Embodiments disclosed herein provide systems and methods for modifying the data transfer rate of wireless communications transferred by a wireless device. In a particular embodiment, a method comprises exchanging wireless communications between a wireless device and an access node on a wireless communication network. The method further includes determining a reverse noise ratio for the access node. Additionally, the method includes generating a message indicating the reverse noise ratio and transferring the message to the wireless device. The method further comprises receiving the message in the wireless device and modifying a data transfer rate of the wireless communications from the wireless device based on the reverse noise ratio indicated by the message.

Wireless communication devices, such as cellular phones, communicate with other devices and systems using wireless communication networks. Wireless networks communicate with wireless devices by way of wireless access nodes, such as base stations. Wireless devices and access nodes use various wireless protocols to exchange voice and data communications. The wireless protocols use carrier frequencies in the radio frequency (RF) bands of the electromagnetic spectrum to carry communications. Communications are modulated using the appropriate wireless protocol in order to transfer the communications wirelessly to an access node capable of demodulating the received communications.
RF communications, such as those described above between a wireless device and an access node, are susceptible to electromagnetic interference. Electromagnetic interference is commonly referred to as noise and is generally any electromagnetic radiation other than the intended wireless signal from the wireless device or the access node. Noise may be caused by natural phenomena but may also be caused by wireless transmissions made by other wireless devices, including other wireless devices communicating with the same access node.
As the separation between noise power levels and that of the data communication signal transferred from the wireless device, the data information in the signal may become harder to interpret. If the access node incorrectly interprets data information or fails to receive at least part of the information all together, then the wireless device may need to resend the data. Higher data transfer rates may be more susceptible to issues stemming from higher noise levels and lowering the data transfer rate may allow for better reception of the data information at the access node.

Data transfer rate modification in a wireless communication system


A method and apparatus is provided for detecting motion artifacts in data obtained from a blood pressure monitoring transducer and for preventing erroneous data related to such artifacts from interfering with the accuracy of the blood pressure measurement. Operation includes the steps of monitoring the amplitude of a pulse waveform from a first pulse to a next successive pulse and determining if the output signal changes by more than a predetermined percentage, thus indicating a motion condition.

There has been considerable interest in recent years in the development of a monitoring system for obtaining a continuous measurement of a patient's blood pressure. One of the most promising techniques for obtaining such a continuous measurement involves the use of an arterial tonometer comprising an array of small pressure sensing elements fabricated in a silicon "chip". The use of such an array of sensor elements for blood pressure measurements is disclosed generally in the following U.S. Patents: U.S. Pat. No. 3,123,068 to R. P. Bigliano, U.S. Pat. No. 3,219,035 to G. L. Pressman, P. M. Newgard and John J. Eige, U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,145 to E. F. Blick, U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,193 to Eckerle, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,423,738 to P. M. Newgard, and in an article by G. L. Pressman and P. M. Newgard entitled "A Transducer for the Continuous External Measurement of Arterial Blood Pressure" (IEEE Trans. Bio-Med. Elec., Apr. 1963, pp. 73-81).
In a typical tonometric technique for monitoring blood pressure, a transducer which includes an array of pressure sensitive elements is positioned over a superficial artery, and a hold-down force is applied to the transducer so as to flatten the wall of the underlying artery without occluding the artery. The pressure sensitive elements in the array have at least one dimension smaller than the lumen of the underlying artery in which blood pressure is measured, and the transducer is positioned such that more than one of the individual pressure-sensitive elements is over at least a portion of the underlying artery. The output from one of the pressure sensitive elements is selected for monitoring blood pressure. The element that is substantially centered over the artery has a signal output that provides an accurate measure of intraarterial blood pressure. However, for the other transducer elements, the signal outputs generally do not provide as accurate a measure of intraarterial blood pressure as the output from the centered element. Generally, the offset upon which systolic and diastolic pressures depend will not be measured accurately using transducer elements that are not centered over the artery. In some prior art arrangements the pressure sensitive element having the maximum pulse amplitude output is selected, and in other arrangements the element having a local minimum of diastolic or systolic pressure which element is within substantially one artery diameter of the element which generates the waveform of maximum pulse amplitude is selected.
One of the difficulties encountered in the use of tonometric techniques for monitoring blood pressure is the sensitivity of the pressure sensing elements which makes them extremely susceptible to erroneous detection of motion artifacts as pressure waveforms. Such erroneous detection of motion can cause significant errors in the measured blood pressure. The method of the present invention, described in greater detail below, provides a means for detection of motion artifacts and for preventing pressure waveforms related to motion from erroneously being reported as blood pressure waveforms.

