An inter-pulse time difference measuring circuit which expands the time difference between a first pulse and a second pulse by a given multiplication factor and measures the expanded time difference, thereby realizing a higher measuring resolution. The circuit can be constructed by using a capacitor charging and discharging circuit connected to a constant current source and such circuit can always expand the time difference by a given multiplication factor even if the voltages and resistance values of the other circuits than the constant current circuit are varied with temperature changes. The circuit can also be realized by a circuit which charges and discharges a capacitor through a pair of transistors having a given current ratio and such circuit can maintain the current ratio of the transistors constant without suffering the effect of temperature changes, thereby always ensuring expansion of the time difference between pulses by a given multiplication factor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circuit for measuring the inter-pulse time difference between a first pulse and a second pulse and more particularly to a circuit which can be effectively used in an apparatus which measures the distance to a target based on the delay time between the emission of a pulsed laser light and the reception of its reflected light.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, as shown for example in JP-A-59-203975, there has been proposed a vehicle optical radar system of the type in which a beam-like light signal is transmitted substantially parallel to a road surface to detect the distance to an object based on the propagation delay time which is required for receiving the reflected light signal from the object, and the system has been so designed that the direction of travel of the beam-like light signal is rotated parallel to the road surface so as to extend the maximum detection distance and to prevent the missing of a preceding vehicle at a curve in a road.
In the vehicle optical radar system of the above type, a distance detecting circuit includes an R-S flip-flop which is set by a beam-like light signal or transmitted signal and which is reset by a received signal, a high-frequency oscillator for generating a high-frequency pulse train, an AND gate for receiving the output of the R-S flip-flop and the output of the high-frequency oscillator, and a high-speed counter for counting the number of pulses in the high-frequency pulse train supplied through the AND gate. Then, in response to the output from the R-S flip-flop, the AND gate is opened for the period of the time difference between the transmitted signal and the received signal (the porpagation delay time) thereby supplying the high-frequency pulse train to the high-speed counter, whereby the high-speed counter generates calculated value of the distance corresponding to the time difference.
Then, where the distance is computed from the propergation delay time of the beam-like light signal as in the case of the above-mentioned conventional circuit, the following relation holds: EQU T>2L/C(C:light velocity)
where T represents the propagation delay time and L represents the distance. From the above equation, the propagation delay time T per meter of the distance L becomes 6.67 ns so that in order to obtain a resolution of 1 m for the detection distance, the oscillation frequency of the high-frequency oscilaltor must be set to 150 MHz. Also, since the high-speed counter must measure such an extremely high frequency, it is necessary to use a counter including an expensive ECL (emitter coupled logic) or the like. Further, while the resolution of the detected distance can be enhanced further by simply increasing the oscilaltion frequency, it is impossible to increase the oscillation frequency infinitely and therefore there is naturally a limitation to the resolution of the detected distance.
For instance, when constructing a physical quantity measuring apparatus in which a physical quantity e.g., a distance is converted to a corresponding time and the physical quantity is measured in accordance with the converted time, it is desired to construct an inter-pulse time difference measuring circuit designed so that the time corresponding to a physical quantity is expanded by a given multiplication factor and the physical quantity is computed from the expanded time, thereby obtaining an arbitrary detection resolution.

Inter-pulse time difference measuring circuit


The present invention relates to a location management system and a paging server in an Internet Protocol, IP, communication network that is adapted for wireless communication. The wireless IP network comprises multiple routers wherein at least one of the routers is an access router adapted for wireless communication with mobile nodes. The location management system is divided into at least one location area manager, and at least one regional location manager, the location area manager is a first signaling server and the regional location manager is a second signaling server, one of said location area manager and regional location manager comprises means for maintaining a list of mobile nodes located within at least one location area. The regional location manager comprises means for managing location information within a single location management region, and wherein the location area manager and regional location manager are connected to each other and adapted to exchange information. Furthermore, the paging server comprises means for obtaining location management information from the location management system and means for multicasting paging requests to the access routers wherein the access routers is determined by using said location management information.

The growing importance of the Internet and of mobile communication creates the demand to attach mobile computing devices adapted for wireless communication with mobile nodes to the Internet. The original Internet Protocol (IP) does not support mobile communication, therefore the Internet protocols must be augmented with mobility support.
The BRAIN Candidate Mobility Protocol (BCMP) is an example of a communication protocol that allows a network to provide wireless Internet access for mobile computers. BCMP is further described in IST-1999-10050 BRAIN, "BRAIN Architecture specifications and models, BRAIN functionality and protocol specification," published on Mar. 30, 2001. Mobile computers adapted for BCMP is allowed to connect to a BCMP network and can send and receive data packets to and from other computers connected to the Internet.
FIG. 1 illustrates a BCMP network 100. The BCMP network 100 comprises gateways 108, routers 106, Access Routers (AR) 104 and Mobile Nodes (MN) 102. At least one of the routers 106, is an Anchor Point (ANP) that owns and allocates IP addresses, authenticates users, maintains user records, and tunnels packets towards the Mobile Nodes (MN) 102, e.g. laptops, which are connected to the IP network via the ARs 104. The ARs 104 is connected to a wireless interface towards the MNs 102 and route information received from the MNs 102 further into the IP network. The ARs 104 are called BRAIN Access Routers (BAR) within the BCMP network 100. Each AR is adapted to terminate tunnels from the ANPs and forwards packets to/from mobile hosts, e.g. terminals such as mobile phones, laptops or palmtop computers. The gateways 108 (i.e. border routers towards e.g. Internet) are called BRAIN Mobility Gateways (BMG) in BCMP. The gateways 108 are not required to have BCMP specific functionality. The role of the gateways 108 is to shield the rest of the BCMP network from the exterior routing protocols and to distribute traffic to the appropriate ANPs 106. Besides these entities, the BCMP network 100 can also incorporate other network entities, such as AAA servers that store and manage user related information, Network Management functions, Quality of Service functions, Resource Management function, etc.
Each ANP 106 has globally routable address space and it allocates an IP address to the MN 102 when the MN 102 attach to the BCMP network 100. This address is kept constant, despite handovers. The handover procedure is described further below. The pool of IP addresses owned by the ANP 106 is advertised using legacy IP routing inside the BCMP network 100 and toward external IP networks. This ensures that packets addressed to the address of the MN 102 obtained locally are routed, by means of standard IP routing, to the ANP 106 that allocated the address. The Anchor Points 106, in turn, use IP-in-IP encapsulation to forward packets to the AR 104 where the MN 102 that is the destination is located at the moment.
When the MN 102 first contacts the AR 104 it must execute a login procedure. First it sends a login request message to the AR 104 at which it has appeared. In this request the MN 102 provides login and security information (e.g., mobile user identifier). The AR 104 selects the ANP 106 for the MN 102 according to a policy specified by an operator and forwards the login request to it. The MN 102 is not required to be aware of the policy and of the internal structure of the AR 104. The selected ANP 106 identifies and authenticates the MN 102 and allocates a globally routable IP address and a new session identifier for the MN 102. The session identifier is a temporary identifier used to index control messages in the BCMP network 100. The session identifier, a security key and the IP address are sent back to the MN 102 in a login response message.
As the MN 102 move, it can connect to a new AR 104 when necessary. This is called a handover. The ANPs 106 must maintain up-to-date location information of MNs 102 they have allocated an address for and must update this information when 'their' MNs 102 move to another AR 104. For this purpose, the ARs 104 notify ANPs 106 when the handover occurs. In addition, the BCMP can incorporate various local handover mechanisms that improve the performance of handover by, for example, building a temporary path from the old AR 104 to the new AR 104 in order to avoid loss of data packets sent to the MN 102.
If the MN 102 moves far away from its ANP 106 then the tunnel between the ANP 106 and AR 104 may become very long. In order to avoid long tunnels, the BCMP allows (but does not mandate) the network operator to request that the MN 102 changes the ANP 106. This improves routing efficiency in the network, in exchange for exposing mobility toward the Internet: the change of the ANP 106 requires a change of the MN's 102 IP address, which is a global mobility event. Alternatively, the operators may choose to accept long tunnels between the ANPs and the ARs in order to completely hide mobility from external networks.
The BCMP protocol provides a paging support that allows the MNs to enter idle mode and to reduce location update signalling load inside the AR.
FIG. 2, illustrates a paging scenario in a BCMP network. The BCMP network 200 comprises the following nodes: a gateway 212 connected to the Internet 214, routers 210,214, wherein some of the routers are ANPs 208,216, ARs 204,206 and a MN 202. The nodes within the BCMP network exemplified by FIG. 2 comprise the same functionality as the network depicted in FIG. 1. The MN 202 is in idle mode when it is turned on but is not involved in transmission of voice, data or certain time sensitive control information in contrast to active mode that occurs when the MN 202 is involved in such transmission. When the MN changes its state to then it informs its AR 204 about the mode change and performs handover in active mode when it moves 226 to the new AR 206 (as long as it stays within the same group of ARs 204,206 called a Paging Area (PA) PA1). The ARs are not notified about the handover, which results in that the ARs will not know in which AR:s proximity the MN 202 is found. When data packets 218 are sent to the MN 202, these 218 will still be routed to MN's 202 old AR 204. This AR 204 knows that the MN 202 is idle and hence instead of transmitting its packets through the radio interface, it multicasts a paging request message 220 to all ARs 204,206 within the paging area PA1. Each AR 204,206 forwards the paging request 220 through its radio interface on a common control channel directed to the correct MN 202. When the MN receives the paging request 220, it performs a BCMP handover 222 and returns to normal mode of operation. This allows its packets to be routed to the MN 202.
If, while in idle mode, the MN 202 moves 228 to an AR 224 that belongs to a different paging area PA2 than its old AR 204, then it performs a handover and returns to idle state immediately. The rest of the operation is the same as the steps described above.
The drawback of the paging mechanism specified by BCMP is that paging request messages 220 must be sent out by the ARs 204,206,224 and hence the ARs 204,206,224 must know which ARs 204,206,224 belong to the same paging area. This means that the configuration and possible reconfiguration of paging areas involves communication with ARs. If, for example, a new AR is added to the network than in addition to configuring this AR, all the other ARs in the same paging area must be notified so they can update their paging areas.
There are additional drawbacks of the BCMP paging mechanism if the operator employs advanced paging schemes. A paging scheme defines the list and order of ARs where the MN is paged when it has incoming data packets. An advanced paging scheme may require, for example, that a particular user is always paged first through one particular AR and next through the ARs of its paging area. In this case, the BCMP paging scheme requires that this scheme is known by each AR, which causes significant configuration and processing load on the ARs.
As another insufficiency, the BCMP protocol as described above contains no functions that would enable operators to determine which mobile nodes are located in certain parts of the network (e.g., for location aware services). Therefore, it is not possible to trigger external entities when certain users/nodes move into or outside pre-defined areas if their movement matches a certain pattern e.g. speed and direction. For example, an owner of a coffee shop would like to send an ad to each user that enters the district containing the coffee shop. This could be a service provided by the BCMP network, but it needs location management function. A pre-defined area is specified as a set of cells. A cell is the coverage area of a wireless access point within an access router. In this example, an area could be the cell that contains the coffee shop, plus all neighbouring cells. As another service, the ad would be sent to each user that is moving toward the coffee shop. This service requires a location management infrastructure.
HMIPv6 is another protocol for mobile IP that has a similar network architecture to BCMP. The drawback of HMIPv6 regarding the location management is identical to BCMP. One difference between BCMP and HMIPv6 is that HMIPv6 uses IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) Mobile IPv6 message formats.

