to update a record, these solutions purport to offer updates, synchronization and backup in a single solution. The drawbacks to these solutions include limited update functionality (i.e., it is up to the user to enter the update), no ID-based automatic data entry, and reliance on traditional synchronization solutions.
Prior art also involves presence detection technologies that have the ability to provide information of the presence of a device or user at a particular location. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,110,773 and 5,659,596 describe such technologies. Presence detection technologies are also common with instant messaging applications and VoIP solutions. However, presence detection technologies do not appear to aggregated presence indicators of a user or device for a variety of different technologies and make that information available to others directly in their contact address books.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved system and method for contact management.


The information processing device includes a communicator 31 for communicating with a vehicle 40 and a mobile device operated by a user, and a controller 33 for controlling the communicator 31, and the controller 33 acquires position information indicating the position of the vehicle 40 and position information indicating the position of the mobile device via the communicator 31, and outputs sound data for identifying the vehicle 40 from the communicator 31 to the mobile device in accordance with the distance between the position of the vehicle 40 and the position of the mobile device.

Conventionally, a vehicle dispatch support method for assisting taxi dispatch based on a vehicle dispatch request from a passenger has been known (for example, Patent Document 1). This vehicle dispatch support method acquires desired riding position information from the passenger and present position information of taxis, and after receiving the desired riding position information from the passenger, generates a vehicle dispatch request number in a vehicle dispatch request table, extracts a candidate dispatch taxi based on present position information obtained from a plurality of taxis, and transmits vehicle dispatch offering information to a crew device of the candidate dispatch taxi. Then, this vehicle dispatch support method decides to dispatch a taxi located at a position closest to the passenger from among the taxis that respond to the vehicle dispatch offering information with a request for vehicle dispatch, and distributes map information including the position of the taxi and the desired riding position of the passenger to a crew device of the decided taxi and the mobile phone device of the passenger. That is, since both crew member and passenger are provided with the map information including their positions, the crew member and the passenger can visually confirm the approaching states of each other.

Information processing system, information processing device, and information processing method


The present invention provides methods of multiplying plant embryogenic tissue in a bioreactor.

Somatic cloning is the process of creating genetically identical plants from plant tissue other than male and female gametes. In one approach to somatic cloning, plant tissue is cultured in an initiation medium that includes hormones, such as auxins and/or cytokinins, to initiate formation of embryogenic tissue, such as embryonal suspensor masses, that are capable of developing into somatic embryos. The embryogenic tissue is then further cultured in a multiplication medium that promotes establishment and multiplication of the embryogenic tissue to form pre-cotyledonary embryos (i.e., embryos that do not possess cotyledons). The pre-cotyledonary embryos are then cultured in a development medium that promotes development and maturation of cotyledonary somatic embryos which can, for example, be placed on germination medium to produce germinants, and subsequently transferred to soil for further growth, or alternatively, placed within manufactured seeds and sown in soil where they germinate to yield seedlings.
The multiplication (maintenance) stage of somatic cloning of plant tissue in the laboratory is typically carried out in liquid suspension cultures in shake flasks using a batch method, also known as splitting. In the practice of a batch culture method, embryogenic tissue is cultured in liquid multiplication medium for a period of time; the embryogenic tissue is separated from the multiplication medium (e.g., by allowing the embryogenic tissue to settle out of the medium); then aliquots of the embryogenic tissue are removed and introduced into separate volumes of fresh multiplication medium for further culture. This process is repeated as often as desired to yield a multiplicity of containers that each include separate batches of the embryogenic tissue culture. In addition to small volumes and multitudes of containers, it is difficult to control the growth conditions in shake flasks, and there is culture variability between flasks.
Although the batch culture method is useful at laboratory scale, it is impractical to use the batch method for commercial-scale production of somatic embryos. Bioreactors are more suitable for large-scale production and provide several advantages over the shake-flask, batch method, including automation, and the ability to more closely monitor and control the culture environment, such as pH, sugar concentration, dissolved oxygen, and carbon dioxide, resulting in more homogeneous cultures and higher yield of quality somatic embryos than the shake-flask method.
The successful operation of commercial-scale liquid bioreactors for the multiplication of plant embryogenic tissue requires automatic regulation of the biomass concentration. In a production environment, success is achieved by quickly multiplying vigorous embryogenic tissue. A production friendly approach for multiplying plant embryogenic tissue is in a fed-batch bioreactor, where a small volume of plant embryogenic tissue and multiplication media is inoculated into the bioreactor and additional multiplication media is added over time until a sufficient volume of plant embryogenic tissue (biomass) has been achieved or the maximum volume of the bioreactor is reached.
Regulation of the biomass concentration is important as there are strong correlations between biomass concentration and the concentration of media components and extra cellular products in the bioreactor. There are two broad classes of extra-cellular components, those that induce somatic embryogenesis and those that inhibit it. It is well known that a minimum biomass concentration is needed to induce somatic embryogenesis, while it has also been shown that at high biomass concentrations, somatic embryogenesis is inhibited. Key media components that are inversely proportional to biomass concentration are sugar and plant hormones. At high biomass concentrations, both classes of media components can become depleted. The sugar concentration is important as it is the primary osmotic agent in liquid multiplication media.
In order to regulate biomass concentration, multiplication media should be added at a rate that best matches the growth of the biomass. However, this is difficult as the actual growth rate of the biomass may deviate significantly from a priori estimates, and under exponentially increasing biomass growth conditions, the biomass concentration can run away. Another difficulty is that a fed-batch reactor can be inoculated with a small amount of culture and fed media over a long period of time, e.g., multiple weeks, which can lead to significantly under or over feeding the biomass in the bioreactor.
The present invention provides methods of multiplying plant embryogenic tissue in a bioreactor.

Methods of multiplying plant embryogenic tissue in a bioreactor