Motion artifact detection for continuous blood pressure monitor transducer


A locking attachment is for a circuit breaker. The circuit breaker includes a housing enclosing separable contacts and an operating mechanism, an elongated operating member with a handle that operates to open and close the separable contacts, and an opening in the housing through which the elongated operating member protrudes. The opening has first and second ends corresponding to xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9coffxe2x80x9d circuit breaker positions, respectively. The locking attachment includes a locking member having a first end having a compressive segment with opposed portions for compressively capturing the operating member. The second end of the locking member is structured to engage the housing of the circuit breaker at one of the first and second ends of the opening in the housing, thereby locking the circuit breaker in either the xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9coffxe2x80x9d position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electrical switching apparatus and, more particularly, to a locking attachment for the handle of a circuit breaker.
2. Background Information
Electrical switching apparatus include, for example, circuit switching devices and circuit interrupters such as circuit breakers, contactors, motor starters, motor controllers and other load controllers.
Circuit breaker generally old and well known in the art. An example of a circuit breaker is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,191. Circuit breakers are used to protect electrical circuitry from damage due to an overcurrent condition, such as an overload condition or a relatively high level short circuit or fault condition. Molded case circuit breakers, for example, include at least one pair of separable contacts which are operated either manually by way of a handle disposed on the outside of the case or automatically by way of an internal trip unit in response to an overcurrent condition.
Circuit breakers typically have three possible operating handle positions, corresponding to the status of the separable contacts. For example, these positions may include an ON position, in which the separable contacts are closed, an OFF position in which the contacts are open, and a tripped position in which the contacts are tripped open. Typically, the handle position corresponding to the tripped position of the contacts is in between the ON and OFF positions.
In circuit breaker installations, for example in a panel board or load center, it is often desirable or essential that the settings of a single circuit breaker, or a group of circuit breakers, remain undisturbed. Unauthorized or inadvertent changing of the position of these breakers could result in annoying interruptions to service or operations, serious damage to an electrical apparatus, or even serious harm to a person. For example, accidental actuation of a circuit breaker might result in electrocution or shock to a workman performing electrical work or repair within an office building or home. Therefore, to prevent another person from inadvertently returning the circuit breaker handle to the ON position when a worker is doing electrical work in an area other than the immediate vicinity of the circuit breaker box or electrical panel, safety measures must be taken. One such safety measure is the addition of a locking mechanism to prevent displacement of the circuit breaker handle.
Although the main purpose of a circuit breaker is to trip during overload or short circuit conditions in order to protect downstream equipment and electrical wiring from damage, it may also be highly desirable to inhibit the circuit interruption function under certain conditions where, for example, the potential fire hazard of a non-opening circuit breaker is deemed to be a lesser hazard than if current flow to downstream devices is interrupted. The decision to accept the risk of fire over some other hazardous consequence may occur during emergencies or other critical situations where loss of life might occur if power is disrupted. Conceivable situations include, for example, circuit breakers employed in connection with combat (e.g., in a battleship under wartime conditions), fire-fighting (e.g., energizing pumps for pumping water to fire hoses in a high-rise building), spacecraft launch (e.g., energizing ground-based circuits critical to a safe launch), mining (e.g., energizing pumps employed to rapidly remove water from a flooded mine shaft), or nuclear power generation (e.g., energizing circuits critical to tripping a nuclear reactor). See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,503. Although most circuit breakers can still trip internally even if the handle is held in the on position, a locking mechanism to prevent displacement of the circuit breaker handle would preclude manual operation that might inadvertently remove power in a critical situation.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,937,248 and 4,581,502 disclose a handle lock for a circuit breaker, which employs a bent piece of resilient wire material. A portion of the wire is inserted through a bore in the circuit breaker handle. The wire is then pivoted about the handle bore into a locking position within a recess in the switch housing.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,849,552; 3,408,466; 5,147,991; 5,219,070; 5,412,167; 5,500,495; 5,577,599; and 5,732,815 disclose handle locking mechanisms consisting of an assembly of at least two parts and each employs a padlock to lock the handle of the circuit breaker in a fixed position. Many known locking mechanisms of this type further employ a set or Allen screw to engage the circuit breaker handle, in order to prohibit its movement. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,849,552; 5,147,991; 5,500,495; and 5,732,815.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,832,857 discloses a one-piece locking mechanism consisting of a metallic plate placed over the circuit breaker handle and locked into place by tangs which insert under the edge of the slot in the switch housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,624 discloses a lock off-lock on comprising a metal stamping that can be press fitted. A first handle-engaging portion, formed into a U-shaped structure, is inserted into an opening on the circuit breaker handle. A second handle-engaging portion is adapted to engage a surface of the handle adjacent to a dependent arcuate portion of the handle. A flat spring coupled to the side of the second handle engaging portion is engageable with the dependent arcuate portion and abuts the housing of the switch.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,160,227 discloses a retaining element for a toggle switch having a cylindrical rod-like extension inserted through a hole in the toggle switch and two arms adapted to interlock with a portion of the switch body and prevent displacement of the toggle.
There is room for improvement in locking mechanisms for electrical switching apparatus.
This need and others are satisfied by the invention, which is directed to a locking attachment for an electrical switching apparatus, which compressively captures an elongated operating member, and engages a housing in order to restrain movement of the operating member.
As one aspect of the invention, a locking attachment is used with an electrical switching apparatus, which includes a housing having an aperture with a first end and a second end, and also includes an elongated operating member protruding from the aperture, the elongated operating member moving between a first position proximate the first end of the aperture and a second position proximate the second end of the aperture, the locking attachment comprises: a locking member including a first end and a second end, the first end of the locking member having a compressive segment with opposed portions structured to compressively capture the elongated operating member between the opposed portions, the second end of the locking member structured to engage the housing at one of the first and second ends of the aperture, in order to restrain movement of the elongated operating member.
The elongated operating member may have an oblong shape with a first external portion positioned away from the aperture, and a second smaller external portion proximate the aperture. The first external portion of the oblong shape of the elongated operating member may have a first diameter, and the compressive segment of the locking member may have a capturing recess with a second diameter, which is smaller than the first diameter.
As another aspect of the invention, an electrical switching apparatus comprises: a housing including an opening having a first end and a second end; separable contacts; an operating mechanism including an elongated operating handle structured to open and close the separable contacts, the elongated operating handle protruding from the opening of the housing and moving between a first position proximate the first end of the opening and a second position proximate the second end of the opening; and a locking member including a first end and a second end, the first end of the locking member having a compressive segment with opposed portions structured to compressively capture the elongated operating handle between the opposed portions, the second end of the locking member structured to engage the housing at one of the first and second ends of the opening, in order to restrain movement of the elongated operating handle.
As another aspect of the invention, an electrical switching apparatus comprises: a housing including at least one opening having a first end and a second end; at least one pair of separable contacts; an operating mechanism including at least one elongated operating handle, each of the at least one elongated operating handles structured to open and close a corresponding pair of the at least one pair of separable contacts, each of the at least one elongated operating handle protruding from the at least one opening of the housing and moving between a first position proximate the first end of the at least one opening and a second position proximate the second end of the at least one opening; and a locking attachment comprising: a locking member including a first end and a second end, the first end of the locking member having a compressive segment with opposed portions structured to compressively capture one of the at least one elongated operating handle between the opposed portions, the second end of the locking member structured to engage the housing at one of the first and second ends of the at least one opening of the housing, in order to restrain movement of the one of the at least one elongated operating handle.