Location management system and a paging server in a wireless IP network


A process for producing corrosion resistant and wear resistant medical tools and instruments by coating high strength low-carbon martensitic stainless steels with a thin, hard layer of refractory metal compound, preferably via cathodic arc plasma deposition technology. The invention also covers the coated medical tools produced via such process.

Surgical tools and instruments must possess certain characteristics in order to qualify for medical use. These characteristics include hardness, nick-free cutting edges and corrosion free surfaces. Such tools are conventionally manufactured using 400 series stainless steels. The 400 series stainless steels, or martensitic stainless steels, are low carbon stainless steels that are easy to sterilize and have high mechanical strength. However, such steels are relatively susceptible to corrosion and extreme care must be taken with their storage. The cost of medical tools and instruments made of these materials is extremely high.
The proper grain structure in the cutting edges of medical tools such as scalpels, scissors, elevators, curettes, vice grips, etc. is critical. The appropriate grain structure allows the instrument to properly cut bone surfaces during surgery and create an area where bone regrowth can find a good "grip" for the new bone fusion. Any nicks appearing on the cutting edge may be transferred to the bone being cut during surgery and may lead to trauma that will slow down post-surgery healing.
Unfortunately, the various requisite and desirable characteristics for medical tools and instruments are not currently available in a single type of tool or instrument. Although the strength and grain structure requirements are met by the current devices made of 400 series stainless steel, the costly tools and instruments have a very short lifetime due to their tendency to rapid corrosion.
The corrosion resistance of any material used for manufacturing medical tools and instruments is always quickly put to the test. For both historical and sanitary reasons, all such instruments and tools are "sterilized" under severe conditions following each use. Typically, medical tools and instruments are soaked in a concentrated solution of caustic, rinsed and then steam/gas sterilized in an autoclave between each usage. Both the soaking and autoclaving processes dramatically promote the oxidation or corrosion of metal surfaces. The costly medical tools and instruments that are currently used in surgery and medical applications are often made useless due to corrosion after only 5 to 10 uses.
This invention describes a method for applying a thin hard coating on surgical tools and instruments. The resulting tools have superior edge retention, superior corrosion resistance and long tool life.
Japanese Patent No. 59-76872 of Okubo describes a method for manufacturing metal medical and dental instruments such as razor blades, scalpels, scissors and forceps. A coating of nickel or nickel alloy, chromium or chromium alloy, or a coating of gold alloy is applied to the surface by wet plating methods. Next, a hard coating such as a nickel phosphorous alloy is applied to the surface of the instruments. The last step of the invention is the application of a hard film of titanium nitride by an ion plating method.
One of the objectives of the inventors of the Japanese patent was to produce less costly medical tools and instruments. In so doing, their invention contemplates the use of less expensive, relatively low quality substrates of iron or iron alloys. The complicated procedure of applying several coating layers is necessary due to this choice of substrate material. The direct application of titanium nitride on such substrates would result in poor adhesion and corrosion resistance due to galvanic cell formation between the iron of the substrate and the nitride film, making any such tools highly undesirable for medical purposes. In addition, any process calling for several steps utilizing wet plating methods is environmentally suspect.
Swiss Patent No. 5297/78 of Hintermann et al. describes cutting instruments specifically designed for use by Ophthalmologists. The instruments are made of steel that has been coated with a titanium carbide, nitride or carbonitride film. In the completed article, the cutting edge remains uncoated. The patent suggests that deposition of the coating may be accomplished by vacuum evaporation, ion plating or chemical deposition processes.
The chemical deposition process is accomplished by a gas phase chemical reaction generally occurring at extremely high temperatures such as approximately 1000.degree. C. At such elevated temperatures, there would be a significant reduction in the mechanical strength and wear properties of the steel substrate. Chemical deposition processes are, therefore, unsuitable for coating tools and instruments for medical or surgical purposes.
The titanium nitride or titanium carbide films obtained by vacuum evaporation or conventional ion plating techniques, as suggested in the Swiss patent, generally have columnar structure. Coatings having such columnar structure generally must be at least 3 microns thick, will contain voids, and will be a relatively low density surface. This results in relatively poor corrosion protection and wear resistance. Film thicknesses over 3 microns also contribute to poor film adherence due to the high density of compressive stresses in these coatings.
In order for coated instruments to be suitable for surgery, the coatings should have excellent corrosion resistance, wear resistance and good adhesion to bare substrates. This can be achieved by a suitable selection of coatings and coating processes. One superior coating process is the cathodic arc plasma deposition ("CAPD") method.
CAPD has unique features relative to other ion plating techniques. Among these are the ability to generate a high degree of target molecule ionization and higher ion energies. These features lead to the creation of high density coatings with superior bonding to substrate characteristics. High density coatings have relatively fewer voids, and can be applied in much thinner layers while still assuring complete surface coverage.
A suitable film with higher hardness and wear properties than titanium nitride/carbide would also be very desirable. One such coating is zirconium nitride, which has higher hardness than titanium nitride and also possesses a lower co-efficient of friction. Both of these characteristics would suggest that zirconium nitride would be a better candidate material for medical tools and instruments than other metal compounds currently suggested in the literature.

Method for coated surgical instruments and tools


In an approach for a conversational search in a content management system, a processor trains a deep learning model to learn semantic analysis of a plurality of user queries to identify intents and entities in the user queries. A processor analyzes the content management system to extract content keywords to generate a domain ontology. A processor augments the domain ontology based on the identified intents and entities in the user queries by the deep learning model. A processor tags the content keywords with metadata based on the domain ontology. A processor maps the intents and entities extracted from a current user query of a user to the content keywords extracted from the content management system to form a metadata keyword. A processor searches the content management system for a content based on the metadata keyword. A processor returns a search result for the current user query.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of conversational interfaces, and more particularly to a conversational search in a content management system.
A conversational interface is any user interface (UI) that mimics chatting with a real human. "Chatbots" are perhaps the most common form of conversational interfaces. A chatbot is a computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users, especially over the Internet. A conversational search device allows users to ask questions using natural language processing, interprets these queries, and then returns answers. A content management system (CMS) is a software application, or set of related programs, that is used to create and manage digital content.