Locking attachment for an electrical switching apparatus


A method of light-emitting diode (LED) packaging includes coupling a number of LED dies to corresponding bonding pads on a sub-mount. A mold apparatus having concave recesses housing LED dies is placed over the sub-mount. The sub-mount, the LED dies, and the mold apparatus are heated in a thermal reflow process to bond the LED dies to the bonding pads. Each recess substantially restricts shifting of the LED die with respect to the bonding pad during the heating.

Light-emitting diode (LED) devices has experienced rapid growth in recent years. LED devices emit light when a voltage is applied. LED devices have increasingly gained popularity due to favorable characteristics such as small device size, long lifetime, efficient energy consumption, and good durability and reliability.
The fabrication of LED devices may involve a die-to-wafer bonding process, in which a plurality of LED dies are bonded to a plurality of bonding pads on a wafer. Conventional die-to-wafer bonding processes use auto die-bonding machines with a flux reflow oven or eutectic die-to-wafer bonders. During the bonding process, LED dies shift their lateral positions with respect to the bonding pads in any given direction. In some cases, the die-shift may exceed +/−38 microns. As the LED die size continues to decrease, the die-shift of conventional LED bonding processes is becoming a bigger issue because the reduction of reliability and performance for smaller LED devices is greater.
Therefore, although conventional LED die-to-wafer bonding processes have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in every aspect.

Method and apparatus for accurate die-to-wafer bonding


A block boundary where blocking artifact occurs or a lock where ringing artifact occurs is definitely detected. The noise detecting method includes the steps of: extracting coding information, including orthogonal transformation coefficients and a motion vector of each of multiple blocks of an image, from a bitstream that has been encoded through motion compensation of the image, orthogonal transformation and quantization, where the orthogonal transformation is performed on each said block; obtaining a reference area of each said block from a reference frame using the motion vector of the block; and detecting coding noise to be eliminated according to frequency component distributions of the orthogonal transformation coefficients of each said block and another one of the blocks within the reference frame overlapping the reference area of the block.

The present invention relates to technique of decoding a coded image, and more particularly relates to technique of detecting and eliminating coding noise derived from encoding.
Recently, the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) standards are widely used to code a picture with high compression efficiency in the fields of broadcasting, communications and storage. According to the MPEG, an image is encoded by removing spatial and temporal redundancy.
In order to remove spatial redundancy, discrete cosine transform (hereinafter referred to as DCT) and quantization are employed. First, an image is divided into units each designated as a block including 8xc3x978 pixels, each block is converted through the DCT into coefficients of a frequency domain (hereinafter referred to as DCT coefficients), and the DCT coefficients are subjected to the quantization.
The quantization is an operation for dividing a DCT coefficient by both a quantizer matrix having a value corresponding to each frequency of a DCT region and a quantizer scale. Through the quantization, a value of a frequency component with a small DCT coefficient becomes zero. In general, energy is collected in a low frequency region in an image signal, and hence, a high frequency component is eliminated through this operation. However, the visual characteristic of a human being is poorer in a higher frequency region, and therefore, degradation in picture quality is less conspicuous as the quantizer scale used in the quantization is smaller (i.e., a step in the quantization is smaller).
In order to remove temporal redundancy, motion compensation is employed. In the motion compensation, an area closest to a macroblock in coding within a reference frame is selected with a macroblock of 16xc3x9716 pixels used as a unit, so as to encode difference values from the reference frame. When motion is not very fast, the difference values are substantially zero, and thus, temporal redundancy can be removed.
In general, when the bit rate of a code is high (i.e., the compression rate is low), the degradation in picture quality is very inconspicuous in the MPEG. When the bit rate is lower (i.e., the compression rate is higher), however, coding noise becomes more conspicuous and the picture quality is degraded. Typical coding noise occurring in the MPEG are blocking artifact (sometimes designated as block distortion or block noise) and ringing artifact (sometimes designated as ringing noise, corona noise or mosquito noise).
Blocking artifact is a phenomenon where a block boundary can be obviously seen in a tile-like shape. This noise is caused when an image signal within a block has merely low frequency components and the frequency component values are different from those of an adjacent block.
Ringing artifact is noise occurring in the vicinity of the edge of an image like a flying mosquito. This noise is caused because a high frequency component inherent to an image signal has been eliminated through the quantization.
Blocking artifact and ringing artifact are greatly remarkable types of degradation in picture quality unlike analog noises, and hence, several methods have been proposed for eliminating these coding noises.
An example of the method of eliminating blocking artifact is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 5-308623 (first conventional method). In this conventional method, a filter whose frequency characteristic is determined depending upon the maximum frequency of DCT coefficients and motion activity obtained based on a motion vector is applied.
Also, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-177521 discloses a method in which a filter characteristic is determined by a quantizer scale and the size of a motion vector so that blocking artifact can be eliminated by applying a filter with the determined characteristic to a block boundary of a decoded image (second conventional method). In this conventional method, in the case where the quantizer scale is large and the motion vector is small, the filter characteristic is determined based on the quantizer scale alone. Alternatively, in the case where the quantizer scale is small and the motion vector is large, the filter characteristic is determined based on the size of the motion vector alone. Furthermore, in the case where both the quantizer scale and the size of the motion vector are medium, the filter characteristic is determined based on both of them.
On the other hand, an example of the method of eliminating ringing artifact is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 6-311499 (third conventional method). In this conventional method, an absolute sum of specific DCT coefficients of each block is obtained, so as to change the threshold value of a filter in accordance with the obtained absolute sum. Furthermore, in a frame that has been inter-frame coded, elimination of ringing artifact is carried out on a difference image, and then, reference frames where ringing artifact has been eliminated are added to the difference image so as to obtain a decoded image.
In general, occurrence of blocking artifact depends not on the maximum frequency of DCT coefficients but on the frequency component distribution of DCT coefficients and a difference in the frequency component distribution of DCT coefficients between adjacent blocks. When the filter characteristic is determined as in the first conventional method by using the high frequency component alone of the DCT coefficients, capability of eliminating blocking artifact is lowered.
The first conventional method further has the following problems: Since the filter characteristic is determined individually in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, the operation required for the filter determination becomes numerous in volume. Furthermore, when the filter characteristic is determined based on DCT coefficients, capability of detecting blocking artifact is lowered in employing inter-frame coding (non-intra coding). In addition, in the case where the operation is controlled so that a strong filter is applied when the motion activity is large, no consideration is paid to the property of the reference frame. For example, in the case where motion compensation is accurately carried out even though the motion activity is large, a filter is still applied even if the pixel values in the difference image are all zero. As a result, the image can be degraded in the quality, for example, blurred. Accordingly, this method degrades the picture quality when applied to a non-intra coded image.