Conversational search in content management systems

International Business Machines Corporation


A jitter buffer controller (110) allows the depth of the jitter buffer (113) to be adjusted dynamically according to the varying jitter of the current sequence. The jitter buffer controller (110) maintains a cache (109) of previous jitter values. This cache contains exponentially averaged values that represent the long-term behavior of specific destination""s jitter characteristics, i.e., a jitter characteristic memory. These values are used to initialize the jitter buffer""s depth. The jitter cache prevents the buffer""s depth from being initialized with an arbitrary value that disregards the specific destination""s jitter characteristics.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to packet transmission and, particularly, to a system and method for optimizing a jitter buffer.
2. Description of the Related Art
When sending voice data across packet networks, such as telephony over LAN (ToL) or Voice over IP (VoIP) networks, the voice is usually compressed, packetized and, finally, sent across the network to the destination. When the packets are sent into the network, they are generated at a constant rate. However, due to behavior of the packet network, the even time intervals between the packets are lost as the packets transit the network. This irregularity in packet separation is referred to as xe2x80x9cjitter.xe2x80x9d Jitter can cause clicks, delays and other annoyances in multimedia transmission, creating overall poor reproduction quality.
A jitter buffer is often used to even out the packet separation. A jitter buffer is a FIFO (first in, first out) buffer in which packets leave the buffer at a predetermined, constant rate. Minimizing the amount of actual jitter buffering is important because the jitter buffering process introduces delays in the reproduced signal. Excessive buffering delays transmission output, while under-buffering causes gaps in the data.
Jitter rates vary throughout a transmission sequence. A jitter rate is the average variance in packet arrival times. It is measured as packets arrive over a specific implementation defined interval. The actual jitter rate reported (in accordance with IETF RFC 1889) is an exponentially averaged value of the jitter for each packet over the interval. The distribution of the averaged jitter rate is significantly different from the actual jitter values, so common queueing theory solutions are not applicable.
A Jitter Buffer designed with a constant predetermined depth is referred to as a Static Jitter Buffer. A Static Jitter Buffer does not recognize each sequence""s unique jitter characteristics and can not adjust itself to meet the needs of individual sequences. The inflexibility of the Static Jitter Buffer degrades the smoothing capability of the jitter buffering process, thereby failing to provide sufficient buffering for some sequences while unnecessarily delaying others.
These and other drawbacks in the prior art are overcome in large part by a system and method according to the present invention. A jitter buffer controller according to the present invention allows the depth of the jitter buffer to be adjusted dynamically according to the varying jitter of the current sequence. The jitter buffer controller maintains a cache of previous jitter values. This cache contains exponentially averaged values that represent the long-term behavior of specific destination""s jitter characteristics, i.e., a jitter characteristic memory. These values are used to initialize the jitter buffer""s depth. The jitter cache prevents the buffer""s depth from being initialized with an arbitrary value that disregards the specific destination""s past jitter characteristics.
The jitter buffer controller uses two main variables to adjust the depth of the jitter buffer: current_depth and rise. The current_depth accounts for the current jitter while the rise xe2x80x9ccushionsxe2x80x9d increases to the depth as a result of having a history of past jitter. These two variables are used to create a more accurate depth that is adaptive to varying jitter rates. The jitter buffer depth can change throughout a single data sequence based on the variance of the effective jitter.

Siemens Information and Communication Networks, Inc.


A vehicle door in modular structure including a door shell which is completed by an assembly-bearing support plate and a single or multi-part inner door lining. The vehicle door includes a twin-shell door shell with an outer door panel and inner door panel which are connected together along their edges wherein the inner door panel has a cut-out section which is covered substantially by a support plate with functional units mounted thereon, such as window lift mechanism, lock, and cable tree. A lining body covers the door on the inside, and at least one part of the lining body is in preassembled connection with the support plate. A cover frame covers the connecting points between the lining body and support plate or inner door panel and support plate.

The invention relates to a vehicle door in modular structure having a door shell including an assembly-bearing support plate and a single or multi-part inner door lining.
German Patent No. C2 35 29 660 discloses a vehicle door which has a cut-out section in the inner door panel which is completely covered by a support plate. Pre-fitted on the side of the support plate facing the vehicle interior is a cable tree with several branches having ends carrying plugs. On the circumference of the support plate there are several holes through which a screw connection can be made with the inner door panel. The vehicle door is completed by a one-piece inner lining part which is Lixable on the body of the door shell in the usual way by hanging and/or clip connections.
The disadvantage here is that the inner door lining must be self-supporting and of a relatively high mechanical stability since only comparatively light forces can be transferred through the clip connections along the edge. Accessory parts or functional elements which are in direct connection with the inner door lining, such as for example a switch block inserted in the lining body, can only be checked for their functional interaction with the attached structural groups after the cable connections have been completed. Such construction is prone to assembly errors, particularly in the case of blind fitting time, and incur considerable refinishing costs.
European Patent Publication 0 427 152 discloses a vehicle door having an inner panel with a transverse cut-out section which is closed by a support plate fitted with a window lift mechanism and a lock. The support plate can be made in one piece from plastic and has an upper inner lining body on the surface facing the passenger area. Recesses are formed in the lower contour of the cut-out section in the inner door panel in order to provide the connection between the window pane and the window lift mechanism or to fold a guide rail for the window pane into the operating position. A separate lining body is provided for covering the lower door area.
A disadvantage here is that in order to transfer the displacement forces of the window lift system, a comparatively thick construction has to be provided for the one-piece plastics support. This has a negative effect on the generally tight spatial restrictions in the door breast area. Furthermore, the solution illustrated is only suitable for producing extremely simple design variations; wider qualitative variations are in practice not possible. Since the electrical and electronic components are only provided in the wet space of the door, corresponding high costs must be incurred to provide reliable sealing of the electrical and electronic components against moisture.
German Patent No. 83 09 452.0 discloses a vehicle door which has an inner door lining which is foldable in part. The access which thereby becomes free in the inside of the door can be used for fitting or dismantling the window pane in relation to the holding device for the window lift mechanism. The technical solution described has, however, the disadvantage of a very severely restricted freedom of design.
German Patent No. 42 44 346 discloses a vehicle door with modular structure. Here a module consisting of a window lift system and window pane is inserted in the inside of the door and screwed to the inner door panel. The inner door lining is then fitted with at least one screw connection provided between the inner door lining and the module support in the area of the grab handle in order to increase mechanical stability. Such connecting points each require separate covers in the visible area for aesthetic reasons.
German Patent No. 32 39 370 describes a vehicle door with a large cut-out section in the inner door panel which is to be covered by a modular support. Before the modular support is connected to the door body it has to be fitted with a number of functional units such as for example window lift, lock and operating handle for the door lock. Furthermore it is intended to pre-fit the entire inner door lining. However, no concrete details are provided regarding the type and manner of producing the connection or dealing with the connecting points.
European Patent Publication No. 0 579 535 A1 discloses a method for assembling a motor vehicle door wherein first a support plate is fitted together with further function elements on a recess in the inner door panel and is then covered by an inner door lining wherein the connecting points between the support plate and inner door panel are covered. This method has the drawback that the support plate and inner door lining form no premountable structural group which can be inserted as a complete module in a motor vehicle door.


A system and method are provided for measuring the thickness of a tear film layer and the heights of tear menisci around upper and lower eyelids of an eye. A plurality of images are acquired between consecutive blinks the eye using optical coherence tomography (OCT). The images depict the tear film layer and tear menisci as distinct from the cornea of the eye. In an embodiment, a plurality of reflectivity profiles from an OCT image are aligned and averaged. The difference between a first peak and a second peak of the average reflectivity profile is measured to determine the thickness of the tear film layer. The heights of the upper meniscus and the lower meniscus can also be measured from the same OCT image. In an embodiment, thickness measurements from the plurality of OCT images are combined. The measurements can be used to diagnose tear disorders, analyze treatments of dry eye and evaluate artificial tears.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical coherence tomography. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and systems for analyzing the thickness of a tear film layer and the heights of tear menisci around upper and lower eyelids of an eye.
2. Description of the Related Art
Tears secreted by the lacrimal gland spread over the cornea with each blink to form a thin layer (i.e., tear film) and menisci at the upper and lower eyelids. The volume and distribution of the tear film layer and the upper and lower menisci change rapidly between successive blinks. The dynamic variation of the tear film layer and upper and lower menisci plays an important role in visual function, maintenance of corneal integrity and ocular comfort. For example, dry eye syndrome (DES) has been reported to affect functional visual acuity and the performance of routine activities, such as working, reading and driving. DES is characterized by symptoms of ocular dryness and discomfort due. However, there are currently no objective diagnostic criteria for DES and no objective means of evaluating treatment efficacy. Indeed, the dynamic variations of tears remain one of the most neglected areas of ophthalmology.
This neglect is due in part to the difficulty of quantitatively measuring the thickness of the tear film layer. The neglect is also partly due to the difficulty of quantitatively imaging the tear menisci around both upper and lower eyelids during a period of one or more successive blinks when the tear is redistributed around the cornea and upper and lower eyelids. Since the tear film characteristics vary widely from person to person and are strongly influenced by both physiological and environmental conditions, it is difficult to characterize these tear parameters using a single method.
Objective measures of tear film have been elusive for several reasons including the difficulty of achieving acceptable optical resolution of tear film and the fact that tear film is continuously changing due to tear drainage and evaporation. Contact methods for measuring tear volume using, for example, a glass fiber or filter paper are associated with a risk of injury and are not usually applied on human subjects. Further, such methods provide static measurements and do not provide information on how the distribution and volume of tears change over time.
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive, non-contact imaging technology that has been used to image the anterior segment of the eye, including thickness measurements of the retina and nerve fiber layers. OCT has also been used to measure the thickness of the cornea, epithelium, corneal flap and iris. OCT generates two-dimensional, cross-sectional images from multiple scans of back-scattered light. OCT has good repeatability in the measurement of corneal thickness.
Since tear fluid and ocular structures have different refractive indices, OCT has been used in a limited way to study tears. However, OCT devices previously used to analyze tear film only generate approximately one image per second and are typically reset between images such that only one image can be acquired approximately every twenty seconds. Such slow acquisition rates are not suitable for measuring the rapid changes in tear dynamics.
Further, OCT tear measurements typically measure only one tear parameter at a time. For example, an OCT image typically provides information for only the lower meniscus or for the tear film thickness, but not both. Thus, OCT tear film measurements have not been used to analyze the relationships between tear film thickness and meniscus height around both upper and lower eyelids.