Moreover, even when the motion vector is large, a decoded image may include a high frequency component. Furthermore, with respect to a frame that has been inter-frame coded, even when the quantizer scale is large, a reference frame may include a high frequency component. In such a case, a decoded image may include a high frequency component. In this case, when a filter is applied to the decoded image as in the second conventional method, the picture quality is degraded.
Furthermore, the third conventional method has the following problems: Since the absolute sum of specific DCT coefficients of each block is obtained, calculation of the absolute sums of the DCT coefficients requires numerous processing. Moreover, since a decoded image is obtained by adding reference frames where ringing artifact has been eliminated, reference frames used in decoding are different from those used in coding. Accordingly, errors are accumulated on the decoded image, which makes the degradation in the picture quality conspicuous.
The present invention was devised to overcome the aforementioned conventional problems. An object of the present invention is providing a noise detecting method and a noise detector capable of definitely detecting a block boundary where blocking artifact occurs or a block where ringing artifact occurs so as to accurately detect such coding noise even in a non-intra coded block, and providing an image decoding apparatus capable of definitely eliminating coding noise with degradation in picture quality minimized.
Specifically, the noise detecting method of this invention includes the steps of: extracting coding information, including orthogonal transformation coefficients and a motion vector of each of multiple blocks of an image, from a bitstream that has been encoded through motion compensation of the image, orthogonal transformation and quantization, where the orthogonal transformation is performed on each said block; obtaining a reference area of each said block from a reference frame using the motion vector of the block; and detecting coding noise to be eliminated according to frequency component distributions of the orthogonal transformation coefficients of each said block and another one of the blocks within the reference frame overlapping the reference area of the block.
According to the noise detecting method of this invention, coding noise is detected according to not only the frequency component distribution of the orthogonal transformation coefficients obtained from a bitstream but also the frequency component distributions of the orthogonal transformation coefficients of blocks overlapping a reference area within a reference frame obtained by using the motion vector. Accordingly, coding noise can be definitely detected in a non-intra coded block and erroneous detection can be minimized.
In one embodiment the noise detecting method, blocking artifact is detected as the coding noise, and the coding noise detecting step includes the sub-steps of: classifying each said block into any of a plurality of classes according to the frequency component distribution of the orthogonal transformation coefficients of the block; obtaining new classes of a target one of the blocks and another one of the blocks, which is adjacent to the target block, according to classes of the target and adjacent blocks and classes of other ones of the blocks that overlap reference areas of the target and adjacent blocks within the reference frame; and detecting magnitude of blocking artifact occurring between the target and adjacent blocks according to the new classes.
In this embodiment, noise is detected according to not only the class of a target block for noise elimination but also the classes of the blocks overlapping the reference region within the reference frame obtained by using the motion vector. Accordingly, a block boundary where blocking artifact occurs can be definitely detected in a non-intra coded block. Furthermore, since the classification of the block is carried out not separately in the horizontal and vertical directions, blocking artifact can be detected with the processing operation reduced.
In another embodiment of the noise detecting method, ringing artifact is detected as the coding noise, and the coding noise detecting step includes the sub-steps of: classifying each said block into any of a plurality of classes according to the frequency component distribution of the orthogonal transformation coefficients of the block; obtaining a new class of a target one of the blocks according to a class of the target block and a class of another one of the blocks within the reference frame overlapping a reference area of the target block; and detecting magnitude of ringing artifact occurring in the target block according to the new class.
In this embodiment, noise is detected according to not only the class of the target block for noise elimination but also the classes of the blocks overlapping the reference area within the reference frame obtained by using the motion vector. Accordingly, a block where ringing artifact occurs can be definitely detected in a non-intra coded block. Furthermore, since the classification of a block is carried out not separately in the horizontal and vertical directions, ringing artifact can be detected with the processing operation reduced.
In still another embodiment of the noise detecting method, blocking artifact is detected as the coding noise, and the coding noise detecting step includes the sub-steps of: extracting DC components of the orthogonal transformation coefficients of a target one of the blocks and another one of the blocks, which is adjacent to the target block, from the coding information; and detecting magnitude of blocking artifact occurring between the target and adjacent blocks according to not only the frequency component distribution of the orthogonal transformation coefficients but also an absolute value of a difference in the DC component between the target and adjacent blocks.
In this embodiment, the absolute value of a difference in the DC component between the target and adjacent blocks is checked, so the blocking artifact can be detected very accurately.
In still another embodiment of the noise detecting method, the coding noise detecting step includes the sub-steps of: extracting a quantizer scale of the target block from the coding information; and detecting magnitude of blocking artifact occurring between the target and adjacent blocks according to not only the frequency component distribution of the orthogonal transformation coefficients but also the absolute value of the difference in the DC component and the quantizer scale.
In this embodiment, the absolute value of a difference in the DC component between the target and adjacent blocks is checked in accordance with the quantizer scale of the target block. Accordingly, blocking artifact can be detected very accurately.
In still another embodiment of the noise detecting method, the coding noise to be eliminated is detected according to not only the frequency component distribution of the orthogonal transformation coefficients but also a size of the motion vector of a target one of the blocks or another one of the blocks that is adjacent to the target block.
Since this embodiment uses the size of the motion vector, noise can be appropriately detected. Because, in general, the larger the size of a motion vector is, the greater the magnitude of coding noise is.
In still another embodiment of the noise detecting method, blocking artifact is detected as the coding noise, and the coding noise detecting step includes the sub-steps of: extracting DC components of the orthogonal transformation coefficients of the target and adjacent blocks from the coding information; and detecting magnitude of blocking artifact occurring between the target and adjacent blocks according to not only the frequency component distribution of the orthogonal transformation coefficients and the size of the motion vector but also an absolute value of a difference in the DC component between the target and adjacent blocks.
In this embodiment, the absolute value of a difference in the DC component between the target and adjacent blocks is checked, so the blocking artifact can be detected very accurately.
In still another embodiment of the noise detecting method, the coding noise detecting step includes the sub-steps of: extracting a quantizer scale of the target block from the coding information; and detecting magnitude of blocking artifact occurring between the target and adjacent blocks according to not only the frequency component distribution of the orthogonal transformation coefficients and the size of the motion vector but also the absolute value of the difference in the DC component and the quantizer scale.
In this embodiment, the absolute value of a difference in the DC component between the target and adjacent blocks is checked in accordance with the quantizer scale of the target block. Accordingly, blocking artifact can be detected very accurately.
In still another embodiment of the noise detecting method, blocking artifact and ringing artifact are detected as the coding noise, and one of blocking artifact and ringing artifact is chosen for each said block as the coding noise to be eliminated according to magnitude of the blocking artifact and the ringing artifact.
In this embodiment, one of blocking artifact and ringing artifact is chosen for each said block. Accordingly, the processing operation and a memory capacity required for the noise elimination can be reduced. As a result, blocking artifact and ringing artifact can be both eliminated appropriately.
In still another embodiment of the noise detecting method, the coding noise detecting step is carried out on each of multiple fields in an interlaced image.
In this embodiment, coding noise can also be detected very accurately from an interlaced image.
The noise detector of this invention includes means for receiving coding information as an input, detecting coding noise to be eliminated and outputting a result of the detection. The coding information includes orthogonal transformation coefficients and a motion vector of each of the multiple blocks of an image. The coefficients and vector are obtained from a bitstream that has been encoded through motion compensation of the image, orthogonal transformation and quantization. The orthogonal transformation is performed on each said block. The coding noise is detected according to frequency component distributions of the orthogonal transformation coefficients of each said block and another one of the blocks within a reference frame overlapping a reference area of the block. And the reference area is obtained from the reference frame using the motion vector of each said block.
The noise detector of the invention detects coding noise according to not only the frequency component distribution of the orthogonal transformation coefficients obtained from a bitstream but also the frequency component distributions of the orthogonal transformation coefficients of blocks overlapping a reference area within a reference frame obtained by using a motion vector. Accordingly, coding noise can be definitely detected in a non-intra coded block and erroneous detection can be minimized.
The image decoding apparatus of this invention includes: the aforementioned noise detector; a decoding unit for decoding the bitstream and outputting the coding information including the orthogonal transformation coefficients of each said block and a motion vector of a target one of the blocks; and a coding noise eliminating unit for eliminating the coding noise based on the detection result output by the noise detector.
In the image decoding apparatus of this invention, coding noise can be definitely detected in a non-intra coded block, and degradation in picture quality derived from elimination of coding error detected erroneously can be minimized.
In an embodiment of the image decoding apparatus, the noise detector detects ringing artifact as the coding noise and extracts a quantizer scale of the target block from the coding information, and the coding noise eliminating unit uses a value in accordance with the quantizer scale as a threshold value for detecting an edge pixel not used in eliminating the ringing artifact.
In this embodiment, pixels used in eliminating ringing artifact can be selected in accordance with the quantizer scale. Accordingly, ringing artifact can be definitely eliminated with the degradation in picture quality at the edges minimized.