Tear dynamics measured with optical coherence tomography


A system and method are disclosed for facilitating local video distribution. A method incorporating teachings of the present disclosure may include linking a plurality of users with associated carrier frequencies. The associated frequencies may be given approximately six MHz slices of the radio frequency spectrum that correspond to portions of the very high frequency (VHF) ranges assigned to television channels. A user may input a command identifying a desired video stream, which may be encoded in an MPEG format. In response to the command, the desired video stream may be decoded and modulated on the carrier frequency associated with the user. The modulated signal may be output to a premise network such that the user can access the modulated stream by tuning a premise network connected television to the appropriate carrier frequency.

Video distribution services like cable television services and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television services send a signal representing several different channels to the premises of their customers. In many cases, this incoming signal is digital and represents literally hundreds of different channels. With so many channels, a consumer may need to employ a device to "tune in" a given channel. This may be especially true when some of the channels represent so-called premium channels.
The "tuning-in" process typically involves parsing the incoming signal to identify the portions that represent the desired channel and then decoding those portions. Devices that perform the parsing and decoding processes may include, among others, a personal computer executing some video application or a set-top box (STB). Conventionally, an STB or other tuning device is necessary for television viewers or customers who wish to use an analog television set to receive digital broadcasts.
In many cases, a video distribution service provider will make an STB and a remote control for that STB available to the customer. The typical STB will actually rest on top of the television it supports. If a customer wants to receive the video distribution service in more than one room of the house or on more than one television, the customer will likely need to purchase or secure additional STBs. As the number of televisions to be used increases, the cost associated with receiving the service may become too high. The amount of space taken up by multiple STBs may become too large, and the number of additional remote controls within the home may become too confusing.

System and method for local video distribution


Interleukin-5 receptor (IL-5R) ligands comprising amino sequences of formula TGGGDGYVX3VEX4ARCPTCK, EGYVX3VEX4ARCPTCK, EGYVX3VEX4ARCPTCR, GYVX3VEX4ARCPTCG, EGYVX3VEX4ARCPTCG, GYVX3VEX4ARCPTCR, and EGYVX3VEX4AACPTCR, and methods of using the same, are described and claimed.

Interleukin-5 (IL-5 or IL5) is a lymphokine secreted by T cells and mast cells having biological activities on B cells and eosinophils. In murine hematopoiesis, IL-5 is a selective signal for the proliferation and differentiation of the eosinophilic lineage. See Yamaguchi et al., J. Exp. Med. 167: 43-56 (1988). In this respect, IL-5 function shows analogies with colony-stimulating factors for other myeloid lineages. Also, human (h) IL-5 is very potent in the activation of human eosinophils. See Lopez et al., J. Exp. Med. 167: 219-224 (1988) and Saito et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85: 2288-2292 (1988).
IL-5 mediates its activity through a cell membrane receptor-complex. This complex has been characterized physicochemically in both the murine and human system. Mouse pre-B cell lines depending on IL-5 for their growth have been developed from bone marrow and are used for IL-5 receptor analysis. See Rolink et al., J. Exp. Med. 169: 1693-1701 (1989). The human IL-5 receptor can be studied on a subclone of the promyelocytic cell line HL60 induced towards eosinophil differentiation. See Plaetinck et al., J. Exp. Med. 172: 683-691 (1990).
Eosinophilic differentiation is initiated using sodium butyrate. Only high affinity (Kd=30 pM) IL-5 binding sites can be found on these cells. However, cross-linking studies reveal the presence of two polypeptide chains involved in IL-5 binding, i. e., IL-5R-a and IL-5R-P chains. Devos et al., Canadian Patent Publication 2,058,003 describes a recombinant a chain of human IL-5R or parts thereof, DNA-sequences coding for such a receptor or parts thereof, and host cells transformed with such vectors. Takatsu et al., European Patent Publication 475,746 provides an isolated cDNA sequence coding for murine and human IL-5 receptor. The extracellular domain (ECD) of the human IL-5R-a chain can be expressed in cells, such as CHO cells, in a manner that allows for the enzymatic harvest of the receptor from the cell surface and its subsequent immobilization using a capture antibody (E. A. Whitehorn, et al., BiolTechnology 13: 1215 (1995).
A soluble human IL-5R-a chain can be used as an IL-5 antagonist in chronic asthma or other disease states with demonstrated eosinophilia. Eosinophils are white blood cells of the granulocytic lineage. Their normal function appears to be combating parasitic infections, particularly helminthis infections. However, their accumulation in tissues, a condition referred to as eosinophilia, is also associated with several disease states, most notably asthma. It is believed that the damage to the epithelial lining of the bronchial passages in severe asthmatic attacks is largely caused by the compounds released by degranulating eosinophils.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,704, there is specifically disclosed the use of compounds which block the stimulatory effects of IL-5 in order to inhibit production and accumulation of eosinophils. The stimulatory effects of IL-5 were blocked by administering an effective amount of an antagonist to human interleukin-5, preferably using monoclonal antibodies or binding compositions derived therefrom by standard techniques. Monoclonal antibodies were selected by their ability to inhibit IL-5 induced effects in standard IL-5 bioassays, such as the ability to stimulate the growth and development of eosinophils in in vitro colony forming assays, and the ability to augment in vitro proliferation of the in vivo passaged BCL 1 lymphoma cells. The use of antibody fragments, e. g., Fab fragments, was also reported.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,668,110; 5,677,280; 5,654,276, and 5,683,983 also discuss peptides that bind the IL-5 receptors and block the effect of IL-5.
Currently glucocorticoid steroids are the most effective drugs for treating the acute effects of allergic diseases, such as asthma. However, the availability of alternative or complementary approaches to the treatment of disorders associated with eosinophilia would have important clinical utility.
Asthma has become the most common chronic disease in industrialized countries. Conventional methods and therapeutic agents may not be completely effective in the treatment of asthma or other immunomediated inflammatory diseases in all patient populations. Moreover, there remains a need for compounds that bind to or otherwise interact with the IL-5R, both for studies of the important biological activities mediated by this receptor and for treatment of disease. The present invention provides such compounds.

Peptides and compounds that bind to the IL-5 receptor


An electronic component case includes, a lower case including a bottom plate, a side wall having a protruding portion, an engaging projection formed on an outer face of the side wall, and a screw hole formed in the side wall in a region where the protruding portion is provided, and an upper case including a top plate, a side wall in which an engaging hole is formed, and a notched hole formed in the side wall on the top plate side. The protruding portion of the lower case is engaged to the notched hole of the upper case, and the screw hole is exposed in the notched hole. The engaging projection of the lower case is engaged in the engaging hole of the upper case.

In the prior art, there is an electronic component device in which an electronic component is housed inside an electronic component case that an upper case is fixed on a lower case. In such electronic component device, engaging projections are provided on the side wall of the lower case, and engaging holes are provided in the side wall of the upper case. Then, the engaging projections of the upper case are engaged to the engaging holes of the lower case, thereby the lower case and the upper case are fixed.
A related art is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2001-321838, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-258042.