Noise detecting method, noise detector and image decoding apparatus

Matsushita Electric Insdustrial Co., Ltd.


A capsule medical apparatus to be introduced into a subject includes a tissue collecting unit that collects in-vivo tissue; a storage unit that stores therein the in-vivo tissue that is collected by the tissue collecting unit; a liquid storing unit that stores therein liquid for suppressing autolysis of in-vivo tissue; a liquid supplying unit that supplies the liquid in the liquid storing unit to the storage unit; and a control unit that allows, in response to an instruction to start collecting the in-vivo tissue, the tissue collecting unit to collect desired in-vivo tissue and to store the collected in-vivo tissue in the storage unit and that then allows the liquid supplying unit to supply the liquid to the storage unit and makes the storage unit be in a liquid-tight state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a capsule medical apparatus that is introduced into a subject and that, in the subject, collects and stores in-vivo tissue.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, in the field of endoscopy, capsule-shaped body-insertable apparatuses, for example, capsule endoscopes, that have an imaging function and a wireless communication function have been proposed. A body-insertable apparatus system that acquires images inside a subject using a capsule endoscope has also been developed. To observe and examine inside the subject, from when the capsule endoscope is swallowed, for example, through the mouth of the subject, and until the capsule endoscope is naturally discharged, the capsule endoscope functions so as to move inside a body cavity, for example, inside internal organs, such as the stomach and the small intestine, due to peristaltic movement and capture images inside the subject at, for example, 0.5-second intervals.
While the capsule endoscope moves inside the subject, the images captured by the capsule endoscope are received by an external image display device via an antenna that is arranged on the surface of the subject's body. The image display device has a wireless communication function and an image memory function with respect to the capsule endoscope and sequentially stores, in a memory, the images received from the capsule endoscope inside the subject. Doctors or nurses can observe and examine inside the subject by displaying, on a display, the images, i.e., images of the alimentary canal of the subject, stored in the image display device, thus diagnosing the inside of the subject.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-39292 discloses a small-sized imaging device that has a sample collecting unit that cuts or scrapes off tissue inside the body cavity of a subject or a specimen and then stores it as a sample.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-239413 discloses a micromachine that includes an opening/closing mechanism in which a lid member is attached at a suction port or a discharge port of a storage tank and a magnet is attached inside the lid member. By receiving a variable magnetic field from outside and applying resonance or severe vibration to the lid member to destroy the lid member, the opening/closing mechanism releases the suction port or the discharge port. Furthermore, by attaching a non-return valve to the inside or the outside of the lid member, it is possible to prevent the leakage of a substance contained in the storage tank.


A system for providing secured access to an application service includes a security token that couples to the application service. The security token performs a first element of a cryptographic technique, such as, for example, encryption or decryption. A proximity token is provided that is associated with the security token. The proximity token performs a second element of the cryptographic technique to validate a communication between the application service and the security token. The proximity token is operable to validate the communication only when the proximity token is located within a predetermined validation distance from the security token or the application service. The security token may perform the first element of the cryptographic technique to verify that the proximity token has validated the communication between the application service and the security token. The system may be configured to provide secured access to the application service when the proximity token validates the communication and to prevent secured access to the application service when the proximity token does not validate the communication.

A mobile phone or other bearer device may be secured using a security token such as a smart card to authenticate an owner of the smart card. Before the smart card is activated to authenticate the owner, the smart card may require the owner to communicate a secret such as a personal identification number (PIN) shared between the smart card and the owner. To avoid burdening the owner, the smart card may require the owner only to provide the PIN at certain extended intervals. In many cases, the smart card may remain activated for hours, weeks, or even months. If the bearer device is stolen while the smart card is activated, the thief may use the stolen bearer device to access or charge secure services using the activated smart card to authenticate himself as the owner.