Electronic component case and electronic component device


A high-voltage semiconductor device structure is provided, which includes a drain structure having two curved structures that are insulatedly adjacent to each other and alternatively arranged, and a source structure, a drain extension structure, and a gate structure formed between the two curved structures. By using the curved structures with alternatively arranged configuration, an electrode terminal with a small curvature radius is prevented from being produced, and the electric field accumulation effect is partially eliminated, thereby increasing the breakdown voltage. Meanwhile, the curved structure with alternatively arranged configuration not only reduces the ON resistance, but also utilizes the space effectively, thus, the integration of the semiconductor device on the chip is enhanced, so that the miniaturization requirement of an electronic device is satisfied.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a high-voltage semiconductor device structure, and more particularly, to a lateral-diffused metal oxide semiconductor (LDMOS) device structure.
2. Related Art
An LDMOS device is usually applied in a high voltage operation environment, for example, a power amplifier with a high power or a high frequency band, or a high power device of a base station. The LDMOS has a high voltage resistance characteristic, which is capable of resisting tens to hundreds volts of voltage. The main reason lies in that, the LDMOS has a low-doped drift extension region in the drain extension structure, which is used to relieve the breakdown effect between a drain terminal and a source terminal, thus the device has a relatively high breakdown voltage. In order to provide the LDMOS with a higher breakdown voltage, the structure of the device must be improved.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are respectively an allocation diagram and a sectional view of an LDMOS device structure in the conventional art. As shown in FIG. 1A, the conventional LDMOS 10 structure includes a source structure 11, a drain structure 12, a drain extension structure 13, and a gate structure 14.
The source structure 11 has a protrusion 11′ extending from the lower portion of the source structure 11 to the central portion, and the protrusion 11′ is surrounded by and spaced apart for a predetermined distance with the upper, left, and right side portion of the source structure 11 respectively. The drain structure 12 is disposed in the region formed by the above predetermined distances, and forms an oxbow-shaped region that surrounds the left, upper and right side of the protrusion 11′, and the periphery of the oxbow-shaped region is surrounded by the source structure 11 outside the protrusion 11′. The drain extension structure 13 surrounds the periphery of the drain structure 12 and it is spaced apart for a specific distance with the source structure 11. Meanwhile, a gate structure 14 is provided between the source structure 11 and the drain extension structure 13, and a field effect channel region is provided below the gate structure 14. Under the low ON-resistance (Rdson) requirement of the high voltage device, the layout feature of the protrusion 11′ cannot be easily avoided.
FIG. 1B is a sectional view of FIG. 1A taken alone the line I-I. The source structure 11 includes a source electrode 16 formed on the surface of a substrate (e.g., a p-type substrate 15); a p-type well 17 formed in the p-type substrate 15 and located below the source electrode 16, which is doped with p-type conductive ions; an n+-type doped region 18 formed in the p-type well 17, which is a region having n-type conductive ions with a high doping concentration; a p+-type doped region 19 formed in the p-type well 17 and being adjacent to the n+-type doped region 18, which is a region having p-type conductive ions with a high doping concentration; wherein the n+-type doped region 18 and the p+-type doped region 19 are both connected with the source electrode 16.
The source structure 12 includes a drain electrode 20 formed on the surface of the p-type substrate 15; an n-type well 21 located below the drain electrode 20 and formed in the p-type substrate 15; an n+-type doped region 22 formed in the n-type well, which is a region having n-type conductive ions with a high doping concentration and connected with the drain electrode 20.
The drain extension structure 13 includes an n-type drift extension region 23 having n-type conductive ions with a low doping concentration, and a p-type doped region 24 formed in the n-type drift extension region 23. There is a predetermined distance between the n-type drift extension region 23 of the drain extension structure 13 and the n+-type doped region 18 of the source structure 11, to form a field effect channel region 27.
The gate structure 14 includes a gate insulation layer 25 formed on the surface of the substrate and a gate electrode 26 formed on the gate insulation layer 25. The gate structure 14 is disposed above the n-type drift extension region 23 and the p-type well 17, and the field effect channel region 27 is turned on/off by controlling the gate voltage.
In the above LDMOS structure, the source protrusion 11′ has a tip 111 with a small curvature radius which easily produces a charge accumulation phenomenon and makes the intensity of the electric field passing through this portion become stronger, thus, the electric field in the field effect channel region is non-uniformly distributed. During the operation under a high voltage, a breakdown effect occurs due to a local accumulation effect of the electric field, thus, the breakdown voltage of the LDMOS is reduced. If it is intended that the breakdown voltage of the device is not affected by the protrusion 11′, the curvature radius must be increased. However, the overall area of the device is enlarged accordingly, and correspondingly, the ON-resistance (Rdson) is increased, and the integration of the device on the chip is reduced.

High-voltage semiconductor device structure


An electrical connector comprises an elongated insulative housing and a plurality of terminals. The elongated insulative housing defines a mating face, a rear end face opposite to the mating face and a plurality of receiving passageways extending through the mating face and the rear end face, and said insulative housing defines a plurality of retention means and a support means extending horizontally away from the rear end face respectively. The plurality of terminals are assembled to the receiving passageways, and each terminal comprises a tail portion extending away from the rear end face. The support means is below the tail portions of the terminals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to an electrical connector for mounting on a circuit board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An electrical connector is usually required to establish a electrical connection between a complementary connector and a printed circuit board. Such connectors are of many forms configured to compliant to different applications. More particularly, many electrical connectors having molded plastic housings which are considerable elongated. Most often, problems continue to be encountered.
Please refer to U.S. Pat. No. 6,790,053 invented by Lin et al., Lin et al. discloses an electrical connector for mounting on a circuit board, comprising an elongated insulative housing and a plurality of terminals disposed therein. The insulative housing comprises a base portion, three mating ports extending forwardly from the base portion and a plurality of retention portions extending backwardly from the base portion for retaining a circuit board. However, the retention portions should be disposed at appropriated location according the electrical connector. The distance between the retention portions is inevitable to be increased. When the plurality of terminals are soldered to the circuit board, high temperature will result in the warpage or distortion of the circuit board, and a reliable electrical connection will be affected accordingly.
Hence, an improved electrical connector is desired to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.

Electrical connector with improved housing


An illustrative volumetric capture system accesses a machine learning model associated with bodies of a particular body type, as well as a two-dimensional (2D) image captured by a capture device located at a real-world scene. The 2D image depicts a body of the particular body type that is present at the real-world scene. Using the machine learning model and based on the 2D image, the volumetric capture system identifies a 2D joint location, from a perspective of the capture device, of a particular joint of the body. The volumetric capture system also generates a three-dimensional (3D) reference model of the body that represents the particular joint of the body at a 3D joint location that is determined based on the 2D joint location identified using the machine learning model. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

In a variety of entertainment, educational, vocational, promotional, and/or other applications and use cases, it may be desirable to model various real-world objects within a real-world scene. For example, by modeling objects such as people, furnishings, walls, floors, and ceilings in a real-world room, a system may provide a virtual reality experience associated with the real-world room and the objects included therein to a user who is located somewhere other than the real-world room. As another example, by creating a model of a subject (e.g., a person, an animal, an inanimate object, etc.) that is present in a real-world environment, a system may provide an augmented reality experience involving the subject to a user. For instance, the model may be inserted as an augmentation into a real-world environment to make it appear as if the subject is present where the subject is not actually present, or the model may be represented within a virtual reality world being experienced by the user.

Methods and systems for applying machine learning to volumetric capture of a body in a real-world scene


Embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to methods for measuring a characteristic of a substrate. In an embodiment, the method includes scanning over the substrate with a scanning probe microscope, the substrate having fins thereon, the scanning obtaining images showing respective fin top regions of the fins, the scanning probe microscope interacting with respective portions of sidewalls of the fins by a scanning probe oscillated during the scanning, selecting images obtained at a predetermined depth below the fin top regions to obtain a line edge profile of the fins, by a processor-based system, analyzing the line edge profile of the fins using power spectral density (PSD) method to obtain spatial frequency data of the line edge profile of the fins, and by the processor-based system, calculating line edge roughness of the fins based on the spatial frequency data.

As the semiconductor industry has progressed into nanometer technology process nodes in pursuit of higher device density, higher performance, and lower costs, challenges from both fabrication and design issues have resulted in the development of three-dimensional designs, such as a Fin Field Effect Transistor (FinFET). FinFET devices typically include semiconductor fins with high aspect ratios and in which channel and source/drain regions are formed. A gate is formed over and along the sides of the fin structure (e.g., wrapping) utilizing the advantage of the increased surface area of the channel to produce faster, more reliable, and better-controlled semiconductor transistor devices.
The line edge roughness of the fin structure can affect the performance of the transistors. To ensure the line edge roughness is maintained within a range desired for downstream processing, a surface measurement technique can be performed to obtain roughness information of the fin structure. However, with the decreasing in scaling, new challenges are presented.

Line edge roughness analysis using atomic force microscopy

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.


A system and method upper auditory frequency range hearing. A speech signal is filtered, and then modulated to an upper auditory frequency range. The modulated signal is then provided to a transducer, which causes a vibration in the ear canal, the head or the neck of a user, which is received in an inner ear of the user. That vibration is translated as a signal to the brain, which interprets that signal as intelligible speech.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an upper audio range (UAR) hearing apparatus and method that converts speech waveform envelope into upper audio frequencies ( greater than 10 kHz), for delivery to the ear, or skin of the head or neck, which are then provided to the inner ear and then the brain.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional air conduction hearing aids only amplify either the entire speech signal or certain portions, or frequency bands, or the speech signal. The most intense part of speech is the fundamental frequency derived from action of the vocal folds. Higher frequencies are derived from vocal tract resonance, but their intensities are lower than those of the fundamental frequency.
The relatively lower intensity, higher frequency speech sounds are generally consonants. Consonants carry most of the information in speech, and are important for normal speech perception. In the cases of sensorineural hearing loss, consonant detection is altered, as is intelligibility. As mentioned above, conventional aid conduction hearing aids focus on amplifying all or portions of the speech spectrum to regain intelligibility for persons with hearing loss. Conventional air conduction hearing aids are ineffective at some degree of hearing loss, depending on the nature of the loss and the individual differences. Alternative approaches have included using frequency bands not compromised by the hearing loss. One approach, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,434, involves frequency-converting the speech to an ultrasonic region ( greater than 30,000 Hz), while another approach involves frequency transposition focusing the speech into a bass region ( less than 300 Hz). The upper audio range, from about 10,000 Hz to 29,999 Hz, has been neglected.
The invention is directed to a hearing aid, which includes a plurality of channels for receiving an input speech signal, one of the channels filtering the speech signal with a first filter centered at a first predetermined audio frequency and having a first predetermined filter bandwidth, another of the channels filtering the speech signal with a second filter centered at a second predetermined audio frequency and having a second filter bandwidth. The hearing aid also includes an envelope extraction unit for extracting an envelope of an output of each of the channels, and a multi-channel frequency multiplication unit for performing a modulation of each of the envelopes obtained from the output of each of the channels using a carrier that is in an upper audio frequency range. The hearing aid further includes a transducer unit for providing vibration and sound in the ear canal or preferably as a vibration to the skin of a user based on the modulated envelopes.