Securing access to an application service based on a proximity token


Systems and methods are provided for dispensing sheets of material (e.g. tissues, wipes, towels, etc.) from a container or other suitable receptacle for storing the sheets of material for dispensing therefrom. The dispenser systems are integrated with storage and/or organizer, which are configured to be above, below, behind, or in front of a dispenser without affecting the dispensing function of the system. The dispensers can be used in a vertical position, capable of dispensing a sheet in a downward or upward direction when mounted on a wall, for example, or in a horizontal position, capable of dispensing a sheet sideways and/or popup direction. One of the advantages of these dispensers is that it allows a prior art flat top tissue box for use in a vertical position, i.e., standing up on its end, thereby taking even less horizontal space than the cubic tissue box. The invention frees up the dispensing wall, which contains an opening for sheet dispensing, by disposing onto the dispenser systems a peripheral component adjacent to the dispensing wall, configured to provide aid to both dispensing and non-dispensing uses, such as for storage and organizer, for example as a stand for iPad, visual display, promotional, aromatics releaser—all configured next to, over or above the dispensing wall. The invention also provides a dispenser system having a more aesthetic look, for example, a system in which the view of the waiting sheet is masked, removing the cluttering look of the pop-up tissues as seen with the prior art tissue boxes or tissue box covers. The dispenser systems are also made to present as a piece of art suitable for home decoration, including a minimalist dispenser and a sculptural piece of art. The invention also provides a dispenser system which maintains sheets in a condition essentially free of dust by limiting the exposure of the opening and the waiting sheet to the exterior. The dispenser systems make use of novel elements including the use of at least peripheral component, gliders, spacers, masking, and/or pod in providing novel sheet dispensers which are integrated with non-dispensing functions. The dispenser systems of the invention include but are not limited to boxes, for example, tissue box, containers, box covers, for example, tissue box covers.

This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
It is generally well known to provide dispensers for sheets of materials (such as tissues and wipes), where the sheets are folded and interleaved to permit pop-up dispensing by manually pulling each sheet individually from a stack of sheets retained for storage in a container (such as a box or the like). However, one disadvantage of such known dispensers is that the top wall, because of the opening disposed thereon, can not be used in full because of the opening disposed thereon.
Another disadvantage is that the next to be dispensed sheet is always exposed to the environment, hence collecting dust and other particles, until it is pulled for use. By the time it is used it may have been exposed for a prolonged period of time so as to compromise its cleanliness relative to the sheets still retained inside the box.
Typically, in such known pop-up dispensers the next to be dispensed sheet is maintained in a position protruding from the box for ease of removal from the box. To achieve this, a plastic covering is employed over the opening in the top wall which covering contains a slit to help prevent the tissue from dropping back into the tissue box. Even with the use of such a slit, it is common for a large portion of the next to be dispensed sheet to protrude beyond the slit. Moreover, even with use of such a slit, it is not uncommon for the next to be dispensed sheet from falling into the box.
Another disadvantage in the prior art tissue boxes or tissue dispensers is that they are designed for use horizontally, i.e., a tissue dispenser or a tissue box is placed on the surface horizontally, for example, on a desk surface, a counter top in a kitchen or bathroom, etc., and the tissues disposed in the dispensers or in the boxes when used are pulled upward. The placing of the tissue dispensers on a horizontal surface as mentioned takes away the horizontal space that would otherwise be used for placing or storing other items whose access to is more important to a user. To be sure, for house and office uses recessed tissue dispenser has been made to solve this horizontal storage problem. Inserted into a vertical wall, recessed tissue dispenser is designed to position a tissue box whose top wall, which is the wall having an opening for tissues to be dispensed, is flush with the vertical wall. For dispensing, a waiting tissue is pulled straight out of the top wall following by the next waiting tissue, which is partially protruded out of the box. One drawback of the recessed tissue dispenser is that a hole must be made inside a wall, which is at least equal to the dimension of the top wall of the tissue box, hence damaging to the wall in which the tissue dispenser is inserted. Another draw back of the recessed tissue dispenser of\the prior art is that a recessed area is not reversible without some minor, if not major, repairing to the wall if the user no longer desires to position a tissue box at that location. Another drawback of the recessed tissue dispenser is a requirement of the vertical wall having a depth at least equal to the depth of the tissue box housed inside the tissue dispenser. Another drawback of the recessed tissue dispenser is that it requires a user having some handyman skill and the right tools in order to drill a hole and properly attach the hardware associated with the setup.
Tissue box and tissue dispenser are also used in a car. Tissue box is generally disposed on a seat inside a car, mostly on the front, passenger seat, on the front dashboard, on the back area behind the back seats, and on the floor. The prior art also discloses attaching tissue dispenser to several locations inside the car in order to solve the storage and access problems. For example, the prior art discloses the use of the space or location within a car to hold a tissue dispenser, including the visor area, the cup holder area, the dashboard area, and the glove box's interior. A drawback to these tissue dispensers is that they take away space or employ important space that is designed by car maker for a specific purpose, for example, the glove box's interior is used for storage personal items; the cup holder is for holding beverages for the convenience of driver and the passenger; the visor for blocking the sun and the dashboard not to mention safety issue from having a tissue dispenser thereon.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide one or more systems and methods for dispensing sheets of material that overcomes one or more of the drawbacks of the conventional devices for dispensing sheets of material.

Storage and organizer-integrated sheet dispensers