Upper audio range hearing apparatus and method


The method is characterized in that the method comprises the steps that a computer or several interconnected computers are caused to a) store, in the form of a pixel set in which set each pixel is associated with image information in at least one channel for light intensity, a first image to be classified onto a digital storage medium; b) carry out a first classification of the image, which classification is caused to be based upon the image information of each respective pixel and which classification is caused to associate each pixel with a certain class in a first set of classes, and to store these associations in a first database; c) calculate, for each pixel and for several classes in the first set of classes, the smallest distance in the image between the pixel in question and the closest pixel which is associated with the class in question in the database, and to store an association between each pixel and the calculated smallest distance for the pixel in a second database for each class for which a distance has been calculated; d) carry out a second classification of the data in the second database, which classification is caused to be based upon the smallest distance for each pixel to each respective class, and to associate each pixel to a certain class in a second set of classes; and e) store the classified image in the form of a set of pixels onto a digital storage medium, where each pixel comprises data regarding the association of the pixel to the certain class in the second set of classes, and where the classified image has the same dimensions as the first image.

Various imaging techniques in two or more dimensions are now central within many fields of technology. For example, satellite images are used as originals or in processed form for mapping, in demographic, economic and environmental analyses, as well as within community planning. Three-dimensional images is for instance achieved through various medical imaging techniques, and are used to analyze the human body, as support for surgeons during surgery, and so forth, but also within for example the nanotechnological field. Collected image data is analyzed and used in numerous applications to control the behaviour of robots and other technical equipment, with the aim of navigating through space, selecting and handling objects and interacting with other technology as well as with people. Furthermore, two-dimensional imaging techniques are used within microscopy.
In general, the information contained in such an image requires interpretation before use. The goal of such interpretation is typically to identify the structural components in the image, such as an object against a background; different fields that are delimited one to another or volumes of different colour intensity, structure or which are distinct as compared to each other in other ways; or deviating elements. Examples include identifying roads, housing, forest, farm land, etc. from satellite images; distinguishing faces in a photography depicting human beings; separating various types of tissue in a three-dimensional NMR image of a person; and identification of material deviations based upon a photography of a manufactured detail.
It is often for cost reasons desirable to achieve an automatic interpretation of an image. One way to carry out such interpretation starts out from a digital image in two or more dimensions, built up from a number of individual pixels. Each pixel is then associated with one certain respective class of pixels, selected among a number of such classes designed to represent a certain pixel type. When all pixels have been associated with a respective class, an inventory can be made of each class, so as to obtain a collected picture of where in the image pixels of a certain type occur. Herein, such method is denoted a "classification". Hence, a certain class can for example represent "road", "muscle tissue" or "material defect".
Typically, classification techniques are used to locate objects and borders, such as lines, curves, fields, etc., in an image.
Several attempts have been made to achieve a method for automatically performing various useful classifications of images where the knowledge of the image contents is limited before the start of the classification.
For instance, a method has been proposed in which a movable "window" is swept across the image in an attempt to classify a pixel located in the centre of the window to a certain class identity by studying the centre pixel's surrounding pixels and using statistical methods (kernel-based segmentation). For some types of images, such methods can be efficient, but the result of the classification is often very scattered, with classes comprising pixels from many different parts of the image. The result is that it is difficult to obtain useful information from the classification without large amounts of manual work.
An automatic classification of an image has also been proposed with parallel consideration to all pixels, in an iterative method (window-independent classification). One example of an algorithm which can be used in such method is a cluster analysis of K-means type. Even such methods often result in scattered classifications when used to classify digitally stored images.
In the article "Automated Segmentation of MR Images of Brain Tumors", Kaus, Michael R., et al., Radiology 2001; 218:586-591, an iterative classification of a three-dimensional MR-reproduction of a human skull is disclosed. The classification is performed iteratively, with the help of among other things local segmentation strategies and a distance transform which calculates the distance between a certain voxel (a three-dimensional pixel) and a certain class, and also on the basis of information regarding greyscale intensity of the voxels taking part of the reproduction.
The majority of the steps making up such method must be carried out manually in order to achieve sufficient reliability of the finally classified result. Additionally, a comparatively solid knowledge of the object is required before the classification is started, for example in the form of a comparative image illustrating a "normal case" or the like.
The present invention solves the above described problems.

Method for performing automatic classification of image information


A method for handling a failed processor of a multiprocessor system, the multiprocessor system comprising at least two processors interconnected by processor interconnects for transactions between processors, the processors comprising a first processor and a second processor, the first processor being set as a default boot processor in response to a boot-up operation of the multiprocessor system. The method comprises: detecting and receiving, via a baseboard management module, health information of the at least two processors; providing a multiplexer operative to switch between the at least two processors, the multiplexer being coupled to the baseboard management module and respectively to the at least two processors; and, in response to the health information indicating the first processor has failed, setting, via a processor ID controller, the second processor as the default boot processor and enabling, via the baseboard management module, the multiplexer to switch to the second processor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information handling system, and more particularly relates to an apparatus and method for handling a failed processor of a multiprocessor information handling system.
2. Background of the Related Art
Along with continuous improvement and development in the components of an information handling system, techniques for handling and restoring normal operations of hardware failures have also greatly advanced. With those conventional techniques, some failures may be fixed whereas certain techniques are nevertheless undesirably affected.
For the current information handling system techniques with multiple processors, an information handling system remains inoperable in the event of a primary central processor failure despite the fact that other central processors may still provide normal functionality. That is to say, the above issue persists regardless of how many central processors are implemented under the trend of the expanding number of processors.

Handling a failed processor of multiprocessor information handling system


An apparatus that may be used to sense capacitance, as well as other functions. The apparatus includes a comparator circuit with hysteresis, a capacitor, and a current driver. The comparator circuit with hysteresis includes a first input and an output. The capacitor is coupled to the first input of the comparator circuit with hysteresis. The current driver is coupled to the output of the comparator circuit with hysteresis and to the capacitor. The current driver reciprocally sources and sinks a drive current through a terminal of the capacitor to oscillate a voltage potential at the terminal of the capacitor between a low reference potential and a high reference potential. The current driver is responsive to the output of the comparator circuit with hysteresis.

Capacitance sensors are used to implement a variety of useful functions including touch sensors (e.g., touch pad, touch dial, touch wheel, etc.), determining the presence of an object, accelerometers, and other functions. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional capacitance sensor 100 including a relaxation oscillator, a reference clock, and a frequency comparator. The relaxation oscillator is coupled to drive a charging current (Ic) in a single direction onto a device under test ("DUT") capacitor. As the charging current piles charge onto the DUT capacitor, the voltage across the capacitor increases with time as a function of Ic and its capacitance C. Equation 1 describes the relation between current, capacitance, voltage and time for a charging capacitor.CdV=ICdt  (Equation 1)
The relaxation oscillator begins by charging the DUT capacitor from a ground potential or zero voltage and continues to pile charge on the DUT capacitor at a fixed charging current Ic until the voltage across the DUT capacitor reaches a reference voltage (Vref). At Vref, the relaxation oscillator allows the accumulated charge to discharge or the DUT capacitor to "relax" back to the ground potential and then the process repeats itself. The relaxation oscillator outputs a relaxation oscillator clock signal (RO CLK) having a frequency (fRO) dependent upon capacitance C of the DUT capacitor and charging current Ic.
If capacitance C of the DUT capacitor changes, then fRO will change proportionally according to Equation 1. By comparing fRO of RO CLK against the frequency (fREF) of a known reference clock signal (REF CLK), the change in capacitance ΔC can be measured. Accordingly, equations 2 and 3 below describe that a change in frequency between RO CLK and REF CLK is proportional to a change in capacitance of the DUT capacitor.ΔC∝Δf, where  (Equation 2)Δf=fRO−fREF.  (Equation 3)
The frequency comparator is coupled to receive RO CLK and REF CLK, compare their frequencies fRO and fREF, respectively, and output a signal indicative of the difference Δf between these frequencies. By monitoring Δf one can determine whether the capacitance of the DUT capacitor has changed.
However, during the relaxation of the DUT capacitor, the discharge current is not fixed and therefore the relaxation phase generates an error. As frequency fRO of RO CLK is increased (e.g., by increasing charging current Ic) the relaxation error becomes a more significant portion of the overall clock cycle. As such, the relaxation error is a frequency limiting factor that places an upper bound on the operational frequency of capacitance sensor 100. Operating at lower fRO frequencies leaves capacitance sensor 100 more susceptible to low frequency noise. Furthermore, since the frequency fRO of RO CLK is unrelated to the frequency fREF of REF CLK, capacitance sensor 100 is susceptible to frequency wandering due to temperature drift.

Capacitance sensor using relaxation oscillators


A downhole cleanout tool includes a tool housing have a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, and a filter between the inlet and the outlet. The tool includes a pump that is fluidly coupled to at least the fluid inlet to motivate fluid across the filter. The tool also includes a rotatable housing having a nozzle that is fluidly coupled to the pump outlet. The rotatable housing may rotate about a longitudinal axis of the rotatable housing, and the filter and pump may be disposed within the rotatable housing. Each nozzle may include a nozzle outlet oriented at an angle (a) from a radial axis extending from the longitudinal axis of the rotatable housing to a location where the nozzle outlet intersects the periphery of the rotatable housing such that motivation of fluid through the nozzle results in rotation of the rotatable housing.

Hydrocarbon producing wells may simultaneously produce water, which in turn may result in the development of inorganic scales being deposited on perforations, casing, production tubulars, and other downhole equipment. If left unattended, the scaling may adversely impact well performance.
A number of technologies exist for removing scaling without damaging the wellbore, tubing, or reservoir. For example, the scaling may be removed mechanically or dissolved chemically. In tubing, it may be feasible to simply pull the tubing from the wellbore to mill out scale deposit. Where scaling is in the wellbore, such an approach may not be feasible. Where milling is not practicable, other types of cleaning systems may be deployed.
The illustrated figures are only exemplary and are not intended to assert or imply any limitation with regard to the environment, architecture, design, or process in which different embodiments may be implemented.


Vanadyl complexes of chelating dihydroxamate compounds suitable for oral treatment of diabetes are disclosed. The dipodal hydroxamate ion carriers effectively bind and transport vanadyl ions across lipid membranes and potentiate glucose metabolism. The complexes may be generated in vivo by administration of a vanadyl salt and the hydroxamate ion carrier.

The present invention relates to vanadyl complexes useful for the treatment of diabetes.
Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is mainly treated with insulin. Since oral administration of insulin in mammals is ineffective, diabetic patients need to receive insulin by subcutaneous injection. The availability of orally active insulin substitutes is of great importance in the treatment of diabetes.
Vanadate ions (VO.sub.3 -, oxidation state +5) and also vanadyl ions (VO.sup.2+, oxidation state +4) were shown to mimic nearly all of the various actions attributed to insulin in a large variety of in vitro (cellular) systems (Shechter, Y. (1990) Diabetes 39, 1-5) and thus, may be considered as wide-range insulin-mimicking agents. When administered orally (in drinking water) to streptozotocin-treated hyperglycemic rats, vanadate ions reduced the high levels of circulating glucose down to normal values and ameliorated many of the aberrations induced by hyperglycemia, including cardiac performance (Heyliger, C. E. et al (1985) Science 227, 1474-1476). In addition, disorders not directly related to hyperglycemia were also partially cured by oral vanadate therapy in this diabetic experimental model (Rossetti, L. and Laughlin, M. R. (1989) J. Clin. Invest. 84, 892-899). Vanadate therapy is also effective in experimental models of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). In db/db and ob/ob mice, oral vanadate therapy induces long and persistent states of normoglycemia, while subcutaneous injections of insulin fail to do so (Meyerovitch, J. et al. (1991 ) J. Clin. Invest. 87, 1286-1294).
Japanese Patent Application published under No. 2292217 describes vanadium complexes, such as vanadium tartrate, for curing diabetes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,171 describes insulin mimic compositions containing a vanadate salt and a peroxide to treat diabetes mellitus. European Patent Application EP 305264 describes vanadyl complexes of cysteine and cysteine derivatives and compositions comprising them for oral treatment of insulin-dependent diabetes. McNeill, J. H. et al (J. Med. Chem. (1992) 35:1489-1491) have described a vanadyl complex of maltol (3-hydroxy-2-methyl-4-pyrone) shown to mimic insulin and to reduce plasma glucose values in rats.
Vanadium salts are thus seriously considered for therapy of human diabetes. Although vanadate has been found to be up to 4-5 fold more effective in vitro than vanadyl in mimicking insulin, probably due to its improved permeability across biological membranes, it has the disadvantage of being 6-10 times more toxic than vanadyl Waters, M. D. (1977) Adv. Med. Toxicol. 2, 147-189; Ramanadham S. et al. (1989) Metabolism 38, 1022-1028). Vanadyl, however, shows low cell permeability. Identifying means to enhance permeability of the less toxic vanadyl at low vanadyl concentrations would therefore open new possibilities for vanadium-based treatment of diabetes.

Vanadyl complexes of hydroxamate chelators and pharmaceutical compositions comprising them


Roller shoes in which a roller is installed on a shoe base in a detachable manner comprises a plurality of roller installation grooves formed at the center of the shoe base, a roller axle support inserted into the roller installation grooves, wherein the roller is attached to the roller axle support by a magnetic force, a break mechanism formed at both ends of a middle portion of the front and utmost end of the rear of the shoe base, and a cover mounted in the roller installation grooves. A roller axle support groove formed at both ends of a U shape is inserted in the roller installation groove, and a roller installation part comprising the roller axle is inserted in the roller axle support groove for the roller to be installed in a detachable manner. The same structure of the roller installation part is formed in the middle portion of the front of the shoe base and the roller axle and the roller axle support of the roller installation part installed respectively at the front and rear of the shoe base are adamantly coupled by a magnetic force.

A roller shoes is that the roller is installed on the shoe base in a detachable manner. A conventional roller shoes is constructed by that the roller installation groove is formed at the center of the rear of the shoe base, and a U shaped roller axle support, in which roller axle support grooves are formed at both sides thereof, is inserted and fixed into the roller installation groove. In addition, the roller rotates at the center of a roller.
Axle is engaged with the roller axle support and fixed at the shoe base. Further, the roller axle support is extruded from synthetic resin material.
Such conventional roller shoes can be used as general shoes and as roller shoes as well. That is, when the roller is not inserted into the roller shoes, this can be used as sole shoes, while when the roller is inserted into the roller installation groove on slope, this can be used as roller shoes.
The conventional roller shoes has a drawback in that since the roller axle of the roller is not confined in the roller axle support groove, which is open in semi-circular shape, and loosely inserted thereinto, and when a heel of the shoe is moved up, the roller axle is derailed from the roller axle support groove, and therefore the roller is deviated from the roller installation groove.
Moreover, since only one roller is mounted in rear of the shoe base, it is not possible to drive on plane earth as a roller skate, and a driving force per se such as mounting an ascending slope can not be obtained.
The previous structure of the roller is that the core and the tire are made as one body. That is, a plurality of stoppers are protrusively molded around the core. Such molded core is put into a casting mold to be connected with the tire, followed by introducing a fluid material of tire to be molded as one body. Thus, the stoppers are protrusively formed around the core such that, when the roller rotates, a slip in between the core and the tire can be prevented by the stoppers.
However, when the tire is used to a certain extent of time, it gets heated due to its friction against the ground and gets expanded. And the tire differs from the core in their coefficient of expansion by the difference in their material, thereby creating a gap in an abutment of the core and the tire.
In this case, the stoppers can prevent the slip i.e., derailment in a rotating direction, whereas they cannot perfectly prevent the slip in a direction along the roller axle.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,536,785 (Lee), 6,476,661 (Chang), 6,629,698 (Chu), 6,585,273 (Chiu), 6,572,120 (Chang), 6,631,911 (Chen et al.), 6,913,270 (Wang), 6,926,289 (Wang), and 6,913,269 (Wang) disclose a multifunctional roller skate, but those inventions are made of lot of metal parts. So they will get rusted from air moisture and ground water in a short time, thus having a short life-time. And the wheels are put into the midsole of the shoe base and, therefore, the wheels become very small, not leading to a fast running by free skating.
In case their invention is used as a running skate and if they have to use their roller as big as ours in size, the space to put the rollers into and to have other device for the rollers will become so big that the height of the midsole of the shoe becomes as high as women's high heel shoe, almost 80 mm high. And so their shoes bottom will be twice higher than ours, which is impossible to be used.
Adam's U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,979,003, 7,165,773, and 7,165,774 have 1 or 2 wheels only at the rear heel side. So they can run a short distance only by inertia force.
Further, the wheels are fixed. No convertible way to pull out the wheels for use as a normal shoe and to put them into use as a roller-shoe does exist. There is no brake. Therefore, it is very risky to run or to stop on a slope.
They can use their invention having the fixed wheels only for the purpose of normal shoe. So this can easily create a medical problem on ankle. Their cover over the roller is added onto the outsole, thereby making the outsole's rear area much higher. This also creates a medical problem on ankle.
In an embodiment of this invention, the height or the surface of the out sole of the shoe does not change, but maintain the same flatness even "with" or "without" the cover.
References CitedU.S. Patents5,398,970 AMarch 1995Tucky6,364,322 B1April 2002Lee6,394,468 B1May 2002Chiang et al.6,450,508 B1September 2002Chu6,476,661 B1May 2002Chang6,536,785 B2March 2003Lee6,572,120 B2June 2003Chang6,585,273 B2July 2003Chiu6,629,698 B2October 2003Chu6,631,911 B2October 2003Chen et al.6,634,656 B1October 2003Gervasoni6,698,769 B2March 2004Adams et al.6,739,602 B2May 2004Adams6,764,082 B2July 2004Roderick6,913,269 B2July 2005Wang6,913,270 B2July 2005Wang6,926,289 B2August 2005Wang6,979,003 B2December 2005Adams7,036,829 B2May 2006Maxwell et al.7,165,773 B2January 2007Adams7,165,774 B2January 2007Adams7,175,187 B2February 2007Lyden


A method and apparatus for forming stuffed food products having one flat end by cutting a slit in a food casing forward of a stuffing horn and inserting an end flattening disc directly into the casing through the slit. A fixture at the end of the stuffing horn holds the disc while the slit casing is drawn forward to clear the slit away from the disc. The casing is then gathered and closed to capture the disc within the casing. On stuffing, the pressure of food product forces the disc to release from the fixture to form a flat leading end of the stuffed product.

A stuffed casing product having at least one flat end is desirable in cases where the product is intended to be sliced and packaged for retail sales. Typically, products of this type are stuffed into a casing to a controlled diameter and then are cooked or cured according to conventional processes. Thereafter, they are sliced on an automatic slicing machine and packaged into units of predetermined weight and slice count for retail sale. The slicing devices employed in such packaging operation are preset to yield a specific weight-by-slice count for use in obtaining unit packages of equal weight.
In order to produce uniform slices for as much of the full length of the stuffed casing product as possible, it is desirable that the closed leading and/or trailing end of the stuffed product be substantially flat because rounded ends are not suited to be used for producing uniform slices for the equal weight packages sold at retail. Consequently, the round ends are sliced off and reprocessed. The reprocessed portions are called "rework".
In order to minimize the rework resulting from rounded ends, attempts have been made to flatten them by inserting flat discs into one or both ends of the casing. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,808,638 discloses inserting a disc into one end of a cut-length of casing to produce a single stuffed product having one flat end and one rounded end.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,462,793 and 4,562,617 disclose stuffing apparatus for producing food products having flat ends. The apparatus inserts a flat disc into the stuffing horn through a transverse slot. The disc is then expressed through the horn and into the casing by the food product pressing behind the disc. A limitation of this type of apparatus is that since the disc diameter must be small enough to fit through the stuffing horn, it is not effective to flatten the entire end of a product where typically the stuffed diameter is larger than the diameter of the stuffing horn.
German patent application 37 16 442 also inserts discs through a transverse slot in the stuffing horn. However, in this application each disc is made to be expandable so that when it leaves the confines of the stuffing horn, it expands to a larger diameter.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,984 produces stuffed products having two flat ends using discs arranged in pairs. The discs each have a central opening to accommodate passage of the stuffing horn so the discs can be loaded onto the horn. During a stuffing operation, the discs are sequentially introduced over the stuffing horn and into a casing to permit the continuous and automatic production of a plurality of flat ended stuffed casing products from a single continuous shirred length of casing.
The system as described in the '984 Patent functioned as intended in that it accomplished the automatic and continuous production of stuffed products having two flat ends. However, the assembly of the discs in pairs as required in the '984 Patent added to the cost of the discs and the central opening did allow for some waste due to the stuffed product bulging through this opening.
Also, it was found that it was not always possible to obtain the projected rework savings when automatically slicing a stuffed product having two flat ends. This is due to limitations of the automatic slicing apparatus which is designed primarily to accommodate stuffed products having rounded ends. Consequently, in some cases, a stuffed product having one rounded end and one flat end can produce a greater rework savings than one having two flat ends.
A copending application Ser. No. 07/381,238 discloses an arrangement of annular discs useful for producing stuffed casing products having one flat end. While the disc construction is simplified compared to that disclosed in the '984 Patent, it still has a central opening which allows for some waste due to the stuffed product bulging through the opening thereby increasing the amount of rework.

Method and apparatus for making stuffed casing products having one flat end


An air conditioning system circulates a mixture of refrigerant fluid and lubricating oil. An accumulator is disposed upstream of a compressor to separate gaseous refrigerant from liquid refrigerant and oil. The accumulator includes an outer case, an inner case, an upstanding pipe, and a baffle plate disposed in the outer case and above the inner case. Gaseous refrigerant exits the accumulator through the pipe. Oil and possibly liquid refrigerant collect in the inner case around the pipe. Liquid refrigerant and possibly oil collect outside of the inner case. Each of the pipe and inner case include vertically spaced oil-return holes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooling/heating dual-purpose air conditioner, and more particularly to an accumulator construcation of a cooling/heating dual-purpose air conditioner for preventing a liquid refrigerant from flowing into a compressor resulting from a lack of heat source in accordance with a decrease of outside temperature during a heating, and at the same time for achieving a smooth retrieval of oil.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a cooling/heating dual-purpose air conditioner performs a continuous process of compression, condensation, expansion and evaporation to thereby achieve a heating or performs the above process reversely to thereby achieve a cooling or defrosting.
FIG. 5 depicts a refrigerant cycle in a conventional air conditioner.
In FIG. 5, a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant compressed at a compressor 1 is inflowed into an indoor heat exchange 4 through a four-way valve 2 during the heating.
A condensation reaction is realized in the high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant inflowed into the indoor heat exchange 4 by a static pressure transfer.
The refrigerant condensed at the indoor heat exchange 4 passes sequentially through pressure reducers 6 and 8 to thereby be adiabatically expanded.
The refrigerant adiabatically expanded at the pressure reducers 6 and 8 is induced into an outdoor heat exchanger 3 to thereby be evaporated by a static pressure heat transfer.
The refrigerant drained from the outdoor heat exchanger 3 passes sequentialy through accumulators 12 and 13 via the four-way valve 2 and only the evaporated refrigerant is re-induced into the compressor 1.
Meanwhile, a refrigerant cycle reversed from the above cycle is performed during the cooling and defrosting.
The four-way valve 2 sends the refrigerant from the compressor 1 to the indoor heat exchanger 4 during the heating, and during the cooling and defrosting, the refrigerant from the compressor 1 is sent to the outdoor heat exchanger 3.
Meanwhile, a reference numeral 7 is a nonreturn valve which passes the refrigerant during the cooling and checks the refrigerant during the heating.
In the refrigerant cycle thus constructed, the refrigerant gas is supposed to be inflowed into the compressor 1 as a perfect gaseous refrigerant after the refrigerant gas is heat-exchanged at the outdoor heat exchanger 3, however because a perfect heat exchange can not be realized when the outdoor temperature is very low (generally below 3 degrees Celsius) due to the lack of heat source, some portions of the liquefied refrigerant gas which has yet to be heat-exchanged are induced into the compressor 1 along with the gaseous refrigerant to thereby downgrade an efficiency of the compressor.
In the words, when the liquefied refrigerant is introduced into the compressor 1, there occurs a hydraulic compression phenomenon wherein non-compressive liquid changes instantly to gaseous material to thereby increase a cubic volume of refrigerant, so that damage to the compressor and a diminishing of its efficiency may result.
Accordingly, accumulators 12 and 13 are used in series on a refrigerant pipe interconnecting the outdoor heat exchanger 3 and the compressor 1 in order to completely separate the liquified refrigerant contained in the gaseous refrigerent.
FIG. 6 is a constitutional diagram of accumulator installations 12 and 13 in the conventional cooling/heating dual-purpose air conditioner as illustrated in FIG. 5.
In FIG. 6, the refrigerent inflowed into the first accumulator 12 passes through a hole 18a formed on a baffle plate 18 and the gaseous refrigerant is inflowed into the second accumulator 13 through a stand pipe 20.
Meanwhile, oil is injected into the compressor in order to smooth off the operation of the compressor 1 and at this moment, the oil is mixed with the refrigerant in the compressor 1 to thereby be discharged.
The oil flows to the bottom of the first accumulator 12 through the hole 18a formed on the baffle plate 18 to thereby flow into the stand pipe 20 through an oil return hole 20a.
The refrigerant mixed with the compressor oil thus explained is flowed into the second accumulator 13 to thereby be filtered at a filtering mesh 22.
The refrigerant whose impurities have been filtered off at the filtering mesh 22 passes through a hole 24a of the baffle plate 24 and gaseous refrigerant is flowed into the compressor 1 through a stand pipe 26.
The compressor oil that has passed the hole 24a of the buffle plate 24 flows to the bottom of the second accumulator 13 to thereby be retrieved by the compressor 1 through the oil return hole 26a.
Here, the buffle plates 18 or 24 are formed with a plurality of holes a,b,c and d as illustrated in FIG. 7, and the center of the baffle plate 18 or 24 where the stand pipe 20 or 26 is disposed protrudes upwardly and the holes a,b,c and d are formed around a periphery of the respective protrusions.
Accordingly, the gaseous refrigerant that has passed through a plurality of holes formed on the baffle plate 18 or 24 is flowed into the stand pipe 20 or 26, and the liquid refrigerant flows toward the bottoms of the first and second accumulators 12 and 13 to thereby be accumulated, so that only the gaseous refrigerant can be flowed into the compressor 1.
When the liquefied refrigerant which has not evaporated the outdoor heat exchanger 3 due to low outdoor temperature is accumulated at the bottom of the first accumulator 12 or second accumulator 13, the above-mentioned lubricating oil is separated to thereby float on a surface of the liquified refrigerant.
Therefore, the oil might not be retrieved through the oil return holes 20a or 26a, so that the compressor 1 cannot smoothly be operated.
Furthermore, because a plurality of accumulators are connected in series to prevent the liquefied refrigerant from flowing into the compressor, a problem arises in that an installation calls for a large space, so that construction gets complicated and an efficiency decreases due to a pressure drop resulting from a dual expansion.

Accumulator construction of cooling heating dual-purpose air conditioner